ARC 10threport Ch8

 

8

PLACEMENT AT AT MIDDLE MANAGEMENT LEVEL 

8.1 Placement Pla cement of Officers in i n Government of India 

8.1.1 Article 77(3) of the Constitution stipulates that the President shall make Rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of Government of India. Accordingly, the following Rules have been notified: (a)

Te Govern Government ment of India (Allocation of Business) Rules; and

(b)

Te Government of India ( (ransacti ransaction on of Business) Rules.

8.1.2 Te Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules allocate the business of the Government Gover nment among its different departments which are assigned to the charge c harge of various Ministers by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. Te Government of India (ransaction of Business) Rules seek to define the authority, responsibility and obligations of each department in the matter of disposal of business allotted to it. Te Government Government of India (ransaction (ransaction of Business) Rules also place on each department the responsibility for formulation of policies in relation to the business allocated to it as also for their execution and review. In a way, way, these Rules also lay down the structure of the Government of India as they provide for the division of a department into Wings, Divisions, Branches and Sections. Te supervision of the work of the department is normally done by a Secretary to the Government Gover nment of India while a Wing is generally headed by a Special Secretary / Additional Secretary / Joint Secretary Secretary to the Government of India. Te Divisions in turn are generally placed under the charge of a Director / Joint Director / Deputy Secretary. 8.1.3 Te Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (known as ACC) constituted under the Government of India (ransaction of Business) Rules decides senior appointments under the Government of India. Appointments/p App ointments/postings ostings of the offi o fficers in the Union Government are made under the th e Central Staffing Scheme which whi ch provides a mechanism mecha nism for the selection sel ection and placement placem ent of officers to senior senio r administrative administ rative posts in i n the Government of India. Some Som e posts of Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary are filled in accordance with the rules of the Central Secretariat Services. Similarly, some posts are encadred with the organized Group ‘A’ Services. 172

 

Placement at Middle Management Level

8.1.4 Te raison d’etre of such suc h a scheme is the Centre’s need for fresh inputs at senior levels in policy planning, formulation of policy and implementation of programmes from diverse sources, viz., the All-India Services and the participating organised Group ‘A’ Services. Te services of scientific and technical personnel and professionals in the fields of economics, statisti cs, law and medicine are similarly statistics, simil arly obtained from offi cers serving for specified speci fied periods on deputation and who return to their thei r respective cadres at the end of their tenure. te nure. Tis two way movement movement is of mutual benefit to the service cadres cadres and the Governm Government ent of India. India.78 8.2 Postings under unde r the Central Staffing Scheme 8.2.1 Postings of officers of the rank of Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary/Director Secretary/ Director is done by the Department Depa rtment of Personnel and raining raining and an d a large larg e majority majorit y of these the se officers is from the Central Secretariat Services. Members of the organized Group A Services are generally not posted at the level of Under Secretary which whi ch are staffed by officers from the Central Secretariat Service. Officers from the All India Services, Ser vices, other ot her Group ‘A ‘A’ Services Servi ces and the Central Secretariat Services are posted as Deputy Secretary/Director and above. 8.2.2 he Department of Personnel and raining (Establishment Officer) invites nominations of o f officers for being posted as Deputy Deput y Secretary, Director and Joint Secretary from the respective cadre cad re controlling authorities aut horities.. Te names of eligible offi cers forwarded by the cadre controlling c ontrolling authorities authori ties constitutes consti tutes the ‘offer list’. For each vacancy three offi cers are short-listed short- listed by the Establish E stablishment ment Offi cer based on the past p ast performance perf ormance of the offi cer and his/her suitability for the post. Tis list is placed before the Civil Services Board which in turn recommends recomm ends a panel of offi cers (in order of o f preference) to the t he concerned Ministry. Mini stry. Te Ministry selects a candidate out of this list. Tereafter the proposal is submitted to the Competent Authority A similar processby is adopted postings the Joint Secretary level, but in for thisfinal caseapproval. the proposal is approved the ACCfor[For beingateligible to be posted as Joint Secretary, an officer must have been empanelled empanel led as a Joint Secretary under und er the Central Staffi ng Scheme (described (d escribed in i n chapter 9)]. 9)] . In case of Additional Addition al Secretary and a nd Secretary, recommendations are made to the ACC by the Cabinet Secretary. 8.2.3 Te Personnel Management system in Government of India was examined by the First Administrative Administrative Reforms Commission and it came to the conclusion that the change in the role of the Government Government and the large diversification of its functions call for a variety of skills in the higher administration. Tey were of the view that it would be necessary to adopt new approaches to the career planning of technical and scientific personnel pers onnel and other specialists like economists, doctors and engineers etc. Tey recommended that posts in 173 78

http://persmin.nic.in/cirular_reports/ http://persmi n.nic.in/cirular_reports/eo_div/CSS/36_7 eo_div/CSS/36_77_94_EO(SM-I 7_94_EO(SM-I).pdf  ).pdf 

