Administrative Reforms

In India, Administrative Reforms signify all these three aspects- remodelling to suit political change since Independence, change in character and behavior to cope with the new socio-economic environment and programs for the removal of social evils that have crept into the system. Since Independence, there have been about fifty Commissions and Committees at the Union Government level to look into what can be broadly characterized as administrative reforms.

Recent Developments

SC Stays New Tribunal Rules

In June 2017, the Ministry of Finance had notified new rules affecting the selection process and functioning of all tribunals.
The Supreme Court has effectively stayed the applicability of provisions of the Central Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and other Authorities (Qualification, experience and other conditions of service of members) Rules, 2017 which gave the government primacy in making key appointments to tribunals, including the National Green Tribunal.
The bench said the appointment of the Chairperson of the tribunal will be made by the Chief Justice or his nominee.

Supreme Court: Streaming Live Sessions

People should be able to watch the Supreme Court proceedings over the Internet in important cases that impact the public, a senior lawyer Indira Jaising has said in a public interest petition filed in the top court. This, her petition said, would be in line with the principle of open court and a 1967 verdict by a nine-judge bench that courts “must permit the public admission to the court room”. Her arguments need to be seen from various dimensions.
In Favor: While the courts are now opting for digitisation, with online records of all cases, a provision for filing FIRs online, an automated system of case rotation, etc., there is still a need to push the bar much higher.
Not in Favor: The role of the judiciary cannot be equated with the roles of the legislature and the executive. While broadcasting parliamentary proceedings may be good for ensuring accountability, this is not the case with the courts. The reason is simple. In democratic governance, the public is sovereign, and the public judges its representatives.But the public cannot judge the judges.

Political Parties Exempted from Scrutiny on Foreign Funds

The LokSabha passed without a debate a bill that will exempt political parties from scrutiny of funds they have received from abroad since 1976.
On March 14, 2018 the LokSabha passed 21 amendments to the Finance Bill 2018. One of them was an amendment to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 that bans overseas corporations from funding political parties.
New Definition of Foreign Companies: The Finance Act, 2016, changed the definition of a foreign company by saying a firm with less than 50% of share capital held by a foreign entity would no longer be a foreign source any more. This amendment also came into effect retrospectively from September 2010.

‘Strategy for New India@ 75’

The ‘Strategy For NEW INDIA@ 75’ put together by NITI Aayog is an attempt to bring innovation, technology, enterprise and efficient management together at the core of policy formulation and implementation. It believes that the economic transformation cannot happen without public participation and development must become a “Jan Andolan”.

Objective: Streamlining governance structures to achieve better development outcomes.

Current Situation

Legal and judicial reforms are urgently needed toaddress the massive pendency and capacity issuesin Indian courts, which impede access to justice. Several archaic and defunct laws have already been repealed and many others are in the processof being weeded out. The recently announced umbrella scheme on “Modernization of Police Forces” to strengthen law and order and modernize the police is a welcome stimulus. A part of police reform is intrinsically linked to legal/judicial reform,which would result in efficient criminal justice dispensation.
The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was constituted in 2005 and in 2009, theCommission submitted around 15 reports on variousaspects of governance, making 1514 recommendations. Of these, 1183 have been accepted by the central government. Decisions on the accepted recommendations have been sent to the relevant central ministries and state/union territories, with a request to set up an institutional mechanism to monitor their implementation. However, a bulk of the recommendations have not yet been implemented.
Reforms in civil services are a continuous process and several initiatives have been taken in recent years by the present government. These include, the introduction of a multi-stakeholder feedback (MSF) performance evaluation, dispensing with interviews for lower level positions, introduction of online mechanisms for appraisals and filing of various returns by employees, implementation of e-office, and strengthening training and merit-based postings. About 18 states and 7 union territories have also discontinued the practice of interview for recruitments to lower level posts.

Constraints

The major challenge facing the judiciary is the huge backlog of over 2.7 crore pending cases.There are also significant capacity issues.
Ease of doing business in India is severely constrained by the inability to enforce contracts or laws, lengthy and costly litigation and arbitration processes, and archaic legislations. Although we have the Arbitration Law of 1996, which is in tune with global principles, it has not yielded desired results in terms of lessening the pressure on courts. Nor have the alternative dispute resolution mechanisms been utilized adequately. The World Bank “Doing Business Report” 2018 ranks India at 164 in ‘Enforcing Contracts’; though an improvementof 8 positions, it is clearly not an acceptable situation.
Police reform until recently had been stuck due to various reasons. Police/law and order is a state subject, falling under List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. In a federal set up like ours, this makes policy reform a rather sticky issue. After accounting for vacant positions, there are only 137 police personnel per 100,000 citizens (17.3 lakh in all). The UN recommends 222 police personnel per 100,000 citizens.Several constraints impede the development of a highly efficient, transparent and accountable civil service.
There is a mismatch between positions and skill sets. Recruitment is not competency specific and often, the right person is not placed in the right job.
A related issue is the opposition to lateral entry, which hinders the development process. As the complexity of the economy increases, policy making becomes a specialized activity. This creates an inherent need for the lateral entry of professionals into government service.
There is a need to forecast staffing needs in the civil services. This could ideally be done on a five-year rolling basis. There are instances of lack of employment opportunities in some areas, while there are many vacancies in others.
Attracting talent and nurturing excellence, ensuring transparency and accountability along with participatory and representative decision-making are some issues that need to be addressed.

To achieve the goals of new India in 2022-23, it is important for the private sector, civil society and even individuals to draw up their own strategies to complement and supplement the steps the government intends to take. With the available tools of 21st century technology, it should be possible to truly create a mass movement for development. with the sankalp of all indians, India will have siddhi.

Way forward

Implement Second Administrative Reforms Commission recommendations and appoint a new commission for designing reforms in the changing context of emerging technologies and growing economic complexities.
Set up a new autonomous body, viz., the Arbitration Council of India, to grade arbitral institutions and accredit arbitrators to make the arbitration process cost effective, speedy and to preempt the need for court intervention.
Address the backlog of pending cases by shifting part of workload out of regular court system.
Expand the scope of Swachh Bharat Mission to cover initiatives for landfills, plastic waste and municipal waste and generating wealth from waste.

Administrative Reforms

The purpose of administration is to meet the demands of people and execute the policies taken by the government. But when it is felt that the prevailing system of public administration fails to reach the target and to meet the demands of people then - and then only - the question of reforming administration arises.

Administrative reforms can, in short, be defined as artificial inducement of administrative transformation against resistance. This definition highlights three distinct elements, namely:

Administrative reform is artificially stimulated;
It is a transformatory process; and
There is existence of resistance to change process.

Obviously, reforms do not take place by themselves. They are pre-meditated, well studied and planned programmes with definite objectives in view. Reform is an induced and manipulated change, for it involves persuasion, collaboration and generation of conviction for betterment.

Need For Administrative Reforms

Administrative reform is but a part of the universality of this change, for administration is nothing but a sub-culture, a social sub-system reflecting the values of the wider society. Administration must also correspondingly change to be in step with the outer modernisation process. Or else, disequilibrium would set in, resulting in imbalances, dysfunctionalities, mal-adjustments and goal displacement.

Types of Administrative Reform (According to Gerald E. Caiden)

Reforms imposed through political changes: Administration is shaped and influenced by political forces. The change in political scene also affects administration. Structure and working of administration is affected by political changes.

Reforms introduced to remedy organisational rigidity: Bureaucratic structures have to change to be flexible. The rigidity in the structure of administration has to be removed. The changes can take place in the form of restructuring, reinvention, realignment, rethinking and reengineering.

Reforms through the legal system: Laws pertaining to administrative reform can lead to significant changes in administration. Legislation is normally preceded by consultations and deliberation in several forums such as committees, commissions, press etc.

Reforms through changes in attitude: Human beings are an important part of any organisation. Change in their attitude will help in bringing reforms. No legal, structural and political change can lead to desired reform unless and until these are appreciated and accepted by the people working in the organisation.

Evolution of all Administrative Reforms in India

Various measures were taken up by the Government of India in administrative reforms-

Secretariat Organization Committee, 1947: The Government of India set up the Secretariat Reorganisation Committee in 1947, which was headed by Girija Shankar Bajpai. The Committee enquired into the matters of personnel shortages, better utilization of the available manpower and improvement of methods of work in the Central Secretariat.
Shri N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar Report, 1950: Shri N. GopalaswamyAyyangar conducted a comprehensive review of the working of the machinery of the Central Government, which was presented in his report on ‘Reorganisation of the Machinery of Central Government’.
A.D. Gorwala Committe, 1951: In July 1951, a Committee headed by Shri .A.D. Gorwala in its Report on Public Administration underlined the need for having a clean, efficient and impartial administration.
Paul. H. Appleby Reports, 1953 & 1956: In continuation of these efforts, the Government of India invited an American expert, Mr. Paul. H. Appleby to suggest reforms in Indian administration. Appleby submitted two reports. His first report namely ‘Public Administration in India: Report of a Survey’, 1953, which with administrative reorganization and practices. His second report namely, ‘Re-examination of India’s Administrative System with special reference to Administration of Government’s Industrial and Commercial Enterprises’, 1956, dealt with matters pertaining to streamlining organisation, work procedures, recruitment, and training in these enterprises.
Committee on Plan Projects, 1956: In 1956, the Planning Commission set up a ‘Committee on Plan Projects’ to evolve organisation norms, work methods and techniques, with a view to achieve economy and efficiency in the implementation of the plan projects. In 1964, a Management and Development Administration Division was also established as a part of this Committee to promote the use of modem tools of management. It also undertook studies on problems related to development administration at the district level.
Committee on Prevention of Corruption, 1962: The Committee was set up under the chairmanship of K Santhanam to study the causes of corruption, to review the existing set up for checking corruption and to suggest measures for improvement. The Committee stressed on the need for streamlining the procedures relating to prevention of corruption and recommended the setting up of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), 1966: The Administrative Reforms Commission was set up in January 1966 under the chairmanship of K Hanumanthaiya. Its terms of reference was the widest as it covered the entire gamut of public administration at the Centre as well in the States. The Commission submitted 20 reports containing more than 500 recommendations. These led to major and minor changes in administration as well as paved the way for further thinking, which led to more reforms.The major recommendations of the ARC are mentioned below:

