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Whispers opinion poll
Lack of patriotic training, colonial mindset makes Indian bureaucrats corrupt
The Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy which carried out a business survey on 12 economies that ranked Indian bureaucracy as the worst amongst its peers has evoked strong reactions from within the bureaucratic community and otherwise. While the survey has placed Singapore on top in Asia, India is placed at the bottom of the table. The countries in Asia are placed accordingly - Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Indonesia and India.
whispersinthecorridors.com sought opinion from the surfers to comment on the findings of the PERC survey and received mixed responses. The responses had been overwhelming as and we received close to 700 e-mails. While some people have stoutly defended the Indian bureaucracy, others have vilified it for all the ills in the country stating that they are subservient to the political class and are concerned in furthering their personal interests.
The mails suggested lack of patriotic training to Colonial mindset to Lack of Introspectional Training as the reason for the rot in Indian bureaucracy. Inequality of Career Posting profile and insecurity of tenure also leads to greater subservient tendencies in the average Indian Bureaucrat, owing to the competition from the peers. More and more Indian Bureaucrats have turned into hypocrites and have lost capacity to take principled stands, the responses suggested.
An e-mail by Anasooya (anasooya2006@yahoo.com ) sums up the debate nicely - " Yes, we know Indian bureaucracy does not perform. Not that people who joined bureaucracy are morons. In fact they are the best talents of the universities. If an IITian is outstanding in private sector or in research, why is he least efficient as a bureaucrat? People should look for an answer to this".
(Look for details of the survey in WHISPERS IN THE CORRIDORS, magazine August 2009 issue)
Promotion of 1979 batch IAS to Addl Secy level from Nov
Promotion of 1979 batch IAS to Additional Secretary level is now expected to take place November onwards.
Govt hikes HAG pay scales of Lieutenant Generals and equivalent
Central government has hiked the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) pay scales of Lieutenant Generals and equivalent to Rs 67,000-79,000 per month along with an inbuilt increment of Rs 6,000 as notional Military Service Pay (MSP). Earlier these officers were placed in the scale of Rs 37,400 - 67,000 (Pay Band-4) with a grade pay of plus Grade Pay Rs 12,000.
Meena to be JS Food Processing Industries
Amritlal Meena is likely to be appointed Joint Secretary Food Processing Industries in the Government of India. He is 1989 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre.
New group within IFS association
Officers of the Bahujan Samaj belonging to the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) have decided to form a new group with the IFS Association to push for their cause and take up issues with the new Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who will assume charge from August 1, 2009. They have also indicated to form a separate association if the IFS association objected to them forming a separate group to press for better deal to IFS officers from the Bahujan Samaj.
Cadre of IAS officer changed !
Cadre of 2007 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer Abhay has reportedly been changed to Uttar Pradesh.
Ajay Kumar waiting for posting
Ajay Kumar, an IAS officer from Assam cadre who has gone on inter-state deputation to Andhra Pradesh is waiting for posting.
Avinash Chandra is DIG in SSB
Avinash Chandra, IPS (UP cadre: 1990 batch) on central deputation has joined as DIG in SSB, Government of India (GOI).
Rakesh Aggarwal is DIG in CBI
Rakesh Aggarwal, IPS (HP cadre: 1994) on central deputation has joined as DIG, CBI, Government of India (GOI).
Saurabh Tripathi is SP in CBI
Saurabh Tripathi, IPS (MT cadre: 1997 batch), on central deputation has joined as SP, CBI, Government of India (GOI).
U.K.S.Chauhan returns to Kerala
After completion of his tenure as MD, NAFED, U.K.S.Chauhan, IAS (KL cadre: 1986) has returned to his parent cadre of Kerala. Chauhan was on deputation to NAFED under Rule 6(2)(ii) of AIS Rules.
AGMUT cadre IPS to be promoted by month end
A final decision has reportedly been taken to promote IPS officers of AGMU cadre belonging to 1984 batch. Likewise the Junior scale officers will be promoted as DCP by the end of this month .
CM Sane promoted as Director
CM Sane, IAAS officer of 1993 batch, has been promoted on NBR basis as Director, Department of Atomic energy, Mumbai.
DPC of 1988 batch IRS for Commissioner, Customs and Central Excise soon
DPC of IRS officials belonging to 1988 batch for the post of Commissioner, Customs and Central Excise is expected to take place soon.
Ms. Prgya Richa Srivastava tipped to be PS
Ms. Prgya Richa Srivastava, IPS (MP cadre: 1991), presently Joint Commissioner, Kendriya Vidhyalaya, is reportedly moving as Private Secretary to some Union Minister.
