BUREAUCRACY, POLICE AND ARMY

INTRODUCTION

Police, Civil Service and Military are a part of coercive apparatus of any state. Modern state

is different from the medieval state in terms of making laws which can control the activities

of these forces. A democratic state is a constitutional state. Constitutional laws guide the

actions of each organ. To keep a check on the misuse of... power by any organ of the state,

there is a balance of powers. Executive, judiciary and legislature are three organs of the state

which balance each other to bring unity of purpose. If any organ goes outside the laws of the

state, it can come under the scrutiny of law by another organ. It regulates the relationship

between each organ and citizen. If a citizen feels that he or she is discriminated by any organ

of the state, he can resort to judicial review of the state action. Check and counter check help

to keep the functioning of the state within the rule of game. A democratic state has to respect

the human rights of each citizen and social class and groups. The state has enough space for

the movement of each social group. Each group is allowed to protest against the state actions

in a peaceful manner. Laws of the state are supposed to protect the rights of a citizen and

social group. Democratic state is a limited state vis a vis a citizen and social group. Each social

group, be it dominant or subaltern, is protected by the state. A state is basically a limited state

except in an unusual situation in a nation’s life, such as emergency because of war or internal

trouble. The state has laws to restrict the rights of a citizen. In such circumstances the police,

civil servants and military have immense powers. These three forces are part of an Administrative

State. Moreover they are a permanent part of the executive whereas the political executive

is a temporary one. Though they are the subject of control by the political executive, the action

of each force can come under scrutiny by the judiciary. In this unit, the relation of each of these

forces with the judiciary and legislature, is being analysed.

POLICE

Police is a part of the ancient Indian history. The Mauryan empire did have a police force.

During the Moghul period, the Kotwali system monitored the activities of citizens. The British

rule created a modern policy by creating a Police Act of 1861. The colonial state allowed the

operation of police in a legal manner. They could investigate the criminal case as per the law

of the time. The colonial state created a legal framework which limited the police action.

Though they served the interests of the colonial masters, at the same time, the laws of the state

gave them autonomy. Even the British citizens came under their control to some extent if they

committed crimes which were listed by the Police Act. It is wrong to presume that the Police

Act served the interests of colonial masters only. This Act is serving the needs of the Post

Independent Indian State. Some of the provisions have been amended, but in essence, the Act

has been kept intact. Though the National Police Commission (NPC) has suggested for a new

police Act, the democratic government has not felt the necessity of scrapping the old Act.

Reasons Behind the Expansion of Police

The activities of police have got expanded with the changes introduced by the modern society

of India. The Indian society is no more an agricultural society though majority of people live

in the villages. But in terms of contribution to the national income, the share of agriculture has

declined drastically. The contributions of industry and service sector have increased. This

transition to an industrial and modern society has brought certain changes in the society. A

transitional society has some peculiar problems which need to be tackled by the police. The

Indian society is getting urbanised at a faster rate which creates some problems for the police.

The problems of the industrial and urban society are different in nature from the rural society.

The rural society has changed because of the social changes introduced by the green revolution

and political democracy. The caste hierarchy has undergone a radical change. Land reforms

such as the abolition of Zamindari system has changed the face of the rural society by

removing the hereditary social leaders. It has led to a sharp competition among various caste

groups for sharing the social power. The changing balance of social forces in rural society gets

reflected in politics.

The democratic politics has brought some changes in the society. Electoral system has

strengthened the democratic character of the society. This has led to sharp competition for

political power among the social groups and classes of people. The entry of political parties

into rural politics has strengthened the competition after leading to violence. Police intervention

is sought in such a political situation, for tackling the criminal elements and gangsterism.

Challenges Before the Police Force

1) violent agitations by linguistic groups to redraw the political map of India, strengthening

linguistic nationalism.

2) the tribal groups of the Central India and North Eastern India have organised themselves

on ethnic lines.

3) movement for land distribution very often leads to violence between the rich and the poor

in rural India.

4) agitations organised by the political parties to protest the displacement of people due to

major environmental projects by the government or by a private party.

5) terrorism and militant movements.

6) growth of religious fundamentalism leading to violent conflicts.

7) caste clashes between the upper and the lower castes on such issues as access to

common property or self respect movement.

8) violent conflicts between the rural rich and landless labour, on the issues of wages.

9) violent conflicts between the upper caste and lower caste in towns on the question of

reservation of jobs on caste lines.

10) while social legislations are made by the state, the responsibility to execute those laws

is given to the police. The tackling of crimes against children and women are a major

responsibility of the present police.

11) introduction of IT has brought in cyber crimes which need to be tackled by the police.

12) the growth of underworld in metropolis has created problems for the police.

The Police Response

India is a federal state and the powers are distributed between the Centre and the States. The

police administration comes under the purview of the state government. The problems affecting

the state need special attention of the police administration. Very often, unable to handle such

a situation, they depend on the Central government for help to maintain the public order. The

Central government has Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force to aid the

state governments. These central forces have specific duties but at the same time, they aid the

state governments in the case of law and order situation. There are three groups of states that

need special central help: (i) states like Jammu & Kashmir which have terrorist problems, need

the assistance of the central police force. (ii) The other group of states is infested with

Naxalism which also demand the central help for tackling the situation. (iii) The third group

of states where a large-scale communal problem can cause an alarming situation necessitating

the intervention of central forces. The central government has created a Rapid Action Force

(RAF) within the Central Reserve Police Force. The RAF is an emergency force that is

normally airlifted to trouble spots so that quick action can be initiated to contain an explosive

situation. Often the central police help in maintaining order during the elections times to the

State Assemblies and Parliament. The Election Commission has a close interaction with the

Home Ministry to call for the central forces to conduct free and fair elections. As there are

some areas which are declared as disturbed, the state police try to handle the situation with

the cooperation of the central forces. In a competitive political system, there is a large number

of political leaders whose life is threatened by the terrorists and need protection by the state.

The State has created a Special Security Force drawing from both BSF and CRPF to take

care of the VIP movement.

Crime Records

From 1860 onwards, the Police Commission has been keeping the records on the reported

crimes. In 1953, the central government introduced an annual publication Crime in India, with

comprehensive statistics on all crime reported to the police in all States and Union Territories.

Tackling crime in India is now, the responsibility of the National Crime Records Bureau of the

central government. The study assesses crime rate i.e., offences per 100,000 people. The post

independent state has recorded more crimes against women; infact rapes have doubled between

1985-1995. There is a manifold increase in the number of crimes.

The Police Role in Government

The use of police in India has been frequent and extensive. Very often their non partisan

behaviour is questioned. The police is used by a political party or a coalition of parties against

their political opponents. Often the police is accused of showing their communal bias while

controlling the riot. Majority of them allegedly have caste and class bias and this has led to

a negative public perception of the police administration. Various surveys conducted by some

independent organisations found that the public do not consider the police as a friendly organ

of the state. This perception affects the investigation of crimes. Criticism of the police by the

executive, legislature and citizens is very common.

Relations with the Executive

During the emergency it has been observed by the Shah Commission that the executive, for

its political ends, has used the police. This has led to the constituting of a National Police

Commission under the chairmanship of Dharma Vira. The Commission has suggested measures

seeking an autonomous status of the police. Two recommendations made in this connection

- a fixed tenure of four years for the police chief and the constitution of a state security

commission headed by the state minister in charge of the police also remain to be implemented.

The political executive has to formulate public policy regarding the law and order situation.

The transfer of the police officials must be decided by the state security council. This helps

in reducing the day-to-day interference in the police administration and checking unfair practices

at the time of transfer and posting. A level of transparency should be maintained in the above

mentioned process.

Relations with the Legislature

The legislature is the supreme authority in a democratic system. It is endowed with certain

privileges and facilities which need to be respected by the police force, without which the

legislative committee of privileges can question and punish the latter. The police need to show

due respect and honour to the MLAs and MPs during their visits to the Police Stations. The

police administration’s perception of undue demands from the legislative members, affects their

reputation in the eyes of public. The countrywide police agitation in 1979 was triggered by

a trivial altercation between a Haryana traffic policeman and a legislator. The relationship

between the police and MLAs and MPs is extremely delicate, calling for great restraint on

both sides.

Relations with the Judiciary

The police has a tenuous relation with the judiciary. The police feels that the courts lack faith

in them. For example, the Indian Evidence Act lays down that no confession made to a police

officer shall be admissible in evidence. This is a major source of discontent for police officers

at all levels. There are many restrictions imposed by the judiciary on the police. No person

can be arrested without a warrant and shall be held in police custody for longer than twenty

four hours: he has to be produced before the concerned magistrate within this stipulated time.

The Supreme Court and High Courts have imposed many restrictions on the power of the

arrest vested in police officers. In Joginder Singh v. State of UP (1994), the Supreme Court

stated that an arrest should be made merely because it was lawful to do so. The officer

concerned should actually be able to justify such action. The judiciary is very much sensitive

to the complaints of the human rights violations by the police. The formation of National

Human Rights Commission headed by a former Chief Justice of India is in the process of

making the police more sensitive to the human rights violations. The NHRC takes a very

proactive position with regard to human rights violation by the police.

Relations with the Public

Democracy demands that the police needs to respect the citizens. They have to be helpful to

them whenever they come to the police station for filing any complaint. This is the age of

citizen friendly police administration. But there are many complaints against the police that an

ordinary citizen may not be able to file FIR without offering a bribe to the police officer at

the Police Station. The investigating officers use the force in dealing with crime suspects. The

public often view the police with suspicion. To quote David Bayley, “the survey results

demonstrate forcefully what many close observers of police-public relations in India have long

thought namely that the Indian public is deeply suspicious of the activities of the police. A

considerable proportion except the police to be rude, brutal, corrupt, sometimes in collusion

with criminals and very frequetly dealing unevenly with their clients.” (The Police and Political

Development in India, p. 203) This opinion is supported by the NPC report that the Commission

expressed its anxiety over the poor state of police- public relations. (Vol. 5, p. 48) The police

administration needs to be citizen friendly for bringing back its credibility before the public. In

a democracy, the public evaluates the performance of each service. The police administration

needs to reform its organisation by which the police officer are aware of the citizen’s charter

and they provide quick and honest services to them. Credibility in democracy will be the

biggest asset of the police.

CIVIL SERVICE IN DEMOCRACY

Pre Independence Era

The civil service in India has a long history. There was an organised administration during the

pre British rule. It is interesting to note that the civil service for the public works started during

the middle of 19th century. This was the time when the colonial state went for a permanent

civil service based on merit. The modern education system, introduced by the colonial state,

enabled the educated people to compete for various jobs of the state.

The Government of India Act of 1858 provided for a multi-tier bureaucratic authority which

continued to exist upto 1947. These were:

1) the secretary of the state assisted by India office;

2) the viceroy and his executive council which constituted central government assisted by the

central secretariat.

3) The Governor and his Council at the provincial level assisted by the Provincial Secretariat

and

4) The District Collector assisted by other district officers.

Services were divided into three levels- the superior services (All India and Central Services),

the provincial services, and the subordinate services. All India services were recruited by the

Secretary of State to work in any part of India; as a rule, officers were assigned a particular

province. By the Government of India Act 1919, other services were abolished but the India

Civil Service and the Indian Police Service remained. These services were monopolised by

the Britishers and gradually got Indianised. In 1923, the Government of India established

Public Service Commission for the recruitment of persons with appropriate qualification. The

Government of India Act of 1935 undertook some modifications.

Post Independence Era

There were several debates in the Constituent Assembly regarding the retention of the civil

service. The Constitution has made specific provisions regarding the responsibilities of the civil

servants. In a democratic system the political executive is the highest body assisted by the civil

servants.

Civil Service and Legislature

The Distinctive Features of the Administrative Framework of the Country are:

1) The supremacy of the parliament over the executive and the right of Parliament to seek,

receive and apprise information about governmental actions with a view to reviewing the

working of the administrative machinery.

2) The pre-eminence of the position of the Prime Minister in the Council of Ministers and

in administration.

3) The collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the Parliament

4) The individual responsibility of each minister holding a portfolio to formulate the departmental

policies. It is his or her responsibility of supervising the administration of these policies and

other departmental works.

5) The obligation on the part of ministers and civil servants to uphold the Constitution and

rule of law.

6) The obligation of every public servant to implement faithfully all policies and decisions of

the Ministers even if these are contrary to the advice tendered by them.

7) The right of public servants to express themselves frankly in tendering advice to their

superiors including the ministers.

8) The observance by public servants of the principles of political neutrality and impartiality

and anonymity. (Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), Report on Machinery of

Government of India, p. 3).

Most of the posts below the level of Ministers in the Secretariat and in the field organisation

are manned by the civil servants. Their work consists of assisting the political executive in

policy formulation, programme implementation and administration of the laws of the land. They

did contribute in policy making process actively as they are taken as the professionals who

are competent to provide the inputs in the policy making process. The final touches are

supposed to be given by the minister followed by the Council of Ministers. It is wrong to

presume that the policy making is done by the political masters and the implementing agency

is the civil service. They are responsible for implementing the policies. At the same time, they

are not accountable to the Parliament. It is the ministers who are accountable to the Parliament

and answer the questions related to the issues regarding the implementation of policies.

Constitution of India

The provisions of the Constitution have made it clear that they cannot be removed by the

politicians. They retain their independence in the democratic system. Art 311 says that they

cannot be removed from the job without a proper enquiry duly constituted by the President

of India. This explains the peculiar position of the civil servants in our democracy. The reasons

are given by some of the scholars that at the time of Independence there were violent conflicts

between the Hindus and Muslims on one side and between the landlords and peasants on the

other. The framers of the constitution realised the need for the independence of the civil

servants from these social groups and made specific provisions for the civil service. The

Constitutional Review Committee has suggested the removal of the provision. They can be

controlled and managed by the Civil Service Commission like the French system. Art 309

gives powers to the central government to regulate the service conditions and recruitment

through an Act made by the appropriate authority. They are regulated by the Central Civil

Service Conduct Rules, 1964. The Official Secrecy Act, 1923 provides for strigent action for

unauthorised disclosure of information prejudicial to the interests of the State. They have been

provided adequate security as they handle some of the important works of the

government. If they shirk responsibilities they can be persecuted by the state under the various

Acts of a State.

Often there is a complaint that they are prone to corruption and abuse of power and it is not

easy to bring them under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, as one needs the permission

of higher authority for filing charges against the civil servants at the joint secretaries level and

above.

Reforms are Overdue

The civil servants are assigned responsibilities in a particular state where the government of

the state cannot persecute them. Often, they function as the representatives of the central

government which goes against the spirit of federalism. A professional outlook, knowledge and

management skills are required. The Administrative Reforms Committee (ARC) suggests that

those departments in which technical qualifications are required, the IAS may not be posted

there. Most of these suggestions have remained on the paper. Modern state and economy

demand knowledge managers. With the introduction of IT, there is a demand for e-governance.

This is the demand raised by Kurien who has managed successfully a biggest cooperative

dairy development project.

The Alagh Committee suggests that the method of recruitment needs to be changed with an

emphasis on knowledge.

Relations with Judiciary

The relations between the Judiciary and civil service have not been cordial. Some of the senior

civil servants including the Chief Secretaries have already faced contempt of court cases and

duly punished. They have to upgrade their knowledge of law and Constitution by which they

can be friendly to Judiciary. They have to be sentitive to various issues and conduct themselves

accordingly. They have to be citizen friendly and responsive to the needs of the public. The

right to information has been passed by the state governments and the civil servants have to

deliver the services in a quick and effective manner by which they are accountable to the

public. With the introduction of management of Public Services, the Civil Service is accountable

to both Public and Parliament.

Decentralisation

With the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments the Panchayati Raj system has been

strengthened. The government has accepted a three-tier administrative system. At every level

there are public representatives who can help in making the public policies and supervise the

administration of these policies. They have the powers of the District Collectors. They are

known as the chief executive to the District Development Councils. This has changed the face

of the District Collectors (DCs) and District Magistrates (DMs). In a democracy, the civil

service has to modify its behaviour and style of functioning to complement the needs of

democracy.

As P.K. Mattoo says, “the establishment of the Panchayati Raj institutions on a country-wide

basis and the transfer of some of the traditional functions of the civil service system to these

newly established institutions constitute a new policy trend in the civil service system. The

Government, as a rule, is committed to the principles of democratic decentralisation.

Consequently, considerable stress is now being given to the introduction of a rural bias in

administration”

Civil Service/Political Environment

The civil service system gets its nourishment from its political environment. It is not independent

of the political executive. Their performance depends on the quality of the political executive.

With a decline in the quality of political leadership, the democracy has suffered. The performance

of civil service had declined. A reform in civil service is a continuous process. Evaluation of

their performance needs to be measured both by the political executive and civil society. The

public is recognising good and competent officers. This recognition motivates them to work

better. They are also accountable to the political leadership. They have to perform in a neutral

and objective manner. In an era of coalition politics, their non partisan role is going to

strengthen democracy. They are getting pressurised by some vested interests in the name of

politics. This nexus between the politicians and criminals and civil servants has been studied

by the Vohra committee. This is a warning for both the democratic leadership and civil service.

There is a demand by the civil service association for scrapping the Official Secrecy Act which

can help them to be bold and fearless. With the introduction of citizen’s charter, there is a

demand that their notings should be made to the public where their work can be evaluated

in terms of value addition. These changes can help them to perform better in a democracy.

Relations with Political Leadership

Civil service and political leadership has a definite relationship in a democracy as they play

an active role in the making of public policy. They give a clear direction to the civil administration

for implementing the public policy and also make them accountable to the failures in implementing

the policy. In the Indian democracy, one can find a high quality of leadership during Nehru

and Indira Gandhi’s period, except during the emergency. During Nehru’s period India entered

into a path of planned development. Any planned development demands that civil service has

to fulfill the target fixed by each plan. This was possible because of the energetic leadership

of Nehru and a high intellectual content in each plan which is based on ground reality. Mrs.

Gandhi took the initiative to implement the policy of green revolution with the help of civil

servants and scientists. She succeeded in making India a food surplus state. These are some

examples which show the quality of leadership who can motivate the civil service to work with

a passion and desire to serve the nation. The equation between the political leadership and

the civil service has changed subsequently. Civil service is virtually dominating in these

relationships. This does not augur well for the Indian democracy. In an era of globalisation,

it has been found that the civil service is much more prone to implementing World Bank

policies than follow the political leaders. It seems that in first decade of liberalisation from

1991 to 2000, the civil servants in some of the ministries who had a close association with

the World Bank, have played a key role in making public policies. It affects the sovereignty

of a nation.

