3 reasons that scripted serial extension for KM Chandrasekhar as cabinet secretary

THE serial extension of India’s top bureaucrat KM Chandrasekhar for one more year as cabinet secretary could surprise some analysts in Delhi’s babudom, but the 1970 batch Kerala cadre IAS played his card so well during the last one and half years in particular that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh preferred to give him a four-year term though cabinet secretary’s post like those of home and defence secretaries have a two-year fixed term.

But the big question is what prompted the PM to give Mr Chandrasekhar yet another extension till June 13, 2011 ignoring the younger aspirants like urban development secretary M Ramachandran of 1972 batch and finance secretary Ashok Chawla of 1973 batch. Babus of India (BoI) which speculated such a scenario three months ago, lists here three key reasons that probably helped Mr Chandrasekhar remaining PM’s favourite for the top bureaucrat’s post.

1) KM Chandrasekhar’s biggest advantage to remain on top is his simple way of doing things ensuring that his continuation as cabinet secretary does not really upset power equations India’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Cabinet secretary’s position is important, but Mr Chandrasekhar has not made any attempt to diminish clouts that principal secretary to PM TKA Nair enjoys. After all, when corporate honchos like Mukesh Ambani visit power corridors, they don’t seek appointments with Mr Chandrasekhar but invariably meet TKA Nair.

2) Secondly, Prime Minister was impressed with Mr Chandrasekhar when the latter asked all secretaries to prepare a 100-day target plan of various ministries even before the election results were out in May last year. In June, 2009, PM rewarded the proactive Chandrasekhar with one-year extension dashing the hope of Sudha Pillai, 1972 batch IAS, to move to the top position. In fact, Mr Chandrasekhar brought in a World Bank old-hand Dr Prajapati Trivedi to begin a major exercise to map bureaucrats’ performance in every ministry --- a step PM has reportedly liked the most about Mr Chandrasekhar.

3) Finally, Mr Chandrasekhar who works closely with the PM has an advantage compared to other cabinet secretary contenders who get a chance to meet the PM once in blue moon. Even Dr Singh did not want to take risk in choosing a new person for the job and instead extended the tenure of his trusted man. Also, if the spurt of extensions in PMO during the last one year is any indication, Dr Singh definitely prefers to bank on his trusted war-horses than experimenting with a new recruit.

Also Read

PM continues to retain key officers

Three scenarios of the next cabinet secretary

Action and Appointments

Ms Rita Sharma, a 1974 batch UP cadre retired IAS has been appointed as secretary, National Advisory Council, in the rank and pay of secretary to the Government of India, on contract basis, until further orders. Ms Sharma, former secretary of drinking water in rural development ministry, would now be a key player in UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi-led NAC’s social sector initiative. 

Govt curtails cabinet secretary’s power to scrutinize complaints against secretaries, received by CVC

IN A major bid to strip off the powers of India’s cabinet secretary in handling complaints against secretaries of the government of India, the government issued a corrigendum to an earlier circular thereby allowing Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to look into the complains including the anonymous ones against the secretaries. According to earlier circular, such complaints would first be scrutinized by a group headed by the cabinet secretary which could even close such a complaint if it is found to be frivolous.

Now, the cabinet secretary will be able to scrutinize only those complaints against secretaries which come to DoPT or PMO. But if any person sends the complaint to CVC, the cabinet secretary would not be able to scrutinize it, let alone closing it. Significantly, the cabinet secretary is the senior most secretary of the government. The current cabinet secretary, an officer of 1970 batch is six years senior to the junior most secretaries of the government of India who are from 1976 batch.

Also, according to the new amendments, the group headed by cabinet secretary would be able to look into those complaints given by the CVC, and not all complaints received by the CVC.

Read the CIRCULAR, dated March 8, 2010 containing the corrigendum

Action and Appointments

a) Naba Kumar Das, a 1976 batch Assam cadre IAS, and currently a special secretary in the department of agriculture and cooperation under the ministry of agriculture has been repatriated to his cadre.

b) The ACC has approved the proposal of the ministry of home affairs for inter-cadre transfer of Ms Nitasha Guria, a 2008 batch Orissa cadre IPS from Orissa cadre to Bihar cadre.

c) Samirendra Chatterjee, a 1976 batch IAS, presently Member Secretary, National Commission for Women has been appointed as Central Provident Fund Commissioner, Employees Provident Fund Organisation in place of Udai Kumar Varma, a 1976 batch MP cadre IAS.

d) Zohra Chatterji, a 1979 batch UP cadre IAS, presently joint secretary in the ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been appointed as Member Secretary, National Commission for Women in place of Samirendra Chatterjee.

