Letter to BS: Maximisation of govt revenues is new objective of bureaucracy

As claimed by Dhiraj Nayyar in his article “Banish the fear of the four Cs” (April 25), “maximisation of government revenues” is the new objective of bureaucracy because of the fear of four Cs — Central Bureau of Investigation, Central Vigilance Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General of India and Courts. Has it moved from the goal of correct procedure (efficiency) to desired results (effectiveness)? I think the former remains the hallmark of Indian bureaucracy even now. A government official can be taken to task for adopting questionable means even if he got the results. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now facing fire from the Supreme Court (pictured) on the Rafale deal for disregarding the established process by playing safe. The associated government servants came out with their objections on the process being followed by the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
An associated offshoot of this efficiency-focused work culture is the conflict of culture which the new entrants, inducted from an effectiveness-oriented culture of non-government organisations, would face in the new setup. I presume that getting the best from minuscule nine inductees submerged in the vast ocean of “babudom” would be a challenge for the government as well as the inductees. This would need a well-structured socialisation process to integrate them into the government working but with outcome-related performance.
 
Y G Chouksey,  Pune

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