Speech of Thiru A. Raja, Hon’ble Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology at the release of commemorative postage stamp to mark Civil Service Day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 21^st April, 2008 at  09.30 A.M.

         Hon’ble Prime Minister of India; Esteemed Colleagues; Distinguished Civil Servants of India; and Friends.

         According to Thiruvalluvar, the Saint Poet who wrote Thirukkural thousands of years back,

         “If the King regularly exercises control and ensures that His  executives  act  straight, Everything in his kingdom         will automatically go right”

         Though Thiruvalluvar is talking in terms of monarchial set up, yet it is clear through this couplet that the personnel who man the organization are as important as the organization itself for the success of the State.  The configuration of authority and system of recruitment may vary in different genres of Government from appointment by inheritance or patronage to recruitment by merit but the history of public administration testifies that no State of any extent can be rules without a bureaucracy.

        Scholars across different schools of thought acknowledge that four elements are central to any bureaucracy.  Primary among these is a personnel system with consistent patterns of recruitment and stable linear careers, the other three being a well-defined division of labour; a hierarchy; and formal and informal networks including information flows and patterns of cooperation.

        The Civil Service of India is a sterling example of meritocracy that regards the Weberian values of integrity, impartiality, impersonality and merit as its guiding principles.  The role of Civil Service has metamorphosed from mere administration and regulation to facilitation of progress and from allegiance to the Crown-to the allegiance to the people.  The Department of Posts has endeavored to live up to its motto “Service before Self”.  I would like to take this opportunity to mention here that the Department has brought out a beautiful Postage Stamp to Commemorate the Civil Service, and to pay a tribute to the values that the Civil Service symbolizes.  The stamp depicts the Ashoka emblem, the Lion Capitol, a symbol of power, courage and confidence of the people of India against a background of the wheel that portrays the timeless values of rightcousness and justice, motion and progress.  The Lion Capitol has been embossed on the stamp, which is a philatelic innovation.

        The Department  of Posts, in its relentless effort to bring about systematic improvement in its quality of service and customer care, is  the first Government Organization that has been granted ‘Sevottam’ certification under IS:15700:2005.  Sevottam, as we all know, is a Service Delivery Excellence Model developed by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances that stresses upon improvement in three key areas of the Citizens’ Charter, Public Grievance redressal and Service Delivery capabilities.  The Bureau of Indian Standards, after a rigorous audit, has recommended New Delhi GPO i.e. Gol Dak Khana for the certification and I am proud to announce that with this, the Department of Posts has become a pioneer in bringing about systematic improvement in delivery of service which is a thrust area of the Government today.

        Ladies and Gentlemen, the hallmark of robust Civil Service is an incessant process of review, reform and improvement.  The observance of Civil Service Day on 21^st April, every year is one such opportunity for introspection and I understand that panel discussions will be held on subjects that are extremely significant to Civil Service reform.  I would like to once again state that Department of Posts considers it a proud privilege to bring out a commemorative postage stamp to mark this occasion.

        May I now request Hon’ble Prime Minister of India to kindly release the stamp!