National Civil Service Day 2025: National Civil Service Day is celebrated every year on April 21 to recognise the contributions and hard work of civil servants who keep the country's administration running smoothly. This day honours the behind-the-scenes efforts of government officials who ensure public services reach citizens and maintain a robust system. The first National Civil Service Day was observed in 2006.
The Government of India chose April 21 as the National Civil Service Day, as on this day the country's first home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, addressed the newly appointed Administrative Services Officers in 1947. The historic occasion took place at the Metcalfe House in Delhi. Sardar Patel had referred to the civil servants as the "steel frame of India" or in other words, the backbone of the country's administration.
He had also laid out the golden rules and principles of good governance for the civil servants in his address.
"Along with discipline, you must cultivate an esprit de corps without which a Service as such has little meaning. You should regard it as a proud privilege to belong to the Service, covenants of which you will sign, and to uphold throughout your service, its dignity, integrity and incorruptibility. Above all, I would advise you to maintain to the utmost the impartiality and incorruptibility of administration. A civil servant cannot afford to and must not take part in politics. Nor must he involve himself in communal wrangles," Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had said in his address to officers.
On the occasion, the IAS association tweeted that they will "rededicate themselves to Sardar Patel's vision of a strong, service-driven nation."
Celebrations
To mark the occasion on Monday, the Union government is organising a day-long conference at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address the country's bureaucrats and share his mantra for innovative implementation of welfare programmes. He will confer the Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Public Administration for effective implementation of identified Priority Programmes and Innovation to Districts and Central/state governments.
The PM will also release e-books on holistic development and on innovations comprising of the success stories on the implementation of the identified priority programmes and innovations. A film on the award-winning initiatives will also be screened before the presentation of awards.
