New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) Since a change of guard at the Union Health Ministry, newly installed 'Idea box' on each floor is catching the eyes of staff and visitors alike at the Nirman Bhawan here.

These wooden boxes with 'Idea Box' inscribed on them have been installed after the new Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya took charge earlier this month after Harsh Vardhan.

Soon after assuming charge, Mandaviya chaired a meeting of senior officers at the level of joint secretary and above, asking them to bring a change in the work culture, official sources said.

In the meeting, he talked about his style of working and shared how he tracked every issue, major projects with the timeline in ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, they said.

He directed the health secretary that an 'Idea Box' be placed in each department where staff as well as visitors can drop their suggestions and ideas for better functioning of the ministry or the health sector.

He also shared that in the Shipping Ministry many ideas received this was were commercialised and employees were encouraged with monetary rewards. These Idea Boxes will serve as solution for many challenges and issues of the department or ministry, the sources said.

The minister even asked officials to set three departmental targets and try to achieve them within a specific timeline. He is following up on these suggestions very closely, a source said.

“Some officials feel that they are being heard patiently and their suggestions are accepted. It is the breeze of fresh air in the Ministry of Health with the change at the helm," an official source said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)