24/05/2021 - Governance | Mainstorming

IAS Parliament 3 years

KEY POINTS

· Despite its efforts, bureaucracy has emerged as a major concern for the ineffective response to the COVID-19 crisis. This inadequacy is the reflection of the outdated nature of public bureaucracy.

· A generalist officer is deemed an expert and as a result, superior, even if the officer works in one department or ministry today and in another tomorrow.

· Specialists in every government department have to remain subordinate to the generalist officers.

· Healthcare professionals who are specialists have been made to work under generalist officers and the policy options have been left to the generalists when they should be in the hands of the specialists.

· The reform often suggested in India is new public management. This as a reform movement promotes privatisation and managerial techniques of the private sector as an effective tool to seek improvements in public service delivery and governance.

· The most appropriate administrative reform is the model of new public governance.

· This model is based on collaborative governance in which the public sector, private players and civil society, especially public service organisations (NGOs), work together for effective public service delivery.

· As part of new public governance, a network of social actors and private players would take responsibility in various aspects of governance with public bureaucracy steering the ship rather than rowing it.