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The Indian AdministrativeService (IAS) in the21st Century: Living inan IntergovernmentalEnvironmentBeryl A. Radin aa School of Public Affairs, American University ,Washington, DC, USAPublished online: 13 Dec 2007.

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Intl Journal of Public Administration, 30: 1525–1548, 2007Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN 0190-0692 print / 1532-4265 onlineDOI: 10.1080/01900690701229848

LPAD0190-06921532-4265Intl Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 30, No. 12-14, September 2007: pp. 1–40Intl Journal of Public AdministrationThe Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in the 21st Century: Living in an

Intergovernmental Environment

The Indian Administrative ServiceRadin Beryl A. RadinSchool of Public Affairs, American University, Washington, DC, USA

Abstract: This article examines the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) – one of thevery few administrative systems that was established as an instrument of federalism,serving as an intermediary between states and the national government. It analyzes itsearly development and the changes that have taken place in the Indian society that havehad an impact on the IAS and its role in the Indian federal system. Further, it discussesthe contemporary global developments in intergovernmental relations and how the IASmight respond to them. There are many different interpretations of the current develop-ments within India and whether the IAS has the ability to adapt to these changes. Thearticle reviews these interpretations and the limitations of data that would allow anassessment of the alternative formulations.

Keywords: Indian Administrative Service, Indian civil service system

Most political systems have been premised on the doctrine of administrativedualism where each level of government is equipped with its own set ofadministrative instrumentalities and mechanisms. Countries such as Australiaand the United States have separate and distinct levels of public administra-tion that reflect the interests and concerns of the specific levels of govern-ment. The separate administrative structures have tended to emphasize thedifferences between the levels of government rather than to accentuate areasof interdependencies.

I would like to thank Otima Bordia and Maitreyi Bordia Das as well as a number ofWashington-based IAS officers for their comments on earlier drafts of this article. Thispaper was originally written for a conference, Transforming a Federation: India’sExperience, held in New Delhi, February 2003, sponsored by the Center for theAdvanced Study of India.

Address correspondence to Beryl A. Radin, School of Public Affairs, American Univer-sity, Ward 327, 4400 Mass. Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20016; E-mail: radin@american.edu

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Increasingly, however, students of governance have come to recognizethe importance of developing administrative mechanisms that can cope withthe emerging political realities. Pure unitary systems and pure federal systemsare becoming less effective in dealing with the problems of the coming 21stcentury. Concepts such as collaborative decisionmaking, networks, and othermechanisms that link levels of government have been associated with the fieldof intergovernmental management in recent years. These are classic concernsin the public administration world involving intergovernmental relations aswell as boundary spanning.

This article examines the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) — one ofthe very few administrative systems that was established as an instrument offederalism, serving as an intermediary between states and the national govern-ment. It analyzes its early development and the changes that have taken placein the Indian society that have had an impact on the IAS and its role in theIndian federal system. Further, it discusses the contemporary global develop-ments in intergovernmental relations and how the IAS might respond to them.There are many different interpretations of the current developments withinIndia and whether the IAS has the ability to adapt to these changes. The articlereviews these interpretations and the limitations of data that would allow anassessment of the alternative formulations.[1]

BACKGROUND

More than 50 years ago India grappled with issues related to the relationshipbetween states and the national government (called the Centre) at Independence.Concern about mechanisms that would preserve unity and, at the same time,acknowledge the diversity and specific interests of the provinces (now calledStates) were balanced through the transformation of the Raj (British) civil ser-vice system. It was retained in the form of two services, the Central Servicesand the All-India Services, which included the Indian Administrative Service(IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS). The framers of India’s Constitutionopted for continuity, building on the system that relied on the structures andexperience of the British.[2] Based upon the selection of highly competentindividuals who would exert appropriate discretion, that colonial system wasdevised to respond to the size and diversity of the Indian subcontinent.

The decision to build on a unified administrative system was advanced bythe Home Minister, Vallabhbhai Patel. He argued in favor of giving the civilservice experience at the Centre as well as the districts, thus enabling its mem-bers to be a liaison between the then-provinces and the Centre.[3] This positioncame to be known as the “steel frame” argument, providing a mechanism fornational integration through members of the services allocated to the variousstates, attracted on the basis of ability. These individuals were believed to pro-vide the nation with an all-India outlook. The members of the service were

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viewed as generalists who could assume a diverse array of responsibilitiesover their careers and could move around the country from various stateassignments to the nation’s capital.

The constitutional debate reflected a distinction made by the provincesbetween recruitment and control, supporting recruitment of personnel on anall-India basis but provincial control over such personnel. However, even atthe time of independence, it has been noted, the provinces “evinced littleenthusiasm for the All-India Services; the latter were pushed down their reluc-tant throats by Vallabhbhai Patel.”[4]

The IAS was constructed on a number of assumptions. First, it wasdesigned as an all-India service as a way of developing a national outlook.Second, it was meant to recruit the best and the brightest in the country. Andthird, it was meant to create a sense of independence and impartiality. Thesystem that was established (and continues today) recruits and examinesapplicants through a single examination held at a number of locations acrossthe country. The model that was developed was premised on the idea of a neu-tral public service — a system that sought to separate politics from adminis-tration, to develop a highly skilled work force, and to emphasize the value ofefficiency over all other values.

Top performers on the written examination appear for an oral exam.According to one observer, historically this “examination is rightly regardedas representing an ‘equal opportunity’ for obtaining public employment andaccess to highest bureaucratic levels at the Central as well as the States’ lev-els, by all sections of society and all regions of the country, and it arousescountry-wide interest on a sustained basis.”[5]

The IAS and IPS individuals who are selected begin an intensive trainingcourse at the Academy in Mussoorie and are immediately allocated to a statewithin the union. During some eras, individuals who score highest on theexam may be given their preferences for assignment to particular states (usu-ally the state of their origin). This policy change is no longer in place but,given the pattern, is likely to return again. The specific allocation of individu-als to states is based on a complex formula after consultation between theCentre and the individual states. Candidates who are assigned to a state (calledthe state cadre) are given instruction in, and must demonstrate competency in,the regional language.

Held at the Academy at Mussoorie, the initial training period (called thefoundational course) emphasizes the constitutional, economic and socialframework within which the officers function and also covers such matters asthe rights and obligations of the civil services and the ethics of the profession.After completing this course, the IAS trainees are sent for a year of districttraining in the state to which they have been assigned; that experienceincludes time at the state training academies where the trainees are socializedto the state laws, language, and cultures. After completing a set of exams onthe state issues, they then return to the national training academy for the second

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phase of training. When they complete this training, they are full fledgedofficers of the service. During their careers they are likely to come back anumber of times to the state level training academies. Typical IAS officerswill have a range of postings that require them to develop new skills that areappropriate for their job. Although the pattern of specific postings and assign-ments of the members of the IAS varies by time period as well as by state,there is a model — often theoretical — of career development that structuresthe process.

New officers are expected to spend approximately seven years in the dis-trict, often assuming different roles in that most decentralized level. Followingthat experience, they are assigned to jobs in the state secretariat for a numberof years or to a number of state level bodies. After at least 9 years of service,individuals are eligible for a job in the Central government; they have to benominated by the state government and the Department of Personnel and Train-ing does the actual selection. Supposedly states are obligated to fulfill a “quota”for deputation to the Centre. Individuals may work for a limited period in Delhi(or another location in which there is a Central government function) and returnto their states for a higher level state job. A small number of individuals mayreturn to the Central government for further assignments; this usually happensafter 18 years of service. They are chosen after being empaneled by the Depart-ment of Personnel and Training (see description in Figure 1).

This process has had many supporters over the years. A typical argumentfor the system follows:

The system of secondment and recirculation is of great value in bringingabout an exchange of experience between the Centre and the States, andin giving to the Centre access to the most recent experience of policy-making at the State level and the ground level situation in differentareas. This informal, personal insight into regional conditions becomesavailable to the Central Ministries and serves as a valuable supplementto the information obtained through formal communications, reportsand reviews, as well as assessments made in the course of discussions ininter-governmental conferences. For States, the access to a broader per-spective and experience of Central policy imperatives and the develop-ment situation in the other States is a parallel gain. Of course, thismutual reinforcement of experience is of direct value mostly in respectof the work done by these officers in fields of common or joint endeav-our of the Centre and the States.[7]

An essential part of the system focuses on confidence in the abilities ofthe individuals selected for the two services. At least one student of the systemnoted that concern about levels of representativeness is less important in adeveloping country because efficiency values are the most important. “Let usbe grateful if such selection produces a fairly representative bureaucracy, but

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let us not go madly after it by diluting or manipulating the selection.”[8] Twotypes of deputations were also allowed: those that involved interstate place-ments and those in the officer’s home state. Officers were allowed to spend anumber of years in their home state or in another state.

Although the system sought to assign most individuals to states other thantheir own, historically the composition of the services does not reflect the geo-graphical, caste or class dimensions of the Indian nation. Geography, forexample, was based on the declaration of regional affiliation by the recruit;one observer noted that “it does not disentangle the different components thatconstitute regional affiliation, nor does it help one to study inter-State move-ments and involvements meaningfully.”[9]

Although there was concern about the geographical representation of thevarious states in the central government, Indian policymakers were muchmore focused on problems of representation of those in castes and groups thathad been excluded from the benefits of citizenship in the society. The Constitution

Figure 1 Information from the Institute for Career Studies of India.

In the Government of India (i.e. in the ministries) you will deal with the formula-tion of policies and supervise their implementation. In each Ministry you will supervise the allotment and utilization of funds by the field offices in your Minis-try. You will also be asked to furnish information to the Parliament in response to queries relating to your Ministry. You will have to work late into the night and under much pressure when Parliament is in session. Sometimes your work will entail visits to the States. Depending on your rank, you might even be the govern-ment nominee on the Board of Directors of some Public Sector Corporation. You will also at times be nominated to independently represent India at international forums or accompany the Minister for such meetings. From the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, you can sign international agreements on behalf of the Government of India.

However, more than half of your career life will be spent in the State you are allocated, where you will look after law and order, general administration, revenue work and developmental functions. During the course of your two year probation you will be attached to various training schools, to the Secretariat and field offices and to a district collector’s office. Here you will do the work of a sub magistrate. On completion of your two year’s probation you will be appointed as a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM). As SDM you will look after law and order, general administration, revenue work and such development work as may be assigned to you. In the next three scales i.e. Senior Scale, Junior Administrative Grade and Selection Grade you will serve as District Magistrate, Chief Development Officer, Director of a department, Managing Director of a Unit or a Senior officer in the State Secretariat. In other words, you could be a District Magistrate in your fifth year of service and remain a DM till you are promoted to the Super Time Scale in the 17th year of your service.What your rank in the State Secretariat will be varies widely from State to State.[6]

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itself dealt with public employment by calling for “reservation of appoint-ments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in theopinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under theState.”[10] The first amendment to the Constitution further allowed special pro-vision “for the advancement of any socially and educationally backwardclasses of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.”[11]

The preferential treatment that followed these constitutional provisions wasalso justified in the quest for unity of the nation.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS INVOLVING THE IAS AND FEDERALISM

It is clear that questions related to the IAS are not separable from broader issuesinvolving changes that have taken place in the political process, the economyand the society in general. Five areas of change are of particular interest[12]:

The Level of Centralization. Many Indians perceive a pattern of growingdecentralization to the states, moving away from centralization of the 1960sand 1970s. Centralization was associated with the Emergency and the imposi-tion of President’s rule, Both of these processes provide the mechanism bywhich the central government can take over the administration of a state. Thechanges that have occurred over the past decade or so have been described asan evolutionary process of devolving from a unitary government. If decentral-ization was occurring, the appropriate role of the IAS was not clear.

This development appears to some to contribute to perceptions that theIAS infringes on state autonomy and, as well, has contributed to the politiciza-tion of the bureaucracy. Opposition to the services appeared to increase duringperiods of political tension. During the past decade, there is clear evidence ofthe demise of the one-party state dominated by the states of the north. TheCongress Party no longer can be viewed as the controlling political forcewithin the society. Regional political parties, formerly found only in thesouthern states, now are present throughout the nation based on religious,caste and ideological perspectives. Political differences between state leadersand central government leaders are now common.

These shifts have raised a number of issues for members of the IndianAdministrative Service. State cadre members are dependent on decisions ofstate political leaders for postings. At least two aspects of postings areaffected by political shifts. First, state political leaders may not be willing tomove individuals who are valuable to them to central government posts con-trolled by political rivals. Cadre members who had invested in relationshipswith political figures as a method of assuring good postings in Delhi may nowfind themselves without political patronage. Similarly, when new politicalleaders come into power within the state, cadre members sometimes find

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themselves subject to unexpected job transfers.[13] Some have noted that state-level politicians from different political parties can always blame the centralgovernment for their problems; the officers of the IAS are convenient whippingboys for that blame.

