Requirements for efficient governance

Following are the requirements needed for the civil servants engaged in development administration –

• Mental framework – it should never be conservative. It should have a scientific outlook and should be progressive, innovative, reformist and even revolutionary in mental attitudes and approaches.
• Knowledge – it should have knowledge of science, technology and social sciences.
• Skills – it requires conceptual skills (ability for innovative problem – analysis), planning skills, technical skills, managerial skills and human skills.
• Vision – A development bureaucrat requires the vision of a statesman and not that of either narrow-minded politicians or a rule-minded bureaucrat.
• Structures – it requires less hierarchical and more team-like structures such as Commissions, Boards, Corporations etc.
• Behavior – The behavioral pattern should consist of (a) action and achievement orientation (b) responsiveness (c) responsibility (d) all round smooth relations inside with juniors and seniors and outside with clientele and the public (e) commitment to development ideologies and goals.        

Besides, there should be –

• A working partnership between the civil servants, elected representatives in the government and the people.
•  A sense of service, a spirit of dedication, a feeling of involvement and a will to sacrifice for the public welfare.
•  A pragmatic application of the basic democratic principles. Higher civil servants should provide the required leadership to the lower levels of administration.
•  Constant field inspection by senior officials.      
  • to provide the government with the ability to be in constant contact with the people; and
  • to make the people conscious that the government is alive to their problem;
• Smooth relation between generalist administrators and experts specialists.
• Training from time to time to understand the success already achieved in the field of development administration and the efforts to be initiated in future.