Home Blog Page 14

After IAS elevations, 22 Haryana cops set sight on IPS badge in promotion push

By
LO Bureau
-
HPS officers' promotion to IPS

Within months of 18 Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officers being elevated to the IAS, the state’s bureaucratic corridors are again abuzz with speculation of promotions—this time it is the turn of state police officers to nurse fresh hope of elevation to the elite class as 22 Haryana Police Service (HPS) officers are expected to be inducted into the IPS.

The reason is simple: the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is going to hold a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting in Chandigarh on April 28 where the long-pending promotions are expected to be taken up.

Haryana officers claim that the proposal for the promotion of 18 officers against existing vacancies has already received approval. According to it, five posts belong to 2020, four each to 2021 and 2022, one to 2023, and three to 2024. In the upcoming DPC meeting, Haryana is expected to push for four more slots that arose in 2025.

The only hitch is that these promotions will take a couple of years. That is the reason why Haryana officers demand that this should be made an annual exercise, arguing that regular career progression boosts morale among field officers.

In 2022, 16 DSPs were promoted to the IPS, but the quota was later reduced from 35 to 25, leaving many disappointed.

As the IPS cadre has expanded in recent years, the state service officers are clamouring for restoring the higher quota for HPS officers. They point out that timely promotions in both civil and police services not only recognise years of service but also inspire them for better performance.

Retired Rajasthan IAS Subodh Agarwal sent to 14-day judicial custody in JJM scam

By
LO Bureau
-
Subodh Agarwal ex-IAS

Retired Rajasthan cadre IAS officer Subodh Agarwal (IAS:1988:RJ), who was arrested in connection with the alleged Rs 960-crore Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam, has been sent to 14-day judicial custody.

Agarwal had been arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on April 10 and was produced before an ACB court after completion of his police remand.

The court rejected ACB’s request for further remand and sent Agarwal to judicial custody.

Agarwal served as Additional Chief Secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) when the alleged scam took place. The JJM scam case has resulted in the arrest of eleven individuals, including a minister.

UP IAS Sameer Verma found missing for six months, Departmental action initiated

By
LO Bureau
-
Sameer Verma IAS found missing

In an intriguing story of a missing bureaucrat, a senior UP cadre IAS officer, Sameer Verma (IAS:2002:UP), has been found missing for the last six months. He has been absent from duties without permission since October 2025. In addition, he did not even bother to join his new posting, leading to a departmental action being initiated against him for this utter violation of service rules.

The issue has created a flutter in the administrative circles of the state regarding his long absence without official permission.

It happened after Sameer Verma was removed from his position as IG, Stamps and Registration, in June 2025. Though he was subsequently appointed Secretary of the Planning Department in October 2025, he, however, remained missing.

According to sources, after being removed from his post as IG Stamps, Sameer Verma requested study leave to pursue an MBA, but this leave was not granted. Despite this, his absence has been prolonged. It is reported that he has been on unauthorized leave for the past six months, a matter that the government has taken seriously.

According to rules, any officer remaining absent for a prolonged period without permission is considered a violation of service rules, and in such cases, a departmental inquiry and disciplinary action are initiated. In this context, departmental action is being taken against Sameer Verma.

The prolonged absence of a senior IAS officer without permission not only raises questions about administrative discipline but also dents departmental functioning.

The state government is said to be reviewing Verma’s case, and further action will be taken against him in accordance with service rules.

PESB recommends Prasanna Kumar Acharya as CMD of NLC India

By
LO Bureau
-

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has recommended Prasanna Kumar Acharya for appointment as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NLC India Limited. The recommendation was made following interviews conducted on April 15, 2026.

Acharya is currently serving as Director (Finance) at NLC India Limited. His name will now be forwarded to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final approval, subject to vigilance clearance and other prescribed formalities.

The CMD post will fall vacant on July 1, 2026, following the superannuation of incumbent Prasanna Kumar Motupalli on June 30. Motupalli has been serving as CMD of the company since January 12, 2023.

The following 7 applicants were interviewed in the selection meeting :

  1. Prasanna Kumar Acharya, Director (Finance), NLC India Limited
  2. Jagadish Chandra Mazumdar, Executive Director, NLC India Limited
  3. Jasper Rose IS, Executive Director, Mines, Services, Land, Lignite to Methanol Project, NLC India Limited
  4. B Anbuchelvan, Executive Director/ Chief Executive Officer, NLC India Limited
  5. S Rajmohan, Executive Director/ SME, Conveyor, Transport, Long Term Mine Planning & Mine-3, NLC India
  6. Vijaya Kumar S, Executive Director, Project Head/ Barsingsar Project, NLC India Limited.
  7. Dr Pudi Hariprasad, Financial Adviser & Chief Accounts Officer Principal Financial Advisor, Ministry of Railways

Also Read: PESB invites applications for CMD post at NLC India Limited

Centre planning Lok Sabha seats’ expansion to 850, with over 270 seats reserved for women

By
LO Bureau
-
Expansion of seats

The current NDA government at the Centre seems determined to redraw the country’s electoral map by proposing a cap of 850 seats for the Lok Sabha and a likely uniform 50% increase for state assemblies. This figure includes around 270 seats to be reserved for women under a quota system from 2029 Lok Sabha elections onwards.

That is the reason why a special three-day session of the Parliament has been called from April 16. During the special sitting, three bills—the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026—will be introduced for discussion, as their drafts have already been circulated among MPs.

The law minister is said to introduce the first two bills while the home minister will move the third.

Though the number of increases is to be decided by the Delimitation Commission, government sources say Lok Sabha and assembly seats are likely to see a near-uniform percentage increase across states.

What form the core of the proposal are seven constitutional amendments, including key changes to Articles 55, 81, 82, 170, 330, 332 and 334A. The amendment to Article 81 lays the groundwork for expanding the Lok Sabha from 543 to around 816 seats, with a cap of 850 – a limit sources say is unlikely to be revised in the foreseeable future.

As per constitutional provision, these amendments will require a two-thirds majority of members present and voting, making support from key Opposition parties such as Congress, SP, Trinamool and DMK crucial. It will also require ratification by half of the Indian states.

This move virtually aims to accommodate a 33% quota for women, roughly translating to 273 seats. On the census basis for delimitation, the bill allows population figures to be determined from a census “as Parliament may by law decide,” utilising the latest data.

A three-member Delimitation Commission, to be led by a current or retired judge and include Election Commission of India representation, will redraw constituencies.

The proposed law also aims to extend the quota to Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry, with ECI acting as the delimitation authority for assembly segments in Pakistan-occupied J&K, where 24 seats remain vacant.

The fact that the current law had linked reservation to post-2027 census delimitation, it could be effective only for the 2034 General Elections. This change effectively speeds up the timeline for the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam by five years, aiming to have the full quota in place for the 2029 elections, with the reservation lasting for 15 years unless it is extended.

One certain fallout of this move is that it will lead to a major churn in political strongholds, as the proposed reservation of seats for women will be rotated across constituencies.

Telangana HC refuses to pass order on regular DGP appointment issue

By
LO Bureau
-
Telangana CS Ramakrishna Rao

The Telangana High Court has declined to pass any specific order on the issue of appointing a regular DGP for the state. The court had received a writ petition requesting a High Court’s directive to appoint a regular DGP in Telangana. It was done after Advocate General (AG) A Sudarshan Reddy informed the court that already a list of three empanelled IPS officers was sent to the competent authority for the purpose.

Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy passed this order on a petition filed by one T Dhangopal Rao challenging the appointment of B. Shivadhar Reddy (IPS:1994:TG) as in-charge DGP. The petitioner contended that there was no concept of an in-charge DGP as per the Supreme Court’s guidelines with regard to DGP appointment in the case of Prakash Singh of 2006.

The AG informed the High Court that the Chief Secretary held a meeting on March 11 to decide on the appointment of a regular DGP and that the file was under process to select one from the panel of three candidates.

The matter will be heard on April 27.

Former Jharkhand IAS Vinay Choubey gets bail from SC in land scam case

By
LO Bureau
-
Vinay Choubey IAS

The Supreme Court granted major relief to former Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey (IAS:1999:JH) in a land scam case by giving him conditional bail. Choubey, former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, had been jailed on charges of a fraudulent land scam.

A division bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjwal Bhuyan granted him bail, but he has been barred from leaving the country while on bail. Besides, he has been strictly asked not to influence witnesses or evidence related to the case.

Choubey’s bail plea had been rejected on January 6 by a bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi of the Jharkhand High Court on the ground that relief was not acceptable due to the gravity of the case. Choubey then moved the Supreme Court for it.

According to reports, the FIR in the case had been registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in August last year, after which a charge sheet was filed. Vinay Choubey was alleged to have committed irregularities in the transfer of servitude land while serving as Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner.

SC Collegium recommends elevation of Judges across Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala & Bombay HCs

By
LO Bureau
-

The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting held on April 14, 2026, has recommended a series of judicial appointments and elevations across multiple High Courts, including Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Bombay.

In the Telangana High Court, the Collegium has recommended the elevation of four Additional Judges as Permanent Judges. The judges are:

  1. Justice Yara Renuka
  2. Justice Nandikonda Narsing Rao
  3. Justice E Tirumala Devi
  4. Justice BR Madhusudhan Rao

For the Karnataka High Court, the Collegium has recommended the elevation of three judicial officers as Judges:

  1. Rajeshwari Narayana Hegde
  2. Kedambadi Ganesh Shanthi
  3. Mahadevappa Brungesh

In the Kerala High Court, two advocates have been recommended for appointment as Judges:

  1. Preeta Aravindan Krishnamma
  2. Liz Mathew Anthraper

Meanwhile, for the Bombay High Court, the Collegium has approved the proposal to appoint Justice Manjusha Ajay Deshpande, currently serving as an Additional Judge, as a Permanent Judge.

Cabinet Secy stresses urgency for developing sovereign AI capabilities in India   

By
LO Bureau
-
TV Somanathan IAS

The changing global security landscape has begun to find reverberation. It was evident when Cabinet Secretary Dr T V Somanathan (IAS:1987:TN) talked about the need to focus on India’s key strategic priorities to strengthen the national preparedness amid a rapidly evolving global scenario.

Somanathan highlighted it while addressing senior leaders of the Indian Army during the ongoing Army Commanders’ Conference on Tuesday.

Somanathan’s address was part of the broader deliberations on strengthening national security, operational preparedness, and institutional synergy at the conference.

The Cabinet Secretary underscored the urgency for developing sovereign Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, highlighting their critical role in ensuring strategic autonomy and safeguarding national interests in the face of emerging technological challenges.

Somanathan also emphasized the importance of building resilient supply chains, noting that geopolitical disruptions have reinforced the necessity for robust and secure logistics and production networks.

The country’s top-most bureaucrat called for stronger civil-military cooperation, asserting that a whole-of-nation approach is vital to achieving optimal outcomes in both conflict and peacetime scenarios.

He said self-reliance is not just a policy directive but a national mindset, where every sector, institution, and citizen contributes to building a resilient India.

 

64 officers empanelled for Joint Secretary posts at Centre

By
LO Bureau
-
Joint Secretary Empanelment

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Wednesday (April 8, 2026) approved empanelment of 64 officers from various services for holding Joint Secretary-equivalent rank posts in Government of India.