Even before the recent shifts, however, the practice of postings to theCentre was not really experienced by all higher civil servants. The idea of aneutral public service had already been tested. Two groups appear to havedeveloped: one that seeks central postings and finds ways to stay out of their“home” state. The other group avoids these postings and does not want tocome to Centre at all.

This behavior compounds what some already found to be a problem. Inhis 1974 book, A Tale Told by an Idiot, R. P. Norondha, who retired as ChiefSecretary of Madhya Pradesh wrote:

Today the politician distrusts the IAS man . . . He distrusts him becausehe belongs to an All India Service, whose loyalty must be more to theCentre than to the state. This is utter nonsense, but the politicianbelieves it, and it is what he believes that is the important thing, not thetruth. . . . At state level, therefore, the IAS is a foundling so far as theCentre is concerned.

He has been put out for adoption and they wash their hands of him. Thestate can kick him around as much as they (sic) please and the Centrewill not interfere, even unofficially.[14]

At the same time, it is not clear whether the political shifts will create newpressures for elimination of the All-India Services. The concept of the All-India Services was to foster national integration by recruitment of personnelthrough a nationwide competition that puts those selected under state control.However, selection of state service members for promotion into the IAS wasexpected to balance a national perspective with more local views. Despite policyshifts during some years that increased the percentage of insiders (includingnew IAS candidates selected via national competition but from the state whowere allowed to choose their cadres as well as the promotees), in a number ofstates the outsiders exceed the local component. In addition, several commen-tators have noted that in practice new candidates opt for assignment to aneighboring state and are not really “outsiders” in the manner that the conceptof the All-India Services imagined. In addition, women officers have beenallowed to list three cadre preferences. Some of this has contributed toincreasing conflict between the IAS and the state administrative services overquality of assignments, pay and status.

Shifts in the Organization of the Economy. Much of the expansion of the IASduring the 1960s was attributed to the expansion of tasks associated with

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economic management in a centrally controlled economy. For some partici-pants, the recent liberalization moves suggested a new role for the bureaucracy,emphasizing the strategic management of the economy in less prescriptive andmore market driven approaches. During recent years, states have been able tocollect taxes on their own and devise programs unique to that state. In thosesettings, the IAS plays a role that highlights the state rather than the centralgovernment policies. At the same time, while the powers of agencies such asthe National Planning Commission have decreased, there continue to be poli-cies that have been developed at the national government level that are imple-mented within the states.

Despite the rhetoric, some note that deregulation of the economy hasnot moved the IAS very far at the state level. In part this is because top levelbureaucrats within states have been socialized to act in a manner that accen-tuates command and control methods, rather than processes that createopportunities for citizens. The changes in the economic structure raise newdemands related to control and accountability of the services as well as newdefinitions of professional obligations. A 1995 statement on “Reforms forthe Indian Administrative Service,” issued by the Lal Bahadur ShastriNational Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, contrasted the work cul-ture of young IAS officers with those coming out of the Indian Institutes ofManagement:

Both come from the same social and educational background, and bothenter their respective organizations at senior positions at a young age,while their other colleagues and subordinates are much older to (sic)them. The young manager has to establish himself by proving his effec-tiveness and utility to the organization by generating more sales orshowing greater savings etc. With no prospects of a time bound promo-tion, he must strive hard to earn a name for himself in the market andkeep growing. The young administrator, on the other hand, relies moreon acquiring traditional and astrictive traits which distinguish him fromothers; aloofness, greater use of English, calling on seniors and trying toachieve social integration with them, and at the same time enforcingsymbols of subordination on others.[15]

Development of the Third Tier of Government. The expansion of the Pan-chayats suggested that new definitions were required of Indian federalism.These local levels of government were established by constitutional amend-ments that called for elections and democratic procedures for local govern-ment. These bodies were expected to make different demands on thebureaucracy. While the constitutional amendments establishing this decentral-ized form establish a new level of elected officials, at this writing the relation-ship between the officers and this tier is not clear.[16] Some states have welldeveloped Panchayats while others have them in name only. While it is clear

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that the states vary in terms of the relationship between Panchayats and theIAS officers, the patterns of this variation are not well documented.

At the present time, the youngest (and least experienced) officers are usu-ally assigned to district level posts; some observers of the process believe thatthe creation of the Panchayats will require skill and experience from adminis-trators and thus require postings from more senior officials. Over the pastdecade, the Foundation training has emphasized issues related to decentralizedadministration more than it had earlier.

Reservations, Mandalization[17] and Communalism. Changes in bothemployment and political opportunities for lower caste individuals werethought by some to place new pressures on federalism as well on the IAS.These changes related to the composition of the services (moving it from anelite bureaucracy to more of a representative bureaucracy) and the way thatofficers responded to these communities.[18]

During the 20 years from 1971 to 1991, the representation of the Sched-uled Castes in the higher levels of the federal government public servicemoved from 2.6% to 9.1% while the Scheduled Tribes increased from .4% to2.5%.[19] In 1963, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that total reservations(including three categories: Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OtherBackward Castes) shall be less than 50% of positions. To that point, however,the reservations did not include the category called Other Backward Castes.Some state governments had already established reservation quotas above the50% limit set by the Supreme Court. Andhra Pradesh announced a policy in1986 to raise the quota in government positions and all professional collegesto 71%. Tamil Nadu had already raised its total to 69%.

In 1990, the National Front government dusted off a ten year old reportfrom the Mandal Commission and included the Other Backward Castes(OBC) category in its reservation policy. This policy provoked extensive divi-sion within Indian society. The Mandal Report acknowledged that after40 years of independence, the society still remained caste-based but it alsolocked in a policy that every member of a lower caste, regardless of economicor educational standing, would be eligible for the benefits of reservation.[20]

To some, the cumulative affect of the changes has meant that the IAS hasmoved from an elite bureaucracy to one that is more of a representativebureaucracy, with an array of members who are more like the broader societythan the earlier form.

The individuals who have joined the services in recent years exhibit asomewhat different profile than those in the past. Creation of new opportuni-ties in the private sector have combined with the fruits of the reservation pol-icy to explain this. A trend analysis of IAS recruits from the 1987 to the 1991batches indicated that increasingly they were from a lower socio-economicstatus, from families of government servants, from engineering backgroundsand decreasingly from liberal arts backgrounds. Some of this is due to shifts in

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the Indian society; other explanations point to changes in the main writtenexam. In early periods, an essay was required that gave liberal arts graduates astronger position over objective tests. An essay has recently been reintroducedand some expect this to lead to more liberal arts graduates in the service. Dur-ing this period, Uttar Pradesh produced the largest number of recruits, fol-lowed by Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Goa had not sent a single person to theIAS during the period of the study.[21]

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES

Given the changes that have taken place within the Indian society, it is obvi-ous that there would be changes in the IAS. The service has changed becausethe politics, educational patterns and the economy have changed. The IAS hashad to deal with changes in the distribution of power within the country; as thecenter has decreased in power, the officers have adapted to procedures andpolitical realities that do not allow central control. At the same time, the mem-bers of the service are required to deal with issues such as those involving thepublic infrastructure, development policies, and scientific and educationaldevelopment. The increase of technical people within the IAS reflects theoverall increase in the number of technical people within the country and theemphasis on technical development.

