Rajasthan to have its first Muslim chief secretary; Naveen Patnaik appoints Bijay Patnaik to lead Orissa bureaucracy

TWO Indian states, Rajasthan and Orissa, will have new chief secretaries. While Rajasthan is making history by appointing a Muslim officer, 1975-batch IAS Salauddin Ahmed, to lead the state bureaucracy, Orissa will have 1976 batch IAS Bijay Kumar Patnaik as the new chief secretary.

In Rajasthan, appointment of Salauddin Ahmed will send a strong signal to the minority community that their interests would now be taken care of. There were speculations that Abhimanyu Singh, a 1974 batch IAS currently posted in at the Unesco office in Beijing, would clinch the chief secretary’s post. New chief secretary Ahmed, an MA in history, has mostly served in the state itself except his stint as deputy secretary and director in the ministry of textile back in 1986-91. Ahmed has a degree in public management from IDS, University of Sussex, UK.

New Orissa chief secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik has currently been serving as principal secretary to Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Patnaik, a 1976 batch IAS, has currently been serving as the principal secretary to Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

Secretaries in Action

Secretary in the ministry of shipping K Mohandas, 1974 batch Kerala cadre IAS, on Monday emphasised the need for ports to augment capacity and increase it to several times more than the present capacity. He was chairing a meeting of senior officers on Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) in Chennai. The meeting was meant to find strategies to curb delays and queuing at ports.

Mussoorie Musings: An IAS officer kidnapped, but only in reel life!

IF THE earlier years’ trends continue, hotels in Mussoorie might have been booked for the next few days. Call it a groom-searching tourism when parents of prospective brides, mainly from Bihar and parts of UP, land up in the Indian hill station, Mussoorie, with their daughters’ kundlis to spot bright civil servant grooms.

The newly selected civil servants of India have gathered in Mussoorie’s prestigious training institute Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), for the foundation course beginning today. For the record, IAS, IPS, IFS and other group A service officers will attend the course to be held between August 30 to December 10, 2010 before other officers except IAS leave the Academy for advanced training in their respective training institutes.

This is the period when match-making takes place alongside hard work in training sessions. Come Diwali, young probationers from all services including IAS, IFS, IPS would meet at Happy valley grounds in Mussoorie to participate in the annual fete. It is a festival when mehendi to astrology stalls are being set up besides organizing mock-jails and dance competitions. And eateries sell chole bhature and chaat to Bengali fish curry!

If 2008 batch Punjab cadre IAS, Dr Joram Beda’s video of LBSNAA is any proof, life is fun at the Academy, and no officer trainee would forget the sweet memories of those days in the rest of his or her life. Dr Beda, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, has captured in his 5-minute video a number of golden moments -- Ganga hostel, Monday blues, tracking, birth day bashes and folk dances etc.

Bollywood’s latest movie, Sushil Rajpal’s Antardwand, may not be based on such a fun atmosphere, but is definitely telling a true story of bureaucrats being forcefully married. The film revolves around a story about a prospective IAS being abducted and forcefully married to a girl, a practice that is witnessed mostly in Bihar. Director Rajpal told media how mostly IAS officers and government engineers are targeted for forceful wedlock as private sector is yet to make any mark in Bihar. Don’t worry guys, it’s a story of kidnapping and forceful marriage only in reel life. BoI (babusofindia.com) extends best wishes to all new civil servants gathered at LBSNAA who would begin a new journey in public life for the next 35 years or more.

Government nod to Ranganath Misra Commission recommendation means end of the road for senior Hindu officers, claims retired IFS OP Gupta

THE promotion of a senior Hindu Indian officer at the rank of joint secretary or additional secretary would be adversely impacted if the government gives its nod to Ranganath Misra Commission Report which was tabled in the Parliament in December, 2009, argues OP Gupta, a 1971 batch retired IFS officer. Gupta who is a BHU chancellor gold medalist and served as Consul General, Ambassador, High Commissioner to many countries, has sent his detailed viewpoints to babusofindia.com. Here are a few excerpts of his take:

“On December 18, 2009 the UPA Government tabled the Ranganath Misra Commission Report on the table of the Parliament. By suggesting to reserve 15 per cent for minorities it has recommended reducing promotion and job opportunities of all Hindu officials and Hindu youth at least by 15 per cent, reducing availability of educational seats from nursery to university level in non-minority sector to all sections of Hindu students by at least 15 per cent, and; disadvantaging SC and ST Hindus by yoking them within their existing reservation quotas with Muslims and Christians who enjoy better literacy rate than SC and ST Hindus.

It means that from the date of implementation at least 15 per cent posts in the grade of Secretary to Government of India, and also in other grades of Additional Secretary, Joint Secretary etc. shall get reserved for minority officers which will block or retard pace of promotion of many Hindu officers and may result into some Hindu officers ending up serving under their own junior minority religion officers. This would be happening all over India in all departments, central as well as provincial, whether school teachers, lecturers, deputy superintendents of police, engineers, deputy collectors, inspectors of police, customs, income tax, public sector undertakings, etc.

After the Misra Commission Report is implemented Hindus’ promotional avenues will get restricted to 85 per cent of existing posts so the pace of their promotions will get slowed with worsening stagnations. But minority officials who constituted only 8.3 per cent in 2006-07 will fill up 15 per cent of posts i.e. pace of their promotions will be much faster than those of Hindu officials.

So it is high time that all Hindu officials and all those Hindus who aspire to join public services should come out of their secular slumber and open their eyes to see which political parties are going to harm their career interests permanently and irreversibly.”

Tax hound Sudhir Chandra is India’s 4th Most Powerful Bureaucrat

WHEN 400 taxmen carried out a massive search operation across properties of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda last year to trace his Rs 2000 cr allegedly unaccounted assets, a tax hound sitting at his North Block office was instructing everybody how to be extremely polite in handling the operation, but at the same time be as courageous as “Rani of Jhansi”. That was just the beginning of a string of I-T raids at the premises of impregnable IAS officers and leading business houses which were hitherto considered as safe domains.
Sudhir Chandra, Member, Investigation of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is the 4th Most Powerful Bureaucrat in the BoI (Babus of India) power list. A 1973 batch Indian Revenue Service official, Chandra has proved that no one including politicians and top bureaucrats should feel secured and flaunt their unaccounted money because of their clout in the corridors of power. He is truly the corridors’ game-changer.

The man who is driven by his fearlessness has kept photographs of his religious guru all around the wall of his official room, possibly to draw strength against any political interventions! And no wonder, thanks to his growing clout, he is adding more enemies every single day.

What this tax hound does when he ends his busy day in North Block? That’s his own world as he starts playing Lara’s Theme to Strangers in the Night... in his piano. (In Picture: Chandra (left) with revenue secretary Sunil Mitra and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee)

Change of Heart? Ahluwalia takes break from macro-economics to discover world of paintings

WHAT has happened to the man who spends time only on planning and macro economics to have a relaxed afternoon in appreciating traditional paintings? Yes, the photograph is of deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia after inaugurating the exhibition-cum-sale of traditional paintings and home decor products, in New Delhi on August 25, 2010. Does Ahluwalia love painting, or is it his Member Secretary and retired IAS Sudha Pillai's influence on Yojana Bhawan? Ms Pillai is a quality painter for whom painting is a serious hobby. Ms Pillai, who is wife of home secretary GK Pillai, has made several ceramic murals, including a series on the Tree of Life and organised a number of painting exhibitions. No doubt, there is a little bit of art in everybody's life!

Who would be the first Additional Secretary in 1980 batch: An analysis by an anonymous Insider
An anonymous officer, who definitely understands the power dynamics well, has mailed the following analysis to babu blogger on who could be the first Additional Secretary in 1980 batch. It's worth reading.
"Upendra Tripathy (Karnataka) has moved from Minority Affairs Ministry to Cabinet Secretariat as JS in a lateral shift, to eventually take over from Dr Mrutunjay Sarangi (1977 Tamil Nadu) as and when he moves out as Secretary. Ashok Lavasa (Haryana) has also got a lateral move to Power Ministry to be the AS there when his turn comes, although there is a clear vacancy in Power Ministry after Anil Kumar moved to Planning Commission. Dr Satish B Agnihotri (Orissa) is in charge Director General of Shipping at Mumbai. He would take over as DG when his turn comes.
So these three officers have been slotted and would become AS when there turn comes as per seniority. Similarly Amitabh Kant (Kerala) CEO of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor of Industry Ministry, Dr J S Mishra (UP) CEO Khadi Board at Mumbai and Jiji Thomson (Kerala) with Commonwealth Games would get promoted in their present posts by upgrading the posts.
At least four officers would be designated as Additional Secretaries in their present posts. Naini Jaiseelan (AGMUT) who is Advisor in Planning Commission (though Smt Omita Paul, Advisor to Pranab Mukherjee has made a request to bring her to Finance Ministry); Shakti Kantha Das (Tamil Nadu) who is JS (Budget) in Finance Ministry; Shankar Agrawala (UP) who is JS (E-Governance) in Department of Information Technology and Rajeev Kher (UP) who is JS (Trade Policy) in Commerce.
All eyes are on the top five officers of 1980 batch in the list of empanelment and who are posted in Delhi now. NK Sinha (Bihar) is in Human Resource Development. Kapil Sibal is happy with him and may request for in situ upgradation (as he did for two officers of 1979 batch Sunil Kumar and Anitha Kaul). Dr Arvind Prasad (Bihar) is JS in Social Justice and Empowerment and with a B Tech from IIT Kanpur and PhD from Yale is in high demand. Next is Naini Jaiseelan (Naini Dhillon before marriage) who may stay back in Planning Commission or go to Finance. Dr Anup K Pujari, part time Harvard professor is now in Finance looking after Fund-Bank work (which had such stalwarts as N K Singh (now MP Rajya Sabha from Bihar and V Govindarajan, from AP cadre now in National Manufacturing Commission, both of whom became Additional Secretary in the same desk), and then is Dr Shyam Agrawala (Rajasthan), now JS in Commerce.
Both Dr Pujari and Dr Agrawala have PhD from USA and both have been Additional DG Foreign Trade and hence are in demand to be the DGFT (vacated by R S Gujaral who moved as Secretary Road Transport). Dr Shyam Agrawala may also become AS and FA in place of Dr Sutanu Behuria (1976 HP).
Every one is hoping that an officer of 1980 batch is posted quickly as DGFT or as Establishment Officer (these are the ONLY two clear vacancies) so that other officers get in situ posting as Additional Secretary immediately. Present EO Pradip Mishra prefers Shankar Agrawala who is also from UP cadre like him (and has worked in DoPT earlier) or Dr Pujari who is from Delhi School of Economics like him, to come as EO. PMO has a preference for Dr Nandita Chatterjee (West Bengal) both to have a lady officer as EO and also being backed by a powerful JS in PMO. Dr Chatterjee is now Dy Director General with CAPART and has worked with WHO earlier."

Rights or Wrong: Didi’s mamata for West Bengal forces Rail files to land up in Kolkata

WHO will deny that railway minister Mamata Banerjee has been out of the track when it comes to executing work in Rail Bhawan? From the day she took charge as the railway minister, incidentally in Kolkata rather than Delhi, she has been camping more in West Bengal eying the hot seat in Writers Building. And there were a number of occasion, senior officials have flown to Kolkata carrying official files for clearances.
The Indian railways, for the first time, has officially accepted that files were indeed carried to Kolkata for Banerjee to consider though it played down the events saying it was done only in emergency cases. “It is clarified that hardly ever files have been carried to Kolkata for clearing from the Railway Minister, except in a few emergency cases,” said an official statement from the spokesperson clarifying the news item related to expenditure on movement of official files published in a section of media on August 23, 2010. It has further termed the news item “erroneous” which said that the railways spent around Rs11 lakhs in one year for sending file-carrying officials to Kolkata!

What make retired NE bureaucrats shine?

Harishankar Brahma, a 1975 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS and former power secretary, has been appointed as an Election Commissioner. That he belongs to ST and North East is believed to have helped him piping many other bureaucrat contenders for this coveted post. Brahma is the second person from the North East after JM Lyngdoh, who retired as Chief Election Commissioner in 2004, to become Election Commissioner. A former IPS officer RS Mushahary was made Governor of Meghalaya by the UPA government.

Action and Appointments

The three-day DGPs/IGPs conference, organized by the Intelligence Bureau will be held in New Delhi from Wednesday. It will be inaugurated by the Union home minister P Chidambaram. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will address the conference on Thursday. 

Japan’s power corridor getting jammed by retired bureaucrats

WHAT do you do when aging populace are more than willing to work for more number of years to sustain their quality of life? It may not be felt so much in India, one of the global hubs of young people, but it has already been a huge debate in Japan, at least in government circle.
Some 1,528 senior officers at government-linked organizations are being occupied by a former government official for at least the third successive time from the same ministry or agency, Kyodo News reported quoting a survey of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

In fact, as high as 4,916 officials who are working at such government-affiliated organizations are aged 65 or more. The statistics are interesting in the backdrop of the government’s intention to ban in principle the hiring of retired civil servants as senior officials of government-affiliated departments so that recruitment can be open to the public.

Here is one of the interesting comments by one of the readers of the original Kyodo News: “I was reading an excellent article the other day about how lobbyist in the US--a huge chunk of whom are former Senate and House members, boosted by former government agency workers--have managed to almost completely stifle some of the key workings of government in that country. I thought to myself ‘I wonder where all the lobbyists are in Japan’, and now I see they just go by another name--all the ex-bureaucrat employees of those thousands of semi-governmental organizations...”

Any thought for retired Indian bureaucrats?

Missing Appointment files

Have papers related to appointment of senior Gujarat cadre IAS officer Rajiv Gupta as personal secretary to Union textile minister Shankersinh Vaghela in 2004, destroyed? The central information commission (CIC) has questioned as to why all files pertaining to his appointment were missing. Gupta, a 1986 batch IAS, is now the secretary of climate change department in the state. 

Government modifies rules on taking up of foreign assignments by senior officers

IF A government officer below the rank of a joint secretary wants to take up a short-term or consultancy assignment with a foreign organization with which he has currently be dealing with, there is no ban, clarifies DoPT. However, for an officer at the rank of a joint secretary and above, requisite permission is mandatory, it further said.
Earlier, according to a letter (No. 111012001-FA(UN) dated October 13, 2004, “if an officer has been dealing with an international organization in his official capacity at any time during the previous five years, he may not accept a short-term or long term consultancy assignment from such an agency”.

An officer’s foreign posting tenure to change depending on his child’s academic calendar

THE DoPT has made it public a decision taken in March this year whereby Appointment Committee of Cabinet said officers posted abroad on foreign assignments would get extension till their children’s academic session there. “Appointments Committee of the Cabinet decided that the tenure of officers on foreign deputation may be linked to the end of the academic session i.e. date of completion of the annual examination… if some adjustment is required (either extension or curtailment), depending on the commencement of the posting, and the timing of the examination, the proposal for approval of the competent authority should be sent to this office at least 2 months before the date of completion of the approved tenure or date of completion of the proposed tenure, whichever is earlier,” a DoPT circular dated March 16, 2010 said.

Chandrasekhar and his 10 bureaucrat commanders to take rein from Kalmadi and Co

THIS is the biggest ever victory of Indian bureaucracy at least during the last one decade if not more. During the final lap of the run-up to the controversy-ridden Commonwealth Games, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has taken out his trump card – an army of 10 IAS officers under cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar to manage the biggest sporting extravaganza, making the all-powerful Organizing Committee under Suresh Kalmadi virtually a subordinate body.

For the hand-picked bureaucrats, it’s quite a challenge as Prime Minister chose to trust bureaucracy rather than handing over the work to a group of ministers. Though there would be a group of ministers under urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy, the actual command will be in the hands of Chandrasekhar and his 10 commanders.

Here are the 10 bureaucrats, four additional secretaries and six joint secretaries, chosen by KM Chandrasekhar for the job.

1. Subodh Kumar: A post  graduate in physics with special 14 weeks-long training at UK in 2001, Subodh Kumar is a 1977 batch Maharastra cadre IAS, currently working as additional secretary in department of telecom (DoT).

2. SR Rao: A double MA in social work and rural development (UK), SR Rao is a 1978 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, currently working as additional secretary in IT department. Rao is still known for his stint as Municipal Commissioner to a traumatized, plague-hit Surat city. He is credited with cleaning up the city and placing it back into normalcy.

3. RC Misra: Additional secretary in urban development ministry

4. Amarjeet Singh: Executive Director, Health Ministry

5. JS Deepak: A masters in business administration, JS Deepak is a 1982 batch UP cadre IAS, now serving as joint secretary in the ministry of commerce. He was in the ministry of telecom till recently where he had handled among others the famous 3G auction. He refused to toe the line of telecom minister A Raja for which he was transferred out of the telecom.

6. Rohit Nandan: An MA in history with an MBA from University of Hull, UK, Rohit Nandan is a 1982 batch UP cadre IAS now working as a joint secretary in civil aviation.

7. Shashi Shekar: A 1981 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, Shashi Sekhar is now OSD-Power Trading Corporation.

8. Tara Dutt: Joint secretary at Cabinet Secretariat.

9. Gopal Krishna: A masters in physics and MBA, Gopal Krishna is a1983 batch West Bengal cadre IAS now working as secretary in Sports Authority of India. He had earlier served as joint secretary in the ministry of commerce.

10. Rajeev Kapur: A 1983 batch UP cadre IAS, Rajeev Kapur is now a joint secretary personnel and training.

BoI list of 5 Most Powerful Bureaucrats

Watch out this space to spot who are India’s 4^th and 5^th most powerful bureaucrats

India’s home secretary GK Pillai is 3rd Most Powerful Bureaucrat: BoI report

SOUNDS odd, but the last year’s list of 5 Most Powerful Bureaucrats, brought out by babusofindia.com did not figure country’s home secretary GK Pillai. He was quite an important secretary even then, but home minister P Chidambaram’s handholding style of functioning did not allow anyone including Pillai to emerge as a powerful bureaucrat, at least in public domain.
Now, Pillai is quite assertive, vocal and even non-diplomatic at times when questions of internal security become a priority. Pillai, a 1972 batch Kerala cadre IAS, is ranked 3^rd in BoI’s list of 5 Most Powerful Bureaucrats, 2010, based on feedback of senior civil servants and politicians who are insiders of Delhi’s corridor of power. He is ranked behind just cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar and principal secretary to PM, TKA Nair, making yet another point that three most powerful Indian bureaucrats happen to be from Kerala.

Pillai’s recent remarks about ISI’s role in Mumbai terror attack might have virtually derailed the foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, but no one in India has questioned Pillai’s overtures though many observers strongly criticized foreign minister SM Krishna’s silence during Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi equating Pillai with Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed. After all, Pillai’s statement was not only correct in content, but exposed a harsh reality that mere diplomatic overtures without having any change at the ground have just academic values. Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, who came in support to Pillai after the failed talks, walked across the road to North Block to meet the home secretary in person and buried all confusions over a cup of tea. (Read: Nirupama Rao on Pillai)

Pillai was equally blatant when he openly aired another explosive statement saying that some of the senior forest officials living in Naxal areas are attending meetings organized by banned Maoist outfits, in addition to not passing over information about happenings there, raising a serious security concern of the North Block. (Read: Pillai’s straight talk on Naxals, SEZ and NE). He is now clamping down on Black Berry mobile services which cannot be intercepted by security agencies.

Interestingly, Pillai himself is connected 24x7, and according to reports, he is always first to receive any major incident, the Mangalore plane crash being one of those. His wife, Sudha Pillai, also a 1972 batch Kerala cadre IAS, is now Member Secretary in Planning Commission at the rank of a minister of state.

Pillai and his boss -- home minister P Chidambaram, who have brought down incidents of terror through a number of proactive measures, are now gearing up for a fool-proof security arrangement for the biggest sporting extravaganza in India, the Commonwealth Games. For Pillai, Games provide an opportunity to make him a true game-changer. 

Central government employees to get free courses from IGNOU

THE Central government employees who received two continuous installments of 6^th Pay Commission arrears in pre-festive seasons of the last two consecutive years, are bestowed with yet another bonanza this time round. The only difference however is that the blessings this time have come not from Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, but from Saraswati, the goddess of education.
The department of personnel and training (DoPT) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on Tuesday signed an MoU for offering distance and e-learning programmes to government employees. The government employees can now enroll for a wide spectrum of programmes offered by IGNOU and get their fees reimbursed on successfully completing the programmes. The MoU was signed in the presence of Secretary DoPT, Shantnu Consul and IGNOU Vice Chancellor , Prof. VN Rajasekharan Pillai (See Picture Above).

Action and Appointments

a) The ACC has approved the proposal of the ministry of environment and forests for extension of inter-cadre deputation of Sewa Sinh, a 1992 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IFS from Tamil Nadu to Punjab cadre for a further period of two years beyond July 31, 2010.

b) The ACC has approved the appointment of Ms P Gopinath, a 1977 batch IPos, as Member Secretary, Tariff Commission, DIPP.

c) Atulya Misra, a 1988 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS has been appointed as chairman, Chennai Port Trust, for a period of five years.

5 Most Powerful Bureaucrats

Watch out this space to find out who are 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th Most Powerful Bureaucrats in India, according to BoI (babusofindia.com) list of 5 Most Powerful Bureaucrats. KM Chandrasekhar and TKA Nair have clinched the first two ranks.

Principal secretary to PM, TKA Nair ranks No 2 in BoI's list of 5 Most Powerful Bureaucrats, 2010

HE IS seven batch senior to the senior-most IAS in India --- cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar. He holds the rank of a minister of state and wields immense power in South Block housing the PMO. Yes, you have guessed it right by now. He is TKA Nair, a 1963 batch retired IAS, working as principal secretary to PM since May 2004. Henry Kissinger style bureaucrat, TKA Nair, is ranked No 2 in the BoI’s (babusofindia.com) list of Most Powerful Bureaucrat second time in a row. From managing crisis for the Prime Minister, meeting ministers on behalf of the PM to taking the viewpoints of top corporate honchos on all policy matters, Nair is still the man of the moment in PMO. When ADAG chairman Anil Ambani lost the historic gas dispute case in Supreme Court a few months ago, he knew who to meet in power corridors. Ambani junior met Nair in South Block before narrating his viewpoints to PM.

Even on delayed work related to Commonwealth Games, Nair made a number of surprised visits to the venues last year and held stock-taking meetings to monitor the progress reports.
Nair, who was secretary to former prime minister IK Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had also served in Planning Commission. No one questions him about his efficiency and administrative skills though some officers complain in private that Nair likes them less than those belonging to Kerala!
Watch out this space to spot who are 3rd, 4th and 5th Most Powerful Bureaucrats in India, and what make them special in corridors of power.


Action and Appointments

a) The ACC has approved the repatriation of Dilsher Singh, a 1977 batch Punjab cadre IAS and Adviser, Planning Commission to his cadre.

b) BP Sharma, a 1981 batch Bihar cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of minority affairs.

c) The ACC has approved the assignment of additional charge of commissioner of security, civil aviation in the bureau of civil aviation security (BCAS), to Rohit Nandan, a 1982 batch UP cadre IAS, currently serving as joint secretary in the ministry of civil aviation for a period of two months.

Cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar tops list of India’s 5 Most Powerful Bureaucrats, 2010

THE Prime Minister’s recent decision to bestow overriding power to cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar-headed committee to monitor Commonwealth Games is just one of many instances of how “soft spoken”, “non-interfering” and “mild” Cab Sec has asserted himself during the last one year as the most powerful bureaucrat in India. His serial extension as India’s top bureaucrat even at the cost of making new rules and causing heartburns for his juniors, has vindicated his clout in the government and PM’s growing confidence on him.

babusofindia.com based on feedback of politicians and bureaucrats in corridors of power in Delhi, has now ranked KM Chandrasekhar, a 1970 batch Kerala cadre IAS, as No 1 Most Powerful Bureaucrat in India for 2010. (Read: Chandrasekhar at No 3 in 2009). A former ambassador and permanent representative of India in World Trade Organization (WTO) and revenue secretary in the ministry of finance, Mr Chandrasekhar has now piped TKA Nair, principal secretary to PM, to emerge as the most powerful bureaucrat of the country, according to ranking by babusofindia.com for 2010.

Yes, Chandrasekhar may not indulge in summoning anyone to exert his influence and get his work done, but he has emerged as a game-changer for government after he had introduced a series of ground rules for making administration work better. And that precisely has made him the darling of the Prime Minister who wants bureaucrats to bring in efficiency for the delivery mechanism. Chandrasekhar, who cracked the whip to get a 100-day work plan prepared even before UPA II regime took over in May, 2009, is also credited with institutionalizing target-based performance management mechanism for government departments by supporting Dr Prajapati Trivedi’s formulae. (Read: Meet this non-IAS)

The cabinet secretariat is now virtually ranking the performance of various ministries, and in an indirect way assessing the performance of UPA ministers. Now, Chandrasekhar and his team of officials will virtually take charge of the Commonwealth Games from Kalmadi and company! And that makes him the clear topper in the list of India’s 5 Most Powerful Bureaucrats, 2010 of babusofindia.com? Watch out this space to spot who have clinched the next four ranks.

Cabinet secretary-headed bureaucrats’ panel given sweeping power to oversee Commonwealth Games

IN AN unprecedented move, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to give overriding power to a committee of secretaries headed by cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar which will have jurisdiction over matters relating to the Organising Committee of the upcoming Commonwealth Games. In other words, Chandrasekhar's team will have power to question Kalmadi and Co in the run-up to the Games which has mired by controversies and allegations of corruption. 

The cabinet secretary was also directed to liaise closely with the Group of Ministers headed by urban development secretary Jaipal Reddy to ensure effective coordination among all the concerned authorities. “The committee of secretaries headed by the cabinet secretary will continue to review implementation and it will have the status of an Empowered Committee. It will have jurisdiction over matters relating to the Organising Committee and a secretary level officer of the Cabinet Secretariat will liaise with the Organising Committee on a daily basis,” a PMO release said.

The senior management committee of the Organising Committee would meet daily and be chaired by the CEO, himself a former IAS Jarnail Singh, in the absence of the chairman or vice-chairman, Organising Committee. Additional senior and experienced officers from the Government of India would be deputed as required, the PMO release said.

(In Picture: Cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar with home secretary GKPillai)

Russia introduces a corruption resistance test

IN A unique way to spot corrupt bureaucrats, Russia’s internal ministry squad offer bribes to bureaucrats and fire those who cannot resist such temptation. The method, termed as the “corruption-resistance test”, was proposed by the ministry’s internal security directorate, according to local media reports. The practice, which has been prevalent in some countries around the world has not been followed in India, tagged as one of the most corrupt nations.

The “corruption-resistance test” works as follows. After receiving a sanction, inspectors would apply to an unwitting public servant with an offer to abuse his or her powers. The bureaucrat would be offered money, jewelry, property and other services. If the bureaucrat gets trapped, he could even be dismissed from service.

No tips from Peepli Live to US bureaucrat!

“I don’t want to give the bureaucrats in Washington any ideas, but in India the government pays $2,000 to the family of any farmer who commits suicide because of foreclosure,” wrote a prominent film writer in New York post while reviewing the dark satire “Peepli Live,” according to which tens of thousands of farmers took their own lives from 1997 to 2007.

Action and Appointments

a) Ms Meera Mehrishi, a 1979 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS has been appointed as additional secretary in the ministry of environment and forests

b) Harsh Bhal, a 1983 batch IAS has been appointed as CMD of National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation at the level of joint secretary.

Also Read

Cash in Hand: Saga of Joshis

Total assets amassed by civil servants

Is Indian bureaucracy worst in Asia?

Govt takes up more steps to make All India Judicial Service a reality; new service to attract talents to judiciary

THE creation of a separate All India Judicial Service is just a few technical steps away. The government has now no options but to go ahead with it after the recommendations of the Law Commission of India in its 1st, 8th and 11th reports, the directions of the Supreme Court of India and the guidelines recommended by the First National Judicial Pay Commission have a consensus on its creation.

Since the All India Judicial Service would be common to the Union and the states and requires consent of the state governments and high courts, their views or comments were sought, M Veerappa Moily, minister of law and justice informed Lok Sabha.

Moily further said that the state governments, in principle, agreed with the proposal of formation of the service, but before giving effect to the formation of All India Judicial Service, a comprehensive deliberation be held. Moily said that it is expected that creation of such a service through competitive examination, would attract brilliant young men and women and thus best talent all over the country would come to the judiciary, as in case of other All India Services, and improve overall justice delivery system.

89,024 vacancies in safety categories

There are 89,024 vacancies in Indian Railways’ safety categories alone. The department has informed it to Parliament at a time when there has been a spate of train accidents.

Action and Appointments

a) Ravi Mathur, a 1979 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS has been appointed as additional secretary in the ministry off labour and employment.

b) Dr Thomas Mathew, a 1983 batch Kerala cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of economic affairs.

c) Ms B. Bhamathi, a 1979 batch Bihar cadre IAS has been appointed as additional secretary in the ministry of home affairs in the vacancy of Ms Anita Chaudhary.

d) Arvind Kumar, a 1988 batch UP cadre IAS, presently working as director in the ministry of information and broadcasting has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of information and broadcasting

PMO takes up 5 cases of Group A officers where there is no consensus between CVC and Disciplinary Authority

PRIME Minister’s Office (PMO) is now considering five cases where there has been a difference of opinion between Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Disciplinary Authority. It’s not known who are these Group A officers whose cases have been referred to PMO.
Though the final decision for imposition of a penalty vests with the disciplinary authority concerned, the cases of difference of opinion between the disciplinary authority and the CVC are required to be submitted to the Prime Minister for resolution. As was informed by minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and Pensions Prithviraj Chavan in Lok Sabha, 13 such cases have been disposed off in first seven months of the calendar year 2010. In 2008-09, 42 such cases were disposed whereas 27 such cases were resolved in 2009-2010.

Govt admits there’s a huge backlog in ST, SC and OBC posts

The government has admitted that it has not been able to fill up the backlog reserved vacancies of SC, ST and OBC categories despite special recruitment drive that began almost two years ago. Minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions Prithviraj Chavan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha said that the government is aware that Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes posts are lying vacant in Central ministries or departments and their attached offices. The special recruitment drive was launched on November 19, 2008 to fill up backlog reserved vacancies of SC, ST and OBC categories. As per information received from various ministries and departments up to August 6, 2010, number of backlog reserved vacancies of SCs, STs and OBCs were 26,565; 25,649 and 21,143 respectively, of which 12,045; 2,799 and 3,876 respectively have been filled.

IAS topper inspires young minds at Jamia Millia

Dr Shah Faisal, IAS topper for 2009, gave an inspiring speech in Jamia Millia Islamia, which was attended by a large number of students. The interaction was in the form of an open Question-Answer session. Many students were spellbound listening to Dr Faisal’s speech. He has so far inspired many young minds of the minority community to pursue a career in the Indian Administrative Services.

Yet another foreign posting for deputy secretary, director level officer; now at Abu Dhabi

HERE is yet another foreign vacancy for officers at the rank of deputy secretary or director working with government of India. The government has invited applications for for filling up the post of Counsellor, Community Affairs (Development) under the ministry of overseas Indian affairs at Abu Dhabi in place of Dr K Ellangovan, a 1992 batch Kerala cadre IAS. The Counsellor will work under the supervision of the Ambassador or Head of Mission and will report functionally to the ministry of overseas Indian affairs. The requisite administrative and accounting support will be provided by the Mission. The officers and staff will be entitled to the same allowances and facilities, as applicable to other officers of similar rank posted in the Missions.
Officers of the the rank of deputy Secretary or director of the Govcmment of lndia or equivalent level are eligible for the post. Officers applying for this post should possess two years cumulative work experiences in the ministry of overseas Indian affairs or labour and financial services. The minimum age of the applicant should not be more than 54 years.
The babu blogger’s question: Is n’t the scope of eligibility criteria too narrow which won’t allow most officers to compete? Post your comments.

Check out the list of corrupt officials on August 12
One of the Members of Parliament in Rajya Sabha is asking for the list of corrupt officials in India. His question will be answered on August 12, 2010, according to information available with Rajya Sabha. Just wait to know whether any such list has been prepared, or whether or not the government would actually part away with such information.

Action and Appointments
a) Ms Alka Panda, a 1983 batch Orissa cadre IAS has been appointed as Additional Director General, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) at the joint secretary level.
b) The UPSC has recommended 96 candidates from the reserve list to fill up the remaining posts based on Civil Services Examination, 2007. This includes 65 General, 30 Other Backward Classes and 1 Scheduled Castes. The DoPT would be communicating directly with the recommended candidates.

Now, Pillai publicly objects forest officials attending meetings held by Naxals

HOME secretary GK Pillai is back in action, with yet another explosive statement. He said some of the senior forest officials living in Naxal areas are attending meetings organized by banned Maoist outfits, in addition to not passing over information about happenings there, raising a serious security concern of the North Block.

Only recently, Pillai’s statement about ISI’s direct role in Mumbai attacks on the eve of India-Pakistan foreign minister level talks virtually derailed the process, leading foreign minister SM Krishna repeatedly mentioning about the ill-timing of his statement. But no one including the Pakistani side could afford to say that Pillai’s statement was wrong in content.

Now, addressing the 35 District Forest Officials (DFOs) from various Naxal-hit areas, Pillai said on Saturday that forest officers were not co-operating in providing information about Naxals’ grouping in jungles and collecting arms and ammunition. He further objected about forest officers’ attending meetings organized by banned Maoists groups. He even cited an example in which a forest official in July attended a meeting organised by the extremists at Sunabeda sanctuary in Orissa. What was further objectionable was that the said officer took his official vehicle to attend the meeting.

(In picture: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the Forest Service Officers from Naxal affected States, in New Delhi on August 06, 2010).

Also Read

GK Pillai's straight talk

Nirupama Rao defends Pillai's straight talk

A 1978 batch Haryana cadre IAS in a gangrape case

A local court in Chandigarh framed gang rape charges against 1978 batch Haryana cadre IAS and secretary in fisheries department N K Jain. He was charged in an eight-year-old rape case when he was Chandigarh home secretary. An electrical engineer by education, Jain is due to retire in May 2012. 

Chidambaram to tighten attendance norms in Home Ministry

THOSE working in home ministry are under pressure now as home minister P Chidambaram is keen to punish those who come late and skip office midway. For the non-serious lot who love to play cards outside the North Block during lunch time, the biometrics machines installed last year to check attendance of office goers have turned out to be quite a threat.

But, the home ministry has now said it will punish workers who come late or leave early after employees are found to have skipped the entire attendance process. There are no data available on how many employees have not participated in Chidambaram’s dream project of biometric attendance which is expected to be followed in other ministries too.

According to rules, a person who is late by 10 minutes three times a month loses a casual leave. According to the attendance rules, employees including officers, put in eight hours of work a day and 40 hours a week.

Also Read
Report of Committee of Experts on Disciplinary and Vigilance Inquiries July, 2010, DoPT

Pradeep Kumar Misra, 1976 batch IAS appointed as India's new steel secretary

Pradeep Kumar Misra, a 1976 batch UP cadre IAS who has a successful innings as Establishment Officer in DoPT, is shifting to Udyog Bhawan as steel secretary. Misra, who had served as a joint secretary in defence ministry for about six year during the NDA regime, later joined home ministry as an additional secretary for a brief period.

A post graduate in economics, PK Misra became a known name among senior officers across the country once he joined one of the key posts in North Block, Establishment Officer back in February 2007. As an Establishment Officer, he played a key role in major postings, transfers etc. of senior Group A civil servants.

He is replacing Atul Chaturvedi, his two-batch senior in the same UP cadre who is retiring August 31, 2010.

As an EO in DoPT, he fixed an one-hour visiting period in the afternoon for any visitor who wanted to have an interaction with him. No wonder, many bureaucrats wishing for a transfer or postings on deputation hang around outside his room, incidentally located just next to home secretary GK Pillai’s cabin in North Block, for pitching their cases. Will Misra fix one hour for visitors in steel ministry too?
Also Read About PK Misra's Batch-mate Secretaries
DIPP Secretary RP Singh
Petroleum Secretary Sundareshan 
Disinvestment Secretary Sumit Bose
Mining Secretary Subramanyam Vijay Kumar
Agriculture Secretary PK Basu
Track 1976 batch IAS officers

AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa calls Umashankar’s suspension a political victimization

NOW, none other than political heavyweight and former chief minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa has come forward to rescue 1990 batch IAS C Umashankar calling his suspension a case of victimization for taking on Maran brothers and another industrialist. Umashankar allegedly used fake SC certificates to enter into civil services.

Earlier, Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) gave full support to the suspended IAS by sticking posters in his favour. (Read: BSP’s postering in Umashankar’s favour)

Now, Jayalalithaa says the suspension smacks of victimization by the minority DMK government and made him a scapegoat after relations between Karunanidhi and Maran families improved.

She argued that Karunanidhi announced the launch of Arasu Cable Corporation (ACC) to pose a challenge to the Maran brothers' Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV), and made Umashankar the MD of ACC with a specific mandate from Karunanidhi to eliminate Maran brothers’ cable entity. She also said that Rs 400 cr was invested in the entity.

Jayalalithaa further argued that the IAS officer, who had been given a mandate by Karunanidhi to take on Maran brothers, was made the scapegoat and the new cable entity, ACC was made dysfunctional.

Action and Appointments

a) The ACC has approved the appointment of SK Srivastava, a 1978 batch Assam cadre IAS presently additional secretary in the ministry of labour and employment as additional secretary in the ministry of mines.

b) Dr Rakesh Sarwal, a 1988 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS, presently working as joint secretary in the department of public enterprises has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy on lateral transfer basis.

c) Ajay Kumar Singh, a 1987 batch Assam cadre IAS IAS, presently working as director in the department of land resources has been appointed as deputy Director General, in the Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) (joint secretary level).

d) The appointment of BP Sharma, a 1981 batch Bihar cadre IAS as joint secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat has been cancelled.

e) Upendra Tripathi, a 1980 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, presently joint secretary in the ministry of minority affairs has been appointed as joint secretary in the cabinet secretariat.

End of Civil Services (Prelims)

Follow the link “End of Civil Services (Prelims)” on Insider’s post. For more details about government jobs, check out Insider’s job hunt, http://www.jobcorridor.com

BSP resorts to postering in Tamil Nadu in solidarity with suspended IAS C Umashankar

IN A bizarre instance of a political party openly lending support to a suspended bureaucrat by sticking posters in public places, UP chief minister Mayawati-led BSP has condemned Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, DMK, for suspending 1990 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer C Umashankar. The officer, who created a recent controversy when he recommended nationalisation of Maran brothers-owned Sumangali Cable Vision, was suspended for allegedly furnishing wrong information about his Schedule Caste status. The state government first cornered him for alleged accumulation of unaccounted wealth, a case which is now being fought at the Madras High Court.

For the record, BSP is an Indian political party with a strong base among SC community among others, mainly in Uttar Pradesh.

Now, Tamil Nadu unit of BSP struck posters in the state in solidarity with Umashankar. A graduate in corporate finance, Umashankar first shot into fame in 1995 when he unearthed the cremation shed scam in Madurai during AIADMK’s first tenure in the state. His expose was a major embarrassment for then chief minister J Jayalalithaa, but Umashankar then became a darling of AIADMK’s arch rival DMK.

Babus in Demand

The government invites applications for the post of Officer on Special Duty in Indian Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) initially for a period of two years on deputation basis. For detailed eligibility conditions, job profile etc. check the DoPT CIRCULAR.

Action and Appointments

a) The ACC has approved the proposal for inter-cadre transfer of Dr Neeraj Kharwal, a 2007 batch Bihar cadre IAS from Bihar cadre to Uttarakhand cadre.

b) The ACC has approved extension of deputation tenure of Alok Kumar, a 1988 batch UP cadre IAS as Secretary, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) under the ministry of power for a period of three months upto October 3, 2010.

c) Amit Cowshish, a 1977 batch IDAS, presently additional financial advisor, ministry of defence (finance), has been elevated to the rank of an additional secretary. The post will revert to its original position when it is vacated by Amit Cowshish, the order said.

After Trivedi, Subodh Kant Sahay slams bureaucrats, calls them autocrats

AFTER minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi terming Indian bureaucrats “ineffective” and “non-accountable”, it’s the turn of Union food processing minister Subodh Kant Sahay, who has said bureaucrats in his home state Jharkhand have “gone out of control”. Sahay who is also an MP from Ranchi told media recently that there is a need to tighten the noose on those bureaucrats who have become autocrats after Jharkhand came under President’s Rule.

The Congress leader was provoked by the latest diktat of Jharkhand government withdrawing facilities provided to former chief ministers. Such facilities include bungalows in Ranchi, vehicles and fuel, personal secretaries and other perks. The alliance partner of the Congress, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) has also expressed its unhappiness over the Governor’s Advisory Council decision of withdrawing the facilities of former chief ministers. JVM leader Babulal Marandi is one of the politicians who would be impacted by the latest decision.

A retired IAS-IPS combo, 1973 batch IAS officer Wilfred Lakara and 1970 batch IPS officer Rajiv Ranjan Prasad are acting as advisors for Jharkhand Governor. The political leaders have also cited the large-scale transfer of bureaucrats, about 300 officials including 65 IAS and IPS, as unnecessary.

Also Read

Minister Trivedi says kids would do better than his bureaucrats

A tussle with bureaucrats over Rs 140-cr project 

Action and Appointments

a) BC Khatua, a 1976 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS has been appointed as chairman, Forward Markets Commission, on re-employment and contract basis, on the existing terms and conditions, for a period of one year with effect from August 1, 2010. As It came on his birthday, the one-year extension has been termed by many as a birthday gift from the government.

b) Anita Chaudhary, a 1976 batch Haryana cadre IAS has taken over as the secretary in the department of land resources under the ministry of rural development.

Tenzing enjoyed a round of drinks with a good bloke Rudra Gangadharan

SIKKIM-born Palden Gyatso Tenzing, a 1986 batch Kerala cadre IAS who left the service to venture out on a bike journey of 25,320 kms, finally came out with a book in March 2009 titled: “Don’t Ask Any Old Bloke for Directions: A Biker’s Whimsical Journey Across India”. For many a reader, it was an interesting travelogue written by someone who left a high-profile job to experiment with something new on road. But for those in bureaucracy, the book is also a whimsical journey into the sidelights of both boring and exciting life of men in corridors of power. Here is a tribute to Tenzing who died of cancer on July 26. He is survived by his wife, also a bureaucrat and daughter Dechen Tenzing who has emerged as a talented cartoonist.

Here are a few excerpts of the book

On current animal husbandry secretary and 1975 batch Kerala cadre IAS Rudra Gangadharan when he was director of IAS Academy, LBSNAA

“Rudra Gangadharan, a senior colleague from Kerala, heads the Academy as its director. He is pretty relaxed for a babu. And I like him a lot, especially as he invited me for a round of drinks at his residence.”

On boredom

“It was a good run in the IAS till I found that I was not taking the job seriously and taking myself too seriously.”

On recruitment faults

“One of the faults of the recruitment to the Government services in the civil sector is the lack of a psychological profile for candidates…”

Maybe, UPSC should take note of his recommendation.

Action and Appointments

a) RH Khwaja, a 1976 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS has taken over as secretary, ministry of tourism in place of Sujit Banerjee, the last secretary of 1972 batch to retire. In fact, two other 1972 batch IAS officers, home ministry GK Pillai and defence secretary Pradeep Kumar are above 60, but on fixed two-year terms. Mr Khwaja was earlier special secretary in the ministry of environment and forests.

b) Subramanyam Vijay Kumar (In picture) took charge of the secretary, ministry of mines, in New Delhi on August 1, 2010.