Learner’s Submission: Human Resources Development in India

“Development of each nation depends on various parameters; those are different from nation to nation, time to time.  India has much catching up to do, the Human Development Report 2013 released by the UNDP, ranked the country at a low 136 among 186 countries on its human development index. May thing is needed to be done in order to enhance development.

Appropriate Policy, Stable Legal frameworks, Institutional development, Community participation, human resources development and strong managerial systems are the key factors of Capacity Building. Leaderships of the nation have to work in strengthening those key factors.

In context to India, policy framing is formulated by the Planning Commission. The economy of India is based in part on planning through its five-year plans, which are developed, executed and monitored by the Planning Commission of India. The eleventh plan completed its term in March 2012 and the twelfth plan is currently underway. India has some difficulties in achieving those target plans. Those difficulties are to be reduced by modifying its implementation mechanism.

India has relatively stable Legal frameworks. The distribution of power between Judiciary, Administrative and Legislative well defined. Level of conflict in between them is low. It is good parameter for development of India. There are various levels of judiciary in India. They form a strict hierarchy of importance, Supreme Court of India at the top, followed by High Courts of respective states with district judges sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge (Junior Division) at the bottom. Administrative power is distributed between central and state. However Judiciary is overburdened, it is to be solved.

Institutional development is important in promoting development. India has strong and powerful bureaucratic public administration system. Despite of all advantages it is suffering several problems like redtapism, empire building, and goal displacement. The system has to be modified so that it can deliver results according to the legislative intent and it can become Participatory, Democratic and Consensus Oriented, Accountable, Transparent and Responsive in true sense.

Community participation is essential for enhancement of development. There are several indicatives have been taken in order to enhance people’s participation. The most important step is panchayti raj (Local Government at village level). Article 40 of the constitution directs the government to establish panchayats to serve as institutions of local self-government. Most states began implementing this Directive Principle along the lines of the recommendations of the government’s Balwantrai Mehta Commission report. In some states there are reservations for women and minorities. However India got independence with feudal system. There are several remnants of feudalism like cast system, untouchablity are existing in several areas. The higher cast suppresses lower cast people very strongly in several places. Indian constitution doesn’t allow it. However Indian system sometime failed to prevent such thing in practical field. Such failure is fueling ultra-left outfits especially in central India. Governments have to show zero tolerance to violation of people’s rights and have to enhance people’s participation. Tainting and education of people’s representatives is also required in this aspect.

Proper initiatives will enhance the development of India.” – Rupak Ghosh – West Bengal, India

Learner’s Submission: As an HR Manager, How are your Country’s Top Leadership and Development Vision Linked to Human Resource Capacity Development in the Public Sector?

“Last year in Italy, a lot of efforts were made to face the financial crisis. Similarly to what happened in most European countries, among the measures undertaken there have also been serious budget cuts. Probably due to the time constraints, there had not been enough time for preparing a new strategic plan. This urgency in finding enough financial resources seems now to be close to an end and I believe that we can quickly return to a less austere regime.  In the meantime, a programme to reduce costs in the public sector has been prepared and actions to increase efficiency are going to be undertaken soon.

In particular in the department for which I work, the situation is even more difficult. The policy of continuously changing the top management that has been adopted doesn’t facilitate either the strategic planning or the setting up of development visions. Moreover, the dispersion of the functions in multiple offices as well as a poor coordination makes it difficult to identify the competencies and consequently the responsibilities. In such a confusing and bureaucratic environment, nobody feels comfortable in taking any initiative. We all know that when a system doesn’t evolve, it doesn’t remain the same, but gets more obsolete and worse every day. If we can’t be proactive, we should at least be reactive.

The above mentioned situation is the same in the area of Human Resource Capacity Development. It can be said that in this sector it is even worse because, in my opinion, there are neither enough professional and cultural skills nor the motivation to consent to an improvement in the short and medium-term. The basis of the system of personnel training currently in place dates back to 1981. It still is a good one, but it might be necessary to continuously adapt its implementation to the evolution of contents and methods. In a globalized world, one of the main challenges is to broaden our own perspectives as much as possible. If the result is still a “provincialism” within the Public Sector, it can be deduced that something is missing in the system. It is therefore fundamental to identify this gap and – with a conspicuous dose of humbleness – to start an earnest project in order to find and implement the best solutions. To draw up such plan, the Directorate for Training and Development should receive – from the top management or from the Directorate of Human Resources – a new global vision and a comprehensive strategic plan with the indication of the objectives to be achieved in the short, medium and long-term. I think that the organisation should look at the best practices of other countries and especially at the solutions that they have found for similar issues. We could take from academia some good suggestions and even sign agreements to enhance cross-fertilization.

To conclude, I think that the basis and the starting point should be the development of a new, modern, ambitious, and holistic vision. Then a concrete and consistent strategic plan should be set up that also includes Human Resource Capacity Development.” – Giuseppe Bellisario – The Hague, Netherlands