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Who will be OSD to succeed Chandrashekhar ?
Mystery shrouds over the posting of new OSD to succeed Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar next month. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has so far not given hint to anyone. Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar is superannuating on June 13.
Will Bahuguna be new EO ?
Name of Ashish Bahuguna has started doing the round for the post of Establishment Officer in the Department of Personnel. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre. Earlier the name of 1978 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS officer K N Desiraju was also in circulation.
Will K K Sharma go ?
If insiders are to be believed, ADG DRI in Customs at Mumbai K K Sharma is being changed. He is 1981 batch IRS (CE&C) officer. This post is considered to be very important in the Commercial capital of India.
Now 86 ,DG rank IPS officers in GoI
Total number of empanelled IPS officers belonging from 1972 batch to 1976 batch has now risen to 86.
Somnath Chatterjee to move to Prague
Second Secretary in Indian High Commission Dhaka, Somnath Chatterjee, has been moved to Prague.
Who will be Chairman of Tuticorin Port Trust ?
Who will succeed G J Rao as Chairman of the Tuticorin Port Trust Chairman of the Mangalore Port Trust - Tamilvanan is said to be ahead in the race..
IA&AS officer Ms. Ghazala Meenai transferred
Ms. Ghazala Meenai, Principal Director of Commercial Audit and ex-officio Member, Audit Board-III, New Delhi, on relief from her present duties, is transferred and posted as Principal Director (RS-I) in the office of the Comptroller & Auditor General Of India, New Delhi.
Central PSU’s audit committee to be headed by an independent director
The audit committee of a Central PSU, according to corporate governance norms being made mandatory, will now be headed by an independent director.
Kharkongar to be Director (Finance) NEEPCO
A G W Kharkongar is being tipped to be Director (Finance) of the NEEPCO. The PESB has put his name in the panel.
Biswal is number two in panel
The PESB has reportedly put the name of Kulmani Biswal number two in the panel prepared for the post of Director (Finance) NEEPCO.
New CPMGs for Jharkhand & Uttarakhand to be delayed
As the grapevine has it, filling up of posts of Chief Post Master General (CPMG) in Jharkhand & Uttarakhand will be delayed for want of eligible incumbents for slots.
No takers for Atomic Energy Department in IAS cadres
As the grapevine has it, there are no takers for postings in the Department of Atomic Energy. It is being attributed to the fact that postings in the said department are in Mumbai while bureaucrats are keener on reaching Delhi on deputation.
Dilemma of two IAS officers of UP cadre
Two IAS officers of the Uttar Pradesh cadre are in a big dilemma. They are: Dr V Rajgopalan & Arun Sinha. Both of them have got postings on central deputation to Government of India (GOI). Yet the UP Government has not relieved them so far.
Who will be CVO NDMC ?
Who will be new CVO of NDMC ?.Three IPS officers are said to be in the run for the post.
DPC of 1989 batch IRS (CE&C)
DPC of 1989 batch IRS (CE&C) officers has reportedly taken place.About 22 officers have been short-listed for the post of Commissioner.
Pravesh Sharma to return
Pravesh Sharma, 1982 batch IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre, is likely to return from his study leave shortly and will be given an assignment in the State Government. He was earlier Principal Secretary for Agriculture and Cooperatives before going on leave in November last year.
D.K. Kotia is back to Uttarakhand
D.K. Kotia who had made a mark while serving on the post of Joint Secretary (Police-I) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is now back to his parent cadre of Uttarakhand. He is new Principal Secretary (PS) to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Dr.  Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. D.K.
Kotia resumed his duties from April 19, 2010. He is an IAS officer of the 1981 batch who belongs to the Uttarakhand cadre. The state Government had sought his repatriation.
CSB to meet today
CSB meeting is going to take place on Monday. A couple of 1990 batch IAS also figure in the lists.
GOI debars M. Ravi Kiran
M. Ravi Kiran who failed to join as Assistant Director, BPR&D has reportedly been debarred for 5 years as far as central deputation was concerned .He is an IPS officer of the 1996 batch who belongs to the Haryana cadre.
R.K.S. Gehlot elevated as ED in NTPC
R.K.S.Gehlot who so far was General Manager (GM) with NTPC has been elevated as an Executive Director (ED).
11 candidates shortlisted for top slot of NHB
As many as 11 candidates have been shortlisted for the post of Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of the National Housing Bank(NHB).
Dr Lalit K Panwar is new CMD ITDC
Dr Lalit K Panwar has been appointed new CMD of the Indian Tourism Development Corporation ITDC. He is 1979 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.
( We said this on October 26,2010 )
Ms Neela Gangadharan is new Secretary Justice
Chief Secretary of Kerala, Ms Neela Gangadharan, has been appointed Secretary Jusice in the Government of India. She is 1975 batch IAS officer.
