The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari has said that it is widely recognised that no profession offers the kind of opportunity and authority for participating in nation building and societal transformation as does a career in the civil services. Delivering inaugural address at the “89th Foundation Course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie” today, he said that with this authority comes a huge responsibility. Civil servants must remain cognisant that in a vibrant democracy such as ours, governments exist by popular will only to serve the people and uphold national interest in the widest sense of the term.He said that the Government is a steward of public good. It articulates priorities based on the needs of the people, translates them into policies and implements programmes based on those policies, so that lives of the people improve continuously. These priorities, policies and programmes change with the changing aspirations and requirements of the people, to which the government and civil service has to adjust accordingly.
The Vice President said that in this overarching philosophy of governance and public administration, the civil service becomes the principal vehicle for delivery of public goods and services to the people. A politically neutral but committed to public service bureaucracy is thus a sine qua non for the smooth functioning of a democratic government, such as ours. Additionally and in our times, the bureaucracy has another important role, that of a bridge between the people and their elected representatives. The civil servant is expected to faithfully implement the directions of the duly elected government. At the same time, he or she must ensure that nothing which the political executive does transgresses the fundamental law of our Republic.
He expressed his concern that while much has been achieved by us as a people in the decades of independence, the fruits of development have reached the public unevenly. We still have starvation deaths, which exist with high levels of malnutrition and under-nutrition. Widespread poverty and unemployment are reality. So is the lack of basic civic amenities, such as healthcare, education, water-supply, sanitation, transport and communication. Acute social and gender inequality and related discrimination are pervasive in our society. India ranks 135 out of 187 countries on the UNDP’s Human Development Index. India has the dubious distinction of being home to the largest number of poor in the world with around one-third of our population below poverty line. This is compounded by existence of the social discrimination and inequality based on caste, religion or region. Each of these derogates from the ideals of justice, equality and fraternity.
The Vice President opined that this does not mean that successive governments and generations of civil servants in independent India have not tried to address the maladies that afflict our economy and society. Large investments have been made in social and physical infrastructure. Programmes aimed at poverty alleviation, employment generation, literacy, food security, healthcare and shelter have been launched. Subsidies for food, energy and agricultural inputs have been provided at a heavy cost to the exchequer.
He said that as functionaries of the state, civil servants must always remember that the emancipation of the deprived and marginalised sections of our society is a special responsibility. Unless they are uplifted, we can never emerge as a strong and prosperous nation. All this has gone hand in hand with demands and expectations that have undergone significant change. We now have an aspirational India, impatient to taste in greater measure the fruits of economic prosperity and social progress, and as a matter of right. Our citizens today seek governance which is efficient, transparent, honest and responsive. There is a sense of urgency in the demand and lesser inclination for patience and forgiveness.
The Vice President called upon civil servants that their capacity to perform will therefore depend largely on their ability to evoke public confidence. Critical to maintaining public trust is through upholding the highest standards of integrity that has to be built up and maintained painstakingly over many, many years. In recent times, public cynicism towards government and its functionaries has multiplied. Each one of us in public life has a responsibility to address this scourge by setting impeccable standards of integrity and exemplary behaviour.He concluded that our country is emerging as an important player on the world stage. Our political and economic weight in a globalised world is increasing. At the same time, newer challenges are emerging in which political and geographical boundaries provide no protection against competition emanating from beyond our borders. Civil servants, as members of the higher civil service, would have to continuously enhance their skills and upgrade their knowledge, in order to remain globally competitive. They must strive for training and specialization, as well as use of modern technology in their work, but they must remain sensitive to the welfare of ordinary Indians.