The 'babu' question

Appointment of bureaucrats as PSU heads is illogical

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s impassioned defence of the private sector in Parliament earlier this month included a critique of the practice of appointing bureaucrats to head public sector undertakings (PSUs). Describing private entrepreneurs as “wealth creators”, he wondered what could be achieved by handing the nation over to the “babus” (government officials). “Just because somebody is an IAS officer, he is running fertiliser and chemical factories to airlines,” Mr Modi said. Removing bureaucrats from the ambit of corporate management, he went on, would open up opportunities for youngsters to prove their mettle. There is some merit in Mr Modi’s suggestion,