( We said this on April 13 )
Ms Bhupinder Prasad moves to Inland Waterways Authority
Secretary Justice Ms Bhupinder Prasad has moved to Inland Waterways Authority as Chairperson. She is 1976 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.
( We said this on April 13 )
Space Commission reconstituted
President Mrs.Pratibha Davi Singh Patil of India has reconstituted Space Commission with the following 10 members: K. Radhakrishnan Secretary Space Commission,  Prathavi Raj Chvan  Minister of State in PMO,  K.M. Chandrashekhar Cabinet Secretary, T.K.A. Nair Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister,  Shiv Shankar Menon National Security Advisor to overnment of India (GOI),  Dr. R. Chidambaram Principal Scientific Advisor in GOI,  Ashok Chawla Finance Secretary, V.Venkateshwar Bhatt Member Finance in Space Commission,  Prof. R.Narasimha, ex-Director IIAS & Dr. T.K. Alex, Director Satellite Centre, ISRO.
Delhi Government re designates 29 IAS/DANICS officers
The Delhi Government has re-designated 29 IAS/DANICS officers working in various departments in Delhi Secretariat with immediate effect. The change in nomenclature has been allowed keeping in view the pay scales and years of service in a particular cadre of the officers posted in Delhi Secretariat. This would not confer any special benefits in terms of pay or otherwise and will have no financial implications, as it is a change of nomenclature only.
Pankaj Shrivastava returns to MP cadre
Pankaj Shrivastava who on central deputation was Lucknow based SP CBI has now returned to his parent cadre of Madhya Pradesh. He is an IPS
officer of the 1992 batch.
Ms. Zareena Gafoor Firdose appointed CVO, GSI
Ms. Zareena Gafoor Firdose has been appointed as CVO of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in Government of India.She is an IRTS cadre officer of the 1989 batch.
MoEF’s delegation goes to China
A delegation of officers belonging to Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) has gone on a weeklong tour to China. This is a follow up tour to the earlier tour undertaken by Indian MoEF Minister Jairam Ramesh. Among bothers it has P.B.Gangopadhyaya ADG MoEF (as its
leader) & R.K.Goyal IG MoEF(Externally aided projects).
Latest take on Anil Goswami
Anil Goswami Additional Secretary (Foreigners) has taken over the charge of Police Modernization in  Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). As Additional Secretary (Foreigners) Goswami now has following charges : (i) PM Division, (ii) Freedom Fighter and (iii) Police Modernization. He is an IAS officer of the the 1978 batch who belongs to the J&K Cadre.
Latest take on Ms. Anita Chowdhury
Ms. Anita Chowdhury Special Secretary (SS) in Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) now following divisions bersides VIP Security and Common Wealth Games Security: CS Division, HR Division, judicial & justice division, policy & planning division, coordination & public grievances division..She is an IAS officer of the 1976 batch who belongs to the Haryana cadre.
Lokesh Dutt Jha gets additional charge
Lokesh Dutt Jha, Joint Secretary (Policy and Planning) has taken over the Addl.charge of V.I.P. Security from Joint Secretary (Police Modernization).He is an IAS officer of the 1983 batch who belongs to the J&K Cadre.
Latest take on  Anwar Ahsan Ahmad
Anwar Ahsan Ahmad, Special Secretary (Border Management) now has the following charges : Border Management,  Disaster Management & Administration of Ministry of Home Affairs.He is an IAS officer of the 1976 batch who belongs to Assam-Meghalaya (AM) cadre.
Bharadwaj appointed Ambassador to Algeria
Kuldeep Singh Bhardwaj, presently Joint Secretary at Headquarters has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Algeria.
Major bureaucratic reshuffle in Karnataka
There has been a major bureaucratic reshuffle in Karnataka. Those transferred are Abhijit Das Gupta as Additional Chief Secretary to Government and Development Commissioner, Subir Hari Singh as Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Urban Development Department, in the existing upgraded post, K.M. Shivakumar as Principal Secretary to Government, Home Department, D. Sathyamurthy as Principal Secretary to Government, Water Resources Department, M. Madan Gopal as Principal Secretary to Government, Education Department (Higher Education), Yogendra Tripathi as Managing Director, Mysore Sales International Limited, Shivaram as Secretary to Government, Department of Public Enterprises, B.H. Anil Kumar as Chief Project Officer, Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project, Bangalore besides concurrent charge of the posts of Managing Director, Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited, Bangalore, and Managing Director, Mysore Paper Mills Limited, Bangalore, B.A. Harish Gowda as Secretary to Government, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, G.S. Narayanaswamy as Secretary to Government, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department while K.S. Prabhakara, Secretary to Government, Revenue Department (Disaster Management), has been given additional charge of the post of Secretary to Government, Revenue Department. Others who have been transferred are C.N. Seetharam as Secretary to Government, Women and Child Development Department, K.R. Shashidhara as Commissioner of Public Instruction, Bangalore, S.N. Jayaram as Inspector General of Registration and Commissioner for Stamps, K.H. Govinda Raj as Commissioner for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Bangalore, K.R. Niranjan as Special Commissioner, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.
Ten HAS get IAS
10 Himachal Administrative Services (HAS) officers in Himachal Pradesh have been promoted to the IAS cadre .They are Mssrs Jagdish Chand Chauhan, Rattan Singh, Dr RS Batta, KR Bharti, Dr Sandeep Bhatnagar, Dinesh Malhotra, Sarabh Negi, Rajeev Shankar, Madhubala Sharma and Purnima Chauhan.
Ms Sandhu to be Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh
Secretary of the Department of Drinking Water Supply in the Government of India Ms Rajwant Sandhu is returning to the parent Himchal Pradesh cadre as Chief Secretary.The GoI has approved repatriation of  1975 batch IAS officer Ms Sandhu from July 1.
Secretary Tourism is on leave
Secretary Tourism in the Government of India Sujit Banerjee has proceeded on leave till April 25.In his absence Ms Kiran Dhingra will hold additional charge of Tourism.
U S Bhatia gets re-employment for three months
U.S. Bhatia, IAS(OR-74) as Ambassador, Permanent Mission of India, WTO, Geneva has been given re-employment on contract basis for a period of three months after his retirement on 30th April.He is 1974 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.
 (We said this on April 16 )
Jayant Dasgupta to succeed Bhatia
Jayant Dasgupta has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Commerce with immediate effect.He will be Ambassador, Permanent Mission of India, WTO, Geneva, for a period of three years on the completion of the tenure of  U.S. Bhatia on July 31. He is 1981 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre.
( We said this on March 13,2008 )
IRAS postings
Ms Bhavana Sharma has been transferred to Northern Railways.M G Sharma will go to NWR.n Balaganesh on return from deputation has been posted to SWR AND Ms Manjeet Kaur will move to RCF.
3 Member team of CBDT for PM’s Award
It appears that the Income Tax Department is following a strategy of “Walking on Two-leg principle” which is evident from two latest developments which are unique in the history of the Department. First, CBDT was awarded certification under IS:15700:2005 by Bureau of Indian Standards for its Aayakar Seva Kendra at Pune. The certificate is awarded to a public service organization for demonstrating its ability to consistently provide effective and efficient service that meets customer and applicable legal, statutory and regulatory requirements. It aims to enhance customer satisfaction and to continually improve its service and service delivery process. The Income Tax Department has also been selected for the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2008-09 for the team initiative – “Integrated Taxpayer Data Management System (ITDMS)”. The award would be presented on Civil Services Day which will be held in Vigyan Bhavan on 21stApril, 2010 to the 3 member group consisting of: S.S. Khan retired Member CBDT, Milap Jain DGIT (International Taxation) New Delhi & GTV Rao Additional Commissioner Range 11, Hyderabad . ITDMS is a comprehensive tool to make actionable intelligence from various databases both from within and outside the Department. The tool has helped the Department to develop focused intelligence and make the task of detection of tax evasion non-intrusive. Thus, the data mining tool is serving as an effective deterrent
B.B. Pattanaik MD-CWC handing over 2 vehicles to ISKCON
B.B. Pattanaik, Managing Director, Central Warehousing Corporation handing over two Delivery Vans to Dr. Rakesh Uberoi Senior Director ISKCON Food Relief Foundation in its Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme for distribution of meals under Government’s Mid Day Meal Programme.
12 IDAS officers transferred
As many as 12 IDAS officers have been transferred. They are Shyam Dev ((IDAS : 1993) who has been transferred to main office – PCDA (WC) Chandigarh, Mihir Kumar ((IDAS : 1996) to CGDA Hqrs. New Delhi, Dr (Mrs) Shivalli Malhotra Chouhan ((IDAS : 1997) to PIFA (Navy) New PCDA – New Delhi, Niraj Kumar Gayagi ((IDAS : 1997) to CGDA’s HQrs office – New Delhi, Mrs Kavita Garg (IDAS : 1999) to CGDA’s HQrs office – New Delhi, Niranjan Kumar (IDAS : 1999) to Main Office PCDA (P) - Allahabad, Pankaj Hajarika (IDAS : 2000) to Main Office CDA - Guwahati, Mayank Bisht (IDAS : 2001) to Main Office CDA - Jabalpur, Ambarish Barman (IDAS : 2006) to DCDA (R&D) Metcalf House - Delhi, BL Kaul (IDAS : 2008) to Main Office, PCDA (R&D) New Delhi and Jai Shankar Sharma (IDAS : 2009) to Main Office PCDA (BR) New Delhi.
Mrs. Rajni Razdan sworn-in as Member UPSC
Mrs. Rajni Razdan, former Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Government of India, took the oath of office and secrecy as Member, Union Service Public Commission on Monday. An Indian Administrative Service Officer of Haryana Cadre of 1973 Batch, Mrs. Razdan has held several important assignments both in the State of Haryana and at the Centre.

