THIS is apropos the news ‘Civil service reforms are old wine in new bottle: observers’ (Jan 22). The so-called drastic civil service reforms unveiled by the government have focussed on two main areas — early forced retirement of delinquent officers, and tough criteria for promotion of officers. In addition to an all-embracing and all-encompassing Civil Servant Act, 1973, there are other civil service rules, civil service regulations and civil service policy instructions contained in very exhaustive details in the Fundamental Rules & Supplementary Rules, 1922, Civil Service Regulations (updated in 1977) and a voluminous civil service compendium titled ‘Civil Establishment Code’ (Estacode), which is euphemistically called the ‘bible of civil services’.