 

Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights 

Government may be classified as falling within (i) functional or (ii) outside the functional Government area. Te Commission broadly recommended that functional posts should be filled-up fill ed-up by officers of the corresponding co rresponding functional fu nctional Class I Services. Ser vices. 8.2.4 As regards re gards the placement pl acement of o f officers, the Surinder Nath Committee Com mittee observe observed d as follows:

“Te principal problem with the present system of selections for particular positions under the th e Central Staffi ng Scheme Schem e is that there the re is no systematic syste matic matchin m atchingg of the competency requirements for particular positions and the backgrounds of the candidate ca ndidate offi cers. Also, there the re is no formal forma l system of eliciting eli citing the th e interests and an d preferences of officers for particular pa rticular positions, consistent with their background and broader career interests. Tese lead to unseemly scrambles for particular prestigious positions, in which unstructured influences are pervasive. Te result is, frequently, a glaring mismatch between the required re quired competenci com petencies es and the backgro b ackgrounds unds of offi cers selected sel ected for the  posi tions.  position s. Career Caree r profiles profil es of officers end en d up displayin displ ayingg the features featu res of a “rando “random m walk”, with no regard to building skills and capabilities. In the long-term, these result in  poor pol policyicy-mak making ing and imp implem lement entati ation, on, as well as ins insuffi uffi cie cient nt cap capaci acity ty for poli policycymaking and public management.” mana gement.” 8.2.5 Te Committee recommended that Parliament may enact a Civil Services Act setting up a Civil Services Board for the Union Government Government which will perform functions presently being done by the Central Board presided preside d over by the Cabinet Secretary Secretar y. It further recommended that the Civil Services Act may also provide for a special Committee of Secretaries to prepare panels of names for appointment to posts of Additional Secretaries and Secretaries to Government of India. 8.2.6 Te Commission Com mission is of o f the view that in posting an offi cer the emphasis empha sis should be be on getting the most suitable person for the post based on his/her past experience, future potential and overall record. Te mechanisms and the processes created for posting an officer should be able abl e to achieve this end. While addressing addres sing this issue, issue , the Commission Commissi on has examined the following aspects of placement:

174

a.

Process of select selection ion of officers for differen differentt positi positions ons and the insti institution tutional al mechanism

b.

Assignment Assignme nt of domains to officers

 

Placement at Middle Management Level

c.

enure of postings

d.

Field postings of officers during the initial part of their careers.

8.3 Process of Selection of Officers for Different Positions and the Institutional Ins titutional Mechanism 8.3.1 Te Commission Commi ssion reiterates reiterat es that while posting po sting officers in the Government of India, Indi a, the paramount considerat consideration ion should be b e to post an officer best suited s uited to the job. At the same time the process of selection should be totally transparent and free from extraneous influences.. Officers should be influences b e posted to a position posi tion after a rigorous ri gorous process of selection. se lection. Te Commission Commissio n has examined the t he process of placement pl acement of offi cers at the Deputy Dep uty Secretary/ Secretar y/ Director level in this chapter and for Joint Secretary and above in the next chapter. 8.3.2 At present, vacancies in posts of Deputy Secretary/Director are filled up through deputation deputatio n of officers from the All-India Services and the Central Cent ral Services Servic es Group ‘A ‘A’ and by selection selectio n from the Central Secretariat Secretari at Services. Te Department Depart ment of Personnel and raining (DOP) invites applications from the concerned cadre controlling authorities as per the procedure described in Para 8.2.2. 8.3.3 It has been represented to the Commission that the present system is neither transparent nor objective. Moreover, the process is carried out for different vacancies as and when they arise and the list lis t of officers available availab le at that point of time t ime is taken into i nto consideration considerat ion while short listing list ing officers for a particular parti cular post. Because B ecause of this, thi s, it is possible possi ble that positions posi tions do not get assigned assi gned to offi cers who are most m ost suited suite d for the post. pos t. 8.3.4 Te Commission is of the view that all vacancies arising at the level of Deputy Secretary/Director during a financial year should be identified well before the beginning of that financial year, by the DOP. Te Ministries concerned should also give a brief job description for these positions. Tese posts along with their job description should be notified to the cadre controlling authorities of the concerned All India Services and Central Services Group ‘A ‘A’. On receipt of nominations nom inations from the cadre c adre controlling authorities, au thorities, DOP should shou ld match the requirements requi rements of various variou s positions with w ith the competencies compe tencies of the t he officers in the ‘offer list’. Te Department of Person Personnel nel and raining raining should thereafter seek approval for the entire list from the Competent Authority. Tis would imply that all posting orders would be issued at the beginning be ginning of each year and the th e officers would join joi n their respective respecti ve positions on the dates indicated. Tis system would obviate the need for issue of any placement order in the intervening period except under special circumstances. 175

 

Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights 

8.4 Assignment of Domains 8.4.1 As stated in earlier paragraphs the functions of the civil services in India can be broadly classified into three main categories: (a) policy formulation, (b) programme / project preparation, and (c) implementation of programmes and policies. Consequently, Consequently, as mentioned in Paragraph 6.6.3.5, there is a change in the nature of the functions and responsibilitie responsi bilitiess as an officer move up u p the offi cial hierarchy hi erarchy.. In this context, domain competence becomes increasingly inc reasingly important when an offi cer starts start s dealing with policy formulation during the later half of his career. Domain competenence refers to knowledge and experience in the sector, where the civil servant functions and this is normally acquired not only through academic studies, but also through managerial experience in that sector. 8.4.2 Te First Administrative Reforms Commission had recognized the importance of domain competency com petency and advocated advoc ated its philosophy phil osophy for the management manage ment and staffi ng of civil service positions in the following manner:79  • Devising a rational basis to fill policy-making policy-m aking positions with officers having required qualifications and domain competence. Tis would involve an optimum use of different Services for policy making assignments in the secretariat. • Selecting senior senior management management personnel personnel from all relevant relevant sources - generalist generalist and specialist. alent alent needs to be identified and nurtured in all the services. • Providing Providing greater greater opportunities opportunities to talented and competent personnel personnel to move to higher positions in the Gover Government. nment. 8.4.3 Te First ARC classified the higher civil service posts into two categories: (a) posts in the field and (b) posts at headquarters. Te field posts were held by the members of the ‘functional’ services, which included not only the various engineering services but also services such as Accounts Acc ounts and Income ax. ax. Te Commission noted that the only service ser vice that  was not functional but occupied most of the higher posts posts in the civil services was the IAS. Te Commission recommended that the IAS should also be converted into a functional service. In the words of the Commission,

176 79

 ARC Report on Personnel Personnel Administration, Administration, 1969

 

Placement at Middle Management Level

If the higher posts in the different functional areas are encadred within one Service, as has happened in the case of the IAS posts in the States, qualified and a nd competent persons will not be attracted to all the needed functions and, hence, growth of well-organised Services in the emerging areas a reas of administration are likely to be inhibited. In the changing context, therefore, the old concept underlying the formation and the role of the IAS would require therefore, readjustment. We would recommend that a specific functional field must be carved out  for the IAS. Tis would consist of Land Revenue Administration, exercise of magisterial  functions, and regulatory work in the States, in fields other than those looked after by officers of other functional func tional servi services. ces.80   8.4.4 Consistent with its philosophy of organizing the administrative machinery along functional lines and inducting talent from all sources, the First ARC recommended recommended eight broad areas of specialization for posts of Deputy Secretary and equivalent:81

• Economic Administration • Industrial Administration • Agricultural and Rural Developmental Administration • Social and Educational Administration • Personne Personnell Administration • Financial Administration • Defence Administration and Internal Security  •

Planning 

8.4.5 Te First ARC recommended a scheme of reforms to enable entry into the middle and senior management levels in the Central Secretariat from all services on the basis of knowledge and experience in the respective areas of specialization. Te Commission also indicated, in broad terms, the knowledge and specialization required for holding posts in each of these areas. Te Commission recommended that selection of personnel to the eight areas of specialization was to be made by a mid-career competitive examination. examination. All Class I officers belonging belongi ng to the All India and Central Centra l Services with wit h experience of eight to to twelve years in the functional areas would be eligible. Te selection process would consist 177 80

Ibid, Paragraph 8, Page 16 Ibid, Page 24

81

 

Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights 

of a written test to be administered by the UPSC, and an interview to be conducted by a Committee consisting of the Chairman of the UPSC and two senior Secretaries of the Government of India. 8.4.6 Government did not accept the recommendations of the First Administrative Reforms Commission for delimiting areas of specialization specializ ation in the Secretariat and manning these areas  with personnel drawn drawn from all all sources through through a mid-career competitive examination. examination. 8.4.7 Te Surinder Nath Committee (set up in 2002) was of the view that assigning specific speci fic domains to offi cers is of crucial crucia l importance. importanc e. For the purpose, the Committee Committe e distinguished distingui shed between the general skills ski lls that the officers have in respect of policy/programme policy/ programme formulation formula tion from domain competency. Te Committee said,

Domain ccompeten ompetency cy relates to suffi cient background bac kground in a certai c ertainn context of policy pol icy making. It differs from general schemes of policy programme formulation in that such general skills would relate primarily to knowledge of formal techniques of policy analysis/programme formulation and experience of policy/programme formulation  gene  ge neral rally, ly, wh whil ilee “D “Dom omai ainn Com Compet peten ence” ce” wo would uld in invol volve, ve, in ad addi diti tion on,, sig signi nific fican antt subject matter knowledge, gained from work experience, academic study, training and research.82  8.4.8 Te Committee outlined two alternatives in the context of assignment of domains to the offi cers. Te Committe Committeee observed: obser ved:

In defining and a nd assigning Domains to offi cers, two broad alternatives are a re possible. In the first, the number of Domains may be very few, say 3-4 (e.g. economic, social development, political and security security,, and culture and media) and offi cers may qualify  for (not more than) one Domain Dom ain each. each . In the second, second , Domains Domain s are defined more finely, say 10-12 (e.g. agriculture and rural development, natural resources management, social sectors, culture and information, public finance and financial management, energ y, etc.), etc.) , and offi cers are assigned a ssigned to several (say, ( say, 3) Domains. Domains . In the first firs t alternative, significant differences in the backgrounds and requirements of formal knowledge in different sectors (e.g. public finance versus energy) are not captured.  Also, if i f officer cerss are confine con finedd to a single sing le Domain Dom ain,, they may ma y have fewer fe wer opport opp ortunit unities ies to  pursue  pur sue their thei r career caree r interests inte rests.. Addition Addi tionall ally, y, lon longg lists list s generated genera ted for parti pa rticul cular ar positio posi tions ns on the basis of officers available in a given Domain may be too large, imposing strain 83

on the process of short listing. Te second alternative is, accordingly, preferred. 178 82

Te Surinder Nath Committee Report Ibid, Paragraph 10.2.2.

83

 

Placement at Middle Management Level

8.4.9 Accordingly, the Committee recommended that the following eleven domains for adoption under u nder the Central Staffing Scheme. Schem e. • 

Agriculture Agricul ture and Rural Development

• 

Social sectors (Education, Health, Health, ribal Welfare, Welfare, etc.)

• 

Culture and Information

• 

Natural Resources Managemen Managementt including Environmen Environmentt (green side)

• 

Energy and Environment (brown side)

• 

Communication Systems and Connectivity Infrastructur Infrastructuree

• 

Public Finance and Financial Management

• 

Industry and rade

• 

Domestic Affairs and Defence

• 

Housing and Urban Affairs

• 

Personnel and General Administration, Governance Governance Reform and Regulator Regulatoryy Systems

8.4.10 Te Committee also provid provided ed a matrix describing the relevant departments where each of the above ‘Domains’ would be broadly relevant by way of acquiring the necessary background and posting. Te Committee also drew up a matrix giving an indicative set of academic backgrounds and areas of training, higher study or research that would be relevant for each of the ‘Domains’. 8.4.11 Te Committee indicated the process that should be followed for assignment of domains. It said:

Te assignment of domains may be part of the empanelment process which would identifyy officers for posting identif po sting to the GoI at a t levels of JS and a nd above. Offi cers empanelled empa nelled as as Secretaries to GoI may carry their Domain assignments at the AS level empanelment, unless there is a significant change in their qualifications or work experience at the  AS level. leve l. Offi cers due du e for considera cons ideration tion for fo r empanelme empan elment nt may claim cla im (and (an d be assigned) assig ned) 179

 

Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights 

up to three Domains. Tey may submit a write-up (not more than 1000 words), summarizing their experience, academic background, training courses undergone, research accomplishments, recognitions earned, and significant achievements during their career relevant to these areas. Te factual material in these write-ups should reflect the contents of the PAR dossiers. Tese write-ups wri te-ups should be scrutinized by the Empanelment Committee which may be assisted by eminent academics/experts in the respective fields for evaluation of work experience, academic and training courses undergone, research accomplished, etc. Te Committee would evaluate the claims of the offi cers to specific specifi c Domains, which w hich may be accepted accep ted or denied. denied . No quota system need be imposed in respect resp ect of how many empanelled empa nelled offi cers may figure fig ure in each Domain, Domain , as the interests inte rests of effi cient personne p ersonnell management mana gement would w ould require requi re that the pool p ool of offi cers  for par partic ticula ularr positi po sitions ons shou should ld be b e suffi su fficie cientl ntlyy large la rge.. In the unl unlikel ikelyy event ev ent that one or more listed Domains Doma ins do not attract suffi cient applicant appl icants, s, the Committee Committ ee may assign a Domain to offi cers with the relevant releva nt backgrounds, backgro unds, exceeding exce eding the limit lim it of 3 Domains 84 

