News Analysis India

Tag: DoPT

  • “Total incompetence…”: Jairam Ramesh on NEET-PG exam postponement

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that exam cancellations are happening in the country every day because of the “total incompetence” of PM Modi and the “people around him”.

    “No day is complete without news of the cancellation of an exam because of the total incompetence of the non-biological PM and the people around him. The latest exam to be put off is NEET-PG, which was scheduled to be held on Sunday,” Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

    The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare postponed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG) Examination on Saturday, which was scheduled to be held on Sunday and said that a fresh date will be announced at the earliest.The NEET-PG exams were scheduled to be held on June 23.

    “Taking into consideration, the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, the Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of the processes of the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, conducted by the National Board of Examination for medical students,” the ministry statement read.

    “It has accordingly been decided, as a precautionary measure, to postpone the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, scheduled to be held on 23rd June 2024. The fresh date of this examination will be notified at the earliest,” the ministry added.”The Ministry of Health sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to the students. This decision has been taken in the best interests of the students and to maintain the sanctity of the examination process,” the health ministry said.The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.

    An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which added to the concerns.

    The Ministry of Education said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols and the functioning of the NTA.

    The 7-member committee, led by ISRO former chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan, will submit its report to the ministry in the next two months.

  • SSC appointment case: Did DoPT, headed PM Modi, lie in its affidavit to Uttarakhand High Court?

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Department of Post have contradicted each other in a submitted affidavit in Uttarakhand High Court.

    The case pertains to application of Magsaysay Award winner 2002-batch IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi’s application for the post of member of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the biggest government jobs recruiter sin the country.

    At present, Chaturvedi is posted as Chief Conservator of forests in research wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department in Haldwani city. 

    Chaturvedi had applied for the post of the member of the SSC last year but his candidature was declined on various grounds following which the officer filed a petition alleging discrimination, irregularities and forgery by the Centre in the selection process.

    The DoPT in the affidavit through its under-secretary Rajbir Singh has submitted that Chaturvedi’s application was not considered for the aforementioned vacancy as the application reached after the last date of submission through registered post.

    “The application of the Petitioner for the post of Member SSC duly forwarded by Government of Uttarakhand, was received on 29.05.2020 in Central Registry of DoPT, i.e. after the last date for receipt of application,” said the affidavit by the DoPT dated August 24, 2021.

    Countering this claim by DoPT, the postal department in its affidavit submitted to the HC on August 24, 2021 through Priyanka Jain, senior superintendent of post offices, said that the letter was delivered in the DoPT office on March 20, 2021 prior to the last date of the submission of the application. 

    The department of post has also attached the computerised records of delivery and recipient of the said letter as annexure in the affidavit. 

    “…The speed post letter was booked and dispatched on 20-03-2020 and consequently it was delivered on 20-03-2020 to the concerned CR section of Department of Personnel and Training Room No 125-C, North Block, New Delhi under the seal and signature of concerned office.”

    The Uttarakhand state government also in its affidavit submitted to the HC in June this year has already clarified that the state government has given the approval on the application of the petitioner ‘within time prescribed in the advertisement’ for the post in the SSC. 

    The petitioner in his petition alleged that his records including his date of birth was forged under a criminal conspiracy to debar him from the selection process of the members of the SSC while another person was appointed without completing the eligibility criteria. 

    The selection Committee in its meeting held on July 10, 2020 which included senior IAS officers Lok Ranjan, Sujata Chaturvedi, Srinivas Ramaswamy Katikithala as members and Dr C Chandramouli as the chairman had shortlisted five candidates for interview and finally name of Ashok Kumar was approved by Appointment Committee of Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister. 

    On September 15, 2020, appointment orders of Ashok Kumar as a member of the SSC were issued mentioning that cooling off requirement had been relaxed by competent authority. 

    In February 2021, the Uttarakhand HC issued notices the Centre through secretary, DoPT, Uttarakhand state government and two others.

    Responding to the notice in April 2021, in a shocking submission, the DoPT in its affidavit submitted in Uttarakhand HC said that Forest Research Institute, Dehradun is not a recognized institution. 

    Notably, this is the same institution where PM Modi himself performed asanas with more than 50,000 Yoga enthusiasts in June 2018 on International Yoga Day.

    Commenting on the issue, Sudarshan Goel, senior advocate from the Supreme Court of India said, “Most serious issue is that if recruiters in biggest recruitment agency of country are being recruited in this manner, what type of public servants they will recruit. This is a very shocking and scandalous case of forgery and criminal conspiracy by DoPT secretary and other three senior most IAS officers of central government. We are mulling over filing a criminal case against these officers.”

