Governance

Pressure groups

A pressure group is an organized group of people that aims to in uence public opinion or
policies/actions of government. It includes churches and charities, businesses and trade
associations, trade unions and professional associations, think tanks of various
complexions etc.

Features of pressure groups

1. External to the government: do not make policy decisions, but rather try to in uence
those who do
2. Narrow domain: typically have a narrow issue focus
3. Shared beliefs or interests: members are united by a shared belief in a particular
cause
4. Protection of interests: in every government and political party there are clashing
interest groups. These groups try to dominate the political structure and see that the
interests of other groups are suppressed
5. Use of modern as well as traditional means: modern methods include nancing of
political parties, supporting their close candidates and maintaining relations with
bureaucracy. Traditional methods include exploitation of caste, creed and religious
feelings.

Types of pressure groups

1. Internet groups or cause groups

Interest groups are the groups

that represent a particular
section of society: eg. workers,
employers, consumers etc.
- are concerned to protect or
advance the interests of their
members
- Membership is limited to
people in a particular
occupation, career or
economic position.
- Members are motivated by
material self-interest.
Eg. FICCI, CII

Interest groups can be further classi ed into

A. Institutional interest groups: formally organised which consists of professionally
employed persons. Eg. West Bengal Civil Services Association
B. Associational interest groups: organised specialised groups formed for interest
articulation, but to pursue limited goals. These include trade unions, organisations
of businessmen and industrialists and civic groups. eg. Bengal chamber of
commerce and i
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 C. Anomic interest groups: These are the groups that have analogy with individual
self- representation. In such type of groups, perpetual in ltrations such as riots,
demonstrations are observed. Their activities may either be constitutional or
unconstitutional.
D. Non associational interest groups: kinship or lineage groups and ethnic, status and
class groups that articulates interests on the basis of individuals, family and
religious heads.

Cause groups: based on shared attitudes or values, rather than the common interests of
its members.
- Seek to advance particular ideals or principles
- Membership open to all
- Motivated by moral or altruistic concerns
Eg. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan for promotion of transparency in governance

2. Insiders and outsiders

Insider groups: consulted by the govt on regular basis. May sit on government policy
committees and agencies. Eg, CII, National advisory council

Outsider groups: not closely involved with govt. exert pressure indirectly via mass media
or through public opinion campaigns

Role of pressure groups

1. Representation: provides a mouthpiece for groups and interests that are not
adequately addressed through electoral processes.
2. Political participation: Pressure groups have become an increasingly important agent
of political participation. In UK, 40–50 per cent citizens belong to at least one
voluntary association, and a large minority (20 per cent) belong to two or more.
3. Education: they often devote signi cant resources to carry out research, maintaining
websites and raising political consciousness among people. Eg. myneta.info by
association for democratic reforms displaying background information on legislatures.
4. Policy formulation: pressure groups are vital source of information and advice to the
governments. Many groups, are therefore consulted in process of policy formulation.
Eg. Observer research foundation for foreign policy issues.
5. Policy implementation: The role of some pressure groups extends beyond trying to
shape the content of public policy to playing a role in putting the policy into practice.

Pressure groups and political parties:

Greatly resemble each other. Both are channels through which public can communicate
with the government. However they have signi cant di erences:
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 How pressure groups exert in uence

1. Ministers and civil servants: Many groups aspire to get in touch with senior civil
servants and ministers to get some sort of in uence over the policies while they are
being implemented.
2. Parliament: Although less can be achieved by in uencing parliament, changes can
nevertheless be made to details of legislation or pro le of a political issue. This
happens through private members bills and parliamentary questions.
3. Political parties: The most obvious way in which groups in uence parties is through
funding and donations. In uencing party policy can lead to in uence on government
policy.
4. Public opinion: purpose is to in uence government indirectly by pushing issues up the
political agenda and demonstrating both the strength of commitment and the level of
public support for a particular cause.
5. Direct action: Direct action as a political strategy overlaps with some forms of public-
opinion campaigning. Strikes, blockades, boycotts and sit-ins are all examples of
direct action. Direct action may be violent or non-violent. A non violent example is
protests organised at Ramleela Maidan by India Against Corruption (IAC).

Techniques used by pressure groups

1. Electioneering: Placing in public o ce persons who are favorably disposed towards the
interests the concerned pressure group seeks to promote.
2. Lobbying: Persuading public o cers, whether they are initially favorably disposed
towards them or not, to adopt and enforce the policies that they think will prove most
bene cial to their interests.
3. Propagandizing: In uencing public opinion and thereby gaining an indirect in uence
over government

Pressure groups and lobbying

Lobbying takes place when a few members of the pressure groups loiter in the lobbies of
legislatures/public o ces with a view to securing an opportunity to interact with them and
to in uence their decision. Lobbyists are representatives of particular interest groups.

Global experience with lobbying:

- integral part of democratic functioning that allows individuals and groups to legitimately
in uence decisions that a ect them. No country has banned lobbying.
- Few countries even regulate the activity. Eg, US, Canada

Lobbying in India
- no regulating process
- Often equated with corruption

Views in favour of lobbying

1. Proponents of lobbying feel that it is inherent in any democracy to convince a policy

maker of a particular position.
2. Industry chambers such as FICCI and ASSOCHAM feel that business groups should
be entitled to voice their concerns related to a particular policy matter with the
government if they feel their interests may be jeopardised.
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3. It is argued that making lobbying and advocacy legal would lead to a clean way of
approaching the policymakers and lawmakers if they have any legitimate and genuine
interests.
4. It is not lobbying that is the problem, but the lack of transparency, lack of
comprehensive regulations and lack of mechanisms to monitor the activities of the
powerful that is at the root of the problem.

View against lobbying

1. Critics argue that corporates or people with mighty socioeconomic power, by

themselves or through their industry bodies, corrupt the laws to serve a self-serving
agenda by bending or de ecting them away from general fairness to majority of the
population.
2. Wile the common man has to wait for hours or days to meet his MP/MLA,
businessmen with extensive powers can indulge in lobbying and get things done.
3. Lobbying is a dirty word in India, one reason being that the lobbying activities were
repeatedly identi ed in the corruption cases.
Eg. leaked audio transcripts of conversations of an in uential Indian lobbyist, Nira
Radia

Way forward

Regulating lobbying may be the right way to go ahead, as done in developed nations.
India needs to determine a regulatory model that suits its socio-political needs.
Furthermore, it should tread a ne line while drafting the disclosure requirements. Very
high disclosure requirements could drive lobbyists underground while very low penalties
may not act as su cient deterrent for law-breakers.

Are pressure groups becoming more powerful

Those who argue that pressure groups have become more powerful usually draw
attention to one of three developments:

1. The growth of cause groups: in terms of political participation, groups certainly appear
to be becoming more important. This is best demonstrated by growth of cause
groups. Reasons for increase in number of groups are:
1. Increased leisure time: both in terms of shorter working week and early retirements
2. Higher educational standards
3. Change in gender roles: removed barriers to participation by women
4. Membership of political parties has declined: cause o ering a more promising
route for bringing political change
2. The widening of access points through devolution: new pressure points have emerged
in politics through:
1. Devolution at grassroot level- 73/74th Amendment act.
2. Passage of Protection of human rights act, 1993: this has increased activities
related to human rights
3. Globalisation: owing to globalisation business groups have become more powerful.
Globalisation has also aided emergence of NGOs such as world development
movement as major actors on global stage.

Decline of pressure groups

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However, not everyone believes that pressure groups have become more important.
Some even talk in terms of the decline in pressure-group power in recent years.

1. The end of corporatism: for some the high point of pressure group in uence was
1970s, also called the period of tripartite government or corporatism.
However, corporatism was dismantled in the 1980s and it has never been re-
established.
2. A decline in meaningful and active participation: while group membership may have
increased, these members have become increasingly passive.

Pressure groups and Democracy

How pressure groups promote democracy?

1. Supplement electoral democracy: Pressure groups may either supplement electoral

democracy (making up for its defects and limitations) or they may replace political
parties as the main way in which people express their views and interests:
A. Pressure groups keep government in touch with public opinion in-between
elections. Eg. IAC’s anti corruption movement was one such example where
pressure groups made the government aware of rising sentiment in general public
against corruption.
B. Pressure groups give a political voice to minority groups: eg. SEWA, NCW have
campaigned for women-friendly laws such as the Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
2. Widen political participation: Pressure groups have become increasingly e ective
agents of political participation. decentralized organization of many campaigning
groups have proved to be attractive to many young people and those who may be
disillusioned with conventional politics.
3. Ensure competition and debate: pressure groups compete against one another. This
ensures that no group or interest can remain dominant permanently.
4. Promote education: Pressure groups promote political debates, discussions and
arguments. In so doing, they create a better-informed and more educated electorate.

How pressure groups threaten democracy

1. Increase political inequality: central argument against pluralist image of group politics
is that, far from dispersing power more widely and empowering ordinary citizens,
pressure groups tend to empower the already powerful.
2. Exert behind the scene in uence: not subject to scrutiny and public accountability
Insider links between groups and the executive bypass Parliament, rendering
elected MPs impotent.
3. Exercise non legitimate power: Pressure groups are therefore not publicly
accountable, meaning that the in uence they exert is not democratically legitimate.
This is compounded by the fact that very few pressure groups operate on the basis
of internal democracy.
4. Lead to the tyranny of minority: Minority views or ‘special’ interests may prevail at the
expense of the interests of the majority or the larger public.

Capacity of pressure groups is determined by

1. Leadership: one of the Essential requirements of pressure groups, as it has prime
responsibility to protect the interests of the group. The leadership should regularly
communicate to the political parties, policy-making agencies and the public.
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 2. Mass media: mass media is gaining increasing importance as it shapes the public
opinions through debates and communications. The political parties and policy-
making agencies are sometimes kept on tenterhooks by the media.
3. Organisational abilities: There is a need for an extensive organisational network for
building capacity of pressure groups, especially in a country like India with its size and
magnitude.
4. Economic power base: From nancing the elections and party funds to carrying
propaganda, the economic power of the group plays an important role. Due to their
economic might, the industrial and trading houses in India have been far more
in uential and powerful than the farmer’s associations, despite farmers being spread
all over the country.
5. Mobilization Techniques: The pressure groups not only create public opinion but
sometimes draw the general masses into agitational and protest politics. eg. If they
want to set an industry in a particular area, they create necessary climate and make
people of the area demand for the industry.

Limitations of pressure groups

1. Focus of pressure groups: in India groups focus on in uencing administrative process

rather than the formulation of policy. This is a dangerous gap created between policy
formulation and implementation.
2. Issues raised by pressure groups: Many a time issues dominated by caste and religion
eclipse those related to socio-economic interests. The result is that they are reduced
to work for narrow sel sh interests.
3. Lack of resources: Many of the groups have a very short life because of the lack of
resources.
4. Serving political interests: In a country like India, the tendency to politicise every issue
whether it has social, economic or cultural dimensions restricts the scope and
e ectiveness of a pressure group.
5. Low level of internal democracy: Pressure groups have a low level of internal
democracy, creating the possibility that they express the views of their leaders and
not their members.

Comparison of Indian and Western Pressure Groups

1. Signi cance of pressure groups: The American pressure groups are regarded as the
fourth organ of the government but the Indian pressure groups are not yet able to play
such signi cant role in politics.
2. Targets of pressure groups: While in India and Britain they target cabinet and civil
service, targets of American pressure groups are congress and it’s committees.
3. Themes or issues raised: Indian pressure groups based on caste, religion, region, etc.
are more powerful than the modern groups such as business organisations.
4. Foreign policy: a signi cant feature of American pressure groups is that they take
active interest in foreign policy formulation, which is not the case with India. Pressure
groups of India focus more domestic issues.

The society has become highly complex and individuals cannot pursue their interests on
their own. They need the support of other fellow beings in order to gain greater bargaining
power. This gives rise to pressure groups based on common interests.
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Democratic politics has to be politics through consultation and negotiation and some
amount of bargaining is also involved as well. Thus, it is very essential for the government
to consult these organised groups at the time of policy formulation and implementation.
 DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES AND THE DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY -
THE ROLE OF NGOS, SHGS, VARIOUS GROUPS AND ASSOCIATIONS,
DONORS, CHARITIES, INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS

What is development and developmental process?

In simple terms, Development is ‘bringing about social change that allows people to
achieve their human potential’.
Development consists of the removal of various types of unfreedoms that leave people
with little choice and little opportunity of exercising their reasoned agency.

Dimensions of development

1. Development as a political process: it is regarded as something done by agency (state

or development organization) for others (such as farmers in a developing country).
2. Human development: Advocated by Amartya Sen. De nes development with a human
rights centric approach. Focus on the well being of those at the bottom, not on the
e ciency of those on top.
3. Sustainable development: meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs. To achieve it, UN has
established Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a wide rangin
4. Economic development: Economic development is the process by which a nation
improves theeconomic, political, and social well-being of its people.
5. Social development: Social development means investing in people. It requires the
removal of barriers so that all citizens can journey toward their dreams with
con dence and dignity.

Civil Society

According to the World Bank, Civil Society refers to refers to a wide array of
organizations, community groups, Non-governmental organizations [NGOs], labour
unions, indigenous groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations,
professional associations and foundations.

Civil society plays a crucial role in good governance:

1. Watchdog: against the violation of human rights and governing de ciencies.
2. Advocate: of weaker section’s point of view
3. Agitator: on behalf of aggrieved citizens
4. Educator: of citizen on their rights, entitlements, and responsibilities
5. Service providers: to areas and people not reached by o cial e orts
6. Mobilisers: of public opinions for or against a programme or policy

Non Governmental organisations (NGOs)

A Non-governmental organization (NGO) is a non-pro t group that functions

independently of any government. Civil Society, when organized in structure and
specialized in function, takes the form of NGOs.

Evolution of NGOs in India

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 Pre Social Welfare, constructive work, in line with independence
independence movement

1950-1970 Social welfare, Govt funded NGOs like Khadi Industries, most of
the development plans were rested with NGOs

1970-1990 NGOs stated highlighting why govt programmes were not yielding
positive results for the poor and marginalised, covered vast
programmes like education, health, drinking water, sanitation

1990-2005 GO-NGO partnership get a boost in this period, more focus on

SHGs, micro credit and livelihood

Constitutional provisions for NGOs

1. Article 19(1)(c) on the right to form associations

2. Article 43 which highlights the State’s having an endeavour to promote cooperatives
in rural areas;
3. Concurrent list in entry 28 mentions about charities and charitable institutions
4. Part IX B about cooperative societies
5. State list- entry 32

Role of NGOs in Development

1. Work wheee the state is unwilling to work: eg, caste is an issue no government wants
to ddle with. Persistence of caste hierarchy suits the vote banks for the politicians. In
this scenario NGOs usually take up the cause of those being discriminated against
2. Work where state resources are inadequate: two such areas are education and
healthcare. Eg. The mammoth NGO called Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad is largely
credited for the hundred percent literacy rate in that state.
3. Implementation of welfare schemes: due to their proximity to general public, they
work as interface between government and the end users.
4. Fighting social evils: It is due to the e orts of NGOs that the government has banned
sex determination of foetus as it leads to evils like abortion of female fetus.
5. Right to Shelter: NGOs such as YUVA and SPARC in cities like Mumbai have
repeatedly opposed the demolition of hutments even as they try to improve the quality
of life in the sprawling slum clusters
6. Right to Information: It is because of the e orts of NGOs that RTI has become reality
in India.
7. Tribal rights: As witnessed in the Vedanta vs. Posco case, NGOs have raised voice
against the discrimination of tribal by the multinationals
8. Community development: At the community level, they are in the front line in providing
assistance in the acquisition of basic needs and amenities; in identifying issues,
raising awareness, and in articulating the communities’ problems.

