Why babu is as sweet as Barfi!, and bureaucrat a tongue twister

Barfi! is the new buzzword in the town. And this Anurag Basu film has been selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. This Rs 30-crore film based on a story of mute Murphy "Barfi" Johnson and his friendship with Jhilmil (Priyanka) and Shruti (Ileana), grossed Rs 62 crore in the first week of its release. Isn’t babu, a hated word for a few, is as sweet a word as Barfi!? BoI reproduces excerpts of an old piece on brand babu:

Australian PM Julia Gillard’s use of Twitter a lesson for Indian politicians, diplomats

Australian PM Julia Gillard with Manmohan Singh (File Photo)

AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Julia Gillard is now following babu blogger on Twitter. Surprised? One of the most prominent global leaders using social media to reach millions of active users around the world, Gillard’s way of using the micro-blogging site is an experiment in itself. Like a film star or a footballer making fans ultra-happy by writing autographs, Gillard has been wooing people across the globe by following over one lakh users in the micro-blogging site. And that is probably a lesson for the growing breed of Indian politicians, bureaucrats, diplomats and even PMO who have ventured into this exciting 140-character world of Twitter. Till a few days ago, @PMOindia, the official account of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had followed just one account: Indian Diplomacy, the official Twitter account of public diplomacy division of ministry of external affairs. Till February 9, it followed six more including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, British Prime Minister David Cameron’s office, The White House, African Union and United Nations. No doubt, the Indian PM has managed over 42,000 followers in Twitter, but his office has not really been able to create any fan club on the net.
Also, none of the Tweets is what Dr Manmohan Singh himself posts. It was made clear from day one that it was not Singh’s personal account but of his office, meaning PMO. And that’s precisely why the Tweets lack any personal touch and read more like short excerpts of press releases. Here too Julia Gillard’s use of Twitter can be of help. If she Tweets herself, you can differentiate it from the rest because of her signature JG there. Maybe Indian PM does the same.
Twitter is used by a number of Indian politicians like Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, Union ministers Sachin Pilot, Ajay Maken, Milind Deora, MP Naveen Jindal and Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh. Among Indian diplomats using Twitter are former foreign secretary and India’s ambassador to US Nirupama Rao, India’s ambassador to South Korea Vishnu Prakash, MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, 2005 batch IFS Sumit Seth to name a few. Some of them should follow the Gillard model of using Twitter to reach out to the maximum number of people and create unorganized fan clubs. Interestingly, Nirupama Rao who follows 135 people including her diplomat colleagues, journalists, foreign who's and who, has not followed PMO’s new Twitter venture (till February 9 night). Any reason?

Sense of The Corridor: babu blogger on Pulok, Nilekani and Facebook notings

An imaginary outline of babu blogger

THE Sense of The Corridor is here. An overwhelming 38 percent visitors of babus of india (BoI) who participated in an online poll say babu blogger is a male retired bureaucrat whereas another 15 percent lock for “male serving bureaucrat”. babu blogger’s mandate is to narrate inside tales of Indian bureaucracy with strokes of accuracy and spot those trends which could later turn into rules.

But 18 percent of participants of the online poll say babu blogger is a female journalist. And another 14 percent believe babu blogger has to be a female private secretary of a minister, meaning with lots of insights about the corridors. Yet, one out of six visitors of this site say babu blogger is neither a male retired or serving bureaucrat nor is babu blogger a female journalist or a private secretary to a minister. It does not matter who babu blogger is, but here are babu blogger’s 6 best wishes for the year 12.

Let Only Pulok Be Political

In a government that has many pairs of warring ministers, read PC--Pranab and Jairam--Pawar, let top bureaucrats not fight even on one menu. Let the arrangement of principal secretary to PM Pulok Chatterji and his batch-mate cabinet secretary Ajit K Seth continue. Let Seth concentrate more on apolitical part of bureaucracy leaving Chatterji enough room for political maneuvering if and when needed.

Let Nilekani Not Fail

The Planning Commission babus’ advice to Nandan Nilekani's team is not technically wrong. But their persistent chorus of “don’t move on another track” to Nilekani’s men is now being heard outside the Plan Panel. The home ministry does not want unique identity, UIDAI, to encroach their mandate and the Planning Commission does not want to make arrangements for huge fund. But for the heaven sake, let’s not kill this unique project. Nandan’s failure means you cannot woo yet another top corporate honcho in future.

Let The Best Be At The Top

More and more bureaucrats on Central deputation have begun to believe that the state posting is cool. You can still maneuver better in the states, and rules will not chase you so much as it does at the Centre. The top-notch bureaucrats no longer lobby for getting plump jobs at economic ministries which till recently were considered lucrative. Let 2012 witness a resurgence of the best of lot making beelines for the top ministries. Let’s prevent mediocrity dictating in key ministries.

Let Performing Babu Get More Salary

The government’s decision to extend the tenure of professor-turned secretary in cabinet secretariat, Dr Prajapati Trivedi, by one year and eight months is a welcome step. The man has been fighting a losing battle to bring pay disparity among bureaucrats. Why should a high performing secretary draw the same salary of Rs 80,000 as his non-performing colleague in another ministry? Let the cabinet take a serious look at Trivedi’s excel-sheet of calculating variable pay for bureaucrats and introduce it this year.

Let ‘Yes Boss’ Be Rare

There is no point of repeating what events of 2011 taught Indian bureaucrats. Already, everyone has seen how blindly following your boss could lead you to jail. Bureaucrats are supposed to show the ministers the rule books and take all precautions before signing a file. Let top secretaries assert when a major policy decision crops up. Say what is correct, and not what is politically correct.

Tech Moves Faster Than Files

Dear babus, don’t shy away from social media. You have learnt to use emails, Blackberrys and i-Pad tablets. But tech moves much faster than your files. If social media is changing how the world thinks today, you can’t be miles behind. Read blogs, follow Twitter and experiment Facebook. Ask your son or daughter, follow them but yes, don’t hurriedly join the bandwagon. Take the same precaution in social media as you do in file-noting.

Here is where you can follow babu blogger’s Facebook notings: http://www.facebook.com/babublogger

Who is babu blogger? A retired IAS attempts to imagine and draws a cartoon

babu blogger as imagined by an ex-IAS

FOR two and half years, there have been intense speculations about the identity of babu blogger who has broken news, spotted trends and analyzed hits and misses of India’s corridors of power. Amid the raging controversy over Indian government’s recent move to regulate online content, and social media’s continuous attack on communications minister Kapil Sibal who had announced the move, babu blogger has demonstrated how you can remain anonymous and yet become highly objective, formal and impartial.

But what’s about babu blogger’s identity? Is babu blogger a serving government officer with a passion to chronicle events of Raisina Hills? Or is he, or she, a retired babu who is well versed with power equations? Or is he/she a smart private secretary of a powerful politician? If not so, is babu blogger a female journalist with an easy access to high and mighty of Lutyen’s Delhi?

Hold your breath. Here is the first serious attempt to imagine how babu blogger looks like, and who he or she could be. And the guesswork is done by none other than a veteran ex-IAS officer. Look at this babu blogger’s caricature made by 1962 batch retired Maharashtra cadre IAS VS Gopalakrishnan who passionately sings, blogs and paints even after 16 years of retirement. Here is Gopalakrishnan’s guess: “The BB (babu blogger) is retired. So, not young looking. Wears specs (thick due to reading habits). Prefers polka-dot shirt. Hails from Bihar, worked in UP cadre and settled down in Delhi!”

babu blogger often receives emails with various guesses about who he or she could be. Everyone is convinced that babu blogger is well versed with action-packed Indian bureaucracy, and he or she is impartial and has also a nose for news. But is babu blogger an outsider, or very much a part of the Great Indian Babudom? Any guess? You can post your comments below this write-up, and also take part in BoI’s Guess Game placed at the left top corner of this site. Enjoy every moment of your visit to BoI action zone.

Ex-IAS VS Gopalakrishnan continues his passion for singing, blogging, painting...

Comforting, a Gopalakrishnan painting

FORGET for a moment the high-voltage 24X7 drama at Raisina Hills. Instead, meet this 1962 batch former IAS officer VS Gopalakrishnan. To give a perspective of his age and time, he is 12 years senior to India’s senior-most bureaucrat, cabinet secretary AK Seth. Yes, the GenNext of Twitter, Blogging and You Tube was not even born when this veteran Maharashtra cadre IAS spent his prime time at corridors of power.

But just do a search of VS Gopalakrishnan in YouTube. You will spot hundreds of Rafi, Mukesh and Talat songs sung by him. And you will be surprised to know he is a regular blogger too. That’s not all. The babu of yesteryears continues his passion for paintings and creates masterpieces like Tabla Player, Marathi Woman, Mohenjodaro Man and Marilyn Monroe. Armed with an American diploma in cartooning 50 years ago, Gopalakrishnan is also a distinguished cartoonist and has so far published five cartoon books.

Tabla Player

Masters in physics, Gopalakrishnan took voluntary retirement from IAS in 1995, and joined Mumbai’s World Trade Centre as Director General. And don’t think he forgot his serious prose amid painting, cartooning and singing. After all, Gopalakrishnan is the author of the much acclaimed book: “WTO and India: My insights”.

babu blogger’s request: No one knows how babu blogger looks like. Nor has anyone guessed his age or sex. Dear VS Gopalakrishnan, would you kindly do a cartoon of anonymous babu blogger who has penned over 1,000 action-packed stories of hits and misses in India's corridors of power.

Action and Appointment

a) RC Mishra, a 1978 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS and additional secretary, ministry of urban development, has been appointed as Central Provident Fund Commissioner under the ministry of labour and employment in the rank and pay of additional secretary in place of 1976 batch Assam cadre IAS Samirendra Chatterjee. Mishra’s central deputation tenure has also been extended till he retires on November 30, 2012.

My Take: Merit over Jugad must remain the guiding force of UPSC

TWO months ago, babu blogger met with one of the senior most UPSC officials to argue how the government should attract talents through lateral entry for achieving better administration. The argument was straight and simple --- why can’t we flood the administrative machinery with mid-career specialists who won’t mind joining the government mid-way and make a difference to the system thanks to their customized domain knowledge which generalist IAS lack. It’s not even hard to find a few classic examples in various ministries including that of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh as finance secretary earlier when a specialist changes the work environment and becomes a game-changer.

Though babu blogger’s argument was well in sync with the recommendations of the administrative reforms commission, senior men in UPSC vehemently objected to the proposition saying that it would lead to malpractices in the recruitment process and “jugad” would replace “merit” while getting premium berths in India’s elite administrative services. As babu blogger was having a cup of tea in Dholpur House of Delhi, one of the top officials manning the UPSC agreed that many IAS, IPS or IFS officers lose their sheen mid-way and take a no-changer attitude and refuse to modernize the administrative system. Yet, he would still argue in favour of the sanctity of UPSC’s recruitment process which in turn ensures the best lot joins the services. “Even the Prime Minister’s Office can’t influence us saying we should recruit X, and reject Y,” the official said with a sense of pride.

