New Delhi: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, has called for continued efforts to make government service rules and systems more responsive to the needs of employees and their families.
Welcoming the ‘CSS Shield’ initiative launched by the Central Secretariat Service (CSS) Forum, the official representative body of Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officers, the Minister said collective support within the service community can create a new culture of standing by families during times of sudden loss.
He said the mechanism behind the initiative is not difficult to implement and that its success would depend primarily on the collective will and willingness of colleagues to contribute. When members of a service community come together as one family to support a bereaved family, he said, the message extends beyond the organisation itself.
Dr Jitendra Singh Presents Financial Assistance to Two Families
Dr Jitendra Singh was speaking at an event organised by the CSS Forum to formally launch CSS Shield, a mutual-support initiative aimed at providing financial assistance to the bereaved families of CSS officers.
The programme was attended by office-bearers and members of the CSS Forum, serving CSS officers and their colleagues, besides family members of late Mohan Chandra Bhatt and late Rajendra Chandra.
As part of the launch, Dr Jitendra Singh presented financial assistance to the families of the two deceased officers.
The initiative has been conceived as a structured mechanism through which members of the Central Secretariat Service can extend financial and other forms of support to the families of colleagues who pass away while serving.
Minister Calls for Service Rules to Remain Responsive
Dr Jitendra Singh said CSS Shield is aligned with the broader effort of the Personnel Ministry to ensure that government service systems remain responsive to the changing needs of employees and their families.
According to the Minister, several service-related provisions have been modified in recent years to reflect contemporary requirements. He added that the Government remains open to introducing new provisions or modifying existing rules wherever such changes can make the system more sensitive and responsive.
Referring to the approach under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dr Jitendra Singh said there is continuous encouragement to review rules and procedures and make changes wherever existing arrangements can be improved.
The objective, he said, is to ensure that government systems do not remain static but continue to respond to the practical requirements and circumstances faced by employees and their families.
‘CSS Shield’ Built Around Collective Support
The CSS Shield initiative has been developed around the principle “Contribute for Family, Support with Dignity.”
Its objective is to create a more structured, dependable and predictable mechanism for providing financial assistance to families of deceased CSS officers.
The initiative seeks to institutionalise the spirit of mutual support that has existed among members of the service, while giving it a more organised framework.
Dr Jitendra Singh said such an initiative reflects the idea of a service community functioning like a family, particularly when one of its members is lost.
He also suggested that CSS Shield could acquire a wider dimension as participation increases and its financial corpus grows.
Scholarships for Children of Deceased Officers Proposed
Looking beyond immediate financial assistance, the Minister suggested that scholarships for the children of deceased CSS officers could also be considered under the initiative.
Such support could help families beyond the immediate period following the death of an officer and provide continued assistance for the education of their children.
The suggestion opens the possibility of CSS Shield evolving from an immediate relief mechanism into a broader welfare initiative for bereaved families.
CSS Officers Contributed ₹1.30 Crore Since 2020
Representatives of the CSS Forum explained that the service community had already been extending assistance to bereaved families through voluntary contributions even before the formal launch of CSS Shield.
The need for a more structured mechanism became particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a number of CSS officers lost their lives.
Since 2020, CSS officers have collectively contributed approximately ₹1.30 crore towards financial assistance for the families of around 65–70 deceased officers, according to the Forum.
The formal launch of CSS Shield is intended to bring greater consistency and predictability to this support while creating a mechanism that can be sustained through wider participation.
Forum Plans Minimum ₹15 Lakh Support Per Family
Under the newly formalised initiative, the CSS Forum aims to provide at least ₹15 lakh to a bereaved family.
The Forum’s larger objective is to progressively increase the level of assistance as participation in the initiative grows.
The Central Secretariat Service has approximately 13,000 members, and the Forum expects broader participation from the service community to significantly strengthen the corpus and expand the assistance that can be extended to affected families.
The model is therefore based on collective contribution, with the strength of the support increasing as more members participate.
Tribute Paid to Mohan Chandra Bhatt and Rajendra Chandra
The launch programme also paid tribute to late Shri Mohan Chandra Bhatt and late Rajendra Chandra, whose families received assistance under the initiative.
Bhatt had served in various capacities in the Central Secretariat Service as well as other government organisations during his career.
Late Rajendra Chandra had served for around two decades in the Administration Division of the Department of Revenue.
The programme recalled their contributions and service and used the occasion to reinforce the importance of institutional support for the families of government employees who lose their lives.
‘Together We Serve, Together We Support’
The formal launch of CSS Shield marks an effort by the CSS Forum to give an organised shape to the long-standing tradition of colleagues supporting one another during difficult times.
By establishing a structured financial-support mechanism, the Forum aims to ensure that bereaved families do not have to rely solely on individual or ad hoc contributions following the loss of a CSS officer.
The initiative also seeks to strengthen the sense of community within the service and reinforce the principle that professional service extends beyond the workplace.
The launch concluded with a reaffirmation of the CSS Forum’s commitment to standing with its members and their families during difficult times and strengthening the spirit of “Together We Serve, Together We Support.”
About CSS Forum
The CSS Forum (Central Secretariat Service Forum) is the official representative body of all Central Secretariat Service officers in India, consisting of approximately 12,000 Central Government officers. It is officially registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. The forum serves as a collective voice for Group B and Group A officers deployed across various Central Ministries and Departments within the Government of India.
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