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According http://firefactor.coffeecup.com> survey firefactor of whispersinthecorridors.com in the global context is 9.2 on the scale of 10.
The said website has a team of experts which looks at and evaluates over 90 factors about a website.

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INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK

For Brijmohan Agrawal Tourism is like a passion who was instrumental in boosting tourism while serving as Tourism Minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh(comprising existing MP & Chhattisgarh)is leaving no stone unturned now as Chhattisgarh Government's Tourism Minister. Brijmohan Agrawal has done an exemplary work in Chhattisgarh ever since he became Tourism Minister.
Its not that he holds portfolio of only Tourism department, but he is Cabinet Minister for other departments too. They are: Forest, Revenue, Rehabilitation, Law, Culture, Religious Endowments & Trusts, and Sports & Youth Welfare. According to him "The whole state has a potential to attract tourists of each sector viz Eco-Tourism, Pilgrim-Tourism and Adventure-Tourism etc." In his following interview to<whispersinthecorridors.com>Brijmohan Agrawal has unravelled his plans, on how he wants to give a fillip to tourism in Chhattisgarh so that it could get recognition all over the globe.

1/ What Steps have been taken to-attract tourists?

A-To attract tourists from India as well as abroad the state government is planning to speed up infrastructure development activities. Some steps in this direction are -
(i) Promotion of Economical, Cultural and Ecological sustainable tourism in the slate.
(ii) Encourage and promote private sector initiatives in developing tourism-related infrastructure,
(iii) Tourism development will be primarily driven by the private sector with the role of the government being that of a facilitator and catalyst.
(iv)Increase the contribution of tourism 10 the economic development of inter-related
sectors,
The whole state has a potential to attract tourists of each sector viz Eco-Tourism, Pilgrim-Tourism and Adventure-Tourism etc. We have opened tourist information centers at Delhi, Visakahapatnam, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bilaspur, Bhopal, Nagpur & Kolkata (latest addition). Very soon we will start more information centers in the other parts of the country including Mumbai, Chennai,Agra,Banaras & Bangalore.

2/Nowadays focus is on budget hotels, where do you see Chhattisgarh Tourism Corporation's role in that?

A- The idea of budget hotel is applicable only in the states, which are already saturated with all kinds of hotels. As far as Chhattisgarh is concerned being a new state talking about budget hotels is impractical. But this does not means that the tourists visiting our state will not get good accommodation in reasonable price. The series of motels are under construction and one of them named ASNA motel is ready to serve the tourists, The rents of rooms in these motels are so reasonable that you can compare it with any budget hotels and its quality with any costly hotels.

3/Question - What are new projects that your state is starting in tourism sector?

A- At present our total stress is on development of infrastructure. We are constructing motels in nearly 30 places of the state. It is expected that these motels will be completed by December 2007. In addition to this various preliminary measures like beautification works and basic sanitation facilities were being created. Apart from these 104 tourists destinations have already been identified in the state to promote tourism.

4/ What steps are being taken for increasing tourists, inflow to your state, through out the year?

A- To increase the tourist's inflow we have already started massive publicity campaign ail over India, Yon can see our advertisements in all leading publications as well as in visual media. Our participation in various national and international events gives us much exposure among the tourists planning to visit Chhattisgarh. As you know after the formation of state, we have to start from the zero and now we can say proudly those tourists of al! over India knows the name of Chhattisgarh and ready to visit the unexplored tourist spots.

5/ Can you list two major achievements of yours as Tourism Minister?

A- Development of infrastructure in the state is the biggest achievement of us because without it we cannot give proper attention to the tourists coming to our state. Secondly, to promote pilgrim tourism in the state Rajim Kumbh was introduced on the confluence of three rivers - Sondhur, Parry and Mahanadi. Surprisingly, people; even in the neighborhood were not aware of this unique Triveni Sangam akin to Prayag, Now every year lakhs of people from all over India including eminent sages visit Rajim.

1988 IAS not to get postings before Oct
There is a remote chance that 1988 batch IAS, empanelled to the rank of Joint Secretary, would get postings before October. There may be few exceptions.

Who got scuttled the proposal of Champak Chatterjee ?
Secretary Education in the Government of India, Champak Chatterjee, was set to join the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) .Now it seems 1971 batch West Bengal cadre IAS officer, Chatterjee, would retire on December 1 without his being joining the CAT. Who got scuttled the proposal of Chatterjee ?Answer to this question lies with one P R R Nair.

Pankaj Kumar to join GoI
Secretary to the Nagaland Governor, Pankaj Kumar, is going on deputation to the Government of India as Joint Secretary Agriculture. He is 1987 batch IAS officer.

