Continuity and change

The latest bureaucratic reshuffle has a message for key economic ministries

- RAISINA HILL AK BHATTACHARYA

The significance of one of the largest secretary-level reshuffles by the Union government last week has not received the attention it deserved. On Good Friday, to be precise, the government named as many as 18 new secretaries to head its different departments. Normally, such appointments are a routine exercise, undertaken sporadically as and when the need arises. But take a closer look at last week's decision, and you will get a sense of the government's current thinking, which is a welcome change from the way such appointments were handled in the recent past.

To begin with, there appears to be a crackdown on the practice of secretaries holding dual charges for several months. In the recent past, there have been quite a few instances of one secretary looking after more than one department. In one stroke last week, four such dual charges were eliminated. Having the same person in charge of both the Departments of Economic Affairs and Revenue, or both Dipam and Public Enterprises is perhaps workable, given that these departments are part of the finance ministry. Nevertheless, this arrangement was harmful for both efficiency and governance.

Worse, there was no logic in asking Dipam Secretary Arunish Chawla to hold additional charge of the culture ministry, or in entrusting Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare with the additional responsibility of heading the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. It is a matter of relief that all these dual charges have been eliminated and none of these departments and ministries are now run by secretaries as an additional responsibility. A positive outcome of this exercise should be administrative efficiency and improved accountability.