186872e4 role of civil services in a democracy www.visionias.in

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G.S. PAPER II GOVERNANCE, SOCIAL JUSTICE

ROLE OF CIVIL SERVICES IN A DEMOCRACY

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1. Introduction

In the process of governance, which involves several set of activities to deliver effective services to people, civil

service plays a pivotal role in providing shape to policies that reflect peoples needs and put their suggestive,

analytical and informative roles to implement the policies. It is recognized that civil service plays a crucial role in all

societies whether developed or developing. In the modern administrative state, public administration has become

so significant that our development, upliftment and progress depend mainly upon the efficient functioning of public

administration. Civil Services are the bedrock of public administration. Civil services have assumed more important

role in democracy to ensure good governance, both in developing and developed countries.

Bureaucracy or civil services is an administrative body of officials whose roles are determined by written rules. Its

an impersonal system operating on the basis of calculable rules and staffed by full time appointed officials. eber

identified the following characteristics of bureaucracy!

"fficers are organised in a clearly defined hierarchy of offices. Candidates are selected on the basis of technical #ualifications. $hey are remunerated by fi%ed salaries in money. It constitutes a career. $here is a system of &promotion according to seniority or to achievement or both. $he official works entirely separated from ownership of the means of administration and without

appropriation of his positions.

'ach office has a defined sphere of competence. $he officials are personally free and sub(ect to authority only with respect to their impersonal official

obligations.

2. Importance of Civil Services in modern day democracy

) number of factors have contributed the increasing importance of civil service in modern day society!

Te scientific and tecnolo!ical development! $hey have led to revolutionary changes in transportationand communication system. $he invention of telephone, telegraph, railways and airways has made big

government and large scale administration possible.

Industrial revolution" It brought about certain changes in society. It led to the growth of large scaleindustries and factory production, over*crowded industrial towns and urban slums. $he factory system also

resulted in certain evils such as growth of capitalism, large*scale unemployment, e%ploitation of labour etc.

In the interest of socio*economic (ustice, governments in the developed and developing countries have to

assume new responsibilities to set right the bad effects of the above evils. $he tasks and responsibilities as

well as the importance of civil service have thus vastly increased.

#conomic $lannin!" +odern governments have resorted to planning as a method of achieving economicdevelopment and goals of welfare state. $he new responsibilities relating to planning activities, i.e., plan

formulation and implementation and creation of elaborate necessary administrative machinery have

naturally widened the scope of public administration. owever, in the new liberalized economic reforms,

planning as a method of economic development and the administrative functions relating to it are

gradually getting diminished.

Calamities and crisis" -atural calamities such as earth#uakes, floods, droughts and cyclones have alsoenhanced the importance of civil services. In the event of occurrence of such natural calamities, the public

administrators have to act #uickly and undertake rescue operations in order to prevent loss of life and

property of the affected people. $hus crisis management is an important function of public administration.

$opulation and te pro%lems of metropolitan cities" $he rapid growth of population in almost all thecountries of the world, especially in developing countries, has complicated the problems of providing food,

shelter, education, health and sanitation etc. to the people. )lso, the growth of metropolitan cities has


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created certain problems peculiar to them. Some of the problems include congestion, growth of slums,

housing scarcity, insufficient water supply, increasing urban crime rate etc. $he responsibility for tackling

these acute social and economic problems has resulted in the increase in the sphere of activity of civil

service.

#mer!ence of welfare state" )s a welfare state, governments have to perform ma(or functions such asdispenser of social services, a provider of essential commodities, a manager of key industries and banking

services and a controller and regulator of private economic enterprises and activities. $his has naturallyincreased the importance of civil service.

&. 'ole of civil services in !overnance

Civil services perform following important functions!

Basis of government! -o government can e%ist without administrative machinery. )ll nations, irrespective of their

system of government, re#uire some sort of administrative machinery for implementing policies.

