Excellent information on Corporate World
Sahdev Khatua

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Whisper's Debate

Seven Prime Ministerial candidates in NDA
As the political climate in the country turns murky, observers feel a general election to the Lok Sabha in the near future will benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). A debate run by whipsersinthecorridors.com to judge the mood of the nation has thrown open a positive mandate in favour of the NDA. However, who will head the NDA combine if it returns to power is what most observers are still confused about. For there are as many as seven aspirants or Prime Ministerial candidates from the NDA combine.

The leaders of NDA who are eyeing at the top include Lal Krishna Advani - the senior BJP leader who missed out in 1999-2004 term when the NDA was calling the shots. During the entire five year period he had to live under the shadow of Atal Bihari Vajpayee - elder statesman - and he remained relegated to the number 2 position in the government. For Advani this is perhaps his last opportunity for a look at prime ministership. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj is also hoping that things will go in her favour. Being a women gives Sushama that added advantage. Like Sushma Swaraj, BJP's second rung leaders namely Narendra Modi, Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley are also eyeing their chances. With a little luck anyone one of these leaders can make it to the top. Modi, by his effective handling of the Gujarat is harbouring ambitions for a national role.

Fresh from his electoral win, Nitish Kumar has been tansformed overnight from a regional leader to a national leader having a pan India appeal. He is also eyeing on the Prime Minister's post as he feels he would emerge as a consensus candidate in an NDA formation. On the other hand there is Sharad Yadav, a politician who has mastered the art of survival and cannot be written off. Being the NDA convenor, he is a potential candidate. Going by his past, it won't be a surprise if the champion of the Mandal movement pulls off to lead a non-Congress, non-BJP combine in a fractured Lok Sabha.

(Read details in the Dec issue of WHIPSERS IN THE CORRIDORS, Magazine)

TOP CORPORATE POWER HOUSES IN INDIA
1. Mukesh Ambani & Anil Ambani
Reliance Group
Apart from heading one of India's biggest and diverse business conglomerates, Mukesh Ambani is the man keenly watched globally. For the record sake Mukesh's worth is over US $27 Billion as per Forbes list and he may be the richest man in the World by 2014. So, it is hard to believe that his footprints are not behind any major policy initiatives, especially that relating finance, taxation or trade and commerce. Mukesh's Man Friday in Delhi, Bala Subramaniam, takes care of the group's networking. He has unhindered access to all power centres in Delhi be it Congress party's Pranab Mukherjee or Motilal Vora, BJP's L.K. Advani or Nitin Gadkari, Communist party's Sitaram Yachuri or D. Raja, RJD's Laloo Yadav or other smaller parties. His aim is to get a Bharat Ratna award for the late Dhirubhai Ambani - his father and founder of Reliance Group - besides, total allegiance of the country's bureaucrats and politicians. His team is feverishly working along with the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi. However, the row over lobbyist Neera Radia tapes and her conversations that became public have tarnished the image of the company still, he is not the one who can just be stopped over by such minor irritants.
His younger brother, Anil Ambani had already enjoyed unhindered access to the -corridors of power and ever since the patch up with the elder brother is trying to consolidate his gains. His team is active round the clock keeping a tab on critical issues in governance.

2. Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia
Essar Group
They are number four in Forbes list of richest Indians with assets worth nearly US$ 15 billion, but maintain an extremely low profile. The government is said to have supported them in the attempt to restructure their group in recent years and they enjoy the most unhindered access to all political parties. The fact that they have no political ambition has stood them in good light with all political parties. Their man in Delhi is Sunil Bajaj, who enjoys an easy access to all political bigwigs and bureaucratic strongholds. They only travel to Delhi when work calls for their presence and their coming and going go unnoticed as they travel unobtrusively with the minimum noise. Of late, the Group's networking too has acquired a higher crescendo, what with all the expansion plans, and acquisitions in foreign countries.

3. Gautam Adani
Adani Group
Forbes has placed him at number 7 in the richest Indians list with a worth of more than US $ 10 billion in kitty. Adani's is the fastest growing group in the country's Corporate landscape forcing observers to say that he is the Dhirubhai Ambani in the making. His political connections are fantastic. His claim to fame is for having been caught on the wrong side of the law more than any other business man in the country. However, he sails out of trouble every time and moves ahead with greater conviction. His strong political connections with BJP patriarch L.K. Advani, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Congress' Ahmed Patel is the talk among observers and the envy of his competitors. His key aide Puneet Sharan presides over the Public Relations activities of the group in Delhi.

