Reforming Civil Services: Lessons from Puja Khedkar's fraudulent entry

Puja Khedkar, despite securing a low All-India rank of 821, in the Civil Services Examination of 2022, was catapulted to the coveted IAS category, on the basis of manipulated and doctored false caste and physical disability certificates. She would have comfortably blended into the bureaucracy, sailed along smoothly, and retired honourably, in the normal circumstances. But, her boorish behaviour was her Achilles Heel, which has brought to light the inherent weaknesses in the conduct and selection processes of the civil services.

The prestige linked to an IAS job, has lakhs of aspirants, chasing ambitious dreams. The caste-based reservations, has several add-on features like increased number of attempts, age-relaxation and of course, the quantum of marks needed is minimal. That is why, youngsters like Ms. Puja Khedkar, driven by greed, and insatiable ambition, are willing to risk using fake certificates of all kinds, be it caste certificates, health certificates, identity certificates and income certificates. Her father was an influential retired government government official of Maharashtra. Yet, with all these dubious manipulations, and parental influence, she could only manage a rank of 821, but that was all that was needed to send her whizzing past, hundreds of meritorious candidates, land in the IAS and secure even her home cadre! Another ex-IAS officer of the 2011 batch, UP cadre, Abhishek Singh is under scrutiny for the alleged use of a fake disability certificate. His father, Kripa Shankar Sigh, was an IPS officer. There are many other IAS appointees in the dock for using fake certificates, some have managed to stall inquiries and even managed to obtain stays from courts. But it is a moot question as to how such officers can discharge public duties when their very appointments are questionable.

What is becoming evident is that there is a lucrative caste certificate trade, in full swing, catering to the needs of greedy parents and their offspring. Parents, who have been in government service, seem to be well aware, of the possible manipulations, that can be done, to obtain any kind of caste certificate. It is not known how many candidates have infiltrated various services, using fake caste certificates, and another kind of certificates. All selections done through reservations, need to be reviewed and vetted for irregularities.

UPSC seems to be having a weak system of verification of the various certificates being produced. Most of these kinds of certificates are issued by State Government departments, that too by lower-level officials. It also appears that UPSC accepts these certificates at face value. Puja Khedkar case has opened up Pandora’s Box, and how the system is being exploited by crafty aspirants.

The Civil Services Examination and the interview process are in itself flawed, and needing thorough overhaul. There are no minimum standards prescribed, making it possible for a candidate securing just 821st rank, to cruise through effortlessly into the top bracket. Nowhere in the world, would it be possible to turn a selection process topsy turvy, like it is happening in India. Every year the Preliminary and Mains Examination attracts aspirants, that are bigger in size than the Indian Army! The examination system itself is in dire need of a total revamp. The interview system is unable to assess the suitability of a candidate, in the short span of around 45 minutes, allocated for this crucial evaluation. Compare this with the interviews in the IT sector, where not only for entry but for every new internal promotion, the candidate undergoes multiple levels of interviews by different experts, in order to identify the best man for the job. There are even psychological evaluations, which if it were done for Ms. Puja Khedkar, might have spotted a flaw in her character. Who knows how many Pujas are quietly in circulation in the civil services?

When certificates are being tendered, as proof of caste, income and physical fitness, why not thoroughly review all the certificates that were issued to the candidate, throughout their educational career and for other employment to detect any inconsistency?

Another big culprit in the eco-system of competitive examinations is the plethora of coaching institutes and academies functioning without any kind of quality control. Lakhs of rupees are being extorted from candidates, and most of the institutes employ candidates who have failed, despite repeated attempts to crack the civil services examination. Many unscrupulous institutes encourage candidates to secure fake certificates, in order to tone down the intensity of competition, that they have to face. If the government is unable to control the booming fake certificate bazaar, it can definitely, tighten the institute bazaar, by bringing in stringent norms of quality control for teachers and coaches and the maximum fees payable. If fee fixation can be imposed for professional courses like medicine and engineering, why not for civil service coaching centres, as well as the appointment of qualified staff?

Finally, the escalator model of promotions, in civil services, needs to be revamped. Promotion should neither be time-bound nor dependent on seniority, public services need the best people. At every stage, the officer should undergo multiple tests for subject expertise, competency, physical fitness and psychological evaluation. Those not coming up to the mark, should be given smooth exit options, otherwise the civil services will get saturated with mediocre people.

The government has to seriously consider the induction of experienced experts on a ‘Lateral Entry’ basis, at all levels. It does not make any sense to rotate officers without proper domain knowledge, among different portfolios like Industry, Health, Agriculture, Finance and Education.

The Puja Khedkar case should be treated as a timely wake-up call for revamping and restructuring the entire civil services examination, the interview and selection process, training, attracting experts through lateral induction, as also giving easy exit options to officers who are not able to come up to desired expectations, and the need to put all certificates of the selected candidates, their scores, and rankings in public domain.

The author is former Director General of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics