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From the Editor

vol. 14, issue 4-6 | July-September 2020 Anil Tyagi | editor GS Sood | business editor Sheshadri Chari | roving editor Abhilash Khandekar | consulting editor Alam Srinivas | contributing editor Vivek Mukherji | contributing editor Anish Gandhi | consultant, foreign affairs Vibhash Jha | senior editor, chhattisgarh Rakesh Bhardwaj | editorial consultant Sumit Bothra | regional head, tamil nadu Ramesh Sharma | bureau chief (north india) Nipun Jain | finance Gautam Das | legal consultant Bushchat Media | edit & design Abhisshek Tyagi | director advertising & marketing Anil Sood | vice president, marketing +919811639632 PS Sural | vice president, marketing +919873243950 e-mail: asps@gfilesindia.com up: Rajeev Anand | regional head +91884 023 9980 +91 99363 58161 rajeevanandvol@gmail.com delhi: e-mail: adv@gfilesindia.com Chandigarh: Jangra Complex, Opp Hotel Ramade Plaza, Ambala Chandigarh Road, Zirakpur-140107, Punjab Mobile +917888591003 e-mail: rameshsharmaemail@gmail.com sales & marketing chhattisgarh: Prafull Choudhary | state head +919109357910 Anil Tyagi, Printer & Publisher 118, 2nd floor, DDA SITE-1, NEW RAJINDER NAGAR, NEW DELHI-110060 +All information in gfiles is obtained from sources that the management considers reliable, and is disseminated to readers without any responsibility on our part. Any opinions or views on any contemporary or past topics, issues or developments expressed by third parties, whether in abstract or in interviews, are not necessarily shared by us. Copyright exclusively with Sarvashrestha Media Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction of any material of this magazine in whole, or in part(s), in any manner, without prior permission, is totally prohibited. The publisher accepts no responsibility for any material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with any advertisement without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. Published and printed by Anil Tyagi on behalf of Sarvashrestha Media Pvt. Ltd at Polykam Offset, C-138, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi 110028. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts in New Delhi only

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files did a detailed cover story in January 2019 titled “Farmer Crisis: A tickling bomb”. gfiles indicated, “The crisis is monumental, and it would need a colossal vision to deal with it. One can begin the process in 2019. Or else it will too late. If the farmers do not benefit, there will be blood on the streets.” Now, the farmer is on the streets—so far peacefully. For days, parts of the nation came to a standstill due to thousands of farmers and workers who participated in rail-roko and highway blockade. The opposition flexed its muscles and bared its ideological fangs. For once, there was a semblance of a vibrant democracy, even as five acts related to agriculture, labour reforms and civil society were bulldozed through Parliament. But if seen with a sense of perspective and context, the situation signifies the abject failure of politics. Political parties of all hues were in deep slumber until they woke up at the last minute, and that too after the horses had bolted from the stable. They were engaged in reactive politics, which had little consequences on the implementation of the acts. The sole aim of the participants was to score political brownie points in a bid to gain whatever electoral mileage they could. Look at the opposition. For months, it knew that the three agriculture acts, which desired to introduce farm corporatisation, were in play, and were likely to be passed in the monsoon session of Parliament. Yet, they did not act, or even mewed or barked. Only when they realised that the acts could stir the farmers, and yield electoral benefits, especially in the Bihar assembly elections, did they wake up. The same was true for labour reforms, most of which were implemented by several states to combat the unexpected impact of COVID-19 in the Indian and global economies. Buoyed by the fact that it had a huge majority in the Lok Sabha and could push through bills in the Upper House too, the ruling regime sat quiet. Confident and arrogant at the same time, it concluded that there would be no political criticism. With the media on its side, it felt that public outcry, if any, could easily be stymied. The road to reforms was clear, and it could walk down the path in a majestic manner. The allies watched the whole show from the sidelines and waited meekly. The lions of Punjab, and tigers of Maharashtra, just sat in their comfortable caves. For years, civil society was under siege—not just from this government, but also from the previous ones. It made a hue and cry, on and off, but found itself on the back foot because of the scams buried in the cupboards of a few NGOs. Brick by brick, their empires, built over decades, were dismantled through several changes in the Companies Act and the FCRA Act on foreign contributions. When the final nail was drilled into its coffin, it was unprepared. Reactions came only after the changes in the act, through articles and audio-visual bytes. What was most interesting was to watch the theatrical performances of the farmers and workers’ unions, which are managed by wings of the RSS, the umbrella organisation of the BJP. Like in the past, when the unions publicly took on previous BJP regimes on issues like GM food and Swadeshi, this show too was merely to retain their popularity and membership. After all, the RSS-affiliated unions are the largest in the country and unless they demonstrate that their hearts and souls are with the farmers and workers, they are likely to be discredited. So, they took to the streets but, as we said earlier, only after Parliament had done its job. The farmer is not a subject for theatrics. The farmer is the lifeline of India. They are not characters meant for a puppet show. If the situation goes out of hand, one does not know how and where the anger of farmer will culminate. So, wake up, talk, and move for the prosperity of India. Anil Tyagi

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gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

CONTENTS

bric-a-brac

7 Nadda follows the stars; Wooing Prashant Kishor; The tragedy of the Congress; His Speaker’s Voice GOVERNANCE

Change through quality

GOVERNANCE

On track to transform?

governance

Shaking up the system

governance Dismantling public sector: End of welfare state?

GLOBE SCAN Indo–Australian Defence Ties

book review

Dilemmas of an ethical officer

Cover Story

Producing Karmayogis for ‘New India?’ 4

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

16 22 26 30

bIRTHDAYs of civil servants

Tracking: Transfers & Postings

BY THE WAY

ONGC: A Slippery Slope; The lure of politics; Ready to serve, ready to retire

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

Tweets IAS Association @IASassociation, Sep 14, District Administration Khunti, Jharkhand, @ DCkhunti, initiated low cost “bori bundh” project using recycled cement bags and shramdaan by beneficiaries and constructed over 250 structures benefiting thousands of farmers. IAS Association Retweeted, Amitabh Kant, @amitabhk87, Sep 9, For India as a Tech Garage five critical inputs are necessary: flow of data, hungry young entrepreneurs, AI algorithm engineers, computing power & AI-enabling policy environment. India has data. It needs product managers, AI scientists, product designers. IAS Association,@IASassociation, Sep 7, We are shocked to learn about untimely demise of Sh Sushil Kumar Maurya, #IAS, Spl Secretary, UPGovt, due to #COVID__19. He worked as Nodal Officer in Bareilly and Sonbhadra Districts in #fightagainstCoronavirus. Our condolences to the family members.

ने युवा IAS अधिकारियों से कहा, ईमानदार, अनुशासित, जिम्मेदार, पारदर्शी और जवाबदे ह बनें. @IASassociation, Aug 7, District Administration, Nagaur, Rajasthan led by Dr J K Soni, #IAS @Jksoniias, initiated “Raasta Kholo Abhiyan” to remove encroachments and installed Vidya Gaurav Patikas, stones having name of women/girls achiever of area on freed pathways. Kudos!!! @IASassociation, Aug 4, District Administration Goalpara, Assam led by Ms Varnali Deka, #IAS @varnalideka, efficiently handled #COVID19 as well as #floods. With hands-on approach ensured holistic care of citizens and the aspirational district made significant progress in ranking. @IASassociation, Aug 1, Shri D S Mishra, 1984, UP, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,

@IASassociation, Aug 24, Sh P Narahari, @pnarahari, #IAS narrating the story of Indore becoming India’s cleanest city which saw sustained action, innovation and synergistic approach between citizens and government officials.

@Secretary_MoHUA, is the new President of IAS Association. We welcome him and resolve to ensure that we will continue to work for the nation as per the highest standards of service to people.

@IASassociation, Aug 23, IAS couple Ms @Shashanka_IAS and Mr @bhupesh_ch, launched innovative projects “Kan Sikul, Kan Huan” and “Kawng Kawhhmuthu” in their respective remote districts in Mizoram to improve education by focusing on health & nutrition and school infrastructure by tapping local resources.

IAS Association Retweeted. Akanksha Bhaskar, @zubibhaskar, Jul 23, Worst hit in this pandemic are the movers of our economy, the migrant labourers, who had to chose between life and livelihood. Purulia district administration seeks to bridge the gap between demand and supply in labour market and integrates both on our new platform- Vishwakarma

IAS Association. @IASassociation Aug 17, District Administration Bokaro, Jharkhand, @BokaroDc, undertook proactive technology based humane & compassionate approach to handle #COVID19, GIS to plan for home bound migrant labourers, CAWACH framework for behavioural change. IAS Association, @IASassociation, Aug 8, Sh Sanjeev Chopra, #IAS, @ ChopraSanjeev, Director, @LBSNAA_ Official. & Honorary Curator of literary festival “Valley of Words” on his love for books, organization of litfests and more. IAS Association, @IASassociation, Aug 8, Inspired by the words of Hon’ble, @ VPSecretariat, and we rededicate ourselves to serve the nation in the best traditions of the service. उपराष्ट्रपति वें कैया नायडू

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

IAS Association Retweeted Akanksha Bhaskar, @zubibhaskar, Jul 17, Palaash tea- forest flame in your cup! A wonderful and aromatic cup of tea manufactured and marketed by SHGs of Balarampur block, Purulia; has tremendous health benefits. Good for your tummy and good for your soul! #organicfood, @ mvraoforindia, @ceowbsrlm, @DM_Purulia IAS Association, @IASassociation, Jul 17, ZP Chikkaballapur, Karnataka, @ChikkballapurZP, led by B Fauzia Taranum, #IAS is transforming dumping yard into reservoir by innovatively using rural development schemes with active participation of people. IAS Association, @IASassociation, July 13, Shocked to hear of the sad demise of Ms Debadutta Ray, WBCS, Dy

Magistrate, Hooghly, West Bengal. A true #CoronaWarrior, who led from the front & contributed immensely for welfare of migrant workers. IAS Association @IASassociation Jul 8, Sh Ashish Kundra, #IAS, @ ashishkundra, alongwith Sh Gyanendra Mani giving insight over new opportunities coming up for farmers in North-Eastern States. https://financialexpress.com/opinion/ agri-revolution-2-0-new-ordinance-set-torevolutionise-agriculture-but-centre-needsstate-co-operation/2015368/lite/?__twitter_ impression=true IAS Association Retweeted Dr Jitendra Singh, @DrJitendraSingh, Jul 6, “IAS/Civil Services now have pan-Indian character in true sense. Officers being inducted today will have opportunity to play a part as architects of New India,the foundation of which has been laid by PM, @narendramodi,” : Inaugural session IAS Professional Course #LBSNAA Mussoorie. IAS Association, @IASassociation, Jul 6, District Administration, Durg, @ DurgDist, Chhatishgarh led by Collector Dr Sarveshwar Bhure, #IAS is promoting plantation of superfood Moringa (munga) in homes of 12000 malnutritioned kids and in Aanganwadi centres. A novel approach to make future generation healthy. Nishant Jain / निशान्त जैन @NishantJain1111, Jul 4,5 years of UPSC result !!!, group ‘C’ to ‘B’ to ‘A’ :- worked as a Clerk in post office,- left job, did P.G.- qualified NET-JRF & did M.Phil. from D.U.- failed in #UPSC Prelims, - joined Parliament as Translator, 4 July, 2015cleared UPSC, Rank 13, Hindi Medium, #IAS IAS Association Retweeted, Supriya Sahu IAS, @supriyasahuias, Community kitchens are being operated by the District Admin #Nilgiris in tribal villages to provide hot cooked meals at their doorstep. It’s Important to reach out to vulnerable with better nutrition in times of #COVID-19, @ POSHAN_Official, District Magistrate South Delhi, @DMSouthDelhi Jun 26 2000 beds of District South’s 10000-bedded Sardar Patel #COVID Care Centre & Hospital ready to #takecare of its patients. Sincere thanks to ITBP, Radha Soami Satsang Beas and so many sponsors & donors for generous support! #Covid_19 #TogetherWeCan #IndiaFightsCorona #HealthForAll

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Bric-a-brac stars & strategies

Wooing Prashant Kishor Election strategist in demand

M Nadda follows the stars ...vaastu proofs his house

strology, palmistry and Vaastu play crucial roles in the lives of celebrities and politicians. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that when Jagat Prakash Nadda became the BJP President, the Vaastu of his residence gained immediate attention. His large bungalow is located strategically at 7-B Motilal Nehru Marg, the corner of the Janpath roundabout in Delhi. Opposite the house is the Lal Bahadur Shastri Museum, which is dedicated to the late Prime Minister, and adjacent to the museum is the residence of Congress’ President Sonia Gandhi. Before the party presidentship, the entrance and exit to Nadda’s home were from Motilal Nehru Marg. This was deemed to be inauspicious by the Vaastu expert, as it faced south. The politician was immediately advised to make a change. The original gate to the bungalow was blocked, and a new one, which opened on to Janpath, quickly constructed. Now the gate faces east, which is considered propitious. When political stakes are high, and one is an integral part of the ruling regime, no chances can be taken. Everything has to work according to the planets, stars, and directions. It may be deliberate or a coincidence that one of the first things that the new President did was to change the political direction of the party. He appointed new General Secretaries to enable the BJP chalk out a new path!

ost people, including politicians and their parties, tend to think of Prashant Kishor Pandey, 42, as a master election strategist. In reality, he is only a businessman, who understands the math and science behind elections, and has some insights on how to win in a scientific manner. In 2013, Kishor launched the Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), a company to manage and strategise elections, which offers its services for a hefty price. In the past, he helped Narendra Modi in Gujarat (which was pro bono), Nitish Kumar in Bihar, Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi, and Amarinder Singh in Punjab. They were claimed to be huge successes by the politicians, as well as the media. At present, Kishor is busy advising Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, and MK Stalin of DMK in Tamil Nadu for their 2021 assembly election campaigns. When he offered his services in Punjab, tensions brewed between the future Chief Minister Amrinder Singh and the Congress supremo Rahul Gandhi. The latter wanted to tour constituencies before the election, and his schedule was planned. Amrinder was in a fix because he was told by his loyalists that Rahul’s visit could cost him possible victories in those constituencies. It was Kishor who found an acceptable solution. Rahul went to the areas, where Congress’ chances of victory were almost zero. Ironically, Kishor may be hired by the Congress before the 2024 Parliamentary elections. But, master election strategist is also rumoured to be in touch with Modi.

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gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

Bric-a-brac stars & strategies

His Speaker’s Voice Impactful decisions in Parliament

O The tragedy of the Congress Cut off from the grassroots

ne of the tragedies of the Congress, and this has persisted for years, is that an individual can become its minister, MP, or MLA without a mass base among the electorate. The only thing one requires is the ability to manage the corridors of 10, Janpath. Take the example of a successful old-timer, Ambika Soni, 77, who has been a member of Rajya Sabha for five times. Like many others, she doesn’t have a constituency to boast about. She hasn’t won a normal electoral battle in her political career. Despite these disadvantages, Soni once aspired to be the Chief Minister of Punjab. Her dream failed because of the political volatility in the state. She even stood for Lok Sabha elections in 2014 from Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, and lost. Her secret of sucess lies in being neighbours with Ottavio Quattrocchi of Bofors fame. He was her neighbour in Friends Colony. Quattrocchi’s kid used to play with Ambika’s son. Within the party, there are loud and audible whispers that she was always close to the Nehru-Gandhi family. However, her real talent lies in political diversity—she can be close to various people at the same or different times. In the past, she joined Sharad Pawar’s party. When Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, Soni developed proximity with Gursharan Kaur, the First Lady. Rahul Gandhi tried to infuse fresh, and younger, blood into his aging, and fading, party. But, the fact is that rootless, yet powerful lobbyists continue to manage the Nehru-Gandhi family.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

n April 17, 1999, there was the famous, or in-famous, Vote of Confidence, which the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government lost by a single vote. GMC Balayogi, an advocate from Andhra Pradesh, was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. He had to decide whether Giridhar Gamang, who had already taken the oath to become Odisha’s Chief Minister two months earlier, could be allowed to vote as an MP? Balayogi allowed it, and Gamang pressed the “No” button. It proved to be the end of the Vajpayee government. The second incident concerned Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President of India, Hamid Ansari. There was midnight drama in the Upper House on December 29, 2011 during the Lokpal Bill debate. Starting at 11 a.m., the debate prolonged and continued past 11.30 p.m. Ansari did not inform the house that he would not carry on beyond 12 in the night. Instead, he declared the House sine die 15 minutes before midnight, though he had power to extend the time of the ongoing session. The third incident took place on September 20, 2020, when the Rajya Sabha passed three controversial agriculture acts through voice vote, amidst huge uproar. Harivansh Narayan Singh, Vice-Chairman of Rajya Sabha, in charge of the proceedings clarified, “You will appreciate, that as per rules and practice, in order to have a division, two things are essential. Firstly, there should be a demand for division and equally important that there should be order in the House.” What he implied was that the voice vote was legitimate as there was no opposition to the acts. But as Indians watched the events unfold, some loose tongues began to wag. Why the Rajya Sabha vice-head did so led to much speculation and the same can’t be mentioned here. However, this much can be said—elected representatives and top political managers have to be like Caesar’s wife, above suspicion.

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Hurrah! new look!

years

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

COVER STORY

civil services mg devasahayam

Producing

Karmayogis for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;New India?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 10

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

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The government’s Mission Karmayogi is aimed at building future-ready civil servants with right attitude, skills and knowledge, aligned to the vision of a ‘New India’. A number of councils and other bodies will be set-up at a cost to fulfil this vision under the direct command and control of the Prime Minister himself. But what is happening on the ground in the past few years is just the opposite. Governance has been at its nadir and with the enslavement of institutions of democratic governance and the democracy is being shred to pieces. MG Devasahayam takes a look at the contradiction in vision and reality

ithin days of announcing the National Recruitment Agency, which will conduct computerbased common eligibility test for central government jobs, on September 2, 2020, the Union Cabinet approved Mission Karmayogi— “the biggest human resource development programme in the government”—for bringing post-recruitment reforms in civil services. The scheme aims to standardise training and create shared faculty and resources that would offer officers and government employees an opportunity to improve their performance. Government spokesperson and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that Mission Karmayogi will help end subjective evaluation and ensure

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scientifically devised, objective and real-time assessment of employees. It focuses on individual (civil servants) and institutional capacity building. On this ‘Miracle Mission’, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh has this to say: “Mission Karmayogi is an endeavour to reincarnate a government servant into an ideal karmayogi (a man driven by his work) to serve the nation by enabling him to be creative, to be constructive, to be pro-active and technically empowered. The endeavour is also to end the culture of working in (departmental) silos; to overcome the multiplicity of training curriculum by the introduction of a common platform for realisation of the nation’s vision and of our shared aspiration and future goals.” Going further, Department of Personnel and Training secretary C. Chandramouli said that the Mission is constituted to build future-ready civil servants with right attitude, skills and knowledge, aligned to the vision of a “New India.” What is this grand vision? ‘New India’ Movement 2017-2022 launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisages India free from poverty, corruption, terrorism, communalism, casteism and uncleanliness and to unite the entire country by adopting good governance and using technology. Under this ‘movement’, the Government of India has launched flagship schemes such as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Jan Suraksha Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, Food security for poor, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana, Mission Indradhanush, Swachh Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Start-up India, Standup India, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Make in India and Housing for poor, etc. ‘Aatmanirbhar’ is the recent entry. Through this, farmers’ income will be doubled and India will be a USD 5 Trillion economy by the year 2022. The Prime Minister explained his idea of a New India and Indians, saying it should be a country that offers opportunities to the poor. According to him, “a new India where the poor do not want anything by way of charity but seek opportunity to chart out

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

COVER STORY

civil services mg devasahayam

their own course … Indians today are not waiting for governmental sops. They only want opportunities to be created for them, so that they can work for their livelihood and prosperity.” This ‘New India’ as Propagated by the PM had inspired the Indian Diaspora, who launched an unprecedented campaign with a large number of professionals working across the world voluntarily, spending their own money, time and resources to support Modi and getting him elected for a second term in 2019. These Non-Resident Indians, mostly from USA are probably behind the launching of ‘Mission Karmayogi’ to build future-ready civil servants to carry out and implement the ‘New India’ vision and agenda. Mission Karmayogi programme will be delivered by setting up a digital platform called iGOTKarmayogi. Empowered with specific role-competencies, a civil servant will be able to ensure efficient service delivery of the highest quality standards. The platform will act as a launchpad National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB), which will enable a comprehensive reform of the capacity building apparatus at the individual, institutional and process levels. NPCSCB will be governed by the Prime Minister’s Human Resource Council, which will also include state Chief Ministers, Union Cabinet ministers and experts. This council will approve and review civil service capacity building programmes. Besides this, there will be a Cabinet Secretary Coordination Unit comprising of select secretaries and cadre controlling authorities. Also, there will

To become a Karmayogi, one has to be trained from a young age and not after decades of service that has bred greed and a lethargic attitude.

Let us look at the salient features of the Mission

■ Laying the foundation for capacity building of civil servants so they remain entrenched in Indian culture while they learn the best practices across the world. ■ Through the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB), the mission seeks to transform Human Resource Management from ‘rules-based’ to ‘roles-based’. ■ Through post-recruitment reforms in the government preparing Indian civil servants for future by making them more creative, constructive, imaginative, innovative, proactive, professional, progressive, energetic, enabling, transparent and technology-savvy. This will help end subjective evaluation, and ensure scientifically-devised, objective and real-time assessment of employees. ■ Endeavouring to end the culture of working in silos and to overcome the multiplicity of training curriculum which we have because of the institutions spread all over the country, ■ Introduction of a common platform for uniform realisation of nation’s vision and of our shared aspiration and our shared future goals.

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New India Movement 20172022 launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisages India free from poverty, corruption, terrorism, communalism, casteism and uncleanliness and to unite the entire country by adopting good governance and using technology

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be a Capacity Building Commission, which will include experts in related fields and global professionals. This commission will prepare and monitor annual capacity building plans and audit human resources available in the government. To hold it all, there will be a wholly-owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which will govern the iGOTKarmayogi platform. It will be set up under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013. The SPV will be a “not-for-profit” company and will own and manage iGOT-Karmayogi platform. The SPV will create and operationalise the content, marketplace and manage key business services of iGOT-Karmayogi platform, relating to content validation, independent proctored assessments and telemetry data availability. The SPV will own all Intellectual Property Rights on behalf of the Government of India.

o cover around 46 lakh central employees, a sum of Rs 510.86 crore will be spent over a period of 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The expenditure is partly funded by multilateral assistance to the tune of $50 million. There will be a sense of participation by each civil servant by paying Rs 431 per annum as subscription. Besides the setting up of the SPV, an appropriate monitoring and evaluation framework will also be put in place for performance evaluation of all users of the iGOT-Karmayogi platform so as to generate a dashboard view of Key Performance Indicators. At the end of the day Mission Karmayogi will produce the ideal civil servant-karmayogi with all qualities of head and heart to serve the ‘New India’ vision under the direct command and control of the Prime Minister himself! (See Graph). In theory and on paper this Mission could cater to the long-felt need for civil servants to gather the attributes described above. What is unique is that instead of confining to the upper echelons of civil services like IAS, IPS and other Central Services, this Mission will cover all the civil employees of the Union Government and would later take in those in uniform also. Though not applicable to those in State governments, employees and civil servants working there can avail of the platform and take advantage of the services. This certainly is a good augury for ‘New India’ and its governance. But the problem is the direction towards which this ‘New India’ is moving. Civil servants are only

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COVER STORY

civil services mg devasahayam

an instrument of governance and not governance itself which comprises of elected political leadership and the policies it lays down. New India Movement is supposed to free India from poverty, corruption, terrorism, communalism, casteism and unite the entire country by adopting good governance practices. But what is happening on the ground in the last few years is just the opposite. Governance has been at its nadir and with the enslavement of institutions of democratic governance, democracy is being shred to pieces. “Minimum Government and Maximum Governance”, the slogan of 2014, which should have been the hall-mark of democracy in NDA regime, has been turned on its head with the imposition of a highly centralised and autocratic system sustained by a harsh ‘police raj’. Critical legislations/policies—Agriculture, Electricity, Environment, Education, Public Sector privatisation, etc.—are being pushed with breakneck speed with no involvement of the people who are the sovereign.

ver the last few years senior Civil Servants of the All India Services have been subjugated by the Prime Minister and his highly centralised establishment by adopting various devious and divisive means. Like many institutions and instruments of democratic governance, IAS has also been under severe assault. First came the steep reduction of the role of IAS at the decision-making level of Joint Secretaries in Government of India (GoI) and replacing them with personnel from other services that have no allIndia character or exposure. Then came the proposal to trash the merit list for civil services recommended by the constitutionally mandated UPSC and instead allotting service as well as cadre based on the trainee’s performance at the Academy during the short Foundation Course. Soon thereafter, through ‘lateralentry’, private sector personnel were inducted as Joint Secretaries to GoI. Within days of NDA-3 taking over, the Department of Personnel & Training started preparing a proposal for inducting 400 ‘domain experts’ to fill Deputy Secretary/Director post in the Central Government. This constitutes 60 per cent of the 650 posts at this level under the Central Staffing Scheme which are currently available mostly to IAS officers. This is nothing but

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

To cover around 46 lakh central employees, a sum of Rs 510.86 crore will be spent over a period of 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The expenditure is partly funded by multilateral assistance to the tune of $50 million. There will be a sense of participation by each civil servant by paying Rs 431 per annum as subscription

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choking and strangulation of the service from within! While so, poodles among these mandarins are hand-picked and rewarded with key and coveted appointments in the government and sinecures outside including constitutional positions. The only consideration is bigoted loyalty and almost slavish adherence to the credence of ‘yes, prime minister’. In the event, merit through innovation and creativity are thrown over the roof and mediocrity has become the mantra of governance. Instead of mentoring, reforming and rejuvenating, the IAS, which is the bulwark of India’s democratic governance, the Service and its members are being dishevelled and dismembered through the devious means of large-scale lateral entry of corporate candidates.

ll these had devastating effect on India’s governance. For instance, colossal mismanagement of the Covid pandemic and the inhuman lockdown has led to a double whammy. While India is on the verge of reaching the top of the world in Coronavirus infection, its economy is at the bottom of the pit. Small enterprises have collapsed and millions are being pushed into joblessness, poverty and penury. And this is happening even when there is extreme iniquity in the economy. While the richest 10 per cent of Indians own 77.4 per cent of the country’s wealth, with the super-rich 1 per cent share at 51.5 per cent, the bottom 60 per cent own just 4.7 per cent and are out of the mainstream economy. With increasing number of millionaires and billionaires by the day, this divide is widening fast. While swearing by the poor, central government for the last few years has been busy building up an oligarchy of super-rich favourites who control the market and the economy. This is being done by assiduously promoting a crony-capital driven ‘techno-commercial monopoly/ duopoly’, which has been accelerated under the draconian pandemic lockdown. While GDP has tanked by 24 per cent, wealth of certain crony-capitalists has doubled or trebled. Now, with several rich Public Sector Undertakings with vast assets on the bidding block and available cheap, this monopoly/duopoly by the carpetbaggers would become stronger. Such perverse and perverted economy would bring the vast majority of the poor and not-so-poor to their knees subjecting themselves to the whims of these predators

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Over the last few years senior Civil Servants of the All India Services have been subjugated by the Prime Minister and his highly centralised establishment by adopting various devious and divisive means. Like many institutions and instruments of democratic governance, IAS has also been under severe assault as to the price they pay for products and services they buy/consume. By merging with and prompted by big corporate, ‘New India’ is moving away from a ‘welfare state’ enshrined in the Constitution towards a ‘predatory state.’ This would require large scale parallel/lateral recruitment of ‘committed cadre’ to produce a special breed of ‘futureready’ civil servants, most of whom may come from corporate or saffron background. Obviously, after this high level of training and grooming, the civil servantsturned ‘karmayogis’ would be serving the ‘Corporatised New India’? Can this be countenanced? g

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GOVERNANCE

economy make in India

Change through

Quality In giving the call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Vocal for Localâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, it is clear that the Prime Minister wants India to produce goods of a quality that not only reduces our dependence on imported goods, but also makes them well sought-after globally while placing India among the foremost exporters of the world

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by P Narahari

rime Minister Narendra Modi has given a call— Vocal for Local—for making India ‘aatmanirbhar’ or selfreliant. India’s aspiration for self-reliance is as old as our modern history but never before has a call been given from the country’s topmost office to turn India’s quest for self-reliance into a national movement. Therefore, the clarion call becomes significant with the slogan ‘Vocal for Local’. Every society, every country in the world aspires to be self-reliant. It dreams of expanding export of its products and formulates policies to help that goal. The Prime Minister has given the mantra ‘Vocal for Local’ to realise that dream for India and to ensure that every Indian commits herself to the movement for Swadeshi. Self-reliance and ‘Vocal for Local’ serve each other. Self-reliance is directly connected to quality. It is widely accepted that the developed nations are able to dominate global markets because of their innovative products and their quality. In giving the call ‘Vocal for Local’, it is clear that the Prime Minister wants India to produce goods of a quality that not only reduces our dependence on imported goods, but also makes them well sought-after globally while placing India among the foremost exporters of the world. Be it human resources or any other goods, competition is always centred around quality. If we look at natural products from the agriculture sector, we find that quality products have the maximum demand in the market. Sub-standard quality is never able to find any customers while top quality products are sought-after even at high prices.

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The biggest challenge India faces is improving the quality of its products to global standards. India has enough resources to do that. Nature has blessed India abundantly... What is needed is instilling the desire for quality in the Indian consciousness such that our goods are sought after on the world stage

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GOVERNANCE

economy make in India

Like all developing nations, the biggest challenge India faces is improving the quality of its products to global standards. India has enough resources to do that. Nature has blessed India abundantly. While India is bestowed with all kinds of physical features and climatic conditions, our population and our religious, cultural and language diversity are strengths. What is needed is instilling the desire for qual-

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

ity in the Indian consciousness such that our goods are sought after on the world stage. This is the thinking behind the Prime Minister’s call for ‘atmanirbhar’ and ‘Vocal for Local’. Quality pertains not only to industrial goods but rather to every walk of life as all activities in society are interlinked. We can realise the dream of self-reliance only when we bring quality to every facet of life. For instance, if

we look at the situation created by the COVID 19 pandemic, we find that the biggest crisis facing economies is the weakening of demand. The pandemic has made it a global challenge. That is why while we work at strengthening infrastructure like supply chain and storage, we must simultaneously adopt measures to strengthen demand in the economy. Only then can we ensure that top quality prod-

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India has tremendous opportunity in handicrafts and ayurvedic products. These products will have to deal with the challenges in terms of quality, branding and marketing. Agriculture is India’s most traditional and fundamental sector. However, its productivity and contribution to economy is the lowest even though a large percentage of the population is dependent on it ucts are not deprived of consumption and suitable prices in the market. Lack of demand has the maximum impact on farmers. They only get the minimum support price in respect of a limited number of crops. An adequate price for their other crops is directly dependent on the demand which is led by the people’s buying power or the income they spend in the market. As a result, before we try and increase

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demand, we must work at increasing people’s incomes and creating new employment opportunities. India has tremendous opportunity in handicrafts and ayurvedic products. These products will have to deal with the challenges in terms of quality, branding and marketing. Agriculture is India’s most traditional and fundamental sector. However, its productivity and contribution to economy is the

lowest even though a large percentage of the population is dependent on it. We need to move some of these people to other sectors like industry, infrastructure and services and that will only happen when these sectors see a consistent rise in demand. It will not be the case that even when India’s agriculture sector reaches productivity levels of developed nations, its products will dominate the

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GOVERNANCE

economy make in India

It is clear that if India wants to be truly self-reliant, it needs to make the pursuit of quality part of our DNA. The prosperous classes of Indian society will have to lead the quest for quality. They can bring about a change by using their earnings to increase incomes of their employees global markets and will be sought after in every corner of the world. Indian products will face stiff competition from those already in the market. So, be it agriculture or any other sector, if we want to make ourselves strong to face the competition, we have to manufacture top quality goods at competitive prices. The answer to every challenge is quality. In order to make the Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s call a success, we have to bring about a major change in Indian

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society. Just like cleanliness, we will have to make quality a part of public consciousness. We will have to improve the quality of our human capital so that its demand in the employment market increases. Skill development will play a crucial part in finding avenues of employment for the jobless. If we explore the challenges regarding human resources, we find that on the quality parameter, Indian products are still lagging globally. It is imperative that a country of 135 crore people

makes some quality products that the world is forced to buy from us. We have to raise our research and development to world standards. There are some fields where India has excelled in R&D. For instance, ISRO has many achievements to its credit in space technology. Our achievements in the field of atomic energy have also done the country proud. These achievements are directly linked to education. Therefore, it is crucial that we increase the number of

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top educational institutions in proportion to our population. In medicine, we mostly rely on imports for hi-tech equipment. Following economic liberalisation, India may appear self-sufficient in the automobile sector but most of the companies are fundamentally foreign. Similarly, big sectors like defence and communication still rely on imports. These are the sectors that need self-reliance the most. It is a similar story with the pharma sector. Though India is a major pro-

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ducer of drugs, it mostly depends on imports for the API (active pharmaceutical ingredient). Indian companies have immense opportunities in this sector. It is clear that if India wants to be truly self-reliant, it needs to make the pursuit of quality part of our DNA. The prosperous classes of Indian society will have to lead the quest for quality. They can bring about a change by using their earnings to increase incomes of their employees. Like any developed society, India

needs to have a national movement for quality. The Prime Minister’s call is a starting point. From here on, only cutting-edge research and quest for quality can place India into a new orbit. There can be no short cuts. Quality cannot be achieved overnight, it requires years of dedication and focus. And India seems to have set off on the path. g (The writer, Parikipandla Narahari, an IAS officer, is Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation & Commissioner, Technical Education Department, Govt of Madhya Pradesh)

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GOVERNANCE education anil swarup

On track to transform? 22

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A Private schools and NGOs cater to more than 50 per cent of school children but they are given just a passing reference in the New Education Policy, raising questions about its scope and efficacy www.indianbuzz.com

fter a long wait of more than six years, the National Education Policy is finally out. And it has some very interesting and meaningful features that can actually transform school education. It could be debated whether there was indeed a need for such a policy for a country as diverse as ours. “Children should not only learn but also learn how to learn”. This is the essence of the recently announced education policy. Most of the provisions of the policy attempt to enable the child to learn how to learn. The intention and the direction that the policy provides are, by and large, laudable though there could be serious implementation related issues. One of the most heartening features of the policy relates to inclusion of pre-school education. It is well established that the initial years of a child are critical for his overall development. The suggestion to the Ministries (Women and Child Welfare responsible for Anganwadis and School Education) to work in tandem for this purpose makes a lot of sense. Steps had been initiated three years ago by incorporating early childhood education in “Samagra Shiksha”. This new scheme sought to amalgamate the ongoing “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)” and “Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). Incorporating this feature in the policy will provide the desired thrust. The focus on the teacher has been talked about for a while. The teacher lies at the pivot of school education. The policy reiterates and endorses this. One of the biggest ‘mafias’ in school education “that were eating into the essentials of society like termites” (highlighted in “The Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant”) is the group of such B. Ed and D. El. Ed colleges that existed only on paper. This scourge would hopefully be taken care of under the policy as there is a provision for bringing forth a four-year integrated course for pre-service training. Various other issues relating to selection of teachers and in-service upgradation of skills have also been appropriately highlighted. Some of these steps were initiated a few years ago. They can now to be taken to logical conclusion.

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GOVERNANCE education anil swarup

The policy provides for migration from existing structure to 5+3+3+4. One wonders how this step will help improve learning outcomes and whether it would be worthwhile spending time, effort and money to undertake such an overhaul

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Transfer of teachers is a racket in several states. One former Chief Minister is behind bars on account of such a racket. The policy recognises this as a problem but does not provide an effective way forward. Some states, like Rajasthan and Karnataka, have managed to find a broad solution. Policy could have outlined such examples that could be replicated by other states. There are other similar instances where a roadmap has not been provided. After six years of deliberations, the two Committees that looked into such issues could have provided some way forward. Students have been rightly empowered to select subjects of their choice. More flexibility has been advocated for this purpose in the curriculum. The emphasis given to vocational training and extra-curricular activities is critical and finds space in the Policy. These activities have been deservedly placed on the same pedestal as the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;regularâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; subjects. Teaching in mother tongue till Class V is theoretically a great idea and needs to be done as it is now established that it is easier for a child to learn and understand concepts in his mother-tongue. However, it will pose many practical problems. How will migrant children manage? Or will

there be separate sets of teachers? Will it be affordable? These and many similar questions are neither raised nor answered in the policy The policy provides for migration from existing structure to 5+3+3+4. One wonders how this step will help improve learning outcomes and whether it would be worthwhile spending time, effort and money to undertake such an overhaul. The policy incorporates large scale changes in the conduct of examinations by Boards as also introduction of examinations at various levels. Whereas this may sound good in theory, its implementation could prove tricky. The State Boards are struggling to conduct just two exams. In fact, the effort should be to build capacities of these Boards to conduct the ongoing exams efficiently to assess the competencies of the student A separate regulatory authority for school education has also been provided in the policy. Yet again, this appears to be a sound move in principle as it separates execution from regulation. Right now the State Education Departments are performing both the tasks and there is indeed a conflict of interest. It is a moot point whether this change would help in qualitative improvements

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in learning outcomes. It could even morph into a new form of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;inspector-rajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; The delusionary farce of spiking marks, perpetrated by the respective examination boards, has led to a situation where a student can get and does get 100 per cent marks in English Literature (Shakespeare must be turning in his grave). All this farce is to facilitate entry to good universities. Reforming the existence system of entrance to higher education is a welcome move and will perhaps eliminate this farce. Similarly, setting up National Assessment Centre for School Education for periodic assessment of competencies is a positive move as it will reveal the ground reality. It will enable the authorities to take corrective steps based on such findings. This task is presently being performed by NCERT and they are doing a decent job but there is a need for an independent expert body. The policy virtually ignores private schools. Around 50 per cent of children go to private schools. Encouraging investments by private sector in schools would have helped the cause of school

education. There is a lot of space for both public and private schools. An opportunity to promote private sector investment in school education has been missed. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are playing an important role in the school education. They are partnering with the State Governments in a number of states to deliver and improve quality of education. There is just a passing reference to these organisations in the policy. The joint efforts by NGOs and the State Governments should have been elaborated. These efforts should be leveraged, replicated and scaled. NGOs can also play a major role in managing and mainstreaming out-of-school children and drop outs. There are indeed ambitious plans outlined in the policy. There is a mention that 6 per cent of the GDP would be allocated to education. Let us pray that it happens. What gives hope is an outstanding team of officers at the Department of School Education at the Central level. They are capable of making it happen. g (The writer is a former Secretary Department of School Education & Literacy)

A separate regulatory authority for school education has also been provided in the policy and appears to be a sound move in principle as it separates execution from regulation. But it all depends on execution

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GOVERNANCE education reform

Shaking up

the system The National Education Policy 2020 with its long-term vision seeks to lay the foundation for a new India and for that some revolutionary changes are required

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by P Narhari

ith calls for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Vocal for Local’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a national movement for a new India. At the heart of the movement lies the quest for excellence in every walk of life. In order to make India quality conscious, we have to begin with revolutionary changes in the education sector. Only a high-quality education can make a man truly self-reliant. Through education, one receives the adequate skills to face any challenge in life. Our level of skills determines our standing in any competition. Only quality can raise the eligibility of a candidate. In order to bring fundamental changes in education, the government has dedicated the framework of the third National Education Policy to the nation, after a gap of 34 years. The new National Education Policy (NEP-2020) is a vision document that will provide the base for the curricula of primary, secondary and higher secondary as well as technical and other education. The final document will be prepared after many deliberations between stakeholders. This policy will undoubtedly usher in wide-ranging changes in educationawaited for decades. The task of bringing all-round changes to the education infrastructure is so extensive that the government has set a target of 20 years to implement the policy. This long interval will see two generations pass through. It will be a challenge for the governments to reduce this interval. Another facet of the new policy is that bringing about social change through education will be a challenging and long drawn process. That is why its implementation will require amendments in many laws. States will have to reach a consensus over diverse issues.The status of teachers will have to be accorded a high place in society as the responsibility of successful implementation of the new policy lies on their shoulders. The new education policy needs to address social differences. We have to resolve to bring uniformity in the different qualities of education available to different sections of society. The most disastrous consequence of the old education policy is the commercialisation of education. Besides addressing the shortcomings that have persisted for decades, the new education policy should aim to break the

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vicious cycle of privatisation and commercialisation of education. Curricula and local language as the medium of instruction need a fresh infusion of ideas. Only then can we move towards ‘siddhi’ or success in education. Under the NEP, we have to move towards a scenario where we either break the stranglehold of English on our education system or make sure everyone gets the same level of instruction in English. I believe the policy makers will work out a way to address this huge inequality through the new policy. The education system runs on government funds in all the developed nations of the world. Without government intervention, it is impossible to dream of uniformity in education. Privatisation of higher

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GOVERNANCE education reform

education in the United States has led to a situation where every youth is under debt. This has led to demands for bringing higher education back under the government’s purview. Today, when we are dreaming of uniform education for all after 72 years of independence, we must usher in sweeping changes through the new policy irrespective of the time it takes. The commitment of the NEP towards the weakest sections of society has to be strengthened further. The reason is obvious. How can the children under the care of anganwadi workers in villages ever compete with their counterparts in cities taught by trained teachers? In general, government teachers are paid poorly, whether they are primary teachers or teaching in universities. The level of education also varies for different students. While some have access to the best private tuitions and coaching, others simply have no teachers sometimes. Because both sections have to compete equally in life, there’s a demand to give special attention to the under-served sections of society in the NEP. Only then will we be able to enrol more and more children in primary schools and increase the participation of women in education. The Prime Minister has stressed upon the fact several times that a large portion of the weakest sections of society lack quality education and nutrition. The thought behind this is clear. Without giving special attention to these sections, the dream of selfreliance cannot be realised. More than giving opportunities to the weaker sections, our goal should be to empower them. If they are not empowered, how are they going to make the most of the opportunities? Whereas if they are empowered, they will not depend upon opportunities thrown their way

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The new National Education Policy is a vision document that will provide the base for the curricula of primary, secondary and higher secondary as well as technical and other education but create those opportunities themselves. An educated and skilled person can earn a living anywhere in the world and build his own path to success. The NEP takes all these aspects into account. The New Education Policy has

a goal of making higher education available to 50 per cent of the population by 2035. At present, the number stands at 26 per cent. In other words, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is sought to be doubled in 15 years. India has about 1,000 university-level institutions at present. Doubling the GER would require adding an equal number of universities and equal proportion of resources for students in the next 15 years. The Prime Minister has emphasised that only these steps will help retain Indian talent in India who can then work for the betterment of the coming generations. The targets set by the Prime Minister in the NEP for the next 15 years equal the achievements of the 72 years of independence and the British rule before that. Thus, the NEP is an epoch-making step that reflects the government’s vision and commitment

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towards education. The fundamental principles of NEP—increase women’s participation in higher education, turn skill development into a national mission, make education employmentoriented and increase the number of world-class educational institutions— are the need of the hour. Besides highlighting the needs and challenges of the future, the NEP also provides a roadmap for giving the present education system a new direction. All that is needed now is an efficient workplan to implement it. In India, the quest for quality can be made into a people’s movement only through research and development. The success of the call—‘vocal for local’—also depends upon it. However, one cannot make advances in R&D overnight. It takes generations of hard work to develop cutting edge technology and systems. Quality

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Besides addressing the shortcomings that have persisted for decades, the new education policy should aim to break the vicious cycle of privatisation and commercialisation of education education, scientific temper, a culture of questioning set practices, debates and reasoning are needed to help strengthen R&D. The NEP shows a clear thinking in this regard. Hopefully, we will soon start learning about the steps in that direction and

the benefits accruing from them. Quality in research and development is directly linked to financial resources. That is why the NEP talks of allocating 6 per cent of the GDP to education. Everyone is hopeful that under the Prime Minister’s visionary leadership, a solution to this challenge shall be found. Only with the right budget and efficient implementation of the policy can we achieve world class quality education for all. The Prime Minister has appealed to the people to collectively work out ways to implement the NEP. He believes it is a ‘mahayagna’ that will lay the foundation for a new India. g (The writer is an Indian Administrative Services Officer of 2001 batch of Madhya Pradesh, Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation, Commissioner, Technical Education Department, Govt of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal)

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GOVERNANCE xxx mg devasahayam

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GOVERNANCE

industry mg devasahayam

Dismantling public sector

End of welfare state? When carpetbaggers and crony-capitalists take over the public sector, 60 per cent of Indians will be permanently pushed out of mainstream economy and that will be the end of India as a welfare state. Along with that it will also be the death-knell of whatever is left of democracy

he Narendra Modi-led government is determined to dismantle the entire public sector in the country, conceived to achieve ‘commanding heights’ of our economy. Public sector today is the repository of huge national assets, including land and minerals, vital infrastructure, and huge productive forces. It is the wealth of the nation. While shouting a bogus slogan of ‘aatmanirbhar’ (self-reliance), the BJP government has done the exact opposite by allowing 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in such strategic sectors of our economy like defence, railways, telecom, civil aviation, satellites, power, petroleum, mining, coal, etc. This will adversely impact the functioning of the PSUs (Public Sector Units) in the concerned sector and also compromise

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our national interests, including national security. Dismantling the public sector became a part of the government agenda since 1991 with the official advent of neo-liberal policies. The concepts of selfreliant economy, economic sovereignty, balanced regional development, social justice, etc., were sought to be given a go by. The Modi government has intensified these policies. Soon after coming to power in 2014, this government wound up the Planning Commission and replaced it with the NITI Ayog, which is nothing but a corporate thinktank. The Ayog identified 74 central public sector undertakings (CPSUs), including 26 for downright closure and 10 for strategic disinvestment. The task was outsourced to Reliance Mutual Fund Managers to provide consultancy and execute its project of

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GOVERNANCE

industry mg devasahayam

quick selling 10 CPSUs. Ironically, Reliance Group is reportedly itself interested in purchasing these PSUs at throwaway prices! Following this, in the last few years, the Central government has been taking calculated measures to weaken well-functioning PSUs and make them sick to pave the way for privatisation. The surpluses generated by these units, meant for modernisation and continuous updating, are being drained. PSUs are also being denied technology upgradations. Through constant threat of privatisation, PSU employees are being constantly demoralised. This, in addition to blatant ‘rent seeking’ by politicians at all levels, makes the PSUs prone to inefficiency and low productivity. Besides, many PSUs are forced to pay dividends to the government much above the statutory level, sometimes as high as 50 per cent or more. Overall, there is a wellplanned design to make them sick and create ground for handing them over at cheap rates to favoured domestic and foreign buyers.

hat is bizarre is the haste with which this blatantly anti-people agenda is being rushed through. So much so, in the midst of the draconian pandemic lockdown, on May 17, 2020, in the guise of unveiling an economic recovery package, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a grand announcement that government will privatise all CPSUs in non-strategic sectors. While in the strategic sector there will be only up to a maximum of four PSUs, the private sector also will be allowed entry into it. What is strategic and what is nonstrategic is a well-guarded secret. Maybe, the Ambanis and Adanis of

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

this world will determine this! The paradox is that the announcement of this mega privatisation drive has been made under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan policy which is supposed to achieve reduction in import dependence and creation of a self-reliant India. The brazenness of the move and the urgency displayed prompted wags in the social media to come out with this meme: “BSNL lost to Reliance Jio; BPCL lost to Reliance Petroleum; ONGC lost to Reliance Gas; HAL lost to Reliance Defence.” This could soon become a reality. Let us see why. Ever since Reliance Jio was launched on September 5, 2016, it has been reportedly biting into the infrastructure and facilities of the

So, demolition men are let loose and BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde calls the 88,000 employees of BSNL as ‘traitors’, saying that all of them will be fired from the PSU as government will privatise the company. Blatant manifestation of such crony capitalism was described by former West Bengal Governor Gopalakrishna Gandhi while delivering the 15th D.P. Kohli Memorial Lecture at the conclusion of the CBI’s year-long Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2014: “Corporate greed has crossed all bounds.... We used to talk of black money as a parallel economy and so it continues to be. But Reliance is a parallel State. I do not know of any country where one single firm exer-

The NITI Ayog identified 74 central public sector undertakings (CPSUs), including 26 for downright closure and 10 for strategic disinvestment. The task was outsourced to Reliance Mutual Fund Managers to provide consultancy and execute its project of quickselling 10 CPSUs. Ironically, Reliance Group is reportedly itself interested in purchasing these PSUs at throwaway prices public sector BSNL with the tacit support of the BJP government. This PSU has been made to bleed continuously by denying it technological upgradation and through large-scale retrenchment of staff. Now with Reliance dominating the digital world, PMO is reportedly in a hurry to hand over BSNL to Mukesh Ambani on a platter. Sensing danger, BSNL employees have been resisting this devious move.

cises such power so brazenly over the natural resources, financial resources, professional resources and, ultimately, over human resources as the company of the Ambanis. From Ambedkar, who spoke of economic democracy, to Ambani, who represents a technocommercial monopoly of unprecedented scale, is a far cry indeed.” Since then this ‘techno-commercial monopoly’ has grown exponentially.

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Modi-led government has been taking calculated measures to weaken well-functioning PSUs and make them sick to pave the way for privatisation

Last week Mukesh Ambani surged past Europe’s wealthiest man, making him the world’s fourth-richest person. He is now worth $80.6 billion, after amassing $22 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Most of this additional $22 billion came through the benevolence of the government at the Centre. With many PSUs with vast assets lined up to be grabbed very soon, he may become

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the richest person in the world. Who knows, at this rate, soon enough from being ‘parallel State’ Reliance may become the ‘main State’! Be that as it may, in the initial years of our Republic, public sector was created an instrument to attain a selfreliant economy and create the industrial base of the country. It played an important role in developing balanced regional growth. It was the public sec-

tor which built the major infrastructure of the country like power, transport, including railways, roads, ports, etc., when the private sector did not have the capacity or was not ready to take the risk of investing huge amounts of capital in these sectors which do not provide immediate profits. Thermal and hydro power projects, transport and communication, manufacturing/ production facilities for steel, defence

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gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

GOVERNANCE

industry mg devasahayam

Mukesh Ambani has surged past Europe’s wealthiest man, making him the world’s fourth-richest person

equipment, ship-building, oil, coal, etc., were set up in the public sector. Research and Development taken up by the PSUs made a huge contribution to our technological and industrial advance. Dismantling public sector means subjugating our national economic interests, our economic independence and sovereignty to the interests of international finance capital and vested interests. It means handing over our national assets, our national wealth to the corporates in a silver platter. And it means facilitating

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exploitation of our labour by the profit hungry corporates by imposing bondage on them. It means robbing the SC/ ST of their statutory right to reservation. This will ultimately lead to the crushing of democratic structures and socio-economic institutions.

ll this would mean that India is abandoning the ‘welfare state’ founded in our Constitution and adopt a ‘predatory state’ dictated by the corporates? Doing so in a poor and low-income country like India with very high population will throw

out a substantial portion of its people from the mainstream economy. As is known, welfare estate is a concept of government where the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a decent life. The concept of welfare state is embedded in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV of the

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July-Septemberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;20

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GOVERNANCE

industry mg devasahayam

policy that ushered India as a ‘welfare state” are:  That the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means to livelihood;  That the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to sub serve the common good;  That the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment. Public Sector is an important and critical tool and instrument of this welfare state. As it is, deviation from these cardinal principles of state policy in the last about 30 years has resulted in extreme concentration of wealth and socio-economic iniquities in the country.

Chart 1

The Indian Plutocracy

51.5

Share in wealth of country (in %)

The richest 10% have 77.4% of national wealth; the poorest 60% have 4.7%

17.1 8.8 Richest 1%

Source: Credit Suisse

9.2

8.6

10%

20%

4.7 Poorest 60%

Chart 2

India among high-inequality nations Slovakia has the least wealth inequality. Share of richest:

(in %)

10%

India China US Japan

Russia Korea France Slovakia

Constitution of India). These are guidelines to the central and state governments of India, to be kept in mind while framing laws and policies. They are the instruments of instructions in the governance of the country. Directive principles are classified as social and economic charter, social security charter and community wel-

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

100

Source: Credit Suisse

Thailand

fare charter. Though these provisions are not enforceable by any court, the principles laid down therein are considered fundamental in the governance of the country, making it the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws to establish a just society in the country. The cardinal principles of state

ow is it so? Let us look at the Global Wealth Report-2018 of Credit Suisse Group AG. As per this report the richest 10 per cent of Indians own 77.4 per cent of the country’s wealth and the bottom 60 per cent own just 4.7 per cent. The super-rich 1 per cent own 51.5 per cent of the country’s wealth. Credit Suisse is not a bleeding-heart NGO but a blue-blooded Swiss bank. Here is the chart 1. The fact that India is among the most inequitable country in the world (top three) is borne from the chart 2. Then Oxfam came out with its India inequality report in January, 2019. According to it, the wealth of Indian billionaires rose by Rs 2,200 crore a day in 2018, with the top 1 per cent of the country’s richest getting richer by 39 per cent as against a 3 per cent increase in wealth for the bottomhalf of the population. The document, released before the start of the five-day World Economic Forum in

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Switzerland’s Davos, said 13.6 crore Indians, who make up the poorest 10 per cent of the country, have remained in debt since 2004. The Oxfam study showed that “the wealth of the top nine billionaires is equivalent to the wealth of the bottom 50% of the population.” India now has a total of 119 billionaires, having added 18 new ones last year. Their total wealth crossed $400 billion, around Rs 28 lakh crore, mark for the first time. The country is also expected to produce 70 new dollar millionaires every day between 2018 and 2022, the study added. As we have seen, it has already produced the 4th richest person in the world!

In the midst of the draconian pandemic lockdown, on May 17, 2020, in the guise of unveiling an economic recovery package, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a grand announcement that government will privatise all CPSUs in non-strategic sectors... What is strategic and what is non-strategic is a wellguarded secret. Maybe, the Ambanis and Adanis of this world will determine this

icture is the same now and may be a shade worse! All these when India had a strong public sector as a buffer to cater to some semblance of welfare and equity. Now, if the marauders are allowed to plunder the PSUs and sell them cheap to the oligarchs and carpetbaggers, even the fig leaf of India remaining a ‘welfare state’ as per the constitutional scheme of thing will vanish. Who will then provide water to distant hearths; healthcare and education to the deprived; electricity to remotest huts; telecommunication to the rural hamlets; road and rail transport to far-off places; banking facility to farmers and fisherfolk; and, above all, livelihood and employment to the mass of youth bordering on poverty? When carpetbaggers and crony-capitalists take over the public sector, 60 per cent of Indians will be permanently pushed out of mainstream economy and that will be the end of India as a welfare state. Along with that it will also be the death-knell of whatever is left of democracy! g

(The writer is a former Army and IAS Officer)

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

Globe Scan

geostrategic alliances

Indo–Australian Defence Ties

Gallipoli to The alignment of security concerns and common apprehensions of China’s growing expansionism and assertiveness in the region leave no doubt that the future for both India and Australia lies in consolidation and cooperation to contest China’s rise

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Galwan

by Maj Gen Jagatbir Singh (Retd)

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attlefields have the unique ability to unite people and bring them closer in more ways than one. Indian and Australian troops first fought together in 1915 in the trenches of Gallipoli against the Turks and thereafter against the onslaught of the Afrika Korps led by Rommel during the siege of Tobruk in 1941. They have also fought shoulder-to-shoulder in the jungles of Malaya and in the Far East. These experiences forged extraordinarily strong bonds between soldiers facing unspeakable horrors and enduring unimaginable suffering together. War removes all social barriers whether cultural, linguistic, religious or race as soldiers fight together to overcome insurmountable odds. What matters are honour, bravery and grit, and this leads to mutual respect and enduring relationships.

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Globe Scan

geostrategic alliances

Apart from shared experiences on the battlefield, the two countries also share a common love for cricket and sporting ties are second only to those of war. With this background why is it that our relations with Australia have seen both centrifugal and centripetal forces at play and now will our common concern of countering China result in closer cooperation between our nations? Pre-partition, both India and Australia were part of the British Empire; while India was ruled by the British, Australia was a self-governing dominion. However, Australia’s ‘White Australia’ policy that effectively stopped non-European immigration into the country and contributed to a racially insulated white community was a thorn in the relationship. This policy was gradually dismantled over the years and finally ended in 1973.

oday, Australia prides itself on being a multi-cultural society and in a population of 25 million over 1.2 million are ethnic Chinese whereas Indians are nearly 7 lakh representing over 2.8 per cent of the population. Indians are, however, the highest growing migrant community. The first issue post-partition was the status of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The British thought that their non-inclusion in India would benefit them by keeping their dominance in the region as well as keep India in check. Australia wanted Britain to secure long-term leases for naval and air facilities in the event Britain could not retain the islands. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands became part of India in 1950. Thereafter, the paths of India and Australia diverged with the cold war. Australia firmly aligned itself with the US and India followed the path of non alignment.

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Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with President John F Kennedy

In November 1963, Australia participated in Exercise Shiksha, an air exercise which validated India’s air defence systems. This exercise was held as an outcome of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru asking President Kennedy for assistance against China in November 1962

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and banning the sale of uranium to India because India was not a party to the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This ban was finally lifted after the signing of the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in September 2014 during the visit of Prime Minister Tony Abbott to India. Uranium exports to India by Australia finally commenced in September 2017, when Australia made a special exception for India as the first country which is not a signatory to the NPT with which it trades in uranium.

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Scott Morrison

In November 1963, though, Australia participated in Exercise Shiksha, an air exercise which validated India’s air defence systems. This exercise was held as an outcome of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru asking President Kennedy for assistance against China in November 1962. The exercise was conducted to show solidarity against the Chinese and convey an appropriate message.

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The last major issue that cast a shadow on the relationship with Australia was its reaction to the nuclear tests conducted by India in Pokhran in 1998.They not only condemned it in strong terms, but also suspended all bilateral defence ties, including recalling Australian officers attending courses in India, doubling military aid to Pakistan which it cancelled after Pakistan conducted its nuclear test

here are differences in the nuclear paths taken by both countries. India has no option but to weaponise in view of the fact that two of its neighbours possess nuclear weapons, whereas, Australia though having 31 per cent of the world’s uranium reserves, is protected by being under the US nuclear umbrella. It is also a signatory to the Treaty of Rarotonga which ensures a nuclear weapons free zone in the South Pacific and is obligated to ensure that nuclear materials are exported only to countries safeguarded by the NPT. Apart from such issues, Australia has its own reasons regarding the slow trajectory and shallow depth of its relationship with India. The two major issues that come to the forefront are the view in its strategic circles that India, due to its hostile neighbours, is mainly a continental power, whereas Australia would like to see India being a more assertive maritime power. The other is that in spite of India’s economic rise, it still has a large population which is below the poverty line and thus needs to spend heavily on food, health and education subsidies which result in a decrease in its defence expenditure. While these

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Globe Scan

geostrategic alliances

two issues are realities, given India’s unique geographical location with a revisionist Pakistan and a coercive China, unresolved borders, ongoing proxy war and large population, there is no shying away from the fact that both countries, though geographically at two extremities of the Indo-Pacific, are the largest maritime powers in the region and shoulder the responsibility of its security. Australia finds itself at the crossroads today. It depends on the US as far as its security needs are concerned and at the same time China is its biggest trading partner. The Sino– Australian trade in 2018-19 stood at A$235 billion, accounting for nearly 26 per cent of its total trade, with the balance of trade firmly in Australia’s favour. With India, however, bilateral

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trade stands at A$30.3 billion, which makes India Australia’s eighth biggest trading partner, accounting for only 3.4 per cent of its international trade.

here is no doubt that China’s growth has contributed to Australia’s prosperity. So far it has been able to decouple its security and economic concerns, but with increasing belligerence being displayed by China and the responsibilities of security of the Eastern Indian Ocean, Australia will need to make a tough choice between trade and security. There has been considerable progress in Indo-Australian defence ties; Australian officers have been attending courses in India regularly. AK Antony was the first Indian Defence Minister to visit Australia in 2008.

Since then there have been a series of engagements and agreements mainly due to the shared values of both countries. The two countries have been strategic partners since 2009. A Framework for Security Cooperation was also agreed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Australia in November 2014. With a focus on expanding maritime cooperation, AUSINDEX, the first bilateral exercise commenced in 2015, is undoubtedly a display of increased collaboration. Both countries have also been holding a Two plus Two Defence and Foreign Secretary level dialogue since 2018. The greatest impetus to raise the bar on the content and form of engagement has come in the midst of the Galwan standoff, when a vir-

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tual summit was held between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Scott Morrison on June 4, 2020, resulting in the signing of two defence agreements. These were the landmark Australia-India Mutual Logistic Support Agreement and the Defence Science & Technology Implementing Arrangement. The agreements commit both countries to deepen military integration, including joint exercises, and grant access to each other’s bases for logistical support. The joint statement issued at the end of the summit stated “as two Indo-Pacific countries, India & Australia have an enduring interest in a free, open, inclusive and rulesbased Indo-Pacific region. Today, neither country views each other as a security provider. Both have limitations as far as military projection of their power is concerned, although both their military capabilities and capacities have increased. The common thread is that both nations acknowledge the US as the dominant power to balance China in the Indian Ocean region. It is, therefore, imperative that we strengthen our relationship which has traversed a long way since our lowest ebb in 1998. Going by current indications, it is almost certain that Australia will be invited to attend Exercise Malabar, which is likely to be held at the end of the year. If this happens, it will be the first time all members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) will be participating in a maritime exercise since 2007. Hesitant steps need to transform into firm strides. Incidentally, all four countries have a level of friction with China at the present moment although the issues and degree vary. The message conveyed to China will be of a unified commitment and resolve to counter

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Going by current indications, it is almost certain that Australia will be invited to attend Exercise Malabar, which is likely to be held at the end of the year. If this happens, it will be the first time all members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) will be participating in a maritime exercise since 2007 China’s belligerence. The Global Times has stated that “bolstered by Canberra, it will help India expand its influence in the South Pacific via the straits of Malacca.”

ince the outbreak of COVID 19, there has been a recent deterioration in relations between Australia and China, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for an independent international inquiry into the origin of the pandemic. China reacted by increasing tariffs on some products and threatened other forms of economic coercion.

While COVID 19 has been the catalyst for the deteriorating Australian relationship with China, the events in Galwan only accelerated the bilateral movement of India and Australia towards each other, primarily because of an increasing manifestation of shared security concerns. The alignment of these security concerns and common apprehensions of China’s growing expansionism and assertiveness in the region leave no doubt that the future for both countries lies in consolidation and cooperation to contest China’s rise. There can be no more hedging as far as China is concerned. g

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BOOK REVIEW non fiction memoirs

Dilemmas of an ethical officer

• Title: Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant • Author: Anil Swarup • Publisher: Unique Publishers India Pvt Ltd • Pages: 264 • Price: `300

Like Arabian Nights the 88 tales in Anil Swarup’s ruminations have both morals and posers

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by Shubhabrata Bhattacharya

he title of Anil Swarup’s second book, “Ethical dilemmas of a civil servant”, is somewhat misleading. Like his first tome, “Not just a civil servant”, this book does not bring forth an author who had dilemmas. It is a treatise of the post-retirement rumination of an officer who tried to tread an ethical path in a quagmire—and never tripped, or was trapped. Reviewing a book whose foreword has been penned by the eminent author and corporate honcho, Gurcharan Das, former Proctor Gamble chairman, and which has been endorsed by luminaries, including former cabinet secretaries and a chief election commissioner, is an uphill task. Vineet Nayar, the former bureaucrat who went on to head corporate giants GAIL, Tech Mahindra and HCL, sees the book as an “insightful, honest, warts-and-all account” of Swarup’s illustrious career. Four former cabinet secretaries—KM Chandrashekhar, BK Chaturvedi, Surendra Singh, Prabhat Kumar— and eminent bureaucrats, K Padmanabhaiah, Yogendra Narain and Mukund Behari Kaushal, have endorsed the book, which contains 88 short stories culled from the author’s experience, which, SY Qureshi says reminded him of the fables from the Arabian Nights; each story has a moral and a poser in the end. Initially selected for IPS, Swarup joined IAS in 1981.His police training left an indelible mark in his approach to ethics. He cites instances when he used his IPS background to show the book to errant officers who were impeding genuine work. Winner of the Chancellor’s award in his alma mater, Allahabad University, and the Director’s medal for being the best trainee at the Mussorie academy, Swarup spent his younger years in his cadre state, Uttar Pradesh, and later held key positions at the Centre. He was made Coal Secretary at a time when coal scam was hitting

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Post-retirement he did a stint in Jharkhand and his observations on the difference in the trajectories adopted by progressive Chhattisgarh and backward Jharkhand—states carved out of MP and Bihar, respectively, in 2000—is a study in developmental administrative-economics

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

BOOK REVIEW non fiction memoirs

headlines and his predecessor in that post, HC Gupta, was jailed (later acquitted as charges against him did not stand scrutiny of courts—a testimony by itself of the perils faced by officers). During his tenure in the Centre under the UPA, Swarup was involved in the launch of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana.His expertise was drawn upon by NDA when further schemes were formulated, with Prime Minister Modi interacting with him on health scheme-related issues in a meeting after Swarup’s Education Ministry discussion was over. “His yearning for details is amazing,” comments Swarup after narrating his interaction with Modi.

warup served in UP chief minister’s office during the tenures of Mayawati and Kalyan Singh. He was witness to the events of December 6, 1992, and was privy to the agonised telephone call which Kalyan Singh made to Rajasthan chief minister and BJP stalwart, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, after the demolition. While serving with Mayawati, he one day found a District Magistrate visiting the CM’s residence; he entered her room carrying a briefcase but came out without one. He looked sheepish when Swarup queried if the officer had forgotten his briefcase in the CM’s room. Swarup has written a chapter on “Extra Constitutional Authority” in which he cites Sanjay Gandhi during the Emergency and refers to the influence of Mayawati’s brother on her administration. He writes in detail about the late Amar Singh and his clout in Lucknow during Mulayam Singh’s regime. He has word of praise for Kalyan Singh: especially for the effort made to check “nakal” (copying) in examinations. At one point he even cites how while he was serving at the Centre, Kalyan Singh sought his advice before meeting BJP high command in New Delhi. The absence of reference to a Lucknow Municipal Corporator who rose to be a power centre during Kalyan Singh days is perhaps one of the few shortcomings in Swarup’s narrative. The book vividly brings out power broking in Lucknow,engulfing details like the rise