They are;

Indian Administrative Service (IAS):

  1. Rajesh Prabhakar Patil (IAS:2005:OD)
  2. Gaurav Goyal (IAS:2006:RJ)
  3. Hrishikesh B Yashod (IAS:2006:UP)
  4. V Shanmugam (IAS:2007:UD)
  5. Kajal (IAS:2008:UP)
  6. Saumya Agarwal (IAS:2008:UP)
  7. A Muthu Kumar (IAS:2009:JH)
  8. Gauri Parasher Joshi (IAS:2009:PB)
  9. N Venkatesh (IAS:2009:TN)
  10. Priyanka Das (IAS:2009:MP)
  11. Rathod Sandeep Rewaji (IAS:2009:TR)
  12. Rohan Chand Thakur (IAS:2009:HP)
    13.S Tejaswi Naik (IAS:2009:MP)
  13. Sumeet Kumar Jarangal (IAS:2009:PB)
  14. Prakash Rajpurohit (IAS:2010:RJ)
  15. Laya Madduri (IAS:2010:AM)

Indian Forest Service (IFoS):

  1. S Senthil Kumar (IFoS:1998:AGMUT)
  2. G Rajesh (IFoS:2001:OD)
  3. H Raja Mohan (IFoS:2001:UP)
  4. Deepa D Nair (IFoS:2001:TR)
  5. S Kulandivel (IFoS:2002:WB)
  6. Prachi Gangwar (IFoS:2003:KN)

Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax):

  1. Srujani Mohanty (IRS-IT:1999)

Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS):

  1. Praveen Pandey (IRTS:1996)
  2. Dharmendra Kumar (IRTS:1998)
  3. Aashima Mehrotra (IRTS:1999)
  4. Jyoti Prakash Mishra (IRTS:1999)
  5. R Gopalakrishnan (IRTS:1999)
  6. Amit Kumar Jain (IRTS:2000)
  7. Swadesh Kumar Singh (IRTS:2000)
  8. Shishir Somvanshi (IRTS:2001)
  9. Dibbanjan Roy (IRTS:2002)
  10. R Sudharshan (IRTS:2002)

Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS):

  1. S Salim Javed (IRAS:2003)

Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS):

  1. Harpreet Singh Pruthi (IRSS:1999)
  2. Amit Singh (IRSS:2001)
  3. Kanwalpreet (IRSS:2001)
  4. Santosh Kumar Mishra (IRSS:2004)

Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME):

  1. Rajneesh Kumar Tomar (IRSME:1998)
  2. Jawahar Lal (IRSME:1999)
  3. Sunil Kumar Sharma (IRSME:1999)
  4. Amit Saurastri (IRSME:2001)

Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE):

  1. Dinesh Kumar Vashishtha (IRSSE:2000)
  2. Satya Narayan Meena (IRSSE:2001)

Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) (Civil):

  1. Harsimran Singh (IRSE-Civil:2001)
  2. Amit Kumar (IRSE-Civil:2003)
  3. Pervesh Kumar (IRSE-Civil:2003)

Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS):

  1. Yatri Dave Vitekar (IRPS:2001)

Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS):

  1. V Yogitha (IDAS:2002)
  2. Nabarun Dhar (IDAS:2004)

Indian Telecommunications Service (ITS):

  1. M Srinivasulu Reddy (ITS:1993)
  2. Mukesh Lal (ITS:1996)
  3. Prachish Khanna (ITS:1996)
  4. Rakesh S Desai (ITS:1996)
  5. Vijay Prakash (ITS:1996)
  6. Vivek Khare (ITS:1996)

Indian Defence Estate Service (IDES):

  1. G Vijay Bhaskar (IDES:1999)
  2. SVR Chandra Sekhar (IDES:2000)

Central Secretariat Service (CSS):

  1. S Gopal Krishna (SSGSL:2018)
  2. G Muthuraja (SSGSL:2018)
  3. DK Choudhary (SSGSL:2019)

Indian Economic Service (IES):

  1. Sudhir Shyam (IES:1999)
  2. Sonia Pant (IES:2001)
  3. Archana Mayaram (IES:2004)
1...131415...1,870Page 14 of 1,870

Latest News