Verdict 2024: Bureaucracy braces for change with hope and apprehension

Officials fear re-emergence of coalition politics may lead to delayed or disjointed decisions

With a coalition government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi poised to take the reins, the country’s bureaucratic machinery — the so-called “steel frame” of India — is rife with both anticipation and anxiety.

The past decade under Modi’s single-party majority government saw a centralised decision-making process. However, the re-emergence of coalition politics, with regional allies championing their own agenda in the ministries led by their representatives, may potentially lead to delayed or disjointed decisions. 

Though the previous two governments were of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, the party had a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha.

Senior government