Public Service Code 2nd ARC Recommendation

Discuss the Public Service Code as recommended by the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission.

    The 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission(ARC) had proposed the inclusion of a Public Service Code in the draft Public Service Bill,2007. The commission had drawn inspiration from the inclusion of such provisions in the constitution of other countries like Australia, Poland, etc.

    The commission outlines the desirable qualities that make the civil services efficient. They include impartiality, integrity, dedication to public service, political neutrality, adherence to the highest standards of probity, objectivity, empathy for the weaker section of the public, etc.

    The commission recognizes the difficulties in enforcement of these values per se. But the commission has highlighted that efforts made by individuals in leadership positions in organization to inculcate these values in within the organization can make a difference.

    The commission envisages that the Public Service code would facilitate the employees to discharge their official duties with competence and accountability, care and diligence, honesty , without discrimination and in accordance with law. It conceptualizes a comprehensive civil service code at three levels.

• Apex Level: Clear and concise statement of the values and ethical Standards that civil servant should imbibe.
• Second Level: Broad principles which should govern the behavior of civil Servants should be outlined.
• Third Level: A specific code of conduct stipulating in a precise and unambiguous manner a list of acceptable and unacceptable behavior and actions.

    The commission believed that the statutory backing through Civil Services bill to the Code of Ethics would guide the civil servants towards behaviors, choices and actions that benefit the community.