Working in the CM’s office under Shri Narendra Modi ji between 2003 and 2006 was the best experience of my life. Some of my early experiences of working with him revealed clearly that Shri Modi ji is a great leader in many respects.
After taking over as CM of Gujarat, he spent a number of hours every day after office hours to understand the work of every department. This continued almost for a month. He would attentively listen to all the presentations and ask pertinent questions in between only to get information. He would consciously refrain from commenting on anything in the meeting. His mission was very clear, he just wanted to learn. It conveyed the message to us that if you want to learn, one should listen.
After getting over the task of rescue and rehabilitation of earthquake destruction, he focused his attention on all other developmental works.
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Chintan Shibir
One memorable experience I had was in being a part of how the “Chintan-Shibir” was initiated and organized. Every year there used to be an annual conference of Collectors & DDOs in which CM would give his opening remarks followed by two days of deliberations. Different departmental Ministers and Secretaries would review the work of their departments with Collectors and DDOs. Shri Modi ji watched this exercise for two years by sitting through this Collector-DDO Conference. He expressed his dissatisfaction about the process and converted this into a 2–3-day conclave of all top policy-makers and administrators in GOG. He also suggested moving it out of Gandhinagar to a different location so that everyone is free from distraction. Thus, the first Chintan Shibir at Kevadia Colony was born in 2003.
The idea behind Chintan Shibir, as articulated by Shri Modi ji, was: –
- It should be an annual exercise of Team Building for Team Gujarat. All Ministers, Secretaries and District Officers had to have their breakfast, lunch & dinner together for three days without any protocol. This brought us all together as a team.
- Chintan Shibir should be a forum for debate and discussion on Top Policy Choices to be made by the State in difficult areas such as illiteracy, malnutrition, shortage of drinking water supply etc. faced by the state.
- Concrete steps have to be agreed upon in the same conclave, and the decisions taken should be immediately implemented soon after that.
- Chintan Shibir was also a place for listening to some innovative or motivational speeches by some renowned people.
- Physical fitness for everyone is a desirable goal. Morning Yogasan and Pranayam became an integral part of Chintan Shibir.
The way he evolved the Chintan Shibir with clear-cut objectives really impressed me.
Karmayogi Abhiyan
Modi ji once suggested that an exercise of opinion poll of all Government of Gujarat employees should be done to know their views on governance as well as to measure their job satisfaction. I indeed liked that idea. We conducted this poll, called “Karmayogi Sarvabhipray”, in which 3 lakh Government employees of all departments participated. The result of this survey was also an eye-opener. It revealed to us that the Government employees do not need better salary for their motivation but they want training, guidance and clear communication.
Based on the result of this survey, Modi ji asked us to design a training programme of soft skill for all the Government employees. This was called Karmayogi training programme. It was professionally delivered to about 2 lakh Government employees in a short period of one year. this resulted into high motivation among them. For categories of Govt employees like drivers, stenographers, typists, office assistants, it was a first-time classroom training in their entire career. Some of them had tears in their eyes while giving their feedback to CM in an open meeting.
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Other flagship programmes
Shri Modi ji made many interventions in each department which were path-breaking. Take the case of Krishi Mahotsav. It was a unique experiment of sending the agricultural scientists to the field to transfer the latest knowledge about farm practices campaign mode, year after year. It resulted in an increasing value of agriculture production in Gujarat during his period. He made concerted efforts to improve girl literacy by introducing Kanya Kenavani Shala Praveshotsav. He tried to improve the quality of primary education by large-scale rating of schools called Gunotsav. He put his attention on areas which were hitherto not in the focus of the Government’s radar. As a result, during this period, Gujarat started improving its rank in most parameters in the country. Gujarat model became point of discussion in all fora.
Conclusion
Shri Modi ji brought a new vision in bureaucratic thinking. His slogan was whatever we do should be world-class. He motivated all as a team. He developed the spirit of working together instead of in silos. He worked hard and made others work hard too. The success of Modi ji is a result of his vision and hard work.
Author retired as Finance and revenue Secretary of India. He is currently chief advisor to Gujarat CM.
