NEW DELHI: A day after chairing a meeting of the Union Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired the third high-level meeting with Secretaries to the Government of India, reviewing the future action agenda of concerned ministries and departments dealing with infrastructure and connectivity, security and external affairs, and governance.
The Prime Minister noted that deliberations had already been held with two groups of Secretaries and stressed that, besides addressing immediate issues and examining statistics, officials must adopt a long-term perspective on how the country’s future should be shaped.
During the meeting, he discussed the challenge of overcoming silos, emphasising that they are not merely an organisational problem but also a problem of mindset. He said silos could be both horizontal and vertical and stressed that officials must take ownership of their responsibilities while working with a strong sense of belongingness.
Emphasising the importance of collective effort, Prime Minister Modi cited the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and the West Asia crisis, when officials across departments worked together effectively. He said such coordination mechanisms should become a natural part of the government’s work culture rather than being limited to situations of crisis.
The Prime Minister also called for the effective use of Artificial Intelligence while ensuring that human intervention and judgement remain central. He encouraged officials to explore innovative ways of combining the capabilities of AI with human expertise.
He further emphasised that data is a national asset and an important resource for the future. While noting that the government invests considerable resources in collecting, storing and managing data, he said its full potential was not always being realised because of departmental silos and fragmented systems.
Pointing to differences in the way data is collected and managed for different purposes, he called for solutions that would facilitate greater interoperability and enable more effective use of data across government departments.
The Prime Minister also stressed the need for greater engagement between government departments, universities and young people to bring fresh perspectives into policymaking. He said wider interaction with universities and the younger generation could help bring new, unconventional ideas into governance.
He called for greater focus on research and innovation, including in the defence sector, and emphasised the need to further strengthen India’s defence industry and make it more competitive globally. He also stressed the importance of developing innovative defence courses and strengthening human resource development in the sector.
The meeting also witnessed a discussion on the need for a comprehensive approach to strengthening India’s maritime sector. Recalling that shipbuilding had been accorded infrastructure status, the Prime Minister called for an assessment of whether the intended objectives were being achieved in mission mode.
He reiterated the need for India to move from port development to port-led development.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the PM also emphasised better connectivity between manufacturing units and export-oriented units so that India’s manufacturing and export capabilities could fully benefit from its maritime infrastructure.
The Prime Minister reiterated the importance of a whole-of-government approach, greater coordination, innovative thinking and collective ownership in addressing complex challenges and shaping India’s future with a long-term perspective.
He also underlined the importance of informal interaction and building team spirit among officers. He encouraged senior officers to develop greater personal and informal engagement with junior colleagues and build stronger networks across cadres and departments.
During the meeting, the Secretaries shared their experiences regarding sectoral priorities, emerging challenges and implementation-related issues.
The meeting was attended by the Cabinet Secretary, Secretaries of key ministries and departments, and senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office.