No to Secretary(MeitY) job offer

I think I have written earlier that Secretary, MeitY , Mrs Aruna Sundararajan had called me thrice and asked my interest for a position in her office under her direct supervision. I believe she got to know about me via Rahul, who recently joined the office (without informing me anything). Initially, I was quite excited and ready to join the team where she planned to hire a few foreign educated resources and work on hi-profile stuffs.
After a gap of around a month I got a sudden call from her office today for a meeting. After waiting for 3.5 hours in the morning and evening, I got the appointment at 7-10 PM. By that time, I made up my mind and I answered negatively for all the questions she asked. I had to even lie that my residential place is far off from office and hence I can't remain in office for long.

My diary entry exposing hypocrisy of Rahul

I don't know how this decision will unfold in future. But here are my reasons:
1) So far as the information I gathered from Vinay Sir, her office and even from her words, she needs someone to accompany her to different meetings, take notes, prepare MoM- basically role of knowledgeable PA to be with her full time. I am no way interested in such a profile. My work satisfaction would be the least. And, Moina's point is also valid that my profile will not be associated with any project/initiative/direction.
2) Once hired, I have to sit with Rahul and his team. Working alongside Rahul would be the most disastrous experience I can think of. He has been kind of a traitor. I just can't handle him anymore.
3) Since the beginning of this discussion, I have observed the staff employed in Secy office; they don't have any clue what madam wants. Today was worst with 3.5 hours of waiting time. This reflects badly on Secy's personality. I am not sure how I would be able to handle her with so much confusion/unpredictability. So, in other words, I helped take her a decision quickly for not hiring me.
4) My personal life would be screwed up. Madam never goes home before 7-30 PM; all Saturdays are working. I really don't think matters related to CDAC, DISHA etc deserves to be given so much of my time. These are not topics related to Economics or Politics that I would gain something in future by doing overwork.
5) Akilur Rahman was with me and Secy was considering both of us for the position. He is very keen for this as he has been with NeGD for around 4 years and is looking for a career in this sector only. He ensured my Kargil trip and tomorrow giving me a storytelling session on DigiSevak. After coming out of Secy office, I looked at his eyes, and I congratulated him for the new position. (He was trying hard to explain me it is not a PA position, rather a OSD position).
6) My current manager and A&C team has been superb. Though I worry a little about the kind of work I would do in A&C, still, this team has been the best so far.
7) I have applied the NITI Aayog (though they might have rejected me already) and maybe to a UN job soon. I am venturing out and Secy role might create a bar to explore for atleast next six months.
8) Lastly, this decision is also a sign of my maturity. I am not just running after something that everybody will run. I am actually looking at things with a comprehensive perspective.

Having said so, I would miss the power equation I could have acquired by being with Secy, MeitY. That could have led me to something very interesting- who knows! But anyway, for the time being, the decision has been made from my side at least.

Writing from the Digital India Pavilion at Pragati Maidan

Hello all,
I am writing from the NeGD conference room, temporarily setup in the DI pavilion at Pragati Maidan. It has been completely different experience for me since last 10 days. There are many reasons why a blog post is so much required in my autobiography blog.

In the panel discussion

The India International Trade Fair (IITF) is one of the biggest shows that happens in Asia. I heard about this many times, but this is first time to experience. But interesting fact is that this 36th edition of IITF will be the last in Pragati Maidan since there would be massive renovation from next year.

DigiSevak, the project where I have been working since joining NeGD was launched by Hon'ble Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on 18th November. This was long due as we have been waiting for a launch for quite some months now.  I hope the project will take a leap now as NeGD will communicate to other ministries and departments.

Minister launching DigiSevak

First time in life, I moderated a Panel Discussion. Panellists consists of partner from KPMG, celebrated IAS officer like Dr. Dinesh Arora, representatives from Ministry of Railways and Ministry of External Affairs,  along with Dy Director from Digital Empowerment Foundation. It was broadcasted live on DI handle of Facebook, accumulating 8,393 views until now. It was a good opportunity given to me by Sunil Sir, amidst slight hesitations by other members of my team. However, the session went well and everyone (including the hesitators) appreciated fully. Well, when I see the video, I can find hundreds of mistakes, but, considering my first attempt, I was feeling happy. The big take ways- I can't do away with my hard kharkhua accent, I need to complete all my words and lastly, bringing separate sentences in between a sentence should be avoided.

In summary, it has been a great experience so far. Sometimes, I do think these type of work has little to do with public policy and whatsoever. But, reality demands these kinds of experience. Overall, I am satisfied with the kind of experience I got in my current role in NeGD in last 11 months. Let's see how the future looks from this point.