Monday, April 05, 2010

Indian Premier Bureaucrats: Look, Style and Babus of India

STYLE does matter, particularly when the IPL fever catches everyone including the Indian bureaucrats. If you were hooked into the television set even after Delhi Daredevils thrashed Vijay Mallya’s Royal Challengers on Sunday night, you would have noticed a bearded gentleman wearing a smart casual red and black half shirt, and presenting award to Paul Collingwood for his scintillating innings with seven sixes. No prizes for guessing who was the stylishly-dressed gentleman! He was none other than urban development secretary and 1972 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS Dr M Ramachandran who is turning 60 in just two months. And yes, those who know him from close quarters and always see him in formal suits in Nirman Bhawan, must have been pleasantly surprised to find Dr Ramachandran giving tough competition to Dr Mallya and his style statements in Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla stadium.
No wonders, Indian bureaucrats who now need to work with young, suave and also stylish politicians, are fast shedding the typical bureaucratic image and following the look and style of corporate honchos. After the Union Budget was presented, finance secretary Ashok Chawla, a 1973 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, figured in an advertisement of a post-Budget debate to be held in Mumbai, making a precedence of a senior bureaucrat finding a place in large billboards in many busy roads of Delhi and Mumbai. For the adman who conceptualized the advertisement for the event, the Einstein look alike Chawla’s image was a perfect fit to the outdoor advertisement.
There are a few senior bureaucrats in Delhi’s power corridor like skin-headed food processing industries secretary and 1975 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS Ashok Sinha who are making an impact not just because of the positions they hold, but thanks to their stylish approach to life. There are others like former finance secretary Ashok Jha or ex-industry secretary Dr Ajay Dua who were more like CEOs than secretaries even when they were at the helm of India’s babudom. In fact, they were regularly spotted in Delhi’s golf circuit and were extremely popular among who’s and who of India Inc. And for that matter, even Amitabh Kant, a 1980 batch Kerala cadre IAS, who can make a brand guru run for his money!
Hey There! Babus of India (BoI) which is turning one year soon, is sporting a new look and design. If you wish to make any comment on the new look and feel of your favorite blog, or on any stylish Indian bureaucrats, kindly post a comment below, or write to babu.blogger1@gmail.com

4 comments:

  1. These bureaucrats are consigning to the grave the concept of anonymity of bureaucracy. It is all very well, because as the Indian bureaucracy reveals how far it has moved from the concept of bureaucracy as defined by the British, slowly there will be public consensus to restructure it as per the unique needs of the country

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  2. Nice makeover dear blogger. especially a forum on babu related issues should not be static in style, else what difference is left between the stagnant babu world and this progressive blog??
    r.b.

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  3. Well well well.

    Somehow, I am not sure the makeover is as effective as the previous layout.
    The gagdet of Market Summary seems to be a bit out of place, I mean, do people look for this info @ your blog?
    I don't see a point publishing an Ad just below the title of your blog, you may reconsider the arrangement with the concerned advertiser.

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  4. Can we think of a ticker tape breaking news et al, being scrolled? The current makeover is pretty good,kudos babublogger for your news and views

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