'Nai Udaan' Scheme To Help Civil Services Aspirants From Minority Communities: Jitendra Singh

The 'Nai Udaan' scheme of the Centre will help youths from minority communities to prepare for the civil services examination, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Tuesday.

The scheme, started by the Narendra Modi government through the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, offers financial support to civil services aspirants clearing the preliminary examination, according to an official statement.

"The Nai Udaan scheme will help civil services aspirants from minority communities to prepare for the test," the minister said, lauding the scheme.

He said over the years the profile of civil services has undergone a demographic change.

"Now the successful candidates are coming from virtually all sections of the society, every region of the country and from different socio-economic strata," said Mr Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes keen interest in the training curriculum of IAS/ civil services officers, he said.

Mr Singh said that over the past few years, several path-breaking reforms were brought in with the personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"One such major reform was the introduction of a three-month stint as Assistant Secretary for every new IAS officer before he or she took up the first assignment in the respective state/union territory cadre," the minister said.

While addressing a function organised to felicitate successful civil services candidates from minority communities in the results announced recently, Mr Singh complimented Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for not only giving impetus to the "Nai Udaan", but also for deciding the eligibility of the candidates for financial support on the basis of a transparent process through an online exam.

He also appreciated Mr Naqvi's decision to enhance the family income limit for availing the benefit of the scheme from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh per annum during 2019, the statement said.

Mr Singh also referred to the valedictory function of the last batch of IAS probationers which was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Gujarat's Kevadia, the site of the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is known as one of the architects of the Indian Administrative Service.

He also referred to visits undertaken by the Prime Minister to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, and his regular interactions with every new batch of IAS passouts.