It has become a daily ritual to open your site. Sarkari gossips are immensely readable!
Amit Brahmo, IRPS

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

AN IMAGINARY INTERVIEW WITH PM MANMOHAN SINGH
Post my imaginary interview with Obama I got a call on my mobile that literally made me jump up, that is after I came to know who was at the other end.

Me: Hullo
Voice at the other end: Oye khothe main tehre dandh bhann deyan ga ( donkey, I'll break your teeth)!
Me: Oye who is this……
Voice at the other end: (mockingly) This is 'Obedient' Manmohan Singh…….acche bhalle bandhe noo tu ne doggy banaa ditha ( you've made a perefectly good human into a doggy)!!
Me: Sir Ji…. Sat Sri Akal…… Sir ji I just said that when it comes to Sonia and Obama you are obedient!!
Mohna: Oye ullu great minds think alike!
Me: Would Madam 'think like you' on 'five factors that influence demand'…….or does Obama think like you on appeasement of a vote bank at the cost of Nation's security????
Mohna: Oye on technical matters Madam's think tank and I think alike! And Obama does try to please vote banks or he would not have become the US President! In America the winner of the Presidential race is the one who is able to please Vote Banks that are diametrically opposite!!
Me: Why do you keep saying oye….. please calm down!!
Mohna : Oye after putting my tail on fire you want me to calm down!!
Me: Ttandh rakho ( cool it) Manmohan Singh Ji!!
Mohna: Oye I'm Manmohan Singh!!
Me: You make it sound like you are Gabbar Singh and in a 5 kilometre radius when kids cry their Mom's tell the kids to stop crying or Manmohan Singh will come and scare them!
Mohan: Let us settle it now itself…. reach India Gate in 15 minutes and lets settle it face to face!
Me: Sirr Ji…. chado (leave it)….. hunn gussa thukh doh (spit your anger)!
Mohna: I'll do so if in future you promise to address me as Mohna Ji!!
Me: Done….. now how about answering a few question Mohna Jiyo???
Mohna ji: Dhatt tehre ki (drat)….. chall puchch le (ask)! Tuh wi ki yaad rakhe ga!!
Me: Thank you. Why has Congress hyped Obama's visit so much that you had to even break protocol and receive Obama at the Airport???
Mohna ji: Arre I wanted to see the Air Force 1 land….. yaar what a plane! I thought seeing me breaking protocol Obama might invite me aboard and give me a guided tour of Air Force 1…..alas he did not!!
Me: But this step boosted Obama's ego…… will you address the concerns of US Nuclear equipment suppliers???
Mohna ji: I cannot answer this question as it is now classified as Top Secret!
Me: Or is it too embarrassing to agree and too tricky to deny!!
Mohna Ji: Yaar kuch mazedar sawaal puchch?
Me: Who are 3 idiots in Congress????
Mohna: Oye khothe……. this is not a mazedar sawaal but a sawaal that can get me into trouble!!
Me: Chalo do not spell it out….give me a few hints!!
Mohna ji: One is a sandesh lover, the other is like the flower that grows in kichadh and the third hit the fish's eye!!
Me: Do you think India should open up????
Mohna Ji: Of course…… competition will benefit the end users!
Me: But what about the humongous eating the big and the big eating the small!!
Mohna ji: That is the way business should be!!!
Me: Cannibalistic!! Would this not mean that in the end the mighty would survive and rule and in the end milk the end users???
Mohna ji: You seem to know very little about business…..
Me: Chalo let us agree to disagree!!! Do you think US will support India for a seat on the UNSC???
Mohna ji: Obama is playing his cards very close to his chest!!! And the man has a true poker face!!! I tried that song 'baagon mein bahaar hai' in English on him and in the end when I said 'India gets US's vote' he just gave me a nonplussed look!!!
Me: Did you ask him about outsourcing????
Mohna Ji: I did and he said Indian Companies should hire 50% US expats in call centres! He said US was planning to 'patent' the American accent so that non-Americans will not be able to speak in this accent!!!! Once this takes place how will Indians working in Indian call centres talk to American clients in an American accent????
Me: So that means Obama will come, mock bargain and go back with everything he wants!!
Mohna Ji: Haar mein bhi hothi hai jeeth!!!
Me: This is the anthem of every looser!!!

