Ashok Parthasarathi, in his article, “Fixing the steel frame” (October 10), has hit the nail on the head by proposing that future generations of IAS officers should have domain knowledge. The clusters he has suggested are ideal and workable. Of course a lot of fine tuning has to be done since there could be many square pegs in round holes. Further, there is a need to branch into the domain only after a mandatory field experience as a collector. Also there is a danger of gravitating towards the Centre, neglecting the needs of States. The idea is certainly something which numerous administrative commissions ought to give a thought to, particularly to balance the domain speciality within a State in contra-distinction to the Centre
R. Narayanan,
Thiruvananthapuram
The colonialists needed a perfectly rigid administrative structure to be a fortress of their hard-earned power. The times have changed and the steel has really become a burden on this nation. The time has come to replace it with a new age, flexible and strong substitute. An all-knowing intelligent person is sure to fail somewhere, in addition to inherent egoism which will make the public suffer. Substantial reform which makes the civil services fit for our time is undoubtedly the need of the hour.
Thomas Alias K.,
Tripunithura, Kerala
