Be ‘agents of change’ and think about doing ‘service, not job: PM Narendra Modi to bureaucrats

NEW DELHI: Last year was an advice to keep one’s work and personal life balance and not let their life become another page in a file. But this year Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a different pitch to bureaucrats they must perform as government is being criticised for lack of impact of its schemes on the ground.

“It’s been two years but there is no allegation that any of the government’s schemes are wrong. Some say that the pace is not there…some say that impact is not showing.

We have to embrace this criticism and perform so that our aim of transformation is achieved,” Modi told bureaucrats on Civil Services Day on Thursday. This came as NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant presented a roadmap till 2019 of executing numerous ideas proposed by the Group of Secretaries (GoS), crucial to India aiming at 10% growth to eliminate poverty by the year 2032, he said.


Last year, the PM had asked bureaucrats not to live a stressful life and not carry work home. On Thursday, Modi, however, extolled the virtues of working late, as he spoke how the GoS put in 10000 man hours to prepare their reports in two months.
“I am told these groups worked till midnight, some groups worked Saturday-Sundays. The rule was to work on this after office hours,” the PM said.

He spoke of other babus also who ‘forget weekends’ and ‘their children’s birthdays’ on seeing responsibilities.

The PM also took digs at bureaucrats as he compared the mindset of many entering civil service to “entering a pipeline” whereby they reach a certain level after 15 or 20 years and are at any of the three senior positions when they exit.

“People see it as a set future…a power and reputation. I am not against it but given a select few get the fortune of joining civil service, what is the use if one does not have mindset to improve life of citizens,” the PM asked.