TestenGOLD- Free

MAKING MERIT COUNT

THE WEEK India|January 08, 2023
The Modi government's decision to implement the 360-degree performance appraisal has shaken up India's grand old bureaucracy. The remodelling of governance is forcing civil servants to figure out how to stay relevant in a world where technology is taking over jobs
- NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA
MAKING MERIT COUNT

While serving as chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi was annoyed when some of his aides complained about a senior bureaucrat’s incompetence and character flaws. Asking them why the concerns were not flagged earlier, he said promotion committee meetings had no meaning if all officers were automatically promoted. Such thoughts perhaps triggered the ongoing remodelling of India’s bureaucratic steel frame.

The most striking feature of the remodelling is the new 360-degree appraisal, which determines the selection of joint secretaries and higher officers at the Centre. This first big change has shaken up a privileged section in the bureaucracy in Lutyens Delhi.

But how did the cosy club come into being? According to Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978-batch IAS officer who served as finance secretary, home secretary and comptroller and auditor general of India, it was the product of the country’s socialist system. He said: “Accepted first as a policy and then as a constitutional obligation, avowedly for the benefit of the poor, it, in fact, created an elite whose vested interest was to keep talking about the poor and keep benefiting from a system that gave them a privileged existence and a superior social status.”

It created a situation where the levers of power were wielded by an elite club of English speakers, as divorced from real India as any Indian could be. “We have had generations of bureaucrats, judges, doctors and lawyers, almost as if obtaining positions by inheritance had not been discontinued,” said Mehrishi.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 08, 2023-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 08, 2023-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS THE WEEK INDIAAlle anzeigen
Wheelchairs and miracles
THE WEEK India

Wheelchairs and miracles

They are sending that Tharoor fellow for the phoren bijit. Surely you know as many big words as he does, no?” asked Misser Ji, my neighbour.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025
I find it difficult to revisit my work
THE WEEK India

I find it difficult to revisit my work

Tucked away on a narrow lane behind Chennai’s upscale Greenways Road, the Madras Talkies office exudes the same aesthetic and visual artistry as Mani Ratnam’s films. Journalists, TV crews and assistant directors crowd the front office, eager to catch a glimpse of the director a day before the release of Thug Life. The office, flooded with natural light, feels as vibrant as his work. Young staff, fashionably dressed and reminiscent of his movie characters, discuss their mentor, “Mani Sir”.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025
Sindoor and India's new normal
THE WEEK India

Sindoor and India's new normal

Leading one of the seven outreach groups which travelled to 33 countries to communicate India's new normal on Pakistan-backed terrorism was an eye-opening experience. I have had the honour of leading many such delegations in the past, but this one stood out.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025
The eighth nerve
THE WEEK India

The eighth nerve

Nothing is coming,” Aaftab said in broken English, tapping on his ear and shaking his hand to denote his loss of hearing. Fluent only in Arabic, he had travelled from Oman because he had been told that his tumour was too big and in a precarious location, and that there was a significant risk to life.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025
SILENT KILLER
THE WEEK India

SILENT KILLER

Seventy-two countries have banned asbestos, a known carcinogen. India is not one of them

time-read
4 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025
We are not another Pakistan
THE WEEK India

We are not another Pakistan

INTERVIEW - MAHFUJ ALAM adviser to the ministry of information and broadcasting, Bangladesh

time-read
4 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025
LESSONS FROM SINDOOR
THE WEEK India

LESSONS FROM SINDOOR

While India's military actions on May 7 and 10 were successful, it is vital to assess strategic and tactical lessons and shortcomings

time-read
4 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025
Banker’s gamble
THE WEEK India

Banker’s gamble

Bangladesh’s political future will depend on how well Muhammad Yunus and the interim regime he heads brave the dissent at home and pressures from abroad

time-read
7 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025
Cultural weave
THE WEEK India

Cultural weave

Tibetan Muslims in Kashmir carved out a space for themselves by blending two rich cultures, all while dealing with statelessness and economic hardship

time-read
6 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025
THE CRAFT OF CALM
THE WEEK India

THE CRAFT OF CALM

Anavila Misra on her new collection, a launch into home textiles and why living in a bubble has many merits

time-read
4 Minuten  |
June 22, 2025

Wir verwenden Cookies, um unsere Dienste bereitzustellen und zu verbessern. Durch die Nutzung unserer Website stimmen Sie zu, dass die Cookies gesetzt werden. Learn more