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Context:

• Recently, election in Uttar Pradesh has highlighted the need for political neutrality among bureaucrats.

About Political Neutrality:

• In the context of public administration, neutrality refers to political neutrality or non-partisanship. It indicates that you are not owned or linked with any one group, party, or cause.

Need for Neutrality:

• Free and Frank advise: If bureaucracy isn't impartial, it won't be able to fully support the current political system, as well as the economic and political systems if drastic changes are made.
• Prevent Crony Capitalism: Without neutrality, a close relationship between bureaucracy and large-scale firms might develop, perhaps leading to crony capitalism.
• Constitutional’s moral authority: Neutrality implies that public servants are not beholden to politics or any other authority other than the Constitution's moral authority.
• Independence from Political objectives: It demonstrates that the notion of neutrality entails a degree of independence from both the government's political objectives and the exogenous agenda that drives certain social groups to subject others to humiliating vulnerability.

Challenges in being Political Neutral:

• Officers suffer from frequent transfers since their focus is on setting up their homes following each relocation.
• It has an impact on the officer's morale because her hard work, honesty, and integrity are not appreciated and are instead exploited against her.
• The officer's family is the one that suffers the most as a result of the frequent transfers.
• Education for their children and access to health care for their parents may be jeopardised.
• Because politicians want to keep control over the bureaucracy, not all critical positions are filled with the best officers.
• Because investing in devotion to certain politicians provides an alternative road to professional achievement, younger bureaucrats with career worries underinvest in skill.

Consequences of Political Partisanship:

• Secure Promotions: There are distinct factions in each government service based on language, religion, caste, and geography. They would submit to the wills of politicians in order to secure promotion and rewards for their clique.
• Satisfy their illicit desires: There will be more secrecy in government operations. As a result, a nexus forms between the political executive and public officials in order to satisfy their illicit desires.
• Seek preferred postings: Due to the lack of an independent board, public servants affiliate with one political party or the other in order to obtain their preferred postings and other benefits.
• Award and Punish employees: Transfers have been used to reward and punish employees, as well as to regulate and tame the bureaucracy. There is no transparency, and in the public view, a short-term stay following a transfer is seen as a stigma.

Way Forward:

• Capable leaders and mentors: New recruits must be taught ethical ideals that are fundamental to the country's steel frame. They must be guided by capable leaders and mentors who have a high level of integrity themselves.
• Establishment of neutral committee:Transfer and posting powers must be taken away from the political executive, and a tribunal or neutral committee must be established whose findings are binding on the political executive.
• Rewards fair and impartial: Civil officials are incentivised to be fair and impartial until the threat of retaliation and punitive postings has passed.
• E-governance: E-governance can offer openness to administrative decisions and eliminate partiality or bias in favour of one party or another.

Performance based incentives: Performance-based incentives will aid in the transformation of the bureaucracy and the elimination of corruption in the system.

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