Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's World Public Service Day Message

I am delighted that the United Nations has designated this day as the World Public Service Day. I believe the aim is to draw global public attention to the important role played by government functionaries in improving the well-being of people.

We are all wedded to democracy and to the freedom of individuals. However, in all modern societies, people expect governments to deliver basic services. Services such as education, health care and public health, sanitation and drinking water can and must be provided by government.

The Millenium Development Goals that we have set for ourselves cannot be met unless governments are pro-active. No government in any civilized society can ignore the basic needs of people. The goal of the development process must be to include every last member of our society in that process. This not only broadens the support base for development, it also strengthens democracy. Unless people view government as their benefactor, governments will not be able to raise resources or maintain law and order. But government is nothing more than the people who make it work.

Public service, therefore, is nothing more than helping people help themselves. I do not believe that Government needs to interfere in the processes of wealth creation. On the contrary, Government must create the space in which the creativity and enterprise of people can freely express itself. To enable this, we must ensure that Governments function in a transparent manner.

I am proud that in India our Government has legislated a Right to Information Act that empowers people to secure information from government on matters relating to governance and policy.I do believe that free citizens in free societies must not live in fear of arbitrary governments. This too is an important responsibility of the civil services.

In our country, governments, national, state and local, play an important role in development. Nearly a third of national expenditure is accounted for by the government. It is very important that this expenditure is wisely incurred, and that decisions are taken democratically and transparently. Full record should be kept to ensure efficiency and ensure that spending processes do not give rise to corruption. This is the responsibility of public servants.

I hope World Public Service Day will help focus our attention on these aspects of governance. I hope we can all work together to make government a truly public service institution.