Back in business

Now the suits, armed with bouquets, are back at Shastri Bhavan after Jaipal Reddy lost the Oil Ministry, so officials can look forward to more visits to the canteen

Over the 22 months that Jaipal Reddy was in charge of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas at Shastri Bhavan, the “suits” – officials from cash-rich oil companies – had become a rare sight, causing much heartburn to denizens of the ministry. That’s because those visits almost invariably ended up in the canteen, run by snack food company Bikano — itself a rarity since most government offices have subsidised canteens. The Bikano canteen, too, was deserted because Reddy did not encourage corporate executives and middlemen to mill around the high-profile ministry. Now the suits, armed with bouquets, are back, so officials can look forward to more visits to the canteen.