President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday urged the new batch of IAS officers to break silos and make Government seamless for the welfare of people. Kovind told the young IAS officers that it would be their mandate to equip people, the Government and the country to deal with the challenges and opportunities of an economy of that size.
Addressing the group of 176 officers of 2016 batch, currently posted as Assistant Secretaries, the President said as IAS officers in the districts and State capitals, they would be responsible for implementation of national and Union Government programmes.
“These may sometimes be tailored or adapted for local conditions. This makes the officers an important link between Government of India and the State Government. It is incumbent upon them to bring the learning, expertise, experience and standards of integrity of an elite all-India service to every rung of Government in our very diverse country,” Kovind said.
The President pointed out that many of the officers would end their careers as secretaries in the 2040s, perhaps at about the time India celebrated the 100th anniversary of Independence. “Today we are a $2.5 trillion economy. By the 2040s, our GDP will be six or seven times as large,” he said.
The President said that as IAS officers, it would be their mandate to equip people, the Government and the country to deal with the challenges and opportunities of an economy of that size.
“This will call for enhancing use of technology in the way they work and function. It will call for breaking out of silos and seeing Government as a seamless service provider, not as a series of closed compartments. Above all, it will call for a radical overhaul of the nature of administration and of the interface between citizen and Government,” Kovind said.