Answer: Public Service is a service which is provided by the government to the people, either directly (through the public sector) or by financing provision of services. Some of the key services provided by the Indian government include healthcare, education, law enforcement, environmental protection, etc. Challenges associated with effective public service delivery in India include:

• Rigid rules and procedures: Excessive adherence to rules and procedures and one-size-fits-all approach leads to lack of innovation, creativity, initiative, and compassion in public service delivery.
• Poor capacity of the state: States often lack financial resources required for a particular service e.g., the government expenditure on health and education in India is not sufficient. Also, the state has limited capacity to implement and monitor the public programs.
• Lack of information: The poor are not fully aware of the necessary information on the public services. The community mobilization of vulnerable groups to demand a public service is rare.
• Corruption: According to Transparency International, India’s public sector is perceived to be more corrupt than countries such as China and Brazil. Politicians and service providers often indulge in misappropriation of public funds.
• Lack of incentives: There is poor motivation for a public servant to perform better or be more efficient due to lack of performance-based incentives.

To ensure effective service delivery, the following should be ensured

• Incentives: The efforts of a service provider should be linked to measurable outputs, so that they could be incentivized for performing more efficiently.
• Transparency: Transparency in governance would allow the monitoring agencies as well as citizens to correctly evaluate the performance of the public service delivery.
• Strengthening the workforce: Capacity building through regular training of public officials can help in ensuring effective implementation of public programs.
• Reforming judiciary: Quick resolution of cases would encourage people to register their grievances and would discourage officials from getting involved in corrupt activities.
• Limitation over populist policies: For efficient allocation of funds, states must restrict freebies and other populist programs.
• Technological solutions: Digitization, biometric-based identification, and electronic money transfers can significantly strengthen the state’s ability to properly target beneficiaries.

Over the years, the government has made various efforts to create social, economic, and political systems to ensure effective service delivery. However, given the challenges being faced by India at the grassroots level, there is a need to strengthen the existing systems and if need be, create new ones with innovation and foresightedness.