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of a state aircraft pilot (Shekhar Singh, not named in the book) to become “Cabinet Secretary” of UP—a post specially created for him (unprecendented, as it’s a hallowed position at the Centre: the Number One bureaucrat in New Delhi is so designated). Post-retirement he did a stint in Jharkhand and his observations on the difference in the trajectories adopted by progressive Chhattisgarh and backward Jharkhand—states carved out of MP and Bihar, respectively, in 2000—is a study in developmental administrative-economics. Chhattisgarh has performed better or at par with MP; Bihar developed at a faster rate post Jharkhand bifurcation while Jharkhand lagged behind. Swarup bluntly states that while good IAS officers preferred to serve in Chhattisgarh and help develop a nascent state, the Jharkhand officers preferred central deputation. He cites Chhattisgarh creating a new capital, Naya Raipur, and Jharkhand government continuing to function from the “Project Bhavan”, the former head office of a central PSU, Heavy Engineering Corporation, in Hatia in the outskirts of Ranchi, even 20 years after creation of the state to highlight his tale of two states. While I was browsing through Swarup’s book, I came across in the website, “The Print”, a story which said that the Nagaland Civil Service Association, a body of native state officers, described the IAS as “suitcase bureaucracy” as Nagaland cadre IAS officers preferred to leave the state at the earliest pretext and serve elsewhere. Citing the killings of two IAS officers in Nagaland in 1974 and 1995, the association said on July 26, “These two tragic incidents greatly shaped bureaucracy in Nagaland. It began the chapter of what journalists would go on to call the era of ‘suitcase bureaucrats’—IAS officers posted to the state would leave on any pretext they could find. Some applied for leave and extended their leave for years. Those that could, applied for deputation and some managed to stay away on deputation without ever coming back to serve in the state. Many officers have changed their cadre altogether,” the statement said. This episode showed the relevance of the observation of Swarup regarding some IAS officers preferring to serve in New Delhi

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than to play a role in the development of the state to which these elite all-India service officers are allotted. Recalling his Jharkhand experience, Swarup says that he was dismayed to learn that the PM’s peoplefriendly Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) was a non starter due to connectivity issues in remote areas. He says banks in two blocks of Simdega did not have computer connectivity. There may be more such blocks but the case of Simdega is highlighted effectively by the author. The relevance of what Swarup has written is borne out by a news item, published in The Economic Times on August 18, 2020: Till August 5, only 2.46 lakh tonne (31 per cent)of the eight lakh tonne foodgrains Narendra Modi had allocated for free distribution among migrant labourers hit by the pandemic pandemonium had been distributed by the State governments.

Recalling his Jharkhand experience, Swarup says that he was dismayed to learn that the PM’s peoplefriendly Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) was a non starter due to connectivity issues in remote areas. He says banks in two blocks of Simdega did not have computer connectivity. There may be more such blocks but the case of Simdega is highlighted effectively by the author

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ighty per cent of the grains allocated for the scheme (6.38 lakh tonnes) had been lifted by the States but only 2.46 lakh tonnes had reached the beneficiaries. The scheme which was announced by the PM in the wake of largescale reverse migration due to Covid is to end on Sptember 30. If only 31 per cent has been disbursed during these trying times then the efficacy of the scheme, a jewel in the crown for the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission, can be fathomed. If bureaucracy is sloppy and sans compassion in times of mass human misery then the least is said is better. The figures were culled by the newspaper from the Union government’s submission before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour. It transpired in the parliamentary panel that migrants were unable to lift foodgrains through the ePoS system as it does not work in the fair price shops in remote areas due to connectivity issues. The book is full of anecdotes which are revealing as well as educative. Hopefully it will find some place in the syllabus of civil service trainees. The New Education Policy was announced after Swarup published this book. Hopefully as a former Union Education secretary he will put pen to paper and analyse this paradigm changing reform. g

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

LIFESTYLE health aging

Learn to Age Gracefully by Balvinder Kumar

Undertake a healthy journey towards the end of life

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

e are all programmed to die one day. How many tomorrows we are going to see; we have no idea. However, we all live as if we are destined to live for ever. This is the biggest irony of life. We never notice how much time has already gone and the time which is left we can only guess wildly. As long as we exist, death is not with us, when it comes, we don’t exist, said famously by Ernest Becker, the author of “Denial of Death”.Life is short if we waste time by living a repetitive and habitual life. Life is long if we keep on learning and growing by experiencing new things in life. Most of us run after wrong things thereby waste lot of precious time, allocated to each one of us. People can survive for decades with terminal diseases. Some others die instantly. They don’t get time to prepare themselves for dying. Some even don’t get up in the morning. Sadly, few people beg and pray for early death; they desperately want to die. What a life? Full of uncertainty. We humans are highly vulnerable, delicate and prone to accidents, diseases and calamities. Off course, some element of uncertainty and surprise will always be there throughout our lifetime. Like,

a person is travelling by road and met with a fatal accident due to someone else mistake. However, substantial part of our life, including aging, can be controlled by us. Living is a skill to be learnt. We can potentially design our own destiny. Do you know that at least 15 to 20 years of additional life is purely at our disposal?If we grow and age positively, we can avail these bonus years. In the world, a little over 53,000 people die every day. Nearly 63 per cent of deaths, as per WHO estimates are because of lifestyle diseases. These people could have lived longer, had they escaped from life style diseases like diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart and lung diseases. They themselves created those diseases. Seneca, a major philosophical figure of the Roman Empire, very rightly said that ‘learning how to live takes a whole life and what is more surprising is that, it takes a whole life to learn how to die”. He is right, we don’t accept the process of dying and death despite knowing its inevitability. In a way, we don’t want to die but at the same time, we don’t want to live gracefully. Pause for a minute and think about our own aging process. We may be ‘aging’ physiologically only for 7 or 8

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years in a decade. In one decade, we age chronologically by 10 years. But we may age only 7-8 years if we lead a robust and healthy life – both physically and mentally. On the other hand, we may age physiologically by even 14-15 years or even more in a span of one decade. This happens when we don’t grow in a healthy way. Different biomarkers for various diseases deteriorate fast when we age. In this way, majority of us either hasten or slow down our aging process. As most of the time we are busy with day-to-day problems, we don’t spend time to look inside ad see things in bigger perspective. However, a time comes when one starts attending prayer meetings more frequently, after death of our known and close ones. Then the question of old age and fastapproaching death comes more often to our mind. Thanks to improved living conditions and medical interventions, we can treat some of the leading causes of death such as cancer and heart stroke better than before. If we take care of ‘loneliness’ and maintain an active life - mentally and physically with decent diet - then our journey can well be under our control. Death and the process of dying is one of the most fascinating subjects

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

LIFESTYLE health aging

in our life. Many institutions across the world are studying this subject so as to delay and possibly even defeat death. Medical experts have successfully identified ‘longevity genes’ as well as physiological and biological factors that control our aging process. Undoubtedly, the world is becoming a far better place to live. As a result, life expectancy has been increasing consistently. In every year, one year is added in our average life span. Great news, indeed. With this speed, our younger generation will easily be crossing 100. It’s not a fiction: With the help of gene editing, nontechnology, artificial intelligence etc., organ replacement, including the brain, will be very common in the near future. Death will be “optional” within just 25 years, and the aging process will be “reversible,” according to two genetic engineers, José Luis Cordeiro and David Wood. Their book, The Death of Death, asserts that “immortality is a real and scientific possibility that could come much earlier than originally thought. Humans will die only in accidents, never of natural causes or illness, by around the year 2045.” They further maintain that “old age starts to be classified as an ‘illness’ so that publicly funded research into its ‘cure’ can extend.” Cordeiro, who is based at MIT in the USA, says he has “chosen not to die” and that in 30 years’ time, he will be “younger” than he is today. There is no denying the possibility that that time may come sooner, rather than later. We all want to die gracefully and peacefully. What is really dreadful about death is the suffering and pain that is associated with the process of dying. Therefore, we are fearful of death because of the uncertainty, physical and emotional pain, and the

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

loss of everything and everyone we have loved in life. The anxiety that’s caused by thoughts of ceasing to called death anxiety. Death is the most fundamental companion to anxiety.

Time is all in the mind. Its speed varies from time to time Many of us also start to feel “settled” once we enter our late forties or early fifties. Our children may leave the nest for college or job, get married, start a family…and life becomes comparatively comfortable and settled as the struggle period is, for the most part, over. At this point, many find them-

selves “mellowing out” - and feeling more satisfied with life. This tends to be especially true when one reaches retirement from active service or a profession, and life becomes more routine and habitual. The same routine in the morning - going for a walk, practicing yoga, reading newspapers, checking email, having breakfast followed by the afternoon leg of similarly regular activities. This goes on and on. Even irrespective of age, we often experience time subjectively. When we are bored or in painful situations, time moves slowly. On the other hand, for one who is watching an entertaining film or engaged in interesting conversation, time flies. In the words of Albert Einstein, “Put your hand on

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a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.”

Time seems to move faster as we get older The time displays on our clocks and the time we all experience is different. Each one of us experiences time in our own unique way. Though time is objective, our experience of it is subjective. Most of us have surely noticed that time seems to speed up as we age. Now numerous studies have confirmed this experience. Time appears to be moving much faster than it did in our childhood and young

adulthood when, for instance, a single summer felt like a year. Depending on one’s outlook and experience, the days, months, and years appear to offer either less or more time than usual. Researchers have not, thus far, been able to pinpoint the exact reason or reasons why the perception of time changes so radically as we age. While there are many theories, it remains a mysterious phenomenon. In 2005, two German researchers at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich conducted a very important study on time perception. Around 500 participants, ages 14 to 94 years, took part in the study. They were asked to fill out questionnaires relating to their perception of the passage of time. Possible

Nearly 63 per cent of deaths, as per WHO estimates are because of lifestyle diseases. These people could have lived longer, had they escaped from lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart and lung disease

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answers ranged from “very slowly” to “very fast.” Results support the popular consensus that the passage of time seems to accelerate with age. Recently, another study also concluded that “Physics is the reason time seems to fly when you’re grown.” According to Adrian Bejan, the J.A. Jones Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke University, ‘’the present is different from the past because the mental viewing has changed, not because somebody’s clock rings. Days seemed to last longer in your youth because the young mind receives more images during one day than the same mind in old age.” He further explains that ‘the fact that adults have fewer new experiences than children contributes to the appearance that time is moving faster. Therefore, as we get older time becomes slower because no new experiences and so no processing of images.

During old age, why does the passage of time accelerate. Can we slow it down? When we are young, we continue to experience new things in life, facing fresh delights and novel challenges. As we make our way into adulthood, there may also be a struggle for better living conditions. At that time, comparatively speaking, time moves slowly. On the other hand, when we get older, we mostly experience repetitive and habitual life, doing the same things again and again. At that stage, time, unbroken by nuance, seems to move much faster. Older people tend to say they “don’t know where the time has gone.” One convincing explanation of

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

LIFESTYLE health aging

this old/young difference in time perception is that when we are getting old, our life often becomes highly repetitive, routine, and habitual. As there are hardly any new and unfamiliar experiences, the brain is not processing new information. Life remains by and large the same day after day – its hours smudged in sameness. Now the question arises as to whether we can slow down the pace of time as we get older? Yes, we can do it by being open to trying and experiencing new things in life. By visiting new places, starting new projects, learning new languages, reading books and magazines, and playing mind games like Sudoku, we can make our life more interesting and creative. We must also try to minimise our routines. What we are required to do is break down the walls of one’s comfort zone, come out from the areas of comfort and ease and start venturing into new fields, develop new habits, and learn new skills. All these activities will definitely help anybody to escape the sense of loneliness and vulnerability. Secondly, they will go a long way toward sidestepping age-related mental diseases like dementia and, most importantly, help us to lead a healthy and fulfilling life.

We have all the potential to slow down our aging process There are many effective ways by which we can manage our aging speed. Depending upon our lifestyle choices, in a single decade we can age by fifteen years or just seven years. Obviously, some age much faster than others. Many age-related physical symptoms become very prominent in some people while in others they appear quite later. As we age, many starts witnessing increased fatigue, weakened bones, and ill health; we start observing wrinkles, age spots, and sagging skin. Aging is an outcome of complex changes in our normal biological functions. There are many reasons why we age. However, three well-established triggers of the aging process are, first, shortening of telomeres, the tip at each end of chromosomes in our cells; second, deterioration of the mechanism that repairs damage to DNA; and lastly, accumulation of free radicals in the body. When cells divide chromosomes are replicated and each daughter cell inherits an identical pair. Chromosomes are thread-like very minute structures located inside the nucleus of cells. Each chromosome is made of protein and a single molecule of DNA. Telomeres make sure that the DNA

gets copied properly when cells divide. Each time a cell copies itself, the DNA stays the same but the telomeres get shorter. A time comes when telomeres get too short to do their job, causing our cells to age and stop functioning properly. Therefore, telomeres act as the aging clock in every cell. Once telomere length reaches a particular cutoff point, the cell can no longer divide and eventually it dies. How telomeres work and why some people age faster than others still needs to be answered by scientists. Further, as we age, the environment and normal cellular processes cause damage to our genes. This damage compounds over the course of life and is known to accelerate aging. Regarding free radical theory, many of the changes that occur as our bodies’ age are caused by free radicals. Damage to DNA, protein cross-linking, and some other changes are attributed to free radicals. Over time, this damage accumulates, resulting in aging. That’s why, antioxidants are becoming very popular in our diet. They neutralise free radicals in our body. There is no doubt that we have tremendous power to slow down our aging process. Many variables that influence how long we live can be altered. In this age of social media, plenty of videos go viral every day in which 90-plus people are dancing, running marathons, and many other

By visiting new places, starting new projects, learning new languages, reading books and magazines, and playing mind games like Sudoku, we can make our life more interesting and creative. We must also try to minimise our routines 52

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

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he World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report recently ranking countries based on how physically active their citizens are. Surprisingly, India ranked 117 in the list of 168 nations, with 34 per cent of our population being far too sedentary. Medical science agrees: there is no substitute for physical exercise for those seeking a long and healthy life. Also weighing in on longevity-friendly measures, Harvard Medical School, USA, outlines the following five mandatory actions (other than the obvious avoidance of smoking): 1. Regular physical and mental exercise/ activities daily

2. Eat a healthy diet rich in whole grains, vegetables and fruits, and substitute healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats for unhealthy saturated fats and trans fats. Also eat less! Studies have confirmed that eating less helps reduce signs of aging. 3. Maintain a healthy weight and body shape. 4. Challenge your mind. Keep learning and trying new activities (to limit cognitive decline).

activities which we generally don’t expect at that age. The actions we can take to increase our odds of a longer and more satisfying lifetime are really quite simple. Every day, new research is published on how to slow down aging. There is a 2019 study that establishes that positive thinking can result in an eleven to fifteen percent longer lifespan and can increase our likelihood of living to 85 five or older. The first and the foremost requirement for longevity is that we remain active throughout life. One undisputed fact about the modern lifestyle is that we humans are becoming less and less active. The

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majority still don’t move or walk sufficiently during the day. Insufficient physical activity is a leading risk for many lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes, heart and lung diseases, and cancer, and has a negative effect on mental health and quality of life. In fact, people in India are among the world’s laziest, taking an average of 4,297 steps in a day, compared to the world average of about 5,000 steps. Out of 46 countries, India’s rank is 39th. For a healthy life, we should take at least 10,000 steps a day. Most of the workday, as we know, is spent sitting for up to 8-9 hours a day - highly harmful for our health.

Latest medical research has established that to live longer, we must eat less, means consume far less calories, what we at present take. The calorie restriction increases our life span. Though our tendency is to eat more. To ensure this, intermittent fasting is becoming a latest fad. It means we give a long gap during the day. There is one popular “the 16/8 method” for fasting. This method involves fasting every day for 14 to 16 hours and restricting our daily eating window to 8 to 10 hours. Within the eating window, we can fit in two, three, or may be even more meals. For the purpose of healthy and positive aging, we can’t ignore the significance of maintain right mix of gut bacteria in our body. More and more studies have established the role of gut microbes in our mental and physical health as well as our overall well-being. The connection between brain and gut is far more intimate and deeper than previously understood. Research has also confirmed that our gut bacteria are linked to many diseases such as diabetes, obesity, depression, and heart disease. Just as we are what we think, ‘we are what we eat’ is equally true. The health of our gut bacteria depends largely on our food habits. Over and above all, meditation also helps in slowing the aging process. As we have seen earlier, the shortening of telomeres is the main physical reason behind aging, and one of the main reasons behind this shortening is mental stress. Numerous studies have established that meditation practice helps reduce mental stress to a great extent. Stress is one of the greatest contributors to lifestyle diseases, the most outstanding being obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular ills.

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

LIFESTYLE health aging

We must learn the art of accepting death and dying gracefully No one dies because of aging. There is almost always a natural cause of death when we die, even in very old age, such as diseases or infections. Major causes of natural deaths are heart attacks and heart diseases, diabetes, diarrheal disorders, respiratory/lung diseases, cancer, Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia. As we get older, most of us slowly and reluctantly start accepting the inevitability of death. Our only wish for those final days is to die gracefully, without pain and suffering. We don’t want to experience uncertainty about death. One study shows that when people face imminent death, they start accepting it and focusing on the positive because they know they don’t have much time left. Absent soul-searching and acceptance, most people are uncomfortable in talking about their death. This is also the reason why very few write a will, designating distribution of their assets after they die. We all want to experience a “good death” after living to the fullest. Looking into what constitutes a successful or good death, an important study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, came up with some answers. The study identified 11 core themes of a good death: preferences for a specific dying process, pain-free status, religiosity/spiritualty, emotional wellbeing, life completion, treatment preferences, dignity, family, quality of life, relationship with healthcare provider, and “other.” The top three themes across all stakeholder groups were preferences for a specific dying process (94 per cent of reports), pain-free status (81

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

o maintain a good balance of healthy bacteria in our gut, first of all, we must avoid excess alcohol and the diet high in saturated fat and animal protein should be avoided as much as possible. Then we are required to take prebiotic and probiotic supplements to help improve our gut health. To ensure a healthy population of intestinal bacteria, the following five actions are very helpful: 1. Eat a wide range of whole, plant-based foods 2. Include more fibre in your diet 3. Avoid highly processed food 4. Consume more probiotic and prebiotic foods; and 5. Take a daily supplement of probiotics.

per cent), and emotional well-being (64 per cent). People want to die not only peacefully, but with some measure of control. No one wants to suffer pain, which is the biggest fear of all. To eliminate suffering, euthanasia (the painless killing of a patient suffering

from an incurable and painful disease, or in an irreversible coma) or palliative care (specialised medical care for people living with a serious illness) are becoming popular worldwide. The top concerns for aged people facing imminent death are: first, that

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their death be painless; second, that they not become a burden on others; and thirdly, that they are not alone near or at their death. Loneliness is a great concern for many senior citizens. Sadly, most people do not want to talk about death. To discuss one’s own death is generally taboo, especially in India. Even family members and close friends of terminal patients don’t dare to discuss this delicate subject. The fact is, by not acknowledging and discussing death, we cause more harm to ourselves. Our quality of life would be improved considerably if only we could embrace death gracefully. We must take death and dying as a natural phenomenon in life, and work on removing our inhibitions. In our later most part of life, three things are, to my mind, extremely important. First, we must continue to follow our passions, spend time, whatever maximum we can, for pursuing interests like writing, reading, painting, photographing, gardening, golf, playing cards, cleaning, or even gossiping with friends. We need to lead an active life, to the extent possible. Lighter exercises like walk, yoga along with meditation should be done religiously. Secondly, we should continue to eat healthy food along with other medicines and supplements, as prescribed by doctors. Thirdly, we shouldn’t forget to spend time, whatever possible with our close friends and family members. We must avoid to feel ‘lonely’ and ‘boredom, if we stay alone at that age. There are waysto avoid loneliness even with the help of digital platforms including social media. Being mindful of death can have a positive impact on our health and well-being. Our whole perspective on life will change when we keep the inevitability of death at the back of

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our minds. Our worries and fearful ruminations will become insignificant. We will always keep meaningful goals in mind. Quality of life improves if we think about death for at least a few moments before we start each day. This can be possible by way of mindfulness. Awareness of death will lead to greater self-awareness and more power of acceptance. This then opens the heart to more compassion and empathy for others. Facing our own death when it becomes a certainty, as happens in cases of advanced cancer, is greatly eased by the practice of mindfulness. It can also be extremely helpful in alleviating pain. Rather than resisting and automatically reacting to pain, people

contemplation techniques to meditate on the nature of death. This is also known as mindfulness of death or death awareness. When we forget that we will die, we tend to lead a habitual and complacent life. We may even start doing things that we don’t really approve of or wish for ourselves. Through this meditation practice, we become more aware and accepting of death as a natural ending to our life. In Maranasati, practitioners learn to accept impermanence and suffering, while also becoming more closely and intimately aware of death. Aging is a disease or curse because we’re physically and mentally declining and eventually we are going to depart the world. It’s finality. It’s the

Three well-established triggers of the aging process are, first, shortening of telomeres, the tip at each end of chromosomes in our cells; second, deterioration of the mechanism that repairs DNA damage; and lastly, accumulation of free radicals in the body. can, through mindfulness, be aware of pain and accept it nonjudgmentally. In addition to strong pain- relieving medications and palliative care, mindfulness can be a very effective approach to preparing patients for death. Through mindfulness, one can accept death more gracefully and peacefully. Of course, mindful acceptance does not completely remove the suffering, but it can reduce the pain and fear of death. Through acceptance, not only can we calmly acknowledge the onset of death, but also the feelings and thoughts associated with death. There is also a Buddhist meditation practice called Maranasati, which uses various visualisation and

mindset and attitude that determine the course of our journey towards the end. It can become a blessing, once we accept inevitability of death wholeheartedly. We must start seeing aging as a journey of transition. What kind of journey we will undertake towards the end of life, can at best guess? However, one thing is certain that if we undergo positive aging and the process of dying then even if we suffer, God forbids, painful end due to severe illness, we can surely embrace and accept death gracefully. g The writer is former IAS, ex Secretary, Mines, GOI, now Member, Real Estate Regulatory Authority, UP, Author of 4 books, last 2 are Redesign Your Life in Modern Age and Explore Your Life Journey,.

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vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

birthdays IAS officers’ birthdays Oct 20, 2020 — Nov 19, 2020

IAS officers’ birthdays Oct 20, 2020 — Nov 19, 2020

Manish Rastogi

Dharam Pal

TK Manoj Kumar

Rajat Kumar

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: UNION TERRITORY

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: Telangana

rastogim@ias.nic.in

pald@ias.nic.in

manojktk@ias.nic.in

kumarr91@ias.nic.in

HK Patel

Kshitij Singhal

Jivesh Nandan

Naveen Mahajan

CADRE: Gujarat

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

hk.patel@ias.nic.in

kashok.singhal@ias.nic.in

nandanj@ias.nic.in

mahajann@ias.nic.in

Brajendra Navnit

Niten Chandra

B Chandra Mohan

Raghwendra Kumar Singh

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: ODISHA

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

navnitb@ias.nic.in

nchandra@ias.nic.in

mohanbc@ias.nic.in

srkumar1@ias.nic.in

Praveen Garg

Kumar Sanjay Krishna

RH Gadhavicharan

Sameer Sharma

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

gargp@ias.nic.in

krishnak@ias.nic.in

ratankanvar.ias09@ias.nic.in

ssameer@ias.nic.in

Hemraj Bairwa

Piyush Singh

Vineet Joshi

DV Prasad

CADRE: HIMACHAL PRADESH

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: MANIPUR-TRIPURA

CADRE: KARNATAKA

hemraj.bairwa@ias.nic.in

singhp7@ias.nic.in

joshiv1@ias.nic.in

prasaddv@ias.nic.in

K Rajaraman

Aravind Kumar

Sitaram Janardan Kunte

Vijoy Kumar Singh

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: PUNJAB

rajaram1@ias.nic.in

karvind1@ias.nic.in

kuntesj@ias.nic.in

singhvk5@ias.nic.in

Apoorva Kumar Singh

V Candavelou

V Vidyavathi

DH Shah

CADRE: HARYANA

CADRE: UNION TERRITORY

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: GUJARAT

sapoorva@ias.nic.in

candavel@ias.nic.in

vidyav@ias.nic.in

dh.shah@ias.nic.in

Atal Dulloo

Dhanalakshmi K

Nivedita Shukla Verma

Arvind Mehta

CADRE: JAMMU AND KASHMIR

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: HIMACHAL PRADESH

dullooa@ias.nic.in

kdhana@ias.nic.in

svnivedi@ias.nic.in

amehta@ias.nic.in

Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi

Hari Ramulu

Vivek Atrey

Sharat Chauhan

CADRE: JHARKHAND

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: HARYANA

CADRE: UNION TERRITORY

cindus@ias.nic.in

ramuluh@ias.nic.in

vivek.atrey@ias.nic.in

csharat@ias.nic.in

Manoj Aggarwal

Madhumita Sinha Roy

Ashutosh Salil

Alok Nigam

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: HARYANA

aggarwlm@ias.nic.in

madhumita.sroy@ias.nic.in

ashutoshsalil.ias2010@ias.nic.in

nigama@ias.nic.in

Kamran Rizvi

Sunil M Patel

Milind Jayant Mhaiskar

Naresh Kumar

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: UNION TERRITORY

rizvik@ias.nic.in

sm.patel60@ias.nic.in

mhaiskar@ias.nic.in

kumarn5@ias.nic.in

Srikanth Banoth

M Raju

Sachin Jaiswal

Rajan Vishal

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: JAMMU AND KASHMIR

CADRE: NAGALAND

CADRE: Rajasthan

srikanthbanoth.ias09@ias.nic.in

m.raju@ias.nic.in

sachin.jaiswal@ias.nic.in

rajan.vishal@ias.nic.in

R Lalvena

M Veerabramaiah

Kalpana Mittal Baruah

Debashri Mukherjee

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: Telangana

CADRE: PUNJAB

CADRE: UNION TERRITORY

lalvenar@ias.nic.in

vbramiah@ias.nic.in

baruahkm@ias.nic.in

dmukher@ias.nic.in

20-10-1970

20-10-1962

21-10-1974

21-10-1961

23-10-1986

24-10-1963

24-10-1967

24-10-1966

24-10-1962

24-10-1963

24-10-1966

25-10-1981

25-10-1977

25-10-1963

25-10-1988

25-10-1965

26-10-1960

26-10-1976

26-10-1966

26-10-1971

27-10-1972

28-10-1960

29-10-1963

29-10-1960

29-10-1977

29-10-1962

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30-10-1961

31-10-1969

01-11-1984

02-11-1968

03-11-1961

03-11-1967

04-11-1966

05-11-1982

06-11-1968

10-11-1990

10-11-1960

12-11-1963

13-11-1971

14-11-1968

15-11-1961

15-11-1960

15-11-1964

16-11-1964

16-11-1960

17-11-1968

18-11-1961

18-11-1963

19-11-1981

19-11-1968

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IPS officers’ birthdays Oct 20, 2020 — Nov 19, 2020

Vineet Agarwal

Shive Kumar Verma

Manoj Kaushik

SK Shah

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: PUNJAB

CADRE: JHARKHAND

CADRE: BIHAR

vagarwal@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

skverma@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

manojkaushik@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

skshah@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

A Ravi Shankar

Bharat Lal Meena

Abhay Kumar Prasad

Viswajit Kampati

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: Telangana

vagarwal@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

lmbharat@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

abhaykp@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

viswajit.k@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

T Kandasamy

VC Sajjanar

Amit Garg

Tripurari Atharv

CADRE: JHARKHAND

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: West Bengal

tkandasamy@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vcsajjanar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

amitgarg@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

tatharv@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor

Sanjay Kumar

Sunil Kumar

Tenzing Loden Lepcha

CADRE: HARYANA

CADRE: BIHAR

CADRE: Sikkim

shatrujeet@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ksanjay@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sunilkumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

lepcha@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Prabhat Kumar

Ashutosh Kumar Sinha

Tilotma Verma

Sudhanshu Kumar

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: MANIPUR

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: Bihar

prabhatkr@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

akumarsinha@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

tilotma@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

skumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Deepam Seth

Ayush Mani Tiwari

Vinyatosh Mishra

Millind Rambhau Bharambe

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: ODISHa

CADRE: Maharashtra

deepam@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

amtiwari@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vinyatoshmishra@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

rambhau@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Joga Umesh

K Laxmi Narayan Rao

Suman Bala Sahoo

G Vijay Kumar

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: Andhra Pradesh

jumesh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

klnrao@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sbalasahoo@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

gvkumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Biju George Joseph K

Shalini Singh

Atul Singh

Neethu Kamal

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: Chhattisgarh

bijugeorge@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

shalinisingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

atul_singh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

neethu.k@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Navniet Sekera

Sudesh Kumar

Chhaya Sharma

Sonia Narang

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: KARNATAKA

navneet@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sudeshkumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

chhaya@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sonia@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Asra Garg

JB Pandit Rao

Amanat Mann

Anand Prakash Tiwari

CADRE: Tamil Nadu

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: Uttar Pradesh

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

asrag@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

panditrao@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

mann@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ssp-guwahati@assampolice.gov.in

Arvind Deep

Ashit Mohan Prasad

L Bendand Lemtur

DHK Omprakash

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: Nagaland

CADRE: Jammu – Kashmir

arvindd@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

amprasad@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

l.blemtur@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

dhk.om@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

T Suneel Kumar

Pramod Verma

R Sudhakar

Pradip Bhimrao Shejul

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: Tamil Nadu

CADRE: GUJARAT

tskumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

pramodverma@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sudhakar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

pbshejul@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Suman Gupta

Arvind Kumar

G Dharmarajan

Ramanand Sunil Bharma

CADRE: JHARKHAND

CADRE: Bihar

CADRE: Tamil Nadu

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

sumangupta@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

arvindk@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

dharmarajan@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

rsbharma@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

20-10-1968

23-10-1971

20-10-1968

23-10-1967

20-10-1969

24-10-1968

21-10-1966

21-10-1967

25-10-1968

21-10-1968

25-10-1971

21-10-1967

26-10-1967

22-10-1967

26-10-1968

22-10-1971

27-10-1962

23-10-1980

28-10-1963

23-10-1962

29-10-1960

23-10-1960

29-10-1971

23-10-1972

www.indianbuzz.com

24-10-1972

30-10-1966

31-10-1976

01-11-1965

01-11-1967

01-11-1970

02-11-1965

03-11-1966

04-11-1963

04-11-1968

05-11-1971

06-11-1990

07-11-1961

08-11-1978

09-11-1979

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10-11-1983

11-11-1987

12-11-1972

13-11-1982

14-11-1970

15-11-1971

16-11-1968

16-11-1983

17-11-1975

18-11-1975

18-11-1989

19-11-1984

19-11-1968

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

birthdays Lok Sabha Members Oct 1, 2020 — Nov 19, 2020

Lok Sabha Members Oct 1, 2020 — Nov 19, 2020

Sudarshan Bhagat

Devusinh Jesingbhai Chauhan

T.R.V.S. Ramesh

Anurag Sharma

BJP (Jharkhand)

BJP (Gujarat)

DMK (Tamil Nadu)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

s.bhagat@sansad.nic.in

devusinhc.jesinbhai@sansad.nic.in

cuddaloramp@gmail.com

anurag_sharma@gmail.com

Farooq Abdullah

Gurjeet Singh Aujla

Hasmukhbhai Somabhai Patel

L.S. Tejasvi Surya

J&KNC (Jammu and Kashmir)

INC (Punjab)

BJP (Gujarat)

BJP (Karnataka)

iamfarooq70@hotmail.com

aujla786.gs@gmail.com

hasmukh_1160@yahoo.com

tejasvisurya55@gmail.com

Jagdambika Pal

Chirag Paswan

Ram Kripal Yadav

Jyotsna Charandas Mahant

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

LJSP (Bihar)

BJP (Bihar)

INC (Chhattisgarh)

jagdambika.pal@sansad.nic.in

office.chiragpaswan@gmail.com

ramkripal.yadav@sansad.nic.in

jmkorba04@gmail.com

Virendra Singh

Santosh Kumar Gangwar

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

virendra.singh19@sansad.nic.in

santoshg@sansad.nic.in

20-10-1969

21-10-1937

21-10-1950

21-10-1956

Amit Anil Chandra Shah 22-10-1964

29-10-1964

30-10-1972

31-10-1982

01-11-1948

Lallu Singh 01-11-1954

BJP (Gujarat)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

amitshah.mp@sansad.nic.in

lallu.singh@sansad.nic.in

Harish Dwivedi 22-10-1973

Bheemrao Baswanthrao Patil 01-11-1955

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

TRS (Telangana)

harishchandra.mp@sansad.nic.in

bbpatil@sansad.nic.in

Kotagiri Sridhar 22-10-1973

Rajashree Mallick 03-11-1964

YSR Congress Party (Andhra Pradesh)

BJD (Odisha)

skotagiri@yahoo.com

rajeeshreemallickjsp@gmail.com

Pinaki Misra 23-10-1959

Chandra Prakash Joshi 04-11-1975

BJD (Odisha)

BJP (Rajasthan)

pinakimisra@hotmail.com

cpjoshi.mp@sansad.nic.in

Shobha Karandlaje 23-10-1966

BJP (Karnataka)

