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IN AN unusual move, the government has decided not to assign two important departments--- ministry of shipping and department of higher education, to any full-time secretaries, making many a secretary-empanelled aspirant baffled. Though both those posts fell vacant on October 31, 2009, the government preferred not to appoint any full-time secretary but took the route of allocating those departments to woman officers who are already handling fairly important departments.
In fact, Ms Kiran Dhingra, a 1975 batch UT cadre IAS, and secretary of ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation has been given additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of shipping for a period of three months with effect from November 1, 2009. (In Picture: Ms Dhingra during a release of a publication titled, "Major Ports of India 2008-09-- A profile" on November 12, 2009 in New Delhi). Similarly, Ms Anshu Vaish, a 1975 batch MP cadre IAS and presently secretary, department of school education and literacy, was given additional charge of the post of secretary, department of higher education under the ministry of human resource development for a period of three months.
Though these two woman officers are considered to be efficient enough to handle additional assignments, but many in power corridors have failed to comprehend the motive behind the government's decision of not appointing full-time secretaries in higher education and shipping! Also, questions have arisen what's if the government makes it a norm and gives more such additional charges for a few more important departments like DIPP where secretaries are scheduled to retire by December end.
INCOME tax officials dealing with former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda regarding a case of an alleged involvement in illegal transactions worth over Rs 2,000 crore, are given special instruction by the North Block to be extremely polite and clam while conducting searches and asking questions to the politician. Also, tax officials have been asked to address Mr Koda, now an independent MP from Jharkhand, as "Koda sir" all the time. In fact, it's mandatory for bureaucrats to call political leaders as "sir" though it's not practised all the time. (Picture: Koda with model and actress Koena Mitra who was Jharkhand's brand ambassador)
In fact, over 400 I-T officials were deployed in the biggest ever search operation in a politician's premises, and it was done at the stewardship of Sudhir Chandra, Member (Investigation) of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. Despite handling sensitive issues in CBDT, Mr Chandra always keeps the green light outside his cabin on, and hardly refuses anyone from meeting him.
THE Australian government is likely to establish somewhat a super bureaucracy to administer compliance with new climate change laws, according to media reports from Down Under.
The new Australian Climate Change Regulatory Authority, which could be supported by a new division created within the department of climate change, may initially have 100 bureaucrats though the number would swell dramatically when implications of what will effectively amount to a federal consumption tax on carbon emissions become clear, according to a report in a leading newspaper, The Australian.
The new regulatory agency is set to be a powerful body as it will have sweeping powers to enforce the government’s climate change regime. It will also issue and auction emissions permits and collect revenue from these.
Meanwhile, the British press has highlighted how Britain’s Opposition party wants to cut the number of bureaucrats in National Health Service (NHS), the country’s publicly-funded healthcare system, which they had estimated could save 1.5 billion British pounds (GBP) or whopping Rs 11260 crore if it’s converted into Indian currency. Tories, who seek NHS bureaucracy cut, have given various estimates of how money could be saved by cutting down the number of staff and officials.
Straight From Files
Indian PM has Kissinger-type master bureaucrats (August 13, 2009)
Action & Appointments a) Sanjay Bansal, IRS (C&CE, 1995 batch), who was recommended for Central deputation by the department of revenue, has been selected for appointment as director in the department of chemicals & petrochemicals, New Delhi, for a period of five years from the date of taking over charge of the post or until further orders. b) Premature reversion of Prabhanshu Kamal, a 1985 batch MP cadre IAS, presently working as joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs, to his parent cadre has been approved with immediate effect in order to enable him to avail the benefit of promotion to the next higher grade in the cadre. The MHA is requested to place the services of Mr Kamal at the disposal of the state government of Madhya Pradesh for his next posting.
IF YOU are an Indian bureaucrat with a mindset that everything is manageable, think twice. The Right To Information (RTI) tool is now increasingly used to extract information on what you write on files, say in internal meetings, and now even what you get free at the cost of the exchequer. And yes, you cannot un-mute your anger against the RTI Act, which is incidentally packaged as an achievement by the current UPA government.
As was reported in a national newspaper a couple of days before, an RTI application filed by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal revealed how the definition of family has been expanded over the years for the purpose of getting free tickets.
No wonder, according to rules, CMD’s “spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters, son-in-law/daughter-in-law” are eligible for such free tickets, and he could even expand the family to include virtually any relative for free travel on “compassionate grounds.”
The RTI findings have further revealed the number of free tickets availed by some of the previous Air India chiefs. As the national carrier is mounting losses and is virtually on bankruptcy, the rule of doling out free tickets to any one and everyone of the CMD’s family is bound to be under scrutiny.
Significantly, it’s a post held by a senior civil servant. The current CMD Arvind Jadhav is a 1978 batch IAS.
