After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May
We need to make space for technocrats in our administrative league.
A year back, a survey and a report by Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) stated India's bureaucracy was 'suffocating' and further concluded that 'working with the country's civil servants was a slow and painful process.' The report also mentioned that the powers-that-be are quite reluctant in bringing in structural reforms and changes in the system. This report should not come as a surprise to any Indian, especially those who have had a first hand experience interacting with the civil servants ' aka babus.
The leverage that these babus have is primarily because of the communication link they are able to monopolise between India Inc. and politicians/government. Not only does such a bureaucracy help in smooth 'execution' of corrupt activities but also helps in diverting funds (meant for development schemes) to their and politicians' own treasures. The whole aura of ineffective bureaucracy has actually intensified during the last couple of decades ' while the influx of well experienced technocrats fell to a large extent.
Entry of technocrats from various professions to handle administrative jobs (or ministries as secretaries) would reduce the inefficiency that is rampant across all departments to a large extent. This will not only allow ministries to function as Strategic Business Units but will also make the entire hierarchy more efficient and productive. Take for instance the DMRC project. Had this project been headed by some legacy bureaucrat, the project wouldn't have been such a success. It was all thanks to a technocrat' E Sreedharan, a former professor and engineer ' that DMRC could meet the deadlines. On similar lines, the UID project is running on fast track largely because a technocrat, Nandan Nilekani, chairs the initiative.
It goes without saying that when a novice heads a ministry that calls for technical knowledge and years of experience, the result will be what this nation is facing with almost all development projects ' from cost overrun to time overrun. Yes, there're exemplary exceptions like Maruti (even the current Chairman, RC Bhargava, is the 1965 IAS topper). But in general, these exceptions remain, well, exceptions, with a growing demand that technocrats be put at leadership positions in our defence, railways, agriculture and other ministries.
In most of the developed countries, the head of the government comes to power along with his team of experts (derived from think-tanks, experts, economists and so on) who have had impressive career records. For example, most of the members of the Obama Senate Transition Team are exemplars in their areas of work. Similarly, China adopted a technocratic economic model since its reforms period. The same goes for UK where Political and Economic Planning, a think-tank, assists the government. Similar are the cases with Germany a nd Russia. Presently, even European countries (especially the eastern ones) are experiencing a massive technocracy movement. Just pumping in money for development projects won't suffice, unless these are headed by people who know how to deliver efficiency. The conclusion to be drawn from these examples is that the existing politico-bureaucracy nexus needs to be broken and a conscription started where the nation's top executives, management graduates are compulsorily made to work for a few years in government companies and ministries.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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IIPM in sync with the best of the business world.....
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
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Best Colleges for Vocational Courses in India
INDIA'S BEST COLLEGES, INSTITUTES and UNIVERSITIES
We need to make space for technocrats in our administrative league.
A year back, a survey and a report by Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) stated India's bureaucracy was 'suffocating' and further concluded that 'working with the country's civil servants was a slow and painful process.' The report also mentioned that the powers-that-be are quite reluctant in bringing in structural reforms and changes in the system. This report should not come as a surprise to any Indian, especially those who have had a first hand experience interacting with the civil servants ' aka babus.
The leverage that these babus have is primarily because of the communication link they are able to monopolise between India Inc. and politicians/government. Not only does such a bureaucracy help in smooth 'execution' of corrupt activities but also helps in diverting funds (meant for development schemes) to their and politicians' own treasures. The whole aura of ineffective bureaucracy has actually intensified during the last couple of decades ' while the influx of well experienced technocrats fell to a large extent.
Entry of technocrats from various professions to handle administrative jobs (or ministries as secretaries) would reduce the inefficiency that is rampant across all departments to a large extent. This will not only allow ministries to function as Strategic Business Units but will also make the entire hierarchy more efficient and productive. Take for instance the DMRC project. Had this project been headed by some legacy bureaucrat, the project wouldn't have been such a success. It was all thanks to a technocrat' E Sreedharan, a former professor and engineer ' that DMRC could meet the deadlines. On similar lines, the UID project is running on fast track largely because a technocrat, Nandan Nilekani, chairs the initiative.
It goes without saying that when a novice heads a ministry that calls for technical knowledge and years of experience, the result will be what this nation is facing with almost all development projects ' from cost overrun to time overrun. Yes, there're exemplary exceptions like Maruti (even the current Chairman, RC Bhargava, is the 1965 IAS topper). But in general, these exceptions remain, well, exceptions, with a growing demand that technocrats be put at leadership positions in our defence, railways, agriculture and other ministries.
In most of the developed countries, the head of the government comes to power along with his team of experts (derived from think-tanks, experts, economists and so on) who have had impressive career records. For example, most of the members of the Obama Senate Transition Team are exemplars in their areas of work. Similarly, China adopted a technocratic economic model since its reforms period. The same goes for UK where Political and Economic Planning, a think-tank, assists the government. Similar are the cases with Germany a nd Russia. Presently, even European countries (especially the eastern ones) are experiencing a massive technocracy movement. Just pumping in money for development projects won't suffice, unless these are headed by people who know how to deliver efficiency. The conclusion to be drawn from these examples is that the existing politico-bureaucracy nexus needs to be broken and a conscription started where the nation's top executives, management graduates are compulsorily made to work for a few years in government companies and ministries.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Marches Ahead in B-School Rankings...
IIPM in sync with the best of the business world.....
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU): Students' Unions can not be banned
The hunt for hostel and paying guest (PG) accommodation for students
Best Colleges for Vocational Courses in India
INDIA'S BEST COLLEGES, INSTITUTES and UNIVERSITIES
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