THE economic dailies have been reporting that several mid-career IAS officers have either joined or are in the process of joining companies such as Reliance, GMR Group, DLF, IL&FS, PricewaterhouseCoopers and McKinsey at pay packages of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 3 crore per year. Compared to this, the annual compensation of Rs 6 lakh for Secretaries to the Government of India is a pittance! IAS aspirants for this bonanza feel that this is really creditable and proves the value of their “work experience” in the field and their “ability to adapt”. The question is, which work experience? Facilitating their future employers with lucrative contracts or acquiring thousands of hectares of farmland for them to establish “SEZ real estate”? Or is it rendering just and fair governance to the aam aadmi? Obviously the former, which also calls for ability to adapt!
Some weeks ago the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector released the report on “Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihood in the Unorganised Sector”. According to the report, 80 per cent of India’s working population numbering about 40 crore lives on less than Rs 20 per day. They comprise largely STs, SCs, and OBCs. The report found agriculture fertile ground for poverty, especially for small and marginal farmers, the vast majority of whom live on one meal a day and thousands commit suicide due to severe distress! At the other extreme, India has made it to Asia’s top spot for billionaires with its 40 richest businesspeople worth collectively $170 billion. India has the fourth largest number of dollar billionaires, whose combined wealth makes us the second economic superpower in the global economy of billionaires.
Some civil servants have raised an ethical issue. Should IAS officers continue to be part of the civil service while working with a private company or group that also does business with the government or is affected by government policy? Would their mindset not be influenced to take policy and project decisions in favour of their big paymasters and other “big-ticket” players? In this “globalization” era of wealth generation, ethical issues are of no relevance to the aam aadmi government, which has been assiduously preparing IAS officials for career pursuits in the “economy of billionaires” by outsourcing their training programmes at all levels to American universities. The John F Kennedy School of Government (KSG) at Harvard University, Duke University, and Syracuse University have been chosen for this training and evaluation programme. This is said to be part of a calculated move to impose American culture on India’s administrative system as has been done in infrastructure, banking, insurance, real estate and other fields! “American education” has become a prerequisite for bureaucrats to bag plumpostings in the Central government! The first module of training on “Governance Challenges for India” for 95 IAS officers with 28 years of service was held at IIM, Ahmedabad and was designed jointly with KSG of Harvard University.
Several senior IAS
officers with a record
of outstanding service
are in shock. They
consider this move
by the Government
a deliberate act of
national subversion
The officers who attended this programme will require a certificate from KSG before they can move to the next rank of Additional Secretary or Secretary to the Government of India! Similar programmes for IAS officers who have completed nine and 18 years of service respectively are being held with Duke and Syracuse Universities. Last month, about 90 IAS officers were herded into the portals of Duke University in North Carolina to undergo a course on “Making Infrastructure Happen in India”. Some are back itching to migrate to the private sector! Several senior IAS officers with a record of outstanding service, independence and integrity are in a state of shock, fury and disgust. Many of them consider this move by the Government of India a deliberate act of national subversion and administrative sabotage. The acronym IAS will soon acquire one more expansion–Indian Americanized Service!
IAS (retd) with a distinguished career of 40 years - worked in Army, Govt, Private, Politics & NGOs.
