Chief secretaries to meet on Monday to deliberate issues on security, technology, global challenges and opportunities

CHIEF secretaries of all Indian states and Union Territories are landing up in New Delhi to attend the first annual conference of chief secretaries, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday. The two day conference, which is aimed at institutionalizing the process of interaction with states and Union Territories, will act as a standing forum for exchange of views between the Centre and the states and provide an occasion for interaction on internal matters, a government release said.

The conference, which is organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, will deliberate upon the latest trend in technology, emerging global challenges and opportunities and key security concerns to name a few. Global developments that have a bearing on the country would also figure prominently during the conference.

The conference will also be attended by the minister of state for Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions Prithviraj Chavan, cabinet secretary KM Chandrashekhar, in addition of various Government of India secretaries.

Action and Appointments

a) S Sundareshan, a 1976 batch Kerala cadre IAS, assumed charge as new petroleum secretary on Sunday. Mr Sundareshan took charge from RS Pandey, a 1972 batch Nagaland cadre IAS, who demitted office on superannuation. (See Picture: Sundareshan (right) with outgoing secretary Pandey).

BIO-DATA of S Sundareshan

b) Kumar Sanjay Krishna, a 1985 batch Assam cadre IAS, has assumed charge in the cadre as Assam’s principal secretary of planning and development. Mr Krishna served as a joint secretary, first in the PMO and then in the DEA under the ministry of finance.

Officers need to submit Immovable Property returns by 31st Jan

ALL government officers need to submit their list of immovable properties in a prescribed format by January 31, 2010, an office memorandum issued by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) dated January 28, said. Like IT Returns (Income Tax returns), it’s known in government circle as IP Returns (Immovable Properties returns).

Unlike politicians, bureaucrats don’t need to disclose their assets publicly though their records are being maintained by the government. In the office memo, for example, the group A officers of the Central Secretariat Services (CSS) are requested to send a copy the IP Returns which they would be submitting to their cadre or sub-cadre administration, to the CS-1 division of personnel ministry for our records.

In the IP Returns, the officers need to submit the details of the property, housing land and other buildings, and their current value needs to be mentioned. One column of the disclosure form pertains to the details in which the officer needs to disclose the names of then relatives in whose name the property is bought. The annual income from properties also needs to be mentioned.

The declaration form is required to be filled in and submitted annually by every class I and class II officers under Conduct Rules giving particulars of all immovable properties owned, acquired or inherited or held by him on lease or mortgage, either in his own name or in the name of any relative of the family, or any other person dependent on the government servant.

OFFICE MEMO on IP retunrs, dated January 28, 2010
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Driving a protest against Rajeev Chawla, IAS

The suicide attempt by a driver attached with settlement and land records department commissioner of Karnataka Rajeev Chawla, a 1987 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, resulted in a massive protest by drivers in front of the state assembly on Thursday. They demanded action against the officer who allegedly shouted at the 26 years old driver AR Anand Kumar who then wrote a letter to the Governor before consuming poison. In the letter, Anand said he decided to take the extreme step when the officer called him a thief for no fault of him, media reports said. 

Know Your Babu: India’s new petroleum secretary S Sundareshan

S Sundareshan, a 1976 batch Kerala cadre IAS will be India’s new petroleum secretary after RS Pandey, a 1972 batch Nagaland cadre IAS retires on January 31, 2010. Mr Sundareshan, who has a post graduate degree in business administration from UK’s University of Leeds, joined the ministry of petroleum and natural gas in April, 2007, as an additional secretary has remained in that important economic ministry after getting promoted first as a special secretary in November, 2009 and now as the secretary. Meet India’s new petroleum secretary.

(See Picture: Sundareshan behind petroleum minister Murli Deora)

Biodata

Name: S Sundareshan

Batch and Cadre: 1976 batch Kerala cadre

Date of Birth: October 28, 1952

Place of domicile: Kerala

Mother Tongue: Tamil

Educational Qualifications

a) Post Graduation in business administration

b) Post Graduation in political science

Major Postings

a) Director, In Cadre, Rehabilitation

(From July 1, 1980 to October 1, 1980)

b) Managing Director, Agriculture and Cooperation

Fisheries (From October 1, 1980 to September 1, 1982)

c) Managing Director, Agriculture and Cooperation

Dairy (From September 1, 1982 to July 1, 1985)

d) Dist Magistrate, Pathanamthitta district, (From October 1, 1985 to September 1, 1987)

e) Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi

(From March 1, 1988 to May 1, 1990)

f) Private Secretary, Equivalent to Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi (From May 1, 1990 to June 1, 1990)

g) Private secretary, Equivalent to Director, Ministry of Commerce and Industry,

(From June 1, 1990 to December 1, 1990)

h) Joint Secretary, DEA, Ministry of Finance

(From January 20, 1997 to August 28,1999)

i) Minister (Economic), Joint Secretary equivalent, Tokyo (Japan)

(From August 23, 1999 to August 22, 2002)

j) Chairman and MD, Joint Secretary equivalent, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Forward Markets Commission, (From January 24, 2005 to February 12, 2007)

k) Chairman, Additional Secretary Equivalent, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Forward Markets Commission (From February 12, 2007 to April 19, 2007)

l) Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, New Delhi

(From April 20, 2007 to November 24, 2009)

m) Special Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, New Delhi

(From November 24, 2009 to January 31, 2010)

