Key Foundational Values for Civil Services
Civil services are an integral part of Indian democracy. They play a great role in societal development as they have the responsibilities of both decision making and policy implementation. They are vital as they have to maintain same standards of professionalism, responsiveness and impartiality in serving successive governments. The civil servants have to abide by a common set of values which can cater to larger interests of society at large. There are some foundational principles which help instil public confidence in government machinery.
International Code of Conduct for Public Officials
UN in 1996, adopted “International Code of Conduct for Public Officials” which has the following general principles:
- A public office, as per national law is a position of trust which comes with a duty to act in public interest. This implies that ultimate loyalty of public officials is expressed via the democratic institutions of the government.
- Public officials should also make sure that all their duties and functions are as per the laws or administrative policies. They should make use of all public resources in effective and efficient manner.
- All public officials should be attentive, fair and unbiased in performance of their duties.
Further, there are 7 basic principles of public life as outlined by the Nolan Committee or Committee on Standards in Public Life in the United Kingdom. These comprise the most comprehensive statements of ethical standards for holders of public office. It was stated that any public official found to transgress any of these should be punished without any detailed explanation. These are selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
Indian Scenario: Foundational Values:
Public servants in India develop and implement public policy within a framework of public service values. All these have a marked influence on their attitudes and actions. Civil Service in India has gradually evolved over years of tradition. The current norms are enforceable rules of conduct as typified by the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules. Analogous rules are also applicable to members of All India Services or employees of various state governments. However, these do not stand for any code of ethics in India although such codes do exist in other countries. Draft Public Services Bill, 2007 was constituted which proposed necessary steps to evolve code of ethics in India. These suggest:
Values of Public Service
The public servants are guided by the following values while discharging their duties:
- Patriotism
- Allegiance to the Constitution
- Objectivity, impartiality, honesty, diligence, courtesy and transparency
- Absolute integrity
Some more values to be followed by public officials have been given by 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) Report.
Review of Public Service Values
Central authority reviews the adoption, adherence and implementation of Public Service Values in the departments or organisations under the Central government.
Public Services Code
The Central government promotes Public Service Values and ethical standards in various public service operations. These include:
- To discharge official duties with competence and accountability.
- To ensure effective management, professional growth and leadership development
- To not to misuse power and public position for personal financial gains.
- To bear in mind the objective that public servants are instruments of good governance and to foster socio-economic development.
The Second ARC Report has stated a comprehensive Civil Service Code which can be summed at three levels namely as shown below:
Thus, as per the Second ARC, an individual’s commitment to the Constitution of India, many other values are also suggested in the Draft Public Service Bill. These are include; adherence to highest standards of probity, integrity and conduct; Impartiality and non-partisanship; Objectivity; Commitment to citizen’s concerns, public good and public service; Empathy for the weaker sections; Accountability and ownership; Devotion to duty and exemplary behaviour.
