Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked civil servants to keep themselves abreast with latest technological developments so as to meet the need for rising standards of public service and demands of citizens.

He was speaking at the launch of the Karmayogi Saptah, the National Learning Week, a part of the government’s Mission Karmayogi which aims at creating human resources that would become the driving force of the country’s development.

Addressing a gathering at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, he expressed satisfaction at the progress made, and said that “if we keep working with this passion, no one can stop the country from making progress.” He said the new learning and experiences during the National Learning Week will provide strength and help in improving working systems which will help achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

The PM discussed the steps taken to change the mindset of the government over the last ten years, and said their impact is being felt by people today. He said this has become possible due to the efforts of the people working in the government and through the impact of steps like Mission Karmayogi.

Mr Modi emphasized that while the world views Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an opportunity, for India, it presents both a challenge and an opportunity. He spoke about two AIs, one being the Artificial Intelligence and the other, Aspirational India. In this context, he stressed the importance of balancing both and said that if “we successfully utilise Artificial Intelligence to drive progress for Aspirational India, it could lead to transformative change.”

The PM said that information equality has become a norm due to the impact of the digital revolution and social media. With AI, information processing is also becoming equally easy, making the citizenry informed and empowering it to keep a tab on all activities of the government. The Mission Karmayogi can prove to be of help to civil servants to meet the need for rising standards and being in touch with latest technology.

Mr Modi stressed the need for innovative thinking and following a citizen-centric approach. He mentioned seeking help from startups, research agencies and youngsters for getting new ideas and asked government departments to have a system of feedback mechanism.

He lauded the iGOT platform and said that more than 40 lakh government employees have registered on the platform. Over 1400 courses are available and more than 1.5 crore certificates of completion in various courses have been received by the officers. He noted that Civil Services training Institutions have been a victim of working in silos. “We have tried to increase partnerships and collaborations among them,” he said.

Mr Modi urged the training institutions to establish proper channels of communication, to learn from each other, discuss and adopt global best practices and inculcate a whole-of-government approach.

The Mission Karmayogi was launched in September 2020 envisioning a future-ready civil service rooted in Indian ethos, with a global perspective.

The National Learning Week (NLW) will provide fresh impetus towards individual and organisational capacity development for Civil Servants creating a “One Government” message and aligning everyone with national goals and promoting lifelong learning.