Role of NGOs in protection of Environment

1. plug gaps by conducting research to facilitate policy development, building
institutional capacity, and facilitating independent dialogue with civil society to help
people live more sustainable lifestyles.
2. NGOs carry out mass awareness campaigns, tree planting drives, promoting
ecologically sustainable practices for waste removal like vermin-culture and
composting instead of dumping in land lls
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 3. Many NGOs specialize in data-driven support to government bodies, showing
quanti able proof that encroachment upon biodiversity and water bodies is
dangerous.
4. Globally, NGOs have the power to bring about global treaties, including reforms to
address regulation of hazardous wastes, bans on landmines, and control of
greenhouse gases and emissions. Eg. Centre for science and environment has been a
leading light on pollution.
5. Major campaigns by NGOs include
Climate change, protection of pristine forests, protection of marine life and
diversity

Challenges faced by the NGOs in India

1. Lack of funds: Government does not give cent percent grants in aid or make delay in
sanctions of grants for numerous programmes. NGOs have to make matching
contributions which they are sometimes unable to manage
2. Corruption and misuse of funds by NGOs
3. Inadequate trained personnel
4. Inequality in rural areas: the backwardness and ignorance of rural people and lack of
enthusiasm among social workers to work among them are the two important reasons
for the backwardness of NGOs
5. Lack of volunteerism among youth: The extent of volunteerism is declining day by day
and turning it into professionalization. Even the young graduates from social work are
interested in making their career in professionalism

Suggestions
1. Relaxing regulations: The rules and regulations of grants-in-aid should be liberalized
by the government and sanction more grants to NGOs.
2. Monitoring agency: At the same time, the government should appoint commissions of
enquiry or committees to cross check the misuse of funds by NGOs.
3. Increasing Awareness: Young graduates from universities, colleges and schools
should conduct the public seminars, meetings etc., and use the local media to
advertise the importance of volunteerism
4. Focusing on rural areas: in India, 65% of the population belongs to rural areas. NGOs,
therefore, need to operate in rural areas on a bigger scale to enlist the cooperation of
village people in making their lives better
5. Appreciate e orts of NGOs: government should recognise NGOs that have
maintained high quality of service by giving awards or with additional grants.
6. Technology intervention: The NGOs should use of latest technologies like internet,
websites etc., for raising of their funds, to have mutual associations, to advertise their
products
7. Incentives for personnel: The government should revise the pay-scales and
allowances to the personnel of NGOs. At the same time some special funds to be
allotted for the NGOs to train the personnel at the grass root level.

National policy on voluntary sector

National Policy on Voluntary Sector 2007 is a commitment to encourage, enable and

empower an independent, creative and e ective voluntary sector, so that it can contribute
to the social, cultural and economic advancement of the people of India.
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 1. It aims to strengthen, promote and develop Voluntary sector. VOs include community
based organisations (CBOs), NGOs, charitable organisations, support organisations and
professional associations.
2. To identify methods by which Government may work together with VOs, on the basis of
the principles of mutual trust and respect, and with shared responsibility.
3. It recognises the importance of independence of voluntary organisations, which allows
them to explore alternative models of development.
4. To enable VOs to mobilise nancial resources from India and abroad.
5. To encourage VOs to adopt transparent and accountable systems of governance and
management.
6. It highlights the need for Government to encourage all central and state Government
agencies to introduce pre-service and in-service training modules on constructive
relations with voluntary organisations.

Analysis
1. Most of the policies envisaged in the NPVS 2007 were not implemented. Though the
directions were framed after extensive consultations with multiple stakeholders.
2. The idea of a national accreditation agency for non-pro ts organization was proposed.
But nothing has been done in this regard.
3. The policy made a call for self-regulation, transparency and accountability by the
NGOs. But the recent SC judgments and IB reports suggest otherwise.
4. Also, the diverse character of a voluntary organization militates against a single
uniform regulatory authority.

Self Help Groups (SHGs)

A Self Help Group is de ned as a "self-governed, peer controlled information group of

people with similar socio-economic background and having a desire to collectively
perform common purpose."

Evolution of SHGs in India

1. SHG as an organized way for poverty eradication was immerged during the 7th Five
Year Plan (1985-90).
2. Formation of SHGs for savings and credit, and their linkage to commercial banks was
initiated in India by MYRADA (Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency), an
NGO, in the mid-1980s.
3. SHGs as a tool to address poverty became signi cant only when the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) issued a circular in 1992 to link about 500 groups under the NABARD-SHG
bank linkage pilot program.
4. The success of NGOs have lead to their mainstreaming in Financial landscape, with
about 94 million poor linked with banks through 7.5 million SHGs, availing them of
collateral free credit.

Bene ts of SHGs
1. Mobilises women from Rural areas: According to the estimates, about 46 million rural
poor women are mobilized through SHGs architecture. thus, they have been proved to
be an e ective vehicle in providing nancial services to unbanked rural women.
2. Socio economic bene ts: It includes economic self-independence, participation in
village a airs and awareness about education
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 3. Special focus: under NRLM, focus has been on women below poverty line. The
scheme has focused on their capacity building and institutionalisation of SHGs.
4. Improves the status of women in family and society: Regular process of group
meetings helps women build social capital which raises their status in the family and
the society.
5. Improves health and standard of living: A research has also shown that Women
practicing ‘participatory learning and action’ showed 49 % reduction in maternal
mortality and 33 % reduction in neonatal mortality.

Issues
1. Agricultural activities: most are associated with agricultural activities. Should be
introduced to non agricultural businesses too and should be provided with state of the
art machinery.
2. Lack of technology: most work with rudimentary or No technology.
3. Access of market: goods produced by SHGs do not have access to market.
4. Poor infra: Most of these SHGs are situated in rural and far reach areas that lack
connectivity via road or railways. Access to electricity remains an issue.
5. Lack of training and capacity building: Most of the SHGs work on their own without
outreach from the state for skill development and capacity building.
6. Politicization: Political a liation and interference has become a serious problem with
SHGs. Political a liation is also a major reason for group con icts.
7. Credit mobilisation: A study has shown that about 48% of the members had to
borrow from local money lenders, relatives and neighbors because they were getting
inadequate loan from groups.
8. System of monitoring: The general reports on the progress of SHGs show statistics of
growth and spread of SHGs without questioning the process and internal health of the
SHGs.
9. Livelihood promotion: There is need to evolve a methodology for promoting micro
enterprises among SHG members that can be replicated on a large scale.

Socio cultural hurdles in penetration of SHGs in rural areas

There has been uneven distribution in the spread of SHGs in India. Socio cultural factors
along with government support have been major reasons for that.

1. poor performing states wrt NGOs are also those states which have high incidence of
poverty like UP and Bihar.
2. These are also the states where society is deeply entrenched in patriarchy with limited
nancial and social role for women.
3. spirit of entrepreneurship is discouraged in a feudal society. The traditional society
dictate strict role for male and female members with little scope for independent
decision making and economic freedom.
4. One of the major hurdles in lack of support from family members.
5. There is no stability of the units as many married women are not in a position to
associate with the group due to the shift of their place of residence.
6. In many SHGs strong members try to earn a major share of the pro t of the group, by
exploiting the ignorance and illiterate members.

Measures taken by government to promote SHGs

1. Self help group- Bank linkage programme: started at the initiative of NABARD in 1992
to link the unorganised sector with formal banking sector.
2. Priority sector lending: GOI has included SHG as a priority sector to mandate and
enhance bank focus on them.
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3. Grain banks: SHG, have been allowed to run grain banks to secure the food security
in food & care regions.
4. Priyadarshini scheme, with NABARD as the nodal agency, has aimed at women
empowerment and livelihood enhancement through SHGs.
5. Deendayal Antodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM): seeks
to alleviate rural poverty through building sustainable community institutions of the
poor. Works closely with banks to provide credit to SHGs.

Suggestions
1. integrated approach is required for meeting overall credit needs of a poor family in
terms of backward linkages with technology and forward linkages with processing
and marketing organizations.
2. Credit needs to be provided for diversi ed activities for diversi ed activities apart from
agriculture
3. The delivery system has to be proactive and should respond to the nancial needs of
the farmers.
4. Training programmes relating to management of nances, maintaining accounts,
production and marketing activities etc. should be given.
5. Provide gender sensitization training to bank sta so that they are sensitized to the
needs of rural clients especially women.
6. Adequate insurance coverage should be provided to the business units promoted by
SHG against the nancial losses to safeguard the interest of the entrepreneurs.

Foreign funding and NGOs

Regulated by Foreign contributions (Regulation) Act, 2010.

FCRA, 2010
Replaced FCRA, 1976

1. Lists a number of organisations and individuals that are prohibited from accepting
foreign contributions
2. Act requires all persons to register under FCRA to accept foreign contributions
3. Organisations must renew FCRA certi cation every ve years
4. prevents use of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activity detrimental to
the national interest.
5. Every bank shall report to such authority, as may be prescribed, the amount of foreign
remittance received, sources and manner and other particulars.

Amendment 2020
1. Lists a number of organisations and individuals that are prohibited from accepting
foreign contributions
2. Transfer of foreign contributions: foreign contributions cannot be transferred to any
other person unless such person is registered to accept foreign contribution
3. Aadhar for registration: required for all o ce bearers
4. FCRA account: foreign contributions must be received only in an account designated
by the bank as “FCRA account” in such branch of the State Bank of India, New Delhi.
5. Reduction in use of foreign contribution for administrative purposes: reduces from
50% to 20% of total contributions
6. Renewal of license: Under the Act, every person who has been given a certi cate of
registration must renew the certi cate within six months of expiration.
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 Signi cance
1. Prevent misuse: while the foreign ow has almost doubled between 2010 and 2019,
the funds have not been utilised the funds for purpose
2. Strengthen national security: Many persons werenot adhering to statutory
compliances such as submission of annual returns and maintenance of proper
accounts. Such a situation could have adversely a ected the internal security of the
country
3. Transparency and accountability: in the receipt and utilisation of foreign contributions

Criticism
1. Increased bureaucratic discretion
1.1Greater Scrutiny by Government
A. Identi cation requirements: Aadhar has been made mandatory for all o ce bearers
B. Renewal of License: for renewal of licenses an inquiry needs to be conducted to
ascertain misutilisation of funds
C. Government can preclude receipt and utilisation of foreign contributions if the
recipient is found guilty of violating any provisions of the Act
1.2 Suppression of freedom of speech and expression: such stipulations risk
misusing law to silence the political, economic and cultural priorities other than
those of the government.
2. Increased compliance burden
1. Lack of clarity on law’s applicability
2. Tracking of funds: funds will be received in single FCRA bank account. Migration
of all accounts will create more hurdles and paperwork by NGOs
3. Limit on expenses: 20% ceiling limits investments in personnel, travel, technology
and nancial services.

Foreign Aid from India

Development Aid to foreign countries not only serves economic objectives but also as a
strategic tool.
1. India wants to project itself as a major economic power, and claimant to permanent
membership of UNSC.
2. Neighbourhood rst policy
3. Ethnic issues: In Sri Lanka, India is undertaking the construction of houses for
rehabilitation of Tamil population displaced by nearly three decades long war
4. Soft power: India o er aid to extend the reach of its soft power.
5. Another major reason is to counter the in uence of China in India’s neighborhood.

Micro nance institutions

Micro nance, also called microcredit, is a type of banking service that is provided to
unemployed or low-income individuals or groups who otherwise would have no other
access to nancial services.

Role of MFIs in Development

1. Women empowerment: By o ering nancial services to the poor unprivileged women
of the country, the institutions have opened a door for their economic growth.
2. Rural development: MFIs enhance credit to poor even in the absence of formal
mortgage.
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 3. Financing the un nanced: focus on understanding the need of the poor, and on
devising better ways of delivering services in line with their requirements
4. The World Bank estimates that more than 500 million people have directly or indirectly
bene ted from micro nance-related operations.
5. Empowering women in particular may lead to more stability and prosperity for families
and subsequently in the society.

Issues related to MFIs

1. High rates of interest: MFIs’ charge a very high rate of interest (12-30%) as compared
to commercial banks (8-12%).
2. Over-dependence on banking sector: Around 80% of their funds come from banks.
Most of these are private banks charge a high rate of interest.
3. Lack of awareness of nancial services: Financial literacy is very low in India. About
76% of the population do not understand basic nancial concepts. MFIs struggle to
make their business more nancially viable due to this lack of awareness
4. Regulatory issues: RBI is the regulator of MFIs. But the needs and autonomy of MFIs
is supremely di erent from that of banks,
5. Appropriate model: most MFIs follow SHG model, however most of time model
selection is not scienti c in nature. This a ects sustainability in the long run.

Suggestions to improve
1. Supervision: There is need for eld supervision of MFIs to check ground realities and
the operational e ciency of such institutions.
2. Incentivizing rural penetration: Incentives should be o ered to MFIs for opening
branches in unbanked villages, so as to increase rural penetration.
3. Improving services: MFIs be encouraged to o er complete range of products to their
clients. Transparent pricing and technology implementation to maintain uniformity and
e ciency are among the others which these institutions should adopt.
4. Fund availability: in the face of paucity of funds, alternative sources can be used.
These include equity investment, portfolio buyouts and securitization of loans.
5. Information and technology: It can induce massive impact on the state of credit
market accessibility which remains the most signi cant issue when it comes to
availability of formal loans at market price.
6. Separate regulatory authority: smooth functioning can be enabled through setting up
regulatory authority.
7. Strengthening the credit check and debt collection processes and educating the
villagers about products and consequences is important.

Trade unions in India

Trade Union means a combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for
the purpose of regulating relations between workmen and employers

Issues faced by trade unions in India

1. Lack of balanced growth: Trade unions are often associated with big industrial
houses. A vast majority of the working population is without any union backing. The
entire agricultural sector is highly unorganized in India.
2. Low membership and poor nancial position: Many employees are not willing to join
unions because of fear of pay cut and fear of punishment
3. Political control: Most popular trade unions in India are a liated to certain political
parties. These political parties are only keen on making every grievance of the working
class a political issue to attain political gains
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4. Multiplicity of unions: often more: there exists more than one union within the same
industry each backed by a political party.
5. Inter union rivalry: owing to the existence of many unions within the same industry.
These union have con icting ideologies, which complicate rather than solving the
problems of workers.
6. Lack of recognition and opposition from employers: most employers do not let their
employees form a union. Some employers also start rival unions with the support of
certain employees.
7. Lack of able leaders and indi erent attitude of the members: members do not even
make a prompt payment of the subscription amount.
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 IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF GOVERNANCE

Good governance

Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented,

accountable, transparent, responsive, e ective and e cient, equitable and inclusive and
follows the rule of law.

Strategies for good governance

1. Reorienting priorities of the state through appropriate investment in human needs
2. Provision of social safety nets for the poor and marginalized
3. Strengthening state institutions
4. Introducing appropriate reforms in the functioning of Parliament and increasing its
e ectiveness
5. Enhancing Civil Services capacity through appropriate reform measures that matches
performance and accountability
6. Forging new alliances with civil society

Dimensions of governance in India

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 Governance issues in India:

• Political Issues:
o Criminalisation of Politics
o Misuse of political power
o Decentralization more in letter, less in spirit

• Legal and Judicial issues

o Delayed justice, issue of under trials
o Lack of accountability in Judiciary
o Threat to life and personal security

• Administrative issues
o Lack of sensitivity, transparency and accountability in the working of State machinery o
BureaucraticDelays
o Resistance to changes which promote transparency and accountability
o Corruption

• Economic issues
o Poor management of economy
o Persisting scal imbalances
o Regional disparities

• Social and Environmental issues

o Denial of basic services to a substantial proportion of the population
o Marginalisation and exclusion of people on account of social, religious, caste and
gender a liation
o Existence of a signi cant number of voiceless poor with little opportunity for
participation in governance; and
o Deterioration of physical environment, particularly in urban areas.
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 Good governance initiatives in India

1. Decentralisation: 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment

2. Citizen charters
3. Sevottam model
4. E governance and use of ICT tools
5. Right to information
6. Social audits

Minimum government, maximum governance

1. It means a citizen friendly and accountable administration.

2. Includes Simpli cation of procedures, identi cation and repeal of archaic laws,
leveraging technology to bring in transparency in public interface and a robust public
grievance mechanism
3. E orts undertaken
A. Digital India campaign
B. Focus on Ease of doing business: emphasis on simpli cation of procedures
C. mygov@nic.in and india.gITov.info are two citizen centric platforms to empower
people to connect with the Government and contribute towards good governance.

Citizen Charter

According to 2nd ARC, Citizen Charter is public statement that de nes the entitlements of
citizens to a speci c service, the standards of the service, the conditions to be met by
users, and the remedies available to the latter in case of non-compliance of standards.

Department of administrative reforms and public grievances set out a series of guidelines
towards formulation of e ective charters:
1. To be useful, the Charter must be simple
2. must be framed not only by senior experts, but by interaction with the cutting edge
sta who will nally implement it and with the users
3. Mere announcing of charter not enough, It is important to create conditions through
interaction and training for generating a responsive climate
4. A mention is made against each service about the entitlement of the user, service
standards and remedies available to the user in case of non-adherence to standards;

Principles of charter:
Quality: improving the quality of services, choice: wherever possible, standards:
specifying what to expect, accountability, transparency

Signi cance
1. It makes a public institution transparent and accountable.
2. It can be an e ective tool to engage the civil society and to curb corruption.
3. It aims at enhancing standards of service delivery.
4. It makes government more responsive.
5. It enhances people participation in governance process and the credibility of the
government.

