Print
this page| The
whispersinthecorridors Online Print from origin : whispersinthecorridors.com > Archive > 29 August 2006 , Tuesday |
| What people say about us - THE TELEGRAPH WRITES Voicing the whispers
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 Review
of 1985 batch empanelment Review meeting for the empanelment of 1985 batch IAS officers to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Government of India is expected to take place in a week or two. 1973 batch IAS officials
to get Secr level postings after Oct IAS officials belonging to 1973 batch are unlikely to get Secretary level postings in GoI before October. There is however, a move to give in-situ promotion to half a dozen officers. 12
IAS officials not joining GoI Of the 43 IAS officials of 1975 batch, empanelled to the rank of Additional Secretary, atleast one dozen are not joining the GoI. Addl secr names changed in PMO Grapevine has it that at least four names of 1976 batch IAS officials empanelled to the rank of Additional Secretaries have been changed in the PMO? Is it true? Dr
Sugathan empanelled Dr K S Sugathan, currently Joint Secretary (UT) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been empanelled to the rank of Additional Secretary during the last review meeting. He is 1973 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. Gupta empanelled Atul Kumar Gupta has been empanelled to the rank of Additional Secretary in the Government of India. He is 1974 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. Mathew also empanelled K J Mathew has also 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 Uttar Pradesh cadre. P K Bandhopadhyay to be DG News P K Bandhopadhyay is being tipped to be new DG News Prasar Bharti. He is 1970 batch Indian Information Service Officer. Sewa Ram to return Joint Secretary Social Justice in the Government of India, Sewa Ram, is returning to the parent Madhya Pradesh cadre in the first week of September. He is 1984 batch IAS officer. Rajeev
Jain joins RD Ministry Rajeev Jain (IIS : 91) on completion of his
long term training for MBA Who will be PS to Chidambaram
? Who will succeed S Krishnan, PS to Finance Minister P Chidambaram? Names of Director in the Department of Economic Affairs Prashant and Director in the Department of Expenditure Govind Mohan are doing the round in the Ministry. Insiders say that the Finance Minister will in all probability get someone from Tamil Nadu. Name of 1988 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, Krishnan, has been cleared for the post of Advisor to ED, IMF in place of D Srinivas who would be returning to the parent Rajasthan cadre after a 3 years stint. Tenure
of Mittal to expire Central deputation tenure of K K Mittal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, will expire later this week. He is 1983 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre. IPS officer is Home Secretary in
Sikkim For the first time in Sikkim, 1978 batch IPS officer Jasbir Singh, has been appointed Secretary Home. Suspension galore of IFS officers
in UP UP Government is free with suspensions. IFS officers are being suspended for flimsy reasons- for not completing plantation targets till July whereas every one knows that monsoons are still on. Rajiv Kumar, 1983 batch, Conservator of Forests , Agra circle, has been suspended along with GP Sharma , 1985 batch, Conservator Azamgarh. DFO Mau , Shivpal Singh1997 batch and DFO Kaushambi, VK Chopra 1990 batch also have been suspended.over 40 officers are charge sheeted for various matters. Are the IFS officers of UP really so bad or are they being targeted for no fault of theirs? Jha is back to Sikim Sanoj Kumar Jha who was on deputation to the Jharkhand Government is back to the parent Sikkim cadre. On return 1997 batch IAS officer, Jha, has been appointed Joint Secretary Development Planning, Economic Reforms and Nort-East Council Affairs. Rajat
Bhargava is CVO Prasar Bharti DDG Prasar Bharti, Rajat Bhargava, has taken over as CVO of the Prasar Bharti. He is 1990 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre. Bhaskar Chatterjee is Chairman HSERA Bhaskar
Chatterjee has been sworn in as Chairman of the Haryana State Electricity Regulatory
