Civil Services Day

Context:

The Prime Minister has wished all Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day.

About:

The Government of India celebrates April  21 every year as ‘Civil Services day’ as an occasion for the civil servants to rededicate themselves to the cause of citizen and renew their commitments to public service and excellence in work. This date is chosen to commemorate the day when first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar  Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi, he referred to civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India’. The first such function was held in Vigyan  Bhawan, New delhi  21 April 2006.

As part of Civil Servant Day, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration are presented to Districts/Implementing Units for implementation of Priority programme  and innovation categories. With participation from a large number of Districts across the country in the Awards scheme, the scale of entire process is very large. These awards on the Civil Services day each year bring together civil servants to connect with each other   and learn the good practices being implemented across the nation in the field of public grievance. This annual affair is eagerly awaited by all public administrators to celebrate outcomes of work done in the entire year.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

• He was born on 31^st October, 1875 in Nadiad, Gujarat.
• He was the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of independent India.
• He played an important role in the integration of many Indian princely states to make an Indian federation.
  • At the time of independence, he played a key role in convincing several princely states to align with the Indian Union.
  • He also worked hard as a social leader for the independence of India.
• Women of Bardoli bestowed the title ‘Sardar’ on Vallabhbhai Patel, which means ‘a Chief or a Leader’.
• He is recognized as the real unifier of India for his colossal contribution to integrate and make India a united (Ek Bharat) and an independent nation.
• He requested the people of India to live together by uniting in order to create Shresth Bharat (Foremost India).
• He is also remembered as the ‘Patron saint of India’s civil servants’ as he established the modern all-India services system.
• The Statue of Unity at Kevadiya in Narmada district of Gujarat was built in his honour.