As Sandeep Kaur, a peon’s daughter who cracked the civil services exam, 2009, recently has inspired many a have-not across the country, the UPSC official’s conceited argument can’t be negated. Thanks to the fairness and sanctity of the Commission and its ability to resist requests from who’s and who of India’s corridors of power for facilitating a candidate getting into the elite services, the UPSC-route of recruitment is still the best for ensuring fair play. Yes, UPSC should be given the discretionary power to judge the best among those private sector guys who wish to join the government. After all, jugad should not get precedence over merit. At least for the sake of the country's Sandeep Kaurs!

Written exams of IES and ISS results announced
Follow THIS LINK in http://www.jobcorridor.com/ to get the results of Indian Economic Service, Indian Statistical Service and Combined Medical Services exams. 

Fake finance ministry circular gives more money to Central government employees; DoPT's clarification disappoints a lot

FOR many a Central government employee, it was the Diwali coming too soon. After the recent DA hike, the Central government employees’ joy knew no bounds when the finance ministry in an office memo dated March 27, and duly signed by under secretary S Rajan Chandranaydu, announced a revised rate of Overtime Allowance.

But as it turned out to be three days later, it was a fake Office Memo, and the government has no clues who played the prangs. In an Office Memo, this time the real, signed by DoPT director Simmi R Nakra, it was clarified that the office memo purportedly issued by finance ministry, (OM No 1(4)/2010 E-II dt. 27/03/2010) giving a revised rate of Overtime Allowance, was in fact a fake order.

“It is clarified that no such instruction has been issued by this Department or Ministry of Finance. Ministries/Departments are advised not to take cognizance of the fake instructions being circulated in Central Govt. Offices”, the DoPT’s clarification says.

You can click for the REAL CIRCULAR, dated March 30, 2010.

Here is yet another real peice of news that may make Central government employees happy. The government has decided to declare Wednesday, the 14th April 2010, as a Closed Holiday on account of the birthday of Dr BR Ambedkar, for all Central government Offices including industrial establishments throughout India.

Action and Appointments

Air Chief Marshal PV Naik takes over as chairman, COSC

Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal PV Naik took over as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) on Tuesday. He received the baton of chairman, COSC from outgoing Chief of Army Staff, General Deepak Kapoor at a brief ceremony in the South Block. Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma was also present.

Speaking on the occasion, Air Marshal Naik said the Indian Armed Forces are in the process of moulding existing and emerging concepts together, to develop capabilities and solutions that will directly benefit the Armed Forces and the joint war-fighter of tomorrow, a government release said. Commissioned into the IAF in June 1969 as a fighter pilot, Air Marshal Naik has flown a variety of combat aircraft and is a Qualified Flying Instructor and a Fighter Combat Leader. A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College and an alumnus of the National Defence College, Air Marshal Naik is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal. 

Lady IPS officer who testified against Advani may be shifted to US, claims Pak daily

1990 batch UP cadre IPS officer Anju Gupta, who has recently become a newsmaker thanks to her testimony against BJP leader LK Advani in an 18-year-old case of demolition of Babri mosque, could head towards an US posting because of security reasons, a Pakistani newspaper said.

According to Daily Times who broke the story said the senior UP cadre police officer who was incidentally was an eyewitness of the destruction at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 is expected to be appointed an attaché at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC.

The newspaper quoting Indian home ministry sources said that she might face security threats because of her deposition and might be shifted to the US along with her husband Safi Ahsan Rizvi, an IPS of 1989 batch. Mr Rizvi who is an MBA from premier B-School IIM-Ahmedabad, is an Officer in Special Duty (OSD) to India’s home minister P Chidambaram.

Significantly, Ms Gupta who as an IPS officer was the part of the administrative arrangements in Faizabad on the fateful days leading to the demolition of the mosque said that Mr Advani delivered a provocative speech to the throng of kar sevaks who eventually tore down the mosque.

Ms Gupta, 47, now serves the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in New Delhi. In late 1990s she was far ahead of her peers in cracking down criminals in and around Lucknow, and was decorated with the Police Medal for meritorious services on February 8, 2009. She also has immense contribution in counter-human trafficking measures in India.

Also Read
Orissa IPS officer booked for torturing wife
Massive IPS recruitment drive may become a reality
Promotion of an IPS makes others unhappy
Prez Patil says she is proud of more women joining IPS

Search Your Name

Wish to know about what's your batch-mates are up to? Just write his or her name, or the year of your batch in “google custom search” above to spot what babu blogger has written about him. Happy searching, and read about the newsmakers.

Chidambaram as Cheerleader: Govt to build 1 lac houses for paramilitary forces personnel on PPP mode

IF NOT Roti and Kapda, the Makan may do the magic for motivating India’s paramilitary forces working in difficult terrains. To boost the morale of Central Para Military Forces (CPMF) personnel, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has taken up an ambitious mega housing project for construction of about 1,00,000 houses across the country for personnel from Border Security Force(BSF), Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police(ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles(AR) etc.

The massive exercise to be taken up initially in 30 sites out of 245 identified spots, will follow the Public Private Partnership mode, and is likely to be completed in about four years.

According to MHA, the housing satisfaction level among Central Para Military Force personnel is 15.4% which is considered to be a de-motivating factor. Though the CPWD has been constructing houses for the force personnel and the pace of construction has been less than what is required to meet the authorized satisfaction level of 25% for the force personnel. On an average, about 4,000 houses are being added every year. The MHA had engaged consultants with the assistance of the ministry of finance and the Asian Development Bank which completed the Feasibility Study in January, 2010. For floating the bids, MHA has appointed M/s Price Waterhouse as Transaction Advisors.

