whispersinthecorridors.com, for one, is a veteran site on government transfers and the like) with banner ads to boot.
Outlook ,July 8

BUREAUCRACY, POLITICS AND CORPORATE WORLD AT ONE PLACE
ADVERTISE ON-WHISPERSINTHECORRIDORS.COM
Contact-suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com> & <mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com>

Vijay Gokhle to be Ambassador to Malaysia ?
Joint Secretary (EA) in the Ministry of External Affairs Vijay Gokhle is expected to go as Ambassador to Malaysia.
K N Srivastava to be AS and FA MEA
DG ASI K N Srivastava will succeed N Bala Baskar as Additional Secretary and FA in the Ministry of External Affairs on September 1. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre ,the home state of Minister External Affairs S M Krishna.
Chandrasekharan to join Defence Ministry as AS
S.Chandrasekharan, IRAS/FA&CAO/SCR has been selected and approved for deputation to Ministry of Defence for appointment to the post of Additional Secretary Defence.
Is Foreign Minister unhappy with Nirupama's appointment ?
Is Foreign Minister SM Krishna not happy with the appointment of Nirupama Roy as Foreign Secretary? This question is being asked in view of the fact that he (Krishna) did not utter a word about her during the farewell of the outgoing Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.
73 IPS officers in 1988 empanelment list
Even though empanelment of IPS officers belonging to the 1988 batch in Government of India (GOI) is in a limbo, there are 73 IPS officers who figure in the list.
1990 batch of IPS officers to be empanelled before IAS
It may sound strange but it is true. This time the 1990 batch of IPS officers is going to empanelled in Government of India (GOI) before their fellows in the IAS fraternity could make it.
DoPT's new order for IPS & IFS
The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) has recently passed an order that IPS officers & officers belonging to the Indian Forest Service (IFS) two batch above such a batch IAS officers will be promoted as IGs in states where IAS officers of that batch have become Joint Secretaries in GOI. So far it was being applied in GOI, but now it will be different states.
Will Rizvi return as JS Commerce ?
Grapevine has it that Director Tea Board in London A R Rizvi is returning as Joint Secretary Commerce. He is 1989 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.
Indian Forex Reserve dwindles
As the grapevine has it, Indian Forex reserve has shrunk from $280 Billion to $ 240 Billion. Silver lining in the entire episode has been decline in oil prices in the international market. The latter development came as a very big breather to the Indian Economy.
Training of fresh IAS batch to commence Sept 1
The training of fresh batch of 120 officers to be inducted in IAS will begin at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussoorie from September 1. Of them 60 belong to the general category, 33 to OBC and 27 to SC.,
Devinder Kumar to be Jt.Secy in GOI
As the grapevine Devinder Kumar is poised to join Government of India (GOI) at the Joint Secretary level. He is an IAS officer of the 1984 batch who belongs to the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. At present he is Assam Government's Resident Commissioner (RC) in Delhi.
N Sonzalian to teach in Dehradun
N Sonzalian on deputation is going to be a lecturer in the State Forest College, Dehradun. He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 1995 batch who belongs to the Manipur cadre.
Deficit in rainfall to adversely hit Economy
Experts in the field of Economics have sounded warning bugle against a serious & adverse impact on the national Economy due to deficit in rainfall this year. According to them this will not only lead to soaring prices of essential commodities but also make living difficult for poor people & daily wage earners in particular.
Know Dr. Subir Gokarn designate DG,RBI
Dr.Subir Gokarn who is Chief Economist with Standard & Poor (S & P) for Asia-Pacific regipon is going to be one of the youngest Deputy Governors (DGs)of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).R.K. Hazari who served as DG from 1969 to 1977 was hardly 34 years old while was appointed. Interestingly, it is for first time that RBI has gone beyond the ambit of bureaucrats and government economists to fill the post. Sources say usually it is meant for a macro economist. He will fill the slot that has been lying vacant since mid-June after Rakesh Mohan took an early retirement. Gokarn who did his PhD in economics at Ohio based Case Western Reserve University , Cleveland - the US, has been S & P for the last two years. Dr. Subir is a product of the St Xavier's College, Mumbai. He had also studied at Delhi School of Economics (DSE),Delhi.In banking circles his selection is being widely hailed because people in the sector believe that Indian Prime Minister Dr. Man
Mohan Singh's administration has tried to inject a fresh whiff of air RBI's set up.
Lokesh Chandra to be PS to Shinde
Grapevine has it that Lokesh Chandra is being appointed PS to the Minister of Power Sushil Kumar Shinde. He is 1993 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.
Period of uncalled for vendetta is over in Surface Transport Ministry
Officers in Surface Transport Ministry are happy because Minister Surface Transport Kamal Nath is going by merits of each case unlike Baalu who followed Secretary's biased advice blindly and was especially harsh on deserving engineers. Nath promoted VK Sinha as DG, Roads (since retired) and AV Sinha as ADG in the teeth of fierce opposition by the Secretary. The engineering cadre feels that period of uncalled for vendetta is now over and deserving officers will get justice from the Minister.
Debasish Prusty is PS N.N.Meena
Debasish Prusty on central deputation has assumed charge as private secretary (PS) to Namo Narain Meena Indian Minister of State for Expenditure & Financial Service. hitherto he was Collector Seekar (Rajasthan).He is IAS officer of the 2000 batch who belongs to the Rajasthan caddre.
(We said this on July 28, 2009)
Will CS and DGP of Manipur be changed ?
Due to the ongoing anarchy in Imphal, Manipur, the central government is actively considering replacing the present chief secretary, D. S. Poonia and the DGP Joy Kumar . They are likely to be replaced by 1976 batch IAS officer Anwar Ahsan Ahmad and 1979 batch IPS officer Shahid Ahmed respectively. In Congress circles it is considered that posting of these officers to the top jobs will strengthen its secular image. Also neighbouring Bangladesh will see this as a friendly gesture.
Senthil Kumar is ED - Eastern Region, Air India, Kolkata
Senthil Kumar has been posted as ED - Eastern Region, Air India. He will be based in Kolkata.
IAAS K K Srivastava officer promoted to SAG
K K Srivastava - Chief Auditor, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), New Delhi, has been promoted to the new Higher Administrative Grade (SAG) on an NBR basis.
Manish Bharadwaj to Director Census in Gujarat
Manish Bharadwaj is new Director Census in Gujarat. He is 1997 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.
Justice Mishra is new CJ of Patna High Court
Justice Prafulla Kumar Misra, a Judge of the Madras High Court, has been posted as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court
Ajay Bisaria to go to Moscow
Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs Ajay Bisaria is all set to go to Moscow as DCM in place of Satbir Singh.
Shailendra Agrawal returning to India
Shailendra Agrawal on completion of his foreign assignment in Geneva is returning to India. He is an IAS officer of the 1986 batch who belongs to the Rajasthan cadre.
IAS changes in Sikkim
Karma Gyatso has been promoted and appointed as Additional Chief Secretary. Ms R. Ongmu has been posted as Principal Secretary, Finance, Revenue and Expenditure Department. Bijoy Pratap Pradhan presently on deputation as Managing Director, State Bank of Sikkim has been repatriate and posted as Commissioner-cum Secretary, Commerce and Industries Department. M.G. Kiran , IAS, Commissioner-cum Secretary, Commerce and Industries and Information and Public Relations Department will hold the additional charge of Managing Director, State Bank of Sikkim.
Allocation of work amongst Members, CBDT
There has been llocation of work amongst CBDT members. While the newly appointed member Narender Singh has been given the charge of Member (LA & D), C.S. Kahlon will look after the charge of Member (L&C).
Khanna remains Secretary to Sukhbir Badal
Senior IAS officer, Vishwajit Khanna is back as Secretary to Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. He will also continue to hold charge of Science and Technology, Enviornment, Non Conventional Energy and Civil Aviation departments. He is 1987 batch IAS officer.
