Downsizing the Government is one of the alternates that Finance Minister has to consider as the Government as a whole has to swallow if fiscal discipline has to be enforced. The fiscal deficit of nearly 4 per cent of the GDP, the huge public debt and the interest payments on the debt that take away two-thirds of the central government’s net tax revenue, apart from bourgeoning salary bill, together have compelled action.

To this Trade unions are bound to react violently if the downsizing would mean disbanding of workers. They could quote with confidence the Sixth Pay Commission itself to point out that the impression of bloated bureaucracy is far from true. The Sixth Pay Commission remarked that if the entire office is wired, files can move from place to place without the help of chaprasis; instead the existing army of chaprasis could be easily retrained to be helpers in keeping the premises and machines clean and serviced at low level. Instead of officers dictating letters to stenographers, speech to text software already developed by the NIC could be used by officers to type, file and dispatch their own memos and letters and stenographers retrained to decide issue at a certain level to provide quick service to the public or formed into a cluster of highly trained support services. Most of these changes are already researched and manual for the transformation already made out or could be made out within one year.

The next thing is to reorganize the process of decision making reducing the layers to the minimum. A flatter organization with levels of decision making specified must replace the present structure in which every file travels up and down all levels. The TCS study suggested reduction of hierarchy from nine to seven; but with modern management methods it could even come down to three. The advantage would be that the human resource would be better utilized, the people concerned would feel greater job satisfaction, the endless demands for further hierarchical levels of promotion would end and public would get instant service.

The pace at which the Internet is growing would compel such reorganization as people would begin to demand online service. Every department must be asked to undertake a five-step operation that includes elimination, combination, prospecting, sublimation and modification of the entire work process. Like zero-base budgeting there should be zero-base manpower determination at every department level. Where human resource is sub optimally utilized there should be redeployment to make it optimal.

It is the tolerance of a low level of performance required in Government that attracts people to stick on even if the job is not satisfying; besides opportunities in private sector are now opening up faster than they ever were. Environment is also changing encouraging risk taking and rewards associated with it. This is the best time to strike if there is the political will. The Government would be making a major mistake if the entire operation is seen merely as job reduction exercise; what it should be is as a far ranging and total restructuring of governance including restoring human dignity to the government servants in all classes.