13 new additional secretaries appointed -- 8 IAS, one each from IFoS, IDAS, ICAS, IES and Indian Audit and Accounts Service

THE Central government on Friday appointed as many as 13 officers at the rank of additional secretary, some of whom were laterally shifted from one ministry to another. The new officers include eight IAS, one each from Indian Audit and Accounts Service,  Indian Forest Service, IDAS, ICAS and Indian Economic Service. The list incidentally has two Arun Goyal/Goels — Arun Goyal of AGMUT cadre in GST Council against a newly-created post, and Arun Goel of Punjab cadre who has been laterally shifted from Delhi Development Authority's vice president's post to a new assignment as additional secretary in the ministry of labour and employment. Here is the full list:

More about Eenam Gambhir -- the diplomat who challenged Nawaz Sharif’s speech at the United Nations

Eenam Gambhir (Photo Courtesy: Facebook)

SINCE Thursday morning, Indian television and social media were abuzz with the way an Indian diplomat —a 2005 Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Eenam Gambhir — gave an apt response to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s speech at the United Nations where the Pak PM had earlier raised the issue of Kashmir and hailed slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani a “young leader” from Kashmir. “The land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centres of ancient times, is now host to the Ivy League of terrorism. It attracts aspirants and apprentices from all over the world”, she said in UN while describing Pakistan as the “global epicentre of terrorism”. Here are a few things you may like to know about this young Indian diplomat. 

Monthly Appointments in Numbers: One secretary, 25 JS, 12 PS to ministers…all in August

THE appointment of senior bureaucrats at the Centre, something that requires the approval of PM-headed Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), always varies from month to month. But, with the DoPT releasing the appointments data of the month of August in numbers, one can make out an approximately monthly average. Here below are the total numbers of appointment of secretaries, joint secretaries, private secretary or OSD to ministers, PSU heads and also empanelment of señor bureaucrats during the month of August 2016:

A few additional slots in University of California Berkeley under DFFT; Are you ready?

THE Central government has invited applications for some additional slots in short term and customized programmes in prestigious University of California Berkeley under the Domestic Funding of Foreign Training (DFFT) for the year 2016-17. Earlier in the month of April, the government had announced that it added in the list of 2016-17 DFFT the names of more…

Babus organize inter-ministry carrom tournament next month; but why can’t govt rebrand carrom as the game of the Maharajas?

BETWEEN October 17 and 25 this year, there will be an inter ministry carrom tournament in New Delhi’s Nirman Bhawan. Central Civil Services Cultural and Sports Board, an agency that comes under the department of personnel and training (DoPT), has asked potential participants to fill up the entries and pay…

Alka Sirohi to officiate as UPSC chairman; 10 things to know about this retired IAS

ON SATURDAY, Alka Sirohi, former IAS of 1974 batch and member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) was asked to perform duties as Chairman of UPSC, with effect from September 21, and till further orders or until the completion of her term as UPSC Member on January 3, 2017, whichever is earlier. In other words, she will be the temporary head of UPSC after Deepak Gupta had retired. Here BoI presents 10 things about this retired officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, including her education, postings and training in classical Hindustani music:

Attend NITI vice-chairman’s session “without fail”: DoPT asks young IAS after show-causing 37 for not attending a session with Debroy

HAS a section young IAS officers of 2014 batch posted as assistant secretaries to the government of India taken life too easy? After as many as 37 of them were found missing in a session with NITI Aayog Member and economist Bibek Debroy last week — something prominently highlighted in national newspapers and for which absentees were show-caused — the DoPT did not want to take any more chance to ensure they attend a session addressed by NITI Vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya. In what could be described as quite an unusual office memorandum dated September 12, the DoPT asked the assistant secretaries posted in various Central government ministries and departments that “they have to attend the aforesaid function without fail”, making the two words—“without fail” in bold letters. Not just that, they were asked to  be present in the function “on time”, again highlighting…

Amid Yadav family feud, UP government shuffles 23 officers

Akhilesh Yadav while taking charge on the field (File photo)

A DAY after Uttar Pradesh’s top bureaucrat was changed, the Akhilesh Yadav government on Wednesday undertook a major administrative reshuffle involving as many as 23 officers, including swapping of the roles of a number of IAS officers. Though the removal of 1982 batch IAS Deepak Singhal from the post of state chief secretary was believed to be an outcome of CM’s assessment that Singhal was very close to his uncle Shivpal Singh Yada with whom he had some problems in the last three months, the next day’s administrative reshuffle may  not entirely be…

Know more about UP’s new chief secretary — Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar

UTTAR Pradesh has a new chief secretary — 1983 batch IAS Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar. State chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday appointed Bhatnagar as the state’s top bureaucrat after he had removed 1982-batch IAS officer Deepak Singhal from the post. Singhal is believed to be close to CM’s uncle and minister Shivpal Singh Yadav with whom CM’s relations have deteriorated over the last three months. Setting aside the politics within the Yadav family, BoI here talks about the new man at the helm of bureaucracy in Uttar Pradesh, the state that’s going for polls early next year. Hailing from Delhi, Bhatnagar…

Why retired IAS SK Panda is given Louis Pasteur Award — the "Nobel Prize" in sericulture, silk industry

SK Panda

LAST month, former union textile secretary and 1980 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre retired IAS Sanjay Kumar Panda received a unique recognition — Louis Pasteur Award for the year 2016, an award considered as the Nobel Prize in sericulture and silk industry. Panda was given the award during the 24th International Congress on Sericulture and Silk Industry held last month in Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok. Panda, who did his post-graduation in chemistry before getting into IAS, actually took sericulture on a mission mode so much so that it was for his study on mulberry sericulture that he was awarded PhD in economics by Odisha’s Utkal University. In fact, Louis Pasteur was a…