The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment
of Vijay Keshav Gokhale, 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service, Secretary (economic
relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, as the new Foreign Secretary in
place of Dr S Jaishankar on the first day of 2018. Gokhale, India’s Ambassador
to China, had played a key role in defusing the 73-day-long Doklam crisis.
Gokhale, an expert on China affairs, was brought in as India’s top diplomat, in
South Block keeping in mind the diplomatic sensitivities. Significantly, it has
now become almost a pattern that an ex-Indian envoy to China has a better
chance to grab the coveted post of foreign secretary. Shivshankar Menon and
Nirupama Rao, both during the UPA time and S Jaishankar of the NDA regime,
happened to be India’s Ambassador to China and someone with a deep
understanding of India-China diplomatic intricacies. Gokhale is four years
junior to the current Foreign Secretary, S Jaishankar. Gokhale joined the
Indian Foreign Service in 1981 and Jaishankar joined in 1977. Jaishankar was
appointed as the Foreign Secretary in January 2015, initially for two years,
and then, his tenure was extended for one more year till January 28, 2018.
Prior to joining the Foreign Services, Gokhale completed his Master’s degree in
History from Delhi University. Gokhale has represented India in Germany as well
as in Malaysia. He was the High Commissioner of India to Malaysia from January
2010 to October 2013, and Ambassador of India to the Federal Republic of
Germany from October 2013 to January 2016. Thereafter, Gokhale took charge as
India’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from January 2016 to
October 2017. Though India-China relations are likely to top Gokhale’s agenda
during the year 2018, other issues concerning India-US bilateral and those
arising out of Pakistan may prominently future in Gokhale’s list of priorities.
January 30, 2018
Ethics in governance
There is some good news for youngsters aspiring to appear for the civil
services examination. Dr Dalip Singh, an IAS officer of the 1982-batch of the
Haryana cadre, has started an exclusive channel on Youtube to update their
skills and knowledge about ethics, integrity and emotional intelligence in
administration and governance. Post retirement, Dr Singh is occupying a
constitutional post as State Election Commissioner in Haryana. He has taken the
responsibility of assisting the young minds about ethics in governance. The
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has, of late, taken keen interest in
judging the aptitude and attitude of young aspirants for civil services on
issues like ethics, integrity, emotional intelligence, social and moral values,
corruption, code of conduct, transparency and accountability, to name a few.
There is a paper of 250 marks in the main examination to prove that the
applicants will uphold the integrity and accountability of government if they
clear the exam. However, the questions being asked for the last 2-3 years are
vague, conflicting and childish. Dr Singh is interviewing civil servants who
know the art of tactfully navigating troubled waters and want to share their
rich experiences with budding bureaucrats. He will be asking uncomfortable
questions to senior civil servants from IAS, IFS, IPS, IRS, Railways and other
distinguished services. Some examples are: What is the role and consequences of
ethics in good governance? Whether ethics is inherited or learned? In what way
can the lives and teachings of administrators, reformers, and leaders help
young people to embrace human values? Do you think empathy and compassion
towards weaker sections of the society is on the decline and that the young
generation lacks the attitude to appreciate their problems? Do you agree that
corruption in administration has been a big issue over the years? Policy
systems have been designed in such a way that corruption cannot be avoided. How
do you think situation can be improved? Let us help Dr Singh achieve this noble
objective by subscribing to Dr Dalip Singh IAS CHANNEL on Youtube.