Issues with citizen charters in India

1. Absence of legal backing: therefore non justiciable
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 2. Poor design and content: critical information that is needed to hold agencies
accountable are missing in charters
3. Lack of consultation: with the end users and NGOs
4. Inadequate groundwork: Non-familiarity of the service providers with the philosophy,
goals and main features of charters.
5. Resistance to change: Vested interests work for stalling the Citizens’ Charter
altogether or in making it toothless.
6. Lack of review: The review and updation exercise of charters have been very poor.

Recommendations of 2nd ARC

1. Internal restructuring should precede Charter formulation
2. One size does not t all - Therefore formulation of Citizens’ Charters should be a
decentralized activity with the head o ce providing broad guidelines.
3. Wide consultation process: should be formulated after extensive consultations within
the organisation followed by a meaningful dialogue with civil society
4. Redressal mechanism in case of default: it should clearly lay down the relief which will
be provided if the organisation has defaulted on the service delivery
5. Periodic evaluation of Citizens’ Charters preferably through an external agency.
6. Benchmarking using end user feedback: end-user feedback can be a timely aid to
assess the progress and outcomes of an agency that has implemented a Citizens’
Charter
7. Hold o cers accountable for results

Sevottam model

The model provides framework for organisations to assess and improve the quality of
service delivery to citizens. This model was suggested by 2nd ARC in 12th report on
citizen centric administration.

Three modules ( ie three components)

1. Citizen charter: implementation of citizen charter thereby opening channel for
receiving citizens inputs
2. Public grievance redressal mechanism: that leaves the citizens more satis ed with
how the organisation responds to grievances
3. Service delivery capability: organization can have an excellent performance in service
delivery only if it is managing the key ingredients for good service delivery well, and
building its own capacity to continuously improve delivery.

Signi cance of the model

1. It is a Quality Management framework applicable to the activities of public service
delivery organizations at the point of interface with service recipients.
2. The framework is a tool in the hands of implementing organizations.
3. It guides them through systematic initiatives for sustainable improvements in service
delivery
4. Enables organisations to undertake a systematic, credible and authenticated self
assessment
5. Using this analysis, practical solutions are gradually and systematically incorporated
into the organisation’s day-to-day routine

Social audit
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 Social audit is a process in which details of resources used by public agency for
development initiatives are shared with people often through public platforms, which
allows end users to scrutinise the impact of developmental programs.

Principles of social audit

1. Multi-Perspective/Polyvocal: Re ect the views of all the stakeholders.
2. Comprehensive: Report on all aspects of the organisation's work and performance.
3. Participatory: Encourage participation of stakeholders and sharing of their values.
4. Multidirectional: Stakeholders share and give feedback on multiple aspects.
5. Regular: produce social accounts on regular basis
6. Comparative: provides a means whereby organisation can compare its performance
against benchmarks

Signi cance
1. Enhances reputation: Social Auditing helps the legislature and executive in identifying
the problem areas and provides an opportunity to take a proactive stance and create
solutions.
2. Alerts policy makers to stakeholder trends
3. A ects positive organisational change: with strong emphasis on openness and
accountability for government departments.
4. Assists in re orienting and re focusing priorities: in tune with the people’s expectations
5. Provides increased con dence in social areas: can enable departments/ institutions to
act with greater con dence in social areas that have been neglected in the past or
have been given a lower priority.

Limitations of social audit

1. The scope of social audits is highly localised and covers only certain selected
aspects.
2. Social audits are often sporadic and ad hoc.
3. Monitoring is informal and unprocessed.
4. Individual programs present their own unique challenges. For example literacy
program for adults require data on migration.
5. Absence of trained auditors
6. Lack of action on audit reports and ndings.

Way forward
1. investment in education and awareness of Public/ Gram Sabha members is required.
2. Support may be provided to committed and competent NGOs to play the catalytic
role including conducting Social Audit.
3. Media need be more Rural and Development focussed
4. Recognise and Reward the members who have contributed to the process of
strengthening Demand System and improved service delivery
5. Promoting proactive disclosure of information to facilitate social audits.

E Governance

According to the World Bank, “E-Governance refers to the use by government agencies
of information technologies that have the ability to transform relations with citizens,
businesses, and other arms of government”.

Potential
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1. Fast, convenient and cost e ective service delivery
2. Transparency, accountability and reduced corruption: An increased use of computers
and web based services improves the awareness levels of citizens about their rights
and powers.
3. Expanded reach of governance
4. Empowering people through information: With easy access to the government
services, the faith of the citizens in the government increases and they come forward
to share their views and feedback
5. Improve interface with businesses and industry: E-governance aims to expedite the
various processes important for industrial development.

E governance initiatives in India

1. National e-Governance action plan (NeGP)

2. e-Kranti (Electronic service delivery)
3. Computerisation of Land Records (Department of Land Resources): A pilot project on
computerization of Land Records, which was 100% centrally-sponsored started
in1994-95 onwards
4. Bhoomi project in Karnataka: Bhoomi is a self- sustainable e-Governance project for
the computerized delivery of 20 million rural land records to 6.7 million farmers.
5. Lokwani in UP: Its objective is to provide a single window, self- sustainable-
Governance solution with regard to handling of grievances, land record maintenance
and providing a mixture of essential services.
6. Digi locker system: serves as a platform to enable citizens to securely store and share
their documents with service providers who can directly access them electronically.
7. e-Procurement Project in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat: To reduce the time and eet
and cost of doing business

Challenges:

1. Environmental and social challenges

1. Non local language: most applications in English
2. Low IT literacy
3. User friendliness of government websites: Users of e-Governance applications are
often non-expert users who may not be able to use the applications in a right
manner.
4. Digital divide
2. Economic challenges
1. Cost: in developing countries like India, cost is one of the most important obstacle
in implementation.
2. Applications must be transferable from one platform to another: ie must be
independent from hardware or software platforms
3. Technical challenges
1. Interoperability: it is the ability of the systems of di erent qualities to work together.
E governance applications must have this characteristic so that newly developed
applications can be implemented together.
2. Multimodal interaction: An e-Government application can be really e ective if its
users can access it using di erent devices.
3. Privacy and security: of the personal data that individuals share with govt
4. Connectivity to backward areas
5. Lack of Human Resources: for developing state of the art applications
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Recommendations of 2nd ARC
1. Building a congenial environment:
1. Creating and displaying a will to change within the government
2. Providing political support at the highest level
3. Incentivising e-Governance
4. Creating awareness in the public with a view to generating a demand for change
2. Business process re engineering: government processes should be re designed to
make them adaptable to E governance
3. Capacity building: skill upgradation of individual associated with implementation of E
governance projects
4. Monitoring and evaluation: It should be done in the manner in which project
monitoring is done for large infrastructure projects.
5. Public private partnerships: Several components of e-Governance projects lend
themselves to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. In all such cases (PPP)
should be the preferred mode.
6. Protecting critical infra: there is need to develop critical infra assets protection
strategy.
7. Mission mode project on computerisation of land records: this should be
accompanied by analysis of existing mechanism for updating land records- which
vary across the states- to be supplanted by an improved mechanism.
8. Legal framework for e governance: a clear road map with set of milestones should be
outlined by government of a India
 ROLE OF CIVIL SERVICES IN A DEMOCRACY

Role of civil services in governance

1. Policy making and implementation

- engage in collection of data for aiding policy formulation
- They are privy to various problems and issues facing the country
- By implementing laws they regulate the behaviour of the people in the society
2. Basis of government
All nations irrespective of system of government require some sort of
administrative machinery.
3. Providing services to people
- Protect life and property by maintaining law and order
- In recent times, protection of environment has been added as a function
- Management of public enterprises
- Welfare services: eg. services during COVID pandemic
4. Maintenance of continuity in administration: during the transfer of power
5. Other functions
- assisting ministers in ful lling their responsibilities
- Handling nancial operations of state
- Performing role of administrative adjudication in administrative tribunals

Importance of civil services in modern day democracy

1. Scienti c and technological development: have led to revolutionary changes in
transportation and communication systems. The invention of telephone, railways have
made large scale administration possible.
2. Industrial Revolution: It led to the growth of large-scale industries and factory
production, over-crowded industrial towns and urban slums.In the interest of Socio
economic justice civil services have to take responsibilities to set right the bad e ects
of above evils.
3. Economic planning: Modern governments which resorted to planning as a method of
achieving economic development widened the scope of public administration for plan
formulation and implementation.
4. Calamities and crisis: crisis management during occurrence of natural or man made
disasters is an important function of public administration.
5. Population and problems of metropolitan cities: peculiar problems owing to the
increase in population include congestion, growth of slums, housing scarcity,
insu cient water supply, increasing urban crime rate. Tackling these issues has
increased sphere of activity of civil service.
6. Emergence of welfare state: as a welfare state, governments have to perform
functions such as dispenser of social services, a provider of essential commodities.
This has naturally increased the importance of public services.

