PM seeks ‘nation-first’ approach, inclusivity
NEW DELHI: Lauding the efforts of civil servants in bringing in reforms and increasing accessibility for the common man, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said there was a need to improve governance and knowledge sharing.
According to a press statement, at an event on the occasion of Civil Services Day at Vigyan Bhavan, Modi emphasised the need for inclusivity in administration and a ‘nationf irst, India first’ approach.
“Reform in governance should be our natural stance. Governance reforms should be experimentative and as per the needs of the time and country,” Modi said. Emphasising a “nation-first, India first” approach to decision-making, the Prime Minister said there cannot be any compromise on the unity and integrity of the country and that even decisions at the local level should be made on this touchstone. Every decision should be evaluated on the basis of its capacity to strengthen the country’s unity and integrity, he said, adding “nation-first, India first” (approach) should always inform our decisions”.
Modi conferred the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration during the function. He presented 16 awards for five identified priority programmes and for innovations in the sphere of public administration and delivery of services etc.“All the training academies can virtually share the process and experiences of the award winners on a weekly basis. Secondly, from the awardwinning projects, one scheme may be chosen for implementation among few districts and the experience of the same may be discussed in the next year’s Civil Service Day,” he said.
Bringing up the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, the Prime Minister asked administrators to invite past district officials to their respective districts. “This will infuse new energy in the district and will provide a welcome dynamism in perspective of district administration informed by the experience of the past,” he said.
“Similarly, 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,” the statement said quoting the Prime Minister.