A revision of civil services exam on card? Will there be a pay parity between IAS and other officers? How the Parliament session gives answers to some queries

CURRENT monsoon session of Parliament has given reasonably clear answers on a number of confusing issues concerning bureaucracy and civil servant aspirants. Will there be a revision of civil services exam? Is there still a chance of introduction of pay parity between IAS and non-IAS officers? And, are employees unions contemplating on an indefinite strike against what they call a historical low revision of salaries? First, let’s find out what the government told the Lok Sabha about the much-talked about revision of civil services recruitment system. Will there be an overhaul? MoS in personnel ministry Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a Lok Sabha said on Wednesday that the tenure of…

Who are the MPs wishing to know more about bureaucracy? And replies they received

Whither Bureaucracy? Civil servants cleaning a lawn

MORE and more Members of Parliament, most of whom belonging to the ruling BJP, want to know more about bureaucracy. If questions asked in Lok Sabha are any indication, those MPs, many of whom are first-timers, want to know whether IAS, IPS or IRS officers have resigned to join private sector, or whether the government changed the formats in which civil servants need to submit their assets and liabilities post Lokpal Act. Here are 5 such MPs, their questions and what replies they had received from the government:

A state civil servant may soon have to appear for a written test to qualify as IAS

A STATE civil services officer may soon have to take a compulsory written test to get elevated as an IAS or IPS, minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pension V Narayanasamy informed Parliament in a written reply to a question on Thursday. The Centre has given an in-principle nod for a few changes including…

Indian bureaucrats discover Bikini Model; reveal all but learn to hide too

How Not To Take Wrong Decisions

AS the winter session of Indian Parliament is heating up with Opposition parties seizing every opportunity to paralyze the government, Indian bureaucrats have discovered a new method, Bikini Model, to save the government. A widely circulated daily has run a story saying how bureaucrats decided not to reveal too much while replying to the questions asked by Members of Parliament. Joint secretaries of every Central government department anchor the preparation of answers to the Parliamentary questions. To make their political masters happy, the bureaucrats have now reportedly written answers as if everything is revealed whereas in reality, the real part is being hided, a typical Bikini Model phenomenon.

If observers in Raisina Hills are to be believed, Indian bureaucrats have, for the first time in the last 64 years of Independence, become so cautious in taking even the routine decisions. Many call it a perfect example of policy paralysis .The babus are now extra-cautious in writing each line on an official file, as file-notings are covered under the Rights to Information Act. This means there is a chance of bureaucrats being dragged into future controversies after interpreting the notings. After all, former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh has come under the CBI radar after nine years of his retirement. He was a part of a policy which according to the federal investigating agency caused a loss of Rs 508 crore to the exchequer. But the larger question is: why after nine years?

The level of fears among bureaucrats has gone to an extreme end. If a contract is to be given to a particular company, the bureaucrats taking the final call, do assessments whether that company could in near future be merged with a bigger entity, say Reliance or Adani. Will the concerned bureaucrat at a later stage be hauled up for being a part of a larger conspiracy to award a contract to a smaller entity, but knowing fully well that the entity would finally be bought over by a large conglomerate? Many bureaucrats say the command over astrology is now becoming as important part in decision-making as understanding the file correctly! The challenge is much more than tweaking rules that Indian bureaucrats have mustered over the years.

Action and Appointments

a) NK Nampoothiry, ILS and additional secretary in ministry of law and justice, has been appointed as special secretary in the department of legal affairs under the ministry of law and justice.