New Delhi, March 26 (IANS): President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday congratulated probationers of the Indian Postal Service and the Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service for having cleared "one of the toughest competitive examinations".

He also advised them that their job as public servants is to deliver service.

The president said the government service provides them an opportunity to serve the country, an official statement issued here said.

They are an important part of the socio-economic transformation of the nation, he said, according to the statement.

"The Indian Postal system is one of the institutions that has helped bring the people across the length and breadth of the country together. Over the years, the department has assumed its own character and ethos," the president said.

The probationers of the Indian Postal Service of 2014 batch and those of the Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service of of 2013 and 2014 batches, who had called on to the president, are presently undergoing professional training at the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai National Academy, Ghaziabad and the National Institute of Communication Finance, Ghaziabad, respectively, the statement added.