)n instrument for implementing aws and /olicies! Civil services are responsible for implementing the laws and

policies of government. By carrying out laws, it regulates the behaviour of the people in society. By implementing

public policies and programmes, it delivers the promised goods and services to the intended beneficiaries. $he

ideals and ob(ectives of government may be very popular, the plans for national development may be e%tremely

progressive and the resources of the country may be abundant, but without civil services nothing can be achieved.

)n efficient civil service can avoid waste, correct errors0 limit the conse#uences of incompetence or irresponsibility

while implementing laws and public policies.

/articipation in policy formulation! In modern world, civil service is the chief policy maker in government. It is a

source of facts0 e%perience0 ideas and solution. /ublic administration participates in policy making by giving advice

to ministers and providing them the necessary information. $he administrative tasks of public bureaucracy include

formulation of policies and plans, e%ecuting and monitoring programmes, laying down laws, rules and regulations,

which affect human actions in almost all walks of life.

) great stabilizing force! Civil services acts as a stabilizing force in society. It settles social tensions and conflicts and

thus creates social unity and harmony.

/rovides continuity! Civil services carry on the governance when governments change due to elections etc. 1amsay

+uir has remarked that while governments may come and go, ministers may rise and fall, the administration of a

country goes on forever. It is needless to say that civil services form the backbone of administration.

)n instrument of social change and economic development! $he developing nations are mostly traditional and poor

agricultural societies without ade#uate basic amenities of good life. $hese nations are struggling to achieve

modernisation of society and economic development and realize welfare goals. $he state is called upon to achieve

these goals. $hese ob(ectives have placed challenging tasks on public administration such as formulation of

economic plans and their successful implementation to economic growth and social change. $he accomplishment of

these goals re#uires honest and competent civil servants.

/rovides a wide variety of services in the public interest! /ublic administration run by civil servants provides a large

number of services to the people such as!

$rotective (unctions"o $hey protect the life and property of the people by maintainin! law and order. $he survival and

progress of human beings depend on the proper enforcement of laws against lawbreakers.

o In recent times, protection of te environment is added to the protective functions of thegovernment. )s a result of rapid industrialisation, there is the problem of environmental pollution


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which threatens our lives and environmental pollution. -ow almost all the governments are

making efforts at the enhancement of environmental #uality.

(acilitative services" $hey provide facilitative services such as transportation, communications, and supplyof power and so on.

)ana!ement of pu%lic enterprises" Civil servants are managing public enterprises and public utilities in theinterest of socio*economic (ustice. /ublic utilities are either publicly owned or strictly regulated in most

countries. 2overnment also imposes controls over private economic and business activities in the public

interest.

*elfare services" $he welfare services provided for the people include social security, old age pensions,welfare of the weaker sections, poverty alleviation etc.

+evelopmental functions" $hey perform a vital function of promoting agriculture, industry, internal andinternational trade, banking, insurance etc.

In addition to above, some other functions performed by civil service are as under!

)ssisting ministers in fulfilling their responsibilities towards the parliament and its committees. andling financial operations of the state. 1eforming and improving administration through " and + 3i.e. organization and methods4 )dministrative ad(udication! $his is a #uasi* (udicial function performed by the civil service. $he civil

servants settle disputes between the citizens and the state. 5or this purpose, the )dministrative $ribunals,

with civil servants as (udges are established. 5or e%ample! $he Income $a% )ppellate $ribunal

,. 'ole of civil services in developin! countries

Civil services in a developing society like India play a very important role. It performs the following functions!

'ole in socio- economic development

$he governments of developing countries have the huge responsibility to bring about all*round development of

their societies. Several programmes have been launched to this end by the respective governments. +a(or

functions of the civil services are!

$o develop agriculture, civil servants have to properly manage community resources such as land, waterresources, forests, wetlands and wasteland development.

$o facilitate industrial development, infrastructural facilities such as roads, electricity, communications,market centres etc have to be provided. In these countries, the civil service manages government owned

business, industrial enterprises and public utility services.

Besides, civil service has to perform following functions in relation to developmental activities! Setting right developmental goals and priorities for agriculture, industry, education, health,

communications etc.

5ormulation and implementation of strategies and programmes for the development andmodernisation of the nation.

