Before we understand police reforms and need for reforms, we need to understand problems of police in India. It can be categorised under

• Structural Problems
  • Goal Clarity
  • Role Clarity
  • Dual accountability
• Operational problems
• Infrastructural problems
• Behavioural Issues
• Police Public Relationship - Past, present and ideal

Structural Problems

1. Goal Clarity
   • Police a force or service?
   • Is it an L&O agency or people-friendly law enforcement authority
   • Who owns police - state or society?
   • What is their fundamental vision and mission?

As per SC in Prakash Singh Judgement 2006 - commitment and devotion of police is only to the rule of law. The supervision and control has to be such that police serve people without any regard to status and position of person. During investigation / preventive measures

2. Role Clarity
   • Role overload - no sense of prioritisation (it includes core and non-core responsibilities)
   • L&O maintenance - Ideally police should be bifurcated into
     • prevention and protection
     • Investigation and prosecution
   • because these two macro functions requires different skill and attitude
   • Police to population ratio - UK - 1:290 and India - 1:690
   • 87% of police personnel is constabulary (no FRI or no arrest)
   • Teeth to tail ratio = SI: Constables
     • Ideal - 1:7
     • India - 1:15

3. Dual Accountability

In 1996 petition - The present distortion has its roots in colonial past (1861 Act) and it completely sub-ordinates police to executive and even to political executive which was designed originally to protect British Raj - Indian police groomed by British on military ethos and their model was Irish police instead of British constabulary ( Br. police is known for their efficiency and effectiveness )

SC in 2006 Prakash Singh case gave 7 direction on Police Reform

• Create state security commission to insulate police
• Create police establishment board to give functional autonomy - recruitment, training and posting
• Selection of DG from a panel of three senior-most panels and tenure of two years, similar tenures for other officers
• Create police complaints authority (to investigate police against police)
• Separate prevention from Law and order.

However L&O is a state subject and states are highly reluctant, lack of political will to reduce control on police. Although directions were supposed to be implemented by 2007. Justice K Thomas committee observed that most of the states have not implemented and are indifferent to police reforms.

Centre came up with a draft model police act and drafted by Soli Sorabjee Committee but states have not yet made the changes in true letter and spirit.

Maharastra recently filed an affidavit asking SC, if these are guidelines or order or encroachment on states power while some other states have expressed practical in-ability in implementation as observed by CHRI - Common Wealth Human Rights Investigation. Bigger the state greater seems to be the defiance on Judiciary's order of police reforms.

Why should law be separate from order

Police should report to political executive. They argue that uncontrolled and unregulated police force undermine democracy, uniform service having to access and authority to use force but without Checks and Balance, Control and Accountability. Who will guard the guards?. There would be danger of abuse - coercive power can extinguish the flame of liberty unless it is tempered by responsible political direction

Extraneous pressure and vested interest prevent police from objective action. Therefore separate L&O. Even J has directed for separation and insulation of police from political pressure, Since police force is frequently misused by political masters for

• Spy on political rivals
• Going slow on investigation
• Selective pursuit on politically sensitive cases. e.g closure and reopening of cases
• Influencing police during investigation, riots, communal clashes, conflict resolution and election related violence
• Impact of CPPC
• Failure to identify chain of command e.g in the proposed communal violence bill, civil society wanted clarity on chain of commands. i.e who should be ultimately held responsible and accountable for action /inaction

Ideally, police should be brought under political executive for preventive aspects but in the investigation, they should be completely insulated. e.g SC observed apex agency like CBI is subject to political pressure. CBI is like a parrot speaking his master's voice

The politicisation of police leads to loss of objectivity and credibility, police will continue to be a state force or state machinery in the eyes of citizens if this segregation does not happen.

to be continued...

Framework

Meaning of Law

Law is that portion of established thought which has got a distinct and formal recognition, in the shape of a uniform Law which is backed by the government

Meaning of Order

Faithful and peaceful observant of law

Importance of Law and Order

1. Rule of Law - It is the sovereign function of the state which is as important as defending the county form external aggression, it is the rule of law that we have sought to avoid the danger of unfettered (without limit) executive discretion and ensure all citizens have their rights.
2. Yogashema
3. For greater good - ensure that one's freedom does not come in the way of other person enjoying liberties and at the same time implement policies for the general good, which may have affected parties but their interest is also taken care by the law.
4. Need for social discipline - without the sanctity of law, there will be danger of anarchy
5. Development requires peaceful L&O. The reinforce each other
6. States with a better perception of L&O attract greater investments
7. Need to have an effective criminal justice system. To serve as a deterrent against violation of law
8. Preventive mechanism - Maintain social peace - if a violation occurs, then conduct investigation
9. Prepare grounds for prosecution and oversee enforcement of punitive mechanism

Functions of Police

• Promote and preserve public order
• Identify problems and situations that are likely to result in crime. (Intelligence collection and prevention)
• Aid and cooperate with other relevant agencies in implementing appropriate measures for creating and maintaining a sense of security
• Aid individuals who are in the danger of physical harm
• Provide relief to people who are in distressed situation
• Preserve legitimacy of governance
• Sanctity of law
• Maintain internal security
• Facilitate orderly movement of people and vehicles
• Conflict resolution
• Promote brotherhood - fraternity
• Crime investigation
• Reinforce the feeling of safety and security

Challenges in maintaining Law & Order

Balancing between

Read more about DC and Law and Order

Read more about Police problems and Police Reforms

Read more about Police-Public Relations

Traditionally DC has been entrusted with the ultimate responsibility of maintaining peaceful L&O in a district. In 1861 the police act creates a reporting relationship between DC and SP. It was commented for law go to courts, for order got to police, for L&O come to us. This was true pre-1947 when DC performed both executive magistracy and judicial magistracy. But post-1947, a separate hierarchy of district judges have come up. Therefore DC looks after only executive magistracy. E.g power to impose section 144, issue arms licenses. Inspection of Jails and other activities in which he is assisted by District police headed by SP who works closely with DC. Though Dc and SP have a reporting relationship DC is not expected to interfere in day to day working of police machinery which is SP's domain. SP is also accountable to his own police h'y which ultimately ends at DG at state level. Therefore to some extent, it is a violation of unity of commands. However, this relationship may lead to problems.

• Police traditionally oppose reporting relationship with DC stating the 1861 act as colonial legacy
• Generalist(DC) vs Specialist(SP)
• Politicisation - SP
• No consensus w.r.t use of force and quantum
• Personality clashes

1861 act is a colonial legacy and since SP is a specialist different national police commission had consistently advocated changing over to SP lead L&O system in the district. They draw parallel with a commissioned system in metros where police commissioner is ultimately responsible for L&O. This overlooks the fact that a police commissioner is a highly experienced officer ( 25-30 years). Who has to deal with diverse situation quickly. While is a typical district SP is a rookie and the nature of L&O requires combined efforts of SP and DC. It is not possible to separate regulatory admin from development admin. Both impact and influence each other. Also, L&O management is not just about using force, it requires root cause analysis and authority to diffuse crisis and effectively redress grievances. Therefore commissions like 2nd ARC have suggested status quo between SP and DC but should operate more as colleagues.

Contemporary problems in Law and Order

• Complex L&O - Changing nature of crimes
• Pressure on admin to deliver quick results
• Change in the scale of violence
• Civil Society vigilantism - mob justice
• Balancing human rights and national security consideration
• Political pressure
• Impact of technology - presence of instant reporting mechanism
• Waiting for orders syndrome
• Cynical attitude of society towards constructive engagement
• Increasing horizontal social, micro, control and accountability
• Power of media - esp. social media
• Problems of communal riot in a fragmented society with historic fault lines - uneven development
• Lack of employment opportunities
• Politicization
• Exploitation for electoral gains - triggers social unrest. Ideally, it requires concerted efforts from stakeholders (everyone) - DC and SP will have to create consensus and restore normalcy and peace esp. by persuading and cultivating key decision-makers / opinion influences of civil society
• Political executive too should play a constructive role in diffusing tensions and avoid polarization
• Internal security and external security are intricately linked esp. in border areas, disturbed regions and LMN affected areas.

Read more in Law and Order Administration

For almost 200 years District Collector enjoyed unchallenged omnipotence but with the creation of LSG, it creates a kind of a reporting relationship between District admin and LSG but in most states, there is no clarity w.r.t relation between DC and LSG.

Why is B'y against LSG

• It establishes control and accountability - which goes against the traditional relationship between DC and local body/people.
• Creates horizontal, lateral, diagonal social micro accountability of DC to Local Bodies
• Vested interest - Loss of patronage
• Shifting the balance of power - inverting the power pyramid - goes against the typical colonial regulatory mindset of treating citizens like subjects
• Not yet reconciled to the idea of LSG as the primary vehicle of development
• Fierce loss of power - In many states, DC is still an inspector of PRI's. Has the power to suspend PRI resolution
• Even the states support DC instead of LSG due to lack of political will to empower LSG

Should District collector exit from developmental scene ?

• For
  • DC does not have the skillset and mindset for development. Therefore separate regulation and development admin
  • CEO of Zilla Parishad - Can look after development while DC can be restricted to the regulation of L&O
• Against
  • Can't artificially segregate regulation and development. Both reinforce each other, share a complementary relationship, not practically possible
  • DC as an area officer is strategically placed to coordinated and generate synergy among officers and staff belonging to different director/development. No other official is equipped to create consensus and to generate outcome as much of DC who can use his power (hard and soft) to bring about integrated development (ripple effect)
  • DC can interact with both LSG and State - act as an interface and identify real needs rather than stated demands. e.g - LSG at times may be guilty of being too parochial and myopic rather than looking at the macro, big picture / long term due to lack of E³ - Exposure, Experience and Expertise. But DC can unlock, discover real neds during his field tours/inspection one to one interactions with people and LSG but he needs to become more of a friend philosopher and guide helping LSG to take a more holistic decision.
  • DC in some cases has to play the role of staff officer instead of playing the traditional line role. But different districts in different states are at various stages of development or lack of development. Therefore there can't be a standardised model of development. It has to dynamically evolve, to suit the specific local needs taking into consideration, local conditions, resources and constraints. DC should align himself as per district needs. This requires attitudinal transformation

As observed by former PM - DC's role has not diminished, it has transformed into a more powerful role of coordinator, which he is well suited to play because of E³.

Even 2nd ARC while speaking of a district government has recommended that DCs role should not be diluted but re-aligned to include

Civil society Interface - NGO, Voluntary Organisation - need to engage with civil society - Practice Outreach - tap social capital. Use community strengths and voluntarism.

Facilitate entrepreneurs. Get feedback on policies schemes projects programmes, cultivate goodwill (esp in LMN areas). All these initiatives winning hearts and minds. - (admin help during crisis times will generate or create a +ve image of the state in the eyes of citizens).

National Civil Service Day Awards are given

• Gulshan Bambra - Balaghat District - LMN affected area. Imaginative use of MGNAREGA. Outreach to rural haats. Assembled a team of officials at one place. Provide Goods & Service in one place. On the spot grievance redressal.
• Krishan Kumar - Kanjam District Odisha - Disaster Management during Falin
• Vineel Krishna - Malkangiri Odisha - LMN pocket outreach. The goodwill ultimately released him from abduction by LMN.

1995-2000

• Global reaction to privatisation. " market-driven growth is rootless and jobless growth " - Amartya Sen
• Growth ≠ Development - Human development Approach - life expectancy, literacy, poverty, IMR, MMR - Development was equated with freedom. i.e expanding choices access and more qualitative improvement
• Even in governance Good governance was stressed upon - Rule of Law, transparency, accountability, consensus, participation, free and fair election
• Focus was on equity and empowerment rather than on efficiency
• Along with LPG, LSG took place. It added 3rd tier to federalism with the following feature with the following features
  • Structural Uniformity - 3 tier - Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat, Gram Panchayat, Gram Sabha
  • Elections conducted by state election commission - 5 years terms for PRI's and elections to be conducted within 6 months it prematurely dissolved.
  • Separate SFC - State Finance Commission for recommending allocation between state and LSG
  • Reservation - 1/3^rd reservation for women even in a leadership position
  • Separate 11^th and 12^th Schedule (29 & 18 subjects) for PRI's (11^th Sch & 73^rd CAA) and ULB's(12^th Sch & 74^th CAA)

