There is this buzz that the Babus are getting another pay hike. This happens once in ten years. According to well informed Babus (hmmm...well informed only on the subject of pay and allowances to themselves!!) that this hike is the lowest ever in history. Meanwhile pink journalists have gone to town comparing the pay of Govt drivers viz a viz private ones, Govt clerks vs private ones, Govt blue collar workers vs private ones (with the Govt ones trumping the private ones). At the other end of the spectrum are comparisons PSU Bank chief executives (who are, incidentally, not covered by Pay Commissions... our journalists are really as lazy as Govt Babus) vs Private ones. At the higher end, the private sector executives are paid indecently high amounts while senior Babus have to make do with a couple of lakh Rupees per month. (the equivalent of about 2500 dollars)
This blogger has been maintaining that Government Officials are not in need of periodic pay hikes which blow a huge hole in the Govt exchequer. What they need is a total overhaul of their terms of employment, working environment and several other things. The theories that I propound in casual conversations enrage my fellow bureaucrats. I am often castigated, branded a maverick and a traitor to the cause. The cause being the lofty one of enriching ourselves with more pay and more allowances with minimal work. If you are a masochist, you can read other posts of mine in this blog.(The Great Indian Oversight system & Awards and rewards)The basic strands of my alternate thinking go as follows
For one, Government has long forgotten to empower its' executives to apply discretion. At the same time Babus have been made accountable to more and more rigorous standards with every passing year. If a Babu fails to achieve his target but follows every rule in the book, he can get away with it. Conversely, if there is someone follows the rule in paper, but violates the spirit of the rule (and maybe lines his pockets in the process), he may also get away with it. Hence Govt works more on the principle of appearing to be right rather than being right. In short, the Government has built a huge oversight and justice system that it lost sight of its' primary objective- that executives ought to be empowered to get things moving on the ground. It is not easy to remove anyone from service without bracing up for a huge battle in courts/media etc. Most of us do not have to stomach for it. So we have a system where we work with what we have.
For one, Government has long forgotten to empower its' executives to apply discretion. At the same time Babus have been made accountable to more and more rigorous standards with every passing year. If a Babu fails to achieve his target but follows every rule in the book, he can get away with it. Conversely, if there is someone follows the rule in paper, but violates the spirit of the rule (and maybe lines his pockets in the process), he may also get away with it. Hence Govt works more on the principle of appearing to be right rather than being right. In short, the Government has built a huge oversight and justice system that it lost sight of its' primary objective- that executives ought to be empowered to get things moving on the ground. It is not easy to remove anyone from service without bracing up for a huge battle in courts/media etc. Most of us do not have to stomach for it. So we have a system where we work with what we have.
In most developed countries, Govt Offices with public dealings are well laid out, bright, well-lit with instructions displayed everywhere. Walk into an RTO Office or Govt Hospital in India. You will be shocked at the pitiful condition in which it is maintained and the lack of signages and guidance to unsuspecting visitors. There are a few touts who hang around and offer to facilitate your business for a small consideration. We have created a complex maze of rules to spend govt money that the focus is not on the effectiveness of our spending but on plugging the possibility of misuse. As a result, even well meaning Babus avoid the trouble of expenditure for fear that they might be wading into controversy. Babus in lower rungs are paid well enough to afford air conditioners at home, whereas their workplace is dinghy, smelly, hot and dirty. We need to give ourselves a decent working atmosphere, and not just limit it to changing curtains and carpets of senior Officers every six months.
Thirdly, we need to be empowered to work fearlessly and effectively. Life time employment in Govt service doesn't facilitate that. Contractual employment for five years at every level, temporary appointments of domain specialists for duration of specific projects etc can speed up results considerably. We seem to be content to do minimal recruitment in Govt and outsource services to private sector. Most of our senior Babus have no domain knowledge and know only enough skills to contract-hire consultants, service providers etc. A poor reflection of state of affairs in Government
Lastly and most importantly, we need to build capacity in Government services to provide services. We need to build institutions that function well, enhance domain knowledge, institutional memory and training of personnel. We have a huge success story in the Indian passport office modernization. I renewed my passport some time back. The application was submitted online and an appointment received. The passport Office was bright and well lit with a decent waiting area. The staff handling capture of biometrics and scanning of documents were from a private sector software major. The second and third stage verification was by MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) staff. The entire process of capturing biometrics and verification took 40 minutes. When I left the passport Office, I received a SMS in my phone that my new passport is being despatched !! Phew!! It really blew my mind. Can't we replicate this model in say, public distribution? Government Hospitals? RTO Offices?
Lastly and most importantly, we need to build capacity in Government services to provide services. We need to build institutions that function well, enhance domain knowledge, institutional memory and training of personnel. We have a huge success story in the Indian passport office modernization. I renewed my passport some time back. The application was submitted online and an appointment received. The passport Office was bright and well lit with a decent waiting area. The staff handling capture of biometrics and scanning of documents were from a private sector software major. The second and third stage verification was by MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) staff. The entire process of capturing biometrics and verification took 40 minutes. When I left the passport Office, I received a SMS in my phone that my new passport is being despatched !! Phew!! It really blew my mind. Can't we replicate this model in say, public distribution? Government Hospitals? RTO Offices?
