Dr Jitendra Singh |
He was speaking after inaugurating the Academy’s new block “Aadharshila” .
Dwelling on the history of civil services in India, Dr Jitendra Singh observed that it has been a long journey since the times when the British introduced the Indian Imperial Service or Indian Civil Service (ICS) over a century and a half ago and said, the brief and responsibilities of a civil servant of British India and that of independent India are basically apart from each other. Citing an example, he said, during British Raj, a civil servant was expected to collect revenue for the empire and that is why he was known as “Collector” but in independent India, he is expected to generate revenue for public welfare and that is why he is often referred as “District Development Commissioner”.
Similarly, during British Raj, a Collector was supposed to assert the writ of empire on the masses, whereas in independent India, he is supposed to act as a bridge between people’s aspirations and the decision making political establishment,he added
Referring to the relationship between bureaucracy and political establishment, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it has to be symbiotic and not contradictory, so that the two vital pillars of democracy can supplement each other’s role without acting at cross purposes. Acts of omission or commission begin to take place only when there are dubious intentions or a dubious nexus, he cautioned.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also referred to some of the current issues, including lack of faculty at the Academy and DoPT’s decision to revise the syllabus and pattern of Civil Services exam. He said, all these steps are intended to make the IAS officers better suited to serve the contemporary India’s requirements.
Director LBSNAA Rajeev Kapoor and Senior Deputy Directors Roli Singh, Jaspreet Talwar, M.H. Khan and Ravi Shankar also spoke on the occasion.