Bureaucrats, diplomats enjoyed President Patil’s high tea party at Mughal Garden

Thai PM Shinawatra, Indian President Patil during the tea party

IT was Thursday afternoon. The 63rd Republic day parade was over by then. Country’s top bureaucrats, diplomats, armed forces officials along with their spouses reached the backyard of Rashtrapati Bhavan to join the high tea party hosted by President Pratibha Patil. The menu of the President’s “At Home” party included samocha, pakora, fish fries and sweets. And of course tea and coffee!
President Patil who is completing her five-year term in July this year seated at the VVIP enclosure along with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia among others.
But the bureaucrats and diplomats enjoyed the moment by roaming around the sprawling and elegantly manicured Mughal Garden at Rashtrapati Bhavan. It was a sunny afternoon, and none of the 1000 guests was in a hurry to go back home. Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar and his wife were greeted by many officials present there. Ex-US ambassador Meera Shankar and her husband Ajay Shankar, a former industry secretary, were also spotted chatting with their friends in the corridors. Montek Singh Ahluwalia's adviser Gajendra Haldea, ex-CBDT chairman PK Mishra and minority affairs secretary Surajit Mitra were among those seen chatting with friends and colleagues. A number of secretaries, former governors and political leaders were also present during the occasion.
None of the officials and armed forces bigwigs probably had any idea that 44-year-old Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was by then one of the top 10 Twitter trends in India. But Shinawatra wearing a cream skirt and jacket was the cynosure of all eyes during the high tea party. Those who were present near the VVIP enclosure said woh! when Thai PM said: Namaste India. 
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Tensions high in UP corridors as 4th babu died under mysterious circumstances

UTTAR Pradesh’s political battleground became murkier on Monday when Sunil Kumar Verma, a UP Jal Nigam engineer accused in the NRHM scam, allegedly committed suicide leading political biggies to pass contradictory comments.
This is the fourth mysterious death in connection to the National Rural Health Mission scam, pegged at Rs 5,700 crore by Comptroller and Auditor General. Earlier, two chief medical officers, Vinod Arya and BP Singh, were murdered in October 2010 and April 2011 respectively. Deputy CMO YS Sachan was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside the jail in June 2011.
The CBI which is now investigating the multi-crore scam, had raided Sunil Verma’s residence earlier this month. Verma was accused in a case related to alleged irregularities in upgradation of 134 hospitals under the scheme.
The CBI also searched residences of a number of health department bureaucrats and controversial political leader and former UP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha. According to reports, three kilograms of gold and cash of over Rs 1 crore were recovered in search at the residence of PK Jain, former General Manager of Construction and Design Services, a unit of Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam.
UP chief minister Ms Mayawati, now campaigning hard for next month’s poll, has claimed that Central government officials and not UP officials are the “real culprits” of the scam. Meanwhile, CBI has reportedly sought details of all people visiting Delhi’s UP Bhawan in the last five years, as it is suspected that most “deals” were struck not at Lucknow but in UP Bhawan located in New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri area.

Action and Appointments

a) Subramanyam Vijay Kumar, a 1976 batch Haryana cadre IAS, presently secretary, department of land resources under ministry of rural development has been appointed as OSD in the department of rural development in the rank and pay of secretary with immediate effect. The competent authority has approved the creation of a post of OSD in the rank and pay of secretary in the department of rural development for a period up to January 30, 2012 with the direction to the department of rural development to obtain ex-post-facto approval of the Cabinet.
Subramanyam Vijay Kumar will become the rural development secretary in place of BK Sinha on his retirement on January 31, 2012.
b) Ms Anita Chaudhary, a 1976 batch Haryana cadre IAS, has been appointed as secretary in the department of land resources under the ministry of rural development.
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WOOING BABUS: DLF offers up to Rs 27 lakh discount to government officials

DLF, India’s biggest real estate company by market capitalization, has offered discounts up to whopping Rs 27 lakh on its residential projects in eight cities to serving and retired bureaucrats. Gurgaon, its home turf, is however excluded from the list of cities where it has showered such discounts. In a big print advertisement designed with a heap of office files with three colours as in the national flag, the company has called it “a special tribute offer from DLF to all government and defence officials”.

In this week of Republic Day, the company has tried to catch in on the patriotic sentiments. It says in the advertisement: “It’s the time we return the favour of those who serve the nation selflessly”.

Real estate and auto companies occasionally try to woo government employees mainly for two reasons. First, the government employees form a sizable target audience for big value purchases as their job is one of the most secured, and many of them sit on huge cash reserves. There are over 5.5 million serving Central government employees alone. Also, such an offer becomes a window to reach a number of influential customers at the heart of power centers.

The DLF’s discount between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 27 lakh for its residential projects to sarkari employees, is however, valid till March 25, 2012 only in eight cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Jalandhar, Kochi, Lucknow, New Chandigarh, Panchkula and Shimla. According to the advertisement, the offer could be availed by serving and retired officials of the Central and state government, banks, PSUs, railways, defence and paramilitary forces.

Ex-home secretary GK Pillai wants PERC report to be thrown to dustbin

Outspoken former home secretary GK Pillai wrote in a column in a national newspaper that the recent report of Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy calling Indian bureaucracy the worst in Asia deserves to be consigned to the dustbin. This is how Pillai has argued on the issue: “If India scored 9.21 where 10 is the worst score, I can only conclude that the expatriate businessmen polled had no idea of what India is and how businesses in India — both local and foreign — are thriving. The report is, therefore, fit to be consigned to the dustbin, where I am sure it has already gone.”

