Following the spot match fixing scandal in IPL and the issue of extreme political interference in the working of BCCI, the Supreme Court (SC) had appointed a committee to look into the matter under the chairmanship of former CJI RM Lodha The Committee suggested sweeping reforms in the troubled BCCI.
2015 : Supreme Court appointed Lodha Committee to improve cricket administration in India.
Recommendations of Lodha Committee
Analysing Legalising Betting
July 2018 : Law Commission has reported to Government of India that since it is impossible to stop illegal gambling in India, the only viable option is to “regulate” it . Law Commission has recommended “cashless” gambling
Transaction between Gamblers to be linked to PAN & Aadhar card
Cap on number of gambling transactions
Regulations to protect vulnerable groups from exploitation
Present Law
The law— gambling
is largely governed by the Public Gambling Act of 1867
Only gambling
in ‘games of chance’ is prohibited. Games of skill have no restriction. This distinction essentially means horse-racing
is only sport in India in which gambling is legal.
Other problem (legal)
Betting is a state
subject — to legalise sports betting pan India, each state have to make law legalising
it separately .
A shorter route would be for
the Council of States to pass a resolution stating that Parliament should
legislate on sports betting in national interest.
Arguments that betting should be legalised
Gambling cant be eliminated
and thrives underground . Hence, it is better to regulate it.
Taxing the gambling will generate revenue which can be used in public welfare measures
(about ₹20,000 crore in tax revenue)
It will reduce money
laundering
Western Nations
have legalised it and results are good. We can take example from other
countries & sports like betting on football is legal in UK and this has
helped in making football Premier League more attractive & opportunity
to fans to bid legally on their teams .
Gambling is not new to India
and is part of Indian
traditions.
Betting on Horse races
already legal in India
Naradasamriti describes
gambling as lawful amusement when carried in public gambling houses
Kautilya also says gambling
should be done in regulated way
Arguments that betting shouldn’t be legalised
Not good especially in India
due to huge poverty in India. Given the bitter
results, many states have banned lottery in India, since poor people spend
their money to test their fortune .
Gambling will lead to other social evils like alcoholism, drug abuse, sex trade etc .
Lessons learned from Mahabharata : Pandavas and teachings of Gandhi .
It’ll be very difficult for
the government to curb illegal cricket betting as it is very efficient
closed-door system (why to pay tax if underground betting provide same
without paying tax) .
India can take
example from Brazil where socio-economic situation is
more like India . In 2014(near World
Cup) Brazil realised it was missing out on a huge revenue generator,
and made betting legal . This led to gambling
addiction, and even a rise in crime.
If cricket betting is
legalised, there will be efforts to fix
more games. It
will be a nightmare for law enforcement agencies.
This article deals with ‘Jail Reforms.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you canclick here
Introduction
Oct 2018 : Supreme Court formed a committee on prison Reforms headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Amitava Roy. (But this is not the first time that such a body is being set up, example being the Justice A.N. Mulla committee )
June 2017 : murder of a women life convict in Byculla women’s prison over missing ration
Punjab Cases
March 2019 : IG PS Umranangal given special treatment in Jail in blatant
violation of Punjab Jail Manual
Evergreen issue : periodic seizure of
drugs and mobile phones from inmates
2012 Bibi Jagir Kaur : Special
treatment given to her in Kapurthala Modern Jail
Problems with Prison System
Overcrowding: occupancy rate at all-India level was 114 %
Jail Manual Problem
Outdated Jail Manuals prepared during Colonial Times.
Prison management is a state subject. Therefore, there are great variations in Prison manuals among different states.
Frequent cases of Custodial Deaths, Custodial Suicides & Custodial Rapes
Undertrials: Number of under-trials constitute 67% of total inmates (UK : 20%) with major reasons being lack of money to obtain bail or delay in trial. NHRC has called this a case of blatant Human Right violation
Neglect of health and hygiene and giving Insufficient food and inadequate clothing
Focus on retributive justice rather than reformation and rehabilitation
Availability of
drugs
inside the prisons
Access to mobiles to prisoners to beat the communication protocol.
Influential prisoners get concessions privileges and favourable exemptions like recent V.K. Shashikala Case (Tamil Nadu)
Difficulty of re-integration in Society : No Vocal Training and psychological help given so that prisoners on release can re-integrate in society. Most of times, jails produce hardened criminals instead of reformed person
Solutions
Surveillance & Monitoring
:
Supreme Court last year ordered to install CCTV cameras in all the prisons in the
country.
Reforms in bail laws– so that bail remains a norm and jail an exception for all people not just rich
and affluent. It will address problem of Overcrowding and Undertrials
May 2017 – Law Commission headed by Justice (Retd) BS
Chauhan
highlighted once again that bail
is the norm and jail the exception but it’s application is limited
to rich and affluent while people from lower socio-economic strata
languish in jails. Commission recommended to make it easier for all those
awaiting trial to obtain bail
Law Commission has also
recommended to Amend CrPC such that (268 Report, 2017)
Those detained for an
offence that would attract up to seven years’ imprisonment be released
on completing one-third of that period (currently , it is half)
those charged with offences
attracting a longer jail term, after they complete half of that period.
For those who had spent the
whole period as undertrials, the period undergone may be considered for
remission.
Focus on reformation – provide them vocational training, employing them meaningfully after release, creating an open prison system for non-hard core criminals etc. should be tried
Upgradation and Uniformity in Manuals –
Justice Mulla Committee suggested setting up of a National Prison Commission as a continuing body to bring
about modernization of prisons in India.
Implement National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) Guidelines to Custodial Deaths : FIR should be filed and all cases must
be reported to the NHRC within 24
hours of their occurrence . Erring prison officials should be given
exemplary punishment .
Make Comprehensive
anti-torture legislation – Even Supreme court has told government to
consider passing a comprehensive anti-torture legislation
Reintegration within Society :
Parivarthana programme taken up in Andhra Pradesh has proved to be a boon to prisoners to reform
themselves and lead a dignified life after their release from jail. Under
this, Parivarthana Centres have come up at district jail and sub-jails.
Option of Open Jails can also
be considered which follows rehabilitative approach instead of retributive
one.
This article deals with ‘Office of Profit Issue.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you canclick here
What is Office of Profit ?
According to Articles 102(1) a and 191 (1) ,
Person shall be disqualified for being a MP or MLA if he holds any “office of profit” under the government of India, a state or a union territory other than an office protected by law.
But term Office of Profit is neither defined in the constitution nor under Representation of People’s Act.
Legislatures kept on expanding the list of exemptions from disqualification
Supreme Court in Pradyut Bordoloi vs Swapan Roy (2001), outlined the following
questions for the test for office of Profit:
Whether the government makes
the appointment
Whether the government has
the right to remove or dismiss the holder
Whether the government pays
the remuneration (salary or honorarium)
What are the functions of the
holder and does he perform them for the government
Later : Not all but any one of above condition is sufficient to
declare particular office as office of profit
Earlier Cases
2004
Jaya
Bacchan v. Union of India : In
2004, Jaya Bachan, Rajya Sabha MP from the Samajwadi Party, was appointed
chairperson of the UP Film Development Council (UPFDC) but she wasn’t
receiving any salary . The apex court held that it was an Office of Profit,
and disqualified her from being a member of the Upper House arguing that “an office which is capable of yielding a profit or pecuniary gain.” thus it is not the actual
‘receipt’ of profit but the ‘potential’ for profit that is the deciding
factor in an ‘office of profit’ case.
2006
In
2006, BJP MPs sought the disqualification
of Congress president Sonia Gandhi from the membership of the Lower House for holding an Office
of Profit. Sonia was then chairperson of the National Advisory
Council (NAC). She resigned her Lok Sabha seat,
recontested the election, and came back.
Legislative History
Concept originated in the House of Commons in England. King in his efforts to
undermine the House of Commons, used to offer positions of executive
nature with pecuniary benefits to its members and buy their loyalty. This
practice kept the members out of the House most of the time . Hence, House
of Commons passed a law prohibiting its members from accepting any office
from the Crown
In Modern times,
Constitutional theory envisages that the elected legislature exercises
oversight functions over government. Therefore, if the legislators are beholden to the
executive, the legislature can no longer retain its independence and loses
the ability to control the Council of Ministers
=>
Hence, main issue is not of Pecuniary Benefits but weakening of Principle of
Separation of Power.
Arguments against MPs/ MLAs holding Office of Profit
Against Separation of Powers: legislator cannot exercise control over Executive of which he/she becomes a part.
Circumventing Constitutional Provisions : Office of Parliamentary Secretaries or other offices are used by state governments to circumvent the constitutional ceiling of 15 % (10% in case of Delhi) on the number of ministers they can appoint.
Threat to Public Interest and National Security : Unlike ministers, the Parliamentary Secretaries are not administered under the Oath of Secrecy (Art 239 AA(4)), yet may be privy to such information which may threaten public interest or threaten national security.
Recommended by Various Committees : Various committees have spoken against it including 2nd ARC & V K Krishna Menon Committee
Used for Political Reasons without any benefit in governance : Chairmanships of Corporations, Parliamentary Secretary-ships of various ministries, and other offices of profit are often sops to legislators to satisfy their aspirations for rank, status and privilege and a way of buying peace for the government.
Side Topic : MPLADS
In 1993, the Central
government started MPLADS, through which legislators can earmark a certain amount of public
funds for projects in their constituency. The concept has been adopted by
many states as MLALADS.
Argument was that elected MPs
and MLAs know the needs of their electorate well and can be effective in
allocation of resources.
Issue
:Role of Legislators is to allocate the entire Central and State budgets, and
to monitor the spending. They are expected to use their knowledge of
ground-level issues in this allocation, and see that the funds are spent
properly. By providing each of them a specific amount to spend on projects,
their oversight role is weakened.
Suggestion of 2nd ARC : Schemes such as MPLADS and MLALADS should be abolished.
Current Issue : Parliamentary Secretary Cases
2016
– Article 239AA of the Constitution limits the number of Ministers in Delhi Government to 10% of the strength of Delhi Legislative Assembly (which is seven persons).
– They appointed 21 more MLAs as parliamentary secretaries — which will make 40 per cent of the membership have some type of an executive role.
– Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997 was amended with retrospective effect to exempt the post of parliamentary secretary from the definition of the “office of profit”. However, Lt. Governor didn’t give assent to the amendment bill
2017
Punjab and Haryana high court quashed the appointments of four Haryana Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPSs).
2018
MLA’s in Delhi were disqualified by President for
holding Office of profit.
Who are Parliamentary Secretary ?
Parliamentary Secretary is a member of the parliament in the Westminster
system who assists a more
senior minister with his or her
duties. Originally, the post was used as a
training ground for future ministers.
Post has been created in
several states now and then like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan etc
and by Act of State Legislature, they are declared to be out of
disqualification
Main issues with this post ?
All the issues discussed in Office of Profit debate like impinging Separation of Power, Conflict of Interest etc are relevant here as well.
Points given in Support
Constitution allows a legislature to pass a law to grant
exemption to any office of profit holder. In past, states and Parliament
have done this as well. The Supreme
Court in UC Raman case has upheld this.
Structured preparation for Olympics – Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) of Union Ministry of Youth
Affairs and Sports to identify and support potential medal prospects for
2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.
Promoting grassroots level talent – through Khelo India Scheme which include Khelo India School Games to recognise
young talent as well as creating infrastructure for sports in Urban and
Rural Areas
August 2018 : National Sports University Bill 2018 – National Sports University
will be opened in Manipur to enhance country’s standing
in sports
Use of Narcotics : Large number of Indian athletes fail in Doping
tests which hits prestige of country. Most of cases are such that athlete
is unaware of the fact that supplements he is taking are banned. Frequent
workshops should be organised in this respect
Apply Lodha Recommendations to other sports : Acceptance of Lodha committee recommendations has generated awareness & generated demand for reforms in other games as well. The recommendations of Lodha committee which can be applied to sports in general are:
Barring civil servants and ministers from becoming member of the sports federations and associations
Limits on the duration of the tenure and number of times a person can become a member of sports bodies
Former and existing Players should be associated with the bodies of their respective games
Auditing of accounts should be done by CAG nominee
Bringing sports bodies under RTI (Issue of BCCI under RTI is discussed in subsequent section).
Break the monopoly of cricket : Other games should be
promoted as well. For this , approach should be regional on basis of where
there are potential viewers . In end , we have to accept the fact that,
today promoters encourage those sports only which can generate revenue and
viewership . Eg : Promote
Football : North East , West
Bengal, Goa, Kerala
Hockey : Punjab , Orissa etc
Wrestling : Haryana, Punjab ,
UP
Swimming : Coastal States
China Model : Our program to get medals at Olympics should be long .
Like China, India should identify the potential junior players which can
be trained for atleast decade to make a world class player out of him .
This article deals with ‘Police Governance.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you canclick here
Introduction
Police in almost all states is
governed by Police Act , 1861 which was made
to secure & strengthen Raj. Now same is used by Government to strengthen its hold
There have been many number of
commissions, both at the State and Central level – State Police Commissions, National Police Commission,
Gore Committee, Ribeiro Committee, Padmanabhaiah Committee, Malimath
Committee, to name only a few
Why in news?
This topic remains in news always. Eg :-
June 2020
Rage over custodial death of father-son duo in Tamil
Nadu
Why do we need police reforms ?
Biggest problem is Political Interference .
Economic progress cannot be sustained if we are not able to generate a safe and secure environment.
Numbers: global average ratio of police-population is 270 to 1,00,000, where it is 120 in India.
Low standard of Criminal Investigation
Human right violation : Inspite the known fact that Police indulge in Human Rights violations like custodial deaths and fake encounters ,but convictions are few. Eg : Tuticorin custodial killing case of 2020 in which father-son duo was killed by police leading to huge furore in the country.
Lack of expertise in Collection and analysis of preventive intelligence
Outdated arms and equipments: as seen in 26/11 attacks.
Lack of proper training.
Prakash Singh judgement,2006
Based on recommendation of various committees , SC gave broad guidelines to be implemented to reform Police in India
Directive 1
Constitute a State Security
Commission (SSC) to:
Ensure that the state government does not exercise unwarranted influence or pressure on police
Lay down broad policy guideline and
Evaluate the performance of the state police
How State Security Commission
will help
Directive 2
Ensure that the DGP is appointed through merit based transparent process and secure a minimum tenure of two years.
Directive 3
Ensure that other police officers on operational duties (including SSP (incharge of District) & SHO ( in-charge of a police station)) are also provided a minimum tenure of two years.
Directive 4
Separate the investigation and law and order functions of the police
Directive 5
Set up a Police Establishment Board (PEB) to decide transfers, postings, promotions of police officers.
Directive 6
Set up a Police Complaints Authority (PCA) at state level to inquire into public complaints against police officers .
Directive 7
Set up a National Security Commission (NSC) at the union level to prepare a panel for selection and placement of Chiefs of the Central Police Organisations (CPO) with a minimum tenure of two years.
Are these directives implemented ?
Almost no state seems willing to implement police reforms in letter and spirit. 17 states have passed new Acts while 12 have issued executive orders. But concerted efforts have been made by all to circumvent the SC directions . Thomas Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court to monitor the implementation of its directions in various states, in its report in 2010 deplored that “practically no state has fully complied with those directives so far, in letter and spirit”.
Main lynchpin of the directive was formation of State Security Commission (SSC) with members from the government, judiciary and civil society. But 17 States which have made SSC , it’s composition is flawed . Most states have avoided having the opposition leader in commission and independent members have been kept away.
Most states have refused to give more than a one-year fixed tenure to DGP . Reasons for DGP’s removal tenure have been kept vague with grounds ranging from ‘public interest’ and ‘administrative exigencies’ to ‘any other reason’.
Except Kerala and Karnataka, no state has provided for complete separation of law and order and investigation duties.
Centre, too, has been dragging its feet on the issue. It has as not yet set up the National Security Commission.
Parkash Committee Report (June 2016)
Was formed in wake
of riots in Haryana during Jat agitation in which property worth
billions was damaged and more than 30 persons were killed.
It tells the story
of institutional decay in the state’s bureaucracy.
Former
chief ministers of the
state centralised powers in their own office to extend that officials have started to look
upto their political masters even to exercise their inherent powers. (there are some
inherent powers which police officers can exercise on their own but
situation has gone that far that officers arent exercising these powers on
their own too)
Political interference in recruitment and postings has played havoc with the police force which has come to be dominated by the dominant caste of the state. The fallout of this was
collusion with rioters, desertions and an obvious caste bias.
Modernising of Police Force Scheme
Launched in 2000 by Ministry
of Home Affairs
Aim
To modernize police
To equip the police with the latest equipment
To improve police mobility, training infrastructure, computerisation and forensic science facilities.
Funding
Core Scheme
60:40 ratio between Centre and States
But not much has come out of this scheme and CAG has also pointed towards this fact.
Side Topic : SMART Police
In 2014, Prime Minister of
India gave an acronym of SMART police at
Guwahati Conference of the Directors General of Police which means:
Medical Council of India (MCI) was established under Indian Medical Council Act-1933 and given responsibility for
Maintaining standards of medical education
Providing ethical oversight
Maintaining the medical register
Sanctioning medical colleges
MCI in recent times has been in the news for the wrong reasons
In 2010, secretary of MCI , Ketan Desai, was arrested for accepting bribe in return for recognising a private college.
March 2016 : Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health noted that MCI has repeatedly failed on all its mandates over years.
2016 – Supreme Court has appointed at 3 member committee headed by former CJI R M Lodha to oversee MCI.
Weaknesses in MCI
Corruption : Eg : Ketan Desai Case
Too much power concentrated in a single body (i.e. MCI).
Failure to create sufficient manpower : Doctor – Population ratio in India is 1:1700 as against the WHO norm of 1:1000. Need to produce more doctors
Conflict of Interest: MCI members are elected from the same medical fraternity that they have to control.
Failure to create a curriculum that produces doctors suited to working in Indian context especially in the rural health services and poor urban areas.
Devaluation of merit in admission due to prevalence of capitation fees
Heavy focus on nitty-gritty of infrastructure and human staff during inspections but no substantial evaluation of quality of teaching, training and imparting of skills.
Failure to instill respect for professional code of ethics in the medical professionals
2. National Medical Commission Bill, 2019 (NMC)
Provisions of the act are
1 . Formation of NMC
It will
replace MCI
It will
consist of 25 members, appointed
by the central government
2. Functions of NMC
Functions
of the NMC include:
Regulating medical institutions and medical professionals,
assessing the requirements of healthcare human resources and infrastructure,
Ensuring compliance by the State Medical Councils (SMCs) of the regulations
framing guidelines for determination of fees for up to 50% of the seats in private medical institutions and deemed universities
3. State Medical Council
Each state will establish their respective State Medical Commission (SMC) having a role similar to the NMC, at the state level.
