177 officers selected for studying short-term courses in elite foreign universities under DFFT; Full List

AS MANY as 177 officers of various services including IAS, IPS, IRS-IT et al have been selected for short-term courses in foreign universities under Domestic Funding for Foreign Training (DFFT) programme. Here below is the list of officers selected for short-term courses in Harvard, Chicago, Berkeley, Cambridge and ANZSOG for FY 2019-20:

Wow! IAS officer Ankur Garg gets 171/170 marks in a Harvard course

Photo Credit: Garg's FB profile

IT MAY sound odd, but 2003 batch AGMUT cadre IAS, Ankur Garg, got 171 marks out of 170 in the final examination of macroeconomics course in Harvard University, USA, where the officer has been studying after taking a sabbatical from the service. “When I was in school, my father used to say - 10 out of 10 isn't good enough in any exam. Always strive for 11 out of 10,” Garg wrote in a Facebook post last month. He also placed photo of his mark sheet along with the post. Garg was thrilled that the mark sheet was signed by none other than…

189 Indian officers selected for short-term courses at Harvard, Cambridge, Berkeley, Chicago and ANZSOG; Full List

THE Central government has announced the names of 189 officers for short term or customised programmes under DFFT scheme during 2018-19. The courses will be fully funded by the government. The officers will attend courses — management, leadership, PPP etc. -- in the premier universities like Harvard, Cambridge, Berkeley, Chicago and ANZSOG. Here below are the names of the officers, courses they will attend and duration:

Are multiple extensions of the last date of applying in foreign universities under DFFT scheme fair? Internet to be blamed, really?

THE multiple extensions of the last date for applying and the finalisation of the application under DFFT scheme — at times on somewhat flimsy grounds of “net related issues” — has forced some officers and applicants to wonder whether it would be a fair process this time. Though no one has formally complained in the DoPT (the department of personnel and training), the agency that selects the applicants among IAS, IPS, IFoS among others for the  long term and short term programmes under DFFT scheme — the officers have been gossiping whether such unprecedented multiple extensions were actually carried out to prolong the selection process so that some officers manage to procure…

Time to Apply Under DFFT: Full list of foreign universities and courses, for 2018-19

THE list of foreign universities and the short and long term courses, 2018-19, for the government officers under the DFFT scheme is out. Those who are eligible for the Domestic Funding of Foreign Training (DFFT) scheme include IAS, Group ‘A’ officers belonging to Central Secretariat Service (CSS) etc., and then the IPS, Indian Forest Service (IFoS) and Group ‘A’ central civil service officers during the tenure of deputation under the Central Staffing Scheme. The courses include a whole range of subjects -- from management and public administration to fighting corruption. One however needs to cross-check with the DoPT guidelines to find out the exact eligibility criteria. Here below are the names of the foreign universities, courses offered, and their time-line:

Govt adds new foreign universities under DFFT 2016-17; Courses earmarked for GoI secretaries too

New courses in Harvard and ANZSOG are added in DFFT list

THE government has decided to add in the list of 2016-17 DFFT (Domestic Funding of Foreign Training) the names of more foreign universities and courses including short-term programmes at Harvard and ANZSOG, earmarked for officers at the rank up to secretaries of government of India. Also, as the admission process of programmes at London School Economics (LSE) and LKY School of Public Policy are over, if any officer has a confirmed admission in the said universities, the officer can be provided full funding, if eligible under the DFFT scheme and subject to the availability of slots, according to DoPT’s letter to chief secretaries and union secretaries dated April 11. Here are the new addition of the long-term and short term courses under DFFT 2016-17:

Officers' foreign study in 2015-16: Programmes and list of global universities

THE government has come out with the details of long-term and short-term programmes in foreign institutes for the year 2015-16 under the Domestic Funding of Foreign Training (DFFT) scheme. The foreign study is mean for officers as junior as of 2006 batch and as senior as secretaries of government of India. For long-term programmes, however, IAS officers who have completed just…

List of 24 officers short-listed for Harvard; Ashok Khemka a “reserve candidate”

AS MANY as 23 IAS officers and one from Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) have been shortlisted for short-term training programmes at Harvard University. Siginificantly, one of the most influential joint secretaries in the PMO, BVR Subrahmanyam and whistleblower IAS officer of Haryana cadre Ashok Khemka could not make it, as they are shown only as "reserve candidates" in the final list prepared by the DoPT. The prominent officers who are attending those programmes include...

Govt to send senior bureaucrats to Harvard to acquire leadership skills

A part of Harvard Campus

THE government is inviting applications from senior bureaucrats to do a leadership course at the Harvard University. The officers at the rank of additional secretary and joint secretary will be funded under the Domestic Funding of Foreign Training, or DFFT scheme for any of the four short-term programmes which were recently added to the list of…

Want to hear an IAS officer singing? Don't miss Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai

WISH to listen to a Bollywood song sung by a Harvard MBA cum IAS officer? Just book your ticket for Dibakar Banerjee’s film Shanghai which is being released today. Srivatsa Krishna, a 1994 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, sings “Vishnu Sahasranamam Mantra” in Banerjee’s low budget film Shanghai which incidentally has another IAS connection. What’s that?

