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Kamal Duggal
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TOP BRASS

Young, dynamic and dashing Jeh Wadia is scion of the famous Industrialists family of Wadias' for whom the dream is to see all 600000 villages in India turn self reliant. Though, age and opportunities are on his side, he is quite busy, yet he obliged us by sharing his frank views in an interview with the "whispersinthecorridors.com".

He emphatically said "innovation and premium quality service have always been the hallmark of the Wadia Group. As part of restructuring the Group, we plan to capture various sunrise businesses in India."

As Managing Director of the of the low cost carrier (LCC) i.e. the "GoAir" he said "we are aiming at expanding our fleet to 33 aircrafts by end 2008.Nanaji Deshmukh has been a mentor for me and under his leadership I started to volunteer for the Deendayal Research Institute (DRI) in Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh).President APJ Dr. Abdul Kalam's project, PURA focuses on connectivity of villages primarily and one of its goals is also to provide vocational training to villages, while DRI focuses on making villages self sufficient.

He listed various measures of making LCCs in India more viable while stating the "GoAir" aims to be the premium low-cost airline in India and will provide passengers a comfortable and affordable option to popular holiday and business destinations in India. We have a market share of 4% and plan to increase the same to 10% by second year of operations."
Unveiling expansion plans he said, "we have also made strategic investments in the healthcare, retail and real estate arena. We are now looking at setting up GoCargo and GoEngineering."

To chill he loves three things sun, sea and surf which are available at his one of the favourite holiday spots in Thailand. Jeh Wadia as well said "I enjoy adventure sports. I'm also a complete beach person and love to spend time with my family in Goa. Here goes his interview:

1/What are your expansion plans? As a low budget airline how are you surviving?

GoAir's first service on 4th November 2005, started with 4 destinations with 6 scheduled flights a day - today we service 13 destinations with 385 flights per week. We have just added one more aircraft to our fleet making it a total of 7 aircraft which will go up to 8 by December 2006. We are aiming at expanding our fleet to 33 aircrafts by end 2008.

GoAir aims to be the premium low-cost airline in India and will provide passengers a comfortable and affordable option to popular holiday and business destinations in India.

We are currently at a 30-35% cost advantage compared to full fare carriers due to the low turn around times, higher utilisation, no interlining principles, sale of meals on board, more efficient staff utilisation etc. We have a market share of 4% and plan to increase the same to 10% by second year of operations.

In terms of Distribution, GoAir too has reduced its distribution costs with internet booking, E-ticketing etc. With the increase in internet connectivity and the realisation that the cheapest fares are available directly on the net, more and more passengers are now opting to book their tickets online.

As a low budget airline, one of the key concerns today is infrastructural support. The LCCs abroad have the support of fantastic subsidised infrastructure and are not at par with the Full service carriers. However, in India, the LCCs have to pay the same as the Full service carriers for infrastructure, fuel subsidies, parking costs, etc, which can be quite a hindrance to becoming a true LCC in every sense.

Also, certain other policy changes like the option to outsource areas like Security, Ground Handling and the ability to hedge ATF prices will make LCCs even further competitive.

2/What are the disadvantages of being born with a silver spoon in the mouth?

The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. I've always had a lot of leeway in what I wanted to do and have tried out new business ideas.

But I haven't exactly had it served on a platter to me. My parents wanted me to start right from the shop floor and not directly inherit a comfortable position at the top. Hence my work with the Wadia Group started on the shop floor as a Spinning Manager in Bombay Dyeing textile mills where cotton used to go in my ears and get stuck to my clothes. This initial start up helped me in the long run as regards discipline, understanding my employees and appreciating the privileges in life. Also, the understanding of the production process enhanced my knowledge and helped me deal with clients.

3/Any further plans for diversification?

The Wadia group has just signed a Term Sheet to form a Joint Venture Company (JVC) with SIA Engineering Company Limited to offer maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services in India. They would operate as separate entities.

We have also made strategic investments in the healthcare, retail and real estate arena. We are now looking at setting up GoCargo and GoEngineering.

4/What's your favourite food? How do you like to chill out?

One of my favourite restaurants is Nobu in London, a Japanese fine dining restaurant and my favourite dishes are Salmon and Caviar tartare, Black Cod, Snow Crab, Lobster Wasabi and Spicy Prawn Tempura.

I enjoy adventure sports. My stint with a car dealer in London during my student days saw me speeding in Ferraris and Bentleys. I also have pleasant memories of having piloted the MIG29 aircraft a few years back.

I'm also a complete beach person and love to spend time with my family in Goa. As far as holidays destinations go, Thailand remains one of my favourite holiday spots for the sun, sea and surf.

