White House gatecrasher socialite Michaele Salahi photographs with India's deputy chief of mission in US Arun K Singh

AMERICAN model and socialite Michaele Salahi and her husband Tareq Salahi, who had gatecrashed to White House state dinner in honour of Indian PM on November 24, 2009, not only shook hands with President Barack Obama but hobnobbed with top Indian officials and corporate honchos present during that reception. The celebrity Virginia couple, whose name was not on the guest list of the state dinner, also managed to photograph with Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi and with India's deputy chief of mission in US Arun K Singh, an Indian Foreign Service officer of 1979 batch. (See picture: Arun K Singh with Salahi couple) Ms Salahi in her facebook page has claimed that she was honored to be invited to attend the state dinner hosted by President Obama & the First Lady to honour India. She further mentions, "In June 2010, the America's Polo Cup will be between INDIA & the UNITED STATES. Please join me in this cultural celebration of politics, diplomacy, fashion, sports, entertainment & family fun". Significantly, the Salahi couple did not figure in the list of expected attendees which was released to the press by the White House. According to that list, Indian officials who were Obama's guests for that dinner included foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, deputy chief of mission in US Arun K Singh, MEA joint secretary (Americas) Ms Gaitri Kumar and personal secretaries Indian PM Jaideep Sarkar and I S Chaturvedi. The guest list also included some of the top Indian corporate leaders such as Mukesh D Ambani of Reliance Industries and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata. Now, an investigation has begun to find out how the couple managed to enter the venue which was highly protected, and every guest had to go through a security screening. US media commentators wondered how Michaele Salahi, who was not invited at all, could go upto Vice President of America and hugged him, a picture of which was also posted in various sites. Joint Secretary Shashi Bhushan to depose on sanction to prosecute Kasab The court handling the case of Mumbai attack, or 26/11, issued summons to Shashi Bhushan, joint secretary (Judicial) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), to appear as witness and give details about sanction given to prosecute Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab and two others on charges of "waging war against the nation". The sanction of the Central government is required as the criminal conspiracy was hatched outside India. Bhushan had earlier granted sanction to prosecute Kasab and two others in connection with 26/11, media reports said.

Home secretaries Pillai & Sikder to chair India-Bangladesh talks on Monday

HOME secretary G K Pillai and his Bangladeshi counterpart Abdus Sobhan Sikder may thrash out some of the disputes between the two countries in home secretary-level talks between the two countries beginning on Monday. A 5-member Bangladesh delegation, headed by the Bangladesh home secretary Sikder is reaching New Delhi on Sunday for the talks that will take up a range of issues including security, border management and enhanced cooperation between law enforcement agencies. A joint statement is expected to be signed on December 2, 2009. C P Joshi wants state bureaucrats to take personal interests in Panchayats Union Minister of Panchayati Raj & Rural Development C P Joshi wants state bureaucrats to take personal interest in promoting the cause of Panchayats so that the system all over the country is comparable or even better than that of the best performing states. While speaking to principal secretaries from various states, the minister said that the immediate areas where Panchayats should focus are those related to Human Development Index and activities covering elementary education, health & sanitation, integrated child development, women development etc. Read: G K Pillai's Straight Talk on North East, SEZ and Maoism (November 11, 2009)

4000 Indian government officers to be trained on PPP in German bank KfW-supported programme

ABOUT 4000 Indian government officials will be imparted special trainingns on public private partnership (PPP) as a part of the government's newly designed National PPP Capacity Building Programme with funding from German government's development bank KfW. Officials from state government and local bodies level will also be benefitted as the trainings will be delivered through state administrative training Institutes and central training institutes. The KfW and the India PPP Capacity Building Trust (I-Cap), signed an agreement on November 23, 2009 to develop the Programme, a government release said. The German government through KfW will provide a grant of Euro 700,000 (approx Rs 5 cr) to support the programme. The agreement was signed in the ministry of finance on Friday in the presence of Govind Mohan, joint secretary, department of economic affairs (DEA) under ministry of finance. The national PPP capacity development programme will be implemented in two phases and is expected to be completed at the end of 2012.

Action & Appointments Saroj Bala, a retired Indian Revenue Service (IRS) official and former Member (Revenue) Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has joined Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) as a Member. The BIFR, which was set up in 1987, has K Cherian Varghese as chairman with five members including Ms Bala. Ms Bala had earlier served as the Director General of National Academy of Direct Taxes at Nagpur. During her tenure at Board in North Block, she was instrumental in initiating the process of making IPL (Indian Premier League), the 20:20 version of cricket, a money spinner for the department. Saroj Bala's Contact No: (91) 011-23701029

PM uses the metaphor of salad bowl in Meera Shankar-hosted dinner in Washington

ON Wednesday night, Indian Ambassador to US Meera Shankar hosted a reception in Washington's Marriot Wardman Park Hotel in honour of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Ms Shankar who has been the newsmaker-bureaucrat this week thanks to her perfect execution of the behind-the-scene preparation for PM's most high-profile visit to US as President Obama's state guest, made it a point to convert the party into a meaningful dialogue between Prime Minister of India and prominent Indian Americans coming from across the continent. Prime Minister Singh on his part said how metaphors such as salad bowl, melting pot and the rainbow are used to describe Indian and American societies. "I want to see a true intellectual and business partnership between Indians and Americans in years to come. We are similar in so many ways. We are both free and open societies. We are both plural, multi-ethnic, multi-racial and multi-religious societies. Metaphors like salad bowl, melting pot and the rainbow have been used to describe both our societies. We are constantly dealing with issues like coalition building, dealing with civil society organizations, non-governmental activism and the free consumer – of goods and ideas", he said. The PM also said how India needs more "brain gain". "More than the resources, however, we will require imagination and innovation to succeed. People of Indian origin worldwide can contribute mightily to this effort. In the past few years we have already experienced what has been called a “reverse brain-drain”. I would prefer to call this “brain gain” or, indeed, a meeting of minds," he said. Significantly, in July this year, Senate India Caucus gave a rare reception for the Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar for which nearly two-dozen Senators turned up. (In picture: Ambassador Ms Shankar (in middle) with PM and his wife; on extreme right is Ambassador's husband and India's industry secretary Ajay Shankar) Read: Follow-up of Meera Shankar's letter: Who are officials in the Indian Railway Board who took dollar bribe? (October 16, 2009) Also Read: BoI Ranking: India’s Top 3 Most Powerful Woman Bureaucrats are Nirupama Rao, Meera Shankar & Sudha Pillai (October 19, 2009) Also Read: Full text of PM's speech Ministry of culture to appoint non-bureaucrats in important posts The ministry of culture has changed its recruitment rules in respect of the posts of heads of eight attached and subordinate offices so as to induct professionals at the helm of affairs. The rules have been changed to provide a search-cum-selection procedure in place of selection procedure earlier and ensure appointment on contract basis in addition to the existing modes of promotion and deputation basis. The recruitment rules in respect of posts of director general, Archaeological Survey of India, director general, National Museum, director general, National Archives of India and director, National Library have already been revised and that of director, Anthropological Survey of India is under revision, minister of state for planning and parliamentary affairs V Narayanasamy said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. At present, the post of director general, Archaeological Survey of India is held by an officer of additional secretary level on regular appointment basis and the post of director general, National Museum is held by a joint secretary in the ministry of culture on additional charge basis.

