Monday, January 30, 2012

Omita knows it better

How a 73 batch IIS officer has emerged as India's most powerful bureaucrat
Twice been to the Finance Ministry. First in 2004 when I was still trained as a journalist and again in 2010 while assisting my boss for pre-budget interview with the Finance Minister. The secrecy was in the air as Babus were too busy with their files. “Dada” as Pranab Babu is lovingly called reached our interview set exactly on time, even before our anchor reached the spot. During the interview, I discovered a lady in her mid-fifties sitting among us, almost guiding finance minister on “what not to say.” We left the finance ministry in a huff after that as I have to rush with the tape to the studio. The lady slipped out of my mind.
After a week I spotted the same lady on TV screen standing authoritatively beside Pranab Da. It’s then when I asked my boss- Who’s she? With a grin on his face he replied –“aap nahi jante?”. She is Omita Paul. Paul, a Bengali surname, made me believe for a moment that she is better-half of our FM..! And that’s true, pardon my ignorance but that’s exactly the first thing which came to my mind.
Fast forward 2011, Economic Times published a story titled, “Why North Block can't do without Omita Paul.” The newspaper quoted Pranab Mukherjee saying to his officers, "Omita knows the way I want to express it." Pranab was informing his officers on how Paul was indispensable when it comes to writing his budget speech. Pranab’s comfort with Paul speaks volume about the kind of working chemistry Omita has with her boss. Her relation with Pranab Babu goes back to late 70s when this 1973 batch Indian Information Services officer was under secretary in the Commerce ministry and Pranab Babu was Finance Minister with additional charge of Ministry of Commerce and Supply. Omita was OSD in the Planning commission from June 91 to May 96. Not surprising it was the same time Pranab Babu was deputy chairman of the plan panel. Moving forward Pranab was Commerce minister from June 93 to Feb 95. Omita was OSD to the Commerce minister during the period. In 1995-96, Pranab Da was holding the External Affair portfolio, Omita was OSD to the Foreign Minister. Between 1996 and 2004 Congress was out of power and Omita was relegated to the Information services job. From the post of DPR in PIB to ADG in DD, Omita was left out of policy making process until a fine day in 2004, when NDA lost to UPA in the General election held that summer. Smiling Pranab Babu enters Defence Ministry on 23rd May 2004, and in November the same year Omita was assigned the duty to advise honorable Raksha Mantri. Omita was back with a bang. From OSD to Advisor of the Union minister, it was a huge promotion of sort. Pranab Da took her along to MEA and finally she landed in the Finance Ministry in May 2009.
“Madam,” as Omita is addressed by officers in NB - with love or with contempt- has carved out for herself an unprecedented space in the ministry. Though largely unknown to the aam taxpayers of this country some developments have brought into sharp focus the nature of Paul’s “overwhelming role” in the Finance Ministry. And slowly revolt is brewing against Omita Paul. Some officers are up in arms though still not openly but they are speaking up their minds in private conversations. They are questioning Paul’s expertise in managing micro financial niceties. Her qualification is under severe scrutiny. More than bureaucrats it’s the technocrats who are feeling “insulted” as FM puts aside their recommendations over Paul’s on many vital issues.
It is also interesting to note that how Omita Paul describes her role in the ministry. Talking to journalist in June this year she said, “It's a description of herself that Paul says she fails to recognise. " My job is to advise the FM and whenever I'm asked to work on something, I do it. My job is not different from any other bureaucrat ." Perhaps while describing her role Paul conveniently forgot to add that it was she who pressed Pranab Babu in taking back his resignation on the issue of Fin Min’s 2G note issue. And Pranab Babu obliged..! Can Ms Paul explain which other bureaucrat in the country has the guts to press the finance minister to take back his resignation?
Why was Bhave not given extension?The exit of CB Bhave from SEBI also put the role of Omita Paul under scrutiny. Bhave is widely credited for improving the quality of operations and investigations at the market regulator. After completion of his three-year term Bhave was given extension for next two-year. But this decision was quickly rolled back and UK Sinha was made the new SEBI chief. Paul out rightly denied any role in Bhave’s affair. She said, "The suggestion that I or any bureaucrat can influence that is absurd. You are making me out to be more powerful than I really am. It would certainly not happen under this finance minister. He does not interfere in appointments or functioning of these institutions."
A PIL filed in November this year by a group of retired high-ranked government functionaries — including former CBI Joint Director BR Lall, former Chief of Air Staff S Krishnaswamy questioned the appointment of Sebi chief UK Sinha, and especially the creation of a selection panel that gave too much power to the finance ministry, and possibly done under the influence of corporate interests.
“There are clear indications that there is a nexus between the ministry of finance and major corporate players and that free and fair functioning of Sebi is no longer possible”, said former Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam, who represented the petitioners. The PIL said the denial of an extension to former SEBI chief CB Bhave was indicative of the ministry’s attempts to influence the market regulator. Among other things, Abraham said that Mukherjee’s office, and especially his advisor Omita Paul, were trying to influence many cases before Sebi, including those relating to Sahara Group, Reliance, Bank of Rajasthan and MCX.
Why income –tax exemption for members of UPSC?Former Delhi Police commissioner and husband of Omita Paul, KK Paul is a member of UPSC. In the 2011 budget proposals Mukherjee granted income-tax exemption on certain allowance to members of UPSC. As a result, UPSC members came to enjoy an exemption hitherto reserved for posts such as the chief election commissioner and judges of the Supreme Court. As usual Paul said she has nothing to do with this. "There was no file on that which I would have seen. I have nothing to do with it." "I'm amused even by the suggestion that I need to be involved in something like this. UPSC is a constitutional authority.

I had a cursory glance at her Biodata and on record she doesn’t have any experience or formal education to be the advisor to the Finance Minister. Paul is M.Sc in Chemistry from Punjab University. She did her Bachelors in journalism (and possibly this degree would have helped her in getting her IIS job). She has also attained Advanced professional programme in public administration at IIPM, New Delhi (This is also a must for every bureaucrat in the country). Interestingly her qualifications also include ILO symposium on information technologies in the Media and Entertainment Industries. ..! Her CV credits her with editing books including Work Culture in India and Executive Motivation and Human Resource Planning in Airlines –an Asian Experience. Do these qualifications qualify anyone to hold sensitive and important post like advisor to the Finance Minister of largest democracy?
No one would have questioned the credibility of advisor to the FM if finances of this country would have been managed well. But looking at the mess country’s finance are in, some questions naturally arises as to who is advising our Finance Minister?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I was going through the wiki of k.k paul
Therein I read about the presence of top govt dignitaries in his oath ceremony as governor of meghalaya
..omita paul the name I noticed there..

Sir,
Now that the whole country's intellectuals are putting their accumen over the PRESIDENT'S speech in the name of citizen

Particulary on the lines of. Anarchism is taking over constitutionalism

I am astonished how a lady of no credentials that got her fit for
The post that she held in different ministerial innings of
Pranab mukherjee

Was she dat indispensable for
Mukherjee sir
That the advise of competent officers
Was overlooked that too many times..


This is nothing but a veil of democractism over chrony capitalism..

Unknown said...

Sir your this article has made informative and interesting reading..

Now that the country is debating over
President's recent remark
Over ''anarchism taking over constitutionalism''

This article has amused me
What is constitutionalism stand for??
To siphoning off the valuable natural resources at throwaway price??

To let the market continue
To make collusion with the power
To get the ex-chequer money away for no worth..??


To flourish the work culture
Of greed, graft and incompetency
That continue to haunt the common man with price rise
Bad governance..

If that is what happening
Then it is worst than anarchism..