Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said that officers with the capacity to take initiatives with a long term, broader vision and mobilise collective efforts will help achieve the vision of Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar Bharat. Delivering the key-note address to the participants of the first ever Common Mid-Career Programme at LBSNAA, Mussoorie, he said, 150 odd officers of this course are going to be the architects of Modi’s New India.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, the officers are privileged to get common training during 75th Year of India’s Independence and added, they had eventful 20 to 25 years ahead to serve when India turns 100 and realises Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of taking the country to the top league in the global arena. He said, to exercise collaborative leadership of the kind essential for our country, the course has brought into focus importance of aspects such as deep listening, empathy, presenting, reflective inquiry and collective creativity.

Recalling the visit of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi to LBSNAA on this day in 2017, Dr Jitendra Singh said, a variety of subjects such as administration, governance, technology and policy-making were discussed and the Shri Narendra Modi stressed on the need for them to develop a national vision.

Laying stress on Integrated Approach, Dr Jitendra Singh said, this was suitably demonstrated by 130 Crore Indians in the fight against COVID-19. He said, in today’s challenging times, there is a need for integrating our skills, thought process and work culture as the era of silos is over. He said, India symbolises plurality of culture, society, and geography and yet, it represent a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, practices, and culture. Therefore, need to keep common set of goals & approach to develop our nation in all aspects economic, social and organisational, he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, this is the era of skill and knowledge and therefore, it is important to continuously upgrade the relevant skills as it will create a tremendous opportunity in governance to the meet the new challenges. He added that every officer must determine their own path of self-guided learning in the spirit of Mission Karmayogi. The Minister pointed out that the attempt of this course is to enable you to de-learn and re-learn all the facets of leadership that you will need in the coming years of your career, to not only deliver as individuals, but to be able to fundamentally shift the thinking and working styles of all the teams you will be leading in future.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, the old ways of running a Department/ Ministry have to give way to the needs of a post–COVID world. Therefore, he added that there is a need to create leaders who can navigate the changing ecosystem as defined above and at the same time, using new skill sets and partnerships, lead the country towards achieving its aims and aspirations.

In his address, Shri K Srinivas Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) said that the entire course has been built around leadership. He said, the mid-career collaborative arrangement will lead to common approach to face present and future challenges in an effective manner.

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