Liberhan demolishes UP bureaucrats; Says they chose to remain deaf, dumb and blind before Ayodhya incident

IF YOU thought Liberhan Commission report on the demolition of Babri mosque has indicted only the politicians and spared the bureaucrats, you are making a mistake. Justice M S Liberhan spotted a nexus between civil servants and politicians leading to December-1992 event, and even quoted Jawaharlal Nehru to say what civil service founded by Lord Cornwallis should stand for. The report of the Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry said that bureaucrats became a part of the cartel of the then UP chief minister (Kalyan Singh) and willingly helped the party's manifesto, propagate the caste and communal oriented politics."The police and the administrators were the executors of the designs of the RSS, VHP, BJP, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena etc.," section 168.8 of the chapter 14 of the report (page no 950) said. Using harsher words, the report said, "They (civil servants) could have at least attempted to stem the tide of communalism and the rape of democracy. But they chose to remain deaf, dumb and blind throughout and instead became a willing part of the cartel... The police and the bureaucrats of the state not just turned a blind eye to the misadventures of the polity but actively connived with the chief minister and the Sangh Parivar by systematically paralyzing the state machinery" The report further alleged that many of those civil servants were rewarded with plum postings after the demolition as well as tickets for contesting elections. Justice Liberhan also hinted that then UP chief minister Kalyan Singh's mass transfer of some of the officers out of action, and getting in officers of political choice was a part of a larger design. And finally here's the sermon. "The civil service founded by Lord Cornwallis was meant to provide continuity in governance. Speaking at the inauguration of the Indian Institute of Public Administration at Delhi in 1954, Jawaharlal Nehru offered these words of advice to civil servants 'Administration is meant to achieve something and not to exist in some kind of an ivory tower following certain rules of procedure and Narcissus-like looking on itself with complete satisfaction. The test after all, is the human being and their welfare". (In Picture: Dr Manmohan Singh being presented the Liberhan Commission Report by Justice MS Liberhan, in New Delhi on June 30, 2009. The Union home minister P Chidambaram is also seen). For actual text of "The civil servants and police officers of Uttar Pradesh", go to page number 948 to 950 of the Chapter 14 of the report. CISF personnel hired out to private cos Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel are being hired out to private companies. So far Infosys Technologies has hired 101 personnel whereas Electronics City, Bangalore hired 68 personnel. While agreeing for deployment of CISF in private sector establishments, it is ensured that it will not compromise the security of the other sensitive establishments in public sector, minister of state for home Ajay Maken said in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Govt ends adhocism; appoints full-time shipping & higher education secretaries

THE government has finally chosen the candidates for filling up two key secretary level posts --- ministry of shipping and department of higher education --- a long 24 days after the incumbents got retired. BoI's post on November 21 asked "Why does Indian government skip appointing full-time secretaries in shipping & higher education?" Now, suave and soft-spoken K Mohandas, a 1974 batch Kerala cadre IAS with stints at ministry of finance, and now in the ministry of overseas Indian affairs will be the new shipping secretary whereas Vibha Puri Das, a 1976 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and currently additional secretary in the ministry of personnel has been appointed as secretary, department of higher education under HRD ministry. It's not known when they would take over their new assignments. Significantly, Ms Kiran Dhingra, a 1975 batch UT cadre IAS, and secretary of ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation was recently given additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of shipping for a period of three months or until further order with effect from November 1, 2009. In the same manner, Ms Anshu Vaish, a 1975 batch MP cadre IAS and presently secretary, department of school education and literacy, was given additional charge of the post of secretary, department of higher education for a period of three months or until further order.

Action & Appointments a) Ms Savita Anand, a 1981 batch Rajasthan cadre IFS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of land resources. b) M F Farooqui, a 1978 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS and presently in the cadre has been appointed as additional secretary in the ministry of environment and forests in the vacancy of B S Parsheera, a 1974 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS. c) M R Anand, a 1981 batch IES has been appointed as Deputy Director General, in the Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) (joint secretary level) under the department of rural development. d) The government has approved in-situ elevation of Ramesh Chandra Misra, a 1976 batch Orissa cadre IAS as special secretary and financial adviser in the department of information technology, ministry of communications and IT. e) The government has approved in-situ elevation of Ms Bhupinder Prasad, a 1976 batch UT cadre IAS as special secretary in the department of justice, ministry of law and justice. f) P Michael V Siromony, a 1982 batch Kerala cadre IAS, and presently joint secretary(training), National Human Rights Commission under the ministry of home affairs has been appointed as director, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute for Youth Development (RGNIYD) (joint secretary level) at Sriperumbudur (TN) under the ministry of youth affairs and sports. Officials to undergo training to check corporate frauds The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has established Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) to act as the capacity building support for its officers on issues relating to effective corporate functioning and regulation. The Institute will also design and deliver training programmes on such areas relating to corporate laws and regulations on specific requests from any ministry, department and an organisation, a government release said on Tuesday.

Know Your Babu: Secretary of Ministry of Shipping K Mohandas, 1974 batch IAS

Biodata of K Mohandas Name: K Mohandas Batch: 1974 batch IAS Cadre: Kerala Date of Birth: February 18, 1952 Place of Domicile: Kerala Mother Tongue: Malayalam Indian Languages Known: Tamil, English & Hindi

Educational Qualifications PG, Finance, First Division

Major Postings a) Collector, Kottayam District (June 8, 1981 to July 23, 1983) b) Managing Director, Deputy Secretary Level), Finance, (August 1, 1983 to August 1,1986) c) Special Secretary, Cadre, Finance, (October 3, 1989 to July 16, 1991) d) Additional Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi, (March 17, 2005 to January 2, 2008) e) Special Secretary, (Secretary Equivalent), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi, (January 2, 2008 to February 4, 2008) f) Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, New Delhi, (From February 4, 2008 till now) Foreign Training a) Diploma in finance, UK (52 weeks in1988) b) Colombo Plan Management for 6 weeks in UK (1996) c) HR Management for 3 weeks in UK (1998) d) Public Enterprises Reform for one week in UK (2000) Awards/Publications NIL

Know Your Babu: Higher education secretary Vibha Puri, 1976 batch IAS

Biodata of Vibha Puri Das Name: Ms Vibha Puri Batch: 1976 batch IAS Cadre: Uttarakhand Date of Birth: December 3, 1953 Place of Domicile: Uttar Pradesh Mother Tongue: Hindi Educational Qualifications PG in Political Science, First Division Major Postings a) Under Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development (From June1, 1983 to July 1, 1985) b) Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development (July 1, 1985 to May 31, 1987) c) District Magistrate, Dehradun (October 20, 1987 to July 11, 1989) d) Executive Director, (Director Equivalent) Central Social Welfare Board (June1, 1991 to September1, 1992) e) Managing Director, (JS Level) Kanpur Nagar (March 29, 1995 to April 17, 1997) f) Additional CEO, (JS Level), Greater Noida Authority, (April 17, 1997 to April 13, 1998) g) Vice Chairman, (JS Level), Ghaziabad (April 13, 1998 to November 10, 1998) h) Consultancy (Short Term) UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) i) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (August 30, 2000 to August 14, 2003) j) Additional Secretary, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, New Delhi (August 4, 2008 till now) Foreign Trainings a) Management in rural development at Manila, Philippines for 2 weeks (1983) b) A 10-week course on poverty alleviation in University of Sussex, UK (1986) c)PDAC, RW&O, in Beijing, China for 2 weeks (1986) d) PCAPP IN ESCAP, for 2 weeks in Thailand (1991) e) Micro CRPPWM at Dhaka, Bangladesh (1991) Awards/Publications Nil

Retired Korean bureaucrats spotted for grabbing plum posts without reporting to authority

A NUMBER of South Korean bureaucrats have come under fire for grabbing plum private sector jobs post-retirement without reporting it to the Public Service Ethics Committee. The news is significant in the backdrop of neighbouring Japan's ruling party Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) pledging to end the practice of Amakudari, meaning “descent from heaven” under which Japanese senior bureaucrats take up high-profile positions in the private and public sectors after retirement. As BoI (Babus of India) had reported earlier, the practice is increasingly viewed as corrupt as former officials might have given preferential treatment to their would-be employers in securing key government contracts. Of 12,726 bureaucrats who retired between 2006 and 2008, 68 have worked for large companies without reporting it to the Public Service Ethics Committee, Korea Times said in a report. Some of these former policy makers served in the ministries of information and communication, construction and transportation, gender equality and family and defense, the report said. Significantly, former Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo now serves as a senior advisor for Kim and Chang, the country's largest law firm. Disclaimer: The picture above is symbolic, and does not show the bureaucrats in question. Also Read: Japanese bureaucrats may no longer be able to practise Amakudari; what’s about Indian retired babus? (September 3, 2009) Retired Korean bureaucrats clinch high paying bank jobs (June 10, 2009) Questions on Jharkhand IAS admitted in Rajya Sabha The list of questions that was admitted for Rajya Sabha dated November 26, included ones related to IAS officers in Jharkhand, harassment of people seeking information under RTI, need of experts in administration, cases withdrawn by CBI, incidents of disproportionate assets case, corruption cases against officers etc. Watch out for BoI posts to spot government's official stand on those issues as the ministers will reply to each of these tricky questions. Also Read: Netagiri vs Babudom: MPs to question on bureaucrats' asset disclosure (November 20, 2009)

Jobs at UIDAI: Is Nilekani preferring IAS to corporate guys?

NANDAN Nilekani, a corporate honcho now in government, is preferring to take bureaucrats, mainly IAS, on board for executing key managerial assignments in various offices of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which has begun the process of giving a unique identification number to each of 1 billion Indian citizens. Despite the government allowing UIDAI to recruit private sector, though on government salary and on contract basis, the UIDAI has preferred the route of recruiting bureaucrats at the rank of joint secretary and deputy secretary/director. The difficulty in getting right private sector people with government salary is believed to be one of the main handicaps of UIDAI of recruiting key managers from corporate world. To give a sense of government salary structure, a joint secretary with over 20 years of experiences gets a pay of Rs 37400-67000/-(Pay Band-4 in government language) with a grade pay of Rs 10000, and other parks like accommodation. People in power corridors, however, feel that UIDAI chairman Mr Nilekani wants a brigade of IAS officers to manage the show as they are well-equipped and most suitable to understand the complex government procedure to make this fl edging project a success. Though UIDAI is in pressing need of key people right away, the recruitment of government officers needs its own time, and once selected the said officer will have to be relieved by the concerned state. Poaching private sector managers and appointing them on contract basis could have been less time-consuming than recruiting bureaucrats. The UIDAI which will have its new office in LIC building in CP, New Delhi, is likely to have a back-hand set-up of technicians in Bangalore. Till now, seven government officers including Ram Sevak Sharma (Director General and Mission Director), Ms K Ganga, Deputy Director General and five deputy secretary or director level officers were recruited to the Authority. Three more officers is likely to be on board soon, and the process of recruitment for another 10 officers is underway, sources said.

Read: Implementing govt projects is not easy, TKA Nair tells Nilekani (September 16, 2009) Nilekani needs additional DGs in 8 cities (October 2, 2009) JS level officers wanted (October 12, 2009)

Is secretary Ashok Sinha the most stylish Indian bureaucrat today?

IF YOU are a regular in the power corridors of Delhi, here's a simple question. Is skin-headed food processing industries secretary Ashok Sinha (In Picture) who sports a French cut beard, the most stylish secretary-level bureaucrat in the country now? A 1975 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, Mr Sinha is suave, sophisticated and stylish though he has a few competitors in some ministries. Will you vouch for finance secretary Ashok Chawla as the most stylish bureaucrat today? If you feel, any secretary or additional secretary level officer is stylish in dress, approach and action, who in turn inspires younger civil servants, kindly comment below, or write at babu.blogger1@gmail.com You may soon find a list of stylish bureaucrats in this site who make an impact not just because they are holding important positions, but thanks to their stylish approach in life...

Why does Indian government skip appointing full-time secretaries in shipping & higher education? Two women IAS made in-charge, for now

IN AN unusual move, the government has decided not to assign two important departments--- ministry of shipping and department of higher education, to any full-time secretaries, making many a secretary-empanelled aspirant baffled. Though both those posts fell vacant on October 31, 2009, the government preferred not to appoint any full-time secretary but took the route of allocating those departments to woman officers who are already handling fairly important departments. In fact, Ms Kiran Dhingra, a 1975 batch UT cadre IAS, and secretary of ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation has been given additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of shipping for a period of three months with effect from November 1, 2009. (In Picture: Ms Dhingra during a release of a publication titled, "Major Ports of India 2008-09-- A profile" on November 12, 2009 in New Delhi). Similarly, Ms Anshu Vaish, a 1975 batch MP cadre IAS and presently secretary, department of school education and literacy, was given additional charge of the post of secretary, department of higher education under the ministry of human resource development for a period of three months. Though these two woman officers are considered to be efficient enough to handle additional assignments, but many in power corridors have failed to comprehend the motive behind the government's decision of not appointing full-time secretaries in higher education and shipping! Also, questions have arisen what's if the government makes it a norm and gives more such additional charges for a few more important departments like DIPP where secretaries are scheduled to retire by December end.

Envoys of 5 nations present credentials to President of India Five envoys presented their credentials to the President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. The envoys were: Jaime Virgillo Nualart Sanchez, the ambassador of Mexico, Jose Maria da Silva Vieira de Morais, the high commissioner of Mozambique, Ara Hakobyan, the ambassador of Armenia, Alexander M Kadakin, the ambassador of Russia, and Robert Tachle-Menson, the high commissioner of Ghana. In her interaction with the envoys, the President said that the global agenda was now full of complex issues such as terrorism, climate change, energy security and eradication of poverty, hunger and disease. The President felt that there was a necessity for developing an equitable world where all can live with dignity, which requires clear vision, determined action and the need for nations to work together. The credential presentation ceremony was attended by the senior members of the missions, senior officials of the ministry of external affairs and Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Also Read: 7 foreign babus present their credentials to Indian President (September 25, 2009) Doc's prescription to Indian diplomats (August 26, 2009)

Netagiri vs Babudom: MPs to question on bureaucrats' asset disclosure, retirement age & CVC cases in winter session of Parliament

THE world of babudom will come under more scrutiny during the ongoing winter session of Parliament which began on Thursday. Members of Parliament (MPs) are going to ask a number of questions regarding acknowledgement of MPs' letters, prosecution of civil servants, retirement scheme of government employees etc., according to a provisional list of unstarred questions to be admitted in Lok Sabha dated November 25, 2009. The provisional list of questions admitted for that date includes questions related to quota for IAS and IPS, cases referred to Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), modernisation CBI and medium of UPSC examinations etc. It remains to be seen what the government answers on contentious questions like declaring of bureaucrats' assets under the Right to Information( RTI) Act, which is also listed as an unstarred question. The provisional questions also include how to make RTI more effective and legislation for whistle blowers. Read: Netagiri & Babudom: A new set of instructions issued to help officers communicate with MPs (August 7, 2009) Former defence secretary Vijay Singh sworn-in as member UPSC Vijay Singh, former defence secretary of government of India took the oath of office and secrecy as Member, Union Service Public Commission on Thursday. The oath was administered by UPSC chairman Prof D P Agrawal. Mr Singh, a 1970 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS, held several important assignments both in the state of Madhya Pradesh and at the Centre during his 37 year career, a government release said. His assignments at the Centre included director in the department of cultural affairs, joint secretary in the ministry of health & family welfare, additional secretary in the ministry of commerce, ministry of information & broadcasting and in ministry of finance. He became chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh in October, 2004 and served there till January, 2006. Then, he served as secretary to government of India in the department of AYUSH and later in the department of road transport & highways before becoming the country's defence secretary in August, 2007.

