Mentors Comment:

State the challenges that the bureaucracy in India faces.

Mention the consequences if these challenges remain unaddressed.

Discuss the reforms that are required to address the challenges.

Answer
The civil services are a crucial pillar of the Indian state, having been responsible for administering the country before it was even independent. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) was established in 1926, but was re-envisioned for independent India by Sardar Vallabhai Patel. It was meant to produce an elite cadre of officers who would be politically neutral. Recently, there has been talk of reforming the administrative services and especially, the process of recruitment as well as the reforms for improving the bureaucracy.

Challenges faced by the bureaucracy and their consequences include:
Shortfall in personnel: Overall shortage of personnel, especially in mid-level and higher level services as highlighted by the Baswan Committee Report (2016) leads to delay in service, burden on existing staff, etc.
Undue political interference: This often results in frequent transfers of those who challenge the political executive, de-motivating others from taking a stand, thus undermining the public’s faith in bureaucracy.
Lack of specialized skills among bureaucrats: In decisions regarding promotion and staffing, general competency is valued. However, lack of specialised skills can make them redundant in a fast changing world.
Detachment from the public: This leads to a gap in policy formulation and implementation, especially regarding welfare activities, if bureaucrats are unaware of the ground reality.
Increased corruption: High level of corruption in bureaucracy is associated with low levels of investment and growth.
Lack of transparency and accountability: This can result in discretionary decisions by officers for their personal benefits.
Resistance to change: Bureaucracy has often been criticized for its resistance to change towards adopting technology and decentralization of governance.

Reforms required to address the challenges:
Implementing a fixed tenure for bureaucrats.
Proper compensation and privileges to curb corruption.
Further, there should be strict vigilant mechanisms and proper implementation of anti-corruption laws.
Digitization in the administrative process and communication of bureaucratic decisions to the public thereby ensuring proper channelization of resources.
Lateral entry of experienced officers.
Strengthening accountability mechanisms by intensive reviews at mid-career stage and comprehensive evaluation mechanisms to rank officers on their functional skills, domain expertise, behavioural competence and integrity.
Officers should be assigned to different departments early in their careers to develop specific domain expertise.
They should also go on regular field visits in order to assess ground reality.
Hindrances to bureaucratic functioning should be adequately addressed so that bureaucracy remains a steel frame that holds the country together.

These steps will bring domain-knowledge to the fore in job profiles, dedication, commitment and also establish a sense of camaraderie. This could prove to be beneficial for the bureaucracy as the present set-up breeds a false sense of pride among a few that results in internecine squabbles in which the sycophants and freebooters flourish at the cost of merit even in the same service. After all, bureaucratic virtues cannot be whisked away and without bureaucracy, an organisation will collapse.