5 things to know about Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar

AMID the CBI-Kolkata Police tussle that unfolded on Sunday afternoon when officials belonging to the central investigative agency were detailed from outside the Kolkata Police Commissioner’s residence, the cop who hogged the limelight was Rajeev Kumar, 1989 batch IPS and the city police commissioner himself. As the state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee began dharna in support of the city’s top cop, Kumar too joined the dharna, something unprecedented and controversial. Without getting into the merits of the case, here below are five things you may like to know about IPS Rajeev Kumar:

20 IPS officers of 1989 batch empanelled as ADG, ADG-equivalent; Full List

APPOINTMENTS Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved empanelment of the

following Indian Police Service (IPS) officers of 1989 batch for holding Additional Director

General (ADG) and ADG equivalent level posts at the Centre: Here’s the full list of the 20 newly-empanelled officers:

Govt empanels 54 IAS as secretaries, 96 IAS as additional secretaries; Full List

LATE last week, the government empanelled 54 IAS officers as union secretary or secretary-equivalent and as many as 96 IAS officers as union additional secretary. Among them, the majority — 35 secretary-empanelled officers — belong to 1986 batch IAS. Among the empanelled additional secretaries, 41 officers belong to 1989 batch and 40 are from 1990 batch. Here below is the full list:

IRS-IT officer Sangeeta Godbole appointed DG in Services Export Promotion Council; Rani Kumudini is NFDB's new CEO

Sangeeta Godbole, 1989 batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed as director general of Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) on a deputation basis for three years. SEPC, which gives direction and guidance to services sector, comes under the ministry of commerce and industries. It's an export promotion council, as listed by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). According to government data, services exports have recorded...

Know Your Babu: DoPT’s new joint secretary Srinivas Ramaswamy Katikithala

Srinivas Ramaswamy Katikithala, 1989 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of personnel and training (DoPT). An LLM in constitutional law,  Katikithala was a principal secretary-ranked officer in Gujarat government before the appointments committee of the cabinet approved his new assignment in DoPT, Delhi. Here are 10 things about Katikithala:

Govt appoints new CVOs in FCI, Neyveli Lignite; IAS Ramesh Kumar Sudhanshu appointed in AIIMS

THE government late last week appointed an IAS officer — Rajesh Kumar Singh of Kerala cadre as CVO in Food Corporation of India (FCI). Also, another IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre will take charge as deputy director (administration) in All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). Here are 4 appointments -- two IAS, and one each from IRSME and IPS service:

India gets appreciation in OECD’s Paris seminar; DoPT joint secretary Devesh Chaturvedi represented India in the meet

Devesh Chaturvedi (File photo)

INDIA’s Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) scheme received appreciation from panelists from across the world who spoke in a G-20 seminar held in Paris on Monday, according to a statement issued by Central government’s personnel department — DoPT. The seminar, organized by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), was centered around the theme of corruption and global economy. India was represented by 1989 batch IAS officer and joint secretary in…

CBI Raid On Delhi Secretariat: More about Rajendra Kumar, IIT alumnus, IAS

IT WAS a cold Tuesday morning in Delhi. But political heat was unprecedented, as the CBI raided the office of Rajendra Kumar, principal secretary to Delhi CM in a case dated back to 2002-2005. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal took to social media to announce that his office was raided. Then he countered the CBI's claims: “CBI lying. My own office raided. Files of CM office are being looked into. Let Modi say which file he wants?” BoI here is not going into the charges and counter-charges, but simply tells its readers who is Rajendra Kumar, an officer quite close to…

Full list of 48 officers empanelled as GoI joint secretary; Some belong to 1985 batch, some 1997!

IN THE last couple of days, the Central Government announced the empanelment of as many as 48 officers belonging to IAS, IPS, Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers, Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) and Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) as joint secretary to Government of India (GoI). And they belong to as old as 1985 batch and as new as 1997 batch. Significantly, as 17 officers belonging to 1985 batch Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers get empanelled as joint secretaries, many of their IAS batch-mates were appoined as GoI additional secretaries. Here is the full list of 48 newly-empanelled JS:

New JS in PMO: 10 things about Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS Anurag Jain

ON WEDNESDAY, the Centre appointed 1989 batch IAS from Madhya Pradesh cadre Anurag Jain as a joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).  Known as a confidant of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, this IIT graduate-turned-IAS is known for his IT skills. In some ways, it’s a déjà vu in PMO, as former prime minister Manmohan Singh too appointed a JS from MP, R Gopalakrishnan, who had worked as PS to former MP chief minister Digvijaya Singh. Gopalakrishnan turned out to be a highly efficient bureaucrat playing a stellar role in generating ideas and rolling out of UPA’s Bharat Nirman programme. But he died while in service. Here are 10 things you may like to know about Anurag Jain:

Why 30 IAS probationers are given lessons on Karnataka’s Sakala

Shalini Rajneesh, IAS

AS MANY as 30 IAS probationary officers from Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) were in Bangalore last week to understand a unique Karnataka government scheme called Sakala that gives 447 time-bound services across 45 departments and agencies to its citizens. According to estimates, the total saving of citizens could be to the tune of…

AAP kaa IAS Rajendra Kumar: More about this Kejriwal’s pick, his IIT background, PM’s award

WHEN 1989 batch AGMU cadre IAS Rajendra Kumar on Tuesday drove down to meet Delhi’s chief minister designate Arvind Kejriwal in his Ghaziabad residence, speculations arose about Kumar becoming Kejriwal’s key bureaucrat. Like Kejriwal, 47-year-old Kumar is also an IIT alumnus and is personally known to Kejriwal who left Indian Revenue Service to be a social activist and then a politician. Kumar is tipped to be Kejriwal’s principal secretary once…

IAS officers Dharma Rao, Harbaksh Singh die in separate accidents: A tribute

Highest Motor Road (File photo)

T Dharma Rao, a 1989 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS is no more. Rao, who was the MD of Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation, died when his Innova car fell into a 300-metre deep gorge at Khardungla of Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir. His wife Vidya Rao…

Commerce ministry’s Amitabh Jain to head for Indian High Commission in London

Amitabh Jain, a 1989 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS, has been appointed as Minister (Economics) in the High Commission of India, London. Jain replaces his batch-mate from West Bengal cadre Anil Verma who had to return to India halfway after he allegedly assaulted his wife. The entire episode got huge British media attention. Verma, who had worked closely with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was the third most senior Indian officer in London High Commission then.

Now, the appointments committee of cabinet has approved the appointment of Amitabh Jain, presently working as Additional Director General of Foreign Trade at the level of a joint secretary in the department of commerce. Jain will have a tenure of three years, from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever event takes place earlier, with the condition that the appointment of the officer at the first instance will be restricted up to August 27, 2013 and appointment for the remaining period out of three years, will be notified only after the receipt of cadre clearance of the state government of Chhattisgarh.

A mechanical engineer with specialization in systems analysis, Jain was in the cadre till he joined DGFT in 2006.

Action and Appintments

a) Rajiv Gupta, a 1979 batch UK cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Managing Director, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), New Delhi at the level of a joint secretary.

b) Chandra Prakash, a 1982 batch UP cadre IAS, has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of labour and employment in place of SK Dev Barman, a 1987 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS on his appointment as Advisor in UNDP.

c) A number of senior finance ministry officials including DEA secretary RGopalan and chief economic adviser Dr Kaushik Basu are accompanying Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on a three day visit to USA beginning June 27, 2011. FM will deliver a keynote address at the conference on “US-India Economic and Financial Partnership”.

Lady IPS officer who testified against Advani may be shifted to US, claims Pak daily

1990 batch UP cadre IPS officer Anju Gupta, who has recently become a newsmaker thanks to her testimony against BJP leader LK Advani in an 18-year-old case of demolition of Babri mosque, could head towards an US posting because of security reasons, a Pakistani newspaper said.

According to Daily Times who broke the story said the senior UP cadre police officer who was incidentally was an eyewitness of the destruction at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 is expected to be appointed an attaché at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC.

The newspaper quoting Indian home ministry sources said that she might face security threats because of her deposition and might be shifted to the US along with her husband Safi Ahsan Rizvi, an IPS of 1989 batch. Mr Rizvi who is an MBA from premier B-School IIM-Ahmedabad, is an Officer in Special Duty (OSD) to India’s home minister P Chidambaram.

Significantly, Ms Gupta who as an IPS officer was the part of the administrative arrangements in Faizabad on the fateful days leading to the demolition of the mosque said that Mr Advani delivered a provocative speech to the throng of kar sevaks who eventually tore down the mosque.

Ms Gupta, 47, now serves the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in New Delhi. In late 1990s she was far ahead of her peers in cracking down criminals in and around Lucknow, and was decorated with the Police Medal for meritorious services on February 8, 2009. She also has immense contribution in counter-human trafficking measures in India.

Also Read
Orissa IPS officer booked for torturing wife
Massive IPS recruitment drive may become a reality
Promotion of an IPS makes others unhappy
Prez Patil says she is proud of more women joining IPS

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Prez Pratibha Devisingh Patil to inaugurate UPSC's lecture series on governance today

THE issues regarding contemporary relevance to governance and public administration will crop up for discussion in UPSC's foundation day lecture series today. The inaugural lecture will be delivered by President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil on ‘Governance and Public Service’. Minister of state for personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithiraj Chavan will preside over the function to be held in New Delhi, a government release said. In fact, UPSC may now aggressively position itself as the central player in the field of governance issues, and anchoring this lecture series on governance is one of the key demonstrations towards that direction. It is felt that administrative systems have to keep pace with aspirations of young Indian population for which there is an acknowledged need for modernizing the administrative mechanism. The lecture series is also expected to address the pressing matters of administrative reform, and it may give timely input to the process of reforms. The UPSC has the responsibility of recruiting talents for manning civil services in the country in addition to advising the government on related matters of service which cover personnel policy and human resource management. Envoys of Panama, Paraguay, Serbia, Germany & Iceland present credentials to Prez of India Five envoys presented their credentials to the President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday. The envoys were Julio De La Guardia Arrocha, the Ambassador of Panama, Genaro Vicente Pappalardo Ayala, the Ambassador of Paraguay, Jovan Mirilovic, the Ambassador of Serbia, Thomas Matussek, the Ambassador of Germany (See picture above) and Gudmundur Eiriksson, the Ambassador of Iceland. The credential presentation ceremony was attended by senior members of the missions, senior officials of the ministry of external affairs (MHA) and Rashtrapati Bhavan. Action & Appointments a) There has been a cancellation of the approval of the ACC for the appointment of Taradatt, a 1983 batch Orissa cadre IAS as joint secretary in the ministry of minority affairs in place of Sujit Datta, CSS, and it was decided to appoint R Karikal Valaven, a 1989 batch AP cadre IAS in the said vacancy for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or untill further orders. b) R Bandyopadhyay, a 1974 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs will hold additional charge of the post of secretary in the ministry of minority affairs during the period of absence on leave of Vivek Mehrotra, a 1974 batch Haryana cadre IAS up to 11th December, 2009. c) S P Seth, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS, presently special secretary in the ministry of coal has been appointed as Principal Adviser, Planning Commission in the rank and pay of secretary in the vacancy of Amitabha Bhattacharya, a 1975 batch AP cadre IAS. d) Rohit Nandan, a 1982 batch UP cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of civil aviation for a period of five years.

What makes this Oxford University scholar spending summer time in India's power corridor

HE has been following the right to information movement in India for the last two years, and that makes this Oxford University research scholar to come to Delhi again, and spend time in power corridors of the capital city. And his verdict: Indian babus still have a better time compared to British bureaucrats who are under severe pressure thanks to Freedom of Information Act (FoI), which is the British version of RTI. A masters student in International Development at the University of Oxford, 25-year-old Tom Green told babu blogger how journalists in UK had been using FoI law to feature high profile scoops. “British civil servants feel FoI (Freedom of Information Act) has exerted a huge amount of pressure on them. Journalists regularly make use of the Act as part of long-term investigations in a way that has not become so common in India. This means the British media regularly features high profile ‘scoops’ and scandalous revelations such as the recent MP’s expenses saga. Compared to this scrutiny, it could be argued that Indian babus have it easy, dealing only with the occasional request for a citizen’s personal data or a visit to the Central Information Commission,” Tom explains. This Oxford scholar who graduated from the University of Manchester, however, feels that the Right to Information Act 2005 has had a dramatic effect on the public consciousness in India. “It has redefined the relationship between the citizen and the civil service and provided a highly effective new avenue for redressing personal grievances. It has caught the imagination of the public much more than the corresponding British act, the Freedom of Information Act of the same year, has been able to,” he observes. But Tom is not just gathering information about RTI during this hot Delhi summer! He is watching Bollywood movies here. What he likes most about Delhi – the city’s vibrancy and yes, Nizam’s Kathi Kabab! Also read, "Govt should create RTI implementation cells: Study" posted on July 20, 2009.

