New Delhi, April 16 (IANS): Civil servants should be "agents of the change which they wish to see in their society and country", President Pranab Mukherjee said Wednesday.

Addressing a group of probationers of the Indian Postal Service (2010-2013 batches) and the Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (2011-2013 batches), Mukherjee said the officers were entering service at a time of "great flux" and "ever increasing expectations" of the citizenry.

"The state is today no longer merely responsible for the maintenance of law and order or the dispensation of justice. Its role today is far more pro-active and far more inclusive... the philosophy of development today is empowerment of people through entitlements backed by legal guarantees," said Mukherjee.

"As the nature and scope of the activities of the state changes, the role of its administration assumes greater importance such as Right to Information, Right to Education, etc. Therefore, the greatest challenge before the civil servants today is to adjust to this new role of the government," he added.

The president urged the officer trainees "to be the agents of the change which you wish to see in your society and country."