What people say about us !

If the pen is mightier than the sword, an idea is more dangerous than a bomb. Osama Bin Laden killed very few but his idea has set the world on fire. Osama Bin Mehrotra with a clique of his mouse has shaken more Government's than any revolution that is why Suresh Mehrotra is actually Osama Bin Mehrotra stronger than his namesake Osama Bin Laden.

M N Buch

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Contact-sureshmehrotra@yahoo.com

1977 batch empanelment meeting on November 27?
Meeting for the empanelment of 1977 batch IAS officers to the rank of Additional Secretary in the Government of India is expected to take place on November 27.

AICC reshuffle this month
Much awaited AICC reshuffle is expected to take place this month. Congress President Sonia Gandhi is currently giving final touches.

Reddy is now Joint Secretary Agriculture
W R Reddy has been promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture. He is 1986 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.
( We said this on October 5 )

Mukul Singhal is JS Revenue
Mukul Singhal has been promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Department of Revenue. He is 1986 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
( We said this on October 9 )

1988 batch IAS frozen
1988 batch IAS has been frozen in the Government of India for central deputation.

Fresh panel for JS in Shipping Ministry
A fresh panel for the post of Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Shipping is being prepared.

Anurag Bhatnagar gets 2 Years extension
DG of the National Agricultural Institute, Jaipur,Anurag Bhatnagar has been granted two years extension. He is 1976 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

Mathur goes on study leave !
Outgoing Tripura Chief Secretary, R K Mathur, is reported to have proceeded on study leave. He is 1977 batch IAS officer of Manipur-Tripura cadre.

Bhullar is JS Expenditure
Balwinder Singh Bhullar has been appointed Joint Secretary Expenditure in the Government of India. He is 1986 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
( We said this on October 4 )

Pati moves to Agriculture Ministry
Gokul Chandra Pati Secretary National Commission for Formers has moved to the Agriculture Ministry as Joint Secretary. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.

Chauhan promoted in GoI
Director in the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, U K S Chauhan, has been promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Government of India. He is 1986 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

Rapid strides in Telecom sector
If the statement of Telecom Secretary D S Mathur is taken into account country has making rapid strides in the Telecom sector.
In his key note address Mathur in New York made a special mention of the significant contribution of Indian- American and American scientists, engineers, CEOs and CTOs both in terms of investment as well as technical inputs in the rapid development of the Indian Telecommunications Industry. He explained the concerted efforts of the Government to reach 20 million broad band subscribers and also connect every school, college, university, health centre, police station with broadband in the next two years. The Government also expects to cover 85% of the area and population that has no network within the next one year. Infact the Consulate General of India, New York and the Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) had hosted an event at the Banquet Hall of the Consulate on the occasion India Telecom Day.

FA to seven depts., Soon to be Secr
Who says competency does not pay these days? A Financial Advisor to seven central government departments 1973 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS officer, A K Rath, is soon to be elevated to the post of secretary . The departments he is assisting at present are heavy Industry, Steel, Public Enterprises, industrial Policy and Promotion, SSI, API and Non-conventional energy.

1977 batch IPS to be ADG in UP
1977 batch IPS officers are being promoted to the rank of ADG in Uttar Pradesh. DPC for the same is to take place today.

Chhotray to be Vice-Chancellor
Finally Devdas Chhotray has accepted the Vice-Chancellorship of Ravenshaw Unitary University in Orissa. He has couple of other offers also. 1971 batch IAS officer who is presently Secretary Official Languages in the Government of India is expected to join new assignment this month.

Over 7,000 posts to be created in IT
The Government of India has decided to create 7051 additional posts in various cadres in the Income Tax Department, which will cost the government Rs 150.66 crore per annum. The vacancies will be filled in three years.

Salhotra goes on deputation
Bharat Salhotra FA&CAO(F&B), North Western Railway has gone on deputation to CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Systems) as Chief Finance Officer

CBI SP resigns
CBI SP in Ranchi R C Chaudhry is reported to have put in his papers.

