IIM grads within govt try for some synergy in reforming the rust frame.
Can tried precepts from business schools on effective management be applied to governance in India? Not only in processes of work but also in the structures of bureaucracy?
Theoretically, yes, but... Well, the news is that a group of senior officers within the Central government have been banding for some time to remove that ‘but’ from the proposition. They are about 100-odd, with a shared background, of having an MBA degree from one or the other Indian Institute of Management (IIM).
Calling themselves IIM-G, or IIM graduates in government services, these 100-odd officers had let go of lucrative corporate careers in return for the power and security of the senior civil service. Most serve in the upper echelons of the coveted alphabet soup that comprises the government backbone — IAS, IFS, IRS, IRAS, PMO, etc. They still believe government can — and should — be reinvented on more idealistic lines, of the sort that ensure reform in both accountability and outcomes.
Here’s a sample from their monthly meetings. Open senior posts to the private sector. Re-advertise jobs at mid term; let incumbents compete to retain these. Base pay on the need of the job, not on the seniority of the person appointed. Have independent field reports to measure the outcome of public spending.
That sort of thinking has arisen from the way they go about their forum chats. That is once every month, at least, on an issue connected with governance. There is a presentation by members, following a 7-7 code (seven slides of seven minutes each). It’s been armchair stuff so far, and they now want to move ahead from the closed-door sessions. For a start, get seniors, policy makers, other influential luminaries to come, listen and react.
Only academic?
It’s not a utopia, they insist; there’s much appetitite for meaningful work within the bureacucracy. “It is a myth that the government mindlessly flings you around to different postings, says Ajay Bisaria (IIM-C, IFS batch 1987), joint secretary, ministry of external affairs. He has already been an advisor in the World Bank and private secretary to the Prime Minister. “Political interference is hugely overstated. By and large, officials who are dedicated and competent are given recognition.”
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Sudhir Rajpal (IIM-A, IAS 1990), municipal commissioner, Gurgaon, agrees. “The job satisfaction I enjoy,” he says, “has never once made me miss the higher corporate pay packages over these 20 years.” In other words, the system can be made to deliver if one is serious. Why not take the momentum forward? It’s relevant to note here that the Sixth Pay Commission report of 2008 had actually proposed some of the things the IIM-G lot are pushing.
It wanted, for instance, senior administrative posts to be filled by a much wider selection than from a single service. In fact, it wanted posts requiring technical or specialised knowledge to be filled after going through a pool from both within or outside the Central services.
There has also since been much more experience in using and entrenching laws such as the right to information, with a groundswell of public opinion for powerful ombudsmen-like institutions such as the Lok Pal to check on outcomes and enforce accountability. To have people from senior levels within the system to take these ideas on is welcome. The onus is on them to show they’re capable of doing so.
Bharat Salhotra (IIM-C and MIT Sloan, 1985 IRAS batch), currently general manager in the railways’ Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation, says they’re also keen on energising B-school students to join in improving the state and its services. “Most students at these B-schools have inaccurate perceptions about government service. We’d like to provide guidance and clear doubts in this direction,” he said. Why not, he argues, get that talent, with all the management exposure, interested in getting to grips with public service?
Why not, indeed? In fact, it’s happening in some ways. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, for instance, oversees quite a few social and rural development programmes. He got four IIM-A students to take a summer internship in these last year. This year, six joined from the batch. Let’s see where this goes.