Civil Services Day
Topic: Civil Services: Role, Accountability and Reforms · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Civil Services Day falls on 21 April every year. It marks Sardar Patel's address to the first batch of probationers (officers in training) at Metcalfe House, Delhi, in 1947. In that speech Patel described the civil servant's role in free India. The day has been observed since 2006. Awards for good work by civil servants are given on this day.
Example
On each 21 April, the government honours officers and districts for excellence in public administration. The day also reminds officers of Patel's view that a united India needs an all-India service that has "the independence to speak out its mind".
Don't confuse with
- Patel's Constituent Assembly speech: this was a different speech, given on 10 October 1949, defending the all-India services. Civil Services Day marks the 1947 address to probationers.