PM's call to officers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon government officers to go to the root cause of a problem to find a lasting solution that brings benefit to a large number of people. He made this call while addressing the valedictory function of the 96th Common Foundation Course of newly-recruited civil service officers at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration on Thursday. Taking a dig at the increasing tendency among a section of officers, whether in the IAS or the IPS, to collect personal points rather than working towards the overall welfare of the citizens, the Prime Minister very clearly said that officers should not work for numbers, but the lives of the common people. It is a fact that a section of officers is hardly bothered about the people's problems; this applies to all categories and classes of officers, including those in the state civil and police services. Unfortunately, it also applies to those who are engaged in the 'noble profession' of teaching and imparting knowledge to shape young minds and make them responsible citizens of the future. Many officers do not make any effort to understand the basic issues and root causes of the problems. Instead, this section of officers is busier fulfilling personal ambitions (including becoming rich by all and various means) or satisfying the personal needs of their political masters. Officers being educated and being put through a rigorous training programme after they are recruited through a highly competitive mechanism, are expected to understand issues better than the elected representatives. Moreover, being in the know of how government procedures are followed, officers are also in a much better position to resolve issues in comparison to the elected representatives, a sizable section of whom do not have a basic understanding of things. As such officers are expected to provide the necessary guidance to the elected representatives who are also policy-makers. But then, this is not seen happening most of the time. There is also a section of officers who do not want to take risks and shies away when the time comes for taking crucial decisions. This has not only affected governance but has also led to the erratic implementation of welfare schemes. The only ray of hope is that the majority of officers are not so. But then, even one small rotten mango can cause an entire basket of mangoes to rot.