How #12th Plan becomes one of top 10 Twitter trends in India; PMO triggers debate

Montek Singh Ahluwalia (File Photo)

NO ONE might have alerted Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia that #12^th Plan was one of the top 10 Twitter trends in India on Tuesday evening. What is usually considered once-in-five-years mammoth sarkari exercise, the 12^th five-year-plan somehow caught the imagination of India’s Twitter freaks. The other trends at the same time included Women Lie About, Brisbane ODI, Jigna Vora and Vijay Mallya. It all started when Prime Minister’s Office tweeted: “PM is meeting all Planning Commission members today as they get ready to prepare the #12thPlan. Send in your ideas and we will forward them.” And everyone jumped in.
One Santhosh Kumar suggested that the government hospitals should have better doctors. Also, he wanted current education system of grades be abolished, and a new industrial and job oriented system be encouraged under 12^th Plan.
But not all Tweets were genuine recommendations the way PMO wanted. One Nandita Bayan said: “Dear PMO, try achieving at least 50% of all previous 11 plans, then think of the so called #12thPlan”.
As more and more people joined the debate by evening, the fake PMO Twitter account which called itself the “parody account” also joined the bandwagon. It says: “#12thPlan to lower poverty line to 5 paisa per day so that Indira Gandhi ji’s dream of removing poverty comes true.” It’s quite confusing because that account too has a similar photo of Dr Manmohan Singh. And the fake account follows none, but has a number of followers as well.
Angered by Rs 32 a-day poverty line controversy, one Avin Chhangani did a straight talk: “Abolish the Planning Commission”. Is Montek Singh Ahluwalia listening by any chance?

Planning Commission bureaucrats watch Peepli Live before brainstorming 12th five-year plan

CALL it a reel plan. Two days ago, senior officials of the Planning Commission came out of their mundane life of preparing what is often perceived as “boring” plan documents to actually enjoy a movie inside the Yojana Bhawan that houses India’s official think tank. Top plan honchos including deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Member Secretary Sudha Pillai, a 1972 batch retired IAS, Members such as Arun Maira and Sayeeda Hamid enjoyed Aamir Khan produced Bollywood film Peepli Live, a satire on farmers’ suicide and inefficiency of development programmes. It remains to be seen whether it would have nay impact on the plan panel bureaucrats who are formulating the draft Approach Paper of the 12th five year plan (20012-17).
After the special screening, Ahluwalia spoke with the reporters to say how important it was to watch a movie that talks about the perception of people on the development programmes. Sometime ago, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh himself watched the movie and praised it during his interaction with newspaper editors.

It was the debut movie for TV journalist turned filmmaker Anusha Rizvi who went out of the way to depict the Great Indian Political and Bureaucratic Tamasha with her humour-laced script and earthy lingo. Will other ministries too initiate special screening of movies which have social relevance.

Disclaimer: The photograph used is imaginary, not real.

UPSC now encourages online applications

As part of its e-governance initiative, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has introduced the system of online submission of applications for the competitive examinations it conducts. An increasingly good number of candidates have already started applying online for the UPSC examinations notified during 2010. Although this facility is in addition to the option of submitting paper applications already available, the prospective candidates are encouraged to prefer online mode of applying for the UPSC examinations using the link http://www.upsconline.nic.in, according to a government release.

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Change of Heart? Ahluwalia takes break from macro-economics to discover world of paintings

WHAT has happened to the man who spends time only on planning and macro economics to have a relaxed afternoon in appreciating traditional paintings? Yes, the photograph is of deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia after inaugurating the exhibition-cum-sale of traditional paintings and home decor products, in New Delhi on August 25, 2010. Does Ahluwalia love painting, or is it his Member Secretary and retired IAS Sudha Pillai's influence on Yojana Bhawan? Ms Pillai is a quality painter for whom painting is a serious hobby. Ms Pillai, who is wife of home secretary GK Pillai, has made several ceramic murals, including a series on the Tree of Life and organised a number of painting exhibitions. No doubt, there is a little bit of art in everybody's life!

