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Opinion

Shaping a brighter future

To shape young Indian civil servants as the leaders of tomorrow, systems for selection, training and assessment of such officers must be overhauled

COVID-19 has brought out the best in the civil service, especially amongst the younger lot. The likes of Tukaram Mundhe (Municipal Commissioner, Nagpur), Dr Adarsh Singh (District Magistrate, Barabanki), Rishi Garg (Municipal Commissioner, Ujjain), S Bharathidasan (District Magistrate, Raipur) and Sonal Goel (CEO, GMCBL, Gurugram) have made us proud. My tweet, "Young civil servants have yet again demonstrated their commitment and efficacy in managing crisis. Despite Cassandras of doom, the steel frame is alive and kicking", caught the fancy of many. I had gone on to add, "The challenge, however, is to keep this enthusiasm going". The key question is, why does this enthusiasm wane over a while and how to sustain the commitment? A comprehensive approach will have to be undertaken if the recruits to the civil service have to evolve as effective leaders that are not merely able to sustain their enthusiasm but also to inspire others. This has to begin with recruitment itself. In-service training, mentoring, transfers, assessment of officers, incentives and disincentives by way of promotions and selection to critical posts are aspects that will have to be looked into. However, before considering these aspects, it would be necessary to determine what is required in an officer who goes on to occupy senior positions in the civil service. Right from the commencement of their careers, be it a Sub Divisional Magistrate, District Magistrate or Head of Department, an IAS officer occupies leadership positions. Each officer has to lead a team. Hence, the aim should be to select those that have leadership qualities or have the potential to become leaders. The purpose of training should also be to enable the officer to hone his leadership skills.

The conduct of UPSC in selecting an officer is above board. However, those that get selected are primarily brilliant individuals. What is tested is written communication skills, some analytical skills and general awareness. The entrance tests assess examinees capability to 'crack' the exam and various coaching institutes assist them in doing so. Much more is required in a leader. He should be able to build a team and carry it along with him by motivating those working with him. This entails exemplary actions and, on occasions, a few personal sacrifices as well. He has to be an accomplished communicator beyond the written one. He has to be ethical in his behaviour with a positive attitude. None of these criteria is tested at the time of recruitment. There are tools available today to assess these and are being used in the private sector and elsewhere in the world.

It is difficult to mould an officer who has gone beyond a particular age. They are by then already 'hard-boiled eggs'. Training and mentorship are important in moulding these entrants into accomplished leaders. If these are to be moulded into effective leaders, the maximum age of entry has to be brought down to 26 as was the case a few decades ago.

Training has to be focussed on imparting skills and developing an attitude that would enable the officer to evolve as a leader. Thus, the emphasis should be on group activities rather individual ones. It is during the training that the ethos and the purpose of the service that will need to be drilled. Case studies based methodology should be adopted to drive home ideas. Given their background, officers have the knowledge and are capable of acquiring more of it. What is required is the transformation in their attitude as an officer and the necessity and utility of ethical behaviour. Periodic up-gradation of skills and learning from each other should be an integral part of in-service training. This is imperative in the context of the fast-changing world, both in terms of management and technology.

Senior officers that have done well in their careers can be asked to mentor officers who enter into the service for the first few years. Some beginning has been made in this regard but an institutional arrangement should be made. Mentoring is a key element in evolving an ethos of any organisations.

Close monitoring of inclination and aptitude of officers will help determine his postings and assignments. And, once assigned a task, he should be left to deliver. Frequent transfers are extremely debilitating but in some states, it has become a tool for harassing officers who don't toe the line. Frequent transfers not only impact delivery adversely, but responsibility also cannot be fixed if the officer is unable to perform. This has led to the politicisation of bureaucracy. The politician is happy but governance suffers. Some states have experimented with Civil Services Board but it hasn't worked. This will have to be given a serious thought. Postings should be based on integrity and competence and not on allegiance. This can easily be done for critical posts, to begin with. An agency like the UPSC can be assigned to prepare a panel from which the Government can select an officer.

Officers are evaluated annually through Annual Confidential Roles (ACR) and their promotions were based on these ACRs. However, the efficacy of ACRs has suffered consequent to the Supreme Court order. These ACRs have ceased to be confidential as they have to be communicated to the officers. No officer wants to get embroiled with those dissatisfied with a grade. The 360-degree evaluation now in vogue is worse as it is opaque and has had a demoralising impact on the civil service. The concept has been adopted from the private sector but unlike the private sector, the one in practice in the government is perfunctory where assessment for empanelment is made, based on phone calls to peer group officers. No discussion is held with the officer who is being assessed and he is not even informed about the reason for not being empanelled.

The need of the hour is to improve governance and this can happen only if the instruments that are used for policymaking and delivery of services are managed professionally. A comprehensive approach is required to address such issues.

Views expressed are strictly personal

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