Return of the native
When Pulok Chatterji, currently executive director at the World Bank, apparently missed out on myriad “big posts”, it was widely believed he would only return to join the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). And so he has. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has ordered the babu’s return, though his World Bank term ends February next year.
Interestingly, his new role is yet to be defined, but whatever it is, it will be a crucial one, considering Mr Chatterji’s proximity to 10 Janpath. He comes in September.
With this development, some observers are predicting a reshuffle in the PMO soon. M.N. Prasad, secretary to the Prime Minister, after all is bowing out in a few months. The buzz is that principal secretary T.K. Nair may be tipped for a gubernatorial position. There are other likely changes, too. However, for Mr Chatterji his key role probably will be to ensure even smoother communications between 7 Race Course Road and 10 Janpath. But knowing how all of this works, there will be twists in this tale.
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Bihar rules
Where have the Malayalis gone? Why is a change of guard the dominant theme now? Whatever the confluence of influences that has prevailed, the fact is that babus from Bihar are now dominating the top levels of administration at the Centre suddenly. The last time Bihar enjoyed such prominence was probably during Indira Gandhi’s time.
The current trend, though, has little to do with the obvious turnaround in Bihar’s fortunes in recent years. When Shashi Kant Sharma took over as secretary of the defence ministry earlier this month, he only joined an exclusive club comprising nine secretaries, six additional secretaries and 17 joint secretaries — all from Bihar. Home secretary R.K. Singh belongs to the Bihar cadre as do B.K. Sinha (rural development), Navin Kumar (urban development) and A.K. Upadhyay (highways). How long this regional dominance lasts is anybody’s guess, but for now it’s clearly Bihar’s babus who are calling the shots.
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