Energising Functioning of Ministries in Central Government

Basic fact of governance is that policy is 5 per cent and delivery is 95 per cent, which entirely depends on the bureaucracy. Hence the importance of efficient functioning of the ministry concerned and learning from our own past experiences is the best way to know about right and wrong way of functioning.

Let us take Ministry of Defence (MoD) as an example.

First Period of Successful Politico-Military Cooperation.During the most crucial period from 1947 to 1950 Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) was in direct touch with the political heads, that is, the Cabinet. Orders were passed directly from the Cabinet or Defence Minister to C-in-C and were implemented by the military in letter and spirit. Success of the arrangement is evident from the fact that a newly independent country  was able to undertake multiple and simultaneous success full military operations to merge recalcitrant princely states of Hyderabad and Junagarh, fight off Pakistani aggression in J&K as also quickly control large scale riots in the North India and handle huge influx  of refugees.

First Period of Defeat due to Bureaucratic Interposition.During the period 1950 to 1962 a thick bureaucratic layer was created between the military and the Defence Minister and the Cabinet. This bureaucracy worked through elaborate and time consuming procedures which were established and nurtured in the name of `Civilian Supremacy`.  Commander-in-Chief was replaced by Chiefs of Staff who were placed out of government as attached offices. Services which had acted in complete concert under the Commander-in-Chief became mutually antagonistic. Responsibility for the defence of India was shifted from the military to Secretary of Defence and accordingly all Administrative and financial powers were concentrated in civilian bureaucracy who starved the military of equipment and pushed it down in terms of pay and terms of service. Results were soon evident. India lost 1962 War with China and performed below par in 1965 against Pakistan. Soldiering slowly and surely became one of the least preferred career choice.

SecondPeriod of Successful Politico-Military Cooperation.In March – April 1971 when the then PM Mrs Gandhi asked General Manekshaw to immediately attack erstwhile East Pakistan, he bluntly told her that his Army was lacking in wherewithal and not ready for war. Mrs Gandhi heeded his sane advice and for next six months General Manekshaw became de-facto Commander-in-Chief. During this period the three services were brought up to the mark and readied for war which resulted in a great victory.

SecondPeriod of Defeat due to Bureaucratic Interposition.Sadly during the period 1971 till 1999 the bureaucracy against played on imaginary fears of political heads and re-established it`s hegemony. Result when Pakistan intruded into Kargil in 1999 the armed forces were again ill prepared to launch full-scale war. Remember famous quote of General Malik, who was COAS at that time - `we shall fight with whatever we have’.A committee was established which duly recommended creation of Chief of Defence Staff (a politically more palatable name for Commander-in-Chief) and integration of the Ministry of Defence and Service Headquarters but bureaucracy again killed the proposals.

Wider Applicability of Observation. My observations, based on facts, are applicable to other ministries as well. Ministry of Tourism fails to attract tourists to India, Ministry of Culture fails to showcase rich Indian culture to the world, Ministry of Railways cannot runs trains on time or keep its stations clean, the list is endless and answer in each case is the same.

Lesson Learnt. Be it MoD or Metro Railways, to be successful we have to bring-in the professional.

The answer is very clear for the new government. If it wants to deliver, not only in Ministry of Defence but in other ministries as well, start by doing the following:

·         Establish primacy of Cabinet through CCS and CCPA whose proceedings must be diligently recorded and decisions enforced.

·         CCS and CCPA must mandatorily take on record views of concerned professional head, that is CDS or Railway Board before recording it’s decision. This will establishing direct connect between the professional and the minister/ CCS.

·         Advisors like NSA and Planning Commission be just that. Their role be focused on providing inputs for policy planning and undertake net-assessments.

·         Minister to work through three key executive heads.

o   First being the Professional head (Chief Operations Officer) responsible for planning and execution of approved projects. Trust him and empower him with clear policy directions and fiscal support and bind him to time lines.

o   Second being the Financial Advisors (Chief Financial Officer) chosen from within as also out of government based on competence responsible to give correct and timely advise on financial aspects.

o   Third being the in-house Investigator (Chief of Vigilance) as Advisor of impeccable integrity with powers to scrutinise all works and projects of the ministry during implementation and thereafter.

·         Reduce size of secretarial staff and limit the role of Secretary and office staff to:

o   Coordination of office work and inter-ministerial liaison.

o   To collect data and process the files to the minister quickly and with all relevant supporting data. 

o   They must not be allowed to decide policy.

o   Take away all financial and administrative powers from Secretaries.

·         Be totally transparent. Declare and enforce citizen charter. Put everything on line.

·         Annual review must result in rewards for performers and tangible punishment for inefficient.