Day 4 | RAS Mains 2025 Answer Writing | 90 Days

We will cover the RAS Mains 2025 Answer Writing syllabus in 90 days.

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GS Answer Writing – Attitude and Values of Civil Services: Ethics, integrity, impartiality and nonpartisanship, dedication to public service, relationship between Generalists and Specialists, Control over Administration: Legislative, Executive and Judicial –Various Means and Limitations between Generalists and SpecialistsControl over Administration: Legislative, Executive and Judicial –Various Means and Limitations

Non-partisanship refers to the ability of a civil servant to remain neutral and unbiased in political matters.

Significance of Non-Partisanship in Administration :

  1. Ministers from any political party trust the loyalty of civil servants.
  2. Civil servants can fully support reforms introduced by political executives.
  3. Maintains public trust in the apolitical nature of civil services.
  4. High morale among civil servants due to merit-based promotion and fair service conditions.
  5. Ensures consistency in government operations and services regardless of political changes.

In India’s parliamentary system, ministers are collectively responsible to parliament. This leads to indirect legislative control over administration through ministers. Parliamentary control techniques include:

  1. Law-making: Parliament enacts, amends, or repeals laws to shape organizational policies and structure.
  2. Parliamentary Proceedings: Question Hour – MPs ask questions of three kinds, viz. Starred, unstarred and short notice ; Zero Hour –Informal discussions without prior notice, Half-an-Hour Discussion; Short Duration Discussion; Calling Attention Motion; Adjournment Motion –Draws attention to urgent matters; No Confidence Motion – Removes the ministry if it loses majority support. ⇒ Eg. issues such as the migrant crisis during Covid-19 and the rise in the cost of the Rafael aircraft were raised
  3. Budgetary System: Parliament controls government finances through budget enactment and criticism.
  4. Debate on inaugural speech of President (Art 87)/ Governor (Art 176)
  5. Audit System: CAG audits the government’s accounts on behalf of Parliament and submits an annual report detailing any improper, illegal, unwise, uneconomical, or irregular expenditures.
  6. Parliamentary Committees:
    1. Financial Committees: Public Account Committee – Examines CAG reports ; Estimates Committee: Suggests economies in public expenditure; Committee on Public Undertakings.
    2. Departmental Standing Committees: Examine ministry/department demands, bills, and reports.
    3. Other  : Committee on subordinate legislation , Committee on Government Assurances.

However, legislative control over administration is often more theoretical than practical. In reality, it’s not as effective as it should be.

In India’s civil service, there are two main components: generalists, exemplified by IAS officers, who handle administrative functions like POSDCORB, and specialists, such as engineers and doctors, who provide expertise in specific fields. However, there has been an unending controversy between these two since British rule.

Areas of Controversy : 

  1. Pay and service conditions favor generalists over specialists, causing dissatisfaction among the latter.
  2. Top policymaking positions are often reserved for IAS officers, limiting opportunities for specialists.
  3. Below the Secretariat level, specialists typically occupy positions, but generalists are often appointed as heads of executive departments, such as Director of Agriculture, Chief Conservator of Forests, Director of Health, etc.
  4. Regional key posts like Divisional Commissioner are usually occupied by generalists, despite the presence of specialists.
  5. At the district level, the District Collector, a ‘generalist civil servant par excellence,’ heads a number of technical departments in the district administration. Similarly, the CEO of the Zilla Parishad is a generalist and heads a team of specialists.
  6. Generalists enjoy closer ties with political leaders compared to specialists.
  7. Generalists have broader mobility across organizations, unlike specialists who are confined to their fields.
  8. Generalists have faster promotion prospects than specialists.
  9. Performance appraisal of specialists is conducted by generalist IAS officers.
  10. IAS officers often disregard the advice and proposals of specialists, viewing them as subordinates.

The controversy between generalists and specialists in the Indian administrative system is detrimental to administration and negatively affects efficiency. The key recommendations for resolving this dispute are as follows:

  1. Restructure the administrative system into generalist and specialist departments.
  2. Establish new All India Services in emerging technical fields like medicine, education, and agriculture, offering them the same status and benefits as IAS
  3. Joint training for generalists and specialists to understand each other’s roles and challenges.
  4. Introduce changes in the hierarchical structure of positions :Consideration could be given to → Separate Grade (Germany, Sweden), Parallel Grade, Joint Grade, Unified Grade.
  5. Administrative Reforms Commission recommended
    1. Restructuring services into Functional and Non-Functional categories.
    2. Restructure the role of the IAS to focus on specific functional areas like land revenue administration and regulatory work.
    3. Dividing top-level positions into Field and Headquarters categories. Field roles should be for technically qualified individuals, while Headquarters roles should be filled jointly by generalists and specialists as needed.
    4. Implement a rational pay structure reflecting job responsibilities.
    5. Discontinue the practice of appointing generalist secretaries as part-time or full-time heads of public enterprises.

The Fulton Committee emphasized that the aim isn’t to replace specialists with generalists or vice versa. Instead, both generalist and specialist administration are essential, like two sides of a coin. With coordination and cooperation between them, we can achieve the goal of public welfare.

Paper 4 (Comprehension part) – संक्षिप्तीकरण

      शीर्षक-धर्म : मानवीय जीवन का केंद्र

भारतीय परम्परा के अनुसार धर्म, अर्थ, काम एवं मोक्ष, संस्कृति शब्द में ही निहित हैं। पुरुषार्थ के इन चारो पहियों में धर्म वह धुरी है जिस पर अर्थ एवं काम का टिका होना बहुत आवश्यक है। धर्म के अनुसार किये गए काम एवं अर्थ ही मानव को मोक्ष की ओर अग्रसर करते हैं एवं अधार्मिक काम एवं अर्थ मानव जाती के लिए घातक हैं ।

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