Bureaucrats expressed concern over populist schemes of states in a meeting with PM Modi

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• Apr 6, 2022 | Dhupali Das

PM Modi asked the secretaries to provide input and recommend loopholes in government policies, including those entirely irrelevant to their respective ministries.

Digital Desk: During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's marathon meeting with senior bureaucrats, a few officials expressed alarm about populist plans announced by several states, claiming that they are economically unviable and might lead them down the same route as Sri Lanka, sources said. 

Reportedly, on Saturday, Modi held a four-hour discussion with secretaries from all departments at his office at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.

The meeting was also joined by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister PK Mishra, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, and other top Union government bureaucrats.

During the meeting, Modi repeatedly insisted that bureaucrats must shift their mindset from managing shortages to the new challenge of managing surplus. According to the sources, he told them to abandon the old story of citing "poverty" as an excuse for not pursuing major development projects and to adopt a broader perspective.

Citing the secretaries' teamwork during the Covid-19 pandemic, Modi said they should act as secretaries of the government of India, not just secretaries of their respective departments, and work as a team.

Furthermore, asked the secretaries to provide input and recommend loopholes in government policies, including those entirely irrelevant to their respective ministries.

According to the sources, more than twenty secretaries expressed their opinions and provided feedback to Prime Minister Modi, who listened to them with an open mind.

Notably, this was the Prime Minister's ninth meeting with secretaries since 2014.

According to sources, two secretaries, citing a populist scheme announced in recent assembly elections in a financially troubled state and similar schemes in other states, said they are financially unviable and could lead the states down the same path as Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is currently in the grip of its worst economic crisis in its history. As a result, the public has been suffering for weeks due to long lines for fuel, cooking gas, and essentials, as well as long hours of power outages.

Aside from such meetings, PM Modi has also formed six groups of secretaries to propose new ideas for overall governance improvement.