Since independence, administration had to contend with several intricate and difficult problems and situations. We have, no doubt, been able to deal with some of them effectively. But a great deal remains to be done specially in the social and economic fields where radical changes are necessary and that too at a quick pace. Any complacency and short-sightedness in the area of administration are bound to have far-reaching repercussions on our goal of achieving democatic socialism.
One basic requirement in any good administration is an understanding of the problems of the common man. The administration has to be in tune with the larger goal of social and economic welfare. I am glad to find that over the last few years more and more of our administrators are being recruited from the middle and lower middle classes as also from the poorer sections of the society. This is a healthy change because these are the people who live the lives of privation and difficulties and they are bound to be more responsive to the hopes and aspirations of the people. The distance between an administrator and a common man must be removed if the administration has to work as an effective tool for social and economic transformation. This is as much true of administrative personnel in the field as of that at the secretariat. If realistic and pragmatic policies and programmes are to emerge, it is necessary that the administrator comes to grips with the urgent and basic problems of the people.
The concept of public services, their functioning and their role has undergone a change with the recent decision of bank nationalisation. With this measure, an important instrument of change has now become available to us. In a sense, this measure is not only economic but also administrative and social. I would call it a water-shed in the administrative history of our country. With this and other changes which would follow in years to come, the public sector or the governmental sphere will enlarge substantially. To man these posts in diverse fields — economic, social and educational — qualified and talented man-power in various walks of life will have to be harnessed. As I see it, the problem will no more be lack of opportunities but will be lack of qualified and experienced man-power. And this can be a serious bottleneck in the process of planning. I would, therefore, urge that any controversy over non-availability of opportunities will be unreal in the new context. At the same time, I would underline that the problems of administration are becoming increasingly complex and would require some deeper understanding, specialisation and expertise. This would essentially imply some serious thinking on the question of placement and career planning There will have to be some conscious thinking on this question both in the State Governments and the Central Government. Frequent changes from one type of job to another will have to be avoided as a matter of policy. As I said earlier, we must make the best use of trained and qualified man-power available to us in the diverse fields of activity.