in their case, if necessary. 8.4.12 Te insights provided by the First Administrative Reforms Commission and the Surinder Nath Committee are very useful. use ful. It needs to be appreciated, however, that there is considerable confusion about the concept of domain competence. It is generally discussed from the point of view of a generalist to decide as to which Ministry he/she may be best suited based on his/her experience, aptitude and potential. Domain competence actually refers to functions funct ions and not Ministries. Minist ries. Ministries Ministr ies require offi cers with different di fferent domain competence and the challenge at senior management levels is to select generalists who have “specialised” and specialists who have “generalised” and appoint them to appropriate positions. o illustrate, Union Ministries such as Health or Railways, do not constitute single functional domains. In addition to their core functions i.e. provision of health care and rail transport services respectively, both ministries have many additional functional areas such as personnel administration, finance and accounts, vigilance etc. Tat is why it may not be feasible to assign posts in a Ministry to one domain or vice versa. 8.4.13 Acquisition of domain competency is imperative and steps need to be taken to assign civil servants at the start of their mid-career to specific domains so that the objective of matching matchi ng the skills ski lls and background ba ckgroundss of officers to the th e requirements requiremen ts of a particular part icular civil service positions at senior levels while preserving a broad spectrum orientation of the services as a whole across a range of sectors is fully met. It is suggested that the responsibility of assigning domains should be given to an independent ‘Authority’ (it 180 84

Ibid,. Paragraph 10.3.1

 

Placement at Middle Management Level

may be mentioned here that the Commission has recommended the constitution of a Central Civil Services Authority in paragraph 9.8). For the purpose, the Authority should invite applications applic ations from all offi cers working in the Government who have completed 13 years of service. Te thirteenth year is an appropriate time for assigning the domain to the officer as he/she would be, at this stage, st age, getting into the t he Non Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) scale in i n the service. At the t he Union Government level the officer becomes eligible el igible to become a Director in a Union Ministry. Ministry. Domain assignment at this stage of the t he career would also be appropriate appropri ate because becau se when the offi cer is eligible eli gible to be b e at the level of Joint Secretary Secretar y he/she would have had at least three to four years exposure to a domain. Applications Applications for domain assignment assignme nt should specify specif y the academic background back ground of the officers, their research accomplishments (if any) and significant achievements during their career relevant to the domain applied applie d for. for. Officers should be interviewe int erviewed d and their claims for assignment assi gnment to specific specifi c domains evaluated. On the basis of such an exercise, the Authority should assign domains to the officers. In case some domains d omains do not attract at tract applicants, appli cants, the Authority Autho rity should assign a ssign these domains to t o officers with relevant rele vant backgrounds. background s. Once the domains domai ns are assigned, the t he government (both (bot h Union and State) should shou ld post offi cers to these t hese domains. domai ns. 8.4.14 Regarding classification of domains, the eight broad domains proposed by the First  Administrativee Reforms Commission do not adequately capture the domain competencies  Administrativ required in today’s context. Te classification suggested by the Surinder Nath Committee could be improved upon. Te Commission would therefore suggest the following illustrative domains which could be further refined (able 8.1). able 8.1: Te Functional Domains of Civil Services (illustrative) S. No.

Main domain

1

General Administration

2

Urban development

3

Security 

4

Rural Development

5

Financial Management

6

Infrastructure

7

HRD Social Empowerment

8

Economic Administration

181

 

Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights 

able 8.1: Te Functional Domains of Civil Services (illustrative) (Cont.)  

S. No.

Main domain

9

ax Administr Administration ation

10

Agriculture Developm Development ent

11

Natural Resources Administration

12

Health Management

8.4.15 Te Commission is of the view that posts at the SAG level in different Ministries should be classified based on these domains and this should be taken into consideration at the time tim e of placement placem ent of officers. A similar sim ilar system syst em of assignment assign ment of domains doma ins should be adopted for the Indian Police Service where the domains could be – Internal Security, Intelligence, Intelli gence, Investigation Investig ation etc. On a similar simil ar pattern, domains doma ins can be assigned to offi cers of other organised Services. 8.4.16 Te Commission Com mission is of o f the view that tha t domains once onc e assigned to t o an officer should normally hold good for the entire career. career. Te Commission is also of the view that assignment of domains to t o an officer may be through t hrough a consultative consu ltative process pro cess between betwee n the proposed ‘Auth Authorit ority’ y’ and the t he offi cer( cer(s). s). 8.5 enure 8.5.1 An important proposition in organization theory is that the higher the rate of personnel turnover, the lower the organizati o rganizational onal effi ciency. Tis is equally equa lly,, if not more true for large public organizations like Government. Years Years ago, Robert Wade had claimed that “any serious discussion of how India’s development administration can be made to work better must put personnel transfers near to top of the agenda for reforms”. Unfortunately, frequent transfers of civil servants continue to be one of the most vexatious governance problems still facing India. It adversely affects governance because civil servants are not allowed to stay in a position long enough to acquire adequate knowledge and experience of their job, and an understanding of the milieu and culture in which they have to function and the problems they need to redress. Tey are unable to build the required mutual mu tual confidence and understanding which takes take s time to develop and is necessary for administrative leadership. It prevents civil servants from staying in a position long enough to institute or sustain reforms and it is both demoralizing and demotivating when civil servants are not in a position long enough to see the fruits of their efforts which could be a source of enormous satisfaction to them. Frequent Frequent transfers and posting lead to lack of accountability and corruption. 182

 

Placement at Middle Management Level

8.5.2 Short tenures are not only characteristic of the administration at the lower echelons, but also are a regular feature in the higher civil services (e.g. the IAS, IPS etc). Te following table provides details of IAS tenures from 1978 to 2006 for selected years. able 8.2: IAS Post enures – 1978-2006 IAS as of

Number Numb er

Length of time in post (% of IAS)

1st January   

Less than

 

1 year

1-2 years

2-3 years

More than 3 years

1978

3,084

58

26

10

6

1979

3,236

55

30

10

5

1981

3,373

60

22

11

7

1982 1983

3,539 3,734

52 51

31 29

9 13

8 7

1984

3,797

56

26

12

7

1985

3,910

51

31

11

7

1986

3,970

58

25

12

6

1991

4,497

58

25

10

6

1992

3,951

56

27

11

6

1993

3,991

49

31

13

8

1996

4,621

48

28

13

11

2006

4,711

55

27

10

8

Source: Compiled from the IAS Civil List for the relevant years 

8.5.3 As can be seen, s een, the number of o f IAS officers spending spendin g less than a year in their t heir respective respecti ve postings has ranged from 48 to 60 per cent of the total strength of the IAS over the years. Interestingly,, the number of IAS officers who spend more Interestingly m ore than three years in their respective postings is consistently less than 10 per cent of the total strength of the IAS. In fact, the solitary year for which it has been marginally higher than 10 per cent is 1996.

183

 

Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights 

8.5.4 Moreover, the details in able 8.2 do not adequately reflect the position in the State Governments because the able also includes the duration of the postings in the Union Government in which there is much greater stability in the tenures of civil servants. Te position is in fact much worse in State Governments. A 1998 study of civil servants working 85

in Delhi Government  found that on an average, these t hese officers lasted last ed less than t han a year in one department in that Government. According According to the study, study, in less than five years there  were seven postings of Principal Secretaries in the Departments of Finance and Urban Development,, and five postings each Development ea ch of the Commissioners Commis sioners of Excise, Excise , ransport, ransport, and Food and Civil Supplies in the Gove Government rnment of NC of Delhi. 8.5.5 In Mohsina Begum’s case, the Allahabad High Court had observed,

“Whenever a new government is formed, there is a tidal wave wa ve of transfers of government servants on the basis of caste or community or monetary considerations leading to total demoralisation of the bureaucracy and its division on caste and a nd communal basis, besides the spread of corruption and breakdown of all norms of administration”. administration”. 8.5.6 Te Fifth Pay Commission recommended that in order to ensure administrative continuity and stability to incumbents, a minimum tenure for each posting of officers should be predetermined, and it should normally be three to five years, except in cases where a longer tenure is justified on functional grounds, like continued availability of certain specialised skills. It also recommended the constitution of high-powered Civil Service Boards, both at the level of the Union Government and State Governments to look into and regulate cases of premature transfers of civil servants. 8.5.7 Te Conference of Chief Ministers held on 24th May 1997 discussed the frequent transfer of civil servants and its harmful effect on the implementation of government’s programmes. Te Conference was of the view that frequent and arbitrary transfer of civil servants affects the ability of the system to deliver services effectively to the people.  Although the Conference had some reservations about the constitution of Civil Services Boards, it recommended that such boards should be set up in State Governments to implement a streamlined transfer and promotion policy to assist the political executive who  would ultimately decide regarding regarding such matters based on identifiable criteria. Some Some State Governments Gover nments complied with the recommendations of the Conference of Chief Ministers and have set up Civil Services Boards/Establishment Boards with the Chief Secretary as

184 85

Kota Neelima, ‘Bureacrats’ Choices’- Plum Inducements or ransfers’, Indian Express, September 15, 1998.

 

Placement at Middle Management Level

the Chairman Chairma n and other senior s enior officers of the State Government as Members. Membe rs. But as the t he Hota Committee (2004) found, “the Boards set up by executive order in different States have failed to inspire confidence as more often than not, they have merely formalised the  wishes of their Chief Ministers Ministers in matters matters of transfer transfer of officials” cials”..86 8.5.8 Te National Commission to Review the Working Working of the Constitution Constitut ion also commented on this aspect. Te Commission said:

