Some time back, when many bureaucrats showered their praise on an honest officer Sudhir Nath, it was suggested that Whispers may invite civil servants to bring to light such persons who are competent, honest and committed so that others may also be encouraged to emulate them. Today, your columns have praised Aruna Sharma and Frederick Kharkongor.
It would be good if Whispers can create a special page where details of all such officers can be seen at one place without having to dig through the archives.
At the same time, considering the unique position and reputation Whispers enjoys, it may also consider starting a column where WHISTLEBLOWERS can bring to light any wrong doings within their knowledge. It would be up to them how much detail they would like to disclose. They need not mention any names of persons involved to avoid unnecesary complications for the website.
I Khan
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INTERVIEW - GOPAL K. PILLAI, SECRETARY HOME GoI
Police reforms to be my priority: Home Secretary
The newly appointed Union Home Secretary, Gopal K. Pillai, is giving top priority to police reforms and strengthening of intelligence agencies- which he thinks are vital for internal security of the country. Tackling the naxalite menace that is spreading to different pockets in the country is also among his top agenda. Pillai, a seasoned 1972 batch bureaucrat who belongs to the Kerala cadre had an earlier stint as a Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry. In his first interview after assuming the charge of Home Secretary talked at length with Sunil Sharma of the whispersinthecorridors.com .
Following are the excerpts:
Q. What would be your priority as Home Secretary to GoI?
A: (i) Police Reforms
(ii) Issue of policing in Jammu and Kashmir
(iii) Issues relating to North East, and
(iv) Effectively tackling and solving the Naxalite menace in the country.
Among these, I accord top priority to police reforms.
Q : What steps would be envisaged to beef up internal security in the country?
A: (i) To make Intelligence agencies more effective
(ii) Better coordination with State Government for effective internal security
(iii) In tribal areas first we solve their basic problems so that they do not go with the naxalite groups.
(iv) Both, the State and Centre are responsible for Internal Security and should work in tandem to address the issue. The media and public are also equally responsible for internal security and should pass on any vulnerable information to the police and security agencies.
Q: How do you plan to counter the naxalite problem in different parts of the country?
A: (i) To strengthen the Police Force in Rural Areas with adequate and proper training to be effectively equipped to handle the Naxalite Groups.
(ii) To solve the basic problem of tribal people like providing basic needs, solving their day to day problems of title of land, etc. so that they do not join the Naxalite Groups.
Q : What step would you advocate for effective coordination between central and state police forces?
A : Police is the subject of State Government. We can only provide them funds, expert advice, special training to police.
Q: What steps would you advocate to modernize police forces and make them more effective to tackle new age crimes?
A : Our officers are able to handle the Cyber crime. Young officers have thorough knowledge of internet, latest software which can easily identify a cyber crime.
Q. : Do you fee the need for amending the CrPC and IPC acts which experts feel are archaic? Please specify if yes or no?
A: Yes, we have already suggested two amendments in CrPC but these are not notified due to certain reasons. Some changes are required in these amendments.
Q. BJP leader Menaka Gandhi has written to the Prime Minister expressing concerns over security to Varun Gandhi. The letter has since been forwarded to you. What is the status?
A : Officially Varun Gandhi has "Y" level category security but we already upgraded him and provided uncategorized "Z" level security.
Q: Political parties blame government for discrimination in providing security cover to VIPs?
A : Security is already provided to all VIPs who are all in need of it. Security is not provided for maintaining a status symbol.
Q. After Lalgarh Naxal Operation violence did not stop. Please tell about the next Action Plan?
A : We are already on the job. We are coordinating with the States.
Q.: How can you handle the Internal Security problems, IB play s key role in internal security but IB still has lot of vacancies to be filled in at officers level?
A : Due to the downsizing policy adopted by the government, the IB is facing problems relating to shortage of officers but now, we are going ahead with recruitments in IB to make its role more effective.
Q.: Some State governments, particularly the non-Congress states blame the Union Government with non-cooperation with regards to Internal Security issues?
A : This is not correct. We are providing full cooperation to the state government as and when required. We are not only providing infrastructure to state governments but also helping and training them about its effective use. Now it is upto the State Governments to take on. We are fully supporting the West Bengal Government and we are also supporting all other State Governments for internal security.
Q: After Mumbai attack you had established NIA, but there seem to be no positive results?
A : Now we have posted more than 120 officers for NIA and in coming days results will be seen.
Will Krishnan be Secretary Animal Husbandary ?
Now the name of Special Secretary Labour S Krishnan has started doing the round for the post of Secretary Animal Husbandary in the Government of India. He is 1975 batch IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.
Anurag Goel to be Member Competition Commission
Secretary Corporate Affairs, Anurag Goel, is all set to be Member Competition Commission. He is 1972 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
Arvind Mehta to be Jt Secretary Commerce & Industry
As the grapevine has it, Arvind Mehta on central deputation is poised to be Joint Secretary Commerce & Industry in Government of India (GOI). He is IAS officer of the 1984 batch who belongs to the Himachal Pradesh cadre.
IPS to get 50 percent IG posts in Paramilitary Forces
It has now been decided that IPS will be appointed on half the IG level posts in Paramilitary Forces. The remaining 50 percent posts of IG level will go to cadre officers.
