Thank God, Indian government’s social media posts are liberal, though not humorous

A TWEET by Delhi police’s traffic department a few days ago (screenshot photo here) virtually gave a tip-off to the wrong-doers about a particular road to be avoided for escape! It says: “Traffic is heavy on road no 13 A Sarita Vihar due to checking of local police”. In other words, a tech-savvy carjacker would know which road to avoid! This could be a faux pas, but the fact remains that Indian government departments’ twitter policy is highly…

"No smoking" diktat for Chinese babus; officials must not offer cigarettes to others, says circular

BUREAUCRATS in China got an unusual diktat from the top: stop smoking. China’s cabinet recently issued rules banning government officials from smoking in government buildings, hospitals, stadiums, schools, public transports etc., according to media reports quoting China's Central Television. It issued a circular saying that…

First ever female aide to Japan’s PM appointed; How Abe attempts higher growth by pro-woman steps

A WEEK ago, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed Makiko Yamada as his official secretary, creating history by appointing the first ever female aide to prime minister. Most see this as a part of Abe’s ongoing initiative of achieving higher economic growth by empowering women. The appointment of the 53-year-old bureaucrat in such a key post along with other initiatives of bringing more Japanese women into the workforce have prompted…

Canada faces a new challenge of ex-bureaucrats grabbing big contracts

1771 Painting Depicting A Canadian Battle

THE trend of retired bureaucrats grabbing high-valued contracts has become a problem in Canada. The Canadian government has now said, any contract worth Canadian dollar of 10,000 or more, or roughly Rs 5.4 lakh, have to be publicly disclosed. The issue cropped up when auditors spotted an instance when a retired public servant, also a pensioner, received a contract of whopping...

Bill seeks to ban overseas properties and bank accounts of Russian babus

Russian Duma: A century-old photo

RUSSIAN bureaucrats holding assets abroad may have to sell those properties once a bill pending in Parliament, is passed. The draft bill covers not only the foreign assets bought by the bureaucrats or acquired by inheritance or gift, but also the bank accounts held by them in foreign countries. According to estimates, the total value of foreign assets being held by Russian bureaucrats could be…

Pakistan bureaucrats blamed for non-utilisation of money meant for cities

Karachi Airport during World War II (File Photo)

CALL it a Pak version of mini-JNNURM. Five Pakistan cities and four parts of Karachi were doled out a special package worth Rs 1,000 crore (Pak rupee), but the resources could not be fully utilized in the absence of an elected local government system in Sindh province and bureaucrats’ risk averse attitude, The Dawn has reported. The package was a part of Sindh government’s 2011-12 budget which benefitted cities like…

Global Window: Indonesia opts for early retirement to trim bureaucracy

INDONESIA'S ministry of finance has recommended an early retirement programme with suitable compensation package for retiring civil servants. The move is mainly to trim the country's bulging bureaucracy, a media report said. The scheme is interesting as the debate on retirement age and suitable packages for those opting for voluntary retirement has been continuing in a number of countries including India. A few months ago, there were rumours in Delhi's power corridors that the retirement age for Central government employees would be risen to 62 from the current level of 60 years. It's expected that the UPA-II may time the move politically and raise retirement age sometime later to woo over five million Central government employees.
In Indonesia, the directorate general of the treasury is expected to suggest a voluntary early retirement programme for 50-55 year-old employees, and they would get huge benefits as part of their severance payments.
At present, there are about 4.7 million permanent civil servants in Indonesia, excluding the honorary employees.
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