In the context of India, which one of the following is the characteristic appropriate for bureaucracy?

a) An agency for widening the scope of parliamentary democracy  

b) An agency for strengthening the structure of federalism 

c) An agency for facilitating political stability and economic growth 

d) An Agency for the implementation of public policy 

Solution: 

• Bureaucracy is the executive arm of the government. 
• In traditional classical literature on organs of government, one studied the legislature, the executive and the judiciary with bureaucracy being subsumed under the executive (which comprises the political establishment and the bureaucracy). 
• Now, one finds that bureaucracy is being treated separately and this is indicative of its growing importance.
• Bureaucracy refers to an administrative policy implementation group, which is a body of non elected government officials. 
• The major objective of bureaucracy in India has not been Parliamentary democracy’s expansion but rather the implementation of the decisions taken by the executive. With All India Services at the helm of major bureaucratic structure, it cannot be said that strengthening of federal structure is its main characteristic. 
• India’s bureaucratic system’s most important function since independence has been implementation of public policy, making the decisions of the government reach a conclusion on the ground level. 
• Parliamentary democracy results often in change at the helm of executive, the static and permanent bureaucracy provides continuity of policies and execution rather than political stability.

Ans: (d)