Bureaucrats should remain apolitical: Govt

The government today asked the bureaucrats to remain apolitical to give people a fair deal of governance and said the conduct and the role of a public servant should be more responsive and proactive.
Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh while inaugurating the 40th Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) for the Indian Administrative Service, allied services and defence service officers, suggested that in order to give people a fair deal of governance, bureaucracy has to remain apolitical and while bureaucrats ought to ensure this it is also for all of us to avoid any possible tendency to politicise the bureaucracy.

"The world itself is changing and upon this, the Indian democracy comprising of 1,200 million people is itself the most complex political society in the world and the bureaucratic setup here is perhaps the most difficult than in any other country of the world," Singh was quoted as saying in an official statement, issued after the event.
"Even though the IAS was inherited from the ICS of British Raj, the responsibilities and obligations expected from an IAS officer in the Indian set-up are much more diverse and onerous," he said.
The aim of the programme is to develop inter-personal skills, leadership qualities and social sensitivity.

He said the new government's focus under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shifted from government to governance and therefore courses like this were the need of the hour.
The minister emphasised on transparency and accountability in governance as he said conduct and the role of a public servant today is to be more responsive and proactive.
"An extra effort is required to brush aside the popular notion that bureaucracy is ridden with red tapism and slow disposal of file work," he said.