Plan Panel Secretary to NITI Aayog CEO: What has worked in favour of Sindhushree Khullar

AFTER seven months of deliberation, Planning Commission has become NITI Aayog and the post of secretary in the Commission, which had always remained with an IAS officer, was replaced with a more corporate sounding designation – CEO of NITI Aayog. But on Saturday, the government appointed a retired IAS officer of 1975 batch, Sindhushree Khullar, for the post of CEO, indicating that the clout of IAS officers has not shrunk even by an inch under the…

A quick check on who are in-charge of various ministries as many secretaries are holidaying during this Christmas and New Year

MANY top bureaucrats in India heading various ministries and departments have gone on long leave during this festive season of Christmas and New Year forcing the department of personnel and training (DoPT) to announce their replacements for this period. The secretaries who are on leave now include Alka Sirohi, a 1974 batch MP cadre IAS and secretary, department of food and public distribution, AK Upadhyay, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS and secretary in the department of youth affairs, C Balakrishnan, a 1974 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS and secretary, ministry of coal and Dr M Ramachandran, a 1972 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and secretary of urban development ministry.
Now, secretaries of other ministries are being given additional charge of the ministries and departments where the top bureaucrats are on long leave. Rajiv Aggarwal, a 1975 batch Maharashtra cadre and secretary in the department of consumer affairs, for example, is given additional charge of the post of secretary in the department of food and public distribution during the absence on leave of Ms Sirohi from December, 25, 2009 to January 3, 2010. Ms Sindhushree Khullar, a 1975 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and secretary in the department of sports will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, department of youth affairs during the absence on leave of Mr Upadhyay from December 23, 2009 to January 3, 2010.
Similarly, R Bandyopadhyay, a 1974 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and secretary, ministry of corporate affairs was given additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of minority affairs during the absence on leave of Vivek Mehrotra, a 1974 batch Haryana cadre IAS from December 12, 2009 to December 20, 2009. DK Sikri, a 1975 batch Gujarat cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of women and child development will hold additional charge of the post of secretary in the ministry of coal during the absence on leave of Mr Balakrishnan for a period of three months or until further orders.
Also, Ms Kiran Dhingra, a 1975 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation, is holding additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of urban development during the absence on leave of Dr Ramachandran from December 21, 2009 to January 8, 2010. Dr Ramachandran is now in US on a personal visit.

Action and Appointments
SC Srivastava, a 1976 batch Central Secretariat Service officer has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of justice till the date of his superannuation on November 30, 2011, from the date of taking over charge of the post or until further orders.

Mayawati for a police training centre in Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Ms Mayawati has asked the concerned officials to initiate the process for setting up of a police training centre in Lucknow without any delay. The move is to set up the police training centre on 90 acres of land at Mohanlalganj area in the city, a state government government release said. She also directed that the vacant police posts should immediately be filled up to ensure better law and order situation in the state.

Jobs at UIDAI: Nilekani needs additional DGs in eight cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad

THE government has issued a circular asking for applications from suitable candidates to fill up posts of additional director general (ADG) at the level of deputy secretary or director, in the offices of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under the Planning Commission. The posts are located in eight cities --- Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ranchi, Guwahati, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The officers at the deputy secretary or director level who are eligible to work at the Centre under the Central Staffing scheme could apply. The applicants should identify the locations where he wants to place his candidature. The nominations for the posts should reach in four weeks of the issue of the circular which is September 25, 2009. Read: TKA Nair's advice to Nilekani on govt projects (Sep 16, 2009) 1978 batch IAS R S Sharma appointed UIDAI DG (July 17, 2009) Action & Appointments a) P J Thomas, a 1973 batch Kerala cadre IAS and presently secretary in the ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has been appointed as India’s next telecom secretary in place of S Behura, his batch-mate from UP cadre, who is retiring on 30th September, 2009. b) Ms Jayati Chandra, a 1975 batch UP cadre IAS, and presently secretary, department of youth affairs in the ministry of youth affairs and sports, has been appointed as secretary, ministry of development of North Eastern region (Doner) in place of Jarnail Singh, a 1974 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS, who is retiring on 30th September, 2009. c) The government has approved the proposal of the 13th Finance Commission for extension of Central deputation tenure of V Bhaskar, a 1981 batch AP cadre IAS and B S Bhullar, a 1986 batch UP cadre IAS, who are presently working as joint secretaries in the 13th Finance Commission for a period of three months beyond October 31, 2009 or until further orders. d) The competent authority has approved the following additional charge arrangements for a period of three months with effect from 1st October, 2009 or until further orders, whichever is earlier:- (i) K Sujatha Rao, IAS(AP, 1974), secretary, department of health and family welfare, will hold the additional charge of the post of secretary, department of AIDS control under the ministry of health and family welfare. (ii) Sindhushree Khullar, IAS(UT, 1975), secretary, department of sports will hold the additional charge of the post of secretary, department of youth affairs under the ministry of youth affairs and sports. e) The Competent Authority has approved premature repatriation of S N Misra, IDAS (1979), presently working as joint secretary in department of defence production, to his parent cadre of availing benefit of promotion to the Higher Administrative Grade in IDAS.