CIVIL SERVICES 2

 

STRUCTURAL CHANGES NEEDED IN BUREAUCRACY

1 . Separation of policy making from implementation.:  Ministries should concentrate on policy making while delegating the implementation to specialized agencies.

2. FOCUSED APPROACH : Government should only focus on its core areas. Decentralisation based on the principle of subsidiarity.

3. Increasing coordination subjects. Subjects  and functions which are closely inter related should be dealt with together.

4. Reducing hierarchies : will improve efficiency and accountability. Flatter organisational structure for enhanced team work.

5. interrelated ministries : It would also be unrealistic to expect for curtailment in the size of the Council of Ministers in an era of coalition politics. Instead, a more pragmatic approach would be to retain the existing size but increase the level of coordination among the departments.

 

REFORMS ARE DIFFICULT IN CIVIL SERVICES

1 . Constitutional protection under Article 311, which shields senior bureaucrats from punishments for corrupt actions. Section 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act also provides similar protection.

2. Lack of proper legislation governing civil servants, despite article 309 providing for the same. Civil Services Bill 2009 was not made into an act.

3. Presence of a strong civil servant lobby that resists change.

4. Absence of a fitness board and intense mid-service reviews, to weed out unproductive bureaucrats. At present, the rules only allow for performance reviews after 25 years in service or 50 years of age.

5. Automatic promotions and lack of merit based promotions, which disincentivise proactive work.

6. Increasing politician-bureaucratic nexus. Lack of political will to

implement most of the reforms as identified by several committees from time to time.

REFORMS UNDERTAKEN FOR CIVIL SERVICES

Institutional :

1.     End to vip culture

2.     7 cpc recommendations

3.     Lateral entry

4.     Civil services board

5.     Declaration of assets

Functional :

1.     360 degreee appraisal

2.     Compulsory retirement

3.     Amendment to prevention of corruption act to protect honest officers

 

2^ND ARC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CIVIL SERVICES

1.     Establish national institute of public administration

2.     Promotion should not be merely on seniority but on completion of mandatory training programs

3.     Fix minimum tenure for senior civil servants

4.     Provide safeguard against arbitrary dismissal of civil servants

5.     Recruitments : strengthen municipal corporation cadres  and encourage lateral entry

6.     Training : re orient training to meet job outcome oriented goals & mid career training modules

7.     Evaluation : replace acr with msf ( multistakeholder feedback ) & compulsory retirement for unperforming officers

8.     Governance : improve public access to information through ict and rti act

FUTURE REFORMS FOR CIVIL SERVICES

1. Reduce the number of civil services: The existing 60 plus separate civil services at the central and state level needs to be reduced through rationalization and harmonization of services.

2. Encourage lateral entry: Inducting specialists at higher levels of government will provide much needed expertise.

3. Nurture specialisation: The key to reform in the civil services is encouraging officers to cultivate specialisations based on their education and skills early on in their careers. Hota committee recommendations.

4. Incentivise: Review existing schemes and introduce new schemes of incentives for extraordinary performance.

5. Efforts need to be made to outsource service delivery to reduce dependence on the administrative machinery.

6. Introduce mid-career training modules for all services.

7. Compulsory retirement for underperforming officers.

8. Citizen-centric framework.

9. Institutionalise system for effective monitoring of suo moto disclosures.

 

GENERALIST VS SPECIALIST

·        The civil services in India can be grouped into two broad categories viz. technical services and non-technical services.

·        The technical services are those to which recruitment is done on the basis of specialised and professional qualifications of the candidates. Ex: IES, Indian statistical service, etc.

·        The non-technical services are those to which recruitment is done on the basis of general educational qualifications and is open to all candidates who possess the minimum required educational qualification. Ex: IAS, IPS, etc.

 

Controversy

1. The pay and service conditions (including promotion) of the generalists are more attractive and favourable than those of the specialists.

