Many of you will end your career as secretaries in 2040s when India’s GDP will be 6-7 times bigger: President Kovind to 2016 batch IAS

A section of 2016 batch IAS officers listening to President Kovind

PRESIDENT Ram Nath Kovind last week said that IAS is the premier all-India service, adding why the young IAS officers are destiny’s chosen generation, as India will be a six to seven times bigger economy when many of them will be union secretaries. Kovind said while interacting with 2016 batch IAS officers. Here are 10 things that Prez told the officers:

“For you, it is important to read between the lines”; President Kovind’s 10 advices to young diplomats

Young diplomats of 2017 batch IFS while listening to the Prez

PRESIDENT of India Ram Nath Kovind has asked the country's youngest diplomats to master the art of nuances, understand subtleties and read between the lines. While addressing the officer-trainees of the 2017 batch of Indian Foreign Service at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday, the President also asked them to learn more than one foreign languages. Here below are 10 advices of President Kovind to the young diplomats:

Prez to Probationers: “Stay away from any temptations”; 10 Commandments

PRESIDENT OF INDIA Ram Nath Kovind on Monday met probationers belonging to three services — Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Ordnance Factories Service and Indian Trade Service. During his interactions, first with the IPS and then with the two other services together, the President advised the probationers to live a life of optimism and make positive changes happen both in their work domains as well as in society at large. He also asked the probationers to stay away from any temptations. Here are the 10 things that the President told the probationers:

Outgoing President confirms 101 IAS officers of 2014 batch in one of his last orders; Full List

2014 batch IAS (File photo)

INDIA on Thursday elected a new President Ram Nath Kovind. Meanwhile, outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee, in one of his last orders, confirmed 101 IAS officers of 2014 batch. “In exercise of the powers conferred by rule 3-A of the Indian Administrative Service (Probation) Rules, 1954, the President is pleased to confirm, the following members of the Indian Administrative Service of 2014 batch in the Indian Administrative Service, with effect from date(s) shown against them”, said a DoPT notification issued on July 20. Here below are the names of the officers, cadre and the date of confirmation:

Look beyond financial aspects and focus on overall defence scenario: President Mukherjee to IDAS probationers

President of India with IDAS probationers (2015 batch)

THE focus of the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officers should not just be the financial aspects, but they must think for overall defence scenario in the country, said President of India Pranab Mukherjee when a group of IDAS probationers of 2015 batch called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Significantly, Mukherjee in his long political career handled both the defence and finance portfolios. President further told the probationers that as watchdogs, Indian Defence Accounts Service officers need to be careful in…

What President Mukherjee tells IIS, ITS officer trainees

OFFICER trainees of various services such as IAS, IPS and other Group “A” services are always taken to Rashtrapati Bhavan for a meeting with the President of India. A couple of days ago, probationers of Indian Information Service, Indian Trade Service and Indian Posts and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service called on the President. The President always makes it a point to give his prescription on governance, apart from having customary photo shoots. Here are 10 key points that President Pranab Mukherjee told to these young civil servants on Tuesday:

“You are not in Railways just to earn a living” — President Mukherjee's prescription to IR probationers

INDIAN RAILWAYS (IR) has a deeper meaning than being a mere transportation system, said President Pranab Mukherjee when he had interacted with a group of probationers of various Indian railway services — Indian Railway Service of Engineers, Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers and Railway Protection Force — at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday. President also reminded the probationers that they are not in Indian Railways merely for earning a livelihood, but for making a meaningful contribution to the nation. Based on the statement issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan, BoI here presents 8 major points that President Mukherjee made while addressing the young officer-trainees:

Sarkari cricket is T-15, not T-20; wooden bat is allowed, but only tennis ball

President of India trying a good shot (File Photo)

OUTSIDE the corridors, the ministry of civil aviation is being pitted against the ministry of railways. And the ministry of mines is getting ready to take on none other than the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)! Relax, it's just a game of cricket, to be played among Central ministries, that too by using tennis ball. The inter-ministerial tennis ball cricket tournament 2015-16 is beginning on...

In order, cabinet secretary comes at 11th, CBI director 25th; LG comes ahead of CM only in Delhi

FOR any government occasion (or a ceremony), President of India comes first and a GoI joint secretary comes at 26 with respect to the rank and precedence. The chief minister of a state comes at 7th whereas Lieutenant Governors in union territories are ranked at 11th along with the cabinet secretary (the top career bureaucrat in the country). However, for Delhi, as the footnote says, Lieutenant Governor will take precedence over the chief minister (root cause of the current jung). CBI director, Border Security Force’s DG, CRPF's DG and director of Intelligence Bureau along with GoI additional secretaries—all come at 25th position. Here is the complete list of precedence as approved by the President in 1979.

Thomas Mathew: More about the IAS who spots 110 species of birds in Rashtrapati Bhavan

A FORTNIGHT ago, the President of India received the first copy of the coffee table book titled Winged Wonders of Rashtrapati Bhavan that tries to capture the avian world inside the Presidential Estate. And the man who brought out this 338-page book after clicking photos of as many as 110 species of birds was none other than additional secretary and 1983 batch Kerala cadre IAS Thomas Mathew. The bureaucrat who...

“For every failed bullet, there is life of a soldier at stake”: Why Prez reminds this to some civilian officers

WHEN a section of Group “A” trainee officers belonging to Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) met with the President of India Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, he quoted Confucius and said – “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand.” Mukherjee made it a point to say that…

Prez Gives Tips: How bureaucrats should be patient, tactful in withstanding political pressure

LBSNAA

IT WAS sometime in 1970s. “Mr Minister, when I receive instructions from you, I do not look at your face. I look beyond your face, at the vast multitude of people of this country who have chosen you to be here.” This was what a senior Government of India secretary replied to then young minister, now President of India, Pranab Mukherjee when he asked the bureaucrat whether he felt “embarrassed” taking…

Bureaucrats’ Growing Responsibilities: Prez pep talk to promoted IAS

Prez with a section of promoted IAS officers

WITH the rising expectations of the public, civil servants are required to shoulder huge responsibilities, President of India Pranab Mukherjee said while addressing 36 promoted IAS officers. Those state civil service officers who were promoted only recently, are currently undertaking…

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…

Christy Fernandes’ liking of “beautiful machines” in Auto Expo featured in ads

Christy Fernandes

AFTER top business honchos criticized organizers of the ongoing Auto Expo in Delhi for free distribution of business-day passes and converting this serious business event into a “Kumbh Mela”, organizers including CII, SIAM and Auto Components Manufacturers Association gave full-page newspaper advertisements to counter those claims. And the advertisement featured among others the comments from Dr Christy Fernandes, a 1973 batch IAS and secretary to President of India. This is what Fernandes said, as displayed in the advertisement: “It was a great experience! My wife and I enjoyed the glimpse of some of the most beautiful machines. Congratulations to CII, SIAM and other sponsors who organized this wonderful show. Keep it up”. The claim of the organizers was that the Auto Expo was the king of all trade shows just like Kumbh mela is the king of all fairs.

A Machine in Expo

On Saturday, newspapers carried reports on how Mahindra and Mahindra CEO Anand Mahindra called it a Kumbh Mela after he was jostled and pushed around by the crowd.

The auto show, which saw participation from 1,500 exhibitors of 24 nations, was meant to be a serious business affair for the first two days but as CEOs said a large number of free passes were issued which turned it into a “general picnic”.

This biennial event saw unveiling of 24 cars by domestic companies and eight by global players in addition to eight new two-wheelers.