The home ministry’s role in the Modi government has been rather subdued. Now, the ministry itself is facing a redesign to suit the changing times
In March, former home secretary Madhukar Gupta held a closed door meeting with former Union home secretaries to hear their opinions on the functioning of the ministry of home affairs. Though retired, Gupta was asked by the ruling government to head a committee to revamp the home ministry’s organisational structure and processes. This was to prepare the ministry to meet security challenges of the 21st century.
Four retired secretaries of the MHA, including L.C. Goyal and G.K. Pillai, were part of the discussion. The former top bureaucrats raised concerns over the diminishing role of the MHA, particularly in security related matters.
The Union home ministry is the overarching ministry on all internal security-related issues, and plays a pivotal role in Centre-state relations and national security.
But, it was felt that the effectiveness of the MHA has dwindled in terms of sharing the burden on tasks. The committee found that the ministry has not been able to keep pace with the challenges it is dealing with, not just in terms of its capacity, but skills and resources that are neither adequately augmented or exploited.
This story is from the May 27, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the May 27, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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