New Postings for Senior Bureaucrats: 7 IAS, 2 IDAS, 1 Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer get new berths

IN A major reshuffle of senior bureaucrats mostly at the level of GoI secretary and additional secretary, the Central government on Thursday issued new appointment orders for seven IAS, two Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officers and one Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer, apart from giving in-situ promotion of two officers —Bala Prasad of Indian Forest Service and Satpal Chouhan of Indian Economic Service to the rank of union special secretary. Here below are 12 appointment orders:

Three 2004 batch officers, one each from IDAS, IPoS and ISS, elevated as directors

THREE 2004 batch officers, belonging to Indian Defence Accounts Service, Indian Postal Service and Indian Statistical Service, have been elevated to the rank of directors. All those three officers were working with the central ministries as deputy secretary. A director is a notch higher than a deputy secretary in the government hierarchy. Here below are three officers and their elevation:

7 non-IAS officers — from IDAS, ISS, IFoS, IRAS and IES— find berth as union additional secretaries; Full List

THE government on Saturday appointed 20 officers at the rank of secretary, additional secretary or joint secretary, the key highlight being the appointment of seven non-IAS as union additional secretaries. The officers belong to Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), Indian Statistical Service (IIS) Indian Forest Service (IFoS), Indian Economic Service (IES) and Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS). Here below are the details of each of the 20 new appointments:

21 new joint secretaries appointed; only 4 belong to IAS; income-tax officer finds berth in ministry of earth sciences

THE Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Thursday approved the appointment of 21 joint secretaries and also prematurely repatriated a Kerala cadre IAS officer. Significantly, out of 21 new joint secretaries, only four belong to IAS. The new joint secretaries include four Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officers and two each from IRS-IT and Indian Forest Service (IFoS). Also, a postal service officer has become joint secretary in the department of agriculture and an officer belonging to the income-tax department is placed as joint secretary in the ministry of earth sciences. Here are the details of 21 new JS appointments and one premature repatriation:

Defence engineer as addl development commissioner (handlooms), postal service officer in environment ministry…List is getting longer

A Right Mix?

WHEN a railway officer can run Air India, why can’t a defence engineer be in the office of development commissioner (handlooms)? Yes, 1988 batch Indian Defence Service of Engineers officer Jitendra Acharya was appointed as additional development commissioner (handlooms) and 2001 batch Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer Ratnesh Kumar is the new additional development commissioner (handicrafts). If a generalist can head a specialist ministry, why can’t a specialist head a generalist department? Is this the new thinking process in the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet? BoI here lists out a few appointments announced during the last one month which possibly indicate how the Centre wants to experiment with senior bureaucracy:

Look beyond financial aspects and focus on overall defence scenario: President Mukherjee to IDAS probationers

President of India with IDAS probationers (2015 batch)

THE focus of the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officers should not just be the financial aspects, but they must think for overall defence scenario in the country, said President of India Pranab Mukherjee when a group of IDAS probationers of 2015 batch called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Significantly, Mukherjee in his long political career handled both the defence and finance portfolios. President further told the probationers that as watchdogs, Indian Defence Accounts Service officers need to be careful in…

Why empanelment of these 11 IDAS officers as GoI joint secretaries bears significance

ON Monday, the Central government released two lists of empanelment for joint secretaries, belonging to 1994 and 1995 batches of Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS). The batches are quite close to 1997 batch of IAS, which got empaneled and their members were elevated to the posts of JS. The empanelment of 1994 and 1995 batches of IDAS draws attention because there are times when Group “A” service officers get emplaned a decade later than their IAS counterparts. For example, only in the month of January last, as many as 31 officers of Indian Ordnance Factory Service (IOFS) were empaneled. And all of them belong to 1988 batch! Here is the list of IDAS officers getting empanelment as JS:

46 officers of Indian Ordnance Factory Service and 8 IDAS get empanelled as GoI joint secretary; Full list

THE government on Wednesday released the list of as many as 46 officers of Indian Ordnance Factory Service (IOFS) belonging to 1986 and 1987 batches. But the question remains whether such a large number of officers would actually get appointed in various Central ministries. These officers are about 10 years older than the young joint secretaries belonging to IAS. Meanwhile, eight officers belonging to Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) of 1992 batch were also empanelled. Here is full list of 54 newly empanelled JS:

Cabinet secretariat director Alka Sharma appointed as Delhi University’s finance officer

IS Delhi University’s financial health sound any longer? The government has decided to depute a senior cabinet secretariat official Alka Sharma to the University of Delhi as its finance officer. Alka Sharma, a 1988 batch Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer and currently a director in cabinet secretariat, will be the University’s finance officer till January 21, 2014.

