Dilip is considered India's foremost Image Management guru and resident iconoclast. He wavers between irrational exuberance and cataclysmic gloom but can be influenced at mail@dilipcherian.com
Modi’s security strategy In the last lap of the Modi sarkar before the 2019 general elections, the government is effecting a major revamp of the national security architecture. Over the past few months, the government has constituted the Defence Planning Committee (DPC), increased the budget for the National Security Council Secretariat, and reconstituted the Strategic […]
More power to J&K babus Imposition of Governor’s rule in Jammu & Kashmir has come as a welcome fillip for state cadre officials, who find themselves holding key posts in the administration. Former chief secretary B.B. Vyas, a 1986-batch IAS officer of the J&K cadre, is back in the saddle as Advisor to the Governor. […]
Tough on corruption Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath who is running a campaign against corruption has reportedly sought the records of over 100 officials, including IAS, IPS and state service, whose names have figured in corruption cases. Sources say that at least 300 officials and employees of the state government are under the CM’s […]
Babu challenges lateral entry Not everyone’s enthused about the Centre’s decision to allow lateral entry in the government at the joint secretary-level on a contractual basis. As expected, the babus are less than enthusiastic about the proposal. Now a retired IAS officer has moved the Supreme Court against the decision. Claiming that the decision is […]
R&AW hits headlines It’s quite understandable that the nation’s premier intelligence agency does not make it into the news. But, of late, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) has crept into the headlines. Currently, the buzz surrounds the release of a book by former R&AW chief Vikram Sood, who has some advice for the powers […]
Non-cooperation blues The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the Board of National Cooperatives Consumers Federation, the apex consumer co-op body, differ on who has the authority to appoint the Managing Director of the apex consumer cooperative body. Their differences came to the fore when the Ministry appointed a joint secretary Anil […]
The road to Bihar The premature repatriation of Bihar cadre IAS officer Deepak Kumar and chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to his parent cadre has set off murmurs that he could be named the next chief secretary of Bihar. The sudden exit of Kumar is significant as the NHAI was aggressively […]
Lateral entry: MEA tried it first The Centre’s recent decision to enable lateral entry into senior positions in the government has set off a debate. But few may recall that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had already tried this, in a limited manner, a few years ago. The ministry hired some 12 officials as […]
PM Modi’s big bet on babus If there is one area of governance in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been most effective, it is the bureaucracy. While some see streaks of authoritarianism in Modi’s approach, bureaucracy in India has been shaken from its long slumber. His work culture clearly is about direct access, simplifying […]
Key finance panel expanded With digital transactions taking off and at the same time growing concerns about the safety of personal data, the government has reconstituted the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) by including secretaries from the Revenue Department as well as the Ministry of Information Technology. The FSDC is chaired by the […]
