Will They ?

Economic Times ( 16 Jan 2017 ) carries a report with following headline :

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" Think Young , Take Risks : PM's Message to Senior Bureaucrats "

PM Narendra Modi exhorted top bureaucrats on Friday to bring back the enthusiasm of their first five years in service, take as many RISKS and  EXPERIMENT  with NEW IDEAS because they will never find a more receptive government than his on this score. 

Modi, who kept quiet through hours of presentation by groups of secretaries on 10 sectors, summed up the process with a decision that none of these groups would be disbanded at least for a year. 

He is also believed to have told the cabinet secretary to  DRAW UP A FRAMEWORK for implementing some of these suggestions in a time bound manner.

“He told us that many of you-...when you go back and see what you accomplished in your first five years...you are surprised that you actually did something like that. I want you to get that ENTHUSIASM back ”

The PM , according to the official, was clear that his government will back any new idea or experiment

“He (the PM) told us that officers can take all such risks under his government,” said an official present at the meeting. 

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QUESTIONS :

In absence of a institutionalized mechanism / established process , to protect the honest bureaucrats  , which officer would risk " experimenting " ?

Who would want to risk an inquiry by CVC / PAC / CAG / Lok Pal etc , for having taken " risks " of a bold decision , where there is no precedence / past practice ?

Which officer would want to stick out his neck , if it is going to be chopped off because his " honest mistake " resulted in a loss of crores of rupees to the exchequer ?

How do we change the attitude ? : I cannot make a " mistake " if I do not take a decision

Dear Narendrabhai :

While welcoming your exhortation to officers , I urge you to put into place , the procedure suggested in my following earlier emails :

That is the only way to ensure that the honest officers do not hesitate to decide

*  To  Err is  Human    { 20  June  2014  }

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/06/to-err-is-human.html }

*  Policy  Paralysis can  be  Avoided  {  26  Aug  2016  }

{  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/08/policy-paralysis-can-be-avoided.html  }

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18  Jan  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs