Karnataka govt plans to set up an IAS coaching center in line with JSSTICE

IN A bid to ensure that more and more graduates from Karnataka crack the civil services examinations, the government of Karnataka is now planning to set up a coaching institute for IAS aspirants, chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday. The chief minister further added that the coaching institute would be akin to…
JSS Training Institute for Competitive Examinations (JSSTICE). He was speaking at a function organised to felicitate those who successfully passed the civil services examinations, 2012.
In fact, Bangalore-based JSSTICE came into limelight in 2001 when Vijayalakshmi Bidari, trained by that non-for-profit institute, topped the civil services examination. Bidari, a computer science engineer before getting into IAS, is a 2001 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS. According to JSSTICE’s website, 165 candidates have successfully passed through JSSTICE and joined the civil services such as IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, IA and AS etc. during the last 16 years. The JSSTICE offers five months (December to April) of coaching for prelims, four months (July-October) for mains and one month for the personality test. It is an 8.30 am to 6 pm affair, and there is no provision for part-time or postal coaching.
In some states, the inability of their students to succeed in civil services examinations has even come up for discussion in state assemblies. Odisha is a classic examination where legislators cutting across party lines expressed concern in an assembly debate last February about the continuous poor show of the state in the civil services examinations.

Babu Marriage
The government has transferred Dr (Ms) K Vasuki, a 2008 IAS of Madhya Pradesh cadre from Madhya Pradesh to Kerala cadre on the ground of marriage to 2011 batch Kerala cadre IAS Dr S Karthikeyan. Both Vasuki and Karthikeyan are doctors-turned IAS.

Action and Appointments
a) Ravi Mathur, a 1979 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS and secretary in the department of disinvestment under the ministry of finance, will now hold additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of minority affairs, for a period of three month with immediate effect.
b) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension of tenure 1981 batch Assam cadre IAS SC Panda, additional secretary and financial adviser in the ministry of home affairs for a period of six months beyond July 16, 2013.
c) The ACC has approved the extension of tenure of Rajeev Kher, a 1980 batch UP cadre IAS and additional secretary, department of commerce, for a period of six months beyond July 24, 2013.