4. Four Autonomous Boards
Respecting
Doctrine of Separation of Power
Under-Graduate
Medical Education Board (UGMEB) and
Post-Graduate
Medical Education Board
Medical
Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) => For medical college regulation of
fees, standards and permission to setup new colleges
Ethics and
Medical Registration Board
5. Provisions regarding fees of medical students
Fees in private colleges can be regulated for maximum of 50% of seats
6. Community health providers
NMC may grant a limited license to certain mid-level practitioners connected with the modern medical profession to practice medicine.
7. NEET
Uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) will be conducted for admission to under-graduate & post graduate medical education in all medical institutions regulated by the Bill.
8. NEXT
There will be a common final year undergraduate examination called the National Exit Test (NEXT) to obtain the license for practice and admission into post-graduate courses at medical institutions.
Concerns
Fee Capping Dilemma : Bill
permits 50% of
seats to be open for managements . NMC Bill will push the medical
education completely away from the reach of deserving people of lower socio economic class
Two-thirds of the members in the NMC are medical
practitioners. Expert committees have recommended that the regulator
should consist of more diverse
stakeholders in
order to reduce the influence of medical practitioners
Against federal setup: Previously, all the State
governments had representation in MCI while in the NMC bill, only few
States in rotation will have representation
Enforcing NEET might result in the mushrooming of expensive coaching centres . Southern states especially
Tamil Nadu is against NEET
This topic remains in news . Eg : In 2019 , UPSC has selected 9 professionals to work in the capacity of joint secretaries in the Government of India.
Lateral Entry means people from outside the organization are also considered for recruitment at middle & higher level.
Why Lateral Entry?
Specialized knowledge , new Ideas, fresh energy, good practices and Innovative work culture comes in from diverse fields to insular bureaucracy
Induce competitiveness – Now Civil
Servants have to compete with others too to reach at the top. Lethargic attitude will diminish. So the
prospects of lateral entry will always propel overall efficiency.
International Examples : Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, UK, Netherlands and US follow this system successfully.
There have been
government commissions and reports advocating the lateral entry of
specialists. 6th Pay Commission, 7th Pay Commission, Niti Ayog and Second ARC & Hota Committee
(2004) were
unanimous on lateral entry.
Deficit of Middle Level Officers : Baswan
Committee (2016) noticed overall 20% shortfall of IAS
cadre officers and states are unwilling to send their officers on
deputation to Central Government.
Lateral Entry can help in addressing this issue
Competitive federalism requires state and union to
hire persons with specialized skills and knowledge for informed policy
making
IAS officers get recruited at
very young age when it is difficult to test potential administrative and
judgement capabilities making it prone to both type I and type II errors ie some who are potentially
good administrators fail to make it, and some who do make it, fall short
of the requirements. Mid-career lateral entrants with proven capabilities
will help bridge this deficiency.
With governance becoming increasingly complex, experts need to be at the forefront . Present Bureaucracy is seen as a monolith with no scope for improvement, self-serving & obstructionist license-quota Raj vestige. It is an argument well-known to students of public administration that Weberian bureaucracy is status-quoist, and is not fit to administer a chaotic, rapidly growing country . Hence, Lateral Entry can provide new lease of life to bureaucracy.
Current State Of Lateral Entry?
It has been done but at a limited scale and at very high level.
Few examples are RBI Governor & NITI Aayog Vice president
The idea of inducting exceptional talent from outside is not entirely new. K.R. Narayanan, India’s 10th President, joined the Indian Foreign Service at the behest of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, apparently without appearing for the qualifying examinations. He was strongly recommended by the renowned political theorist Harold J. Laski. Some recent examples include the appointment of Nandan Nilekani (Chairman of UIDAI), Montek Ahluwalia (Planning Commission) , Raghuram Rajan (Governor of the Reserve Bank of India) and various other experts in the Niti Aayog and other government bodies.
Challenges For Lateral Entry?
Dangers for creation of Spoil System (Politically motivated selection)
Opposition from Civil Servants whose chances of promotion
are reduced.
Short term lateral entrants
can misuse their office when they occupy that post and later can misuse the insider information putting national security at
risk.
Best talent can be attracted
in civil services only if there is reasonable assurance of reaching top
level managerial positions
Width and depth of field
experience which the civil services provide is simply not available with
outside talent
Civil services administrative
framework has integrated the diverse country into a coherent whole.
Therefore, we should not tamper with the framework
Lateral entry does open the
risk and prospect of powerful
corporate groups placing their men in key positions of government.
Issue of reservation : There are no provisions regarding Reservation
in 10 Joint Secy Level posts (2018)
How it should be handled?
Transparency and accountability are two important factors that should not be underplayed in hiring lateral entrants. Discretion on lateral entry may pave the way to charges of being “politically motivated”, which may degrade the system.
A credible agency like the UPSC should be entrusted with the responsibility of recruitment. This would help avoid many pitfalls associated with general lateral entry.
For this, the ARC recommended the establishment of a Central Civil Services Board to deal with issues concerning lateral entries. But the body, which would have ensured a robust and accountable system of lateral entry, is yet to come into existence.
Last Updated: May 2023 (Role of Civil Services in a Democracy)
Table of Contents
Role of Civil Services in a Democracy
This article deals with ‘Role of Civil Services in a Democracy.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you canclick here
Introduction
Civil services in
India refer to the administrative services of the Government of India, which
are responsible for the implementation and execution of various government
policies and programs.
1. Civil Servants as Agents of Economic Development
Civil
servants play a crucial role as agents of economic development in India. As
government officials are responsible for implementing policies and delivering
public services, civil servants directly impact the country’s economic growth
and development.
Revenue and Resource Mobilization: Civil Servants look after planning, resource allocation and resource mobilization by managing taxation, subsidies, grants and financial administration.
Program Implementation: Civil Servants are behind the strategy and program formulation & implementation for the development & modernization of the nation.
Manage Government-owned Enterprises: Civil servants manage government-owned businesses, industrial enterprises and public utility services.
Regulatory framework and governance: Civil servants are responsible for establishing and enforcing regulatory frameworks that govern various sectors of the economy and ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness in business practices.
Infrastructure development: Civil servants are involved in planning and executing infrastructure development projects, such as roads, railways, ports, airports, power plants, and urban facilities.
NITI Aayog CEO to District Magistrate are all IAS which ensures balanced development of all states and tehsils.
2. Civil Servants as Agents of National Integration
The
Indian Civil Services, particularly the Indian Administrative Service (IAS),
plays a crucial role in ensuring the unity and harmony of the country by
upholding the principles of impartiality, fairness, and inclusiveness.
Administration of Diverse Regions: India is a diverse country with various cultures, languages, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. They ensure equal development of all regions of the nation and thus help in national integration.
In a newly formed nation, the bond of nationalism between people of different regions is very weak. Civil Servants act as Steel Frame to keep the nation together in such situations. Vallabhbhai Patel knew this, and as a result, he didn’t dismantle ICS Officers and just changed its terminology to IAS.
Maintaining Law and Order: Civil servants, especially those in the police and administrative services, play a crucial role in maintaining law and order and ensuring that communal tensions are diffused, conflicts are resolved peacefully, and all citizens can live in a secure and harmonious environment.
In All India Services, officers from one region are sent to serve in another region. In these situations, these officers can work well because they are free from any bondage.
3. Role of Civil Servants for making India a Welfare State
Since the constitution envisages India to make a welfare state, the government must take care of minorities, workers, children, women, and youth. Hence, government require a large number of generalist & specialist officers who will work according to the needs of these groups.
Civil Servants conduct research, analyze data, and provide expert advice to policymakers. Their inputs help shape policies that address social inequalities, provide essential services, and uplift marginalized sections of society.
Anti argument: This Bureaucracy becomes self-perpetuating. Instead of being sensitive to their needs and being the facilitators, they become the main impediment to the development of people. It is seen in India now when Bureaucracy has lost touch with the general public.
4. Role of Civil Servants in Execution of Program
Civil Servants execute all government programs. E.g. the Right to Education is made by Parliament, but to make that work, it is the Civil Servants who do hard work to implement it in schools.
Civil servants engage with various stakeholders to gather feedback, build partnerships, and ensure program success. They collaborate with community organizations, businesses, and citizens to identify needs, address concerns, and foster collaboration.
Civil servants monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of government programs. They develop performance indicators, collect data, and analyze outcomes to assess program effectiveness.
Anti Arguments: But we have seen nowadays most of the schemes are implemented on paper with almost no work visible on the ground. Execution of work cant be solely left to them because they aren’t accountable to people and aren’t elected representatives
5. Civil Servants as Channel of Communication to/for the State
In a democracy, each section has aspirations, needs and problems. Bureaucracy is the only mechanism to convert the demand of these people into policy. E.g., If Farmer needs water, he will report to District Collector, and then District Collector will place that information in front of the Irrigation Department.
6. Civil Servants as Knowledge Bank
Civil Servants are transferred from one place to another. They serve in all types of areas and become a repository of huge practical knowledge. This knowledge helps in the formation of better policies.
Along with that, Secret Information like Foreign Affairs and a database of secret agents working abroad can’t be left in the hands of elected representatives. Such information is handled by Civil Servants only.
7. Civil Servants provides Continuity
Civil
Servants carry on the governance when governments change due to elections or
any other reason.
8. Civil Servants as Crisis Managers
In the event of natural calamities, the Civil Servants come first to help & act quickly and undertake rescue operations to prevent the loss of life and property of the affected people.
