More about private secretaries of 3 ministers -- Amit Shah, Smriti Irani and Jitendra Singh

THE Central government last week appointed private secretaries of three prominent ministers — home minister, Amit Shah, textiles minister, Smriti Irani and DoPT and DoNER minister, Jitendra Singh. Here below are the details:

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das: Another 1980 batch retired IAS appointed in a high-profile post

Shaktikanta Das, 1980 batch retired IAS, has today assumed charge as the new Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in place of Urjit Patel who had resigned on Monday. With Das’ appointment to this Mint Street post, the number of 1980 batch retired officers occupying high-profile positions has increased to at least four. The other 1980 batch retired officers in high positions include…

Coming Soon: 2011 batch IAS Vijayakarthikeyan’s fiction, "Once upon An IAS Exam"

Vishy’s worst nightmare — failing the UPSC’s Civil Services exam — has come true. He is plagued by insecurity, fear and doubts. The mother of all competitive examinations has rejected him and he needs a reason to live. So, what does he do? He tells his best friend Rithika, ‘I love you… Will you marry me?’

Here’s a forthcoming fiction “Once upon An IAS Exam”, written by Dr K Vijayakarthikeyan, an MBBS-turned IAS officer of 2011 batch. A Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, Vijayakarthikeyan is presently posted as…

10 things to know about new UPSC Member Smita Nagaraj

A WEEK after 1984 batch former Tamil Nadu cadre IAS Smita Nagaraj took over as Member, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), a government agency that recruits top civil servants of the country, the President of India has given his formal nod. A notification issued on Wednesday (6th December), reads as follows: “The President is pleased to appoint Ms. Smita Nagaraj as Member, Union Public Service Commission with effect from the forenoon of 1st December, 2017, for a period of six years or until she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier”. Here are the 10 things about Smita Nagaraj:

IAS Archana Patnaik gets nod for inter-cadre deputation to Odisha; 2 new appointments in National High Speed Rail Corporation

Alignment of India's 1st high speed rail corridor

THE government last week gave its nod to inter-cadre deputation of 2002 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS Archana Patnaik from Tamil Nadu cadre to Odisha cadre for a period of three years on “personal grounds”. The order issued on November 16 said:

Action and Appointments: IFS Ajay Bisaria as India's high commissioner to Pak; IAS Manoj Ahuja as LBSNAA joint director

MANOJ Ahuja, 1990 batch Odisha cadre IAS, will be a new Joint Director (JS level) at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie in place of Tejveer Singh, 1994 batch Punjab cadre IAS, for a period of five years. Originally belonging to Punjab, Ahuja was allotted Odisha cadre after getting into IAS. A mechanical engineer-turned IAS, Ahuja is also an...

3 IAS — T Jacob, Smita Nagaraj and Nikhilesh Jha — elevated as special secretary; More about them

THREE IAS officers of 1984 batch — T Jacob of Tamil Nadu cadre, Ms Smita Nagaraj, also of Tamil Nadu cadre and Nikhilesh Jha of Manipur cadre — were on Monday appointed as special secretary in the rank and pay of union secretary. According to the order issued on Monday, their posts would be upgraded in-situ as they were also empaneled as secretary-equivalent. Accordingly, T Jacob, the present secretary in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), will now be a…

How a unique case of an IPS-IAS couple triggered the Centre to ease cadre change rules on grounds of marriage

THE Central government has changed the service rules to make it easy for married IAS and IPS officers to get the same cadre state, according to media reports published on Monday. According to the reports, prime minister Narendra Modi took special initiatives to get the existing rules amended. But what triggered the government to change the rules which received nods from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)? The issue originated in a unique case that cropped up in February 2016 in which…

A day after I-T raid, P Rama Mohana Rao is out; Know more about new Tamil Nadu chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan

Girija Vaidyanathan

Ms Girija Vaidyanathan, a 1981 batch IAS officer, was on Thursday appointed as the new chief secretary of Tamil Nadu in place of P Rama Mohana Rao on whose residence and office Income-Tax sleuths had raided yesterday and reportedly seized Rs 30 lakh in cash and five kilograms of gold. Rao, a 1985 batch IAS, was handpicked by the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa in June this year to head Tamil Nadu bureaucracy. In that process Rao superseded a number of his seniors including Ms Vaidyanathan, his four-batch senior in IAS. Ms Vaidyanathan is currently…

How DEA secretary and 1980 batch IAS Shaktikanta Das answers a question in Tamil

AT THE inaugural session of economic editors conference in New Delhi, televised by some TV channels, finance minister Arun Jaitley got puzzled for a moment. “Kya” (what?) — he asked his officials sitting next to him, as one of the editors from Tamil Nadu began by asking a question in English before shifting to Tamil language. The question was on investment awareness among common people. The media person from Tamil Nadu got a reply from union secretary of the department of economic affairs (DEA) Shaktikanta Das who hails from Odisha but...