Crucial role in developing countries

1. Setting right developmental goals and priorities in areas of education, health,
communications etc.
2. Formulation and implementation of strategies and programmes for the development
and modernisation of the nation. E.g. Formulation of plans at district, state and
national levels.
3. To develop agriculture, civil servants have to properly manage community resources
such as land, water resources, forests, wetlands and wasteland development. Eg. E.g.
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 the District Collector of Dewas, Umakant Umrao helped the farmers in Madhya
Pradesh to ght against drought by constructing over 16,000 ponds.
4. To facilitate industrial development, infrastructural facilities such as roads, electricity,
communications, market centres etc. have to be provided. Eg. E.g. IAS o cer Ritu
Maheshwari, installed new electricity smart meters to tackle the prevalent electricity
theft in Kanpur.
5. Securing the support of the people for developmental activities by involving them in
the process of development. Eg. E.g. IAS O cer, Smita Sabharwal, popularly known
as 'the people's o cer', launched a campaign called “Fund Your City” in Warangal.
She appealed to residents to help her build the infrastructure of Naxal-a ected areas,
which resulted in the construction of tra c junctions and foot over-bridges.

Some other examples:

An Indian forest service o cer, Anshu Pragyan Das worked to develop Muduligadia into
rst village in Orissa to attain self sustainability with zero waste and 100% Eco friendly
initiatives of livelihood.

An Indian police service o cer, Arif Shaikh, started initiative called Chuppi Tod Campaign
during COVID lockdown to help those women who were su ering from abuse at home.
Under this a WhatsApp number was rolled for lodging complaints with police and seek
help.

Relationship between civil services and democracy

Their relationship is both paradoxical and complementary.

How are they paradoxical?

1. While civil services is considered as being legalistic and largely indi erent to the
wishes and demands of individual citizens, democratic institutions are assumed to be
responsible to the wishes of the public.
2. While the civil services tend to be associated with hierarchical and even authoritarian
forms of governing with a conservative outlook, democracy is associated with
participation, consensus making and an accommodative outlook.
3. Democracy in theory demands a principle of change, whereas the civil services in
theory demands principles of consistency and regularity

How are they complimentary

1. The civil services are required to minimize the arbitrary actions in which governments
might otherwise be tempted to engage for their vote banks.
2. The responsiveness of democratic governing must be balanced with the predictability
and impartiality, which assumed to exist within bureaucratic institutions.
3. Lastly, the emphasis on e ciency and use of market in public service delivery
underlines the extent to which the values of formalized bureaucracy may be important
for the e ective functioning of a democracy.

Minister and civil servant relationship

Areas of Con icts:
1. Violation of neutrality principle: Many civil servants are a liated to one or other
political party
2. Advisory role of civil servants in policy making: civil servants have to make trade o s
between long term social payo s versus short term political gain for political
executive.
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 3. Interference in the statutory role of civil servants: senior functionaries, both in civil
service as well as elected representatives put pressure on civil servants which leads
to friction between them.
4. Principle of subsidiarity is not followed: by this principle power should be delegated,
but due to ministerial responsibility there is a tendency in the government
departments to centralise authority.
5. Appointments/ transfers: arbitrary and questionable methods of appointments,
promotions and transfers of o cer leads to corrosion of moral basis of independence
of civil servants.

Key recommendations of di erent commission:

1. All major decisions of the government should be reduced to writing. This should be
followed especially when there is a di erence between minister and civil servants.
2. Ministers should try to develop a climate of fearlessness and fair play
3. Minister should not interfere in the day to day decision making except in cases of
grave injustice serious defaults or maladministration.
4. Civil servants should show greater sensitivity to and better appreciate ministers
di culties.

The relationship between ministers and civil servants shall be of mutual dependence. The
parliamentary democracy shall ourish only if both ministers and civil servants endeavour
to understand each other’s point of view and requirements.

Role of civil services in post liberalisation era

1. Facilitate progressive integration with the global economy and aggressive

participation in it.
2. Move away from over-extended and ine cient public sector in commercial activities
towards a clearly focused public sector, performing the core functions of defence,
health and education among others.
3. Ensure well-functioning market and allow a more e cient private sector to take up the
growth momentum
4. Provide space for the budding of the entrepreneurs
5. Provide for ‘Ease of doing business’ and ‘easy exit’. For e.g. bankruptcy laws’ have
provided space for risk taking and new ventures by private players.
6. Devolve more powers to local levels, especially after 73rd and 74th amendments

Issues with civil services

1. Systemic rigidities: over centralisation in the policy and management features

A. Hierarchical structure with a large number of veto points
B. Large size of ministries and departments, diminishing the capacities of the
individual civil servants to ful l their responsibilities
2. Political interference:
A. Fear of transfer and lure of promotion. Eg. Mr Khemka transferred 56 times
B. Recommendations of civil services board not followed in many states
3. Disproportionate representation
In recent decades, candidates appearing in the English medium have dominated
the selection number.
4. Transparency and accountability
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 Various committees and surveys have observed that the corrupt practices have
become prevalent in the civil services
5. Lack of openness: there is culture of secrecy/ closeness rather than culture of
openness
6. Lack of dynamism: It has been pointed out that the Civil Service in India is more
concerned with the internal processes than with results.
the perception is that civil servants resist change as they are wedded to their
privileges and prospects and thereby have become ends in themselves.

Lateral entry: debate of generalists and specialists

Lateral Entry refers to the direct induction of domain experts at the middle or senior levels
of administrative hierarchy, rather than only appointing regular civil servants through
promotion.

Need for lateral entry

1. Bring new dimensions and fresh talent in policy making: IAS view government only
from within, lateral entry would enable government to understand the impact on
stakeholders
2. Increase in e ciency and governance: career progression in the IAS is almost
automatic which could put o cers in comfort zone. Lateral entrants could induce
some competition.
3. Increasing complexity in governance: require specialists and domain expertise due to
emerging issues like globalisation, digitisation of governance, nancial frauds etc.
4. ll the vacancy gap of o cers
5. Will widen the talent pool for appointment: Recruitment of IAS o cers at very young
age makes it di cult to test potential administrative and judgment capabilities.

Challenges faced with lateral entry

1. Scope of utility: Much will depend on how far the political executive is willing to
facilitate the functioning of these external experts and whether an enabling
environment is created for utilizing their full potential.
2. May face resistance from bureaucracy
1. Lack of cooperation: as existing o cials might resist functioning with outsiders
2. Di culty in adjusting to bureaucratic work culture
3. May demotivate the existing o cials: as they won’t have reasonable assurance of
reaching the top level positions
3. Transparency in recruitment: may promote nepotism and spoils system
4. Lack of long term stakes: advantage with the current civil service is that policy makers
have long-term interests in government.
5. Di cult to ensure responsibility and accountability: for the decisions taken by the
private people during their service, especially given the short tenures of 3 to 5 years.
6. Lack of eld experience: O cers who will join might score on domain knowledge, but
they may fall short on the experience of working in the “ eld”.
7. Issue of reservation: It is unclear whether there would be reservation for recruitment
through Lateral Entry or not

Challenges in civil services

1. Accountability
Civil servants in India are accountable to the ministers, but in practice, the accountability
is vague and of a generalised nature.
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 The accountability relationship is left to the incumbent minister to interpret it in a manner
that is most convenient to him/her.
2. This leads to either collusive relationship or to discord, both of which can adversely
a ect the administration. Thus there is an urgent need to codify this relationship
preferably by enacting a law. The life long job security further leads to distorted incentive
structure.
3. Disciplinary action against non performing o cers is a rarity and is a long process.
4. While the performance of government organisations and their sub- units are
periodically subjected to in depth reviews, seldom are e orts made to link the
organisational performance to the performance of an individual civil servant.

