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| CAG Vinod Rai |
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai, who took a hawkish stand against the government policies both in 2G spectrum allocations and Commonwealth Games, decided not to enter into the policy turf this time and dropped the move to audit Padma Awards selection. Had Rai, a 1972 batch IAS officer, allowed Director General Audit Central Expenditure (DGACE) Roy S Mathrani to carry on the Padma audit, it would have been embarrassing for home minister P Chidambaram who was Rai’s boss when Chidambaram was finance minister and Rai the banking secretary.
Padma Awards were instituted in the year 1954, but it has become more and more controversial in the recent years. It’s alleged that awards like Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri are at times given to the persons who had helped the ruling party in one way or the other.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee members, particularly of the Congress, grilled Rai on two occasions questioning the CAG’s calculation of the presumptive loss of whopping Rs 1,76,000 crore for not auctioning the 2G spectrum in January 2008.
The home ministry is the nodal ministry to select Padma awardees. Interestingly, Rai’s batch-mate in IAS, and that too from the same Kerala cadre GK Pillai was the home secretary till June, 2011.
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Vacancy of Adviser’s post in Brussels
For officers at the rank of deputy secretary and director in government of India, here is a chance to work in Belgian capital Brussels. The government has advertised for filling up the post of Adviser (Industry and Engineering) in Embassy of India, Brussels, under the department of commerce.
The mandatory qualifications include two years of work at the Centre under the Central Staffing Scheme. The officer should have at least “very good” service record and should not be over 54 years of age.
Experiences in bilateral and trade negotiations and exposure to international trade will be added advantages.
Action and Appointments
a) The Centre has accorded its approval for inter-cadre deputation of Manish Kumar Verma, a 2000 batch IAS, from Orissa cadre to Bihar cadre for a period of five years.
