Addressing young IAS officers of 2020 batch who will undergo a three-month internship as Under Secretary in the Central Government before moving to their respective state cadres, Minister of State for Science and Technology (Independent Representative); Minister of State (Independent Representative) for Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today reminded them of their destined role in 2047 when India celebrates 100 years of independence. With age on their side, only they would have that opportunity and privilege, he said. Dr Jitendra Singh said that to make the government citizen-centric, it is important that we use technology that brings about meaningful exchanges and definitive improvements in national governance. He said that today’s citizen aspires to have a voice in the processes of policy formulation and its implementation.
Dr Jitendra Singh noted that the initiative of making Deputy Secretaries in Central Ministries/Departments was a huge experiment introduced at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, which has paid off handsomely in favor of the Government of India. He said that the Deputy Secretaries are expected to contribute to the improvement in various flagship programs in various Ministries/Departments of the Government of India. This not only gives them an opportunity to showcase their skills and talent, but also an opportunity to give a presentation in front of the Prime Minister of India, an opportunity that might have eluded their senior groups.
Dr Jitendra Singh said he was informed that this batch of 175 officers has 108 officers with engineering background and many officers with backgrounds in medicine, management, law and arts have also joined. He emphasized that it would be very admirable if they use their education to show how ministries/departments can innovate, use new ideas and deliver high quality outputs directly to citizens with complete elimination of middlemen and leakages. The minister also hoped that the technocrats would be able to deliver on the government’s flagship programs in sectors such as health, agriculture, sanitation, education, skills and mobility to name a few which are technology-based and technology-driven.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that citizens’ expectations and aspirations from administration and governance are on the rise, information technology, internet, mobile technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning etc. can bring dramatic changes in people’s lives and can help administration to connect directly with people. According to him, the required improvement of services to citizens and quick resolution of complaints related to them can be achieved through the effective use of technology.
Exhorting the young bureaucrats to stay grounded, Dr Jitendra Singh added that their attitude towards the common citizen who comes to the doorstep of government will be one of the most important factors in shaping citizens’ satisfaction with government services. Once the attitude is welcoming and full of empathy, the attitude of those working with civil servants is bound to change and therefore they should try to be role models in this attitude change mission, the minister added.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also advised the young officers to adopt a very respectful attitude towards the public representatives and listen patiently to them and quickly review their suggestions in the light of the policy framework. He said that wherever possible or desirable, we may have to get approval from higher ups to serve the cause of citizens. He said that public representatives be it MLA, MP or Ward Councilor or members of Panchayat Societies are elected by the people and can provide a lot of information to the officials about what the citizens are demanding and how the government can provide effective services to the citizens at their doorstep. The minister emphasized that young officers in charge of Districts or Tehsils or any department must ensure that no citizen who needs your intervention or support is taken away from your office empty handed.
Dr Jitendra Singh summarized that as in other years, the officers posted as Deputy Secretaries for the 2020 batch are given the opportunity to contribute to major programs of the Government of India and are posted to various ministries and assigned work related to the flagship programme. He said officials will have to provide suggestions and ideas on how to improve the delivery of these programs both qualitatively and quantitatively. During this period, you should focus especially on states and districts where the implementation of these programs is starting slowly, the minister added.
Dr Jitendra Singh urged the officers to examine the status of the programmes, ideas and suggestions initiated by the groups of Assistant Secretaries in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and ensure that their ideas and suggestions are also taken to their logical conclusion. He said that through this programme, officers are given a great opportunity to gain insight into policy making with the most senior and experienced early career officers, which will be very useful, relevant and informative for all officers. . It will also help to understand how policy review and analysis takes place at the highest levels and how decisions are made before joining the field work, concluded the minister.