First time BSF officer is now ADG
For the first time in the history of BSF cadre an officer Naresh Gaur has been promoted to the rank of Additional Director General.
Hectic activities in Army on the cards
Hectic activities in Army in the next two months is on the cards given the fact that several officers would be vying for the post of vice chief of the Indian Army who is retiring in September.
TVSN Prasad returns from World Bank
TVSN Prasad has reported back to the Government of Haryana after spending 7 years overseas including 6 years at World Bank in Washington DC. He has come back with a lien on his position at the World Bank so he can go back there after 2 years. He is 1988 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre.
Amit Ghosh to join IAS Academy
Name of Amit Kumar Ghosh has been cleared to join LBSNAA as Deputy Director. He is 1994 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
Ashok Juneja to look after Commonwealth Games
Ashok Juneja is all set to join the Security wing of the Commonwealth games. He is 1989 batch IPS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre.
DPC for CBEC Chairman on July 17
DPC for the post of Chairman in the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is slated to be held on July 17.
Did China block ADB loan ?
China is reported to have block ADB loan for a North-Eastern state. Government of India has made it clear that China action was clear violation of the bank's charter.
Why CBDT Chairman was away in Nainital ?
It is reported that Chairman of CBDT S S N Moorthy was away in Nainital when the transfer orders of the Income Tax Commissioners were issued on Saturday. One should read between the walls.
Review of 10 IPS officers in deferred cases done
As the grapevine has it cases of review of ten IPS officers of IG rank was done whose cases were deferred for empanelment Government of India (GOI).
P.K. Anand tipped to be ED
P.K. Anand of Allahabad Bank is one of the 11 General Managers GMs) out of 50 GMs of different Public Sector Banks who had faced the interview for slots of Executive Directors (EDs) and has been short-listed.
Karnataka Tourism's "Golden chariot" to go national
Looking to grand success of "The Golden Chariot" a luxury train of the Karnataka Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) it has been decided that now it will for one week to Tamil Nadu & Kerala, said Vinay Luthra Managing Director of the KTDC. Luthra told <whispersinthecorridors.com> that the "Golden chariot" will however run in Karnataka for three weeks. Inter state trips of the luxury train will commence from October 2009, said Vinay Luthra who is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 1979 batch & belongs to the Karnataka cadre. It may be stated here that 1000 tourists rode "The Golden Chariot" in last one year.
Nivedita promoted as Director
Ms. E. P. Nivedita, IAAS officer of 1993 batch, has been promoted on NBR basis as Director, Ministry of Urban Development, GOI, New Delhi.
Training Course in Improvement of Infectious Disease Control
A Group Training Course in Improvement of Infectious Disease Control and other Health Issues through enhancement of District/Provincial Health System to be held in Japan from September 27, 2009 to November 12, 2009.
Mohanty promoted as Accountant General
BK Mohanty, IAAS officer of 1993 batch, has been - promoted as Accountant General, Meghalaya, Shillong.
Anurag Srivastava is Deputy Secretary in MEA
Anurag Srivastava has moved as Deputy Secretary in the Finance Division of MEA from the XP Division. He is 1999 batch IFS officer.
Training Course in Sustainable Tourism Development
A Group Training Course in Sustainable Tourism Development through Community Based Approach to be held in Japan from August 18, 2009 to November 1, 2009.
Efforts afoot for extension to DG, FIEO
As the grapevine has it efforts are afoot to grant one year's extension to Ajay Sahai Director General (DG) of the "Federation of Indian Export Organisation" (FIEO) who has already served six years in the FIEO. Sahai is an Indian Trade Service (ITS) officer who belongs to the 1986 batch.
Prem Kumar joins as Dy Secretary NDMA
Prem Kumar has joined as Deputy Secretary in National Disaster Management Authority. He is 2000 batch officer of CSS
Lalu's wish unfulfilled, loyalist gets only three months extension
Gone are the days when Lalu Prasad Yadav's writ used to run in appointing his men on key positions in Railways. Take for instance the case of KBL Mittal for whom Lalu was keen to have a permanent posting as Secretary Railway Board. Mittal has, however, been granted only three months extension.
CIT transfers to trigger litigation
Transfer orders of Commissioners of Income Tax (CITs) that were issued on Saturday have led to a resentment. As the grapevine has it certain CITs are going to move the CAT for challenging their transfer.
Anup Chandra back to cadre
Kolkata Port Trust Chairman Dr Anup Kumar Chandra is now back to his parent cadre.
