'The Narendra Modi government on Tuesday appointed former finance ministry official Shaktikanta Das as governor of the Reserve Bank of India, a day after former central bank boss Urjit Patel resigned abruptly. Das, a former finance secretary and current member of the 15th finance commission, shot into the public spotlight in late 2016 when he became the bureaucratic face of demonetisation in the weeks following the note-ban decision... In February 2017, he gave a speech that predicted that the positive effects of demonetisation would be felt from April 2017.
'In theory in India, it is politicians who wield power while bureaucrats merely carry out their commands... However, in practice, this system seems to be under strain in the Modi government with the stunning rise of Ajit Doval. Doval, a retired Indian Police Service officer, is currently the National Security Advisor to the prime minister. On October 9, he was also made the head of the Strategic Policy Group which would mean the Cabinet Secretary, the chiefs of the military staffs and the Reserve Bank of India governor will have to report to Doval...
'The government’s 2 am decision to oust director Alok Verma as the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation came hot on the heels of not just his request for sanction to arrest an official considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also his interest in the controversial Rafale deal. Last week, the CBI filed an FIR charging Rakesh Asthana – special director in the CBI and a Gujarat cadre police officer propelled to prominence in the agency by the PMO – with bribery and corruption.
'...the core of the issue is not who met whom – it’s how Mallya was allowed to leave India, given the enormous burden of his loans. As it turns out, a few months before the Kingfisher Airlines owner flew up to London, the Central Bureau of Investigation had diluted a lookout notice for him... The CBI circular, which asked the Bureau of Immigration to detain Mallya should he attempt to exit the country, had been issued on October 16, 2015. However, in a month, the Central Bureau of Investigation changed its mind.
'When it comes to the bureaucracy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has placed all his favourite loyalists in plum posts, sometimes even giving the services rule book a go-by. Meet the 'Gujarat-Modified officials'... One pronounced characteristic of the Narendra Modi government is its excessive dependence on Gujarat cadre officials who hold key positions at various levels in important central ministries. Prime Minister Modi also believes that the Gujarat cadre officials who have worked with him in the past are a special tribe in the all-India services like the IAS.
'The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) published a report this May which claimed that around 135 Million AADHAAR Numbers and associated personal information were leaked from 4 Govt. websites. In addition to this, they estimated that probably 100 Million Bank accounts were also leaked from these same websites.
'“Modi is a coward and a psychopath” tweeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal just after his office was raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation without permission, or even forewarning. The tweet made it clear that relations between the two governments and leaders have now deteriorated to perhaps a point of no return. The CBI that reportedly stormed into the Chief Ministers office, sealed off the floor and refused to allow officials to enter.
'Incredibly, the government of India will spend more on this one line than it does on rail safety, Swachh Bharat, schools, highways or health... In every which way, Narendra Modi’s 2014 campaign was spectacular. From communication to ground management, the Bharatiya Janata Party electoral machine, it is widely acknowledged, got it right. However, a year and a half after Modi took office, one aspect of his campaign seems to have been a bit too spectacular altogether.
'The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has taken cognizance of the "indecent" remarks made by Haryana's Health Minister Anil Vij against IPS officer Sangeeta Kalia and has sought a report from the state Chief Secretary in the matter. Slamming Vij's "get out" remarks against the woman officer, the Commission's member Ishwar Singh said on Saturday that he has sought a report from the Haryana government within a week.
'Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday continued his campaign against state governor PB Acharya, and shot off a letter to the President, requesting him to immediately replace him because of “making no distinction between his constitutional functioning as Governor of a state and his political and ideological instincts.” Acharya had also converted the Guwahati Raj Bhavan into an annexe of the BJP office, he alleged.