Who would be the first Additional Secretary in 1980 batch: An analysis by an anonymous Insider
An anonymous officer, who definitely understands the power dynamics well, has mailed the following analysis to babu blogger on who could be the first Additional Secretary in 1980 batch. It's worth reading.
"Upendra Tripathy (Karnataka) has moved from Minority Affairs Ministry to Cabinet Secretariat as JS in a lateral shift, to eventually take over from Dr Mrutunjay Sarangi (1977 Tamil Nadu) as and when he moves out as Secretary. Ashok Lavasa (Haryana) has also got a lateral move to Power Ministry to be the AS there when his turn comes, although there is a clear vacancy in Power Ministry after Anil Kumar moved to Planning Commission. Dr Satish B Agnihotri (Orissa) is in charge Director General of Shipping at Mumbai. He would take over as DG when his turn comes.
So these three officers have been slotted and would become AS when there turn comes as per seniority. Similarly Amitabh Kant (Kerala) CEO of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor of Industry Ministry, Dr J S Mishra (UP) CEO Khadi Board at Mumbai and Jiji Thomson (Kerala) with Commonwealth Games would get promoted in their present posts by upgrading the posts.
At least four officers would be designated as Additional Secretaries in their present posts. Naini Jaiseelan (AGMUT) who is Advisor in Planning Commission (though Smt Omita Paul, Advisor to Pranab Mukherjee has made a request to bring her to Finance Ministry); Shakti Kantha Das (Tamil Nadu) who is JS (Budget) in Finance Ministry; Shankar Agrawala (UP) who is JS (E-Governance) in Department of Information Technology and Rajeev Kher (UP) who is JS (Trade Policy) in Commerce.
All eyes are on the top five officers of 1980 batch in the list of empanelment and who are posted in Delhi now. NK Sinha (Bihar) is in Human Resource Development. Kapil Sibal is happy with him and may request for in situ upgradation (as he did for two officers of 1979 batch Sunil Kumar and Anitha Kaul). Dr Arvind Prasad (Bihar) is JS in Social Justice and Empowerment and with a B Tech from IIT Kanpur and PhD from Yale is in high demand. Next is Naini Jaiseelan (Naini Dhillon before marriage) who may stay back in Planning Commission or go to Finance. Dr Anup K Pujari, part time Harvard professor is now in Finance looking after Fund-Bank work (which had such stalwarts as N K Singh (now MP Rajya Sabha from Bihar and V Govindarajan, from AP cadre now in National Manufacturing Commission, both of whom became Additional Secretary in the same desk), and then is Dr Shyam Agrawala (Rajasthan), now JS in Commerce.
Both Dr Pujari and Dr Agrawala have PhD from USA and both have been Additional DG Foreign Trade and hence are in demand to be the DGFT (vacated by R S Gujaral who moved as Secretary Road Transport). Dr Shyam Agrawala may also become AS and FA in place of Dr Sutanu Behuria (1976 HP).
Every one is hoping that an officer of 1980 batch is posted quickly as DGFT or as Establishment Officer (these are the ONLY two clear vacancies) so that other officers get in situ posting as Additional Secretary immediately. Present EO Pradip Mishra prefers Shankar Agrawala who is also from UP cadre like him (and has worked in DoPT earlier) or Dr Pujari who is from Delhi School of Economics like him, to come as EO. PMO has a preference for Dr Nandita Chatterjee (West Bengal) both to have a lady officer as EO and also being backed by a powerful JS in PMO. Dr Chatterjee is now Dy Director General with CAPART and has worked with WHO earlier."

Chidambaram’s blue-eyed boy Arbind Modi finds his way to Plan Panel

ARBIND Modi, a 1981 batch IRS (I-T) officer and the blue eyed boy of home minister P Chidambaram has been appointed as Consultant in the Planning Commission in the same pay and grade in which he was working in his present cadre, for a period of 3 years. He was one of the main architects of the proposed direct tax code which Mr Chidambaram as the finance minister pursued hard to give it a concrete step. Mr Modi’s tenure as joint secretary in the revenue department under the ministry of finance was however not extended a few months ago despite Mr Chidambaram and deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia had reportedly requested finance minister Pranab Mukherjee at a personal capacity to consider his extension. Significantly, the IRS officers unitedly lobbied against the Code, designed and evolved by their fellow IRS Mr Modi and a handful of his colleagues.