However, the most important provisions i.e giving autonomy to PRI is optional (States are reluctant to empower PRI's with F³). Therefore LSG has had limited success, that too in states like Kerala, W.B, Karnataka, AP, Rajasthan, MP and MH

Case studies of some Villages

• Gangadevipalli - Telangana - 100% literacy, prohibition, toilet coverage, free Wifi and cable
• Sachin Tendulkar adopted Puttamraju Kandriga under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
• Hiware Bazar - Village with 60 Millionaires
• Punsari in Gujarat - Smartest Model Village
• Chhavi Rajawat - MBA turned surpanch - Rajasthan - has lead the village in Rural Development esp. in sanitation, Hygiene programme
• Gadchiroli in of MH was able to resist LMN impact through community and panchayat activism
• Fatima Bewi in Kurnool District - Illiterate surpanch got UN race against poverty award
• Cawzingirikhaning Gram panchayat in Sikkim launched Dharavikas programme - Spring shed development and has become self reliant
• Sanur Gram Panchayat in Karnataka has got google award for Best panchayat - It reviwed traditional water bodies, rationed it and is least dependent on state for its developmental needs.

Post 73rd and 74th Amendment

• Welfare to empowerment approach - Spice - Sustainable, participative, inclusive, comprehensive, empowerment oriented
• State-led development to LSG / Community lead
• RBA - Rights based approach - Statutory Entitlements .e.g - MGNAREGA, RTE, FSA - Food security Act
• Citizen as an active collaborator. e.g Swatch Bharath Abhiyan, Kudumba Shree project in Kerala ( Poverty Elevation ), Bhakyadhari in Delhi
• JAM approach - Jandan Adhaar and Mobile - Financial Inclusion, monetisation of the economy
• Aadhar identity infra - Better targeting of beneficiaries, it checks leakages and pilferages, DBT - Direct benefit Transfer. Mobile - Tech-driven, better identification, verification and facilitation
• Direct Outreach - Crowdsourcing, mygov.in
• Smart City Approach
• Digital India - E-governance, sansadh aadharsh gram yojana
• Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana - youth employment scheme

Development is currently understood as an expansion of access and choice to goods and services. Making a qualitative difference in people's life. DC performs the development administration at the district level.

Before 1847, the developmental role of DC was highly limited. Development efforts were more due to charitable disposition rather than any welfare motive since the colonial state was exploitative in nature. Dc's role was regulatory - Maintain and preserve existing order - status quo (greater L&O orientation)

Post-1947

Post-1947 - Innovation of welfare state, adoption of socialistic philosophy - Objective was to establish just and equitable society avoiding the concentration of wealth and resources in the hand of few.

Centralised planning and modernisation was the chosen path i.e Harrald Dommar Model / Nehru - Mahalanobis Model - Key industries / heavy industries / Basic industries.

Bureaucracy's role in such a paradigm was PF at HQ and PI at the field. The then PM wanted to wind up ICS and create Indian Development Service so that there is role and goal clarity and development would be the prime objective instead of regulation. But leadership like Patel were more pragmatic / impressed by the role that ICS played during the integration of princely states. Favoured continuation of ICS turned IAS putting faith in their capacity to adopt and adapt to the changed philosophy i.e from regulation to welfare. Therefore at the field level, the historic pattern of DC being the overall in charge of DA continued but now with the inclusion of developmental responsibilities. DC's role thus becomes critical at field level.

His duty list included land reforms, L&O, revenue, food and civil supplies, relief and rehabilitation. Thus the state depended on DC as the deliverer of G&S for people. DC or District administration become the state in action

Alternate models i.e community lead and bottom-up model of development visualised by Gandhiji in the form of gram swaraj, power flowing from villages to elsewhere. It was not popular with the political leadership of the day. Which emphasised industrialisation and modernisation. Leaders like Ambedkar too were critical of Gram / Panchayat Centric models considering them as dens of communalism and ignorance. However keeping the Gandhian spirit alive, panchayats were made a part of DPSP (A40) and local admin was made a state subject. All this indirectly re-inforced the inevitability of Bureaucracy / DC in development admin.

Some attempts were made to involve people through community development programmes (NES - National Extension services 1952 - 1954 ) but people's participation was highly limited. Their interaction with the government was infrequent and Bureaucracy was awe-inspiring. Citizen's suffered from dependency syndrome. While Bureaucracy continues to suffer from a colonial hangover.

Later the government realised the need for having an institutional mechanism for people's participation in PES - Political, economic, Social developmental process. Therefore as recommended by Balvantharayan Mehta Committee, the government created a 3 tier Panchayat Raj System. - Gram Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat & Zilla Panchayat.

But this model was limited success and it had no correlation with DC i.e the relationship between DC and PRI's was never clarified after the initial hype. These 1st gen panchayats failed to take off. India eventually got caught in the -China War, monsoons failed, famine situation, food scarcity, attention was diverted towards food production, agriculture and green revolution. Most of the PRI official shifted to the ministry of agriculture. DC's office became more powerful. Since he was now coordinating and monitoring Agri production, relief management, civil supplies distribution....etc

Last 1960's and 1970's

• Focus shifted to minimum needs programme - Poverty elevation, employment generation.
• Large no of CSS
  • e.g DPAP - Drought prone area programme
  • DVP - Desert Development Programme
  • DQCRA - Development of women and children in Rural Areas - Which increased discretionary power of DC / B'y in terms of patronage e.g identification of beneficiaries. B'y was firmly entrenched in development administration
• Later DRDA - District rural development agency. A nodal authority for district development was created with members drawn from different technical directorates, project heads, who met under the chairmanship of DC. Some R&D programmes later combined as IRDA - Integrated Rural Development Programme. This model was state lead and B'y implemented - had its limitations due to structural/conceptual weakness and implementational constraints

Weakness in B'y implemented and centralised model of Development

HQ Level

• No customisation - one size fits all approach
• Arm Chair PF - Remote sensing
• Union ministries interested in mechanically releasing funds rather than monitoring and evaluation
• No independent PE. Therefore incorrectness of developmental data - no comparable reliable verifiable information
• Ministries concern with expenditure - Budget Maximisation, no mission mode approach, no deadlines, no smart targets. Specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timebound - sunset legislation
• Too much of centralisation - state government is critical of this approach
• Focus on outlay rather than outcome
• Long channel of distribution - prone to pilferage, transmission and distribution losses
• Former PM Rajeev Gandhi commented out of every Rs spend only 15 paise reaches the beneficiary.

