Anonymity, ability and austerity are the ornaments of a civil servant, said President Droupadi Murmu on Friday while addressing the valedictory function of the 97th Common Foundation Course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. The President is on a two-day visit to Uttarakhand. She said the three qualities would give confidence to young officers throughout their service period, and advised them to be sensitive towards the underprivileged sections of society. Remembering the words of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who in April 1947, while meeting a batch of IAS trainees, had said “we must expect and we have a right to expect the best out of every civil servant in whatever position of responsibility he or she may be”, she said: “Today we can proudly say that the civil servants have lived up to this expectation.” Murmu expressed confidence that the trainee officers will take the responsibility of taking the country forward with a collective spirit. She emphasised the main mantra of the foundation course — “we, not I”. The President said good governance is the need of the hour and the lack of it is the root of most of our social and economic problems. Later in the day, Murmu addressed the 3rd convocation of Doon University in Dehradun. Speaking on the occasion, the President said the progress of any country depends on the quality of its human resource, which itself depends on the quality of education.