  • SSC appointment case: Did DoPT, headed by PM Modi, lie in its affidavit to Uttarakhand High Court?

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Department of Post have contradicted each other in a submitted affidavit in Uttarakhand High Court.

    The case pertains to application of Magsaysay Award winner 2002-batch IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi’s application for the post of member of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the biggest government jobs recruiter sin the country.

    At present, Chaturvedi is posted as Chief Conservator of forests in research wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department in Haldwani city. 

    Chaturvedi had applied for the post of the member of the SSC last year but his candidature was declined on various grounds following which the officer filed a petition alleging discrimination, irregularities and forgery by the Centre in the selection process.

    The DoPT in the affidavit through its under-secretary Rajbir Singh has submitted that Chaturvedi’s application was not considered for the aforementioned vacancy as the application reached after the last date of submission through registered post.

    “The application of the Petitioner for the post of Member SSC duly forwarded by Government of Uttarakhand, was received on 29.05.2020 in Central Registry of DoPT, i.e. after the last date for receipt of application,” said the affidavit by the DoPT dated August 24, 2021.

    Countering this claim by DoPT, the postal department in its affidavit submitted to the HC on August 24, 2021 through Priyanka Jain, senior superintendent of post offices, said that the letter was delivered in the DoPT office on March 20, 2021 prior to the last date of the submission of the application. 

    The department of post has also attached the computerised records of delivery and recipient of the said letter as annexure in the affidavit. 

    “…The speed post letter was booked and dispatched on 20-03-2020 and consequently it was delivered on 20-03-2020 to the concerned CR section of Department of Personnel and Training Room No 125-C, North Block, New Delhi under the seal and signature of concerned office.”

    The Uttarakhand state government also in its affidavit submitted to the HC in June this year has already clarified that the state government has given the approval on the application of the petitioner ‘within time prescribed in the advertisement’ for the post in the SSC. 

    The petitioner in his petition alleged that his records including his date of birth was forged under a criminal conspiracy to debar him from the selection process of the members of the SSC while another person was appointed without completing the eligibility criteria. 

    The selection Committee in its meeting held on July 10, 2020 which included senior IAS officers Lok Ranjan, Sujata Chaturvedi, Srinivas Ramaswamy Katikithala as members and Dr C Chandramouli as the chairman had shortlisted five candidates for interview and finally name of Ashok Kumar was approved by Appointment Committee of Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister. 

    On September 15, 2020, appointment orders of Ashok Kumar as a member of the SSC were issued mentioning that cooling off requirement had been relaxed by competent authority. 

    In February 2021, the Uttarakhand HC issued notices the Centre through secretary, DoPT, Uttarakhand state government and two others.

    Responding to the notice in April 2021, in a shocking submission, the DoPT in its affidavit submitted in Uttarakhand HC said that Forest Research Institute, Dehradun is not a recognized institution. 

    Notably, this is the same institution where PM Modi himself performed asanas with more than 50,000 Yoga enthusiasts in June 2018 on International Yoga Day.

    Commenting on the issue, Sudarshan Goel, senior advocate from the Supreme Court of India said, “Most serious issue is that if recruiters in biggest recruitment agency of country are being recruited in this manner, what type of public servants they will recruit. This is a very shocking and scandalous case of forgery and criminal conspiracy by DoPT secretary and other three senior most IAS officers of central government. We are mulling over filing a criminal case against these officers.”

  • West Bengal CM skips ‘Yaas’ review meet with PM Modi, Centre recalls chief secretary

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: The optics of the first in-person meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lined up with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Kalaikunda, was as turbulent as cyclone Yaas itself, whose destruction they were expected to review, since the latter skipped the scheduled interaction.

    Defence minister Rajnath Singh expressed shock at the no-show, saying Mamata had violated the basic tenets of the Constitution’s federal system. The first fallout was the Centre’s order to recall Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay, whose tenure was extended for three months on the CM’s request just four days ago.

    Bandopadhyay has been asked to send him to the Department of Personnel and Training’s office in Delhi by May 31 morning. Mamata has to relieve him first before he can be sent back.

