Top bureaucrats on Saturday reportedly warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the populist schemes and freebies announced by several states may lead to a financial crisis similar to what Sri Lanka is facing. These bureaucrats shared their concerns during a nearly four-hour-long meeting with PM Modi that was held at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, news agency PTI reported.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister PK Mishra and Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also attended this meeting along with other top bureaucrats of the Union government.
PM Modi cited the ‘team work’ shown by the secretaries during the COVID-19 pandemic, and asked the officials to work as the secretaries of government of India and not just as secretaries of their respective departments, according to the report.
As per the media reports, the officials opined that announcements made by state governments such as Punjab, Delhi, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are unsustainable and burdening the state’s budget. The PM also asked the bureaucrats to work in order to eradicate poverty and take up the new challenge of managing the surplus. In the meeting, the PM asked secretaries to give feedback and suggest loopholes in the policies of the government .
