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 front, my mother had passed away earlier that year and my father was now all alone in Chandigarh. So, I was already spending long stretches of time with my father. I had also just shut down a major business, and had enough time to devote to the assignment on offer. I decided to apply.

It turned out there were many others also interested in the job. A total of 37 applications had been received, or so I was told. Among the applicants were half a dozen retired IAS officers, as well as many other senior superannuated bureaucrats from various services. I suddenly felt a bit unsure of myself — competing for selection against seasoned mandarins was not going to be easy. I was, therefore, a bit relieved when I made the shortlist. Because of Covid, the interviews were to be held online, with the selection committee being chaired by the state’s chief secretary, and with the industry secretary as his deputy.

In the digital “waiting room”, the IAS officers were largely quiet and aloof. Other candidates were more social and tried to impress the others with their varied credentials. The interviews were pretty quick. Three to five minutes per candidate. My CV, with more than three decades experience in the corporate world, had perhaps piqued the interest of the committee. The chief secretary and I got into an interesting conversation. I clocked out after nearly 40 minutes. No surprises, therefore, I got the job.

I was appointed CEO of the new Authority in the rank of principal secretary. I said I would work pro bono, and declined government accommodation, personal security, and the various other perks that came with the job. But most importantly, I had made a lateral senior-level entry into the government. Settling into the assignment was not easy. Small things, like the office I was to occupy, presented challenges. It was large but a complete dump. It took me three months to get the air conditioners replaced and the blinds fixed. The furniture belonged to another era but I decided not to make an issue of it.

I quickly learnt that despite being a principal secretary (a fairly senior position), I carried little or no clout in the system— the authority (and the veneration) was the exclusive preserve of the IAS folks. And these august ladies and gentlemen neither valued my expertise, nor my outreach. No, to be fair, the younger officers were more friendly and welcoming. The seniors were largely dismissive. 

Most suggestions or proposals put up by me were largely ignored. The industry secretary had moved up to the chief secretary’s job. She was the only one who mentored me — she was open to ideas, supportive of new initiatives and warm to any out-of-the-box suggestions. My own peers were rather disinterested — I invited the CEO of the largest industrial unit in the state to our offices one day to discuss CSR plans but the departmental head (an IAS gentleman) just refused to join the meeting, even though it was in the adjacent room. Similarly, I had got a big grant from the Tatas for a school career planning initiative by Unicef. The concerned secretary for education just did not surface at the online programme launch citing “other pressing engagements” despite the slot having been fixed weeks in advance with his concurrence. Many days I was completely frustrated and angered by the sheer antipathy.

Of course, there were successes in the nearly three years that I spent in government. But these largely came when either the younger, more dynamic district collectors were involved, or the political bosses were driving an agenda. The senior folks in the bureaucracy were just impervious to anything that needed energetic and prompt action, or involved being nice and welcoming to corporations from whom I was tasked to mobilise CSR funds.

The recent lateral-entry announcement may have run into political turbulence and been withdrawn, but from personal experience, I can surely say that the powers-that-be need to till the ground before planting new seeds.

The writer is chairman of Rediffusion