Five years of UPA changed babudom

The five years of the UPA government (2004-2009) saw the introduction of several important changes to streamline the bureaucracy in the country, reports Soumyajit Pattnaik.

The five years of the UPA government (2004-2009) saw the introduction of several important changes to streamline the bureaucracy in the country. Four months after coming to power, it set up the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) to prepare a detailed blueprint for revamping the public administration system. Headed by M Veerappa Moily, the ARC has so far submitted 12 reports.

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The UPA Government brought in many changes at the apex of the bureaucratic pyramid. It introduced mandatory mid-term training for IAS officers and has been contemplating the same for IPS officers.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is in the process of introducing similar mandatory training for Indian Police Service (IPS) officers.

In October 2006, the Centre set up the Sixth Pay Commission for Central Government employees. Pay-hikes, with arrears were approved in August 2008. IT also worked out comprehensive pay packages for all the categories of Central Government employees.

The UPA Government last year also asked the state governments to streamline the process of confirmation of Indian Administrative Service probationers in a time-bound manner.