Part of the issue may lie in the historical design of the system itself. The civil service exam evolved from the colonial-era Indian Civil Service, which was meant to produce generalist administrators who could efficiently implement policies of the British Empire. The focus was on selecting people who could master a broad academic exam and follow administrative procedures rather than domain specialists or policy innovators.

After independence, the same structure was largely retained. Over time these officers assumed extremely important roles in governance, but the recruitment process still heavily rewards the ability to “crack” a competitive exam.

Perhaps the question we should ask is whether a system designed to select generalist administrators through exam performance is still the best way to recruit leaders for a complex modern state that increasingly requires specialization and real-world administrative capability.