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whispersinthecorridors.com lauded at the global level

whispersinthecorridors.com has been lauded as the most innovative venture during a recently held Commonwealth summit on "Good Governance" in Malaysia. Delegates commended the site's Chief Editor Dr. Suresh Mehrotra by describing it as the most innovative project in the world for dishing out stories about movers & shakers in India including bureaucrats & politicians.

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Your Attention Please

Dear surfers, since E mail ID of our Chief Editor Dr.Suresh Mehrotra has changed,you are requested to correspond in future with him on any of the following E-Mail IDs< suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com> & <mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com>

Brahm Dutt to move ?
Grapevine has it that Secretary Surface Transport Brahm Dutt is moving to the Shipping Ministry. He is 1973 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.

Will Rani Jadhav be Chairperson of TAMPI ?
Chairperson of the Mumbai Port Trust Ms Rani Jadhav is likely to be appointed Chairperson of the Tariff Authority for Major Ports of India (TAMPI).She is 1970 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre. The post is currently lying vacant.

Justice Jha is new Chairman CESTAT
Former Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court Justice S N Jha has been appointed Chairman of the Customs and Excise Service Tax Appellate Tribunal.

( We said this on November 23,2007)

Ashwini Kumar empanelled
Himachal Pradesh DGP Ashwini Kumar has been empanelled to the rank of DG in the Government of India. He is 1973 batch IPS officer.

Justice Bhalla is new CJ of HP HC

Acting Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court Justice Jagdish Bhalla has been appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
( We said this on November 16,2007 )

Shankar Prasad to be Member CAT
1973 batch retired IAS officer Shankar Prasad is being appointed Administrative Member of the CAT.

CBEC Chairman to get extension !
CBEC Chairman S K Singhal is likely to get three months extension in service beginning April 1.

Ms. Shyamla Shukla goes to Washington
Ms. Shyamla Shukla has gone to Washington as Advisor to Executive Director of the World Bank. She is an IAS officer of the 1990 batch & belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Secret behind promotion as secr !
Grapevine has it that 1974 batch IAS have been promoted as Secretary recently because many of them were to retire.

Sonali Mishra in CBI to be promoted
Sonali Mishra is being promoted to the rank of DIG in the CBI this month. She is 1993 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Nirmal Singh may not join CAT
Secretary Indian Overseas Affairs Nirmal Singh may not join CAT.1970 batch TamilNadu cadre IAS officer, Nirmal, may continue in a newly created Advisory Council in the Ministry.

Satyam submits report
S Satyam retired 1961 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh enquiring about the affairs of NCERT has submitted report.

Several DD Kendras have no Directors
About half a dozen Doordarshan Kendras including Srinagar and Jullandhar have been working without Station Directors .

1992 batch IAS get super-time scale in Nagaland
Two 1992 batch IAS officers Sanjay Kumar and Ayamo Sami have been given super-time scale in Nagaland.

Urban Ministry -Agriculture Ministry duel !
Nothing seems well between the urban development and the agriculture ministries over the issue of allotment of government quarter to JS Samra CEO NRAA (a PMO backed authority). Things don't seem to settle down even after matters have been pursued from the highest bureaucratic sources in the two ministries. Even the intervention of Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, who is concerned about the stagnation in agriculture, hasn't brought any change. Only PMO can resolve the deadlock now?.

Mrs.Mala Paropkari quits service

Mrs.Mala Paropkari Additional Commissioner of Income Tax(CIT)has quit.She is an Indian revenue Service(IRS)officer of the 1990 batch.Her resignation has been accepted with immediate effect.

Ms.Ashima Gupta to be Dy.DG,Shipping

Ms.Ashima Gupta on deputation has been appointed Deputy Director General Shipping for a period of five years.Ms.Gupta who is an Indian Revenue Service(IRS) officer of the 1991 batch is presently Additional Commissioner of Income Tax(CIT),Mumbai.

Chauhan is MD NAFED
Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Umesh Kumar Singh has been given additional charge of MD NAFED. He is 1986 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

Sanjay Kumar transferred to Delhi

Sanjay Kumar CIT(A)Meerut has been transferred to Delhi as CIT(ITAT)-III Delhi vice Mrs.Smita Jhingran(1986 batch).Kumar who is an Indian Revenue Service(IRS) officer of the 1987 batch was transferred on spouse & compassionate grounds till April 30,2008 or general transfers,whichever is earlier.

Minor changes of IAS officers in MP

In a minor shake up of IAS officers Madhya Pradesh Government has transferred S.K.Mishra Commissioner Public Instructions(CPI) as Commissioner Urban Administration & Development & Ashok Shivhare Collector Datia has been shifted to Gwalior as Additional Commissioner of Gwalior & Chambal divisions.Similarly Health Commissioner Vishwa Mohan Upadhyaya has been given additional charge of Commissioner Bhopal & Hoshangabad as present incumbernt i.e.Pukhraj Maroo is attending a mid career course at IIM Ahmedabad till February 1,2008.

Junior scale to 7 IPS officers in MP

Seven IPS officers in Madhya Pradessh have been granted the junior scale.They are:Rakesh Gupta SP Khargone,Mrs.Deepika Suri Commandant 23rd BN SAF Bhopal,N.B.Vayangankar SP Bhind,K.D.Parashar SP Khandwa,I.P.Kulshreshtha SP Dewas ,V.C.Verma SP Mandla & R.S.Kol AIG PHQ,Bhopal.

A curb on tours/leaves,by IT sleuths

The Indian Government has put a curb on tours & leaves by Income Tax(IT)sleuths,as this is last quarter of the current financial year.As per an order no officer can undertake a tour without an approval by Zonal members.

4 Orissa IPS officers likely to be promoted

Four IPS officers are likely to be promoted to the rank of DIG by end of this month in Orissa.They are: S.L.Mukherjee(1982 batch), R.K.Dash(1988 batch) and two 1994 Batch IPS officers viz.Sanjeev Panda and Y.K.Jethwa.

Kotwal gets additional charge in J & K
Pawan Kotwal has been given additional charge of Secretary Home in J & K. He is 1994 batch IAS officer.

Sale of railway tickets through travel portals likely by mid-2008

E ticketing for Indian railways by travel potals may turn into a reality by middle of 2008.According to Nalin Singhal Managing Director(MD), Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) the Indian railways is looking for a tie-up with selective online agents in the first phase.

