1995 batch Bihar IAS and doctorate in plant pathology B Rajender appointed in Indian Embassy, Rome

Rome, Italy (Photo Courtesy: David Iliff, Wikipedia)

B Rajender, 1995 batch Bihar cadre IAS, has been appointed as Minister (Agriculture) in Embassy of India in Rome, Italy. His appointment is for a period of three years. Minister is a post usually equivalent to a GoI joint secretary. Rajender, 51, originally belongs to…

Will you see more police officers handling union departments now? 31 IPS empanelled as JS; Full List

IF THE newly-empanelled Indian Police Service (IPS) officers actually get posting in various union ministries and departments, many sarkari departments will now be headed by police officers. In the last couple of days, as many as 31 IPS officers, mainly belonging to 1995 and 1996 batches, were empanelled as union joint secretary or JS-equivalent. Here below is the full list:

Govt upgrades SPG posts to inspector general’s level to rope in 2 senior IPS — Alok Sharma and S Suresh

TWO IPS officers — Alok Sharma of 1991 batch and S Suresh of 1995 batch — were appointed as Inspector General (IG) in Special Protection Group (SPG), an elite force which is in charge of protecting India’s Prime Minister, former PMs and their families. The SPG commandoes are often called the black cats. In order to rope in these two senior officers, both currently working in Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the government had to temporarily…

2 IPS officers' tenure in SPG extended; IAS R Rajagopal prematurely repatriated to his parent cadre

THE government on Wednesday issued orders of extension of tenure of two IPS officers — Munna Prasad Gupta and Tsewang Namgyal Kalon, in Special Protection Group (SPG), an elite armed force that provides security to Prime Minister of India, former prime ministers and their families. Here are the detailed appointments:

Know Your Babu: New SIDBI chairman and UP cadre IAS Mohammad Mustafa; Also, Manas Sarkar appointed as director in Kolkata Metro

Mohammad Mustafa, 1995 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS and joint secretary in the department of financial services, has been appointed as chairman and managing director (CMD) of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) on deputation basis for three years. This 49-year-old officer originally belongs to Uttar Pradesh and was allotted UP cadre after getting into IAS. He has been with the department of financial services, one of the five departments in the ministry of finance, since September 2012 — first as a director and then as joint secretary. Earlier, he was the mission director of...

Know Your Babu: Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO of MyGov and the man behind PM's first Townhall

PM Modi's first Townhall

ON SATURDAY, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had his first Obama-style Townhall when he answered questions ranging from tourism, smart cities and foreign policy to self-styled cow protectionism. The event, organized by MyGov— a platform created to build partnership between citizens and the government —was televised live, and was highly appreciated across the board. But who was the man behind such a big show? IAS Association appreciates 1995 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS Gaurav Dwivedi saying…

More about D Thara, the new MD of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation

Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner and 1995 batch Gujarat cadre IAS Ms D Thara has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), in a major bureaucratic reshuffle that witnessed transfer of 30 other officers as well. Originally hailing from Tamil Nadu, Thara has experiences in working in various cities of Gujarat such as…

Why empanelment of these 11 IDAS officers as GoI joint secretaries bears significance

ON Monday, the Central government released two lists of empanelment for joint secretaries, belonging to 1994 and 1995 batches of Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS). The batches are quite close to 1997 batch of IAS, which got empaneled and their members were elevated to the posts of JS. The empanelment of 1994 and 1995 batches of IDAS draws attention because there are times when Group “A” service officers get emplaned a decade later than their IAS counterparts. For example, only in the month of January last, as many as 31 officers of Indian Ordnance Factory Service (IOFS) were empaneled. And all of them belong to 1988 batch! Here is the list of IDAS officers getting empanelment as JS:

What provokes IAS officers to oppose lateral entry of specialists and claim they are specialists in governance?

A NEWSPAPER article arguing that prime minister Narendra Modi should have started his innings by ending the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), has provoked a number of IAS officers to resort to social media to strongly defend their contribution to the nation and oppose lateral entry of specialists. Though the article published in a business daily was against “un-fire-able, unaccountable civil service” as a whole, it mainly targeted the IAS with “imperial-era privileges”. Former chief secretary of Delhi Shailaja Chandra, who calls herself an “independent policy analyst” and “Once IAS” argues that the alternative to…

Over 20 officers including 12 IAS empanelled as joint secretaries; 6 from 1982 batch figure in list

THE government on Wednesday announced empanelment of over 20 officers ranging from 1996 to 1982 batch as joint secretary or equivalent to Government of India. The officers, who include 12 IAS, four Indian Telecommunications Service, two IRS-IT and three Indian Forest Service officers, were left behind in JS empanelment earlier. Here is the full list of new JS empanelled officers:

Full list of joint secretary-empanelled IAS of 1995 batch; 13 belong to UP cadre

AS MANY as 61 IAS officers of 1995 batch have been empanelled for appointment for the posts of joint secretaries or equivalent at the Centre, according to a government information note dated January 14, 2014. Out of them, 13 belong to UP cadre, 5 each from Tamil Nadu and Assam cadre, and 4 each from Rajasthan and Maharashtra cadre. Full list below:

Air India Strike: A bureaucrat victim comes out with an innovative formula

GUESS who are the silent sufferers of the Air India mess arising out of the pilot strike? Incidentally, the bureaucrats who by rulebooks must fly the national carrier for official assignments and LTA, are now a frustrating lot. There are uncertainties around, and for some, summer holidays are at stake! You could be a powerful babu, but you are constrained to air your genuine concerns through a TV channel. But here is an IAS officer who has suggested an innovative formula of how to allow a government officer to fly other than Air India. Here it is:

Poet By Heart: Bureaucrat Bishnupada Sethi’s World of Words

MEET this bureaucrat by mind but poet by heart. For Bishnupada Sethi, a 1995 batch Orissa cadre IAS and director, Census Operation of Orissa, life is a bigger canvas and poetry is his art. Bishnupada Sethi is a confirmed poet with two poetry books already in his kitty.
His latest book, My World of Words is a collection of poems with an underlining theme that words are central to human existence. After all, human experience, intelligence, belief etc. are linked to the world of words.

Sample this:

Lying quietly on a wooden cot,

kept on the verandah of a mud hut,

I move my eyes slowly

like the rare waves

in the cool waters of a static lake.

You may wonder about me-

Relating to people like you,

while knowing that I do not have any name,

like other old members of the tribe

as naming was never our old tradition.

This is Sethi’s one of many poems called “An Unknown Tribal” where he narrates what life means for a simple tribal villager. For the record, there has been a massive debate in Orissa about tribal rights vis-à-vis commercial utilization of its vast resources.

Sethi’s first book named, “Where Shall I Go” was published in 2005. The book became so popular that its Urdu version was published later in 2009, and its Oriya version in under print.

Amarendra Khatua, a 1981 batch IFS officer, is yet another bureaucrat-cum-poet. His Ek Kavi Ka Khamosh Ho Jana received accolades in the poetry circle.

Also Read

Meet poet Khatua, IFS

CG Somaiah's book on stand-alone officers

IAS Kalyani Chaudhuri's book on babus 

Actor IAS V Venu as manipulative contractor

Action and Appointments

a) Anil Kumar, a 1976 batch Nagaland cadre IAS, presently Principal Adviser, Planning Commission has been appointed as secretary, department of AYUSH, under the ministry of health and family welfare in place of Ms S Jalaja, a 1974 batch Bihar cadre IAS who is retiring on October 31, 2010.

UP cadre IAS Sanjay Prasad virtually asked votes for Mayawati's party

IT IS not unusual that some senior bureaucrats find it tough to differentiate whether they work for the government or for the ruling party. But for Sanjay Prasad, a 1995 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS and current district magistrate of Allahabad, his leaning towards the party-in-power was captured by TV channels. According to media reports, Prasad virtually sought votes for Mayawati-led BSP in a meeting with district officers convened to review the progress of the state government’s ambitious Kanshiram Yojna for the urban poor. But TV camera captured his bytes which were later telecast repeatedly.

Prasad argued that there is no point in spending Rs 25 crore if the government does not even get the votes of 1,500 families! After the expose, main opposition party of Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party slammed Mayawati government for using the bureaucrats as party agents.

A postgraduate in geography, Mr Prasad had earlier served as district magistrate of Agra, Maharajganj and Ghazipur.

