India, June 23 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told young IAS officer trainees that every government file represents the aspirations, concerns and lives of countless citizens, and urged them to ensure that governance remains empathetic, responsive and citizen-centric.

Interacting with 183 officer trainees of the IAS-2024 batch attached as assistant secretaries across various ministries, the Prime Minister said administrators must place people at the centre of every decision under the guiding principle of "Nagrik Devo Bhava".

Modi stressed that major developmental challenges cannot be addressed in isolation and called for stronger inter-departmental coordination to achieve meaningful and long-lasting outcomes. He asked officer...