Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired the third high-level meeting with Secretaries to the Government of India at his residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, and discussed the future action agenda of ministries and departments dealing with infrastructure and connectivity, security and external affairs, and governance.
Noting that deliberations had already been held with two groups of Secretaries, the Prime Minister said senior officials should look beyond immediate issues and statistics and adopt a long-term perspective on shaping the country’s future.
Addressing the challenge of overcoming departmental silos, PM Modi said the issue was not merely organisational but also related to mindset, with silos existing both horizontally and vertically. He stressed the need for officials to take ownership of their responsibilities and work with a greater sense of belonging and collective purpose.
Highlighting the importance of coordination, the Prime Minister referred to the government’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic and the West Asia crisis, when officials across departments worked together effectively. He said such mechanisms for inter-departmental coordination should become an integral part of the government’s work culture.
PM Modi also called for the effective use of Artificial Intelligence while retaining human intervention and judgement, and urged officials to explore innovative ways of combining AI capabilities with human expertise.
Describing data as a national asset and a resource for the future, the Prime Minister said substantial resources were invested in collecting, storing and managing data, but its full potential was often not realised because of fragmented systems and departmental silos. He pointed to differences in the way data was collected and managed for various purposes and called for greater interoperability and more effective use of data across government systems.
The Prime Minister also emphasised the need for greater engagement between government departments, universities and young people to bring fresh and unconventional perspectives into policymaking.
Calling for increased focus on research and innovation, particularly in the defence sector, Modi said India’s defence industry needed to be further strengthened and made more globally competitive. He also stressed the importance of developing innovative defence-related courses and strengthening human resource development in the sector.
On the maritime sector, the Prime Minister called for a comprehensive approach to strengthening India’s capabilities. Recalling that shipbuilding had been accorded infrastructure status, he asked officials to assess in mission mode whether the intended objectives were being achieved. He reiterated the need for India to move from port development to port-led development.
PM Modi also stressed the importance of improving connectivity between manufacturing and export-oriented units to ensure that India’s manufacturing and export capabilities could fully benefit from the country’s maritime infrastructure.
The Prime Minister concluded by reiterating the need for a whole-of-government approach, greater coordination, innovative thinking and collective ownership to address complex challenges and shape India’s future with a long-term perspective.
He also underlined the importance of informal interaction and team-building among officers, encouraging senior officials to engage more closely with junior colleagues and build stronger networks across cadres and departments.
The Secretaries shared their experiences on sectoral priorities, emerging challenges and implementation issues. The meeting was attended by the Cabinet Secretary, Secretaries of key ministries and departments, and senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office.
