I am amazed to look at your work on your website and please let me know how you can help us by letting know on the latest moves in banking channel across India. Very specifically in RRBs, NABARD

BHAVANI PALAPARTHI

Moderator

Green-Entrepreneur

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Imaginary Diary of Sonia Gandhi....

I'm really worried..... Rahul's not getting married. I told him today you can marry a gori, kaali, brown..... actress, beauty queen, spoilt brat , journalist ...... just get married! William's Dad had embarked on the road of baldness when he got married to Diana and William is also balding.... is it possible Royals.....both direct and indirect...... think of marriage when they start to bald! Rahul enjoys the Yuvraj title ...he is a royal in his own way........ I can try to induce Rahul to start balding..... maybe then he'll think of getting hitched!! Italian men are very possessive about their hair and my Mom used to tell me about a distant Aunt avenging her husband breaking his marriage vows 'by making him bald'.....she used to mix something that induced speedy hair loss in the spaghetti meatballs that her hubby loved to eat everyday! I'll get the recipe from Mom. Maybe a balding Yuvraj may think of marriage??? Speaking of balding my hairdresser tells me that I'm getting a bald patch..... she hides it with her hairstyling. I think the cash for votes problem started it...... was I worried???? Will the Country come to know the sacrifice I made to for the Nuclear Deal..... hair loss!!!! Yipes..... yesterday I mentioned this to Mrs. Satish Sharma..... if she tells her hubby about this rest assured US Embassy will be informing Washington about this!!!! Well I'll get some brownie points from US but if comes out by a WikiCable leak BJP will have a field day targeting me!!!

Today Karuna's emissary called on me! He says Kani should not go to Jail!!! I told him it's not like the good old days...... now getting Judicial orders to our liking and need is getting difficult.... and more so with the Media glare on 2 G case!!!!! I told him that in worst case if Kani is arrested we'll ensure that on grounds of sickness she'll land up in a hospital and then we'll arrange for CBI to question her in hospital and then move heaven and earth to get her bail!!! Once she's arrested getting her bail will be easier than preventing the arrest!!! What a twisted family this is..... Karuna does not want her to go to jail and her step bro Azhagiri wants her to be put in the slammer...... he's sending this message to us!!

So Chiddy's in a spot. Well deserves him right. On quite a few occasions I've told him do not be haughty. And one cannot simply afford to be haughty when one has been 'naughty'!!! There's an Italian proverb that says 'Pride goes before destruction and pride before failure'!!! Rahul does not like Chiddy........ he too feels the man is too arrogant for his good and for Party's good!! But Chiddy is a necessary evil and more so with Mohna trusting him!!!

Pawar's a problem that though I'd like resolve I cannot resolve!!! Recently I hear he was at a private showing of a Bollywood movie..... must have financed it and so the Producers must be wanting to show it to him. He had a dance sequence replayed four times.... post the screening the worried Producer asked him that if he did not like something in the song it could be edited.... In fact the Producer even offered to edit the entire song. Pawar told him there was nothing wrong with the song..... he said the song was filmed in a Mumbai suburb and he was wondering that there was so much empty space shown in the dance sequence and he was surprised how he did not own a part or whole of it??

My eye twitches are a give away....... if I'm tense the twitches go up!!!! I've asked Priyanka to get me a pair of goggles ..... simple but must cost the World, just like my sarees!! After all Sonia Gandhi cannot be seen in 'hoi polloi' goggles but at the same time should be simple looking!!

I think on Anna Mohna goofed big time!!! He should have responded to Anna ..... but he did not!! I'd blame Prithivraj Chauhan for this as he takes himself to be a Maharashtra expert and he misjudged Anna's plan to go National!!!

Diggy often is a pain!!! He oversteps his mandate to please me.... like if I tell him have one cup of coffee he'll drink ten thinking this will please me!!!!

Makhan..... ouch........ brings Amul Baby to mind!!!! I recall when Rahul was young he used to love butter. He was such a cute baby and I'm sure had I sent his pic to Amul in the Amul Baby contest they would have selected his pic. But at his age this Amul Baby tag is indeed an insult!!!! I hear after this barb from VS Rahul started contemplating a 'moochi'!!! I hope he does not get a handlebar moochi like Jamia Raja!!! I hear my granddaughter has announced an award within the family for getting rid of her Dad's moochi!!!

Speaking of Jamai Raja....... I wish he'd come out forcefully on talk about Priyanka entering politics!!! Say she's too busy bringing up the kids!!! And Jamai Raja' realty business has got me worried!!!! Hope he realizes what is at stake!!! I wish he'd have stuck to the business he's been doing, his fitness fixation and attending Page 3 Parties!!

What's Sushma up to??? Last night she sent me 'Pasta' which she said she had conjured up specially for me!!!! Is it out of genuine friendliness or is there a message in this????? Anyway my Security 'taster' tasted the Pasta and he made a funny face and so I gave the Pasta the skip!!!! I'm going to send her 'Bisi Bele Khichdi' and tell her I've cooked it myself...... after all she calls the Reddy bros her adopted sons and they've really cooked up a khichdi via their business interests!!!! If she's sent me the Pasta as a loaded message then she'll understand what message I'm giving and if she had sent the Pasta out of dosti then she'll take by Bisi Belle as a friendly reciprocal gesture!!

Q Bhahiya's birthday is coming up!!!! He's not too well....... tension has taken its toll on the poor guy!!! I'm surprised he has not sued the Indian Government for ruining his health!!! I cannot wish him personally.... though I can go to a shop at INA and there's this ISD Booth from where I can call Q Bhaiya...... or Kamalnath's got a Sat Phone and I can use it!!!! I'm only not too comfortable taking a favour from him.... he maybe a loyalist but I get the feeling he's keeps 'accounts'!!!

Yawn.... sleepy........ I have this recurring dream that there's been a turn in events and Congress has to take support of Maya and I'm standing at Maya's doorstep with flowers and a box of mithai..... I wake up trembling........ I'll start taking a swig of Olive Oil and recite three Hail Mary's before going to bed!!!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Contact-suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com> &

<mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com>

Reshuffle of Governors after Cabinet reshuffle
Overdue reshuffle and appointment of Governors is expected to take place in May end after the reshuffle of the cabinet.

WB Governor may step down
The Governor of West Bengal MK Narayanan is likely to step down after the process of ensuing Assembly polls in the state is over.

Union Minister Jairam Ramesh gains importance
Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has suddenly gained importance. What could be the reason?

PC to meet Mukherjee
Home minister, P.Chidambaram will shortly be meeting Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance regarding 2G spectrum scam.

BUREAUCRACY

G C Chaturvedi is new Secretary Petroleum
G C Chaturvedi will take over as Secretary Petroleum next week. 1977 batch IAS officer of UP cadre Chaturvedi is presently looking after CWG.He is considered to be an honest and upright IAS officer.

Sundareshan is new Secretary Heavy Industries
Secretary Petroleum S Sundareshan is going to succeed B S Meena on May 1 as ecretary Heavy Industries.He is 1976 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

Balachandran to be Chairman of National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority
G Balachandran is being tipped to be Chairman of the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority .He is 1977 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.

IAS officer seeks VRS ?
Tapan Kumar Mandal has reportedly taken retirement voluntarily which has been approved by Government of India.Mandal is an IAS officer of 1985 batch who belongs to the UT cadre.

Arvind Kumar's orders for Joint Secretary Banking issued
Orders pertaining to Arvind Kumar's posting as Joint Secretary in the Department of Financial Services (Ministry of Finance) have been issued.He is an IAS officer of the 1991 batch who belongs to the Andhra Pradesh cadre. Presently, he is working as Director, Policy in Department of Food & Public Distribution in GoI. He has earlier worked as District Collector Hyderabad and Khammam in Andhra Pradesh. He has done BA (hons) in Economics from St Stephens' Delhi and MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. He did Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, USA in 2007 and a course on "Leadership and Globalization" from London school of Economics & Political Science more popular as LSE, London. He was here in LSE as Chevening Gurukul Scholar in 2010.
(We said this on march 25,2011)

Jaiswal gets extension
S.K Jaiswal, Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, has got an extension for a period of 4 years. He is an IPS officer of 1985 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

R S Garg not joining PFRDA
General Manager of the National Housing Bank R S Garg has neither sought VRS nor he is joining as ED of PFRDA.The whsper about him was malicious ,motivated and apparently an attempt to block his career prospects.Who is behind this ?

