Action and Appointments: Court orders police to give "secret" documents to accused IAS

a) The Delhi Police has been asked by a Tis Hazari court to supply suspended IAS officer in the home ministry, Ravi Inder Singh, some “secret” documents annexed with the chargesheet against him. Singh, a 1994 batch West Bengal cadre IAS, is facing charges in a case related to leak of sensitive information.

A special judge asked the police to supply the requisite document to Singh, and said that Singh can’t be denied of those documents even if they are “secret”. Those documents were given on a sealed cover by the ministry of home affairs with a marking “SECRET”.

b) The CBI has recently quizzed 1989 batch from Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS, K Sanjay Murthy on various telecom decisions taken during Dayanidhi Maran’s tenure between 2004 and 2007. Murthy who was a former personal secretary of Dayanidhi Maran, is now secretary (administrative reforms) with the Himachal Pradesh government.

c) The central deputation tenure of Amrit Lal Meena, a 1989 batch Bihar cadre IAS and joint secretary in the ministry of food processing and industries has been extended for a period of one month beyond July 27, 2011.

d) Meenakshi Negi, a 1989 batch Karnataka cadre Indian Forest Service officer, has been re-appointed as director, Ayush.

Also check

12 New Joint Secretaries

Will Dr Faesal and his friends succeed in saving a six-decade old Indian brand, IAS?

IT’S a tale of two doctors, Dr Shah Faesal, the IAS topper of 2009 and Dr Ravi Inder Singh, 1994 batch IAS and home ministry director who was recently detained for allegedly leaking information in lieu of money and sex. Both happen to be MBBS-turned IAS officers, but they are not on the same side when it comes to Brand IAS.

On last Thursday, India’s home minister P Chidambaram released a video entitled “Ray of Hope”, prepared by government-run autonomous organization, National Foundation for Communal Harmony, highlighting the importance of peace, communal harmony and national integration. The video has featured Dr Shah Faesal, 2009 batch IAS topper hailing from the trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir, as the Goodwill Ambassador of NFCH. In the video, Dr Faesal has highlighted the need of being resilient against odds in life. While home minister Chidambaram released the politically correct video of featuring the young Indian IAS from Jammu and Kashmir, another IAS, a director ranked officer from Chidambaram’s own ministry was already detained as he allegedly leaked sensitive information related to a telecom company. And his reported code language, software from Uzbekistan, meaning sex workers from that country, became a spicy topic for discussion both inside and outside the corridors.

Here comes the big question in corridors of power--- is it the beginning of an end to Brand IAS? Remember, every IAS officer is a big brand in his locality and many middle class families virtually worship IAS officers of their locality or districts as big heroes. And there are many occasions in which IAS toppers are more popular than local MPs and MLAs, both elected representatives.

So, will the young breed of IAS officers being represented by Dr Faesal and his friends be able to stop the fast erosion of a century-old brand, Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Though IAS was formed in 1946, it was a much older brand considering that Indian Civil Service that was created in 1893 was just another name of today’s IAS. But Ravi Inder saga is just one of many recent occasions where brand IAS gets diluted. In February, 2010, Arvind Kumar Joshi and Tinoo Joshi, both 1979 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS, became the talk of the corridors when I-T sleuths recovered a whopping Rs 3.1 crore in cash, jewellery and documents of properties disproportionate to their known sources of income. Similar raids also recovered Rs 52 lakh cash and jewellery worth Rs 72 lakh.from the residence of 1988 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS, Babulal Agrawal.

What’s more, in the world of RTIs and growing activism, if the IAS officers finally succumb to the public pressure to disclose their assets, more fall guys are bound to surface. Your assets, your file noting and yes, your telephonic conversations could soon be under public scrutiny!

Also Read

An IAS couple in crores

Officer with 220 bank accounts

Munna Bhai MBBS, an MHA insider

Hardware is Room, Software means Sex

Manmohan Singh's prescription for IAS 

New Scripts in Power Corridors: Prasad, ladoo and gur for money; hardware means room; and software is sex worker

BUREAUCRATS are known for framing new rules, but here is a sample of an Indian bureaucrat’s reported art of coining a new code language: “Prasad”, “ladoo” and “gur” for money. And hold your breath: “software” for sex workers.

If the media reports quoting unnamed home ministry officials are correct, Ravi Inder Singh, the detained IAS of 1994 batch and director in MHA, had used a code language while talking to his close business associate Vineet who was arrested on Tuesday. In one telephonic conversation, the bureaucrat reportedly asked Vineet whether “software” from Ukraine is available, raising suspicion that favours in deals could have included both money and sex. Though home secretary GK Pillai told a section of media on Monday that raids in North Block were taken in view of allegations of insiders’ leaking information, there is no official confirmation about the code language.

UK Bansal, secretary internal security and Singh’s boss however said that involvement of such a high ranking officer is a matter of concern.

Though it’s confirmed that Singh was engaged in corporate espionage, no official spokesperson has come on record that he had leaked information on BlackBerry issue. Meanwhile, Research in Motion, the Canadian company that makes BlackBerry handsets, sent releases to media houses denying any involvement or insight regarding the matter that has led to the arrest of Ravi Inder Singh. In its clarification, the phone maker said that its employees and representatives have never met any MHA official other than in official meetings at the premises of MHA.

Action and Appointments

a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved premature cessation of tenure of Dr Neeraj Mittal, a 1992 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS as private secretary to the minister of state for commerce and industry Jyotiraditya Scindia. Mittal will be on a “Compulsory Wait” in the ministry of commerce and industry till he gets an alternate posting as director for the balance tenure under the Central Staffing Scheme which began on June 5, 2008

b) Aruna Sundarajan, a 1982 batch Kerala cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation.

c) Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, a 1997 batch Punjab cadre IAS, currently working as director in the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi, has been appointed as private secretary to the minister of state (power) Bharatsinh Solanki at deputy secretary level.

d) Vijaya Laxmi Joshi, a 1980 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as joint secretary, in the department of commerce.