PM Excellence Awards conferred
Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Apr 21: On the occasion of Civil Services Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi today.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, P K Mishra, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba were among those present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister stressed on improving governance and knowledge sharing. He suggested all the training academies can virtually share the process and experiences of the award winners on a weekly basis. Secondly, from the award-winning projects, one scheme may be chosen for implementation among a few districts and the experience of the same may be discussed in the next year’s Civil Service Day.
Modi underlined the significance of this year’s celebration as it is taking place in the year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. He asked the administrators to call past district administrators in this special year to the district. This will infuse new energy in the district and will provide a welcome dynamism in the perspective of district administration informed by the experience of the past, he said. Similarly, he added, Chief Ministers of States can call former Chief Secretaries, Cabinet Secretaries from the State in this landmark year to commemorate and take benefit from the flag-bearers of administrative machinery that have contributed significantly in the journey of Independent India. This will be an appropriate way of honouring the civil service in the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, he opined.
He said Amrit Kaal is not just for celebration or praising the past and journey from 75 to 100 year just cannot be routine. “India @100 can’t be routine. This 25-year period should be seen as a unit and we should have a vision from now onwards itself. This celebration should be a watershed. Every district should move with this spirit. There should not be any let up in the efforts and this is the time to rededicate ourselves to the pledges and directions that Sardar Patel gave on this day in 1947,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi exhorted the officers to live beyond the beaten path and think out of box. “Reform in governance should be our natural stance. Governance reforms should be experimentative and as per the needs of the time and country.” He said and referred to reduction of obsolete laws and number of compliances as one of his key priorities.
The Prime Minister said that we should not change only under pressure but should try to improve pro-actively. “We should not be governed by the regulations and mentality that emerged in the period of scarcity, we should have an attitude of abundance. Similarly, we should anticipate rather than just react to the challenges,” he said.
The PM concluded by requesting the officers to adopt the key reforms in their personal lives.
Dr Jitendra Singh, in his introductory address, said that next generation reforms in Governance will be an important milestone to achieve the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
He said, there is a need for choosing the right kind of indices for “Vision India@2047 and urged the civil servants also to deliberate upon the technology driven growth that lies ahead of us.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, with the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a pathbreaking initiative has been taken to shift the working and functioning of the Civil Servants from ‘Rule to Role’, through the Government’s most ambitious reform ‘Mission Karmayogi’, so that they are confident and able to perform the task assigned to them. The Minister said, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the entire concept and format of the PM’s Excellence Award has undergone a revolutionary change since 2014.
Referring to the DARPG’s Good Governance Week campaign “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur” aimed at showcasing and replicating the best governance practices to grassroots level, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it will create a national movement for good governance and motivate the stakeholders both in the Government as well as outside the Government. He said, DARPG was also entrusted to formulate a document for Vision India@2047 to identify the long-term goals and corresponding outcomes for this decade with timelines and milestones.
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