Dr Pandey promoted and posted in Arunachal Pradesh
Dr Devendra Pandey, IFS, (AGMU:1975), currently working as DG Forest Survey of India has been promoted and posted as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of the Forest Force of Arunachal Pradesh in the Apex Grade Rs 80,000/-(fixed) of the IFS.
Process to appoint HC judges commences
The government is learnt to have initiated the process to appoint 42 judges to various high courts, but the Chief Justices of various high courts are yet to initiate the procedure to recruit the remaining 190 posts in both the bar and judicial services. Altogether 232 posts of judges are vacant in various high courts of the country.
Did the MoS (Finance) call affected IRS officers ?
Minister of Finance has reportedly called all the affected IRS (IT)officers, who have gone to the CAT.
Ashok Kumar is new HC to Cyprus
Ashok Kumar, currently Additional Secretary at the MEA Headquarters, has been appointed as the High Commissioner of India to Cyprus.
Rajasthan CM refuses to relieve Shreemat Pandey
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has turned down the proposal torelieve his Principal Secretary Shreemat Pandey for a five year deputation as CMD, Damodar Valley Corporation, Kolkatta. A 1984 batch Rajasthan Cadre IAS Officer, Pandey has already worked as the Power Secretary and in the Gehlot Government also, he is holding the charge of Principal Secretary, Power. His name was cleared for DVC by a Central Government Screening Committee and subsequently by ACC also. His posting orders had come last week, but keeping in view his utility in the Chief Minister's Office, Gehlot has declined to relieve him. In Rajasthan bureaucratic and political circles, Pandey is known for his integrity, positive approach and his acumen to deal with sensitive political matters.
Radhakrishna appointed Chairman of NSC
R. Radhakrishna, a Jawaharlal Nehru National Fellow at the CESS has been appointed chairman of the National Statistical Commission.
Vimla Mehra is now DGP of Arunachal Pradesh
Vimla Mehra has taken over as the first woman Director General of Police in Arunachal Pradesh. She is 1978 batch IPS officer of UT cadre.
( We said this on July 8 )
Ajay Chadda is back to Delhi
DGP of Arunachal Pradesh Ajay Chadda is back to New Delhi after a two-year term.He is 1977 batch IPS officer of UT cadre.
( We said this on July 8 )
Retired IPS officer is CIC Assam
DN Dutt has been appointed Chief Information Commissioner, Assam. He is retired 1971 batch IPS officer of Assam -Meghalaya cadre.
Gautam to be Adviser in Bihar ?
DGP Bihar D N Gautam who is retiring by this month end is expected to be appointed Adviser. He is 1974 batch IPS officer.
G C Srivastava appointed Vice Chairman
G C Srivastava has been appointed as Vice-Chairman of Delhi Maithili-Bhojpuri Academy, which has been reconstituted by Delhi Government for a period of two years. The Chairman of the Academy is the Chief Minister. He is retired 1967 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.
Sanjay Kumar Shrivastava to join as CS Goa on July 21,2009
S K Shrivastava who was appointed Chief Secretary Goa last week will assume his charge on July 21, 2009. He is an IAS officer of the 1980 batch who belongs to the UT cadre.
Sukhbir Singh Member Railway Board to retire
Sukhbir Singh Member (Electrical) Railway Board is going to retire by the end of this month.
J.P.Mamgain retained as OSD
J.P.Mamgain who is on state deputation to the Uttarkhand Government till March 31, 2010; has been retained as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Ramesh Pokhriyal Chief Minister Uttarakhand. He is an officer of Central Customs & Excise & belongs to the 1990 batch. It may be stated that Mamgain was OSD to Gen.B.C.Khanduri previous Chief Minister Uttarakhand. J.P.Mamgain who is famous for his clean image had also served, as OSD to Gen Khanduri while Gen.Khanduri was Transport Minister during the NDA regime lead by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Minor bureaucratic changes like in Maharashtra
As the grapevine has it, a minor bureaucratic reshuffle is likely in Maharashtra.
Minutes of EDs to banks yet to be signed
As the grapevine has it the minutes pertaining to selection of 11 out of 50 General Managers (GMs) of different Public Sector Banks who had faced the interview for slots of Executive Directors (EDs) & were short-listed, are yet to be signed. Those short-listed are S.L. Bansal Union Bank of India, M.R. Nayak (Corporation Bank), A.K. Dutta (Allahabad Bank), Ms. Nupur Mitra (Bank of India), V. Kannan (Bank of Maharashtra), D. Shankar Bank of Baroda, N.S. Srinath (Canara Bank), Rajeev Rishi (Oriental Bank of Commerce), P.K. Anand (Allahabad Bank), Ajay Kumar (Bank of Baroda) and Rakesh Sethi (Andhra Bank).
