Development administration
Topic: Civil Services: Role, Accountability and Reforms · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Development administration is government work aimed at planned social and economic change, not just at keeping order. Scholars such as Weidner and Riggs gave the idea its shape. It asks officials to be flexible, to involve people in decisions and to be judged by results. Older administration was judged mainly by how well it kept routine going, like collecting revenue and maintaining law and order.
Example
From the Community Development Programme (1952) onward, the District Collector also had to coordinate development work. The Aspirational Districts Programme (2018, 112 districts) follows the same idea. Collectors lead the effort and districts are ranked on results.
Don't confuse with
- Weberian bureaucracy: this model focuses on fixed rules and hierarchy. Development administration values flexibility and results over routine.
- New Public Management: this brings market ideas such as targets and contracting out into government. Development administration is about state-led change with people's participation.