IT SEEMS India’s Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has made it very clear that continuity of key officers in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is indispensable to effectively execute government’s major action plans during the second innings of the current UPA government.
If joint secretary in PMO R Gopalakrishnan’s extension of tenure till June 30, 2011 after the extension of tenure of joint secretary Ms Vini Mahajan and secretary in PMO M N Prasad is any indication, the continuity of key civil servants seems to be a norm in South Block which houses India’s Prime Minister’s Office.
Mr Gopalakrishnan, who was overseeing the Bharat Nirman programme in the PMO from the time of its inception, is a 1979 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS. He first got an extension upto September 30 before the term was further extended till June, 2011.
Recently, another joint secretary and 1987 batch Punjab cadre IAS Vini Mahajan’s tenure was extended till April 29, 2011.
Earlier, Prime Minister decided to retain secretary in PMO and 1972 batch Bihar cadre IAS M N Prasad on a contract basis even after his retirement.
No wonder, after Dr Singh assumed office for the second time in May this year, he retained national security adviser MK Narayanan and principal secretary TKA Nair in the same posts with a rank of a minister of state. Also, cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar who would have retired in June, 2009, was also given one year’s extension.
Babus In Demand The ministry of home affairs (MHA) in its report card for September said that newly set up National Investigative Agency continues to recruit more officers to strengthen it. In order to fill Group A and Group B posts immediately, a one-time special recruitment process was approved in consultation with the UPSC. A 1975 batch IPS, Radha Vinod Raju, heads the Agency as its Director General.
Action & Appointments a) Air Marshal Ajay Shriniwas Karnik would take over as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO), of one of the senior most operational commands of the Indian Air Force on October 1, 2009. A Fighter Combat Leader and a Qualified Flying Instructor, he is an alumni of Air War College, University of USAF, Montgomery, USA. b) Lt Gen AS Lamba took over as GOC-in-C Army Training Command, Shimla. The Officer has a vast experience of conventional warfare and unconventional Counter Insurgency operations and had participated in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War and served in Nagaland, Manipur, and also in Sri Lanka with the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). c) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the placement of Anil Bhushan Prasad, a 1976 batch Bihar cadre IAS on compulsory wait in the department of administrative reforms & public grievances in the rank and pay of additional secretary during the period from June1, 2009 to July 23, 2009.
THE government’s austerity measures have not only stripped off the luxury stay of external affairs minister S M Krishna and his junior minister Shashi Tharoor in Delhi’s five star hotels, but in fact will impact day-to-day lives of Indian bureaucrats too. babu blogger here makes an attempt to decipher fallouts of the office memo issued by expenditure secretary Sushama Nath, on lives of Indian babus.
Memo Says: In view of the current fiscal situation and that arising out of insufficient rain in large parts of the country, and the consequent pressure on government’s resources, there is need for further economy and rationalization of expenditure… It Means: Drought is a passionate subject and no bureaucrat in India will dare to lobby against the move. So, just accept it in the same way your private sector friends have come to terms with their salary cuts in the wake of global financial tsunami.
Memo Says: For the year 2009-10, every ministry/department shall effect a mandatory 10% cut in non-Plan expenditure under the heads: Domestic and foreign travel expenses, publications, professional services, advertising and publicity, office expenses, administrative expenses etc. It Means: You need to be “tight” virtually in every act of expenditure. Forget foreign junkets for a moment!
Memo Says: There will be a complete ban on holding of meetings and conferences at five star hotels. A 10% cut on the budgetary allocation for seminars and conferences shall be effected. It Means: Forget the luxury of attending seminars in comfort zones of five star environment. Try to adapt to old public hall culture.
Memo Says: No travel on government account by air will take place by first class. All domestic travel on government account by air will take place only by economy class, irrespective of the entitlement. It Means: This is the second shock in a row as you just forgot the luxury of Jet and Kingfishers’ business class trips thanks to mandatory air travel now only by Air India. Now, you can’t fly business class in Air India too!
Memo Says: The size of delegation and the duration of visit will be kept to the absolute minimum. It Means: Many low-rung officers will miss good tours and excellent hospitality breaking the monotony of 9 to 5 lifestyle.
Memo Says: Proposals for participation in study tours, workshops/conferences/ seminars/presentation of papers abroad at government cost will not be entertained except those that are fully funded by sponsoring agencies. It Means: Don’t worry. Just get those sponsored. The recession is not as bad as it’s made out to be. After all, Sensex is above 16,000 now from the lows of sub-8000 level.