Action & Appointments a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Sudhakar Rao, a 1973 batch Karnataka cadre IAS (Retd) as Member, Public Enterprises Selection Board (PSEB) for a tenure of three years or until the age of 65 years or until fruther orders. b) Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as additional secretary in department of agricultural research and education under the ministry of agriculture in the vacancy of A K Upadhyay, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS. c) Alok Kumar, a 1984 batch Assam cadre IAS, has been appointed as joint secretary in the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT). Result for CDS Exam( I )-2009 announced The UPSC has announced the results of the Combined Defence Services Examination (I)-2009 held by the Services Selection Board of the ministry of defence for admission to the 128th Course of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala and Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course or 187th F(P) Course. Results are available at UPSC website --- www.upsc.gov.in

Process of 2010 Central deputation begins; an officer to be debarred from deputation for 5 years if he withdraws mid-way

IF YOU are an IAS, IPS or any other Group A officer wishing to join any Central government department under Central Staffing Scheme, you have to be absolutely sure that you don't withdraw mid-way. What's more, you must ensure that your cadre authority does not withdraw your name while it's in an advanced stage of processing. The government has reiterated its policy of debarring an officer for five years, if, once appointed by the Government under the Central Staffing Scheme, he does not join the post either on account of personal disinclination, or the refusal of the Cadre, to relieve him, a official letter to all Cadre Controlling Authorities of Group 'A' Services said. "As you might be aware, considerable process and exercise are gone through before an officer is appointed under the Central Staffing Scheme. However, very often, the Cadre Authorities withdraw the names of officers from offer at an advanced stage of processing. This results in considerable delay in the placement of officers under the Central Staffing Scheme, which is not in public interest," P K Mishra, establishment officer and additional secretary at DoPT, elaborated it in his letter to Cadre Authorities. The letter further captured another interesting observation. "In the recent past years, it has been observed that some individual officers whose name has been placed on the offer list have represented directly to this office for withdrawal of their names from the offer list citing personal reasons. This practice should be avoided and no individual requests received from such officers will be entertained," it said. Meanwhile, the process of appointment on deputation to posts under the Central Staffing Scheme for the year 2010 has begun. The DoPT has come out with a detailed guideline for nominating suitable officers and said that about 30% of the posts under the Central Staffing Scheme are of the rank of joint secretary and above, and the remaining 70% of the posts are at the level of director or deputy secretary i.e. the middle management level. DoPT's letter to Cadre Controlling Authorities BoI extraa... Bird watch is getting tougher for civil aviation secretary Nambiar Civil aviation secretary M M Nambiar spent quite sometime on Wednesday charting out a plan on how to deal with growing number of incidents of bird strikes. The incidents of bird strikes have been increasing – 167 in 2006, 217 in 2007, and 304 in 2008. This year till October, 241 bird strikes have been reported to the DGCA. Till October, 2009, Air India has reported 24 bird strikes, Jet Airways- 49, Kingfisher Airlines-60, Indigo-27, Spice Jet-30, Paramount-1, Go Airways-7, 34 by the International airlines and 6 by other kinds of aircraft.

Geneva-based WTO job on offer for deputy secretary level Indian bureaucrat

YET another high profile global post is on offer for Indian bureaucrats to apply. The DoPT (department of personnel and training) has come out with a circular asking for nomination from officers at the rank of deputy secretary or director to fill up the post of First Secretary (Legal) in Permanent Mission of lndia (PMI), WTO, Geneva. This is the second such major hunt for suitable officers to be posted at WTO's headquarters in Geneva. About four months ago, another hunt for candidates for the post of Counsellor (Services) in the WTO's Permanent Mission of India (PMI), began for a vacancy that was expected to arise on November 21, 2009. The detailed eligibility of the current post of First Secretary (Legal) in Permanent Mission of lndia (PMI), WTO, Geneva are as follows: a) Officers of the rank of deputy secretary/director of Government of lndia or equivalent level are eligible for the post b) Mandatory Requirements i) Officers having 2 years cumulative work experience in commerce, trade and industry ii) Should be familiar with the functioning of the WTO and have knowledge of the legal agreements iii) Should have a degree in Law (LLB) c) Desirable Requirements i) Should have experience in the trade policy division of the department of commerce ii) Should have the ability to handle international negotiations d) It is further required that i) The officer must have worked for at least 2 years at the Centre under the Central Staffing Scheme ii) Should have at least "Very Good" service record iii) Should not be over 54 years of age on the date of occurrence of vacancy iv) The officer should not have been nominated for foreign training or should not be on training or foreign assignment currently v) Should not be on study leave or long leave The names of willing and eligible officers who can be spared by the state government/ministries/departments may be forwarded to this Department along with cadre clearance, vigilance clearance, detailed bio-data and certified ACR grading of the last five years. For officers working in the state government, it may also be ensured that the "Cooling Off", after a previous stint on deputation, if any, is complete and the officer is eligible to be appointed on Central Deputation as per rules. e) Last date of application: 15th December, 2009. Significantly, present current cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar, served as Ambassador to the WTO in the Permanent Mission of India (PMI), Geneva. He joined in December 2001 succeeding S Narayanan. Actual copy of DoPT CIRCULAR dated November 16, 2009 Read about the earlier vacancy: A high profile post on offer for WTO, Geneva (August 1, 2009) The actual copy of Haryana chief secretary's list of eligible officers for First Secretary's post at PMI, WTO, Geneva Action & Appointments Following four Judges have been appointed as Supreme Court Judges. In order of seniority, they are: i) Justice Ananga Kumar Patnaik, Chief Justice, Madhya Pradesh High Court ii) Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, Chief Justice, Punjab & Haryana High Court, iii) Justice Kalavamkodath Sivasankara Panicker Radhakrishnan, Chief Justice, Gujarat High Court iv) Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar, Chief Justice, Calcutta High Court

Pak officers club denies entry to state civil servants

IT'S a story of a civil servants club across the border. Punjab Civil Officers Mess (PCOM) located at Lahore in Pakistan has been in news recently for denying membership to all provincial officers as the recreational hub was now positioned only for District Management Group (DMG) and Central Superior Services (CSS. In Indian context, it's like a story of forming a club exclusively for IAS with no entry sign for state civil servants officers. In fact, about 1,600 provincial cadre officers including those from the Provincial Civil Services (PCS), Provincial Secretariat Services (PSS) and the Provincial Management Services (PMS) of Pakistan were refused membership to the club having recreational, sporting and boarding facilities, a report in Daily Times said. New rules were introduced only recently to convert the club only for high ranked officers. Significantly, Central Superior Services of Pakistan, or CSS, is the highly prestigious and powerful Pakistani federal government department officers. About 100-150 officers are recruited every year in that elite service out of 8000 to 10,000 applicants. The CSS includes Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service, Police Service of Pakistan, District Management Group, Income Tax Group (ITG), Customs and Excise Group (CEG), Foreign Service of Pakistan (FSP), Postal Group (PG), Commerce & Trade Group (CTG), Railways Group (RG), Information Group (IG), Military Lands and cantonment Group (MLCG) and Officer Management Group (OMG). Though civil services of Pakistan like that of India are based on the British system, Musharraf government first initiated major administrative reforms. National Commission of Government Reforms (NCGR) under the chairmanship of Dr Ishrat Hussain, the former governor of State Bank of Pakistan, recommended in September 2007 that four CSS cadres --- Pakistan Railway Service, Pakistan Postal Service, Commerce and Trade Group, and the Information Service of Pakistan, should be axed. The recommendation wanted Postal and Railway Service to be made autonomous commercial bodies. Action & Appointments a) Sumanta Chaudhari, a 1985 batch West Bengal cadre IAS has been appointed against a newly created post of joint secretary in the Department of Commerce for a period of five years or until further orders. b) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the department of atomic energy for central deputation tenure of Dr P Mukherjee, a 1980 batch IA&AS for a period of six months up to June 9, 2010 or until further orders. c) Justice Bilal Nazki, Judge of the Bombay High Court, will be the new Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office. d) Lt Gen AK Singh becomes the GOC of the Strike Corps on the Western Front.

