Our country is not made of royal systems and royal thrones : Narendra Modi

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said “our country is not made of royal systems and royal thrones”. “The tradition that we have for thousands of years has been a tradition of carrying on the strength of the common man,” he said while speaking after conferring the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration on the occasion of Civil Service Day. Modi suggested all the training academies can virtually share the process and experiences of the award winners on a weekly basis. Secondly, from the award-winning projects, one scheme may be chosen for implementation among few districts and the experience of the same may be discussed in next year’s Civil Service Day. The Prime Minister noted that in the country’s democratic set up, “we should be committed to three goals”. “The first goal is that there should be a change in the life of the common people in the country, their life should be easy and they should also be able to feel this ease. Common people should not have to struggle in their dealings with the government, benefits and services should be available to them without hassle,” he said.

Secondly, given the growing stature and changing profile of India, it is imperative that whatever we do, that should be done in the global context. “If we don’t follow the activities at the global level, it will be very difficult to ascertain our priorities and focus area. We need to develop our schemes and governance models keeping this perspective in mind,” the Prime Minister said. Thirdly, he said “wherever we are in the system, our prime responsibility is the unity and integrity of the country, there cannot be any compromise. Even local decisions should be measured on this touchstone. Every decision of ours should be evaluated on its capacity to provide strength to the country’s unity and integrity. ‘Nation First’ should always inform our decisions”. “Reform in governance should be our natural stance. Governance reforms should be experimentative and as per the needs of the time and country,” he said.

The Prime Minister referred to reduction of obsolete laws and number of compliances as one of his key priorities. “We should not change only under pressure but should try to improve pro-actively. We should not be governed by the regulations and mentality that emerged in the period of scarcity, we should have an attitude of abundance. Similarly, we should anticipate rather than just react to the challenges.” He emphasized that during the last eight years, many big things have happened in the country. “Many of these campaigns are such that there is behavioral change in its origin. I have no temperament of Rajniti but of Janniiti.” Recalling his interaction with Civil Servants for the last 20-22 years, first, as Chief Minister and later, as the Prime Minister, he said it has been a mutually learning experience. Modi underlined the significance of this year’s celebration as it is taking place in the year of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. He asked the administrators to call past district administrators in this special year as “this will infuse new energy in the district and will provide a welcome dynamism in the perspective of district administration informed by the experience of the past”.