Foreign Training Details

Business Administration from University of Leeds, UK, 1986

Job at 60: Global metal company Vedanta wants to get retired Indian bureaucrats on board

FOR someone who appeared for the civil service examination some 40 years ago, missing a newspaper advertisement for employment is nothing unusual. If you are a retired secretary to government of India, or a former chief secretary of a state, the newspaper advertisement issued by global metal major Vedanta Resources Plc, London-listed FTSE 100 company with an annual revenue of USD 7 billion, is meant precisely for you. The company has asked “former bureaucrats with IAS background and former members of judiciary” among others to apply for its advisory board which will function as “think-tank” and will closely work with its CEOs. The advisory boards are being formed for Vedanta Group companies such as Hindustan Zinc (Rajasthan), BALCO (Chhattisgarh), Vedanta Aluminium (Orissa), Sesa Goa and Sterlite Industries India Ltd (Tamil Nadu). The appointment will be for a two year term, and “remuneration and rewards will be befitting the role and stature” the advertisement says. Any doubt? You need to contact at 022-28302454.

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Action and Appointments

a) Mathew C. Kunnamkal, a 1976 batch Kerala cadre IAS, presently special secretary and financial adviser in the department of chemicals and petrochemicals in the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers has been appointed as Director General, National Institute of Rural Development in place of BK Sinha, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS.

b) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the premature repatriation of Avani Vaish, a 1975 batch MP cadre IAS and Managing Director of TRIFED to his cadre with immediate effect.

c) TS Kripanidhi, 1982 batch IDAS officer has been appointed as Director (Finance), NSG and financial adviser, CRPF (joint secretary level) under the ministry of home affairs.

Music and dance competition for bureaucrats

The Central Civil Service Cultural and Sports Board is organizing an inter-ministry music, dance and short play competition between February 22 to 25, 2010 at Mavalankar Auditorium, Rafi Marg, New Delhi. The last date of entry is February 15, 2010.

For entire rules and regulations of the competition, read this 12-page CIRCULAR

For Record Sake: DoPT warns ministries to maintain proper records to avoid paying compensation

THE department of personal and training (DoPT) has warned various departments and ministries that failing to maintain official records may force them to pay compensation to the complainant. In fact, poor maintaining of official records has turned out to be a handicap for delivering information to RTI (Right to Information) applicants. The department of personal and training (DoPT) has now asked all ministries and departments to strictly adhere to the mandate of Section 4(1)(a) of the RTI Act which requires every public authority to maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and form which would facilitate the right to information.

In fact, the Central Information Commission in a particular case pointed out that such a default could qualify for payment of compensation to the complainant. “Section 19(8)(b) of the Act gives power to the Commission to require the concerned public authority to compensate the complainant for any loss or other detriment suffered,” an office memorandum dated January 20, 2010 said.

DoPT’s Office Memo, dated January 20, 2010

Read: Chief Justice of India, now under RTI

RTI takes an Oxford University scholar to India

Profile of DR Karthikeyan, retired IPS and recipient of Padma Sri award

It was not an easy task for DR Karthikeyan, an IPS officer of 1964 batch, to investigate the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Unlike the assassinations of Mahatma Gandhi or former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the 1991 case of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination was quite a tricky one. But Karthikeyan who as a special director headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, did a commendable job. The appreciation came from none other than Supreme Court Bench looking into the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

On the eve of 61^st Republic Day, Karthikeyan is one of the just four former civil servants to get a Padma award. Born on October 2, 1939 and with a degree of BSc and BL, Karthikeyan held several postings abroad including in Moscow and Australia, to finally move up the police service ladder to become CBI director.

Who will investigate what's on Karthikeyan's mind about his next big move?

Journey of former bureaucrats BK Chaturvedi, PR Dubhashi and Moosa Raza -- recipients of Padma Bhusan awards

AS India is celebrating 61^st Republic Day on Tuesday, four former civil servants who remained backroom boys for years in administration, have finally got government recognition. Whereas three IAS officers --- former cabinet secretary BK Chaturvedi, for secretary in PMO PR Dubhashi, former steel secretary Moosa Raza were selected for Padma Bhushan, a former IPS officer DR Karthikeyan who served as CBI director and handled Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, was given Padma Sri.

Here are the profiles of three bureaucrats who were selected for Padma Bhusan award on the eve of Republic Day, 2010.

BK Chaturvedi: An Allahabad professor’s rise in Raisina Hill

After becoming Prime Minister of India in May 2004, Dr Manmohan Singh, who had an earlier innings in bureaucracy, chose to go out of the way to select the best man for the cabinet secretary’s post. After going through the bio-data of about 10 secretaries and personally interviewing many of them, he picked up a 1966 batch UP cadre IAS, BK Chaturvedi as the top bureaucrat of the country. Mr Chaturvedi, who remained the most powerful bureaucrat in Raisina Hills for three years beginning June 14, 2004, was chosen despite he was the No 3 in merit-cum-seniority list as incumbent Kamal Pande’s tenure was to end only in November, 2004, and then commerce secretary Dipak Chatterjee who was to retire in June, 2004 was senior in the list. But it was the call of the Prime Minister who decided to handpick Mr Chaturvedi.

In June, 2007, he was made a Member, Planning Commission and was subsequently given additional charge as Member, Thirteenth Finance Commission (November, 2007). Masters in physics from Allahabad University with specialization in electronics, Mr Chaturvedi was an associate professor at the Motilal Nehru Regional Engineering College, Allahabad in 1962-65 before joining as an IAS. In 1978, he studied public administration from Manchester University, U.K.

Contact for BK Chaturvedi:

011-23096594 (Off)

Email: bkchaturvedi@nic.ic

PR Dubhashi: An administrator-turned author and trainer

He calls himself not just an administrator, but a trainer. Yes, PR Dubhashi, 1953 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, who rose to become a secretary in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) later became an authority on public administration and penned a number of books on various facets of Indian civil service. He packaged his work and life as a bureaucrat in his book, “Pursuing Idealism Through Civil Service: Memories Of An Administrator And A Trainer” After being trained at Metcalfe House, he began his career as an SDO in Davangere and later became deputy commissioner in drought-prone Raichur in 1958-59. His memoir has an interesting chapter during his life in London School of Economics in 1962-63. He also held some key posts like Establishment Officer (1978-80), additional secretary in ministry of agriculture (1980-81) and director of Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). His books included, “Administrative Reforms” (1986) and “Policy and Performance: Agricultural and Rural Development In Post-independence India”.

Moosa Raza: A journey from being a district collector to a book collector

In his Chennai home, Moosa Raza, a 1960 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, has developed a very impressive personal library with a collection of books in English, Arabic, Gujarati, Hindi, Persian, and Urdu. During the last 15 years after retiring from Indian Administrative Service, Mr Raza has spent a lot of time in his personal library spending time reading about various facets of life even though he has remained busy both in corporate and cultural work. He is also the chairman of the executive committee of Coastal Energen Private Ltd, a Rs 2000 crore integrated energy company based out of Chennai.

Know as an efficient bureaucrat, he became the principal secretary to the chief minister of Gujarat, and later got shifted to Jammu and Kashmir and served as the chief secretary of that state. He then became an advisor to the UP Governor. On cultural front, he is deeply involved in activities of New Delhi-based India Islamic Cultural Centre.

Tomorrow: Read profile of DR Karthikeyan, IPS, recipient of Padma Sri

Numerological Influence? 1972 batch bureaucrats continue to grab key posts from RBI Governor, NSA, Home and Defence secretaries...

CALL it sheer talent or influence of numerological calculation, 1972 batch bureaucrats have continuously scripted success stories in occupying key government posts. With Shiv Shankar Menon, a 1972 batch retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer getting picked up for the coveted post of national security adviser (NSA) in place of MK Narayanan, and the next cabinet secretary in all probability is going to be a 1972 batch IAS, the journey of the men of that batch in securing important posts may continue for sometime more.

In fact, 1972 batch civil service topper and former finance secretary Dr D Subbarao of Andhra Pradesh cadre was already appointed as the 22nd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and two of his batch-mates, GK Pillai of Kerala cadre and Pradeep Kumar of Haryana cadre are India’s home and defence secretaries respectively for a period of two years.

As two of the senior IAS of 1972 batch will continue as secretaries in two of the most important ministries, home and defence, the government is unlikely to spring a surprise and appoint someone from 1973 batch (finance secretary Ashok Chawla is a contender) as the next cabinet secretary when current incumbent KM Chandrasekhar, a 1970 batch Kerala cadre IAS, is retiring in mid-June this year. Urban development secretary M Ramachandran, a 1972 batch Kerala cadre IAS is the top contender so far, but there is a rumour doing the rounds that the appointment for the next cabinet secretary could be advanced by a fortnight so as to facilitate Planning Commission secretary and 1972 batch Kerala cadre IAS Sudha Pillai becoming the India’s first woman cabinet secretary. Ms Pillai is retiring on May 31, 2010, but once appointed, she would get a fixed tenure of two years.

There are a few other officers of the batch including Central Information Commissioner and former Information and Broadcasting secretary Sushma Singh, who have managed decent post-retirement postings. Interestingly, the only high profile officer of 1972 batch who has not secured any key post so far is former IPS Kiran Bedi.

Read: Sudha Pillai still a contender for cabinet secretary's post

In Pictures: Menon (top) and Subbarao taking charge as foreign secretary and RBI Guv respectively 

Action and Appointments

a) AK Mangotra, a 1978 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS and presently additional secretary and financial adviser in the department of food and public distribution has been appointed as additional secretary in the department of commerce in place of R Gopalan, a 1976 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS.

b) Desh Deepak Verma, a 1978 batch UP cadre IAS and presently in the cadre, has been appointed as additional secretary and financial adviser in the department of food and public distribution.

c) The proposal of the department of AYUSH for the extension of Central deputation tenure of B Anand, a 1987 bacth Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, as Joint Secretary in that department beyond January 30, 2010 has been rejected.

d) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the period of overstay of AK Dubey, a 1982 batch Kerala cadre IAS, for the period from April 19, 2008 to March 4, 2009, while on deputation to Delhi University as Registrar, as a deputation under Rule 6 (1) of the IAS (cadre) Rules 1954 (deputation under Non-Central Staffing Scheme) on ex-post facto basis.

Profile of new disinvestment secretary Sumit Bose, 1976 batch MP cadre IAS

Profile of Sumit Bose, IAS

Name: Sumit Bose

Cadre and Batch: 1976 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre

Date of Birth: March 29, 1954

Place of Domicile: West Bengal

Mother Tongue: Bengali

Educational Qualifications

MA in history

MSc in Social Policy Planning from London School of Economics

Major Postings

a) SDO in Cadre, (From August 1, 1978 to July 1, 1979)

b) Additional Collector, Gwalior district

(From July 1, 1980 to April 1, 1981)

c) Special Assistant to Chief Minister (From April 1, 1981 to April 1, 1982)

d) Collector, Sidhi district, (From April 1, 1982 to July 1, 1983)

Collector, Rewa district, (From July 1, 1983 to May 1, 1984)

e) Under Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Company Affairs, New Delhi

(From May 1, 1984 to July 1, 1985)

f) Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Company Affairs, New Delhi

(From July 1, 1985 to May 1, 1988)

g) Consultant, World Bank, (From June 1, 1988 to July 1, 1988)

h) Collector, Gwalior district, (From August 1, 1988 to September 1, 1989)

i) Joint Secretary, Director Level, Local Self Government and Panchayati Raj (From September 1, 1989 to October 1, 1989)

j) Collector, Bhopal district, (From January 1, 1990 to May 1, 1990)

k) Additional Secretary to Chief Minister (Director level)

(From May 1, 1990 to January 1, 1993)

l) Consultant, Joint Secretary level, UN Dev Programme (UNDP),

(From October 1, 1996 to April 15, 1997)

m) Joint Secretary HRD, New Delhi,

(From July 24, 1998 to July 23, 2003)

n) Principal Secretary, In Cadre, Education Deptt

(From January 5, 2004 to May 13, 2004)

o) OSD, Additional Secretary Equivalent, Ministry of Finance,

(Thirteenth Finance Commission), New Delhi

(From August 20, 2007 to November 19, 2007)

p) Secretary, Additional Secretary Equivalent, Ministry of Finance,

(Thirteenth Finnance Commission), New Delhi

(From November 20, 2007 to November 24, 2009)

q) Secretary, Secretary Equivalent, Thirteenth Finance Commission

New Delhi, (From November 24, 2009---)

Foreign Training Details

i) MSC (Social Planning) in UK for 30 weeks

ii) Short Term consultancy, for 2 weeks in Kenya

Welcome to North Block: Pranab Mukherjee gets Bengal officer Sunil Mitra as new revenue secretary, Sumit Bose for disinvestment

Sunil Mitra, a 1975 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and currently secretary in the department of disinvestment in the ministry of finance, has been appointed as the next revenue secretary in place of PV Bhide, a 1973 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS who is retiring on January 31, 2010. Mr Mitra’s elevation as revenue secretary is happening at a time when finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s team has been working hard on the Budget proposals to be presented on February 26, and India is targeting to achieve Rs 4 lakh crore only as direct tax collection. Significantly, the current revenue secretary Mr Bhide has not been very popular among senior IRS officers and the rift between the super taxmen in the North Block and revenue secretary came out quite in open in many occasions including during the adoption of the new direct tax code.

Meanwhile, another Bengali babu Sumit Bose, a 1976 batch MP cadre IAS and presently secretary, 13th Finance Commission, has been appointed as secretary in the department of disinvestment in the ministry of finance in place of Sunil Mitra.

Profile: New revenue secretary Sunil Mitra

In Picture: The camel contingent at the rehearsal for the Beating the Retreat Ceremony, near North Block in New Delhi on January 21.

Other Appointments

a) BK Sinha, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS, presently director general, national institute of rural development, has been appointment as secretary in department of rural development in place of Ms Rita Sharma, a 1974 batch UP cadre IAS, who is retiring on January 31, 2010.

b) Mathew C Kunnamkal, a 1976 batch Kerala cadre IAS, presently special secretary and financial adviser in the department of chemicals and petrochemicals, has been appointed as Director General, National Institute of Rural Development in place of BK Sinha, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS.

Lieutenant General VK Singh will be India’s next Army chief

Lt Gen VK Singh, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC, presently GOC-in-C, Eastern Command has been appointed the next chief of the Army staff in the rank of General with effect from March 31, 2010 in place of General Deepak Kapoor.

Lt General VK Singh was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment on June 14, 1970. He participated in the 1971 war and IPKF operations against LTTE militants in Sri Lanka. He is presently serving as the Eastern Army Commander.

Besides being an ‘Honours Graduate’ of the US Army Infantry School, Georgia, USA, Lt Gen Singh studied at the Defence Services Staff College, the Army War College and the US Army War College, Carlisle.

He is married to Mrs Bharati and they have two daughters, the elder one is married to an Army officer. The younger daughter is working in the corporate sector.

