A director level job only for entrepreneurial IAS

HERE is a job post for IAS officers in the rank of director of the Government of India with an experience in institution-building at some stage in their career. It’s a rare occasion that the government is actually giving an advertisement mentioning the entrepreneurial ability of an officer as a precondition to apply for a post. The government is looking for suitable candidates for filling up the post of deputy director (administration) in the project cell of the AIIMS-like Institution at Rishikesh under the ministry of health & family welfare in the pay scale of Rs 37,400-67,000 with a grade pay of Rs 8700 on deputation basis.

In a DoPT circular dated June 29, 2010, marked to all secretaries in Government of India, and chief secretaries of state, it was urged that “the post may be circulated amongst all the director level officers in the state governments on priority basis”. The tenure of deputation is for three years. The last date of receiving applications is August 11, 2010.

DoPT CIRCULAR, dated June 29, 2010

For jobs in corridors of power, log onto http://www.jobcorridor.com/

Aadhaar for a national authority

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is setting up as a statutory authority by the name of National Identification Authority of India, mainly to issue identification numbers (aadhaar numbers) to residents and providing means to authenticate aadhaar numbers. The proposed draft Bill (National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010) is ready, and once the new Authority will be set up, it may open another window to many job seekers in corridor.

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What a power dog!

In a bizarre case of two warring families of Panchkula over a pet dog, a 1991 batch Haryana cadre IAS has reportedly used his official letterhead to support one family, according to a report in Indian Express. The other family has now protested against the officer currently working as MD in a state PSU, for using his position to help the other family possessing the three-year-old black Labrador. Yes, every dog has its day!

Australian bureaucrats now want a settled life under Julia Gillard

AUSTRALIAN bureaucracy could be one of the best in the world, but bureaucrats in Down Under are not necessarily a happy lot. Many senior bureaucrats now want a more “settled and orderly” existence under new Prime Minister Julia Gillard as life was quite difficult under Kevin Rudd as PM, according to a report by The Canberra Times.

They do agree that they must meet policy demands of an ambitious prime minister, but many of their initiatives under Mr Rudd did not elicit desired results, according to the same report. The only ray of hope has emanated from Ms Gillard’s style of execution, and her attitude of “take decisions and get things done”.

Ex-PM Rudd’s infamous May 2008 diktat that civil servants would all have to put up with working longer hours, was hated by most bureaucrats. “I understand there has been some criticism around the edges that some public servants are finding the hours a bit much,” Mr Rudd said at the time, according to the same report published in The Canberra Times.

Zardari asks Pak bureaucrats not to indulge in Netagiri

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari last week asked the bureaucracy to stay away from politics and use its skills acquired during various training courses to address the problems of the people expeditiously, Daily Times reported. He was addressing the graduation ceremony of the 92nd National Management Course at the Presidency. Mr Zardari asked the officers to stay away from politics, though he felt they should make attempts to understand the dynamics of the country’s politics. The bottom-line is: No Netagiri please!

Sleeping With Enemies: Police officers in terror camps?

KERALA government’s request to the Centre to probe the allegation that Tomin Thachankary, a 1987 batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, had held secret talks with terror operatives in Qatar recently, has turned out to be a huge controversy in the state. If the allegations against the IPS officer who reportedly did not take permission to go to Gulf and conferred secretly with associates of the arrested Laskhar-e-Toiba activist, Thadiyentavida Naseer, become even partially true, it would impact the reputation of the entire police force in the country.

Only three months ago, media reported how a police officer from Meghalaya holding the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police reportedly left the force to become the self-styled commander-in-chief of Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), a militant organization in that North-East state. The officer named Champion Sangma was absent from duties for over one year, and it was suspected that he headed the militant organization which regularly demand money upto Rs 1 cr from businessmen and coal merchants.

In case of Thachankary, who as IGP in Kannur Range in Kerala, there are reports that he could be a victim of political infighting within the Left leadership as he was close to the leadership of anti-CM lobby. The IPS officer has now approached CAT.

US cops’ chase of a naked woman

In a bizarre incident last week, police officers of Utah city in US had to chase a 31-year-old naked woman after she stole two cars, including a police cruiser. The chase, that took place in highways in suburban areas, finally ended when she was subdued by police. The entire drama of chase, the censored version of which was later showed in US television, took place when she was still nude. 

China asks its military officers not to create website, blog or homepage

CHINA has banned its armymen from using some internet tools including blogging fearing that they could be in “internet traps” and give away confidential data. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s diktat came in force from June 15, 2010, according to media reports.

The order prohibited Chinese armymen from creating websites, homepage, or blog on the Internet. There has been a blanket ban on soldiers issuing "longly hearts" and job hunting advertisements on mass media. “If information of military officers and their unit aroused attention of people with ulterior motives, it will pose threat to confidentiality of the armed forces,” Xinhua quoted Commander of the Xigaze military sub-command in Tibet Autonomous Region, Yang Jigui, as saying.

A Railway officer’s thoughts on Mumbai RRB scam

“Dear babublogger,

The recruitment scenario on Indian railways, post-Mumbai RRB scam, is typically reminiscent of stockmarket drivers. The predominant drivers seem to be “greed” and “fear”. A miniscule minority of bad eggs, driven by greed, has scuttled a well-established, fair and transparent process, whereas the majority, who are honest and sincere to their jobs, are driven by the “fear factor”, where they probably live under the constant “shadow of vigilance”. But a “single swallow doesnt make a summer”. The overall result, going by media exposure or overexposure, as one would like to put it, is to throw the entire establishment in to a credibility crisis, which doesn’t augur well for the corporate image of this organisation in the public domain.

Changing and shuffling chairpersons like shuffling a pack of cards would appear to be more of a knee-jerk reaction. If that be the case, like gubernatorial appointments decided more on political expediency rather than any other consideration, RRB chairpersons will get periodically sacked , with every change of the political master. What is needed at this juncture, is a dispassionate, objective assessment of policy and process flaws and attempt a mid-course correction. For instance, the compulsory multilingual papers getting printed is a sureshot recipe for leakages. Options can be exercised by the candidates who want to take the test in regional languages and the captured data can be effectively utilised to minimise the number of agencies getting access to the paper, before the exam.

Rgrds”

A group of officers under DoPT secretary set up on privacy, data protection etc.

THE government has constituted a group of officers under the chairmanship of secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to develop a framework that could balance the country’s interests and concerns on privacy, data protection and security and which could respect the domain legislations on the subject, a government release said. The framework developed by the group would include legal provisions, principles and elements of data protection, security and privacy. While developing the framework, the group will keep in view the existing provisions of various laws regarding protection of data and privacy of individuals.

The group is likely to submit its report within three months. The release further said that suggestions, if any, may be sent to KG. Verma, Director, Department of Personnel & Training, North Block, New Delhi – 110001 [kgverma52@yahoo.co.in], by July 5, 2010.

Significantly, Shantanu Consul, a 1974 batch IAS, is the DoPT secretary now. The DoPT in its website has kept the undated and unsigned document regarding this circular. CLICK HERE to check it yourself.

Action and Appointments

a) Arvind Kumar Chugh, a 1974 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Principal Advisor, Planning Commission, in the rank and pay of secretary to government of India.

b) Ms Sadhana Rout, a 1984 batch IIS officer has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of women & child development.

c) Sanjeev Chopra, a 1985 batch West Bengal cadre IAS has been appointed as Mission Director, National Horticulture Mission (joint secretary level).

d) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved waiving-off cooling-off of Santosh Kumar, a 1994 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS and his inter cadre deputation from Maharashtra to Jharkhand cadre for a period of three years.

e) The competent authority has approved that DK Sikri, a 1975 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, secretary, ministry of women and child development, will hold the additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of coal, during the period of absence on leave of C Balakrishnan, a 1974 batch HP cadre IAS from June 26, 2010 to July 28, 2010.

f) Anand Kumar, a 1984 batch Kerala cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of tourism.

g) AK Bhalla, a 1984 batch Assam cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of coal.

h) Shyamlal Goyal, a 1985 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of fertilizers.

Central government employees in Delhi to get a holiday on Closing Ceremony of Commonwealth Games 2010

 IF YOU are working in a Central Government office located in Delhi, you will get a special bonus on October 14 this year. The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved declaration of a holiday for Central government offices, including Central Public Sector Undertakings, located in Delhi and New Delhi on the October 14, 2010 (Thursday) under explanation to Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 on the occasion of Closing Ceremony of Commonwealth Games 2010.

The decision was taken to facilitate the movement of traffic and ensure greater participation of public in the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games -2010. In fact, the Opening Ceremony of the Games that will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 3, 2010, falls on a Sunday.

CLICK HERE to check out Central Holidays of 2010

Pak Agenda for Rao and Pillai

India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, a 1973 batch IFS and home secretary GK Pillai, a 1972 batch Kerala cadre IAS, arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday by a special flight. The special aircraft landed at the Chaklala Air Force base rather than the Benazir Bhutto International Airport--- Islamabad’s commercial airport. Ms Rao will also call on Pakistan foreign minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Mr Pillai is meeting his Pakistani counterpart Qamar Zaman Chaudhry and Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik. The Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Rajiv Mathur, has a schedule meeting with his Pakistani counterpart as part of the SAARC home ministers’ conference.

Action and Appointments

a) Defence secretary Pradeep Kumar, a 1972 batch Haryana cadre IAS, flagged in NCC Boys Mountaineering Expedition to Gangotri -1 peak, in New Delhi on Thursday.

b) Major General Pramod Behl took over as the Director General Resettlement (DGR), in New Delhi on Thursday.

Safe Landing: IAS hires his junior with a Rs 3 crore annual pay package

IMAGINE you are a powerful IAS officer but find your immediate junior earning whopping 25 times more than you earn! It’s not a tale to tell, but a real-life case in India’s national carrier Air India.

Yes, you have guessed it right by now. Air India’s new chief operating officer (COO) Gustav Baldauf will earn a fixed salary of Rs 16.5 lakh per month with a variable component of Rs 9.5 lakh per month. He will report to Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav, who happens to be a Karnataka cadre IAS officer of 1978 batch. According to media report, CMD in Air India receives a monthly salary of Rs 1.2 lakh to 1.4 lakh, meaning that Mr Baldauf’s fixed salary itself will be about 15 times more than that of Mr Jadhav, and about 25 times more if Mr Baldauf enables to get the full variable package by achieving all targets set jointly by COO and CMD before they are approved by AI Board.