67 CITs transferred

As many as 67 Commissioners of Income Tax(CITs)have been transferred.Those who have been transferred are:Vijay Sharma CIT)II to CIT(I),Shailendra Handa CIT VIII to DIT(INV)-I,M.Sailo CIT XIII to CIT II,Deepa Krishan CIT XII to CIT IV,A.K.Singh CIT X to CIT V,B.D.Gupta CIT (A)XVII to CIT X,P.K.Kedia CIT(A) V to CIT IX,S.K.Shrivastava CIT XVI to CIT XII,Ram Samujh CIT(A) VI to CIT XIII,Harsh Bardhan CIT(TP) to CIT VIII,Gopal Kamal CIT (A) II to CIT XVI,P.V.Rao CIT(A) IV to CIT(A) II,Shishir Sinha CIT (A) IX to CIT(A) V,Sunil Ojha CIT(A)XVI to DIT (Intl.Tax)II,Smita Jhingran CIT(ITAT)III to DIT(ITSC),Madhu Mahajan CIT (A) XXII to DIT( L & R) I(all in Delhi region),B.N.Dutta CIT III to DIT(Inv),B.N.Panda CIT(CO)to CIT II,M.K.Mirani CIT II to CIT I,Dilip Shivpuri CIT VII to CIT III,R.N.Prasad CIT (A)VII to CIT III,R.N.Prasad CIT(A) VII to CIT VII(all in Ahmedabad region),S.Rajguru CIT II to CIT I,A.K.Bhardwaj CIT(A) I to CIT I(both in Baroda),S.C.Jaini CIT IV to CIT I,M.P.Varshney CIT(Judicial) to CIT IV,P.R.Sethi CIT XIII to CIT (C) I,Sushil Chandra CIT XVI to CIT (C) III,C.S.Das CIT(A)XVI to CIT XV,B.K.Singh DIT(Exemp)to CIT XXIV,J.C.Mishra CIT(ITSC) to CIT (C) IV,R.K.Sinha CIT(A) VII to DIT(Exem),Anuradha Bhatia CIT(A) (C) IV to DIT(ITSC)(all in Mumbai region),A.K.Sinha CIT(CO) to CIT TDS,T.M.Das CIT TDS to CIT (O)(both in Guwahati),G.S.Randhawa CIT II to CIT I ,A.K.Kaushal CIT(ITAT)I to CIT II,Sunita Puri CIT(CIB) to CIT(ITAT)II,Sheba Bhattacharya CIT(ITAT)II to CIT(ITAT)I,H.V.Kalra CIT(A) II to CIT(CIB)(all in Chandigarh),R.K.Roye CIT II to CIT I,K.K.Sinha CIT III to CIT II,Subhash Mehra CIT (A) (C) to CIT III(all in Ludhiana),T.Jena CIT(O) to CIT(Bhubaneshwar),Sunil Verma CIT(TDS) to CIT I,R.K.Gupta CIT(A)(C) to CIT II,Sharad Chandra CIT II to CIT (A) (C)(all three in Jaipur),M.K.Indani CIT(A) to CIT( in Kota),P.K.Sarangi CIT (Judicial)to CIT II(in Chennai),Indra Kumar CIT (A) I to CIT I (in Madurai)D.C.Pant CIT II to CIT I,R.C.Sharma CIT(ITAT)I to CIT II(both in Lucknow),R.K.Sharma CIT (A) I to CIT ,D.P.Semwal CIT to CIT(A)(both in Dehradun),P.C.Srivastava CIT XIV to CIT I,R.P.Behmani CIT XIII to CIT III,A.K.Bala CIT XI to CIT IV ,Manika Dutta CIT(Exemp) to CIT (C) I(all in Kolkata region),B.Dutta CIT II to CIT I,Sumant Sinha CIT IV to CIT (A)I,P.C.Chinna CIT(A) I to CIT V,Neeraj Vinay Bansal CIT V to CIT IV(all in Bangalore,P.R.Dhayal CIT(A) to CIT(in Panji),Nutan Arvind CIT(A) I to CIT I(in Indore),K.Chandrahas CIT III to CIT I,T,Jayashankar CIT(TDS) to CIT III,K.V.Choudhary CIT (C) to DIT(Inv),G.R.Rao CIT IV to CIT (C) (all in Nagpur region.S.Z.Mahmood (1977 batch IRS officer)who has sought voluntary retirement,till decision on his application has been posted as CIT(OSD) in the office of CCIT(CCA) Delhi.

FORUM

Why extra increments ?

I wish to draw the attention of the pay commission to this fact: Why are IAS and IFS officers who obtained lower ranks in the Civil Services Exam than their counterparts in services other than these two (which covers 50% plus of intake in these services for the past 14 years) are still given two extra increments at the initial stage of any scale? Anyway, this iniquitous relic of the past (when IAS and IFS lists were made considering five papers and others three, IPS-two) has been out of date since the "new" system of examination is in vogue since 1979- a full 28 years back; and despite the agreement to this idea in the fourth pay commission! Or is it that the passage of time means nothing to these dinosaurs who still roam the wilderness that the Indian bureaucracy is?

Vijay

It is not SSI

There is no Department of Small Scale Industries. It is Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

George

Selection of FM is very good

Subhashish Gangopadhyay joining as Adviser to the FM is a good news for the Indian Economy. He is one of the finest brains in economics in India. Hopefully this Government will involve many other such brilliant personalities (who are not necessarily bureaucrats) in public policy.

A Kumar

Proposal is ill-conceived

It is quite disturbing to see that the IAS is pushing for supertime scale in 14 years when the IPS, IFS (Foreign and Forest), IRS etc will not get the same treatment. This will put the Provincial Civil Service at an advantage vis a vis the senior officers of the Highest Civil Services of India. Once promoted into the IAS, within 14 years, these officers will become Commissioners and Secretaries in state governments with higher pay and status while officers from the IPS/IFS serving in the states and IRS/I Foreign Service who are posted in the states though serving the centre will be in lower pay and status, resulting in severe demoralisation in the ranks of the Services. Merely because these Services do not man the DoPT, which is exclusively manned by the IAS alone, should they pay such a heavy price? Either the proposal should be aborted or the others allowed to follow suit. Let us also remember that many a member of the IPS and IFS hold Secretary level posts in Government of India and can not be considered inferior services. I am of the considered opinion that this proposal is ill conceived.

