PM Celebrates 100 Years of UPSC Trust, Urges Focus on Merit & Speed
Says “ Onus On Youth to Drive India’s Journey To Viksit Bharat By 2047”
New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the country is moving rapidly on the Reform Express and the institutions that conduct examinations must also work on reforms that are the need of the country.
Addressing the Centenary Celebrations of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi Prime Minister Modi said that an examination should not be considered just an event as it is related to the future of the youth.
Mr Modi noted that a delay of even a few months can create difficulties for the youth, and therefore, the examination system should follow the principle of time certainty.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that over the 100-year journey of UPSC, the generations, governments, technology, and syllabi have changed, but the trust in this institution remains as unwavering as ever.
Mr Modi stressed the need to bring young people into public services who are drawn not to public office but to public service. He said, today, 21st-century India is moving forward with a new work culture and its core principle is Pro-People, Pro-Active, Good Governance.
The Prime Minister said his Government’s mantra is Nagarik Devo Bhava and serving the citizens is paramount. He said, for a Viksit Bharat, the kind of governance the country now needs will be enabled to a great extent by institutions such as the UPSC and the State Public Service Commissions. Mr Modi said the young people being recruited today will play an important role in building a Viksit Bharat.
Prime Minister Modi said India in 2047 will be very different from the India of today. He said India will be more urban, the gap between villages and cities will be smaller, and the aspirations and expectations of the citizens, especially the youth, will be much higher. He said the next 20 to 25 years will be extremely important for every Indian and for every institution in the country.
Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh said that UPSC has achieved several milestones and added many new dimensions during the last twelve years.
He said the number of government appointments made through UPSC has increased, and transparency in the recruitment system has also improved, leading to greater public trust.
Dr Singh highlighted that approximately 65 thousand appointments were made through the UPSC during the NDA’s 12-year tenure, compared with around 45 thousand appointments during the UPA’s ten-year tenure. The Minister said that today, UPSC has become a role model for recruitment agencies across the country and the world.
Chairman UPSC Dr Ajay Kumar said, since independence, generations of the nation’s youth have come to the Commission’s doorstep with dreams of serving the country and UPSC has ensured that they are judged solely on the touchstone of merit. He said, currently, women constitute approximately 30 per cent of the successful candidates in the Civil Services Examination.
Dr Kumar said, measures such as identifying duplicate applications with the help of Artificial Intelligence, real-time OCR-based evaluation of millions of documents uploaded by candidates and face authentication for lakhs of candidates at examination centers are some of the recent steps adopted by the Commission to further strengthen fairness and security.
The programme marks the culmination of year-long celebrations that commenced on 1st October last year, commemorating 100 years since the establishment of the UPSC in 1926.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Modi released a UPSC Centenary Commemorative Coin, a Commemorative Stamp and a Book titled ‘100 Landmark Judgements – Shaping the Policies of UPSC and Public Service Commissions in India ‘.
