A parliamentary committee in its report said that while making appointments to higher echelons of the administration, priority should be given to integrity, calibre, aptitude and interest of the officer among other things rather than the service to which he belongs.
The committee is of the view that it is time to give equal opportunity to officers belonging to other services having expertise in that specific domain.
Today, India needs no generalists or specialists but specialised generalists, i.e. a generalist with knowledge, work experience in a particular domain. This calls for administrative review and restructuring along functional lines.
This observation was mentioned in the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice’s 106th report on Demands for Grants (2021-22) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. They seem to have an edge over others in securing key decision-making positions in the government, the report said without mentioning the name of any service. The panel’s recommendation assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month said what can be achieved by handing over the nation to “babus” (government officials).
