Competence, not just seniority will define future leadership: Cabinet Secretary

Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan on Thursday (April 2, 2026) said that future leadership in civil services will be defined by competence and “not just seniority”.

The Cabinet Secretary said that while career progression in civil services may appear to follow a natural upward path driven by seniority, reaching positions of real responsibility depends increasingly on competence and the ability to deliver. Drawing an analogy, he remarked that while “seniority may act like a force that moves careers upward, it is capability that determines how far one truly rises”.

Addressing senior officials during the ‘Karmayogi Sadhana Saptah’, he said that building a strong learning culture within government institutions depends fundamentally on leadership.

The Government of India launched the ‘Karmayogi Sadhana Saptah’, a national learning initiative under Mission Karmayogi, aimed at strengthening the capabilities, commitment, and citizen-centric orientation of public servants across the country.

P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, said that ‘Sadhana Saptah’ reinforces the shift towards a capable, committed and citizen-centric civil services. He noted that capacity building has evolved from limited, rules-based training to a system of continuous, anytime-anywhere learning. He highlighted the transition from rules-based governance to roles-based governance, where competencies, behaviour and service orientation are central to the process.