Random access memory

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi met 77 top secretaries posted at the Centre last week, he shook hands with each of them. The secretaries introduced themselves by name and department, but none of them expected Modi to remember these details. When the discussions began soon after, secretaries who wanted to ask questions or make a point were asked to raise their hands. To their surprise, Modi remembered the names of many of those who did. Everyone was impressed, but some bureaucrats were confused as to whether they should be happy or worried about the prime minister's retentive memory.