There is not only a need to induct professionals in the ministries, but it is equally important that they are given the space to express their views on files and in meetings.
We now have a system where a potato expert is looking after defence, a veterinary doctor is supervising engineers, and a history graduate is dictating the health policy.
For the last 11 years, Nehru has been constantly blocking my efforts and causing the fiascos that are my many yojanas and abhiyans. He is the reason most of my initiatives turn into disasters.
India’s industrial output growth saw a 10-month low in June, with Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growing by mere 1.5% as against 1.9% in May 2025.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
Invite civilians to Lt. General/Rear Admiral/Vice Air Marshal level…
said no ad ever..
Because our armed forces are career specialists with no alternate, unlike the generalist babus who specialize only in corruption
Civil servants the world over—with the exception of some old British India civil-, educational-, or medical service officials, who were brilliant, who wrote important gazetteers, compiled some of the best (now historical) dictionaries of Indian vernaculars, deciphered long forgotten scripts—are mediocre people who through diligent preparation have managed to succeed in an exam.
I can speak for St Stephens College, which I visited briefly many years ago. It was then the hallowed recruiting ground for India’s diplomatic or administrative services. But the best students did not opt for taking these exams; rather, they went abroad to pursue a higher degree in academics. Among this latter group, there was very visceral contempt for the former.
Unfortunately, there is no perfect system for recruiting the best civil servants. Streamlined civil services in democracies are strongly correlated with per capita income, the human development index, even such measures as Happiness Index. When a nation’s per capita income, and other indices are low, as India’s are, there is little that civil servants can do. They are themselves looking to collecting a tidy sum for retirement which their official job is unable to do for them.
Govt. is run by IAS officers. Many times they advise Ministers about policy decisions. Nobody can punish them even if they do great harm to an individual or to the society.
This has to change!
Surprisingly, the ad does not ask for a Joint Secretary for Army, Navy or Air Force. Very specialist departments that deal with the integrity of the Nation.
Demonstrated performance must serve as a yardstick for all office bearers. This ad is a welcome step to rein in the rusted bureaucracy where it matters…
Why some body in the govt service should think that he is a super human. people at level go thru the process of selection as per job requirement and if selected ( not necessarily on merit alone) they get compensated. super human if at some body is the person who will mend your car tyre so that you can reach ur destination or the news paper vendor, if he was not there in the morning the whole news print is waste or perhaps a doctor who saves precious life or a scientist, or a dedicated guest teacher who makes the child learn.
article seems to be written by someone suffering from sour grapes.There are hundreds of officers out there in remote areas and policy making positions who have made a huge difference to the country.How many individuals serving in the private sector high profile jobs are willing to work at these salaries in remote or disturbed areas?be balanced instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater
‘India’s Iron Frame’ – coined by Sardar Patel was a matter of pride during the nascent years after Independence.
The world then and now is very very different.
As rightly said the archetypal Civil Servant can handle any subject/area under the Sun, which is an anchronism in today’s knowldege economy, similar to the telegram in the Internet Age.
My take is that the Babu’s should be made accountable- which they are not except bearing punitive transfers at most. Babu’s cannot be done away with in a flash, but policy decisions must be left to a panel of experts based on whose recommendations decisions are made.
Even a headstrong PM like Indira Gandhi before she ventured to fight the 1971 war had to listen to sound advice from her Army Chief Manekshaw and not from Secretaries.
All this is easier said than done as the Civil Service is for the Civil Service and by the Civil.Service.
NaMo’s fight against Babudom is a first baby step. Can it succeed against the entrenched IAS lobby? If any one dare do this, I think only NaMo can. Others won’t touch such a matter with a bargeole!
The expression was “steel frame,” coined by Lloyd George in the House of Commons in 1922. “The small nucleus of British officials in India,” he said, “are the steel frame of the whole structure. … I do not care what you build on it, but if you take the steel frame out of the fabric, it will collapse.”
Absolutely a brilliant move of the Govt. In fact, for all the scams and dishonesty in Govt. Congresd and this cader is solely responsible .If theIAS are honest no wrong can happen. But for the MALAIDAR postings they corrupted the politicians . Randomly select any IAS of only ten yeras standing you will find him having huge assetts. Khemka like people are very few. This British system needs to be scrapped as early as possible.
The ten persons who will be within steel frame after rigorous selection will be the cynosure of all as their every decision will be observed by one and all. If they succeed in the very first attempt things will certainly improve for the good in the days to come with real independence to the country as observed in the article.
Analytical and incisive.This so-called steel frame has been at the roots of India’s underdevelopment.Half-learnt bureaucracy coupled with illiterate politicians have ruined the country.
This new lateral hiring was recommended in the past by several commisions. So it is welcome that it is being put into practice. All appointment would be criticized by people not liking the appointees by the argument of their leaning towards the incumbent administration. Now government itself appoint the officers of their choice and the new government changes the staff of the previous government. Here, for lateral entry, UPSC can be given the responsibility to do hiring for lateral entry. As the position is only for three years, they can be appointed by PM like the American president.
