Pathways to get into PhD program
I can only speak for germany and only my own experience as a researcher:
I don't know exactly what you mean by "kick-start leading to PhD program", but if you mean "will a masters help me get a PhD?" Then the answer is definitely yes. This should apply anywhere on the globe where bachelor/master is established. Where in general it is possible to do a PhD with "only" a bachelor degree, it is pretty rare and I personally know not a single case.

As for tips: If you want a PhD, do the masters program. Get in touch with people, professors and lecturers. In my group, a lot of people are hired after completing their master thesis here. 

So the best tips I can give you are:


Enroll into topics which you are truly interested in
Make a good impression in exercises(talk to the lecturer after the session, don't slack off, get good grades...)
Get a position as research assistant in a working group
Do your master thesis in the group where you are most interested in(and here is the hard part: during this time you should work very hard, make good impressions, try to get good results... since you want to work there later)


Those tips are pretty much the route I took and I guess there are many more tips and life experiences out there to help you.