Known to be having extensive expertise in dealing with India's neighbourhood as well as the US, China and Europe, the 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer pipped nearly half-a-dozen others in the race for the coveted post including Indian High Commissioner to UK Gaitri Issar Kumar (1986-batch IFS) and Ruchira Kamboj (1987 batch IFS).
He has been appointed as the TRAI chief for three years or till he attains the age of 65.
Bandyopadhyay, a 1987-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, was scheduled to retire on May 31 after completion of 60 years of age. However, he was granted a three-month extension following a nod from the Centre.
An amendment carried out in the over 30-year-old Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988 in July 2018 bars a police officer from conducting 'any enquiry or inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant' without 'the previous approval' of the authorities.
The Centre on Tuesday asked all its employees aged 45 years and above to get themselves vaccinated to effectively contain the spread of COVID-19.
All central government employees were on Wednesday asked to immediately download the 'Aarogya Setu' mobile application and to come to office when the application shows "safe" status for commuting, an order issued by the personnel ministry said.
Senior bureaucrat Tarun Bajaj was appointed revenue secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle by the Centre on Tuesday.
CVC K V Chowdary and Vigilance Commissioner T M Bhasin completed their tenure at the anti-graft body on Sunday and Monday respectively.
"There are not sufficient number of applications received by the government. The extension in the last date has been given to allow more people to apply for the posts," a senior government official said.
Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said it is a major step to place the right talent for the right role.
Air India Chairman Rajiv Bansal has been appointed as the new aviation secretary as part of a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Wednesday. K Rajaraman, additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, has been appointed as secretary, department of telecommunications, a personnel ministry order said.
All central government employees will be able to get 15 days of special casual leave (SCL) in case their parents or any dependent family members test Covid-19 positive, according to an order issued by the personnel ministry.
Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Friday that the number of public grievances received by the government has increased from 2 lakh in 2014 to nearly 22 lakh at present, and added the 10-fold rise reflects the trust people have shown in the current dispensation.
Eminent rocket scientist S Somanath has been appointed as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation as well as the space secretary, a personnel ministry order issued on Wednesday said.
Senior bureaucrat Atanu Chakraborty has been appointed as the department of expenditure secretary on Wednesday, replacing G C Murmu who was named as the first Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor last week.
The academy is taking every measure to break the chain of COVID-19 spread in consonance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the District Administration, Dehradun, a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry on Saturday said. All officer trainees, who have tested positive, have been quarantined in a dedicated COVID care centre, it said.
The central government on Monday issued a Gazette notification to extend the tenure of defence secretary, home secretary, director of Intelligence Bureau, and secretary of Research and Analysis Wing for a period of two years.
Following is the gist of the controversy over sudden transfer of West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who retired on Monday, to Delhi and related rules.
Jaiswal is a 1985-batch Indian Police Service officer of Maharashtra cadre. He has also served as Maharashtra's director general of police in the past.
Asserting that central government employees may have to work with staggered attendance and variable working hours, the personnel ministry has come out with a draft framework for 'work for home' for the staff post-lockdown. The department of personnel and training may provide options for work from home to the eligible officers/staff for 15 days in a year as a matter of policy, it said.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh was briefed about this and other activities being done at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) for the training of bureaucrats on COVID-19 related issues during a video conference with the director and faculty of the premier institution.
Asthana is at present working as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security in New Delhi.
"The amount of both the family pensions will now be restricted to Rs 1,25,000 per month, which is over two and half times higher than the earlier limit," said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel.
Besides him, Brajendra Navnit who served in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has been appointed as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Geneva, Switzerland. Topno is a 1996 batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Gujarat cadre.
Before taking over as the CEO of National Institution for Transforming India (Niti Aayog), he was Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, which has been rechristened as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
The Central government on Thursday allowed 50 per cent of its employees to work from home and the remaining to attend office every day besides implementing different time slots for working hours in its effort to further check the spread of the coronavirus disease.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a three-month extension in Sudan's service, beyond the date of her superannuation, i.e. April 30, a personnel ministry order said. She will continue to function as the secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare during the period, it said.
The new government order to review the service record of employees who have completed 30 years in the job to identify inefficient or corrupt staff and retire them prematurely has invited the ire of labour unions, who believe that this is a step towards privatisation.
Rajiv Kumar is a retired IAS officer of 1984 batch of Jharkhand cadre.
Batting for holding of simultaneous elections in the country, a parliamentary committee on Tuesday said this will reduce the burden on the exchequer, expenditure of political parties and also ensure that human resources are optimally utilised.
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha was appointed as the chief information commissioner on Saturday, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.
'Dr Shah Faesal had informed state executive members that he is not in a position to continue with political activities and wants to be freed from the responsibilities of the organisation'
The appointment of new expenditure secretary comes a month-and-a-half ahead of the Budget for 2020-21 to be presented on February 1.
It has decided to provide them with necessary training through online mode.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to withdraw the Centre's order recalling Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, and said her government 'is not releasing' the top bureaucrat.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel headed state government has written to the Union home ministry and the ministry of rersonnel asking them to direct the CBI not to register fresh cases in the state, the officials said citing an official statement.
The move comes following a report from a Parliamentary committee in this regard.
He has been appointed to the post of DRDO chairman for two years. He will also be the secretary, DoDRD for the same period, an order issued by personnel ministry said.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has decided to amend the All India Services (discipline and appeal) Rules, 1969, applicable to IAS, IPS and IFS officers, in this regard.
About his decision of forming a political party, Faesal said he wanted to revive democratic politics in Jammu and Kashmir. "But soon after quitting (IAS), I realised that my innocuous act of dissent was being seen as an act of treason. It had done more harm than the benefit," he said, adding that his act had discouraged a lot of civil services aspirants and his colleagues felt betrayed by him. "It upset me a lot," Faesal said.