2. The majority of top posts in the Union and state governments are reserved for the members of IAS. In other words, entry into these top posts is usually denied to the specialists.

3. Inter-organisational mobility of generalists is much wider than that of specialists. The IAS officers move from one department to another, from department to a public enterprise or local government and vice-versa. The specialists move only within their respective departments or fields of administration.

4. The performance appraisal and assessment of specialists is done by generalist IAS officers.

 

Case for generalists

1. The generalists are more suitable than specialists for the performance of higher management level jobs due to their wide and rich experience.

2. The tenure system of Secretariat staffing which is based on the concept of district or field experience favours a band of generalist administrators.

3. A generalist acts as a mediator between a amateur minister and the specialist, between the people and the government, and between the pressure groups and public interest.

4. The specialists are narrow minded and parochial as they know more and more about less and less. The generalists, on the other hand, have a broad out look and flexibility of approach.

 

 

Case for specialists

1. Sometimes policies formulated by the generalists are unrealistic as they are not fully aware of the problems faced by the specialists in the effective implementation of policies.

2. Generalists cannot understand the technical complexities of the proposals forwarded by the specialists.

3. Functions of administration today have become more complex, more technical and subject specific.

4. In the present set up, a minister is deprived of expert advice and specialised knowledge of the specialists.

 

LATERAL ENTRY

DoPT has invited applications for 10 joint secretary level posts in  Lateral Entry to higher positions in bureaucracy is not new in India. Ex: Raghuram Rajan as RBI head, Montek Singh Ahluwalia as PC chairman, etc.

 

Benefits of lateral entry

1. The system of domain where a civil servant specialises after 14 years of service in any one field has been recommended by 2^nd ARC and Hota committee.

2. In an era when policymaking has become increasingly specialized, there is a need for officials who are immersed in a particular area.

3. Bring in fresh ideas and augment manpower.

4. They provide an opportunity to attract and retain the best from across the world.

5. Resolve issue of under staffing at senior officer level

6. Lateral hiring is common practice in other democracies such as the UK, US and Canada.

 

Challenges in lateral entry

1. Nepotism and corruption may creep in during selection process.

2. The civil services administrative framework has integrated the diverse country into a coherent whole. Therefore, we should not tamper with the framework.

3. The width and depth of field experience which the civil services provide is simply not available with outside talent.

4. The best talent can be attracted in civil services only if there is reasonable assurance of reaching top level managerial positions.

 

Though, lateral entry addresses the issue of lack of specialization in civil services, the structural issues regarding bureaucratic rigidities and red tape, lack of transparency in working of bureaucracy, political interference etc. remains. Lateral entry needs to be coupled with other reforms to overhaul civil services.

 

 

LATERAL EXIT

Ø IT MEANS  SHOWING THE DOOR TO THE INEFFICIENT CIVIL SERVANTS OR TO THOSE WHO DON’T WANT TO WORK.

Ø THIS MAY BE TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT.

BENEFITS : CIVIL SERVANT MAY BECOME INCOMPETENT WITH TIME. SO, REMOVING SUCH OFFICERS CAN REDUCE INEFFICIENCY AND CAN ALSO LEADS TO JUDICIOUS USAGE OF MONEY.

 

WAY FORWARD  : TRAINING TO CIVIL SERVANTS IN PRIVATE SECTOR TO GET DOMAIN SPECIALISATION.BY THIS THEY MAY INCULCATE GOOD PRACTICES AND WORK CULTURE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR, WHICH WILL BE LATER HELPFUL.

 

OTHER REASONS FOR LATERAL EXIT :

Ø SEEKING FOR PEACE AND REST AFTER EXHAUSTIVE STAY IN SERVICE TO GET ENERGISED AND CONTINUE LATER.

Ø PERSONAL COMMITMENTS TO FAMILY

Ø INTELLECTUAL / SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

 

CHALLENGES :

Ø POLITICS FORCING CIVIL SERVANT TO EXIT

Ø LOSS OF INFORMATION WITH THEM

Ø DEMORALISATION OF CIVIL SERVICE CADRE.