Red Book to RedPad: Chinese babus given device twice as costly as iPad

IF Indian officers at the level of a joint secretary and above are happy that they are entitled to have iPad at office expenses, here is the shocker. Chinese bureaucrats, read Communist Party members, are now given RedPad, an Android tablet which is twice as costly as the comparable version of the iPad. Priced at 9,999 yuan, or about Rs 80,000 it has pre-loaded applications that can verify identification cards and monitor media and public sector firms.

At Weibo, a Twitter-like micro-blogging site popular in China, there has been a huge buzz about Chinese babus getting the RedPad. Should Chinese taxpayers’ money be spent to load the country’s bureaucrats with such expensive devices? This is one of the major discussion points by micro-bloggers. Many say RedPad is a symbol of privilege, or a luxury designed to fleece taxpayers.

Even the western media has run a number of stories on the subject. One report says how the RedPad has apps that allow users to check the validity of a journalist’s government accreditation. Another newspaper begins a piece by narrating the transition from Mao’s Little Red Book to the current RedPad.

Action and Appointments

a) PK Misra, a 1976 batch UP cadre IAS who has recently been appointed as DoPT secretary, will continue to hold the additional charge of the ministry of steel for one more month or till a replacement is found.

b) Atul Kumar Mathur, a 1980 batch IPS officer and director of North East Police Academy, has been granted the higher grade of ADG in the pay scale of Rs 67,000---79,000.

c) The ACC has approved the extension of the Central deputation tenure of MS Rao, a 1987 batch Assam cadre IAS for three months. Rao is the Development Commissioner of Visakhapatnam SEZ at the level of a joint secretary.

Beyond Feelings: From Sethi to Sumita meet this breed of bureaucrat poets

BUREAUCRATS handling pressure jobs at times sit back and ask: “Where was I?” and “Where am I heading?” Bishnupada Sethi, a 1995 batch Orissa cadre IAS who BoI had earlier termed “bureaucrat by mind but poet by heart”, tries to find answers thanks to his poetic zeal. In his third English poetry book “Beyond Feelings”, Sethi, currently the director of Census Operation in Orissa, attempts to answer: “Like the particles in air/and clay in waters/ in my mind, the heavier matters/ are all settling down.” Once conflicting matters settle down to the bottom of one’s understanding, one does not have to grope for such answers.

The breed of bureaucrat-cum-poet is growing and sharing their work. Like many bureaucrat painters, say Sudha Pillai of Planning Commission, who exhibit their talent, bureaucrat poets too are no longer lagging behind, and are publishing what they scribble pieces of paper.

Take the case of Amarendra Khatua, a 1981 batch Indian Foreign Service officer. Khatua is a diplomat with trade negotiating skills but poetry is his passion. His Ek Kavi Ka Khamosh Ho Jana is highly appreciated in the poetry circle. “Say it again, the familiar human touch can be so monotonous that one will prefer to stay back, at least knowing that shadows are after all shadows…” reads one of Khatua’s poems.

Only recently, Vajai Vardhan, a 1985 batch Haryana cadre IAS, has come out with his second book “Ibadat - the breath of my soul”. It is a collection of haikus which is a form of Japanese poetry. A principal secretary in Haryana’s environment ministry, Vardhan spends his spare time in researching Sufi culture. A post-graduate in history, he had earlier penned “Beyond the Great Beyond”.

It could be a mere co-incidence that like Vardhan, another Haryana bureaucrat Sumita Misra Singh also hails from Lucknow, has commands over Urdu and is a poet in action. She is a 1990 batch Haryana cadre IAS and currently the state’s chief electoral officer. Ms Misra Singh had been writing poems to herself till she was advised by author Khushwant Singh that she should allow others to appreciate her literary mind. A post graduate in economics, Ms Misra Singh recently published her poetry book “A Light of Life”.

Does babu blogger also pen poems? Follow at http://www.facebook.com/babublogger

Action and Appointments

a) Rajiv, a 1975 batch UP cadre IPS, has been appointed as Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in the pay scale of Rs 80,000 per month till he retires on October 2013.

Kiran Dhingra appointed as new textile secretary

Kiran Dhingra, a 1975 batch UT cadre IAS, is back to her favourite zone: Ministry of Textile. Ms Dhingra who was joint secretary in textile ministry for five years beginning 2000, has been appointed as India’s new textile secretary.

When Rita Menon, her batch-mate in IAS, retired last month, there were intense speculations in the corridors that Ms Dhingra would replace her. But to everyone’s surprise, PK Chaudhary, secretary in the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), was given additional charge of textile for a period of three months.

But only a fortnight later, the government changed its mind and made current Panchayati Raj secretary Dhingra as textile secretary. Whereas most of 1975 batch IAS officers have either retired or are retiring in next few months, Ms Dhingra will continue in office till January 2013, thus giving her one full-year term in the ministry.

A post-graduate in English literature, Ms Dhingra was deputy secretary and then director in human resource development ministry during 1987-1992, and in between she had a stint as OSD to transport minister in 1990-91. She had also worked as Director General (Shipping) and chief secretary of Goa.

Action and Appointments

a) Ms Loretta Mary Vas, a 1977 batch UP cadre IAS and special secretary in the department of economic affairs, has been secretary in the ministry of Panchayati Raj in place of Kiran Dhingra.

b) Dilsher Singh Katha, a 1977 Punjab cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as secretary in the department of pharmaceuticals.