Deputy secretary and director who are willing to work in CVC may end up getting longer deputation tenure. How?

THE officers working as deputy secretary or director in various ministries and departments of the Central government are now given an option of getting additional tenure of two years if they are selected for Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). “If the officer is selected for the post (in CVC), it will be treated as ‘shift” from Central Staffing Scheme post, which will entail additional tenure of two years as per…

5 non-IAS officers appointed as deputy secretaries, directors; Income-Tax officer Ritu Sharma to head National Gallery of Modern Art

Courtesy: National Gallery of Modern Art

LATE last week, the union government appointed five director/deputy secretary-ranked officers in various ministries. All happened to be non-IAS. Whereas an IRS-IT officer was chosen as the director of National Gallery of Modern Art, an Indian Trade Service officer found a berth in the department of justice. Also, the ministry of coal will now have an Indian Ordnance Factory Service officer as deputy secretary. Here below are the details of five officers:

5 non-IAS officers get berth as deputy secretary, director in ministries like home, finance, mines; Full List

LAST Friday, the government announced the appointment of five officers belonging to various Central Group “A” services in the ministries such as home affairs, mines, commerce and also in the department of investment and public asset management that comes under the ministry of finance. None of them was incidentally an IAS. Here below are the five deputy secretary, director level appointments:

First secretary's vacancy in WTO, Geneva; Indian officer with LLB degree needed

THE Central government has been looking for a director or deputy secretary-ranked officer with an LLB degree to fill up the post of first secretary (legal) at Permanent Mission of India (PMI), WTO, Geneva for a period of three years. The officer “should have” experience in trade, commerce, industry and allied sectors either at the Centre or in the state government, according to…

Officer wanted as Consul (Education) in Embassy of India in Washington DC; More on eligibility

IF YOU are a deputy secretary or director-ranked officer at the Centre willing to work in Indian embassy in Washington DC, this information is for you. The government has been looking for a suitable candidate for the post of Consul (Education) in Embassy of India, Washington DC under the department of higher education, ministry of human resource development for a period of three years. Interestingly, the experience in educational administration is a must and desirable qualifications include…exposure to multilateral and international organizations. And the mandatory qualifications are:

IAS officers demand “automatic admission” of their children in Sanskriti school; vehicles to all deputy secretaries

BoI has over the years carried a number of articles highlighting the concerns and at times anger of Group A service officers about what they call a discrimination against them by the IAS lobby. As they claim, IAS officers get promotions earlier than them; IAS corner plump posts and also are preferred in case of government scholarship for foreign universities. But, what about the problems being faced by IAS officers themselves? The issue cropped up when…

Vacancy in Manila: Indian officer wanted as adviser to ED in ADB

FOR director or deputy secretary level officers, here is a chance to grab a foreign post. The government has proposed to fill up the post of adviser to the Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines as tenure of Assam cadre IAS Samir Kumar Sinha will come to an end. The posting will be for a period of…

A chance for director-ranked officer to spend time in Assam’s picturesque tea gardens; How?

IF YOU are a deputy secretary or director-ranked officer eligible to be appointed under the Central Staffing Scheme, here is an opportunity to take a break up to five years from the hustle-bustle of a city life and spend time in Assam’s picturesque tea gardens. The DoPT has written to Union secretaries and chief secretaries of various states to…

No taker for a cool job at Indian embassy in Myanmar; Government re-advertises

IT seems there was no serious bidder for a deputy secretary-equivalent post in mystic land of Myanmar. The government in a circular dated November 28, 2011 wanted an Indian government officer at the rank of a deputy secretary to join as first secretary, (development) at Indian Embassy in Yangon. As the circular had mentioned, the selected candidate needed to relocate herself to Myanmar with immediate effect. But three months later, the government came out with another circular advertising the same post with the deadline now extended to March 5, 2012.
There is silence on the government’s move to re-circulate the same advertisement, but it is believed that there was lack of enthusiasm among IAS and other Group A services officers to move to Myanmar. It is however mentioned in the fresh circular dated February 16, 2012 that those who had applied earlier need not apply again, and their names would still be considered along with the fresh applicants.
The possession of prior experience in the field of project management and implementation is a mandatory requirement. It is also desired that the applicant has an engineering degree though it’s not mandatory.
With Myanmar gaining currency thanks to the growing interests shown both by China and India, the three-year experience in this exotic land could however go well in one’s CV.

Action and Appointments

a) Ajit Kumar, who is becoming the first 100% visually impaired person to join as IAS, will begin his training at Mussoorie from February 20. An MA in political science, Kumar, originally hailing from Haryana, was selected by UPSC in 2008. But he was initially denied a berth in IAS, and was asked to join Indian Railways Personnel Service. Kumar first approached the CAT, and then CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat who took him to PM. And with PM giving his nod, Kumar finally won the battle.

Deputy secretary-level officer wanted for a Washington-based IMF post

IMF Headqaurters

THE government is looking for an official at the rank of a deputy secretary or director for the post of Adviser to the Executive Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF). The selected candidate will have a three-year term, and will be based out of Washington.

In a letter dated September 12, 2011, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) wrote to Union secretaries and state chief secretaries in this regard. The mandatory qualifications include two years of cumulative working experience in the ministry of finance or economic ministries, and “substantial graduate level university degree” in areas related to the work of the Fund, and most desirably, in economics with an emphasis on macroeconomics, monetary economics and public finance. The familiarity with major Fund-related issues is also required.

The “desirable qualifications” include experience of dealing with externally aided projects, experience in the department of economic affairs (DEA), degree in economics or MBA or international trade or public finance.

The officer should not be over 54 years of age. The last date of application is October 14, 2011.

