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This is an archive article published on September 27, 2015

Daily log of phone, toilet breaks part of Modi govt’s efficiency push

To streamline working of its employees, Centre plans 22 studies across ministries and institutions this year.

ministry of finance, staff inspection unit, siu, finance ministry, south block, south block building, inspection, govt staff inspection, india news, latest news This is the largest exercise by the SIU since it undertook 26 studies in 2003, before the first NDA government concluded its term.

To rationalise employee strength and cut the government’s wage bill, the Staff Inspection Unit (SIU) under the Department of Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance will conduct at least 22 staffing studies in different ministries and institutions this year.

Four studies are already underway — two in the ministries of Social Justice and Environment — where all officers and staff below the level of joint secretary have been asked to log their daily activities, minute by minute, including toilet breaks.

“We have 20-22 studies on hand. While this is an ongoing exercise, it’s a jump from the five studies we did last year. The government is serious about justifying and streamlining manpower,” a source in the Department of Expenditure said.

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This is the largest exercise by the SIU since it undertook 26 studies in 2003, before the first NDA government concluded its term. On an average, the SIU conducted 11 studies a year during the decade of the UPA rule. Also, while the UPA, in all its 10 years, saved the exchequer a total of Rs 265 crore through SIU, the NDA cut an expenditure of Rs 363 crore through five staff studies in 2014 alone.

This year, the government is apparently aiming at higher cuts with its rigorous inspection process. The Sunday Express has reviewed the order issued in the environment ministry on August 28. During the two-week study period, it says, “daily log sheet has to be filled in separately for each day, reflecting activities of the day from the moment the officials enter the office and till he leaves the premises.”

The activities include “phone calls, meetings, toilet, other personal time out, lunch, canteen visit etc” and the information submitted in the prescribed pro forma by each and every individual will be monitored by an SIU team on daily basis.

Set up in 1964, the SIU recommends reduction of non-justifiable manpower in government offices and also decides on demands for creating new posts. The current drive, it is learnt, is specifically aimed at weeding out contractual staff hired to handle bulk of government work.

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The office of Annie George Mathew, joint secretary and in-charge of SIU in the Department of Expenditure, directed queries to officers in the unit by they declined to speak on record. Dr M M Kutty, additional secretary and in-charge of the staff inspection drive in the Environment ministry, did not take queries on the issue.

Jay Mazoomdaar is an investigative reporter focused on offshore finance, equitable growth, natural resources management and biodiversity conservation. Over two decades, his work has been recognised by the International Press Institute, the Ramnath Goenka Foundation, the Commonwealth Press Union, the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust, the Asian College of Journalism etc. Mazoomdaar’s major investigations include the extirpation of tigers in Sariska, global offshore probes such as Panama Papers, Robert Vadra’s land deals in Rajasthan, India’s dubious forest cover data, Vyapam deaths in Madhya Pradesh, mega projects flouting clearance conditions, Nitin Gadkari’s link to e-rickshaws, India shifting stand on ivory ban to fly in African cheetahs, the loss of indigenous cow breeds, the hydel rush in Arunachal Pradesh, land mafias inside Corbett, the JDY financial inclusion scheme, an iron ore heist in Odisha, highways expansion through the Kanha-Pench landscape etc. ... Read More

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