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5/24/2017 ARC:AdministrativeReformsCommission

ARC: Administrative
Reforms Commission
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The major achievement of the Nehru era can be called


the establishment of the Department of Administrative
Reforms. It offered management advice and facilitated
the implementation of reform policies through
coordination and liaison work training in administration
got a boost and administrative information management
could provide a reliable resource for reform.

On Nehrus demise in 1964 and a brief stint of Lal


Bahadur Shastri as Prime Minister, Morarji Desai was
the most senior political leader on whom fell the
responsibility of revamping the administrative organi-
sation of India. On 5th January, 1966 the President set up
a commission of enquiry which is popularly known as
the Administrative Reforms Commission.

It consisted of Morarji Desai as chairman and K.


Hanumanthaiya, H.C. Mathur, G.S. Pathak and H.V.
Kamath as members. All of them were members of
Parliament at that time. A senior civilian, V. Shankar,
was appointed member-secretary of the commission.
Unfortunately, due to various reasons, the membership
of the commission suffered frequent causalities needing
replacements.

The first to leave the commission was G.S. Pathak on his


joining the Central cabinet in January. He was replaced
by Debabrata Mookerjee. In March 1967, Morarji Desai
himself joined the Central cabinet as Deputy Prime
Minister and K. Hanumanthaiya succeeded him as
chairman. A little later, after the death of H.C. Mathur,
T.N. Singh was appointed as member in his place.

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ADVERTISEMENTS:

The ARC as it is popularly known was given a very wide


and comprehensive terms of reference. It was
specifically asked to examine the public administration
of the country and make recommendations for reform
and reorganization where necessary.

Sectors of administration mentioned in the terms of


reference included:

(1) The machinery of the Government of India and its


procedure of work,

(2) The machinery for planning at all levels,

ADVERTISEMENTS:

(3) Centre-state relationships,

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(4) Financial administration,

(5) Personnel administration,

(6) Economic administration,

ADVERTISEMENTS:

(7) Administration at the state level,

(8) District administration,

(9) Agriculture administration, and

(10) Problems of redressal of citizens grievances.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

To facilitate the work of the commission a resolution of


the government detailed each of the above ten areas for
specific recommendations.

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Some of the issues to be examined under each head


were:

(1) The machinery of the Government of India and its


procedures of work:

(a) The grouping of subjects in department,

(b) The role of the Cabinet secretariat,

(c) Problems of inter-ministry coordination,

(d) Staffing patterns and methods of work within


ministries and departments,

(e) Relationship between ministries and their attached


and subordinate offices.

(2) The machinery for planning at all levels:

(a) Planning organisations and procedures at the Centre


and the states, and

(b) The relationship of the Planning Commission at the


centre and planning agencies in the states with other
agencies.

(3) Centre-state relationship:

(a) Centre-state relationship in the realm of planning


and development, with particular reference to the
growth of central agencies handling subjects in the
Concurrent and State Lists,

(b) Centre-state relationship in other spheres, with


particular reference to the needs of national integration
and of maintaining efficient standards of administration
throughout the country.

(4) Financial administration:

(a) Budgetary reform,

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(b) Reform in the administration of accounts,

(c) The role of audit,

(d) The system of expenditure control, including


procedures for sanctioning schemes and the problem of
financial delegation and decentralisation,

(e) Procedures governing financial relations between the


Centre and the state.

(5) Personnel administration:

(a) Personnel planning and organisation for it,

(b) Recruitment policies and procedures, including


selected techniques,

(c) The Union Public Service Commission and the State


Public Service Commissions,

(d) Promotion policies and incentives,

(e) Policy and rules to ensure efficiency, honesty and


maintenance of morale,

(f) Training,

(g) Role of the Cabinet Secretary and the ministries of


home affairs and finance,

(h) Personnel management of public sector enterprises.

(6) Economic administration:

(a) Economic coordination and role of departments of


economic affairs and coordination. Planning
Commission and the department of industry,

(b) Administration of foreign exchange,

(c) Export promotion and role of the concerned


departments,

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(d) Review of the mechanism and procedures of


economic controls,

(e) Role of the ministry of industry and supply vis-a-vis


other ministries,

(f) Organisation for promoting industries in the private


sector.

(7) Administration at state level:

(a) Examination of organisation and procedures of state


government with special reference to problems of allied
nature,

(b) The need to strengthen administration in the states at


all levels.

(8) District administration:

(a) The role of the collector in respect of general


administration and development administration, and as
the agent of the state government,

(b) The role of the collector in the matter of public


grievances and complaints,

(c) The relationship between the collector and


Panchayati Raj institutions,

(d) The relationship between the collector and


departmental heads at the district and supra-district
levels,

(e) The size of districts,

(f) Personnel policies in relation to the post of collector.

(9) Agricultural administration:

(a) The role of the ministry of food and agriculture and


other ministries concerned with agricultural production,

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and coordination between them.

(b) Inter-relationships between state agriculture


departments, community development organisations
and other organisations concerned with agricultural
production in the states,

(c) Organisation for agricultural administration at the


state and district levels,

(d) Coordination between research and extension


organisations.

(10) Problems of redressal of citizens grievances:

(a) The adequacy of the existing arrangements for the


redressal of grievances,

(b) Need for introduction of any new machinery of


special institution for redress of grievances.

The details helped the Commission to constitute study


teams and develop a dialogue with knowledgeable
people and an active interface among the members of
the Commission. Morarji Desai remained the chairman
of the Commission for few months and was later
succeeded by K. Hanumanthaiya.

