Defence production and ex-servicemen secretaries are on leave; defence secretary Sanjay Mitra given additional charge; Also, list of temporary upgradation/down-gradation of 6 posts

TWO union secretaries under the ministry of defence are on leave between December 29 and January 6. And the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) bestowed the additional charge of both the posts to defence secretary and 1982 batch West Bengal cadre IAS, Sanjay Mitra. So, Mitra will take additional charge of the post of secretary, department of defence production currently held by 1985 batch Kerala cadre IAS, Dr Ajay Kumar and also the post of…

Sonal Swaroop, IAS, was “physically hit and verbally abused”; Full text of IAS Association’s letter to defence secretary

Sonal Swaroop

THE IAS Association has strongly condemned the assault of its member and deputy commissioner of Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district, Sonal Swaroop, by uniformed men belonging to 2nd Arunachal Pradesh Scouts Battalion, a part of Indian armed forces. Ms Swarup, a 2012 batch IAS, was physically hit and verbally abused, the Association said in a letter to union defence secretary. Here below is the full text of the letter written by Rakesh Srivastava, secretary of Indian Civil and Administrative Services (Central) Association and union secretary of the ministry of women and child development, Government of India:

1985 batch IAS Ajay Kumar takes additional charge as defence secretary till Sep 13

Ajay Kumar, 1985 batch Kerala cadre IAS and presently the union secretary of defence production, has been given an additional charge of the post of defence secretary for the period between August 29 and September 13 when the incumbent defence secretary, Sanjay Mitra is on leave. Mitra is a 1982 batch West Bengal cadre IAS. Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, the government has repeatedly extended the last date of application for the post of financial adviser in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), a quasi-judicial body that comes under the ministry of corporate affairs. The reasons for this acton are...

Know Your IAS: New defence secretary Sanjay Mitra; 10 Things to Know

COME May 24, West Bengal cadre lAS of 1982 batch Sanjay Mitra will be India’s new defence secretary. He has already been appointed as officer on special duty (OSD) in the ministry of defence before he would formally take over as new defence secretary from incumbent G Mohan Kumar. Armed with rich administrative experiences — joint secretary in PMO, chief secretary in West Bengal and union secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways — Mitra has always been a much sought-after officer. Those who are close to Mitra further confirm that he was brought back to Kolkata at the behest of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Here are 10 things to know about new defence secretary.

Sanjay Mitra is new defence secretary; and Rashmi Verma tourism secretary; adhoc appointments for telecom and road transport

New Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma (File Photo)

IN A major senior bureaucracy level reshuffle on Wednesday, the Centre appointed Sanjay Mitra, former chief secretary of West Bengal and key bureaucrat in the era of Manmohan Singh’s PMO, as India’s next defence secretary. He is currently serving as secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways. Also, textiles secretary Rashmi Verma will be new tourism secretary. The government has not however posted permanent secretaries in two key ministries — road transport and highways, and telecom. Here below are the appointments of new secretaries in the ministries of defence, textiles, tourism, tribal affairs, consumer affairs etc.:

Monday Night Reshuffle: Sanjay Mitra is new road transport secretary; Amitabh Kant given additional charge of NITI Aayog’s CEO

THE Central government on Monday night appointed new secretaries in the ministry of road transport and highways, disinvestment and textiles, and gave additional charge of the post of CEO, NITI Aayog to DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant till further order. The moving out of Aradhana Johri from finance ministry (as disinvestment secretary) just a couple of months before the presentation of the general budget and bringing in of West Bengal chief secretary and former PMO official of Manmohan Singh era, Sanjay Mitra, as the secretary of the ministry of road transport and highways were the other two key highlights in the Monday night reshuffle. Here are the 6 key secretary-level appointments:

Govt releases 2nd empanelment lists for secretary, addl secretary; Sanjay Mitra, Aruna Sharma, Snehlata Shrivastava find place

Aruna Sharma (File Photo)

THE government on Monday released two more IAS empanelment lists, one belonging to 1982 batch for union secretaries and another of 1985 batch as additional secretaries. New secretary-empanelled IAS officers include West Bengal chief secretary and former PMO official Sanjay Mitra and former Doordarshan DG Aruna Sharma. Here is the full list of officers, their educational qualifications and when they are retiring:

Mamata Banerjee’s trusted bureaucrat Gautam Sanyal’s promotion as principal secretary; story behind

WEST BENGAL chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s most trusted bureaucrat Gautam Sanyal was last month elevated as the principal secretary to chief minister after the state chief secretary finally issued the necessary order. It is not an ordinary promotion, at least for two reasons. First, Sanyal has become the first central secretariat service (CSS) officer (though retired) to get this coveted position. Secondly, this move is bound to create unease among IAS officers serving in West Bengal and outside. After all, principal secretary is a “cadre” post meant only for…

Ex-PMO official Sanjay Mitra to be new West Bengal chief secretary

WEST Bengal will have a relatively young officer, 1982 batch IAS and ex-PMO hand Sanjay Mitra as the new chief secretary. The 53-year old officer who enjoys good personal rapport with Mamata Banerjee’s confidante Gautam Sanyal (Read: Sanyal is Mamata's Pulok), was one of the two prominent Mitras handpicked by Banerjee when she moved from Delhi to Kolkata last year to take over as West Bengal CM. No prize for guessing...

Other Mitra: Ex-PMO official Sanjay Mitra may eventually become chief secretary

FORMER joint secretary in PMO and 1982 batch West Bengal cadre IAS Sanjay Mitra may finally get his due. According to reports, desks are being cleared for Mitra to become first an additional chief secretary and then chief secretary of Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal. Incidentally, Mitra who had worked in PMO for almost seven years was handpicked by Ms Banerjee. But he was then relegated to the backyard of Kolkata’s...

Defence Jobs: 3000 additional personnel to be inducted into Coast Guard

GOOD news for those looking at opportunities in defence sector. Defence minister AK Antony himself announced on Wednesday that government had sanctioned nearly 3,000 additional personnel at various levels and this needs to be filled up on priority. The proposed quantum jump in the number of Indian Coast Guard personnel will make it a potent force to counter terrorism from the sea. Mr Antony was addressing the 28th Coast Guard Commanders’ Conference. Mr Antony asked the Coast Guard top brass to explore innovative ways to develop infrastructure support for the Coast Guard fleet in the days to come. "Since its inception, Coast Guard has maintained its fleet with minimal shore infrastructure. You have been managing the fleet through outsourcing repairs & refit. However, the massive expansion being charted through ship acquisition will significantly develop the shore infrastructure," he said. More jobs are being created in police forces too after home minister P Chidambaram has found manpower shortage a major constraint in ensuring safety and security to citizens. B for Bureaucrats: PM wants to retain his Team B With the tenure of PMO joint secretary Sanjay Mitra being extended for two more years, it has now been almost confirmed that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh himself is very much keen to retain the same team for his second innings too. Mr Mitra is a 1982 batch West Bengal cadre IAS. Earlier, tenures of PMO joint secretaries R Gopalakrishnan, Ms Vini Mahajan, and secretary M N Prasad were extended. Read: PM retains key officers to bring in continuity (October 1, 2009)

Action & Appointments Dr C S Kedar, a 1979 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, presently working as joint secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat has been appointed as Director General, Employees State Insurance Corporation under the Ministry of Labour and Employment on lateral transfer basis, by temporarily downgrading the post to the joint secretary level for the period upto June 4, 2013, or until further orders.

CVC for major penalty proceedings against 106 officers The Central Vigilance Commission advised initiations of major penalty proceedings against 106 officers. Of these, 21 were from ministry of railways, 21 from public sector banks, 13 from MCD, 8 from Northern Coalfields Ltd., five from Central Coalfields Ltd., four each from CBEC, MHA & ministry of urban development, three each from PG Institute of Medical Education & CBDT, two each from Department of Telecommunications, ministry of labour and ESIC. The Commission also advised imposition of major penalty against 68 officers including 14 from National Aluminum Co. Ltd., 12 each from Central Coalfileds Ltd. & Public Sector Banks, six from ministry of railways, five each from National Insurance Co. Ltd. & DDA, two each from Border Roads Development Board & Central Board of Excise and Customs.