MILITARY IN DEMOCRACY

In the post colonial world, the Military is playing a decisive role in politics. Between 1960 and

1980 three quarters of the Latin American states, one third of Asian states and over a half

of the African states experienced coups. The 1980s saw the trend continue strongly. It is a

moot point of history that there has been a coup or an attempted coup in some parts of the

world. From a World Bank study, one finds that since 1948 there has been at least one coup

attempt per developing country every five years. (World Bank, 1991, p. 128).

Theories Behind Military Coups

The role of military in politics has been a subject of debate among the social scientists,

especially the political scientists. Their classical theory says that military has no role in democratic

politics. They maintain a distance from the civilian leadership. They do not directly take

interest in politics. This is a medieval phenomenon. During the feudal period weak kings have

been replaced by their Military Commanders. This does not happen in modern politics.

Military has a constitutional role in a democracy. They are supposed to obey the civilian

political leader. Facts disapprove the above hypothesis. There are various political theories in

support of the Military taking over political power. The theory of modernisation says that in

a traditional society, the military is a modernising force. They are educated people with a

modern outlook. They know how to modernise a traditional society. This helps them to come

to political power. Furthermore, they are organised people who have control over the weapons

and military trained personnel. They got motivated to capture power against the civilian

leaders. The civilian leaders do not always have the required modern organising skills nor do

they have modern educated youths with them to compete for power. A group of political

economists float a theory that a developing country, due to its meagre sources, cannot waste

such precious resources in instituting political democracy. For them political democracy is a

luxury for the poor. The poor is more interested in bread and not freedom. The third group

of social scientists provide a cultural theory that most of the third world countries do not have

the cultural tradition of democracy. They have an authoritarian approach to life. Their family

is authoritarian in structure which supports the military rule. Very often a single religious group

who is dominating a nation uses cultural nationalism to rule over a nation. The military represents

the cultural nationalism of a dominant community. Further some of the political scientists feel

that when a country experiences too much political instability because of fragmentation of

political parties, this leads to intervention of military in the name of political stability. These

societies feel that social and political order is more important than the political stability.

Constitutional niceties such as parliamentary procedures, popular consent or political

representation are ignored, because elected assembly is dissolved soon after the take over of

power by the military. Elections get suspended and political parties get banned.

Military in Indian Politics

India being a third world country is having a stable political democracy. “Civil-military relations

in post colonial India have been something of a model for the third world in that military

capacity has been greatly increased without a major threat to civilian rule. The 50 years of

postcolonial history reveal considerable tension between civil and military authority and policy

debates during this period display a variety of conflicting views on the appropriate role for the

military in Indian life.” (Glynn L. Wood and Daniel Vaagenes, “Indian Defense Policy: A New

Phase’ Asian Survey, vol. Xxiv, no. 7, July, 1984).

Relations with Political Leaders

Civil-military relations developed during Nehru’s Prime Ministership. He gave more priority to

economic and human resource development of a society. He maintained India’s relationship

with most of the foreign countries through an effective foreign policy strategy. His defence

Minister VK Krishna Menon was able to handle the affairs in a competent manner. Menon

became the “symbol of civilian control of the military during the Nehru years and a symbol

of political intrusion into the military’s professional business.” (Wood and Vaagenes).

The Sino-Indian War of 1962 was clearly the watershed for the Indian military. The India

Government of has started the modernisation of the Indian military, both in terms of the supply

of arms and ammunition and training of the personnel. India has established its defense

relations with both the USA and Soviet Russia. Its military process came to the fore at the

time of the creation of Bangladesh when Mrs. Gandhi was the Prime Minister. The Indian

military has played a decisive role in framing the defense policy. India has entered into the

nuclear club as the sixth member with the testing of a nuclear device in 1974. India is pursuing

its autonomous policy in nuclear development and has developed its own nuclear weapon.

Military Strength

The Indian Army is the fourth largest in the world after China, Russia and the US. The Air

Force has acquired some of the sophisticated fighter planes. The Army and Air Force appear

to have an integrated plan for India’s defence. During 1980s and 1990s, the Indian Navy also

tread the path of modernisation alongwith its counterparts. The Indian Navy has got more than

100 ships, 150 air craft and thousands of highly trained man-power. Indian defence budget

has increased since 1971, and touched almost 3 percent of its GDP. India’s strategic objectives

and its inter-service ratio for defence expenditures have been relatively stable.

The Role of Military in the Decision Making Process

India is a regional power in Asia and is aspiring to be a permanent member in the UN Security

Council. The Heads of the Army, Air Force and Navy have been playing an active role in

formulating an effective defence policy. They are represented, in the cabinet meeting, by the

Defence Minister. A concise policy draft is prepared by them with the help of the defence

Secretary who is usually an IAS officer. They are members of the National Security Council.

The Indian military is rarely used in internal politics except at the time of a large scale

communal riot or ethnic conflict. They are not allowed to play an active role in the democratic

politics. They are performing their constitutional role which is strengthening the Indian democracy.

SUMMARY

The coercive apparatus of the state is a part of ancient Indian History. In the modern state,

constitutional laws guide the actions of each and every institution/organ, for an effective

functioning of the state. Police, civil service and military constitute the core of the coercive

apparatus. In this unit, these three organs are studied in detail. In the contemporary era, the

state is infested with many a problem and the police force is faced with a number of challenges.

Its relations with the legislature, executive, judiciary and public are studied in detail.

The civil service in India has a distinct record right from the pre-British era. Their work

consists of assisting the political executive in policy formulation, programme implementation

and administration thus contributing actively to the policy making process. Nevertheless, reforms

are overdue with regard to this administrative machinery. Military, in the post colonial world,

has been playing a decisive role. They have control over the weapons and military trained

personnel. They are instrumental in formulating an effective defence policy. The above three

have been playing an important role in strengthening the Indian democracy.

Indian Scams

Harshad Mehta Big Bull Scam – 4000 crore

Lalu’s Chara Ghotala – 950 crores – July 2008 IAS officer Sajjal gets four-yr RI for 39 crore scam

Hawala Scandal – 5000 crores

Bofors Scandal – 64 crores (Also Read: 1 2 3)

Narendra Rastogi serial scammer – more than 43 crores (Read more1)

Dalmia Scandal – 595 crores

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel fr...aud case-50 crores

UTI Scam – 32 crores Mutual Fund Scam – 1350 crores

Bansali Scam – 1200 crores

Ketan Parekh’s Sebi Scam- 888 crores - June 08 – SC issues arrest warrant against Ketan Parekh

Cobbler Scam – 1000 crores

Bribe to allot petrol pumps scam

Churhat lottery scam – ?

Anantnag transport subsidy scam – ?

Bangalore – Mysore Infrastructure Corridor – ?

Kerala SNC Lavalin power scandal – 374.5 crore loss – Dec 09 – Accused CPM leader Vijayan gets bail in graft case.

Telgi Scam – 171 crores - Telgi was sentenced 13 yrs RI and 100 cr fine. (Read More 1 2 Timeline 3)

Mayawati’s Taj Corridor- 175 crores alleged scam – Case was dropped in 2007 by the pecial designated court due to insufficient evidence (Read more 1 Is Politics such a high paying profession ? 2 May 2008 -Mayawati attempts to stop CBI investigation 3)

Motilal Goel Scam – 1000 crore

Satyam Fraud – 7 to 14000 crores – Pricewaterhouse Coopers saw no fraud in Satyam – Nov 09 CBI arrested Satyam’s internal audit head V S Prabhakar Gupta for allegedly fabricating account books, just days before it is due to file a second chargesheet in the multi-crore fraud at the IT firm. Jul 10 – Promoters wrongfully gained 2643 crores

Reports said that investors like DSP Merrill Lynch, DSP Blackrock, ILFS Financial Services and Deutsche Bank offloaded their shares days before Satyam fraud came out in open.

Lalit Modi Indian Premier League (IPL) Scam – 1200 crores

Commonwealth Games Scam - 8000 crores

2G Scam – 1,76,000 crore

Governors List (RBI)

1. Sir Osborne Smith (1935 – 1937)
2. Sir James Taylor (1937 – 1943)
3. Sir C. D. Deshmukh (1943 – 1949)
4. Sir Benegal Rama Rau (1949 – 1957)
5. K. G. Ambegaonkar (1957)
6. H. V. R. Iyengar (1957 – 1962)
7. P. C. Bhattacharya (1962 – 1967)
8. L. K. Jha (1967 – 1970)
9. B. N. Adarkar (1970)
10. S. Jagannathan (1970 – 1975)
11. N. C. Sen Gupta (1975)
12. K. R. Puri (1975 – 1977)
13. M. Nara...simham (1977)
14. Dr. I. G. Patel (1977 – 1982)
15. Dr. Manmohan Singh (1982 – 1985)
16. A. Ghosh (1985)
17. R. N. Malhotra (1985 – 1990)
18. S. Venkitaramanan (1990 – 1992)
19. Dr. C. Rangarajan (December 22, 1992 – November 10, 1997)
20. Dr. Bimal Jalan (November 11, 1997 – September 5, 2003)
21. Dr. Y. Venugopal Reddy (September 6, 2003 – September 5, 2008)
22. Dr. D. Subbarao (September 6, 2008 - Till Date)

Role of CAG in Meeting Challenges of Good Governance :-

To understand the role of CAG in good governmance ,firstly we have to understand what is CAG and which type of work carried by the CAG:-
Finance, Accounts and Audit are as old as history itself. History bqars out that a good accounts and audit organisation existed in ancient India. Kaut...ilya in his famous Arthasastra gives an elaborate account of the accounting system that existed in the Mauryan period. According to the Arthasastra,

                               "In the Mauryan policy, the final authority, in the matter of Finance, was the King; one of whose daily duties was to attend to the accounts of receipts and expenditure. Each Minister was responsible for the finance of his department and each department had its own accountant, treasurer and others. The Collector General was the head of the Finance Department. Below him was the special commissioner (Pradeshtara), who was a kind of Government Auditor checking District and Village group account, in addition to being in charge of collecting certain kinds of revenue. The accounting and financial, year closed on the last day of Ashadha".

Similarly, Gupta rulers introduced more elaborate and orderly system of accounts and audit during their rule. According to Ramachandra Dikshitar "The accounts were maintained, as during the days of their predecessors, the Mauryas, and were submitted periodically for audit and approval. This is made clear to us by th'e term PATYUPARIKA. This may be translated broadly as corresponding to the modern Accountant General. The Accountant General who presided over the accounts
department was responsible to the Council of Minister for his acts. It is evident that there was an elaborate Department of Accounts in the Gupta time." Likewise, the medieval rulers, viz. Sultans and Moghuls, laid proper stress on collection of revenue and conduct of audit. The Moghuls vested greater authority in their financial chief. by naming him as the Vnrir or Dewan.

Although the ancient and medieal administrations estahlishcd a coherent accountand audit organisations, it  vent illlo decay, during the period of later Moghuls. Subsequently, it was the British. Who introduced a proper system of accounting and auditing. In 1858. when the East lndia Company's administration was taken over by the Crown, a comptementary post ol Accountant-General at the India office was created \ to prepare the accounts of the expenditure incurred in England. Simultaneously, an independent Auditor was appointed by the Crown for the audit of these accounts.This arrangement was, however, shortlived. In 1860, both accounting and auditing funaons were amalga.mated and placed in charge of the Accountant-General to the Government of India. who was designated as 'Auditor General'. The statutory recognition of the Auditor General came, however, only in 1919, with the introduction of Constitutional Reforms. He was made independent of the Government af lndia and was appointed by the Secretary of State and held office as the administrative head of the Indian Audit Department. during his Majesty's pleasure. The Government of lndia Act 1935 gave further recognition to the importance and status of this office. Thereafter, his appointment was made by His Britannic Majesty and the conditions of his service were also determined by His Majesty-in-Council. His duties and powers were prescribed by rules made under the order of His Majesty-in-Council. His salary, allowances. and pension were made chargeable on the revenues of the Federation. He could be removed from office only in the same manner and on the same grounds, as a Judge of the Federal Court.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is called भारत के नियंत्रक महालेखापरीक्षक in hindi,CAG is an authority, established by the Constitution of India, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The CAG is also the external auditor of government-owned companies. The reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public Accounts Committees, which are special committees in the Parliament of India and the state legislatures . The CAG of India is also the head of the Indian Audits and Accounts Service, which has over 58,000 employees across the country.
CAG is head of Indian Audit and Accountant Service. He is appointed by President. He can hold his office for 6 years or up to age of 65 years. He can give resignation at any time or can be impeached by President through Parliament resolution with special majority.
The importance of CAG is easily understand by the following words of  BABA SAHEB AMBEDAKAR:

“ I am of the opinion that this dignitary or officer (C&AG) is probably the most important officer of the Constitution of India. He is the one man who is going to see that the expenses voted by parliament are not exceeded, or varied from what has been laid down by Parliament in what is called appropriation Act. If this functionary is to carry out the duties- and his duties, I submit are far more important than the duties than the duties of the Judiciary. “
-: Working system of CAG in indian government:-
Accourding to article 151 , CAG represent audit report to the president or governer before put reports on parliment or state legislatures respectively.
To, begain with ,when the audit take place ,during the course of inspection of various organation, ’INSPECTION REPORT’of each unit are prepared and sent to them, about 72000 reports sent every year.and their progress also watch.
The report submitted to parliament of president contain two parts:
1.Audit report on appropriation accounts – this show that the money granted by the loegislaturre for various grants or purpose is properly use or not.\
2.Audit report on the financial report m – annual receipts and expenditure during the year.
The audit report in brfief contain a narriation of cases involving financial inreggularities,losses,frauds,waste ful expenditure and saving etc. the high profile cases like  2G spectrum , CWG and AADARSH is come on light with the help of these  CAG reports.
Role of  CAG in Indian governance :-
-:Major function of CAG:-
1.To prescribe,with the approval of president,the form in wich the accounts of unioun and states are to be kept
2.To perfom such duties and excerice such powers in relations to accounts of unioun or states or anyother body , as many percribed by any law made by parlient.
3.To report the president or governer of the state on the account of country or state.
-:The CAG as Auditor General;-
The primary purpose of audit to ensure that the money has been applied to the purpose for which the mgrand made by parliament were intended to provide and that the expenditure conform to the authority which governance it,thus this audit is important instrunment in the control of public expenditure.
It play double role,firstly it check the extend of application by the government servents ,of rules and regulations issuied on behalf of the administration and secondly it insure ,on behalf of the legislature,that the actions of the government have been in accordance with the views and the requirnments of the legislature
The purpose of audit is to ‘offer financial criticism’ and it’s valu lie in it’s report poimting out thee some impropriety of certain transaction and so the suitable action rectify it.
According to Herbert Britain “What one department is publicaly pilloried for today all other departments will try to avoid tomorrow.”
-: Audit of Revenue :-
C&AG after some initial resistance on the part of revenue department was able to extend its dimension to audit of revenues which includes audit of tax assessment such as Income tax, Central Excise and Customs, Sales tax etc. The audit of receipts has helped bringing considerable revenue for the government by pointing out cases of under assessment of tax, and also assisted in better functioning of tax administration machinery by pointing out lacunae or loopholes in the Act/ Rules and deficiencies in the functioning of tax administration.
-:Audit of Commercial Enterprises:-
The audit of government companies was brought within the purview of C&AG’s audit at the insistence of then CAG by introducing a suitable provision in the Companies Act 1956, although there were initial attempts to exclude his jurisdiction. Thus, while Chartered Accountants are required to certify Annual Accounts of government companies, C&AG has been granted right to conduct supplementary audit.
-:Audit of Public Sector Undertakings:- 
Under Section 619 of the Companies Act, 1956, the auditor (statutory auditor) of a
government company including deemed government company, appointed by the CAG
conducts the audit of accounts of the companies. On the basis of supplementary audit
conducted thereafter, the CAG issues comments upon or supplements the Audit Report of the statutory auditor.

-:Auditt of AUTONOMOUS BODIES:-

A large numbers of body setup , specialy in field of education and development like IIMs ,these bodies are audit by CAG.

-:Statutory corporations :-

Audit of six statutory corporations is conducted by the CAG. Of the five statutory
corporations in whose case CAG is the sole auditor, four viz. Airports Authority of India, Inland Waterways Authority of India, Damodar Valley Corporation and National Highways Authority of India presented their accounts for the year 2009-10 for audit in time. The accounts of Food Corporation of India for the year 2009-10 were awaited as on 30 September 2010. In case of Central Warehousing Corporation, CAG conducts supplementary audit and the accounts were received in time. The C&AG of India as the Government auditor plays an important role in effective public sector governance. The significant findings and recommendations as conveyed in the Audit Reports represent critical inputs to good governance that can lead organisations to take prompt and appropriate corrective actions to remedy identified] weakness and deficiencies. The principles of accountability, transparency, probity, equity and fairness are reviewed, examined and audit observations thereon are reported by C&AG of India in the various Audit Reports including Reports on the performance ofselected critical activities The amendments to Sections 217 and 292 of the Companies Act, 1956 (made applicablefrom December 13, 2000) set the tone for Corporate Governance in the country.

Keeping in view the important role of the Audit Committee in good Governance
of an entity audit reviewed the functioning of Audit Committee of listed central
government companies to assess its effectiveness. During review, it is noticed that some of the Audit Committee of listed Government Companies contributed considerably towards improvement in financial reporting, accounting policies, internal control system, analysis of non moving inventories etc and ensured credibility of financial statements. While Audit Committee of Indian Oil Corporation Limited significantly contributed in the areas of significant Audit Findings of Internal Audit, review of Idle assets, monitoring
the award of work on nomination/single tender basis, implementation of SAP system. On
the suggestion of the Audit Committee, Steel Authority of India Limited has planned a
special study on “Safety Management” and “Major Raw Material Stock Accounting”.
-: Social Audit:-
During the last five years, CAG has conducted performance audits of most of the key socioeconomic programmes of the Government of India e.g. National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Mid‐day Meals Scheme, Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP), and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). CAG’s audits have also covered several niche areas of public interest like Consumer Protection Act, Waste Management, Police Modernization Scheme etc. CAG’s audit of Government departments, offices, and agencies in the States, dealing with implementation of Government schemes, also touches upon the performance of schemes or their components at various levels of the audit process. CAG’s audit is an external audit on behalf of the tax payers. The Union and State Legislatures, through their respective legislative committees on public accounts and public undertakings, discuss the matters brought out in CAG’s audit reports and make recommendations to the executive for appropriate management action. In a broad theoretical sense, therefore, CAG’s audit itself is a social audit. Yet, in its commonly perceived sense, CAG audit remains a Government process largely confined to Government
officials and Government auditors. Social audit, on the other hand, in its current connotation, seeks to make the audit process more transparent and seeks to take audit findings to a wider public domain of stakeholders, i.e. users of the Government schemes, services and utilities ,The demand for social audit has grown in recent years due to the steady shift in devolution of Central funds and functions relating to socio‐economic schemes to the local tiers of Government – Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and other special purpose agencies set up by the Government for implementation of

-:Relations with Public Accounts Committee :- 
 The Comptroller & Auditor General audits the accounts and submits his Report to Parliament / State Legislature which are automatically remitted to the Public Accounts Committee(PAC) / Committee on Public Undertakings( COPU). Parliament has constituted PAC and COPU under Rule 308(1) and  Rule 312 A of the Rule of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha.
-:Limitations :-

Inspite of the various safeguards provided by the Constitution to maintain the
independence of Comptroller and Auditor General from the Executive and
Parliament, his/ her independence appears to be limited by four factors viz.,

(a) restraint of the Executive on his/ her budgetary autonomy
(b) block of control overstaff
(c) indirect accountability to the Finance Ministry of the Union and the Finance Department of the State  Government for handling accounting duties
(d) absence of direct access to Parliament (unlike the Attorney General) in defence of his/ her official conduct, if and when questioned on the floors of Parliament.

To conclude, notwithstanding these limitations, the Comptroller and Auditor General plays a unique role in rndian democracy, by upholding the Constitution and the laws in the field of financial administration. He/She is neither an officer of Parliament nor a functionary of Government. He/ She is one of the most important officers of the Constitution and his/ her functions

species

IUCN classifies species into nine groups, set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation:

Extinct (EX) - No individuals remaining.

Extinct in the Wild (EW) - Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.

Critically Endangered (CR) - Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

Endangered (EN) - High risk of extinction in the wild.

Vulnerable (VU) - High risk of endangerment in the wild.

Near Threatened (NT) - Likely to become endangered in the near future.

Least Concern (LC) - Lowest risk. Does not qualify for a more at risk category.

Data Deficient (DD) - Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction.

Not Evaluated (NE) - Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria.

Preparing for IAS CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) Examination

The current pattern of the civil services preliminary exams was conceived in 1979 on the recommendations of the Kothari Commission. Since then, for 41 years, the preliminary pattern sustained with only some minor changes once in ten or fifteen years.
But from 2011 onwards, civil services aspirants should prepare themselves for a sea change in how they prepare for the preliminary examination as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has received the Union Government's approval for introducing the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) pattern.
So what will the CSAT be like?
CSAT will have two papers common to all candidates with no optional paper
The age limit could be lowered
The number of attempts could also be reduced
More emphasis on understanding and analysis than memorizing
There will be a paper to test the candidate's aptitude for the prestigious civil services from the ethical and moral dimension
What will be the impact of these changes?
Coaching classes notes will not be enough to clear the CSAT exam
Candidates with low moral and ethical aptitude will get weeded out, which is not happening currently
IAS candidates can no longer neglect the General Studies paper and rely solely on optionals to see them through
UPSC might give preference to younger candidates with high motivation and zeal in the interview
How should you prepare for the CSAT exams?
Questions will be more dynamic than at present
Spruce up your general awareness and mental ability
Focus more on decision-oriented analytical questions
Be prepared to answer situational questions faced in real life by the civil servants
Books for Paper 1 of IAS Preliminary Examination:
General Studies Manual by Tata McGraw Hill
India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra (for History part)
Geography NCERT text books Class XI and XII
Oxford Student Atlas (for map-based questions
Spectrum's Indian Economy
General Science NCERT text books Class VIII to X
Manorama Year Book (for questions on General Knowledge and Current Affairs)
Our Constitution by Subhash Kashyap (for questions on Indian Polity)
Books for Paper 2 for CSAT:
Examrace CSAT Series
Or refer individual books (like RS Aggarwal, Verbal and comrehension guides, Class V to X Books by NCERT etc. )

Official CSAT Sample Paper by UPSC

Comparison of Different Material: All of the following information can be verified independently.


Arihant
Upkar
Vaziram-Delhi
R.S Aggarwal
Disha Publication
Interactions-Delhi
Examrace
Theory Lessons

Suggested Books for Public Administration

Dear Friends ,
Many people have been asking abut the book to be refer for the subject PA . No doubts many books r available in the market and among them very few suitable and prescribe book we have to fellow as our master book . As we can't get all the Concepts and Ideas in a single book we have to keep few book with us just for reference , but the master one should be refered always in a timely basics just as text book. To crack the subject it is better to find maximum output (ideas / concepts ) from minimum resources (book)......
Few Prescribed books are :
-- Mohit Bhattacharya: New Horizons of Public Administration
-- Administrative Thinkers ( Prasad and Prasad )
-- Fadia and Fadia
-- Materials from IGNOU (for reference)
-- Indian Journal of Public Administration ( for Contemporary Issue)
-- Special Issue of Indian Journal of Public Administration on Administrative Reforms
-- Awasthi and Maheswari
-- Maheshwari - Indian Administration
-- Ramesh Arora - Indian Administration

How to Prepare General Studies for Civil Services Exam by GR Gokul , IAS 2010 (AIR 19)

How to Prepare General Studies for Civil Services Exam by GR Gokul , IAS 2010 (AIR 19):-
A good base in general knowledge is important for clearing the civil services exam and for the career ahead. As i had mentioned in a previous post, this job requires broad-based people with a good understanding of the things happening around them. As far as the exam is considered, 600 marks in the GS papers + 200 in essay + 300 in interview depends on your general knowledge base. And off late, the second paper in Public administration is more like a GS paper 3. Thus around 1100-1400 marks depends directly on your general knowledge base.

Preparation for general studies is composed of two parts:
•Conventional topics.
•General knowledge and current affairs.
Before I go into the books, some general points on preparation and approach: •Make notes as you read. It’s impossible to come back to the text books during revision. Notes should be so comprehensive that once you are done, you would not have to take the text-book again.
•The basic approach should be STUDY-REVISE-IMPROVISE.
•Dont use guides, standard preparatory material or NCERT text books.
•Keep on referring to previous years papers to check if you have missed any topic.
•Prepare for the subjective papers ( i.e mains). Note down extra facts for the prelims as you make descriptive notes. Prelims is just a necessary evil.

Conventional Topics:

It is composed of:

1. Indian History :

Pre-modern history (before Europeans) has lost significance. Last year no questions were asked in mains. Besides, it is too bulky and is not worth the effort. One need to have a good understanding of the National movement(1800s-1947).
•India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra is a good book for that. Read it cover to cover.

One also need to study about the expansion and the decline of the other Europeans, the expansion of British empire and the administrative development in India during the British period ( 1650-1857). Try to get some book on Indian History from the library to make short notes. Brief notes will do for this section.

2. Geography:

Use NCERT books only for geography. Non- geography optional students don’t have to go in-depth. Read
•Indian Geography ( NCERT class XI)
•Fundamentals of physical geography (NCERT class XI)

Google and make notes on unfamiliar terms you may come across in the newspapers.
3. Indian Constitution:
Any good book on the constitution is fine. ‘Introduction to the constitution of India‘ by D.D. Basu is the book that i used. Read it also cover to cover.

4. Indian Economy:

One needs to know about some basic terms of economics like repo rate, reverse repo, CRR, SLR etc. These are needed for understanding articles in newspapers also. Just google them when you come across then in the papers and keep a separate note-book. Read one good book on Indian economy. I used Indian economy by Dutt & Sundaram. The book by Uma Kapila is also a good one. In both of these books, each chapter deals with an issue. So make notes keeping in mind the requirements of a 20-30 marker. Download the latest Economic Survey of India and update the stats as you make notes. Also leave some space after each chapter to add new info from newspapers as and when they come.

Also read Chapter 1 and the chapter explaining about the government’s poverty alleviation schemes ( chapter 11 in 2010 survey). Follow the budget. Read some business newspapers at that time and also read the summary of the budget which will be posted in the net.

5. Government policies and programmes:

Make notes on the policies that you come across in the newspapers. But this will not be exhaustive. Use India yearbook published by the Publications division for an exhaustive approach. It’s a huge book with a lot of unnecessary facts and details which should be skipped. Just make short notes on the various programmes ministry-wise. Anay dwivedi ( AIR-5, cse 2009) has this to say about reading the Year book :

If you already read the IYB for prelims, just go through what you underlined and revise your notes. But if you did not, then apart from the GOVERNMENT SCHEMES and agricultural data, read the following chapters from IYB 2010:

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11 (NCES only), 13 (terms like FIPB, FCCB, ECB, ADR/GDR, FDI, etc), 18, 24, 25 and 28.

Note: I have not specified chapters 16, 17, etc as I have assumed that you must have covered all the government schemes such as NRHM, JNNURM, etc irrespective of where they are given in the book.

In Mains 2009 many questions could be answered on the basis of information provided in the IYB, e.g. significance of coastal regions, UMPPs, BSUP, fruit production in India and NNRMS.

6. Science and Technology:

Use wikipedia extensively for this. Find out about new topics as you come across them in the S&T page of The Hindu. Also, make short notes on emerging technologies and recent nobel winning technologies from these pages
•List_of_emerging_technologies
•List_of_Nobel_laureates_in_Physics (and chemistry and medicine)
Exhaustive preparation on these topics can be very hard. Try to cover as much ground as possible and hope for the best. When writing answers, try to point out the applications rather than elaborating on the technological part.
General knowledge and current affairs:

This is where you have to use newspapers and current affairs magazines. This is perhaps the most important part because if you see the 2010 GS paper, questions are asked about the Palestine crisis, Sudan civil war, Cambodia, CWG etc. I recommend The Hindu and Frontilne. The Hindu has less unwanted news and has a balanced perspective on issues and is pro people. You shouldn’t be an ultra leftist or a right-wing hawk when writing the answers. The editorials and Op-eds present a very balanced picture on issues.

When reading newspapers, go beyond the issue. Use the newspaper as a guide to broaden your GK. So when you come across something you don’t know in the newspaper, google it up and make a comprehensive note on the topic.For eg, if the news item is “Pakistan Prez visits India”, I will google about India-Pak relations and make notes on it with a historical perspective and also leave some space to update future news. If the news is ‘ Jacques Diouf assumes charge as head of FAO’ , I will make notes on FAO and other UN organisations from Wikipedia. The advantage of using wiki is that when you read about one topic, you can move to other topics by clicking on the ‘Related’ links. Follow the references in wiki if you want to go deeper or confirm something.

I had kept two separate category of notebooks. One for noting down the events, date wise and the other for noting down the issues after researching in the net. The advantage of keeping the second type of notebook on issues is that when you revise you will have a complete picture under each heading, i.e, the historical perspective + all the events in the last 2 years. This should be done on a daily basis without any gap until the interview is over. You will need 2-2.5 hours daily for this initially. You can bring down the time as you progress with your prepsReading topics of Indian economy and op-eds from any one of the business newspapers will also help. I used Business line. I had also subscribed EPW after my prelims and read articles selectively.

Extra Reading
•India : Development and Participation by Amartya sen and Jean dreze
•India after independence by Bipan chandra

Also make notes on topics that you come across in previous years papers from wiki and net.

Note:
•Just exploit the internet. You have all the information you need at your fingertips. The coaching institutes and magazines also make their notes using the information available in the net. Why take secondary info at exorbitant costs when you can get the primary info and the whole picture free of cost.
•There is not strict boundary between conventional topics and GK. You should update your notebooks with new info as and when you come across them in the papers.