Rockstar diplomat Syed Akbaruddin; Why this IFS is the most popular bureaucrat in India today

Akbaruddin with PM Modi on the last day as MEA spokesman

AS THE news of 1985 batch Indian Foreign Service officer Syed Akbaruddin’s appointment as India’s Permanent Representative to UN spread on Monday, Akbaruddin himself became the talking point in social media, as he was trending among the Top 10 Twitter trends in India. Also, this former spokesman of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) also opened a Twitter account where he said, “It is a privilege & honour to serve India @UN. Am humbled. Thank U for all the good wishes. Will strive to do my best”, and within a couple of hours thousands of people followed him. As this article is being…

IFS Day: New Delhi skips celebration; Indian High Commission in Islamabad marks the day by planting a sapling…

Top IFS officer Jaishankar with external affairs minister

ON FRIDAY, official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) Vikas Swarup tweeted a collage of photos with a caption: “A day for the diplomats. It was 69 years ago to this day, that the then Cabinet created the #IndianForeignService”. Yes, the October 9 is the Indian Foreign Service Day, and it’s a day for 600-strong IFS officers posted mainly in about 162 Indian missions located across the world. There was no celebration in New Delhi, but in Islamabad, the Indian…

Want be a consultant in MEA? Suitable candidates wanted as international relations experts

DO YOU want to work in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) along with the career diplomats? The MEA has issued advertisements to hire consultants to be employed on contract basis. The salary will be negotiable, but the travel allowances will be on par with the Group-A officers. The selected consultants will be required to work as international relations expert in the…

Saree, tie, pen, bangle, kettle, wrist watch, mobile phone– the gifs that bureaucrats receive; Full List

DIPLOMATS and bureaucrats including foreign secretary, home secretary and defence secretary received as many as 43 gifts including saree, tie, pen, mobile phone etc. which they had deposited in the ministry of external affairs’ Toshakhana department for valuation between January and March, 2015, according to data available with the MEA. After valuation, the gifts below the worth of Rs 5,000 are usually returned to the recipients. But the very fact that 43 out of 110 gifts deposited in the Toshakhana during the period were given to civil servants (as against ministers including PM) demonstrates the importance of the babus in the set-up. Here is the list of the officers, the gifts that they received, the valuation of the gifts and whether those were returned to the officers concerned.

MEA gets a new joint secretary to handle Sanskrit; more about officers with knowledge of Sanskrit

Rig Veda: A collection of hymns written in Sanskrit

IN A first-of-its kind experiment, a new post of joint secretary for Sanskrit language has been created in the ministry of external affairs (MEA). And the announcement was made by none other than external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj herself while addressing over 600 Sanskrit experts in a conference in Bangkok on Sunday. The minister said, the Sanskrit language is “modern and universal” and…

MEA Integrity Pacts with Vendors: Selection process of independent monitors extended

THE government has extended the last date of receipt of application for the post of independent external monitor (IEM) till 2 pm, August 19, 2014. Two such monitors with civil service background, retired judges, eminent private persons among others, will implement pre-contract integrity pact to be signed between the ministry of external affairs and…

Devyani Khobragade Row: MEA spokesperson’s reply to US prosecutor Preet Bharara’s statement, full text here

INDIAN diplomat Devyani Khobragade might have been shifted to Indian permanent mission to UN to ensure full diplomatic immunity to her in the backdrop of her arrest over alleged visa frauds in America, but the row is still continuing. US prosecutor Preet Bharara said she was not handcuffed. He said: “She (Khobragade) was not, as has been incorrectly reported, arrested in front of her children. The agents arrested her in the most discreet way possible, and unlike most defendants, she was not then handcuffed or restrained." It prompted ministry of external affairs…

Foreign dignitaries carry carpets (red?) as gifts for Indian politicians and officials

WHEN a foreign dignitary comes to New Delhi, India’s top diplomats leave no stone unturned to give them a red carpet welcome. What do they give in return? Believe it or not, foreign dignitaries too carry carpets as gifts for Indian politicians and officials. Carpet has emerged as one of the most preferred gift items of foreign dignitaries, as out of 41 gifts listed in the…

Why Narendra Modi’s advice to split MEA could worry career diplomats

Should MEA be split into two?

GUJARAT chief minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion of a massive restructuring of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) could trigger a fresh debate on whether career diplomats should pick up economics and commerce fast, or should they just succumb to the Union commerce ministry’s lobby to enhance officers (read IAS) with commerce background in Indian foreign missions. Till now, about 750 career diplomats have successfully blocked the creation of a…

SM Krishna warns Indian envoys of action against financial wrong-doing

Foreign Minister Krishna

FOR the first time, Indian diplomats are warned by their boss, external affairs minister SM Krishna, to ensure transparency in all financial dealings how small the amount could be, a report in a national newspaper quoting an unnamed foreign ministry source said. They were even warned that the ministry would initiate disciplinary action against the errant officers. Importantly, the warning was formal as minister Krishna preferred to issue an official letter dated October 20, 2011 to all its ambassadors and high commissioners.

Unlike their domestic counterparts like the IAS officers, the Indian Foreign Service officers usually get away with less or no punishments after indulging in financial irregularities because of geographical and diplomatic reasons. But the recent instances of irregularities in outsourcing visa and passport processing work have forced the Indian government to take stringent actions against diplomats too. The number of complaints from non-resident Indians and others has piled up during the last few months.

