Domain expertise, aptitude now key to top govt post: PM's principal secy

The government has quietly ushered in reforms in governance and domain expertise, aptitude and reputation now guide appointments across central government and state-run companies, P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, said on Saturday.

Addressing the convocation ceremony at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Mumbai, Mishra said the strategic shift in the selection process of senior bureaucrats in a credible, fair and objective manner is bringing about a transformative change.

"Domain expertise, aptitude and reputation now guide appointments across the central government and PSUs. He emphasised that these changes have been sustained for nearly a decade, quietly reshaping governance to meet the aspirations of a fast-evolving India," he said.

India is progressing with courage and confidence under Prime Minister Modi's vision of 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047', driven by the mantra of 'Reform, Perform and Transform', he said.

Mishra congratulated MBA, Executive MBA and PhD graduates, and commended the institution's rise to the sixth position among India's IIMs.

He emphasised that success is a collective achievement involving teachers, families and peers.

"This degree carries all their love, patience and support along with your own efforts," he said.

Mishra outlined the complexities of the current economic landscape, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, trade wars, geopolitical tensions, climate change and technological disruptions.

He said India has emerged as a global innovation powerhouse, with over 100 unicorns and 1.9 lakh startups, and listed government initiatives, including the Rs 1 lakh crore Anusandhan National Research Fund, the IndiaAI Mission and the Deep Tech Fund of Funds in this regard.

Focusing on human resource development, Mishra said technical skills alone are not sufficient and underlined the importance of attitude, teamwork, openness, mutual respect, humility, ethics, transparency and objectivity.

"Teamwork is probably much more important than individual brilliance," he said.

On human resource development, Mishra urged graduates to embrace continuous learning, noting that knowledge becomes obsolete in a fast-changing world.

He underscored the challenge of instilling values in large organisations and the need for sustained motivation.

On the evolving architecture of administrative reforms, Mishra said the strategic shift in personnel management since 2014 was aimed at building a 21st-century civil service.

A key reform has been the overhaul of the empanelment process for senior positions such as joint secretary, additional secretary and secretary to the government of India, he said.

Moving beyond the limitations of annual assessment reports, the government has introduced a Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) system in 2016, he said.

This system incorporates evaluations from seniors, juniors, peers and external stakeholders, assessing attributes such as decision-making, ownership, delivery, proactiveness and reputation for integrity.

Mishra said such an approach has widened the talent pool, with strong credibility in the fairness of selections.

He said the discontinuation of personal interviews for Group B and C posts in 2016 has reduced bias and subjectivity in the selection process.

He also elaborated on Mission Karmayogi, which has transformed civil service capacity building through the iGOT Karmayogi platform, now hosting more than 3,300 courses and serving over 1.3 crore users.

Mishra noted that 79 per cent of the onboarded employees are junior-level and over 50 lakh have completed role-specific courses.

He emphasised the integration of course completion into annual performance appraisals and the development of the Karmayogi Competency Model.

Mishra asserted that the reforms prove that even the biggest institutions can be transformed.