What people say about us !

Presently, you are great whistle-blower in India. Lot of thanks to your website.

Sukumaran T

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Rahul Gandhi ko gussa kyon aatha hai!!
Because jahaa bhi jaatha hai apne app ko koi controversy mein paatha hai!!

Rahul's UP campaign and partial takeover kick started on an ominous note...... literally kick started!!! Some SP workers appeared shouting slogans and waving black flags as Rahul's Chopper landed... police chased them.... but seeing an opportunity to score brownie points Jiten Prasad, a Cabinet Minister, and Pramod Tiwari ran up to the SP workers who had already been felled by Police and started kicking them!! Then in his speech as expected Rahul spoke of his Dalit home-stays!!! He said that Leaders must understand the poor's 'haalath' firsthand!!! Eat the food they eat and drink the water they drink!!! Chalo in UP there is a BSP Government so Rahul can't do much but but in Maharashtra he stayed at Kalawathi's house and made her his mascot....but despite there being a Congress - NCP Government and thus his ability to improve Kalawathi and her lot's living conditions, Rahul did nothing.... they still drink dirty water and eat next to nothing!!! And then after the speech he was seen drinking from a bottle of Aquafina!! And then he made the stupid comment on UPites going to Maharashtra with begging bowls.... he could have put if differently ....... UPites lack jobs in UP and have to go to Maharashtra and Punjab ....but then he could not have shammed gussa!!! And he seems to forget that in Mumbai the pays are higher.... in fact double..... Cabbies , who do not even own the cab, make anything between 400-600/day..... generally those from UP make enough to live in Mumbai and even send money back home!!! In my opinion Rahul has staked a lot in the UP election and the start has been ominous!!!

Kingfisher's business plan was faulty or defective!!!
Capital infusion will prove to be ineffective!

Because six months down the line Mallya will be back with his katora asking for a bailout......and who says he did not plead for a bailout!! Do you think out of the goodness of their hearts PM and Pranab Da are talking about a bailout for Kingfisher!! Kingfisher should never have tried to position itself as a 'niche' Airline !! Apart from meals what else is there to offer on short flights….with traffic and tight schedules passengers just make it in time to the Airport....... and Airports are more interesting now..... so lounges are not of great consideration!! Budget airlines offer hot meals at a fraction of the cost…. so why travel by a full service airline when you can travel budget and get meals to!! Mallya says he's going for top end as there will be a massacre in the Budget sector..... in such a scenario if he thinks niche sector will not be affected then he's' got it all wrong! Chalo in all probability Mallya will in due course get a 'experienced gora' to run Kingfisher and also arrange the funds.... but I still feel if Kingfisher is to have a chance to survive then 'a regulator should be appointed for Mallya'.... King Of Good times need to be reigned in..... it is not fun and games all the time.... and especially on OPM ... Other People's Money!!

Petrol prices being revised downward!!!
Congress's hope..... this will make its electoral fortunes move upward!

Last two upward revisions in petrol prices were attributed to rising Dollar and falling Rupee!!! Well Dollar is at a new high versus the Rupee..... Oil prices have not fallen....... so why the downward revision in Petrol Prices???? Another sign of the mindlessness that prevails in UPA!!! One day market forces rule and next day electoral compulsions rule! Today Fuel is a 'tax spinner' for the Government and this will sooner or later have to change!! Fuel duties and taxes are not being cut because if this is done either the deficit will rise considerably or cuts would have to be made in subsidies!!!!! Subsidies are bleeding the Nation....cut subsidies but plug the leakages so that despite the reduction in subsidies more reaches the target... from the current 8 paisa per Rupee increase the delivery to 40 paisa in every Rupee and the Subsidy Bill can be cut by half!! But this requires a huge does of honesty to be injected into the system..... because of the 92 paisa of every Rupee that is waylaid..... 80 pasia goes to the corrupt and 12 paisa is wasted!!!

PS..... Congress is approaching Court to muzzle Swamy on 2 G...... by the way Sub Judice is a term used for Jury trials.....and technically not applicable here!! By the way CBI has still not handed over Swamy the file that Court has ordered CBI to handover to him......why????? Maybe now CBI will say it's lost the file!!!! Pawar is in talks with Shiv Sena...he is hedging.... he learnt this from Commodity Trading , in which he's supposed to have made millions! Does Justice Hegde have Lokpal dreams...not the Lokpal Bill only but becoming the Lokpal... some say his joining Anna and then the differences are all part of a game plan!! After the beating that SP workers got at Rahul's helipad and the way Kejriwal has been attacked the message that has emanated.....beware of Congress's haath!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Are we heading for a slowdown?
India's macro economic growth is likely to come down lower than what the RBI had predicted at 7.6 percent. There are various reasons to believe that the growth will slip further because all economic and financial indicators are heading for a slowdown say economist. A look at figures clearly shows that Index of Industrial Production growth for the month of September 2011 came in at 1.9%, down 1.3% month on month and the slowest growth seen in the last couple of years. Manufacturing growth dropped by 1.1% in the month. Tax collections for October 2011 saw a slowdown with indirect tax collection up by only 8% year on year. The gross direct tax collection for the April-October 2011 period was 48.5% of the total budgeted amount and the net tax collection growth was 7.1% for the period. The hole in government finances is felt in the overdraft the government is running with the RBI. The government overdraft with the RBI as on November 4, 2011 was over Rs 50,000 crores i.e. way higher than the amount of Rs 20,000 crores overdraft limit set by the RBI. Exports for October 2011 fell by 18% on a month on month basis. Exports peaked out at $ 29.3 billion in July 2011 after which it is consistently down. October exports is the weakest this fiscal. Prolonged slowdown in the global economy could bring down export growth further. Total domestic vehicle sales dropped by a percent in October 2011 on a year on year basis with the passenger car segment seeing a 20% fall in growth. Two wheelers and Commercial Vehicles grew by 2% and 18% respectively in October 2011. Two wheeler growth rates have come off from 24% growth levels seen in September 2011. High interest rates and high inflation is affecting vehicle sales. The situation arising ahead is worrisome because the government borrowings are rising and financial tightening to curb inflation is choking the industry say experts.

BUREAUCRACY

R C Mishra to be Provident Fund Commissioner
R C Mishra is being tipped to be Central Provident Fund Commissioner. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Manipur-Tripura cadre.

Nandita Chatterjee to be Additional Secretary, Forests and Environment
Nandita Chatterjee is being appointed Additional Secretary Forests and Environment in the Government of India. She is 1980 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.

Anil Swarup to be Additional Secretary, Labour
Anil Swarup is being tipped to be Additional Secretary Labour in the Government of India. He is 1981 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

V N Gaur to get extension?
V N Gaur is all set to get extension in Food Safety Authority in the Government of India. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre.

N Ravi Shankar to join Telecom Ministry!
N Ravi Shankar is reportedly joining the Universal Services Obligatory Fund in the Ministry of Telecom. He is 1980 batch IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

Upadhyay to be MD, MRPL
P P Upadhyay is being tipped to be new MD of the Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL).The PESB has put his name number one in the Panel.

Cadre of IAS officer changed from Punjab to UP
Cadre of 2010 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre Ms Sandeep Kaur has been changed to Uttar Pradesh on the ground of marriage to 2010 batch IAS officer Yogesh Kumar.

Cadre of another IAS officer also changed
Cadre of another IAS officer Manisha Trighatia has also been changed from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh on ground of marriage to Pankaj Kumar. Both are 2002 batch IAS officer.

Inter-State deputation tenure of IAS officer extended
Inter-State cadre deputation tenure of 1983 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre Yeshi Tsering has been extended for one year. He is on deputation to the UT cadre and presently posted in Arunachal Pradesh.

Rao appointed Ambassador to Lao PDR
C. Gururaj Rao, presently Consul General of India in Birmingham has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Lao PDR. Rajiv Datt is MD,Indian Railway Finance Corporation Rajiv Datt who so far was Financial Commissioner (FC), Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has assumed charge as Managing Director (MD) of the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) Ltd. He is an IRAS officer of the 1980 batch.
(We said this on October 11, 2011)

Vivekanand to join SPG?
Vivekanand is likely to join the SPG as SP. He is 1996 batch IPS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre.