 

PROTECTION OF HONEST PUBLIC SERVANTS

Many times upright officers are victimised through frequent punitive transfers, threat to their families and fabricating false cases.

Following safeguard are available :

1. The civil servant must be allowed sufficient opportunities to challenge the charges framed against him/her.

2. He/she should not be dismissed or removed from service by an authority, that is subordinate to the one that had appointed him/her.

3. Only a special judge is competent to take cognisance of an offence of corruption.

4. A case under PoCA can only be registered by CBI or anticorruption agency and not by police.

 

Issues

1. The power to initiate a preliminary inquiry against an accused still needs governmental sanction in a number of cases.

2. A prolonged inquiry offers sufficient leeway to the corrupt public servants.

3. Often, honest public servants are the victims of frivolous charges framed against them.

4. Chances of witch hunting as Kelkar committee recommend that to amend PoCA to distinguish genuine errors from malafide intention.

 

 ARC recommendation

1. In-depth scrutiny of complaint at initial stage.

2. The process for departmental inquiry should be time-bound and

should not prolong much.

3. There should not arise the need for prior sanction for beginning a

preliminary inquiry.

4. The honest public servants should not be harassed unnecessarily, if they have functioned within the limits of their jurisdiction and authority.

5. Secrecy of the enquiry to protect honest officer.

6. Competent personnel must handle such cases.

 

 The dire necessity is to fill in the existing gap by protecting the honest

officers while making the corrupt officers realize that they are not

above law.  The protection to an honest public servant is required not

only in his/her interest but in the larger interest of society.

COURAGE BY BUREAUCRATS

SOME BUREAUCRATS SHOW COURAGE BCOZ :

PERSONAL LEVEL :

Ø  CONSCIENCE AS THEIR GUIDE

Ø  IMPARTIALITY TOWARDS POLITICAL PARTIES

Ø  DEDICATION TO PUBLIC SERVICES OVER PERSONAL GAINS

Ø  MAINTAINING INTEGRITY IS IMPORTANT TO THEM

Ø  EMOTIONAL SUPPORT FROM COLLEAGUES AND FAMILIES

Ø  COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC INTERST

SYSTEM LEVEL :

Ø  STRONG BELIEF I EFFICACY OF SYSTEM

SOME BUREAUCRATS DON’T SHOW COURAGE BCOZ :

PERSONAL LEVEL :

Ø  LACK OF MORAL CONVICTION AND CHARACTER

Ø  DOMINATION OF MATERIALISTIC VALUES – TANGIBLE ( MONEY ) & INTANGIBLE ( POSTS AFTER RETIREMENT )

Ø  FEAR OF TRANSFERS IF ORDERS ARE NOT OBEYED , WHICH COULD UNSETTLE ONE FAMILY

Ø  NO EMOTIONAL SUPPORT FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS

SYSTEM LEVEL :

Ø  POLITICISATION OF BUREAUCRACY

Ø  CRIMINALISATION OF POLITICS

Ø  NO BELIEF IN SYSTEM – THINKS ONE PERSON IS INSUFFICIENT TO CHANGE SYSTEM

Ø  NO ADEQUATE PROTECTION FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS

CHANGES REQUIRED TO RECTIFY CHALLENGES :

INDIVIDUAL :

Ø  MORAL TRAINING FOR BUREAUCRATS

Ø  ATTITUDIONAL TRAINING TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT/ ACCOUNTABLE

SYSTEM :

Ø  360 DEGREE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WHICH SHOULD INCLUDE TAKING COURAGEOUS DECISIONS

Ø  FOCUS ON TIMELY LATERAL EXIT

Ø  ENHANCED PROTECTION OF IDENTITY OF WHISTLEBLOWER – STRENTHENING WHISTLEBLOWER ACT