The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that an important responsibility of the civil services is to ensure that citizens do not fear arbitrary governments. Addressing the IAS probationers who called on him this morning the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of maintaining communal harmony and said " What happened in Gujarat has caused a scar on the body politic. Such things should never happen in future."

The Prime Minister said "our system of governance must address the primary task of developing our economic and social potential to enable our country get rid of poverty , ignorance and disease in the shortest possible time."

Dr Manmohan Singh pointed out that a significant portion of the national expenditure is accounted for by the government and said " it is very important that this expenditure is wisely incurred and while decisions are taken, a full record should be kept to ensure efficiency and ensure that spending processes do not give rise to corruption."

Focusing on the need to reorient the civil services the Prime Minister asked the IAS probationers to " be sensitive to the winds of change and be flexible to assume that you do not have the monopoly of the system all the time." Terming it a challenge for all the Prime Minister said "our system needs to develop appraisal skills which reward creativity of those who take initiative and not those who do nothing. India needs people who have capacity and courage to take bold decisions. Our system must recognize the difference between honest mistakes made while discharging duties and willful attempt to misuse public office. That is a challenge for all of us."

The Prime Minister said " we must have abiding faith in our value system. You are the most elite services in our country . Our country needs top class civil servants . You are thus nation builders in the truest sense of the term. Make good use of the opportunities you have and keep the values in mind while working so that we can build the India of our dreams."