Jitendra Singh 06-11-1956

BJP (Jammu and Kashmir)

comshobhakarandlaje@sansad.nic.in drjitendras@gmail.com

Anurag Singh Thakur 24-10-1974

Rajesh Verma 06-11-1960

BJP (Himachal Pradesh)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

hpcapresident@yahoo.com

verma.rajesh@sansad.nic.in

Adala Prabhakara Reddy 25-10-1948

Parvesh Sahib Singh 07-11-1977

YSR Congress Party (Andhra Pradesh)

BJP (NCT of Delhi)

adalaprabhakarreddy@gmail.com

parvesh.sahib@sansad.nic.in

Vijay Kumar Hansdak

Abhishek Banerjee

JMM (Jharkhand)

AITC (West Bengal)

vijayhansdak@gmail.com

abhishekbanerjee.mp@gmail.com

Durga Das Uikey

Anumula Revanth Reddy

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

INC (Telangana)

dduikey12@gmail.com

revanthreddy@sansad.nic.in

27-10-1982

29-10-1963

07-11-1987

08-11-1967

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

09-11-1970

11-11-1960

12-11-1957

16-11-1964

16-11-1990

18-11-1953

Rajya Sabha Members Oct 1, 2020 — Nov 19, 2020 Parshottam Rupala

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

BJP (Gujarat)

BJP (Jharkhand)

p.rupala@sansad.nic.in

mnaqvi@sansad.nic.in

Ripun Bora

Narain Dass Gupta

INC ( Assam)

AAP (Delhi)

ripun.bora@sansad.nic.in

ndgupta.1945@sansad.nic.in

Jharna Das Baidya

Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi

CPI (M) TRIPURA

BJP ( Uttar Pradesh)

jdas.baidya@sansad.nic.in

trivedi.sudhanshu@sansad.nic.in

Swapan Dasgupta

Bashistha Narain Singh

NOMINATED

JD (U) Bihar

dasgupta.swapan@sansad.nic.in

bnsingh@sansad.nic.in

Rewati Raman Singh

Dr. Anil Aggarwal

SP ( Uttar Pradesh)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

rewati.1943@sansad.nic.in

dranilagrawal.mprs@sansad.nic.in

Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss

Javed Ali khan

PMK (Tamil Nadu)

SP ( Uttar Pradesh)

a.ramadoss@sansad.nic.in

javedali.khan@sansad.nic.in

Shanta Chhetri

Ranee Narah

AITC (West Bengal)

INC (Assam)

mp.shantachhetri@sansad.nic.in

ranee.narah@sansad.nic.in

01-10-1954

01-10-1955

1-10-1962

3-10-1955

5-10-1943

9-10-1968

10-10-1956

15-10-1957

16-10-1945

20-10-1970

24-10-1947

31-10-1962

30-10-1962

31-10-1965

SEND YOUR GREETINGS…

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Tracking ASHOK LAVASA

MANISHA SAXENA

The 1980-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre (retd) and former Election Commissioner of India has been appointed Vice-President of Asian Development Bank.

The 1986-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre has been appointed Additional Director, Indraprastha Gas Limited.

cadre has been appointed Executive Director, World Bank Headquarters, Washington DC, USA for a period of three years.

INJETI SRINIVAS

SPS PARIHAR

SS SANDHU

The 1986-batch IAS officer of the MP cadre (retd) has been appointed Chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC).

The central deputation tenure of Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as Chairman, National Highways Authority of India, has been extended for a period of six months up to January 21, 2021. He is a 1988-batch IAS officer of the Uttarakhand cadre.

The 1983-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre has been appointed Chairman, International Financial Services Centres Authority.

DS MISHRA The 1984-batch IAS officer of the UP cadre, who is serving as Secretary, Urban Development, has been appointed President of the All India IAS Association.

RAJEEVA SWARUP The 1985-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre has been appointed Chief Secretary of Rajasthan.

MADHUKAR GUPTA The 1985-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre has been appointed Additional Chief Secretary and Principal Resident Commissioner, Rajasthan Bhawan in New Delhi.

GIRISH CHANDRA MURMU The 1985-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre has been appointed Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

AJAY TIRKEY The 1987-batch IAS officer of the MP cadre has been appointed Secretary, Department of Land Resources.

RAM MOHAN MISHRA The 1987-batch IAS of the AssamMeghalaya cadre has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development.

RAJESH BHUSHAN The 1987-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre has taken over as Union Health Secretary.

OM PRAKASH The 1987-batch IAS officer of the Uttarakhand has been appointed Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand.

RAJESH KHULLAR The 1988-batch IAS officer of the Haryana

Moving On: IAS officers retiring

Dr RAJESH KUMAR The 1988-batch IAS officer has been appointed Chief Secretary of Manipur.

PANKAJ JOSHI The 1989-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre has appointed Managing Director, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited, in Gujarat.

ROHIT KUMAR SINGH The 1989-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre has been appointed Additional Chief Secretary, Home in Rajasthan.

SAMEER KUMAR KHARE The 1989-batch IAS officer of the AssamMeghalaya cadre has been appointed Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, Manila for a period of three years.

July 2020

ASSAM

KARNATAKA

ODiSHA

TELENGANA

Sajeeda Ismal Rashid (2006)

Parmesh Pandey (1985)

Bibhuti Bhusan Patnaik(2006)

BIHAR

MAHARASHTRA

PUNJAB

Ajay Mishra (1984) K Dharma Reddy (2013)

SM Raju (1991)

Sanjay Bhatia (1985) Dr DG Mhaisekar (2003) Shivaji R Jondhale (2004) Dilip M Shinde (2005)

Shivdular Singh Dhillon (2008)

CHHATTISGARH N Baijendra Kumar (1985) Lakhan Singh Ken (2000) Bharat Lal Banjare (2003)

MANIPUR Dr J Suresh Babu (1986)

GUJARAT PK Parmar (1985)

MADHYA PRADESH

JHARKHAND

Saleena Singh (1986) Ramesh Sheoram Thete (1993) Narendra Singh Parmar (2003)

Ganesh Kumar (2006)

www.indianbuzz.com

RAJASTHAN Mukesh Kumar Sharma (1984) Sanjay Dixit (1986) Dr. Narendra Kumar Gupta (2004) Pradeep Kumar Borad (2004)

SIKKIM LB Chettrin (2005)

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TAMIL NADU Ruolkhumlien Buhril (1984)

UTTARAKHAND Utpal Kumar Singh (1986)

UTTAR PRADESH Mahendra Kumar (2003) Santosh Kumar Rai (2005)

WEST BENGAL Rabindranath Roy (2004) Naba Gopal Hira (2004)

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

RP SISODIA The 1991-batch IAS officer of the AP cadre has been posted as Commissioner of Inquiries, General Administration Department in Andhra Pradesh.

AMUDHA The 1994-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed Joint Secretary, Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office.

VARSHA JOSHI The 1995-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

PRAVEEN GUPTA The 1995-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre has been appointed Chief Electoral Officer in Rajasthan.

Moving On: IAS officers retiring August 2020 ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

HARYANA

RAJASTHAN

Hector Marwein (1985) Lona R Sangma (2005) Alak Kumar Saharia (2006)

Praveen Kumar (2001)

Ram Chandra Dhenwal (2007)

MAHARASHTRA RR Mane (2001)

UNION TERRITORY

Rajneesh Kr. Mahajan (1987) Dr. Deepak Prasad (1989) Uday Kumar Singh (2007)

MANIPUR

Anindo Majumdar (1985) Kuldeep Pakad (2008)

GUJARAT

Dr. Ashok Kumar Bhargav (2001)

BIHAR

Anil Gopishankar Mukim (1985) AA Ramanuj (2009)

Dr. Suhel Akhtar (1986)

MADHYA PRADESH

WEST BENGAL Dibakar Mukhopadhyay (2001)

PUNJAB

Dr. Karan Avtar Singh (1984) Dr. Naresh Kumar Lath (2008) Kahan Singh Pannu (1996)

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NITISHWAR KUMAR The 1996-batch IAS officer of the UP cadre has been appointed Principal Secretary to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor.

Moving On: IAS officers retiring Sept 2020 BIHAR

MADHYA PRADESH

TAMIL NADU

Ajoy Kumar (1984)

Dr. C Chandramouli (1985)

DAYAL GANGWAR

Dr. PD Vaghela (1986) MR Kothari (2005) JR Dodiya (2008) RB Rajyaguru (2008)

Jaideep Govind (1984) M Gopal Reddy (1985) Janak Kumar Jain (2001) Mahesh C Choudhary (2001) Dr. Shrikant Pandey (2007)

The 1998-batch IPS officer of the Odisha cadre has been appointed IG, BSF

HARYANA

PUNJAB

NIKUNJ SHRIVASTAVA

Keshni Anand Arora (1983) Shiv Parshad

Satish Chandra (1985)

JHARKHAND

Devendra Bhushan Gupta (1983) Dr. Madhukar Gupta (1985)

DAVINDRA PAL AHUJA The 1996-batch IAS officer of the MP cadre has been appointed Principal Secretary to the Governor of Madhya Pradesh.

The 1998-batch IAS officer of the MP cadre has been posted as Commissioner, Urban Administration, and Development with additional charge of Commissioner Housing and Infrastructural Development Board, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

SUDHIR KUMAR The 1999-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre has been appointed Additional Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

ABHISHEK JAIN The 2002-batch IAS officer of the HP cadre has been appointed Director of Census Operations/Director of Citizen Registration Punjab & Chandigarh from December 2020 to December 2022.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

GUJARAT

Brajmohan Kumar (1998) Anil Kumar Singh (2006)

MAHARASHTRA Dr. Kavita Gupta (1985)

RAJASTHAN

TELENGANA Heera Lal Samariya (1985)

TRIPURA Pankaj Chakraborty (2006)

UTTAR PRADESH Abarar Ahmad (2009) Man Mohan Chaudhary (2009)

UNION TERRITORY DA Hawaldar (2003)

WEST BENGAL Rajiva Sinha (1986) Nitya Sundar Trivedi (2003) Madhumita Choudhury (2005)

RAGHURAJ RAJENDRAN

RAVINDRA PRATAP SINGH

The 2004-batch IAS officer of the MP cadre has been appointed as Director in the PMO.

The 2007-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre has been appointed Private Secretary to Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman NITI Aayog.

RV GAME The 2005-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre has been appointed Divisional Commissioner, Nashik Division, Nashik in Maharashtra.

TRISHALJIT SETHI The 1990-batch officer of Indian Postal Service, CVO, NTPC, has been assigned

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Tracking additional charge of CVO, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Kenya.

NAVAL KISHORE RAM

VIKRAM KUMAR DORAISWAMI

The 2008-batch IAS officer has joined the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as Deputy Secretary.

The 1992-batch IFS officer has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

KRISHNA MOHAN UPPU

INDRA MANI PANDEY

The 2009-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre has joined the MHA as Dy Secretary.

The 1990-batch IFS officer has been appointed as the next Ambassador/

Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva.

Dr. NEENA MALHOTRA The 1992-batch IFS officer has been appointed next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Italy.

SANTOSH JHA The 1993-batch IFS officer and Ambassador

KRISHNA BAJPAI The 2010-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre has been appointed Managing Director, North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation, Hubballi.

Maharashtra: STATE OFFICERS awarded IAS cadre

The 2010-batch IAS of the UT cadre has joined the DoPT as Deputy Secretary.

The following officers of Maharashtra State Civil Service have been awarded Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre: UA Jadhav, VIJAYKUMAR PANDHARINATH PHAD, KANHU HARISHCHANDRABAGATE, BHAUSAHEB BANSI DANGADE, KISHAN NARAYANRAO JAWALE, SHYAMSUNDAR LILADHAR PATIL, DEELIPVEERPASHAPPA SWAMI, SANJAY RAMRAO CHAVAN, SIDDHARAM KARABASAYYA SALIMATH, RAGHUNATH KHANDUGAWADE, KISHOR SADASHIV TAADE, PRAMOD BABANRAO YADAV, KAVITA VISHWANTH DWIVEDI, and SUDHAKAR BAPURAO.

KK Sharma

MAHARASHTRA: RESHUFFLE OF IAS OFFICERS

NIDHI SINGH

The 1982-batch IPS officer (retd) of the Rajasthan cadre and former DG BSF will be Advisor (Security) Ram Janam Bhumi Trust.

RAJIV KUMAR The 1984-batch IAS officer (retd) of the Jharkhand cadre has been appointed Election Commissioner of India.

AJAY KUMAR SINGH The political journalist has been appointed Press Secretary to the President on contract basis.

Prof PK JOSHI The educationist has been appointed Chairman of UPSC.

PRATIMA CHAUDHARY The 2013-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre has been appointed Administrator, Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar in Haryana.

RIVA GANGULY DAS The 1986-batch IFS officer and High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh has been appointed Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

VIRANDER KUMAR PAUL

ANIL DIGGIKAR has been posted as Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, MHADA, Mumbai; AMIT SAINI was made Chief Executive Officer, Maharashtra Maritime Board, Mumbai; PRASHANT NARNAWARE is Commissioner, Social Welfare, Pune; S RAMAMOORTHY has been posted as Collector, Buldhana; DEEPAK KUMAR MEENA is Collector, Gondia; VIVEK JOHNSON was posted as Project Officer, Integrated Tribal Development Project, Bhandara Dist. and Assistant Collector, Bhandara Sub Division, District Bhandara; MANU KUMAR SRIVASTAVA has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary (A&S), Home Department; E RAVENDIRAN was appointed Joint Commissioner, Sales Tax; M J PRADIP CHANDREN is Managing Director, Maharashtra State Mining Corporation, Nagpur; KAILASH SHINDE has been posted as Joint Managing Director, CIDCO, Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra; SM DESHPANDE has been posted as Principal Secretary (AR&OM), General Administration Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai; LOKESH CHANDRA was posted as Principal Secretary, Water Resources Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai; ANSHU SINHA is Secretary, Skill Development and Enterpurnership Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai; SM CHANNE has been posted as Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, Mumbai; AB MISAL is Divisional Commissioner, Konkan Division, Mumbai; RAMASWAMI N is Commissioner (FW) and Director National Health Mission, Mumbai; TUKARAM MUNDHE is Member Secretary, Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran, Mumbai; RADHAKRISHNAN B is Municipal Commissioner, Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Nagpur; VIMLA R is Mission Director, Jal Jivan Mission, Mumbai; NB Gite is Joint Managing Director, M.S.Electric Distribution Company, Aurangabad; AVNIASH DHAKANE is Commissioner, Transport, Mumbai; KV JADHAV is Municipal Commissioner, Nashik Municipal Corporation, Nashik; CK DANGE is Director, Groundwater Survey Development Agency, Pune; DEEPA MUDHOL-MUNDE is Project Manager, Jalswaraj Project, Navi Mumbai; SS PATIL is Joint Managing Director, CIDCO, Navi Mumbai; and ROHAN GHUGE has been appointed Project Officer, Integrated Tribal Development Project, Chandrapur Dist. Chandrapur

The 1991-batch IFS officer has been

www.indianbuzz.com

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gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

of India to the Kingdom of Belgium, has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with residence in Brussels.

S MURUGAN

SAJID FARID SHAPOO

The 1997-batch IPS of the Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed IG, South Zone in Tamil Nadu.

The 1998-batch IPS officer of the MP cadre has been appointed Inspector General of Police, Police headquarters (PHQ), Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

RAVEESH KUMAR

The 1999-batch IPS officer of the Himachal Pradesh has been appointed Special Commissioner (Covid-19 Operations) till Dec 31, 2020 in the Resident Commissioner office, Himachal Pradesh Bhawan, New Delhi.

The 1995-batch IFS officer has been appointed Ambassador of India to the Republic of Estonia with residence in Helsinki.

GYANESHWAR SINGH

RAJ KUMAR SRIVASTAVA The 1997-batch IFS office has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Croatia.

RAHUL SHRIVASTAVA The 1999-batch IFS officer has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Moldova, with residence in Bucharest

ASHISH BHATIA The 1985-batch IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre has been appointed as the new Director General of Police in Gujarat.

KAUMUDI The 1986-batch IPS officer of the AP cadre has been appointed Special Secretary (Internal Security), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

SANJAY SHRIVASTAVA The 1987-batch IPS office of the Gujarat cadre has been appointed Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad.

ARVIND DEEP The 1988-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre has been appointed ADG in CISF.

DEEPAK RATAN The 1997-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre has been appointed IG, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

MAHESHWAR DAYAL The 1997-batch IPS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed Inspector General, JKD Sector (TAC Latehar) in CRPF.

DEEPAK RATNA The 1997-batch of IPS officer of the UP cadre has been appointed Inspector General, Operations KMR.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

CHHAYA SHARMA The 1999-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre has been appointed Director in the Central Vigilance Commission.

