The Commission was empowered to devise its procedures and appoint Committees and Advisors to assist it. The Commission had set up 20 Study Teams, 13 Working Groups, and one Task Force. The Working Groups made detailed studies of specific agencies and organizations such as Customs & Central Excise, Post & Telegraphs, Life Insurance, Income Tax, Police and Developmental Control, and regulatory organizations.

The Commision was required to address the following ten key areas:

1. The machinery of the Government of India and its procedures or work
2. The machinery for planning at all levels
3. Centre state relationship
4. Financial administration
5. Personnel administration
6. Economic administration
7. Administration at the state level
8. District administration
9. Agricultural administration and
10. Problems of redress of citizens grievances

Recommendations

The Commission submitted 20 reports in all before winding up in the mid 1970s.

1. Problems of Redress of Citizen Grievances(Interim)
2. Machinery for Planning
3. Public Sector Undertakings
4. Finance, Accounts and Audit
5. Machinery for Planning (Final)
6. Economic Administration
7. The Machinery of GOI and its procedures of work
8. Life Insurance Administration
9. Central Direct Taxes Administration
10. Administration of UTs and NEFA
11. Personnel Administration
12. Delegation of Financial and Administrative Powers
13. Centre- States Relationships
14. State Administration
15. Small scale sector
16. Railways
17. Treasuries
18. Reserve Bank of India
19. Posts and Telegraphs
20. Scientific Departments

Analysis

• The above 20 reports consist of 537 significant recommendations.
• Based on inputs received from various administrative ministries, a report indicating implementation positions was placed before the Parliament in November 1977.
• Many of the recommendations involving fundamental changes have not been acted upon. Therefore, the framework, systems, and methods of functioning of the civil services based on the Whitehall model of the mid-nineteenth century remain unchanged.
• Exclusions: The Commission may exclude the detailed examination of the administration of defense, railways, external affairs, security and intelligence work, and subjects such as educational administration already being examined by a separate commission.
• However, the Commission will be free to take the problems of these sectors into account in recommending the reorganization of the machinery of the Government as a whole or any of its common service agencies.

Recruitment

1. A single competitive examination for the Class I services
2. Lateral entry to technical posts at the senior level
3. Discontinuation of Direct recruitment to Class II services
4. Simple objective type test for recruitment of clerical staff

Achievements/Status of Implementation

• We are at the initial stages of experiments with the lateral entry where for select posts in senior management, executives with management and leadership capcities are recruited. There is a mix of career-based and position-based management of civil services. E.g., The Secretary of the Performance Division is an expert from outside the government
• There have been attempts at proper sizing of civil servants through experiments with contracting out at lower levels

Capacity Building and Training

1. Formulation of a national policy on National Services Training
2. Creation of the Central Training Division in the Department of Personnel
3. Changes in the contents of the foundation courses at the National Academy of Administration

Achievements

• The Indian Institute of Public Administration was set up for training civil servants and conducting further research on the increase of efficiency and better overall functioning of the civil services.
• The Department of Administrative Reforms was also established at the Central and State levels.
• Review of National Training Policy 1996 and formulation of NTP 2012 with sweeping changes:
• Introduction of strategic human resource management and competency-based approach to training
• Efforts are on to link individual competency-based human resource management in civil service to the Performing Monitoring and Evaluation System steered by the Cabinet Secretariat.
• DAR&PG is implementing the project –Pathways of an inclusive administration (PIIA) in collaboration with UNDP with an aim to :
• Supplement implementation of National Training Policy • Provide technical assistance to strengthen competency and personality/performance assessment mechanisms.
• Support a Civil Service Leadership Development Policy and Action Plan
• Initiate capacity and leadership development activities for civil servants in select ministries/agencies/departments
• Institutional strengthening and knowledge management of LBSNAA

Performance Appraisal

1. The term ‘confidential report’ should be replaced by ‘performance record.’
2. Performance record to include Annual account of work by civil servants.
3. Grading consists of three categories (a) fit for promotion out of turn, (b) fit for promotion, and (c) not yet fit for promotion, with only 5-0 % of civil servants being assessed as “fit for promotion out of turn.”
4. Adverse remarks are not to be communicated to the civil servant.

Efficiency

1. Suitable awards like rolling cup/shield to be given as incentives for timely completion of specific projects
2. Cash rewards for valuable suggestions for simplifying work led to economies in expenditure and increased efficiency.
3. Establishing work norms and examining staff strength based on studies by Staff Inspection Units.

Achievements

• Introduction of a result Results-based approach in government through Results Framework Documents (RFD) initiative
• Performance agreements between Ministries and Secretaries of departments
• Settling of annual performance targets for Departments and agencies under them.
• Review by the Ad-hoc Taskforce and High Power Committee at three regular intervals in a year.
• Scoring and ranking of Ministries/Departments based on performance.
• Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration to reward civil servants' outstanding and exemplary performance.

Accountability

1. The first ARC recommended that the departments and organizations in direct charge of development programs introduce performance budgeting.
2. The ARC also recommended the establishment of two particular institutions, the Lok Pal, to deal with complaints against the administrative acts of Ministers and Secretaries to the government at the Centre and the LokAyuktas to deal with such complaints in States.

Achievements

• Other notable changes were the setting up of the Central Vigilance Commission and the establishment of the Lokayuktas in the States.
• Formulation of Model Code of Governance provides a State of Governance framework and toolkit.
• Other measures taken were the strengthening of citizens’ grievance redressal machinery
• drawing up citizens’ charters
• Framework piloted in three states and ready for implementation in other states.
• Offers an excellent mechanism to benchmark governance scenarios in states.

Management of Civil Services

1. Creation of a separate Department of Personnel
2. The Department of Personnel should not administer any service cadre.
3. Administrative control of different services should vest with the individual ministries.
4. The Department of Personnel should be placed directly under the Prime Minister.
5. Creation of an advisory council on personnel administration for new thinking on personnel administration.

On Domain Expertise

1. The first ARC classified higher civil service posts into two categories: posts in the field, and (b) posts at headquarters.
2. The field posts were held by the members of the ‘functional’ services which included not only the various engineering services but also services such as accounts and income tax. The first ARC noted that the only service that was not functional but occupied most of the higher posts in the civil services was the IAS. The first ARC recommended that the IAS should be converted into a functional service.

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