Most Affordable IAS Coaching in India  

24 Dec 2024 : The Hindu Editorial

Editorial 1: India’s ‘steel frame’ does need a check

Context

Persistent challenges within the Indian Administrative Service and the wider bureaucracy have highlighted the urgent need for administrative reforms.

 

Introduction

India’s governance challenges demand urgent reforms to modernise its bureaucracy. The country’s economic story, which is marked by significant strides in growth and innovation, is juxtaposed with enduring issues of income inequality, underinvestment in critical sectors, and bureaucratic inefficiency. Central to this narrative is the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), which has for long held sway over the nation’s governance. However, persistent challenges within the IAS and the wider bureaucracy have highlighted the urgent need for administrative reforms to unlock India’s true economic potential.

 

The legacy and challenges of the IAS

  • The IAS: Often called India’s "steel frame," the IAS traces its origins to the colonial Indian Civil Service (ICS).
  • Post-Independence Role: After Independence, it became the backbone of India’s administrative machinery, with officers occupying pivotal roles in governance.
  • Challenges: The IAS's legacy has faced issues such as political interference, lack of specialisation, and outdated personnel practices, which have gradually eroded its effectiveness.

 

Politicisation and Lack of Specialisation

  • Politicisation: A pressing issue is the politicisation of the IAS. Frequent transfers, suspensions, and promotions influenced by political loyalty rather than merit have undermined morale and professionalism.
  • Lack of Specialisation: Due to frequent rotations across departments, officers struggle to develop domain expertise, preventing them from becoming effective policy specialists in an increasingly complex governance landscape.

 

Corruption and Inefficiency

  • Corruption and Inefficiency: Corruption and inefficiency further plague the bureaucracy.
  • World Bank Measure: According to the World Bank’s measure of government effectiveness, India ranks only moderately, reflecting poor policy implementation and administrative independence.
  • Systemic Inefficiencies: Without reform, these systemic inefficiencies threaten to stymie India’s economic growthand governance objectives.

 

Executive-Led Governance and Its Challenges

  • Centralised Decision-Making: Executive-led governance in India, characterised by centralised decision-making, has had mixed results.
  • Positive Outcomes: It has facilitated rapid economic reforms and infrastructure development.
  • Negative Outcomes: However, it has also led to bottlenecks in policy implementation and a lack of accountability, as centralised power often sidelines bureaucrats' insights and expertise.

 

Reforms under Prime Minister Modi’s Leadership

  • Reforms Attempted: Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the government has tried to address some of these issues by curbing politicised transfers and introducing measures to enhance bureaucratic accountability.
  • Criticism: Critics argue that centralising power in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) risks undermining the autonomy of senior bureaucrats, leading to further disempowerment of the IAS.

 

Need for Administrative Reforms

  • Historical Context: The need for administrative reforms in India is not new. Since Independence, over 50 commissions and committees have been tasked with reimagining the country’s administrative apparatus.
  • First ARC (1966): The First Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in 1966 and subsequent commissions have consistently emphasised the need for specialisation, accountability, and merit-based promotions within the bureaucracy.

 

Recommendations of the Second ARC

  • Second ARC (2005): The Second ARC, set up in 2005, laid out a blueprint for administrative reforms.
  • Key Recommendations:
    • Lowering the permissible age of entry into civil services.
    • Introducing performance-based promotions and lateral entry.
    • Establishing safeguards against arbitrary transfers.
  • Implementation Challenges: Many of these recommendations remain unimplemented, stalled by bureaucratic inertia and political resistance.

 

Government’s push for reform

  • Diversifying governance: Recognising the limitations of the IAS-centric administrative model, the Modi government has sought to diversify governance by introducing lateral entry into senior bureaucratic positions.
  • Domain expertise: This initiative aims to bring domain experts from the private sector and other government services into key policymaking roles, infusing fresh perspectives and specialised knowledge.

