A high tea hosted at the India High Commission in London for visiting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was an authentic British affair, far eleborate than the usual samosa-kachori & cutting chai the Indian populace is accustomed to. The occassion featured a traditional British high tea platter served on tiered confectionery stands; Brit classics – scones topped with clotted cream and jam, finger sandwiches, and petit cakes – were among the selection.However, interacting with Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswamy and other guests, Banerjee expressed her desire to promote Bengali delicacies like ‘Misti Doi’ and ‘Sandesh’ in the UK. This marked Banerjee’s third visit to London as a Chief Minister. As usual, she started her day with a workout session in Hyde Park; Banerjee was seen vigourously jogging, and even reverse-walking, with accompanying party members and senior bureaucrats struggling to keep up.PSEs to get chiefs via lateral entryAfter the government’s scheme to import bureaucrats from among private sector subject experts via lateral entry failed to take off, the Centre is now looking to implement the model in appointment of chairpersons in Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs). Earlier this month, Vikas Kaushal, a private sector expert in the field of hydrocarbons was roped in as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of state-owned oil major Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). Two other appointments – one each in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) are in the pipeline.On March 7, the government appointed Vikas Kaushal as CMD of the HPCL. Before taking up his present role, Kaushal was working with Kearney, an energy and industries consultation firm, as its global head. Meanwhile, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), while failing to recommend a suitable name for the next BPCL chairperson after conducting an elaborate interview process, recommended the government constitute a Search-Cum-Selection Committee (SCSC), as it did while appointing the HPCL chief.Since then, a SCSC has been established, with insiders of the opinion that the decisions would be preordained. Another PSE on the block is the BSNL, as in this case too, the panel recommended formation of SCSC to find a new head for the company.IPS officer barred from deputationThe Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the principle authority over government cadre, has rescinded its own decision appointing 2012-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Punjab cadre Akhil Chaudhary as Superintendent of Police (SP) in the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) and debarred him from getting central deputation and foreign assignments/consultancies for a period of five years.While the MHA has not spelt out the specific reason for the disciplinary action against the IPS officer, the grapevine in the corridors of the North Block suggest that Chaudhary might have requested for repatriation within a few months of his appointment in the BPR&D and this could have prompted the Centre to withdraw its decision and debar him from deputation. In its appointment order, issued on October 4, 2024, the ministry had asked Chaudhary to take up charge as the SP in the BPR&D for a five-year term. When the order was issued, the officer was serving as Assistant IG Personnel-II, CPO, Punjab.IRAS couple appointed DRMsThe Indian Railways witnessed a major bureaucratic reshuffle after the transport monolith, in a single order, decided to posit 14 Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) across the country. Possibly, for the first time in the history of Railways, a married couple has been placed as DRM via the same order; Mudit Mittal has been placed as DRM, Mysuru (South Western Railway) and his wife Sudeshna Sen has been placed as DRM, Guntur. Both Mittal and Sen are Indian Railway Administrative Service (IRAS) officers of the 1996 batch. As per the Railways order, Mittal will replace Shilpi Agarwal, also an IRAS officer from the 1993 batch; Sen will take over charge from M Ramakrishna, an Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers officer, who belongs to the 1991 batch.
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