Ias Officers

Maharashtra brings IAS officers under purview of Lokayukta with amendment

The Maharashtra legislative assembly has approved amendments to the Lokayukta Act that will, for the first time, bring Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and several state-appointed officials under the purview of the anti-corruption watchdog. The amendment bill, which was passed on Thursday evening, expands the scope of the Maharashtra Lokayukta Act, 2023, and removes ambiguities flagged earlier by the President's office. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who moved the amendments, said the revised provisions were essential to ensuring clarity on which officials fall under the Lokayukta's scrutiny. The amendment makes it clear that IAS officers appointed by the state on authorities created under Central Acts will also come under the Lokayukta. This will remove the existing ambiguity, he said. The amendments specify that officers appointed by the state government to various boards, authorities and committees established under Parliamentary Acts will now be covered. Earlier,

TV Somanathan's missive urging officers to meet non-officials sparks debate

While most bureaucrats have welcomed the move, others have expressed cautious optimism. Ruchika Chitravanshi, Sanjeeb Mukherjee & Nivedita Mookerji report

Sebi allows IAs, RAs to use MFs, overnight funds to meet deposit norms

Markets regulator Sebi has allowed Investment Advisers (IAs) and Research Analysts (RAs) to use liquid mutual funds and overnight funds as an additional option to the bank fixed deposit to meet their deposit requirements. This would provide IAs and RAs an additional option, along with bank fixed deposits, to comply with regulatory requirements and help in promoting ease of doing business. Under the current rule, IAs and RAs are required to maintain a deposit with a scheduled bank. Such a deposit is required to be lien-marked to the Administration and Supervisory Body (ASB) for IAs and RAs. IAs and RAs, through their associations, have represented that they are facing certain operational difficulties in opening the FD accounts, such as non-uniform interpretation of third-party FD procedures across different bank branches and lien marking of the same in favour of ASB. They suggested that as an alternative to FD, units of a liquid mutual fund lien marked in favour of ASB may also be ..

Haryana govt transfers 31 IAS, 5 HCS officers in key bureaucratic shakeup

In a major administrative reshuffle, the Haryana government on Thursday issued transfer and posting orders of 31 IAS and five HCS officers with immediate effect. The IAS officers include Raja Sekhar Vundru, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Department, who has been transferred and posted as ACS, Fisheries Department. Vineet Garg, ACS, Higher Education Department and Chairman, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, has been posted as ACS, School Education Department, in addition to his present duties. D Suresh, Resident Commissioner, Haryana Bhawan, New Delhi and Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, has been posted as Resident Commissioner, Haryana Bhawan, New Delhi and Principal Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department. Rajeev Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Labour Department, will now serve as Principal Secretary, Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Department, in addition to his present duties, according

Bihar govt transfers 45 IAS officers in major bureaucratic reshuffle

The Bihar government has transferred 45 IAS officers, including several district magistrates (DMs), in a major shake-up in its bureaucracy ahead of the assembly elections, due later this year. Thirty-one officers of the Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) were also transferred as a part of the rejig, according to an order issued by the General Administration Department on Saturday. Besides, the state government also made new appointments in the Mahadalit Commission and the Scheduled Caste Commission. Patna DM Chandrasekhar Singh, an IAS officer of the 2010 batch, was appointed Commissioner of the Patna division. Gaya DM Thyagarajan S M of the 2011 batch was made the new DM of Patna, the order stated. Mayank Warwade, the previous Commissioner of the Patna division, was made the State Project Director of the Bihar Education Project Council. Darbhanga DM Rajeev Raushan was appointed the Commissioner of the Saran division, while Avneesh Kumar Singh was made the Commissioner of Munger .

Former defence secretary Ajay Kumar appointed new chairman of UPSC

Former defence secretary Ajay Kumar was on Tuesday appointed chairman of the UPSC, according to a Union Personnel Ministry order. The post of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chairman fell vacant after the completion of Preeti Sudan's tenure on April 29. Kumar's appointment was cleared by President Droupadi Murmu, according to the order. A 1985-batch retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Kerala cadre, Kumar worked as defence secretary from August 23, 2019, to October 31, 2022, according to his service records. The UPSC -- which conducts civil services examinations to select officers for the IAS, Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), among others -- is headed by a chairman and can have a maximum of 10 members. At present, there is a vacancy of two members in the commission. A UPSC chairman is appointed for a term of six years or until attaining 65 years of age.

IAS body, politicians defend Foreign Secy Misri after social media trolling

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who led briefings on the India-Pakistan conflict, received support from the IAS Association and leaders after facing unfair online trolling

'Stay ethical, avoid temptation': FM Sitharaman's advice to UPSC achievers

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses 2024 UPSC batch in Chennai, urging officers to uphold integrity, avoid unethical gains and specialise early in their careers

This IAS officer hosted a private Holi party - and billed the state for it

Prabodh Saxena, Himachal Pradesh's top bureaucrat, billed ₹1.22 lakh to the state exchequer for a Holi party attended by officers and families, sparking backlash over misuse of public funds

Parl panel suggests penalties for IAS officers not filing property details

A Parliamentary committee has suggested penalties or corrective actions against IAS officers if they fail to file their property details within the prescribed time limit. Ninety-one Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers did not file their immovable property returns (IPRs) in 2024 and 73 the year before, according to 145th report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice on the Demands for Grants (2025-26) pertaining to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The report was tabled in Parliament on March 27. Vigilance clearance, mandatory to join certain posts, was denied to 15 IAS officers in 2023, 12 in 2022 and 14 in 2021, due to non-filing of IPRs for respective years. The panel recommended that a centralised compliance monitoring mechanism may be established to ensure timely filing of IPRs by all IAS officers. "This mechanism should involve creation of a dedicated task force within the department

