The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today informally met all Secretaries – the topmost officers of Ministries of the Government of India.
Making a strong pitch to rise above the “administrative mechanisms of earlier centuries”, the Prime Minister said the Secretaries had an opportunity to transform the lives of one-sixth of humanity. He asked them to identify concrete goals to be achieved by 2022 – the seventy-fifth anniversary of independence.
The Prime Minister exhorted the Secretaries to work beyond the silos of their respective Ministries for the development of the country. Giving examples such as Financial Inclusion (Jan Dhan Yojana) and Universal Immunization (Mission Indradhanush), the Prime Minister said the some of the best results in the last three years had been achieved when the entire Government machinery worked in unison, as a team. He said institutions must be made outcome-oriented.
On Swachhta Abhiyan, the Prime Minister said that the biggest groundswell of support has come from the people, and that is driving change at the administrative level.
The Prime Minister said the advent of GST on July 1st marks a turning point in the country’s history. He asked the Secretaries to proactively prepare for this transformation, to ensure a smooth transition.
The Prime Minister said the world is looking at India differently today, and this is a unique opportunity which should not be missed. Let us build mechanisms to meet global expectations, he asked the Secretaries.
Shri Narendra Modi also called for a mission mode approach to the 100 most backward districts in India. He said specific goals should be set on various parameters in definite short timeframes for these districts.
Union Ministers Shri Rajnath Singh, Shri Arun Jaitley, Smt. Sushma Swaraj, and Shri Nitin Gadkari also addressed the Secretaries.
Earlier, Secretaries also made some suggestions on various sectors of governance.
