Editorial of the Day: Improving the Capability of Indian State

Contrasting the large size of the Indian state with its bureaucratic inefficiencies. This article discusses Improving the Capability of the Indian State.

Improving the Capability of Indian State

Context: Contrasting the large size of the Indian state with its bureaucratic inefficiencies. Despite a large number of personnel, the civil service’s per capita ratio is low, leading to suboptimal governance and policy implementation.

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Summary of the Article

Aspects	Challenges	Way Forward
Increased Public Spending Advocacy	Policy failures due to unwieldy bureaucracy	Delegate more power to front-line personnel.
	Perverse incentives within public institutions.	Clearly define processes for personnel to use.
	Skill gaps among officials.	Enhance state capability without adverse fiscal/political consequences.
The technocratic gap	Top policymakers lack necessary skills.	Implement regular, institutionalised lateral entry for skilled professionals.
	Over-Reliance on costly consultancy firms.	Augment professional staff (e.g., SEBI, RBI need more compared to US counterparts).
	Narrow audits by CAG focus on rule compliance, not policy objectives.	Encourage discretionary decision-making through audit reform.
	Political will needed to address issues like post-retirement appointments.	Increase retirement age, set upper limit for all appointments.
Public versus private sector	Performance-linked pay is less effective in the public sector.	Recognize that public sector jobs attract individuals motivated by social good.
	– High salaries due to past pay commission hikes may reduce effectiveness.	– Moderate future pay raises, lower upper age limit for government jobs.
	– Job security and favorable conditions lead to salaries exceeding private sector.	– Reduce appeal for those motivated solely by money, attract socially-driven individuals.