How to be a good officer? MP chief minister Chouhan quotes Gita

MADHYA Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan quoted Shlokas from the Gita last week to narrate the qualities a good administrative officer should possess. Chouhan addressed the annual service meet of MP IAS officers’ association which was held between December 14 and 16, 2012. Here are the qualities of a good administrative officer, as elaborated by the CM:

Pro-Investors: Madhya Pradesh officials asked to gear up in brand building

City of Indore

MADHYA Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has asked his officers to gear up and ensure that the state enhances its brand equity as an investment destination. Charged up by his reportedly successful three-nation-tour that included Japan, South Korea and Singapore, Chouhan directed that teams of officials need to be constituted sector-wise. The CM himself will hold...

RTI Raj: Now it unearths no of free tickets doled out to Air India CMD’s family

IF YOU are an Indian bureaucrat with a mindset that everything is manageable, think twice. The Right To Information (RTI) tool is now increasingly used to extract information on what you write on files, say in internal meetings, and now even what you get free at the cost of the exchequer. And yes, you cannot un-mute your anger against the RTI Act, which is incidentally packaged as an achievement by the current UPA government. As was reported in a national newspaper a couple of days before, an RTI application filed by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal revealed how the definition of family has been expanded over the years for the purpose of getting free tickets. No wonder, according to rules, CMD’s “spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters, son-in-law/daughter-in-law” are eligible for such free tickets, and he could even expand the family to include virtually any relative for free travel on “compassionate grounds.” The RTI findings have further revealed the number of free tickets availed by some of the previous Air India chiefs. As the national carrier is mounting losses and is virtually on bankruptcy, the rule of doling out free tickets to any one and everyone of the CMD’s family is bound to be under scrutiny. Significantly, it’s a post held by a senior civil servant. The current CMD Arvind Jadhav is a 1978 batch IAS.

Disclaimer: The picture used here is symbolic, not real. Straight From Files Know Your Babu: Arvind Jadhav, IAS (May 4, 2009) Brinda Karat’s use of RTI to obtain what additional secretary Mayaram said (September 28, 2009)

IAS turned politician dies Madhya Pradesh unit of the BJP lost a prized member recently when former IAS officer Hoshiar Singh died after a brief illness at a hospital in Bhopal. After his retirement from over three decades long administrative work, this 1976 batch MP cadre IAS joined the BJP recently. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in his condolence message said that the state lost a finest administrative officer.

Bureaucratic Insights: DoPT’s online course on RTI receives huge responses

THERE was an unusual rush to register for an online course on Right To Information, or RTI which has gradually become popular among ordinary citizens, and at the same time has forced Indian bureaucrats think twice before making a note on official files. The department of personnel and training (DoPT), began on Monday an online certificate course on RTI on a pilot basis with an intake of 60 candidates. The gaining popularity of RTI can be understood from the fact that as high as 1452 applications were received for this 15-day-long online course to be imparted by the government in association with Hyderabad-based Centre for Good Governance. The online certificate course is aimed at public information officers (PIOs), assistant public information officers (APIOs), appellate authorities, officials assisting the above designated officers or other public officials, citizens, representative of civil society organisations including media among others. The course is likely to bring greater clarity on RTI among designated implementing officials like APIOs, PIOs etc. Read, "What makes this Oxford University scholar spending summer time in India's power corridor" posted on August 29, 2009 FM to inaugurate meet of Customs and Central Excise officials on Tuesday Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the All India annual conference of the chief commissioners & directors general of customs and central excise on Tuesday. The meet is being organized by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), department of revenue under finance ministry on September 8 and 9, 2009, in New Delhi. The two-day conference will focus on the functioning of the department and the emerging challenges before it. There will be a session on administering the Goods and Service Tax (GST), the present status and the department’s preparedness for its implementation. It’s believed that the conference will act as a catalyst for strengthening the indirect tax administration in addition to providing an opportunity to the Chief Commissioners and Directors General to interact with each other and discuss issues of general and common nature. Netas are bhai bhai; why not blaming the bureaucrats? Chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan apologised to Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh for the Rajgarh incident where he suffered head injuries during a baton charge on party workers, according to media reports. Mr Chouhan had a brief meeting with Mr Singh at the Congress leader’s residence on September 3. Reports quoting Congress sources said that Mr Singh felt that there was no chief minister need not hold himself responsible for the incident, as Rajgarh collector Shivanand Dube and Superintendent of Police (SP) Asha Mathur are the real culprits of the incident! Say Singh-Chouhan bhai bhai!

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

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