Action and Appointments

a) The ACC has approved proposal of home ministry for extension of Central deputation tenure of KB Singh, a 1985 batch Orissa cadre IPS and Inspector General(IG), ITBP for a period of one year beyond September 23, 2010.

b) The ACC has approved the proposal for inter-cadre transfer of Ms Guha Poonam Tapaskumar, a 2008 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS from Tamil Nadu cadre to Orissa cadre.

c) The ACC has approved the proposal for inter-cadree transfer of Nand Kumarum, a 2008 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS from Jharkhand to Madhya Pradesh.

d) Jaishankar Prasad Singh, a 1983 batch IRPS has been appointed as secretary, National Commission or Safai Karamacharis (joint secretary level) under the ministry of social justice and empowerment.

e) Amarendra Sinha, a 1981 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Click for OFFICIAL LIST of1980 batch IAS, empanelled as additional secretary

Babus in Demand: Job for an Indian bureaucrat in IMF's Washington DC Headquarters

IF you are a bright officer of the rank of deputy secretary or director of the government of India, here is a job for you in Washington DC. The government is filling up the vacancy of adviser to the Executive Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), in Washington D.C. likely to arise on March 15, 2010.

Qualifications
Officers of the rank of deputy secretary or director of the government of India or equivalent level are eligible for the post. Officers applying for this post should possess the following qualifications and experience:
Mandatory
a) Minimum 2 years cumulative working experience in the ministry of finance or economic ministries.
b) Substantial graduate level university degree in areas related to the work of the Fund, most desirably, in Economics with an emphasis on macroeconomics, monetary economics, and public finance.
c) Familiarity with major Fund-related issues
Desirable
a) Experience of dealing with externally aided projects
b) Preference may be given to those who have experience in the department of economic affairs
c) Degree in international trade or MBA.
Last date: 29th January, 2010

For details, check out the actual VACANCY CIRCULAR, December 30, 2009
Dr Arvind Virmani to join IMF (September 6, 2009)

Action and Appointments
a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the ministry of home affairs for the extension of inter-cadre deputation tenure of Vineet Vinayak, a 1995 batch Sikkim cadre IPS from Sikkim to Bihar for a further period of three months.
b) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved that Ranjan Chatterjee, a 1976 batch Assam cadre IAS, Consultant, Planning Commission may be allowed the pay of secretary to the government of India with effect from November 24, 2009.
(In Picture: A musical performance conducted to welcome the Queen's Baton 2010 Delhi into Kampala in Uganda on December 30, 2009. Look at their happy faces. Babu blogger wishes all visitors both inside and outside the corridor of power a very very happy and prosperous New Year, 2010)

New climate laws prompt Australian govt to create super bureaucracy; Britain under pressure to cut NHS civil servants

THE Australian government is likely to establish somewhat a super bureaucracy to administer compliance with new climate change laws, according to media reports from Down Under. The new Australian Climate Change Regulatory Authority, which could be supported by a new division created within the department of climate change, may initially have 100 bureaucrats though the number would swell dramatically when implications of what will effectively amount to a federal consumption tax on carbon emissions become clear, according to a report in a leading newspaper, The Australian. The new regulatory agency is set to be a powerful body as it will have sweeping powers to enforce the government’s climate change regime. It will also issue and auction emissions permits and collect revenue from these. Meanwhile, the British press has highlighted how Britain’s Opposition party wants to cut the number of bureaucrats in National Health Service (NHS), the country’s publicly-funded healthcare system, which they had estimated could save 1.5 billion British pounds (GBP) or whopping Rs 11260 crore if it’s converted into Indian currency. Tories, who seek NHS bureaucracy cut, have given various estimates of how money could be saved by cutting down the number of staff and officials. Straight From Files Indian PM has Kissinger-type master bureaucrats (August 13, 2009)

Action & Appointments a) Sanjay Bansal, IRS (C&CE, 1995 batch), who was recommended for Central deputation by the department of revenue, has been selected for appointment as director in the department of chemicals & petrochemicals, New Delhi, for a period of five years from the date of taking over charge of the post or until further orders. b) Premature reversion of Prabhanshu Kamal, a 1985 batch MP cadre IAS, presently working as joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs, to his parent cadre has been approved with immediate effect in order to enable him to avail the benefit of promotion to the next higher grade in the cadre. The MHA is requested to place the services of Mr Kamal at the disposal of the state government of Madhya Pradesh for his next posting.