Abhishek Singh is Secretary to Nagaland Governor
Abhishek Singh has been appointed as Secretary to Nagaland Governor with additional charge of Secretary (Information Technology) and Secretary (Technical Education). 1995 batch IAS officer, Singh, will succeed Pankaj Kumar.

Atul Prasad joins GoI
Atul Prasad has joined the Government of India as Joint Secretary -cum-Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.1987 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, Prasad, will head the "National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities". Prasad was earlier Director, Employment & Training, Government of Bihar.

Dr Parvati Singh is Personal Physician to the President
Dr Parvati Singh Bais has joined as Personal Physician to the President of India Mrs Pratibha Patil. She will be further increasing the woman strengthen in President House.

Devender Singh joins GoI
Devender Singh has joined the Government of India as Joint Secretary Power. He is 1987 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre.

Upadhyay promoted in IB
H Upadhyay has been promoted to the rank of Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau. He is 1973 batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre.

Sudhir Saxena gets extension in CBI
Joint Director in the CBI, Sudhir Saxena, has been granted one year extension in his tenure. He is 1987 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Gaurav Shresth joins MEA
Gaurav Shresth (IFS 99) has joined MEA as Under Secretary (GA and Cadre) upon his return from Mauritius.

Left Front to withdraw support later ?
As the grapevine has it, the Left Front is going to withdraw support from the UPA Government on eve of Parliament's winter session.

Prabhat Dabral to quit Sahara ?
Grapevine has it that Prabhat Dabral is quitting the Sahara News Channel. He is presently heading the news channel.

Prasar Bharti is divided in three groups
Is Prasar Bharti divided in three groups? It seems so. One powerful group is led by CEO B S Lalli -second by Indian Broadcasting Service officers and third is neutral.

CBI lacks staff

As against the sanctioned strength of 5959 there are 1341 vacancies in the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI).However officially it has been claimed that vacancies have not affected the performance of the CBI adversely.

New Joint Secretary Disinvestment likely

A new incumbent will be now Joint Secretary Disinvestment in Government of India(GOI) as tenure of present incumbent Saurabh Chandra (UP) cadre is going to conclude soon.

41 court martial cases pending

There are 41 court martial cases pending against army personnel including 25 in different courts.Of this only six cases are those which were filed before special court of CBI.

Tribunal for Armed forces on the anvil

The Indian government has decided to set up an Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) which would also be empowered to deal with service matters.
This will be done to provide a meaningful opportunity of appeal against verdicts of court martial to the officers and other ranks in courts in various parts of the country.

Defence forces have 14264 vacancies

Three wings of Indian defence have 14264 vacancies.In Army 11238 post of officers are vacant in Navy & Air Force number of vacancies is 1461 & 1565 respectively.

Mukesh Nigam is back to Railways
Director in the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Mukesh Nigam, is back to the parent Railways after completion of central deputation tenure.

Kishore Ajwani quits Zee ?

Kishore Ajwani is reported to have quit the Zee to join Sahara News Channel.

Airport Directors shifted
Guwahati Airport Director, P B Bhagat, has been moved to Ahemdabad. S D Awasthi has been shifted from Ahemdabad to Lucknow.

FORUM

Congress and BJP will go down

I agree with your survey. Congress will go down to 110 and BJP to 120, as things stand today. If the polls are held today, BSP will get over 100 seats. After a year, with certain inputs, messages and actions it may well reach beyond 150.

Y Mathur

Debate is unnecessary

The debate between CSS and IAS is unnecessary. While IAS come to the Centre and make policy decisions, CSS help them acquire knowledge to make such decisions. CSS is the backbone of the Central Secretariat and without them IAS are incomplete. The debate should have been how to make both services complementary to each other to make our country progress further in the right direction.

P Ratnaparkhi

I speak from my experience

While I would not like to enter into any personal comments on the feedback by Ojha, I do most humbly but firmly submit that I have not made any assumptions, nor sweeping generalisations. I speak from experience. The most brilliant of non-IAS or non-IPS officers have, while dealing with matters of local content, been asking for field officers for their inputs. By the way, the scene now is for citizen-centric and not just rule-centric administration, just in case we forget !! and I am not narrowly confusing it with political maneouvering, as it is neither here nor there...

Jalaj

I support this view

There is mention on this article about CSS officers given level playing field. I agree with the writer. If a person is deserving he should be posted at a responsible position whether he is from CSS or IAS or IRS. I support this view even though i belong to one of these premier services.