Mamata announces cash award for crew members of Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee has announced special award to crew members of Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani which derailed near Gaya on Monday. Some of the Railway staff including crew members who were working this train showed exemplary devotion to duty by exercising vigilance and alertness and applied emergency brakes as soon as the bomb blast occurred. Ms Banerjee sanctioned an award of Rs 30,000 each to the two loco pilots RK Singh and co-pilot A.K.Khalku, and Rs 20,000 each to the Guard R Minj and the train superintendent AC Ojha.

A common man’s letter to PM, copied to babu blogger

One Mr Chandan from Jharkhand, describing himself as a common man, has written a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh with CC to babu.blogger1@gmail.com. Though we have decided not to reproduce the letter because of certain unverified allegations, here are a few edited excerpts of the letter with the subject, “The Common Man’s Fight against Corruption”. Here it goes, “Dear sir, since the last two years, I have been fighting against the prevailing corruption in the Jharkhand state. When I started, I was all alone…. In the matter of Madhu Koda and his associates, the Central Agencies were very aggressive and their act had forced me to believe that in India, the truth prevails and the system does work…” Here is at least one firm believer of our political and bureaucratic system!

Should IAS Sudhir Kumar rewrite his book on railways turnaround?

CALL it bankruptcy to millions rather than billions! Should Sudhir Kumar, influential 1982-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer and ex-OSD to former railway minister Lalu Prasad rewrite his much talked about book “Bankruptcy to Billions: How the Indian Railways Transformed” if current railway minister Mamata Banerjee's white paper painting the turnaround saga in black, comes true? Will Harvard University which too did a case study on Indian Railways' financial success now review its conclusions in the backdrop of the white paper's claim that a cash surplus of nearly Rs 90,000 crore ($18 billion) during Lalu Prasad's tenure as railway minister, was an inflated figure thanks to the changes made in accounting methods. The introduction of a concept called "investible surplus", also inflated the cash reserve by another Rs 23,584 crore ($4.7 billion), the paper said. The question is now whether Sudhir Kumar who was OSD to Mr Prasad from September 1, 2004 to May 22, 2009 will rewrite his book, explaining his side of the story. Mr Kumar who has been a joint secretary in the ministry of power since May 22, 2009, attracted quite a lot of enemies in the Rail Bhawan because of his handholding in all important events of the ministry. No wonder, Indian Railways with 1.4 million employees is one of the very few government ministries which are not headed by all powerful IAS officers. Reacting to babu blogger’s earlier post on why Sudhir Kumar should help Lalu, never known to be a mathematical wizard, in recalculating Rs 90,000 cr surplus in railways, one of the readers commented, “Could it be a case of Alice in Wonderland?”. Post your comments too. Earlier Post Sudhir Kumar should help Lalu recalculating Rs 90,000 cr surplus (July 13, 2009) Action & Appointments a) A Didar Singh, a 1976 batch Punjab cadre IAS, presently Member (Finance), National Highways Authority of India, has been appointed as secretary in the ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in the vacancy of K Mohandas, a 1974 batch Kerala cadre IAS who is the new shipping secretary. b) Pradeep Kumar Pujari, a 1981 batch Gujarat cadre IAS has been appointed as Executive Director (North) in the Food Corporation of India (joint secretary level), under the department of food and public distribution.

Hey there! British bureaucrat issues guide on Twitter etiquette; any cue for Indian babus?

JUST recently Indian minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor landed up into a huge controversy for his tweets when he called economy class travel as "cattle class" after the government issued an advisory for the ministers not to fly business class as a part of austerity measure. Now, a British bureaucrat has published a guide to Twitter etiquette and strategy so that civil servants who are regularly using the popular microblogging service, Twitter, could follow some basic dos and don'ts. Yes, the Twitter can rock as this is being increasingly used by government departments, Members of Parliament etc. and it has the potential to deliver many benefits in support of the government's communications objectives, the British government guide said. But there's a warning! "Inappropriate content being published in error, such as... protectively marked, commercially or politically sensitive information... Require clearance of all tweets through nominated people in digital media team," the official guide said. (Courtesy: Tom Green from Oxford University, UK for alerting babu blogger) Hey there! babublogger is using Twitter. Check at http://twitter.com/babublogger No army officer receives gifts from American company No case relating to Army officers being obliged by gifts from American companies, has been brought to the knowledge of the government, defence minister AK Antony said in written reply in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has issued instructions to identify sensitive posts in various ministries or departments of the Union government, and asked those departments (under its advisory jurisdiction) to rotate officials working in sensitive posts to avoid development of vested interest by the people working on these posts. This information was given by the minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Action & Appointments a) Kiran Dhingra, a 1975 batch UT cadre IAS and secretary, ministry of housing & urban poverty alleviation, will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of urban development during the absence on leave of M Ramachandran, a 1972 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS from December 21, 2009 to January 8, 2010. b) Medithi Ravi Kanth, a 1986 batch Kerala cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of power for a period upto June 20, 2012, from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or until further orders. c) Harbhjajan Singh, a 1983 batch UP cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of heavy industry. d) R C Misra, a 1976 batch Orissa cadre IAS, presently special secretary and financial adviser in the department of information technology in the ministry of communications and information technology has been appointed as secretary in the department of administrative reforms & public grievances and department of pension & pensioners welfare in place of Ms Rajni Rajni, a 1973 batch Haryana cadre IAS.

Question Time: Will Indian civil servants be evaluated by a third party?

