5 things to know about Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar

AMID the CBI-Kolkata Police tussle that unfolded on Sunday afternoon when officials belonging to the central investigative agency were detailed from outside the Kolkata Police Commissioner’s residence, the cop who hogged the limelight was Rajeev Kumar, 1989 batch IPS and the city police commissioner himself. As the state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee began dharna in support of the city’s top cop, Kumar too joined the dharna, something unprecedented and controversial. Without getting into the merits of the case, here below are five things you may like to know about IPS Rajeev Kumar:

3 young IAS officers’ fascinating posts of their past

Sweta Agarwal, IAS

FROM West Bengal cadre IAS Sweta Agarwal's childhood fascinations for the Khaki uniform to an Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS, Gopalkrishna Ronanki’s struggle from a study room with no electricity to turn an IAS topper, the Facebook posts of many a young officer are a fascinating read. Here below are the gist of three such posts, courtesy to an open FB page, Humans of LBSNAA:

“But life isn't about plans”; why West Bengal cadre IAS Dhiman Barai left a banking job to try his luck in IAS

FOR 2016 batch West Bengal cadre IAS Dhiman Barai, Indian Administrative Service was always a “default option”, but “not an immediate plan” after his MBA from IIM-B. But what made him plunging into IAS preparation, ending up getting his home cadre as an IAS. The IAS Association has recently tweeted a Facebook post where the officer narrated how his career choice changed after the demise of his father. The officer wrote, life isn't about plans. Barai, 31, grew up in a big…

Chhattisgarh, West Bengal have spared the least number of IAS for Central deputation; more than the prescribed number of Kerala IAS in Delhi now

Chhattisgarh and West Bengal are the two states that have spared the least number of IAS officers for Central deputation, if the proportion of the IAS on Central deputation to the central deputation reserve (CDR) is factored in, according to a DoPT letter where the Centre requested the states to spare more officers for the Centre. According to the data as on October 31, 2017, as cited in the letter dated December 11, 2017, there are only…

Know Your IAS: New defence secretary Sanjay Mitra; 10 Things to Know

COME May 24, West Bengal cadre lAS of 1982 batch Sanjay Mitra will be India’s new defence secretary. He has already been appointed as officer on special duty (OSD) in the ministry of defence before he would formally take over as new defence secretary from incumbent G Mohan Kumar. Armed with rich administrative experiences — joint secretary in PMO, chief secretary in West Bengal and union secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways — Mitra has always been a much sought-after officer. Those who are close to Mitra further confirm that he was brought back to Kolkata at the behest of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Here are 10 things to know about new defence secretary.

Sanjay Mitra is new defence secretary; and Rashmi Verma tourism secretary; adhoc appointments for telecom and road transport

New Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma (File Photo)

IN A major senior bureaucracy level reshuffle on Wednesday, the Centre appointed Sanjay Mitra, former chief secretary of West Bengal and key bureaucrat in the era of Manmohan Singh’s PMO, as India’s next defence secretary. He is currently serving as secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways. Also, textiles secretary Rashmi Verma will be new tourism secretary. The government has not however posted permanent secretaries in two key ministries — road transport and highways, and telecom. Here below are the appointments of new secretaries in the ministries of defence, textiles, tourism, tribal affairs, consumer affairs etc.:

“Add a traditional touch to your attire” — why this IAS officer’s fashion tips matter

“Add a traditional touch to your attire. Opt for hand-crafted shawls, bundis, kurtas, dhotis and churidars” 

These fashion tips are not provided by Ritu Kumar or Manish Malhotra, but by an IAS officer! Yes, you have read it right. CEO of Prasar Bharati and 1975 batch IAS Jawhar Sircar was featured by HT on Saturday when the national newspaper announced…

Mamata Banerjee’s trusted bureaucrat Gautam Sanyal’s promotion as principal secretary; story behind

