Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged Secretaries of all government departments to "come together" and "work together". Mr Modi hosted all the Secretaries of government department for a high tea at his 7 Race Course Road residence, where he reviewed the functioning of various government departments, spoke about the Swachh Bharat or Clean India Campaign and set the tone for next year's Budget.

During his interaction with Secretaries, the Prime Minister told them that the next Budget should be transformational and encouraged them to come up with new ideas and proposals for the next fiscal session. He also called for shifting government emphasis from that of output-oriented to outcome-oriented.

Mr Modi also asked all the departments to pre-pone the Budget exercise by three months so that by April 1, all the elements of the Budget could be implemented immediately.

He also exhorted the officials to work harder on the Swachh Bharat or Clean India campaign, which he launched on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2. He also reviews how far each department had implemented the campaign and told the bureaucrats that during the cleanliness drive in the Prime Minister's Office, 12 truckloads of garbage was removed.

Mr Modi urged all the government departments to implement digitisation at the earliest.

When the Secretaries raised their fear of not having enough protection in the anti-corruption laws and their fear of being implicated despite having taken a correct decision, the Prime Minister told them to take decisions without fear. "The government will protect you," he assured the Secretaries.

"We are one team. Let us bring openness in governance, come closer and work together," the Prime Minister said. In a bid to strengthen the idea of good governance to all corners of the country, the PM advised the bureaucrats to go back to the area of their first posting to convey best ways of creating and implementing government policies.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh were present at the meeting which was held in an informal setting in the lawns of the PM's residence.

This was Mr Modi's second interaction with Secretaries after becoming the Prime Minister in May. More than 80 Secretary-level officials were present at today's meeting. Last month, Mr Modi met with all the MPs of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance over tea and also held a dinner meeting with his ministers.

In its maiden Budget in July, the Modi government pledged to narrow the fiscal deficit to a seven-year low of 4.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product for the current fiscal year. Keeping in view of its promise, the government has pushed the pedal on reforms, taking decisions like freeing prices of diesel from government control, hiking the price of domestic gas and streamlining labour laws.

 

A day after the formation of the first BJP government in Maharashtra under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, there are signs of a rapprochement between the Shiv Sena and the BJP.

BJP General secretary and senior leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy told us that he is "very sure there will be an understanding in two weeks with the Sena and that there will be a majority government in Maharashtra."

On Friday, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had attended Mr Fadnavis's oath-taking ceremony, but later sources in the Sena said that the party had conveyed to the BJP that the latter should decide on an alliance - one way or another - before the vote of confidence. The BJP has been given 15 days by the Maharashtra governor to hold a trust vote.

Unless there is an agreement before that date, sources in the Sena said they will not support the government.

Mr Rudy's comments however today are an indication that a breakthrough in negotiations between the BJP and Sena are likely in the days to come.

Mr Rudy also said that it was "graceful of Uddhav Thackeray to attend the swearing-in ceremony."

The two longtime-partners had terminated a 25-year alliance in Maharashtra in September days before the state elections. But the breakdown of the alliance had cost the Sena dearly with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party in the elections with 123 seats. The Sena had further lost its bargaining power after Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party offering unconditional support to the BJP government. 

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation in his second round of "Mann Ki Baat" radio programme which will aired at 11 am today.

"Looking forward to the 2nd "Mann Ki Baat" Radio Programme on Sunday 2nd November 2014 at 11 am," the Prime Minister had tweeted earlier this week.

Mr Modi, who had also invited people to share their thoughts, comments and examples of good governance initiatives, appreciated the response he received ahead of the talks.  

Mr Modi tweeted on Wednesday, "Have been going through the wonderful comments, ideas & good governance examples received for 'Mann Ki Baat' radio programme on Nov 2. It is very gladdening to read views on diverse range of issues, rich insights & interesting anecdotes shared by all of you."

"Do keep sharing your ideas on the MyGov Open Forum. I will read them & share some of them during the Radio programme," he tweeted adding that he read several thoughts on Swachh Bharat mission, agriculture, irrigation issues, empowerment of women and skilled India.

On October 3, the PM delivered a 15-minute speech, what he said would the first of many radio chats titled 'Man ki Baat' or 'Talking from the Heart.' He used the address on state-run All India Radio to include the millions who do not have access to television in rural India to join his efforts for an economic recovery.