Latest news with #Sultania
The Hindu
27-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Telangana govt takes serious view of transfers in violation of prescribed norms
Telangana Government has taken a serious note of transfers of employees being effected by certain departments in violation of the prescribed norms. The Heads of Departments (HoDs) and corporation heads issued orders citing, in some instances, Government Orders which are no longer in force as the basis for such transfers. Finance Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania recalled the ban on the transfer of employees, except in some cases, imposed on August 1 last year. Accordingly, posting orders to employees on account of promotion should be issued to clear the existing vacancies without shifting any other employees. Posting orders to employees due to disbandment of posts, reversions, repatriations, deputations (on Foreign Service only), and disciplinary proceedings should be issued in clear existing vacancies without shifting other employees. The same is the case with employees on return from long leave of more than six months. The vacancy arising out of the leave up to six months should not be filled by transfer. The government has specifically instructed the departments to obtain orders in circulation to the Chief Minister through Finance Secretary, Chief Secretary, Minister concerned and Finance Minister in case of relaxation of ban on transfers is required. However, it has come to the notice of the government that few departments were issuing transfer orders without following the ban. Mr. Sultania in a circular memo termed 'most important' requested all the administrative heads to issue suitable instructions to the HoDs/corporations concerned and other institutions that there would be no exemptions and permissions for transfer of employees except for the conditions laid down, and directed them to strictly comply with the orders.
Hans India
14-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Sandeep Sultania to take charge as Finance Secy today
Hyderabad: Senior IAS officer Sandeep Kumar Sultania will take charge as the Principal Secretary of Finance department on Wednesday by relieving Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao from the post of FAC (Full Additional Charge). Rao served as Finance Secretary for more than 10 years and played a key role in addressing the financial crisis in the crucial times. In the wake of a slowdown in the economy and slump in the realty sector, the new Finance Secretary is likely to face a lot of challenges to meet the financial requirements of the state. Sources said Sultania has been given a free hand to mobilise financial resources in the current financial year. The government needs at least Rs 40,000 crore over the next six months to fulfill the assurances mainly the implementation of Indiramma housing, 'Rajiv Yuva Vikasam', 'Rythu Bharosa' and women empowerment schemes. Soon after the government issued orders about his appointment, Sultania called on Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka at the latter's residence and discussed state's finances and immediate measures which needed to be taken up. Officials said that the new Finance Secretary would also seek the help of Chief Secretary Ramakrishna Rao who already took a slew of decisions to strengthen the state's financial situation this year when he was the Finance Secretary.
Indian Express
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
As Rahul Gandhi picks Telangana over Bihar for caste count, how the two surveys measure up
The BJP-led Centre's announcement to enumerate castes in the forthcoming population Census has sparked a heated debate on the merits of various caste surveys conducted by some states like the NDA-ruled Bihar and the Congress-ruled Telangana. Hours after Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the Centre's decision on the caste census on April 30, top Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a press conference, sought to highlight the differences between the caste surveys conducted in Telangana by the A Revanth Reddy -led government and the one conducted in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government. Rahul gave the example of the Telangana caste survey, saying that it has become a 'model for the caste census' which could be 'emulated' by the Centre. 'That could be the blueprint… design is very important. Because there are two examples – Bihar and Telangana. They are completely different,' he said, describing the Telangana survey as 'detailed and granular' and undertaken through an 'open process'. The Indian Express spoke to the caste survey officials in both the states to find the differences and similarities between the two surveys. Differences While Bihar caste survey officials had asked just 17 questions to those surveyed, Telangana officials asked people 57 main questions and 18 sub-questions. A survey official in Bihar said, 'The questions were comprehensive but were less in number so that the process does not turn bulky.' Sandeep Singh Sultania, who headed the caste survey as secretary to the Department of Planning in Telangana, explained Telangana's approach, saying, 'We asked detailed questions when it came to caste. For example, we asked people (belonging to historically marginalised communities) whether they faced discrimination over entering places of religious worship.' While the Bihar survey data was entered by enumerators in the field directly into a government-run mobile app called BIJAGA (Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana), the Telangana data was first collected through pen-and-paper questionnaire. Sultania said, 'We had data entry operators enter the data collected from pen-and-paper questionnaire into (a data entry) software. This was then analysed using the software.' Similarities There were similarities, too. In both surveys, officials did not ask for proof of caste. The castes recorded in the surveys were as reported by respondents. 'We believe self-identification of castes worked in our case because the data collected was in line with the existing enumeration figures for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs),' said Sultania, adding that the Backward Class (BC) figures, too, were in line with the assessment of Telangana Backward Class Welfare department. A Bihar enumeration official said, 'There was no way by which people misreported their caste as caste is a fundamental identification parameter. Even if someone misreported, there would be others who would correct them in the case of caste.' In both surveys, the respondents were asked about their economic status, including material possessions. In both states, they were asked how much they earned per month and whether they owned vehicles and other consumer goods. 'This data was voluntarily collected. There could have been some mismatch as people thought they would get benefits from the government if they show lower income status,' the Bihar official said. In Telangana, too, such worries were so common that officials said, 'People could have misreported the number of consumer goods because they expected the government to step in and improve their quality of life.' Congress, RJD tension As the Opposition INDIA bloc parties vie with each other to take credit for the Centre's decision to go for caste enumeration in the upcoming Census, Rahul's statement comparing the Telangana and Bihar surveys has not gone down well with the Congress's senior Bihar ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which was a key player in the then Mahagathbandhan government led by Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar in 2022-23, when the Bihar survey was conducted and its data published. While Rahul's remark was a veiled criticism of the Bihar survey, other Congress leaders called the state's survey 'bogus'. The Congress's Lok Sabha whip and Tamil Nadu MP Manickam Tagore alleged, 'The Bihar caste survey was a bogus one. Nitish Kumar cheated the people of Bihar.' Several RJD leaders told The Indian Express that the Congress could have 'avoided negative remarks' about the Bihar survey. 'If the Congress wants to praise their government's survey in Telangana, they are free to do it. But why pull Bihar down when we have been talking about it in our campaign for the upcoming state Assembly polls? And when the two parties have to contest the polls together,' an RJD leader said. On Rahul's statement, the RJD's Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said, 'I do not agree (with Rahul). I have seen the Bihar survey results. He (Rahul) could have (made those comments) because it is his government (in Telangana) and he was instrumental in making it happen. But (RJD leader) Tejashwi Yadav personally monitored the survey (in Bihar) and it is as scientific and valuable as what Mr Gandhi thinks the survey in Telangana is… These are just talking points in the media. On the ground, it has no traction. The only thing that will matter on the ground is how the data for the caste survey is collected and how we go from there.' Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader in Bihar, Shakeel Ahmad Khan, however, played down the remarks made by the Congress leaders. 'We are not questioning the intentions behind the survey. But it did lack detailing and even some NDA allies have raised concerns about it. We are raising questions to the JD(U) when we say that the implementation of programmes based on findings of the survey didn't happen,' Khan told The Indian Express. The previous Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar, which had the JD(U), RJD and Congress as allies, released the findings of its statewide caste survey in October 2023, which showed that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) together constituted more than 63% of Bihar's population. However, due to legal challenges, the implementation of the Bihar government's move to hike the quota for government jobs and educational institutions to 65% based on the survey's findings could not be implemented. Less than four months after the announcement of the survey results, in January 2024 Nitish quit the Mahagathbandhan and returned to the NDA fold to head its government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
