Why Bengal CM was kind towards rail minister’s PS Vandana Yadav?

LAST year, West Bengal chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee turned down the requests of many IAS and IPS officers who wanted to come to New Delhi on Central deputation. The most prominent rejection was then Birbhum district magistrate and 2002 batch IAS Soumitra Mohan who finance minister Pranab Mukherjee wanted to be his private secretary in place of Manoj Pant who was to fly to Washington DC to become senior adviser to ED in World Bank. Miss Banerjee was however very kind towards one officer: 1998 batch IAS Vandana Yadav who was allowed to come on Central deputation. She became Mukul Roy’s private secretary in the ministry of shipping.
Now, Ms Yadav has been laterally shifted from the ministry of shipping to the ministry of railways. Ms Yadav will now be Roy’s private secretary in the Rail Bhawan. But why Ms Yadav in the first place got Mamata Banerjee’s nod to come to Delhi when CM even refused to consider Pranab Mukherjee’s pleas? Here is the answer...

PM believes in “trust” while choosing officials; but why not for other ministers?

LOOK, even Prime Minister wants someone he trusts as his joint secretary. After Chhattisgarh chief minister wrote to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh asking newly appointed PMO joint secretary BVR Subrahmanyam to be repatriated to the state, this was what PM wrote to Raman Singh: “I need an officer who has the experience and exposure in handling sensitive matter. The officer also needs to be someone who enjoys my trust and confidence. Due to these reasons, I have selected BVR…”. Yes, PM emphasized on two keywords: trust and confidence. But most ministers in his cabinet or for that matter even in earlier governments have to be satisfied with the officers they are thrust upon. Even a secretary to a department can’t choose his team-mates. Why can’t the Dhoni of a government department have the liberty to pick and choose his own players?

The rationale behind this British legacy is that...

No changes in UPSC exams, for now; Govt to wait for Nigavekar committee report

THE government has clarified that the civil services (mains) exam will remain as it is, at least for now. There were speculations, and even rumours that very pattern of the civil services examinations would undergo drastic changes. But V Narayanasamy, minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and PMO said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday that currently there is no proposal to introduce changes in the main examination of the civil services examination. Yet,

Govt debates lateral entry into Indian civil services, UK crops up as example

THE government has begun the process of debating whether it should allow lateral entry of talents, from academia, research and private sector to join the civil services. It’s noticed that some civil servants with a time-bound career progress get lazy and lethargic which in turn damage the over-all efficiency of Indian bureaucracy.

“For all civil services, especially for the All-India Civil Services, lateral entry at different levels could be evaluated. The lateral entry would inspire competition among the civil servants,” a government-prepared background paper released on this year’s Civil Services Day writes.

The 56-page long background paper which formed the basis of a panel discussion on April 21 last, also gave the UK example where...

Diplomat M Manimekalai is India's evacuation specialist; gets PM's Award

Ms Manimekalai in Queen’s Baton rally in Malta (File photo)

IT WAS over one year ago. Ms M Manimekalai, a 1981 batch IFS officer was then Ambassador of India in Libya. Uprising against Libyan dictator Col Gaddafi was at the peak. The authoritarian regimes at Tunisia and Egypt had by then collapsed. There were air strikes in the capital city of Tripoli and elsewhere from European countries. Ms Manimekalai’s mission was to act like a full-fledged crisis management authority and evacuate more than 16,000 Indian nationals working in various companies such as Punj Lloyd, OVL, OIL etc. They were stranded in war zones of Benghazi, Tripoli etc.

One year later, on April 21, 2012, Ms Manimekalai received the prestigious Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration 2010-2011 at the individual category. If Tessy Thomas is India’s missile woman post Agni-V’s success, Manimekalai is India’s evacuation specialist, playing a key role in saving the lives of 16,000 Indians.

And this was how the department of administrative reforms and public grievances wrote about her

Alex Paul was kidnapped on a day PM spent time with thousands of bureaucrats

PM with an award winning bureaucrat on April 21

THE day Alex Paul Menon, a 2006 batch IAS, was kidnapped by Naxals from Majhipara village in Maoist-infested Chhattisgarh district, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was incidentally addressing hundreds of bureaucrats in New Delhi. The occasion was the annual Civil Services Day. While showering praise on bureaucrats, Prime Minister said Indian civil servants would rank “among the best in the world”. “They have done excellent work. They have delivered results in the face of adversity,” he said.

But as Alex Paul Menon incident has demonstrated, the adversities for young officers serving in Naxal-hit areas...

Why Leena Nandan is getting stuck with a Commonwealth Games post?

Leena Nandan (File Photo)

Delhi Commonwealth Games was over one and half years ago, but a few officers have failed to come out of it, for one reason or the other. On April 17, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet, which is headed by Prime Minister, has approved the extension of Leena Nandan, a 1987 batch UP cadre IAS “as Project Director of the Host Broadcaster Team (HBT) Commonwealth Games, 2010 in Doordarshan for a period up to May 31, 2012”. The ACC order itself said it was “a special case”, but did not mention why an extension was required for an officer who came on a Central deputation in November, 2004. A number of officers working in Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games, 2010, had to continue with their posts even after the Games were over, and that too for months with no work, but they finally managed escape routes.

Is Ms Nandan getting stuck because...

Indian government to send secretary ranked officers for Harvard crash courses

INDIAN government will fund even secretary-level officers for short-term courses in Harvard University this year. The secretary ranked officers are however eligible to apply only in two out of 30 short-term tailor-made foreign courses for which the government will fund under Domestic Funding of Foreign Training Scheme, 2012-13.

