I knew about your website recently and found it very useful for all. It is in fact a great service to the society as a whole.
B C Jha

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Empanelment meeting for 1977 batch IAS on Saturday
Now meeting for the empanelment of 1977 batch IAS officers to the rank of Secretary in the Government of India is expected to take place on June 12.
Review of 1975 and 1976 batch IAS
Review for empanelment of 1975 and 1976 batch IAS is expected to take place this week end.
Eight dozen 1989 batch IRS (IT) officers empanelled
About eight dozen IRS (IT) officers of 1989 batch have been empanelled to the rank of Commissioner. Empanelment meeting took place last Friday.
Namita Datta,s deputation comes to an end
Deputation tenure of Namita Datta has come to an end. She is 1991 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.
V. Radha gets Eisenhower Fellowship
V.Radha has reportedly bagged the Eisenhower Fellowship that allows one year visit to United States all expenses paid and is a non-degree programme. Last year Kapil Mohan of Karnataka cadre had won this fellowship. Radha is 1994 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.
Adithla empanelled in GoI
Dr A V Prasad Adithla is reported to have been empanelled to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Government of India. He is 1986 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.
EDs, GMs transfers in Air India on the anvil
As the grapevine has it, there will be a shifting of top-level officers at the level of Executive Directors (EDs) and General Manager (GMs) in the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) of which CMD is Arvind Jadhav (IAS, 1978 batch –Karnataka cadre). It is expected to take place soon.
Gupta is new Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Gauri Shankar Gupta, Ambassador of India to Hungary has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to Bosnia and Herzegovina with residence at Budapest.
Tenure of Sadhu extended
Deputation tenure of V.K. sadhu, CSS(76), Principal Commissioner(Joint Secretary level), Delhi Development Authority under Ministry of Urban Development has been extended upto December next year.
Ramachandru gets extension
Central deputation tenure of T.Ramachandru, IAS(OR-84), Joint Secretary, Department of Defence Production has been extended for a period of 3 Months beyond June 12.
Ms Rita Bhatnagar Sharma joins as Member-Secretary NAC
Former Rural Development Secretary Ms Rita Bhatnagar Sharma has joined as Member- Secretary of the National Advisory Council (NAC). She is retired 1974 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
( We said this on May 31 )
ECI’s short shrift to Assam Chief Minister
As the grapevine has it, Election Commission of India (ECI) has refused to accept a request by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for an assembly polls in the state. Since assembly’s term end in May, state polls in Assam are now expected to be held in March-April 2011.
More Muslims to support Modi
While 10 percent Muslims are said to have supported Narendra Modi during the previous elections, in the next polls about 25 percent Muslims are expected to favour him. Is it not a subject of research ?.
K.C. Singh to join Settlement Commission
K.C. Singh CCE Pune is poised to join Settlement Commission in Chennai.
Ramesh is now Joint Secretary in Lok Sabha Secretariat
Director in the Lok Sabha Secretariat V R Ramesh has been promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary. Ramesh had been PS to former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi and Late Speaker Balyogi.
Rajya Sabha to launch its TV channel
As the grapevine has it, the Rajya Sabha is going to launch its television channel.
Only BJP supporting Baba Ramdeo
Only BJP now seem to be supporting Baba Ramdeo, that to indirectly, ever since he has disclosed his political ambitions.
Dr. N R Madhava Menon is Member of Vigilance Advisory Council
Dr. N R Madhava Menon, Ex-Member, is the Member (Commission on Centre-State Relations) of the reconstituted Vigilance Advisory Council, first set up by the Commission in the year 2004, with persons of great eminence as its members to advise and guide the Commission from time to time in the discharge of its statutory duties.
Justice Balakrishnan is new Chairman of NHRC
Outgoing Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India Justice K.G. Balakrishnan has taken over as new Chairman of  National Human Rights Commission . His tenure will be for five years.
( We said this on April 22 )
Dilbag Singh goes to Moscow
Second Secretary in Prague Dilbag Singh has been moved to Moscow. Justice Rao is Chairman of National Commission for Backward Classes
The former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Makani Narayana Rao, has taken over as Chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes.
Government should put minimum age at 55 years for PSUs
There is a general feeling among senior executives of the oil sector, specially public sector oil companies that the Government should put minimum age at 55 years as far as recruiting Chairman cum Managing Directors (CMDs) of PSUs in oil sector were concerned.
Indra Ghosh shifted to NR
Advisor (Rates) in the Railway Board Indra Ghosh has been shifted to the Northern Railway.
IPS changes in Uttar Pradesh
Piyush Mordia has been posted as the first Commandant of UP Special Zone Security Force . VP Srivastava will be Deputy Commandant in the same force.
DD Mishra will be DIG Fire Services. SN Upadhya will move as DIG PTS in Gorakhpur. Lakshmi Singh has been made Commandant of 41st Battalion PAC in Ghaziabad. Ashutosh Kumar will join in Police Computer Centre. Shachi Ghildyal has been transferred as Commandant of 43rd battalion PAC in Etah
Mrs Anuja Sarangi posted as CIT (OSD) under CCIT (CCA), Delhi
Mrs Anuja Sarangi, Coommissioner of Income Tax has been posted as CIT (OSD) under CCIT (CCA), Delhi, during the period of her sanctioned leave upto Oct 31, 2011. Mrs. Sarangi shall report to the Board on Nov 1, 2011, on the expiry of her leave.
T. Jacob joins GOI as Joint Secretary Food 
T. Jacob has joined the Government of India (GOI)as Joint Secretary in Department of Food Earlier, he was Principal Secretary (PS) Commercial Taxes & Registration with the Tamil Nadu government. He is an IAS officer of the 1984 batch who belongs to the Tamil Nadu cadre.
(We said this mid April 2010)
Appointment of Advisor to Jharkhand Governor delayed
In the wake of no consensus emerging on probables as Advisor to Jharkhand Governor, appointment of Advisors to the Jharkhand Governor has been delayed. It was on June 1, 2010 that the President’s rule was imposed in Jharkhand.
Fresh names likely to be considered for Jharkhand
As the grapevine has it fresh names are likely to be considered for the slot of Advisors to Jharkhand Government. On certain names Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reservations while those whose names have been cleared by MHA are reportedly unwilling to go to Jharkhand.
Sinha to join CVC
Alok Kumar Sinha  is all set to join the CVC as Additional Secretary in Central Vigilance Commission. He is 1979 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre.
IAS changes in Tamil Nadu
V. Palanikumar, IAS, Joint Commissioner of Revenue Administration, has been transferred and posted as Joint Secretary to Government Public Department , Dr. V.K. Shanmugam, Collector, Krishnagiri District has been transferred as Collector, Virudhunagar, V. Arun Roy, Deputy Secretary to Government (Budget), Finance Department, has been transferred as Collector, Krishnagiri while the services of Dr. K. Gopal, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation has been appointed Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women.

CORPORATE
Ramchandran is MD Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers 
T.K. Ramachandran, IAS has been appointed as Managing Director of  Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Ltd  in the place of Thiru Md. Nasimuddin, IAS with effect from May 26, 2010.
R N Aga and Dr Misra cease to be NDMC directors 
R.N. Aga and Dr.(Mrs.) Indira Misra, Independent Directors of NMDC Ltd have completed the  3 years tenure as Directors on the Board of the Company. Accordingly they ceased to be Directors on the Board of the Company with effect from June 4, 2010.
Matthew Temares is Business Dev Manager of Thinksoft Global 
Thinksoft Global, has appointed Matthew Temares as Business Development Manager for the US market.
Kataria is CEO Religare Capital Markets
Religare Capital Markets Ltd (RCML) has appointed  Tarun Kataria, as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), for its Indian businesses.
B P Singh is acting CMD of IDBI
Deputy Managing Director Bharat Pal Singh will now be acting CMD of the IDBI.Present CMD Yogesh Agrawal is joining Pension Regulatory Authority.
Finance Ministry sets up TAG
The finance ministry has set up the Technology Advisory Group for Unique Projects (TAGUP) which will have six other members, including Sebi chairman CB Bhave.It will be headed by UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani.
AP Industrialist is Rajya Sabha Member
Yalamanchili Satyanarayana Chowdary Chairman of the Sujana Group of Companies has been elected to the Rajya Sabha on Telugu Desam Party ticket.

Aaj Ki Aawaz
Pawar has acknowledged his links with Mallya's team!
However this acknoledgement as ludicrous Mallya karr raha hai deem!!
 
But then alas Pawar will not pay the price for his sins!!
UPA's numerical compulsions ensure that 'Pawar wins'!!
 
But this is for sure Sule's name is in the dirt!!
And more so because ' we have nothing to do with IPL bids' she did blurt!!
 
After all she's her Papa's daughter!!
Seems his 'art of politics' Pawar very effectively 'taught her'!!
 
Sushma has her own recipe to placate the Opposition!!
And to BJP Leaders in BJP ruled state she has made the following proposition!!
 
To keep Opposition happy Sushma says ‘parties and bouquets should be freely used’!
Of the same methodology with Commies Mohna by BJP was ‘accused’!!
 
Mohna wined and dined the Commies during their ‘days of indirect power’!!
Stopped the wining and dining after things got sour!!
 
From five course meals at 7 RCR what a fall!!
Now food from a nearby dhaba Commies call!
 
Why is US wanting India to pass the Nuclear Civil Liability Bill???
After what has happened in the Bhopal Gas tragedy case US worries still??
 
Just see how cheaply Union Carbide has got away with gross negligence!!
It was akin to Union Carbide getting away by just paying a pence!!
 
And bottom line is if the Party in power in India is game!!
Then ‘give and be absolved of blame’!!
 
And it is well known how to 'get the Netas in India to play ball'!!!
For 'money' to ' great depths our Netas can fall'!!
 
In Bhopal those affected say ‘ why is Mohna not listening to us’???
Fact is much before Mohna they had ‘missed the bus’!!
 
They want CBI to investigate….. don’t they know CBI buries such cases!!
Haven’t they so many times to assist those close 'to the throne' CBI races???
 
Confucius says…. Indian lives are cheap!!
One American is equal to 1,00,000 Indians ka heap!!

Bharat Kumar

FORUM
(The views expressed in this column are of the contributors. We do not owe any responsibility, whatsoever, of the views of our surfers as they are their personal opinion. However, we would also request our contributors not to be personal, directly or indirectly, in presenting their views. Instead of countering the views which ‘X’ has already expressed, our contributors are advised to present their own views. Also be brief, say about 200 words at the most since any views longer than that if eliminated at our end would carry the risk of the contrbutor’s item losing its original essence)

Debate – Should IAS be allowed to join Private Sector for 5 years
The question is why this growing interest now in the Civil Servants to join private sector. This demand was never raised till the 1980s. To me the main reason appears to be professionals like engineers, doctors, lecturers etc. entering the service. Civil Service is not meant for professionals. Civil Service is purely for administrators and professionals (majority of them) lack administrative capability and that is why after joining it they start looking for other prospects (i.e. joining private sector etc.). An engineering degree holder is always going to be attracted whenever he notices vacancy advertisement for a post in private sector with preference to Engineering degree holder, with handsome salary plus perquisites, not available in the civil service. Similar is the case with medical degree holder civil servant getting attracted to a vacancy with handsome salary and perquisites in, say, Apollo Hospital or a Professor-turned-civil servant getting attracted to vacancies in private colleges or coaching centres. Since they have tasted authority now as Civil Servant they don’t want to leave it too and, therefore, are searching for other options like joining the Private sector on deputation. Therefore, it may sound out of context, but Government must restrict entry of professionals to the Civil Service and the issue of “Civil Servant joining Private Sector” would disappear without trace.
C.Singh

Civil Servants are no longer role models for their children!!!”
The survey sponsored by you accidentally synchronizes with the announcement of Civil Services results  by the UPSC today (6th May). Admittedly. there has been a continuous dip in the number of aspirants from  civil servants’ families commencing from the late Seventies of last century. The civil services are no longer the alluring option for their talented children. Reasons are not far to seek. These could be enumerated as: (a) Disillusionment with their parents’ deplorable conduct (exceptions cannot be the rule) as civil servants: (b) Evolution of mai-baap culture in Indian bureaucracy, leading to their close nexus with the political honchos: (c)Gradual and systematic erosion of  lesser mortal Services through subtle monopolization of all departments of Governance by the all powerful IAS coterie. (d)This single most important factor of monopolistic tendency on the part of the IAS, has ruined the integration of civil services in India.(e) Children no longer talk about their IAS parents with a sense of pride. (f)The successive Cabinet Secretaries in their anxiety to please political masters are concerned about the career progression of their own clan, with no concern for  the career prospects of other Services.(g)Look, how efficiently, the GOI  brings out promotion panels for the IAS biraadri  year after year with religious regularity.(h) Worse, the dirty politics involving wheelers and dealers in the prized postings of IAS officers to key positions in GOI and the States leave much to be desired. No transparency, no accountability? (i) Arrests of IAS officers  in quick succession ,recently by the CBI, reinforces the common perception that there is something terribly wrong in their promotions and postings policies.(j) No wonders then that the IAS coterie has deservedly earned the epithet  “Uncivil serpents” in contrast to  their official designation of “Civil Servants”.(k)Another important reason facilitating the drifting of the siblings of IAS category away from civil services is the relative imbalance in the government  remuneration vis-à-vis the MNCs. But, this disparity is duly compensated by the ‘raw power’, exercised by officers of three most sought after services namely: IAS, IPS and IRS( IT and Custom & Central excise). Other Services are considered infra dig and have taken a back seat.(l) And, last but not the least, the mandalisation of civil services has also adversely affected the career prospects of general category candidates. But, happily, there is a spurt in the number of  siblings of civil servants, belonging to other categories, aspiring for the civil services.
A K SAXENA (A retired civil servant)

