How PIDB tweaked norms to employ private firm staff

As Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) chose to give the option of deputation a miss to follow public private partnership (PPP) in government jobs, the eligibility criteria was tweaked and how!

The candidate profile for the new posts perfectly matched that of the three employees of private service provider Ascenture Services Private Limited. Not only was the criteria water-tight enough to exclude other hopefuls, there was a gap of just 10 days between advertisement and deadline for submitting the application and supporting documents. A note was added to the advertisement to make a special provision saying: "Those working with government departments/PSUs even through private service providers can also apply".

The results were as expected. Three out of four posts went to those holding "similar" positions while working for PIDB as employees of Ascenture Services Private Limited. No interviews were required, as they were the only ones who qualified.

Sample this:

For the post of senior manager (projects), the requisite candidate profile/experience advertised in newspapers during August-September 2010 read: At least five years experience of working with government/PSUs concerned with infrastructure projects in PPP/BOT mode. The criteria clearly denied a chance to those having experience of PPP in private companies. The educational qualification was equally water-tight: MBA in finance. This ruled out those with MBA in other subjects or with other degrees such as engineering.

The result is not hard to guess. The "tailor-made" criteria ensured that just one applicant fitted the bill. Only one candidate, Rajesh Gupta — working as manager (projects) in PIDB on payroll of Ascenture Services with an MBA in finance — applied for and landed the job. The selection committee stated: "The candidate has more than nine years of experience in projects branch of PIDB (since February 2001) as employee of service provider, Ascenture, and has been handling various infrastructure projects."

... contd.

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