Revamping the Civil Services

Civil service refers to the body of government officials who are employed in civil  occupations that are neither political nor judicial. The concept of civil service was  prevalent in India from ancient times. The Mauryan administration employed civil  servants in the name of adhyakshas and rajukas. The examination for civil servants in  those days too was very stringent as quoted by Kautilya’s Arthasastra. The expanse of the  territory and the need to hold it intact made it imperative for the Mauryan administration  to recruit civil servants based on merit. The concept of civil service again came into prominence when British in search of creating a framework to hold the territories of India, created the much coveted ‘Indian Civil Services’ or the ICS.

Many changes took place in Indian Civil services since Lord Cornwallis introduced it in  India. The Indian Civil services were created to foster the idea of unity in diversity . The  civil service was expected to give continuity and change to the administration no matter the political scenario and turmoil effecting the country. Indian civil service has also played the part of giving this continuous support to the nation. But what is appalling and
needs a serious consideration is the element of ‘change’. It can be said that the civil service as a whole has maintained its status quo instead of sweeping changes in social and economic scenario. Some may argue that it is the resilience of the civil service, but it is an obvious fact out in the street that the Indian civil service was not able to deliver service based upon the expectations of the people or the founding fathers of the Constitution.

The present paper deals about the problems effecting Indian civil service and the reform that is needed to make it vibrant and deliver according to the expectations. The civil service is an integral part of administration and the structures of administration too determine the way the civil service functions.

Civil Service Reform is a deliberate change effort by government to improve its capacity to effectively and efficiently execute policies. Reforms in the Civil Service have occurred ever since the Chinese invented bureaucracy – they are a continuous process with no general starting point, and equally no end.

The Indian bureaucracy, with its national character, has been a strong binding force to a Union of States. The institution of civil service has rendered yeoman service to the overall socio-economic development of the country. It has been at the forefront of development process right from the ‘commanding heights regime’ to the ‘liberalization and de-regulation era’. It has not only played a pivotal role in designing and activating policies but also ensured basic service delivery at the cutting edge of government-citizen interface.

The importance of the Civil Service to governance stems from the following:

• Service presence throughout the country and its strong binding character
• Administrative and managerial capacity of the services
• Effective policy-making and regulation
• Effective coordination between institutions of governance
• Leadership at different levels of administration.
• Service delivery at the cutting edge level
• Provide ‘continuity and change’ to the administration.

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Courtesy: Centre for Good Governance