Raju Korti
Whether you like it or not, you got to concede that Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoys taking the bulls by the horns. Midway into his second consecutive term he has devolved upon himself to mutate the country's notorious, euphemistically termed famed, Babus into Karmayogis. In India, Babudom refers to the executive arm of the government and the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country.
The common man, however, has a diametrically different take on the country's Babudom. The general perception is they are a self-serving, elite clique that works in silos and are not accountable to anyone except their political masters whose bidding they are generally known to do. The Indian Babudom has been conventionally known to focus more on the process than bringing about positive outcome. To make matters worse, they have stonewalled change and reforms. The Modi government has quite an ask on its hands to make this rather privileged class shed the arrogance and superior-than-thou mindset it is besieged with.
There is an archetypal story in mythology about Walya the dacoit reforming to Walmiki the sage with the only difference being this fabled character undergoing transformation through enlightenment, penance and penitence. These characteristics are alien to India's bureaucracy which has always been more firmly in the saddle than their political masters who come and go. I have first-hand of experience of some high-handed bureaucrats daring aggrieved people to go and complain to the ministers. "They are here today, gone tomorrow. I am permanent," is the disconcerting but true response.
One simple way of knowing what is wrong with the Indian bureaucracy is to see the way they draft their circulars. They have an unmatched talent for making what is simple and straight into a convoluted maze of gibberish. Initiative is not something that you associate with the Indian Babudom. There is little that bureaucrats hate more than innovation, especially innovation that produces better results than the old routines. Improvements always make those at the top of the heap look inept and who enjoys appearing inept?
I am not painting all bureaucrats with the same brush. There are sterling exceptions, but then exceptions only prove the rule. I have seen bureaucrats strike a sensible balance while running the administration, working within the framework of government rules. I have also seen competent and honest bureaucrats standing up to the political class and rewarded by being tossed around with transfers. That is a price they pay for being loyal to their duty rather than being loyal to the political dispensation. Most bureaucrats conveniently skip that they serve at the "pleasure of the President of India" and their service is protected under Article 311 of the Constitution from politically motivated or vindictive action. The pandering to the political class is deeply entrenched in their psyche.
To say that Indian bureaucracy needs an overhaul is an understatement. None of the prime ministers before has dared to convulse an institution that has wielded more power than most civil services anywhere across the world. It remains to be seen what impact will the government's move to induct lateral entry of professionals into the bureaucracy have. It is rather premature to guess the ramifications of the move to parachute private sector experts in the present algorithm of Indian bureaucracy.
"Mission Karmayogi" aims at capacity building of the bureaucracy to make them more "creative, proactive, professional and technology-abled". Implicit in this initiative is the tacit admission that the bureaucracy has not performed to the strength and competence expected of it. The sanctimonious cover sought to be provided to this apparently lofty exercise, however, becomes suspect when you learn that union ministers, chief ministers, eminent HR practitioners headed by the prime minister will serve as an apex body in providing "strategic direction", whatever that means. No prizes for guessing that these will be PM's hand-picked men. In essence, the bureaucracy will still be navigated by the political class. If so, this so called biggest human resource development program in the government, costing over Rs 510 crore, looks like flogging a dead horse.
The much avowed purpose of Mission Karmayogi to assign "right person to the right role" and align the work allocation of civil servants by matching their competencies to the requirements of the post sounds good in theory but suffers the compelling risk of breach in practice. Given the expediencies of the political class this sounds Utopian despite some of the most attractive words used to promote the concept.
Bureaucracy, inflation and dandruff can never be addressed completely.
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