Who all support Durga Shakti Nagpal, the firebrand IAS taking sand mafia head-on

REQUESTING anonymity, a senior IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre told a section of media on Tuesday that suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal would be charge-sheeted, and an inquiry could be ordered to find out whether she had any role in disturbing communal harmony. But more and more groups have come out in support of the 28-year-old IAS, as it appears that she was framed for her drive against the powerful sand mafia lobby in Western UP. Here are Durga supporters:

Delhi Police asks companies to hire its men at 60; here’s a list of 40 retired cops

WHO says a police officer retires at 60? The Delhi Police’s advertisement tagline says: Talent does not come with an expiry date. In an initiative called Delhi Police Retired Talent, it has appealed organizations to hire their men and women who are “fit and young even at sixty”. In its official website, delhipolice.nic.in, it has given details of 40 policemen including their…

After IAS Ravindra Kumar, 5 more officers gear up to scale Mt Everest next year

ONLY a couple of months after Sikkim cadre IAS officer of 2011 batch, Ravindra Kumar had created history by scaling the Mt Everest, the highest peak in the world, five IAS officers-- all belonging to Rajasthan are now dreaming big. According to reports, all those five officers have got berths in Indo-Nepal Mount Everest Civil Service expedition scheduled for next year. Here are more about each of those officers:

There is hunger for reforms & reinvention in govt: Cabinet Secretary Seth

CAN government bodies change their very DNA so that they habitually innovate and continually improve their performance without having to be pushed from outside? In a government newsletter, India's top bureaucrat and cabinet secretary Ajit K Seth concedes that there are many more miles to go before the government achieves the vision  of David Osborne, father of the term “reinvention”. In the July edition of the quarterly newsletter called,...

List of 24 officers short-listed for Harvard; Ashok Khemka a “reserve candidate”

AS MANY as 23 IAS officers and one from Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) have been shortlisted for short-term training programmes at Harvard University. Siginificantly, one of the most influential joint secretaries in the PMO, BVR Subrahmanyam and whistleblower IAS officer of Haryana cadre Ashok Khemka could not make it, as they are shown only as "reserve candidates" in the final list prepared by the DoPT. The prominent officers who are attending those programmes include...

More about the 2010 batch “Durga IAS”, her education, marriage, cadre change

Durga Shakti Nagpal (left) along with some of her batch-mates

BUREAUCRATS in corridors of power in Delhi and elsewhere on Tuesday talked about a young woman IAS officer who a prominent newspaper described as “Durga IAS” after she had dared to take on notorious sand mafia of UP's Gautam Budh Nagar, adjoining the capital city of Delhi. As reported, 28-year-old Durga Shakti Nagpal is in the forefront of a fight against unauthorized dredging along Yamuna and Hindon rivers,  located in Western UP. BoI here gives a glimpse of Ms Nagpal, her educational background, her marriage and cadre change...

DoPT's Strategy 2010-15: Lack of forward thinking a weakness for govt HR

COMPLICATED rules, cumbersome procedures, lack of forward thinking and lack of motivation among staff are some of the major weaknesses of DoPT -- the government's nodal department on human management. And what are its threats? “Judicial activism, pressure groups, political intervention etc...”. These are not BoI's findings, but results of DoPT's own...

TERI Meri Kahaani: Corridor's love for RK Pachauri-headed energy institute

Pachauri with former diplomat & Vice-President Ansari

NEW Delhi-headquartered The Energy and Resources Institute, popularly called TERI, has wooed a number of senior IAS officers with keen interest in environment, climate change and energy, and also a compulsion to stay back in New Delhi. Dr RK Pachauri-headed institute is recognized by the government as one where a senior IAS officer can work after taking leave from the government. In addition to current DoPT secretary and 1979 batch IAS Dr Syamal Kumar Sarkar, the other IAS officers who were TERI fellows include...

Tourism Ministry Moots Idea: Let's have a cadre of Tourist Police

TO INSTIL a sense of confidence among tourists visiting key Indian destinations, the tourism ministry has mooted the idea of creating a new police cadre, called Tourist Police, on the same line as it exists in many parts of the world. Union tourism minister K Chiranjeevi said on Thursday that the new cadre could be built either by...

Is Rahul Anand's a story of a generalist IAS wishing to be a hardcore economist?

IN HIMACHAL Pradesh power circle gossips, this 1996 batch IAS officer, Rahul Anand, is missing in action. Some are airing their sympathy as this bright officer would soon lose his job. The state government has already recommended to DoPT to terminate former Chamba and Hamirpur's deputy commissioner from services. But here is the reality. Anand is very much available at 700, 19th Street, N.W., Washington DC, the address which...

Is Government getting a cold response on RTI best practicing write-ups?

THE government has yet again extended the last date of receiving write-ups on RTI best practices from citizens, now till July 31. The last date of submitting such a write-up, each of the 20 selected essays to fetch Rs 25,000 each, was originally fixed at June 28 and then extended till July 15, creating doubts whether...

How Pulok Chatterji is turning into an infrastructure driver; Will he succeed?

Pulok Chatterji with PM (File photo)

COME Friday, principal secretary to Prime Minister Pulok Chatterji will sit on the driver's seat to push select infrastructure projects including rail, port, airports etc. worth over Rs 1 lakh crore. Many in the corridors thought Chatterji was brought into PMO in October 2011 cutting short his World Bank tenure, mainly to co-ordinate with 10 Janpath and push government's...

IRCTC Director: Railway officer Kalita sings, acts & conducts quiz shows

NEXT time you travel in Rajdhani Express and spot some kind of innovation in breakfast or dinner, you should know who to thank. On the contrary, if you find any deterioration in the catering service, you must know who to blame for it. He is a 1982 batch Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer,...

DARPG to launch new publicity blitz with good governance films

THE Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), which has been  producing documentary films on good governance practices, wants to go for a publicity blitz. It is making additional 10,000 DVD prints of select films to spread the government's...

Countering Pak ISI to figure in Army-Civil Servants joint session

COUNTERING Pakistan's ISI network in Western Indian states is one of many topics that would come up for discussion in joint interactive sessions between Army officers and civil servants as a part of their mid-career development. The first of the series of such meets for the current financial year is scheduled to be held in Mumbai between August 21 and 23, where select officers of Indian armed forces will sit together with civil servants to discuss...

Young IAS officers deployed in security arrangement of Gujarat's Rath Yatra

TO GET a hang of security arrangements in mega events, four young IAS officers from Gujarat have been included in the core group of providing security in Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath to be taken out in Gujarat on Wednesday, according to reports. Usually, it is an...

India Inc leans on ex-bureaucrats to fight “bureaucracy in government”?

Chandrashekhar (Right) listening to PM (File photo)

INDIA INC which often calls the Indian system too bureaucratic to do business, has leaned on seasoned bureaucrats to lead their industry bodies. The Nasscom that represents $108 billion Indian software industry, decided last week to appoint former telecom secretary and 1975 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre ex-IAS officer Rentala Chandrashekhar as its president. According to media reports, Chandrashekhar's annual pay package is...

Sarkar Raj in Corridors: The importance of being the DoPT secretary

ON JULY 1, an old DoPT hand, Dr Syamal Kumar Sarkar took charge as its secretary. For those who have little knowledge about North Block's geography, here is a piece of information: Sarkar, a 1979 batch West Bengal cadre IAS, is now a wall-mate of newly appointed home secretary Anil Goswami, as home and DoPT secretaries are housed in adjacent rooms. But on a more serious note, DoPT secretary is no less...

Is Dr Mayaram's FDI prescription an extension of his PhD thesis?

MAYARAM panel report on FDI reforms is the most talked about item in the corridors these day. Whereas the government is likely to go with the recommendations of the panel headed by DEA secretary and 1978 batch IAS Arvind Mayaram, it may face fierce opposition so far as raising the cap of foreign direct investment in telecommunications to 100%,  and FDI in retail and civil aviation to 74%. Interestingly, Mayaram recommendation is an extension of his PhD thesis which he had prepared when he was...

At Pakur, top cop Amarjit Balihar fought a battle to curb coal theft, fake currency

Amarjit Balihar, Superintendant of Police in Jharkhand's Pakur district, was fighting the menace of frequent coal theft and fake currency rackets in his district. In Balihar's own assessment, as mentioned in Jharkhand Police site, “Pakur is a moderately Naxal affected district with a common law and order problem.” He further worte in his report as the SP that Naxals became active in Pakur area only after the opening of coal mines in...

Why Rahul Khullar does not want an IAS as his successor in Trai? Any thought?

RAHUL Khullar, a former IAS and chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or Trai, wants an amendment to the TRAI Act to ensure that his successor in the telecom regulator does not come from an IAS cadre. Surprised? According to a article published in leading financial portal moneycontrol.com, Khullar articulated this view when he...

A student of psychology & 1979 batch IAS Bimal Julka is new I&B secretary

TWO years ago, Bimal Julka was a highly influential IAS officer in finance ministry under Pranab Mukherjee, now President of India. Julka, a 1979 batch IAS of Madhya Pradesh cadre, was then the Director General, Directorate of Currency, leading from the front in government's fight against fake currency. Now, the government has...