‘Essentially, babus’ pay will be linked to appraisals’

Linking the financial remuneration of bureaucrats to their performance was one of the key recommendations of a sub-panel of the 6th pay commission. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken the first step towards linking of pay with results, by approving the Performance Monitoring & Evaluation System (PMES) for government departments.

IIM-A's Prof Biju Varkkey, who was head of the sub-panel which made the recommendation last year, is thrilled about the PMO's decision. In an exclusive interview to DNA's Jumana Shah, he explained the salient aspects of the project and its potential to transform the government's functioning. Excerpts:

How does the PMES work?
Goal-setting happens at the beginning of the year. For long-term projects, there will be milestones. For example, at the end of one year, this much should be achieved. The Ad-hoc Task Force (ATF) will focus on outputs and not outcomes, so that there is a balance between outcome and output. Simultaneously, IIM-A will work on monitoring these. Each ATF will have 12 members. The political wing of the government will not fall within the ambit of the PMES, only its administrative wing. There are areas where the bureaucracy can really make an impact. If someone talks about political will clipping the administrative section's wings, the other side of the argument is that political assertion accounts for only 20% of the entire process. 80% of the process involves planning, execution, close monitoring of projects, etc, all of which is done by bureaucrats. Our activity will be to assess only the bureaucrats.

Why will the report matter?
The rating of the department will be made public. The report card will be given for each ministry, so there will be a sort of competition among ministries to improve their performance. So, in a way, the political players will also be involved in the process and they too will be shaken up. The whole effort is towards creating more transparency. We are also interested in creating a mechanism for internal correction and for providing a feedback to the dept. The mechanism is transparent. In the long-term, it should affect the politicians' vote bank. If there's a natural calamity such as a drought, flood, or some unforeseen development, they too will be factored into the final report. It is not a huge set-up, but a series of small bodies with intricate understanding of governance.

How will it affect the bureaucrats?
Their department's performance will be based on the success indicators they are themselves creating. The indicators are not something that has been forced on them. They are the ones who set their goals in the first place. The ATF whets a department for quality. So it's a success indicator that is really outcome based. The entire process is, of course, ultimately oriented towards the common man. How people are affected by the functioning of the department will be assessed; that is precisely why experts from different fields have been involved.

Will it be linked to the financial remuneration paid to bureaucrats?
As of now no, but in the future may be. Eventually yes. But it was suggested by the 6th pay commission and the government has accepted it. It was recommended that both team and individual be rewarded on the basis of performance - first, to start with the team and then assess the individual. Measurement of individual performance will take time. No financial incentive is linked with the report for the entire department right now. The idea is to first get everyone comfortable with the system. But the recommendations certainly say that the report score should be linked to financial incentives.

How will the information be made available to the common man?
The information will be made available to the media, who will be responsible for taking the information to the masses. Then it becomes a matter of perception. Facts, figures, numbers - everything will be revealed. The initial objectives, what has been achieved, what has not been achieved, everything will be made public. The media is going to be the main vehicle. Another vehicle will be the internet. Scores will be given on a five point scale.

How long will it be before the system is institutionalized?
This is a warm-up period, after which we believe the system will settle down. The warm-up will also give a lot of learning points, based on which we will fine tune the process.
Six workshops were organized by 59 ministries in November to learn and understand the system. The bureaucrats have been given a sort of trial run for the last quarter of the financial year. The ATF team is going to devote substantial time, but there is no full-time mechanism. They will be regularly coordinating with the government.

What exactly is IIM-A's role?
IIM-A's role will be advisory; it will be an auditing and quality check agency. It is not something to be feared; we are there to help them with good governance. Many ministries have formed internal task forces, headed by a joint secretary.

What has been the initial response?
We hear the initial response has been very positive. They are excited and proud that we are being measured. It has also brought in competition among ministries.