Inside Raisina Hill: Search For NTPC Chief On, Niti Aayog CEO Skips Press Meet

As one walks down the Hill along the Rajpath, now renamed Kartavya Path, come other edifices — Rail Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan, and Shashtri Bhavan on one side and Sena Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan and Vanijya Bhavan on the other. The bureaucrats who adorn the offices in these buildings decide India's economic, social, and industrial policies. There are many tales to be told from the corridors of these grandiose buildings. We let you in on some of them here in this week's edition of "Inside Raisina Hill".

Niti Aayog CEO Skips Press Meet After Invalid Economic Claim

It was a day after the proverbial "storm in the teacup" over India’s global ranking in terms of GDP. Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam was supposed to release a key report in a press conference, but he was conspicuously absent.

Has he been advised to step back?

Following the 10th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog on May 24, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there was a press meet.

There, Subrahmanyam made headlines with a bold declaration: “We are the fourth-largest economy as I speak. We are a US$ 4 trillion economy... and this is not my data. This is IMF data. India today is larger than Japan."

This confident comment from the chief of the biggest government policy think tank immediately triggered a wave of national pride. News channels started buzzing. Social media celebrated with great gusto. Soon, the euphoria of "fourth-largest economy" overshadowed both the Council meeting and the Prime Minister’s speech.

However, the celebration was short-lived.

The very next day, a senior Niti Aayog member, Arvind Virmani, offered a more measured and contrasting view, stating that while India is on track to surpass Japan, it hasn’t happened yet.

"India is in the process of becoming the fourth-largest economy, and I am personally confident that will happen by the end of 2025," Virmani clarified.

Another round of media reporting started, dissecting the authenticity of the data cited and the credibility of the CEO’s remarks. A national moment of triumph soon transformed into an avoidable controversy.

Subrahmanyam was slated to join another press conference related to the release of an important government report. But cometh the hour, the man was not to be seen. Naturally, the absence was noticed and eyebrows raised all over policy corridors and media circles.

For the record, the government decided not to react and issue a clarification, but the drama around the episode highlights how high-stakes economic narratives can swiftly turn into flashpoints.

Birthday Celebrations, 'Karmayogi Of The Month', DoPT Does It In Style

In a unique iNitiative, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) has recently started celebrating the birthdays of its personnel by wishing them on a large display screen at the entrance gate of its office.

It has also started making public announcements of the names of the 'Karmayogi of the Month' — its own version of 'Employee of the Month'.     

The DoPT, which functions from the North Block, has put up a huge LED display screen at the entrance at Gate No. 4, listing the birthdays of personnel every day with their names and pictures, amid virtual firecrackers and the words “Happy Birthday” in bold.

The screen also displays names of the 'Karmayogis of the Month' with the tagline “Top Learner of DoPT on iGOT Karmayogi Platform”, and congratulates them for their feat. 

Noteworthy point here is that DoPT has, of late, begun recognising “Karamyogi of the Month” as part of its Mission Karmayogi iNitiative. This iNitiative focuses on capacity building and lifelong learning for civil servants.

A senior DoPT official said, "The 'Karamyogi of the Month' announcement is a kind of an award or recogNition given to an employee who has demonstrated exceptional performance and commitment to the principles of the Mission."  

The mission was introduced in September 2020, as a component of larger administrative changes meant to improve India’s civil services’ efficacy, accountability and efficiency.

As part of the Mission, eight courses have been developed for new appointees, to assist them in adjusting to government policies and seamlessly transitioning into their new posts.

Mission Karmayogi seeks to develop a capable civil service ingrained in Indian culture, a common grasp of India’s priorities, and to deliver public services efficiently and successfully.

Search For NTPC Chief On, Incumbent Singh May Get Extension

The Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) is yet to find a suitable candidate for the post of Chairman & Managing Director, NTPC, though 12 candidates have been interviewed.

As a result, the incumbent, Gurdeep Singh, who is scheduled to retire on July 31, 2025, is likely to get an extension. The Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) grapevine is abuzz with the suggestion that Gurdeep Singh may get a one-year extension. 

PESB conducted the interviews on May 21, but found none suitable for the post yet. It has been recommended that the government choose an appropriate course of further action — either the search-cum-selection committee (SCSC) or, as deemed appropriate, with the approval of the competent authority.

The search-cum-selection committee method allows greater flexibility by considering candidates beyond the ecosystem of state-owned companies. It has often been used when PESB’s selection process falls short. Interestingly, Gurdeep Singh himself was appointed NTPC CMD through the SCSC route in 2016.

Already interviewed candidates include NTPC directors Shivam Srivastava (Fuel) and Ravindra Kumar (Operations), Bhupendra Kumar (Operations) of THDC India Ltd, Mukesh Choudhary (Marketing) of Coal India Ltd, Kapil Kumar Gupta (Finance) of MMTC, Ajit Kumar Panda (Project & Services) of Container Corporation of India Ltd, and Somes Bandyopadhyay, Managing Director of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL).

In addition, Sanoj Kumar Jha, the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Coal, had also appeared for the interview.

This is not the first time that PESB has failed to find a suitable candidate for the top post in a state-owned company in recent times. On February 1 this year, it interviewed a dozen candidates for the post of BPCL CMD, but did not recommend anyone.

The post remains vacant after the retirement of G Krishnakumar on April 30, and senior officials of the company are temporarily handling the responsibilities.

Earlier, in May 2023, PESB did not recommend anyone for the CMD post at Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The appointment was then made through the SCSC route, and Arvindar Singh Sahney was chosen as chairman in November 2024.

In June last year, the PESB had also rejected all eight candidates interviewed for the CMD position at HPCL. Subsequently, Vikar Kaushal was appointed via a SCSC. In 2021, the PESB had failed to find a suitable candidate for the ONGC top post, which was filled a year later by Arun Kumar Singh, again through the SCSC route.

UPSC Rejects Haryana State Services Officers' List For Promotion To IAS

It's a major setback for the government of Haryana. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has rejected the state’s proposal to grant the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) status to 27 Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officers.

Sources, on condition of anonymity, said the UPSC decision has come in the backdrop of pending criminal charges against at least eight officers on the list. These officers, from the 2002-04 batches, were recommended for the 2020-2024 IAS selection list.

The buzz is that UPSC has now asked the Haryana government to submit a revised list, excluding the officers who have chargesheets pending in courts against them in different cases.

Sources informed that UPSC has also refused to accept the state government’s contention that a chargesheet does not constitute a final report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), negating the argument that candidature for promotions should not be rejected based on chargesheets.

The UPSC termed the contention of the state government as ‘legally not tenable’. Thus, the promotions for all 27 officers, including those having no pending charges against them, remain on hold.

This has further complicated the state’s IAS manpower crunch, as Haryana currently has 171 IAS officers against a sanctioned strength of 215.

(Contributed by Pawan Kumar, Mahua Venkatesh & Jayanta Roy Chowdhury; curated by Abhijit Mukhopadhyay)