Ms Sharma will be posted in Delhi University on a deputation basis. In an office memo of DoPT, dated July 13, 2011, it was also mentioned that Ms Sharma would get a PB-4 pay of Rs 37400 to 67000 with a grade pay Rs 10,000, which is essentially the salary of a joint secretary. She is expected to take up the assignment immediately.

Pandey succeeds in narrowing down differences with Naga militants

When 1972 batch retired IAS RS Pandey was appointed in February 2010 as the Central government’s interlocutor for talks with NSCN (I-M), it was considered as a post-retirement assignment. His batch-mate GK Pillai then was the home secretary. Now, if the home ministry’s claims are correct, Pandey who had served as petroleum secretary earlier, turned successful in taking forward the peace process. “Sustained negotiations over the past few months have led to a set of proposals for an honourable political settlement based on the uniqueness of Naga history and situation... While the differences between the two parties have narrowed, some of the proposals would require further negotiations to reach a mutually acceptable solution. By appreciating and respecting each other’s position and difficulties, both the parties are confident of working out a settlement in the shortest possible time,” a home ministry statement said.

Action and Appointments

a) The government has approved the proposal of the department of industrial policy and promotion for shift of RK Malik, a 1988 batch IRPF official and director in the DIPP (a Central Staffing Scheme post) to the post of  Secretary in the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (for Goa and Union Territories). His new post will be a non-Central staffing scheme post.

b) Niraj Kumar, a 1992 batch Indian Postal Service officer, has been appointed as director in the department of heavy industries under the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises for a period of five years. 

Has 3G auction’s windfall helped Vijayalakshmy K Gupta get defence finance secretary’s post?

IT'S not an April Fool! Vijayalakshmy K Gupta, a 1974 batch IDAS officer, took over as secretary (defence finance) on April 1 in place of Nita Kapoor. Ms Gupta was Member (Finance) in the Telecom Commission till recently.

Mrs Gupta’s role in designing the 3G auction is believed to be the key reason for her elevation to this key post. Mrs Gupta headed the Inter-Ministerial committee that finalized the design of the auction of 3G Spectrum in May, 2010, which in turn yielded revenue of more than Rs 1.06 lakh crore to the public exchequer far more than the government’s internal estimates.

A post graduate in political science and public administration from Bombay University, Ms Gupta was a recipient of gold medal for her academic excellence. Last year, he completed her doctorate in women’s human rights. She has held several key assignments including additional secretary in ministry of women and child development and additional financial advisor in the ministry of defence.

From September 2005 to November 2008, Ms Gupta also served as the financial advisor to the Commonwealth Games 2010 Organizing Committee, responsible for budget formulation, expenditure control, financial reforms, manpower planning and risk management among others.

Sudha Pillai’s solo art show on April 3

Come Sunday, Sudha Pillai, a 1972 batch retired IAS and Member Secretary of Planning Commission, will present her solo art show titled “Joy of Living”. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit will be the Guest of Honour for the special show to be held at 26, Prithviraj Road in New Delhi. Mrs Pillai who is wife of home secretary GK Pillai, is known for her figurative and abstract paintings and her expressive portraits of women.

Know Your Babu: New defence finance secretary Nita Kapoor, 1973 batch IDAS

 AT LEAST one of the secretaries of the male-dominated defence ministry of India has remained with a woman officer once again. Ms Nita Kapoor, a 1973 batch IDAS will take charge as secretary of defence finance as Ms Indu Liberhan, a 1972 batch IDAS is retiring on May 31, 2010. She has now been serving as Controller General of Defence Accounts

Profile of Nita Kapoor

a) Date of Birth: March 11, 1951

b) Educational Qualifications: BA

c) Date of appointment: July 23, 1973

d) Promotion to SAG: June 30, 1993

e) Promotion to HAG: December 30, 2003

f) Home Town: Shillong

Major Postings

i) Under Secretary: Department of Personal and Administrative Reforms, New Delhi (May 10, 1979 to June 28, 1982)

ii) Controller of Accounts, Department Of Science & Technology, New Delhi (October 12, 1983 to September 2, 1985)

iii) Deputy secretary, UPSC, New Delhi (From September 2, 1985 to December 8, 1988)

iv) Joint secretary (director level post) in UPSC, New Delhi (From December 29, 1988 to June 30, 1990)

v) Student Officer, National Defence College, New Delhi (From January 13, 1992 to November 20, 1992)

vi) Joint Secretary, National Commission for Women, New Delhi (From October 15, 2001 to June 30, 2005)