This is in response to Rekha Saxena’s editorial comment “The All India Services and Cadre Deputation” (EPW, 29 January 2022), in which she has expressed her apprehension about the implications on federal governance should the proposed amendment on deputation and transfer rules for the Indian Admi
The decision to recruit experts from the open market in certain departments at the level of joint secretaries is not enough to radically professionalise the civil service. Internal specialisation must be promoted by insisting on stable tenure in the states so that there is incentive for the Indian Administrative Service officers to acquire expertise in their chosen sectors. Also, the IAS officers should take the entry of the outsiders as a challenge, because if they do not improve their performance, there could be repetition of such recruitment every year.
The Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, which apply to all public servants in the country, date from colonial times and are reflective of a colonial mindset. Civil servants no longer want to be treated as unruly kids ignorant of their roles and responsibilities. These dated rules must be consigned to the dustbin of history and replaced by a new code of ethics based on self-regulation, accountability, and transparency.
State and Capital in Independent India: Institutions and Accumulation by Chirashree Das Gupta,Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016; pp xiv+315,₹727.
The success ratio of aspiring candidates to the IAS exams from one of the premier Muslim educational institutions in the country, AMU, remains abysmally low. Amending the reservation quota is widely seen as an exercise in political manipulation; far-reaching results, it is felt, can best be obtained by introducing steps and encouraging NGOs to improve the quality of education at primary levels, and making students equally familiar with English as with Urdu.
