1994 batch IAS Aparajita Sarangi quits IAS; likely to contest Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket

Aparajita Sarangi (Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Aparajita Sarangi, a 1994 batch Odisha cadre IAS officer who took voluntary retirement early this month, is joining the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), thereby becoming the second IAS officer in the recent time to quit IAS and join the party that has been ruling the Central government. Only in August this year, 2005 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS, OP Choudhary, resigned from the elite service to join the BJP. He contested from Kharasia constituency of the state in the assembly poll that was held on November 20. The results will be out on December 11. In Sarangi’s state, Odisha, the BJP is, however, in the…

UP cadre IAS Selvakumari Jayarajan appointed in Handloom Export Promotion Council; IRS-IT officer finds berth in animal husbandry dept

Ms Selvakumari Jayarajan, 2006 batch Uttar cadre IAS, has been appointed as executive director (ED) of Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC), Chennai, with an instruction that she needs to join the new assignment immediately, citing an August 2017 DoPT circular under which “an officer should join the post within three weeks from the date of issue of DoPT’s appointment order, failing which the process of debarment shall be initiated.” 

Forty years old Selvakumari is from Tamil Nadu and is now posted in…

Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi CM, takes voluntary retirement from IRS; what next for her?

TV garb of Sunita and Arvind Kejriwal after Delhi victory, 2015

Sunita Kejriwal, 1993-batch Indian Revenue Service (I-T) officer and wife of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has taken voluntary retirement from the service. The Central Board of Direct Tax (CBDT) processed her application and okayed the VRS with effect from July 15. Mrs Kejriwal, 51, is now posted as Commissioner of I-T in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Delhi, and will now be eligible for her pension benefits as she completed 20 years of service in the government. Will Sunita Kejriwal who had a tough time balancing her role as a wife of an activist-politician and a Central government officer, actually…

Iqbal Khanday who objected “officers’ transfers like shuttlecocks” puts in his papers as J&K chief secretary

Dal Lake of Kashmir Valley

IN AN unusual move, Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary and 1978 batch IAS Mohammad Iqbal Khanday sought voluntary retirement three months ahead of his retirement, reportedly over his differences with Mufti Muhammad Sayeed-led PDP government which has been shuffling officers without his consent. According to some TV reports, Khanday objected to IAS officers’ transfer like “shuttlecocks”. Khanday, by the way, knows Sanskrit, apart from…

Shakti Sinha: Powerful bureaucrat of Vajpayee era seeks to leave service

Shakti Sinha, a 1979 batch AGMUT cadre IAS and highly influential joint secretary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s PMO in late 90s, has sought to leave the service. Sinha, currently finance secretary in Delhi government states in his VRS application that he wants to concentrate on…

Tamil Nadu IAS Ashok Vardhan Shetty gets voluntary retirement, courtesy CAT

Dr K Ashok Vardhan Shetty, a 1983 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, had five more years to retire. A principal secretary in the state’s municipal department, Shetty, an engineer and MBA, simply wanted to quit the government. In September 2011, he applied for voluntary retirement and wanted him to be relieved by December 9. But the story took a new turn after Jayalalithaa-led government had decided not to relive him, and instead ordered a vigilance enquiry against the officer. It was alleged that Shetty was involved in financial irregularities when he was principal secretary in rural development and Panchayati Raj department of the state.
But Shetty decided to fight back. He approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) with the argument that he was not under suspension, and fulfilled the criteria of 28 years of service and 50 years of age to be eligible for voluntary retirement.
Finally, Madras Bench of the CAT agreed to his argument and asked Tamil Nadu government to accept his resignation. The CAT further directed the state government to disburse the retirement benefits to the IAS officer within three months.
An MBA from Birmingham University, it is however not known what’s Shetty plan of action post voluntary retirement.
Few very people in corridor know that Shetty passionately blogs, and has been blogging since 2007. The social media then was a strict “no no” to the babus. His blogs are Great Minds on God, Religion and Science, and Superstition Scan.

Action and Appointments

a) The Centre has approved the extension of inter-cadre transfer of HR Srinivasa, a 1996 batch Bihar cadre IAS from Bihar to Karnataka for two more years with effect from September 10, 2011. It was however mentioned in the order, dated February 27, 2012 that Srinivasa’s inter-cadre transfer can’t go beyond seven years, and the current extension too was given on “compassionate grounds” and it should not be quoted as “a precedent”.
b) Rohit Kumar, a 1997 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS and director of rural development ministry, has been laterally transferred to the ministry of road transport and highways.
c) Rakesh Singh, a 1989 batch Karnataka cadre IAS who is currently on compulsory wait in the department of legal affairs, has now been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs.