Modi's shadow over babudom

What will an NDA government do with the UPA's secretaries? Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Will the next Union government shift out the defence, finance and home secretaries?

Senior IAS officers wonder how Narendra Modi, the front-runner to form the next government according to various opinion polls, will deal with the bureaucracy if he becomes prime minister.

In 2004, the Manmohan Singh regime had changed the Cabinet Secretary, though the head of the bureaucracy has a fixed tenure, and those manning the finance and home ministries were shunted out.

Will Narendrabhai appoint his favourites in key positions or let the current lot of bureaucrats continue?

The defence, finance and home secretaries have over a year to go before they retire.

A new Cabinet Secretary, well-placed sources confirm, will be brought in by the new government.

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