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Anil Swarup IAS (Retd)

Anil Swarup is a former 1981 batch, Uttar Pradesh cadre  IAS officer, and was awarded Director's gold medal for "best officer trainee" at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA). He served the Government of India in various capacities for 38 years and went on to become Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy and the Coal Secretary of India. He also served as Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Additional Secretary, Labour & Empowerment, Export Commissioner in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of India and as the District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri. He couldn’t make it to the “elite” Indian Administrative Service (IAS) on his first attempt but qualified for the Indian Police Service where he worked for one year before clearing IAS in his next attempt. He is today an author of several looks like 'No More a Civil Servant,' ‘Ethical dilemmas of a civil servant’ and ‘Not just a civilservant’. The views expressed are his own.

Latest Articles

Intellectual dishonesty – the bane of Indian bureaucracy

Intellectual dishonesty is the bane of Indian bureaucracy. It is easy to ‘destruct’ than to ‘construct’.

Why do some government schemes work; others don’t?

Why do some schemes work and others don’t? In answer to this question lies one of the secrets of making things happen in the Government.

Why does good work done by civil servants go unnoticed?

Civil Servants are confronted with huge dilemmas during their careers and will continue to do so. The inspiration for a change will have to come from within.

Reforming the Indian Civil Service – way forward

The IAS is not as bad as it is made out to be. The country is proud of institutions like the Election Commission and the UPSC. However, all is not well with the civil services. There is a scope for improvement. The critical question however is can tinkering with measures like lateral recruitment bring about improvement in the quality of governance?

Why honest officers get caught in political cross-fire?

The damage political crossfire does to governance is phenomenal, especially if honest officers get caught. The officers feel betrayed and frustrated.

Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh – a tale of two states

Both Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh came into being around the same time. Jharkhand has thrice the population of Chhattisgarh but one-third Revenue of Chhattisgarh

Dissent & the Indian Civil Services

Dissent is a symbol of a vibrant democracy. Democracy thrives on the differences of opinions. Debates are the essence of democracy. There can’t be a debate if everyone agrees on an issue.

Why things don’t happen in the Government?

A number of civil servants deserve to be engaged by the government after they superannuate. Only the methodology of post-retirement engagement needs a change.

Bharat Ratna moments in the life of a Civil Servant

There were many Bharat Ratna moments in my life. Some of these have been outlined in “Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant” and “No More a Civil Servant”

Constitutional obligations of Civil Servants  

Civil servants should control violence without waiting for orders from the top. Civil Servants can’t blame politicians for not enforcing the rule of law

Is it practical for a Civil Servant to be ethical?           

It is also the job of a civil servant to protect the interests of the organisation to which he belongs. This may, on occasion, entail some sacrifice on his part. It would not only be ethical on his part to do so but it would also be practically beneficial as it could set an example for others to make similar sacrifices.

Civil Servant – the invisible steel frame

A civil servant is like the foundation of a building that never gets its due credit for holding the structure together. The only time one gets to know about them is when things go wrong. But that is what the civil service is all about.

Dilemmas of a young civil servant

The young civil servant today is aware of the possibility of getting caught in political cross-fire, the case of Anup Pujari will force them into a dilemma.

Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant: honesty alone is not enough

The ‘honest-only’ civil servant stops being the prime instrument available to the State to execute plans and programs. He smells a rat in every file.

Ethics in bureaucracy: does honesty pay?

Corruption is one of the main evils affecting the bureaucracy. A bureaucrat has to be efficient, disciplined, and, transparent for the bureaucracy to thrive

Evolution of Nexus of Good

Many of the city chapters of Nexus of Good have got going to roadshow the good work happening in their areas. The Nexus of Good movement is gathering pace.