BoI extraa… Guess, who is this doctor and his boss?

GUESS who is this doctor? See the photograph closely and carefully. Is he someone from corridors of power, or a hardcore physician from AIIMS or RML? Can you also guess who is the other doctor whose eyes are not seen in the photograph?

No prize for guessing. The man in the picture is not any physician but a 1975 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS and presently food processing secretary Ashok Sinha. Sinha, who many feel is one of the most stylish bureaucrats, was accompanying the minister for food processing industries Subodh Kant Sahai (the other in the photo) during the launch of the first Food Testing Laboratory of National Meat and Poultry Processing Industries Board, in New Delhi on November 3, 2010.

With this, BoI Team wishes its readers a Happy Diwali, the festival of lights.

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Is secretary Sinha the most stylish bureaucrat?

Action and Appointments

a) Tishyarakshit Chatterjee, a 1975 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the ministry of environment and forests, in the rank and pay of secretary. Chatterjee will be elevated as secretary, ministry of environment and forests in place of Vijai Sharma, a 1974 batch UP cadre IAS on his retirement on December 31, 2010.

NDC sidelights: Top bureaucrats gather in the calendar's biggest power event

MEMBER Secretary to Planning Commission Sudha Pillai, who was recently elevated to the rank of a minister of state, played a perfect host at National Development Council meet in New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan on Saturday. Wearing a light pink sari, this 1972 batch Kerala cadre retired IAS was welcoming high profile dignitaries of the NDC meet including Union ministers and state chief ministers before accompanying deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to welcome Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at the venue.
Before PM’s arrival, Ms Pillai was seen exchanging a few words with minister of road transport and highways Kamal Nath who had recently created a controversy by calling the Planning Commission an “armchair adviser”. He husband and home secretary GK Pillai was also seen talking to fellow bureaucrats and saying “hello” to chief minister of Andhra Pradesh K Rosaiah among others. Later, he had a quick lunch before proceeding for the North Block for an important meet with Gorkha leaders.

Before the function began, master bureaucrat and principal adviser to Prime Minister TKA Nair was busy talking to a number of ministers. Another high profile bureaucrat, finance secretary Ashok Chawla, a 1973 batch Gujarat cadre IAS spent some time catching up with fellow bureaucrats and other dignitaries. He was seen talking to a number of officials from other ministries during the lunch too.

At the dining area, food processing secretary Ashok Sinha was called by his minister Subodh Kant Sahai to a corner to discuss about a ministry project when everyone else was enjoying the lunch with peeli dal, chicken curry and fired chicken!

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Sudha Pillai as one of the 3 most powerful women bureaucrats

CAT takes up sacked IAS officers’ cause

The IAS officers, 1983 batch Desh Deepak and 1987 batch Vijender Kumar, who were asked to leave, are now fighting their battle through Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), The CAT has now issued notices to Himachal Pradesh government and Central government to reply to the allegations made by these sacked officers. Desh Deepak, who hails from Delhi and is a doctor by profession before becoming an IAS, had a seven-year tenure left prior to the retirement. For Vijender Kumar, who is also from Himachal Pradesh cadre and originally belongs with UP, would have been retired only in February, 2017. Both the officers have now challenged the government’s order saying the decision as biased and unfair.

Bonanza for rural bank employees

Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee has announced a wage revision of the pay-scale and allowances of the employees of the RRBs corresponding to those of Nationalised Banks according to 9th Bipartite Settlement. The additional cost burden of the arrears on this account would be about Rs 791 crore. 

Japanese town bans sporting beard by bureaucrats

SOUNDS funny, but if the same rules apply in India’s corridors of power too, food processing industries secretary Ashok Sinha who sports a French cut beard or urban development secretary M Ramachandran will have no other options but to rush to the bathroom with a razor in hand and come clean, virtually.

Yes you have guessed it just right! Officials of a Japanese town Isesaki under Gunma Prefecture were recently told to shave off their facial hair after the municipal authority received a strange complaint from public that dealing with bearded bureaucrats is "unpleasant".

