Subhash Chandra Garg designated as finance secretary; IFoS officer Preet Pal Singh prematurely repatriated to Jammu and Kashmir

Subhash Chandra Garg

Subhash Chandra Garg, 1983 batch Rajasthan cadre lAS, presently union secretary in the department of economic affairs (DEA), was on Friday appointed as union finance secretary. Finance secretary is a designation bestowed upon the senior-most secretary among secretaries of all five departments that come under the ministry of finance. Garg will continue to look after the DEA. Prior to joining as the DEA secretary, Garg was living in Washington DC, serving as…

Rakesh Srivastava: Know more about the new president of IAS Association

Senior IAS officers (File photo, 2015)

IAS Association has a new president. It’s union secretary and Rajasthan cadre IAS officer, Rakesh Srivastava. Here are 10 things you may like to know about the IAS Association’s new president:

77 years old Rajasthan officer Harish Krishniya and 4 other septuagenarians appointed as IAS; the appointments “notional”, DoPT clarifies

Harish Krishniya is 77 years old. He was born on March 28, 1941 i.e. six years before India became Independent, according to government records. And believe it or not, this Rajasthan officer along with four others, were last week promoted to IAS albeit the appointments being “notional”. After decades of litigation in the court, the promotion of the officers in yesteryears turned a reality. The Centre’s personnel department, DoPT, in an order dated April 20, 2018, said that five officers, viz.

Babu Marriage: IAS toppers Tina Dabi and Athar Aamir Khan get married in Kashmir

Tina Dabi, Athar Aamir Khan (Photo Courtesy: Tina Dabi Instagram)

THERE is nothing new in two IAS officers falling in love during probation in Mussoorie’s IAS academy, LBSNAA, and then getting married. But on Sunday, the marriage of Tina Dabi and Athar Aamir Khan at a Pahalgam resort in the trouble-torn Kashmir Valley was the talking point both among officers and also in social media. But why? First, the IAS couple who…

Know About Indu Bhushan: ADB’s senior official, ex-Rajasthan cadre IAS and new CEO of Ayushman Bharat; 10 Things

IN YET another appointment of a successful former IAS officer being brought back to India to head a new government scheme, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) last week approved the appointment of Indu Bhushan as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission (ABNHPM). Bhushan’s appointment draws parallel to that of Parameswaran Iyer, a 1981 batch former Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS who had left a job in the World Bank to return to India and spearhead the Centre’s ambitious programme, Swachh Bharat Mission. 

Here are 10 things you may like to know about the new CEO, Indu Bhushan:

Talent Hunt? All three IAS toppers of CSE 2015 get the same cadre — Rajasthan

ADVANTAGE Rajasthan? All three toppers of civil services examination, 2015 — Tina Dabi, Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan and Jasmeet Singh Sandhu have been allotted the same cadre — Rajasthan. The DoPT which released on Monday the list of cadre allocation of all 180 IAS recruits, gave the first three rank holders the same cadre. Fourth rank holder Artika Shukla gets AGMUT cadre whereas the 5th rank holder Shashank Tripathi gets his home cadre — Uttar Pradesh. The allocation of cadre is done through a process under which one IAS may not get the cadre she wants irrespective of whether she is a topper or not. But one-cadre-for-all-three-toppers has possibly turned out to be an exceptional case this time when the creme la creme of the …

Arjun Ram Meghwal: Another IAS-turned politician finds berth in North Block

Arjun Ram Meghwal, an IAS-turned politician and BJP’s Member of Parliament from Bikaner in Rajasthan, was on Tuesday appointed as the minister of state for finance and corporate affairs in Narendra Modi government at the Centre. Earlier, former Bihar cadre IAS Yashwant Sinha and former Karnataka cadre IAS JD Seelam served as union finance minister and MoS, finance respectively under different governments. But the story of Meghwal is really inspirational: Born to a family of weavers from Kismidesar village in Bikaner, Meghwal continued his studies while helping his father in weaving. He did his…

A Foot Soldier: IAS Jitendra Kumar Soni’s “Charan Paduka” is now a Rajasthan govt scheme

Jitendra Singh Soni, IAS

IT’S named Charan Paduka Scheme. Target? To provide shoes to the underprivileged school children. And the man who began this innovative way of empowering the under-privileged is a 2010 batch IAS — Jitendra Kumar Soni, the former district collector of Jalore, Rajasthan. Launched in January this year, the scheme has now been adapted by…

Know Your Babu: New tourism secretary Vinod Zutshi’s marketing skills may come handy now

Zutshi (right) with minister Dr Mahesh Sharma

FIRST, let’s take a close look at this photo. Newly-appointed tourism secretary and 1982 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS Vinod Zutshi is seen while being welcomed by minister of state for tourism (independent charge) Dr Mahesh Sharma in New Delhi on Wednesday. In the backdrop of the photo which was released by the tourism ministry on Wednesday, the photo of prime minister Nadendra Modi too stands out. Eyes say it all – the minister is likely to give Zutshi enough room to experiment, innovate and undertake new…

Action Packed Monday: Rajiv Mehrishi appointed as new home secretary; LC Goyal shifted as ITPO chairman

Mehrishi

IN A highly action-packed Monday which witnessed many a twist and turn in the corridors throughout the day, the Centre appointed 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS Rajiv Mehrishi as union home secretary after removing 1979 batch Kerala cadre IAS LC Goyal from the post, even as Goyal’s two-year-term in the North Block would have ended only in February 2017. Most bureaucrats across ministries were thoroughly confused with the way…

Why rumours about Rajiv Mehrishi as the next cabinet secretary sound logical

A YEAR ago, 1978 batch IAS Rajiv Mehrishi moved from Delhi to Jaipur to take charge as chief secretary of Rajasthan. He was then the secretary of a low-profile union ministry, fertiliser. His batch-mate from the same cadre Arvind Mayaram was then the all-powerful finance secretary. Mehrishi’s return journey was also prompted by the fact the he found no hope of career progression in Delhi. A year later, Mehrishi is India’s finance secretary, and if sources in the corridors are to be believed he is being groomed as…

Old hand in tourism Lalit K Panwar appointed as tourism secretary; where is Mayaram heading for?

Lalit K Panwar

THE government has cancelled the appointment of finance secretary Arvind Mayaram as tourism secretary, and instead brought in a veteran in tourism sector Lalit K Panwar, as India’s new tourism secretary, according to an order dated October 29. Panwar, 1979 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, has been working as secretary in the ministry of minority affairs. Now, Mayaram has been appointed as…

Know Your Babu: Rajasthan’s new chief secretary Rajiv Mehrishi

NEWLY formed Rajasthan government led by Vasundhara Raje has hand-picked Rajiv Mehrishi as the chief secretary of the state. Mehrishi, 1978 batch IAS and the one who was recently shifted from the ministry of overseas affairs to a relatively low profile ministry – fertiliser, as its secretary, has found the coveted post of heading Rajasthan bureaucracy under a new regime. A batch-mate of two high-profile Union secretaries from the same…

After IAS Ravindra Kumar, 5 more officers gear up to scale Mt Everest next year

ONLY a couple of months after Sikkim cadre IAS officer of 2011 batch, Ravindra Kumar had created history by scaling the Mt Everest, the highest peak in the world, five IAS officers-- all belonging to Rajasthan are now dreaming big. According to reports, all those five officers have got berths in Indo-Nepal Mount Everest Civil Service expedition scheduled for next year. Here are more about each of those officers:

New twist to Rajasthan IAS VS Singh’s death; police to probe afresh

WHEN additional chief secretary-ranked IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre VS Singh died in a road accident in Jaipur a week ago, police did not even doubt it could be more than a mere accident. But the statement of deputy commissioner (commercial tax department) Vijendra Singh who was with VS Singh, and in coma since then, contradicted what the driver of the speeding Maruti Alto car said, forcing the police to begin the probe from the scratch. Here is the twist of the tale:

Rajasthan cadre IAS VS Singh killed in a mishap in Jaipur city

ADDITIONAL chief secretary-ranked IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre VS Singh was killed on Monday when a speeding Alto car hit him near central park in Jaipur. The 1978 batch IAS who was the batch-mate of economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram and agriculture secretary Ashish Bahuguna, was returning…

5 things about IAS Sunil Arora; his successes & controversies

Sunil Arora

Sunil Arora, a 1980 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS who is credited with turnaround of Indian Airlines, is back at the Centre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved Arora’s name as Development Commissioner (Handlooms) under the ministry of textiles. Those who know this officer well say he is more a firebrand CEO than a typical bureaucrat. But Arora has come into some controversies as well. He was heard in Niira Radia tapes when he and the corporate lobbyist talked about the equation of a minister and a PMO official. Here are more:

From MHA to culture secretary Sangita Gairola's journey sails smooth

THOSE were the turbulent days when Jet Airways was linked to underworld. It was fiercely denied, but then telecom and disinvestment minister Arun Shourie picked up an intelligence report when the issue of civil aviation ministry’s proposal to allow Jet Airways and Air Sahara to fly international, cropped up in cabinet in February 2004. And the woman who handled that and many other highly sensitive matters in the home ministry was then joint secretary Sangita Gairola, a 1977 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS. Ms Gairola was an influential joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs for five long years when LK Advani was at the helm of North Block.
Now, Sangita Gairola has been appointed as India’s new culture secretary. This is however not to suggest that Ms Gairola, an MA in English literature, is a firebrand lady with no experiences in tourism and culture. In fact, she was principal secretary of tourism, art and culture in Rajasthan government in 2004-05. In April 2008, she joined Union social justice and empowerment ministry as an addition secretary. Later, she was elevated to the rank of a special secretary. Beginning her career as a sub-divisional officer at Alwar in late 1970s, Gairola first joined the Central government in 1989 as a deputy secretary in Union agriculture ministry. She had also served as chief electoral officer of Rajasthan government.

New ED for a month

Amitabh Rajan, a 1979 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS, has been given additional charge as Director Enforcement for one month. As director ED, Rajan incidentally has to look into the case of two of his own IAS batch-mates, Tinu Joshi and Arvind Joshi. The ED has already attached Joshi couple’s properties of over Rs 6 crore. According to estimates by Income-Tax department, Joshis are worth Rs 240 crore. While talking to local media, Arvind Joshi contradicted such claims.

Babu Tweets

Dr SY Quraishi, a 1971 batch Haryana cadre IAS and India’s Chief Election Commissioner, has joined the Twitter bandwagon. @DrSYQURAISHI is his address in the world of micro-blogging. And he was pretty active yesterday night replying to a number of tweets on assembly elections that are currently taking place in five Indian states. “Right friends. Good bye and good night for now. Lots of files to clear” was Dr Quraishi’s last tweet yesterday night. You can also spot babu blogger’s tweeting action at twitter.com/babublogger

Neta Babu Cricket: Union minister CP Joshi spins against 1986 batch IAS Sanjay Dixit

ROUGH PITCH: IAS officer Sanjay Dixit

Sanjay Dixit, a 1986 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS and passionate cricket lover, is finally giving rooms to Union road transport and highways minister CP Joshi to control Rajasthan cricket. The power struggle between the bureaucrat and the Union minister has continued for quite sometime which only got intensified when supporters of both Joshi and Dixit put locks on Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) office on July 30, 2011. Only recently, CP Joshi’s faction got the locks opened from the office as Irani Trophy was to begin on October 1, 2011.

Joshi has recently become the chairman of RCA whereas Dixit was first elected as president of RCA on March 1, 2009 and later became its secretary. Joshi faction suspended Dixit, but the IAS officer took the battle to the court.

Only a few months ago, Joshi had a tough time with another IAS officer --- his then secretary RS Gujral. But Gujral, a 1976 batch Haryana cadre IAS, was picked up as revenue secretary by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, and within a short time he was elevated to the post of finance secretary as Gujral became Finmin’s senior-most officer.

But Dixit may not be so lucky in this Neta-Babu power tussle over cricket. According to reports, Dixit, currently serving as state’s irrigation secretary at the rank of a joint secretary of Government of India, may face action from department of personnel and training (DoPT) for alleged violation of service conduct rules by holding a post in Rajasthan Cricket Association without required permission.

Dixit who was once close to former IPL chief Lalit Modi and later famously defeated him for the post of Rajasthan Cricket Association’s president, came into news when he tweeted several uncomfortable questions on Modi in April 2010 when the IPL scam was at its peak. Then minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor had to resign, and there were I-T raids in Modi’s Mumbai office.

Dixit’s then famous tweets said: “Lalit Modi has local modules in Rajasthan and Jaipur. Please supply their names… Raids on IPL is no solution. Raid our friend’s (Modi) associates, catch people who worked for him in the past, who know all about his laundering”.

Interestingly when Dixit was very close to Lalit Modi, they were together nick-named as “Dixit and Fix-it (Modi)” in Rajasthan!

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Can an IAS officer’s note create rift between PM and Sonia?

NO SENIOR bureaucrat in Delhi would like to be associated with this headline: “Babu hand in Sonia-PM rift”. But Arvind Mayaram, a 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS has hogged the limelight for his reported objections to a hike in minimum wages paid under the flagship NREG Scheme after interpreting Pranab Mukherjee’s Budget speech. That’s not all. A note by Mayaram, additional secretary in rural development ministry, formed the basis of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s rejection to Sonia Gandhi-led NAC’s recommendations that minimum wages for NREGA workers be enhanced, according to a report in Hindustan Times. But the rural development ministry finally hiked the wages and sent out a press release last week giving details about the hike of minimum wages for NREGA workers in different states. The Hindustan Times report further said Mayaram to be close to 10 Janpath.

Over a year ago, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat obtained the minutes of a meeting called on July 10, 2009 to discuss the policy of revising the wage rates where Mayaram reportedly interpreted what finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said about the hike of NREGS wages during the General Budget. It was probably the first such instance of a senior politician obtaining the details of an internal meeting of officers by filing an RTI application.

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Action and Appointments

a) The Supreme Court has allowed the Kerala government to go ahead with the trial in the palmolein oil scam involving chief vigilance commissioner and 1973 batch Kerala cadre retired IAS, PJ Thomas. CVC Thomas will now have to face trial in the case. Former Kerala CM K Karunakaran and seven officials including Thomas were chargesheeted in 2000. Thomas was then the Kerala food secretary. The then chief secretary of the state, additional secretary and Kerala state civil supplies corporation’s MD GG Thomas were also named as accused in the FIR.

b) Govind Mohan, a 1989 batch Sikkim cadre IAS, has been appointed as the joint secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat for a period of six months. He has been a director and then a joint secretary in department of economic affairs under finance ministry.

c) New vice-chairman of DDA, GS Patnaik, a 1980 batch IAS officer of Union Territory cadre, has spelt out the reforms that he would be undertaking soon. Creating land record would be one of his priorities. Patnaik would further like to make changes in the field of design innovation of DDA flats.