Bassi moves to Delhi
Goa DGP B S Bassi has been moved to Delhi.Posting of 1977 batch IPS officer of UT cadre will be made after his arrival.
( We said this on February 16 )

Arya is new DGP of Goa
Aditya Arya has been appointed new DGP of Goa. He is 1981 batch IPS officer of UT cadre.
( we said this on April 8 )

Two IAS in Public Accounts Committee
There are two former IAS officers in Public Accounts Committee. They are Yashwant Sinha of 1960 batch and NK Singh of 1964 batch.

Ashok Kumar to get extension ?
Ashok Kumar, Joint Director, CBI is likely to get an extension of 1year.Kumar has already served for a maximum period of 7 years in CBI. He is an IPS officer of 1982 batch who belongs to the TN cadre.

Mathur to be Director of NE Police Academy !
Atul Kumar Mathur is likely to be appointed as Director, North-East Police Academy. He is an IPS officer of 1980 batch who belongs to the AM cadre.

Woman to succeed woman as Secretary Posts !
In all probability, Ms Manjula Prsher will succeed Ms. Radhika Doraiswamy Secretary (Posts) &Chairman PS Board Director General India Post.

Ms Bundela appointed Director Tribal Affairs
Ms. Ankita Mishra Bundela, Collector, Diu, Dadra Nagra Haveli has been appointed as Director Tribal Affairs, Government of India. Ministry of Home Affairs(UT)DIV.has asked Diu administration to relieve Ms. Bundela so that she joins Government of India on central deputation. She is an IAS officer of 2001 batch who belongs to the UT cadre.

Chauhan to be relieved for Goa
Sarat Chauhan, Secretary, Delhi Government is likely to be relived on 30th April 2011 for Goa. He is an IAS officer of 1994 batch who belongs to the UT cadre.

Cadre review a non starter in CBEC
Mystery shrouds that as to how the cadre review in the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has been a non starter.

Three IRS officers to retire on April 30 (UPDATED)
CCIT - I, Hyderabad, AK Basu, CCIT - VI, Delhi, MP Varshney DGIT (Inv) Ahmedabad, BN Dutta are retiring on on April 30.

IA&AS officer Awasthi is Chairman Audit Board
AK Awasthi, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (Local Bodies & Accounts) will take over as Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (C) - cum -Chairman Audit Board in the office of the Comptroller & Auditor General Of India, New Delhi, on or after May 2, 2011.

Nine Major Generals to retire due to delay in promotions
Nine Major Generals would be retiring by July end only because the Army did not hold promotion boards on time. These officers were to be considered for promotion in July 2010 but the selection board was delayed till January 2011 and the results of the same are yet to come. According to the Army's promotion policy, a meeting of the promotion board needs to be held at least six months prior to the date of creation of the first vacancy in the next rank.

Sandhu gets extension in Punjab
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Spl. Prl. Secy. to CM Punjab who is on Inter-cadre deputation has been given t an extension till December 2011.Sandhu is an IAS officer of 1988 batch who belongs to the Uttarakhand cadre.

Reddy returns to Punjab cadre
C. Sita Rami Reddy was on an Inter-Cadre deputation in Andhra Pradesh is back to the parent Punjab cadre. He is an IPS officer of 1987 batch who belongs to the Punjab cadre.

RBI slaps penalties on 19 banks
Penalties worth Rs 1.95 crore have been slapped on 19 commercial banks by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for failing to comply with its instructions on selling derivative products. While the highest penalty of Rs 15 lakh each was imposed on six banks viz. Axis Bank, Barclays Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd and Yes Bank. eight other banks including BNP Paribas, Citibank NA, Credit Agriocole CIB, Development Credit Bank Ltd, ING Vysya Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank and the State Bank of India were slapped with penalties of Rs 10 lakh each. Besides four others - DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank AG, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd and JP Morgan Chase Bank NA - have been asked to pay a penalty of Rs 5 lakh each.

Promotion of three IGPs in J&K deferred
The J&K Government's Screening Committee has deferred promotion of three IGPs as Additional DGPs. They include Duty Rani Dolley - IGP Headquarters, Naveen Aggarwal - IGP Railways and Dr Shesh Pal Vaid - presently on deputation with the Centre Government. The Screening Committee comprised Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, DGP Kuldeep Khoda and Principal Secretary (Home) B R Sharma.

Bureaucrats restrained from acting in films
With the Karnataka High Court dismissing a writ petition filed by an IAS officer who had challenged an order of the State Government barring officials from acting in films, bureaucrats will no longer be able to act in films. K. Shivaram, who has acted in several Kannada films, had challenged an order issued by the S.M. Krishna Government in 2004, only to be dismissed by Justice Anand Byrareddy. The rules however say that no government servant should engage directly or indirectly in any trade or business without appropriate sanction. Shivaram had claimed that the ban order affected his constitutional right. The verdict has, however, come as a blow to public servants nurturing dreams of being a part of the film business.

CAG warns embezzlement risk in Maharashtra
Comptroller and Auditor General of India have in its annual review of Maharashtra said that the state departments have not submitted fund utilization certificates for Rs 53,500 crs. The report also said that Maharashtra has no agency to monitor the use of the Rs 4370 cr central government which was directly transferred to the state agencies. The CAG has pointed out that this is fraught with the risk of mis-utilsation and remained out of audit.

Sahai gets additional charge of CVO of DGCA
Samir Sahai Chief Vigilance Officer Pawan Hans New Delhi has been given additional charge of CVO ,DGCA with the approval of CVC. He is an IFS officer of 1987 batch belongs to Maharashtra cadre.

DPC for Member (Postal Services Board ) held
Grapevine has it that the DPC for the Member (Postal Services board) has been held last week.

Pakistan : Top PSUs in Taxing Troubles
Pakistan's Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has frozen bank accounts of Pakistan State Oil Corporation (PSO) due to non payment of sales tax dues of over Rs 9 billion. Already facing a circular debt of Rs 250 billion PSO had pleaded to the FBR for letting it clear the dues in installments and had also deposited the first installment of Rs 100 million but the request was apparently rejected leading to the freezing of the bank accounts. Another top PSU Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) too has received notice for immediate clearance of its outstanding tax dues to the tune of Rs 10 billion or face similar action.

Two IAS officers in Maharasthra quit (UPDATED)
Azeez Khan (IAS 77 batch) Principal Secretary Industries, and Gautam Chatterjee (IAS 82 batch)Principal Secretary Housing have put in their papers confirms the General Administration Department.

M. L. Shanmukh is no 1 for top slot of BEL (UPDATED)
M L Shanmukh, Director -Human Resource(HR) with Bharatt Electronics Ltd (BEL) is number one for the post of Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Electronics Ltd(BEL).

Nagpal is CGMT BSNL Haryana (UPDATED)
Pradeep Nagpal has been posted as CGMT BSNL Haryana. He belongs to 1977 batch of ITS service.

Ajay Chaudhary is back to UT cadre (UPDATED)
Joint Director IB in Delhi Ajay Chaudhary is back to the parent UT cadre. He is 1996 batch IPS officer.

Veena Prasad is AFA in Defence (UPDATED)
Veena Prasad has been appointed as Additional Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Defence. 1982 batch IDAS officer Veena Prasad will replace Amit Cowshish.

Deputation tenure of Pati extended (UPDATED)
Deputation tenure of V Pati, IPoS(86) as Chief Vigilance Officer, Bridge & Roof Company (India) Limited, Kolkata has been extended for a period of 3 months beginning April 3.

Galgali is new CVO of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company (UPDATED0
S Galgali has been appointed as Chief Vigilance Officer in the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited, Bangalore. He is 1993 batch ITAS officer.

Nisha Singh is new Joint Secretary Urban Development (UPDATED)
Nisha Singh has been appointed new Joint Secretary in the Department of Urban Development in the Government of India.She is 1987 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Mehta is CVO DFCCI (UPDATED)
A K Mehta will now be CVO of the DFCCI.He is 1988 batch IAS officer of J & K cadre.

Sameer Kumar posted as OSD in CCIT (CCA), Delhi region (UPDATED)
Sameer Kumar Srivastava, IRS, Additional CIT, awaiting posting on reversion from deputation, has been posted as OSD in the CCIT (CCA), Delhi region.

