Kautilya’s Saptang Theory of State

 

The Mauryan era of ancient India gave the world a significant treatise, the Arthashastra of Kautilya.It offers deep insights into political statecraft. Kautilya is known as the Indian Machiavelli because of his ruthless and shrewd tactics and policies reflecting an approach to statecraft including warfare.

Nature of State

Kautilya Saptang Theory of State

The state of ‘nature’ is imagined to be one of total anarchy, in which ‘might was right’.When people were oppressed by Matyanyaya, the law of the fish, according to which the bigger fish swallows the smaller ones they selected Manu– son of Vivasvat the king.

It was settled that the king should receive one-sixth of the grain and one-tenth of merchandise and gold, as his due. It was the revenue which made it possible for the king to ensure the security and prosperity of his subjects. People agreed to pay taxes and he ruled by one person in order that they might be able to enjoy well-being and security. In Kautilya’s Arthashastra, there is no explicit theory of social contract as laid down by
the contractualist. Neither does Kautilya use the contract to make the king all powerful.

Elements of State

Kautilya enumerated seven prakritis or essential organs of the state. They are as follow
(i) Swami (The Ruler)
(ii) Amatya (The Minister)
(iii) Janapada (The Population)
(iv) Durga (The Fortified Capital)
(v) Kosha (The Treasury)
(vi) Danda (The Army)
(vii) Mitra (Ally and Friend)

Swami(The Ruler)

It is the first and the most important element. Swami means the monarch. He should be a native of the soil and born in a noble family. He should be brave and well learned. He makes all the important appointments and supervises the government. He has to be virtuous and should treat his subjects like his own children. Kautilya has given extensive powers to the monarch but those powers are meant for the welfare of them subjects. In the welfare and happiness of his subjects, lies his own happiness.

Amatya (The Minister)

It refers to the council of ministers as well as the supporting officials and subordinate staffs. They are meant for assisting the monarch in day to day affairs of the state. Amatya gives suggestions to king, collects taxes, develops new villages and cities, ensures defense of the state and all other tasks as assigned by the king.

Janpada (The Population)

It refers to territory and people of the state. The territory of the state should be fertile and should have abundance of forest, rivers, mountains, minerals, wild life etc. It should have have good climate. People should be loyal to their king, hard working, disciplined, religious, ready to fight for their motherland, should pay taxes regularly and happily.

Durga (The Fortified Capital)

It refers to forts. The state should have sufficient number of forts across its territory at strategic locations for ensuring defense against foreign invasions. Forts should be built near hills/mountains, deserts, dense forests and big water bodies. They garrison soldiers, store food grains for emergency and also serve as a hideout for the king when his life in danger.

Kosha(The Treasury)

This means treasury of the state. Finance is life blood of any state without which it is almost impossible to run it. Money is needed for paying salaries, building new infrastructure, etc. The treasury should be full of money and valuable metals and gems. It can be increased through taxation and plundering enemy states in war.

Danda(The Army)

It refers to military. The  state should have a regular, large, disciplined and well trained military. It is crucial for the security of the state. The soldiers should be recruited from those families which are traditionally associated with military. The soldiers should paid well and their families should be taken care of in most suitable way. Proper training and equipment should be made available. Well fed and well trained soldiers can win any battle. The king should take care of the soldiers and the soldiers will be ready to sacrifice even their life for him.

Mitra (Ally and Friend)

It refers to friends of the king. The monarch should maintain friendly relationship with traditional friends of his forefathers. He should also make new friendships. He should send gifts and other pleasantries for his friends. They should be helped in times of emergency. They should be loyal. Friends add to the power of the state. They are also important from foreign trade view point.

 Role of king

Kautilya gives extensive powers to the kings and attaches an element of divinity. His foremost duty is protection of the subjects and their property. King’s sources of power revolving around three sources– Prabhu Shakti (the power of the army and the treasury),Manta Shakti (advice of wise men, specially the council of ministers) and Utsah Shakti (charisma). Duties of Kings Kautilya’s Arthashastra does not believe in the ‘Theory of Divine’ origin of the Monarch. According to him, state is a human institution and it should be manned by a human being. So, the king should be the protector of the dharma of whole society.  Arthashastra pointed out duties of kings are :

• Should follow his rajya dharma.
• Should exhibit attributes, i.e. Atma Vrata (self-control) l Should ease the six enemies— Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobh (greed), Mana (vanity), Mada
  (haughtiness), and Harsh (overjoy).

System of Law

Although, Kautilya’s state theory states the monarchical democracy, but the sole authority vested under the king to make law and that it derived from four sources Dharma (sacred law), Vyavhara (evidence), Charita (history and custom) and Rajasasana (edicts of the king).
Arthashastra represents a system of civil, criminal and mercantile law. For instance, the following were codified a procedure for interrogation, torture, trial, the rights of the accused, Constitution of permissible evidence, a procedure for autopsy in case of death in suspicious circumstances, Constitution of (deformation) and procedure for claiming damages, invalid and invalid contract.

 Machinery of Government

The Arthashastra catalogues a phalanx of officers called superintendents, lower in importance than the ministerial officers and much below them, belonging to the sixth order, according to remuneration. They are not heads of departments. The superintendents might be as chiefs of sections dealing with various economic and other activities of the government. Most of these sections are the modern business departments. A dual control is exercised over the superintendents. As far as control of the services of the personal and collection of revenue are concerned, they are under the Collector-General.

Conclusion

The Arthashastra is a textbook of practical politics and statecraft. One of the outstanding
contributions of Kautilya’s Arthashastra to statecraft and governance in a monarchical state. Hence, Kautilya’s theory of state envisages a rational approach to governance and state craft which conceptualizes the state and the office of the kingship to be human artifacts.

NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

New Public Management is a management philosophy used by governments since the 1980s to modernise the public sector. New Public management is a broad and very complex term used to describe the wave of public sector reforms throughout the world since the 1980s. The main hypothesis in the NPM-reform wave is that more market orientation in the public sector will lead to greater cost-efficiency for governments, without having negative side effects on other objectives and considerations.

There has been a significant change in the role of government in different societies, during the late 20th Century. The term ‘New Public Management’ was coined by Christopher Hood in 1991. In the same way another contributor is Gerald Caiden. Some notable scholars contributing to NPM are P Hoggett, C. Pollitt, R Rhodes, R. M. Kelly, P. Aucoin and L. Terry. According to Richard Common, NPM is used as acronym (short form) to describe a vast range of contemporary administrative changes. NPM has become a very popular concept.

THE CONCEPT OF NPM/MEANING

The NPM approach has been defined in the early 1980s by Garson and Overman as “an interdisciplinary study of the generic aspects of administration….a blend of the planning, organising and controlling functions of management with the management of human, financial, physical, information and political resources

Contemporary reforms are reorienting governance towards management philosophy. It implies high level of organisational effectiveness. It also relates to the capacity of the centre of power of political and administrative system to cope up with the emerging challenges of the society. It refers to adoption of new values of governance to establish greater efficiency, legitimacy and credibility of the system. In simple terms the NPM can be considered as citizen-friendly, citizen caring and responsive administration.

New Public Management has three constructive legacies for the field of Public Administration -

(a) a stronger emphasis on performance-motivated administration and inclusion in the administration cannon of performance oriented institutional arrangements, structural forms and managerial doctrines fitted to particular contexts;

(b) an international dialogue on and a stronger comparative dimension to the study of state design and administrative reform; and

(c) the integrated use of economic, sociological and other advanced

conceptual models.

NPM is result-oriented and objective focussed. It believes in flexible arrangements in organisation personnel, terms and conditions of employment, and so on. It is prescriptive and descriptive. Its driving mattos are the ‘Three Es’— economy, efficiency and effectiveness. It advocates pruning the public bureaucracy and reduction in the functions of the modern state. It, thus, believes in privatisation.

The NPM aims to achieve a great deal of structural adjustments and a new type of state intervention to seek cooperation and help from community organisations and empowerment of citizens. It attempts to limit the role of the state, including downsizing bureaucracy, devolution of authority, cost-reduction, contracting out some of the operative functions of government, developing and designing result-oriented appraisal system and commercialisation as well as market orientation of the government activities. This is to be supported by effective accountability through open reporting system. The administration has to be moved from rule to result orientation, from system to enterprise, obedience to reward, inaction to action, centralisation to decentralisation and from duties of administrators to the rights of citizens. Broadly the NPM aims at entrepreneurial role of public organisations with a market based public administration resulting in effectiveness and economy in the functioning of public organisations.

