UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
(Paper-1)

SECTION-A

Q1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

(a) “The strength of Public Administration is in its exploration of the com-
plexities and nuances of public policy making and implementation.”
Discuss.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration/Public Policy
Sub Topic: Meaning, Scope, Significance of Public Administration and Public Policy
Implementation and Formulation
Approach This is an interlinked question where the relationship between the scope of
public administration and its impact on public policy formulation and imple-
mentation is asked. Students must explain with practical examples the changing
dimensions of public administration and its applicability to policy formulation
and implementation.
Introduction The contemporary age has witnessed the emergence of administrative state. Public
administration has become an essential part of society and a dominant factor in
governance.

Body Reasons for growing importance of Public Administration:

1. In today’s era of big state, each citizen is touched by the state in almost all
aspects.
It is the duty of the state to make every citizen aware of their rights, claims
and dutiesso that citizens can maximise their benefits.

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2. It is the basis of administration and an instrument for providing services.

3. It plays the role of stabilising force in society. Ex: Governor may have to lead
under Article 356.
4. It is an instrument of social change and socio-economic development.
Ex.:
yy Maintenance of law and order
yy Generation of revenue
yy Allocation of resources based on equity
yy Distribution of output in favour of weaker sections of the society through
the channels like PDS, IAY
yy Social – empowerment of backward classes, minorities, women, tribals
and other vulnerable sections of society
yy Economic – Infrastructure development, industrialisation ensuring job-led
growth, etc.
As said by M. E. Dimock, “Public Administration is the fulfillment or enforcement
of public policy as declared by the competent authorities.” Hence, public admin-
istration has an intrinsic role in sound policy making because:
1. Dror’s normative model talks about rational and extra rational factors in policy
making.
2. Extra rational factors such as value, judgments, bias and political factors play
a role in sound policy making.
3. It is the task of bureaucracy to make policies formulated with rational and
extra rational factors to be implemented at the ground level with success.
Complexities and Nuances of Policy Making:

1. Policies formulated without discussion and participatory orientation result in
failure while implementing.
2. Elite capture, political populism and ad-hoc policy making result in policy
failures.
3. Federal structure, union-state relations, low morale of bureaucracy, lack of
time and data, absence of rigorous evaluation and feedback.
4. Globalisation has led to policy being formulated to suit to international com-
mitments (Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Change ).
Solutions and Way Forward:

1. Use of Information and Communication technology to aid data analysis for
policy implementation.
2. Use of public opinion and consensus which will aid in decision- making.
3. Debates and discussion in parliament.
4. Following theory of reversals as said by Robert Chambers.
5. Strengthening of institutions for oversight – CAG, Social Audit, etc.
6. Following sunset clause of policy making and de-novo design rather than
incremental model of policy making.
Conclusion Public policy formulation and implementation depends on the skill of public
administration execution. New Weberian bureaucracy, with outward orientation,
democratic spirit and New Public Service motivation, is the key to the same in
the era of globalisation.
Score High Quote latest example of Niti Ayog Indexes for Aspirational Districts and sustain-
able development goals and how it is aiding policy making.

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(b) Principles of analysis and principles of action were not differentiated

in Taylor’s scientific management. Comment.
Chapter: Administrative Thought
Sub Topic: Taylor and his scientific revolution
Approach Explain Taylor’s ideas and its practical applicability and issues therein. Suggest
the way forward.
Introduction Taylor’s scientific management theory is based on the principles of scientific
management. It was the first comprehensive explanation about how to administer
organisations and that is why it is regarded as the symbolic birth of organisational
thought and Taylor is regarded as the father of scientific management of organ-
isations. His basic postulates were use of scientific principles in management of
works, harmony and cooperation among workers and management, maximum
output through mental revolution of workers and managers through standardization,
etc.
Body Principles of Analysis in Taylorism:
1. Under scientific management, Taylor conceptualised a mutual beneficial
exchange with significant rewards occurring to both management and the
workers. Taylor contends that under scientific management, workers should be
given more interesting work that would fully develop their talents. Moreover,
it would produce not only a better worker but also a person would be able to
live better and focus on the “economic man”.
2. He focused on the establishment of a joint commission of employers and
workers to achieve productivity, solve problems and redress grievances.
3. His humanistic approach was evident from his focus on ensuring prosperity
and continuous development of employees, saving workers from unfair criti-
cism, giving safe hygienic and healthy working conditions, etc.
4. He focused on evaluating time for each element of work based on the move-
ment of hands.
5. The concept of scientifically selected and trained employees and assigning
them work based on their expertise was Taylor’s idea.
6. The last primary and direct concern was discovering and proposing ways and
means of optimisation of organisational productivity. There are indirect ben-
efits, specially because of Taylor’s emphasis on psychological and economic
fairness.
Principles of action were controversial and difficult because:

1. Criticism by neo-classical thinkers: Elton Mayo Chester, Barnard, et. al.
focused on the non-behavioural aspect of Taylor’s study.
2. Machine model or mechanistic model where socio-psychological dimension of
organisational culture is ignored and the focus is on techno-economic aspects.
3. Taylor focused on unidimensional aspect of human behaviour, i.e. monetary
incentives whereas motivation is composed of many other psychological
factors.
4. Regimented approach of Taylor’s theory and overreliance on standardisation
dehumanises the worker and makes him demotivated, significantly showing
the organisation’s inability to deal with a fast-changing environment.
5. Trade unions complained of their loss of bargaining power and the resulting
unemployment due to rigorous performance measurement standards.

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6. Managers who wanted quick promotions without any merit-based evaluation

and were unwilling to change status quo found Taylor and his ideas devoid
of practical touch.
Conclusion Taylorism is more relevant at present as efficiency, personnel administration,
boosting morale of civil services, and mental revolution between politicians and
bureaucracy in ensuring development administration are now more important
than ever before. However, its application is relevant only in a specific temporal,
cultural and geographical context. Taylor influenced the way of doing work in an
organisation and enriched the annals of public administration as a discipline and
profession.
Score High Quote more examples from Indian scenario of Taylor’s principles becoming
popular:
1. Taylor’s influence on devising NPM, Pert and CPM to boost productivity.
2. Performance linked pay, performance related incentive scheme by 7th Pay
Commission, Result framework document and Memorandum of Understanding
for PSUs have their origin in Taylor’s ideas.
3. Performance measurement, Performance bBudgeting, Performance auditing
Performance appraisal and 360 Degree appraisal have their origin in Taylor’s
ideas.
4. Sevottam Model, Citizen’s charter, administrative reforms for efficiency and
administrative development are examples of standardisation borrowed from
Taylor’s ideas.

(c) “Arbitrariness in the application of rule of law is a primary cause of

poor governance.” Discuss.
Chapter: Administrative law/Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: Rules of Law/Good Governance
Approach Explain how arbitrariness in the application of rule of law leads to poor
governance.
Introduction The rule of law is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and
entities, public and private, including the state itself, are accountable to laws that
are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and
which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards.
The relevance of the Rule of Law is demonstrated by application of the following
principles in practice:
yy The separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the
judiciary.
yy The law is made by representatives of the people in an open and transparent
way.
yy The law is applied equally and fairly, so that no one is above the law.
yy No one is subject to any action by any government agency other than in
accordance with the law and the model litigant rules, no one is subject to
any torture.
yy The judicial system is independent, impartial, open and transparent and pro-
vides a fair and prompt trial.
yy Clearly written and easily accessible laws that create certainty and enforcea-
bility of legal rights.

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yy An independent and impartial judiciary that promotes fairness and ensures

transparent, timely and predictable resolution of disputes.
yy Effective and efficient public institutions that empower business and individ-
uals to make a positive contribution to the economy and society.
yy No one is subject adversely to a retrospective change of the law.
Body Relation between rule of law and Good Governance:-

Democracy provides a conducive and stimulating environment for the rule of law
to thrive, while the rule of law sustains democracy. Good governance, on the
other hand, promotes and strengthens both democracy and the rule of law in every
modern society.
Examples of Arbitrariness in Application of Rule of Law:

1. India’s undertrial population remains among the highest in the world and more
than half of all undertrials were detained for less than six months in 2016.At
the end of 2016, there were 4,33,033 people in prison, of whom 68% were
undertrials. This suggests that the high proportion of undertrials in the overall
prison population may be the result of unnecessary arrests and ineffective
legal aid during remand hearings.
2. There is a rise in the number of people held under administrative (or ‘pre-
vention’) detention laws in Jammu and Kashmir.
3. In 2016, out of 1,557 undertrials found eligible for release under Section 436A,
only 929 were released.
4. Retrospective laws are applied which harms business interests. Ex. Vodafone
Case.
5. There has been tribunalisation of justice which has led to high number of
cases pending at Regulatory and Tribunal Level.
6. Judicial activism, Legislative inaction and Executive lethargy have violated
separation of powers doctrine.
7. High level of pendency of cases in courts in India.
8. Criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals have resulted in
lawmakers who are law breakers.
Solutions: Reforms in the judiciary and discarding antiquated laws

Access to speedier justice for the underprivileged and vulnerable
Participatory governance and activist civil society
Conclusion Rule of law is mostly believed to be a modern concept which is a gift of democ-
racy. However, it is something which is fundamental to the very basic idea of
good governance. We need to focus on the weaknesses and loopholes so that we
can remove or plug them. Other actors like the media, civil society and even the
ordinary citizen cannot run away from their respective responsibilities. Therefore,
it is equally important that all the actors of the society ensure for the maintenance
of Rule of Law.
Score High India has ranked 79 out of 139 countries and jurisdictions in the World Justice
Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2021. Besides, poor rule of law has a
devastating effect on right to life, liberty, economic justice, fraternity, individual
dignity and national integration.

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(d) “Departments, Boards and Commissions as forms of organisation are

dissimilar in the context of accountability and responsibility.” Analyse.
Chapter: Organisation
Sub Topic: Structures and Forms of organisation
Approach Explain the features of Departments, Boards and Commissions and relative advan-
tages and disadvantages of each in terms of accountability and responsibility.
Introduction The Laissez-Faire of state activity in the 19th century gave place to socialistic
welfare during the 20th century, leading to the expansion of the state functions in
the economic and industrial fields. The state was no longer required as a revenue
and law and order function. Instead, it became concerned with the economic welfare
of its people.
Body To ensure better utilisation of available resources and build the essential infrastruc-
ture for national development led to setting up of public enterprises in the form of
departments, corporations, companies and boards.
The line agency in its traditional form exists as departments. Departments are
the fundamental unit of administrative organisations and carry out all the
functions. Departments are categorised on the basis of:
yy The Financial Principle: When the administrative business is organised on the
basis of the nature of function or the purpose of the work, then it is known
as the financial principle. A simple example to elaborate that would be the
creation of a Department of Commerce to regulate the trade and commerce
within the country.
yy The Process Principle: When the organisation of business is done on the basis
of the process of the nature of nature of activity, like the Law Department
or the Health Department for legal and medical activities of the government.
yy Clientele or Commodity Principle: In this case, the business of the organi-
sation is based on the set of people for whom its services are meant , or its
clients. e.g. the Department of Scheduled Casts and Tribes.
yy Geographical Principle: As the name suggests, it has the geographical area
as its basis to determine the organisation of business.
Advantages of Department Form:

yy It helps achieve specialisation and ensures prevention of duplicity of work.
yy It makes delegation easy and therefore eases out the work load of the Head
of the Department.
yy It also helps the HOD focus on supervision and control rather than bothering
about minor details, thus saving his time and effort.
yy Specialisation of functions and division of labour are two important aspects.
yy Economical and efficient administration with speedy decision making.
yy Expedient in approach and matters concerning strategic importance e.g.
Railways
yy Concentration of the responsibility and power in the hands of single individual,
usually the head, thus ensuring appropriate accountability.
Disadvantages of Department system:
yy Proliferation of Ministries/Departments - weak integration and coordination:
The creation of a large number of Ministries and Departments sometimes, due
to the compulsion of coalition politics, has led to illogical division of work
and lack of an integrated approach even on closely related subjects.

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yy Leads to hierarchy, loss of team spirit ,risk avoidance and fragmentation of

autonomy.
yy Is not responsive to the external environment conditions.
yy Strictly hierarchical in its nature and follows the principle of chain of command.
Boards and Commission:
When all the administrative powers are vested in a single individual within the
department, then the system is known as Bureau. When a plural body is vested with
all the administrative powers, then the system is known as Board or Commission.
Advantages of Board/Commission Form:-

yy If the department is to carry out work of administrative character, the Bureau
system is more appropriate.
yy When the nature of work is such that a lot of discretion and care is to be
maintained with respect to information which affects a large number of people,
like the drafting of policies, rules and regulations, the Board or Commission
kind of system works best.
yy For services and functions that require collective intelligence, holistic view
points, mature decision making, a Board system works well as there are more
members to arrive at balanced decisions.
yy Allows for specialists to be employed and rational decision- making.
yy Politically impartial decision- making takes place as the appointees are spe-
cialists with high integrity, e.g. Election Commission of India.
Disadvantages of Board/Commission Form:

yy For speedy decision making, unity of command and promptness is required
for efficient performance and it can be achieved only when the responsibilities
and power are vested in a single individual like Department.
yy It is said that regulatory commissions have no responsibility to have any
constitutional authority. The commission violates the principle of separation
of power as it combines functions of the legislature, executive and judiciary.
yy Besides, the commissions do not have that impartiality and neutrality which
is essential for the performance of judicial work.
Conclusion To sum up, the size of the organisation and technological developments are other
important determinants of the structures and hierarchy of any organisation.2nd ARC
recommends reduction in hierarchical levels, reorganisation of departments and
boards ,simplification of governmental rules and business process reorganisation
and effective coordination to bring more accountability and responsibility.
Score High Quote recent decision of government to reduce decision- making to three levels.
Also, corporatisation of ordinance factory boards and holding company structure
for Air India disinvestment is a way forward for reorganisation of departments
and boards.

(e) Administrative man bridges the psychological man and the rational
man. Explain.
Chapter: Administrative Thought
Sub Topic: Simon’s bounded rationality /Mayo’s theory of human psychology
Approach Explain administrative man and how it covers up for deficiencies of psychological
man and rational man.

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Introduction Weber’s bureaucratic model was an ideal construct of operationalising legal-rational

authority where he dwelt upon maximising rationality and efficiency. Simon cate-
gorically opposed such universal model and dwelt upon vitality of decision-making
in administration. Simon’s model of top-down hierarchy (Vertical hierarchy) of
decision-making was similar to that of Weber. Simon came up with his concept
of bounded rationality (human rationality is bounded by limitations).
The satisficing man/administrative man model was an improvement over perfectly
rational economic man of Weber and psychological man of Mayo and Follet.
Body Economic Man:
The concept of economic man was evolved by classical economic theorists. The
economic man is as completely rational in every way. Regarding his decision-mak-
ing activities, the following conditions are assumed:
1. The decision will be completely rational in the sense of means and ends .
2. There is a complete and consistent system of preferences, which allows a
choice among alternatives.
3. There is a complete awareness of all possible alternatives.
4. There are no limits of computations that can be performed to determine the
best alternative.
5. Probability of calculations is neither frightening nor mysterious.
Psychological Man:

1. Takes into account human behaviour.
2. Every decision is based on psychological decision- making.
3. Ignores organisational context and external and internal constraints .
4. Gives more value to his intuition and subjective preference than to rationality
and objectivity .
Internal Constraints to Economic and Psychological Man

These are the constraints that come from within the business itself.
yy Availability of finance: Certain decisions will be rejected because they cost
too much.
yy Existing Business Policy: It is not always practical to re-write business policy
to accommodate one decision
yy People’s abilities and feelings: A decision cannot be taken if it assumes
higher skills than employees actually have, or if the decision is so unpopular,
no one will work properly on it.
External Constraints to Economic and Psychological Man

These come from the business environment outside the business.
1. National and International legislation
2. Competitors’ behaviour, and their likely response to decisions your business
makes
3. Lack of technology
4. Economic climate
Simon has presented the idea of administrative man who is a descriptive model of
decision-making behaviour. Simon presents a more realistic sequel to the classical
economic man.
In choosing between alternatives, he attempts to satisfy or look for the one which
is satisfied, or good enough.

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1. He recognises that the world he perceives is a drastically simplified model of

the real world. He is content with this simplification because he believes the
world is mostly empty.
2. Because he satisfies, rather than maximises,, he can make his choice without
first determining all possible alternatives and without ascertaining that these
are in fact all the alternatives.
3. Because he treats the world as rather empty, he is able to make decisions with
relatively simple rules of thumb or tricks of the trade, or from the force of
habit. These techniques do not make impossible demands upon his capacity
for thought.
Conclusion This administrative man tries to be rational and satisfying, rather than maximis-
ing. Administrative man does not work on the basis of perfect knowledge, which
is mostly a real situation. The difference between economic /psychological and
administrative man is one of relative degree because under some conditions, sat-
isfying approaches, may be maximising, are very far apart. Administrative man
model represents the real situation of decision-making behaviour. Administrative
man model holds good for managerial decision-making behaviour.
Simon’s analysis gives a real picture of how the ideal bureaucracy should work
.It should be a combination of economic and psychological perspectives as much
as possible.
It should ensure a rational and behavioral outlook without compromising the
administrative efficiency.
Score High Give example of how ICT and globalisation are in favour of administrative man
rather than economic or psychological man.

Q2. (a) The movement towards governance as an organising concept for

public administration and management is because the focus of
administration has been shifting from the bureaucratic state to the
‘hollow state’ and ‘third-party government’. Critically examine.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: Good Governance / Mayo’s theory of human psychology
Approach Explain how shift is happening from bureaucratic state to hollow state and third
party government.
Introduction In common usage, government refers to the formal institutions of the state—the
executive, legislative, and courts—and their monopoly of legitimate coercive
power. Governance is a more inclusive term, concerned with creating the conditions
for ordered rule and collective action, often including agents in the private and
nonprofit sectors as well as within the public sector. The essence of governance
is its focus on governing mechanisms (grants, contracts, and agreements) that do
not rest solely on the authority and sanctions of government. These mechanisms,
or tools, are used to connect networks of actors, who operate in various domains
of public policy such as child welfare, health, or economic development.
Body Hollow State/Third Party Government: The hollow state is a metaphor for the
increasing use of third parties, often nonprofits, to deliver social services and
generally act in the name of the state.
Ex: NGOss in policy implementation, Public Private Partnership

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Need to shift from bureaucratic state to hollow state and third party
government:
Post-NPM reforms and advent of LPG:
1. Reduction of role of state from facilitator to regulator.
2. Market-oriented development as society requires rapid socio-economic growth
and inclusive development.
3. Citizen-centricity and grievance redressal roles.
4. Active participation of citizens in policy process.
5. Intense judicial, media and civil society activism, vigilantism and scrutiny of
public policy process and methods.
6. Increased use of technology and e-governance.
7. Major thinkers such as Robert Putman–social capital, Robert Chambers–put-
ting last man first, Amartya Sen–capability approach all stressed upon the need
for developing social capital to ensure sustainable development.
8. Civil society is critical for enhancing political, economic and cultural capital
and ensures diversity. This also prevents elite capture of power.
9. Helps thwart authoritarian government and fight excesses of the state.
Advantages of Markets

1. Markets ensure efficient utilisation of resources.
2. PPP has brought in investment necessary for rapid growth and development.
3. Ensure better quality of goods and services and at competitive prices.
4. Ensure rapid industrialisation and infrastructure development.
Issues with third party state:
1. Markets are not concerned about negative externalities. Example: pollution,
environmental degradation.
2. Markets focus on profit and do not care about widening disparities in society
regarding economic growth.
3. Markets care about customers and not citizens.
4. Markets are not perfect and cannot reform themselves which results in monop-
oly (which harms customer interests).
5. Markets indulge in rent seeking behaviour and crony capitalism to maximise
profits.
6. Markets cannot ensure equilibrium between aggregate demand and supply.
7. Markets do not ensure optimum allocation of resources.
8. Inadequate regulation by the state.
Issues with civil society:
1. Corruption and frauds in civil society itself.
2. Instrument for neo-imperialism: Development communities propagate their
agenda of neo-imperialism through NGOs. For example: Recent Toolkit issue.
3. Take up propaganda, take up cause which lacks legitimacy
4. Politicisation of civil society
5. Elite capture of civil society and preventing them from being agents of mar-
ginalised, weak and suppressed.
Solutions:
1. Civil societies in western liberal democracy are developed over time due to
endogenous changes. Hence, they are in sync with political culture and values
and make democracy vibrant and meaningful.
2. They should not act as a parallel government, focus on development aspects
and doubt work for public purpose.

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3. They should not participate in activities which are against natural development
agenda.
The balance between state minimalism and market friendliness can be achieved
in the following manner:
1. State and market and civil society should delineate functions according to their
exclave strengths.
State:
yy Foundation of law and order
yy Environment protection
yy Macroeconomic stability
yy Maintaining social services and infrastructure
yy Regulating markets
yy Inclusive growth, defence and protecting environment
Markets/Civil Society:
yy Infrastructure
yy Private finance
yy Goods and services
yy Citizen watchdog
yy Arbiter of policy decisions
2. State should ensure decentralised planning, political stability and policy conti-
nuity and facilitating and enabling role of bureaucracy for markets to prosper.
3. State should ensure minimum government and maximum governance. The
quality instead of quality of state intervention is important.
Conclusion Competitive markets and civil society through NGOs are the best way for ensuring
efficient production of goods and services. However, they need a legal and regu-
latory framework that only governments can provide. Hence, intervention of state
is necessary to offset market failures and to meet market inadequacies to promote
and protect public interest, which is irreplaceable by any market philosophy.
Score High Explain how state and markets have come together in policy implementation,
review and formation post-LPG such as public private partnership, disinvestment
of PSUs, etc.

(b) “Organisations of the future will be organic-adaptive structures but

temporary systems.” Discuss how Warren Bennis characterises the new
form of organisation.
Chapter: Organisation: Administrative thought
Sub Topic: System theories and contingency theory
Approach Explain Warren Bennis organisation and its future and why it would be temporary
in nature.
Introduction Warren Bennis was an intellectual pioneer in group dynamics, planned change and
organisation development and leadership.
In organisations of the future, Warren Bennis shows the way for a relevant bureau-
cracy and a rough model for the organisations of the future.
Body Future of the organisations would be as follows:
1. Threats to organisations and status quoism:
1. Rapid unexpected change (Ex ICT)
2. Growth in size and complexity

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3. Complexity of modern technology that requires specialisation

4. Change in managerial behaviour
As a result, organisations will have to be organic and adaptive because:

1. Tasks and goals will be complicated, non- programmed and rely on intellect.
2. There will be vast environment ,technological and diversification of job profile.
Relevance of Bennis’ Statement:
1. Colonial/Weberian bureaucracy forced to change to welfare bureaucracy.
2. Post-NPM development ,globalisation has seen new problems which the
present bureaucracy is unable to handle such as disaster management, poverty
,terrorism.
3. In present-day maxim of minimum government maximum governance, the
focus is on mission mode temporary structures (National health mission),
4. Organisational forms are temporary to suit the contingent situation .For exam-
ple, recent corona pandemic brought about a number of temporary structures
which were dissolved after the pandemic was over.
Solutions as proposed by Bennis:

1. Training for change adaptation
2. Socialisation and participatory orientation of bureaucracy
3. Tech savvy, client and result-oriented bureaucracy
4. Goal-oriented and problem solving bureaucracy
Conclusion The maxims of Bennis can be found in application today as bureaucracy has
become citizen-oriented and with flatter hierarchies. However, recent steps as
Mission Karmayogi, Administrative reforms and lateral entry of specialists are
needed to ensure truly organic adaptive systems.
Score High Give example of performance measurement and result framework document
on how bureaucracy is changing in the present context and adapting to organic
adaptive systems.

(c) Productivity is not the result of working conditions but the result of
emotional response of workers to work performed.” Are Elton Mayo’s
findings relevant in contemporary organisations?
Chapter: Administrative Thought
Sub Topic: Mayo’s theory of human psychology
Approach Explain Mayo’s contribution to behavioural school through his seminal work
of hawthorne experiment.
Introduction Elton Mayo’s human resource theory has expanded the scope of the discipline. Till
then classical theorists were concerned only with structural aspects of organisation
and focused on efficiency. This is for first time importance of dynamics of human
relations was observed and appreciated.
Body Mayo is known as the father of behaviouralism long before the term behav-
iouralism had become popular within the discipline of public administration.
Within the profession of public administration. Whitley councils/Joint consultative
machinery include the relationship between employers and employees is nothing
but an extension of Mayo’s informal organisation.
· Social-psychological factor of the organisation also became an important determi-
nant of productivity. One should have democratic environment, democratic style of

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leadership, participation in decision-making. Such findings resulted in behavioural

approach and human resource development as a concept.
yy In civil services, there are important changes in structures, processes, and
behavioural reforms of civil servants, citizen’s charter. Right to Information
and Social Audit are practical applications of his concept.
yy Later on, Herzberg Maslow, et. al. carried on with his theory of social incen-
tives and not monetary incentives as the factor driving human motivation.
yy New theories such as new public service, good governance, citizen-centric
administration all carry genesis of Mayo’s findings.
Conclusion Finally, it was only after the emergence of the human relations concept that, scien-
tists began to think and focus on industrial psychology and enriched contemporary
organisational theory. Further, emphasis on the participative management, informal
organisations and socio-psychological situation have been translated into concrete
theories for the discipline, enhancing the scope of public administration.
Score High Quote more examples of Mayo’s theory in citizen-centric administration.

(d) New Public Service emphasises democracy and citizenship as the basis
for public administration theory and practice. Elucidate.
Chapter: Introduction to Administrative Thought
Sub Topic: New Public Service /New Public Administration
Approach Explain new public service and how it emphasises democracy and citizenship as
the basis of public administration.
Introduction The NPS is in sharp contrast to the philosophical premise of the New Public
Management approach in which transactions between public managers and cus-
tomers reflect individual interest and are framed by market principles. It is also
distinct from the old public administration approach where citizens related to the
bureaucracy as clients or constituents and were treated as passive recipients of
top-down policy making and service delivery mechanisms.
Body 1. The New Public Service model approaches public management from the
vantage point of democratic theory, premised on the notion of an active and
involved Citizens look beyond narrow self-interest to the wider public interest.
2. The role of public officials is to facilitate opportunities for strengthening
citizen engagement in finding solutions to societal problems.
3. Public managers need to acquire skills that go beyond capacity for controlling
or steering society in pursuit of policy solutions to focus more on brokering,
negotiating and resolving.
4. In fact new public services approach is similar to new public administration
theme because of certain core ideas such as significant role for the government
or concern for common man.
5. Relevance of public bureaucracies towards the emergence of problems in the
globalised area such as terrorism, disaster management, environmental threats
and monopoly of private administration.
6. This model argues for modifying NPM perspective into a more public inter-
est-focused approach. In fact, new public services approach is similar to new
public administration theme because of certain core ideas such as significant
role for the government or concern for common man.

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7. Relevance of public bureaucracies towards the emergence of problems in the

globalised area such as terrorism, disaster management, environmental threats
and monopoly of private administration.
New public service model had the following features:
1. Government is a result of democracy: The government should not be run like
a business but like a democracy. Public interest and democratic citizenship
should be the hallmark of government.
2 .Increase in service orientation in public employees so that they have better
self-esteem, sense of dignity and self-respect in doing public service.
3. Philosophy of serving rather than steering, that is a bigger role to government
where it would monitor, regulate and ensure larger public interest.
4. Co-governance architecture: Public servants should reconnect with citizens.
They should be outward and invite citizens to participate in the governance
process, whereby a new culture of co-governance will emerge, with the admin-
istrators and citizens working for the common good of the society.
Conclusion Despite the reemphasis on government’s role, new public service did not rec-
ommend or emphasise how to reform a hierarchical and reactive administration.
Moreover, for the large part ,it can be seen that new public service retains lots of
new public management ideas but includes public administration ethos of social
equity, justice and relevance to changing societal concerns as well.
Score High Quote examples of how in Indian context NPS is being achieved through resident
welfare associations in the context of new localism or community policing.

(e) “Accountability under New Public Management has undergone a radi-

cal change, although the focus has continued to remain on manage-
ment.” Comment.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: New Public Management
Approach Explain new public management and post-new public management reform
initiatives and prove how they have affected the balance between managerial,
political, administrative, legal, professional and social accountability.
New public management model of public sector management with focus on effi-
ciency, economy and effectiveness was criticised for being excessively market and
customer client-oriented and compromising on the publicness of public administra-
tion. Post-new public management developments such as neo-Weberian state, new
public service and public value management take into account the issues of social
equity, justice, accountability, transparency and participation while delivering public
governance.
The following are the changes in new public post-new public management

discourse:
Managerial accountability: Whereas new public management focused on effi-
ciency and economy of public services, post-new public management orientation
focused on effectiveness, incorporation of values of inclusivity of citizens who
cannot afford to be customers in delivering public service.
Political accountability: New public management focused on interaction of polit-

ical and administrative roles to ensure better delivery of public services, while

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post-new public management developments focused on goal orientation which

ensures interaction of politicians, bureaucrats, civil society and market in ensuring
better delivery of government services. Post-new NPM developments focused on
parliamentary control of bureaucracy whereas NPM focused on managers’ account-
ability to deliver results.
Administrative accountability: Whereas the focus of new public management was

on improving efficiency and output-oriented approach of bureaucracy, post-NPM
developments focused on improving the capability of bureaucracy to respond to
domestic and international problems such as globalisation, environmental threats,
technological innovations and demographic change.
Public servants should connect with the citizens on the basis of networked gov-
ernance model which includes citizens to government and vice versa connect.
Legal accountability: New public management focused on protection of legal

nature to the agencies contracting out public services to ensure their operational
efficiency.However, post-NPM services focused on guaranteeing equality to all cit-
izens, protecting against arbitrary state actions and ensuring regulatory compliance
and efficiency by the states.
Social accountability: NPM emphasis on efficiency was considered by many as

negating the social justice and equity concerns. However, post-NPM perspective
brought the society closer to the state by ensuring that the model is adaptive to the
ecological concerns of the society rather than one-size-fits-all policy. For example,
public-people private partnership came to replace public-private partnership.
Conclusion New public management and post-new public management developments have all
been part of the evolution of public administration to be more effective in delivering
public services to the citizens. It is a continuous improvement process which is
relevant to the socio-economic and political environment of the recipient country.
Features such as external orientations towards citizens, participative democracy and
direct citizen involvement, result orientation and professionalism of bureaucracy
common to both the paradigms have helped new public management and post-new
public management developments achieve a greater degree of state control and
delivery in the globalised era.
Score High Factually quote more examples of post-NPM benefits to Indian society (PPP,
Disinvestment, Ease of Doing Business, etc.).

Q4. (a) 
“Developments in the field of Administrative Law reflect an
increasingly blurred boundary between the state and society,
and between justice and administration.” Has administrative law
become more constitutional than the constitution itself? Argue.
Chapter: Administrative law
Sub Topic: Meaning, scope and significance
Approach Explain administrative law and its complementary and supplementary features
to constitutional law.
Introduction Constitutional and administrative laws are the areas of law which establish and reg-
ulate the institutions of government within states. The constitutional law describes
the various organs of the government at rest while administrative law describes
them in motion. Therefore, according to this view, the structure of the legislative

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and executive comes within the preview of the constitutional law but their func-
tioning comes within the sphere of administrative law.
Body On the one hand, administrative law deals with the organisation, function, powers
and duties of administrative authorities while constitutional law deals with the
general principles relating to the organisation and powers of the various organs
of the state and their mutual relationships and relationship of these organs with
the individual. In other words, constitutional law deals with fundamental while
administrative law deals with details. It may also be pointed out that constitutional
law deals with the rights and administrative law lays emphasis on public need.
Thus, in India the administrative action can be tested on the following points:
1. The action must have been taken in accordance with the rules and regulations.
2. The rules and regulations should be in accordance with the relevant statute.
3. The action, the rulesand regulations must be in accordance with the provisions
of the constitution.
4. If the constitution is amended, the amendment of the constitution should be
in accordance or conformity with the basic structure of the constitution.
Why the distinction between them is superficial:

yy In India, in the watershed, one can include the whole control mechanism
provided in the constitution for the control of administrative authorities, i.e.
Articles 32, 136, 226, 227, 300 and 311.It may include the directives to the
State under Part IV. It may also include the study of those administrative
agencies which are provided for by the constitution itself under Articles 261,
263, 280, 315, 323-A and 324.
yy The ordinance is also a good source of this law. It empowers the President
and Governor to promulgate during the recess of parliament under Article 123
and during the recess of state legislature under Article 213, respectively. This
provision brings flexibility on the level of union and the state to make laws
which are necessary for the emergency situations and circumstances in which
certain laws and acts declared void by courts of law.
yy It may further include the study of constitutional limitations on delegation of
powers to the administrative authorities and also those provisions of the con-
stitution which place fetters on administrative action, i.e. fundamental rights.
yy There are various reasons and the need for the growth of the administrative
law. With the passage of time and circumstances, the needs of the people and
state are also changing. Therefore, the legislature makes administrative law as
a separate legal discipline. Administrative law controls the arbitrary action of
the legislative authority which is very essential for the protection of public
rights and duties.
yy The role of government is also changing with the passage of time. In devel-
oping countries like India, the role of government is wider because it acts
as a provider instead of facilitator and regulator Therefore, the development
and growth of administrative law became the backbone of modern political
philosophy.
yy Hence, there is a great need to separate administrative law from constitutional
law because it is the demand and need of the people and the state, but still
administrative law and constitutional law cannot be completely separated
from each other because they overlap at certain places which are known as
watershades in administrative law.

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Conclusion In present time, administrative law is recognised as a separate and independent

legal discipline from constitutional law but, in reality, it is not so. There are various
provisions and mechanism of constitutional law which deal with the administrative
law and in the same manner, some functions and works of administrative law which
are totally dependent on constitutional law. So in this way, they are interlinked to
each other and they cannot be separated completely.
Score High Explain administrative law and its importance in ease of doing business and
contract enforcement.

(b) “The content and process theories of motivation have the same focus
but are different in approaches.” Do you agree? Give reasons.
Chapter: Administrative Behaviour
Sub Topic: Motivation
Approach Explain the difference between content and process theories.
Introduction The difference between content theory and process theory is that, content theory
emphasises on the reasons for changing the human needs frequently while process
theory focuses on the psychological processes which affect motivation, with regard
to the expectations, goals, and perceptions of equity.
Body Content theory or need theory can be identified as the earliest theories related with
the concept of motivation. It outlines the reasons for motivating an individual; that
means it explains the necessities and requirements that are essential to motivate a
person. These theories have been developed by various theorists such as Abraham
Maslow – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Federick Herzberg – Two factor theory
and David McClelland – Need for achievement, affiliation and power.
In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there are five levels of needs such as physiolog-

ical needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualisation needs. If
one individual could pursue one level of needs of the hierarchy, then he tries to
pursue the next level of needs and it is believed that individuals fulfil their needs
according to the hierarchical order.
Herzberg developed the two factor theory, which indicates that an individual’s
motivation depends on two factors, hygiene factors and motivators. Likewise, each
of these theories explains the factors that affect the employee motivation.
Individuals are unique to each other. Therefore, they have different needs and
requirements. Each of the person’s preferences changes with time. Therefore, in
organisations it is very much essential to identify the requirements that satisfy and
motivate the employees in order to get their maximum contribution.
What is the difference between Content Theory and Process Theory?

yy Content theory outlines the reasons for motivating an individual while process
theory underlines the effect of behavioural patterns in fulfilling the expecta-
tions of an individual.
yy Content theories include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two factor
theory, etc.
yy Process theories include Reinforcement, Expectancy, Equity and Goal setting
theories.

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What is Process Theory?

Process theories outline various behavioral patterns of individuals in fulfilling their
needs and requirements. There are four process theories such as Reinforcement,
Expectancy, Equity and Goal setting.
Reinforcement theory is another approach to motivation that argues that the

behaviour that results in rewarding consequences is likely to be repeated, whereas
the behaviour that results in punishing consequences is less likely to be repeated.
There are four types of reinforcement that can result from behaviour, viz. positive
reinforcement, avoidance, punishment and extinction.
Expectancy theory indicates that one’s level of motivation depends on the attrac-

tiveness of the rewards sought and the probability of the rewards obtained. In the
case of employees feeling that they get the value from business organisations and
they put higher effort of work effort.
Equity theory expresses thatindividuals’ perceptions on how they are being treated

by the organisation compared to other employees in the similar organisational level.
In goal setting theory, goal difficulty, specificity, acceptance and commitment
combine to determine an individual’s goal directed effort. This effort, when com-
plemented by appropriate organisational support and individual abilities, results in
good performance.
Conclusion Motivation is very much needed for employees in an organisation to be productive,
and management or leadership style has an important role to play. Motivation is
not always based on financial rewards, but non-financial reward methods can also
be used to derive the best out of employees. The use of both content and process
theories must be put into practice to motivate employees effectively.
Score High Give example of Performance appraisal, Pay commissions, Performance manage-
ment and measurement as motivating factors and categorise them.

(c) 
Thrust on the citizen centricity and right-based approaches aim to
empower the citizens. In the light of the above, has the administrative
accountability improved Justify your argument.
Chapter: Accountability and Control
Sub Topic: Right to Information/Right to Public Service
Approach Explain right-based approach to administrative accountability and do a critical
analysis.
Introduction RTI is a basic human right that provides an ultimate source of power in the hands
of the people of a democratic society. The essential requirement of a modern
democracy is citizen’s access to public records. Openness or information pro-
vides knowledge to people to demand political, economic and social rights from
government.
Body Citizen’s charter is a document which is prepared by participation of public agen-
cies to deliver goods and services. It is a participative tool for enhancing quality
of services, redressing of citizens’ grievances, enhancing accountability and trans-
parency and reducing corruption. In India, various public services reforms have
been initiated from time to time to improve upon all the major components of
good governance: Accountability, transparency, responsiveness, effectiveness and

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efficiency, equitability, participation, consensus-oriented, inclusiveness and rule of

law.
Some right-based approaches:
Right to Public Service Acts:


The Right to Service Act contains statutory laws and provisions to ensure time-
bound delivery of public services to citizens of India.
It also defines the statutory mechanism to punish delinquent public officers if they
fail to deliver the requested service within a stipulated time.
It is a state legislation and states have complete discretion to adopt, implement
and limit the Act in whatever manner they deem fit.
Issues with the Act:

1. Lack of awareness about the Act.
2. Very few administrative officers have been fined for non-implementation.
3. Many important services such as health and education have been kept out of
the purview of these Acts.
4. Many services are not easy to quantify or track. Example: compensation due
to disaster.
5. Many applications are not accepted by officers.
6. There are reports, particularly in Madhya Pradesh, of applications not being
accepted by officials and of receipts not being given (both of which undermine
the Act’s triggered penalties).
7. A study in Madhya Pradesh from the summer of 2011 (about a year after it
was enacted) found that less than 2% of applicants for covered services even
knew about the Act. As such, almost none were aware about available appeal
mechanisms.
Solutions:

1. Clear requirements and deadlines, computerisation and receipts of applications.
2. These Acts have the potential to have a lasting institutional cultural effect of
empowering citizens to make demands on their public servants.
Broad features of RTI Act:

1. It gives right to every citizen to seek information.
2. Defines what is information such as official records, documents, manuscripts,
etc.
3. It has overriding power on Official Secrets Act.
4. Every public agency should have a designated public information officer.
5. Method of appeal if there is a failure to provide information.
6. There are provisions for complaint redressal through information commissions.
7. Certain public agencies are not under the purview of the Act such as paramil-
itary forces and intelligence agencies.
8. Public agencies should voluntarily disclose information.
9. Cabinet decision and information which may harm national interest are kept
out of the purview of this Act.
Demand-side issues in implementation:

1. Low-public awareness: Awareness is low in rural areas and among disadvan-
taged communities.
2. Poor quality of information provided: Incomplete information is provided.

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3. Constraints faced in inspection of records under Section 7(9): Inadequate

awareness and inadequate training results in not utilising this provision
effectively.
4. Assault on activists reveals lack of legal protection to information seekers.
Supply-side issues in RTI:

1. Failure to provide information within 30 days by PIOs.
2. Inadequately trained PIOs and first appellate authorities.
3. Lack of adequate physical and human infrastructure for record maintenance,
ad hocism prevails as existing government employees are given additional
charges as PIOs.
4. Lack of public awareness.
5. Obsolete record management system and lack of basic infrastructure at block
level such as photocopy machines.
6. Large number of vacancies at information commissioner level and bureaucrats
appointed in place of members experienced in public affairs.
Solutions and way forward:

1. Official Secrets Act should be abolished and certain provisions included in
Nation Security.
2. MPs and ministers should take oath of transparency, not secrecy.
3. National coordination committee should be set up under CIC.
4. Public record offices should be established as an independent authority for
record keeping.
5. NGOs should be brought under RTI which perform functions of public nature
or get 50% of funding from government.
6. A district level single window agency should be set up which should be made
responsible for disclosing information for all public agencies.
Conclusion RTI and Right to Public Service Acts are considered a landmark development for
good governance. It has increased participation in government; it has strengthened
media and civil society, and even public agencies are legally entitled to seek infor-
mation. Many civil societies have emerged which have been promoting awareness
through conference, public discourse and providing help to information seekers
such as parivartan and MKSS. Hence, it has certainly become a potent tool to
uphold accountability, promote transparency and reduce corruption.
Score High RTI Best Practices:
 Transparency Desk, SDM Office Tripura, covering each office, will provide
relevant information which is important from the public point of view.
 Proactive disclosure by MGNREGA, MoRD.
 Central monitoring mechanism of RTI grievances by Govt. of Odisha.
 Jaankari integrated call centre by Govt. of Bihar.
 E-Soochna kiosks, as RTI Centres of Himachal Pradesh in Palmpur and Kullu
districts

Q5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

(a) “Comparative Public Administration started with no paradigm of its
own and developed none.” Comment.
Chapter: Comparative Public Administration
Sub Topic: Evolution of Comparative Public Administration

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Approach Explain why comparative public administration failed in its objectives.

Introduction Comparative Administration attempts to compare the administrative functioning
in different countries with diverse cultural, social, economic and political set-up.
The main objective of CPA was to build a theory of Public Administration which
would be empirical, systemic and ecological. CPA attempted to build a knowledge
of facts and data which could help to generalise administration at a global level
at the same time accounting for the uniqueness of it due to different ecological
factors.
Body However, CPA failed to develop any paradigm because:
CPA got a major boost from the Ford Foundation in the early 1960s to research
in comparative studies of administration. However, it also led to an inherent bias
towards the administration of the developed countries.
There was a tendency to view the administration of developed countries as more
advanced as compared to the one existing in developing countries. The criticism
of CPA was that it ignored and treated the pre-baureucratic social norms of control
and community functioning in developing countries as irrational and backward.
They failed to appreciate the functioning of administrative system of developing
nations and the stability and effectiveness they had provided even in such diverse
cultural and heterogenous society.
This behavioural tendency of biases in CPA stems from the fact that most of the
scholars of CPA were from developed countries of USA and Europe. They tried
to ignore the irrationality and deficiency of administration prevalent in developed
countries and over-exposed the pre-bureaucratic set-up of developing countries.
CPA tried to come up with a grand theory or paradigm which is universal in nature.
There were many approaches and concepts but not a single paradigm, and CPA
remained in pre-paradigmatic stage.
Riggs criticised the same approach as instead of consensus, there was confusion
regarding what should be studied, method of studies, approaches and hence could
not achieve anything substantial.
The thinkers studied administrative systems of only a few developing countries
and hence, they are also criticised for being culture bound. Also, they followed
multi-perspective approach. Developing countries being heterogeneous, it was
difficult to find common elements and build a theory in 10 years.
Behavioural science and ecology led to the decline of CPA approach as they did
not study the impact of administration on ecology.
It was elitist and west-centric as they focused on Weberian bureaucracy as a model
which could be applicable across the entire spectrum of public administration. They
failed to take into account indigenous models of developing countries such as self-
help groups and other participatory administration which was also the genesis of
anti- development thesis.
Conclusion Comparative public administration of the 1960s was largely concentrated on
national perspective and Weberian approach whereas the new or contemporary CPA
is largely transnational and sub-national. With the advent of liberalisation and glo-
balisation, the study of comparative public administration has become much more
diverse with multiple approach paradigm with a number of issues such as human
rights, human trafficking, terrorism, ICT, Globalisation, Climate Change, Global
health crisis such as recent Covid pandemic, Trade wars, Civil Society etc. are no

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 OLC-I.22 Public Administration

longer confined to a particular country but have become global issues. Henceforth,
the contemporary CPA has become more comparative, in form and spirit.
Score High Give examples of how global concerns are local concerns in administration. e.g.
Sustainable Development Goals being monitored and implemented at Gram
Sabha Level with suitable ecological approach by Niti Aayog.

(b) “Markets, hierarchies and networks represent modern governing struc-

tures in government.” Explain.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration/ Development Administration
Sub Topic: State vs Market Debate
Approach Explain the relationship between markets, hierarchies and networks.
Introduction Governance Theory differentiates between three forms of governance, viz.hierarchy,
network (or cooperation), and market. The characteristics of each, especially with
regards to governance, are described below.
Body Hierarchy: A classical Weberian bureaucracy operates according to the govern-
ance form hierarchy, with the primary means of communication being routines.
The actors involved are bound through employer/employee relationships. These
relationships create a quite stable and reliable work environment, affecting both
commitment among partners and handling of conflict. However, this governance
form has one major downside. Due to contractual constraints, the flexibility of the
organisation is rather limited. A hierarchical organisation is restricted in its choice
of partners, at least for short-term decisions. e.g.: Department form of organisation,
i.e Railways
Network: The network form is claimed to be based on complementary strengths

and common interests among independent partners. Probably, the most important
characteristics of a network are the relationships between its members, which con-
stitute both the primary means of communications and the mechanism for solving
conflict. Organisations working against the network, such as through betrayal,
will probably simply be expelled from the network, as the other members share a
common interest. This is also a good example of network flexibility. In general, all
network actors have to agree on new partners. However, changes in the network
occur more frequently than in hierarchical settings.
Example: Public-private partnership with civil society working actively, such as
Swatch Bharat Mission.

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Why markets, networks and hierarchies represent modern governing

structures?
1. Globalisation and New Right Philosophies such as New Public Management
have made it imperative for them to work in tandem.
2. Policy making has become more networked as the failure of government
leads to the failure of markets and network (e.g. Bad monsoon forecast leads
to slump in markets ,An expansionary fiscal cycle would also lead to market
revival and vice versa)
3. Change in the role of government from being a facilitator to an enabler has led
to market and networks taking over many functions of the state (Civil society
in service delivery such as mid -day meals ,privatisation of PSUs, Air India)
Conclusion However, market failures and civil society working against developmental goals are
dangers of markets and networks co-opting with hierarchies to provide networked
governance. An efficient governance mechanism, participatory orientation and reg-
ulatory systems can ensure all of them working in tandem towards development.
Score High Give more examples of market,civil society and bureaucracy working in tandem
such as recent vaccination drive against Covid-19.

(d) Has policy analysis become a major source of legitimation of status

quo in political and social order? Discuss.
Chapter: Public Policy
Sub Topic: Policy Evaluation
Approach Explain the relationship between policy evaluation and political and social
stakeholders.
Introduction Policy analysis in our times has become a major source of legitimisation of status
quo interests and social order. The alienation of our knowledge system from the
social reality is the major cause of ineffectiveness and irrelevance of policy analysis
today. Policy analysis is the study of prevalent policies and options available to
use them in existing scenario as per the public importance.
Body The success of a policy can be measured by changes in the behaviour of the
target population and active support from various actors and institutions involved.
A public policy is an authoritative communication prescribing an unambiguous
course of action for specified individuals or groups in certain situations. There
must be an authority or leader charged with the implementation and monitoring
of the policy with a sound social theory underlying the programme and the target
group. Evaluations can help estimate what effects will be produced by programme
objectives/alternatives.
Role of Political and Social in Public Policy Analysis:
1. Public policy is determined by a range of political institutions, which give
policy legitimacy to policy measures. In general, the government applies policy
to all citizens and monopolises the use of force in applying or implementing
policy (through government control of law enforcement, court systems, impris-
onment and armed forces). The legislature, executive and judicial branches of
government are examples of institutions that give policy legitimacy.
yy In social order, individuals come together in webs of associational life.
Associations have the capacity to challenge the brute power of the state
through petitions, protests, dharnas and ultimately judicial activism. Given

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 OLC-I.24 Public Administration

unresponsive political parties, citizens can access centres of power and

privilege only through a vibrant civil society.

Why it leads to status quo in policy analysis:
1. Politically motivated policies: At times, electoral considerations dominate
the aims and objectives of a policy. Frequent loan waiver by different
states in India is one such example.
2. Fragmentation in thinking and action: For example, the transport sector
is dealt with by five departments/ministries in the government of India
whereas in the US and UK, it is a part of one department.
3. Lack of systematic analysis and integration of political and civil society
opinion prior to policy making.
4. Overlap between policy making and implementation, results in incremental
model of policy making which benefits social and political order.
5. Due to fragmented political and social order, in spite of evidence- based
policy failures, there is lack of consensus on decision- making which aids
status quo.
Conclusion Evidence-based policy-making (EBP) assists in making decisions about projects,
programmes and policies, by placing the best available evidence from research
conducted at the heart of policy development and implementation. It also makes
explicit what is known through scientific evidence. In contrast to opinion-based
policy-making, evidence-based policy-making needs an evidence base at all stages
in the policy cycle to define issues, shape agendas, make choices of action, identify
options, deliver them, and monitor their impact and outcomes. Basically, it is a set
of methods which informs the policy process, rather than aiming to directly affect
the eventual objectives of the policy. Thereby, EBP advocates a more systematic,
rational and rigorous approach to produce better outcomes, and prevents status quo
in policy analysis.
Score High Explain recent steps of Niti Ayog to ensure evidence- based policy making.

(e) 
“Fiscal policy should address the issues of inequity, intricacy and
obscurantism.” Explain.
Chapter: Financial Administration
Sub Topic: Monetary and Fiscal Policy
Approach How Fiscal policy in India should address issues of inequity, intricacy and
obscurantism.
Introduction Fiscal policy in India is the guiding force that helps the government decide how
much money it should spend to support the economic activity, and how much
revenue it must earn from the system, to keep the wheels of the economy running
smoothly.
In recent times, the importance of fiscal policy has been increasing to achieve eco-
nomic growth swiftly, both in India and across the world. Attaining rapid economic
growth is one of the key goals of fiscal policy formulated by the Government of
India. Fiscal policy, along with monetary policy, plays a crucial role in managing
a country’s economy.

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Body Main objectives of Fiscal Policy in India:
yy Economic growth: Fiscal policy helps maintain the economy’s growth rate so
that certain economic goals can be achieved.
yy Price stability: It controls the price level of the country so that when the
inflation is too high, prices can be regulated.
yy Full employment: It aims to achieve full employment, or near full employment,
as a tool to recover from low economic activity.
yy The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, both flag-bear-
ers of the Washington Consensus, have been urging a departure from fiscal
orthodoxy in the wake of the pandemic.
yy Both these institutions used to be wary of any increase in the public debt to
GDP ratio beyond 100%.
yy Today, they are urging the advanced economies to spend more by running up
deficits even when the debt to GDP ratio is poised to rise to 125% by the
end of 2021.
Budget 2021 rests on six pillars:

yy Health and well-being, physical and financial capital and infrastructure, inclu-
sive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innova-
tion, and R&D, and minimum government-maximum governance.
yy This will require a major increase in funding, not only from the central gov-
ernment but also from the states and the private sector. This can be reflected
in some of the following highlights of the budget:

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yy The present budget presents a whopping 34.5% increase in budget allocation

– Rs 5.54 lakh crore.
yy The budget has proposed a new bad bank framework to deal with the problem
of non-performing assets. Given the magnitude of NPA, a huge amount of
capital will be required to finance it.
yy The government also announced the setting up of a development finance
institution to provide long-term financing for infrastructure projects.
The Economic Survey that preceded the Budget laid the groundwork for a departure
from rigid adherence to fiscal consolidation.
yy It has a quote from economist Olivier Blanchard, “If the interest rate paid by
the government is less than the growth rate, then the intertemporal budget
constraint facing the government no longer binds.”
yy According to the Economic Survey, in the current situation, expansionary fiscal
policy will boost growth, and given India’s growth potential, we do not have
to worry about debt sustainability until 2030.
However, issues concerning macroeconomic stability:

Inflation May Rise: There is a concern that a large fiscal deficit can fuel a rise
in inflation.
Low Tax-to GDP Ratio: Another concern is that, with the tax to GDP ratio not

rising as expected, the government has to focus on garnering more non-tax revenues
through strategic disinvestment, privatisation, and monetisation of non-core assets.
Disinvestment, A High-Risk Strategy: The sale of public assets has become

crucial to a reduction in fiscal deficits in the years ahead.
Downgrade of Ratings: An important consideration is a fear that the rating

agencies would downgrade India if total public debt crossed say, 10%-11% of GDP.
Crowding-Out Effect: As the government adopts an expansionary fiscal policy

stance and increases its spending to boost economic activity.
yy This leads to an increase in interest rates. Increased interest rates affect private
investment decisions.
yy A high magnitude of the crowding-out effect may even lead to lesser income
in the economy.
Conclusion Therefore, fiscal policy has to balance the needs of meeting inequality and obscu-
rantism and inequity through administrative and budgetary reforms, disinvestment
and privatisation and increasing the tax base.
Score High Quote fiscal policies adopted in other countries in the wake of Covid pandemic.

(f) “Prevention of misconduct requires institutionalisation of ethical values

at the political and administrative levels.” Justify.
Chapter: Personnel administration
Sub Topic: Administrative ethics
Approach Explain how institutionalisation of ethical values at political and administrative
levels prevent misconduct.
Introduction Code of conducts for high constitutional functionaries and representatives of the
people have been discussed for long. A code for Union ministers was adopted in
1964, and state governments were advised to adopt it as well. Ethical values in

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politics play an important role in setting the public discourse while it is unrealistic
and simplistic to expect perfection in politics in an ethically imperfect environment.
The standards set in politics influence other aspects of governance.
Why do We Need a Code of Conduct For Politicians?
1. Elections in India are often remembered for personal attacks, snide remarks
and hate speeches made at the expense of taking political discourse to its nadir.
2. In a bid to assert their superiority over the rest, some political leaders go
overboard and blur the line between public and private lives. Some even
threaten voters with dire consequences if they are not voted to power.
3. Parliament and State Legislatures, the representative institutions, are account-
able to the people and matters concerning different regions need to be con-
structively discussed and debated in the House.
4. Large, illegal and illegitimate use of expenditure in elections is another root
cause of corruption. Cleansing elections is the most important route to improve
ethical standards in politics, to curb corruption and rectify maladministration.
5. Criminalisation of Politics: Participation of criminals in the electoral process,
for political parties, individuals with criminal background secure votes through
use of money and muscle power.
Therefore, to ensure civility in political speeches and expressions, establishing
code of conduct and ethics for politicians is mandatory.
yy The Civil Service code outlines the Civil Service’s core values, and the stand-
ards of behaviour expected of all civil servants in upholding these values.
yy In India, the current set of ethical norms are the Conduct Rules, contained in
the Central Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 and analogous rules applicable to
members of the All India Services or employees of various State Governments.
yy The code of behaviour, as enunciated in the Conduct Rules, contains general
norms like ‘maintaining integrity and absolute devotion to duty’.
yy These conduct rules do not constitute a code of ethics.
Conclusion In contemporary times, we find a lot of gaps between theory and practice,
belief and action which leads to hypocrisy in the conduct of public servants and
politicians . Present -day administration and politics widely acknowledge that
corruption and power abuse weaken the nation. Such an administration can be
trustworthy only when it is based on deeply- felt human values. Because, unless
values are inculcated within human beings, their attitude and behaviour cannot be
changed through superficial efforts. If sound, positive and noble human values
are nurtured within the process of human development, ethical behaviour tends to
become natural, spontaneous and almost instinctive.
Score High Give the following examples for inculcation of ethics:
1. In the UK, a code of conduct for MPs was “prepared pursuant to the
Resolution of the House of 19 July 1995”.
2. The Canadian House of Commons has a Conflict of Interest and Ethics
Commissioner with powers to examine violations of the Conflict of Interest
Code at the request of another Member or by Resolution of the House or
on his own initiative.
3. Germany has had a Code of Conduct for members of the Bundestag since
1972.
4. The US has had a Code since 1968.

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5. A conference of Chief Justices in 1999 resolved to adopt a code of conduct for

judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts – this 15-point ‘Re-instatement
of Values in Judicial Life’ recommended that serving judges should maintain
an air of “aloofness” in their official and personal lives.
6. In the case of MPs, the first step was the constitution of Parliamentary
Standing Committees on Ethics in both Houses. The Committee in Rajya
Sabha was inaugurated by Chairman K R Narayanan on May 30, 1997 “to
oversee the moral and ethical conduct of the Members and to examine
the cases referred to it with reference to ethical and other misconduct of
Members.”

Q6.(a) “ Administrative ideas must be seen in the context of environment

in which they develop.” In the light of the above statement, exam-
ine the influence of New Public Management and Information
and Communication Technologies on comparative study of Public
Administration.
Chapter: Introduction to public administration /Comparative Public Administration
Sub Topic: New Public Management and E-governance Comparative Public Administration
Approach Explain how NPM and ICT have changed the perspective of Comparative Public
Administration.
Introduction NPM promoted decentralisation, debureacratisation, devolution and deconstruction;
government was to be entrepreneurial which was to be community owned, cat-
alytic, goal -oriented, mission driven, enterprising, etc. New Public Management
advocated the assimilation of standards followed by private enterprises into the
public sector units. NPM was considered as a means for bringing ICT, i.e the game
changer during the end of 20th century which has expanded into various areas of
today’s public services realm.
Body ICT improved quality of service delivery:
1. Information dissemination about govt. services, schemes, progress through
television, radio, computers. Ex.: allocation of bandwidth to political parties
for election campaigning
2. Use of computers, radio, mobile phones to deliver public services. Ex.: JAM,
DBTs
3. Ease of access through e-governance without delays in services. Ex.: MyGov,
Ministry websites, etc.
4. Mass scale project implementation increases. Ex.: Aadhar by UIDAI integrated
many services.
5. Better reach to the remote corners of the country. Ex.: e-Choupal kiosks ser-
vices by ITC bringing efficiency into the system along with citizen- centric
approach.
Impact of ICT and NPM on Comparative Public Administration


Managerial – Managerial practices have marked shift from just regulator to facil-
itator’s role, e.g. RBI role after LPG in India
Political – Political objectives became client-oriented from goal-oriented. e.g. Env.
Impact Assessment

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Administrative – Public administration adopted practices like performance man-

agement, outcome oriented, competitive, comparative, etc.
Legal – NPM led to transparency and efficient system of working and favourable
legal structure led to less litigation and tussles.
Accountability – Accountability of legislature, executive and judiciary towards
people of the country has increased. e.g. RTI, Social Audits, Role of NGO as
Dogwatch, PIL, etc.
Citizen- centric – Administrative practices become citizen-centric with people come
first approach. e.g. Citizen’s charter, Ombudsman, efficient redressal mechanism.
ICT Aspects – To bring down the issues of red tapism and to increase transparency
to build people’s faith in administration. e.g. Aadhar, PAN, IRCTC, Passport Sewa.
Participatory Approach: – RTI, Social Audit and Ombudsman have enriched com-
parative public administration.
Stakeholder Approach: Shift from policy formulation to policy implementation.
Regulation to Management – Minimum government and maximum governance.
Autonomy and Disinvestment – Autonomy of PSUs and disinvestment.
Global perspective of local issues: Such as disaster management, poverty allevia-
tion, terrorism,women empowerment.
ICT and NPM have enriched the annals of Comparative Public Administration
by ensuring that the focus changes from inward to outward and towards policy
planning and analysis .Contextual sensitivity towards emerging global issues can
be seen from Minnowbrook 3 also.
Score High Give more examples of SDGs and New localism on CPA.

(b) 
Affirmative action in socio-economic development has not alto-
gether eliminated discrimination. Discuss it in the context of women
empowerment.
Chapter: Development Administration
Sub Topic: Women in Development
Approach Explain how affirmative action in socio- economic development has not elimi-
nated discrimination.
Introduction Affirmative action in development does not involve changes in the awareness,
motivation and behaviour of individuals, in the relations between individuals as
well as between groups within a society. As women experience powerlessness in
and through the interaction of multiple social, political and economic institutions,
the self-reliance model for women’s development aims to empower them. Women
empowerment is the progression of women and accepting and including them in
the decision-making process. It also means providing them with equal opportunities
for growth and development in society, and disapproving gender bias.
Body UNDP Findings: The UNDP, in its latest report for Gender Inequality, has noted
the following:

Unpaid Labour: On an average, women spend 2.4 more hours per day than men
on unpaid care and domestic work.

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Effect of Covid: Women have been hit harder than men by the pandemic, losing
income and leaving the labour market at a greater rate.
Women are 25% more likely than men to live in extreme poverty.
The global female employment is 19% more at risk than male employment (ILO
estimates).
WEF Findings for India: The Global Gender Gap Report 2021 by World Economic
Forum (WEF) report noted that in terms of economic participation, the gender gap
actually widened in India by 3% this year.

The share of women in professional and technical roles declined further to 29.2%.
The share of women in senior and managerial positions also is as low as 14.6%
and only 8.9% firms in the country have top female managers.
The estimated earned income of women in India is only one-fifth of men’s, which
puts the country among the bottom 10 globally on this indicator.
In Pakistan and Afghanistan, the income of an average woman is below 16% of
that of an average man, while in India it is 20.7%.
Lesser Labour Force Participation: Data from the National Sample Survey Office
(NSSO) has shown that education and employment have a U-shaped relationship
(a rise and subsequent decline in employment with the rise in education levels).
According to the AISHE Report 2019, the female students constituted almost half
(48.6%) of the total enrolment in higher education but the participation of women
in the labour force stands as low as 18.6%.
Health: Improvement in the health indicators of women can significantly contribute

to overall health of family and the new borns.
Skill Development: Women are significantly involved in collecting minor forest

produce and household based industries.
Agriculture: FAO estimates that if women farmers had the same access to tools
and credit as men, agricultural output in 34 developing countries would rise by
an estimated average of up to 4%, translating to up to 150 million fewer hungry
people.
Women with Families: A large number of women often drop out of their jobs to get
married and have a family and later on find it difficult to come back and continue
their job. They are seen as an ‘unreliable’ member of the company.
Prevalence of Informal Work: In the informal sector in India, most occupations
dominated by women are undervalued and underpaid.
The poor quality of the paid work , often on top of long hours of arduous unpaid
domestic chores, is one of the main challenges to women empowerment.
Further, the non-availability of white collar jobs, disproportionate long hours and
lesser job security narrow down the job opportunities for educated women in India.
Solutions to the above:

Maintaining the Education v/s Employment Ratio: It needs to be assured that
the women education, which is being subsidised very heavily, is actually put to
use for the country.
Encouraging Women Entrepreneurship: Women shall not only be the seekers

but also the creators of job opportunities.

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Bringing Women in Leadership Role: Subdued gender participation emanates

from social-economic issues, which can be treated by bringing behavioural change.
This can be changed if more women are given leadership positions.
Recognising Invisible Work: There is a need to invest significantly in the care

economy and social protection, and redefine Gross Domestic Product to make work
in the home visible and counted.
The concept of Temporary Basic Income introduced by UNDP can prove as a
headstart to other similar initiatives.
Providing Small Necessities is Empowerment too: Not just education, job and

entrepreneurship lead to women empowerment but also providing basic and other
small necessities is an empowerment itself.
Conclusion Poverty and empowerment issues cannot be adequately addressed where only half
of the population is positively and actively engaged. Therefore, actively engaging
women as the driver for bringing positive change and eliminating poverty from
the country is the key to focus on. As MDGs and SDGs have proved, consistent
and persistent efforts in empowerment of women have consistently borne fruit in
decreasing inter-generational inequity. However, to mainstream the efforts, a rein-
vented way is necessary to bring women in consistent agenda for development.
SCORE HIGH : Give more examples/schemes of government in women empow-
erment of Govt. of India.

(c) 
Have political realities thwarted the move towards evidence-based
policy making? Critically examine.
Chapter: Public Policy
Sub Topic: Public Evaluation
Approach Explain evidence-based policy making and political compulsions.
Introduction Evidence-based policy making is an approach that aims to integrate the best
available scientific evidence into the design of public policies. Central and state
governments make hundreds of policy decisions, small and big, every day that
have an impact on millions of lives. However, this doesn’t form a basis for new
policy or de-novo policy design .
Body Gaps in Indian policy making:
yy Schemes and new ideas are often not put on the table for public debate or
consensus. Policy makers are often unaware about the long- term effects of
policy decisions.
yy Innovations of previous governments are often not continued due to political
expediency. They must be acknowledged and scaled up.
yy Lessons from past mistakes are not learnt. A good example is the
Banking Correspondent Model (BCM), which is the right complement to Jan
DhanYojana.
yy It is problematic to announce the scheme first and see the fallout later, like
it happened in the case of demonetisation and implementation of GST which
are purely on the basis of political populism.
yy There is a tendency to set monetary or financial targets, which are achieved
without being too effective in delivering outcomes.
yy Incremental model of policy making hampers evidence- based policy
making.

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 OLC-I.32 Public Administration

Advantages of evidence- based policy making:

yy Evidence-based policymaking (EBP) assists in making decisions about pro-
jects, programmes and policies, by placing the best available evidence from
research conducted at the heart of policy development and implementation.
Also, makes policy making systemic, rational and rigorous mechanism.
yy It also makes explicit what is known through scientific evidence. In contrast to
opinion-based policymaking, evidence-based policymaking needs an evidence
base at all stages in the policy cycle to define issues, shape agendas, make
choices of action, identify options, deliver them, and monitor their impact
and outcomes.
yy Basically, it is a set of methods which informs the policy process, rather than
aiming to directly affect the eventual objectives of the policy. Thereby, EBP
advocates a more systematic, rational and rigorous approach to produce better
outcomes.
yy The prerequisite for evidence-based policy is that the data must be trustworthy,
and it depends upon the quality of the data and the quality of the professional
statisticians.
yy Credible statistics is important for good governance and decision-making in
all sectors of society.
yy Therefore, policymakers are more likely to use evidence in decision-making
if that evidence is unbiased, rigorous, substantive, relevant, timely, actionable,
easy to understand, cumulative and easy to explain to constituents.
yy In developing nations, EBP approaches can dramatically help reduce poverty
and improve economic performance.
Examples of Evidence-based policy Making:
The Government of Zambia has been able to apply the general idea of “Teaching
at the Right Level” (TaRL, an approach developed by Indian NGO Pratham) to
inform the design of its own remedial programmes. This has significantly improved
the learning opportunities in both India and Africa.
In 2014, the government of Tamil Nadu entered into a partnership with the Abdul
Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) to institutionalise the use of evidence
in policy making by rigorously evaluating innovative programmes before they are
scaled up, strengthening monitoring systems and enhancing the officials’ capacity
to generate and use data.
Score High Give more examples of evidence-based policy making in the Indian context.

Q7.(a) “Globalisation is impacting the context of national policy making.

    The national policy agenda is becoming international.” Explain.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: Globalisation
Approach Explain how globalisation is impacting national policy making and blurring
boundaries between national and international policy making.
Introduction Globalisation has transformed the polity as well as the society and it has many
consequences for societies and their government systems. These impacts are not
equally distributed to all nations, and by far the developed nations are prime ben-
eficiaries, while developing nations are the marginal receivers of its benefits. Post-
globalisation, government has changed its role into a facilitator from a provider of

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public goods and services. It has become an entrepreneurial government establish-

ing the laissez faire state and relieved itself of the pressures of being provider of
goods and services, and left it free to deal with efficient delivery of public goods
enhancing its regulatory role.
Body Globalisation has improved the reach of welfare state in policy process:
1. International organisations are actively collaborating with the state and as a
watchdog; e.g. Oxfam in poverty alleviation, Amnesty in preserving human
rights,
2. Intergovernmental organisations are working for efficiency in service delivery;
e.g. WTO is aimed at “value for money” for customers,IMF guiding economic
recovery in post-Covid scenario.
3. Collaboration with other countries is increasing; e.g. American collaboration
in Smart cities, Japanese in DMIC, Germany in Solid Waste Management .
Globalisation turned welfare state policies into corporate state policies:
1. International lobbying – e.g. Big Pharma lobbying to reduce the effect of
Indian Compulsory licenses.
2. Strategic disinvestment and privatisation; employment generation as a funda-
mental goal is being replaced by PSUs;
3. Pressure on subsidies; WTO – Agreement on agriculture and Peace clause.
4. New localism – AYUSH and Yoga are slowly being internationalised under the
corporate state,Smart Cities are getting funded by international cooperation.
5. The global transformation of the state and public administration to market-
driven is coercive and tends to serve the interests of the corporate capitalism
and creates problems of poverty and underdevelopment in developing countries.
Globalisation has resulted in shrinkage of sovereignty of policy making:
It is now being increasingly argued that in a globalised world, justice
and accountability in the functioning of international agencies is an area
of concern. There has been an increase in the tendency of global elitism
whereby some powerful countries or bloc of countries tend to dominate the
world order. It is also posing a serious threat to the state sovereignty and
democracy of most developing countries.
Globalisation has resulted in policy making being truly comparative:


International best practices are being adopted in the national context. Bureaucratic
processes, flatter hierarchies and New Public Management methodologies are being
adopted in other countries.
Conclusion The recent Corona virus pandemic has bought into focus the advantages and
disadvantages of globalisation. Though countries collaborated for the vaccine,they
fell into recession because of globalised nature of financial services. The answer
lies in Wilsonian Dictum of ensuring the best of globalisation while reforming the
administrative system to decrease the ills of the same.
Score High Use positive impacts of globalisation such as New Localism, Ease of Doing
Business Rankings, Sustainable Development Goals Index and Dashboard devised
by Niti Aayog to keep our country competitive in a globalised world.

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 OLC-I.34 Public Administration

(b) “Collaboration and its cognates for public service delivery need to be
viewed from the governance lenses.” Comment.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration /Organisations
Sub Topic: Public-Private Partnership
Approach Explain collaboration and its cognates for public service delivery and impact on
governance.
Introduction Collaboration for public service delivery refers to the reciprocal and voluntary
support that two or more distinct public sector agencies, or public and private
administrations, including non-profit organisations (NPOs), provide each other in
order to deliver a “public” service, i.e. one that is part of the government mission.
Body Need for collaboration and its cognates:
1. Witnessing the transformation of the world economy due to a significant
increase in information and communications technologies (ICTs) and market
globalisation, taxpayers rapidly became sophisticated consumers and demanded
that government modernise and improve the quality of its own public service
delivery methods.
2. In summary, three main factors have created huge pressure on the administra-
tive machine to undertake in-depth reforms, that constitute a real reinvention
of government. A significant level of national debt, IT growth and ensuing
market globalisation, better informed and more demanding citizens.
yy Therefore, these “models of collaboration” generally present the following
characteristics:
yy A minimum of two distinct administrations, one from the public sector,
the other from the private, public or non-profit sector.
yy A formal written agreement for a definite term
yy A common objective aimed at the delivery of a public service
yy Shared responsibility consisting of shared risks, resources, costs and ben-
efits, both tangible and intangible
Types of Collaboration Models
Public-Private Partnership Model: PPP is an arrangement between government

and private sector for the provision of public assets and/or public services. Public-
private partnerships allow large-scale government projects, such as roads, bridges,
or hospitals, to be completed with private funding.
yy Commonly adopted models of PPPs include Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT),
Build-Own-Operate (BOO), Build-Operate-Lease-Transfer (BOLT), Design-
Build-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT), Lease-Develop-Operate (LDO), Operate-
Maintain-Transfer (OMT), etc.
yy These models are different on level of investment, ownership control, risk
sharing, technical collaboration, duration, financing etc.
Issues with Collaboration models:
yy PPP projects have been stuck in issues such as disputes in existing contracts,
non-availability of capital and regulatory hurdles related to the acquisition
of land.
yy Across the world. PPPs are facing problems. The performance of PPPs has
been very mixed according to the study conducted by various research bodies.

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yy Loans for infrastructure projects are believed to comprise a large share of the
non-performing asset portfolio of public sector banks in India.
yy In many sectors, PPP projects have turned into conduits of crony capitalism.
yy PPP firms use every opportunity for renegotiating contracts by citing reasons
like lower revenue or rise in costs which becomes a norm in India.
yy Frequent renegotiations also resulted in drain of larger share of public
resources.
yy These firms create a moral hazard by their opportunistic behaviour.
Solutions to the same:
Vijay Kelkar Committee Report on Revisiting and Revitalising PPP Model

yy Contracts need to focus more on service delivery instead of fiscal benefits.
yy Better identification and allocation of risks between stakeholders.
yy Prudent utilisation of viability gap funds where user charges cannot guarantee
a robust revenue stream.
yy Improved fiscal reporting practices and careful monitoring of performance.
yy Given the urgency of India’s demographic transition, and the experience India
has already gathered in managing PPPs, the government must move the PPP
model to the next level of maturity and sophistication.
yy Cost effectiveness of managing the risk needs to be evaluated.
yy An Infrastructure PPP Adjudication Tribunal (“IPAT”) chaired by a Judicial
Member (former Judge SC/Chief Justice HC) with a Technical and/or a
Financial member, where benches will be constituted by the Chairperson as
per needs of the matter in question.
yy Projects that have not achieved a prescribed percentage of progress on the
ground should be scrapped. Re-bid them once issues have been resolved or
complete them through public funds and, if viable, bid out for Operations
and Maintenance.
yy Sector specific institutional frameworks may be developed to address the issues
for PPP infrastructure projects.
yy Umbrella guidelines may be developed for stressed projects that provide an
overall framework for development and functioning of the sector specific
frameworks.
yy Unsolicited Proposals (“Swiss Challenge”) to be discouraged to avoid infor-
mation asymmetries and lack of transparency.
yy Amend the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 to distinguish between genuine
errors in decision-making and acts of corruption.
yy NITI Aayog in its document ‘Strategy for New India @75’, targeted invest-
ment rates to 36 percent by 2022–23 from 28 percent of 2017–2018.Private
investment needs be encouraged in infrastructure through a renewed pub-
lic-private partnership (PPP) mechanism on the lines suggested by the Kelkar
Committee. A mature PPP framework, along with a robust enabling ecosystem,
shall enable the government to accomplish twin objectives of ensuring public
service delivery and minimum government and maximum governance.
Score High Give examples of recent steps by Union government to ensure regulation of
PPPs.

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 OLC-I.36 Public Administration

(c) 
Administrative reform is “an artificial inducement of administra-
tive transformation against resistance.” (Gerald Caiden). Identify the
nature of resistance and inducements required to overcome it.
Chapter: Personnel Administration
Sub Topic: Administrative reforms
Approach Explain resistance and inducements to facilitate administrative reforms.
Introduction Caiden in his dynamics of Public Administration has said that the reform of public
administration is needed when existing system fails to meet the demands of people
and execute the policies taken by the government.
Need for reforms:
1. Systems and contingency theory: Unless the administrative subsystem reforms
and improves, it would result in entropy or disorder. Hence, reform is necessary
for the survival of administrative systems in a rapidly changing socio-economic
and political environment.
Example: Developmental administration, NPM reforms, adopting e-governance,
reinventing government
2. Contextual dynamics: Political, economic, social and technological changes
have ensured change from welfare to empowerment, that is, from Weberian
bureaucracy to developmental bureaucracy.
Over a period of time, administrative reforms can review, diagnose and
isolate the systemic and systematic dysfunctionalities/deficiencies and suggest
corrective measures.
Reasons for resistance to reforms:
1. Administrative behaviour has been a failure, that is, we never defined moral
objectives of reforms, for example, Citizen’s Charter/PPP/RTI.
2. For public policies, India follows elite mass model and incremental strategy
for implementing reforms. Hence, revolutionary changes are not possible and
result only in status quoism.
Example: After 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, second-generation
reforms have not happened.
3. Political and bureaucracy-led reforms led to goal displacement due to the
following:
(i) Top-down approach to decision-making did not ensure decentralisation of
administrative reforms and acceptability at middle and junior levels.
Example: Reforms such as RTI, e-governance and Citizen’s Charter did
not succeed due to lack of decentralisation of power and authority to
lower levels or consultation.
(ii) Reforms are short term and piecemeal in approach because:
(a) Administrative reforms bring in transparency, citizen-centricity, and
increased accountability which is not permitted by political and
administrative culture.
(b) Implementation of reforms is dependent on electoral prospects and
hence, political parties become risk averse.
4. Reforms have always been focused on structural and procedural principles
adopted by classical thinkers such as POSDCORD, efficiency economy, etc.
Behavioural values, ethics and attitude were never taken into consideration.
5. Lack of convergence between the objectives, strategies and implementation
process has resulted in their failure.

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Example: Demonetisation and e-governance faced resistance due to lack of

clarity about objectives.
6. Information asymmetry: Reforms are introduced without stakeholders’
consultation.
7. Absence of stakeholders’ consultation or participation of citizens.
Demonetisation.
Civil services reforms, partially implemented in terms of recruitment, resulted in
politicisation of bureaucracy.
Decentralisation like 73rd and 74th Amendments. It led to grass without roots, no
effective participation of people at local level.
Process of privatisation. Other governance and financial reforms required. Without
it, affected infrastructural development.
Governance reform leading to inefficiency in administration and no citizen-centric
approach in reality.
Police reforms.
Punchhi and Sarkaria Commissions recommendations were not implemented,
affecting federal structure and spirit of the constitution.
Inducements to reforms:
1. Reforms should always start from political executive and with political com-
mitment, for example, 1991 LPG reforms.
2. Reforms become successful only when multidimensional reforms in political,
administrative, social and economic areas are implemented simultaneously and
all institutions whole-heartedly participate in it.
Administrative reforms must coincide with judicial and legislative reforms
Example: 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments have ensured political
democracy but they need social reforms through reservation of seats for
women, economic reforms and devolution of funds and functionaries.
3. There should be participation of stakeholders, continuous monitoring and
evaluation of reforms through a participative feedback process consulting all
stakeholders.
4. Focus should be on changing core values, behaviour, and attitudes of bureau-
cracy such as colonial attitude, secrecy, discretion, absence of accountability
and participation.
5. Convergence between objectives, strategies and implementation process should
be ensured among all stakeholders and institutions in a bottom-up and hori-
zontal manner instead of a top-down approach.
Implementation of reform is not easy; desired values of work ethics, integrity,
entrepreneurship, humanitarianism, and empathy can be imbibed by civil servants
only when a supportive culture promotes and nurtures such values. The biggest
task before the Indian leadership is to help create such a supportive culture.
Score High Explain examples of successful reforms in the Indian context.
1. 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts
2. Performance and zero- based budgeting
3. NITI Aayog in place of planning commission
4. Lateral entry and 360 degree appraisal
5. Social Audit, RTI, Citizen’s Charter, e-governance
6. Merger of Railways and General Budget

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 OLC-I.38 Public Administration

Q8.(a) “Disruptive nature of developments in Information Technology

has changed the contours of e-governance in the last one decade.”
Analyse.
Chapter: Techniques of administrative improvement
Sub Topic: e-governance
Approach Explain e-governance and how it has played the role of a disruptor.
Introduction e-governance can be defined as the application of information and communication
technology (ICT) for providing government services, exchange of information,
transactions, integration of previously existing services and information portals.
Introduction Benefits/Outcomes of E-Governance
yy Enhanced transparency and accountability.
yy Expanded reach of governance.
yy Improved public administration.
yy Enables environment for promoting economic development.
yy Improved service delivery in the form of better access to information and
quality services to citizens.
How e-governance has acted as a disruptor:
yy Transforming citizen services through use of technology by leveraging the
artifacts of India Stack that include Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, UMANG, e
Sign and consent framework.
yy Fast tracking the implementation of the national level public digital platforms
in key social sectors, viz. Health, Education, Agriculture, etc. by adopting open
interoperable architecture for joined up connected services.
yy Operationalising the data governance framework to facilitate data sharing
within government entities as also make available all data on data.gov.in
except for a negative list.
yy Foster responsible use of emerging technology such as Artificial Intelligence,
Machine Learning, Blockchain, 5G, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, etc.
for social empowerment.
yy Make India the global hub for emerging technology through creation of a large
pool of skilled resources on futuristic technologies.
yy Ensure resilient government infrastructure with robust technological solutions
to withstand pandemic like disruptions.
yy Integration of all State/District portals with Centralised Public Grievance
Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) for seamless redressal of public
grievances.
yy National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) 2021 to be
adopted in collaboration with MeITY for improving e-governance landscape.
e-Kranti: National e-Governance Plan 2.0
yy It is an essential pillar of the Digital India initiative.
yy It was approved in 2015 with the vision of “Transforming e-Governance for
Transforming Governance”.
Challenges in ensuring E-Governance:

yy e-Education: All schools will be connected to broadband. Free WiFi will be
provided in all secondary and higher secondary schools (coverage would be
around 250,000 schools).

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yy PMGDISHA: Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan aims to

make six crore people in rural India digitally literate.
yy SWAYAM: It includes Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) for leverag-
ing e-Education. It provides for a platform that facilitates hosting of all the
courses, taught in classrooms from Class 9 till post-graduation to be accessed
by anyone, anywhere at any time.
yy e-Healthcare: e-Healthcare would cover online medical consultation, online
medical records, online medicine supply, pan-India exchange for patient infor-
mation, etc.
yy Farmers: This would facilitate farmers to get real-time price information,
online ordering of inputs and online cash, loan, and relief payment with
mobile banking.
yy Security: Mobile-based emergency services and disaster-related services
would be provided to citizens on a real-time basis so as to take precautionary
measures well in time and minimise loss of lives and properties.
yy Financial inclusion: Financial inclusion shall be strengthened using mobile
banking, Micro-ATM programme, and CSCs/ Post Offices.
yy Justice: Interoperable Criminal Justice System shall be strengthened by
leveraging several related applications, i.e. e-Courts, e-Police, e-Jails, and
e-Prosecution.
yy Planning: National GIS Mission Mode Project would be implemented to
facilitate GIS-based decision- making for project planning, conceptualisation,
design and development.
yy Cyber security: National Cyber Security Co-ordination Centre has been set
up to ensure a safe and secure cyber-space within the country.
Way forward:
e-Governance is getting momentum in India, but public awareness and the digital
divide are important issues to be addressed. A hybrid approach needs to be adopted
for enhancing interoperability among e-governance applications which will encom-
pass a centralised approach for document management, knowledge management,
file management, grievance management. etc.
Score High Quote additional Measures:
 The e-governance initiatives in rural areas should be taken by identifying and
analysing the grassroots realities.
 The government should also focus on devising appropriate, feasible, distinct
and effective capacity building mechanisms for various stakeholders, viz.
bureaucrats, rural masses, urban masses, elected representatives, etc.

(b) “Performance Management Framework enables a clear line of sight

between planning, measuring and monitoring performance.” Critically
analyse.
Chapter: Personnel Administration
Sub Topic: Performance Appraisal
Approach Explain the process of Performance Management Framework and how it is
beneficial for measuring government performance.

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 OLC-I.40 Public Administration

Performance management is the systematic process by which the organisation
involves its employees as individuals and members of a group, in improving
organisational effectiveness in the accomplishment of organisational mission and
goals. Performance management is strategic in that it is about broader issues and
long -term goals and integrated as it links various aspects of the business, people
management, individuals and teams.
Need for performance management:

1. Performance Management is the essence of managing, and the primary
vehicle for getting the desired results through employees at all levels in the
organisation.
2, Development plans should contribute to organisational goals and the profes-
sional growth of the employee.
3. The days of having a one-set-of-measures-fits-all Performance Management
System are inherently flawed and long gone.
4. Results-oriented government: Funding outcomes, not inputs. In tune with New
NPM methodologies.
Performance Appraisal vs. Performance Management

1. Performance appraisal is one component of the Performance management
cycle.
2. Thus, ‘appraisal’ is an annual affair while performance `management’ is a year
round activity.
Objectives and Aspects of PMS

The main objective of performance management is continuous improvements in
performance with a view to attaining organisational goals.
Benefits of PMS:

yy Serve as the primary vehicle for implementing organisational goals and
strategies
yy Align and integrate the objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
of the organisation vertically and horizontally through all job categories and
levels, including management.
yy Facilitate continuous performance improvement, organisation development
and culture change.
yy Achieve quality, efficiency and effectiveness.
yy Ensure clarity regarding work expectations and performance standards.
yy Continually enhance employees’ competence.

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yy Reduce Line Manager’s reluctance and fear to do performance appraisals with

their staff.
yy Facilitate performance-based remuneration and rewards, so that employees can
see and experience a clear link between their performance and the rewards
they.
2nd ARC Recommendations:


Government should expand the scope of the present performance appraisal system
of its employees to a comprehensive performance management system (PMS).
In implementing PMS in government, it must be emphasised that the PMS should
be designed within the overall strategic framework appropriate to the particular
ministry/department/organisation.
Annual performance agreements should be signed between the departmental min-
ister and the Secretary of the ministry/heads of departments.
Conclusion To summarise, performance management is explained as the activities and methods
to assist businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organisations in order to
accomplish their goals in the most effective manner. It is a holistic approach that
combines an organisation’s plans, activities, assessments and analyses with the goal
to enhance overall organisational effectiveness.
Score High Examine implementation of PMS in government organisations such as PSUs.

(c) “Objectives of performance budgeting include improving expenditure

prioritisation, effectiveness and efficiency.” Has performance budgeting
worked effectively in governmental system? Argue.
Chapter: Financial Administration
Sub Topic: Budgetary Processes
Approach Explain performance budgeting and its efficacy.
Introduction Performance Budgeting
A performance budget reflects the goal/objectives of the organisation and spells out
performance targets. These targets are sought to be achieved through a strategy.
Unit costs are associated with the strategy and allocations are accordingly made for
achievement of the objectives. A performance budget gives an indication of how
the funds spent are expected to give outputs and ultimately the outcomes. However,
performance budgeting has a limitation — it is not easy to arrive at standard unit
costs especially in social programmes, which require a multi-pronged approach.
Elements of PBS:
Performance budgeting is generally understood as budgeting in terms of functions,
programmes, performance units, activities projects reflecting primarily the govern-
mental output and cost.
1. Identification of objectives in quantitative terms.
2. Select a programme on the basis of cost-benefit analysis.
3. Classify programmes into sub-programmes.
4. Establish criteria of evaluation.
5. Assign roles and responsibilities to different agencies.
6. Preparation of information flow and reporting.
7. Audit whether objectives have been achieved or not.

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Body Limitations of performance budgeting:

1. Problem of quantification – It is difficult to quantify social programmes such
as prevention of corruption, problem of multiplicity of objectives.
2. There are cases where a number of different programmes may have overlap-
ping of objectives. Also, there is overlapping of many programmes.
3. Complex and expensive – It is complex in nature, thereby raising administra-
tive cost.
4. Needs skill to manage such voluminous data.
5. Ineffective to de-politicise budgeting and reduce influence of pressure groups.
6. It focuses more on quantitative and less on qualitative aspects such as input
and output relationships.
7. There is no comparative analysis of programmes, and fails to state whether
there is alternative way of doing a task.
8. It fails to state what should be the policy of the government as it is more
programme-oriented.
Performance-based budgeting allows cities to strengthen the budgetary process in
light of competing claims for resources by using objective criteria to:
yy determine resource allocation;
yy ensure accountability among those responsible for management;
yy shift the budget focus to city priorities rather than department- or agency-spe-
cific goals;
yy make the budget process more transparent; and
yy engage the community in the budgeting process.
Conclusion Performance budgeting advocates better planning and goal setting for better effi-
ciency. Even though it may not be helpful for decision-making, it has enough
power to prevent political populism and executive accountability. In the wake of
NPM and globalization, performance budgeting seems to be the way forward.
Score High Explain examples of performance budgeting in governance context.
Performance budgeting is presently tabled in parliament as Outcome budgeting.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
(Paper-2)

SECTION-A

Q1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

(a) Mughal administration incorporated a combination of Indian and
extra-Indian elements. Discuss.
Chapter: Evolution of Indian Administration
Sub Topic: Mughal Administration
Approach Explain how Mughal administration is a combination of Indian and extra-In-
dian elements and how it ensured administration.
Introduction Dr. J.N. Sarkar has observed, “The Mughal administration presented a combination
of Indian and extra-Indian elements, or more correctly, it was the Perso-Arabic
system in Indian setting.” A compromise was effected with the older native sys-
tem already in vogue and familiar to the people governed. The Mughals carried
out certain modifications in it in the light of foreign experiences. The Mughal
administration was largely based on the administrative systems followed in central
Asia. The foreign administrative systems were adjusted to the Indian settings. For
instance, the mansabdar system was a product of central Asia (Uzbeks).
Body Administration-military in origin:
The Mughal administration was a military-based government from the beginning
to the end.
Revenue administration:


Several Mughal rulers imposed taxes in accordance with Islamic laws.
The administration as manufacturer:


The administration/state used to maintain several ‘Karkhanas’ or factories of its
own.
Benevolent despot:

The Mughal emperor accepted two primary duties for themselves—’Jahan Bani’
(protection of the state) and ‘Jahangiri’ (extension of the empire). They attempted
to create those conditions which were conducive to economic and cultural progress
of their subjects. They devoted a lot of time to look after the affairs of the state.
Centralised power:
The emperor was the head of administration and the state. He was the law-maker
as well as dispenser of justice, the commander-in-chief and the fountain-head of
all honours. He was the source of all authority.

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 OLC-II.2 Public Administration

Post -Independence, the state adopted a democratic welfare system of govern-

ment but many features of Mughal administration are evident in present -day
administration.
Score High Explain other elements of Mughal administration evident in Indian administration.

b) 
“There is a constant and continuous collision between bureaucratic
values and democratic values which adversely affects development.”
In the light of this statement, examine the role of bureaucracy in
development.
Chapter:
Sub Topic:
Approach
Introduction Democracy and bureaucracy have different roles in society. Democracy sets the
goal or direction of change through differentiation and integration (Riggs) while
bureaucracy acts as an instrument to achieve them. Both act on different value
systems. Moreover, roles at many places are overlapping, leading to conflict of
values.
Body Development as a concept has two meanings— development as direction of change
and development as final state of affairs. Development as direction of change has
more correlation to democracy whereas development as final outcome, i.e. achieve-
ment of certain set objectives, correlates more with bureaucracy.
Democratic values are largely normative, sentimental and aspirational. Bureaucratic
values are rational, neutral and devoid of sentiments. Therefore, political sensitiv-
ity, popular opinion, sentiments of various sections of society are not well com-
prehended by bureaucracy and,therefore, the role of bureaucracy in development
should be subservient and instrumental to a democratic set-up.
Rapid socio-economic change that is desired in the developing countries, requires
political stability, state security, law and order in society while the society expe-
riences transition towards development. That essential regulatory framework of
society is provided by bureaucracy.
yy Why there is a collision of democratic values and bureaucratic values?
In the context of democracies, development demands certain qualitative values
from government as well as from societies. Aims of development to be decided
through participatory processes, argumentative approach in development pol-
icies. Quantitative side of development demands efficient use of resources,
development priorities to sustain further development, timely completion of
projects and avoidance of wastage.
yy Bureaucracy in Third World countries has been imported as a readymade
instrument from developed countries. It was left over by erstwhile colonial
power which used it to exploit people for their mother country’s interest. Such
machinery when continued, after Independence, have not been able to adapt
to changed circumstance. (Contingent Theory )
yy It has an inherent tendency of goal displacement. Under the law of impersonal
order, incumbents focus overtly on rules and procedures, as if following the
rules is an end in itself, and not a means to achieve some further goal.
yy Value neutrality of bureaucracy is a hindrance to value positivity as needed
by development.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.3 ..

yy The role of bureaucracy in development activity is best placed under the rule
of democratic set-up. Bureaucracy should play an instrumental role for demo-
cratic power holders and facilitate and smoothen the decision- making process.
yy The role of bureaucracy in development is even more challenging in a dem-
ocratic set-up as political interference in bureaucracy is common as also
malfunctioning of a bureaucratic set-up is also possible.Hence, the role of
bureaucracy demands sensitisation of bureaucracy, with fears and anxieties of
democratic power holders.
Conclusion Solutions to the above:
yy Participative and client-oriented bureaucracy
yy Value-oriented bureaucracy and administrative reforms and sensitivity training
yy Code of ethics and conduct for politicians and bureaucracy
nd
yy 2 ARC recommends setting up of civil service boards, and tenure stability
for insulating bureaucracy from political pressures
yy De-centralised bureaucracy and de -hierarchical bureaucracy
yy Infusion of professional management techniques and lateral entry
The drawbacks of Weberian model have led many thinkers to come up with different
additions in the form of New Public Administration, NPM, Good Governance, New
Public Service, Reinventing Government and Public Choice Theory which move
towards democratic administration and greater popular participation. Integrating
democratic values in bureaucracy without altering the institutional advantages that
bureaucracy provides can help in the development of any society.
Score High Give example of PM awards where collectors have done exemplary public service
through behavioural policies and crowd funding.
Ex Armstrong Pame - Road in Manipur
Prashant Nair - Operation Suleimani
Smita Sabharwal - Fund my City
Bhilawara Model of Covid Containment

c) Parliamentary committees are at the deliberative core of parliamentary

work which is crucial for refining legislations. Elucidate.
Chapter: Accountability and Control
Sub Topic: Legislative Control
Approach Explain how parliamentary committees ensure good governance and executive
accountability and issues with their functioning. Also, suggest solutions.
Introduction The Indian constitution mentions two kinds of parliamentary committees – Standing
Committees and Ad Hoc Committees. Any subject related to these committees is
dealt with in Article 118 (1) of the Indian constitution.
The committee system of parliament is often used in several countries for oversight
of regulators. In India, there are 24 Department Related Standing Committees that
comprise members from both Houses of parliament.
Body Important functions of these committees:
yy These committees are ministry specific, and may review the working of
regulators within their respective departments. It ensures detailed scrutiny of
government finances, legislation and working continues to take place even if
parliament sessions are disrupted.