Field Level

• Huge discretionary power
• No SMART & No E⁶
• Poor quality of work
• Concentration was on new assets (new schools, new hospitals) rather than maintaining existing assets
• Focus was on foundation stones and not on finishing stones
• Rent seeking-corruption
• Even though there were exclusive offices. e.g Block Development Officer. DC was the overall in-charge. e.g Knapur DC identified 167 schemes to operated at the Block level.
• Lack of technically trained personnel
• Poor skills, motivational level - Rural postings are treated as a punishment posting
• DC suffered from a colonial hangover - the developmental role was overshadowed by his historic regulatory role. Always been a collector and never a giver. (Functional fixedness in psychology)
• Developmental admin requires a different kind of mindset and skill set. The state-led developmental model, simplistically assumed that DC's rich experience in regulatory admin will automatically take care of developmental responsibility also. This was no always not true.

Late 1980's - Rajivi Gandhi Phase

Ashok Mehta Committee was appointed in post-emergency period by Janata Government recommended two-tier panchayat also termed as 2nd Gen Panchayat.

State-led developmental model questioned by various committees like L.M.Singhavi, Dantevala Committee....etc and there was a renewed emphasis on Panchayat Raj Institution.

Pm's meeting with DCs convinced him the need for LSG as the 3rd tier of government and more importantly as the chief vehicle of development. The success of decentralised planning model in Kerala demonstrated the benefit of Bottom-up approach instead of the traditional top-down approach. However, states were reluctant to yield space for LSG and proposed constitutional amendment on LSG did not materialise.

Lateral entrants entered the developmental domain and lead mission mode projects (telecom, S&T) but it was at a macro level, at district level, D.Cs power continued to increase.

1990's

• Change in global philosophy - NPM, Public Choice, Thatcherism, Reaganism, (Role back of State, pro-market). Neo-Taylorism. Search for efficiency. B'y seen as a budget maximiser. Demand for de-bureaucratisation and replacement by market forces - Outsource to the private sector. In India, BOP crisis triggered NEP - New Economic Policy / LPG
• Changes in Indian developmental paradigm due to adoption of LPG
• D4 - Disinvestment, de-licensing, de-regulation, de-reservation
• Movement from imperative planning to indicative planning
• Focus was on GDP growth
• Assumption of trickle-down effect / Down-ward filtration i.e growth will eventually reach grassroots. Dismantling of licence permit Raj
• Reducing Discretionary powers of B'y
• Increased consumer choice
• Negative growth in agriculture - no investment

Read LSG and Relationship between DC and LSG

Should District collector exit from developmental scene ?

• For
  • DC does not have the skillset and mindset for development. Therefore separate regulation and development admin
  • CEO of Zilla Parishad - Can look after development while DC can be restricted to the regulation of L&O
• Against
  • Can't artificially segregate regulation and development. Both reinforce each other, share a complementary relationship, not practically possible
  • DC as an area officer is strategically placed to coordinated and generate synergy among officers and staff belonging to different director/development. No other official is equipped to create consensus and to generate outcome as much of DC who can use his power (hard and soft) to bring about integrated development (ripple effect)
  • DC can interact with both LSG and State - act as an interface and identify real needs rather than stated demands. e.g - LSG at times may be guilty of being too parochial and myopic rather than looking at the macro, big picture / long term due to lack of E³ - Exposure, Experience and Expertise. But DC can unlock, discover real neds during his field tours/inspection one to one interactions with people and LSG but he needs to become more of a friend philosopher and guide helping LSG to take a more holistic decision.
  • DC in some cases has to play the role of staff officer instead of playing the traditional line role. But different districts in different states are at various stages of development or lack of development. Therefore there can't be a standardised model of development. It has to dynamically evolve, to suit the specific local needs taking into consideration, local conditions, resources and constraints. DC should align himself as per district needs. This requires attitudinal transformation

As observed by former PM - DC's role has not diminished, it has transformed into a more powerful role of coordinator, which he is well suited to play because of E³.

Even 2nd ARC while speaking of a district government has recommended that DCs role should not be diluted but re-aligned to include

Roles of DC

Civil society Interface - NGO, Voluntary Organisation - need to engage with civil society - Practice Outreach - tap social capital. Use community strengths and voluntarism.

Facilitate entrepreneurs. Get feedback on policies schemes projects programmes, cultivate goodwill (esp in LMN areas). All these initiatives winning hearts and minds. - (admin help during crisis times will generate or create a +ve image of the state in the eyes of citizens).

National Civil Service Day Awards are given

• Gulshan Bambra - Balaghat District - LMN affected area. Imaginative use of MGNAREGA. Outreach to rural haats. Assembled a team of officials at one place. Provide Goods & Service in one place. On the spot grievance redressal.
• Krishan Kumar - Kanjam District Odisha - Disaster Management during Falin
• Vineel Krishna - Malkangiri Odisha - LMN pocket outreach. The goodwill ultimately released him from abduction by LMN.

Contemporary issues of DC

• Politicisation - Loss of neutrality, objectivity, fairness
• Misplaced priorities - danger of becoming a glorified clerk - If there is no culture of delegation, MBE - Management by Exception, principle of subsidiarity. DC is a field officer and it should continue to be one
• Problems with PRI is a reflection of the embedded problem between B'y and D'y esp at grass root level - needs role and goal clarity
• DC's role is development needs to be redefined with proper KRA, KPI clear cut deliverables in priority sectors and with proper technical support
• ARC has recommended a 3-year tenure for DC and that the civil servant should be posted as DM early in his career and his 1st decade he should handle only field responsibilities(non-secretariat). Even SC recently called for the constitution of civil services board to handle transfers and postings in a transparent manner. Currently, in politically volatile states, there is high dissatisfaction among civil servants w.r.t length of posting. Frequent transfers in the name of admin convenience create problem of discontinuity and lack of consistency as per 2010 civil services survey, lack of stability contributed to loss of morale and motivation.
• External pressures - e.g of victimisation and harassment of honest bureaucrats whistleblowers, sending wrong signals down to the line. Converting DC's post into a spoiled post is a huge disservice to admin and country

ARC concept of District Government

As per this model, district is to be governed rather than administered there will be true LSG in the sense that an elected government would direct the POSDCoRB activities in the district with A³ by CEO / DC. It would have a representation of both rural and urban bodies and ARC calls it as a district council.