One of those two courses titled “Leaders in Development: Managing Political and Economic Change” will begin on June 4 and end on June 15, 2012. The other course where secretary ranked officers are also eligible to apply is on

IPL Season: A month long cricket camp for bureaucrats’ children now

Ex-IAS Raghu Menon

IN THIS season of IPL and cricketing fever, the children of the Central government employees are being wooed to a formal cricket coaching camp. The summer vacation is beginning soon, and the children will have a chance to stay fit. And you never know, there could be a future Tendulkar, Dhoni or Kohli out of them.

If the child is between eight and sixteen years old...

3 senior most IAS of 1978 batch have an exposure to Bharat, how?

Bharat Vs India

THREE senior most IAS officers of 1978 batch who are becoming secretaries had an exposure to Bharat, quite literally. All of them have worked in rural development ministries either in states or in the Centre during the recent past.

After the topper of the batch Jawed Usmani got himself shifted to UP as chief secretary, three senior most secretary-empaneled officers, Saurabh Chandra (UP cadre), Gokul Chandra Pati (Orissa cadre) and Arvind Mayaram (Rajasthan cadre) have in fact had a long association with rural development ministries.

Home secretary RK Singh fumes; warns officers not to hobnob with embassies

Is Home Secretary RK Singh Angry?

UNION home secretary RK Singh has asked secretaries of various departments to restrain bureaucrats from hobnobbing with foreign embassies in India. The fear? A few bureaucrats were already “cultivated” by foreign service nationals or embassy officers.

Singh’s letter as quoted by a report in Hindustan Times said that those officials would be dealt with. But who are those officials?

Age No Bar: Even older Indian bureaucrat is now eligible to take up Myanmar post

Nearing 60: Thinking About Myanmar...

IT’S like a desperate situation for the government of India to spot the right bureaucrat for a deputy secretary-equivalent post in mystic land of Myanmar. In the last six months, the DoPT has issued three circulars asking applications from the suitable candidates for the post of first secretary (development) at Indian Embassy in Myanmar. Now, even the Central Secretariat Services officers can apply for the post. Also, older bureaucrats are eligible now, as the age bar of 45 years...

What’s if a senior Indian government official has a toothache in Kuala Lumpur?

SOUNDS funny, but an Indian government official flying to Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur in June for a training programme will be in trouble if he or she has a major dental problem during the three weeks long stay there. The government of Malaysia under Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme will pay the selected Indian government officials the return airfare and medical treatment but “dental treatment is restricted to extraction and filling which must be carried out in government hospitals and clinics”, according to a training DoPT circular dated April 9, 2012.

What does this really mean? Is there a suspicion that...

Batchmates Bonhomie: What does R Gopalan's 3-month extension mean?

(R to L) Gopalan, Mrs Paul, Gujral, Bose

THE government has given department of economic affairs (DEA) secretary R Gopalan an extension of three months allowing batch-mates’ bonhomie continuing in North Block. Both finance secretary RS Gujral who also looks after the revenue department and expenditure secretary Sumit Bose are Gopalan’s 1976 IAS batch-mates.

Had this three months’ extension not materialized, Gopalan, an MBA from Harvard, would have retired on April 30, 2012. But what has made Gopalan so special that finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and his adviser Omita Paul have vouched for...

Railway officials, spouses enjoyed Hindi cinema’s Black and White era

CALL it an evening of nostalgia. Hundreds of Indian railway officials along with their spouses on Monday night enjoyed “Black and White”, a musical journey of Hindi cinema’s yesteryears. Performed in New Delhi by a group of singers and actors from Pune, the two-hour-long romantic show was enjoyed by top rail honchos like Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal, Member Engineering AK Misra, Member Electrical Kul Bhushan...

Is E Sreedharan blaming Haldea for Kochi Metro’s massive cost overrun?

E Sreedharan

Metro Man E Sreedharan, currently handling the Kochi Metro rail project, blamed bureaucracy for a cost overrun of Rs 2600 crore. Though Sreedharan did not name any bureaucrat in the interview given to CNBC-TV18, those who have tracked corridors’ inside stories would safely guess he was blaming a bureaucrat in Planning Commission known for his proximity to deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Is he indirectly blaming highly powerful yet controversial bureaucrat Gajendra...

New Coal India chairman and 1986 batch IAS Narsingh Rao has a Coalaveri ahead

Coal India chairman's job was always hot. And that's why five IAS officers and over dozen others fiercely competed with each others recently to occupy the hot chair that controls the world's largest coal miner with an annual revenue of Rs 60,000 crore (FY2010-11).
But for Narsingh Rao, Coal India chairman designate and 1986 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS, the position has come with numerous challenges. Apart from the leaked CAG report on distribution of coal blocks which among other others indicted Coal India, there have been issues regarding its ability to produce more and commit power companies for an assured coal supply...

Government agrees to share appraisal dossier with retired officers

Post Retirement...

THE government has changed ruled to allow retired officers to access their Performance Appraisal Report even after two years of one’s retirement. The DoPT in an office memorandum dated April 2, 2012 said ACR (Annual Confidential Reports) /APAR dossier would be handed over to a retired officer if a written request is filed.

The ACRs are kept in store rooms for five years even after an officer retires...

A diplomat, two IAS and a banker meet in North Block to talk tourism

WHEN a diplomat, two IAS officers and a banker met in North Block on Monday, it was all about creating tourism infrastructure. As juices were served, these gentlemen got ready to sign pacts on tourism, and also for a photo ops thereafter. Those who gathered included Venu Rajamony, a 1986 batch IFS officer, VK Jeyakodi, 1984 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, Dr SS Sandhu, a 1988 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and Narhari Rao, deputy country director for India in Asian Development Bank. Rajamony is joint secretary (multilateral institutions) in department of economic affairs; Jeyakodi, principal secretary tourism in Tamil Nadu and Sandhu, secretary tourism in Uttarakhand...