Inside The Secretariat: When 'Additional Charge' Becomes The Norm

Where IAS Ends, GAS Begins!

A new question is being asked, half in jest, in Gujarat’s Secretariat these days—what matters more: the chair or the cadre? The government’s recent decisions seem to suggest that it is the responsibility attached to the chair that matters, not necessarily the cadre of the officer occupying it. If a vacant IAS post can be handled efficiently by a Gujarat Administrative Service (GAS) officer, the discussion is inevitable: perhaps administrative capability is beginning to carry more weight than cadre identity. There is, however, one constant that refuses to change—additional charge! In many government departments, several chairs now seem to be functioning on a "sharing basis". One officer, two or three offices, and countless files! In the power corridors, people jokingly say that additional charge is no longer a temporary arrangement; it has quietly become a part of the administrative design itself. The only question now is whether the number of chairs will increase in the future—or whether the nameplates outside officers' cabins will simply keep getting longer!

No Secretary, No Problem!

There was a cabin in the General Administration Department (GAD) that seemed to have been waiting for its occupant for years. After Kirit Adhvaryu, the post of Secretary was never filled again, and the cabin gradually became one of the Secretariat’s quieter corners. In the power corridors, people jokingly remarked that the room housed more memories than officials. Now, after years of waiting, the cabin has finally found a purpose—just not the one it was originally built for. According to discussions in the power corridors, the space is now being repurposed as a committee room for meetings and internal deliberations of Additional Chief Secretaries. In other words, the room that spent years waiting for a single Secretary is now set to host several of the government’s most senior bureaucrats at the same table. In bureaucracy, even chairs and cabins evolve with time—if they are not occupied, they simply find a different role. After all, in government, it is not only officers who get reassigned—cabins do too. While some officials move to new chairs, some chairs quietly acquire new responsibilities. The story of this GAD cabin is much the same: after waiting years for a Secretary, it is now preparing to become a hub for high-level administrative discussions and decision-making.

Now, an Audit Ends with a Meeting!

The days of closing an audit file with a casual “we’ll look into it later” may finally be coming to an end. From now on, before the auditors leave, an Exit Conference will ensure that what was found, where the irregularities occurred, and who is accountable are discussed face to face. In bureaucratic terms, files may now travel less, while accountability will have to move much faster. Audit reports may no longer end up as mere additions to the record room. The power corridors are already joking that the most important meeting for officials may no longer be the entry meeting, but the Exit Conference! After all, this is where more questions than refreshments are likely to be served. If the system moves beyond paperwork and actually leads to timely action, public money meant for village development will be better protected—and the familiar excuse of “we’ll explain it later” may gradually disappear from the administrative vocabulary.

The MoU Before the MoU

The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit may still be months away, but in the Secretariat, it has already begun—with committees. From the Apex Committee to the Executive Committee, from outreach to logistics, every task gets its own committee and every committee gets its own mandate. There is an interesting tradition behind Vibrant Gujarat: one committee meets, another reviews its progress, and a third convenes to coordinate them all! As the joke goes in bureaucratic circles, investors may arrive for three days, but the committees switch into "active mode" three or four months in advance. Of course, these committees are not meant merely to hold meetings. Previous editions of Vibrant Gujarat have shown that meticulous planning, continuous monitoring and inter-departmental coordination are what ultimately translate investment commitments into projects on the ground. So, the focus is not just on the MoUs, but also on the marathon of meetings that make those MoUs possible. After all, the success of Vibrant Gujarat is written not only on the summit stage, but also inside the Secretariat's conference rooms.

The Flag Is Easy, 2030 Isn't!

With the Commonwealth Games flag now in Gujarat, it is safe to say that not just the Games, but the bureaucracy’s own warm-up has officially begun! While athletes will race for medals on the field, the administrative machinery will now have to sprint towards the finish line of stadiums, infrastructure, transport and flawless event planning. In the power corridors, people are already joking that the longest race will not be the 100 metres, but the marathon of files. The Commonwealth Games flag is more than just a symbol—it will now serve as a daily reminder that 2030 is not far away. From today onwards, almost every meeting, presentation and review is bound to feature a reference to the CWG. If the bureaucracy, like the athletes, can win gold in time management, teamwork and discipline, Gujarat may emerge in 2030 not only as the host, but also as a benchmark for successful event management. That said, for some officials, the season of "setting" may have just begun.

The Real Currency Is Talent

GIFT City is no longer aiming to be known only for its skyscrapers or international banks. The new ambition is to become a place where startups come not just for an address, but for their future. That is precisely why Gujarat’s first FinTech Policy has reached its final stage. The buzz is that investors will receive not just a "welcome," but a "welcome with incentives." In the FinTech world, competition is now as intense between states as it is between companies. That is why the proposed policy is expected to go beyond attracting investment, offering subsidies, financial assistance and even support to ease the burden of high salaries for skilled talent. As the joke goes in bureaucratic circles, the government may soon be ready to invest not just in land and office space, but in the payroll of talent as well. If the policy moves beyond paperwork and translates into investment, jobs and innovation, GIFT City could take a significant step towards becoming not just India's IFSC, but the first-choice destination for FinTech companies.

No More Files—The Officer Will Come!

A new trend is taking shape in Gujarat’s administrative system—“If the citizen doesn’t come to the government office, the government office will go to the citizen!” For years, people carried files from one table to another. Now, the government itself is reaching villages and urban wards through clustered service camps. In bureaucratic terms, it marks a shift from the “journey of the file” to the “journey of the officer.” Of course, paperwork will still be required, but at least citizens may no longer have to spend half a day figuring out which room to visit. The real test of Seva Setu, however, will not be the number of camps organised, but whether the legendary phrase—“Sir is in a meeting today, please come tomorrow”—becomes less common. The government has now set a clear goal of saturation, ensuring that no eligible citizen is left out of welfare schemes. If the bureaucracy can match this intent with faster file movement, accountability and time-bound service delivery, then Government to Citizen will no longer remain just a slogan—it could truly become a government that reaches the citizen’s doorstep.