OBITUARY: 1998 batch IPS Praveen Kumar who fought many a battle against the Naxals lost one to cancer

AS Ranchi SSP, this 1998 batch Jharkhand cadre IPS, Praveen Kumar, bravely fought against the Naxal menace, gunning down many and forcing others to surrender. On Sunday, this IPS officer and DIG in National Investigating Agency (NIA) lost a crucial battle; his opponent this time was not the Maoists, but cancer. He was 46. After his death in New Delhi on Sunday, his mortal remains were flown to…

Who’s IAS Rajeshwari B, and why she is praised by secretary Parameswaran Iyer?

Rajeshwari with Iyer

SECRETARY of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation Parameswaran Iyer recently praised a young collector — Rajeshwari B of Jharkhand cadre in Twitter, saying that it’s inspirational to hear “champion collectors” like Rajeshwari. The praise was showered on her for her role in making Ramgarh district the first open defecation free (ODF) district in Jharkhand. Iyer, a 1981 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS who took voluntary retirement before joining the government again on a contract basis, handles the Swachh Bharat Mission, mainly in rural areas. But who’s Rajeshwari B?…

Jyotsana Varma Ray of Jharkhand cadre deemed to have resigned from IAS

Jyotsana Varma Ray, 1992 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS, who has been on unauthorised leave for a long period after her tenure in Asian Development Bank in Manila had ended, will no longer be in the service. The Centre on Friday issued a notification (to be published in part-I, section-II of Gazette of India) saying that the 1992 IAS is “deemed to have resigned from the Indian Administrative Service” with effect from August 12, 2015. The notification reads as follows:

Know more about new DDA vice chairman Udai Pratap Singh — an IAS who knows Sanskrit

Udai Pratap Singh, 1984 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS who till recently was an additional secretary in the ministry of tourism, was laterally shifted as vice chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the agency that is responsible for the development and future planning of India’s capital city, Delhi. Singh who turns 58 on Saturday originally hails from Uttar Pradesh and was allotted Jharkhand cadre when he joined the Indian Administrative Service. Singh was…serving as an additional secretary in the ministry of tourism, and before that he was a joint secretary in the union ministry of steel. He also held two posts-- additional managing director of National Agriculture Corporative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and Chief Executive Officer of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), the latter comes under the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).

As a young officer in 1990s, Singh was district magistrate in a number of districts in Jharkhand area of Bihar (before Jharkhand was created) including West Singhbhum. In fact, Singhbhum was one of the oldest districts in Jharkhand carved out as early as in 1837 when the British conquered Kolhan.

Later, the district was divided into three districts — East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Saraikela- Kharsawan. The main town Chaibasa remained as the headquarter of West Singhbhum district. 

Among the mid-career courses that Singh undertook as an IAS included agriculture and rural development, development administration, public private partnership etc. 

An MA and M.Phil in political science, Singh also learnt Sanskrit language, according to records available with DoPT.

Please don’t come to my residence: Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das to bureaucrats

NEWLY-appointed chief minister of Jharkhand Raghubar Das has asked his bureaucrats not to visit his residence unless there is any urgency and only if they are asked to come to his residence. That’s not all. The chief minister has called for improving local police stations with an appeal to the people that they should consider police as “friend”. Based on an official release issued last week and the one that quoted Das's New Year resolutions for 2015, BoI here picks out 7 of such appeals, mostly for bureaucrats.

UIDAI's structure is now official; JS and deputy secretary level officers to dominate