Rangarajan to head PM's Economic Advisory Council
Noted Economist, former RBI Governor and a close confidant of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, C Rangarajan, is all set to take over as the Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC). He has resigned his membership in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
PMEAC has four members
The reconstituted Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) has four members. They are Dr Saumitra Chaudhuri, Economic Adviser - ICRA, Dr Govinda Rao Director General - National Institute of Public Finance & Policy), Dr Vijay Shankar Vyas President - Asian Society of Agricultural Economists and Suman K Bery, Director General - National Council of Applied Economic Research).
Former IAS officer joins Congress
Former 1975 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre H.C. Disodia has joined the Congress party.
S P Singh is now Commissioner and Secretary to Mizoram CM
S P Singh has been appointed Commissioner and Secretary to the Mizoram Chief Minister.1984 batch UT cadre IAS officer Singh has also been given additional charge of the MIZORAM RC in Delhi.
Former Meghalaya CS is now PS SLA
Former Chief Secretary HWT Syiem has been appointed Principal Secretary of the Meghalaya State Legislative Assembly.
Ajay Yadav to be OSD to Jharkhand Governor
Ajay Yadav is likely to be appointed OSD to the new Jharkhand Governor.
Dingliana appointed Ambassador to Venezuela
Lal Dingliana, currently Ambassador of India to Bulgaria, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Venezuela

CORPORATE
Onne to be MD in waiting at Ambuja Cement
Holcim, a company which has significant stakes in Ambuja Cement and ACC, in its bid to expand in Indian market is learnt to be contemplating to bring in a top official, Onne van der Weijde, as MD in waiting, by October 2009, to head the Indian Operations of Ambuja Cement. The present Managing Director AL Kapoor would continue upto March 2010 after which Onne would get the full fledged charge. Till then, he would work to familiarize himself with the Indian Operations of the Company.
AP Verma is head SBI's mid-markets group
AP Verma who headed SBI Capital Markets has been deputed back to the State Bank of India as head of the bank's mid-markets group.
CVC penalizes SSE Ministry of Railways
CVC has ordered reduction of pay by two stages in time scale of pay for 3 years with cumulative effect in the case of one SSE Ministry of Railways.

Aaj Ki Aawaz
Problem with our Sarkaar is it wakes up after the disaster hits us!!!
It knows the disaster is approaching but it waits it out or you can say misses the bus!!
There were a slew of measures that needed to be taken!!!!
But seems our Sarkaar did not awaken!!!
Azad this time is responsible for Sarkaar's delayed reaction!!!
That is why I'm saying 'against him there should be action'!!!!!
Was there a plan put into action ……. nothing was seen on the ground!!!!
And then in Delhi he was hardly around!!!
He was totally into J&K politics…… he was too preoccupied with State politics!!!!
Did not hear the swine flu time bombes 'ticks'!!!!
And this man's heartless comments that the dead girl spread swine flu!!!!!
Shows that not only is he inefficient but on humaneness he does not have a clue!!
My request to you all is chew and swallow a Neem ka patta everday!!!!
And Swine Flu you will keep at bay!!!
Air conditioning is the ideal environment for the swine flu bacteria to thrive!!!
I feel when the temparature is between 12-22 degrees its kicking and alive!!!
Its inaffective when its cold or hot..... keep away from air conditioned rooms!!!
Because in this space the swine flu bateria looms!!
So Malls and Cinemas and even Offices are a no no!!!
Protect yourself with a mask if in these places you have to go!!
Pawar they say is rubbing his hands with glee!!!
A humongous chai pani opportunity he does see!!!
India has to import huge quantities of pulses , sugar and oil!!!!!
If India does not do this prices are going to come to a 'boil'!!!
What's happened to the pulses stuck up in Kolkata Port….. rot has set in!!!!!!
Our loss and middlemen's win!!!
Like Azad Pawar too had no plan in place!!!!
There were signs that a drought India could face!!!
However our Agri Mantri has chai paani ro IPL on his mind!!!!
This dolt has literally kicked India in the hind!!!
At one time India was very secure when it came to food but Pawar changed this!!!
And the food security bus India ne kee hai miss!!!
And see the besharmi of this man…… yesterday (10th) he was busy with IPL!!!!
As on the food front India prepares for hell!!!
Buta's son being given bail 'on fictitious grounds' sure does shock!!!!!!
In Justices face this decision looks like a sock!!!!
Humpty Dumpty Sweety is not a babe in the woods that he could be spoiled in the lock up!!!!!
Those in the know swear that the 'order that he be given bail' came 'from up'!!!!
NREGS is turning out to be a huge scam…… siphon is working like malai (cream)!!!
As the objective ki ho rahi hai khullam khulla dhulai!!!
Kids and even the dead are 'getting work' via the NREGS!!!!
National Rural Exploiting and Gaining Scheme is now the analogy of NREGS!!!
NREGS needs some tweaking after its previous avtar and some effective checking too!!!!
Pronto this Sarkaar needs to do!!
The real chintan that BJP needs to do is the infighting!!!
BJP nowadays is party which is riddled with back biting!!!!
Selective invitations mean Advani and gang do not like to be criticized!!!!
And more so after the election in which Advani has been downsized!!!
And now nepotism has hit Advani too........ grooming his daughter!!!!
Do I hear from Congress laughter????
Confucius says...... Advani at the end of his career has shown he does not walk the talk!!!
All that he does is talk.... rub his hands.... reminisce .... talk, talk and talk!!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Forum
(The views expressed in this column are of the contributors. We do not owe any responsibility, whatsoever, of the views of our surfers as they are their personal opinion)
Electronic Voting Machines are worth using
The Election Commission had, in an extraordinary measure, invited those who have recently expressed reservations about the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to come and demonstrate the points made in their allegations from 3rd to 8th August 2009. Those invited included political parties, petitioners before various courts and some individuals who had been writing to the Commission on this issue. One hundred EVM samples were obtained on random basis from ten states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. These were kept at the Commission's office in readiness for scrutiny and for any application to establish its alleged fallibility. The EVMs were offered for such demonstration in the presence of a technical experts group as well as engineers representing the EVM manufacturers, BEL and ECIL. These engineers were especially called from Hyderabad and Bangalore and stationed in ECI's office for a whole week for this specific purpose. The outcome of this exercise is that none of the persons, who were given the opportunity, could actually demonstrate any tamperability of the ECI-EVM, in any of the hundred machines put on display. They either failed or chose not to demonstrate.
The Election Commission would like to underline that it always had a firm conviction and complete satisfaction that EVMs could not be tampered with. Its faith on the machine has never wavered through the conduct of elections in the last many years including the nation-wide general elections in 2004 and 2009 and over 30 general elections to state assemblies during the last five years. In the past, no one has been able to actually demonstrate that EVMs used by the Election Commission can be tampered with or manipulated. What has been demonstrated or claimed to have been demonstrated is on a privately assembled "look-alike of ECI-EVMs" and not the actual ECI-EVM. However, the aforesaid extraordinary measure was undertaken by the Election Commission in fulfillment of its responsibility not to allow even a small shade of doubt about any aspect of its operation and in order to set at rest any misgiving anywhere. Today, the Commission once again completely reaffirms its faith in the infallibility of the EVMs. These are fully tamper-proof, as ever.
Dr. Kirit Somaiya, Vice-President, BJP, Maharashtra, accompanied by some others, visited the Commission on 7 August 2009 responding to the Commission's invitation. He categorically stated that he was not opposed to the use of EVMs and he had never wanted to do any demonstration about the tamperability of EVMs. He however made certain suggestions for consideration of the Commission in line with his earlier correspondence with ECI. Ms. Veena Singh, a candidate in recent Parliamentary election in Madhya Pradesh also visited the Commission and made certain general points regarding physical handling of EVMs. It was explained to her that there are sufficient safeguards to take care of such problems. Satinath Chaudhury, a petitioner in the Supreme Court in 2004 on the EVM issue, came on 8th August 2009 and after making some attempts, failed to demonstrate that the EVM could be tampered with.