Guess which officer figured in one of the Wikileaks cables
As per Wikileaks, David Mulford (then US Ambassador at New Delhi) quoted D M Mitra (IPS/ 83/ MP) extensively in one of his cables to Washington. His five page cable was based on Mitra's talk on naxalism in a seminar organized by Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies which, according to the cable, was attended by former Indian Governors, Secretaries and Generals. He described Mitra as a leading expert on Indian Left-wing Extremism. USA is listening to our experts keenly but are we?

Vibhuti Bhushabn Patel to be a Director, Land Resources
As the grapevine has it, Vibhuti Bhushabn Patel, an officer of the Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS), on central deputation, is poised be Director, Land Resources. He belongs to the 2000 batch.

Will PIL bring to question integrity of SEBI?
Will the present PIL against the SEBI Chief's appointment and his role in preventing cases against the influential and the powerful in the corporate world for their alleged involvement in market manipulation, open a nexus of corporate and government cross connections, is the latest whispers the corridors of power.

GoI amends rules for its staff
The Government of India (GoI) has modified rules regarding purchase of any movable or immovable asset by its officers and employees. As against old system, now they will have to inform their higher ups if the worth of such assets bought by them was more than their two months' salary.

Will Sarma move to Ministry of Tribal Affairs?
There is a buzz in the Ministry of Home Affairs of lateral shift of Joint Secretary G V Venugopala Sarma to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. He is 1986 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.

Ashutosh Tripathi to continue as DDG (Vigilance)/CVO - Posts
Ashutosh Tripathi (IPoS-1981battch), CPMG Madhya Pradesh Cirlce will continue to look after the additional charge of DDG (Vigilance)/CVO Department of Posts.

Minz promoted as DIG in NIA
Solomon Yash Kumar Minz, SP, National Investigative Agency (NIA), New Delhi has been promoted as DIG. He is an IPS officer of 1997 batch who belongs to the MP cadre.

Dr. Kushal Pathak to join NATGRID
Dr. Kushal Pathak (IPoS-2000 batch), has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Avinash to be a Director, Commerce
As the grapevine has it, Avinash on central deputation is poised be Director, Commerce. Avinash is an IAS officer of the 1994 batch who belongs to the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. Presently, he is Secretary Panchayati Raj & Rural Development to the Assam Government.

R Chandrasekharan is new Secretary, General Insurance Council
R Chandrasekharan (Ex GM-GIC) has been appointed as Secretary General, General Insurance Council, by IRDA. He will take charge on Wednesday. He replaces S L Mohan.

Tenure of Sisodia ends on Thursday
Who is going to be the next DG, IDSA? The outgoing DG Mr. N.S.Sisodia's term ends on 17th August 2011.

IA&AS officer Kothari to move to Shimla
VN Kothari, Senior Deputy Accountant General (Admn/ITMG), O/o Principal Accountant General (C&RA), Gujarat, Ahmedabad, on relief from his present duties by S Santhanavel will move as Director, NAAA, Shimla. He will relieve Dharmendra Kumar.

Post of GM Security AAI is vacant
The post of General Manager of Security Airports Authority of India (AAI), Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, New Delhi is currently lying vacant.

A.R. Chadha is ED (Forests), SAIL
A R Chadha, on central deputation, has joined the Steel Authority of India Litd (SAIL) as Executive Director (ED) Forests. He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1981 batch who belongs to the Maharashra cadre.

Post of Director (Finance), ONGC Limited vacant
The post of Director (Finance), ONGC Limited is vacant. Those willing to apply can send their applications to Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) before December 26, 2011.

CAG to celebrate its 150 anniversary
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) will be celebrating its 150th anniversary in Mumbai on Wednesday. Skandan on leave for a month K.Skandan, Joint Secretary, Jammu&Kashmir, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has gone on a personal leave for a month. He is likely to join office on 20th of November, 2011. He is an IAS officer of 1982 batch who belongs to the TN cadre.

Sinha is new Development Commissioner in Bihar
Ashok Kumar Sinha has been appointed new development commissioner in Bihar. He is 1976 batch IAS officer.

Kalyan Chaudhury is IT Ombudsman in Ahemdabad
Former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax Kalyan Chaudhuri has been appointed as income tax ombudsman in Ahmedabad. He is retired 1975 batch IRS (IT) officer.

(We said this on September 10, 2011)

IAS changes in Kerala
In a minor bureaucratic reshuffle the Kerala Government has posted Pranab Jyoti Nath (IAS 2005 batch) as Executive Director (ED) of the "Jalnidhi" project. It's a World Bank (WB) aided project, worth Rs.1000 crore. Dr. K Ellangovan (IAS 1992) who is Transport Secretary to the Kerala Government has been given additional charge of Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). He is an MBBS besides being an MS in Orthopedics

150 ITS repatriated officers report in Delhi (UPDATED)
As many as 150 out of 400 Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officers belonging to ranks of junior administrative grade (JAG), senior administrative grade (SAG) and higher administrative grade (HAG) who were relieved to join the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) since November 9, 2011. have joined in Delhi. All of them were selected by the UPSC.

Railtel seeks 10 repatriated officers of ITS cadre (UPDATED)
RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RailTel) has sought services of 10 repatriated Indian Telecom Service (ITS) on deputation.

Sinha is new DGP of Tripura (UPDATED)
Sanjay Sinha has taken over as new DGP of Tripura on Wednesday. He is 1978 batch IPS officer.

NSIC Techmart India-2011 gets off to oa fabulous start (UPDATED)
Techmart India 2011, showcasing the strengths and capabilities of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), which got off to a fabulous start at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, with the inauguration by the Minister for MSME Virbhadra Singh in the presence of R K Mathur, Secretary, MSME and Dr H P Kumar, CMD, NSIC, offers low-cost technologies for setting up MSME covering a range of industries like light engineering, mechanical products, electrical and electronics, institutions, leather products, auto components, information technology, pharmaceuticals, ceramic, machine and machine tools and general products and gives MSME units an opportunity to enhance their marketing efforts and technology transfer. Organised by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), the Techmart Pavilion, spread over an area of 5,000 sq m, not only provides a platform for those associated with the MSME sector but also those interested in keeping abreast with the latest technological developments in the MSME sector. A total of 415 enterprises from all over the country are participating in Techmart India which will continue upto Nov 27 this year. Also present during the inauguration ceremony were Saurabh Chandra, AS&FA ,MSME, Amarendra Sinha, DC, MSME, R K Manchanda, Economic Advisor, MSME, P Udaya Kumar, Director(P&M),NSIC and Members of Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce, etc. The focus of Techmart is low cost Technologies and projects suitable for Employment Generation. More than 40 delegations from African countries are visiting Techmart India to take its advantage.


Anand Sharma inaugurates South Africa Pavilion at IITF 2011 (UPDATED)
The Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and the CMD of the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), Dr. H P Kumar inaugurated the South African Pavilion, at Pragati Maiden, in the presence of Ms. Elizabeth Thabethe, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry (South Africa), at the 31st India International Trade Fair (IIFT), which has a great assortment of products on display at various national and international pavilions. Dr Kumar appreciated the products and display profile of the participating units in the Pavilion. Ms. Thabethe also led a high power business delegation to Techmart India 2011 where the delegates showed keen interest in the Technologies displayed for self employment.

Pertin gets additional charge in Arunachal Pradesh (UPDATED)
M Pertin, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Industries, Trade and Commerce has been assigned additional charge of Geology and Mining as well as MD, Arunachal Pradesh Mineral Development and Trading Corporation. He is AGMUT cadre 1992 batch IAS officer.

IAS changes in Madhya Pradesh (UPDATED)
There has been a minor IAS change in Madhya Pradesh. Accordingly, Masood Akhtar - Additional Director - Health has been posted as Collector of Sidhi, while Rajendra Singh - Deputy Secretary Health has been made Additional Director - Health.

B.S.Mishra to be CVO, Eeastern Coalfields (UPDATED)
B.S. Mishra is going to be new Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the Eeastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL),Asansol. He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1989 batch who belongs to the Manipur-Tripura (M-T) cadre.

Ms Anjuly Chib Duggal appointed addl secy in Expenditure Ministry (UPDATED)
Ms Anjuly Chib Duggal, Joint Secretary, Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, has been appointed as Additional Secretary of same Department. She is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre.


Ms Nandita Chatterjee appointed addl secy, Environment & Forest (UPDATED)
Ms Nandita Chatterjee, DDG, CAPART in Rural Development has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Environment and Forest. She is a 1980 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.

M C Pandit promoted as CIT, Gujarat region (UPDATED)
M C Pandit, Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Gujarat region, has been promoted as Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT) and retained at his present place of posting.

Dinesh Singh posted as OSD in CCIT (CCA), Delhi region (UPDATED)
Dinesh Singh, Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, on return from deputation, has been posted as OSD in CCIT (CCA), Delhi region.

Sanjay Gupta selected as Director (Commercial), EIL(UPDATED
Sanjay Gupta, Executive Director, EIL, has been selected as Director (Commercial), Engineers India Limited (EIL) at a meeting of Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) held on Wednesday. As many as 10 persons were interviewed for the same.

(DEBATE)
EMPANELMENT IN GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Whether administrative procedure for empanelment of Additional Secretary and Secretary in the Government of India is fair and legally sound?
Mail your views to suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com or mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com

CORPORATE

Tata group's domestic airlines on the anvil
As the grapevine has it, the Tata group is in advance stages of negotiation with Singapore Airlines to launch domestic airlines in India. Tata group will have majority stake, while responsibility for operations in the venture will reportedly rest with the Singapore Airlines. Though, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of 26 per cent is allowed, it is heard in this case Singapore Airlines may be allowed to keep 49 per cent equity in the venture with it.

Etihad Airways likely to invest in Jet Airways
As the grapevine has it, Jet Airways owned by Naresh Goel is in talks with Etihad Airways for latter's investment into the former. It may be stated that Etihad Airways is the Abu Dhabi based national carrier of United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Is Kingfisher right in asking for a bailout?
The case of Kingfisher Airlines in asking for a bailout is not new, declaring bankruptcy and asking for a lifeline is very well known in the Indian financial sector. Banks have always been bailed out either through mergers or by giving a financial package. This does set a precedent for Kingfisher who for the second time is asking for financial infusion. If the government was serious then it should not have eased the purse strings the very first time. However experts and bankers say that political pressure on banks is so much that they are not invoking the right to mortgage collateral security.

Is resource nationalism on the rise?
India Inc is facing the brunt of resource nationalism which is on the rise all over the world. The assets bought by Indian companies are suddenly being revalued as there is awakening for most countries that the family silver has been sold for cheap and that an emerging power can pay more for natural resource, say economist. IFFCO and Kribhco are renegotiating price of gas from Oman which wants it increased fourfold, RCF is finding it difficult to negotiate price of gas with the Ghana government which is constantly going flip flop, Jindal Steel and Power is facing tough times from Bolivian government which threatens to take over its El Matun mines, Tata and Reliance power had to suspend building power plants after Indonesian and Australian governments imposed a 100 percent tax on coal, these are just a few recent examples. Trade experts say, this is a move to enhance terms of trade in their favor. But for the businessmen and the Indian government it is a recalculation of contracts and for the common man an inflationary output.

Taj Group promotes Harris as Senior VP
Taj Group has promoted Deepa Harris to the position of Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing.

Mishra to join Tata Global Beverage
Ajoy Misra is joining Tata Global Beverages as Deputy CEO and Executive Director, on the board.

Bhartiya announces appointment of Ajay Malhotra as New Group CFO
Ajay Malhotra has been appointed CFO of Bhartiya Group. Ajay Malhotra was lately EVP Finance and Company Secretary with Fullerton India. Bhartiya is a diversified lifestyle group founded in 1987. It consists of two verticals: Bhartiya Fashion (international manufacturing of leather products and fur and Leather SEZ, Listed Company) and Bhartiya Urban (Real estate development). Bhartiya Urban is developing Bhartiya City in Bangalore, a 125 acre integrated urban township within the municipal limit of Bangalore City - a first of its kind in India.

Seema Mohapatra quits BBC Worldwide
Seema Mohapatra, Regional Director, South Asia of BBC Advertising, BBC Worldwide's ad sales company, has resigned after a stint of 12 years with the Company. She was leading the revenue function of BBC World News, BBC Entertainment and BBC.com.

Sawhney appointed VP Wipro Ltd
Inderpreet Sawhney appointed as Senior Vice-President and General Counsel of the Wipro Ltd.

