Jun 08 2014 : The Economic Times (Kolkata)
Ab Ki Baar Babu Sarkar
A career bureaucrat of three decades, Am itabh Kant has seen it all -from head of Kerala Tourism Development Corpora tion to chairman of its national equiva lent ITDC, from joint secretary in the ministry of tourism to now secretary of the department of industrial policy and promotion, the 1980 batch Kerala cadre IAS member has walked down various corridors of power, and served under several governments and prime minis ters. Still, June 4 was a day like no other for him in Indian babudom, prompting him to tweet by late evening: “1st time in my career free, frank & fearless interac tion with d PM of d country. Highly moti vating! Gr8 flow of ideas!“ Most of the 76 other Union secretaries who prime minister Narendra Modi met would likely echo a similar sentiment.After all, if Modi has been pulling off sur prise after surprise right after being anointed PM -from extending an invite to his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif to, on Friday, telling BJP MPs to shun the practice of touching the feet of party leaders -his meeting with the secretar ies too was one out of the ordinary.
For starters he promised them that he would be accessible to each one of them.
He also told them that they could ap proach the prime minister directly over phone or email, something unusual in a protocol-heavy bureaucratic set-up in Delhi's corridors.
The move may raise many a question: for instance, will ministers' clout over their own babus now reduce substantially if a bridge is built directly to the PM; or will such a mechanism lead to overcentralization of power as smarter officials may seize the moment and toe the line which the PM -not even the PMO -would like to hear?
Notwithstanding such scepticism, Modi's early signals to bureaucracy coupled with the grammar that he has been following in choosing his key men have demonstrated that the prime minister is serious about engineering changes in India's babudom. As chief minister of Gujarat for nearly 13 years, Modi's formula of trusting bureaucrats more than ministers paid off well, as fasttracked decision-making and speedy implementation of big-ticket projects helped the state emerge as a frontrunner among developed states. Power to the Babus Empowering select bureaucrats, even at the risk of overstepping his ministers' domains, could be the hallmark of the Modi sarkar in Delhi, too.
To be sure, it will be a Herculean task for the new government to break the policy logjam witnessed in the last two years of the UPA-II regime unless top bureaucrats make a conscious choice to take risks and sign on files without hav ing any fear of har assment in future.
The Supreme Court's order is sued last month that officers hold ing the rank of joint secretaries and above could now be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation without taking prior government permission is yet another reason why bureaucrats may turn extracautious under the new government. So, will it be easy for the prime minister to roll out what he had claimed earlier -“No red tape, only red carpet for investors“ -without taking the top bureaucracy into confidence? Modi would have factored in all those scenarios. So, when he met the secretaries on Wednesday, he offered himself as a safety valve in a bid to instil confidence among risk-averse bureaucrats.
Modi told the babus to take decisions, and that he would stand by them. For many bureaucrats, the major concern in taking bold decisions is the absence of a mechanism under which innocent mistakes could be pardoned. Those in the know of the system say investigating agencies' unwillingness to make a distinction between bona fide mistakes and colorable exercise of power (or abuse of discretion) has been a major trigger for bureaucrats' reluctance to take decisions and the consequent policy paralysis.
Team in Making In cobbling up his key bureaucrats' team, Modi has factored in who best could coordinate with 80-odd secretaries, fast-track decisions and break policy logjams. And that may be the reason for Modi choosing Nripendra Misra, a seasoned bureaucrat from Uttar Pradesh, as his principal secretary. But why somebody from UP to implement what's being widely touted as the Gujarat model?
Misra's peers and juniors acknowledge he was a brilliant officer in his prime and few doubt his integrity. Anticipating that no policy changes could be possible without taking Union secretaries on board, most of whom are from the cadres from the north, Modi is betting his chips on this 69-year-old master bureaucrat. Modi has chosen UP's Varanasi as his parliamentary constituency, leaving his second seat Vadodara vacant, leading up to the safe assumption that the PM has his focus on India's most populous state and has plans for it. A mega Clean Ganga project is just one of them.
Misra had worked in UP for over three decades and had also served as principal secretary to UP chief minister Kalyan Singh (of the BJP) between 1990 and 1992.
If Modi's first steps in babudom are any indication, he wants bureaucrats to work harder, take bold decisions, innovate and use technology in service delivery. Yet, he seems to be cautious of a knee-jerk administrative overhaul. Further, he is likely to avoid a coterie of Gujarat officers being built, and is also resisting the temptation of promoting a younger officer to the post of cabinet secretary, superseding a large number of senior bureaucrats.
