What you are doing is not a job but a service: Modi to Indians

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday honoured civil servants for excellence in implementing government's key projects in New Delhi on the occasion of Civil Services Day.

The Prime Minister's awards for excellence in public administration have been instituted with a view to acknowledge, recognise and reward the extraordinary and innovative work done by officers of the Central and State Governments for the welfare of common citizen.

"It is important to create trust among people, in all districts of the nation. We should work to overcome all obstacles and create an atmosphere where everyone can contribute. The energy of 125 crore Indians will take the nation ahead," the PM said at the event.
Stressing that engaging with civil society is very important, PM Modi said, "Only being an administrator and controller is not enough. Everybody, at every level, has to be an agent of change. What you are doing is not a 'job', it is a service. He also encouraged civil servants to experiment in order to bring in changes in the system.

This time, a new category of excellence in implementing priority programmes has been added to the Prime Minister's awards. It includes the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna, Swachh Bharat Mission, Swachh Vidyalaya and Soil Health Card Scheme.

A total of ten districts will be awarded this year under the four Priority Programmes.These awards will be given in three Groups - the first group consists of eight North-Eastern States and the three Hill States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.The remaining 18 States constitute the second Group while the third Group comprises of the seven Union Territories.