4. Ratan Tata
Tata Group
From salt to heavy vehicles to the most high tech IT set ups, Tata's is one of the oldest Indian conglomerates, having touched the lives of every Indian. People have learnt to live with Tata, for Tata's stood for quality, conviction and growth with humility. Though the contents of the Radia Tapes have done great damage to the reputation of Ratan Tata, still his is the most revered business house in the country. For the record, Forbes does not have him on their rich list. Is he a billionaire? No, Ratan Tata is not a billionaire. Of course he is the Chairman of Tata Group having 96 businesses out of which 28 are publicly listed and are worth more than US $ 70 billion. Well, to be a billionaire, on your financial statement, your assets must be worth billions of dollars. The main bulk of the shares of its 96 Businesses are not on Ratan Tata's personal financial statement. Tata Group's Key holding Company, Tata Sons has 65 per cent ownership to various Tata group charitable organizations out of which Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir J.R.D. Tata Trust are the main holders. About 18 per cent of the holdings in Tata Son's are with Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry who maintains low profile and is known as "Phantom of Bombay House". Ratan Tata himself holds less than 1% of TATA Sons, the key holding Company of Tata Group. This is the reason why he is not a billionaire.
Ratan Tata given his respect among common man should have been number one in this list but his public spat with TMC leader Mamata Banerjee over the Nano project and land acquisition in Singur, West Bengal have left his image tarred. Moreover, the shifting of his pet Nano small car project to Narendra Modi's Gujarat has marred his chances of getting a Bharat Ratna, as long as the Congress is in power at the Centre. His personal office general manager, who happens to be son of a senior lady journalist in Delhi, is RNT's networking man.

5. Lakshmi N. Mittal
ArcelorMittal
Steel tycoon and the chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaking company is placed by Forbes at the number two position with a net worth of US $ 26.1 billion. His journey to become one of the richest man in the world, has been very controversial from his association with former
Indonesian President Suharto to British Prime Minister Tony Blair who allegedly helped him in his business ventures. In India his association started with for Union Minister N.K.P. Salve and this helped him move closer to power centres in India. He enjoys personal rapport with the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress' Political Secretary Ahmed Patel and enjoyed equally close relationship with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's family.

6. Sunil Mittal
Bharti Enterprises
With a worth of US $ 8.6 billion the telecom czar, Sunil Mittal is placed at number 9 in the Forbes list. Son of a father who was MP from Ludhiana of the Congress Party, he started business with manufacturing cycle parts at the age of 18. He is a risk taker and known to have best networking with political masters in Delhi. His office door conference room) near Qutub Minar says it all SULTANAT. His aim is to be Emperor of telecom world and he has already taken steps in that direction looking for joint ventures, acquisitions and mergers in Africa and elsewhere in Asia.

7. K.P. Singh
DLF Limited
Forbes pitches him shade ahead of Sunil Mittal at number 8 in the India rich list with a worth of US $ 9.2 billion. His chance meeting on the road with late Rajiv Gandhi turned him from a small time builder of south Delhi to the biggest builder in India. His controversial tie up with Dubai World company Emaar Group has tarnished his image and probably made him loose a few billions. He is regarded as the Ambassador of Good times by the political glitterati in Delhi. He is said to be richest person in the national capital.

8. Venugopal N. Dhoot
Videocon Industries Limited
Videocon Industries limited being headed by its Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) Venugopal N Dhoot, is the flagship company of US $ 5 billion Videocon Group having diversified business interests in white and brown goods, power generation (both conventional and renewable energy). Exploration and Prospecting Oil and Gas, Providing GSM Mobile Telephone Services, last mile retail, and Direct to Home Delivery of Television Contents. Its activities are well spread out in India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and Mozambique, with employee strength of more than 15,000. Venugopal N Dhoot, a second-generation entrepreneur and an engineer by training, transformed Videocon from a conference room-sized assembly line in 1979 into a conglomerate across the verticals of consumer electronics and home appliances, office automation, telecom, power, crude oil and natural gas. Dhoot has a vision to led Videocon and make it a Fortune 500 company in the next five years. Dhoot is an environmental enthusiast having successfully completed a project of planting 2,00,000 teak saplings across India.

