PM Modi asks secretaries to break departmental silos, adopt long-term approach to governance

NEW DELHI: A day after chairing a session of the Union Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired the third high-level gathering with Secretaries to the Administration of India, reviewing the future action agenda of concerned ministries and departments dealing with.

Key points

• When authorities throughout departments worked together effectively, emphasising the importance of collective effort, Prime Minister Modi cited the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and the West Asia crisis.
• The session was attended by the Cabinet Secretary, Secretaries of key ministries and departments, and senior office-holders from the Prime Minister's Office.
• The Prime Minister additionally called on the effective employ of Artificial Intelligence while ensuring that human intervention and judgement remain central.
• The Prime Minister additionally stressed the need for greater engagement between administration departments, universities and young individuals to bring fresh perspectives into policymaking.
• The session additionally witnessed a discussion on the need for a comprehensive approach to strengthening India's maritime sector.

According to The Prime Minister, deliberations had already been held with two groups of Secretaries and stressed that, besides addressing immediate matters and examining statistics, authorities must adopt a long-term perspective on how the country's future should be shaped.

During the session, he discussed the challenge of overcoming silos, emphasising that they are not merely an organisational challenge but additionally a challenge of mindset. He remarked silos could be both horizontal and vertical and stressed that office-holders must take ownership of their responsibilities while working with a solid sense of belongingness.

When authorities throughout departments worked together effectively, emphasising the importance of collective effort, Prime Minister Modi cited the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and the West Asia crisis. He remarked such coordination mechanisms should become a natural part of the government's work culture rather than being limited to situations of crisis.

For context, the Prime Minister additionally called on the effective employ of Artificial Intelligence while ensuring that human intervention and judgement remain central. He encouraged authorities to explore innovative ways of combining the capabilities of AI with human expertise.

He further emphasised that data is a national asset and an significant resource for the future. While noting that the administration invests considerable resources in collecting, storing and managing data, he stated its full potential was not always being realised since of departmental silos and fragmented systems.

Pointing to differences in the way data is collected and managed for different purposes, he pressed solutions that would facilitate greater interoperability and enable more effective apply of data throughout administration departments.

For context, the Prime Minister additionally stressed the need for greater engagement between administration departments, universities and young individuals to bring fresh perspectives into policymaking. He remarked wider interaction with universities and the younger generation could assist bring new, unconventional ideas into governance.

He pressed greater focus on research and innovation, including in the defence sector, and emphasised the need to further strengthen India's defence industry and produce it more competitive globally. He additionally stressed the importance of developing innovative defence courses and strengthening human resource development in the sector.

For context, the session additionally 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 pressed 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 additionally 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.

Notably, 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 additionally 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 throughout cadres and departments.

During the session, the Secretaries shared their experiences regarding sectoral priorities, emerging challenges and implementation-related matters.

In practice, the session was attended by the Cabinet Secretary, Secretaries of key ministries and departments, and senior office-holders from the Prime Minister's Office.

Taken together, the developments around PM Modi asks secretaries to break departmental silos, adopt long point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.