Administrative Success But Executive Failure

Context: Indian government is facing a dichotomy in terms of administrative success but executive failure.

Recent examples of Administrative Successes:

• Administrative reorganisation of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh: after the Abrogation of Article 370 (with strict lockdowns) undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Vaccination efforts: building on the successful track record on immunisation.
• Successful execution of expansion and renovation of the national road network.

Recent examples of Executive Failures:

• Tax collection: Failed to collect the taxes as expected (poor execution of Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Banking system mired in structural difficulties
• Roads are being built, but India continues to be a logistics nightmare relative to its Asian competitors.
• Trade policy is a hotchpotch of protectionism and export-led incentives.
• We vaccinate well, but our health systems continue to be abysmal.

Reasons for the Dichotomy of Administrative Success and Executive Failure

• Lack of political capital: Today, the economic ideology underlying the government’s efforts is not fully developed (without any substantial political capital)
  • For E.g. in contrast to ideological clarity on Article 370, there is no investment of political capital in privatisation project which are focused more on fiscal reward.
• Administrative nature of civil services: Civil services, especially colonial ones, are designed to administer government policy, not to deliver public services.
  • Hierarchical and non-collaborative: An administrative, civil service uses coercive power to delivery and relationships with stakeholders are hierarchical, not collaborative.
    • It sees executive capability and collaboration as threats to their power and influence.
    • E.g. denial of the establishment of the National Fiscal Council due to fears of loss in power.
  • Lack of specialisation: limits the scope or capacity for executive capability in the system.

Way Forward: Transform civil services from an administrative to an executive institution; significance -  

• Engages with complexity: to deliver results in complex tasks (like health and education), particularly in which the administrative system fails to deliver.
  • Administrators respond to an evolving situation, whereas executors control the same.
• Promotes collaboration: to fulfil the twin objectives of service delivery along with fostering of economic activity; requiring Bhagidaari (joint manship - working with other stakeholders as peers.
• An executive civil service is managerial, collaborative, and adept at utilising technical expertise.