gfiles_March-April 2020 The COVID-19 : DIVINE DIN by Gfiles

Raj to Rafale Overlooking written evidence p10 Statescan Drama at votersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expense in Madhya Pradesh p52 March-april 2020 `200 vol. 14, issue 1

gfilesindia.com

DIVINE DIN Covid 19:

The art of Godly intervention and the science of governance Lockdown blues: Human suffering & economic deprivation ISSN 0976-2906 1 photo courtesy: geoglyphiks.com

WANTED:

SPECIAL REPORTS KILLING FIELDS OF KAIMUR p24

RIGHT TO INFORMATION THE SWELLING TIDE p16

POLITICS SONRISEIN CONGRESS p34

WEST BENGAL: DISTANT THUNDER p22 VOL.

3, ISSUE 7 | OCTOBER 2009 | RS 50

GOVERNANCE FERTILISER : wRONG mEdICINE p26

FIRST STIRRINGS VISHNU BHAGWAN p28

a K verma reds here to stay p22

years

R.N.I. NO: DELENG/2007/19719

special Forest oFFicer’s VictiMisation in HarYana p24

gfilesindia.com

Israel

DISENFRANCHISING THE NAVEEN THE POOR

18 ire 2 m p2 ! p u rs ag S: E: ap ea qu NG NC or b big nt RI NA ! f ’s : me TIR 8 ER i ho her CE ure S p2 V t N T s c GO o ja bro EFE pro IRS ain n ig D e F sb ◗ th k ◗b

special cHoppers, tHe big business p19

gfilesindia.com

oil industry needs surgery

BABUS

IN THE FRAY

4 p2

June 2012 Rs 100 vol. 6, issue 3 mandarin matters K n BaKshi p40

gfilesindia.com

A LEADER

years October 2012 Rs 100 vOl. 6, issue 7

INTERVIEw AIR CHIEF NAK BROwNE p22

www.gfilesindia.com

special report loot in Mp p16

m g devasahayam 1962 China War p26

years

February 2013 Rs 200 vol. 6, issue 11

INCOME TAX THE UNFAIR BURDEN p20

FACTOR

VOL.

3, ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2009 | RS 20

R.N.I. NO: DELENG/2007/197

Fir st

aK setH, cabinet secretarY on goVernance reForMs

Vin

R.N.i. No: DeleNG/2007/19719

‘speed up’

ir p4 ta rin 4 r gs

fi ajit rs n t imB st a p3 ir lK 6 rin ar gs

H 8

BHAI BHAI?

BJP POLITICS :O RAJNAT VERTO

INDIa

BIG BOSS cabinet secretary km chandrasekhar

‘Strong economic recovery by the end of the year’

Gatewayto the Government ofIndIa gfiles is the country’s first magazine written, designed and produced for India’s civil services—the vast and formidable network of bureaucracies and public sector organisations. A niche market product since April 2007, it reaches 76,000 individuals with a universe of more than 3,50,000 readers. Its exclusive readership consists of the men and women who lead the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Class I Union Services, as well as a host of Allied Services.

gfiles provides not only exclusive news unavailable anywhere else in the media or the Internet, but also focuses exclusively on the future, anticipating events and developments. gfiles contains detailed, extensive and accurate reports about transfers and postings. It features interviews, case studies, snippets, retirement profiles, financial planning advice, political changes, as well as birthdays and alumni tracking. gfileindia.com, a web portal of gfiles, clicks more than 26 lakh hits every month. Subscription: hrd@gfilesindia.com Advertisement: adv@gfilesindia.com for details

www.gfilesindia.com

From the Editor

vol. 14, issue 1 | March-April 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 Vibhas 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 Madan Lal | webmaster 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

Contact: editor@gfilesindia.com For sales: adv@gfilesindia.com For Subscription: hrd@gfilesindia.com tel/fax: +91 11 2874 4789, +91 99111 10385

SCAN and SHARE Cover courtesy: Tantric_Dance: geoglyphiks.com. The painter is settled in Seattle, USA

www.indianbuzz.com

OVID-19 is a virus, a physical being, howsoever miniscule, which can jump from one animal (bat) to another (pangolins and sheep), and finally into human bodies. At this stage, it can hide and multiply, decide to rest and cause massive destruction, even cause deaths. But it is more than a microbe; it’s a sign from nature or God. In this Anthropocene age, as Homo Sapiens have a dominant influence on physical climate and environment, nature too can devise devious ways to counter such trends. If global leaders rule with the view that markets are their Gods, and private investors are their respected priests, then COVID-19 is a grand counter to that vision. For one, until now, the virus has attacked richer nations. It started its journey from China, the superpower-in-waiting, traversed through Taiwan and Korea, the mini-powers in an Asian Century, and virulently and mercilessly attacked the US, Italy, Spain, France, and the UK. Almost the entire developed world – where money equals power, greed overrides everything else, and governance is through and for the elite – is under siege due to the epidemic. In India, the pandemic exposed governance failures. In its overpowering mindset to help the rich and elite, the government initially went slow to monitor and quarantine people who returned from abroad. Many used their political, social and economic clout to escape medical check-up. Even as Parliament remained in session in complete disregard to the viral manifestations, the wealthy continued their parties and socialite excesses. At the same time, like one commentator said, “the ill-planned lock-down led to enormous human suffering. Working-class Indians, already living on the edge, are now faced with utter destitution”. The farmers, and migrant and temporary workers faced the brunt of the lockdown. The concept of a social welfare state, as enshrined in the Constitution was given short shrift by several past governments. COVID-19 reiterated this basic and nightmarish truth. Governments today have transformed into those that are definitely formed by the people, who are fooled by rhetoric, fear, empty promises, violence, and communalism. But in reality, the ruling regimes are only of the elite, and for the elite. No questions asked, no explanations required. For example, there is a philosophical and ideological shift among the leaders to consolidate power by whatever means possible, rather than provide robust and efficient governance. In fact, the former is assiduously done in the garb of the latter – the ever-present vote-bank politics. Governance, which was to be based on scientific principles and ideological rationalism, has been turned upside down into an art, where the overriding vision of the ‘Supreme Leader’, howsoever ephemeral, lopsided, and elusive it might be, is paramount. The buck starts its journey from the policies that are dictated from the top, disseminated by loyalists, and it stops when the decisions are blindly implemented by the civil servants. The role of other elected representatives, even ministers and senior politicians within the political parties, has disappeared – poof into the ether, or swoosh, back into the bottle. This is the manner in which Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Tayyip Erdogan rule over their empires in the US, Russia, and Turkey. The exercise of power without responsibility, and the use of power for private gains, rather than social welfare, is evident. Years ago, Kishore Biyani, the father of modern retail in India divided the consumers into three sets – India-1, India-2, and India-3. The first was the consumption class, the rich and middle class. The second was the service class, the workers, farmers, and those who provide professional and semi-professional services like maids, drivers, teachers, nurses, cleaners, sweepers, etc. India-3 was the poor class with hand-to-mouth existence. Biyani was clear that India-1 would not allow India-2 to catch up with it. This is reflected in governance today. Now, we pose another question – if India-1 fails India-2, and gives a damn about India-3, can the rich and elite survive on their own? Think about it. Anil Tyagi editor@gfilesindia.com https://twitter.com/hellogudday https://www.facebook.com/aniltyagi

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

CONTENTS

Cover Story

bric-a-brac

Fighting for Central Hall; Sick, and struggling; More than meets the eye; North and South faceoff corruption

Cosmic Dance, Worldly Trance

Systems failure, situation critical

The Economic Roulette Wheel

Winds of change

Loose sheets, diaries & spreadsheets STATE SCAN

Jyotiraditya Scindia: Overrated turncoat BOOK REVIEW

A life in secret

Tracking: Transfers & Postings

Yogi: No time for UP IAS week; Petronet largesse; Tackling Covid; Listing blues

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

bIRTHDAYs of civil servants

BY THE WAY

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Tweets @IAS ASSOCIATION President of India @rashtrapatibhvn In the present times too, the steel frame of our country, the civil service, has shown its strength and resolve in handling COVID-19 situation, with sensitivity and professionalism. Confident that our civil services will continue to serve in the best traditions of public service. President of India @rashtrapatibhvn On Civil Services Day, greetings to all civil servants, past and present, and their families. Our civil services have played a key role in implementing policies and programs for public welfare. Narendra Modi @narendramodi On Civil Services Day, tributes to the great Sardar Patel, who envisioned our administrative framework and emphasised on building a system that is progress-oriented and compassionate. IAS Association @IASassociation We are grateful to Hon’ble Vice President of India for appreciating the role of Civil Servants in #fightagainstcorona. We shall leave no stone unturned to rise to the occasion and meet the expectation of the nation. #CivilServicesFightCOVID19 #CivilServicesDay @IAS ASSOCIATION Celebrating the #CoronaWarriors Civil Servants on this Civil Services Day. Share

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

stories of Civil Servants leading the fight against Corona with #CivilServicesFightCOVID19 @ IASassociation @svpnpahyd IAS Association Retweeted Suman Rawat Chandra, IAS @oiseaulibre3 A strict vigil through drones of the lockdown. Your safety, Buldhana, is first and foremost. Buldhana fights COVID19 together! sanjay kumar @sanjayjavin #BiharFightsCorona govt of bihar, health department has directed all private hospitals/nursing homes/clinics/pharmacy/ diagnostic centres-pathology and radiology to resume their services with immediate effect.public facilities are already operational. IAS Association Retweeted Durga Shanker Mishra @Secretary_MoHUA Issue of migrant workers is one of the major concerns in these crucial times when country is dealing with the outbreak of a global pandemic. To tackle this, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has opened relief camps at 15 civic-run schools. IAS Association @IASassociation @NHAI_Official led by Sh S S Sandhu, #IAS is turning lockdown into opportunity to redress disputes worth Rs 80,000 crore to restart road construction work all@over the country. #CoronaWarriors

gfiles

Form IV (See rule 8)

1. Place of Publication: 2. Periodicity of Publication: 3. Printer’s Name: Whether Citizen of India?: (if foreigner, state the country of origin): Address: 4. Publisher’s Name: Whether Citizen of India?: (if foreigner, state the country of origin): Address: 5. Editor’s Name: Whether Citizen of India?: (if foreigner, state the country of origin): Address: 6. Name and Addresses of Individuals who own the newspaper and the partners or shareholders: Holding more than one percent of the total capital Shareholders:

New Delhi Monthly Anil Tyagi Yes Not applicable 118 2nd floor, DDA Site 1, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi-110060 Anil Tyagi Yes Not applicable 118 2nd floor, DDA Site 1, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi-110060 Anil Tyagi Yes Not applicable 118 2nd floor, DDA Site 1, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi-110060 Anil Tyagi Sadia Rahman 118 2nd floor, DDA Site 1, New Rajinder Nagar New Delhi-110060 Sarvashrestha Media Pvt Ltd Quality Edumedia Pvt Ltd

I, Anil Tyagi, hereby declare that the particulars given are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Dated. March 01, 2020 Sd/ Anil Tyagi Publisher

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Hurrah! new look!

years

gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Bric-a-brac losses & gains

Fighting for Central Hall

Sick, and struggling

All in favour say aye...

States in financial quagmire

entral Hall is the most happening place inside the Parliament. It’s where present and former members of both houses (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) have informal debates, tea-coffee and South Indian lunches, etc. Leaders meet across party lines. Senior journalists (with Special Pass) also have the privilege to go into central hall and mingle with the top leadership without any appointment. It’s where senior journalists get an indication of the mood of the ruling and opposition leadership. The cardinal rule is whatever is discussed within the walls of Central Hall is not news and cannot be reported come what may. One fine day Prakash Javadekar informed journalists that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is thinking of banning the entry of journalists into the Central Hall, which he later denied. Journalists rushed to meet Om Birla and discussed the issue; he informed that a committee was being formed. Nothing moved. Journalists continued to investigate as is their wont. It was soon learnt from sources that the new vista planned by the Modi government will not have Central Hall, so the issue of entry will be over automatically. But this infuriated MPs. Parliament has a system of committees where all issues are decided. The General Purpose committee, which has 45 members of both houses and three special invitees, met on March 19, 2020 to ponder whether the New Parliament should have a Central Hall, though ostensibly the meeting was called to discuss the entry of journalists into the Central Hall. The issue did not even have a mention in the meeting. Majority of the members were in favour of a Central Hall. Observing the mood of the members, the meeting was adjourned by the Speaker. gfiles enquired on the Lok Sabha’s website and found the committee meeting was listed but the subjects-considered column was blank and nothing was mentioned in the remarks section too.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

orona is having a viral impact on the financial health of the states. If the Covid-19 crisis persists, State Chief Ministers are at a loss as how to manage the fallout. Revenue from GST, energy sector, liquor, construction, housing and transport has dipped phenomenally. Furthermore, the states have to tackle Covid-19 but don’t have the required PPE, testing kits, hospitals and treatment facilities. Rural India is really at peril. The states have budgeted a consolidated fiscal deficit target of 2.6 per cent of GDP in the financial year ending March but that was in December. The outstanding debt of states has risen over the last five years to 25 per cent of GDP, posing medium-term challenges to its sustainability, according to an RBI study. India’s gross general government debt– including federal and states’ borrowings– stood at 69 per cent of GDP, higher than China’s 55.6 per cent, according to the International Monetary Fund. After Covid-19, a shift is projected from sectors like housing and urban development and expenditure on social security and welfare to expenditure on education, health and family welfare. The focus on health programmes will put a drastic dent in the overall financial planning of the states. The paradox is that even the central government does not have a plan for financially stressed states such as Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telengana and Uttarakhand. Covid19 will “constrain states’ ability to service their rising debt burdens and address spending needs, especially for states with debt burdens above 200 per cent and debt service over 30 per cent of operating revenue, such as Haryana, Punjab, Kerala and West Bengal,” Moody’s said in a report. No doubt, Covid-19 will fade away slowly but Indian states will never ever forget the unseen robbery by a virus.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Hooda, Tulsi in Rajya Sabha

North and South faceoff Watch out on Raisina Hill

Congress perplexed!

ow did Deepender Singh Hooda, 42 and senior advocate KTS Tulsi, 72, newly elected Members of Rajya Sabha from Haryana and Chhattisgarh get the ticket from the Congress leadership? Let us talk about Deepender’s ticket first. The Congress could have allotted the ticket to Randeep Singh Surjewala. party spokesperson, or Shailja Kumari, President of Haryana Congress Party. Clearly, there are wheels within wheels here. Surjewala is a confidant of Rahul Gandhi. Shailja Kumari is a daughter of a veteran Dalbir Singh, a dalit Congress Leader from Sirsa and close sounding board of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The criteria should have been to choose among the best party leaders who can boost the morale of the workers but no, it is not so easy. In the Congress, family priorities and utility are paramount. The dictum is, if the family is saved, the rest can be taken care off. Deepender’s father Bhupinder Singh Hooda had served as Chief Minister of Haryana for nine years and reportedly obliged Priyanka’s husband Robert Vadra. The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate have filed many cases in the courts and are investigating Bhupinder Hooda’s reported benevolence towards Vadra. Rahul, Priyanka, Robert and Sonia Gandhi need Bhupinder more than Hooda needs them and so Deepender got the ticket. Now, let’s talk about veteran advocate KTS Tulsi, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in April 2014 by the then President of India and Bharat Ratna Pranab Mukherjee. Tulsi hails from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, and is a very humble, soft spoken human being. He owns a Mercedes Benz and Buick90L limousine but still prefers to go to Parliament by bicycle at times as he lives at Motilal Nehru Marg. He is representing Robert Vadra in the Vadra-DLF land case and money laundering case. He has personally travelled to many high courts to defend Vadra. How could the Congress afford to jettison Tulsi? Bhupinder Hooda has clearly learnt a lot from former Chief Minister Bansi Lal and soft-spoken Tulsi has learnt a lot from Dr. Manmohan Singh on how to remain effective and vibrant in the Congress Party.

here is a kind of a lull in the non-stop chess game that’s played by different players in any specific power scenario. After the visit of US President Donald Trump and the spread of Covid-19, even the most powerful of men (who believe themselves to be Gods) have taken a pause, slowed down, and are pondering about the next chess piece that they are likely to touch. This time, it will be a while before the game resumes. For all we care, you, as the reader, may not even get to know or understand the next few moves, especially since there is a face-off, a cold political war, between powerful adversaries. At the moment though, the orders and diktats come from one quarter, or rather than centre of this world. And so be it because no one in politics, power, and play has dealt with a Coronavirus-like crisis before. There are no pre-existing solutions to deal with it, no texts that one can refer to, no leader that one can emulate. A new white paper has to be written from scratch. Hence, even the influencers are willing to listen to the one man in control. He, and his trusted officers, speak, and their words are immediately translated into reality by the relevant ministries and departments. Even the senior ministers have no clue about what comes next. All they can do, and this is always true, is gossip. This time it is about the conspicuous absence of the ‘God’ of North Block, and the emergence of another ‘God’ of South Block. The ‘Big Leader’ is aware of the absence of his man Friday. Has the latter been quarantined and locked down because of political viruses? But this is not the time to settle scores, not in the midst of a neverseen-before global calamity. However, the hidden paradoxes and complications of the understated power struggle remain. They simmer, unless they can emerge in public. Or possibly, remain dormant! But an exchange between North Block and South Block is inevitable – it is not a matter of if, but when, and is likely sooner than later.

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Corruption evidence denied

18 e l a f a R to j From Ra

, sheets Loose diaries & spreadsheets

by Alam Srinivas

In several cases, courts failed to consider collection of papers and email printouts as evidence. Powerful politicians were possibly let off the hook

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

emember the 1991 Jain diaries hawala case, which involved alleged bribes to politicians from several parties. Or the recent cases, when two of the leading business groups, Aditya Birla Group and Sahara India Parivar, were charged with making similar payments. Or the Essar Group emails, which hinted at money being spent to woo influential sections. These, and other such instances, involved prime ministers, former President, chief ministers, central and state-level civil servants, judges, journalists, and even the unsavoury elements within the society like the Maoists and militants.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

According to experts, these court cases should, and could, have shaken India, and its political establishment. They could have emerged as the most “sensational scandals” in independent India. Unfortunately, the alleged bribe givers or bribe takers went scot free. In the Jain-Birla-Sahara cases, the apex court decided that there was no evidence to pursue the alleged guilty individuals. It stated that loose sheets and pages, diaries, email printouts, spreadsheets, and collection of typed or handwritten papers collected by the investigators could not be considered evidence. In addition, they could not be presented as the only evidence to charge individuals. In their book, Loose Pages, authors Sourya Majumder and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta detail out how the various courts, including Supreme Court, reached such farreaching conclusions. They describe how the laws were interpreted to dismiss such larger-thanlife allegations against powerful persons. Alok Prasanna Kumar, an advocate, wrote in the book’s introduction that the cases tell the story of how the judiciary and investigating agencies “are not functioning as they are supposed to “, since their “robustness as institutions has been undermined by the government”. It is unfair to use government in singular, as it refers to the current regime. The Jain hawala case dates back to a period when a Congress regime was in power. Its order came when India underwent through a phase of political

www.indianbuzz.com

instability with fragile coalition governments in power in quick succession in the late 1990s. The Essar emails surfaced when UPA-2 ruled. Only in the Birla-Sahara instances could the current regime be possibly blamed. To be fair, the undermining of the institutions started from the early years of independence.

n the above examples, the apex court determined what comprised a book, a book of account for business purposes, and how it was maintained. The law seemed clear. Section 34 of the Indian Evidence Act said that a book of account, even in an electronic form, which was kept in the course of business, was relevant for any court. However, just a book of

An old judgment, Mukundram vs Dayaram established . the definition of a book It was a collection of papers that was bound together so that it could not be “disturbed or altered” unless it was torn apart

account could not become “sufficient evidence” to charge an individual. What was presented in the above cases were loose sheets and printouts with figures, possibly amounts of money, and abbreviations, possibly initials of specific recipients and givers. An old judgment, Mukundram vs Dayaram established the definition of a book. It was a collection of papers that was bound together so that it could not be “disturbed or altered” unless it was torn apart. The binding had to be robust. i.e. it wasn’t moveable, and it couldn’t be undone and put together again. Clearly, sheets of paper in a file, clipped, or tied together by a string or thread couldn’t be deemed to be a book. However, a diary possibly could; so could a bound notebook. A 2017 order clarified that a book is one that cannot be “easily detached nd replaced. So spirals and pads were books. In the Birla-Sahara cases, what was presented in the court were “sheets of papers arranged in two massive files”. So, the court rejected the admissibility of these two volumes. However, the evidence included two spiral notebooks and two spiral pads, which were clearly books. Now the question before the court was whether they were books of account, as are maintained by various businesses for accounting and other purposes. The court relied on an explanation given by Kapil Sibal, a lawyerpolitician who is with the Congress party, and who

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Corruption evidence denied

argued on behalf of the Jain brothers. Sibal argued that in business parlance, a book of account implied a formal statement of money transactions between parties. The exchange of money should arise from formal contracts between them, or fiduciary relationships. The Jain diary, he said, was not a book of account. It detailed out alleged payments received from one set of persons, and those made to another set. In this example, the investigators alleged that the Jains received varying amounts of cash from hawala traders, and distributed varying amounts to politicians. There were no apparent contractual relationships.

his meant that a book of account had to compulsorily involve parties that were bound by agreements or laws. It had to have two sides – debit and credit, or where the money went, and where it came from. Thus, it was the kind of a ledger that a moneylender kept, or businesses kept to track cash flows and monitor their operations on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. One could surely keep a book of account for cash payments to, say, temporary workers, if the debit and credit sides were filled. But not for bribes, which could be one-way transactions, i.e. cash for undefined future favours. Yet another piece of the puzzle had to fall in place for any book to be considered as a book of account. It had to be kept in the course of business, and updated regularly. In Sibalspeak, this meant that the

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

entries in it were made as soon as the money exchanged hands, or at the time the transactions took place. The lawyer-politician relied on the dictionary meanings of word “account” and phrase “regularly kept”. This was clearly not true of even the spiral notebooks and pads, and

SK Jain

ses, In the Birla-Sahara ca the what was presented in pers court were “sheets of pa ve arranged in two massi cted files”. So, the court reje e the admissibility of thes the two volumes. However, evidence included two o spiral notebooks and tw e spiral pads, which wer clearly books

diaries where one-sided entries were made long after the transactions were completed. Obviously, the lawyers from the other side asked the courts to interpret the word “business” in a more expansive manner. A truncated view to see it merely as “regular course of business” would violate the spirit of the law, whose purpose was to convict people, who had committed illegal activities, like transfer of cash through hawala, or payments of bribes. Illegal activities could be recorded irregularly, or ineligibly, not like proper accounts. They could appear as personalised shorthand, or initials. The objective of the perpetrators was to hide the full information. Sadly, the Supreme Court wasn’t convinced with such logic in the Jain hawala scandal. It went by legal precedents to define the word “business”, and the other connotations that flowed from it about accounts, and books of account. According to it, business related to “any real, substantial and systematic or organised course of activity or conduct with a set purpose”, even if it was an illegal one. Hence, one-off payments, which were not detailed off regularly, were off the limits of the laws. There had to be a pattern of some kind. In several cases, the apex court went a step further. Even if there was a book, which was about accounts, and it was kept regularly, it still “would not be enough to count as proof of the transaction”. At best, as authors Majumder and Thakurta wrote, “Such a

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

document could serve only as ‘corroborative evidence’, that is, it could only be used as a supporting set of facts for a proposition already established by the ‘main’ set of evidence.” It was not sufficient for any record to be true; it had to be “in accordance with facts”. The truth, in such cases, could become the sacrificial lamb. One of the earlier precedents for such observations was an order that detailed out why such a book of account could not be construed as sufficient to charge any individual. For the courts, it seemed lopsided that a person could be allowed to “make evidence for himself by what he chooses to write in his own books behind the back of the parties”. There needed to be independent evidence of the transactions, apart from mere personalised entries, even if they were correct and authentic. The fact remained that they were made without the knowledge of those who were named. This was important in the judiciary’s view because any individual could make a few entries on loose sheets, or even a book of account, to hint at allegations against someone else. This could happen because of self-interest (blame a more powerful person to save oneself), spite and anger (someone has not done a favour, and you name and shame him), gain brownie points (tell your superiors how you got the work done by hook and crook), or greed (you mention payments that actually

www.indianbuzz.com

legal There were two broad tion ec aspects related to a coll ty of papers—admissibili to ad and liability. First, it h ce be admissible as eviden a and, hence, it had to be as book of account that w the At maintained regularly. ld same time, it alone wou a not be enough to charge y person, and pinpoint an liability on him and her

went into your pockets). This was evident from the Essar emails and Radia Tapes, in which several influential people from different sections, levelled charges against others, or boasted about their achievements. In such cases, the wheat had to be separated from the chaff. A claim by a senior company executive that he had paid a journalist to publish an article was meaningless unless there was a proper money trail, or a published piece. An instruction by a powerful person to ask someone to file a court case against a competitor was important only if such a case had indeed been filed by the specific individual. Put together, there were two broad legal aspects related to a collection of papers—admissibility and liability.

