CIVIL SERVICES REFORMS
As per NITI Aayog, the idea behind civil services reforms is to put in place a reformed system of recruitment, training and performance evaluation of the civil service to ensure more effective and efficient delivery of public services to achieve the development goals envisaged in New India 2022.
Issues with Civil Services
- Recruitment and Training Phase Issues
- Absence of Specialisation: New recruits have a general approach and need training for domain-specific roles.
- Recruitment: Induction exam fails to address technological knowledge, human rights, managerial skills, etc.
- Training: Absence of training as per the rising need for digital skills, management skills, etc.
- Service Phase Issues
- Political interference & Arm Twisting: Through arbitrary transfers, in order to achieve political or even ill-intentioned goals.
- Arbitrary and whimsical transfers: Insecurity in tenures impedes institutionalization. The Civil Services Board is a step in the right direction.
- Rule-Book Bureaucracy: Bureaucracy mainly follows the rules and laws of the book without taking care of actual needs of the people.
- Bureaucratic behavior: with issues like red-tapism, complicated procedures, and maladapted responses of ‘bureaucratic’ organizations to the needs of the people.
- Poor Salary structure: which is not competent as per the private sector.
- Poor Exposure: poor mobility of civil servants across public and private sectors to gain exposure by working for short or long periods with the private and voluntary sector.
- Outmoded rules and procedures: that restrict the civil servant from performing effectively.
- Resistance: Due to being tied up with the privileges, they often resist changes. This impacts the efficiency of administration.
- Corruption: corrupt practices have become prevalent in the civil services and there is a loss of public perception in terms of their uprightness, neutrality and honesty. Ex – In 2020 an IFS officer in Odisha was arrested for corruption and possessing disproportionate assets.
- Culture of secrecy: Instead of a culture of openness and promotion of collaborative governance, there is a culture of secrecy.
- Resistant to change: they resist changes as they are wedded to their privileges and prospects. Example, 73rd and 74th Amendments face resistance in implementation from the bureaucracy.
- Assessment Phase Issues
- Inefficient incentive systems: that do not appreciate upright and outstanding civil servants but reward the corrupt and the incompetent.
- No Regular Assessment: of performance of a civil servant. Incentives as per performance evaluation can help to award the honest and sideline the corrupt.
- Security of tenure: It is very difficult to remove civil servant from service, which is sometimes wrongly used by corrupt civil servants.
- Delays in Complaint scrutiny: prevents corrupt officials from fact law of the land.
Reforms in Civil Services undertaken in India
- Recruitment: Lateral Entry recruits are being appointed at Joint Secretary level.
- Training: It has been mandatory for all government servants at the induction stage as well as at mid-career stages and National Training Institutes have been provided with greater autonomy.
- Capacity Building: Recently, the new National Architecture for Civil Services Capacity Building called “Mission Karmayogi” that aims to transform the capacity building apparatus at individual, institutional and process levels at Government of India. Focus from “Rule-based training to Role-based training”.
- iGOT Karmayogi Platform: The Programme will be delivered by setting up an Integrated Government Online Training, iGOT Karmayogi Platform.
- Public Human Resources Council: Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister, with Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, eminent HR practitioners, national and international experts to oversee the entire capacity building exercise.
- Capacity Building Commission: An expert body to harmonize training standards, use shared faculty and resources, and have supervisory role over all Central Training Institutions.
- Special Purpose Vehicle: It will own and manage the iGOT-Karmayogi platform and will own all Intellectual Property Rights on behalf of the Government of India.
- Monitoring and evaluation framework: For performance evaluation of all users of the iGOT-Karmayogi platform so as to generate a dashboard view of Key Performance Indicators.
- Domain expertise: Domain assignment is done at completion of 18 years of service. It is done in consultation with officers.
- Performance Appraisal: A 360-degree performance appraisal is undertaken.
Way forward: Reforms in civil services
Several committees over the years [Mudaliar Committee, D.S. Kothari Committee, Alagh Committee, Hota Committee, Administrative Reforms Commission I & II] have made recommendations on various aspects of civil reforms and its reforms.
