When President Pratibha Patil delivered her address to the Upper House of the Brazilian Parliament, less than 20 MPs were present and the joke was that the size of the president’s entourage matched the strength of the audience. For her trip to South America, Patil included not just her husband, but also her son and daughter-in-law and sundry kith and kin. In addition, there were five doctors. Apart from the Rashtrapati Bhavan doctor, the medical team included a cardiologist and an ophthalmologist. The last seems to have been invited on the trip as the president needs to put drops in her eyes twice a day. There was even a representative from the Rashtrapati Bhavan accounts department on board.

Waiting their turn

Some Union ministers were unhappy at the appointment of Minister of State Vilas Muttemwar as minister-in-waiting to President Pratibha Patil on her South American trip. After all Muttemwar was given the same honour on President Kalam’s last trip in office. It is not normal to repeat a minister-in-waiting, particularly when he is not even of cabinet rank. But Patil and Muttemwar are old friends and belong to the same state.

Looking after their own

Since the IAS takes the decisions on pay revisions, the disparity between the IAS and other services like the IPS and the army keeps increasing. The pay scales of the IAS and the IPS may start around the same level, but the gap between the two at the top-end has widened over the years. IAS officers graduate to the joint secretary level in 14 to 16 years, while an IPS officer takes 20 to 22 years. The DIG scale is on par with a director and the IG equated with a mere joint secretary. Director Generals of Police are equated with additional secretaries and only half a dozen DGs manage to get a full secretary’s grade, though there are some 250 such slots for the IAS biradiri.

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