PM Modi laments depts working in silos, settling disputes in courts

PM said there is a need for an institutional arrangement which enables excellence in sports

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked various arms of the government to function in cohesion under a broad vision and lamented that its departments preferred to settle disputes in courts and worked in silos.

"Unfortunately, government departments have a nature of working in silos. Sometimes there are so many silos within the department. There is no coordination between departments. That is why if one department thinks about a particular programme, the other department thinks completely opposite of that.

"Sometimes, two departments of the same government confront each other in court to settle disputes by paying money to lawyers. This is not a healthy situation. It needs to change. And the way to do it is to sit together and in detail, under a broad vision, think about the roles each department needs to play and what results we can bring," Modi said.

He was addressing a conference of Ministers and Secretaries of Tourism, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports of the Union and state governments in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat through video conference from the national capital.

Modi said it was "essential" to understand the work the government was doing, particularly in the context of the changing world.

"It is essential in government that we sit together and understand our work, its nature - how the world is changing, in that scenario where we are standing, where we want to reach. We should regularly evaluate these things," he said.

The Prime Minister said there was a need for an institutional arrangement which enables excellence in sports as every government wants to popularise games.

"What is needed is proper mapping at the district level so that we can understand where is our talent and where is the infrastructure," he said.

Stressing on the need to tap the "enormous potential" of youth in the country, the Prime Minister said they were at the "core" of the digital movement which was going on in the country. The youth, he said, had also imparted strength to the 'Swachh Bharat Mission'.

Talking about the tourism sector, Modi said that India was blessed with immense potential which could draw the world to the country.

"Each state should pick a few destinations and create world class tourism infrastructure and draw the world there," he said, adding India should focus on two types of tourism — traditional and foreign.

Modi lamented that despite having a large number of places significant from the point of view of promoting religious tourism, there was a lack of skill development courses for guides operating there. He underscored the need for "special branding" of India's rich cultural heritage.