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No more a civil servant: Outstanding gems

In this conclusive part of the article on the amazing 1981 batch, Anil Swarup remembers a few more of his professionally efficient batchmates

No more a civil servant: Outstanding gems
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There were three Rajivs in our batch. Rajiv Yadav had a pleasing demeanour, and I never heard him raise his voice. He did exceptionally well professionally, but I never got to interact with him in that capacity. Rajiv Nayan Choube comes up for discussion later in the article. Being discussed now is Rajiv with an additional 'e', who was an epitome of quiet professionalism. Despite belonging to the same cadre, I did not have too many occasions to interact with him during my stint in the state. When PM Modi constituted Groups of Secretaries to break the silos, I was witness to one of the finest presentations before the PM. This was made by Rajive Kumar. He drove his points home with professional ease. His presentation was so impactful that even the PM commented in admiration after it was over.

The 1981 batch of the IAS had two Viveks. Vivek Kulkarni made a name for himself both within the service and when he left it as a private entrepreneur. He was the only IAS officer mentioned in the bestseller 'The World is Flat' by Thomas L Friedman for his outstanding work. However, I never had any professional interaction with him. My professional interaction was with the other Vivek. I had the occasion to interact with him on several occasions. The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) would not have happened in Chattisgarh but for his intervention. He was go-getter par excellence. He could make-things-happen because he was clear-headed and could lead from the front.

I must confess that I did not know Vijayanand well at the Academy and even thereafter till I met him during one of my visits to Trivandrum in 2008. We were struggling to gauge and get ground-level support for RSBY. As Secretary Panchayati Raj in the state, he came up with an immediate solution by asking us to engage with an organisation working at the ground level. It worked, and Kerala emerged as a frontrunner in implementing the scheme. Here was an officer who kept a very low profile but deeply and passionately connected with the poor.

I knew Rakesh Srivastava as a person but not an officer until he became Secretary, Women and Child Development, during the last couple of years of our careers. I was then posted as Secretary, School Education. There were several overlapping issues, and the two Ministries never saw eye to eye. The scene changed dramatically after he joined. We met to resolve issues on many occasions and managed to do that. For the first time, a joint circular, signed by two Secretaries, was issued to ensure no confusion on the ground. It worked. Coordination between the two formations in the field improved.

It is not easy to find an officer as sweet and effective as Rajiv Nayan Choube. I came in touch with him professionally very late in my career. He was posted in the Ministry of Power when I took over as Secretary, Coal. The two Ministries were at war with each other as the Power Ministry believed that all the woes of the power sector were on account of the mess-up in Coal. In my understanding, Coal was indeed messed up but could not be held responsible for all the ills of the power sector. I discovered Rajiv's compelling and persuasive skills when he made a powerful presentation defending the officers of Power and Coal Ministries before a Parliamentary Standing Committee. He articulated each of the points forcefully. On this occasion, we were on the same side. However, even when we were not on the same side, I never heard him raise his voice. This was true even when I raised my voice on occasions. Rajiv did wonderfully well as Secretary, Civil Aviation.

The tall, handsome Sardar of our batch was none other than Dhanbir Singh Bains. He belonged to the Punjab cadre and never came to the centre on deputation. My professional interaction with him, therefore, was a brief one. As he was associated with the power sector in Punjab and I attempted to manage the Coal crisis at the centre, his in-depth knowledge of the power sector came in handy. He was always willing to share his thoughts on the sector, and I found this helpful to build arguments on the home turf.

There were a couple of Jayants as well in our batch. Both were knowledgeable. I never got to interact professionally with Jayant Das Gupta, who did exceptionally well in his career. My interaction with Jayant Kawale as a professional happened in 2001 when I was Chairman, APEDA, and he was handling industries in Maharashtra. He was the first few in the country to grasp the importance and necessity of setting up Agri-Export Zones and set up such a zone in Maharashtra. I learnt a lot from his positive approach to resolving issues. Jayant left the service early but did well in the private sector. His understanding of the power sector was phenomenal as he could fathom the constraints within the government and the private sector. We met on several occasions when I headed the PMG and thereafter Coal. I benefitted enormously during these interactions.

Most of my batchmates did extremely well professionally, but I got to interact with only a few of them. What a pleasure it was to be a part of this group professionally. At a personal level, thanks to COVID, this fantastic group thrives on WhatsApp. Really blessed to be a part of it!

With excerpts from the writer's recently released book, 'No More a Civil Servant'. Views expressed are personal

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