Title: The Machinery of
Governance in India
Author: S.R. Maheshwari
Publisher: Rajiv Beri for Macmillan
India Ltd. New Delhi, India
Year of Publication: 2004
Pages: 242
Price: Rs 120/-
ISBN: 1403 92473 2
Introduction
The Book “The Machinery of Governance in
India” is authored by S.R. Maheshwari. Dr. Maheshwari is a former professor in
Indian Institute of Public Administration. He has also been visiting fellow in
various Universities around the world. He has authored more than forty five
books and published more than two hundred papers in national and international
journals.
The book talks about the evolution of Indian
Bureaucracy and how well it is designed to serve the needs of the Indians. The
Author has referred the bureaucracy as the machinery of Governance. The
Governance is the act of delivering services to the people through
implementation of various schemes, programs and policies. Bureaucracy is the
machinery that helps in delivering these services for the well being of its
citizens. The author talks about how the current All India Services came into
existence and the history behind its formulation. He also iterated the need to
establish such systems and has elaborated in detail the roles and
responsibilities of each system of organizations in the governing system. The
Book also gives series of development in civil service system in India during
the British rule and after Independence in 1947.
Gist of the Book and its Analysis
The History of Indian Civil Service dates
back to British Rule where civil service system was first established in the
organizational structure of the East India Company. It was mainly established
as the revenue collecting systems. The civil servants were also called as
covenant civil service since they were required to sign covenant before joining
the service, however the term was abolished later and was known as Indian Civil
Service. During the British rule, the Government’s only function was to collect
revenue through taxes and other sales. Later when the East Indian Company
turned into a Political Agency of British Crown governing India, central
government was formed with few departments such as general, military, revenue,
finance and judicial.
After the independence of India in 1947, the
government focused towards its citizens. With the adoption of Constitution of
India and the initiation of socioeconomic planning, the Government was obliged
to provide various services. As a result, more ministries and departments were
either redesigned or created along with the strong civil service.
Central Government
The direct role of the Government is to
maintain internal and external securities. Some of the oldest Ministries were
Home Affairs, which had an important task of handling the internal security
part, Ministry of Defense which looked after the National Security, Finance
which dealt with all financial matters and External Affairs which was
responsible for foreign related policies. As the mandate of the Central
Government increased, many Ministries, Departments and Government Agencies were
formed. By the end of British Rule, there were 36 Ministries and around 77
Departments. For the easy delivery of services, each Ministry is divided into
Departments, which are further bifurcated into Wings, Divisions, Branches and
Sections. President is the head of the state and the Prime Minister the Head of
the Government. The Ministry is headed by Minister who is the political figure
supported by Secretaries and Directors who are the civil servants.
If we study the structure of central
government in the British times, there was not a single Ministry for the
welfare of the Citizens. Of course there was Security and Defense
Ministry but were created with an objective to serve the British Government in
India more than the people. The British Government has focused mainly on
revenue collections, securities and defenses. It was only later, after the
development of Constitution, the citizen’s welfare, the social and economic
needs were taken into consideration. That is after the independence. With the
adoption of Constitution, the Government focused more towards the citizens and
hence more Ministries and Departments were created to provide the necessary
requirements for the people. Now India has even reached at the block level of
governance to closely work with the people.
State Government
India felt the need to move towards the
people in order to deliver services at the door steps. Hence the state
governments were created. The Article 1 of the constitution of India states the
need to establish States and Union Territory. India today has 29 states and 7
Union Territories. The pattern of the State Government broadly resembles that
of the Central Government. The Council of Ministers and the Chief Minister as
its Head are the political figures; the Secretariat is headed by Chief
Secretary followed by Joint Secretaries, Directors and Joint Directors who are
the civil service. The Secretariat of a State is divided into various
Departments each headed by Secretary and there are many subordinate
organizations known as Directorates under him.
India is one of the largest countries in the
World both in terms of area and population. Therefore, it was a great a move in
creating a State level Government system to administer laws, rules and
regulations at the state level.
Union Territories
The Union Territory is the name given to
those states which are directly administered by the Central Government and are
administered by Lieutenant Governor or Administrator appointed. Currently there
are seven Union Territories, viz. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Changdigarg,
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
Local Governments
The Local Governments play a vital role in
timely delivery of services to the people. It is considered as the neighborhood
government. The urban and the rural areas have their own local Government. The
urban areas have Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council, Cantonment Board and
Naga Panchayat. The rural level has Panchayat Raj which operates at three
tiers; the Zila Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and Panchayat at District, Block and
village levels respectively.
Conclusion
The machinery of governance in India, the
Indian Civil Service, now known as All India Services has developed over a
period of time. With the adoption of Constitution of India after independence,
the Government’s mandates to serve the citizens have increased and hence the
Civil Service System has grown both in terms of size and professionalism. It
operates at National Level, State and Union Territory levels and the local
Governments at Districts.
Thank you.
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