Memorandum to the Seventh Central Pay Commission
This memorandum is being presented to the Seventh Pay Commission by the
IC Centre for Governance which has indefatigably worked on governance issues
for the last more than a decade.
According to the terms of reference, the Seventh Pay Commission is “to
work out a framework for an emoluments structure linked with the need to
attract the most suitable talent to Govt. service and foster excellence in the governance
system to respond to complex challenges of modern administration and to
recommend appropriate training and capacity building through a competency-based
framework.”
Rightsizing the bureaucracy
The Fifth Central Pay Commission (5th CPC) had recommended a
massive rightsizing of the bureaucracy. This involved not filling up 3.5 lakh posts that were vacant at that
time and a reduction in manpower by 30% over the next 10 years. No retrenchment
was suggested; mere non-filling of the vacancies as they arose would have
achieved the result.
Half-hearted measures were taken to implement this recommendation, but
nothing concrete was achieved due to the opposition by the staff side.
We recommend that the 7th CPC take up this question once more
and make a forceful recommendation in this regard. A bloated bureaucracy is an
unnecessary burden on the exchequer
-
Rationalisation in the working of the Central Govt.
There has been a repeated onslaught on the efficiency of the Central
Govt by creating additional ministries and departments. This has been
done in order to accommodate disgruntled politicians and coalition partners. Luckily
this kind of limitation does not apply to the present Govt. The BJP has been
able to secure an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha.
The Govt. has also decided to abolish the Planning Commission in its
role as fund giver to the States. This would necessitate the creation of
mega-ministries in order to coordinate the functioning of subject-matter
ministries.
Hence, the present appears to be the most opportune time to rationalize
the division of work in the Central Govt. To give a few examples:
i)
The Ministry of
Human Resource Development could encompass the subjects of Culture, Youth
Affairs, Sports and Women and Child Development.
ii)
The Ministry of Industrial Development could include
the subjects of Heavy Industries, Public Enterprises, Industrial Policy and
Promotion, Small, Medium and Tiny Industries, Agro-based Industries and Food
Processing.
iii)
Ministry of Rural Development could cover the subjects
of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Panchayati Raj and Cooperation.
iv) Ministry
of Power could deal with Petroleum and Natural Gas, Coal, Nuclear Power,
Non-Conventional Energy Sources and so on.
v)
Ministry of Infrastructure Development could include
the subjects of Roads, Surface Transport, Inland Water Transport, Shipping and
Ports and Civil Aviation.
Agencification
and disinvestment:
Another
method of reduction in the role and size of the Central Govt. could be the disinvestment
of the central Govt’s share in the share capital of selected PSUs and the
farming out of certain activities to independent agencies.
Parameters
for restructuring:
Some
of the parameters that could be kept in view while restructuring the Central
Govt. could be the following:
Ø The total
number of ministries should be reduced to fifty. Each Ministry should be headed
by a single Secretary, so that decision-making can be kept within the ministry
and matters of administrative coordination do not go to the level of the
Minister.
Ø Important
subjects could be headed by Special and Additional Secretaries.
Ø Subjects that
do not fall in the sovereign functions of the Central Govt. should be handed
over to independent and semi-autonomous agencies.
Ø Suitable
subjects could be covered by public-private partnership.
Restructuring the cadres in the central secretariat:
The 5th CPC had suggested certain basic changes in the
supporting cadres in the Central Secretariat. These included the following:
- There could be massive rightsizing of Group D officials.
- All clerical and stenographic cadres could be merged into a multi-purpose cadre of Executive Assistants.
- All working could be based on the Desk Officer system.
- It could be laid down that no file should have to travel to more than 3 levels for a decision.
Number of pay bands:
The 6th CPC reduced the number of grades to twenty, as compared to the
35 grades suggested by the 5th CPC. There does not seem to be any
justification for further reduction.
Ratio between lowest and highest salaries:
The 5th CPC had kept the ratio at 1:10.67.This was modified
by the 6th CPC to 1:12. If we have to learn lessons from the private
sector, the salaries at the highest level should be raised substantially while
the salaries at the lowest level should be pegged down. The financial
implications of even small increases in the lowest salaries are colossal, due
to the large numbers involved.
It is, therefore, recommended that the ratio may be changed to 1:15.
Highest salary:
The highest salary for a Secretary to GOI was fixed by the 5th
CPC at Rs. 28,000. In the 6th CPC it rose to Rs.80, 000. It is recommended
that it should now be fixed at Rs. 3, 00,000.
If the ratio is to be kept as 1:15, the lowest salary would then be Rs.
20,000.
Merger of DA with pay:
The 5th CPC had suggested that as and when Dearness Allowance
reached a level of 50%, it should be merged with the basic pay for all
purposes. The 6th CPC did not repeat this recommendation. As a
result, it is currently not being merged. As the cost of living index rises very fast, the denial of the benefit
recommended by 5th CPC upsets the domestic budget of the employees
very substantially.
It is, therefore, recommended that the suggestion given by the 5th
CPC be implemented.
Age of superannuation:
The 5th CPC had recommended that the age of superannuation be
raised by two years from 58 to 60 years. This recommendation was accepted. The
6th CPC did not recommend any further increase.
Two decades have passed since the 5th CPC submitted its
report. Since then the medical services in the country have improved and longevity
has substantially increased. No doubt, an enhancement in the age of
superannuation leads to diminished possibilities of recruitment and promotion
to the younger people. But we have to take a balanced view.
Accordingly, we propose a modest increase in the age of superannuation
to 62 years.
Protection of integrity:
There are a number of ways in which the integrity of officers
approaching the age of superannuation can be subverted. If we desire a
bureaucracy that can tender objective and fearless advice, we should take the
following steps:
The provision
regarding grant of extension in service should be deleted from the FRs. It was
so done after the 5th CPC submitted its report, but a way around was
soon discovered. Posts in
PSUs, Corporations, Authorities, and Gongoes etc. should be filled up by
serving officers. Retired
officers should not be eligible for appointment as Governors, Ambassadors or
Consultants.
Increasing
the availability of Govt.institutions for citizens:
In
order to have governance that is fully responsive to the needs of citizens,
Govt. institutions and employees have to be available for longer periods. The
following recommendations are made to meet these objectives:
v Govt. should
revert back to the six day week.
v There should
be only three gazetted holidays—Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhiji’s
birthday.
v Number of restricted holidays should be raised
to six in a year.
v The concept of
extended vacations in institutions like judiciary and academia should be given
up.
v Tea should be
served at the table of each employee.
v Mobile phones
should be allowed to be used only during lunch hour.
v Employees
should punch their times of entry and exit in a biometric time clock and wear a
geo-positioning device.
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