Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh today inaugurated the 52nd Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), calling for continuous revamping of the teaching curriculum with faculty diversity, institutional collaboration, interactive learning and content update.
The Minister said that governance in the 21st century demands a new generation of administrators capable of learning continuously, adapting rapidly and leading confidently in an era driven by technology, innovation and citizen participation.
Describing the redesigned APPPA as a significant step towards preparing "Policy Architects" for Viksit Bharat @2047, he said institutions entrusted with capacity building must evolve continuously to remain relevant in a fast-changing governance landscape.
The inaugural programme was attended by Director General, IIPA, S.N. Bagde, senior faculty members including Dr. Charu Malhotra, distinguished academicians and experts, along with participants of the 52nd APPPA drawn from the All-India Services, Central Civil Services, Defence Services and other government organisations.
Sponsored by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the ten-month flagship executive programme has been comprehensively redesigned to strengthen leadership, strategic decision-making and interdisciplinary understanding among senior public functionaries through a blend of academic learning, practical exposure and institutional collaboration.
Recalling IIPA's distinguished legacy since its establishment soon after Independence, Dr. Jitendra Singh said the institution was created at a time when India had very few organised centres dedicated to training public administrators. Over the decades, it played a defining role in nurturing generations of civil servants who contributed significantly to nation-building.
He said the time had now come to build upon that legacy by aligning public administration with the rapidly changing realities of governance, technological advancement and global developments. The Minister said governance has witnessed a fundamental transformation over the last decade with greater emphasis on transparency, accountability, technology-driven service delivery and time-bound implementation.
He said the expectations from civil servants have expanded far beyond conventional administration and now require an understanding of emerging technologies, digital governance, public communication and collaborative policymaking.
"Governance today cannot be driven by yesterday's curriculum," Dr. Jitendra Singh said, adding that institutions responsible for training administrators must constantly reinvent themselves to prepare officers for challenges that did not even exist a decade ago.
He said every administrator should cultivate the habit of lifelong learning because knowledge and technology are evolving at an unprecedented pace. Sharing the philosophy behind the redesigned programme, Dr. Jitendra Singh said APPPA has been restructured around four major pillars, diverse faculty, institutional collaboration, contemporary curriculum and interactive learning.
He said future administrators should learn not only from senior bureaucrats and academicians but equally from innovators, entrepreneurs, communication experts, scientists, technology leaders and practitioners who are shaping governance through real-world experience.
Emphasising the growing importance of technology in public administration, the Minister said Artificial Intelligence, cyber security, quantum technologies and digital governance are no longer specialised subjects but essential areas of understanding for administrators responsible for policy formulation and implementation.
At the same time, he said technology must always strengthen trust between the government and citizens rather than become a substitute for human sensitivity. Dr. Jitendra Singh also described communication as one of the defining competencies of modern governance.
He said today's civil servants are required to communicate effectively with political leadership, citizens and the media, making communication an indispensable component of public administration. He added that the programme therefore places greater emphasis on communication, practical learning, case studies and interaction with domain experts from diverse backgrounds.
Encouraging the participants to remain intellectually curious throughout their careers, Dr. Jitendra Singh said effective leadership begins with the willingness to learn every day. He shared that he himself makes it a point to study emerging technologies and new developments regularly, adding that humility remains the foundation of meaningful learning.
"The day we believe we know everything, we stop learning," he remarked, urging officers to remain open to new ideas irrespective of where they come from. The Minister also interacted extensively with participants representing the Indian Police Service, Indian Telecom Service, intelligence organisations and officers from the Army and Navy, who shared their expectations from the programme and discussed the evolving challenges before public administration.
Participants highlighted the growing importance of defence-civil coordination, cyber security, Artificial Intelligence, space technologies, international exposure, policy implementation, public communication and whole-of-government approaches in addressing emerging governance challenges.
Responding to the suggestions, Dr. Jitendra Singh welcomed greater collaboration with premier institutions, domain experts, innovators, industry leaders and international organisations. He encouraged IIPA to continue enriching the programme through interaction with practitioners from government and the private sector, exposure to best governance practices from across India and abroad, and stronger engagement with experts working in emerging technologies and public policy.
He also suggested creating more opportunities for participants to exchange experiences across services, recognising that many of today's governance challenges require integrated solutions rather than isolated institutional responses. The Minister further encouraged participants to document their experiences throughout the ten-month programme and provide candid feedback to help refine future editions of APPPA.
He said institutions grow stronger when they are willing to listen, adapt and continuously improve, adding that learning should remain a two-way process in which faculty and participants enrich one another through shared knowledge and experience. Concluding his address, Dr. Jitendra Singh expressed confidence that the revamped APPPA would prepare administrators capable of leading India's governance transformation in the decades ahead.
He urged the participants to use the programme not merely as an academic exercise but as an opportunity to broaden their perspectives, build enduring professional networks across services and institutions, and contribute meaningfully towards building a responsive, innovative, technology-driven and citizen-centric governance system in line with the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.