New Delhi: The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the crux of the entire governance paradigm is implementation, how well is the delivery mechanism functioning. He called upon all the civil services officers to work together in unison, and said that complementing each other with their specific domain experiences would help in giving the much required momentum and direction to India’s growth story.
Addressing the 44th batch of Advance Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) programme sponsored by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, here today, the Vice President asked officers to pro-actively explore creative alternatives to the status quo and take steps to strengthen the dialogue with people and make them partners in the progress of the nation.
Pointing that implementation was the crux of the entire governance paradigm, the Vice President called for measures to build a culture of monitoring, evaluation and constant reform. ‘Even for the best of the systems, there is always a possibility to become better,’ he added.
Quoting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the unifier of India and the creator of the Indian steel frame, the Vice President asked the officers representing Civil and Defence, technical and non-technical departments of the government to be guided by the spirit of service.
Saying that each citizen and person in country must feel that there was a perceptible improvement in the quality of life, he urged officers to adopt, adapt and scale up best practices to facilitate the common man. He also asked them to maintain professional competence and become constant learners of technology, policy and the world to serve the people better. Keep learning and absorb the best practices within and outside India, from both the private as well as the public sector, he said.
The Secretary to the Vice President, Dr. I.V. Subba Rao, the Director, IIPA, Shri S.N. Tripathi, the Programme Director (APPPA), IIPA, Prof. Ashok Vishandass and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Following is the text of Vice President’s address:
“I am happy to interact with all of you today.
I am happy that this 10-month, customized course is aimed at renewing your knowledge and sharpen your administrative skills.
Having a mix of participants from Civil and Defence, technical and non-technical brings together a rich pool of diverse experience and knowledge.
I believe that such courses are essential to provide fresh insights and reform the administrative system.
The fast changing political, social and economic milieu of today demands a citizen-centric administration.
The people want an efficient and responsive administration which addresses their concerns quickly in a transparent and fair manner.
As I had said in another context, our ‘Swarajya’ will have to be translated into ‘Surajya’ or good, responsive governance.
Implementation is the key element on which we have to focus more.
administrative reforms are a continuous process. We need to update and revamp the systems and processes in tune with the requirements. There is no room for archaic laws and procedures. This requires a fresh thinking, constant review of current practices and the courage to suggest and implement change.
In your work situation, I am sure you will be facing new and daunting challenges. At the same time, every new situation presents you an opportunity to think innovatively and come up with out-of-the-box solutions by making optimum use of the resources.
Better, swifter service delivery is the need of the hour. Any development agenda should aim at inclusion, reaching the unreached and funding the unfunded.
No doubt, our country’s civil services are among the best in the world. But there is always room for improvement.
As Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the unifier of India and the creator of the Indian steel frame had said, you should be guided by the spirit of service. Add to this, the elements of professional competence and constant learning.
Civil servants should absorb new information and knowledge, adapt to a rapidly changing socio-political environment and address the key challenges in contemporary society.
You need to be forward looking.
You should pro-actively explore creative alternatives to the status quo.
What we need to do today is to strengthen the dialogue with people and making people partners in the progress of the nation.
I urge you to keep learning and absorb the best practices within and outside India, from both the private as well as the public sector. You should adopt, adapt and scale up best practices.
The ultimate bottom line is: Each citizen and each person in this country must feel that there is a perceptible improvement in the quality of life.
You come from various walks of life working in different Services but you represent really the public services as such, the services which are intended to serve the public.
All the civil services officers need to work together in unison, complementing and supporting each other with their specific domain experiences and expertise so that India’s growth story gets the much required momentum and direction.
The crux of the entire governance paradigm is implementation, how well is the delivery mechanism functioning.
We have to build that culture of monitoring, evaluation and constant reform.
Even for the best of the systems, there is always a possibility to become better.
I expect each one of you to be managerial leaders upgrading our governance systems on a continuous basis towards higher levels of proficiency and efficiency.