(We said this on April 12)

RTI
Delay by Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)
In respect of information regarding action taken against certain individuals, the applicant was informed that the report from the CVO is still awaited. The CVC submitted before the CIC that after receipt of the report recently, a decision has been taken. The CIC noted that the original complaint was made in 28.8.2007 and a year later, the present RTI application was made. The CIC advised Shri Pratyush Sinha, Chief Vigilance Commissioner u/s 25 (5) of the RTI Act to consider fixing time limits for responses by various Departments to whom complaints are referred for investigation and report, so as to bring the exercise of the functions of the Central Vigilance Commission into greater conformity with the spirit of the RTI Act.

Comments

Transparency in the working is imperative for all organisations, including the CVC, which owns the overall responsibility of ensuring a clean system. Timely completion of enquiries is the basic step in the direction. Unfortunately, rampant delays by the different CVO’s seem to be rule of the day. A lot is expected from Shri P. Sinha, a 1969 Batch officer of the Bihar Cadre.

[Shri Anjani Bhushan v. Central Vigilance Commission in Appeal No.
CIC/WB/A/2009/264]

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CORPORATE
Singh is new Director (Personnel) SAIL
Bansh Bahadur Singh has taken charge of the office of Director (Personnel) of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Prior to this, Singh was Executive Director Incharge (Personnel) with additional charge of Operations, SAIL. After completing his graduation in Mechanical Engineering from Government Engineering College, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Singh joined SAIL in 1974 as Management Trainee (Technical) at SAIL’s Durgapur Steel Plant. A year later, he was transferred to Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), where he accumulated rich experience in the areas of Mechanical Maintenance, Refractories, Steel Melting and Human Resources. He rose to the position of General Manager in 2003 and General Manager Incharge (Steel) in 2005. It was during this tenure of Mr. Singh that RSP attained 100% of its capacity utilisation in steel making for the first time. Singh became Executive Director of Salem Steel Plant in 2007, a time when the plant was on the threshold of implementing a major expansion & modernisation plan that would add state-of-the-art facilities to its existing infrastructure, including steel melting facilities. Mr Singh’s expertise in the area has significantly facilitated the project which is progressing as per schedule. A life member of All India Management Association and Indian Institute of Metals, . Singh has vast experience in Human Resource Development, which began during his early days in RSP and ripened during corporate-level company-wide HRD interventions in later years. He has helped to introduce systems and processes in Training activities of the company that are paying rich dividends in areas such as multi-skilling of the SAIL workforce even today. Winner of the Business Leadership Award for Industrial Development from the Indian Economic Development & Research Association (IEDRA), Mr. Singh is a widely travelled professional and Vice-President of the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association. He serves as Director of two joint ventures of SAIL – NTPC-SAIL Power Company Pvt Ltd and Bokaro Power Supply Co Pvt Ltd. He is also Director of Maharashtra Elektrosmelt Ltd, a subsidiary of SAIL.

FORUM

On Monday the Lady with the blindfold and scales will be worried!!
Her worry …..will Justice be buried????
 
SC will give its verdict in the Jessica Lal case!!
A life sentence in this case Manu Sharma does face!!
 
 
I feel the Lady with the blindfolds and scales is justified in her worry!
Because there is every chance justice ho saktha hai bury!!!
 
Laloo, Mayawathi, Mulayam all have reposed faith in SC!!!!
So why the Public has lost faith is very easy to see!!
 
Media’s quite!
Sure gives a feeling of disquiet!!
 
Has Sharma got around the Media or does the Media feel ‘it is a lost case’!
They say Jethmalani has already iced champagne at his place (home)!! 
 
70 MPs have not revealed their assets despite being reminded to do so!!!
In limbo…they do not do so and also they do not say no!!
 
Laloo, Gowda, Raja, Khoda ,Deepinder Hooda ….expected names on this list!
Around their assets they need to create mist!!
 
30 Congress MPs are on this list…. Sonia Madam crack your whip!
It’ll make Congress’s image dip!!
 
Shekar Gupta says….. this Modi Tharoor spat is a Godsend!!
A lot of rot in IPL will come out and a lot they’ll be able to mend!!
 
The biggest flaw in IPL is the lack of transparency and Modi’s clout!
Both need to be sorted out!!!
 
Tharoor has not been able to explain his Honey’s sweat money!!!
And it is of no use if Honey returns sweat money or Tharoor splits from Honey!
 
He has a stake and he’s made the stake via his Honey!!!
Otherwise this sweat stake to his Honey is hilariously funny!!
 
She’s not experienced and has no star pull to contribute to the Team Kochi!!!
When you need a top brand shoe why should you go to an inexperienced Mochi?
 
Because BJP’s demanded he be sacked Tharoor could stay on for a month or so!
And in a Cabinet reshuffle he will go!!
 
Though some say if he’s wrong why not now!!!!
Its out in the open now so rise above Party lines and emphatically order ‘jao’ (go)!
 
The heat in the plains has got everyone in a tizzy!!
The throat is always parched and demanding something iced and fizzy!
 
Take my advice drink iced tea with lime and mint!
And maybe khus ka hint!!
 
Or put ice in milk and let it chill!!
Then in a tall glass put some rose sherbat and karro fill!!
 
At one time ‘chaas’ used to be the poor man’s cooler …. not now!
Because to inflationary pressures poor man has had to bow!!
 
Confucius says….. now the poor are happy with a glass of undrinkable H2O!!!
And some of them for this undrinkable H2O several miles have to go!!
 
Adds…. So next time you drink something chilled say a big Thank you to The Lord!
Drinking chilled coolers while sitting in chilled rooms you can afford!!
 
Flash..... Sacked..... Minister of External Affairs or MEA!
For Minister's External Affairs or MEA!!
 
Bharat Kumar
FORUM

Ego clashe among civil servants keeping country behind ?
Isn't it the bickering and ego clashes among the civil servants which is keeping country lagging behind? In this war of egos, IAS has become the real culprit who think themselves as government and all others as departmental employees. Merit of individuals has been left much behind and even the star performers from other professions/services are not allowed to shine and work. Is LBSNAA listening? Can something be done to reverse this phenomenon before it is too late..
Ram Singh

It is unfortunate
Civil services are considered as one of the pillars of our democracy. If government goes complacent of these corrupt officers, the safety and security of our country will be jeopardised. Such officers shall compromise anything for their gains. Infact the number of officers shown is much low. It is difficult to catch the IAS as the system protects them while a junior officer is punished immediately, an IAS does not take cognizance of the offence of another IAS and if taken protects him. Government must formulate a system of ombudsman comprising of people of eminence including judiciary minus IAS and all complaints against IAS should be handled by this Group . The group must be empowered to investigate the accused and recommend punishment both departmental and criminal and their recommendation must be time bound, final and binding on the bureaucracy.
O P Sharma