IT Commissioners/Directors transferred
As many as 260 Income Tax Commissioners and Directors have been transferred. They are Archana Ranjan - Agra, Ashok Kumar Bal - Surat, Bharat Bhushan Nanawati - Kolkata, Sangeeta Gupta - Patna, Pramod nangia - Delhi, Manas Shankar Ray - Delhi, Nageshwar Rao - Coimbatore, Sangeeta Singh - Mumbai, Shri krishana - Delhi, Rakesh Bhaskar - Chennai, Geeta Ravi Chandran - Nagpur, Bipin Bihari Singh - Delhi, Kunal Singh - Delhi, Sunil Gupta - Delhi, Vipin Chandra - Ujjain, Dheeraj Bhatnagar - Delhi, AK jain - Hyderabad, H Shriniwasulu - Hyderabad, A Bhaskar Reddy - Hyderabad, Fakir Mohan Mohanty - Hyderabad, RP Shrivastava - Lucknow, AK Satpathy - Hyderabad, Desh Deepak Goel - Hyderabad, Atul Pranay - Hyderabad, Chitta Ranjan Pati - Hyderabad, Praneet Singh Sachdeva - Hyderabad, JR Sharma - Hyderabad, Abhay Charan Naik - Cuttack, P Sridhar - Vijaywada, S Mahapatra - Bhubaneshwar, Arta Bandhu Patra - Hyderabad, Prafulla Kumar Dash - Chennai, Venigalla Naga Prasad - Hyderabad, RC Paramanik - Cochin, Sukhpal Meena - Udaipur, MS Chandrasekaran - Hyderabad, Nathan Raul - Rajamundry, OP Agarwal - Patna, Sayed Tarique Ahmad - Patna, Shambhu Datta Jha - Patna, Ujjawal Kmar Choudhary - Patna, ML Lakra - Kolkata, RK Rai - Ranchi, SS Rathore - Delhi, NK Sangwan - Mumbai, Kiran Oberoi Vasudev - Ludhiana, Sakhram Govindrao Joshi - Delhi, Sunil Kumar Ojha - Mumbai, SS Bajpai - Allahabad, Harinder Bir Singh Gill - Bikaner, PCK Soloman - Jabalpur, Harsh Bandhar - Shillong, Har Prasad Kain - Delhi, JP Massar - Delhi, SK Srivastava - Delhi, SM Ashraf - Delhi, Gopal Kamal - Delhi, Arti Handa - Delhi, MD Kabra - Indore, Vijay Kumar Bakshi - Delhi, Surbhi Sinha - Jaipur, RS Meena - Delhi, Durga Charan Dash - Delhi, Praveen Kumar - Kanpur, Suraj Bhan - Bhopal, B Murali Kumar - Chennai, Girish Kr Maheshwari - Delhi, Nitin Gupta - Delhi, Meeta Nambiar - Delhi, Rakesh Kumar Gupta - Delhi, Mohanish Verma - Delhi, JB Mahapatra - Delhi, Rakesh Kumar Paliwal - Delhi, Jugesh Ch Pegu - Delhi, Bharat Bhushan - Delhi, Ravinder Singh Gill - Delhi, Ashu Jain - Delhi, SK Chowdhary - Delhi, Davendra Shankar - Alwar, Sanjay Kumar - Kjolkata, Rajnish Kumar - Delhi, Samir Mukhopadhyay - Delhi, K Ajay Kumar - Vijaywada, Pradeep Mehrotra - Delhi, Bhanu Pratap Singh Bisht - Allahabad, Rajiv Nayan Prasad - Jamnagar, Kiran Babu - Delhi, Kale Hari Lal Naick - Ahmedabad, Ajit Kumar Panda - Bilaspur, Nathu Singh Dayam - Ahmedabad, Aditya Vikram - Surat, DBRV Prasad - Baroda, Koshore Kr Vijaywahare - Baroda, Pravin Verma - Chennai, Rajesh Ojha - Rajamundry, Girija Dayal - Valsad, Lakshmi Hande Puri - Bangalore, Raju Tayeng Bangalore, DP Haokip - Guwahati, Sadanand Sanbarsa - Bangalore, Harsh Prakash - Bangalore, Poonam Khaira Sidhu - Chandigarh, Anil Kumar Aggarwal - Bangalore, YA Mabrukar - Pune, VK Sehgal - Delhi, Manohar D Lahanskar - Cochin, Narhari Biswal - Hyderabad, Sushie S Varghese - Mumbai, Rashmi Saxena Sahni - Delhi, Sumant Sinha - Cochin, Suresh Chandra Kabra - Cochin, SC Sonkar - Cochin, SK Ray - Delhi, Bajrang Das Vishnoi - Bhopal, BL Razdan - Jammu, Vinodanand Jha - Bhopal, Patanjali - Bangalore, LR Nayyar - Jabalpur, Subhash Kumar - Jabalpur, Rekha Goel - Delhi, SC Agarwal - Ujjain, Nutan A Wodeyer - Mumbai, TK Shah - Indore, Nutan Sharma - Meerut, VD Parmar - Pune, Surendra Kumar Pande - Pune, Amreesh Chandra Shukla - Pune, Tajinder Singh - Pune, Pradeep Sharma - Chandigarh, Manoj