17 October 2026
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The Wizard of Bureaucracy

Mr Anil Swarup tells Indian Masterminds, how he survived in the service keeping both his spine and conscience intact. He also reveals the mantras for the current crop of civil servants..
Indian Masterminds Stories

The 1981-batch IAS, Mr. Anil Swarup, might have retired from the service two years ago, but he claims he is more active now. Considering he pioneered many ideas, championed several causes, and piloted a number of landmark schemes and projects, the statement raises the level of curiosity of even people who know him for decades.

From conceiving, formulating, and implementing universal health insurance for the 30 crore people living below the poverty line to netting lakhs of crores for the treasury by designing online auction of coal mines and reigniting stalled mega projects, Mr Swarup was always a doer.

Belonging to UP Cadre where there always a premium for plum postings and an average stay of a bureaucrat on a post is often in months if not in days, such sterling performance does need a thorough inspection. After all, everyone wants to know, how managed to keep his backbone intact and had his way with the political class as well.

Serving under Chief Ministers like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kalyan Singh, and Mayawati doesn’t come easy. Similarly working under Prime Ministers like Atal Behari Vajpayee, Dr Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, must have been challenging. In this free-wheeling interview, he shares the challenges he faced during his service and how he overcame them.

He had already written two books on his experiences in the bureaucracy and in this interview he discloses the name and subject of his third book and when is it expected to be released.

For more details, please watch the full interview on clicking the link…


Indian Masterminds Stories
Join our WhatsApp Channel
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
IPS Officers
78th IPS Batch: 151 Officer Trainees Complete Phase-I Training at SVPNPA, 37 Women and 16 Foreign Officers Among Them
Gail LNG India Summit
GAIL Wins Two Awards at 10th LNG India Summit for LNG Excellence and Environmental Sustainability
BPCL Green Hydrogen Project
BPCL Wins Green Hydrogen Project of the Year – India at Asian Oil & Gas Awards 2026
Project Seabird Phase IIA
Project Seabird Phase IIA: Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan Inaugurates Key Naval Infrastructure at Karwar
pnb
PNB Hosts DFS National Workshop on Reservation Policy Implementation and PwD Accessibility
SAIL Rourkela Steel Plant Gold Awards
SAIL Rourkela Steel Plant Wins Four Gold Awards at CCQC 2026, Highlights Quality and Safety 
BEL TechConnect Initiative
BEL TechConnect Engages MNIT Jaipur, NITK Surathkal to Inspire Young Engineers in Defence Technology
pfc
PFC Wins Gold Award at ASSOCHAM 21st Annual Summit for Overall Performance in Infrastructure Finance 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Saket Badola IFS
Beyond Tigers and Safaris: How Corbett Literature Festival Wants to Change the Conservation Conversation
PK Jena
Why Technology Cannot Replace Human Connection in Governance: P.K. Jena
PK Jena
The IAS Officer Who Put People Before Paperwork: How PK Jena Challenged Corruption and Reformed Governance
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Umar Janj UPSC CAPF
15+ Failures Couldn’t Stop Him: Umar Janj Secures AIR 160 in UPSC CAPF 2025
After multiple SSB setbacks, a CAPF interview miss by 12 marks and more than 15 failures, Umar Janj secured...
Aayush Sharma
Three CDS Attempts, Five AFCAT Qualifications & Medical Setback: How Aayush Sharma Secured CAPF AIR 135
After three unsuccessful SSB attempts, five AFCAT qualifications and a medical setback, Aayush Sharma...
Tushar Chaudhary IRMS
He Left Intel, Built COPAL-19, Spent Months at AIIMS, Ran Half Marathons, and Returned to UPSC—Tushar Chaudhary’s Journey to IRMS
UPSC ESE AIR 4 Tushar Chaudhary left a ₹25 LPA Intel job, built COPAL-19, spent months at AIIMS, ran...
CSR NEWS
NBCC India CSR Award 2026
NBCC India Wins Award for Excellence in CSR at 4th Fortune Leadership Awards 2026
The recognition honours NBCC’s community welfare initiatives and efforts to improve healthcare accessibility...
HURL ALIMCO
HURL Signs MoU with ALIMCO to Support Divyangjans and Senior Citizens in Gorakhpur, Barauni and Sindri
Under its CSR initiative, HURL will support PMD-VK Gorakhpur and facilitate the distribution of need-based...
MDL CSR Support to Divyasha Vayoshri Kendra
MDL Extends ₹3.79 Crore CSR Support to Divyasha Vayoshri Kendra in Mumbai
The initiative will strengthen access to assistive devices, prosthetics and rehabilitation services for...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
IPS Officers
78th IPS Batch: 151 Officer Trainees Complete Phase-I Training at SVPNPA, 37 Women and 16 Foreign Officers Among Them
Gail LNG India Summit
GAIL Wins Two Awards at 10th LNG India Summit for LNG Excellence and Environmental Sustainability
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Saket Badola IFS
PK Jena
PK Jena
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT