Ex-civil servants Sudhir Chandra, PJ Thomas, others start UPSC interview coaching centre, Anugrah

A NUMBER of former civil servants and experts, many of whom were on UPSC interview board earlier, have started a low cost coaching and customized guidance centre in New Delhi to train IAS aspirants for interviews. Named Anugrah, this Delhi-based organization says, it will give priority to those who hail from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds, though anyone including those who have not yet cleared the civil services mains examination, may enroll at the centre. Former civil servants who are guiding the young aspirants for the UPSC personality test include…

What Vinod Rai’s book says about bureaucrats: Pulok Chatterji, Vini Mahajan, TKA Nair, PJ Thomas, Sunil Arora etc.

Rai with wife

1980 batch IAS officer Sunil Arora is an “outstanding officer”.
Former principal secretary to PM TKA Nair was a “priest” in the PMO. 
Former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai’s book “Not Just An Accountant” has a few interesting anecdotes about men who mattered in corridors of power. Here are about 7 of them:

Who is PJ Thomas? Supreme Court quashes CVC's appointment

WITH the Supreme Court quashing the appointment of PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner, the government now faces many an unanswered question regarding Thomas’ appointment. The apex court rejected the contention of the government that the appointment of the CVC cannot be brought under judicial review.

Apart from serving as chief secretary of Kerala between September 18, 2007 to January 22, 2009, Thomas had served as secretary in the ministry of Parliamentary Affairs between January 2009 and September 2009 and then as secretary in the Department of Telecom. He was also a strong contender for the cabinet secretary’s post, but it did not materialize when incumbent KM Chandrasekhar got an extension in May 2010.  

Profile of PJ Thomas

Service: IAS

Cadre: Kerala

Batch: 1973

Date of Birth: January 13, 1951

Place of Domicile: Kerala

Mother Tongue: Malayalam

Educational Qualifications

a) Graduate (Physics, chemistry and match) First div

b) PG in Physics, First div

c) PG in Economics, Second division

Major Postings

a) District Magistrate (Deputy secretary level), Ernakulam

(From June 1, 1982 to April 1, 1984)

b) Secretary (Deputy secretary level)

Finance (From April 1, 1984 to July 1, 1985)

c) Chief Electoral Officer (Joint secretary level)

State Election Commission

(From February 1, 1998 to January 22, 2005)

d) Principal secretary (Additional secretary level)

Human Resource Development

(From January 22, 2005 to September 13, 2005)

e) Director, Additional secretary level, IIM

(From September 13, 2005 to February 1, 2006)

f) Additional chief secretary, Human Resource Development

(From February 1, 2006 to September 17, 2007)

g) Chief secretary (secretary level) Kerala

September 18, 2007 to January 22, 2009)

h) Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, New Delhi

(From January 23, 2009 to September 30, 2009)

g) Secretary, Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communications & Info Tech, New Delhi

(From October 1, 2009)

h) Appointed as CVC on September 3, 2010

Foreign Training

One year course in public administration at IIPA, Paris (1987)

Kerala IAS officers shower praise on CVC; fellow bureaucrats say Thomas would be a scapegoat if he resigns

HAD Chief Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas been a politician, he has every reason to resign immediately in the wake of repeated remarks from the Supreme Court of India doubting whether he would be able to objectively oversee the investigations into 2G scams, given that he himself was a telecom secretary. But Thomas is a mere bureaucrat, and if the 1973 batch Kerala cadre retired IAS resigns under pressure, he would go down in the history of Indian bureaucracy as a corrupt officer who was shown the door during 2G spectrum scam.

But unlike former telecom minister A Raja or Ashok Chavan who had to resign as Maharashtra chief minister in the wake of Adarsh Housing scam, Thomas would not get a chance to go to public and give his point of view. After all, he is not fighting any election. So, while Raja and Chavan would win political battles and come back as MPs or ministers, Thomas would continue to carry a baggage.

Fellow bureaucrats in corridor say that he should have anticipated such a crisis and probably should not have taken up the CVC job at all. But he must not resign even if he is asked by the ruling party to do so. They feel, if he resigns at this juncture, he would be a political scapegoat. For the record, leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj who was a part of the selection panel opposed his candidature because of his linkage to a long-pending Kerala palmolein import scandal. He was also a secretary in the ministry of telecom, but he joined the ministry after the 2G spectrums were already issued. (Read: Know the bureaucrat who signed 2G spectrum licence files). But he is not accused of being a beneficiary of the scam.

Thomas himself came out in public on Thursday to say that he is morally clear and his conscience is very clear.

Kerala IAS officers on Thursday issued a statement saying that Thomas was a person of “impeccable integrity” and expressed concern over the “smear campaign” against him.  So here are the questions that are being posed in corridors of power. Should Thomas resign? Or if he resigns, will he always be dubbed as a corrupt bureaucrat? Will he get a chance to go to the people and explain his position? And what’s if he does not resign? There are more questions than answers at this juncture.

Also Read

Was Thomas made CVC in lieu of cabinet secretary?

Who is PJ Thomas?

Action and Appointments

RP Indoria has been appointed as additional director general in the ministry of road transport and highways. Indoria, a regular chief engineer of the 1975 batch of Central Engineering Service (Roads) Group ‘A’ has a varied experience of serving in the ministry and NHAI. Prior to this appointment, Indoria was working as secretary general of Indian Roads Congress for the last two years. He has also served in the United Nations for nine years.


Jobs for retired bureaucrats
If you are a retired bureaucrat looking for a post-retirement placement in a Delhi officer, here it is. Just log on to www.jobcorridor.com and spot the post dated December 3, 2010. Job Corridor will give you a perspective of where to look for right opportunities in India's corridors of power.

Risk of corruption in bureaucracy, an Australian report analyses

THE Australian bureaucracy, known for its high efficiency and delivery, is also fraught with corruption charges though the nature of such acts is quite different from that of India.

According to a report published by The Canberra Times recently, the Commission for Public Administration’s annual Over the Horizon report says the bureaucracy investigated 20 incidents of alleged fraud and graft in 2009-10, up from 12 in 2008. What is interesting is the nature of corruption. The report found the greatest risk to the public service's integrity was staff fraud, such as false pay claims, theft and misuse of office equipment and fuel cards. Significantly, many of such aspects like photocopying for personal use or personal phone calls etc. are often ignored from the purview of corruption in India.

In Australia, three public servants were referred to police for such acts. It was also mentioned that corrupt bureaucrats pose a greater danger to Canberra taxpayers than fraudulent members of the public.

Also Read

Australian bureaucrats want a settled life

Australian bureaucrats warned of using Facebook

SC to examine appointment files of PJ Thomas

The Supreme Court on Monday decided to examine the file on appointment of new CVC PJ Thomas, a 1973 batch Kerala cadre retired IAS. Thomas’ name figured in a charge sheet in a criminal case decades ago. A bench of Chief Justice SH Kapadia said they would like to see the file while acting on a petition questioning the new Central Vigilance Commissioner's integrity and challenging his appointment.

Hackers lure Indian bureaucrats with porn sites

Hackers from China, Pakistan and Nigeria are reportedly taking advantages of some Indian bureaucrats’ soft corner to watch pornographic materials during office hours. The hackers mostly use porn attachments to lure officials and staff to click on those with the intention of taking away sensitive materials. Recently, Indian home ministry’s cyber security wing has asked bureaucrats not to click on any external links on their emails as that could be the route for hackers to steal sensitive information stored in office computers.

Cabinet secretary contender PJ Thomas sworn in as CVC; what’s in store for M Ramachandran?

WITH Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s firm backing, telecom secretary PJ Thomas was sworn in as 14th Central Vigilance Commissioner by the President of India in a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday despite BJP’s serious objection to his appointment alleging he has a tainted background. The BJP leaders boycotted the ceremony which was attended by Vice-President of India, Prime Minister, home minister, law minister and minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions.

A 1973 batch Kerala cadre IAS, Thomas was instrumental in successful 3G auctions that gave the government a windfall of whopping Rs 67,000 cr. He was also a serious contender for cabinet secretary’s post in May this year when incumbent KM Chandrasekhar was given the second extension marring prospects of Thomas and a few other senior officers including then urban development secretary M Ramachandran and finance secretary Ashok Chawla. It’s believed that PM promised all these contenders important post-retirement government assignments.

With Thomas getting his due with the CVC’s post, it remains to be seen what PM has to offer to Ramachandran. If sources in corridor are to be believed, Ramachandran could be engaged either in National Disaster Management Authority where all Members hold the rank of a minister of state, or even made Delhi metro chief when 78-year-old E Sreedharan retires after the Commonwealth Games. The announcement of the next Delhi Metro chief could come at the end of September, or beginning of October.

For Thomas, who holds a master’s degree in physics and economics, post-mortem of the allegations related to the Commonwealth Games could be the immediate priority.

Check out: Profile of PJ Thomas

List of 25 officers appointed as JS (in situ)