Will D K Shivakumar be another Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma?

Is D K Shivakumar another Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma in Karnataka? Political watchers feel so since Shivakumar thinks it as a betrayal that he has been denied Chief Ministership as promised. His visit to Kumbha and presence with Swami Jaggi Vasudev, that too in the presence of Amit Shah is considered a move in this connection. BJP is said to be not averse to the idea of Shivakumar joining the party.

Now UP is richest state in country!

After the successful culmination of Kumbh Mela Financial circles say Utter Pradesh is the richest state in the country.

BUREAUCRACY

A couple of vacancies of Chief Justice in State High Courts

At present there are a couple of vacancies of High Court Chief Justice including Odisha and Patna. Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva of MP High Court may be moved as Chief Justice of one State High Court.

Will Santhi Kumari be new Chairman of TGPSC?

Whisper has it that Telangana Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari will be appointed as Chairperson of the Telangana Public Service Commission after her superannuation. She is a 1989 batch IAS officer.

IRDAI Chief Debashish panda unlikely to get extension

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has invited applications for the post of Chairperson. It means IRDAI Chairman Debashish Panda, a 1987 batch IAS officer of UP cadre, is now certain not to get extension. His term is coming to an end on March 14.

Will this IAS join politics after VR?

In Punjab, one of the senior IAS officers K Siva Prasad has taken Voluntary Retirement (VR) and now the bureaucracy is speculating, whether he will join politics? He is a 1993 batch officer and due to retire in 2030. Prasad is related to former Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi, which has fuelled discussions about his joining politics. However, a person close to him said that he is likely to join an NGO to undertake social service. He had sought premature retirement during former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh’s tenure also but later withdrew his request. Before retirement, he was posted as Additional Chief Secretary with the Governor of Punjab.

Search for new Chairman, ONGC begins

A vacancy of Chairman, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is arising on December 7, 2025 with the expiring term of incumbent Arun Kumar Singh. The Government of India has started searching for a candidate for the vacancy.

Gujarat facing severe crunch of IAS and IPS officers

Gujarat is grappling with a shortage of top bureaucrats, with 56 IAS and 9 IPS posts lying vacant. As of December 31, 2024, the state has only 257 IAS officers against an approved strength of 313, with 14 on central deputation. The IPS cadre faces a similar crunch, with 198 officers in place against 208 sanctioned posts, while 24 IPS officers are currently serving at the centre. IAS cadre strength is determined by the central Government in consultation with the state. The structure undergoes a review every five years, with the last one conducted in 2018 setting Gujarat’s IAS cadre at 313 posts. These include 170 senior duty posts, 68 for central deputation, 42 for state deputation, 28 for leave reserve, and 5 for training reserve. The Gujarat Government proposed increasing the IAS cadre strength to 343 in 2024, aiming to address the ongoing shortfall. However, with only 8 to 9 IAS officers recruited annually through direct recruitment, the gap persists. Over the last five years, Gujarat has added 41 IAS officers this way, but the backlog remains.

Navratna’ PSUs have only three women on Boards

Only three women are enjoying the posts of Directors on the Board of ‘Navratna’ Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), Government of India. They are: Ms Ragini Advani, Director (Finance), IRCON International Ltd; Ms Priyadarshini Gaddam, Director (Personnel), NMDC Limited and Ms Shelly Verma, Director (Finance), Indian Railway Finance Corporation.

Sunil Tandon led company gets bullet train starting point contract

Former 1983 batch IAS officer, Sunil Tandon led Thoth Infrastructure limited has bagged the prestigious bullet train starting point in Ahmedabad - “the Sabarmati Hub”. The Company has signed the Concession agreement with The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHRCL) for a period of 35 years starting from 2025. The total project cost of the HuB in phase 1 is expected to be around 750 crore.

Joymalya Bagchi appointed as Judge of Supreme Court

Joymalya Bagchi, Judge, Calcutta High Court, has been appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of India.

(DISCLAIMER: Correctness of this content is the responsibility of the author. By arrangement with whispersinthecorridors.com)