New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while conferred the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration at Vigyan Bhawan here on Thursday on the occasion of Civil Services Day, said that India at 100 can’t be routine. “This 25-year period should be seen as a unit and we should have a vision from now onwards itself. This year’s celebration should be a watershed,” he said.

“There should be a change in the life of the common people in the country, their life should be easy and they should also be able to feel this ease,” said Prime Minister Modi, adding that “we should be there to handhold at every stage in the common man’s journey of dream to resolve to completion.

“If we don’t follow the activities at the global level, it will be very difficult to ascertain our priorities and focus area. We need to develop our schemes and governance models keeping this perspective in mind. It is the duty of the government system to nurture, unleash and support the capability of the society,” he said.

the Prime Minister said that ‘nation first’ should always inform our decisions. “We should not be governed by the regulations and mentality that emerged in the period of scarcity. We should have an attitude of abundance,” he said.

The Prime Minister recalled that he has been interacting with Civil Servants for the last 20-22 years, first, as Chief Minister and later, as the Prime Minister. It has been a mutually learning experience, he said. Shri Modi underlined the significance of this year’s celebration as it is taking place in the year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. He asked the administrators to call past district administrators in this special year to the district. /BI/