When did Varun meet Sonia last ?

Relations between Maneka Gandhi's son Varun and the family of late Rajiv Gandhi are quite strained these days.This is evident from the fact that Varun who is studying in London School of Economics was last seen at 10,Janpath only in February 1997 for his cousin Priyanka's wedding.

IAS changes in Orissa

About one dozen district collectors have been reshuffled in Orissa.Vishal Kumar Dev has been shifted from Balasore to Ganjam. K C Mohapatra will now be new DM of Balasore.K C Mohanty has been shifted from Kendrapara to Nayagarh.Hemant Sharma will replace him.Nikunja Bihari Dhal who was DM Sundargarh has been shifted to Kalahandi.Dr Mona Sharma has been made new DM Sundargarh.Aparajita Sarangi will be DM Bargarh.Mayadhar Panigrahi who was DM Bargarh has been sent to Secretariat as Additional Secretary Revenue.Usha Padhee will now be DM Koraput. A K Padhee will replace her in Navrangpur.Additional Secretary Revenue Dolagobinda Tripathy has been transferred to Jaipur as DM.Kashi Nath Sahoo DM Jaipur has been shifted to the PSC Cuttack as Special Secretary.S N Sarangi has been transferred to Secretariat as Additional Secretary Fisheries from the PSC.

Tribals and IAS-IPS

Altogether 27 tribals were selected for the IAS,IPS and IFS in the country during the past three years.Out of these 12 tribals were selected for IAS,10 for IPS and 5 IFS.

Uma Bharti and Dharmadhikari

A tug of war between Sports Minister Uma Bharti and DG Nehru Yuva Kendra former IAS Officer Avinash Dharmadhikari led to latter's ouster. Avinash Dharmadhikari who was Deputy Secretary in the Secretariat of former Chief Minister of Maharastra Manohar Joshi had quit the IAS in 1996.He , however,did not get along well with Uma Bharti.

Ministers versus bureaucrats in Jharkhand

Atleast three IAS Officers have been shunted out during the past one month in Jharkhand after having tiff with their ministers. Rajiv Ranjan Ekka had to go because of Toursim Minister Joba Majhi. Pradip Kumar was shifted from Palamu under the pressure of Inder Singh Namdhari. R S Poddar was transferred when his minister Lal Chand Mahto put his foot down for his change.

No 'Guard of Honour'

Gujrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has decided to do away with the protocol of 'Guard of Honour' hosted during the Chief Minister's state tours. He reasoned that since the 'Guard of Honour' was part of colonial system it should be done away with immediate effect. He also issued directives to cut down security staff accompanying the Chief Minister.

Bhandarkar to be SD Gwalior DD

Dr R B Bhandarkar will be new Station Director of Gwalior Doordarshan Kendra. He will replace Navrang who has been transferred to Delhi.

Bail petition of IPS Officer rejected

The court has rejected bail petition of 1995 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS Officer K P Venketeshwar Rao. The IPS Officer has been arrested in Hyderabad in connection with dowry harassment case.

Two former IAS Officers in Pondicherry Planning Board

Pondicherry Government has reconstituted State Planning Board. Former Chief Secretary R S Chari and retired IAS Officer P R Ramanathan have been nominated to the board.

BhureLal to replace B K Chaturvedi

Bhure Lal ,Secretary Food Corporation of India is going to replace B K Chaturvedi Secretary Elementary Education in the Ministry of HRD. Bhure Lal is 1966 batch IAS Officer of Uttar pradesh cadre.Chaturvedi will take over from M K Kav who is superannuating this month end.