FM wants tax officials to be like honey bees and meet targets without coercive methods

FINANCE minister Pranab Mukherjee said he wanted tax officials to be like honey bees who don’t harm flowers, as he talked about a future tax system which generates revenues on a sustained basis without use of coercive tax collection methods at the end of each year to meet targets. He said it while presenting the General Budget in Lok Sabha on Monday. He said he wanted tax collectors to “be like honey bees collecting nectar from the flowers without disturbing them, but spreading their pollen so that all flowers can thrive and bear fruit.” The tax officials have now been directed to work on SARAL-II forms for early introduction. UIDAI marks the beginning of private sector entry into government Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) marks the beginning of an era where the top private sector talent in India steps forward to take the responsibility for implementing projects of vital national importance, said finance minister Pranab Mukherjee while presenting the general Budget. He also added that the project is close to his heart. The project which will be spearheaded by former Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani, will roll out first set of unique identity numbers in 12 to 18 months. The Budget made a provision of Rs 120 crore for the project where a number of civil servants have been lobbying to get involved. Action & Appointment A) Raghu Menon, a 1974 batch IAS of Nagaland cadre, has been appointed as secretary, ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the vacancy of Ms Sushma Singh, a 1972 batch IAS of Jharkhand cadre who retired recently. Jawahar Sircar, a 1975 batch West Bengal cadre IAS who is secretary, ministry of culture, will relinquish the additional charge of the post of secretary, I&B. B) Central deputation tenure of Umesh Kumar, IPS (AM, 1984), IG, CISF has been extended for one year beyond June 11, 2009 or until further orders.

Pati, Patni and Post: It's Sudha Pillai vs. G K Pillai for next cabinet secretary

It’s Pillai vs. Pillai for the top administrative post in India. Labour secretary Sudha Pillai and her spouse and IAS batch-mate commerce secretary G K Pillai have turned out to be key contenders for the post of cabinet secretary, which will lie vacant in mid-June when current incumbent K M Chandrasekhar retires. Whereas Ms Pillai tops the current merit and seniority list of IAS officers of 1972 batch, her husband comes just next to her among 32 officials of the same-batch, who are working at different capacities in the government. If Ms Pillai finally makes it to the key post which will be decided by the next Prime Minister of the country, she will be the first woman to reach the top administrative position. Both Mr and Ms Pillai are from Kerala cadre, which means another Kerala cadre official will definitely succeed Mr Chandrasekhar of 1970 batch who is also from the same cadre. Some of the other prominent officers of the same batch include secretary to PMO M N Prasad (Bihar cadre), information and broadcasting (I&B) secretary Ms Sushma Singh (Jharkhand cadre) and urban development secretary M Ramachandran (Uttaranchal cadre). Babu Blogger spoke to a number of IAS officers to come to a conclusion that no government can afford to be so gender bias to deprive Ms Pillai though some said in private that no woman would eventually be given that key post, and Ms Pillai would be rehabilitated somehow to make way for G K Pillai. But what’s if Mr Chandrasekhar’s term which expires on June 13, 2009, gets extended for one more year. Babu Blogger will give you later a few more perspectives on who else would be benefited if such a development takes place.

Three secretaries to retire on May 31, 2009

Three secretaries to government of India will retire by the end of May, 2009. They are Jainder Singh, secretary, department of Information Technology in the ministry of Communication and Info Tech, Sushma Singh, secretary, Information & Broadcasting and Siddartha Mahavir Acharya, secretary in department of ex-servicemen welfare in the ministry of defence. Whereas Jainder Singh and Ms Sushma Singh are 1972-batch Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand cadre IAS, Mr Acharya is a 1974-batch Karnataka cadre IAS.