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Rao to be Member Railway Board

Raj Kamal Rao, General Manager, Western Railway is being promoted and posted as Member (Mechanical) Railway Board. ACC has approved his appointment. Orders are likely to be issued within a week.

Rajiv Agrawal is Additional Secretary Home

Rajiv Agrawal has been appointed Additional Secretary Home in the Government of India. He is 1975 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.
( We said this on August 17)

P K Agrawal appointed AS Agriculture

P K Agrawal has been appointed Additional Secretary Agriculture in the Government of India. He is 1975 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.
( We said this on August 17)

Rudra Gangadharan promoted

Rudra Gangadharan has been promoted to the rank of Additional Secretary in the Government of India. 1975 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer Gangadharan is presently Director LBSNAA,Mussoorie.

Krishnan to be AS Sports

S Krishnan will now be Additional Secretary Sports and Youth Welfare in the Government of India.He is 1975 batch IAS officer of Uttaranchal cadre.

Bhaskar Chatterjee to be AS Land Reforms

Bhaskar Chatterjee has been appointed Additional Secretary Land Reforms in the Government of India. Earlier the Name of 1975 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre Bhaskar Chatterjee was in circulation for the post of Additional Secretary Finance.

Bhaskar Chatterjee to be Chairman HERA !

Another Bhaskar Chatterjee is being tipped to be Chairman of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Authority (HERA). He is 1973 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre.

Brijeshwar Singh is acting CEO of Prasar Bharti

DG Akashvani Brijeshwar Singh has been appointed acting CEO of the Prasar Bharti. He is 1975 batch IAS officer of TamilNadu cadre.

Mandloi is acting DG of Doordarshan

Senior most official L D Mandloi has taken over as acting DG of the Doordarshan.

Meena Gupta unlikely to move to Social Justice !

Secretary Tribal Affairs in the Government of India, Meena Gupta, who has been moved to the Ministry of Social Justice is likely to continue in the same Ministry. She is 1971 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.

Avni Vaish empanelled

Avni Vaish has been empanelled to the rank of Additional Secretary in the Government of India during the last review meeting. He is 1975 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Will Veena Chhotray move to Social Justice ?

In case Meena Gupta doesn't move to the Department of Social Justice who will be Secretary Social Justice? Chances are that an officer of 1971 batch will be appointed Secretary .1972 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, Ms Veena Chhotray, is unlikely to be moved in Social Justice since his batchmate Sandeep Khanna is already there as an Additional Secretary.

IAS changes in Madhya Pradesh

There is IAS reshuffle in Madhya Pradesh. New postings are:-Mssrs Vinod Chaudhry ACS Twenty Point Implementation and GAD ,Manoj Jhalani Secretary Planning and Mines,S D Agrawal Secretary Home,Ms Veera Rana Secretary GAD,S N Mishra Commissioner Higher Education,Ms Dipti Gaud Mukherjee Director Town and Country Planning,J N Malpani Collector Ratlam and B K Batham Director Backward Class Welfare.

Arvind Ranjan to join BSF

Arvind Ranjan is joining the Border Security Force (BSF) as Director in Tekanpur Academy. He is 1977 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

Shukla to join Settlement Commission

S N Shukla is likely to join as Member of the Income Tax Settlement Commission in Chennai. He is 1969 batch IRS officer.

Who will succeed Tewari in DEA ?

With the departure of Anirudh Tewari (IAS, 1990) Director- DEA, to join IFAD office in New Delhi who is coming to DEA is a big discussion. A certain officer in Ministry of Finance is keen to make a lateral shift. Who is he?.

Parida gets posting in Delhi Government

Additional Commissioner MCD, Manoj Kumar Parida, is back to Delhi Government. On return 1986 batch IAS officer Parida has been appointed Secretary Training and Special Secretary Urban Development.

Narendra Kumar is Secretary IC UP

Narendra Kumar has been appointed Secretary Information Commission in Uttar Pradesh. He is 1990 batch IAS officer.

TAIL-PIECE

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. "House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa." "Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz." A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?" Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ("el computador"), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten

Contributed by -John Joseph

FORUM

Should certain posts have special preference tag with tenure posting of the incumbent. The Posts of Cabinet Secretary, Secretaries in the ministries of Home, Defence, External Affairs, Chiefs of IB, CBI and RAW have now an over-riding previlage over their collegues once they land up in these posts with the benefit of serving beyond 60 years. The 5th Pay Commission, finding that large number of secretary level officers were working beyond the 58 year barrier for retirement extended the retirement age from 58 to 60 with the aim that such extentions will not be allowed beyond 60years. Now the Cabinet Secretary has a three year tenure and others mentioned have a minimum of 2 years tenure. And thus the present incumbants have been eligible for one year extention at the minimum. This is mearly arm twisting the rules for a select favourite. Ignoring the fact that a large number of officers are waiting down below and are equally worth to hold these posts the decision to given extension to a select few is highly unwarranted. These officers are not specialists of the posts they have been allowed to continue except perhaps the Chief of the IB by his virtue of having continued in the organisation for years together.Meanwhile the recent happening acorss the country like the Mumbai blast is telling mark on such organisations. While there need not be any opposition to such tenure posting, the government should ensure that the officers being shortlisted for these posts should not have crossed the barrier of 58 years when being selected least they should be compelled to be given extension beyond 60 years in the name of tenure posting. However, with the increase in life span of Indians in general, the government should consider to increase the retirement age of government employees at all levels especially when most of the senior officers land up in some government assignments even retirement thereby enjoying the benefits and perks held while in actual service. Many Commissions, Boards etc are a bee-hive for such persons. Is int time that we thought of cutting such post retirement benefits to the officers?

Anil Kumar

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Now Nut from Kunwar wants to be known as Chowdhury Natwar Singh,
What does he expect that this new title will bring????

Seems now Nut wants to be the messiah of Farmers!!!! In his political life up to now he's been far removed from the peasantry, but now all of a sudden at the fag end of his political career he's realized their presence!!! Okay there is an adage …. derr aaye durrust aaye……… but in his case the more appropriate adage would be…… abh kya karna jabb chidiya chug gayi khett!!! Its time we wished Nut a safe and eventless walk into oblivion!!

Begaani shaadi mein Amrinder diwaana,
Or was the shaadi just a bahaana!!!

Must be a bahaana because the relatives via whom Amrinder knows this Dubai family themselves did not go for the marriage!!! And there must have been something very urgent because he went despite being informed of the President's visit to Punjab….. and as we all know President's programmes are not last minute ones!!!! As per very conservative estimates his trip cost Rs. 2.5 crores……. pittance for a Raja….. but be it Raja or Runk such expenses have to explained!!! In his defense Amrinder says that he had a 'green signal' from Sonia……. and if tomorrow Sonia says she gave him no such green signal but instead advised him not to go …..' red signal'….then Amrinder is going to sham a sudden onset of color blindness!!!!

Big Chief at Health Ministry talks with two tongues….. new Mr. Clean Chit on the block,
Cola Companies ko kyon kiya Ramdoss ne unlock!!!

Some time back Ramdoss was telling Stars not to feature in Cola ads , as Colas were bad for kids!!!! Now all of a sudden he's on the Cola Companies side!!!! And why does the man not realize that he has to live up to two Oaths…… one is the Hippocratic Oath and the other the Oath of Office… in his flip flops he's going against both oaths!!!

Filling in the Foreign Ministry post may lead to a minor reshuffle,
Pointer is the ongoing scuffle!!!

Pranab Da can be made the MEA but what is worrying Sonia and Manmohan is his temper and English pronunciation!!! If N.D Tiwari is to be believed then Jairam may be the next MEA ……. so maybe PC will be shifted to MEA... PC wil have to change his dressing habits and don the MEA Uniform….. suit , achkan etc., and will have to stop looking at everything with a legal perspective. Gunman Shivraj has been a very lackluster HM and maybe he'll be made MEA….. his diction and dress sense are good and he doesn't loose his cool!!!! Why don't they become experi'mental' and appoint Laloo as MEA……. Diplomacy's meaning would change…. suited booted, kheni chewing and spitting and flatuating Laloo could really bring in 'fresh air' into MEA!!!!

Laloo and his gang's goondaism came to the fore in Parliament aaj,
Apni goondagardhi ki harkathon se nahi aathe yeh RJD Saansad baaj.

In Parliament today Sadhu Yada came into his true colors and went up to Prabunath Singh and practically assaulted him. Prabhunath had raised the Aara issue and this got Laloo and gang on their toes!!! Sadhu Yadav should know this is Parliament …. but then you cannot take out goondaism from a goonda!!!! Of course Somnath Da will do his best to protect Sadhu …….. had an Opposition Member done this Somnath Da would have made sure that the Member was suspended from the House!!!

Sixty Million Pounds on a wedding…… sheer barbaadi of paisa,
Kyon hotha hai aisa????

Okay Mittal has it and he believes in ' if you have it then flaunt it'!!!! Imagine all the charity work he could have done if only he had trimmed the expenses???? But then Mittal has his philosophy that he's left the charity work to the latter part of his life!!! Seems the rich have an insight to their longevity …because ordinary mortals believe in doing good as soon as possible because Dharamraj can drop in at any time….. in fact Dharamraj has this uncanny habit of dropping in when least expected!!!

Our Security alertness is again lax,
Whereas looking at the treat perception it should be at max!!!

Take the Delhi Metro for example the Security is back to chatting, guzzling tea and ogling!!!! Such installations must be put under supervision of a disciplined and committed Security Force…. and the only one that comes to mind is the Army!!!! Something needs to be done….. pronto!!!!

Bharat Kumar

aaj_ki_aawaz@rediffmail.com

WHISPERS .... CORPORATE WORLD

Now Chairman from Private Sector in Telecom Commission ?

Telecom Commission, which is the body responsible for making telecom policy, is an august body whose membership is restricted to Government officers with proven track record of competence and integrity. It is now understood that it is proposed to bring a PSU officer as one of the members. It is a trial to see the reaction. If the reaction is mild, the next member may be brought from the private sector. Subsequently, the Chairman may also come from private sector. Preparations are already in offing at Chennai by companies like Reliance, Airtel etc for the bidding process.

Babu to be Director (Personnel) R I Nigam !

K Babu is being tipped to be new Director (Personnel) of the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam.

Fate of GAIL CMD to be decided today?

Will GAIL CMD Prashanto Banerjee get extension ?.Officials are tightlipped.Picture will be clear this evening. File of extension is presently lying with Petroleum Minister Murli Deora.In case there is no decision Rao may be appointed acting CMD till his superannuation.

Dave is ED NTPC (South)

A.N. Dave, Executive Director (ED), National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC) northern region has been shifted as ED to the south.

New office bearers of IEEMA

Dasari Jai Ramesh, CMD, Vijay Electricals, has been elected President, Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association.P. P. Gupta, Managing Director, Techno Electric and Engineering, Kolkata, and S. C. Bhargava, Executive Vice President, L&T, (Electrical and Electronic Division) will be Vice-Presidents respectively.

Low, low last minute fares from Indian

Spot Fares now from 22 cities
Flying by Indian has got more exciting. Never before low fares are now available for last minute travel from as many as 22 cities.
Spot Fares, introduced from 1st Aug. 2006 on flights out of the metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore - have now been extended to flights departing from 16 more cities. These cities are Ahmedabad, Kochi, Bhubaneshwar, Lucknow, Nagpur, Madurai, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, Jaipur, Goa, Visakhapatnam, Agartala, and Bhopal.
Available on a "first come, first served" basis a few hours before the scheduled departure of a flight, these fares are available on flights that have unutilized capacity till a few hours before departure. Passengers can buy the tickets through travel agents, through the 24 X 7 toll free number 1800 180 1407, on-line or even at the airport. A boon indeed for those making last minute plans ! These fares are available till 30th Sept.2006.

THE TELEGRAPH WRITES

Voicing the whispers
Suresh Mehrotra is focused on bringing what goes on inside the country’s corridors of power to the world outside, says Smita Tripathi
FACE OF THE WEEK - Suresh Mehrotra

Three guesses as to what most IAS officers do on reaching office every morning? Order a cup of tea? Bury their noses in a newspaper? Heck, maybe even do some work and ask for the list of appointments for the day?

Oh no, they crank up their computers and log on to www.whispersinthecorridors. com, a website, which has taken the country’s bureaucracy by storm. Who is going to be the next cabinet secretary? Who has moved up the ladder? Who has been kicked off it? Have transfer orders been issued? And who is returning to their cadre? Basically just about all the inner goings on in the corridors of power find its way to this website.

So who’s the mole spilling all the bureaucratic beans? Some speculate that he must be a bureaucrat while others suspect he’s a low-level functionary in the personnel ministry. But they are all wrong. Meet Suresh Mehrotra, a doctorate in history and a journalist by profession who runs the whispersinthe corridors website from a small room in his house in Bhopal — with just one computer. Mehrotra has informers in every department and even senior bureaucrats leak to him. But ask him to reveal their names and he’ll grin and repeat the old mantra: “A journalist never reveals his sources.”

No surprises there! In fact, Mehrotra’s sources are placed so deep within the system that hardly any information on the country’s “Iron Frame” passes him by. Consider this: a few months ago Mehrotra got a call at the crack of dawn with earthshaking — from a bureaucratic point of view — news. The cabinet secretary had been given a two-year extension.

Mehrotra uploaded the information on his website immediately. It was only later in the evening that the government announced the decision and it became the top story on every news channel. However, by this time most bureaucrats across the country were hotly debating the last minute change, thanks to Mehrotra’s website.

Says Mehrotra, “People expect me to know everything. I have senior IAS officers calling me to check whether their name is on a particular list or not.” It goes without saying that he doesn’t mind the attention. In fact he basks in it. “People often refer to me as Mr India (referring to Anil Kapoor’s role in a film of the same name), since I’m only heard and not seen,” he laughs.

Whispersin thecorridor.com started humbly enough in March 2001, with an initial investment of around Rs 50,000. It received only two hits on Day One. Today, it has more than 2.6 million visitors and is read both by bureaucrats in India, and also those attached to Indian embassies abroad. In fact, the site enjoys such credibility that bureaucrats often quote it.

Mehrotra has an anecdote about a senior officer who was hoping to be transferred to a new department. Whispersinthecorridor carried an item that he was about to be transferred, so the officer went to his boss asking to be relieved of his job. His ingenious argument? — ‘if the website said it, it must be true’. He got his orders the very next day.

Says Mehrotra, “Sometimes I know things before the officers themselves.” He goes on to talk about a secretary level officer who the website said was going to be moved to a different ministry. The officer’s son-in-law called him up from the US to ask if it was true. The officer, not a regular visitor of the whispersinthecorridor site, had no clue but two days later, he was moved.

Just how does Mehrotra get all this sensitive information? “It’s a give-and-take relationship. Some information I part with, and some they give me,” he says referring to his bureaucrat buddies. On an average, Mehrotra sends out between 25 to 30 mails a day and makes around 50 calls to various people sitting not only in Delhi but also in other state secretariats.

And how did it all start? “It was my fascination with the bureaucracy and the way the government worked. I was never much interested in the political side of things. It was the bureaucrats who attracted me,” says Mehrotra.

So in the mid-1980’s, Mehrotra, then the bureau chief of the Free Press Journal in Bhopal started a weekly column called Whispers in the Corridors. Of course, the column only covered the activities of the officers of the Madhya Pradesh government. “It was a huge success and I realised that there were a lot of people who were interested in knowing what was happening at the seat of power,” he explains.

In 1992, Mehrotra moved to Delhi for a year. “I spent most of my time in Delhi meeting bureaucrats. Today most of them are my close friends,” he says. From 1997 to 2000, Mehrotra was the editor of National Mail and then went on to edit the Hindi daily, Nayee Duniya.

However at these organisations, he didn’t get much chance to pursue his passion for the bureaucracy. So in 2001, he set up the website. “I thought it was time for me to do something on my own. The website was just an idea,” says Mehrotra who initially had to face a lot of flak from his bureaucrat friends when he called them up asking for information to put on his site.

Cut to the present and it’s an entirely different story. “Now people often call me up and give me information, even without my asking for it. In fact, sometimes they try to plant stories about others. I need to be cautious and crosscheck such information with my sources,” says Mehrotra who as a rule tries to stay away from controversies. “I concentrate only on the comings and goings rather than on issues of corruption. Investigative journalism is for newspapers. I only give information,” he declares.

Running the website costs Mehrotra around Rs 50,000 a month thanks to the server fees and the telephone bills. He has also recruited one person who uploads the site daily at around 11 am. Apart from that, it’s a completely home-run operation.

For the first couple of years Mehrotra wasn’t making any money, but now he says he is breaking even. The site gets advertisements from the Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh governments. “Most advertising is through contacts. I don’t undertake any marketing,” he says. But now, more and more people are approaching him for advertising. Recently the IAS Wives Association has started advertising on the website for a new housing complex that they are building.

So what’s the future like for whispersinthecorridors. com? Like all dot.com entrepreneurs, Mehrotra hopes that some day the site will be big enough for a company to make him an offer he just can’t refuse. Till then, Mehrotra continues to do what he loves — give voice to all those whispers floating around in the corridors of power.

Photograph by Jagan Negi