Prime minister Narendra Modi conferred PM Awards for Excellence in Public Administration to civil servants on Thursday. These awards aim to acknowledge, recognise and reward the extraordinary and innovative work done by officers of the central and state governments for the welfare of common people.

• Modi urged the civil servants to not to work in silos and be “the agents of change” in their respective organisations and departments.
  
  

  Only being an administrator & controller is not enough. Everybody, at every level, has to be an agent of change: PM @narendramodi

  — PMO India (@PMOIndia) April 21, 2016

   
• He asked the civil servants to redefine their roles and move beyond the roles of controlling, regulating and managing. “Your mantra must be reform to perform to transform,” he said.
• He also urged civil servants to engage more with people on ground. This will help the government in better implementation of its schemes and initiatives. “Be bold and look at new ways of achieving objectives in the interest of people.” 
  
  

  Initiatives have succeeded when 'Jan Bhagidari' is embraced. Engaging with civil society is very important: PM @narendramodi

  — PMO India (@PMOIndia) April 21, 2016

   
• Recalling the recent Committees of Secretaries which had been formed at his initiative to look into key areas of governance, he said that officers worked on these tasks voluntarily, after office hours and on holidays. He said these teams had successfully broken silos, and presented fresh ideas and suggestions. They had devoted 10,000 manhours to this work, he added.