IAS reshuffle in Haryana
There is IAS reshuffle in Haryana.New postings are:- Mssrs

Ramendra Jakhu, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary additional charge Civil Aviation Department,Mrs Manju Gupta, Special Secretary, Irrigation, will also be the Administrator, Command Area Development Authority. Roshan Lal Director and Special Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment and Welfare of SCs and BCs. R.P. Chander Special Secretary, Home-II, and Joint Commissioner, Gurdwara Elections,S.K. Monga additional charge (Confed),P.K.Das additional charge Director and Special Secretary, Haryana Renewable Energy Sources, Mrs Sumita Misra Special Secretary, Home, R.K. Khullar, Director and Special Secretary, Agriculture, also appointed M.D., Seeds Development Corporation, M. Ramsekhar additional charge Special Secretary, Transport Department, Anil Kumar additional charge, Swaran Jayanti Shehri Rozgar Yojna, Urban Development Department , Arun Kumar Will also look after Special Secretary, Technical Education Krishan Kumar Director, Employment, Ankur Gupta, Special Secretary, Health, Raja Sekhar Vundru, State Project Director, Prathmik Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad, Sant Kumar PWD, R.S. Doon, Joint Secretary, Land Use Board and Rajbir Singh JS Industries and Commerce.

FORUM

IAS will remain most coveted service
Much has been said and talked about IAS officers of this country. Almost six decades after independence whatever development has been witnessed by this erstwhile colonial country India, a big deal of that has, of course, been contributed by the bureaucracy comprising mainly of the IAS officers and this fact can never be ignored or undermined completely. If a specialist only can deliver goods at the top bureaucratic level then let there be a test of selection for that after abolishing civil services exam and I am more than sure that there too those people would qualify in the selection test who would have otherwise qualified in the civil services to become IAS officers. In a nutshell talent follows natural law of gravity. It would either go where there is more money (Private sector managerial posts ) or where there is true or false sense of power and privilege ( IAS IN BLOCK LETTER ) IAS is and will remain the most coveted service in the country till there is concept of civil services exam and the top rankers keep on opting for it.
B C Brahma

IIM Professors about civil servants
This is a comment about the opinion of IIM Professors about civil servants.

1) An IIM Professor who conducts courses for civil servants also said the same thing. He found that officers from all categories performed quite well, but found that the IAS were the most arrogant. Most of the time of the IAS was spent belittling the instructors. 2) Sam Pitroda, Montek Ahluwalia, Manmohan Singh, T.S. Krishnamurty were highly successful civil servants to the Government of India. All the above were non-IAS.
3) Nowhere in the developed world is the head of defence policy a person with limited knowledge of international relations and strategic studies. No where in the developed world is the head of Tax Policy, a person who has to learn Tax Policy after he takes up his job. No where in the developed world is the head of Commerce, a person who does not know International Trade Policy. It is time for the IAS to get expertise in these areas or to make way for who know the subject.

Palani T

IAS is the premier service
I agree with Kamal that IAS is the premier service. In fact when our ancient tradition of Yoga etc. is being revived and accepted by the people so gladly and enthusiatically, we should have no problem in making touching of feet of IAS Officers by all other services, instead of hello, hai culture. This would instill a fear and regard in the minds of all the subordinate services.

Raghuvendra Bulsayani

Plenty of talent in other services
Its difficult to change mindsets like that of Kamala Kanta. Some officers still keep on living in this ruler mentality as I quote from his statement "IAS is blessed to rule this country". Unfortunately today a good majority of the officers have forgotten that they are not the British rulers but public servants and the role of a public servant is to provide the service to the public not to rule them. There is no denying that some of the best brains of the country make through the civil services and we have a plenty of excellent officers in each of the service. But the UPSC exam qualification can not be the sole critieria of talent identification for a country as large and complex as ours with many social and economic realities. There is a plenty of talent within different civil services and also the other arenas of the govt and private sector. We must not forget that persons like Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr Manmohan Singh, E.A Sasidharan, P A Chidambaram, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and many more such stalwarts who have contributed greatly to the growth of country in different fields donot come from our coveted civil service examination. I would say that even the thought of reserving secretaries posts for a service specific or only for civil services alone is vindication of the closed mindset that our administration has acquired over the years. We would have to expand the base of administration to different specialities with a sole objective in the view that how can the progress of the country be ensured. Persons like Kamala Kanta are repersentative of the old feudalisitic bureaucratic mindsets and have nothing much to offer in terms of thought process of nation building. But I hope there are plenty of forward thinking officers in IAS and other services who have the intellectual levels to rise above all this parochial service oriented discussions and work towards reforming our administration to get it ready for the challenges of this century. Our future generations are looking forward to us to set the example.
M Bansal

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Welcome to another episode of One for Fun. Today's guest is Natwar Singh who was sacked from being India's MEA and who's now under investigation for his involvement in the Oil for Food scam.

Me: Welcome to One for Fun.
Nut: I've agreed to this interview as I would like to present my side of the story!!!

Me: I think you should say stories……… okay what exactly happened in the Oil for Food matter?????
Nut: See I was in Iraq with a Congress Team. There I was told that the Iraqi Government wanted to reward the Indian Congress Party for its support. I was heading Congress's Foreign Cell so I took it on myself to represent the Congress Party.

Me: Please do continue!!!
Nut: I was informed of the reward and I felt this required some expert advice so I called the two best experts in this business. One my son because he has vast experience in handling such work and the other was Mr. Andaleeb Sehgal who's an expert in doing business in Iraq!!!

Me: But did you let the High Command know???
Nut: Yes I did let the High Command know that the Iraqi Government was rewarding the Congress Party.

Me: But did you specify what the reward was???
Nut: I think by saying 'rewarding' I had been explicit enough!!

Me: I'm given to understand that you told the High Command that Iraqi Government was giving a citation to Congress.
Nut: Of course the covering letter for the Contract was a citation letter!!!

Me: So High Command had no knowledge of what the reward exactly was???
Nut: See I did not want to be very explicit from Iraq as I felt Sonia ji was under surveillance by the NDA and I felt if NDA came to know they would have tried to stop the award or staked claim to the award.

Me: So then what happened???
Nut: Well as I was busy heading the delegation I authorised my son and the expert to liase with Iraqi Government

Me: But if you say the reward was for Congress Party how come you too got a reward???
Nut: I've been very vocal for the Iraqi cause. The Iraqis recognized this and gave me an reward too!!!

Me: But you kept everything under wraps!!!
Nut: You see I was the head of Congress's Foreign Cell and hence I did not want to jeopardize Congress's relations with USA and so I kept both the awards under wraps.

Me: So basically you took both Contracts.
Nut: You can say that.

Me: What did you do with the Contracts???
Nut: Lets not get into the business nitty gritty….. I sold the Contracts for monetary benefits!!!

Me: Did Congress get its share???
Nut: You see I decided to keep the money in trust……. I was not on very good with the then Treasurer of Congress Party…. I thought he would try to take the credit away from me!!!

Me: But did you let Sonia know of the money????
Nut: She asked me if I had got the citation from the Iraqi Government and I responded in the affirmative….. just then the Treasurer walked in and I did not elaborate. I then decided to keep mum for the time being!!! You do not get to meet Sonia everyday!!!

Me: You did keep mum till the Volcker revealed the Oil for Food scam……also you were required to report the monetary benefits to the Authorities????
Nut: Just to be on the right side of the Law I formed the Congress Party Support Office in Iraq and in Jordan I formed the Natwar Pressure Group and the money to the Party and to me went to these Organizations accounts.

Me: So you feel you've not betrayed Congress???
Nut: Not at all!!!

