Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister, speaking at Shankar IAS Academy, during the felicitation of UPSC CSE 2024 achievers, in Chennai on Friday ( May 2, 2025)
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BIJOY GHOSH
India’s bureaucracy is one of the finest in the world. The bureaucracy is one which is very steely but is wonderfully networked to know who’s doing what. It is they who run the system for themselves, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The bureaucrats know which officer is doing brilliantly well in a remote corner of India where he is running the district administration. They equally know who among the newcomers is creating trouble for himself. “At no point in time you should have a feeling that you are too far away from Delhi and therefore you can do what you want,” she said at a function to felicitate Civil Services Exam (CSE) 2024 achievers organised by the Chennai-based Shankar IAS Academy on Friday. “The bureaucracy system is damn efficient in keeping an eye on each one of you,” she added.
Sitharaman pointed out that before 2014, Prime Minister level interface with a district-level officer was never thought of. But the Prime Minister brought that in through PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation)programme. A junior-level officer who is posted in a district directly speaks with the Prime Minister about what he is doing and how he is taking the district forward.
Quoting government statistics, she said that since 1950, 679 officers domiciled in Tamil Nadu have been allocated IAS. And, in 2024, 53 candidates domiciled in Tamil Nadu have been selected. Between 2011 and 2024, 915 people have been selected from Tamil Nadu for the Civil Services. Tamil Nadu always had finance-related experts being developed here through their IAS. Central government has always had the benefit of service officers coming from Tamil Nadu, she added.
GST not arbitrary decision
Later talking to newspersons, the Minister said the GST was not an arbitrary decision. It is being talked about as if Prime Minister Modi is imposing taxes on the people alone. However, each State’s finance minister is represented in the GST Council. All the decisions are taken based on everyone’s opinions, she said.
Before the GST, there were multiple taxes, including Value Added Tax and Excise. There was no bill on purchase of an item. However, today, a bill gives details on both Central GST and State GST, she added.
On caste census, the Minister said the DMK and opposition are trying to claim victory for themselves. However, they did not do that. It should not be seen as a political thing, but something that would benefit downtrodden people.
Published on May 2, 2025