Ex-LBSNAA Director Rebuffs Narayana Murthy's Remarks Of Recruiting IAS, IPS Officers From B-Schools
Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys drew flakes a few days ago over his remarks about the suggested recruitment of Indian civil servants directly from business schools instead of relying upon the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). A former IAS officer Sanjeev Chopra, the former director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) rejected Murthy’s opinion.
While talking at CNBC-TV18 Global Leadership Summit on Nov 14, the Infosys founder remarked that India’s bureaucracy should shift from an ‘administrative mindset’ to a ‘management mindset’. As per Mr Murthy the current system of governance, based on the UPSC examination process, produces civil servants who are trained in maintaining the status quo instead of bringing innovation, vision, and rapid execution. He argued that the civil servants trained in management, especially from business schools would be better to handle the fast-changing landscape of government.
Contradicting Narayana Murthy’s statements, as per the reports in The Print, former IAS Chopra said that the existing UPSC process is inclusive and merit-based. The UPSC allows candidates to appear in 22 different languages to ensure regional and linguistic inclusivity, which is a fundamental strength of the UPSC. However, Mr. Murthy’s proposal will undermine this by favoring candidates from privileged sections and students from English-medium backgrounds.
Shifting the recruitment process to business schools will exclude aspirants from non-urban, less privileged section. Also, the role of civil servants is to implement the policies and decisions of elected leaders instead of defining them. Sanjeev Chopra reportedly said that the UPSC, LBSNAA SVPNA, and Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) are doing a good job in assisting the democratically elected leadership in implementing the policies.
The former LBSNAA director emphasized the role of civil servants in ensuring social justice and stressed that this objective can not be purely measured in terms of financial efficiency.
