Netagiri vs Babudom: MPs to question on bureaucrats' asset disclosure, retirement age & CVC cases in winter session of Parliament

THE world of babudom will come under more scrutiny during the ongoing winter session of Parliament which began on Thursday. Members of Parliament (MPs) are going to ask a number of questions regarding acknowledgement of MPs' letters, prosecution of civil servants, retirement scheme of government employees etc., according to a provisional list of unstarred questions to be admitted in Lok Sabha dated November 25, 2009. The provisional list of questions admitted for that date includes questions related to quota for IAS and IPS, cases referred to Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), modernisation CBI and medium of UPSC examinations etc. It remains to be seen what the government answers on contentious questions like declaring of bureaucrats' assets under the Right to Information( RTI) Act, which is also listed as an unstarred question. The provisional questions also include how to make RTI more effective and legislation for whistle blowers. Read: Netagiri & Babudom: A new set of instructions issued to help officers communicate with MPs (August 7, 2009) Former defence secretary Vijay Singh sworn-in as member UPSC Vijay Singh, former defence secretary of government of India took the oath of office and secrecy as Member, Union Service Public Commission on Thursday. The oath was administered by UPSC chairman Prof D P Agrawal. Mr Singh, a 1970 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS, held several important assignments both in the state of Madhya Pradesh and at the Centre during his 37 year career, a government release said. His assignments at the Centre included director in the department of cultural affairs, joint secretary in the ministry of health & family welfare, additional secretary in the ministry of commerce, ministry of information & broadcasting and in ministry of finance. He became chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh in October, 2004 and served there till January, 2006. Then, he served as secretary to government of India in the department of AYUSH and later in the department of road transport & highways before becoming the country's defence secretary in August, 2007.

Action & Appointments a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Sudhakar Rao, a 1973 batch Karnataka cadre IAS (Retd) as Member, Public Enterprises Selection Board (PSEB) for a tenure of three years or until the age of 65 years or until fruther orders. b) Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as additional secretary in department of agricultural research and education under the ministry of agriculture in the vacancy of A K Upadhyay, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS. c) Alok Kumar, a 1984 batch Assam cadre IAS, has been appointed as joint secretary in the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT). Result for CDS Exam( I )-2009 announced The UPSC has announced the results of the Combined Defence Services Examination (I)-2009 held by the Services Selection Board of the ministry of defence for admission to the 128th Course of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala and Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course or 187th F(P) Course. Results are available at UPSC website --- www.upsc.gov.in

Know Your Babu: New defence secretary Pradeep Kumar

THE wait is finally over. Pradeep Kumar, a 1972 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre and presently secretary, department of defence production under the ministry of defence will be India’s next defence secretary. He would take over from Vijay Singh, a 1970 batch MP cadre IAS who is due to superannuate on July 31, 2009. Mr Kumar will have a tenure of two years from the date of taking over the charge of the post. babu blogger in a post dated June 20, 2009, said that Mr Kumar is “believed to be the front-runner for the post thanks to his experiences in defence department for sometime now.”

Know Your Babu Name : Pradeep Kumar, Cadre: Haryana cadre IAS Batch: 1972 Educational Qualifications Masters in Economics Major Postings a) Joint Secretary in the ministry of heavy industries & public enterprises, New Delhi from September 20, 1997 to September 11, 2002 b) Resident Commissioner, Haryana Bhavan, New Delhi (From April, 10, 2003 to December 19, 2003) c) Additional secretary, Mines & Minerals, Coal (From December 19, 2003 to June 23, 2006) d) Chairman, National Highways Auth of India (NHAI), (From October 4,2006 to July 30, 2007) e) Secretary, department of disinvestment, Ministry of Finance (From July 30, 2007 to August 1, 2008) f) Secretary, defence production (From February 2, 2008 till now) Foreign degree MSc in economics and social science, from UK (1986)

Urban development secretary M Ramachandran could be the dark horse for clinching defence secretary’s post

URBAN development secretary M Ramachandran, a 1972 batch IAS, may emerge as a surprise candidate for the post of defence secretary after current incumbent Vijay Singh retires in the end of July. Though current secretary of the department of defence production Pradeep Kumar, also a 1972 batch IAS from Haryana cadre, is believed to be the front-runner for the post thanks to his experiences in defence department for sometime now, the government may place Mr Ramachandran for the post as a run-up to his candidature for India’s next cabinet secretary. In fact, Mr Ramachandran, who has played a key role in implementing the government’s flagship urban programme JNNURM, is a key contender for the post of cabinet secretary when K M Chandrasekhar’s one-year extension term comes to an end in June next year. It’s believed that Mr Ramachandran’s experiences in defence would make him even a better candidate for cabinet secretary’s post. Extension & Appointment of Officers Central deputation tenure of M Deena Dayalan, IA&AS (1978), joint secretary & financial advisor, in the department of expenditure has been extended beyond July 11, 2009 till his date of superannuation on February 28, 2010. IPS Posting: The proposal of the ministry of home affairs for the induction of the following IPS officers into the ‘hard-core’ of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) has been approved. The officers are: (i) S K Sinha, IPS (Bihar, 1983) (ii) Ms Kala Ramachandran, IPS (Haryana, 1994) (iii) A K Shukla, IPS (MT, 1986) (iv) M Madana Mohan, IPS (MT, 1987) (v) Rithwik Rudra, IPS (Himachal Pradesh, 1993) Dr Zaidi’s Additional Charge: The government has approved the assignment of additional charge of the functions of Representative of India (ROI) on the Council of International Civil Aviation Organization, (ICAO) to Dr Nasim Zaidi, IAS (UP, 1976), Director General of Civil Aviation under the ministry of civil aviation, for a period of three months beyond April 22, 2009 or till new incumbent on the post of ROI, ICAO is appointed. Babus In Demand The government wants application for filling up the post of Financial Advisor (Joint Secretary level) in Khadi & Village Industries Commission at Mumbai, under the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000 (PB-4) and grade pay of Rs 10,000 on deputation basis. IAS officer in MP suspended on sodomy charges An IAS officer in Madhya Pradesh was suspended on charges of committing sodomy on a Panchayat secretary in Bhopal on Friday. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan himself announced the suspension of Bhopal district Janpad Panchayat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gyaneshwar Patil, who was allegedly caught by a group of mediapersons when he was with a panchayat employee in the office washroom.