Create India of freedom fighters' dreams, PM tells young IAS officers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked young IAS officers to focus on subjects such as GST implementation and boosting digital transactions and urged them to work towards creating by 2022 an India the freedom fighters dreamt of.

Modi's observation came as Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the 2015 batch made presentations before him as part of their valedictory session as Assistant Secretaries, a newly-created initiative to groom the officers before they report to their allotted cadres.

Eight selected presentations on different themes such as rapid response for accident victims, tracking individual carbon footprints, financial inclusion, improving rural incomes, data-driven rural prosperity, heritage tourism, railway safety, and central armed police forces were made.

Modi said it was significant that junior- and senior-most officers were spending time communicating with each other and urged the young officers to learn from these interactions.

He urged all officers to speed up the adoption of Government e-Marketplace (GeM) in their respective departments. He said this would eliminate middlemen, and result in savings for the government.

Giving examples of open defecation free (ODF) targets and rural electrification, the Prime Minister urged the officers to work towards 100 per cent achievement of targets.

Modi said that officers who have risen from humble backgrounds should meet young students and motivate them.

He said that the key aim of officers is the welfare of the nation and its citizens. He urged the officers to work with team spirit, and create teams wherever they go.

--IANS

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