Government must be enabler, not regulator: Modi

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Stressing the importance of competition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that with changing dynamics, the government needs to change its role from being a regulator to an enabler.

"Things have changed vastly in the last 15-20 years. Earlier, government was everything. General public depended on the government for all their needs. But now they have alternatives," Modi told bureaucrats on Civil Services Day here.

Citing examples of private hospitals and airlines, Modi said people have been criticising public services and tend to be more satisfied by private services.

"Moving away from the time when government was everything, we are now in an era of competition."

Because there are now alternatives available, the government's responsibilities have grown, he added. "Its not the work load, it is the challenge that has risen.

"The sooner we change our working style, change our way of thinking, the better. The sooner we come out of our role of a regulator and develop as an enabling entity, the better," he said.

"While the absence of government in a sphere of activity should be perceptible, its presence... should not become a burden," said Modi asking civil servants to focus on improving quality, and making excellence a habit.

Talking about "reform, perform and transform", Modi said that political will is needed for reform, but the "perform" part of this formulation must come from civil servants, while transformation is enabled by people's participation.

The Prime Minister said that civil servants must ensure that every decision is taken keeping the national interest in mind, and this should be their touchstone for taking a decision.

Recalling that the year 2022 would mark 75 years of Independence, he urged civil servants to play the role of catalytic agents in fulfilling the dreams of the freedom fighters.