IF you are a bureaucrat, you can't afford to miss the replies of these three questions that have been admitted to Lok Sabha for December 9, 2009. Whereas the first question pertains to "any proposal for a third party evaluation for civil servants", the second question is related to the admission criteria for Sanskriti School where children of most of civil servants study. The third question which babu blogger has listed as important for Indian bureaucrats is on Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)'s instructions if any to identify sensitive posts in various ministries/departments of the Union government. Here are the excerpts of the questions: 1) Sushil Kumar Singh (MP) asks (a) whether the in-house appraisal of civil servants fail to reward the performers; (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; (c) whether there is any proposal for a third party evaluation for civil servants; (d) if so, the details thereof; and (e) the measures taken by the government for making the appraisal of civil servants more objective? 2) Capt. Jai Naraian Prasad Nishad (MP) asks (a) the criteria laid down for admission in Sanskriti school; (b) whether the government is aware that only children of upper strata of society are getting admission in Sanskriti school; (c) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; (d) whether the government is providing any financial assistance to Sanskriti school; (e) if so, the details thereof during the last three years and the current year; and (f) the steps taken by the government for making Sanskriti school a centre of learning for all classes of society? 3) Dr M Jagannath (MP) asks (a) whether the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has issued any instructions to identify sensitive posts in various ministries/departments of the Union government; (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; (c) whether all ministries/departments these sensitive posts pursuant to the said instructions; (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (e) the number of organizations yet to comply with the circular and the action taken by the CVC in this regard; and (f) the time by which the instructions of the CVC will be complied? Watch out for the minister's replies of these unstarred questions in Parliament on December 9.

Bureaucrats as Authors The new book “Energy Security and Climate Change” written by R V Shahi, former power secretary has just been released. The book was recently released in New Delhi by Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. The function, presided over by Union minister of power Sushilkumar Shinde, was also attended by power secretary H S Brahma and chairperson of Central Electricity Authority Rakesh Nath. Mr Shahi's earlier works include “Indian Power Sector – Challenge and Response (2005)” and “Towards Powering India: Policy Initiatives and Implementation Strategy (2007)” BoI announcement: Posting Comments If you find a note saying "Comment could not be processed" while posting comments, don't get disheartened. Just give a second try, it would be immediately processed. Be a party to babu blogger's attempt to spot the right news in power corridors, and tell what does it mean for you and your life!

Antony asks defence finance officials to provide innovative solutions to efficiently manage funds

TALK on completion of government projects on time seems to be the flavour of the season after India is being criticized globally for its tardy implementation of key projects related to Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in October 2010 in New Delhi. No wonder, without naming projects where India’s record has turned miserable, defence minister AK Antony underlined the need to complete projects within the stipulated timeframe when he addressed a gathering in New Delhi on Wednesday after inaugurating a complex of the Defence Accounts Department (DAD). (Picture: During the inauguration of the DAD building) He commended the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which was the construction agency, for not only completing the project on time but also avoiding cost overruns. The minister further gave a very important message to defence finance officials: “Your officers must not only monitor the progress of budget utilization, but also come up with innovative solutions to help the Services manage their funds in an efficient and a transparent manner”. babu blogger’s take: What Mr Antony however did not openly say was how finance and accounts officials tend to pose as roadblocks in timely completion of projects as they create a sense of fear while scrutinize accounts. Remember, E Sreedharan of Delhi Metro is a retired railway official who can afford not to follow rule books, and instead go by his reverse clock alone. Most government officials handling big infrastructure projects in India are scared of being hauled up by vigilance department if not by the CBI, and hence don’t mind missing the target if need be! Top NE cops to meet on Friday Ministry of home affairs (MHA) is organizing a meeting on October 9, 2009 in Guwahati to facilitate interaction between North-Eastern states to coordinate in dealing with the militant groups operating in their states and to formulate effective counter-insurgency operations. The meeting will be attended by the home secretaries and DGPs of the North Eastern States. The meeting would also discuss the issues relating to modernization of state police forces, rehabilitation of surrendered militants, filling up of vacancies and sanction of additional posts in the state police forces, according to a government release. Search Your Own Name If you are a bureaucrat, you can just write your or your colleague’s or senior’s name in our newly installed “Google Custom Search” above, and see for yourself how babu blogger has featured you or your senior. You can also write your batch (for example 1974 batch) or the cadre’s name (say Rajasthan cadre) in the search engine located at the top to check out whether you have missed out any major news that impacts you. Also, try to locate anything and everything related to Indian bureaucracy through this new search engine. Keep reading babu blogger’s take on events that are happening in India’s power corridors.

7 foreign babus present their credentials to Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil

CALL them foreign babus who presented their credentials to President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil. Yes, seven envoys presented their credentials to the Prez at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. The envoys are Javier Manuel Paulinich Velarde, the Ambassador of Peru, Peter Joseph Noozhumurry Varghese, the High Commissioner of Australia, Ms Nafsika Chr Krousti, the High Commissioner of Cyprus, Terhi Hakala, the Ambassador of Finland, Janez Premoze, the Ambassador of Slovenia, Adli Shaban Hassan Sadeq, the Ambassador of Palestine and Sami Mohammad SM Al-Sulaiman, the Ambassador of Kuwait. In her interaction with the envoys who babu blogger likes to call as foreign babus, the President welcomed them to India and conveyed India’s desire to intensify bilateral relations with their countries. The President also said that the international community should work collectively to combat terrorism as it hampers peace and harmony in societies and adversely impacts the process of creating prosperity. Referring to the global financial crises, the President emphasized the need for reform in international financial institutions. The credential presentation ceremony was attended by the senior members of the missions, senior officials of the ministry of external affairs and Rashtrapati Bhavan. In picture: High commissioner-designate of Cyprus, Nafsika Chr Krousti presented her credentials to the President, Pratibha Devisingh Patil, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on September 24, 2009. Post comment on whether it’s right to call envoys from other countries working in India as foreign babus, and Indian Foreign Service officers as Global Indian babus?

Action & Appointments AS MANY as 325 candidates selected as assistant commandants of Central Police Forces. The result of the Central Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination, 2008, held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has been announced. A total of 325 candidates have been recommended for appointment which include 145 General, 113 Other Backward Classes, 48 Scheduled Castes and 19 Scheduled Tribes candidates. These services include Border Security Force; Central Reserve Police Force; Indo-Tibetan Border Police; Sashastra Seema Bal, and the appointment will be made according to number of vacancies available in each service.

Business of aisle and window seats Many Indian bureaucrats are now placing special request to Air India for getting front seats of the economy class or at least for a window or an aisle seat, and definitely not a middle seat. Hurt by the austerity drive of the government which is applicable to their political masters as well, bureaucrats who are otherwise entitled for business class flights are now fully satisfied with grabbing an aisle seat if not one on the front row of the economy class!

A Panther black Ford Ikon parked near Pranab babu’s white ambassador creates a drama outside the North Block on Tuesday

A BLACK Ford Ikon parked not so far away from finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s white ambassador outside a North Block gate made a new security guard so upset that he wanted the driver to take it away immediately to the general parking lot. It was Tuesday afternoon when babu blogger witnessed the high-voltage drama of the Ikon’s driver refusing to obey the security personnel’s order saying that the car belonged to a secretary, and he had every right to park it right there. But the security personnel on his part refused to believe the driver as he believed no government officer’s car could be a black one if not a white ambassador. But that’s the reality in the parking lots of Delhi’s power corridors. More and more non-ambassador cars donning red lights and ferrying ministers and officers are quite visible in Lutyen’s Delhi now. In fact, home minister P Chidambaram was the first to get a new Ford Fiesta car replacing the Maruti Esteem used by him during the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. But it’s white in colour which makes it still acceptable amongst white ambassadors. Yet, among the new Ford Ikons bought for finance ministry officials, there were ones in Panther black colour making them stand out in the parking lot. According to media reports, the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals — a central purchase organisation of the Central government under the ministry of commerce and industries —approved Ford Fiesta and Ford Ikons after those cars were found more suitable than ambassadors. In fact, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and Infosys Technologies co-founder Nandan Nilekani disappointed many techies from Bangalore who wanted him to travel in a red light-fitted white ambassador in Delhi. Mr Nilekani instead preferred a Tata Indica, and that’s too without a siren! Action & Appointments a) Justice Jiwan Chandra Singh Rawat, Judge of the Uttarakhand High Court has been transferred as a Judge of the Jharkhand High Court. He may assume charge of his office in the Jharkhand High Court on or before October 3, 2009. b) Justice Tarun Agarwala, Judge of the Allahabad High Court has been transferred as a Judge of the Uttarakhand High Court. He may assume charge of his office in the Uttarakhand High Court on or before October 3, 2009. Japan’s new PM not to reprimand excellent bureaucrats Japan’s new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said in his first press conference a few days ago that he might have begun the process of bestowing more power to the country’s elected representatives but had “no reason to reprimand excellent bureaucrats who work hard for the Japanese people”. It was a big relief to the bureaucrats around the world as Japan’s initiatives against bureaucracy could have impacted babudom around the world. After all, those who engage in Yen carry forward trade know it well that a little appreciation of Yen leads to the tumbling of equity markets across the globe!

Read, "Imagine secretary Pillai or Chawla debarred from briefing press; but new Japanese govt bans bureaucrats holding press meets" posted on September 16, 2009

Brand babu: Change the meaning forever…

IF all-powerful Indian bureaucrats feel that they will someday be able to wipe out the word babu, which still carries a negative connotation thanks to the colonial baggage, it’s just impossible. It’s a small and sweet-sounding word which people would continue to use and hear in lieu of the tongue twister “bureaucrat” or more official type “civil servant”. Though most civil servants blame media, and probably rightly so, for corrupting the word babu to make it synonymous with comfort and laziness, it’s a fact that media will continue to use it for humour and space. It’s space because “bureaucrat” is a lousy word for a headline, and “civil servant” is too big to fit into a space which demands large font-size! Mind you, the word “bureaucracy” is no longer a positive word, and it won’t take much time for the media to belittle the word “civil servants” either. Before I air my views, let’s first see how popular dictionaries are interpreting the word. In dictionary.com which is considered to be the Bible for tech savvy netizens looking for word meanings, here are the meanings for babu: a) Hindu title of address equivalent to Sir, Mr., or Esquire. b) A Hindu gentleman. c) A native Indian clerk who writes English. d) Usually Disparaging. Any native Indian having only a limited knowledge of English. Will you agree with this set of meanings for babu? I don’t. Let’s now read what Wikipedia, which is the most respected free encyclopedia used by net users across the world, has to say. It says, “In British India, ‘babu’ was a term used to describe a native Indian clerk. The word was originally used as a term of respect attached to a proper name, the equivalent of ‘mister’, and ‘babuji’ was used in many parts to mean ‘sir’; but when used alone without the suffix, it was a derogatory word signifying a semi-literate native, with a mere veneer of modern education. In the early 20th century the term babu was frequently used to refer to bureaucrats and other government officials, especially by the Indian media; in this sense the word hints at corrupt or lazy work practices. It can also mean the pimp or client of a sex worker. The term babu has thus fallen out of favour in polite society, since it may be taken as an insult.” I strongly feel that Indian bureaucrats should engage in a brand-building exercise to convert “babu” into a neutral word if not bringing it straight into the positive zone. First, the connotation of the word will automatically change if administrative reforms are being carried out from time to time. I feel many Indian bureaucrats are very hard working and disciplined and there are cases where they have proved to be better managers than India Inc’s top ranking CEOs. I personally know many bureaucrats who are not only the products of top Indian B-schools, but have the quality of the best managers of the country. Here is my big dilemma: If a St Stephens pass-out or an IIM guy joins Infosys or HSBC, he earns respects and reputation, forget his fat salary for a moment. But how can the same person turn into a lazy babu if he cracks the UPSC exam to join as an IAS? That’s the irony which administrative reformers need to look at very carefully. The 6th Pay Commission has introduced, though symbolically, a performance incentive for those who are better than the rest. I feel it’s the high time healthy competition should be encouraged within the government. The time-bound promotion needs to be weeded out if the government wants its schemes to be successful, and more significantly, if India aspires to be a truly developed nation by 2020. Also, why not encourage entry of professionals into the bureaucratic set-up at mid-career level? If Nandan Nilekani can join the government, or Cornell professor Kaushik Basu taking up a full-time job in North Block sacrificing his high salary, there would be many mid-career professionals with rich experiences in their own domain, won’t mind taking a joining bureaucracy and becoming babus? Let’s induct professionals at the joint secretary level and make them the mission heads of various programmes across the country. Yes, babu remains in your mind-space. Let’s change its meaning forever. If you spot a smart bureaucrat call him a smart babu, if he is lazy call him a lazy babu. And those who are smart, dedicated and yet powerful, babu blogger loves to call them, babuz --- both for singular and plural. babu survives, and maybe for a better tomorrow…

