<i>Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is In-Charge of BJP's National Good Governance Cell and Director of Public Policy Research Centre, New Delh</i>
Whether in our polity, public administration or public life in general, an all-pervading crisis of motivation appears to have haunted us for decades, adversely impacting productivity and result orientation.
Understandably, many question as to whether Narendra Modi has a magic wand that will erase this crisis. There may be no visible wand, but Gujarat can vouch for the fact that Modi has been reasonably effective in overcoming the crisis of motivation in his administration and this, perhaps, is the factor key to his success.
A few experiments of the Modi administration can help explain.
To start with, acutely conscious of the perennial short supply of motivation to government employees, who are the pillar of service delivery, Narendra Modi mooted the idea of Karma yogi training way back in 2003. Fairly institutionalized and structured by now, this is a three-day programme focusing on motivational training, skill orientation and knowledge enrichment. Till date, almost all the employees of the State Government as well as schoolteachers in Gujarat have undergone Karma yogi training, some of them twice.
Most of the training programmes are residential, giving opportunity to the employees to better understand each other and facilitate an evolving commonality of approach. Participants collectively sing inspirational songs; play games, practice yoga and more importantly share ideas and discuss issues in a thoroughly interactive training format.
For government employees, the thrust remains on fostering an attitudinal change. Perhaps never before has the need for developing government staff as a valuable and inspired human resource been taken so very seriously. The thrust of Karma yogi training is essentially designed on the belief that every employee wants to do something good for the government but is often bogged down by the prevailing functional culture.
Built upon this fundamentally positive approach, this training provided a climate for shedding cynicism. Right from the Secretary-level officer to the last peon or driver - initially from education, health, panchayat and other departments - Karma yogi training has been used as a capacity building tool for all.
Inclusive approach and more importantly the participative design of the training made a small but sustained impact on service delivery in government offices. Gradually, insightful learnings from Karma yogi training found place in the HRD policy of Gujarat, perhaps the first state government to have something of its kind. Personally monitored by Narendra Modi, the key to the success of this programme was in its emphasis on "changing the employees' mindset, touching their heart not so much their head, offering more carrot and less stick, sensitizing them to the people's problems, improving their interpersonal behaviour, infusing personal convictions and developing communication skills, rather than on subjects," analyses Hasmukh Adhia, a senior Gujarat official who oversaw the implementation. Not just content, but the conduct of this training also had a very scientific format, with emphasis on interaction and limiting the strength of every batch of participants to just 20.
Besides this, introduction of two other uniquely devised, highly-innovative motivational exercises are to the credit of Narendra Modi. The first is Chintan Shivir, an annual collective two-day departmental brainstorming involving key officials, ministers and the Chief Minister that generates a sense of collective ownership amongst all. The other one is a scheme called Swant-sukhay, designed to help senior administrative officials showcase their creative prowess through their dream projects without any hindrance.
Unsurprisingly, all these efforts have put paid. A new work culture is quietly taking shape. According to the June 2013 online survey of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), conducted in collaboration with YouGov, covering 594 Indian business leaders, Gujarat stood out on many counts. Over 89 per cent respondents described business climate in Gujarat as "good" or "extremely good". Entrepreneurs consistently ranked Gujarat highly along these indicators. For power supply, Gujarat came out ahead in the survey with 83 per cent of entrepreneurs reporting favourable conditions.
The moral of the story is clear. Leaders with a sense of purpose at the helm, make employees work and governments deliver.
<b>Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this blog are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this blog. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing on the blog do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.</b>