National Civil Services Day: What is the history behind the day?

“It is the duty of the bureaucracy to analyse whether a political party is making use of taxpayers’ money for the benefit of their own organisation or the nation’s,” the PM said at the event.

The role of civil servants is crucial as they are responsible for managing the resources given to them by the government, making use of them efficiently and effectively, and ensuring that it reaches people at the grassroots level.

History

National Civil Services Day was first celebrated on April 21, 2006. April 21 was chosen because it is on this day that the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, 1947 addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers at Metcalf House in Delhi. He referred to the civil servants as the “steel frame of India.”

“The days when the foreigners could be masters are over and the officers must be guided by the real spirit of service in their day-to-day administration, for in no other manner can they be fit in the scheme of things,” Patel said while inaugurating the newly created Indian Administrative Service.

Patel also exhorted the civil servants to cultivate an esprit de corps. It means to have a shared feeling of pride among team or group members, and without it, “a Service as such has little meaning.” “A civil servant should regard it as a proud privilege to belong to the Service, covenants of which you will sign, and to uphold throughout your service its dignity, integrity and incorruptibility,” he added.

This year’s awards

As per a press release from the PMO, the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration were given for exemplary work done in four identified priority programmes — Promoting Swachh Jal through Har Ghar Jal Yojana; Promoting Swasth Bharat through Health & Wellness Centres; Promoting quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment through Samagra Shiksha; Holistic Development through Aspirational District Programme – overall progress with special focus on saturation approach.

A total of eight awards were conferred for the above four identified programmes even as seven awards were given for innovations.

As per another press release by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, there were a total of 2520 nominations for the awards. Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh, while addressing the 16th Civil Services Day function at Vigyan Bhawan, appreciated the efforts of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) in ensuring a fair and transparent selection process for the awards.

“The rigorous evaluation process involves multiple rounds of scrutiny, including on-site visits to the nominated organisations. After the evaluation process, a shortlist of candidates is sent to the Prime Minister’s Office for final selection,” he added.