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 OLC-II.4 Public Administration

yy With a representation of members from across political parties, these commit-

tees also act as a consensus building platform.
yy Another feature of the committee system is its engagement with relevant
stakeholders and power to summon witnesses.
yy The committees regularly seek feedback from citizens and experts on subjects
it examines. After a detailed discussion, the prepared reports are tabled in
parliament.
yy These comments add value to the discourse in parliament. The committees
also publish reports on the status of implementation of their recommendations.
yy When bills are referred to these committees, they are examined closely and
inputs are sought from various external stakeholders, including the public.
yy These committees act as a mini-parliament, as they have MPs representing
different parties are elected into them through a system of the single trans-
ferable vote, in roughly the same proportion as their strength in parliament.
yy Parliamentary committees are meant to help MPs seek expertise and give them
time to think about issues in detail.
yy Although recommendations of the committees are not binding on the gov-
ernment, their reports create a public record of the consultations that took
place and put pressure on the government to reconsider its stand on debatable
provisions.
Issues with these committees:
yy A parliamentary democracy works on the doctrine of fusion of powers between
parliament and the executive, but parliament is supposed to maintain oversight
of the government and keep its power in check. Thus, by circumventing the
parliamentary committees in the passing of significant legislation, there is a
risk of weakening democracy.
yy In the Indian system, it is not mandatory for bills to be sent to committees. It is
left to the discretion of the Chair – Speaker in the Lok Sabha and Chairperson
in the Rajya Sabha. By giving discretionary power to the Chair, the system
has been specially rendered weak in the Lok Sabha where the ruling party
has a brute majority.
yy However, 71percent of the bills went to parliamentary committees between
2009 and 2014, and this dipped to only 25 percent between 2014 and 2019.
Way forward:
According to the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution
(NCRWC), DRSCs should be periodically reviewed so that the committees which
have outlived their utility can be replaced with new ones. For example:
yy Standing Committee on National Economy to provide analysis of the national
economy with resources for advisory expertise, data gathering, and research
facilities.
In countries such as Sweden and Finland, all bills are sent to committees. In
Australia, a selection of bills committee, which includes members from the
Opposition, is tasked with identifying the bills that should go to committees.
yy The committee system allows a smaller group of legislators to develop tech-
nical expertise on a particular subject and ensure better deliberation.
yy Expert support to MPs: Effective scrutiny depends on the skill and resources
available to the parliamentary committees. Committees, as compared to the
regulators they seek to oversee, may often be under resourced and thus fail
to ensure accountability.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.5 ..

Conclusion Mandating scrutiny for the significant bills passed is by no means a hurdle to the
legislative process; rather it is necessary to uphold the quality of legislation, and
by extension, the quality of governance. Strengthening the committee system can
go a long way in improving the quality of laws drafted and minimise potential
implementation challenges. The need of the hour is for greater and effective utili-
sation of parliamentary committees to strengthen parliament as a deliberative body
which can ensure effective oversight.
Score High Give more statistics related to ineffective functioning of committees..
Chapter: Plans and Priorities
Sub Topic: Indicative Planning
Approach Do a critical analysis of indicative planning and why it was formed.

(d) Considering India’s diversity, the planning pattern of ‘one-size-fits-all’

was discarded in favour of indicative planning. To what extent has it
been useful to India?
Chapter: Administrative law /Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: Rules of Law/Good Governance
Approach Explain how arbitrariness in the application of rule of law leads to poor
governance.
Introduction Imperative Planning:

Under this type of planning, economic decisions are made through a central plan-
ning authority instead of a market system. Allocation of resources, the mix of
output and the distribution of output among the people are determined centrally
in accordance with the predetermined plans and targets.
Body Advantages of Imperative Planning:
1. Anyway, imperative planning is comprehensive as it includes the entire facet of
an economy. Having full control over the available resources, implementation
of plan becomes easier and highly effective.
2. Secondly, the government controls all productive forces and replaces market
mechanism and profit motive by central plan and command. Production is
carried out not for profit but for the general well-being of the society.
Disadvantages of Imperative Planning:

1. It is often argued that under this kind of planning, neither consumers nor
producers enjoy any freedom and sovereignty. They behave in the way the
state wants.
2. Further, imperative planning based on bureaucratic controls and regulations
and direction is undemocratic in character.
3. There is complete control over the factors of production by the state.
Indicative Planning:


Indicative planning aims to coordinate private and public investment and output
plans through forecasts or targets. Compliance is voluntary. This is the French
system of planning which is based on the principle of decentralisation in the
operation and execution of the national plans. In indicative planning, the private
sector is neither rigidly controlled nor directed to fulfil the targets and priorities
of the plan.

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 OLC-II.6 Public Administration

Advantages of Indicative Planning:

1. It is partly directive and partly indicative.
2. It is democratic in character.
3. It is developmental in character.
4. Finally, the planning process is a continuous one.
5. It allows for market forces and state to drive the economy based on relative
strengths of each other.
Disadvantages of Indicative Planning:

1. Bringing state and markets together is a herculean tasks. Moreover, develop-
mental needs are to be met by state resources.
Conclsusion Indicative planning cannot be a substitute for developmental /scenario based plan-
ning.Sustainable Developmental Goals and recently formed Niti Aayog and special
schemes for women and children such as Beti Bachao /Beti Padhao are a welcome
step in this direction.
Score High Give example of decentralised planning model of Kerela.

(e) Even if all the States combine together, they cannot have their way
in decision-making in the GST Council, unless the Union agrees to it.
Analyse this in the perspective of federalism in India.
Chapter: Financial Management
Sub Topic: Budget
Approach Explain how GST Council impacts federalism and do a critical analysis.
Introduction Goods & Services Tax Council (GST Council) is a constitutional body for making
recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods
and Services Tax.
Body The Council is a joint forum of the centre and the states and consists of the fol-
lowing members:
1. The Union Finance Minister as the Chairperson
2. The Union Minister of State in-charge of Revenue or Finance
3. The Minister in-charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated
by each state government
The members of the Council from the states have to choose one amongst them-
selves to be the Vice-Chairperson of the Council. They can also decide his term.
The Union Cabinet also decided to include the Chairperson of the Central Board of
Excise and Customs (CBEC) as a permanent invitee (non-voting) to all proceedings
of the Council.
Working of the Council:
The decisions of the Council are taken at its meetings. One-half of the total number
of members of the Council is the quorum for conducting a meeting. Every decision
of the Council is to be taken by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the
weighted votes of the members present and voting at the meeting.
The decision is taken in accordance with the following principles:
(i) The vote of the central government shall have a weightage of one-third of the
total votes cast in the meeting.
(ii) The votes of all the state governments combined shall have a weightage of
two-thirds of the total votes cast in that meeting.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.7 ..

Any act or proceeding of the Council will not become invalid on the following
grounds:
(i) Any vacancy or deficit in the constitution of the Council
(ii) Any defect in the appointment of a person as a member of the Council
(iii) Any procedural irregularity of the Council not affecting the merits of the case
Issues with GST Council:

yy The assured revenue neutrality remains a mirage and many states have expe-
rienced a declining tax-GDP ratio.
yy Studies show that in the case of major 18 states, the ratio of own tax revenue
to GDP has declined. While the share of the centre in total GST increased
by 6percent, that of states put together lagged behind with only a 4.5 percent
increase.
yy Since the rates were lower under GST vis-à-vis the VAT regime, revenue
neutrality was not adhered ab initio. The problems were compounded with
massive evasion following the dismantling of check posts, and later on fake
invoices and refunds that grew by leaps and bounds.
yy GST in India was possible only because the states surrendered much of their
constitutionally inherited indirect taxes. While the states collectively forewent
51.8 percent of their total tax revenue, the centre surrendered only 28.8 percent.
yy Yet, GST is shared equally between the centre and states though two expert
committees recommended for a higher share for the states.
yy Given the revenue neutrality failure and the host of other issues, many of the
states are left with no option except to depend on GST compensation.
yy While compensation legitimately has to coexist with GST, even the consti-
tutionally guaranteed compensation for five years has not been implemented
in letter and spirit, forcing the states to beg for their entitlement. This is not
conducive to sustainable cooperative federalism.
yy It was pointed out that GST is discriminatory to manufacturing states, indicat-
ing the need for a revenue sharing formula that duly incentivises exporting
states by sharing IGST revenue among three parties instead of two.
Way forward:

With oil prices sky-rocketing across the country, the policymakers need to contem-
plate the inclusion of petroleum and related products within the GST net.
It is vital to finally constitute the GST Appellate Tribunal as it is obvious that all
taxpayers do not have the finances or means to approach the High Court for every
practical difficulty faced.
Conclusion GST should be seen purely from a revenue point of view and as a fiscal policy
tool for efficiency, competitiveness and growth. GST is a positive step towards
shifting Indian economy from the informal to formal economy.
It is important to utilise experiences from global economies that have implemented
GST before us, to overcome the impending challenges.
Score High The 15th Finance Commission has highlighted several areas of concern in the GST
regime relating to multiplicity of tax rates, shortfall in GST collections vis-à-vis
the forecast, high volatility in GST collections, inconsistency in filing of returns,
dependence of states on the compensation from the centre.

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 OLC-II.8 Public Administration

Q2.(a) District administration is the most important unit in governance.

Most of the central and state government schemes and pro-
grammes are directed towards the district administration. In this
context, discuss the challenges and problems posed to the district
administration.
Chapter: District administration since independence
Sub Topic: Changing profile of District Administration
Approach Explain how central and state government schemes are impacting functioning
of district administration.
Introduction Administration at the district level is like an umbrella. District administration is the
most cardinal aspect of administration in the district. It is headed by the District
Collector or District Officer who is the Chief Administrator and Revenue Officer
in the district.
Body
Different roles of District Collector:
1. Pivotal role as coordinator, crisis manager, linking pin between centre and
state in implementing programmes and policies.
2. He leads disaster management, regulatory functions, revenue functions at the
district level.
3. He also leads developmental functions at the district level.
Welfare activities – PDS/Women empowerment, beneficiary distribution of
various schemes, zilla parishad and various parastatals.
4. Coordination among various functional units such as line and staff department,
PWD, agriculture and irrigation.
5. Heading parastatals such as DRDA, in programmes such as MGNREGA, etc.
6. Public relation like protocol duties in the case of VIP visits, public grievance
redressal.
7. Miscellaneous functions–Playing the role of Chief Establishment Officer,
issuing license, census and election.
Conflict between his regulatory and developmental role:
1. After independence, democratic de-centralisation was introduced which needed
proactive governance capable of effecting rapid socio-economic change in the
shortest possible time.
2. Emergency of Development Administration model of Gujarat and Maharashtra
which envisages separation between developmental and regulatory role.
3. Tamil Nadu–Rajasthan model which envisages dual role of DM as develop-
ment and regulatory administrator.
4. Odisha and Andhra Pradesh model of empowering parastatals such as PD
DRDA and entrusting supervisory powers to DM.
5. Weberian bureaucracy coupled with colonial ethics of regulatory administra-
tion has not attuned the district magistrate to developmental needs.
6. Post LPG, there has been massive proliferation of developmental schemes due
to –
(i) 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments.
(ii) Active participation of civil society, NGOs and VOs due to participatory
governance and democratic de-centralisation.
yy The DM is overburdened with regulatory and programmed activities.
yy He does not have the administrative development to handle complex issues
of developmental governance due to lack of specialisation.

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yy Criminalisation of politics and political interference – With the rise of politi-

cal powers and coalition politics, political interference and criminalisation of
politics has diluted the role, ethos and values of district administration.
yy Conflict with line and staff agencies – Line agencies such as PWD/ agri-
culture/irrigation have resulted in Area Function Dichotomy which means
district administration has its own hierarchy and functional units have their
own hierarchy.Therefore, there is lack of unity of command due to different
hierarchy of district administration and functional units.
Conclusion Hence, this has created a scenario wherein:
1. The collector’s powers have weakened vis-à-vis his power to transfer or punish
contemptuous officials.
2. Lack of coordination, cooperation and hostility with various secretariat depart-
ments and directorates.
3. Although the collector is responsible for the execution of various develop-
mental schemes through these departments, he has no power to enforce his
decisions.
4. Uneven structure of zilla parishads–
Category A Maharashtra, Gujarat Absolute power
Category B Andhra Pradesh, Odisha Compromised advisory powers
Category C West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh Midway between Category A & B
5. Modernisation of office – There should be MIS, information technology,
e-governance, performance management, outcome evaluation, process reengi-
neering and innovativeness in systems and procedures in order to enhance the
effectiveness of district administration.
6. Rural development requires administrative development and development of
administration. There should be an integrated approach as advocated by Mary
Parker Follett to ensure representative democracy is converted to participative
democracy. The collector must involve the zilla parishad and other representa-
tives in decision-making and policy review and monitoring at the district level.
It should be based on mutual understanding and,on the other side, political
leadership must understand the ethos and public trust which the collector
enjoys. The collector, by virtue of his eminent position, acts as a mediator to
solve differences among the parishad members for good governance.
7. Coordination role and conventional influence that the collector enjoys make
him capable to get the district-level officers and local bodies to listen and
cooperate with him in regulatory as well as developmental affairs. His coor-
dinating role in matters of rural or urban local bodies cannot be ignored.
The multifarious activities performed by the collector make him indispensable
and,at the same time, an overburdened functionary of the district.
The whole issues of the developmental role of the collector vis-à-vis DRDAs and
zilla parishad need a fresh unconventional look, considering the imperatives of post
LPG and NPM reforms.
Score High Explain the work by district collectors in recent times on account of LPG.

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 OLC-II.10 Public Administration

(b) The structural part of the constitution of India is, to a large extent,
derived from the Government of India Act, 1935, whereas its philo-
sophical part has many other sources. Discuss the sources of the philo-
sophical part.
Chapter: Philosophical and Constitutional Framework of Government
Sub Topic: Constitutionalism
Approach Explain the structural part of the constitution and its inspiration and the philo-
sophical part too.
Introduction Features of GoI Act which are present in our constitution
yy It provided for the establishment of an All India federation consisting of
provinces and princely states as units.
yy It divided the powers between the centre and units in terms of three lists-
Federal list, provincial list and the concurrent list. Present in the form of
three lists in the constitution.
yy The Act introduced responsible government in provinces, that is, the governor
was required to act with the advice of ministers responsible to the provincial
legislature – Institution of the Governor.
yy Bicameralism was introduced in six provinces – Bengal, Bombay Madras,
Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces-Legislative Council.
yy The Act provided for setting up Federal public service commission, provin-
cial public service commission, joint public service commission, federal
court, Reserve Bank of India.
Body The preamble is like a mini constitution. It reminds us the noble and grand vision
of our constitution makers. The preamble is also known as the soul, spirit and
backbone of the Indian constitution. Without reading the preamble, it makes no
sense to read the constitution. It is the preamble which gives a brief idea about
why the constitution has been prepared. The preamble can be classified into three
parts:
According to the first part, the people of India solemnly resolved India into a Sovereign,

Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. Each and every word of the preamble is
wisely chosen and arranged in such a way that by reading the preamble, one can
get a clear picture of India’s stand towards its citizen. The first part explains the
following:
yy The word Sovereign emphasised that there is no authority outside India on
which the country is in any way dependent.
yy By the word Socialist, the constitution means that the achievement of Socialistic
pattern of society through democratic means.
yy India is a Secular country and follows the age - old Indian philosophy Sarva
Dharma Sambhav.
yy The term Democratic refers not only to political democracy but also to social and
economic democracy. Democracy means that the ruler is elected by the people
of India, which follows a system of “Representative Democracy.”
yy The word Republic denotes a government where no one holds public power as
proprietary right. It means the head of the state or country is an elected rep-
resentative and not the hereditary monarch.
The second part says about securing e liberty, equalityand justice and promoting

unity and integrity among all. The last part is declaratory, where the people of

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.11 ..

India in their constituent assembly adopted, enacted and gave themselves this
constitution.
yy Justice: The concept of justice was inserted in the second part to secure its
citizens political, social, economic justice.
yy Liberty: Is freedom, to secure the freedom of the people of their belief,
thought, faith, etc.
yy Equality: It means each and every citizen of the country is equal and the state
will work on the concept of equality before the law.
yy Fraternity: Means spirit of brotherhood. The concept fraternity was introduced
so that people feel that all people of the same soil, same motherland are their
brothers and sisters are equal in status. India is a country having diversities
based on religion, race, and caste and so it is important to promote the spirit
of brotherhood among them all.
Conclusion Thus, the preamble to the constitution of free India remains a beautifully worded
prologue. It contains the basic ideas, objectives and philosophical postulates the
constitution of India stands for. They provide justifications for constitutional
provisions.
Score High Make a critical analysis of the values enshrined in the preamble.

(c) The public services in India are an evolution of the British Raj. Trace
the Indianisation of the services.
Chapter: Evolution of Indian Administration
Sub Topic: British Legacy
Approach Explain the process of Indianisation of civil services.
Introduction The most important legacy of the British rule in India was the creation of the
Indian Civil Service. It represented the visible presence of the British in India
and it was through its expanded network that authority was wielded. Timeline of
Indianisation of civil services is tabulated below:
Year Act/Commission Impact
1833 Court of India Act First steps at Indianisation of public ser-
vices. Also provided for non-discrimination
1858 Queen’s proclamation
on the basis of birth, descent and colour
1853 Charter Act Provided for open competition to Civil
Services

1923 Lee Commission Fined scale of recruitment to ensure larger

participation of Indians on a 50: 50 basis
vis-à-vis. Europeans
1919 Constitutional reforms Indian element to be increased

Macaulay Committee laid down the foundation for civil services in modern
India. The Committee gave India its modern civil services in 1854 which recom-
mended that the patronage-based system of East India Company should be replaced
by permanent civil services on a merit-based system through competitive entry
examination.
Body List of Macaulay’s ideas:
1. Generalist type bureaucracy

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 OLC-II.12 Public Administration

2. Merit-based
3. Competitive examination
4. Young people
5. Exclusion of Indian languages
6. Training in England
Effects of Macaulay Committee:
1. Elite people got recruited due to tough nature of the exam.
2. There was no reservation for the poor and marginalised sections of society.
3. Indianisation of service suffered as a result.
Similarities with present Indian Administrative System:
1. Colonial attitude of bureaucracy persists which prevents transparency and
accountability.
2. Generalist system continues.
3. Institution and steel frame remains the same.
Example: District Magistrate
Differences with Macaulay System:
1. Recruitment is now Indianised with the inclusion of reservation and Indian
languages.
Post-independence events
Post-independence, there was a dilemma regarding continuation of Imperial Civil
Services because:
1. Colonial attitude of civil servants.
2. Bitter memories of civil servants acting against freedom struggle.
However, with constitutional status of All-India Services along with Central
Services, the following transformation was observed:
3. Complete Indianisation of civil services.
4. Citizen-centric administration.
5. Shedding of colonial attitude through RTI, use of citizen’’s charter, etc.
6. Public participation in governance through 73rd and 74th Constitutional
Amendment Acts.
7. Parliamentary democracy, welfare state, constitutionalism were used to ensure
colonial administrative structure gets transformed into an instrument of devel-
opment and good governance.
Conclusion Administrative reforms are an ongoing process and Indianisation of civil services
has happened steadily with respect to ecological factors (Riggs) of our country.
Since independence, in terms of training, recruitment, administrative behaviour and
conduct, citizen centricity, there has been a consistent effort to ensure Indian Civil
Services perform to its optimum role and capacity.
Score High Connect with Mission Karmyogi recently launched by the Government of India.

Q3.(a) Does the privatisation of key public sector bodies augur well for
welfarism in India? Discuss with suitable illustrations.
Chapter: Public Sector Undertaking
Sub Topic: Impact of Liberalisation and Privatisation
Approach Explain how privatisation helps in social welfare rather than private profit.

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Introduction Public sector undertakings were developed as instruments of self-reliant economic

growth and agents of socio-economic transformation of the country.
Body Why PSUs were expected to take India to commanding heights:
1. Due to the impact of colonialism, de-industrialisation of India had occurred;
hence, to create industrial and physical infrastructure
2. Impact of democratic socialism ideology as envisaged in the constitution and
centralised planning influenced by Harrod Domar Model
3. To generate employment and ensure import substitution
4. Reduce and remove regional disparities
5. Generation of economic surplus and save foreign exchange
Reasons for their failure to ensure growth and investment:
1. Monopoly of these PSUs, did not bother about quality or cost of production
2. Geographical disadvantage: In order to ensure balanced regional development,
PSUs were set up in places without presence of raw materials
3. Excessive political and bureaucratic interference
4. Political culture of trade unions with backing from government
5. High level of corruption and inefficiency
6. Weberian bureaucracy, goal displacement, excessive focus on rules and regu-
lations, closed system of organisation had become an end in themselves
7. Article 12 of the Constitution ensures PSUs as ‘instruments of state’, thereby
preventing autonomy to PSUs and being competitive as private sector.
The main objective of the PSUs had been to become growth drivers and be

competitive in international arena, instead they became leviathans and depended
on government support for survival.
Post-NPM /LPG Reforms Development:
1. Downsizing and rightsizing PSUs
2. Memorandum of Understanding
3. Strategic Disinvestment
4. Strategic Sale of loss making PSUs
1. Sectors retained exclusively for the public sector progressively reduced
with opening up of sectors for private investment and FDI
2. Privatisation of loss-making PSUs: BALCO, AIR-India
3. Disinvestment and listing on stock exchange, holding company structure
4. Empowerment of profit making CPSE (Navratna, Maharatna schemes)
along with greater accountability
5. Adoption of NPM, public choice theory and minimum government and
maximum governance to the PSUs
Effects of these measures:
These measures have brought market improvements in the performance of CPSEs.
However, CPSEs continue to operate under multiple constraints and lag behind the
private sector.
Given the scale of investment and employment in CPSEs, it is pertinent to strive for
next-generation reforms for the CPSEs and leverage their resources, and expertise.
As an open business organisation, PSUs have to comply with all legal and regu-
latory processes as any private corporate entity. The additional issue of oversight
arises because of their being public entities accountable to legislature and executive.

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 OLC-II.14 Public Administration

14th Finance Commission and Roongta Panel have recommended for reforms in
PSUs’ categorisation and focus on disinvestment based on priority.

NITI Aayog has adopted policy on high-priority and low-priority areas. It has
identified 32 loss-making companies for strategic disinvestment.
There needs to be appointment of highly skilled professional managers in these
PSUs.
Conclusion PSUs in certain sectors such as Defence and Space are important from the perspec-
tive of the country’s security and strategic vision. There is a need for administrative
reforms in their vision, outlook and growth strategy in terms of technology, market
profitability and personnel reforms in order to take the country to commanding
heights.
Sl. No Issues Facts
1. M a r k e t – 348 public sector enterprises and the net worth of the
Capitalisation government’s holdings in these firms is around ` 7
of PSUs lakh crore.
– PSUs have lost market cap of ` 6.9 lakh crore in last
6 yrs.
– PSUs accounted for 22.8 percent of the value of all
companies listed on BSE in May 2014, but now they
account for only 7.7 percent of the total value.
2. Profit /Loss of – The number of loss-making CPSEs were 79 in 2015–
PSUs 16, 81 in 2016–17, 72 in 2017–18, 69 in 2018–19
and 84 in 2019–20.
– The number of profit-making PSUs was 175 in 2016–
17, 183 in 2017–18, 179 in 2018-19 before declining
to 171 in 2019–20.
3. Payments – 7 lakh crore
due to PSUs
from Central
and State
Governments
There should be distinctive road map ahead for disinvestment of PSUs with politi-
cal will and bureaucratic expertise. Instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all approach
strategic sale, disinvestment, technology and recapitalisation on case to case basis
should be adopted. Autonomy, clearly-defined welfare functions, transparency and
accountability are important in the above process.
Score High Explain recent steps such as Atmanirbhar Bharat and National Monetisation Plan.
Also quote Bibek Debroy committee recommended that the rail industry needs
to be liberalised by allowing the entry of private operators to provide services,
reduce welfare objectives such as hospitals and schools.

(b) The spirit of democratic values requires that the independence of

judiciary remains absolute. It is high time that the All India Judicial
Service (AIJS) was created. Elaborate.
Chapter: Union Government and Administration
Sub Topic: Judiciary

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.15 ..

Approach Do a critical analysis of All India Judicial Services.

Introduction The recently struck down national judicial appointment commission by the Supreme
Court has raised the need for the creation of an objective and transparent system
of appointment in the judicial system of India.
As per National Judicial Data Grid here are at least 4,400 vacancies for judges in
the subordinate judiciary and 4 crore cases pending in various courts across the
country.
Body The reasons for the pendency of cases are:
1. Low quality and training of judiciary at local level
2. High vacancies of judges
3. Poor investigation and follow-up
4. Infrastructure issues
5. Government is the biggest litigant
6. Absence of alternative dispute redressal forum
Benefits of All India Judicial Services:
1. Improve quality of judiciary.
2. Transparency in appointment and preventing nepotism in selection, increase
in efficiency.
3. Scope for promotion to higher judiciary, thus maintaining quality of judiciary
and attracting best talent.
4. Making judiciary more accountable, professional and equitable.
5. Ensure a system so that judges from state judiciary are promoted to Supreme
Court and High Courts.
6. Subsequent commissions and committees are in favour of all India judicial
services for transparent, independent and merit-based selection in the judiciary.
Concerns related to All India Judicial Services:
1. Lack of knowledge of regional language would affect judicial efficiency.
2. This would lead to erosion of control of High Court over the subordinate
judiciary which would, in turn, affect the judicial independence.
3. States are against it as many hamper justice delivery system at local lev-
els since they don’t have knowledge of laws’ language which may become
problematic during criminal cases, according to recording evidence, witness
examination. Hence states are against All India Judicial Services since 1960.
4. Underprivileged and marginalised will find it difficult if the examination in
AIS competition will be tough and even after posting they may not function
effectively in other states due to lack of experience and exposure.
Conclusion All India Judicial Services is basically reinventing judiciary to suit the needs of
post-NPM governance and ensuring good governance. Ease of doing business
requires faster and simpler litigation process.
Score High Explain other judicial reforms in recent times.
1. Implementation of Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill and formation
of National Judicial Oversight Committee.
2. Use of technology through E-courts mission mode project and National
Judicial Data Grid.
3. Economic survey says contract enforcement is biggest hurdle to ease of doing
business due to pendency of cases and suggests steps to ramp up capacity
in lower judiciary.

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 OLC-II.16 Public Administration

(c) To strengthen the Election Commission of India and its commissioners
is the need of the hour. Suggest measures to make it more independent
and impartial.
Chapter: Union government and administration
Sub Topic: Board and Commission
Approach Explain how to strengthen election commission, issues thereof and solutions.
Introduction The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority
responsible for administering Union and state election processes in India. The
body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative
Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice-President in the
country.
Body Structure of the Commission
yy Originally, the commission had only one election commissioner but after the
Election Commissioner Amendment Act 1989, it has been made a multi-
member body.
yy The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election
Commissioners.
yy They have a fixed tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever
is earlier.
yy They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to judges
of the Supreme Court of India.
yy The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through a
process of removal similar to that of a Supreme Court judge f by parliament.
Importance of ECI:
yy The ECI has been successfully conducting national as well as state elections
since 1952. In recent years, however, the Commission has started to play the
more active role to ensure greater participation of people.
yy It upholds values enshrined in the constitution, viz., equality, impartiality and
equity.
yy It supervises and controls electoral governance.
yy It facilitates awareness about the electoral procedure and functioning to voters,
political parties, and candidates, thereby strengthening the electoral system of
the country.
yy It conducts elections with the highest standard of credibility, freeness, fairness,
transparency, integrity, accountability, autonomy and professionalism.
yy It ensures participation of all eligible citizens in the electoral process in an
inclusive voter-centric and voter-friendly environment and aids in the creation
of cognitive political culture.
yy It engages with political parties and all stakeholders in the interest of the
electoral process.
Challenges faced by ECI:
yy Over the years, influence of money and criminal elements in politics has
increased along with violence and electoral malpractices resulting in criminal-
isation of politics. The ECI has been unable to arrest this deterioration.
yy There has been rampant abuse of power by the state government which,
at times, makes large-scale transfers on the eve of elections and posts pliable
officials in key positions, using official vehicles and buildings for election-
eering, flouting the ECI’s model code of conduct.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.17 ..

yy The ECI is not adequately equipped to regulate the political parties. The
ECI has no power in enforcing inner-party democracy and regulation of party
finances.
yy In recent years, an impression is gaining ground that the Election Commission
is becoming less and less independent of the Executive which has impacted
the image of the institution.
yy ECI is not a fully independent body and has no measures to regulate the
finances of the parties and has no power in enforcing inner-party democracy
or transparency which are dependent on executive decision.
yy One of the major institutional drawbacks is non- transparency in the election
of CEC and other two commissioners and is based on the choice of presiding
government.
Way Forward:
yy The Tarkunde Committee on Electoral reform (1975) and Goswami
committees on Electoral reforms (1990) recommended the selection of
a commissioner rather than an appointment based on the discretion of the
President.
yy The expenditure incurred by the election commission should be charged on
the consolidated fund of India rather than the current practice of parliament
approval.
yy It is necessary to protect the two commissioners from removal except
through impeachment as provided by the constitution for the chief election
commissioner, sole member at the time of inception.
nd
yy The 2 ARC report recommended for the selection panel headed by the Prime
Minister with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of Opposition in
the Lok Sabha, the Law Minister and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya
Sabha as members should make recommendations for the consideration of
the President for appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the
Election Commissioners.
yy Use of VVPAT and Vote Totaliser machine shall be used to protect voters
from harassment by political parties.
yy Legal backing for the Model Code of Conduct is necessary to prevent its
violation and power to be given to EC to punish the violators.
yy Issues related to malfunctions and tampering of EVM should be settled by
creating all-party panels and international experts. Introduce M3 type of
EVMs which are more secure.
yy The challenge before the commission is to be vigilant and watchful against
the collusion at the lower level of civil and police bureaucracy in favour of
the ruling party of the day.
yy Give equal constitutional protection to all threeelection commissioners as
opposed to just the CEC.
yy Institutionalise the convention where the senior-most EC should be automati-
cally elevated as CEC in order to instil a feeling of security in the minds of
the ECs and that they are insulated from executive interference in the same
manner as CEC.
yy Reducing the ECI’s dependence on DoPT, Law Ministry, and Home Ministry.
The ECI should have an independent secretariat for itself and frame its own
recruitment rules and shortlist and appoint officers on its own.
yy Its expenditures must be charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India similar
to other constitutional bodies such as the UPSC.

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 OLC-II.18 Public Administration

yy All provisions of Model code of conduct should have legal backing.

yy ECI should be given more power with regards to disqualification of members
post-election and in case of anti-defection too. ECI is also demanding a new
section 58 B in RPA, 1951 to deal with money menace similar to section 58
A which is related to booth capturing.
yy The Election Commission needs to be given the powers of de-registering a
political party.
Conclusion The Election Commission is the bulwark of the Indian constitution. It is not only
responsible for conducting free and fair elections, but it also renders a quasi-judicial
function between the different political parties as well as the ruling government.
Score High
The Supreme Court ruled that serving bureaucrats must not be appointed as
election commissioners to ensure that the independence of the office of the
election commissioner is not compromised.

Supreme Court’s Ruling:
� Independent persons and not government employees should be appointed
Election Commissioners. Giving government employees additional charge as
Election Commissioners is a mockery of the constitution.
� Directed states to comply with the constitutional scheme of independent
and fair functioning of election commissions.
� If they hold any such office (under the state government), then they have
to resign before taking charge of the office of the election commissioner.
� Ordered all state governments to appoint whole-time election commission-
ers who will act independently and fairly.
� There is a debate regarding whether the chief election commissioner and
election commissioners be appointed by a three-member collegium. The SC
is also hearing a PIL regarding the issue.
� Law Commission, in its 255th report, suggested a collegium to improve
appointments, consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the
Opposition and the Chief Justice of India for the appointment of the Election
Commissioners.
� It is unclear whether the ECI can transfer a state government official in the
exercise of the general powers under Article 324 or under the model code.
� Electoral malpractice and increased violence under the influence of money
has resulted in political criminalisation. ECI is unable to punish the political
parties responsible for the violation.
� ECI is not a fully independent body and has no measures to regulate the
finances of the parties and has no power in enforcing inner-party democracy.
� One of the major institutional drawbacks is non-transparency in the elec-
tion of CEC and the other two commissioners and is based on the choice of
presiding government.

Q4.(a) Examine the National Health Policy in the context of the cur-

rent pandemic situation. Identify the problems and suggest
improvements.
Chapter: Significant issues in Indian Administration
Sub Topic: Human Rights

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.19 ..

Approach Explain
Introduction National Health Policy is an initiative by the Central Government to strengthen the
health system in India. This initiative moulds various dimensions of health sectors
like disease prevention, promotion of good health via cross-sectoral actions, health
investment, strengthening human resources, technological advancements and more.
Body Launched in 2017, the National Health Policy replaces the existing policy pre-
viously established in 2002. There are significant changes brought to the policy
framework and its objectives.
This policy has introduced four significant goals:
1. Changing health priorities: This policy aims to tackle the increasing
non-communicable and infectious diseases in India.
2. Growth of the health care industry: National Health Policy plans to
strengthen the health care industry by introducing newer and more advanced
technologies.
3. Lower the expenditure: This policy also aims to reduce medical expenses
and other health-related costs. They aim to provide superior services to poor
and backward communities.
4. Economic growth: It aims to enhance fiscal capacity by boosting economic
growth.
What are the drawbacks of the policy?
yy The new policy repeats several old ideas, and fails to fulfil 2015 promise of
a Right to Health.
yy The policy duplicates portions of the Health section of Finance Minister 2017
Budget speech.
yy It fails to make health a justiciable right in the way the Right to Education
2005 did for school education.
yy The policies’ reference to an “assurance-based approach” abandons a radical
change proposed in the draft policy of 2015 where National Health Rights
Act aimed at making health a right.
yy Health Ministry officials said the idea was dropped because state governments
felt that health infrastructure was not yet at levels at which health could be
made an entitlement, and the citizen could theoretically take a government to
court for its denial.
yy Diagnostics, drugs and essential health care services are already free in many
states.
yy The policy says that 2.5% GDP spend target for Health would be met by 2025.
yy But the HLEG report of 2011, quoted by the 12th Plan document, had set the
same target for the Plan that ends at the end of March 2017.
yy A health cess was a pathbreaking idea in the Health Ministry’s draft policy.
yy But now it has been rejected, with health officials maintaining that there is
no dearth of funds.
yy The public expenditure on health sector remains a dismal show of only around
1.4% of the GDP.
yy The investment in health research has been low with a modest rate of 1% of
the total public health expenditure.
yy Insurance coverage remains low. As per the latest NSSO reports, over 80%
of India’s population remains uncovered by any health insurance scheme.
yy Under the centre-run Rashtriya Swyasthya Bima Abhiyan, only 13% of the
rural and 12% of the urban population had access to insurance cover.

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 OLC-II.20 Public Administration

yy There has been a stark rise in the out-of-pocket expenditure (6.9% in rural
areas and 5.5% in urban areas – OOP in proportion to monthly expenditure).
This led to an increasing number of households facing catastrophic expenditures
due to health costs.

Indian Health Sector Data: Personnel Status
yy Health workforce density in India remains low.
yy India’s ratio of 7 doctors and 1.5 nurses per 1,000 people is dramatically
lower than the WHO average of 2.5 doctors and nurses per 1,000 people.
yy The majority of the health workforce is concentrated in urban areas.
yy Furthermore, there is an acute shortage of paramedical and administrative
professionals too.
Way forward:
yy There is an immediate need to increase the public spending to 2.5% of
GDP, despite that being lower than global average of 5.4%.
yy The achievement of a distress-free and comprehensive wellness system for
all hinges on the performance of health and wellness centres as they will
be instrumental in reducing the greater burden of out-of-pocket expenditure
on health.
yy There is a need to depart from the current trend of erratic and insufficient
increases in health spending and make substantial and sustained investments
in public health over the next decade.
yy A National Health Regulatory and Development Framework needs to be
made for improving the quality (for example, registration of health practition-
ers), performance, equity, efficacy and accountability of healthcare delivery
across the country.
yy Increase the Public-Private Partnerships to increase the last-mile reach of
healthcare.
yy Generic drugs and Jan Aushadi Kendras should be increased to make
medicines affordable and reduce the major component of out of pocket
expenditure.
yy The government’s National Innovation Council, which is mandated to pro-
vide a platform for collaboration among healthcare domain experts, stakehold-
ers and key participants, should encourage a culture of innovation in India
and help develop policy on innovations that will focus on an Indian model
for inclusive growth.
yy India should take cue from other developing countries like Thailand to work
towards providing Universal Health Coverage. UHC includes three compo-
nents: Population coverage, disease coverage and cost coverage.
yy Leveraging the benefits of Information Technology like computer and
mobile-phone based e-health and m-health initiatives to improve quality of
healthcare service delivery. Start-ups are investing in healthcare sector from
process automation to diagnostics to low-cost innovations. Policy and regula-
tory support should be provided to make healthcare accessible and affordable.
Score High �  India needs a holistic approach to tackle problems in healthcare industry.
� This includes the active collaboration of all stakeholders, viz. public, private
sectors, and individuals.
� There is an immediate need to increase the public spending to 2.5% of GDP,
despite that being lower than global average of 5.4%.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.21 ..

� The achievement of a distress-free and comprehensive wellness system for

all hinges on the performance of health and wellness centres as they will
be instrumental in reducing the greater burden of out-of-pocket expenditure
on health.
� There is a need to depart from the current trend of erratic and insufficient
increases in health spending and make substantial and sustained investments
in public health over the next decade.
� A National Health Regulatory and Development Framework needs to be
made for improving the quality (for example, registration of health practitio-
ners), performance, equity, efficacy and accountability of healthcare delivery
across the country.
� Increase the public-private partnerships to increase the last-mile reach of
healthcare.
� Generic drugs and Jan Aushadi Kendras should be increased to make
medicines affordable and reduce the major component of out of pocket
expenditure.
� The government’s National Innovation Council, which is mandated to provide
a platform for collaboration among healthcare domain experts, stakeholders
and key participants, should encourage a culture of innovation in India and
help develop policy on innovations that will focus on an Indian model for
inclusive growth.
� India should take cue from other developing countries like Thailand to work
towards providing Universal Health Coverage. UHC includes three compo-
nents: Population coverage, disease coverage and cost coverage.
� Leveraging the benefits of Information Technology like computer and
mobile-phone based e-health and m-health initiatives to improve the qual-
ity of healthcare service delivery. Start-ups are investing in healthcare sector
from process automation to diagnostics to low-cost innovations. Policy and
regulatory support should be provided to make healthcare accessible and
affordable.
� Leveraging AYUSH services in non-critical care as demonstrated during the
pandemic can be vital to augment the capacity of the allopathic services.
� A more dynamic and proactive approach is needed to handle the dual dis-
ease burden.
� A universal access to health makes the nation fit and healthy, aiding better
to achieve the demographic dividend.

(b) The speaker of the state assembly has assumed a significant role in
the formation and dissolution of governments. Examine under the
circumstances of coalition governments with examples.
Chapter: Union Government and Administration
Sub Topic: Parliament
Approach Explain issues with the role of speaker in the state sssembly with current
examples.
Introduction India is a parliamentary democracy where the parliamentary proceedings are headed
by the speaker in the Lok Sabha. In a parliamentary democracy, the speaker
represents the dignity and freedom of the House and the country’s freedom and

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 OLC-II.22 Public Administration

liberty. But the role of speaker has been criticised for favouring political parties
and remaining biased to the party in majority.
Role of Speaker of the Lok Sabha in a Parliamentary democracy:
1. Ensure smooth proceedings of the House: The speaker presides over the
meetings of the Lok Sabha and conducts its proceedings.
2. Maintain discipline in the Lok Sabha: The speaker maintains discipline in
the House. If any member disrupts or tries to disrupt the proceedings of the
House, the speaker can warn him or can ask him to leave the House. He can
suspend a member from the House whom he finds him guilty of violating
the discipline and decorum. This ensures the smooth functioning of the Lok
Sabha.
3. Fix the Agenda of the House: The speaker, in consultation with other mem-
bers of the business committee of the House and the Prime Minister, fixes
the agenda of the meetings of the House. This ensures timely debates and
discussion on important issues of the country.
4. Permission to ask questions: Each member of the House can put questions to
the ministers; the permission of the Speaker is required for the purpose. This
helps the speaker to prevent unnecessary and politically motivated questions
while ensuring discussion on important questions.
5. Conduct the business of the House: The speaker conducts the business of
the House. He allows the members to introduce the bills or to move motions.
He recognises the members on the floor of the House and gives them time
for speaking in the House.
6. Interpretation of Rules of Procedure: The business of the House is con-
ducted according to definite and settled rules of procedure. In case of any
dispute regarding the rules of the House, the speaker interprets and applies
these rules. The interpretation of rules made by the speaker is final and cannot
be challenged.
7. Power to adjourn the House: The speaker can adjourn the meetings of the
House if the quorum of the House is not complete or if the conducting the
business of the House is not possible due to a disorderly behaviour of its
members.
Issues with the Speaker:

yy Power to allow debate or discussion: It is the speaker’s duty to decide what
issues will be taken up for discussion.
yy He has the sole discretion to permit an adjournment motion to be tabled or
to admit a calling attention motion, if the issue is of urgent public importance.
yy The present practice of the speaker continuing to be an active member of the
ruling party has the inevitable result of his refusing to allow any debate
or discussion that may be essential in national interest but may embarrass
the ruling party.
yy This inevitably leads to constant disruption of the House by the Opposition.
yy The stalling of parliamentary proceedings has led to the passing of important
bills in several sessions without any discussion.
yy Violation of separation of power between legislature and executive: The
most dangerous consequence is the vastly increased powers that the executive
– the bureaucracy – begins to command by default.

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yy In 1951, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court (In Re Delhi Laws Act
Case) held that essential legislative functions cannot be delegated to the
bureaucracy; law-making must remain the domain of the legislature.
yy This constitutional mandate is now increasingly and consistently being violated
by issuing rules and notifications that have far-reaching consequences.
yy The new rules on information technology and electronic commerce are clear
instances of changes that should have come about by a parliamentary law.
yy And worse still is the power given to the executive to issue retrospective
notifications — a step unknown to any civilised democracy.
yy Partisan conduct in anti-defection law issues: Several judgments on the
anti-defection law have been delivered by the Supreme Court.
yy A common factor that shows up in these rulings is the blatant, partisan con-
duct of speakers in state assemblies.
yy No specific timeline for Speaker’s appointment: Article 93 for the Lok
Sabha and Article 178 for state Assemblies state that these Houses “shall,
as soon as may be”, choose two of its members to be Speaker and Deputy
Speaker. The constitution and the Assembly rules do not specify a time-frame
for filling a vacancy for the post of speaker.
yy Vague guidelines: The constitution provides that the office of the speaker
should never be empty. So, he continues in office until the beginning of the
next House, except in the event of death or resignation.
yy Dependence on Political party for re-election: With no security in the
continuity of office, the speaker is dependent on his or her political party for
reelection. This makes the Speaker susceptible to pulls and pressures from
her/his political party in the conduct of the proceedings of the Lok Sabha.
yy Tenure dependence: As a minority view, Justice J.S. Verma in Kihoto
Hollohan v. Zachillhu And Others observed: “The Speaker being an authority
within the House and his tenure being dependent on the will of the majority
therein, likelihood of suspicion of bias could not be ruled out.” Currently, the
extent of the speaker’s political commitment often depends on the personality
and character of the person holding the office.
yy Maintaining Neutrality: However desirable the proposition of neutrality may
be, in the present circumstances, it would be unrealistic to expect a speaker
to completely abjure all party considerations while functioning as there are
structural issues regarding the manner of appointment of the speaker and his
tenure in office.
Way forward
yy Speaker should resign from the Party: It should be made mandatory that
the speaker resign from his party and his sole allegiance must be to the
constitution and to maintaining the dignity of the House.
yy The separation of powers is part of the basic structure of our sonstitution.
yy It is imperative that the speaker of every legislature resigns from his party
to honour his constitutional obligation of independence and impartiality.
yy This must be accepted as the primary responsibility of every ruling party, both
at the centre and in each state, and made into a constitutional convention.
The peaker plays the crucial role of ensuring that the parliament carries forward
its role of legislation peacefully, maintaining harmony in the Houses of legislature
and taking crucial procedural decisions of the House. The speaker is considered
as the true guardian of the Indian parliamentary democracy, holding the complete

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 OLC-II.24 Public Administration

authority of the House of People. Thus, impartiality of the office is very important
to make parliamentary democracy work in true sense.
Score High Quote cases of states where government survived due to anti- defection law
applied by the speaker.

(c) At the district level, police functions under the overall supervision and
control of the District Magistrate. Comment.
Chapter: Law and order administration
Sub Topic: Police in India
Approach Explain how District Magistrate is the guardian of Law and Order in India.
Introduction Policing is based on the Police Act of 1861. Under the colonial system, the dual
system of police administration was introduced. The overall in-charge of a district
or region was the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police (SP) reported
to him. The primary objective of the British was revenue collection in rural
India. So, there was a need to put them under the District Collector. That system
continued post-Independence.
yy The British also brought the Police Commissionerate System first in Kolkata
and followed it in Mumbai and Chennai presidencies. The system was
introduced even before the Police Act of 1861.
yy The commissionerate system is considered a step towards police reforms.
Directions of the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh vs Union of India
yy In 1996, a petition was filed before the Supreme Court that raised various
instances of abuse of power by the police and alleged that police personnel
perform their duties in a politically partisan manner.
yy The Supreme Court issued its judgment in 2006, ordering the centre and states
to set up authorities to lay down guidelines for police functioning, evaluate
police performance, decide postings and transfers, and receive complaints of
police misconduct.
yy The court also required that minimum tenure of service be guaranteed to key
police officers to protect them from arbitrary transfers and postings.

Dual System
yy The state government exercises control and superintendence over the state
police forces.
yy At the district level, the District Magistrate also gives directions to the
Superintendent of Police and supervises police administration.
yy The powers such as issuing orders for preventive arrests or imposition of
Section 144 CrPC are vested in the DM.

Commissionerate System
yy In some metropolitan cities and urban areas, however, the dual system has
been replaced by the commissionerate system to allow for quicker decision-
making in response to complex law and order situations, rising population
and rapid urbanisation.
yy The police have a greater say in resolving land disputes. However, removal
of encroachments and other land-related problems would need the presence
of a magistrate to aid the Concerns

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.25 ..

yy When the system is introduced, initially, there can be adjustment and under-
standing issues. Certain legacy issues and other issues like delegation of
authority and better integration will have to be addressed.
yy People largely trust the civil administrative officials and feel more comfort-
able in interacting with them because they create balance in society.
yy Further, there are several occasions when protests are of a civil nature and
can be dealt with by the District Magistrate. Police action in such matters can
complicate the situation. District Magistrate,being a generalist officer, brings
expertise, objectivity and impartiality to the situation.
yy This system works better in states where the literacy ratio is higher and
people have wide knowledge about law and their fundamental rights.

