Into the world of 'babus'

Even as I hold reservations against two of the three words — 'Decoding' and 'Babudom' — in the title, I strongly recommend the book to all serving and aspiring bureaucrats besides, of course, public policy practitioners, analysts and governance specialists who wish to get an inside view of how Indian bureaucracy actually works, for, after all, it is this very bureaucracy which has made India the fastest growing economy in the world — all set to take the leap from a three-trillion dollar economy in the current fiscal to a forty-trillion by 2047.

Author Ashwini Shrivastava does mention that "the system is transforming itself internally" to make the 'codes' transparent and morph the 'babus' into 'governance professionals'. In fact, there are seven clear takeaways that make the purchase of this eminently readable book 'good value for money'.

First is the issue of perspective. Unlike most commentators on the bureaucracy, including insiders, the purpose is not to criticise, but to understand the ecosystem which the citizen faces in her day-to-day interaction with the state.

As journalist Sumedha Shankar puts it in the preface, "the writer has not only picked up the shortcomings of the country's bureaucratic system but, at the same time, also presented possible solutions to correct and overcome them".

The author shows how several initiatives of the government, especially digitisation and re-engineering of processes, have made the citizen-government interface friendlier.

He cites the example of Aadhar, CPGRAMS (Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System) as well as the ease with which pensioners' issues are being resolved.

He acknowledges that most people form their impressions about governance based on their interaction with Group-B and -C officers and he recommends that they ought to be included in the ambit of training. In fact, the Mission Karamyogi launched by the PM in August 2020 addresses this issue quite directly.

Second, he does not hesitate to discuss the scourge of corruption and its implications. Having classified it as 'need-based,' 'greed-based' and 'accepted', he is most upset about the 'accepted' corruption.

It gnaws at the system and stymies it, causing immense suffering to the citizen who does not have either the economic resources or the political access to get her basic rights.

This reviewer feels that 'need-based corruption' is the easiest to redress — the reviewer is personally aware of how SHOs and revenue officials are asked to make arrangements for VVIP visits, judges, magistrates, and their own seniors. The sad part is that everyone knows about it – but no one does anything. The solution lies in providing enough contingency funds to the functionaries at the ground level. I have stated elsewhere that an SHO would need at least one lakh rupees a month to keep the jeeps, motorcycles, and the paraphernalia in shape.

Third, he points out the major lacunae in which the bureaucracy finds itself. These include trust deficit, centralisation of power, lack of professionalism, absence of an innovation culture, reluctance to adopt absolute digitisation, and 'air-conditioned governance.' All this leads to the Peter's Principle, with employees rising to their level of incompetence.

Fourth, he lists the FAQs – these relate to lateral entry, red tape, management of migrants during Covid, impact of frequent transfers, aspirations of joining civil services, gender balance and, last but not the least, how do honest officer's work without fear or favour. The writer explains these issues at length and gives his comments with pros and cons for each option.

Lateral entry is inevitable as tasks become more specialised, red tape can be cut only if officers are sensitised to the ground realities, district administrations could manage crises when officers lead from the front, civil services still attract the best and the brightest, the gender balance is improving though far from perfect, and a wide gap exists between the precept and practice when it comes to the pressures on and from CVC, CBI and the CAG.

Fifth, he takes up the question of the domination of the IAS, and what it means for the other services. As I have argued elsewhere, it is time to consider separate examinations for different sets of services to encourage people with the right aptitude and attitude for the job profile at hand. However, a clear distinction must be made between domain professionals and governance professionals.

Sixth, he devotes an entire chapter to discuss the postcards of change — short success stories which won the PM's award for excellence in public service. These include tracking parameters in the Delhi government school system, e-registration of properties in Bihar, establishment of co-operative medical shops – a precursor to Jan Aushadhi — besides enforcement of forest rights in MP. This shows that where officers are clear about what they wish to accomplish, they can achieve their goals by leveraging resources and aligning institutional mechanisms.

Last but not the least, he has included two contrarian views on the bureaucracy – the first by Ajay Chaturvedi, a former Indian Information service officer who suggests that the steel frame, with the IAS at the helm, should give way to each of the services rising to the top in their respective departments. He suggests, for example, that an officer from the IES should head the Finance Ministry, just as an information service officer should head the Information Ministry. Abhilash Khandekar, a senior journalist, is sceptical of whether any 'steel' is still left in the frame. He quotes Dipali Rastogi, a fearless and forthright officer of the MP cadre, whom I have had the privilege to train, "we are in the Service to serve ... the truth is, we scarcely behave like servants: we distribute largesse which does not belong to us, and we do work for which we are not trained."

Therefore, even as there is much to introspect, it also compels us to think on what kind of a governance system we need as India enters the Amrit Kal. A good book is not one which gives easy answers. It is the one which provokes us to think. And if this be the criterion, the book comes out with flying colours.

Views expressed are personal