Today is special. In many ways. For India, and for us.

New Delhi is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit, with leaders from across the world, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, in the capital. India is once again at the centre of an important global conversation.

And on this very day, September 12, Bureaucrats India completes six years.

Six years ago, on this day Bureaucrats India was born out of a combination of circumstances and instincts. The Covid lull had disrupted normal activity. The digital space was growing rapidly but was also becoming increasingly chaotic. The mainstream media was finding less and less space for stories that did not fit the conventional news cycle. Yet, across the length and breadth of India, governments, administrators, police officers, public institutions and public sector enterprises were doing important work.

There were stories of change everywhere. Many of them were simply not being told.

As a journalist, I felt there was a need to create a space for these stories. A space that could document good governance, public policy, reforms, executive action and the people working behind the machinery of the State.

That was the beginning of Bureaucrats India.

The idea was never to say that everything the government does is good, or that every bureaucrat deserves praise. It was simply to make sure that good work also found a place in public discourse.

Six years later, that belief remains at the heart of what we do.

The most fulfilling part of this journey has been the opportunity to learn about India in a very different way. We have discovered stories from districts and states, from policing and public administration, from technology and public service delivery, from CPSEs and other institutions.

We have had the opportunity to speak to senior IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS and other officers, and to understand the challenges they face and the solutions they have tried. We have also interacted with the leadership of several CPSEs and professionals working across different sectors.

In six years, Bureaucrats India has featured more than 200 leaders, including senior bureaucrats and CPSE leaders, through interviews, stories, webinars and exclusive conversations.

We created DCs of India to celebrate innovative work being done at the grassroots by District Collectors and SPs of India to recognise the work of IPS officers and security forces.

We started our annual lists of bureaucrats and CPSEs, which have now become an important part of our engagement with the governance community. We have also used webinars and dialogues to bring important conversations on public policy and governance to a wider audience.

The numbers have grown along the way. As of August 2026, our different social media platforms have built a substantial community, with more than 51,000 followers for Bureaucrats India on X, nearly 98,000 for DCs of India and more than 14,000 for SPs of India. Our webinars and dialogues have reached more than 25 million people.

Today, across our website and digital assets, we reach an estimated 80,000 readers and viewers every day and around 7-8 lakh every month.

But honestly, these numbers are not what make the journey special. It is the people and the stories.

A District Collector finding a simple solution to a difficult local problem. A police officer trying to make policing more responsive. An administrator using technology to improve service delivery. A government department changing an old way of doing things. A CPSE quietly contributing to a larger national objective.

These are the stories that have kept us going.

They have also strengthened my own belief that bureaucracy remains an important backbone of India's journey. There are problems, there are shortcomings and there is always room for improvement. But there is also a vast amount of good work happening every day, often without much attention.

Someone needs to document it. Someone needs to tell these stories. That has been our effort.

And this journey would not have been possible without the people who have worked with me. Vigya Dwivedi, Pragya Lal Ranjan, Naina Jha, Pooja Rai, Debashree Nandy, Tanya Saraf, Jyotsna Sahay Anand have all contributed to Bureaucrats India in different ways. Their ideas, hard work and support have been an important part of these six years.

I am grateful to each of them. Six years on, the basic idea has not changed.

India is changing rapidly. Its governance systems are changing. Its administrators are experimenting, learning and adapting. There are thousands of stories waiting to be told.

We will continue looking for them. Six years completed. And there is still a lot of India to discover.

Happy 6th anniversary to Bureaucrats India.