HOW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION FAILED IN INDIA
Submitted by
Ishan Mitra
Division B. Semester - 3
Lloyd Law College
In
NOVEMBER, 2017
Under the guidance of
Mr. Om Krishna
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DEFINING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
L.D. White observes that although public administration varies in form and
objects, and although the administration of public and private affairs differs at
many points, there is an underlying similarity, if not identity. As an integral aspect
of such generic concept, public administration could be related to that type of
administration, which operates within a specific ecological setting. It is a means
to carry out the policy decisions made by political executive. To be seen along
with it is the Public aspect of Public administration, which attributes a special
character and focus to it. Public can be looked at formally to mean
government. So, public administration is government administration,
government in action, or a socio-economic and politico-administrative
confluence, the focus being especially on public bureaucracy.1
Woodrow Wilson Public administration is the detailed and systematic
application of law. Every particular application of law is an act of administration.2
In sum, public administration:
is the non-political public bureaucracy operating in a political system;
Deals with the ends of the State, the sovereign will, the public interests and laws;
is the business side of government and as such concerned with policy execution,
but it is also concerned with policy-making;
covers all three branches of government, although it tends to be concentrated in
the executive branch;
provides regulatory and service functions to the people in order to attain good
life;
1
White, 1958, p.1
2
Wilson, 1953, pp. 65-75
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differs significantly from private administration, especially in its emphasis on
the public; and
is interdisciplinary in nature as it draws upon other social sciences like political
science, economics and sociology
NATURE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
There are two views regarding the Nature of Public Administration, that is,
Integral and Managerial. According to the integral view, administration is the
sum total of all the activities manual, clerical, managerial, etc., which are
undertaken to realise the objectives of the organisation. In this view all the acts
of officials of the government from the Attendant to the Secretaries to the
government and Head of the State constitute Public Administration. Henri Fayol
and L.D. White are the supporters of this view.
According to the managerial view of administration, the managerial activities of
people who are involved in planning, organising, commanding, coordinating and
controlling constitute Public Administration. This view regards administration as
getting things done and not doing things. Luther Gullick, Herbert Simon,
Smithburg and Thompson are the supporters of this view. The managerial view
excludes Public Administration from non-managerial activities such as manual,
clerical and technical activities.3
3
The Republican Era: 1869-1901
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RELEVANCE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SINCE THE PAST
The administration is an ancient alert, common to almost all countries and all
levels of governments. It is an aspect of governmental activity which is very old.
It is as old as human history with the increase in the scope and activities of the
state, the administration has become all the more important in modern time. Its
importance has tremendously increased from the cradle to the grave. The
administration is an instrument of social change. It is essential for preserving
civilization, social harmony and most of all for successful planning without a
clear, efficient, responsive and sensitive administration. The administration is of
pivotal importance in the formation of a welfare state. There was a time when
people had no expectation from public authorities but today life is shaped by the
quality of administration. A welfare state, having a planned economy and a
republican constitution, cannot function except through a widespread and
integrated structure of administration. Thus public administration prevailed
through the ages, it has been always used as a mode of controlling a society, a
town, a city, a state or a nation. Public administration has helped people to civilize
in gradual time.4
Many of the sharpest social issues of the modern age, including how to combine
freedom and organization resolve around this bureaucratize area of
administration, naming administration a central interest of political theory and
philosophy.
4
The Prestige Value of Public Employment in Chicago: An Experimental Study 1929
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1 Public administration is a continuous process and in this sense it is always
undergoing reform. Thus in public administration, reform is a journey rather than
a destination.
2 Reforms are an obvious response to the new challenges confronting the state
institution managing public affairs, what lies at the root of such an exercise, is the
effort enhancing administrative capability in the changed scenario.5
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA
In India, Administrative Reforms signify all these three aspects- remodelling to
suit political change since Independence, change in character and behaviour to
cope with the new socio-economic environment and programs for the removal of
evils that have crept into the system all behave urgent since independence. 4
Administrative reform is therefore a risk, a gamble, in which the odds are heavily
against success because once institutionalized, administrative arrangements tend
to stick and old habits die hard. It can take a generation for administrative
behaviour and values to change appreciably.
Indian Administration and its evolution have a historical context. The
circumstances and ground situation when the British transferred the reins
of government to the Indian leadership were highly challenging. Prudence
dictated continuing with the inherited administrative institutions. Unity and
stability of the country under the new democratic system could thus be
assured. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Lal Nehru (1956) was to explain this
evolution thus, Administration is not static; it is a changing dynamic
5
The Republican Era 1869 1901 a Study in Administrative History
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revolutionary process to fit in with the changing time. Change follows
public policies that fall in the domain of governing institutions.6
Administrative Reform has emerged as a standard expression in public
administration and is therefore preferred here. A view prevailed in the early
years after Independence that consequent on fundamental changes in the
policy environment and public administration will stir itself and imbibe
appropriate orientations and set out to acquire new skills. One of the
earliest divisions of Independent India was in regard to socio-economic
planning as the mode of the country's development.
India is the third world country, with its endemic features of poverty,
illiteracy, malnutrition, unemployment and overpopulation. Nevertheless,
it contains within itself features of the other two words, too: Attributes such
as democracy, rule of law, federalism, limited government, judicial review
etc. it shares with the first world, the adaptation of centralized planning in
India is a feature of the non-defunct second world. This combination of
apparently disparate features makes the task of reform of public
administration much more complex.
HOW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION FAILED IN INDIA
Various reasons have culminated this failure and still these have caused
hiccups in executing a healthy and fruitful public administration in India.
Leadership is the biggest factor in application or implementation of any
public policy. Lack of leadership in government is the main reason for
failure of public policies. The future of any country depends upon its
public policies. It provides an opportunity to transform lives of citizens
6
Discovery Of India, Jawaharlal Nehru
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for a sustainable growth. But to make it possible, the mind-set of people
must be changed.
There are many ideologies in society some of whom evolve while others
do not. For transformation, ideologies must evolve with time.
Transforming ideology means transforming minds of people for a
successful approach. This transformation of ideology with time to time
has lacked in Indian societies and its people.
Lack of implementation of public policies is the reason behind the
failure of governance. India is a young country, a social capital of
development in the world. The young generation should not just
criticize the government. Instead, they should come up with an action
plan to resolve problems faced in implementation of various policies.
Public administrators should first analyse the goals of any public policy
and then present their plans for better implementation.
Balancing aspirations of the youth and basic needs of the
downtrodden- The educated English speaking youth has desires of world
class malls, bullet trains, international retail chains, easy access to foreign
ecommerce sites. On the other hand we are haunted by farmer suicides,
lack of clean drinking water, unavailability of basic health facilities, and
lack of social security. This creates a case of conflicting priorities for the
decision makers.
Relations with other countries- We live in a multi polar world where
international relations change by the day. Developing countries have to
dynamically change policies to fit in with the latest global scenarios and
take decisions which are most beneficial for the nation. Relation with
neighbouring countries have always been an integral part of a countrys
peaceful existence but India has already been in four wars with both
Pakistan and China. This also resulted in economy fall as well as
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weakening of diplomatic relations with these countries, thus again raising
problems for the Indian administration.
REFERENCE
1. egyankosh.ac.in/bit stream
2. www.legalservicesindia.com
3. www.questjournals.org
4. https://www.biblio.com
5. https://publicadministrationreview.org
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