They act as moral boosters and life savers in times of calamity.
Problems with Civil Services
Top Down Approach of Decision Making: Given the elitist composition of the IAS cadre, the administrators are unfamiliar with the complex ground realities. IAS hierarchy is insensitive to the needs, constraints and aspirations of local populations.
Lack of Accountability: Lack of transparency and the proliferation of departments with conflicting jurisdictions make evading responsibility easy. Instances of non-performance, negligence, and misconduct are not adequately addressed, leading to a culture of impunity.
Incompatibility with Changing Political Scenario (after 73 & 74 Amendment): In the political sphere, although Panchayati Raj (elected local governance) has been instituted, the District Collector and the rest of the local Bureaucracy continue to be accountable to the governments in the state capitals. Elected representatives find their initiatives thwarted.
Insecurity of Tenure: IAS officers are not protected from persecution by their political bosses. They have to kowtow to the dictates of these masters, even if that means working against the interests of the people.
Weberian Model of Bureaucracy: More concerned with Processes than Results due to the Weberian Model of Bureaucracy.
Bureaucratic Red Tape: Indian Civil Servants are known for their red-tapism and act as impediments in public works.
Unable to change: Rapid and fundamental changes are occurring in India due to rapid economic growth, urbanization, environmental degradation & technological changes. The amount of time it takes to react to these changes is substantially shorter than it ever was. But our Civil Services haven’t changed at the same pace with the changing situations.
Suggestions to Improve Civil Services
Training should be revamped: Currently, much of the focus of the training program for civil servants is on imparting them administrative and technical skills. What is required is that the maximum focus should be on imparting democratic and ethical values so that they can show empathy and compassion towards the weaker sections during their tenure as civil servants. Technical skills could be learned during the service.
Break Insulation in Labour Market: Bureaucratic structure in India is an insulated labour market. A lateral entry into contractual jobs with a well-defined career progression should exist.
Performance-based promotion: Instead of a seniority-based promotion, the government should move towards performance-based promotion.
Fixed tenure: There should be fixed tenure so that committed officers are protected from persecution by their political bosses.
Increasing accountability and transparency – For this
Lokpal should be strengthened.
Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services Bill, 2011 should be passed at the earliest.
Provisions of RTI should be implemented in letter and spirit.
Restructure Bureaucracy keeping in view the 73rd & 74th Amendments.
Recommendations of Various Commissions & Committees wrt Civil Service Reforms
About Recruitment
Professor Yoginder K. Alagh Committee has recommended testing the candidates in a common subject rather than optional subjects.
Training
Yugandhar Committee, 2003 has recommended that there is a need for three mid-career training programmes in the 12th, 20th & 28th years of service as a “major shift” takes place at these stages of their career.
Weeding Out
Hota Committee (2004) has recommended to weed out unsuitable candidates like performance review after 15 years of service.
Efficiency
Hota Committee, 2004 has recommended using ICT to make governance more accessible, accountable and effective.
Accountability
Santhanam Committee recommended changes in Article 311 of the Constitution of India, like the offering of bribes, should be made a substantive offence.
First Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) recommended the establishment of Lok Pal & Lok Ayuktas to deal with complaints against Ministers & Secretaries at the Centre & State level.
Performance Appraisal
Surinder Nath Committee, 2003 has recommended that the performance appraisal should be done periodically, and those who demonstrate credible records and possess necessary skills should be promoted.
This article deals with ‘Quasi-Judicial Bodies.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you canclick here
What is Quasi Judicial Body
Quasi-judicial body
is an organization or individual on which powers resembling a court of law have been conferred but
is not a tribunal within the judicial branch of the government and is not a court exercising judicial
power in the constitutional sense.
Hence , such a body can
adjudicate and decide upon a situation and impose penalty upon the guilty
or regulate the conduct of an individual or entity but is not part of
judiciary .
Emergence of Quasi Judicial Bodies
As the welfare state has grown
up in size and functions, more and more litigations are pending in the
judiciary, making it over-burdened. It requires having an alternative
justice system. As a result , Ordinary judiciary has become dilatory and
costly. Quasi Judicial bodies are part of such alternative justice system
With scientific and economic
development, laws have become more complex, demanding more technical
knowledge about specific sectors. Tribunals have such expert members too.
Conventional judiciary is
suffering from procedural rigidity, which delays the justice which these
bodies don’t
Quasi Judicial Action vs Administrative Action
Distinction between
quasi-judicial and administrative action has become blurred . But it does
not mean that there is no distinction between the two. Supreme Court has
dealt this question in A.K. Kraipak
vs. Union of India,
In order to determine whether
the action of the administrative authority is quasi-judicial or
administrative, one has to see
whether it is done with ‘subjective satisfaction’ or ‘objective
satisfaction’ .
