Name, please

Officials who attended the introductory meetings with Finance Minister P Chidambaram after he took over were immediately left in no doubt that it would be hard to escape his attention. At the very first meeting an official who attended said Chidambaram made it a point to remember everybody’s name with the correct pronunciation. This was, he added, quite different from the previous regime under Pranab Mukherjee when it was difficult for officials even at the level of joint secretary to get time with the finance minister