Me: But this is not the perception…… perception is that you and your son colluded to take Congress's reward!!
Nut: I'm the least bit bothered about perceptions….. I am a Kunwar and Kunwars do not bother about street talk!!!

Me: They say this was your son's misadventure and you were an aider and abetter!!!
Nut: My son is half royal and half Kunwar …….he simply cannot stoop!!!

Me: After your sacking form the Party you've just been flip-flopping!!!
Nut: As I come to know the truth I change my stand!!!

Me: So at first Manmohan ad Chidambram were responsible ….. and then in the same breadth you said that in Congress nothing moved without Sonia's knowledge!!! Now you say its Sonia and you've given a clean chit to Manmohan!!! Your own actions in the Oil for Food scandal show that Sonia is not in the know of everything!!!
Nut: My advisors keep me abreast and accordingly I react!!!

Me: Amar Singh is perceived to be your Advisor. Initially Yashwant Sinha, Digvijay Singh and Shatrughan Sinha we also your advisors. Yashwant got you to go after Chidambram….. Digvijay and Shatrughan got you to go after after Manmohan and Amar got you to go after Sonia!!!
Nut: What do you take me to be a four legged pet who will attack when someone says 'shoo'!!!

Me: No Nutwar Ji………. the perception is that you playing in the anti Congress forces hands!!!
Nut: So be it!!!

Me: You've now even resorted to blackmail by saying that you know a lot of secrets!!
Nut: This is war …….. no holds barred!!!

Me: Funny kind of war….. you are still in the Congress Party ……. you are more like a gaddar!!! Do Kunwars fight wars like this????
Nut: I'm thumbing my nose at Congress so why don't they expel me???

Me: Because of your long association with the Party Congress would prefer that you did the honours yourself…… understand that you are going to campaign for SP in the upcoming UP elections!!!
Nut: Yes……. I'm a very popular politician….. didn't you see the way lakhs of my supporters milled outside my home after I was relieved of my post as MEA???

Me: Natwar ji I did see the crowd and I also recognized the crowd….. rented crowds are so easy to recognize!! And seems like your dear Saala Amrinder you too have a problem in estimating crowds as there were just a hundred people…. and by the way in UP you will be more of a liability for SP…. but then as I see it they deserve you and you deserve them!!!
Nut: Yes I'm now part of the anti Sonia front!!!

Me: I understand that you are writing a book….. autobiography???
Nut: No the book is on the present turmoil in my life…. its titled Spoil….. 'Sp' will be in black and 'oil' in red…. I will reveal everything to save my name!!

Me: But haven't you already done it in this interview… and as I see it rather than saving your name you've sullied it even more…. bye bye Mr. Natwar Singh !!

Bharat Kumar

NHPC levies penal rent on its Ex-CMD ?
Through the intervention of the Court, NHPC has finally forced its ex-CMD, Yogendra Prasad, to vacate the official residence at Faridabad. Yogendra Prasad had moved the court to allow him to continue staying at the official residence even though he retired way back in April, 2005.His request was rejected by the Court. Prasad has finally moved out of NHPC Residential complex. NHPC has now sent a bill of Rs. 10 lakhs levying penal rent on Prasad. Prasad is still to respond. Prasad has been trying to get re-appointment as CMD, NHPC. The post is still vacant.

Mukesh Ambani is highest paid executive
Mukesh Ambani, Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, is Indias Highest paid executive with annual remuneration of Rs. 24.51 cr in 2005-06. Besides this he also earned commission of Rs. 23.43cr during corresponding period. His net worth is approx. Rs. 70000 cr.

Ratwani is Director (Projects) EPI
A K Ratwani has taken over as Director (Projects) of Engineering Projects ( India )Ltd..

Government to adopt Singapore model
Government is going to adopt Singapore model of mandatory health plans .It has asked Financial Service Providers to draw up Health savings Schemes ahead of Union Budget.