Advantages of Commisionerate system:
yy The Commissionerate system brings great power to the Commissioner of
Police. Hence, it calls upon a degree of restraint in using power, which in
the present scenario has not been necessarily demonstrated.
yy Therefore, the selection of Commissioner becomes crucial. An officer
who has a wider knowledge of handling crime, investigation in the complex
urban-centric milieu and has the capacity to both restrain and increase power
will do well.
yy India’s existing police system suffers from a series of deficiencies from
problems relating to a police organisation, environment, infrastructure, and
understaffing.To obsolete weaponry and intelligence gathering techniques to
a shortage of manpower to corruption, the police force in the country is not
in good shape.
Conclusion Therefore, there is an urgent need for holistic police reforms. Since police, law
and order are subjects of the state list, the government can start by urging all states
to implement the recommendations given by the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh
case.
Score High Give examples of successful implementation of Commissionerate system.

Q5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

(a) Political neutrality of civil servants has been regarded as one of the
cardinal principles in democratic governments. Is its sanctity being
maintained in practice in India? Elucidate.
Chapter: Civil Services
Sub Topic: Civil Service Neutrality
Approach Explain the present status of political neutrality of civil servants and how to
ensure its presence in civil servants.
Introduction Neutrality is one of the major preconditions of Weberian bureaucracy. It means
a value-free approach which is impersonal, i.e. civil servants should implement
policies and remain obedient to rules. However, Riggs proved that civil servant
is affected by ecology. NPM and NPA also demand value commitment towards
citizen-friendly behaviour, transparency and accountability.
Body Civil service neutrality meaning:
1. Implies political impartiality or non-political nature of civil service. Also
implies civil servants remain impartial and serve different governments and
provide stability and continuity sans bias.

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 OLC-II.26 Public Administration

2. Non-discrimination, fairness and objectivity in decision-making.

3. Civil servants should understand politics, not indulge in it, respond to minis-
terial responsibility and civil rights of people.
Reasons for breakdown in the concept of civil service neutrality:
1. Politicisation of bureaucracy and bureaucratisation of polity.
2. Rise of coalition governments, single-party monopoly led to unbalanced polity.
Hence, politicisation of bureaucracy was inevitable.
3. Involvement of bureaucracy in policy advice, execution, legislation and deci-
sion-making has made discerning between political and practical considera-
tions difficult.
4. Posting, transfer and performance appraisal of civil servants are done by
ministers, hence political interference creeps in.
5. Civil servants, being human beings, cannot be totally objective in their
judgment.
6. Absence of security of tenure, non-insulation from political witch-hunting
makes them susceptible to political interference and domination.
7. Absence of collegiality aid, self-aggrandiement and collusive behaviour of
civil servants and ministers have led to interference.
8. Nepotism and political appointments and patronage.
9. Neutrality got converted to secrecy, indifference and complacency.
Evolution of neutrality in Indian context:
yy British era: Concept emerged from merit-based recruitment.
yy Post-independence era: Era of institution building and a political bureaucracy.
yy Post-emergency era: Politicised and fully committed bureaucracy started.
yy Coalition era and post-LPG era: Due to reinvented government imperatives
of a welfare development-oriented state coalition politics, clects and political
bureaucracy became politicised, committed and overlapped with the party in
power.
yy Present Status: There are two sections, politically commuted bureaucracy and
civil services activism to gain short-lived popularity.
Negative effects of breakdown of civil services neutrality and anonymity:

1. In the long run, there will be indiscipline and chaos due to the breakdown of
unity of command and rationality.
2. Breed corruption, reduce morale, nepotism and keep society perpetually
prismatic.
3. Hampers role of integration and differentiation, prevents objectivity in policy
formulation, implementation review, leading to ineffectiveness of developmen-
tal programmes.
4. May hamper unity and integrity of the country due to dilution in constitutional
ethos of executives and damage to social and cultural fabric due to divisive
agenda of the country.
Solutions to keep civil services anonymity and neutrality:
Max Weber and Paul Appleby have prescribed:
1. Efficiency, rationality, commitment to constitutional ethos.
2. A neutral civil servant can be an activist civil servant. He should remain in
system but committed to constitutional ethos.
3. He should be neutral but not apathetic or indifferent to political masters.
4. He should not be a party to the spoils.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.27 ..

5. Strive for neutral competence and healthy relationship between ministers and
civil servants.
6. Ensure transition from one government to another.
7. Policy advice should be neutral and without fear and favour, keeping public
interest foremost.
Programme reality: Once policy is formulated, bureaucracy should show com-

mitment in implementation.
2nd ARC recommendations:

1. Code of ethics and conduct for ministers and civil servants.
2. Reforms in POCA, whistleblowers Legislation.
3. Effective grievance redressal mechanism.
4. Recruitment procedure sans favouritism, nepotism and corruption.
5. Civil service board to ensure transfer, postings, promotion, reward, punishment
and disciplinary matters.
6. Prime Minister Award to gain recognition and prevent civil services activism.
7. Make system open, accountable, transparent through civil services authority,
safeguards against arbitrary action through new law, social audit, RTI and
E-governance.
8. Outcome output framework to improve civil servant-minister relationship.
Outcomes will be the responsibility of politicians and output of bureaucrats.
Supreme Court ruling on 31st October 2013:

1. Civil servants should not act on verbal orders.
2. Fixed tenure of civil servants.
3. Civil service boards will have impact on transfer, posting, promotion and other
service matters.
Conclusion Civil service neutrality will ensure imperatives of a civil service working towards
rapid socio-economic programmes and nation building, with mandate of consti-
tutional values and constitutionality. It would also ensure good governance and
sustainable development and act as effective instruments of public policy.
Score High Give examples of civil services achievement in a neutral manner, specially usher-
ing in 1991 reforms.

(b) Budget is an indicator of financial health of a polity which is reflected

in the statement of income and expenditure. Discuss.
Chapter: Financial Management
Sub Topic: Budget as Political Instrument
Approach Explain multidimensional impact of the budget.
Introduction Budgeting is considered as the most important tool in the financial management
which helps not only in mobilisation of resources but also in bringing socio-eco-
nomic transformation by ensuring inclusive growth.
Body A budget has the following features:
1. Reflects the plans and policies to accomplish developmental goals and
objectives.
2. Expressed in monetary or quantitative terms or both.
3. Comprehensive plan for definite future expressed in fiscal terms.
4. Instrument of planning it provides for the basis for performance in comparison
to fiscal health of previous years.

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 OLC-II.28 Public Administration

5. It provides an opportunity for financial oversight by parliament.

Budget is a political process because:
1. Budget has more political overtones as it ensures authoritative allocation
among competing priorities, as said by David Easton.
2. Tries to incorporate the political mandate (manifesto), value laden govern-
ment’s ideological commitment, political philosophy and policy platform. It
is a political statement of government expressed in fiscal terms.
3. Budget is populism-oriented, that is, short-term perspective rules over long-
term gains. Clects are rewarded with strong political influence while treating
those with little influence in budgeting and with little political influence with
indifference.
4. Budget is a balancing tool between populism and rationalism and between
facts and values, especially in coalition political culture.
5. With globalisation, geo-political forces influence the budget.
6. Budget is also a fine art of balancing federal structure through centre-state
fiscal relations.
7. Budgetary process suffers from politics, and democratic deficit due to limited
accountability through parliamentary scrutiny.
Conclusion Budget is an important policy of fiscal public policy process which, although
influenced by politics, is highly dependent on heuristic aides such as forecasting,
predictive simulation and ensuring macroeconomic stability in the country. Budget
is a counter logic to Wilsonian politics administration dichotomy and shows how
politicians and bureaucracy come together to ensure inclusive growth and macro-
economic stability. Thus, the reality of the political nature of the budget needs to
be recognised and managed effectively.
Score High Explain how budget has become more rational in its approach in recent times.

(c) 
Panchayati Raj Institutions are still plagued by State control and
domination of bureaucracy. Argue your case.
Chapter: Rural Development
Sub Topic: Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI)
Approach Explain issues with state control and domination of bureaucracy.
Introduction Facts on Rural Development
yy As per the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC), 2011, there were 244.9
million households in the country out of which 179.7 million households (833
million people) were living in rural areas across 640,930 villages and 240,618
Gram Panchayats.
yy While considerable progress has been made in lifting households out of pov-
erty, 87.2 million (48.5%) rural households reported one or more deprivations
according to the SECC, 2011.
yy A majority of the rural households (92 million) are engaged in manual casual
labour and agricultural activities.
Rural development programmes have been designed in the wake of NPM reforms,
and indigenous model of development. NPM focused on economy efficacy and
effective news while reaction against most entice model of development with aid
conditional ties was rejected due to lack of use of indigenous.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.29 ..

Body The issues with implementation of these programmes were structural and
operational.
Structural

1. The programmes were led by bureaucracy with district collectors and para-
statals as implementing agencies, instead of public participation.
2. Lack of civic engagement due to colonial attitude of bureaucracy.
3. Lack of transfer of funds, functionaries and functions from state to PRIs.
4. Elite capture by document waste and focus of programmes being welfarist
rather than empowering.
5. Lack of performance indicators, outcome budgeting and gender budgeting of
these programmes.
6. Political conflict and lack of trained political functionaries at PRI level.
7. Centrally sponsored schemes did not provision for grassroots planning and
implementation.
Operational
1. Lack of financial manpower and managerial resources.
Absence of inter-sectoral coordination, conflict resolution and convergence
mechanism of these programmes.
For example: NRLM and MGNREGA have same objective of livelihood
generation, but there is lack of convergence.
2. Lack of coordination between district administration and panchayats due to
overburdened role of district collector.
3. Many panchayats do not have minimum resources to undertake basic success
and activities. They are heavily dependent on state governments for financial
and functional devolution.
4. Lack of grassroots planning and non-involvement of civil society in policy
formulation, review and implementation.
Solutions for the same
1 Decentralised planning should be implemented with gram sabha as focal
points, with autonomy to decide on the texture of programmes.
2. Strengthening of administration and managerial capabilities of PRIs in finan-
cial management communities and community relations.
3. SFC’s recommendations should be implemented.
4. Activity mapping of PRIs is a must for effective implementation of these
programmes.
Mani Shankar Iyer Committee stated that ombudsman must be appointed for
effective grievance redressal mechanism.
5. Participative democracy should be enhanced by networking SHGs, communi-
ty-based organisations in implementation of these programmes.
6. District collector must play an indirect enabling role in functioning of these
programmes.
7. Primacy must be given to PRIs in execution of development schemes rather
than parastatals.
8. Capacity-building is a must before enhancing the role of PRIs in scheme
delivery.
9. Specific roles to different levels of PRIs, that is, what will be the role of gram
sabha, panchayats and zilla panchayats.
Conclusion Effective functioning of rural development programmes requires principles of
subsidiarity and sprit of decentralisation.

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 OLC-II.30 Public Administration

Operational and financial empowerment can ensure that objectives of these pro-
grammes are complete.
Score High Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA)
Launched in 2018, this centrally sponsored scheme is an effort in the direction
of achieving “Sabka Sath, Sabka Gaon, Sabka Vikas”.
The RGSA helps more than 2.55 lakh Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to develop
governance capabilities to deliver on SDGs through inclusive local governance
with focus on optimum utilisation of available resources.
The implementation and monitoring of the activities of the scheme are broadly
aligned for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with main thrust
on Panchayats identified under Mission Antyodaya and Aspirational districts as
identified by NITI Aayog.

(d) Urban local governance is perpetually afflicted with lack of financial

autonomy and starvation of funds. Elaborate.
Chapter: Urban Local Government
Sub Topic: Challenges of Urban Management and solutions
Approach Explain why urban local governance is perpetually afflicted with lack of financial
autonomy
Explain how disempowerment and de-politicisation has happened in urban local
government.
Introduction According to Census 2011, among the slums in India
yy 58% have open or no drainage.
yy 43% must bring water from outside their communities.
yy 26% do not have access to clean drinking water.
yy 34% have no latrine within premises; 19% open defecate.
yy 2 electricity outages occur per day.
yy Only about 75–80% of the municipal waste gets collected and only 22–28%
of this waste is processed and treated.
Most of the dumpsites of megacities have reached way beyond their capacity and
permissible height limit of 20 meters.
Between 152–216 million (17.4% of urban households) people in India live in
dense informal housing, or slums.
“World Resources Institute (WRI)’s World Resources Report documented how one
slum in Bangalore is 12 times denser than the city average, housing 140,000 people
per square kilometer.
In 2018, only 60% residents could access piped water – and even then, water was
only available in taps for an average of two hours per day, two to three days a
week.
Body Facts on Urban Governance:

According to the data mentioned in the Slum-Free City Action Plan (SFCAP)
finalised by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), 22.30% of
the 2,55,435 households living in 589 surveyed jhuggi-jhopri (JJ) clusters in Delhi
defecate in the open.

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Urbanisation is the key to India’s future. Our cities occupy just 3% of the nation’s
land, but their contribution to the GDP is a whopping 60%. India is swiftly moving
forward to becoming half urban in a couple of decades.
This would bring enormous opportunities of economic growth and global com-
petitiveness. Efforts must be channelised to ensure preparedness of the nation to
manage such a massive urban transition and save our cities from the clutches of
unplanned urbanisation.
Reasons for low-tax revenue
1. Political populism – Populistic policies providing free power, free water, free
education and health and non levy of user charges.
2. Personnel are insufficient, ineffective and highly corrupt.
3. 60% of income goes in recurring charges such as salaries, pensions and main-
tenance. Example, street lights, etc.
4. Property tax–Unreliable data base under valuations.
5. ULB’s dependent on state government for grants in aid.
6. Non-operationalisation of state finance commission recommendations.
7. Urban local bodies do not have the institutional agency to raise funds, systemic
accounting.
Solutions
1. Recommendations of state FC should be implemented.
2. Separate window in state budgets for creating in financial assistance.
3. Rationalisation of user charges and removal of non-merit subsidies.
4. Urban local bodies should shift towards accrual-based accounting system.
5. Floating of municipal bonds like Pune, Ahmedabad.
6. Outcome and performance budgeting should be implemented.
7. Computerised database of all properties using GIS.
8. Random assessment by performance auditors.
9. Rs. 200-crore worth Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) bonds have
been listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).In 2017, Pune Municipal
Corporation had raised Rs. 200 crore through muni bonds at an interest of
7.59% to finance its 24×7 water supply project.
10. XV FC has recommended municipal legislation to reflect progressive and
enabling financial governance of our cities through five reform agendas:
(i) Fiscal decentralisation including strengthening state finance commissions.
(ii) Revenue optimisation to enhance own revenues.
(iii) Fiscal responsibility and budget management to accelerate municipal
borrowings.
(iv) Institutional capacities towards an adequately skilled workforce.
(v) Transparency and citizen participation (for democratic accountability at
the neighbourhood level).
Solutions:
1. ULBs should have an empowered mayor, with mayor in council functioning
as cabinet.
2. ULBs should have separate finance list, with formula-based sharing to ensure
predictability of funds.
3. Empower metropolitan planning committees and state finance commission and
give them the same weightage as the finance commission.
4. 14th FC has also given performance grants based on:
(i) Reliable data

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(ii) Improved auditing/accounting

(iii) Increasing revenue base
(iv) Service-level benchmarks
5. Two very important entry conditions have been set for any municipality in
India to receive FC grants:
(i) Publication of audited annual accounts.
(ii) Notification of floor rates for property tax.
(iii) Similarly, the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan links Rs 50,000 crore of addi-
tional borrowing limits for states to reforms in property taxes and user
charges for water and sanitation.
(iv) There is also a thrust on municipal bonds and municipal finance reform
conditions under AMRUT.
6. The XV FC has now provided for 100 percent outcome-based funding of
approximately Rs 9,000 crore to 50 million-plus urban agglomerations (exclud-
ing Union Territories) with specific emphasis on air quality, water supply and
sanitation and basic grants to the rest of the cities, with 50 per cent of the
end-use tied to water supply and sanitation.
7. The report recommends a common digital platform for municipal accounts, a
consolidated view of municipal finances and sectoral outlays at the state level,
and digital footprint of individual transactions at source, the FC has broken
new ground and demonstrated farsightedness.
We need municipal legislation to reflect progressive and enabling financial gov-
ernance of our cities through five reform agendas:
(i) Fiscal decentralisation including strengthening state finance commissions.
(ii) Revenue optimisation to enhance own revenues.
(iii) Fiscal responsibility and budget management to accelerate municipal
borrowings.
(iv) Institutional capacities towards an adequately skilled workforce.
(v) Transparency and citizen participation (for democratic accountability at
the neighbourhood level).
Conclusion The state government must act on these reform agenda and ensure the transforma-
tion of urban governance of their municipalities.
Score High Explain with examples how governments are devolving resources to ULBs in the
wake of 15th FC recommendations.

(e) There has been a long-standing demand for separation of police inves-
tigation from prosecution. Analyse its merits and demerits.
Chapter: Law and Order Administration
Sub Topic: Reforms in Police
Approach Explain issues with separation of police investigation from prosecution.
Introduction The criminal justice system- both substantive and procedural- are replica of the
British colonial jurisprudence, which were designed with the purpose of ruling the
nation. Therefore, the relevance of these 19th century laws is debatable in the 21st
century.
Police have a vital role in parliamentary democracy and ensuring good governance.
Of late, there has been a growing realisation that police are functioning with a

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variety of constraints and handicaps reflecting in their performance, which is

affecting their overall image in the country.
The design and inability of police structure to adapt to the contingency theory of
organisation has led to its failure of reinventing itself to suit the needs of a post-
LPG diverse society with increasing complexity of crimes.
Body Need to separate investigation from prosecution:
The criminal investigation is one of the most important functions of the police.
The aim of the investigation is to search for the truth and the offender. It means
a lawful search of all people and objects and collection of evidence that will help
in solving the crime. It is an important duty of a police officer not to fabricate
any evidence, and do his investigation in a transparent and fair manner.
yy A separate investigation wing will bring the investigation department under
the protection and regulation of the judiciary. As a result of this, any type of
political interference or interference from the executives in the investigation
will be less.
yy It will result in a proper investigation without any distraction or disturbance.
Under the judiciary, investigation will be in accordance with the procedures
prescribed by the law. Under the judiciary, there will be coercion-free inves-
tigation and it will create a sense or feeling of security and assurance of fair
investigation by the police which is much needed in the present scenario.
yy The separation of the investigation wing and law and order wing will lead to
specialisation in the investigation process, and this specialisation will further
lead to the use of modern technology in the investigation process.
yy As a result of a separate investigation wing, police officers will not be called to
perform duties of any other department. For example, a police officer working
in an investigation team will not be called to perform law and order duties.
yy Separation of investigation and law and order departments will increase the
freedom and autonomy of the police. It will lead to specialisation and pro-
fessionalism in the police department. All this will increase the speed of
investigation along with the efficiency and effectiveness of the investigation.
A speedier investigation will result in faster disposal of the whole case.
Malimath committee and 2nd ARC on suggested hiving off the investigation wing
from law and order.
Demerits:
1. May lead to judicial overreach.
2. Since police is part of federal structure, it may lead to federal issues between
the centre and states.
3. Lack of capacity of the judiciary to devote time to investigation.
Current Situation Regarding Separation of Police Wings


According to the study on the Importance of Police Accountability and its impact
on the Governance of Criminal Justice in the State of Gujarat, 80% percent of
police officers and 75% of lawyers are of the opinion that there should be separate
police wings for investigation and maintaining law and order. Similarly, 68% of
police officers and 61% of lawyers are of the opinion that the functioning of police
will be improved if all types of political interference are removed.
In the present scenario where our country is witnessing rapid growth and devel-
opment in all areas, the need to implement police reforms is very important to
ensure peace and security of the nation.

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A fair and transparent investigation system is very vital for the individual liberty
and autonomy of the citizens of the nation. For an effective criminal investigation
department, it is important that our government sets up required institutions and
training centres. Police should recruit special professionals like IT professionals,
lawyers, psychologists to increase their effectiveness.
Score High Give examples of Punjab and Odisha where there is separation of law and order
from investigation.
Also one may quote:

· Crime per lakh population has increased by 28% over the last decade
(2005-2015). However, convictions have been low. In 2015, convictions were
secured in 47% of the cases registered under the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The Law Commission has observed that one of the reasons behind this is
the poor quality of investigations.
In India, the political executive (i.e., ministers) has the power of superintendence
and control over the police forces to ensure their accountability. However, the
Second Administrative Reforms Commission has noted that this power has been
misused, and ministers have used police forces for personal and political reasons.
Hence, experts have recommended that the scope of the political executive’s
power must be limited under law.

Q6.(a) The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India stands

on the pillar of autonomy. Discuss the major lacunae in the func-
tioning of this constitutional body and also suggest measures for
its strengthening.
Chapter: Financial Management
Sub Topic: CAG
Approach Do a critical analysis of the functioning of office of CAG.
Introduction The purpose of the comptroller and auditor general is to promote accountability,
transparency and good governance in administration through its auditing and
accounting functions. It is also mandated to provide independent assurance to the
legislature, executive, public in general that the public funds are used efficiently
and effectively.
Body Body The CAG does the following types of audit:

Audit of expenditure – Audits all expenditures incurred from the revenue of the
union and states.
yy Audit of revenue receipt – Audits all receipts to be accrued from the collection
of revenue.
yy Audit of appropriation – Grants are spent for the purpose for which they have
been provided.
yy Authority audit or administrative audit – Ensure all the sanctions for expend-
iture issued by various administrative authorities are supported by requisite
authority.
yy Internal audit and audit of efficiency, economy and effectiveness of public
expenditure.
Internal audit, legal audit, social audit and performance audit.

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Issues the CAG faces in discharging audit duties:

1. Dependent on parliamentary committees: The entire audit paras are not
submitted to the Parliament by PAC ministries and departments do not take
cognizance of the CAG paras. They take the CAG paras only when they are
discussed in PAC. Hence, the impact of CAG is dependent on effective func-
tioning of PAC.
2. Action taken reports on the audit paras are largely formal and not substantial.
3. Insufficient action on inspection reports: Many of the inspection reports are
kept unattended and there is low accountability for taking corrective actions
on the audit observations made in the inspection reports.
4. There is substantial time gap between the occurrence of a financial irregularity
and taking of a CAG report on it.
5. The CAG reports are based on documentary evidence and not on ground-level
conditions and situations.
6. Fault finding in nature – Rather than being constructive, CAG reports are
negative and fault-finding in nature. They do not take into account the practical
constraints and unforeseen contingencies that government departments have
to face. Thus, CAG is criticized for dampening the initiatives and risk-taking
abilities of government employees.
7. Overreach by CAG – When CAG uses its discretion to under its scope and
conduct higher-level audit such as performance audit goes into overreach over
purely administrative decisions.
8. There is inadequate coordination between internal audits by organisations and
external audit by CAG.
Measures taken for proper CAG functioning:
1. The rapport between administration and CAG – Secretary of each department
has the authority to take up those points directly with CAG that he/she con-
siders unjustified and objectionable.
2. CAG reports have moved from being fault-finding to being constructive. Also,
the language has been made lucid and easily understandable for the public.
3. Focus on systemic irregularities – There is an effort by the CAG to move away
from pointing individuals’ irregularities to pointing out system irregularities.
4. Peer audits of CAG should be done regularly.
5. CAG may be approved by the Parliament which can be thought of in India.
6. As SC has said in its judgment, CAG can audit public-private partnerships in
the age of globalisation.
7. Time limit for CAG audit and taking unattended paras.
8. There should be deterrent action against delinquent officers.
9. No document should be refused on the grounds of confidentiality. CAG should
have power to summon persons and documents and search and seizure in the
following cases:
(a) To enter any land/building and to inspect property.
(b) Premises to search and seize documents.
(c) To seal books of accounts and the assets.
(d) Confiscate illegal gains/embezzled assets in the case of violation.
Conclusion The role of CAG is of immense significance for not only upholding government
financial accountability but also maintaining transparency and promoting good
governance. Hence, government must devote much of its attention to creating,

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 OLC-II.36 Public Administration

organising and utilising financial resources in a sustainable and prudent manner

by empowering CAG.
Score High Explain recent examples of reforms in CAG.

(b) Implementation of administrative reforms is humongous and arduous.

What lacks the push to realise the changes?
Chapter: Administrative Reforms
Sub Topic: Problems of Implementation
Approach Explain issues in implementing administrative reforms and the way forward.

Explain why reforms in administration are not effective. Also, cite relevant exam-
ples, the unimplemented reforms in state government and Union Government.
Introduction Administrative reform is a process that encourages enhancement of an adminis-
trative system to achieve its assigned goals. It involves artificial inducement of
administrative transformation against resistance.
It further involves changes in the structure, processes behaviour of the administra-
tive system and its components. It ensures effectiveness of administrative system as
it continuously revitalises itself (bureaucracy) and even directs its socio-economic
environment (political, social, economic subsystems) towards its duties to citizens
and ensure constitutionalism.
Need for reforms:Body
1. Systems and contingency theory: Unless the administrative subsystem reforms
and improves, it would result in entropy or disorder. Hence, reform is neces-
sary for the survival of administrative systems in a rapidly changing socio-eco-
nomic and political environment.
Example: Developmental administration, NPM reforms, adopting e-govern-
ance, reinventing government
2. Contextual dynamics: Political, economic, social and technological changes
have ensured change from welfare to empowerment, that is, from Weberian
bureaucracy to developmental bureaucracy.
Over a period of time, administrative reforms can review, diagnose and iso-
late the systemic and systematic dysfunctionalities/deficiencies and suggest
corrective measures.
3. Strategic and contingency theory: No organisation can be future-proof but
they can be future-ready, and process and procedures can be adaptive for
problem-solving bureaucracies.
Reasons for failure of reforms:
1. Administrative behaviour has been a failure, that is, we never defined moral
objectives of reforms, for example, Citizen’s Charter/PPP/RTI.
2. For public policies, India follows elite mass model and incremental strategy
for implementing reforms. Hence revolutionary changes are not possible and
result only in status quoism.
Example: after 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, second-generation
reforms have not happened.
3. Political and bureaucracy-led reforms led to goal displacement due to the
following:
(i) Top-down approach to decision-making did not ensure decentralisation of
administrative reforms and acceptability at middle and junior levels.

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Example: reforms such as RTI, e-governance and Citizen’s Charter did not
succeed due to lack of decentralisation of power and authority to lower
levels or consultation.
(ii) Reforms are short term and piecemeal in approach because:
(a) Administrative reforms bring in transparency, citizen-centricity, and
increased accountability which are not permitted by political and
administrative culture.
(b) Implementation of reforms is dependent on electoral prospects and
hence, political parties become risk averse.
4. Reforms have always been focused on structural and procedural principles
adopted by classical thinkers such as POSDCORD, efficiency economy, etc.
Behavioural values, ethics and attitude were never taken into consideration.
5. Lack of convergence between the objectives, strategies and implementation
process has resulted in their failure.
Example: Demonetisation and e-governance faced resistance due to lack of
clarity about objectives.
6. Information asymmetry: Reforms are introduced without stakeholders’
consultation.
7. Absence of stakeholders’ consultation or participation of citizens.
yy Demonetisation.
yy Civil services reforms, partially implemented in terms of recruitment,
resulted in politicisation of bureaucracy.
yy Decentralisation like 73rd and 74th Amendments. It led to grass without
roots, no effective participation of people at local level.
Process of privatisation. Other governance and financial reforms required. Without
it, affected infrastructural development.
Governance reform leading to inefficiency in administration and no citizen-centric
approach in reality.
Police reforms.
Punchhi and Sarkaria Commissions recommendations were not implemented,
affecting federal structure and spirit of the constitution.
Solutions to the above issues
1. Reforms should always start from political executive and with political com-
mitment, for example, 1991 LPG reforms.
2. Reforms become successful only when multidimensional reforms in political,
administrative, social and economic areas are implemented simultaneously and
all institutions whole-heartedly participate in it.
Administrative reforms must coincide with judicial and legislative reforms
Example: 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments have ensured political
democracy but they need social reforms through reservation of seats for
women, economic reforms and devolution of funds and functionaries.
3. There should be participation of stakeholders, continuous monitoring and
evaluation of reforms through a participative feedback process consulting all
stakeholders.
4. Focus should be on changing core values, behaviour, and attitudes of bureau-
cracy such as colonial attitude, secrecy, discretion, absence of accountability
and participation.

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 OLC-II.38 Public Administration

5. Convergence between objectives, strategies and implementation process should

be ensured among all stakeholders and institutions in a bottom-up and hori-
zontal manner instead of a top-down approach.
6. Reforms should be a continuous process and not a one-time.
7. Bureaucracy should be given sensitivity training to accept reforms.
Conclusion Implementation of reform is not easy, desired values of work ethics, integrity,
entrepreneurship, humanitarianism, and empathy can be imbibed by civil servants
only when a supportive culture promotes and nurtures such values. The biggest
task before the Indian leadership is to help create such a supportive culture.
Score High Explain examples of successful reforms in the Indian context.
1. 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts
2. Performance and zero-based budgeting
3. NITI Aayog in place of planning commission
4. Lateral entry and 360 degree appraisal
5. Social Audit, RTI, Citizen’s Charter, e-governance
6. Merger of Railways and General Budget

(c) Immediate post-retirement appointments of high officers of govern-

ment have become a new trend. Discuss its pros and cons.
Chapter: Civil services
Sub Topic: Civil service neutrality
Approach Discuss the pros and cons of appointing civil servants after retirement.
A large number of civil servants opt for post-retirement jobs in the govern-
ment. Lure of post-retirement jobs affects objectivity and neutrality of government
employees. Those who are in sensitive positions and assured of post-retirement
jobs will show their allegiance to political bosses during their regular service. The
fundamental principle of bureaucracy is, one should be loyal to the system, not to
any political dispensation.
Advantages of appointing civil servants to post retirement jobs:

1. Enormous talent and experience within the civil service gets wasted instead
of being harnessed by the government.
2. They bring objectivity and rationality to many important positions.
3. Certain organisations like regulatory commissions need bureaucratic expertise.
Disadvantages of appointing civil servants:-
1. Natural career progression was derailed due to post-retirement recruitments.
2. Leads to collusion and nepotism and affects civil service’s objectivity and
neutrality.
3. Lack of transparency leads to committed bureaucracy.
4. Key issue is an ethical one:it may affect his conduct, attitude, objectivity and
performance.
Way forward:

1. UPSC must be asked to devise objective criteria for appointment to these
positions.
2. The criteria for their selection should be their competence and integrity. and
not servility and/ or allegiance.

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Conclusion Hota committee had recommended that to insulate him from the temptation of post-re-
tirement assignment, he should be appointed to such statutory bodies/constitutional
authority only when he is not over 55 years of age so that he can demit office from these
Commissions and Authorities after serving for five to six years. There should be
an institutional, transparent and objective mechanism to appoint such officers.
Score High Give examples of officers who have performed with integrity and honesty post
their appointment.

Q7.(a) Ward committees in urban local governance have remained mere

tigers. The ideal of realising effective people’s participation in col-
laboration with local functionaries is still in the pipeline. Evaluate
the gap in the theory and practice.
Chapter: Urban Local Government
Sub Topic: Reforms in Urban Local Government
Approach Explain issues with ward committees and why people’s participation in urban
local governance remains a utopian idea. Suggest positive measures.
Introduction India is the second largest urban system in the world with almost 11% of the
total global urban population living in Indian cities. Urban growth is expected to
contribute to 73% of the total population increase by 2036. Issues like lack of
availability of serviced land, traffic congestion, pressure on basic infrastructure,
extreme air pollution, urban flooding, water scarcity and droughts are not merely
a reflection of infrastructural shortcomings in the cities. These issues indicate a
deep and substantial lack of adequate urban planning and governance frameworks.
Body
Structural issues in urban governance
1. Local administration is a state subject even after 73rd and 14th Acts. Hence,
leads to complete subordination of urban local bodies to state government.
2. Overlapping and weak integration
In urban local governance, the structure of ULBs is not uniform or hierarchical.
Presence of parastatal- Jal board, development authorities, electricity boards
under different agencies hamper coordination work and integration (Riggs).
In some cases, privatisation has achieved success but absence of regulator
or ombudsman has affected grievance redressal (High power, water tariff in
Delhi)
3. Bureaucratisation of urban local bodies–Bureaucrats dominate the working of
these bodies which goes against the philosophy of local bodies.
4. Diffusion of authority and multiplicity of agencies has led to problems of
coordination.
5. Metropolitan planning committee and ward committees do not function as
instruments of participative planning and leads to unplanned urbanisation.
6. There is role conflict between elected mayors and commissioners leading these
bodies.
7. A significant proportion of urbanisation in the country is unacknowledged and
unaddressed. Almost half of the 7933 ‘urban’ settlements are census towns,
that is, they continue to be governed as ‘rural’ entities. Small and medium
towns face vulnerabilities due to rapid growth and inadequate planning.
These structural lacunas and absence of unified command and control structure
lead to poor handling of citizen grievances,specially during floods and disaster

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 OLC-II.40 Public Administration

management. Example, Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs, handles Law and Order,
Ministry of Urban development–perspective planning, Electricity–Private Players,
Residual functions is split between New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Municipal
Corporation of Delhi.
Solutions to structural issues
1. 2nd ARC recommends training of elected representative and personnel admin-
istering the local bodies.
2. Merger of parastatals into single body and report to mayor who shall be the
chief executive.
3. Well-defined structures and transfer of functions based on principle of
subsidiarity.
4. Metropolitan planning committee should be focal point of municipal admin-
istration planning.
Operational issues


Operational issues can be divided into funds, functionaries and functions categories.
Funds: Ahluwalia Committee estimates `89 lakh crore needed for maintaining

urban infra but observes revenue base shrunk from 6.3% in 2003 to 5.3% in 2007.
It reflects transmission of poverty form rural areas.
Reasons for low-tax revenue

1. Political populism – Populistic policies providing free power, free water, free
education and health and non levy of user charges.
2. Personnel are insufficient, ineffective and highly corrupt.
3. 60% of income goes in recurring charges such as salaries, pensions and main-
tenance. Example, street lights, etc.
4. Property tax–Unreliable data base under valuations.
5. ULB’s dependent on state government for grants in aid.
6. Non-operationalisation of state finance commission recommendations.
7. Urban local bodies do not have the institutional agency to raise funds, systemic
accounting.
Solutions
1. Recommendations of state FC should be implemented.
2. Separate window in state budgets for creating financial assistance.
3. Rationalisation of user charges and removal of non-merit subsidies.
4. Urban local bodies should shift towards accrual-based accounting system.
5. Floating of municipal bonds like Pune, Ahmedabad.
6. Outcome and performance budgeting should be implemented.
7. Computerised database of all properties using GIS.
8. Random assessment by performance auditors.
9. Rs. 200-crore worth Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) bonds have
been listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).In 2017, Pune Municipal
Corporation had raised Rs. 200 crore through muni bonds at an interest of
7.59% to finance its 24×7 water supply project.
10. XV FC has recommended municipal legislation to reflect progressive and
enabling financial governance of our cities through five reform agendas:
(i) Fiscal decentralisation including strengthening state finance commissions.
(ii) Revenue optimisation to enhance own revenues.
(iii) Fiscal responsibility and budget management to accelerate municipal
borrowings.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2020 OLC-II.41 ..

(iv) Institutional capacities towards an adequately skilled workforce.

(v) Transparency and citizen participation (for democratic accountability at
the neighbourhood level).
Functions

ULBs are supposed to perform three kinds of functions:
1. Regulatory: Birth, death certificate, construction permits, licensing.
2. Developmental: Public hygiene, sanitation, health care, schools, sewerage
management.
3. Infrastructure: Housing–preventing peri urban slums areas, transport, electricity.
Issues
Re-engineering of urban governance:

1. There is a need to bring in more institutional clarity and also multi-discipli-
nary expertise to solve urban challenges for enabling public participation and
inter-agency coordination.
2. De-mystifying planning and involving citizens: Due to the planning process
being highly technocratic in nature, the public’s participation in it is limited.
Solutions
1. Principle of subsidiarity to be followed in allocation of functions.
2. NITI Aayog Advisory Committee recommends the constitution of a high-pow-
ered committee to re-engineer the present urban-planning governance structure.
The key aspects that would need to be addressed in this effort would be:
(i) clear division of roles and responsibilities among various authorities,
appropriate revision of rules and regulations, etc.,
(ii) creation of a more dynamic organisational structure,
(iii) extensive adoption of technology for enabling public participation and
inter-agency coordination.
Functionaries
1. Lack of personnel
(i) Managerial
(ii) Technical
2. Personnel borrowed from state administrative bodies.
3. Lack of and capacity building.
Solutions
1. Dedicated municipal administration and technical services.
2. High-quality training.
3. Bring outside experts and specialists.
4. Pool of experts and specialists.
5. NITI Aayog committee recommends short-term training programme for city-
level elected officials on the economic and social benefits of urban planning’.
6. The Advisory Committee recommends the constitution of a ‘National Council
of Town and Country Planners’ as a statutory body of the Government of India.
Also, a ‘National Digital Platform of Town and Country Planners’ is suggested
to be created within the National Urban Innovation Stack of MoHUA and
Ensuring qualified professionals for undertaking urban planning.
Conclusion Urban development needs to be viewed as an integral part of the development
process. A city should be viewed as an organic whole and hence development
of all its parts should be undertaken in a creative futuristic, integrated and bal-
anced manner. It should be an open organisation that is amenable to reforms in

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 OLC-II.42 Public Administration

structure approaches and style. The political leadership, decision-makers and plan-
ners need to reach a common consensus that a promise to save the environment
from the strains of urbanisation is a promise of economic growth in the long run.
Collaborative, concerted and cooperative efforts are required to strengthen the urban
governance capacity of the country.
Score High Give recommendations of XV FC for municipal reforms.

(b) Police needs to be made accountable and freed from the grip of poli-
tics. It is a big challenge not only for law and order but also for the
development of the country. Critically examine.
Chapter: Law and order administration
Sub Topic: Police Public Relations
Approach Explain issues with police-public relations and suggest the way forward.
Introduction Police-public relationship is important for upholding the rule of law and ensuring
good governance in maintaining law and order. The concept of new age policing
in post-modern and post-LPG era is, police power depends on public approval,
that is, policing by consent. The greater the public approval and cooperation, the
lesser is the need to use force.
Body Issues from demand side: Public
1. Society is accused of double-standards and pressurises police for instant justice,
glorifies tough policing, extra-judicial killings, leading to police vigilantism.
2. Citizens are law-breakers themselves and resort to unruly behaviour in the
face of police action.
3. Many a time, public turn hostile and do not come forward to provide evidence,
leading to dilution of the case.
4. Sometimes, police takes blame for executive inefficiency, for example, vio-
lence due to an ill-planned encroachment removal drive.
Issue from supply side: Police
1. There is distrust among the public regarding the attitude, behaviour and moti-
vation of police.
2. Politicisation/Elite capture of police force ensures public views them as agents
of state oppression.
3. FIRs are not filed based on genuine grievances and hence public is apprehen-
sive about registering them. Low rate of convictions due to poor quality of
investigation also results in lack of faith in police.
4. Impact of colonial legacy makes public view police as a force, and not a
service.
5. Absence of accountability of police for custodial deaths and extra-judicial
killings.
Solutions to improve police-public relationship:
1. Attitudinal changes on the police and public side and winning public
cooperation
2. Improve image through public relations, networking and media
3. Making local police more responsive and accountable
4. Depoliticise police transfer and postings
5. Use of information technology to register FIRs. Recent SC judgment to ensure
FIR within 48 hours.

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6. Community policing to be strengthened

7. Use of Theory X and Y: Managerial cosmology of police needs to be changed
8. Capacity-building through hard and soft skills.
Example: Friends of Police: Tamil Nadu psychological approach to policing where
citizens have been empowered with the help of police.
Conclusion Ideally, both police and public should realise that they have a common objective.
It requires collective and collaborative efforts to find sustainable and acceptable
solutions for complex law and order problems.
Score High Explain reasons for poor police image:
1. Poor state of policing is reflected in India’s dismal ranking in the Rule of Law
Index by the World Justice Project, wherein India ranked 68th out of 126
countries.
2. India has 137 police personnel per lakh of the population while the sanc-
tioned strength is 181. And, this is woefully inadequate when compared
to the United Nations recommended standard of 222 personnel per lakh
people.
3. According to a 2018 survey of public perceptions about policing, the Lokniti
team found that less than 25% of Indians trust the police highly (as compared
to 54% for the army).
4. According to the latest available data, 30% of all cases filed in 2016 were
pending for investigation by the end of the year.
5. Only 14% funds for modernisation was spent in FY 15-16.
6. Crime rate has increased by 28% while conviction rate is only 47% in last
decade.

(c) Civil servants are trained to follow rules and procedures so much that
they become bureaucracy. Do you agree? Justify.
Chapter: Civil Services
Sub Topic: Training and Capacity Building
Approach Explain why civil servants become rule bound and suggest reforms.
Introduction In 2009, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission submitted around 15
reports on various aspects of governance, making 1,514 recommendations. A
NITI Aayog report says there are several constraints to the development of highly
efficient, transparent and accountable civil services. These include a mismatch
between positions and skill sets, and recruitment that is not competency-specific.
The Strategy For New India @ 75 report stresses the need “to put in place a
reformed system of recruitment, training and performance evaluation of the civil
service to ensure more effective and efficient delivery of public services to achieve
the development goals envisaged in New India 2022”.
Body Major concerns of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission on Civil
Service reforms:
1. It has been pointed out that the Civil Service in India is more concerned with
the internal processes than with results.
2. The systemic rigidities, needless complexities and over-centralisation in the
policy and management structures within which the civil service functions are
too complex and often too constraining.

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3. The structures are based on hierarchies and there are a large number of veto
points to be negotiated for a decision to eventually emerge.
4. To compound it, the size and the number of ministries and departments have
both overloaded the decision-making system and diminished the capacities of
the individual civil servants to fulfil their operational responsibilities.
5. Consequently, civil servants should view civil society organisations and the
private sector as partners in the process of the country’s governance.
6. There is need to shift from pre-eminence of governance to effective governance
with a focus on decentralisation and citizen-centricity.
7. Every government servant should undergo a mandatory training at the induc-
tion stage and also periodically during his/her career. Successful completion
of these trainings should be a minimum necessary condition for confirmation
in service and subsequent promotions.
8. A monitoring mechanism should be set up for overseeing the implementation
of the National Training Policy (1996).
9. The objective of mid-career training should be to develop domain knowledge
and competence required
10. Public servants should be encouraged to obtain higher academic qualifications
and to write papers for reputed and authoritative journals.
11. The composition of governing bodies of the national training institutions such
as the LBSNAA, SVPNPA, IGNFA and also the State Administrative Training
Institutes should be broadened by inducting eminent experts.
12. A National Institute of good governance may be set up by upgrading one of
the existing national/state institutes.
Conclusion Reforms are an obvious response to the new challenges confronting the state
institution managing public affairs; what lies at the root of such an exercise is the
effort to enhance administrative capability in the changed scenario. Since the civil
servants are accountable to political executives and thatresults in politicising of civil
services, the focus must be on external accountability mechanisms like citizen’s
charters, social audits and encouraging outcome orientation among civil servants.
Score High Give examples of recent reforms in Civil Services.
• Mission Karmayogi: This is a National Programme for Civil Services Capacity
Building (NPCSCB).
• Lateral Entry: It will help in building a culture of performance within the
Government sector.
• e-Samiksha: A real-time online system for monitoring and follow -up action
on the decisions taken by the government at the apex level in respect of
implementation of important government programmes/projects.
• e-Office Mission Mode Project (MMP) has been strengthened for enabling
Ministries/Departments to switch over to paperless office and efficient deci-
sion making.
• Citizen’s Charters: Government has mandated Citizen’s Charters for all
Ministries/Departments which are updated and reviewed on a regular basis.
• Good Governance Index: The objectives of GGI are to provide quantifiable
data to compare the state of governance in all States and UTs, enable States
and UTs to formulate and implement suitable strategies for improving gov-
ernance and shift to result oriented approaches and administration.
• Comprehensive restructuring of the Scheme for ‘Prime Minister’s Awards
for Excellence in Public Administration’ in 2014 and thereafter in 2020.

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Q8. (a) “There are adequate legal mechanisms to address corruption

malpractices in administration, but they have failed to curb the menace
any noticeable degree.” In the light of this statement, discuss the efficacy
of the institution of Lokayukta in Indian states.
Chapter: Significant Issues in Indian Administration
Sub Topic: Corruption and Administration
Approach Explain issues with Lokpal/Lokayukta.
Introduction The concept of Lokpal follows from the Scandinavian countries of ombudsman
to tackle corruption. In India, the system is known as Lokpal. It should function
as an apex grievance-redressal mechanism but owing to various structural and
procedural discrepancies, it functions mostly as an anti-corruption crusader. Lokpal
and Lokayuktas are statutory bodies under Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013.
These institutions fulfil the function and responsibility of an “Ombudsman”,i.e. an
authority designated to investigate complaints made by individuals against a firm
or organisation, particularly a government agency.
Body Advantages of Lokpal:
1. Ensures grievance-redressal mechanism
2. Protects civil servants from arbitrary action
3. Can ensure administrative reforms and effectiveness
Issues with Lokpal:
1. Lokayuktas lack uniformity in powers and functions such as:
(i) Multimember or single-member body
(ii) Huge vacancies in Gujarat and Bihar
2. Discretion of executive in appointing Lokayukta.
3. Lack of powers evenly to Lokuyaktas has resulted in no reduction in corruption.
4. Lack of uniformity in terms of powers and functions to address such problems.
5. Lokayuktas don’t have investigative agencies of their own.
6. Corruption in Lokayukta and Lokpal themselves.
7. No clarity with respect to qualification of Lokayukta.
8. There is favouritism and politicisation in appointment.
9. Recently, government did not allow Lokpal appointment citing the absence of
the leader of opposition.
10. Poor track record in prosecution and investigation.
11. No infrastructure and funds.
12. No time-bound disposal of cases.
13. They don’t have any separate investigative mechanism of their own, have to
depend on state bureaucracy and police to conduct investigation.
14. The reports are submitted to Governor and are advisory in nature.
15. Many Lokayuktas are used to file corruption cases against opposition members.
16. By 2018, 10 states and UTs had not appointed Lokayukta.
17. Overlapping jurisdiction of CVC, CBI and Lokayuktas.
18. Lokpal is not free from political influence as the appointing committee itself
consists of members from political parties.
19. The biggest lacunae is the exclusion of the judiciary from the ambit of the
Lokpal.
20. The Lokpal is not given any constitutional backing and there is no adequate
provision for appeal against the Lokpal.

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21. The complaint against corruption cannot be registered after a period of seven
years from the date on which the offence mentioned in such a complaint is
alleged to have been committed.
Solutions to the same:
1. Uttarakhand Model of including bureaucracy / judiciary and all politicians to
be followed.
2. Karnataka Model of powers to investigate and report on suo moto nature and
with police and prosecution wings is a model to follow.
3. 2nd ARC recommends:
(i) Lokayuktas to be empowered to supervise the prosecution of corrup-
tion-related cases.
(ii) Its investigative agencies should acquire multi-disciplinary skills and draw
officials from various departments.
4 They should be given constitutional status and be given financial independence.
5. Their appointment should be on an objective basis, transparent and sans any
political bias.
6. Vacancies of Lokpal to be filled up expeditiously.
7. CM, ministers, civil servants, and judiciary should come under the purview
of Lokayukta.
8. Legislative committee may be set up to monitor and follow-up on the imple-
mentation of the recommendations made by him.
9. The High Court should dispose of cases expeditiously filed before it.
10. CBI and CVC should be made to work under the supervision of Lokpal.
11. Moreover, Lokpal and Lokayukta must be financially, administratively and
legally independent of those whom they are called upon to investigate and
prosecute.
12. There is a need for a multiplicity of decentralized institutions with appropriate
accountability mechanisms, to avoid the concentration of too much power, in
any one institution or authority.
13. Greater transparency, empowering Right to Information Act, strong
Whistleblower protection regime are required along with a morally resound
leadership that is willing to subject itself to public scrutiny
Conclusion These loopholes will have to be plugged if Lokpal is to work effectively. It needs
sustained, continuous and collaborative efforts of all stakeholders to make it
effective.
Score High Lokpal Online – for the management of the complaints launched. It can be
accessed by the citizens of the country and complaints can be filed from any-
where, anytime at lokpalonline.gov.in. It facilitates the handling of complaints
during their complete life cycle, right from filing to the final disposal and this will
bring more transparency and efficiency in the complaint-handling mechanism.

(b) Despite the constitutional provisions for representation, the voice of

the weaker of sections is not having the desired impact in the realms
of Panchayati Raj Institutions. Critically examine.
Chapter: Rural Development
Sub Topic: Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)
Approach Explain issues with PRIs and possible solutions.

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Gandhiji believed India can truly become free when villages in India are trans-
formed into self-sufficient independent republics, that is, able to provide what they
head and rule themselves.
A general conclusion can be drawn that rural self-governance is far from duality
due to lack of effective devolution of functions, finance and functionaries
Structural issues
1. Gram sabhas do not function effectively because:
(i) Attendance is thin due to lack of proper planning. For example, during
harvest season, Gram Sabha will have scarce attendance.
(ii) Attendees expect tangible benefits during meetings due to lack of
awareness.
(iii) Elite capture of gram sabhas has resulted in their being dominated by
dominant political representatives of gram panchayat.
(iv) The size of gram sabha is very high as the population of gram sabha is
100,000–120,000 per village. Hence, it has become impossible for all of
them to meet together and take decision.
(v) Meetings of gram sabha are never held regularly.
(vi) Inspite of reservation, women empowerment could never become a reality
as these panchayats are ruled through proxy by their husbands.
Functions

1. As per the mandate of 73rd CAA, 29 subjects were to be transferred to LSG.
2. According to devolution index, only 27% of states transferred finances, 35%
of functions were transferred.
3. There is no concept of activity mapping of functions, hence no levy of user
charges. Thus, resource base of panchayats is low.
4. Most of the members of panchayat bodies are poor, illiterate and backward.
It has come in the way of their functioning.
5. Central Government is unwilling to reduce the number of centrally-sponsored
schemes. This affects the powers of panchayats to take decision. In fact, they
have become line agencies, i.e. only responsible for implementation and not
transformed to institutions of self-governance.
6. Emergence of community-based organisations, NGOs and other parastatals
bodies have reduced the significance of local self-governments. People are
approaching these organisations for redressal of grievances than panchayat
bodies.
7. State governments have the tendency to dissolve and dismiss these bodies
before the expiry of their terms.
Attitude of bureaucracy
1. Colonial attitude of bureaucracy has hampered the working of PRIs.
2. District collector, although strategically placed to coordinate and guide the
PRIs, due to lack of time and ever increasing functions cannot devote himself
to the cause of PRI’s.
Solution to the same
1. There should be strengthening of panchayats based on devolution index: funds,
functions, functionaries.
2. Decentralised planning, and state finance commission should be strengthened.
3. Recommendations of state finance commission should be implemented.
4. Iyer committee has suggested that all developmental schemes should be run
by gram sabha.

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5. There should be activity mapping of functions based on the principle of

subsidiarity.
6. PRIs staff capacity should be enhanced and training to be imparted.
7. Social audit mechanism should be strengthened.
Conclusion PRIs in effect should be empowered as institutions of local governance. It needs a
change in the attitude of bureaucracy towards participative democracy and ensure
they function as village parliament.
Score High Give Ramchandran and 2nd arc guidelines to strengthen the answer.

(c) Ideally, citizen-administration interface is supposed to be based on

trustworthiness and purposefulness In reality it is observed to be
plagued by suspicion, conflicts, stresses and strains. Do you agree?
Elaborate.
Chapter: Significant issues in Indian Administration
Sub Topic: Citizen administration Interface
Approach Explain issues with citizen-administration interface and provide solutions.
Introduction Citizen-administration interface is a symbol of post-NPM and post-LPG reforms
where the citizen was viewed as an active collaborator and a means of ensuring
quality of public service delivery.
Body Citizen-administration Interface ensures:
1. Accountability of government officials to citizens.
2. Speedy resolution to issues of citizens.
3. Improve outcome, quality of public services.
4. A tool for reforming administrative processes which cause grievance.
5. Ensure process reengineering in public service delivery
Issues with present Citizen-administration Interface:
1. Complicated and reluctant process and structures.
2. Lack of systemic and systematic reforms in the way how business performs.
3. Lack of capacity of government organisations and officials to address govern-
ance due to lack of skill, attitudes and process.
4. Colonial attitude and politicization of NGOs and other institutions.
5. Absence of institutional mechanism to involve citizens.
6. Many civil society groups hog the limelight for subversive agenda.
7. Their own funding is not transparent or accountable.
8. Many civil society organisations are found to be sympathetic to left wing
extremism and foreign terror institutions.
9. They have also become a tool for corporate politics and crony capitalism.
10. They do not work towards development; most of the time their target is
anti-development.
Therefore, 2nd ARC recommended business process reengineering which proposes
a fundamental change in the way public organisations function such as:
1. Clear assessment of citizens’ needs.
2. Analysis of existing process and identification of weaknesses and redundancies.
3. Redesigning of powers, status and regulation of government authorities.
4. Bring changes in forms, process, structures and statutes.
5. Minimising hierarchical tiers.
6. Adoption of single-window and ICT in process reengineering.

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7. Rewards for streamlining and simplification of procedures.

8. Grievance audit and identifying grievance-prone areas.
9. Feedback from citizens to monitor government offices.
Conclusion An effective grievance redressal mechanism, coupled with business process reengi-
neering, shall make administration proactive, transparent and oriented towards
providing good governance.
Score High Give best practices of business process re-engineering in government offices.
Jana Sunani Mobile App is an Online Data Transmission System between
the departments, organisations and sub-ordinate organisations, lunched by
Government of Odisha. Each grievance will be provided a unique ticket id.
Citizens can use this ticket id to track progress of grievances. Jana Sunani Mobile
App enables citizens to register their grievances at their fingertips. The app also
enables the authorities to take a call on the grievance with ease.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2021
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
(Paper-1)

SECTION-A

Q1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

(a) “Governance is about managing self-organising networks.” Elaborate.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: Good Governance/Networked Governance
Approach Explain Networked Governance and its relevance in Public Administration.
Introduction Networked governance is a post-NPM paradigm and plays an increasingly impor-
tant role in Public Administration. The collaboration within these governance
networks can be formalised or informal, top-down or bottom-up, and designed or
self-organised.
Body Informal self-organised governance networks may increase legitimacy if a variety
of stakeholders are involved, but, at the same time, accountability becomes blurred
when decisions are taken. Basically, democratic accountability refers to the ways
in which citizens can control their government and mechanisms for doing so.
Example of Networked Governance:

1. Political Executive and Judiciary networks functioning according to separation
of powers and responsibilities in horizontal sphere.
2. Intra-governmental and inter-governmental networks., e.g. Union-State-Local
relationship.
3. Public Administration, Private Business and Civil Society in collaboration
through horizontal reallocation of power and includes public–private partner-
ships, privatisation and corporate social responsibility (i.e., the market), as
well as voluntary organisations and increased public participation (i.e., the
civil society), e.g.: Policy Formulation, Policy Implementation and Review,
PPP, etc.
Importance of Networked Governance:

1. Helps in social learning, innovative responses, and adaptive governance of the
complex interactions in social-ecological systems.
2. Governance networks focus primarily on formulating visions and policies,
creating meaning/sense-making for these visions, solving conflicts, and devel-
oping links to agencies and other organisations for gaining political, legal and
financial support.
3. Civil society’s functional contribution to good governance as they are
self-organised.
yy Watchdog – for violation of human rights and governing deficiencies.
yy Advocate – of the weaker sections’ point of view.
yy Agitator – on behalf of the aggrieved citizens.

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 OLC-I.2 Public Administration

yy Educator – of citizens of their rights, entitlements and responsibilities and

the government about the pulse of the people.
yy Service provider – to areas and people not reached by official efforts or
as government’s agent.
4. The engagement of civil society and the media in educating citizens about the
evils of corruption, raising their awareness levels and securing their participa-
tion by giving them a ‘voice’.
5. Civil society can influence policy and project formulation through membership
of committees and submission of memoranda.
In a large developing country like India, there are numerous gaps left by the gov-
ernment in the development process. These are the gaps that civil societies and
private try to fill in modern India.
Issues with Networked Governance
1. It is still an emerging model and not yet fully conceptualised.
2. The scope and activities is a subject of debate and controversy as to what
legitimate fields it can be allowed, e.g., defence, security, etc. Defining the
scope of networked governance is a challenge.
3. It is more applicable at field and implementation level and less at strategic
level.
4. Role of bureaucracy and politicians in networked governance.
5. Institutional mechanism of networked governance: Relationship, role clarity.
6. Corruption and crony capitalism in voluntary sector and markets. Ex: Recent
NPA of banks.
Recent IB report about NGO’s working to hamper national interest.
Conclusion In post-loablized and NPM era, networked governance in a self-organised manner
is the key to successful policy implementation review and formulation and is
highly relevant. Recent steps by government such as PPP Cell, recommendations
of the Kelkar Committee, NGO Darpan by NITI Aayog and National policy on
Voluntary Sector need to be implemented to organise the networked administration
in a co-governance model. A democratic state needs a democratic civil society and
markets and they also need a democratic state. They mutually reinforce each other.
Score High Mention recent steps to involve civil society and markets in governance by the
government.

(b) “Two-dimensional taxonomy was used by Herbert Simon to describe

the degree to which decisions are programmed or non-programmed.”
Explain.
Chapter: Administrative Theory
Sub Topic: Simonian Thought
Approach Explain Simonian Thought and do a critical analysis.
Introduction Effective decision-making is an integral part of modern workplace management.
Managers, team leaders and even employees need to make rational and sound
decisions every day. The right decisions, choices and approaches help in meeting
organisational goals more efficiently. It helps organisations adopt and implement
measures that optimise growth in terms of products and/or services offered. In
other words, decisions drive actions.

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Body Herbert Simon was one of the first theorists to highlight the importance of decisions
in a business environment. With respect to organisational decision-making, the
Simon Decision-Making Theory recognised two types of decisions: programmed
and non-programmed.
1. Programmed: Programmed decision-making involves those decisions that
already have a plan or rule in place, which is used to reach a solution or
conclusion. They follow already established guidelines and formal patterns.
For example, managers have already made such decisions before and it is a
repetitive and routine process such as holding elections, POSDCORB func-
tions, etc.
2. Non-Programmed: Contrary to programmed decision-making, non-pro-
grammed decisions are ill-structured and one-time decisions. Problems or
situations that do not have a concrete set of rules or guidelines to follow rely
on non-programmed decision-making. These are complex and have long-term
impact. Ex. Disaster management, recent Covid pandemic, elections,etc.
Herbert Simon’s Decision-Making Theory also emphasised the importance of
rationality He proposed the concept of bounded rationality, where people make
decisions within certain limitations. He further supported the behavioural aspect of
organisation theory as personal biases and perspectives affect the way employees
make decisions.
Rationality is defined by Simon as a relation of conformance (efficacy) between
preestablished ends and the means to reach them. However, the relation between
means and ends is a question of fact.
Issues with Simon’s Theory:


According to Simon:
1. Facts and values are intertwined that they cannot be separated. However, for
decisions to be rational, they should be based on factual premises.
2. Logical positivism involves analysing facts based on reason and rationality.
If decisions are made on the basis of logical positivism, they will always be
rational and organisations can maximise efficiency.
3. Since rationality is universal, decision making theory shall be called a uni-
versal theory of organisation and public administration can gain the status of
a science.
4. The role of a manager within an organisation is to convert non- programmed
decisions to programmed decisions.
5. The level of rationality is less in non-programmed decisions and thus there is
more risk.
6. Goals and sub goals have become distorted and create sub unit centrality
and non-substitutability of sub units. Hence, in complex large organisations,
decisions should be rational to prevent goal displacement.
Issues with Fact Value Dichotomy:

1. Positivist approach may be feasible for private organisations, where decisions
can be made on the basis of facts, but not public organisations where values
such as equity, ethics, social capital and justice have to be taken into account.
Public organisations focus on welfare maximisation whereas private organi-
sations work for profit maximisation. Hence, value-free public organisation
concept is erroneous.

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 OLC-I.4 Public Administration

2. Weberian bureaucracy takes fact as the end and does not consider itself as
the means or instrument of achieving values such as equity, socio-economic
growth, etc., thereby resulting in goal displacement, e.g. Excessive focus on
rules, hierarchy, processes, etc. ignoring social value of decisions.
3. Neglects individual and his ecological character and focuses on his cognitive
abilities. An individual has subjective and behavioural consideration such as
values and emotions and Simon has neglected them.
4. The study of public administration sans values will make it routine and
mechanical. Public policy is composed of rational and extra rational factors
such as intuition and traditions.
5. Ignored social, political, economic and cultural factors while analysing fact
value premise, while these hold a lot of value for decision making. Moreover,
global issues such as terrorism, recession, trade wars, multilateral institution
hegemony and climate change have proved that decision-making globally
cannot occur sans values.
6. Revisited politics administration dichotomy through his fact value proposition
whereas in developing countries politics administration dichotomy is irrele-
vant. e.g., 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts.
7. Chris Argyris criticised Simonian dictum that more than facts, traditions, cus-
toms, beliefs and intuition would make rational decisions. e.g. Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan and behavioural economics, application of nudge theory in policy
implementation.
Conclusion Simon’s work holds a lot of seminal importance to the study of discipline and
profession of public administration. Apart from his positivist mindset, the focus on
scientific and behavioural tools for reforming public administration is an epoch in
the study of public administration. Newer concepts such as new public manage-
ment, good governance, public choice theory, new Weberian state have all incor-
porated his rational decision-making for welfare maximisation into their evolution
journey.
Score High Link recent government initiatives such as direct benefit transfer, Aadhaar
enabled payment system, give it up campaign for LPG to Simon’s perspective.

(c) Examine the approach of public service motivation as an inducement

to bring the desired level of efficiency in public service delivery.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: New Public Service -NPM Models
Approach Explain public service motivation in the context of NPM and New Public Service.
Introduction Public Service Motivation (PSM) is an attribute of government and non-
governmental organisation (NGO) employment that explains why individuals have
a desire to serve the public and link their personal actions with the overall public
interest. Understanding the theory and practice of PSM is important in determining
the motivations of individuals who choose careers in the government and non-profit
sectors despite the potential for more financially lucrative careers in the private
sector.
Body Importance of Public Service Motivation:
1. PSM helps employees get the most out of their job experience and is rapidly
evolving to work towards employee goals and organisational needs effectively.

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2. Efforts to manage employee behaviour within government organisations by

focusing on financial rewards may not have the desired effect and could poten-
tially have a negative impact on employee motivation and performance, seeing
as how those who do work in the public sector are usually not motivated by
financial gain.
The NPS of Denhardt and Denhardt is in sharp contrast to the philosophical premise
of the New Public Management approach in which transactions between public
managers and customers reflect individual self-interest and are framed by market
principles. It is also distinct from the old public administration approach where
citizens related to the bureaucracy as clients or constituents and were treated as
passive recipients of top-down policy making and service delivery mechanisms.
New public service model had the following features:

yy Government is a result of democracy: The government should not be run like
a business but like a democracy. Public interest and democratic citizenship
should be the hallmark of government.
yy Increase in service orientation in public employees so that they have better
self-esteem, sense of dignity and self-respect in doing public service.
yy Philosophy of serving rather than steering, that is, a bigger role to government
where it would monitor,regulate and ensure larger public interest.
yy Co-governance architecture: Public servants should reconnect with citizens.
They should be outward and invite citizens to participate in the governance
process, whereby a new culture of co-governance will emerge, with the admin­
istrators and citizens working for the common good of the society.
Conclusion Despite the emphasis on the government’s role, new public service did not rec­
ommend or lay emphasis on how to reform hierarchical and reactive administration.
Moreover, for the large part, it can be seen that new public service retains lots of
features of new public management ideas but includes public administration ethos
of social equity justice and relevance to changing societal concerns as well.
Score High Cite examples of how in the Indian context NPS is being achieved through resi-
dent welfare associations (RWAs) in the context of new localism or community
policing.

(d) In theory, the ‘civil society organisations’ promote cooperation between
people and public service organisations, but in practice, their activities
restrict the promotion of government programmes. Analyse.
Chapter: Accountability and Control
Sub Topic: Voluntary Sector and Civil Society
Approach Make a critical analysis of civil society.
Introduction Civil society is an umbrella term encompassing non-state/non-market insti-
tutions where people join voluntarily and are autonomous. It is a form of social
capital governed by a set of laws having shared values and collective interests.
Body Need of civil societies in the age of good governance and LPG
1. There has been a shift in output from government to governance in the era
of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation. From single actor to multiple
actor paradigm, that is, networked governance ensuring state, civil society and
market in governance process.

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2. Major thinkers such as Robert Putman–social capital, Robert Chambers–put­

ting last man first, Amartya Sen–capability approach all stressed upon the need
for developing social capital to ensure sustainable development.
3. Civil society is critical for enhancing political, economic and cultural capital
and ensures diversity. This also prevents elite capture of power.
4. Helps thwart authoritarian government and fights excesses of the state.
5. Civil society functions as watchdog, agitator, advocate, educator, service pro-
vider and mobiliser of public opinion.
6. Civil society acts through social capital – the capacity of people to act
together willingly in the common long- term interest and ensuring participative
democracy.
How it complements and supplements the state?
yy Civil services play a role in policy-making.
yy After LPG revolution, civil society has started participating in significant
policy-making level due to globalisation.
yy Public policy formulation includes the concerns and issues of the poor, weak,
marginalised and vulnerable sections of the society.
For example: issues of farmer subsidies, gender budgeting.
yy Civil societies help as they have local perspective, understand needs, can
establish support of people and can convince people for participation.
Policy Implementation:

Civil society helps drive rule-driven bureaucracy to mission-driven:
1. Helps bureaucracy to transform to goal-oriented from rule-oriented.
2. Outward looking from inward looking.
3. Ensures:
yy Transparency
yy Participation
yy Awareness
yy Efficiency
yy Effectiveness
yy Accountability
For example: 1. MKSS RTI, Rajasthan 2. Chipko Movement in Uttarakhand
Conclusion
 ivil society and policy review and evaluation: Globalisation and good governance
C
recognise the role of civil society community participation for sustainability of
government programmes.
yy Ensure citizen empowerment
yy Ensure policy reforms:
ŠŠ Niyamigiri in Odisha
ŠŠ Rehabilitation schemes
(iii) Make government sensitive:
Forest development policy
DISHA proposed alternative budgeting for tribes and vulnerable sections.
(iv) Work closely with state institutions in designing and providing health and edu-
cational services by mobilising funds from targets, providing services directly
and monitoring quality and coverage.

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(v) State institutions get legitimacy and improve their performance by develop-
ing responsive working relationships with civil society, sheltering individuals
threatened by repressive governments and defending their rights.
For example: Pratham in education
Akshay Patra in mid-day meal
(vi) Ensuring civil services competence and conscientisation by making people
adhere to works, regulations,values, and cooperation.
Civil society is sine qua non for effective and better governance. Good governance
can be achieved when civil society is present at the grassroots. The funding of
the civil society should be internal rather than external. There should be adequate
system of checks and balances to make the system more transparent in functioning,
and civil society should operate on the basis of accepted norms of humanity and
international community.
Score High Give recommendations of 2nd ARC regarding Social Capital:
• The Union Government should draft a comprehensive model legislation
covering both Trusts and Societies in lieu of the existing laws on Societies,
Trusts, Endowments and Charitable Institutions, etc.
• The proposed model legislation should indicate a cut- off limit with regard
to the annual revenue of a charity. Organisations having an annual income
below this threshold will have lighter compliance requirements with respect
to submission of returns/reports/permission, etc. However, if irregularities
are detected in their functioning, organisations will be liable for legal and
penal action.
• The government should set up an inclusive committee which will compre­
hensively examine the issue of defining ‘charity’ and ‘charitable purpose’ and
suggest measures to ‘soften’ charities-government relationship, particularly
in tax matters.
Accreditation of Voluntary Organisations:

• There should be a system of accreditation/certification of voluntary organisa­
tions which seek funding from government agencies.
• Government should take initiative to enact a law to set up an independent
body – National Accreditation Council— to take up this work.

(e) Fayol and Taylor had different management perspectives, while having
similar goal of organisational efficiency. Comment.
Chapter: Administrative Thought
Sub Topic: Theories of Taylor and Fayol on scientific management
Approach Point out similarities between Fayol and Taylor and make a critical analysis.
Introduction Taylor’s primary concern was management at the supervisory level and gave much
stress on the efficiency of workers and managers at an operational level. Henry
Fayol, known as the ‘father of modern management theory’, introduced compre-
hensive thinking on management philosophy. He put forward general management
theory that applies to every organisation equally and in every field.

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Body Basis for

Henry Fayol F.W. Taylor
Comparison
Henry Fayol is the father of F.W. Taylor is the father of sci-
modern management who laid entific management who intro-
Meaning down fourteen principles of man- duced four principles of man-
agement, for improving overall agement, for increasing overall
administration. productivity.
Concept General theory of administration Scientific management
Emphasis Top level management Low level management
Applies to specialised organisa-
Applicability Universally applicable
tions only
Basis of
Personal experience Observation and experimentation
formation
Orientation Managerial function Production and engineering
System of
Sharing of profit with managers Differential payment system
wage payment
Approach Manager’s approach Engineer’s approach

Concern– Taylor’s principles and techniques are concerned with workers’ efficiency
while Fayol’s principles are concerned with the overall efficiency of management.
Focus – Both Taylor and Fayol advocated the division of work and specialisation.

Taylor’s techniques follow bottom upward approach, whereas Fayol’s techniques
are based on the top downward approach. Taylor’s techniques are mainly with
production activities, whereas Fayol’s techniques have relevance in all functional
areas. Taylors’ techniques are more specific while Fayol’s techniques are more
general and flexible in nature.
Beginning– Taylor started with improving the efficiency of operational workers

at the shop level and later gave the principles of scientific management, while
Fayol began by describing the functions of top management and then proceeded
downward.
Emphasis – Taylor emphasised on standardisation of work, methods and tools, time

and motion study and scientific training of workers. But Fayol stressed upon the
principles and theory of general administration and also the functions of managers.
Similarities between Taylor and Fayol:

1. Both of them felt the universality of management.
2. Both applied scientific methods to the problems of management.
3. Both observed the importance of personnel and its management at all levels.
4. Both wanted to improve the management practices.
5. Both of them developed their ideas through practical experience.
6. Both of them explained their ideas through their books.
7. Both of them stressed on mutual cooperation between employers and
employees.
Both the management thinkers have made valuable contribution in the field of
management, which is not contradictory but complementary in nature. While Henry
Fayol is an ardent proponent of the unity of command, F.W. Taylor is of the opinion
that it is not substantial that under functional foremanship, an employee receives

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orders from multiple bosses. However, developing organisational efficiency and

ensuring growth of employees was their common concern.
Score High Explain practical applications of Fayol and Taylor in Indian administration such
as e-governance, MIS, etc.

Q2. (a) Behavioural approach has been questioned on the basis of its util-
ity in the analysis of administrative problems. Discuss the weak-
nesses of the approach and the shifts made therein.
Chapter: Administrative Behaviour
Sub Topic: Approach to the Study of Public Administration
Approach Explain issues with behavioural approach to public administration.
Introduction The behavioural approach to public administration owes its genesis to the Human
Relations Movement of the 1930s. The movement started off as a protest to the
traditional approaches to public administration that focused on organisations, insti-
tutionalisation, rules, and code of conducts, etc. with absolutely no mention of
people who are at the centre of all these activities.
Body Both classical and behavioural theorists attempted to find the best way to manage
in all organisations. However, there were variations in their approaches. The major
thrust of the differences between classical approach and behavioural approach to
the management of public or private organisation consists in the following areas:
1. The behavioural approach sought to modify the hierarchical organisational
structures so ardently advocated by the classical authors.
2. Whereas the classical approach emphasised executive decision-making respon-
sibilities, the behavioural approach argued for more participatory decision-mak-
ing procedures.
3. While the classical approach sensitised the benefits of specialisation, the
behavioural approach counselled job enlargement (that is, expanding the range
of work functions performed) to give employees a greater sense of satisfaction
from the performance of their tasks.
4. The classical approach urged a restricted span of control to ensure close super-
vision, while the behavioural approach suggested a wider span of control to
prevent close supervision and allow sufficient latitude for the expression of
self-initiative and self-control on the part of the worker.
5. The classical scholars demanded centralisation in the name of control and
coordination; the behavioural authors insisted on decentralisation to give more
members of the organisation a greater sense of control over their own destinies.
6. The classical approach was largely deductive and normative in its emphasis.
The behavioural approach, in contrast, was more inductive and descriptive
in emphasis, pursuing much of its research in the logical-positivist tradition;
stressing the use of systematic techniques of analysis in the testing of hypoth-
eses, and generalisation based on an accumulation of empirical findings.
Issues With Behavioural Approach:

1. The classical approach was largely deductive and normative in its emphasis.
The behavioural approach, in contrast, was more inductive and descriptive in
emphasis, stressing the use of systematic techniques of analysis in the test-
ing of hypotheses, and generalisation based on an accumulation of empirical
findings.

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 OLC-I.10 Public Administration

2. As Riggs pointed out, administration is cross-temporal, cross-cultural and

cross- behavioural. Hence, to arrive at a generalised set of rules and procedures
is extremely difficult.
3. The critics argued that the behaviouralist’s claim of ‘scientificism’ of this
approach seems to be hollow. It is mainly because the human behaviour ,apart
from being complex, is not quantifiable in precise terms.
4. This approach emphasised on the behavioural understanding of the admin-
istrative functionaries in different administrative settings and exam-
ines ‘how they actually behave’ in these settings but ignores the factors
that lead to the emergence/creation of these settings. It also ignores the
circumstances under which these functionaries have to discharge their
work. Thus, this approach gives least or no importance to the circum-
stances and the historical perspectives that affect human behaviour and
shape or reshape it.
5. This approach is further criticised for being value free. Behaviouralists declare
themselves as purists and value neutrals, but they do have a set of values as
it is impossible to be value neutral. This approach is stated to be of very less
importance as it believed in the exclusion of values from the study of admin-
istrative phenomenon. However, any value free approach to public administra-
tion makes its study sterile and irrelevant to the vital issues of modern age.
6. Since change is the law of nature, the behaviour of the administrative function-
aries undergoes changes with the passage of time. Consequently, an administra-
tive functionary is more likely to react differently to the same circumstances at
different points of time. But such changes are least acceptable to this approach.
Conclusion Behavioural approach, developed in the late 1930s and early 1940s, contributed
significantly in the development of public administration as a discipline. This
approach focused primarily on human behaviour, the role of an individual in an
organisation, motivation, morale and satisfaction. These significant aspects were
previously ignored by classical thinkers. Behavioural scientists are increasingly
involved in scientific study of human behaviour and changing institutionalised
human behaviour to fulfil the needs and goals of individuals and organisations.
Score High Explain recent theories like nudge economics and behavioural aspects to policy
making in Swatch Bharat Abhiyan as case studies.

(b) Public administration has been viewed as a socially embedded process

of collective relationship, dialogue and action. Examine the statement in
light of the consensus achieved in the Third Minnowbrook Conference.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: New Public Administration
Approach Explain with a critical appraisal of Minnowbrook -3 and its developments.
Introduction The Minnowbrook Conference, held every twenty years, is one of the most
significant academic conferences in public administration in the United States.
Minnowbrook I, which took place in 1968 at Minnowbrook, Syracuse University’s
conference centre, marked the beginning of the ‘New Public Administration’.
Minnowbrook II, which took place in 1988, reflected on the impact of the ‘New
Public Administration’. Both Minnowbrook I and Minnowbrook II resulted in
significant, historic, publications.

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Body Minnowbrook III was organised in two phases on the theme ‘The Future of Public
Administration, Public Management and Public Service around the World’. Phase
One, a pre-conference workshop that included fifty-five participants at the original
Minnowbrook site on Blue Mountain Lake, New York, was for scholars who had
completed their PhD programmes within the previous ten years. Phase Two, which
directly followed the new scholars’ event, was held in Lake Placid, New York, for
scholars and practitioners of all ages and degrees of experience. The Lake Placid
group included at least thirty veterans of Minnowbrook I and/or Minnowbrook II.
A total of 200 scholars and practitioners from thirteen countries participated in
Minnowbrook III.
The focus of Minnowbrook Conference III (2008) was on structural and functional
reforms or second-generation reforms which gave rise to the concept of 3E’s -
Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness.
Main features of Minnowbrook III

yy This conference took place during September, 2008. It was organized when
American economy was downgrading and global terrorism had shown its
first effect.
yy It was chaired by Rosemary O’Leary.
Global Concerns: global terrorism, economy and ecological imbalances, etc.
Participation: This invited participants from other countries as well. Hence, it
was global in approach focusing upon global challenges and problems of Public
Administration.
Main Focus: Its focus was on structural and functional reforms or second generation
reforms.
Differences between Minnowbrook 1, 2 and 3

yy Minnowbrook conference in 1968 and 1988 discussed the need for increasing
RIGOUR and RELEVANCE in Public Administration while preserving its
diversity and identity. The first two conferences can well be characterised as
a search for identity and legitimacy as a separate field of study.
yy In the Third Minnowbrook conference, the crisis of identity was no longer
a central focus. Rather, much discussion focused on diversity and ,in fact,
many new scholars participating for the first time pressed for more diversity
in perspective and subject matter.
Impact of Minnowbrook 3 on Public Administration:

1. Change from government to governance: Comparative studies on good
governance, government effectiveness, New Public Management, government
reforms and transparency in developed and developing countries.
2. The impact of globalisation and its challenges was substantive and enriched
the discipline.
3. The impact of networked governance and comparative public administration
created a revolution in public administration in terms of increased studies in
comparative public management, more public policy research that crosses
international boundaries, and the increased role of international organisations
in governance.
4. The impact of ICT and global perspective on public administration emerged
as focus areas.
6. New managerial tools – such as facilitation, negotiation, collaborative problem
solving and dispute resolution – are taking on heightened prominence.

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 OLC-I.12 Public Administration

7. It emphasised on Comparative Studies. In this conference, it was acknowl-

edged that because of the impact of LPG and IT, no system could be mean-
ingfully studied in isolation. The systems across the world are interconnected.
8. It emphasised on Action Research and Methodological Pluralism. In this con-
ference, there was an agreement that for the study of Public Administration
to be meaningful, it is required that the teachings in Public Administration
should include the teachings on methodologies and tools and techniques to
undertake research.
9. It came out with a redefinition of public administration. According to this
conference, public administration is considered as a socially embedded process
of relationship, dialogue and action to promote human flourishing for all.
Conclusion Needless to say, Minnowbrook 3 enriched the annals of Public Administration by
showing alternative pathways and insights into the future of public administration.
Score High Give example of Networked Governance and E-governance revolution as a result
of Minnowbrook 3.

(c) 
Public-private partnership phenomenon has been transformed into
a type of governance scheme or mechanism. Discuss its capacity to
overcome future challenges.
Chapter: Organisations
Sub Topic: Structure and form of organisation
Approach Explain issues with public private partnership and its features.
Introduction Public infrastructure and services are very much important for a modern society.
Hence, there has been inclination towards the use of private funds for public
infrastructure and growing privatisation of public services. Hence, this concept is
understood as public-private partnership. NITI Aayog in its document, ‘Strategy
for New India @75’, targeted investment rates to 36 percent by 2022–23 from
28 percent of 2017–2018 through PPP, suggesting the importance of PPP in Neo
Liberal Economy.
Body Advantages of PPP:
yy Higher efficiency due to private sector. The private sector is more efficient
in carrying out capital and operating phases of a project.
yy It is well placed to access quality and skilled manpower and technology and
hold its employees, suppliers and vendors accountable.
yy Increase transparency and accountability. In PPP, there is a clear allocation
of risks and responsibilities–whether responsibility to public entities to monitor
the service provision or of the private entities to actually deliver the services.
yy The PPP agreement involves better articulation and implementation of trans­
parent laws and regulations.
yy High-quality public services are provided by private sector by using public
resources (privatisation of airports).
Issues with PPP:

The Kelkar Committee on public-private partnerships, 2nd ARC, pointed out the
following challenges in PPP in the Indian context:
yy Challenges from external forces, global economic slowdown and credit crisis.
yy Challenges from judicial orders, the banning of mining activity, etc.

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yy Challenges from legal and regulatory framework sector such as multiple record
regulators/zero-regulator scenario.
yy Leads to problem in decision-making. The dispute-resolution mechanism in
the case of PPP is slow and not well developed. Many projects have been
affected by delays in land acquisition and clearances.
yy Financing challenges: Certain issues have been observed in the quantity or
quality of lending in the case of PPP (NPAS of Banks).
yy Overlapping in the role of multiple institutions involving implementation of
PPP projects. There is overlap in the functions of these agencies, leading to
inordinate project delays, inadequate capacity of agencies,etc.
yy Overaggressive bidding and inadequate due diligence by private entities have
led to unviable PPP.
yy Inadequate provision for the exit of government or private players in contract
framework.
yy Lack of clarity in the objectives of PPP. As pointed out by CAG, PPP has
been converted to crony capitalism in the name of PPP, precious resources of
the country given to private players at throwaway prices, thereby public sector
monopoly being replaced by private sector monopoly.
yy Private sector collecting user charges at exorbitant level: Airport’s Tollways.
yy There is no scrutiny mechanism of CAG or legislature on PPP deals.
yy Citizens or customers are never focused on PPP deals as user charges are
fixed in indiscriminate manner.
Solutions to issues of PPP:

yy Government must define the objectives of PPP in a quantifiable manner.
yy PPP, to be effective, should be converted to public-private-people partnership,
i.e. focus should be on people or citizens.
yy CAG and Legislature should be allowed to conduct performance audit of PPPs.
yy User charges to be fixed in consultation with stakeholders.
yy Government should not cede control and transfer resources to private sector
permanently, rather should opt for leasing of resources to reduce corruption.
yy E-governance should be used to reduce the scope of corruption in awarding
contracts.
yy Value for money should be the basis for PPP for PPP deals.
yy Objective performance evaluation should be done by stakeholders of the pri­
vate sector.
yy Sectoral regulatory mechanisms and more autonomy.
Conclusion In the age of globalisation with shrinkage of government functions, it is impera­
tive that PPP should guide the future in delivering public services. However, it is
important that the focus should be on customer centricity. It is possible only when
there is change in cosmology, as opined by MacGregor, of both the participants,
viz. public and private sectors, trust-building, institutional and legal framework,
capacity-building and transparency along with participatory management by public.
Score High Use more examples of the success of PPP model in India. Also quote 2nd ARC
and Kelkar Committee Reports PPP such as:
The Kelkar Committee has recommended proper allocation of risk among gov-
ernment and private sectors, and one-size-fits-all policy should be avoided.
1. Overlap in the role of multiple institutions in implementing PPP’s should be
avoided.

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 OLC-I.14 Public Administration

2. Inter sectoral committees/Empowered Groups of Ministers should be consti­

tuted to deal with such issues.
3. There should be single-window clearance system of PPPs.
4. Dispute resolution mechanism should be formulated.
5. Independent sectoral regulator and PPP law needs to be developed.
6. Infrastructure PPP review committee should be set up for evaluating and
sending recommendations.
7. Infrastructure PPP adjunction tribunal to adjucate PPP matters should be set
up.
8. A comprehensive national PPP policy should be formulated which should
clearly spell out the objectives, scope and implementing principles of the
PPP programme envisaged by the Government.

Q3.(a) Integration of different streams of administrative thought to pro-

pound a universal administrative theory is hindered by the impact
of culture. Critically examine.
Chapter: Comparative Public Administration
Sub Topic: Historical and Sociological Factors Affecting Administrative System
Approach Explain the impact of culture on universal theory of administration and do a
critical analysis.
Introduction The movement of comparative public administration as a field of study faced
roadblock in the initial years of the1970s. The behavioural revolution provided the
source for rigorous development in terms of scientific tools and techniques, and
the scope and future of comparative public administration grew manifold.
Body However, the impact of culture and sociological factors hinders a universal
theory:
1. Administrative cultures are historical products, where past experiences, myths,
and traditions have shaped psychological orientations. Reflects the distinctive-
ness and complexity of the various regional, national and local realities;their
unique historical experiences;
2. Any administrative culture is also conditioned by existing structural and
conjunctural circumstances and challenges. Even perceptions of the past
are defined by current experience.
3. The administrative culture is part of a larger sphere, containing values, prac-
tices, and orientations towards the physical environment. Hence, arriving at
generalisation is difficult.
yy CPA tried to come up with a grand theory or paradigm which is universal in
nature. There were many approaches and concepts but not a single paradigm
and CPA remained in pre-paradigmatic stage.
yy Riggs criticised the same approach as instead of consensus, there was con­
fusion regarding what should be studied, method of studies, approaches and
hence could not achieve anything substantial.
yy The thinkers studied administrative systems of only a few developing countries
and hence, they are also criticised for being culture bound. Also, they followed
a multi-perspective approach. Developing countries being heterogeneous, it
was difficult to find common elements and build a theory in 10 years.

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yy Behavioural science and ecology led to the decline of CPA approach as they
did not study the impact of administration on ecology and culture.
yy It was elitist and west-centric as they focused on Weberian bureaucracy as a
model which could be applicable across the entire spectrum of public admin­
istration. They failed to take into account indigenous models of developing
countries such as self-help groups and other participatory administration which
was also the genesis of Anti-development thesis.
Conclusion Hence, universal theories in public administration cannot be applied unless the dis-
cipline of public administrations becomes comparative in nature for the discipline
of public administration. To be called a true science of administration, it must be
cross-national, cross-temporal and inter-disciplinary in nature.
Score High Give example of cultural impact on administration in the Indian context, cit-
ing gram sabha, colonial mentality and caste and class differences (Prismatic
Factors-Riggs).

(b) Judicial review, prevention of misuse or abuse of administrative power

and provision of suitable remedies are the basic principles of admin-
istrative law. Justify as how various organs of the State are able to
uphold these principles.
Chapter: Administrative Law
Sub Topic: Meaning and Nature of Administrative Law
Approach Explain the basic principles of administrative law and its relevance in the Indian
context.
Introduction Administrative law deals with the decision- making of administrative units of gov-
ernment (for example, tribunals, boards or commissions) that are part of a national
regulatory scheme in such areas as police, law, planning, environment and transport.
yy Administrative law is concerned with how to confine administrative bodies to
their legal role and limit. It is a branch of law that aims at keeping the powers
of government within the citizen against their abuse, and where abused, to
provide remedy to the aggrieved citizen.
yy Administrative law regulates government or administration such that the agen-
cies do not arbitrarily exercise their powers or exceed them. This means that
the laws play vital roles in administration.
yy Administrative law acts as a check in respect of the unlawful exercise or abuse
of governmental administrative power.
Body Exceptions to the principle of Administrative law:
yy ‘Equality of Law’ does not mean that the powers of private citizens are the
same as the powers of public officials. e.g., a police officer has the power to
arrest which the private citizen does not have.
yy The rule of law does not prevent certain classes of persons from being subject
to special rules, for example, the armed forces are governed by military laws.
yy Ministers and other executive bodies are given wide discretionary powers by
the statute.
yy Certain members of the society are governed by special rules in their profes-
sions like lawyers, doctors and nurses.
yy Judicial review has led to tyranny of the judiciary and has become judicial
activism and judicial vigilantism.

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 OLC-I.16 Public Administration

yy Pendency of cases: Administrative tribunals also suffered from high pendency

of cases similar to regular courts. The aim of providing speedy justice is
affected by this delay in the disposal of cases.
yy Conflict of interest: Government is a party to many of these cases and hence
it violates the principle of natural justice as they are manned by civil servants.
yy Lack of legal knowledge: There is a lack of uniform procedure of education
of the administrators to the nuances of legal terminology. It also leads to poor
quality of justice.
yy Appeal in High Courts and the Supreme Court has led to tribunalisation of
justice and diluted the role of the judiciary, hence delay in decision-making
and pendency.
yy Delegated legislation and ordinance making power are misused by the exec-
utive to avoid legislative accountability.
yy There is a conflict between regulatory authorities and judiciary and executive
regarding administrative law jurisdiction.
yy Administrative law is considered both boon and bane. In the case of the for-
mer, it enhances efficient and quick delivery of justice but in the latter case,
it also ensures administrative overreach as it discriminates between citizen
and administration and violates the concept of separation of powers. Hence,
a recalibrated approach to exercising the ambit of administrative law and
ensuring proper safeguards against arbitrary action is the need of the hour.
Score High Give examples of recent steps by government to check misuse of administrative
law.

(c) Regulation is an old but increasingly necessary mode of social coordi-

nation and political intervention into societal processes. Examine it in
the context of globalisation.
Chapter: Organisations
Sub Topic: Independent regulatory organisations
Approach Explain regulation and its need in the context of globalisation. Cite examples
from Indian Administration.
Introduction Regulation can be defined as the legal mandate interest rate the function of enforc-
ing restrictions, laws and rules regarding the specific sector it has been formulated
for.
Reasons for the formulation of regulatory body:
Public interest – Due to LPG, there has been an emergence of a plethora of
regula­tory bodies during the public industry of regulation explains in general terms
that regulation seeks the benefit and public at large public choice theory where
government plays the role of a regulator instead of a direct provider of goods and
services.
Prevent monopolies, protect wider stakeholder interests, etc.
Essential characteristics of regulatory bodies:

yy Their role is regulation, and not control or implementation.
yy It should be independent of executive.
yy It should be non-bureaucratic and appoint experts in their respective areas.
yy It should create a level playing field by setting standards, enforcing them and
protecting the interests of stakeholders.

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Body Issues with Regulation:

yy Regulatory capture is done by politicians or businessmen by issuing oppor­
tunistic policy directives and compromising the regulatory functions.
yy Pressure from interest groups must be avoided to retain the regulatory inde­
pendence. The members have to avoid the influence of interest groups to be
effective; otherwise, the regulatory agency becomes one of the interest groups
and the result will be regulatory capture.
yy Conflict of interest because the Government of India is a market regulator as
well as the owner of various public sector undertakings.
yy India has too many regulatory bodies but too little regulation. The quality of
regulation is just by the quality of produce doctor services and competitiveness
of economy, poor and often overturned by higher courts.
yy Lack of coordination among regulatory bodies, Environment-Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB) and National Green Tribunal (NGT).
yy Controversy between SEBI and IRDAI over Unit Linked Insurance Policy.
yy Education sector – All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and
University Grants Commission (UGC).
yy They have been essentially bureaucratised; retired bureaucrats are appointed
as chairman.
yy No autonomy in financial and decision-making power from executive. In fact,
they are dependent on executive for finance and officers.
yy The Government has failed in giving them clear-cut roles and responsibilities
by overregulation.
yy Corruption and nepotism by regulators, e.g. Medical Council of India.
Solutions to ensure accountability and independence of regulatory bodies:

yy Avoiding regulatory overload: The regulators avoid excess regulators by merg-
ing different regulators in a single body, for example, recent merger of various
water tribunals.
yy The appointment of members should be strictly based on merit in a completely
transparent manner.
yy The government should clearly define the functions, responsibilities, powers
and immunities of these authorities. Some of these regulators should have
the same independence as enjoyed by the High Court, e.g. power of issuing
contempt notices.
yy FSLRC has recommended super-regulator in place of various regulators.
yy Legislature, from time to time, should evaluate the performance of these tri­
bunals and commissions to ensure accountability.
yy They should have sufficient financial autonomy and not be dependent upon
the government for financial support.
yy All regulatory authorities must undertake a self-evaluation of themselves once
in three years, following from discussion and debate.
yy The Damodaran Committee suggested that before setting up a new regu­
latory organisation, adequate thought should go into the need for such an
organisation.
yy The Damodaran Committee also suggested that the appointment of persons
should be made more transparent.
yy The entire regulatory process must be fair and impartial and open to exten­sive
and meaningful opportunities for public participation.

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 OLC-I.18 Public Administration

Conclusion Regulation is a reality for new public governance as the role of state is shrinking.
However, we must keep in mind, regulatory failure would mean double failure of
the state to provide services and ,at the same time, ensure non-regulation.
Score High Give recommendations of 2nd ARC to ensure independence of regulators. Also,
Regulations Review Authority (RRA) by RBI for streamlining regulatory instruc­
tions, reducing compliance burden of the regulated entities by simplifying pro­
cedures and reducing reporting requirements can be cited as an example.

Q4. (a) 
The new public service model approaches governance on the
premises of an active and involved citizenship, wherein the role
of public officials is to facilitate opportunities for citizens’ engage-
ment in governance. Explain.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: New Public Service
Approach Explain the features of New Public Service and its impact on Public Administration.
Introduction Public administration in the 21st century is undergoing dramatic changes, not
only in advanced economies but also in many parts of the developing world.
Globalisation and pluralisation of service provision and post-NPM Models are the
driving forces behind these changes.
Body Fundamentals of New Public Service Approach:
yy It starts with the premise that the focus of public management should be
citizens, community and civil society.
yy In this conception, the primary role of public servants is to help citizens
articulate and meet their shared interests rather than to control or steer society.
The principles of the NPS can be summarised as follows:
yy Building collaborative relationships with citizens and groups of citizens.
yy Encouraging shared responsibilities.
yy Disseminating information to elevate public discourse and to foster a shared
understanding of public issues.
yy Seeking opportunities to involve citizens in government activities.
Importance of NPS:

yy The NPS is in sharp contrast to the philosophical premise of the New Public
Management approach in which transactions between public managers and
customers reflect individual self-interest and are framed by market principles.
yy Control and hierarchy rather than plurality and engagement characterised these
relationships.
yy The New Public Service model approaches public management from the
vantage point of democratic theory, premised on the notion of an active and
involved
yy Citizens look beyond narrow self-interest to the wider public interest.
yy The role of public officials is to facilitate opportunities for strengthening
citizen engagement in finding solutions to societal problems.
yy Public managers need to acquire skills that go beyond the capacity for con-
trolling or steering society in pursuit of policy solutions to focus more on
brokering, negotiating and resolving complex problems in partnership with.
Conclusion The NPS approach also reasserts the importance of public service ethos, empha-
sising the values and motivations of public servants dedicated to the wider public

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good. In placing a fresh emphasis on the public interest and citizens as the focus
of public service, the New Public Service model provides a useful corrective to
prevailing notions of control and steering associated with earlier models of public
administration and management.
Score High Give New Public Service examples such as Citizen’s Charter ,RTI,E-governance in
Public Administration.

