Minister meets power, coal, MNRE officials for better synergy

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to ministers to empower the bureaucracy towards improving work culture, Minister of State Piyush Goyal, with independent charge of the ministries of power, coal and new and renewable energy (MNRE), organised a conclave Monday of officers of all three ministries for developing better synergy between them.

"All of us will have to look at ourselves as truly public servants in our effort to change the image of the government, change the image of babu log as people call us," Piyush Goel told officers at the conclave "Sampark, Samanvay evam Samvad" (Connect, Coordinate and Communicate). About 350 officials from the three ministries took part in the meeting.

The new minister asked the officers to "give people confidence that we are responsive to their needs, we are concerned about their problems and we will act judiciously, in a transparent manner."

Saying it was time to move beyond politics to performance, Goel told officials that "we do not have the luxury of time."

"The result should be evident within this year," he added.

The officials, given copies on the occasion of the autobiography of Alex Ferguson, former Scottish football manager who successfully managed Manchester United club for over a quarter century, were also addressed by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.

"We are for poor. They are the new-aspiration class. They have given us mandate and we have to serve them", Javdekar told the conclave.

Author Chetan Bhagat gave a motivational talk to the participants, a power ministry statement said.