IAS Sharat Chauhan gets 2 years extension in WHO; MoS Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s PS elevated as OSD

THE government has approved the extension in tenure of foreign assignment of Dr Sharat Chauhan, 1994 batch AGMUT cadre IAS, as technical officer, planning and coordination, Grade 5 in World Health Organization (WHO), New Delhi, for a period between February 9, 2018 to February 29, 2020. The order towards it was released on Tuesday. In another appointment, the competent authority on Tuesday approved the…

Jyotsana Varma Ray of Jharkhand cadre deemed to have resigned from IAS

Jyotsana Varma Ray, 1992 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS, who has been on unauthorised leave for a long period after her tenure in Asian Development Bank in Manila had ended, will no longer be in the service. The Centre on Friday issued a notification (to be published in part-I, section-II of Gazette of India) saying that the 1992 IAS is “deemed to have resigned from the Indian Administrative Service” with effect from August 12, 2015. The notification reads as follows:

DJ Pandian: More about ex-Gujarat chief secretary and vice-president of Beijing-headquartered bank, AIIB

FORMER Gujarat chief secretary and 1981 batch retired IAS DJ Pandian has been appointed as vice-president, chief investment officer of the newly formed USD100 billion multilateral development bank — Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), headquartered in Beijing, China. The former IAS who had also served as director in department of economic affairs, technical assistant in the World Bank and managing director of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, is considered to be close to…

Research Analyst: Vacancy for Indian officer in Mauritius’ Port Louis

IORA Secy Gen Bhagirath, IFS

FOR officers working under the Central Staffing Scheme and having a knack for data mining and research, here is a job at Port Louis, Mauritius. The DoPT has written a letter to Government of India secretaries and state chief secretaries to spot a deputy secretary-ranked official who will be willing to apply for the post of Research Analyst in international relations or regional trade or economics, at the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) secretariat, Port Louis, Mauritius on secondment basis. The tenure will initially be for a period of...

No taker of plum post in Washington DC! DoPT asks secretaries to nominate officers

Indian Embassy in Washington

Gosh! The government is struggling hard to find a joint secretary level officer willing to take up a plum post in Washington DC. The designation called “minister, economic” in Indian Embassy at Washington DC, is also fancy. But over seven months after applications were first invited from JS level officers, the DoPT in a letter dated March 22, 2012, wrote to government of India’s secretaries and state chief secretaries asking them to nominate suitable officers for the post still lying vacant.

Officers in the past had lobbied very hard to get postings in Indian missions of US and UK and even in World Bank or IMF. That raises a question why JS level officers did not apply this time round. The DoPT, however, did not spell out the number of applicants which it said is not sufficient.

The DoPT letter says: “Sufficient nominations were not received to finalize the selection of filling up the Joint Secretary level post of Minister (Economic) in economy wing, Embassy of India, Washington DC, under the Department of Economic Affairs, which fell vacant on November 9, 2011”. The DoPT’s earlier advertisement was dated August 4, 2011.

The officers empanelled as joint secretaries, and with two years of experiences at the Centre are eligible to apply for the post. The minimum age is 54 years. The applicant should have prior experiences in trade, commerce, industry, finance, foreign investment, export promotion etc.

The officers who had applied earlier must reapply, the letter said. Significantly, the applicants need to write a 250-word brief stating why he or she is suitable for the job.

Action and Appointments

a) DoPT secretary PK Mishra will continue to hold the additional charge of post of steel secretary for one more month beginning March 17 or until further orders. It indicates that the government has made up its mind to choose the next steel secretary from 1978 batch.

b) Manoj Jhalani, a 1987 batch MP cadre IAS, has been appointed as joint secretary in the health ministry.

Industry adviser’s post lies vacant at Indian embassy in Brussels

HERE is a vacant post for Indian bureaucrats at Brussels. The government has been looking for the right candidate to fill up the post of Adviser (Industry and Engineering) in the Embassy of India, Brussels, under the department of commerce. The post will lie vacant in around November, 2011.

The officers at the rank of deputy secretary or director of the Government of India or equivalent level are eligible for the post. The applicant must have worked for at least two years at the Centre under the Central Staffing Scheme, and he should not be over 54 years of age. The officer currently on study leave or long leave is not eligible for the post.

Any experience in bilateral international negotiations or exposure to international trade will be an added advantage. The desirable qualifications include the experiences in dealing with European Union or European Commission. The last date of application is September 6, 2011.

For details read the DoPT CIRCULAR, August 19, 2011

Accused IAS BP Acharya pleads innocence

Senior IAS officer BP Acharya, whose role in controversial Emaar deal is being probed by the CBI, said that he has been made a scapegoat, and the real culprits are at large, according to media reports. Acharya was the MD of the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) when some alleged irregularities were spotted. Acharya further claimed in an interview to a daily that he converted Rs 125 crore-APIIC into a Rs 5,000-crore conglomerate.

Action and Appointments

a) The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension of tenure of

NS Sisodia, as Director General of Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), for a period of three months beyond August 16, 2011.

b) The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension of tenure of AK Singh, a 1983 batch UP cadre IFS as CVO of ESlC for a further period of six months.

c) Praveen Kumar, a 1987 batch IDAS has been appointed as chairman and managing director in Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) at the rank of a joint secretary.

Government modifies rules on taking up of foreign assignments by senior officers

IF A government officer below the rank of a joint secretary wants to take up a short-term or consultancy assignment with a foreign organization with which he has currently be dealing with, there is no ban, clarifies DoPT. However, for an officer at the rank of a joint secretary and above, requisite permission is mandatory, it further said.
Earlier, according to a letter (No. 111012001-FA(UN) dated October 13, 2004, “if an officer has been dealing with an international organization in his official capacity at any time during the previous five years, he may not accept a short-term or long term consultancy assignment from such an agency”.

An officer’s foreign posting tenure to change depending on his child’s academic calendar

THE DoPT has made it public a decision taken in March this year whereby Appointment Committee of Cabinet said officers posted abroad on foreign assignments would get extension till their children’s academic session there. “Appointments Committee of the Cabinet decided that the tenure of officers on foreign deputation may be linked to the end of the academic session i.e. date of completion of the annual examination… if some adjustment is required (either extension or curtailment), depending on the commencement of the posting, and the timing of the examination, the proposal for approval of the competent authority should be sent to this office at least 2 months before the date of completion of the approved tenure or date of completion of the proposed tenure, whichever is earlier,” a DoPT circular dated March 16, 2010 said.