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Akey ingredient of governance is quality of the bureaucracy. The Narendra Modi government wants to weed out inefficient or corrupt bureaucrats to enhance standards of public service. Guidelines have been issued to ministries to “compulsorily” retire people who don’t meet required standards of work or probity.
On paper, the bureaucracy does not have an assured job. The last government even amended All India Service Rules to provide for compulsory retirement of substandard bureaucrats after just 15 years of service. Compulsory retirement is a desirable approach as the efficacy of a system is determined by the set of incentives facing people who exercise power. As bureaucrats continue to wield enormous power, a guaranteed job provides the wrong incentives.
Unless this power is tempered by appropriate human resource policy, there will continue to be far too many instances of abuse or indifference. Compulsory retirement has been tested in court and received the backing of the Supreme Court. The apex court concluded, in a 1980 judgment, that compulsory retirement “is undoubtedly in public interest and is not passed by way of punishment”. This judgment was backed by another one supporting the idea of letting go of people in public interest. Given long standing support for the idea, NDA must now implement it in right earnest.
An appropriate incentive structure cannot limit itself to just compulsory retirement. NDA should act on suggestions by the last three pay commissions to link a bureaucrat’s salary to performance. Unless there is differentiated pay linked to performance, work culture will not improve. The sixth pay commission suggested an independent external agency measure the performance of bureaucrats with the aim of linking overall payment to performance. Conversely, one of the pay commissions recommended underperformers be denied normal increment. Both suggestions must be implemented in the interest of having an efficient civil service. Twenty-first century India deserves more than a colonial-style bureaucracy.
From the standpoint of fiscal policy, government pay and work environment urgently need reform. A large proportion of the annual budget is earmarked for salaries and pensions. Only the residual amount of money can be used for developmental needs. In this context, getting more out of the bureaucracy is an essential element of administrative reform. The government must act on the guidelines it has set out if it wants to deliver on its development agenda.
DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.
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