IPS Nishant Kumar Tiwary appointed in UIDAI; IRS Customs officer finds berth in steel ministry

ON Thursday, the government approved the appointment of a customs officer in the ministry of steel, and then an Indian Police Service officer in UIDAI, and also extended the tenure of an Indian Postal Service officer in the department of chemicals and petrochemicals. Girraj Prasad Meena, 2004 batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) officer, was appointed as…

Babus in Demand: UIDAI wants retired bureaucrats as performance monitors

Nandan Nilekani-headed UIDAI has invited applications from retired bureaucrats including from defence services and PSUs to work as performance monitors of enrollment centers under its Delhi regional office. The applications are invited from “socially committed people willing to render their services to the Aadhaar project”, as monetary incentives are very low.
The remuneration is as low as Rs 500 for monitoring one center with the condition that no one would be allowed to monitor more than 30 centers per month. That means a highly spirited ex-bureaucrat can earn...

IRS officer alleges her senior, an IAS, of sexual harassment, case lands at High Court

Disclaimer: Photo does not pertain to this case

VS Bhaskar, a 1985 batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS and senior officer in Nandan Nilekani-run UIDAI, has approached Andhra Pradesh high court to quash a CAT order on a sexual harassment case.
It all began when S Padmaja, an IRS officer holding the rank of additional director general in UIDAI, claimed that Bhaskar was harassing her mentally and had even tried to physically assault her. It was alleged that Bhaskar, her senior, used abusive language, threats etc. over phone when he was drunk.
Ms Padmaja went on leave and a committee looked into the matter. The Hyderabad Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) recently ordered Bhaskar’s repatriation to his parent cadre of Assam and Meghalaya.
Bhaskar claimed that Ms Padmaja approached CAT only to harass him as she was not probably happy with the kind of work allotted to her.
According to a DoPT memo, the following constitutes “sexual harassment” in government:
a) Physical contacts and advances;
b) Demand or request for sexual favours
c) Sexually coloured remarks
d) Showing any pornography, or
(e) Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature
Also Read

DoPT’s reminder on sexual harassment

Action and Appointments

a) The Centre has accorded the inter-cadre transfer of Vivek Pratap Singh, a 1996 batch Punjab cadre IAS from Punjab to AGMUT cadre. He will be Commissioner, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation for three years.
b) BB Kaura, a Central Secretariat Service officer, has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of telecom till he retires in November 2013.

DoPT releases a tentative list of 12 universities across the world for which Indian officers will get domestic funding

IF YOU are an Indian government official with nine years of service experience as on January 1, 2011, you can try your luck in as many as 12 universities around the world for which the government would take care of the entire funding. For long term courses, the upper limit of age is 45 years as on April 2011, a government circular said.

The training division of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) which will be sponsoring the suitable officers for 2011-2012 under the domestic funding of foreign training (DFFT) scheme, has come out with a tentative list of 12 universities.

These are Asian Institute of Management, Manila, (MDM management), University of Birmingham, UK, (MPA, public administration), University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, (Green MBA), Maxwell School, Syracuse University, USA (Executive Master in public administration), ISS, Hague, Netherlands (MA in public policy and management), IDS, Sussex, UK (MA in governance and development governance), University of Duke, USA, (MA in international development policy), Hubert H Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota, USA (MPA, Public Administration), Harvard Kennedy School, USA (Mason Program, public policy/administration), Australian National University (master in public policy), Carnegie Mellon University, Australia, (Master in public policy and management), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and National University of Singapore, Singapore, (Master in public management).

The officers belonging to the IAS, Central Secretariat Service, State Civil Services, Central Secretariat Stenographers Service (Gazetted) (CSSS) and such officers of the other two All India Services viz. Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) and organized Group ‘A’ Central Civil Services, who are holding posts on deputation under the Central Staffing Scheme, are eligible to apply, in response to this DoPT Circular, for training programmes abroad.

For details, read the DoPT CIRCULAR of domestic funding of foreign training.

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Home Ministry lifts ban on Indian bureaucrats applying for British government scholarships

Who are IAS, IPS selected for Gurukul Scholarship?

4 jobs of Assistant Director General at UIDAI

The government is looking for suitable candidates for four more posts of Assistant Director General (deputy secretary/director level) at Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which was recently renamed as Aadhaar. All four posts will be located in New Delhi. The deputy secretary or director level officers who are eligible under Central Staffing Scheme can apply for these posts. For details, read the CIRCULAR.

A director level job only for entrepreneurial IAS

HERE is a job post for IAS officers in the rank of director of the Government of India with an experience in institution-building at some stage in their career. It’s a rare occasion that the government is actually giving an advertisement mentioning the entrepreneurial ability of an officer as a precondition to apply for a post. The government is looking for suitable candidates for filling up the post of deputy director (administration) in the project cell of the AIIMS-like Institution at Rishikesh under the ministry of health & family welfare in the pay scale of Rs 37,400-67,000 with a grade pay of Rs 8700 on deputation basis.

In a DoPT circular dated June 29, 2010, marked to all secretaries in Government of India, and chief secretaries of state, it was urged that “the post may be circulated amongst all the director level officers in the state governments on priority basis”. The tenure of deputation is for three years. The last date of receiving applications is August 11, 2010.

DoPT CIRCULAR, dated June 29, 2010

For jobs in corridors of power, log onto http://www.jobcorridor.com/

Aadhaar for a national authority

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is setting up as a statutory authority by the name of National Identification Authority of India, mainly to issue identification numbers (aadhaar numbers) to residents and providing means to authenticate aadhaar numbers. The proposed draft Bill (National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010) is ready, and once the new Authority will be set up, it may open another window to many job seekers in corridor.

Also Read

UIDAI not getting suitable boys

Nilekani finds tough to attract senior officers

What a power dog!

In a bizarre case of two warring families of Panchkula over a pet dog, a 1991 batch Haryana cadre IAS has reportedly used his official letterhead to support one family, according to a report in Indian Express. The other family has now protested against the officer currently working as MD in a state PSU, for using his position to help the other family possessing the three-year-old black Labrador. Yes, every dog has its day!

Unsuitable Boys: Govt sends third reminder to fill up posts at UIDAI’s Guwahati and Ranchi offices

WHAT could be construed as a clear sign of reluctance of senior bureaucrats to join Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), recently renamed as Aadhaar (Foundation), at least in a few centers, the government has recently given a reminder that the newly created outfit headed by former Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani would require deputy secretary and director level officers in its regional offices located in Guwahati and Ranchi.

Though advertisements for the posts of Assistant Director General of UIDAI were issued first on October 5, 2009, and then a reminder was sent on December 4, 2009, no suitable candidates were found for its Guwahati and Ranchi centers. In fact, it could not be verified whether the department of personnel and training (DoPT) received any application at all for those vacancies, and if it had received applications why it had failed to select the right candidates.

Significantly, the DoPT sent a reminder on April 20, 2010 to all chief secretaries of the state saying, “it is again requested that the names of the willing officers at deputy secretary or director level who are eligible to work in the Centre under Central Staffing Scheme may please be recommended for this office”. The copies of the reminder were sent to the cadre controlling authorities too.

Civil, Yet Not Servants

For those bureaucrats who like to identify themselves as civil servants, a recent article published in Time may not be a happy reading. In a special article titled “The Dangers of Digging Up the Truth in India” written by Daniel Pepper, it was argued how the RTI Act brought a cultural sea change in India while adding, “…More than 60 years state bureaucrats have acted more like colonial masters than servants of the people.” Published from US in partnership with CNN, the Time is one of the most well respected magazines on global affairs.

Action and Appointments

a) The premature repatriation of SK Panda, a 1980 batch Manipur-Tripura IAS and joint secretary in the department of AYUSH to his parent cadre, has been approved. Mr Panda has been appointed as chief secretary of government of Tripura.

b) The government has approved the extension of central deputation tenure of Ms Amita Sharma, a 1981 batch MP cadre IAS and joint secretary in the ministry of rural development for a period of one year beyond April 10, 2010.

c) Taleen Kumar, a 1987 batch West Bengal cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP).

d) T Jacob, a 1984 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of food and public distribution.

e) Prem Kumar Gera, a 1985 batch Gujarat cadre IAS has been appointed as joint director in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie at the joint secretary level.

f) Ms Anuradha Mitra, presently additional financial adviser of the ministry of defence (finance) has been appointed as principal advisor (financial analysis) in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Glamour and Shakti of an IAS: India's dancing sensation wanted to be a bureaucrat

WHO says IAS has become less glamorous? India’s recent dancing sensation and famous reality show “Dance India Dance” winner Shakti Mohan said she had a passion to become an IAS officer. Her statement came only a couple of months after Bollywood actress and winner of Femina Miss India 2002 Neha Dhupia had said she did not wish to be a model, but wanted to become an IAS officer instead.

Now, Shakti who was always a topper in school and college was studying hard to pursue her childhood dream of becoming an IAS officer till she participated in “Dance India Dance” which changed her career altogether. She told a section of media that her father was still insistent that she should take the civil services examination as she could try for it till she is 30. The 24-year-old Shakti, who has masters degree in political science, has now decided to convert her passion in dancing into a profession of a choreographer.

Also Read

Former Miss India wanted to be an IAS

Indian Premier Bureaucrats: Look, Style and Babus of India

A crack in 'Aadhaar’ (foundation)?

The government has approved the premature repatriation of JRK Rao, a 1985 batch Bihar cadre IAS, and Deputy Director General of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to his parent cadre. Though it’s stated that the move was mainly to ensure Mr Rao availing the benefits of promotion in the cadre, it remains unanswered why then Mr Rao had joined the Nandan Nilekani-headed mega project which would give a 16-digit identification number of every Indian citizen. Was he unhappy working in this newly established outfit? Significantly, many bureaucrats were reportedly reluctant to join the UIDAI. The UIDAI was renamed as Aadhaar (foundation) on Monday.

Also Read

Is Nilekani preferring IAS to corporate guys?

Nilekani finds it tough to attract senior government officers 

Action and Appointments

a) Ram Lubhaya, a 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Caste in the rank and pay of additional secretary in the vacancy of Shri Raghubir Singh, a 1972 batch IA&AS (Retd.)

b) S Machendranathan, a 1979 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as additional secretary and financial adviser in the ministry of steel in the vacancy of BS Meena, a 1975 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS.

c) S Krishnan, a 1975 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and secretary in the department of fertilizers under the ministry of chemicals and petrochemicals, will hold the additional charge of the post of secretary in the department of sports during the absence of leave of Ms Sindhushree Khullar, a 1975 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS up to May 2, 2010.

d)The ACC has approved the in-situ elevation of Sunil Kumar, a 1979 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS and joint secretary in the department of higher education as additional secretary in the same department.

e) R Bandyopadhyay, a 1974 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs, will hold the additional charge of the post of secretary in the department of youth affairs during the absence on leave of A K Upadhyaya, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS with immediate effect and up to May 2, 2010

Every Indian state to appoint nodal officer to deal with MEA; WTO centers to be set up in states

NOW, each Indian state will have a nodal officer to deal exclusively with the ministry of external affairs (MEA). The MEA in turn will set up a joint consultative group with the states for regular interaction between the Centre and the states in addition to hand-holding the state governments on border management issues. The decision was taken at the first annual conference of chief secretaries held in New Delhi on February 1-2.

The conference, organized at the initiative of cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar, also proposed to evolve a mechanism for facilitation of real-time intelligence sharing by states with defence forces. Also, states would now set up WTO Centres for training of their personnel and for creating greater awareness about negotiations and implications of WTO agreements.

On Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), states may now consider setting up cabinet committees under chief ministers and extend all possible support for expediting the process of enrolment of persons for the issue of UID number. Also, each state will now nominate a nodal officer for interaction with the Centre on all issues relating to development in science and technology. Also, a standing committee of secretaries chaired by the cabinet secretary will be constituted for popularizing relevant technologies for each state. The committee will also have secretaries of scientific departments, Planning Commission, DIPP, MNRE and ministry of food processing industries as its members.

Engineering Services Exam from June 26, 2010 

The Union Service Public Commission (UPSC) will hold the engineering services Examination, 2010 commencing from June 26, 2010. The Commission proposes to make available online application submission for Engineering Services Examination, 2010 from February 6 to February 22, 2010 for which a separate notice is to be issued. Any confusion? Just dial, 011-23389366.

Action and Appointments

a) Justice Anil Ramesh Dave, Chief Justice, Andhra Pradesh High Court has been transferred as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.

b) R Bandyopadhyay, a 1974 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs, will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of information and broadcasting during the absence on leave of Raghu Menon, 1974 batch Nagaland cadre IAS up to 12th February, 2010.

Read

R Bandyopadhyay's video conferencing tool 

All for Right Writing 

Click here for the OFFICE MEMO for the 5th workshop for officers of the level of director and deputy secretary on preparing notes, to be held on 16-17 February, 2010

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.

South Sumatra pioneers in outsourcing of civil servants; govt there not to recruit staff on contract

IN A classic case of how future bureaucracy may look like, the administration in South Sumatra is now preparing a blueprint to implement an outsourcing system whereby private companies would be given contracts to supply civil servants. The government, in turn, would not recruit any more contractual workers on its own, and many of the existing temporary staff may find their way to become permanent employees, a report in the The Jakarta Post said.
Under a new regulation, all provincial administration agencies will subcontract the service to third parties or outsourcing companies, the paper said. The report further quoted South Sumatra Civil Service Agency head Muzakir saying that handling the matters related to temporary employees working in government agencies would no longer be the responsibility of the administration. The outsourcing also means the end of service of many existing civil servants working in a contract basis. “Their performance will also be evaluated periodically, and the contracts of those who are deemed lazy will be terminated,” Muzakir said, according to the report.
South Sumatra is a province of Indonesia with a population of mere 69 lakhs.

