Babus Over Netas: Story of 4 former bureaucrats getting berths in Modi’s ministry

IAS-turned-politician KJ Alphons while taking oath

ON SUNDAY, four former bureaucrats — two IAS, one IFS and one IPS — were made ministers at the Centre giving a clear signal that Prime Minister Narendra Modi banks more on former bureaucrats than typical Netas when it comes to performances. Whereas former Kerala cadre IAS KJ Alphons was given independent charge of the ministry of tourism, former IFS Hardeep Singh Puri will now handle urban affairs, independently. Also, former home secretary Raj Kumar Singh will handle two ministries -- power and the ministry of new and renewable energy; and ex-Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh has been made the MoS in two ministries -- HRD and water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation. Here are more about these four babu-turned Netas:

2 new CMDs, 1 MD and extension of tenure for ITPO CMD and former home secretary LC Goyal

LC Goyal, CMD of ITPO (File photo)

ON MONDAY, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) gave its nod to the appointment of two CMDs — of Andrew Yule and Co Ltd and Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL)—, one MD (IFCL Ltd), apart from extending the tenure of LC Goyal, the CMD of India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) for one more year. Goyal’s tenure has been extended for one year beyond…

Jaishankar’s extension ends hopes for Wadhwa, Sujata Mehta; But Vijay Gokhale is still a contender to be the next foreign secretary

Vijay Gokhale

THE Centre’s recent decision to give one year-extension to foreign secretary and 1977 batch IFS S Jaishankar last week beyond his two-year-long fixed term did not raise any controversy as such. He is considered a highly efficient officer and has done a good job in the last two years after he was appointed in a not-so-smooth change of guard two years ago by curtailing the tenure of the then foreign secretary Sujatha Singh. But the one year bonus to Jaishankar, that too after making changes in a British era rule (a provision of Fundamental Rules, 1922) has, however, ended hopes of at least three senior-most IFS officers who were hoping for the top job. There were speculations that…

Action-Packed Thursday: IPS Alok Kumar Verma named CBI director; also 15 new JS empanelment, 2 extension in foreign postings

IT WAS an action-packed Thursday in the corridors. The government announced the name of the new CBI director — 1979 batch AGMUT cadre IPS and current Delhi police commissioner Alok Kumar Verma. But that’s not the only appointment announced on the day. The tenure of Anjali Prasad, a 1983 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and Ambassador and permanent representative of India to the WTO, Geneva, has been extended beyond April 30, 2017 for a month i.e. till her…

Obituary: Anita Kaul — former IAS and reformer of India's elementary education

RIP Anita Kaul

1979 batch retired IAS officer of Karnataka cadre — Anita Kaul died early this week aged 62. Hailing from Delhi and married to a fellow IAS officer, Mrs Kaul retired as union secretary in the department of justice. But if one piece of her achievement as a civil servant is to be chosen, it’s clearly her stellar role in crafting…

Action Packed Monday: Rajiv Mehrishi appointed as new home secretary; LC Goyal shifted as ITPO chairman

Mehrishi

IN A highly action-packed Monday which witnessed many a twist and turn in the corridors throughout the day, the Centre appointed 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS Rajiv Mehrishi as union home secretary after removing 1979 batch Kerala cadre IAS LC Goyal from the post, even as Goyal’s two-year-term in the North Block would have ended only in February 2017. Most bureaucrats across ministries were thoroughly confused with the way…

Removal of Rajan S Katoch as Enforcement Director and beyond

THE government on Wednesday night removed Rajan S Katoch, 1979 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS, as Enforcement Director (ED) and appointed 1984 batch UT cadre IPS officer Karnal Singh, now a special director in the directorate as the acting ED for three months or until further order. The removal of Katoch, who has been holding the additional charge as ED since July 2014 in addition to discharging his duty as union heavy industries secretary, is already due, but in all probability, the order of his removal was expedited after…

Know Your Babu: 10 things to know about India’s new defence secretary G Mohan Kumar

G Mohan Kumar in a cleaning drive at South Block (file photo)

FINALLY, the speculations on who could be India’s the next defence secretary were over on Friday when 1979 batch Odisha cadre IAS G Mohan Kumar was appointed for a two-year-term. An MSc in chemistry, Kumar has an MBA degree from the University of Hull, UK. More about this officer:

Know Your Babu: New home secretary and 1979 batch IAS LC Goyal

LC Goyal

THE Centre on Wednesday curtailed the tenure of union home secretary and Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS Anil Goswami for reportedly influencing the CBI not to arrest former Congress minister Matang Sinh, an accused in multi-crore Saradha scam, and appointed 1979 batch Kerala cadre IAS and rural development secretary LC Goyal as India’s new home secretary for two years from the date of taking over his new charge. Here are 10 things you may like to know about Goyal:

As Assam burned with violence, chief secretary Jitesh Khosla was spotted enjoying an elephant ride in Kaziranga

A TV grab of Khosla's elephant ride (poor photo quality)

ON TUESDAY, Assam witnessed one of the worst massacres of the recent time when armed NDFB(S) militants cowardly fired upon innocent villagers in three districts, killing 78 people including women and children. On Wednesday, the state chief secretary and 1979 batch IAS Jitesh Khosla was spotted while enjoying an elephant ride in Kaziranga. As Khosla’s leisure trip amid bloodshed in the state was televised in local news channels, state chief minister Tarun Gogoi was forced to say that he did not...

