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Amit Mathur

Arjun Munda Jharkhand Chief Minister, focuses on girl child
The Jharkhand government being led by Chief Minister Arjun Munda is now focusing on girl child. It was for the 1st time in the history of Jharkhand that foundation day function of the state was based on a theme & this time the theme was "girl child". According to Principal Secretary to CM, D K Tiwari, year long activities on the theme will be held. Different projects worth Rs.600 crore were launched to cover every girl child hailing from families living Below the Poverty Line (BPL). An array of schemes will cover every girl child belonging to BPL. For this an MoU with department of Posts has been signed by the state Government. He said adding that, the Aanganwadis will be channelising agencies. These schemes will be implemented through Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in districts.

BUREAUCRACY

R C Mishra is new Provident Fund Commissioner
R C Mishra has been appointed new Central Provident Fund Commissioner. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Manipur-Tripura cadre.
(We said this on November 15)

B P Sharma is new Establishment Officer
B P Sharma, IAS of 1981 batch, Bihar cadre, is poised to be new Establishment Officer (EO). Presently, he is Joint Secretary Minority Welfare in the Government of India.

Madhusudan Prasad to be Additional Secretary Commerce
Madhusudan Prasad, IAS officer of 1981 Haryana cadre, is poised to be new Additional Secretary Commerce. Presently, he is Principal Secretary, Renewable Energy Sources in the Haryana Government.

Bhattacharya is new Member of NDMA
B Bhattacharya has been appointed as new Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). He is presently in BAARC.

Rajive Kumar to be Additional Secretary in Cabinet Secretariat
Rajive Kumar, IAS of 1981 batch, Uttar Pradesh (UP) cadre, is poised to be new Additional Secretary in Cabinet Secretariat.

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.
(We said this on November 15)

Anil Swarup is new Additional Secretary, Labour
Anil Swarup has been appointed Additional Secretary Labour in the Government of India. He is 1981 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on November 15)

N Ravi Shankar moves to Telecom Ministry
N Ravi Shankar is joining the Universal Services Obligatory Fund in the Ministry of Telecom. He is 1980 batch IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.
(We said this on November 15)

Bhattacharya to be Director (Operations) OVL
S Bhattacharya is being tipped to be new Director (Operations) of the ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL). He is presently GGM ONGC.

M G V K Bhanu takes over as Tea Board Chairman
Principal Resident Commissioner to the Assam Government in Delhi, M.G.V.K. Bhanu has taken over on Thursday as new Chairman of the prestigious Tea Board. He is an IAS officer of 1985 batch who belongs to the Assam-Meghalaya (AM) cadre.
(We said this on August 22, 2010)

Pant to be Director Revenue in GoI
Kamlesh Kumar Pant is joining the Government of India as Director (Revenue). He is 1993 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Will an IAS officer be arrested?
There is wild rumour that an IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh is being arrested by the CBI.

P K Agarwal to take over as Director, CCL in January
P K Agarwal, General Manager, Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), who has been selected as Director (Finance) in the same Corporation, will assume charge in January.

Prakash Chandra is now Ombudsman in Delhi
Outgoing Chairman of the CBDT Prakash Chandra has been appointed Income Tax Ombudsman in Delhi. He is retired 1973 batch IRS officer.
(We said this on September 15)

IAS officer to be posted as FC, ESIC
The post of Financial Commissioner in Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) that has fallen vacant, following anointment of Rajiv Datt as Managing Director (MD) of the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) Ltd. is likely to be filled by an IAS officer. It's a joint secretary level post. Datt is an IRAS officer of the 1980 batch.

Lt. Gen S.C.Mukul to join Army Tribunal
Lt. Gen. (retd) S C Mukul is going to join the Delhi located principal bench of Army Tribunal as Administrative member.

Will Pataria be Director Rajya Sabha Security?
Name of R.K Pataria, DIG, ITBP Guwahati, Assam, has started doing the round for the post of Director, Security Rajya Sabha, Parliament House, New Delhi. He is an ITBP cadre officer.

PMO has someone in its mind for DG, IDSA
As the grapevine has it, the PMO has someone in its mind for the slot of new DG, IDSA.

Atul Patne to be a Director, Petroleum
As the grapevine has it, Atul Patne on central deputation is poised be a Director, Petroleum. Patne is an IAS officer of the 1999 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Who will be Mumbai's Chief Commissioner Income Tax?
It is heard that Sriram Singh Chief Commissioner -II, is likely to take over from P P Shrivastava as Chief Commissioner of Income Tax. Shrivastava is going to join Settlement Commission in early December.

