What Vinod Rai’s book says about bureaucrats: Pulok Chatterji, Vini Mahajan, TKA Nair, PJ Thomas, Sunil Arora etc.

Rai with wife

1980 batch IAS officer Sunil Arora is an “outstanding officer”.
Former principal secretary to PM TKA Nair was a “priest” in the PMO. 
Former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai’s book “Not Just An Accountant” has a few interesting anecdotes about men who mattered in corridors of power. Here are about 7 of them:

Vini Mahajan, Last of the Mohicans in Manmohan Singh’s PMO to leave soon

The Last of the Mohicans as illustrated by FT Merrill

COME March 30, Vini Mahajan, The Last of the Mohicans in Manmohan Singh’s PMO, is leaving South Block. Ms Mahajan, a 1987 batch Punjab cadre IAS, will be heading towards her cadre after completing almost eight years of uninterrupted Central deputation tenure. A confidante of PM’s adviser TKA Nair, Ms Mahajan has been continuously serving in Prime Minister’s Office since June 2005, first as a director and then as joint secretary. She had a stint in finance ministry before moving to South Block.

According to an order of Appointments Committee of the Cabinet dated March 22, 2012, Mahajan’s repatriation to her cadre is “ahead of the completion of her extended tenure”. She got her last extension for six months beyond October 29, 2011, which means she could have continued till end of April.

BoI is calling Ms Mahajan The Last of the Mohicans in Manmohan Singh’s B-Team (Bureaucrats’ Team) as she is the only bureaucrat, except Nair, who has become a part of the continuity from UPA-I’s honeymoon period to the turbulent days of UPA-II. Even PMO veteran Pulok Chatterji actually took up a World Bank job ahead of May 2009 general elections, probably with an anticipation that UPA won’t come back to power and a BJP-led government could push him to an inconsequential department.

Now, Ms Mahajan’s place in PMO would be occupied by her batch-mate and old PMO hand BVR Subrahmanyam. He is a Chhattisgarh cadre IAS who served as senior adviser to Pulok Chatterji in World Bank. In fact, Subrahmanyam, an engineer and MBA (from London Business School) was PM’s private secretary during UPA-I. He will now be a joint secretary in PMO for three years “in relaxation of the relevant rules and provisions of the Central Staffing Scheme and consolidated deputation guidelines as a special case”, according to an ACC order.

BoI heroes of 2011 scripted future agenga, influenced some and inspired many

It was quite a rough and tough year for Indian bureaucrats. But there were a handful of bureaucrats who refused to give in to the unusual circumstances that overshadowed the corridor's positive developments. This lot of movers and shakers were ahead of the curve. And they demonstrated their ability, innovative ideas and leadership to race ahead of their peers. Here are the BoI heroes of 2011 who refused to fail:

Kuldip Narayan, IAS

In January 2011, even before Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's deadline expired, two Bihar IAS of 2005 batch, Kuldip Narayan and Balamurugan D, set the ball rolling by declaring their assets and liabilities including minor details such as buying of televisions and mobile phones. It was a different matter that every bureaucrat across the country and even the ministers of Manmohan Singh's cabinet later had to declare their assets once the anti-graft campaign of Anna Hazare wooed lakhs of Indians to the streets.
Read

What did they declare?

Sudhir Chandra, IRS

When 1973 batch Indian Revenue Service officer Sudhir Chandra took over as the chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on December 31, 2010, he ordered the backdoor of his historically significant corner room of North Block opened. The door which remained closed for over 60 years leads to a balcony overlooking the monumental beauty of Raisina Hills --- The Rashtrapati Bhawan. The pillared balcony has reminiscence of history thanks to the emblem of Lord Mountbatten-headed South East Asia Command being carved on a plaque there. Some of his decisions turned controversial, but his firm direction for early refund rejoiced millions of Indian tax payers.
Read

North Block's corner room overlooking Rashtrapati Bhawan

Former Bureaucrats

As many as 83 distinguished Indian bureaucrats with a combined work experience of about 2,500 man-years are pinning hopes that a court verdict could put in place a mechanism that would insulate bureaucrats from political pressure. Former Union cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian and 82 other distinguished ex-bureaucrats petitioned in Supreme Court seeking urgent administrative reforms. A Supreme Court bench issued notice to the Central and state governments after showering praises on the petitioners that they raised some important questions.
Read

Who are these 83 bureaucrats?