- Recruitment
- National Institutes of Public Administration should be established to run bachelor’s degree courses in public administration/governance/management. These graduates would be eligible for appearing in the Civil Services Examinations [II ARC].
- Bridge courses: Graduates in other disciplines would also be eligible to appear in the Civil Services Examination provided they complete a ‘Bridge Course’ in the core subjects mentioned above [II ARC].
- Common Subject: Testing the candidates in a common subject rather than on optional subjects [Yoginder K. Alagh Committee].
- Objectivity in recruitment and placement process: Wide dissemination of job description and selection criteria, eliminating elements of arbitrariness [Strategy for New India @ 75 — Niti Aayog].
- Nurture specialization:
- Surinder Nath Committee Report, 2003: Suggested 11 domains for the purpose of division. It suggested that officers may be assigned to a maximum of three domains out of the eleven.
- Hota Committee: Domain assignment should be introduced for civil servants to encourage acquisition of skills, professional excellence, and career planning.
- II ARC: Domains should be assigned by the Central Civil Services Authority to all officers of the All India Services and the Central Civil Services on completion of 13 years of service.
- Strategy for New India @ 75 — Niti Aayog: Through lateral entry, cross-sector mobility of civil servants.
- Age limit: Restrict upper age limit to 27 years for general category in a phased manner by 2022-23 [Strategy for New India @ 75 — Niti Aayog].
- Training
- Trainings:
- II ARC: Mandatory at induction stage and periodically during his/her career. Successful completion of training should be a necessary condition for confirmation in service and promotion.
- Strategy for New India @ 75: Mid-career training for all services and evaluating it for future postings. It also recommended an e-learning platform for training.
- National Institute of good governance: May be set up by upgrading one of the existing national/state institutes to identify, document, and disseminate best practices and also conduct training programmes.
- Living university: A concept of value creation based on outcomes and good ideals [Strategy for New India @ 75 — Niti Aayog].
- Evaluation
- Surinder Nath Committee, 2003: Performance appraisal should be used for the overall development of an officer and for his/her placement in an area where his/her abilities and potential can be best used. Only those officers who demonstrate a credible record of actual performance should be promoted.
- Hota Committee: Replace ACR with a system of performance assessment in which greater emphasis is placed on objective assessment against agreed work plans.
- Strategy for New India @ 75:
- Replacing Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) with multi-stakeholder feedback mechanism.
- Institute goal setting and tracking to reduce discretionary aspects to evaluate civil services.
- SPARROW: Institute online Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) template in all state and central cadres.
- Incentives for extraordinary performance and compulsory retirement for underperforming officers.
- Autonomy
- II ARC:
- Political neutrality and impartiality: To safeguard them, it should be included in the Code of Ethics for Ministers as well as the Code of Conduct for Public Servants.
- Amendment to Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988: “Abuse of authority unduly favouring or harming someone” and “obstruction of justice” should be classified as an offence under the Act.
- Cadre Controlling Authority: Should ensure that officers are used optimally, promotion prospects for them are adequate, and skill levels are upgraded periodically.
- Fixed Tenure: Officials to have fixed tenure [Hota Committee].
- Accountability
- Santhanam Committee: Recommended constitution of Central Vigilance Commission and changes in Article 311 of the Constitution for conducting disciplinary proceedings against government servants.
- II ARC: A system of two intensive reviews—one on completion of 14 years of service and another on completion of 20 years of service should be established for all government officers.
- Strategy for New India @ 75:
- Ensuring probity in governance by strengthening institutional mechanisms for prevention and detection of corruption.
- Reviewing performance based on probity.
- Statutory backing to Civil Services Values and Code of Ethics.
- Strengthening implementation of a Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).
- Efficiency
- Hota Committee: Emphasised the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to transform the government by making it more accessible, effective, and accountable.
- Strategy for New India @ 75:
- Contracting out non-core functions like power, security services, etc.
- Operational freedom, trust, confidence, job enrichment
- Principle of subsidiarity must be followed in letter and spirit
- Implementation of e-Office may be expedited in all ministries/departments; all states/UTs may also be encouraged to adopt it.
- Best Practices
- Malaysia: It follows a system of promotion and annual salary progression based upon a new performance appraisal and remuneration system.