Bharat Kumar

Gupta to be Secretary Food
Dr Bhushan Chander Gupta is being appointed new Secretary Food in the Government of India.1975 batch Punjab cadre IAS officer Dr Gupta will succeed Alka Sirohi who is now Secretary Personnel.
Mittal tipped to be GM, NE

As the grapevine has it, K.B.L. Mittal is tipped to be General Manager (GM) of the North Eastern (NE) Railways.

Capt Kaul to be CMD of Hindustan Salts

Capt P K Kaul is being tipped to be new CMD of the Hindustan Salts Ltd. Presently he is Executive Director (Customer Relations & Business Development) in the CONCOR.
Absence of Indian Bureaucracy during Obama's visit
While Indian media and establishment went gaga over the high profile visit of the United State President Barack Obama to India, surprisingly, the Indian bureaucracy gave a very cold shoulder to it. While there was much euphoria in the media and political circles, the same was missing among the bureaucrats. During his three-day stay, President Obama met the President and Prime Minister of India besides members of parliaments and corporate honchos. However, he had no significant or exclusive meetings with the top bureaucrats. Observers are baffled over the absence of top bureaucrats from most of the events in which President Obama took part. Is it plainly because of security concerns or the role of US Consulate? Any guess?
Lal to be Indian Ambassador to Spain
As the grapevine has it, Sunil Lal is poised to be new Indian Ambassador to Spain. Presently he is Chief of Protocol.
Gupta to assume charge tomorrow
Brijesh Kumar Gupta, Director General (Prisons) at Tihar Jail, who is set to become Delhi's new Commissioner of Police will assume his charge on November 10, 2010. Gupta will be taking over from present incumbent Y S Dadwal. Gupta, an IPS officer of the 1975 batch who is a postgraduate in Law and History (Allahabad University), was chosen since he was the most senior IPS officer in the city police after Dadwal (1974 batch). Gupta has tackled various challenges including counter-terror and counter-insurgency.
Will Brar be Special CP Special Cell ?
B.S. Brar, Special C.P. (Intelligence),Delhi Police, is likely to be appointed as Special CP (Special Cell) in place of P.N. Aggarwal. He is an IPS officer of the1977 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.
Aggarwal to be Special CP Traffic in Delhi ?
P.N. Aggarwal, Special C.P. (Special Cell), Delhi Police, may be appointed as Special CP (Traffic) in place of Ajay Chadha. He is an IPS officer of the 1981batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.
Chadha to be Special CP Administration in Delhi Police ?
Ajay Chadha, Special C.P. (Traffic)Delhi Police may be appointed as Special CP (Administration) in place of Neeraj Kumar. He is an IPS officer of 1977 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.
Rao resigns from PESB
Resignation of Member PESB Sudhakar Rao has been accepted. He is retired 1973 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.
( We said this on September 14 )
Kashmir Singh yet to be promoted
Kashmir Singh (IPS,UP;1978,) Joint Secretary(NM) is yet to be promoted.
Bundela posted in MHA
Narender Singh Bundela, Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police, has been appointed as DCP, FRRO in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. He is an IPS officer of the 1997 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.
Srivastava empanelled
Principal Secretary Revenue in the Madhya Pradesh Government, Anil Srivastava, has been empanelled to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Government of India. He is 1985 batch IAS officer.
Piyush Anand attending 5th PG course
Piyush Anand,IPS(UP-1991), DIG, CBI is one of the four IPS officers who are attending the 5th Post Graduate (PG)diploma programme in Public Management and Policy that commenced recently at the Management Development Institute(MDI) Gurgaon Haryana).
Ajay Chowdhry promoted
Ajay Chowdhry, DCP, FRRO, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has been promoted as Deputy Director (Immigration).He is an IPS officer of the 1996 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.
Ms. Vibhu Raj promoted
Ms. Vibhu Raj has been promoted as DIG NCRB Headquarter, New Delhi. She is an IPS officer of the 1996 batch who belongs to the Punjab cadre.
IOC to get six independent Directors
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is going to get six independent Directors on its Board.
Vivek Saxena is Director IFS-2 & AGMUT cadre
Vivek Saxena is Director IFS-2 & AGMUT cadre management in the Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoEF). He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 1992 batch who belongs to the Haryana cadre.
Air Marshal Kumria moving to Delhi
Air Marshal Kumria heading South-West Air Command is moving to Delhi as AOC in C Western Command.
Yogesh Mudgal relieved to join GOI
Yogesh Mudgal has been relieved by the Madhya Pradesh government to
join on central deputation in the Government of India (GOI). He is an
IPS officer of the 1991 batch who belongs to the Madhya Pradesh cadre.
(We said this in September 2010)
Charge of C. Vishwanath & Naveen Prakash to be inter changed
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, wants to change inter-department portfolio of the following two officers : Chirravuri Viswanath Joint Secretary, Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority (WD&RA), D/o Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of
India New Delhi. He is an IAS officer of the1981 batch who belongs to the AP cadre and Naveen Prakash Joint Secretary (Storage)D/o Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India New Delhi. He is an IAS officer of the 1987batch who belongs to the WB cadre.
Bachchan promos turn Gujarat into hot tourist destination
The campaign by Gujarat Tourism in which noted Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan features has reportedly given a big fillip to tourists inflow to Gujarat. "Khushboo Gujarat ki (fragrance of Gujarat)" has boosted tourists by more than 47 per cent. The campaign had been shot free of cost by Amitabh Bachchan. Real moving spirit behind this is Gujarat Government's dynamic and dashing Tourism Secretary Vipul Mitra who is a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of 1986 batch.
SBI promotes 6 CGMs as DMDs
State Bank of India (SBI) has promoted six Chief General Managers (CGMs) as Deputy Managing Directors (DMDs). They are: Shiv Kumar CGM Hyderabad, Ms.Arundhati Bhattacharya CGM Banglore, Venkatachalam CGM Patna, Shyamal Acharya CGM in Corporate office, Santosh Nair CGM in Corporate office & Vishwanath CGM Treasury Management.
KV employees to get fair chance to get choice posting
The Union government has decided to give fair chance to both men and women teachers and every employee to get a choice posting and placement in "hard stations".
SBI official Atul Kumar transferred
Atul Kumar, Assistant General Manager, Vigilance Department, Corporate Centre, Mumbai, has been posted as Deputy General Manager (Right to Information), Corporate Centre, Mumbai.
Kumar poised to get an assignment in the UN
Saurabh Kumar former Secretary, Bureau of Energy Efficiency(BEE) who had reported back to the CBDT is poised to get an assignment in the UN. He is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the 1992 batch.
Denial by Chairman IRS Association, Mumbai Anadee Nath Misshra
whispersinthecorridors.com has come up with the following post today :
" Will Sudhir Chandra be new Chairman of the CBDT ? Picture is still not clear. Meanwhile, whispersinthecorridors has received an envelope by post from the IRS Officers Association, Aayakar Bhawan Maharshi Karve Road , Mumbai. It consists eleven pages full of charges against Member (Investigation) CBDT Sudhir Chandra. "
I wish to put it on record that IRS Association , Mumbai has never made any allegation against Member , CBDT. However , we are aware that some vested interests , who are not only against the Member CBDT , but also do not support the office bearers of IRS Association , Mumbai , have fabricated a pseudonymous complaint against the Member CBDT. In fact , IRS Association , Mumbai totally denies having had any role in this matter , and absolutely distance ourselves from any such activity , in the past , present , or future. In this regard , I reproduce below the copy of mail that I had sent already to the General Body of IRS Association , Mumbai on 23rd October , 2010.
" Yesterday , in the afternoon of Tuesday 26th October 2010 , an official from an Intelligence Agency met the top office bearers of IRS Association , Mumbai and showed them some pages of xerox copy of a pseudonymous complaint dated 7th October ,2010, which contained allegations against a member of CBDT. The pseudonymous complaint was shown to have been sent by IRS Association , Mumbai
The office bearers of IRS Association , Mumbai absolutely denied having sent any such complaint , and have in absolute terms distanced itself from any such activity against anyone , in the past , present or future.
We reiterate that we have nothing to do with any complaint against anybody and are totally shocked , and are wholly pained that the name of IRS Association , Mumbai is being used for such purposes.
Major IPS reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh
There is major IPS reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh.Altogether 61 senior IPS officers, including Additional Directors-General and district police chiefs have been affected.Five Range IGS have been shifted.Nine ADGs have been given new postings.
IAS changes in Uttar Pradesh
Dinesh Chandra has been appointed DM Firozabad.Ravi Kumar will be DM Mathura and Ministhy S has been made DM of Farqabad.
Goyal is out Majumdar is in ?
All has not gone well with S K Goyal.Latest information says that Sumit Majumdar is being appointed new Chairman of the CBEC.He will take over on December 1.
Sudhir Chandra to be CBDT Chariman ?
Now picture seems to be clear.Appointment of new CBEC Chairman was linked with the appointment of new CBDT Chairman.If Majumdar is appointed CBEC Chairman this week then appointment of Sudhir Chandra as Chairman of the CBDT is a certainty.
Pravesh Sharma posted as MD SFAC
Following the approval of ACC, Ministry of Agriculture has issued formal orders appointing Pravesh Sharma, who belongs to 1982 batch of IAS of Madhya Pradesh cadre, as Managing Director of Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) in New Delhi. It may be noted that Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is Chairman of this body and Agriculture Secretary P.K. Basu is Vice Chairman.
(We said this on 6th November)
Ramanujam is back to Madhya Pradesh
1979 batch MP cadre IAS officer, R.Ramanujam, who was posted in the Indian Embassy in Tokyo for the past 3 years, has reported back at Bhopal to the State Government on Tuesday. he is likely to be given an important assignment soon.
( We said this on November 8 )

