Personnel Administration - Generalist Vs Specialist

Hi All ,

This Article gives couple points in favour of bringing outside people who have

not worked in govt environment to top posts. In a way not promoting those who are seniors in the system but bringing in fresh blood in the system.I have highlighted the important stuff which you can make a note of these things

Rgds

GMStudyCenter

If Kaushik Basu of Cornell University is chosen as the next chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, and Subir Gokarn of Standard and Poor’s as deputy governor in the Reserve Bank of India, the government would have made a significant departure from the convention of filling such top-level positions with economists who have prior experience of working within the government system. The last time the government chose a chief economic advisor from outside its band of economists was four decades ago, when Ashok Mitra was appointed to the job. Since then, all chief economic advisors have had prior experience within the government system in different departments, ministries and organisations. In the case of the Reserve Bank, there are more recent precedents for inducting economists from outside the government system, one example being C Rangarajan who was brought in from the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad.

The lack of prior government experience need not be a handicap. It may even be an asset, because it might bring in new thinking. Economists like Ashok Desai, Parthasarathi Shome and Subhashis Gangopadhyay have been lateral entrants in the finance ministry at different points over the last couple of decades, and they did make a difference. They may have found the going tough (as Nandan Nilekani, who has just taken charge of the Unique Identity Authority of India with similar lack of government experience, might testify), for the system does not easily adapt to “outsiders”. But there is no doubt that such lateral entrants bring a whiff of fresh air into a hide-bound system.

The other way to look at this is that the government system is no longer throwing up competent economists who can fill posts like that of chief economic advisor. There was a time when all the key economic ministries could boast of well-known economists on their staff. In the 1990s, Shankar Acharya in finance, Vijay Kelkar in petroleum, Rakesh Mohan in the industry ministry and Jayanto Roy in commerce, would in their different ways contribute to a formidable line-up of economists who could function as the government’s economic think tank. Today, following the superannuation of Arvind Virmani as chief economic advisor and the departure of Rakesh Mohan as deputy governor, the cupboard is pretty bare.

It is likely that the market for economists has widened and become more attractive outside the government. This may not have been so even a decade or two ago. Economic reforms and a vibrant corporate sector have also had a role to play in the government’s inability to attract and retain qualified and high-quality economists. What may have made a difficult situation worse is the government’s decision to reserve more posts for a cadre like the Indian Economic Service, which has become a poor cousin for smart young economists who would aspire above all to get into the Indian Administrative Service, and failing that a variety of other civil services. This has made lateral induction at the economic advisor level next to impossible, and the cadre economists are simply not good enough for the top jobs.

 

(Source http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/too-few-good-men/370846/)

Administrative Challenges in India

India is country with lot diversity. It is believed that if you travel every 100 km the language dialect will change, if you travel every 500km there is a change in the way people live,if you travel every 200 km there is change in food habits,there are around 1000 languages and equal number religions and so wide is the people's thought.

Administration becomes easier if there is some sort of uniformity. In India,if there is any uniformity it is only in diversity i.e diversification is spread uniformally. In otherwords to put it simply we see diversity everywhere.And Administration becomes really challenging in this diversified environment. More over diversity is in huge chunk i.e population !! .Only Sheer size of this population really becomes a monster for administrator. So in these scenario how to administer is a big question.

Let us see the some aspects that an administrator has to take care -

.Region and religion

.People's ignorance

.Population

.Politicians

.corruption

.Poverty

Region and religion

India is geographically so varied that there are very few places where there is no 'natural problems'.At one place  it rains and one place there is no rain .One place there is flood and at other there is severe drought.( ofcourse there are some man made drought too).Apart from this region to region living style of people change and also religion If for region one policy is applicable and for other region you need to come up with something else.And since there are numerous religion people in the same region also calls for policy diversification. So to evolve a solution to the problem becomes secondary in most of the cases but to look for a solution which satisfies all the people ( because of political gains in some cases ) or a majority of the people who are in that particular region becomes important because majority gives the VOTE.

People's ignorance

Partly illiteracy is contributing to this. Most of the citizen's doesnt know what are the benifits that they are entitled to from the governament. They are not aware of their rights and becoming scapegoats of this ghost called corruption at every step. If this is one sort of ignorance , there is other sort of ignorance. Say a politician or a film actor dies , because of this people commit suicide or people start violence. Who has to tell them that the person who is dead cant be brought back but your life is as precious as theirs. Recently in AP when  the CM YSR died of an unfortunate accident nearly 200 people committed suicide , what is the need ? these kinds of incidences happen due to sheer ignorance of people.

And worst is , it is not only illiterate people who are ignorant but also well and sophisticatedly educated people act in a most embarassing manner ( for example 'educated terrorists'). And even these people look for shorter and individual gains rather than public well being. I had to quote a recent incidence here which I came across.The MLA of our area had come to check for people's grievances ( one of those rare MLA who atleast bothered to come !!!) and people who are well educated ,instead of discussing the genuine problem with him , were discussing how the foot path infront of their house is to be constructed by the muncipality!!!

Population

With having 1/6 the of the world's population and the available resources are not utilised so as to be beneficial to most and this mis-management of resources coupled with scarcity of resources would throw a catastrophe. So it is becoming increasingly difficult for the administration to provide even the basic needs for the people.

Politicians

Though our most politicians themselves are ignorant and illiterate ( and in worst cases criminals too) they have a bright mind in playing provocative and populist politics.Provocative in the sense regional and religious provocation, populist in the sense - coming up with plans for shorter gains without thinking of future implications. And most of the times politicians will spend time in correcting / modifying or completely scraping what has been done in the previous regime without actually doing impact analysis. What I mean here is - if accidently some party comes up with a novel plan with real concern for people ,the next regime will change those plans because of political gains.

Corruption

The corruption has become institutionalized to such an extent that , if by devine intervention you see some honest people you will see him as in efficient and doubt his actions. The real problem is people are increasing adopting themselves to corruption either being part of the corruption or by involving in the corruption. This has become a vicious circle.For example if a civil engineer is killed for not paying Rs 25 lakh of party fund then is it not like telling from the top that 'see you have to be corrupt in order to give us the money' or else how a sincere governament employee can pay such a huge amount?

Poverty

Poverty is one of the main reason why people tend to look for short term gain.And this is the reason why peoplecan be manipulated either during a implementation of a plan or during an election.Because of this it will be very difficult to convince the people of larger and future implications of the shorter gains.Poverty can also causes law and order problem . Imagine a person whose family is dying of starvation and didnt have anything to eat for days together , and a person approaches him and offers a hundred rupee note to pelt a stone at a vehicle then do you think he will listen or think about the morality.

Silver lining

However even in these extremely hostile environment it is good to see that we are progreesing slowly and steadily.Our growth rate may not be the one which can be compared to either Germany or Japan ( after their devastation in World War-II) but satisfying factor is we are not regressing.And if we think India is still in one single piece it is because of 'something which is going right' and it is because of this there are some administrator who are really 'Iron Frame' of the country. Otherwise we would not have seen RTI ( right to information),right to education , women reservation etc.

Police Administration - The other side of the police

This article gives the material to answer the questions on police administration. This gives us some basic reasons why police is perceived in a negative sense ,why police has become a demonic symbol and what is the other side of the police. Highlighted stuff can be incorporated in the answers.Also it gives a good impression on the examiner if you incorporate positive aspects in concluding part of your answer.At the end of this article there are some positive points about police which you might want to remember. The picture above can be an excellent illustrative for answer writing on police administration and is taken from Administrative reform Comission's report on 'public order' (Click on the image to view )

Regards

GMStudycenter

Source - 'The Hindu'

Of late, there are many stories related to government departments, especially the police, and they revolve round the negative role they are assumed to have played in a given situation. Why? There is some background to it.

The British allowed unfettered powers to the police to repress our legitimate independence struggle and, the police enjoined upon themselves the powers of rustic justice on the spot without going through the legal processes. This brought them into direct conflict with the public which resented such powers. Both the Police Act of 1861 and the Indian Penal Code of 1860 continue to be in force even today! However, Independence did not alter the police mindset and they, in some instances, continued to behave in the same manner as they did in the past. The basic fear of the common man is of the inherent and legitimate power to confine any person both legally or on trumped up charges for 24 hours and, of course, criminals fear the police lathi too.This leads to animosity towards the police. Even the worst of criminals desire to be pardoned and when the police overlook their plea for leniency, these criminals develop an antipathy towards the police. Negative minds bond in such cases and even if only a handful with an unpleasant interface with the police come together and amplify their voices, the rest with their pleasant experience with the police will have no voice as they will never get together.

The humane side

Many individuals and organisations, including governments all over the country, perform many good deeds beneficial to the people in the course of their duties, and sometimes even beyond the call of duty. There is no dearth of outstanding police work. But, unfortunately, because of the negative branding it has always been receiving, the sacrifices and the contribution towards providing a safe society goes unacknowledged. Thousands of policemen lost their lives while on internal security duties in Kashmir or Punjab, or the Maoist affected states. This is not remembered because of the unfortunate acts of some individuals in a given situation.

Criticism is essential in a democracy but repeated criticism, unless constructive, is not going to help anyone, least of all the persons who are criticised. While mala fide and grossly negligent acts need to be condemned or acted upon, errors of judgment or bona fide mistakes and acts for which the individual is not directly responsible should be looked at with more understanding.

No doubt, serious ills plague the police but is there any institution which is devoid of them in some degree or the other? There are systemic failures and we all contribute to it one way or the other. We bribe because we want to get out of a self-created situation — breaking a traffic rule being one simple example. It is a combination of our greed and someone’s willingness for exploitation.

If public servants are apathetic, it is because they rarely get a pat on the back for the good services rendered on many an occasion but which rarely even get noticed. (This is one of the important point needs to be emphasised in the answer)

It required the supreme sacrifice of 20 policemen in the Mumbai terror attack of 26/11 to convey that despite the negative portrayal of the police, they are actually heroes willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the nation. Thank God, the public at large have overwhelmingly recognised this. Today the internal security is at stake. It is time for everyone to alter their mindsets and bestow more faith and confidence in the security agencies.

Pat the police occasionally but not always highlight their shortcomings alone and you will see a sea change in their response and behaviour. Admonish and mock them constantly, they will sink into further despair pulling everyone along with them. The society can ill-afford that. There is need for another pledge that each citizen will respect and follow the law in all cases and respect the law enforcer. The police will respond with greater resolve to attend to the needs of the citizens.

 

 

 

 

 

Need to revisit provisions giving protection to corrupt public servants

There is popular saying - If you see a place where there is no corruption..then you are in illusion .Such is the rampant spread of corruption across the globe and there is no heavenly place on earth where there is nil corruption. Its only that at one place there is less corruption and other place there is more corruption. Its like choosing best among the worst. Corruption is one of the problem which a nation faces within the system.It is an internal problem along with many. So its up to future civil servants to come up with a determination to tackle this without being a part of it.

Law Minister Mr Veerappa Moily - proposes to amend constitution regarding the provisions giving protection to corrupt public servants. This can be incorporated in mains answer writing - for the measure to curb corruption among public servants. In this you can show the examiner that you have understood the provisions of constituion and your answer look different.

Regards
GM StudyCenter

(source 'The Hindu')

New Delhi: Union Minister for Law and Justice M. Veerappa Moily said on Sunday that the Centre would consider amending Articles 309, 310 and 311 of the Constitution, thus removing protection and safeguards in prosecuting corrupt public servants.

He said prior sanction should not be necessary for prosecuting a public servant “who has been trapped red-handed or found in possession of assets disproportionate to known sources of income.”

The Minister, in his valedictory address at a national seminar ‘Fighting Crimes Related to Corruption,’ was responding to a suggestion by Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan on Saturday for amending the laws to provide for confiscation of properties of persons convicted in corruption cases.

The seminar was organised jointly by the LNJN National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science and the CBI.

Mr. Moily said: “There is a feeling that the protection given to the public servants under Article 311 of the Constitution is being used to create obstacles for expeditious punitive action.” He said: “Article 311 as interpreted by our courts has made it very difficult to deal effectively with corrupt civil servants.”


He said: “There is no gainsaying that the provisions of Article 311 have come in the way of bringing corrupt civil servants to book. Article 311 would require a revisit.” It might be repealed along with Article 310 and legislation should be passed under Article 309 to provide for the terms and conditions of service of public servants, including necessary protection against arbitrary action.


The Minister said: “The menace of corruption is an important issue that is bothering the policy makers, administrators and the general public for a long time. The prevalence of widespread corruption and ineffective anti-corruption interventions in this country has led to public cynicism.”

Economic necessity


“The fight against corruption is not only a moral imperative but an economic necessity for a nation aspiring to emerge as a global player. Corruption discourages investment (foreign/domestic), harnessing of best technologies, resources etc. that requires transparency, fair play and is an impediment for integration with the global economy. Fighting corruption and building good governance are of paramount importance for achieving rapid economic development.”

The Minister suggested wide-ranging reforms to curb corruption — the scope of the Prevention of Corruption Act should be widened to include gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic institutions amounting to wilful violation of the oath of office, abuse of authority by unduly favouring or harming someone, obstruction of justice, squandering of public money and collusive bribery.

Forfeiture Bill


Mr. Moily said the Corrupt Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Bill, as suggested by the Law Commission, should be enacted without further delay; steps should be taken for immediate implementation of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act 1988 and statutory protection for whistleblowers and victim protection.

Drought management from District Administration Perspective

Here below is one article from 'the hindu' on current drought management.

One of the important aspect for pub-ad student is to analyse and understand the current administrative systems in the light of colonial hangover.Our administration is still a shadow of british administrative system on many fronts. The article analyses some reasons for the failure of drought management in India and some solutions for the same which can be used in answer writing.

Regards

GMStudycenter

During episodes of food scarcity caused by drought and failure of the rains of the kind that looms over large parts of India today, district authorities in India are still substantially guided by updated versions of Famine Codes that were initially d eveloped by colonial administrators. Their main objective was to save lives at minimal cost to the colonial exchequer. There is considerable irony that updated versions of these colonial Famine Codes continue to be the principal guide to public authorities in times of natural disaster in free India.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the people of India were ravaged by a series of cataclysmic famines, precipitated less by failures of nature and more by colonial policies, such as of rack-renting, both legal and illegal, neglect of agriculture, “free-trade” policies and additional levies for wars. There are terrifying contemporary accounts of these famines, such as of rivers “studded with dead bodies”, of whole settlements being wiped out by hunger and epidemics that followed in their wake, of desperate loot and plunder, and the cumulative tragic loss of a numbing 15 million women, men and children.

Initial codification

Initially, the colonial government had no cohesive policy to deal with these emergencies, except to prevent hoarding and crime, which was followed by ad hoc relief measures such as stray food kitchens, poorhouses and public works. The Famine Commission appointed in 1878 resulted in the first Famine Code, and this was adapted as a national model, adapted in different regions of British rule. These Codes provided comprehensive institutionalised guidelines to colonial administrators. These included instructions to anticipate famines, and to save life but explicitly at the lowest possible cost to the exchequer, by providing employment at subsistence wage, and “gratuitous” relief to the “unemployable”.In independent India, State governments variously adapted and amended these Famine Codes. However, the shadow of the values of colonial administration continues to fall long on the culture and practices of the executive in crafting its response to food scarcity, even 60 years after freedom.

The first continuity is that all Famine Codes, both colonial and contemporary, cannot be enforced in any court of law. They lay down duties of various public authorities, but contain no provisions that enable citizens (or subjects) to take these authorities to court, or to penalise them, if they fail in performing these duties, even if this leads to the preventable death and suffering of people. In democratic free India, governments continue to often act late and inadequately, but people who are denied food have no legal recourse to hold them accountable.

British Codes were explicit in casting a duty on public officials to spend the minimum that was necessary, only to prevent the loss of lives, and nothing beyond that. The 1941 Bengal Famine Code, for instance, puts it starkly: “Government is obliged to limit its assistance to what is absolutely necessary for the preservation of life. When life is secured, the responsibility to the afflicted ceases and the responsibility to the tax paying public begins”.

Inhuman conditions

This minimalising of relief was accomplished in part through a series of stern “tests”, to discourage all but those unfortunate persons who were most in most drastic need to report for work. For this, wage seekers had to agree to undertake hard monotonous work, in bleak and austere camps, far away from homes. There is evidence that Indian famine practices were the model used later in concentration camps in the Holocaust.

At one level, much has improved since Independence. As in the past, governments rely mainly on public works for ensuring adequate food to households in trying times of food scarcity. Enduring small public works closer to the homes of people affected by scarcity are now recommended, and there is legislation to ensure equal wages for men and women and for banning child labour (although some field studies report that children continue to be bserved in some relief works, helping their parents).But wages are still fixed at bare subsistence levels, just sufficient for survival of the person and dependents. Drought Codes of most State governments today still contain no provision for raising wage rates in times of great distress. Instead, they actually reduce it on the specious grounds of reaching larger numbers. Workers in practice (in relief and even NREGA works) are paid on not just the basis of daily attendance, but on the amount of work done, an illegal and exploitative “double whammy”. The worker cannot leave if the work required is completed early, and is not paid more if more work is done. In effect, the minimum wage is also the maximum wage.

Not enough

In some of the major scarcities and droughts from the 1960s to late 1980s, there was relatively greater fiscal freedom to local officials to respond to actual demand for work, but from early 1990s, relief work is seriously constrained by resources, and only minimalist interventions are permitted. NREGA rectifies this with its statutory guarantee of work, but it still is not an open-ended warranty, as it ensures 100 days of work and that too for only one person in each rural family a year, regardless of the specific exigencies of emergency situations. Public works continue to be closed before the onset of the rains, rather than with the reaping of the harvest, as in colonial times, and these can be periods of most severe food deprivation.

The Famine Codes of the past recognised that non-farm rural poor persons, like artisans and weavers, may be very hard hit by famine, but did little to address their food needs, although they were not equipped physically and culturally to participate in the kind of manual labour that is required in public relief works. Although weavers and other artisans continue to suffer enormous setbacks today, even more so because of their highly unequal integration with global markets, and reports pour in of both starvation and suicides by weavers, they are neglected even in contemporary Codes.

Those who are most vulnerable in times of food scarcity are old people, single women, disabled people and children. Colonial Codes contained niggardly provisions for them of “gratuitous relief”, and contemporary governments have not graduated even today to a comprehensive regime of social security. The easiest way would be to upgrade current food programmes in times of scarcity, with ICDS centres serving twice the quantities of food, as well as feeding the infirm and destitute; schools should provide meals round the year and even to out-of-school children; and families in scarcity areas should receive larger quantities of cheap grain.

Breaking free of the past

As prospects of food scarcity resulting from failures of the monsoon once again looms over large parts of the country, we must seize the moment to break away decisively from the dubious colonial legacy of Famine Codes. The duties of the State to people threatened with hunger in such times must be codified in a law which must surge much beyond the minimalist agenda of past Codes, which continued to ensure little more than to prevent mass deaths in famines at minimum cost to the State exchequer. A law to guarantee the right to food should instead need to contain cast-iron provisions to protect all men, women and children from food denials, hunger, malnutrition and starvation, both in conditions of unusual emergency and in more normal times. It is only then that we will finally break with our colonial past; and free ourselves from our collective memories of suffering and death, resulting from State failures which condemned millions of people to live and die with hunger.

E-Biz a firm step towards National E-Governance Plan (NEGP)

The following article is to be viewed in the context of good governence , accountability and transparency which can be achieved by e-governance. What need to be emaphasised is e-governance is only suppliment to GOOD governance but not supplant. The points highlighted below are to be used while answer writing.

Regards

GMStudycenter

Source of the article - http://www.theindiapost.com/2009/09/13/e-biz-a-firm-step-towards-national-e-governance-plan-negp/


One of the bedrock of democratic form of Government is the principle of ‘Good Governance’. It entails: to work with transparency, accountability and responsibility. Therefore, ‘Good Governance’ is the thrust area and online medium is a tool which can enforce the principles of ‘Good Governance’ very efficiently and effectively. Taking a lead from this, Ministry of Commerce & Industry announced one such initiative — e-Biz Project. This project aims at creating an investor-friendly business environment in India by making all regulatory information – starting from the establishment of a business, through its ongoing operations, and even its possible closure – easily available to the various stakeholders concerned.

E-Biz project aims to develop a transparent, efficient and convenient interface, through which the government and businesses can interact in a timely and cost effective manner. Over the years, the Government has been making progressive reforms to improve the business environment in the country. While there have been many positive steps since 1991, more needs to be done to make the country a globally preferred investment destination. For entrepreneurs and established companies looking at operating successful businesses in India, the government needs to provide a regulatory environment that encourages and instill faith in investors.


The e-Biz project will leverage the capabilities and potential of Information and Communication Technology to consolidate regulatory frameworks, to re-engineer regulatory processes, and to provide a platform that can be leveraged for enhanced G2B service offerings.(G2B is Government to Business)

For investors this project will Provide a single stop shop for all business licenses and permits, Eliminate the need to physically interface with various regulatory authorities at the Central, State and local government levels, Provide all information regarding business 24X7 on a single portal and Allow businesses to file various returns, pay taxes and submit compliances through a single interface.

The project would be implemented on a pilot basis in nine Central Government Departments and five States (AP, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi) by February 2010. Twenty nine Government to Business (G2B) services relating to Central, State and Local governments will be implemented initially in the first year of the pilot phase. The project would be implemented on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, with a term of 10 years. The first 3 years of the term would be the pilot phase, while the remaining 7 years will be the expansion phase, wherein the project will be expanded to cover the whole country and to provide over 200 G2B services and other value added services by suitable private vendors.

The cost of the pilot phase during the first three will be borne by the Government. The investment required in the seven years of the expansion phase would be made by the concessionaire and recovered through transaction charges to be collected from the business entities availing the G2B services.The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has endeavoured to make the project self-sustaining beyond the pilot phase, when there will be no financial outflow from the GOI. For this, threshold levels of transactions have been prescribed in the RFP, to be achieved by the concessionaire during each year of the seven years of the expansion phase. This will ensure that the concessionaire keeps innovating while providing the services to the users of e-Biz Portal, and adhere to the highest levels of quality in terms of service delivery.

A revenue-sharing formula is prescribed for sharing the revenue between the concessionaire and the Government, once the threshold level of transactions is crossed. The revenues generated through this revenue sharing model are expected to suffice the requirement of the administrative, project management and monitoring expenses from the 4th year onwards. Thus, the viability and sustainability of e-Biz Project is dependent on the extent to which the threshold levels are achieved / exceeded.

Value propositions of e-Biz portal are creation of a “Virtual Single-Window & Integration of multiple service Providers on One Web Based Platform”. The need for emphasizing development of single-window system for business users, and combining forms, payment gateways etc. are of immediate concern towards simplification of business environment. The Government has also been actively engaged on streamlining regulatory reforms, reducing license regime, ease of doing business through e-governance etc. e-Biz is a concerted effort in that direction.

