Know Your Babu: New commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan; 10 Things to Know

LAST week, the government announced the appointment of 1985 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS — Anup Wadhawan, presently a special secretary in the department of commerce — as India’s new commerce secretary on July 31, 2018, when incumbent Ms Rita Teotia, 1981 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, retires. A former director in the PMO, a veteran in economic and commerce departments and also a PhD in economics, Wadhawan is already appointed as the OSD in the commerce department in the run-up to his elevation as secretary. Here are 10 things to know about India’s new commerce secretary:

Kashmir interlocutor and retired IPS Dineshwar Sharma given cabinet secretary's rank; IAS Utpal Kumar Singh prematurely repatriated to Uttarakhand

Dineshwar Sharma (right) with home minister Rajnath Singh

THE CENTRAL government on Monday appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief and 1979 batch retired IPS Dineshwar Sharma as the interlocutor in Kashmir, bestowing on him the rank of a cabinet secretary, the topmost rank in Indian bureaucracy. As home minister Rajnath Singh had announced, Sharma as the representative of Government of India would initiate and carry forward a dialogue with the elected representatives, various organisations and other individuals concerned in Jammu and Kashmir. By giving the rank of the cabinet secretary, the government clearly wanted to…

2 premature repatriations including one of home minister’s PS; also 1 extension, 1 additional charge

A DAY before the Diwali, the Central government issued a number of orders including two premature repatriations, one extension of Central deputation tenure and bestowing of additional charge of the post of a Union secretary. The one of the repatriations was that of the private secretary of union home minister Rajnath Singh. Here below are the details of the 4 orders:

Govt permits 2009 batch IAS to change her name; she will now be Jyoti Yadav

2009 BATCH Uttarakhand cadre IAS Jyoti Neeraj Khairwal will now be known as Jyoti Yadav for all official purposes. Yes, this IAS officer has changed her name. The government notification issued last week read like this:

Govt appoints new CVOs in FCI, Neyveli Lignite; IAS Ramesh Kumar Sudhanshu appointed in AIIMS

THE government late last week appointed an IAS officer — Rajesh Kumar Singh of Kerala cadre as CVO in Food Corporation of India (FCI). Also, another IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre will take charge as deputy director (administration) in All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). Here are 4 appointments -- two IAS, and one each from IRSME and IPS service:

2 bureaucrat-turned Governors — JP Rajkhowa and KK Paul; how they are handling similar situations

Governor KK Paul

ONE is IAS-turned Governor, the other IPS-turned Governor. One was appointed by the NDA, another by UPA. In fact, Governor of Arunachal Pradesh JP Rajkhowa and Governor of Uttarakhand KK Paul have faced similar situations— rebellion in ruling Congress in their respective states and encouragement by the Opposition BJP to topple governments there. BoI here looks at the backgrounds of Rajkhowa and Paul, and how both have dealt with similar situations:

An IPS marries an IAS; applies for cadre transfer to Uttarakhand; MHA declines; IAS spouse makes fresh bids in DoPT, and…

IT’S a story about an IPS-IAS couple wanting to live together after their marriage but got it “denied” because of a maze of sarkari rules and procedures. Here it goes. Ram Chandra Rajquru, a 2013 batch IPS officer wanted to change his cadre from Bihar to Uttarakhand on the grounds of marriage to Uttarakhand cadre IAS Ms Ranjana. But in December 2014, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) declined the request of the IPS officer citing Bihar government’s denial to issue a no-objection certificate. But on Monday, a panel headed by DoPT secretary Saniav Kothari took up the case again as…

Why IAS officers of Delhi, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh are “concerned” and “frustrated”. Read IAS Association’s resolutions

IF THE resolutions of a meeting of the executive committee of IAS Association (Indian Civil and Administrative (Central) Association) held on May 25, 2015 in New Delhi are anything to go by, the IAS officers belonging to three states in particular -- NCT Delhi, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh – are getting more concerned and frustrated because of the recent trend of posting non-cadre officers to cadre posts, something what the association terms as a “blatant violation” of the IAS (cadre) Rules, 1954 and that it reduces efficiency of the administration. “IAS officers are specifically trained over their career-span to deal with jobs requiring specific background, experience and understanding. Posting of officers from indifferent backgrounds against…

Govt looks for a substitute for 1992 batch IAS Anand Bardha in Abu Dhabi

THE government has proposed to fill up the post of counsellor, community affairs (development) in the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi under the ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in place of 1992 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS Anand Bardha. According to a DoPT letter dated November 20 and issued to all…

Want CSS officers on deputation? Centre asks West Bengal and Uttarakhand govts

THE Centre has mooted the idea of sending officers belonging to Central Secretariat Service (CSS) to states such as West Bengal and Uttarakhand where there has been an acute shortage of officers at the middle level due to low intake of civil servants between 1992 to 2006. In two separate letters dated November 14 (the content being the same) DoPT secretary Sanjay Kothari wrote to

Incredible! Govt regularises 7-year-old unauthorized overstay of a 1994 batch IAS officer

ON NOVEMBER 14, 2013, the DoPT issued a notification mentioning the name of a 1994 batch IAS officer whose unauthorized overstay in Uttarakhand seven years ago, has been regularized. The notification signed by under secretary SS Shukla and sent to four officials viz.