That explains why Modi surprised everyone by according a six-month extension to cabinet secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, another UP cadre IAS who ironically would have presided over babus accused of anchoring policy paralysis. Seth for his part has been quick off the blocks, sending out a directive to all ministries to reduce layers of decision-making.
In contrast to Seth's extension, the UPA government in June 2004 had shifted out the then cabinet secretary Kamal Pande, who had earlier worked as home secretary under LK Advani, even before his term expired. The Manmohan Singh government then brought in a more trusted bureaucrat BK Chaturvedi in place of Pande to head bureaucracy. Gujarat Club Though Modi may not allow an informal Gujarat club to thrive in South Block, a few of his key confidants are finding their way into the PMO. In addition to his personnel staff who joined him from day one, Modi's PMO now has AK Sharma, a Gujarat cadre IAS who worked in the chief minister's of fice and played a critical role in Modi's flagship Vibrant Gujarat meet. Sharma has joined PMO as a joint secretary. There are speculations that Bharat Lal, resident com missioner of Delhi's Guja rat Bhawan and a Modi confidant, too may find a place in the PMO. Only a few days ago, Lal, a 1988 batch In dian Forest Service officer from Gujarat, was empanelled as joint secretary, paving his way to the PMO at a higher rank. It remains to be seen how Modi adjusts one of his key men K Kailashnathan, a retired IAS officer of 1979 batch, who retained his job as principal secretary to Gujarat CM on a contract basis even after his retirement last year.
Busy Din Aane Wale Once his key team is in place, Modi is likely to meet his bureaucrats more frequently. It is also expected that his earlier experiments of taking all senior bureaucrats to a particular rural pocket of Gujarat for an annual “chintan shivir“ could be replicated in Delhi too. On his first formal interaction with secretary-ranked officials, Modi for over two hours patiently listed to at least two dozen bureaucrats. Now, secretaries of allied ministries will continue meeting the prime minister in batches and make presentations on government agenda and priorities.
A few bureaucrats who ET Magazine spoke to are not sure whether “ache din aane wale hain“. But with weekly working hours likely to be stretched and more meetings on the cards, babus know busy days are coming for sure. This week, about 350 officials belonging to the departments of coal, power, and new and renewable energy attended a motivational session addressed by author Chetan Bhagat. Minister Piyush Goyal organized the session in which Bhagat gave a pep talk on game-changing ideas. A couple of days later motivational speaker Shiv Khera too did his bit to inject enthusiasm and innovation.
Will bureaucrats come out with any gamechanging ideas for Modi? Why not, particularly when they have been empowered to virtually walk up to 7 Race Course Road and hand deliver them to the PM.
For starters he promised them that he would be accessible to each one of them.
He also told them that they could ap proach the prime minister directly over phone or email, something unusual in a protocol-heavy bureaucratic set-up in Delhi's corridors.
The move may raise many a question: for instance, will ministers' clout over their own babus now reduce substantially if a bridge is built directly to the PM; or will such a mechanism lead to overcentralization of power as smarter officials may seize the moment and toe the line which the PM -not even the PMO -would like to hear?
Notwithstanding such scepticism, Modi's early signals to bureaucracy coupled with the grammar that he has been following in choosing his key men have demonstrated that the prime minister is serious about engineering changes in India's babudom. As chief minister of Gujarat for nearly 13 years, Modi's formula of trusting bureaucrats more than ministers paid off well, as fasttracked decision-making and speedy implementation of big-ticket projects helped the state emerge as a frontrunner among developed states. Power to the Babus Empowering select bureaucrats, even at the risk of overstepping his ministers' domains, could be the hallmark of the Modi sarkar in Delhi, too.
To be sure, it will be a Herculean task for the new government to break the policy logjam witnessed in the last two years of the UPA-II regime unless top bureaucrats make a conscious choice to take risks and sign on files without hav ing any fear of har assment in future.
The Supreme Court's order is sued last month that officers hold ing the rank of joint secretaries and above could now be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation without taking prior government permission is yet another reason why bureaucrats may turn extracautious under the new government. So, will it be easy for the prime minister to roll out what he had claimed earlier -“No red tape, only red carpet for investors“ -without taking the top bureaucracy into confidence? Modi would have factored in all those scenarios. So, when he met the secretaries on Wednesday, he offered himself as a safety valve in a bid to instil confidence among risk-averse bureaucrats.
