New Delhi: Acting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion to organize structured interactions between senior and young IAS officers for guidance and knowledge sharing, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has asked all states and union territories to nominate officers for the first such interaction. Statue of UnityEkta Nagar, Gujarat on Ekta Diwas this year.“The first batches of IAS and other services were asked to inspire the youth groups by visiting the Statue of Unity and spending a day with them on 31st October every year”, quoting the Prime Minister’s concluding remarks at the National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in December last year, the DoPT said in a recent letter to the Chief Secretaries of all states/UTs asking them to nominate officers for the visit.DoPT suggested that senior or experienced as well as young IAS officers can be selected from different batches and with expertise in different areas of governance, public administration, policy making etc. State governments were also asked to make all necessary arrangements for the yatra.The DoPT letter said the PM’s approach “seeks to encourage meaningful engagement between senior and young civil servants through structured guidance and knowledge-sharing interactions… and the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel holds immense symbolic significance and reinforces the ideals of national integration”.