I really find this site is most predictable and most reliable for the bureaucratic news & re-shuffling including promotions, transfers & postings. My best compliments for keeping it on high spirit. Thanks & regards

Sunil Kumar

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

AN IMAGINARY INTERVIEW WITH PRANAB MUKHERJEE
In the latest issue of a weekly Pranab Da has given an interview! Imaginarily I injected him with truth serum and asked him some of the questions in this interview!
 
Question :When you were shifted from defense to the external affairs ministry, you told A.K. Antony, I give to you all my sleepless nights. How are your nights in North Block? 
Pranab Da: Well as External Affairs Minister I traveled a lot and usually slept on flights. Defense gave me sleepless nights because I was always scared some allegation about Defense Deals would crop up!
 
Q: And finance? 
PD: Well nowadays I sleep during the days. I just take off my shoes and sit on one of the comfy chairs in my Office and put up my legs on a stool and doze off ( its obvious he sleeps as his Ministry sleeps while fly by night inflows pour in and inflation hurts). Nowadays as I sleep during the day I do not get sleep at night. At night I sit and pen my dairy in detail. After all I’m going to pen my memoirs titled 'So near yet so far' soon!!
 
Q: What is your working equation with the prime minister, a man who once called you sir? 
PD: I feel people who show no emotion are very dangerous. I’m on a ‘forced to work’ relationship with him. And I really feel bad when he tries to force Punjabi cuisine on me when we have a working lunch. My stomach is like a gas cylinder after eating Sarson ka Sagh or karelas. And please that Sir was more like a mock!
 
Q: What does he call you now? I believe you told him that you will stop attending the Cabinet if he kept on calling you sir? 
PD: I just could not take his mocking 'Sir'. So I started addressing him  ‘Sir’ …. only I ended the Sir, stressing by prolonging the r….. Sirrrrrrr. Privately I hear he calls me ‘Baba Bangali’ ( in Punjab these guys practice occult)! 
 
Q: Do you think Rahul will become the prime minister? 
PD: Well he has to. Because Manmohan is like a ‘once in a lifetime seat warmer’. I am not on Sonia’s probable PMs list, but all those on the list have the potential of growing ambition wings once they become PM! And Manmohan does not have an unlimited shelf life!
 
Q: Will you join his Cabinet? 
PD: If he’s the Captain and if I’m still able to bat on the wicket then I will join his team! But if my faculties are not okay I’ll just fade away!! There is a school of thought that many old foggies like me have overstayed at the wicket!
 
Q: Why do you feel that? This Government will be lost without you. 
PD: With all this talk about reducing the average age of the Cabinet I feel we old foggies are the target! Please do not say this as this could be misconstrued by Madam 'does he think he's that important'???? 
 
Q: Then is it a no to joining Rahul's Cabinet? 
PD: It’ll be Rahul’s decision. I want to but if I say ‘yes’ it will be misconstrued as indiscipline! ‘Doodh ka jalaa drinks the milk after blowing it time and again to ensure its not hot’!
 
Q: Were you expecting the charge of home in 2004? 
PD: HM is a thankless job! But then it is the number two job in the Cabinet and was given to a failed PM candidate in the NDA Government .....so why should UPA be any different.... it is the consolation prize..... consolation prize ....number two berth. I wanted to be the PM …. when that did not happen I opted for FM …. but again my past caused a hiccup and I was made HM!
 
Q: Is failure to control inflation your biggest challenge? 
PD: Itni big Country mein aisi chotti chotti baathen hothi rehthi hai! I do not know why inflation is being blown out of proportion?? Inflation is a fallout of growth. Growth is rising, population is rising, inflows are rising, Rupee is rising…. in this rising envioronment why should you expect in inflation downsizing?
 
Q: What is the equation between you and Sonia Gandhi? She seems to respect you but not trust you.
 
PD: I think she respects me because I’m untrustworthy. Had I not been so I’d be like a doormat …. taken for granted all the time! Do I need to give you an example? 
 
Q: Is it time to set the record straight as to what went wrong between you and Rajiv Gandhi in 1984? The full story has never been told. 
PD: And will never be told because he’s gone! Why are you asking me ask Madam?
 
Q: The office of the President of India will be vacant again in 2012. 
PD: Madam does not trust me so do you think she’ll trust me to be the President? Do not forget many a time the President plays a crucial role. Look up history! The 'rubber stamp' can make or break the Government! 
 
Q: Any regrets of not being offered the prime minister's job? 
PD: If I could go back in time I’d rectify my act that caused Madam to distrust me! My sleeping only a few hours is an outfall of my not being offered PM’s job……I spent sleepless nights after this and it became a habit!
 
Q: You do not want to be the prime minister then? 
PD: I yearned to be the PM. My act that made Sonia distrust me shows that I yearned for this job! But alas now they say Sonia will make Pranab the PM the day pigs fly! My hope is people used to say pigs would fly the day a black man becomes USA’s President…. Obama became US’s President and this gives me hope that my becoming PM does not depend on a pig being mated with a bird!! 

Bharat Kumar

Cabinet reshuffle or AICC re-constitution ?
Meeting between Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday did not yield any result. Sonia wanted the PM to reshuffle his cabinet first while PM insisted on the re-constitution of the AICC.
Cabinet reshuffle this week or --?
In political circles it is believed that the Cabinet reshuffle will either take place this week or only early next year.So far there is no official word.
Prof. K. V. Thomas likely to be elevated
Indian Minister of State for Agriculture Prof. K. V. Thomas is likely to be elevated.
Who is behind the raid  ?
Who is behind the raid at BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal ?.Supporters of Mittals have a hunch that Arun Jaitley is behind the curtain.
BUREAUCRACY
Kaun Banega Foreign Secretary (10) MEA moots 2 year tenure for Secretary
S. M. Krishna who holds the portfolio of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the Government of India (GOI) has reportedly sought two year tenure for Secretary MEA. Picture will, however, be clear only in November.If the proposal is cleared present Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will continue till July.
Will Chandra Mauli be Secretary Health ?
Name of K Chandra Mauli has started doing the round for the post of Secretary Health in the Government of India. He is 1976 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. P K Pradhan will take over from Chandra Mauli in August after his superannuation. Present Secretary Sujata Rao is retiring next month end.
Meet for empanelment  1990 batch of IPS officers held
A meeting relating to empanelment of IPS officers belonging to 1990 batch for central deputation was held in which around  80 officers
were cleared .
S. Srinivasan elevated as IG in BSF
S. Srinivasan, a cadre officer of BSF has been elevated as IG and made in charge of Training. He is rated as an ace officer in anti
insurgency operations.
Interviews for NHPC chief on October 22, 2010
Interviews for the post of Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of the NHPC will be held on October 22, 2010. Those who will vie for the top
post are: D.P.Bhargawa Director Technical NHPC, J.K. Sharma Director Projects NHPC, R. S. Meena Director Personnel NHPC, Sanjay Kumar
Mittal Director & CEO Hydro Lanco Infratech, A B Agrawal Chairman of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and H.K. Sharma CMD Satluj Jal
Vidyut Nigam (SJVN).
J K Sharma to be new CMD of NHPC ?
J K Sharma is likely to be selected new CMD of the NHPC.Interview is slated for tomorrow.He is presently Director (Projects) in the NHPC.
Five Secretaries to retire in GoI this month
Five secretaries are retiring in the Government of India this month end. They are Mssrs Shantanu Consul Personnel,U N Panjiyar Water Resources,Veer Singh Parseera Official Languages, Ms S Jalaja AYUSH and Shashi Prakash, Adviser, Inter State Council.
Parande in run for slot of CBEC’s chief
As the grapevine has it, YG Parande Member Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is one of three contenders for the slot of Chairman, CBEC.
Karam Vir Singh to be DG J&K ?
There is a proposal to send Uttar Pradesh DGP Karam Vir Singh as DGP of the J & K. He is 1975 batch IPS officer.
Brij Lal to succeed Karam Vir Singh ?
In case Karam Vir Singh moves to J&K, in all probability Brij Lal will succeed him as DGP of Uttar Pradesh. Brij Lal is 1977 batch IPS officer. One thing is certain Brij Lal will be DGP of Uttar Pradesh at the time of Vidhan Sabha elections.
Prabhakaran is Jt. Commissioner KV Sangathan
O.M. Prabhakaran who was hitherto Mumbai based regional head Sample Survey of India has assumed charge as Joint Commissioner (Administration) in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) under the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry. He is an Indian Statistical Service (ISS) cadre officer who belongs to the 1986 batch.
RBI Governor gets less than chiefs of other banks
RBI Governor D Subbarao's total remuneration is less than what the chiefs of private sector banks or even less than what the chiefs of most of the public sector banks get. The salaries of some of the bank chiefs is even 20-times more than what is paid to RBI official.
Sreedharan does not want extension
DMRC Chairman Sreedharan does not want 6 month extension being offered to him.
Prasar Bharti Board meeting today
Meeting of the Prasar Bharti is going to take place on Thursday.
IA&AS officer Mohinder Singh promoted and transferred .
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has promoted Mohinder Singh-II (IA&AS-1984), Principal Director of Audit, Defence Services, Chandigarh, to the grade of Principal Accountant General. He has been transferred and posted as Principal Accountant General (A&E), Assam, Guwahati.
Gupta transferred as DGM SBI’ Ahmedabad Circle 
Arvind Gupta, Assistant General Manager in SBI Regional Business Office, Region – I, Panchkula, has been transferred as Deputy General Manager Ahmedabad Circle.  
Ms. S. Bhattasali empanelled as Jt. Secretary in GOI
Ms. S. Bhattasali has been empanelled in Government of India (GOI) for posting as Joint Secretary. She is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer who belongs to the 1981 batch.
Ms Smriti is Under Secretary MEA
Ms Smriti has been appointed Under Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. She is 2004 batch IA&AS officer.
Deadline for Electric Railway loco project extended
As the grapevine has it, the Railway Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee has extended deadline meant for bid of Rs. 33000 crore Electric Railway loco project from October 25 to November 25, 2010.
IDAS officer to join GoI as Dy Secretary
Kavita Garg is joining as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. She is 1999 batch IDAS officer.
Who will be new CEO AP ?
Who will succeed I V Subba Rao as Chief Electoral Officer Andhra Pradesh ?.Names of M G Gopal,S P Tucker and Bhanwarilal are in circulation.
IAS reshuffle in Karnataka
There is IAS reshuffle in Karnataka. New postings are MSSRS:-B.N. Krishnaiah Deputy Commissioner, Uttara Kannada,K. Amaranarayana Deputy Commissioner, Chamarajanagar district,Amlan Aditya Biswas Deputy Commissioner, Bellary district,Subodh Yadav Deputy Commissioner, Dakshina Kannada,Chakravarthi Mohan Director, Pre-University Education & Special Officer, Common Entrance Test Cell, Bangalore,V. Ponnuraj Deputy Commissioner, Shimoga district,S. Shankaranarayana Deputy Commissioner, Gadag district, M.N. Ajay Nagabhushan, Managing Director Deputy Commissioner, Ramanagaram district,N.V. Prasad Deputy Commissioner, Chitradurga district and C. Shikha Deputy Commissioner, Kolar district.
IFS promotions in J&K
21 IFS officers belonging to 1986,87 and 88 batch have been promoted to the rank of CCF.They are Mssrs:-P K Singh, B Sidarth Kumar, S M Khan, Subhash Chander, S P Sharma, H S Slathia, Upender Pachnanda, Abdul Qayoom Khan, Mohd Shafiq Khan, Manuraj Singh, L K Sharma, Manzoor Ahmed, Mohd Hussain, Hafizullah Sadiqui, Mahesh Chander, Arun Kumar, Om Parkash Sharma, Neelu Gera, Mohit Gera, V S Charak and Roshan Jaggi.