5/Since age and opportunities are with you, how would you like utilise innovations for a better industrial growth?

Innovation and premium quality service have always been the hallmark of the Wadia Group. Today only those who combine a great vision with a strong operational capability, resulting in higher growth and higher profitability are termed as successful organisations. As part of restructuring the Group, we plan to capture various sunrise businesses in India.

GoAir is a brilliant example of innovation in the current travel and aviation sector. The concept of a low cost airline is relatively new in a country like India. With GoAir we have commoditised air travel by offering fares at affordable prices which are at par with train or bus fares.

Going forward we will continue to ensure that there is innovation in everything we do, in all departments where human resources are deployed, including planning, development, marketing and also at the delivery end point.

6/Who is your role model & why?

Nanaji Deshmukh has been a mentor for me and under his leadership I started to volunteer for the Deendayal Research Institute (DRI) in Chitrakoot. You see, he started this development in 1973 and his vision was that the reform of rural India cannot come through politics and hence he chose to opt out of politics in '73 when his government came into power and decided to take up this cause through private initiatives. That's how the DRI was born, with the very simple objective: Making people self-reliant.

DRI's core competence is to develop working models for villages in rural India adopting models of Health & Hygiene, Education, Entrepreneur training, Agriculture development etc. Nanaji Deshmukh's dream was to distribute the knowledge to 6,00,000 villages making them all self-reliant and it his dream which I wish to fulfil during my lifetime.

7/Is there any possibility of launching a nation wide drive for villagers' upliftment,on the lines of your contribution at the Chitrakoot located Deendayal Shodh Sansthan(popular as the DRI)?

As mentioned above, currently we are looking at making 6,00,000 villages self-sufficient through the Chitrakoot project which is quite a significant number. It will take us some time to achieve this mission after which we will evaluate the options of extending this to other areas of the country.

8/How is it different from President Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's concept of providing urban amenities in rural areas (PURA)?

President APJ Dr.Abdul Kalam's project, PURA focuses on connectivity of villages primarily and one of its goals is also to provide vocational training to villages, while DRI focuses on making villages self sufficient.

The similarity between both the projects is that of helping villages with regards to the betterment of their economy and standard of living, but the difference is that while PURA looks at the connectivity angle, DRI aims at making them self reliant.
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NAME THE NAMELESS

Who is the Super Boss & Super Cop-name the nameless.

For a change, this is not a whisper. In fact, it's a yell from the housetop. A yell for the year 2007.If our patrons endorse it, this yell from the WHISPERS should reverberate in corridors of all state capitals, besides of course the heart of India-that Delhi has always been and shall so remain all times to come.

These are happening times. You don't do things. They happen. Or you make them happen. Everywhere on the eve of or at the advent of New Year, people were or are busy looking for their Man of the year. Politicians, businessmen, moviemen, sportsmen and social activists are hogging limelight. The civil servants continue to remain the self-effacing names behind the supposedly big names. They run the Rails and the rustic humour of someone Read gets Qudos and Credits. Thats the funny way democracy goes. Interesting, isn't it?

We thought on the New Year Day we should attempt doing the hitherto unattempted and un-done. You and us will make it happen. We are going launch you this year on a thrilling voyage of a discovery. We are declaring that in the Year 2007 all of you would help us discover the Bureaucrat of the Year and also the Super cop of the Year in each of our major states. Besides, New Delhi's 'Supers' which will happen in December 2007.Every month we will be looking for a Super Boss and Super Cop of the Year in a particular state.

We request all those who are interested in our WHISPERS and visit us frequently to send us the names of such individual officers whom they consider as a Super Bureaucrat and a Super Cop in their state. We are putting forth no yardsticks. You judge entirely on your own. The nominations will rest entirely and exclusively on your wisdom. Just E-Mail the name of Super Boss and Super Cop of your state. This flow of nominations will end on the last day of the month.
We will announce the winner on the 7th day of next month. Seven, the numerologists say, is the number of mystery. Therefore, a good day to unfold it.

And Uttar Pradesh is the first state, we are beginning with. Arguably the most appropriate state to discover the undiscoverable or to name the perennially nameless. There is no territorial bar. You can nominate even for an incumbent outside your state. You can be brief or elaborate. As you choose. You don't even have to disclose your identity. We will trust you.
So, here we begin. Just E Mail us on <sureshmehrotra@yahoo.com>A very Happy New Year.

Empanelment of 1973 batch IPS
Empanelment of 1973 batch IPS officers to the rank of DG in the Government of India has taken place on Friday.