+obilisation of natural, human and financial resources and their proper utilization foraccomplishing developmental ob(ectives.

6evelopment of human resources to secure the necessary managerial skills and technicalcompetence to carry out the developmental tasks.

Creation of new administrative organisations and improving the capacity of the e%isting ones forthe developmental purposes.


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Securing the support of the people for developmental activities by involving them in the process ofdevelopment by creating appropriate attitude towards the socio*economic changes that are taking

place in society.

/romotion of clean and green environment and protection of human rights.+evelopin! a sense of nationood

Several divisive forces such as communal and ethnic conflicts, caste feuds and regional rivalries often threaten the

national unity. In order to develop a sense of nationhood among the people of these countries, the civil servants

have to resolve the sub*national and sub* cultural differences among the people.

(acilitatin! democracy

$he civil servants play a vital role in maintaining the democratic ideals by assisting their political heads 3+inisters4 in

policy*making function and in implementing the policies made. Since developing countries are new to the

democratic institutions, it is only the stable and efficient civil service that can strengthen the democracy.

. Civil Services in India

In parliamentary system, it is the political e%ecutive 3responsible to the legislature4 who determines policies and

programmes of government. $he implementation and administration of these policies and programmes is the

responsibility of the civil servants who, by virtue of their training and professional e%perience, are well*versed in the

actual functioning of government.

)n important characteristic of the civil service system in India is classification based on the concept of the &Service.

7nder this concept, civil service posts are grouped into distinct homogenous cadres under a common Service

named on the basis of specific functions attached to the posts in #uestion.

$he various Civil Services at the 7nion and State levels can be classified in different ways. (irstly, the Civil Services

can be categorized into three broad groups 8Central Civil Services, )ll India Services and the State Civil Services. $he

Central Services function under the 7nion 2overnment and are generally engaged in administering sub(ects which

are assigned to the 7nion under the Constitution. )ll India Services are common to the 7nion and the States and

the State Services function only under the State 2overnments. Secondly, the 7nion and State Services can be

classified into 2roup ), B and C categories based on their role and responsibilities. Tirdly, these services can also

be classified into technical and non*technical services.

/. Some of te o%servations of 2ndA'C re!ardin! civil services in India"

It is widely recognised that the civil services have contributed to stability in terms of maintenance of peace, the

conduct of fair elections, managing disasters and the preservation of the unity of the nation, providing stability and

maintaining order in a vast country prone to various conflicts 8 ethnic, communal, regional etc. -onetheless there

are certain concerns about the performance of the civil service in the conte%t of realizing a results*oriented

government. Some of them are!

It has been pointed out that the Civil Service in India is more concerned with the internal processes thanwith results.

$he systemic rigidities, needless comple%ities and over*centralization in the policy and managementstructures within which the civil service functions are too comple% and often too constraining.

$he structures are based on hierarchies and there are a large number of veto points to be negotiated for adecision to eventually emerge.


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$o compound it, the size and the number of ministries and departments have both overloaded thedecision*making system and diminished the capacities of the individual civil servants to fulfill their

operational responsibilities.

1apid and fundamental changes are taking place in the country in terms of rapid economic growth,urbanization, environmental degradation, technological change and increased local awareness and identity.

$he response time to adapt to these changes is much shorter than it used to be. )s instruments of public

service, civil servants have to be ready to manage such change. "n the other hand, the perception is that they resist change as they are wedded to their privileges and

prospects and thereby have become ends in themselves.

$he 9:rd and 9;th )mendments to the Constitution have brought about a ma(or change. 1ural and urbanlocal governments have to be enabled to become institutions of self government. $o bring this about, the

e%isting system of administration at the district level has to undergo fundamental changes. $hough si%teen

years have passed, the progress remains very slow and local governments are &local only in &form but are

&central and state in content.

ith the passage of time, the role of civil society organisations, in governance, has increased with demandsfor better governance. $he same can be said of the private sector, which is increasingly providing services

in several areas, which hitherto were the e%clusive preserve of the public sector. Conse#uently, civilservants should view civil society organisations and the private sector as partners in the process of the

countrys governance.

$here is need to shift from pre*eminence of governance to effective governance with a focus ondecentralization and citizen*centricity.

0. Conflicts %etween civil services and democracy

1igid organization structures and cumbersome procedures

'litist, authoritarian, conservative outlook +en in bureaucracy fulfill segmental roles over which they have no control. Conse#uently, they have little

or no opportunity to e%ercise individual (udgment.

$he re#uirement that a bureaucrat should follow the principles of consistency and regularity automaticallylimits his capacity to adapt to changing circumstances.

$he general rules which may take for overall efficiency produce inefficiency and in(ustice in individualcases.

Civil services difficulty to cope with uncertainty and change is a key limit on its efficiency.

. 'eforms needed in civil services

road 'eforms"

$he development work needs some fle%ibility from a strict observance of rigid rules and regulations. 1igidrule bound bureaucracies should be changed into fle%ible and action*oriented.

1eforms are re#uired in the field of recruitment of civil servants so that right people could be recruitedwho can ensure smooth functioning of democracy.

$raining of civil servants should be able to bring about behavioural and attitudinal changes. )dministrative procedures, rules and regulations need to be simplified so that red tapism could be

minimized0 decentralization of authority and collegiate decision making0 de*emphasis of hierarchy in the

administrative structure

)doption of modern management techni#ues such as management by ob(ectives0 elimination of corruptionso as to secure clean, honest, impartial and efficient administration0 creation of new work culture and

encouraging creativity.


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Summary of 'ecommendations" 2nd

A'C3s 14t

'eport

) -ational Institutes of /ublic )dministration should be established to run Bachelors 6egree courses inpublic administration< governance?4.

o $he ob(ective of mid*career training should be to develop domain knowledge and competencere#uired

o /ublic servants should be encouraged to obtain higher academic #ualifications and to write papersfor reputed and authoritative (ournals.

o $he composition of governing bodies of the national training institutions such as the BS-)),S@/-/), I2-5) and also the State )dministrative $raining Institutes should be broadened by

inducting eminent e%perts.

o ) -ational Institute of good governance may be set up by upgrading one of the e%istingnational?0 )1Cs 1eport on /ersonnel )dministration,=>?>0 1eport of the


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Committee on 1ecruitment /olicy and Selection +ethods, =>9? 8 also known as the +.S. 8otari Committee

'eport0 1eport of the Committee to 1eview the Scheme of the Civil Services '%amination, =>D> 8 also known as the

Satis Candra Committee 'eport0 1eport of the Civil Services '%amination 1eview Committee, EE=, also known

as $rofessor 9o!inder 8. Ala! Committee 'eport0 1eport of the Committee on Civil Service 1eforms also known as

the :ota Committee 'eport7EE;.

5ew of the relevant recommendations of recent committees are given below.

1ecruitment

$he Civil Services '%amination 1eview Committee, EE= 3chaired by /rofessor 9o!inder 8. Ala!4 favoredtesting the candidates in a common sub(ect rather than on optional sub(ects.

$he Committee on Civil Service 1eforms 3:ota Committee 'eport, EE;4 recommended that aptitude andleadership tests may be introduced for selection, and that probationers may be allowed one months time

after commencement of training to e%ercise their option for Services.

$raining

$he Committee to 1eview In*Service $raining of I)S officers, 39u!andar Committee7 EE:4 recommendedthe need for three mid*career training programmes in the =th, E

thand D

thyears of service. $rainings at

these : stages was suggested as there is a Fma(or shiftG in the nature of work of the officer, at these stages

of their career.

6omain '%pertise

$he first A'C classified higher civil service posts into two categories! posts in the field, and 3b4 posts athead#uarters.

$he field posts were held by the members of the &functional services which included not only the variousengineering services but also services such as accounts and income ta%. $he first )1C noted that the only

service that was not functional but occupied most of the higher posts in the civil services was the I)S. $hefirst )1C recommended that the I)S should be converted into a functional service.

Consistent with its philosophy of organizing the administrative machinery along functional lines andinducting talent from all sources, the )1C recommended eight broad areas of specialization! 'conomic

)dministration0 Industrial )dministration0 )gricultural and 1ural 6evelopment )dministration0 Social and

'ducational )dministration0 /ersonnel )dministration0 5inancial )dministration0 6efence )dministration

and Internal Security /lanning.

$he 1eport of the 2roup constituted to 1eview the System of /erformance )ppraisal, /romotion,'mpanelment and /lacement for the )ll India Services and other 2roup &) Services 3Surinder Nat

Committee 'eport, EE:4 suggested the following == domains * )griculture and 1ural 6evelopment0 Social

Sectors 3'ducation, ealth, $ribal elfare, etc.40 Culture and Information0 -atural 1esources +anagementincluding 'nvironment 3green side40 'nergy and 'nvironment 3brown side40 Communication Systems and

Connectivity Infrastructure0 /ublic 5inance and 5inance +anagement0 Industry and $rade0 6omestic )ffairs

and 6efence0 ousing and 7rban )ffairs0 /ersonnel and 2eneral )dministration. $he Committee suggested

that officers may be assigned to a ma%imum of three domains out of the eleven listed.

Te :ota Committeeon Civil Services 1eforms, EE;, had recommended that domain assignment shouldbe introduced for civil servants to encourage ac#uisition of skills, professional e%cellence and career

planning.

'fficiency

$here has been a succession of Committees that were asked to recommend measures for increasing the

efficiency of the civil services.


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Te Apple%y 'eport3=>A:4 contained recommendations relating to the establishment of "H+ machineryand an Institute of /ublic )dministration. $hese two recommendations were implemented by 2overnment.

$he (ift Central $ay Commission3EEE4 stressed upon the need to optimise the size of the governmentmachinery.

Te #5penditure 'eforms Commission3EE=4 emphasised on a drastic downsizing of the government staffstrength for securing modern and professional governance and also reducing the increasing salary bill of

the 2overnment of India.

$he Committee on Civil Services 1eforms 3:ota Committee, EE;4 emphasised the use of information andcommunication technologies 3IC$4 to transform 2overnment by making it more accessible, effective and

accountable. It stressed on the need to recognise that e*governance is about discarding old procedures and

transforming the process of decision making and that technology is merely a tool and a catalyst for such

transformations.

)ccountability

$he Committee on /revention of Corruption 3Santanam Committee4 made a range of recommendationsto fight the menace of corruption. It recommended the constitution of the Central @igilance Commission,

and administrative vigilance divisions in all 6epartments and ma(or organizations of the 2overnment.

Changes were also suggested in )rticle :== of the Constitution of India for conducting disciplinary

proceedings against government servants. It was also recommended that offering of bribes should be

made a substantive offence.

$he first A'C recommended that the departments and organizations which were in direct charge ofdevelopment programmes should introduce performance budgeting. $he )1C also recommended the

establishment of two special institutions, the ok /al to deal with complaints against the administrative

acts of +inisters and Secretaries to the government at the Centre and the ok )yuktas to deal with such

complaints in States.

Te :ota Committeerecommended that Sections =: 3=4 3d4 and => of the /revention of Corruption )ctand Section =>9 of the Code of Criminal /rocedure may be amended to protect honest civil servants from

malicious prosecution and harassment. It also recommended that a Code of 'thics should be drawn up for

civil servants incorporating the core values of integrity, merit and e%cellence in public service. )nother

recommendation of the ota Committee was that each department should lay down and benchmark

services to be delivered, methods of grievance redressal and public evaluation of performance. It also

recommended that a +odel Code of 2overnance should be drawn up benchmarking the standards of

governance to be made available to the citizens.

/erformance )ppraisal

$he 1eport of the 2roup constituted to review the system of /erformance )ppraisal, /romotion,'mpanelment and /lacement of the )IS and "ther Services 3Surinder Nat Committee7 EE:4

recommended that * performance appraisal should be primarily used for the overall development of an

officer and for his

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