Lateral entry is no panacea: Political turbulence hits govt's move

Navigating government corridors as a lateral entrant to the position of CEO of the Punjab CSR Authority, I quickly learned that fresh ideas often wither without the right groundwork

It was the year 2020. A friend of mine from Chandigarh sent me a clipping of an ad that he thought I might be interested in. The Punjab Government had advertised the position of chief executive officer (CEO) for the Punjab CSR Authority. My interest was immediately ignited by the many possibilities the job offered.

I had long wanted to “give back.” What better way than to go back and serve your home state and that too in attracting CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds from corporations, and then redeploying them for the public good? On the personal