Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated the work done by Secretaries to the central government during the last ten months, during an informal interaction with them.
The interaction, which was followed by high tea, was held on the Panchvati lawns at 7, Race Course Road.
In the course of the interaction, the Prime Minister described the assembled officers, as one team, and appreciated the good work done by the team over the last ten months. In particular, the Prime Minister mentioned the success of coal block auctions, and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
He once again urged all secretaries to consult each other regularly, to eliminate silos, if any, and speed up the process of decision-making. He said a "communication gap" in this team was absolutely untenable.
The Prime Minister reiterated his view that officers in the Government should have the freedom and protection for objective, honest decision-making, and said efforts were being made to ensure this.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya, Member of NITI Aayog Bibek Debroy, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Nripendra Misra, and Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister P.K. Mishra, were present.