    ALSO READ| ‘Has this ever happened?’ TMC on Centre’s Bengal Chief Secretary move

    Mamata later met Modi for 15 minutes and presented a sheaf of papers containing the state government’s assessment of the cyclone damage. As for the meeting, the presence of the leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari was the trigger for Mamata’s anger, as Suvendu had defected from Trinamool to the BJP and defeated her in a tight race in Nandigram.

    But, the Centre claimed invites to other Opposition leaders like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress) too had gone out. Adhir expressed his inability to make it as he was in Delhi for a meeting. However, he told this newspaper that he had been informed about the meeting only around 7.30 am on Friday. “It was not possible for me to attend it at such short notice,” he said.

    The meeting in Odisha was attended by Chief Minister Navin Patnaik and also by Union ministers Dharmenda Pradhan and PC Sarangi, both hailing from the state. “The PM and the CM are not individuals, but institutions. Both discharge duties, swearing on the Constitution, for the public welfare. Such behaviour towards the prime minister is painful,” said Rajnath.

    Modi later announced financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand.

  • FRI Dehradun where PM Modi performed yoga in 2018, not a recognized institution: PM led DoPT ministry

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Department of Personnel and Training of the Central Government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, in its affidavit submitted in Uttarakhand high court said that the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun is not a recognized institution. 

    Notably, this is the same institution where PM Modi himself performed asanas with more than 50,000 Yoga enthusiasts in June 2018 on International Yoga Day.

    The DoPT filed an affidavit in the high court in response to the notice issued by the court in February this year while hearing a petition of Magsaysay Award recipient India Forest Services (IFS) officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi alleging irregularities and forgery by the center in the selection process of a member of Staff Selection Commission (SSC). 

    The affidavit dated April 28, 2021 filed by the secretary, DoPT said, “Further, the petitioner (Chaturvedi) did not possess the educational qualification of Post Graduate Degree from a recognized University or Institution.”

    The notices were issued to the Center through the secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Uttarakhand government, and postal department on February 25, 2021.

    Chaturvedi had applied for the post of member of Staff Selection Commission but his candidature was declined on various grounds. One of the main areas of dispute was the fulfillment of eligibility criteria regarding postgraduate degree from a recognized institution. 

    The officer had produced a notification of the year 1998 in which the FRI had notified that probation course/training of Indian Forest Services officers at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun has to be treated as MSc Forestry. 

    Interestingly, the institution was declared as a deemed university by the University Grant Commission (UGC) in 1991. Later in 1998, the Academic Council of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun recognized the PG Diploma in Forestry of AIGNFA equivalent to MSc (Forestry). 

    Uttarakhand government after duly examining the application of the 2002 batch Indian Forest Services (IFS) officer, had granted its concurrence and had forwarded the application of the officer to the secretary DoPT on March 19, 2020, with a verification statement about the correctness of the same including the validity of his postgraduate degree from the FRI. 

    Commenting on the issue, Sudarshan Goel, senior advocate from the Supreme Court of India said, “The reply filed by the central government regarding Forest Research Institute not being a recognized institution is simply scandalous and criminal. The affidavit filed by Central Government is all the more perplexing because recognizing the eminence of this institution even Prime Minister Modi had chosen this institute for the performance of Yoga with 50,000 participants on international Yoga day on 21 June 2018. Now in view of the enormity of issues involved and brazenness, we are going to file perjury application before Hon’ble High Court for appropriate punishment to persons responsible for this act.”

    Established by Britishers in 1878, it is a 143-year-old institute, being one of the oldest institutes in the country and the second oldest of Uttarakhand after the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee which was established in 1865. 

    “The FRI is the most prestigious institution of this country in the forestry sector and recognized around the world for its professional research. Since then thousands of students have been awarded postgraduate, Ph.D. and other levels of degrees, and even its works are mentioned in the Annual report submitted by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to Parliament and therefore, an affidavit filed by the central government before the Hon’ble High Court declaring FRI as not a recognized institution will play havoc with future of thousands of students getting degrees from this otherwise prestigious institution,” added the senior advocate.

    The petitioner in his petition alleged that his records including his date of birth were forged under a criminal conspiracy to debar him from the selection process of the members of the Staff Selection Commission while another person was appointed without completing the eligibility criteria for the member of the SSC. 

    The Selection Committee in its meeting held on July 10, 2020, had shortlisted five candidates for interview and finally, the name of Ashok Kumar was approved by the Appointment Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

    Later, on September 15, 2020, appointment orders of Ashok Kumar as a member of the SSC were issued mentioning that the cooling-off requirement in respect of Ashok Kumar had been relaxed by the competent authority.