All the ministers men

As ministers tend to accommodate many of their supporters as their personal staff,the Prime Ministers Office...

Written by The Indian Express
June 29, 2009 11:54 PM IST

1 min read

As ministers tend to accommodate many of their supporters as their personal staff,the Prime Ministers Office got the DoPT to put a ceiling on the number of personal staff from peons to private secretaries attached to each minister. The number was pegged at 13 for a Minister of State (MoS) and 14 for MoS with independent charge. Moreover,for those in charge of more than one ministry,an additional staff strength of six (MoS independent charge) and three (MoS) for each additional portfolio is allowed. This means MoS (independent charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Prithviraj Chavan,who is also MoS in PMO and holds charge of Personnel,Public Grievances & Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs,is entitled to 29 aides. Similarly,Sriprakash Jaiswal and Salman Khursheed can have 20 staff members each,and V Narayanswamy and K V Thomas 16 each. It has,however,been left to the discretion of ministries to keep their entourage lower than the prescribed formula,if they so wish.