Retired IAS Anup K Pujari leaves for USA for a teaching assigment in Harvard University

HARVARD University has invited retired IAS officer of 1980 batch Dr Anup K Pujari to teach mid-career courses of public administration. Pujari, a post-graduate from the University of Boston and doctorate in economics, had earlier taught in Harvard for short durations while taking sabbatical from IAS. Pujari who retired as union secretary of the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in January this year, shifted his base to Bengaluru soon after his retirement. Pujari originally hailing from Odisha belonged Karnataka cadre IAS. His current teaching assignment will be for about…

Indian government to send secretary ranked officers for Harvard crash courses

INDIAN government will fund even secretary-level officers for short-term courses in Harvard University this year. The secretary ranked officers are however eligible to apply only in two out of 30 short-term tailor-made foreign courses for which the government will fund under Domestic Funding of Foreign Training Scheme, 2012-13.

One of those two courses titled “Leaders in Development: Managing Political and Economic Change” will begin on June 4 and end on June 15, 2012. The other course where secretary ranked officers are also eligible to apply is on

Indian government to fund 3 officers qualified for Harvard’s Mason Program

THE Government of India has decided to fully fund three officers who will qualify for the prestigious Mason Program of Harvard next year. Changing its own policy, the government has now decided to bring the one-year MPA (Mason Program), 2012-13 of the Harvard Kennedy School under the Domestic Funding of Foreign Training (DFFT). In a circular dated November 8, 2011, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) said that a separate sponsorship system was devised under the same scheme as the deadline for the Harvard Kennedy School program is December 2, 2011.

Here are the details of the schedule

a)      Interested officers may directly apply to Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) before December 2, 2011, and undertake the selection process as a private individual.

b)      The DoPT will earmark 3 slots for the MPA (Mason Program).

c)      Once an officer is selected to the program as a private individual, he/she may apply for sponsorship under DFFT scheme. The applications have to be made through the official channels as vigilance clearance, ACR grading etc. will be needed.

d)      A committed constituted by DoPT will scrutinize the applications.

e)      The successful candidates will receive full funding as in case of other long-term programs.

The DFFT scheme was introduced in 2001 mainly to provide exposure to international best practices. The officers belonging to IAS, CSS and SCS are eligible to undergo foreign training under the scheme. Officers of the other two All India Services, viz., IPS and IFoS and those of other organized Group A Central Civil Services are eligible under the scheme only when they are holding posts on deputation under the Central Staffing Scheme.

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Indian Railways to get 13 new GMs

In one of the most high-profile sets of appointments in Indian Railways, as many as 13 General Managers (GMs) were appointed with effect from November 9, 2011. Here are the new officers at the helms…