"Get A Narayana Murthy, Anand Mahindra To Lead India's DOGE": Gurmeet Chadha

Should government employees face the same performance reviews as the private sector? Gurmeet Chadha, CIO at Complete Circle, thinks so.

In a post on X, Mr Chadha questioned why public servants were exempt from structured evaluations. He also suggested that corporate leaders like NR Narayana Murthy, Aditya Puri, Nandan Nilekani, or Anand Mahindra should be brought in to lead India's proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), on the lines of the newly-formed US agency focused on evaluating federal worker productivity and cost-cutting.

"I remember having weekly MIS & monthly reviews in every organization I worked in - ACC, HDFC, Nippon, Citibank. Why should government employees & public servants be any different?" Mr Chadha wrote, urging for corporate-style accountability in the public sector.

"Make everyone accountable," he said.

I remember having weekly MIS & monthly reviews in every organisation I worked- ACC,HDFC,Nippon,Citibank

Why shud govt employees & Public servants be any different?

Get a NRN/Aditya puri/Nandan Nilekani/ Anand Mahindra to head DOGE in India

Digitise n make everyone accountable

— Gurmeet Chadha (@connectgurmeet) February 23, 2025

Mr Chadha's remarks come amid growing global discussions about government efficiency and work culture. In the US, DOGE - led by billionaire Elon Musk - has implemented strict performance evaluations for federal employees, demanding weekly reports of their accomplishments or risk getting fired.

On February 16, DOGE published a list of cut programmes, including grants for India ($21M), Bangladesh ($29M) and Nepal ($39M). US President Donald Trump defended the DOGE after it scrapped a $21 million grant allegedly meant to boost voter turnout in India. Trump questioned why US taxpayer money was being sent to India, calling it a wealthy nation with high tariffs.

Earlier, a US judge blocked Elon Musk's DOGE team from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data, citing security risks. The emergency order temporarily restricted access to Treasury payment systems for political appointees and government employees outside the department.

The case was filed by attorney generals from 19 states, who accused the Trump administration of illegally granting DOGE access to confidential financial records. The judge warned of "irreparable harm" and heightened hacking risks, while an internal Treasury report called DOGE's access "the biggest insider threat" faced by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.