Your site has done a great service to the bureaucracy by regularly updating us on the tit bits of the RTI Act. Thanks a lot and keep going.
Aarti Sharma

Contact-suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com> & <mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com>

500 scribes sacked in Electronic media
As many as 500 journalists who were serving in different companies of Electronic media in India have been sacked in the wake of last year’s Economic melt down. Maximum casualties were in NDTV, CNBC & News X.
CGDA takes VRS
Controller General Defence Accounts (CGDA) Ms Bulbul Ghosh is believed to have taken VRS from January 1.
Shiraj Hussain to be MD, FCI
Latest grapevine has it that Shiraj Hussain, who is currently Joint Secretary Food in Government of India (GOI), is tipped to be Managing Director (MD) of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). He is Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer of 1979 batch and due for elevation as Additional Secretary in GOI.
Policy of pick & choose decried
As the grapevine has it a strong resentment is brewing among bureaucrats of India over the UPA Government’s policy of pick & choose as far as appointment of IAS officers as Secretaries was concerned. What is great use of serving with dedication & devotion if seniority is not being honoured in such postings? This question is hotly being debated in corridors of power.
Bambawale is new JS (East Asia ) in MEA
Gautam Bambawale has taken over Joint Secretary (East Asia) in MEA. He is 1984 batch IFS officer.
24 Chief Commissioners of Customs and Central Excise transferred

As many as 24 Chief Commissioners of Customs and Central Excise have been transferred. They are G.S. Narang from DGICCE, Delhi to CX Delhi, T. Prem Kumar from CX Coimbatore to TAR, Delhi, H.K. Sharan from Customs Kolkata to DGICCE Delhi, Prabhakar Nigam from DG, Valuation, Mumbai to CX Mumbai-I, K.L. Bablani from CX Nagpur to CX Bhubaneshwar, P.K. Sirohi from TAR, Delhi to CX Chandigarh, Ahmed Hussain from CX Chennai to DG Valuation, Mumbai, Shreela Ghosh from CX Delhi to Customs(P) Delhi, Ashtbhuja Prasad Verma on promotion to CX Hyderabad, Gautam Ray-I on promotion to DG, Audit, Delhi, FM Jaswal on promotion to DG, Systems & Data Management, Delhi, M.S. Badhan on promotion to CX Kolkata, D.D. Ingty on promotion to CX Shillong, Ram Prakash on promotion to CX Bhopal, Indrani Dutta Majumdar on promotion to DG, Safeguards, Delhi, Mithilesh Kumar Gupta on promotion to Customs Kolkata, J.M. Shanti Sundharam on promotion to Customs(P), Chennai, R.S. Sidhu on promotion to CX Coimbatore (till 31.12.2009) and then CX Mumbai-II (w.e.f. 01.01.2010), Vineet Kumar on promotion to Customs (P) Mumbai-III, Sandhya Baliga on promotion to CX Mysore, R.K. Jain on promotion to CX Nagpur, Shobha L. Chary on promotion to Customs Mumbai-I, Chandrahas Mathur on promotion to CX Vizag and Lipika Majumdar Roy Choudhury on promotion to Customs - Ahmedabad.

Srivastava is new Joint Secretary Justice
S C Srivastava is going to be new Joint Secretary Justice in the Government of India. He is CSS officer of 1976 batch.
Ms.Priyanka Basu Ingty to be APS to Mukul Roy
As the grapevine has it Ms. Priyanka Basu Ingty who presently Deputy Commissioner, Kinnaur at Reckong Peo is going to be additional private secretary (APS) to Mukul Roy Indian Minister of State for Shipping. She is an IAS officer of the 2004 batch who belongs to the Himachal Pradesh cadre.
Hung Houes in Jharkhand
Now there is Hung House in Jharkhand.
(We said this on November 26, 2009)
Manchanda  is Ambassador Macedonia
Divyabh Manchanda, presently Ambassador of India to Bulgaria, has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia with residence in Sofia (Bulgaria).
Prasar Bharti Board Member resigns
Prasar Bharti Board Member Mamta Shankar is believed to have resigned.
Sundaram to join ICFRE’s Bangalore office
As the grapevine has it, S K S Sundaram is poised to join Bangalore located regional office of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) of which head office is in Dehradun.  Shanmug Sundaram is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1992 batch who belongs to the Tamil Nadu cadre.
Ajay Mittal's repatriation sought by HP Government
As the grapevine has it, Himachal Pradesh Government being headed by Chief Minister Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal has sought repatriation of Ajay Mittal who in May 2009 had joined as Development Commissioner, Madras Export Processing Zone (MEPZ). Mittal is an IAS officer of the 1982 batch & belongs to the Himachal Pradesh (HP) cadre. It may be recalled here that Mittal who is rated as an ace & honest officer was Principal Secretary (PS) to Prof.Dhumal while the latter had become Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh earlier. At that time Ajay Mittal was in the Election Commission from where he was brought to the CM's secretariat in Shimla.
Entry of Air India to Star Alliance still a mirage
Entry of Air India into Star Alliance, the membership of which was accepted in December 2007, is still a mirage.
Krishnan to be relieved in January
Dr. KP Krishanan, at present JS in Finance Ministry in the department of Economic Affairs handling the Capital Market Division, is likely to be relieved
in January 2010. He was handling Capital Market Division since September 2004. All the failures and achievements in the last four years in the Capital Market in India in general and BSE and NSE in particular are credited to him.
Why promotion of Commissioners in CBEC delayed?
Why promotion of Commissioners to Chief Commissioners were delayed in the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC)? As the grapevine has it, the delay was due to lack of consensus regarding one incumbent in Kolkata.
Vinyanand Jha in IB promoted
Vinyanand Jha, Deputy Director in Intelligence Bureau (IB), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has been promoted as Joint Director (IB). He is Orissa cadre IPS officer of 1988 batch.
 IFS officer is PS to Union Minister
1987 batch Indian Foreign Service officer Aniruddha Kumar has been appointed PS to Union Science and Technology Minister.
Kripanidhi to be FA in CRPF
T S Kripanidhi is likely to be appointed new Financial Advisor in the CRPF. He is 1982 batch IDAS officer.
Mukherjee  is number two in panel for CMD HPCL
The PESB is believed to have put the name of B Mukherjee at number two in the panel prepared for the post of CMD HPCL. He is presently Director (Finance) in the HPCL.
ISS officer gets new posting on promotion
ISS officer Pravin Srivastava, Director, Department of Health and family Welfare, Ministry of Health and family Welfare, New Delhi, has been posted as DDG, Department of Health and family Welfare, Ministry of Health and family Welfare, New Delhi.
IFS officers promoted in Manipur
Seven IFS officer of Manipur Tripura  have been given super-time scale. They are Mssrs Kereilhouvi Angami, I N Kipgen,  Dr. Khaizalian,, L Baite, S K Premkumar Singh, K Jagadishwor Singh and DD Haokip.
IPS reshuffle in Orissa
25 IPS officers have been reshuffled in Orissa on Wednesday.
1995 batch IPS is now DIG in Orissa
1995 batch IPS officers have been promoted to the rank of DIG in Orissa. They are Mssrs:-R K Sharma, Ritu Arora, S K Priyadarshi, Santosh Bala and P S Ranipse. Shefeen Ahmed K has been posted as SP Berhampur in place of R K Sharma.
Nathanael is new IG CRPF NE Zone
MP Nathanael  has taken over as Inspector General of Police (IGP), North East Zone of the CRPF. Earlier he was posted in CRPF Headquarters.
IRAS postings
Ms.Abhilasha Jha Mishra, JAG/IRAS NWR, has been transferred to Northern Railway. Ms. Meenu Dang, SG/IRAS/NR, will move to  North Western Railway. New
Interesting whisper about Pakistan bureaucracy
The Press and electronic media in pakistan is abuzz with the disclosure of names of the benificiaries of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) promulgated by Gen Musharraf resulting in withdrawl of criminal cases including cases of corruption against some leading politicians including Asif Ali Zardari. Mr Mohammed Afzal Sindhu, Pakistan's MoS Law & Justice who made the names public has been shifted as MoS Railways. The law Secretary Retd Justice Riaz Keyani too has also been shifted to the Human Rights division.
The Ministry of law and Justice has  been merged with the Ministry of parliamentary affairs headed by Dr Babar Awan. A curious distinction enjoyed by Dr Babar Awan is    the Ph.D degree he acquired allegedly from a FAKE US university, the university of Montecello,  through its distant learning programme. The university was involuntarily dissolved and its operator Leslie Snell fined US $ 1.7 million by courts in Hawaii and Kansas for "issuing invalid degrees without state authority" .
Arern't these wonderful methods of correcting politically incorrect initiatives taken by an upright MoS Mr Mohd Afzal Sindhu? And what a wonderful choice of the Minister In-charge of the department of Law & Justice!
Sabbatical for bureaucrats is on in Jharkhand
Its peacetime for bureaucracy in Jharkhand as a pulverized verdict in recent assembly polls is bound to delay formation of a new Government in the state.
Congress has two options in Jharkharnd
In the wake of a pulverized verdict in recent assembly polls in Jharkhand, the Congress party has two options. First, accept Shibu Soren as Chief Minister & have Babulal Marandi founder president of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) in the union cabinet. Second, vice versa could happen. Marandi’s party has got 11 MLAs in a house of 81. However, Shibu Soren may not accept Marandi as Chief Minister because both belong to the Santhal region’s pocket of Dumka.
Congress stalwarts defeated in Jharkhand assembly polls
Significant aspect of recently held Jharkhand assembly polls is that all stalwarts of Congress including its state chief Pradeep Balmuchu were defeated in battle for ballot.
No crisis in Jharkhand
There is no constitutional crisis in Jharkhand in the wake of a pulverized verdict in recent assembly polls in state. It is so because the President’s rule in Jharkhand has legal sanctity till January 19, 2009.
Government formation to be delayed in Jharkhand
In the wake of a pulverized verdict in recent assembly polls in Jharkhand formation of a new Government will be delayed.
Ashwani Lohani is DRM Delhi
Ashwani Lohani who was earlier posted on deputation as Managing Director (MD) of the MP State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC); Bhopal has assumed charge as new Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Delhi on December 24, 2009. He is an IRSME officer of the 1980 batch. This posting is being considered quite significant because Delhi is going to host Common Wealth Games (CWG) in 2010. To his credit many a things. Earlier a loss making organization, the MPSTDC is now being run professionally, with both operating ratio and growth rate at par with the private sector. Ashwani Lohani was also earlier responsible for the turnaround of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) in a record time. He has done pioneering work in the field of heritage, especially railway heritage. He is credited with the revival of the National Rail Museum, New Delhi during his tenure as its Director and for setting up Guiness World Record in 1998 by running the Fairy Queen
Express hauled by the oldest working steam locomotive in the world. He also successfully piloted the nomination of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway as a World Heritage Site and again during his stint as the Director of Tourism, Govt of India successfully piloted the nomination of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya as a World Heritage site. He is also credited for setting many firsts in the country in the field of application of Information Technology for Tourism facilitation and museum management. Besides writing a book on Railways, he has received many awards and accolades during his distinguished career. On September 12, 2006 he had won the Limca National Record for his technical qualifications.
Now “Maharatna” category
The government of India has approved the introduction of “Maharatna” category for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs)..
IGs to be elevated as ADGs in MP
As many as four IPS officers belonging to the 1984 batch in Madhya Pradesh will soon be elevated as ADGs. They are: V.K.Singh, Maithili Sharan Gupta, Sukhraj Singh & Sanjay Choudhary.
DIGs to be elevated as IGs in MP
As many as Eight IPS officers belonging to the 1990 batch in Madhya Pradesh will soon be elevated as IGs. They are: V.K.Maheshwari, Ms. Anuradha Shankar Singh, S.W.Naqvi, Vijay Kataria, B.B. Sharma, Syed Mohammed Afzal, S.P.singh & S.K.Nayak & K.Vsiphei
SPs to be elevated as DIGs in MP
As many as seven IPS officers belonging to the 1993 batch in Madhya Pradesh will soon be elevated as DIGs. They are: Anil Kumar, Ms.Sonali Mishra, Ravi Kumar Gupta, Sanjeev Shami, R.S.Meena, V.P.Sharma and Raja Babu Singh.

