Hegemony - The Superiority Complex of Senior IAS Officers

srinath

Hello Everyone

This is a topic on which IAS officers are much criticised. The apparent lobbying done by them for getting preference, be it any department, however non-competent they may be for the said post. I am basing this discussion mainly on yesterday's article in centre page of "The Hindu" by Ramachandra Guha.

This has long been discussed both by critics of the Indian bureaucracy as well as by bureaucrats themselves, through both articles and books(Service of the state, Bureaucrazy gets crazier etc)

For many of us, joining civil services is to serve the country. In that way, it is actually rather a service than a job to make ends meet. Many aspirants, successful though they are in their respective fields choose administration because they want to see holistic development. Much has not changed since the 1950's in that aspect. Back then, when India was a very young country and huge plans were being made, the youth were driven, they wanted to be part of the idea of India. Now, when I made the decision of attempting civil services, it is for almost the same reasons, a growing economy, aspirational youth and to further realise the "Idea of India". One major difference which I feel existed between then and now is the wider choices which are available now. Back then, an engineer, doctor or IAS officer were the most aimed at careers.

So, is it this viewing of IAS as a career which eventually leads to such acts? Personal desires, power, prestige, recognition etc? A need to extend the luxuries for a few more years? As most of the books and articles seem to suggest, many if not all IAS officers sooner or later seem to come to this stage.

So it leaves me thinking, should civil services be viewed as a job or a service towards humanity? Most of the decision made by me to pursue the IAS dream has been led by the grassroot changes that a collector can bring about, although the phase of being a collector would be only for a short while after which as you all know we would be in an office shifting files either as director in a PSU or similar govt undertaking or a stint at central government. The more adventurous go to the UN or some other international organization.

So guys, do you see change happening in the coming years to "babudom"? Is that why ethics has been introduced as a separate topic for us? Or would many of the future babus also commit the same sins hence putting India in a worst case scenario?

P.S. My apologies if the post is muddled. Had a lot of things in mind. Have tried my best in putting it in sequential manner. After all practice is needed to excel in writing answers in mains :P

srinath

Here is the article

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/when-expedience-trumps-expertise/article4902463.ece

elect_engg

I too read the article and it did not provide me any new insight but made some older thoughts fresh about
IAS that for some it is always about fame recognition and power but some fall later into the trap.
Very few remain uptight about the rules that are to be followed but they always generally end up getting posted in archives .But even archives is an important deptt. :P )

skylax

Even the Civil Services Survey-2010, that @fallen_leaves had posted in another thread, had an interesting metric: What percentage of a service cadre supports lateral entry of professionals in higher positions?
Unsurprisingly, IAS supported the idea the least among all services (All India+Central).

Stardust

Some much needed reforms:
1. Lateral entry of eminent professionals in higher echelons of bureaucracy.
2. Security of tenure of at least 2 years for every posting.
3. Relaxation of the impossibly rigid job security. All cases against IAS/IPS officers should be in a fast-track court. No government approval for prosecution, no twenty year long appeal process, no getting suspended and collecting salary for a decade.

F0EHAMMER

In above artilce Ramchandra Guha has only stated that instead of having Generalist heading expert committees & Commissions it would be more viable if experts in those fields head them referring to K VALDIYA & Madhav Gadgil or experts should be atleast consulted before going ahead on any decision on any human acrivity in eco sensitive zones.
In a way he is right also as a generalist would not be at same plane as an expert while dealing with rehabiliation in Uttarakhand or carving out policy on western Ghats.Some concerned experts should have their say in policies & committees of GOvt. so that its decisions remain balanced from environment & development perspectives as both are important for a society.
As far as IAS officers falling into traps of babudom are concerned ,we are bound to have some who give in to these as a completely failsafe mechanism of selecting perfect persons for these posts is non existent.
In coming years i do see a change as UPSC is striving to reform its policies to select better persons.
It all depends on one's own views & ideals if one see it an oppurtunity to serve he can keep doing so throughout his career even without being in powerfull post or deptt .If you really want to serve humanity then all you need is will to do so(as many are doin thru their NGOs),you dont need to be an IAS for that.
Lastly, IAS is also a person if he sees it as a career (while doing his job honestly & serving people in righteous way) for his personal & professional then there is nothing wrong with that ,he's just being human but to solely crave for power & luxuries is what is detrimental .
;-)

wan2bifs

i agree with all the points put forward by @Stardust1901 .. as far as the case of lateral entry in bureaucracy is concerned, i think it would be wise to begin it with the Joint Secretary level.. an officer at the Centre is empanelled for a position at the rank and pay of JS at a seniority of around 20 years (on avg) for the IAS.. lateral entry of extremely competent individuals from outside the govt. at this position would be a better start than, say, straight-away bringing outsiders into the system and placing them at the Secretary-level positions.. this would also invite a lot of resentment among the IAS officers, who, ofcourse, are extremely turf-conscious and needless to say, form an extremely powerful lobby at the centre.. JS position seems ideal to bring in fresh blood from the outside into the government, and at the same time allows such 'outsiders' to gain enough insight, knowledge and experience into the workings of the government..

TinTin

as far as lateral entries are concerned, I don't think they should always be part of the usual hierarchy. They can remain at a distance as well.
For ex- In MoRD- Varad Pande and Neelakshi Maan are both called OSDs and not JS/AS/S.
But yeah even then someone can ask that what is the rank of the OSD- whether JS or AS?

srinath

It's not that officers should not head departments. After all, an officer with 15-20 years of experience would be much adept in "administering" of a department, but the problem arises when recommendations of experts are out-rightly disregarded by both the babus and ministers. That is certainly an alarming trend. As suggested by stardust a fast track redressal mechanism can go a long way.

Right now, what the government is doing is going to the doctor because it suffers from cancer, doctors suggest chemo but because it does not want to become bald it's okay with dying a slow painful death.

elect_engg

Can there be any suggestion on how to
1.>Ensure that bureaucrats and other staff in office does not stall or delay any attempt of policy/decision taken by the person selected through lateral entry.
2.>What could be the selection criteria / method of selection in the lateral method (selection by committee or name recommendation by president or any other method).

F0EHAMMER

@gauravsom
Yes following ideas according to me wud help :
Firstly ,it would be fallacious to assume that bureacrats with their many years of working in govt machinery are totally incompetent an entity to contribute towards framing of a healthy pro-environment policy but an expert in any such policy committees is a necessity so that sustainable development can happen, which is indeed need of the hour.
1).There should be a timeframe for implementing decisions taken by such committees or if policy is reviwed by experts ,their suggestions should be taken into account after bureacrats judge them on administrative & practical grounds.If they reject their ideas valid reasons should be enunciated to the said experts.Such a process would enable a policy to be a pro development & simulatneously pro environment also.
2).Selection criterias for lateral entry can be :
i).Teaching Experience in the relevant field(if he is a professor)
ii).Level of Research done by the said expert in his given field of expertise
iii).Ample amount of field studies on said subject

Also the criterias developed by other countries for a lateral entry could also be consulted to develop a strong & unbiased system.