2G caution

The 2G scam’s aftermath may usher in certain changes in government policy that many babus may not have anticipated. The revelation of links of senior babus with the corporate sector has made the government rethink its policy on bureaucrats who join private companies after retirement from government

service. At present a government official cannot accept a job in the corporate world for at least a year after retirement. Even then, there are many instances of the government waiving the stipulation. About 10-12 such requests are apparently received every month from retired babus.
The Department of Personnel and Training has now started rejecting most such pleas from babus and has prepared an amendment to the rule in which the “cooling off” period has been extended to three years from the existing one year. The government clearly does not want to take chances.

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Consulting blues
The issue of transparency, or rather the lack of it, has cropped up in the hallowed halls of the powerful Planning Commission. The panel is in hot waters apparently for appointing consultants in a non-transparent manner.
The person to wave the red flag apparently was none other than Planning Commission member secretary Sudha Pillai, who attended a meeting of the group of ministers (GoM) on corruption. It appears that the panel has appointed some consultants at senior levels without the approval of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is the head of the Planning Commission. It even seems to have tweaked rules in certain cases, such as not getting the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet as required. According to sources, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads the GoM, is planning to take up the issue with the panel’s deputy chairman, Montek Singh Ahulwalia.

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IAS aspirants
In post-liberalisation India, joining the civil service may no longer be a middle-class aspiration, but it clearly continues to inspire many others. In recent years, there have been several stories of individuals from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who have made it into the coveted service through on their own steam.
This year Mir Basit Hussain, who never went to school, is among the three per cent Muslim candidates who qualified in the UPSC examination. As a child Hussain was placed in an orphanage in Kerala and completed his elementary education there. He graduated in history through the distance education programme of the University of Calicut. But Hussain clearly knows what it takes to be an IAS officer. Interestingly, as he heads to Mussoorie for training it may well be his first time inside a formal educational institute.