First, it had to be admissible as evidence and, hence, it had to be a book of account that was maintained regularly. At the same time, it alone would not be enough to charge a person, and pinpoint any liability on him and her. The two were separate, and the courts could decide on them separately. They could first decide if loose pages could be treated as evidence, and then whether they were enough.

s one of the judgments stated, “From a plain reading of the Section (34 of the Indian Evidence Act) it is manifest that to make an entry relevant thereunder, it must be shown that it has been made in a book, that book is a book of account, and that book of account has been regularly kept in the course of business. From the above Section, it is also manifest that even if the above requirements are fulfilled and the entry becomes admissible as relevant evidence, still, the statement made therein shall not alone be sufficient evidence to charge a person with liability.” The first part, as the Court observed, is related to the relevance of the entries as evidence, i.e. whether they can be used. The second part is related to it in a negative manner, i.e. “of its evidentiary value”. As Loose Pages contends, “With this differentiation”, and with this reasoning, the Supreme Court dismissed the use of diaries in Jain hawala, and the use of spirals, collection of papers, spreadsheets, emails, and printouts in Birla-Sahara papers. g

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY faith over science

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Faith, Lies & Tall Tales

The COVID-19 disease is caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus. It spread, it captured, and it killed. What was required were across-the-globe leadership qualities to take quick decisions, initiate immediate actions, and implement lessons already learnt from the past public health crises. Instead, we had leaders, who believed more in faith, both religious and personal, as Alam Srinivas explores in the first article on faith, free will, and determinism. Coupled with this mindset was the failure of the Indian administration to act and react. Even as the WHO flagged the global threat level to “very high” on February 28, the Indian government lost valuable time in gearing up to the threat, says Vivek Mukherji. We also explore the damning impact of COVID-19 on specific industries. Gopinath Menon, a veteran in advertising, says that the sector is looking down the barrel, which shockingly does not have a safety net. If the crisis lasts beyond May in India and other parts of the world, one can safely write an obituary of the aviation industry, as it exists today. Bankruptcies, shutdowns, and closures will become the norm.

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY faith over science

Cosmic Dance, Worldly Trance Free will and faith need to act and interact within the confines of determinism. None of the three can be forgotten in the process. But, how far will faith continue to outweigh and outrun free will, i.e. consistent and continuous efforts by the administration to engage with the virus, and dilute its impact?

by Alam Srinivas

n March 22, 2020, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked 1.3 billion Indians to clap, beat their utensils, and blow conch shells at 5 PM, one of the ideas was to create enough earthly dins to wake up the Hindu God of destruction to kill the deadly and deathly COVID-19. Social media was abuzz with other divine theories—at that time, the moon passed through a new ‘Nakshatra’, March 22 was ‘Amavasya’, and the combined vibrations of the collective sound would kill the virus’ potency. Later, on April 5, Modi urged Indians to switch off their electricity in the night and, instead, light candles and diyas, or switch on flashlights. A social media post said that research by the US NASA found that the virus cannot survive in hot temperatures, and if billions of candles were lit together, the temperature would rise by 9 degree Celsius, enough to kill the microbial enemy. Then, there was the power of 9, a magical number— the candles to be lit around 9 PM for nine minutes, on the fifth day of the fourth month of the year.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY faith over science

Finally, when the country-wise lock-down was to be extended beyond April 14, the consensus was to do it for another two weeks. However, the new date was May 3, which raised social media flutter about the power of 40. From March 25, when the lock-down began, to May 3 is 40 days, which is the Latin root for the word, quarantine. The great mythological flood lasted for 40 days, Moses stayed on Mount Sinai and Jesus fasted for the same number of days and, for some, the number represented change.

f course, the rationalists piped in with their opinions. March 22 was not Amavasya; it fell on March 23 or 24, based on different calendars. And, there were no scientific data to prove that the virus could not withstand collective and consensual high-decibel sound or an overall increase in temperature. The magical powers of numbers like 9 and 40 were in the realm of a defunct and defective astrology. What was needed to combat COVID-19 was sensible, fact-based and reasonable decisions and actions related to public health. In this milieu of divine intervention related to the cosmic dance of creation and destruction, and scientific realism based on cause-and-effect, was invoked the ideals of governance. Governments, both legislative and executive, need to be guided by the Indian Constitution, especially the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) in the realm of administration. DPSP appeals to ideology (Gandhian and liberal aspects to ensure a welfare state), internationalism (adherence to global laws), and scientific temperament. Hence, the virus, apart from unleashing rampant fear, even in developed nations such as the US (where over 37,000 people have died till now),

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Spain, and Italy, inevitably led to philosophical and commonsensical clashes between the proponents of faith, free will, and determinism. Caught unprepared between the crosshairs of COVID-19, global leaders, including Modi, sought refuge in all the three ideals. For those with the power to ruffle the world order, the consensus was that the combination of three paths led to safety. In the past six years as the Prime Minister, Modi married the tenets of religious and personal faith with the science of governance. Just before the national election results in May 2019, he sought the darkness and peace of Kedarnath cave, where he meditated for hours. His loyalists maintain that his strength as an able administrator comes from his adherence to Indian spirituality. During a visit to the White House, he did not eat at an official lunch because he was on fast during the autumn Navratra.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

ward to set up “Opening Our Country” council, with an objective to normalise the situation by May. He has warned that if any of the 50-odd states in America refuses to do so, he is willing to use force. Like Modi’s belief in the people, Trump said, “Our people want to get back to work, and there is pentup demand” to revive the economy. Faith, when ignited, has a force and momentum of its own. It can move hearts and souls, at the expense of the mind. It can move people to action when everything seems unmovable and paralysed. It can move mountains and part the oceans. It can lift nations that fall into precipices. There is no antidote to belief, a soulful virus that continues to thrive in human body, and influences its consciousness and sub-consciousness in unbelievable ways. If COVID-19 is strong and scary, it is no match for our faith. More importantly, in more practical terms, faith can contest determinism,

Governments, both legislative and executive, need to be guided by the Indian Constitution, especially the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) in the realm of administration. DPSP appeals to ideology (Gandhian and liberal aspects to ensure a welfare state), internationalism (adherence to global laws), and scientific temperament

t a personal level, despite warnings from his cabinet colleagues and friends, he confidently declared the demonetisation of `500 and `1,000 notes. More importantly, the move began at midnight, a time when banks were closed and not many venture out to the ATMs. It was faith in his decision, and conviction in his people that enabled him to take a

www.indianbuzz.com

decision that would decimate the lives and livelihoods of the citizens for months. More importantly, he emerged triumphant after the dust of criticism settled down. Similarly, when the US President Donald Trump expresses his enthusiasm to lift the viral lock-down, and get on with business and economy, it is a matter of personal faith. He went for-

the scientific laws of cause and effect. If everything has an underlying cause, and if every action (cause) has a consequence (effect), how does one can explain divine intervention, and human will? Consider how this plays out in the COVID-19 crisis. As medical science, and dedicated doctors, tussle to discover that elusive pill or vaccine to combat the pandemic, it seems

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY faith over science

inevitable that the majority of the global population will be afflicted by it. In private, doctors whisper that the virus has to finally enter the bodies of most humans. The practitioners of science can only wait for people to either be treated after they develop the symptoms, or for them to develop antibodies to successfully fight the enemy from within. At present, until there is a cure, the idea is to flatten the curve—not allow it to exponentially spike, as it did initially in China, and later in the US and Italy. Lock-downs, quarantine, and work-from-home only ensure that the community spread is

minism, or between cause-and-effect and cause-without-effects, as also effect-without-cause. As the renowned Sufi saint, Rumi wrote, “Before the (real) truth let your reasons pause, (for) what you thought was effect is but the cause.” He also said that like in the case of COVID-19 at present, there is never a cure for the sickness of the heart, even if one quarantines all the lovers, and keeps them apart. In the quantum and relativistic worlds—the minute and glaringly massive ones—the absolutes can change. Matter can behave like a wave and particle. It can be present in several

If free will is the dynamite to effect societal transformation, then the basic foundation and art of governance in the same spirit. Elected representatives, and selected civil servants, need to possess a faith and belief in their abilities to inculcate long-lasting changes within societies slow and even—and most importantly, over a period of time. However, in Modi’s India, determinism can be positive. As the prime minister explained, India locked herself down when the number of cases was just over 500, way earlier than what the other nations did. Hence, it was clear that the state-imposed quarantine would work more effectively, and impede the spread of the virus. We took actions quickly, and those causes can only lead to better effects. More importantly, in a large country like India, the policy-makers scuttled the risks of community spread. At the same time, however, we tend to forget about the new decoupling and delinking between science and deter-

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

states, and we can only gauge their probabilities. The Schrodinger’s cat is alive and dead, unless we observe it. As the Cheshire cat tells Alice during her escapades in Wonderland, “it doesn’t matter which way you go” if “you don’t care where”. If your desire is to only “get somewhere”, that’s bound to happen “if you only walk long enough”.

adly, such quotes and theories in physics wrinkle, and rankle, us. What about free will? What about our abilities to change our destinies, as also those of our societies? In both the RSS’ philosophy of Integral Humanism, which Modi believes in, and Sanatan Dharam, which the prime minister talks about, free will has a

crucial role to play in the cosmological dance of space and time. Our spaces may be warped due to gravity, and they may be enmeshed with time in a four-dimensional universe, but we, as observers, influence both. In Sanatan Dharam, the path towards universal spirituality includes qualities that are almost-completely within our control. These include tolerance, self-belief, self-respect, truthfulness, and mercifulness. We can give excuses but if we are strong and steady, and we stick to the path, we can contribute to the overall good of our society. No man is an island, and no one comprises the nation – but together we can guide our fates. There is an eternal law, a code of ethics, which

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Swachh Bharat and Start-Up India can work only if everyone works in unison, and they are not pushed down from the top. The top level has to work at the grassroots to benefit the masses at the lowest level. This, in effect, was also the philosophy behind the Indian Constitution and DPSP. Although the latter wasn’t mandatory, it was worded in a manner that signified a collective will, and freedom to change lives and livelihoods. The makers of our Constitution believed that only if the leaders worked with the people, and for the people, can we change as a nation. Hence, they believed in constant voluntary “nudges” to benefit the citizens. However, this had to be done in a scientific, modern and practical manner.

O points at the way towards liberation. When Deendayal Upadhyaya espoused the nuances of Integral Humanism, he knew that the objective of the philosophy was to enable the emergence of a ‘New Man (or Woman)’ who was different from the previous generations. He (she) was physically strong, morally seeped in Indian culture and spirituality, and socially destined to make a difference. The collective of such new men and women would give rise to a ‘New Nation’ – call it Akhand Bharat or Hindu Rashtra— which would become the beacon for the rest of the world. This was because although the new men and women were independent and possessed the free will to change

www.indianbuzz.com

their destinies, their larger role was to transform the society. Hence, they were willing—and this is important for the act is voluntary and, therefore, dictated by free will—to subsume and consume themselves in the interest of the motherland. Like the billions of cells in our body, they were willing to die for a higher cause. Modi’s vision reflects this India, where transformation and behaviour change is critical. If free will is the dynamite to effect societal transformation, then the basic foundation and art of governance in the same spirit. Elected representatives, and selected civil servants, need to possess a faith and belief in their abilities to inculcate long-lasting changes within societies. Schemes like

ne can, however, argue that free will combined with faith to change the so-called deterministic nature of the world is necessary to guide any society. More important, free will and faith need to act and interact within the confines of determinism. None of the three can be forgotten in the process. But no overt emphasis can be given on either. It’s a fine balance, which can break down at any instant, and lead a society into a free fall. To prevent this leap into the oblivion, the nation has to answer a few questions. How far will faith continue to outweigh and outrun free will, i.e. consistent and continuous efforts by the administration to engage with the virus, and dilute its impact? How long will policy makers hide behind the garb of a contested determinism— India will ride out the viral effects because it locked down much earlier, and we have the immunity to tackle the disease? In addition, when will governance become only scientific? g

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Cover Story

governance catastrophe

Systems failure, situation critical 22

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

The story of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handling of the COVID-19 is that of callousness and incompetence at the highest levels, leading to a complete breakdown of governance at a time of a grave crisis. The impact of mishandling the situation will be disastrous and far reaching, which is already extracting a high price in human suffering and economic deprivation

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Cover Story

governance catastrophe

by Vivek Mukherji

ne of most quoted allegories of incompetence for a person holding high office is that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned might be rooted in a bit of inaccurate historical trivia. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Nero, in fact, dressed in a ‘cithara player’s garb’ climbed on to the city walls and “wept copiously while reciting lines describing the conflagration that the Greeks put to the fallen city of Troy”. From 64CE to 2020, many a decisive leader, and strongman, in popular perception have shown shades of Nero’s proclivity for shedding tears, real or metaphorical, when confronted with a crisis. The latest in line of such a perceived strong leader lamenting at the plight that has befallen on millions of Indians after virtually pushing them to the edge of precipice is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On March 28, four days after announcing an unprecedented 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, Modi droned on in his monthly sermon, Maan Ki Baat, asking for forgiveness for the difficulties that the people faced due his 8 pm announcement on March 24. Like Nero’s lament on top of the city walls, Modi’s plea in front of a sterile camera is connected by a common thread of utter governance failure and knots of helplessness stretching over several millennia. By the third week of the 21-day period, it became amply clear that the harshest lockdown in the world was an ill-conceived and a badly-executed exercise, exposing the massive governance failure of the Modi 2.0 government. No amount spin by the largely co-opted mainstream media, stenographer journalists, virulent trolls of the

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

BJP’s infamous IT Cell and the government’s own dirty tricks department could stem the flow of facts to paper over the systemic breakdown of the governance machinery after early warning signs of COVID-19 emerged on India’s horizon even before the first case was reported from Kerala on January 30.

Ignorance is not always bliss

A reading of the global and Indian timeline of COVID-19 (Snapshots of systemic failure) builds an irrefutable case against the Modi government for sleeping at the wheel. On January 28, the World Health Organisation (WHO), in its Situation Report No. 8 elevated the regional and global threat level for widespread transmission of

the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2) to “high”. The virus had spread to 14 countries outside China, where the infection originated. It implies in no uncertain terms that the WHO, which has come under harsh criticism for its handling of China, flagged a very real possibility for rapid spread of the virus in the region. Exactly a month later, on February 28, the WHO bumped up the regional and global threat level to “very high”, which hitherto was used only in the case of China. According to the WHO’s Situation Report No.39, the virus had spread to 51 countries, infecting 4,691 people, resulting in 67 deaths outside China. These warnings should have cranked any alert government’s machinery into a higher gear.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

February was spent in demonising the CAA-NPR-NRC protestors, building a narrative that culminated in the deadly Delhi riots that claimed more than 50 lives and hosting Trump, for which over one lakh people were corralled at the Motera Stadium in Ahmadabad when the world was being advised to start practicing social distancing By January end, it was conclusively established that COVID-19 was a highly infectious disease that transmitted through people-to-people contact. And international travel, in a highly networked world, was the primary cause for the extension of the transmission chain.

www.indianbuzz.com

As these early warning signs that emerged in January, and more concrete evidence about the rapid transmission of the virus through people-to-people contact, and its virulence, piled up in different parts of the world through February, it should have put a wellfunctioning government in high-alert

mode to deal with an imminent pandemic at its doorsteps. To its advantage, India had the benefit of learning from the experience of other countries; more notably, from those countries which failed to act timely and paid the price with human life.

nstead, February was spent in demonising the CAA-NPR-NRC protestors, building an anti-Muslim narrative that culminated in the deadly Delhi riots that claimed more than 50 lives and hosting Trump, for which over one lakh people were corralled at the Motera Stadium in Ahmadabad when the world was being advised to start practicing social distancing. As late as February 26, the Government of India relied on selfdeclaration of international travellers coming into the India from COIVD-19 affected countries about the state of their health. A cursory reading of the various travel advisories issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) during this period reveals a

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Cover Story

governance catastrophe

Modi and Trump in Ahemdabad irrespective of WHO caution on Covid19

templated pattern of cluelessness at the highest levels of the government. Even as the enormity of the pandemic was unfolding in other parts of the world, the government did not deem it prudent to start testing all inbound travellers for asymptomatic carriers of the virus. At best, it advised selfisolation in case symptoms surfaced during the 28-day period of their arrival into the country. A report in the Frontline magazine, “Test not, Find Not”, quoted a peerreviewed research paper authored by scientists at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) pointed out, “...that in order for airport screening to have an appreciable effect on delaying the establishment of transmission of COVID-19 in India, it would need to have near-complete capture of incoming COVID-19 cases, including asymptomatic ones.” Yet, even rudimentary

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

thermal scanning—which can only detect symptomatic people with fever, or, can be easily gamed by a person with fever going on a course of paracetamol—at international airports did not start until March 4. Though, screening of passengers coming in from COVID19 infected countries started on January 18, it was not rigorous enough to detect asymptomatic carriers nor did the list of countries include major international travel hubs between the East and the West in the Gulf region. As Frontline noted, it was a system that was designed to fail.

he tracking mechanism of those who were marked with the selfquarantine stamp at airports was weak. Multiple news reports surfaced in February and early March, indicating that people blatantly flouted the recommendations, continuing to travel across the country. Till date, the government has not provided any data on the number of people arrived in Indian

between January 30, when the first case was reported, and March 22, the day all international flights into India were suspended. According to publicly available, non-government data, in January alone, over 1.7 million people walked out of the Delhi airport and another 1.2 million arrived at various international airports in Maharashtra. These are just two out of over a dozen international landing ports in India. How many among the millions who landed in India during the 42-day period were asymptomatic carriers of the virus is anybody’s guess. Perhaps, the Modi government’s aversion to any data that does not fit with the conjured narrative of a decisive leader is perceived to be too spurious to be released in the public domain. Such data is either binned or fudged. The lackadaisical approach of the government machinery at the first barrier of control made the contact tracing exercise a painfully slow

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

reactive process, at a time when it ought to have been a pre-emptive exercise. These series of missteps, and many more detailed later in this story, rip away the fig leaf that the establishment’s spin doctors tried to wave by saying that the government did not have a working hypothesis for early containment of COVID-19 in India.

Head in the sand syndrome

As early as January 10, while the exact genomic sequence of the SARS-CoV2 was still being investigated, the WHO released the draft of interim guidance for laboratory testing of human suspected cases of novel coronavirus, recommending Polymerase Chain Reaction test based on the Chinese and Japanese experiences. Subsequently, on January 15, national laboratories around the world—ICMR in case of India—received detailed protocol for Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction tests (RT-PCR). The RT-PCR is not a new testing protocol; it has been around for more than a decade. As on January 22, the global count of COVID-19 infections, outside China, stood at 580 cases. On January 30, this number went up to 9,823 and on February 15, the global count was 69,197. In span of 15 days, the infection headcount inflated almost six fold. Ideally, the galloping growth trajectory of transmission should have put the Indian government in operational readiness. Effectively, after the WHO issued the draft of interim testing guideline for laboratories, India had a lead time of close to eight weeks to plan for stockpiling testing kits and ramp up capacities of the laboratories and put other preventive measures for containment in place. Instead, what we saw was quite

www.indianbuzz.com

the opposite. On March 13, the national news agency, PTI, quoted an unnamed government official stating that the coronavirus was not a serious threat to India.

o start with, India with a landmass of 3.28 million sq km, relied on just 12 laboratories, including the one at the National Institute of Virology, for testing. By end of February, 19 more labs were designated as Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL), and by March end, a total of 114 labs were authorised to conduct COVID-19 tests. This number might increase in the coming months. Still, given the size and breadth of India and its population, a count of 114 labs was

indiscriminate testing as now everybody is asking for a test, so somewhere you will have to rationalise the test,” she said. Inadequate testing infrastructure to deal with a pandemic of this magnitude is only half the story. The narrowlydefined testing strategy that the ICMR is pursuing in its wisdom—and the guidelines it has issued to the States—is restrictive by design and prevents from casting the net wider, especially in detecting asymptomatic carriers. For example, the revised strategy note issued by the country’s apex medical research body on March 20 says: 1. All symptomatic individuals who have undertaken international travel in the last 14 days.

After a few independent media outlets raised reds flags at the government’s foolhardiness, the DGFT issued a notification on March 19, just five days prior to the lockdown, banning the export of 2/3 Ply surgical masks, textile and raw material for the manufacture of PPEs and ventilators just not sufficient to conduct robust testing. Consequences of being slow out of the block are evident now. As the global numbers continued moving northwards, WHO head, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, implored countries to “test, test, test; test every suspected case”. In response, on March 17, Dr Nivedita Gupta, scientist, epidemiology and communicable diseases, ICMR, offered a bizarre counter-intuitive argument to WHO’s prescription of rigorous testing. “First of all, we don’t want to do any

2. All symptomatic contacts of laboratory confirmed cases 3. All symptomatic health workers, healthcare workers 4. All hospitalised patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (fever and cough and/or shortness of breath). 5. Asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case should be tested once between day 5 and day 14 of coming in his/her contact. The short-sightedness of this strategy is as apparent as daylight, and

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Cover Story

governance catastrophe

perhaps, driven by the lack of a stockpile of testing kits. It doesn’t consider an asymptomatic carrier as a vector of the virus, who might have spread it through casual contact. There is an implicit flawed assumption in this strategy: contact tracing mechanism is robust enough to track down anyone, and everyone, who has come in contact with a symptomatic carrier. It does not account for “contact diffusion” in a vast country like India, especially after the mass migration following the March 25 lockdown and millions who arrived in India through January, February and mid-March. Perhaps, that’s the reason for the government to launch the highly-intrusive Arogya Setu mobile app that elevates surveillance to Orwellian proportions. The testing strategy pursued by the ICMR flies in the face of available evidence. On February 15, South Korea reported 28 cases, while Italy had three confirmed positives. That’s when South

Korea adopted large-scale testing, while Italy waited for three weeks. A comparison of total testing, tests per day and deaths in the two countries— one that adopted early large-scale testing and the other late in the game— on February 29 and March 15 reveals a startlingly scary picture. The difference that a fortnight makes is equally stunning. India, instead of following the South Korean model, opted for Italian lethargy. Now, consider another fact. Through most of March, India’s testing rate per million people remained abysmally low. As of April 12, India’s testing rate stood at 137 per million people, even lower than Pakistan’s figure of 291. Despite the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) and ICMR being notoriously unreliable in releasing daily data, a few socially-spirited individuals have been painstakingly collating testing data released by the states every evening. James Wilson, a

Comparative testing analysis of Italy and South Korea Country

Parameters

29-Feb

15-Mar

Tests/day

2,966

15,729

Total Tests

18,661

124,889

Deaths

1,421

Tests/day

14,753

6,877

Total Tests

85,693

268,212

Deaths

Italy

South Korea

Data Source: ourworldindata.org

India slow testing rate Date

People Tested (Cumulative)

Total Positives

% Positive with respect to tested

Tested Per Million

13-Mar

5,900

1.32

4.4

9-Apr

130,792

5,705

4.36

97.1

Source: .jamewils.com. Data updated up to April 9

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Kerala-based Civil Engineer, has mined countrywide numbers to present a coherent picture of Modi government’s tardiness about testing.

espite health being a state subject, the States have to depend on the central government for testing kits and Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs). Among the many peculiarities of India’s infamous red-tape, a particularly tricky knot that only the ICMR is authorised to sanction new tests has posed as a serious roadblock. Some states such as Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Rajasthan have been proactive in responding to the complex challenges in containing the transmission of the virus. These states have demanded Rapid Antibody testing kits from the ICMR to further widen the net. They have even sought for permission to import these kits directly. On April 1, TS Singh Deo, Health Minister of Chhattisgarh, shot off a letter to the Union Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, asking him to expedite the procurement of Rapid Testing kits. “I would like to draw your attention to the fact that a few of the states have purchased rapid antibody detection kits. In this regard it would be helpful if ICMR could expeditiously lay clear criteria on use and purchase of these rapid antibody testing kits, especially looking into the fact that across the world many countries are also using these rapid tests quite effectively,” wrote Singh Deo. The demand for Rapid Testing Kits (RTKs) had been piling up for some time. RTKs test for antibodies in a person. The presence of antibodies in the blood indicates that the person is or was infected. It’s a vital test for two reasons. First, the results of

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Following the lockdown, under pressure from the media, highlighting stories of PPE shortage faced by health workers, the government’s hand was forced to release the specification document publically. Some of the new technical requirements like taped seams of coveralls require specialised machinery that needs to be imported from China or Europe. But with most governments embargoing export of such machinery, Indian manufacturers were left scrambling to find alternative solutions antibody tests are available in under-30 minutes, whereas the RT-PCR test takes up to five hours. Second, since the human body takes five to seven days to produce antibodies, it provides vital data in understanding how the SARSCOV2 virus works, providing valuable

www.indianbuzz.com

input for vaccine development and also helps in determining the extent of the contagion. Like everything else we have seen until now about the Modi government’s inertia in dealing with an evolving crisis, the ICMR issued guidelines for

Rapid Testing as late as March 27, after facing an avalanche of criticism from health experts. It then ordered for 700,000 antibody kits from China on March 30—at a time when the global demand for such kits was at an all-time high. It comes as no surprise that the RTS kits are yet to arrive (on the day of gfiles going to press) after missing three delivery dates of April 5, April 8 and April 9. On April 13, the ICMR informed that they would be arriving on April 15. There has been speculation that the kits meant for India were diverted to the US.

Compromised frontline at the battlefront

The litany of incompetence of the Modi government in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic is long. One day, it might, or might not, become a case study of how not to manage a disaster. But that’s in the future. At present, the acts of omission are extracting a terrible

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Cover Story

governance catastrophe

price in human suffering and economic catastrophe. On January 30, the day India reported its first case, the WHO Director-General declared COVID-19 a “public health emergency of international concern.” Twenty-eight days later, on February 27, after assessing the impact of the pandemic in China, South Korea, Japan, Italy and Spain, the UN’s health organisation issued an interim guideline, flagging the importance of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for doctors and all associated health workers, who would be called to the frontline in the battle against the pandemic. The guideline document defined PPE as, “gloves, medical masks, goggles or a face shield, and gowns, as well as for specific procedures, respirators (i.e., N95 or FFP2 standard or equivalent) and aprons.” Further elaborating

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

the under the head, “Disruption of Global Supply Chain of PPE”, the document explicitly spelt out PPE shortage in the coming days. “The current global stockpile of PPE is insufficient, particularly for medical masks and respirators; the supply of gowns and goggles is soon expected to be insufficient also. Surging global demand − driven not only by the number of COVID-19 cases but also by misinformation, panic buying and stockpiling − will result in further shortages of PPE globally. The capacity to expand PPE production is limited, and the current demand for respirators and masks cannot be met, especially if the widespread, inappropriate use of PPE continues.” Remember this advisory was issued on February 27, i.e. 26 days ahead of the lockdown.

perusal of notifications issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) pertaining to the export of PPEs from January 31 to March 19 giveaway

the extent of confusion and lack of leadership that prevailed at a crucial time. DGFT notification No. 44/20152020, issued on January 31, banned export of all PPE: “Export of all varieties of Personal Protection Equipment including clothing and masks used to protect the wearer from airborne particles and/or any other respiratory masks or any other personal protection clothing (including Coveralls (Class 2/3/4) and N95 masks) under the above mentioned ITC HS Code is hereby ‘prohibited’ with immediate effect.” However, on February 8, the DGFT issued another notification, amending its previous order, allowing for export of 2/3 Ply masks and gloves. Did the Ministry of Commerce ease the restriction to appease the lobby of exporters, who benefited from the surge in global demand? No answers have been forthcoming. By mid-March, it was evident that India was in for tough times as more people started testing positive. As the

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

• Social distancing of 1.5 metres advised. • No specific rules on the distance allowed for travel or exercise. • Enforcement of lockdown rules left to local police officers. • Only Australian nationals are allowed to enter or transit the country. • Some states permit coffee with a friend, provided it’s a takeaway. • Shops to reopen after Easter Sunday.

Australia

ia Ind

str

comparison

• Compulsory 14-day self-quarantine for those entering the country.

of lockdown

Ger

• Entry restrictions at all land border entry ports.

• Foreign travellers from outside the Schengen area not allowed to enter.

Country-wise

• Mandatory 14-day quarantine for German citizens, residents ad EU nationals upon entering the country.

• People advised to maintain a distance of one metre.

• Blanket, nationwide lockdown for 40 days.

• People allowed to travel to look after those in need of care and support.

F ra n c

• Tourism strictly prohibited.

• No foreigners are allowed to enter the country.

• Total lockdown since March 17. • Fine of € 135 for those breaking lockdown rules. • Fine of € 3,700 or six months in prison for those breaking lockdown rules four times

global demand for medical equipment escalated, Indian manufacturers continued exporting crucial raw material used for fabricating protective gear and medical devices for the better part of March: the most critical period for building a national stockpile. Finally, after a few independent media outlets raised reds flags at the government’s foolhardiness, the DGFT issued a notification on March 19, just five days prior to the lockdown, banning the export of 2/3 Ply surgical masks, textile and raw material for the manufacture of PPEs and ventilators.

www.indianbuzz.com

Now consider this: till date, neither the ICMR nor the MOHFW have been able to provide any inventory of national stockpile of neither PPEs nor ventilators despite being asked point-blank at the press briefing conducted by the MOHFW.

ut the twists and turns in the PPE shortage story gets more interesting. To begin with, a PSU, HLL Lifecare Limited, which was set up in the 1950s, essentially to distribute condoms, is the sole nodal body in India for the procurement of PPEs.

It sources PPEs from manufacturing through a tedious tendering process. According to a Reuters investigation, published on March 27, the MOHFW, the Textile Ministry and HLL met only on March 18 to assess the situation. The agency reported that the Ministry of Textiles, headed by Smriti Irani, acknowledged shortages based on the minutes of meeting that it claims to have seen. According the report, it was concluded at the meeting that India needs 725,000 coveralls and 6 million (60 lakh) N-95 masks to meet the demand up to May 2020.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Cover Story

governance catastrophe

However, this demand forecast has been questioned by industry bodies. Malini Aisola, the co-convener of a non-profit industry watchdog called the All India Drug Action Network (AiDAN), told Caravan on March 22 that the real all-India demand is approximately five lakh coveralls per day. Coveralls are meant for one-time use only. The shortage of raw material and textile for protective gear, which India was exporting until March 19, has created additional bottlenecks in the manufacturing of PPEs. This was further exacerbated by the March 25 lockdown that completely threw the supply chains out of gear.

to March 26. The same was confirmed by Relhan in the report, “We sent daily emails from March 13 until March 21. If the tender was available why didn’t they share it?” gFiles has independently verified these allegations from other industry sources and found them to be true.

ollowing the lockdown, under pressure from the media, highlighting stories of PPE shortage faced by health workers, the government’s hand was forced to release the specification document publically. Some of the new technical requirements like taped seams of coveralls require specialised machinery that needs to

Unlike demonetisation, the lingering effects of which panned out over a longer time horizon to a disastrous end result, the impact of the snap decision of the three-week lockdown sent seismic shocks of chaos rippling through the streets to the boardrooms. Modi in his monologue did not spell out any details of the government’s plan in dealing with the economic or human fallout of the lockdown

That’s not all. MOHFW came up with new specification for the manufacture of PPEs in early March. Intriguingly, these specifications were not publically released to the manufacturers, according to the Reuters investigation that quoted Sanjeev Relhan, head of Preventive Wear Manufacturer Association of India and Rajiv Nath, coordinator of AiMED. Nath told the international wire agency that a tender for equipment was issued 16 days prior

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

be imported from China or Europe. But with most governments embargoing export of such machinery, Indian manufacturers were left scrambling to find alternative solutions. The shortage of specialised textile due to export prior to the ban added further bottlenecks. The whimsical functioning of the textile ministry and MOHFW at a time when the pandemic was poised to wreck havoc in India is callousness at best or criminal negligence at worst or

both. The way the government played cloak-and-dagger with critical information for the manufacture of life-saving equipment gives wings to suspicion of criminal corruption. Despite the best efforts of the Modi establishment, and its ecosystem of devout cronies, to deflect the charges of PPE shortages, social media timelines are swarming with videos, pictures and first-person testimonies of those who are bearing the brunt at the frontline of the fight against COVID-19. Even by the first week of April, there was no clarity about the government’s action plan for tackling inaccessibility of protective equipment for health workers in smaller towns and villages as the virus continues to surge into the hinterland.

Ministers of post-truth

The Modi government is extremely allergic to any form of questioning and equally averse to any criticism. Over the past six years, it has devised a finely-tuned machine of organised trolling, based on outright misinformation, twisted facts and out of context arguments, to pushback against critics and independent media outfits, outside the ambit of corporate media, who pose uncomfortable questions. On the political front, it deploys its army of trolls to vilify opponents and discredit any argument from the non-treasury benches that might hold the government to account. The running joke in the upper echelons of India’s bureaucracy is that Modi’s ministers are a hardworking lot, since they have been assigned three jobs: promoting the PM and his every word on social media, promoting themselves on social media and keeping the PMO constantly updated and full-time trolling of opposition leaders. And, no one elicits a quicker response

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

than the former Congress president, Rahul Gandhi. He has a target painted on his back for special attention. On the COVID-19 issue, it now turns out, despite all the trolling that Gandhi had to endure from Modi’s ministers and the allied ecosystem, his warnings about the seriousness of the impending problem turned out prescient. On February 12, when India had reported three confirmed positive cases, Gandhi tweeted an article from the Harvard University website saying, “The Corona Virus is a very serious threat to our people and our economy. My sense is that the government is not taking this threat seriously.” As usual, like a lightning-rod, his timeline was swarmed by abusive trolls, including some verified handles that are part of the BJP’s IT cell eco-system and act as force multiplies. But, state-of-mind in which this government has been inhabiting in, was revealed on March 5 by the

www.indianbuzz.com

response of India’s Health Minister to a Gandhi tweet which said, “The Health Minister is saying that the Indian government has the #coronavirus crisis under control, is like the Capt of the Titanic telling passengers not to panic as his ship is unsinkable. It’s time the Govt made public an action plan backed by solid resources to tackle this crisis”.

arshvardhan, an ENT specialist, who is the most important minister at this juncture, instead of engaging with the opposition leader in a constructive manner, replied like an IT cell troll. “It’s really sad that Gandhi family chooses to demoralise countrymen by likening a serious global crisis as #coronaoutbreak to one of the deadliest peacetime marine disasters in history. @RahulGandhi obviously ‘knows’ better than @WHO which is saying there is no need to panic.” The min-

ister’s answer is illuminating. For one, he assumed that any suggestion coming from the opposition is worthless, and second, when it suits the purpose, selectively use the words of the WHO to fit the narrative, while ignoring all other alarm bells that the global body had been sounding for more than a month. Harshvardhan’s behaviour is not an isolated instance. Rather, it fits with the modus operandi of the Modi government. Apart from Gandhi, other opposition leaders, including some of the non-BJP Chief Ministers, who have been critical of Modi’s handling of the pandemic, have also been dumbed down by the eco-system that acts as a message amplifier for the ruling regime. These messages are then broadcast to wider audience during prime-time television by the pantheon of co-opted news anchors in some of the biggest media houses. But some home truths remain

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Cover Story

governance catastrophe

inescapable. Despite deploying heavy resources in trying to build the perception that the most draconian lockdown served the country well, facts demolish the claims of spin doctors. One such uncomfortable number that challenges the crafted narrative is for five consecutive days in the third week of the 21-day lockdown, India recorded more 700 positive cases every day. A brief summary of numbers clears the fog of obfuscation.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases The number of confirmed cases in lower than the number of total cases. The main reason for this is limited testing.

24506

Our World in Data

India

8,000

6,000

4,000

Growth in positive cases No. of positive cases

Difference

No. of days

1-100

100-1,000

900

Mar 25, 2020 Mar 31, 2020 Apr 5, 2020 Apr 10, 2020 Apr 25, 2020

1,000-10,000

9,000

Source: European CDC – Situation Update Worldwide – Last updated 25th April, 1900 NHRS (Indian Time) OurWorldInData.org/coronavirus  CC BY

10,000-20,000

10,000

2,000

Data Source: ourworldindata.org. As on April 13

Lockdown Blues

On March 19, Modi addressed the nation for the first time on the looming COVID-19 crisis. He beamed through televisions screens during his favourite 8 pm time-slot. Remember, he announced the disastrous demonetisation also at 8 pm. Also remember, during important debates in the Parliament, he usually deigns to speak around 8 pm, coinciding with prime-time news television. Nobody can accuse the PM of not having a sense of timing. His March 19, 8 pm speech, lasted for around 30 minutes. He advised billions of Indians to handle the crisis with a sense calm and patience; moralised on the importance of socialdistancing, preached the importance of washing hands regularly and offered other extra classes of banality. It was a speech high on homilies, rich in

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

platitudes, peppered with clichés, but remarkably short on an action plan, roadmap or short-term or long-term implications on the economy triggered by the pandemic or the country’s preparedness to meet the challenges. His call for observing one-day “Janata Curfew” on March 22 and banging pots and pans at in evening to show gratitude to the health workers was a mindless, and infantile, attempt at headline management. On the given day at the appointed time, millions came out to unleash a cacophony of unreason, while the extra enthusiastic ones descended in the streets in hordes for a session of pot banging and dancing.

ive days later, on March 24, he appeared on TV once against for yet another 8 pm sermon. In his second address to the nation within a week, Modi dropped the bombshell of a 21-day nationwide lockdown, effective

from midnight, as the way forward to contain the forward transmission of the virus. As it turned out, it was the most stringent lockdown in the world was announced with a mere 3.5-hour notice. Modi seems to revel in delivering snap decisions that cause enormous disruptions, perpetuating governance crisis that overwhelm the bureaucratic machinery. Unlike demonetisation, the lingering effects of which panned out over a longer time horizon to a disastrous end result, the impact of the snap decision of the three-week lockdown sent seismic shocks of chaos rippling through the streets to the boardrooms. Modi in his monologue did not spell out any details of the government’s plan in dealing with the economic or human fallout of the lockdown. Within minutes of the announcement, pandemonium reigned in the streets, shops and stores as people

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

package of Rs 1.72 lakh crore, which was more of an accounting jugglery than a concrete effort to put money in the hands of the people, the Finance Ministry has maintain radio silence. Modi once again appeared on the tube in the midst of the lockdown through a recorded message to give Indians another task: this time, people were asked to light candles, diyas or switch on the flashlight of mobile phone on April 5 for nine minutes at 9 pm. The purpose: to dispel the darkness cast by the corona virus. Some people went beyond the call of duty to take out torchlight processions and burst firecrackers.

I scrambled to stock up essentials. The extent of the panic can be gauged that Modi was forced to tweet within minutes of his address assuring people about continuity of essential supplies. What followed over the next few days is a matter of record. Millions of migrant labour, across the country, who are the backbone of the unorganised sector that constitutes up to 60 percent of the economy, were milling in the streets, trying to find their way back home. Within a matter of hours they lost their livelihood and food security. All norms of social-distancing got trampled upon by the chaos unleashed by the monumental mismanagement of the crisis. In a span of approximately 25 minutes, Modi exponentially escalated the probability of virus transmission into rural India as the teeming millions jostled at border towns across the country in their attempt to get back to their native places.

www.indianbuzz.com

With train and bus services suspended, thousands of poor, undernourished, young and old and disabled and able-bodied men and women were forced to take the long walk back to their homes for basic human survival. The fact that this was the biggest internal mass exodus since the bloody and brutal partition of India, escaped the armchair analysts and Modi acolytes. The epic confusion that prevailed in the upper reaches of the government is scripted in the five modifications to the lockdown guidelines notifications, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, between March 24 and April 10. Each update validates the belief that the government was improvising as it went along, instead of creating a broad masterplan before shutting down the country. Till date, nothing has been heard from the Economic Task Force that the PM said would be constituted. After announcing a financial stimulus

t became apparent, by the end of the third week of the 21-day lockdown; it had failed to contain the pandemic or flatten the curve. On April 13, the total number of positive cases breached the 10,000 barrier and the graph showed no signs of plateauing. It was a lockdown without a plan; a textbook example of governance failure at the highest level. On April 14, the death count from COVID-19 was 398, but another grim figure, on the same day, escaped the nation’s attention: over 200 people had died across the country due to the impact of the lockdown, mainly due to starvation. It’s now a mere blip in the jumble of COVID-19 statistics. The economic cost of Modi’s mismanagement of COVID-19 pandemic will take some time to be assessed. But the emerging contours point towards a financial holocaust. International credit rating agencies have downgraded India’s GDP growth for the current fiscal to below 1.9 percent, while the Barclays Bank predicted that growth will plummet to zero percent. For this monumental blunder, the buck stops at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg. g

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Cover Story

governance catastrophe

Timeline of COVID-19 in India S n a p s h ot s o f sys t e m i c b r e a k d o w n

January 30 Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) vide it notification 44/20152020 bans “export of all varieties of personal Protection Equipment, including clothing and masks used to protect wearer from airborne particles and/or any other respiratory masks.”

January 31

February 2

Kerala government declares State calamity after the third case is confirmed.

Modi hosts US President Donald Trump at the Motera Stadium in Ahmadabad that was attended by over 100,000 people despite WHO’s warning.

February 24

India sends 15 tonnes of emergency medical equipment to China, including one lakh masks and five lakh pair of gloves, infusion pumps and feeding pumps.

February 26

February 25

march 4

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

DGFT at the behest of the government eases restrictions vide its amended notification 47/2015-2020 for the export of 2/3 ply surgical masks and all gloves, except NBR gloves.

February 11

February 17

India airlifts 323 citizens who were stranded in Wuhan.

February 4

February 8

WHO proposed the official name of novel Corona Virus as COVID-19.

First case in India reported from Kerala after a student who returned from Wuhan tests positive. The same day, World health Organisation declares public health emergency.

Guidelines issued by the WHO against mass gathering.

DGFT banned export of all Personal Protection Equipment, including clothing (Coveralls—Class 2/3/4 and N95 masks)

Government of India announces thermal screening of all passengers arriving at international airports.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

March 5 The Delhi Government disbands all gathering, including religious congregations with more than 200 people.

March 13

March 14 Despite the Delhi Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ban, the global headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat Markaz in Nizamuddin goes ahead with its convention, which is attended by 9,000 preachers, including 960 foreigners, many of whom hailed from COVID-19 global hotspots.

