Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Bureaucracy But Were Afraid to Ask

Raghunandan is a consultant in decentralization, anti-corruption and heritage conservation. Formerly in the Indian Administrative Service, he quit the IAS in 2010 after twenty-seven years in order to concentrate on his pet passions of strengthening local democracy and local governments and working on anti-corruption. He currently handles several national and international assignments, including adviser to the accountability initiative of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, and adviser to Login Asia, a network of practitioners in decentralization from countries in south, central and south-east Asia. He is an avid scale model maker, industrial heritage archivist, steam railway enthusiast and classic automobile restorer. He lives in Bengaluru with his wife, Aditi.

Whatever its faults, the Indian bureaucracy cannot be accused of bias when it comes to confounding those who have to deal with it. Veteran insiders who return to it with their petitions after retirement are as clueless about how it functions as freshly minted supplicants. Outsiders in any case have little knowledge of who is responsible for what and why or how to navigate that critical proposal through the treacherous shoals of the secretariat.

At the top of the heap is the fast-tracked elite civil servant, who belongs to a group of generalist and specialized services selected through a competitive examination. The aura of the Indian Administrative Service has remained intact over the years.

Lack of awe, bordering on civilized disrespect, is a most effective learning tool. In this humorous, practical book, T.R. Raghunandan aims to deconstruct the structure of the bureaucracy and how it functions, for the understanding of the common person and replaces the anxiety that people feel when they step into a government office with a healthy dollop of irreverence.

A trenchant appraisal of the elite echelons of India's civil service by a highly perceptive insider. It stops just short of being cynical and provides valuable insights into how bureaucracy works, and why it faltersThis book is an insightful insider's account of the functioning of the elite bureaucracy in India. The book is lucidly written and eminently readable. The anecdotes are often hilarious and keeps the reader engagedThis illuminating and often humorous book takes us deep into the heart of the Indian state. With his trademark savvy, intelligence, and wit, T.R. Raghunandan brings the black box of the bureaucracy to life