The IAS main examination now provides more technical options for testtakers. Observers note that highly qualified technical people still choose toenter the IAS. Some officers perceive that the recruitment system is nowweighted in favor of those with a background in technical education ratherthan those with a liberal arts education.[22] But this reflects a general bias inthe society, not in the selection process.

For some observers, these changes in India’s society and economy haveled to an increase in corruption and criminalization within the IAS. Othersacknowledge that corruption exists in India — but that it also exists in allother institutions (politics, the judiciary, the private sector) as well as the IAS.They note that all countries (both developed and developing countries) havehad to deal with corrupt practices.

The Vohra Committee report in 1993 described a set of relationships thatthey termed an Indian Mafia. They called it “an extensive network of contactswith the bureaucrats/Government functionaries at the local levels, politicians,media persons and strategically located individuals in the non-State sector.[23]

While it is probably true that some IAS officers are guilty of illegal behavior,the extent of this problem is not known. The Central Vigilance Commissionhas advised launching of 65 criminal proceedings against IAS officers since 1January 1990; of those one individual was convicted and one was pending trial.The rest of the charges were awaiting information. The Commission advisedimposition of a major penalty against 20 IAS officers during that same period;

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of those, three had a cut in pension, two had a reduction in pay, and one hadanother penalty. The rest were awaiting information.[24] Given the size of theIAS (the estimate is that there were approximately 6,000 in that group includ-ing both active IAS officers and retirees since 1990), this does not appear to bea pervasive pattern if the Commission was operating with some diligence.

One of the difficulties involved in assessing the degree of corruption isthat many of the reports on this issue deal with multiple services. For example,a call for a National Campaign for Good Governance lists the IAS, the IPS,IFS, IA and AS, Income tax, Customs, Excise, Postal, CSS, and State CivilServices as potential players in the perceived politicization and corruption.[25]

Others, however, believe that political corruption is widespread in India.[26]

The changes that have occurred in the Indian society since Independencehave made some commentators question the wisdom of continuing the existingadministrative system. For example, on June 5, 1996, India Abroad reportedthat “During its term of office, the United Front government will advance theprinciples of political, administrative and economic federalism. In each of thesespheres, powers will be devolved and authority will be decentralized.”

The 2002 Final Report of the National Commission to Review the Work-ing of the Constitution was also critical of the IAS. They wrote that “weallowed the colonial legacy of administration to continue to hold sway in thepost-independence era.” Further, they noted that “the present structure of theAll India Services would appear to be incompatible with the development offull-fledged democratic representative government at the district level.”[27]

Does the current system allow enough flexibility for the All-India Ser-vices to adapt to these developments? Do the states have adequate powers interms of discipline and control of members of the services? With increasingdevolution from a unitary government, do the existing services actuallyrestrict state autonomy? Is it possible to maintain high standards of perfor-mance (particularly in those areas requiring skill as modernizing agents) and,at the same time, create an administrative apparatus that plays an appropriaterole as integrating forces in a new set of governing relationships? Does theincrease in state autonomy play a role in the perception that IAS officers aremore likely to be guilty of criminalization and corruption?[28]

WHERE IS THE IAS TODAY?: GLOBAL MANAGEMENT SHIFTS

The dramatic changes that India has experienced in its economic, political,and sociological structure since independence have, ironically, createddemands on its administrative apparatus that are familiar to public managersin other democracies.[29] These demands have created an approach to manage-ment that has been termed “intergovernmental management.”

It replaces a system which focused almost entirely on vertical relation-ships between levels of government and, occasionally, on horizontal

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relationships between levels of government. The metaphor that was devel-oped in the US literature that captured this set of relationships was “picketfence federalism” — alliances between program specialists or professionalsthat transcended the level of government in which they serve.[30]

The initial literatures that developed this frame of reference assumed thattraditional approaches to institutional authority would remain. The first writ-ings on intergovernmental management did not focus on changes in systems,structures, policies, or programs. However, they did highlight managementactivities that effectively blended politics and administration by focusing onmanagers in the policy process. These managers include program and policyprofessionals as well as administrative generalists drawn from governmentalentities. While much of this literature highlighted the role of national govern-ments, it increasingly moved toward a flatter and less top-down approach tointergovernmental relationships. In fact, much of the literature accentuated abottom-up, more collegial approach to these relationships. All of the changesthat have taken place during the past few decades work to erode the concept ofthe neutral public servant and rather emphasize the ability of a public servantto balance professional, political, and legal accountability expectations.

There are three sets of changes that have occurred within the past decadethat are crucial to understanding this context and are relevant to the Indianexperience:

1. an increase in boundary spanning activities;2. the new management skills required as a result of the boundary spanning

changes; and3. the international expression of these changes.

An Increase in Boundary Spanning Activities

The landscape of the public sector that is in place in democracies around theworld at the beginning of the 21st century appears to be quite different from thatfound several decades earlier. Several aspects of this changed landscape havecontributed to the context for intergovernmental management. India’s Constitu-tion actually acknowledges the boundary-spanning process as it stipulated thatsome policy or program areas actually required activity by both the central gov-ernment and the states. While it did define functions that were viewed as uniqueto the states and to the Centre, it also defined areas which required both.

Shifting Policy Boundaries. In the early period of intergovernmental manage-ment, relationships could be established that followed clear demarcations ofpolicies and programs. Rural policy, for example, was defined as a part ofagricultural policy and the relationships across levels of government werefound within that policy sphere. By the end of the 20th century, however,

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many countries found that rural policy was no longer defined solely within theagriculture sphere. Rather, it involved sectors including economic develop-ment, health, education, housing and infrastructure.

Similar movement out of a single policy world has been found in otherareas such as drug policy, crime, and welfare. Health policies, such as thoseinvolving HIV/AIDs are examples of these kinds of issues. Development pol-icies in India are examples of this shift in policy boundaries. It is increasinglyviewed not as a separate track but as a set of policies that involve multipleplayers and move across traditionally separate systems.

Shifting Views about the Role of Government

The shifts that have taken place within the past decade have reflected quitedramatic changes in the way that both citizens and governments themselvesthink about the role of government in democratic societies. The traditionalhierarchical bureaucratic structures with powers concentrated at the top oforganizations have been subjected to criticism. Criticism not only about thestructure of government but also its span of powers has contributed to whathas been called the “hollowing” of government. This has led to a shrinking ofthe direct role of public agencies in actually delivering services to the publicas well as a diminution of the span of responsibilities of the public sector.Privatization and contracting out of government roles have become increas-ingly common, utilizing public funds but relying on for profit or non profitentities to deliver services. “Hollowing out” involves a number of changes,including transfer of functions, loss of expertise, and the breakdown of tradi-tional relationships. The growth of the private sector in India and the deregu-lation of economic activities have contributed to this problem within thecountry. In India the public sector is still important but it cannot operate alone.Rather it must involve others, particularly in the private sector.

Interdependence Between Levels of Government

The initial development of intergovernmental management represented anacknowledgement that many policies and programs required managementactivities that moved beyond a single level of government or a single jurisdic-tion, leading to alternative approaches to autonomous and separate govern-mental authority. In the years that have ensued, more and more policies haveexhibited characteristics of interdependence between levels of government.This means that multiple levels of government are involved simultaneously inprograms and policies and that a single level of government rarely has singlepower and influence over the way that programs are designed, funded, man-aged and delivered. Some Indian states have found that they are required towork collaboratively with other states in some policy areas, e.g., policiesinvolving water from rivers that cross state boundary lines.

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Public-Private Interdependence

The changes that have occurred in the reach and structure of government havemade it obvious that the activities involving intergovernmental managementdo not end with players only from the public sector or government agencies.Rather, management of public sector programs involves a wide range of play-ers from both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Each of these players nowcomes to the policy table with its own agenda and imperatives. In some cases,the representatives from the for-profit sector have had minimal experiencewith the limited authority and constraints placed on public sector officials.

Reciprocally, the public sector officials have not had experience withthese players. Private sector players — both for-profit groups and non-government organizations — have increased over the past decade in India. Asa result, IAS officers can no longer expect to give orders to those non-government players; rather, they see themselves in partnership with thoseplayers.

A Focus on Performance

The concern about performance is closely linked to the reinvention movementpopularized by Osborne and Gaebler[31] and others who have emphasizedreinvention of government at the state and local government levels. The rein-vention movement accentuates the importance of measuring results. This rhet-oric style employs a vocabulary that highlights outcomes rather than inputs,processes, or even outputs. It focuses on the benefits derived from the use ofpublic sector funds and seeks to establish a framework that moves away fromtraditional incremental decision-making in which budgets are created largelyon the basis of past allocation patterns. It has been used as way to counter thepublic’s disillusion with government as well as the government bashing thathas been employed by political figures at all ends of the political spectrum.

But while the concern about performance is pervasive, it is not expressedconsistently; it takes many different forms and is attached to efforts at all lev-els of government. The Indian system has not moved significantly in this area;political assessment of effectiveness rather than data-driven performanceassessment drives the system. In addition, longevity rather than performancereviews serves as the main basis for the formal performance assessment ofIAS officers.

The Need for New Management Skills

These changes have placed new demands on intergovernmental managers.Managers have found that the traditional command and control paradigm,accentuating the authority of the individuals at the top of the hierarchy, did not

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provide an adequate framework to deal with the major issues found in theintergovernmental debate around the world. Neither did it capture the tensionbetween national and local governmental units in unitary systems. This is theautonomy versus control debate — asking the question as to what extentshould higher levels of government empower lower levels of government andthen get out of the way so that they can get their jobs done? This involves theon-going question about the level of decentralization to be developed in coun-tries around the world.

Over the past decade, an approach has developed around intergovernmen-tal relations that emphasizes the importance of bargaining, compromise andnetworking as essential processes of decision-making rather than traditionalhierarchical command and control approaches on formal structures as venuesfor decision-making. This highlights a movement away from a “sorting-out”of intergovernmental roles to an interdependent approach. It focuses on thedevelopment of interorganizational networks that include both governmentaland non-governmental actors and proceed along a path that includes theacceptance of the independent and separate character of the various members,avoidance of superior-subordinate relationships, interfacing of political andcareer actors, inclusion of appropriate specialists when needed to focus ontechnical issues, and agreement to abide by tasks and goals.[32]

This approach includes both the process and substantive nature of con-temporary issues. It suggests that different processes must be used to reachdecisions. But it also draws on the policy notion of issue networks. This con-cept, developed by Hugh Heclo, is viewed as a “web” of largely autonomousparticipants with variable degrees of mutual commitment or dependence oneach other.[33]

WHAT ABOUT INDIA?

Examination of these global shifts suggests that a number of the developmentsthat have occurred around the world are now a part of the Indian reality. Yetthere is little indication that those who are responsible for the IAS haveattempted to acknowledge that the more than 50-year-old system has been orshould be modified to deal with these developments. Some argue against thecontinuation of the IAS. The 2002 report of the National Commission toReview the Working of the Constitution argued that the “steel frame” of theIAS was not even a “cosmetic change” from the colonial era ICS and is thus arelic of a colonial past.[34] Others, however, have disagreed and have pointedto the training for IAS officers as something very different than that offeredunder the ICS.

Some observers believe that the IAS as a national force is no longer anappropriate institutional form. Others agree that the “steel frame” is not a suit-able metaphor for the system but that the IAS could and should continue in a

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new form that is relevant to the circumstances that the nation faces in the 21st

century. The limited discussion of this topic takes a number of different forms.There are at least three different forms involved.

The first form highlights structural changes including the changes in theeconomy, political changes, alternative career paths, and pressure to moveaway from an elite administrative corps. An analysis of the composition of the2001 IAS batch indicates that the batch itself is very different than it was in thepast. Data on 140 individuals were available on the website of the Departmentof Personnel and Training, giving the Civil Services Results for 2001 and iden-tifying those individuals by community (ST, SC, OBC, and General). Thosedata were compared to the individuals who were actually selected and joinedthe IAS 2001 batch. Data were available for 46 of the 55 individuals in thebatch. Of that group, 17 individuals were OBCs, 5 were Scheduled Caste mem-bers, and 3 were Scheduled Tribe members. That means that 25 of the 46 indi-viduals were in reserved categories. That appears to be higher than ever beforebut since data is not available to make such a comparison, that is simply a gues-timate. It is not clear what this means for the system as a whole. By the 1990s,individuals who sat for the exam were given the opportunity to take it in theirlocal language and were required to have competency in English in only onesubject. Most individuals, however, were quite comfortable with English.

The second form focuses on political realities and pressures. Again it isdifficult to know whether the accounts of political pressure that are heard areat a level that is different or higher than before. It is not surprising that politi-cians seek individuals whom they trust; that happens in all democracies thatare both developed and developing systems. And in a democracy, the adminis-trators are accountable to the political system — individuals who were electedby the people. This frame of reference is quite different than that argued bythe National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution whichcritically wrote that the services “would do the politicians’ biddings ratherthan adhere to rules.”[35] Critics of the National Commission report haveargued that this assessment is an overblown criticism of what has been occur-ring; they note that there appeared to be no acknowledgement that the author-ity for writing the rules in a democracy comes from elected officials. Theyalso note that despite the problems the underlying system continues to operate;the authority of the Constitution can be invoked to protect officers since theyare formally appointed by the President of the country and can only beremoved by the President.

In the early period of the IAS, not only were most politicians from theCongress party but they were also from some of the same caste and communi-ties as the IAS members. Both were composed of elites within the Indian society.Today, however, given the conflicts between politicians in the states and thoseat the Centre, it is not surprising that some individuals perceive a higher levelof political conflict because the politicians and IAS members come from dif-ferent communities.

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The third form focuses on the policies and programs of the Department ofPersonnel and Training related to implementation of the system. Two areasare highlighted: posting patterns to the Centre and the substance and style oftraining provided to IAS officers. There is little indication that the Departmentof Personnel and Training has either acknowledged these global developmentsor the changes that have taken place in India. Indeed, it is difficult to uncoverinformation about the system despite the reality that the IAS structure pro-vides a format should be extremely conducive to developing intergovernmen-tal relationships.

In-depth conversations with a number of relatively senior IAS officersposted in Washington, DC focused on their career paths and suggested severalareas of change that relate to the global developments that should be adoptedor at least considered by India. They also point to the limitations in the systemin terms of posting patterns and training experiences. At the same time, theyemphasized the importance of continuing the IAS in India. While it may notbe described as a “steel frame,” they argued that the service continues to beessential for maintaining the unity of the country. The IAS, according to theseinformants, provides a way to deal with issues such as communalism that areextremely difficult to solve through the political process. As one individualput it, “We need people whose loyalty is to the Constitution and who try toprovide both service and national unity.”

Posting Patterns

In some ways, India was ahead of many countries because of its Constitutionwhich not only created the IAS as an instrument of federalism but also notedthat some functions are appropriate for joint or shared Centre-state relation-ships. The system that was devised to allow officers to move between the dis-trict, the state and the Centre was an intriguing way to build in the sense ofinterdependency between levels of government.

At the present time, however, it is not clear that this system is actually thenorm for IAS officers. It is alleged that increasingly officers from some states(e.g., Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala) do not want to leavetheir states for a Government of India posting in Delhi. Several explanationshave been given for this pattern: avoiding disruption for family members;working with politicians with whom they have more in common than those inthe Centre; more cosmopolitan opportunities in the state. Conversely, individ-uals who are in some cadres (e.g., the Northeast, Rajasthan, and UttarPradesh) seek opportunities with the Government of India. Data are not easilyavailable to determine whether these patterns are true but it has been arguedthat it has become increasingly difficult to convince officers to come to Delhifor their first posting at the Centre. Some policies of the IAS also act as adeterrent for individuals to come to Delhi.

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As one officer commented,

While the Department of Personnel and Training usually sent panels tovarious ministries/departments in a seemingly unbiased manner, basedon the officer’s experience, it was hard to tell why the names in thepanel were listed in a particular order. It was widely believed that political/bureaucratic influence may play a role in whose name figures at the topof a panel. The receiving ministry/department had the final say. Selec-tion based on caste was definitely rumored. A pattern of selection ofofficers from a particular cadre was, however, more discernible. Wordof mouth played a clear and major role in the selections in Delhi.

It has also been alleged that the presence of the IAS in the Centre hasbeen considerably eroded in recent years and replaced by technocrats andmembers of Central services such as Income Tax, Audit and Accounts, Rail-ways, etc. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitu-tion actually called for the removal of the current posting process. They wrotethat “The question of appointments, transfers and placements is not to be leftto the discretion of the politicians or administrative bosses but be entrusted toindependent and autonomous boards.”[36]

Distribution of officers to specific state cadres also can have an impact onthe posting pattern. For example, there were 45 new officers in the UttarPradesh (the largest state) cadre in the1990 batch and 15 individuals fromJharkhand in that batch. By contrast, Gujarat had 11 individuals, Kerala had 7,Maharashtra 8, Rajasthan 10, and Tamil Nadu 12. When it was time for indi-viduals from that batch to have a posting in Delhi, it was likely that a largenumber of individuals from the UP cadre would be posted to Deputy Secretarypositions in the Government of India. If the pattern continues, there may be adisproportion of north India individuals working for the Government of Indiaand other states would not be represented there.

Policies about posting that are implemented by the Department of Person-nel and Training appear to change over the years. The criteria that are used forposting and the relative importance of a Delhi posting do not appear to beclear to IAS officers beyond their own experience during a specific batch.This is true for both the postings at the Deputy Secretary level and at the JointSecretary level. The “ideal type” of career that is described by Departmentmay or may not be the norm; without data to analyze the career patterns it isdifficult to know what is actually happening.

Training

As has been noted, a number of countries have identified specific skills thatare needed for public sector managers in the 21st century. These include

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subjects such as public/private partnerships, dealing with politicians, manag-ing in networks and other forms of intergovernmental relationships, under-standing the differences between jurisdictions (such as cultures of states),dealing with non-government organizations, and issues related to multipleaccountability expectations (including issues of corruption). Managers havelearned that there are many ways of dealing with issues that move beyond thetraditional hierarchical command and control mode. Some countries havedevised postings to the private sector and to NGOs to provide public sectormanagers with hands-on experience with those sectors.

While it is true that the training experience for IAS officers occurs notonly in formal settings but also through highly variegated experiences duringtheir careers, the training that takes during the first two years of their careersdoes set the framework for their future development.[37]

An examination of the Course Manual for the 72nd Foundation Course atthe National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie suggests that there hasbeen very little attention to these issues. The syllabus for the program does notappear to this writer to be much different than it was more than a decade ago(and that may have been similar to even older course outlines). The subjectsincluded do not give a sense that the Indian society and economy have changed.The public administration section of the syllabus communicates a continuedcommand and control approach. There is no indication that problems of corrup-tion, working with Panchayat officials, dealing with politicians, serving as abridge between the people and the politicians, and issues of secularism will facethe new officers. Neither does it deal with need for officers to find ways to cre-atively integrate separate national policies at the local level. The economics sec-tion of the syllabus does not include detailed attention to the new globaleconomy and India’s role within it. The only mention of Centre-state relationsis found in the subject area called political concepts and constitution of India.

While the curriculum does include some attention to Panchayat (localgovernment) administration, some officers believe that it does not focus onthe appropriate issues involved. One, for example, says that the training cur-riculum has “an assumption of politically neutral, objective decisionmakingwhereas, in my experience, conflicts between the State and Panchayat are usu-ally rooted in their respective political alignments rather than in issues. Civilservants often find themselves walking the tightrope and experience is theonly training they can rely on in such situations.”

Most of the faculty at the Academy are individuals who are veterans ofthe service who — not surprisingly — focus on the subjects and the teachingstyle that they experienced during their own training period. It does not seemthat the new officers are exposed to teaching methods that are interactive andinvolve problem solving techniques rather than traditional lecture classes.Some faculty appear to view the Foundation Course as a way of preparingofficers for their first district level experience; others do not seem to empha-size that experience.

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It is not clear whether the two years of training at the beginning of acareer is supposed to prepare an individual for all experiences within the IASor whether there are differentiated training opportunities that are required forall officers at particular points in their career.

CONCLUSION

Given the dramatic changes that have occurred within the Indian society, it isnot surprising that the IAS has changed. The members are drawn from a morediverse array of communities within the society; they have been trained andeducated in more technical fields. And they operate within a central govern-ment that has less direct power vis a vis the states than at the time of Indepen-dence, particularly in terms of central planning. At the same time, the IASprovides the staff for a range of important functions within the society.

There are few individuals who would argue that the traditional descrip-tion of the IAS as “the steel frame” is a useful metaphor for the 21st century.Some actually argue that the “steel frame” did not really describe the worldduring Patel’s era. Indeed, for some the concept has negative connotations:red tape, obstructionism, blind adherence to rules and regulations withoutfocusing on the substance of performance. Officers report that they arerewarded for inaction, rather than action. As one individual put it, the old IASmotto was “Discipline in Action;” today it is “Discipline in Inaction.” Othersfocused on the failure of the performance assessment system. Relying only onseniority rather than weeding out cynical and inactive civil servants does notfoster the potential of the service.

Many of the changes that have taken place in the society that have had adramatic impact on the IAS led some to be skeptical about the ability of theIAS to continue as a national force within the country. Even by the mid 1990s,observers pointed to the differences between the north and the south withinthe country and behaviors in which states no longer looked to the Centre forleadership. This occurred both in terms of political relationships as well aseconomic development patterns. And some were concerned about the impactof reservation policies on the quality of the officers who were selected for theservice. Others, by contrast, found that the quality had not diminished butsome acknowledged that the newer recruits have a relatively more provincialand regional approach rather than a national vision.

For some, the changes in the Indian society support a social and institu-tional reality that would make it difficult to move in the direction taken bysome other countries. Despite its inheritance as a sophisticated system thatbuilt in the interdependency between levels of government, there are a groupof observers who believe that the Indian society would be better served byseparate central, state and local government bureaucracies.[38] Pointing to stateand regional differences and patterns of identification with local political leaders

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and communities, this argument emphasizes the current reality which createslimited opportunities to develop an all-India, national approach within thecontext of decentralization to states. They emphasize the differences betweenthe south and the north of the country and the belief that states no longer lookto the Centre for leadership. This approach suggests that it will not be possiblefor India to retread itself to move from a command and control strategy to amore interactive, interdependent system. One commentator has noted that “theprospect of the public services curing themselves from within is bleak.”[39]

Concern about criminalization and corruption has led some to argue that thereis “a widespread loss of public confidence in the bureaucracy and in the legiti-macy of the State itself.”[40]

Others, however, argue that India — like many other countries — canadapt to the new realities. While this may mean the end of the “steel frame”metaphor, these individuals envision a role for an all-India service, Such aservice would provide service and national unity, particularly at times whendemocracy is at test. Differences between states do occur but the IAS officercontinues to be an intermediary between the state and the centralgovernment. Those who believe that the IAS still has an important role inthe Indian society point to the role of the IAS in assuring that elections arefree and fair. Such a modification might take some time but it would focuson creating an infrastructure that provides support for the officers in the newenvironment.

Some officers perceive that the Department of Personnel and Trainingand the Academy have not taken a leadership role in this process. They havefailed to clearly define the criteria that are used for assignment to cadres, posting,and training. They have failed to develop alternative expectations to the com-mand and control mode of operation. They have ignored the potential ofdeveloping networks that are useful for individuals within batches, suggestingthat officers might find it useful to work collaboratively with individuals inother cadres on shared problems. They have failed to find ways to use com-munication technology to allow officers to share experiences and approaches.It very well may be that these judgments about the Department of Personneland Training are unfair and harsh. But because the Department has not beenwilling to share data about the experiences of officers, it is difficult to knowhow the system is actually operating.

At this writing, one cannot predict which scenario is likely to occur. Inlarge part it is because there is no data available that allows one to movebeyond limited studies or personal anecdotes about career patterns. There isalso little data that allows one to describe the predominant patterns and differ-ences between states. The extent of corruption and criminalization with theIAS is perceived as pervasive by some and of limited scope by others. With-out an investment in research that seeks to document the details of career pat-terns, much of the debate on the future of the IAS rests on assumptions andideology rather than on data. That analysis is sorely needed.

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REFERENCES

1. The developments in India are not always obvious and are often subject tocontroversy. This paper relies on a range of sources including interviewswith IAS officers posted at the World Bank as well as an earlier question-naire submitted to new entrants into the IAS.

2. The British actually built the district level system on the structures devised bythe Mogols for tax collection. The British used that decentralized system toperform tasks of social control (e.g. law and order) as well as tax collection.

3. Maheshwari, S. Indian Administration; Orient Longman: New Delhi,1990, 237 pp.

4. Maheshwari, S. R. Problems and Issues in Administrative Federalism;Allied Publishers Limited: New Delhi, 1992.

5. Dar, R. K. The All India Services in India, with Special Reference toTheir Role in Promoting Intergovernment Co-operation, Centre forResearch on Federal Financial Relations, The Australian National Uni-versity, Reprint Series: 1979, 28, 7 pp.

6. http://www.icscareersonline.com/civil_services_ias.htm, 2003. (AccessedDecember 2004).