The government asked the commission to consider the


need for ensuring the highest standards of efficiency
and integrity in the public services, and for making
public administration a fit instrument for carrying out
the social and economic policies of the government. A
comprehensive enquiry of this type was to be
undertaken in India for the first time.

The government left the commission free to devise its


own procedures, and appoint committees and advisers
to assist it. The Commission worked from January 1966
to June 1970. It set up 20 study teams, 13 working

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groups, 4 expert groups and 1 task force to investigate


into specified problems and suggest reforms.

The association of a large number of knowledgeable


persons in public life of the country worked with these
teams and groups which made the commission available
a variety of insights on different aspects of
administrative reforms. The commission submitted 20
reports in all to the Central government which
comprised 578 recommendations.

The reports of the commission came on the following


subjects in the years noted against each:

(1) Problems of Redress of Citizens Grievances (1966)

(2) Machinery of Planning (Interim) (1967)

(3) Public Undertakings (1967)

(4) Finance, Accounts and Audit (1968)

(5) Economic Administration (1968)

(6) Machinery of Government of India and its


Procedures of Work (1968)

(7) Life Insurance Corporation (1968)

(8) Machinery for Planning (1968)

(9) Central Direct Tax Administration (1969)

(10) Administration of Union Territories and NEFA


(1969)

(11) Personnel Administration (1969)

(12) Delegation of Financial and Administrative Powers


(1969)

(13) Centre-state Relations (1969)

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(14) State Administration (1969)

(15) Small Scale Sector (1969)

(16) Railways (1970)

(17) Treasuries (1970)

(18) Reserve Bank of India (1970)

(19) Post and Telegraphs (1970)

(20) Scientific Departments (1970)

Additionally, the ARC produced 33 reports of the study


teams and working groups. Out of about 580
recommendations of the ARC, most of them were of a
procedural nature or restated the well-known positions
of the commission. The commission recommended
actions and study team reports have a mine of ideas
which go a long way to induct specialisation,
professionalisation and de-centralisation in
administration.

The concern for efficiency, effectivity and economy is


writ large on all these recommendations, the
commissions has finalised. The earlier reports in varied
areas have been re-examined and the conclusions tend
to further the reform process initiated by Dean Paul
Appleby.

The abstract of the major reports of ARC are


reproduced here:

(1) The Machinery of Government:

(i) The size of the council of ministers should be


determined by administrative needs, and national
combination of subjects into ministerial portfolios be
encouraged.

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(ii) The Cabinet Secretary should be a general


coordinator and principal staff adviser to the prime
minister, the cabinet and the cabinet committees.

(iii) A department of personnel should be set up under


the prime minister and its functions should be the
formulation of personnel policies and review of their
implementation, talent-hunting, development of
personnel manpower planning, training and career
development.

(iv) There should be only two levels of consideration


below the minister, namely,

(i) Under secretary/deputy secretary, and

(ii) Joint secretary/additional secretary/secretary with a


desk-officer system.

(v) Responsibility for overall coordination within a


ministry should be assigned to one of the
department/secretaries appropriate for this purpose.

(vi) The department of administrative reforms should be


placed under the deputy prime minister.

(vii) The existing O&M units should be reactivised.

(2) Centre-states Relationships:

(i) An Inter-state council consisting of the prime minister


as chairman, the finance minister, the home minister,
the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and five
representatives, one each from the five zonal councils
should perform functions under Article 263 of the
Constitution.

(ii) The Finance Commission should make


recommendations on the principles which should
govern the distribution of plan grants to the states.

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(iii) Powers should be delegated to the maximum extent


to the states with regard to their work on projects in
which the Centre is interested or which are carried out
by them.

(3) Personnel Administration:

(i) There should be a unified grading structure for the


entire civil service so as to facilitate the movement of
officers from one area to another as per need or
competence.

(ii) Greater opportunities should be provided to


government servants of lower ranks to rise rapidly as
high as their competence and performance warrant.

(iii) Wherever the members involved in a particular


function are viable, the posts should be grouped into
regularly constituted services.

(iv) The present system of confidential reports is


replaced by performance reports to get civil servants
merit properly assessed (The Manmohan Singh
government has accepted it with sweeping
modifications).

(v) The public servants should not have a right to strike


and their grievance should be settled through a joint
consultative machinery and administrative tribunals.

(vi) There should be an improvement of recruitment


policies and procedures, pruning of excessive personnel,
abolition of unnecessary and ineffective organisations,
fixation of work norms, simplification and codification
of rules, rationalisation of holidays and strict limitation
of overtime work and transfers.

(vii) A functional field must be carved out for the IAS.

(viii) Central training division in the department of


personnel be created.
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(ix) Both the husband and wife should not be employed


under government at the same time.

(x) A civil servant may be allowed to retire voluntarily


after he has completed 5 years of service and given
proportionate pension and gratuity.

(xi) The quantum of pension admissible may be raised to


three-sixths of the average emoluments of the last three
years as against the existing three-eighths.

(4) Finance, Accounts and Audit:

(i) The November 1 should begin the financial year to


facilitate a more realistic assessment of revenue and an
even spread of expenditure.

(ii) The departments and organisations should introduce


performance budgeting, which would inter-relate
financial outlays with physical targets and achievements
and present estimates and expenditure on terms of
functions, programmes, activities and projects.

(iii) Audit should aim at a positive and constructive


approach to see improvements in organisational
efficiency and effectiveness of financial rules and
procedures.

(iv) The Commission did not consider the question of


separation of audit from accounts.

(v) The system of internal financial advice should be


strengthened to develop financial competence within
each department of ministry.

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