Giving an idea of the nature of next year's Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said it should be "full of new ideas" with transformational and measurable deliverables.
In an interaction with Secretaries of various ministries and departments, he said the Budget should be "output to outcome-oriented", inferring that investments should have measurable outcomes, sources told PTI tonight.
During the interaction over 'high tea' at his residence, the Prime Minister reviewed the progress of work being done on various government initiatives, including the 'Swachh Bharat' and 'Digital India' campaigns, and asked the bureaucrats to take decisions without any fear while assuring his full backing.
While talking about the next Budget, he said it should have transformational and measurable deliverables. "It should be full of new ideas," he said, in a hint of how the proposals should be.
Encouraging Secretaries to come up with new ideas and proposals for the next Budget, the Prime Minister asked all government departments to advance budget-related processes by three months, so that the moment the new financial year begins on April 1, work could begin as per the provisions of the new Budget in real-time.
"He called for shifting government emphasis from output to outcome," a PMO statement said later. At the interaction with the top bureaucrats, second since he became the Prime Minister in May-end, Modi said, "Good things are starting to happen... We are one team. Let us bring openness in governance, come closer and work together." Some bureaucrats said the Anti-Corruption Act does not have protection for them but Modi told them to take decisions without any fear as he would back the right decisions, the sources said.
"He assured them that there would be no political interference and asked Secretaries to work fearlessly in the interest of the nation," the statement said. Modi expressed appreciation for the involvement in various subjects that the Secretaries had exhibited in the course of conversation, and said this augured well for the country.
At the interaction where more than 80 Secretary-level officers were present, the Prime Minister suggested that all the top bureaucrats should visit the place of their first posting for a couple of days, as this would provide them several new insights on policy-making.
About 70 per cent discussion at the interaction was focussed on the Swachh Bharat campaign, launched by Modi on October 2, the sources said. Describing it as an issue of mindset, the Prime Minister told the bureaucrats to ensure that each department carries forward the message so that India becomes free of dirt.
Citing feedback he was receiving on social media, he said attitude of people was beginning to change, and the entire mission was becoming people-driven. "The Prime Minister said cleanliness is not about resources but about attitudes," the statement said.
He asked the senior government officers to study the ideas and suggestions being received on the MyGov platform and said individuals giving good suggestions need to be identified, and teams can be built in this fashion.
Modi also underlined that Digital India campaign should be implemented in all departments. In this context, he was told that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Press Information Bureau have expanded the reach of this campaign.
Secretaries expressed their views on a range of issues in a free and frank manner, the statement said, adding they spoke of the initiatives they had taken over the last five months, and gave suggestions on what could be done in the near future, and beyond.
They said they had got a new direction to work for the nation under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the statement said. Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu were also present, along with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth.
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