5 Civil Servants to Watch Out For, 2018: At No 3 is an incredible bureaucrat — Amitabh Kant

MANY of his colleagues call him a “rockstar bureaucrat”; some say, “hero”. Amitabh Kant, the bureaucrat behind the creation of some of India’s memorable campaigns — Incredible India, Make-in-India etc. — continues to occupy the centerstage in the corridors of power, wielding immense influence in the affairs of the Central government. Yes, by the end of the next month, Kant’s two-year-term as the CEO of the government think-tank, NITI Aayog, will come to an end. But will it make it any difference? Will the government discontinue him? In BoI’s list of “5 Civil Servants to Watch Out For, 2018”, Amitabh Kant is No 3. The other two bureaucrats who BoI had already profiled were…

Thoughts behind Incredible India campaign; Will Amitabh Kant succeed creating brand NITI?

Kant with PM Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (file photo)

LAST week, DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant was appointed as full-time CEO of NITI Aayog, the body that had replaced Nehruvian institution, the Planning Commission. Kant, known for marketing and branding skills, has possibly been brought into the NITI for giving it a major makeover. In his book, “Branding India: An Incredible Story” Kant spelt out how he had created Incredible India campaign amid many challenges. Maybe, Incredible India, and then Make in India will inspire him in NITI too. Here are some of his thoughts as he created the “Incredible India” brand:

This retired IAS narrates Tamil Nadu’s Make in India; 5 observations

Sitharam Gurumurthi is a 1972 batch Tamil Nadu cadre retired IAS who was closely associated with the loan negotiations with the IMF during 1991-92 when India had faced a serious balance of payments crisis. In fact, Gurumurthi was then a staff member with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC (1989-92). In a recent article published in a business daily, The Hindu Business Line, Gurumurthi talks about Tamil Nadu’s Make in India which has primarily been driven by its thriving automobile industry. Here are 5 observations of the retired IAS, among others, about the Chennai chapter of Make in India:

Why Make in India succeeds when some other sarkari campaigns fizzle out; 5 Reasons

Amitabh Kant with Make in India Lion

DURING the last 14 months, NDA government at the Centre has launched a number of high-voltage campaigns -- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), Pradhan Mantri Jandhan Yojana (accident and life insurance of Rs 2 lakh on a Rs 12 premium), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (save and educate the girl child), Digital India and Skill India. Now, just close your eyes and try to recollect the symbol of each of those campaigns. And then try the same for another campaign of the Modi government -- Make in India. By now, you must have figured out the lion, to be precise a walking lion. You must have also failed to…

Why a lion as a symbol in GoI campaign—Make in India? PM Modi explains at Hannover Fair

WHEN Make in India campaign, currently the most talked about government campaigns, was launched last year to woo companies to manufacturing, various ideas reportedly cropped up before creating the campaign symbol. Should it be a tiger or a lion? And finally, when a walking lion was chosen to depict the Make in India campaign, the gossip was that it was invariably from Gujarat's Gir forest, the only habitat of lions in India. For the record, Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat for about 13 years before becoming the Indian prime minister. On Monday, none of than PM himself explained at Germany’s Hannover Messe, one of the biggest industrial fairs in the globe, why his government chose a lion to depict the Make in India campaign. He said…

“Make in India” or “Make for India”? DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant on RBI Guv Raghuram Rajan’s idea

Kant with a copy of "arthniti" (File pic)

A FORTNIGHT ago, an economist of global stature and RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said that Make in India’s focus on manufacturing following the Chinese model of export-led growth is not intended. He argued, the world as a whole is unlikely to be able to accommodate another export-led China. So, why not “Make for India”, Rajan argued, asking for tapping the domestic market instead. DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant who is…