PM determined to reform ‘Babus’

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Exclusive report 

PM determined to reform ‘Babus’

Lateral entrants hiring begins

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov. 8

As the bureaucracy continues to function in its own stubborn style, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is introducing a “target-oriented and ground-to-earth” work culture in the system.

with the bureaucracy continuing to work in silos and creating one hurdle after the other, the PM has already introduced the Lateral entry route for recruitment of officers at the level of the Joint Secretary who is the backbone. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)  has already recruited nearly a dozen Lateral entrants in the rank of Joint Secretaries as Domain experts. Now the NITI Aayog and DoPT are set to hire 50 officers through this route. But these will be in the rank of Deputy Secretaries and Directors, a step below the JS. The last date of seeking application by NITI Aayog is November 17 and 50 Domain experts will be hired in the rank of Deputy Secretaries and Directors. “All these new recruits outside the regular IAS and other Central Services routes will herald a new era in the Indian bureaucracy and administration,” said a senior officer in the Department of Personnel under the Prime Minister.

He said that the Prime Minister is tired to reforming the monolith bureaucratic culture ever since he came to Lutyen’s Delhi in May 2014. They opposed the bio-metric system for all. Then they all wanted to have two hour lunch break and evenings free for parties. At least 30 such administrative reforms were brought in. Yet, the culture hasn't changed. 

The PM himself gave a clue of his utter dislike  when he addressed ‘combined foundation course’ for 400 young officers that young IAS  officers should go to people, and change the legacy of colonialism. He was addressing the 'combined foundation course' comprising 400 young officers from various services including IAS officers in the in the  'tent city' of Kewadia in Gujarat, “We don’t expect status quo from you. The presence of silos and hierarchy does not help our system.”

The PM had directed that all senior officers must stay for at least one week in a backward district to understand their problem. But he also found that the officers didn’t have the heart in the job assigned. The PM has already shown the door to at least 30 secretary level officers for their poor showing until now. The PM’s sermon is that officers are service providers and its their duty to increase the ease of living of the people.

Babus unwilling to come on Central deputations

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Babus unwilling to come on Central deputations

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov. 7

The Babus, IAS, IPS and other officers of Central services are unwilling to come to Delhi to serve the NaMo administration.

Be it Maharashtra or Modi’s own state of Gujrat, the story continues to be the same. The Babus don’t want to serve in Delhi and are happy to be in the cozy environment of the states. Surprisingly, the Central deputation under the central staffing scheme (CSS) in 2018-19 was lowest in the last five years as only 153 IAS officers were appointed on central deputation.

Maharashtra had a quota of 78 officers to be placed at the disposal of the Centre. But only 24 were sent by the state on the ground of paucity of officers. The case of Gujrat was no different when only 17 showed in contrast to the quota of 64. (see the table). As many as 340 IAS officers were appointed under the CSS during 2014-15 and 320 in 2015-16 and 247 during 2016-17. This number came down to 211 during 2017-18. The number is falling at the alarming rate as per the official data available.

Surprisingly, the trend was encouraging in earlier years for the Indian Revenue services (IRS) and Indian Postal Services (IPS). But that started sliding. For example, the IRS & IPS as many as 196 appointments were made under the CSS in 2014-15. This rose to 237 on central deputation in 2015-16 and 246 in 2016-17. But it fell to 171 in 2017-18 and 195 in 2018-19, the data said.

The total authorised strength of IAS officers is 6,500 as on January 1, 2019, and the CDR is 1,381. Out of these 1,381 IAS officers, there were 507 IAS officers working at the Centre. UP was supposed to sent 134 officer. But it spared only 44.

Rajiv Gauba Takes Over as Cabinet Secretary

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Rajiv Gauba Takes Over as Cabinet Secretary

PK Sinha Goes to PMO as OSD 

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Aug. 30

Rajiv Gauba, OSD in the Cabinet Secretariat today took over as the new Cabinet Secretary. He takes over after the superannuation of P.K. Sinha who served for more than four years, a record of sort in the government. Sinha's tenure was upto September 12. But in a major decision, the government decided to cut short his extended tenure and appointed Gauba as the new Cab. Sec. Gauba is an IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre (1982 batch) and was Home Secretary until brought to the Cabinet Secretariate earlier this month.

It has also been announced that P K Sinha will be new OSD in the PMO. 

He was one of the key officer of the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 and the reorganization of Jammu & Kashmir, and is widely credited for flawless and smooth implementation of the decision. With an eye for details, he spearheaded the formulation and execution of these initiatives in MHA. Along with a small core team, he gave final shape to constitutional and legal aspects while working out administrative and security arrangements.

Earlier, during his stint in MHA as Additional Secretary, he prepared a multi- pronged action plan in 2015 to tackle LWE and steered its implementation which has resulted in significantly shrinking the spread of Maoists’ area of influence.

