Noting and Drafting

Noting and Drafting

by M. K. Agarwal


File noting has been in the recent past, and still is, under heated discussion in the context of Right to Information Act, 2005. It has, thus, been drawing a lot of interest from all concerned.


Basic note in a file is written by an Office Assistant/ Assistant Section Officer. A good note should properly define and analyse the problem; refer to relevant rules, regulations, policies and precedents; talk about alternative solutions; discuss implications of these various alternatives and then suggest a suitable solution and a draft reply. Noting and drafting has, therefore, always been a vital part of decision-making process in the Government.


The quality of Noting and Drafting has deteriorated over the years. There is hardly any publication on the subject except for some references in the manuals of office procedures. Hence, this attempt, A book for Government Officials to Master Noting and Drafting.


It is a comprehensive book which talks about various concepts, the significance, features of good and bad notings, and skilful drafts citing examples drawn from actual files. Different exercises, their solutions, and samples of some good file notings and useful drafts make this book valuable for all its readers.


About The Author


M.K. Agarwal is academically very well qualified and has been a very efficient, effective and experienced officer. He is MA in Public Administration and Sahitya Ratna in Hindi. He belonged to the Central Secretariat Service and retired as a Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. He has always been one of the most sought officers because of his great skills in noting and drafting. He was trained at the Institute of Secretariat Training and Management, Indian Institute of Public Administration and Royal Institute of Public Administration, London. He has been Secretary of a Parliamentary Sub-committee on official language for more than three and a half years. He has trained thousands of officers at the Institute of Secretariat Training and Management where he has been the Joint Director for more than 7 years. He is one of the most important faculty members in the training programmes in the Senior Citizens Council for Human Resource Development, under whose banner this book has been published.