Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the world is looking towards India at this juncture of the 21st century, adding that in the new world order, India has to increase its role and develop itself at a fast pace.
He was addressing the Valedictory Function of the 96th Common Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) today via video conferencing.
At the outset, the Prime Minister greeted the officers on completing their course and conveyed his wishes on the joyous occasion of Holi.
Noting the uniqueness of the outgoing batch as this batch is entering the active service in the year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. “Your batch will play a key role in the nation’s development in the Amrit Kaal of the next 25 years”, he added.
The Prime Minister underlined the emerging new world order in the post-pandemic world. He said that the world is looking towards India at this juncture of the 21st century.
“In this new world order, India has to increase its role and develop itself at a fast pace”, he said. He asked the officers to keep in mind the importance of this period with a special focus on the ‘biggest goal of the 21st century’ i.e. the goal of Aatmnirbhar Bharat and Modern India. “We can’t afford to lose this opportunity”, he said.
Invoking Sardar Patel on Civil Services
Referring to the views of Sardar Patel on civil services, the Prime Minister said that sense of service and duty has been an integral part of the training.
“In all your years of service, these factors of service and duty should be the measure of your personal and professional success”, he added. He said work is never a burden when done with a sense of duty and purpose.
He told the officers that they have come to the service with a sense of purpose and to be a part of a positive change in the context of the society and the country.
The Prime Minister emphasized the need to embrace the experience from the field as a real feel of the issues of the file come from the field. He said that files do not contain just the numbers and statistics but they contain the life and aspirations of the people.
“You do not have to work for numbers but for the lives of the people”, he said. The Prime Minister said that the officers should always go to the root cause of the problems and rationale of the rules in order to give permanent solutions.
The Prime Minister said that in this period of Amrit Kaal, we have to take Reform, Perform, Transform to the next level.
Recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s Antyodaya
That is why today’s India is moving ahead with the spirit of ‘Sabka Prayas’. He also recalled Mahatama Gandhi’s mantra that every decision should be evaluated on the touchstone of Antyodaya or the welfare of the last person in the last line.
The Prime Minister gave the officers the task of identifying 5-6 challenges of their districts at the local level and then working on those issues. He said identification of the challenges is the first step in the rectification of the challenges.
He gave the example of the government’s identification of challenges of providing pucca houses and electricity connection for the poor, which were addressed by schemes like PM Awas Yojana, Saubhagya Scheme, and schemes for Aspirational Districts.
He also talked of the new determination of saturation of these schemes. He stressed the need for coordination in various infrastructure projects and said that PM Gatishakti Master Plan will address it to a great extent.
The Prime Minister mentioned the new reforms in the sphere of civil services i.e. Mission Karmyogi and Aarambh Programme.
The Prime Minister said that the officers should pray that they should never get an easy assignment as a Challenging job has the joy of its own. “The more you think of going to the Comfort Zone, the more you will stop your progress and the progress of the country”, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister advised the officers for recording their aspirations and plans at the time of their departure from the Academy to revisit them after 25 or 50 years to evaluate the level of achievement.
He also asked about the inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) related courses and resources in the syllabus as future problems will have a huge element of data science and the ability to sift through that data.
Mission Karmayogi
The 96th Foundation Course is the first Common Foundation Course at LBSNAA based on the principles of Mission Karmayogi, with new pedagogy and course design. The batch comprises 488 OTs from 16 services and 3 Royal Bhutan Services (Administrative, Police, and Forest).
To harness the adventurous and innovative spirit of the youthful batch, new pedagogy guided by the principles of Mission Karmayogi was designed.
Emphasis was put on transforming the Officer Trainee from a student /citizen into a public servant through initiatives like interaction with Padma Awardees in the spirit of “Sabka Prayas” and village visits for an immersive experience of rural India.
Officer Trainees also visited villages in remote/border areas to understand the challenges faced by people living in these areas.
Modular approach for Curriculum was adopted in consonance with the principle of continuous graded learning and self-guided learning.
In addition to health tests, fitness tests were also carried out to support the transition of an ‘exam burdened student’ to a ‘healthy youthful civil servant’. All 488 Officer Trainees were given first-level training in Krav Maga and in various other sports.