Civil servants form the backbone of public administration in India. Highly trained bureaucrats, they are trusted aides and key political advisors, relied upon by politicians for their counsel in diplomatic and strategic matters. Yet somehow, discussions on their significant contributions as civil servants that work behind the scenes do not find place of prominence with panegyrics or commentaries.
 
Parmeshwar Narain Haksar, who was a close political aide of Indira Gandhi while she served as Prime Minister of India, was instrumental in passing many groundbreaking domestic and foreign policy decisions – such as orchestrating the military, political and diplomatic strategy in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, the signing of the Indo-Soviet treaty, nationalization of banks and the abolishment of privy purses amongst others. Haksar also served as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, and initiated the reconstruction of India’s relationship with China in 1987. In “Intertwined Lives: P.N. Haksar and Indira Gandhi”, Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament, explores the life of P.N. Haksar, Principal Secretary to Indira Gandhi from 1967 to 1973 – who at one point, according to a source in Ramesh's book, was the most powerful civil servant and second-most powerful person in India.

From the perspective of Haksar's biography this programme examines what the role of bureaucrats and civil servants is in propelling reforms in a country that currently has a population of 1.32 billion with 5,004 civil servants. Join us for this conversation with Jairam Ramesh and Vikram Singh Mehta, Executive Chairman, Brookings India.   

Jairam Ramesh has been a Member of Parliament since July 2004. Between 2006 and 2014, he was, at different points of time, Union Minister of Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Environment and Forests, and Power and Commerce. He is the author of a number of noted books such as 'Green Signals: Ecology', 'Growth and Democracy in India', 'Legislating for Justice: The 2013 Land Acquisition Law', 'To the Brink and Back: India's 1991 Story', and 'Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature'. He is associated with a number of academic and research institutions in India and abroad and has played a key role in international climate change negotiations. He is a member of the international council of Asia Society New York. He has studied at IIT Mumbai, Carnegie-Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Vikram Singh Mehta currently serves as the Executive Chairman of Brookings India in New Delhi and as Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has held positions in several oil companies, including Phillips Petroleum, Oil India Ltd. and Shell International. He was appointed Chairman of the Shell Group of Companies in India in 1994. He is an independent director on several companies including Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Vodafone India, and Colgate Palmolive India. He writes regular columns for the Indian Express and Financial Express on various political and economic issues. He holds a BA Mathematics Honours degree from St. Stephens College, Delhi University, a BA/MA Economics Honours degree from Magdalen College, Oxford University and a post graduate degree in Energy Economics from the Fletcher School Of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

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