7. Dar, R. K. The All India Services in India, with Special Reference toTheir Role in Promoting Intergovernment Co-operation, Centre forResearch on Federal Financial Relations, The Australian NationalUniversity, Reprint Series: 1979, 28, 9–10. See also Banik, D. “TheTransfer Raj: Indian Civil Servants on the Move. The European Journalof Development Research, 2001, 13(1), 106–134 for a discussion of“victimization” associated with transfer decisions.

8. Subramanian, V. Social Background of India’s Administrators; New Delhi,India: Publications Division, Government of India, 1971, 6 pp.

9. ibid Subramanian, 1971.10. Section 4, Article 16.11. Section 4, Article 15.12. In January 1995, a two day workshop was held in New Delhi entitled

“National Bureaucracies in Federal Systems: The All-India Services.”A book was published summarizing that meeting, Arora B.; Radin, B. eds.The Changing Role of the All-India Services: An Assessment and Agendafor Future Research on Federalism and the All-India Services; CASI/UPIASI/CPR: New Delhi, xiv–xv, 2000. The preface to the book summarizing thatmeeting noted that the various views included in the volume reflected thediversity of experience that serves as the basis for individual analyses: Therange of positions begins with different interpretations of the formativeyears of Indian democracy, and a residual belief — at least for some — thatthe AIS carry with them the baggage of foreign rule and colonial-stylebehaviour. While many view them as a foundational element of the IndianUnion, others question their compatibility with the federal principle.

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Although most of the authors of the papers acknowledge the important roleof a national bureaucracy in reaching developmental objectives, there is noshared vision of the appropriate role of such a bureaucracy as India's federaldemocracy matures. . . . The interrelationship between issues of federalismand those of administrative reforms was noted, but it was not possible todetermine a clear sense of the path its development might take. The argu-ment that the AIS serves as a “steel frame” that allows the Indian system tomaintain unity and integrity as a nation, transcending cleavages and differ-ences which form the basis for states’ identities, seemed much less convinc-ing in the contemporary situation to both the paper-writers and many of theworkshop participants than it might have been at Independence. See alsoRadin, B. A. Bureaucracies as Instruments of Federalism: AdministrativeExperience from India, in I. Copland; J. Rikard, ed., Federalism: Compara-tive Perspectives from India and Australia; Manohar: Delhi, 1999.

13. When Mulayam Singh Yadav came into power as Chief Minister in UttarPradesh, transfers of some IAS officers were frequent. Indeed, some ser-vice members decided not to move their families to the posting becausethey could not assume that the assignment would go through a full schoolyear. Because data is not available, it is not clear how prevalent these pat-terns actually were.

14. Maheshwari, S. Problems and Issues in Administrative Federalism,Allied Publishers Limited: Bombay, 1992, 139 pp.

15. Reforms for the Indian Administrative Service, The LBS National Acad-emy of Administration: Mussoorie, 1995, 13 pp.

16. deSouza, P. R. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments: A LargeStep for Local Government (forthcoming).

17. Mandalization is the term used to efer to the policy developed by a Com-mission named the Mandal Commission to reserve a percentage of jobsfor individuals from lower caste communities.

18. Tummala, K. K. Politics of Preference in Public Service: Mandal andSince in India, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the AmericanPolitical Science Association, Chicago, August 1995.

19. Data from the Planning Commission, Government of India, quoted inTummala.

20. See discussion in Tummala.21. IAS Probationers: A Trend Analysis (1987–91 Batches). Training,

Research and Development Cell; Lai Bahadur Shastri National Academyof Administration: 1992, Mussoorie, India.

22. The scoring system that is used to evaluate the exams allows math and sci-ence majors to give more precise answers than those from liberal arts majors.

23. Vohra Committee Report, Ministry of Home Affairs, 9 July 1993.24. See http://cvc.nic.in/vscvc/lasma.htm. (Accessed December 2004).25. See Guhan, S. “Towards a National Campaign for Good Governance,” in

Guhan and Paul, editors, Corruption in India, 1997, New Delhi.

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26. Consultation Paper on “Probity in Governance,” based on a paper pre-pared by Justice Shri P. B. Jeevan Reddy, Member of the Commission,(http://www.lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/finalreport/v2b1-12.htm).

27. National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, FinalReport, Volume I, Chapter 6, pp. 7–8. (http://lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/finalreport/vol1ch6.htm). (Accessed December 2004).

28. The research proposal that was advanced by Arora and Radin during theCASI/CPR conference did not come to fruition as it was not able toacquire either financial or political resources. Thus detailed and systematicdata on the current status of the IAS continues to elude analysts of thisimportant set of behaviors. Radin was able to collect some data in July1995 from the 1993 batch of IAS officers. Two research questionsinformed the questionnaire that was completed at the LBS National Acad-emy of Administration in Mussoorie in July 1995 by 57 of 80 individualswho were a part of the 1993 batch 1. How has India reconciled a nationwide and nationally recruited bureaucracy with a federal system which hasregionally diverse, strong state governments? How does this interactionwork in practice in Delhi and the states? 2. How do different accountabil-ity theories and practices explain the perceptions and behavior of adminis-trators who are required to function at different levels of government?

29. This draws on Radin, B. A. The Instruments of Intergovernmental Man-agement, in B. G. Peters J. Pierre, ed., Handbook of Public Administra-tion. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA, 2003.

30. Wright, D. S. Understanding Intergovernmental Relations, Third Edition;Brooks/Cole Publishing Company: Pacific Grove, CA, 1988, 83 pp.

31. Osbourne, D. Gaebler, T. Reinventing Government; Addison-Wesley:Reading, MA, 1992.

32. Agranoff, R.; Intergovernmental Management: Human Services Problem-Solving in Six Metropolitan Areas; State University of New York Press:Albany, NY, 1986.

33. Heclo, H. Issue Networks and the Executive Establishment, in AnthonyKing, ed., The New American Political System. American EnterpriseInstitute for Public Policy Research: Washington, DC, 1979, 87–124.

34. National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, p. 8.35. National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, p. 8.36. National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, p. 8.37. IAS officers have patterns of posting to many different agencies and lev-

els of government. This on the job experience requires them to developskills that are appropriate for their particular job.

38. Mukarji, N. Restructuring the Bureaucracy: Do We Need the All-IndiaServices?; in Arora Radin, 2000, 191–203.

39. Vohra, N. N. The Rusting Steel Frame, in V. N. Narayanan, J. Sabharwal,eds., India at 50: Bliss of Hope and Burden of Reality; New Delhi: SterlingPublishers 1997, 168 pp.

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