A Review on the book " The Machinery of Governance in India"

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.

A Review on the book "Motivating Bureaucracy"

Title: Motivating Bureaucracy

Author: M Sathya Babu

Place of Publication: 2/10 Ansari Road, Daaryaganj, New Delhi 110 002

Year of Publication: 2002 and reprinted in 2003, 2004 and 2005

Number of pages: 175

ISBN: 0333 93716 3

Introduction

The Author of the book, M Sathya Babu is an experienced civil servant in an Indian Bureaucracy. He has worked in various capacities and gained much experience in the field of bureaucracy and its attitudes and behaviors. His other book includes “The Sick Industrial Companies Act 1985- A First Hand Account”.

“Bureaucracy” is the heart and soul of the governing system of every organization or country for that matter. It is the hierarchy of various stages of administration with division of roles and associated accountability. The success of every organization depends on an effective team of bureaucracy. The effective bureaucracy is made up of effective individuals who work with the common organization’s goals. The effectiveness of every bureaucrat depends on various internal and external factors. The internal factor refers to the inner values of the individual, both inborn and acquired over the period of time. The external factors are determined by the leadership of the superior and the cooperativeness of the subordinates and the peers. The external factors can be from outside of the organization as well.

Some of the internal factors include commitment, integrity, attitude, and values like punctual, respect for others, responsiveness, corrupt free conscience and willingness. But it is not limited to these factors. These internal factors together with external factors like leadership of the bosses and their guidance, their inner values and the cooperativeness and inner values of subordinates contribute largely to the effectiveness and efficiency of every individual. The productivity of an individual also depends on working environment and facilities provided in office to carry out the activities. Together with good working condition, if the individual can uphold his/her values, the efficiency of self and the organization ultimately will be enhanced greatly. These are some of the issues being brought up by Mr. Babu in this book.

Gist of the book and its Analysis

This book, “Motivating Bureaucracy” by M Sathya Babu talks about the bureaucracy and its role in an organization in an Indian context but are applicable to the bureaucrats of every other organizations. It talks about some of the factors determining the effectiveness of an individual which can ultimately determine the effectiveness of the bureaucracy under which he/she works as a team. The following are some of the factors that determine the efficiency and inefficiency of an individual and the organization as a whole:

1. Job Security: The civil service provides some form of job security and this has created some form of relaxation in the minds of bureaucrats. The author describes this as the misery for the organization. Job security is also one form of motivation for the civil servants to perform at his/her best. But some take this opportunity as an advantage and does not perform duties efficiently. Whether one works or not, everyone gets a salary at the end of the month. In fact civil servants are required to work with full dedication with the job security that he/she has been provided with.
2. Long Service Tenure: the author points out that people seem to work hard when they are placed away from their home town. Home town here can be the organization in which he/she has been working for long period of time that they have developed some kind of attachment and networking. This networking if not used in proper way leads to more poor performances. The networking can also lead to some corrupt practices. Therefore, it is necessary for any organization to reshuffle the bureaucrats from time to time.
3. Corporatization, privatization and outsourcing: The author describes that the efficiency of an organization’s service delivery increases if certain activities are being privatized, corporatized or outsourced. The author has also cited some examples of failure of the welfare programs which were carried out by the bureaucrats alone, like “the anti-poverty program” which according to author was a total failure in India before. This in fact is true especially with delivery of public services. The private sectors are profit oriented and delaying of any work will be an added cost for them. Therefore, the service delivery is in time and cost effective. Of course the monitoring will have to be done by the organization.
4. Performance based merit: The career development of civil servants should be performance based. If the performance of a civil servant is excellent, he is recognized well than the one whose performance seems lagging. It is said that the right pat at the right time is the greatest motivation.
5. Procrastination and lack of required skills: Procrastination shows inefficient of an individual and this leads to an inefficient organization. It is also important to have some required skills to carry out the tasks. The author also points out that it is always important to upgrade oneself with change of time.
6. The other factors also include behavior, a feeling of patriot and coordination among various stakeholders. One’s behavior and bad habits need to suit the environment we work in. Unhealthy habits will also lead to inefficiency and will have to be corrected.

Conclusion

These aforementioned factors together with some other internal and external factors as discussed above determine the efficiency of an individual and organization altogether. These are some of the self-motivating factors together with the right pat at the right time. Civil servants are the ones who serve citizens and the smile on their face gives the satisfaction for the job done and this satisfaction itself is the motivating factor to work more. If we work with good values and with good motives to serve, the inefficiency will be out of question. When we are efficient in carrying out our duties, that is where we derive satisfaction and hence feel motivated.

THE END

Drugyal Dzong - Paro

My visit to Drugyal Dzong

I have learned in the histories during the old school days about the wars among the petty rulers of our country in early days and how people used  to go to fetch water at times of war, concealed in between high walls. Especially in the structures like fortresses, they used to have a secret pathways to fetch water from a well below. It is called as "Chhudzong" or a water fortress (Forgive me if my direct translation is incorrect). Chhhudzong will be located far below near the stream and the way to it will have been protected by high walls to protect themselves and the water source from the enemies. 

The structure will be seen in every old monuments. The same structure could be seen in Drugyal Dzong and it can be confirmed from the structural design that it is a Chhudzong. Although it's just a ruins, the structure still stands majestically on the hill overlooking the valley below. The walls are very strong and we can easily make it out that the structure is built with a firm foundation. I was amazed by the structures build over a large area and without having drawn a single line on a paper and using a single metallic nail, such a magnificent structure stands still at this time. Going by the History, it is said that the Dzong was built in 1649 and later in 1950, it was destroyed by fire. 

The Dzong is located about 12 Kilometers away from main Paro town and the journey through the thick pine forests is breathtaking. Once inside the courtyard of the Dzong, one can remember the histories and imagine the lives of our people during those times. The structures; the walls, staircases and the doors and windows will take us to the times of 17th or 18th centuries. It is one of the few old structures seen in Bhutan and a site visited by all people. The good news is the Royal Government of Bhutan has a plan to rebuild the Dzong to its former glory and hope the structure and architecture will be as it was. 

Mass Tree Plantation

On 6th March 2016, Saturday, I joined the nation in planting 108000 tree saplings to mark the birth of Prince of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. In Thimphu, hundreds of people, Excellencies, monastic body, civil servants, students and teachers, army personnel and general public participated in the plantation. The saplings were planted in Kuenselphodrang just below the statue of Buddha Dhordenma.

It began with the prayers for the long life of the prince and the peace and prosperity in Bhutan for all times. A tree was planted by each person and each tree was given a name tag and contact address on it. 

The programme was initiated by the Tendrel Initiatives in collaboration with Department of Forest. Five or Six people will be deployed in the areas to look after the saplings and will contact the person who planted the sapling if it requires proper nourishment through the contact address provided on the name tag. Each person will have to take responsibility in bringing up the tree till it has grown big enough to nourish on its own. 

The tree saplings were planted throughout the nation on the same day and same time. It was even planted by the villagers around their places and  a total of 108000 tree saplings have been planted on that day in Bhutan. 

I planted a pine tree with so much of love and prayers and I hope it grow big and healthy. I will make a visit to my tree and make sure it grow well and not die out. Planting trees help to maintain our clean and green environment. 

Corporal Punishment- A Punishment for Poor?

My definition for poor here is the one 'who doesn't have the courage to go against what has been forced onto them and accepting what is not right because 'if I react, I will be singled out'. People say "are there two laws in the country?" because they feel that the laws are not being implemented equally. Personally I feel the laws are equal for all but there are situations where people are made to feel that it is not equal.

I have heard of the ban of the corporal punishment in Schools but have never seen clearly where it has been mentioned. The law or the executive order stating the ban of corporal punishment in schools might have been implemented in urban schools but in rural areas, the punishment might still be going on unreported and students being the victim always. Myself being one of the victims of such harsh punishment when in school, I do not want to tolerate anymore. Once you are victimized in front of the friends or other teachers, the student is both physically and mentally traumatized. Mental trauma affects the students more than physical. The students get mentally disturbed and at times, they tend to behave abnormally that can lead to even suicidal incidences.

We can't always point out the reason behind the punishment is to bring students to right tract. In the name of correcting the students, there could be some who have been looking for such opportunities to punish that particular student due to some reasons. These reasons could be due to likes and dislikes that we human beings are used to with. Our human mind is not pure and we tend to dislike someone for no reason and like someone. These likes and dislikes developed by our own mind obviously will create favoritism in schools. There are also teachers who tend to point out their favorite students in classes. Those students obviously will at least not suffer such harsh punishment from the teachers to whom they are one of the favorites.

But unfortunately not all pupils are their teacher's favorites. Just a single bad day will have all things been poured upon him/her if he/she is being disliked for some reasons already. I have experienced the trauma. I could not concentrate on my studies, I did not feel like going to school and could not even share to my parents. But somehow my parents have known through some of my friends and were not happy too. Even to this day, I do wonder "was that punishment sensible? Did it really benefit me?". I am very sure it did not help me in any ways, rather it made me more introvert and aggressive. Many different kinds of thoughts pour-in in that state. And people even commit suicide in this stage if they cannot control this traumatic situation. 

So, as far as the quality of education is concerned in our country, the corporal punishment in all schools has to be banned and make the learning environment very conducive for all students irrespective of their family background, so that, they learn what they are intended to. 

***THE END***