Role of Bureaucracy in Democracy | GS Paper 2 Notes

  • Bureaucracy is thought to be antithetical to Democracy as the former seems to be non-elected rule
  • But in actuality they are complementary
  • Democracy needs to be responsive to the people’s demands but bureaucracy decreases responsiveness due to rigid hierarchical and procedural structures
  • But this also eliminates/minimizes political discretion
  • In traditional democracy people choose their representatives according to the policy choices but sometimes those policy promises are unreal
  • Bureaucracy moderates and brings pragmatism in policy decisions, has major role in implementation
  • It is the face of the govt. at the grassroot level and hence its conduct defines the perception of governance
  • Agency-led (autonomous) administration of policies has increased the importance of bureaucracy in India
  • Bureaucrats are the major points of accountability to public
  • People’s expectation forces politicians to put pressure on bureaucrats to perform and deliver. This causes self-correction of corruption
  • Due to systemic corruption the Steel Frame of India is now being called the Steal Frame of India.
  • Recent innovations in governance, use of technology, rights based approach and social accountability mechanisms have increased transparency and thus faith in bureaucracy

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