R Vineel Krishna, once abducted by Maoists, selected for prestigious British govt-funded scholarship

R Vineel Krishna, a 2005 batch Orissa cadre IAS officer who was abducted and released by Maoists in February 2011, has been selected for prestigious British government scholarship called Chevening Gurukul Scholarship for Leadership and Excellence. Krishna who is now private secretary to rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, was a popular district collector in Orissa’s Malkangiri district when he was abducted by 50 armed Maoists.
The other two Indian bureaucrats who also clinched the British scholarships are…

PM refers to R Vineel Krishna kidnapping saga to say civil servants enjoy goodwill

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has referred to the spontaneous support of the people of Malkangiri for their collector and 2005 batch IAS, R Vineel Krishna to drive home a point that some civil servants still enjoy the goodwill of the people. “The spontaneous support of the people of Malkangiri, when the Collector of the district was kidnapped by left-wing extremists, is a pointer to the extent of goodwill that well meaning and honest civil servants can achieve,” PM said while inaugurating the 6th Civil Services Day in New Delhi on Thursday.

In mid-February 2011, R Vineel Krishna was abducted on Wednesday by a group of 50 Maoists in Orissa, but was released later.

Prime Minister further said that the core of the Civil Services is sound and rooted in values of integrity and fair play. “It is a pity that instances of individual waywardness, of lack of moral courage, and of surrender to pressures and temptations tarnish the image of the Civil Services and lead to immense criticism and dissatisfaction. Disapproval and even ostracization by peers and colleagues can be a powerful deterrent for those who tend to stray from the path of rectitude,” PM said.

He further said that civil servants should fearlessly advise the political class. “I expect you to be honest and fearless in advising your superior authorities, especially the political leadership,” Dr Singh said.
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Who is the kidnapped IAS?
Orissa politicians' opposition 

Hostage Crisis: Some Orissa politicians blame Patnaik for giving in to IAS lobby

DAYS after R Vineel Krishna, 2005 batch Orissa cadre IAS and district collector of Malkangiri was released by the Maoist extremists, a section of opposition political leaders in the state have questioned Naveen Patnaik government why it gave bureaucrats, mainly the IAS officers, a free hand to negotiate with the Naxals. The CPI leaders are the most vocal among the lot who claimed that the Orissa government had surrendered before the IAS lobby. The CPI in the state further questioned the government whether the authority would have followed up the case with the same rigour had only the junior engineer been abducted.

CPI state secretary of Orissa Dibakar Nayak told reporters that the democratic processes were subverted as the Patnaik government allowed bureaucrats to hold talks and make all announcements without taking politicians into confidence. According to him, the elected representatives including the ministers were ignored during the hostage episode. The party went to the extent of saying that the episode was dangerous for democratic set up.

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Abduction of Orissa IAS

Action and Appointments

a) Ms Vijayalakshmi K Gupta, a 1974 batch IDAS officer has been appointed as secretary (defence finance) in the ministry of defence in place of Nita Kapoor, a 1973 batch IDAS, on her retirement on March 31, 2011.

b) RG Nadadur, a 1980 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, presently Director (PP and PM), Indian Space Research Organisation under the department of space has been appointed as additional secretary and financial adviser in the department of space in place of G Balachandran, a 1977 batch West Bengal cadre IAS. It was also directed that in so far as his work relating to financial adviser is concerned, he should work under the supervision of the Member (Finance), Space Commission.

c) R Desikan, Trustee, Consumer Association of India (CAI) has been appointed as Member of the Civil Aviation Economic Advisory Council(CAEAC). The CAEAC was constituted by the ministry of civil aviation on December 9, 2010 to look and advise the ministry on economic issues relating to the civil aviation sector.

Canadian bureaucrats under fire for sending sensitive data through BlackBerry

MANY top Indian bureaucrats at the level of joint secretaries or secretaries may find their BlackBerry handset convenient for exchanging sensitive data, but their counterparts in Canada have come under fire for using a BlackBerry feature called PIN messaging to discuss sensitive information. Significantly, Canada is home to BlackBerry, one of the most popular smart phones around the world.

According to media reports published in Canada, senior Canadian bureaucrats are virtually playing with fire by sending sensitive government information on their BlackBerry. The debate was sparked off by wire service called The Canadian Press recently. The privacy commissioner and the federal agency responsible for information security have reportedly asked the bureaucrats not to use the PIN service for sending sensitive material. But the mobile-happy bureaucrats in Canada are still using the PIN service as it’s an easier tool to handle and is also faster than emails. The report further said that it is only a perception that such messaging systems are secure because they are encrypted and not stored, but they can actually be cracked.

The views of the Canadian company RIM, the maker of BlackBerry, were not however incorporated in the media reports.

In India, the Union home ministry has been threatening for a ban of BlackBerry service if intelligence agencies fail to get access to their encrypted messaging system, but the ministry kept on extending the deadlines. After all, the ban on BlackBerry in India would impact none other than ministers and senior bureaucrats among others!

R Vineel Krishna freed by Maoists

R Vineel Krishna, the 2005 batch Orissa cadre IAS who was abducted by Maoist extremists last Wednesday was released at Chitrakonda in Malkangiri district on Tuesday night. Krishna is the collector of Malkangiri district. Both R Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi were freed moment after an announcement was made at a joint press conference held by mediators and government officials that they would be released within 48 hours. According to reports, thousands of people of Malkangiri town came out on roads to celebrate. 

Hostage Drama: Know Orissa cadre IAS RV Krishna abducted by Maoist extremists

AS ALL back channel efforts are continuing to release 30-year-old IAS officer R Vineel Krishna, abducted on Wednesday by a group of 50 Maoists in Orissa, Union home minister called up Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik to ensure the safety of the abducted IAS officer. RV Krishna, a 2005 batch IAS officer and district collector of Malkangiri was abducted by Naxals who now sent out a set of demands for the release of the officer. This is the first instance of abduction of an IAS officer by Naxalites in Orissa.

Originally haling from Andhra Pradesh, Krishna was a civil engineer from Chennai before entering into IAS. He had earlier served as a director of District Rural Development Agency in Orissa before taking up the job of a district collector of Malkangiri district in January 2010. He was also the sub-collector of Champua and Baliguda respectively.

Union home secretary GK Pillai said that it might take some time to get the abducted officer out of Maoists, but he was confident that the officer would be released. Meanwhile, the state government contacted Naxal sympathiser Varavara Rao and social activist Swami Agnivesh to get the collector freed.

BoI Extraa…

IAS officer acts as a Show host

A young IAS officer and Rajnandgaon collector KS Pardesi turned a programme host of a function organized by Lanco Infratech Limited a few days ago. Though the company hired a well-known anchor for the job, chief minister Raman Singh called Pardesi and whispered a few words in his ear, according to media reports. Understandably at the instruction of the CM, the IAS officer took control of the show, but the question remains: Why did the CM want the officer to anchor the show?