Laterally yours

Mains Paper: 2 | Governance
Prelims level: Lateral Entry
Mains level: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Context

•  The debate about lateral entrants into the upper echelons of the Government of India bureaucracy seems to have quietened down.

•  Therefore, that this might be a calmer and quieter moment to share a first-hand perspective on my more than two-and-a-half years of experience as a somewhat unusual “lateral entrant” to Bharat Sarkar.

•  I say unusual, because I used to be an IAS officer before I took voluntary retirement from the service in 2009 and then re-joined the government seven years later.

•  So how was the news of my appointment via lateral entry to GoI received by my civil service colleagues?

•  For the most part positively, although one commentator alluded to me as a “savvy trapeze artist”!

•  My former IAS batchmates, however, many of whom were fellow secretaries to the GoI, warmly welcomed me back and made me feel at home.

Handling the situation and expertise

•  I have to say that I found my experience of working in the water and sanitation sector across multiple countries, including in India, over a long period of time, a big advantage in my new job.

•  The state governments were interested in learning about experiences of what had worked and not worked in similar situations elsewhere, and I was able to share some relevant lessons which could be adapted to the local context.

•  One example stands out where I shared the experience I had acquired from my stint in Vietnam about triggering behaviour change for adopting the use of toilets among young mothers.

•  This was about using the “lack of sanitation increases the chances of childhood stunting” argument, which worked well in that country and also resonated during our SBM behaviour change campaigns.

•  I also had the ability to mobilise international behaviour change experts and bring them over to India to help us advance the sanitation agenda through evidence-based research.

Personal Experience

•  Having now worked for over two-and-a-half years in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, I can share four lessons which might be useful for future lateral entrants:

•  First, listen carefully to and learn from your government colleagues at the central, state and district level;

•  Second, introduce new ideas gradually and don’t expect them all to stick immediately;

•  Third, bring in some young, fresh blood so that you can jointly innovate for results; and fourth and

•  Finally, since you are likely to be, like myself, on a fixed term contract, set yourself some firm goals with timelines and monitor progress on a regular basis.

•  In my own case, with respect to the fourth lesson, I put up a white board in my office with a daily count of the number of days I had spent out of my two-year contract along with the number of days left, to remind me of the important tasks remaining to be done. I found this very useful indeed.

Conclusion

•  Future lateral entrants to the GoI will overcome any early hiccups they may have after taking up their new assignments.

•  The next wave of lateral entrants, even if their entry could be a little bumpier.

•  They will both enjoy their stint as well as make a significant contribution to their sector.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) Why geometric mean is used in the computation of Human Development Index (HDI) rather than the earlier methodology of arithmetic mean?
1. It ensures that low achievement in one dimension is not anymore linearly compensated for by high achievement in another dimension.
2. It ensures that the geometric mean captures qualitative aspects of human development indicators while incorporating environmental sustainability.

Which of the above is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) None
Answer: A