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Who will make it to the SC ?

Grapevine has it that the names of Justice B C Patel of Delhi High Court, Justice Ravindran of Madhya Pradesh High Court and Justice Altamas Kabir of Jharkhand High Court may be decided following the collegium for vacancies in the Supreme Court to be held next month.

Secretaries from 1972 batch ?

A record 58 Additional secretaries have been empanelled from 1972 batch. If this is the case then what would be the number of Secretaries from this batch. Of the 38 Additional Secretaries from 1971 batch, the number of those made secretary was 30.

1978 batch IAS have majority in GoI

The maximum number of IAS in the GoI are from 1978 batch. There are as many as 40 IAS of this batch in Delhi on the Joint Secretary level alone.

WHICH CIVIL SERVANT HAS MORE ACADEMIC DEGREE?
S Balasubramanian

S.Balasubramanian Chairman of the Company Law Board: B.Com, LLB, Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, Cost Acountant, Post Graduate in Management Accountancy and PG Diploma in Project Management from Bradford University(UK).He is 1966 batch Indian Postal Service Officer.
Seeing the interest of our readers in the academic qualifications of the most learned ones among the decision makers, we welcome more such information about those running the show. If you have any such information, do send it to us to enable the whole World to know about it. After all, knowledge is to be imparted or it is of no use. Mail us:- sureshmehrotra@yahoo.com

Cabinet expansion this month

Cabinet expansion cum reshuffle is expected to take place either on June 24 or 28.Mssrs Sis Ram Ola,P M Sayeed,Renuka Chaudhry and Jaipal Reddy may go.Gulam Nabi Azad may be sent to J & K as Chief Minister.Those who are likely to be inducted include Mssrs Ambika Soni,Jyotiraditya Scinda, Girdhar Gomang andMoti Lal Vora .

Two Governors to return to active politics

Maharashtra Governor S M Krishna is likely to be inducted in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet.Andhra Pradesh Governor Sushil Kumar Shinde may be made General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee.

Buta Singh to go ?

Grapevine has it tha Bihar Governor Buta Singh is being shifted.He may be replaced by Union Power Minister P M Sayeed.

Dalal is recalled - any significance ?

Haryana Government has recalled Ranjiv Singh Dalal from deputation. 1974 batch Haryana cadre IPS officer Dalal is presently Professor of Law in LBSNAA Mussoorie.Does this mean that he is being appointed next DGP of Haryana on July 1.Present DGP A S Bhatotia is retiring on June 30.

Sreedharan may be shifted !

Politicians do not want P K Sreedharan ,Director General Investigation Income-Tax in Chennai.Now elections are round the corner which means days of 1971 batch honest and upright officer are numbered in Chennai. Wait and watch .

Top Punjab Congress leaders lobby for CBEC !

A couple of top Congress leaders from Punjab and an important functionary of the AICC are leaving no stone unturned to see the appointment of a senior Customs official as Member of the Central Board of Excise and Customs. Finance Minister P Chidambaram is however,opposed to this appointment.

Hulas Singh to join IIPA

Hulas Singh Director in the Ministry of HRD is joining the IIPA on July 1. He is an IRAS officer.

Who is the Maharashtra cadre IAS officer ?

It is rumored that a Senior Maharashtra Cadre IAS officer wants to head only top PSUs/Corporations of either Maharashtra Govt. or Government of India ? He doesn't seems to be intrested in slogging either in Maharashtra or in Ministry in Government of India. Guess why?.

Puri appointed Ambassador to Brazil

Senior IFS officer, Hardeep Singh Puri, has been appointed India's Ambassador to Brazil. He would succeed Amitabh Tripathi.

Semwal returns to Madhya Pradesh

V C Semwal is back to the parent Madhya Pradesh cadre after his foreign training.He is 1985 batch IAS officer.

Sharma is Ambassador to Surinam

Ashok Kumar Sharma has been appointed India's Ambassador to Surinam.

IFS changes in UT

Dr Devendra Pandey IFS 1975 UT Cadre has been trasferred from CCF Goa to Addl. PCCF Arunachal Pradesh. J. L. Singh 1978 IFS UT has joined in his place.

IPS changes in Karnataka

There is IPS reshuffle in Karnataka.New changes are :- Mssrs Madhukar Shetty Anti-Naxal Task Force Malnad, S T Ramesh, ADG training and appointment; Lal Rokuma Pachau, ADG Lok Ayukta; K Srinivasa, ADG computer wing; Sanjay Vir Singh DIG COD economic offences; P Ravindranath, DIG Head quarters II, Bangalore; Parashivamurthy, DIG, CPRS; Malini Krishnamurthy, I battalion, Bangalore and Srikantappa, assistant IGP general, Bangalore

IAS reshuffle in Karnataka

There is IAS shake-up in Karnataka.New Changes are Mssrs:-Shambhu Dayal Meena MD Karnataka Rural Water Supply Board,Shalini Rajneesh Dy Commissioner Belgaum,G V Kongwad Dy Commissioner Bangalore Rural,C N Sitaram Director Employment,A K Monnappa MD State Cooperatve Bank,Parshwanath Dy Commissioner South Kannada,S R Umashankar Dy Commissioner Tumkur,M B Dyaberi Dy Commissioner Davangere,M S Ravishankar Dy Commissioner Mandya,Arvind Shrivastava Dy Commissioner Bellary,M Maheshwar Rao Joint MD Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation,Rashmi V Dy Commissioner Chitradurga,S Selvakumar DC Mysore and Ekroop Kaur Dy Secretary DPAR.

