Now, it’s turn of Karnataka CM to ask bureaucrats to pull up their socks

KARNATAKA chief minister K Siddaramaiah is the latest of several chief ministers asking bureaucrats to pull up their socks. Siddaramaiah, who recently led the Congress to dislodge the BJP government in the state, has reminded the bureaucrats of the general perception that the administration in the state has collapsed…

Li praised for his promise to cut bureaucracy; also for off-the-cuff humour

IT’S not the first time that a political leader begins his innings by resorting to bureaucracy bashing. But new Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s comments on tackling bureaucracy were not rhetoric (like minister Jairam Ramesh calling Indian bureaucracy as the world’s most dangerous animal), but were replete with measurable specifics. First…

How to annoy bureaucrats: Moore's tips are still talking points in Britain

Sir Patrick Moore, the man who annoyed the British bureaucrats the most in 1980s, died last month at the age of 89. Moore, a known British astronomer and entertainer in TV shows, resorted to bureaucracy bashing under a pen-name and published what a British newspaper recently described “an irreverent guide to causing havoc and taking vengeance on the people who were burying Britain under paperwork and tying the country up in red tape.” Here are some interesting observations made in his book: “Bureaucrats: How To Annoy Them”...

Obama’s pampered bureaucrats, and how Romney campaign takes a pot-shot

Romney, Obama

Video Text: “Add Another Bureaucrat”
Voiceover: “Why not have a President who actually understands business?”This is a part of a Mitt Romney advertising campaign hitting out at US President Barack Obama’s idea of adding a “secretary of business” in his second term. As President Obama and challenger Romney are heading for a neck-to-neck fight on Tuesday, BoI takes a close look at Obama’s pampered bureaucracy and how challenger Romney takes a pot-shot through an advertising campaign.

Are Indian bureaucrats ace drivers in traffic jams? Murthy, Rajan's take

GONE are the days when India Inc keeps mum on policy bottlenecks that do arise because of lack of decisions. Only a few days ago, Infosys co-founder and poster boy of post-liberalisation era, Narayana Murthy asked in a television show why problems in IT industry are not being considered “urgent” and “solved by 5 pm this evening”. Will Indian bureaucracy be a handicap for celebrity economist and India’s new chief economic adviser Raghuram Rajan too? This is how 49-year-old MIT product Rajan reacted to reporters’ queries:

Andhra minister crosses all forms of Netagiri; bureaucrats strongly condemn

BUREAUCRACY bashing has been a pastime for politicians across geographies, but the recent remarks of an Andhra Pradesh minister TG Venkatesh have surpassed all forms of Netagiri demonstrated by political leaders in India and outside. Now, bureaucrats in India have openly condemned minister Venkatesh’s reported remarks in a public function that...

Adarsh Probe: Deshmukh blames bureaucrats

NOW, it’s the turn of another powerful politician shifting blame to bureaucrats for reported wrongdoing. Former Maharashtra chief minister and current Union science and technology minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said he had signed on Adarsh file because...

Global Window: Bureaucracy bashing gains currency ahead of US presidential poll

Mitt Romney, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in US presidential poll, has resorted to bureaucracy bashing understandably to make huge political gains ahead of this year’s presidential poll. Romney, who is an American businessman and politician, has blamed President Barack Obama and “the thousands upon thousands of bureaucrats that work in Washington” for their attack on free enterprise and economic freedom....

“Ineffective, college kids type” bureaucrats wait to watch Dinesh Trivedi’s rail budget

Can Trivedi Make Indian Railways a Modern Transport System?

AS railway minister Dinesh Trivedi is getting ready to present his first ever Railway Budget this week, many a bureaucrat who was hurt by his earlier comments against Indian bureaucracy is waiting to see how “effective” his rail budget is going to be! Will his Budget incorporate out-of-the-box ideas to take the mammoth Indian railways to the next level, or will it be an ordinary document prepared by rail babus which probably “a young man fresh out of college” can fluently read out! Is IR moving towards a debt trap? Or, will Trivedi be able to do any magic to save this massive government department as he presents the Rail Budget on March 14?

As the minister of state for health, Trivedi aired probably the harshest comment against Indian bureaucrats. He called bureaucrats “ineffective” and said college kids would run the health ministry better than the bureaucrats. “Young people fresh out of college would be able to run the health ministry better that these bureaucrats,” he said. Trivedi said bureaucrats are not innovative and they don’t understand technology.