What India’s corridors of power need is greater transparency, lesser bribery, empathy and empowerment to implement creative ideas without fear or favour. Whether this is achieved through the existing system or by introducing fresh blood through lateral recruitment is a function of political vision. The biggest flaw in the present set-up is that it quickly transforms the inputs of idealism and zeal into output rife with cynicism and mediocrity.
Invite civilians to Lt. General/Rear Admiral/Vice Air Marshal level…
said no ad ever..
Because our armed forces are career specialists with no alternate, unlike the generalist babus who specialize only in corruption
Civil servants the world over—with the exception of some old British India civil-, educational-, or medical service officials, who were brilliant, who wrote important gazetteers, compiled some of the best (now historical) dictionaries of Indian vernaculars, deciphered long forgotten scripts—are mediocre people who through diligent preparation have managed to succeed in an exam.
I can speak for St Stephens College, which I visited briefly many years ago. It was then the hallowed recruiting ground for India’s diplomatic or administrative services. But the best students did not opt for taking these exams; rather, they went abroad to pursue a higher degree in academics. Among this latter group, there was very visceral contempt for the former.
Unfortunately, there is no perfect system for recruiting the best civil servants. Streamlined civil services in democracies are strongly correlated with per capita income, the human development index, even such measures as Happiness Index. When a nation’s per capita income, and other indices are low, as India’s are, there is little that civil servants can do. They are themselves looking to collecting a tidy sum for retirement which their official job is unable to do for them.
Govt. is run by IAS officers. Many times they advise Ministers about policy decisions. Nobody can punish them even if they do great harm to an individual or to the society.
This has to change!
Surprisingly, the ad does not ask for a Joint Secretary for Army, Navy or Air Force. Very specialist departments that deal with the integrity of the Nation.
Demonstrated performance must serve as a yardstick for all office bearers. This ad is a welcome step to rein in the rusted bureaucracy where it matters…
The existing system of civil servises is going to create the biggest divide in our public after the caste system / resrvetion system
Why some body in the govt service should think that he is a super human. people at level go thru the process of selection as per job requirement and if selected ( not necessarily on merit alone) they get compensated. super human if at some body is the person who will mend your car tyre so that you can reach ur destination or the news paper vendor, if he was not there in the morning the whole news print is waste or perhaps a doctor who saves precious life or a scientist, or a dedicated guest teacher who makes the child learn.
article seems to be written by someone suffering from sour grapes.There are hundreds of officers out there in remote areas and policy making positions who have made a huge difference to the country.How many individuals serving in the private sector high profile jobs are willing to work at these salaries in remote or disturbed areas?be balanced instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater
‘India’s Iron Frame’ – coined by Sardar Patel was a matter of pride during the nascent years after Independence.
The world then and now is very very different.
As rightly said the archetypal Civil Servant can handle any subject/area under the Sun, which is an anchronism in today’s knowldege economy, similar to the telegram in the Internet Age.
My take is that the Babu’s should be made accountable- which they are not except bearing punitive transfers at most. Babu’s cannot be done away with in a flash, but policy decisions must be left to a panel of experts based on whose recommendations decisions are made.
Even a headstrong PM like Indira Gandhi before she ventured to fight the 1971 war had to listen to sound advice from her Army Chief Manekshaw and not from Secretaries.
All this is easier said than done as the Civil Service is for the Civil Service and by the Civil.Service.
NaMo’s fight against Babudom is a first baby step. Can it succeed against the entrenched IAS lobby? If any one dare do this, I think only NaMo can. Others won’t touch such a matter with a bargeole!
The expression was “steel frame,” coined by Lloyd George in the House of Commons in 1922. “The small nucleus of British officials in India,” he said, “are the steel frame of the whole structure. … I do not care what you build on it, but if you take the steel frame out of the fabric, it will collapse.”
Absolutely a brilliant move of the Govt. In fact, for all the scams and dishonesty in Govt. Congresd and this cader is solely responsible .If theIAS are honest no wrong can happen. But for the MALAIDAR postings they corrupted the politicians . Randomly select any IAS of only ten yeras standing you will find him having huge assetts. Khemka like people are very few. This British system needs to be scrapped as early as possible.
Very well written article. Keep up the good work.
The ten persons who will be within steel frame after rigorous selection will be the cynosure of all as their every decision will be observed by one and all. If they succeed in the very first attempt things will certainly improve for the good in the days to come with real independence to the country as observed in the article.
Analytical and incisive.This so-called steel frame has been at the roots of India’s underdevelopment.Half-learnt bureaucracy coupled with illiterate politicians have ruined the country.
This new lateral hiring was recommended in the past by several commisions. So it is welcome that it is being put into practice. All appointment would be criticized by people not liking the appointees by the argument of their leaning towards the incumbent administration. Now government itself appoint the officers of their choice and the new government changes the staff of the previous government. Here, for lateral entry, UPSC can be given the responsibility to do hiring for lateral entry. As the position is only for three years, they can be appointed by PM like the American president.
What India’s corridors of power need is greater transparency, lesser bribery, empathy and empowerment to implement creative ideas without fear or favour. Whether this is achieved through the existing system or by introducing fresh blood through lateral recruitment is a function of political vision. The biggest flaw in the present set-up is that it quickly transforms the inputs of idealism and zeal into output rife with cynicism and mediocrity.