Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia is on leave; expenditure secretary Ajay Narayan Jha given additional charge

FINANCE secretary and 1981 batch Gujarat cadre IAS Hasmukh Adhia is on leave for 10 days between May 5 and 15, 2018, for which the government last week approved the assignment of additional charge of the post of secretary, department of revenue, to Ajay Narayan Jha, a 1982 batch Manipur cadre lAS and secretary in the department of expenditure. Adhia is the revenue secretary and being the most senior officer, he is also the finance secretary of the ministry. As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is on medical leave, the ministry is being virtually driven by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Adhia is considered to be a front-runner for the…

5 Civil Servants to Watch Out For, 2018: Hasmukh Adhia, KD Tripathi, Amitabh Kant, Aman Singh and Vijay Gokhale

Hasmukh Adhia

HERE is the final list of BoI's 5 Civil Servants to Watch Out For in 2018. Topping the list is Hasmukh Adhia — an accountant, an IAS, a PhD in Yoga, union finance secretary and yes, one of the two key probables to be India’s next cabinet secretary this summer. In BoI’s series of 5 Civil Servants to Watch Out For, 2018, petroleum secretary Kapil Dev Tripathi is No 2. Tripathi is the other probable for the top bureaucrat’s post when incumbent Pradeep Kumar Sinha’s extended term ends on June 13. The other three civil servants to watch out for in 2018, who BoI had profiled in earlier posts, are:

“Expand tax base, but don’t be intrusive” FM tells Income-Tax officers

An I-T officer receiving a commendation certificate from FM 

ON MONDAY morning, the Income Tax department organized a Marathon at Noida which is at the outskirts of Delhi. The reason? The department was celebrating 157th Income Tax Day and called the Marathon a “run for nation”, mainly to create awareness about tax returns. Later on the day, finance minister Arun Jaitley addressed the I-T officers. Here are the five advices from the FM to his officers:

GST bills passed in LS; how top finance ministry bureaucrats react to this historic move; CBEC to turn CBIC

AS THE historic Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime on Wednesday came one step closer to a rollout on July 1 — with Lok Sabha saying “yes” to four supplementary legislations — secretary of the department of economic affairs (DEA) Shaktikanta Das said, he was “fortunate to witness this transformative moment” whereas his colleague in the North Block and revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia took to Twitter to compliment everyone including the officers behind the success. Adhia, a 1981 batch Gujarat cadre IAS said:

Uneasy calm prevails between I-T officers and revenue department; 10 developments

Some of the demands of IRS officers

THERE has been an uneasy calm between the revenue department headed by an IAS officer and officers belonging to Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) after a delegation of IRS officers met finance minister Arun Jaitley last Saturday and resolved some of the issues including an agreement to direct its Mumbai-based colleagues to suspend a proposed strike. The recent problem began when a section of Income-Tax officers located in Mumbai adopted a resolution on July 22, 2016, questioning the interferences of the revenue department headed by IAS officer Hasmukh Adhia and even demanded abolition of the post of revenue secretary itself. Here are the 10 developments in the last two weeks:

8% growth, rationalization of Central schemes, appointment of bank CMDs – what top 3 finance ministry secretaries had to say

Adhia (left), Watal during the press meet

FINANCE ministry top bureaucrats on Monday talked about the health of Indian economy: A possible 8% growth, government’s role in passing over benefits of RBI’s soft monetary policy, 5% fall in direct tax collection, rationalization of Central schemes and revamping the process of selection of directors, CMDs of public sector banks, among others. The bureaucrats who participated in the press meet included finance secretary and 1978 batch IAS Ratan P Watal, DEA secretary and 1980 batch IAS Shaktikanta Das, revenue secretary and 1981 batch IAS Hasmukh Adhia, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian, among others. Here are 10 things which the top North Block bureaucrats had to say:

Budget Secrecy, Halwa Ceremony: 100 finance ministry officials will be confined to North Block basement till Feb 28

THE printing process of the Budget document to be presented by union finance minister Arun Jaitley on February 28 began in the basement of North Block on Friday after the finance ministry bigwigs participated in a traditional event called “halwa ceremony”. As finance minister and North Block officials enjoyed the halwa (see photo), the final chapter on budget secretary, something unheard of in…

Hasmukh Adhia: Accountant, IAS, PhD in Yoga and new financial services secretary

MANY may still remember prime minister Narendra Modi’s photo at a yoga session with Gujarat bureaucrats when he was the state chief minister and key driver in a programme called Karmayogi Abhiyan, which was meant for transforming Gujarat bureaucrats into Karmayogis by imparting training. The training included working skill, pranayam and yoga. And one of the key bureaucrats who had impressed the then chief minister was 1981 batch IAS Dr Hasmukh Adhia. Now Adhia, who has a degree in accountancy and PhD in Yoga, has been appointed as secretary in the department of financial services. He is also a…

Is Gujarat chief secretary’s ban on bureaucrats’ leaves a tool to please Modi?

SOME bureaucrats in Gujarat have wondered whether state chief secretary Achal Kumar Joti, a 1975 batch IAS, is going overboard to please chief minister Narendra Modi and cancel their leaves during this summer.

The recall of Arti Kanwar, 2001 batch IAS and project director of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, from Canada and the cancellation of leave application of Hasmukh Adhia, 1981 batch IAS and principal secretary of education department, as a part of the government’s attempt to ensure compulsory attendance of bureaucrats for Golden Gujarat festivals, starting May 1, have created unhappiness among many bureaucrats. As has been reported in media, the diktat of “no leave for bureaucrats” could remain much beyond the current mega show, as chief secretary issued an order saying that the bureaucrats’ presence in crucial festivals, to take place in May-June, will be mandatory. Two such programmes, Krishi Mahatsav and Kanya Kelavni school enrolment drive, may continue till June, implying that no bureaucrat will get any leave during this summer when their children have school vacation.

As was reported in a national newspaper, chief minister while addressing secretaries during the last Cabinet meeting simply requested that officials should avoid leaves as far as possible, but chief secretary went beyond a point to put a blanket ban on leaves.

Action and Appointments

a) Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia, Judge of the Supreme Court, will be the new Chief Justice of India with effect from May 12, 2010.

b) Justice Hemant Laxman Gokhale, Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Smt. Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, and Justice Anil Ramesh Dave, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in that order of seniority, have been appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

c) The ACC has approved the proposal of the ministry of home affairs (MHA) for inter-cadre transfer of Vikas Pathak, a 2008 batch Tamin Nadu cadre IPS from Tamil Nadu to Rajasthan.

d) Extension of deputation tenure of Sanjay Sinha, a 1978 batch MP cadre IPS as minister (personnel and community Affairs) in the Embassy of India, Washington DC (joint secretary level) June 30, 2010 has been approved.

e) Jawaid Akhtar, a 1989 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, has been appointed as chairman, Coffee Board, at Bengaluru (joint secretary level) under the department of commerce.

f) The ACC has approved the appointment of Rajiv Takru, a 1979 batch Gujarat cadre IAS as Director General, National Institute of Fashion Technology, in the rank and pay of additional secretary, on in -situ elevation.

(In Picture on Right: A delegation of CPWD Officers Wives Welfare Association called on the Vice President, Mohd Hamid Ansari, in New Delhi on April 30, 2010)