A K Singh

It's a good book

"Kahan Kho Gai Betiyan" Book is very good book. This book is early best seller book in India. Congratulations on success of the book.

Umesh Sharma

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Mayas, Laloos and Amrinders always seem to get relief from Income Tax!!!
Otherwise how can anyone explain why Maya's b'day gifts have been exempted from tax???

How can birthday gifts be classified as a Political Donation???
Even common sense rejects such a connotation!!!!!

Yes Party can claim exemption if BSP celebrates Late Kanshi's birthday!!!!
BSP can demand that in cash and kind their respects people should pay!!!!

Maya also celebrated her birthday in Dilli!!!!
But her boast of becoming India 's PM looks very up-hilly and borders on silly!!!

The Delhi celebration was a savvy one!!!
On Page 3 lines the celebrations were done!!!!

And now that she says she is a Goddess very soon it'll be 'Appearance Day'!!!!
Because a Goddess cannot have a birthday!!!

SP collected alms in UP for Maya!!!!!
They say that 'gareeb' Maya had asked all to give her maya (money)!!!!!

So who did they send to deliver the alms they got????
Or were the alms collected in Maya's name and then usurped by the collecting lot???

So SP lampooned her and collected money too!!!!!
Unique mode to collect money as you boo!!!!

Manmohan has returned from Cheen!!!!
A slight slant in his eyes can be seen!!!

After all he's given concessions to China galore!!!!
And good he came back because if he stayed there he'd given more!!!

He'll make three copies of his China trip report titled 'I was in China for a little while'!!!
Original for President, and copies for Sonia, Commies and file!!!

The Report should be titled ' I went, I gave and back home I scampered'!!!
During his trip China he really pampered!!!

He's brought back with him recipes for his favorite karela.. Karela in hot garlic sauce!!
So if you see Manmohan sweating and pouting you know the cause!!!

And imagine when he took Office people raved about his experience!!!
Now they say just the opposite after their Manmohan experience!!!

This year seems again Sarkaar will give awarding Bharat Ratna the pass!!!
But fact is from all the names that have been proposed only Vajpayee karte hai pass!!

But then now politics has taken over!!!
And merit has run for cover!!!

Madam's made her first Public appearance after her illness and she looks fine!!!!
On her 'cheese eating days' she should draw a line!!!!

And when she goes to the hills she should respect the cold!!!!!
Madam remember you are not getting young but are getting old!!!!

And for heavens sake don't pay heed to Laloo's desi ilaaj!!!!
It's well known that from advising desi ilaaj Laloo nahi aata baaj!!!

For cold his ilaaj is kheni in honey!!!
I'm sure most will find this ilaaj as funny!!!!

But Laloo knows with or without medicine cold will go in seven days!!!!
So what's the harm in getting a kick from honeyed kheni as long as the cold stays???

Seem Big B has listened to his Lawyers and he's lying low!!!!
He's used to letting the Media know jahaa bhi karta hia woh go!!!!!

Nowadays he does not do this!!!!
Gives the Media the miss!!!!

And he's added a few more rings to his fingers and to the fingers of Ash!!!!
In his family not wearing rings is being rash!!!!

Markets are have taken a downward turn!!!
Those who entered Market at higher level ne kiya hai apna paisa burn!!!

When people start giving ludicrous theories for market spurt turn wary!!!!!
Because this is a sure shot sign to be chary!!!!

Confucius says…. He who cannot read the writing on the wall!!
Will be the first to take the fall!!!