(b) Neo-Weberian State of involves changing the model of operation of

administrative structures into a model focused on meeting citizens’’
needs. Discuss.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration
Sub Topic: New Public Management
Approach Explain issues and reasons for the formulation of Neo Weberian State.
Introduction The concept of neo-Weberian state involves changing the model of operation of
administrative structures from an inward-oriented one, focused on compliance with
internal rules, into a model focused on meeting citizens’ needs (not by resorting
to contractualisation, as is the case with new public management, but by building
appropriate quality of administration).
Body Reasons for emergence of Neo- Weberian State:
yy Non-ecological approach: New public management focused on one-size-fits-
all policy applicable to developed and developing countries. This met with a
lot of resistance by the developing countries which do not have the sufficient
political, technical, managerial, bureaucratic, social structures to accept such
a radical change.
yy Lack of clarity between citizens and political representatives: Democratic
accountability was hampered because of amorphous role given by NPM for
people and the politicians whom they elect, instead a market system coming
in between people and politicians.
yy Accountability problems: In developing countries where public manage-
ment is riddled with corruption and nepotism and is deficient in resources
and man­agerial capacity, new public management created opportunities for
private accumulation of wealth and patronage distribution by politicians and
bureau­crats. Moreover, in the Indian context rising NPA of banks, political
interference in selection of contractors and public-service providers and large
monopolies hampered public service delivery.
Market mechanisms reduced accountability of public programmes by empha­sising
internal management rather than relationship with social and political systems.
Features of Neo-Weberian State:

1. Modernises the traditional state apparatus to become more professional, effi-
cient and responsive.
2. Focus on the rule of law, reliability, openness, accountability, inter-institutional
networks and partnerships, focus on results.
3. Bureaucracy is defined by professional culture of quality and service, supple-
mented in appropriate cases by market mechanisms.
4. The role of state is geared towards reaffirmation of the role of the state,
democracy, law and citizen-state relationship and orientation towards citizens’
needs, achievements of results, consultation.

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Conclusion Hence, we may observe – the Neo-Weberian State, including “Weberian elements”
with “neo” elements as change elements. The Weberian components reaffirm the
state’s role in solutions to the new issues, affirm a representative democracy and
administrative law, and continue the idea of public service. The “neo” elements
denote a shift from an internal orientation to an external one and meeting citizens’
needs, strengthening representative democracy with mechanisms for consultation
and stressing the achievement of results.
Score High Give examples of citizen- centric service as Right to Public Service Acts, Citizen’s
Charters, etc.

(c) 
Nothing in public administration is more important, interesting or
mysterious than leadership. Analyze the statement in the context of
strategic leadership.
Chapter: Introduction to Public Administration / Public Policy
Sub Topic: Meaning, Scope and Significance of Public Administration and Public Policy
Implementation and Formulation
Approach
Introduction Strategic leadership refers to a manager’s potential to express a strategic vision
for the organisation, or a part of the organisation, and to motivate and persuade
others to acquire that vision. Strategic leadership can also be defined as utilising
strategy in the management of employees. It is the potential to influence organ-
isational members and to execute organisational change. Strategic leaders create
organisational structure, allocate resources and express strategic vision. Strategic
leaders work in an ambiguous environment on very difficult issues that influence
and are influenced by occasions and organisations external to their own.
Body A few main traits/characteristics/features/qualities of effective strategic leaders that
do lead to superior performance are as follows:
yy Loyalty- Powerful and effective leaders demonstrate their loyalty to their
vision by their words and actions.
yy Keeping them updated- Efficient and effective leaders keep themselves
updated about what is happening within their organisation. They have various
formal and informal sources of information in the organisation.
yy Judicious use of power- Strategic leaders make a very wise use of their
power. They must play the power game skilfully and try to develop consent
for their ideas rather than forcing their ideas upon others. They must push
their ideas gradually.
yy Have wider perspective/outlook- Strategic leaders just don’t have skills in
their narrow specialty but they have a little knowledge about a lot of things.
yy Motivation- Strategic leaders must have a zeal for work that goes beyond
money and power and also they should have an inclination to achieve goals
with energy and determination.
yy Compassion- Strategic leaders must understand the views and feelings of their
subordinates, and make decisions after considering them.
yy Self-control- Strategic leaders must have the potential to control distracting/
disturbing moods and desires, i.e., they must think before acting.
yy Social skills- Strategic leaders must be friendly and social.

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yy Self-awareness- Strategic leaders must have the potential to understand their

own moods and emotions, as well as their impact on others.
yy Readiness to delegate and authorise- Effective leaders are proficient at dele-
gation. They are well aware of the fact that delegation will avoid overloading
of responsibilities on the leaders. They also recognise the fact that authorising
the subordinates to make decisions will motivate them a lot.
yy Articulacy- Strong leaders are articulate enough to communicate the vision(-
vision of where the organisation should head) to the organisational members
in terms that boost those members.
yy Constancy/ Reliability- Strategic leaders constantly convey their vision until
it becomes a component of organizational culture.
Conclusion Strategic leadership supplies a perception that critical issues or success factors
related to people can be addressed and strategic decisions are taken that have a
major and long-term impact on the behaviour and triumph of the organisation. The
basic objective of strategic leadership is to create strategic capability to make cer-
tain that the organisation has the skilled, committed and well-motivated employees
it needs to accomplish sustained competitive advantage.
Score High Give examples of strategic leadership in disaster management, elections, etc.

SECTION-B

Q5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

(a) 
The approach to the study of administration in its environmental
context is especially more useful for developing countries. Comment.
Chapter: Comparative Public Administration
Sub Topic: Sociological factors affecting administration
Approach Explain ecological factors and its influence on development administration.
Introduction Ecology in public administration was primarily introduced by Professor John M.
Gaus, one of the early pioneers of public administration. He emphasised that public
administration, including its development as well as its activities, was influenced
by its setting or ecology.
Body Impact of ecological factors on development administration:
Historical Factors: Any country’s administrative system will display significant
impact of its historical past on its administrative system.
For example, US administration was once a colony of British and hence it adopted
after independence first written constitution and absolute fundamental rights.
Sociological Factors: Sociological factors – such as social stratification, familial

kinship ties, societal values, societal ambitiousness, cultural environment, region-
alism, cultural barriers – all play a very significant part in ensuring the behaviour
of administration.
Political Factors: Participatory and development- centric administration is influ-

enced by political system. Administration helps formulate government programmes
and policies, and the administrators provide different types of data, information,
expertise, suggestions, feedback, and so on to the political executive. On the basis

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 OLC-I.22 Public Administration

of pragmatic advice, policies are formulated. Thus, administration and political

system impact each other.
Ideographic to nomothetic: Ideographic means ethnocentric, that is, study based

on one culture, society and nation. Traditional public administration is more west-
ern oriented. However, CPA follows nomothetic approach; it doesn’t lay emphasis
on one culture of society, rather culture of two or more countries, comparing and
contrasting them.
Conclusion The administrative structures, functions, processes, rules and regulations are shaped
by the policy of the country and political factors enhance the operational working
of administration to a great extent. In fact, no aspect of public administration can
be conceived of without an inevitable political influence. The impact of politics and
other factors on public administration is direct and immediate and the relationship
between the two is intimate to the point of being inseparable in every country.
Score High Give examples of how politics and sociological factors influence policy formula-
tion, implementation and review.

(b) Gender equality and women’s rights have laid down a strong founda-
tion of development. Elaborate.
Chapter: Development Administration
Sub Topic: Women and Development
Approach Explain the impact of gender equality and women’s rights on development.
Introduction The Constitution of India provides for equal opportunity for men and women in
employment. The Ninth Five-year Plan started emphasising engendering of national
plans and policies.
Body
The following steps can be taken to ensure women become equal partners in
development.
1. Co-governance – Governance of women for women by women.
This concept aims at giving women the voice and participation in various
planning and policy-making bodies.
2. Gender budgeting is used as a major mechanism so that women-specific
budgetary allocations and spending are used to implement women-specific
schemes.
3. Life cycle approach to women’s empowerment – This approach suggests
women need support and empowerment at every stage in their life cycle from
wombs to tombs.
Such as:
yy Physical security – Ensuring safe atmosphere for women to work
yy Social security – Education and health care for women
yy Economic security – Reservation for women in jobs, micro credit SHGs, etc.
yy Political participation – Voice of women through reservation of seats
yy Community security – Societal sensitisation and breaking gender stereotypes
Conclusion India’s female labour participation stands at 23per cent. Hence, it is important
to inten­sify efforts to ensure women participation in socio-economic process on
equality with men and become co-partners in development. Empowering women
in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work are keys to achiev-
ing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals.

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Score High Give statistics and recent initiatives to ensure women are equal partners in
development.
UNDP Findings: The UNDP in its latest report for Gender Inequality has noted
the following:
• Unpaid Labour: On an average, women spend 2.4 more hours per day than
men on unpaid care and domestic work.
• Among people who participate in the paid economy, women spend an
average of four hours more per day than men on paid and unpaid work
combined.

(c) Performance appraisal needs to be seen beyond the mere suitability of

the official for vertical promotion. Explain.
Chapter: Personnel Administration
Sub Topic: Performance Appraisal
Approach Explain multidimensional impact of performance appraisal.
Introduction Performance appraisal is a systematic evaluation of the employee’s performance at
work. It is also defined as a systematic description of an employee’s job relevant
strength and weaknesses.
Body Theoretical basis: Barnard Simon’s inducement model states that there is a need
to achieve a balance between inducement and contribution. Hence, the need for
performance appraisal.
Objectives of performance appraisal:

1. To have a fair and sound promotional system
2. To have a fair reward mechanism
3. Feedback of performance
4. Employee training and development
5. Ensuring career development
6. Human resource planning
7. To ensure control order and discipline
Methods of performance appraisal:

Old system:

1. Graphic rating scale
2. Ranking method
3. Critical incident method
4. Annual confidential reports
Modern methods of performance appraisal:
1. Management by objectives
2. 360° appraisal
3. Behaviourally anchored rating scales
4. Psychological appraisal method
5. Role analysis
6. Human resource accounting
7. Appraisal by results
8. SMART techniques
Issues in performance appraisal system:

1. Subjectivity or discretion that the superior has in the appraisal.

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 OLC-I.24 Public Administration

2. Inter-personal relations affect the appraisal – relation between superior and

subordinate.
4. There is less distinction between good and average performance.
5. Final grading depends on personal loyalty rather than performance.
6. Due to strict hierarchical nature, there is secrecy and unfairness.
7. The reporting officer avoids giving adverse remarks in ACR because of the sys­
tem of representation. Any adverse remark requires evidence and justification.
8. The performance appraisal does not take into account objective criteria with
targets not fixed by superior officers.
7. Delay in feedback dilutes the main purpose of ACR.
8. There is politicisation of appraisal.
Surendra Nath committee recommended:

1. There should be a scale of 1 to 10 on which a civil servant should be rated
against 15 to 20 indicators.
2. Normalisation method of UPSC should be used to rationalise rating.
3. Ratings by eminent panel group whose members should have experience in
public affairs.
4. ARC-II recommended to go beyond the present system and adopt performance
management system.
5. Appraisal should be continuous, and not an annual affair.
6. Performance appraisal should not incorporate only past performance but also
likelihood of future performance.
Recommendations for improving performance appraisal:

1. The employees should be made aware of the organisation’s expectations and
norms of evaluation.
2. There should be peer and superior subordinate review.
3. Employees posted in different departments and at different levels of govern-
ment should be subjected to different formats of ACR.
4. The comments in ACR should be used for imparting training and planning
the career development of employees. Counselling should be provided on the
basis of feedback provided.
5. Rather than being an annual activity, performance appraisal should be a con-
tinuous process.
6. It is advised that the reporting officer shall set tangible targets at the beginning
of the year. It should be done in a transparent manner.
Conclusion Performance appraisal methods have become relevant because there is an urgent
need of enhancing probity, integrity, skills, outlook ,citizen- friendly and responsive
administration.
Score High Describe the impact of NPM philosophy on new age methods of performance
appraisal.

(d) It is widely agreed that the government ought to provide the goods
that the market fails to provide or does not provide efficiently. Argue.
Chapter: Development Administration
Sub Topic: State vs Market Debate
Approach Explain state and market debate and do a critical analysis.
Refer to Answer 6(c).

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(e) MIS has evolved and gone far beyond its traditional advantages due
to technological advancements. Comment.
Chapter: Techniques of Administrative Improvement
Sub Topic: MIS
Approach Explain the impact of MIS in administration.
Explain the usefulness of MIS as a part of organisation theory and how it helps
in headquarter-field relationships.
Introduction Management information system is designed to support decision-making func-
tions in an organisation. It is also defined as an information system that provides
reports to assist the managerial monitoring and control of organisational functions,
resources and other responsibilities. MIS is an important tool for improving effi-
ciency and effectiveness in management.
Body In contingency theory of organisation, which states that it is difficult in the pres­
ent world of information communication technologies, liberalisation, privatisation,
globalisation where the external environment keeps changing, it is important that
communication through MIS should aid decision- making and coordination.
Advantages of MIS:
1. Coordination and communication achieved by management through better
communications of information across hierarchy.
For example, Ministries, departments. MIS helps the manager understand the
behaviour of each organisational member, small groups, etc. This would help
him create better synergy in the organisation.
2. Analysis of information regarding personnel, recruitment, promotion, transfers,
etc. MIS helps in achieving rationalisation of staff and resources.
3. Proper information utilisation through MIS helps in Financial, Personnel
Management.
4. Decision-making and systems theory applications are possible with information.
5. MIS involves both rational and extra-rational elements. While computer sci­
ence helps in the computation of facts, extra-rational are present is well. MIS
carries with it decision-making aspect. It helps in achieving bounded rationality
of the administrator.
Issues with MIS:
yy MIS as an impersonal system: MIS is conceived as a data processing tool and
the outputs are not in sync with organisational requirements.
yy MIS is not linked to organisational system: MIS fails when it underestimates
the complexity in the organisational system and does not incorporate that
complexity in its design.
yy Inadequate attention to quality control: MIS can process data only when quality
inputs are provided.
yy Inadequate training: Training is important for all stakeholders by sensitivity
training.
yy Not user-friendly: When it does not meet certain critical and key factors, lack
of user-friendly system personnel.
yy Lack of discipline: A lack of discipline in following the standard systems and
procedures may result in incomplete and incorrect information.
yy Lack of stakeholder participation: Sometimes, MIS is prepared without stake­
holders’ consultation.

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 OLC-I.26 Public Administration

Solutions
1. MIS must be integrated with its managerial functions.
2. Appropriate technology for a successful MIS: Appropriate information technol­
ogy is required to process the data.
3. Surveillance: MIS should be kept under continuous surveillance so that its
open system design can be constantly modified.
4. Focus on results: The focus of MIS should be on results.
5. Consideration of human factors: An efficient MIS recognises that a manager is
a human being and MIS must identify and omit human errors in informa­tion
processing.
Conclusion MIS plays a catalytic role in between headquarter-field relationship and makes it
successful. Through MIS the organised information is taken into consideration in
policy formulation, and at field level, this information is disseminated with efficient
tools and also helps in policy evaluation.
Score High Example of MIS: The Health Management Information System (HMIS) is an
online portal that pro­vides information on health indicators in India. HMIS com-
piles data from state-and district-level health authorities, the National Family
Health Survey (NFHS), the District Level Household Survey (DLHS), and the Office
of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, among other sources.

Q6. (a) Emphasis on cost control and reducing public expenditure has

diverted the focus of government budgets from the basic objec-
tives of reallocation of resources, bringing economic stability and
promoting social equity. Examine.
Chapter: Financial Administration
Sub Topic: Monetary Policy /Fiscal Policy
Approach Explain monetary and fiscal policy and reallocation of resources , bringing eco-
nomic stability and promoting social equity.
Introduction Monetary policy has evolved over the years from regulation and direction of credit
to liquidity management in a market-friendly way. With globalisation, drastic
changes in monetary policy have been observed as it is closely linked to global
factors.
Body Why monetary policies are ineffective in the long run?
1. Lack of saving – The resources that can be mobilised by banks are low. The
average income of people is low.
2. Non-monetised sector – Most of developing countries have informal banking
sector, low-banking coverage, moneylenders and businessmen. Hence, mone­
tary policies do not affect the society at large.
3. Non-banking financial institutions – These do not come under monetary policy.
Hence, a large section of population remains unaffected.
4. Existence of parallel economy – Black money or shadow money gives rise to
inflationary trend in mainstream economy and monetary policy fails to have
any effect as a result.
5. Time lag – The success of the monetary policy depends on timely imple­
mentation of it. However, in many cases unnecessary delays are found in
implementation of the monetary policy. Hence, monetary and fiscal policies
should go hand in hand.

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6. Indirect policies have a long-gestation period; impact of monetary policy is

slow.
7. Even with the benefits of reduced rates, it can be successful only when it
results in increased demand. Also, it is dependent on a host of other factors
such as global monetary policies, recession, etc.
Objectives of fiscal policy:

1. Ensuring rapid growth and development by allocating more resources for
investment.
2. Mobilisation of resources by
(a) Taxation–Direct/indirect tax
(b) Public saving–Reducing government expenditure through austerity
measures.
(c) Government can raise resources from private sector and households.
3. Price stability and control of inflation–Control inflation and stabilise price.
Government aims to control inflation by reducing fiscal deficits and tax saving.
4. Reducing equalities of income and wealth and attaining a progressive tax
structure by taxing the rich and redistributing the same to the poor. Ensuring
simplification of tax laws and disinvestment.
5. Attaining balanced economic growth–Aims at balanced growth of three crucial
sectors–agriculture, industry and services.
6. Attaining balanced regional growth and ensuring employment generation by
cash subsidy, reduction in taxes and duties in the form of tax holidays.
7. Done by Ministry of Finance through FRBM Act-Expenditure reforms, GST
and Income Tax-Income reforms.
Why fiscal policy is more effective than monetary policy:
1. Impact of fiscal policy is direct and immediate to all levels of society.
2. The fiscal policies are directly connected to public policies of administration
and ensure socio-economic growth.
3. In developing countries, fiscal policy is a more effective tool to address the
economic disparities due to democratic welfare nature of governments.
4. Fiscal policy is better scrutinised. Through budget, every detail of fiscal pol­
icies is scrutinised, thereby increasing accountability.
5. Fiscal policies can be directed towards broad objectives of government.
6. Fiscal policies can more directly affect the demand economy. If there is infla­
tion in the country, government can raise taxes on goods and services which
will help moderate inflation.
7. Monetary policy due to globalisation is not independent, whereas fiscal policy
is independent of global factors.
Conclusion These are major challenges and limitations in the implementation of monetary
policy of a country. Though the monetary policy suffers from these challenges and
limitations, it has immense significance in influencing the process of economic
growth and development of the country. Both monetary and fiscal policies face
immense challenge due to globalisation. Any change in world economic situation
is bound to have its impact on both fiscal and monetary policies. Hence, it is
imperative that both monetary and fiscal policies should work in coordination
considering national objective and socio-economic growth. RBI and Ministry of
Finance should work in tandem to achieve socio-economic growth while observing
fiscal prudence.

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 OLC-I.28 Public Administration

Score High Explain the impact of globalisation on monetary and fiscal policy:
1. Globalisation ensures politics and economic stability are complementary to
each other. Fiscal policies achieve social justice with equality and monetary
policies ensure economic stability.
2. Give example of Monetary Policy Committee and The Flexible Inflation
Targeting Framework (FITF) was introduced in India post the amendment of
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934 in 2016. In accordance with the
RBI Act, the Government of India sets the inflation target every 5 years after
consultation with the RBI, which ensures monetary policy and fiscal policy
work in tandem.

(b) In modern context, Riggsian terms have not altogether disappeared,
but have emerged in different forms with newer meanings. Discuss.
Chapter: Comparative Public Administration
Sub Topic: Fred W Riggs and His model
Approach Explain Riggsian terminology in modern context with examples.
Introduction Riggs developed prismatic diffracted model, based on the aspect of multi-function­
ality. Riggs has divided social structures into functionally diffuse and functionally
specific. Functionally diffuse structures perform a large number of functions.
Societies having a large number of such structures are called diffused. On the other
hand, functionally-specific structures perform limited prescribed functions only.
Societies having such structures are called diffracted. Societies lying in transition
in between these two societies are called prismatic.
Features of prismatic society:

yy Attainment: People derive their status on both criteria of birth inheritance
and achievement.
yy Selectivism: Decision-making is based on blend of both religion/faith and
rational grounds.
yy Poly-functionalism: For every function there is no separate structure, rather a
structure performs multiple functions.
yy Political and administrative subsystems: This is characterised by heterogeneity,
overlapping formalism and unbalanced politics.
Sala:

yy Overlapping:All administrative functions are performed by just one structure
in prismatic societies. We find overlapping of administrative functions, that
is, the formerly differentiated structures of a diffracted society coexisted with
the undif­ferentiated structures of a fused society. Although modern social
structures are created, a few structures still continue to dominate the social
system. Moreover, modern norms and values coexist with the traditional norms
and values. This leads to nepotism, poly-normativism and poly-communalism.
yy Administrative subsystem: Characterised by unbalanced politics, sala, poly­
normativism, separation of authority and control.
yy Unbalanced politics: Politicians hold sway over bureaucracy and vice versa,
leading to politicisation of bureaucracy or bureaucratisation of politics. It also
leads to fictional control and authority. Supposedly the authority lies with cen-
tral administrative organisations, but in practice the control lies with the local

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dispersed bureaucracy. Results in headquarters, field, line staff conflict and

bureaucracy dominating decision-making vis-à-vis politicians. Also leads to
inverse ratio between bureaucratic power and administrative output. The more
is the power of sala administrators, the less effective is the administration.
yy Sala: Mixture of diffracted bureau and fused chamber. Officials are reminis­cent
of modern Weberian bureaucratic structures but are influenced by attitudes and
values of fused society.
yy Recruitment is based on merit but officials function on the basis of social
norms and customs and favour their clects or class affiliations.
yy Promotions and transfers based on nepotism and favouritism and represents
neo-patrimonial bureaucracy.
yy Polynormativism: Existence of various norms leading to normlessness.
Officials claim to follow objective, universalistic and achievement-oriented
practices but follow more subjective, ascription-oriented and particularistic
modes of conduct.
yy Formalism: Difference between formally prescribed and effectively practised
procedures. For example, rule of law is professed but in practice criminalisa­
tion of politics and politicisation of criminals occur.
yy Heterogeneity: Simultaneous presence of different systems, practices and
viewpoints in a prismatic society: there are both urban areas and rural areas.
yy Economic subsystem: Characterised by Bazaar Canteen Model, arena and
market factors and subidised tributary model. Leads to corruption, crony
capitalism.
yy In underdeveloped societies: Barter system, prices not fixed, always negotia­
ble, inform.
yy In developed societies: Well-developed financial system.
yy In prismatic societies: Fusion of both developed societies and underdeveloped
societies such as RBI controlling banking sector and presence of informal
money lenders in villages.
yy Bazaar canteen and subsidised tributary: Prismatic societies have both arena
factors such as power balance, prestige and solidarity and market factors such
as demand and supply. Leads to price indeterminacy wherein it is impossible
to determine a common price for a commodity or service. Leads to privileged
facilities for clects and favouritism by civil servants. For example, crony
capitalism.
yy Also, pressure groups and interest groups have their sway and have special
facilities in tributary canteen model. For example, fertiliser subsidies for rich
farmers.
Conclusion The solution to the issues of prismatic society is in ensuring differentiation and
integration. The faster is the differentiation and integration process, the quicker
shall be the development towards a developed society. At the same time, recent
initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan have proven
that ensuring endogenetic change, that is, change in behaviour and attitude of
administrative officials or development of administration is a necessary prerequisite
for the development of formal structures or differentiation.
Score High Give examples of movement of developing countries towards diffracted societies
in the context of LPG, NPS and NPM reforms.

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(c) A striking feature of economic development is an apparent symbiotic

evolution of strong States and strong market economies. Analyse.
Chapter: Development Adminsitration
Sub Topic: Strong State vs Market Debate
Approach Explain the relationship between state and market and how it fosters development
Introduction State versus market debate is about respective roles of state and market in the
society and economy in the context of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation.
Body Theoretical base
Public choice approach: Institutional pluralism (plurality of agencies) in the pro­
vision of public goods and services.
New public management: This new paradigm redefines the role of government to
play a more enabling role rather than the traditional doer role. It emphasises on
the role of market as the key driver of economy.
Advantages of State

1. State provides legitimacy to its citizens.
2. Sovereign capability to raise finances.
3. State can ensure balanced regional development.
4. State can protect and promote the interests of the weaker sections of society.
5. State can act as a regulator to ensure free and fair competition in the market.
6. State can ensure equitable and inclusive growth and redistribution of wealth.
Disadvantages of State

1. Political populism dominates public policies, resulting in long-term adverse
consequences.
2. Bureaucracy is known for red tapism and inefficiency which results in ineffi­
cient utilisation of resources, increase in cost of production.
3. High level of corruption in the functioning of political and administrative
system.
4. Failure of state in many developing countries in delivering public goods and
services (law and order, education, health, housing, transport).
5. Excessive state intervention has resulted in market distortion and inflated
bureaucracy.
6. State is morally responsible but not legally accountable.
Advantages of Markets

1. Markets ensure efficient utilisation of resources.
2. PPP has brought in investment necessary for rapid growth and development.
3. Ensure better quality of goods and services and at competitive prices.
4. Ensure rapid industrialisation and infrastructure development.
Disadvantages of Markets

1. Markets are not concerned about negative externalities. Example: pollution,
environmental degradation.
2. Markets focus on profit and do not care about widening disparities in society
regarding economic growth.
3. Markets care about customers and not citizens.
4. Markets are not perfect and cannot reform themselves which results in monop­
oly (which harms customer interests).
5. Markets indulge in rent seeking behaviour and crony capitalism to maximise
profits.

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6. Markets cannot ensure equilibrium between aggregate demand and supply.

7. Markets do not ensure optimum allocation of resources.
Solution

The balance between state minimalism and market friendliness can be achieved in
the following manner:
1. State and market should delineate functions according to their exclave
strengths.
State:
yy Foundation of law and order
yy Environment protection
yy Macroeconomic stability
yy Maintaining social services and infrastructure
yy Regulating markets
yy Inclusive growth, defence and protecting environment
Markets:
yy Infrastructure
yy Private finance
yy Goods and services
2. State should ensure decentralised planning, political stability and policy conti­
nuity and facilitating and enabling role of bureaucracy for markets to prosper.
3. State should ensure minimum government and maximum governance. The
quality instead of quality of state intervention is important.
Competitive markets are the best way for ensuring efficient production of goods
and services. However, they need a legal and regulatory framework that only
governments can provide.
Conclusion Hence, intervention of state is necessary to offset market failures and to meet
market inadequacies to promote and protect public interest, which is irreplaceable
by any market philosophy.
Score High Explain how state and markets have come together in policy implementation,
review and formation post-LPG such as public private partnership, disinvestment
of PSUs, etc.

Q7.(a) Policy problems are increasingly tending towards being wicked.

Discuss the capacity and preparedness of the State to tackle such
problems.
Chapter: Public Policy
Sub Topic: Policy implementation and evaluation issues
Approach Explain public policy implementation and issues and suggest the way forward.
Introduction Dwight Waldo stated the impossibility of divorcing policy considerations from
politics. According to Dror, the ultimate goal of policy-making is to find best
policy-making into factors such as rational and extra rational factors.
Why policy problems tend to be wicked?
1. It presumes that policy through political process is through interest articulation
of stakeholders such as civil society, markets, pressure groups, interest groups
and citizens.
2. It also presumes that various ideological inclinations and socio-economic
political context are factored in.

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3. In reality, policy-making is done taking into consideration the irrational ele­

ments such as:
(i) Values and norms of society/constitutionalism
(ii) Practical politics
(iii) Political populism/culture
(iv) Societal orientation and stage of fused, prismatic or differentiated
(v) Subconscious intuition or judgement
(vi) Negotiation or bargaining among policy makers
4. Policy determines politics:
(i) Prior to LPG and NPM era, politics used to drive policies in the form of:
(a) Excessive state involvement in welfare activities.
(b) State ownership and provider of goods and services.
(c) Socialism as a concept of state ownership of modes of production.
(d) Political populism in the form of non-merit subsidies.
Resulted in macroeconomic crisis, fiscal deficits, corruption, bureaucratisation
and stagnant economic growth.
Example: India’s fiscal politics resulted in balance of payment crisis in 1991.
5. Incrementalism hampers public policy because:
yy It is a complacent approach and the policy-maker is content with medi-
ocre solutions.
yy It accepts inertia and status quoism, as marginalism or marginal incre-
mentalism is not capable of major innovation for societal transformation.
yy Since it is not empirical or quantitative, there is a lot of subjectivity which
would lead to resource wastage, creates confusion.
yy Bureaucracy as a change agent acts indecisively and conservatively, hence
leads to stagnant socio-economic growth, trained incapacity and goal
displacement.
yy Incrementalism leads to anti-innovation as it is based on working on
existing solutions, no new technological changes and no revamping of
meta policy making as the solutions are based on predefined set of poli-
cy-making frame­work or strategies.
6. Lack of clarity: In public policies lack of clarity affects the effectiveness of
programmes.
7. Realistic and practical applications: Most of the policies are designed to fail
due to impractical explications and parameters and one-size-fits-all policy.
Example: Government going into population drives sans taking into consider-
ation the societal stigmas attached.
8. Line staff conflict: Conflict between line and staff agencies makes policy
implementation ineffective.
9. Decentralisation: Policy implementation is overcentralised, with policy plan-
ners not giving autonomy to implementation agencies.
10. No feedback mechanism and lack of policy monitoring and evaluation.
11. Widespread corruption dilutes policy effectiveness.
12. Absence of proper coordination among various agencies.
13. Political consideration in policy implementation leads to elite capture of policy
process.
14. Bureaucratic interference, hierarchical implementation structure, capacity defi-
cit of implementing staff.

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Solutions to deficit in policy implementation

1. Ensure proper monitoring and feedback mechanism.
2. Appropriate capacity-building to implementing staff.
3. Citizen participation through feedback mechanism such as Mygov.in.
4. Engagement of various stakeholders, formal and informal, at policy implemen­
tation level.
5. Policy planning must be suited to local needs and accounting for social hier­
archies which prevent implementation.
6. Autonomy to policy implementers to innovate.
Policy implementation is the crux of policy process. It needs to be strengthened
to ensure policy cycle is successful. It needs innovative developmental bureau­
cracy and an ecology suited to participatory policy implementation process of all
stakeholders.
Score High Give examples of policy implementation through citizen’s engagement such as
Kerela floods and crowd funding.

(b) Zero-based budgeting was intended to get away from incrementalism,

but ended up being the most incremental of any budgetary approach.
Discuss.
Chapter: Financial Administration
Sub Topic: Budgetary Forms
Approach Explain zero based budgeting and do a critical analysis.
Introduction Zero Based Budgeting: Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting in which
all expenses are evaluated each time a budget is made and expenses must be jus-
tified for each new period.
Zero budgeting starts from the zero base and every function of the government is
analysed for its needs and cost. Budget is then made based on the needs.
The process of zero-based budgeting starts from a “zero base,” and every function
within an organisation is analysed for its needs and costs. The budgets are then
built around what is needed for the upcoming period, regardless of whether each
budget is higher or lower than the previous one.
Zero-based budgeting has a number of disadvantages. First, it is timely and
resource-intensive. Because a new budget is developed each period, the time cost
involved may not be worthwhile. Instead, using a modified budget template may
prove more beneficial. Second, it may reward short-term perspectives in the com-
pany by allocating more resources to operations with the highest revenues. In turn,
areas such as research and development, or those that have a long-term horizon,
may get overlooked.
As an accounting practice, zero-based budgeting offers a number of advantages
including focused operations, lower costs, budget flexibility, and strategic execu-
tion. When managers think about how each dollar is spent, the highest revenue-gen-
erating operations come into greater focus. Meanwhile, lowered costs may result as
zero-based budgeting may prevent the misallocation of resources that may happen
over time when a budget grows incrementally.
Conclusion Zero-based budgeting forces managers to analyse all spending and requires justify-
ing every expense item that should be kept. It facilitates companies to profoundly

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 OLC-I.34 Public Administration

reshape their cost structures and increase competitiveness. Zero-based budgeting

analyses which activity should be executed at what level and frequency and scruti-
nises the way these could be better performed through streamlining, standardisation,
outsourcing, offshoring or automation.
Score High Explain zero-based budgeting examples in India.

(c) ICT has immense potential to transform governance and empower

citizens. Examine.
Chapter: Techniques of administrative improvement
Sub Topic: E-governance
Approach Explain the advantages of ICT and do a critical analysis.
Introduction Traditional bureaucratic system is known for red tapism and inefficiency. Too
many hierarchal levels along with complicated rules and regulations have resulted
in goal displacement. Instead of focusing on realising outcomes, it has focused on
secrecy, and less accountability and interaction with citizens. Participative democ-
racy believes the best way to make a decision is, ensuring wide participation of
all its citizens and giving them access to relevant information. Government is by
nature an information intensive organisation and information is power and infor-
mation management is political. For example, deciding which information to give
through RTI.
Body Advantages of information technology
yy Speed: Technology makes communication speedier. Internet, phones, cell
phones have reduced the time taken in normal communication.
yy Cost reduction: Most of the government expenditure is appropriated towards
the cost of stationary. Internet and phones make communication cheaper, sav­
ing valuable money for the government.
yy Transparency: Use of ICT makes governing process transparent. ICT helps
make the information available online, eliminating all the possibilities of
concealing information.
yy Accountability: Once the governing process is made transparent, the govern­
ment is automatically made accountable. Accountability is answerability of
the government to the people.
yy Convenience: E-government brings public services to citizens on their sched­
ule and their venue. Example: passport seva.
yy Improved customer service: E-government allows to redeploy resources from
back-end processing to the front line of customer service.
yy Increased access to information: E-government improves the accessibility
of government information to citizens, allowing it to become an important
resource in the making the decisions that affect daily life. So, it helps in the
empowerment of citizens.
Conclusion Information technology has enhanced the reach of government and its accessibility,
operational efficiency and become a tool for good governance. It has resulted in
automation of government procedures, processes, tools and techniques for service
delivery. It also reduces discretionary power, chances of manipulation and hence
enhances efficiency, transparency in administration.

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Score High Use more examples of e-governance in the Indian context.

· E-Seva (Andhra Pradesh) facilitates payment of utility bills, issuance of certifi­
cates, licenses, and permits.
· Khajane Project (Karnataka) digitalised the treasury system of the state.
· FRIENDS (Kerala) is a single-window facility to pay taxes and other financial
dues to the State government.
· Lokvani Project (Uttar Pradesh) is a single-window solution relating to the
handling of grievances, land record maintenance, and providing a mixture
of essential services.

Q8. (a) The successful attainment of SDGs objectives largely depends upon

the wisdom, experience and farsightedness of the actors involved
and their willingness to cooperate in the implementation process.
Analyse.
Chapter: Development Administration
Sub Topic: Challenges and Impact of Liberalisation ,Privatisation and Globalisation
Approach Explain issues of SDGs and its implementation issues.
Introduction Development administration is that part of administration which is engaged in the
process of bringing about desirable change. Therefore, it is action-oriented and
goal-oriented, and not to merely establish stability, regulation (or) status quo.
yy Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
yy This most widely accepted definition of Sustainable Development was given
by the Brundtland Commission in its report Our Common Future (1987).
yy Sustainable development (SD) calls for concerted efforts towards building an
inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet.
yy Three core elements of sustainable development are economic growth, social
inclusion and environmental protection. It is crucial to harmonise them.
yy Sustainable economic growth, achieving sustainable livelihood, living in
harmony with nature and appropriate technology are important for sus-
tainable development.
Body Impact of SDG on Development:
yy Improvements have been noticed in areas such as improving maternal and child
health, expanding access to electricity and increasing women’s representation
in government
yy An estimated 71 million people are expected to be pushed back into extreme
poverty in 2020, the first rise in global poverty since 1998. The main cause
of this is said to be loss of employment and people who were earlier secure
also could find themselves at risk of poverty.
yy Approximately 1.6 million vulnerable workers across the world were either
left unemployed or underemployed, with incomes estimated to have fallen by
60 percent during the crisis.
yy Women and children, and people living in slums were the worst affected
sections during the pandemic.
yy School closures have kept 90 percent of students worldwide (1.57 billion) out
of school and caused over 370 million children to miss out on school meals
they depend on.

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 OLC-I.36 Public Administration

yy The cases of poverty, unemployment and risk of lives have increased the risk
of child labour and trafficking
India’s record in implementing Sustainable Development Goals
yy Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) is
being implemented to provide jobs to unskilled labourers and improve their
living standards.
yy National Food Security Act is being enforced to provide subsidised food
grains.
yy The government of India aims to make India open defecation free under its
flagship programme Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
yy Renewable energy generation targets have been set at 175 GW by 2022 to
exploit solar energy, wind energy and other such renewable sources of energy
efficiency and reduce the dependence on fossil fuels.
yy Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and
Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) schemes
have been launched for improving the infrastructure aspects.
yy India has expressed its intent to combat climate change by ratifying the Paris
Agreement.
Conclusion The Sustainable Development Goals have resulted in the decline of the maternal
mortality rate, reduced poverty, worked for the improved health of the people,
spread awareness about the communicable and non-communicable diseases and
also the vaccines required for children. Overall, the Sustainable Development goals
tend to make the world a better place to live by fulfilling its targets within the
stipulated time of 15 years and remove poverty, improve health, provide employ-
ment, empower women, reduce inequalities and follow all the seventeen targets
that have been set by the UN.
Score High Give examples of recent initiatives in SDG Monitoring such as:
• NITI Aayog undertook the extensive exercise of measuring India and its
States’ progress towards the SDGs for 2030, culminating in the development
of the first SDG India Index - Baseline Report 2018.
• The SDG India Index computes goal-wise scores on the 16 SDGs for each
State and Union Territory. Overall State and UT scores are generated from
goal-wise scores to measure aggregate performance of the sub-national unit
based on its performance across the 16 SDGs.

(b) Groups work to elevate issues on the policy agenda or seek to deny
other groups the opportunity to place issues. In this background,
discuss the role of interest groups in agenda setting in the developing
countries.
Chapter: Accountability and Control
Sub Topic: Role of Interest Groups
Approach Explain the role of interest groups in agenda setting and issues in the Indian
context.
Introduction A pressure group is a group of people who are organised actively for promoting and
defending their common interest. It is called so, as it attempts to bring a change in
public policy by exerting pressure on the government. It acts as a liaison between
the government and its members.

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The pressure groups influence the policy-making and policy implementation in the
government through legal and legitimate methods like lobbying, correspondence,
publicity, propagandising, petitioning, public debating, maintaining contacts with
their legislators, and so forth.
Body The following points are pertinent when studying the influence of pressure
groups in India.
1. The politics of pressure groups is conditioned by the channels of governmental
activity. One should look at the place where decisions are actually taken.
2. In every society, whether democratic or totalitarian, interest groups seek to
influence public policy in the desired direction without being ready to accept
the responsibility of public office as well as by declining to hold direct respon-
sibility for ruling the country.
3. Based on Certain Interests: Each pressure group organises itself keeping
in view certain interests and thus tries to adopt the structure of power in the
political systems.
4. Use of Modern as well as Traditional Means: They adopt techniques like
financing of political parties, sponsoring their close candidates at the time of
elections and keeping the bureaucracy also satisfied.
5. Resulting Out of Increasing Pressure and Demands on Resources: Scarcity
of resources, claims and counterclaims on the resources from different and
competing sections of the society leads to the rise of pressure groups.
6. Inadequacies of Political Parties: Pressure groups are primarily a conse-
quence of inadequacies of the political parties.
7. Agents of Political Socialisation: Pressure groups are agents of political
socialisation in so far as they influence the orientations of the people towards
the political process. These groups play a vital role as two-way communication
links between the people and the government.
8. Pressure groups play a vital role in the legislative process, not only as impor-
tant structures of interest articulation, but also as active agencies engaged in
lobbying with the legislators for securing desired laws or amendments in laws
and policies of the government.
Conclusion Democratic politics has to be politics through consultation, through negotiation
and some amount of bargaining is also involved. Thus, it is very essential for the
government to consult these organised groups at the time of policy formulation and
implementation. The society has become highly complex and individuals cannot
pursue their interests on their own. They need the support of other fellow beings
in order to gain greater bargaining power; this gives rise to pressure groups based
on common interests.
Score High Give examples of interest groups who are active in the Indian context.

(c) Civil servants generally tend to exhibit the values and ethical frame-
work of the political executives under whom they function. Explain.
Chapter: Personnel Administration
Sub Topic: Ethical Values and Administrative ethics
Approach Explain civil servants and values and ethical framework under political leadership
Introduction Administrative ethics implies the public officials must have ethical and moral
standards in executing administrative responsibilities in public interest.

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 OLC-I.38 Public Administration

Body Requirements of administrative ethics in ensuring accountability:

1. Code of conduct and ethics should be based on detailed standards and require­
ment specific. For example – in Defence Ministry, loyalty to country should
be prime consideration.
2. Ethics should guide the conduct of civil servants and administration.
3. It should strike a balance between professional and personal accountability.
4. Administrative ethics needs to be contextualised according to the needs of
societal values which differ from country to country.
5. These actions must be manifested based on human values like honesty, impar­
tiality, integrity, diligence, economy, and respect for both law and people along
with effectiveness, responsiveness and accountability.
6. Administrative ethics should encompass the following aspects:
(i) Standardisation of conduct based on social values – Rejection of Simon
fact value dichotomy and value commitment to social justice, transpar­
ency, rights based approach, etc.
(ii) Performance monitoring with social values as a standard
(iii) Objectivity in decision-making and policy-making – public interest
(v) Personal accountability
(vi) Professional accountability–
ŠŠ Response
ŠŠ Committed to service
ŠŠ Excellence and expertise
ŠŠ Result orientation
Conclusion Administrative ethics has a broad framework for ensuring accountability and pro­
bity of administration as a whole. Ecological concept suggests that for sufficient
inter­action between the ethical environment and administrative functioning, a
congenial framework based on decision standards, social values and organisational
boundaries needs to be established which can ensure professional and personal
accountability.
Score High Give example of mission karmyogi where ethical values being ingrained in Indian
Administrative system through capacity building.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2021
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
(Paper-2)

SECTION-A

Q1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

(a) The Preamble to the Constitution of India provides a foundational
framework of ideals and values for the Indian administration. Discuss.
Chapter: Philosophical and Constitutional Framework
Sub Topic: Preamble
Approach Explain practical application of values of Preamble evident today.
Introduction The preamble to the constitution is also referred to as the horoscope of the con-
stitution. It enshrines the value premises of the constitution and provides a code
of conduct and framework for governance.
From the preamble, it is clear that people are the popular sovereign, and legal
sovereignty lies within the constitution, thus emphasising constitutionalism.
Body Nature of State:
Socialist: The constitution provides for democratic socialism, that is, state and

market forces coexist together.
On paper:
1. Ownership of state resources, welfare state
2. Egalitarian society
In practice:
1. Gradual disinvestment of state assets
2. Privatisation of services
3. Widening gap between rich and poor, rural and urban societies
4. Private sector monopoly
Safeguards: Regulatory institutions like SEBI, TRAI, judiciary, media, etc.

Secular:

On paper:
1. Government to treat all religions equally
2. State does not discriminate based on religion
In practice:
1. Mainstreaming of fringe elements
2. Communalism used in the democratic process due to the politicisation of
religion
Safeguards: Judiciary and media

Sovereignty:

On paper: Capability to take a decision without external geopolitical pressure

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 OLC-II.2 Public Administration

In practice:

1. Multilateral institutions with their aid conditionality ensure lack of sovereignty.
2. Imitating the western model of development (anti-development thesis).
3. Browbeating by developed countries at the world stage. For example, climate
change, permanent seat in the security council.
Safeguards: Democratically elected government, judiciary, rule of law, separation

of powers
Democracy:

On paper: Democracy of three types – political, economic and social.

In practice:

1. Criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals
3. Rigging in elections
4. Failure of the legislature to prevent an executive from passing hasty legislation
through ordinances
Safeguards: Election Commission of India, media, judiciary, separation of powers

Republic:

On paper:
1. Nominated head of state
2. Absence of any privileged class
In practice:
1. President being reduced to a rubber stamp
2. Dynastic politics
3. Presidentialisation of the office of the Prime Minister
4. Identity-based politics
Safeguards: Legislature control over executive, judicial review of executive actions

Integrity and unity of nation:

On paper: Fraternity and brotherhood among citizens
In practice: Casteism, communalism, insurgency, sub-regionalism are some of the
ills which affect the citizens.
Safeguards: Judiciary, civil society, media

Conclusion However, despite certain flaws in implementation, India’s constitutional values
as enshrined in the preamble stand validated till today. An enlightened citizenry,
vigilant judiciary, active media and civil society and the basic structure of the
constitution have ensured the value premises stay intact.
Score High Give examples of how India’s constitutional values are still alive.

(b) Examine the extent to which the ideal of Constitutionalism as govern-

ment by limited powers has been a functional reality in India.
Chapter: Philosophical and Constitutional framework of Government
Sub Topic: Constitutionalism
Approach Explain the gap between constitutionalism in practice and theory.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2021 OLC-II.3 ..

Principles of Constitutionalism

1. Separation of Powers.
5. Independent Judiciary
2. Responsible and Accountable
6. Individual Rights
Government.

3. Popular Sovereignty 7. Civilian Control of Military

2. Rule of Law 8. Police Accountability

The concept of constitutionalism is a mechanism that provides legitimacy to a

democratic government. It cannot and should not be confused with the legality
of the acts of the officials in a government set-up. Constitutionalism is far more
important than having a written constitution. With some exceptions, most of the
countries have constitutions but it in no way means that they practice constitution-
alism. Some of the basic principles developed over time that embody the concept
of constitutionalism are separation of powers, judicial control and accountable
government.
yy In India, constitutionalism is considered to be a natural corollary to the fun-
damental governance of the country.
yy The constitution of India, with the aid of various legislations, has developed
a detailed and robust mechanism to put into place administrative mechanisms
for the smooth functioning of the machinery of governance.
yy However, due to a variety of factors, the distance between the government and
the governed has been growing with every passing year. The rich are getting
richer and the poor have resigned to their fates; areas which were backward
sixty years ago remain as such.
The concept of constitutionalism has been recognised by the Supreme Court in
Rameshwar Prasad v. Union of India. The Court stated, “The constitutionalism
or constitutional system of Government abhors absolutism – it is premised on the
Rule of Law in which subjective satisfaction is substituted by objectivity provided
by the provisions of the constitution itself.”
In IR Coehlo v. State of Tamil Nadu, the Court held that constitutionalism is a
legal principle that requires control over the exercise of governmental power to
ensure that the democratic principles on which the government is formed shall not
be destroyed. Chandrachud, CJ, in Minerva Mills case observed, “The constitution
is a precious heritage and, therefore, you cannot destroy its identity.”
Separation of Powers

Separation of powers divides the mechanism of governance into three branches,
viz., Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. This not only prevents the monopolisa-
tion of power, but also creates a system of checks and balances. As this division
of powers is in the constitution itself, this becomes an effective tool for ensuring
constitutionalism.
Practice: There is an intense conflict among the three branches regarding jurisdic-

tion and powers, leading to judicial vigilantism, executive despotism and legislative
inactivism.