Shiv Shankar Menon to have a status of a minister of state

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shiv Shankar Menon, a retired IFS of 1972 batch as the National Security Adviser in place of MK Narayanan who is moving into West Bengal Raj Bhawan. The man who superseded over a dozen officers to become the country’s foreign secretary in September 2006, is back in the South Block, this time with a status of a minister of state.

Study In UK: India’s home ministry lifts ban on bureaucrats applying for British government-funded Chevening scholarship

GOOD news for Indian bureaucrats eying for the prestigious British government-funded Chevening scholarship. Nearly three years after Indian government employees were banned from taking Chevening scholarship offered by the British High Commission, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in a circular dated January 19, 2010, lifted the restriction thereby widening the scope of Indian bureaucrats to grab fully-funded courses in British Universities as well.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs has now decided to lift the restriction imposed on the grant of permission under Section 9 of FCRA for accepting foreign hospitality offered by the Chevening Fellowship,” the circular said. The official letters were issued to chief secretaries of all states and secretaries of ministries and departments of government of India.

Significantly, in a related development, the government in September, 2009, had issued a circular saying that no officer was allowed to raise fund or ask for contribution from any source to finance his or her study if prior government permission was not obtained. The notice came in the backdrop of detection of a few cases where officers had negotiated or taken financial assistance from private bodies and other domestic organizations, not known to sponsor study programmes, for financing their study programmes, without the previous knowledge of the government.

In fact, the Chevening scholarships are among the top scholarship schemes in the world which allow over 1000 scholars from around the world to study in UK.

Still have any confusion? Just pick up the phone to call Ritika Kochhar, Head, Chevening Scholarships, British High Commission, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi -- 21; Phone: 011-24192180, or mail her at: Ritika.Kochhar@fco.gov.uk

Actual CIRCULAR, dated January 19, 2010 on permission for availing Chevening
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Dramatic Move: Actor IAS V Venu as a manipulative contractor

IMAGINE an IAS officer taking a dramatic move of donning the role of a shrewd contractor who tries to manipulate bureaucracy and politics! During the recent Bharat Rang Mahotsav, a theatre festival organized by the National School of Drama in New Delhi, Kerala’s tourism secretary Dr V Venu, a 1990 batch IAS, donned that role of a manipulative contractor as he acted in a Malayalam play ‘Palangal’, (bridges), an adaptation of the work of famous poet K Ayyappa Panicker.

Directed by D Reghoothaman and staged by Abhinaya theatres, Thiruvananthapuram, ‘Palangal’ depicts the events that surround the proposed construction of a bridge where Dr Venu came to the centrestage, literally.

The bureaucrat, who studied medicine surgery before getting into IAS, told media that he was an actor during the college days, but discontinued his passion thanks to the mounting work pressure. But he chose to revive his talent on stage once he joined the culture department in the state about three years ago. He was also in the Central deputation and worked as deputy secretary in the ministry of tourism and culture in 2003-04. Later, he was promoted to a director level post, deputy director general, in the ministry of tourism in New Delhi.

Thanks to his personal interest in acting, Dr Venu has initiated a programme under which a number of Kerala’s award-winning theatre directors performed plays in UK, South Korea, Japan and Russia recently.

So will the IAS-cum-actor stage a play for the global audience too, for promoting tourism in the God’s own country?

If you know a bureaucrat who has a private passion whether in the realm of music, theatre, art, or anything else, kindly write to babu.blogger1@gmail.com

11 senior officials transferred in Bihar

In a major reshuffle in bureaucracy in Bihar, chief minister Nitish Kumar has transferred 11 senior bureaucrats, including principal secretary Girish Shankar. State’s urban development and housing principal secretary Afzal Amanullah will now hold the important post of a cabinet coordination. Amitabh Verma, principal secretary to the animal husbandry department, will be given additional charge of cooperative department, whereas R K Khandelwal will be secretary to the revenue department.

UIDAI jobs: Nilekani finds it tough to attract senior government officers; DoPT admits lack of interest for JS level posts

IT’S now official. The much talked about Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) headed by corporate honcho and former Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has failed to attract government talent as sufficient number of IAS, IPS and officers of other group A services have not shown interest in joining this unique project of giving an identification number to every Indian citizen.

In a candid admission, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) in a wireless message dated January 18, and marked to all state chief secretaries, said: “sufficient nominations have not been received to fill up the posts of deputy director generals (DDG at Joint Secretary level) in each of the regional offices of UIDAI located at Lucknow, Mumbai, Ranchi, Guwahati and Chandigarh”. Earlier, the DoPT in a message dated October 7, 2009, had asked state chief secretaries and other cadre controlling authorities to send names of officers to fill up these posts. The department has now appealed once again that the names of willing officers who are empanelled to hold joint secretary or equivalent posts should be recommended for filling up the UIDAI’s DDG posts. Over a month ago, the government sent a reminder to cadre controlling authorities about vacancies at the level of assistant director generals.

The DoPT’s current message has been marked to home secretary GK Pillai, secretary of environment and forests Vijay Sharma and other cadre controlling authorities of group A officers.