While theoretically, the arrangement may be ideal, practically and politically, it might encounter, certain challenges and constraints

• District in-charge ministers will lose their informal control
• Fundamentally redraw political equations among MP's, MLA's and LSG members
• It would become more of a political body, rather than a chief vehicle of development.
• It will require a constitutional amendment if this has to be standard practice across states
• B'y role and responsibility is such a setup have to be properly placed and positioned
• The idea looks more feasible in Urban areas (mayor in council) rather than in rural areas - where the mayor works with corporation commissioner providing A³ than in a regular district with DC having diverse roles to play. DC with diverse roles reporting to a district council is not practical.

History

If there is one British institution that has survived the test of time and continue to play a +ve role, it is district administration. It has shown tremendous amount of resilience, strength of character to adapt to changing scenarios. It symbolizes, continuity with change

District Administration in one form or the other has been there since ancient times. The Mauryan Rajuka / Ayukta (Commissioner) / Pradeshika performed duties similar to the modern day DC. During Mughals, he was the district in-charge responsible for revenue, L&O. However it was the British which made DA the fundamental unit of governance.

Post battles of Plassey, Buxar (1764). EIC was vested with Diwan Rights. ( Revenue collection Rights) which necessitated creating an institution for revenue collection and thus emerged one of the long lasting institutions i.e DC subsequently as and when the company expanded (geographical and functional) correspondingly DC's scope, function (quantum & quality) and importance also increased. Governor General like Warren Hastings, Corn Wallis, Bentaik Wellesly, Dalhousie and Curzan shaped the institutional ethos. It ultimately became omni-potent and omniscient state combining revenue, L&O, Judiciary and developmental Roles. DC became the vital cog of steel frame (ICS) and the eyes,ears and hands of the British Empire.

Post 1919 act, dyarchy was introduced which brought some kind of accountability towards elected institutions. But DC continued to be unchallenged in his domain, symbolizing the might of the state.

Even post 1946, the institutional impact has been such that it is still conceived as the primary unit of governance. A tortoise on which, the elephant of Indian admin is mounted, reflecting its resilience, slow,steady and stable character. This colonial legacy has survived not because of the hangover but due to its functional utility and elasticity.

Importance of District Administration

• Certainty, dependability, sustainability, consistency and convenience - 1st ARC considered district as most convenient geographical unity where the entire admin apparatus can be concentrated - neither too big not too small, making it an ideal functional unit.
• Local finality - Local problems gets solved at local level itself. District HQ is mini state in action. Since most of the state department have their presence and district level.
• Cutting edge - Public comes into close and day today contact with governance at district level. It is the interface where citizens satisfy their needs wants, articulate their demand and get their grievance redressed.
• Image maker - Public perception of governance is created or lost during the service encounters, which leads the moment of truth - a litmus test for PI - Even the best policies of HQ requires E6, smart delivery of Goods and service. Therefore DC's efficiency has a spin off effect on the success of policies.
• Leadership - Copy from chief sec - Ripple effect
• Area Officer
  • Interacts closely with people - can sense public mood, judge policy reactions
  • Gets 1st hand information w.r.t public needs, wants grievances and communicates into the other levels of governance - Plays a dual role government to citizen and citizen to government
  • Gives feedback - facilitates policy evaluation
  • During public visits, he can do on the spot grievance redressal, address governance deficit. Bring a sense of urgency and outreach. MBWA - Management by walking around. Tent is mightier than the pen. DC is an outdoor field officer.
  • Conflict Resolution - Can identify fault lines - flash points, diffuse crisis at the earliest. SIDA - Sense, interpret, Decide, Act
  • PR - Public Relation - DC is an area officer and not a glorified clerk
  • Crisis Management - Copy from disaster management

Definition of Planning

Planning is a process which involves the determination of the future course of action. It is the responsibility of the executive and it involves anticipating influencing and directing the nature and degree of change

Importance

Increases organisational ability to adapt to future changes eventualities - future is uncertain and organisation operate in a dynamic context. Therefore need a road map defining macro goals and strategies. Planning involves choosing among competing alternatives by looking at the long term impact. It requires a 360* perspective and synthesis of individual and organisational goals and efforts. Leads to greater productivity. It requires monitoring, supervising, measuring and correcting.

Planning Commission

• Role of Planning Commission
  • Resources identification
  • Prioritization
  • Plan formulation
  • Identify growth retarding factors
  • Have institutional mechanisms to achieve objectives
  • Do plan evaluation
• Changes in Planning post LPG era
  • Centralised to decentralised planning
  • From imperative to indicative (giving promotional stimulus to stakeholders - Pvt sectors and states)
  • From national plans to sectoral / regional / holistic plans
• Criticism against PC
  • Highly centralised approach
  • Less involvement of states
  • NDC - National Development Council (PM + CM) failed to become an effective body and there was more D3 on politics rather than on development and economics (Sarkariya Commission recommended NDC into NEDC - National Economic Development Council)
  • Armchair Planning - Remote sensing
  • Less focus on PI
  • Artificial Plan and non-plan distinction - missing line of sight between PC, FC and Budgeting
  • States were critical of PC getting into the role of an allocator. Since its grants were discretionary and even discriminating
  • Outlived its utility - it was conceived in an era when public sector dominated. Post LPG it failed to adapt and major focus continued to be plan formulation and project evaluation