Kumar Singh - Pune, A Sooryanarayanan - Bangalore, DK Das Sharma - Bhopal, Krishna Kumar Sharma - Thane, Anirudh Rai - Thane, A Vasantha Kumar - Thane, K Satyanarayana - Mumbai, Suresh Kandhhyala - Surat, Sunjay Kumar Patra - Mumbai, T Jayashankar - Nagpur, SS Narain - Nagpur, SSS Bharamarba R Ray - Nagpur, DV Reddy - Nagpur, Arun S Bhatnagar - Delhi, Poonam Dutt - Mumbai, Mukesh Kumar - Mumbai, MNA Chowdhary - Mumbai, AK Mehrish - Mumbai, Jagtar Singh - Mumbai, Shafiqur Rehaman Mallik - Madurai, Dilip Kumar - Mumbai, S Shankaralingham - Mumbai, Desh Bandhu Goel - Mumbai, Sanjeev Kukmar Abrol - Mumbai, JC Mishra - Mumbai, Avinash Chander Tejpal - Mumbai, Rajendra - Mumbai, S Udhayakumaran - Calicut, S Chellapan - Mumbai, Yeshwant U Chavan - Mumbai, Rajiv Vijay Nabar - Mumbai, Pradip Kumar Das - Mumbai, Suresh Kumar Satpathy - Mumbai, Rakesh Mohan - Mumbai, Dhanwantar Prasad - Mumbai, Pragati Kumar - Mumbai, Shanta Sujata Abrol - Vishakhapatnem, Shreekant Chatterjee - Mumbai, Lav Chandra Joshi - Divrugarh, T Sasi Kumar - Mumbai, Anil Mehhta - Mumbai, Asha Agarwal - Mumbai, Om Prakash Meena - Mumbai, V mahalingam - Mumbai, Krishan Kumar Kanwat - Mumbai, Anuradha Bhatia - Mumbai, Kuntlal Kumar Sen - Asansol, Seema Khorana Patra - Belgaun, R Bhama - Mumbai, Anup Agarwal - Mumbai, Vijay Kumar Singhal - Mumbai, KA Gopinathan - Mumbai, Nishi Singh - Delhi, Ruby Srivastava - Mumbai, KC Ghumaria - Mumbai, Alpana Saksena - Mumbai, Tridiv Mohan Das - Guwahati, Ashok Kumar Sinha - Guwahati, K Timothy Zimik - Guwahati, DB Rao - Kolkata, Deepa Krishnan - Guwahati, Raman Kumar Goel - Ludhiana, Sunali Arora - Delhi, Virendra Singh - Delhi, Pramod Kumar Srivastava - Chandigarh, Kishore Kmar Sinha - Ludhiana, BB Mohanty - Ludhiana, Vijay Kumar - Delhi, Maqbool Ahmad - Lucknow, Ravoindra Kumar - Cuttack, Mitali Madhushmita - Pune, Devi Sahai Chopra - Jaipur, Pawan Kumar Sharma - Jaipur, Naresh Kumar - Jaipur, Ramesh Chandra Gupta - Jaipur, JL Basumatary - Jaipur, Rakesh Mohan Garg - Jaipur, Pushplata Srivastava - Kolhapur, Sushil Kumar Sahai - Jaipur, Hari bansh Kumar Choudhary - Chennai, Yog Raj Saini - Chennai, LH Manne - Chennai, Pramod Kumar - Chennai, E Sankaran - Mumbai, Mahendra Singh - Chennai, K ramesh - Chennai, Ashok Kumar - Chennai, Chitra Srinivasan - Trichur, Vinod Kmar pande - Kolhapur, GN pandey - Chennai,, Haramohan Barman - Chennai, Omkareshwar Chidra - Salem, Ashutosh Chandra - Coimbatore, Jason P Boaz - Bangalore, Vishwas rattan - Coimbatore, R Ravichandran - Nagpur, D Das Gupta - Bhubaneshwar, Rajesh Chandra Sharma - Lucknow, Satbir Singh - Chandigarh, -Bhagwan Das Gupta - Lucknow, Dhirendfra Khare - Mumbai, Ramesh Kumar = Bareilly, SS kanan - Pondicherry, Ashim Kumar - Delhi, Digvijay Kumar - Guwahati, Devendra Swarup Saxema - Ahmedabad, Rajeev jain - Muzaffarnagar, Gunjan Mishra - Mumbai, PK Ambastha - Muzaffarnagar, Amitabhy Mishra - Mumbai, Vinod Kumar Mathur - Ahmedabad,, Anand Deep - Kanpur, Kavita Jha - Kanpur, VJ Vinaykumar - Mumbai, GS Kurup - Kolkata, Virendra Kumar Saxena - Kolkata, Bijoy Kumar Mishra - Kolkata, TP Krishna Kumar - Kolkata, Pramod Kumar Gupta - Meerut, Pankaj Kumar Vidyarthi - Kolkata, Yogesh Pande - Kolkata, Mohan Kumar Singhania - Kolkata, Shouvik Guha - Kolkata, Sushil Kumar Mumbai, KV dave - Jalpaiguri, Kamidi Ganana Prakash - Hyderabad, paul George - Bangalore, Vijay Kumar - Kolkata,Devaram Sindhal - Kolkata and CL Dengzongpa - Siliguri.