Ajay Seth, 1987-batch IAS officer, designated as new finance secretary

A 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service officer from the Karnataka cadre, Seth is also known for his role as the officer in charge of the finance track of the Group of 20 under India's presidency

Submission of age, quota-related papers now mandatory for UPSC prelims

The Centre has made submission of documents in support of age and reservation-related claims mandatory by candidates while applying for the civil services preliminary examinations, according to recently notified rules. Earlier, such documents were to be uploaded after candidates qualified the preliminary test. The move comes in the backdrop of the controversy involving former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who was accused of cheating, wrongly availing Other Backward Class (OBC) and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the government service. She has denied all allegations though. The civil services examination is conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in three stages -- preliminary, mains and interview -- to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others. "A candidate who is willing to apply for civil services examination shall be required to apply on-line

SC gives relief to ex-IAS probationer Puja Khedkar from arrest till Feb 14

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, issued a notice to the Delhi government and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in response to Khedkar's plea for anticipatory bail

Arunish Chawla named revenue secy, Vineet Joshi to be higher education secy

Chawla, a 1992 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Bihar cadre, is currently the pharmaceuticals secretary

Religious Whatsapp group: IAS officer's phone reset, says Kerala police

The Kerala police on Saturday said that the phone of the IAS officer, whose WhatsApp account was used to create a religious group, was completely reset and therefore, forensics could not ascertain whether it was hacked as claimed by him. Amidst reports quoting police suggesting that the IAS officer's phone was not hacked, Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner Sparjan Kumar said that it remains unclear whether the device was compromised, as it had been "reset". He also said that he had given a report regarding the matter to the State Police Chief, DGP Shaik Darvesh Saheb. The DGP's office said that the report was confidential and would be forwarded to the state government. The police investigated the matter following a complaint by the IAS officer alleging that his personal WhatsApp number was hacked and used to create a religious group. In the controversial WhatsApp group, officers from various communities were added, and the group was labelled as a Hindu community group. U

Kerala govt to examine controversial WhatsApp group formed for IAS officers

The Kerala government will examine the incident involving the controversial formation of a WhatsApp group for Hindu IAS officers, State Industries Minister P Rajeeve said on Monday. His statement followed a complaint lodged by an IAS officer with the police, alleging that his personal WhatsApp number was hacked and used to create a religious group. Responding to the controversy, Rajeeve said that the state government would investigate the formation of a group specifically for Hindu IAS officers. Describing the incident as "serious," he said that community-based divisions are highly concerning. "The government will look into this matter. There is a general code of conduct for IAS officers, which falls under the Public Administration department. We are currently examining the situation. Let's review and determine what needs to be done," he told reporters in New Delhi on Monday. The controversy arose after an IAS officer lodged a complaint with the police, claiming his personal Whats

1989-batch IAS officer Rajesh Kumar Singh takes over as Defence Secretary

Prior to this, Singh held the post of secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Govt extends census commissioner Mritunjay Narayan's tenure till 2026

The central deputation of Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, currently serving as Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, has been extended till August 2026, paving the way for him to lead the team to carry out the much-delayed decadal census of India. Narayan is a 1995 batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre and he is holding the key post under the Ministry of Home Affairs since 2020. "The President is pleased to extend the central deputation tenure of Shri Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, IAS (UP:1995), Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs beyond 06.12.2024 for a period up to 04.08.2026 or until further orders whichever is earlier. The Headquarters of Shri Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, IAS (UP:1995) will be New Delhi," according to an official notification. The house listing phase of the census and the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR) were scheduled to be carried out across the country from April 1 to September 30, 2020 b

ED raids IAS officer, others in Jal Jeevan Mission case in Jharkhand

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted searches in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme's implementation in poll-bound Jharkhand, official sources said. More than 20 locations in Ranchi are being covered as part of the probe. Some locations in Chaibasa in West Singhbhum district were also raided, the sources said. Premises linked to IAS officer Manish Ranjan, a personal staffer of drinking water and sanitation minister Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, his brother, some government officials, contractors and businessmen are being searched by the federal probe agency, they said. Ranjan is the secretary of the Land, Road and Building department and has been questioned by the ED earlier in a separate money laundering case in which it arrested former minister Alamgir Alam. Thakur charged that the raids are "politically motivated" as he refused to "buckle under pressure" of the saffron brigade to join the BJP. Alleging

In major reshuffle, Rajasthan govt transfers 58 IPS, 20 IAS officers

In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, Rajasthan has transferred 58 IPS and 20 IAS officers. At the same time, four Indian Police Service (IPS) and eight Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers were given additional charge. The state government's personnel department issued the transfer lists late on Sunday. Additional Director General (ADG) for planning, modernisation and welfare Govind Gupta was made director general for jails. ADG (Railway) Anil Paliwal was shifted to technical services (telecommunications and technical) and traffic as director general. ADG (Vigilance) Ashok Rathore was shifted to training while ADG (Training) Malini Agrawal was made ADG (civil rights and human trafficking). Another eight ADGs and eight inspector general rank officials were changed. The Alwar, Bhilwara, Jaipur Rural, Ajmer, Bikaner, Tonk, Beawar, Kota Rural, Jodhpur Rural, Bundi, Deedwana-Kuchaman, Behror, Hanumangarh and Balotra got new superintendents of police (SPs). Charge of SPs of the K