India, July 27 -- Cabinet Secretary Dr TV Somanathan has urged civil servants across the country to move beyond entrenched work habits, saying officers must continuously reflect on their performance instead of allowing years of service to become "one year's experience repeated 30 times."

In a letter, addressed to all chief secretaries, advisers of states and Union Territories, and directors general of state administrative training institutes, Somanathan said many middle-ranking officers had expressed the need for practical guidance on routine administrative work despite being satisfied with subject-specific training.

"As Cabinet Secretary, I have the pleasure of meeting many officers," he wrote, adding that several officers had told him...