“Te questions of personnel policy including placements, promotions, transfers and  fast-trac  fast -trackk advanc ad vancemen ements ts on o n the basi basiss of for forward ward-lo -lookin okingg career ca reer man manage agemen mentt polici pol icies es and techniques should be managed by autonomous Personnel Personnel Boards for assisting the high level political authorities in making key decisions. Such Civil Service Boards should be constituted under statutory provisions. Tey should be expected to function like the UPSC. Te sanctity of parliamentary legislation under Article 309 is needed to counteract the publicly known trends of the play of unhealthy and destabilizing influences in the management of public services in general and higher civil services 87  in particular”. 8.5.9 Te Hota Committee (2004) discussed the frequent transfer of civil servants in some detail. It observed:

We are of the opinion opini on that absence abse nce of fixed tenure te nure of officials is one on e of the most important im portant reasons for tardy implementation of government policies, for lack of accountability of officers, for waste was te of public money because becau se of inadequate inadequa te supervision supervi sion of programmes under implementa im plementation tion and for f or large-scale large -scale corrupti c orruption. on. We We feel that an a n officer of the higher civil service is given a fixed tenure of at least three years in his post and given annual performance performan ce targets, effectiveness of the administrative machinery machiner y will register a quantum jump. In our view, view, there is considerable force in the oft-repeated adage that  good admini ad ministrati stration on is not possible possib le without witho ut continuit conti nuityy and intellige intel ligent nt administ admi nistration ration is not possible without local knowledge. We have received overwhelming over whelming evidence that at a t present, offi cials of the State Government - particula par ticularly rly officials of the All India Indi a Services Servic es serving servi ng in connection conne ction with affairs of the state - are quite demoralized as they are transferred frequently at the whims and caprices of local politicians and other vested interests, who successfully

185 86

Paragraph 5.08.09; Report of the Hota Committee NCRWC NCR WC – paragraph 6.7.1; htpp://lawmin.nic.in/ htpp://lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/rinalreport,vlch6.ht ncrwc/rinalreport,vlch6.htm(entr m(entr on 17.9.08)

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Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights 

 prevail upon the Chief Minister Minister/Ministe /Ministerr to order such transfers. Often Chief Ministers have to oblige obli ge powerful powerfu l factions faction s in their own ow n party by transferri t ransferring ng senior senio r offi cers who may be honest, sincere and steadfast in carrying out government’s programmes but are otherwise inconvenient as they do not oblige the local politicians. We are distressed to note that owing to faction ridden party politics in some States, public interest suffers and Collectors/District Magistrates, Senior Superintendents of Police/  Superintendents of Police/Deputy Inspector General of Police and Divisional Forest Offi cers, Conser C onservator vator of Forests and a nd other senior offi cials are a re asked to pack p ack their thei r bags at frequent intervals and ordered to move out.88  8.5.10 Te Hota Committee recommended the establishment of Civil Service Boards. It said

We are firmly of the view that a Civil Services Act has to be enacted to make the Civil Services Board/Establishment Board both in the States and in the Government of India statutory in character character.. In the proposed set up in the Government of India, the  Appo intmen  Appoint ments ts Com Commit mittee tee of the Cabi Cabinet net wil willl be the fina finall autho a uthorit rityy for f or the tran transfer sfer of offi cers under the Central Cen tral Staffi ng Scheme. Sc heme. Te same sa me principl pr inciplee of fixed tenure should apply to t o senior senio r offi cers who w ho are not n ot under unde r the Central C entral Staffi ng Scheme, Sch eme, but bu t are working under the Government of India for which the Departmental Minister is the final authority for transfer. transfer. Te Chief Minister will be the final authority for transfer of o f all Group Grou p ‘A ‘A’ offi cers of State Service Ser vice and a nd AIS officers serving se rving in connection conn ection with affairs of the State. If a Chief Minister does not agree with the recommendations of the Civil Services Board/Establishment Board, he will have to record his reasons in writing. wri ting. An offi cer transferred transf erred before his hi s normal norma l tenure even under the orders of the Chief Minister can agitate the matter before a three-member Ombudsman. Te Chairperson Chair person of the Ombudsman Ombud sman will be a retired reti red official of proven honesty hone sty and integrity. Te other two members can be on a part-time basis from among serving offi cers. In all al l such premature prema ture transfers the Ombudsman Ombuds man shall sha ll send a report to the th e Governor of the State, who shall cause it to be laid in an Annual Report before the State Legislature. Legis lature. Te Ombudsman Omb udsman may ma y also pay damages dam ages to the offi cer so transferred to compensate him for dislocation and mental agony caused due to such transfer. transfer. We We are conscious that we are recommending a statutory barrier to the frequent transfer of senior offi cials but the t he matter has ha s come to such a pass pa ss that it requires requi res a statutory statutor y remedy.. We remedy We also clarify that the Chief Minister as a s the highest political executive has the final fina l powers to order transfer tran sfer of an a n offi cer before befo re his tenure tenu re his over. 186 88

Paragraph 5.09; Report of the Hota Committee

 

Placement at Middle Management Level

8.5.11 Tere appears to be unanimity on the point that it is necessary to give a fixed tenure to a civil servant in his/her post. In fact, the Draft Public Services Bill, 2007 has stipulated in Clause 16(e) that

“Te Central Government shall fix a minimum tenure for cadre posts, which may be  filled  fill ed on the basi basiss of mer merit, it, suit suitabil ability ity and expe experien rience.”  ce.”  8.5.12 In Clause 22, the Bill enjoins the Cadre Controlling Authorities to

“notify within a period of six months from the coming into force of this Act, norms and guidelines for transfers and postings to maintain continuity and predictability in career advancement and acquisition of necessary skills and experiences as well as promotion of good governance. ransfers ransfers before the specified tenure should be for valid reasons to be recorded in writing. Provided that the normal tenure of all public servants shall not be less than two years.”   8.5.13 Te Bill proposes the constitution of a Central Public Services Authority in Clause 18. In terms of Clause 21, the Central Authority “sh “shall all aid and advise the Central Government in all matters concerning the organization, control, operation and management of Public Services and Public Servants.”   8.5.14 Te Commission is of the view that the Central Civil Services Authority (discussed in detail in Chapter 9) should be charged with the responsibility of fixing the tenure for all civil service servi ce posts under the Union Government. At present, the functions of the Authority are envisaged as advisory under the provisions of the Draft Public Services Bill, 2007. Tis needs to be changed, and so far as the fixation of tenure is concerned, it is suggested that the decision of the Authority should be binding on the Government. Government. Te Authority should also be given the responsibility to monitor postings and place before Parliament Parliament a periodic evaluation of the actual average tenure for each post and for the Central Government as a whole. Establishment of State Civil Service Authorities for the States with similar responsibilities needs to be urgently taken up by the State Governments where tenures are much less stable. Te details of the State Civil Services Authorities would be examined by the Commission in its Report on ‘State Administration’. 8.6 Field Postings of Offi cers during dur ing the Initial Ini tial Part of Teir Career 8.6.1 Generally General ly,, officers from the th e All India Indi a Services Servic es as well as the other othe r organized Group ‘A ‘A’ Services are assigned field postings during the first 8 to 10 years of their service. However, 187

 

Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights 

it has been brought to the notice of the Commission that there have been instances where State Government/concerned authorities have posted these offi cers during this thi s period to the t he Secretariat/Headquarters Secretariat/H eadquarters instead of in the field. Such cases, even if few in number, are not in the public publ ic interest since s ince it is necessary nec essary for fo r an officer to have adequate adequ ate experience experie nce in the field and familiarize himself thoroughly with “ground realities” realities” to enable him to discharge his/her higher responsibilities later. Te Commission would, therefore, strongly recommend that officers from the organized organi zed services servic es should not be given non-field non- field assignments assignm ents in the first 8 to 10 years of their career. 8.7. Recommendations a.

In postin postingg officers in Government of India, the primar primaryy conside consideration ration should be to select the most suitable person for the post that is on offer.

b.

Domains should be assigned by the Central Civil Services Authority (the Commission has recommended the constitution of this Authority in paragraph paragra ph No 9.8 of this Report) Repor t) to all offi cers of the All India Services Ser vices and the Central Civil Services on completion of 13 years of service.

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c.

Te Central Civil Services Authority should invite applications from all officers who have h ave completed complete d the minimum mini mum qualifying qualif ying years of servi s ervice, ce, for assignment of domains. Te applications should specify the academic background of officers, their research accomplishments (if any) and significant achievements during their career, relevant to the domain applied for. A consultative process proce ss should be b e put in place plac e where the officers should sho uld be interviewed intervie wed and their claims to specific domains evaluated. Te Authority should thereafter thereaf ter assign domains dom ains to the officers on the basis basi s of this exercise. In case some domains do not attract applicants, the Authority should assign these domains domai ns to officers with the relevant rel evant knowledge knowled ge and experience. exper ience.

d.

All vacancies arising at the level of Deputy Secretary/Director during a financial year should be identified well before the beginning of that financial year, by the Department of Personnel and raining (DOP). Te Ministries concerned should also give a brief job description for these positions. All these posts and their job description should be notified to the

Placement at Middle Management Level

cadre controlling authorities authorities of the concerned All India Services and Central Services. On receipt of nominations from the cadre controlling authorities, the DOP should try to match the requirements of various positions with the competencies compe tencies of o f the officers in the ‘offer list’. Te DOP DOP  should then the n seek approval for the entire list from the Competant Authority. e.

he Central Civil Services Authority should be charged with the responsibility of fixing tenure for all civil service positions and this decision of the Authority should be binding on Government.

f.

Officers from the organized service servicess should not be given ‘non-field’ assignments in the first 8-10 years of their career career..

g.

State Gover Governments nments should take steps to constitute State Civil Services  Authorities on the lines of the Central Civil Civil Services Authority Authority..

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