Some of important approach are:

1. Downsizing the bureaucracy: Downsizing of the public apparatus and the narrowing down of the number of employees it employs.

2. A process of debureaucratization: Debureaucratization process includes increasing the efficiency of the process and not merely the quantity of output. The properly functioning governmental systems must act in a systemic manners and should therefore start implementing approval of processes.

3. Decentralisation of the decision making: A process of decentralisation transfer of decision making processes closer to the citizens or in the managerial parlance, the clients. The decentralisation process heightens the competitive environment, as it allows employees and managers at all levels more freedom of action, initiative and creativity, gives them authority they never had in the past, and reduces bureaucracy in the sense that the need for numerous approvals for actions comes down.

4. New managerialism: Emphasis on New Managerialism includes the use of processes of business management within governmental branches. It is important to employ managers who have professional-managerial proficiencies and to make sure that their obligation is to the output and performances.

5. Privatisation: Privatisation is almost naturally connected with the NPM, as it hands over managerial responsibility (or sometimes also ownership) from organisations, which have been completely public, to the business bodies, which act within the conditions of competition and free market.

6. Performance evaluation: In order to improve products and services, the public sector organisations must formalise standardization and measuring processes to supervise them in the orderly manner over time and to try and present a continuous and consistent tendency towards improvement.

Administrative Theory (14 Principles) of Henri Fayol

The administrative theory is the important one of administrative theories. It created by Henri Fayol. It is also known as 14 principles of management or fourteen principles of management.

Henri Fayol was born in 1841 of a French family. He was a prolific writer on technical and scientific matters as well as management. His most outstanding writing was ‘Industrial and General Management’. He appointed as an engineer in a Mining company. By 1888, he had risen to the Managing Director position of the company. He retired from the position of Managing Director in 1918. He was a director of the company up to his death (84the age; December 2925). Henri Fayol was a management practitioner with experience.

Administrative Theory (14 Principles of Management):

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Henri Fayol created Administrative Theory or 14 principles of management on the management. His Administrative Theory or 14 principles of management following are:

1. Division of Work: This principle the same as Adam Smith’s ‘Division of labour’.
2. Authority: Manager must be able to give the order. Authority gives this right.
3. Discipline: Employees must obey and respect the rules and regulations which governs the organization.
4. Unity of Command: Every employee should receive order or direction from only one upward or superior.
5. Unity of Direction: Each group of the organization should be direction by one manager using one plan.
6. Subordination of Individual Interests to the General Interest: The management must see that the aims of the businesses are always supreme.
7. Remuneration of Personnel: The labours must be paid a reasonable salary for their work.
8. Centralization: The process of transforming assigning decision making authority to a higher level of an organizational hierarchy, it is centralisation that should follow this.
9. Scalar Chain: Line of authority from top management to the lower ranks represents the hierarchy or scalar chain. This chain should follow.
10. Order: people and materials should be in the right place at the right time.
11. Equity: In running a business, a combination of kindness and justice need.
12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel: Staffs work is well if job safety and career improvement are guarantees to the team.
13. Initiative: Allowing all personnel to show their initiative in some way is a source of stretch for the organization.
14. Esprit de Corps: Promoting team spirit will build unity and harmony within the organization.

You can memorize easily these 14 princiles through a short technique. Such as:-

DA DUU Sub-In Rop CSOE Stp.I Esprit

D = Division of Work
A = Authority
D = Discipline
U = Unity of Command
U = Unity of Direction
Sub-In = Sub-ordination of Individual Interests to the General Interest
Rop = Remuneration of Personal
C = Centralization
S = Scalar Chain
O = Order
E = Equity
Stp. = Stability of Tenure of Personnel
I = Initiative
Esprit = Esprit de Corps

Besides Administrative Theory or 14 principles of management, he also classified the business activities. For instance:-

• Technical
• Commercial
• Financial
• Accounting
• Security
• Management activities

According to Henri Fayol, there is the five function of management following administrative theory. Such as:-

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Commanding
4. Coordinate
5. Controlling

According to Henri Fayol, a manager requires the following qualities and skills. Such as:-

• Physical requires
• Mental requires
• Moral requires
• General education
• Special knowledge
• Work experience

Criticism of Administrative Theory (14 Principles of Management):

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• The administrative theory is strategic management-oriented. It is not suite for another worker.
• The administrative theory gives essential only to the formal organization structure, not for informal organization structure.
• Henri Fayol some concepts borrowed from Military Science. Such as commanding.
• The administrative theory has a mechanical approach. It does not sound ideal with some of the crucial aspects of management.
• Such as motivation, communication and leading.

Conclusion:

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Administrative management focus on the management process and the principles of management and more on development administration. …which positively imposed the paradigm of administrative. That’s all the discussion about the administrative theory or 14 principles of management.

Estimates Committee 

In the Indian Constitution, there is a committee that examines the budget estimates and suggests ‘economies’ in public expenditure. Such a committee is called the Estimates Committee. It is a standing committee, type of standing committee. Questions from this section are always expected in IAS Exam and its three stages – Prelims, Mains and Interview.

This article will mention in detail about the Estimates Committee, chairman of the Estimates Committee, its members and, its functions. Aspirants can also download the notes for the same as it will be useful for UPSC Mains GS-II and Political Science optional papers.

What is an Estimates Committee?

It is a type of financial committee in the constitution of India. It is a one of the parliamentary committees(permanent standing committee.0 The purpose of this committee is to examine the estimates included in the budget presented in the parliament. It also suggests economies in public expenditure. For the same, it is also called ‘Continuous Economy Committee.’

The table briefly mentions everything about Estimates committee, details of which will be given after it.

Estimates Committee
Year of Establishment	1921 (Post-Independence: 1950, on the recommendations of Finance Minister John Mathai)
Members	30
Election of Members	By Lok Sabha with proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote Note: A minister cannot be elected
Term of Office	One Year
Chairman	Speaker appoints him/her from amongst the members Note: Invariably from the Ruling Party
Function	To examine the estimates included in the budget presented in the parliament and suggests economies in public expenditure

Questions from this section have been asked in the prelims stage, and in UPSC Mains examination.

Who are the members of Estimates Committee?

Estimates Committee has 30 members. All the members are taken from Lok Sabha (Lower House). That means that there is no representation from Rajya Sabha (Upper House.) (To know the difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, check the linked article.) Initially, the committee had 25 members, which was later increased to 30.

Mode of the election of Estimates Committee’s members:

Lok Sabha elects members of Estimates Committee from amongst its members. The principle of election used is Proportional Representation by the means of a single transferable vote. All parties are duly represented in the estimates committee.

Term of the office of members of the Estimates Committee:

Every member elected by the Lok Sabha from amongst its members are a part of the committee for a year. After a year, a new election takes place and members are changed or re-elected.

Note: Similar to Committee on Public Undertakings, a minister cannot be elected as the member of the Estimates Committee

Chairman of the Estimates Committee:

Lok Sabha speaker is the authority to appoint the chairman of the Estimates Committee. The Chairman of the Estimates Committee is appointed invariably from the ruling party. So every chairman appointed in the committee will be a member of the ruling party of the nation.

What are the functions of Estimates Committee?

This standing committee performs various functions. They are given below:

Functions of Estimates Committee
S.No	Type of Functions
1	It reports if the budget estimates affect economies, improvements in organisation, efficiency and administrative reform consistent with the policy
2	To bring efficiency and economy in governmental administration, it suggests alternative policies
3	It examines whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates
4	To suggest the forth in which the estimates are to be presented to Parliament

Note: The Estimates Committee is not required to take over the jurisdiction of Committee on Public Undertakings. It reports to Lok Sabha time-to-time, its examination of the estimates. The committee cannot on its own examine the estimates of the budget of any year it chooses on its own. The demand for grants can proceed without the report of the Estimates Committee.

The given points are important for UPSC 2020 and aspirants shall keep in mind the facts about the committee to score in prelims and mains both.