Is Pitroda following Nilekani or vice-versa?
Is Sam Pitroda following Nandan Nilekani, or it’s the round way round. If government gossips are taken seriously, Mr Pitroda’s relatively long innings in the government has been a comfort factor for former Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to take risk in government and take up the challenge of a new government project after having an outstanding career in India’s second largest software export company.
Whether that’s true or not, Mr Pitroda is following Mr Nilekani in Yojana Bhawan, literally. Former chairman of the National Knowledge Commission has recently moved into Room No 125 of the Planning Commission which was recently vacated by Mr Nilekani to shift out to his new UIDAI office in Jeevan Deep building in New Delhi’s Connaught Place area.
Is Nilekani preferring IAS to corporate guys?

Click Below For
New Cadre Allocation Policy for IAS
Cadre-wise list of IAS (From 2005 to 2008 batch)

It’s Official: A South Korean ministry to help single bureaucrats fall in love

CALL it a ministry of matchmaking. South Korea’s health ministry has decided to help the country’s civil servants to date and mate so as to arrest falling birthrate in the country. According to the ministry’s proposed match-making programme, special social gatherings would be arranged for single bureaucrats with a hope that they would mingle with each other, fall in love and finally get married, a section of media reports said. The reports further quoted an official of the ministry’s human resources development division as saying that it would not be a one-time mass meeting among singles, but regular gatherings would be arranged where singles will be able to meet and mingle naturally.
Helping the country’s single bureaucrats to find their partners is a part of a larger government plan adopted in late 2009 to boost South Korea’s birthrate of 9.09 births out of 1000, one of the lowest in the world.

Babudom Vs Netagiri: Rajasthan speaker to meet state top bureaucrats
Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Dipender Singh is meeting the state’s top bureaucrats including chief secretary T Srinivasan, a 1975 batch IAS, to discuss early disposal of MLAs’ questions and implementation of orders when the House is not in session, a media report said. Earlier too, bureaucrats were asked to expedite questions and other matters of the assembly.
Read:
Instructions on how officers should communicate with MPs
MPs to question on bureaucrats' assets
Why Goan Netas hate babus?
Should Indian politicians deserve a standing ovation?

MHA asks bidders to submit fresh samples of bullet-proof jackets
A tender was floated for procuring 59,000 bullet-proof jackets for the Central Paramilitary Forces. A technical evaluation committee (TEC) under the chairmanship of DG, BPR and D and a tender advisory committee (TAC) under the chairmanship of DG, CRPF were also constituted.
The tighter evaluation for procuring such jackets assumes significance as it was suspected that top police officials who fought against 10 well-trained Pakistani terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008 were given sub-standard bullet-proof jackets. In fact, the bullet-proof jacket worn by former Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare who died during the shoot-out, went missing. Later, the Maharashtra government served show-cause notices to eight officers of the Indian Police Service (IPS) over missing files pertaining to the purchase of 110 bullet-proof jackets by the Mumbai police in 2002.

Action and Appointments
a) Joginder Paul Sharma, a 1981 batch UP cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of development of North Eastern region for a period upto January 10, 2012 or until further orders.
b) Ashok Mahadeorao Dalwai, a 1984 batch Orissa cadre IAS has been appointed as regional Deputy Director General (joint secretary level) in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) at Bengaluru under the Planning Commission for a period of five years or until further orders.
c) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal for extension of Central deputation tenure of Ms Anita Kaul, a 1979 batch Karnataka cadre IAS and joint secretary in the department of school education and literacy for a period upto March 31, 2010 or until further orders.
Also Read
Retired Korean bureaucrats grab plum posts

Nine events of 2009 that may impact India's corridor of power in 2010 and beyond

AS the year 2009 nears end, Babus of India (BoI) presents 9 events that may impact the corridor of power in 2010 and beyond.


1) Third Party Assessment Of IAS
Third party assessment of Indian bureaucrats began with a pilot project of selecting 80 out of 130 empanelled officers for the posts of joint secretary. The experiment was done with a panel of four retired bureaucrats as experts, and it could turn out to be a regular feature in selecting bureaucrats for various posts in the years to come.


2) Not Every IAS, IPS Or IFS Be Dhoni Or Tendulkar
The government came out with a guideline saying saying that officers should not be given 10 out of 10 in a routine manner by the reporting or reviewing authorities, and this should be restricted to 20% of the officers under their supervision, and any grading of more than 8 for each attribute must be justified by giving reasons in writing in a separate sheet.

3) No To Random Transfers
If Dr Manmohan Singh’s new government has its way, bureaucrats may not be at the mercy of their political masters in matters related to transfers. If the government is able to convert the proposed Civil Services Bill into an Act of Parliament, the success of government programmes will be linked to the performance of bureaucrats who run those at the ground level, and politicians will have the least control over those bureaucrats, initial reports on the content of the Bill have suggested. Though the bill could not be introduced during the year, there is a possibility that it would come up next year.

4) File Notings In Public Domain
The government officials need to be much more careful in file notings as those are already in public scrutiny under the RTI. The summoning of two DoPT officials by CIC to explain why they should not be prosecuted under RTI provisions, finally led the government agree that file notings would come under the RTI. It means whatever you write in official files would be under public scrutiny.

5) Performing Officers To Get Higher Increment
If DoPT has its way, performing government officials may end up receiving better yearly increment than what was even promised in the 6th Pay Commission recommendations. While modifying the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission that up to a 20% of the performers among officers may be given an annual increment of 3.5% instead of a normal practice of 2.5%, the government proposed that performers may be granted even 4% of increment.

6) Dr Singh Is Keen On Implementing Ethical Governance Codes
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh wants design of government’s development programmes to be transparent, simpler, decentralized and less discretionary so as to bring in accountability to the administrative system. While addressing a conference of CBI and state anti-corruption bureaus recently, Prime Minister of India said that recommendations of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) on ‘Ethics in Governance’ were examined in great detail, and some of those could be implemented.

7) Nilekani And Pitroda's Entry Into Babudom
In a rare instance of choosing a corporate honcho over a politician or a bureaucrat to spearhead a mega government initiative, Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of leading software company Infosys Technologies, was appointed as chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) as chairman in the rank of a cabinet minister. Similarly, IT czar Sam Pitroda was appointed as adviser to PM on infrastructure, innovation and information. The move is significant as more such technocrats could get preference over seasoned bureaucrats or politicians for getting appointment in key government posts in 2010 and beyond.

8) Facing The Challenge Of Disclosing Assets
Bureaucrats are under pressure to disclose their assets under the Right To Information Act (RTI). After agreeing to disclose file notings which civil servants successfully blocked for quite sometime, they may have to make public their total assets, a norm which is being routinely practised by politicians. Senior bureaucrats in the government of India participated in a DoPT-initiated meeting in November to discuss the matter.

9) New Instructions To Help Babus Communicate With Netas 
In yet another tale of Netagiri and babudom, Indian political masters imposed a set of additional instructions on how officers should behave with the Members of Parliament. This set of detailed instructions issued on the conduct of government servants in official dealings and correspondence with the Members of Parliament are in addition to the provisions in the Conduct Rules, and the Manual of Office Procedure.

Vivek Sahai takes over as Member, Traffic in Railway Board

VIVEK Sahai, General Manager, Northern Railway took over as Member Traffic in Railway Board on Tuesday. He would be an ex-officio secretary to the government of India. He succeeds Shri Prakash, who has taken over as Chairman, Standing High Power Committte on Infrastructure Planning, Business Development and Project in the ministry of railways, a railway release said. Mr Sahai will continue to look after the duties of post of General Manager in Northern Railway in addition to his own for a period of three months or until further orders.
Mr Sahai, an IRTS officer of 1973 batch, has held several key posts including General Manager, Northern Railway, General Manager North Central Railway, Additional Member Traffic, Railway Board, Chief Operations Manager, Western Railway, Divisional Railway Manager, Mumbai, Central Railway, Chief Freight Transportation Manager, Western Railway, Executive Director, Railway Board, New Delhi, Chief Operations Manager, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited. He also has extensive experience in suburban train operations in Mumbai where he had worked as Divisional Railway Manager in Mumbai Division of Central Railway. During his stint as additional General Manager in Western Railway, he also handled the aftermath of serial bomb blasts.
A post graduate degree in physics from Allahabad University, Mr Sahai was trained in US Rail Roads and SNCF (French Railways) under UNDP Project in 1989. He was also part of an Indian delegation which was sent to study the privatization of British Railways in 1996. He also participated in advanced leadership programme held at Stern Business School, New York, USA in 2007.
Earlier Story
Sudesh Kumar, Member (Electrical) in Railway Board (October 11, 2009)

Action and Appointments
B B Nanawati, a 1981 batch IRS(I-T) officer has been appointed as Deputy Director General in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under the Planning Commission for a period of three years or until further orders.
Earlier Story
Govt sends reminder on recruitment of UIDAI assistant DGs (December 8, 2009)

UIDAI offers 189 more jobs for government employees

IN THE first ever vacancy circular issued by newly formed Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) itself from its own office located at third floor, Tower –II, Jeevan Bharati Building, Connaught Circus, New Delhi, applications are invited for 189 vacant posts ranging from deputy director and assistant administrative officers to executive assistants. Till recently, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) came out with vacancy circulars to fill up posts such as Deputy Director General (JS level) and Assistant Director General (deputy secretary/director level). These new 189 posts which are relatively at junior levels, will be filled up on deputation/short term contract basis (for 3 years, extendable by another 2 years) for its headquarters in Delhi and regional offices located at Chandigarh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Guwahati, Bangalore and Hyderabad. There are 39 vacant posts of deputy director at the pay scale of Rs 15600-39100 with a grade pay of Rs 6600, 39 posts of assistant administrative officers, 39 posts for assistants, 5 posts of principal private secretaries, 11 posts of private secretaries and 56 posts of executive secretaries. Significantly, excellent computer skill is made a desired qualification for deputy director level officers too. The last date for receiving the applications is January 8, 2010. For further detail, log onto UIDAI website www.uidai.gov.in / www.uidai.nic.in. Actual Vacancy Circular, dated December 14, 2009 Punjab govt transfers 10 IAS officers Punjab government on Monday evening transferred 10 IAS officers including D S Bains, principal secretary, local government as principal secretary in employment generation and Suresh Kumar, principal secretary in power and irrigation department as principal secretary in technical education and industrial training. The other officers who were transferred are Mandeep Singh Sandhu, Arun Goel and C Roul among others, media reports said.

Railway officers receive energy conservation awards for their zones R N Verma, General Manager, Western Railway, U C D Shreni, General Manager, North Eastern Railway and V K Raheja, Chief Electrical Engineer, West Central Railway, received National Energy Conservation Awards, 2009, for their respective zones in a function held on Monday. The awards were presented by the Union minister of power Sushilkumar Shinde. Secretaries In Action R Bandyopadhyay, secretary, ministry of corporate affairs kick-started the 'India Corporate Week' from Kolkata on Monday. The day began with "Corporate Governance Breakfast Series" (theme: Going beyond compliance - fostering a culture of good governance) by industry lobby group CII. Another secretary M Ramachandran, secretary, ministry of urban development inaugurated a two days (14-15th Dec) workshop on Service Level Benchmarks - “Towards improving service outcomes”, in New Delhi on Monday.

Action & Appointments a) Gurudev Singh, a 1979 batch IRAS officer has been appointed as secretary, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) (joint secretary level) under the ministry of higher education. b) The government of Gujarat has appointed D J Pandian, IAS and Principal Secretary, Energy & Petrochemicals department in the state as the chairman of Gujarat Industries Power Co. Ltd with effect from December 11 in place of S Jagadeesan, IAS.

UIDAI's structure is now official; JS and deputy secretary level officers to dominate

FINALLY, there has been a clarity on how many officials, and non-officials will get a berth in newly formed Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which will give a 16-digit identity number to each and every citizen in India. In fact, a number of IAS and Group A service officers have already applied for various posts in the Delhi-headquartered UIDAI, being chaired by former Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani. Here is the organisational structure of UIDAI and openings at various level. Though UIDAI would be headquartered at Connaught Place area in Delhi, it will have its technological centre in Bangalore. In addition, it will have eight regional offices in the country --- Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ranchi, Guwahati, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Director General and Mission Director, UIDAI (hereinafter referred to as DG – additional secretary level) will head the administrative organization. Already, Ram Sewak Sharma, a 1978 batch Jharkhand Cadre has been appointed as DG. There will be 6 Deputy Director Generals (DDG - joint secretary rank) and each DDG will have 3 Directors (director/deputy secretary rank), 3 Deputy Directors, 3 Desk Officers and 3 Assistants --- all of whom will be posted at the headquarters. Also, UIDAI's Delhi office will also have a Finance Wing headed by a Chief Controller of Accounts who may be designated as DDG (Finance). It means UIDAI's Delhi office will have a manpower strength of over 100. Each of the eight regional offices of UIDAI will be headed by a Deputy Director General (DDG). Each DDG will have 3 Directors, 3 Deputy Directors, 1 SAO and as many Senior Systems Analysts as the number of states/UTs in that region, 3 Desk Officers and 3 Assistants. The regional offices will also have a finance wing. There will be a Project Management Unit consisting of experts in various fields which would be part of the UIDAI team. The newly launched UIDAI website has declared that there would be openings for general public as well. "At present, the Authority is in the process of putting a team in place.We will intimate the public on openings as they are available. This website in due course will have the possible opportunities that people would have to contribute to the UIDAI," the section called "Working for the UIDAI" in the site says. Related Stories 1) Is Nilekani preferring IAS to corporate guys? (November 23, 2009) 2) TKA Nair's advice to UIDAI chairman (September 16, 2009)

UIDAI Vacancy: Govt sends reminder on recruitment of UIDAI assistant DGs; last date now extended to 1st week of January, 2010

THE government has given a reminder to all chief secretaries of state to forward the names of the willing and eligible officers to fill up the vacancies of Assistant Director Generals (ADGs) at the level of deputy secretary or director for Nandan Nilekani-chaired UIDAI or Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under the Planning Commission. As the last date of application now is extended to the first week of January, 2010, it may indicate that the UIDAI has not been able to attract the right applicants so far. It was believed that the process of filling up the said posts was already completed. Babus of India (BoI) could not verify the reasons behind the extension of the last date of application. The posts to be filled up now are located in seven cities --- Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ranchi, Guwahati and Bangalore, also indicating that the government has probably zeroed in the candidate for Hyderabad which also figured in the vacancy circular dated September 25, 2009. The last date of application was the third week of October, 20009. "It is again requested that the names of willing officers at the deputy secretary/director level who are eligible to work at the Centre under the Central Staffing Scheme may please be recommended to this office", said the reminder issued by the establishment officer of the department of personnel and training (DoPT). Read the actual text of the Wireless Message (Reminder), dated December 4, 2009 Related Posts: 1) Nilekani needs additional DGs in eight cities (October 2, 2009) 2) JS level officers wanted for heading the Project’s 5 regional offices (October 12, 2009) Babus as Authors Urban development secretary M Ramachandran has come out with yet another book, this time on urban renewal. The book, Urban Renewal: Policy and Response, was released by S Jaipal Reddy in New Delhi on Monday in a function which was attended by several senior bureaucrats including principal secretary to Prime Minister TKA Nair who described Mr Ramachandran as his "good friend and colleague". In addition to most senior IAS from the ministry of urban development attending the function, additional secretary in the ministry of rural development Arvind Mayaram and additional secretary in Panchayati Raj ministry J M Phatak were in the guest list. Former Tamil Nadu cadre IAS and CEO of IL&FS UIML L Krishnan was also present in the function.

Ramachandran's Earlier Book

Jobs at UIDAI: Is Nilekani preferring IAS to corporate guys?

NANDAN Nilekani, a corporate honcho now in government, is preferring to take bureaucrats, mainly IAS, on board for executing key managerial assignments in various offices of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which has begun the process of giving a unique identification number to each of 1 billion Indian citizens. Despite the government allowing UIDAI to recruit private sector, though on government salary and on contract basis, the UIDAI has preferred the route of recruiting bureaucrats at the rank of joint secretary and deputy secretary/director. The difficulty in getting right private sector people with government salary is believed to be one of the main handicaps of UIDAI of recruiting key managers from corporate world. To give a sense of government salary structure, a joint secretary with over 20 years of experiences gets a pay of Rs 37400-67000/-(Pay Band-4 in government language) with a grade pay of Rs 10000, and other parks like accommodation. People in power corridors, however, feel that UIDAI chairman Mr Nilekani wants a brigade of IAS officers to manage the show as they are well-equipped and most suitable to understand the complex government procedure to make this fl edging project a success. Though UIDAI is in pressing need of key people right away, the recruitment of government officers needs its own time, and once selected the said officer will have to be relieved by the concerned state. Poaching private sector managers and appointing them on contract basis could have been less time-consuming than recruiting bureaucrats. The UIDAI which will have its new office in LIC building in CP, New Delhi, is likely to have a back-hand set-up of technicians in Bangalore. Till now, seven government officers including Ram Sevak Sharma (Director General and Mission Director), Ms K Ganga, Deputy Director General and five deputy secretary or director level officers were recruited to the Authority. Three more officers is likely to be on board soon, and the process of recruitment for another 10 officers is underway, sources said.

Read: Implementing govt projects is not easy, TKA Nair tells Nilekani (September 16, 2009) Nilekani needs additional DGs in 8 cities (October 2, 2009) JS level officers wanted (October 12, 2009)

Vacancy at UIDAI: JS level officers wanted for heading the Project’s 5 regional offices

THE number of senior government officials at the rank of joint secretaries working full-time for Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will be much less than what was initially planned for. With the government wishing to appoint JS level officials only in UIDAI’s five regional offices, Lucknow, Mumbai, Ranchi, Guwahati and Bangalore, it’s almost clear now that the number of JS working for this coveted project under corporate honcho and co-founder of software exporter Infosys Technologies Nandan Nilekani could be much less than 35. In fact, BoI (babus of india) first reported on May 26, 2009 that the government wanted to fill 35 joint secretary level officials, one each at the state capital, for the UIDAI project for which DoPT wanted suitable candidates to apply. In a wireless message to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories now, the DoPT wanted names of suitable candidates to be recommended, for which the pay band will be Rs 37400-67,000 (PB 4) with a grade pay of Rs 10,000. Read the WIRELESS MESSAGE. (October 7, 2009) Recently, government brought out a circular to fill up posts of additional director general (ADG) at the level of deputy secretary or director, in the UIDAI offices, located in eight cities --- Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ranchi, Guwahati, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Straight From Files Nilekani needs additional DGs in eight cities (October 2, 2009) Will Nilekani make Ram Sewak Sharma a secretary? (July 24, 2009) To recruit 35 joint secretary level officials (May 26, 2009)

Prez to inaugurate 4th Annual Convention on RTI on Monday The fourth annual convention on RTI, organised by the Central Information Commission, will be inaugurated by the President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil. Lord Meghnad Desai will deliver the keynote address. Chief Information Commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah, central information commissioners, policy makers, social activists, academicians and NGOs, among others, will take part in the deliberations over two days. Delegates from some of the SAARC countries will also be participating in the convention as delegates.

Arunachal’s Chief Election Officer to file report on free distribution of two wheelers to voters The Election Commission had received inputs from observers that two wheelers were distributed on large scale to voters in Arunachal Pradesh and they are plying on the road without registration numbers. The Commission had directed CEO, Arunachal Pradesh to forward a factual report and ensure that state government immediately take action under relevant provisions of Motor Vehicle Act. Till now, 494 unregistered motorcycles or vehicles have been impounded and FIRs lodged, an EC release said.

Will Pitroda & Nilekani be able to do what ex-Ford Motor veteran McNamara did it to US admin?

IT CZAR Sam Pitroda’s appointment as the Advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on infrastructure, innovation and information after Infosys Technologies co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s appoitment as chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) may bring in some changes the way the government functions. As both of these private sector honchos are pampered by giving the rank of a cabinet minister, a few more high profile private sector veterans may be attracted to join the government laterally. In fact, 68-year-old Pitroda, who is also the chairman of National Knowledge Commission, has prior experience in working with government though Mr Nilekani has no sarkari exposure earlier. No wonder, Mr Pitroda's talents were recognised during the NDA regime when he received Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for excellence in Public Administration and Management Sciences. (See Picture with former PM A B Vajpayee and ex-President of India KR Narayanan) Significantly, post-retirement assignment of two senior bureaucrats in India, principal secretary to PM TKA Nair and national security advisor MK Narayanan hold the rank of ministers of state only implying that Dr Singh has attached much importance to both these specialists by according cabinet minister’s rank. The big question here is whether Mr Pitroda and Mr Nilekani could do what former president of Ford Motor Company Robert McNamara did to the US administration in 1960s when he was made Defense Secretary under President Kennedy. As was acknowledged in a sub-section called Reforms in Public Administration in the USA, one of the reports of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission has mentioned how Mr McNamara introduced the culture of questioning all assumptions and assertions, of quantifying costs and benefits, of using techniques like project evaluation and review (PERT) and critical path method (CPM) to cut costs and delivery times of projects, the use of mathematical techniques for optimizing resource allocation (operations research), network planning, value engineering, and a detailed planning, programming, and budgeting system. No wonder, the managerial culture introduced by Mr McNamara gradually spread to several other departments of US federal government! Straight From Files TKA Nair’s advice to Nilekani on project implementation (September 16, 2009) Action & Appointments a) Alok Prasad, a 1974 batch IFS officer and currently India’s envoy to Sri Lanka, has been appointed as deputy National Security Adviser. Prasad will hold the office for two years or until further orders, according to the decision of the ACC. He was also India’s High Commissioner in Singapore and deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India, Washington from 2000 to 2004. b) Former finance secretary and chairman of Thirteenth Finance Commission Dr Vijay Kelkar has unanimously been elected as chairman of the Forum of Federations, an international organization headquartered in Ottawa. It seeks to strengthen democratic governance by promoting dialogue on the practices, principles, and possibilities of federalism through partner governments, a government release said on Thursday. c) Avinash K Srivastava, joint secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs has been nominated as the official spokesperson of the ministry for interacting with the media representatives. He is a 1982 batch UP cadre IAS.

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.