9. Subrata Roy Sahara
Sahara Group
Chairman of the Group having India's biggest - land bank, NBFC, Media & Entertainment Company, Service & product company, exclusive Aamby Valley City along with Major housing & commercial building projects including Malls, Premium Apartments, Hotels and Hospitals, Life Insurance Company, Mutual Fund House, Housing Finance Co., Consumer products & Retail Chain, Integrated travel & tourism services. Subrata Roy Sahara's worth is about US $ 3.3 billion and as Chief Guardian of world's largest family, providing livelihood to millions, directly touching the life of one out of every fifteen Indian, believing in collective sharing & caring for collective growth, proved over decades through CSR projects and activities carried out all over India and particularly in UP & Bihar, one of world's poorest regions, up to the assistance to families of Martyr's of Kargil war and 26/11 Mumbai attack.
Biggest supporter of Sports, being a character builder of nation, more than 60 % medal winning Indian athletes in CWG 2010 sponsored by Sahara India Pariwar. Extended critical support which made the event wonderful for India. Exploring overseas value adding acquisitions like England's legendry soccer club Liverpool, one the oldest Hollywood Studios MGM, iconic London Hotel Grosvenor House. A visionary par excellence, one of the all time great entrepreneur, dedicated to nation building.

10. Kumar Mangalam Birla
The Aditya Birla Group
Like Tata, the name Birla is synonymous with Indian Industry and has been among I the country's oldest business houses. Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Chairman of the US$ 29 billion Aditya Birla Group, a global conglomerate with operations spanning 27 countries. An iconic figure, Birla holds several key positions on various regulatory and professional boards. He is a Director of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India and Chairman of the Staff Sub-Committee of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India. He serves on the Prime Minister of India's Advisory Council on Trade and Industry. Birla group has however,not changed like other business groups. They still believe in traditional business style and instead of expanding their empire are trying to consolidate their present business establishments. They do not want to walk on the waves of the time.

11. Anil Agrawal
Vedanta Group
Vedanta Group is an LSE-listed diversified FTSE 100 metals and mining company, and India's largest non-ferrous metals and mining company. Anil Agrawal, the NRI Chairman of the Vedanta Group has a worth of US $ 7.9 billion. Agrawal's ambition is to become the richest businessman in India. If things would have gone as he had planned out with the IPO and the expansion of mining activity in Orissa, Agrawal would have overtaken Mukesh Ambani as the richest Indian businessmen. He is said to have a direct access in the Ten Janpath.

12. G.M. Rao
GMR Group
Founder Chairman of GMR Group-global Infrastructure major the Group is well
diversified and professionally managed with focus on business verticals of Airports, Energy, Highways and Urban Infrastructure including SEZs, apart from interests in Agri-business. Born on July 14, 1950 in a small town of Rajam in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, G M Rao established the GMR business empire starting from a single jute mill in Rajam in 1978.G M Rao expanded the group's presence in the infrastructure sector by leading the group's foray into Highways. The group bagged its first global project by winning the bid to modernise the Sabiha Gokcen International (SGA) airport at Istanbul, Turkey and also ventured into the new business sector of Urban Infrastructure. The group will set up a 3300 acre multi-product SEZ in Krishnagiri District of Tamil Nadu. It is marching ahead on lines of the Adani group. With a strong desire to serve the needs of the marginalised sections and the rural society, Rao set up the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, to raise their living standards. The Foundation is active in the areas of education, health and hygiene, community development and empowerment.

13. Gopichand Hinduja
Hinduja Group
Hinduja is worth billions of dollars, but he still shares a kitchen with his three brothers. He co-chairs the Indian multinational corporation Hinduja Group with his eldest brother Srichand. Srichand, 75, and Gopichand, 70, are based in the exclusive district of Mayfair in London. The third brother, Prakash, 65, is in Geneva, while the fourth, and the youngest, Ashok, 60, remains in Mumbai. In each country, there is a house with a joint kitchen for all four of the brothers and their families to use. They are estimated to be worth a total of about US$9.5 billion (Dh34.89bn), according to The Sunday Times 2008 Rich List. At one stage they had fast emerged as a force to reckon with in the corridors of power, but now seem to have preferred lying low.

Excellent information on Corporate World
Sahdev Khatua

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Rahul blaming Coaliton for Nation's woes has got NCP hopping mad!!!

NCP says Rahul is a funny lad!!!

NCP says inflation is an outfall of growth!!!

Actually for Nation's woes who is to blame.... both (Congress and NCP)!!

Seems Rahul has realized that for Nation's woes Congress is getting the blame!

This was and is Pawar's game!!!

Pawar and his gang have made money left and right but Congress is getting the blame!!

First for letting inflation go haywire and then 'inflation Congress is not being able to tame'!!!

Seems Congress has woken up and 'forward trading' in commodities is under the scanner!

In India this kind of trading has been inflation fire ka fanner!!!

Congress is not agreeing to Pawar's demand on sugar exports!!!!!

First at Rs. 22 sugar India exports and then at Rs. 40 sugar India imports!!

Pawar and his gang make a killing in exports and imports!!!

They've made crores and crores as per reports!!!

They say check out Indigo's funding 'root'!!

And it'll come out how Praful has parked in this Airline a fraction of 'his loot'!

Apart from investing via benami route in Jet and Kingfisher also!!!

A lot of his loot into Mumbai real estate did and does go!!!

And do remember Praful has learnt 'the ropes' from the Master!!!

In this activity Pawar is India 's 'Master Blaster'!!

Sibal has already got flack for what he said about CAG's 2 G report!!!

Now on the upcoming Bofors verdict he is preparing his retort!!

Congress has ordered Singhvi and Tiwari too to do their homework!!

Congress is worried about the ominous Bofors clouds that on the horizon lurk!!

And rest assured the arguments put forward will be 'ludicrous and funny'!!!

But still these attempts will not be able to humor Sonia and her sonny!!

Modi bann gaya gentleman ... suited booted with a hat!!!

Seems ultimately for BJP in the run up to the elections Modi may come out to bat!!

See the way investments have poured into Gujarat ..... Congress is in a state of shock!!!

FM is looking into how these investments Center can block!!!

Ghadkari in the meantime is in China stuffing his gob with Chinese food!!!

As we know to hog he is always in the mood!!

BJP and communism have always been at odds but Ghadkari feels otherwise!!

Going to China is indeed unwise!!

Confucius says.... Modi is now a serious Prime Ministerial candidate!!!

Though he would prefer he enters the race at a 'later date'!!!!

Adds..... Advani and Ghadkari are akin to deadweight around BJP's galaa!!!

BJP's best bet ..... Modi akalaa (alone)!!!

BUREAUCRACY

Appointment of CCITs next month
Promotion and posting of 41 Chief Commissioners of Income Tax is expected to be made in the last week of February.

Snehlata Srivastava to be JS Justice
Ms Snehlata Srivastava will be new Joint Secretary in the Department of Justice in the Government of India. Formal orders of 1982 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre. Ms Srivastava are expected in a couple of days.

R.T.Agrawal is no. 1 in panel for DF, POWERGRID
As the grapevine has it they are: R.T.Agrawal (of POWERGRID) is number one in the panel for the post of Director Finance (DF) in POWERGRID interviews for which were held on January 13, 2011. Presently he is an Executive Director (ED) in the POWERGRID.

Rakesh Garg to be AS Culture
Rakesh Garg will be new Additional Secretary Culture. He is 1980 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. Formal orders are expected in a day or two.

Sudhir Mittal to be AS Corporate Affairs
Sudhir Mittal will be new Additional Secretary Corporate Affairs. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre. Formal orders are expected in a day or two.

Lt Gen Raghavan nominated to National Security Advisory Board
Lt Gen V R Raghavan has been nominated to National Security Advisory Board, reconstituted by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

J.K. Sharma posted as DGP, Puducherry
J.K. Sharma Joint Police Commissioner, Delhi has been transferred as Director General of Police, Puducherry.He is an IPS officer of the 1982 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Alok Kumar Verma DGP,Puducherry shifted to Delhi
Alok Kumar Verma, Director General of Police, Puducherry has been transferred to Delhi.He is an IPS officer of the1979 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Jai Prakash Narain Singh appointed as Director, MHA
Jai Prakash Narain Singh on central deputation has been appointed as Director in Ministry of Home Affairs.He is an Indian Audit & Account Service officer of the 1975 batch.

