SME Times News Bureau | 24 Jan, 2020
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu called for a
total war on corruption and described corruption as a major canker which skews
growth and development, deepens poverty and increases inequality.
Delivering the ‘IC Centre for Governance Sardar
Patel Lecture Naidu said that various transformative policies and programmes
like Beti Bachao, Beti Padao, Ayushman Bharat, Goods and Services Tax and
‘Swachh Bharat’ are aimed at accelerating the progress and empowering people.
“We can accomplish the desired goals only if we
have a robust governance system and there is an unflinching commitment to
excellence at every level”, he added.
He asked the bureaucracy to be more proactive and
ensure that there was no gap in the intent, execution and delivery of various
services to the people.
Observing that it was critical for the state
institutions to be agile, adaptable and resilient in the rapidly changing 21st
century, he called for strengthening program implementation, improving
competence and credibility of institutional structures and adopting a work
ethic that keeps national interest at the top and public welfare at its core.
Wondering whether degeneration in moral and
social values in the society has led to a general decline in the functioning of
public services at every level, Naidu called for an introspection and said that
it was imperative to initiate a movement of ethics at all levels in governance
of the country.
The Vice President said that there was a need to
foster public trust in institutions and the integrity of public officials,
while injecting greater accountability into decision-making. “I feel that it is
imperative that a movement of ethics is initiated at all levels in governance
of the country”, he added.
Asserting that people must be at the center of an
effective and just governance system, Shri Naidu called for efforts to ensure
that the poorest of the poor and most deserving gets the benefits of government
schemes. “Perhaps, we need Process Reengineering in governance. We don’t have
to change the system, as is being suggested in some quarters, but we have to
make the system work better”, he added.
Paying glowing tributes to Sardar Patel, he
described him as the unifier and Iron Man of modern India.
Observing that India owed a huge debt of
gratitude to Sardar Patel for unifying the nation into a
single territorial entity, Naidu said that nothing mattered more to Sardar
Patel than the interests of the nation.
The Vice President said that Sardar Patel wanted
the All India Services, which he conceived as a ‘steel-frame’ of the nation, to
provide people-centric governance. “With a clear vision for an efficient
administrative system, Sardar Patel wanted the civil servants to maintain the
highest standards of probity and efficiency and strive to uplift the conditions
of the poor without any fear or favour”, he added.
In this context he recalled that the accession of
Jammu and Kashmir to Indian Union was total, final and irrevocable. He also
pointed out that Article 370 was only a temporary provision and said that it
had outlived its purpose long back.
The Vice President said that unity and consensus
on larger issues facing the country was the need of the hour. He advised people
to develop a positive outlook and not become cynical. He urged the youngsters
in particular to adopt a constructive approach towards nation building.
