“Institutional quality is a crucial driver of economic performance”. In this context suggest reforms in the Civil Service for strengthening democracy. (UPSC IAS Mains 2020 General Studies Paper – 2)
Institutional quality in a democracy determines how successful the government machinery adheres to the principles of public service, rule of law, and social justice. One such institution is the Civil Services, which acts as a link between the government and citizenry strengthening democracy and furthering economic objectives such as sustainable growth and development.
Challenges Faced By Civil Services in India
- Status Quoist: As instruments of public service, civil servants have to be ready for change. The common experience, however, is that they resist changes as they are wedded to their privileges and prospects and thereby, have become ends in themselves. For example, the 73rd and 74thAmendmentsto the Constitution have envisaged democratic decentralization.
- However, due to the reluctance on the part of the civil servants to accept the changes in control and accountability, the intended vision has not been achieved.
- Rule-Book Bureaucracy: It means following the rules and laws, in words and not in spirit, without taking care of the actual needs of the people. Due to rule book bureaucracy, some civil servants have developed the attitude of ‘bureaucratic behaviour’ which brings issues like red-tapism and poor responses to the needs of the people.
- Political Interference: The political representatives for the sake of fulfilling the populist demand, often influence the functioning of administrative officials. This leads to issues like corruption and arbitrary transfers of honest civil servants, an important reason for inefficient implentation of policies.
Civil Services Reforms
- Prompt Delivery of Services: Every department should seek to simplify their processes to cut administrative delays and ensure participatory feedback mechanisms for efficient service delivery.
- Reducing Discretion & Enhancing Accountability Mechanism: There is aninherent need to set key responsibility/ focus areas and progressively reduce discretionary aspects to evaluate civil servants. Online Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) should be instituted in all central and state cadres.
- Also, as suggested by many committees, there is a need to develop benchmarks to assess the performance of officers and compulsorily retire those deemed unable to meet the benchmarks.
- Incorporation of Code of Ethics: As suggested by 2nd ARC, along with streamlining of code of conduct rules, there is a need to inculcate ethical underpinning in the civil servants by implementing the Code of Ethics. This will sensitize civil servants to the problems of people.
Sardar Patel considered the civil service “the steel frame of government machinery”. However, without adequate reforms, this steel frame may start to get corroded and may collapse.
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