CBEC transfers 9 Addl/Jt.Commissioners
The CBEC has transferred nine Additional/Joint Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise. They are : D. Balasubramaniam from UOP to Cochin CX to Chennai Customs (P) (Retention),M. Vivekanandan from UOP to Vizag CX to CESTAT Bangalore,Mithilesh Kumar from UOP to Kolkata CX to DGICCE Mumbai, Panchu Gopal Samanta from Bhopal CX to Kolkata Customs, Pradip Kumar Mitra from UOP to Mumbai Customs-I to Kolkata CX, Sanjay Bansal from UOP to Kolkata Customs to Delhi Customs (to work as OSD, Service Tax in Board), T. C. Jose from Chennai CX to Cochin CX, ValviChandrakant Ravaji from UOP to Cochin CX to Mumbai CX-II & R. Guru Nathan from UOP to Kolkata CX Chennai CX (Retention).
MP High Court CJ releases book on Contempt of Court Act by Dr. Khanna
Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court A.K. Patnaik released a book titled "Sarlikrit Avamanana Adhiniyam" (Simplified Contempt of Court Act) in Hindi written by senior IAS and Director General of the RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration, Bhopal the other day. Complimenting the efforts of Dr Khanna, Chief Justice Patnaik said it was apt that the book was in Hindi (the local language of the state) as administrative officers in Madhya Pradesh want translation of Laws and Acts for interpretation and discharge of their duties. He said that the book touched upon an important aspect (contempt of court) which if rightly interpreted can go a long way in improving administrative efficiency. Earlier, Justice Patnaik addressed the IAS and state civil service (SAS) probationers about Acts relating to Prohibitory Detention and Contempt of Court. He said that administrative officers should be judicious, impartial and have a grasp of the law of the land while dealing with such provisions to avoid any future backlash from the judiciary. Any act invoked under prohibitory detention gets challenged and is open to examination by the judiciary about the material evidence and absolute necessity of invoking the act. He said if the officer is judicious and convinced with reasoning and has strong material evidence about Prohibitory detention, then no court will interfere with his work. Similarly, on the contempt of court provisions he said that are of two types civil and criminal. These can be avoided if the officer concerned acts in the reasonable amount of time to implement the orders or seeks an extention with the court in case of any practical difficulty. About lack of clarity in an order or ambiguity the officer should on his own approach the court which passed the orders to seek clarification. Present on the occasion were S.K. Rungta, senior advocate from Supreme Court, Director General Academy of Administration Dr. Sundeep Khanna, judges, law professionals and senior officers of the Madhya Pradesh government.
IPS postings in Madhya Pradesh
As many as two IPS officers have been shifted by the Madhya Pradesh Government. They are: Makrand Deoskar AIG PHQ Bhopal to Senior SP Office Indore & Akash Jindal SDOP Sehora (Jabalpur) to Additional SP Indore.
71 Addl Commissioners of Income Tax promoted as Commissioners
As many as 71 Additional Commissioners of Income Tax have been promoted as Commissioners. Those promoted are Anil Kumar, P B Sekaran, T Venkatareddy, Navneet Soni, Neena Singh Pandey, V Anandarajan, Vlnod Kumar Goel, Shyama S Bansia, K P C Rao, Rameshwar Singh, Ashok Kumar Pandey, Jayanthi Krishnan, Mrldula Bajpai, Ravinder Sai, Debendra N Kar, Rajeev Varshney, Manoranjan Panigrahy, Hareshwar Sharma, Gurijala R Reddy, Avdhesh Kumar Mlshra, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Bijayananda Pruseth, Rajeev Mehrotra, Stephen George, Simanchala Dash, Alok Johri, Narendra Kumar, Seema Raj, Shelly Jindal, Saswitha Parthsarthy, B Senthil Kumar, Kaushal Kr Srivastava, Hemant Jawahar Lal, Bharat Tripathi, Yogendra Kumar Singh, Govind Lal, Simmi Gupta, K Ganesan, Subrata Sarkar, Fateh Singh Sirowa, Arjun Govind Bhatkar, Shubhendra Patra, Om Prakash Yadav, Santosh Kumar, Dukhi Shyam Benupani, Ravi Sarangal, Nlranjan Kauli, Sugar Lal Meena, Om Prakash Meena, Jai Raj Kajla, M Krishnasamy, Veer Birsa Ekka, Banwari Lal Meena, Shanker Lal Meena, Ramesh Chand, Harmeet Singh, Sanjay Misra, Jayant Misra, Ramita Arora, M Jagdish Babu, Naresh Kr. Balodia, Raj Tandon, Jahanzeb Akhter, Suniti Srivastava, Prabodh Seth, Preeti Garg, R Govindarajan, Ratna Dasgupta, Narsimha Prasad B.S, Amar Veer Singh and Vivek Mishra.
IAS officer suspended in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh Government has suspended 1988 batch IAS officer Sanjay Gupta.
IAS officer dies in UP
1980 batch IAS officer Vinod Vihari Singh Vishven, currently posted as principal secretary, forests has passed away in Lucknow on Sunday.
DEBATE
Should the Election Commission continue with EVMs ?
India is unarguably the largest democracy on planet earth. The greatest contribution Indian bureaucracy makes to this democratic leviathan is the conduct of India's electoral process, one of the finest anywhere else. Countless Distt Election Officers, Returning Officers, their deputies, Poll officers at the Poll stations, Observers, security personnel collectively make it not only the grandest electoral show but also a process incredible for its precision, objectivity and fairness. It shows what Indian bureaucracy is capable of, if given freedom to act unfettered of vested interference. The Election Commission of India, the Grandmaster behind this show,is the jewel in the crown of Indian democracy, a priceless institution of which all of us should be proud of.
A controversy, however, is now getting to unfold. Which needs to be widely debated and discussed. About the EVMs. No less a person but a veteran like Advaniji has expressed doubts about its efficacy. Those who lose in elections tend to invent all kinds of reasons. Yet the apprehension is worth a debate. Are the EVMs faultless? Can they be hacked? Should the Election Commission continue them or return to the ballot papers again?
Who else can discuss these issues with insight and credible knowledge than the members of the team of Election Commission, the Election officials, Observers and the security men. We thought we throw this open to you all for your views and opinions. This debate will definitely serve the cause of the great Indian democracy.
YES or NO mail in your response to
suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com AND mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com

Ms Kanchan is new CVO PEC
Ms. Nandita Kanchan, IRS(IT:93) has been appointed as Chief Vigilance Officer in the Projects and Equipment Corporation of India Ltd. (PEC), New Delhi. She is 1993 batch IT officer.
Bhagwan Shankar gets new posting in Sikkim
Bhagwan Shanka has been posted as Commissioner cum Secretary, Knowledge Commission in Sikkim. He is 1988 batch IAS officer.
Aggarwal gets extension !
1986 batch Rajasthan IAS officer, Shailendra Aggarwal whose tenure as Councellor at India's Mission to WTO Geneva had come to an end in first week of July has reportedly got an extension.
Sisodia to join GoI !
R.P. Sisodia IAS Officer of the 1991 batch of Andhra Cadre has reportedly been posted on central deputation as Director in HRD Ministry in Higher Education.
Meng takes over as CEO of Reliance Aviation
N F Meng has taken over as CEO of the Reliance Aviation replacing Air Marshal Ahluwalia (Retd)..
DATE WITH RTI
Legal Fees
Respondents contended that this information, besides being personal to those third-parties, constituted the third-parties' commercial confidence and is, therefore, exempted from disclosure under Sections 8(1)(j) and 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act respectively. The Commission upheld the contention and ordered that there shall be no disclosure as regards this item of the query.
[CIC Decision dated 29-01-2009, Shri B.N.P. Srivastava v. LIC]
Comments
As a corollary, all technical fees is likely to be covered under the ambit of the mischief of Section 8(1)(d).

CORPORATE
Bhat is MD of Karnataka Bank
P. Jayarama Bhat, Chief General Manager of Karnataka Bank Ltd is taking over as MD and CEO of the Bank on Tuesday.
Committee headed by Bhaduria set up in Sikkim
Sikkim Government has constituted a six member committee headed by the State Tourism Secretary SBS Bhaduria as its chairman for selection of suitable helicopter operators .

Aaj Ki Aawaz
With every passing day on Laloo's stint as Rail Mantri there is some new revelation!!!
How he made buddhu of the Nation!!!
Now his blatant nepotism in the Rail Matralya has come out in the open!!!
Next on some of his decisions Mamtha files karregi reopen!!!
Though Laloo pretends ' I damn care'!!!
But insiders say he feels now ' his detractors karr rahe hai ussko snare'!!!
He knows that his chances to come back in Bihar look more impossible day by day!!!
And now like in the recent past he does not even see hope ki ray!!!
Oh! Those were the days when there were Laloo dolls, candies and even fertilizer!!!!!
First the Laloo tag was removed and then been binned as people got wiser!!
Laloo dreams of those days when brand Laloo was raging!!!
Now he has nightmares that comeback he'll never be staging!!!
His kheni dose has increased more than doubled!!!
And now he gives a look……. very troubled!!!
Insiders say Laloo feels Rabdi is just not the same!!!
They say when she passes him he feels under her breath she says shame shame!!!
He's scared that she'll stop calling him 'Sahib' in due course!!!
And he knows what it means when someone is made to say Sahib by force!!
CBI says Maya's wealth is a 'miracle' and this CBI SC ko karregi inform!!!
Is this for Maya a gale or a full fledged storm????
CBI's record of getting Netas convicted is pathetic!!!
She will weather this storm is the feeling that comes automatic!!!!
And so will Mulayam who also faces a DA case!!!!
As per Mulayam in the end he will show CBI its place!!
Our Health Minister Azad says late marriages would mean fewer babies!!
No no….. he's not been bitten by a mad dog and afflicted with rabies!!
Maybe he feels the biological clock of the couples would have ticked past their prime!!!
Or does he feel when couples are young to love they have more time????
If you ask me if India 's birth rate has to brought down!!!
Then ensure bijli from 7 pm to 7 am in every city, village and town!!!
Laloo attributes some of his kids to power cuts in Bihar !!!!
Insiders say to power cuts he attributes chaar (kids)!!!
King of good times feels Gujarat Sarkaar needs to do away with prohibition!!!
And maybe very soon Kingfisher will hold in Ahmadabad 'high' living exhibition!!
The King of Booze feels prohibition fuels demand for booze!!!
And people take to illicit hooch when they cannot choose!!!
