3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 9, 2026 08:51 AM IST
IN A first, the Cabinet Secretariat has sent “administrative scorecards” to Secretaries in the Central government, showing the percentage of marks obtained by them, based on their individual performance as well as that of their departments, The Indian Express has learnt.
The scorecards assess the Secretaries and their departments on about a dozen parameters, with a total of 100 marks, and include “negative marks” and “discretionary marks”.
It is learnt that Cabinet Secretary Dr T V Somanathan sent the first set of these “administrative scorecards”, for the months of September, October and November 2025, to the Secretaries in the first week of January this year.
Among the parameters, file disposal carries the maximum marks of 20, followed by output/ activities, and expenditure on schemes and capital expenditure, both with 15 marks each. The other parameters include public grievance redressal, Cabinet notes, timely completion of projects being monitored by the Project Monitoring Group (PMG), timely disposal of bills by Pay and Accounts Office (PAO) and Chief Controller of Accounts (CCA) (see chart).
The scorecards also carry 12 negative marks, which, it is learnt, would be imposed for “excessive expenditure” on foreign visits or events, abnormal pendency of files at the level of Secretary and above, and delayed payments to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Besides, the scorecards also have a provision for 5 “discretionary marks”, which will be awarded by the Cabinet Secretary for exceptional work or contributions made by a Secretary or department.
The concept of scorecards is learnt to have been introduced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on several occasions, highlighted the need to eliminate delays at various levels in the government.
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The purpose, it is learnt, is to assess administrative performance and efficiency of Secretaries and their departments, in absolute and relative terms, based on an objective and a fair methodology.
These “administrative scorecards” will be used to compare a department’s performance — with itself as well as other departments.
Explaining the need to issue scorecards, the Cabinet Secretary, in a communication to Secretaries, is learnt to have conveyed that “the fact that something cannot be measured with perfect accuracy does not mean that it should not be measured at all”.
In this context, he is learnt to have pointed out that the Civil Services Examination has a provision for comparing a History student’s marks with a Physics student’s marks.
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He is learnt to have underlined that “the public and the government expect results, not excuses”. The Cabinet Secretary has also sought feedback and suggestions from the Secretaries.
In 2024, the Cabinet Secretariat had introduced changes in the practice of “monthly demi-official letters” written by Secretaries to the Cabinet Secretary, by adding ministry-specific quantitative performance indicators.
Earlier, the Modi government had also launched PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) — a flagship platform for fast-tracking projects, schemes, and grievance redressal through direct, real-time review by the Prime Minister, in partnership with States and Union Ministries.
