Foreword

“United We Stand, Divided We Fall” – is a truth universally acknowledged. It is as true for a family and a society as it is for a nation. India’s weaknesses in the past were largely due to the numerous divisions based on caste, religion, language and region. If we are to forge a united India that will take its legitimate place among the comity of nations, we need to focus on things that unite us rather than those that divide us.

The states of Bihar and Jharkhand may be economically less developed but they have contributed a large number of civil servants who have rendered yeoman service and made the nation proud. Many of us took up the Civil Services not as a career but as a means of rendering selfless public service, of uplifting the poor and the downtrodden, and of contributing to the prosperity of the nation. If each one of us performs his or her duties responsibly and sincerely, there is no reason why our collective dream of making India a great nation will not become a reality.

The National Association of Civil Servants (Bihar and Jharkhand) is a forum of like-minded civil servants, working in different parts of India and the world, who wish to contribute something back to the two states of Bihar and Jharkhand, with which we share a common emotional connect, and to India as a whole. Working towards assisting the Civil Services Examination through our Margdarshan programme, marked a humble beginning of our collective contributions to the people of Bihar and Jharkhand. Margdarshan program included activities like career counselling, structured sessions by civil servants on general studies and different optional subjects, mock interview for candidates selected for Civil Services Personality Test, which have been undertaken in the last couple of years. I am proud to announce that NACS Margdarshan (Patna) has started a “Web Class” facility, which will now enable officers working in any part of the country to take classes via internet.

NACS members contributed significantly in outreaching to the people of the nation and collecting relief materials for the victims of Bihar this year. Messages were sent asking for help in all possible ways by the members and support poured in from all quarters. More than 12000 kgs of relief materials were sent for flood relief besides the monetary contributions to the CM Relief Fund.NACS is gearing up itself to form district specific teams, especially for the “aspirational districts”, which will collaborate with all stakeholders for overall development of the identified districts. NACS has also planned to focus on improving primary and secondary School education by vigorously pursuing “Adopt A School Programme”, under which each civil servant will be encouraged to adopt a school in his native district or at any place of his/her choice. A think-tank on Disater Management will also be set up in due course of time.

Our annual event – “CONNECT” to felicitate the successful candidates of Civil Services Examination coming from Bihar and Jharkhand, has provided a good platform for young officers to interact with senior officers and get an informal orientation about civil services before they formally join their training.This also helps to open up a channel of communication among the civil servants across the country for various collaborative activities. Three editions of CONNECT in 2016, 2017 and 2018 have been held in Delhi and had witnessed enthusiastic participation from senior officers and young entrants of civil services alike. Taking this momentum forward, CONNECT 2019 is being held on 23rd August, 2019 in Delhi.

With your active participation – by way of your valuable time and priceless efforts, we aspire to strengthen NACS in future and develop it as a constructive platform for enthusiastic officers who are leading the change they want to see around them.