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Two and a half months on, RBI yet to name Michael Patra’s successor

By
LO Bureau
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Reserve Bank of India

The successor to RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra remains unnamed, even as more than two and a half months have passed since his retirement on January 14. Speculation is growing about an imminent announcement of the fourth Deputy Governor, a key position overseeing monetary policy, financial markets operations, and economic research.

Despite several candidates being interviewed in mid-January, a few names are emerging as frontrunners. These include Poonam Gupta, a former World Bank economist and part-time member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council; Chetan Ghate, a former external MPC member; and Suresh Babu of the Madras School of Economics.

Other contenders who were interviewed include Prachi Mishra, Director and Head of the Isaac Centre for Public Policy at Ashoka University; economist Ajit Ranade; and N.R. Bhanumurthy, Director at the Madras School of Economics. Their chances have not been ruled out.

Interestingly, the search panel also interviewed two bureaucrats—Ashish Vachani, Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, and Ritvik Pandey, Secretary to the 16th Finance Commission. Both are IAS officers, with Vachani from the 1997 Tamil Nadu cadre and Pandey from the 1998 Karnataka cadre. However, indications suggest that the RBI Deputy Governor role may go to a candidate outside North Block.

Meanwhile, Chief Economic Advisor Anantha Nageswaran is out of contention after the government extended his term by two years, until March 31, 2027.

The government appears to be acting cautiously in making the appointment, given the critical responsibilities associated with the post. Following Patra’s retirement, Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao was assigned his key responsibilities, including participation in the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) until a new appointment is made.

The prolonged delay in filling this vital position remains notable, given its significance in shaping the country’s monetary policy.

Subhankar Sen selected as Director (Mkt), BPCL

By
LO Bureau
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Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

Subhankar Sen has been selected for appointment as Director (Marketing), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on March 29, 2025. Presently, he is serving as Executive Director Business Head (Lubes), Mumbai, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.

He will be appointed to the post of Director (Marketing) after receiving vigilance clearances and approval from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

The following 8 applicants were interviewed in the selection meeting:

  1. Pushp Kumar Nayar, Executive Director (HRD), Mumbai, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
  2. Pradeep Goyal, Executive Director (Retail) Business Head (Retail), Mumbai, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
  3. Subhankar Sen, Executive Director Business Head (Lubes), Mumbai, Bharat Petroleum Corporation
    Limited
  4. Arul Muthunathan Veerasamy, Executive Director Head Engineering and Technology (Retail), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
  5. Biju Gopinath, Executive Director (Pipelines), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
  6. Hemant Kumar Rathore, Executive Director, UPSO II, Indian Oil Corporation Limited
  7. R Venu Gopal, Senior General Manager, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
  8. Ashish Dave, Deputy General Manager & Sr BM, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited

IFS officer Nidhi Tewari appointed PS to PM Modi

By
LO Bureau
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IFS officer Nidhi Tewari (IFS:2014) has been appointed Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with immediate effect. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Saturday (29.03.2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved her appointment on co-terminus basis or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Tewari is currently serving as Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) since January 6, 2023, after initially joining as Under Secretary in 2022.

Before her PMO tenure, Tewari served in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the Disarmament and International Security Affairs Division. Her expertise in international relations earned her a significant role in the PMO, where she contributed to the ‘Foreign and Security’ vertical, reporting directly to National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.

Indian Railways appoints 13 new DRMs across various zones

By
LO Bureau
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Indian Railways

In a significant administrative reshuffle, Indian Railways on Saturday (29.03.2025) transferred and appointed 13 senior officers as Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) across various zones.

