PM Modi interacts with American CEOs: “Is PM exhorting bureaucracy to be more supportive of industry”

On PM's arrival in New York on Sep 23 

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening will interact with CEOs from financial sector organizations including JP Morgan and Blackstone, during a round-table meeting in New York City. The other American companies that will feature during the meeting include Lockheed Martin, Ford, IBM, Pepsi, GE, Boeing and MasterCard, among others. As the PM will pitch for more investments into India, the question that is likely to be posed is whether…

Vibrant Gujarat-2013: Know more about backroom boy Maheshwar Sahu, IAS

Sahu (right) with chief minister Narendra Modi

DAYS before Gujarat staging its mega investors’ summit, Vibrant Gujarat-2013, BoI takes a close look at the bureaucrat of the moment: Maheshwar Sahu, a 1980 batch Gujarat cadre IAS and principal secretary in industries and mines departments of the state. For the last couple of years, captains of Indian industries and MNC honchos have …

What captains of India Inc want from government; full text of 2nd open letter

Captains of Indian industry in their second open letter dated October 3, 2011, have urged the political leaders to take concrete steps on a number of issues including combating corruption. Signatories of the open letter include bigwigs of corporate India including N Vaghul, Deepak Parekh, Jamshyd Godrej, Keshub Mahindra, Azim Premji and Ms Anu Aga among others.
Here is the full text of the letter
On January 17, 2011, we, a group of like-minded citizens who were deeply concerned with the state of affairs of the nation addressed an Open Letter to our leaders. This letter focused on four issues - (a) Growing Governance Deficit (b) Galloping Corruption (c) The urgent need to distinguish between 'Dissent' and 'Disruption' and (d) Environmental Challenges. The Open Letter received wide exposure in the public domain and was generally perceived as being timely. As mentioned in the first Open Letter, the aim of the group is to develop specific actions regarding the above-mentioned issues and place these in the public domain from time to time. It is in this context that we put forward our second Open Letter.
August 27, 2011 marked a high point by the historic debate leading to...

Babus find it tough to work with Chidambaram but enjoy Kamal Nath's company

A BUREAUCRAT may not have any option to choose his political master, but a right minister always motivates his babus and increases their productivity manifold. If the feedback that I have managed to receive from several top bureaucrats in Delhi is any indication, bureaucrats by and large don’t enjoy working under current home minister P Chidambaram as much as they would have been under say railway minister Lalu Prasad or commerce minister Kamal Nath. As Dr Manmohan Singh is finalizing the list of his cabinet colleagues for the 15th Lok Sabha, BOI (Babus of India) has short-listed some probable ministers in the next cabinet and tried to figure out whether they are babus’ choice or not. Pranab Mukherjee Sure to get one of the key portfolios like external affairs or finance. Bureaucrats working under him don’t enjoy much but those who would build a good personal rapport with the most important man in the cabinet after the Prime Minister, may surely expect to reap benefits for the next five years if not more. P Chidambaram Unlikely to get back his pet portfolio – finance. Yet, he is likely to remain in the North Block as the country’s home minister. He is not at all popular among his own bureaucrats as he likes to go into the nitty-gritty of every issue. Babus in his ministry lose their independence, and at times need to bear with his shouting. Montek Singh Ahluwalia Current deputy chairman of Planning Commission and a close confidante of Dr Manmohan Singh may get the finance portfolio during this difficult time of the global economic meltdown. I have interacted with him a number of times during the last five years, and have witnessed how efficiently he uses his key men. He is popular among bureaucrats as he always respects their views but never allows them to formulate any policy against the broad theme that he has okayed first. Kamal Nath He is the darling of India Inc who wants him to be the finance minister this time. Yet, he is unlikely to be in the North Block though he has a chance to be the country’s next external affairs minister if Pranab Mukherjee is made the finance minister. He always makes good personal rapport with bureaucrats and is extremely popular among them. Disclaimer: This analysis is based on my own assessment and on the feedback that I have received from bureaucrats and politicians working closely with them.