The changed environment at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was quite evident once Jaipal Reddy replaced Murli Deora as oil minister early this year. With bureaucratic changes at the top level, most officials started to watch their steps and decided to keep away from the media. Now, Reddy’s office is set for another change, quite literally. The minister’s new chamber is ready and his staff will soon shift to the new premises that was once a conference hall. By the minister’s own admission, the Central Public Works Department took extra care while redoing the office since he was the department’s boss as the urban development minister. Breaking away from stereotypes, the minister, however, did not check with astrologers for an auspicious time to move into his new office. “I am an agnostic. I moved in when I had to,” the minister told reporters.