Limitations of Estimates Committee

In the Indian Constitution, there are a few limitations put forth for the Estimates Committee. Those limitations are given below:

• The power to examine the budget estimates is not an absolute one. The committee can only examine the budget after it is voted upon and not before that.
• Nowhere the power to question the policies of the Parliament has been conferred upon the committee.
• All the recommendations made by the committee are advisory in nature and stand non-binding for the parliament.
• In a year, the committee does not examine the budgets of all the ministries/departments. It chooses a few departments whose budget it wants to examine. Therefore, budget estimates of all the ministries/departments are examined over a period of years and not in one year

Committee on Public Undertakings

The Committee on Public Undertakings examines the reports and accounts of Public Sector Undertakings (PSU.) The functions of this committee are mentioned in the fourth schedule of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. The topic ‘Committee on Public Undertakings’ is important for IAS Exam and its three stages – Prelims, Mains and Interview.

This article will mention in detail about the Committee on Public Undertakings, chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings, its members and, its functions. These details are important for UPSC Mains GS-II paper and also for Political Science Optional papers. Aspirants can also download the notes for the same.

What is Committee on Public Undertakings?

Introduced in 1964, Committee on Public Undertakings is a type of Financial Committee which came into existence on the recommendations of Krishna Menon Committee. It is a one of the Parliamentary Committees(Standing Committee) in the Indian Constitution which was introduced to expand the parliamentary control over the PSUs.

The table briefly mentions everything about Committee on Public Undertakings, details of which will be given after it:

Committee on Public Undertakings
Year of Establishment	1964 (On the recommendation of Krishna Menon Committee)
Members	22
Election of Members	By Parliament every year with proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote
Term of Office	One Year
Chairman	Speaker appoints him/her from amongst the members Note: Member from Rajya Sabha is not chosen as Chairman
Function	To examine the reports and accounts of the Public Sector Undertakings

Questions from this section have been asked in the prelims stage, and in UPSC Mains examination.

Who are the members of the Committee on Public Undertakings?

This financial committee has 22 members. All the members are taken from the Indian Parliament. Out of 22 members, 15 are elected from Lok Sabha (Lower House) and 7 members are elected from Rajya Sabha (Upper House.) (The difference between Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha can be read in the linked article.) When the committee was introduced in 1964, it has 15 members (10 from Lok Sabha and 5 from Rajya Sabha.)

Mode of the election of Committee on Public Undertakings’ members:

The members of the committee are elected annually by the Parliament from amongst its members. The principle of Proportional Representation (PR) by means of Single Transferable Vote (STV.) This election method gives equal representation to all the members of the Parliament.

Term of the office of members of the Committee on Public Undertakings:

Every member elected by the Parliament from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are a part of the committee for a year. After a year, a new election takes place and members are changed or re-elected.

Note: Similar to Public Accounts Committee, a minister cannot be elected as the member of the Committee on Public Undertakings.

Chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings:

Lok Sabha speaker has the authority to appoint the chairman of the committee. The Chairman of Committee on Public Undertakings is appointed from amongst the members of Lok Sabha. Hence, there is no representation of Rajya Sabha members as a chairman of the committee.

What are the functions of the Committee on Public Undertakings?

This standing committee performs various functions. They are given below:

Functions of Committee on Public Undertakings
S.No	Type of Functions
1.	Reports and Accounts of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) are examined by the committee
2.	Comptroller and Auditor General’s reports on PSUs is also taken up by this committee
3.	The committee checks upon the credibility of the business of public sector undertakings.
4.	It checks the efficiency and autonomy of PSUs
5.	It performs those functions related to PSUs that are given to it by the Lok Sabha speaker

There are a few functions that the committee on public undertakings is not to perform:

• The committee cannot examine any reports of government related to policies which are not concerned with PSUs.
• It has no role in matters of day-to-day administration.
• The committee also cannot take up reports of any such public sector undertakings which are established by a special statute and for which another machinery is responsible to report.

The given points are important for UPSC 2020 and aspirants shall keep in mind the facts about the committee to score in prelims and mains both.

Limitations of the Committee on Public Undertakings

The limitations of the Committee on Public Undertakings are given below:

1. There is a cap on the number of PSUs it can examine reports of. The committee cannot take upon reports of more than 10-12 PSUs in a year.
2. It only examines the reports. It has no role in deciding the functioning of PSUs. Hence, its work is only in the nature of a post-mortem.
3. The committee is not concerned with any technical matters of PSUs as there are no technical experts as members of the committee.
4. All the recommendations put forward for by the committee are advisory in nature and ministers are not bounded by any of those.