DoPT's wireless message on UIDIA jobs, dated January 18, 2010
JS level officers required at UIDAI
UIDAI'S Structure
Govt sends reminder on UIDAI vacancies

Babus in Demand: 6 posts of executive directors up for grabs in NHAI

The DoPT has written to all chief secretaries to recommend names of officers for filling up six vacancies in National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). According to the DoPT’s letter dated January 19, 2010, the vacancies at the level of joint secretaries (Pay band of Rs 37400-67000, PB 4, and grade pay of Rs 10,000) have arisen at Kolkata, Lucknow, Guwahati, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Bhopal. The nominations should reach in four weeks beginning January 19, 2010.

DoPT’s message on NHAI vacancy, January 19, 2010 

Action and Appointments

a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved in-situ elevation of S Manoharan, a 1975 batch Assam cadre IAS, presently additional secretary in the ministry of water resources, as special secretary in the same ministry with effect from July 31, 2009

b) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of SK Srivastava, a 1978 batch Assam cadre IAS, presently holding the post of additional secretary in the ministry of labour and employment of in-situ elevation basis, as additional secretary in the same ministry in the vacancy of S Krishnan, a 1975 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS.

c) KS Money, a 1976 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, presently member (administration) in National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been appointed as Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission, in the rank and pay of secretary in place of AK Jain, a 1973 batch West Bengal cadre IAS who has retired recently.

South Sumatra pioneers in outsourcing of civil servants; govt there not to recruit staff on contract

IN A classic case of how future bureaucracy may look like, the administration in South Sumatra is now preparing a blueprint to implement an outsourcing system whereby private companies would be given contracts to supply civil servants. The government, in turn, would not recruit any more contractual workers on its own, and many of the existing temporary staff may find their way to become permanent employees, a report in the The Jakarta Post said.
Under a new regulation, all provincial administration agencies will subcontract the service to third parties or outsourcing companies, the paper said. The report further quoted South Sumatra Civil Service Agency head Muzakir saying that handling the matters related to temporary employees working in government agencies would no longer be the responsibility of the administration. The outsourcing also means the end of service of many existing civil servants working in a contract basis. “Their performance will also be evaluated periodically, and the contracts of those who are deemed lazy will be terminated,” Muzakir said, according to the report.
South Sumatra is a province of Indonesia with a population of mere 69 lakhs.

Is Pitroda following Nilekani or vice-versa?
Is Sam Pitroda following Nandan Nilekani, or it’s the round way round. If government gossips are taken seriously, Mr Pitroda’s relatively long innings in the government has been a comfort factor for former Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to take risk in government and take up the challenge of a new government project after having an outstanding career in India’s second largest software export company.
Whether that’s true or not, Mr Pitroda is following Mr Nilekani in Yojana Bhawan, literally. Former chairman of the National Knowledge Commission has recently moved into Room No 125 of the Planning Commission which was recently vacated by Mr Nilekani to shift out to his new UIDAI office in Jeevan Deep building in New Delhi’s Connaught Place area.
Is Nilekani preferring IAS to corporate guys?

Click Below For
New Cadre Allocation Policy for IAS
Cadre-wise list of IAS (From 2005 to 2008 batch)

MK Narayanan and Shekhar Dutt are not alone in Raj Bhawans. Who are India’s other officers-turned Governors now?

WITH the appointment of former bureaucrats as Governors of two Indian states recently, the government has made it very clear that rewards for good work could be doled out to former civil servants as well. Despite CPI(M)’s unhappiness over former IPS and current national security advisor (NSA) MK Narayanan’s selection as the West Bengal governor, the appointment of both Mr Narayanan and former defence secretary Shekhar Dutt who will now move to Raj Bhavan in Chhatisgarh has created hopes for some of the top bureaucrats in the country. In addition to West Bengal and Chhatisgarh, there are a number of Raj Bhawans in the country which are today occupied by former officers. Here are some of the officers-turned governors in addition to Mr Narayanan and Mr Dutt.

Dr Shivinder Singh Sidhu, Governor of Goa
Born on October 13, 1929, Dr Sidhu, an IAS officer of 1952 batch, has done his masters in economics from the Delhi School of Economics, and later got his PhD from Kanpur university. His major postings included district magistrate in Kanpur and secretary to the Government of India. He was the chairman of Air India and Indian Airlines, and later became secretary general of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Canada from 1988 to 1991. His books are “Tourism and Aviation-Airborne for Progress” and “Flight into the Millennium-Aviation and Tourism Symbiosis”.
Contact No: (0832) 2453501, 2453502
Fax : (0832) 2453511
Email: governor@rajbhavangoa.org

Gurbachan Jagat , Governor of Manipur

A former Punjab cadre IPS officer of 1966 batch, Mr Jagat was appointed as Governor of Manipur on July 1, 2007. A student of English literature, he became the director-general of police in Jammu and Kashmir from February 1997 to December 2000. He was also the DG of the Border Security Force (BSF) before being appointed to the Union Public Service Commission where he moved up to become the chairman.

Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, Governor of Meghalaya

A Kerala cadre IPS officer of 1967 batch, Mr Mooshahary had a brilliant career in police service, and went up in the ladder to become Kerala’s director general of police and then DG of prestigious National Security Guards (NSG) and the Border Security Force (BSF). He also worked in cabinet secretariat. He assumed the office of the Governor of Meghalaya on July 1, 2008, getting the rare distinction of becoming the first and only bureaucrat-turned governor from the North-East.

Lieutenant Gen Madan Mohan Lakhera, Governor of Mizoram
Born in 1937 and educated at the Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun, Lt Gen Lakhera took part in Goa operation (1961) and Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971. He was awarded Param Vishist Seva medal by the President of India on January 1, 1995. He took over as the Governor of Mizoram on July 25, 2006.
Contact details: Telephone No 0389-2322262; 2323200

Nikhil Kumar, Governor of Nagaland
Born on July 15, 1941, Mr Kumar is a former IPS officer of 1963 batch and son of former Bihar chief minister Satyendra Narayan Sinha. An MA in history, he moved up in the police career to become Delhi police commissioner, special secretary in ministry of home affairs and the Director-General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and National Security Guards (NSG). His brother in Law is Rajya Sabha MP NK Singh, a 1964 batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, who had earlier served as revenue secretary and principal secretary to the Prime Minister.

Balmiki Prasad Singh, Governor of Sikkim

Born on January 1, 1942, BP Singh became a lecturer in post-graduate department of political science in Patna University at the age of 19 years. An IAS of 1964 batch, this Assam cadre officer was a Queen Elizabeth Fellow in UK’s Oxford University in 1989-90. He was the Union culture secretary and later became the home secretary. In 1999-02 he became the Executive Director of the World Bank.

Profile: New chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh Avani Vaish, 1975 batch IAS

A 1975 batch IAS Avani Vaish, who has rich experiences both in Centre and state and also worked as consultant in the World Bank, is becoming the next chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh. The move has upset several IAS officers including current additional chief secretary and 1974 batch officer Ranjana Choudhary who has gone on leave from Thursday last, according to local media reports.

Name: Avani Vaish
Cadre and Batch: 1975 batch MP cadre IAS
Date of Birth: April 4, 1952
Place of domicile: Rajasthan

Educational Qualifications
Post Graduate in history

Major Postings
a) Collector, Shajapur district,
(From June 1, 1982 to April 1, 1983)
b) Deputy Secretary, In cadre,
(From April 1, 1983 to June 1, 1986)
c) Managing Director, Deputy Secretary Level, Agriculture & Cooperation Fisheries
(From June 1, 1986 to January 1, 1988)
d) Director, Ministry of Environment & Forests, New Delhi
(From July 1, 1989 to January 1, 1993)
e) Consultant, JS Level, World Bank
(From March 27, 1996 to May 31, 2003)
f) Executive Director, JS Level, Environment & Forests Department,
(From October 4, 2003 to January 5, 2004)
g) Managing Director, Additional Secretary Equivalent, TRIFED, New Delhi, (From November 5, 2007 …)

Foreign Training
MA in Eco Development, University of Manchester, UK

Thinking Out Of The Box: PMO directs DoPT to train JS ranked officers to be leaders, not administrators

IN A serious bid to make senior Indian bureaucrats imbibe the philosophy of becoming leaders rather than continuing as mere administrators, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) is executing a directive from Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) that joint secretary level officers must undertake a mandatory training programme on leadership and strategic thinking.
The first such programme, designed for joint secretaries by IIM-Bangalore and IIM-Indore, will be conducted during January 25 to February 5, 2010 at IIM-B.
DoPT secretary Shantanu Consul wrote a letter to all Government of India secretaries on January 8, 2010, to nominate and relieve one of the joint secretaries from each department or ministry for the purpose. The cost of the course fee, boarding and lodging will be met by DoPT whereas travel costs will be borne by the concerned ministries.
The programme is designed to make a joint secretary level officer develop a strategic orientation and become innovative, adaptive and flexible. They are expected to adopt an user or stakeholder orientation.
And yes, the course includes a module of watching a movie “Ek Rukha Hua Faisla” to explore how to influence others to think out of the box!
DoPT secretary’s letter (January 8, 2010) and detailed programme

Case registered against ex-IAS
The economic offences wing (EOW) of Uttar Pradesh police lodged an FIR against former chief secretary A P Singh and 19 others for alleged irregularities worth over Rs 5.5 crore in a case related to procurement of seeds five years ago, media reports said on Friday. The other officers include former MD of UP Seeds Development Corporation M Q Alvi.

Action and Appointments
a) Dr PK Anand, a 1983 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, presently in the cadre has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of rural development.
b) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the ministry of home affairs (MEA) for ex-post-facto extension of tenure of Rajiv Mehta, a 1981 batch Assam cadre IPS, IG, CRPF for a period of three months.
c) Rajeev Kapoor, a 1983 batch UP cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the DoPT.

Bureaucrats to participate in yet another writing workshop on January 20-21

IN AN attempt to make Indian bureaucrats pick up some journalistic abilities and write better cabinet notes, the government is organizing yet another workshop -- this time for officers of the level of directors and deputy secretaries in the Government of India.
Though the workshop, fourth in the series, was originally scheduled to be held on January 19-20, 2010, it is now postponed by a day and will be held on January 20-21 instead.
An office memorandum, issued on January 12, 2010, has asked participating officers to confirm their attendance by January 18. (Contact person: Chandan Mukherjee, deputy director, ISTM; Contact number, 011-26102597)
In fact, poor writing ability of the senior bureaucrats coupled with their lack of understanding of cabinet procedures and instructions forced cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar take this unique step of organizing workshops on preparation of cabinet notes for high ranking government officers. They are expected to acquire better understanding of cabinet procedures, minimise procedural errors in notes and reduce the time for finalising those.
List of Participating Officers (Office Memo, January 12, 2010)
Workshop of Result Frameworks
Govt wants IAS to take up writing seriously

Army personnel commended by Army Chief and Vice Chief
Army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor has commended the services of 390 personnel, while Lt Gen PC Bhardwaj, the Army’s vice chief has commended the services of 227 personnel. These awards of Commendation Cards were announced on the eve of the Army Day, which is celebrated on January 15, 2010.

Full-fledged Indian Legal Service and Indian Educational Service on the cards

THE Central government ministries which do not have specialized officers have begun the process of creating new group A services. In fact, the creation of Indian Educational Service (IES) and the overhaul of the existing Indian Legal Service (ILS) to turn it into a Group A service at par with other services like IAS, IFS, IPS, IRS etc., are on the cards now as both the ministries have begun the process of creating such specialized services.
The law ministry is now preparing a cabinet note which aims at overhauling the Indian Legal Service, and has started consultations with the department of personnel and training (DoPT) in this regard, according to media reports. The plan suggests that there will be entrance examination followed by interviews just like any other Group A service. The officers are likely to be trained at National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.
Currently, recruitment for Indian Legal Service is done only when vacancies arise, and they are filled up by practising lawyers rather than fresh law school graduates.
Also Read: Why does govt need Indian Educational Service?

Action and Appointments
a) The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension of inter-cadre deputation of Arun Kumar Sinha, a 1999 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS from Manipur-Tripura cadre to Jharkhand cadre for a further period of two years with effect from Septmber 16, 2009
b) R Bhattacharya, a 1978 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS, presently Adviser, Planning Commission has been appointed as additional secretary and financial adviser in department of Information Technology in the ministry of communications and Information Technology in the vacancy of R C Misra, a 1976 batch Orissa cadre IAS.
c) Justice Sanjay Yadav, Justice Kedar Singh Chauhan, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Smt. Justice Indrani Datta, have been appointed as Judges of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, in that order of seniority.
d) Justice Bijaya Krishna Patel, Additional Judge of the Orissa High Court, has been appointed as the Judge of the Orissa High Court.

There is a little bit of RTI in everybody’s life now; Chief Justice of India comes under the Act

IN YET another step towards openness and transparency in power corridors, the Delhi High Court said on Tuesday that the judiciary including the Chief Justice of India, would come under the purview of the Right to Information Act (RTI). Significantly, Indian bureaucrats have so far considered RTI as a deadly weapon to end the era of official secrecy.
A special three-judge Bench, led by Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah, said that democracy expects openness and openness is concomitant of free society. “Wielders of power—legislative, executive and judicial—are entrusted to perform their functions on condition that they account for their stewardship to the people who authorise them to exercise such power,” the Bench said. Justices Vikramjit Sen and S Muralidhar are the other tow judges in the bench. The verdict has been widely hailed by legal experts across the country, some even terming it a very historic judgment which will enhance the stature of judiciary in the country.
Read:
RTI Regime: Prez Patil hopes bureaucracy to shed image of red-tapism
Government should create RTI implementation cell: Study
RTI finds number of free tickets doled out to Air India CMD's family
DoPT's online course on RTI
Disclosure of file notings by bureaucrats

Babudom over Netagiri
SSP Yadav, a 1972 batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre and vice-chairman and MD of the state-owned road transport corporation hiked bus fares last week without even consulting the political masters forcing Andhra Pradesh transport minister saying that he was “shocked” by Yadav not consulting him or the chief minister before taking such an important decision. Mr Yadav had earlier lost his prestigious assignment of the state’s director-general of police (DGP) after the helicopter crash death of then chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy in September, 2009. He was then made vice chairman and MD of the state transport corporation.
Though Mr Yadav took the politically sensitive decision of hiking the fare by almost 21% citing the mounting losses of the corporation in the wake of Telangana agitation, it was in reality an unprecedented case of Babudom over Netagiri.

Inter-ministry wrestling to have 120-kg category too
If you are a fat government official with a weight upto 120 kg, you can still try your luck in an inter-ministry wrestling competition beginning in New Delhi from February 4, 2010. There are seven weight categories starting with 55 kg and going upto 120 kg.
According to a government circular issued to all welfare officers of the ministry, those who wish to participate in the inter-ministry wrestling tournament are being requested to send their entries in the prescribed proforma to the Central Civil Services Cultural and Sports Board in New Delhi’s Lok Nayak Bhawan, on or before February 3, 2010. But there will be no competition if there are less than five competitors in any category.
Read the CIRCULAR, dated January 8, 2010