Inside Raisina Hill: Weekly Wrap From The Power Corridor

As one walks down the Hill along the Rajpath, now renamed Kartavya Path, come other edifices — Rail Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan, and Shashtri 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". 

Commerce Ministry's Doorkey In US Hands?

The Commerce Ministry recently made an unusual move — locking out journalists from its sacred halls. A top official has issued verbal orders for officials to block reporters from entering the Vanijya Bhawan, the Ministry’s headquarters. 

But here's the kicker — there was no official memo. That's unlike the Finance Ministry, which has been carrying on with the policy of allowing in reporters since July 2019.

Caught off-guard, journalists showed up at the Ministry, expecting business as usual, only to be told that the doors were closed. When asked about the sudden ban, they were informed that the Ministry was taking a "pause" on media access.

Well, "temporary" has turned into more than a month of silence and locked doors.

If the Ministry grapevine is to be believed, this happened after senior officials were displeased with recent media coverage, especially about two major gaffes. 

First, there was the mismatch in gold import figures. But wait! It wasn't the Ministry staff who were blamed for the blunder, but journalists. A classic case of finding a scapegoat.

The second sore spot? Coverage of the India-US tariff deal. The Commerce Ministry was not thrilled with the way foreign outlets handled the story. So when that news hit the press, the axe came down.

"Enough," said the Ministry, and shut its doors, saying it’s temporary, and will be reversed once the US trade deal is finalised. Looks like the key to Vanijya Bhawan is now firmly in the hands of the US Trade Department.

Who Will Be The Next RBI Deputy Governor?  

Speculation is rife over who will take over as Deputy Governor at the RBI, now that well-known economist Michael Debabrata Patra’s extended term ended on January 14.

Insiders said though the government invited applications by November 30, the selection panel has not been able to take a decision yet. The search continues and if sources are to be believed, an announcement could be made soon.

Currently, M Rajeshwar Rao, the senior-most of the three existing Deputy Governors at the RBI, is overseeing Patra's role.

But the post needs to be filled up soon, as Rao has too much on his plate.

The RBI Act, 1934, stipulates four Deputy Governors — two of whom have to be from the Apex bank itself. Of the other two, one is selected from the commercial banking space, and the fourth is typically an economist. 

If whispers in the corridor are to be believed, a six-member panel led by Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan is closely working on this. Interviews were held in January, but there is ambiguity in the decision-making.

The new Deputy Governor will get a term of four years.

Candidates who are being considered either have at least 25 years of work experience in public administration (including at the secretary-level or equivalent at the Centre), or come with 25 years of work experience in an Indian or international public financial institution.

The published advertisement said that anyone with “exceptional merit and track record at the national or international level in the relevant field(s)” may also apply. 

‘Battle Of Egos’ Within IAS, IPS, IFS Resonates In SC

The assertion of superiority by Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers over officers of other All India Services (AIS) — the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFS) — has a long and chequered history since the inception of the cadres.

The non-IAS lobby considers IAS supremacy as a residue of the British Raj, when the ICS carried a huge chip on their shoulders, and likens this to "a sort of a casteism".

IAS officers, on the other hand, feel that those who fail to make it to the top, will always carry such a grudge against the "winners".

Nothing formal about it, but it is an open secret that the IAS lobby asserts superiority over the IPS and the IFS cadres.

This tussle has now found formal expression in the Supreme Court on March 5, 2025. A bench of justices, Gavai and A G Masih, was dealing with certain applications filed in the T N Godavarman case, relating to an omnibus forest protection matter.

During the hearing, Justice Gavai reportedly took exception to a persisting conflict of IAS officers with IPS and IFS officers.

Justice Gavai told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India, that in his judicial career of nearly 25 years (three years as government pleader and 22 years as judge), he had found IAS officers always wanted to assert their supremacy over IPS and IFS officers. Which has remained a heartburn for IPS and forest service officers, despite all of them being part of the same civil service.

He said the prevailing controversy between the IAS and the IPS must come to an end. Of course, exclaimed Mehta, adding that there is no such conflict. The judge differed and reiterated his contrary experience both as a government pleader and a judge.

The S-G then said he would try to rectify this impression that exists in the mind of the court.

To be honest, the present government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken several steps to break the monopoly of IAS in certain positions in government.

One example was when Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sushil Chandra became the first non-IAS officer to be made an Election Commissioner.

Of late, several IFS officers have been given assignments of Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in ministries and departments under the Union government.

A senior non-IAS officer (who was not willing to divulge identity) said that the IAS lobby has been working hard to maintain its advantage, including in pay packets. He likened this to a form of "casteism". 

However, the IAS lobby feels all those demanding equality are the ones who tried desperately to do well in the IAS entry exam, but could not make it.

“Those who failed to make it to the top, will always carry this ill-feeling towards the 'winners'. In a way, that is expected, but can't be considered,’’ said a serving IAS officer.

Another IAS officer said, “There is no comparison between the kind of job we do and that of the rest of the services. To a certain extent, IPS officers do an equally tough job. Still, there is no comparison between the tasks of an IAS officer and the rest of the services.”

It's a never-ending rivalry. Don't you think so?

Private Sector Chief? Government Not Interested

Appointment of Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the SEBI Chairman has put all rumours at rest, which suggested that after Madhabi Puri Buch, the government might once again elect a chairman from the private sector.

The grapevine in Delhi's power corridors are abuzz with the notion that the government does not want to take any more risks in appointments related to the Reserve Bank and the market regulator.

There was a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in the first week of December, involving Finance Ministry and RBI officials. The idea was to ensure the flow of communication between these two pillars of economic policy making.

The outcome? The Finance Ministry eventually prevailed. Past experiences showed that whenever the government appointed an RBI Governor from outside, tension mounted between the Finance Ministry and the RBI, and policymaking suffered.

It was this argument that tilted the decision towards a Finance Ministry official. Who better than somebody who worked with the government and maintained coordination with the RBI? And voila! Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman placed her trust in Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra.

This story was almost replayed during the SEBI Chairman selection. After controversies galore around Madhabi Puri Buch, the government said: "Enough is enough". A firm decision not to appoint anyone from the private sector followed.

Several names, ranging from Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth to Indian Audit and Account Service officer Anand Mohan Bajaj, were floating around. Finally, the government gave the nod to Tuhin Kanta Pandey.

It looks like when it comes to key economic policymaking, the government has officially turned its back on the private sector, at least for the time being.

Quicker Defence Buys In The Offing

India's Ministry of Defence is in a hurry. India feels it is getting left behind in the Asia-Pacific arms race. The main culprit is delays in producing and buying arms. As it is arch-rival China on Wednesday announced it will spend US$ 245 billion in the year ahead — which is three times what India can put on the defence count — it set alarm bells ringing.

Soon, South Bloc gathered a group of sharp minds to tackle the maddeningly slow pace of getting new weapons and equipment into the hands of India's soldiers, sailors and airmen.

The goal? The Ministry wants to slash the wait time to six months, because the current 5-7 year lag between placing an order and getting it fulfilled is making things difficult everywhere.

This new team is headed by the Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition). It will not accept messing around. It is going to dig into the Defence Acquisition Procedure — DAP 2020 and plan to rework it bottom-up. 

The new team will be sitting down with everyone who matters: The military brass who will use the stuff, public sector bigwigs who will make some of the gear, and the private companies who want to step into PSU shoes. Together, they’re aiming to untangle the red tape mess. 

Right now, buying anything for the armed forces feels like running a marathon on sand, say insiders. Documents ranging from "Acceptance of Necessity", to "Request for Information", and "Request for Proposal", have to be worked out. Vendors have to be picked up, equipment tested, and prices haggled over.

The committee’s job is to put a jet engine behind each step and get it delivered as of yesterday. This has come about because the Army, Navy and Air Force have been grumbling about acquisition delays forever — especially with tensions simmering along India’s northern and western frontiers.

The latest budget for the MoD is a hefty Rs 6,81,000 crore for FY 2025-26. But out of that, just Rs 1,80,000 crore (about 26 per cent) is tagged for buying big-ticket items, with Rs 1,49,000 crore specifically for new purchases.

Here’s the kicker: That budget which we are proud of is only a 4.65 per cent bump over last year. Not exactly a windfall. So, if the cash isn’t growing much, the system has to get smarter. People in the know say that this overhaul is a moment of truth. 

Modernising the forces isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must. And if this committee can pull it off in six months, they might just crank up the old process into something that actually works.

Contributed by Pawan Kumar, Mahua Sengupta Venkatesh, & Jayanta Roy Chowdhury; Anchored by: Abhijit Mukhopadhyay