Talent can’t be crushed
Circumstances may change at any time. The action one takes at a time on
duty may sound good but it may boomerang. It has happened with Hari Om, a
1997-batch IAS officer, was Gorakhpur DM in 2007, when Yogi - then MP - was
arrested for allegedly instigating communal unrest and defying prohibitory
orders. As time passed and politics turned, Yogi Aditya Nath became Chief
Minister of UP. Hari Om is now feeling the heat as Yogi has never forgotten
that day. He is at present serving at an insignificant post of secretary,
general administration. But the culmination of circumstances has not dampened
the spirit of Hari Om. The erstwhile topper in Hindi medium in his batch has
launched a music video, ‘Ro chuke jinke liye rona tha’ in Lucknow. The lyrics
for the music video, however, have been written by retired UP cadre IAS officer
Anis Ansari. On the eve of the video release, Hari Om said, “Having been born
and raised in Uttar Pradesh, I have always loved the Hindi language and honed
my skills. I am content that I can put it to constructive use which people of
this country can relate to.” The music video is part of album called Rang Ka
Dariya. Hari Om said that he has always loved expressing his creative abilities
and is only ‘fulfilling them’ through this album. He avoids queries on being
sidelined and instead says, “I do my riyaz early morning for at least an hour
with a harmonium before reading the morning newspapers and heading off to
office.”
Unease after Punjab judgement
There is considerable unease for all those retired civil servants who
are still serving in the central and state governments as Principal Secretary
or Officer on Special Duty after the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s quashing
of the appointment of retired IAS officer Suresh Kumar as Chief Principal
Secretary to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. The judgement has become a
point of discussion in IAS fraternity. It’s reported that the High Court
quashed Kumar’s appointment on the grounds of delegation of more powers and not
following proper procedure on his appointment. When Amarinder Singh appointed
Kumar, the High Court set aside the appointment and said the retired IAS
officer was holding public office without any authority of law. The court said
his being entrusted important functions after having ceased to be a public
servant was inexplicable. It also wanted to know how such an appointee could be
held accountable for his decisions. There are different schools of thought,
which opined that there would be no responsibility and accountability if any
retired IAS officer committed a mistake and the government had no powers in
taking disciplinary action. This was applicable to all re-employed retired IAS
officers. There are about 15 retired IAS officers appointed at various
positions in Telengana and Andhra Pradesh alone. Captain Amarinder Singh has
directed the State Advocate General to examine the High Court judgement and
suggest further legal remedies. How things will unfold is yet to be seen as
even the Prime Minister’s Office has a well-established tradition of over two
decades of appointing retired civil servants as Principal Secretary to the
Prime Minister. TKA Nair, who served with Dr. Manmohan Singh as Principal
Secretary to Prime Minister, was a retired IAS officer of the 1963-batch of the
Punjab cadre. The current Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Nirpendra
Mishra, is also a retired IAS officer of the 1967-batch of the Uttar Pradesh
cadre. Similarly, the Gujarat and Kerala governments have also appointed
retired IAS officers as Chief Principal Secretaries to the Chief Minister-K
Kailashnathan and Nalini Netto, respectively.
Change of guard?
THE top-ranking leadership of the RSS, the de facto control centre of
the BJP-led NDA Government, is in introspection mode as it analyses what it has
achieved for India. There are many areas where the RSS feels helpless but
circumstances are as such that the leadership can’t do much. There is general
election in 2019 and before that many states assembly elections are going to be
held in 2018. There have been reports that RSS may reshuffle its top-ranking
leadership but due to the uncertain political climate, they are rethinking this
strategy. Sources disclosed that Suresh Rao Joshi alias Bhaiyaji Joshi may
relinquish his post and a new General Secretary (Sirkaryavahak) maybe
appointed. The RSS hierarchy has one General Secretary and four Joint
Secretaries. Out of these four Joint Secretaries, one can be appointed as
General Secretary, which is a very important post in the RSS. The General
Secretary allocates the work among RSS office bearers. Suresh ‘Bhaiyaji’ Joshi
was elected as General Secretary in 2015 for three years. His term is ending in
March 2018. It is known that House of RSS representatives (Akhil Bharatiya
Pratinidhi Sabha) will meet in March where elections will be held. Suresh Soni,
Krishna Gopal, Dattatreya Hosabale and V Bhaigaih assist Bhaiyaji Joshi. As per
sources, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is in favour of Bhaiyaji Joshi continuing at
this juncture. If Joshi continues as General Secretary, then all the Joint
Secretaries will also continue. Bhaiyaji Joshi reportedly has very cordial
working relations with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit
Shah.