Authority. He is 1973 batch IAS officer. IPS officer suspended in UP 1992 batch IPS officer Mahavir Prasad has been suspended in Uttar Pradesh. Justice Iqbal is acting CJ Jharkhand Justice M Y Iqbal has been appointed acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. Bala Baskar gets additional charge N Bala Basker PS and FA Irrigation has been given additional charge of Finance and Planning Departments in Haryana. He is 1975 batch IAS officer. Singh to move Goa Senior Indian Forests Service officer Omkar Singh is moving from Delhi to Goa and new CCF. FORUM Why is CBDT so saddistic? If there is unhappy workforce no work will go on. Thats what the affairs is in Income-tax deptt. Public is so inconvenienced because officers are on the move and no decisions are taken by those who happen to be there. All this mess is created by CBDT for its own officers. There was never a worst time in this deptt. Neeru Babbar Aaj Ki Aawaz Farroukh
Abdullah the ex absentee CM of J&K has spoken, Farroukh says that he was forced to release Masoor Azhar…… does he realize that this was a hostage situation and the Indian Government was forced to release him!!! And its time he looked into the mirror …….. had he been a CM who was less in Delhi partying and enjoying himself and spent more time in J&K , the people of J&K would not have felt that their CM was a NRI….. Non Resident Individual!!!! Amar
went to 7 Race Course in his new Bentley car, After the Telanagana gang ejected themselves from the Cabinet PM tactically called Allies and some estranged and prospective Allies for dinner. Amar Singh was invited and he took this as something to celebrate!!! Got his 'in house' designer duo to stitch a outfit for the occasion and then like a male Cinderella rode in his newly acquired 'Bentley Chariot' to 7 Race Course!!!! Of course he did tell all present that he had been invited lest they feel he's gatecrashed again!!! Then he pranced about like he was the Chief Guest and ended up being termed as the Cheap Guest!! Now
it's confirmed that Amrinder's Dubai trip was just masti and mazaa, He says he visited Dubai to attend a marriage……its customary to go as a couple but Amrinder chose to go as a 'chadaa' ( bachelor) …. without his tiffin!!! In Dubai he indulged in his passion …….. hunting!!!! Of course there are many kinds of hunts and many kinds of prey!!!! A little bird says that he really liked The Palms…… could this be his new address post the Punjab debacle he and his Party are going to face???? When he returned a journo questioned him that why has his Government not banned Colas. Amrinder said that he's been guzzling Colas for years and nothing negative has happened to him……. maybe it's the Rum that he put in his Colas which is the antidote to the negative things in the Colas…….. Cola Companies need to research this!!!! Is Maharashtra CM Deshmukh on his
way out, History has this uncanny habit of repeating itself and seems it's going to repeat itself again and midway Deshmukh is going to be replaced!!! And this is for sure that Rane is not going to become the CM!!!! Maybe in the eyes of his Bosses he's not the guy who can make Mumbai into Shanghai!!! And then please don't forget that there is more to Maharashtra than Mumbai….. something that Deshmukh seems to have overlooked…. so on both micro ( Mumbai) and macro ( Maharashtra) level he's been termed as unfit!!! Mallika Sherawat fainted while doing a kissing scene, Now its confirmed
that hero did not suffer from bad breath …….. nor did he smother her
with an over exuberant kiss!!! Anyway now Mallika has set the rules of kissing
scenes…… have to be conducted in temperature below 20 degrees and humidity
should not be above 40 percent!!! Could somebody tell her that her dizziness spell
could also be because of the clothes she wears…… constrictive to say
the least!!! Bharat Kumar aaj_ki_aawaz@rediffmail.com WHISPERS .... CORPORATE WORLD Who
is more powerful among Ambanis? Who is more powerful among the Ambani brothers? 2006- the entire Petroleum Ministry walks to the elder one Mukesh Ambani, the younger Anil Ambani treads his path to the Petroleum Ministry. Now 2007 -?. Interviews for Director (projects) in EIL Interviews for the post of Director (Projects) in the Engineering India Limited are slated to be held on August 31 in PESB. Canara Bank ED to retire B Swaminathan, ED of Canara Bank, is retiring by this month end. Who will
be CGM SBI Bhopal? Who will replace S Bhattacharya, Chief General Manager, Bhopal Circle ?.Tie is said to be between A P Verma and P Bhashyam. New GM of NTPC R. Venkateswaran has taken over as General Manager of NTPC,
Simhadri Thermal Power Project. |
| Dr
Suresh Mehrotra has his lips sealed, if you have any whispers then send it to
us |
| ©
www.whispersinthecorridors.com. (ANN) All rights reserved. |
