transformation in TDS admin-

istration, making India one of the

very few countries in the world

where a comprehensive solution

for withholding tax has been put

in place. During the attachment,

many officer trainees also

participated in a rejuvenating trip

to Rishikesh organized by the

Adventure Club.

The untiring efforts of

DG (Training) Smt. Gunjan

Misra, ADG-2 Sh. Madnesh K.

Mishra, our Course Team and

BPST helped to make this

attachment a thought-provoking

and enjoyable experience for all.

This issue of NADTree shares

some of the thoughts and

reminiscences of my batchmates.

Hope you enjoy reading it.

The Parliamentary Attachment

and CPC Attachment for the

68th Batch of IRS was held from

March 9-17th, 2015. It comprised

of an Appreciation Course in

Parliamentary Processes and

Procedures conducted by the

Bureau of Parliamentary Studies

and Training (BPST). Sessions on

wide-ranging topics like Budget-

ary Process and Parliamentary

Questions, and witnessing the

proceedings of the Lok Sabha

provided the officer trainees

with a mix of theoretical and

practical insights into the

functioning of the Parliament.

The officer trainees were also

addressed by the Honourable

Minister for Finance and Minister

of State (Finance), and got the

opportunity to interact with the

Chairperson, CBDT and Board

Members. These sessions

reminded us of the great

responsibility placed on our

shoulders to be competent and

honest public servants.

The highlight of the

trip was the visit to Rashtrapati

Bhavan. We are now amongst

the few who have had the

privilege to walk through the

corridors of a building which has

witnessed monumental historical

events.

In addition, officer

trainees visited CPC (TDS) and

experienced first-hand the

power of innovative ideas and

technology in bringing about a

Editorial– Kuhuk Bhushan

NADTree A P R I L , 2 0 1 5 P A R L I A M E N T A R Y A T T A C H M E N T E D I T I O N

T H E N A D T r e e T E A M

Managing Editor

Sh. Madnesh K. Mishra

Additional Director

General II

Editorial Advisors

Sh. Sunil Umap

Course Director– 68th Batch

Sh. Leyaqat Ali

Aafaqui

ACD 1– 68th Batch

Sh. Dhananjay Wanjari

ACD II– 68th Batch

Editorial Committee

Kuhuk Bhushan

Neha Sahay

Akhil Kumar

Officer-Trainees 68th Batch

MESSAGE– SH. M.K. MISHRA, ADG-II, NADT

I am very happy. I place my appreciation on record for the 68th batch of IRS and the team of

NADTree for taking over this creative initiative from their seniors and bringing out the first edition

of NADTree of the 68th Batch. Keep nurturing your creativity and shine.

MESSAGE– SH. SUNIL UMAP, COURSE DIRECTOR, 68TH BATCH, NADT

The Parliamentary Attachment makes one aware of the democratic process in practice. The articles

in this edition of NADTree show the impact of the attachment and interactions with elected

representatives and senior officers. Best of luck!

P A G E 2

Salience of the Durbar Hall –Priyanka Mashelkar

Meet the FM– Srishti Chaudhry

"When in doubt, go straight", and "Always conduct yourself in a manner so that ethics and morality are on your side" were

the initial pieces of advice offered by the Finance Minister to the fresh batch of IRS IT officers. He laid down the key

imperatives in front of the Indian economy: India needs more investment than available domestically; we need to attract in-

vestment from the outside through less taxation and adequate returns for investors; and finally - we need fair systems in the

country and an end to government discretion in attracting investors. These strategic objectives would translate into stable or

decreasing tax rates for India. He emphasized that it is very important for the IRS officers to adopt a non-adversarial approach

towards the assessees to meet this end. "Be fair, but firm", he quipped at the end. Needless to say, the officer trainees were

thrilled to meet the Finance Minister in person and were all eyes and ears during the session. This was followed by a photo

session with the FM which allowed us to capture the moment in time.

Some places tower over you, not because of their magnificence or splendour, but because they have been silent witnesses to

the passage of history. The Durbar Hall in the Rashtrapati Bhavan is one such place. From the birth of a free nation called

India, when power was transferred from the colonialists to the nationalists, to the growth of this free nation into a

constitutional democratic republic, with the swearing-in of our first democratically elected President and Prime Minister, this

majestic hall has stoically withstood the passage of an era.

It is befitting then, that we as civil servants got the opportunity to call on the Honourable President of India in this

Hall, in a way accepting the baton for the power over the purse. Time became irrelevant; the giants of the past looked on as

the present First Citizen of India welcomed the newest members of the service of the future.

After some technical talks on parliamentary procedures during the first half of the attachment, it was refreshing to listen to

Sh. Sinha, who got up from the podium to come down and address us, where he stressed on the value of integrity and

competence in our careers. He shared his personal experience where his integrity was tested, when he had to make the

difficult decision of owning up to the fact that the prestigious Baker Scholar award at Harvard had been awarded to him by

mistake. He also spoke about the importance of building up competence over a long period of time, and gave the example of

how the portion of the Budget discussion that he presented in parliament, though only thirty minutes, was the sum total of

years of gathering knowledge about budgets and finance. Overall, his visit encouraged and motivated us to also have such high

standards in our training period and careers.

Visit of MoS (Finance)- Priyanka Thomas

Interaction with CBDT Members– Akhil Saxena The interaction with the CBDT members was one of the most interesting

among all the sessions. We were excited to have the women and men

occupying the highest positions in the department in our midst. The words of

Smt. Gunjan Misra, Director General, NADT, “today, youngest members of IRS

fraternity are meeting with its senior-most members”, set the tone of the

session.

The members talked about role of IRS officers as service providers

rather than enforcers. They brought up some challenges of our job and said that

in such times, friendships made, relationships fostered and memories created

during training are of great help. They also advised us to be effective

communicators and simultaneously be sensitive towards taxpayers.

The members encouraged the OT’s to ask questions freely and the officer trainees posed questions ranging from

negative image of taxpayers to postings and members’ memories of NADT. Sh. Arun K. Jain advised us “to have a balance

between being pro-revenue and understanding situation of the assessee”. Smt. Rani Singh Nair allayed the apprehensions of

the officer trainees regarding postings by stressing that a posting does not make us, we make the postings. There were lighter

moments as well with Board members recollecting the engagement of Smt. Anita Kapur at NADT. The session was very

interactive and reassured us about our future role and responsibilities as well as possibilities for the department .

N A D T R E E

An experience of a life time –Akash Bhairannavar

P A G E 3

The attachment to the apex Law

making organisation of our

country was indeed, thought-

inducing due to the wide and

varied spectrum of intellectually-

stimulating and interactive,

informal and educative sessions

with highly experienced and

learned Members of Parliament

and officers of the Indian

Revenue Service.

Witnessing the pro-

ceedings of the Lok Sabha

Budget Session live and the

exposure to the systematic

sequencing of our country's

historical and political past

through the Parliamentary

Museum was

definitely a once-in-a-

lifetime opportunity

blessed on to the

officer trainees that

delved each one of us

into the legislative and

political processes of

India.

Further, each

one of us got to

weave threads of

bonding and connectivity with

the IRS at the meet with the

CBDT members. As the sugary

icing on the cake, the IRS Asso-

ciation Dinner was to us a

merriment.

We all will treasure the

positive experiences that we

shared with the IRS fraternity at

the dinner. All in all, our

attachment was a good learning

experience .

names of many flowers had a

distinct background. Flowers

like Mogra and Jasmine easily

captivated our eyes. Hardly

anyone had seen so many

varieties of Rose before, as

could be seen in this garden.

Equally mesmerizing

were the Long garden and

Circular garden, making our

visit to the Rashtrapati Bhavan

an unforgettable experience.

13th March was the most

memorable day for all of us.

The officer trainees had the

rare opportunity to visit the

Rashtrapati Bhavan. A part of

this visit was enjoying the

beautiful Mughal garden.

The Mughal garden

constructed in 1930s attracts a

lot of tourists every year. It is

well-maintained by the staff of

the Presidential Estate. For us,

it was an amazing experience to

see the blossoming flowers. The

arches and the geometrical

motifs which adorned the

legendary hall.

It was an honour to sit

on a designated seat and share

the seating row with the Chair-

man and the Members of the

CBDT and a great privilege to

represent the batch to the

Honourable President of India.

Standing at the podium, as my

voice echoed in the hall, I felt

the camera flashes and

cherished each and every word

spoken, for it was an

experience of a lifetime.

Though I spoke for a mere two

minutes, the run up to it

seemed like eternity.

There was no better

way to end the weeklong

Parliamentary Attachment than

in the historic Durbar Hall to

share vignettes and experience

with the first citizen of the

country, and the memories will

be etched in my heart forever.

As we were marshalled into the

Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati

Bhavan, a marvel of the Lutyens

architecture on the Raisina Hills,

we were left spellbound as we

gazed at the magnificent

corridors, portraits, furnishings

and gateways.

Sitting below a

picturesque chandelier, on

looked by the statue of Gautam

Buddha inspired by the

Gandhara School of Art, we

were awestruck by the beautiful

The Two Minutes –Naina Karol

Visit to Mughal Garden- Chetan Kalamkar

Parliament House: A

Brief Architectural

History—Rahul Singh

- Envisioned by the

celebrated British

architect Sir Herbert

Baker,

- Initially, the Imperial

legislative chambers

were to be accommo-

dated within the Vice-

regal Palace

- Construction did

not commence until

1921 owing to

Britain’s financial crisis due to the

catastrophic First

World War. The final

cost touched Rs. 83

lakh.

- The majestic build-

ing was inaugurated

by Viceroy Irwin on

January 18, 1927.

- Built with indigenous

material and by Indian

labour

- Pays tributes to

Indian traditions such

as fountains, symbols

like ‘Chhajjas’ and

varied forms of ‘Jali’ in

marble.

P A R L I A M E N T A R Y A T T A C H M E N T E D I T I O N

lights and our mobiles were low on battery,

but we were all charged up with the camp-

fire, around which we gathered to eat, sing,

dance and play.

The next day, we visited Rajaji

National Park. There was greenery every-

where and the pleasant weather soothed

As a break from the daily routine, we

started for Rishikesh to rejoice in the

lap of the Himalayas. Our dawn broke

out in Rishikesh amidst low clouds and

a soul-refreshing breeze, and we

proceeded to the riverside camp.

In the picturesque backdrop

of the serene river, we played beach

volleyball, football and rugby. After a

quick breakfast, we geared up for the

most awaited ‘rafting in the Ganges’. It

was an experience to cherish and we

enjoyed rafting through the rapids,

plunging down the cliffs, surfing in

depths of Ganga and warming up with

Maggi on the banks. In the evening, we

witnessed the mesmerizing Aarthi

darshan in Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula

in the serene back drop of the

Shivaliks.

After a spiritual evening, we

proceeded back to camp with cover of

darkness engulfing us. There were no

our nerves. In such a serene atmosphere

we did not mind not being able to spot

any tiger or elephant there.

As we reached Delhi, we

thanked Leyaqat sir, Wanjari sir and

organisers Prasanth and Preetam for the

wonderful time we had.

Rishikesh Trip - Deepak G.

P A G E 4