CORPORATE
GAIL tops among gas utilities in Asia

GAIL (India) Limited has been ranked No.1 company among gas utilities in Asia, and second among gas utilities globally, in the Platts Global Ranking of Energy Companies. The award was conferred upon GAIL at a ceremony in Singapore to celebrate Asian winners in the Top 250 list of Platts. B C Tripathi is the CMD of this fast growing company.
Vigilance Awarness Period observed in SCI
The Vigilance Division of The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd observed the Vigilance Awareness Period (VAP) 2010 in all its offices from 25th October 2010 to 1st November 2010. The observance of the VAP 2010 commenced with reading of the Pledge on 25-10-2010 and release of the 3rd Edition of "SCI Voyager" - the in house magazine of the Vigilance Division. This year, the main focus of observing Vigilance Awareness Period was "Generation of Awareness and Publicity against Corruption", accordingly, the SCI Vigilance Division organized various competitions such as Essay Writing, Speech, Poster / Cartoon, Slogan Writing for the benefit of the SCI's employees, who participated in large numbers with great enthusiasm.
An 'Audience Quiz' program was also conducted on the valedictory day i.e. Monday the 1st November 2010. Kailash Gupta, Director (P&A), SCI was the Chief Guest and M.B. Sagar IPS, CVO, SCI was the Guest of Honour at the Valedictory Function. Prizes were awarded to the winners of the various competitions. The P&A Division was awarded the Rolling Trophy for Best Participating Division. The Best Vigilance Officer of the Year Award was won by V. Shankar Bhat, General Manager. Both

Bijapurkar resigns from Godrej Consumer Board

Ms.Rama Bijapurkar, Non-executive and Independent Director of Godrej
Consumer Products Ltd has resigned from the company's Board of
Directors.

Ramu's resignation accepted

The Board of Directors of Puravankara Projects Ltd have accepted the
resignation of Ravi Ramu, a Non-executive Director of the Company.

Vedanta Resources appoints Chief Sustainability Officer

Vedanta Resources has appointed Antony Henshaw as its Chief
Sustainability Officer to further the social initiatives of the
India-focused group.

Rajan takes charge as CMD RCF

R G Rajan has taken charge as the new Chairman and Managing Director
of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (RCF) on November 3.

Soni resigns as Company Secy.

Akhilesh Soni, Company Secretary, Blue Bird (India) Ltd has tendered
his resignation with effect from October 28, 2010 as Company Secretary
and Compliance officer of the Company.

Kunder appointed Company Secy.

David Kunder, Director (Finance) has been appointed as Compliance
Officer of Blue Bird (India) Ltd .

Shridhar resigns as CFO Future Capital

N. Shridhar, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Future Capital Holdings
Ltd has resigned from the company effective from November 5, 2010.

Mehrotra appointed Branch Head

Blue Lotus Communications has appointed Sulakshana Mehrotra as the
Group and Branch Head for Delhi office.

Vinsura Wines appoints COO

Gopal Jadhav has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of
Vinsura Wines. He will be responsible for managing day-to-day
operations and developing strategic marketing and sales initiatives.

Ambit Capital appoints Head (Equities)

Ambit Capital has appointed Saurabh Mukherjea as Head of Equities at
the Managing Director level.

Laddha appointed Company Secy. Birla Ericsson

Somesh Laddha, Senior Manager (Finance) has been appointed as
Wholetime Company Secretary of Birla Ericsson Optical Ltd with effect
from October 28, 2010.

Nadaf is Director SBI

State Bank of India has nominated G D Nadaf as officer-employee
Director on the central board of the bank.

Nabar is CEO and MD of Praj Industries

Gajanan Nabar has been appointed as CEO and Managing Director of the Praj Industries effective November 15.

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)

An eye opener for Obama !
Bharat Kumar your interviewing Obama appears to be a lesson(eye opener) to him and he might have got the mind of people in India. His give and take is good if its in honest terms for which our Government needs a lot of exercise. Two issues are required to be dealt with seriously -- involvement and participation of every Citizen of our country in improving living conditions/standards (Government to provide employment to all without any exception if really serious and honest) and to deal with the so called terrorism defined by America with care. It to be re studied. America has no concern with issues which effect our country but we should open door for dialogue with all who are not in main stream. Please note if we Indians don't change our mind set towards the down trodden section of society (we should love them and treat them as brothers), after Muslims a new issue might arise. Daily we see in papers that Dalits are being persecuted for no other reason than their being Dalits. We request you to work on poverty jurisprudence and attempt to bring all poor in stream. America has no solution to our issues. its only eye wash which we must not feel complacent of it.

May you live long!!!
Global College of Law
Maharatnas be allowed to decide retirement age
Maharatnas (PSUs) have been given power to frame their HR policies. They should be allowed to decide retirement age in their respective organizations. They are Maharatnas because they are being run very efficiently by their managements, and they know what is good.

Mani

Deserving candidates to head CBEC

S K Goel is one of the most deserving candidates to be the Chairman of the CBEC. The other two contenders to the post S D Majumdar and Parande are also equally deserving but Goel is more multidimensional.

A D Gupta

Old is gold

What is the hitch if the outstanding and medically fit people are given 62 years as the retiring date.? Why we say as like pre determined notions that babus are not good. Many of them are being absorbed in many MNCs and other places. Why not utilise with less expenditure and less burden on the administrative machinery. The old staff is gold
and should be honoured and not to be treated shabbily. Manmohan Singh himself used to sit in finance ministry as a chief economic adviser and used to go to UPSC for selecting people. He is basically having all experience as that of a bureaucrat. He must be not less than 73 than why is lagging behind in granting 62 years to the staff. He had made promises to some of secretariat staff and all of them are eagerly watching his promises and also feeling deceived . Let him think peacefully and fulfill the promises which he made with staff.

KUWANAR RAMSUMIRAN

Can we manage constructive cooperation with America?

It is a known fact that it is difficult to manage exponential growth unless you are prepared to do so. The same logic applies to the growing constructive cooperation between India and America. We are repeatedly sliding back into the past when we raise the past suspicions even in the new context. The world was different during the cold war era, so were India & America. Since then, times have changed drastically. Globalization has brought about new set of possibilities, problems and opportunities. Further, one 9/11 has brought about a change that was not anticipated even by Nobel winner economists(barring a feeble hint in the book"Clash of Civilizations"). It is in this changed global scenario that American policy based on "sanctions" is moving towards cooperation. What used to take countries of the third world(with whom India was erroneously, rather arrogantly clubbed)to make efforts to win American cooperation, is now flowing from the American initiative. It would be unwise to miss such an opportunity by wasting time in visiting the past or looking for motives on either side. This is an opportunity that has cropped up in the natural course of political and economic developments in the world. India's success would lie in making the best use of this opportunity and strengthen our friendly relations, which will result in all round cooperation between our two countries. One fact needs to be highlighted: the core personalities of the two nations are essentially complimentary--Indianness & Americanness. These two distinct identities are described variously in all references to values, democracy, human rights, peace and global order.Indo-American cooperation is not new. In fact, the kind of cooperation between the two countries that took place in the first few years of our Independence laid the foundation of genuine friendly relations between India & America. It is our penchant for condemning others in harsh terms and judging others without taking all aspects of the matter into consideration, which has cost us a lot in the diplomatic arena, not only with America but others.We may disagree with others, and that is our right, but can we do that like gentlemen? Our political vocabulary in international cooperation is perhaps not different from that in elections speeches! When the Prime Minister speaks in a gentle tone, he is mistaken for a weak politician or Prime Minister, because we love harsh acidic loud words of the sunshine politicians! But is our PM really weak? No, he is not. Rather nobody like him is, because he knows his authority and understands the power of his words. Was the US President Obama not his gentle speak best? Now the only question is, can we manage successfully this new cooperative spirit from the number one super power of the world? That will require competencies, capabilities and commitment of a global level. It means promoting merit in public administration in the government sector. CWG has proved what the meritorious government servants can deliver if given the responsibility and resources to employ intelligently in public interest alone. Is the Govt ready to bring about ?this revolution in our administrative culture

M L Gupta

Obama's Visit

.Obama said "Pakistan is an enormous country and strategically important". Strategically important for whom? For the US only to spy on Russia and China. Also, now on India. Let the US Stop the military assistance to Pakistan and eliminate the drug mafia. Pakistan will automatically will be reduced and will start talking merging with India. The so called super powers should stop assisting the ethnic groups with arms and ammunition. The assistance should only be for medical related or development oriented.

Prasad

India should chart its own path

Apropos the visit of the US President to India and the hype surrounding it, we must realise that India will have to chart its own path regardless of the USA. In the past, the US has given a short shrift to India's concerns about cross border terrorism. Even now, the US does not bother much about the cross border component. The conceptual understanding of terrorism is different in the two countries. For most of the USA, terror has acquired a hyphen, "Islamic". We in India know that terror has no religion. In India, Hindus and Muslims have lived as one civilisation for more than a thousand years.
The USA is least bothered about any other country. Its concerns are its own. Always and for ever. The US President is here in the wake of dwindling support at home. He has told the Americans that he is going to India to press open the market. That is all that he will try to do. If India thinks the US President will address its legitimate concerns in the region, that may be a fantasy. Pakistan continues to be a strategic partner of the USA in Afghanistan and the rest of that region and that position is unlikely to change. After all, for all the talk of non-proliferation, it is a fact that Pakistan's clandestine nuclear programme was not home grown, but relied almost exclusively on smuggling nuclear secrets from the West. The USA has always been aware that the aid it gives Pakistan is used to fight against India. Still, the tango continues at the same level.
However, it must also be understood that the people of the USA as a country are India's friends and there is a growing acceptance of India's increasing contribution to the world economy there. The only way is therefore to engage with the USA on all fronts but in the equation, national interest has to be placed at the forefront and the hoopla is better replaced by careful orchestration of policy.

A K Singh

Honest and brilliant officer

Sudhir Chandra is an honest and brilliant officer. obviously, those who are also in the run for Chairman CBDT want to spoil his chances by spreading rumours. He is the senior most and the most deserving.

Rita

Pathetic journalism

The level of journalism in this country is pathetic where news is created only to sensationalise the issue rather than fair and factual reporting. Collapse of deck of foot over bridge during construction and collapse of bridge in Pakistan six months after its inauguration are not comparable. As per enquiry report there was no shortcoming in the quality of material/construction of foot over bridge. Failure occurred due to inappropriate suspender system whose joints opened out during casting of concrete at the deck. However, our pathetic journalists projected it as national shame and went even to the extent of alleging that 50% money was eaten away in corruption(Times of India, 22nd Sept 2010;their source being someone residing in nearby railway quarters rather than taking opinion of any qualified engineer). This news was picked up by international media which prompted Ambassadors/ High Commissioners of ten countries taking a delegation to Govt. of India to get all the infrastructure work of CWG certified by international consultants. Even a Supreme Court judge remarked about corruption in CWG mentioning about foot over bridge collapse courtesy such irresponsible reporting which projected a purely technical accident as an act of corruption. This is an indication of sheer ignorance and mental inclination of the reporters.SKS