The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has said that the Assistant Section Officers (ASOs) are very important component of the structure of Government of India. He was addressing the Valedictory function of the Foundation Training course for the Assistant Section Officers (Direct Recruits) of Central Secretariat Service, organized by the Institute of Secretariat Training and Management (ISTM), Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, here today.Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the ASOs are an essential tool of governance, since the notes and drafts prepared by them form the bedrock of Government policies as the proposals pass through various stages in the government hierarchy. He also expressed happiness over the fact that their training also included citizen-centric approach. He emphasised on the need for improvisation in training to meet the challenges of today’s demands.Dr Jitendra Singh told the new officers to have out-of-box thinking and innovative ideas to improve the system. He appreciated the fact that the new ASOs are well qualified, educated and trained and they should bring in lot of qualitative inputs in the system.Addressing the gathering, Dr Sunita Khurana, Director, ISTM, said that the focus areas of training includes ethics and moral values. ISTM has also entered into a modern era of digitalization, she added. She said, during the attachments, the trainees reached out to the poor and developed understanding of their problems.The Minister also had an interactive session with the candidates and later gave away certificates to them.The Secretary, DoPT, Dr. C. Chandramouli and other senior officers were present on the occasion.