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 OLC-II.4 Public Administration

Responsible and Accountable Government

In a democratic set-up, the government is elected so that it can serve the people
who elect it. It is in this sense that the electors have a right to demand account-
ability and answers from their government. Therefore, when the government fails
to meet the expectations of the electorate, the authorisation to govern is revoked
by voting them out.
Practice: High levels of corruption, executive tyranny, electoral malpractices and
colonial and inward- looking bureaucracy,non-developmental bureaucracy.
Popular Sovereignty
The concept of popular sovereignty lays down that the government derives its
legitimacy from the people. No corporate body, no individual may exercise any
authority that does not expressly emanate from it. Even though there is a certain
sovereign entity that is empowered to govern, ultimate sovereignty resides in the
nation. The power of such a sovereign entity emanates from the public.
Practice: Subversive agenda by NGOs, civil society, non- institutional actors

destroying national unity,e.g. naxalites, terrorists, urban naxals, rise of presiden-
tialist Prime Minister and Chief Minister , parochial political culture.
Rule of Law
The presence of rule of law means that the government does not belong to men
but to the laws. Dicey lays down three essential components of Rule of Law:
yy Nobody is to be punished except for a specific breach of law that is established
in an ordinary legal manner before ordinary courts of law.
yy No one is above the law.
yy Courts play a vital role in protecting the rights and freedoms of an individual.
Practice: Huge number of cases piling in the Supreme Court and High Courts ,

conflict between regulatory and administrative adjunction institutions.
Independent Judiciary
The independence of the judiciary is the essence of any liberal democracy and
the foundation of a free society. The judiciary is the upholder of rule of law and
if its independence is taken away, it puts the entire rule of law in jeopardy. The
constitution also envisages the separation of the judiciary from the executive under
Article 50.
Practice: Judicial activism and tyranny

Individual Rights
The rights of the individual shall be at the highest pedestal for constitutionalism
to thrive. The constitutional set-up in India gives these rights the importance that
they deserve by engraving them in Part III of the constitution. These individual
rights have not only been protected by the courts but have also been interpreted in
a manner where their effect and implementation has broadened. The enforcement
of these rights is ensured by the constitutional courts, i.e. the Supreme Court and
High Courts.
Practice: AFSPA law being accused of encroaching on human rights, press freedom

and media rights under fire by despotic governments.
Police Accountability
Constitutionalism also envisages that police, while performing its duties, shall
uphold the rights, freedoms and dignity of the individuals. The same can be ensured
by bringing the police under the control of laws and courts.

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Practice: Lack of reforms in police, police tyranny, extra judicial killings, crimi-

nalisation of police
Conclusion The concept of constitutionalism has existed and thrives in all functioning
democracies. However, over the years, the governments have learned to use
government apparatus for their own benefits instead of benefitting the citizens. The
government by giving backdoor entries to corporate interests in policy-making has
vitiated the policymaking process whose primary aim is the welfare of the larger
population. The very document that was adopted to ensure the rights of individuals
is being used to suppress and disenfranchise them.
The problem is that the constitution cannot interpret itself and has to be interpreted
by the men who hold power. The institutions that were the bulwark of constitution-
alism are either crumbling or have been effectively rendered weak and incapable.
Checks and balances have been diluted to a point where their importance is merely
academic. Criminalisation and influence of money power into the corridors of
politics and governance have worsened an already volatile system.
Score High Explain how constitutionalism aids in good governance and vice versa.

(c) Redtapism
 is a major obstacle to the implementation of ‘good gover-
nance. Comment.
Chapter: Philosophical and constitutional framework
Sub Topic: Bureaucracy and Development
Approach Explain why red tapism is a major obstacle to good governance and point out
solutions.
Introduction The reasons for governments not being citizen-centric can be attributed to the work
and attitude of some government servants, the deficiencies in existing institutional
structures and also to some citizens. While the laws made by the Legislature may
be relevant and sound, most of the time they are not implemented properly by
government functionaries. The institutional structure provided may be also weak
at times and ill-conceived and thus has neither the capacity nor the resources to
implement the laws in letter and spirit.
Body Reasons for Red Tapism:
Indian bureaucracy is alleged to be status quoist.
yy As instruments of public service, civil servants have to be ready for change.
The common experience, however, is that they resist changes as they are
wedded to their privileges and prospects and thereby, have become ends
in themselves.
rd th
yy For example, the 73 and 74 Amendments to the constitution have brought
about major changes. Rural and urban local governments have been enabled
to become institutions of self-government.
yy However, the intended vision has not been achieved due to the reluctance on
the part of the civil servants to accept the changes in control and accountability
as well as the altered roles and responsibilities.
Rule-Book Bureaucracy

yy By the rule book bureaucracy, it meant mainly following the rules and laws
of the book without taking care of actual needs of the people.
yy Due to rule book bureaucracy, some civil servants have developed the atti-
tude ‘bureaucratic behaviour’, which evokes issues like red-tapism, the

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complication of procedures, and the maladapted responses of ‘bureau-

cratic’ organisations to the needs of the people.
Political Interference

yy Civil servants at the regional level work in coordination with the political
representative. They both are required to serve the common people by bringing
development, welfare, well-being and peace to the society.
yy The political representative. for the sake of fulfilling the populist demand,
influences the functioning of administrative officials. Hence, an administrative
official has to adhere to the will of the political master.
yy This interference sometimes leads to issues like corruption, arbitrary trans-
fers of honest civil servants. Also, this led to substantial inefficiency where
the vital positions are not held by the best officers and ultimately, this can
lead to institutional decline.
Structural Issues

yy Civil services has been facing many structural issues.
yy Generalist officers: Civil service is conceived primarily to deliver the
core functions of the state, such as maintenance of law and order and
implementation of government orders.
yy However, with the advent of globalisation and economic reforms, the role of
the state has changed.
yy Therefore, there are new challenges due to technological revolution (for exam-
ple, cyber security). Thus, there is a higher demand (of specialist officers) for
domain knowledge at policy level.
yy Ensuring transparency and accountability along with participatory and
representative decision-making are some issues that need to be addressed.
yy There are instances of lack of employment opportunities in some public
services, while there are many vacancies in others.
yy Bureaucracies the world over are expected to adhere to rules and procedures
which are, of course, important for good governance. However, at times,
these rules and procedures are ab-initio ill-conceived and cumbersome and,
therefore, do not serve their purpose.
yy Also, government servants sometimes become overly preoccupied with rules
and procedures and view these as an end in themselves.
yy A common reason usually cited for inefficiency in governance is the inability
within the system to hold the Civil Services accountable for their actions.
yy Seldom are disciplinary proceedings initiated against delinquent government
servants ,and imposition of penalties is even rarer.
yy It ­is primarily because at most levels authority is divorced from accountability,
leading to a system of realistic and plausible alibis.
yy Another reason for the lack of accountability is that performance evaluation
systems within the government have not been effectively structured. ­
yy The complacency that the system breeds has resulted in employees adopting
an apathetic or lackadaisical attitude towards citizens and their grievances.
yy Inadequate capacity building of personnel who are the ones to implement the
laws also results in policies and laws not being implemented properly.
yy Further, lack of awareness about duties and rights and callous approach to
compliance with laws on the part of some of the citizens also create barriers
to good governance.

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yy Attitudinal broblems of the Civil Servants­are a growing concern that the

Civil Services and administration, in general, have become inflexible, wooden,
inward-looking and self-perpetuating.
yy Consequently, their attitude is one of insensitivity and indifference to the needs
of citizens. It is coupled with the enormous asymmetry in the wielding of
power at all levels, which has further aggravated the situation. ­
yy The end result is that officers perceive themselves as dispensing favours to
citizens rather than serving them and given the abject poverty, illiteracy, etc.
a culture of exaggerated deference to authority has become the norm.

Way Forward:
1. To restore good governance in the country and to accord primacy to the
Gandhian principle of ‘Antyodaya”, there is a need to reformulate our national
strategy.
2. India should also focus on developing probity in governance, which will make
the governance more ethical.
3. The government should continue to work on the ideals of Sabka Saath,
Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas which will lead to inclusive and sustainable
development.
Conclusion The effective functioning of governance is the prime concern of every citizen of
the country. The citizens are ready to pay the price for good services offered by
the state, but what is required is a transparent, accountable and intelligible gov-
ernance system absolutely free from bias and prejudices and following the maxim
of minimum government and maximum governance.
Score High Explain how e-Governance, Citizen’s charter, Right to public services Acts have
ensured decline of red tapism.

(d) The role and status of the Speaker in parliamentary system have their
foundation in the Speaker’s stance on neutrality. Comment.
Chapter: Union Government and Administration
Sub Topic: Legislature
Approach Critically examine the role of the speaker in ensuring legislative accountability.
Introduction India is a parliamentary democracy where the parliamentary proceedings are headed
by the Speaker in the Lok Sabha. In a parliamentary democracy, the Speaker rep-
resents the dignity and the freedom of the House and the country’s freedom and
liberty. But the role of Speaker has been criticised for favouring political parties
and remaining biased to the party in majority.
Body Role of Speaker of the Lok Sabha in a Parliamentary democracy:
1. Ensure smooth proceedings of the House: The Speaker presides over the
meetings of the Lok Sabha and conducts its proceedings.
2. Maintain discipline in the Lok Sabha: The Speaker maintains discipline in
the House. If any member disrupts or tries to disrupt the proceedings of the
House, the Speaker can warn him or can ask him to leave the House. He can
suspend a member from the House whom he finds guilty of violating discipline
and decorum. This ensures the smooth functioning of the Lok Sabha.
3. Fix the Agenda of the House: The Speaker, in consultation with other mem-
bers of the business committee of the House and the Prime Minister, fixes
the agenda of the meetings of the House. This ensures timely debates and
discussion on important issues of the country.

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 OLC-II.8 Public Administration

4. Permission to ask questions: Each member of the House can put questions to
the ministers; the permission of the Speaker is required for the purpose. This
helps the Speaker to prevent unnecessary and politically motivated questions
while ensuring discussion on important questions.
5. Conduct the business of the House: The Speaker conducts the business of
the House. He allows the members to introduce the bills or to move motions.
He recognises the members on the floor of the House and gives them time
for speaking in the House.
6. Interpretation of Rules of Procedure: The business of the House is con-
ducted according to definite and settled rules of procedure. In case of any
dispute regarding the rules of the House, the Speaker interprets and applies
these rules. The interpretation of rules made by the Speaker is final and cannot
be challenged.
7. Power to adjourn the House: The Speaker can adjourn the meetings of the
House if the quorum of the House is not complete or if the conducting the
business of the House is not possible due to a disorderly behaviour of its
members.
Issues with the Speaker

yy Power to allow debate or discussion: It is the Speaker’s duty to decide what
issues will be taken up for discussion.
yy He has the sole discretion to permit an adjournment motion to be tabled or
to admit a calling attention notice, if the issue is of urgent public importance.
yy The present practice of the Speaker continuing to be an active member of the
ruling party has the inevitable result of his refusing to allow any debate or
discussion that may be essential in national interest but may embarrass the
ruling party.
yy This inevitably leads to constant disruption of the House by the Opposition.
yy The stalling of parliamentary proceedings has led to the passing of important
bills in several sessions without any discussion.
yy Violation of separation of power between legislature and executive: The
most dangerous consequence is the vastly increased powers that the executive
– the bureaucracy – begins to command by default.
yy In 1951, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court (In Re Delhi Laws Act
Case) held that essential legislative functions cannot be delegated to the
bureaucracy; law-making must remain the domain of the legislature.
yy This constitutional mandate is now increasingly and consistently being violated
by issuing rules and notifications that have far-reaching consequences.
yy The new rules on information technology and electronic commerce are clear
instances of changes that should have come about by a parliamentary law.
yy And worse still is the power given to the executive to issue retrospective
notifications – a step unknown to any civilised democracy.
yy Partisan conduct in anti-defection law issues: Several judgments on the
anti-defection law have been delivered by the Supreme Court.
yy A common factor that shows up in these rulings is the blatant, partisan con-
duct of speakers in state assemblies.
yy No specific timeline for Speaker’s appointment: Article 93 for Lok Sabha
and Article 178 for state Assemblies state that these Houses “shall, as soon as
may be”, choose two of its members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker. The
constitution and the Assembly rules do not specify a time-frame for filling a
vacancy in the post of Speaker.

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yy Vague guidelines: The constitution provides that the office of the Speaker
should never be empty. So, he continues in office until the beginning of the
next House, except in the event of death or resignation.
yy Dependence on political party for re-election: With no security in the con-
tinuity of office, the Speaker is dependent on his or her political party for
reelection. This makes the Speaker susceptible to pulls and pressures from
her/his political party in the conduct of the proceedings of the Lok Sabha.
yy Tenure dependence: As a minority view, Justice J.S. Verma in Kihoto
Hollohan v Zachillhu And Others observed: “The Speaker being an authority
within the House and his tenure being dependent on the will of the majority
therein, likelihood of suspicion of bias could not be ruled out.” Currently, the
extent of the Speaker’s political commitment often depends on the personality
and character of the person holding the office.
yy Maintaining neutrality: However desirable the proposition of neutrality may
be, in the present circumstances, it would be unrealistic to expect a Speaker
to completely abjure all party considerations while functioning as there are
structural issues regarding the manner of appointment of the Speaker and his
tenure in office.

Way Forward
yy Speaker should resign from Party: It should be made mandatory that the
Speaker ought to resign from his party and his sole allegiance must be to
the constitution and to maintaining the dignity of the House.
yy The separation of powers is part of the basic structure of our constitution.
yy It is imperative that the Speaker of every legislature resigns from his party
to honour his constitutional obligation of independence and impartiality.
yy This must be accepted as the primary responsibility of every ruling party, both
at the Centre and in each state, and made into a constitutional convention.
Conclusion The Speaker plays the crucial role of ensuring that the Parliament carries forward
its role of legislation peacefully, maintaining harmony in the Houses of legislature
and taking crucial procedural decisions of the House. The Speaker is considered
as the true guardian of the Indian Parliamentary democracy, holding the complete
authority of the House of people. Thus, impartiality of the office is very important
to make parliamentary democracy work in true sense.
Score High Quote cases of states where government survived due to anti- defection law
applied by the speaker.

(e) The Union government develops and practices strategies to administer

increasing number of existing local government services by sidelining
local initiatives and discretion. Examine.
Chapter: Union Government and Administration
Sub Topic: Intra and Inter Governmental Administration
Approach Explain how institution of centrally sponsored schemes is harmful to local initia-
tives of the state government and way forward.
Introduction The constitutional assignments between the central and sub-national governments
in federations are done broadly on the basis of their respective comparative
advantage.

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 OLC-II.10 Public Administration

yy The subjects pertaining to national importance like defence, communication

are in the federal domain.
yy Public services which directly affect the public are in the domain of sub-na-
tional governments. For example, subjects like education, health, etc.
Body However, due to the inadequacy of funds, financing is done either fully or
partially by the Union to ensure that a minimum standard of such services is
provided across the country.
Therefore, in the Indian context apart from special grants, the Union government
provides two kinds of financial help to states, viz. Central Sector (CS) and
Centrally sponsored scheme (CSS). The difference between a CS and a CSS is
that for the former, all expenditure is borne by the Union government. For a CSS,
part of the expenditure is borne by the Union government and states bear the rest.
The CSS is a shared cost programme and is meant to ensure a minimum standard
of service across the country.
Importance of Centrally Sponsored Schemes:

Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) are special purpose grants (or loans) extended
by the Central Government to States to encourage and motivate them to plan
and implement programmes that help attain national goals and objectives (New
Localism).Examples of national goals and objectives include extending clean
drinking water and sanitation to every habitation, eradicating polio and tuberculosis,
making primary education universal for every female and male child.
yy NITI Aayog’s 2015 Sub-Group of Chief Ministers also recommended rational-
isation of CSSs. “Rationalisation” suggests more than restructuring. It implies
a rationale for the continuation of existing schemes, scrapping of some, and
even introduction of fresh ones.
Importance of CSS: It helps in the achievement of sustainable developmental
goals and international obligations.
yy According to the former Planning Commission’s 2001 B K Chaturvedi
report, restructuring in CSS should be done to resolve some of the structural
problems.
yy CSS has multiple objectives and service delivery standards are not clearly
defined.
yy In principle, there should be consultations with states in designing the
schemes, but this is hardly done.
yy “The one-size-fits-all” approach cannot succeed in a large and diverse
country like India.
Criticism of Centrally sponsored Schemes:
yy CSS dictates the Center’s agenda and priorities which may not be relevant
for states.
yy CSS offers little flexibility for the states.
yy Needs of states differ among themselves and a universal CSS package may
not be practical in all cases.
yy Many CSSs which offer only partial support from the center may impose a
burden on states.
yy With the implementation of GST, the share of states’ revenue has gone down
in the wake of corona pandemic. States should be given more revenue to
finance their developmental goals.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2021 OLC-II.11 ..

yy Under Article 282 of the Indian constitution, both the Union and the states
may make any grants for the public purposes to each other. However, states
should not pay for the defence and internal security of the nation.
The reasons are as follows:
yy The defence is a national public good and the beneficiaries of the service
(Centre) should pay for it.
yy Thus, it becomes the primary responsibility of the centre to defray the cost
of protecting the nation.
Way Forward:
yy Restructuring and rationalisation of CSS should not mean mere rearrangement.
It has been observed over the period of time that most of the CSSs have been
repackaged and retained.
yy Since the schemes are implemented by states, they should have substantial
flexibility to ensure that the schemes benefit the targeted groups.
yy Restructuring of the CSS, which will entail constitutional amendment in
the Seventh Schedule, should be done after thorough deliberations with all
stakeholders.
yy This revision should not be done without consultation with states. Interstate
Council can be the ideal platform to discuss these issues.
th
yy The ToR for the 15 Finance Commission mentions a re-examination of CSS.
yy The Commission may consider proposing measurable performance-based
incentives for states.
Conclusion It should be noted that the restructuring of the CSS requires a constitutional
amendment of 7th Schedule. This should be done with thorough deliberation with
all stakeholders. Also, there is a need for clear-cut analysis of the existing CSSs
and elimination of those that are not necessary. New CSS should be launched
after consultation with the states. Additionally, these schemes should have ample
flexibility so that they are inclusive.
Score High Give example of CSSs which help in SDG targets.

Q2.(a) Kautilya envisages protection, welfare and prosperity of the State

and its people as the utmost concern of a ruler. In this context, dis-
cuss the significance of Kautilya’s emphasis on governing, account-
ability and justice in contemporary India.
Chapter: Evolution of Indian Administration
Sub Topic: Kautilya Arthashastra
Approach Explain the features of Kautilyan Administration.
Introduction The Mauryan era of ancient India gave the world a significant treatise and offered
deep insights into political state and how it should be governed.
Although Arthashastra is deemed to be a treatise only on economics (tax-gathering
state) or a police state (focused on intelligence gathering/spying), it is in fact a
treatise on good governance, covering all facts of a state’s functioning.
Body How Arthashastra expands the principle of good governance:
1. Principles of public administration
(i) Governance role of the king
(ii) Creation and preservation of wealth
(iii) On source of revenue

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 OLC-II.12 Public Administration

(iv) On government expenditure

(v) Principles of personnel administration through
(vi) Position and role classification → Ministers
2. Concept of village rule by Gramiha or Gramkuta
3. Merit-based recruitment
4. Salaried class of government servants
5. Code of conduct for the government servants
6. Two duties of the king:
yy Palana → protection of state and administration
yy Labha → conquest of the state
7. Law and order was the chief duty of the king. He was responsible for loss or
theft.
8. Preventive and punitive measures for corrupt officials, protecting customs from
dishonest traders, merchants, etc.
9. Distress relief measures or disaster relief measures in the case of fire, flood,
famine, disease, etc.
10. King’s dharma was, in the happiness of subject lies the happiness of the king.
Conclusion State believed in Yogakshema, which means enjoyment on successful accom­
plishment of an objective. Hence, it is understood that the state, as conceived in
Arthashastra, was focused on providing good governance and achieving welfare
objectives, and was not merely a tax gathering or police state.
All of this is reflected in modern-day governance such as division of work, good
governance, ethics and morality in governance, economics,administration, rule of
law and checks and balances.
Score High Give more examples of Kautilya’s Arthashastra and its application in present-day
governance structures and institutions.

(b) District Collector is the most important functionary in district admin-

istration in India. In light of the above statement, discuss the multidi-
mensional responsibilities of District Collector in effecting coordinated
developmental administration in India.
Chapter: District Administration
Sub Topic: Functions of District Officer
Approach Explain the multidimensional role of the district collector.
Introduction The District Magistrate or Collector has very comprehensive functions. It is traced
to the District Collector’s system of the early phase of the British rule.
The district administration can be divided into phases like–
1. British India Rent Seeking Phase (1858–1947)
2. Aspiring Welfare Phase (1947–1990s)
3. Contemporary Status of District Administration in post LPG era (1990s–present)
Body British India Rent Seeking Phase (1858–1947)
Features of district administration–

1. District Magistrate was an ICS officer and in the absence of representative
democracy, enjoyed immense power.
2. Unification of executive, judicial and magisterial powers.

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3. Rent seeking model – The District Collector was the chief organ for revenue
and regulatory administration. He used his coercive powers to extract revenue
from the subject.
This was the phase of bureaucratic triumphalism when the Collector was the
lynchpin, keystone and king pin of district administration. The bureaucracy was
rationalised and systemised based on modern and scientific values and Weberian
form and spirit.
Aspiring welfare phase (1947–1990s)

Development administration was found synonymous with the role of District
Collector. He was the chief agent of development.
Features of district administration:

1. The authority, status and powers of the District Collector have eroded due to
increased political interference and criminalisation of politics.
2. Frequent transfers and unstable tenures.
3. Grishams’ law of administration and centralised nature of administration–
Simon’s non-programmed decision-making took a backseat and programmed
activities and protocol duties have taken precedence.
4. Role conflict with SP/Line agencies/DDO, etc.
5. Due to increasing welfare functions and proliferation of different line and
executive agencies, parastatals and dual control by secretariat and district
administration led to conflict and diminished stature of the District Magistrate.
6. Due to increasing law and order issues, the role of a specialist position. Such
as SP got enhanced vis-à-vis the District Magistrate.
This was a period of status quoism of the institution.
Contemporary status of District Administration:

There have been significant changes in district administration since the 1990s.
Decentralisation and NPM reforms:

1. Decentralisation such as 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts and involvement of
civil society in participatory governance have diluted the position of District
Magistrate in developmental governance.
2. Liberalisation – Change from absolute state control to a free market economy
and a regulatory role for district magistrate.
Globalisation and administrative reforms:

Globalisation needs the adoption of globalised value system suited to local needs.
Hence, there was drastic reinvention of the role of DM to act as a facilitator and
enabler by–
1. Ensuring transparency through–RTI/Social Audit/E-governance/Citizen’s
Charter.
2. New localism–Ensuring the people are met in objectives in accordance with
national objectives.
3. Strengthening of public grievance redressal system through e-governance.
4. Be agent of the state, advocacy of policies and being cautious and responsible
towards media.
5. Involve civil society in policy formulation, implementation and review.
6. Evoke respect and regard from public by exhibiting officer-like qualities and
being a champion of the poor and marginalised.

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 OLC-II.14 Public Administration

Solutions to the above issues:

1. Senior and experienced officer – An officer of considerable seniority should
be appointed as District Magistrate.
2. The District Officer should be relieved from developmental functions.
However, he should not be completely isolated from the development process
since development requires coordination among various agencies.
Conclusion Hence, to address the issues of contemporary globalisation, the district officer
should be focused on strategic decision-making and providing administrative lead-
ership at the district level. He has to play multiple roles of coordinator, conflict
manager, crisis handler to handle unforeseen issues such as disaster management
and terrorism. He has to be a leader and manager at all levels.
Score High Explain changing dynamics of District Magistrate in Smart Cities and Special
Purpose Vehicle for the purpose and his new role.

(c) The role of the Governor is of a sagacious counsellor, mediator and

arbitrator rather than that of an active politician. In this context,
examine the role of the Governor in state politics in India.
Chapter: State Government and administration
Sub Topic: Governor
Approach Explain how arbitrariness in the application of rule of law leads to poor
governance.
The role of the Governor has become most controversial in union-state relation.
In fact, states have demanded the abolition of this office.
Body Why the office of Governor has become controversial?
1. Post-1990, the emergence of coalition governments at the Centre and states
led to politicisation of his office.
2. Insecurity of tenure: Successive governments have used Raj Bhavans as retire­
ment sinecures for active politicians.
3. Appointment of ex-bureaucrats, Army Generals and Judges have an element
of nepotism and patronage.
4. Misuse of his discretionary power in:
(i) Appointment of Chief Minister in case no single party has a majority.
Example: Jharkhand, Karnataka.
5. Recommending President’s Rule: Bihar assembly dissolution case.
6. Summoning and proroguing the House: Arunachal Pradesh.
7. Prosecution of Chief Minister on charges of corruption: Karnataka.
8. Conflict with Speaker and legislature: Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
9. Inviting Chief Minister of largest party to form government: Goa and
Maharashtra.
10. Reserving bills for presidential assent: Gujarat Prevention of Terrorism Act.
11. Conflict with regard to appointment of Lokayukta, state information commis­
sioner and other statutory bodies.
Gujarat: Appointment of Lokayukta sans consultation with Chief Minister

Various commissions and Supreme Court judgments have been pronounced to
protect the decorum of his office and ensure impartiality of his functioning.

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Supreme Court judgments

yy Nabam Rebai case: Governor has no discretion if CM has majority in the
House. Samsher Singh case: Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice
of the Council of Ministers.
yy Rameshwar Singh: Under Article 163, Governor to use his discretionary power
under compelling necessity.
yy BP Singhal case: Governor to be removed in rare and exceptional cases which
can be challenged in a court of law.
Sarkaria Commission

1. Governors to have security of tenure for five years.
2. Governor to be an eminent personality outside from state and detached from
local politics.
3. Constitutional amendment to ensure consultation with Chief Minister.
Punchhi Commission: Governor to be removed only by resolution of state

legislature.
Venkant Chaliah Commission: Governors to be allowed to complete their terms.

If they are to be removed, the Central Government should do so only after con­
sultation with the Chief Minister.
Conclusion From the above discourse, it is clear that the role and position of Governor have
changed with time. As the representative of the Centre, it is to be seen that federal
balance and political stability are not destroyed or undermined. There should not
be overlap between the two roles where otherwise specifically provided.
Score High Give Likert’s linking pin model to explain the position of the Governor.

Q3.(a) 
Recruitment is the cornerstone of the whole public personnel
structure and it revolves around the problem of attracting the best.
Discuss the essential elements of a good recruitment system.
Chapter: Civil Services
Sub Topic: Civil Services Recruitment
Approach Explain the features of good recruitment system.
Introduction Recruitment is the cornerstone of personnel administration as per Glenn Stahl. The
employees are the greatest assets of an organisation. They help the organisation to
achieve its objectives easily, quickly and economically.
Body Advantages of selection mode of recruitment
1. Right job for the right person.
2. Reduces training and supervision cost.
3. Ensures high morale, efficiency and productivity.
4. Reduces labour absenteeism and turnover.
5. Reduces wastage, damages and accidents.
6. It fulfils the need of the organisation and helps maximise the profits.
Issues with selection mode of recruitment

1. Many posts are recruited beyond the jurisdiction of Public Service Commission.
This is not necessarily on the basis of merit and gives rise to favouritism,
nepotism and corruption.
2. The recommendations of SPSC and UPSC are turned down by state
governments.

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 OLC-II.16 Public Administration

3. Due to the system of rank classification, the right person with aptitude and
skill orientation misses out and a generalist administrator is recruited who
might be unsuited to the job profile.
4. The examination techniques are not up to date and not applicable to modern
knowledge about administrative qualifications.
5. They do not restrict the field of eligibility and as a result, for a few posts, a
massive number of candidates apply leading to wastage of time and money.
Solutions to the above by 2nd ARC

1. Well-defined, merit-based procedure for recruitment.
2. Wide publicity and open competition for recruitment.
3. Minimisation, if not elimination, of discretion in the recruitment process.
4. Selection primarily on the basis of written examination or on the basis of
performance.
5. An independent agency should audit the recruitment made outside the UPSC
and SSC systems and advise the government suitably. The audit should be
conducted under the supervision of the UPSC.
6. All positions in government at the level of joint secretary and above would
constitute the senior management pool. All appointments should be made on
the recommendation of Central Civil Services Authority which would go into
the past performance and also evaluate the future potential of an officer and
recommend a panel of officers suitable for a position in the government.
7. Recruitment in the age of LPG and NPM needs to be seen in the light of
ensuring efficiency and effectiveness of administration and necessary measures
may be taken so that recruitment is impartial, non- political, scientific and
based on behavioural aspects of the job.
8. Probationary system should be ensured and appointment should be made on
provisional basis.
9. New appointee should be carefully supervised and then confirmed. Efficiency
in administration is a prerequisite for developmental good governance and
depends upon the ability of an employee. It is necessary to ensure before
appointment that he or she is a capable hand and will discharge his/her duties
in a most efficient manner.
Conclusion These are methods to rectify the selection mode of recruitment and ensure the
creation of an objective and non-partisan civil service.
Score High Quote recent reforms in UPSC in selection mode of recruitment and various
committees like Yugandhar and Hota Committee Recommendations.

(b) Traditionally structured administrative systems have outlived their util-

ity. Discuss as how administrative reforms can revamp, restructure and
redesign the existing governmental structure to meet the new challenges
faced by the Indian administrative set-up.
Chapter: Administrative Reforms Since Independence
Sub Topic: Administrative Reforms
Approach Explain the issues related to administrative reforms and the way forward.
Introduction Administrative reform is a process that encourages enhancement of an adminis­
trative system to achieve its assigned goals. It involves artificial inducement of
administrative transformation against resistance.

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It further involves changes in the structure, processes, behaviour of the administra­

tive system and its components. It ensures effectiveness of administrative system as
it continuously revitalises itself (bureaucracy) and even directs its socio-economic
environment (political, social, economic subsystems) towards its duties to citizens
and ensure constitutionalism.
Need for reforms:Body
1. Systems and contingency theory: Unless the administrative subsystem reforms
and improves, it would result in entropy or disorder. Hence, reform is neces­
sary for the survival of administrative systems in a rapidly changing socio-eco-
nomic and political environment.
Example: Developmental administration, NPM reforms, adopting e-govern­
ance, reinventing government
2. Contextual dynamics: Political, economic, social and technological changes
have ensured change from welfare to empowerment, that is, from Weberian
bureaucracy to developmental bureaucracy.
Over a period of time, administrative reforms can review, diagnose and iso­
late the systemic and systematic dysfunctionalities/deficiencies and suggest
corrective measures.
3. Strategic and contingency theory: No organisation can be future-proof but
they can be future-ready, and process and procedures can be adaptive for
problem-solving bureaucracies.
Reasons for failure of reforms:
1. Administrative behaviour has been a failure, that is, we never defined moral
objectives of reforms, for example, Citizen’s Charter/PPP/RTI.
2. For public policies, India follows elite mass model and incremental strategy
for implementing reforms. Hence, revolutionary changes are not possible and
result only in status quoism.
Example: after 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, second-generation
reforms have not happened.
3. Political and bureaucracy-led reforms led to goal displacement due to the
following:
(i) Top-down approach to decision-making does not ensure decentralisation
of administrative reforms and acceptability at middle and junior levels.
Example: reforms such as RTI, e-governance and Citizen’s Charter did not
succeed due to lack of decentralisation of power and authority to lower
levels or consultation.
(ii) Reforms are short term and piecemeal in approach because:
(a) Administrative reforms bring in transparency, citizen-centricity, and
increased accountability which are not permitted by political and
administrative culture.
(b) Implementation of reforms is dependent on electoral prospects and
hence, political parties become risk averse.
4. Reforms have always been focused on structural and procedural principles
adopted by classical thinkers such as POSDCORD, efficiency economy, etc.
Behavioural values, ethics and attitude were never taken into consideration.
5. Lack of convergence between the objectives, strategies and implementation
process has resulted in their failure.
Example: Demonetisation and e-governance faced resistance due to lack of
clarity about objectives.

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 OLC-II.18 Public Administration

6. Information asymmetry: Reforms are introduced without stakeholders’

consultation.
7. Absence of stakeholders’ consultation or participation of citizens.
Demonetisation.
yy Civil services reforms, partially implemented in terms of recruitment, resulted
in politicisation of bureaucracy.
yy Decentralisation, like 73rd and 74th Amendments, led to grass without roots,
no effective participation of people at local level.
yy Process of privatisation. Other governance and financial reforms required.
Without it, affected infrastructural development.
yy Governance reform leading to inefficiency in administration and no citi­ zen-
centric approach in reality.
yy Police reforms.
yy Punchhi and Sarkaria Commissions recommendations were not imple­mented,
affecting federal structure and spirit of the constitution.
Solutions to the above issues
1. Reforms should always start from political executive and with political com­
mitment, for example, 1991 LPG reforms.
2. Reforms become successful only when multi-dimensional reforms in political,
administrative, social and economic areas are implemented simultaneously and
all institutions whole-heartedly participate in it.
Administrative reforms must coincide with judicial and legislative reforms.
Example: 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments have ensured political
democracy but they need social reforms through reservation of seats for
women, economic reforms and devolution of funds and functionaries.
3. There should be participation of stakeholders, continuous monitoring and
evaluation of reforms through a participative feedback process consulting all
stakeholders.
4. Focus should be on changing core values, behaviour, and attitudes of bureau­
cracy such as colonial attitude, secrecy, discretion, absence of accountability
and participation.
5. Convergence between objectives, strategies and implementation process should
be ensured among all stakeholders and institutions in a bottom-up and hori­
zontal manner instead of a top-down approach.
6. Reforms should be a continuous process, and not a one-time.
7. Bureaucracy should be given sensitivity training to accept reforms.
Conclusion Implementation of reform is not easy. Desired values of work ethics, integrity,
entrepreneurship, humanitarianism, and empathy can be imbibed by civil servants
only when a supportive culture promotes and nurtures such values. The biggest
task before the Indian leadership is to help create such a supportive culture.
Score High Explain examples of successful reforms in the Indian context.
1. 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment Acts
2. Performance and zero-based budgeting
3. NITI Aayog in place of planning commission
4. Lateral entry and 360 degree appraisal
5. Social audit, RTI, citizen’s charter, e-governance
6. Merger of Railways and General Budget

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(c) The government policy of large scale privatisation of the key sectors
of economy may affect India’s economic health. Comment.
Chapter: Public Sector Undertakings
Sub Topic: Impact of LPG
Approach Explain the issues with privatisation and the way forward.
Introduction Post-LPG, PSUs reforms and reinventing PSUs in the light of NPM approach
created an environmental change for these units. Long used classical principles
of organisational management and closed system of organisation, when suddenly
con­fronted by market forces, became loss-making and demanded government
budgetary support for survival, instead of being entrepreneurial.
Body Why PSUs should learn to survive and be entrepreneurial without assured
government budgetary support:
1. Transformed into white elephants due to their loss-making and continued financ­
ing through budgetary support from the government which is unsustainable.
2. Global experience shows that many leading PSUs are competing at interna­
tional level, such as Singapore Airlines, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Indian
Space Research Organisation, Lenovo Corporation, etc.
3. Reduces bureaucratic interference, political populism and autonomy in their
decision-making.
4. Ensures government recedes from its role as a steerer and focuses on rowing,
i.e. regulation.
5. Cede space to market players for better efficiency and economy of provision
of goods and services.
6. Survive and compete in sectors where citizen and customers are both needed.
For example, public transport, banking in rural areas,etc.
7. Ensures latest technology and means of production are used to make their
products competitive.
Suggestions for strengthening their autonomy and reviewing the health of sick

PSUs:
Autonomy and accountability are two sides of the same coin and their objectives are
the same – improved performance in terms of intended goals. Hence, there should
be an ideal balance between autonomy of public enterprise and the state control
and ,therefore, need to balance between the requirements of relevant autonomy and
effective accountability.
Some measures are:

1. Implement suggestions given by Roongta Panel with respect to autonomy of
PSUs.
2. Corporate governance practices in terms of HR process, performance measure­
ment and performance management.
3. The signing of MoUs – This is to clearly demarcate what is expected and also
sets measurable parameter for judgments. So far the experience is positive.
4. Introduction of performance management system and accrual accounting
system.
5. Quarterly reports in place of monthly reports.
6. Reducing political interference.
7. Segregating ownership and governance through holding company structure.
8. Transparent and independent appointments, for example, Bank Board Bureau.

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 OLC-II.20 Public Administration

9. Oversight by various committees of parliament, CAG must be recalibrated, so

as to reduce over regulations.
10. Introducing modern budgeting techniques like outcome budgeting in PSUs for
efficient resource utilisation.
11. A gradual process of de-bureaucratisation like giving specialists preference
over generalists, allowing lateral entry, etc.
Conclusion It is important that these PSUs are given a strategic business direction and vision
to survive in the contingent situation of liberalisation, privatisation and globali­
sation. The advent of LPG has definitely helped the efficiency and growth of PSUs
of the country. They are still relevant as they play a role in neutral and impartial
implementation of indicative planning and socio-economic development.
Score High Give more examples of PSU reforms such as recently, the government of India
has launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP).
Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has classi­

fied 18 strategic sectors into three broad segments – mining and exploration,
manufacturing, processing and generation, and the services sector.
The Government is completely exiting from non-strategic sectors through pri­
vatisation or strategic disinvestment. Even in strategic sectors, there will be a
maximum of four public sector units and a minimum of one unit operating.

Q4.(a) 
As a constitutionally mandated body the Finance Commission
stands at the centre of fiscal federalism. Evaluate the role of Finance
Commission in ensuring just and equitable resource sharing among
the states and the union.
Chapter: Union government and Administration
Sub Topic: Board and Commission
Approach Explain the functioning of Finance Commission and the way forward.
Introduction Fiscal federalism is an important characteristic of federalism that gives fiscal
autonomy to states in federation.
Finance Commission is a quasi-judicial body established under Article 280 of the
Indian constitution.
Body Recommendations of 15th FC:
1. Vertical devolution: Same as 14th FC. Being kept at 42%, adjusting 1% for
change status of Jammu and Kashmir.
2. Horizontal devolution: 12.5% weightage to demographic factors, 45% to
income, 15% to population and area, 10% to forest and ecology, 2.5% to tax
and fiscal efforts.
15th FC directions in ensuring Fiscal Federalism:

1. It rewards efforts made by states in controlling their population. States with
a lower fertility ratio will be scored higher on this criterion.
2. To maintain interstate equity, the states with lower per capita income would
be given a higher share.
3. Rewarded states with higher tax collection efficiency.
4. The commission has suggested increasing the state expenditure on health by
8 percent by 2022 in view of Covid pandemic.

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The commission suggested prioritising the creation of All India Health

Services/All India Medical Services on the pattern of the UPSC Civil Services.
5. Performance based incentives and grants to states based on social sector, rural
economy, governance and administrative reforms, performance based incentive
for power sector and agriculture reforms.
6. It has also deliberated upon high powered committee on revising FRBM Act
which was resented by states as it hampered their borrowing potential in times
of Covid induced recession.
15th FC has been criticised on the following grounds:

1. There was apprehension that reliance on 2011 population criteria for devolu­
tion would discriminate better performing southern states.
2. It did not make any recommendation regarding GST as enforced fiscal con­
servation due to FRBM and centralisation of fiscal policies have put states in
a bind.
3. Conditional or performance-related grants decrease states’ independence in
decision-making.
4. Due to Covid pandemic and non-fulfilment of GST commitment by the centre,
states wanted relaxation in borrowing to meet their requirements which was
rejected by 15th FC and undermines cooperative fiscal federalism.
5. It does not hold the Union Government accountable or its on fiscal prudence
and dilutes joint responsibility which Union and states have.
Conclusion In the neo-liberal fiscal era, it is important that the Finance Commission under­
stands the needs of states vis-à-vis the centre. It faces significant challenges in
ensuring cooperative fiscal federalism and needs to devise a new formula for fiscal
devolution.
Score High Explain best practices in fiscal devolution across the world.

(b) Recent market approaches to Public services present serious challenges

to traditional and state-sponsored public service values. Evaluate the
statement in the context of Indian administration.
Chapter: Civil Services
Sub Topic: Lateral Entry
Approach Explain issues in lateral entry and solutions thereof.
Introduction Lateral entry to the Indian Civil Services is a recruitment procedure of professional
from the corporate or academic sector. Lateral entry for civil servants is at the
level of director, joint secretary and deputy secretary. Lateral Entry refers to the
direct induction of domain experts at the middle or senior levels of administrative
hierarchy, rather than only appointing regular recruits through promotion. The idea
of lateral entry into civil services is seen by many as a panacea to the inertia that
has crept in because of which it failed to respond to the need of the times.
Body Need for lateral entry
1. Brings in competition, assurance of secure career path, improves external
orientation of bureaucracy.
2. Substitute for incompetence of generalist administrators to deal with specialist
challenges such as developmental administration.
3. Removes complacency – Present monopolistic hold of career-based civil ser­
vices prevents innovative thinking and breeds complacency.

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 OLC-II.22 Public Administration

4. Modernisation – NPM reforms require reinventing and business process

reengineering through technological and management adaption. Private sector
professionals shall help in accelerating this change.
5. Role of integration of administration is possible only when differentiation
(specialisation) is present: Lateral entry makes integration possible.
6. Helps remove lethargic attitude and bureaucratic inertia.
7. Diversity of experience and domain expertise can ensure policies have a better
connect with ground realities and get implemented more efficiently.
Issues with lateral entry

1. Bridging role of AIS – AIS in particular produces a unique link between
cutting-edge employees at field level and top policy-making positions. This
is not available with lateral entrants.
2. Rich experience of career-based civil servants, have exposure to the country’s
complex socio-political milieu and problems of common people, lateral entrant
from private sector may not have the expertise.
3. Demotivation to career-based civil servants and stagnation of existing career-
based services.
4. May lead to spoils and patronage system in which political connections can
be used to get high position in government.
5. Accountability would be a major issue as the entrants are hired for a period
of 3 years. A career bureaucrat can be held accountable for any undergoing,
which lateral hires do not provide.
Conclusion The developmental bureaucracy of India needs a shot of rejuvenation to implement
the new initiative of developmental projects. A balance between upgrading the
professional competency of existing bureaucrats and lateral hiring seems to be the
way forward.
Score High In Ireland and the United Kingdom, experience gained in both the civil service
and the private sector is taken into account when appointments are made.
NITI Aayog, in its Three-Year Action Agenda for 2017–2020, had said that sec-

tor specialists should be inducted into the system through lateral entry as that
would “bring competition to the established career bureaucracy”.

(c) The increasing criminalisation of politics is a major threat to the basic

fabric of Indian democracy. Comment.
Chapter: Law and Order
Sub Topic: Criminalisation of Politics
Approach Explain the reasons for criminalisation of Politics and Solutions thereof.
Criminalisation of politics means politics bereft of principles. As Riggs said, admin­
istrative subsystem is impacted by political subsystem and hence criminalisation
of politics and politicisation of criminals has a lasting effect on administration in
general. Use of criminal elements in polities (for example: Booth capturing, use of
money and muscle power) is criminalisation of politics, while the entry of criminals
into politics by contesting election is politicisation of criminals.
Body Criminalisation of politics can be understood through the following phases:
Post-independence phase: The initial phase of post-independence may be referred

to as the period of high principles. The leaders and politicians exuded high princi­ples

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2021 OLC-II.23 ..

and morals in governing the state. However, there were certain notable scandals
such as Jeep Scandal, Mundhra LIC deal, etc.
Post-Nehruvian phase – This period is known as the origin of criminalisation

of politics as 8 states out of 14 were under non-Congress party which caused
restlessness in political ranks. Hence, politicians started using money and muscle
power in politics.
From 1970 onwards politicisation of criminals – As criminals were used to win

elections, political culture and masters also provided patronage to these crimi­
nals. This led to subordination of bureaucracy and dilution of constitutionalism.
Criminals enjoying perpetual protection started participating in politics and this led
to politicisation of criminals. Many scams such as Bofors, Tehelka, Fodder Scam,
etc. took place.
Impact of criminalisation of politics: “In 2004, 24% of the Members of Parliament

had criminal cases pending against them; in 2009, that went up to 30%; in 2014
to 34%; and in 2019 as many as 43% of MPs had criminal cases pending against
them.”
Against the principle of free and fair election:
1. It limits the choice of voters to elect a suitable candidate.
2. It is against the ethos of free and fair election which is the bedrock of a
democracy.
Affecting good governance:
1. The major problem is that the law-breakers become law-makers. This affects
the efficacy of the democratic process in delivering good governance.
2. Results in decreased quality of debates and legislative control over exec­utive
in parliament.
Affecting integrity of public servants:

1. It also leads to increased circulation of black money during and after elections,
which, in turn, increases corruption in society and affects the working of public
servants.
Causes social disharmony:
1. It introduces a culture of violence in society and sets a bad precedent for
the youth to follow and reduces people’s faith in democracy as a system of
governance.
2. Parochial and communal politics, leaders with narrow vision and borrowed
ideas can’t be expected to draw futuristic politics. Leads to parochial political
culture, loss of constitutionalism and mainstreaming of fringe elements.
Impact of politicisation of criminals:

1. May impact the judicial process as parliamentary privileges restrict it.
2. Politicised criminals tend to misuse state power and machinery to their
advantage.
3. Leads to politicisation, hence criminalisation of police.
4. Affects neutrality of civil servants, hence loss of neutrality in policy-making
and implementation.
5. Makes administration status quoist and leads to goal displacement.
Solutions to criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals

1. Recent steps by the Supreme Court to curb criminalisation of politics:

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 OLC-II.24 Public Administration

In February 2020, the Supreme Court ordered the political parties to publish
the entire criminal history of their candidates for Assembly and Lok Sabha
elections along with the reasons that forced them to field suspected criminals.
The SC in Public Interest Foundation vs Union Of India, 2018 had also
directed political parties to publish online the pending criminal cases of their
candidates.
The SC has repeatedly expressed concern about the purity of legislatures.
(i) In 2002, it made it obligatory for all candidates to file an affidavit before
the returning officer, disclosing criminal cases pending against them.
(ii) The famous order to introduce NOTA was intended to make political
parties think before giving tickets to the tainted.
(iii) In its landmark judgment of March 2014, the SC accepted the urgent need
for cleansing politics of criminalisation and directed all subordinate courts
to decide on cases involving legislators within a year, or give reasons for
not doing so to the chief justice of the high court.
2. Various committees (Dinesh Goswami, Inderjeet Committee) on the electoral
reforms have recommended for state funding of elections which will curb use
of black money to a large extent and thereby will have a significant impact
on limiting criminalisation of politics.
yy Regulating the affairs of a political party is essential for a cleaner electoral
process. Therefore, it is imperative to strengthen the election commission.
yy Fast-track courts should be established to try politicians with criminal
antecedents.
yy Voters also need to be vigilant about misuse of money, gifts and other
inducements during elections and develop cognitive voting culture.
yy Given the reluctance of the political parties to curb criminalisation of
politics and its growing detrimental effects on Indian democracy, Indian
courts must now seriously consider banning people accused with serious
criminal charges from contesting elections.
The Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 mentions the criteria for dis­qualifying a
person for contesting an election of the legislature.
yy Bringing greater transparency in campaign financing is going to make it less
attractive for political parties to involve gangsters.
yy The Election Commission of India (ECI) should have the power to audit the
financial accounts of political parties, or political parties’ finances should be
brought under the Right to Information (RTI) law.
yy The forms prescribed by the Election Commission for candidates disclosing
their convictions, cases pending in courts and so on in their nomination papers
are a step in the right direction if applied properly.
Conclusion Corruption and criminalisation of politics is hitting at the roots of democracy.
Therefore, Parliament must take steps urgently to curb this menace. Candidates
must give wide publicity to criminal cases pending against them in the local media,
both print and electronic, after they file nomination to contest elections.
Score High Explain recent steps by SC to prevent criminalisation of politics and politicisation
of criminals.
According to the National Election Watch (NEW) and Association of Democratic

Reforms (ADR), in the Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil
Nadu and West Bengal, at least 1,157 out of 6,318 candidates have criminal
cases against them.

