LTC rules further relaxed for air journeys to Northeast, J&K and Andaman

THE government last week extended some additional clarifications regarding travel by government employees under Leave Travel Concession (LTC) to Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According to the clarifications…

DoPT initiates action against 2010 batch IAS Shah Faesal for a Twitter post; Kashmiri IAS releases what he calls the “love letter” from his boss

Shah Faesal as an IAS trainee (File Photo)

THE department of personnel and training (DoPT) has requested the Jammu and Kashmir government to initiate action against 2010 batch Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS officer Shah Faesal for violating the conduct rules by posting some materials in his verified Twitter account. DoPT in its letter said, the posts written by the IAS officer are prima-face in contravention to…

IT’S OFFICIAL: BVR Subrahmanyam is new J and K chief secretary; retired IPS Vijay Kumar appointed adviser to Governor

Vijay Kumar (photo courtesy: Twitter)

THE top bureaucrats’ team for the Governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir is ready. It’s official now. BVR Subrahmanyam, 1987 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS and former PMO official, is the new chief secretary of the state. The state government on Wednesday also appointed two advisers to Governor NN Vohra. They are retired IPS Vijay Kumar and present Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary BB Vyas. Vijay Kumar till a week ago was serving as…

Powerful bureaucrat of erstwhile Manmohan Singh’s PMO — BVR Subrahmanyam to play key role in Kashmir

Dal Lake in the heart of Srinagar 

AFTER the BJP had walked out of the alliance in Jammu and Kashmir bringing down the Mehbooba Mufti government on Tuesday, the Governor’s rule was imposed in the troubled state. Interestingly, on the same day, i.e. Tuesday, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved "placing the services of BVR Subrahmanyam", a powerful bureaucrat in the erstwhile Manmohan Singh’s PMO "at the disposal of the government of Jammu and Kashmir", implying that this 1987 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS will now…

2 IPS officers' tenure in SPG extended; IAS R Rajagopal prematurely repatriated to his parent cadre

THE government on Wednesday issued orders of extension of tenure of two IPS officers — Munna Prasad Gupta and Tsewang Namgyal Kalon, in Special Protection Group (SPG), an elite armed force that provides security to Prime Minister of India, former prime ministers and their families. Here are the detailed appointments:

2016 batch IAS Ashish Dahiya drowns in a Delhi swimming pool while rescuing a lady officer

A representative image

AN OFFICER trainee IAS officer — Ashish Dahiya was found dead on Monday late night in a swimming pool in Foreign Service Institute, situated in south Delhi. The 2016 batch Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS died as he tried to rescue a lady officer, according to preliminary reports based on what the eye witnesses had told police. A probe has been ordered after Dahiya was rushed to the…

Centre extends incentive package for its employees working in Kashmir Valley for 2 more years

THE government on Thursday decided to extend the existing special concessions and incentives for Central government and PSU employees working in Kashmir Valley for two more years, i.e. till January 1, 2019. The concessions also include options for employees to move their families to a selected place of their choice in the country at the expense of the government. And incentives include…

Delhi girl Tina Dabi tops UPSC exam; railway probationer Athar and revenue probationer Jasmeet ranked 2nd and 3rd

A TV garb of Dabi (below) and Khan

DELHI girl Tina Dabi has topped the 2015 civil services examination in her very first attempt, whereas an IRTS officer-trainee Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan from Anantnag in Kashmir and Indian Revenue Service (Custom and Central Excise) officer trainee Jasmeet Singh Sandhu from Delhi secured the second and third rank respectively. Ms Dabi, 22, graduated from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi, and is a resident of…

Iqbal Khanday who objected “officers’ transfers like shuttlecocks” puts in his papers as J&K chief secretary

Dal Lake of Kashmir Valley

IN AN unusual move, Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary and 1978 batch IAS Mohammad Iqbal Khanday sought voluntary retirement three months ahead of his retirement, reportedly over his differences with Mufti Muhammad Sayeed-led PDP government which has been shuffling officers without his consent. According to some TV reports, Khanday objected to IAS officers’ transfer like “shuttlecocks”. Khanday, by the way, knows Sanskrit, apart from…

Know Your Babu: New ITDC chairman and 1989 batch IAS Umang Narula

JAMMU and Kashmir cadre IAS of 1989 batch Umang Narula is the new as CMD of Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), a government-owned hospitality company that owns 17 properties under the brand of Ashoka Group of Hotels. Narula, 49, was deputy secretary in the department of culture under the union ministry of tourism and culture way back in…