124 - Decoding Indian Bureaucracy With Avinash Dharmadikari | Policy | Bharatvaarta

India bureaucracy is quite unique in its structure, in that it was  created by the British for their administrative needs and in independent  India, the systems and the processes have been gradually adjusted to  align with evolving demands of statecraft. Yet there is a feeling that  these changes are neither fast enough nor adequate.  We discussed these issues with Shri Avinash Dharmadhikari. Shri   Dharmadhikari was a freelance journalist and a social activist before  writing the UPSC and entering the Indian Administrative Service. He was  in the IAS for 10 years, rising to the position of working in the  Maharashtra CM Office. He quit the service then and started Chankaya  Mandal Parivar.  Chanakya Mandal focuses on coaching the UPSC aspirants and preparing  them not just in terms of content but also personal qualities for the  services. Over the years, Shri Dharmadhikari has coached and mentored  thousands of youngsters and he is a household name in the UPSC  preparation circles, especially in Pune and Maharashtra.    In this episode, Shri Dharmadhikari shared his views on how the IAS  needs to change, how the UPSC exam itself needs to evolve, the role of  lateral entry and several other challenges to the UPSC model. His candid  and forthcoming views on enforcing greater accountability for the  bureaucracy are thought provoking. Shri Dharmadhikari also talked about  the generalization vs specialization debate.