Chapter 7 Leadership, WTO, Commerce, and New Strategies for Corporatization of Government Institutions: A Top Indian Bureaucrat's Take

Purpose – To provide a select perspective from India in terms of its Civil Services, leadership, and its unique challenges.

Design/Methodology/Approach – This chapter features an interview with L. V. Saptharishi, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. The interview was conducted under the aegis of the GLOBE project (Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness Research Programme).

Findings – Being a developing country and an emerging economic power, India has a set of unique challenges in the form of setting up agile organizational systems, policy formulation, and implementation. The new approach that has emerged is debureaucratizing the institutions, improving quality, market focus, and value addition.

Research limitations/Implications – This is not an exhaustive chapter as it is based on a single interview.

Practical implications – This is a unique piece as it focuses on the unique experiences of an important bureaucrat from India.

Originality/Value – This chapter is helpful for academicians and practitioners alike to understand the business- and leadership-related issues in India, particularly from a bureaucrat's point of view. This is an original piece of work.