IPS, a pillar that represents continuity, says President Kovind

IDEAL police system is one where a citizen gets services from the police without visiting the police station, President Ram Nath Govind told the 2017 batch IPS officer-trainees. President Govind interacted with the young officer-trainees in New Delhi’s Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. Here below are the details of what Govind had said:

Know more about 3 new books on Rashtrapati Bhavan

ON SATURDAY, three books on Rashtrapati Bhavan containing various facets of the President’s estate, were released. Under Pranab Mukherjee as the President of India, a number of new initiatives — multi-volume documentation project, smart gram initiative, visitor’s conference, laureates and leaders summit —were taken up. But which are these three new books and what do they contain? Here is the brief description of each one of those:

Spot “Kiss of Fire” in India’s corridors of power; Try it out on the Valentine’s Day

HAVE you spotted “Kiss of Fire” in India’s corridors of power?  And if you thought Raisina Hills is all about power, politics and politicking, think again. India’s Presidential Palace Rashtrapati Bhavan grows Kiss of Fire, Eiffel Tower and Taj Mahal -- all varieties of roses, and also houses as many as 10,000 Tulips in red, orange and yellow mixed with red, pink, purple and white. And the good news is that the Mughal Gardens inside Rashtrapati Bhavan premise will be open for public from the Valentine’s Day onward till March 15, 2015. Read the following to know more about John F Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth and Mr. Lincoln, all blooming inside India’s Raisina Hills:

“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 Mukherjee gives a pep talk to young IRS probationers; says tax collection “not easy”

PRESIDENT Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the role and responsibilities of customs and central excise departments have increased manifold and become more complex over the years. He was addressing a group of…

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…

Raisina Hills: President on bureaucracy; high tea party; secretary to Prez…

Secretary Christy Fernandes behind President Patil

AS THE race for the next President’s post is getting hot in the capital, BoI (Babus of India) presents Rashtrapati Bhawan’s three connects with Indian bureaucracy. The Presidential Palace is apolitical in nature, but mind it, this 340-room building spreading over 200,000 square feet area, is at the middle of Delhi’s power centre.

Bureaucrats, diplomats enjoyed President Patil’s high tea party at Mughal Garden

Thai PM Shinawatra, Indian President Patil during the tea party

IT was Thursday afternoon. The 63rd Republic day parade was over by then. Country’s top bureaucrats, diplomats, armed forces officials along with their spouses reached the backyard of Rashtrapati Bhavan to join the high tea party hosted by President Pratibha Patil. The menu of the President’s “At Home” party included samocha, pakora, fish fries and sweets. And of course tea and coffee!
President Patil who is completing her five-year term in July this year seated at the VVIP enclosure along with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia among others.
But the bureaucrats and diplomats enjoyed the moment by roaming around the sprawling and elegantly manicured Mughal Garden at Rashtrapati Bhavan. It was a sunny afternoon, and none of the 1000 guests was in a hurry to go back home. Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar and his wife were greeted by many officials present there. Ex-US ambassador Meera Shankar and her husband Ajay Shankar, a former industry secretary, were also spotted chatting with their friends in the corridors. Montek Singh Ahluwalia's adviser Gajendra Haldea, ex-CBDT chairman PK Mishra and minority affairs secretary Surajit Mitra were among those seen chatting with friends and colleagues. A number of secretaries, former governors and political leaders were also present during the occasion.
None of the officials and armed forces bigwigs probably had any idea that 44-year-old Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was by then one of the top 10 Twitter trends in India. But Shinawatra wearing a cream skirt and jacket was the cynosure of all eyes during the high tea party. Those who were present near the VVIP enclosure said woh! when Thai PM said: Namaste India. 
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340-room wonder

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A glimpse of Lutyens’ H shaped master piece

ONE hundred years ago, British shifted India’s capital from Kolkata to Delhi, and the Viceroy’s House christened as Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 26, 1950 was conceptualized in the same year of 1911. Made with some 700 million bricks, 3 million cubic feet of stone and very little steel, Rashtrapati Bhavan is an “H” shaped structure with 4 floors. It is a widely acclaimed master piece of architecture and a big achievement of Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens.

President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil recently released a commemorative postage stamp on Rashtrapati Bhavan marking the 80th Anniversary of the commissioning of the building, when the then Governor General of India Lord Irwin became its first occupant. The year 2011 also marks the 100th anniversary of New Delhi.

For those who are not familiar with Raisina Hills, the power centre of Indian bureaucracy, this 340-room building spreading over 200,000 square feet area, is at the middle of the Delhi’s power centre. This is what the building is:

* The use of pink sandstone and Dholpur buff or cream stone establishes the kinship of Rashtrapati Bhavan with Mughal and Rajpur edifices. The most outstanding feature of the House, the large Neo-Buddhist Dome that rises over a vast frontage, pays homage to the Stupa at Sanchi.

* The Mughal Garden, as its name indicates, has the geometric decorum of the gardens at Taj Mahal and Shalimar Gardens at Srinagar.

* Marking the entry point of precincts of Rashtrapati Bhavan is the wrought black lace like grille, acclaimed to be a work of art in itself. It leads into a “T shaped” court with its horizontal portion forming the forecourt, a stage for Ceremonial Guards of Honour held for the visiting Heads of State and Government. In the centre of the jutting section of the T stands the mighty Jaipur Column.

* The forecourt stands out with its 31 steps and colonnaded frontage which comprises a posse of 20 pillars -12 at the front followed by 2 rows of 4 each. In the midst of these and in front of the entrance to the Durbar Hall stands the Ashokan Bull, also known as the Rampurva Bull capital, which dates back to the Asokan period. Built under the dome with a magnificent chandelier suspended from the top of the dome, it hosts the statue of Gautam Buddha belonging to the Gupta age.

* The Ashoka Hall was earlier a ballroom, and at present hosts all major ceremonial functions like Swearing-in Ceremonies and Defence and Civil Investiture ceremonies. It has an elaborately painted ceiling with an oval shaped 9 piece canvas Qajar painting at the centre. The State Banquet Hall has a teak panel wainscoting on which the portrait of the earlier Presidents are displayed, and above the wainscoting is exhibited an assortment of medieval arms.

* Lutyens was very fond of using geometrical permutation in his designs especially the trade mark circular shape.

Action and Appointments

a) Arun Kumar Misra, a 1976 batch UP cadre IAS, presently secretary in the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, has been appointed as secretary, ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation in place of Ms Kiran Dhingra. Ms Kiran Dhingra would be placed on compulsory wait in the ministry of HUPA until further orders.

b) Navin Kumar, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS, presently secretary, ministry of urban development, has been appointed as secretary, ministry of drinking water and sanitation.

c) Sudhir Krishna, a 1977 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, presently special secretary, in the ministry of Panchayati Raj, has been appointed as secretary in the ministry of urban development.

d) Apoowa Chandra, a 1988 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS and joint secretary in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of school education and literacy.

e) Ms Sadhna Rout, a 1984 batch IIS officer and joint secretary in the ministry of women

and child development has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of tribal affairs.