No taker for a cool job at Indian embassy in Myanmar; Government re-advertises

IT seems there was no serious bidder for a deputy secretary-equivalent post in mystic land of Myanmar. The government in a circular dated November 28, 2011 wanted an Indian government officer at the rank of a deputy secretary to join as first secretary, (development) at Indian Embassy in Yangon. As the circular had mentioned, the selected candidate needed to relocate herself to Myanmar with immediate effect. But three months later, the government came out with another circular advertising the same post with the deadline now extended to March 5, 2012.
There is silence on the government’s move to re-circulate the same advertisement, but it is believed that there was lack of enthusiasm among IAS and other Group A services officers to move to Myanmar. It is however mentioned in the fresh circular dated February 16, 2012 that those who had applied earlier need not apply again, and their names would still be considered along with the fresh applicants.
The possession of prior experience in the field of project management and implementation is a mandatory requirement. It is also desired that the applicant has an engineering degree though it’s not mandatory.
With Myanmar gaining currency thanks to the growing interests shown both by China and India, the three-year experience in this exotic land could however go well in one’s CV.

Action and Appointments

a) Ajit Kumar, who is becoming the first 100% visually impaired person to join as IAS, will begin his training at Mussoorie from February 20. An MA in political science, Kumar, originally hailing from Haryana, was selected by UPSC in 2008. But he was initially denied a berth in IAS, and was asked to join Indian Railways Personnel Service. Kumar first approached the CAT, and then CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat who took him to PM. And with PM giving his nod, Kumar finally won the battle.