“Widespread Changes in Society Call for Continuous Development of Civil Servants” –K Srinivas, IAS, Additional Secretary to Government of India, Dopt
Judicial Quest News Network)
The Special Foundation Course-2021 for 121 All India Services and Central Civil Services Officers, representing 28 States and UTs from across the country, conducted by Dr MCR HRD Institute, Government of Telangana from January 18th to April 30th, 2021, came to an end.
Sri K.Srinivas, IAS, Additional Secretary, Government of India,DoPT,who was Chief Guest at the valedictory function, via virtual mode, said that India’s civil servants, despite their small numbers when compared to global norms, contributed impeccably to enriching the quality of administration.
Sri K.Srinivas referred to the mind-boggling changes that have taken place in different sectors in the recent past and underlined the need for corresponding changes in the role of the Civil Servants. “In this transformed scenario, there is hardly any place for the Civil Servants who are rule-obsessed, change-averse, and prefer working in the culture of silos”, he observed.
Continuing his address, Sri K Srinivas called upon the Civil Servants to change their leadership styles keeping in view the ever-increasing educational levels, wider awareness, and expectation explosion on the part of people in the contemporary society and serve them effectively.
Sri K Srinivas stated that Civil Servants are expected to take decisions in a professional fashion. “Supporting decisions with rational reasoning, maintaining robust records, and sharing the decisions with all stakeholders, as clearly as possible, are the mantras of their wider acceptability”, he opined.
Sri K Srinivas stated that Mission Karmayogior the National Program for Civil Services Capacity Building, which has been recently introduced by Government of India for building the capacity of Government employees, is a step in the right direction. “Mission Karma yogi aims at making them creative, proactive, professional, and technology-enabled, and also aligned to the vision of new India”, he added.
Sri APVN Sarma, IAS(Retd), Advisor to Hon’ble Governor of Telangana, who was the Guest of Honor, stated that the present-day Civil Servants face unprecedented challenges in their functioning. He called upon them to listen to grievances of people patiently and try their best to find enduring solutions to them. He advised them to follow the principles of natural justice and uphold the rule of law. “The Civil Servants need to be extremely discrete regarding their conduct in personal and professional lives in view of the activist role being played by media and civil society”, he observed.
“The widespread belief that private sector is a good paymaster is a myth, whereas, the reality is that the Government not only spends huge funds on civil servants but also provides them a vibrant platform to contribute their optimum best to the nation building initiatives”, he observed.
Sri APVN Sarma stated that merely doing a good job is not enough. He called for a concerted effort at managing the image of civil service in a professional fashion.
Sri Harpreet Singh, IAS, DG, Dr. MCR HRD Institute (FAC) & Principal Secretary to Government, in his Presidential Address, said that while mentors play an important role in the professional development of Officers, self-mentoring is the mantra of successful careers. He advised the Civil servants to take total responsibility of their careers, instead of depending upon others.
Ms Uma Maheshwari G, ICLS bagged the Director General’s Medal for Best All-Round Performance. Sri Arpit R Parakh, ICAS and Yow Peter Raiphea, IP&TAFS received the DG’s Medal for the Highest Aggregate Marks in Written Examination and DG’s Medal for Best Performance in Spots, respectively. Sri APVN Sarma and other dignitaries released the Magazine, Pratyeka, brought out by the House Journal Society
Sri Benhur Mahesh Dutt Ekka, IAS, ADG & Course Director welcomed the gathering and presented a report on the Foundation Course.DrRavulapatiMadhavi, Additional Course Director conducted proceedings of the function and also proposed a vote of thanks.
