When someone cracks one of the toughest exams in the world, naturally, our expectations from them rise. The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a grueling, multi-stage process with a success rate of less than 0.2%. Those who clear it are presumed to be not just academically brilliant, but also capable of great administrative foresight and a genuine passion for public service.
However, what have we really received in return from many of those selected to serve as civil servants? It's a question worth asking—not from a place of disrespect, but from a place of demand for accountability and reform.
The Tax Burden vs. Public Infrastructure
India has one of the highest indirect tax burdens in the world. GST alone accounts for a massive chunk of the government’s revenue. The effective tax rate on everyday goods can go as high as 28%, and fuel prices are taxed so heavily that citizens in India pay among the highest petrol/diesel rates globally.
Despite this, our roads, footpaths, and public utilities remain in questionable condition. Examples:
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Encroached or non-existent footpaths in most Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities make walking a risk to life.
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Pothole-ridden roads, especially in monsoons, lead to thousands of accidents annually.
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Failed infrastructure: The bizarre 90-degree overbridge in Bhopal that defies logic and engineering sense, or the Rs 1.5 crore clock tower in Bihar that became a national joke.
This disconnect between public spending and public benefit is more than just poor execution—it's a systemic failure of accountability.
But Civil Servants Have It All... So Why the Apathy?
Civil servants in India:
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Enjoy high salaries (an IAS officer starts with a gross salary of ₹56,100, not including perks and housing).
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Receive free housing, transport, staff, and healthcare.
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Have job security for life, often beyond 30 years.
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Gain elite social status, often being treated as demigods in smaller towns and rural belts.
In comparison, a corporate employee has none of these luxuries and faces constant performance reviews, job risks, and market volatility.
So why is it that, despite these perks, the quality of administration often remains mediocre?
Core Problem: Absence of Accountability
In the private sector, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) drive performance. You meet targets → you rise. You fail repeatedly → you're out. In the civil services, this is almost non-existent.
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Promotions are time-bound, not merit-bound.
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Transfers are often politically influenced.
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Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) are vague and usually inflated.
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There is no real-time public dashboard to monitor bureaucrats’ performance on projects or schemes.
This leads to a situation where working diligently becomes voluntary, not necessary.
Some Data to Support This View:
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According to the Performance Management Division under the Cabinet Secretariat, over 40% of ministries and departments fail to meet even 60% of their annual targets.
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A 2017 PRS Legislative Research report found that implementation delays in central schemes often stem from "bureaucratic bottlenecks and lack of local-level planning."
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The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report (2019) placed India at rank 63—but many of the implementation-level delays still exist due to “administrative red tape and ground-level lethargy.”
What Can Be Done? A Suggested Reform Blueprint
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Define Clear KPIs: For each officer, based on role and location—e.g., sanitation scores for municipal commissioners, road quality index for PWD officers.
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Public Dashboards: Let citizens see monthly targets, achievements, and pending work, similar to RTI but in real-time.
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Performance-linked Promotions and Incentives: Reward efficiency and innovation; delay or deny promotion for underperformance.
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Fixed Tenure and Autonomy: Reduce political transfers to allow officers to deliver on long-term vision.
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Digital Monitoring: Use AI and data analytics to monitor scheme implementation, fund usage, and citizen satisfaction.
Final Thoughts
No nation can progress if its best minds are selected through a hyper-competitive process but then left unchallenged and unaccountable for decades. We don’t need miracle workers—we need a system where excellence is expected, measured, and rewarded.
The civil service should be the engine of India's transformation, not a bureaucratic bottleneck. And for that, reform isn’t just desirable—it’s urgent.