Action & Appointments a) S N Patil, IOFS (1988 batch), joint development commissioner, Kandla SEZ will now be Joint Development Commissioner, Dahej SEZ. b) Narendra Kumar G, a 1989 batch UT cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary & director in the National Authority for Chemicals Weapons Convention under the cabinet secretariat, in the Pay Band of Rs 37400-67000 (PB-4) with a grade pay of Rs 10000 for a period of five years. c) The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal for premature repatriation of Anand B Kulkarni, a 1982 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS, presently working as deputy director general, CAPART (joint secretary level) under the ministry of rural development to his parent cadre.

babuz no 2: Principal secretary to PM TKA Nair is India’s second most powerful bureaucrat; find out who are no 3, 4 & 5

RETIRED from IAS 12 years ago, 1963 batch Punjab cadre officer is the most powerful bureaucrat in the PMO now, and the second most powerful in India, according to babu blogger’s list of powerful bureaucrats based on feedback of senior civil servants and politicians. Mr TKA Nair, who was secretary to former prime minister I K Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had also served in Planning Commission. From day one, Dr Manmohan Singh was very keen on taking him on board as PM had always believed in creating a core team of master bureaucrats to make an impact on overall administration and delivery of services. Read, “babuz aaj kal: India’s most powerful civil servants are being spotted; Indian PM too has Kissinger-type master bureaucrats” posted on August 13, 2009. The man who attended the first cabinet meeting of Dr Manmohan Singh government in May, 2004, has been calling the shots in the PMO for over five years now. He commands high respect from all officers in government today. 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. Yes, TKA Nair is India’s Kissinger-type master bureaucrat. Also read, “babuz no 1: Pulok Chaterji is India’s most powerful bureaucrat” posted on August 17, 2009. Watch out this space in coming days to find out who is babuz no 3, 4 & 5. Action & Appointments a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the request of Dr A K Banerjee, IA&AS (1973 batch) for relieving from the post of chairman, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, with the condition that he may continue for three months, by which time a substitute can be in place. b) Edwin Kulbhushan Majhi, a 1989 batch Kerala cadre IAS has been appointed as Mission Director-cum-joint secretary in the department of agriculture and cooperation, in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000 (PB-4) with a grade pay of Rs 10000. c) The proposal of the ministry of railways (railways board) for extension of Central deputation tenure of P K Mehta, IPS (1977 batch Haryana cadre), and chief security commissioner, Northern Railway, has been approved for a period of three months beyond August 8, 2009. d) R K Jain, a 1981 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS has been appointed as chief (joint secretary level), national manufacturing competitiveness council (NMCC) under the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) in the pay scale of Rs.18400-22400 (pre-revised), for a period of three years.

Orissa IPS officer booked for torturing wife; faces serious allegations of accepting Rs 40 lakh in cash as dowry

IN YET another case of an Orissa cadre bureaucrat turning a newsmaker for wrong reasons, a criminal case was registered against Nayagarh district’s Superintendent of Police Jaynarayan Pankaj after his wife Mrinal Agarwal had alleged that she was physically and mentally tortured by her husband, according to media reports quoting sub-divisional police officer G C Mallick. In fact, Mr Pankaj, a 2005 batch IPS officer and the current SP of Nayagarh, has faced another serious allegation as his wife alleged that her parents gave Rs 40 lakh cash as dowry during their marriage about two years ago. The investigation has begun after the case was registered under various sections of Indian Penal Code, including under dowry prevention act. The case involving an Orissa civil servant has surfaced barely a week after Jagada Nanda Panda, a 1983 batch IAS of Orissa cadre, allegedly killed his family members and himself in Bargarh district of Orissa after a CBI team had raided in his house. Read, “Who is IAS Jagada Nanda Panda?” posted on August 1, 2009. Orissa media has published the names of a number of bureaucrats from the state who have become newsmakers, all for wrong reasons. A very senior IPS officer came into news recently after he was allegedly spotted with a Bengali speaking lady at a government-run guest house in Cuttack. The names of two other very senior IPS officers were also dragged by local media reports for wrong reasons.

Know Your IPS

Name: Jai Narayan Pankaj Batch: 2005 IPS Cadre: Orissa Place of domicile: Bihar Date of Birth: March 5, 1976 Current Posting: SP, Nayagarh Pay Scale: Rs 15600-39100, with a grade pay of Rs 7600

Action & Appointments a) The proposal for the grant of pay scale of Rs 80,000 (fixed) to R R P N Sahi, a 1973 batch IPS, presently serving as Commissioner of Security (Civil Aviation) in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security under the ministry of civil aviation, has been approved with effect from November 25, 2008. b) Amrit Lal Meena, a 1989 batch IAS of Bihar cadre has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of food processing industries, in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000 (PB-4) with a grade pay of Rs 10000, for a period upto July 27, 2011 or until further orders. c) Anuj Kumar Bishnoi, a 1981 batch IAS of UP cadre, has been as director, Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) at the level of joint secretary under the ministry of corporate affairs for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders. d) Subhash Chandra Garg, a 1983 batch IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of agriculture and cooperation in the Pay Band of Rs 37400-67000 (PB-4) plus grade pay of Rs 10000, for a period of five years.

Will Nilekani make Ram Sewak Sharma a secretary at the rank of additional secretary?

WILL 1978 batch IAS officer from Jharkhand and former IITian Ram Sewak Sharma don a formal designation of the CEO of Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) which would create a database of identity details of every Indian citizen? Whereas department of personnel and training (DoPT) in its recent appointment notice said that Mr Sharma had been appointed as Director General & Mission Director of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), in the rank and pay of additional secretary, Mr Nilekani while taking charge as the chairman of the Authority (See picture above) on Thursday said Mr Sharma would join as “secretary and CEO” of the organization. Friends of babu blogger said that the corporate honcho, who was the co-chairman of Indian IT company Infosys Technologies, might have got confused with the sarkari ranks and dubbed a 1978 batch IAS a “secretary” whereas officers two years senior to him were yet to get the rank of a secretary. Though that could be a technical mistake of mixing up the posts of “secretary” and “additional secretary”, but it remains to be seen whether Mr Sharma is actually given a corporate title, “CEO” in the rank and pay of an additional secretary rather than continuing with the sarkari title, Director General or Mission Director as per DoPT’s earlier release. CVC prosecutes against 10 officers; 6 from I-T department The Central Vigilance Commission launched prosecution against 10 officers including six from Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), two from Department of Telecommunications and one each from Central Board of excise and Customs (CBEC) and ministry of home affairs (MHA). The commission disposed of 485 cases during June 2009 and advised initiations of major penalty proceedings against 134 officers. Of these, 46 were from public sector banks, 25 from MCD, 13 from ministry of railways, 7 from Khadi & Village Industries Commission etc. Action & Appointments a) Lok Ranjan, a 1989 batch IAS from Manipur Tripura cadre, presently working as director in the department of revenue has been appointed as joint secretary in the same department, in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000/- (PB-4) plus grade pay of Rs 10000. b) The proposal of the ministry of home affairs for inter-cadre transfer of Bharat Rahul Manhardan, IPS (AP, 2007) from Andhra Pradesh to Rajasthan on the ground of his marriage to Ms Mamta Bishnoi, IPS (RJ, 2007) has been approved. c) The proposal for inter cadre transfer of Nitish Kumar Jha, IAS (Manipur-Tripura, 2002) and Ms Radhika Jha, IAS (Sikkim, 2002) from their respective parent cadres to Uttarakhand cadre has been approved. d) Vijay Anand, IRS (C&CE, 1980) has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of space, in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000/- (PB-4) plus grade pay of Rs 10000, for a period of five years or until further orders.