Rahul8217;s Guru

A recent study on the use of social media in public diplomacy by embassies in Washington DC has thrown up interesting data. The study,conducted by the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication of the George Washington University,has found that of all missions and ambassadors in DC,Indian ambassador Nirupama Rao has the highest number of followers on Twitter. The next highest is Indian Diplomacy twitter account. However,the study says the number of followers is not the best indicator of the success of social media for public diplomacy. It uses more complex formulae taking into account importance of the followers as well as interactions between embassies on social media as a better measure of success. Sadly,in this list of 10 top accounts,led by the British Embassy,there is no mention of an Indian individual or institution.

SECRETARY SEARCH

THE search for a new Science and Technology Secretary has proved to be unsuccessful. Of the five candidates shortlisted,two had pulled out and the other three were considered unsuitable by the search-cum-selection committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary. As a result,serving Secretary T Ramasami has received another extension,his fourth,and will enter eighth year in this office. Science and Technology Minister S Jaipal Reddy is said to be not happy with the arrangement. As Ramasamis term was drawing near,Reddy had,on more than one occasion,mentioned that the Secretary would be retiring and a new one will take his place.

COURTROOM SPIES

THE anxiousness of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar about the proceedings of SC was understandable. So it was no surprise to see at least four senior officers of the Law Ministry,including Kumars close aide Shahbaz Khan,were present inside the courtroom when the hearing on the coal block issue was taking place. Two additional secretaries and one joint secretary an IAS officer who was posted in the ministry at the request of Kumar were listening to the arguments. One of them was seen sending text messages on his phone,probably updating someone on the proceedings real time. After the hearing ended,the officers walked out and one of them immediately called up someone and started giving a complete lowdown on what had happened inside.

COMMISSION OMISSION

IT might be an oversight on the part of the government,but P L Punia,chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes NCSC,who is also a Lok Sabha member from Barabanki in UP,seems to have been continuing in his post without adequate protection against disqualification for violating office of profit provisions. The post which enjoys exemption under the Parliament Prevention of Disqualification Act 1959 is of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes NCSCST. Suitable amendments to the Act,however,were never made after the panel was bifurcated and two bodies,NCSC and NCST,were created two years back. Realising this now,the government is belatedly moving to make amendments to the Act now.