Vora appointed Chairman, Halonix Ltd
Halonix Limited has appointed Padmanabh Pundrikray Vora as Chairman of the company's Board of Directors.

Saxena appointed Addl. Director, Su-Raj Diamonds and Jewellery Ltd
Ms Urvashi Saxena has been appointed as an Additional Director on Board of Su-Raj Diamonds and Jewellery Limited with effect from November 12, 2011.

Duncans Industries Ltd appoints two Addl. Directors
Duncans Industries Limited has appointed Shrivardhan Goenka and Dr. A. L. Ananthanarayanan as additional directors of the company.

Santhanakrishnan resigns as Independent Director, California Software Company Ltd
S. Santhanakrishnan has resigned as an Independent director of California Software Company Ltd with effect from November 14, 2011.

Rajanas appointed Independent Director, BGR Energy Systems Ltd
BGR Energy Systems Limited has appointed M S Sundara Rajanas as an Independent Director on the Board of the company with effect from November 14, 2011.

Raghuraman ceases to be Workmen Employee Director, Corporation Bank
V. Raghuraman, Workmen Employee Director, Corporation Bank has ceased to be a Director w.e.f. November 14, 2011 on completion of his term.

Apollo Finvest India Ltd appoints two Addl. Directors
Sajjan Kanodia and Ms Hemlata Poddar have been appointed as additional directors of Apollo Finvest India Ltd with effect from November 14, 2011.

Khullar appointed Director, Union Bank of India
The Central Government has nominated Rajesh Khullar, Joint Secretary, I and I Division, DEA, as Director of Union Bank of India in place of Samir K Sinha, with immediate effect.

Chanda appointed Addl. Director, Archies Ltd
Archies Ltd has appointed Prem Kumar Chanda as an Additional Director of the company w.e.f. November 14, 2011.

Anil Kumar appointed CFO, Muthoot Capital Services Ltd
Anil Kumar R has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Muthoot Capital Services Ltd w.e.f. November 1, 2011.

Prabhu appointed Company Secy. R P P Infra Projects Ltd
R P P Infra Projects Ltd has appointed R. Nithya Prabhu as Company Secretary of the company.

Jayavant resigns as CFO, Lyka Labs Ltd
Manish Jayavant, Chief Finance Officer of Lyka Labs Ltd has resigned w.e.f. October 22, 2011.

From Nehruvian socialism to free market to crony capitalism

The rudderless UPA has slowly turned the nation from Nehruvian socialism to free market and then to crony capitalism. On one side is the increasing number of billionairs some indulging in naked show of personal wealth and on the other side suicides of farmers due to debt trap. Fiddling on the misery of the people in the country is a government with an Aviation Minister, who has no clue either on aviation sector or on public funding, offering public soaps for a mismanaged private airline.One can pardon this minister,a small time trade union leader whose closeness to Mallya is his trade union in one of the UB factories in his home state,Kerala,but what have one to say about the economist PM supporting him.We have seen how an Ambani selected Petroleum Minister allegedly caused losses worth billions in the Godavari basin.At the end PM had to chuck out both the Minister and the Secretary. Instead of success being determined by a free market and the rule of law, the success of a business has become dependent on the selective favoritism that is shown to it by the ruling government in the form of tax breaks, government grants and other Incentives and in case of failure bailouts.It is worthwhile to note that earlier the lending public sector banks were forced to convert debts of Kingfisher into equities at the rate of Rs.75 and now its value is worth less than Rs.15.These losses are made up by increasing loan rates,decreasing deposit rates of banks and increasing petrol prices. At no time in the history of free India we have seen a government immersed in such corruption and failing in all spheres from foreign policy to price rise. ..

N Sriram

CBI needs more staff, branches and functional autonomy to fight corruption!

The Supreme court slams the CBI for delaying investigation into 2G scam. The progress of investigation in CWG scam is tardy. Keeping the premier investigation agency so grossly understaffed seems to be a planned conspiracy of the Congress-led UPA-II. Motive? To keep the CBI under its stranglehold and let it remain subservient.

