NEW DELHI: Setting the agenda for revamping the bureaucracy, the NITI Aayog has called for faster promotion of officials to the post of secretary in the government. The think tank panel has singled out delayed elevation to the higher position for lack of decision making by the top babus. The NITI Aayog has also advocated developing an objective model of performance appraisal to reward good performance and reprimanding the laggards in the government.
Making a strong case for specialisation and lateral entry into the bureaucracy, the NITI Aayog in its three years action plan has called for an end to the practice of frequent rotation of bureaucrats among various departments.
The draft plan has argued that the nature of economy has substantially changed, which demands quick decision making on the parts of the bureaucrats. "It has been found that by the time one is promoted to the post of secretary, the official is left with less than two years of tenure. In such a scenario, the secretary gets trapped in indecisiveness, avoiding decision for fear of allegations of favouritism and corruption. Therefore, the reform should aim for faster promotion from the post of additional secretary to the secretary, which may leave a longer tenure," the NITI Aayog has advocated.
The think tank panel in its draft action plan has also made a strong case for specialisation and lateral entry into the government of specialists for specific roles. “The governments should end the practice of frequent rotation of officials within various departments and in place they should be given a longer tenure to allow them to acquire skills. Also, the officials should be imparted specific skills at the early stage of their careers to single them out for key roles within the government,” the draft action plan has stated.
The draft action plan has also called upon the Central and the state governments to unveil a centralised human resource management system with a portal where all features should be available for the bureaucrats along with facilities for online skill development course for any specific challenges. Noting that the bureaucrats are the backbone of the governments at the Centre and the states, the NITI Aayog has advocated that the civil services officials should be empowered for leadership roles. “The government should develop mechanism to find out the roles requiring specialists from outside and they should be hired on priority as part of lateral entry into the government to address the changing nature of economy and governance,” the draft plan notes.