Energizing Indian Bureaucracy - Addl Inputs

Dear Friends:

Some of you have raised concerns lately on slowing bureaucratic decision making. This was also a key Government Priority area for 2015 as identified by us.

One of the key concerns amongst bureaucrats has been the amount of questioning/investigation they may be subjected to for taking fast decisions.

Our system should be such that it enables fast ethical decision making and it discourages espionage/collusion with business for personal gains or corruption.

Please review the Issues, Root Causes and especially Solutions and advise if you have any additional inputs before we finalize the whitepaper and share with PMO, Central and State Government leaders.

We look forward to your inputs!
Rajendra Pratap Gupta


State of Indian Bureaucracy and Energizing it for Better India

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

Root Causes Identified:
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
16. The new entrants to the bureaucracy are being thoroughly advised that protecting themselves from the loopholes of the current operating and legal system is the most important aspect of their job

Solutions Identified:
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
17. Bureaucrats should be given trainings for the department/industry they are supposed to handle
18. Politicians should not be able to transfer them/influence their careers
19. Innovative management should be rewarded
20. There should be no reservation quota after their induction in services in promotions more