Modi meets Secretaries of all Ministries, urges them to make procedures people-friendly

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called upon senior bureaucrats to simplify and streamline the administrative rules and procedures to make them people-friendly and stressed the need to identify and do away with archaic rules.

At a meeting with Secretaries of all Ministries and senior officers of the Departments of the Union Government, he emphasised the need for team spirit and urged them to be leaders of their teams.

This was the first time in more than eight years that such a meeting had been held by a Prime Minister.

A press release from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Mr Modi listened carefully to suggestions and comments of the Secretaries for nearly two and a half hours.

He empathised with the sentiment expressed by many of the Secretaries and their anguish at not being able to realize their true potential because of circumstances. He expressed full faith in their commitment and competence to build a better future for the country.

Mr Modi encouraged the officers to take decisions and assured them that he would stand by them. He added that in the process of governance, ideas should be converted into institutions because institutions last longer than individuals. 

However, he clarified that there may be rules and processes which have become outdated and, instead of serving the process of governance, they are leading to avoidable confusion. He stressed upon the need to identify and do away with such archaic rules and procedures. 

He said the process of governance of his government should begin with cleaning-up of the offices, improving the workplace, which would automatically result in a better work culture and efficient services to the citizens. 

The Prime Minister emphasized the need for use of technology for greater efficiency and effectiveness in administration. He said that, in a democracy, redressal of citizens' grievances is very important, and information technology can help greatly in this regard. 

He said that through use of technology, and better understanding among departments, administrative and schematic convergence is possible. Only through collective action, faster results can be achieved, he said.

Mr Modi said that he would always be ready to give an account of the work being done by him. The senior bureaucrats echoed this sentiment and welcomed a similar standard of accountability. 

The Prime Minister said that he was accessible to all officers and encouraged them to approach him with their inputs and ideas. 

NNN