As one walks down the Hill along the Rajpath, now renamed Kartavya Path, come other edifices — Rail Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan, Shashtri Bhavan, and Kartavya Bhavan on one side and Sena Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan, and Vanijya Bhavan on the other. The bureaucrats who adorn the offices in these buildings decide on India's economic, social, and industrial policies. There are many tales to be told from the corridors of these grandiose buildings. We let you in on some of them here in this week's edition of "Inside Raisina Hill".

Delhi Government Tightens Rules

The Delhi government’s latest directive to senior bureaucrats has brought the spotlight back on the uneasy equation between the elected political executive and the bureaucracy. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s government has made it clear that meetings convened by her must take priority, and decisions and directions emerging from interactions with the Lieutenant Governor and the Central government must be promptly shared with the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

The move signals growing concern within the government over the flow of information and the perceived reluctance of some officials to keep the political executive fully informed. The Chief Secretary has reportedly begun issuing warning letters to officers repeatedly absent from meetings.

Whether this reflects routine administrative indiscipline or a deeper institutional disconnect remains an open question. However, the tightening of protocols points to an administration increasingly determined to enforce accountability and growing unease over whether the elected leadership is receiving the information it needs to govern effectively.

China Growth Model Cited

Former Telecom Secretary J.S. Deepak has questioned the failure of senior bureaucrats to persuade political leaders to pursue an economic development model closer to China’s, arguing that India missed a crucial opportunity as the gap between the two countries’ per capita incomes widened dramatically.

Speaking at a discussion on his memoir, ‘I Dared to Dial Differently: An Insider’s Account of the IAS’, at the India International Centre (IIC) here earlier this week, the 1982-batch Uttar Pradesh-cadre IAS officer said India’s per capita income was higher than China’s when he joined the civil service. China’s per capita income is now roughly five times that of India, he observed, highlighting the scale of the economic divergence.

Deepak’s remarks put the spotlight on the role of the bureaucracy in shaping India’s economic trajectory and its responsibility to provide candid advice to political leadership on critical policy choices.

While acknowledging shortcomings in the civil service, the former bureaucrat also underlined its substantial contribution to India’s development, suggesting that its record must be assessed against both missed opportunities and achievements.

SC Seeks Files On CAPF

The Supreme Court has directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to produce original files on cadre review proposals for five Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to verify whether the Centre complied with the deadline stipulated in its May 2025 judgment.

A bench of Justices Manoj Mishra and Ujjal Bhuyan made it clear that the enactment of the Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Act, 2026, would not dilute the government’s obligation to carry out the cadre reviews ordered by the court.

The bench wants to scrutinise the records, including official correspondence, to establish what steps the Centre took to implement its May 23, 2025, directions and whether the prescribed timeline was honoured.

The order came during the hearing of a contempt petition filed by CAPF officers alleging non-compliance with the court’s directions. The Centre has sought additional time to complete the cadre review exercise.

Appearing for the government, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati assured the bench that the Centre had acted in good faith and had nothing to conceal. She undertook to place the relevant original files before the court at the next hearing.

The matter will be heard next on 27 October 2026, when the records are expected to come under judicial scrutiny.

No Suitable Candidate 

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has failed to find a suitable candidate for the post of Managing Director of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), leaving the key railway PSU position vacant.

The board conducted interviews for the top post on 17 October 2026, but found none of the four candidates suitable for appointment.

Following the unsuccessful selection process, PESB has left it to the Ministry of Railways to decide the next course of action to fill the vacancy. It has suggested that the ministry could consider a fresh selection through a Search-cum-Selection Committee (SCSC) or adopt another appropriate mechanism, subject to approval by the competent authority.

The failure to identify a suitable candidate through the regular selection process puts the onus on the Railway Ministry to devise an alternative route for appointing the head of DFCCIL, the public sector undertaking responsible for developing and operating dedicated freight corridors across the country.

Raise PSB FDI Cap?

The Centre is considering a major policy change to relax the foreign investment rules for public sector banks (PSBs), with a proposal to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling from the current 20% to 49%, potentially widening overseas participation in state-owned lenders.

The Finance Ministry is learnt to have prepared a draft Cabinet note on the proposal and sought comments from other ministries. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is understood to have backed the move, recently urging the government to consider raising the investment limit at the earliest.

Currently, private sector banks can attract FDI of up to 74%, while the cap for public sector banks remains at 20%. Among the 12 PSBs, State Bank of India leads in foreign shareholding at 11.07% followed by Canara Bank at 10.55%.

The proposed change could provide state-owned banks greater flexibility to attract foreign capital, although no official announcement has been made by either the Finance Ministry or the RBI.

The move comes amid sustained foreign investment flows into India. According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), FDI inflows rose 6% to US$ 19.81 billion in April–June, against US$ 18.62 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2025–26, despite global uncertainties.