Naidu asks Civil Services officers to act as catalysts of change

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu on April 20, 2018, said that translating “legislative intent” into “programmatic content” and demonstrating to the common citizens what “Surajya” actually looks like in day to day administration, the civil services have an enormous opportunity today. He was delivering the inaugural address at the 2-day 12th Civil Services Day here. The Vice President said that a clean, competent, people-friendly, proactive administrative leadership is the need of the hour.

Naidu said that ‘Swarajya’ has to be meaningful for each Indian and, for this ‘Surajya’ is inevitable. There is a need for honest introspection into the effectiveness and efficiency of our administrative structures and processes, he added. He said that the focus has shifted to “implementation” and “innovation” and it is becoming increasingly clear that “business as usual” approach will not do. We must collectively transform India into a nation that we can all be proud of, he added, according to a PIB release

The Vice President called on officers of Civil Services to reorient their approach to look upon themselves as catalysts of change, as facilitators of change, as inspirational leaders for an aspirational India. He said that it is the collective responsibility of the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the media to identify, combat and root out evils including casteism, communalism, corruption, inequality, discrimination and violence. ” We need to be sensitive to these unpleasant realities and try to alter them by being unbiased and evenhanded,” Naidu added.

Addressing the session, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitendra Singh said that the main objective of the Civil Services Day is to acknowledge and recognise the good work done by the civil servants. He added that this is a platform for civil servants to share their best experiences and reorient themselves to the emerging requirements of the New India.

He added that during the last four years, the entire format of the Civil Services Day has changed and now the work done for implementation of priority programmes is rewarded under PM awards. This year four priority programmes have been chosen, he added. He said that 643 districts have participated for PM awards this year. The Minister appreciated that 103 districts out of 115 aspirational districts have participated for these awards and 75 aspirational districts have participated under Innovation category.

The Minister also emphasised on the Government’s mantra of ‘minimum government, maximum  governance’. He said that these days the expectation level for civil servants has risen. He also emphasised on the conducive working environment for civil servants and citizen participation. Speaking about the grievance redressal mechanism of the department, he said that now there is CPGRAMS Portal, dashboard and fixed timelines to redress the grievances of the citizens. He added that the grievances have increased about 8 fold since  2014. This is due to the prompt response and active mechanism for grievance redressal, he said. He also spoke about Pensions Portal, Anubhav and Jeevan Pramaan initiatives of the Department of Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare.