Over a series of emails exchanged in early August, Nileena MS, a reporting fellow with The Caravan, spoke to Chandrasekhar about the 360-degree appraisal system—the current process for empanelling civil servants with the government of India. The former cabinet secretary discussed the limitations of the system and the necessity to replace it with a continuous, performance-based and result-oriented assessment process. “There is a discernible lack of transparency in the present system, which makes it rather unfair to the officer,” Chandrasekhar said. “The notion that a selection system for serving officers and managers should be opaque is not in conformity with modern practice.”

Nileena MS: What is your opinion on the introduction of the 360-degree appraisal system in the process of empanelment of officers? Do you think obtaining the feedback of juniors, peers, and external stakeholders is an effective tool for performance appraisal?
KM Chandrasekhar: First, it seems to lack transparency and could be easily abused to favour this or that individual at some stage or other. We have past experience of political governments and bureaucracies misusing systems, and hence transparency, to the extent possible, is essential.

Credit by- The Caravan

Read More