Ranjan Mathai, IFS
It was not an easy decision, but the government zeroed in on  Ranjan Mathai, a 1974 batch IFS officer, as India's foreign secretary. The Ambassador in Paris was ahead of his peers and batch-mates in the race to replace Ms Nirupama Rao, a 1973 batch IFS, who later became India's ambassador to US post retirement. BoI (babusofindia.com) in a report dated as early as February 28, 2011 said why Mathai would clinch the coveted foreign secretary’s job.
Read

Mathai Vs Rest

Gautam Sanyal, CSS

Gautam Sanyal, a Central secretariat service officer, is the new poster boy of India’s babudom. Till a few months ago, he was the all-powerful OSD to Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee. But after Ms Banerjee became chief minister of West Bengal, Sanyal too took a flight to Kolkata and became the most important officer in Bengal’s power corridors giving heartburns to many IAS officers.
Read

Sanyal, Mamata's Pulok Chatterji

Sanjiv Bhatt, IPS

IS Gujarat’s much talked about IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt slowing becoming a real-life Singham, an Ajay Devgan-starred character of a police officer who finally motivates his seniors to join him in a fight against the evil? Bhatt who was arrested on September 30, 2011 on a compliant filed by police constable, is now getting a strong backing from fellow IPS officers of the state.
Read

Real-life Singham

Vini Mahajan, IAS

Vini Mahajan, one of the most influential bureaucrats in Indian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and 1987 batch Punjab cadre IAS, will remain at the power centre of Delhi at least till April 2012 after she managed yet another extension. Despite being in controversy in the so-called "official" leakage of the 2G note dragging home minister P Chidambaram, Mahajan remained influential at the nerve-center of Raisina Hills. Her mentor TKA Nair may lose his sheen, but Ms Mahajan has not lost her ground.
Read

Unconditional Extension

Satyapal Singh, IPS
Satyapal Singh, Additional Director General of Police in Maharashtra and the man who was personally reviewing the security of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare by visiting Anna’s native village in Ralegan Siddhi is an unusual police officer. His domain knowledge and understanding of Yoga, Vedas and Swami Vivekananda could make many religious experts envious.And he close to Baba Ramdev too.
Read

Anna's protector, Baba's friend

Neelam Sharma, IFS

Indian Foreign Service officer Neelam Sharma’s decision to marry her batch-mate (2009 batch) and Gujarat cadre IAS Kuldeep Arya was contested by Haryana's Khap Panchayat. It questioned how the IFS officer, a Brahmin, dared to fall in love with a man from another caste. Currently posted in Moscow, IFS Neelam Sharma stood her ground and managed the event like an able diplomat. 
Read
A diplomat's wedding

Was it PMO’s Vini Mahajan who asked for the finance ministry’s controversial 2G note?

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s letter to Prime Minister, as it was published by a section of media, has suggested the controversial 2G note dragging current home minister P Chidambaram into the 2G scam, was sent to PMO “upon the insistence of the JS, PMO through her phone calls to secretary, DEA”. The department of economic affairs (DEA) comes under the finance ministry. As Mukherjee’s letter indicated the joint secretary was a woman officer, the obvious candidate would be Vini Mahajan, a 1987 batch Punjab cadre IAS officer. Ms Mahajan who is now on an extension in PMO has been handling many areas including telecom in PMO.

The 2G note that was made into an Office Memorandum on March 25, 2011, became controversial because it said then home minister P Chidambaram could have prevented the scam by insisting on the auction of 2G spectrum. After the Office Memorandum came out in public domain through an RTI, Mukherjee wrote a 2-page confidential letter to Prime Minister giving details about why and how the note was prepared, and how it landed up in the PMO. After all, the March 25 2G note was released to an RTI applicant by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Mukherjee in his letter said, “DEA was not in favour of sending the note after its finalization through a formal OM (Office Memorandum). It was upon the insistence of the JS, PMO, through her phone calls to Secretary, DEA, that the communication was sent through a formal OM on March 25, 2011.”