The CBI has been grappling with acute manpower shortage, more so, for the past five years. This includes 915 vacancies in the Investigation wing ( 2 Special Directors,2joint directors, 4 senior SSPs, 10 DIGs,35 SPs, 97 Dy SPs, 199 inspectors,96 Head constables,177 Constables).The Prosecution wing is also hard pressed. A total of 149 posts of law officer, including additional legal adviser, deputy legal adviser and senior public prosecutor out of the sanctioned strength of 302 are vacant. Out of these, 46 special prosecutors/assistant special prosecutors have been engaged on contract basis for a period of three years as a stop gap arrangement.

The CBI's demand for functional autonomy is shared by every right thinking Indian.A majority of CBI's problems are creations of successive Central governments. The personality of Director CBI counts a lot. Half of his time is wasted in resisting political pressures. One wonders how he manages pressures on most explosive cases involving high profile politicians, top bureaucrats and top business houses carrying powerful surnames? A tight rope walking indeed. Hats off to him.

A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)

Hazards of Plastic

Tea stall vendors dispensing tea in cheap and toxic plastic cups all over public places. In country sides good old earthen pots have been replaced by multi coloured plastrics used, disposed and littered all around. From the stage of kindergarden up to college childern are increasingly using plastic bottle for carrying waters to drink. Even though environment conservation is tought in the school carriculam but in practice quite opposite is happening by excessive use of substabdard palstics in our day to day life.. We have in the civic authorities seems do not have positined with right persons for the right job. Regulatory mechanism for environmental protection in consonance with EP Act 1986 is largely not in pratice or is not known to be in existence except thanks to the Judiciary through the PILs in the past. Situation seems to be grim only to a few nature sensitivce people.

Negi S

Financial mismanagement by Corporates

This is apropos to comments of P. Naresh titled "Fish the King" and suggesting nomination of atleast two officers of organised services like IAS, IPS, IRS, IPoS etc. to the Boards of companies whose turnover cross Rs.50 crore in order to swiftly deal with financial mismanagement. There are more than a lakh companies in India out of seven lakh active companies. The suggestion requires two lakh officers who can devote considerable time for accepting nomination to the Boards of companies. Moreover, the officers of organised services are not sacred cows nor most of them have expertise in the fields of taxation, corporate laws and management accounting. Putting in place adequate disclosure norms in financial statements of companies in consonance with international best practices along with liability of Board members is only solution to deal with curbing of financial mismanagement by corporates. Carry forwarding of accumulated losses is in no way treated as financial fraud. By this logic management of Air India which also has accumulated losses to the tune of 20000 crore should also be screwed for the same reason. Chairman, Kingfisher cannot be compared with former Satyam Chairman. The later cooked tailor made balance sheets thereby painted rosy picture of Satyam.

M V K Reddy

Burning news should be covered in detail

This is mere wastage of public money by asking the officers to report to Delhi without any assignment. Also some way should be found out to avoid BSNL/MYNL to become topless.

A P Tripathi

Free travel by police
The Applicant wanted to confirm whether a wireless message i.e. WTM dt. 15/16.09.1997 was issued by the then Chief Minister of Delhi allowing Delhi Police personnel to travel for free in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses in contravention of the decision of the cabinet No. 259 dt. 28.06.1997. It was intimated to the Applicant that the records relating to the issue of WTM dated 15.09.1997 are not available with the office of the public authority. The Appellant claimed that the Delhi Police personnel are still travelling free of charge on DTC buses resulting in loss of revenue amounting to over Rs. 60 crores annually. In view of the above unsettled dispute between the Delhi Police and the DTC, the CIC recommended that the Principal Secretary, Transport Department, Government of NCT of Delhi settle this dispute between the two organizations decisively through an order or notification by December end. The CIC also directed the PIO to file an affidavit before the Commission - with a copy to the Appellant - affirming that the public authority has no document authorizing the Delhi Police Personnel to travel free on DTC buses.

Comments
The above case indicates how RTI Act can be used not only to obtain information but also get directions issued for some action by the public authorities. Shri Ajay Kumar Gaur v. Office of the Chief Minster, Delhi in File No. CIC/AD/A/2011/002051

(dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in), RTI Consultant to IIM, Indore and Co-author of the book: RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE by Taxmann. (The views are Personal)