India has put in place a comprehensive policy on promoting bureaucrats that goes way beyond the annual confidential report and takes into consideration factors such as integrity, reputation and ability to work hard.
This is the first time that officers are being assessed on such parameters before being promoted as secretaries or additional secretaries, senior officials told ET, describing the initiative as one of the most important administrative reforms at the Centre.
A group of five retired secretaries picked by the Prime Minister's Office in 2014, after the Narendra Modi government took office, shaped the policy which evaluates bureaucrats on seven parameters including leadership, effectiveness in delivery, domain understanding and administrative skills.