Question : What are the major concerns of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission on Civil Service reforms? Indicate the current status of their implementation.
(2015)
Answer : Taking a leaf out of YK Alogh and Mota Committee, ARC II gave following recommendations regarding Civil Service Reforms.
Question : “Excellent ideas but poor implementation have characterised the administrative reforms in India since Independence.” Critically examine the statement giving examples from the Union and State Governments.
(2015)
Answer : Policy formulation and its implementation are most important parts of its life-cycle. Excellent ideas but poor implementation or its reverse –both can sabotage a Policy. Administrative reforms are methods to improve the working of administration by bringing new methods and by removing obsolete one. However, administrative reforms is not a success in India.
Ex of Union Govts…
Committees like Sarkaria Commission and Punchi Commission have suggested a number of excellent ideas in respect of Centre-State relations. However, ....
Question : “Gender Response Budgeting has infused greater accountability of planning departments towards women empowerment programmes.” Examine the statement.
(2014)
Answer : Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) is a method of planning, programming, and budgeting that help advance gender equality and women rights. Ender budgeting was introduced in India in 2004-05 to tackle the gender inequality issue of the India. It has infused greater accountability in ministries and departments.
Question : The 13th Finance Commission highlighted an indispensable need to improve the finances of rural and urban level bodies. Does this make local bodies more accountable in the discharge of their functions?
(2014)
Answer : 13th FC states that the State Government must put in place a supplement to the budget documents for local bodies – separately for PRIs and ULBs. The system of submitting a supplement to the budget documents relating to local bodies exists in Kerala and Tripura.
But giving more financial devolution to the PRIs without proper accountability will bring in more corruption.
13th FC states that the C&AG must be given TG&S over the audit of all ....
Question : “Unimplemented reforms in administration weaken the administrative reforms process most.” Do you agree? Give your answer citing specific cases as illustrations.
(2014)
Answer : In India there have been previous efforts to reform the bureaucracy, but the recommendations of commissioned reports have often remained unimplemented or official actions have only resulted in minor adjustments to administrative structures and processes.
Unimplemented reforms in long run slowed the further reforms. For e.g.it was recommended that class II personnel from state services could also be brought to the centre as under-secretaries in functionally specialized areas of administration.
It remained largely unimplemented and thus causing ....
Question : Explain the important recommendations of VT Krishanmachary Committee (1952) on the Indian and State Administrative services and problems of district administration.
(2013)
Answer : In view of the difficult position regarding availability of lAS officers the Krishnamachary report observed that recommendation of the Second Pay Commission for ‘raising the age of superannuation may be accepted. Pending such re-examination, lAS officers who are capable of efficient service may be continued in service or re-employed-on a basis similar to that now adopted for scientific and technical officers.
The system of training of lAS officers recruited directly in the National Academy is described ....
Question : Discuss the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission in respect of the National Development Council for improving Centre-State planning relations.
(2012)
Answer : Central Government had appointed a commission for examining centre-state relations under Chairmanship of R.S. Sarkaria in 1983. Terms of conditions for the commission were to examine the existing relations between centre and state and recommending suggestions and changes in this regard.
Commission did not support the structural changes and accepted the existing constitutional provisions and principles but it emphasized on need of change in functional aspects. Commission observed that, federalism is more a functional system compared ....
Question : ‘Efforts made towards administrative reforms so far have been lacking in congruence between strategy, structure and substance.’ Discuss with illustrations.
(2012)
Answer : If we analyze in Indian context, then administrative reforms have been a problem even after valuable suggestions. One of the important reasons for this is that administrative reform has always been assumed to be only an administrative problem.
While in practice it is structural problem rather than administrative whose roots are present in many non-administrative reasons. As the eminent scholar of comparative public administration, F.W. Riggs, underlines that administrative sub-system interact with many other sub-systems and ....
Question : “Administrative reforms get diluted because of constant tinkering on the margin rather than a holistic transformation.” Discuss the statement in the context of reforming district administration in India.
(2011)
Answer : With the constitutionally mandated establishment of Panachayati Raj Institutions and Municipal bodies, it has become necessary to re-examine and re-define the role of the district administration. It is imperative that the devolution of decision making to local levels should face no impediments.
It is equally imperative that the unique administrative experience, expertise and credibility of the office of the District Collector built up over a period of two hundred years is properly utilized. In this regard ....
Question : The Second Administrative Reforms Commission. In its 10th report, observes that “the common perception is that the incentive structure in government is too weak and inadequate to motivate better performance” Elucidate.
(2010)
Answer : Monopoly of existing civil services over higher positions to go. At present, all thecivil services in India are cadre-based. i.e. a person joins the service and moves up the ladder. The natural corollary of this is that there are very few lateral entries and the civil services enjoy a virtual monopoly over the all the positions in the government. With rapid expansion of knowledge, increasing complexities in certain fi elds, rapid expansion of private sector, ....
Question : With reference to India, discuss the assertion that administrative reforms are multi-dimensional and need to be substantiated by reforms in other related areas of state action.
(2010)
Answer : The state needs to focus on the irreducible role of government that is required to fulfill human potential and promote rapid economic growth. Abdication of the state or its inefficiency in these critical sectors will spell disaster to our future. The non-negotiable role of the state in four broad areas needs to be clearly recognized and reemphasized. The first is in the area of public order, justice and rule of law. Deficiencies on this front ....