A section of Indian Railway officers continue a high voltage online debate on whether they should be equated with IAS or not

FOR the last several months now, a section of Indian Railway officers have been engaged in a major debate in an unofficial site of IRTS (Indian Railway Traffic Service) officers where it is argued whether IRTS could be termed as IAS of the Railways or not, meaning they are a superior service in comparison to their sister railway services such as IRPS (Indian Railway Personnel Service) or IRAS (Indian Railways Accounts Service). One of the officers, understandably an IRTS officer himself, wrote in the high voltage online debate, "IRTS officials are truely the cream of all the railway services. The IRTS cadre was once the exclusive birth-right of the English before Independence. Now it is thrown open to all through the UPSC exam. Looking at the scope of this cadre, it is definitely the IAS of railways. If IRTS officials are periodically trained in fundamental engineering aspects of Railways, it would enable them to get deputations abroad and hold higher posts," he said. Why should IRTS be called as IAS. Here is one argument by an officer in the site, "Calling IRTS is probably the only Central Service with a mandatory 1-2 year stint at remote area locations as coordinating field officer/area officer. The only parallel, here would be that of IAS and IPS probationers who are posted as SDM (sub-divisional magistrate) and SDPO(sub-divisional police officer) at tehsil level. Many IAS and IPS officers,who have interacted with IRTS officers during their field postings have a high regard for IRTS, having seen their coordinating skills and task-oriented working style." There are others who feel they are superior, but argue at the same time that equating themselves with IAS would mean lack of confidence and pride in their cadre. "IRTS is IRTS and not IAS.Calling IRTS as IAS of railways amounts to lack of confidence in oneself and lack of pride in our job. Railway officers in general and IRTS in particular are doing their job in a much better and superior way than any IAS can do. We are much devoted, loyal to the public cause, and hard working. IAS has been responsible for all the rot, corruption and waste we see all over. Yes, IAS enjoys much preference in the society, has more perks and privileges, because they guard their perks and privileges very jealously, while railway officers, even though they had all the resources under their own control, never cared for them and always worked in public spirit," another officier argued. If you have any any thought on the subject, write at babu.blogger1@gmail.com, or click on "comment" below and post your views. Read: Railways’ Sari cadre inspires Sarkari brigade (July 31, 2009) Ex-Babu Tracker: Former IAS & MD of IL&FS IDC to joint World Bank's HQ in Washington O P Agarwal, former Assam cadre IAS of 1979 batch and currently Managing Director of IL&FS IDC is likely to join the World Bank as senior transport specialist. Mr Agarwal, who left the IAS to join the corporate bandwagon two years ago, is likely to be based out of World Bank's headquarters in Washington. He is credited with drafting the National Urban Transport Policy in India when he was a joint secretary in the ministry of urban development. His appointment in the Bank's global transport team is significant in the backdrop of the World Bank's proposed $5 billion loan to India's urban sector which is likely to have a major transport component. A masters from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Mr Agarwal left IAS first to join Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) in August, 2007, before moving to IL&FS later. He is also the MD of Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC), a joint venture between Union ministry of urban development, Andhra Pradesh government and IL&FS. Mr Agarwal's earlier international exposure included his stint (March 1993 to March 1995) as ministry of finance's trade adviser in Republic of Seychelles.

SAARC cabinet secretaries want exchange of officers for training and co-operation

REGIONAL collaboration among the SAARC institutions and officials would now be institutionalized by creating a network of institutions, reserving training slots in prestigious institutions and exchange of visits, a two-day meeting of SAARC cabinet secretaries held in New Delhi on Friday and Saturday decided. The meeting was attended by all the cabinet secretaries from the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) member states --- India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Member states will share information on best practices in the field of administrative reforms by preparing a compendium, and hosting the best practices on websites of SAARC member states, an Indian government release said. The cabinet secretaries also deliberated upon areas where major innovations were tried out in various member states to benefit their citizens. Member states also discussed rural development programmes in their own countries and their impact on people. Various institutions in SAARC member countries have developed rural development models which will be made available to the SAARC secretariat for putting together an Index of Rural Development Models. Further exchange of information and knowledge on rural development models will take place based on the felt needs of member countries. (In Picture: SAARC Secretariat at Kathmandu, established on 16 January 1987 mainly to coordinate and monitor the implementation of SAARC activities)

CVC recommends major penalty proceedings against 70 officers

THE Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) advised imposition of major penalty against 70 officers including 11 from Public Sector Banks, eight from Central Board of Excise and Customs, seven from MCD, six from Department of Telecommunications, five each from United India Insurance Co. Ltd. & ministry of defence, four each from Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan & ministry of railways, three from Central Board of Direct Taxes, two each from National Insurance Co. Ltd., Central Coalfields Ltd., CPWD & DDA, a government release said. The Commission disposed of 472 cases during September 2009 referred to it for advice. Of these, 987 complaints were sent for necessary action/ATR whereas 144 complaints were sent for investigation and report. On the Commission’s recommendations, the competent authorities issued sanctions for prosecution against 26 officers including 18 from CBEC, 3 from ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions, 2 from CBDT and one each from home affairs, BSNL & ministry of railways. Major penalty was imposed on 47 officers. These included 16 from Public Sector Banks, 14 from ministry of railways, 7 MCD and 3 from DDA. Also, conducting of technical examination of some departments led to the recoveries to the tune of Rs 61.25 crore.

Babus In Demand: One vacancy in CAT, Jaipur

Applications are invited from suitable officers for one vacancy of Administrative Member in Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) at Jaipur occurring on June, 2010. A Member shall hold office for a term of five years, extendable by one more term of five years. But no Member shall hold office after he attains the age of 65 years. The conditions of service of Chairman and Members shall be the same as applicable to Judges of the High Court. For details check the DoPT Circular DIPP secretary & WIPO DG sign MoU Ajay Shankar, secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) and Dr Francis Gurry, director general of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation. The areas of cooperation envisaged include, assisting India in implementing its national IP and innovation strategy; empowering knowledge creators in the use of IP; building awareness on IP as a critical tool for promoting innovation and creativity through public outreach activities, a government release said. The MOU also provides for cooperation between the WIPO Worldwide Academy (WMA) and the National Institute for Intellectual Property Management, Nagpur.

Crucial changes on the anvil in UPSC exams, says chairman; No of attempts could be reduced

THE Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has recommended major changes in civil services examinations including a reduction of number of attempts to appear for the examination. The Commission has recommended to the government that a Civil Services Aptitude Test should replace the existing Civil Services (Preliminary) examination, chairman of the Commission Prof D P Agrawal said in his address during UPSC Foundation Day lecture series on governance in New Delhi on Thursday. According to the new proposal, there will be two objective type papers common to all candidates. The emphasis will be on testing the aptitude of the candidate for the demanding life in the civil service as well as on the ethical and moral dimensions of decision-making, a government release said. Mr Agarwal further said that the proposed scheme would have the advantages of testing candidates' decision making skills and aptitude for civil services, and also providing a level playing field and equity, as all candidates will have to attempt common papers. Mr Agrawal also advocated for a reduction in the number of attempts allowed at the examination. Also, if recommendations made by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) get through, the performance of officers selected through civil services exam will be tracked, particularly during the initial years. The Chairman said that the Commission receives over a million applications for all the 14 regular examinations and other recruitment it conducts every year. He further said that the Commission was contemplating moving to examination through computers, once the initiative is approved by the government. The UPSC was setup 83 years ago. Railway minister and senior bureaucrats write to each rail employee In an unprecedented appeal by Union railways minister Mamata Banerjee along with both ministers of state for railways E Ahamed and K H. Muniyappa and the entire railway board and the chiefs of various unions of railway employees in a single written joint appeal to railwaymen have called upon them to strengthen the railway system through sincere efforts and hard wok. The joint appeal has called upon them to continue their hard work and dedication for realizing the motto ‘Service with Smile’. The letter of appeal has warned the employees saying that resorting to short-cut methods in discharge of duties is unacceptable. The officer signatories to the joint appeal include chairman, Railway Board, S S Khurna, financial commissioner Ms Sowmya Raghvan, member electrical Sudesh Kumar, member engineering Rakesh Chopra, member mechanical Praveen Kumar, member traffic Shriprakash, secretary, Railway Board, K B L Mittal etc.

