India needs mission-mode bureaucrats to deliver growth, jobs, and services

Learning from East Asia, India must reform its district administration with performance, accountability, and vision to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat

“Can you arrange a study tour to Gujarat to visit the Jamnagar refinery and meet Chief Minister Modi?” asked  Trinh Van Chiến, chairperson of the People’s Committee of Thanh Hóa province in Vietnam. 

It was a winter morning in 2012. Mr Chiến headed the province’s executive arm, serving a population comparable to that of an average Indian district. In function and responsibility, his role closely resembled that of a district magistrate (DM) in India. I was working for the World Bank and was there to explore whether the Bank should lend to Thanh Hóa. 

What I witnessed in Thanh Hóa