UPA II: A Report Card

f there’s one class of people that knows pretty well how the government is performing, it’s the all-powerful bureaucrats. The babu perspective is particularly crucial in gauging a confusing first year for UPA-II, one that has seen a supercharged PMO asserting itself on key reforms on the one hand, and battling high inflation, pressure from coalition partners and a sense of disconnect with the Congress on the other. That’s why Outlook commissioned research agency MDRA to tap into the bureaucrats’ take. And the verdict on UPA-II’s first year—at 6/10—is upbeat but far from outstanding. Ally ministers—Sharad Pawar, A. Raja and Mamata Banerjee—score low on performance. In fact, pressure from allies is listed as the biggest obstacle to UPA-IIs performance, and inflation its biggest failure. Despite this, a whopping 90 per cent said Manmohan Singh would complete his second stint as prime minister.

UPA II
How would you rate the performance of the UPA-II government at the end of its first year? (1 means “extremely poor” and 10 “extremely good”)
Score	Per cent
10	02.2
09	01.6
08	08.2
07	23.5
06	30.1
05	18.6
04	09.8
03	02.2
02	00.5
01	03.3
Median Score	6/10
Which is the biggest success in the first year of UPA-II?
Right to Education	28.4
Women’s Reservation Bill	25.1
Managing economic growth	23.0
Foreign policy	06.0
Fighting inflation	02.7
NREGA	01.6
Sustainability of economic growth	01.1
Others	01.2
None	10.9
Which is the biggest failure of UPA-II?
Corruption	16.9
Inflation, price rise	62.3
Farmer suicides	05.5
Ministerial gaffes	02.7
Sellout to corporates	02.2
Lack of internal security	02.2
Maoist problems	01.6
Women’s Reservation Bill	01.1
Others	05.2
None	00.5
Will Manmohan Singh complete his second stint as PM?
Yes	90.7
No	02.7
Can't say	06.6
Has UPA-II performed better or worse without Left support?
Better	63.4
Same	24.6
Can’t say	02.2
Worse	09.8
Will Sonia Gandhi's return as National Advisory Council chief help UPA-II?
Yes	71.6
No	19.1
Can't say	09.3
If an election is held tomorrow, will you vote for UPA?
Yes	57.4
No	12.0
Can't say	12.6
Maybe	18.0
What has been the biggest obstacle to better performance in UPA-II?
Pressure of allies	49.7
Lack of constructive opposition	21.9
Disconnect between Congress and PM	14.8
PMO setting agenda of ministries	08.7
Lack of leadership	02.2
Lack of policy clarity	01.2
Lack of commitment	00.5
Maoist problems	00.5
Coalition politics	00.5
Best Ministries
Which ministries have performed the best in the first year of UPA-II?
Home Affairs *	23.8
Finance	21.5
HRD	17.1
Defence	06.6
External Affairs	05.8
Commerce & Industry	05.0
Rural Development	03.0
Railways	02.2
Health & Family Welfare	02.2
Law & Justice	01.9
* Most of the interviews were conducted before the second Dantewada incident
Worst Ministries
Which ministries have performed the worst in the first year of UPA-II?
Agriculture	18.0
Telecom	11.0
External Affairs	08.7
Home Affairs	07.0
Railways	06.7
Finance	05.9
Consumer, Food, PDS	04.8
Health & Family Welfare	03.7
Petroleum & Natural Gas	03.7
No comments	03.7
Best Minister
Who is the best minister in UPA-II?
P. Chidambaram	39.9
Pranab Mukherjee	26.2
Kapil Sibal	14.8
A.K. Antony	03.8
Manmohan Singh	02.7
S.M. Krishna	02.7
Anand Sharma	02.2
Mamata Banerjee	02.2
Murli Deora	01.1
None	01.6
Worst Minister
Who is the worst minister in UPA-II?
Sharad Pawar	26.8
A. Raja	24.0
Mamata Banerjee	07.1
Jairam Ramesh	05.5
S.M. Krishna	03.8
Pranab Mukherjee	03.8
Shashi Tharoor	03.3
M.K. Azhagiri	02.2
P. Chidambaram	02.2
No comments	08.2

Methodology:  Between May 16 and 18, 575 senior bureaucrats were approached at their residences; 183 agreed to take our questions. These are all senior officers (deputy secretary and above): about half the sample comprised IAS officers (90), followed by 50 Indian Allied Services officers, 15 from state services, 8 from the IPS, 5 from the IFS and 15 from other services. Also, 86 per cent of the respondents were male officers, and 14 per cent were female.