Uttarakhand’s Monsoon Mayhem: Cabinet Secretary Ajit K Seth’s response

CABINET secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, known to be calm and composed in all difficult situations, has turned hyper-active during the last couple of days, as the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand ground to a halt because of the recent monsoon fury. Despite being a reluctant speaker and media-shy bureaucrat, Seth chose a television channel to…

AK Joshi’s cadre-change ahead of retirement is on “compassionate grounds”

UP CHIEF secretary Jawed Usmani is no longer the senior-most IAS in the state after inter-cadre deputation of Ajay Kumar Joshi, a 1977 batch IAS, from Uttarakhand to Uttar Pradesh was approved. In a notification dated March 19, 2013, Joshi’s cadre-change nine months ahead of his retirement was termed as a “special case” and approval was accorded on “compassionate grounds”. This is the text of the notification:

Cabinet secretary contender M Ramachandran poached by Mayawati

THE Centre’s loss is Mayawati’s gain. M Ramachandran, a 1972 batch retired IAS who just missed the coveted cabinet secretary’s post, has been poached by UP government led by BSP supremo Mayawati. Ramachandran who belonged to UP and then Uttarakhand cadre, has been appointed as adviser (infrastructure) with a mandate to accelerate infrastructure projects and development work in Uttar Pradesh. He will hold the rank of a cabinet minister in the state, and will be based out of Noida.The Centre has been dillydallying in giving him a suitable post after he missed the opportunity to become the country's top bureaucrat.  

Till third week of May this year, Ramachandran was the senior most bureaucrat to succeed KM Chandrasekhar, a 1970 batch IAS, as cabinet secretary. But Chandrasekhar’s extension in June, second in the row, dashed the hopes of Ramachandran and other contenders like PJ Thomas who was later made CVC. There were gossips in power corridors that Ramachandran would be made either the Election Commissioner or Delhi Metro chief. Whereas Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS Harishankar Brahma, a three-year junior to Ramachandran , was made the Election Commissioner, Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan is given another year’s extension, forcing Ramachandran to look for other avenues. Even for CVC’s post, Ramachandran with an impeccable record was not empanelled, ensuring his one batch junior IAS, PJ Thomas sail through at ease.

For the record, Sudha Pillai, who was a contender for cabinet secretary’s post in June 2009, was given a suitable alternative post after being denied the top bureaucrat’s position. Sudha Pillai, a batch-mate of Ramachandran, and senior most bureaucrat when KM Chandrasekhar got the first extension in June 2009, was later made Member Secretary of Planning Commission with the rank of a minister of state.

Ramachandran who had served as chief secretary in Uttarakhand and later drove the Centre’s flagship programme JNNURM as Union urban development secretary, wears a tag of “infrastructure man”. His book, “An Alternative Approach to Project Planning in Public Works -- The Indian Context” is well appreciated in infrastructure circle. After retirement in June this year, he has written a comprehensive book on Indian Metro rail which is scheduled to hit the stand sometime in April, 2011. 

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Ramachandran with PM

Style and Babudom

Cabinet secretary contender M Ramachandran could be made Election Commissioner of India

URBAN development secretary and 1972 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS, M Ramachandran, who missed the bus to become the country’s top bureaucrat, may now be considered for the post of Election Commissioner that will be vacant after Chief Election Commission and 1969 batch retired IAS Navin Chawla retires in July this year, and Election Commissioner Dr SY Quraishi, a 1971 batch retired IAS, possibly takes over as CEC, a person close to the development said.

In fact, the second one-year extension of current cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar dashed the hopes of all 1972 and 1973 batch IAS officers to grab the top bureaucrat’s post, and leading the pack was none other than Dr Ramachandran. Though no one questions the efficiency and integrity of Mr Chandrasekhar, there has been a general discontentment and tension among top IAS officers about the trend set by Mr Chandrasekhar’s four-year term for a post that by rules has a two-year-long tenure.

However, if Mr Ramachandran who retires in the end of this month, gets the post of Election Commissioner, he will have almost a five-year term, apart from having a chance of becoming the Chief Election Commissioner at a later stage. The Election Commissioners including the Chief Election Commissioner retire at the age of 65.

Also, there are speculations that another 1972 batch IAS and tourism secretary, Sujit Banerjee, could get an extension till the Commonwealth Games are over. Mr Banerjee retires in July this year.

Retired CBDT and CBEC Members included in Nilekani-led Advisory Group

The Technical Advisory Group for Unique Projects (TAGUP), under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani, will have SS Khan, former member, CBDT and PRV Ramanan, former member, CBEC as its members. The other members will be CB Bhave, chairman SEBI, R Chandrasekhar, secretary, department of IT, Dhirendra Swarup, former chairman PFRDA and Dr Nachiket Mor, president, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth.

Action and Appointments

a) The extension of tenure of VK Sadhu, a 1976 batch CSS and Principal Commissioner (joint secretary level), of Delhi Development Authority upto December 31, 2011, has been approved.

b) The ACC has not approved the proposal for the appointment of Raghava Chandra, a 1982 batch MP cadre IAS as joint secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), in place of Kumar Sanjay Krishna, a 1985 batch Assam cadre IAS who is now a principal secretary in the cadre.

c) The proposal of the ministry of defence for extension of Central deputation tenure of T Ramachandru, a 1984 batch Orissa cadre IAS for a period of three months upto September 12, 2010, has been approved.

d) Arun Kumar Bal, a 1986 batch West Bengal cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of defence.

Gujarat's top babus & netas camp at tented accommodation in Rann of Kutch to brainstorm easy admin solutions

GUJARAT'S top bureaucrats and politicians are now camping in an exotic locale of far away Rann of Kutch to participate in a four-day-long brainstorming session organised at the behest of the state chief minister Narendra Modi. The chintan shibir, which is now an annual feature is being attended by chief minister, some of his cabinet colleagues and senior officers, mainly to settle complex administrative problems then and there, and lay down a vision of development for the state. In fact, the officers will not strictly follow the hierarchy in articulating their views for the next few days, as they will be engaged in free and frank discussion till December 7. Former president of India APJ Abdul Kalam is expected to address the political leaders and officials. Interestingly, politicians and bureaucrats are now camping in tents in a rural hamlet in Rann of Kutch.

Jobs in CIC: 116 posts sanctioned THE government has sanctioned 116 posts for the Central Information Commission which in turn has constituted a committee to assess its staff requirement. The government shall examine the report of the committee as and when received. The commission has been allotted a plot of land in Delhi for construction of a building of the Commission. Though staffing and providing accommodation and other facilities to the State Information Commissions are the responsibility of the state governments, the Centre is now providing some assistance to the State Information Commission under a Centrally sponsored scheme, according to minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha. Action & Appointments a) Syamal Kumar Sarkar, a 1979 batch West Bengal cadre IAS, presently joint secretary in department of personnel and training (DoPT), ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions has been appointed as additional secretary in DoPT in place of Vibha Puri Das, a 1976 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS who was appointed as secretary, higher education recently. b) Retired Maharashtra chief secretary Johny Joseph took over as the new Upa Lokayukta. The veteran bureaucrat was administered the oath of office by chief minister Ashok Chavan in the presence of Lokayukta M B Gaikwad, a former judge of the high court and senior officials.

Know Your Babu: Higher education secretary Vibha Puri, 1976 batch IAS

Biodata of Vibha Puri Das Name: Ms Vibha Puri Batch: 1976 batch IAS Cadre: Uttarakhand Date of Birth: December 3, 1953 Place of Domicile: Uttar Pradesh Mother Tongue: Hindi Educational Qualifications PG in Political Science, First Division Major Postings a) Under Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development (From June1, 1983 to July 1, 1985) b) Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development (July 1, 1985 to May 31, 1987) c) District Magistrate, Dehradun (October 20, 1987 to July 11, 1989) d) Executive Director, (Director Equivalent) Central Social Welfare Board (June1, 1991 to September1, 1992) e) Managing Director, (JS Level) Kanpur Nagar (March 29, 1995 to April 17, 1997) f) Additional CEO, (JS Level), Greater Noida Authority, (April 17, 1997 to April 13, 1998) g) Vice Chairman, (JS Level), Ghaziabad (April 13, 1998 to November 10, 1998) h) Consultancy (Short Term) UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) i) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (August 30, 2000 to August 14, 2003) j) Additional Secretary, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, New Delhi (August 4, 2008 till now) Foreign Trainings a) Management in rural development at Manila, Philippines for 2 weeks (1983) b) A 10-week course on poverty alleviation in University of Sussex, UK (1986) c)PDAC, RW&O, in Beijing, China for 2 weeks (1986) d) PCAPP IN ESCAP, for 2 weeks in Thailand (1991) e) Micro CRPPWM at Dhaka, Bangladesh (1991) Awards/Publications Nil

Railways’ Sari cadre inspires Sarkari brigade; 9.6% of government employees are women

