It pays to be a senior Babu in Chandrababu Naidu’s regime. Naidu’s weakness for anything foreign has become boon for the All India Service officers in Andhra Pradesh. Naidu has the habit of speaking of everything in terms of ‘world-class’, an indefinable quality. This has made all senior babus peripatetic experts.
The CM picks up and idea, and sends the officers wandering round the globe to study the idea. Everything in Naidu’s scheme of things revolves round the phrase ‘world-class’. Some time back a senior official told me that a Singapore delegate, after a presentation by Naidu about new capital, came to him to ask if the government had any definition for Naidu’s phrase ‘World-Class’. The idea of world class took the ministers, officials and advisors on a global tour to Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, China, Middle East, Europe and a couple of central Asian countries. To sell the confiscated Red Sanders forest department officials had been sent to China, Korea and Japan. If Naidu wants to visit a country, a team of IAS officials would be sent to make arrangements for the Naidu’ stay etc. For instance, Naidu is visiting Davos next week to participate in the annual ritual of World Economic Forum. He will lead a team of officials and ministers. But, an advance team headed by Industries secretary has been sent to receive Naidu at Davos airport and look after some arrangements. Government has already released an amount of Rs 70 lakhs to Naidu’s Dagos trip to meeting expenditure which include Air Fare, Daily Allowance/Incidental Charges/ Purchase of Mementos/Shawls/Gifts and also Breakfast/ Lunch/Dinner and other related expenditure of the proposed visit of the C.M and Delegation to Davos (Switzerland).
In the past 48 hours more than a dozen officials have got clearance for their foreign visits. some of the officials, apart from those present in Naidu’s delegation, who will be abroad are:
*Naresh Penumaka , Commissioner, Handlooms- Paris
*Sumita Dawra, Secy Higher Education -UK
*AB Venkateswar Rao (Intl chief) and PV Ramakrishna- US
*Karthikeya Mishra, Director, Industries, Davos
* Chiranjeevi Choudhary, commissioner, Horticulture, Israel
* J Krishna Kishore, CEO , Economic Development Board- US
