Editorial 1 : Death of a reform
Context: Government withdraws lateral entry advertisement.
Introduction
- The political landscape in the country and in the parliament has killed a key administrative reform.
- The lateral entry scheme meant to revitalise a moribund babudom (bureaucracy) is dead.
- It will take time before a strong and visionary PM arrives on the scene with a resolve to infuse life into it.
Need for lateral entry
- The glaring shortcomings in our system of governance at the Centre and in states and municipal corporations, raise the need for external professionals to join the administration, especially at the middle and senior levels.
- An efficient, responsive and results-oriented governance is crucial to meet the rising aspirations of 1.45 billion people, especially those belonging to poor and neglected communities.
- Many forward-looking leaders across party lines admit that the country’s administrative machinery needs radical reforms, and that the lateral entry scheme is one of them.
- Challenges in development and governance are becoming highly complex in the modern world.
- Therefore, higher echelons of administration require professionals with deep domain knowledge and expertise.
Shortcomings of traditional public service systems
- Generalists like most job-secure IAS officers who hop from one domain to another in relatively short stints with little people-monitored accountability.
- The traditional public service system does not produce enough specialists.
- Public service should not remain a monopoly of IAS or IFS officers, who, quite often, become an elite “caste” unto themselves and fiercely resist the entry of external talent.
Reservation quotas in Lateral Entry
- Adherence to reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs defeats the very rationale of the reform.
- For the scheme to be meaningful the scheme should be free from the provision of quotas. Which caste or religion public servants belong to is immaterial.
- What should matter is whether public servants are competent, pro-people and can deliver outcomes that benefit the nation as a whole and, particularly, the disadvantaged citizenry.
- Sadly, the debate on the lateral entry scheme has been hijacked by quota “Brahmins” at the expense of multitudes who remain victims of poor governance.
- Opposition to the creamy-layer concept also shows the exclusionary touch-me-not mindset.
International Practice
- All rich countries, and many developing countries, offer public service opportunities to highly competent and interested professionals.
- In US and China, specialists in universities and private sector companies are routinely called upon to work in government departments, including in foreign service.
How to make lateral entry socially representative without mandatory quotas?
- Accelerate the efforts to build needed competencies in professionals from less represented sections of society.
- This requires major and long-neglected reforms in government-run universities, whose low standards are hurting the poor among SCs, STs, OBCs and all other communities.
- Private sector companies too must come forward to provide ample growth opportunities to talented human resources in these communities.
Conclusion
- Government service demands a paramount virtue from all who wish to enter its portals through either through regular or lateral channels.
- At work, public servants must annihilate their own caste and religious identities, and embrace only one “jaati” of being a public servant and only one dharma (duty): Service of India and all Indians without any discrimination.
Editorial 2 : Rationalise the Rates
Context: Need for reforms in GST system
Resisting the reforms in tax slabs
- Most states don’t seem to be in favour of changes to the existing five main goods and services tax (GST) rate slabs: 0, 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent.
- The argument being, why should the rate slabs be disturbed when the rate structure has stabilised and gross GST revenues have been growing.
- Most states may be averse to rate rationalisation, fearing loss of revenue.
Right time to reform the tax slabs
- With GST collections being robust, thanks to improved compliance and plugging leakages, this is precisely the time for embarking on rate rationalisation.
- It includes both reducing the number of slabs from five to not more than three, and also reviewing the list of items under each slab.
Reviewing the items in slabs
- The incongruity of the GST rates applicable on several items are well known.
- GST on cement, a basic construction material is at 28%.
- 18% GST applies on medical and life insurance policy premium.
- Milk does not attract any GST, but skimmed milk powder is taxed at 5% and butter and ghee at 12%.
- A 12% GST on milk fat is also an anomaly when vegetable fat (edible oil) is taxed at 5%.
- Multiple slabs create confusion, adding to the complexity of doing business.
Benefits of simplification of current slabs
- A simplification of the current slabs will promote economic activity, particularly consumption, that would ultimately lead to higher tax revenues.
- The Indian economy needs a fiscal stimulus, in the form of lower indirect taxes, rather than higher government spending.