Young IAS officers of 2015 batch make history by walking on the ramp to promote NE handlooms

“For the first time in the history of the country - IAS officers on the ramp! Presenting the HANDLOOM DEMO SHOW!!!”, said a fashion show advertisement last week put up in the official Facebook page of the ministry of development of North Eastern region (DoNER), Government of India. Yes, you are reading it right; young IAS officers of 2015 batch indeed participated in a fashion show held in New Delhi’s India Gate on Sunday evening (Sep 10). The occasion was…

"...I was a tiny girl asking them to help in the dark night"; What saddens this “divyang” IAS officer Ira Singhal?

Ira Singhal

ON Mann ki Baat radio address aired on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that the term 'viklang' should be replaced by 'divyang' (divine body) for persons with disability. BoI here presents an incident which Ira Singhal, an IAS officer-trainee and the first differently-abled woman to top civil services exam, had narrated in a social media site. This "divyang" civil servant was coming back with three of her friends from LBSNAA in Mussoorie to Delhi on the pre-Christmas day. As they reached Muradnagar in UP, they saw a...

BoI appeals govt to change the nomenclature of PH (Physically Handicapped) Policy; join us in our campaign

ON THURSDAY, 2007 batch Assam cadre IAS Rajesh Singh was transferred from Assam-Meghalaya cadre to Jharkhand cadre on the basis of what’s called PH (Physically Handicapped) Policy. As BoI posted the news in social media sites, a number of prompt reactions poured in. Why “Physically Handicapped”? Why not “Physically Challenged”? Or why should not it be called a policy for Differently Abled? According to the Oxford dictionary, the usage of "differently abled" was first proposed in…

CAT CASE: How IAS topper Ira Singhal took up the challenge of lifting 10 kg of weight in one hand

IRA Singhal who made history on Saturday by becoming the first differently abled person to top civil services examinations, was earlier denied by the government to join as IRS (Customs and Central Excise), as the service (IRS-C and CE) is not identified “for both the arms affected persons”. Read more about Ms Singhal’s fight for justice in Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and how she took up the challenge of lifting 10 kg of weight in one hand in a medical re-examination in New Delhi’s Safdarjang hospital and got her appointment letter. The story goes back to her selection in…

How senior bureaucrats reacted to Saturday’s civil services results; their reminiscences of UPSC days

Ex-foreign secretary Nirupama Rao in 1973

AS UPSC announced the civil services examinations results on Saturday, many a senior bureaucrat including those serving as union secretaries, joint secretaries, ambassadors, former bureaucrats—all took to the social media sites to talk about the results, congratulate the toppers and narrate their reminiscences of their UPSC exams days. Revenue secretary and 1980 batch IAS Shaktikanta Das wrote in Twitter that he felt very happy for the customs and excise IRS officer Ira Singhal who topped the exam this year. “Her performance in Customs and Excise training academy was impressive. Great determination”, Das added. As many as…