India's bureaucracy has been a study in inconsistencies. On the one hand, it represents the ideal position for the vast majority of Indians who take the UPSC exam to enter the "steel frame," which runs the nation. On the other side, it is so riddled with stories of corruption and bureaucracy that people avoid dealing with any kind of government official. Changing the Steel Frame: Promise and Paradox of Civil Service Reform, curated by seasoned bureaucrat and former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai, explores the contemporary functions of the bureaucracy. as well as the flaws that prevent its optimal functioning. It includes the perspective of former civil servants who have been a part of this system for their entire lives and reflect on its problems while making recommendations for the future; officials who have participated in setting evaluation standards for the civil services and who have headed training academies and businesspersons who have worked both in the private and public domains and collaborated extensively with the bureaucracy. In the breadth and thoroughness of its coverage, Transforming the Steel Frame provides an excellent overview of the civil services as they are and, more importantly, as they should be. The study that forms part of this book has been initiated by the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore.