Coming Soon: Afghan civil servants in Delhi's corridors of power

NEXT time, you notice an Afghan officer occupying a babu’s chair in a government of India ministry, just don’t get surprised. According to an MoU signed between the two countries on Monday, Afghan civil servants would come on deputation to India for on-the-job training in government ministries.

What’s is also planned is to arrange exposure visits of Afghan civil servants to Indian government ministries and undertake short term international training of Afghan civil servants at the training institutes of government of India and other institutions in India.

A number of Indian civil servants would have a chance to explore the turbulent land as India would assist in setting up and strengthening training institutes of Afghanistan, and also share its publications, technical know-how etc. with them. The technical support includes areas such as national accounts, survey designing and planning, presentation of data, training of trainers, development of official statistics in areas like education, health, environment, births, deaths, etc.

Marriages prompt 2 IAS couples change cadres

Abhisek Prakash, a 2006 batch Nagaland cadre IAS has been transferred from Nagaland to Uttar Pradesh cadre on the ground of marriage to Ms Aditi Singh, a 2009 batch UP cadre IAS. Meanwhile, Ms Isha, a Sikkim cadre IAS and Dr Sumeet Jarangal, a 2009 batch Haryana cadre IAS have been transferred from their respective cadres to Punjab cadre on the ground of marriage. The change of cadre is a rare phenomenon, and in these cases, Rule 5 of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954 were used.

Action and Appointments

a) DV Prasad, a 1984 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of industrial policy and promotion in place of Ms Renu Sharma, a 1988 batch UT cadre IAS.

b) Ms Shubhra Singh, a 1989 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS currently working as director (census operations), Rajasthan has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of industrial policy and promotion in place of V Bhaskar, a 1981 batch Andhra Pradesh. 

IFS officers’ assets made public; Hardeep Puri owns house in West End, Meera Shankar in Commonwealth Games Village

Indian Diplomats in New Delhi (File photo)

INDIAN Foreign Service (IFS) personnel barring a few made their property details in public by May 27, 2011 paving the way for a more transparent regime and a public scrutiny. Among top diplomats whose list of immovable properties was placed in the Ministry of External Affairs’ website by Friday evening include foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, India’s ambassador to US Meera Shankar, India’s ambassador to Japan Alok Prasad, Permanent Representative of India to UN Hardeep Puri, India’s high commissioner to UK Nalin Surie, Secretary (West) Vivek Katju just to name a few.

According to the declaration, Permanent Representative of India in United Nations Hardeep Puri bought a house in New Delhi’s posh West End area in 2005 which costs him Rs 2.5 crore. Puri also mentioned that he sourced the money from the sale of his previous house added with Rs 1 crore loan from HSBC. Now, his West End house gives him a net income of Rs 30 lakh per annum, the declaration adds.

India’s ambassador to US Meera Shankar and her husband Ajay Shankar (ex-DIPP secretary) jointly own a Rs 2.85 crore flat in the newly constructed Commonwealth Games Village in New Delhi. They are yet to get the possession of the flat. The declaration has further mentioned that they managed that amount from the sale of their Gurgaon house and joint personnel savings.

India’s high commissioner in London Nalin Surie and his wife have a two-room DDA flat in New Delhi’s Vasant Vihar area and a residential plot of 420 sq metres in Gurgaon, both of which were purchased in 1980s. His flat now gives him a monthly rent of over Rs 20,000.

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao’s Gurgaon flat was bought in 2003 for Rs 25 lakh and she has no idea how much is the market value of that property now, the declaration says. Secretary (West) Vivek Katju’s IFS apartment flat in Gurgaon now gives him a rent of Rs 1,80,000 annually. According to his estimates, the market value of the flat now is Rs 60 lakh.

IAS As Newsmakers: For cleaning toilets and having dinner with taxpayers’ money

DURING the last few days, there were a number of media reports, analysis and even edit page opinion pieces on how Faridabad deputy commissioner Praveen Kumar, an IAS officer, cleaned the toilet of a school situated in Old Faridabad of Haryana.

When 51-year-old officer was told that there was no sweeper available in the school, he went home, brought a bucket and broom, and cleaned the toilet in 20 minutes. All including students and teachers were shocked. A national newspaper wrote in its edit page: “What the IAS officer did is a good example of how a few, committed bureaucrats keep intact this great but rapidly corroding steel frame of the nation”. For the record, Indian bureaucracy at times is referred as steel frame of the nation.

People in Faridabad, a satellite town of Delhi, say Kumar is a maverick and a non-comformist, and he responds calls at his mobile phone. Cleaning a public toilet in the land of Mahatma Gandhi is no big deal, but when the person happens to be an IAS officer in a hierarchy and status conscious society, it makes all the difference.

But then comes the part-II of an IAS saga. A Rs 1.5 lakh dinner for 250 IAS officers is not a big deal. But why do they need to pass the bill to the tax payers? The Madhya Pradesh government has come under the scanner of Lokayukta for allegedly organising a free dinner for about 250 IAS officers, mostly serving, with taxpayers’ money, say reports published in local newspapers. The dinner was organized in October last year at a private club by the state chief secretary. Now, everyone is asking: Why should the state government foot the bill for a private dinner?

Ajit Kumar Seth appointed as next cabinet secretary; what’s in store for Pulok Chatterji?

WHEN all powerful man in PMO Pulok Chatterji dictated terms in Raisina Hills during UPA-I, his batch-mate from the same UP cadre Ajit Kumar Seth was the resident commissioner in New Delhi’s Uttar Pradesh Bhawan. Seth had a higher rank in 1974 batch IAS merit list, but no one even bothered to bet for Seth that this man from UP might one day snap the country’s top bureaucratic job. For six long years, Seth -- known for his honesty and meticulous work -- remained a mere resident commissioner in UP Bhawan. Finally, he got the break when he was appointed as secretary, coordination and public grievances in cabinet secretariat in January, 2009. And the rest is history now.

Ajit Kumar Seth has been appointed as India’s next cabinet secretary from June 14, 2011 replacing his four year senior KM Chandrasekhar. He will be an OSD till he takes up the assignment in mid-June for a period of two years. For the last two years, many veteran bureaucrats like current Member Secretary of Planning Commission Sudha Pillai, her husband and home secretary GK Pillai and their batch-mate M Ramachandran, all from 1972 batch, lost the race for the top job as incumbent Chandrasekhar secured two serial extensions. Now, Seth will have the privilege to become the boss of two of his seniors, home secretary Pillai and defence secretary Pradeep Kumar at least for a month.

A post-graduate in chemistry from St. Stephens college, Seth struck the right chemistry with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh when the former got a chance to interact with the PM several times during his two and half years old stint at the cabinet secretariat. Seth has a master’s degree in development finance from Britain’s University of Birmingham too. As a junior officer, Seth had worked in the ministry of textile, and one of his few important assignments was the First Secretary’s position in Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations at Geneva, Switzerland in 1980s.

The big question now is what Pulok Chatterji would get once he is back from his World Bank stint. Will Chatterji be made the Principal Secretary to PM paving the way of two UP cadre batch-mates, Seth and Chatterji, calling the shots in Delhi’s corridors of power? But that can be a possibility only when master bureaucrat TKA Nair heads for a Raj Bhawan!

Why will Sumit Bose become next finance secretary, and not R Gopalan?

WITH the appointment of disinvestment secretary Sumit Bose as the ODS in the department of expenditure under the finance ministry, the decks are cleared for this 1976 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS to become India’s next finance secretary. As Bose will retire only in March, 2014, he will have a long-haul in the North Block’s power centre.

Bose will first become the expenditure secretary by the end of this month when the incumbent and Bose’s two batch senior officer of the same cadre Sushama Nath’s extension ends.

But how will then Sumit Bose become India’s finance secretary? Here is how the situation works in his favour.

According to conventions, the senior most officer among secretaries of all departments of the finance ministry is designated as finance secretary. The departments in finance ministry include the department of economic affairs, department of financial services, department of revenue, department of expenditure and department of disinvestment. And with revenue secretary and 1975 batch IAS Sunil Mitra retiring in the end of the next month, there will be no officer senior to Bose provided the government does not bring in a 1975 batch officer as revenue secretary. But that’s a rare possibility.

But how will then Bose become finance secretary and not his batch-mate and one of FM’s favourite officers R Gopalan, currently working as secretary in the department of economic affairs? In the merit-cum-seniority list of 1976 batch, Bose is marginally above Gopalan and hence Bose will be designated as the finance secretary.

Had commerce secretary and 1975 batch IAS Rahul Khullar become the DEA secretary, the situation would have been different. Khullar would have been the finance secretary by the simple measure of seniority.

The only impediment in Bose becoming finance secretary now is the induction of any of the three officers, S Sundareshan, Uday Kumar Varma and Anita Chaudhary, as revenue secretary. All these three officers are Bose’s batch-mates, but are senior to him in the merit-cum-seniority list. But that argument is only for theoretical purpose as none of those officers has a chance to become revenue secretary and thereby finance secretary.

Read
Profile of Sumit Bose
Bio-data of R Gopalan

Action and Appointments

a) Ms S Radha Chauhan, a 1988 batch UP cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of school education and literacy.

b) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved proposal for premature repatriation of Sada Kant, a 1983 batch UP cadre IAS presently joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs to his parent cadre of Uttar Pradesh.

Government to take disciplinary action against officers not submitting their immovable properties

THE government has warned that it would take disciplinary action to those officers who have failed to submit their Immovable Property Returns despite several reminders and release of their names in public domain. The DoPT has released the names of 487 officers who did not submit their 2010 Immovable Property Returns as on May 12, 2011. They were supposed to submit their list of immovable properties by January 31, 2011.

The list of 336 defaulting officers who did not file their 2009 returns was also made public along with a DoPT circular dated May 16, 2011. All the officers belong to Central Secretariat Services and are now posted in various Central government departments including home, defence, UPSC etc. They are at the rank of deputy secretary, director and joint secretaries.

The DoPT took up the issue of non-furnishing of Immovable Property Returns in a meeting dated April 28, 2011. “The ministries and departments are advised to obtain the IPRs (Immovable Property Returns) of the defaulting officers and if necessary initiate disciplinary action for non-submission,” said a DoPT circular.

Read

The List of Defaulting Officers

CBI may question senior IAS J Phatak next week

The Central Bureau of Investigation probing the Adarsh Housing Society scam may question 1978 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS officer Jairaj Phatak. Phatak was the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner when permissions were reportedly granted to increase the height of the controversial building. Phatak has refuted the allegations. His son was allotted a flat there. A number of other bureaucrats are also accused in the same case.

3 bureaucrats make into Chevening Gurukul

The bureaucrats who have been selected for Chevening Gurukul Leadership programme are:

a) Devi Yesodharan, Senior Manager Policy Research, Unique Identification Authority of India

b) Gaurav Dwivedi, senior Deputy Director, LBSNAA

c) Munna Prasad Gupta, deputy Inspector General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department-CID, government of Assam

They have figured in the list of 12 outstanding future leaders selected by the British government. They will be trained in London.

Nominations invited for PM’s awards for Excellence in Public Administration; NGOs can also nominate outstanding officers

THE Central government has invited the nominations of outstanding officers for “Prime Minister’s Awards for excellence in Public Administration”. The award is meant for recognizing the extraordinary and innovative work done by officers of the Central and state governments.

All officers of Central and state governments individually or as a group or as organizations are eligible for consideration. Nominations are now being invited for the year 2010-11 under the scheme. The last date for receipt of nominations is July 15, 2011 in the department of administrative reforms and public grievances under the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions.

The Central government departments, ministries, state governments, NGOs and other stakeholders can be nominating authorities.

The main features of the scheme as well as operational guidelines are as under:

a) Self nominations are not accepted.

b) In respect of nominations from states, the state governments will constitute state level committees to shortlist their nominations and verify the facts before forwarding the nominations to the Central government.

c) Nominations should generally be encouraged. However, nominating authorities and state-level committees are requested to forward or short-list nominations only if the initiatives of the concerned officers are truly innovative, outstanding or exceptional in nature.

d) Nominating authorities should ensure that no vigilance case or enquiry is pending against the nominated officer.

e) Central government departments, ministries, state governments, NGOs and other stakeholders can be nominating authorities.

g) Where the nomination is in respect of a group of individuals, it should be ensured that names of all the nominees concerned are explicitly stated.

h) Nomination should be submitted in the Form prescribed.

For detailed guidelines, log onto the department’s website: www.darpg.nic.in.

Now, proximity to Narendra Modi costs an IAS’ job!

DK Rao, a 1980-batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, has claimed that he was forced to retire from service because of his proximity to chief minister Narendra Modi. After a couple of instances of IAS and IPS officers becoming a victim because of anti-Modi stance, here is a case where the IAS says he is a victim of political and bureaucratic rivalry because of his closeness to Modi. According to media reports, Rao lost his job after Central Vigilance Commission and the DOPT implicated him in a 16-year-old corruption case. The Indian Express quoted Rao as saying that some Congress leaders targeted him.

1977 batch IAS Debendranath Sarangi is new Tamil Nadu chief secretary

Sarangi with Amitabh Bachchan (File Photo)

Debendranath Sarangi, a 1977 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, has never been on Central deputation. Now, Sarangi has been the choice of chief minister J Jayalalithaa to become the new chief secretary of Tamil Nadu.

Sarangi has superceded at least three officers who are from 1975 and 1976 batches. An MA in political science and MSc in economics (UK), Sarangi is a well respected Oriya officer in the state. Unlike many Tamil Nadu officers, he is friendly to the media and is politically neutral.

According to media reports, Sarangi is married to a Tamilian who works in private sector. His son is also in corporate sector while his daughter is pursuing her studies in the US.

Sarangi is a fitness freak and is often spotted in tennis courts. 

DIDIGIRI: Mamata may ask West Bengal cadre IAS, IPS on deputation to return home

WEST Bengal chief minister designate Mamata Banerjee may ask Bengal cadre bureaucrats to return home while engineering a major bureaucratic reshuffle in the state. According to local media reports, the process of identifying senior bureaucrats who are expected to play key roles in the next few years has already begun.

A leading newspaper from Kolkata said that some IAS officers working with the Union ministers from Bengal could also be given new assignments in the state. The Telegraph said Jawhar Sircar, the current union culture secretary, is among the officers the Trinamool leadership is keen to bring back to the state. Despite the euphoria about the end of the 34-year-old Left rule, many secretary level officers are unlikely to show interests in going back to Kolkata at the fag end of their career.

There are about 30 Bengal cadre IAS and IPS officers who are on deputation in Delhi.

Significantly, during her stint as Union railway minister, Mamata Banerjee was very keen in not sending railway officers to other Central departments on deputation. Also, she wanted her officers on Central Staffing back to the railways as soon as they complete their tenure.

Action and Appointments

a) Andhra Pradesh  government on Monday did a major reshuffle of IAS officers. Among others, the government swapped the roles of Busi Sam Bob, principal secretary, industries and commerce and T S Appa Rao, principal secretary, municipal administration and urban development. It is expected to improve municipal administration as municipal administration minister M Mahidhar Reddy and Appa Rao have reportedly differed on many key issues.

b) Raja Ram Sah, a 1995 batch IRS (IT) officer, has been appointed as director in cabinet secretariat, New Delhi.

c) Ms Asha Rani Rungta, a 1994 batch IPTA officer, has been shifted as Controller of Finance in Dr BR Amberdkar University. 

BoI Survey: 46 percent wants Indian bureaucrats to take bold decision

AFTER the Indian cricket team’s victory in the world club, babusofindia.com (BoI) posed this question: What do you think India’s bureaucrats should learn most from the world cup winning captain MS Dhoni? Here is what the key results of the BoI survey: 46 percent respondents say Indian bureaucrats need to take bold decisions. The result is interesting as there has already been an apprehension that Indian bureaucrats may now be over-cautious in taking bold decisions in the backdrop of the mega investigation on a series of recent scams.

In the same survey, over 19 percent people say bureaucrats need to “set target” whereas 18 percent want them to be “frank”. As India’s cricket captain MS Dhoni was appreciated by all for his cool nature, we posed this question: Do you want Indian bureaucrats to be “super cool like Dhoni”? 23 percent says: Yes, it’s more important to be cool than to be frank.

Here is the snapshot of the result:

What do you think India’s bureaucrats should learn most from the world cup winning captain MS Dhoni?

Take bold decision: 46.3%

Set Target: 19.4%

Be Frank: 18.7%

Be Super Cool: 15.4%

There has been a debate on how to improve Indian administration as many global surveys have ranked Indian bureaucracy lower than the rest. For the last two years, a survey undertaken by Hong Kong-based risk consultancy firm PERC has rated Indian bureaucracy the "worst in Asia". The survey which gets global media attention further claims that Indian politicians’ promise to reform and revitalize bureaucracy has failed as “the civil service is a power centre in its own right”.

Govt wants to bring in more fellowships under ambit of study leave norms

THE government has relaxed its leave rules to allow officers selected for Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowships. The DoPT in a circular dated May 11, 2011, said the government is examining the feasibility of bringing more fellowship under the purview of study leave on the same terms and conditions as the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowships.

The study leave is normally granted to a government servant for studies which may be directly or indirectly connected to his sphere of work. But it can relax the norm for those studies which may not be connected to the work of the government servant, but “which may widen the mind” and “improve his abilities” as a civil servant.

Now, all ministries and departments are requested to provide requisite inputs regarding fellowships offered by reputed institutions which may be of benefits in their areas of work. The feedback should come by May 20, 2011.

Read

Actual DoPT CIRCULAR, dated May 11, 2011

IAS, IPS selected for British Scholarship

Action and Appointments

a) Sudhir Rangappa Narayana, a 1998 batch IDAS has been appointed as Assistant Director General at the deputy secretary level in the Unique Identification Authority of India under the Planning Commission at Bangalore.

b) Ms Amarpreet Duggal, a 1999 batch Indian Postal Service officer, has been appointed as deputy secretary in the department of personnel and training (DoPT).

c) Ms Anita Bhatnagar Jain, a 1985 batch UP cadre IAS, presently working as joint secretary in the department of higher education as joint secretary, has been appointed in the department of information technology in place of Shankar Aggarwal, a 1980 batch UP cadre IAS.

Read PM’s Mind: IFS officers should enable release of resources from defence to development

RERRING to an increasingly inter-depending and uncertain world, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said Indian Foreign Service had an important role to play in steering the country. The Prime Minister noted that foreign policy should enable the release of resources from defence to achieve our development goals. He was talking to probationers of the 2009 batch of IFS on Wednesday.

In his remarks to the probationers, Singh highlighted issues of environmental security, the role of the international trading system and regional trading arrangements in overcoming the limitation of natural resources in the country. On national security, he said the country required special attention to relations with India’s neighbours and extended neighbourhood (South East Asia, Gulf and West Asia, Central Asia, Africa) and the importance of maintaining productive relations with the world’s major powers.

Action and Appointments

a) The ACC has approved the appointment of Desh Deepak Verma, a 1978 batch UP cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, as Director General, Sports Authority of India, in the rank and pay of additional secretary in place of Sayan Chatterjee, a 1976 batch Kerala cadre IAS.

b) Vivek Dewangan, a 1993 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS, has been appointed as private secretary to the minister of corporate affairs Murli Deora at director level.

c) RK Mishra, a 1999 batch Indian Postal Service officer, has been appointed as Officer-on-Special Duty of coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal at deputy secretary level.

BJP accuses Central government of using IAS, IPS officers against its governments

THE BJP has made a case arguing that the UPA government was using some IAS and IPS officers to destabilize their governments. Hit by the recent instances of a few Gujarat officers virtually revolting against chief minister Narendra Modi, the BJP now says the officers are encouraged to voice against governments in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh too.

The issue cropped up in the recent CMs’ conclave which was attended by BJP chief ministers, according to some media reports. The BJP had earlier accused the Congress of using Governors to destabilize their governments.

1991 batch IAS Pathak is new Pune Warrior

Mahesh Pathak, a 1991 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as municipal commissioner of Pune replacing Mahesh Zagade. Pathak is now the higher and technical education secretary of the state. An engineer-turned IAS, Pathak is currently in West Bengal on an election duty.

Action and Appointments

a) Ms Anita Bhatnagar Jain, a 1985 batch UP cadre IAS, presently working as joint secretary in the department of higher education has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of telecommunications in place of Shankar Agganval, a 1980 batch UP cadre IAS.

b) Khurshid Ahmed Ganai, a 1982 batch Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of information and broadcasting in place of VB Pyarelal, a 1983 batch Assam cadre IAS.

c) Jagdeep Goel, a 1989 batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) with minister of science and technology Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Why does 1983 batch IAS, KK Sharma want to file defamation suit against Shunglu panel?

Sharma: A Challenger?

A NUMBER of bureaucrats including the retired ones may be upset over their names being dragged by Shunglu Committee which is investing the irregularities in the run-up to Delhi Commonwealth Games, but a 1983 batch UT cadre IAS officer Kewal Kumar Sharma has sought permissions from the cabinet secretary to file a defamation case against the PM-appointed Shunglu panel.