Pandey appointed CVO in Labour Ministry (UPDATED)
A.C.Pandey, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment has been appointed Chief Vigilance Officer in the Ministry of Labour and Employment for a period of three years . This change will be in addition to his charge as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Anand Agrawal is Dy Secretary Telecommunications (UPDATED)
Anand Agrawal is joining the Department of Telecommunications as Deputy Secretary.He is an IDAS officer.

Jain gets addl charge of CCIT - I, Hyderabad (UPDATED)
SC Jain, CCIT - II, Hyderabad, has been given the additional charge of CCIT - I, Hyderabad, - a post that is falling vacant with the retirement of AK Basu on April 30.


Das gets addl charge of CCIT - VI, Delhi (UPDATED)
Laxman Dass, CCIT - I, Delhi, has been given the additional charge of CCIT - VI, Delhi, - a post that is falling vacant with the retirement of MP Varshney on April 30.


Gaur gets addl charge of DGIT (Inv) Ahmedabad (UPDATED)
BP Gaur, DGIT (Inv) Mumbai, has been given the additional charge of DGIT (Inv) Ahmedabad, - a post that is falling vacant with the retirement of BN Dutta on April 30.

DEBATE
Does ACC system have its relevance for all posts?
Does the ACC system has its relevance as far as appointment of incumbents for all posts was concerned? It is time consuming. Under the system it is examined at each level and in every Ministry there are at least six levels. Broadly speaking it goes from concerning Ministry to DoPT Ministry, then to cabinet secretariat and then to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).Finally it goes to the PMO. It is extremely time consuming .In the wake of this please give your valuable views to us.
Mail us-mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com or suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com

CORPORATE

Paul to be new Secretary- Corporate Communication, LIC
S Saji Paul, Senior Divisional Manager in LIC India at Trivandrum (Kerala) will be new Secretary- Corporate Communication at Head office of LIC India at Mumbai. Paul will succeed T R Mediratta who has been made Chief of Personnel Department at LIC India's Head office, Mumbai.

Ruchi Group to shift its office to Mumbai !
Grapevine has it that Ruchi Group is soon going to shift its Corporate office to Mumbai.

Pawan Kumar Ruia quits
Pawan Kumar Ruia has reportedly stepped down as the chairman of Dunlop India. He would now focus on overseas business.

Singhania relinquishes post of MD at Ester Industries Ltd
Arvind Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director of Ester Industries Ltd has relinquished the post of Managing Director. He will although remain the Chairman of Board of the Company.

Singh is new President of IDSA
Amway India vice-president Yoginder Singh has been re-elected chairman of the Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) for 2011-12.

Kamakodi IS NEW MD of City Union Bank
Dr N. Kamakodi has been elevated as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kumbakonam-headquartered City Union Bank bank.

Periwal resigns as Director, Thirdwave Financial Intermediaries Ltd
The Board of Thirdwave Financial Intermediaries Ltd has accepted the resignation of Sunil Kumar Periwal , Director, from the Board of the Company.

Agarwal appointed Addl. Director, Thirdwave Financial Intermediaries Ltd
Nirmal Kumar Agarwal was appointed as an Additional Director on the Board of Thirdwave Financial Intermediaries Ltd .

Choudhary may not continue as MD (India Operations), Greycells Education Ltd
Deepak Choudhary, Managing Director (Indian Operations), Greycells Education Ltd has expressed his unwillingness to continue as Managing Director (Indian Operations) on expiry of his current tenure on June 30, 2011.

Kowshik re-designated as MD, Kirloskar Pneumatic Company
Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Ltd has re-designated Aditya Kowshik, Executive Director as Managing Director with immediate effect.

Vaidyanathan ceases to be Non Exec. Chairman City Union Bank
P. Vaidyanathan has demitted his office of Non Executive Chairman of City Union Bank Ltd on April 26, 2011 on completion of two years tenure.

Sankaran resigns as Director, City Union Bank
N. Sankaran has resigned as a Director of City Union Bank Ltd after attaining the age of 70.

Patwardhan appointed Addl. Non Exec. Director Indiaco Ventures Ltd
Indiaco Ventures Ltd has appointed Ms. Monali Patwardhan as an Additional Non Executive Director on the Board of the company.

Deelay appointed Non Exec. Director ESAB India Ltd
James Richard Deeley who is a Non-Executive, Non- Retiring Nominee Director of ESAB Holdings Limited has been inducted on the Board of ESAB India Ltd with effect from April 28, 2011.

Desai appointed Non Exec. Independent Director, Exide Industries
Exide Industries Ltd has has appointed Ms. Mona N Desai, a Non-Executive Independent Director of the Company.

Subbu joins Lowe
S Subramanyeswar, better known as Subbu, has joined Lowe Lintas as National Planning Director.

Asheesh Chatterjee is CFO RBNL
Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd has appointed Asheesh Chatterjee as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Besides heading plans like fund raising, M&A and JVs, Chatterjee will also lead the Finance and Legal side of the business.

Thapar is VP, Discovery Networks Programming (India)
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (DNAP) has appointed Arun Thapar as Vice-President, Programming (India). Based in New Delhi, he will be responsible for the overall planning, developing, and execution of programming strategies for DNAP's six brands in India which include Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and Discovery HD World.

Monica Tata is now VP and GM (Entertainment Networks ) at Turner International
Turner International has promoted one of its front line India leadership Monica Tata who has now been made Vice President and General Manager Entertainment Networks.

Siddharth Jain is now VP and GM (Distribution) at Turner International
Turner International has promoted one of its front line India leadership Siddharth Jain who has now been made Vice President and General Manager - Distribution & Business Operations.

Nobuki Sakai joins Dentsu India as Chief Financial Officer
Nobuki Sakai has been appointed Chief Financial Officer at Dentsu India Group. Based out of Delhi, Sakai will be responsible for the financial plans, policies, and accounting practices of the Group. He will also lead the accounting, budgeting, cash management, and financing functions of all the Dentsu India Group companies.

Discovery Networks appoints Arun Thapar
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (DNAP) has appointed Arun Thapar as Vice-President, Programming - India. Thapar will be responsible for the overall planning, developing, and execution of programming strategies for DNAP's six brands in India - Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and Discovery HD World.

Asianet elevates Shyamsundar
C Shyamsundar has been promoted as the Chief Executive Officer of Asianet News Private Limited (ANPL).

FORUM

ACC system : "A Sham and a Scam !"

The present system is anything but just and fair! It is called 'time consuming' as it has to go through procedural formalities to camouflage the mind-boggling irregularities in the appointment process. It is corrupt as the DOP&T (Establishment Officer's office sells information) does not trust its data bank carrying the experience profiles of eligible officers. Nominations in respect of favourites( perceived No:1 in a panel of three) are received by DOP&T from the de facto power through the PMO, Cabinet Secretary. An officer in the PMO owing loyalty to 10-Janpath, acts as the conduit . This "informality" is "formalized" in the EO's office by adding names of two "less fortunate officers" who can't pull the strings. Ordering of nominations panels is finalized by the Screening committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary ,who ensures the needful. No transparency, no benchmarking, no comparison of bio-data to identify the "right person for right job". Selections are hush hush, arbitrary based on pick and choose. On some occasions, in my Secretaries' absence, I attended the Screening Committee's meetings only to get disillusioned by its unidirectional deliberations to formalize the pre-determined ! During NDA's régime, the PM's House grew hugely powerful. The Center has now shifted to 10-Janpath!

All things considered, the present system has always been a sham, market-driven mechanism . The corporate lobbyists, wheelers and dealers, big industrial houses have a free run to oblige all those who matter and get their favourites planted at key positions. The virtues like honesty, competence, commitment to public good, are "virtual realities". One wonders why same set of officers ( of Indian Arrogant Service)spend more time at the Centre than their cadres. They are good at "boundary management" with political clouts. They are rehabilitated with post-retirement placements to build bridges with the power that be. The households of a majority of Joint Secretaries and Secretaries (honourable exceptions apart) are maintained by business houses for handsome returns. All this, as their credentials are not verified by the IB before appointment by the ACC. P J Thomas is the case in point. What is the way forward ?