Bharat Kumar
Aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

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CORPORATE

The changing face of service in the domestic skies

The new Air India, of which Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) is V.Thulasidas, is changing the way passengers are hosted in the domestic skies. Now on the metro IC flights there are several interesting new features. The Executive class passengers are offered a tastefully printed menu card, which helps them choose their meal option. Incidentally, the menu cards have an interesting design feature incorporating the patterns of the new livery and the new aircraft interiors. There are new menus on offer and the service is not in the pre-set casseroles favoured over the years by all domestic airlines but in a completely new manner - the plated service. The cabin crew after ascertaining the meal choice, heats the various components of the meal, plates them and serves them to the passengers in the cabin - very much the way it is done in a gourmet restaurant on ground. A departure has been made from standard breakfast menus of eggs, cutlets, etc. There are lighter options of pancakes with fruits and berries for the executive on the run. The high tea service has as many as 18 different types of mini sandwiches on offer with new appeal hot snacks like vermicelli prawns, chicken with peanut sauce etc. The array of desserts includes Blueberry cheese cakes, Chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce, etc. The Lunch and Dinner options include a dozen diverse Biryanis, such as - Gosht Luckhnavi, Hyderabadi Mutton, Vegetable Tehri, Subz Biryani, etc. Passenger reactions are understandably more than favourable.

K.K.Garg is member MPERC

K.K.Garg has been inducted as a member in the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission(MPERC).Garg is a retired general manager of the National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC).

PGIL & IL& FS join hands
State-run Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd.(PGIL)of Chairman cum Managing Director(CMD)is R.P.Singh, has entered into a shareholder's agreement with Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd.(IL & FS). The new joint venture company(JVC) named "POWERGRID IL&FS Transmission Private Limited" has since been incorporated. Both POWERGRID and IL&FS will have 50% stake in the company. The main Objective of Company is to undertake activities of project development of intra-state transmission and sub-transmission works for State Power Utilities", under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) route within India and abroad including interconnection with neighbouring countries subject to bilateral agreement between the countries. Both Government of India and State Governments have embarked upon implementation of massive generation capacities to bridge the demand and supply gap. Till now, the State Transmission Utilities (STUs)/SEBs had to invest their own funds to develop transmission projects.In order to meet the huge resources requirements by the respective states in implementing the intra-state transmission network and bridge the resources constraints, Ministry of Power, Government of India in line with Electricity Act, 2003 has opened up transmission sector for development through private sector participation and necessary guidelines have been issued.The guidelines of MoP envisage the selection of private parties through a process of transparent methodology on the consideration of lowest transmission tariff, after doing necessary preparatory and development work for the transmission project before it is offered for private sector participation. This JV will facilitate project preparation and development work for STUs and will act as a "bid process coordinator (BPC)" of STUs and manage the bidding process for selection of the private implementing agencies. The JVC also has objective to undertake transmission projects in the neighbouring countries. The JVC's board in its 1st meeting has approved that the company will broaden its scope of development of transmission projects in India and abroad including interconnection with neighbouring countries.

Vishal Ahloowalia roped in by TBWA\India

Vishal Ahloowalia, Vice President(VP), Contract Advertising, who had resigned recently has been roped in by TBWA\India as Senior VP.He will head the South operations

B. Shreedhar rejoins Innocean

B Shreedhar has rejoined Innocean Worldwide India as Director, Media Services.He had quit from the company in same capacity in December 2007.

Sandeep Tarkash is President,Future group

Sandeep Tarkash, has joined the Future group as President, Costomer Strategy.He is former Head of Media at Reliance ADA group.

Air India Express receives 11th owned aircraft

Air India Express, the low cost subsidiary of our national carrier Air India, has taken delivery of its 11th Boeing 737-800 aircraft on January 16,2008 & will soon be inducted into its fleet. This development increases the fleet size of Air India Express to eighteen aircraft, seven of which are on lease. With the induction of this new aircraft, Air India Express proposes to further increase its flight frequencies to 172 weekly flights.As in the past, the tail designs are an innovative and novel feature of the Air India Express aircraft, depicting facets of traditional and contemporary India, heritage values and ethos of our country. Various themes have been used on the ten aircraft inducted so far & the 11th aircraft carries two famous landmarks of Eastern India - on one side is the iconic Victoria Memorial of Kolkota, West Bengal & on the other side, the Konarak Sun Temple of Orissa is showcased. Air India Express commenced operations on April 29, 2005, and today operates 154 weekly flights between 13 Indian cities viz. Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai, Delhi, Amritsar, Mangalore, Chennai, Tiruchirapally, Nagpur, Kolkota, Jaipur and Lucknow & 12 foreign cities on the network, which are Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, Muscat, Salalah, Bahrain, Doha, Singapore, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur & Bangkok.