Action & Appointments Gh Hasnain Massodi has been appointed as an Additional Judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court for a period of two years with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.

Prez Pratibha Devisingh Patil to inaugurate UPSC's lecture series on governance today

THE issues regarding contemporary relevance to governance and public administration will crop up for discussion in UPSC's foundation day lecture series today. The inaugural lecture will be delivered by President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil on ‘Governance and Public Service’. Minister of state for personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithiraj Chavan will preside over the function to be held in New Delhi, a government release said. In fact, UPSC may now aggressively position itself as the central player in the field of governance issues, and anchoring this lecture series on governance is one of the key demonstrations towards that direction. It is felt that administrative systems have to keep pace with aspirations of young Indian population for which there is an acknowledged need for modernizing the administrative mechanism. The lecture series is also expected to address the pressing matters of administrative reform, and it may give timely input to the process of reforms. The UPSC has the responsibility of recruiting talents for manning civil services in the country in addition to advising the government on related matters of service which cover personnel policy and human resource management. Envoys of Panama, Paraguay, Serbia, Germany & Iceland present credentials to Prez of India Five envoys presented their credentials to the President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday. The envoys were Julio De La Guardia Arrocha, the Ambassador of Panama, Genaro Vicente Pappalardo Ayala, the Ambassador of Paraguay, Jovan Mirilovic, the Ambassador of Serbia, Thomas Matussek, the Ambassador of Germany (See picture above) and Gudmundur Eiriksson, the Ambassador of Iceland. The credential presentation ceremony was attended by senior members of the missions, senior officials of the ministry of external affairs (MHA) and Rashtrapati Bhavan. Action & Appointments a) There has been a cancellation of the approval of the ACC for the appointment of Taradatt, a 1983 batch Orissa cadre IAS as joint secretary in the ministry of minority affairs in place of Sujit Datta, CSS, and it was decided to appoint R Karikal Valaven, a 1989 batch AP cadre IAS in the said vacancy for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or untill further orders. b) R Bandyopadhyay, a 1974 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs will hold additional charge of the post of secretary in the ministry of minority affairs during the period of absence on leave of Vivek Mehrotra, a 1974 batch Haryana cadre IAS up to 11th December, 2009. c) S P Seth, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS, presently special secretary in the ministry of coal has been appointed as Principal Adviser, Planning Commission in the rank and pay of secretary in the vacancy of Amitabha Bhattacharya, a 1975 batch AP cadre IAS. d) Rohit Nandan, a 1982 batch UP cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of civil aviation for a period of five years.

G K Pillai's Straight Talk on North East, SEZ and Maoism

MINISTRY of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday might have issued a denial of media reports quoting home secretary G K Pillai saying that China was supplying small arms to Maoist groups in India, but those who have tracked Mr Pillai for years know it for sure that he is fearless and at times non-diplomatic when he speaks out from his heart. Yes, reporters this time might have twisted his observation that rather than quoting him saying "small arms made in China were illegally brought to India and supplied to Maoist groups", it was presented as if he said China (which will mean Chinese government) supplied small arms to Maoists, quite a big accusation on India's powerful neighbour. Yet, Mr Pillai has spoken out quite frankly on a number of sensitive issues, the latest being his expression of unhappiness over West Bengal government's recent move of exchanging jailed Maoists for releasing an officer, done at the behest of none other than state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee himself. Those who know Mr Pillai, a 1972 batch Kerala cadre IAS, would say for sure that he commented on sensitive North-East issues quite fearlessly when he was a joint secretary (JS) in the ministry of home looking after North East affairs. Unlike most joint secretaries who avoid talking to press on record on any sensitive matter, Mr Pillai participated in every possible seminar on North East affairs in late 1990s quite passionately, and spoke to media on record thereby pushing the MHA's agenda quite aggressively. Very few people know that he was one of the key behind-the-scene actors to ensure mandatory 10% allocation of Central ministries for the North East and the creation of non-lapsable pool which have immensely helped India's one of the most backward pockets till today. Even when Mr Pillai was in the ministry of commerce in various capacities ranging from additional secretary to special secretary and then secretary during the last few years, he was quite forthright in various issues including his pet subject, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) which he had implemented despite stiff opposition from various political quarters. In case of denotification of notified SEZs in Goa, he was even at loggerhead with Goa's political establishment. Despite he was in the reckoning to become India's cabinet secretary, he talked straight on issues which could potentially become controversial. And yes, all on record, and often on camera! Read: Imagine secretary Pillai or Chawla debarred from briefing press (September 17, 2009) Back to North Block: Pillai as new home secretary (June 6, 2009) Pati, Patni and Post: It's Pillai Vs Pillai for next cabinet secretary (May 11, 2009)

Indian Railways' ticket checking staff to be sensitised on security aspects Ticket checking staff in the railways will now be instructed to be vigilant to suspicious behaviour of any passenger or doubtful objects in trains and report the same to the escorting RPF party or RPF post at the next railway station. These directives of the ministry of railways follow the recommendations of the high level committee of officers drawn from NSG, IB, Delhi Police, RPF, CISF and railways which was constituted to formulate a composite security plan for Indian Railways.

Some Maha IAS write better Marathi than many a Marathi Manush

IAS officers posted in Maharashtra don't need to worry about a possible MNS backlash at least on one count -- their skill over local language. Thanks to the mandatory training, IAS officers posted in any state can not only speak the vernacular language but write it perfect. No wonder, their file noting are very much in the local language too. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's (MNS) diktat to newly elected legislators to take oath only in Marathi and the subsequent vandalism in the Assembly on Monday after Samajwadi Party member Abu Azmi began taking oath in Hindi is being condemned across the country as an instance of extreme chauvinism and intolerance. But there are a number of "outsider" IAS officers in the state who can make Marathi Manush run for their money so long as their writing skill in Marathi is concerned. The classic case is that of Manu Kumar Srivastava (see picture), a 1986 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS hailing from Uttar Pradesh. Mr Srivastava, who is known as urban infrastructure man from Mumbai, thanks to his long innings as additional municipal commissioner of Greater Mumbai and then urban development secretary in the state, has such a good hand and excellent command that his writing in Marathi may impress all who matter in Marathi circle. A post graduate in physics, he is one of the key men in Mumbai who are deciding the fate of the dream infrastructure projects of India's financial capital. Delhi HC gives green signal to appoint a bureaucrat as next CIC Delhi High Court said on Monday that it is a misconception that a civil servant would not turn out to be a good Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). In a major blow to RTI activists' lobby to appoint a non-bureaucrat as the next CIC after Wajahat Habibullah resigned to take up his new appointment as J & K Information Commissioner, a Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said that someone outside bureaucracy might not necessarily become an effective CIC. The Court, however, said that a non-bureaucrat should be the first choice. In fact, a high-powered committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a Union minister nominated by the PM, is finalizing the name of the next CIC. Action & Appointments (i) Justice Krishnaswami Chandru, (ii) Justice V.Ramasubramanian, (iii) Justice S Mani Kumar, (iv) Justice A.Selvam, (v) Justice P.R.Shivakumar, (vi) Justice G.Rajasuria, (vii) Justice Thiruneelakantam Sudanthiram, (viii) Justice Saminathan Nagamuthu, (ix) Justice Shunmugavel Palanivelu, (x) Justice K.K.Sasidharan, (xi) Justice M Venugopal, (xii) Justice V.Periya Karuppiah, (xiii) Justice R Subbiah and (xiv) Justice Meenakshi Sundaram Sathyanarayanan, Additional Judges of the Madras High Court, have been appointed as Judges of Madras High Court, in that order of seniority, with effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.

Sudhir Chandra: Know the super taxman in North Block anchoring Madhu Koda episode

HIS room in North Block is one of the busiest places these days thanks to the Income Tax department's massive searches all over the country to trace over Rs 2000 cr allegedly unaccounted assets of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda. Amid constant buzzing of at least one of his three mobile phones, he gives instructions to his visitors, all I-T officials who don't need to ask his permission before stepping into his room located in the same floor of India's all powerful finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. After all, he never allows his peons to switch on the red light outside his door even when he conducts very significant and sensitive meetings. And he gets upset only when a junior official takes his permission before entering his room! That's Sudhir Chandra, Member, Investigation of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and a 1973 batch Indian Revenue Service official. Mr Chandra, who micro-managed the entire show witnessing over 400 taxmen taking part in the Koda operation, is a confirmed believer of divine strength. He has kept the photographs of his religious guru all around the wall of his official room, possibly to draw strength against any political interventions while handling such sensitive I-T search cases. He has asked his officials to be extremely polite in handling the operations, but at the same time wanted them to be as courageous as "Rani of Jhansi". But what this tax hound does when he ends his busy day in North Block? He goes back his own little world and starts playing Lara’s Theme to Strangers in the Night... in his piano. Yes, he had public performances of playing piano during his time of probation 36 years ago. (Picture: 1973 batch IRS officers during training at NADT)

HC issues contempt notice to UP principal secretariat Allahabad High Court on Saturday issued contempt notice to the UP's Principal Secretary of Public Works Department (PWD) and asked him to appear in person on November 23, 2009. The order was passed by Justice D P Singh on a contempt petition regarding discrimination against PWD stenographers.

Who are the IAS, IPS officers who have declared their assets so far?

WHILE the debate is on whether bureaucrats should declare assets in the same way as their political masters, a select officers from UP cadre have taken a lead in declaring their assets. What's more, some of them have reportedly written letters to Cabinet secretary that all government employees should declare their movable and immovable assets. As was reported in a section of media in the last couple of days, those who have already declared their assets are 1979 batch IAS Vijay Shanker Pandey, Sunil Kumar and Renuka Kumar (both 1987 batch IAS) and IPS officer Jasbeer Singh. According to sources, Mr Pandey has declared assets including bank deposits of Rs 1.17 lakh, Rs 2.5 lakh in post office account and a 1990 model Fiat car. The assets of other bureaucrats could not be established so far. A few more IAS officers are likely to declare their assets voluntarily. The move has come weeks after Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan and 20 other Supreme Court judges declared their assets voluntarily. Bio-data of Vijay Shanker Pandey, IAS Name: Vijay Shankar Pandey Cadre: Uttar Pradesh Batch: 1979 Date of Birth: December 10, 1956 Place of Domicile: Uttar Pradesh Educational Qualifications: Post Graduation in Maths Current Posting: Principal Secretary Foreign Training: Degree on public management from IDS Sussex, UK (13 weeks, 1999)

Bio-data of Sunil Kumar, IAS Name: Sunil Kumar Cadre: Uttat Pradesh Batch: 1987 Date of Birth: October 15, 1963 Educational Qualifications: PG in Sociology Foreign Training: Nil Bio-data of Renuka Kumar, IAS Name: Renuka Kumar Cadre: Uttar Pradesh Batch: 1987 Date of Birth: June 26, 1963 Place of Domicile: Uttar Pradesh Educational Qualifications: PG in Sociology Current Posting: Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, New Delhi Foreign Training: Nil

Read: Indian bureaucrats face the challenge of disclosing their assets (October 26, 2009)

Gopi Arora will continue to inspire public servants in the time to come, says PM

PRIME Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has condoled the passing away of former civil servant Gopi Arora and said he would continue to inspire public servants in the time to come. In a condolence message to his wife, Dr Singh said: “It is with great sadness and a sense of personal loss that I learnt of the passing away of your husband Shri Gopi Arora. Gopi was an exceptionally brilliant civil servant who served the country with great distinction. In his long and distinguished public career, he held many important positions and excelled in each one of them. Gopi’s powerful intellect was matched in equal measure by kindness and generosity of spirit. Ever helpful, he will be remembered with deep affection and respect by all those whose lives he touched. His career will continue to inspire public servants in the time to come. I extend my deepest condolences to you and other near and dear ones of Gopi in this difficult time. May God give you the strength to bear with your loss. I pray for peace of the departed soul." Though most politicians want bureaucrats to be behind-the-curtain actors, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who himself began his career as bureaucrat (he was DEA secretary) gives due recognition to civil servants quite publicly. (Picture: Dr Singh going round an exhibition at the inaugural session of the 3rd Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2008)

Railway recruitment: Exam could now be in local language Railway minister Mamata Banerjee has sacked chairmen of all 20 Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) across the country who were appointed during Lalu Prasad's time. A senior railway official is appointed in the post of RRB chairman for a three years' period. Whereas conducting railway recruitment exams in Urdu was already announced, some media reports suggested quoting unnamed sources that the recruitment was likely to be held in other local languages too to make it easier for local youth geting jobs. Currently, railway examinations are conducted only in English and Hindi.

A tribute to Gopi Arora: babuz of Rajiv Gandhi era

CALL him babuz of Rajiv Gandhi's PMO, wielding enormous clout and influence in Raisina Hill of late 1980s. Gopi Arora, 76, whose tenure as special secretary in PMO was quite eventful and at times even controversial, died on Thursday. The cremation is taking place on Saturday. Apart from being the special secretary in the PMO, he was also the secretary of information and broadcasting (I&B) at a time when Doordarshan and All India Radio were the only powerful electronic media in India. Babuz is a newly coined word describing smart, powerful and influential bureaucrats who make a difference in policy formulation. He played an important role in handling the Punjab crisis and was the man behind crafting the Rajiv-Longowal accord (1985) in Punjab and Assam Accord (1985). Mr Arora, who was spotted by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as an efficient bureaucrat, had a pro-Moscow and pro-Left leanings like most other civil servants of that era. Many a time, Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister of India in 1980s relied on Arora more than his politician colleagues for which many influential political leaders of the time tried to maintain good rapport with Arora. Arora's thoughts and strategic moves found place in many of Rajiv Gandhi's speeches, and it is said in the power corridor that he was the man behind the populist, left-leaning Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution following the Bofors’ revelations. No wonder, he was later dragged in by the CBI on the Bofors case. The man who had the high point as the special secretary in the PMO later moved to IMF as India's representative. Read: babuz no 1: Pulok Chaterji is India’s most powerful bureaucrat (August 17, 2009) babuz no 2: TKA Nair is India’s second most powerful bureaucrat (August 18, 2009)

Action & Appointments a) P J Mathew, a 1983 batch IA& AS has been appointed as joint secretary (finance) in the department of space for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders. b) Ms K Sujatha Rao, a 1974 batch AP cadre IAS and secretary in the department of health and family welfare in the ministry of health and family welfare will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, department of health research, ministry of health and family welfare, during the period of leave of Dr V M Katoch from 31st October, 2009 to 12th November, 2009. c) Central deputation tenure of Vinod Kumar Thakral, a 1982 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS and joint secretary in the ministry of mines has been extended for a period of three months beyond November 3, 2009.