Mr Jadhav, who has received flaks for not being able to effectively run the show properly, may not however mind his junior getting much more salary as Mr Baldauf who was in Jet Airways as vice-president some years ago, is expected to play a crucial role in Air India’s turnaround saga. For Mr Jadhav, it seems, negotiating air pockets and ensuring a safe landing hold the key for his future journey.

Gujarat cadre IAS probationary officers meet Narendra Modi

Six new Gujarat cadre IAS probationary officers on Wednesday called on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi at his office in Gandhinagar. These IAS trainee officers of year 2009-11 batch are Ratankunvar Gadhvi Charan, Vijaykumar Lalubhai Kharadi, Kuldeep Arya, Nagarajan M, Pravina DK, and Sonali Giri. They are now serving in Dahod, Tapi, Kutch, Banaskantha, Patan and Narmada districts respectively.

Commanding officer killed in operations

The Commanding Officer of 18 Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Neeraj Sood was killed while carrying out counter insurgency operations at Kuligam in Kupwara district in J&K on Tuesday night. A first divisioner from Kendriya Vidyalaya Andrew Ganj, the officer is a resident of Delhi. Colonel Neeraj Sood was commissioned into 8 Rajputana Rifles, in December 1992, and is an alumni of National Defence Academy. A keen sportsman, the officer had extensive counter insurgency experience. The officer is survived by his wife, Priti, a home maker and an 11-year-old daughter Mishika, who is studying in class V.

Bureaucracy bashing has turned a fashion statement for Global Netas

HAS bureaucracy bashing become a fashion statement for global Netas right from British Prime Minister David Cameron to Japanese premier Naoto Kan?

As David Cameron entered No 10 Downing Street recently, he talked about a “post-bureaucratic age” which would not allow “the old top-down, big government solutions”. New Japan PM Naoto Kan’s insult to bureaucracy has been pretty well known in power corridors of the world’s second largest economy. As soon as Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) took over in August, 2009, he called bureaucrats “a bunch of idiots who just got good grades in school.”

Kan who hailed from a middle class background, shot into fame in mid-1990s, for exposing the wrongdoing of his own bureaucrats. As the health minister then, he exposed his own ministry’s cover-up of HIV-tainted blood. Kan’s bureaucracy bashing has undoubtedly helped him achieving political mileage.

In fact, when DPJ registered a landslide victory last year in Japan, senior civil servants were in a state of nervousness, as the party had openly declared that it would bring in more elected representatives to fill up top bureaucratic posts and end the practice of Amakudari, under which Japanese senior bureaucrats take up high-profile positions in the private and public sectors after retirement. (Read: Japanese bureaucrats after retirement)

Meera Shankar’s party in US to honour FM

The Ambassador of India in US Meera Shankar hosted a banquet dinner in the honour of visiting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday at India House in Washington. Commerce minister Anand Sharma, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, leading business leaders from India including RIL chairman Mukhesh Ambani, Max India chairman Analjit Singh, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, CEO of Infosys Technologies S Gopalakrishnan, chairperson of Biocon Kiran Majumdar Shaw and Apollo MD Preetha Reddy were present along with other dignitaries.

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Sam Pitroda’s office in Planning Commission to pay consultant more than a secretary’s salary

SOUNDS odd, but Adviser to PM Sam Pitroda’s office in Planning Commission is ready to pay a consultant a monthly salary of more than the pay of a Government of India’s secretary. According to an advertisement released by Office of Adviser to PM on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations, a consultant with 5-6 years of experience would be given a salary upto Rs 90,000 per month. Significantly, a secretary to government of India who will have an experience of at least 33 years, gets a fixed pay of Rs 80,000 per month though he gets perks like accommodation in prime localities which will have huge market value.

Telecom Guru Mr Pitroda who holds the rank of a cabinet minister under Dr Manmohan Singh’s government, has openly told media how he was not interested in recruiting IAS officers, but would handle the job with a skeleton staff of experts with full domain knowledge.

In fact, according to the advertisement, which is also attached in Planning Commission’s website, the Consultant B with academic qualification of Masters Degree or above, or technical qualifications such as B Tech, MBA or PhD, will be paid a consolidated fee, ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 90,000 per month.

But the big question is who is likely to be selected for such a lucrative government offer? The advertisement itself clearly mentions the high benchmark for the post. “In this category, candidates having experience of “out of box thinking” on policy issues, focused on research work, will be accorded priority”, it says.

For more details on 6 jobs for consultants in Sam Pitroda’s office, read Insider’s post, “Salary up to Rs 90,000” in http://www.jobcorridor.com/

Moily vouches for IAS talent to tackle Naxals

Union law minister Veerappa Moily said IAS officers could play a vital role in helping curb Naxalism by ensuring implementation of central schemes and equitable development. The schemes targeted at the underprivileged need to be implemented at the grassroots level, he said adding that there had been shortcomings in this regard. The minister was speaking recently at a function organised by JSS Training Institute in Bangalore to felicitate those selected for IAS and Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) from the institute. 

