PM Modi asks top officials to 'break silos, tap youth ideas' after meeting at his residence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked senior government officials to move beyond departmental silos, engage more closely with young people and universities, and adopt a long-term approach to policymaking as the Centre prepares its future governance agenda.

Modi chaired the third high-level meeting with Secretaries to the Government of India at his residence on Thursday, with discussions focusing on the future priorities of ministries and departments handling infrastructure and connectivity, security and external affairs, and governance.

With two groups of secretaries having already participated in similar deliberations, the Prime Minister told officials that their focus should extend beyond immediate administrative problems and statistics. He called on them to consider how decisions taken today could shape India's longer-term development.

Silos are also about mindset

A key theme of Modi's message was the need to dismantle barriers between government departments. He argued that silos were not merely an organisational problem but could also emerge from the way officials approached their responsibilities.

The Prime Minister said such silos could exist both horizontally across departments and vertically within administrative structures. Officials, he stressed, should take greater ownership of their responsibilities and develop a stronger sense of belonging towards the work they undertake.

Modi cited the government's response during the Covid-19 pandemic and more recent challenges arising from the West Asia conflict as examples of situations in which departments had worked together effectively.

Rather than limiting such coordination to crises, he called for collaborative mechanisms to become a regular feature of the government's working culture.

Bring universities and youth into policymaking

Modi also called for stronger engagement between government departments, universities and young Indians, arguing that a broader consultation process could introduce unconventional ideas into governance.

The emphasis on youth follows his Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15, in which young Indians occupied a prominent place in his policy announcements and broader vision for the country.

Among the initiatives announced during that address were free online coaching for competitive examination aspirants and an artificial intelligence skilling programme aimed at young people.

The Prime Minister had also announced plans for a nationwide sports talent hunt covering children between the ages of five and 15, with promising youngsters to be identified and trained with the aim of developing world-class athletes.

AI must retain human judgement

Artificial intelligence also featured prominently in Thursday's discussions. Modi urged officials to explore ways of using AI effectively across government while ensuring that human intervention and judgement remain central to decision-making.

The focus, he suggested, should be on combining the speed and capabilities of emerging technology with human expertise rather than treating AI as a replacement for officials and institutional judgement.

The message comes as government departments increasingly explore AI-based systems for data processing, public-service delivery and administrative decision-making.

Treat data as a national asset

Modi also described data as a national asset and an important resource for India's future. The government, he noted, spends considerable resources collecting, storing and managing information across ministries and departments.

However, the value of that information is not always fully realised because datasets remain divided among different departments and systems.

Better coordination and the removal of institutional barriers could allow government agencies to make greater use of existing information while designing policies and delivering services.

The broader message from the meeting was for the bureaucracy to move away from compartmentalised administration towards a more collaborative model — one that combines technology and data with human judgement, draws ideas from outside government and considers the long-term consequences of policy decisions.