WEST BENGAL chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s most trusted bureaucrat Gautam Sanyal was last month elevated as the principal secretary to chief minister after the state chief secretary finally issued the necessary order. It is not an ordinary promotion, at least for two reasons. First, Sanyal has become the first central secretariat service (CSS) officer (though retired) to get this coveted position. Secondly, this move is bound to create unease among IAS officers serving in West Bengal and outside. After all, principal secretary is a “cadre” post meant only for…

IAS officer Prashant who is “missing” in Washington DC deemed to have resigned

Prashant, 50, does not write his family name. A West Bengal cadre IAS officer of 1998 batch, he was “missing” in action. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the cadre controlling authority of the IAS officers, had no clue, at least officially, where Prashant has been in the recent years after he completed a foreign posting in Washington DC in 2010. He went to US in August 2009 as a…

“Is this the service we are in!” An obituary of 2003 batch IAS Sripriya Rengarajan goes viral among officers

RIP: Sripriya Rengarajan

“…when I heard about her demise, I felt lonely in this heartless bureaucracy. Is it worth it to serve honestly at faraway places, leaving friends and family and still bear this ignominy?” A long message written by a colleague after the death of 2003 batch West Bengal cadre IAS Sripriya Rengarajan, 42, has gone viral on WhatsApp among IAS and other civil servants across the country. Rengarajan who was suffering from cancer died on Sunday in a Madurai hospital leaving behind…

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

1983 batch IAS Bhaskar Khulbe drops his middle name; another IAS F Innocent Divya turns J Innocent Divya

ON July 10, a DoPT order named its new additional secretary as Bhaskar Chandra Khulbe. He is a 1983 batch West Bengal cadre IAS who had earlier tenures in the ministry of home affairs (MHA), cabinet secretariat and also in personnel department, DoPT. Four days later, the government issued another notification, this time to permit Khulbe to drop his middle name, “Chandra”. Only a fortnight back, the government permitted to change 38-year-old Tamil Nadu cadre woman IAS name: from F Innocent Divya to…

A for Apple, B for Bengal: Mamata wants bureaucrats to speak good English

WEST Bengal civil servants have “good” command over English grammar and can write very “good notes”, but when it comes to spoken English, they need to work harder. This is what West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said when she interacted with…

How a DoPT mistake makes an IAS officer 10 years junior to his batch-mates

ALAS! West Bengal cadre IAS officer Hem Kumar Pande, currently working as additional secretary in the ministry of environment and forests, has become 10 years junior to his batch-mates! Just hold your breath. In a DoPT order duely…

Ex-PMO official Sanjay Mitra to be new West Bengal chief secretary

WEST Bengal will have a relatively young officer, 1982 batch IAS and ex-PMO hand Sanjay Mitra as the new chief secretary. The 53-year old officer who enjoys good personal rapport with Mamata Banerjee’s confidante Gautam Sanyal (Read: Sanyal is Mamata's Pulok), was one of the two prominent Mitras handpicked by Banerjee when she moved from Delhi to Kolkata last year to take over as West Bengal CM. No prize for guessing...

Will Arun Mishra be appointed as full-time DGCA? 3 scenarios here

WILL Arun Mishra, a 1986 batch West Bengal cadre IAS, be the new full-time Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after EK Bharat Bhushan’s unceremonious exit raised several questions and embarrassed the government? Or, will Prashant Sukul, Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer who has been given DGCA’s mandate temporarily, be the final choice? Sukul is currently a joint secretary in civil aviation ministry. Here are three scenarios:

Other Mitra: Ex-PMO official Sanjay Mitra may eventually become chief secretary

FORMER joint secretary in PMO and 1982 batch West Bengal cadre IAS Sanjay Mitra may finally get his due. According to reports, desks are being cleared for Mitra to become first an additional chief secretary and then chief secretary of Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal. Incidentally, Mitra who had worked in PMO for almost seven years was handpicked by Ms Banerjee. But he was then relegated to the backyard of Kolkata’s...

Why Bengal CM was kind towards rail minister’s PS Vandana Yadav?

LAST year, West Bengal chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee turned down the requests of many IAS and IPS officers who wanted to come to New Delhi on Central deputation. The most prominent rejection was then Birbhum district magistrate and 2002 batch IAS Soumitra Mohan who finance minister Pranab Mukherjee wanted to be his private secretary in place of Manoj Pant who was to fly to Washington DC to become senior adviser to ED in World Bank. Miss Banerjee was however very kind towards one officer: 1998 batch IAS Vandana Yadav who was allowed to come on Central deputation. She became Mukul Roy’s private secretary in the ministry of shipping.
Now, Ms Yadav has been laterally shifted from the ministry of shipping to the ministry of railways. Ms Yadav will now be Roy’s private secretary in the Rail Bhawan. But why Ms Yadav in the first place got Mamata Banerjee’s nod to come to Delhi when CM even refused to consider Pranab Mukherjee’s pleas? Here is the answer...

Edelweiss Financial Services appoints ex-finance secretary Sunil Mitra as independent director

Sunil Mitra, a 1975 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and former finance secretary, has been inducted as an independent director of Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd, a financial services company engaged in asset management, capital markets, credit, housing finance, insurance services etc. Mitra who had served as disinvestment secretary and revenue secretary was designated as finance secretary only for a month after 1974 batch IAS Sushama Nath, incidentally the first woman finance secretary in India, retired in May 2011.

It was widely speculated that Sumit Bose would succeed Nath as finance secretary, but the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee chose to follow the seniority criteria and designated Mitra as finance secretary for a month. It was another matter that RS Gujral, then road transport and highways secretary and batch-mate of Sumit Bose had by then joined as revenue secretary and surprised everyone to become finance secretary on the strength of his higher position in 1976 batch merit-cum-seniority list.

Mitra was additional chief secretary of the West Bengal government before he moved to New Delhi to become disinvestment secretary in July 2009. Earlier, Mitra was on a Central deputation and was director in the ministry of defence between 1989 and 1991.

Action and Appointments

a) It is proposed to fill up the post of financial adviser in North Eastern Council (NEC) secretariat at Shillong in Meghalaya. The post will be at the rank of a joint secretary. The officers empaneled at the joint secretary level are eligible to apply.

b) Ms Kavita Gupta, a 1985 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS, has been appointed as additional Director General of Foreign Trade at the joint secretary level. She will be posted in Mumbai.

c) V Venkatachalam, a 1977 batch UP cadre IAS, has been appointed as special secretary in agriculture ministry.

Bureaucrats blamed for misleading Left Front government on Singur land row



Deserted Singur

AS IT has turned out now that Mamata Banerjee actually handled the Singur land row better than the Left veterans, former Left administration has begun to make the bureaucrats the fall guys. According to reports, a former CPI(M) minister blamed the bureaucrats for misleading the government on Singur land issue. Former West Bengal land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah has said that the babus misled the erstwhile Left Front government that land in Singur could not be returned to farmers. The former minister has now supported the Singur Bill which is being tabled in state assembly with an objective to return land to the agitating farmers. The Tata Motors, which built 80% of its factory in Singur for its Nano car project, shifted their base to Gujarat because of Banerjee-led agitation. The Singur episode became the turning point for Trinamul Congress’ landslide victory in Bengal.

40 officers attend Jaya's tea party
Around 40 IAS, IPS and IFS officers of Tamil Nadu cadre attended a tea party organized by chief minister J Jayalalithaa in New Delhi recently. Those officers who attended it included director general CRPF K Vijayakumar, K Skandan, Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Sandeep Rai Rathore, R Gopalan, Ajay Bhattacharya, Shakti Kanta Das, Ashok Kumar Gupta, C Chandramouli, Shashi Shekhar and Ashutosh Shukla, according to media reports.
The party turned out to be fruitful for many New Delhi-based senior officials, but for many, the new CM’s appeal for their return journey to Chennai was not well digested. After all, most Tamil Nadu cadre officers prefer to be on deputation in New Delhi rather than being posted in Chennai.