FINALLY, there has been a clarity on how many officials, and non-officials will get a berth in newly formed Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which will give a 16-digit identity number to each and every citizen in India. In fact, a number of IAS and Group A service officers have already applied for various posts in the Delhi-headquartered UIDAI, being chaired by former Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani. Here is the organisational structure of UIDAI and openings at various level. Though UIDAI would be headquartered at Connaught Place area in Delhi, it will have its technological centre in Bangalore. In addition, it will have eight regional offices in the country --- Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ranchi, Guwahati, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Director General and Mission Director, UIDAI (hereinafter referred to as DG – additional secretary level) will head the administrative organization. Already, Ram Sewak Sharma, a 1978 batch Jharkhand Cadre has been appointed as DG. There will be 6 Deputy Director Generals (DDG - joint secretary rank) and each DDG will have 3 Directors (director/deputy secretary rank), 3 Deputy Directors, 3 Desk Officers and 3 Assistants --- all of whom will be posted at the headquarters. Also, UIDAI's Delhi office will also have a Finance Wing headed by a Chief Controller of Accounts who may be designated as DDG (Finance). It means UIDAI's Delhi office will have a manpower strength of over 100. Each of the eight regional offices of UIDAI will be headed by a Deputy Director General (DDG). Each DDG will have 3 Directors, 3 Deputy Directors, 1 SAO and as many Senior Systems Analysts as the number of states/UTs in that region, 3 Desk Officers and 3 Assistants. The regional offices will also have a finance wing. There will be a Project Management Unit consisting of experts in various fields which would be part of the UIDAI team. The newly launched UIDAI website has declared that there would be openings for general public as well. "At present, the Authority is in the process of putting a team in place.We will intimate the public on openings as they are available. This website in due course will have the possible opportunities that people would have to contribute to the UIDAI," the section called "Working for the UIDAI" in the site says. Related Stories 1) Is Nilekani preferring IAS to corporate guys? (November 23, 2009) 2) TKA Nair's advice to UIDAI chairman (September 16, 2009)

Post-retirement plan for MCA secretary Anurag Goel & personnel secretary Rahul Sarin firmed up in advance

TWO secretaries to government India, Anurag Goel of ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) and Rahul Sarin of ministry of personnel, have already charted out their post-retirement engagements. Mr Goel, a 1972 batch UP cadre IAS, is joining Competition Commission of India (CCI) as a Member and Mr Sarin, a 1974 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS, will join as a Member of Competition Appellate Tribunal, a newly-constituted appellate to which appeals against the CCI’s order can be made. M L Tayal, a 1976 batch Haryana cadre IAS and currently the principal secretary to the Haryana chief minister, may also become a CCI Member. According to sources with direct knowledge of the developments, appointment committee of cabinet (ACC) has already given nod to those appointments. Mr Goel will join the CCI only in November this year after his retirement from the government. Mr Sarin may join next month as he is retiring in the end of this month. For the record, Anurag Goel, who is an MSc in physics, completed a year-long Pearson Programme from Canada in 1988 besides attending a short-term training session in USA and completing an eight-week-long course on government administration in Japan. Mr Sarin did an MSc on administrative studies from the University of York in UK in addition to participating in a two-week-long programme called Leaders in Development from USA.

Know Your Babu: A 1978 batch IAS to be Mission Director of Nilekani’s unique ID venture

NANDAN Nilekani’s UID project will now have a dedicated project director. Ram Sewak Sharma, a 1978 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS, has been brought in from the state to appoint as Director General & Mission Director of Unique Identification Authority of India, in the rank and pay of additional secretary. A post graduate in mathematics, Mr Sharma hails from Uttar Pradesh and is now serving as principal secretary in state science and technology department. Major Postings Director, Finance & Company Affairs in department of economic affairs (DEA) under finance minister, New Delhi (From May 1, 1995 to November 17, 1998) Joint secretary in ministry of Finance & Company Affairs (From November 17, 1998 To August 4, 2000) Member Secretary (JS Level) in Personnel & General Administration (From October 26, 2002 to December 31, 2002) Managing Director (additional secretary level) State Electricity Board, Jharkhand (From March 30, 2006 to October 30, 2006) Principal Secretary (additional secretary level) at Info Tech Department, Jharkhand (From May 3, 2007 to September 16, 2008) Principal Secretary (Additional Secretary Level) in Science & Technology Department, Ranchi (From September 19, 2008 till now) Action & Appointments Joint secretary in the National Authority for Chemicals Weapons Convention Ms Ajanta Dayalan, IA&AS (1978 batch) has been appointed by lateral shift as the joint secretary in cabinet secretariat (main) in place of Dr A R Sihag, a 1983 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS. National Authority for Chemicals Weapons Convention also comes under the cabinet secretariat.