Question : In your view, which have been the five most important administrative reforms implemented after Independence? What has been their impact?
(2009)
Answer : Since Independence of India in 1947, G.O.I. has appointed many committees and commissions for suggesting measures for improvement of administrative efficiency in the country. In this regard just after Independence in 1948, the Economy committee was set up by the central government, under the chairmanship of KasturbhaiLalbhai (a well known industrialist) Based on its recommendation an Economy committee were set up in various ministries with a view to check the government expenditure, including that incurred ....
Question : “National Commission to review the working of the Constitution has suggested revolutionary changes in administrative culture. Analyse its major recommendations on Civil Services and Administration.
(2007)
Answer : Out of major commissions or committees set up to review the working of the Constitution or the administrative culture in India, the National Commission to Review Working of Constitution (NCRWC)’s recommendations are more practical and feasible, than all other its counterparts.
The focus of NCRWC’s work on administration in India has been to move forward and alleviate itself from the colonial hangover and status quo mentality. The NCRWC clearly indicated that, the then Indian Civil Services, ....
Question : “All efforts in the field of reforms in public administration by political executive have resulted in no significant output”. Comment.
(2006)
Answer : Reforms are essential for any administration to cope up with the changing environment. Without reforms the administration becomes a closed system which can easily disintegrate. In India there have been made many attempts to reform the administration but due to the rigidity of bureaucracy and their reluctance to change coupled with unwillingness of political executives to reform administration have resulted in a very lesser degree of reforms.
The main responsibility of administration rests with political executive ....
Question : “Efforts made towards administrative reforms so far have been lacking in a congruence between strategy, structure and substance”. Comment.
(2005)
Answer : After independence federal system of government was adopted in India. The partition and the system of federation made if necessary to adopt revolutionary administration reforms. Both central and state governments were feeling for a long period the need for administrative reforms to set up a new political, social and economic order and to satisfy the aspiration of the people. The problem of administrative reforms in India is larger and more complex than in nearly every ....
Question : “In spite of valuable suggestions through Administrative Reforms, still we have not been able to come up to the expectations of the people”. Discuss.
(2004)
Answer : During the first decade after independence, it was found that the inherited administration of the country with its law and order and partition as well as the new charter of responsibilities of social and political development that were entrusted upon the country with the adoption of the ideology of welfare state.
As a consequence, the idea of setting up of a commission to make comprehensive study of the administration gained ground.
The Administrative Reform Commission major suggestions ....
Question : “The problems of administrative improvement in India are larger and more complex than in any other country in the world”. Comment.
(2002)
Answer : Administrative improvement like in most of the countries have met with limited success in India. The problems of administrative improvement in India are larger and ore complex than in nearly every other country in the world. There is the matter of big size and diversity of population. More than 100 crore of people, most of them still illiterate, are participants in the present great Herculean effort for self-improvement. They speak many different languages, they are ....
Question : “Administrative Reforms in India are not necessarily the result of the any Specific Committees or Commission.”
(2001)
Answer : Most of the committees and commissions appointed for recommending administrative reforms in India have had specific objectives that involved the examination of only a few selected aspects of the administrative system. It could be Secretariat reorganization, civil service recruitment, training, pay structure, urban government, rural administration, prevention of corruption and so on.
It was only Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) (1966-70) that had been given the task of scrutinizing almost the whole of the Indian Administrative System. ....
Question : “ Most administrative reforms have a political cost.”
(2000)
Answer : Administrative reforms refer to enhancement is the capacity of an administrative system to achieve its assigned goals. It involves “artificial inducement of administrative transformation against resistance.” Reforming a system implies a modification in its ‘form’, but it does not mean that administrative reform deal with only structural changes in a system. It is much broader in its scope and includes in its ambit improvements in structures, process, behaviour of the administrative system and its component.
The ....
Question : Do you agree with the view that the Indian reform effort has been conservative or orthodox, not breaking radically newer ground, but only modifying the existing structures and processes? Give arguments.
(1999)
Answer : Reform is more than a series of incremental changes or marginal adjustments, though it may result from the cumulation of small changes which periodically creates requirements for comprehensive and systematic efforts. Administrative Reform is a creative destruction; it means that an old order is broken down to pave the way for a new order. It refers to the formal mechanistic and pre-thought process of structured change. But Indian reform effort has been conservative or orthodox, ....
Question : “The success of administrative reforms in a country like India depends upon political as well as administrative will.” Comment.
(1998)
Answer : Administrative reforms become essential when administration is unable to satisfy its personnel, is not able to solve citizen’s grievances, is not able to ascertain the problems around it and is unable to think about proper methods to deal with the activities going on in the organization.Administrative reform is a dependent variable. Indeed, successful reforms need to be preceded or at least accompanied by necessary variation in political as well as administrative will.
The administrative reform thus ....
Question : “The Satish Chandra Committee made a valiant attempt to correct the imbalances unnecessarily introduced in the selection process for civil servants during the late 1970s.” Comment.
(1995)
Answer : Satish Chandra Committee (1989) was appointed to review the effects of the changes that were introduced in the selection process of civil servants during late 1970s on the recommendations of Kothari Committee.
The committee reviewed the existing system and recommended no departure from the practice of holding a common examination in respect of Indian Foreign Service, the Indian Police Service, the Account Groups Services and Revenue and Taxation Services. But one of the recommendation was to ....
