Know Your Babu: New mines secretary Balvinder Kumar is learning more about "mind and consciousness"

BALVINDER Kumar has been appointed as the secretary, ministry of mines. Earlier he was serving as Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) vice-chairman.

Kumar, a 1981-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was the chairman of Noida Authority before his stint at DDA. He will succeed...

Greater Noida turned hot property destination for India’s leading bureaucrats

Pori Chowk: A Landmark in Greater Noida

NOIDA and Greater Noida might be losers to Gurgaon in wooing investments from MNC honchos, but for bureaucrats they have turned preferred investment destinations. As IAS officers’ property returns are now made public, you can see for yourself how these UP townships have attracted a number of influential people in corridors of power to invest there. As a leading newspaper mentions, Greater Noida figures prominently perhaps because several cooperative housing societies for government officers were built in the relatively new township.

Among officers who own property in Greater Noida are cabinet secretary-designate AK Seth (a plot worth Rs 5.86 lakh), executive director of World Bank Pulok Chatterji (an under-construction four bedroom flat worth Rs 67.75 lakh), member secretary of Planning Commission Sudha Pillai (a flat worth Rs 53.55 lakh), additional secretary in home ministry Vishwapati Trivedi (a house worth about Rs 36 lakh) to name a few.

Current cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar has only one house at Trivandrum which he built on a piece of land measuring seven cents at the cost of Rs 2.9 lakh. Another influential bureaucrat and home secretary GK Pillai’s only house is built on a piece of land in Kerala measuring 18.6 cents which he had inherited from his mother. He built a house on it in 1992 with a housing loan of Rs 2.4 lakh. The present value is Rs 75 lakhs. The rent of the property gives him Rs 2.74 lakh every year.

Action and Appointments

Prakash Chandra takes over as CBDT chairman

Prakash Chandra, an IRS (IT) officer of the 1973 batch, took over as chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on May 31, 2011. He will also continue to look after the work relating to personnel and vigilance matters. Chandra was director general of Income Tax (Investigation) in Rajasthan and later director general of Income Tax (International Taxation) in Delhi before joining the CBDT as Member.