Bharat Bhushan to join GoI
E K Bharat Bhushan is joining the Government of India as Joint Secretary and FA in the Ministry of Information Technology. He is 1979 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

K P Jain empanelled !
K P Jain is believed to have been empanelled to the rank of DG in the Government of India during the review meeting on last Friday. He is 1971 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

Anoop Srivastava is now JS Police Modernisation
Joint Secretary Inter-State relations Anoop Kumar Srivastava has now moved as Joint Secretary Police Modernisation in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He is 1981 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

Dr Venu is Secretary and MD Kerala Tourism
Dr V Venu is new Secretary and MD of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation. He is 1990 batch IAS officer.

Where is the official order of ONGC CMD ?
No body knows why the official orders of the appointment of ONGC CMD R S Sharma have not been issued. Infact, the Prime Minister had cleared the appointment of Sharma long back. Is it not a matter of research?

Sanjeev Kumar is JS Defence
Sanjeev Kumar is new Joint Secretary Defence. He is 1986 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

BJP in Rajasthan to face exile for 10 years !
BJP in Rajasthan will not be returning to power for the next 10 years. This has been revealed in a survey of bureaucrats done recently. Are you aware of this Vasundharaji ?.

Three vacancies in CBDT
Now three vacancies in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) are to be filled up in a month or two.

Mathur is new DGP of Assam
R N Mathur has taken over as new DGP of Assam. He is 1973 batch IPS officer.

Mashelkar leaves CSIR
Dr. R A Mashelkar, Director General, CSIR, has laid down his office on Monday after 11 years.

Why did Prakash not join ?
Vishweshwaraiah Prakash who was to succeed Dr R A Mashelkar as DG CSIR has resigned before assuming the charge . What is the mystery ?.

Juneja to be promoted today
Ashok Juneja is being promoted to the rank of IG today in Chhattisgarh. He is 1989 batch IPS officer.

Nambiar appointed in UN
Former Indian Ambassador to the United Nations, Vijay Nambiar, has been appointed Chef de Cabinet by the new UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Hariday Narain is IT Ombudsman
Director General (Exemption) of Income Tax has joined as new Ombudsman in Kanpur. 1970 batch IRS officer, Narain, is reported to be one of the most upright officer of the CBDT.

1981 batch IAS promoted in UP
Half a dozen 1982 batch IAS officers have been promoted to the rank of Principal Secretary in Uttar Pradesh. They are Mssrs Anuj Kumar Bishnoi,Pradip Shukla,Devendra Chaudhry,Kunwar Fateh Bahadur,Ganga Ram Baruah and Dipti Vilas.

IPS changes in Chhattisgarh
Pradip Gupta will be new SP Bilaspur.Arun Deo Gautam has been shifted to the PHQ.H K Rathore has been moved from Jashpur to Sarguja,A P Kurram will be new SP of Jashpur.Pawan Dev has been moved to PHQ.Vinod Chaube has been transferred to Kanker from Sarguja.

1991 batch IAS is PS in UP
Five 1991 batch IAS officers in Uttar Pradesh have been promoted to the rank of Principal Secretary in Uttar Pradesh. They are Mssrs :-Ram Saran Verma,Nivedita Shukla Verma,L Venketeshwrlu,Babu Lal Meena and Kamran Rizvi.

Lt Gen Panag takes over
Lt Gen H S Panag has taken over asHe charge of the Army's prestigious Northern Command.
He has replaced Lt Gen Deepak Kapoor.

FORUM
Rise above these petty matters
With all the talks about which is the best among civil service a simple request before all. It is pity that no one has seriously put his views about how to serve the large poor, downtrodden & oppressed population for which all these set up of Government and services are made. Let everyone rise above these petty matters and think about the nation and the large populace for whose welfare and betterment the Government is there.

Sunil

Is IAS really the premier service ?
Rajiv Rattan has made a claim that the last Pay Commission had stated that the IAS and IFS are the premier services - hence this must be taken as the reality. This must be seen in the light of the fact that the 5th Pay Commission actually had an IAS as one of the three members. Kaw's prejudice against the other services is clearly visible in his book titled 'BureauCrazy'. Despite this he was made one of the three members of the Pay Commission. Interestingly the 4th Pay Commission had placed all services on the same level and stated that no special increments must be given to the IAS and IFS. This was not implemented by the Government (read DOPT), obviously dominated by the IAS. In the latest Pay Commission there is again an IAS as one of the members but also an IAAS. Even if the Chairman restores pay parity there is no guarantee that the Government (read DOPT) would implement it. As someone said on the Forum, what can one expect when the Bowler, Batsman and the Umpire are all IAS. Basically, the IAS are afraid of any kind of Competition in the middle of their career and will do anything to stymie it.

Palani T

Your site is like a boxing ring
Your site is proving to be like a boxing ring where all services are throwing punches at each other and washing their dirty linen in public. There is no constructive suggestion with regard to improvement in performance by the bureaucrats of all services. One may even consider improvement in working conditions or service conditions which will be helpful to all the services before the pay commission.

P C Tripathi

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Justice should be swift in the Noida murders case,
Power , connections and Jhootmalanis karr na sakke Justice ko deface!!!

Jhootmalani tried to get Manu off the hook with one jhoot after another!!! Look how Barnala Junior has got off the hook ...... the victim changed her statement and said that she had not been raped but had fallen down from her cycle and got an abdominal injury…….. the Police records show no abdominal injury…… but the Court has still let him off!!! Pandher the Ripper is a moneyed man and has political connections….maybe he'll get a Jhootmalani type of Lawyer and try to prove that the kids ' jumped into polythene bags and then jumped into the nallah because of home or school pressures' and for all you know a Lower Court Judge might just believe this story or on some techincality free him..... its happened in so many cases in the past and could happen again!!

This is Mulayam Raaj,
Garib parr girthi hai Sarkaar ki gaaj!!!

Abode's CEO's kid went missing and the Police went into hyper mode!!! But when these poor people went to complain about their kids they were taunted by Mulayam's Police…… the Police went to the extent of taunting them that maybe their kids , not even in their teens, had eloped!!! And Mulayam the Besharam is least affected!!! And the other Besharam , Amar , is not willing to come in front of the cameras!!! For Big B, Mulayam and Amar go ballistic if the IT raids him but for these kids who were murdered in the most macabre way there is not even a ripple in SP...... no raving and ranting by SP Leaders and no protests by SP Partymen!!!

Buddha is in a sour mood….. Karat after his Malaysian holiday is in a worse one,
This year Commies are simply in no mood for New Year Cheer and Fun!!!

The damage that Mamtha's hunger strike has done to them is slowly sinking in!!! Commies now want to control the damage!! Buddha will have to eat the humble pie ultimately!!! And Commies will have to rethink their double talk……. different set of rules for Delhi and WB!!! Also Buddha will be told that the Party High Command should be kept in the picture regarding such deals!!!

Amrinder ushered the New Year with his boozing buddy Dhillon de Dalal,
2007 is going to be for Amrinder a very ominous saal!!

Badals have already said that Amrinder will be given a taste of his medicine!!! Amrinder has already packed his bags and just before the counting starts he's going to run away for treatment for his 'bathroom slipping'…… in the past moth he's slipped twice!!!! The latest predictions show that Congress will not even get 25 seats!!!! And Badal needs to realize that people want their problems to be addressed ……. had Amrinder done this he would have been sitting pretty…… however Raja de Loony was more concerned in solving the problems of Big Business Houses , Builders, Fly by Night Operators and his own Goon Gang!!!

The ICC Presidentship is definitely an Office of Profit,
His becoming President could be London and ICC's loss and India's profit!!!

Why even the BCCI Presidentship should be an Office of Profit…… see the distraction it has caused!!! And the perks of the President need to be enumerated!!! Pawar should be asked to make a choice and here's hoping that he chooses ICC Presidentship..... good riddance!!!

Rahul has refused a Post in the Party and is concentrating on the UP elections,
Taking all the decisions and will make the selections!!!

Rahul has set up a war room in 12 Tughlaq Road!!! Shouldn't this room be in Lucknow???? Why long distance???? In case he wants to be the Commanding Officer of this War he needs to be on Site!!! Just his presence in UP on a long term basis in preparation for this War will enthuse Congress!!! And on weekends he's welcome to come down to Delhi and Party and relax!!! Time to jump in the deep end...... lead from the front and fight this election akin to a Municipal Election...... local issues!!!

Bharat Kumar
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CORPORATE

ITDC heading for 100 cr loss !
ITDC is said to be heading for a loss of Rs 100 cr per annum. It's contract for running duty free shops at Mumbai and Delhi airport is coming to an end in March with remote chances of being renewed in its favour.

Menon is Chairman of KSINC
Rear Admiral (retd.) B.R. Menon has been appointed chairman of the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC). He was earlier CMD of Goa Shipyard.

Bose is Chairman of WB Pollution Control Board
Former Vice Chancellor of Jadhavpur University Asok Nath Bose has taken over as chairman of the West Bengal state pollution control board .