Omita Paul, Raghuram G Rajan and North Block’s lucky room 132-A

WITH celebrity economist Raghuram G Rajan being appointed as new RBI Governor, North Block’s room number 132-A has proved lucky for its occupant, once more. The room that adjoins finance minister’s corner room was earlier occupied by Omita Paul who…

President Pranab and his 3 trusted non-IAS officers in Rashtrapati Bhavan

FOR the next five years, President Pranab Mukherjee will bank on three trusted officers, two men and a woman, while performing his duties at Rashtrapati Bhavan. India’s new President, known for his political craftsmanship and four decades of rich experiences in high-voltage political activities, has carefully chosen the trio himself. Significantly, or rather co-incidentally, none of the officers is an IAS. They are…

Omita Paul got extension on the day Pranab Mukherjee was nominated as President, but…

Omita Paul

EXACTLY on the day, the UPA nominated finance minister Pranab Mukherjee as its Presidential candidate, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) issued an order extending the tenure of his all-powerful adviser Omita Paul. Ms Paul’s three year tenure as adviser to FM would have completed on June 25, 2012. Probably, the extension order was issued for some technical reasons as the order clearly mentioned that…

Battleground UTI: 10 Things You May Like to Know About IAS officer Jitesh Khosla

FOR the last few months, Jitesh Khosla, a 1979 batch Assam cadre IAS officer, has hogged the limelight as he is one of the main contenders for the post of chairman of the UTI Mutual Fund which was earlier headed by IAS officers such as M Damodaran and UK Sinha. The UTI Mutual Fund, which manages assets over Rs 62,000 crore (as on September 30), has been headless since UK Sinha left the organization to become the Sebi chief in February, 2011.

According to reports, Khosla who incidentally is brother of Omita Paul, adviser to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, is the front-runner for the post.

Here are 10 things you may like to know about Jitesh Khosla:

1. Khosla is 56 year old (Born in May 1955)

2. He originally hails from Punjab, but has been serving in Assam.

3. Knows Punjabi, Assamese, English and French

4. A mechanical engineer from IIT-Delhi before getting into IAS in 1979, Khosla is also a post graduate in System Analysis Finance from IIT-Delhi and a PG in social planning and policy from London School of Economics. He completed a certificate course in French.

5. Served in DoPT on deputation as under secretary and deputy secretary between 1986 and 1990.

6. He was a director and joint secretary in department of economic affairs between 1994 and 1999.

7. He was joint secretary and then OSD (at the rank of addition secretary) in corporate affairs ministry between January 2004 and January 2011.

8. Was chairman, Assam State Electricity Board, and additional chief secretary of government of Assam.

9. Khosla was one of the six officers of corporate affairs ministry to jointly receive the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration, 2007-08 for MCA21, an e-Governance project that detects corporate fraud.

10. Many of Khosla’s moves come under media attention and even scrutiny as he is brother of Omita Paul, all-powerful adviser to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Quick fix: Govt discusses cutting down of file movements

THE government may succeed minimizing layers of file movements and cut down delays that an official file may take from its creation to the date when the decision is finally taken. If a paper doing the rounds in power corridors has its way, the number of level through which a file passes for a decision would not exceed three. The 26-page note titled, “Organizational Structure of Government of India” prepared by the Administrative Reforms Commission has suggested that only in cases where minister’s approval is required, the file should be initiated by deputy secretary or director, and moved through the joint secretary (or additional secretary/special secretary) and secretary (or special secretary) to the minister. If the file requires the approval of the secretary, there should be just two levels --- either under secretary and director, under secretary and joint secretary or director and joint secretary. The note has further suggested that in case approval of joint secretary or director or deputy secretary is required, it should come through just one level. If a consensus is built, suggestions would be prescribed in the Manual of Office Procedure.

Appointments A) Retired official Ms Omita Paul, an IIS of 1973 batch, has been appointed as adviser to the finance minister in the rank and pay of the secretary to the government of India, for a period of three years or until further orders.

B) Anil Verma, a 1989 batch West Bengal cadre IAS, has been appointed as minister (economic), in High Commission of India, London, under the department of commerce, in the Pay Band of Rs 37400-67000/- (PB-4) plus grade pay of Rs. 10000/- for a period of three years or until further orders.