I-T officials instructed to address ex-Jharkhand CM as "Koda Sir"

INCOME tax officials dealing with former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda regarding a case of an alleged involvement in illegal transactions worth over Rs 2,000 crore, are given special instruction by the North Block to be extremely polite and clam while conducting searches and asking questions to the politician. Also, tax officials have been asked to address Mr Koda, now an independent MP from Jharkhand, as "Koda sir" all the time. In fact, it's mandatory for bureaucrats to call political leaders as "sir" though it's not practised all the time. (Picture: Koda with model and actress Koena Mitra who was Jharkhand's brand ambassador) In fact, over 400 I-T officials were deployed in the biggest ever search operation in a politician's premises, and it was done at the stewardship of Sudhir Chandra, Member (Investigation) of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. Despite handling sensitive issues in CBDT, Mr Chandra always keeps the green light outside his cabin on, and hardly refuses anyone from meeting him.

Read: North Block’s top taxman keeps his door-light on a green mode (July 23, 2009). Also, I-T officials around the country are now being encouraged to be brave, and discharge duties fearlessly and without any political pressure. On October 9, the ED first lodged a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Mr Koda and three former ministers Kamlesh Singh, Bhanu Pratap Shahi and Bandhu Tirkey and his associates Sinha and Chaudhary. Action & Appointments a) B S Parsheera, a 1974 batch AP cadre IAS, presently specical secretary in the ministry of environment and forests, as secretary, department of official language in the ministry of home affairs in place of Pradeep Kumar, a 1973 batch UP cadre IAS on his retirement on 31st October, 2009. b) Ms Anshu Vaish a 1975 batch MP cadre IAS, presently secretary in the department of school education and literacy in the ministry of human resource development will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, department of higher education in the ministry of human resource development for a period of three months with effect from 1st November 2009 or untill further orders. BoI extraa...What's in a confidential circular? Link of a confidential DoPT circular placed in the official website

IAS officers reportedly sabotage a fellow IAS receiving a prestigious state award of Chhattisgarh

A LAST minute decision of debarring public servants from receiving state awards by the Chhattisgarh government forced an IAS officer to face the humiliation of reaching an award venue only to return empty handed. A Chhattisgarh cadre IAS officer of 1999 batch Sonmoni Borah reached an award function in state capital Raipur on November 1 only to realise that his name was deleted at the last moment reportedly at the behest of a few senior IAS officials close to chief minister Raman Singh. Shahid Veer Narayan Singh Award, which is conferred every year on the state’s Foundation Day, was earlier received by an IPS officer Ramesh Sharma, now IG of Bilaspur. Mr Borah, the Bilaspur district collector, was selected for this year's Shahid Veer Narayan Singh Award for his “exemplary service in the field of development” among tribal and backward communities by a committee under the chairmanship of Sohan Potai, a tribal MP from Kanker and four other tribal MLAs. Significantly, diktat from the Chhattisgarh government came at a time when Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), which maintains the profiles of IAS officers, has decided to include awards, citations, articles, books etc.in the Executive Record Sheets, or ER sheets of IAS. Sources said that Borah’s name was deleted at the last moment following a section of senior civil servants of the state raising an objection and conveying their views to chief minister Raman Singh who was then in South Africa.

Home secretary Pillai leaves for Kathmandu today for high level talks The Union home secretary G K Pillai is leaving for Kathmandu today for home secretary level talks between India and Nepal. The talks will be held on the 6th and 7th October. During his visit, Mr Pillai is likely to call on the Prime Minister and Home Minister of Nepal. The last home secretary level talks between the two countries were held on 31st October and 1st November, 2008 in New Delhi. Action & Appointments a) D R Meena, ILS, presently additional secretary, department of legal affairs, has been appointed as secretary department of legal affairs for a period of one year from the date of assumption of charge of the post in place of T K Viswanathan, ILS who completed his tenure on 31st October, 2009. b) Ms Kiran Dhingra, a 1975 batch UT cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation will hold additional charge of the post of secretary in the ministry of shipping for a period of three months with effect from 1st November, 2009. c) The competent authority has approved the induction of Ashok Tewari, a 1993 batch IPS from Himachal Pradesh cadre as DIG in the CBI for a period of 5 years in accordance with the IPS Tenure Policy, 2000 with effect from the date of his joining in the CBI.

Official IAS profiles to include 10 entries of awards, citations, articles & books

THE government has requested Indian Administrative Service, or IAS officers to submit their awards, citations, articles, books etc. in a revised format, but capped the number of such entries only at 10. The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), which maintains the profiles of IAS officers, had earlier decided to include such items in the Executive Record Sheets, or ER Sheets of IAS. It was now decided that the number of such entries cann't be more than 10. The recent DoPT circular also said that in the event of an officer writing another article or book, or receiving an award, she is free to remove an earlier entry to make way for a more recent achievement. Yet, the number of total entries cannot be over 10. The DoPT issued two circulars on the subject recently --- on October 26 and October 30, 2009. Currently, ER Sheets are mere biodata covering personal details of the officers including educational qualifications, experiences, postings and trainings. A DoPT circular dated July 20, 2009 however said that necessary permission for accepting the awards or citations needs to be duly accorded. Among the high profile book launches by IAS officers this year include "Bankruptcy to Billions", by 1982 batch Bihar cadre Sudhir Kumar jointly with Shagun Mehrotra, "Branding India - an incredible story" by 1980 batch Kerala cadre IAS Amitabh Kant and “An Alternative Approach to Project Planning in Public Works - The Indian Context”, by urban development secretary M Ramachandran. In fact, Mr Ramachandran who is front-runner for cabinet secretary's post next year is coming out with another book on India's urban saga. Read: DoPT Circular Also read: Sudhir Kumar should help Lalu recalculating Rs 90,000 crore railway surplus (July 13, 2009) M Ramachandran presents the first copy of his book to PM (July 8, 2009) Action & Appointments Atul Chaturvedi has taken over as steel secretary. He succeeds P K Rastogi who superannuated on the 31st October. A 1974 batch IAS of UP cadre, Mr Chaturvedi was the secretary, department of fertilisers in the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers. Read: Atul Chaturvedi's profile

Cabinet secretary to inaugurate workshops on Results Frameworks today; 250 officials to attend

AS many as 250 senior officers of the Central government will be participating in special workshops on Results Framework Documents beginning Tuesday. Cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar (in picture) will be inaugurating the first in the series of six workshops which are being organized at the initiative of Performance Management Division of the Cabinet Secretariat.

According to a cabinet secretariat statement, the Results Framework Documents, which are to be annual Performance Management tools, would set out the near term objectives of 59 departments and evolve a system for monitoring the department’s progress through success indicators. The Prime Minister has approved the preparation of Results Framework Documents for all departments of the Government of India, as part of the comprehensive Performance Monitoring & Evaluation System(PMES). This move is likely to improve the functioning of government departments substantially. In fact, 59 departments would be preparing Results Framework Documents, in the first phase of roll out of the government of India’s Performance Monitoring & Evaluation System, which would subsequently be extended to cover in phases all the government of India departments.

Read: Chandrasekhar: India’s third most powerful bureaucrat (August 19, 2009) Who are India's five most powerful bureaucrats? (August 24, 2009)

Action & Appointments a) Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, a 1977 batch IFS officer and currently High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Thailand in succession to Ms Vijaya Latha Reddy. b) Rajeet Mitter, a 1977 batch IFS, currently Ambassador of India to Philippines, will be the next High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.