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Events
& Issues
New Delhi, 24 September 2020
Mission Karmayogi
FUTURE-ORIENTED
PROGRAMME
By Dr. S.
Saraswathi
(Former Director,
ICSSR, New Delhi)
“India cannot progress in the 21st
century with a 19th century administration”, said Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in 2016 during his first term, and in pursuance with this belief,
has been initiating administrative reforms. The Mission Karmayogi, the latest
in this endeavour, has been introduced
to enhance the knowledge and skills of civil servants to go along with the
changes and progress taking place in every aspect of public administration.
It is a mid-career training programme aimed
at helping civil servants to meet the challenges of the society. Designed to
bring about a major transition described as from “rule-based to role-based”, it
has an ambitious programme of developing
administrative talents to cope up with the growing stresses and strains of
administration pressed with not only numerous problems, but also with demanding
public with diverse objectives and constant changes all around.
A sum of Rs.510.86 crore is allocated for the
Mission to cover 46 lakh Central government employees for a period of 5 years
from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The Mission, which is in fact, the National Programme
for Civil Services Capacity Building, will set up an Integrated Government
Online Training Platform (IGOT).
Several shortcomings have been noticed in the
bureaucracy on the whole over the years. They include both systemic
inadequacies like outmoded procedures and rules, and deficiencies in the
personnel like lack of motivation and public spirit. Political interference is
another growing problem as in every field of activity leading to erosion of
values and ethics.
In short, work culture needs a thorough
shake-up at all levels though it cannot be denied that considerable number in
this very set up keep the government going, rise to act against any emergency
and deserve appreciation. Wholesale condemnation of bureaucracy is an unfair
criticism.
Mission Karmayogi will prove a timely reform
if it gives as much attention to purify public administration as to improve
skill and efficiency. It is no doubt the
age of knowledge & skills, information & strategies, speed and
precision, but ethical values, national spirit, and commitment to service must
form the base of public administration. Above all, it is important to remain
relevant in changing times since big changes in the world do not wait for our
approval and readiness. It is possible only if we give up worn out ideas like
precedents, and be bold to make innovations.
Mission Karmayogi will upgrade the knowledge
and skills of civil servants on a continuous basis with the aid of modern
technology and ensure that the right person with the right competencies is in
the right position in government. Thus, its objectives seem to mix up two major
elements of civil service -- proper selection and posting of personnel and
appropriate training relevant to the tasks to be performed.
This Mission is to fulfil India’s Vision on
how a civil servant should be shaped tomorrow. The qualities required are
described in pairs of connected assets such as “imaginative & innovative,
pro-active & polite, professional & progressive, energetic &
enabling, transparent & technology enabled, and constructive &
creative” to meet the challenges of the society. The Mission is designed to
impart skills and training to civil servants to attain and develop these
qualities. It is expected to make civil service more efficient, responsive, and
accountable to the needs of citizens. Existing training facilities will all be
integrated to harmonize various existing efforts and share resources.
So much importance is attached to this
programme that the Mission is headed by the Prime Minister himself. Strategic
direction to capacity building reforms will be provided by the PM’s Human
Resources Council (PMHRC).
Training in any field of activity denotes
practical education and is common to both mental and physical work. In public
administration, it means a “conscious effort made to improve or increase an
employees’ skill, powers, or intelligence and to develop his attitudes and
schemes of values in a desired direction”. Training broadens the vision of the
employees and equips him with necessary abilities to deal with actual
situations and helps him to apply his theoretical knowledge to practical
conditions.
Proper training promotes a person’s curiosity
to learn more and his/her aptitude towards work. It teaches him/her precision,
self-reliance, confidence, and balanced judgement, and improves decision-making
ability. In many western countries, mid-career training and job-oriented
training before any new posting are common for all employees.
In 1986, in-service training was introduced
in India for officers of IAS irrespective of their rank and seniority. It was
mostly a structured, lecture-based programme and was not designed to bring
administration and the people closer to one another. Mid-career Training was
made mandatory for civil servants.
For civil servants, as for any other
professionals, their education and success in competitive examinations are not
enough to make them fit for their jobs. Much depends on their orientation to
take up responsibilities and training to handle their work.
Long back in 1944, a Committee on Training of
Civil Servants in UK , explaining the objectives of training observed that the
technical efficiency of individual employees and the more tangible efficiency
of the organisation as a corporate body derived from the collective spirit and
outlook of individuals of which the body is composed are both essential for any
large-scale organisation. It recommended that training must have regard to both
elements.
Civil servants are not living in an isolated
world. They cannot separate their administration from the public for whom it is
meant and remain an elitist administrative cadre. They are on the top layer of
public administration. One of the primary aims of civil service training should
be inculcation of right attitude towards the public. National spirit and public
good must dominate the lessons of training.
In contemporary political discourse, “good
governance” is given primary attention as indispensable for eradicating poverty
and promoting development. Its central features as furnished by the UNDP
include participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness,
consensus-orientation, equity, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability,
and strategic vision.
Good governance in a democracy provides a
citizen-centric government. The concept, highlighted in a document released by
the World Bank in 1989 and elaborated in 1992 identified it as “synonymous to
sound development management central to creating and sustaining an environment
which fosters strong and equitable development”. Enhancement of quality of life of all
citizens is at the core of good governance.
Mission Karmayogi is, therefore, a much
needed administrative reform, but there appears to be some confusion about its
coverage. There are in India over 2 crore Central and State government
employees. Members of the IAS, IRS, IFS, and IPS and other civil services are
called civil servants and other government employees’ government servants. The
Mission mentions about 46 lakh Central government employees which need
clarification. PM’s council to lead the Mission includes selected Union
Ministers and State Chief Ministers and experts drawn from all over India and
abroad.
An excellent programme on paper, it needs
clarity in operational details and definiteness in contents if it is to be
taken seriously by the concerned employees and the general public. It has to
have the “future” in mind at every point. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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