22 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
PFC logo resized Power Finance Corporation Ltd
PFC Incorporates Northern Region Power Transmission Limited for Grid Compensation Project 
pnb
PNB Wins Excellence Award, Secures First Runner-Up Position in Risk & Resilience Under EASE₹ise 8.0
Indian Railways Coal Loading Growth
Indian Railways Records 22.5% Growth in Coal Loading in October 2026, Dispatches 87 More Rakes Daily 
GYANDEEP Hindi Library
Defence Secretary Inaugurates Hindi Library ‘GYANDEEP’ at Sena Bhawan Under Special Campaign 6
India Post
India Post Crosses ₹4,000 Crore Quarterly Revenue for Two Consecutive Quarters, Records 24% Growth in H1 FY27
NALCO CVOs
NALCO Hosts CVOs’ Meet in Bhubaneswar to Strengthen Preventive Vigilance and Ethical Governance
BHEL_resized
BHEL Appoints Manepalli Sridhar as Director (Human Resources) Until August 2028 
K
Who Is K. Phanindra Reddy? Retired IAS Officer Appointed TNRERA Chairperson in Tamil Nadu
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
How India Plans to Boost Tourism, Create Jobs and Ease Overcrowding : Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on the Road to 2047
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
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Mavis tak
From Dropping Out of School to Becoming an IPS Officer : How a Father’s Unwavering Support Helped Mavis Tak Achieve Success
For Mavis Tak, becoming an IPS officer once seemed like a distant dream. Despite financial struggles...
Bhikan Rojekar UPSC
He missed MBBS by 1 mark in 2016; Maharashtra’s Bhikan Rojekar secures UPSC AIR 812
Bhikan Rojekar secured AIR 812 in UPSC CSE 2025 in his third attempt. Read how the son of a farm labourer...
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...
CSR NEWS
NLC India CSR Dispensary
NLC India Builds ₹1.23 Crore Dispensary in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram Under CSR Initiative
Inaugurated on October 17, 2026, the new facility at Sri Ramakrishna Math in Keelanagachi aims to strengthen...
MGL CSR initiative
MGL Donates 30-Seater Hydraulic-Lift Bus to NIEPID Davangere Under MGL Saksham CSR Initiative
Inaugurated by MGL Vice President Sanket Dhotre on October 15, 2026, the accessible bus is expected to...
EIL CSR-
Engineers India Distributes Assistive Devices to 55 Divyangjans in Gurugram Under CSR Initiative
EIL’s CSR initiative provides motorised tricycles, hearing aids, wheelchairs and other aids to promote...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
PFC logo resized Power Finance Corporation Ltd
PFC Incorporates Northern Region Power Transmission Limited for Grid Compensation Project 
pnb
PNB Wins Excellence Award, Secures First Runner-Up Position in Risk & Resilience Under EASE₹ise 8.0
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Dr Saket Badola IFS
PK Jena
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT