India tries again to cut red tape

KOLKATA - The iconic first prime minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew, once famously said that if a country paid "peanuts" to its ministers and civil servants, all it would get would be "monkeys". This is why, perhaps, that Singapore, a growing country small in size and with limited resources, has made sure its administration is among the highest-paid in the world. The important message, however, seems to have been lost on India. Although the country has embarked for years on aggressive reforms in many sectors, administrative reforms and salary hikes have always been a touchy and divisive issue. Quite a few attempts at reform have been made over the past five decades, but due to lack of political will and the country's massive civilservice - which represents an equally enormous voting block - all efforts have been futile. But now, having initiated most of the country's required economic reforms over past 17 years, it appears that India may be turning its focus on the long-awaited administrative reforms. Over the past two months, two specially constituted government bodies - the Pay Commission and the Administrative Reforms Commission - have suggested a slew of reform measures that could have a far-reaching impact on the structure and functioning of the Indian Civil or Administrative Services. The Pay Commission is an administrative mechanism set up in 1956 to guide the salaries and functioning of government employees. The (Second) Administrative Reforms Commission was formed in 2005 to prepare a detailed blueprint for revamping the public administration system. India tries again to cut red tape By Indrajit Basu