All central government officials set aside an hour on Monday, March 2, to read out the three-page resolution adopted by the Union Cabinet during its first meeting at the new Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Siva Tirth, last week; And then discuss it.
The pledge, called the Seva Sankalp Resolution, is a mission statement of sorts for the government — reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of nation-building and serving each of the country’s 1.4 billion citizens.
All departments have been asked to submit a report to the Cabinet Secretariat by Tuesday detailing Monday’s activity and its outcome.
The Cabinet Secretariat said in a memorandum: “Ministries/departments should organize a meeting for employees of their ministries/departments on 03/02/2026 (Monday), where this decision can be read, and it is then possible to hold discussions about the decision and ways to implement it.”
The memo was issued to all trustees last week. While the pledge is not unusual – bureaucrats take an anti-corruption and vigilance pledge every year – the length of this pledge is much longer than the usual two paragraphs that bureaucrats typically take. Some officers, who asked to remain anonymous, said the mandatory discussion that was scheduled may not have been the best use of everyone’s time. Many ministries such as the Ministry of Aviation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were among the ministries that were busy dealing with the repercussions of the war that broke out in West Asia over the weekend. Prime Minister Modi also held a meeting of the Cabinet Security Committee soon after his arrival in the capital late on Sunday night.
Hizb ut Tahrir contacted Satyendra Singh, Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, who signed this letter but did not receive any response till the paper was printed.
“It was a bit embarrassing because no one was quite sure what we were supposed to do,” said a senior official Hizb ut-Tahrir spoke to after reading the pledge and discussion. A second official said the pledge reading was a regular meeting held in the ministry’s conference room, and declined to provide further details.
As HT reported on Wednesday, the Cabinet adopted the Seva resolution to “strengthen India’s pride as the mother of democracy.” Explaining how the move from the South Block to Seva Tirth will change the work ethics of its residents, the resolution said: “The concept of Seva Tirth consists of the confluence of these two ideals. With the sacred confluence of duty, service and devotion, it is envisaged that this workplace will be as sacred as the workplace.” Hajj, this is its basic spirit.
