‘In the recent years there has been a sort of “democratisation” of Civil Services and other avenues due to technology driven accessibility to preparatory material. This has enabled even the aspirants from remotest parts of India to make it to IAS and other All India Services”, said Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Friday. He said this while addressing the IAS Probationers at the 98th Foundation Course of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA). The training has brought together 560 Officer Trainees from IAS including 16 Civil Services of India and 3 Civil Services of Bhutan, being conducted at Kevadiya, Gujarat.
Continuing his speech the DoPT minister said, “Technology has been the biggest leveller, with mobile phone and internet penetrating the countryside and everybody gaining access to knowledge. This new trend will have a bearing on our future as well.”
He also pointed out that the demography of the entire Civil Services has changed. The toppers are from Punjab, Haryana. “All three toppers of Civil Services Exam were all girls and from different States of India, earlier it was confined to a handful of States,” said Dr Jitendra.
He also that the focus of the Government, under the leadership of PM Modi, has been on transparency, accountability and in-time delivery of services by the Government. Now Civil Services officers have to turn into instruments of public service delivery of the Government’s citizen centric schemes.
The minister also praised the three-month mandatory stint of new IAS Officers with the Central Ministries / Departments idea of PM Modi in 2015 which is to expose officers of the top echelons of the Government at the commencement of their training.