 

Lateral Entry Progress and Impact

  • Initiative timeline: Since 2018, the central government has pursued lateral recruitment to bring individuals with specialised knowledge and domain expertise into specific assignments.
  • Appointment statistics: By 2023, 57 officers had been appointed through this initiative, many from the private sector, reflecting a deliberate effort to infuse fresh talent into governance.
  • UPSC advertisements: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recently advertised 45 posts for lateral entry, including positions for Joint Secretaries and Directors across various ministries.
  • Shift in IAS Dominance: This shift has disrupted the IAS’s traditional dominance, with only 33% of Joint Secretaries at the Centre now belonging to the IAS, compared to near-total dominance a decade ago.

 

Resistance to Lateral Entry

  • Criticism: The lateral entry initiative has faced resistance from various quarters.
    • Civil Servants’ Concerns: Critics, including retired civil servants, argue that it could undermine incumbent morale and distort promotion incentives.
    • Opposition Parties: Opposition parties have voiced concerns about the lack of reservation provisions for marginalised groups in these appointments.
  • Political pressure: The Modi government’s recent U-turn on lateral entry appointments, reportedly due to political pressure from political allies, highlights the contentious nature of this reform.

 

The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Model

  • DOGE’s Model: The U.S. proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under President-elect Donald Trump, offers an intriguing model for reforming India’s administrative apparatus.
    • Goals: DOGE aims to streamline government operations, reduce inefficiency, and eliminate redundant agencies while leveraging the expertise of leaders such as Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
    • Accountability focus: DOGE’s focus on cutting wasteful expenditures and introducing accountability mechanisms resonates with the challenges faced by the Indian bureaucracy.

 

Possible Adaptation for India

  • Advisory Body for India: A similar advisory body in India could help identify inefficiencies within the civil service, promote data-driven decision-making, and develop metrics to assess bureaucratic performance.
  • Time-bound Commission: A time-bound commission, such as DOGE’s expiration date tied to the U.S. semi-quincentennial, could ensure that reform initiatives in India remain focused and actionable.

 

Challenges to reform

  • Reforming India’s bureaucracy is no small task. Despite its flaws, the IAS remains deeply entrenched in the country’s governance structure.
  • Proposals for lateral entry, performance-based promotions, and specialised training often face resistance from within the service, where seniority-based progression and generalist approaches are deeply institutionalised.
  • Political interference further complicates reform efforts.
  • Proposals such as the Civil Services Standards, Performance, and Accountability Bill (2010), which sought to protect bureaucrats from arbitrary transfers, have languished in legislative limbo.
  • Even judicial interventions, such as the Supreme Court of India’s directive to establish civil services boards in 2013, have had limited impact due to lack of enforcement.

 

Conclusion

A multifaceted approach to administrative reform is vital to address the challenges of India’s bureaucracy. Recruitment must prioritise merit and domain expertise, with promotions tied to measurable performance rather than seniority. Protecting bureaucrats from politically motivated transfers and fostering specialisation in policymaking roles would enhance accountability and efficiency. Further, the government should invest in a robust data infrastructure to track bureaucratic performance, enabling informed decisions on placements, promotions, and policy implementation. Reform is essential for India’s economic aspirations and ensuring governance effectively serves its people.

Editorial 2: Envisioning India as a global skill supplier

Context

Among the various facets of such changes, the skills of these workers are assuming centrality in public policy discourse.

 

Introduction

In an address in August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that he was hopeful that India’s skilled workforce will play a prominent role in the global job market. Global mega trends, such as demographic transitions, globalisation, technological advancements, and climate change, are significantly altering the demand for, and the supply of, international migrant workers. Among the various facets of such changes, the skills of these workers are assuming centrality in public policy discourse.

 

Reviews of Immigration Policies

  • Traditional and Major Migrant Destinations
    • The U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
    • Increased prioritising of skill-selective and skill-intense immigration.
  • New Migrant Destinations
    • Germany, South Korea, Japan, etc.
    • Skill-selective and skill-intense immigration policies.

 

Key Factors Influencing Immigration Policies

  • Ageing Society: Many destination countries are facing an ageing society.
  • Digitalisation: Growing importance of digitalisation.
  • Declining Fertility Rates: Impact of declining fertility rates.
  • Economic Diversification: Need for economic diversification strategies to tackle the global economic challenges.