1. It spelt out the tasks for the Department of Administrative Reforms. The Commission suggested that the Department should concentrate on:

Undertaking studies on administrative reforms that are of a foundational nature;
Creating O & M expertise in the ministries and departments and providing training to the staff in their O & M units in modern managerial techniques; and

Providing guidance to the O & M units in implementing the improvements and reforms.

2. It recommended the reactivating of the O & M units in different ministries and departments.

3. It called for setting up of a special cell in the central reforms agency to give effect to the reports of ARC; and

4. It stated that the central reforms agency should be research based in matters dealing with the methods of work, staffing pattern and organisational structure.

Kothari Committee, 1976: The Committee on recruitment and selection methods under the chairmanship of Shri Kothari was set up in 1976 by the UPSC to examine and report on the system of recruhent to All India Services and Central Group A and B Services. The committee in its report recommended for single examination for the AIS and Central Group A non-technical services.
National Police Commission, 1977: The Commission was set up under the chairmanship of Shri Dharam Vira to examine the role and functions of police with special reference to control of crime and maintenance of public order, the method of magisterial supervision, the system of investigation and prosecution and maintenance of crime records. The Commission made over five hundred recommendations extending to a wide area of interest relating to police administration.
Economic Reforms Commission, 1981: The Commission was set up with L K Jha as the chairman. The main functions assigned to the Commission related to the study of the important areas of economic administration with a view to suggest reforms. The Commission submitted a number of reports to the Government of India, which advocated the rationalization and modernization of the economic administrative system to pave way for a new economic order.
Commission on Centre-State Relations, 1983: Mr. R S Sarkaria, was the chairman of this Commission. Its term of reference was to examine and review the working of the existing arrangements between the union and states with regard to powers, functions and responsibilities in all spheres and make recommendations as to the changes and measures needed.
National Commission to Review the Working of the Indian Constitution, 2000-03: under the Chairmanship of Chief Justice (Retd.) Venkatacheliah, was set up to examine the working of the Indian Constitution.

List of Reports Produced by Second ARC
1st Report	Right to Information: Master Key to Good Governance
2nd Report	Unlocking Human Capital: Entitlements and Governance
3rd Report	Crisis Management
4th Report	Ethics in Governance
5th Report	Public Order
6th Report	Local Governance
7th Report	Capacity Building for Conflict Resolution
8th Report	Combating Terrorism - Protecting by Righteousness
9th Report	Social Capital-A shared Destiny
10th Report	Refurbishing of Personnel Administration &ndash Scaling New Heights
11th Report	Promoting e-Governance: The Smart Way Forward
12th Report	Citizen Centric Administration
13th Report	Organisational structure of Govt of India
14th Report	Strengthening Financial Management Systems
15th Report	State and District Administration

Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)

The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was constituted on 31 August 2005, as a Commission of Inquiry, under the Chairmanship of Veerappa Moily for preparing a detailed blueprint for revamping the public administrative system.
The Commission was given the mandate to suggest measures to achieve a proactive, responsive, accountable, sustainable and efficient administration for the country at all levels of the government. The Commission was asked to, inter alia, consider the following:

Organisational structure of the Government of India
Ethics in governance
Refurbishing of Personnel Administration
Strengthening of Financial Management Systems
Steps to ensure effective administration at the State level
Steps to ensure effective District Administration
Local Self-Government/Panchayati Raj Institutions
Social Capital, Trust and Participative public service delivery
Citizen-centric administration (x) Promoting e-governance
Issues of Federal Polity
Crisis Management
Public Order

Administrative Reforms

Administrative Reforms

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