Old hand in tourism Lalit K Panwar appointed as tourism secretary; where is Mayaram heading for?

Lalit K Panwar

THE government has cancelled the appointment of finance secretary Arvind Mayaram as tourism secretary, and instead brought in a veteran in tourism sector Lalit K Panwar, as India’s new tourism secretary, according to an order dated October 29. Panwar, 1979 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, has been working as secretary in the ministry of minority affairs. Now, Mayaram has been appointed as…

Whispers in Corridors: Gujarat cadre IAS Gauri Kumar tipped to be skill development secretary

LABOUR secretary and 1979 batch Gujarat cadre IAS Gauri Kumar is believed to be the front-runner for the post of secretary in the newly-created department of skill development. With the cabinet secretary giving the final touch of the power of the new department including modalities of taking out…

Research Analyst: Vacancy for Indian officer in Mauritius’ Port Louis

IORA Secy Gen Bhagirath, IFS

FOR officers working under the Central Staffing Scheme and having a knack for data mining and research, here is a job at Port Louis, Mauritius. The DoPT has written a letter to Government of India secretaries and state chief secretaries to spot a deputy secretary-ranked official who will be willing to apply for the post of Research Analyst in international relations or regional trade or economics, at the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) secretariat, Port Louis, Mauritius on secondment basis. The tenure will initially be for a period of...

Know Your Babu: How Rajan S Katoch, now heavy industry secretary, gave a public face to ED

Rajan S Katoch, 1979 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS and the bureaucrat who gave a public face to the hitherto secretive agency Enforcement Directorate is now secretary of the department of heavy industry. For the next six months, he will continue to be Enforcement Director (ED) in addition to his new role as secretary. BoI here picks out a few innovative things that Katoch had experimented with as ED:

Key bureaucrat of Manmohan Singh’s PMO R Ramanujam gets extension; reemployment for “public interest”

AFTER giving extension to cabinet secretary Ajit K Seth for six months, Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has given its nod to extend the tenure of yet another key bureaucrat of Manmohan Singh era -- 1979 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS and secretary in PMO R Ramanujam. The 60-year-old officer is retiring on June 30, but the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Thursday approved his extension "in public interest", on a contract basis for a period of…

K for Kuniyil, K for Kailashnathan: The KK who will play the key role in Narendra Modi’s PMO, if…

NOVEMBER, 2010. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was on a two-day visit to Kerala. He first landed up at Kochi, and then visited Thrissur in a helicopter to attend a function. Mind it. It was not a political rally, but the marriage ceremony of daughter of one of his most trusted bureaucrats, Kuniyil Kailashnathan, or KK, as he is known to his friends and colleagues. And if Modi becomes India’s next prime minister, something that will be known only on May 16, it’s KK…

Daughter's “educational requirements" prompts ACC to extend VS Oberoi’s UNESCO tenure

IN AN unusual move to display transparency, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet in a recent order mentioned clearly that 1979 batch IAS VS Oberoi’s tenure in Paris has been extended because of the “educational requirements of his daughter”. Academic sessions of children are often factored in, though with a large number of exceptions while...

Punjab cadre IAS Kusumjit Sidhu appointed as new DPE secretary; A profile

PUNJAB cadre IAS of 1979 batch Kusumjit Sidhu has been appointed as the new secretary of department of public enterprises (DPE), a department that is responsible for policy and guidance to the public sector companies in India. Ms Sidhu, who was recently empanelled as a Union secretary, is likely to take charge on December 31, 2013, when the incumbent...

A year later, 1979 batch IAS topper Hrusikesh Panda empanelled as secretary; batch-mate Kusumjit Sidhu elevated too

Hrusikesh Panda, 1979 batch Odisha cadre IAS who most people in the state know more as a fiction writer than an administrator, has finally got his due. Panda, who was incidentally the topper of his batch, was empanelled on Thursday as Union secretary after the secretary-empanelment of his following batch, (1980 batch), got over. Almost a year ago, BoI wrote a piece on how…

Dark Horse: Odisha cadre IAS G Mohan Kumar becomes new steel secretary

Union steel minister, officials at Canada (File photo)

Here is one more reason why one should not go by the rumour mills of the corridors. Finally, it's 1979 batch Odisha cadre IAS G Mohan Kumar, and not his batch-mate S Machendranathan, who the government has appointed as the new steel secretary. Many said Tamil Nadu cadre Machendranathan who had earlier worked as additional secretary in the steel ministry…