Much is written about the experience of employees in the private sector, but the work of India’s near-50 lakh workforce for the Union government largely remains shrouded in mystery. But interns are now providing glimpses into what it’s like to work for the Indian government.
Some interns working at NITI Aayog, the chief think tank of the Indian government, have shared their experiences of working at the institution. NITI Aayog was founded in 2015, and replaced the existing Planning Commissions. Its main office is located in Delhi.
“I worked at NITI Aayog as a Policy Intern on Higher Education for 8 weeks,” wrote Chaitanyaa Nair on X. “Like everyone else, I used to think the government was slow and bureaucratic but working there has completely changed my mind,” she added.
“The vision and the speed of work were almost a culture shock — quick turnaround times, working on the weekends, multiple projects at once. I did not see any “government babus” in this office. Only A players with deadlines to crush,” she added.
She also shared pictures of a data room, which had dashboards on wall-to-wall screens. These dashboard showed the impact of various schemes which were being tracked by NITI Aayog. “There is an integration of technology and enhanced user experience for the same platform at the office — the Viksit Bharat Strategy Room. The government is as plugged into the present as any other top tech start-up,” she said.
“NITI’s collaborative style completely breaks the stereotype of ‘Afsar hai’ (officer). Consultants, young professionals, and interns work together in one room while taking little hangman game breaks (speaking from personal experience),” she added.
But not everyone had the same experience. “My department employees used to spend atleast 3 hours everyday cooking, making salads, having long lunches. Only the basic minimum work happened on most days,” said Divyanshi on X, who worked at NITI Aayog as a Research Intern on Tourism and Culture.
Divyanshi was also impressed by some of the offices at Niti Aayog. “The 5th floor of the office is “modern” and “innovative”,” she wrote.
“I was pleasantly surprised looking at what the government has done here. There was a gym inside office, an innovation hub, modern facilities and everything a modern looking corporate office has,” she said, sharing a picture of a modern-looking meeting room named “Kaziranga Rhino”. “The modern looking 5th floor is meant for Young Professionals and Consultants who have had decent corporate experience which therefore reflects in their work ethic,” she added.
The NITI Aayog office also has a vending machine which sells all manner of snacks.
And there are some interesting touches too, much like in the private sector. She shared pictures of a flight of stairs which mentioned how many calories people would burn by climbing them, thus encouraging their use.
But not everything was swish and modern. Divyanshi said that some floors in the building still looked like what government offices are stereotypically thought to look like with steel racks for paperwork, two odd tables with basic desktop computers, chairs and a sofa for visitors. “The work culture (here) is slower than corporates for sure,” she said.
Divyanshi said that she managed to meet some important people during her stint with NITI Aayog. “The best part was that I got to witness some top level officers and Politicians including Nagaland CM , top officials from the Australian Embassy, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant,” she said. “Overall , its a decent opportunity just to have exposure and witness govt functioning from a close point-of-view,” she added.