PM Modi exhorts civil servants to be a watchdog over utilisation of funds

Prime Minister Modi credited the civil servants for the transformation that has taken place in the system where roughly Rs 3 lakh crore have been saved from landing in the wrong hands, which is now being used for the welfare of the poor. The Prime Minister emphasised that when time is limited, it becomes very critical to decide the direction and working style.

New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday appealed to civil servants to be a watchdog over the utilisation of funds by the political parties across the country. Stating that a corrupt ecosystem had emerged in the country under the pretext of fake beneficiaries, Modi said, “During the previous governments there were more than four crore fake gas connections, more than four crore fake ration cards, and support was provided to one crore fictitious women and children by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Even fake scholarships were offered to approximately 30 lakh youths by the Ministry of Minority Welfare, and lakhs of fake accounts were created under MGNREGA to transfer the benefits of workers, who never existed.”

Modi was addressing Civil Servants on the occasion of the 16th Civil Services Day in New Delhi on Friday. The Prime Minister conferred the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in public administration and released e-books ‘Viksit Bharat - Empowering Citizens & Reaching the Last Mile' Volume I and II.

Modi credited the civil servants for the transformation that has taken place in the system where roughly Rs 3 lakh crore have been saved from landing in the wrong hands, which is now being used for the welfare of the poor. The Prime Minister emphasised that when time is limited, it becomes very critical to decide the direction and working style. “Today's challenge is not about efficiency but in figuring out how to find and remove deficiencies,” he said.

“Earlier, the thinking was that the government will do everything, now the thinking is that the government will work for everyone,” said Modi highlighting the efficient use of time and resources to serve everyone. “Motto of the government is ‘Nation First-Citizen First’, today’s government’s priority is prioritising the deprived,” the Prime Minister remarked, informing that the government is going up to aspirational districts and aspirational blocks.

Asserting that young officers from the Civil Services are extremely fortunate to serve the nation in this 'Amrit Kaal', Modi said, “The responsibility to accomplish the dreams of every freedom fighter of the nation lies upon every shoulder.” The Prime Minister noted that the occasion of Civil Services Day this year becomes much more special as the nation has completed 75 years of its independence and is starting to move forward to achieve the goals and objectives of a developed India.

He highlighted the contributions of those civil servants, who joined the service 15-25 years ago and emphasised the role of young officers, who will contribute towards nation-building in the next 25 years of 'Amrit Kaal'. “India rising as the fifth largest economy in the world, taking strides in fintech as India is number one in digital transactions, one of the cheapest mobile data countries, and the third largest startup ecosystem in the world,” he said.

He remarked on transformative changes in the rural economy, railways, highways, port capacity augmentation and the number of airports. He said that the awards today reflect the contribution and sense of service of the Karmyogis.

Dwelling on the theme of this year’s Civil Service Day is based on the notion of 'Viksit Bharat', the Prime Minister said that the concept of 'Viksit Bharat' is not limited to modern infrastructure. “It is important for 'Viksit Bharat' that India’s government system supports the aspirations of every Indian and every government servant helps every citizen in realising their dreams and the negativity that was associated with the system in the previous years, turns into positivity,” he said.

Highlighting the importance and necessity of political parties with different ideologies in a democracy, the Prime Minister stressed the need for bureaucracy to assess whether the political party in power is utilising the taxpayers’ money for the benefit of the nation. “The bureaucracy must analyse whether a political party is making use of taxpayers’ money for the benefit of their organisation or the nation’s,” the Prime Minister said.

“If it is using the money to create a vote bank or making the lives of the citizens easier; if it is advertising itself with the government treasure or making the people aware; if it is appointing its party workers in various organisations or creating a transparent process for recruitment, the civil servants need a keep an eye on these,” he added.

Underlining that he has been the head of the government for more than 20 years now, the Prime Minister expressed delight at getting the opportunity to work with civil servants. He emphasized capacity building and expressed happiness that ‘Mission Karmayogi’ has become a huge campaign among all civil servants. He underlined that the Capacity Building Commission is taking this campaign forward with full force and said, “The aim of 'Mission Karmayogi' is to utilise the full potential of civil servants.”

Highlighting the government’s initiative to do away with the protocol of hierarchy, the Prime Minister said that he constantly meets the secretaries, assistant secretaries and trainee officers. He also gave the example of brainstorming camps to increase everyone's participation within the department for new ideas.

Modi highlighted that the issue of officers getting work experience in the Central government on deputation only after living in the states for the first years has been addressed by filling the gap through the assistant secretary programme where young IAS officers now get a chance to work in the Central government at the very beginning of their career.