'Stay ethical, the system is watching', FM Sitharaman's advice to young UPSC achievers

While Sitharaman lauded the Tamil Nadu cadre for its legacy of producing high-quality civil service officers, she also said that between 2011 and 2024, only 915 aspirants were selected for civil services from Tamil Nadu. "The number is not big if you ask me," she added.

Addressing UPSC Civil Service Examination achievers of 2024 at an academy in Chennai, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 3 appealed young entrants in the administrative services to stay ethical and not fall for any temptations, advising them never to believe they can do whatever they want just because they are too far away from Delhi.

"It is very easy to fall into a temptation of small, tantalizing things that come before us," said FM Sitharaman. "The bureaucracy in India is one which is very steely but is wonderfully networked to know who is doing what. It is they who run the system for themselves, and know which officer, who is young is doing brilliantly well in a remote corner of India, where he is running the district administration. They equally know, who among the newcomers is creating trouble for themselves."

FM Nirmala Sitharaman was speaking to UPSC CSE 2024 achievers in Chennai, where she delivered these remarks. "The system the damn efficient in keeping an eye on each one of you."

Sitharaman also underscored that India's bureaucracy has always been 'frugal', a fact that stands in contract with foreign delegations when India travels abroad for negotiations, where it is met with outsized teams of delegates from other countries.

Another aspect that FM Sitharaman asked the young civil servants to cultivate from an early age is to have a clear specialization that the can be identified with, even after entering the service, which is the key to getting ahead in Indian civil services. "Don't be there for life as a burden for the Indian taxpayer," said the FM.

While Sitharaman lauded the Tamil Nadu cadre for its legacy of producing high-quality civil service officers, she also said that between 2011 and 2024, only 915 aspirants were selected for civil services from Tamil Nadu. "The number is not big if you ask me," she added.

Since 1950, a total of 679 officers domiciled in Tamil Nadu have been allocated IAS, and last year, 53 candidates domiciled in Tamil Nadu were selected, FM Sitharaman said. The administrative services has seen a large number of officers from the Tamil Nadu cadre who do extremely well in finance, FM Sitharaman said.