5 things to know about new MCX chairman and former IAS Satyananda Mishra

Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) battling with a Rs 5,600-crore payment crisis in one of its group companies NSEL, has roped in former IAS of Madhya Pradesh cadre and ex-RTI chief Satyananda Mishra as its chairman. Many in the corridors were surprised by the move as unlike former IAS and ex-MCX director Ashok Jha, Mishra is not a corporate type. He does not know how to play golf, keeps a photo of his Guru at his chamber and speaks English with a thick Oriya accent. Here are five things you may like to know about new MCX boss Satyananda Mishra:

387-page government handbook answers questions on recruitment, training, retirement etc.

Officer Trainees of a Group A service with President (File Photo)

UNDER what circumstances, the government can appoint a non-Indian to a civil post? Is stammering a disqualification for taking up a job in the government? You may get the answers of those and many more in the 387-page-long document which the government has…

What if a driver asks for a written order to turn left? Ex-coal secretary Prasanna Mishra on Neta-Babu equations

THE recent Supreme Court order directing the government to frame rules to ensure that a civil servant does not act on verbal orders of the political boss has been hailed by civil servants among others. But what has not been discussed, or debated much, is whether it is feasible for a civil servant to work only under written instructions of political executives. Will such an arrangement not be as unworkable as a driver asking for written order from the owner of the moving vehicle in a busy road instead of his oral order to turn left instead of proceeding straight, asks...

No taker for JS level job at Raebareli? DoPT re-circulates RGNAU vacancy notice

SURPRISING! There is no taker for a high-ranked bureaucrat’s job located at Raebareli, arguably one of the major political hotspots that elects Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Lok Sabha. After one and half months of the DoPT issuing a vacancy circular for the post of…

Why is IRS Association upset over Arvind Kejriwal's radio ad? Full text of IRS Association's letter

ON Friday, Indian Revenue Service Association wrote a letter to Aam Aadmi Party chief and former IRS-IT officer Arvind Kejriwal to convey its anguish over Kejriwal’s reported statement that he could have made crores of rupees as an income-tax commissioner, but left the service to serve the nation. IRS Association says, the statement has maligned everyone in the department while reminding the I-T official-turned politician that his wife is still a member of the department. Full text of the letter below:

Folk Lyrics to Spread Information: Centre’s guideline enlists innovative RTI disclosure practices

Road Ahead: Proactive Disclosure at local level

THE use of folk lyrics as a medium of disseminating information and allowing Gram Sabha proceedings to be reported in local newspapers are some of the innovative practices enlisted in the latest Central government Guideline for states to facilitate proactive disclosure at district and Panchayat levels. DoPT secretary SK Sarkar in a letter dated November 21, 2013 to all…

Manmohan Singh asks top cops to find “creative solutions” to curb misuse of social media

PM and Home Minister with a section of cops

PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the top cops from across India to find creative solutions to curb the misuse of social media and SMSes while reiterating the merits of the social media, particularly the ease of communication through it. The following is what PM said while addressing at the annual conference of DGPs in New Delhi on Saturday:

Dishonest students in India opt for government jobs, says study; Is it a fair assessment?

INDIAN college students who cheat are more likely to prefer a government job, a new paper authored by two researchers, one each from Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University) and The Wharton School (Pennsylvania University), said. The survey based on a series of laboratory experiments designed to measure honesty, pro-social behaviours and ability on 669 students from Bangalore, has concluded that “the college students who cheat on a simple task are more likely to...

Untold story of Jawaharlal Nehru’s Udyog Bhawan room; Guess, who uses it now?

MS, an earlier occupant of the room, with three of today's officers 

HERE is something most people familiar with Delhi’s corridors of power are actually unaware of. The room of Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in Udyog Bhawan was once used by India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru when he came to the building to preside over meetings of the Planning Commission. Nehru probably found the room (No: 008, H-wing) convenient because…

Netagiri Rises: Are UP bureaucrats being harassed by political leaders?

Fixed Match? CM being awarded in a cricket match against IAS (File Photo)

THE row over young IAS from Uttar Pradesh Durga Shakti Nagpal, who was suspended and reinstated in the state, may finally get over, but a new debate on whether senior bureaucrats in the state are harassed by the political masters or not, has kick-started. Only recently, a senior BJP leader from the…

Incredible! Govt regularises 7-year-old unauthorized overstay of a 1994 batch IAS officer

ON NOVEMBER 14, 2013, the DoPT issued a notification mentioning the name of a 1994 batch IAS officer whose unauthorized overstay in Uttarakhand seven years ago, has been regularized. The notification signed by under secretary SS Shukla and sent to four officials viz.

Writing a research paper for a govt department? 10 interesting things you need to remember

IF YOU wish to submit a research paper to the government, you have to follow typical sarkari processes, many of which may sound funny for those working in the private sector. For example, you need to use Times New Roman in 10-point font size with full, and the paper should be in full-size letter format, 21.59 cm by 27.94 cm! Whether you like it or not, those details are part and parcel of the government. BoI here lists 10 interesting guidelines mentioned while…

17 more IPS officers get empanelled as joint secretaries. Who are they?

An IPS batch during training

AS MANY as 10 officers of 1987 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) and seven IPS officers of 1988 batch have become beneficiaries after the government had decided to enhance the ceiling of eligible officers of a batch for empanelment as joint secretaries under Central Staffing Scheme from 60 per cent to 75 per cent. Those IPS officers who are now empanelled as joint secretaries from 1987 batch are…

Usha Ananthasubramanian: First CMD of all-women Bharatiya Mahila Bank specializes on statistics, ancient culture…

BANKER Usha Ananthasubramanian has duel masters on diametrically opposite subjects: one on statistics and the other on ancient Indian culture. On the top of it, she understands branding. So, when finance minister P Chidambaram was on a lookout for a candidate to head India’s first all-women bank, Bharatiya Mahila Bank, he spotted…

Confidentiality Vs. Transparency Debate: Why govt wants CBI to be tight-lipped?

PRIME minister Manmohan Singh has indirectly asked the CBI to be tight-lipped, saying that confidentiality is in the interests of the integrity of an on-going investigation, and that is why the CBI has been placed outside the purview of the RTI Act. “What is almost as distressing is that sensitive investigations are increasingly becoming subjects of running media commentary, often on the basis of material that is not otherwise in the public domain…confidentiality is in the interests of the integrity of an ongoing investigation. This was precisely the…

Indian officials may apply for PhD programme on Nano Satellite Technologies in Japan

HIGHLY qualified Indian government officials may apply for a three years doctorate course on Nano-Satellite Technologies being offered by Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT), Japan, in collaboration with United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). The candidates with…

“Cutting edge” state civil service officers may take part in military-civil joint programmes

STATE civil service officials who are “working at cutting edge level in the districts” may get a chance to participate in mid-career interaction between the Armed Forces and civil officers being organized at Ranchi between November 18 and 20. The topic of the programme is “Developing Synergy in Civil Military Responses”. “In case officers from All India Services are…

Know Your Babu: Another woman officer Snehlata Kumar in MHA’s male bastion

NO WOMAN officer has become a home secretary ever, but if 1979 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS Ms Snehlata Kumar’s appointment as secretary (border management) in the ministry of home affairs (MHA) is any indication, the government is not averse to having women officers at senior home ministry positions. Incidentally, as border management secretary, Ms Kumar will replace Gauri Kumar, another woman officer and her own...

Alok Johri: The engineer who revived a “dead project” in Raebareli appointed as Member (Mechanical) in Railway Board

Alok Johri, former Chief Administrative Officer of Raebareli-based Rail Coach Factory and 1977 batch Indian Railways Service of Mechanical Engineers, assumed charge on Tuesday as the new Member (Mechanical) of the Railway Board. According to a statement issued by Indian Railways on Tuesday, Johri was instrumental in reviving the Rail Coach Factory in Raebareli which was a “dead project” when…

Foreign dignitaries carry carpets (red?) as gifts for Indian politicians and officials

WHEN a foreign dignitary comes to New Delhi, India’s top diplomats leave no stone unturned to give them a red carpet welcome. What do they give in return? Believe it or not, foreign dignitaries too carry carpets as gifts for Indian politicians and officials. Carpet has emerged as one of the most preferred gift items of foreign dignitaries, as out of 41 gifts listed in the…

Meet diplomat Shashi Kant Sharma; how CAG garnered votes of China, Pakistan against US backed candidate

Comptroller and Auditor General of India and former IAS officer of 1976 batch, Shashi Kant Sharma, will now get access for audit of the UN organizations including UN peacekeeping operations, after he was elected on Friday as Member of the United Nations Board of Auditors for a six-year-term. America did not want Indian CAG getting that prestigious berth, and backed Philippines instead. But Sharma personally led the canvassing and impressed the global diplomatic community to vote in favour of India. Sharma managed to woo among others…

SC ruling on fixed tenure, oral instructions will strengthen bureaucracy; Full List of 83 bureaucrat petitioners

IN A landmark intervention, India’s Apex Court is ensuring that civil servants are not forced to act upon oral instructions of their political bosses, except in certain exceptional circumstances. Also, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Pinaki Chandra Ghose on Thursday directed the Centre and state governments to pass order in three months on giving fixed tenure to civil servants. But who are those 83 former bureaucrats, on whose…