ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS AND ORGANISATION
TASKS IN THE SECOND PLAN AT the present time the general social and economic outlook which has been evolved in India in dealing with problems of national development embodies a large measure of agreement both on the analysis of problems and on many of the basic questions of policy. On closer examination, differences in judgement are often found to be either differences in perspective or differences in detail. While the area of agreement on matters of policy is considerable, doubt exists whether in its range and quality administrative action will prove equal to the responsibilities assumed by the Central and State Governments in the second Five year plan. It is likely that as the plan proceeds difficult issues will relate less to matters of policy and approach, more to questions of administration and organisation. Inasmuch as collection of taxes, spending money and raising small savings are but aspects of the executive functions of government, finance may also be regarded as part of the more general problem of administration.
2. As development goes forward, the expression administration' steadily assumes a broader content. It includes within its scope the building up of personnel, training of men, running the administrative machine, seeking the co-operation and participation of the people, informing and educating the public and, finally, organising a sound system of planning based as much on the participation of people at each level as on the best technical, economic and statistical information available. Increasingly, administrative tasks have to be undertaken in new fields, especially those connected with economic, industrial and commercial operations. If the administrative machinery, both at the Centre and in the States, does its work with efficiency, integrity and with a sense of urgency and concern for the community, the success of the second plan would be fully assured. Thus, in a very real sense, the second five year plan resolves itself into a series of well defined administrative tasks.
3. In comparison with the first plan, these tasks are larger in scope; they are also far more complex. Some part of the ground is familiar and represents activities continued from the past, although on an expanded scale. But there is much that is virtually new for which, in the ordinary course, a longer period of preparation would have been necessary. The principal administrative tasks during the second five year plan could perhaps be classified into certain broad categories:
(1) ensuring integrity in administration;
(2) building tip administrative and technical cadres and providing incentives and opportunities for creative service;
(3) continuously assessing requirements of personnel in relation to the tasks to be undertaken; organising largescale training programmes in all fields; and mobilising the available training resources, including public and private institutions, industrial and other establishments, apprenticeship and in-service training;
(4) devising speedy, efficient and economic methods of work, providing for continuous supervision, and arranging for objective evaluation of methods and results at regular intervals;
(5) carrying technical, financial and other aids to small producers as in agriculture, national extension and community projects and village and small industries;
(6) building up organisations for the efficient management of public enterprises as in industrial and commercial undertakings, transport services and river valley schemes;
(7) securing local community action and public participation so as to obtain the maximum results from public expenditure, as in agriculture and in social services; and
(8) strenthening the co-operative sector of the economy through assistance in managerial and technical personnel and establishment of co-operative, financial, marketing and other institutions;
This statement of administrative tasks is by no means exhaustive. Although each task constitutes a theme by itself, the various tasks have to be viewed together as inter-dependent elements in the execution
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of the plan. In undertaking these tasks, it is essential that there should be sufficient coordination in policy and programmes in different sectors of the economy in terms of the objectives and targets set by the plan.
INTEGRITY IN ADMINISTRATION 4. As pointed out in the First Five Year Plan corruption leads to wrongs which are difficult to redress and undermine the confidence of the public in the administration. At present, in several fields of administration there are complaints of lack of integrity in the official machinery. There has to be continuous war against every species of corruption within the administration as well as in public life generally and the methods to root out this evil should be constantly reviewed. In recent years a number of positive steps have been taken both at the Centre and in the States. Several State Governments have organised anti-corruption departments. Procedures for expediting departmental enquiries have been introduced. Public servants are being required to submit returns from time to time regarding movable as well as immovable properties acquired by them. Applications received from the public have to be accounted for to a greater extent than before. Officers whose integrity is open to doubt are being retired before the due dates and are being kept out of positions of special responsibility. An enquiry committee appointed by the Ministry of Railways has examined the problem of corruption on the railways and has made a number of recommendations for dealing with factors to which the committee has drawn attention. The Ministry of Railways propose to set up and anti-corruption organisation to deal with important cases and with cases against gazetted officers and similar units are to be set up for individual railway systems.
5. In the First Five Year Plan the need for supervision and vigilance within the administration was stressed and it was pointed out that the main attack on corruption must be through ensuring efficiency in every branch of the administration. In particular, was suggested that the openings which current policies and procedures may provide for corruption should be examined by heads of departments, so as to check the growth of conditions within their organisations in which corruption becomes either an easy risk or a risk worth taking. Another important source of corruption to which many inquiry committees have, referred is delay in the disposal of cases or applications. Delays might occur on account of excessive concentra- tion of functions or authority, insufficient staff, poor quality of personnel, lack of clear policy or directions, or other similar reasons. In each organisation the sources of delay should be carefully examined and the necessary action taken. It was also pointed out that laxity on the part of employees of government was often due to the fact that honest and good work was not sufficiently rewarded and inefficiency and dishonesty was insufficiently penalised. Finally, it was necessary to rouse public opinion to the importance of eliminating corruption and to secure public co-operation in maintaining high levels of integrity in the administration of government activities. This approach has led to the establishment in the Ministry of Home Affairs of an administrative vigilance division. This organisation is, on the one hand, in close contact with the spe- cial police establishment and, on the other, through specially appointed vigilance officers who work directly under the Secretaries or heads of departments. with individual Ministries and departments. The aim of the administrative vigilance division and of the units associated with it is both to take speedy action where corruption has come to notice and to tackle the factors which make corruption possible. Thus, under the general guidance of the Director of the division, vigilance officers in individual Ministries and departments are required to examine the existing organisation and procedures with a view to eliminating or minimising the factors which provide oppor- tunities for corruption or malpractice, to institute inspection and surprise visits for detecting failures indicative of the existence of corruption and take prompt action where reasonable ground for suspicion exists. Vigilance officers are required to proceed sys- tematically, selecting those branches of activities first in which there may be greater risk of corruption. They are asked to ensure that in matters in which members of public are involved, easily ascer- tainable rules of procedure are made widely known. The administrative vigilance division in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the units associated with it have been in existence for about a year. Sufficient experience has been gained to warrant the suggestion that similar arrangements would be useful also in the States and in the principal public enterprises.
6. The Railway Corruption Enquiry Committee has drawn attention to some of the conditions essential to the success of a drive for eliminating corruption. Sometimes officials who are suspected of cor- ruption may be shielded. Individuals who expose corruption fear that they may be victimised and such fears are not always without substance. In many petty matters the influence of individuals is not discountenanced and may operate to the disadvantage of weaker parties. The belief that a measure of influence goes a long way is often expressed even where no special concessions are sought. An alert public opinion can do much to remove an evil whose continued existence is likely to do serious injury to democratic planning. To develop the right climate of public opinion it is necessary that the methods adop- ted by corrupt persons should be fully exposed, publicity should be given to the rights and duties of citizens and instances in which corrupt men are brought to book should be made widely known.
7-1/PC/ND/91.
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ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL CADRES 7. No large programme can be successfully executed without the necessary personnel. In every field most of the tasks to be accomplished are long, range in character and each significant problem needs continuous and detailed attention over many years. For some years there has been a tendency to recruit new personnel on a temporary basis and to carry them over from year to year without giving them reasonable security and satisfaction in achievement. This proves wasteful in man-power resources and, in the long run, is apt to be more costly. As the review of personnel requirements under the second five year plan, in Chapter VIII brings out, with planned development of the country's resources, personnel needs will increase substantially in almost every field. The appropriate course for each authority, therefore, is to build up permanent cadres and to supplement existing cadres on a permanent basis for carrying out its programmes under the second five year plan. This has been done already with advantage during the first five year plan in a few instances, as in the national extension and community development programme and through the formation of the Indian Frontier Administrative Service.
8. The Indian Administrative Service, which serves both the Centre and the States, is now called upon to assume a growing measure of responsibility. The requirements of personnel belonging to this cadre have been recently reviewed in terms of the likely needs over the next five years, and arrangements for taking in 386 additional officers from amongst persons with previous experience have been decided upon. This will be in addition to recruitment during the next five years of 225 persons in the junior scale through the competitive examination.