E-Biz Project seeks to provide significant value addition by offering integrated services cutting across multiple agencies within the government – centre, state, and other statutory authorities – so as to reduce the burden of regulatory and compliance requirements and saving cost and time significantly for all stakeholders. For example, by bringing together information and services provided by the various Government agencies into a common service platform, e-Biz enables its customers to find out all the required information and carry out all transactions pertaining to that service, without having to navigate to different websites. Customers need only to do a one-time submission of application for a service, and then be able to receive the results from different agencies just through that one submission. Integrated services required by businesses include: information on business opportunities, start-up services, licensing, business funding, etc. OBLS (Online Business Licensing Service) implemented by the Government of Singapore, is one of the global best practices in integrated G2B services and has been used as a benchmark for the e-Biz project.

The Government is keen to expand the project in the whole country and provide over 200 G2B services, as well as other value added services by suitable private vendors. This project has the potential to create tremendous value for investors and completely transform the existing regulatory scenario in India. Success of several online services initiatives indicate wide-acceptance and demand for online services because it enables delivering services more efficiently and in a cost effective manner. e-Biz which focuses on making information and services available under one roof- enable personalized, transparent and access to information democratic- will empower business in India in a major way.

MP IAS caught with pants down: A villain or a victim?

Friends ,

This post is not related to exam as such but would like to emphasise couple of things! Here I am providing with two articles and a link to video clip on youtube.

What happened ?
An IAS officer is being caught in a compromising position / posture with a boy. The camera men flooded the officer with questions and he is telling he is being framed. He was suspended and then now he is reinstated for lack of proof.

Clearing the exam is one thing but once you become IAS the responsibility put on your shoulder is even more important . In this case if the IAS officer actually on the wrong side or not no one knows but if what he is telling is the truth i.e 'he is being framed' then I would blame the IAS officer himself than the people who framed. He is one of the best got selected in the country at the national level competition , he should be able to rescue himself first , from those who are trying to frame , if he is not able to rescue himself then how can he ADMINISTER ?

Ofcourse in this case he is reinstated to service but what about the awkward TV scene ? it is black mark to his career. Somewhere I read that getting cheated is more dangerous than cheating itself. It is very important that you dont cheat anyone but more important is you should not get cheated by someone. You have to keep your eyes and earls open all the time and know whats happening around you so that you can safeguard yourself all the time.

IAS is a constitutional position and you dont want to reduce its dignity by being in such an awkward situation . Hope you all become wonderful officers.

Rgds

GM Study Center.

The below link gives the link video footage available on youtube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijOW4qSbBYw

The article below is the latest one which says  IAS officer is let out without proving guilty.

Source of the article -

(http://www.mynews.in/News/IAS_reinstated_as_charges_not_proved_of_unnatural_offence_N25448.html)

IAS reinstated as charges not proved of unnatural offence

Bhopal: An Indian administrative officer of the Madhya Pradesh government, Gyaneshwar B Patil, who was suspended two months back for committing unnatural sex with his office subordinate, has been reinstated.

The Madhya Pradesh government's General Administration Department yesterday issued an order for reinstatement of Patil as the charges levelled against him by the Sikandarabad (Berasia) Village Panchayat Secretary, Satish Choukse were not substantiated in the probe conducted by the government, official sources said here today.

However, no decision has been taken so far against the new posting of Patil, a 2003 batch IAS officer, they said.

On the instructions of Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the State government had suspended Patil on June 19 as he was allegedly found in suspicious circumstances with Choukse at the Zila Panchayat Office here on the night of June 18 and local TV channels showed half-naked images of the two employees, clicked in the bathroom.Later, Choukse alleged that Patil, the then Chief Executive Officer of Zila Panchayat, had forced him to commit unnatural sexual act.

Exulted with the decision, Patil said that he had been framed by some vested interests and his reinstatement speaks about his innocence.

 

The article below is the first article where IAS officer is accused and gives a detailed account of the incident

 

Source of the article is -

(http://www.merinews.com/article/mp-ias-caught-with-pants-down-a-villain-or-a-victim/15776818.shtml)

 

MP IAS caught with pants down: A villain or a victim?

 

IF SOURCES are to be believed then the Madhya Pradesh IAS official, who was shown with his pants down in his office and later suspended by the Chief Minister for allegedly seeking sexual favours, could be a victim of a sting operation gone wrong rather than being the villain that he is being made out to be.

Dnyaneshwar Patil, a 2003 batch IAS official was suspended by the MP Government after he was filmed and shown on television without his pants along with a junior official.

People close to Patil and in the know of things are of the opinion that the IAS officer has been framed for not acquiescing to the unjust demands of a lobby of lower officials. They alleged that the entire sequence of filming Patil without his pants was planned and executed with an ulterior motive.

However, there is also a section of establishment in Madhya Pradesh, which believes that there can be no smoke without fire. A top media person based in Bhopal averred that no doubt a conspiracy was hatched to trap the IAS official but there were some chinks in his armour as well, pointing to the obvious.

Narrating the entire sequence of events on the fateful day inside the chamber of Dnyaneshwar Patil, a highly placed source pointed that the officer could have been a victim of a conspiracy. Rubbishing the allegations of sexual harassment against Patil, he said that the officer was well known for his honesty and was a stickler for rules and that proved to be his undoing.

On the night of June 18, Dnyaneshwar Patil and his wife went to Rainbow hospital for treatment of their daughter around 8.30 pm. Thereafter, Patil was dropped at the Zila Parishad office around 9.10 pm and his wife went home to attend to the ailing child.

At around 9.30 pm, the alleged victim, Sikandarabad village panchayat secretary Satish Chaukse (23) dropped in the Zila Parishad officer, where there were two home guards present along with a private vehicle’s driver.

Chaukse was asked to come with the details of the expenditure made by the Self Helf Group (SHG), which is running the MDM in the Village school. Sources said that the Secretary to Chief Minister had asked Patil to do a cost analysis of the various items made by SHG, so that the system could be extended to Mahila Baal Vikas department in Madhya Pradesh and he had asked for a report by next morning. Thus, it became necessary to allow the Panchayat Secretary into the office where he was attending to regular file work.

However, when Chaukse reached the chamber of Dnyaneshwar Patil and was asked to show the records of the MDM, he baulked and instead produced the records of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREG). Chaukse, when asked, why he had not brought the MDM record, could not reply satisfactorily. He looked ill at ease and asked for a glass of water to drink.

Sources said that Patil asked Chaukse to go out and fetch water for him too after repeatedly sounding the bell, which was not attended to. After some time, Chaukse returned and brought water for the IAS officer, who was now going through the records (Rozgaar Panchi) of NREG, which were also not proper and the officer admonished him for the same.

Even as the IAS officer was going through records, Chaukse demanded that secretary of Bakaniya Gram Panchayat should be given regular pay scale, which Patil said was not possible as per law. Apparently angered by the refusal, Chaukse is alleged to have threatened the official and demanded regular scales for all secretaries.

Patil, however, said that regularisation depended on good work and the secretaries will again be given a chance next year as per provisions. As the discussion heated up, Patil asked Chaukse to leave the room and went to the attached toilet in his room to attend the nature's call.

The real drama, sources said, unfolded here as soon as Patil went inside the toilet, Chaukse started shouting 'Bachao, Bachao' loudly. Hearing the commotion a worried Patil opened the toilet door to see what had happened outside.

As soon as the door was opened, Chaukse, who was in his undergarments and shoes pulled open the door and barged into the toilet. Immediately, thereafter, Chaukse called the media men, who were waiting outside the cabin. Though Patil's cabin had no lock, the media preferred to stay outside till they got the signal that action had started.

Sources further alleged that one of the persons snatched the pant from hands of the IAS officer even as he was trying to wear it. In the video made available by a news channel, there is a scene of a a person preventing Patil from getting back his pants. These pants were returned to the hapless officials after some time and he wore them soon after, the sources added.

The travesty is that despite the best efforts of the police and a complaint lodged to the effect in the State Human Rights Commission, the unedited tapes of incident are not being made available. The truth of the version of the alleged complainant and that of Patil could be easily verified by looking at these tapes – but than the “unedited” tapes that were given to the district administration, ironically start from the clips as seen on TV, it was stated.

Indeed, there is a few seconds clip of the verandah but thereafter, the camera shows the face of Patil, it was disclosed. The video recording of the “distance” between Patil’s chamber door and his toilet door is conspicuous by its absence. And this is what people closely following the case are waiting to see!

Whether the media was taken for a ride or it was assured of Patil's guilt is an open question. However, it is important that the judgement is not pronounced before proper investigation is conducted and justice is duly served.

A step towards Accountability and Transparency

As you know while writing answers in the main examination Examples are to be quoted. The following example can be used  for the questions related to accountability and transparency.

Rgds

GMStudycenter

An attempt at ensuring transparency and accountability Rules being drafted under the RTI Act for the transparency scheme Disclosures will be published in newspapers, municipality websites

BANGALORE: Municipalities in the State, including the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, will periodically disclose the services being rendered by them from the next two months.

This is to ensure transparency and accountability.

The Department of Urban Development has drafted rules under the provisions of the RTI Act to implement the novel transparency scheme, Public Disclosure Rules. These rules are now being vetted by the Law Department and the authorities have commenced a debate on the same with 218 municipalities in the State.

If need be, the rules will be modified before they are notified in two months.

The voluntary disclosure will also ensure that the funds allocated under various schemes are appropriately utilised and there is transparency in public spending and accountability on the part of the officials concerned.

There is also a penal clause under the new rules wherein an official found violating the rules will have to face disciplinary action under the Karnataka Civil Service and Conduct Rules. Sources in the Secretariat told The Hindu that disclosures would be published in newspapers, municipality websites and on the notice boards of the municipal offices concerned periodically.

The Union Government and the Union Ministry of Urban Development, in particular, directed Karnataka some time ago to enact a Public Disclosure Law since the State is one of the important beneficiaries of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

It is mandated under JNNURM that the municipalities should voluntarily disclose what they are doing for the benefit of the people which would ensure that they are people-friendly and funds released under various schemes are appropriately utilised.

Promotion Or Demotion

Our govt is notorious for policy confusion - either during formulation or during implimentation. Here is one classic example - where state civil servants promoted to IAS are getting less salary than they were getting in state services. 

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GMStudyCenter

Pay Disparity has babus seething

Gandhinagar: A group of newly promoted IAS officers, who are disgruntled that they are effectively being paid less after being inducted to Gujarat's IAS cadre, made a representation to the financial department of the state government.

Their contention is that they would have been benefited their pockets had they continued being part of state civil services (SCS).

According to an official, who talked to DNA on condition of anonymity, the officers who were promoted from SCS to Indian Administrative Services (IAS) in the year 2006 and 2007 have got a raw deal, thanks to finance department's interpretation of sixth pay commission recommendations.

Significantly, the IAS promotee officers belonging to 1999 and 1998 batch were actually inducted in the year 2006 and 2007. This meant that from the top of the pay band for the SCS officials, these officers came at the lower levels of pay scales for IAS officers.

However, after the implementation of sixth pay commission, the rise or increment for SCS officials at that level was substantial. On the other hand, the pay band for IAS, in which these officials were included, did not offer similar huge gains in the terms of arrears and consolidated pay.

According to sources, the finance department is considering the matter and is expected to take a positive decision favouring the IAS officials. An official of the department said that though the recommendations have been implemented, there were a number of issues still coming up at regular intervals that needed to be sorted out.

However sources say, the finance department is said to have asked these officials if they wanted immediate high amount in the form of arrears or better pay leading to better post retirement benefits. No wonder that some of these officials rue their own short-sightedness for the loss.

