Emphasising a "nation-first" approach to decision-making, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday has said that there cannot be any compromise on the unity and integrity of the country and even decisions at the local level should be made on this touchstone. Addressing civil servants on the 15th Civil Services Day at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, he said every decision should be evaluated on the basis of its capacity to strengthen the country's unity and integrity.

Modi said in the country's democratic set-up, "we should be committed to three goals". "The first goal is that there should be a change in the life of the common people in the country, their life should be easy and they should also be able to feel this ease. The common people should not have to struggle in their dealings with the government, benefits and services should be available to them without hassle," he said.

"Secondly, given the growing stature and changing profile of India, it is imperative that things should be done in the global context," he said. "If we do not follow the activities at the global level, it will be very difficult to ascertain our priorities and focus area."

"We need to develop our schemes and governance models keeping this perspective in mind," he added. Thirdly, Modi said, "Wherever we are in the system, our prime responsibility is the unity and integrity of the country, there cannot be any compromise. Even local decisions should be measured on this touchstone".