Lazy government offices, not holidays, hold back Viksit Bharat, says social thinker Sanjay Agarwal

Nagpur: India is moving towards becoming the world's third-largest economy and achieving the goal of a developed nation. The country has young workers, skills, resources and entrepreneurship. But is the administrative system advancing at the same pace? Do the speed of work, accountability and productivity in government offices match the country's economic ambitions?

Social thinker Sanjay Agarwal has raised serious questions in his analysis about the culture of government work, the holiday system, citizens' complaints and administrative accountability. He says the problem is not only the number of holidays. The real issue is how effectively the available working days are used and how well the responsibility of delivering public services on time is met.

According to him, on one side are farmers who must contend with the weather, debt and market uncertainty. Labourers have to work every day to earn a living. Private-sector employees face pressure to meet targets, and traders face competition every day. On the other side, complaints keep coming in about delays in government services, stuck files, officials who cannot be found and repeated trips to offices.

Agarwal says this is not merely a difference in the way people work. It directly affects citizens' time, the cost of doing business, the investment climate and economic productivity. He also believes it would not be right to view all government employees in the same light. Many employees work with full dedication in difficult conditions. The problem lies in flaws in the system and in negligence, because of which citizens do not get service on time.

On the arithmetic of holidays, he said central government general administrative offices remain closed 104 days a year because of the Saturday and Sunday weekly off. In addition, 17 gazetted holidays have been declared for 2026 for central government offices in Delhi. He says it would not be right to add the two figures directly to state the total number of holidays, because some gazetted holidays may fall on a Saturday or Sunday. Holiday lists also differ across states and departments.

In a diverse country like India, festivals and religious occasions have social significance, so Agarwal says abolishing holidays is not the solution. The real question is how much work is completed on time in the available working days. If offices do not open on time, files do not move, decisions are needlessly delayed and citizens are called back repeatedly, even additional working days will not deliver the desired results. He says a system run on public taxes must understand the value of people's time and effort.

On accountability, Agarwal says the private sector usually reviews the quality of work, deadlines and performance regularly. The government system also has rules on evaluation and discipline, but it is not always easy for a citizen to know which officer is sitting on an application or who is responsible for a delay. Waiting weeks for a certificate, elderly people being called to the office repeatedly for pension work, or a farmer not getting help on time are not just administrative inconveniences. They also affect people's money, time and opportunities. In his words, reaching the office on time, deciding on files and delivering service within the set time is not a favour but the basic responsibility of a public office. He also expects employee unions, while demanding employees' rights, fair pay, adequate staff and better working conditions, to stress efficiency, discipline and the quality of citizen services.

Agarwal also presented some figures. According to him, a total of 11,189,384 complaints are reported to have been registered on the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) from 2021 to February 2026. In 2025 alone, 2,278,256 complaints were registered. According to available data, the average time for disposal of complaints in central ministries in 2025 was 15 days, and 82.1 per cent of complaints were disposed of within 21 days. He says these cannot be taken only as proof of administrative failure, because better digital access to services and greater awareness about filing complaints may also have raised the numbers. Even so, such a large number of complaints points to the need to review the quality of service, the nature of complaints and recurring problems.

On absenteeism among government teachers, he cited a 2014 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) of the United States. It estimated the annual salary cost of unauthorised absence by India's government teachers at about $1.5 billion. Agarwal clarified that this is an estimate based on the 2014 study and not an actual figure for losses in 2026. The study also indicated that greater monitoring reduced teacher absence. He says its significance goes beyond better use of government salaries, because a teacher's absence affects children's learning, continuity of the curriculum and, especially, the educational opportunities of children from poor families.

On GDP, he referred to an April 2026 review by PRS Legislative Research, which estimated nominal GDP for 2025-26 at about Rs 345 lakh crore. On this basis he gave arithmetical examples: 0.1 per cent is Rs 34,500 crore, 0.5 per cent is Rs 1,72,500 crore and 1 per cent is Rs 3,45,000 crore. Agarwal says these are mathematical illustrations of percentages of GDP, not the actual loss caused by government negligence. A separate, systematic study would be needed to learn the real economic impact of administrative delays and low productivity. Even so, in an economy this large, even a small rise in productivity carries wide economic significance. He says the government should study the cost of stalled approvals, delayed services and administrative hurdles and prioritise reforms accordingly.

Agarwal believes the mindset of putting off work is a bigger problem than holidays. Taking leave is not an employee's fault, because legal and sanctioned leave is the employees' right. The trouble arises when files are deliberately held back before a holiday, pending matters are not cleared even after the office reopens, or citizens are made to wait weeks over a minor shortcoming. Those who depend on daily work for their livelihood suffer the most. A daily wage labourer loses a day's wages, a small trader's business is affected, and a farmer may suffer losses when essential work is not done on time. Administrative reform should therefore aim not merely at recording attendance in the office but at giving citizens timely and good service.

Elections, floods, law-and-order situations and employee agitations can also affect administrative work. According to Agarwal, elections are essential for democracy and relief and rescue work in a disaster must get the highest priority. Even so, arrangements should be made to keep essential citizen services running as far as possible in such situations. This can be done through the deployment of alternative staff, online applications, handover of work among authorised officers and a clear plan for the continuity of essential services. He says the aim is not to limit employees' rights but to ensure that citizens are not left completely helpless in any situation.

Agarwal has suggested eight steps for administrative reform. First, along with biometric attendance, assess how much work was done in the set time and of what quality. Second, set clear time limits for certificates, pensions, licences and other services, record the reason when there is a delay, and take action under the rules for negligence. Third, give due weight in annual appraisals to pending cases, timely disposal, quality of work and citizens' feedback. Fourth, ensure a fair inquiry into repeated unauthorised absence, deliberately holding back files and corruption, with action under the rules and an opportunity for the employee concerned to be heard.

Fifth, employees who do timely and good work should get recognition, training and chances of promotion. Sixth, the status of applications, payments and files should be available online, and there should be a system to hand over work to an authorised alternative officer when an officer is absent. Seventh, the holiday system should be reviewed from time to time and, where needed, essential services should be kept running through a rotation system, all while respecting employees' legal rights. Eighth, each department's annual report should make public the number of applications received, disposed of and pending, the average time taken for disposal and the main reasons for delay.

According to Agarwal, the responsibility for making India developed does not lie only with industry, farmers, entrepreneurs and the private sector. The efficiency of government institutions is equally important, because the administration has a central role in implementing policies on the ground, delivering services to citizens and advancing economic activity. He says the purpose of criticising government employees should not be to insult them. It is also not right to expect better results without adequate staff, better training, modern technology and the necessary resources. The responsibility for reform rests with the government, the administrative leadership and the employees, all three.

He said a system run on public money must deliver results in the public interest. Just as employees should get timely salaries and job security, citizens should get service within a set time. In his words, "Leave is a right, but negligence is not a right." He says the goal of a developed India will be meaningful only when attendance in administration is matched by productivity, position by responsibility and salary by accountability. This analysis is by social thinker Sanjay Agarwal.