India needs to buck up on growth as World leaves Pandemic Behind

PM Modi today said India has to increase its role and develop itself fast in the new post-pandemic world order as the global community was looking towards this country at this juncture of the 21st century. Addressing the valedictory function of the 96th Common Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) at Mussoorie via video conferencing, Modi urged the officers to keep in mind the importance of this period with special focus on the biggest goal of the 21st century, that of Aatmnirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) and modern India. "We can't afford to lose this opportunity," he added. https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1504378513243136004?t=OIXdVhM39IWZOsomO8Fcyg&s=19 The Prime Minister also inaugurated the new sports complex and dedicated the revamped Happy Valley complex to the nation. Noting that this batch was entering active service in the year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (75th year of independence), he said, "Your batch will play a key role in the nation's development in the Amrit Kaal of the next 25 years." Referring to the views of Sardar Patel on the civil services, he said the sense of service and duty has been an integral part of the training. "In all your years of service, service and duty should be the measure of your personal and professional success," he added. Work is never a burden when done with a sense of duty and purpose. The officers have joined the service with a sense of purpose and to be a part of a positive change in the context of the society and the country, he noted. The Prime Minister emphasized the need to embrace the experience from the field as a real feel of the issues of the file come from the field. The files not only contain the numbers and statistics but also the life and aspirations of the people. "You do not have to work for numbers but for the lives of the people," he said. He urged the officers to always go to the root cause of the problems and rationale of the rules to develop a permanent solution. "In this period of Amrit Kaal, we have to take Reform, Perform, Transform to the next level. That is why today's India is moving ahead with the spirit of ‘Sabka Prayas'." He also referred to Mahatama Gandhi's mantra that every decision should be evaluated on the touchstone of the welfare of the last person in the last line. The Prime Minister gave the officers the task of identifying 5-6 challenges of their districts at the local level and working for those issues. Identification of the challenges is the first step in their rectification. He gave the example of the government's identification of challenges of providing pucca houses and electricity connection for the poor, addressed by schemes like PM Awas Yojana, Saubhagya Scheme and schemes for Aspirational Districts. He also talked of the new determination of saturation of these schemes. He stressed the need for coordination in various infrastructure projects and said the PM Gatishakti Master Plan will address it to a great extent. Referring to the new reforms in the sphere of civil services Mission Karmyogi and Aarambh Programme, he said the officers should pray that they should never get an easy assignment as a challenging job has a joy of its own. "The more you think of going to the comfort zone, the more you will hinder your progress and that of the country," he added. He urged them to record their aspirations and plans at the time of their departure from the Academy to revisit them after 25 or 50 years to evaluate the level of achievement. He also asked for the inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-related courses and resources in the syllabus as future problems will have a huge element of data science and the ability to sift through that data. The 96th Foundation Course is the first Common Foundation Course at LBSNAA based on the principles of Mission Karmayogi, with a new pedagogy and course design. The batch comprises 488 OTs from 16 services and 3 Royal Bhutan Services (Administrative, Police and Forest). The Mission Karmayogi pedagogy has been designed to harness the adventurous and innovative spirit of the youth. Emphasis was put on transforming the Officer Trainee from a student /citizen into a public servant through initiatives like interaction with Padma Awardees in the spirit of "Sabka Prayas" and village visits for an immersive experience of rural India. Officer Trainees also visited villages in remote/border areas to understand the challenges faced by people living in those areas. A modular approach to the curriculum was adopted in consonance with the principle of continuous graded learning and self-guided learning. In addition to health tests, fitness tests were also carried out to support the transition of an "exam burdened student" to a "healthy youthful civil servant". All 488 Officer Trainees were given first-level training in Krav Maga and various other sports. Source-NNN