RTI
Empanelment
The appellant sought certain information which could throw light on the reason for her non-empanelment to the post of Member, CBDT for which she had applied twice.
While refraining from passing an order on certain aspects, the Commission directed to make available the documents concerning DPC excluding the details concerning 3rd parties. The Commission further held that even assuming that a Government servant uses the letter head of the office for seeking information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act and pays fees from out of his personal funds, such an application submitted cannot be rejected on the ground that the application has been filed not by a citizen but by a Government servant in official capacity.
[CIC Decision dated 06.02.2009, Ms. J.D. Sahay, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax v. Ministry of Finance]
Comments
To remove suspicions and increase the confidence of the government servants in the system, the process of empanelment needs to be made transparent.
Mrs. Anuradha Verma
Co-author of the book: RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE
(A new decision every Monday)
Deepak Vohra is new HC to New Zealand
Deepak Vohra, currently Ambassador of India to Khartoum, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to New Zealand.
Rakesh Singh is new Additional Secretary IT
Rakesh Singh is being appointed Additional Secretary Information Technology in the Government of India . He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre.
Pradhan to head National Rural Health Mission
Finally the Goi has chosen P K Pradhan for the post of DG National Rural Health Mission in the Government of India. He is 1977 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.
Prasad to be Additional Secretary National Disaster Management
A B Prasad will in all probability be Additional Secretary National Disaster Management.He is 1976 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre.
Sunjay Joshi bereaved
Raghu Nandan Joshi father of 1983 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Sunjay Joshi has passed away in Nainital on Monday morning.
Arun Bothra to join CBI
Arun Bothra is joining the CBI as SP. He is 1996 batch IPS officer of Orissa cadre.
V. Murugesan to join CBI
V. Murugesan has been selected to join CBI as SP. He is 1997 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.
S. Sengathir to join CBI
S. Sengathir is all set to join CBI as SP. He is 1997 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre.
H. Venkatesh to join CBI
H Venkatesh is joining the CBI as SP. He is 1998 batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre.
Ms S. Shyni to join CBI
Ms S Shyni is joining the CBI as SP. She is 2001 batch IPS officer of Orissa cadre.

CORPORATE
Interview for Director (Projects) IRCON from July 22
PESB will hold interview for the post of Director (Projects)IRCON on July 22 and 23.
Sharma is MD of KSIDC
Alkesh Kumar Sharma has taken over as the Managing Director of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC).He is 1990 batch IAS officer.

Aaj Ki Aawaz
UP mein jabh bachcha rothaa hai toh Maa kehti hai ' go sit under a statue of Mayawathi'!
'Or go and sit on the statue of a haathi'!!!
The statues are used to distract kids from hunger pangs!!!!
As Mummy out of desperation on the wall her head she bangs!!!
What is this fetish that this Lady has for statues and that too her own?????
Usually Dictators are stricken with this fetish and this is well known!!
Maybe next she'll be getting a bunker made for her self!!!
And in the bunker there will be busts of her on every shelf!!!!
Of course the Bunker will be fitted with a beauty (!) parlor and walk in cupboard!
And Bunker will be kept cool even when Maya is not aboard (in the bunker)!!
A strong room for all her goodies ..... mukats, diamonds and other precious stuff!!!!
And more pours in with Maya's mindset of ' never say buss or enough'!!!
They say Maya does not like to sweat!!!!
Wherever she goes extra cool the room they try to get!!!
And some of her statues too stand in cool environs!!!
24X7 the air conditioning runs!!
Kitchen inflation has gone up further…..veggies, fruit and food grains!!!
Are giving Aam Aadmi pains!!
And with the monsoon playing truant things will get bad to worse!!!
Which means more money out of the Aam Aadmi's purse!!!
And if the middlemen who are BJP's vote bank do what they always do!!!
Foodstuff will become more expensive and scarcer too!!!
Government should study the role of middlemen in veggie, fruit and food grain trade!!!!
Inordinate profits are being made!!!!
By the time these items reach the consumer the prices have quadrupled,
Double whammy.... as with the high price hoarding is coupled!!!
Arityas or middlemen in the agriculture too are milking farmers dry!!!
But seems this Government does not hear Aam Aadmi's of Farmers cry pe cry!!
BJP will not take kindly to steps to curb middlemen's profits!!
If on middlemen screws are tightened you can expect BJP to literally throw fits!!
At present BJP is looking for an issue that it can latch onto!!!!
Some issue on which Sakraar ko they can boo!!!
Some issue by which they can claw back to gain some ground!!!
But seems despite their efforts nothing is being found!!
Advani's think tank has literally scratched its head ganjaa or bald!!!
But have been able to come up with nothing with which Sarkaar ko karr sakke scald!
Maybe BJP will go the TV way ….. inform a scalding issue and you will get a reward!
Public can SMS, Email or Pen a scalding issue and you will get an award!!!
Award will be a holiday in one of BJP ruled States!!!!
If the scalding issue is found to be really burning then a holiday to United States !
Prices could have been an issue but then Aam Aadmi and BJP do not gel!!
And after Aam Aadmi ditched BJP in the general poll BJP feels 'let him face hell'!!!
Sidhu's resigned and Advani's rejected his resignation!!!
Hope you remember Sidhu who was a cricketer and now is the Official Joker to the Nation!!!
Advani should take a holiday in the cottage that Vajpayee used to holiday!!!
And he should contemplate at what he's made BJP into night and day!!
Confucius says…… remove yourself from the scene and contemplate!!!
And Advani ji to do this you are as it is pretty late!!
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)
Why did Manmohan Singh haul down his colours ?
In January 2004, Pervez Musharraf assured Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a joint declaration that Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used as a base for terrorism against India. This promise was not kept. The climax of acts of terrorism came with the attack on Mumbai on 26th November, 2008. Because of pressure from India and from the world, Pakistan promised to act against the perpetrators of this vile deed. That promise has not been kept.
At the Yekaterinberg meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told President Asif Zardari that his only mandate for talks was the liquidation of terrorism and their bases in Pakistan. Unfortunately on 16th July¸ 2009 at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt, at the NAM summit, the same Manmohan Singh climbed down and told Prime Minister Gilani that India will resume the composite dialogue. This represents a complete surrender before Pakistan and betrayal of those who died in Mumbai. Why did Manmohan Singh haul down his colours? Is it because Mrs. Hillary Clinton is visiting India and after all the Headmistress has to be given a compliance report.
M.N. Buch
Paper confirmation of vote cast should be there
I think the ECI should ensure that a paper confirmation of the vote cast should be given to the voter to remove any doubts as it is possible to hack the EVMs ( the chips inside) even offline by introducing a trojan as proved in a recent TV program.
R Bharadwaj
Don't discard EVMs
We should definitely not discard EVM's just because these can be hacked. There is no proof at all that these were hacked in any constituency . Everyone knows that even the most secure computerized systems can be hacked. The old system of paper ballot was regularly misused -rigging -was easier and resorted to in most states. EVM's are definitely a more reliable system . They can be made tamperproof more easily than the paper ballot.
Suman Swarup IAS(retd.)
None can match law maker's experience
No one can match the experience a law maker has gained during his public life (I am not speaking about the hereditary political scions) as a politician. We all appreciate and support those bureaucrats who hold political positions after helping himself in cushy positions through out their career who have only bookish knowledge or good command over English but not the real pulse of the public. There are many examples like Dr Gill who appears to be a failure in the sports ministry though he rose to be the CEC of India or for that matter Natwar Singh who always commanded himself as a high class raja and a former bureaucrat. He could never have won a seat except in Rajasthan where the royal lineage command still holds ground as he never had any grass root interactions but his family position. No one can gauge the important role these politicians play in our daily life. I have been closely associated with several law makers. I have seen any amount of these bureaucrats and others who come to meet them for their own benefits and positions. I have never come across any of these persons discussing issues related to public development during these personal meetings. The amount of travel, hospitality and other activities they require to handle is not known to many people. Never criticize these law makers unless you are sure they really deserve. For any mistake of the officials, it is these law makers who have to take the moral responsibilities. What if they take a few lakhs as salary for their had work?
Kumar
Orissa Govt is fond of seeking explanation
Orissa Government is more fond of calling for explanation and initiating proceedings against IPS officers posted in fields and fighting Naxals instead of formulating adopting holistic and coordinated approach to annihilate Naxals.
SK
Stop giving suggestion
Stop giving suggestion who should be posted in ITAT and who should not. Even without being posted to a certain position a person can get experience. By the way, why IRS are always bogged down with in-department thinks like frogs in a well. Look out side. Go on deputations. There is lot to learn out. The department is pittance in comparison.
Sanjay Singh
Income Tax Raid leaks
Swapan Mehra seems to be ignorant of the system and has thus ascribed the fault to a Member level officer in CBDT.I have checked up with my friends in IRS and I am told that such things happen at the level of Additional Dir/Director and at times DG's ,when the officers are posted without experience or competence on the basis of recommendations. It is learnt that practice of leaking search had started in last 5-6 years ,especially in metro cities and ,if one looks at the posting profile of officers who have worked in search circle in last 5-6 years and now transferred ,it is seen that they have been suitably rewarded. The CBDT chairman has been DG Mumbai earlier and is aware of all this. A search case with huge tax find is not taken up but they prefer that where they are interested. Any informer of the search establishment will confirm this.
Ranjan Sahay
Promotional avenues for CPO cadre officers enhanced ?
Further to my post on 18/07/09
(i) The 2nd order about enhancement of quota for IG to 50% is even more ironical in its meaning and implications. The order says that only 9 out of the 19 posts will go to the cadre. This itself is against the DOPT instructions on distribution of vacancies between Cadre officers and deputationists. According to DOPT instructions if 50 % vacancies are alloted to the cadre then the first vacancy accruing will go to Cadre, 2nd to deputationist, 3rd to cadre, 4th to deputationist and so on. This means that 10 out of 19 vacancies should have come to the cadre. whereas the order says vice-versa.
(ii) Further the order says that the vacancies will accrue to the cadre officers only after the term of deputation of existing deputationists expires. So no vacancies are available to the cadre officers immediately as presently there are 13 IPS officers on deputation including one who is away on one year long NDC course.
(iii) Not only this - Sh Surolia who has already completed his max possible tenure of deputation of 7 year has been granted another 3 years extension as he is afraid of going back to his parent Gujarat Cadre. They have inducted one more officer as IG Gujarat even though the order enhancing quota for cadre officers has come in force. So forget any benefits- the cadre officers will not get promoted to these enhanced vacancies before 2011/2012 as none of the IPS officers are completing their tenure before then.
(iv) There is another motive to this. had the enhanced vacancies accrued to the cadre immediately, some of them would have completed the required service for promotion as Additional DG. But with this embargo of vacancies accruing only after deputationists completing their tenure, none of them will complete the requisite service.
Are you still happy? Cadre officers?
Hats off to the planning and lobbying of IPS Officers to keep the cadre subjugated. I am sure; this will be the state with all other CPOs also.
Bhadoria
Yes, I agree to the extent reforms in the process are on.However,corruption n malpractices are increasing.No.of crimes are also increasing.We have failed to punish the wrong doers.In addtion,selection of candidate on the basis of cast n religion has become preferred criteria. Communal forces are more active compared to late 50's.These should also be compared with other democracies of the world.
M Shoaib
Congrats to you, Dr Suresh Mehrotra, Sir !!!
I had posted a grand expose'on this website (during UPA-I regime)revealing the vulnerable areas in the Union HRD Ministry ,where 'NO' action was possible in UPA-I regime without 'Quid Pro Quo'. As per media reports (July 18),while the Chairman of AICTE and other top officers have been arrested by the CBI, senior officers of HRD ministry, it is ordered, are not to be spared along with the two non-state actors, as mentioned above. Let us not forget for a moment that the ministry is now headed by an honest and No-non- sense minister. A CBI raid at the HRD ministry officers' residences is underway. This would reveal that the HRD ministry, even as a "Social Sector" ministry, is also an ATM (All Time Money) ministry involving thousands of crores of annual budget! It is reliably understood that many more top heads in HRD ministry are going to roll as the investigations progress! Just wait and see.
Our efforts have not gone futile. The credit for posting my success story on this website goes to our gutsy Editor-in-Chief ,for his bold and transparent approach. And, of course ,hats off to Kapil Sibal, the present HRD Minister (UPA-II),for taking prompt action on this website's report!
A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)
TAIL-PIECE
After having failed his exam in "Logistics and Organization ", a student goes and confronts his lecturer about it.
Student: "Sir, do you really understand anything about the subject?"
Professor: "Surely I must. Otherwise I would not be a professor!"
Student: "Great, well then I would like to ask you a question.
If you can give me the correct answer, I will accept my mark as is and go. If you however do not know the answer, I want you give me an "A" for the exam. "
Professor: "Okay, it's a deal. So what is the question?"
Student: "What is legal, but not logical, logical, but not legal, and neither logical, nor legal? "
Even after some long and hard consideration, the professor cannot give the student an answer, and therefore changes his exam mark into an "A", as agreed.
Afterwards, the professor calls on his best student and asks him the same question.
He immediately answers: "Sir, you are 63 years old and married to a 35 year old woman, which is legal, but not logical. Your wife has a 25 year old lover, which is logical, but not legal. The fact that you have given your wife's lover an "A", although he really should have failed, is neither legal, nor logical ."
Contributed by a Visitor