The government was honest enough while replying to the Rajya Sabha question of Mahendra Singh Mahra regarding the increase in retirement age from 60 to 62 years with a categorical denial by the Minister of State in the PMO, Dr. Jitendra Singh. However, it did not reveal its intention to, rather, reduce the retirement age from 60 years to 58 years. Bureaucratic circles are agog with rumours that the government is going to retire babus at the age of 58. gfiles talked to several officers and learnt that the cabinet note regarding reducing the retirement age is ready. It’s only a matter of time before this decision will be seen through. Perhaps immediately after the Delhi assembly elections! Providing employment opportunities was one of the major planks on which Modi came to power. However, the economy is not obliging the government by turning around. So some intelligent people in the government must have thought, Why not retire the lot of babus and go for fresh recruitments? If the government does not go in for fresh recruitment, the decision would still be hailed as an achievement. Do you remember Modi’s slogan of “maximum governance, minimum government”? gfiles, however, feels the decision, if taken, may boomerang in ways not anticipated by the wise man.