New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS): President Parnab Mukherjee Saturday congratulated a group of state civil service officers promoted to the rank of IAS officers and suggested they develop a pan-India perception.

Welcoming the officers, the president said: "There has been a sea change in our country over the years and it was the responsibility of the officers to manage changes and channelise them in the form in which people get benefits," a statement from the president's house said.

He said good governance is not only the maintenance of law and order and finance but to use state instruments for the service of people.

The president said India lives in the states and the road to our country's development will pass through the progress of our states.

He told the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers that they may belong to a particular state but they must always have a pan India perception in sight.

He urged the officer, who are undergoing the 116th induction training programme at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, to develop their expertise in order to use the tools of e-governance and digitisation in order to improve administration.

"The training programme aims to provide the officers inputs in public administration, law, economics, management and information technology. The overall objective of the programme is to provide an all India perspective to officers who have considerable field experience in their respective states," it said.