Simple Thinking, No High Flying: Government says “No” to business class for LTC reimbursement

IN A major U-turn in just three months, the Indian government said on Wednesday that it would reimburse Leave Travel Concession (LTC) claims of its employees traveling by air only if they travel economy class. That means bureaucrats planning to take their families out on a business class flight for the annual vacation need to downgrade their ticket to the economy class to get it reimbursed. “Bureaucrats availing of the LTC by government servants will be restricted to the cost of travel by the economy class, irrespective of entitlement, with immediate effect” the new directive said. Significantly, the government had recently said that it would reimburse its employees for LTC only of they travel Air India, in an apparent move to bail out the cash strapped government carrier. For the last few years, the government employees preferred to fly Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines during their annual vacation and got it reimbursed by the LTC scheme. So, babu blogger’s choice of picture today symbolizes an Indian bureaucrat’s pipedream, at least for now. Read: “Bureaucrats allowed to fly again in business class for LTC” posted on June 9, 2009. Also read, “Officials must travel by Air India to claim LTC, clarifies DoPT” posted on July 28, 2009. You have a chance to be “field officers”, quite literally Wish to join the Central Secretariat Cricket team? Here’s a chance to be actually on field. The Central Civil Services Cultural and Sports Board will hold selection trials to select the Central Secretarial cricket team for the year 2009-2010 on September 24 and 25 at the Board’s cricket ground at Vinay Marg, New Delhi. If you are a Central government employees working with any ministry or department, and have a feeling that there is a Dhoni and Yuvraj in you, just register your name with Amar Jeet Singh at Board’s cricket ground at Vinay Marg by September 22, 2009.

Yet another netagiri Vs babudom: Should Indian politicians deserve a standing ovation from bureaucrats?

THERE is nothing unusual about politicians having a grudge against cushy bureaucratic jobs as civil servants are ever-green in corridors of power and need not go to masses for seeking fresh mandate. But the recent set of instructions for Indian babus, particularly the bizarre fiat of the Rajasthan government that bureaucrats must stand up to receive an elected representative, read politician, is going too far. The directive issued by principal secretary of the administrative reforms and co-ordination department of the Rajasthan government said if any MLA or MP drop in without an appointment, the bureaucrat must them a priority. Also, civil servants are asked to invite local representatives to all the official functions organized in the area he represents, and the seat for the politician should be reserved till the end of the function. As babu blogger mentioned in a post dated August 7, 2009, that Indian political masters recently imposed a set of additional instructions on how officers should behave with the Members of Parliament. Read, “Netagiri & babudom: A new set of instructions issued to help officers communicate with MPs”. Also, politicians from Goa recently criticized their bureaucrats as inefficient and non-cooperative. Tensions reached such a stage that the government of Goa began consultation with the Central government to create a separate cadre for the state of Goa only. Read, “Why do Goan Netas hate babus? State politicians demand separate IAS, IPS cadre only for Goa” posted on August 11, 2009. Also read, “My Take: Low Level European Civil Servants Lead In Brand-Building Of Europe’s Bureaucracy” posted on June 30, 2009. Action & Appointments a) Arvind Mehta, a 1984 batch Himachal cadre IAS officer has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of commerce, in the pay band of Rs 37400-67000 (PB-4) with a grade pay of Rs 10,000 for a period of 5 years. b) Rita Sharma, a 1974 batch UP cadre IAS and secretary department of rural development will hold the additional charge of the post of secretary, department of drinking water supply for a period of three months with effect from September 1, 2009. c) Bhaskar Chatterjee, a 1975 batch Orissa cadre IAS, and presently principal adviser, Planning Commission has been appointed as secretary, department of public enterprises in the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises. d) R Bandyopadhyay, a 1974 batch IAS West Bengal cadre IAS, and presently secretary, department of public enterprises has been appointed as secretary, ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) in place of Anurag Goel, a 1972 batch UP cadre IAS. Mr Goel will now become Member, Competition Commission of India (CIC). babu blogger wrote it on August 3, 2009 that Mr Goel would be a CIC Member. Read, "Post-retirement plan for MCA secretary Anurag Goel & personnel secretary Rahul Sarin firmed up in advance"

