Hardat work

The ongoing 100th international labour conference at Geneva is causing heartburn to several babus in the labour ministry.

Geneva conference causes heartburn in labour ministry
The ongoing 100th international labour conference at Geneva is causing heartburn to several babus in the labour ministry. “It is the same set of top babus who have a lovely time in Switzerland every year away from Delhi heat for two weeks while we work for them preparing files and inputs from here,” a senior official said, pushing away a conference-related file. These deliberations in a cool environment since years have not helped in implementing international standards in labour.

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UPS systems for govt schools
Short of power, the government has turned to UPS systems for schools and courts. It may sound not dissimilar to Marie Antoinette’s fabled statement, but the Centre and state governments are realising that in the absence of adequate electrical power for schools, UPS systems may well be worth it. The governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra have signed pacts with Uniline Energy Services to provide electricity back up for 12 hours every day to 30,000 schools. That many of these schools don’t have basic amenities is of course, to be tackled later.

CRB tosses his hat in the ring
Vivek Sahai’s name has suddenly been tossed up for the post of chairman of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). After Brijeshwar Singh relinquished the post in December, the NHAI has remained headless. Road and Transport Minister CP Joshi is said to be in favour of appointing a technocrat as NHAI chief. An Indian Railways traffic services officer, Sahai — currently the Chairman, Railway Board — is scheduled to retire on June 30.