In this issue

POPULAR PERCEPTION - BT POLL: HOW DO YOU RATE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH UNDER THE ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP OF CK MISHRA, SECRETARY, HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE?...

All you wanted to know about the appointments, transfers, repatriations and extensions of services of bureaucrats in the recent days.

Union Health Secretary CK Mishra speaks about the increasing coordination between the Centre and the States in the recent times and also sheds light on other issues like making generic medicines available to people and the regulation of the private healthcare sector which are of top priority for his Ministry.

Breathing A New Life Into The Indian Healthcare System

On the occasion of World Health Day on April 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that his Government is leaving no stone unturned in providing quality healthcare that is accessible and affordable. Making an effort in this direction, the Health Ministry under the administrative acumen of the Health Secretary, CK Mishra, is working on a war footing to galvanise the sluggish healthcare system of India to deliver affordable health and well-being to the last man in the row. However, the real challenge in the path for Universal Health Coverage lies in effective implementation which calls for cementing consensus between State Governments and the Centre. In a candid conversation with Bureaucracy Today, Union Health Secretary Mishra speaks about the increasing coordination between the Centre and the States in the recent times and also sheds light on other issues like making generic medicines available to people and the regulation of the private healthcare sector which are of top priority for his Ministry.

8 mins

Central Bank Drags BoM In Court

As all nationalized banks are working under the control of the Reserve Bank of India they are expected to follow the rules and regulations codified by the same regulatory authority. But if some unforeseen incident happens and if there is no co-ordination or co-operation between the banks, they are susceptible to legal confrontation. This has happened in the case of a stolen cheque which was deposited in one bank and was cashed by the person who stole it by producing it in another bank.

4 mins

Are We Punching Above Our Weight?

International diplomacy is about Games Nations Play. This title of the celebrated book on world politics suggests that the success and failure of a country in the international arena will be determined by how good or bad it plays the game of politics at the global level. Like any other game, diplomacy is also about the calibre, skill and strength of the players which will decide the outcome of the game. In this context, we are talking here about the Ministry of External Affairs which is mandated to project India in the comity of nations and promote national interests by a sound mix of depth touches, dexterous policy measures and a bold declaration of official intent. 

5 mins

Does India Need More Doctors And Engineers Or File Pushing Bureaucrats?

Every year the UPSC, India’s highest constitutional recruiting agency, faces the biggest challenge while selecting trainee officers for the highest Civil Services in the country. More and more technocrats, doctors and surgeons appear for the most prestigious Civil Services Examination, go through tough interviews and are finally selected for top bureaucratic jobs. No doubt, in a democracy every citizen must have the freedom for choosing his or her career but the abilities of an increasing number of enormously skilled and trained technocrats and doctors get wasted in the file pushing duties of bureaucrats. This is practically the case for all the 24 shades of the higher Civil Services the UPSC is recruiting every year. 

3 mins

The Entrepreneur Who Broke The Glass Ceiling

In the male-dominated communications industry of the United Kingdom, it needs iron will for a woman, that too of an Indian origin, to make a mark. And Natasha Mudhar has done just that. At a young age of 33, she is heading the globally renowned, multi-awardwinning business and communications consultancy, Sterling Media, as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. In an interaction with Bureaucracy Today, Mudhar shares her life’s mantra, the projects she is handling, her most challenging assignments as well as how she has coped with gender issues.

5 mins

Are Public Works Immune From Competition Law?

Public procurement of goods and services, including public works activities, constitutes about 30% of India’s GDP, with the total annual expenditure of about Rs 15-20 lakh crore and that for the Union Government alone it is in the range of Rs 2.5-3 lakh crore. The requirement of public works is large and entails a huge expenditure of the Government. It is imperative that public procurement should be executed with economic efficiency and with a minimal cost to the public exchequer. This can be ensured only when the 27 Central PSUs involved in construction and consultancy business are made to compete with each other and also with private players. No one doubts their expertise and experience but the excessive service charges recovered by the PSUs from the user or buyer departments in the absence of competition are a matter of concern.

4 mins

Will Recent Finance Bill Amendments Unleash Tax Terrorism?

The NDA Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi made history by getting the Finance Bill passed before the commencement of the financial year 2017-18. The Opposition cried foul for overriding tax law amendments in the Rajya Sabha and a few other changes in the Finance Bill. Apart from diluting the procedure for appointments to a few tax Appellate Tribunals and merger of such quasi-judicial bodies, the major point of the Opposition attack pertained to amendments to Section 132 of the Income Tax Act relating to the search and seizure of property.

3 mins

At WTO India Gets Platitudes, No Permanent Solution

At a meeting of the Agriculture Committee of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held on March 28, 2017, the developed countries lambasted India on its Minimum Support Price (MSP) programme for wheat and other key commodities such as sugarcane and pulses. While Australia raised concerns over an increase in India’s MSP for wheat since 2006, the US and the EU questioned the subsidies on sugarcane, the buffer stock of pulses and price support for both rabi and kharif crops. But there was little movement on“permanent solution for legitimizing its food procurement subsidies”, an issue of great concern to India.

4 mins

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