New Delhi: A shake-up in India’s top bureaucracy is expected soon, with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal United (JDU) playing crucial roles in forming the central government, according to two senior former central government officials.
“It is anticipated that bureaucrats from the Andhra Pradesh and Bihar cadres may receive significant and influential postings as the new alliance government comes into power,” said one official, who requested anonymity.
“There are several trusted IAS officers who have worked closely with Nitish Kumar, and the Bihar CM may wish to accommodate them in the central government,” added the official, who retired in 2023. Similarly, experienced officers from the Andhra Pradesh cadre may also be given opportunities to serve at the Centre, aligning policy with the alliance’s common minimum programme.
“When a new government takes office, it often brings changes to the bureaucracy. Leaders of the ruling party typically appoint trusted officers who have worked with them for a long time and understand their working style,” explained Dinesh Tyagi, a retired IAS officer who last served as managing director of CSC E-Governance India.
For instance, when the BJP-led government came to power in 2014, Gujarat cadre IAS officer A.K. Sharma and Indian Forest Service officer Bharat Lal, both of whom had worked closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat’s chief minister, were appointed as joint secretaries in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Currently, only a few of the over 70 secretary-level posts in the central government are held by bureaucrats from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Notable Bihar cadre secretaries include Sunil Barthwal (commerce), Amrit Lal Meena (coal), and Sanjay Kumar (school education). Andhra Pradesh cadre secretaries include Aramane Giridhar (defence) and Sumita Dawra (labour).
Most top bureaucrats leading various central departments come from service cadres in Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Assam-Meghalaya, and Gujarat.
According to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) website, key positions such as agriculture and food secretaries, which are pivotal for advancing the central government’s agenda, are held by Odisha cadre IAS officers Manoj Ahuja and Sanjeev Chopra. P.K. Mishra, the principal secretary to the prime minister, is also from the Odisha cadre.
IAS officers from the Madhya Pradesh cadre hold secretary posts in corporate affairs, power, and road transport, while Tamil Nadu cadre officers serve as secretaries for finance, telecom, MeitY (ministry of electronics and information technology), and shipping.
