Question

The adoption of an Ombudsman-type institution in India was first recommended by which of the following?

• A. India Against Corruption Movement, 2011
• B. Administrative Reforms Commission, 1966
• C. Santhanam Committee, 1964
• D. Administrative Reforms Commission, 2005

Hint:

When you think "Lokpal," think "1966 ARC." It was the blueprint for India's independent anti-corruption watchdog system.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

An Ombudsman-type body in India means an independent authority that investigates complaints against public officials, which later became the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta in the states. Sorting the four options by chronology and purpose settles which one actually proposed this institution first.

1. Santhanam Committee, 1964: This committee studied the broader problem of corruption in the administration and its work eventually led to setting up the Central Vigilance Commission, a vigilance body rather than an Ombudsman-style Lokpal or Lokayukta.
2. Administrative Reforms Commission, 2005: Known as the Second ARC, this body reviewed governance reforms nearly forty years after the idea of a Lokpal had already been floated, so while it supported the concept, it was not where the idea originated.
3. India Against Corruption Movement, 2011: This civil-society movement created strong public pressure that eventually resulted in the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, but as a 2011 movement it obviously could not be the first to suggest an idea that had been on the table since the 1960s.
4. Administrative Reforms Commission, 1966: The First ARC, under Morarji Desai, was set up in 1966 specifically to reform public administration, and it was this body that first put forward the proposal for Lokpal and Lokayukta institutions modelled on the Ombudsman idea found in countries like Sweden and New Zealand.

Working backward from the later committees and movements to the earliest one confirms that the original recommendation came from the 1966 Administrative Reforms Commission.

Answer 2

Since all four options relate in some way to anti-corruption or administrative reform in India, the deciding factor is timing and the specific nature of what each one proposed, particularly whether it proposed an Ombudsman-style institution at all.

1. India Against Corruption Movement, 2011: This was a nationwide agitation demanding a strong anti-corruption watchdog, and it substantially shaped the eventual Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act of 2013. Being a 2011 event, it is far too recent to be the first recommendation of the institution.
2. Administrative Reforms Commission, 2005: This Second ARC examined public administration afresh and pressed again for a Lokpal, but it did so nearly four decades after the concept had first been proposed, so it reinforced rather than originated the idea.
3. Santhanam Committee, 1964: Constituted to study corruption in government service, this Committee's recommendations shaped the Central Vigilance Commission. It addressed vigilance and integrity in administration broadly, not the specific Ombudsman-style Lokpal-Lokayukta framework.
4. Administrative Reforms Commission, 1966: Set up under the chairmanship of Morarji Desai, the First ARC was the body that specifically proposed establishing an Ombudsman-type institution in India, recommending a Lokpal at the Union level and Lokayuktas in the states to handle grievances of maladministration and corruption. Being the earliest of the four to make this precise proposal, it is the correct origin point.

Moving from the most recent development back through the earlier ones shows that the 1966 Commission was the first to put forward this exact institutional design.

Hence, the correct answer is Administrative Reforms Commission, 1966.