Ideally PC should have played following roles post LPG

1. Investment planning
2. Interest mitigation (between C&S, among ministries )
3. Coordination
4. Systems change role - Innovation-driven
5. Culture of productivity
6. Consultancy
7. Think Tank
8. Scenario-based planning. e.g 12th plan, PC had compared to a flotilla - where boats are independent but paths are interdependent and when the captain of the lead boat (centre) gives the signal to change direction, other following boats need to capture the signal and act.
9. RADAR Role
   • PC's role need to change from an input allocator to a strategic guide/councillor, it itself observed " Even the smaller states want PC to tell them how to spend money better and not where to spend money.
10. Strategic Role
    • Facilitate and mainstream reforms
11. Push decentralised planning and principle of subsidiarity
12. Provide independent monitoring and evaluation of government policies, programmes - in fact, IEO - Independent evaluation office was started in 2014 but was discontinued after the new government came in and is expected to be replaced by DMEO - Directorate of monitoring and evaluation Organisation

Read more about NITI AAYOG

• Quasi-judicial
• Constituted by prez every 5 year
• Composition
  • Chairman and 4 members
  • Prez decides tenure
  • Eligible for reappointment
  • Qualification decided by parliament
    • Chair - Experience in public affairs
    • Members - High court judge or qualified, knowledge in finance, experience in finance, knowledge in economics
  • Function - revenue distribution
    • Distribution between centre and state
    • Distribution between states
    • Grand in aids
    • Measure to augment LSB funds
    • Any other matter referred by prez
    • Submits recommendations and actions taken to prez who then submits it in parliament
  • Advisory role
    • Not binding
  • Impact on PC
    • Undermined by non constitutional PC

Finance commission

//notes for mains and optionals

FC's are appointed in a country which has a federal setup and there is fiscal imbalance since the division of resources generally favours centre, so as to achieve macroeconomic stability and growth. However, later on, the problem of distribution comes up. Therefore this imbalance has to be corrected both vertically and horizontally i.e allocation between C&S and S&S.

In India as per A280 F.C's are appointed once in 5 years. They do not work permanently. Their magic lies in their disappearance. Its work is quasi-judicial (they need to judge what criteria needs to be taken in consideration, deliberate what weightage needs to be given, they need to strike a balance between equity and efficiency. Therefore F.C's composition reflects its diverse and broad based character. Members are drawn from judicial backgroudn, public finance and knowledge of economics.

In Indian context F.C's challenges are more because of regional disparities. e.g Bihar GSDP is around 4000 crores while Punjab's GSDP is around 23000 crores. Therefore F.C being a constitutional body has to balance equity and efficiency. i.e fairness and objective and economic rationality.

Earlier F.C's use to have a gap-filling approach. i.e greater the underdevelopment greater the allocation. This was opposed by performing states. Therefore every F.C comes up evolves a unique formula and allocation design which is in sync with contemporary realities. People's aspirations and financial position.

Additional terms of reference can be given to F.C by President. F.C's basic functions are vertical allocation, horizontal allocation and reviewing financial positions of LSG (Post 73^rd and 74^th amendments) and recommend grants to states.

Planning Commission and Finance Commission

Chronologically P.C originated before F.C. It was a high power body headed by P.M and therefore enjoyed significant power although it was not a constitutional body. It was concerned with planning initially but it slowly took the role of agency recommending discretionary grants to states. Therefore F.C voluntarily restricted itself to consumption expenditure/revenue expenditure and statutory grants. This lead to an artificial distinction between planned and non-planned i.e capital expenditure by PC and current expenditure by FC. This blurred accountability and performance measurement. Also, the PC was a permanent body while FC came once in 5 years. Therefore PC exercised a dominant role while FC comparatively a lesser role. States were critical of this approach. Since PC's transfers were politicised but centre justified P.C's role in recommending grants to state that it is a technical and expert body and Hence it is competent to advise on transfers from Centre to state in form of grants, giving support to states, planned activities.

14th Finance Commission

It was required to take up a comprehensive view on C & S financial Relations - Review and reform existing allocations and transfers including the design of transfers to minimize discretion, avoid duplication and promote co-operative federalism. Since PC was dismantled, it would undertake a comprehensive review without any plan and non-plan distinction.

Analyse C & S financial position and borrowing requirements. Has given emphasis to symmetry, trust, comprehensiveness and continuity with change. Recognized although three levels - C,S,LSG differ w.r.t scope and perspective - all three are equally endowed with wisdom, knowledge, effectiveness and integration in sync with tasks given to them by constitution.

Recognise the need for increasing trust cooperation and competition among the three levels, has recognised centre is in position to enforce fiscal rules on states but there is no effective institutional arrangement to enforce fiscal responsibility and make them stick to targets and achieve outcomes.

Comprehensively reviewed all transfers including those made outside FC(e.g CSS and discretionary grands which were given on the basis of PC's recommendations and has commented on the multiplicity, duplicity and restrictive nature of transfers.

Vertical Allocation

Recognised the need for more fiscal space to states which had been a traditional demand yet it had to balance fiscal space of centre also. Therefore allocation is equal to 42% to states and 58% to centre.

Even in this tax devolution is the primary mode of allocation - taxes are formula-based and predictable while grants are generally lump sum and tied to conditionalities imposed by the centre.

Effectively 68% = 42% + 26%(other forms) of resources are to be transferred to states. But more than a quantum shift, it is more of a quality shift since the max allocation is through tax and not through grants. It also addresses state grievances w.r.t non-sharing of cess.

Horizontal allocation

No distribution made between special category and general category state. Before 14th FC general criteria was

• Needs of the state e.g based on area and population
• Capacity - Fiscal Capacity
• Caused disability e.g lack of infra
• Efficiency e.g fiscal discipline (Revenue-Expenditure)

14th Finance Commission criteria for horizontal allocation

• Population - As per 1971 census (TOR - Terms of reference) - 17.5% weightage
• Demographic change - ( so as to capture trends) e.g migration as per 2011 census - 10%
• Area of the state - 15%
• Forest Cover - 7.5% - TOR ecology was one of the consideration
  • Thus larger forest cover gives ecological benefits but it also imposed a disability on the state, since it reduces the area of economic activities. It is a public good and hence there is a need to pressure and expand it since it is also a part of India international obligations on part of environmental matters. It will also take care of some of the states losing revenue because of the withdrawal of special category states esp. NE states
• Backwardness / Income distance / Distance from the state with the highest per capita income = 50%
• Top 6 states in percentage allocation terms
  • UP - 17.9%
  • Bihar - 9.6%
  • MP - 7.5%
  • WB - 7.3%
  • MH - 5.5%
  • Rajasthan - 5.4%

Other recommendations of 14th FC

1. Three types of grants have been given
   • Revenue deficit Grants - ( Revenue minus Expenditure ) anticipated looking at post-2020 situation of the states. 11 states qualify for the grants - NE, HP, WB, Kerala, JK and AP
   • Local Body Grants
   • Disaster Management - For the creation of DM infra

There are no special category grants and no state-specific grants and no grants which are linked to conditions. State-specific grants and sector-specific grants are better identified by states themselves and in any case, the state wanted flexibility and greater allocation through tax. Also, there is time-lag between the announcement of grants and their disbursed which may alter the very nature of demand itself.

2. It has considered institutional arrangements between C&S and has recommended for evolving a new institutional arrangement for
   1. Identifying sector in states which need central grants
   2. Indicate criteria
   3. Help to design schemes with appropriate flexibility to states
   4. Identify and provide area-specific grants
   5. Identify and recommend resources for interstate infra in NE states
   6. Integration of economic and environmental decision making

Interstate council can be expanded to perform the above function - it is headed by PM and Union ministers and state CMs as members. Therefore it can become a forum for D3, strategizing, giving directions for the national economy. Set national priorities through negotiation bargaining, evolving consensus and exchanging experience and expertise. It will help the disadvantaged state to compete with other states. It can monitor and provide incentives which can strengthen their capabilities. It can induct domain experts and can have a consultation with them. Therefore expand energize interstate council.

3. Need an independent fiscal council to provide an advanced assessment of impact of fiscal policy and fiscal implication of budget which will improve the quality of fiscal decision making
4. Have suggested measures w.r.t pricing of public utilities (electricity, water, transport) have suggested measure for ring fencing (insulation)
5. Recommended measures for improving PFM - Public Finance Management esp public expenditure management. Has recommended measures w.r.t PSUs

Why is 14th FC a watershed ?

The tone and approach of 14th FC is cooperative federalism emphasizing trust competitiveness and collaboration, among different levels of govt.

Fiscally empowered states - 42% + 26%. Greater through tax and lesser through grants. Therefore freedom flexibility to states. Greater quality shifts rather than a quantum shift.

Comprehensive review - No plan and non-plan distinction. It has considered all kinds of transfers. PC has given way to NITI AAYOG

Greater predictability, consistency - assured flow of funds to states. Has not greatly reduced fiscal space with centre. Centre will compensate it through reducing its CSS expenditure. New criteria of forest cover -Green incentive.

No special category distinction - State gets more as entitlement rather than depend on discretionary grants by centre. Has captured new reality in Public Finance Management - LPG, fiscal responsibility and Budget Management Act, GST, Roel of PSUs and pricing of public utilities.

Suggested measures for cooperative federalism - expanding interstate council.

New trends in C&S Financial Relations

• The recommendation of 14^th FC and its acceptance by centre.
• PM in his letter to CM
  • Increased devolution should improve financial prudence and discipline
  • Take a fresh look at previous schemes and programmes
  • Promised central support for any additional requirements
  • Evaluate performance rigorously
  • Establish performance rigorously
  • Establish quality bench mark
  • Speedy execution
  • Resources are not and will not be a problem. The issue is direction and the intent of our policies and the capacity to implement.
  • Maximise the outcome of every rupee spent
  • Improve the ease of doing business
  • Have a apex level officer coordinate ensure single window clearance
  • Focus on employment generation, poverty elimination and skill development
• Creation of NITI AAYOG
• Revision of royalty rates of minerals ( to states where mined )
• Inclination to let the states reform laws .e.g (Rajastan took a lead on labour reforms)
• Team India approach - CM seen as partners in progress rather than passive recipients
• Emphasis on cooperation and competition. e.g New Index to rank states on ease of doing business. e.g Jharkhand traditionally considered as laggard has improved its governance and figures in top 5
• New found engagement between C&S show easing potential of states at global forum. ( WEF - World Economic Forum)
• GST - Opportunity for India to have one country, one market and one tax but it needs a golden / grand bargain (13th FC), which will bring Indian on par with Global best practices. It will improve smart, avoid dual taxes and bring C&S closer.

Public Finance Management

• Attempt to delink planning from budgeting
• Focussing on outcomes rather than outlays
• Real time info sharing (PRAGATI) among different level of government.

Read More of centre-state finances

Niti Aayog or National Institution for Transforming India is a Government of India's policy think-tank established in 2015 to replace the Planning Commission. Since its inception there are both ups and downs in its performance. 

Positive: 

1. Strengthened the spirit of 'Cooperative Federalism' by recognizing 'strong states make a strong nation' i.e. team India approach  
2. Inculcating 'bottom-up' approach for development process. 
3. Having specialist and generalist on board creates synergy.   
4. Various sub groups, task forces, expert panels and high powered committees has been set and they have done a commendable job 
   1. Bibek Debroy – revamping railways 
   2. three C.M subgroup – CSS, SBA, Skill India  
   3. Tarun Khanna of Harvard - Atal Innovation Mission and Self-Employment and Talent Utilization 

Aayog is awarded a five star rating by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in pioneering the changes in Government Buildings. 

Lagging areas: 

1. The Aayog lack functional autonomy and constitutional backing. 
2. Many states are still not attending Aayog's meeting showing lack of outreach by NITI 
3. There is lack of competent officers and staff members leaving many posts vacant. Apart from that most officers consider NITI Aayog a punishment posting. 
4. No clear distinction between the roles of NDC, Governing Council and Inter-State Council – which may lead to policy overlap. 

On a whole, the institute is at best is a work in progress. The status and mandate of the institution is clear i.e think tank. It should have no difficulty in playing a more meaningful role in shaping the country's future.  

Reasons for creation

• Changed Context
  • Greater people's expectation which requires improvement in governance, dynamic policy shifts that can seed and nurture large scale change
• States have matured
  • Diversity has enriched the Indian experience. Pluralism has reshaped federal consensus
  • States don't want to be a mere appendix to centre. They want a decisive say in determining the architecture of economic growth and development.
• There can't be a one size fits all approach. Which undermines harmony and creates needless tensions.
• It is reasonable to centralize power where central control and uniformity are not clearly essential or it is impracticable - B.R.Ambedkar
• Technology has increased access to & sharing of info
• Centralised planning has a diminished role to play. since there are market forces and global shifts.

Forces transforming India

• Services sector and Industry are operations on a global scale.
• Government is more of an enabler rather than a provider of 1st and last resort.
• The role of the government as a player in the industrial and service sector be reduced. Instead, the Government should focus on enabling legislation, Policy Formulation and regulation.
• Agriculture - Improved due to technology and farmers efforts
  • Therefore need to move from pure food security to a mix of agricultural production which will increase the return to farmers
• Today we reside in a global village connected by modern transport, communication, media and networked international markets and institutions. As India contributes to global happenings, it is also influenced by it. Global economics and geopolitics are getting increasingly integrated. India needs to be an active player in the debates and deliberation on the global commons esp in unchartered areas. (Human Rights, Education and Environment...etc)
• India's middle class is unique w.r.t size, purchasing power and it is increasing with the entry of neo-middle class which is an important driver of growth and has enormous potential because of high education levels, mobility, willingness to push for change in the country. Therefore this economically vibrant group needs to remain engaged and it's potential fully realised.
• India's pool of entrepreneurial, scientific and intellectual human capital is a source of strength waiting to be unleashed. The social capital needs to be leveraged through appropriate policy initiatives.
• NRI: Spread across more than two hundred countries. Contributes to significant, geo-economic and geopolitical strength. Future national policies must incorporate this strength to broaden their participation in new India beyond their financial support. Technology and management expertise should be tapped.
• Urbanisation is an irreversible trend. Therefore make it an integral part of development. Use it as an opportunity to use modern technology to create a wholesome and secure habitat and reap economic benefits
• Transparency - an important element of good governance. In the digital age, modern communication like social media is powerful instruments to share and explain the thoughts and actions of the government. This trend will only increase with time. Government and governance will have to be conducted in total transparency by using technology to reduce opaqueness and thereby reduce the potential for misadventures. Technology and informational access have increased unity and diversity helped to integrate the different capability of regions, states and eco-systems towards an interlinked national economy.
• Our development model has to become a more consensual and co-operative it must embrace specific demands of states, regions and localities. Create a shared vision of national development based on human dignity, national self-respect and inclusive and sustainable development.

Challenges before the nation

• Need to fruitfully leverage India's demographic dividend through education, skill development, employment, productive opportunities to work in the frontiers of science and technology, knowledge economy.
• Poverty elimination - Antyodaya - Upliftment of downtrodden. Create an environment and support system that encourages women to play their rightful role in nation-building. Address gender inequalities, create equality of opportunity, inclusiveness, give weaker segments like SC and ST's the ability to influence the choices made in settling the national agenda.
• Fully integrate villages institutionally into the development process, so that we can draw on their vitality and energy.
• India has 50 million small business which is a major source of employment creation. Need to provide support to this sector w.r.t skill, knowledge upgrades, access to finance and relevant technology.
• Disaster Management - Responsive development implies environmentally sound development. India is one of the mega diverse countries. Our Environmental and ecological assets are eternal. It must be preserved and safeguarded. Our legacy to future generations must be sustainable progress. Each element to future generations must be sustainable progress. Each element of our environment and resources namely water, land and forest. (Jal, Jameen and Jungle). Our developmental agenda should not compromise the quality of life of the present and future generations.
• States - The role of government in achieving national objective may change with time but it will always remain significant. Government will continue to set policies that anticipate and reflect countries requirement and execute them in a just manner for the benefit of citizens. The continuing integration wit the world politically and economically has to be incorporated into policy formulation and government functioning.
• Effective governance in India will rest on the following pillars
  • Pro-people Agenda : That fulfills aspirations of society and individual
  • Pro-active : Anticipate and respond to needs
  • Participation : Empower women in all aspects
  • Inclusion of all groups especially weaker sections
  • Equality of opportunity to out countries youth
  • Transparency through the use of technology to make the government visible and responsible
• Governance across public and private domains is the concern of society as a whole. Everyone has a stake in ensuring good governance, effective delivery of services. With public services often being delivered by private entities. There is greater scope for participation citizenry.
• Institutional framework of government has matured and developed over the years. Specific to the planning process, there is an need to separate the distinct process of governance from the strategy of governance.

Therefore in view of these challenges there is a need for an institution to serve as a think tank - a directional and policy dynamo. These institutions has to provide relevant strategic and technical advice across policy spectrum. It should include matters of national and international importance on the economic front. It should disseminate best practices from within and outside the country. It should respond to a changing and more integrated world. It will replace centre to state one way flow of policy with genuine and continuing partnership with states. It must have a necessary resources knowledge skills and ability to act with speed. It will provide strategic policy vision for the government. Deal with contingent issues. It must remember no single model can be transplanted form outside to India. We need to find own strategy for growth. Bharatiya approach to development.

Objective of Niti Aayog

• Evolve shared vision of national development with active involvement of states especially in priority sectors.
• Foster Cooperative federalism through structured support recognizing strong states make a strong nation.
• Develop mechanism to formulate credible plans at village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government
• Ensure that national security interests are incorporated in economic strategy and policy
• Pay special attention to societal sections that may be at risk of not benefiting adequately form economic progress.
• Design strategic long term policy and programme frameworks and monitor their progress efficacy. Lessons learnt through monitoring and feedback will be used for innovative improvements and mid-course corrections.
• Provide advice and encourage partnership between key stakeholders and national and international think tanks
• Create a knowledge innovation - entrepreneur support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts.
• Offer a platform for resolution of inter sect-oral and inter departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of development.
• Maintain state of the art resources centre and be a repository of research on good governance, best practice and disseminate it to stake holders.
• Actively monitor and evaluate Policy implementation
• Identify resources to strengthen the success and scope of delivery.
• Technology up-gradation for Policy implementation.