9. For the implementation of the second five year plan, State Governments have also been engaged in reviewing the requirements of administrative personnel at different levels. As was pointed out in the First Five Year Plan, a major share of the responsibility for detailed administrative work in the districts is borne by members of State administrative services and it falls largely to them to coordinate the activities of different branches of the administration and to win the cooperation of the people in carrying out development programmes. To ensure that these services can fulfil the role assigned to them in the States, it is necessary that the cadres should be adequate in strength. The training of individual officers should receive no less attention than the training of those who enter the all-India service, and liberal opportunities of promotion should be afforded to the best among the personnel of the State services. The burden falling upon State administrative services will increase to a considerable extent during the second plan. As a result of the review which has been undertaken recently, the following suggestions are offered for the consideration of State Governments:
(1) in strengthening State cadres a view of requirements over a sufficiently long period, say 10 years, should be taken;
(2) in making estimates of requirements adequate allowance should be made for the likely expansion of responsibilities which State Governments will have to undertake both in relation to their own programmes and in respect of programmes sponsored by the Central Government In each cadre enough provision should be made for reserves, including those needed for facilitating training;
(3) increase in State cadres should be undertaken preferably on a permanent basis;
(4) as explained later, district development programmes are placing an increasing burden on the Collector. To enable him to discharge the duties entrusted to him, sufficient assistance should be given to him;
(5) training programmes for administrative personnel are being strengthened in a number of States and now include rural development work. Selected officers with experience and judgement should be appointed to positions in which they can provide close supervision and take personal interest in the training of junior personnel during the first years of service. Greater attention should also be given to methods of training, in which respect there is need for continuous exchange of information and experience between States.
10. Experience during the first five year plan has borne out the fact that even in the more developed States a moderate expansion in development programmes strains the available resources of technical personnel, especially at the higher levels. This is true without exception for all fields of development and in some of the less developed States the situation has been sometimes quite serious. For instance, in some States important departments are without directors or other senior officers. In some part `C' States, the chronic shortage of technical personnel, even at lower levels, has been the most important single cause for shortfalls in expenditure and consequent failure to fulfil targets set by the First Five Year Plan. It may be that a few States are in a fair position to provide them- selves with technical personnel. One important lesson of the first plan, however, has been that in several fields the average State is not able to recruit
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personnel of high quality, organise adequate training and provide reserves of personnel to cope with continually expanding needs. It will be an advantage, therefore, if recruitment to State cadres is supplemented in different fields by arrangements such as all-India Services, joint development cadres or other cooperative arrangements between the Centre and participating States as envisaged in the First Five Year Plan, and cadres or other cooperative arrangements organised on a regional basis to serve the needs of groups of States. It is recommended that detailed proposals should be worked out on this subject.
ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY 11. The very magnitude of the second five year plan will place an enormous strain on the country and will call for a great deal of effort on the part of all sections of the population. Generally speaking, the people are willing to shoulder greater burdens if they feel assured that the resources raised by the Government will be utilised with economy and efficiency and there will be no wastage. It has to be recognised that since, during the second plan, each department or authority will spend comparatively larger amounts than during the first plan, there must be far greater care in the spending of money. Both at the Centre and in some States special units have been at work for suggesting ways of achieving economies in expenditure. As development proceeds, an increasing proportion of the expenditure is incurred through projects which involve construction works and import or procurement of scarce materials and equipment. Organisation, procedure and programming methods should, therefore, be designed by every department so as to ensure that public money is not misapplied and that from the money spent the maximum results are obtained. In each organisation there is need for an appropriate system of cost control and internal efficiency audit. With the object especially of achieving economies in the execution of projects, a Committee on Plan Projects has been recently constituted by the National Development Council. The specially functions of the Committee on Plan Projects will be-
(1) to organise investigations, including inspection in the field, of important projects, both at the centre and in the States, through specially selected teams;
(2) to initiate studies with the object of evolving suitable forms of organisation, methods, standards and techniques for achieving economy, avoiding waste and ensuring efficient execution of projects;
(3) to promote the development of suitable machinery for continuous efficiency audit in individual projects and in agencies responsible for their execution;
(4) to secure the implementation of suggestions made in reports submitted to the Committee on Plan Projects and to make the results of studies and investigations generally available; and
(5) to undertake such other tasks as the National Development Council may propose for the promotion of economy and efficiency in the execution of the second five year plan.