God Bless the Armed Forces
If any of you have ever been to a military funeral in which The Last Post was played;
this brings out a new meaning of it.
Here is something everyone should know.
Until I read this, I didn't know but I checked it out and it's true:
We have all heard the haunting song, 'The Last Post' It's the song that gives us the lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes.
But, do you know the story behind the song? If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings..
Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the American Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near
Harrison's Landing in Virginia . The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.
During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment.
When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.
The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in
the Confederate Army.
The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted.
The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral.
The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate.
But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him
only one musician.
The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the
pocket of the dead youth's uniform.
This wish was granted.
The haunting melody, we now know as 'The Last Post' used at military funerals was born.
The words are:

Day is done.
Gone the sun.
From the lakes
From the hills.
From the sky.
All is well.
Safely rest.
God is nigh.
-------
Fading light.
Dims the sight.
And a star.
Gems the sky.
Gleaming bright.
From afar.
Drawing nigh.
Falls the night.
-------
Thanks and praise.
For our days.
Neath the sun
Neath the stars.
Neath the sky
As we go.
This we know.
God is nigh
I too have felt the chills while listening to 'The Last Post' but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn't even know there was more than one verse . I also never knew the story behind the song and I didn't know if you had either so I thought I'd pass it along.
I now have an even deeper respect for the song than I did before.
Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country.
Also Remember Those Who Have Served And Returned; and for those presently serving in the Armed Forces..
Raman

It is wrong to deny the information
When N.G.Os apply and get it, the Media also has a right to get it as media is the watchdog in a democracy. If the decisions are above board, in the interest of trasparency, information must be given. the word, "citizen" cannot be given a narrow interpretation. It should be taken to mean an individual, a group of individuals , any body, society, institution or agency formed by any citizen or a group of citizens of this country.
S C Agrawal

Age limit for government jobs is harmful in the national interest. - Youth consider themselves as overage for job and gets indulge in illegal activities known as different names naxalism, terrorism etc. Age limit also create corruption in appointment which is rampant in govt. ministries where jobs are available, officers are being caught red-handed. people try to get the job before they are overage by all means. Now that technology has advanced - lacs of candidates can participate in competition at a particular time and that the new pension scheme has come into force in govt. and private sector(However, if there is any difference in both the schemes that should be looked into and removed), restriction on account of age to compete should be removed to feel the youth that they can become good citizen and shun the illegal activities. It will also be in the interest of nation to have best talent in all the fields even those who have gained experience in private sector can join government in order to give their best to the society. DOPT & Legislature needs to look into this aspect. Decision making authorities should consider the plight of students belongs to poor families who may take time to get educated because of financial constraints. Removal of age restriction will help a lot to financially weaker section of society.
R K

Hope Cabinet Secretary will now increase retirement age to 64.

Rita

I had been reading far and against about extension to Cabinet Secretary. I feel the extension is unjustified as no one in this world is indispensable. Extension means eating someone else cake and spoiling many careers & aspirants in waiting and leads to frustrations in the Civil Service.
Harish Kumar

A real pity, for IPS AGMUT cadre officers, which would be the slowest among all cadres. DPC for 1981 batch for promotion to ADG and 1988 batch for IG level took place only a few days ago. Perhaps the concerned authorities-CP Delhi and MHA big bosses care less.
Madhup

Sir,
I fully agree with D Chaudhary for accurately describing the state of affairs in the north east. What he has perhaps forgotten to mention is that many central govt. departments post only those officers to the North East who are considered inconvenient/not pliable so that resultant hardship to them, and their families would make an example of them and if they got killed , no blame would accrue to the department. Infact several posts in the North East have been created only for posting officers considered inconvenient who blow whistle on corruption . It is no wonder that many of those occupying important positions are those who are either spineless(or became spineless without any surgical procedure)or those who are corrupt to the core. Infact if a scientific study based on empirical evidence was to be made of causes of militancy/conflict/unrest in various parts of the country, corruption and misgovernance would be identified as the primary causes which have been hardly attended.
Sudhir Chopra