Consider these: (a)Shortlisting of candidates by tapping DOP&T data bank after IB's verification;(b) Introducing screening through interviews by an independent board that should associate Management experts, and psychologists;(c)Availability of 360 degree feedbacks about the interviewees and vigilance clearance;(d) The ACC must give valid reasons for rejecting the recommendations of independent boards; (e)The ACC must also give 'speaking directions 'for Board level appointments in Central PSUs, while over turning PESB's recommendations.

A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)

There is no doubt that Anna Hazare's fast and the subsequent total capitulation by the Government to his demands is unprecedented by any standards. It smacks undemocratic and unconstitutional to allow a bunch of unelected persons to dictate terms to a democratically elected Government. Perhaps unprecedented malice that is eating away our democracy requires an unprecented remedy. Though many say that it is not unprecedented as Gandhi had used it in free India. Was it not Gandhi who by fasting unto death forced the Government to give away the partition debt to Pakistan when that country was invading us knowing fully well that the money will be used by Pakis to buy weapons for killing our soldiers? During the freedom struggle though he was not a member of the Congress, Gandhi used Satyagraha as a weapon to oust his opponents like Jinnah (Jinnah was a true secularist at that time. He opposed Gandhi's mixing of religion with politics like supporting Ali brothers (in their Khilafat movement), C. Sankaran Nair and Bose.

Our fore fathers who drafted our constitution perhaps never imagined the depth of decadence our political system can sunk in. A foreign woman is ruling this nation by proxy. Many consider her as the fulcrum of corruption in India. She is trying to scuttle the Lokpal bill through her henchmen since she knows that she will be the first casuality in any independent investigation. With mass political illiteracy it is very difficult free India from these corrupt elements.

Then what remedial measures can be taken to arrest the malignant disease of corruption which is a direct cause of lack of governance?

One option is to have an Army take over which looking at our neighbour most will not recommend. The one and only next option is to use moral power that Gandhi used and that is what Anna is doing. He did it at the correct time when the entire nation was disgusted with the series of corruption charges against the elected Government. Even PAC and JPC will come to nothing since it is a political body and ruling party with support from corrupt political elements like DMK,BSP,RJD and SP will scuttle any investigation. So let us not split hairs on the constitutionality of the agitation, but support it.

Navnith

Creation of dirty politics

Andhra Affair is all creation of dirty politics violating procedure for appointment of DGP.

Hstanwar

It is against protocol

This is against protocol. The expression 'Sir' is otherwise also a colonial hangover. It would be better if the Govt. officers address one another by name.

Ram Niwas

Never question the system

I will share one secret with all readers which one of my friends told me. He said best thing is to be posted under corrupt Reporting Officer if you allow him free hand to eat money you will get outstanding APAR. If you working under honest, hard working officer, then work very hard & show results he will not spoil your ACR & assess according to work done but rest assured will give you above benchmark. If you work under the type who talk all day, boast & brag & make you sit whole day in his room & tells same story everyday about how dynamic he is etc then you must sit in his room no matter if you are dieing of boredom & will collapse, listen to him, praise him never be impatient to leave. Never mind the work is never important for this kind just listen & praise him you will get outstanding APAR. If you had fight with boss on some issue go to his house on Diwali, take your wife because he will not insult you if your wife & children accompanying you and take expensive gift & say it is small token of remembrance. Another method is many officer now taking money for promotion. Since now promotion is entirely in hand of Reporting and Reviewing Officer and three members of DPC or ACC are there to give stamp of approval only & cannot go against the orders of Reporting and Reviewing Officer, therefore do not do mistake of saying no to this pooling of money. One Reporting Officer had 20 officers reporting to him. Each contributed Rs. 20, 000 each which coming to Rs. Four lacs. The Reporting Officer kept one lacs for himself & gave three lacs to Reviwing Officer who kept one lacs for himself & gave two lakh to his Reporting Officer. In this cycle each officer earned huge income, everyone got minimum very good & those officers who did house work of boss & taking boss wife for shopping got Outstanding. This arrangement saved headache of deciding representation, replying to Court cases etc because everyone happy, everyone got promoted & the free time available was used for devising more schemes for generating money. This is a win win arrangement because one Court case requires at least expenditure of two lacs. Therefore never question the system, try to learn its ways & adjust to it. There is so much for everyone.

