Hyderabad: In an initiative that’s blending camaraderie with capacity-building, IAS officers posted in Telangana are taking part in weekly morning get-togethers over breakfast with the state’s Chief Secretary, K. Ramakrishna Rao. Informally dubbed ‘Idli with Insights’, the practice is not only creating space for relaxed conversations but also reinforcing administrative mentorship in a light, meaningful way.
Weekly Breakfasts at MCRHRD Institute
The breakfast meet-ups are held at the Dr. Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development Institute in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – a premier training institute for government officials. The breakfast spread ranges from idlis and dosas to parathas, bread-butter, and more. But the real purpose lies beyond the food – it’s to foster open communication and build personal rapport between the Chief Secretary and IAS officers of all batches.
A New Model of Bureaucratic Engagement
Since taking over as the seventh Chief Secretary of Telangana on April 30, 2025, K. Ramakrishna Rao, a 1991 batch officer, has already met with nine batches of IAS officers, starting from the youngest 2024 batch to the 2016 batch. The informal, one-hour interactions are carefully planned, with invitations sent two days in advance to allow officers time to prepare and attend.
“These meetings are not about hierarchy – they are about understanding each officer’s background, education, interests, and strengths,” said a senior official close to the initiative. “It’s also about setting expectations and motivating officers early in their careers.”
Building Human Capital, One Breakfast at a Time
With just 350 All India Service officers in Telangana – including IAS, IPS, and IFS – managing a state of over 3.5 crore people, Rao considers human resource management to be the cornerstone of his administration. These breakfast interactions are part of his broader push to ensure officers are aligned, engaged, and equipped to meet governance challenges.
By providing space for informal mentoring, Rao aims to nurture a sense of ownership and motivation among officers while helping them find clarity on career growth and service delivery. Officers are expected to return to work after the session, recharged and reoriented.
A New Benchmark for ‘Fun at Work’
The initiative is fast becoming the talk of the Telangana bureaucracy, offering a refreshing departure from the formal corridors of power. “This isn’t just breakfast – it’s bonding over bureaucracy,” quipped an officer who attended the session.
This simple idea – of sharing idlis and insights – may well set a precedent for other states to rethink how leadership can engage with civil servants in ways that are informal, human, and productive.
