Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reminded the civil services of their "huge responsibility" in the next two decades.
Modi was addressing via videoconference the probationers of the Indian civil services at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first home minister of India.
Modi was quoted by news agency ANI as telling the probationers, "You are the officers who will be serving the country when it celebrates 100 years of independence. From 2022, the 25 years ahead are very important for the country. You have a huge responsibility."
Modi emphasised the role of the civil services was not just to give orders, but to assure the country it would stay on the path to progress in the face of problems or changes.
Referring to the changing nature of governance, Modi explained, "The public is not just the beneficiary of government policies, programmes, but is the real driving force. That is why we need to move from government to governance."
"For a civil service officer, first of all it is necessary that you are constantly connected to the common human being of the country. When you stay connected with people, working in democracy will become easier. Never cut off from people in the field," Modi told the probationers.
Modi highlighted Patel's contribution, arguing Patel was "in a way" the father of the civil services.
Modi's address is part of the integrated foundation course 'Aarambh'. Aarambh is an initiative to bring all the probationers of All India Service, Group-A Central Service and Foreign Service together for a Common Foundation Course (CFC) with the vision to break the silos of departments and services from the very beginning of the career of a civil servant.
Aarambh aims at making the civil servants capable of leading the transformation and work seamlessly across departments and fields. This year, the second edition of Aarambh 2020 is taking place in LBSNAA from October 14 to 31, in which 428 officers trainees from eighteen services and three Royal Bhutan Services are participating.
