On Friday, April 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be delivering a speech to civil servants in honor of National Civil Services Day. The event will also see the Prime Minister conferring the Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Public Administration. His office announced the event, highlighting the Prime Minister's appreciation of the contribution of civil servants towards nation-building and their continuous encouragement to work even harder. This program serves as an apt platform for Modi to motivate and inspire bureaucrats from all over the country to keep serving the nation with the same zeal, especially during this crucial phase of 'Amrit Kaal'.

The Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Public Administration was established to recognize the extraordinary and innovative work done by districts and organizations of the federal and state governments for the welfare of ordinary citizens. The awards will be given for outstanding performance in four identified priority programs: Promoting Swachh Jal through Har Ghar Jal Yojana; Promoting Swasth Bharat through health and wellness centers; Promoting quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment through Samagra Shiksha; and Holistic development through aspirational district program - overall progress with a special focus on the saturation approach. There will be eight awards for these four identified programs, with seven awards for innovations.

Madhya Pradesh's Burhanpur has been chosen for the Prime Minister's Excellence in Public Administration Award for ensuring tap water supply in every house in the district through the Union government's 'Har Ghar Jal Yojana.' Over one lakh households in 254 villages served by 167 panchayats have access to tap water, and through the Jal Jeevan Mission, women are being empowered because they have been entrusted with running the Nal Jal schemes and collecting tax from end-users. These women receive a 20% commission on such tax collection, and the scheme is run by around 1,700 women and monitored by a WhatsApp group, thus empowering women.

National Civil Services Day is observed to honor administrators and officials who work in various public departments to improve the lives of citizens. The date of April 21 was chosen because it was on this day in 1947 that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first Home Minister, addressed civil service probationers and urged them to ensure that the benefits of government schemes reached citizens.