In a first for a Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on Wednesday met the Secretaries of all government departments to outline his agenda of governance and his expectations from them.

The meeting, meant to be an informal one, started at around 6 pm and lasted over three hours.

The meeting was seen as an attempt by the Prime Minister to ensure better coordination among various departments. Modi, according to sources, asked the Secretaries to outline the future agenda of the departments they are heading.

“It is bureaucracy that plays a key role in implementing the policies of the Government… Narendra Modi realises this,” said a senior civil servant. There are indications that Modi discussed the 10-point agenda of his Government.

He said the Government’s priority is to revamp the economy and asked the officials to prepare presentations on the contributions their Ministries can make to the revival.

Talking to reporters outside the Parliament House, Modi said his effort will be to meet the aspirations of the people. “I assure the people of this country that in this temple of democracy, every effort will be made to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common man of India,” he said.

In fact, building confidence in the bureaucracy was a top priority for the BJP Government. This had topped Modi’s 10-point agenda. While taking over their respective Ministries, many Ministers had also offered a free hand to the bureaucrats.

Opposition sceptical

The Opposition, however, was sceptical about the move. “After dismantling the Empowered Groups of Ministers, has he created disempowered ministers?” asked Congress spokesperson and MP Shashi Tharoor.

The party had criticised the Prime Minister for dismantling the groups of ministers. “I am little curious whether he is forgetting that he does have Ministers in all the Ministries whose Secretaries he is meeting,” said Tharoor.

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