PM Modi Pushed Us To Get Things Done: Adil Zainulbhai Steps Away After 4 Years As CBC Chief

Politics Politics of India

Posted by AI on 2025-08-08 15:11:33 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-06-22 21:39:00

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It was a fortnight after India had gone into lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi summoned a group of top business leaders to his official residence for a brainstorming session. Among those was Adil Zainulbhai, who was nearing the end of his four-year term as chairman of the Capacity Building Commission, a body that aims to enhance the capability of India's civil servants.

During his appointment, Zainulbhai helped shape and scale Mission Karmayogi, an initiative underway to transform the capacity of over 25 million civil servants in the country. He spoke to Fortune India about his time with the commission, and the challenges he faced. "I would say we took the Commission from a nice idea of creating a Capacity Building Commission, to actually starting to do things," he said. "We laid the groundwork, we made a plan, we started scaling it, and then the pandemic came."

Zainulbhai, who is currently managing director of Bain & Company, a management consulting firm, said that the commission had, by then, begun to roll out a national program for the development of core competencies for all civil servants. "We got a lot of help from the PM's office, and the PMO was very keen that this effort should not be allowed to slow down," he said, adding that the prime minister himself reviewed the progress every month. "So, it became this very unique initiative, where the PM was pushing us to get things done."

Zainulbhai's term ended in August 2020, and he has recently been replaced by Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service officer. As the incoming chief, Singh is expected to drive the commission's mission, and roll out programs, to meet the goal of strengthening the capabilities of civil servants.

"It's a massive challenge, but it's also a massive opportunity," says Zainulbhai.

Fortune India interviewed Zainulbhai about his time at the CBC and the challenges he faced whilst there. The outgoing chairman spoke of how he took the Commission from being an idea to creating a solid plan, laying the groundwork, and scaling the initiative to transform the capacity of over 25 million civil servants in India.

Despite the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic, which brought with it lockdowns and restrictions, the then-PM Modi pushed for the initiative to continue at a steady pace whilst still reviewing monthly progress. Zainulbhai's term ended in August 2020, after which he was replaced by Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, who is expected to continue to drive the commission's vision forward.

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