Narendra Modi government's pep talk to bureaucrats on governance

NEW DELHI: The minister for coal, power and renewable energy, Piyush Goel, has roped in author and columnist Chetan Bhagat to give a motivational talk to some 350 officials ranging from section officers to secretaries at a meeting called to improve coordination among his ministries.

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar was the chief guest at the conclave, Sampark, Samanvya evam Samvad (connect, coordinate and communicate). All three ministries under Goel will have to work closely with the environment and forest ministry for various clearances.

The officers were given copies of former Manchester United football club manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘My Autobiography’.

“It is time to move beyond politics to performance, and that it is necessary to break barriers within the system,” Goel told the officers. “We will have to look at ourselves as truly public servants by sending across a message of clarity, transparency and togetherness to the public to change the image of the government and ‘babu log', as people address officers.”

There is a need to bring officers closer to maintain regular dialogue, develop understanding and bring in better congruence in working, Goel said. “This would help in the exchange of innovative ideas and open a channel of communication and information flow between the three ministries.” According to him, the three ministries under him can together add 1.5-2.0 points to gross domestic product growth.

Javadekar asked the officers to come out of officialdom and work towards nation-building. “Complete trust, freedom to act, clear mandate, time-bound results and real-time crosscheck are essential for effective governance,” said Javadekar, who also stressed on innovations.