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Recently, the Supreme Court, in two different judgments, has raised concerns
about the menace of criminalisation in politics.
In one case, it found nine political parties guilty of contempt for not following
in letter and spirit its February 13, 2020 direction.
In another case, it has issued directions that no criminal case against MPs or
MLAs can be withdrawn without an approval of the high court of the state
concerned.

SECTION-B

Q5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

(a) No rural development strategy can succeed unless it is complemented
by appropriate Panchayati Raj Institutions. Examine the statement.
Chapter: Rural Development
Sub Topic: Machinery of Rural Development
Approach Explain issues with PRIs and Solutions thereof.
Introduction 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments provided the constitutional status to local
self-government institutions. Constitutional status to local bodies has introduced
the concept of devolution of powers.
Body Body Issues with PRIs capacity-building:
1. Political parties have not devised any guideline or strategies to enable them
to contribute to proper working of panchayats set up in various states.
2. Most of the PRI functionaries are illiterate and suffer from social, economic
exclusion. As a result, their orientation is not in favour of panchayats.
3. Gram sabha’s inability to control bureaucracy is due to lack of knowledge
about development functions.
4. Lack of comprehensive strategic framework towards capacity development of
local bodies.
5 Lack of capacity-building of PRIs towards decentralised planning, assessment
of tax base, rationalisation of user change, GIS planning, etc.
6. There is a need to specially bolster the capacity of women representatives in
view of exclusion from deeply extracted stereotypical norms.
Solutions and way forward:

1. There should be an institutional mechanism to strengthen capacity-building of
elected representatives.
2. It should focus on design and delivery of services, handling multiple roles.
3. It should focus on integrating SHGs community-based organisations, strength­
ening of gram sabhas.
4. It should aim at improving decision-making capabilities at local government
level.
5. It should focus on social audit and sensitivity tramping of representations
towards participatory democracy.
Conclusion Capacity-building of elected representatives is important to ensure effective devo­
lution of funds, functionaries and functions to PRIs.

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 OLC-II.26 Public Administration

Score High Explain best practices in capacity-building by PRI Ministry in recent times. Online
Learning has been introduced under People’s Plan Campaign for the develop­
ment of Gram Panchayat Development Plans.

(b) NITI Aayog has been constituted to implement the goal of cooperative
federalism. Discuss.
Chapter: Plans and Priorities
Sub Topic: NITI Aayog
Approach: Explain the features and advantages of NITI Aayog.
The NITI Aayog was formed on January 1, 2015. Emergence of Good Governance,
NPM, Decentralised and participatory planning, 73rd and 74th Constitutional
Amendment Acts, New Economic Policy 1991 and need for indicative planning.
It is the country’s premier policy-making institution that is expected to bolster the
economic growth of the country. It aims to construct a strong state that will help
to create a dynamic and strong nation with competitive and cooperative federalism
as guiding tools.
Body Arguments that support NITI Aayog’s relevance:
yy NITI Aayog was formed to bring fresh ideas to the government. It can be
visualised as a funnel through which new and innovative ideas come from all
possible sources – industry, academia, civil society or foreign specialists—and
flow into the government system for implementation.
yy It will also seek to put an end to slow and steady implementation of policy
by fostering better inter-ministry coordination and better centre and state
coordination.
yy It will emerge as ‘think tank’ that will provide governments at the Central and
state levels with relevant strategic and technical advice across the spectrum
of key elements of policy.
yy It will develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans to the village level and
aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government, thereby ensuring
decentralised planning.
Arguments against NITI Aayog:
yy NITI Aayog cannot transform a deeply unequal society into a modern economy
that ensures the welfare of all its citizens, irrespective of their social identity.
yy It does not seem to have influence in policymaking with long-term conse­
quences. For instance, demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax.
yy If it is a think tank, it has to maintain a respectable, intellectual distance from
the government of the day. Instead, we see uncritical praise of the govern­
ment-sponsored schemes/programmes, raising doubts about its neutrality and
impartiality.
yy It cannot direct public or private investment and has little hold on the policy
making with long-term consequences like demonetisation or goods and ser­
vices tax. NITI Aayog has not evaluated the three- year Action Agenda.
Conclusion However, NITI Aayog has achieved remarkable progress in the following
areas:
yy It has decreased the silos within the government. This can be achieved through
convergence across a number of ministries, and between central and state
governments. NITI Aayog is best placed to achieve this convergence and push
the agenda forward.

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yy NITI Aayog has established Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office

which collects data on the performance of various ministries on a real-
time basis. This performance-and outcome-based real-time monitoring and
evaluation of government work can have a significant impact on improving
the efficiency of governance.
yy With its current mandate that is spread across a range of sectors and activities,
and with its unique and vibrant work culture, NITI Aayog remains an integral
and relevant component of the government’s plans to put in place an efficient,
transparent, innovative and accountable governance system in the country.
Score High Give the following examples as achievements of NITI Aayog:
• Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI) survey was conducted by Development
Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog to assess different
Ministries/Departments’ performance on the implementation of Central
Sector Schemes (CS) and Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).
• Recently, NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) India have launched
the Shoonya Campaign. It is an initiative to promote zero-pollution delivery
vehicles by working with consumers and industry.
• The NITI Aayog launched its Sustainable Development Index in 2018 to moni­
tor the country’s progress on the goals through data-driven assessment, and
foster a competitive spirit among the states and union territories in achieving
them.

(c) Responsibility and accountability are two major goals of good gover-
nance. Discuss the statement in the context of Indian administration.
Chapter: Union Government and Administration
Sub Topic: Prime Minister’s Office
Approach Explain the role of PMO in the age of globalisation and good governance.
Introduction The Prime Minister’s Office has become a powerful institution in itself by virtue
of its role in decision-making on strategic issues of utmost importance. Examine
the statement.
The Prime Minister’s Office is popularly known as PMO. It is politically headed
by Prime Minister and administratively by the Principal Secretary to the Prime
Minister. It is an administrative establishment responsible for assisting Prime
Minister in matters other than responsibilities as head of the cabinet.
Body PMO has risen in stature because of the following reasons:
1. Prime Minister, apart from being the head of the cabinet, also holds a number
of portfolios such as atomic energy, DOPT.
2. There is a need for supervisory staff agency with authority.
3. Prime Minister has to perform multiple roles in domestic and international
affairs.
4. Presidentalisation of Prime Minister’s Office.
5. Many ministers are not able to function properly and hence PMO has to step
in.
6. Centralisation of administrative functions.
7. PMO is the residual legatee, i.e. any responsibility not specifically assigned
to any other agency, is operated out of PMO.
8. Media management

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 OLC-II.28 Public Administration

9. Pragati and new initiatives and globalisation have ensured the PMO brings
together the CMO and other line agencies to deliver on mission mode projects.
10. Dilution of principle of collective responsibility of Cabinet and the Cab­
inet Secretariat in view of the increasing stature of PM and centralised
decision-making.
11. To suit the interest of coalition politics and trouble shooter for coalition issues.
Conclusion Hence, a dominant PMO supplements the Prime Minister. The PMO in India has
been transforming itself according to the vision, philosophy and priorities of the
Prime Minister. Ideally, there should be a fine balance between the PMO and the
Cabinet Secretariat. Nevertheless, the PMO should enjoy an upper hand in conflict
resolution and enable better leadership of Prime Minister. However it should desist
from policy formulation as then it subverts the constitutional provision. It can be
concluded that the balance of power between the PMO and the cabinet secretariat
has been defined by the personality and aura of Prime Minister.
Score High Explain recent trends of PMO involving policy execution, formulation and review.

(e) Well planned and goal oriented training programmes are the backbone
of the civil service system in India. Examine the statement.
Chapter: Civil Services
Sub Topic: Training and Capacity Building
Approach Explain issues with training and capacity building in administration.
Introduction Training is a systematic and continuous development of knowledge and those skills
and attitudes which contribute to their advancement and efficiency of administra­
tion. Classical thinkers like Taylor and Fayol talked about formal aspect of training
regarding increasing efficiency of administration. Classical training is focused on
the pedagogical aspects and academic inputs. However, present- day training of
bureaucrats is more about increasing their context sensitivity, and behaviour and
attitude towards service orientation.
Body Need and advantages of training:
1. To have expected level of work performance.
2. Administration currently works in a dynamic environment and there is more
focus on outcome orientation with emphasis on incorporating new methods and
technologies for delivering services. Hence, administrators need to be trained
in these methodologies. For example, training in disaster management.
3. In the age of globalisation, training is important for ensuring cross-comparative
perspective to reinvent governance and to make it cost-effective, transparent
and accountable. Hence, training is required for bringing efficiency in admin­
istration with least cost and better transparency.
4. Behavioural training comprising various techniques like role play, T Group
exercise, case study, etc.
5. Improves organisation culture, production, organisational climate, morale, team
spirit and leadership skills in the organisation.
Issues with training in India:

1. Training is not taken seriously by senior officials as an HR practice as there
is no link between training, job and promotion and competency.
2. Training is taken as paid holidays because:
(a) More emphasis is on field training.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2021 OLC-II.29 ..

(b) Execution part of administration rather than policy farming.

(c) Not related to career advancements.
3. Focuses only on structural and procedural aspects and completely ignores
behavioural aspects.
4. Lack of focus on domain competency. They focus on immediate duties to be
performed by civil servants. They don’t take into account the need for devel­
opment of domain expertise nor are they responsive to an officer’s individual
interests and academic qualification.
5. Training is ad hoc in nature and suffers from lack of budgetary allocation.
Less dedicated staff and instead of focusing on all levels of the organisation,
focuses on the senior and managerial levels only.
6. Difficult to evaluate performance in training as it is on very general nature.
Recent steps by government to improve training:
1. National training policy 2012.
2. All civil servants to be given training to match training with career progression.
3. Priority shall be given to front line where they will be given training in soft
skills so as to improve communications with citizens and ensure better public
service delivery.
4. Training should be a learning resource in PPP mode where the trainer can
upgrade their skills.
5. 1.5% of salary budget should be set aside by each department to be used for
the purpose of training.
National Training Council to be constituted which would be chaired by a
minister. DOPT and the training division of department shall be the nodal
agency for the implementation of this policy.
7. Evaluation of training methods and ensure proper monitoring of training.
8. Kiran Aggarwal and 2nd ARC have emphasised on the competency approach,
including capacity-building of civil services based on four parameters – clothes,
ethics, equality and efficiency.
9. 2nd ARC recommendations:
(a) Strong network of training institutions at junior and state levels to be
established.
(b) Public servants should be encouraged to obtain higher academic qualifi­cations
under their post entry training programme.
(c) The objective of mid-career training should be to develop domain knowl­edge
and competence required for changing job profile.
(d) National institute of good governance may be set up by upgrading one of its
existing national or state institutes.
Conclusion Thus, to have an effective outcome, one needs to understand that training is a long-
term investment programme and may not give out light results. Various training
methods need to be adopted, depending on knowledge, skill and attitudes and also
involvement of trainer and trainees.
Score High 1. G
 ive examples of recent training methodology adopted by Government of
India such as Mission Karmayogi.
2. NITI Aayog in strategy for India has stressed on competency mapping and a
reformed system of training and performance evaluation of the civil service
to ensure more effective and efficient delivery of public services to achieve
the development goals envisaged in New India 2022.

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 OLC-II.30 Public Administration

Q6.(a) 
Budget proposals in the Parliament/ State Legislatures fail to
ensure their effective scrutiny. the factors which constrain effective
scrutiny of the budget proposals.
Chapter: Union Government and Administration
Sub Topic: Legislature
Approach Explain issues with parliament scrutiny and solutions thereof.
Introduction Accountability is the core of democratic system. The system of political control
over bureaucracy that operates in India, follows Westminster pattern of indirect
control where citizens control their representatives and they, in turn, control the
executive and public bureaucracy to ensure delivery of public services through
public servants. This is known as legislative control over administration.
Body Forms of legislative control:
Concurrent control – This is legislative control of administration on their day-to-day
working through multiple mechanisms such as-
1. Question hour/Zero-hour
2. Budget control
3. Debate and discussion
4. Motions of different types
(i) Adjournment motion
(ii) Calling attention motion
(iii) Ensure motion
(iv) No confidence motion
5. Resolutions
6. Control through law-making
Post-facto control mechanisms include parliamentary audit, which examines exec­
utive action after the event has occurred. The CAG audits on behalf of parliament
and submits its reports to PAC which scrutinises the executive and ensures control
and accountability.
Issues with legislative control over administration:

1. It is sporadic, intermittent, indirect and external in nature.
2. Body of laymen–The members lack expertise and skill.
3. Limited time–The parliament sits for limited time and the members call for
frequent adjournments due to partisan politics.
4. Parliamentary committees are ineffective due to lack of punitive authority,
nature of work being of postmortem and policy advice being advisory in
nature.
5. Budget session, due to parliamentary nature of democracy, is dominated by
treasury benches and use of guillotine.
6. Lack of strong and steady opposition, growth of delegated legislation and
ordinance have curtailed the power of the parliament.
7. Criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals have resulted in
dilution of parliamentary ethics.
8. Decline in the standards of parliamentary debates and performance.
9. Parliamentary absenteeism–parliamentarians often indulge in absenteeism.
Solutions to the above issues

1. Parliament should meet for minimum 100 (Rajya Sabha) and 120 (Lok Sabha)
as recommended by Venkatachaliah Commission.

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2. Increase punitive power of committees and make recommendation mandatory.

3. Give longer tenure to committees and provide training and secretarial assis-
tance to members.
4. Electoral reforms to prevent criminalisation of politics.
Conclusion Control of legislature over administration is an importance measure to ensure
administration does not become despotic. An enlightened legislature, with various
instruments of legislative control, is the way forward.
Score High Explain how parliamentary accountability is ensured in other countries.
To improve government accountability in Parliament, the opposition in some

countries such as the UK, Canada, and Australia forms a shadow cabinet. Under
such a system, opposition MPs track a certain portfolio, scrutinise its perfor­
mance and suggest alternate programmes. This allows for detailed tracking and
scrutiny of ministries, and assists MPs in making constructive suggestions.
Some of these countries also provide for days when the opposition parties
decide the agenda for Parliament.
Some countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia release an annual
calendar with the sitting dates at the beginning of the year.
In countries such as the UK, the Prime Minister’s Question Time is conducted
on a weekly basis. During the 30 minutes the Prime Minister answers questions
posed by various MPs. These questions relate to broader government policies,
engagements, and issues affecting the country.
In the 16th Lok Sabha, question hour has functioned in Lok Sabha for 77% of
the scheduled time, while in Rajya Sabha it has functioned for 47%.

(b) 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts aimed at making the
third tier of government powerful and effective for democratic decen-
tralisation. Critically examine the extent to which this goal has been
transformed into reality.
Chapter: Rural Development
Sub Topic: Issues with PRIs
Approach Explain the effectiveness of 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment Acts.

Chapter: Administrative law /Introduction to Public Administration

Sub Topic: Rules of Law/Good Governance
Approach Explain how arbitrariness in the application of rule of law leads to poor
governance.
Introduction Gandhiji believed India can truly become free when villages in India are trans­
formed into self-sufficient independent republics, that is, able to provide what they
head and rule themselves.
A general conclusion can be drawn that rural self-governance is far from duality
due to lack of effective devolution of functions, finance and functionaries.
Body Structural issues
1. Gram sabhas do not function effectively because:
(i) Attendance is thin due to lack of proper planning. For example, during
harvest season, Gram Sabha will have scarce attendance.

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 OLC-II.32 Public Administration

(ii) Attendees expect tangible benefits during meetings due to lack of

awareness.
(iii) Elite capture of gram sabhas has resulted in their being dominated by
dominant political representative of gram panchayat.
(iv) The size of gram sabha is very high as the population of gram sabha is
100,000–120,000 per village. Hence, it has become impossible for all of
them to meet together and take decision.
(v) Meetings of gram sabha are never held regularly.
(vi) In spite of reservation, women empowerment could never become a reality
as these panchayats are ruled through proxy by their husbands.
Functions

1. As per the mandate of 73rd CAA, 29 subjects were to be transferred to LSG.
2. According to devolution index, only 27% of states-transferred finances, 35%
of functions were transferred.
3. There is no concept of activity mapping of functions, hence no levy of user
charges. Thus, resource base of panchayats is low.
4. Most of the members of panchayat bodies are poor, illiterate and backward.
It has come in the way of their functioning.
5. Central Government is unwilling to reduce the number of Centrally-sponsored
schemes. This affects the powers of panchayats to take decision. In fact, they
have become line agencies, i.e. only responsible for implementation and not
transformed to institutions of self-governance.
6. Emergence of community-based organisations, NGOs and other parastatals
bodies have reduced the significance of local self-governments. People are
approaching these organisations for redressal of grievances than panchayat
bodies.
7. State governments have the tendency to dissolve and dismiss these bodies
before the expiry of their terms.
Attitude of bureaucracy

1. Colonial attitude of bureaucracy has hampered the working of PRIs.
2. District collector, although strategically placed to coordinate and guide the
PRIs, due to lack of time and ever increasing functions, cannot devote himself
to the cause of PRIs.
Solution to the same

1. There should be strengthening of panchayats based on devolution index: funds,
functions, functionaries.
2. Decentralised planning, and state finance commission should be strengthened.
3. Recommendations of state finance commission should be implemented.
4. Iyer committee has suggested that all developmental schemes should be run
by gram sabha.
5. There should be activity mapping of functions based on the principle of
subsidiarity.
6. PRIs staff capacity should be enhanced and training to be imparted.
7. Social audit mechanism should be strengthened.
Conclusion PRIs in effect should be empowered as institutions of local governance. It needs a
change in the attitude of bureaucracy towards participative democracy and ensure
they function as village parliament.
Score High Give Ramchandran and 2nd ARC guidelines to strengthen the answer.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2021 OLC-II.33 ..

(c) National Human Rights Commission is handicapped by its jurisdic-

tional limitations of not being able to investigate the cases of violation
of human rights by the armed forces. Discuss.
Chapter: Significant Issues in Indian Administration
Sub Topic: Human Rights
Approach Explain NHRC functioning and do a critical analysis.
Introduction NHRC has been founded under the protection of the Human Rights Act. The
Commission is the watchdog of human rights, that is, the rights of the individual
guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in the international covenants. It is
the watchdog of human rights in the country, i.e. the rights related to life, lib­
erty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by Indian constitution or
embodied in the international covenants and enforceable by courts in India. It was
established in conformity with the Paris Principles, adopted for the promotion and
protection of human rights in Paris (October, 1991) and endorsed by the General
Assembly of the United Nations on 20 December, 1993. Recently The Supreme
Court on Friday proposed to consider the grievance of the National Human Rights’
Commission (NHRC) that it has become a “toothless tiger” with the apex right’s
body complaining about difficulties in discharging its duties, including non-coop­
eration from State governments and lack of staff.
Body Stellar work done by NHRC:
1. Rehabilitation of marginalised and destitute women in Vrindavan.
2. Combating sexual harassment of women at workplace.
3. Uplifting status of mammal scavengers.
4. Reviewing government status such as POTA.
5. On custodial death and compliance mechanism.
6. Action research on trafficking, etc.
Issues with NHRC:

1. Extra-judicial killings, since 1993 there are 2560 police encounter cases.
2. Custodial deaths have increased by 70%.
3. Many states practise foeticide, and trafficking continues unabated.
4. Human trafficking continues unabated, specially of children.
5. Verma Committee and Amnesty International have bought out misuse of
AFSPA Act in North-East.
The above facts show India is far from protecting rights of people at large. Espe­
cially at the state level, state human rights commissions have not been as effective
as NHRC.
Weakness of NHRC:

1. It is a recommendatory body.
2. Its annual reports are not laid down in parliament timely.
3. The Commission is dominated by members from the judiciary which has a
legal view rather than socio-cultural view.
4. Many of its recommendations are not implemented.
5. It does not have its own investigation body for technical and complex matters.

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 OLC-II.34 Public Administration

Q7. (a) 
Contemporary urbanism advocates the integration of diverse
modes of urban planning and management concerns. Discuss the
above statement in light of urban development in India.
Chapter: Urban Local Government
Sub Topic: Urban Problems and Solutions
Approach Explain issues with urban development and solutions.
Introduction India is the second largest urban system in the world with almost 11% of the
total global urban population living in Indian cities. Urban growth is expected to
contribute to 73% of the total population increase by 2036. Issues like lack of
availability of serviced land, traffic congestion, pressure on basic infrastructure,
extreme air pollution, urban flooding, water scarcity and droughts are not merely
a reflection of infrastructural shortcomings in the cities. These issues indicate a
deep and substantial lack of adequate urban planning and governance frameworks.
Body
Structural issues in urban governance
1. Local administration is a state subject even after 73rd and 14th amendment
Acts. Hence leads to complete subordination of urban local bodies to state
government.
2. Overlapping and weak integration
In urban local governance, the structure of ULBs is not uniform and or
hierarchical.
yy Presence of parastatal- Jal board, development authorities, electricity
boards under different agencies hamper coordination work and integration
(Riggs).
yy In some cases, privatisation has achieved success but absence of regulator
or ombudsman has affected grievance redressal (High power, water tariff
in Delhi).
3. Bureaucratisation of urban local bodies – Bureaucrats dominate the working
of these bodies which goes against philosophy of local bodies.
4. Diffusion of authority and multiplicity of agencies has led to problems of
coordination.
5. Metropolitan planning committee and ward committees do not function as
instruments of participative planning and leads to unplanned urbanisation.
6. There is role conflict between elected mayors and commissioners leading these
bodies.
7. A significant proportion of urbanisation in the country is unacknowledged and
unaddressed. Almost half of the 7933 ‘urban’ settlements are census towns,
that is, they continue to be governed as ‘rural’ entities. Small and medium
towns face vulnerabilities due to rapid growth and inadequate planning.
These structural lacunas and absence of unified command and control structure
lead to poor handling of citizen grievances, specially during floods and disaster
management. Example, Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs, handles Law and Order,
Ministry of Urban development–perspective planning, Electricity–Private Players,
Residual functions are split between New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Municipal
Corporation of Delhi.
Solutions to structural issues

1. 2nd ARC recommends training of elected representative and personnel admin­
istering the local bodies.

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2. Merger of parastatals into single body and report to mayor who shall be the
chief executive.
3. Well-defined structures and transfer of functions based on principle of
subsidiarity.
4. Metropolitan planning committee should be focal point of municipal admin­
istration planning.
Operational issues

Operational issues can be divided into funds, functionaries and functions categories.
Funds: Ahluwalia Committee estimates `89 lakh crore needed for maintaining

urban infra but observes revenue base shrunk from 6.3% in 2003 to 5.3% in 2007.
It reflects transmission of poverty form rural areas.
Reasons for low-tax revenue

1. Political populism – Populistic policies providing free power, free water, free
education and health and non levy of user charges.
2. Personnel are insufficient, ineffective and highly corrupt.
3. 60% of income goes in recurring charges such as salaries, pensions and main­
tenance. Example, street lights, etc.
4. Property tax–Unreliable data base under valuations.
5. ULBs dependent on state government for grants in aid.
6. Non-operationalisation of state finance commission recommendations.
7. Urban local bodies do not have the institutional agency to raise funds, systemic
accounting.
Solutions

1. Recommendations of state FC should be implemented.
2. Separate window in state budgets for creating financial assistance.
3. Rationalisation of user charges and removal of non-merit subsidies.
4. Urban local bodies should shift towards accrual-based accounting system.
5. Floating of municipal bonds like Pune, Ahmedabad.
6. Outcome and performance budgeting should be implemented.
7. Computerised database of all properties using GIS.
8. Random assessment by performance auditors.
9. `200-crore worth Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) bonds have been
listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). In 2017, Pune Municipal
Corporation had raised `200 crore through muni bonds at an interest of
7.59% to finance its 24×7 water supply project.
10. XV FC has recommended municipal legislation to reflect progressive and
enabling financial governance of our cities through five reform agendas:
(i) Fiscal decentralisation including strengthening state finance commissions.
(ii) Revenue optimisation to enhance own revenues.
(iii) Fiscal responsibility and budget management to accelerate municipal
borrowings.
(iv) Institutional capacities towards an adequately skilled workforce.
(v) Transparency and citizen participation (for democratic accountability at
the neighbourhood level).
Functions

ULBs are supposed to perform three kinds of functions:
1. Regulatory: Birth, death certificate, construction permits, licensing.

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 OLC-II.36 Public Administration

2. Developmental: Public hygiene, sanitation, health care, schools, sewerage

management.
3. Infrastructure: Housing–preventing peri urban slums areas, transport, electricity.
Issues

Re-engineering of urban governance:

1. There is a need to bring in more institutional clarity and also multi-discipli­
nary expertise to solve urban challenges for enabling public participation and
inter-agency coordination.
2. De-mystifying planning and involving citizens: Due to the planning process
being highly technocratic in nature, the public’s participation in it is limited.
Solutions

1. Principle of subsidiarity to be followed in allocation of functions.
2. NITI Aayog Advisory Committee recommends the constitution of a high-pow-
ered committee to re-engineer the present urban-planning governance structure.
The key aspects that would need to be addressed in this effort would be:
(i) clear division of roles and responsibilities among various authorities,
appropriate revision of rules and regulations, etc.,
(ii) creation of a more dynamic organisational structure,
(iii) extensive adoption of technology for enabling public participation and
inter-agency coordination.
Functionaries

1. Lack of personnel
(i) Managerial
(ii) Technical
2. Personnel borrowed from state administrative bodies.
3. Lack of and capacity building.
Solutions

1. Dedicated municipal administration and technical services.
2. High-quality training.
3. Bring outside experts and specialists.
4. Pool of experts and specialists.
5. NITI Aayog committee recommends short-term training programme for city-
level elected officials on the economic and social benefits of urban planning’.
6. The Advisory Committee recommends the constitution of a ‘National Council
of Town and Country Planners’ as a statutory body of the Government of India.
Also, a ‘National Digital Platform of Town and Country Planners’ is suggested
to be created within the National Urban Innovation Stack of MoHUA and
Ensuring qualified professionals for undertaking urban planning.
Conclusion Urban development needs to be viewed as an integral part of the development
process. A city should be viewed as an organic whole and hence development of
all its parts should be undertaken in a creative futuristic, integrated and balanced
manner. It should be an open organisation that is amenable to reforms in struc­
ture approaches and style. The political leadership, decision-makers and planners
need to reach a common consensus that a promise to save the environment from
the strains of urbanisation is a promise of economic growth in the long run.
Collaborative, concerted and cooperative efforts are required to strengthen the
urban governance capacity of the country.
Score High Give recommendations of XV FC for municipal reforms.

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 UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2021 OLC-II.37 ..

(b) Rural development programmes are designed to facilitate multifaceted

growth of rural poor. Evaluate the role of some key rural development
programmes in India in this context.
Chapter: Rural Development
Sub Topic: Issues with Rural Development Programmes
Approach Explain Issues with Rural Development programmes and solutions.
Introduction Rural development programmes have been designed in the wake of NPM reforms,
and indigenous model of development. NPM focused on economy efficacy and
effective news while reaction against most entice model of development with aid
conditional ties was rejected due to lack of use of indigenous.
Body The issues with implementation of these programmes were structural and
operational.
Structural

1. The programmes were led by bureaucracy with district collectors and parastat­
als as implementing agencies, instead of public participation.
2. Lack of civic engagement due to colonial attitude of bureaucracy.
3. Lack of transfer of funds, functionaries and functions from state to PRIs.
4. Elite capture by document waste and focus of programmes being welfarist
rather than empowering.
5. Lack of performance indicators, outcome budgeting and gender budgeting of
these programmes.
6. Political conflict and lack of trained political functionaries at PRI level.
7. Centrally sponsored schemes did not provision for grassroots planning and
implementation.
Operational
1. Lack of financial manpower and managerial resources.
Absence of inter-sectoral coordination, conflict resolution and convergence
mechanism of these programmes.
For example: NRLM and MGNREGA have same objective of livelihood
generation, but there is lack of convergence.
2. Lack of coordination between district administration and panchayats due to
overburdened role of district collector.
3. Many panchayats do not have minimum resources to undertake basic success
and activities. They are heavily dependent on state governments for financial
and functional devolution.
4. Lack of grassroots planning and non-involvement of civil society in policy
formulation, review and implementation.
India has the largest and densest road networks in the world. However, a large
part of 2.7 million km rural road networks and 30% of the country’s population
lacked access to all-weathers roads.
Solutions for the same

1. Decentralised planning should be implemented with gram sabha as focal
points, with autonomy to decide on the texture of programmes.
2. Strengthening of administration and managerial capabilities of PRIs in finan­
cial management communities and community relations.
3. SFC’s recommendations should be implemented.

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4. Activity mapping of PRIs is a must for effective implementation of these

programmes.
Mani Shankar Iyer Committee stated that ombudsman must be appointed for
effective grievance redressal mechanism.
5. Participative democracy should be enhanced by networking SHGs, communi-
ty-based organisations in implementation of these programmes.
6. District collector must play an indirect enabling role in functioning of these
programmes.
7. Primacy must be given to PRIs in execution of development schemes rather
than parastatals.
8. Capacity-building is a must before enhancing the role of PRIs in scheme
delivery.
9. Specific roles to different levels of PRIs, that is, what will be the role of gram
sabha, panchayats and zilla panchayats.
Body Objectives of rural development programmes
1. Connection of rural links connecting habitations to gramin agricultural mar­
kets, higher secondary schools and hospitals.
Impact: This would facilitate easy and faster movement to and from gramin
agricultural markets, schools and hospitals.
2. Low-maintenance costs and trafficable in all-weather connections.
3. Use of green technologies to reduce population.
4. Objective criteria for selection of roads thereby eliminating bias and corruption.
5. Maintenance to be undulation by state governments ensures sustainability of
the roads.
6. Shall provide multiplier effect in rural economy.
7. Provide employment, efficacy and overall development.
Issues

1. Many roads are unconnected due to topographical reasons.
2. Lack of capacity at local level in terms of infrastructure planning capabilities
Agriculture is a major facilitator for rural development as it is a source of livelihood
generation, and also contributing to rural economy.
Marginal farmers mean farmers cultivating agricultural land upto 1 hectare, small
farmers mean farmers cultivating agricultural land of more than 2 hectare.
Body Problems faced by small and marginal farmers:

1. Lack of formal credit sources.
2. Due to small land holding, farmers cannot scale up due to lack of mechanisa­
tion and new technology in agriculture.
3. Fragmented structure of APMC and lack of crop insurance.
4. Lack of rural infrastructure for transportation and storage.
5. Only 10% farmers know about MSP and 6% farmers are benefited by MSP.
6. Failed to implement land for fragmented land holding and consolidation.
1. JAM can solve the problem of availability of credit and eliminate leakages.
2. PM Fasal Bima Yojana to provide crop insurance.
3. Convergence of rural infrastructure programmes with agriculture
programmes.
4. Accelerated irrigation programmes with focus on micro irrigation and drip
irrigation.
5. Synergy between Ministry of Agriculture and rural development in design-
ing these programmes.

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6. Effective implementation with people population in solution to problem.

7. Focus on sustainable agriculture practices.
8. Participation of CBOs and farmers in implementation of programmes.
Conclusion The success of agriculture is interdependent on rural development and vice-versa.
The need of the hour is ensuring and facilitating development of farmers through
convergence of various developmental programmes.
Effective functioning of rural development programmes requires principles of
subsidiarity and sprit of decentralisation.

Operational and financial empowerment can ensure that objectives of these pro­
grammes are complete.

(c) Police-public relations in India need to be improved. Suggest measures

to strengthen relations between police and public.
Chapter: Law and Order Administration
Sub Topic: Police Public Relations
Approach Explain issue with police-public relation and suggest measures to improve it.
Introduction Police-public relationship is important for upholding the rule of law and ensuring
good governance in maintaining law and order. The concept of new age policing
in post-modern and post-LPG era is, police power depends on public approval,
that is, policing by consent. The greater the public approval and cooperation, the
lesser is the need to use force.
Body Issues from demand side: Public
1. Society is accused of double-standards and pressurises police for instant justice,
glorifies tough policing, extra-judicial killings, leading to police vigilantism.
2. Citizens are law-breakers themselves and resort to unruly behaviour in the
face of police action.
3. Many a time, public turn hostile and do not come forward to provide evidence,
leading to dilution of the case.
4. Sometimes, police takes blame for executive inefficiency, for example, vio­
lence due to an ill-planned encroachment removal drive.
Issue from supply side: Police

1. There is distrust among the public regarding the attitude, behaviour and moti­
vation of police.
2. Politicisation/Elite capture of police force ensures public views them as agents
of state oppression.
3. FIRs are not filed based on genuine grievances and hence public is apprehen­
sive about registering them. Low rate of convictions due to poor quality of
investigation also results in lack of faith in police.
4. Impact of colonial legacy makes public view police as a force, and not a
service.
5. Absence of accountability of police for custodial deaths and extra-judicial
killings.
Solutions to improve police-public relationship:

1. Attitudinal changes on the police and public side and winning public
cooperation
2. Improve image through public relations, networking and media
3. Making local police more responsive and accountable

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4. Depoliticise police transfer and postings

5. Use of information technology to register FIRs. Recent SC judgement to ensure
FIR within 48 hours.
6. Community policing to be strengthened
7. Use of Theory X and Y: Managerial cosmology of police needs to be changed
8. Capacity-building through hard and soft skills.
Example: Friends of Police: Tamil Nadu psychological approach to policing
where citizens have been empowered with the help of police.
Conclusion Ideally, both police and public should realise that they have a common objective.
It requires collective and collaborative efforts to find sustainable and acceptable
solutions for complex law and order problems.
Score High Explain reasons for poor police image:
1. Poor state of policing is reflected in India’s dismal ranking in the Rule of Law
Index by the World Justice Project, wherein India ranked 68th out of 126
countries.
2. India has 137 police personnel per lakh of the population while the sanc­
tioned strength is 181. And, this is woefully inadequate when compared
to the United Nations recommended standard of 222 personnel per lakh
people.
3. According to a 2018 survey of public perceptions about policing, the Lokniti
team found that less than 25% of Indians trust the police highly (as compared
to 54% for the army).
4. According to the latest available data, 30% of all cases filed in 2016 were
pending for investigation by the end of the year.
5. Only 14% funds for modernisation was spent in FY 15–16.
6. Crime rate has increased by 28% while conviction rate is only 47% in the
last decade.

Q8.(a) In past two decades India’s public policy on Disaster Management

has shifted its focus from rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts
to holistic management of disaster. Analyse.
Chapter: Significant Issues in Indian Administration
Sub Topic: Disaster Management
Approach Explain changes in Public Policy on Disaster Management.
Introduction The National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM) has been prepared in tune
with and in pursuance of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. National Policy on
Disaster Management (NPDM) will provide the framework/road map for handling
disasters in a holistic manner.
NPDM has a vision to build a safe and disaster-resilient India by developing a
holistic, proactive, multi-disaster oriented and technology-driven strategy through
a culture of prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response.
What does the National Policy deal with?
The policy covers all aspects of disaster management covering institutional, legal
and financial arrangements; disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness, tech­
no-legal regime; response, relief and rehabilitation; reconstruction and recovery;
capacity development; knowledge management and research and development.

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It focuses on the areas where action is needed and the institutional mechanism
through which such action can be channelised.
The NPDM addresses the concerns of all the sections of the society including
differently-abled persons, women, children and other disadvantaged groups. In
terms of grant of relief and formulating measures for rehabilitation of the affected
persons due to disasters, the issue of equity/inclusiveness has been accorded due
consideration.
The NPDM aims to bring in transparency and accountability in all aspects of dis­
aster management through involvement of community, community based organi­
sations, panchayati raj institutions (PRIs), local bodies and civil society.
Body State Level Action Needed:
1. A clearer demarcation of national and state-level responsibilities is needed,
especially regarding who is responsible for risk-reduction activities.
2. Existing rules and regulations that impede the inclusion of measures for risk
reduction need to be amended.
3. Build partnerships with and draw lessons from forerunner states such as Bihar
and Gujarat on how to include risk reduction in plans more effectively.
4. Accountability mechanisms need to be specified. This will ensure that depart­
ments follow disaster risk-reduction considerations in their own development
planning.
5. There is an urgent need to put the National Disaster Mitigation Fund and
state disaster management funds into operation. States such as Bihar, which
are leading in this regard, should share lessons on how to realise this at the
state level.
6. Public-private partnerships should be looked at more seriously as alternative
modes of financing. Models such as the Surat Climate Change Trust, a collab­
oration between the private sector and the urban local body in Surat, Gujarat,
should be studied and, if suitable, replicated.
7. Risk-transfer mechanisms and insurance should be scaled up to support risk
reduction.
8. Officials from state disaster management authorities should be trained in
gender-responsive budgeting and gender mainstreaming.
Conclusion The National Policy on Disaster Management puts in place an enabling environ­
ment for all. It is expected by all the stakeholders to put up their best efforts in
managing any disaster as per the framework of NPDM. Every disaster teaches us
new lessons and the Govt./Society learns to adapt with them accordingly. NPDM
has been fruitful in developing a holistic, proactive multi-disaster-oriented and
technology-driven approach in the country.
Score High Give stats from India’s Disaster Risk Index.
India has its own Disaster Risk index called the National Disaster Risk Index. The

National Disaster Risk Index would map hazards and vulnerabilities including
economic vulnerabilities across 640 districts and all states including UTs.
The index is in line with India’s commitment to the Sendai Framework, where it
has to substantially bring down disaster losses in terms of lives and properties.
Out of 36 states and union territories in the country, 27 of them are prone to
disasters such as to floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, ava­
lanches and forest fires.

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 OLC-II.42 Public Administration

(b) 
The institutional legacy of ‘well-entrenched state’ affected the post-
reforms promises in India. Explain the statement in the light of eco-
nomic reforms in India.
Chapter: Administrative Reforms
Sub Topic: Administrative Reforms
Approach Explain issues in the implementation of reforms and the way forward.
Introduction In 2009, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission submitted around 15
reports on various aspects of governance, making 1,514 recommendations. A NITI
Aayog report says there are several constraints to the development of a highly
efficient, transparent and accountable civil services. These include a mismatch
between positions and skill sets, and recruitment that is not competency-specific.
The Strategy For New India @ 75 report stresses the need “to put in place a
reformed system of recruitment, training and performance evaluation of the civil
service to ensure more effective and efficient delivery of public services to achieve
the development goals envisaged in New India 2022”.
Body Major concerns of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission on Civil
Service reforms:
1. It has been pointed out that the Civil Service in India is more concerned with
the internal processes than with results.
2. The systemic rigidities, needless complexities and over-centralisation in the
policy and management structures within which the civil service functions are
too complex and often too constraining.
3. The structures are based on hierarchies and there are a large number of veto
points to be negotiated for a decision to eventually emerge.
4. To compound it, the size and the number of ministries and departments have
both overloaded the decision-making system and diminished the capacities of
the individual civil servants to fulfil their operational responsibilities.
5. Consequently, civil servants should view civil society organisations and the
private sector as partners in the process of the country’s governance.
6. There is need to shift from pre-eminence of governance to effective governance
with a focus on decentraliszation and citizen-centricity.
7. Every government servant should undergo a mandatory training at the induc­
tion stage and also periodically during his/her career. Successful completion
of these trainings should be a minimum necessary condition for confirmation
in service and subsequent promotions.
8. A monitoring mechanism should be set up for overseeing the implementation
of the National Training Policy (1996).
9. The objective of mid-career training should be to develop domain knowledge
and competence required
10. Public servants should be encouraged to obtain higher academic qualifications
and to write papers for reputed and authoritative journals.
11. The composition of governing bodies of the national training institutions such
as the LBSNAA, SVPNPA, IGNFA and also the State Administrative Training
Institutes should be broadened by inducting eminent experts.
12. A National Institute of good governance may be set up by upgrading one of
the existing national/state institutes.
Conclusion Reforms are an obvious response to the new challenges confronting the state
institution managing public affairs; what lies at the root of such an exercise is

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the effort to enhance administrative capability in the changed scenario. Since the
civil servants are accountable to political executives and that results in politicising
of civil services, the focus must be on external accountability mechanisms like
citizen’s charters, social audits and encouraging outcome orientation among civil
servants.
Score High Give examples of recent reforms in Civil Services.
• Mission Karmayogi: This is a National Programme for Civil Services Capacity
Building (NPCSCB).
• Lateral Entry: It will help in building a culture of performance within the
Government sector.
• e-Samiksha: A real-time online system for monitoring and follow-up action
on the decisions taken by the Government at the Apex level in respect of
implementation of important Government programmes/projects.
• e-Office Mission Mode Project (MMP) has been strengthened for enabling
Ministries/Departments to switch over to paperless office and efficient deci­
sion making.
• Citizen’s Charters: Government has mandated Citizen’s Charters for all
Ministries/Departments which are updated and reviewed on a regular basis.
• Good Governance Index: The objectives of GGI are to provide quantifiable
data to compare the state of governance in all States and UTs, enable States
and UTs to formulate and implement suitable strategies for improving gov­
ernance and shift to result oriented approaches and administration.
• Comprehensive restructuring of the Scheme for ‘Prime Minister’s Awards
for Excellence in Public Administration’ in 2014 and thereafter in 2020.

(c) Do you agree with the view that the civil service in India is losing its
neutral and anonymous character? Argue your case.
Chapter: Civil Services
Sub Topic: Civil Services Neutrality and Activism
Approach Explain issues in civil service neutrality and the way forward.
Introduction Neutrality is one of the major preconditions of Weberian bureaucracy. It means
a value-free approach which is impersonal, i.e. civil servants should implement
policies and remain obedient to rules. However, Riggs proved that civil servant
is affected by ecology. NPM and NPA also demand value commitment towards
citizen-friendly behaviour, transparency and accountability.
Body Civil service neutrality meaning:
1. Implies political impartiality or non-political nature of civil service. Also
implies civil servants remain impartial and serve different governments and
provide stability and continuity sans bias.
2. Non-discrimination, fairness and objectivity in decision-making.
3. Civil servants should understand politics, not indulge in it, respond to ministe­
rial responsibility and civil rights of people.
Reasons for breakdown in the concept of civil service neutrality:

1. Politicisation of bureaucracy and bureaucratisation of polity.
2. Rise of coalition governments, single-party monopoly led to unbalanced polity.
Hence, politicisation of bureaucracy was inevitable.

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 OLC-II.44 Public Administration

3. Involvement of bureaucracy in policy advice, execution, legislation and

decision-making has made discerning between political and practical consid­
erations difficult.
4. Posting, transfer and performance appraisal of civil servants are done by
ministers, hence political interference creeps in.
5. Civil servants, being human beings, cannot be totally objective in their
judgment.
6. Absence of security of tenure, non-insulation from political witch-hunting
makes them susceptible to political interference and domination.
7. Absence of collegiality aid, self-aggrandisement and collusive behaviour of
civil servants and ministers have led to interference.
8. Nepotism and political appointments and patronage.
9. Neutrality got converted to secrecy, indifference and complacency.
Evolution of neutrality in Indian context:

British era: Concept emerged from merit-based recruitment.

Post-independence era: Era of institution building and a political bureaucracy.

Post-emergency era: Politicised and fully committed bureaucracy started.

Coalition era and post-LPG era: Due to reinvented government imperatives of

a welfare development-oriented state and coalition politics, clects and political
bureau­cracy became politicised, committed and overlapped with the party in power.
Present Status: There are two sections, politically commuted bureaucracy and civil

services activism to gain short-lived popularity.
Negative effects of breakdown of civil services neutrality and anonymity:

1. In the long run, there will be indiscipline and chaos due to the breakdown of
unity of command and rationality.
2. Breed corruption, reduce morale, nepotism and keep society perpetually
prismatic.
3. Hampers role of integration and differentiation, prevents objectivity in policy
formulation, implementation review, leading to ineffectiveness of developmen­
tal programmes.
4. May hamper unity and integrity of the country due to dilution in constitutional
ethos of executives and damage to social and cultural fabric due to divisive
agenda of the country.
Solutions to keep civil services anonymity and neutrality:

Max Weber and Paul Appleby have prescribed:
1. Efficiency, rationality, commitment to constitutional ethos.
2. A neutral civil servant can be an activist civil servant. He should remain in
system but committed to constitutional ethos.
3. He should be neutral but not apathetic or indifferent to political masters.
4. He should not be a party to the spoils.
5. Strike for neutral competence and healthy relationship between minister and
civil servant.
6. Ensure transition from one government to another.
7. Policy advice should be neutral and without fear and favour, keeping public
interest foremost.
Programme reality: Once policy is formulated, bureaucracy should show com­

mitment in implementation.

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2nd ARC recommendations:

1. Code of ethics and conduct for ministers and civil servants.
2. Reforms in POCA, whistleblowers Legislation.
3. Effective grievance redressal mechanism.
4. Recruitment procedure sans favouritism, nepotism and corruption.
5. Civil service board to ensure transfer, postings, promotion, reward, punishment
and disciplinary matters.
6. Prime Minister Award to gain recognition and prevent civil services activism.
7. Make system open, accountable, transparent through civil services authority,
safeguards against arbitrary action through new law, social audit, RTI and
E-governance.
8. Outcome output framework to improve civil servant-minister relationship.
Outcomes will be the responsibility of politicians and output of bureaucrats.
Supreme Court ruling on 31st October 2013:

1. Civil servants should not act on verbal orders.
2. Fixed tenure of civil servants.
3. Civil service boards will have impact on transfer, posting, promotion and other
service matters.
Conclusion Civil service neutrality will ensure imperatives of a civil service working towards
rapid socio-economic programmes and nation building, with mandate of consti­
tutional values and constitutionality. It would also ensure good governance and
sustainable development and act as effective instruments of public policy.
Score High Give examples of achievements of civil services in a neutral manner, specially
usher­ing in 1991 reforms.

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