Modi told the babus to take decisions, and that he would stand by them. For many bureaucrats, the major concern in taking bold decisions is the absence of a mechanism under which innocent mistakes could be pardoned. Those in the know of the system say investigating agencies' unwillingness to make a distinction between bona fide mistakes and colorable exercise of power (or abuse of discretion) has been a major trigger for bureaucrats' reluctance to take decisions and the consequent policy paralysis.
Team in Making In cobbling up his key bureaucrats' team, Modi has factored in who best could coordinate with 80-odd secretaries, fast-track decisions and break policy logjams. And that may be the reason for Modi choosing Nripendra Misra, a seasoned bureaucrat from Uttar Pradesh, as his principal secretary. But why somebody from UP to implement what's being widely touted as the Gujarat model?
Misra's peers and juniors acknowledge he was a brilliant officer in his prime and few doubt his integrity. Anticipating that no policy changes could be possible without taking Union secretaries on board, most of whom are from the cadres from the north, Modi is betting his chips on this 69-year-old master bureaucrat. Modi has chosen UP's Varanasi as his parliamentary constituency, leaving his second seat Vadodara vacant, leading up to the safe assumption that the PM has his focus on India's most populous state and has plans for it. A mega Clean Ganga project is just one of them.
Misra had worked in UP for over three decades and had also served as principal secretary to UP chief minister Kalyan Singh (of the BJP) between 1990 and 1992.
If Modi's first steps in babudom are any indication, he wants bureaucrats to work harder, take bold decisions, innovate and use technology in service delivery. Yet, he seems to be cautious of a knee-jerk administrative overhaul. Further, he is likely to avoid a coterie of Gujarat officers being built, and is also resisting the temptation of promoting a younger officer to the post of cabinet secretary, superseding a large number of senior bureaucrats.
That explains why Modi surprised everyone by according a six-month extension to cabinet secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, another UP cadre IAS who ironically would have presided over babus accused of anchoring policy paralysis. Seth for his part has been quick off the blocks, sending out a directive to all ministries to reduce layers of decision-making.
In contrast to Seth's extension, the UPA government in June 2004 had shifted out the then cabinet secretary Kamal Pande, who had earlier worked as home secretary under LK Advani, even before his term expired. The Manmohan Singh government then brought in a more trusted bureaucrat BK Chaturvedi in place of Pande to head bureaucracy. Gujarat Club Though Modi may not allow an informal Gujarat club to thrive in South Block, a few of his key confidants are finding their way into the PMO. In addition to his personnel staff who joined him from day one, Modi's PMO now has AK Sharma, a Gujarat cadre IAS who worked in the chief minister's of fice and played a critical role in Modi's flagship Vibrant Gujarat meet. Sharma has joined PMO as a joint secretary. There are speculations that Bharat Lal, resident com missioner of Delhi's Guja rat Bhawan and a Modi confidant, too may find a place in the PMO. Only a few days ago, Lal, a 1988 batch In dian Forest Service officer from Gujarat, was empanelled as joint secretary, paving his way to the PMO at a higher rank. It remains to be seen how Modi adjusts one of his key men K Kailashnathan, a retired IAS officer of 1979 batch, who retained his job as principal secretary to Gujarat CM on a contract basis even after his retirement last year.
Busy Din Aane Wale Once his key team is in place, Modi is likely to meet his bureaucrats more frequently. It is also expected that his earlier experiments of taking all senior bureaucrats to a particular rural pocket of Gujarat for an annual “chintan shivir“ could be replicated in Delhi too. On his first formal interaction with secretary-ranked officials, Modi for over two hours patiently listed to at least two dozen bureaucrats. Now, secretaries of allied ministries will continue meeting the prime minister in batches and make presentations on government agenda and priorities.
A few bureaucrats who ET Magazine spoke to are not sure whether “ache din aane wale hain“. But with weekly working hours likely to be stretched and more meetings on the cards, babus know busy days are coming for sure. This week, about 350 officials belonging to the departments of coal, power, and new and renewable energy attended a motivational session addressed by author Chetan Bhagat. Minister Piyush Goyal organized the session in which Bhagat gave a pep talk on game-changing ideas. A couple of days later motivational speaker Shiv Khera too did his bit to inject enthusiasm and innovation.
Will bureaucrats come out with any gamechanging ideas for Modi? Why not, particularly when they have been empowered to virtually walk up to 7 Race Course Road and hand deliver them to the PM.
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31817&articlexml=Ab-Ki-Baar-Babu-Sarkar-08062014005002
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