WELCOME ADDRESS
by
CABINET SECRETARY

Respected Prime Minister, Hon’ble Minister for Communications & Information Technology, Hon’ble Minister for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Secretary, Administrative Reforms & Pensions, Secretary, Posts, Distinguished colleagues, Ladies & Gentlemen,

Allow me to extend to everyone a very warm welcome on the 3^rd Civil Service Day, my distinguished predecessors, former Cabinet Secretaries, other distinguished Civil Servants, representatives of the media, Secretaries to Government, other invitees and guests.

For the 3^rd year in succession, we are privileged and honoured by the presence of the Hon’ble Prime Minister at this inaugural function.  His presence here is a reflection of his deep-rooted conviction that the Civil Services constitute the implementing arm of Government and that it is our responsibility to ensure that the policy objectives of Government are achieved, that the benefits of various Government programmes reach the people for whom they are intended.  The Hon’ble Prime Minister has conveyed repeatedly his strong belief that the administrative executive, represented by the Civil Services, must function with dignity, with objectivity, impartiality and compassion.  The Minister for Communications & Information Technology presides over a Ministry that is closely linked to administrative transformation through technology.  Tomorrow, I will discuss with Chief Secretaries the ways in which work on our e-governance projects, monitored by the Department of Information Technology, can be speeded up.  In the new Minister of State for Personnel, we have a man who is a complete professional.  As a member of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Space Commission, I have often marveled at the depth of his knowledge and his capacity to absorb even minute technical details.

This is the 3^rd Civil Service Day that we are celebrating.  On the very first occasion, my predecessor, in his welcome speech, had mentioned that this was a day of “self evaluation, even as we identify better ways of doing things”.  While we celebrate our achievements and our contributions to the making of modern India, we need also to honestly introspect and examine what we are, what role we play and how we can take the administrative system to greater heights of excellence.

Above all, it is necessary for us to recognize that we are all parts of one integrated system, each with a role, each with an important contribution to make.  The ultimate goal is rapid economic growth and, in the last few years, we have achieved growth rates such as we had never dreamt of even a couple of decades ago.  Despite late starts in many areas, we have not only caught up with global leaders, we have even overtaken them and powered ahead.  At the same time, we have built institutions that endure, that impart stability and continuity.  Such change, inspired and led by policy-makers, such as our respected Prime Minister, would not have been possible but for contributions made by civil servants working quietly unobtrusively and with dedication in their respective areas.  Each segment of the Civil Service has contributed to the other.  Our officers in the field in the Districts and in States, have contributed in no small measure in finding new ways of solving problems and in streamlining and speeding up the process of administration. At the centre, the process of liberalization was translated into concrete action points by this generation of civil servants. These changes would not have been possible but for the atmosphere of security engendered by our Police and our Defence Services.  And how could we have built the infrastructure, laid the foundations for growth, but through effective revenue mobilization by our Civil Servants engaged in tax collection?  And could the wheels of commerce and trade have moved so smoothly but for the dedication of our Railwaymen, our engineers, and our technical people?  Our diplomats, too, have played their role, projecting national interests, making sure that we have our legitimate position on global platform.

The future of this country demands that we Civil Servants work together to bring growth to our people with distributive justice, with care and compassion towards the least privileged of our citizens.  We have to work together as a team, transcending personal or sectional interests, with consciousness of the larger cause that we serve.  We may come under criticism, pejorative expressions may be used again us, but we must remain true to our profession, and its ideals and give of our best, with complete objectivity, integrity and fairness towards all, and a deep, abiding commitment to our Constitution and the ideals it enshrines It was Abraham Lincoln, who said, “I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me”.

The Civil Service Day, as I have said, is a day on which to reflect and introspect.  It is a day on which we have to re-emphasize the essential unity of all Services and the synergy and the momentum we can generate through collective mobilization of our strengths.  In today’s deliberations, we have introduced a strong participative element. We also have with us distinguished experts, both from academics and from the private sector, who can give us a new perspective by sharing their experiences.  Our theme is “Innovations in Administration”.  The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances have brought out a publication containing articles relating to the theme.  The Department of Posts is releasing a postal stamp and the first day cover.  Doordarshan has produced a film highlighting some major innovations made by administrators belonging to different services and from different parts of the country and you will see an abridged version of this film later in the morning.  While the Civil Service Day has hitherto been a national event once a year, I think it is time we thought of extending the concept to our State Capitals so that our Civil Servants can collectively look at aspects of administration relevant to particular regions and, indeed, to the nation as a whole, and exchange experiences in innovative administration. I am sure the Department of Administrative Reforms, together with the State Governments, can set in motion a mechanism for regular meetings of this nature at the State level also.

With these words, I conclude by hoping that the deliberations during the course of the day would help us develop new administrative tools for the benefit of our nation.