The MEA has also issued a detailed guideline on procurement by Indian missions abroad. One of the senor diplomats based in The Hague is now reportedly facing a CBI investigation on a visa outsourcing procurement case.

Diplomat’s credit card misused

Indian Ambassador to Sudan AK Pandey has recently found that his credit card was fraudulently used by someone in purchasing goods worth Rs 2 lakh. It was later discovered that a man from Amritsar misused the diplomat’s credit card. The police has arrested the man.

Nothing Unofficial About It: Indian government hunts for a Muslim officer to fill up a Consul General’s post

ARE you a Muslim officer by any chance? It may not be a politically correct question to be posed in secular India, but government of India has officially been on a manhunt to spot a Muslim officer at the rank of a director to fill up the post of Consul General, Jeddah under the ministry of external affairs (MEA).

In fact, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) in a letter to dated April 9, 2010 to all government of India secretaries and state chief secretaries, said, “Officers of Islamic faith of the rank of Director in the Government of India or equivalent level, eligible for appointment under the Central Staffing Scheme are eligible for the post.” The period of deputation is of two years.

“Names of willing and eligible officers of Islamic faith who can be spared by the state

governments/ministries/departments may be forwarded to this department along with cadre clearance, vigilance clearance, detailed bio-data in the enclosed proforma and

CR Dossier” it said.

DoPT CIRCULAR, dated April 9, 2010

PM’s award for excellence announced

The Prime Minister’s Awards for excellence in governance for 2008-09 have finally been announced. Those who won it at the individual category are Sanjay Dubey, IAS, Gulshan Bamra,IAS, (both from Madhya Pradesh), Dr. Samit Sharma, IAS (Rajasthan), Kolhapur’s (Maharashtra) municipal commissioner Vijay Singhal, IAS and Rajesh Lakhani, IAS (Tamil Nadu).

The only non-IAS who won this award in the group category is SS Khan, Member (IT) CBDT for Integrated Tax Payer Data Management System (ITDMS).

Action and Appointments

a) Ms Bhupinder Prasad, a 1976 batch UT cadre IAS, presently secretary, department of justice has been appointed as chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India in the rank and pay of secretary.

b) Neela Gangadharan, (In Picture) a 1975 batch Kerala cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as secretary in the department of justice, ministry of law and justice.

c) V Venkatachalam, a 1977 batch UP cadre IAS has been appointed as additional secretary in the department of agriculture and cooperation, ministry of agriculture.

d) KN Desiraju, a 1978 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS has been appointed as additional secretary in the department of health and family welfare.

Doc’s prescription to diplomats: Link diplomacy to India’s domestic economy, says Manmohan Singh

AS MANY as 112 top Indian diplomats heading Indian high commissions and embassies across the world, gave a patience hearing to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh who spelt out his expectation from the country’s top diplomats while addressing at the conference of Indian Heads of Missions on Tuesday. The three-day-long conference, organized by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) in New Delhi, began on Monday. Prime Minister wanted the diplomats to link India’s foreign policy with domestic policies particularly economic policy, and stressed that the country’s foreign policy should be aimed at addressing the challenges of mass poverty, ignorance and disease in the country, which were the primary concern of the Indian state and polity. So what should Indian diplomats do for the country now? Prime Minister identified three pillars of our global engagement -sustaining capital inflows to supplement domestic investment efforts, the need to take advantage of rapid scientific and technological developments in the world, and the need to ensure that the country’s growth is not constrained by scarcity of natural resources, an MEA release said. Read, "Doc’s prescription: Manmohan Singh asks PMO officials to think creatively" posted on June 12, 2009. Also read, "Dr Manmohan Singh’s prescription for IAS", posted on May 30, 2009.

Action & Appointments: Padamvir Singh is new LBSNAA director a) Padamvir Singh, a 1977 batch IAS of Madhya Pradesh cadre, and currently special director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) has been elevated as director of the academy in the rank and pay of additional secretary to the government of India. For those not so familiar with India’s civil servants and their training programmes, Mussoorie-based LBSNAA is the apex training institution in the country for senior members of the civil services. Mr Singh, who had earlier served as deputy secretary and director in department of personnel and training (DoPT) during the early 1990s, is known to be an expert of India’s public policy and administration. A graduate in economics, Mr Singh attended a 17 weeks long special program on urban affairs in an US university in 1992. b) N Gokulram, a 1974 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, and presently secretary in the department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries under the ministry of agriculture, has been attached with the Cabinet Secretariat as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the rank and pay of a secretary. c) Rudhra Gangadharan, a 1975 batch Kerala cadre IAS and currently director, LBSNAA has been appointed as secretary in the department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries in place of N Gokulram. d) Dr Ashok Kumar Amrohi, presently ambassador of India in Algeria, has been appointed as the next high commissioner of India to Mozambique in succession to Rajinder Bhagat.

CVC launches prosecution against 22 officers Central Vigilance Commission launched prosecution against 22 officers out of which seven were from Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) & ministry of home affairs (MHA). The Commission also advised initiations of major penalty proceedings against 135 officers of which 31 were from public sector banks, 29 from ministry of railways, 13 from MCD, 7 each from DDA, CBDT & FCI. Recoveries to the tune of Rs 90 lakh were effected after Commission conducted technical examination of some departments.