BoI survey on Indian bureaucracy gives fractured verdict; 33% say it’s the “worst”; 32% say it’s “improving”; 9% “excellent”

THE perception about Indian bureaucrats as a force of stumbling block rather than facilitators has not really changed much despite a number of initiatives being taken to make Indian bureaucracy as effective as that of Singapore or Australia. BoI’s (babusofindia.com) fortnight-long online survey on whether Indian bureaucracy has improved or deteriorated has given a fractured verdict. Whereas one third of respondents support the recent outcome of Hong Kong-based consultancy firm Perc that Indian bureaucracy is the worst in Asia, another one third votes for the opposite option that Indian bureaucracy has in fact improved. But if the view of another 26% respondents that “it has deteriorated” is taken into account, as high as 59% respondents say Indian bureaucracy has either deteriorated, or it’s the worst in Asia. Mere 12% say it’s excellent.

The survey was conducted in the babusofindia.com blog itself, but the software did not allow anyone to manipulate the outcome as one respondent could not give more than one vote from one computer. The final score of the BoI survey of Indian bureaucracy, June, 2010 is as follows: Excellent: 9%; Improving: 32%; Deteriorating: 26%, Worst in Asia: 33%.

BoI has also spoken to a number of bureaucrats who agree that people’s perception about Indian bureaucracy has not changed much. They argue that despite Indian bureaucracy attracts best of the country’s talent and many administrators happen to be as professional as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, the system does not allow them to be an effective force like the civil servants of Singapore or Hong Kong. India is still one of the most difficult places for doing business, according to World Bank’s “Doing Business Survey, 2010”, which places India at the rank of 133 out of 183 economies. No wonder, the word “bureaucracy” is still used as a synonym to talk about procedural delays.

In fact, the extra-large size of Indian bureaucracy, non-existence of performance-linked incentives, political interference and complex nature of problems in India, have stopped Indian bureaucracy emerging as a performing bureaucracy. Will Dr Prajapati Trivedi’s performance management practices coupled with a possibility of announcing performance-linked bonuses make all the difference? Whether you are an insider or outsider of corridors of power, post your comment and get your voice heard. Keep reading babusofindia.com to find answers of many such questions, and more…

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Centre relaxes LTC rules to allow government employees to travel by air to J&K

TIME to explore the beauty of Kashmir valley and get the expenses reimbursed! Sounds good. In fact, the Centre has relaxed the LTC rules to allow government employees to travel by air to Jammu and Kashmir, according to an order issued by DoPT dated June 18, 2010. The same order has made it clear that the employees needed to fly only Air India.

All officers or employees of government of India will now be allowed to avail LTC to visit J&K against conversion of one block of their home town LTC, the order said. They are allowed to fly to any place of J&K either from Delhi or Amritsar airport.

The order will be in operation for a period of two years from the date of issue.

Read DoPT CIRCULAR, dated June 18, 2010

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Officials must travel Air India for LTC claims

Exceptions in case of LTC under Railway entitlements 

Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran joins Wipro board

Former foreign secretary and the Prime Minister’s envoy on climate change Shyam Saran, a 1970 batch IFS, is joining the board of India’s software company Wipro Ltd on July, 2010, as an independent director. Mr Saran came into news recently when he was virtually at loggerheads with environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh on a number of issues related to climate change. Mr Saran decided to quit the government when his two batch junior Shiv Shankar Menon was made the national security advisor (NSA) with the rank of a minister of state whereas Mr Saran remained as a secretary rank official. 

How 1963 batch IFS MK Rasgotra coordinated from South Block in Warren Anderson’s exit saga

AN IFS officer of 1963 batch and India’s ex-foreign secretary MK Rasgotra coordinated with US embassy to ensure Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson’s safe exit from India just four days after the Bhopal disaster of 1984. “He (Anderson) was given safe passage. The arrest was a wrong thing to do and hence was released,” the man who coordinated the Anderson’s exit saga from New Delhi’s South Block, said in an interview with a private news channel CNN-IBN.

As babusofindia.com reported in its post on Raajneeti, (Read: Indian bureaucrats who reportedly figure in Anderson’s escape saga) then Bhopal collector Moti Singh and Bhopal SP Swaraj Puri helped bringing Anderson to the city airport before he allegedly took the chief minister’s aircraft to fly to New Delhi. Mr Puri, who later moved up the police ladder to become Madhya Pradesh DGP, allegedly drove the Ambassador car carrying Mr Anderson to the airport.

If events are reconstructed based on interviews of Gordon Streeb, then deputy chief of mission at the US embassy, to NDTV and Mr Rasgotra to CNN-IBN, Mr Anderson spent time in US embassy, and also went to South Block before he flew back to US.

In fact, then foreign secretary Mr Rasgotra took up the matter with the Union home ministry before he was allowed to leave for the US. “It was the home ministry’s concern... Rajiv Gandhi concurred with the decision of safe passage,” he said in an interview with Karan Thapar.

Had India not allowed Mr Anderson to move out of the country, it would have spoilt the Indo-US relations and also impacted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the country, Mr Rasgotra said justifying the government’s decision to give Mr Anderson a safe passage.

Shortage of 1,155 IAS officers in India

As home minister P Chidambaram is still fighting a battle to hold special exam to recruit IPS which UPSC has reportedly raised objections, it has now been highlighted by a section of media that there has been a shortage of 1,155 IAS officers in the country which is much higher than that of IPS at 631.

Will Mr Chidambaram bat for IAS too, as he is convening a meeting on Friday to remove the bottlenecks of recruiting young police officers serving in state police and central police organizations as IPS officers.

Action and Appointments

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved extension in tenure of Ms Bhaswati Mukherjee, a 1976 batch IFS as Permanent Representative of India, UNESCO, Paris, only upto June 30, 2010 and she would stand relieved on that day(if not relieved earlier) to enable her successor VS Oberoi, a 1979 batch Assam cadre IAS to join the post within June, 2010.

10 Chanakya quotes for bureaucrats as finance minister unveils statue of Arthashastra’s author in Gujarat's I-T office

HERE is the caption of this picture: The Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee unveiling the statue of Chanakya, at newly built Income Tax Office, at Ambavadi in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

As one of the master politicians of Independent India, Pranab Mukherjee, unveiled the statue of ancient India’s super diplomat with a command over economics and politics, BoI (babusofindia.com) presents 10 quotable quotes of Chanakya which some Indian bureaucrats might have heard before, even without reading his Arthashastra and Neetishastra.

1) A person should not be too honest. Just as straight trees are chopped-down first, honest people are taken advantage of first.

2) An egoist can be won over by being respected, a crazy person can be won over by allowing him to behave in an insane manner and a wise person can be won over by truth.

3) Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it? What the results might be? And Will I be successful?

4) Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.

5) If you get to learn something even from the worst of creatures, don’t hesitate.

6) The four greatest enemies of a man are - the father who has taken a loan, the characterless mother, the beautiful but promiscuous wife and the stupid child.

7) The world’s biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.

8) There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.

9) A woman is four times as shy, six times as brave and eight times as lusty as a man.

10) Prostitutes don’t live in company of poor men, birds don’t build nests on a tree that doesn’t bear fruits and citizens never support a weak administration.

Action and Appointments

a) The Madras High Court stayed an inquiry into alleged accumulation of unaccounted wealth by 1990 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer C Umashankar. The interim injunction will be effective till June 28.

b) In the first major reshuffle after Jharkhand came under President’s rule, the government effected transfers of five IAS officials. Rajbala Verma, a 1983 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS, will now be the home secretary becoming only the second woman to become home secretary in the state.

Babus in Demand: Junior officials wanted for Sonia Gandhi-chaired National Advisory Council (NAC)

AFTER appointing 1974 batch IAS Rita Sharma as secretary to Sonia Gandhi-chaired National Advisory Council (NAC) and Koppula Raju, a 1981 batch AP cadre IAS as joint secretary, the government has now issued a circular to fill up 10 junior level posts on deputation basis.

In an office memorandum, dated June 15, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) asked the CSS and CSSS officials to apply urgently for the posts of desk officers, PS and PAs. The willing officers may also contact CS-I division of DoPT in person, according to the circular.

For details, click the DoPT OFFICE MEMO, dated June 15, 2010

DoPT again advertises for NHAI chairman’s post

The DoPT has again advertised for the post of chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for which a number of secretary or secretary equivalent officers had applied a few months ago. But the selection process got scrapped after it was found that a member of the search committee was himself an applicant. Significantly, both the incumbent NHAI chairman Brijeswar Singh, 1975 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS and transport secretary Brahm Dutt, a 1973 batch IAS of Karnataka cadre were contenders for the post when it was advertised a few months ago. Significantly, NHAI’s chairman post is a lucrative one after the Cabinet raised the retirement age from 62 to 65 a few months ago. The deadline for submitting application is as early as June 30.

Secretaries In Action

a) Union home secretary GK Pillai has invited the chief secretaries of Nagaland and Manipur for an emergency meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the steps to be taken by the two state governments to keep NH-39 open.

b) DIPP secretary RP Singh, a 1976 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS, is on a week-long tour to China and Japan now, mainly to generate interest among investors about Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project. He is accompanied by DMIC Development Corporation CEO Amitabh Kant. 

Imagine a bureaucrat earning Rs 4.5 lakh extra by saving govt money; Canada launches pilot projects on save and earn

A BUREAUCRAT in Canada can now earn up to $10,000 (Approx Rs 4.5 lakh) if he succeeds in saving government money. Announcing this innovative incentive scheme for the Canadian civil servants, Treasury President Stockwell Day said that bureaucrats who come up with ideas that lead to measurable savings will be rewarded with incentives worth 10 per cent of the savings in the first full year of implementation, media report said.

In fact, the performance management division under India’s Cabinet Secretariat too is believed to have worked out a formula that the bureaucrats of performing ministries will receive incentive bonuses if his ministry reins on expenditure. The formula, being evolved by Dr Prajapati Trivedi’s team in Cabinet Secretariat is yet to get final nod from the government.