The Shunglu committee has dragged Sharma’s name as he was the principal secretary in PWD department under Delhi government between June 2009 and April 2011. Currently, he is an adviser to the Chandigarh administration.

The Shunglu panel has criticized Sharma among others for irregularities and delays in key projects such as Barapullah Nallah elevated road and Ring Road Bypass.

Here are the excerpts of Sharma’s Letter

* I may be given permission to file a defamation case against the members of the high level committee for the damage already done to my name.

* It is extremely de-motivating, stressful and also depressing for any public servant to face public humiliation and suffer loss of 28 years of hard-earned reputation through what appears to be a casually written report

* The committee may well be correct in observing that there had been a 3-year period of inactivity from 2003 to 2006 which compromised every subsequent stage of planning and execution. If the committee felt that this was the major cause of the mess, then who are the persons responsible for this? The committee does not provide an answer.

* As a result of intensive efforts and leadership I provided, projects began to be completed almost every month and all 38 PWD projects were operational before the Games.

The big question now is whether the cabinet secretary would actually give Sharma the permission to file a defamation case against the high powered Shunglu panel, or his request letter would be recorded only for theoretical purposes in corridors of power!
Also Read
Shunglu Panel spots CWG officials with fat salaries

Action and Appointments

a) On return from training from IIPA, V Peddanna, Director is posted to coal ministry with immediate effect, against a vacancy diverted from Central Staffing Scheme to CSS with effect from May 2, 2011

DoPT clarifies on allowances for children education etc. after DA raise

THE government has issued a clarification on increase of allowances for children education, child care to women with disabilities and education allowance for disabled children of government employees.

In an office memo dated May 5, 2011, the DoPT has clarified on increase of these allowances by 25 percent as a result of enhancement of Dearness Allowances with effect from January 1, 2011.

Here are the clarified points:

a) The annual ceiling limit for reimbursement of Children Education Allowance will be Rs 15,000 per child. Accordingly, the quarterly claim could be more than Rs 3750 in one quarter and less than Rs 3750 in another quarter subject to the annual ceiling of Rs 15,000 per child and hostel subsidy will be Rs 3750 per month per child.

b) The rates of Special Allowance for Child Care to women with disabilities stands revised to Rs 1250 per month; and

c) The annual ceiling for reimbursement of education allowance for disabled children of Government employees shall be treated as revised to Rs 30,000 per annum per child and the rates of hostel subsidy for disabled children of government employees shall be treated as revised from Rs 6000 per child per month to Rs 7500 per child per month.

Action and Appointments

a) G Balachandran, a 1977 batch West Bengal cadre IAS, currently working as Adviser, in Inter State Council Secretariat, has been appointed as Chairman, National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority under the department of pharmaceuticals in the rank and pay of additional secretary in place of SM Jhanval, an IES officer.

b) Pranay Sahay, a 1975 batch Manipur Tripura cadre IPA has been appointed as secretary (security) in Cabinet Secretariat in place of BK Dey, a 1973 batch Assam cadre IPS (retired).

c) Pramod Agarwal, a 1991 batch MP cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of disinvestment. He is currently working as Director in the ministry of

youth affairs and sports. 

Ashok Chawla, R Bandyopadhyay in race for CCI chairman’s post

A NUMBER of high-profile retired bureaucrats including former finance secretary Ashok Chawla and former corporate affairs secretary R Bandyopadhyay are in race for the post of chairman of Competition Commission of India (CCI) as the incumbent Dhanendra Kumar retires next month.

According to reports, there are about 300 applicants for two CCI posts, one for Chairman and another for a Member. These posts are quite attractive as the salary goes upto over two and half lakhs rupees if the selected person prefers not to take any official house and car. A secretary in government of India gets a salary of Rs 80,000 in addition to perks such as official car and a residence in prime locations.

According to reports, the applicants for CCI chairman’s post also include former United Bank of India chairman SC Gupta, former environment secretary Vijay Sharma, Adviser to deputy chairman of Planning Commission Gajendra Haldea, and former CBDT Member Durgesh Shankar.

UPSC chairman calls for a review of permanent appointment of bureaucrats

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chairman DP Agrawal said there is a need for a fresh look at the issue of permanent appointment in bureaucracy. He said on Wednesday that there should be an intense assessment of officers’ performance at various stages of their career, and the deadwood should be weeded out at early stages. The UPSC is the government’s recruiting agency for all top bureaucrats including IAS, IPS, IFS etc.