(In Picture: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee with her team of officials on the eve of presenting the railway Budget on Wednesday)

Action and Appointments

a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal for the regularization of overstay by VK Singh, a 1987 batch AP cadre IPS officer for the period September 10, 2004 to March 4, 2005, while on inter-cadre deputation from Andhra Pradesh to Bihar.

b) The competent authority has approved that UN Panjiyar, a 1973 batch Bihar cadre IAS IAS and secretary in the ministry of water resources will continue to hold the additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of parliamentary affairs during the absence on leave of Anil Kumar, a 1973 batch UP cadre IAS up to March 3, 2010.

c) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has rejected the proposal of the ministry of health and family welfare to appoint Vineet Chowdhry, a 1982 batch Himachal Pradesh IAS, presently joint secretary in the department as senior Deputy Director General(Admn) in Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) under the department of health research, on lateral shift basis.

d) Evan Rynjah Solomon, a 1980 batch IA&ASofficer has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of minority affairs for a period of five years.

e) Nirmal Kumar Sinha, a 1982 batch IRSE officer has been appointed as Deputy Director General (Joint Secretary level) in the Unique identification Authority of India (UIDAI) at Delhi under the Planning Commission for a period of 5 years.

f) Hindupur Pradeep Rao, a 1981 batch IA&AS officer has been appointed as joint secretary and financial adviser, in the department of expenditure for a period of five years.

g) The competent authority has approved the premature reversion of M Deena Dayalan, a 1978 batch IA&AS as joint secretary and financial adviser in the department of expenditure to his parent cadre with immediate effect in order to enable him to avail the benefit of promotion to the next higher grade in the cadre.

Bureaucrats in Rakesh Mohan headed committee on transport

Who are the bureaucrats in newly formed Rakesh Mohan-headed high level national transport development policy committee? The committee will be chaired by Dr Rakesh Mohan in an honorary capacity, with the rank of minister of state.

The members are chairman, railway board, secretary, ministry of urban development, secretary, ministry of road transport and highways, secretary, ministry of civil aviation, secretary, ministry of shipping, secretary, department of financial services, secretary, ministry of coal, secretary, ministry of power, secretary, ministry of petroleum & natural gas, adviser to Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, chairman, RITES, M Ravindra, former chairman, Railway Board, S Sundar, former transport secretary, DP Gupta, former DG Roads, BN Puri, senior consultant (transport) who will be Member Secretary of the committee.

Why Mittal was sacked by Kalmadi?

Any clue why Sanjeev Mittal, a 1984 batch Indian Defence Accounts officer who was appointed by the PMO in Commonwealth Games organizing committee was sacked by chairman Suresh Kalmadi? Write to babu.blogger1@gmail.com

Road & Roadblock: Why does govt need Gajendra Haldea, a 1973 batch IAS?

IN A recent get-together of the 1973 batch IAS officers, someone said, “He is the road, and he is the roadblock” introducing road transport and highways secretary Brahm Dutt as “road” and all powerful infrastructure man in Planning Commission Gajendra Haldea as “roadblock”. Probably, he is the most hated IAS officer in Delhi’s power corridors as he is considered to be the stumbling block for many projects ranging from road and highways, railways to urban development. He is not liked by those manning the core sector wing, read PPP, in the ministry of finance too. Nor is he the darling of infrastructure bigwigs who want to make quick bucks at the expense of government exchequer! For highway builders, he is the Enemy No 1. Yet, the man at the Plan Panel, who has all the blessings of deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, is unmoved by any amount of criticism. A big supporter of public private partnership model which is meant to lessen burdens on government expenditure, Mr Haldea has become a whistleblower within the government which at times earns him the reputation of a roadblock. He does not mind creating a roadblock to a project or a process if he notices any ploy to extract government fund. But no one can challenge him in infrastructure space which he mustered for nearly two decades, first in the ministry of finance and then in Planning Commission. Many people don’t know that all model concession agreements (MCAs) for PPP projects in India are the offshoot of his book “Indian Highways: a Framework for Commercialisation” which was published in 2000 by NCAER. No wonder, all government model concession agreements, prepared by the PPP cell of the Planning Commission for the last several years, have copyrights of Mr Haldea. Many within the government were fiercely opposed to his move as how an IAS officer can have a copyright on all government documents. But he has done it! Just open any government MCA, be it on highways, shipping, railways or airport modernization, you will find his name prominently inserted in the copyright clause. Who says you can’t be a challenger while remaining in government?

