Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Apr 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today exhorted civil servants to become “agents of change” in their respective organizations and departments. Addressing civil servants on Civil Services Day, the Prime Minister said that in the 21st century, civil servants need to redefine their role, and move beyond controlling, regulating and managerial capabilities, and think of themselves as change agents.
He urged civil servants to build teams. He said that his mantra of “Reform to Transform”, should be interpreted by civil servants as “Reform to Perform to Transform.” He said if civil servants were able to perform, the transformation on the ground would be evident.
Modi said that ‘Jan Bhagidari’ (public participation) is the key to success, as highlighted by the initiatives which have received awards today. He therefore urged civil servants to engage with the people, so that the Government’s schemes and initiatives can be better implemented on the ground.
The Prime Minister described Civil Services Day as an occasion to reflect and undertake a critical evaluation of the journey so far, and resolve to move ahead with fresh determination.
Congratulating the awardees for their successful initiatives, he said their success could prove inspirational for other civil servants. He noted that 74 success stories were shortlisted for consideration for awards this year, which represents a substantial jump over previous years. Nevertheless, he added, this represents only about 10 per cent of India’s districts. He urged all districts to become more proactive in this regard.
The Prime Minister urged civil servants to be bold enough to experiment and look at new ways of achieving objectives in the interest of the people.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, while speaking on the occasion, reiterated the commitment of the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (ARPG) and Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) to achieve goal of “Maximum Governance” laid down by Modi and said that next year when “we report back for the Civil Services Day we may have the confidence to say that we have not only achieved the goal of “Maximum Governance” but also achieved the goal of “Governance with a difference”.
He said, the unique feature of the Civil Services Day this year was that its canvas had been made widened and at least eight Ministers of Union Council participated in the deliberations in different sessions.
Dr Singh said during the last two years, the Department of Personnel had made certain landmark breakthroughs. Conscious of the fact that with more than 65% of population below the age of 35, a citizen-centric governance in contemporary India has to be essentially youth-centric and therefore, one of the earliest decisions taken by the present Government was to abolish the practice of getting certificates attested by gazetted officers which sent out a message that this Government has the capacity to trust the youth of this country. He also claimed that grievance redressal had gone up to almost 90% and Bhavishya Portal has been launched for online pension payment service.
On the occasion, the Prime Minister also released a Table Book titled “Change Makers” and a Report titled “Transforming India”.
Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, Principal Secretary to PM Nripendra Mishra and Additional Principal Secretary P K Mishra were also present.
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