Mission Karmyogi: An attempt to change the face of civil services

With the need for an efficient and citizen-centric approach for people at ground level has made. The Prime Minister to launch the Mission Karmyogi on Independence Day, 2021.

• The scheme has aimed to focus the working of civil services towards their duties.

The Mission Karmyogi:

• Mission Karmayogi - National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) – is meant to reform Indian bureaucracy and prepare civil servants for the future.

• The programme aims “comprehensive reform of the capacity building apparatus at individual institutional and process levels for efficient public service delivery”.

Objective:

• Better delivery of government services
• Reduce the gap between the citizens and the government
• Better ease of living and greater ease of doing business

Features of the Mission Karmayogi:

• Tech-Aided: The capacity building will be delivered through the iGOT Karmayogi digital platform, with content drawn from global best practices.

• Shift from Rules to Roles: The programme will support a transition from “rules-based to roles-based” Human Resource Management (HRM). so, that work allocations can be done by matching an official’s competencies to the requirements of the post.
• Integrated Initiative: Eventually, service matters such as confirmation after the probation period, deployment, work assignments and notification of vacancies will all be integrated into the proposed framework.
• Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: An appropriate monitoring and evaluation framework will also be put in place for the performance evaluation of all users of the iGOT-Karmayogi platform. So, as to generate a dashboard view of Key Performance Indicators.

Importance of the Civil Service to Governance

• Service presence throughout the country and its strong binding character
• The administrative and managerial capacity of the services
• Effective policy-making and regulation
• Effective coordination between institutions of governance
• Leadership at different levels of administration.
• Service delivery at the cutting-edge level
• Provide ‘continuity and change’ to the administration.

Ailments Afflicting Indian Civil Services:

• Lack of professionalism and poor capacity building
• Inefficient incentive systems that do not appreciate upright and outstanding civil servants but reward the corrupt and the incompetent
• Outmoded rules and procedures that restrict the civil servant from performing effectively
• Systemic inconsistencies in promotion and empanelment
• Lack of adequate transparency and accountability procedures - there is also no safety for whistle-blowers
• Arbitrary and whimsical transfers– insecurity in tenures impedes institutionalization
• Political interferenceand administrative acquiescence
• A gradual erosion in values and ethics

Recent achievements:

• The World Bank has approved a USD 47 million projects to support the Government of India’s Mission Karmayogi, a national program to build civil service capacity.