Also Read

Ms Mahajan gets "unconditional" extension

Dr PGS Rao, the man who singed the 2G note
 
Action and Appointments

a) Pradeep Kumar Chaudhery, a 1977 batch Haryana cadre IAS, presently special secretary in the department of commerce, has been appointed as secretary in the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) in place of Rajinder Pal Singh, a 1976 batch AP cadre IAS, who retired on October 31, 2011.

b) Ms Manjula Prasher, a 1976 batch IPoS officer, has been appointed as secretary in the department of posts.

c) SK Goel, a 1975 batch IRS officer, took charge as the chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) on October 31, 2011. Goel has handled various assignments in the department of revenue under the ministry of finance all over the country. Prior to his appointment as the chairman, he has been working as Member (Customs) in CBEC. He is a recipient of the President’s Award for Specially Distinguished Services.

Unlike SPG biggies, PMO official Vini Mahajan gets "unconditional" extension

Inside PMO

Vini Mahajan, one of the most influential bureaucrats in Indian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and 1987 batch Punjab cadre IAS, will remain at the power centre of Delhi at least till April 2012. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on October 12, 2011, approved “further extension of Central deputation tenure” of Ms Vini Mahajan as joint secretary in the PMO by six months beyond October 29, 2011.

Significantly, it is not a conditional extension unlike in case of four senior IPS officers of elite Special Protection Group. On August 8, 2011, four SPG officers at the rank of Inspector General of Police were given extensions of seven months to one year on conditions that “no further extension would be considered”. The order said “operational needs and sensitivity of the job” were the reasons for giving them extensions up to eight years. The police officers who got conditional extensions included Sudeep Lakhtakia of Andhra Pradesh cadre, Ram Phal Pawar of West Bengal cadre and SL Thaosen of Madhya Pradesh cadre --- all of whom have been with the SPG from the beginning of the UPA-I. The SPG is an elite force meant for protection of the Prime Minister of India and other VVIPs.

Vini Mahajan has been on Central deputation from April, 2004 just a month before the UPA-I took charge. She was then a director in finance ministry. But in June 2005 she was shifted to PMO where she was first a director, and then a joint secretary. A post graduate in management and diploma holder on infrastructure in market economy from an US university, Ms Mahajan is considered to be an asset in the PMO.

Ms Mahajan came into news recently when a finance ministry note dated March 2011 dragging P Chidambaram into the 2G scam came into the public domain through an RTI application. The note, dated March 25, 2011 was signed by finance ministry’s deputy director Dr PGS Rao and was reportedly sent to PMO’s Vini Mahajan. Finance minister Prabnab Mukherjee later clarified and distanced himself from a few lines mentioning about current home minister P Chidambaram.

Action and Appointments

a) The ACC has approved the extension of inter-cadre deputation tenure of Yeshi Tsering, a 1983 batch Assam cadre IAS from Assam-Meghalaya to AGMUT cadre (Arunachal Pradesh) for a further period of one year beyond February 19, 2011.

b) The UP government said that the allegations made by IAS officer Promilla Shankar are “baseless and irresponsible”. According to am UP government spokesperson, Shankar went abroad without due sanction of leaves and that cost her job. But Ms Shankar wrote to the Centre saying that UP government suspended her just eight days after she mentioned flaws in the master plan of the Yamuna Expressway Authority.

