GS3 PYQ(Mains Answer Writing): Institutional Quality in Strengthening Democracy | Indian Economy for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Institutional quality is a crucial driver of economic performance. In this context suggest reforms in Civil Service for strengthening democracy. (UPSC GS3 Mains)

Institutional quality in a democracy determines how successful the government machinery adheres to the principles of public service, rule of law, and social justice. One such institution is the Civil Services, which acts as a link between the Government & Citizenry and strengthens democracy.
Importance of the Civil Services 

• Basis of Government: There can be no government without administrative machinery. 
• Implementing Laws & Policies: Civil services are responsible for implementing laws and executing policies framed by the government. 
• Stabilising Force: Amidst political instability, the civil service offers stability and perfomance. While governments and ministers can come and go, the civil services is a permanent fixture giving the administrative set up a sense of stability and continuity. 
• Instruments of Social Change & Economic Development: Successful policy implementation will lead to positive changes in the lives of ordinary people. It is only when the promised goods and services reach the intended beneficiaries, a government can call any scheme successful. The task of actualising schemes and policies fall with the officers of the civil services. However, there are many challenges faced by civil services, which act as a roadblock in the path of democracy 
• Status Quoist: As instruments of public service, civil servants have to be ready for change. The common experience, however, is that they resist changes as they are wedded to their privileges and prospects and thereby, have become ends in themselves. For example, the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution have envisaged democratic decentralization. However, due to the reluctance on the part of the civil servants to accept the changes in control and accountability, the intended vision has not been achieved. 
• Rule-Book Bureaucracy: By the rule book bureaucracy, it meant mainly following the rules and laws of the book without taking care of the actual needs of the people. Due to rule book bureaucracy, some civil servants have developed the attitude of‘ bureaucratic behavior’, which evokes issues like red-tapism, the complication of procedures, and the maladapted responses of ‘bureaucratic’ organizations to the needs of the people. 
• Political Interference: The political representative for the sake of fulfilling the populist demand, influences the functioning of administrative officials. Hence, an administrative official has to adhere to the will of the political master. This interference sometimes leads to issues like corruption, arbitrary transfers of honest civil servants. Also, this led to substantial inefficiency where the vital positions are not held by the best officers and ultimately this can lead to institutional decline. Civil Services Reforms for economic performance and strengthening democracy. 
• Prompt Delivery of Services: Every department should seek to simplify their processes to cut administrative delays and ensure participatory feedback mechanisms for efficient service delivery. 
• Reducing Discretion & Enhancing Accountability Mechanism: There is an inherent need to set key responsibility/focus areas and progressively reduce discretionary aspects to evaluate civil servants.Online Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) should be instituted in all central and state cadres.Also, as suggested by many committees, there is a need to develop benchmarks to assess the performance of officers and compulsorily retire those deemed unable to meet the benchmarks. 
• Incorporation of Code of Ethics: As suggested by 2nd ARC, along with streamlining of code of conduct rules, there is a need to inculcate ethical underpinning in the civil servants by implementing Code of Ethics.This will sensitize civil servants to problems of people and help in the resolution of ethical dilemmas, which tend to emerge frequently in the public sphere. 
• De-politicization of bureaucracy: the bureaucrats’ primary purpose of providing non-partisan and efficient administration. So training in how to remain non- partisan need to be inculcated. Checking the Politicians – bureaucrats – Businessman nexus: The nexus was borne out of license quota raj where politicians and bureaucrats had discretionary power over allocation of natural resources in the country. This led to this unholy nexus and crony capitalism. It has undermined the democratic credentials of the country. So there is need of creation of check and balance

Conclusion 
Sardar Patel considered the civil service “the steel frame of government machinery” as its main intent is to strengthen the administrative capacity to perform important government functions. However, without adequate reforms, this steel frame may start to get corrosion and may collapse. Therefore, in order to deal with present-day challenges and strengthen democracy, there is a need to carry out Civil services reforms in a holistic way.