Summary: New India @ 75 - Part 4

Ch 39: Civil Services Reforms | Reading Time - 4 min

Welcome back to Part 4 of the Summary of New India @ 75. If you missed the previous parts you can read them here:

1. Part 1 → Balanced Regional Development

2. Part 2 → The North-East Region

3. Part 3 → Legal, Judicial and Police Reforms

In today’s post, we will be covering chapter 39 of the report.

NITI Ayog Report: Ch 39. Civil Services Reforms → UPSC Syllabus: Paper-2 → Ch 8: Civil Services

Ch 39. Civil Services Reforms

Current Situation

The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) generated 15 reports making 1514 recommendations. Of these, 1183 have been accepted by the central government. (Accepted doesn’t mean implemented.)

While the accepted suggestions were sent to the respective departments, the progress of implementation on the same has been meagre.

Some of the reforms introduced in recent times have been:

• The introduction of multi-stakeholder feedback (MSF) performance evaluation,

• Dispensing with interviews for lower-level positions,

• Introduction of online mechanisms for appraisals and

• Implementation of e-office, and

• Strengthening training and merit-based postings

In addition to all these, on September 20, 2020, Prime Minister Modi announced the launch of The National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (‘NPCSCB’) also called the “Mission Karmayogi.” As this is a much larger topic, we will cover it in detail in a separate post.

Constraints

Several constraints impede the development of a highly efficient, transparent and accountable civil service.

1. There is a mismatch between positions and skill sets. Recruitment is not competency specific and often, the right person is not placed in the right job. [Scientific selection → Taylor]

2. A related issue is the opposition to lateral entry, which hinders the development process. As the complexity of the economy increases, policymaking becomes a specialized activity. This creates an inherent need for the lateral entry of professionals into government service. [Specialist vs Generalist ]

3. There is a need to forecast staffing needs in the civil services. This could ideally be done on a five-year rolling basis. There are instances of lack of employment opportunities in some areas, while there are many vacancies in others. [Human resource planning ]

4. Attracting talent and nurturing excellence, ensuring transparency and accountability along with participatory and representative decision-making are some issues that need to be addressed. [Culture of the organisation]

Way Forward

The report has highlighted specific suggestions in the areas of Recruitment, Training, Evaluation, Governance and E-initiatives and Probity.

A. Recruitment

• Improve teeth to tail ratio(TTR): This is military jargon. It is the amount of military personnel it takes to supply and support ("tail") each combat soldier ("tooth").

• Objectivity in the recruitment and placement process: Widely disseminate job descriptions and selection criteria and eliminate elements of arbitrariness.

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

• Nurture specialization: The key to reform in the civil services is encouraging officers to cultivate specializations based on their education and skills early on in their careers.

B. Training

• Reorient training: Alter the current system of training to meet job-outcome-oriented goals.

• Introduce mid-career training modules for all services. Link future postings to performance in the exams related to the same.

• Strengthen and leverage online avenues for training

• Develop a competency matrix to monitor ongoing skill acquisition and help match requirements with resources in real time

C. Evaluation

• Replace annual confidential reports (ACRs) with multi-stakeholder feedback (MSF)

• Institute the online Smart Performance Appraisal ReportRecording Online Window (SPARROW) template in all central and state cadres.

• Compulsory retirement for underperforming officers

D. Governance

• Institutionalize a system for effective monitoring of Suo moto disclosures to bring further transparency to public affairs and adopt
  safeguards to promote accountability.

• Protection of civil servants: Introduce an appropriate system of checks and balances, including the process of suspension, to ensure that officers are given their due process and are not vulnerable to vested interests and political pressures.

E. E-initiatives and Probity

• Strengthen implementation of a Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMs).

• Prompt delivery of services: Every department should seek to simplify their processes to cut administrative delays and ensure participatory
  feedback mechanisms

• Ensure probity in governance: Strengthen institutional mechanisms for prevention and detection of corruption

This specific chapter in Paper 2 is important from the exam perspective. Here are two questions asked in the UPSC exam in recent years.

• 7 (c) Civil servants are trained to follow rules and procedures so much that they become a bureaucracy. Do you agree? Justify [2020]

• Q6(a) The office of the District Collector has merely become a bureau for funnelling government schemes, collecting statistics and an officer on attendance for unending VIP duties. Critically examine its role in the light of the recommendations of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission. [2019]