CS VISHWAKARMA IAS OFFICERS OF 2018 BATCH GET POSTINGS AS SDM IN BIHAR

NITIN KUMAR SINGH Patna Sadar, VINOD DUHAN Danapur, AMRISHA BAINS Mohania Kaimur, VAIBHAV SRIVASTAVA Ara Sadar, NIKHIL DHANRAJ NISHPANIKAR Jehanabad, SHEKHAR ANAND Bagha West Champaran, SAHILA Narkatiaganj, West Champaran, ABHISHEK RANJAN Madhubani Sadar, ASHUTOSH DWIVEDI Manihari, Katihar, PRATIBHA RANI Jamui and MUKESH RANJAN Patna City. RESHUFFLE OF IAS OFFICERS IN madhya pradesh

VIKAS NARWAL has been appointed Deputy Secretary, Water Resources; Gopal Chandra Dad is Collector, Ratlam; AMIT TOMAR was made MD, Madhya Pradesh Paschim Kshetra Vidyut Company, Indore; PRABAL SIPAHA has been appointed Deputy Secretary, Public Works Department; AKSHYA KUMAR SINGH is Collector, Shivpuri; RUCHIKA CHAUHAN is Additional Commissioner, Urban Administration and Development, Bhopal; ANUGRIH P is Collector, Khargone; SANJAY KUMAR is Collector, Datia; ROHIT SINGH is Collector, Jhabua; ASHISH BHARGAVA is Collector, Niwari; RAJNI SINGH is Additional Commissioner (Revenue) Indore Division; and RAGHVENDRA SINGH has been appointed Additional Commissioner, Commercial Taxes Indore.

The 1984-batch officer of Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) cadre has taken charge as Director General of Ordnance Factories (DGOF) and Chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)

RAJESH BHARDWAJ The advocate has been appointed Judge of Punjab & Haryana High Court

MANOJ KUMAR RAM The IRSS officer has been appointed Executive Director, Establishment (Reservation), Railway Board.

R PADAVATHE The 2005-batch IFS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed Deputy Inspector General of Forests (C), Regional Officer, Southern Zone, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bangalore.

SUMEDH SOPAN NAGRARE The ISS officer who was posted as DDG, Power, New Delhi, has been transferred to Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

Maj GEN ALOK BERI He has taken over Command of NCC OTA, Kamptee.

AASHNA PAUL The IRS- IT cadre officer has been appointed CIT (OSD) in the office of Principal CCIT, Delhi Region.

BA GAGARANI He has been posted as Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, Maharashtra

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Tracking Saurabh Rao

VIKRAM SINGH

RAKESH MITTAL

He has been appointed Divisional Commissioner, Pune Division, in Maharashtra.

The 1977-batch IRTS officer has been appointed Private Secretary to the President Ram Nath Kovind.

The 1995-batch IDES officer has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Defence.

AJAY JAIN

Mohd Ahsan Reza

PALLAVI AGARWAL

The 1985-batch IRS (C&CE) has been appointed Member of the CBIC.

The 1991-batch UPS officer has been assigned additional charge of Director General, AP State Disaster Response and Fire Services in Andhra Pradesh.

The 1991-batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development.

ANUPAM MISHRA

The CSS cadre officer has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Fertilizers.

VIVEK JOHRI The 1985-batch IRS (C&CE) officer has been appointed Member of the CBIC.

SUNGITA SHARMA The 1986-batch IRS (C&CE) officer has been appointed Member of the CBIC.

SHALINI PANDEY The 2004-batch IDES officer has been appointed Director in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

UTTAR Pradesh: reshuffle OF IAS officers

NEHA SHARMA has been appointed ACEO, NOIDA; Amit Kumar Singh was made DM, Kaushambi; AMIT SINGH BANSAL is DM, Mau; ANAND KUMAR SINGH has been appointed DM, Banda; MANISH VERMA is Special Secretary, Basic Education. UTTAR PRADESH: PCS OFFICERS AWARDED IAS CADRE

AK SINGH The IRPFS officer has been posted as ADG, RPF, Western Railway.

RAKESH KUMAR ARORA The officer serving as Counsellor in Embassy of India, Brussels, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Sierra Leone.

SATYA PRAKASH NEGI The 1998-batch IFS officer of the Jharkhand cadre has been appointed Deputy Inspector General of Forests (Central), Region Office, Chandigarh.

ARUP ROY CHOUDHARY The former Chairman of NBCC and NTPC, has been appointed Principal Advisor Infrastructure to the Government of West Bengal.

SEEMANCHAL DAS The 1988-batch IRS (IT) officer will continue in the Enforcement Directorate.

P PRAVEEN SIDDHARTH The 2001-batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed Private Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind.

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The 1995-batch IES officer has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs.

APARNA SHARMA

PREM PRAKASH SINGH of 1997 batch officer along with the following officers of 1998 batch have been awarded IAS Cadre in UP: Bn Singh, Rc Sharma, Anjani Kumar Singh, Raj Kumar - I, Dr Indra Mani Tripathi, Soumya Srivastava, Garima Yadav, Gyanendra Singh, Jaishankar Dubey, Op Verma, Rakesh Malpani, Aashutosh Dwivedi, Avinash Singh, Anand Kumar, Jang Bahadur Yadav, Manoj Kumar, Ajay Kant, Alok Kumar, Anil Yadav, Sd Yadav, and Girijesh Tyagi. MAHARASHTRA: Reshuffle of IPS officers

RAJENDRA SINGH has been appointed ADG, Law and Order, PHQ, Mumbai; ASHUTOSH DUMBARE was made Commissioner, State Intelligence; AMITESH KUMAR is Police Commissioner, Nagpur; JAI JEET SINGH has been appointed ADG, Anti-corruption Bureau, Mumbai; and VK CHOUBEY is ADG, Anti-Corruption. WEST BENGAL: Reshuffle of IPS officers

TATHAGATA BASU has been appointed Deputy Commissioner, New Town Zone of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate; AMANDEEP was made SP, Hooghly (Rural); RASHID MUNIR KHAN is DC, South Suburban Division (Jadavpur), Kolkata Police; KAMANASISH SEN has been appointed Baruipur SP; SANTOSH NIMABALKAR is SP, Darjeeling; MOHAMMED SANA AKHTAR is SP, Cooch Behar; AMARNATH K is SP of the State Special Task Force (STF); and MAURYA has been appointed DC, Central Zone of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate. DELHI: IPS OFFICERS GET NEW ASSIGNMENTS

MUKTESH CHADRAM has been given additional charge of Licensing; RS KRISHNIA will be Special CP, South Zone; SATISH GOLCHA was made Special CP, Central Zone; SANJAY SINGH has been appointed Special CP, West Zone; ROBIN HIBU is Special CP, Armed Police, Implementation and Planning; and ANAND MOHAN has been posted as Special CP, Training and Transport Range.

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gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

AMIT MEHTA

MANISH TIWARI

The 1987-batch IOFS officer has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry.

The 1995 batch IRS-IT officer will be the first Joint Secretary of newly created cell-(J&K&L).

SARUAV RAY

ASHWIN SHENVI

The 1994-batch IDES officer has been appointed Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI) under MHA.

The 2006 batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre has been appointed as Superintendent of Police in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

NIDHI PANDEY The 1991 batch IIS officer has been appointed as Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.

APARNA SHARMA The CSS officer has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Fertilizers.

AMIT MEHTA The 1987 batch IOFS officer has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry.

SARUAV RAY The 1994 IDES officer has been appointed as Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI) under MHA.

PARAMA SEN The 1994 batch IA &AS batch officer has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Department Investment & Public Asset Management.

VINAYAK GARG The 1995 batch IRSEE officer has been appointed as Commissioner, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.

SANJAY AWASTHI The 1989 batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.

AJIT Kr VASANTRAO SONTAKKE The 2009 batch IOFS officer has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Central Information Commission (CIC).

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

ASHWANI LOHANI The former Chairman, Railway Board, and Air India has joined GMR as CEO.

VIVEK RAM CHAUDHARY The Air Marshal has been appointed the new Western Air Command Chief.

ARUN KUMAR

ANAND KUMAR JHA

The DG, Railway Protection Force, has been nominated Chairman of the Security

The 2010-batch IRS-C&CE officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Pallavi Agarwal The 1991 IRS-IT officer has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development.

Platform of International Union of Railways, at Paris.

IPS PROBATIONERS OF 2017 AND 2018 BATCH AGMUT CADRE GET POSTINGS

RAHUL GUPTA has been posted to Arunachal Pradesh; SAHIL SARANGAL has been posted to Goa; BISMA QAZI and AKSHAT KAUSHI get postings to Delhi; KALAIVANAM R has been posted to Andaman & Nicobar Islands; LOKESHWARAN to Puducherry and SHRUTI ARORA has been posted to Chandigarh. PERMANENT JUDGES IN ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT

Additional Judges of Allahabad High Court have been made permanent Judges. They are: Justices Prakash Padia, Alok Mathur, Pankaj Bhatia, Saurabh Lavania, Vivek Varma, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Piyush Agrawal, Saurabh Shyam Shamshery, Jaspreet Singh, Rajeev Singh, Manju Rani Chauhan, Karunesh Singh Pawar, Yogendra Kumar Srivastava, Manish Mathur, Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, Ram Krishna Gautam, Umesh Kumar, Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, Anil Kumar-Ix, Rajendra Kumar-Iv, Mohd. Faiz Alamkhan, Vikas Kunvar Srivastav, Virendra Kumar Srivastava, Suresh Kumar Gupta, Ghandikota Sri Devi, Narendra Kumar Johari, Raj Beer Singh and Ajit Singh.

DR SUNIL KUMAR He has been appointed as Director General of Health Services in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

CHETRAM The IRSME cadre officer has been appointed Adviser (PU), Railway Board.

PRIYANKA SINGH The IRS-IT officer has been appointed Director in the Central Vigilance Commission.

RENU YADAV The IRPS officer has been appointed Director (MPP), Railway Board.

ASHISH BHATIYA The 1985-batch IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre has been appointed Director General of Police in Gujarat.

RAKESH GARG The IRS-IT officer has been appointed CIT (OSD) in the office of Principal CCIT, Mumbai Region.

KEERTI TIWARI The 2008-batch IIS batch officer has been appointed Deputy Press Secretary to the President of India on deputation basis for a term co-terminus with the President.

YASHVENDRA SINGH The IRS-IT has been appointed Director (Election Expenditure) in the Election Commission of India, New Delhi on deputation basis.

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...by the way Drilling for CMD

n intense marathon is underway for the post of Chairman of ONGC. The incumbent CMD Shashi Shanker’s term is ending in March 2021. And so far there has been no move to select the new CMD by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) as its Chairman Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as Election Commissioner of India. The PESB is head less. More worrisome is the pathetic condition of ONGC. The Maharatna has become a milking cow for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. A lobbyist, who wants this organisation to perish, has hammered the share price in seven years. The share price of ONGC has dropped from Rs 310.43 on June 6, 2014 to Rs 69.10 on September 30, 2020. COVID-19 has further broken its financial backbone as Brent crude prices were lower than the breakeven price of ONGC. According to ONGC’s FY19 Annual Report, every $1 a barrel change in prices of crude oil, natural gas and other products has an impact of Rs 6,004 crore on its revenue. Sources disclosed that the names floating around do not make any difference as the final selection will be decided by the oil drilling and exploration companies. As one source disclosed, Alphageo, Aban Offshore, Deep Industries, HOEC, Jindal Drilling, Asian Oilfield, Selan Explore, Dolphin Offshore and Duke Offshore are the big companies which are in one way or other associated with the activities of ONGC. All these companies reportedly have major stakes and every decision of ONGC influences their activities. Sources disclosed that there are approximately 13 candidates for the coveted post but the names of AP Das Joshi, a 1994batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre (originally from Gujarat), and OP Singh, Director-Technical and Field Services, are prominent. Interestingly, Das Joshi’s batch and cadre mate, Rajeev Chandra Joshi, is the Chief Vigilance Officer of ONGC. g

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The lure of politics

n Bihar, there is a storm of civil servants who are all ready to jump into politics. Former DGP Gupteshwar Pandey’s case of joining JD(U) recently is nothing new. Recall the Bhagalpur eye-tearing scandal of 1980. In this case, more than 30 criminals had suffered an eye tearing incident by adding acid. Bhagalpur SP Vishnu Dayal Ram was the accused and a CBI investigation took place. But no action was taken against him due to lack of evidence. It is well known that Prakash Jha made his film Gangajal in the year 2003 based on this incident. The same Vishnu Dayal Ram, a 1973-batch IPS officer, former DGP Jharkhand, is now MP from Palamu in Jharkhand twice. Another former DG of the Police Building Construction Corporation, Sunil Kumar, a 1987-batch IPS officer has joined JD (U). His brother Anil Kumar, who hails from Gopalganj, is a Congress Party MLA. Another former DGP of Jharkhand DK Pandey, a 1984-batch officer, joined BJP in October 2019, fought an assembly election and lost. Interestingly, IPS officer Yumnam Jaikumar Singh, a 1976-batch was DGP of Manipur from 2007 to 2012. He acquired the Deputy Chief Minister’s chair in N. Viren Singh’s government after winning elections from Uripok seat in 2017. Not only IPS officers but senior IAS officers are also very active in Bihar. Former Home Secretary RK Singh, a 1975-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, joined the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He contested from Ara and again won in 2019 and is now a powerful minister in the Union Cabinet. Former Secretary Petroleum and Steel, RS Pandey, a 1972-batch IAS officer of the Nagaland cadre is a BJP MLA from Bagaha. He was more eager to enter the Lok Sabha but the BJP did not give him a ticket. Another IAS officer KP Ramaiya contested from the Sasaram Lok Sabha seat on a JD(U) ticket in 2014 but lost. In a democratic country everybody has a right to contest but the question is, are these former civil servants able to bring a smile on the face of poor? g

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gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

...by the way Ready to serve, ready to retire

f you are a government servant and 50 or 55 years old, then be ready to be compulsorily retired prematurely. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued a circular on August 28, 2020, mentioning “Periodic Review of Central Government Employees for strengthening of administration under Fundamental Rule (FR) 560)1(l) and Rule 48 ofCCS (Pension) Rules, 1972”. The order categorically states, “The objective of Fundamental Rule (FR) 560)1(l) and Rule 48 of CS(Pension) Rules, 1972, is to strengthen the administrative machinery by developing responsible and efficient administration at all levels and to achieve efficiency, economy and speed in the disposal of Government functions. It is clarified that premature retirement of Government servants under these rules is not a penalty. It is distinct from Compulsory Retirement', which is one of prescribed penalties under CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965.” The 10-page DoPT order will have an impact on 46 lakh government employees. Point no. 6 of the DoPT order states, “Government may, at any time after a Government servant has attained the age of 50/55 years or completed 30 years of service, as the case may be, retire him pre-maturely in public interest. However, nonadherence to the time-lines as indicated in order due to certain administrative exigencies shall not take away the powers of Appropriate Authority to prematurely retire a Government servant under FR 56(j), 56(l) and Rule 48 of CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972. Therefore, review of a Government servant for the purposes of these Rules can be undertaken even after he has attained the age of 50/55 years in cases covered by FR 56 (j) orafter he has completed 30 years of qualifying service under FR 56(l) / Rule 48 of CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972.” The DoPT this time has come out completely armed with citations from different court judgements. The order cites the judgement in the case of UOI & Col. J.N.Sinha [1571

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 4-6 | Jul-Sep 2020

SCR (1)791], where the Hon'ble Supreme Court had not only upheld the validity of FR 56(j), butalso held that no show-cause notice needs to be issued to any Government servant before a notice of retirement is issued to him under the aforesaid provisions. The officers before taking any legal course should read the cases which DoPT has mentioned in its order viz. State of Gujarat vs Umedbhai M. Patel, 2001 (3) SCC, 314, Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of S Ramchandra Raju vs State of Orissa {(1 994) 3 SCC424}, K. Kandaswamy vs Union Of India & Anr, 1996 AIR 277, 1995 SCC (6)162, State of U.P. and Others vs Vijay Kumar Jam, Appeal (civil) 2083 of 2002. gfiles spoke to many officers who say that there is nothing new about the rules. But civil servants are worried “because 50/55 years is such an age where children are ready for higher studies, the family is in the process of building a house. Life starts stabilising and now the hammer of government may put a discordant note. It will have a deeper impact in society.” It has been observed that the government has already weeded out top-ranking civil servants from the decision-making process. Topranking civil servants are, in fact, happy serving the states and are no longer hankering to join the central ministries. Most of the ministries now are full of allied service officers. Insiders inform that this whole plan is to introduce lateral entry in the government with a big bang. Sources disclosed that internally the job has been assigned to RSS functionaries who have been working for the last four months. As the sources inform, the RSS functionaries have drafted a list of officers, especially in the economic ministries, who are dead wood and must be weeded out. The RSS functionaries, as per sources, have also drafted a list of officers who must be inducted as lateral entries in the different ministries. The process of premature retirement has already started in the ministries and officers have been ordered to pack up and go. g

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