Ajay Shankar appointed Member-Secretary NMCC
Ajay Shankar has been appointed as Member Secretary, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC). Shankar is a 1973 batch retired IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Ms M Himabindu to move to Mumbai
Ms M Himabindu, Director, in the office of the Principal Director of Audit, Scientific Departments, New Delhi, Branch office Bangalore, on relief from her present duties by AG Kulkarni, has been transferred and posted as Senior Deputy Accountant General (Admn/CA), in the office of the Principal Accountant General (Audit)-I, Maharashtra, Mumbai, against an existing vacancy.

Das appointed DD IB
Ms. Amrita Das has been appointed as DD, Intelligence Bureau. She is an IPS officer of 2006 batch who belongs to the Orissa Cadre.
(We said this on October 10)

Pantode moves to Raipur
Sudarshan Pantode, DFP, Raipur, has been moved to Mumbai as Director News, Doordarshan Kendra. He is 1990 batch Indian Information Service officer.

Ms Banerjee goes to Raipur
Director News, Doordarshan Kendra, Mumbai, Ms Monideepa Banerjee, has been transferred to Raipur DFP. She is 1988 batch Indian Information Service officer.

Ms. Swati Madhukar Pandey appointed Director, Atomic Energy
Ms. Swati Madhukar Pandey, on central deputation, has been appointed as a Director, Atomic Energy. She is an Indian Postal officers Services (IPoS) officer of 1997 batch.
(We said this on October 26, 2011)

Preparations in full swing for maiden IFC
Preparations are going on in full swing for the 1st Indian Forest Congress (IFC), 2011, being organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) under the umbrella of Indian Council of Forestry and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun. ICFRE's Director General (DG) Dr. V K Bahuguna said it will be opened by Indian Minister for Environment and Forests (MoEF), Ms.Jayanti Natrajan at NASC complex, DPS Marg, Pusa, New Delhi on November 22, 2011. Presidential address will be delivered by noted scientist & Rajya Sabha MP, M.S.Swaminathan. The IFC will conclude on November 25, 2011.Chief guest at valedictory function will be Ms. Sudha Pillai Secretary, Planning Commission in the Government of India (GoI), said Dr. Bahuguna. Experts & foresters will dwell on topics of forests in society, forestry in an expanding Economy, expanding frontiers of forestry sciences, forest biodiversity and landscapes & forests and climate change. The congress aims to bring together various stakeholders of forestry including the researchers, planners, implementers and beneficiaries to exchange experiences and knowledge, Dr V K Bahuguna added.

Appointment of V Govindrajan as Member Secy., NMCC terminated
Appointment of V Govindarajan as Member Secretary, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council has been terminated.

Post of Director (Technical) vacant in SAIL
The post of Director (Technical) is lying vacant in Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Those who are willing to apply for the post can send their applications to Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) before December 12, 2011.

Post of Director (Project & Business Planning) vacant in SAIL
The post of Director (Project & Business Planning) is lying vacant in Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Those who are willing to apply for the post can send their applications to Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) before December 15, 2011.

Post of Director (Operations) vacant in HMT Limited
Post of Director (Operations) is lying vacant in HMT Limited. Those who are willing to apply for the post can send their applications to Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) before January 2, 2012.

Pakistan: Ambassador to US offers to resign
Pakistan's ambassador to US, Hussain Haqqani has offered to resign after reports that President Asif Zardari had in a secret memo to the then US Joint Chief of Staff Admiral, Mike Mullen expressed fears of a military take over after killing of Osama Bin laden by the US Navy Seals in the garrison city of Abbottabad in May this year. In the secret memo Zardari had allegedly sought US assistance to stave off the possible coup and also sought US support for sacking the DG, ISI and the Army Chief. There has been speculation in the Pakistani media that Haqqani has been involved in conceptualising or communicating the memo, allegations strongly refuted by Haqqani.

Justice Pullukatte Sanku Gopinathan is Kerala HC Judge
Justice Pullukatte Sanku Gopinathan, Additional Judge, has been appointed Judge of Kerala High Court.

Four new Addl Judges appointed at Gujarat High Court
Justice Chandrakant Laljibhai Soni, Ashish Jitendra Desai, Nilay Vipinchandra Anjaria, and Paresh Ravishanker Upadhyay have been appointed Additional Judges of the Gujarat High Court for a period of two years.

Mysore DRM, B B Verma shifted to Northern Railway (UPDATED)
B B Verma, DRM, Mysore, South Western Railway (SWR), has been transferred to Northern Railway (NR) and posted as FA & CAO/Traffic.

Ahmad to be Dy Secretary Disinvestment (UPDATED)
Ghyasuddin Ahmad is joining the Department of Disinvestment asv Deputy Secretary. He is 2000 batch IDAS officer.

Suresh Kumar, GM, HOCL, has been selected as Director (Finance), HOCL (UPDATED)
Suresh Kumar R, GM, Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL), has been selected for the post of Director (Finance), HOCL at a meeting of Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) held on Friday. As many as nine persons were interviewed for the same.

Allahabad High Court gets 8 Addl Judges (UPDATED)
Justice Pradeep Kumar Singh Baghel, Ram Surat Ram (Maurya), B Amit Sthalekar, Pankaj Naqvi, Manoj Misra, Ramesh Sinha, Mrs. Sunita Agarwal and Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya have been appointed additional Judges of Allahabad High Court.

(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

Who will head Tata's internal communication?
It is heard that Debashis Chaterjee head of Tata Motors communications is likely to take over as the head of the group communications.

Punj Lloyd to be in trouble over high debt
Punj Lloyd has a soaring debt which the company says is due to high working capital requirements. Given the high interest rate regime the company is bound to face headwinds in the coming year.

HEG to expand yearly capacity to 80K ton from 2012
HEG Ltd, one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of graphites electrodes in South Asia, on November 17, 2011 announced that scaling up of its plant in Mandideep near Bhopal, involving an investment of additional Rs 245 cr shall be completed by mid of next year. By then the company shall start producing 80,000 MT graphite electrodes per annum, making it world's largest integrated manufacturing plant. Group Chairman Ravi Jhunjhunwala announced this on the eve of Group's golden jubilee celebrations, this will be inaugurated by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on November 18, 2011. Chairman Emeritus L.N. Jhunjhunwala who was specially present on the occasion said that all former Chief Ministers (CMs) of undivided MP had been invited for the function. The journey of the LNJ Bhilwara Group had started in 1961, when the Group's founder L N Jhunjhunwala established a textile mill in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Today that single textile mill has expanded into several plants; the Group has strategically diversified and stands proud as a multi-products and services conglomerate.
The group as of now has 14 companies (six listed) and 24 manufacturing locations with impeccable financial health and a human capital of 25,000, added Ravi Jhunjhunwala. The core business interests of the Rs 4,739 crore Group include Textiles, Graphite Electrodes, Power Generation and it has also forayed into IT enabled services.

Sanjay Gupta to be Director (Commercial) EIL
Sanjay Gupta is being tipped to be new Director (Commercial) of the Engineers India Ltd (EIL). He is presently ED in the company.

Sanjay Kailash is Executive Head and VP
Asia's leading sports content provider ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has announced the promotion of Sanjay Kailash to the post of Executive Vice President & Head of Sales (India) for its India operations, ESPN Software India (ESI). Kailash will have an expanded role with the overall responsibility of delivering revenue for various streams of the business including Advertising, Affiliate Sales, Digital Media and Event Management Group. He will continue to report directly to ESI's Managing Director, Aloke Malik.

Makarand Wadhavekar appointed India Sales Manager
Makarand Wadhavekar appointed India sales Manager by Labsphere, world leader in light testing and measurement and optical coatings. Labsphere, a global leader in light metrology, has illustrated its commitment to the Indian lighting market with the appointment of India Sales Manager Makarand Wadhavekar.Labsphere (www.labsphere.com), a subsidiary of Halma P.L.C., is world leader in light testing and measurement and optical coatings. The company's products include LED, laser and traditional light source, light measurement systems; uniform light sources for imaging device calibration; spectroscopy accessories; and high diffuse reflectance materials and coatings for applications in backlit panel displays, computed radiography, and system calibration.

Chakraborty resigns as Director, Gujarat State Petronet Ltd.
The Board of Directors of Gujarat State Petronet Ltd has on November 14, 2011 has accepted the resignation of Atanu Chakraborty, IAS w.e.f. November 14, 2011.

Subushi re-designated as Head (Legal), Nagarjuna Agrichem Ltd
Satish Kumar Subudhi AGM (Legal) and Company Secretary has been re-designated as Company Secretary and Head- Legal of Nagarjuna Agrichem Ltd.

Pillai appointed Chief Learning Officer, RIL
Reliance Industries Ltd has appointed Anand Pillai who was Global Head (Talent Transformation), HCL Technologies as its Chief Learning Officer of the company.

Akkili appointed Company Secy. Centum Electronics Ltd
Centum Electronics Ltd has appointed Ramu Akkili as the Company Secretary w.e.f. November 01, 2011.

Khamwani resigns as Company Secy. KLG Capital Services Ltd
Ms. Sarita Khamwani has resigned as Company Secretary of KLG Capital Services Ltd w.e.f. November 16, 2011.

Orban appointed Addl. Director, CMI FPE Ltd
CMI FPE Ltd has appointed Fabrice Orban as an Additional Director on the Board of Directors of the company w.e.f. November 17, 2011.

Philip appointed Director (Marketing Communications), Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre
Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) has appointed Preeti Philip as Director (Marketing Communications).

Berry appointed Director (Sales & Mktg.), Park Plaza, New Delhi, Dwarka
Vikram Berry has been appointed as Director (Sales & Marketing), Park Plaza New Delhi Dwarka under the Carlson Hotels Worldwide.

Kumar appointed Company Secy. Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd
Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd has appointed K. B. Shyam Kumar as Company Secretary of the company in the place of B. Chandrasekaran, w.e.f. November 16, 2011.

Korat appointed Director, Dhvanil Chemicals Ltd
Dhvanil Chemicals Ltd has appointed Rajnibhai Naranbhai Korat as an Independent Director of the Company w.e.f. November 14, 2011.

Nanda appointed Addl. GM (Sales), Jaypee Hotels
Jaypee Hotels has appointed Tapan Nanda as Additional General Manager (Sales).

DEBATE (1)

Procedure for empanelment is not transparent

The procedure for empanelment is non transparent and highly politicized. There are no clear citeria laid down for empanelment and the record of officers is interpreted irrationally e.g.officers who have held soft and cushy assignments in Raj Bhavans , international bodies are treated at par with those who have held difficult assignments in the field in remote areas. The grading of C.R.'s is also faulty . The list when finalized is not known and is changed at will. There is also no time frame for the process to be completed.

S Swarup

It is a statement of fact

The feedback about Kiran Bedi is a statement of fact. In fact Kejriwal should also explain as to why he first transferred Anna's movement money to his account and when caught red handed, offered to return. Why he in first place accepted it. All is not well.

R K Vashistha

All in favour of IAS

The Supreme Court, the Prime Minister, all are in favour of IAS officers .We must appreciate the C.M. of U.P. who took a wise decision in the appointment of her Cabinet Secretary a non IAS. P.M. is always busy in signing the promotion files of the IAS. He does not care for other services at all.

S K Singh

Don't bail out Kingfisher

It is rightly said by many, not to bailout Kingfisher Airlines from tax payer's money. Mallaya has already earned billions from various businesses, specially as a liquor baron. Business losses are ought to be borne by business man when all profits are also kept in their coffers. Spending Government money on business losses will encourage others to demand from goverment. As such the Government has made all villagers also kamchor by giving them money for no work through NAREGA. There fore, if one can live without doing work through such schemes, the whole country will eventually become Nikamma. Beware.

YK

On bailouts to Kingfisher

There is a huge difference in the banking sector and every other sector in any country. The banking sector gets bailouts since everything else depends on this sector. Tomorrow if State Bank of India goes bankrupt, or there is a panic run on the bank, there will be huge turmoil in the overall economy. Every central bank in the world has tight control over banks, and ensures they are protected. No other private sector deserves a bailout, since the concerned business is responsible for their own profits and losses. If Vijay Mallya made silly decisions in running Kingfisher airlines, he and his shareholders deserve to suffer. Vayalar Ravi even mentioning this possibility is laughable. In fact, not just Kingfisher, even Air India should not get any bailout. Tomorrow if both Kingfisher and Air India close down, the broader economy would not be affected. Indigo airlines is the best in India today, and will take up the traffic. Indeed, Kingfisher illustrates the worst form of crony capitalism, and explains why Vijay Mallya wanted to become a member of parliament.

DPS

TAIL-PIECE

SUVICHAR-EK NETA KE

Anna

Ye Bhrashtachar kuch le de ke khatam nahin ho sakta kya ------ ?

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)