Birender has reservations on doctors, engineers opting for IAS

 Union Minister Birender Singh has reservations on IIT graduates and doctors opting for the civil services, saying they should not be wasting nation's money spend on them and then later on coming to administer.

"This is what I think somewhere there are aberrations. When students from IIT, when students from medical colleges, opt for IAS, I have total reservations for that.

"Spending crores and crores on one student, may be a doctor or may be a IIT graduate or post-graduate, ultimately he comes to administer, no. That is not the correct stream, if they want they should do graduation in Arts like me, why not, why they waste nation's money," the 69-year-old Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Sanitation and Drinking Water, said speaking at a function of the Institution of Engineers here.

Continuing further, Singh, who last year switched over to the ruling BJP after serving the Congress for 42 years, said, "You will excuse me for saying this, I know certain batches of UPSC where the top one (toppers) they did not opt for IFS, they did not opt for the IAS, but they went for IRS (Indian Revenue Service), you know."

"So these are the aberrations in our system we must improve upon. We should be straight forward in our choice, if we want to be this, okay, we cannot be this or that, but we cannot be both (from doctor or IIT graduate then becoming an administrator)," Singh, said addressing 31st national convention of environmental engineers and national seminar on "Climate Change--Need for Global Partnership" organised by the Institution of Engineers (India).

Prior to his expressing reservations on IIT graduates and doctors opting for the civil services, Singh while going down the memory lane said how a teacher had once looked down upon him way back in 1966 when he told her that he was wanted to become a lawyer.