March 14

March 15 India suspends all international flights. The same day, DGFT finally bans the export of all ventilators, 2/3 ply surgical masks and textile raw materials for coveralls and masks.

March 19

March 22 Modi announced a 21-day lockdown from midnight in his 8 pm address to the nation with just three and a half hours notice. It is the harshest lockdown in the world.

March 24

March 25-28 The Tablighi Jamaat congregation identified as a COVID-19 cluster hotspot.

March 31

April 6 Despite two-weeks of lockdown, India sees the biggest single day jump of 871 positive cases. Death toll crosses 250.

www.indianbuzz.com

COVID-19 notified as a disaster under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Air India airlifts 263 Indian nationals stranded in Italy. They were quarantined at the ITBP facility.

A batch of 236 Indian citizens airlifted from Iran. They were quarantined the Indian Armyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wellness Centre in Jaisalmer. PM Narendra Modi appeals to the people through a televised speech for Janata Curfew. The Ministry of Railways suspends all train services from midnight. Asks people to bang pots and pans. Sudden lockdown creates panic, triggering a mass exodus of migrant workers and daily wage earners across the country, ensuing in a chaos at inter-state border towns. Experts warn of community transmission in rural India.

Death toll in India crossed the 100 mark.

April 10

April 14 Total number of positive cases rise to 20,080 and deaths to 645

Delhi Government declared the closure of all schools until March 31 due to the surge of cases in the capital.

Lockdown extended until May 3

April 21

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY

ia in

Ind

Spa in

ore Singap

Indonesia

Finland

r nma Mya

an ist

bia om l Co il az Br

economic impact

ol om

k pa

r ge

nc fra

th K ore

Sou

nista Afgha

Nepal Vietnam

Iran

om United Kingd

Israel

Sout

Japa

h Afr

Tha

Ken

ica

ila

Ita

i ra

Rus sia

Ethiopia

Canada

Iraq

nd la er itz Sw

Ara bi

Fran

Sau di

tr al

Au s

tin

ge n

The Economic

Roulette Wheel As the virus spreads dangerously, and in numbers that are inexplicable and especially large, we are in a situation that no one in the past three to four generations has seen. The IMF says the economic crisis perpetuated by the pandemic will be worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s, when global economies witnessed a decade of negative growths

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

by Alam Srinivas

he wheel spins, swings, and sweeps in a frenzied manner. The economic ball jumps, bobs, and moves— up and down, straight and back, sideways, and diagonally. No one knows where it will rest on the virusinfected uneven surface with jagged edges, deep holes, and giant walls of separation. The roulette wheel itself is something unique—it has several numbers but, in this case, some are positive, some are negative, some are about hope, and others are about depression. Billions of people across the world just stand, paralysed, around this giant wheel—shocked, perplexed, scared, and unsure. Like in our lives, and in this universe (both the cosmic one and the quantum one), there are no

certainties, no guarantees. The future is as random as it is completely uncertain. There are only possibilities and probabilities. Will the global economy be decimated by COVID-19? Will this new, strange, and fearsome virus kill with vengeance? Or will we recover, even if it takes a few quarters, even years? At present, the news is dismal. There is no hope lurking on the horizon, no silver lining, or even a speck of white, amidst the dark wayward clouds. The IMF says this will be worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s, when global economies witnessed a decade of negative growths, until Adolf Hitler’s Second World War rescued them for a few years, then destroyed them again, and led to another cycle of optimism. Despite waves of socialism and communism, we did witness the thrills of the 1960s.

The developed world—North America and Europe—may be gripped by recession, even as it seemed to come out of the clutches of the Financial Crisis of 2008. The new breed of potential superpowers, or mini-ones— China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, and others—may enter an era of slow, laborious, and stunted growth for several years. The Third World, Africa, may linger on, as it did for the past few decades in a roller-coaster of pessimism and buoyancy. Be rest assured, our world will never be the same again. Here is a stark and naked truth. The present pandemic will lead to a situation in which 170 countries may witness a reduction in per capita individual incomes. To put it in perspective, the United Nation recognises 195 sovereign nations, of which two, the Holy See and State of Palestine, are nonmembers and “observer states”. Thus,

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY economic impact

almost 90 per cent of the countries, and a higher percentage of the world’s population, will be impacted. The virus is democratic, and will hurt the rich and poor, and those in the middle. Of the 19 nations considered in a recent KPMG report, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which hints at how the economic elite feels about a country’s state, in nine of them was below 50 per cent, which indicated “recessionary conditions”. The latter did not include India (54.5, the highest among all the nations), the US, and the UK, but had powerhouses such as China, Germany, France, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. Only the four surveyed nations in North and South Americas seemed to be safe with individual PMI of over 50.

he respective PMIs were for February 2020. As the crisis deepened in the US, Europe, and Japan, eased in China and Taiwan, and hurtled towards dangerous levels in India, the figures for March and April will be worse. “We anticipate the March PMI data to reflect growing economic stress,” says the report. In February, the PMI in China’s case was the lowest, at 40.3, among the 19 nations. So, despite its recent recovery, it has a long way to go before it shows signs of healthy economic growth in the near future. Social distancing, and complete lock-downs in most nations, including India, will sharply curtail global consumption over the next few months, or may be the next two-three quarters (up to December 2020). Hence, the KPMG report concludes that a V-shaped recovery, i.e. a sharp downfall followed by a quick, sharper, and spiked bounceback, or even a U-shaped one, with a sharp recovery after some time, will depend on how governments, corpo-

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

AIRLINES might GO bankrupt in May 2020 Size of international aviation industry is approximately US $900 billion • Revenues are expected to fall by 68%. This is less than the expected 71% fall in demand due to the continuation of cargo operations, albeit at reduced levels of activity • Variable costs are expected to drop sharply—by some 70% in the second quarter—largely in line with the reduction of an expected 65% cut in second quarter capacity. The price of jet fuel has also fallen sharply, although we estimate that fuel hedging will limit the benefit to a 31% decline. • Fixed and semi-fixed costs amount to nearly half an airline’s cost. We expect semi-fixed costs (including crew costs) to be reduced by a third. These changes to revenues and costs result in an estimated net loss of $39 billion in the second quarter. Full-year passenger demand (domestic and international) is expected to be down 48% compared to 2019. REGION OF AIRLINE REGISTRATION

RPKS 2020 (VS 2019 YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE)

PASSENGER REVENUE $ BILLION 2020 VS 2019 LEVELS

Asia Pacific

-50%

-113

North America

-36%

-64

Europe

-55%

-89

Middle East

-51%

-24

Africa

-51%

-6

Latin America

-49%

-18

Industry

-48%

-314

RPK means Revenue per passenger

Source IATA

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

International Air Transport Association (IATA) analyses the Covid 19 impact on International level: • Saudi Arabia : 26.7 million fewer passengers resulting in a US$5.61billion revenue loss, risking 217,570 jobs and US$13.6 billion in contribution to Saudi Arabia’s economy. • UAE : 23.8 million fewer passengers resulting in a US$5.36 billion revenue loss, risking 287,863 jobs and US$17.7 billion in contribution to the UAE’s economy. • Egypt : 9.5 million fewer passengers resulting in a US$1.6 billion revenue loss, risking almost 205,560 jobs and around US$2.4 billion in contribution to the Egyptian economy. • Qatar : 3.6 million fewer passengers resulting in a US$1.32 billion revenue loss, risking 53,640 jobs and US$2.1billion in contribution to Qatar’s economy. • Jordan : 2.8 million fewer passengers resulting in a US$0.5 billion revenue loss, risking 26,400 jobs and US$0.8 billion in contribution to Jordan’s economy. • South Africa : 10.7 million fewer passengers resulting in a US$2.29 billion revenue loss, risking 186,850 jobs and US$3.8 billion in contribution to South Africa’s economy. • Nigeria : 3.5 million fewer passengers resulting in a US$ 0.76 billion revenue loss, risking 91,380 jobs and US$0.65 billion in contribution to Nigeria’s economy. • Ethiopia : 1.6 million fewer passengers resulting in a US$0.3billion revenue loss, risking 327,062 jobs and US$1.2 billion in contribution to Ethiopia’s economy. • Kenya : 2.5 million fewer passengers resulting in a US$ 0.54 billion revenue loss, risking 137,965 jobs and US$1.1 billion in contribution to Kenya’s economy. • India : 20 lakh aviation professionals' jobs are at risk in India. "Passenger revenue in India is expected to fall by more than USD 8.8 billion and passenger demand is expected to decline by 36 per cent. This puts over 20 lakh jobs at risk including sectors that are dependent on aviation.

www.indianbuzz.com

rate entities, market, and investors “cope with the lower demand”. What one may witness can be an L-shaped economic growth curve. It will be better than the Great Depression, when the graph kept plummeting, but it will entail long periods of flat growth at a much lower level. For example, in the case of India, the growth may taper from 5 per cent to 3 per cent or less, and remain at those levels until December 2020, or even March 2021. The same may be true for China; hence, it will be unable to emerge as the global engine for growth, the way it did after the Financial Crisis of 2008.

ome of the sectors may be devastated. Already, social distancing has shown its menacing impact. Restaurants can be a “useful proxy” to judge “person-to-person retail activity”. Across the globe, diners were down by almost 90 per cent and this is expected to go up to 100 per cent over the next few weeks. In some countries like Canada, this has already happened. Many restaurants will shut down, and lay-off employees. Even online suppliers of food are affected because they are unable to deliver food that isn’t cooked. The same is true about the travel, tourism, and the hospitality sectors. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the crisis will “cost the tourism sector at least $22 billion, the travel sector shrinking by up to 25 per cent in 2020, resulting in a loss of 50 million jobs”. IATA says that the “global revenue loss for passenger business is estimated between $63 billion (11 per cent) and $114 billion (19 per cent)”. In the case of India, the losses will be higher than the “earlier ones such as 9/11 and the financial meltdown of 2008-09”. The KPMG report looks at three

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY economic impact

scenarios for India. Its optimistic viewpoint, i.e. “a quick retraction by end-April to mid-May”, which seems impossible now, estimates annual growth at over 5 per cent in 2020-21. The scariest one, i.e. “extended global recession”, says that the growth rate “may fall below 3 per cent under this scenario”. The mid-way estimate— India is able to control the virus spread, even as there is a “significant global recession”—is a growth rate of 4-4.5 per cent. The last one seems to be the most likely scenario. Like in the case of other nations, the problems are related to both demand and supply, which are equally affected. The consumption of non-essential goods and services has already tanked. An extended lock-down in April, or possibly May, will affect the consumption of even the essential commodities. Such “essentials” comprise a large chunk of the overall private consumption—food and non-alcoholic beverages (26.3 per cent); housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (13.7 per cent), and; transport (17.6 per cent).

Impact on the global economy The global economy in precarious place to handle shocks The global economy in precarious place to handle shocks

Source KPMG

COVID-19 shows up in high frequency PMI data COVID-19 shows up in high frequency PMI data

s jobs shrink in both the formal and informal sectors, demand will plunge further. According to the KPMG report, 37 per cent of the regular wage/salaried employees in urban India are informal workers (non-agriculture), who will face uncertain income following the stalling of urban activity”. The government’s stimulus package in the form of cash transfer and food security will help, but may not be adequate enough if the lock-down persists. More important, even the recovery may be accompanies by wage cuts. On the supply side, a prolonged crisis, including longer lock downs, will force companies to declare bankrupt-

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Source KPMG

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Elevated debt levels make social distancing more costly

Elevated debt levels make social distancing more costly • COVID-19 is unique in that it is a supply, demand and market shock • The global economy was already in a precarious place in 2019; risk of global recession in 2020 is extremely high as nations shutdown economic activity to limit the spread of COVID-19 • As production is curtailed around the world, many firms will not have necessary inputs • A severe demand shock is underway across discretionary spend categories.

Social distancing leads to a collapse in activity

• The global impact of China’s slowdown was felt around the world; a Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reading below 50 indicates recessionary conditions • The virus outbreak has disrupted manufacturing supply chains and sharply curtailed energy and commodity demand • What was previously a manufacturing-only recession has now spread to the services sector • We anticipate the March PMI data for both services and manufacturing to reflect growing economic stress as social distancing causes a sharp decline in demand

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY economic impact

cies, which will rupture future availability. But those that survive may quickly commence operations after the crisis, and even work extra hours to make up for the production losses of the entities that close down. The ‘China factor’ may not be a major bottleneck in terms of imports due to two reasons. The first is obviously that China is back in action, and Indians can source intermediate products. At the same time, India’s economy is relatively “insulated given its low reliance on intermediate goods from China, as well as the common practice in Indian firms of stockpiling inventory”. Only some sectors, such as electrical machinery, organic chemicals, plastics, and fertilisers have an undue dependence on China. Imports from the Red Dragon comprise 18 per cent to 40 per cent of the total imports in these segments. It will be tough to change supply sources, as the rest of the world continues to grapple with the virus.

Impact on the global economy

• V vs. U shaped recovery • China policy response

• Autos • Pharma • Fertiliser • Travel/Leisure • Electronics/Tech • Liquidity • Investment

• Sharp decline • Length and shape

China GDP Impact

China Import Impact

Spillover to Rest of World

Illness Outside of China • Contagion • Tourism • Lower consumption

ome experts feel that low global prices of crude oil and other commodities will help countries like India, which imports 80 per cent of its annual requirement. However, the government has not passed on the fall in prices to the domestic consumers. It has used the situation to “improve its fiscal position”. The dip in global prices was followed by a hike in local excise duty on petrol and diesel, “which could create additional revenue to the tune of Rs 390 billion”. This can help the government to spend more to revive growth. However, the fall in global prices can prove to be a double-edged sword. India will save money because of the fall in oil prices, but the local demand for fuel has plummeted because of the shutdowns. Only a complete economic

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Shutdown of factories and the resultant delay in supply of goods could result in a shortage of raw materials in China for companies largely importing from there Top imported commodities from China

2.6%

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Iran

6.9% USA

3.3%

2.9%

2.5% Japan

France

Total imports, USD Bn

Germany

0.3% Spain

1% Italy

1.3%

2018 -19

13.7%

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

China

USD bn

Among COVID-19 infected nations, China is the largest import source for India

2018 -19

Electrical Machinery Organic machinery & nuclear chemicals & reactors equipment Import from China

Share in total imports, %

Plastics

Fertilisers

Import from rest of the world

Source: Export Import Data Bank, Department of Commerce, accessed on 25 March 2020

Comparison of foreign value added component as per cent of gross manufacturing exports 60% 50%

48.2

44.6

40.4

40% 30%

Foreign value-added component in Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gross manufacturing exports is much lower than that of its Asian peers like Thailand and Vietnam.

27.3 17.6

20% 10% 0% India

Malaysia

Indonesia

Thailand

Vietnam

Source: Trade in Value Added (TiVA) database, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), accessed on 25 March 2020

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY economic impact

recovery can ensure higher revenues. More importantly, the global conditions will negatively impact exports and, hence, the trade deficit, i.e. the difference between imports and exports, may remain on the higher side. In addition, the consumers may not gain much over the next few months. The most crucial aspect to the Indian economy over the next few months will be the impact of the virus on agriculture. There are several factors to consider here. One, the Rabi crop needs to be harvested and distributed. Farmers in many Indian states may not get migrant labour for the purpose, and access to buyers like the government, middlemen, and mandis is curtailed. At the same time, the government is loaded with huge buffer stocks, and may not wish to buy too much. Farm incomes may fall dramatically.

erishables like vegetables need to be quickly distributed. Seasonal industries like fruits and fruitprocessing—the season for mango and other fruits like lychee is just ahead— need migrant labour on an urgent basis. If these do not happen, additional incomes may tumble. Thanks to rumours and “fake social media propaganda”, there is “no or low demand for poultry products”. So, yet another source of farm income is affected. The combined impact could be colossal, and more long-term than the virus. If the farmers are unable to sell the Rabi crop, as well as seasonal ones and poultry, apart from milk whose demand has gone down, they may get into debt crises. They will be unable to repay the loans they took for the Rabi crop, and they will need to take fresh loans for the Kharif crop and seasonal crops like mango and other fruits that come on the market in the summer months.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Impact on the global economy Overview India’s real GDP decelerated to its lowest in over six years in 3Q 2019201, and the outbreak of the COVID-19 posed fresh challenges. Steps taken to contain its spread, such as nationwide restrictions for 21 days and a complete lockdown of states, have brought economic activity to a standstill and could impact both consumption and investment. While Indian businesses, barring a few sectors, can possibly insulate themselves from the global supply chain disruption caused by the outbreak due to relatively lower reliance on intermediate imports, their exports to COVID-19 infected nations could take a hit. In sum, the three major contributors to GDP—private consumption, investment and external trade—will get affected.

Three scenarios can be used to explain the economic effects of COVID-19 Scenario 1:

Scenario 2:

Quick retraction across the globe including India; by end April to mid-May

While India is able to control COVID-19 spread, there is a significant global recession

China has significantly brought down the number of new cases and its manufacturing sector is all set to resume normalcy. Other nations also largely contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and large fiscal and monetary stimulus unveiled will start to work sooner than expected, which will raise hopes of a solid recovery in the second half of 2020. In this case, India’s growth for 2020-21 may be in the range of 5.3 to 5.7 per cent.

Even under this scenario, the impact on India’s growth in terms of global spillovers will be meaningful, owing to India’s integration with the global economy. So India’s growth will be lower than scenario 1: the expected range is 4-4.5 per cent.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Real GDP growth (per cent, constant 2011-12 prices) 7.5

7.6

7.2

7.9

7.2

2015-16

7.4

7.0

2016-17

6.1

5.9

6.6

7.3

7.9

7.7

2017-18

6.9

6.3

5.7

2018-19

5.0

4.5

2019-20

Source: Quarterly estimates of gross domestic product for the third quarter (Q3) of 2019-20, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), 28 February 2020, accessed on 24 March 2020

Scenario 3: COVID-19 proliferates within India and lockdowns get extended; global recession This would be double whammy for the economy, as it will have to bear the brunt of both domestic and global demand destruction. Prolonged lockdowns would exacerbate economic troubles. India’sgrowth may fall below 3 per cent under this scenario.

www.indianbuzz.com

Only after the next crop will they be in a position to repay but, by then, fresh loans will be required. Unless there is a massive loan waiver, the debt cycle can continue for a few years. Similar predicament will be faced by migrant labour. It cannot move out and, hence, will lose the additional income. This will prove critical after the Rabi crop is harvested, and the workers are in a position to seek new temporary jobs. The government stimulus will help in a limited manner. Once the economy recovers, the workers will face a piquant situation— should they immediately venture out, and take health risks, or remain in their

villages? This will especially unnerve those who move around with their families. As we said earlier, we have always lived in uncertain times, but now the uncertainties have exponentially multiplied. As the virus spreads dangerously, and in numbers that are inexplicable and especially large, we are in a situation that no one in the past threefour generations has seen. As someone aptly remarked, “I have seen the trains stop during the nationwide strike in 1974. But I have never seen trains, buses, cars, two-wheelers, planes, and ships, all come to a complete standstill”. This is the true nature of the virus. g

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY

perceptions gopinath menon

Winds of change

The advertising industry has changed with the times but the blow delivered by COVIS-19 is unlike any other. The single opportunity is in building Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand so as to cash in on Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loss, and politicians would do well to listen

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

dvertising : The name itself conjures up exciting images. Passion. Glamour. Celebrities. Parties. To name just a few. These signals are enough for any bright youngster to dream about the industry where he or she wants to make a career. As a result, it was a revered profession in the 1970s and the 1980s. From the late 1970s till the early 1990s, it was common for the top advertising agencies, to be present on the Day1–Session 2 at the top business schools of the country. Day 1–Session 1 was always taken up by the multinationals as they would pick the cream of toppers. However, they would be some crazy few who would not prefer the well-cushioned multinational job, but the fire in their bellies would tell them that they wanted to change the world. There were quite a few in the late 1970s and 1980s who did wonderful work and got the due deserved credit for their skills. I was also as excited, and charged up as I joined the advertising and media business in the mid 1980s.

1990’s: The Debacle Starts The mid 1990s started to see a change in the environment, as there was a debate about splitting the advertising agency. The creative function was to be divorced from the media function, and this was being done in the name of creating specialists to service and give optimal value to the clients whose money was at stake. This was the worst that could happen to the advertising business, as it started falling apart. However, the achievers held on either to the big banyan tree or left and set up creative shops and independent media outfits. The result was they charged a lesser fee and more senior resources serviced the same business which hitherto was serviced by a relatively junior person. Clients were satisfied with this attention, and this went on till the end of the millennium, i.e. 2000. In a few years we were to see the emergence of technology into the advertising business. The Internet came with the emails of the world and with it brought the digital technology that would eat up into the slender margin of the advertising business.

www.indianbuzz.com

Advertising guys are mavericks or at least they try to be, so there was an exodus of bright youngsters wanting to be in the “Business of the Future.” The Googles of the world catalyzed this change and it became a movement in the late 2000s and in the last decade,

it has become a revolution with a rocket engine. The advertising industry changed shape, character and the overall chemistry within it. Gone were the days when we used to get up in the morning and rush to work. The young

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

COVER STORY

perceptions gopinath menon

“Mavericks” who ran the creative digital shops were a different breed and would prefer to work from home. The Apple Mac with all the “Creative Software packages” at home was the work station and nothing else mattered. So suddenly we realized that advertising was no longer only a team sport; it could be a oneman show as well. Hence the new lonely tribe and the new arrogant chieftains arrived.

Early 2020: All About Size and Growth The advertising industry in spite of all its challenges was still a force to reckon with its sheer size and growth potential. Approximately around `70,000 crore of annual revenue could shake up the big guys as well. The television medium led the charge followed by the print medium. The digital business share was growing exponentially and was pegged at 28 per cent. The forecast for digital in early 2020 was above 30 per cent.

ntertainment via cinema screens also was on a upswing as the business model of Bollywood had changed a decade ago and plenty of conventional cinema theatres had converted to multiple screens with lesser seats and ticket prices going up manifold. So it was an everyday celebration for the cinema owners as more and more families started going to the PVRs of the world as cinema was not just about just watching a movie, it was about the entire experience, the plush seats, the wonderful sound systems, the crunchy masala popcorn and eating out at the Thai restaurant in the same shopping mall. It was a marketers’ dream and consumerism was here to stay.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Key highlights of the “Pitch Madison-report” • Indian Adex grew by 11% in 2019, falling short of PMAR 2019 projection of 13.4% • In absolute terms, Adex has grown from `60,908 crore to `67,603 crore, an addition of `6695 crore • A large part of the growth comes from digital, which expectedly grew by as much as 32% • TV grew only 8% in 2019, lower than the projection of 11%, to reach `25,291 crore. This is less than half the growth rate achieved in 2018. • TV still continues to be the largest contributor to Adex with 37% share, followed by Print at 30%, Digital at 23%. Outdoor, Radio and Cinema share are at 5%, 3% and 2%, respectively • In 2020, highest growth will come from Digital at 28%, followed by Cinema at 20% (although on a very small base), followed by TV (7%), Outdoor (6%), Radio (5%) and Print (2%).

