The Union Ministers Suresh Prabhu and Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the two-day 10th Civil Services Day function by lighting the lamp here today. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu said that it is an important day to celebrate as Civil Services form the backbone of the country’s governance system. Shri Suresh Prabhu pointed out that whatever is being done today is much better than in the past but it is still not sufficient as there is a need to strive further to meet people’s aspirations completely. He further said that the Indian economy has great potential to grow at 8 to 9 per cent which will propel India to be the second largest economy in the world.
Shri Suresh Prabhu pointed out that the country has the capacity and capability to measure up to this task and meet the challenges of the growing economy. We need to deliberate and strategize to be able to achieve the targets. Referring to the continuity of the bureaucratic machinery despite the political changes at the Government level, Shri Suresh Prabhu said that the governance has the flexibility to reorient itself to ensure delivery and the key to success is to work as a team where political leadership and the bureaucracy together strive hard to achieve common objectives of good governance. He emphasized the need for correctly identifying the deliverables and targets and then gear up government machinery at all levels to achieve them.
Referring to the growth story of Indian Railways in the recent past, Shri Suresh Prabhu said that the Railways was able to achieve an all-time high capital expenditure because of team work and united efforts and dedication. Railways undertook doubling of lines and electrification - all with record performance, he added. Shri Suresh Prabhu emphasized on coordinated efforts and team work to achieve the targets. Referring to the success story of using social media in grievance redressal in Indian Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhu said that the Railways not only took immediate steps to redress grievances of the public but we also undertook deep analysis as to why there are complaints and then effected systemic changes and reforms which resulted in the reduction in complaints.
The Minister for Railways called upon all stakeholders like Centre, State etc., to work for the common objective of the national development. Shri Suresh Prabhu said that we also need to devise a system of rewarding and incentivizing good performers and at the same time inspiring others to perform better through motivation and training. He said that it is necessary to harness this huge human capital of civil servants but it needs to be constantly updated and upgraded to keep pace with the changing times with a view to deliver the best possible results. He said that it is important to have proper system for ensuring effective delivery.
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 in the last two years the Government has become more citizen- centric towards the goal set by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of delivering “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance”. He said that the Government has been able to address the public grievances more successfully. Compared to an average of 2 lakh grievances annually received in the previous years, more than 6 lakh grievances were registered last year and over 90 per cent of these grievances were redressed, which reflects the faith of the citizens in the current government. The Minister also said that he has started calling the citizens to take feedback regarding redressal of their grievances.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said as part of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) more than 28 crore bank account have been opened and about Rs. 36,000 crore deposits have been received by the banks. It shows that citizens are not only economically empowered, but their self-esteem has also gone up. He also discussed various other initiatives of the government which have contributed to good governance. These initiatives includes Anubhav, Bhavishya, self-attestation by citizens and abolition of interviews for the junior grade. Dr. Jitendra Singh also said that this year four more categories have been included in the Prime Minister’s Awards for excellence in public administration. These awards pertain to the four priority programmes of the government namely, PMJDY, Swachh Bharat (Grameen), Swachh Vidyalaya and Soil Health Card.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) Shri Devendra Chaudhry said that the Civil Services Day function spread over two days will include eight Sessions being attended by more than 1,200 civil servants representing different States. He also said that for the first time a theme has been dedicated to the Civil Services Day this year. The theme reflects Prime Minister’s vision i.e. “Transforming India” and ten districts have been selected out of 677 districts for this year’s Prime Minister Awards. Cabinet Secretary Shri P.K. Sinha, former Cabinet Secretaries, Secretaries, Chief Secretaries of States and senior officers from various Ministries of Central and State Governments were also present on the occasion. On the occasion, the Union Ministers also released the book ‘’Recreating Excellence”, which details the replication of the Prime Minister’s awarded initiatives last year on the Civil Services Day.