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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Performance scare sinks in by Sanjay K Jha

Performance scare sinks in by Sanjay K Jha

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published Published on Feb 1, 2010   modified Modified on Feb 1, 2010

Most central ministers have signed at the end of last year a performance-tracking document, the sweeping nature of which has started to sink in only now.

Although the ministers say they have no quarrel with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s objective of improving governance, some resent that their performance will now be assessed by a set of bureaucrats.

“We are now at the mercy of some babus in the cabinet secretariat who have evolved this system after learning management concepts from America,” a minister said, reflecting the mistrust that efforts at accountability evoke among public figures.

The “memorandum of understanding” that the ministers say they signed is actually called the Results Framework Document (RFD) and was prepared by a “performance management division” created under the cabinet secretariat.

According to the cabinet secretariat, “The RFD is a record of understanding between a minister representing the people’s mandate and the secretary of the department responsible for implementing the mandate.”

The document lists not only the agreed objectives, policies and programmes but also success indicators and targets so that progress can be measured. The marking system, in percentage, is: excellent-100, very good-90, good-80, fair-70 and poor-60. For performance below 60 per cent, the ministry will get a score of zero.

The final report cards will be out by May 1 every year and placed before the cabinet, but there is a provision for a mid-year review, too. The reviews will be done by the cabinet secretary, finance secretary, expenditure secretary and the secretaries of the Planning Commission, performance management division and the department concerned.

Many cabinet ministers did not even know they had signed such an “MoU”, only vaguely remembering having put their initials on some document relating to performance evaluation.

One senior Congress minister, who had cared to read the document, had initially refused to sign it but yielded after a “briefing” from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Many ministers are complaining but in private and by citing an all-season bogey called America. “The Prime Minister should know that borrowing the American system without having (a set-up like the) American presidency is risky. The concept of setting targets and giving scores is completely avoidable,” one minister said.

Another said: “We should have collectively refused to sign. But the PMO cleverly omitted the Big Four (the ministries of finance, home affairs, defence and external affairs) from the first lot, and the others could not muster the courage to protest.”

But the sources said all ministries would be eventually brought under the evaluation system.

Some ministers, however, accepted that such an institutionalised performance-rating mechanism was necessary to haul up the non-performing ministers — but added that these ministers mainly came from the allies.

During the tenure of the first UPA government, the Prime Minister had been extremely unhappy with the DMK ministers.

A senior leader from a key ally, however, argued that the RFD was uncalled-for as the Prime Minister had already set up a “delivery monitoring unit” in his office to oversee the implementation of “flagship programmes, new initiatives and iconic projects”.

He said: “It is becoming a classic case of work less and review more. Ministers and bureaucrats are worried about grading, are setting false targets and are bound to give fabricated reports. We are sure there are better ways to improve efficiency.”

Officials at the cabinet secretariat’s performance management division say the idea behind the RFD is not to embarrass ministers but to transform the work culture from one emphasising process to one stressing results.

While taking over as Prime Minister for the second time, Singh had last May spoken of constant monitoring of ministries, and suggested quarterly reviews, to ensure that each of them implemented the poll promises.

The President’s speech to the joint session of Parliament around the same time too had stressed performance and accountability, and even the second administrative reforms commission has called for performance management.

The performance management division said the RFD was drawn up after a comprehensive study of the best international practices. The division, headed by a secretary, will conduct briefings and training for ministry officials too.

Apart from a summary of the most important tasks a ministry is expected to accomplish during a financial year, the RFD also provides for a strategic plan for 5-10 years.


The Telegraph, 2 February, 2010, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100202/jsp/frontpage/story_12055465.jsp
 

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