IMAGINARY INTERVIEW
PANJAB CHIEF MINISTER AMRINDER SINGH
I enter the Lobby of a Five Star Hotel and move straight to the elevator as I am already late for an appointment. I'm waiting for the elevator when there is a lot of commotion and I look around to see the cause. It is Amrinder Singh , who I hear has made this Hotel his second home, and he is walking in my direction. Now Five Star Hotels are pretty democratic towards their guest and so Amrinder comes and stands next to me waiting for the elevator to arrive.

The elevator doors open and Amrinder and me step into the elevator. There are a few other people with him but they choose to take the next elevator. I press the floor I am going to and look towards Amrinder and he requests me to press the button for the floor he is going to, which I do and he thanks me for this.

All of a sudden the elevator comes to a halt. After waiting for a couple of minutes hoping for it to restart I pick up the phone in the elevator panel. The voice at the other end says that the power and back up have tripped and seems it will take some time to get us out!!!! Amrinder is busy giving orders into his mobile. After he sees me sitting down on the elevator floor he gets off his mobile.

Amrinder: What happened???
Me: Power failure ….will take some time!!!
Amrinder: How dare this happen…… I will take them all to task…….. I will institute an Inquiry into this matter…… I am sure Sukhbir Badal is behind this!!!!
Me: Well you can do all this when you get out……for now we are stuck……..care to talk???
Amrinder: Are you from the Media……have you got this done to get an interview with me???
Me: Not from the Media ….but I do pen satire !!!
Amrinder: Do you by any chance know this guy known as Bharat Kumar…… I want to get my hand on him!!!
Me: I am Bharat Kumar!!
Amrinder: What's your problem ….why do you keep writing about me???
Me: Because you give the masala for writing!!
Amrinder: Well this will be a first for me ………giving and interview in an elevator ….okay fire!!!

Amrinder's mobile rings and he speaks into the mobile and tells the person at the other end that he is stuck in an elevator and will be late for the Party.

Amrinder: I love to party when I am in Delhi…….the Page 3 crowd just adores me!!!
Me: Tell me one thing what happened to all your boasts that you would reveal Badal's alleged ill gotten wealth???
Amrinder: You see all the info was in a file and I've lost the file …….now my VB is busy searching for this file!!!
Me: But from where did you get all the info???
Amrinder: Well you know we Royals have our own network and I used this network to get info on the kingly wealth of a commoner!!!
Me: Have you looked in your own Office…..remember Bhattal too had misplaced some papers which you found later!!!
Amrinder: Oh! What I'd give for a Bloody Mary!!!
Me: But Badal says all this is a figment of your imagination!!!
Amrinder: Just let me find that file….. I am thinking of getting Scotland Yard to find the file…….Tikku ( his son Raninder) is in London and I'll tell him to speak to Scotland Yard!!!

Amrinder speaks to his son Tikku from his mobile and tells him to speak to Scotland Yard.

Me: Speaking of Tikku…… what about the Punjab Intranet matter!!!
Amrinder: You see the basic problem with Royalty is that we read what is in bold but do not bother about the fine print……….so my son did not read the fine print!!!
Me: But Freeky who was your son's partner says that he was in fact being used to channel funds!!!
Amrinder: Listen if Tikku had to channel anything he would have gone to the Channel Islands……. I ordered a Commission to go into the allegations and now this Commission has cleared my son!!
Me: But all say that this was an inside job!!!
Amrinder: See I got a call from Soni that Sonia Ji had ordered me to appoint a Commission to go into this matter.As Sonia Ji had ordered me to take action immediately I there and then requested Justice Nehra to look into this matter. You know when it comes to Sonia Ji's orders I cannot delay even for a second!!!
Me: But …..

Amrinder is sweating profusely and he takes out his handkerchief uses it as a fan.

Me: You've drilled a hole into Punjab's finances with your penchant for using the chopper.
Amrinder: When I assumed power I swore not to step into a Opposition ruled State…..so I decided to fly to Delhi.
Me: But you fly everyday to and fro to Chandigarh from Patiala!!!
Amrinder: See I am 12-5 type of guy and I do not believe in wasting time as time is money……..hence I decided to use the chopper.
Me: What about that incident when your plane flew into the no fly zone over Vajpayee's house???
Amrinder: The Pilot wanted to pee and I took over the controls momentarily ……. you know there was this Nihang and he boasted that he could stop a running train. Someone challenged him to do it…..so he stood on the tracks brandishing his sword…… the train driver saw him standing on the tracks and he started blowing the horn to get him to move of the tracks…..at the last minute the Nihang jumped off the track. People jeered the Nihang and the Nihang said that okay he had not made the train stop but train di cheeka kadha dithi (made the train scream)…… in those days I used to say that I will teach BJP a lesson …….similarly I made the BJP scream!!!!
Me: There are rumors that you are getting all your personal matters, like bank cases and property maters, sorted out!!!
Amrinder: See I have an in house astrologer , we Royals depend on astrology, and he has advised me that this is the best time for me to sort out pending and disputed matters…….and so I have taken this on a war footing…..and please if people are influenced or intimidated by my name then that is their problem!!!!

