18. Initially Civil Services in India were designed to achieve the goals
of neutrality and effectiveness, which seems to be lacking in the present
context. Do you agree with the view that drastic reforms are required in Civil
Services. Comment. (250 words) 15M
Ans.
Indian Civil Services is known to be the steel frame of India which is
responsible for the implementation of the government policies and protecting
the rights and interests of the people.
However, in the recent years it has been seen that the civil services
which has performed really well for decades after Independence is now suffering
from many problems like
(i) Politicization in transfers and promotions. For example, Ashok
Khemka being transferred more than 45 times in his career of 34 years, even
scoring excellent in annual confidential review.
(ii) Article 311 protection has become debatable due to the dishonesty
of some of the IAS officers. 2nd ARC (Administrative Reform Commission) report
clarified that protection must be given only to honest officers and offences
with clear evidence like when caught while taking bribe must be directly
prosecuted.