New Delhi

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday told a group of civil servants that technology must be used not merely for efficiency but also for improving trust between citizens and institutions.

Interacting with trainee officers of the 2024 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) here, he said modern governance no longer functions through rigid hierarchies and one-way communication.

Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, encouraged the officers to remain open-minded learners throughout their careers, saying the ability to adapt, unlearn and evolve is now more valuable than static knowledge.

He said the nature of administration has changed significantly in the last decade with greater emphasis on transparency, responsiveness and citizen participation.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s philosophy of “maximum governance, minimum government,” the minister said technology must be used not merely for efficiency but also for improving trust between citizens and institutions.

Singh said future administrators would be expected to combine technological competence with empathy, sensitivity and ethical public conduct.

During the interaction, the minister also exchanged views with the trainee officers on district administration, governance challenges, leadership responsibilities and changing public expectations from civil servants.

He encouraged them to maintain neutrality, remain accessible to citizens and focus on meaningful public outcomes rather than visibility.

Describing India@2047 as a national mission rather than merely a milestone, Singh said the officers of this generation would become the principal drivers of India’s rise in the coming decades.

He urged them to approach public service with humility, discipline and a larger sense of national purpose.

Referring to nearly 41 per cent representation of women officers in the 2024 batch of IAS, marking one of the highest-ever gender participation in the history of the service, Singh said the changing character of India’s civil services mirrors the transformation taking place across the country, where access to opportunity is expanding beyond traditional social and regional boundaries and young Indians are shaping a new governance culture driven by aspiration, technology and accountability.

The minister said the high representation of women officers "reflects wider social change underway in India".

He said the growing presence of women across competitive examinations, higher education and professional spaces demonstrates how opportunity and access are becoming increasingly democratised, according to a statement issued by the personnel ministry.

The interaction formed part of the assistant secretary programme, under which 184 IAS officers of the 2024 batch have been attached with 49 ministries and departments of the Government of India for an eight-week period from May 4 to June 25, 2026, to gain first-hand exposure to policy making, coordination mechanisms and administrative functioning at the Centre.

Singh said the Assistant Secretary programme, introduced under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, has fundamentally changed the early administrative exposure available to young IAS officers.

Recalling the evolution of the initiative over the last decade, he said the programme has helped create a generation of officers that is more confident, policy-oriented and institutionally connected from the very beginning of service.

Singh also spoke about the changing regional profile of civil services selections, noting that states which earlier had limited representation are now producing large numbers of successful candidates, while several traditionally dominant regions are witnessing a shift in career preferences towards emerging sectors and global opportunities.

He said these changes indicate the rise of a more aspirational and dynamic India.

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The minister said 78 officers in the present batch came from engineering backgrounds, alongside professionals from medicine, law, management and humanities.

He said that governance today increasingly requires technological understanding and interdisciplinary thinking, particularly at a time when government programmes are becoming more data-driven, digital and innovation-oriented.