An Ideal Elite

More than half-a-century ago, when I entered the civil services, their structure and their req­uirements were radically different. The UPSC examination tilted heavily towards the humanities. They resembled more the graduate and post graduate examinations of those days, the focus essentially being the capacity to write long answers to questions in English, a broad understanding of the world and current developments, a capacity to read fast and thoroughly and to assimilate quickly. Administration then was file based and what was being tested was the ability to contribute effectively to decision making through the file process.

The emphasis then was also on recruiting officers who were young and, therefore, less conditioned and more “trainable”. The age limits were 20 to 23 for the Indian Police Service, 21 to 24 for other services, with some latitude for reserved categories. No candidate was allowed to appear more than twice for the UPSC examinations. Toppers were generally from amongst those who had app­eared for the first time, usually from the humanities stream. A college, St. Stephen’s in Delhi, and a university, Allahabad University, dominated the examinations, acc­ounting, at times, for 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the rec­ruits in the two top services, the Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Administrative Service.

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For most of us, the first stretch of training in the National Academy of Administration (as it was then called) in Mussoorie was more like an extension of college life than a prelude to public service. There was tight discipline. Being even a minute late for class meant losing half a day’s casual leave. Homesickness was common amongst most probationers in the first couple of months but no leave was given to spend a weekend at home. Riding lessons were compulsory until 1969. A note was stencilled and circulated on how to use cutlery and how to behave at the dining table. On one day of the week, only ‘dry’ lunches were served, which meant sandwiches, cutlets and the like, as the assumption was that many times in one’s career one would have to subsist on such food while out in the field. The content of the lectures and project work was focused on district administration, a throwback to earlier times, when ICS officers used to spend long years in the districts.

Today, the situation is quite different. The age limit for entry into the Civil Services is 32. The Baswan committee recommended its reduction, but it is politically difficult to take such a decision. There is no limit on the number of times one can take the examination and, from what I have gleaned from the media, the topper generally would have made three or four attempts earlier to crack the examination and is also, in many cases,  already working in some other civil service. The present recruits rarely come from the humanities stream. There are doctors, engineers, management specialists, highly qualified people with advanced knowledge of digital systems. I have worked with officers who have worked through both IITs and IIMs. In our time, recruits generally came from the middle classes and were more city oriented. Presently, we find there are opportunities for all sections of the population to enter the services. There are recruits even from backward tribes and from remote villages. A large number of coaching institutions have sprouted all over the country with specialised knowledge of the requirements of the examination. The examination itself has been split into two, with a preliminary Civil Services Aptitude Test screening out a number of aspirants before the main examination. Papers can be written in all Indian languages and translators are provided even for interviews so that the candidate can speak in any language of her choice. There is little doubt that the social base from which new recruits are drawn has broadened considerably and the appetite for appearing in the examination has correspondingly grown. The number of candidates now appearing for the examination is much, much greater than in my time.

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Has this resulted in significant changes in the character of the services? During my last fifteen years in the civil service, which was entirely spent in the central government, I have had occasions to meet and to work with many young officers. As cabinet secretary for the last four years of my career, I have visited several of the most backward states and interacted with junior colleagues. I must say that I have been most impressed with their enthusiasm, their zeal to make systemic changes in administration, the technical skills they displayed to simplify administration. As far as contribution to public service is concerned, therefore, I see no deficiency in the quality of officers now entering governance. On the other hand, the broader social base has, in many cases, led to greater connect with the people. So far as integrity and trustworthiness are concerned, I have always believed that this is written into the DNA of the individual and does not depend on age or social class.

Going forward, there are challenges to overcome. Officers are now entering the services when they are older, thus shortening their careers.  This will mean that their perspective will automatically change. For an IAS officer, a shorter career span of 30 years or less would induce her to look more at a career exclusively in the states allotted to them than to a mix of central and provincial service. The frequent changes in the structure of the services also cause disruption. Nine services in the Railways were merged into a single service, which resulted in considerable dissatisfaction among officers belonging to non-technical services. The IAS is gradually becoming more and more a provincial service, which will be competing in the future with state services. The threat of lateral entry hangs like a Damocles sword over all the services, except the most specialised ones.

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The lack of fixity or certainty in the evaluation of performance of officers is another challenge to overcome. The system of ‘empanelment’ of officers for senior positions in the central government, for example, is subject to constant change. The recently introduced 360 degree assessment, which had been rejected by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, creates uncertainty at lower levels, since no one knows who will assess them and how. The criteria for empanelment also undergo whimsical change, thus making the entire exercise chancy and unpredictable.

Political changes further complicate career choices. Political power over the civil service has diluted professionalism. I have worked with Congress-led governments and with Left governments in Kerala and my professionalism was respected by both. One of my best tenures in the Centre was with the Vajpayee government, working with ministers Murasoli Maran, Arun Jaitley and Arun Shourie. The worst development that has taken place in public service, particularly in the recent past, is the growing tendency to profile officers as being aligned to this group or that, this community or caste or the other and to subject them to quixotic changes in tenure, never allowing them to settle down in the jobs they do. If this process continues unabated, it could sound the death knell of professionalism in the public service.

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(The author is a former cabinet secretary Views expressed are personal)