 

India’s Role in Bridging Global Skills Gaps

  • Can India Rise to the Occasion?: Can India bridge the global skills gaps?
  • Complex Task: Responding effectively to the skill needs of different destination countries is a complex task.
  • Policy Interventions: Robust and evidence-based policy interventions are essential to facilitate skill-centred international labour migration outflows from India.

 

Fragmented policy structure

  • Policy Gaps: India still lacks a comprehensive policy architecture for international labour mobility.
  • Fragmented Interventions: The policy interventions are fragmented and often not based on evidence.
  • Data Inadequacy: The only data source for annual migrant labour outflows is based on emigration clearances, covering only workers with an educational attainment below matriculation and low-skilled workers migrating to 18 select countries. This data inadequacy is a major obstacle in formulating constructive policies.

 

India’s Current Efforts

  • Bilateral Agreements: India has primarily focused on bilateral agreements on international labour mobility with various countries. These agreements cover aspects like social security, skills, protection, and welfare.
  • One-off Exercises: These efforts are mostly one-off exercises, not part of a composite policy framework.
  • Lack of Evaluations: There are hardly any evaluations available on the outcomes of these pacts or the learningsfrom them.

 

Need for a Comprehensive National Policy

  • Comprehensive National Policy: India must design and operationalise a comprehensive national policy on international labour migration.
  • Skill-Centred Migration: Skill-centred migration should be anchored as one of the fundamental pillars of the policy.
  • Roadmap: The policy should clearly set the roadmap for the different processes involved in transitioning India as the global skill capital.

 

The way forward: Identifying and Anticipating Skills in Demand

  • Anticipating skills: The critical step is to identify and anticipate the ever-changing skills in demand in select destination countries and the emergent skill gaps across their key sectors and occupations.
  • Skill forecasting: Organisations like the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training are involved in skill forecasting for European countries using rigorous methodologies.
  • Data and insights: Data from regional and national skill-forecasting exercises, especially for the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, covering the medium term (2-5 years), can help India respond to skill needs.
  • Big data analytics: This should be supplemented by big data analytics of real-time online job vacancies in destination countries for which India seeks to become the lead supplier of skills.

 

Assessing India’s Capacity to Provide Skills

  • Capacity qssessment: India’s capacity to provide the requisite skills must be assessed.
  • Mapping Skill Development Efforts: This will involve systematic mapping of the country’s skill development efforts related to skill mobility.
  • Follow-up qctions: These actions include:
    • Introducing identified skills and competencies as part of the curriculum in specific institutions.
    • Reorienting skill programmes of India’s International Skill Centres to meet the global skill gaps.
    • Creating customised short-term skill training geared towards destination countries.
  • Raising quality: The priority must be to raise the quality of skill development to international standards.
  • Convergence of Skill Qualification Systems: This calls for the convergence of the skill qualification systems of India and the destination countries.
  • Review of National Skills Qualification Framework: India needs a review of the National Skills Qualification Framework to assess its effectiveness in aligning qualifications with those of major destination countries.

 

Addressing Return Migration

  • Return migration: As contemporary immigration policies encourage temporisation, return migration is gaining prominence in international skilled migration flows.
  • Utilising return migrants' skills: India falls short in optimising return migrants’ skills, which is one of the most neglected aspects of the country’s migration policies.
  • Reintegration of return migrants: The best way to reintegrate return migrants is to ensure that the skills and competencies they acquire in destination countries are accredited by specialised skill certification institutions in those countries.
  • Transition to Indian Labour Market: This will ensure that migrants can transition back effectively to the Indian labour market when they return.

 

Conclusion

Another pressing need is a skill-centred international labour migration information system, encompassing quantitative and qualitative indicators. Such a platform should regularly collate, generate, analyse, and report information and data on key indicators of skills and migration to enable evidence-based interventions. This will be pivotal in fostering skill partnerships between India and the principal destination countries, boosting skill-centred mobility, and improving migration and developmental outcomes.