What makes this Oxford University scholar spending summer time in India's power corridor

HE has been following the right to information movement in India for the last two years, and that makes this Oxford University research scholar to come to Delhi again, and spend time in power corridors of the capital city. And his verdict: Indian babus still have a better time compared to British bureaucrats who are under severe pressure thanks to Freedom of Information Act (FoI), which is the British version of RTI. A masters student in International Development at the University of Oxford, 25-year-old Tom Green told babu blogger how journalists in UK had been using FoI law to feature high profile scoops. “British civil servants feel FoI (Freedom of Information Act) has exerted a huge amount of pressure on them. Journalists regularly make use of the Act as part of long-term investigations in a way that has not become so common in India. This means the British media regularly features high profile ‘scoops’ and scandalous revelations such as the recent MP’s expenses saga. Compared to this scrutiny, it could be argued that Indian babus have it easy, dealing only with the occasional request for a citizen’s personal data or a visit to the Central Information Commission,” Tom explains. This Oxford scholar who graduated from the University of Manchester, however, feels that the Right to Information Act 2005 has had a dramatic effect on the public consciousness in India. “It has redefined the relationship between the citizen and the civil service and provided a highly effective new avenue for redressing personal grievances. It has caught the imagination of the public much more than the corresponding British act, the Freedom of Information Act of the same year, has been able to,” he observes. But Tom is not just gathering information about RTI during this hot Delhi summer! He is watching Bollywood movies here. What he likes most about Delhi – the city’s vibrancy and yes, Nizam’s Kathi Kabab! Also read, "Govt should create RTI implementation cells: Study" posted on July 20, 2009.

Action & Appointments a) S N Patil, IOFS (1988 batch), joint development commissioner, Kandla SEZ will now be Joint Development Commissioner, Dahej SEZ. b) Narendra Kumar G, a 1989 batch UT cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary & director in the National Authority for Chemicals Weapons Convention under the cabinet secretariat, in the Pay Band of Rs 37400-67000 (PB-4) with a grade pay of Rs 10000 for a period of five years. c) The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal for premature repatriation of Anand B Kulkarni, a 1982 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS, presently working as deputy director general, CAPART (joint secretary level) under the ministry of rural development to his parent cadre.

Top five babuz: India’s 5 most powerful bureaucrats are Pulok Chaterji, TKA Nair, KM Chandrasekhar, Ashok Chawla & M Ramachandran

THE list of babuz, 09, is finally out. These 5 master bureaucrats have the power and ability to fix problems, manage crises, push agenda and get things done. They have clouts not just because of their posts and positions, but for their sharp managerial skills, leadership qualities and last but not the least their sound relationship with India’s political heavyweights. Methodology of Selection After taking feedback of over 30 senior bureaucrats and politicians who have mustered in understanding ups and downs of actors in Delhi’s power corridor, babu blogger has finally zeroed in five top babuz, or five most powerful bureaucrats in the country. Consensus and Controversy Whereas there was a consensus on Pulok Chaterji being the most powerful bureaucrat despite being stationed in US now, there was a tie between cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar and finance secretary Ashok Chawla for the third position. Also, there were anonymous comments in the blog saying that none of the Indian babuz has the intellectual caliber of Henry Kissinger after babu blogger had claimed that these powerful bureaucrats were Dr Manmohan Singh’s Kissinger-type master bureaucrats. babuz No 1: Pulok Chaterji A 1974 batch IAS from Uttar Pradesh cadre, he is now posted in Washington DC as an executive director of the World Bank. A secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) till recently, Mr Chaterje’s personal equation with Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s family can’t be ignored by anyone in the government including those who are senior to him. The buzz is that the man who had a say in virtually every appointment of the government during Dr Manmohan Singh’s first innings, may soon come back to power pockets of Raisina Hill. Also read, “babuz no 1: Pulok Chaterji is India’s most powerful bureaucrat; find out who are no 2, 3, 4 & 5” posted on August 17, 2009. babuz No 2: TKA Nair Retired over a decade back, this 1963 batch Punjab cadre officer and principal secretary to Prime Minister, was also the secretary to former prime ministers I K Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As babu blogger had written earlier, “And his immense clout explains why Reliance Industries’ (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani or Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal knows who to meet in the Raisina Hills to explain their side of the story on recent gas row and misery of aviation sector respectively,”. babuz No 3: K M Chandrasekhar A 1970 batch IAS of Kerala cadre, K M Chandrasekhar is well regarded among top echelon of civil servants in India. He was the architect of government’s 100 days agenda which various ministries were forced to initiate even before the new government was formed. babuz No 4: Ashok Chawla A 1973 batch IAS from Gujarat cadre, finance secretary Ashok Chawla would have been equally powerful today, had the BJP come to power after the last general election. A former civil aviation secretary, Mr Chawla served as secretary of department of economic affairs (DEA) only to be elevated as finance secretary eight months later. He is a contender to be the next cabinet secretary. babuz No 5: M Ramachandran Urban development secretary M Ramachandran, a 1972 batch Uttaranchal cadre IAS, is gathering clout in power corridors as he is the top contender to be the cabinet secretary next year. Known for following rule books to the core, Mr Ramachandran is pioneered reforms in India’s urban sector. Also read, “Chandrasekhar gets extension; Ramachandran & Chawla to be key contenders for cabinet secretary’s post next year” posted on June 2, 2009.