10 things to know about Jacob panel studying cadre structure, recruitment and career stagnation of Group "A" officers

THE Central government last week constituted a task force under the chairmanship of T Jacob, additional secretary serving in the department of personnel and training (DoPT) to look into various aspects of cadre structure of Group “A” services. In the backdrop of increasing complaints of stagnation in career from various services, particularly at senior levels, it’s expected that the task force’s recommendations will mitigate stagnation in future. Here are 10 things on the newly-set up task force:

Know more about Tamil Nadu’s new chief secretary P Rama Mohana Rao; also about 5 key bureaucrats in Jayalalithaa’s CMO

THE AIADMK government on Wednesday undertook a major bureaucratic reshuffle in Tamil Nadu, the key highlight being the appointment of 1985 batch IAS P Rama Mohana Rao after relocating incumbent K Gnanadesikan as the CMD of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). According to the order, new chief secretary Rao will also discharge his duties as the vigilance commissioner and commissioner for administrative reforms. This is the first bureaucratic reshuffle after J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK came back to power in last month’s assembly poll bunking anti-incumbency sentiments. Rao’s batch mate and Andhra Pradesh’s principal finance secretary PV Ramesh took to Twitter to say:

How civil servants celebrated 67th Republic Day; their comments, photos and videos

AS THIS article is being written, Indian civil servants including diplomats stationed across the world have continued to post photos, comments with creative description of their moments of satisfaction while celebrating the 67th Republic Day on Tuesday. BoI picks out this photo of 2009 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS G Veerapandian while receiving an award for a tableau from Andhra Pradesh governor in Vijayawada. The reason? Very few people may be aware of Veerapandian's background and he had to work part-time in tea shops and make parathas at roadside eateries at night to support his education in Madurai. This 34-year-old IAS did his graduation from Loyola College, Chennai, before getting into IAS. Here below are the comments of over a dozen civil servants on how they had celebrated this big R-Day:

Commerce minister Sitharaman praises IAS officers -- Vikram Kapur, Latha and Tamil Nadu chief secretary

UNION minister of state for commerce and industry (independent charge)  Nirmala Sitharaman has praised at least three IAS officers of Tamil Nadu cadre -- state chief secretary K Gnanadesikan, principal secretary and commissioner of Chennai Corporation Vikram Kapur and nodal officer of the zone where Ambattur Industrial Estate falls, Ms Latha, IAS. First, let’s have a look at this photo where Sitharaman’s convoy is seen on a flood-hit bye-lane of Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai on Monday. Here is what the minister wrote in a social media site:

This retired IAS narrates Tamil Nadu’s Make in India; 5 observations

Sitharam Gurumurthi is a 1972 batch Tamil Nadu cadre retired IAS who was closely associated with the loan negotiations with the IMF during 1991-92 when India had faced a serious balance of payments crisis. In fact, Gurumurthi was then a staff member with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC (1989-92). In a recent article published in a business daily, The Hindu Business Line, Gurumurthi talks about Tamil Nadu’s Make in India which has primarily been driven by its thriving automobile industry. Here are 5 observations of the retired IAS, among others, about the Chennai chapter of Make in India:

What was the fear that forced Tamil Nadu IAS Sagayam spend a night in a graveyard?

U Sagayam, IAS in a graveyard (Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

LAST week, social media sites found an unusual trend: #StandWithSagayam. It’s about a 53-year-old promoted IAS officer in Tamil Nadu, U Sagayam. But what did he do that he became the subject matter of a social media discussion? Once this photo of Sagayam spending a night in a graveyard to "protect evidences” on a multi-crore granite scam in Madurai, went viral in Twitter, a large number of  comments poured in, and many shared this photo as well. It all started on Saturday, when…

3 ex-IAS get Padma awards: Gopalaswami, Vasudevan (posthumous), Rajaraman; but all belong to Tamil Nadu

Gopalaswami (File photo)

THE names of three former civil servants -- ex-Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami, former GoI secretary R Vasudevan (posthumous) and former secretary to Tamil Nadu government PV Rajaraman – have figured in the list of Padma award winners this year, as announced by the government on the eve of the Republic Day. Incidentally, all the three former officers happen to be from Tamil Nadu. Among them, Gopalaswami was…

Tamil Nadu waits for a big clash between IAS and IPS officers at South Chennai cricket ground

1979 batch IAS Takru (File photo)

DELHI bureaucrats will feel jealous if they come to know that many of their colleagues in Tamil Nadu are practising regularly for a big cricket match ahead between IAS and IPS officers to be held at Guru Nanak college grounds at Velachery in South Chennai on January 25. Many top bureaucrats in Delhi have stopped playing golf as the new government at the Centre has raised the workload of the babus. (NB: very few senior bureaucrats in Delhi are cricket freaks). Even the inter-ministry music, dance and…

Name Change Saga: 5th IAS officer permitted to change name since June this year

Name change notification of S Prabhakar, IAS

THE change of names by serving IAS officers has continued at an alarmingly high pace as the department of personnel and training (DoPT) on November 13, 2014 approved the application of yet another IAS officer, Dr S Prabakharan to change his name to Dr S Prabhakar, the fifth officer of Indian Administrative Service to change name in less than six months. Tamil Nadu cadre IAS Prabakharan, now to be known as Prabhakar for all official purposes, was appointed to…

3 IAS officers changed their names in 3 months; astrology or fashion?

A GOVERNMENT official recently wrote to BoI: “I know one officer whose name is TPVSS Rao. Strangely with every new posting he would become Sekhar Rao or SS Rao or TP Rao. We used to call him A to Z Rao." Jokes apart, changing one’s name or at least a part of it by senior officers has become somewhat routine, at least when three IAS officers since June this year got permission from the DoPT to do so. Last week, DoPT permitted one IAS officer named…