Basudeb Banerjee hands over charge (UPDATED)
Since central deputation tenure of Basudeb Banerjee as Chairman Tea Board
concluded he handed over his charge on October 19,2010. He is an IAS officer
of the 1983 batch who belongs to the West Bengal cadre.
Ms. Roshni Sen is holding charge as Tea Board chief (UPDATED)
Ms. Roshni Sen Deputy Chief of the Tea Board is holding charge as Chairperson Tea Board. Since central deputation tenure of Basudeb Banerjee as Chairman Tea Board concluded he handed over his charge to Ms. on October 19,2010. Ms. Roshni Sen is an IAS officer of the 1993 batch who belongs to the West Bengal cadre while Banerjee is an IAS officer of 1983 batch who also belongs to the West Bengal cadre.
Seven IAS officers in Rajasthan transferred (UPDATED)
As many as seven IAS officers in Rajasthan have been transferred. Accordingly, Jogaram has been made CEO, Zila Parishad, Bikaner, P Ramesh has been made CEO, Zila Parishad - Kota, V Sarvankumar has been made CEO, Zila Parishad - Bharatpur, Mrs. Shilpa has been made CEO, Zila Parishad - Ajmer, Vishnu Charan Mullick has been made CEO, Zila Parishad - Jaipur, Ms. Tina Soni has been made CEO, Zila Parishad - Udaipur and Ms. Anandhi has been made CEO, Zila Parishad - Jodhpur.

CORPORATE
G Elias on the Board of SAIL
G Elias, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Steel is now on the Board of the SAIL. He is 1982 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.
Baba Kalyani unlikely to attend MP Govt.’s investors meet
As the grapevine has it, noted industrial tycoon and Chairman of the Bharat Forge group Baba Kalyani is unlikely to attend Madhya Pradesh Government’s investors meet slated to start on October 22, 2010 in Khajuraho because his father Dr. Neelkanth Kalyani is hospitalized in Pune. However, Baba Kalyani’s commitment for a good amount of investment stands as it is.
NTPC Board is now complete
With the taking of of N N Mishra as Director ( Operations) now the Board of the NTPC is now complete. Atleast for one year there is no vacancy in the NTPC.
Dheeraj Hinduja is now Chairman of Ashok Leyland
Dheeraj G. Hinduja has been appointed Chairman of Ashok Leyland. He takes over from R. J. Shahaney, who was Chairman of the company since August 1997.
CCL officers transferred
Altogether seventeen CCL officials have been transferred on Wednesday.
Mukherjee is GM SBT
Santanu Mukherjee has taken over as General Manager (Planning and Development) of the State Bank of Travancore.
Bansal appointed Addl. Director, Allcargo Global 
Allcargo Global Logistics Limited has appointed Mohinder Pal Bansal as an Additional Director, Independent Non-Executive, of the Company . 
Ravichandran resigns as MD 
V. Ravichandran resigned from the office of the Managing Director of  Coromandel International Ltd . He would continue as a Non Executive Director on the Board of Directors of the Company.  
Thadani resigns from Orchid Chemicals  
Anil Thadani has resigned from the Board of the Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited with effect from September 28, 2010.  
Nayar is VC HCL Tech 
HCL Technologies Ltd has appointed Vineet Nayar as Vice Chairman of the Company effective from November 01, 2010. He shall continue to be the CEO & Whole-time Director of the Company.
Two Reliance top exec. resign   
Inder Bajaj, heading Reliance Infratel, and George Varghese, President ( Enterprise Broadband Business) - have both put in their papers. 
Principal Mutual appoints Head (Equity)  
Principal Mutual Fund has appointed P V K Mohan as Head-Equity with immediate effect. 
Dhupar appointed NVIDIA MD  
NVIDIA has appointed Vishal Dhupar as Managing Director, Sales and Marketing for South Asia, responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of its business in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan, effective immediately.  
Resignation of Sreenivas accepted  
The Board of  Goldstone Technologies Limited has accepted the resignation of Mr. D P Sreenivas as Director of the Company with effect from the closing hours of October 19, 2010 and appointed Ram Sajja, Director, as the Managing Director of the Company, with effect from October 19, 2010. 
Power Ministry appoints directors 
The Union Ministry of  Power had appointed the following as non-official part-time Directors on the Board of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd -- Dr.P.K. Shetty. (2) Dr.A.S. Narag. (3) F.A. Vandrevala. (4)  Anil K. Agarwal.
Thiruvananthapuram international airport Director shifted
Thiruvananthapuram international airport director V N Chandran has been shifted. G. Chandramouli of the Karipur airport will be new Director.
Viji promoted in Sundaram Mutual
Harsha Viji has been promoted and appointed Deputy Managing Director of Sundaram Mutual (known as Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual till recently).
Kapil Mohan  is MD of Coromandel International
Kapil Mehan has taken over as the new Managing Director of Coromandel International for a period of five years.
BSI appoints Akhila Jha as GM - Delivery Operations
Blue Star Infotech (BSI), a provider of software solutions for the global mid-market space has appointed Akhila Jha as General Manager - Delivery Operations. Akhila will be responsible for corporate quality management, program management office, technical training and MIS functions within BSI. Prior to joining BSI, Akhila spent five years at Infosys in the quality department responsible for quality assurance, customer experience and business excellence across units, implementing CMMi and MBNQA standards.
Arctern receives ISO 27001 Certification
Arctern Consulting Pvt. Ltd., and affiliate Arctern, Inc. a global provider of information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing services (BPO), has attained the globally recognized ISO 27001 accreditation. The certification covers Arctern's production offices in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. ISO 27001 is the latest international standard developed exclusively for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS), requiring companies to employ a methodical approach to managing sensitive information and ensuring data security.
Percept Out of Home appoints Joseph Ramsey as Regional Manager
Joseph Ramsey has been appointed as Regional Manager – West, Outdoor Vertical, at Percept Out Of Home. He took charge from October 1, 2010. He will be responsible for managing the outdoor business for the West, business development initiatives and innovative outdoor solutions to all major clients in the growing Indian outdoor market.
Jet Airways brings Italian getaways with JetEscapes for Indian travellers
Jet Airways has introduced exclusive Italian holiday packages through JetEscapes, the airline's range of domestic and international travel packages. Designed to provide guests with Italian travel experience, the JetEscapes packages will coincide with the airline’s launch of a daily non-stop service from New Delhi to Milan commencing December 5, 2010.
Uniyal appointed CEO of CNBC-TV18 and CNBC AWAAZ
Anil Uniyal, COO, Network18 Media and Business Head, TV18 Media Operations, has been appointed CEO of CNBC-TV18 and CNBC AWAAZ. He will be responsible for the strategic, financial and operational management of the business news network. Earlier, Uniyal was leading the commercial arm of the Group, Network18 Media with responsibilities for driving the topline for the CNBC Channels and Forbes India.
AirAsia to introduce flights from Bangkok to Delhi & Kolkata
AirAsia will connect Bangkok with Delhi and Kolkata from December 1,2010. While the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) will operate a daily flight on Bangkok-Kolkata route, the Bangkok-Delhi route will be served four days in a week. To celebrate the launch, AirAsia has announced special inaugural fares starting from Rs 4,500 one way from Delhi and Rs 2,500 one way from Kolkata to Bangkok for travel between December 1, 2010 and August 11, 2011.
Domestic flights from Terminal 3 at IGIA to begin from Oct 30
Domestic flights will start operating from the newly built Terminal 3 (T3) at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from October 30, 2010, to ensure seamless transfer of international passengers.

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)

Kissa Kursi Ka
LEGALISING CORRUPTION:
In India, over the years, we have already legalised corruption and it has been appreciated by one and all. For example, Railways Tatkal Seva. Pay more and get railway reservation on priority.
Pradeep Ratnaparkhi

Bureaucrats know all
All the political parties are same to same. Bureaucrats know how to manipulate the prevailing corrupt system and change coats quickly. All political parties thrive on opportunists and with their help suck blood of common man.
Lok Nath Mehra

Congrats Rajiv
Rajiv Mathur served as a junior colleague when I became the 1st D.G.P. of Chhattisgarah. An intelligent and creative officer hope he shines on as Director of N.P.A.
M K Shukla former Director NPA

Extend Metro Line
Perhaps serious though has not been given to Central Sectt- Red Fort Metro line. It should be extended to ISBT/Kashmiri Gate. A whole lot of people from Yamuna work at and around Central Sectt and have to go to Yamuna Par. At present they trave upto Kashmiri Gate and then take Shahdra Metro resulting into over crowing in Jahagir Puri metro. If Red Fort metro is extended to Kashmir Gate they will shift to it Sectt-Kashmiri Gate leaving space for Jahagir Puri route passengers. Convey the suggestion to all concerned.
PP Kalra

Browsers speak: Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi
The announcement of a probe, by a retired CAG, into CWG allegations by the Prime Minister is somewhat confounding when seen in the context that the Institutions established for these very purposes viz: CVC, CAG, CBI had all begun their investigations well before the conclusion of the CWG 2010. Do these Institutions lack credibility in the eyes of the P M or is there a hidden agenda?
Deep

The supporters of Commonwealth Games proclaimed that the games would bring glory to the country and India will showcase aka China its might to the world. But look at what we have ended up in showcasing to the world?
We have showcased our system of working aptly eulogized by our beloved Minster of Sports as 'chaotic Punjabi wedding' way of working.
We have showcased how deep rooted is the corruption in our system.
We have showcased to the world pettiness of our political leaders who took no time to pass the blame to others when the things were going bad and were equally fast in cornering any credit that accrued aka Sheila Dixit. And now are busy in mudslinging on each other.
We have showcased to the world that though we have credible institutions like CAG, CVC etc but the processes and procedures are so long that by the time any meaningful reports would be out the thieves may have already gone after looting the house.
Yes we also has showcased some good things like our emerging sporting culture, our cultural and historical heritage, our world famous Indian hospitality and our growing economic strength but all this has been eclipsed by the corrupt and inefficient system.
I also feel sad for a number of officers who worked with sincerity, zeal and above all honesty to ensure that games are held without hitch and there is hardly anyone talking about their efforts.
MB

I had been reading lot of comments for and against the corruption, loot and mis-management of CWG funds by the Organization Committee and its connected components. GOI has already set up an inquiry committee and its so called farce audit by CAG as usual. Will some result come out of it. The answer is s big No.Net result is ZERO and corrupt practices flourish in the Government. The only solution to this problem is minimum 20 to 30 years jail for any economic offence and any mis-management of the Government funds. Unless this is done nothing will improve.
Harish Kumar