Acts
done with Subjective Satisfaction
Are
Administrative Acts
Acts
done with Objective Satisfaction
Are
Quasi-Judicial Acts
In case of administrative
decision there is no legal obligation, upon the person charged with the
duty of reaching the decision, to consider and weigh submissions and
arguments or to collate any evidence. The grounds upon which he acts, and
the means which he takes to inform himself before acting are left entirely
to his discretion.
Examples of Quasi Judicial Bodies
Some examples of Quasi judicial bodies in India are
National and State Human Rights Commissions
Lok Adalats
Central and State Information Commissions
Central Vigilance Commission
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
Central Administrative Tribunals
Competition Commission Of India
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal
Intellectual Property Appellate Tribunal
More about specific Quasi-Judicial Bodies
1 .National Human Rights Commissions
We have already covered this topic in detail in other article. To read about working of National Human Rights Commission, click on the link below
1. North Cachar Hills 2. Karbi Anglong 3. Bodoland
Meghalaya
1. Khasi Hills 2. Jaintia Hills 3. Garo Hills
Tripura
Tripura Tribal Areas District
Mizoram
1. Chakma 2. Mara 3. Lai
Need of 6th Schedule
Tribes of other states have more or less assimilated with culture of majority of people where they live but Tribes in these states still have their roots in their own culture .
Needs to be treated differently . As a result, sizable autonomy given to them in Governance
Features of 6th Schedule
Tribal Areas
in these areas to be called Autonomous Districts but fall inside
authority of State concerned
If more Tribes in Autonomous District ,then
Governor can divide district to various Autonomous Regions
Each A.D has District Council consisting
of 30
members
26
Elected
by Universal Adult Franchise . Tenure of 5 years
4
Nominated
by Governor and hold office till
pleasure of Governor
Each
Autonomous Region has separate Regional
Council
Legislative power – District and Regional Councils administers area under
them and can make laws on specified matters like land , forest, canal water, shifting agriculture, money lending etc .
But these laws require assent of Governor
Councils empowered to collect revenue and impose tax
on specified things
Acts of
Parliament and State assembly don’t apply to these areas or apply with
certain modifications
Jan 2019 : Union cabinet approved
constitutional amendment stating that Finance Commission will now
“recommend the devolution of financial resources” to the district councils in the Sixth Schedule areas.
Analysis of working of 6th Schedule
Representation Issues
Demography has changed a lot over last six decades but
changes are not effectively represented in the structure of Autonomous
District Councils (ADCs)
Women need to be represented in them . Unlike in Panchayati Raj Institutions ,
there isn’t any provision of reservation wrt women
Governance Issue
Poor quality of governance . Many of them have not codified even the customary laws.
Corruption and
illegal activities – Some members
of autonomous council are helping the extremist group factions. North Cachar autonomous
council is under scrutiny of CBI and NIA
Financial
Issues
Financial dependence on the state and centre for
funds
No
provisions regarding Audit of
accounts
State Finance Commission is not constitutionally
bound to include Terms of References wrt Schedule 6 Areas . They don’t
get any grants like PRIs and hence are always under Financial Crunch
Issues wrt Elections
No express
provision for holding
election within 6 months of
the date of
dissolution of
a District Councils.
In elections , no Model Code of Conduct and no expenditure ceiling.
Anti Defection Laws are not
applicable.
No further
decentralisation – ADCs have not gone for further decentralisation and not
formed Autonomous Regions and Regional Councils in case there are more
tribes . For example in Bodo Territorial Area districts, there is only
district council although there are other Tribes in that region too.
Concept of
Sixth Schedule has
encouraged ethnic divisions.
Measures to improve working of 6th Schedule
Training and
capacity building of Autonomous District Council Members for healthy
governance.
Regular elections
should be conducted by State Election Commissions
Create a permanent
watchdog with powers to order inquiry and initiate actions when irregularities are
discovered
Many
activities are undertaken by State Government as well as District
Councils. This duplication is a major source of confusion and obfuscates
responsibility. Clarity of functions and roles is needed.
Venkatachaliah Commission, 2002 (recommendations)
Audit of accounts by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
Make the Anti-Defection Law applicable to the Sixth Schedule areas.
Ramachandran Committee, 2007 (recommendations)
Remove overlaps in functional responsibilities between the States and District Councils.
Need to constitute State Finance Commission for recommending ways to devolve funds to District Councils & Regional Councils
14th Finance Commission (recommendations)
Finances of 6th Schedule Areas should also be looked at par with Panchayati Raj Institutions
125th Constitutional Amendment Bill
Bill Following are the issues the bill seeks to address:
Bill proposes that Finance Commission will now recommend the
financial devolution to the Autonomous District council.
Bill increases the number of
members in some council (more than
30) considering demands that some
councils were not able to represent major and minor tribes
Reserves at least one-third of
the seats for women in the village and municipal councils.