Shantanu

Such type of debate is necessary

The debate on CSS getting due share of senior posts particularly at JS and AS level should actually be a part of larger debate of Restructuring of Central Secretariat. Such a debate has become necessary considering the sweeping changes which have redefined the role of the Government in a market economy, impact of e-governance, emergence of functional specialisation in Civil Services and increasing need for specilisation, objectivity and transparency in Administration. CSS will have to rechristene itself if it has to play a meaningful role in the new Secretariat. It will have to upgrade itself with new concepts in Financial management, market economy, citizen orientation and e-governance. The Government should immediately commission a study to identify the training gaps and suitable international institutions/ curriculum necessary to upgrade the skill set of CSS officers, to enable them to play this wider role.

Dr Chander Dutta

There should be integrated management pool

1988 batch IAS is empanelled as JS. All the noise being made by other Group A services for a semblance of parity in empanelment falls on deaf ears. Which batches of other Group A services are empanelled? More importantly, what is the percentage of other service JSs in GOI? Why can't an Integrated Management Pool concept be allowed for JS level posts and above? IAS has to rise above selfish interests and allow the benefit of varied experience of services at JS level. Otherwise ,day in and day out one observes in Central Secretariat feudal IAS officers lording over Directors and below, without doing any work at their level. Despite clear instructions to use "Please discuss' and "Please speak" sparingly, IAS JSs from feudal states ,who have never worked as Directors in GOI shirk their share of work. But they are very prompt in cornering all perks be it foreign travel or anything else!!!

Devender Sridhar

Headless Chicken remark

The "headless chicken" remark by Ronen Sen has brought the 123 agreement into sharp focus. Sen has chided "MPs like Yashwant Sinha to have criticised the agreement even without going through its text". The veteran diplomat may be right in his own way but where on earth is the text available.
The controversy I feel is largely attributable to total absence of basic information on the subject including the text of the agreement. It is a massive PR failure on the part of the government, particularly the MEA. After a massive cyber hunt all over the nic.in and the other probables I have not been able to find the text or even the gist of the agreement. As a result the country is witnessing the bizarre phenomenon of a debate that is as cacophonous as it is ill-informed. The subject being of long term importance for the country's security we can ill-afford to grope in the dark. Some available inputs suggest the following.
In the second week of December 2006 both Houses of the US Parliament had passed the legislation on the broad shape of the Indo-US nuclear deal and renamed it as the Hyde Ac of 2006. Some of the draw backs noticed in this legislation by almost each and every nuclear expert of repute in the country are absence of US assurance to co-operate with India in the spent fuel reprocessing and Uranium enrichment programmes and restricting India's entry in to the GNEP only as a recipient state and not as a technology developer. The most worrisome feature of the US legislation is sec 109 which requires India to JOINTLY PARTICIPATE WITH THE US NATIONAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION to further the non-proliferation goals. As if this were not enough, it also requires the US President to report annually to the Congress WHETHER INDIA IS FULLY AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING IN THE US AND INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO DISSUADE, ISOLATE AND IF NECESSARY SANCTION AND CONTAIN IRAN FOR ITS PURSUIT OF INDIGENOUS EFFORTS TO DEVELOP NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES.
It is now for the PR wizards of the Government (MEA) to clarify whether the US has made amends to these and similar other intrusive or insulting clauses of the Hyde Act of 2006. Alternatively Government can also tell the nation that these clauses still remain but what we gain in return from the US shall be worth more than this small price. The need of the hour is transparency coupled with communication skills with mathematical precision in terms of logic and reasoning. If any one in or outside the Government thinks that these intrusions in India's decision making and foreign policy processes without matching gains need not be taken note of, he or she is bound to be no more than a headless chicken or perhaps much worse.

NN Ojha

Finance Minister should take a view

Private Secretaries in MEA (Indian Foreign Service - Group 'B' Gazetted post) are either selected through a competitive exam conducted by UPSC or through promotion after putting in 18 to 20 years of service as Stenographer Grade 'C'.

UPSC conducts a departmental exam every year for eligible Assistants/Steno Grade 'C' for various categories for selection to the post of Section Officers/ Private Secretaries. While a candidate in MEA is not sure of his selection even after getting 350 marks out of 600, in Central Secretariat Ministries anything near to 300 is considered a safe score for promotion.

In their entry grade a Private Secretary joins as Steno Grade 'C' for which Staff Selection Commission conducts an open exam annually. The first top 10-12 candidates do make it to MEA, next 15-20 in the merit goes to Ministry of Railways, and rest of them, depending upon the vacancy position (some 150-200), recruited to other Ministries and organisations.