A serious problem
It is rather surprising to see so many people talk so low about CPOs. Let us take a good hard look at our external and internal security scenario. In one of the interviews Henry Kissinger had remarked that South Asia today is like 19th Century Europe. with unresolved border disputes there is always room for political adventures from one of the actors ( Was not Kargil one such? ). Also nuclearisation has effectively ruled out conventional war. What we have to deal with, for a foreseeable future ( say next 100 years) is unrest, militancy, Maoism , border incidents of the Jammu kind all of which call for a very strong and able paramilitary forces. Very conveniently army can plan its war gamming on maps. The onus of fighting the war for India's unity rest with the CPOs. Trust me when I say the leadership of forces involved in 24X7 operations like BSF, CRPF, ITBP can not be borrowed. It has to be home grown. CRPF massacre is a case in the point. It would be interesting to wonder why is it that it is BSF, CRPF and ITBP who are deployed there ( all of which have IPS as DG) and not Rashtriya Rifles or Assam Rifles - which have Army bosses. Truth is that prolonged operations like these with use of minimum force as a binding factor is not army's forte. They lack both the will and people skill to undertake this kind of operation. Very convenient indeed. it is therefore the paramilitary forces who will stay 200 m from international border and guard it. BSF and ITBP do. it is for the paramilitary forces to conduct elections. it is for the paramilitary forces to fight militancy. it is for the paramilitary forces to fight LWE. Weak CPMFs will mean weak India. Believe me when i say this. We need strong CPMFS with good motivated leadership. presently that is not the case. Failure to build strong CPMFs will have adverse effect beyond these forces; it may very well pull back India from strong growth trajectory.
Shekhar

Railways turnaround story
The CAG's report is not taken in the right spirit.The Delhi CM recently expressed her disregard for the same. Remember the Railways turnaround story and glory, the CAG's report which came after the awards/kudos were showered on the Minister-in-charge, brought the truth to the fore. But who bothers? we love to discredit our institutions, esp. those working silently and diligently. The public should learn to use the CAG's report for fixing accountability.
Virika

CGHS scheme is better
Present CGHS scheme is better than the proposed Insurance Health Scheme as the employees will have to contribute handsome amount towards premium every year. Track record of insurance companies even abroad is not good. However, CGHS needs to be improved and made more flexible. Beneficiaries should be able to consult the Doctors of their choice in recognised hospitals and the card holders should be able to take treatment in any CGHS dispensary in India inspite of being attached to a particular CGHS Dispensary.
G K Pandey

Plight of Engineering Services
There are several areas which need attention by the Government in improving Governance and removing the incompetencies of the administration. The divide between the different services is one of the important bane of bureaucracy. Why not look into their problems? This Government(Read Prime Minister ) is fond of setting of so many Committees, Groups, Panels or Commissions to look into various issues. Why not form a committee to look into the grievances of civil servants and give a solution to bridge this divide. This will raise the morale of officers and make them give their best. Of course the committee should be one inspiring confidence and bound by a time frame. Ministry of personnel requires to be sensitive to the grievances of all groups of civil servants. After all that is their brief.
Aarti Khosla

Follow US example
I am a farmer raising trees on my 8 ha land in Hassan and cover also dabble in journalism based on nature and hence in contact with many IFS officers and Scientists. I saw in your news a few days ago that the search committee could not find a DG for ICFRE. We have sought some information under RTI but got little but were informally told by some young scientists that a very outstanding candidate with complete research achievements is there as applicant who is known all over for his all-round job done. I think they take a lot in Government to decide. In India we need to follow US example where they want only best in the world. I think the search committee Chairman should do his home work properly and is Jairam listening a wonderful Minister after all !!!!!
K S Hegde