WITH women officers beginning to dominate the Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), those in the sister railway services have coined a new informal name to the cadre – Sari, which incidentally is the reverse of the abbreviation – IRAS. For those not so familiar with Indian culture, Sari is an elegant dress worn by Indian women (see picture), and is made popular abroad by Bollywood actresses. It’s learnt that most women now prefer to join this service, and at times weigh it above Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), Indian Railway Personnel Services (IRPS) etc. In fact, the leadership position of the IRAS has also been with women officers. Sowmya Raghavan, financial commission of Indian Railways at the rank of secretary to the government of India, is currently the top IRAS officer. Though officers of other cadres might call it “Sari”, but the first IRAS officer recruited in 1930 happened to be a man -- C T Venugopal. Also, the first IRAS financial commissioner (K S Bhandari in 1939) and the first IRAS officer becoming secretary to government of India (Y T Shah in 1944) were both men. The first lady IRAS officer was Priya Prakash of 1957 batch, and the first woman IRAS to become financial commissioner in Indian Railways was Vijayalakshmi Viswanathan. Significantly, the government has repeatedly said now that it would encourage more women to join it. According to a census, 9.68% of Central government employees were women in 2004. The census was conducted by the directorate general of employment & training under the ministry of labour and employment.

Pati, Patni & … stands correct The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal to appoint Anjali Prasad, a 1983 batch IAS of Uttarakhand cadre as joint secretary, in the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000, (PB-4) plus grade pay of Rs 10000, for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders. On July 16, babu blogger in his post “Yet another Pati, Patni & Post tale: Anjali Prasad to replace her husband as DIPP joint secretary”, wrote that Mrs Prasad would get the post which has been lying vacant after her husband N N Prasad, a 1981 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS joined Geneva-based world intellectual property organization (WIPO) a couple of months ago. Action & Appointments a) The proposal of the ministry of home affairs for extension of inter-cadre deputation of Chitrangad, IPS (UP, 1996) from Uttarakhand to Uttar Pradesh for a period of two years beyond August 25, 2008 has been approved. b) Akshay Kumar Rout, an IIS officer of 1984 batch has been appointed as director general (information education & communication) in Election Commission of India at a joint secretary level for five years.

Will Nilekani make Ram Sewak Sharma a secretary at the rank of additional secretary?

WILL 1978 batch IAS officer from Jharkhand and former IITian Ram Sewak Sharma don a formal designation of the CEO of Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) which would create a database of identity details of every Indian citizen? Whereas department of personnel and training (DoPT) in its recent appointment notice said that Mr Sharma had been appointed as Director General & Mission Director of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), in the rank and pay of additional secretary, Mr Nilekani while taking charge as the chairman of the Authority (See picture above) on Thursday said Mr Sharma would join as “secretary and CEO” of the organization. Friends of babu blogger said that the corporate honcho, who was the co-chairman of Indian IT company Infosys Technologies, might have got confused with the sarkari ranks and dubbed a 1978 batch IAS a “secretary” whereas officers two years senior to him were yet to get the rank of a secretary. Though that could be a technical mistake of mixing up the posts of “secretary” and “additional secretary”, but it remains to be seen whether Mr Sharma is actually given a corporate title, “CEO” in the rank and pay of an additional secretary rather than continuing with the sarkari title, Director General or Mission Director as per DoPT’s earlier release. CVC prosecutes against 10 officers; 6 from I-T department The Central Vigilance Commission launched prosecution against 10 officers including six from Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), two from Department of Telecommunications and one each from Central Board of excise and Customs (CBEC) and ministry of home affairs (MHA). The commission disposed of 485 cases during June 2009 and advised initiations of major penalty proceedings against 134 officers. Of these, 46 were from public sector banks, 25 from MCD, 13 from ministry of railways, 7 from Khadi & Village Industries Commission etc. Action & Appointments a) Lok Ranjan, a 1989 batch IAS from Manipur Tripura cadre, presently working as director in the department of revenue has been appointed as joint secretary in the same department, in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000/- (PB-4) plus grade pay of Rs 10000. b) The proposal of the ministry of home affairs for inter-cadre transfer of Bharat Rahul Manhardan, IPS (AP, 2007) from Andhra Pradesh to Rajasthan on the ground of his marriage to Ms Mamta Bishnoi, IPS (RJ, 2007) has been approved. c) The proposal for inter cadre transfer of Nitish Kumar Jha, IAS (Manipur-Tripura, 2002) and Ms Radhika Jha, IAS (Sikkim, 2002) from their respective parent cadres to Uttarakhand cadre has been approved. d) Vijay Anand, IRS (C&CE, 1980) has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of space, in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000/- (PB-4) plus grade pay of Rs 10000, for a period of five years or until further orders.