The World Bank holds India's Fifth Pay Commission as the "single largest adverse shock" to the country's strained public finance, the bank's India Development Policy Review said on Thursday.
Contrary to the government's view of right-sizing its staff strength, the World Bank has said India's civil service was "not unduly" large, but there was a "pronounced imbalance" in the skills.
"India's civil service is not particularly overstaffed and not unduly large by global standards," it said.
The K P Geethakrishnan-headed expenditure reforms committee had suggested proportionate pruning of the government staff in view of the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission report.
In its review, the bank said, "There is a pronounced imbalance in the skills mix" since 93 per cent of the civil service comprised class III and class IV employees for both the Centre and various states.
Stressing that the changes in skills mix should accompany the measures to reduce administrative fragmentation, the bank said, "Within the Government of India and in many states, number of ministers, ministries and departments has proliferated far beyond any rational assignment of functions."
Comparing that the number of cabinet ministers in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries had come down to an average of 14, it said India had 31 cabinet ministers and another 45 ministers of state.
Many states had 35-40 cabinet departments and especially in Uttar Pradesh, there were over 70 such departments, it said, adding, "Institutional reforms are therefore needed to reduce the current administrative fragmentation and align the structure of civil service more closely with the modern-day functions."