Ranjeet Sadasivam

Healthy humour !

Today's WIC carries a wonderful piece of wit: healthy humour, bitter facts, mirror to the reality of administration. There is another piece almost dropping down. Dropping from where? You never ask for such explanations. Have you ever asked how arms simply "drop" in Purulia or dropped in Purulia in 1995? Today's breaking news carries interviews with Kim & Peter about the drop and they are invoking the intelligence of multinational(including Indian)intelligence agencies. It seems, intelligence only means fooling not one person but a whole nation. The operator's "intelligence" lies in locating the right word, which connotes nothing or rather everything that the operator imparts it whenever the situation demands. Now, smuggling would have pointed an accusing finger at lot many government agencies like the customs or police or intelligence or RAW or IB or CBI. Hence the intelligent use of the word drop. Something simply dropped over Purulia! Great!! When something drops, you can not proceed against anybody. In the serendipity the arms remained in India but the arms (Kim & Peter & co) were honourably escorted out intelligently. The spell cast by our Intelligence agencies is such that all our media continues to call it "drop" rather than "smuggling" or more challenging to national security "supply" by foreign countries inimical to India. The arms came from Pakistan, by air, the defence radar were switched off for many hours to provide a window to the operators, 3rd and 4th country persons flew the aircraft and the 5th or 6th countries were in constant communication to safely execute the operation. The most hilarious part of the entire episode is that Kim & Peter have been working long time in India as Catholic missionaries in poor areas of India in West Bengal(Mother Teressa territory), Orissa (Staines tragedy range)& NE states. What kind of NGO work people do to alleviate poverty in India? So long as we continue to term it merely arms drop, the truth will not surface, even as two parliamentary committees have examined the matter. Who says a word can't do what two parliamentary committees have failed to do? Drop it!

M L Gupta

Ms Khandelwal is outstanding

Ms Khandelwal is an outstanding officer of the Govt. of Haryana. But we didn't know about her this talent hidden in her, which has come in open in the public with the release of her this book of poems. We wish her all the best and pray to the god to give her power to think to write many more books of this kind.

Dr Anoop Mittal

Pillai has to be rewarded !

Government could not select CMD for NTC during the last two years or K.R. Pillai has to be rewarded for making NTC poorer by some hundred crores as per CAG report for the year 2005 and 2009.

U C Sharma

Chandrashekhar deserves extension

Cabinet Secretary Chandrashekhar must be given an extension which is co-terminus with UPA govt. He is the best Cabinet Secretary ever. He is decisive, honest, and enjoys the confidence of the civil service and the political system...a rare combination.

Singh

Whether the hurry was to accommodate people ?

This is in reference to the orders issued by the CBDT. While the order being issued in March deserves commendation, what intrigues is whether the hurry was to accommodate people. For instance, there is one person in the list of CITs who has not been shifted out of Delhi since 1989. Worse instead of giving him an innocuous post he is given a corporate charge. Will this matter be investigated? If law is to be followed or the transfer policy needs to be pursued, it has to be done equally.

Rakesh

Constitution of bench by the SC

The CIC observed that the information whether the Registry of the Supreme Court (SC) has placed certain papers before the Chief Justice of India for constitution of a Bench as directed in the SC Order in the SLP No. 32855/2009 is plainly administrative in nature. It is difficult to imagine how the disclosure of such information could cause any abrogation of the independence of the judiciary. The CIC directed to provide information on action taken by the SC Registry and also provide copy of the order, if any, for constituting a Bench of appropriate strength for further hearing on the SLP. The CIC further directed to provide a copy of the document, if any, confirming the news about the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India advising Karnataka Chief Justice Hon'ble Mr. Justice PD Dinakaran to go on leave.

Comments

While the CIC deserves applause for the interpretation of the RTI Act, is it not surprising that the CPIO of the mighty Supreme Court of India cannot decipher one of the simplest Acts of the independent India? Even earlier, the CPIO of SC has received a rap on the knuckles for similar aberrations.

Shri Subhash Chandra Agrawal vs. CPIO, Supreme Court of India in File No. CIC/WB/A/2010/000316 & CIC/SM/A/2011/001078

- Weekly article by Dr. (Mrs.) Anuradha Verma
(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)