CORPORATE
Indian Aviation Industry to suffer huge losses
If media reports are to be believed Indian aviation industry will suffer a combined loss of Rs 6,500-7,000 crore in the current fiscal.
Kotwal is Chairman of CCBL in J & K
Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Dr Pawan Kotwal has been appointed as Chairman of Board of Administrators of the Citizens Cooperative Bank Limited (CCBL) .
Kajaria is new President of PHD Chambers
Satish Bagrodia passed on the baton to  Ashok Kajaria, Chairman and Managing Director of Kajaria Ceramics Ltd, who took over as the new President of PHD Chamber at a glittering ceremony at Hotel Ashoka right after the AGM. Mr. Satish Bagrodia, is Chairman and Managing Director, Winsome Textile Industries Ltd. Mr. Kajaria is going to be the 70th President in the 104 years history of PHD Chamber. Salil Bhandari, has taken over as the Senior Vice President of PHD Chamber and  Sandip Somany, Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd. is the new Vice President of PHD Chamber. Mr. Satish Bagrodia, wished the new team all the success in the years to come. 

Aaj Ki Aawaz

In Jharkhand seems Congress and JMM will form Sarkaar!!!
Laloo like Mulayam + Amar do in Dilli will at most give ‘unsolicited’ support from bahar!!!
 
RJD did not fight the election as a Congress ally so RJD should be kept at bay!!!!!
Jharkhand is a pointer that Congress benefits if away from it Laloo is made to stay!!
 
Rahul’s aim is to make Congress a force in Bihar!!!
And this aim will be defeated if RJD is made part of the Jharkhand Sarkaar!!
 
Laloo should be treated like a pariah and Congress should shoo him from its door!!!
How can Congress forget that prior to General Election’s Laloo had shown it the door??
 
BJP’s losing streak goes on!!!!!
Apne aap ko ‘in’ BJP has done!!!!
 
Advani who prides himself at being the BJP’s ‘rise’s star’ turned the rising star into a shooting one!
Whatever he did by him it’s been undone!!
 
And believe me BJP’s infighting is not going to stop!!!!
It’s not good for India that on ‘one leg the primary Opposition karr rahi hai hop’!!
 
There is no chance of BJP coming to power in Dilli!!!
So Sushma, Jaitley and Ghadkari vying to be BJP’s PM nominee sure looks silly????
 
And Advani too has not given up and will keep trying to stay in the picture!!!!!
Via all this hope BJP’s hopeless condition you are able to picture!!
 
In Ruchika’s case investigation was biased and shoddy!
Because when the investigations took place Rathod in Haryana was ‘somebody’!!
 
Chautala's got egg on his face and now does not know how to clean the egg!!!
When Reporters questioned him on Rathod ‘ leave me alone’ he did beg!!

Political influence played a dubious role!!!
Justice it stole!!!

Why did HC order dropping of the suicide abatement charge and that too of a minor??
Compared to suicide abatement the punishment for molestation is 'minor'!!
 
To correct the injustice something needs to be done!
Because in the Ruchika case ‘injustice’ has clearly won!!!

Society should boycott Rathod!!!
Even his relatives uss se apna rishta de thod (break)!!!!!

PC is in a splitting mood ... first it was AP and now it's Home Ministry!!!
Though now his Telengana announcement is a mystery!!!
 
A Ministry devoted to Internal Security is good but both should not come under one Home Minister!!!
And not even if he has a MOS as an assister!!!
 
Very soon all info about Indian Citizens will be available at the press of 'enter'!
By 2011 May this data base will be 'with the Center'!!!
 
Hope Sarkaar has kept checks so that this data is not misused!!!
In US where this kind of data is available quite a number of times 'its been abused'!
 