His dream is to dot Gujarat with booze shops!!!!
To go from one booze shop to the other one will only have to take a few hops!!
But Mr. Mallya please do note Gujarat is also one of India 's most prosperous States!!!
And just see the booze guzzling States fates!!!
Punjab has moved down the ladder of affluence!!!!
Punjab has the highest density of booze vends and this is booze's influence!!
To coincide with release of Kingfisher's calendar of good times!!!
A calendar should be released that has pictures of 'booze's crimes'!!!
Confucius says…. if you want to finish someone finish his capacity to think!!!
Like make him an alcoholic and then watch his health and wealth sink!!!
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)
Was Election 2009 rigged?
The Election Commission has now officially taken up the investigation of charges of rigging and fraud through the Electronic Voting Machines.
Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla is sitting over a major scandal of a possible massive rigging of elections by manipulation of software of the Electronic Voting Machines.
But for the charge levelled by a former Delhi chief secretary five years senior to him in the Indian Administrative Service cadre, Chawla would have rejected such claims of rigging.
Omesh Saigal, a 1964 batch IAS officer of the Union Territory, stunned him with a presentation to force him to order an inquiry into any possibility of such a rigging.
Chawla is himself a Union Territory cadre IAS of 1969 batch.
Deputy Election Commissioner Balakrishnan has been asked to conduct the inquiry on the basis of a report handed over by Saigal to the CEC, with a software he got developed to show how the elections can be rigged.
Saigal, who is an Indian Institute of Technology alumni, has demanded an urgent check of the programme that runs the EVMs used in elections since 2004.
He demonstrated with his software that its manipulation ensured that one has to just key in a certain code number and that will ensure every fifth vote cast in a particular polling booth goes in favour of a certain candidate.
In his letter to the CEC, Saigal alleged that the software written onto the EVMs has never been checked by the Election Commission ever since these machines were manufactured than 6-7 years back.
His contention is that the EC merely relied on the certificates supplied by the manufacturers, the government-run BEL and ECIL. He alleged that these government firms had subcontracted private parties who actually provided these certificates.
"A public software audit of these machines from time to time, especially after and before an election, was a must to retain the credibility of the elections," Saigal affirmed, demanding that for the sake of transparency names and ownerships of these private companies must be disclosed, as also the details of the factories where they were actually manufactured.
The records retained in the factories must also be immediately taken over by the EC to prevent any tampering and to facilitate an audit, he said.
He also pointed out how, after nearly two years of deliberation, Germany's Supreme Court ruled last March that e-voting was unconstitutional because the average citizen could not be expected to understand the exact steps involved in the recording and tallying of votes. Earlier, Ireland had given up e-voting for similar reasons.
In the United States too, after considerable controversy the Federal Election Commission has come up in 2005 with detailed voting system guidelines which run into more than 400 pages.
Saigal said that it is noteworthy that not a single safeguard mentioned in these guidelines are in place in India.
Saigal said he had gone into all the safeguards built into the e-voting system in India with the help of former colleagues and IT experts and finds it both 'possible and plausible' to rig these machines and get a crooked result.
"If the credibility of the electoral process is to be ensured,pre- and post-election checks of the software now fused onto the chips of the EVMs is a must," Saigal said.
It is not that all the 10 lakh odd machines used in the poll need to be checked. If we take only those booths where one of the candidates has received 75 per cent of the votes and in constituencies where the margin of the winner is less than 15,000, not more than 7,000-odd machines will need to be checked.
Saigal argued in his report that "if we cannot do this we must revert to the paper ballot."
"The need for a fair, free and transparent polling system transcends any reasons anyone may have to the contrary," he added.
Samir Bose
Something wrong in compiling the WPI in India ?
There seems to be something seriously wrong in compiling the WPI in India. The real prices of food items & commodities are not reflected. These are actually nowhere near the reality. In turn, the inflation rates as released by the GoI are also not genuine. The problem lies in the out-dated procedure still in use to collect the prices of such items by the Civil Supplies officials in the districts. They never go the shops personally. Instead they manage it by telephonically inquiring from a few shop owners about the rates. And one can imagine which foolish shop owner will reveal them the actual prices charged by him. After all he does not want to be pulled up later by the departmental officers for being exorbitant. Hence, there is a motive in telling lower-than-actual prices. This results in faulty compilation by the states, leading to lower indices at the national level. This in turn leads to skewed policy formulations by the GoI and state agencies.
Everyone knows that the prices of most of the common use vegetables, pulses and cereals have almost doubled or risen by 1.7 times in just one year. Yet, GoI is blissfully unaware of the grim situation faced by poor families across the country as their purchasing power further eroded. I am afraid if this situation continues, time is not far away when there may again be the spectre of starvation deaths taking place here and there in the country.
A better mechanism to collect daily prices could be to rope in the NGOs and the Private sector, who are engaged in the field of civil supplies as they are now equally participating in the development effort and why not.
Ujagar Singh IAS
Purpose changes with passing time
When we try for UPSC and are able to crack it, our only purpose is to serve our nation and humanity. But with passing time and with experience our interests changes and instead of using the opportunity we already have, we want' other opportunities to be given to us to prove ourselves.