Omesh Saigal, who visited the Commission on the same day, accompanied by some others, refused to demonstrate the points earlier raised by him, using any of the 100 actual ECI-EVMs, he was offered to choose from. In a letter, addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner and handed over to EC officials, he in turn wanted certain arrangements for him and his team of hardware and software professionals from a private company before coming to demonstrate about the tamperability of the EVM. He also offered to show what he claimed as possibility of tampering using his personal computer and a 'look alike' of the ECI-EVM, that was privately manufactured, and is also seen on several TV channels. It was pointed out to Saigal that the ECI-EVM was not at all comparable with what he had brought. Based on this, the EC officials declined to deal with, what appeared to be an imitation machine, so as to avoid creating any confusion in public mind. Saigal made also a request to the Commission to consider pre-poll audit of the EVMs.
The Supreme Court of India, while disposing of a petition filed by V. V. Rao and three others belonging to the Jan Chaitanya Vedika, raising questions about use of Electronic Voting Machines in the elections, on 27 July 2009 observed that the petitioners could approach the Election Commission in the matter. Similar petitions were filed before three High Courts in the country. These are the Madras High Court, the Bombay High Court and the High Court of Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur bench). These petitions also raise allegations about the possibility of tampering with the EVMs. The Mumbai High Court has since dismissed the petition asking the petitioner to approach the Election Commission. The Election Commission has invited all these petitioners to come and demonstrate their points before the Commission. But none of them turned up for making a demonstration from 3rd August 2009 to 8th August 2009.
EVMs have served the country's elections well. These were introduced after long ranging political, technical and administrative consultations since 1979. The use of machines has helped prevent several electoral malpractices and resulted in more efficient conduct of elections. Judgments from various courts have upheld the use of EVMs and technical experts have endorsed the machines from time to time. In fact, the Karnataka High Court has hailed the EVM as 'a national pride'. Similarly, the Madras High Court, after elaborate consideration of the issue in a batch of petitions in 2001, rejected allegations that the EVMs could be tampered. The issues recently raised by petitioners in the Courts and by some others, broadly allege the possibility of tampering with the machine during the manufacturing process or while operating the machine. The following facts about ECI-EVMs conclusively rule out any such possibility.
Facts about EVMs used by ECI
i. ECI-EVMs are manufactured only by Electronics Corporation of India Limited (Department of Atomic Energy) and Bharat Electronics Limited (Ministry of Defence), both Central Public Sector Undertakings, which are entrusted with development of very high security product/equipment development.
ii. The ECI-EVMs cannot be reprogrammed.
iii. The software for this chip is developed in-house by a select group of engineers in the two PSUs independently from each other. A select software development group of 2-3 engineers designs the source code and this work is not sub-contracted.
iv. The source code is so designed that it allows a voter to cast the vote only once. The next vote can be recorded only after the Presiding Officer enables the ballot on the Control Unit. In between the machine becomes dead to any signal from outside (except from the Control Unit).
v. After completion of software design, testing and evaluation of the software is carried out by an independent testing group as per the software requirements specifications (SRS). This ensures that the software has really been written as per the requirements laid down for its intended use only.
vi. After successful completion of such evaluation, machine code of the source programme code known as hex-code (not the source code itself) is given to the micro controller manufacturer for fusing in the micro controllers. From this machine code, the source code cannot be read. Source code is never handed over to anyone outside the software group.
vii. Micro controller manufacturer initially provides engineering samples for evaluation. These samples are assembled into the EVM, evaluated and verified for functionality at great length. Bulk production clearance is given to micro controller manufacturer only after successful completion of this verification.
viii. The source code for the EVM is stored under controlled conditions at all times. Checks and balances are in place to ensure that it is accessible to authorized personnel only.
ix. During production, functional testing is done by production group as per the laid down quality plan and performance test procedures.
x. Samples of EVMs from production batches are regularly checked for functionality by Quality Assurance Group, which is an independent group within the organizations.
xi. Certain additional features were introduced in 2006 in ECI-EVMs such as dynamic coding between Ballot Unit and Control Unit, installation of real time clock, installation of full display system and date and time stamping of every key pressing in EVM. It is important to note that there was no modification of any type done at this stage in the basic functions of the machine.
Not comparable with EVMs Abroad
The Commission has come across some comparisons between ECI-EVM and EVMs used by foreign countries. Such comparisons are both misplaced and misguided. Most of the systems used in other countries are PC based and running on operating Systems. Hence, these could be vulnerable to hacking. The EVM in India on the other hand is a fully standalone machine without being part of any network and with no provision for any input. As already stated, the software in the EVM chip is one time programmable and is burnt into the chip at the time of manufacture. Nothing can be written on the chip after manufacture. Thus the ECI-EVMs are fundamentally different from the voting machines and processes adopted in various foreign countries. Any surmise based on foreign studies or operating system based EVMs used elsewhere would be completely erroneous. The ECI-EVMs cannot be compared with those EVMs.
Complete Procedural Security
The Commission has in place elaborate administrative measures and procedural checks-and-balances aimed at prevention of any possible misuse or procedural lapses. These measures include rigorous pre-election test and inspection of each EVM by the technicians, two level randomization with the involvement of candidates and their agents, for the random allotment of the EVMs to various constituencies and their subsequent dispatch to various polling stations. Preparation of the EVMs for elections is done in the presence of the candidates/their agents and sealing of the prepared EVMs is also done in candidate's or their agent's presence. Thread seal are fixed on the EVM where again, the candidates or their representatives put their own signature and seals. Paper seals guards against any unauthorized access to the EVMs after preparation. EVMs are then kept in sealed strong rooms with provision for the candidates to put their individual seals on the strong rooms. The EVMs are randomized twice over. The list of EVMs going to individual polling stations is given to the candidates for them to check, on the poll day the actual machine, that is used in that polling station. Furthermore a mock poll is conducted in the presence of polling agents, when the polling agents can verify, inter-alia, the EVM numbers. A mock poll certificate is taken before the commencement of poll. After the mock poll the machine is set back to zero and green paper seal printed at Government Security Press is put in, where once again every polling agent is allowed to put his/her signature. After the polls, the EVM are also sealed in such a manner that there is no physical access to any of the buttons on the EVMs. Indeed there is no access to the EVMs itself since the carrying case is sealed completely. The machines are put in the strong room again in presence of the candidates, observer of the commission under video camera surveillance. The strong room is allowed to be guarded by the supporters of the candidates besides the police protection provided to strong rooms. At every step, the EVM is very well protected and elaborate arrangements are in place for the same.
Election Commission of India
8th August , 2009,New Delhi
Bose
Innumerous irregularities
This is only the tip of the iceberg, so far as both the authorities, the Noida authority and Greater Noida authority is concerned. There are innumerable number of irregularities in land allotment and other fraudulent actions by IAS/ PCS officers and other functionaries of both these authorities. These can be known to the public, only if some independent inquiry is conducted.
R K Pandey
CBDT dragging its feet
This in reference to empanellment of IFS officers being ahead of IAS officers for Joint Secretary. Look at the IRS (IT) officers where even 1981 batch has not been empanelled. This is thanks to the CBDT dragging its feet in not sending the Confidential Report and Vigilance clearance of its officers.
Swamy
There is something wrong with agriculture
That wrong is very simple, this sector has been neglected for many years since Independence. There is no proper light, no water no proper infrastructure for villages. It has never been modernized and in this globalized world of today, poor KISAN is still dependent on rains. Government must take extra steps to improve the situation otherwise in coming years India would be importing all the food items from Abroad which would be unhealthy for the Indian economy rather it would shatter the dream of becoming a Super Power.
Harish Kumar