Ex-Babu Tracker

T Nanda Kumar, a 1972 batch Jharkhand cadre retired IAS has been appointed as chairman of the committee on optimization of fertilizer usage, set up under the Cabinet Secretariat. The appointment of T Nanda Kumar as Chairman will be on re-employment on contract basis for a period of six months from the date of assumption of charge with the rank, pay, status and other entitlements of secretary to the Government of India.
Read
1972 batch officers continue to grab key posts

Behind PMO’s tweet-like message on Shyam Saran’s exit; what stops Dr Singh doling out MoS rank to his key envoy?

ON Friday, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has given a terse release saying “Mr Saran has been permitted to demit office with effect from March 14”. Yet, the exit of Shyam Saran, a 1970 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer and one of the key architects of India-US nuclear deal, was not as simple as this Tweet-like short message was meant to be.

For Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, it has been a tough job to carve out an honourable position for this diplomat-turned climate change negotiator after Shiv Shankar Menon, a 1972 batch IFS was made national security advisor (NSA) at the rank of a minister of state. Though there were speculations that Mr Saran would also be given the rank of a minister of state, as it has been in case of advisor to PM, TKA Nair, it was not done in the backdrop of his disagreements with India’s environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh.

After all, Mr Ramesh who is a close confidante of the Prime Minister, is also a minister of state, and that means the elevation of Mr Saran to the same rank would make it a complex story as both of them don’t see eye to eye in all crucial climate change matters.

It remains to be seen whether the government would still entertain the views of two other retired officials, C Dasgupta, a 1962 batch IFS and former environment secretary Prodipto Ghosh, a 1969 batch UT cadre IAS, as both of them too were highly critical of Mr Ramesh’s views on climate change!

(In Picture: Saran with former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice; file photo)

Question Time

A question on “assets of officers in public domain” will come up in Lok Sabha on February 24, 2010 during the current budget session. The questions that would come up in Rajya Sabha on February 25 are related to Central resolution on whistle blowers act, CBI cases in Assam, performances of civil servants, and filling of backlog vacancies etc.

Questions in Lok Sabha

Questions in Rajya Sabha

Will UPA extend retirement age of Indian government employees to 62 years in 2010?

WILL the year 2010 see Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's government raising the retirement age of government employees to 62, benefiting over one lakh employees posted around the country? Though there was a serious deliberation within the government last year to raise the retirement age by two years from the current 60 years, finally it did not materialise. There were even speculations that the move would be formally announced during Prime Minister's speech to the nation during the Independence Day.
If insiderers in at least two important Indian government ministries are to be believed, the Centre has not really discarded the move altogether, and the announcement could come sometime during the current UPA regime, and it could be as early as 2010 though it makes more political sense to announce it three years from now possibly in an election year. But economically speaking, the government with a large fiscal deficit, could lessen the burden by raising the retirement age as it may save more money by not paying the retirement benefits such as gratuity etc. for two years though the government's salary budget would immediately be inflated.
However, such an important decision would not be taken purely on economic considerations. Yet, the proposal is still being considered for two reasons. First, it may earn goodwill from about one lakh government employees and their families who comprise an important contituent in any election. Secondly, raising the retirement age is a continuous process and the UPA may like to go down in the history as a catalyst to this process. In fact, the age of superannuation was increased from 55 to 58 following the 1962 war with China during Jawaharlal Nehru’s time. Then the BJP-led NDA governmnent under Atal Bihari Vajpayee raised it further to 60 in 1998.
Significantly, many civil servants at the top get either extension or post-retirement full-time assignments and virtually work till 62. In some cases, the retirement age is much beyond 62. Secretary in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and 1972 batch Bihar cadre IAS M N Prasad, for example, is already officially retired and is continuing in the PMO on a contract basis. Similarly, cabinet, home and defence secretaries get two-year fixed tennure, implying that they generally work till almost 62. There are instances where the government gives further extension to an officer's extended period. Cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar, a 1970 batch IAS, had completed his two-year tennure as cabinet secretary in June, 2009, but got one year’s extension.
Two bureuaucrats who are much older than the rest are 1958 batch IPS and national security adviser MK Narayanan, and principal secretary to Prime Minister and 1963 batch IAS TKA Nair --- both of whom have a rank of a minister of state.