Top officials may get encrypted mobiles for emergencies

The government may provide encrypted mobile phones to some of its officials handling sensitive issues. The phones which work on reserved air frequency will be helpful in case of emergencies, some media reports said. The Prime Minister’s Office is expected to hold a meeting in this regard to take the final call. During the recent Mumbai blast, all telephone lines got jammed, and for 15 minutes even the chief minister of the state could not get an update on the rescue operation.

Action and Appointments

a) Upendra Tripathy, a 1980 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, has been appointed as additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat in place of Dr Mrutyunjay Sarangi, a 1977 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS. Ms Nivedita Shukla Verma, a 1991 batch UP cadre IAS will handle Tripathy’s work at the rank of a joint secretary. 

A contractual job advertised for retired deputy secretaries

Sanskriti School, New Delhi

APPLICATIONS are being invited from retired deputy secretaries and under secretaries to Government of India for the post of Assistant Secretary to manage the day-to-day functioning of the Civil Service Society and Sanskriti school. The post will be on a contract basis.

The DoPT’s central secretariat division in a letter dated July 6, 2011 asked all ministries and departments to give wide publicity to the vacancy among under secretaries and deputy secretaries who have just retired or are about to retire soon. The names may be sent to Ms Roopa Sinha, secretary, Civil Services Society, Dr S Radhakrishnan Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi -110021 along with their CVs. The last date is July 31, 2011

Senior food ministry officials asked to undertake tours

All food ministry officers of the rank of additional secretary and joint secretary have been directed to undertake tours of states within next two to three weeks to review the status of offtake of foodgrains allocated Public Distribution System (PDS) and safe storage of the procured foodgrains.

Secretary, food, Dr BC Gupta has stated that the government was fully aware of the gravity of the situation and immediate measures were being taken to improve overall offtake and storage of foodgrains.

Who Will Go Where

a) TS Randhawa, additional secretary, will visit Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa

b) C Viswanath, joint secretary, will visit Punjab, Haryana and Delhi

c) Girish Shankar, joint secretary will undertake tour of Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal

d) T Jacob, joint secretary, will visit Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala

e) Dr DK Bhalla, joint secretary, has been asked to undertake tour of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura

f) Naveen Prakash, joint secretary will visit Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan

g) Ms. Ravneet Kaur, joint secretary, will tour Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand

Action and Appointments

The government has denied that NSG website has been hacked and some information on it has been stolen etc. The ministry of home affairs has denied any such incident as was reported in a section of media. “There is no indication that NSG website has been hacked. The website does not contain any sensitive data,” says a government release. 

Govt looks for an officer for post of Adviser to Executive Director, World Bank

IT does not matter whether you call it a cool posting or a hot assignment. But the government is looking for an officer of the deputy secretary or director of government of India to fill up the post of Adviser to the Executive Director, World Bank, Washington, USA, for a period of three years.

The officer must have worked for at least two years at the Centre under the Central Staffing Scheme, and should not be over 54 years of age. The desirable qualifications include familiarity in dealing with the multilaterals in policy dialogue at the government of India and degree in economics or MBA or international trade or public finance. The last date is April 4, 2011.

For details check out the DoPT CIRCULAR, dated March 3, 2011

Private Party continues!

From ministers to Kamal Nath to Salman Khurshid, it’s the time to get fresh faces as private secretaries. Whereas Khalid Bin Jamal, a 1994 batch IAAS officer has been appointed as private secretary (director level) to Kamal Nath, the minister of urban development, a 1991 batch AGMUT cadre IPS officer Ms Nuzhat Hassan has been hired by minister of minority affair Salman Khurshid as his private secretary. Also, Dr Arja Srikanth, a 1987 batch IRTS has been appointed as private secretary (director level) to the minister of state for heavy industries and public enterprises A Sai Prathap. In a similar appointment, K Satish Nambudiripad, a 1991 batch IIS officer, currently working as director in the ministry of human resource development has been appointed as private secretary to the minister of state for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Prof KV Thomas.

Action and Appointments

a) Ram Prakash Sisodia, a 1991 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS, presently working as director in the department of higher education has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of school education and literacy.

b) Shaktikanta Das, a 1980 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS has been promoted as additional secretary in the department of economic affairs.

c) Shailesh Kumar Singh, a 1991 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS, presently working as land and development commissioner in the ministry of urban development has been appointed as joint secretary in charge of urban transport in urban development ministry. 

It’s not funny: Japanese bureaucrats get lessons from comedians

MORE than 100 young transport ministry officials in Japan got special tips from professional comedians last week as a part of training to enhance their communication skill, a reuters news said. Quoting a Japanese government official involved in the process, the report said that by experiencing comedy routines, they hoped to learn more about how to speak to clients and how to manage their staff. The main motive was to soften the stiff image of bureaucrats in the country. This unique module was introduced in the training as they felt the approach was better than just listening to lectures for young officials, who are often tired from long working hours. Critics in Japan have, however, termed this exercise a mere wastage of tax payers’ money. Here is Babu Blogger’s question – should Indian bureaucrats be more humorous? Let’s start a debate.

Laptop for all officers above the rank of deputy secretary In yet another bonanza for government officials, laptop computers can now be issued to officers of the rank of deputy secretary and above for discharge of official work, an office memorandum by the department of expenditure under the ministry of finance said. The power to buy laptops will continue to be exercised by secretaries of the concerned ministry or department in consultation with financial adviser, said the office memo which was sent to all ministries and departments. There is, however, a rider that the cost of laptop including standard software shall not exceed Rs 70,000. The memo also said that the officer using the laptop would personally be responsible for the safety and security of the laptop which needs to be returned at the time of handing over the charge. The officer will have the liberty to have the laptop insured at his personal cost. A good gift to woo officers on duty! But remember, if you lose you pay through your nose.