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 […]
Babu upheaval in Karnataka Babus in Karnataka are expecting another high-level reshuffle, after the change in government. AS the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress government headed by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy settles in, observers say that the chief minister is very likely to fill crucial positions in the government with babus of his choice. For at least […]
CIC’s depleted strength The Central Information Commission (CIC) is acutely short of information commissioners. Against the sanctioned strength of 10 information commissioners, it has only six. And by this year end, three more posts of ICs and one post of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) may fall vacant. In the normal course, the posts should be […]
It now appears that Jammu & Kashmir Chief Secretary B.B. Vyas may get a third six-month extension. Mr Vyas was scheduled to retire in November last year but he has since been given an extension twice, each of three months. His extended term is scheduled to end this month-end. According to sources, based on J&K […]
IAS versus IPS The Haryana government has placed the services of O.P. Singh, ADGP (Human Rights and Litigation), at the disposal of the Chief Secretary for further posting. This has led to speculation in babu circles that the senior police officer is set to get a secretary-level post in one of the departments. If this […]
‘Rightsizing’ CCI The government has recently moved to cut the number of members of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) from seven to four, including the chairperson. It may seem like ‘downsizing’ but the government insists that it is ‘rightsizing’. The reduced size, it argues, approximates the size of competition regulators in countries like UK, […]