The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has informally met all Secretaries – the topmost officers of Ministries of the Government of India.
Making a strong pitch to all the Secretaries present, the Prime Minister said the Secretaries have an opportunity to transform the lives of one-sixth of humanity. He asked them to identify concrete, outcome-oriented goals to be achieved by 2022 – the seventy-fifth anniversary of independence.
The Prime Minister encouraged the Secretaries to work beyond the silos of their respective Ministries for the development of the country. Giving examples such as Financial Inclusion (Jan Dhan Yojana) and Universal Immunization (Mission Indradhanush), the Prime Minister said the some of the best results in the last three years had been achieved when the entire Government machinery worked as a team.
On Swachhta Abhiyan, the Prime Minister said that the biggest groundswell of support has come from the people, and that is driving change at the administrative level. He also said that the advent of GST on July 1st will mark a turning point in the country’s financial history. He asked the Secretaries to proactively prepare for this transformation, to ensure a smooth transition.
The Prime Minister in his speech also said that the world is looking at India differently today, and this is a unique opportunity which should not be missed. He called for a mission mode approach to the 100 most backward districts in India and said that specific goals should be set on various parameters in definite short timeframes for these districts.
Union Ministers Shri Rajnath Singh, Shri Arun Jaitley, Smt. Sushma Swaraj, and Shri Nitin Gadkari also addressed the Secretaries.