A section of media reports said that the ban, the first of its kind among Japanese public officials, is applicable to all kind of facial hair, “from lovingly cultivated full beards to trendy goatees and designer stubble”. Though Japanese companies too emphasize on physical appearances, it’s the first time that there has been a diktat on how a public servant should look. But the big question remains --- will smooth-chinned bureaucrats deliver better, or deal with public more efficiently? Only time will tell that. But for now it’s more a bureaucratic decision!

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IAS contemplates to leave service to join politics

Uttam P Khobragade, a Maharashtra cadre IAS of 1984 batch, is reportedly leaving his job to join active politics. An LLB degree holder, Khobragade, who served as GM of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking (BEST), was recently relocated as principal secretary of the tribal development department. Mr Khobragade, who was unhappy with the transfer, has not yet joined his new post. What’s more, several Dalit organizations staged protests in parts of the state in support of the IAS officer. A believer of Ambedkar’s ideologies, he is close to several political bigwigs including former CM and union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. 

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Indian Premier Bureaucrats: Look, Style and Babus of India

STYLE does matter, particularly when the IPL fever catches everyone including the Indian bureaucrats. If you were hooked into the television set even after Delhi Daredevils thrashed Vijay Mallya’s Royal Challengers on Sunday night, you would have noticed a bearded gentleman wearing a smart casual red and black half shirt, and presenting award to Paul Collingwood for his scintillating innings with seven sixes. No prizes for guessing who was the stylishly-dressed gentleman! He was none other than urban development secretary and 1972 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS Dr M Ramachandran who is turning 60 in just two months. And yes, those who know him from close quarters and always see him in formal suits in Nirman Bhawan, must have been pleasantly surprised to find Dr Ramachandran giving tough competition to Dr Mallya and his style statements in Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla stadium.

No wonders, Indian bureaucrats who now need to work with young, suave and also stylish politicians, are fast shedding the typical bureaucratic image and following the look and style of corporate honchos. After the Union Budget was presented, finance secretary Ashok Chawla, a 1973 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, figured in an advertisement of a post-Budget debate to be held in Mumbai, making a precedence of a senior bureaucrat finding a place in large billboards in many busy roads of Delhi and Mumbai. For the adman who conceptualized the advertisement for the event, the Einstein look alike Chawla’s image was a perfect fit to the outdoor advertisement.

There are a few senior bureaucrats in Delhi’s power corridor like skin-headed food processing industries secretary and 1975 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS Ashok Sinha who are making an impact not just because of the positions they hold, but thanks to their stylish approach to life. There are others like former finance secretary Ashok Jha or ex-industry secretary Dr Ajay Dua who were more like CEOs than secretaries even when they were at the helm of India’s babudom. In fact, they were regularly spotted in Delhi’s golf circuit and were extremely popular among who’s and who of India Inc. And for that matter, even Amitabh Kant, a 1980 batch Kerala cadre IAS, who can make a brand guru run for his money!

Hey There! Babus of India (BoI) which is turning one year soon, is sporting a new look and design. If you wish to make any comment on the new look and feel of your favorite blog, or on any stylish Indian bureaucrats, kindly post a comment below, or write to babu.blogger1@gmail.com

Is secretary Ashok Sinha the most stylish Indian bureaucrat today?

IF YOU are a regular in the power corridors of Delhi, here's a simple question. Is skin-headed food processing industries secretary Ashok Sinha (In Picture) who sports a French cut beard, the most stylish secretary-level bureaucrat in the country now? A 1975 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, Mr Sinha is suave, sophisticated and stylish though he has a few competitors in some ministries. Will you vouch for finance secretary Ashok Chawla as the most stylish bureaucrat today? If you feel, any secretary or additional secretary level officer is stylish in dress, approach and action, who in turn inspires younger civil servants, kindly comment below, or write at babu.blogger1@gmail.com You may soon find a list of stylish bureaucrats in this site who make an impact not just because they are holding important positions, but thanks to their stylish approach in life...