One of the officials blamed state government for leaving it open ended, rather than calculating and informing the officers as to which option was better for them. He also cited government rules indicating that they could be at loss despite being given a promotion.

Personnel Administration - Stuff - IAS (Indian Administrative Service) Officers – What should be the Minimum Age

Seems like I am getting lot of material on personnel  administration stuff. Here author of the article opines that min age for IAS should be 30-31 yrs. Interesting thought ! ARC ( Second Administrative Reforms Comission ) thinks age should be reduced. As a student of pub ad we need to know both views ! ..here it is ..read and enjoy.

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(source : http://www.indiademocracy.org/article/viewArticle/id/1213)

IAS officers belong to elite administrative setup of Indian Society. IAS officers handle affairs of the government, they frame, implement & execute policies. An IAS officer is considered to be wisest, experienced, person with sharp mind, highly educated, with well versed with the rules and regulations.They represent the Government in other countries and in international forums. They are the highest level decision makers of Govt. They sign agreements on behalf of government. In the divisional level the IAS officers look after Law and Order, general administration, and development work. 

“Indian Administrative Service” the name it self commands respect from all the sects of society. But the qualification for being an IAS is mere graduation with no experience. As per my knowledge there are only two places where experience is not required or is considered as drawback one is IAS and other is marriage 

IAS service is looked high by the society, but the selection procedure requires lot of review with changing time and should be based on the need of the society. Are the newly appointed IAS officers fit for these highest posts? Does they have the knowledge of family, society, country. Till the appointment they don’t have the experience of running the home, how they will lead the country. 

Indian Culture was always combined family. Though today small families are there but still our children won’t be much matured compared to western countries. Age old procedures should be abolished. The YES SIR policy introduced by the British should be kicked out the and new methods and modalities should be adopted to make the IAS service regain its original dignity

Today the minimum age for IAS officer is 21 year. A final year appearing student can also fill the application form of Administrative Services. It means after clearing Preliminary, Main and Interview in a very less age of 22 to 23 year a boy or girl can appoints as IAS officer. No doubt the Civil Services exams are very tough. Only few brilliant students can clear the IAS exam. 

Is only Graduation should be base for appearing IAS. As per our Constitution, Indian Marriage Act a boy cannot marry even a single day before the age of 21 years – reason he may be physically fit for marriage but mentally and socially he is not matured before 21 years of age. Is it not funny that a boy cannot marry a day before 21 years of age stating that he is not matured to run his family and only few days – months after he can manage or bear the burden of our Country?

As per traditional Hindu Culture also the minimum age for marriage is 26 years. Reason is that boy is not fully mentally matured for taking policy decisions. Upto this age he can get higher education but he don’t have the practical experience / knowledge. He is considered to be learner by these age. 

For any technical post besides B.Sc. / engineering / technical diploma is compulsory. For accounts post accountancy course is compulsory besides commerce graduation / PG. So as for IAS officer why only graduation and not any other qualification. For Sports, Police, Military, Electronics young age is preferred for better results, but for decision making posts, experience is always preferred. This is a real truth which has been totally neglected in our constitution. A Doctor / Professor and other highly qualified personalities salutes the IAS. It is a matter of deep analysis.

The minimum age for appearing for IAS Exam must at atleast 30 to 35 years. Qualification for appearing should be minimum PG and having various qualifications as : 

1. 6 to 8 years of knowledge of working in field of Education, culture, society, science, technology etc after Graduation. 

2. Other Higher qualifications / achievements. 

3. Bonus marks for other qualifications, awards etc. 

4. Preference should be given to National Awardees, Athletes, Artists. 

5. Reservation must be totally avoided. 

6. Instead of Police Verification – an open notice should be circulated in News Papers, public places for inviting NOC for the candidates from the public and it should be verified strictly. 

The scrutiny of IAS officers should be totally free from corruption because how much corruption done by hundreds of clerks in month-years more than that is done by a single signature of a corrupt IAS officer. IAS is a person who makes rules for government. They are the key posts. Only school knowledge is not sufficient, they should be having social, cultural, family knowledge.

Knowledge and experience cannot be learnt / gained from books, it needs time. Experience cannot be learns in school, it is gained by age itself. If the selection procedure of IAS is revised, the more and more experienced / deserved / personalities will come to serve the nation with their knowledge and experience. 

These are authors personal views. You might not be fully or partly agree with author. Author has not commented any particular newly appointed IAS officer. Author doesn’t mean that every newly (new aged – below 25-26 years) appointed IAS don’t have experience. These are based on commerce rule ‘in-general’ 

An officer and a manager: IAS gains from IIM

The Article below has to be read keeping in view of Generalist Vs Specialist
and Personnel administration in mind,
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GMStudycenter
(Article is selected from ibnlive.com)


Sample this conversation from the book, Yes Minister, between Dr Cartwright, a bureaucrat, and Right Honourable Jim Hacker, Minister, Department of Administrative Affairs.

“I’m a professional economist,” he explained. “Director of Local Administrative Statistics.”

“So you were in charge of Local Government Directorate until we took over?”

He smiled at my question.

“Dear me, no.” He shook his head sadly, though apparently without bitterness.

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“No, I’m just Under Secretary rank. Sir Gordon Reid was the permanent secretary. I fear that I will rise no higher.”

I asked why not.

He smiled. “Alas! I’m an expert.”

They say all analogies are imperfect, yet the reason 45-year-old Shailesh Pathak resigned from the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 2007, bears an uncanny resemblance to Dr Cartwright’s last comment.

“The reason [to resign] was simple. I wanted to spend the rest of my life in infrastructure financing and execution. And I realised that being a generalist kind of a job, the IAS could not permit me to do that,” says Pathak.

Pathak, a 1990 batch officer, graduated from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, in 1986. He spent a lot of time associated with the infrastructure sector during his stint with the government. He served as Managing Director of the Madhya Pradesh State Infrastructure Development Corporation as well as the Secretary in the Public Works Department (PWD). In 2000, he was selected as one of the 15 emerging leaders in India for the Eisenhower Fellowship and went on to study infrastructure and governance in the US. Later, in 2003, he visited the European Union to study their institutions.

Currently he is the senior director at ICICI Venture in Mumbai and heads the Infrastructure division.

Lobbying for effectiveness

Pathak’s case epitomises a basic problem with the way government-sponsored projects are administered: Leadership positions are typically assigned based on seniority, not knowledge of the sector. As a result, actual implementation of projects is the weakest aspect of governance in India.

A recent McKinsey report titled Building India: Accelerating Infrastructure Projects also points out that it is not financing, but poor implementation that is the real hurdle in India’s infrastructure growth.

And that is what Pathak and a group of likeminded people in the civil services hope to change.

Before he quit the civil services, Pathak formed IIM-G, an informal grouping of ‘IIM graduates in government services’. It represents a group of people with a proven track record and is a resource available within the government for projects where effective delivery is important. Today it has over 100 members.

“IIM-G just hopes that the selection mechanism will become more output oriented,” says Bharat Salhotra, a 1988 batch officer of the Indian Railway Accounts Service and an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and the Sloan School of Management. He is currently General Manager (Finance) and the Chief Information Officer for the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCCIL) in New Delhi.

However, both Pathak and Salhotra are quick to explain that IIM-G is not asking for any special assignments for its members. It is only making a case for looking beyond seniority and hierarchy when appointing heads of infrastructure projects, both social and physical.

They believe that ideally one should be allowed to have a crack at any such top job, irrespective of whether one is from within the government or outside it. That idea comes from Pathak’s experience during the Eisenhower Fellowship when he witnessed “tremendous mobility between business, government, and academia in the US.”

But such a radical change is not going to happen overnight. “So the logical way is to begin by throwing open competition from within the government, irrespective of the service and batch. Once this gains ground, at a later stage, even people from the private sector could be allowed to compete,” says Pathak.

B S Baswan, director of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) and a 1967 batch IAS officer welcomes such a move. “It’s really not an anathema to the government. It is true that our delivery systems are weak and there are flaws in our public policy,” he says.

What is wrong with the current setup?

Salhotra cites the case of the much vaunted Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) which was conceptualised in 2004 and the initial deadline was 2012-13. However, the revised completion date has shifted to 2017-18. Costs have gone up so much that the internal rate of return is near negative. According to his estimates, each day’s delay costs the DFC close to Rs. 70 crore.

Such delays happen in practically every project, be it highways, ports or power. Why? You cannot start a project of this scale, involving Rs. 50,000 crore, without first spending enough time on the drawing board. I am pretty certain that nobody from IIM would have advocated this kind of philosophy,” says Salholtra.

A flawed system

IIM-G members play down the hurdle posed by so-called excessive governmental procedures in achieving targets. They believe that the right man will find a way out while the unwilling one will hide behind the same procedures.

In their view it is a flawed system of performance appraisal where seniority scores over merit, and a lack of accountability allows delays to go unpunished.

That’s a view shared by the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) headed by the union law minister, M Veerappa Moily. “The assurance of a secure career path is the… main shortcoming because it tends to discourage initiative by reducing competition and abets complacence…. It is difficult not only for highly qualified and competent persons outside the government, but also for high performers from other branches of the civil services to get selected for top positions in government,” states the ARC’s 2008 report, Refurbishing of Personnel Administration.

Bipul Kiran Singh, CEO of Torque Communications, a New Delhi-based public relations firm (he is an IIM graduate who resigned from the Indian Information Service in the mid 1990s), feels that unlike the private sector, it is difficult to define profit, or a similar metric, in most government organisations. As a result, performance appraisal is not as sharp and government officials are not accountable for delays. On the flip side, the system gives little reward for those who push the envelope and innovate.

Singh gives the example of N P Singh, a Karnataka cadre IAS officer who was singularly instrumental in bringing the Delhi Metro Rail project--first conceptualised in 1985--back to life in 1994-95. “Today he is faceless. Nobody knows about his contribution. If he was in the private sector, he would have been a hero,” says Singh.

The situation is made even worse with the transferable nature of the job.

Salhotra recounts his experience, from 1994 to 2001, as the Director of a World Bank supported Long Range Decision Support System Group, which essentially was a software to help Indian Railways prioritise investments over the next 20 years. But even after its successful completion, the software hasn’t really made much difference.

“That’s the tragedy. The system in the government is such that one has to move on and the team just withered away and the tools have got obsolete over time,” rues Salhotra.

The IIM-G advantage

Vini Mahajan, Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office and a 1987 batch IAS officer, perhaps best embodies the skill set that an IIM-G member brings to the table. Her background and understanding allowed her to create the templates for Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development, during her stint as the Managing Director of the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB). The templates were later adopted by the Government of India.

She put in place automatic and transparent penalties since she understood that terminating a contract for any and every infringement would actually hurt public interest in the longer term by turning away investors. She introduced the concept of having an independent regulator to avoid conflict of interest within the government.

“All these concepts were relatively new to government. But now they have become part of the central government’s approach as well,” says Mahajan.

So how far has IIM-G succeeded in getting through its message in the corridors of power?

For starters, the Sixth Pay Commission, which gave its final report in March 2008, has included the IIM-G proposals almost verbatim. This is the first time a pay commission has recommended for the senior administrative posts to be filled by a new selection process that will open such posts to all eligible central government officers and not remain restricted to only one service.

The Pay Commission has also recommended that the government should open all the posts which require technical or specialised knowledge to eligible candidates, regardless of whether they are from within or outside the central services.

The ARC had earlier recommended lateral entry from the private sector. The Cabinet Secretary is now working on finding better selection methods and ways to tap the professional skills available within the government after the IIM-G made a presentation in February this year.

Pathak had left the civil services hoping that if he wanted, he would be able to come back in the future through the lateral entry route. It appears that may be possible after all.