“We will form an army of poor, where every poor will be a soldier and we will win the war against poverty on behalf of their strength” —Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

The term “Development Administration” came into use in the 1950s to represent those aspects of public administration that were needed to improve social and economic conditions. During the aftermath of World War II country after the country achieved independence. Ashoka introduced several administrative reforms.

This new status of freedom and self-determination gave hope for greater individual freedom and equality of treatment in society. Independence created hopes of higher national and per capita income, a rapid rise in standards of living, and an increase in individual opportunity. Even in countries which had not been colonies but had been administered by some other form of authoritarian government, this was a generation of rising and insistent expectations pressing for rapid political, social, and         economic change.

Every civilised society needs a good administrative system. Public administration is essential for executing government orders and functions. In India, different administrative systems have existed for different periods. The earliest reference can be traced to the Indus Valley civilisation. Governance in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa was systematic.

Ashoka introduced several administrative reforms. He appointed a group of trusted ministers who always helped him in matters of administrative policies. He introduced legal reforms like Danda Samahara and Vyavahara Samahara. Ashoka was the sovereign head of the Mauryan Empire in every inch, as the Arthashastra instructed him to be.

The administration of the Chola dynasty was monarchical in character. The king was at the helm of the administration and a council of ministers and other high officials advised him. The empire, known as Rajyam or Rastrayam, was divided into several provinces or mandalas under the charges of viceroys who were generally princes of royal blood or from noble families. The mandalas were subdivided into a number of divisions known as kottams/ valanadus. The next administrative subdivision of the Cholas were the districts (nadus), each of which again consisted of several autonomous villages, unions or groups of villages, playing a vital part in the Chola administration system.

The Mughal dynasty incorporated basic changes in the administrative structure in India. The Mughal emperor was the head of the state. He was the lawmaker, the chief executive, the commander-in-chief of the army and the final dispenser of justice. v, had only four ministers, namely, Wakil, Diwan or Wazir, Mir Bakshi and Sadr-us-Sadur. Primarily, the Diwan looked after the income and expenditure of the state. Thus, Vakil or Wazir or Prime Minister was the person next to the emperor in the administration. The Sadr-us-Sadur advised the emperor on religious matters. He looked after the religious education, distribution of jagirs to scholars and observance of the laws of Islam by Muslims.

After Indian Independence, a number of movements like Vinova Bhave’s ‘Bhoodan Movement’, and Jayaprakash Narayan’s ‘Total Revolution’ tried to transform the administrative, social and governance systems in the country. However, their efforts could not reach a conclusive end as each of these models had limitations to address total societal transformation.

Governance goes beyond how government institutions function. It is seen in terms of partnerships and cooperation between governments, the corporate sector and civil society.

Various statistics drawn up by the Planning Commission reveal that not more than 5 per cent of the allocations made for the growth and development of rural areas, reaches the actual beneficiary.

We need to create a national-level disciplined and trained workforce to undertake the task of rural development. The nucleus of this force could be provided by retired personnel from the uniformed forces of the nation. By doing so, the nation would benefit manifold.

The country has 22.5 lakh defence pensioners. Approximately 60,000 personnel between the ages of 35 to 45 are released annually from the three armed forces. A similar number of trained and disciplined manpower retire every year from the Border Security Force, CRPF, ITBP, and State police depatrments.

There is no policy or direction by the Government of India to ensure lateral absorption and seamless integration of this pool of talented, and disciplined workforce. Only nine states (including UTs) provide any sort of reservation for gazetted posts. The experience of the mid-and high-ranking officers of the armed forces in the execution and implementation of the vision of the nation is not being made use of. The Government Sector (Central Armed Police Force (CAPF)/ ministries/departments/banks/PSUs) should be the largest employer. However, less than 20 per cent of jobs earmarked for the ESM are utilised. There is no data bank on the number of personnel superannuating, and the corresponding link with the industry to ensure automatic absorption as per the dictum ‘Right Man for The Right Job’. There is no Law which formalises the involvement of ESM in nation-building at the execution as well as governance levels. There is, therefore, a need to get a resolution passed which could address this critical issue.

Recommendations:

Optimal utilisation of the well-trained workforce exiting the services can exponentially raise the morale of Indian soldiers. Both private and public sectors can benefit by absorbing a skilled and disciplined workforce. Employing ex-servicemen will prove to be cheaper for the government as compared to fresh recruitment as these men would have to be paid only the difference between their entitled emoluments and the pension being drawn by them.

About 80 per cent of ex-servicemen of the rank of JCOs and NCOs settle in their villages post-retirement. A recent study by the Directorate-General of Resettlement, New Delhi, has revealed that most of the ex-servicemen are engaged in the agriculture sector. To ensure holistic growth by involving ex-servicemen towards nation building, the government should undertake the following:

• Employment in Government Sectors – ex-servicemen particularly engineers from the three services can be absorbed in the Highways & Road Transport sector, likewise people from the Navy can enhance the Port & Shipping, as well as trained pilots, and ground duty staff from Air Force, Army and Naval Aviation can be inducted in the Civil Aviation sector. Similarly, Engineers, Medical, Logistic Branch, Signals and EME can add value to the respective fields in the corporate sector.
• Employment with Ministry of Defence (MoD) The MoD is a major employer of the civilian workforce. It could absorption the ex-servicemen in the ordnance factories (OFs), defence public sector undertakings (PSUs), defence research & development organisations (DRDO), Directorate-General of Quality Assurance (DGQA), Canteen Stores Department and hospitals.

• Tax Concessions to India Inc. can effectively employ ex-servicemen in domains like security, HR or procurement. India should take a cue from the USA where employers who hire veterans (ex-servicemen) get tax credits which can be as high as $ 9,660 for every qualified veteran hired. There is a need to make it a mandatory provision under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
• Self-Employment Schemes – The government needs to create a climate which brings together industry as the franchisor, ex-servicemen as the franchisee and MoD as the facilitator
• Raising of Environmental Battalions – environment battalions staffed and manned by ex-servicemen can be made to implement government programs like the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ and ‘Ganga Rejuvenation Plan’.
• Pan-India Presence – One of the untapped advantages that ex-servicemen have is their presence across the length and breadth of the country. Ex-servicemen can be employed in government projects like the proposed SEZs along the highways to provide refuelling, repair, or ATM services. This is an example of just one of the many such opportunities that exist.
• Rural Area Progressive Integrated Development (RAPID) Clusters – To ensure holistic development of rural areas, services of the ex-servicemen can be utilised not only in the Rural Areas Progressive Integrated Development (RAPID) model but also in various government sectors such as highways & road transport, ports & shipping, aviation, health, disaster relief, public works and infrastructure, supply chain management, e-Governance, transport, etc.

The above model will ensure that retired uniformed personnel are incorporated into the holistic growth of the nation and the rural areas. This is the roadmap to give shape to the dream of creating a Smart /Ideal Village and making it a reality.

-This excerpt from Lt Gen (Dr) S. K. Gadeock’s ‘From War to Peace: Wisdom and Leadership’ has been published with permission from Pentagon Press LLP.