DIPP’s Saurabh Chandra turns a Harvard student; could move as DEA secretary

Looking Ahead: Saurabh Chandra

DIPP secretary Saurabh Chandra has recently taken a flight to Boston. The reason? The 1978 batch UP cadre IAS is now attending a Harvard crash course on leadership development. The two-week-long course is all about managing political and economic change, an essential quality for a babu to survive, not even succeed, in the current politico-economic environment. And some in the corridors are convinced that Pulokaseth (Pulok Chatterji and AK Seth) have already made up their minds that Chandra would be shifted to North Block…

US Congressmen question high paying Harvard courses for government officers

US CONGRESSMEN have begun to question whether it’s worth spending millions of dollars for sending government officials to Harvard University under highly expensive training programs. Though no one is questioning the quality of such training programs, what has come under attack is the cost of such courses which is taking a toll on US tax payers, according to a section of US media including abc NEWS.
An one month course, for example, at the Ivy League university costs about $18,000 (over Rs 8 lakh) per employee, which is about twice what the average public university charges for tuition and fees.

Significantly, Indian government too funds officials with minimum nine years of experience in government to undertake courses in 12 foreign universities including Harvard.

Top private companies too send their executives for such courses at that price, and it’s argued that customized executive programs always cost more than the ordinary courses.

In reply to US Congressman’s charges of high cost, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government said, while the Senior Executive Fellows program was its most popular government training program, it also offered government classes on leadership, regulating and economic development ranging from $500 to $1,000 a day, according to a report in abc NEWS.

Also Read

DoPT releases list of 12 foreign universities 

Action and Appointments

Union home minister P Chidambaram on Monday listed out the following as one of the MHA’s highlights in his monthly update of the ministry’s performance report.

 a) Offer of appointment was issued to 132 candidates on the basis of their qualifying the Civil Services Examination, 2009.

b) The following appointments were made:

K Vijay Kumar, IPS (TN:75) as DG, CRPF

Vikram Srivastava, IPS (UP:73) as DG, BPRD

RK Mathur, IPS (CH:74) as Director, NPA

NK Tripathi, IPS (MP:74) as Director, NCRB

Anirudh Uppal, IPS (HP:76) as Spl. DG, CRPF

"Prof" Pujari is India’s new DGFT

Dr Anup K Pujari, a full-time bureaucrat and part-time Harvard professor, is India’s new DGFT (Director General of Foreign Trade). A 1980 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, Dr Pujari, who had an earlier innings in foreign trade between June 2000 to May 2003 as Additional DGFT, is now back as its Director General.

Those who know him well will tell you how the man handling World Bank and ADB in the ministry of finance hardly uses the red light outside his ground floor corner room of the North Block. Hailing from Orissa, Pujari, the suave and soft-spoken officer was also in Election Commission of India, and had earlier served as Managing Director of Mysore Sugar Co Ltd and Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd.

Born in 1956, Pujari is a post-graduate from the University of Boston, and is a doctorate in economics. On a number of occasions, he took up short-duration teaching assignments at the University of Harvard which in turn allowed him to interact with some of the young brilliant minds from across the world.

As the global economy has just recovered from the lows, and India is setting ambitious export targets, Pujari’s innings as DGFT is set to be keenly watched.

Mayawati’s transfer raj forces 1982 batch IAS to resign

Dr Raju Sharma, a 1982 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer, has resigned following his three-time transfers in two months, according to media report. A post graduate in physics and a doctorate in public administration, Sharma had a long innings (2002-2008) in the National Authority of Chemical Weapons Convention under the cabinet secretariat. Since his joining back to the cadre, Sharma was first posted as principal secretary Basic Education, then got him transferred to higher education department in the same capacity. Within a few days, he was transferred to the Revenue Board as member (judicial).

Also Read

1982 batch IAS making a political foray

Applications invited from Indian officers wishing to study abroad; govt to sponsor civil servants at Harvard, IDS, Duke, ISS etc.

IF YOU are an Indian officer with nine years of experience in administration, here is a chance to grab a foreign degree next year under domestic funding scheme of the department of personnel and training (DoPT) under Government of India. The training programmes vary from short 12 days long course at Harvard University to full-fledged MBA course at Birmingham, UK or MA in public policy and management at ISS, Hague, Netherlands. Some of the other courses include MA in governance and development, IDS, Sussex, UK, MA in international development policy, University of Duke, USA, Master in public policy, Australian National University and Young Leaders Program at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan to name a few. Eligibility Criteria

All officers who will complete nine years of service as on January 1, 2010 will be eligible to apply. Officers here include IAS, Central Secretariat Service, State Civil Services, Central Secretariat Stenographers Service (Gazetted) and those from IPS, Indian Forest Service (IFS) and Central Group A services who are currently on deputation under the Central Staffing Scheme.

Age Limit

For long term courses, the upper age limit is 47 whereas for the short-term courses, it’s 52. There is no age limit for those courses which are meant only for officers at the rank of additional secretaries and secretaries. These short courses meant only for AS and secretaries are: a) Leaders in development: Managing political and economic change (12 days) Harvard University (See picture of green Harvard campus) b) Infrastructure in a market economy: Public Private Partnership in a changing world (14 days) Harvard University c) Public financial management (19 days) Harvard University Cooling Off Conditions

If an officer has done a course in a foreign institute, he or she will be eligible to apply again only if a number of years have passed by. The length of cooling off period depends on the length of the course attended by the officer earlier. For details of the circular, click the link below this post. If an officer has an MBA degree, he won’t be able to apply for a long term MBA course again.

Preferences

Those who have not attended any course abroad will be preferred. Also, preferences will be given to ST/SC and woman officers and those who are working in North States or J&K cadre.

Last date of application

December 31, 2009

Here's the detailed CIRCULAR

Action & Appointments Mehinder Singh Sullar, Ram Chand Gupta and Gurdev Singh have been appointed as additional Judges of the Punjab & Haryana High Court for a period of two years with effect from the dates they assume charge of their offices