Read

Promilla Shankar's letter

Defence Jobs: 3000 additional personnel to be inducted into Coast Guard

GOOD news for those looking at opportunities in defence sector. Defence minister AK Antony himself announced on Wednesday that government had sanctioned nearly 3,000 additional personnel at various levels and this needs to be filled up on priority. The proposed quantum jump in the number of Indian Coast Guard personnel will make it a potent force to counter terrorism from the sea. Mr Antony was addressing the 28th Coast Guard Commanders’ Conference. Mr Antony asked the Coast Guard top brass to explore innovative ways to develop infrastructure support for the Coast Guard fleet in the days to come. "Since its inception, Coast Guard has maintained its fleet with minimal shore infrastructure. You have been managing the fleet through outsourcing repairs & refit. However, the massive expansion being charted through ship acquisition will significantly develop the shore infrastructure," he said. More jobs are being created in police forces too after home minister P Chidambaram has found manpower shortage a major constraint in ensuring safety and security to citizens. B for Bureaucrats: PM wants to retain his Team B With the tenure of PMO joint secretary Sanjay Mitra being extended for two more years, it has now been almost confirmed that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh himself is very much keen to retain the same team for his second innings too. Mr Mitra is a 1982 batch West Bengal cadre IAS. Earlier, tenures of PMO joint secretaries R Gopalakrishnan, Ms Vini Mahajan, and secretary M N Prasad were extended. Read: PM retains key officers to bring in continuity (October 1, 2009)

Action & Appointments Dr C S Kedar, a 1979 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, presently working as joint secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat has been appointed as Director General, Employees State Insurance Corporation under the Ministry of Labour and Employment on lateral transfer basis, by temporarily downgrading the post to the joint secretary level for the period upto June 4, 2013, or until further orders.

CVC for major penalty proceedings against 106 officers The Central Vigilance Commission advised initiations of major penalty proceedings against 106 officers. Of these, 21 were from ministry of railways, 21 from public sector banks, 13 from MCD, 8 from Northern Coalfields Ltd., five from Central Coalfields Ltd., four each from CBEC, MHA & ministry of urban development, three each from PG Institute of Medical Education & CBDT, two each from Department of Telecommunications, ministry of labour and ESIC. The Commission also advised imposition of major penalty against 68 officers including 14 from National Aluminum Co. Ltd., 12 each from Central Coalfileds Ltd. & Public Sector Banks, six from ministry of railways, five each from National Insurance Co. Ltd. & DDA, two each from Border Roads Development Board & Central Board of Excise and Customs.

PM continues to retain key officers to bring in continuity; now joint secretaries in PMO get extension

IT SEEMS India’s Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has made it very clear that continuity of key officers in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is indispensable to effectively execute government’s major action plans during the second innings of the current UPA government. If joint secretary in PMO R Gopalakrishnan’s extension of tenure till June 30, 2011 after the extension of tenure of joint secretary Ms Vini Mahajan and secretary in PMO M N Prasad is any indication, the continuity of key civil servants seems to be a norm in South Block which houses India’s Prime Minister’s Office. Mr Gopalakrishnan, who was overseeing the Bharat Nirman programme in the PMO from the time of its inception, is a 1979 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS. He first got an extension upto September 30 before the term was further extended till June, 2011. Recently, another joint secretary and 1987 batch Punjab cadre IAS Vini Mahajan’s tenure was extended till April 29, 2011. Earlier, Prime Minister decided to retain secretary in PMO and 1972 batch Bihar cadre IAS M N Prasad on a contract basis even after his retirement. No wonder, after Dr Singh assumed office for the second time in May this year, he retained national security adviser MK Narayanan and principal secretary TKA Nair in the same posts with a rank of a minister of state. Also, cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar who would have retired in June, 2009, was also given one year’s extension.

Babus In Demand The ministry of home affairs (MHA) in its report card for September said that newly set up National Investigative Agency continues to recruit more officers to strengthen it. In order to fill Group A and Group B posts immediately, a one-time special recruitment process was approved in consultation with the UPSC. A 1975 batch IPS, Radha Vinod Raju, heads the Agency as its Director General.

Action & Appointments a) Air Marshal Ajay Shriniwas Karnik would take over as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO), of one of the senior most operational commands of the Indian Air Force on October 1, 2009. A Fighter Combat Leader and a Qualified Flying Instructor, he is an alumni of Air War College, University of USAF, Montgomery, USA. b) Lt Gen AS Lamba took over as GOC-in-C Army Training Command, Shimla. The Officer has a vast experience of conventional warfare and unconventional Counter Insurgency operations and had participated in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War and served in Nagaland, Manipur, and also in Sri Lanka with the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). c) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the placement of Anil Bhushan Prasad, a 1976 batch Bihar cadre IAS on compulsory wait in the department of administrative reforms & public grievances in the rank and pay of additional secretary during the period from June1, 2009 to July 23, 2009.