(Sample Material) Study Kit on Current Affairs for UPSC Mains Examination
Ethics & Integrity: Was Judicial Intervention in Management of Civil Services Required?
It is widely acknowledged, including by the Government of India, that poor implementation and weak oversight have distorted and reduced the effectiveness of Government policies and programmes. Thus, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) acknowledged that “governance is admittedly the weak link in our quest for prosperity and equity. (Second ARC, Fourth Report on Ethics in Governance). The Tenth Five Year Plan noted that “people’s welfare is largely determined by the efficiency of public delivery mechanisms. The best plan cannot compensate for poor implementation. Accountability and efficiency in all our public institutions are the key to unlock the potential of our country and to sustained social development.” Weak governance has adversely impacted performance and resulted in unacceptably poor outcomes in a large number of critically important sectors, especially in crucial areas such as education, public health, etc. reflecting in very poor international ratings relating to various indices of comparison.
Since, for the need of proper management of Civil Services, the implementation of Government policies and programmes is the responsibility of the permanent civil service, the lacunae and fault lines in this regard can be traced back directly to the civil servant. The consistent failure to achieve targets, across the board and over time, clearly indicates that the basic problem underpinning each failure lies in implementation arising out of poor governance. Any attempt to improve administration must, therefore, necessarily focus on the micro-issue of civil service reform, which in turn, affects all aspects of service delivery and implementation.
The Union Government as well as the State Governments have set up numerous Committees which have studied and made recommendations with regard to administrative and civil service reforms. All these Committees have concurred on the need to protect the civil servant from extraneous pressures and make him/her independent so that he/ she can render his/her considered advice freely and frankly, without fear or favour. Although, many of the recommendations of these Committees have been broadly similar, they have not been accepted or implemented. In this context, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2006-2008) noted that “it is ironical that there has been no sincere attempt to restructure the Civil Service although, more than six hundred Committees and Commissions have looked into different aspects of public administration in the country. The Indian reform effort has been unfailingly conservative, with limited impact. Civil service reform in India has neither enhanced the efficiency nor the accountability of the Civil Service in any meaningful manner.”