{"id":197225,"date":"2022-07-25T18:03:49","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T12:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=197225"},"modified":"2022-07-25T18:03:49","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T12:33:49","slug":"why-agnipath-scheme-needs-to-be-extended-to-all-india-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/why-agnipath-scheme-needs-to-be-extended-to-all-india-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Agnipath scheme needs to be extended to All India Services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/span><\/b>: The post is based on an article <\/span>\u201cWhy Agnipath scheme needs to be extended to All India Services\u201d<\/span><\/b> published in the I<\/span>ndian Express<\/span><\/b> on 25<\/span>th<\/span> July 2022.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Syllabus<\/span><\/b>: GS Paper 2 , Role of Civil Services in Bureaucracy<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Relevance<\/span><\/b>: Civil Services Reforms<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

News<\/span><\/b>: Recently, the government has launched an <\/span>Agnipath scheme<\/span><\/b><\/a> for the armed forces of the country with a view to make these a leaner force without compromising on their combat abilities. Thereafter, a similar scheme is being demanded with regard to the <\/span>All-India Services (AIS).<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Argument Against such a scheme for AIS<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

The AIS have rendered excellent services to the country despite the <\/span>severe constraints<\/span><\/b> under which the officers function.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To cope with the <\/span>increasing responsibilities<\/span><\/b>, there has been a <\/span>steady expansion<\/span><\/b> of the civil services.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The government activities today cover a much <\/span>wider spectrum<\/span><\/b>. Now the <\/span>welfare schemes<\/span><\/b> are being undertaken on a massive scale.\u00a0To cope with the increasing responsibilities, there has been a steady expansion of the civil services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>law-and-order problems <\/span><\/b>have become far more complex and people are not happy with police. But, still, no one would ask for abolition of police as it would result in lawlessness and chaos. Thus, it is same with the civil services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Argument in favour of Agnipath like scheme for AIS<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

There is a huge <\/span>sense of dissatisfaction<\/span><\/b> over the performance of the civil services, particularly AIS. For example, the people are generally <\/span>dissatisfied<\/span><\/b> with the <\/span>performance of the police<\/span><\/b> and there are credible complaints about its brutality, <\/span>third-degree methods<\/span><\/b> and <\/span>extra-judicial killings.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It has been noticed that once an officer is selected for the AIS, he\/she develops <\/span>a smug attitude<\/span><\/b> that his\/her career for the next 30<\/span>\/35 years is<\/span><\/b> now secure<\/span>.<\/span><\/b> Therefore, there is a lack of pressure to perform, an incentive to innovate, and a desire to excel.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Senior officers of the IAS and IPS have gone to the <\/span>Supreme Court <\/span><\/b>for reforms in the civil services and the police.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The judiciary has, from time to time, given directions for reforms but these have not been implemented in letter and spirit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the last few decades, the AIS have grown in size and have become <\/span>very, very top-heavy.<\/span><\/b> There are a number of officers who are holding <\/span>top positions<\/span><\/b> but have <\/span>very little work<\/span><\/b> to do. Therefore, they are frustrated and look for politicians to get<\/span> a top post<\/span><\/b> in the <\/span>bureaucratic mainstream.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What could be the Features of the Agnipath Scheme for AIS?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

Performance Appraisal System<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(1) There should be a performance-appraisal system in <\/span>three stages<\/span><\/b>. There should be <\/span>strict review<\/span><\/b> once when the AIS officers have completed 15 years of service, then after 25 years of service, and, finally, after 30 years of service.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(2) After the <\/span>first stage<\/span><\/b> of performance appraisal, 25% officers should be weeded out, 10% officers at the <\/span>second stage<\/span><\/b> and 5% officers at the <\/span>third stage.<\/span><\/b> Weeding out should be for <\/span>poor performance,<\/span><\/b> charges of corruption, any other misconduct of a serious nature, or for being physically unfit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Screening at each stage will have to be <\/span>very rigorous<\/span><\/b> and the <\/span>mechanism<\/span><\/b> to do so must be <\/span>impartial<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>appraisal system<\/span><\/b> should be\u00a0devised to <\/span>doubly ensure<\/span><\/b> that the officers are not <\/span>victimised for political reasons<\/span><\/b>. The officers may be given <\/span>copper\/silver\/golden handshakes<\/span><\/b> at the three stages.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Panel for weeding out AIS<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

There should be a <\/span>panel<\/span><\/b> for <\/span>weeding<\/span><\/b> out at different stages. The members can be <\/span>the retired<\/span><\/b> judges<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>officers<\/span><\/b> of impeccable integrity drawn from different services, distinguished members of the civil society and representatives from all the state governments of the country.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every time the review is undertaken, <\/span>three to five<\/span><\/b> from the panel should be chosen by <\/span>lottery<\/span><\/b>, taking care that they are from <\/span>states<\/span><\/b> other than the one whose officers\u2019 performance is going to be reviewed.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If an officer feels aggrieved by the decision of the panel, he should be able to approach a tribunal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Benefits of this scheme for AIS<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

The periodic trimming of services would ensure that officers become <\/span>performance-oriented, acquire new skills<\/span><\/b> and a <\/span>flair for innovation<\/span><\/b> in administration. The complacency and smugness would disappear in a majority of cases.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The bureaucratic top would become lighter. It would also ensure that the structure of services becomes <\/span>pyramid-sha<\/span><\/b>ped and not the <\/span>trapezium<\/span><\/b> it is now.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: The post is based on an article \u201cWhy Agnipath scheme needs to be extended to All India Services\u201d published in the Indian Express on 25th July 2022.\u00a0 Syllabus: GS Paper 2 , Role of Civil Services in Bureaucracy\u00a0 Relevance: Civil Services Reforms\u00a0 News: Recently, the government has launched an Agnipath scheme for the armed… Continue reading Why Agnipath scheme needs to be extended to All India Services<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10308,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,10500],"class_list":["post-197225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1699955369},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}