How to mentor a Deputy CM: IAS Sudhir Kumar appointed as principal secretary to Tejashwi’s dept

Sudhir Kumar, 2nd from right (file photo)

Sudhir Kumar, a 1982 batch Bihar cadre IAS and the one who as OSD to Lalu Prasad helped the Bihar politician taking credit of Indian Railways’ turnaround between 2004-2009, was on Wednesday given a new assignment – Bihar’s principal secretary of the road construction department, one of the three departments being handled by Lalu Prasad’s younger son and state’s deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. Meanwhile, Sudhir Kumar who is set to retire on March next year, has been elevated the rank of a…

Whispers in the Corridors: Railway services like IRTS, IRPS, IRAS could be merged into one

IF YOU go by the rumors in the Rail Bhawan, merging of various railway services such as Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) and Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) etc. is on the cards. In fact, the idea of discarding some of the services may be suggested by the…

Serious Business: Mamata’s payment for tea in cash-rich railways irks officials

TRINAMOOL Congress leader and railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s actions have made officials in Rail Bhawan awe struck. Railway babus, who get freebies including rail passes to travel around the country, are wondering how they should react to the situation where their minister pays for her cup of tea in the office. In fact, the department of railways is the most profit-making arm of the Central government with a profit of whopping Rs 90,000 cr during the last five years. But officials and employees close to the new minister are worried that they may have to pay everything from their pocket, and days of freebees could be over. What’s if the minister, who has already revoked the rule of giving life-long free first class rail tickets to former railway ministers, asks her employees to pay for everything beginning with tea! The bureaucrats, who went all the way to Kolkata carrying official files for Ms Banerjee to assume office there, now feel that nothing is impossible in Rail Bhawan so long as Didi is well on track. Politicians question Welsh civil servants’ splurge of £5 mn on car hire Forget home minister P Chidambaram receiving a brand new Ford sedan for a moment, the spending of whopping five million pound, or roughly Rs 40 crore by Welsh civil servants in UK for hiring of cars was branded “unacceptable” by the politician who uncovered details of the expenditure. In the politician-bureaucrat showdown, it was pointed out how such a huge amount was spent on car hiring for the last five years when video conference facilities have begun to reduce bureaucrats travel in that part of UK.

Jai Ho: Railway officials finally break free from an influential IAS

SENIOR officials at the Rail Bhawan have finally discovered that they are no longer under the dominance of an IAS officer. With former railway minister Lalu Prasad’s all powerful officer on special duty (OSD) Sudhir Kumar (See Picture) leaving the Rail Bhwan to join as a joint secretary in the ministry of power, top railway officials have regained the lost ground and become hyper-active to demonstrate their abilities to the new railway minister Mamata Banerjee. In fact, Indian Railways with about 15 lakh strong employees is the only government department which is not controlled by an IAS officer. Yet, during the last five years, the minister bestowed all power to 1982-batch Bihar cadre IAS Sudhir Kumar who in turn acted like a CEO of a company and micro-managed the show. In fact, he took many a bold decision to script the turnaround saga of Indian railways. Whereas Mr Prasad just monitored the macro issue and took only the politically sensitive decisions such as not hiking the passenger fare, it was Mr Kumar who remained a backseat driver to achieve a profit of whopping Rs 90,000 cr (about $18 billion) for the railways during the last five years. Along with Shagun Mehrotra, Mr Kumar finally penned a book titled “Bankruptcy to Billions: How the Indian Railways Transformed In Four Years” to share the secret of success. As the new minister has already zeroed in a Central services officer as her OSD, the Rail babus don’t need to worry a repeat of an IAS dominating the Indian Railways any longer.

Babus in demand: Job at Central Electricity Authority The Central Electricity Authority under the ministry of power urgently requires the suitable candidates for filling up the post of Member (Planning) and Member (Economic & Commercial) in the revised scale of Rs.37400-67000 with a grade pay of Rs 12,000. They would be given ex-officio status of additional secretary to the government of India.

Charm of IAS forces young railway probationers flee IIM campus

A DESIRE to become IAS officers has forced many railway probationers currently undertaking a management training programme in IIM-Calcutta flee the campus as civil services (preliminary) examination, 2009 are scheduled to be held on May 17, 2009, sources in Rail Bhawan told Babu Blogger. This has upset babus in Rail Bhawan who championed the cause of introducing for the first time a 12-week-long executive general management programme for 60 Indian railway officers as a part of the 18-month-long programme for railway probationer officers. The Board had earlier commissioned the IIM-C to conduct the course for the new recruits. Yet, railway officials chose to flee from the IIM campus as trying their luck for entering the elite IAS cadre is much more satisfying than taking lessons on economics, human resource, public policy, behavioural science, marketing, ethics and finance at the IIM.

UPSC Prelims as scheduled on May 17 The civil services (preliminary) examination, 2009 will be held by the Union Public Service Commission on May 17, 2009 as scheduled, the ministry of personnel, public grievances & pension said in a press release on May 15. The release termed the news items appeared in a section of Hindi dailies regarding postponement of some of the examinations conducted by the Commission as false.

UPSC declares results of IES/ISS written test, 2008 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) declared the result of the written part of the Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service Examination, 2008 held from November 22 to November 25, 2008. The candidates who have qualified the written test will now appear for interviews.

Railway officials upset over Lalu’s inability to fly to Kolkata for a day

RAILWAY minister Lalu Prasad’s inability to take a day out to fly to Kolkata amid the electoral battle has led to the uncertainty over holding of the Railway Week this year where railway employees including officials are awarded for their distinguished services. This has made many railway officers upset as Mr Prasad, who is termed as the railway turnaround man for realizing a profit of Rs 90,000 cr (about $18 billion) during the last five years, has ignored repeated requests of the organizers to take some time out for attending the big annual event. Though the annual function, which is always attended by the railway minister in addition to the chairman and members of the railway board, was originally scheduled to be held on the first week of April in Kolkata, the organizers are now convinced that only the next railway minister would preside over it. No wonder, speculations have begun in Rail Bhawan in Delhi on who could possibly be the next railway minister considering various post poll permutations and combinations of political parties.