India’s Minister of Personnel says reforms introduced by the Government will create “future-ready employees empowered by digital training platforms”.
Speaking at the country’s first National Training Conclave, Jitendra Singh said the reforms, dubbed Mission Karmayogi, were designed as a comprehensive program, enabling bureaucrats to acquire the skills, knowledge and abilities necessary for delivering high-quality service in a rapidly-evolving world.
“Mission Karmayogi aims to create a competent Civil Service rooted in an Indian ethos, with a shared understanding of the country’s priorities, working in harmonisation for effective and efficient public service delivery,” Mr Singh (pictured) said.
“In a country as diverse as India, there are complex ranges of issues, but it provides the opportunity for Civil Servants to learn and to improve their ability and expertise.”
In his address to representatives of more than 700 national Public Service training institutes across the country, Mr Singh highlighted the various initiatives undertaken by the Government to deliver on the promise of Minimum Government-Maximum Governance.
“The first-ever Capacity Building Commission has been established, fulfilling the need to have a dedicated Agency for improving skills, providing periodic training for Government functionaries,” Mr Singh said.
“We have also done away with the colonial-era practice of requiring a citizen to get certificates and documents attested by a gazetted officer or file affidavits for Government-related work.”
For the first time, giving or taking bribes was a criminal offence, with robust mechanisms to protect an honest and performing officer who acted as a whistleblower, the Minister said.
Meanwhile, the Union Public Service Commission (USPC) has announced that more than 14,600 candidates have qualified in the 2023 preliminary examination for the Public Service.
The USPC conducts the examination annually in three stages — preliminary, main and interview. The final results are usually announced in May of the following year.
New Delhi, 17 June 2023