Memo Says: Purchase of vehicles, except for operational requirements of the defence forces, Central paramilitary forces and security related organizations, will not be permitted. It Means: It’s quite sad if you were expecting a ford ikon to replace your old ambassador as it was recently done in case of a number of North Block officials. But the good thing is that ambassadors survive, at least for now. After all, babu blogger claims himself a follower of white ambassadors, and not of ford ikons! Action & Appointments R P Agrawal, a 1972 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS, and secretary in the department of higher education in the ministry of human resource development will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, department of school education and literacy in the HRD ministry during the period of leave of Anshu Vaish, a 1975 batch MP cadre IAS from 9th September, 2009 to 21st September, 2009.
DR ARVIND Virmani’s tenure as executive director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be much more interesting than his predecessors given the fact that India intends to make available up to USD 10 billion to shore up resources of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Currently, IMF has no exposure in India though the international body was a key player in bailing out India from its financial mess in early 1990s.
It was already reported that the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the appointment of Dr Virmani, currently on extension as chief economic adviser in department of economic affairs (DEA), as executive director in IMF. Dr Virmani will replace Adarsh Kishore, a 1969 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, in the IMF. Mr Kishore was a former expenditure secretary and then finance secretary.
Dr Virmani who served as director in state-owned banks like Punjab National Bank and Allahabad Bank and also in the government think tank ICREAR, is a known economist with a PhD degree from Harvard University.
Disclaimer: Picture here is babu blogger's impression, not actual.
Action & Appointments a) Tara Datt, a 1983 batch IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of minority affairs, in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000, (PB-4) with a grade pay of Rs 10000, for a period of five years. b) S K Srivastave, a 1978 batch Assam cadre IAS, and additional secretary in the ministry of labour and employment has been given additional charge of the post of Director General, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). c) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved, ex post facto, extension of tenure of R Parasuram, a 1978 batch MP cadre IAS as Minister (Agriculture) in Embassy of India, Rome beyond June 28, 2009 and upto July 20, 2009. d) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has not approved the proposal of the Department of Atomic Energy for extension of Central deputation tenure of Dr P Mukherjee, IA&AS (1980), joint secretary & financial advisor in that department. e) The proposal of inter-cadre transfer of Romil Baaniya, a 2007 batch Nagaland cadre IPS, has been approved. He will now have AGMUT as the cadre. f) The extension of Central deputation tenure of Sanjiv K Mittal, a 1987 batch IAS of UP cadre, has been approved. He is a joint secretary & financial advisor in the ministry of coal and holding additional charge of the post of joint secretary & financial advisor in the ministry of youth affairs & sports for a period beyond October 27, 2009 and upto December 31, 2010.
TENSIONS between Netas and babus in India are well known, but it has reached the climax in Goa where politicians have openly criticized their bureaucrats as inefficient and non-cooperative. Tensions have reached the stage when the government of Goa has begun consultation with the Central government to create a separate cadre for the state of Goa only.
Currently, Goa (See picture) is a part of the AGMUT cadre (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories), where bureaucrats are transferred among those states and union territories. But if there is a separate cadre only for Goa, local politicians will have the power to transfer them at their will.
State chief minister Digambar Kamat said in a written reply tabled in the assembly recently that the possibility of having an independent cadre of IAS (Indian Administrative Service) and IPS (Indian Police Service) officers only for Goa was being explored in consultation with the government of India.
According to media reports, sole Rajya Sabha MP from the state Shantaram Naik had even accused IAS and IPS officers posted in the state of being inefficient and uncooperative, and added that it was very difficult to get rid of bad, uncooperative officers as that comes under the jurisdiction of the Union home ministry.
Read "Netagiri & babudom: A new set of instructions issued to help officers communicate with MPs" posted on August 7.
Files To Fields
Feeling bored at going through the unexcited files! Here’s a smart alternative. Come autumn, a series of sports events will make civil servants working in various Central government ministries and departments of Delhi engaged allowing them to temporality junk files and join their colleagues in fields. Whereas inter-ministry chess tournament will be held at Nirman Bhawan from September 15 to 25, 2009, the volleyball encounter will take place at Brassey Avenue, Delhi from September 9 t
o 11.
And that’s not all. Central civil servants cultural and sports board in collaboration with Gujarat government is organizing another volleyball tournament from October 6 to 8, 2009 at Gandhinagar. Also read, "WATERLOO: Civil servants may show their talent in a Water Polo event in Delhi" posted on July 29, 2009.
Action & Appointments
1) R K Jain, a 1981 batch IAS of Himachal Pradesh cadre has been appointed as chief (joint secretary level), National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) under the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) in the pay scale of Rs 18400-22400 (pre-revised), for a period of three years.
2) K M Acharya, a 1974 batch MP cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of social justice and empowerment will hold additional charge of the post of secretary in ministry of women and child development from August 29, 2009 to September 6, 2009, and for any extended period of the spell of leave of Anil Kumar, a 1973 batch UP cadre IAS.