We hear about the all-powerful District Collector or Deputy Commissioner in every district in India, but what do they really do? How was the Government of India's first successful health insurance scheme launched? What is the relationship between civil servants and politicians? Anil Swarup talks about his stellar career as an IAS Officer on Episode 90 of The Pragati Podcast.

The Pragati Podcast is a weekly show on public policy, economics and international relations hosted by Pavan Srinath.

Mr. Anil Swarup is a former Secretary, Government of India, a retired IAS officer and the author of Not Just a Civil Servant, where he chronicles his 38 years working for Governments of India and Uttar Pradesh.

In his career, Mr. Swarup has handled India's Coal auctions in the aftermath of the Coal Scam. He has served as Secretary, School Education, and while working in the Labour Ministry, helped conceive and launch the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, a government-funded health insurance scheme for poor workers and their families.

Not Just a Civil Servant is available in hardcover and on Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.in/JUST-CIVIL-SERVANT-Anil-Swarup/dp/8178064790

New Podcast Alert! Hamsini Hariharan, long-time co-host of The Pragati Podcast has now started a new foreign policy podcast called States of Anarchy on the IVM Podcast Network. Available on all your favourite podcast apps. Listen to the podcast here: http://ivmpodcasts.com/states-of-anarchy

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