Top Advertisers • The new kid on the block in the top 50 advertisers list of India for the year 2019 is fantasy sports company Dream11, ranking 3 on the charts. • It was predicted in early 2020, Elections, Sports- Cricket, FMCG, & E-Commerce were going to be the leading advertising categories. • Amid the top 10 advertisers, FMCG Giant- HUL is leading with spends of about `3,400 crore followed by Amazon, Dream11, Reliance, Maruti, P&G, Vivo, Samsung, Oppo and Vini, according to Pitch Madison Advertising 2020 Report released on February 13, 2020. • The report noted that the top 50 advertisers in the country account for 33 per cent of the advertising market. • While the entry of Dream11 in the top 10 advertisers list is interesting, India’s advertising expenditure (Adex) growth may not seem attractive, especially for television.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

HOW AD SPENDS HAVE GROWN IN RS CRORE 38% 37% 37%

35%

SHARE OF ADVERTISING PIE

2017 2018 2019

32% 30%

23%

RADIO

`3,365 `3,495

CINEMA

OUTDOOR

`15,467

`9,303 `11,705

`1,045

`805

19%

`586

`18,640 `19,457 `20,045

`1,875 `2,144 `2,260

`19,650 `23,432 `25,291

`3,085

18%

DIGITAL

Growth % 2019/18

7.9%

3.0%

5.4%

Then, arrived the “Godzilla” called “Corona” All this festivity at the market place was shortlived. There was a silent fear lurking in the subcontinent since February 2020, but like all normal human beings, our impulsive reaction was “cannot happen to us... They (the Chinese) eat live animals so we are safe.” No one was safe as it was extremely contagious. It slowly engulfed the world and spread like wildfire. So now we are in a world where all humans are caged and all the animals and birds are free. This is nature’s diktat and we do not have a choice. So coming back to advertising. The advertising business makes money out of the big bucks that the marketer or client spends to promote its products or services. When the marketer has closed shop four weeks ago and has a wage bill that can give him nightmares, where does that leave the advertising

www.indianbuzz.com

29.8%

3.9%

32.1%

business. India’s GDP in March 2020 was estimated to be around USD 3 trillion. This means close to USD 250 billion a month. All political leaders have echoed this number. Along with it, we heard a USD 5 trillion dream by 2024. Sane and conscious advertising and media pundits will tell you that in these Corona times, we might have gone back at least five years. Five years ago, the GDP was about USD 2 trillion.

o what does the loss of a “trillion” mean? How long will it take for all our agriculture and other industries to recover? India as an economy is currently in a “drugged state” and the actual loss has still to be estimated. The big media houses and the leading advertising agencies have pressed the “Panic Button”. There are stories of leading media houses retrenching senior staff in hundreds. This is a cause for great concern, and

needs to be attended to immediately by the government. Media reporters and support staff have been declared as “Corona Warriors” and them losing their jobs is not a good signal in building “morale.” The big manufacturers, the farmers, the marketers and the advertising pundits will all have to seriously ponder about the actual loss, the lost glory and pick up their new lives right from scratch. Seems pessimistic? In such a situation, it is always best to predict the worse; the actual reality will only be better. That’s what the passion and belief the advertising industry in India currently needs. As far as the political leadership is concerned, it needs to consider this challenge as another huge opportunity. China which is close to three times our economy is in a bigger problem. There might be a shift of the manufacturing base from China to elsewhere. India needs to position itself as the only viable option. “Positioning” is an ability that only the advertising pundits can give India. The political leadership has a strong belief in advertising; there are no prizes for guessing as to which is the biggest political brand created in the last 5-6 years. Advertising in the coming months is looking down the barrel of a gun; and, the gun does not have a safety latch. So the advertising industry could be in an “ICU” with no ventilator in sight. Hence, the political leadership will have to stop preaching dreams and for a change. It needs to develop a significant trait “Listen”. Listen to experts who have been achievers with their skill sets. It’s now or never as “Life” never gives you a second chance. g The writer has worked in some of the leading advertising companies as an “advertising strategist” and a “content writer” for the last three decades

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

STATE SCAN

politics madhya pradesh

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Overrated

turncoat

Curtains finally came down on the 17- daylong political drama in Madhya Pradesh with Chief Minister Kamal Nath announcing his resignation at a press conference on March 20, a day after the Supreme Court had asked his government to undergo a floor test in the wake of resignations of 22 Congress MLAs. Kamal Nath’s resignation paved way for the BJP’s return to power in a convenient convergence of Scindia’s greed for power with the saffron party.

gfiles inside the government vol. 13, 14, issue 12 1 | Mar-April | March 2020 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

STATE SCAN

politics madhya pradesh

by Rakesh Dixit

n illusory aura continues to surround some ‘majestic’ politicians until their own drastic action impels one to carefully deconstruct their persona. Jyotiraditya Scindia is one such politician. His dramatic defection from the Congress to the BJP has caused a massive flutter in politics. Political pundits across the spectrum are analysing his move. Their analyses betray a rare convergence of view that wronged by the Congress, the Gwalior ‘Maharaj’ had little choice but to jump onto Modi’s bandwagon “to serve the country”. Liberals are blaming Rahul Gandhi’s indifference, Kamal Nath’s neglect and Digvijay Singh’s machinations for the Congress’s bright star quitting the Grand Old Party. Modi bhakts are ecstatic that late Vije Raje Scindia’s grandson has finally landed in the party to which he ideologically belonged to, and, thus, he has atoned for the sins of his wayward father late Madhavrao Scindia who defied his mother and died in a wrong party. But the truth about Jyotiraditya is something else; it is bitter. The truth is that the scion of the erstwhile Gwalior state is the most overrated politician in India. A simple fact-check would testify that. Can anyone name another politician—Dr Manmohan Singh is an exception because the economist was an accidental Prime Minister—who got more than Scindia in a small span of 17 years? He inherited Madhavrao’s legacy and won handsomely from the seat his father represented till his tragic death in a plane crash in 2001. At only 49, Jyotiraditya was a four-term MP, a two-time Union Minister, a

gfiles inside the government vol. 13, 14, issue 12 1 | Mar-April | March 2020 2020

CWC member, in-charge of Western UP and a power centre in Madhya Pradesh. He could have chosen to be the deputy Chief Minister like Sachin Pilot, if he so wished, when the Congress rode back to power after 15 long years in Madhya Pradesh, which strangely, he did not. Compare his phenomenal political trajectory with that of Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh, the two politicians being blamed for Scindia leaving the Congress. Kamal Nath was first elected from Chhindwara in 1980. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had introduced him to the electorate as her third son—he was so close to the Gandhi family. Yet, it took over a decade before Nath was made a Union minister. He found a berth in the Narsimha Rao government as a junior minister.

Jyotiraditya’s defection to BJP marks the third desertion of the Congress by a member of the erstwhile Gwalior royal family, known for its political and legal disputes often centered around enormous wealth in its possession

Digvijay was elected to the state assembly in 1977 and made a junior minister in Arjun Singh government after winning his Raghogarh seat a second time in 1980. When he became the Chief Minister, Digvijay had already had 16 years of parliamentary career behind him. Kamal Nath had to spend 38 years in Parliament when he was finally asked to head the Congress government in 2018. Yet, Scindia nurtured a grouse that he was not given his due. Scindia had premised his claim to the Chief Minister’s post, which was denied to him, on the assumption that he had emerged as the most acceptable leader among the masses in the run up to the Madhya Pradesh assembly election in 2018. It was a tenden-

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

got away with mild rap on the knuckles. Despite being a leader of a small region which swum and sunk with rest of Madhya Pradesh in electoral waters in successive elections, Scindia has managed to create an impression that he is cut above other Congress leaders with greater influence in the state such as Digvijay Singh and Kamal Nath. He has achieved this remarkable feat because of a combination of factors. His strikingly telegenic looks, networking in high places and proximity with the Gandhi family stood with him in good stead. He has friends across the political spectrum in politics, media and corporate world. Being scion of a royal family is an added attraction which he has exploited to the hilt to cast a charm offensive.

tious reading of the people’s mood. The fact is that it was the ability of Congress leaders, including Scindia, to remain united that impressed the voters enough to lean towards the party in the election. Scindia was only one of the faces in the top trinity, the other two being Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh. Of course, Scindia’s rigorous campaigning yielded good results for the Congress in his Gwalior-Chambal bastion where the party won 26 out of 34 seats. But Madhya Pradesh has 230 seats and the Scindia’s political citadel comprises only 15 per cent of the total number. Moreover, the junior Scindia‘s influence in the region is primarily due to his father’s legacy which he was able to sustain in the election. Like

www.indianbuzz.com

father, Jyotiraditya picked up loyalists on the basis of their devotion to the palace. Congress didn’t matter, its ideology less so. As the political tidings favoured the Congress, Scindia’s handpicked loyalists won in good number and credit is apportioned to him. However, when the antiCongress mood was strong, as was the case in the last 15 years of the BJP rule, the blame was put on the party’s doorstep and not on Scindia. He had headed the Congress campaign committee in the 2013 election too when the party bit the dust but Scindia’s aura remained unscathed. While other leaders, particularly Digvijay Singh, were severely accused of sinking the party owing to their omissions and commissions, Scindia

owever, when the chips were down, he opted for softer option of joining the BJP instead of standing majestically tall and alone with all those great attributes the media had endowed him with.

Jyotiraditya too could possibly have launched his own regional outfit if he was feeling marginalised within the Congress, like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar had done. But it is apparent that he did not have much support in Madhya Pradesh to take the risk of launching a party of his own. For all the projected mass appeal, Jyotiraditya decided to join BJP than launch a party like his father. Maybe because MP Vikas Congress, the party Madhavrao had floated, managed to win just two Lok Sabha seats, unlike parties of other Congress rebel heavy-

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

STATE SCAN

politics madhya pradesh

One man cabinet

After running one man show finally the cabinet was formed with the oath taking ceremony on 21st April 2020 at Raj Bhawan, Bhopal. Total five ministers inducted in the cabinet. by Abhilash Khandekar

ndian political history has no such precedence as is being seen in the central Indian state of MP. In the unparalleled dramatic turn of events in March, Shivraj was elected Chief Minister once again, thanks to the shock treatment Jyotiraditya Scindia gave to Kamal Nath. Scindia not only joined the BJP in a surprise and secret move, he took along with him as many as 22 senior Congress MLAs such as Tulsiram Silawat and Bisahulal Singh, among others. That brought about the sudden fall of a minority government of the Chhindwara strongman in just 15 months. While it is expected that Scindia would soon go to the Upper House of the Parliament on a BJP ticket and some of his staunch supporters, many of whom were ministers in the Nath cabinet, would be sworn in as ministers by Shivraj, nothing of that sort has happened yet. The obvious reason is the global pandemic that has stalled everything. Except Shivraj! Shivraj, after consulting top BJP leaders, not only took the oath alone on March 23, until April 15 he had not included a single minister in his cabinet. He has thus made a kind of record by remaining a “one-man cabinet” of this large state, battling Corona virus for over 22 days and taking important decisions one after the other. The state was locked-down on the same day when he was sworn in by an order of district collector, unlike other states, and Section 144 was in force all over in Bhopal. But the historic change of power took place the same evening.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

The obvious reason (for not including ministers), of course, is the deadly virus and situations that have arisen out of national lockdown that was declared by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24. But critics point out to three important developments in this regard. First, Chauhan was elected the legislature party chief with large number of party MLAs physically present at the BJP office in what was dubbed as first such video conference meeting in which central observers participated from Delhi via videos. That was March 23. Second, he drove straight to Raj Bhawan in a splashy car with Narottam Mishra, a formidable contender for the CM’s post, for his swearing-in around 9 pm. About 80 MLAs and supporters followed him, defying Section 144 and social distancing rules, in buses—about six km from the BJP office. Third, Shivraj ‘won’ the confidence vote on the floor of the Assembly with no Congress MLAs being present and BJP winning the confidence vote unanimously on March 25. SP, BSP and independents all supported BJP. Earlier they had supported Congress. Now, many are asking how can a government work with just one person taking all decisions? Strangely, the unprecedented pandemic phase is being dealt without a Health Minister or Home Minister or a Food and Civil Supplies ministers. To make matters worse, a large number of government officials have been infected, including principal secretary Pallavi Jain who is now quarantined.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

But Shivraj is unfazed. He is running government confidently as if nothing unusual has happened. He quickly removed Gopal Reddy, a 1985 batch IAS officer as chief secretary and installed Iqbal Singh Bains, Reddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s batchmate. Bains has been twice the principal secretary of Chauhan in his earlier stints as CM. Reddy could remain CS for just about 10 days. He had replaced SR Mohanty (1982) who was to superannuate on March 31. After that he was set to be the chairman of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. But with Shivraj as CM, Mohanty who steered the bureaucracy well for 15 months, has little or no chance of getting that 5-year long cushy assignment. But Reddy too is unfortunateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;he has not been given any posting by Shivraj in the past 23 days, till the time of writing these lines. With national lockdown extended until May 3,

www.indianbuzz.com

all political, administrative, financial and Coronarelated decisions are being taken by Shivraj and his trusted chief secretary. Most meetings in the secretariat are being held via video conferencing. Only a few top principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries are seen in the meeting, along with CS and DGP Vivek Johari, who quit BSF top job to become DG of the state in early March. He will continue for two years, thanks to an SC order that allows states DGPs to have a clear two-year term in office. In the light of the lockdown and social (physical) distancing orders, the Rajya Sabha polls, scheduled to be held on March 26, were put off, making among others, Scindia a bit nervous. It is said that once he enters the RS, he would be made a minister in the Modi cabinet as part of the unwritten deal struck between him and the BJP high command. g

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

STATE SCAN

politics madhya pradesh

weights such as Arjun Singh-ND Tiwari, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, K Karunakaran, AK Antony, GK Moopanar and Jaganmohan Reddy who had a much higher degree of success. Having lost the last LS poll, Jyotiraditya wants to rebuild his career in the BJP by toppling the Congress government in MP. An overwhelming majority of the elected MLAs had opted for Kamal Nath as the Chief Minister and Scindia did not have the support of more than two dozen MLAs. Even now when he chose to join the BJP, the number of Congress MLAs that he managed to wean away is less than a quarter of the Congress MLAs in the state. His switch, therefore, smacks of self-serving opportunism. The ‘Maharaja’s’ lack of ideological conviction has been manifest in his approval of BJP’s abrogation of Article 370 and his silence on all contentious legislations and decisions brought out by the Modi regime, such as the CAA-NPR-NRC.

Contrary to perception that he quit the party due to persistent neglect by Chief Minister Kamal Nath, the Maharaj had began toying with the idea of leaving the Congress soon after he was denied chief ministership. Rahul Gandhi had offered deputy chief ministership to Scindia after the assembly poll results were out in December 2018. Scindia declined but said he would nominate someone for the deputy’s post. Rahul Gandhi then reportedly said that in that case, Kamal Nath could also nominate his second deputy.

Scindia was later appointed Congress general secretary in-charge of western Uttar Pradesh—a punishment posting, in bureaucratic terms, as the party has no base there. Since then his supporters felt that the party leadership chose Kamal Nath over Jyotiraditya fearing he would outshine Rahul Gandhi as both were of the same age group. The fear was grossly misplaced though. After the 2019 debacle, Jyotiraditya found himself shadow-boxing much like the other leaders as dissensions rocked the party and an adamant Rahul Gandhi

The fact is that it was ability of the Congress leaders, including Scindia, to remain united that impressed the voters enough to lean towards the party in the election. Scindia was only one of the faces in the top trinity, the other two being Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh

cindia’s switch to the BJP is, to all appearance, the result of his inability to imagine a politics outside of power. Given his model of politics, this is personally a canny move on his part. For the foreseeable future, the BJP will be a dominant force in national politics. He will once again be elevated to the position where he can be a patron and secure his other interests within a predictable matrix of power in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.

While the writing had been on the wall, little had the Congress leaders imagined that the former Union minister, who enjoyed disproportionately high clout to his real prowess and also proximity to the Gandhi family, would desert the Congress.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

refused to take back his resignation. For Scindia, the election proved a double whammy; he lost from Guna seat. Scindia’s political clout is entirely based on his electoral invincibility and massive inherited wealth which guaranteed him the position of the perpetual disburser of power and patronage to his loyalists. In the wake of his 2019 defeat that aura of invincibility was shattered. Immediately after that, he broke ranks with the Congress, to support the authoritarian abrogation of Article 370. This was followed by his support of the CAA–NRC which is the most profound attack on the Constitutional ideals of our Republic. Other ominous signs of Jyotiraditya’s seething revolt were apparent. In January 2019, he had a meeting with Shivraj Singh Chouhan, which both described as courtesy call. Jyotiraditya erased references to the posts he held with the Congress from his Twitter handle (the “former Union Minister, MP of Guna” is now described as “public servant, cricket enthusiast”). He also let known his unhappiness with the survey of damage caused by the 2019 floods and claimed that poll promises were un-kept.

hen in August, Scindia’s dissent amplified nationally, with his backing for diluting Article 370, opposed by the Congress in Parliament. The BJP in Bhind put up a poster congratulating him for supporting the Centre’s decision, positioning Scindia, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Modi in the same frame. Leader of the Opposition Gopal Bhargava even called upon him to quit the party. But Scindia bided for his time to strike. In Madhya Pradesh, he had reasons

www.indianbuzz.com

Daunting task ahead for Chouhan

hivraj Singh Chouhan is back as chief minister for a fourth time. First time he was chosen in November 2005 as Babulal Gaur’s successor. Second and third time he led the BJP to victory in 2008 and 2013 assembly elections. Fourth time he emerged lucky again as the BJP succeeded in toppling the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government with the help of defector Jyotiraditya Scindia and his 22 supporter MLAs. Unlike his 13 years as chief minister, Chouhan has daunting task ahead of managing a rag-tag team which is just above the majority mark. Stability of his wafer-thin majority will largely depend on outcome of the 25 by elections caused by the resignation of the Congress MLAs who owe allegiance to Scindia. The by- elections will be held in six months and till then a spell of uncertainty is likely to continue. Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s ability to manage contradictions within the government is untested yet. He has been lucky to have helmed the government for 13 years which enjoyed overwhelming majority. Plus, the BJP high command had been supportive, despite reports of Prime Minister Narendra Modi being wary of Chouhan, a protégé of LK Advani. A shrewd politician that he is, Chouhan not only saw systematic marginalisation of his detractors within the party but also succeeded in endearing himself to Modi – Amit Shah-duo. He has described Modi as God’s gift to India several times to please the Prime Minister. Chouhan is carrying a huge baggage of the omissions and commissions in his 13-year-rule that had made him so unpopular that the BJP lost power to the Congress in the 2018 assembly elections. Vyapam, of course, is one of the scams that still haunt him, even though the courts gave him a clean chit. g

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

STATE SCAN

politics madhya pradesh

to feel acutely vulnerable after shocking defeat in Guna as two veterans Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh joined forces against him. Kamal Nath had succeeded in getting his son Nakul elected from Chhindwara while Digvijay Singh managed to get his son Jaivardhan Singh a berth in the Congress ministry. Scindia felt that his future was bleak in the MP Congress as Nakul Nath and Jaivardhan have ascended in the state’s firmament as two rising stars. While Nakul has not exhibited his political ambitions to reach beyond the pocket burrow of Chhindwara, Jaivardhan is being meticulously groomed by his father Digvijay Singh, who has a following across Madhya Pradesh.

cindia could not be unaware of the history of the protracted political battle between his father and late Arjun Singh, the political mentor of Digvijay Singh. Arjun Singh overcame Madhavrao’s political challenges to anoint his protégé Digvijay Singh Chief Minister in 1993. His national appeal notwithstanding, Madhavrao could never expand his base in Madhya Pradesh outside Chambal-Gwalior. First Arjun Singh and then Digvijay Singh saw to it that Gwalior Maharaj’s influence remained confined to his erstwhile princely state. Madhavrao too didn’t try hard to spread his charm outside the Gwalior region. After the 2018 assembly election, Jyotiraditya developed overweening ambition to emerge as a pan-Madhya Pradesh leader at the expense of both Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh. But the veteran duo frustrated the young Maharaj’s manoeuvrings. Kamal Nath refused to reach out to

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

It’s not just about Kamal Nath. Scindia has been upset with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi— not just because of the way they allowed him to be undermined in the party, but also because he saw the Congress going nowhere under their leadership Scindia and virtually kept him isolated. The Chief Minister even stalled Scindia’s claim for the post of the state Congress chief. Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, never known as a Scindia sympathiser, sought to convince the CM of the need to co-opt the young leader but Kamal Nath didn’t pay any heed. The BJP noticed with alacrity an ally in Scindia in October last year

when he claimed farm loan waiver, a poll promise that former party chief Rahul Gandhi had said would be kept within 10 days of coming to power, was not fulfilled. Chouhan then trained guns on the Chief Minister telling him “your own people are showing you the mirror”. It’s not just about Kamal Nath. Scindia has been upset with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi—not just because of

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

friend of Jyotiraditya, who shares a good rapport with him. At the wedding of BJP president JP Nadda’s son, Home Minister Amit Shah had a detailed discussion with Zafar Islam. What triggered the final move was the public spat that Scindia had with Chief Minister Kamal Nath in February. “It is impossible that Congress party makes a promise and does not fulfill it. If Congress has promised something then it is very important to fulfill it...nahi to sadak par utarna padega (otherwise we’ll take to the streets),” he told mediapersons on February 15. Responding to the media over Jyotiraditya’s threat to protest, Kamal Nath said: “toh utar jayein (do it)”.

J the way they allowed him to be undermined in the party, but also because he saw the Congress going nowhere under their leadership. In his resignation letter, he revealed that he had been considering this switch for the last one year and therefore, the supposed inaccessibility of Rahul Gandhi, does not hold water. Gandhi, who maintained a stoic silence through the entire episode, broke it momentarily to let it be known to the public that of all people Scindia could have called upon him at all times. BJP was swift to sense the discomfort and worked on it with Scindia’s aunt Yashodhara Raje being instrumental in convincing her nephew to ‘come back home’. Another leader active in the exercise was BJP’s national spokesperson Zafar Islam, an old

www.indianbuzz.com

yotiraditya’s defection to BJP marks the third desertion of the Congress by a member of the erstwhile Gwalior royal family, known for its political and legal disputes often centered around enormous wealth in its possession. Jyotiraditya’s paternal grandmother Vije Raje Scindia was the first to quit Congress in the ‘60s. His father Madhavrao Scindia too left Congress in mid-1990s, after alleging that Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao had implicated him in the Jain hawala case, floated Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress (MPVC), but returned two years later to emerge as a senior Congress leader till his death in a plane crash. His aunts, Vasundhara Raje and Yashodhara Raje, and cousin Dushyant are all now in BJP. His exit from the Congress is thus the culmination of a long and twisted family legacy that has seen this politician return to the roots of his grandmother, the Rajmata. But his entry in

the BJP could be fraught with far more complexities and tricky internal dynamics than the party has bargained for. Chouhan’s ‘Vibhishan’ remark about Scindia during a passionate speech on March 12 gives more than a glimpse into the times to come. Chouhan and Scindia gave dramatic, impassioned speeches, showering praise on each other. But there was as much to read between the lines. Chouhan referred to Scindia as Vibhishan—mythological character Raavan’s younger brother, who deserted his brother to join the rival camp. “Kamal Nath, till we don’t destroy your Lanka of terror and corruption, we will not sit in peace. To destroy Lanka, one needs Vibhishan. Today Jyotiraditya Scindia is with us,” Chouhan said. The reference to Vibhishan—someone who turned against his own family—is not the most flattering and for the ‘Maharaj of Gwalior’, the tag of a betrayer can hardly be desirable. Scindia, meanwhile, also seems in no mood to play second-fiddle to Chouhan. He made sure he talked of himself as an equal and as a politician as rooted as the BJP stalwart. For now, the party’s top leadership is clear about how it wants to handle the situation. The idea is to give Jyotiraditya a more national role, along with the Rajya Sabha seat, while ensuring Chouhan remains the king in Madhya Pradesh. However, it may not be as easy and seamless. Scindia has his own ambitions and his big grouse in the Congress was being sidelined by the Kamal Nath-Digvijaya Singh duo, and being forced to remain limited to the Gwalior-Chambal region, despite having a youth appeal across the state. g

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

BOOK REVIEW non-fiction biography

A life in secret The life of Ram Nath Kao, the man who founded R&AW, is shrouded in mystery. The book manages to throw some light on the life and times of the Indian spymaster by

Abhilash Khandekar

am Nath Kao (1918-2002) is not one of those Indian officers who can be easily forgotten by bureaucrats, politicians and even journalists, despite the fact that much has not been written about the man who was quintessentially low profile throughout his long and chequered career and even after that. His early contribution to the making of India needs to be known by the world, especially because he belonged to the premier secret espionage service of the country—R&AW. The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s foreign intelligence organisation, is one of the most respected institutions of the world of espionage and foreign intelligence today. It has played a vital role in almost all of the landmark events in India’s recent history—from the 1971 war to the merger of Sikkim; from discovering Pakistan’s nuclear programme to the recent Balakot operation. Yet, as befits its role, very little is known about the organisation. Little is also known about

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

• Title: RN Kao: Gentleman Spymaster • Author: Nitin A Gokhale • Publisher: Bloomsbury, India • Pages: 228 • Price: Rs 599

its founder, Rameshwar Nath Kao, or RNK. He was an intensely private man, a classical spymaster who operated in the shadows but built enduring institutions. R&AW has, of late been making news off and on and hence the introduction of this book for the readers of gfiles. Nitin Gokhale, a veteran defence analyst and author, describes him as a ruthless professional who believed in putting in national interest above his personal preferences. He was also the creator of the secretive Aviation Research Centre, Indian’s premier technical intelligence agency. RNK had a very modest family

background in Lucknow. He remained polite, down to earth and an effective leader wherever he went. The book under review is actually a difficult task undertaken by the author, especially because the book came out some 17 years after the death of Kao in his 80s and not much written material was available in public domain. Some files pertaining to his time in office and about his crucial decisions won’t be declassified until 2025 according to instructions left behind by him before his death in January 2001. They relate to Bangladesh, the merger of Sikkim and Mrs Indira Gandhi’s assassination. R&AW has been constantly watching Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. But few know the fact that the organisation, under Kao, was instrumental in creation of Bangladesh and about various backroom strategies and plans that Kao and his men had made. Sankaran Nair was among the most trusted of his deputies who later headed the R&AW and also IB. The book is full of stories of how Prime Ministers of the day treated R&AW or held different opinions about Kao. “In a 25-page secret note dated January 14, 1971 (two days after Yahya Khan had landed in Dhaka) addressed to the cabinet secretary, RNK warned of the possibility of Pakistan launching a military campaign against India to divert attention. He went on the elaborate, ‘ After the recent elections, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman has emerged as an unchallenged leader of East Pakistan... He would therefore be in a strong position to press for incorporation of his party’s six-point programme in the Constitution and related issues. The

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

note also said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was also gaining popularity in West Pakistan (Punjab and Sindh). In such a situation, President Yahya Khan, R&AW felt, “could consider the prospects of embarking on a military venture against India with a view to diverting attention of people from internal political problems and justifying the continuance of the Martial Law.” Pakistan had, as the author quoting Kao’s secret note says, considerably increased its armed strength since 1965 and her Army, Navy and Air Force had achieved a good state of military preparedness for any confrontation with India. Kao had also pointed towards increased possibility of infiltrations of well trained personnel into Jammu & Kashmir. Based on the note, PN Haksar, Principal Secretary to PM, sent a telegram to India’s Ambassador to Moscow, detailing the military equipment that India needed urgently to be ready to face any Pakistani aggression. The list included tanks, APCs, guns, bomber aircraft and surface-to-air guided weapons. “We have no, repeat, no other source of supply than to rely upon Soviet readiness to understand and respond to our needs,” he had said in the telegram.

Nitin A. Gokhale presented an early copy of the book to NSA Ajit Doval, who has been gracious enough to write the foreword too

This episode reveals how IndiaPakistan relations have been through the 1960s and ‘70s and how strained they continue to be even today. The RNK and Haksar note and telegram would also show how in the Cold War days India was heavily dependent on Russia for her advanced weaponry. RNK and Haksar advocated a campaign that would support Bengalis who would be at the forefront of the fight

Some files pertaining to his time in office and about his crucial decisions are not to be opened until 2025 according to instructions left behind by him before his death in January 2001. They relate to Bangladesh, the merger of Sikkim and Mrs Indira Gandhi’s assassination. www.indianbuzz.com

back. PM Indira Gandhi, facing her first international crisis, deferred to their advice and sanctioned the covert operation to be led and coordinated by Kao. His equation with Gen Manekshaw eventually contributed to India’s military success in the 13-day war with Pakistan in December 1971 that liberated East Pakistan and created a new nation. The rest is history but the book captures all the important roles and operations launched by Kao in the runup to defeat Pakistan, including influencing the Western powers through various strategies. It also reveals how the officers of Indira Gandhi’s team in PMO worked hand-in-hand with army officials and those of Kao’s to protect Indian interests in tough times.

or example, RNK had advised, through foreign secretary TN Kaul, Indian High Commissioner in London, Appa Pant how to treat a high ranking jurist from Dhaka, living in London. The judge of Dhaka (Dacca) High Court, Abu Sayeed Chaudhary, was made the nucleus of Bangladeshi upsurge abroad. This was to manoeuvre international opinion against Pakistan, a handiwork of Kao-led R&AW. Elsewhere, the book clearly proves how Kao repeatedly warned against having Sikh bodyguards with Prime Minister after Operation Blue Star. The rising discontent in Punjab after her return to power in 1980, was also giving Kao sleepless nights. In 1981, on the advice given in Zurich by ACN Nambiar—journalist, freedom fighter, close friend and associate of Nehru and Bose—RNK was appointed Senior Adviser, on a salary of Re 1.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

BOOK REVIEW non-fiction biography

As Punjab problem aggravated and resulted in Army entering Golden Temple, Kao quickly strengthened her security. Sikh bodyguards in her security detail were removed. Kao ordered an ambulance to be part of convoy and also requested her to wear a bullet proof vest. The instructions that no Sikh bodyguard be part of her inner security ring were ignored for inexplicable reasons. Two of her Sikh bodyguards shot her on October 31, 1984, in her home. Kao was in Beijing under Mrs Gandhi’s instructions for making secret overtures to Chinese leadership in an attempt to normalise relationship between India and China. When the Chinese heard of the assassination, they offered to place a special plane for Kao’s disposal for him to reach India as soon as possible.

he book is replete with stories how PM Morarji Desai mistrusted Kao first and then realised his mistake, how AB Vajpayee (as foreign minister) always took him to be Mrs Gandhi’s man and about the political scenario in India and the world when RNK was the boss of India’s secret operations all over the world. Reading the book gives fair idea of the global order then and how intelligence played important roles in making or breaking nations and leaders. What is interesting about the book is that it does not only give full details and cross references with the help or original documents that the author dug out from RNK’s family collection and from the Nehru Memorial Museum besides from other R&AW officers, but is also very lucid. The accounts of many of his successors paint a beautiful picture of the personality of RNK, remembered as a colossus who was an institutional builder than an operative, more of a spymaster than a spy.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

From left to right Manikam Principal Director DGS, RN Kao, GC (Garry) Saxena and GBS Sidhu with Indira Gandhi

Kao repeatedly warned against having Sikh bodyguards with Prime Minister after Operation Blue Star. The rising discontent in Punjab after her return to power in 1980, was also giving Kao sleepless nights

Kao’s father died early and so did his grandparents. His uncles tried to help his mother and the young Ram but that did not much help him as the businesses of his uncle suffered losses. This was in the 1920s and 1930s, difficult years for India, when the Kao’s family also suffered hardship. After father’s death he shifted to Bombay only to return to Uttar Pradesh. He did his graduation from Lucknow University in 1936 with subjects such as English literature,

Indian history and Persian. He secured first position in the university. That was also the year when he first saw Jawaharlal Nehru at an INC session from a distance and was impressed. Late his joined the Indian Police, the forerunner of the Indian Police Service (IPS) at the age of 21 in 1939. This is where his life took a turn for the better. g [The reviewer is a veteran political and environment journalist and consulting editor of Gfiles]

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

March-Aprilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;20

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

birthdays IAS officers’ birthdays Apr 20, 2020 — May 19, 2020

IAS officers’ birthdays Apr 20, 2020 — May 19, 2020

Mageswari Ravikumar

M Angamuthu

Mini Antony

Aswathy S

CADRE: Tamil Nadu

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: Kerala

CADRE: ODISHA

m.ravikumar@ias.nic.in

angmuthu@ias.nic.in

mini.antony@ias.nic.in

aswathys@ias.nic.in

Praveen Kumar Kolaventy

Ashwini Kumar

Saurabh Kumar

Chandra Kishore Mishra

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: CHHATTISGARH

CADRE: BIHAR

kolavent@ias.nic.in

kshwini@ias.nic.in

saurabhkumar.ias09@ias.nic.in

mishrack83@ias.nic.in

Preetom Kumar Saikia

Rabindra Panwar

Muthukumarasamy B

Sudeep Jain

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: BIHAR

CADRE: Uttar Pradesh

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

pk.saikia@ias.nic.in

panwarr@ias.nic.in

mk.samy@ias.nic.in

jains1@ias.nic.in

Guruprasad Mohapatra

Gholap Ramesh Gorakh

N Nawin Sona

Jai Priye Prakash

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: JHARKHAND

CADRE: Maharashtra

CADRE: Assam-Meghalaya

mgprasad@ias.nic.in

gholapr.gorakh@ias.nic.in

nawin.sona@ias.nic.in

jaipriye82@ias.nic.in

Vikrant Pandey

Sunil Kumar Jain

Mandeep Kaur

Rodney L Ralte

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: CHHATTISGARH

Cadre: JAMMU & KASHMIR

CADRE: UNION TERRITORY

Vikrant.p@ias.nic.in

Sunilkumar.jain@ias.nic.in

mandeepkaur@ias.nic.in

rodney.ralte@ias.nic.in

Niharika Barik

Atul Kumar

TV Somanathan

Alapan Bandopadhyay

CADRE: CHHATTISGARH

CADRE: haryana

cadre: tamil nadu

CADRE: West Bengal

niharika@ias.nic.in

atul.kr@ias.nic.in

tv.somanathan@ias.nic.in

alapanb@ias.nic.in

Arvind Agrawal

Hukum Singh Meena

K Gopalakrishna Bhat

V Manjula

CADRE: GUJARAT

Cadre: Bihar

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: Kerala

arvinda@ias.nic.in

Meenahs@ias.nic.in

kgbhat.ias@ias.nic.in

vmanjula@ias.nic.in

Anil Kumar Singh

Mahesh Kumar Gupta

Shainamol A

Veena Ish

CADRE: Union Territory

Cadre: Uttar Pradesh

CADRE: Himachal Pradesh

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

singhak7@ias.nic.in

guptamk1@ias.nic.in

shainamol@ias.nic.in

ishv@ias.nic.in

Priyanka Basu Ingty

Rama Raman

BB Cauvery

Chakravarthi Mohan

CADRE: Himachal Pradesh

Cadre: uttar Pradesh

Cadre: Karnataka

CADRE: Karnataka

priyankabi@ias.nic.in

ramanr@ias.nic.in

bb.cauvery@ias.nic.in

chakravarthi.m@ias.nic.in

Srikant Nagulapalli

M Dana Kishore

Anita Singh

Anurag Srivastava

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

Cadre: Telangana

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: West Bengal

nagulapa@ias.nic.in

kishorem@ias.nic.in

sanita@ias.nic.in

anurag.s@ias.nic.in

Amit Kumar

VL Kantha Rao

SM Kendrekar

CADRE: BIHAR

Cadre: Madhya Pradesh

CADRE: Maharashtra

amit.k12@ias.nic.in

Kantha@ias.nic.in

sm.kendrekar@ias.nic.in

Swaroop P

Ashwini Kumar Rai

Sufiyah Faruqui Wali

CADRE: GUJARAT

Cadre: Madhya Pradesh

swaropp@ias.nic.in

ashwinik.rai@ias.nic.in

s.faruqui@ias.nic.in

Nishant Warwade

Vijay Arora

Arvind Singh

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: Odisha

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

nwarwade03@ias.nic.in

vijay.a@ias.nic.in

sarvind@ias.nic.in

20-04-1975

21-04-1964

22-04-1961

22-04-1962

22-04-1979

23-04-1970

23-04-1960

23-04-1969

24-04-1973

25-04-1982

25-04-1978

25-04-1976

28-04-1975

29-04-1960

30-04-1988

30-04-1969

02-05-1977

02-05-1963

03-05-1964

04-05-1961

05-10-1966

05-12-1967

06-05-1964

07-05-1965

07-05-1964

07-05-1984

09-05-1975

10-05-1975

10-05-1978

10-05-1965

11-05-1961

11-05-1982

12-05-1970

12-05-1964

15-05-1977

16-05-1960

16-05-1969

17-05-1959

17-05-1960

17-05-1961

18-05-1964

18-05-1959

19-05-1959

19-05-1983

13-05-1965

13-05-1981

14-05-1963

For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

IPS officers’ birthdays Apr 20, 2020 — May 19, 2020

Guite Thangkhanlal

Sandeep Goel

Meeraj Khalid

Balram Kumar Upadhyay

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: KERALA

thangkhanlal@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sandeepg@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

mkhalid@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

bkupadhyay@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Sanjay Srivastava

Padam Kumar Garg

Hari Prasath S

Anita Punj

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: BIHAR

CADRE: PUNJAB

sanjay_s@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

pkgarg@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

harips@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

anitapunj@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Jaijeet Singh

K Bhavaneswari

SN Seshasai

SR Samuel

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: JAMMU & KASHMIR

jaijeetsingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

kbhavaneswari@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

seshasai@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

srsamuel@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Keshav Kumar

SV Rajasekhar Babu

Sandeep Shandilya

Anand Kumar Srivastava

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: TELANGANA

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

keshavkumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

svrbabu@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sandeep@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

aksrivastava@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Ravi Mohan Saini

K Padmakumar

AK Surolia

Arun Jeji Chakravarthy

CADRE: Gujarat

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: KARNATAKA

ravims@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

padmakumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

aksurolia@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

arunjejic@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Saurabh Srivastava

B Shiva Dhar Reddy

Anand Pratap Singh

Jacob Thomas

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: TELANGANA

CADRE: HIMACHAL PRADESH

CADRE: KERALA

saurabh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

shivadhar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

apsingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

jacobthomas@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Rajesh Kumar Yadav

Niket Kaushik

Atul Verma

N Shivakumar

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: HIMACHAL PRADESH

CADRE: KARNATAKA

yadavrk@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

nkaushik@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

atulverma@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

nshivakumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Siddh Nath Gupta

Sanjay Bainiwal

K Ramachandra Rao

RK Tandon

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

sngupta@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sanjayb@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

kramachandrarao@mail.svpnpa.gov.in rktandon@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

S Narayan Singh

Rajeev Sabharwal

G Venkataraman

Meenakshi Sharma

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

snarayansingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

rsabharwal@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vankataraman@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

meenakshi@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Senthil Avoodai Krishna Raj S Satish Golcha 23-04-1974

30-04-1967

RG Kadam

Raghavendra Suhasaa HG

CADRE: UTTARAKHAND

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

sakraj@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

satish@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

kadam@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

suhasaa@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

PS Sandhu

Bhanu Bhaskar

M Durai

Ashish Batra

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: JHARKHAND

pssandhu@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

bhanubhaskar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

mdurai@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ashishb@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Wabang Jamir

Anil Kumar Jha

Binod Kumar Singh

Arvind Kumar

CADRE: Gujarat

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

wjamir@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

akjha@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

binod@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

arvindkumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Arpit Shukla

Ram Singh

Ashish Bhatia

N Tamil Selvan

CADRE: PUNJAB

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

arpit@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ramsingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ashishbhatia@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

tamilselvan@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

20-04-1961

25-04-1966

20-04-1963

26-04-1961

21-04-1964

26-04-1967

21-04-1961

26-04-1970

21-04-1987

27-04-1965

21-04-1963

28-04-1966

22-04-1973

29-04-1971

22-04-1966

29-04-1964

22-04-1964

23-04-1963

24-04-1971

24-04-1966

30-04-1969

01-05-1973

01-05-1960

02-05-1969

03-05-1976

03-05-1988

04-05-1960

04-05-1964

05-05-1960

05-05-1971

06-05-1965

07-05-1966

08-05-1968

08-05-1960

09-05-1980

09-05-1971

10-05-1962

10-05-1970

11-05-1967

12-05-1973

13-05-1967

14-05-1967

15-05-1960

15-05-1962

16-05-1970

17-05-1972

18-05-1972

19-05-1965

19-05-1961

For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

birthdays Lok Sabha Members Apr 20, 2020 — May 19, 2020

Lok Sabha Members Apr 20, 2020 — May 19, 2020

P Karunakaran

Anto Antony

B Senguttuvan

K Kamaraj

CPI(M) (Kerala)

INC (Kerala)

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

karunakaran.p@sansad.nic.in

anto.antony@sansad.nic.in

senguttuvanb.adv@gmail.com

k.kamaraj@sansad.nic.in

MK Raghavan

Ram Charitra Nishad

Muzaffar Hussain Baig

Raksha Nikhil Khadse

INC (Kerala)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

J&KPDP (Jammu and Kashmir)

BJP (Maharashtra)

mk.raghavan@sansad.nic.in

ram.charitra@sansad.nic.in

muzaffar.baig@sansad.nic.in

nr.khadase@sansad.nic.in

Jayant Sinha

Ravindra Kumar Ray

Sanganna Amarappa Karadi

Mamata Thakur

BJP (Jharkhand)

BJP (Karnataka)

AITC (West Bengal)

jayant.sinha19@sansad.nic.in

ravindrak.ray@sansad.nic.in

bjpdpkpl@gmail.com

mamatathakur67@gmail.com

P Kumar

Satish Chandra Dubey

Shivaji Adhalrao Patil

Sunil Kumar Mondal

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

BJP (Bihar)

SS (Maharashtra)

AITC (West Bengal)

p.kumar@sansad.nic.in

satishchandra.dubey@sansad.nic.in

shivajirao@sansad.nic.in

sunilk.mondal@sansad.nic.in

Naranbhai B Kachhadiya

Elumalai V

Uma Saren

HD Devegowda

BJP (Gujarat)

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

AITC (West Bengal)

JD(S) (Karnataka)

mpamreli@gmail.com

v.elumalai@sansad.nic.in

uma.saren@sansad.nic.in

haradanahalli@yahoo.co.in

Subhash Patel

Uma Bharati

Rita Tarai

Faggan Singh Kulaste

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

BJD (Odisha)

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

subhash.patel@sansad.nic.in

uma.bharati@sansad.nic.in

ritatarai@sansad.nic.in

fskulaste@sansad.nic.in

Prasanna Kumar Patasani

PK Sreemathi Teacher

Anoop Mishra

Sudheer Gupta

BJD (Odisha)

CPI(M) (Kerala)

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

prasanna.patasani@sansad.nic.in

pk.sreemathi@sansad.nic.in

anoop.mishra@sansad.nic.in

sudhirgupta.mp@sansad.nic.in

Ravindra V Gaikwad

Konakalla Narayana Rao

SS (Maharashtra)

TDP (Andhra Pradesh)

prof.ravi@sansad.nic.in

knarayana.rao@sansad.nic.in

20-04-1945

21-04-1952

21-04-1963

21-04-1971

25-04-1955

25-04-1978

27-04-1946

27-04-1960

01-05-1957

01-05-1964

02-05-1958

02-05-1975

03-05-1955

03-05-1959

04-05-1949

04-05-1950

Ponnusamy Venugopal

Sidhant Mohapatra

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

BJD (Odisha)

p.venugopal@sansad.nic.in

sidhant.mohapatra@sansad.nic.in

28-04-1952

04-05-1966

Pradan Baruah

C Mahendran

BJP (Assam)

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

baruah.pradan@gmail.com

mahendran.c@sansad.nic.in

30-04-1965

04-05-1972

Meenakashi Lekhi

Natubhai Gomanbhai Patel

BJP (NCT of Delhi)

BJP (Dadra and Nagar Haveli)

meenakashi.lekhi@sansad.nic.in

dnhmp2009@gmail.com

30-04-1967

04-05-1972

Janardan Mishra

Rama Devi

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

BJP (Bihar)

janardan.bjp@gmail.com

rama.devi19@sansad.nic.in

01-05-1956

05-05-1949

Bijoy Chandra Barman

Kamla Devi Patle

AITC (West Bengal)

BJP (Chhattisgarh)

bc.barman@sansad.nic.in

kd.patle@sansad.nic.in

01-05-1957

05-05-1966

For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

06-05-1956

08-05-1946

08-05-1950

08-05-1956

09-05-1984

10-05-1976

13-05-1956

13-05-1965

13-05-1987

15-05-1967

16-05-1958

18-05-1933

18-05-1959

19-05-1959

Rajya Sabha Members Apr 20, 2020 — May 19, 2020 Ajay Pratap Singh

KK Ragesh

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

CPI(M) (Kerala)

apsingh.mp@sansad.nic.in

kk.ragesh@sansad.nic.in

Shwait Malik

Tiruchi Siva

BJP (Punjab)

DMK (Tamil Nadu)

shwait.malik@sansad.nic.in

tiruchi.siva@sansad.nic.in

Sushil Kumar Gupta

TG Venkatesh

AAP (NCT of Delhi)

TDP (Andhra Pradesh)

mp.sushilgupta@sansad.nic.in

tg.venkatesh@sansad.nic.in

Anil Desai

Thaawarchand Gehlot

SS (Maharashtra)

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

anil.desai@sansad.nic.in

tc.gehlot@sansad.nic.in

Surendra Singh Nagar

Chhaya Verma

SP (Uttar Pradesh)

INC (Chhattisgarh)

surendranagar.mp@sansad.nic.in

chhaya.verma@sansad.nic.in

Hishey Lachungpa

Chunibhai Kanjibhai Gohel

SDF (Sikkim)

BJP (Gujarat)

h.lachungpa@sansad.nic.in

chuni.gohel@sansad.nic.in

28-04-1967

29-04-1963

01-05-1961

02-05-1957

10-05-1965

10-05-1967

13-05-1970

15-05-1954

16-05-1950

18-05-1948

18-05-1962

19-05-1955

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Are you an

Entrepreneur | Civil Servant Civil Society Member | Politician And want to share your ideas, memories or experiences with the world in the form of a book but don’t know how to go about it

Look no further

 We provide A-Z services of book publishing  We cover the full gamut – ideas and book structure, reporting and research, writing, editing, publishing and distribution  We offer specific and part-services too THE TEAM Eminent journalists, academics writers and editors THE SKILLS Combined experience of over 100 years with renowned print media groups such as the Times of India, ABP group, India Today, Outlook, gfiles Considerable experiences in business and political autobiographies Tie-ups with quality printers and all-India distributors Contact : editor@gfilesindia.com For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Tracking SR MOHANTY The 1982-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre has been appointed Director General of RCVP Naronha Academy of Administration and Management, Bhopal.

ABP PANDEY The 1984-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre has been appointed Finance Secretary in Government of India in addition to being Revenue Secretary also.

SUNIL KUMAR GULATI The 1984-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre has been appointed Additional Chief Secretary, Printing and Stationery, Government of Haryana.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lighting the lamp at 9 p.m. to express solidarity with people of the country in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, in New Delhi.

IQBAL SINGH BAINS The 1985-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre has been made Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh.

SUMEET JERATH The 1985-batch IAS officer of the AssamMeghalaya cadre and Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Official Language.

VARINDER SINGH KUNDU The 1986-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary, Fisheries Department, Government of Haryana.

SANJEEVA KUMAR The 1986-batch IAS officer of the AssamMeghalaya cadre who is Special Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been designated as the official spokesman of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to brief the press on steps taken by the Government of India and other agencies on management of COVID-19.

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

SUBRAT SAHU

RABINDRA AGRAWAL

The 1992-IAS batch IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre has been appointed Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Secretary

The 1997-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre has been appointed Executive Director (General) at Joint Secretary level, Food Corporation of India (FCI), New Delhi.

NEERJA SEKHAR

KP KARTHIKEYAN

The 1999-batch IAS officer of the J&K cadre has been appointed new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Jammu & Kashmir.

The 1993-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre has joined central deputation as

The 1992-batch IAS officer has been appointed Additional Director of Tamil

BASEER AHMAD KHAN

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacting with the Chief Ministers of States via video conferencing to discuss measures to combat COVID-19, in New Delhi.

Nadu Petro Products Ltd, representing Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited.

HIRDESH KUMAR

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Tracking The 2000-batch IAS officer and Divisional Commissioner Kashmir has been appointed as fourth Advisor to Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu.

ANDHRA PRADESH

MAHARASHTRA

SIKKIM

PALKA SAHNI

LV Subramanyam (1983) Preeti Sudan (1983)

Sanjeevanee Kutty (1983) Shreekant Singh (1986)

Tenzing Dolkar (2005)

The 2004-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre has been appointed Special Resident Commissioner, Bihar Bhawan, New Delhi.

BIHAR

MADHYA PRADESH

C Pardhasarathi (1993)

Rabindra Panwar (1985)

MANJUNATH BHAJANTRI

GUJARAT

Renu Pant (2000) Sabha Jeet Yadav (2006)

The 2011-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre has been appointed Private Secretary to Suresh Angadi, Minister of State for Railways.

Arvind Agrawal (1984) Atanu Chakraborty (1985)

HITESH CHANDRA AWASTHI

Moving On: IAS officers retiring in March 2020

HIMACHAL PRADESH Madhu Bala Sharma (1999) Raghubir Singh Verma (2011)

TELANGANA TAMIL NADU G Govindaraj (2005)

NAGALAND M Patton (1998) Alan Gonmei (2003)

UTTARAKHAND

ODISHA

UNION TERRITORY MM Kutty (1985)

S Ramaswamy (1986)

The 1985-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre has been appointed Director General of Police (DGP), Uttar Pradesh.

HARYANA Dhanpat Singh (1985)

Arun Kumar Panda (1984) Prasanna Kumar Jena (2005) Dr. Tribikram Pradhan (2006) Prafulla Kumar Rout (2012)

VIVEK JOHRI

JAMMU & KASHMIR

RAJASTHAN

The 1984-batch IPS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre has been appointed Director General of Police (DGP), Madhya Pradesh.

Braj Raj Sharma (1984) Salma Hamid (2004)

VK SINGH

N Sivasailam (1985) GC Vrushabendra Murthy

Pritam Singh (1984) Laxmi Narayan Soni (20003) Modudan Detha (2005) Vinita Bohra (2006) Dinesh Chand Jain (2007)

The 1984-batch IPS officer of the MP cadre has been appointed Director, Sports in Madhya Pradesh.

KARNATAKA

WEST BENGAL Gopal Krishna (1983) Amit Chaudhuri (2006)

KAMAL NAYAN CHAUBEY

ABHAY AHUJA

PULLERI VADHYARILLATH

The 1986-batch IPS officer of the Jharkhand cadre has been posted as Officer on Special Duty, Police Modernization Camp, New Delhi in the rank and pay of DGP.

Abhay Ahuja has been appointed Additional Judge of Bombay High Court.

He has been appointed Additional Judge of Kerala High Court.

SANJEEB KUMAR PANIGRAHI

PROTIK PRAKASH BANERJEE

NASIR KAMAL

Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi has been appointed Judge of Orissa High Court.

He has been appointed Additional Judge of Calcutta High Court.

The 1986-batch IPS officer of the UP cadre has been appointed as Director, NICFS.

JUSTICE SHAMPA SARKAR

RAJNESH OSWAL

Justice Shampa Sarkar has been appointed Additional Judge of the Calcutta High Court.

He been appointed as a Judge of Common High Court for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh.

SANTOSH MEHRA The 1987-batch IPS officer of the Telangana cadre has been appointed ADG BPR&D.

PARAMBIR SINGH The 1988-batch IPS officer has been appointed Police Commissioner of Mumbai.

JUSTICE RAVI KRISHAN KAPUR Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur has been appointed Additional Judge of the Calcutta High Court.

MANOJ SHASHIDHAR The 1994-batch IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre has joined the CBI as Joint Director in the Headquarters.

NITISH KUMAR The 1999-IPS officer of the J&K cadre has been empanelled for holding Joint Secretary

www.indianbuzz.com

or equivalent posts in Government of India.

BN REDDY

SANJAY KUMAR PANDA

The 1993-batch IFS officer has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

The 1991-batch Indian Foreign Service officer has been appointed Ambassador of India to the Republic of Turkey.

RUDRA GAURAV SHRESTH The 1999-batch IFS officer has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Prime

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office (PMO) .

SUSHIL KUMAR DAILA The 2000-batch IFS officer of the AssamMeghalaya cadre has been appointed Director in the Department of Land Resources.

VINOD J BAHADE The 2007-batch IFS officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Steel for a period of three years.

DHEERAJ RASTOGI The 1994-batch IRS-C &CE officer has been appointed Senior Vice President (Value Added Services) in Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) on deputation basis.

KAMAL KUMAR AGARWAL

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan takes stock of preparedness to overcome COVID-19 during his visit to AIIMS Jhajjhar, in Haryana.

The 1997-batch ITS officer has been appointed Director in the Election Commission of India.

GENERAL MM NARAVANE

SK GOEL

Chief of Army Staff took over as Colonel of the Regiment of 61st Cavalry.

The 1982-batch IRSSE officer has been posted as Director General, IRISET.

REAR ADM ANTONY GEORGE

DEVINDER KUMAR The 1997-batch IDSE officer has been appointed Director in the Department of Rural Development.

PIYUSH RANJAN The IDSE officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Defence.

NIRAJ KUMAR GAYAGI The 1997-batch IDAS officer has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Justice, Delhi.

RAVI KANT GUPTA The IRS-IT officer has been appointed Private Secretary to Piyush Goyal, Minister for Railways and Commerce & Industry.

MANISH KUMAR GUPTA The 2007-batch IP & TAFS officer has been appointed Director (Finance) at Deputy Secretary level in National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

TANWEER QAMAR MOHAMMAD The 1994-batch officer of the Indian Postal Service has been appointed

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

The Rear Admiral Antony has assumed charge as the Chief Staff Officer (Training) at Headquarters, Southern Naval Command.

REAR ADM SANJAY JASJIT SINGH The Rear Admiral has assumed charge as the Commandant of the prestigious Naval War College.

REAR ADM SANJAY VATSAYAN

as Commander of Eastern Fleet of Indian Navy.

REAR ADM SANJAY JASJIT SINGH Rear Admiral has assumed charge as the Commandant of the prestigious Naval War College.

LT GEN YK JOSHI The Lt Gen has assumed command as Northern Army Commander

LT GEN UPENDRA DWIVEDI The Lt Gen has assumed charge as Commander of Strategic & Rising Star Corps.

The Rear Admiral has assumed charge

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved empanelment of the following officers of 1987, & 1988 batch officers for holding Secretary level posts at the Centre Rameshwar Prasad Gupta 1987, Sudhanshu Panday 1987, Ajay Tirkey 1987, Rajesh Kr. Chaturvedi 1987, Praveen Kr. Srivastava 1988, Jishnu Barua 1988, Aramane Giridhar 1988, Arvind Kumar Sharma 1988, Anita Karwal 1988, S Aparna 1988, Bidyut Bihari Swain 1988, Mukesh Puri 1988, Ali Raza Rizvi 1988, Tarun Bajaj 1988, Arun Kumar Mehta 1988, Tk Jose 1988, Anil Kumar Jha 1988, Apurva Chandra 1988, Arvind Singh 1988, Sanjay A. Chahande 1988, Rajiv Bansal 1988, Anjali Bhawara 1988, Jatindra Nath Swain 1988, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu 1988, Alok Kumar 1988, Arvind Kumar 1988, S Radha Chauhan 1988, Indevar Pandey 1988, Jyoti 1987, Neel Kamal Darbari 1987, B Anand 1987, Manoj Kumar 1988, Alka Tiwari 1988, Praveen Garg 1988

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.

NITIN D WAKANKAR The Indian Information Service officer has been appointed Director General, BOC, New Delhi.

MONIDEEPA M MUKHERJEE The Indian Information Service officer has been appointed Director General, Publications Division, New Delhi with additional charge of Press Registrar, RNI, New Delhi

SOMNATH GHOSH The 1977-batch IFS officer has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Defence for an overall period of three years.

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan take stock of preparedness to overcome COVID-19.

PK AGARWAL The Director (Marketing), Cotton Corporation of India Limited, has been appointed Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Cotton Corporation of India.

RAVINDER SINGH DHILLON The Director (Projects), PFC, has been appointed Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Power Finance Corporation (PFC).

Permanent Judges of Karnataka High Court The Central Govt has appointed JUSTICE MOHAMMAD NAWAZ, HAREKOPPATHIMMANNA GOWDA NARENDRA PRASAD, ASHOK GOLAPPA NIJAGANNAVAR, HETHUR PUTTASWAMYGOWDA SANDESH AND KRISHNAN NATARAJAN, as Permanent Judges of the Karnataka High Court with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices.

SANJAY KUMAR The 1984-batch IFS officer of Jharkhand cadre has been appointed Director General of Forests and Special Secretary (DGF &SS), Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (EF&CC).

RAJESH MISHRA The IPoS officer has been promoted to the grade of Director General Postal Services.

ARUNDHATY GHOSH

Reshuffle of IAS officers in Maharashtra VINITA VAID SINGAL has been appointed as Managing Director, Maharashtra State Film, Stage and Cultural Affairs Development Corporation, Mumbai, while VIJAY SINGHAL is Commissioner-cum-Director, Municipal Administration, Mumbai and VIPIN ITANKAR was made Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad, Latur has been posted as Collector, Nanded in Maharashtra. ASHISH SAXENA has been appointed as Secretary, GAD and DINESH JAIN is Secretary, Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPSC). MAUSUMI GUHA ROY (DAS) has been appointed Additional Director, ATI and TSHERING Y BHUTIA was made ADM and DLLRO, Kalimpong in West Bengal.

The 1986-batch IPoS officer and Member (Operations), Postal Services Board, has been appointed Director General Postal Services

been appointed Vice Chairman of the Rajasthan Economic Transformation Advisory Council.

NITIN WAKANKAR

BIMAL JULKA

The 1989-batch IIS officer has taken charge as Director General of Bureau of Outreach & Communication (BOC) which has two vertices- DAVP and Field Publicity(DFP). He will look after DFP.

The 1979 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre has been appointed as Chief Information Commissioner.

ARVIND MAYARAM The former 1978 batch IAS officer has

www.indianbuzz.com

AJAY SINGH The 1983 batch IAS officer has been appointed as Vice Chairman State Planning Commission in Chhattisgarh.

SC GARG The 1983 batch former IAS officer of Rajasthan Cadre has been appointed Advisor to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister in the rank of Cabinet Minister.

Justice RAHUL CHATURVEDI The Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court has been appointed as Permanent Judge of the Allahabad High Court.

NRIPENDRA MISRA Prime Minister Narendra Modiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

President Ram Nath Kovind with the recipients of the Lalit Kala Akademi Awards, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi. The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Prahlad Singh Patel and Tourism Secretary Yogendra Tripathi are also seen.

principal secretary will head the temple construction committee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust.

BHASKAR KHULBE The 1983-batch retired IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre has been appointed Advisor to the Prime Minister.

AMARJEET SINHA The 1983-batch retired IAS officer of the Bihar cadre has been appointed Advisor to the Prime Minister.

IPS promoted as DIG in Haryana The following IPS officers 2006 batch of Haryana cadre have been promoted from Superintendent of Police (SP) to Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) grade in Haryana: SHASHANK ANAND, ASHWIN, SUKBHIR SINGH, ARUN SINGH, ASHOK KUMAR and OM PRAKASH. New Postings in Delhi Police SD MISHRA has been appointed as Additional CP, Traffic, while MANDEEP SINGH RANDHAWA was made Additional CP, Crime and PRAMOD KUMAR MISHRA is DCP, Rohini district. Similarly, SANJAY BHATIA was made DCP, Central district and RAJEEV RANJAN is now DCP, IGI, Airport in Delhi Government.

M AJIT KUMAR

SARASWATI PRASAD

The 1984-batch IRS(C&CE) officer has been appointed Chairman of CBIC.

The 1985-batch IAS officer of AssamMeghalaya cadre has been appointed Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST).

ROHIT YADAV The 2002-batch IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre has been appointed Joint Secretary in Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office.

PAWAN KUMAR AGARWAL The 1985-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre has been appointed Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs.

USHA SHARMA The 1985-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre has been appointed Secretary, Department of Youths Affairs.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

RAJEEV RANJAN The 1985-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed Secretary, Department of Fisheries.

BARUN MITRA

Gujarat cadre has been appointed Secretary, Department of Defence Production.

DEBASISH PANDA The 1987-batch IAS officer of the UP cadre has been appointed Secretary, Department of Financial Services.

RAJIV BANSAL The 1988-batch IAS officer of the Nagaland cadre has taken over as new CMD, Air India.

The 1987-batch IAS officer of the Manipur cadre has been appointed Secretary, Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice.

PRAMOD AGRAWAL

RAJ KUMAR

PUNEET KUMAR

The 1987-batch IAS officer of the

The 1993-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre

A 1991-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre has been appointed Chairmancum-Managing Director, Coal India Limited.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Union Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh chairing the meeting of Group of Ministers to review measures related to COVID-19 situation, in New Delhi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other Union Ministers are also seen.

Reshuffle of IAS officers in Delhi G NARENDRA KUMAR had been posted as CMD, DSCSC, SANJEEV KHIRWAR has been posted as Principal Secretary(Environment & Forest), RAJESH PRASAD has been posted as Principal Secretary (UD) and Director (Local Bodies) with additional charge of Principal Secretary (co-operation), MANISHA SAXENA has been posted as Secretary (Education) with additional charge as Secretary (TTE) and Secretary (Higher Education), SANDEEP KUMAR has been posted as Secretary (Finance) with additional charge of Secretary (Planning), MANOJ KUMAR has been posted as Secretary (GAD), VIKAS ANAND, Secretary, Industries had been given additional charge as Secretary (Tourism), MS PADMINI SINGLA had been posted as Secretary (Health) with additional charge as Secretary (Power), VIVEK PANDEY had been posted as Commissioner (Trade & Taxes), MS GARIMA GUPTA, MD, DSFDC had been handed over additional charge of Special Secretary, PWD, SHILPA SHINDE, Special Commissioner, Trade and Taxes had been handed over additional charge as Member Secretary, Delhi Commission for Women, UDIT PRAKASH RAI had been posted as MD, DSFDC, Ms NEHA BANSAL, Deputy Commissioner West Revenue Department had been handed over additional charge as Special Secretary (Art, Culture & Language) and MS PATIL PRANJAL LAHENSINGH had been posted as SDM, Vasant Vihar, Revenue Department.

www.indianbuzz.com

Reshuffle of IAS officers in Maharashtra Dr. NITIN KAREER, Additional Chief Secretary ,Urban Development Department, has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue, Registration and Stamp Duty); MANU KUMAR SRIVASTAVA, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue, Registration and Stamp Duty) has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary (Forest); IS CHAHAL, Principal Secretary (Water Resources), has been posted as Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai; B VENUGOPAL REDDY, Principal Secretary (Forest) has been posted as Principal Secretary (Industries), Industry, Energy and Labour Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai; and SANJAY KHANDARE, has been posted as Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai. Reshuffle of IAS officers in Madhya Pradesh SANJAY KUMAR SHUKLA has been appointed Principal Secretary, PHE and Medical Education and MD, Madhya Pradesh Water Corporation; DEEPALI RASTOGI was made Principal Secretary, Tribal Affairs & Technical Education, Skill Development, Employment and OSDcumCommissioner, Tribal Affairs; SHIV SHEKHAR SHUKLA is Principal Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs; DP AHUJA has been appointed Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry; UMAKANT UMRAO is Principal Secretary, Cooperative and Horticulture and Food Processing; SUKHBIR SINGH is Commissioner-cum-Director, Institutional Finance and Secretary, Finance; P NARHARI is Commissioner, Urban Administration and Development and ex-officio Secretary, Uran Development and Housing and Secretary, Public Relations and MD Madhya Pradesh; MUKESH KUMAR SHUKLA is Commissioner, Higher Education; TEJASVI NAIK is Deputy Secretary, Secretariat; RAKESH SINGH is Collector, Betul; SATENDRA SINGH is Deputy Secretary, Secretariat; SHILENDRA is Collector, Chhatarpur; MOHIT BINDAS is Deputy Secretary, Secretariat; AJAY KATESARIYA is Collector, Satna.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

has been appointed Principal Secretary, Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe Development in Kerala.

SANJAY GARG The 1994-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre has been appointed Resident Commissioner, Kerala House, at New Delhi.

DEVESH KUMAR The 1998-batch IAS officer of the HP cadre has been appointed Secretary to Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

DEBASISH PRUSTY The 2000-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre has been appointed DCM in Belgium embassy.

S SATYANARAYANA The 2006-batch IAS officer of the AP cadre has been appointed Director, Census Operations and Director of Citizen Registration, Andhra Pradesh.

PREMANANDA KHUNTIA The 2006-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre has been appointed Director of Census Operations and Director of Citizen Registration, Odisha.

VIJENDRA SINGH RAWAT The 2007-batch IAS officer of the UT cadre has been appointed Director of Census Operations/Director of Citizen Registration, Lakshadweep.

CHHAVI BHARDWAJ Appointed Officer on Special Duty in Secretariat in Madhya Pradesh.

RAHUL REKHAWAR The 2011-batch IAS officer has been appointed Collector, Beed in Maharashtra.

VIJAYA K The 2013-batch IAS officer of the AP cadre has been appointed to the newly created post of Staff Officer to Chief Secretary.

JAWED ASHRAF The 1991-batch Indian Foreign Service officer has been appointed the next Ambassador of India to France.

Reshuffle of IPS officers in Haryana AJAY SINGHAL has been appointed ADGP, SVB, Panchkula; SANDEEP KHIRWAR has been appointed IGP of Sunaria Complex; DR HANIF QURESH is AGP, IRB Bhondsi with additional charge of DG-cum-Secretary, New & Renewable Energy; Y PURAN KUMAR has been appointed IGP, Prisons Panchkula; ASHWIN is DIG, Railways & Commando; SUKHBIR SINGH is DIG, SCRB, Madhuban; DR ARUN SINGH is DIG, Sirsa; ASHOK KUMR is DIG, Jhajjar; Om Prakash is DIG, PTC Sunaria; PANKAJ NAIN is SP, SCB; KULDEEP SINGH is SP, PTC Sunaria; SHIV CHARAN is SP, SCB; BALWAN SINGH is SP, Dadri; VINOD KUMAR is SP, HPUs; SULOCHANA KUMARI is SP, Mahendragarh; RAJESH DUGGAL is DCP, Traffic, Faridabad; SANGEETA RANI is SP, Bhiwani; MANISHA is SP, Panipat; VIRENDRA KUMAR is SP, STF Gurugram; DEEPAK GAHLAWAT is SP, Palwal; JASHANDEEP SINGH is SP, Sonipat; KIRAT PAL SINGH is SP, Commando Karnal; SMITI CHAUDHARY is Commandant 1st Bn, HAP; HIMANSHU GARG is SP, Yamunagar; WASSEM AKRAM is SP, Telecommunications; GANGA RAM POONIA is SP, Hisar; RAJESH KUMAR is SP, Fatehabad; LOKENDER SINGH is SP, Hansi; NITIKA GAHLAUT is DCP, HQ, Gurugram; SHASHANKAR KUMAR SAWAN is SP, Kaithal; MOHIT HANDA is DCP, Panchkula; CHANDER MOHAN is additional charge of DCP, Traffic; NARENDRA BIJARNIYA is SP, Nuh; MAQSOOD AHMED is DCP, Ballabgarh, Faridabad; and DHEERAJ KUMAR is posted as DCP, South Gurugram. Reshuffle of IPS officers in Andhra Pradesh M DEEPIKA has been appointed Special Officer, DISHA in the office of DGP (HoPF); KRM KISHORE KUMAR is Chairman, AP Road Safety Authority; KUMAR VISHWAJEET has been appointed Principal Secretary to Government, Home Department; KRM KISHORE KUMAR has been posted as Addl. DGP, Railways; KRIPANAND TRIPATHI UJELA is directed to report at DGP (HoPF), AP, Mangalagiri; M SUNIL KUMAR NAIK is DIG, CID; ABHISHEK MOHANTY is Group Commander (Admin), Greyhounds; P HARI KUMAR is directed to report at office of DGP (HoPF), AP, Mangalagiri; and VINEET BRIJLAL gets additional charge of the post of Director, Prohibition & Excise. Reshuffle of IPS officers in Madhya Pradesh DC SAGAR has been appointed ADG, JNPA, Sagar; SAJID FARID SHAPU is IG, Home Guard, Jabalpur; AVINASH SHARMA is IG, Disaster Management & Home Guard, Bhopal; VINIT KHANNA has been appointed DIG, PHQ, Bhopal; RUDOLF ALVARESH R J is Commandant, 6th Bt SAF, Jabalpur; MANOJ KUMAR SINGH is Assistant IG, PHQ, Bhopal; MS SAVITA SOHANE is Commandant, 32nd Bt SAF, Ujjain; RAHUL KUMAR LODHA is Commandant Hawk Force, PHQ, Bhopal; VIVEK SINGH is Commandant, 7th Bt SAF, Bhopal; PANKAJ KUMAWAT is Commandant, 2nd Bt, SAF, Gwalior; ABHIJIT RANJAN is Commandant, 35th Bt, SAF, Mandla; MS NIVEDITA GUPTA is Commandant, 14th Bt SAF, Gwalior; AKHILESH PATEL is Commandant, 25th Bt SAF, Bhopal; ASHUTOSH BAGRI is Commandant, 24th BT SAF, Jaora, Ratlam; DHARMRAJ MEENA is Commandant, 8th Bt SAF, Chhindwara; SAMIR SAURABH is Additional SP, Chhatarpur; AGAM JAIN is Additional SP, Jabalpur; RAJAT SAKLECHA is Additional SP, Bhopal; AMIT TOLANI is Additional SP, Indore; NIVEDITA NAIDU is Additional SP, PHQ, Bhopal; AMIT KUMAR is Additional SP, Jabalpur; HANSRAJ SINGH is Additional SP, Morena; ALOK KUMAR SINGH is SP, PTS, Rewa; SIDDHARTH CHAUDHARY is Assistant IG, PHQ, Bhopal; and AKHILESH JHA has been appointed DIG/ Commandant, 34th Bt, SAF, Dhar.

GOPAL BAGLAY

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

The 1992-batch Indian Foreign Service officer has been appointed the next High Commissioner of India to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

ABHISHEK SINGH The 2003-batch Indian Foreign Service officer has been appointed the next Ambassador of India to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

SN SRIVASTAVA The 1985-batch IPS officer of the UT cadre has been appointed new Police Commissioner, Delhi.

G VENUGOPAL REDDY Reshuffle of IAS officers in Bihar SANJAY KUMAR AGRAWAL has been appointed Administrator, Bihar Road Transport Corporation; SHYAMAL KISHORE PATHAK is Director, Land Acquisition; Anshul Agrawal is Municipal Commissioner, Nalanda. Besides, RICHI PANDEY has been appointed Deputy Development Commissionercum-Chief Executive Officer, Patna Zilla Panchayat in Bihar

The 1985-batch IRSEE officer has been appointed Deputy Director General (DDG) at Joint Secretary level, UIDAI.

RAJIV KUMAR KANODIA The 1993-batch CWES officer has been appointed Director in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

SACHIN DHANIA The 2010-batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

HITESH CHANDRA AWASTHI

D KAYAN CHAKRAVARTY

UNMESH SHARAD WAGH

The 1985-batch IPS officer of the UP cadre has been appointed Director General of Police in Uttar Pradesh.

The 2010-batch IPS officer of the MP cadre has been inducted as SP in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The 2000-batch IRS-C&C officer has been appointed Deputy Chairman in Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).

PRAVEEN SOOD

VIPUL AGGARWAL

SHAMBHU SHARMA

The 1986-batch IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre has been appointed new DGP of Karnataka.

The 2001-batch IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre has been appointed Deputy CEO, National Health Authority.

AK SHUKLA

RP MEENA

The 1986-batch IPS officer has been appointed Member, Tripura Police Accountability Commission.

The 2010-batch AGMUT cadre IPS officer has been appointed DCP, South East in Delhi Police.

The 2003-batch IOFS (Indian Ordinance Factory Services) officer has been appointed Joint Adviser (Mitigation Project) at Director level, National Disaster Management Authority under MHA.

PANKAJ SINGH

AJAY SAXENA

The 1988-batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre has joined BSF as ADG.

The 1984-batch IFS officer of the AGMUT cadre has taken charge as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forests) in Arunachal Pradesh.

AMIT GARG The 1993-batch IPS officer of the AP cadre has been appointed Joint Director at IG level in SVP National Police Academy.

DEEPANSHU KABRA The 1997-batch IPS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre has been posted as IGP, Bilaspur Range.

JAIDEEP SINGH The 1997-batch IPS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre has been appointed Minister (Personnel) in the Embassy of India in Berlin

RATAN LAL DANGI The 2003-batch IPS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre has been appointed In-charge IGP, Surguja range, Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh.

www.indianbuzz.com

P SUBRAMANYAM

JAI PRAKASH PANDEY The 2003-batch IRPS officer has been appointed Director in the Department of School Education & Literacy.

RAJESH CHANDRA The 2003-batch IDAS officer Addl IFA Navy, has been posted as Director, CVC.

The 1992-batch IFS officer of the UT cadre has been appointed Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in A&N Island.

NAVIN KUMAR VIDYARTHI

AK SRIVASTAVA The 1997-batch IFS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed Chief Vigilance Commissioner, NHPC.

The 2006-batch ISS officer has been appointed Director in the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) under the NITI Aayog.

RAKESH DAHIYA

KANISHK KANT SRIVASTAVA

The 2010-batch IRS(C&CE) officer has been appointed OSD in Tax Research Unit (TRU)-II in CBIC on loan basis.

The 2006-batch ISS officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals.

NANDEESH SHUKLA The IRTS officer of the 2007 batch has been appointed Deputy Chairman of Deendayal Port Trust.

The 2004-batch ISS officer has been appointed Director in the NITI Aayog.

AKHILESH KUMAR

BHAGWANDAS GAJGHATE The 2008-batch IOFS officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

Department of Defence Production.

RAHUL RAJA The 2014-batch IRS (C&CE) batch officer has been appointed OSD to Chairman; CBIC was Under Secretary in GST Council Secretariat.

KUMAR PADMAPANI BORA The 2009-batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles.

KARAN THAPAR The 2009-batch IRS-C&CE officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

SAMSHER ALI The 2009-batch ICAS office has been appointed Director (Finance), CPWD, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.

ARBIND PRASAD The 1994-batch ITS officer has been appointed as CVO, HEC, Ranchi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi after handing over the Chaadar to be offered at Dargah Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Ajmer Sharif to Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, in New Delhi

IAS officers get new postings in Karnataka Dr. DILEESH SASI, a 2017 batch IAS officer has been appointed Assistant Commissioner, Haveri Sub Division, Haveri; SAJID AHMAD MULLA is Special Land Acquisition officer, NHAI, Honnavara; and BHARATH SELVAN was made Assistant Commissioner, Bhatkal Sub Division, Bhatkal in Karnataka.

SACHIN DHANIA The 2010-batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

YOGENDER CHAUDHRY The 1989-batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister of Haryana.

Reshuffle IAS officers in MP VISHESH GARHPALE has been appointed CEO, MP Rural Road Development Authority, Bhopal, while ANAYA DWIVEDI is MD, MP Tourism Development Corporation, Bhopal and KRISHNA TRIPATHI is Joint Chief Electoral Officer in Madhya Pradesh. JITENDRA SINGH RAJE is Collector, Neemuch; S VISHWANATHAN is Collector, Guna and KAUSHALENDRA VIKRAM SINGH is Collector, Gwalior. Besides, ANURAG CHAUDHARY is Deputy Secretary, Secretariat; BHASKAR LAKSHAKAR is Deputy Secretary, Secretariat; DR PANKAJ JAIN is Collector, Vidisha; ANURAG VERMA is Collector, HARDA and AJAY SINGH GANGWAR has been appointed Commissioner, Sagar division.

HARIDAS SAHA The IRS-IT officer has been appointed Additional CIT (OSD), Kolkata, WB & Sikkim Region.

S BALACHANDRA IYER The IRPS officer has been appointed Deputy Director General, Dept. of Telecommunications for a period of five years.

SUMIT GARG The 2010-batch IRS-C&CE officer has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals.

Reshuffle of IAS officers in Maharashtra RANJIT KUMAR has been appointed as Director, Information & Technology, MG ARDAD, was made Commissioner, Soil and Water Conservation, LS MALI is Deputy Secretary, Rural Development. Besides, VIJAY SINGHAL as Municipal Commissioner Municipal Corporation, Thane; GANGATHARAN D, Collector, Dhule as Municipal Commissioner, Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation, Virar in Maharashtra, ABHIJIT BANGAR as Additional Departmental Commissioner, Recruitment and UA JADHAV as Deputy Secretary, Rural Development, IPS Officers promoted as Director General and Equivalent posts M MAHENDRA REDDY, a 1986 batch IPS officer of Telengana cadre, ASHIT MOHAN a 1985 batch IPS officer of Karnataka cadre, B SANDHY, a 1988 batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre, PRADEEP KAPUR a 1986 batch IPS officer of Orissa cadre.

PRATEEK JHAJHARIA The 2011-batch officer of Indian

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

Do you have a strong opinion on an issue but no forum to air it? Do you have a photograph that is worth a thousand words but nowhere to publish it? And,if you think you are Ghalib reborn but no one else thinks so,donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t despair. Just email your opinion,photograph, poems,or even what you scribbled about corruption last night to editor@gfilesindia.com

... about, for, of and by the powerhouse that runs the Indian growth engine

www.indianbuzz.com

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. vol. 14,13, issue issue 1 | 12 Mar-April | March 2020

Postal Service has been appointed Commissioner, Labour and Managing Director, Rajasthan Skill and Livelihood Development Corporation.

TANWEER QAMAR MOHAMMAD The 1994-batch IPoS office has been approved for appointment as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.

PRABHAKAR The 2007-batch IAS officer of the Sikkim cadre has been appointed MD, Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation with additional charge of Additional Secretary, Tourism. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman with the staff and officers of the Budget Division and Budget Press, at a high tea session, in New Delhi

IPS officers Empanelled as ADG or equivalent posts in Govt of India D TIRUMALA RAO a 1989-batch IPS officer of AP cadre, MOHAMMAD AKIL a 1989-batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre, PN SARAWADE a 1989-batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre. UMESH SHARRAF a 1989-batch IPS officer of Telangana cadre, KULWANT KUMAR a 1990-batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre. SANJIV RANJAN OJHA a 1989-batch IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh, D TIRUMALA RAO a 1989-batch IPS officer of AP cadre, AJAY KUMAR TOMAR a 1989-batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, and SK JHA a 1989-batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre. New Appointments in CBI MOHD SUVEZ HAQUE a 2005-batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre has been promoted as Deputy Inspector General, (CBI). VIJAYENDRA BIDARI a 2005-batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre promoted as DIG, CBI. PREM KUMAR GAUTAM a 2005-IPS officer of UP cadre promoted as DIG, CBI Reshuffle of IPS officers in Delhi Police CHINMOY BISWAL, 2008 batch, has been appointed as DCP, Hq, MANJEET, 2015 batch, has come on inter-state transfer from Bihar to AGMUT cadre (Delhi segment), DCP Metro and MD AKHTAR RIZVI will be Addl DCP-I, North East Distt, Delhi. Reshuffle of IPS officers in UP VISHWAJIT MAHAPATRA has been appointed ADG, Telecom, RAVI JOSEPH is DGP, GSO and JYOTI NARAYAN is IG, Law and Order. N RAVINDRA is DG, Provisioning and Budget; VIJAY PRAKASH is IG, FireService; DHARMVIR is IG, Home Guard Lucknow; SHAGUN GAUTAM is SP, Rampur; SANTOSH KUMAR MISHRA is SP, PHQ, Prayagraj; MANOJ KUMAR SONKAR is Commandant 8th Bt PAC Meerut and SURYAKANT TRIPATHI was made Commandant 44th Bt PSC Meerut. Reshuffle of Deputy Commissioners in Customs and Central Excise B JAYANT MALAYANDI, 2014 batch, posted at Mundra Custom, Ahmadabad Zone, MD SAIM, 2014 batch, to join GST Intelligence unit, Hyderabad and SIDHDHART JAIN, 2013 batch, joins GST Policy wing, CBIC hq.

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

VIJAY KUMAR The 2007-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadres has been appointed Additional Secretary, Agriculture.

HIMANSHU KUMAR RAI The 2010-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadres has been appointed Additional Secretary, GAD in Bihar.

M AARTHI The 2012-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation Limited (TIIC), as a Nominee Director on the Board.

SUNAINA TOMAR The 1989-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre has been appointed Additional Director of Torrent Power Limited.

VISHWAPATI TRIVEDI The former 1977-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre has been appointed Chairman of the enquiry authority by the MHA to conduct independent enquiry of senior officials.

SUPRATIM BANDYOPADHYAY He has been appointed Chairperson, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

OP RAWAT The 1977-batch former IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre has been appointed Chairman of the Development Support Centre, Ahmedabad.

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

...by the way Petronet largesse

Yogi: No time for UP IAS week

he IAS Association of Uttar Pradesh was clueless when Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath refused to give time for the annual IAS Week. The event is seen as an informal bridge between the legislature and executive. It is expected from the Chief Minister to participate in the social milieu for a smooth and congenial functional relationship. The main attraction of IAS Week is the inaugural address by the Chief Minister in which he addresses over 600 IAS officers of the Uttar Pradesh cadre. The Chief Minister, in his speech, also lays the roadmap of development before the officers. This is the second time that IAS Week has been cancelled in the state. The tradition was discontinued during the regime of former Chief Minister Mayawati between 2007 and 2012. It was again continued during former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s tenure. It was celebrated in the beginning of Yogi Adityanath regime in 2017 and 2018 but in 2019 circumstances forced a cancellation. The event normally takes place in December but it was postponed in 2019 due to the Ayodhya verdict and other important events, including the anti-CAA protests. Senior IAS officers feel this shunning of civil services by a particular political class may have cascading effect on governance. Meanwhile, the executive committee of the Uttar Pradesh IAS Association has formally elected its new office-bearers. Deepak Trivedi, the chairman of Revenue Board, has been elected president of the UP IAS Association. Ranjan Kumar, Secretary, PWD, has been elected the secretary. g

www.indianbuzz.com

hat happens when a Chairman and Managing Director of a Public Sector Undertaking distribute largesse to their near and dear ones? Managing Director and CEO of Petronet LNG Prabhat Singh’s action speaks for itself. On July 12, 2016, Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) received a proposal from a firm called “Custom Made Film” for making a documentary film on PLL’s Dahej Plant at a cost of `15,81,250 inclusive of 15% service tax. PLL processed the proposal the very same day (PR No 200-141 dated 12.07.2006) and issued a work order. On August 1, 2016, PLL made an advance payment of `7,21,875. The project was delayed and the deadline was accordingly extended. PLL did not follow any tender process. An investigation revealed that a company named Custom Made Pvt Ltd was incorporated in Mumbai with Virat Singh Kumpavat (65% shares) and Roli Purinma Singh (35% shares). Ms. Roli is the elder daughter of Prabhat Singh, albeit she resigned on August 30, 2017 and transferred her shares to Lavisha V Kumpavat, wife of Virat Singh Kumpavat. On March 7, 2018, the name of the company was changed to ‘Custom Made Films Pvt Ltd’. Prabhat Singh reportedly has also really been celebrating the company’s Founder’s Day on April 2 in gala style. The 20th Foundation Celebrations was held on May 12, 2017 and the Soul of India programme was organised at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi. A firm called “Giant Reel” submitted a proposal to PLL. The contract was awarded for `36.27 lakh plus 15% taxes. PLL paid `18.13 lakh as 50% advance on May 11, 2017. The firm is owned by Lavisha Virat Singh Kumpawat. She is the same person who took over the directorship of Custom Made Pvt Ltd from Mr Singh’s daughter on August 30, 2017 and also to whom his daughter sold her 35% shares. The 21st Foundation Day was organised on June 15, 2018. On June 1, 2018 the contract was awarded to Pine Tree Pictures Ltd on nomination basis at `55 lakh plus taxes. The promoter of this company is Gautam Chaturvedi who is reportedly a friend of Prabhat Singh and his family. gfiles contacted PLL’s spokesperson but he could not reply to any allegations. g

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine

gfiles inside the government

vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

...by the way Tackling Covid

Listing blues

ovid-19 has innovated a new governance model in India to tackle the national calamity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority has reportedly constituted 11 empowered committees to take decisions on how to tackle Covid-19. The Prime Minister is assisted by PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to PM, and Rajiv Gauba, Cabinet Secretary. The Medical Emergency Managment Plan Committee is headed by VK Paul, Member Niti Ayog; Hospitals Isolation and Quarantine Facilities Decease Surveillance and Testing Committee is looked after by CK Mishra, (IAS 1983 Bihar) Secretary Environment; Availability of Essential Equipments by PD Vaghela, (IAS 1986 Gujarat) Secretary, Dept of Pharmaceuticals; Augmenting Human Resources and Capacity Building Committee by Arun Panda, (IAS 1984 Odisha) Secretary MSMEs; Facilitating Supply Chain And Logistic Management for Essentials by Parameshwaran Iyer, (IAS retd) Secretary, Dept of Drinking Water and Sanitation; Coordination with NGOs, International Organisations by Amitabh Kant, (IAS 1980 Kerala retd) CEO, Niti Ayog; Economic and Welfare Measures by Atanu Chakraborty, (IAS 1985 Gujarat) Secretary Dept. of Economic Affairs; Information, Communication and Public Awareness by Ravi Mittal, (IAS 1986 Bihar) Secretary Information & Broadcasting; Technology and Data Management by Ajay Sahwney, (IAS 1984 Andhra Pradesh) Secretary Electronics and IT Ministry; Public Grievances & Suggestions by Amit Khare, (IAS 1985 Jharkhand) Secretary HRD; and Strategic Issues linked to Lockdown by Ajay Kumar Bhalla, (IAS 1984 Assam-Meghalaya), Secretary Home. PMO has attached one or two officers from its office to each committee. Modi also has formed another committee comprising 15 Union ministers under the leadership of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who were assigned 15 districts each and tasked to ensure that there is no disruption in supply of essential commodities. Overall, 42 ministers have been assigned to look after the states. g

gfiles inside the government vol. 14, issue 1 | Mar-April 2020

AS officers of the 1988 batch had been waiting for long to be empanelled as Secretary Level. It should have been done in December 2019 but for one reason or the other it did not happen. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) clears the name of officers for Secretary Level each year. The Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah comprise the two members of the ACC. Each cadre has approximately 120 candidates each year. Now the 1988 batch has only 101 officers out of which the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has released a list of 30 officers on April 13, 2020; six are from the 1987 batch and 24 are from the 1988 batch. The lucky cadre is Gujarat, whose five officers out of seven have been empanelled as Secretary / Secretary Equivalent. Arvind Kumar Sharma Additional Secretary and a trusted Lieutenant of the Prime Minister is one of the lucky ones. Another Additional Secretary in the PMO Tarun Bajaj from the Haryana cadre has also been empanelled. Ms. Jyoti Arora, a 1987 batch IAS officer from the Haryana cadre, who is serving as Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, also made the list. The DoPT has not touched Telangana, AGMUT, and Rajasthan cadres so far. UP has 11 IAS officers of the 1988 batch but only three officers made it in the first list. All officers are now anxiously waiting for the second list. g

https://twitter.com/gfilesmagazine https://www.facebook.com/gfilesmagazine www.gfilesindia.com

If you believe in the truth in the post-truth era Support Independent Journalism gfiles is a 13-year-old magazine, the first to focus on governance and civil services For seven years, gfiles Awards are given annually to honest, deserving, and dedicated civil servants across services, across India

gfiles believes in, and adheres to,

fearless, independent journalism First to expose the shenanigans of Jignesh Shah, who duped farmers through commodity exchanges

ExposĂŠ on Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and his real estate scandals

Investigations into the mechanisations of duping Air India

Donate to Pay through our bank account

gfiles Foundation w w w. g f i l e s f o u n d a t i o n . c o m w w w. g f i l e s f o u n d a t i o n . o r g

Bank: SBI A/c: 38674080647 IFSC code: SBIN0001278 83

Regn.No. DL (C)-14/1161/2019-2021 Licence No. U (C)-03/2019-2020, Licence to post without prepayment Posted on 14th & 15th of every month at SPM SRT Nagar, Post Office, New Delhi 110055 R.N.I. No: DELENG/2007/19719. `200, vol. 14, issue 1 | Date of Publication: 25/04/2020 | Pages 84

Scan and Share