Kamna Verma
UN assignments
The key word is jealousy. Many senior civil servants are unable to digest the fact that some officers are able to get UN assignments. It is foolish to presume that officers are able to influence selection ( on the contrary, Indians have no such clout) .
The majority of officers who have gone are from IFS , whereas the IAS or other services don't get that opportunity, as they rarely get a chance to build that competence in above comment last world should be 'connection' and not competence.
J K Lal
Why only UN assignments ?
The Indian civil servants need to be encouraged to go out on deputation, both within India and abroad. This will be highly beneficial in getting the necessary experience and sharing of best practices. There are some services where less than 1% of the officers would have actually had this exposure. This will also go a long way in multi skilling of the officers, and facilitate redeployment.
Madhu
Most severely affected are Grade 'D' Stenographers
The most severely affected groups of the Modified ACP Scheme are Grade 'D' Stenographers who have completed more than 10 years service and could not complete 12 years as on sept. 2008. Their plight is miserable. They had to content with a meager benefit of around 400 Rs. growth in grade pay (from 2400 to 2800) and an increment, totaling to 1200 odd. The scheme has disappointed these particular group of employees a lot. These group consist of around 800 employees in different ministries. No one represents from this group at the helm of association. Hence, there appears any hope that the association will fight their cause. Earlier also they brought to the notice of the association the issue of conducting Grade 'C' Departmental Skill Test may on computers, but of no use. Now, they are discussing various moves to highlight the issue of MACP . As dharnas, mass casual leave, agitation are incompatible to the service code they are contemplating something differently. Though UDCs are also affected but the stagnation is not that much in UDC' line. They may not get the support of UDCs. After 8 years LDC may get a promotion, similarly UDC. But the steno 'D' stagnation goes long back to 1989 batch. For the last five years not less 2500 are appearing for Departmental Test every year but only around 200 could get finally qualified (in the last five years). Only 2006 & 07 Departmental Test arise some vacancies, otherwise every departmental confined to filling up of 20-30 vacancies.
Among the strategies that they adopting to highlight the issue are :
- Some are suggesting that all employees (affected group) to contribute a month's salary to Prime Minister's Relief Fund thereby focusing the attention of PMO with a protest letter against MACP.
- Some are suggesting to give a note to their respective Department Heads that they are willing to work without the benefit of MACP and they may kindly be allowed the denial of MACP benefit.
- Some are suggesting to go on leave for a month (whole affected group unitedly )
- Some are suggesting to sacrifice MACP arrears to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund and get the attention of higher authorities
Even female employees are ready to adopt any course action if they are guided properly under a good leadership.
They are in need of good leader as they have come to the conclusion that association will do nothing, as from the very beginning they are neglected. It is also pertinent to mention herein that with every senior officer right from Minister, Secretary, JS there will be a Grade 'D' who performs very crucial functions almost in every ministry.
Let's see what happens to them.
VM
"PESB must be empowered".
I am happy at the bold revelations of corruption made by the former Secretary of PESB regarding Board-level appointments in the PSUs. I know of a case of CMD of EPI, whose tenure was not extended by the then Minister of Heavy Industries( Santosh Mohan Dev)under UPA-I regime as the upright incumbent refused to meet the demands of the Minister, who was aided and abetted by an IAS officer. I wish, let the former Secretary PESB bring out more such scandals to the surface for appropriate action by the CBI
Keshav Jha ( A PSU executive)
Why Best Talents Fail As Bureaucrats !
They fail as they lack common sense! All IAS officers are not per se successful despite their excellent academic attainments and performance in the UPSC held Civil Services examination. Had this been so, then, all University Professors would have been Civil servants. Administrative acumen is an innate quality. Emperor Akbar was illiterate. But, he had common sense, which was and still is, a rare commodity1
A K SAXENA (A retired civil servant)
DoPT need not issue clarifications again and again
Inter service batch definition is very clearly given in orders for Central Staffing Scheme orders. If there is any confusion in the minds of cadre controlling authority ( or his/her subordinates) then they do not deserve to hold those posts. For every order, clarifications need not be sought from DoPT nor should DoPT keep on issuing clarifications for the benefit of ignorant. Let them enjoy their bliss as they truly deserve.
Ram Kumar
Will FM take care of such IT Officials ?
It is high time that FM takes note of those who were due and who are not transferred by getting the profiles checked independently (even otherwise such information can be sought by any one Under RTI) and also by getting some one to examine the request options .The officers who are infact suffering had made requests but these are brushed aside at the lowest level for reasons best known to everyone.Senior officers have been requesting time and again for moving out from B and C stations on various grounds even after doing minimum 2 -3 years ,but not in the way acceptable , and their requests are being brushed aside,when there is nothing in the policy of transfers against such shift.
R Sahay
What an order ?
At last the transfers of income tax commissioners issued. What an order?. Out of 698 cadre strength, as many as 347 names were there in the orders dated 11th July. And 61 are in relaxation of transfer policy but many lady officers 1977 to 1980 batch were shown the shoe. Spouse clause, medical clause and education clause has been selectively applied. There are whispers that is it the stealth clause among the civil servants in north block.
Anon