Energizing Indian Bureaucracy - Additional Inputs

Dear Friends:

Thanks for your inputs on Solutions to Energize the Bureaucracy in India. They are listed below along with Key Issues and Root Causes for the current state.

Please review them and if you have any additional inputs, please share them as a comment to this along with a Prefix (Issue, Root Cause or Solution)

This was a top priority identified for Government for 2015. We have started compiling the whitepaper with the objective of sharing it with PMO, every Central Government Minister and Chief Minister of India.

We hope actions are taken by Government on this priority which will result in strong progress of India in 2015.

Thanks for your continued participation!
Rajendra Pratap Gupta

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Energizing Indian Bureaucracy - Key Solutions

1. Bureaucrats need extensive training in soft skills with a focus on customer service, positive attitude and responsiveness in communications
2. The old acts and rules from the British era should be re-written
3. E-Governance should be introduced at all points of Government-Public interaction
4. Trainings for bureaucrats should focus on present realities in India than theoretical knowledge that helps no one
5. At least the top bureaucratic jobs (from Secretary to Director) should be contractual, performance-linked, and there should be options to induct personnel from the private sector
6. Top decision making positions should be held by persons who have the domain expertise and experience
7. Key Performance Metrics and Indicators should be clearly defined and communicated for top bureaucrats
8. The bureaucracy performance metrics should be changed from ‘procedure oriented’ to ‘result oriented’
9. There should be clear accountability and action for non-performance
10. Bureaucrats should be empowered to take fast decisions and protected when taking unbiased/honest decisions
11. Bureaucrats charged with corruption should be immediately suspended and if proven terminated from civil services
12. Retired bureaucrats should be barred from being appointed to corporate or board positions immediately after retirement, as it creates conflict of interest in their work before retirement
13. Honest officers should be awarded and celebrated
14. Conferences and meetings should be organized regularly for the bureaucrats with their counterparts from other developed countries, so that they could learn newer things from them
15. Political leadership should be kept away from interfering in practical day to day governance
16. The process of selection through UPSC examination needs to be modified. Only candidates who have minimum working experience of 2 years should be allowed to take the examination

State of Bureaucracy in India – Root Causes

1. There is a lack of vision and mission at the top level of bureaucracy
2. Bureaucrats are appointed by political leaders, hence they become more subservient to their political masters and not the common man
3. Politicians dominate decision making and honest bureaucrats do not get any chance to bring in any significant changes in the functioning of state and central Governments
4. Bureaucrats are afraid and do not speak out during their stint in Government departments
5. Bureaucrats simply do not think out of box and just follow the outdated rule books that offer no solution for current realities
6. Most bureaucrats are not up to date on the latest innovation and development
7. Most bureaucrats lack the “Find a Way” approach and the focus is on “How/Why something cannot be done”
8. Most Honest Bureaucrats have no risk taking ability and are therefore unable to take decisions
9. Some bureaucrats delay things in the expectation of bribes
10. Bureaucrats and Government Departments have no penalty for causing delays
11. The appraisal of bureaucrats is not linked to their performance
12. Yearly goals are not effectively set for bureaucrats or government departments
13. Little action is taken against bureaucrats for delay or cost escalation of projects
14. Vigilance against bureaucratic corruption has been ineffective
15. Most bureaucrats do not have a sense of respect towards citizens, businesses, customers


State of Bureaucracy of India – Key Issues

1. Bureaucrats are rude with people
2. The state bureaucracy is more interested in politics than in people welfare
3. Bureaucrats have slowly started taking orders from the politicos
4. Bureaucrats are not sincere towards their work
5. They think that they are superior than the common man and look down upon them
6. Bureaucrats are like a law unto themselves
7. Bureaucrats are more procedure-oriented rather than result-oriented
8. Customer-centricity"/"Customer orientation", in this case citizen-centricity/orientation - is not something that they may necessarily have
9. Bureaucrats do not think of Indian citizens as their "customers", whom they have to serve
10. Whether the organisation they are working for, does well or not - Bureaucrats may not be bothered
11. Bureaucrats are usually rigid and lack speed
12. Corruption, nepotism, red tapism etc. in large part is driven by bureaucrats
13. Bureaucrats are groomed only with a basic clause that they are the masters rest are their servants
14. Bureaucrats misuse their powers for their own benefit at the cost of public money and property
15. Many Bureaucrats work with the mind set of “Mera Kya, Mujhe Kya”
16. Bureaucrats use their power to get jobs to their relatives and friends
17. Worked is postponed and many unnecessary documents are asked for
18. Many a times, excuses about ministerial level permissions or lack of government funds are made
19. Bureaucrats concentrate more on the benefits that come with their jobs and ignore their core duties
20. Some bureaucrats are extremely corrupt and make a lot of money in under the table or underhand deals
21. Bureaucracy lacks ideas to effectively implement decisions of state and central Governments
22. Indian Bureaucrats do not keep themselves updated about various technological developments, due to which they lag behind their counterparts in the developed countries more