Bihar CM takes his key bureaucrats to Bhutan

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar along with a few of his key bureaucrats left for a four-day visit to Bhutan. His mission: To study ways to make the state self-reliant in energy sector. Principal secretary, energy Ajay V Nayak; principal secretary tourism Dipak Prasad; information and public relations department secretary Rajesh Bhushan; CM’s secretary Atish Chandra and his officer-on-special duty Gopal Prasad have accompanied Kumar on his visit.

Commonwealth Games to Petroleum: Can GC Chaturvedi race ahead of $100 oil?

GC Chaturvedi, who has been working as Special Director General (Finance and Accounts) in the Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games, has been made petroleum secretary in place of S Sundareshan. Chaturvedi, a 1977 batch UP cadre IAS with degree in finance from London School of Economics, UK was found to be the right bet to steer the sensitive ministry. It will be a tough job for Chaturvedi as the crude oil above $100 a barrel has become a norm than an aberration.

As an additional secretary, he headed the financial services department of the finance ministry when Arun Ramanathan retired as finance secretary about three years ago.

Know Your Babu

Name: G C Chaturvedi

Cadre and Batch: 1977 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre

Date of Birth: 17/01/1953

Place of Domicile: UP

Educational Qualification

PG, Physics, First division

Earlier postings

Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs

Banking & Insurance, Ministry of Finance

(From 26/05/2003 to 19/07/2007)

Mission Director & Additional Secretary

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (From 26/12/2007 to 01/05/2009)

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance (From 05/05/2009 to 26/04/2010)

Special Director General (Finance and Accounts)

Organizing Committee of Commonwealth Games, (From 26/04/2010 till now)

Foreign Training

1-year course in finance from London School of Economics (LSE), UK, in 1996

Action and Appointments

a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension of tenure of Chaman Kumar, a 1978 batch Gujarat cadre IAS and additional secretary in the department of agriculture research and education for the period beyond up to December 31, 2011 which is the date of his superannuation.

b) Bhaskar Chatterjee, a 1975 batch Orissa cadre IAS and secretary in department of public enterprises will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, department of heavy industries for a period of three months with effect from May 1, 2011.

c) Mukul Joshi, a 1975 batch Punjab cadre IAS and secretary in the department of pharmaceuticals will hold additional charge of the post of secretary in the department of chemicals and petro chemicals for a period of three months with effect from May 1, 2011.

UPSC Foundation Day: Vice President Hamid Ansari to deliver key address in lecture series on governance

Vice President of India Hamid Ansari will participate in a lecture series on governance and public service in New Delhi on Monday, mainly to generate fresh thinking for Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). This is the second time, such a lecture series is being organized on the UPSC Foundation Day (May 3).

The lecture is expected to touch upon the issues like the need for reorientation in governance structures so as to make them more accountable, transparent and outcome driven. “Administrative systems have to keep pace with people’s aspirations. There is also an acknowledged need for modernizing the administrative mechanism. The central role of the public service in reorienting the administrative mechanism is agreed upon,” a DoPT release ahead of the UPSC Foundation Day lecture said.

ED may attach IAS couple’s properties

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) may provisionally attach the properties of suspended IAS couple of 1979 batch, Arvind and Tinoo Joshi, who were raided by Income-Tax department in February 2010, according to media reports. The couple has allegedly amassed wealth worth Rs 350 crore, according to I-T assessment.

Also Read

Cash In Hand: IAS Couple's Date with Delhi

Tinoo and Arvind Joshis' Guwahati connection!

R Vineel Krishna becomes Director, ST SC department

In a major reshuffle of IAS officers, Orissa government on Friday shifted nine district collectors and seven secretaries. Malkangiri district collector R Vineel Krishna who was abducted and later released by Maoists in February, has been posted as director of Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Development department.

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Babus In Demand

a) The government is looking for filling up the post of Member Secretary in Central Silk Board, Bengaluru at the level of a joint secretary. Those officers who hold joint secretary or equivalent post at the Centre are eligible for it.

b) Deputy secretary and director level officers can apply for the post of Assistant Director General in the office of Unique Identification Authority of India. The post will be located at Guwahati.