Indian Public Administration: Challenges and Obstacles

chillibreeze writer — Shilpi Gautam

The usually crowded Blue Line bus looked a little empty that day when I boarded it. As usual, I took my seat next to the window and exchanged smiles with my neighbor. He turned out to be a constable with the Delhi Police. My immediate reaction was an uncontrolled anxiety but it soon turned into a pleasant surprise when I actually saw him pay for the ticket. I couldn’t control my curiosity and questioned him at the next instance, “How come you’re paying?” He looked amused but replied with pride, “I am a Public Servant.”

This actually propelled me into a tornado of thoughts: the publicness of administration, the issues and challenges faced by Public Administration not only in the case of this Public Servant but in the larger picture.

When we talk about Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization in one breath and then talk about Good Governance, we tend to make a noise without really thinking about its implications. As rightly pointed out by Guido Bertulucci (United Nations), Globalization has brought in its fold many opportunities like access to information Technology, Foreign Direct Investment. BUT hasn’t it marginalized many?

Here comes the new challenge to the Public Administration of a country – to be the custodian of the socially and economically excluded people. The role of Public Administration has ceased to be simply a maintenance role but has moved into the realm of developmental administration – the Steering role. But is the institution ready to take up the challenges?

Rather than administering people, Public Administration is all set to serve the people. It has to adopt a proactive approach rather than adapting to reactive means. Bob Dylan’s song “The Times They Are A-Changin” rings a bell to remind me that we have moved from the honeymoon period of monopoly and “imposed organization” to “Organizational Pluralism”. This has all the same affected our Public Administration where consumers want to choose. The need of the hour is to make it more customer-centric and a facilitator of change. And are we forgetting the avenues being opened for NGOs, Civil Societies, and Private bodies to actively participate in Governance activities. Transparency of Governance has gained priority now with the media playing a vital role.

Corruption, Integrity and ethics are directly proportional to Accountability and the process of SMCF2- Supervision, Monitoring, Control, Feedback and Follow-up.

We tend to ignore the vicious circle of the maligned bureaucracy who tends to strike with vengeance on the media and the public. Coming back to my constable friend, the interests and the dignity of honest and conscientious officers is at stake and surely needs to be protected as the bureaucrats are the ones who are morally vulnerable and can be easily manipulated by the elite and the politically powerful lot.

I happened to meet Indian Post men while training them in Internet money transactions and it revealed a huge lacuna in their present skill sets. So isn’t infrastructure, and skill development other challenge areas where we need to struggle.

Another emerging issue is the fading role of District Collectors in the background of the growing empowerment of the Panchayti Raj Institutions. The solution to this is in adopting the Participatory Model to facilitate the role of each other in the developmental function. Its already being followed in a few states.
To meet these challenges of competitiveness, contractual posting, lateral entry, and outsourcing are some of the devised means. Indian Railways is an exemplary to this.

To harness the potential of Globalization, the institutions need to be restructured, a talent pool needs to be developed (hired and retained) and public administration has to achieve this technological adequacy.

Public Administration has to shed its “Babu Culture” and taken on a missionary approach. It cannot sweep the issues and challenges under the carpet but take on them because it is that aspect of governance which touches the lives of all in a democratic society.

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—About our writer:

Shilpi says, "Creativity is what defines me. I love reading, writing and dramatics. I am an HR professional and a postgraduate from Delhi School Of Economics. Would love to contribute by sharing my thoughts in a constructive fashion."

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