“The minister found electric wires dangling in the corridor and expressed his unhappiness at the shabbiness of the premises. Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar arrived at his ministry office in Shastri Bhavan at 9.15 a.m. late last month to find many vacant chairs," the newspaper noted.
“A circular was also issued to officials warning them that disciplinary action would be taken against them if they are late again,” it said.
"Under the previous government, most officials would arrive at 11 a.m. or even later and be off by 6.30 p.m. They would never work on Saturdays, unless necessary. Now, everyone is in office on the dot in the morning. The senior officials stay till 8 p.m. and work regularly on Saturdays and, if required, even on Sundays," the article quoted a senior bureaucrat as saying on the condition of anonymity.
"Everything is moving fast under the new government - files are being cleared in minutes, decisions taken fast. The top officials are inspecting their offices, even the toilets, to ensure everything is neat and clean. Under the previous government, no one seemed to work. Most of the officials are welcoming about the new work culture," another official said.
According to Minister of State for Home Kirren Rijiju, all these do not mean that India's new prime minister was trying to centralise power.
"Some people might be saying that Modiji is trying to centralise power, it's totally wrong,” the article quoted Rijiju as saying.
"Discipline and close coordination within a system cannot be termed as dictatorial in any manner. We are trying to bring some discipline in our working system, everything is being streamlined. It has to be seen from this perspective," he said.
The daily also highlighted how French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius remarked on the perceived efficiency of the new government.
“Fabius, voicing keenness that the new Indian government should conclude a multi-billion dollar deal for fighter aircraft that has stalled for two years, said France shared the 'notion of efficiency in the new government's approach'," it stated.
It also noted that “Modi's government is far more visible than previous governments”.
“He has two Twitter accounts -@narendramodi, from when he was chief minister of Gujarat, which has over 5 million followers, and @PMOIndia, after he became prime minister, which has nearly 2 million followers," the daily noted.
“The two handles are constantly updated and are a constant source of information to the public. Most of his ministers have also opened Twitter accounts to keep the public updated,” the article concluded.