Aping his bro Big B now Amar Singh has his blog!!!!
Seems now via the blog his detractors he's going to flog!!!
 
Ads for his Site say ' if you thought I'm only interested in Politics you are wrong'!!!
Abs right his interests vary from ogling to Jaya Pradha's 'dance and song'!!!!
 
People still have nightmares of Jaya Pradha dancing on the stage a year or two back!
And quite a few felt the stage would simply crack!!!
 
'I'm this democracy's bachcha' is how he introduces himself on the blog!!!!!!
Papa, husband, bro, son, Industrialist , Neta blogger and if I may add a publicity hog!
 
The Blog he’s started is a signal that he now aims to be on his own!!!
As of now as Mulayam’s Man Friday cum Firefighter he’s known!!
 
The 'fault lines' in this relationship will cause a breakup in due course!!!
Mulayam's family wants this split as per an inside source!!!
 
Confucius says..... Mulayam the pehelwaan and Amar the wheeler dealer gelled!!!!
By the glue of 'mutual benefit' the relationship held!!!!
 
Adds.... their friendship always had a limited shelf life and the expiry date is nearing!!
And on the expiry date nearing Mulayam's family is cheering!!

Bharat Kumar

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)
IS THE DEMAND OF SMALLER STATES JUSTIFIED ?
Reorganisation of States
I was wondering why not some one take this golden opportunity to do away with the linguistic states and divide India into 7 or 8 provinces (1) North East including West Bengal , (2) North covering J & K, HP, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and part of UP, (3) North West  covering Rajasthan, Gujarat, Part of MP, (4) West covering Maharashtra and part of Karnataka, (5) East covering parts of MP, AP, Orissa, Chattisgarh, (6) Central covering UP,MP, Bihar, Jharkhand and (7) South covering TN, AP, Kerala & Karnataka, Lakshadweep A & N islands; convert to Federal System, grant more powers to the provinces; ban linguistic party politics; etc.  Why not Whispers conduct a survey to generate/know the opinion of the elite who access this site in this regard?
Prasad
Demand for smaller state is not justified
First, they should do re-allignment of the states. For example NCR may be merged with Delhi and so on.
A K Ahuja
Incumbent must be from Delhi !
In summarised way, I wish to put my views that in case of any change of Lt.Governor Delhi, the incumbent must, not be , from out of Delhi. Government must spot any senior Politician/IAS Rtd having his life in Delhi/New Delhi, who will be able to deliver the worth in favour of development in Delhi.
regrds,
hsbhalla@gmail.com.
Darjeeling was once part of Sikkim
Darjeeling district of West Bengal should be merged with the state of Sikkim. Both areas have a Nepali majority population of migrants, both have the same language and culture and , historically , Darjeeling was part of Sikkim before the British annexed it to Bengal. The merger is a viable alternative to the creation of a separate Gorkhaland as the Darjeeling district alone will be too small to be an  economically viable state. The demand to include the plains district of Jalpaiguri including Siliguri and Bagdogra is clearly untenable as these areas have a Bengali majority population. Besides Sikkim is a well administered  and very progressive State whereas Darjeeling district is backward and has sunk into corruption and lawlessness under the 20 year misrule of the Gorkha Autonomous District Council. The people of the district are fed up of 20 years of non governance and anarchy by the council. They want law and order and rapid economic development of their area. The West Bengal government , inspite of good intentions is unable to bridge the ethnic and linguistic barriers that separate the Bengali from the Nepali. Creation of the micro State of Gorkhaland will further fuel the anarchy in the district and cannot meet the peoples just demand for greater development and rule of law. The area has great geo political significance and any mishandling of the situation due to partisan reasons by the Central government will have profound security implications for India. We must not forget China’s active interest in the area to instigate unrest and supply material and moral support to yet another insurgency in the Northeast. This is the sensitive area of the Chickens Neck connecting mainland India with the Northeast by a narrow 20 mile wide corridor. If this neck is broken by China backed insurgents then China does not need to invade India again as in 1962.
D Choudhury