In Canada, the two-year pilot programme may soon begin in eight government departments though big-spending bureaucracies such as defence, public works and industry have not figured in the first list.

Action and Appointments

a) The ACC has approved in-situ upgradation of Balbhadra Nayak, CSS, presently director, department of health and family welfare, as joint secretary in the department of health and family welfare.

b) Koppula Raju, a 1981 batch AP cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the National Advisory Council (NAC). Already, retired secretary of 1974 batch, Rita Sharma was appointed as secretary to NAC which is being chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

c) The ACC has approved the proposal for inter-cadre deputation of Diprava Lakra, a 2005 batch Punjab cadre IAS from Punjab to Jharkhand for period of three years or until further order.

d) Ms Preeti Madan, a 1981 batch IES, has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of women and child development.

e) UN Panjiyar, a 1973 batch Bihar cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of water resources will hold additional charge of the post of secretary in the ministry of parliamentary affairs during the period of absence on leave of Anil Kumar, a 1973 batch UP cadre IAS from June 19, 2010 to June 27, 2010.

f) Depinder Singh Dhesi, a 1982 batch Haryana cadre IAS, has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of commerce.

Gehlot directs top bureaucrats to simplify appointment rules

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot directed top bureaucrats to simplify rules and procedures for appointments as Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) is finalizing a calendar of job openings. For details, read Insider’s post in http://www.jobcorridor.com/

Raajneeti: Indian bureaucrats who reportedly figure in Anderson’s great escape saga

Warren Anderson, Son of Sri John Martin Anderson, Former Chairman, Carbide Corporation, 39, Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury USA 06817 (Absconder) --- From Bhopal Gas Verdict.

AS then Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson’s great escape from India has raised several questions including a possible involvement of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, an interesting question is whether key bureaucrats of then Arjun Singh’s government in Madhya Pradesh or in PMO in New Delhi, took part in the script of the dramatic escape of the key accused of the world’s largest industrial disaster that took place in Bhopal in December 1984.

Here are the key bureaucrats who could have known the sequence of events leading to Mr Anderson fleeing the country on December 7, 1984.

PC Alexander: 1948 batch IAS officer who was the principal secretary to PM during the disaster. He served as principal secretary (1981-84) both to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Later, Mr Alexander became the governor of Maharashtra and was also a strong contender for the post of President of India during the NDA regime.

After the Bhopal verdict came, Mr Alexander hinted that then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi might have a role in Mr Anderson’s release. Law minister M Veerappa Moily slammed Mr Alexander’s statement saying that he is a new convert to the BJP-Shiv Sena camp. Later, Mr Alexander denied his statement.

Moti Singh: He was the Bhopal collector during the disaster. He is not talking too much to the media after the court verdict, but he cannot back-track his earlier position after writing two books on the disaster and appearing in TV interviews, saying how he acted on his senior’s request to release Warren Anderson. His book, ‘Bhopal Gas Trasadi Ka Sach’ has all details of Mr Anderson’s great escape.

Swaraj Puri: Then Bhopal Superintendent of Police who allegedly drove the Ambassador car carrying Mr Anderson to the airport before he could take a special flight to New Delhi. Later in a BBC interview, he wished Anderson had lived in Bhopal at the time and had “been through what we’ve been through, seen what we’ve seen and suffered what we did”. Mr Puri, who was born on the Independence Day of India, 15th August 1947 later rose to become Director General of Police of Madhya Pradesh. He received a medal for gallantry by the President of India for his contribution during the world’s largest chemical disaster of December 1984.

Brahm Swarup: Then chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh who reported carried out the order of Arjun Singh. Then Bhopal collector Moti Singh told an Indian TV channel NDTV: “The chief secretary at that time called me to the room and told me to arrange for the departure of Warren Anderson.”

RC Jain: Then agriculture secretary was the first bureaucrat who told investigators of the Bhopal gas leakage case that then chief minister Arjun Singh had issued orders to make arrangements for Warren Anderson to escape the scene in a state government airplane. Mr Jain had claimed that he was with then chief secretary Brahma Swaroop when CM called Mr Swaroop to organise an early release of Mr Anderson. Arjun Singh reportedly told Mr Swaroop that Rajiv Gandhi was under pressure from the then US president Ronald Reagan.
(Disclaimer: The Raajneeti photograph is symbolic)

Where’s the girl who filed a sexual exploitation case against 2004 batch Bihar cadre IAS?

THE Jalaun police of Uttar Pradesh has failed to trace the girl who lodged a complaint against 2004 batch Bihar cadre IAS Dr Virendra Prasad Yadav saying that he refused to marry her after sexually exploiting her, according to media reports. A veterinary doctor by profession, Yadav is now district magistrate of Madhepura in Bihar.

According to reports, the investigating officer has failed to get the whereabouts of the girl after a court directed the Jalaun police to lodge an FIR and investigate her complaint. According to a report in The Times of India, the address – Officers’ Colony in Sushil Nagar -- was not found accurate, and it was discovered that she had been residing at a rented house of SR Verma at Sushil Nagar in Orai town.

The investigating officer told a section of media that neither he could contact her or her parents so far, nor her brothers and sisters could inform him about her whereabouts and her mobile number.

Netas get united to punish 1996 batch IAS Naveen Mittal

In a classic case of Netas getting united to target a babu, a number of MPs, MLAs and MLCs cutting across party lines in Andhra Pradesh demanded that all the deals related to regularisation of government land for rich parties by former Hyderabad DM Naveen Mittal be cancelled and stringent action be taken against the 1996 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS who is currently working as a special commissioner of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). A B.Tech in computer engineering, Mr Mittal was also the DM of Machilipatnam, and had undertaken a short training programme on community development in US in 2002. 

Now UPSC may select 60 Indian Legal Service officers 

To read about "Creation of Indian Legal Service on the line of IAS", log onto Insider's post in http://www.jobcorridor.com/

Retiring at 65: Govt’s decision to raise retirement age of nursing teachers may bring hope to Central govt employees

RETIRING at 65? Sounds incredible? For lakhs of government employees who are hoping that the UPA-II may raise the retirement age of government employees to 62 years, the Wednesday’s cabinet decision to raise the Nursing teachers’ retirement age to 65 is a healthy sign that their dream may too come true in the next few years.

The decision appears like an isolated case, but the Union Cabinet’s approval to the increase superannuation age from 60 years to 65 years for the nursing teaching faculty with MSc in nursing in Central government nursing institutions, may bring hopes to many government employees approaching the retirement age.

The decision, however, came with a justification which said that there is an acute shortage of nursing teachers with post-graduate degree in nursing. As a large number of posts of teachers with MSc (Nursing) are lying vacant in the Central government Nursing Institutions, and there has been a high attrition rate, this move may prevent further exodus of nursing teachers.

Yet, it gives enough room for many government employees to probably hope and pray that the retirement age for all government employees may go upto 62.

Also Read

Will UPA extend retirement age of govt employees to 62 years?

Japanese Amakudari: What’s about Indian retired babus? 

Log in your computer to check your house allotment status

Waiting for an official house allotment in Delhi? You don’t need to call anyone in Nirman Bhawan any longer. Just log in your laptop and check your status in the newly introduced computerized system!

In fact, an Automated System of Allotment (ASA) was inaugurated on Wednesday by urban development secretary M Ramachandran, mainly to ensure complete transparency in allotment of General Pool residential accommodation and faster rotation of housing stock. For details, go to the website of the Directorate of Estates (www.estates.nic.in)

BoI Extraa…

There is “no presumption that son of a poor man could not rise to level of an IAS officer or a successful businessman”, said the Delhi High Court judge SN Dhingra while dismissing the appeal filed by the New India Insurance.

Action and Appointments: Delhi School of Economics professor TCA Anant roped in as Chief Statistician of India

Delhi School of Economics professor TCA Anant has been appointed as chief statistician of India (secretary, National Statistical Commission) with concurrent charge as secretary, ministry of statistics and programme implementation, for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders.

The other important appointments are as follows:

a) Anil Kumar Sinha, a 1979 batch Bihar cadre IPS has been appointed as additional secretary (joint secretary level) in the Central Vigilance Commission.

b) The ACC has approved the MHA’s proposal for post-facto approval to grant the higher grade of DG in the pay scale of Rs.75500-80000 to the following eight officers:

(1) RK Mathur, IPS(CH-74)

(ii) RK Medhekar, IPS(KL-75)

(iii) Karamvir singh, IPS(UP-75)

(iv) Vijay Raman, IPS(MP-75)

(v) R Bagchi, IPS(WB-75)

(vi) K Vijay Kumar, IPS(TN-75)

(vii) AB Mathur, IPS(MT-75)

(viii) OPS Malik, IPS(UP-75)

c) Rahul Jain, a 1984 batch IRSME has been appointed as Secretary, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI), (joint secretary level) under the Department of Higher Education.

d) The Competent Authority has approved, ex-post facto, the proposal for entrusting additional charge of the post of Chairman, Tobacco Board (joint secretary level) under the department of commerce to Dinesh Sharma, a 1983 batch Kerala cadre IAS and joint secretary in that department, in addition to his own charge, for a period of three months with effect from April 20, 2010.

IRS officials to be posted in 8 more foreign places including New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Dubai

IMAGINE IRS (Income-Tax) officials getting foreign postings in New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Dubai just like an IFS? With finance minister Pranab Mukherjee announcing that Income Tax Overseas Units (ITOUs) would now be set in eight more locations, this would soon be a reality. In fact, IAS officers grab most of the key non-IFS foreign postings in UN, WTO, World Bank, IMF etc.

In fact, I-T Overseas Units, which have already been set up within Indian Missions in Singapore and Mauritius to facilitate exchange of information, would now be set up in eight more such units in USA, UK, Netherlands, Japan, Cyprus, Germany, France and UAE. “I am hopeful that these measures would result in seamless flow of tax related information from foreign tax jurisdictions and would strengthen our fight against menace of tax evasion using cross border transactions”, Mr Mukherjee said.

Also, income tax employees across the country will get major benefits after Mr Mukherjee operationalised a Rs 100 crore fund which has been under consideration for the last 12 years. He announced it in the annual conference of Chief Commissioners and Director Generals of Income Tax in New Delhi. Further, an advance mid-career training programme for IRS would be started during the current year.

Retired IAS-IPS combo for Jharkhand

Wilfred Lakara, a retired 1973 batch IAS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre and Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, a retired 1970 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre have been appointed as advisors for Jharkhand. Mr Lakara, who had served as an advisor in the state of Jharkhand during the President’s Rule imposed on January 19, 2009, was also a Managing Director (equivalent to secretary) in TRIFED. He was also a secretary in Commission for Scheduled Tribes. Mr Prasad on the other hand retired as Director General of Police in May 2007. He was on Central deputation to the Intelligence Bureau during 1988-1994.

Secretaries In Action

a) Secretary of mines Ms Santha Sheela Nair and special secretary (mines) S Vijay Kumar addressed representatives of the mineral industry during the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) committees meeting. The provisions for sharing of profits from mining operations with local communities were also discussed in detail

b) Power secretary P Uma Shankar, Indian High Commissioner in Australia Ms Sujata Singh, CMD NTPC R S Sharma and Consulate General in Melbourne Ms Anita Nayar actively participated in an investors’ meet in Melbourne on Wednesday which was addressed by power minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

New civil services accountability bill may prescribe demotion as punishment

IS the proposed civil services performance and accountability bill meant for punishing those civil servants who are found to be wrongdoers? According to a report by Times of India quoting cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar, the piece of legislation is mainly to make the civil services more accountable. The report, however, has not mentioned what are the incentives for those civil servants who are performers. (Also Read: Making the secretaries lakhpatis)

The department of personnel and training (DoPT)-piloted bill will codify existing rules and provide for clearer and more uniform penalties for misconduct, the report added. The bill will, in fact, give statutory form to service rules and provide for penal clauses to punish wrongdoers. The draft of the bill lists out stoppage of increments among others as punishments for charges like insubordination, lack of devotion to duty or failure to maintain integrity. Also, major penalties include demotion and dismissal from service, the report further said.

PMspeak

“Dr Faisal has made the entire state proud by standing first in the civil services examination. He received all his education in institutions of Jammu and Kashmir. His success is a proof that the educational institutions in the state are no less than other educational institutions of our country.” Dr Manmohan Singh speaking in Srinagar on Monday.

The man behind Rashmi’s success in civil services

The story of Rashmi Siddharth Zagade, a housewife from Pune, who secured the 169th rank in this year’s civil services examination, is quite romantic and inspiring. The secret of her success was none other her husband Siddharth Zagade who incidentally is a school drop out. According to media reports, he dreamed to become an IAS, but had to discontinue his studies after the death of his father. Now, he says he has realized the dream through his wife. Is there a man behind every successful woman?

Cabinet secretary contender M Ramachandran could be made Election Commissioner of India

URBAN development secretary and 1972 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS, M Ramachandran, who missed the bus to become the country’s top bureaucrat, may now be considered for the post of Election Commissioner that will be vacant after Chief Election Commission and 1969 batch retired IAS Navin Chawla retires in July this year, and Election Commissioner Dr SY Quraishi, a 1971 batch retired IAS, possibly takes over as CEC, a person close to the development said.

In fact, the second one-year extension of current cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar dashed the hopes of all 1972 and 1973 batch IAS officers to grab the top bureaucrat’s post, and leading the pack was none other than Dr Ramachandran. Though no one questions the efficiency and integrity of Mr Chandrasekhar, there has been a general discontentment and tension among top IAS officers about the trend set by Mr Chandrasekhar’s four-year term for a post that by rules has a two-year-long tenure.

However, if Mr Ramachandran who retires in the end of this month, gets the post of Election Commissioner, he will have almost a five-year term, apart from having a chance of becoming the Chief Election Commissioner at a later stage. The Election Commissioners including the Chief Election Commissioner retire at the age of 65.

Also, there are speculations that another 1972 batch IAS and tourism secretary, Sujit Banerjee, could get an extension till the Commonwealth Games are over. Mr Banerjee retires in July this year.

Retired CBDT and CBEC Members included in Nilekani-led Advisory Group

The Technical Advisory Group for Unique Projects (TAGUP), under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani, will have SS Khan, former member, CBDT and PRV Ramanan, former member, CBEC as its members. The other members will be CB Bhave, chairman SEBI, R Chandrasekhar, secretary, department of IT, Dhirendra Swarup, former chairman PFRDA and Dr Nachiket Mor, president, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth.

Action and Appointments

a) The extension of tenure of VK Sadhu, a 1976 batch CSS and Principal Commissioner (joint secretary level), of Delhi Development Authority upto December 31, 2011, has been approved.

b) The ACC has not approved the proposal for the appointment of Raghava Chandra, a 1982 batch MP cadre IAS as joint secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), in place of Kumar Sanjay Krishna, a 1985 batch Assam cadre IAS who is now a principal secretary in the cadre.

c) The proposal of the ministry of defence for extension of Central deputation tenure of T Ramachandru, a 1984 batch Orissa cadre IAS for a period of three months upto September 12, 2010, has been approved.

d) Arun Kumar Bal, a 1986 batch West Bengal cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of defence.