Abstract

Government systems and processes in India have been under constant scrutiny for efficiency and effectiveness by citizens, civil society groups, the legislature, etc. There is a common perception that governments are inefficient, corrupt, and full of leakages due to which intended beneficiaries remain under served and neglected. The Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission report of 2001 and the Second Administrative Reforms Commission Report of 2009 point to some of the glaring lacunae in our administrative system today and reiterate the urgent need to redesign and energise the system.

This report to the Expenditure Reforms Commission examines the effectiveness of institutional mechanisms in the State of Karnataka for service delivery of various government programmes. This report elicits questions such as whether the institutional mechanisms are prepared for large social sector spending, or whether the expenditure made in the budget reflects the actual needs and priorities of its stakeholders, and whether its efficiently allocated to the intended beneficiaries, as well questions about federalism and whether the transition to multilevel governance is happening effectively. The report finds that while Karnataka has a lot of firsts to its credit, it has been unable to sustain the pace of change across multiple areas of governance, due to various institutional weaknesses.

CBPS. (2011). Review of processes and institutional mechanisms of program implementation and service delivery. Bengaluru, India: Centre for Budget and Policy Studies.