2. Transfers and postings

1. Arbitrary transfers and postings of civil servants by the ministers concern
implementation of developmental programmes. Such transfers are made on the basis of
caste, religion, money, favouritism. This leads to splitting up of bureaucracy and its
demoralisation.
2. Transfer and tenure policies must be developed in an independent manner and any
premature transfer should be based on publicly disclosed sound administrative grounds
which should be spelt out in the transfer order itself.
3. An o cer should be given a xed tenure of at least three years and given annual
performance targets.
4. Civil Services authorities should be made statutory and autonomous. If the government
does not agree with the recommendations of the authority, he will have to record his
reasons in writing.
5. An o cer transferred before his normal tenure can agitate the matter before an
ombudsman.

3. Ministerial interference in operations

1. Ministers issue instructions, formal or informal, to in uence the
decisions of the bureaucracy often intruding in their domains. It has also been observed
that o cers, instead of taking decisions on their own, look up to the ministers for informal
instructions.
2. Several states have created an institution of District Incharge Minister to review the
development activities in the district who routinely exceed their mandate intrude in the
o cer’s domain. These practices are unhealthy.

4. Appointments to the Civil Services

1. While the UPSC enjoys an untarnished reputation for having developed a fair and
transparent recruitment system, the same cannot be said for most of the SPSCs.
2. In addition, large number of recruitments is done by departments under their control of
the government directly. It is essential to lay down certain norms for such recruitments.

5. Poor incentives for advancement

1. Bias toward seniority in lling key posts reduces the incentive for
performing o cers to swiftly obtain promotions.
2. Even poorly performing o cers are given promotion.

6. Lack of specialisation
1. Some experts have questioned whether the IAS can continue to exist as a generalist
service in a world that is increasingly complex and where domain knowledge has become
more valuable.
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7. Human capital
1. The government is nding it hard to lure young talent away from increasingly attractive
private sector opportunities.
2. The combination of rising average age and lack of advanced academic quali cations
implies that many candidates spend a majority of their twenties preparing for and taking
entrance examinations for the elite civil services.

8. Attitudinal issues
1. Civil servants believe that their authority is derived not from the mandate of the people
but from an immutable corpus of rules that it has prescribed for itself. It needs to give due
regards to the aspirations of the people and rule of law.
2. With reforms, the role of private sector and civil society has increased immensely. So
the civil servants need to view them as partners instead of asserting their own pre-
eminence.

9. Result orientation
1. Civil Service in India is more concerned with the internal processes than with results.
There is too much focus on amount of inputs used whether the full budget is used or not.
As a result outcomes get neglected and civil servants are not held accountable for the
results.

10. Resistant to change

1. The perception is that they resist change as they are wedded to their privileges and
prospects. Thus they have prevented us from realising the full bene ts of the 73rd and
74th Amendments since it clashes with their own authority.
2. They also resist simpli cation of procedures which is a pre- requisite for introduction of
e-governance since it would undermine their importance.

11. Exit mechanisms

1. At present, rarely does a civil servant get dismissed from service or is punished on
grounds of incompetence. It is necessary that all civil servants undergo a rigorous
assessment of performance, at regular intervals, and compulsory retirement.
2. New appointments should be made only for a xed period, say 20 years, after which if
the performance is not satisfactory, he can be removed. Such provisions are there in
armed forces.

Reforms undertaken

1. Mission karmayogi: This is a national programme for civil services capacity building. It
is a comprehensive reform of capacity building apparatus at individual, institutional
and process levels for e cient public service delivery.
2. Lateral entry reform
3. e Samiksha: a real time online system for monitoring and follow up action on the
decisions taken by government at the apex level in implementation of government
project.
4. Citizen charter: for all ministries and departments
5. National conference on e governance: provides a platform for government to engage
with experts, intellectuals from industry and academic institutions
6. Centralised public grievance redressal and monitoring system: online web enabled
system for lodging a grievance online from any geographical location.
7. National E governance service delivery assessment: aims at assessing the states, UTs
and central ministries on the e ciency of E governance service delivery.
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 Recommendations of committees for reforms
1. 2nd ARC recommendations
* Stage of entry
1. National institute of public administration to run bachelor’s degree courses in
public administration
2. Induction of o cers of state civil services into IAS
* Training and capacity building
1. Mandatory training at induction stage and also periodically
2. Public servants should be encouraged to obtain higher academic quali cations
and write papers for reputed and authoritative journals
Placement at middle and senior management
1. Need to match domain competence, aptitude and potential at higher levels
* Deputation to Organisations outside Government
* Performance Management System to be more consultative, transparent and job
speci c.
* Motivating Civil Servants through National awards for good performance

2. Other committees
1. Y.K Alagh committee: Test in common subject rather than on optional subjects
2. Hota committee: Introduce aptitude and leadership tests
3. Yugandhar Committee, 2003 recommended the three mid-career training
programmes in the 12th, 20th and 28th years of service.
4. Surinder Nath Committee recommended that performance appraisal should be
primarily used for the overall development of an o cer.

Way forward
1. Greater convergence: need to break down the silos within government to unlock
productivity and outcomes
2. Connected civil services: Need to be globally connected with counterpart
organisations and have horizontal networks across the world
3. Lateral entry and exit:
4. Longer tenure of secretaries
A. Need to learn from earlier experiences: the past experience of inducting private
sector mangers has not been satisfactory. Eg. Air India
B. Move towards longer tenure of lateral entrants: to allow them su cient time to
learn the culture
C. Deputation of IAS and IPS to private sectors to bring in domain expertise
D. Remove the non performers: this will help curb complacency, harness competitive
spirit and develop e cient and result oriented outlook
5. Public administration universities: for aspiring and serving civil servants. It can create
a large pool e cient aspiring as well as serving bureaucrats
6. Institutionalise goal setting and tracking for each department
7. Continuous skill upgradation

Miscellaneous topics

Article 311
Article 311 deals with dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of persons employed in civil
capacities under the Union or a State.

Case for deletion of Article 311

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 1. Complicated procedures have arisen out of this article which have shielded the guilty.
This also lead to inordinate delays in prosecution of corrupt o cers. Procedure has
become more important than the substance.
2. Deleting the article will act as deterrence for dishonest o cers and hence potential to
reduce corruption.
3. Such a provision is not available in any of the democratic countries including the UK.
4. With judicial review now available, the protection to Government employees is
formidable even outside Article 311.
5. This article was drafted at a time when it was necessary to prescribe certain
guarantees to the bureaucracy. Government is no longer the only signi cant source of
employment and the role of Government as a model employer cannot override public
good.
6. The main intention was clearly to embolden senior civil servants to render impartial and
frank advice to the political executive. But the compulsions of equal treatment of all public
servants and made such a protection applicable to everybody and this hampered
e ciency and work culture.

Case for retaining Article 311

1. It is argued that the safeguards under Article 311 are focused and that the framers of
the Constitution were mindful of the rare eventualities in which even such minimal
safeguards would not be necessary.
2. It checks arbitrary action on executive part. Political leaders most of the time exploit
the power in their hands to punish those public servants who do not act as per their
whims and fancies and dare to be upright.
3. It upholds the principle of natural justice by giving a reasonable opportunity of being
heard to the civil servant in respect of charges.
4. This article provides protection to honest and ethical o cers. It helps them to work
without undue political interference and fear of political backlashes.
5. Judicial review is an integral part of our Constitution and a substantial portion of the
appellate work of the Supreme Court concerns Article 311.
6. The rules governing disciplinary enquiries, and not Article 311 itself, are responsible for
the delays.

Way forward
1. It has accordingly become necessary to revisit the issue of constitutional safeguards
under Article 311 and to amend it to ensure that the honest and e cient o cials are given
the requisite protection but the dishonest are not allowed prospering in o ce.
2. A provision should be added through amendment that prior sanction should not be
necessary for prosecuting a public servant who has been trapped red-handed or found in
possession of disproportionate assets. In the long run it is desirable that provision of
ministerial responsibility should also be added as in UK.

Civil services

Arguments for all-India services

1. National Integration: They promote national integration as the members of these

services possess an all-India outlook. As they are usually posted in states other than their
own, they can function beyond the regional, linguistic and communal interests.
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 2. E ciency: They help in maintaining high standard of administration in terms of
administrative e ciency because they attract the best talent in the country due to the
wide eld of recruitment, high remuneration, status and prestige.
3. Uniformity: They help to ensure uniformity of the administrative system throughout the
nation. The members of these services are rotated between the Centre and the states.
4. Cooperative federalism: They facilitate liaison, cooperation, coordination and joint
action on the issues and problems of common interest, between the Centre and the
states.
5. President’s rule: When the President’s Rule is in operation in any state, he can depend
on the loyalty and cooperation of these o ces for e cient administration. This is
because, they are appointed and removed only by the President of India.
6. Independence: They promote independence and impartiality of civil service at the
highest level. As members of these services enjoy the constitutional safeguards, they are
free from regional and local pressures and in uences. Hence, they can a ord to give free
and frank advice to the state ministers.
7. Bene cial to states: The talent mobilised through national recruitment to these services
is distributed among the states. Hence, the states which are de cient in their manpower
supply to ll the high and strategic positions will be bene tted.
8. Continuity: Permanent civil service has provided continuity and stability during the
transfer of power from one elected government to the other. This has contributed to the
maturing of our democracy.
9. Political neutrality: Many important institutions which are politically neutral have
evolved.

Criticism against all-India services

1. Hang-over of the Past: These services were created during the period of British rule in
India. At that time, the structure of government was unitary and nature of state was
authoritarian. After independence, the structure of government and the nature of state
underwent a radical transformation.
2. Against federation: These services are against the federal system of government
provided by the Constitution. They restrict the autonomy and patronage of the states.
Rajamannar committee recommended for the abolition of IAS and IPS.
3. No familiarity: The members of the All-India Services who come from outside the state
may not be familiar with the local language, culture and general environment. Hence, they
cannot understand the problems of the people properly.
4. Lacks specialisation: It is said that the IAS o cers are ‘Jack of all trades but master of
none’. This point is also recognised by the rst ARC which recommended that a
functional eld should be carved out for the IAS.
5. Unequal representation: The states are not equally represented in these Services. The
states of the Punjab, UP, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh are represented more than
others. Thus they lack the national character due to regional loyalties.
6. Financial burden: These services involve larger expenditure on state governments due
to high salary scales. This is done to attract the best talent from all over the country and
to maintain their e ciency.

Generalist vs Specialist

1. The civil services in India can be grouped into two broad categories viz. technical
services and non-technical services. The technical services are those to which
recruitment is done on the basis of specialised and professional quali cations of the
candidates. Ex: IES, Indian statistical service, etc.
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 2. The non-technical services are those to which recruitment is done on the basis of
general educational quali cations and is open to all candidates who possess the
minimum required educational quali cation. Ex: IAS, IPS, etc.

Controversy

1. The pay and service conditions (including promotion) of the generalists are more
attractive and favourable than those of the specialists.
2. The majority of top posts in the Union and state governments are reserved for the
members of IAS. In other words, entry into these top posts is usually denied to the
specialists.
3. Inter-organisational mobility of generalists is much wider than that of specialists. The
IAS o cers move from one department to another, from a department to a public
enterprise or local government and vice-versa. The specialists move only within their
respective departments or elds of administration.
4. The performance appraisal and assessment of specialists is done by generalist IAS
o cers.

Case for generalists

1. The generalists are more suitable than specialists for the performance of higher
management level jobs due to their wide and rich experience.
2. The tenure system of Secretariat sta ng which is based on the concept of district or
eld experience favours a band of generalist administrators.
3. A generalist acts as a mediator between a amateur minister and the specialist,
between the people and the government, and between the pressure groups and
public interest.
4. The specialists are narrow minded and parochial as they know more and more about
less and less. The generalists, on the other hand, have a broad out look and exibility
of approach.

Case for specialists

1. Sometimes policies formulated by the generalists are unrealistic as they are not fully
aware of the problems faced by the specialists in the e ective implementation of policies.
2. Generalists cannot understand the technical complexities of the proposals forwarded
by the specialists.
3. Functions of administration today have become more complex, more technical and
subject speci c.
4. In the present set up, a minister is deprived of expert advice and specialised
knowledge of the specialists.
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GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND INTERVENTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT
IN VARIOUS SECTORS

Weaknesses in India’s public policy making

1. Fragmentation in thinking and action: eg. the transport sector is dealt with by ve
departments/Ministries in the government of India whereas in the US and UK it is a
part of one department.
2. Overlap of policy making and implementation: this creates a tendency to focus on
operational convenience rather than on public needs. Also o cers are more
comfortable with implementation matters than with policy making. This results in sub-
optimal policies
3. Over centralisation: excessive concentration of powers at higher levels of bureaucracy
4. Lack of non governmental inputs: The best expertise in many sectors lies outside the
Government. Yet the policy processes and structures of Government have no
systematic means for obtaining outside inputs
5. Lack of systematic analysis and integration to policy making: Policy decisions are
often made without adequate analysis of costs, bene ts, trade- o s and
consequences.
6. Lack of evidence based research: most of the times policy formulation is carried out
by few senior bureaucrats who are not aware of prevailing ground realities
7. Politically motivated policies: electoral considerations dominate the aims and
objectives of a policy. Eg. Loan waiver is one such example
8. Lack of imagination: Public policy-making in India has frequently been characterized
by a failure to anticipate needs, impacts, or reactions which could have reasonably
been foreseen, thus impeding economic development.

Strengthening public policy in India

1. Reduction in fragmentation: this can be achieved by appointing fewer secretaries.
Each would handle more than one of the existing sectors. This will result in a more
coordinated policy making.
2. Separate policy making from implementation and decentralised implementation
authority
3. Improving integration and the ow of knowledge from outside the government: there
is need to create structures which ensure the availability to policy-makers of non-
Governmental inputs and subject matter expertise.

Major Governmental Interventions for Development in Various Sectors

HEALTH
Ayushman Bharat program
National Health Mission
National Rural Health Mission
JSY (Janani Suraksha Yojana)
Universal Immunization Programme
National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme
PMSSY (Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana)
AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddhi, Homoeopathy)
EDUCATION
SHREYAS (Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills)
National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT)
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 RTE (Right to Education)
SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan)
MDMS (Mid-Day Meal Scheme)
Sakshar Bharat (National Mission on Female Literacy – an adult education
program)
RMSY (Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan)
Model School Scheme
RUSA (Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan)
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Poverty Alleviation through Rural Employment (for Livelihood Security)
MGNREGA – implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development
(MoRD)
NRLM/Aajeevika (formerly SJGSY) – implemented by MoRD
Development of Critical Infrastructure in Rural areas
IAY for Housing (Indira Aawas Yojana) – implemented by MoRD
PMGSY for Rural Roads (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) –
implemented by MoRD
RGGVY for Rural Electri cation (Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran
Yojana) implemented by the Ministry of Power
NRDWP for Rural drinking water supply (National Rural Drinking
Water Programme) – implemented by MoRD
TSC/NBA for Rural Sanitation (Total Sanitation Campaign) –
implemented by MoRD
AIBP for Irrigation (Accelerated Irrigation Bene t Programme) –
implemented by Ministry of Water Resources
NLRMP (National Land Records Modernisation Programme)
Agricultural Development
RKVY for Agricultural development – implemented by the Ministry of
Agriculture
Area Development
IWMP (Integrated Watershed Management Programme)
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Urban Infrastructure Development
Smart Cities
JNNURM – implemented by Ministry of Urban Development &
Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation
ILCSS (Integrated Low-Cost Sanitation Scheme)
Housing & Urban poverty alleviation through employment generation
Housing for all
A ordable Housing Fund scheme
RAY (Rajiv Aawas Yojana)
SJSRY (Swarna Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana; now restructured as
NULM under the 12th Plan) -implemented by Ministry of Housing &
Poverty Alleviation
WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme
Poshan Abhiyaan /National Nutrition Mission
ICDS – – implemented by MoWCD
Sabala/RGSEAG (Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent
Girls)
IGMSY (Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana)
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 NMEW (National Mission for Empowerment of Women)
RMK (Rashtriya Mahila Kosha)
Policies to address violence against women, e,g (PWDVA)
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
National Skill Development Mission
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
UDAAN- to provide skills training and enhance the employability of
unemployed youth of J&K.
SANKALP(Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood
Promotion ) and STRIVE (Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value
Enhancement)
SOCIAL SECURITY
PM Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana
Atal Pension Yojana
AABY (Aam Aadmi Beema Yojana)
RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthya Beema Yojana)
SSA (Social Security Agreements)
The Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008NSAP (National Social
Assistance Programme)