Know Your Aam Babu: Decks cleared for SK Srivastava as Delhi’s new chief secretary

THE decks have been cleared for 1980 batch AGMU cadre IAS Sanjay Kumar Srivastava to be appointed as the new chief secretary of Delhi. State chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has reportedly chosen him as the top bureaucrat of the state, prompting the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet repatriating…

Patnaik repatriated; Goa chief secretary SK Srivastava is new DDA vice chairman

SK Srivastava, a 1980 batch UT cadre IAS and chief secretary of Goa, has been named as vice chairman, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in the rank and pay of additional secretary. Srivastava has replaced his own batch-mate GS Patnaik who is incidentally repatriated to the parent cadre. Patnaik, a straightforward officer, was ousted because…

Perti Continues: Why coalgate-hit govt needs this officer in coal ministry

IN AN unusual move, but not the first, 1977 batch Assam cadre IAS Alok Perti has been retained in the same coal ministry where he has retired as secretary. Perti has been appointed as advisor to coal ministry for three months till the end of August and he will continue to enjoy the rank and pay of ...

10 fascinating facts about 5 new secretaries: SR Rao, SK Srivastava, Sudhir Kumar, Bahuguna, Pati…

ON Monday, Pulokaseth (Pulok Chatterji and AK Seth) zeroed in five IAS of 1978 batch to be appointed as secretaries to Government of India. Gujarat cadre IAS SR Rao was appointed as commerce secretary, Assam-Meghalaya cadre SK Srivastava as coal secretary, Rajasthan cadre Ashish Bahuguna as agriculture secretary, Orissa cadre Gokul Chandra Pati as animal husbandry secretary and UP cadre Sudhir Kumar as food and public distribution secretary.

BoI here presents 10 fascinating facts about them, which you may or may not have heard earlier. Read On...

Former IRS officer and key Reliance executive dies in Switzerland

FORMER Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and key advisor to Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Sandeep Tandon is no more. Mr Tandon, a 1975 batch IRS who took voluntary retirement initially to study, and then to join as an advisor to India’s largest company RIL on taxation, international law and liaison matters, died in Switzerland’s Zurich on Wednesday. Born in 1951, he was nearing 60 when he died.

Besides his wife Anu Tandon, a Congress MP from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, Tandon is survived by his two sons Shalin Tandon and Sachin Tandon.

As an IRS officer, he hogged the limelight several time including when he was the director, enforcement, I-T and investigated foreign front companies floated by Reliance. He also conducted a raid in the house of Tina Ambani, wife of Anil Ambani, now chairman of ADAG group. After taking VRS from the I-T, Mr Tandon studied law, first in Delhi University and then at Robert Kennedy University in Switzerland. He developed a specialization in international law and taxation.

In fact, the entire Tandon family is closely connected to Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani’s family, as both his sons work for the company and his MP wife used to be the Managing Director of MoTech Software Pvt. Ltd, a firm launched by Mukesh Ambani. Thanks to their clout in Mumbai, even Bollywood actor Salman Khan specially campaigned for Anu Tandon in her constituency during the last general elections.

Action and Appointments

a) The ACC has approved the proposal for extension of Inter-Cadre deputation of Hari Krishan Paliwal, a 1981 batch UP cadre IAS from Uttar Pradesh cadre to AGMUT(Arunachal Pradesh) cadre for a period of 3 years beyond February 28, 2010.

b) V Srinivas, a 1989 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS has been appointed as Joint Secretary, in the ministry of textiles.

c) The competent authority has approved the proposal for assignment of additional charge of the post of Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC) Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to SK Srivastava, a 1978 batch Assam cadre IAS, additional secretary in the ministry of labour and employment, in addition to his own charge for a period of three months with effect from February 23, 2010.

d) Dhiman Chandra Pattanayak, a 1982 batch IRSEE officer has been appointed as Financial Adviser(joint secretary level) in the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) at Mumbai.

UIDAI jobs: Nilekani finds it tough to attract senior government officers; DoPT admits lack of interest for JS level posts

IT’S now official. The much talked about Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) headed by corporate honcho and former Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has failed to attract government talent as sufficient number of IAS, IPS and officers of other group A services have not shown interest in joining this unique project of giving an identification number to every Indian citizen.

In a candid admission, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) in a wireless message dated January 18, and marked to all state chief secretaries, said: “sufficient nominations have not been received to fill up the posts of deputy director generals (DDG at Joint Secretary level) in each of the regional offices of UIDAI located at Lucknow, Mumbai, Ranchi, Guwahati and Chandigarh”. Earlier, the DoPT in a message dated October 7, 2009, had asked state chief secretaries and other cadre controlling authorities to send names of officers to fill up these posts. The department has now appealed once again that the names of willing officers who are empanelled to hold joint secretary or equivalent posts should be recommended for filling up the UIDAI’s DDG posts. Over a month ago, the government sent a reminder to cadre controlling authorities about vacancies at the level of assistant director generals.

The DoPT’s current message has been marked to home secretary GK Pillai, secretary of environment and forests Vijay Sharma and other cadre controlling authorities of group A officers.

DoPT's wireless message on UIDIA jobs, dated January 18, 2010
JS level officers required at UIDAI
UIDAI'S Structure
Govt sends reminder on UIDAI vacancies

Babus in Demand: 6 posts of executive directors up for grabs in NHAI

The DoPT has written to all chief secretaries to recommend names of officers for filling up six vacancies in National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). According to the DoPT’s letter dated January 19, 2010, the vacancies at the level of joint secretaries (Pay band of Rs 37400-67000, PB 4, and grade pay of Rs 10,000) have arisen at Kolkata, Lucknow, Guwahati, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Bhopal. The nominations should reach in four weeks beginning January 19, 2010.

DoPT’s message on NHAI vacancy, January 19, 2010 

Action and Appointments

a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved in-situ elevation of S Manoharan, a 1975 batch Assam cadre IAS, presently additional secretary in the ministry of water resources, as special secretary in the same ministry with effect from July 31, 2009

b) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of SK Srivastava, a 1978 batch Assam cadre IAS, presently holding the post of additional secretary in the ministry of labour and employment of in-situ elevation basis, as additional secretary in the same ministry in the vacancy of S Krishnan, a 1975 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS.

c) KS Money, a 1976 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, presently member (administration) in National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been appointed as Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission, in the rank and pay of secretary in place of AK Jain, a 1973 batch West Bengal cadre IAS who has retired recently.