The names of the officers and their postings are as follows;

  1. Raju P Bhadke (IRSE), NFHAG/Western Railway has been posted as DRM/Vadodara/ Western Railway. He replaces Jeetendra Singh (IRSEE).
  2. Panna Lal (IRSE), NFHAG/ North Eastern Railway, has been transferred and posted as DRM, Salem/Southern Railway. He will replace Pankaj Kumar Sinha (IRSS).
  3. Rajneesh Aggarwal (IRTS), SAG/Western Railway, has been posted as DRM, Prayagraj/North Central Railway. He succeeds vice Himanshu Bhadoni (IRSE).
  4. Uday Singh Mina (IRSME), NFHAG/Northern Railway, has been posted as DRM, Deen Dayal Upadhyay, East Central Railway vice Rajesh Gupta (IRSSE).
  5. Pradeep Lakshmanrao Kamle (IRSME), NFHAG/South East Central Railway, has been transferred and posted as DRM, Nanded/ South Central Railway. He will replace Neeti Sarkar (IRAS).
  6. Akhilesh Misra (IRSME), NFHAG/ presently on deputation with Food Corporation of India, Department of Food and Public Distribution, has been posted as DRM, Dhanbad/ East Central Railway. He will replace Kamal Kishore Sinha (IRTS).
  7. Subhash C Chaudhary (IRSEE), NFHAG/North Eastern Railway, has been transferred and posted as DRM, Sambalpur, East Coast Railway, vice Tushar Kant Pandey (IRSE).
  8. Md Manzar Hussain (IRSEE), NFHAG/ presently on deputation with NHSRCL, has been posted as DRM, Tinsukia, Northeast Frontier Railway, vice Uttam Prakash (IRSME).
  9. Sunil Kumar Verma (IRSSE), NFHAG/presently on deputation with Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communication, has been posted as DRM, Lucknow, Northern Railway vice S M Sharma (IRSME).
  10. Mudit Mittal (IRAS), NFHAG, presently on deputation with RVNL, has been posted as DRM, Mysuru, South Western Railway vice Shilpi Agarwal (IRAS).
  11. Sudeshna Sen (IRAS), NFHAG/Northern Railway, has been transferred and posted as DRM, Guntur, South Central Railway vice M Ramakrishna (IRSEE).
  12. Rajeev Saxena (IRSS), NFHAG/presently on deputation with Ministry of Textiles, has been posted as DRM, Sealdah, Eastern Railway vice Deepak Nigam (IRSME).
  13. Anurag Tripathi (IRPS), SAG, North Central Railway, has been posted as DRM, Jodhpur, North Western Railway vice Pankaj Kumar Singh (IRSEE).

Odisha: IAS officer Sujata Karthikeyan takes voluntary retirement

By
LO Bureau
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Senior IAS officer Sujata R Karthikeyan (IAS:2000:OR), wife of former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s trusted aide and bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian (IAS:2000:OR), has taken voluntary retirement from service (VRS). Her VRS was approved a day after the Odisha government forwarded her application, which she had submitted on March 13.

The central government accepted her VRS with retrospective effect from March 13, waiving the mandatory three-month notice period. Sujata was serving as the Special Secretary in the Finance Department at the time of her retirement.

Following the formation of the BJP government in June last year, Sujata went on a six-month leave citing childcare responsibilities. However, her request for an extension of leave was denied, compelling her to return to duty in November 2024.

Sujata, a powerful officer in the Naveen Patnaik government, rapidly ascended the bureaucratic ranks, leading several flagship programs, most notably the Mission Shakti movement. Under her leadership, Mission Shakti was elevated to the status of a dedicated government department, with Sujata appointed as its Secretary. The program, which empowered millions of women through self-help groups, played a significant role in consolidating Naveen Patnaik’s political base.

Her career faced controversy during the 2024 general elections when the Election Commission accused her of misusing public office. Subsequently, she was transferred from her Mission Shakti role to the Finance Department.

Her husband, VK Pandian, known for his immense influence in Naveen Patnaik’s administration during his last term as Chief Minister from 2019 to 2024, had also taken VRS before joining the BJD in 2023.

Also Read: Odisha: Denial of leave extension forces Sujata Karthikeyan to resume duty

Also Read: Odisha govt rejects IAS officer Sujata Karthikeyan’s leave extension, asks her to join immediately

Also Read: Odisha: After BJD loss, VK Pandian’s wife Sujata Karthikeyan on leave for 6 months


SC Collegium recommends transfer of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma from Delhi HC to Calcutta HC

By
LO Bureau
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The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the transfer of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma from the Delhi High Court to Calcutta High Court. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Collegium held on March 27, 2025.

Justice Sharma, who joined the Delhi Judicial Service in 1992 and was promoted to the Delhi Higher Judicial Service in 2003, took oath as a judge of the Delhi high court in February 2022.

Click here to see Collegium Recommendation

Justice Arindam Sinha transferred from Orissa HC to Allahabad HC

By
LO Bureau
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The Union government on Friday (28.03.2025) notified the transfer of Justice Arindam Sinha from the Orissa High Court to the Allahabad High Court. The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meetings held on March 6 and 20, had recommended the transfer of Justice Sinha to the Allahabad High Court.

Also Read: SC collegium recommends transfer of Justice Arindam Sinha from Orissa HC to Allahabad HC

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh transferred from Delhi HC to Allahabad HC

By
LO Bureau
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The Union government on Friday (28.03.2025) notified transfer of Delhi High Court Judge Justice Chandra Dhari Singh to Allahabad High Court.

The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting held in November 2024, had recommended the repatriation of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh, Justice of Delhi High Court to his parent Allahabad High Court.

India currently has required strength of 1177 IFS officers: Union Govt

By
LO Bureau
-

India, currently, has a total strength of 1,177 Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers working for it. It was disclosed in the Parliament by the Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, while responding to a query on the number of vacancies/shortage in staff in various Indian Missions across the world. The minister also said that the sanctioned strength of Indian Foreign Service officers is 1,177.

According to him, there are 6,277 officers and officials — including local staff – currently serving in 218 missions and posts abroad. The requirement of manpower changes according to the workload, the minister added.

The government informed the Parliament that the Ministry of External Affairs regularly reviews the requirement of manpower at various levels in missions and posts abroad as well as at the headquarters.

The government also said in its reply that there are 49 IFS officers posted to Indian missions handling key multilateral organizations as on date. According to it, two Consulates General of India are being currently headed by two IFS officers

Karnataka: Gaurav Gupta committee finds no evidence against DGP KR Rao in gold smuggling probe

By
LO Bureau
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K Ramachandra Rao IPS

Karnataka’s Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta has submitted his inquiry report in the Ranya Rao gold smuggling case. Gaurav Gupta
committee had been formed to look into the alleged misuse of police protocol and the role of Director-General of Police (DGP) K Ramachandra Rao in it. 

According to government sources, the report doesn’t find Rao’s involvement in the case in any way.

The State government had sent Rao on mandatory leave after Ranya Rao was allegedly caught while trying to smuggle 14.2 kg of gold at
Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) by the Directorate of Revenue (DRI). She was being escorted by two police personnel when caught on March 3. The Gaurav Gupta committee was formed on March 10 to look into the alleged role of the DGP in the case.

The report, however, indicates that Rao knew about the police protocol assistance being given to Ranya Rao and that she used to use his official car to reach home from the airport. As per sources, the report also says that Rao never objected to this, but no evidence was found to conclude that he knew of the alleged gold smuggling. 

Head constable Basavaraj of International Airport Police, who provided protocol services to Ranya Rao on March 3, had claimed that he had been asked by Rao to assist his family members by providing protocol assistance. Basavaraj is said to have repeated his statement before the Gaurav Gupta Committee as well. Rao, however, denied giving any such instructions in his statement to the committee. The committee is said to have noted that there was no concrete evidence to believe that Rao had asked Basavaraj to provide protocol services to Ranya Rao.

Besides, the enquiry report also points out that the police protocol assistance does not exempt dignitaries from security checks at the airport and hence it was not the reason for Ranya Rao not being checked at the airport earlier.

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