A true gem
HARYANA Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s cabinet ministers are full
of enthusiasm and inspiration. At times they appear to be completely devoted to
the Chief Minister and at other times, they take independent decisions which
baffle the top BJP leadership. Haryana politics is full of intrigue. Further,
most of the Haryana MLAs and ministers are known for scheming against their own
Chief Ministers. Khattar is not an exception and is feeling the pulls and
pressures not only from his rivals but from his colleagues. But Vipul Goel,
Minister of Industries and Commerce, appears to be an exception. Goel has risen
in state politics from the ranks and has seen poverty in the family. Grooming
by the RSS parivar has nurtured the missionary in him. It is rare in Haryana
where a minister appears to be far above any form of greed. This was evident
when Goel auctioned gifts and mementos received by him during his tenure as a
Minister to contribute to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. He has planned to
donate the Rs 2.5 crore collection for the welfare of poor and needy. He said
he was motivated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had auctioned 460 gifts
for the Namami Gange Project. Goel is credited with setting up the tallest
tricolor in Faridabad, planting two and a half lakh saplings in three hours
during the Harit Haryana campaign, running Project Panchhi for providing
shelter, water to birds, digital rallies (addressing people at different
locations with latest technology) and Sadmadhaan Diwas (camps for grievance redressal).
Are other ministers listening!
Vadra plays musical chairs
RAHUL Gandhi had readily consented to speak at a summit organised by a
top English newspaper group in New Delhi. He was quick to assess that if he did
not attend, all the glory would be cornered by expert stage performers like
Modi and former US President Barack Obama. Rahul was slated to attend this
high-profile summit with Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is a known family friend of
the owners of the media group. The organisers had kept two seats reserved for
them right in the front row. Incidentally, Rahul’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra
was also supposed to attend the summit and his seat had been allocated a row
behind Rahul’s. However, Vadra reached the auditorium early and casually
requested the organisers to be given a seat next to Rahul’s, as he said he had
some urgent things to discuss with the latter. When Rahul reached his seat, he
was a bit shaken at this musical chair game. Sources reveal that throughout the
meeting, Rahul remained in conversation with Jyotiraditya, while masking his
unease. Vadra kept on talking on his cell phone all the while. Is Rahul openly
distancing himself from his brother-in-law Robert Vadra?
RSTV battleground
WHAT is the rationale behind having two TV channels of Parliament? This
is a puzzle to be solved by parliamentarians. Both Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha
TV are managed under the active supervision of Speaker and Vice-President of
India who is ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Both TV channels have
remained in controversy for one reason or the other since inception. The beauty
of both TV channels is that the administrative set-up is not burdened with
earning revenue as the resources of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are at their
disposal. So the administrative setup has a lacklustre attitude towards
managing the affairs of these channels. The latest controversy is about Rajya
Sabha TV’s CEO, Shashi Shekhar Vempati, who also happens to be the
editor-in-chief of RSTV. This non-IAS officer wants a complete overhaul of the
content and look-and-feel of RSTV. This has ruffled Naidu’s feathers. The buzz
is that Naidu wants his favourite Dr I V Subba Rao, a retired IAS officer
currently serving the VP in his secretariat, as the new editor-in-chief. Meanwhile
the PMO itself has recently started jockeying for full control of RSTV. And
this triangular contest is the reason that RSTV could not send its team for
coverage of the Gujarat polls. It had been decided earlier that the channel
would send at least three to four camera teams for covering the polls. But the
Shashi Shekhar-Subba Rao tussle ensured that the teams could not finally go.
And now the Prime Minister’s office is keeping watch on the channel after
completely taking control of Lok Sabha TV.
Vajpayee is back
IF Vajpayee’s first government was a quickly aborted affair, his second
one almost never came about. Celebrations in the BJP camp turned sombre as
Jayalalitha, who would become a painful thorn in the government’s side,
tantalisingly held back her letter of support to Vajpayee.
No Sir
IT was peer pressure that brought Rita Sinha-than Rita Kudwa-into Indian
Administrative Service (IAS). She was pursuing masters in geography from Punjab
University and her professor, AB Mukherjee, was very keen on her getting into
academics after it. “I found teaching dull. I had no clue about IAS as well. I
appeared in the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) examination because many
of my seniors and classmates also sat for it,” she says.
More than just celebration
REPORTS in the media surface occasionally about social functions like
marriages, birthdays, anniversaries, etc., being performed on sea/air and at
reputed places in splendid way with great pomp involving substantial expenses.
The common man is both amused and aghast in knowing about the same. The latest
in the series is marriage of Anushka Sharma with Virat Kohli-both Indian
celebrities.
TECHNOLOGY or DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE?
FOUR years ago, this clarion, ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’,
reverberated from every electoral platform of a particular political party.
Believing it to be democratic governance with minimum intervention by the
State, 31 per cent electorate voted that party to power. But what has happened
since then is large scale abuse of State power to push all kind of technologies
while abandoning the cardinal principle of governance-participatory decision
making and democratic implementation.
Why Gujarat result scares Shivraj?
Has the BJP high command reduced Shivraj Singh Chouhan to a pariah among
Chief Ministers of the BJP-ruled States after the Gujarat election? The
question is being debated hotly after Chouhan returned swiftly from Gandhi
Nagar on December 26 and was conspicuously absent in Shimla on December 27. All
the 18 BJP Chief Ministers shared dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
BJP president Amit Shah in the oath-taking ceremony of Vijay Rupani as Chief
Minister on December 26. Chouhan too went there but quickly returned after
presenting a bouquet to Rupani.
Presidential poll in Gujarat
THE presidential poll in Gujarat has just concluded. No, no, you will
rudely interrupt, there was no presidential poll in Gujarat. It was just a
little Assembly poll. All right, all right, if it was an assembly election, who
were the chief ministerial faces on the two sides? There were no declared chief
ministerial faces on either side or even if there were, there was nothing
sacred in their nomination. The voter had, in effect, to choose between two
prime ministerial faces: Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.
The makeover of Rahul Gandhi
WITH great power comes great responsibility. The Gandhi surname in
politics comes with fame, fortune, power and a huge sense of responsibility.
For a long time it looked as though the young Rahul Gandhi, born with a silver
spoon but also with the spectre of tragedy surrounding him, was one of the most
reluctant entrants to the elite club of politics. He neither had it in him to
make a success of his heritage and lineage nor did he display the correct
amount of passion to succeed in politics.
Bitcoin – Crises of governance
IT’S either the biggest fraud in financial history or the biggest
revolution in human civilisation. In a few years, it will either trade for
peanuts or, as one estimate puts it, sell for $100,000, that is, seven times
its present worth. It can be a boon or bane, caught in a cycle of a boom or
bubble. The saga of bitcoin, one of the unregulated crypto-currencies in
circulation, is unfolding bit by bit, through volatile ups and downs and by
additions and subtractions of zeroes. The year 2017, however, was a magical and
dream-like year for bitcoin. In the first week of January its worth hovered
just about $800.
From the Editor
THE majority of the country, especially the pundits, failed to realise
that the ‘real’ change in the 2014 election wasn’t the emergence of a ‘new
face’ or return of the BJP. It signified the beginning of the transformation of
the seven-decade-old Indian polity, which would naturally enmesh with radical
and disruptive social and economic changes. Narendra Modi’s was a call for
‘total change’, the construction of a ‘New India’, and a kind of a body-politic
somersault. More importantly, his implementation was ‘sudden’.
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