BOOK REVIEW GROUP-12 presents its review on

THE AUTHOR MR. S.K.DAS THE AUTHOR MR. S.K.DAS He is a 1970 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre. He occupied many senior administrative posts under Karnataka Govt. and Central Govt. He has written various books on civil service reforms such as Civil Service Reform and Structural adjustment(1998), Bureaucracy and Corruption in India(2001).

Overview of the Book Content The author talks about the subject in following 5 parts:- Civil service that we have today in India. Institutional framework for reforms. Organizational framework. Legal and ethical framework. The challenge of reforming India’s civil service is substantial and urgent.

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION India is the 2 nd fastest growing economy and the 2 nd most populous country of the world, only next to China. At this juncture, India is not only competing with other countries in cutting-edge economic sphere but also in respect of its imperative modern governance structures. It highlights about the need for modern civil service, which should adopt the best practices of governance and administration prevalent in better doing states. It provides a comparative study about the modern reform experiences of countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and the UK. It also highlights the legislative, administrative, and procedural changes necessary to build a high performing civil service.

SUMMARY SUMMARY Present day functioning of civil service of India is 18 th century British legacy. It requires immediate change from Process driven bureaucracy to result oriented civil service. Incongruence gap between policy formulation and its implementation. Civil service reform has become imperative to excel in 21 st competing world in all aspects of development. There is need to implement the recommendations to reform civil service functioning given by 2 nd ARC and other commissions and committees constituted for the same purpose.

SUMMARY SUMMARY There is a need to epitomize the best practices of civil service form countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, UK etc.. There is a need of separation of policy formulation and policy implementation to make an effective and efficient civil service. It also highlights the reform in recruitment process of civil servants. Political pressure on functioning of civil servants. Need to strengthen the domain competency.

Evaluation Positive aspects It talks about the reform to transform archaic civil service to a modern civil service. Suggestions for simplifying the complex decision making process in civil services Establishment of dedicated separate executive agencies to implement the policy to enforce accountability.

Evaluation Positive aspects This book is a reflection on the current structure of civil services in India. It tries to explain the reasons for inefficiency in the Indian civil services. The author suggests various measures to rectify these flaws.

Evaluation Negative Aspects  It concerns with IAS for the most part.  Lots of information and appears like a government report.  Parallels drawn from other countries’ that might not suit in Indian context. 1.CBDT and Dept of inland revenues. 2. DMRC and Executive agency model. 3. Performance management in UK and India.  It is suited only for a specific set of readers.

CONCLUSION CONCLUSION  The book gives civil service reforms in detail.  It is recommended for civil service aspirants.  It provides detailed insight into the structure and processes of civil services.  It is an eye opening book for top civil servants.  It also suggests improvement in recruitment process to induct quality entrants in civil service.

MEMBERS Sri Rahil Gupta Sri Ravikiran Tirumala Ms. Pooja Rani Sri Himanshu Sri Gajendra Soni Sri Akashdeep Sri R. Murugan Jitendra Kumar Tiwari Ms. Vaanathi M.M. Sri Zala Dipakbhai Chimanbhai Ms. Anila Kumari T.

THANKS…