New Delhi, Delhi, 18th of April 2026 : Shri Sriram Taranikanti, Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, had a detailed interaction with Officer Trainees (OTs) of the Indian Statistical Service batches of 2024, 2025, and 2026 at National Statistical Systems Training Academy, today (18th April, 2026).
Shri R. Rajesh, Additional Director General, Capacity Development Division, while welcoming the Director, profusely thanked him for taking precious time from his busy schedule and travelling all the way from Mussorie to address the ISS probationers, reflecting his keen commitment to reach out and inspire the young public servants. While alluding to the ongoing organizational reforms, capacity building, and outreach activities undertaken by the senior leadership of the Ministry, he also envisioned for increased collaboration between NSSTA and LBSNAA.
During the interaction, Shri Taranikanti spoke extensively on public service leadership and the critical role of civil servants in strengthening evidence-based policymaking. Addressing the Officer Trainees, he lauded the crucial role of the ISS in providing critical analytical inputs and data-driven insights, for policy formulation and governance. Describing the contribution of the ISS as “Selfless” Service whose impact/influence goes far beyond their domain, he urged the Officer Trainees to engage in core Statistical activities in their career instead of routine administrative work.
Emphasizing professional excellence, he advised Trainees to invest atleast 30% of their efforts in contributing pro-actively to innovation, new analytics and research, while also efficiently performing their assigned responsibilities. He underscored that continuous self-improvement is the key to effective public service.
Highlighting essential qualities of a civil servant, Shri Taranikanti emphasized the importance of being an “eternal optimist” (sustaining increased vigour even as you go up the career), maintaining empathy, and adopting a citizen-centric approach in governance. He noted that effective leadership requires clarity in decision-making, the ability to energize teams, and resilience in challenging administrative environments.
While underlining the critical importance of statistics, he exhorted the Probationers to make efforts during their field postings to mainstream statistical thinking/mindset within government systems at the ground level, as well as reaching out to society at large. He encouraged Trainees to transform routine statistical exercises, such as surveys, into opportunities for broader institutional engagement, particularly through collaboration with district/local administrations and field-level stakeholders.
Emphasizing that public service should go beyond formal responsibilities towards working for larger good and commitment to achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat, he advised the Trainees to adopt the attitude of a Karmayogi and a Sthithapragya in their life.
The talk was followed by a lively and extensive Question – Answer session carried over lunch also, in which he clarified the queries with various practical anecdotes.
This extensive interaction with Director, LBSNAA was highly valuable and enriching for the Officer Trainees, reinforcing the importance of integrating analytical rigour, leadership qualities, and citizen-centric values in strengthening evidence-based governance.
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