Who is the most "qualified" IAS officer ?

Anshu Bharadwaj 1992 batch of Karnataka cadre (IIT, Kanpur; IIM Kolkata)has just finished PhD from Carnegie Mellon University. Now this has fuelled the debate on who are the other such highly qualified IAS officers.(counting the foreign degrees and not the degrees at India alone) Dr J C Mohanty 1979 batch (Andhra Cadre) has two PhDs, from Andhra and Harvard. K Jairaj 1976 batch (Karnataka cadre)has two MPAs, one from Princeton and the other from Harvard plus an MA from Delhi School of Economics and a LLB from Bangalore. R Gopalan 1976 batch TamilNadu cadre has two masters, MPA from Harvard and MA from Boston University. Dr Prasanna Kumar Mohanty 1979 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre has two degrees, PhD from Boston and Post Doctoral from Harvard. Samirendra Chatterji 1976 batch Assam Meghalaya cadre has two masters, one from Boston and MBA from Australia plus MSc (Physics) from Delhi University. Sujatha Rao 1974 batch (AP) has two degrees from harvard, one on Public Administration and another on Public Health. Since most officers go on foreign training at least once, we are not counting the single degrees so obtained.(Like Dr Mano Ranjan 1969 batch from UP cadre has two MSc from Allahabad, MPA from Harvard and a PhD from IIT.)

L Mansingh is new DGFT

Labanendu Mansingh is the new Director General Foreign Trade (DGFT). 1970 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer Mansingh is currently Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce. He would succeed N L Lakhan Pal who has moved to the North-Block as Secretary Inter-State Council.

Ashok Lahiri is new CEA

Ashok Lahiri has been appointed as Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance

Tariff Authority and the ports

Major ports of the country are soon likey to come under the Tariff Authority supervisory powers.

Vacancies of Judges

As many as 100 posts in various High Courts all over the country are lying vacant. The soon they are filled, there is expected to be a great improvement in disposal of cases.

IAS for deputation at Centre

One Alok Perity, Commissioner Health in Assam, is so unhappy with his political bosses that he has started trying for deputation in the Government of India. He is said to be at loggerheads, this time, with the Assam Health Minister.

Why are All India Service Officers unwilling to serve in the Manipur ?

Earlier during 2001, Ajay Shrivastava, IAS ( MT:87 ) on completion of his extended Central deputation tenure as Deputy Secretary in the Home Ministry preferred to go to Tripura rather than return to his parent Manipur cadre. Now, Barun Mitra, IAS ( MT : 86 ), who has just completed his extended deputation in the Rashtrapati Bhawan, is lobbying hard to go to neighbouring Mizoram. Yet another IAS Officer from Manipur, RC. Mishra ( MT:78 ), who has been away on Central deputation for nearly seven years, is trying to take study leave even without returning to the State quite obviously because he does not want to return to Manipur.
The Manipur Chief Minister has reportedly expressed his displeasure at the IAS Officers exerting pressures from political sources and thus manipulating to stay away from the State for unduly long periods. He has recently written to the Prime Minister requesting that those IAS officers of the Manipur part of the MT cadre who are completing their Central deputations this year should be repatriated and that they should not be considered for any extensions. The position is similar, if not worse, in respect IPS and IFS officers. The important question, therefore, is - why are AIS officers unwilling to serve in Manipur although the Central Govt. has reduced the cooling-off period to only two years and has extended a fairly attractive package of incentives to the AIS officers serving in the North-East?

Vacancies in Income Tax

There are as manay as 300 vacancies of Joint Commissioners in the Income Tax department. Unfortunately they are not being filled in near future because the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting is being delayed due to a legal tangle.

New Chairman of Council of Power Utilities

Managing Director of the Karnataka Power Corporation K Jothiramalingam will be new Chairman of the Council of Power Utilities. He would replace Yogendra Prasad.

IPS transfers in Punjab

Half a dozen IPS officers Mssrs Vijay Kumar, Rajpal Singh,Bachan Singh Randhawa ,Harbhajan Singh,L K Yadav and Gurdev Singh have been transferred.

IAS changes in Orissa

Excise Secretary J P Das has been given additional charge of Information and Publicity. Secretary Steel and Mines R N Bahidarlu has been entrusted with additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs. R Balakrishnan will be Special Relief Commissioner.

Thanga to hold current charge in NE Council

Joint Secretary ,North Eastern Council P L Thanga has been given current charge of the post of Secretary ,North-Eastern Council Secretariat in addition to his present duties. He is 1974 batch IAS officer of Manipur-Tripura cadre.

Chattopadhyay to go on leave

Secretary Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation in Government of India Sujit Shankar Chattopadhyay is proceeding on long leave beginning August 16. He is 1966 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.

Siddiqui is OSD Law and Order Punjab

Punjab cadre IPS officer Dr A A Siddiqui who was DGP Manipur is back to the parent cadre. 1968 batch IPS officer Siddiqui on his return has been posted as OSD Law and Order.