I wanna be PS: Now IPL chief Rajeev Shukla gets an IPS officer as private secretary

A still from a Salman Khan-starred movie

I wanna be PS or IPS syndrome continues. Rajeev Shukla, minister of state for parliamentary affairs and newly appointed chief of Indian Premier League (IPL) has roped in an IPS officer as his private secretary. Gyaneshwar Singh, a 1999 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IPS currently working as general manager in Airports Authority of India, will be Shukla’s private secretary holding the rank of a deputy secretary.

Earlier this year, a number of IPS officers moved to Delhi to join various Union ministers as their PS. Ministers such as Salman Khurshid, Virbhadra Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia have got IPS officers as their private secretaries rather than IAS which is a norm.

According to rules, a minister may handpick his key staff members from any cadres -- IAS, IPS or Group A services etc., or even appoint someone with no experience in government at all.

Whereas 1991 batch AGMUT cadre IPS officer, Ms Nuzhat Hassan, is the PS for minister of minority affair Salman Khurshid, Anand Pratap Singh, a 1997 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IPS, was appointed as private secretary to the minister of micro, small and medium enterprises Virbhadra Singh. Mukesh Jain, a 1989 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS officer, is the private secretary to minister of state for commerce and industry Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Even home minister P Chidambaram’s Officer-On-Special Duty happens to be a 1996 batch IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre --- Ajay Kumar Yadav. Yadav was working as Deputy Inspector General in CBI before joining as a key staff member of Indian home minister.

Action and Appointments

a) Alok Tandon, a 1986 batch UP cadre IAS, has been appointed as joint secretary in department of disinvestment in place of Kalpana Mittal Baruah, a 1985 batch Punjab cadre IAS.

b)Ms Arvind Manjit Singh, a 1984 batch IAS, has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of culture in place of Tuktuk Kumar, a 1981 batch West Bengal cadre IAS on completion of her tenure on July 11, 2011.

c) The Central deputation tenure of DN Narasimha Raju, a 1984 batch Karnataka cadre IAS and joint secretary in petroleum ministry, has been extended for a period of three months beyond October 5, 2011.