Annual Performance Assesment Report (APAR) is not a mere tool to control or discipline, but is to optimise the achievement of Government policies and programmes.

Writing of Annual Confidential reports and keeping it confidentially was in practice till the nomenclature was changed as APAR. The remarks made in the ACR will be known to the official only if any promotion is withheld to a Government Servant because of remarks made in the report by the reporting officer. This was used by the reporting officers to maintain discipline only and not to improve the quality of service. From the year 2008-09, the nomenclature has been changed as Annual Performance Assesment Report and a copy should be given Government Servant to improve his performance.

Department of personnel and training has released one brouchure on this last month and the highligts of the brouchure are as below:-

Ultimate goal of APAR

(a) is to optimise the achievement of Government policies and programmes.
(b) It should lead to the optimization of the performance of the concerned Government servants.
(c) The main focus of the Reporting Officer should be developmental rather than judgemental.
(d)The APAR should be a true indicator of the achievement of the Government servant.
(e)It should not be a mere tool to control or discipline him.

Two principal objectives of APAR

(a) The first and foremost is to improve the performance of the subordinate in his present job.
(b) The second objective is to assess the potentialities of the subordinate and prepare him through appropriate feed back and guidance for future possible opportunities in service. To a great extent, the second objective is dependent on the achievement of the first.

Quantitative/physical targets should be fixed at the beginning of the year.

The Reporting Officer, at the beginning of the year has to set quantitative/physical targets in consultation with each of the Government servants, whose reports he is required to write. Performance appraisal is meant to be a joint exercise between the Government servant reported upon and the Reporting Officer. While fixing the targets, priority should be assigned item-wise taking into consideration the nature and the area of the work. The APAR is initiated by the Government servant to be reported upon himself, who gives a brief description of his duties, specifies the targets set for him wherever applicable, achievements against each targets, the shortfalls, if any, constraints encountered and areas where the achievements have been greater.

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