FM Jaitley tops the class, Irani worst performer

In a latest development, the HRD Ministry fell further down the pecking order as it was adjudged  the worst performer by the man himself.

According to sources in the government, the HRD Ministry stands at the bottom of the pile in cabinet ministers’ rankings, while the Union Finance Ministry, headed by Arun Jaitley, has secured the top slot. Kalraj Mishra also is on a shaky wicket as the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry (MSME) headed by him ranks just one spot over the HRD. 

“The ranking to all ministries was given on the basis of their performance in the  past one-year. After evaluating the functioning of each ministry, the PM has red-flagged  areas where improvement is needed and told the concerned ministers to pay special attention to marked areas,” a source said. Sources further added that the ranking may spell trouble for under-performing ministers as a cabinet reshuffle looms. The academicians have blamed the incompetence of HRD Minister for the dismal ranking.  

“The controversies that dogged the HRD Ministry ever since the NDA government came to power are behind its under-achiever tag to the Ministry.  Issues like the rollback of FYUP of Delhi University, replacing Sanskrit with German as third language in Kendriya Vidyalayas or asking institutes to observe events on Christmas, row over the appointment of directors of IIT, interference in research instructions have dented the HRD Ministry’s image,” said JNU scholar Vivek Kumar.

“Though the indicators of judging HRD, Finance, Coal and Commerce cannot be the same, but in case of HRD, which deals with academicians, there is always a strong protest visible in policy matters, which is not the case with ministries dealing with finance or corporate issues,” said Kumar, a Sociology professor at JNU.

The Ministry faced heat over Irani’s educational qualifications soon after she assumed charge. The issue had taken a new turn when she had said at a function that she also has a degree from the prestigious Yale University in the US, a statement which she later said was ‘misconstrued”.