No training plan for me? When PM Modi asked former chief of Capacity Building Commission

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) The agenda and target for the Centre's ambitious capacity building program for the country's civil servants was set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, who even once asked whether or not a training plan has been created for him, former chief of Capacity Building Commission (CBC) Adil Zainulbhai said on Sunday.

Zainulbhai, who had been chairman of Quality Council of India (QCI), was named as the CBC chairman on April 1, 2021.

He stepped away from the crucial post after completing four years recently.

"PM set the agenda and encouraged us. He set a very high target and told us to get something done. When I first gave him an update, he said there was one important thing missing, that you have not created a training plan for me," Zainulbhai told PTI.

Established in 2021, the Capacity Building Commission drives Mission Karmayogi -- the national programme for civil services capacity building.

Capacity building of government officials under Mission Karmayogi focuses on enhancing the attitudes, skills and knowledge of government officials through role-based training. Mission Karmayogi aims to break silos across the various government ministries/departments, to encourage collaborative, joint effort towards shared national goals and priorities.

Reflecting on his tenure at the Commission, Zainulbhai said the CBC started with the PM's vision and initially focused on competency building of civil servants needed for their job, on becoming citizen centric and to be technology forward.

"What has been achieved is the start, there is still a lot to do," he said.

Zainulbhai said many countries want access to Mission Karmayogi and the digital platform, its courses for capacity building of their civil servants.

"PM has promised it to Caribbean and African countries," he added.

The vision laid out by Prime Minister Modi was to help every civil servant build the competencies needed for their role and to become citizen centric and leverage technology to deliver better, Zainulbhai said.

He said there are over 3,200 courses on the integrated government online training (iGOT) program and more than 1.25 crore 'Karmayogis' or employees onboard the digital platform.

Zainulbhai said every new scheme will have a training program on iGOT.

"Every new law will have a training program on iGOT. Slowly it will be integrated into many of the government's schemes and priorities," he added.

Zainulbhai said by the end of this year, 20 lakh civil servants will have undergone a one day training on "seva bhav".

He said states, urban local bodies and panchayats were being included for digital training.

"As many as 195 central and state training institutions have been accredited to a new standard to ensure they provide desired training to the employees concerned," Zainulbhai said. PTI AKV NB NB