UPSC Mains 2017 GS Paper 2 Q18: model answer

In 1947 Patel told new IAS probationers that they must speak their mind freely, even to ministers. Seventy-five years later, a Haryana officer transferred over 50 times became a symbol of what happens to those who do.

The original design

• Neutrality: serving any government impartially, under Articles 309–311 protections.
• Effectiveness: merit recruitment through the UPSC, all-India mobility.

Erosion of neutrality

• Politicisation: transfers as punishment; officers aligning with parties.
• Post-retirement posts and political careers blur the line.
• The Supreme Court in T.S.R. Subramanian (2013) asked for fixed tenure and written orders, which are often ignored.

Erosion of effectiveness

• Generalists without domain skills in a technical economy.
• Seniority-based promotion and weak appraisal.
• Rule-bound culture and fear of vigilance.
• Corruption at the cutting edge, where citizens meet the state at tehsils and police stations.
• Distance from citizens: a culture of files rather than field visits.

Drastic or steady reform?

• Calls for drastic reform, such as abolishing tenure security, risk making officers more pliable, not less.
• The service has delivered elections, Aadhaar and disaster relief; the frame is strong but its incentives are weak.
• So reform should be deep but not destructive.

Reforms

• Civil Services Boards and minimum tenure (Prakash Singh for police).
• Mission Karmayogi (2020): competency-based training through iGOT.
• Domain specialisation and mid-career reviews (2nd ARC, Hota Committee 2004).
• 360-degree appraisal and removal of the deadwood after review (Rule 56(j)).
• A Civil Services Act to define values and protect neutrality, as the 2nd ARC proposed.
• Calibrated lateral entry with transparent selection.

Neutrality and effectiveness are not lost; they are under strain, and much of the strain comes from politics rather than from the service itself. Steady, structural reform will restore them better than a dramatic overhaul.