Amrinder is getting more uncomfortable and he picks up the phone on the panel and shouts into it.

Me: Aren't you worried that if you loose the next elections Akalis will get after you???
Amrinder: See for past year I've been having a problem with my throat and after the votes are cast I plan to go to London to have Doctors look at my tonsils.
Me: But there are ENT specialists of repute in India who can look at your tonsils, why wait to go to London….tonsils are a minor ailment ???
Amrinder: For royal tonsils only London is suitable!!!
Me: Okay …..so if Congress wins you will come running back and if Congress looses you will stay back and when the Akalis open cases against you , all that you will do is send a Medical Certificate saying you are unwell to come to India!!!

The elevator jerks and again comes to a halt.

Me: How would you like your term to be remembered???
Amrinder: Royal time for Punjab!!!
Me: The Liquor auctions in Punjab have fuelled another controversy!!!
Amrinder: Ponty is a damn good chap……… he is pumping money into the Punjab economy……. Liquor was just a way of pulling him into Punjab!!!
Me: But that's his business and now he has a monopoly !!!
Amrinder: Bachus form the backbone of Punjab's economy and nothing will be allowed to harm their interests!!!
Me: But today he has got a complete hold in Punjab…….PP (Punjab Police) is now Ponty Police!!!
Amrinder: Jiss ki laathi ussi ke bhains……. as it is Punjab Police is at the beck and call of Liquor contractors…….. a matter of economics…..demand and supply…in fact now that his own police will police Liquor related matters Punjab Police can concentrate on real policing!!!
Me: They say that you helped Pataudi to hide for a week??
Amrinder: Baloney…. Pataudi came to me and I did not have an iota of an idea about his so called crime…….you see I do not read Newspapers or watch the news on TV……these are for commoners……we Royalty make news!!!
Me: Hard to believe!!!
Amrinder: It was only when I took him to a Party and I found people trying to avoid us , as he was standing next to me , did I enquire and on coming to know the truth I requested him to move out…….but I am against this conservation …….. it goes against our democratic rights!!!
Me: Royalty talking of democratic rights…..what right ???
Amrinder: Right to have fun and enjoy!!!!
Me: Bloody fun!!!!

The elevator starts moving and soon the doors open. We both run out like animals let out of a cage.

Amrinder: If you are going to print this I would like to see it before you print it………just speak to my PA.

Profusely sweating Amrinder walks away. By this time his staff reach the elevator. I find his PA and speak to him.

Me: I have to show an article to CM tomorrow ….what time is convenient??
PA: Bed Tea at 10 am….but Raja Ji does not like to be disturbed then………by noon he will come down from his bedroom and he does not like being disturbed while he is preparing to go to Office…….. he will reach his Chandigarh home at 1 and have lunch and a nap………will loose my job if I disturb him at this time……he will reach Office at 3 PM and meet his OSDs for an hour which will be followed by tea………OSDs will not let me even enter the room……between four an five he has 32 appointments ….and at five he will leave the Office to fly back to Patiala…….tomorrow is his bridge day and so from 6 to 9 he will be busy and then he has to attend two Parties……..and he will return late….so where should I fit you in.
Me: See I'll hand you over the draft of the interview and you leave it at his bedside…..Royalty is habituated to bed time stories…… have the person who reads him his bed side stories read him the draft interview instead!!!

Bharat Kumar

Whispers --- Corporate World -

Eyes on Ambani brothers relations?

Grapevine has it that an agency has been asked to look into the relations of the Ambani brothers. It has been asked to identify that which politician or which bureaucrat is with which brother. The report will ultimately be submitted to 10 Janpath.

Dena Bank shows decline

Dena bank has shown a 73.5 per cent decline in its net profit with a drop of 49.6 per cent - in its `other income'.

Ajay Mehta is MD

Ajay Mehta has been appointed MD of the Maharashtra Power Transmission Company. He is 1984 batch IASofficer.

Mukesh Ambani attends wedding

Mukesh Ambani had been to Goa to attend the wedding of his trusted man Anand Jain.

Sethi is Senior VP

Sanjeev K. Sethi has been appointed as Senior Vice-President (Pharmaceuticals and Technical Services) of the Matrix Laboratories.

Aditya is CEO of Sahara One

Shantonu Aditya has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Sahara One.

Madhu is CMD of Mysore Paper Mills

V Madhu has been appointed CMD of the Mysore Paper Mills in Karnataka.He is 1978 batch IAS officer.

Meena is MD of KPTCL

Bharat Lal Meena has been posted as MD of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited.He is 1985 batch IAS officer.G Kumar Naik will replace Meena as Bescom MD.