Revise Eligibility
We have so many categories of candidates for public services that it is difficult to keep track of all concessions in age given to different categories. But one most eligible category seems to have been totally neglected and, therefore, calls for immediate revision in the maximum age limit for such candidates. They are the poorest among the poorer, lowest in the pyramid and can hardly be equated with the aam aadmi. They are categorised officially as BPL(Below Poverty Line)people. Their access to education is very late, in installments between short term labour to just avoid dieing of starvation (some days under BPL if they are lucky, otherwise scrounging for food),continuing education from open school/evening/distance education system when possible and simultaneously looking for employment to survive poverty. They have no mentors(unlike the IPL has), no patrons(NGOs of all kinds do have them, especially in the social sector, where 1000s of crores of government funding is available)and no sponsors. By the time they acquire educational qualification and start applying for jobs, they are already overage! Equity and Justice impel the Governments at the centre and states to relax the age requirements suitably for persons/children from below poverty line categories, so as to give them a chance to qualify for public services like other categories already being given age relaxation without any adverse impact on the quality of public services.
M L Gupta

Disputed diagnosis
The most unfortunate thing is disputed diagnosis. Any doctor until and unless reaches to the true conclusion of pathology, he is neither a good nor successful doctor. The Maoist problem of Naxalism is having the same unfortunate destiny of confusions. Intellectuals propose so many theories in their air conditioned chambers and then a great debate...I was listening such a useless debate on T.V and was feeling very sad at the end. Some people used to adhere to the line that it was a purely developmental issue while others believed it as failure of police strategy. No one was right. When any dangerous virus attacks on our body then what we do...of course a heavy and appropriate dose of antibiotics coupled with nutritious diet. The same needs here also... so simple... I am very afraid to say that power of state is vastly eroding and its most important wing- the Police is becoming prey to democratic and human rights organizations which have been hijacked by criminals due to their money power by engaging best legal experts. So called intellectual debates which only unsettle issues than settling them most of the times, provide charlatan cover to such obnoxious designs. The weakening of police is a great threat to civil society and not a victory for civil society. We have developed nostalgia that police men should be powerless like snake without venom. I do not justify barbarism in police but give priority to the belief that police should not be demotivated and demoralized and work in a fear of impractical judicial scrutiny or other such post facto victimizations of police personnel. I am sorry if terrorism again comes in Punjab etc, the police may not respond proactively as it did in the past. This comment is based on realistic assessment of situation while interacting with relevant officers. The withering away of police powers is withering away of state also. When state can not protect life, liberty and property, people will loose faith in the state and this becomes breeding ground for mass movements against governments or states. The availability of high technological items to police as well as criminals have brought criminals at much more elevation vis a vis police which was vice versa in the past. When police had wireless sets and criminals nothing like that. While now criminals have cell phones and satellite phones (26/11) and police with private cell phones and useless wireless sets. They (criminals) have vehicular as well as logistical superiority over police forces. What to say of their administrative leaderships which try to infuse lot of motivation and zeal in them(criminals) unlike police leaderships which is more in conflict with its own juniors what to say of motivation. The police leadership is full of feudalism, egoism with an attitude of vengeance. The leader has to be acceptable and popular with the force failing which he is not police leader but using police to its own whims and fancies left and right. I want that leaders of police forces must come out with their best instead of their parochial prejudiced biases. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. To be honest is not the only qualification for leadership but leadership is something much more.
Aurang Jeb was also very honest king. Was he a good leader? Not at all. Let us (as police leaders) rise to the occasion to make our forces and this world much better and transcend from horizons of attitudinal parochialism. A leader has to be magnanimous and prudent. He has to keep system first and not his agenda with what ever honesty which may be fallible in the eyes of others….and truly….
M N Tiwari

MPS and MLAS should not get pension
They are getting elected to serve the people and in the name of service they are only giving lip service and fooling the masses. Moreover during their tenure they are spending a lot of money public money in the name of public service but we all experience that they all lead a life style which raises suspicion . Wherefrom the money comes no body knows. This is the degree of corruption amongst the politicians of our country.
Gauranga Kar

It is not service bashing
The debate about Naxal menace is not about service bashing. The fact is that all the posts of SP operations starting from Punjab Militancy to Kashmir Issue to the Naxal menace are being manned by the officers of CPOs on deputation. If the IPS officers were so efficient they would volunteer to do this task themselves. In fact I have a sincere suggestion to the Home Minister. All deputation of the officers from the troubled states should be totally stopped to ensure that these IPS officers perform or perish.
D Veer

Sashi Taroor and the IPL Kochi affair is a great diversionary tactic by UPA from its failures in domestic economy, price rise, national security and foreign policy. The surprise is that BJP is also silent.
N Krishnan