Government must be enabler, not regulator: Modi

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Stressing the importance of competition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that with changing dynamics, the government needs to change its role from being a regulator to an enabler.

"Things have changed vastly in the last 15-20 years. Earlier, government was everything. General public depended on the government for all their needs. But now they have an alternative," Modi told bureaucrats on Civil Services Day here.

Citing examples of private hospital and airlines, Modi said people have been criticising public services and tend to be more satisfied by private services.

"Moving away from the time when government was everything, we are now in an era of competition." 

Because there were now alternatives available, the government's responsibilities have grown, he added. "Its not the work load, it is the challenge that has risen. 

"The sooner we change our working style, change our way of thinking, the better. The sooner we come out of our role of a regulator and develop as an enabling entity, the better," he added.