The minister’s anger was directed towards then health secretary K Sujatha Rao over sanctioning of a Rs 140-crore health portal, but Trivedi generalized his comment and hurled it against entire bureaucracy. Then health secretary Sujatha Rao countered the charges saying that Indian bureaucracy “was among the most scrutinized in the world”.

Only recently, the railway minister created another row when he talked about the possibility of a mid-term poll which his leader Mamata Banerjee later distanced herself from. Trivedi too clarified saying that his comment was “personal” which he aired “as a student of political science, and not as a minister”.

62-year old Trivedi is a B Com from St. Xavier College of Calcutta and MBA from University of Texas, USA. He was first elected to Rajya Sabha in 1990.

Keshav Chandra takes over as Member (Mechanical), Railway Board

Keshav Chandra, an officer of the 1975 batch of Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), took over on Saturday as new Member (Mechanical), Railway Board. He will be an ex-officio secretary to Government of India. Prior to this appointment, Chandra had served as General Manager, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Guwahati. He will continue to hold the post of GM, NFR Railway in addition to his present post until further orders.

He is credited with first set of successful trials for DMRC rakes. Based out of Berlin, Chandra also worked as Railway Adviser for Europe. He wrote a paper titled ‘Donate Once In A Life Time’ and authored a book “One track Mind’.

Pawar-Point Presentation: Ajit Pawar and Subramanian Swamy lash out at bureaucracy

TWO major newsmakers of recent time, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, are on the same side when it comes to bureaucracy. Whereas Pawar said there is nothing wrong to be stern with bureaucrats, Swamy accused bureaucrats mainly the law ministry officials of trying to protect former telecom minister A Raja by wrongly advising Prime Minister on whether to sanction Raja or not.

Pawar came into news recently when he addressed top bureaucrats in Maharashtra even before they could brief the chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, leading many local newspapers dubbing his attitude as “dadagiri”. Now, he asks what is wrong if he is stern with bureaucrats who do not heed to ministers’ directives to speed up works related to the welfare of the common man. While addressing NCP workers recently, he told that he would not change his style of functioning (dadagiri, according to bureaucrats) and ensure that the bureaucrats fall in line.

On the other side, Swamy said that it is regrettable that the law officers of the government had failed to apprise the Prime Minister of the law of the land. He also lashed out at other bureaucrats. Meanwhile, DoT legal adviser Dr Santokh Singh who was connected to the faux pas that decisions of law ministry under A Raja had the concurrence of the Prime Minister, was transferred from his position.

Ravi Inder saga continues

The saga of 1994 batch West Bengal cadre IAS officer Ravi Inder Singh continues. The director in MHA who was detained recently, did not stay in official accommodation and used a guest house in GK-II instead. And the staying expenses were borne by his business accomplice Vineet who is also in police custody.

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Jamaican investment minister Karl Samuda terms bureaucracy as economic pickpocket

IN WHAT could be termed as yet another harshest remark against bureaucracy, Jamaican investment and commerce minister Karl Samuda has branded public-sector bureaucracy an economic "pickpocket". He called them pickpockets as they deny the productive sector “an opportunity to act expeditiously and go about the business of creating wealth", leading newspaper of the country Jamaican Gleaner reported.

According to the media report, he further said when Prime Minister Bruce Golding's Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) came to office three years ago, removing red tape and creating a business-friendly environment were the main priority.

The remark came in the backdrop of the government’s sustained effort to remove impediments of doing business and identify and dismantle barriers.

Action and Appointments

a) RK Mathur, a 1974 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IPS presently working as Director(DG), National Crime ecord Bureau(NCRB) has been appointed as Director, SVP National Police Academy (NPA) in the scale of pay of Rs. 75,500-80,000 on lateral shift basis. Mr Mathur is retiring on September 30, 2011.

b) NK Tripathi, a 1974 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS, presently working as Special Director General, CRPF has been appointed as Director, National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) in the scale of pay of Rs 75,500-80000 on lateral shift basis. He is retiring on August 31, 2011.

c) Anirudh Uppal, a 1976 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IPS, presently working as Additional DG, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been appointed as Special Director General, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) located at Jammu in the scale of pay of Rs 75,500-80-000. Uppal is retiring on September 30, 2012.