Performance of Ministers - No Monitoring by Bureaucrats
THE Cabinet Secretariat has clarified that it is not correct to say that the Government had developed a Performance Monitoring System whereby performance of ministers would be reported by bureaucrats, as reported by a section of the media.
It is not factually correct to say that the serving officers will evaluate the performance of the ministers. The Prime Minister's order is clear that the entire process has to be driven by the ministers. According to the order: “At the beginning of each financial year, with the approval of the Minister concerned, each Department will prepare a Results-Framework Document (RFD) consisting of the priorities set out by the Ministry concerned, agenda as spelt out in the manifesto if any, President's Address, announcements/agenda as spelt out by the Government from time to time. The Minister in charge will decide the inter-se priority among the departmental objectives.”
The assertion that the system is run by a Committee on Government Performance is not true. According to PM's orders, the main function of this Committee is to ensure uniformity, consistency and coordinated action across various Departments. It does the secretarial work of preparing guidelines, ensuring timely submission of RFDs, and providing feedback to the ministries/departments concerned. It plays a supportive role to facilitate the smooth functioning of PMES. This Committee does not evaluate the performance of ministries or departments. It merely provides technical support to facilitate such evaluation by the ministers concerned. The objective is to ensure accountability of the department to the minister, who lays down the goals and targets for each period and reviews them.