Top five babuz: India’s 5 most powerful bureaucrats are Pulok Chaterji, TKA Nair, KM Chandrasekhar, Ashok Chawla & M Ramachandran

THE list of babuz, 09, is finally out. These 5 master bureaucrats have the power and ability to fix problems, manage crises, push agenda and get things done. They have clouts not just because of their posts and positions, but for their sharp managerial skills, leadership qualities and last but not the least their sound relationship with India’s political heavyweights. Methodology of Selection After taking feedback of over 30 senior bureaucrats and politicians who have mustered in understanding ups and downs of actors in Delhi’s power corridor, babu blogger has finally zeroed in five top babuz, or five most powerful bureaucrats in the country. Consensus and Controversy Whereas there was a consensus on Pulok Chaterji being the most powerful bureaucrat despite being stationed in US now, there was a tie between cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar and finance secretary Ashok Chawla for the third position. Also, there were anonymous comments in the blog saying that none of the Indian babuz has the intellectual caliber of Henry Kissinger after babu blogger had claimed that these powerful bureaucrats were Dr Manmohan Singh’s Kissinger-type master bureaucrats. babuz No 1: Pulok Chaterji A 1974 batch IAS from Uttar Pradesh cadre, he is now posted in Washington DC as an executive director of the World Bank. A secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) till recently, Mr Chaterje’s personal equation with Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s family can’t be ignored by anyone in the government including those who are senior to him. The buzz is that the man who had a say in virtually every appointment of the government during Dr Manmohan Singh’s first innings, may soon come back to power pockets of Raisina Hill. Also read, “babuz no 1: Pulok Chaterji is India’s most powerful bureaucrat; find out who are no 2, 3, 4 & 5” posted on August 17, 2009. babuz No 2: TKA Nair Retired over a decade back, this 1963 batch Punjab cadre officer and principal secretary to Prime Minister, was also the secretary to former prime ministers I K Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As babu blogger had written earlier, “And his immense clout explains why Reliance Industries’ (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani or Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal knows who to meet in the Raisina Hills to explain their side of the story on recent gas row and misery of aviation sector respectively,”. babuz No 3: K M Chandrasekhar A 1970 batch IAS of Kerala cadre, K M Chandrasekhar is well regarded among top echelon of civil servants in India. He was the architect of government’s 100 days agenda which various ministries were forced to initiate even before the new government was formed. babuz No 4: Ashok Chawla A 1973 batch IAS from Gujarat cadre, finance secretary Ashok Chawla would have been equally powerful today, had the BJP come to power after the last general election. A former civil aviation secretary, Mr Chawla served as secretary of department of economic affairs (DEA) only to be elevated as finance secretary eight months later. He is a contender to be the next cabinet secretary. babuz No 5: M Ramachandran Urban development secretary M Ramachandran, a 1972 batch Uttaranchal cadre IAS, is gathering clout in power corridors as he is the top contender to be the cabinet secretary next year. Known for following rule books to the core, Mr Ramachandran is pioneered reforms in India’s urban sector. Also read, “Chandrasekhar gets extension; Ramachandran & Chawla to be key contenders for cabinet secretary’s post next year” posted on June 2, 2009.

Babuz no 3: Cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar is India’s third most powerful bureaucrat behind Pulok Chaterji & TKA Nair

A WEEK before the announcement of Parliamentary results in May this year, cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar, a 1970 batch IAS of Kerala cadre, ordered all secretaries to prepare a 100 days agenda for their respective ministry or department. By then, it was strongly anticipated that Congress would lead a coalition government, and by the time the government was actually formed, its 100 days agenda should be ready. No wonder, once Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh began his second innings from his South Block office, he had no qualm about Mr Chandrasekhar getting a one-year extension. Yes, K M Chandrasekhar who is well regarded among top echelon of civil servants in India is India’s No 3 most powerful bureaucrat. He is babuz no 3, just behind 1974 batch IAS from Uttar Pradesh cadre, Pulok Chaterji and principal secretary to PM TKA Nair, according to feedback received by babu blogger from senior civil servants and politicians. Also, read “babuz no 1: Pulok Chaterji is India’s most powerful bureaucrat” and “babuz no 2: principal secretary to PM TKA Nair is India’s second most powerful bureaucrat” posted on August 17 and 18 respectively. A former ambassador & permanent representative of India in World Trade Organization (WTO) and revenue secretary in the ministry of finance, Mr Chandrasekhar has a post graduation degree in management studies from the University of Leeds in United Kingdom. In fact, Mr Chandrasekhar had a close tie with another secretary three batch junior to him for the third position as many senior IAS officers in power corridors have rather vouched for the latter to be more powerful than the cabinet secretary. Anyway, the 1973 batch officer is babu blogger’s choice as the fourth most powerful bureaucrat in India. Watch out this space in the coming days to check out who are babuz no 4 & 5.

State secretaries to discuss urban issues in New Delhi today Principal secretaries or secretaries of urban development of states and union territories would meet on August 19 in New Delhi to discuss project completion in 65 Mission Cities under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), submission of Quarterly Project Reports (QPRs), utilization of funds and projected requirement of funds etc. The state government officials will also discuss other urban schemes such as national urban sanitation policy, pilot project on implementation of service level benchmarks and accelerated urban water supply programme (AUWSP) etc.