Anil Swarup is just the kind of man Prime Minister Narendra Modi is relying on to fix India – a high-flying civil servant with a taste for complex policy and swift decisions.
Modi has drawn trusted bureaucrats into a tight embrace. Interviews with two dozen sources, including close aides, reveal that key decisions are now thrashed out between his office and civil servants, often at the expense of ministerial authority.
Swarup sees a golden era for those willing to rise to the challenge. In his case that means ending coal shortages that keep much of India in the dark, a top priority for Modi.
With new team in place, India’s Modi tightens grip on power
Manjeet Kriplani, founder and director, Gateway House comments on the Narendra Modi-led and the way it is changing the working pattern in New Delhi