No special protection for officials if Article 311 is amended

India’s law minister M Veerappa Moily has talked tough on corrupt civil servants arguing that there was a need to “revisit” constitutional provisions giving protection to officers. The remark is significant which came just a day after Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan pointed at delays in granting sanction to prosecute corrupt government officials. Mr Moily said on Sunday that he would initiate action to amend the Article 311 of the Constitution which comes in the way of bringing corrupt civil servants to book.

Non-Sarkari Feel: Nilekani’s secretariat in Planning Commission has wooden flooring

A CORNER area of the third floor of the Planning Commission is ready for accommodating the support staff of newly-created Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)’s chairman Nandan Nilekani. The area with wooden floor and glass separators looks more like a small corporate office, and is strikingly different from other parts of the Yojana Bhawan located in New Delhi’s Parliament Street. Mr Nilekani, who is resigning as co-chairman of software giant Infosys Technologies, is likely to be given a room in the first floor somewhere near deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s office. All Members of the Planning Commission too have their rooms in that floor. The UIDAI office may finally be shifted out of the Planning Commission once it has the full strength. Some of the staff, who had come from other government departments on a temporary basis, began work in UIDAI. Tuhin Kanta Pandey, a 1987 batch Orissa cadre IAS, was appointed for a period of five years as deputy director general (DDG) of the Authority, but he has not joined the office as yet. One of the deputy director generals of National Informatics Centre Dr (Ms) Shefali S Dash, who temporarily joined the Authority, has now been playing a key role in setting up the office. The Planning Commission of India had already begun the process of recruiting 35 officers at the level of joint secretary or equivalent both at the Centre and states. Once the forthcoming Budget allocates the fund, the UIDAI will have the requisite infrastructure both in New Delhi and state capitals across the country. But for now, officers in Planning Commission have begun to gossip how easy or difficult it would be for Mr Nilekani to cope up with government’s rule books. You need a sanction even for buying a pen, they said. After all, the only big sarkari success story, Delhi Metro man E Sreedharan, had a long innings in working with the government! Babus In Demand National Institute of Disaster Management, which is an arm of the ministry of home affairs, intends to empanel consultants both from government and private sector. The Institute is looking for both retiring and serving civil servants to work as consultants. For further details, please log on www.nidm.gov.in Appointment Special secretary (internal security) in the ministry of home affairs (MHA) Raman Srivastava has been appointed as Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) with effect from August 1, 2009, a government release has said. He will replace M L Kumawat who retires on July 31, 2009. Mr Srivastava is a Kerala cadre IPS officer of the 1973 batch.

Greener pasture: 700 civil servants in India play golf regularly

IF YOU thought bureaucrats love only cricket, get your facts correct! About 700 civil servants including IAS, IFS and IPS, regularly play golf in eight zones of the country earmarked by All India Civil Services Golf Society. Even in Delhi and NCR alone, about 250 bureaucrats or former bureaucrats happen to be avid golfers out of which about 15 are secretaries or secretary-equivalent officers. Among the high profile bureaucrats who could even compete with corporate honchos in golf include deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, revenue secretary P V Bhide, former expenditure secretary Sanjiv Mishra among others. Several retired bureaucrats such as former industry secretary Ajay Dua, former finance secretary and current Hyundai India president Ashok Jha, former cabinet secretary and Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi, and former Delhi police chief Ajay Raj Sharma are familiar faces in Delhi’s golf circles. Even former Comptroller and Auditor General V N Kaul is said to be seen on the green courses. Significantly, civil servants now just don’t wait for retirement to play golf, and instead visit the courses regularly despite busy schedules. For the last four years, pan-India golf competitions have been organized, and winners get some exciting prizes including holiday packages to hills. But yes, no outside spectator is allowed in any such intra-civil servants’ golf tournaments. The only exception is a spouse who also happens to be a civil servant! Jamia teachers oppose nomination of a bureaucrat as Vice Chancellor Fourteen teachers of Jamia Millia Islamia have opposed the government’s move to consider a bureaucrat for the post of Vice Chancellor of the University. In an appeal to President Pratibha Patil, they have seriously objected to the government’s recent move, and argued that academic centres must be headed by academicians and not bureaucrats, a media report said. Three bureaucrat contenders for Jamia's top job include Bihar’s home secretary Afzal Amanullah, retired IAS officer Najeeb Jung and Bihar's state information commissioner, Mohd. Shakeel Ahmed. babu.blogger1@gmail.com