Officers who praised IPS Sangeeta Kalia’s courage and the one who calls her transfer a political decision

TV garb as the spat continued between IPS Kalia and minister Vij

A FEW IPS officers, the IPS association and a large number of common men and women took to social media sites on Saturday to support 2010 batch IPS officer Sangeeta Kalia who was transferred a day after a video clip of her public spat with Haryana health minister Anil Vij went viral. A few officers however indirectly supported minister Vij in this Neta-Vs-Babu saga. Before talking about who all supported the young IPS, and who were on the minister’s side, let’s first present here the excerpt of the spat in a public meeting that was held on Friday in Fatehabad, Haryana:

BoI appeals govt to change the nomenclature of PH (Physically Handicapped) Policy; join us in our campaign

ON THURSDAY, 2007 batch Assam cadre IAS Rajesh Singh was transferred from Assam-Meghalaya cadre to Jharkhand cadre on the basis of what’s called PH (Physically Handicapped) Policy. As BoI posted the news in social media sites, a number of prompt reactions poured in. Why “Physically Handicapped”? Why not “Physically Challenged”? Or why should not it be called a policy for Differently Abled? According to the Oxford dictionary, the usage of "differently abled" was first proposed in…

How to mentor a Deputy CM: IAS Sudhir Kumar appointed as principal secretary to Tejashwi’s dept

Sudhir Kumar, 2nd from right (file photo)

Sudhir Kumar, a 1982 batch Bihar cadre IAS and the one who as OSD to Lalu Prasad helped the Bihar politician taking credit of Indian Railways’ turnaround between 2004-2009, was on Wednesday given a new assignment – Bihar’s principal secretary of the road construction department, one of the three departments being handled by Lalu Prasad’s younger son and state’s deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. Meanwhile, Sudhir Kumar who is set to retire on March next year, has been elevated the rank of a…

Commerce minister Sitharaman praises IAS officers -- Vikram Kapur, Latha and Tamil Nadu chief secretary

UNION minister of state for commerce and industry (independent charge)  Nirmala Sitharaman has praised at least three IAS officers of Tamil Nadu cadre -- state chief secretary K Gnanadesikan, principal secretary and commissioner of Chennai Corporation Vikram Kapur and nodal officer of the zone where Ambattur Industrial Estate falls, Ms Latha, IAS. First, let’s have a look at this photo where Sitharaman’s convoy is seen on a flood-hit bye-lane of Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai on Monday. Here is what the minister wrote in a social media site:

Former union minister Shashi Tharoor joins IAS "edge" debate; his comment makes him an instant hero among non-IAS officers

FORMER union minister and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s hard-hitting piece in DNA newspaper today, saying that the top posts in India cannot be the monopoly of the IAS, has made him an instant hero among officers belonging to non-IAS All India and Group "A" services. “Dr @ShashiTharoor, IRS Association conveys its gratitude to you for supporting a merit and competence based civil service for India,” the Indian Revenue Service Association has posted in Twitter. Indian Police Service Association too…

Backroom Boys of 7th Pay Commission: Who was its “heart and soul”; and who “displayed great stamina”?

YOU may or may not agree with all the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission which had submitted its report last Thursday. But you must not ignore the hard-work of many an official who made this gigantic 880-page report a reality, well on time. Who were the backroom boys in the Commission headed by chairman Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, and two members Vivek Rae, a former IAS and Dr Rathin Roy, a young economist? Find out who was the Commission's "heart and soul" and who displayed a "great stamina":

7th Pay Commission gives a fractured verdict on pay parity, IAS edge; proposes salary up to Rs 2.5 lakh per month

IF THE majority view of the 7th Central Pay Commission report submitted to the Central Government on Thursday evening is accepted, the monopoly of the IAS officers at the positions of the joint secretary and the above will end. In a fractured recommendation where one member of the commission Vivek Rae (former petroleum secretary) gave a dissenting note, chairman of the commission Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur and another member and economist Rathin Roy said that…

PM's Prescription: What Modi told 170 IAS and 100 IPS officers in last 2 days

PM welcomed on his arrival for interactive session with young IAS

DURING the last couple of days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with over 270 young IAS and IPS officers. Whereas he interacted with about 100 Officer Trainees of the 2014 batch of IPS at 7 Race Course Road on Wednesday, it’s the turn of the IAS today, as he spent a couple of hours with 2013 batch of IAS officers, currently attached to the Central government as assistant secretaries, as a part of their extended probation. First, let’s read he told the young IAS officers:

List of 25 CVO Vacancies for 2016-17; Online application process begins today

THE Central government has begun the process of filing up 25 vacancies of Central Vigilance Officers (CVOs) that will be arisen in Central Public Sector Enterprises for FY 2016-17. In fact, the process for submitting applications online begins today (http://supremo.nic.in). The willing officers need to register their names on this portal as per the instruction available on the portal and submit their application online by January 18, 2016. Here is the list of tentative CVO vacancies for the financial year 2016-17:

Rockstar diplomat Syed Akbaruddin; Why this IFS is the most popular bureaucrat in India today

Akbaruddin with PM Modi on the last day as MEA spokesman

AS THE news of 1985 batch Indian Foreign Service officer Syed Akbaruddin’s appointment as India’s Permanent Representative to UN spread on Monday, Akbaruddin himself became the talking point in social media, as he was trending among the Top 10 Twitter trends in India. Also, this former spokesman of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) also opened a Twitter account where he said, “It is a privilege & honour to serve India @UN. Am humbled. Thank U for all the good wishes. Will strive to do my best”, and within a couple of hours thousands of people followed him. As this article is being…

2 States 2 Stories: When an IAS holds umbrella for his CM and when CM says he will make things disastrous for IAS

An IAS officer is seen holding an umbrella for Maharashtra CM

“Before you make me jobless, I will make things disastrous for you” – this is what Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav told a group of senior IAS officers in a closed-door meeting on Saturday, according to a news report published in a national daily. The CM was reportedly in a very serious mood when he warned as many as…

Chhattisgarh Police celebrates Diwali with members of policemen martyred in anti-Naxal fights

AS THIS report is being written on Friday noon, there has been a gun-battle between police and Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. According to TV reports, four Naxals were killed, and casualty on the police side is not known as yet. In a state where over 1,000 cops died fighting the Maoists in the last 15 years, the state police’s initiative of celebrating Diwali with the families of policemen killed fighting Maoists, is a unique and praiseworthy initiative. Chhattisgarh’s additional DG in-charge of…

24 joint secretary level vacancies at Centre; Defence, MHA are short of officers; Full List

DURING the last one week, the Centre has appointed a number of IPS and Group “A” service officers in various Central government ministries and departments. For example, 2001 batch IPS Sindhu Pillai was appointed as deputy secretary in department of financial service, 2000 batch IRTS Manoj Kumar Gangeya as director in the ministry of environment, forests and climate change, and IRS-IT officer Abhay Damle as joint secretary in the ministry of road, transport and highways. Also, for time being, 1984 batch IPS officer Karnal Singh will continue as Enforcement Director (ED), considered as an IAS post. Yet, as on today, there are as many as 24 vacancies at the level of joint secretaries in GoI. Here is the list of the vacant posts:

Babu Marriage: How can Krittika Jyotsna write her IAS husband’s batch wrong? A typo?

AS recorded in the minutes of a DoPT meeting held under the chairmanship of secretary Sanjay Kothari on Monday, 2014 batch IAS Krittika Jyotsna wrote her husband’s batch wrong in an application of her request for inter cadre transfer on the grounds of marriage to UP cadre IAS Rahul Pandey. “The Committee noted that Shri Rahul Pandey, IAS (UP:2014) belongs to 2014 batch not 2013 as indicated in the application of the officer”, say...

Give us an ATM: A young IAS officer in Mizoram writes to SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya; also bank's reply here

Kannan G, a 2012 batch AGMUT cadre IAS, is now posted in a place named Hnahthial located in Lunglei district of North-Eastern state of Mizoram. Located 172 km south of the state capital Aizwal, Hnahthial faces many a problem, but one of those sounds bizarre. This sub-divisional headquarters needs an ATM machine, as the nearest ATM machine is located two and half hours away. So, this IAS officer wrote a letter to SBI chairman...

No room for bigamous assistant directors at LBSNAA; …but read the language of draft rules

WHEN the government frames a new rule, it needs to be precise and immune to interpretations, but at times, the language used to explain that preciseness makes it hilarious. On Thursday, the DoPT uploaded in its website the draft recruitment rules for the post of assistant directors in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, wherein it had explained disqualification for bigamous officers. First, read how the draft rules are being framed: It says:

An IRS officer terms letters written by IAS on 7th Pay Commission a “copy-pasted” exercise

IF YOU closely follow social media, there is more to the high-voltage Modi Vs Nitish Bihar poll campaign these days. Some allied service officers now come out strongly, and openly, against the lobbying by IAS officers to retain their "edge" over others ahead of the submission of the 7th Central Pay Commission. Abhishek Gautam, an IRS officer at the rank of deputy commissioner-IT, writes in a blog post that “identical contents” of the IAS officers’ letters to voice against a possible pay-parity by the 7th CPC are…

Countdown to 7th Pay Commission: A young IPS questions IAS' lobbying for retaining “edge”

IN THE run-up to the submission of recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission regarding the hike of salary and possible tweaking of service rules of Indian bureaucrats, a young Indian Police Service (IPS) officer currently working in Uttar Pradesh has charged IAS officers for lobbying to retain its edge over other bureaucrats.  “If anyone really believes that two increments and an edge in empanelment is the motivating force for the ‘premier civil service’ of the country, then why is it not mentioned as a motivating factor anywhere else except in representations to the successive pay commissions?” he asks, in a letter written to the ministry of home affairs and IPS association. BoI withholds his name here, but if the officer wishes to disclose his identity, he can write about it in the comment box given below. Here is the full text of the letter:

22 new joint secretaries appointed; 13 IAS, 3 IRS-IT, 1 IPS among others; Full List

IN A major reshuffle of joint secretary-level officers at the Centre, as many as 22 new JS were appointed on Monday by the ACC headed by the Prime Minister. Out of those new joint secretaries, 13 are IAS, 3 IRS-IT, 3 CSS and one each from IPS, ICAS and IOFS. In terms of male female ratio, it’s 16 is to 6. Here is the list of the new JS:

7th Pay Commission rumours force IAS officers to get more active in social media

AS rumours of a possible recommendation by the 7th Central Pay Commission on pay parity of IPS, Indian Forest Service and other Group “A” officers with IAS getting louder, the IAS officers in particular have of late resorted to social media platforms in full force to argue that the “edge” that they have enjoyed till now must continue for a larger good of the nation. A large number of IAS officers have also written to cabinet secretary, the top bureaucrat of the country, arguing the same. Let’s first have the excerpts of blogs of a couple of young officers to see how they are presenting their case: