Dilip Cherian | Junior officer's appointment to UPSC sets off hierarchy concerns

As promotions in various ministries/departments are underway, and the chairmen of these bodies sit in on the meetings, having someone who is comparatively junior sitting as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is becoming a matter of some embarrassment. If murmurs are to be believed. 

In a world driven by hierarchies as much as by performance, babus are rather prickly about these matters. But it appears that the appointment last month of Suman Sharma, a 1990-batch IRS officer, as a member of the commission is causing consternation among seniors in her allied services, who find it awkward to appear at meetings at the UPSC, where she sits as their equal. 

According to sources, Ms Sharma started her career as an IRS officer in Gujarat, and the grapevine believes it sometimes confers some extra powers, which may partly explain her meteoric rise now, to a post that is hugely significant, according to insiders. 

But this aside, even after the confirmation of Manoj Soni as UPSC chairperson and the subsequent appointment of Ms Sharma and 1988-batch IAS officer Bidyut Bihari Swain as members, four key member posts remain vacant in UPSC.  The tenure of a member of UPSC is six years or until the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Ms Sharma, we are told, will get to serve as a UPSC member until May 2029.

Vacancies impeding effective governance

Despite the PMO’s ambitious goal of providing 10 lakh employments by December 2023, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) has admitted that over 1617 posts of section officer grade remain unfilled as of December last year. Further, sources have informed DKB that an additional 300 vacancies are expected to emerge in July due to promotions from section officer grade to under-secretary grade. This will bring the overall vacancy count to more than 1,800, accounting for nearly half of the sanctioned strength.

Section officers are considered the backbone and institutional memory of the Central Secretariat, playing a crucial role in the units of the ministry or department where they are posted. The minister concerned Jitendra Singh has acknowledged that the shortage of section officers is paralysing ministries and departments, ultimately affecting the delivery of public services.

Given the situation, sources say that the Central Secretariat Service (CSS) Forum, a representative body of all CSS officers, has raised concerns and urged Singh to prioritise the matter. Apparently, eligible officers face a pecuniary loss of Rs 10,000 per month if not promoted before July 1, 2023. Additionally, considering the vacancies expected to come up in the months ahead due to cadre reviews, there could be 3,000 vacancies at the section officer grade, which would seriously impede the functioning of the Central government. 

Retired cop turns author, ruffles Left feathers

In God’s own country, an unlikely face-off is brewing between the Kerala government and retired top cop turned author Jacob Thomas. The latest episode in this saga has the state government demanding action against Mr Thomas for daring to write books without its permission! Is the former IPS officer the victim of a political witch hunt? The state’s babus are now pondering this troubling question.

Mr Thomas, clearly, has a knack for stirring up trouble. His first book, Swimming with the Sharks, managed to ruffle a few feathers during his eventful tenure in various posts. He was even suspended twice for the audacity of publishing it.

Now the state government is up in arms again, this time taking offence at two more books penned by Mr Thomas. A prominent CPI(M) leader even released the first book, while the second was supposed to be unveiled by none other than chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. But the function never saw the light of day.

Even three years after his retirement, the state seems relentless in pursuing Mr Thomas. Yet strangely, sources point out, there has been no inquiry or action against M. Sivasankar, the former principal secretary to the chief minister, who published a book right after being released from jail for his alleged involvement in a major hold smuggling racket. The plot thickens!

To add fuel to the fire, an inquiry is now underway against Mr Thomas for alleged irregularities in a dredger purchase made a decade ago. Is there no end to the retired cop’s woes? Perhaps this is the price he is paying for falling out of favour with the powers that be.