Files don't just contain statistics, but life & aspirations of people: PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that files do not contain just the numbers and statistics but they contain life and aspirations of the people.

He was addressing the valedictory function of 96th `Common Foundation Course` at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).

Emphasising the need to embrace the experience from the field as real feelings of the issues of the file come from the field, Prime Minister Modi said: "You do not have to work for numbers but for the lives of the people. The officers should always go to the root cause of the problems and rationale of the rules in order to give a permanent solution."

He also inaugurated the new sports complex and dedicated revamped Happy Valley Complex to the nation. "This period of `Amrit Kaal`, we have to take `Reform, Perform, Transform` to the next level. That is why today`s India is moving ahead with the spirit of `Sabka Prayas`," he said, recalling Mahatma Gandhi`s mantra that every decision should be evaluated on the touchstone of the welfare of the last person in the last line.

The Prime Minister underlined the emerging new world order in the post-pandemic world. "The world is looking towards India at this juncture of the 21st century. In this new world order, India has to increase its role and develop itself at a fast pace," he said.

He asked the officers to keep in mind the importance of this period with special focus on the `biggest goal of the 21st century` i.e. the goal of `Aatmnirbhar Bharat` and `Modern India`. "We can't afford to lose this opportunity", he said.

Referring to the views of Sardar Patel on civil services, the Prime Minister said that a sense of service and duty has been an integral part of the training. "In all your years of service, these factors of service and duty should be the measure of your personal and professional success. Work is never a burden when done with a sense of duty and purpose."

He told the officers that they have come to the service with a sense of purpose and to be a part of a positive change in the context of the society and the country. The Prime Minister gave the officers the task of identifying five-six challenges of their districts at local level and work for those issues and said that identification of the challenges is the first step in the rectification of the challenges.

He stressed the need for coordination in various infrastructure projects and said that the PM Gatishakti Master Plan will address it to a great extent.The Prime Minister mentioned the new reforms in the sphere of civil services i.e. Mission Karmyogi and Aarambh Programme.

"The officers should pray that they never get an easy assignment as a challenging job has its own joys. The more you think of going to the Comfort Zone, the more you will stop your progress and the progress of the country," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister advised the officers to record their aspirations and plans at the time of their departure from the Academy to revisit them after 25 or 50 years to evaluate the level of achievement.

He also asked for the inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) related courses and resources in the syllabus as future problems will have a huge element of data science and ability to sift through that data.

The 96th Foundation Course is the first Common Foundation Course at LBSNAA based on the principles of `Mission Karmayogi`, with new pedagogy and course design. The batch comprises 488 OTs from 16 services and three Royal Bhutan Services (Administrative, Police and Forest). All 488 Officer Trainees (OT) were given first level training in `Krav Maga` and in various other sports.