Worst aspect in government is dearth of institutional knowledge, according to the former State Finance Minister P.T.R. Palanivel Thiagarajan.For a business, a clear vision with values and culture forms the core and institutionalisation of such visions and values help sustain the business, he said delivering a talk on ‘Leadership under pressure in Business’ at a meeting organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Thanjavur, on August 21.Pointing out that deviation or lack of continuity of set values and culture resulted in decline, Mr. Thiagarajan said one of the worst aspects in government (an organised structure to meet people’s needs) was that there was no institutional knowledge. “All are temporary. Once in five years, elections are held. Once in two or three years, IAS or Group I or Group II officers get shifted,” he said.For instance, in several government-owned institutions such as transport corporations, lack of institutionalisation, he said, had led to a situation wherein a major portion of the revenue and, in some cases, more than the revenue realisation was spent towards payment of salary and pension only. Published - August 22, 2026 05:48 pm IST