Gauba has also served in the International Monetary Fund representing the country for four years on the Board of IMF.

special report : Who will Country's Top Spy ? Modi to decide

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

special report

Who will Country's Top Spy ? Modi to decide

Aruna Sundaram in race to be new Cabinet Secretary

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, June 25

All eyes are set on the two crucial posts to be filled by the Modi government- Cabinet Secretary and Director, Intelligence Bureau. Both occupants of these vital posts were given extensions in 2018 itself since General Elections were due. Since these are fixed terms posts, extensions were given to P K Sinha (Cabinet Secretary) and Rajiv Jain ( IB Director) adhering to conventions so that a new government is free to bring officers of its choice. Therefore, it was expected that once re-elected, Modi will induct new officers to these two key posts after assuming charge on May 30.

But in a surprise development, incumbent P K Sinha was given three months extension days before the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba was set to be promoted. In order to extend the tenure of Sinha by three months, the Modi government even amended 40 year rule as well. Now uncertainty has crept in as Rajiv Gauba, an IAS officer of the 1982 batch of Jharkhand cadre, will retire on August 30 while Sinha's extended tenure will end on September 12.

No one is sure in the bureaucracy if Gauba will be promoted though he is rated very high. Insiders in the government say that this may open sea of opportunities for another brilliant officer Aruna Sundararajan who is Telecom Secretary and Chairman of the Telecom Commission. A 1982 batch IAS officer from Kerala Cadre, Ms Sundararajan, is one of the most senior civil servants of the IAS.

Similarly, uncertainty continues in the country's premier intelligence agency, the IB where its director Rajiv Jain was given three months' extension. He was lready on six months' extension and rewarded with another three months jeopardising the prospects of senior-most number two Arvind Kumar, an IPS officer of 1984 batch of Assam-Meghalaya cadre. While other senior officers have already retired in IB as Rajiv Jain was given two consecutive extensions.

If cources are to be believed, the name of Rakesh Asthana, an IPS officer of DG rank, is being discussed for the top post. He is considered close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Since IB directly reports to Amit Shah after the change of guards at the North Block, sources say that the new Home Minister is pushing for his favourite officer.

Ends 

Modi extends tenure of three favourites

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Modi extends tenure of three favourites

Kulbe to stay in PMO

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, March 11

Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to extend the tenure of three senior officers including powerful Secretary in the PMO Bhaskar Chandra Kulbe.

It transpires that Kulbe who is an IAS officer of West Bengal Cadre and posted in the PMO as Secretary, has been given an extension for a period of six months. Kulbe is due to retire on March 31, 2019. But Modi decided to retain him at least six months keeping in view the announcement of General Elections.

Kulbe is considered PM's favourite officers handling key areas. In the event of Modi returning to power, Kulbe is bound to stay put like P K Mishra Deputy Principal Secretary and NSA Ajit Doval. Insiders in the PMO say that principal secretary Nripendra Mishra may make room for the junior Mishra in the new dispensation.

Parmeswaran Iyer who took voluntary retirement from the IAS long time ago and brought on contract basis as full secretary to the government of India in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation three years ago, has also been given an extension for a period of one year. He was to superannuate on April 30.

Sitanshu Ranjan Kar, principal DG, Press Information Bureau, has also been given six months extension beyond March 31.

Only last Sunday, the PM undertook a major reshuffle of secretaries in the government affecting as many as 11 departments. Ms Rajni Sekhri Sibal (IAS:1986:Haryana) became the first Secretary of Department of Fisheries recently carved from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries specially created by the PM.

Ends 

Modi sends 8 top officers to Maharashtra, Goa

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Pre-poll push for PM's schemes

Modi sends 8 top officers to Maharashtra, Goa

Officers to camp at 8 districts

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Oct 27

Eight senior officers of the rank of additional secretaries and joint secretaries are being deputed shortly by the Prime Minister to Maharashtra & Goa to camp in eight clusters to over-see welfare work 8 clusters.

These officers have been identified and will be sent to these eight districts after under-going training program. These officers will be deputed Pune, Nashik, Dhule, Sangli, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Thane and North Goa. These senior IAS officers will camp in these aspirational districts to over-see the implementation of Prime Minister Modi's welfare schemes.

The PM plans to depute nearly 750 officers of the Centre who will be tasked in coming months to cover 45,000 villages in 115 ‘aspirational districts’ with seven government schemes. The scheme is being closely monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office.

An officer has been designated for every 75 villages and each has been tasked to undertake at least three visits to the village spanning four seven days. While each district has been assigned a ‘prabhari officer’ in a joint or an additional secretary role, 322 directors and deputy secretary officers and another 322 under-secretaries have been assigned the jobs of ‘nodal officers’. Four to 10 such nodal officers have been tagged with each prabhari officer, who will assign villages for tour scheduling and coordinate the visits of nodal officers. In the first phase, 80 officers have been chosen who will visit 80 districts spanning over several states.

The government is also set to announce a package of benefits for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) spread across these 80 districts. They will monitor social security benefits for workers

The scheme is part of Modi's pre-election push for the MSME sector which employs over a 120 million people in over 6 crores units. The list of clusters range from food processing units to steel ancillary, to Pharma and other sectors in these seven districts of Maharashtra and one in Goa. They will work with officers from banks, EPFO, ECIS, SIDBI to ensure that targets are met. The officers will see whether these units have been trained to get the benefits of government's e-marketplace (GeM) portal.

This will help them to ensure that government and its agencies can buy directly from the small units.

PM shifts NHAI chief for 'non-performance'

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

“You don’t give grape juice to a Sugar patient” Modi told IAS officer  Raghav Chandra

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Feb 16

The Modi government has sent shivers down the spine of the bureaucracy. If three senior IAS & IPS officers have been sacked unceremoniously for “non-performance”, National Highway Authority of India chairman Raghav Chandra removed in a mid-night order recently.

The sudden removal of Raghav Chandra took even the Road Transport & Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari by complete surprise.

Highly placed sources in the Prime Minister’s Office say that Chandra was responsible for his own sacking. It so happened that the PM called for a review meeting of projects of the NHAI. The PM holds such review meeting one-on-one basis with the heads without the presence of Ministers concerned to review projects.

When the PM asked Raghav Chandra about the progress with regard to the Rs 10,166 crores 14-lane

Delhi-Meerut Expressway project, Chandra reportedly explained difficulties in completing the project in time. It was in December 2015 when Modi had laid the foundation stone of the project not only easing Delhi’s traffic congestion but also to woo the BJP’s crucial vote bank in the Jat heartland and trading community. The total land required for three packages is 348.6 hectares of which 343.36 hectare had already been acquired when Modi laid the foundation stone.

What sealed Chandra’s fate was that he went a step further and started explaining to the PM how the NHAI is completing other important projects in UP.

The PM, sources say was losing his patience and told Chndra curtly, ““If you give grape juice to a sugar patient, can he survive ? The sugar patient requires Bitter Gourd  (karela) juice.” And the meeting ended abruptly. It was 12.30 midnight when the meeting ended and Raghav Chandra’s transfer orders were on the website of the government website next morning.

For Gadkari, it was another shocker as he had seen three chairmen at the NHAI during his three years’ stint. Raghav Chandra was shunted out to an insignificant post as secretary, national commission for Scheduled Tribes. Yudhvir Singh Malik, who was cooling his heels as special secretary in the Niti Aayog, was sent to NHAI. Malik shot into prominence when he banned Nestle’s products as chairman of the FSSAI. The ban was removed by courts and Malik was shunted out to NITI Aayog a year ago. Interestingly, Gadkari had no clue either of Chandra being shunted out or Malik being brought in.

Umang Narula, an lAS officer belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir cadre and CMD of India Tourism Development Corporation was sent back to his parent cadre. It is learnt he was slow in divesting ITDC hotels.

Babus defy Modi sermons,

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Babus defy Modi sermons,

Deadline for property returns extended once again

Maharashtra IAS officers score

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Oct 11

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be exhorting the people to join in making his various schemes successful. But Modi government’s Public Servants are ignoring the directions regularly to file statements of their Assets & liabilities.

All serving bureaucrats belonging to IAS, IPS and other Central Services are expected to file statements of how much property, cash, jewelry owned by them and their family members and their liabilities as well. But these bureaucrats have been dithering and virtually defying the directions.

An indication of this came today when the Ministry issued a fresh order on a Sunday today extending the deadline to file their statements of Assets & liabilities straight for a period of six months. This is the third extension as the first expired in April 15 and the second deadline is expiring on October 2015. Now the Public Servants have been directed to file their statements of Assets and liabilities by 15^th April 2016.

The public servants are to file their assets & liabilities return for the year 2014 including that of their family members and the first deadline was April 2015. This has caused a problem as the Modi government is determined to ensure transparency in its functioning. Though nearly 3000 returns have been filed. But more than one thousand have declared that they have no property. The only consolation is that of the 270 IAS officers belonging to Maharashtra, 268 have filed it while one has retired.

All ministries and departments have been directed by the Department of Personnel under the Prime Minister Modi to ensure compliance with the revised rules within the stipulated time frame.

Babu turns supercop

Cabinet approves law to put CBI, ED under CVC, insulate agencies against interference

"I'll be judge, I'll be jury,' said cunning old Fury." Few fit the role of Fury in Alice In Wonderland better than the Indian bureaucrats. Last week, they mustered all the cunning at their command and secured the Cabinet's approval for an ordinance on the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).