It will no longer be business as usual for bureaucrats as the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) is working on a change of policy for their travel and training.
The government had earlier banned all the foreign training scheduled for bureaucrats this year due to pandemic and austerity measures; now, it is formulating fresh ways to incorporate technology into holding conferences, delivering speeches, holding meetings and training modules—events that stretched for days in the time before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
A senior DOPT functionary said that the way forward will be a fresh approach that is not only driven by COVID-19 constraints but also by the success stories of the use of technology in government functioning so far.
Sources said it would be a top-down approach since cabinet ministers in the Modi government have been able to inaugurate events in multiple cities on the same day; having held online meetings and video conferences that would have otherwise consumed a couple of days taking into account the travel to different states.
“The ministers have led by example and the bureaucratic methods are changing,” said an official, pointing out that ministries have been able to work more efficiently in the new system, as there is no longer any travel time.
Even inter-ministerial coordination has improved with quick meetings being scheduled in a day to discuss pressing issues, the official added.
The need to curtail foreign travel and the training of bureaucrats abroad was already under the lens after the DOPT felt that it was not financially viable given that budgetary cuts were necessary. The pandemic has now given a fresh reason to explore domestic options and to utilize in-house training and technology to connect with their counterparts in other countries as well.
However, critics feel the need for travel and training is necessary for people-to-people contact, both for ministers and for bureaucrats, so they do not lose touch with the ground situation. Keeping this in mind, there will be options for meetings and visits of ministers and bureaucrats when it is necessary for them to be physically present, however, the duration of each visit would be reduced.
“The duration of stay can be utilized to meet and interact with the people concerned. However, they will not be required to stay for the entire duration of the event. For example, their participation in delivering a speech can be done online after they return,” said an official.