There are many in MEA who served in various Ministries for years together and make it to MEA after years of hard labour for betterment.

The Finance Minister has taken a narrow view of the issue while allowing Non- Functional pay scale for Private Secretaries of Central Secretariat Services and denying the same to Private Secretaries in MEA.

I hope the issue will be addressed quickly.

A N Khattar

TAIL-PIECE
Wife: Honey..... What are You Looking for ?
Husband : Nothing.
Wife : Nothing...?? You've been reading our marriage certificate for an
hour??
Husband : I was just looking for the expiration date.

Contributed by Col Satish Dhawan

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Commies aim at making India into a lame duck!!!
As World progresses in obsoleteness they want India to remain stuck!!

And on taking vital decisions at the Centre Commies do not have India 's mandate!!!
On why they are enforcing their decisions there should be a debate!!!

Progress is not good for Communism!!!
That's why they consider progress as sheer opportunism!!

Commies keep ranting and raving about the Hyde Act!!!!
But most of them don't even what's in the Act and this is a fact!!!

Bardhan just knows how to make faces …. bitter and sour in one go!!
And if you don't agree with him he takes you to be his foe!!

Karat's Marxism has caused and now will cause India harm!!!
And his wifey with her rants is causing harm but does this with charm!!!

Karat is not the most powerful man in India but yes he's the biggest pain!!!
You could say today he's India 's biggest bane!!!

Of course Commies are behaving like headless chickens!!!
You get to see this as their plot thickens!!

They are not using their heads and helter skelter karr rahe hai run!!!
Aptly applicable on Commies the headless chicken pun!!!

China is strengthening itself by adding Nuclear plant pe plant!!
And their stooges in India are ensuring that India can't!!!

Now problem is that Congress is being pressured by its Allies to avert elections!!
Because most of them will loose out if elections are held as per projections!!!

If elections are held today Congress too will loose out in a big way!!!
For instability in Governance and inflation it'll pay!!!

Commies too will face a depletion in seats!!!
Nandigram and opposition to 123 Deal will be reasons for one of its biggest defeats!!

BJP is unhappy with the 123 Deal because it's looked on as Congress's tot!
That's what has got BJP behind its ears hot!!!

Yes there is talk that Manmohan could end up as the scape-bakraa!!
Maybe he'll pay the price because Commie bull by the horns hai Manmohan ne pakdaa!!

Fact is be it Congress , Allies or Commies all actually don't want mid-term polls!!!
When it comes to mid-term polls all of them are dukhi souls!!!

Now lets see koun karta hai blink!!!
Though the Backroom Boys are trying that both UPA and Commies simultaneously wink!!!

Talking of blinks….. Sonia blinking means she's worried!
Now the blinks have shot up and are even more hurried!!

And if Sonia is forced to replace Manmohan she's going to be in a fix!!!
Because she'll not be able to get a replacement with Manmohan's kind of mix!!

Honest, capable, experienced and totally apolitical… Manmohan jaise there is no one!!!
Because no one will be willing to vacate the Chair when required for Sonia's son!!

She's already burnt her fingers with Narsimha Rao!!!
Who with Bofors time and again karta tha Sonia ko cow!!!

Pawar is not going to fight the next General election in partnership with Congress!!!
In fact he's now working that from Congress into NCP some heavyweight's ki ingress!!!

But my guess is that this time in Maharashtra BJP and Sena will take the cake!!!
Their friendship they need to remake!!

Maya is celebrating her 100 days in power …… solitaires and pink suit!!!
And in newspapers ads on her achievements toot!!!

She scrapped ' UP mein hai dumm's' friend's SEZ project!!!
Apart from Anil's proximity to SP there's another reason why Maya ne kiya yeh SEZ reject!!!

Big B ji aap ki fan misusing your POA waali baath mein nahi hai dumm!!!
Seems this is the idea of your Bhai cum chum!!!

His rooking story nobody buys!!
Lets see if he'll be able to pull wool over Justice's eyes!!

Lets see if Justice mein hai dumm!!!
Or when it comes to dealing with Super Stars dumm jo jaatha hai kumm!!!

Bharat Kumar
Aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

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CORPORATE

R S Sharma gets 'Distinguished Fellowship'

R S Sharma, CMD, ONGC was honoured with the "Distinguished Fellowship" award of the Institute of Directors (IOD) in recognition of his dedicated public service i.e. commendable performance in management of ONGC. IOD is a registered non-profit society of Company Directors committed to improving the competitiveness of Indian Business by focusing on development of leadership among Indian Companies.

The fellowship was bestowed on Mr. Sharma, by Mr. N Gopalaswami, Chief Election Commissioner today at New Delhi at a function that also marked the 18th Annual Day of the Institute of Directors.

The award is in recognition of the initiatives and drive displayed by Mr. Sharma in steering the ONGC Group of companies to new heights of corporate performance. Mr. Sharma's dynamic leadership has been credited to have effected numerous business improvements in ONGC; leveraging inherent strengths to build up its fortunes over the last few years. He has also been credited with positive measures that have brought about a turn around in the morale of the professional workforce. Another key achievement of Mr. Sharma is giving thrust to CAPEX investment which amounts to Rs 13,305 Crore during the year 2006-07, which has fuelled growth. The citation also adds that if ONGC is today a blue chip company the credit goes to Mr. R S Sharma for painting it in the brightest of blue colours.

The award also recognizes his strong support to the principles of Corporate Governance, keen business sense, straight-forward yet humane approach while managing complex problems and most importantly, living up to the aspirations of a diverse set of stakeholders.

The earlier recipients of the "Distinguished Fellowship" of IOD include Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, Dr. N Gopalaswami, IAS, Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gen. V P Malik, former Chief of Army Staff, Dr. (Ms) Kiran Bedi, IPS, Mr. B C Bora, former CMD, ONGC and Mr. Subir Raha, former CMD, ONGC.

Mr. R S Sharma, CMD and concurrently holding the charge of Director (Finance) of the company has earlier been awarded with the 'CNBC-TV18 CFO Award 2006'. He is also a recipient of the 'India CFO Award 2005' for excellence in Finance in PSUs from International Market Assessment in association with BNP Paribas, Sun Micro Systems and CNBC TV 18.

Under his stewardship, the company received the award for the "Biggest Wealth Creator Award" from Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. and CNBC TV 18 for last 3 years in succession.

After receiving the award, Mr. Sharma said that this award is in recognition of the dedicated work of all ONGCians working in different parts of the country and abroad.

Uday Kotak in Planning Commission
Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank has been appointed Member of a 12 member high- level committee on financial sector reforms set up by the Planning Commission.
Rao is Zonal Manager CBI AP
V. Sudhakar Rao has taken over as the Zonal Manager, Central Bank of India (CBI) Andhra Pradesh Region.

Subramanian shifted to Mumbai

Zonal Manager AP Circle of the Central Bank of India K. Subramanian has been transferred to Central Office, Mumbai.

Ashish Gupta quits ABP

Ashish Gupta Vice President Anand Bazar Patrika(ABP) group, has quit. This comes close on the heels of resignation by ABP's Managing Director and CEO Pramat Sinha.

2nd Kingfisher Airlines Open 2007 in Sept.2007

A galaxy of tennis players will converge in Mumbai for the 2nd Kingfisher Airlines Open to be held in Mumbai from September 24 to 30, 2007. Tennis superstars like Lleyton Hewitt, Marcos Baghdatis, Marat Safin & Richard Gasquet will be seen in action.The US$416,000 Kingfisher Airlines Open is being organized by Globosport, India's leading sports and entertainment management company headed by Indian tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi.According to Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman and CEO, Kingfisher Airlines Limited "the Kingfisher Airlines Open 2006 offered Indian tennis aficionados some truly world-class tennis action and went on to be regarded as South Asia's most prestigious tennis tournament. With the successful completion of the first edition of the Kingfisher Airlines Open, Mumbai now occupies a place of pride on the world sporting map."

Sohail Khan to head DGM India,Mumbai office

Online marketing solutions company dgm India of which Managing Director is Mr. Anurag Gupta has appointed Sohail Khan as Head - Sales & Account Management (West & South).The company is going to its office in Mumbai,said Gupta.

Brett Lee launches new products of TIMEX

TIMEX Watches Ltd. (TIMEX)has launched its internationally acclaimed, motor-racing inspired, dynamic new racing chronograph collection. The new collection was launched by Aussie Speed King and TIMEX Brand Ambassador Brett Lee, in the presence of Kapil Kapoor, Sr. Vice-President Asia and Managing Director Timex Watches Ltd.The ceremony was hosted by noted sports commentator Ms. Mandira Bedi.

PFC & KREDL join hands

The Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) and Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd. (KREDL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for facilitating financing of non-conventional renewable energy projects such as wind, small. hydro, solar, biomass, etc. recommended by KREDL to PFC. The MoU was signed by M.K.Goel, Director (Institutional Appraisal & Development) PFC & Dr.B.Shivalingaiah, MD, KREDL in the presence of H.D. Revanna Energy & PWD Minister of Karnataka.Dilip Rau, Additional Chief Secretary was also present on the occasion.