Ms. Sreya Guha appointed as Director, Financial Service
Ms. Sreya Guha on central deputation has been appointed as Director, Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.She is an IAS officer of the1994 batch who belongs to the Rajasthan cadre.

Jadhav to be Director in Hindustan Aeronotics Ltd
J J Jadhav is being tipped to be new Director (Design and Development) in the Hindustan Aeronotics Ltd.

Satish Gavai appointed as VP & MD, MHADA
In a bureaucratic reshuffle Satish Gavai on January 13, 2011; had been appointed by the Maharashtra government as Vice President & Managing Director (MD) of the the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). He is an IAS officer of the 1984 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.(We said this in September 2010)

Rajiv Jalota is Additional Commissioner, MCGM
In a bureaucratic reshuffle Rajiv Jalota on January 13, 2011; had been appointed by the Maharashtra government as Additional Commissioner Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). So far He was Commissioner Employment and Self-Employment
with the Maharashtra government. He is an IAS officer of the 1988 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.
(We said this on December 12, 2010)

Vijay Kumar Gautam posted as Commissioner Employment & Self Employment.
In a bureaucratic reshuffle Vijay Kumar Gautam on January 13, 2011; had been appointed by the Maharashtra government as Commissioner Employment & Self Employment. He is an IAS officer of the 1987 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Dinesh Waghmare posted as Secretary Social Justice
In a bureaucratic reshuffle Dinesh Waghmare on January 13, 2011; had been appointed by the Maharashtra government as Secretary Social Justice. He is an IAS officer of the 1994 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Nitin Kareer may get Commercial Tax in Maharashtra?
As the grapevine has it Nitin Kareer Secretary to Chief Minister Maharashtra may get assignment of Commercial Taxes. He is an IAS officer of the1988 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Sanjay Bhatia to get a posting in CIDCO ?
As the grapevine has it Sanjay Bhatia may be posted in City and Industrial Development
Corporation (CIDCO) , of Maharashtra government. He is an IAS officer of the1985 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Aziz Khan may be posted in MMRDA
As the grapevine has it Aziz Khan may be Posted in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Mumbai. He is an IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre.

Ms. Malini Shankar may get Energy department in Maharashtra
As the grapevine has it may get Energy department in Maharashtra. She is an IAS officer of the1984 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Cadre Review of Indian P&T, Accounts and Finance Service is Underway
The Cadre review of the Indian P&T, Accounts and Finance Service is underway after formation of BSNL and MTNL.

Shukla to be Registrar Cooperative Societies
A B Shukla will take over as Registrar of Cooperative Societies in Delhi Government. 1996 batch IAS officer of UT cadre Shukla is returning to Delhi from Arunachal Pradesh.

Will Anshu Prakash be Secretary Urban Development in Delhi
Anshu Prakash, who is presently Additional Commissioner MCD, is all set to become Secretary Urban Development in the Delhi Government. He is 1986 batch IAS officer.

Selvaraj to be PS Home in Delhi
Now picture is clear B V Selvaraj will be new Principal Secretary Home and Cooperatives in the Delhi Government. He is 1981 batch IAS officer.

Suresh to move Accra
T J Suresh will move from the MEA Headquarters to Accra as Second Secretary in place of H C Arora who is retiring in April.

World Bank President for Rs.4500 crore loan to Bihar
World Bank President Robert Zoellick has promised to give a loan to the tune of Rs.4500 crore for victims of Kosi floods. He praised the commitment and sincerity of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in rebuilding the flood devastated Kosi region in Bihar during a meeting with Kumar in Patna on January 12, 2011. An agreement for Rs. 1000 crore loan was signed in presence of the World Bank President Robert Zoellick.

Vinay Kumar elevated in IB
Vinay Kumar, Deputy Director, Intelligence Bureau, SIB, Karnataka, Banglore has been promoted as Joint Director, I.B. at same place. He is an IPS officer of the1990 batch who belongs to the Uttarakhand cadre.

New post of Special DG to be created in NIA
A new post of Special DG is being creating in the National Investigating Agency (NIA).

Post IG to fall vacant in CRPF in March
One post of IG will be falling vacant in CRPF due to completion of deputation tenure of P. Mallengouda, IG, Southern Sector Mount Abu, in the month of March, 2011. He is an IPS officer of the1984 batch who belongs to the MT cadre.

1986 batch IPS is ADG in Uttarakhand
1986 batch IPS officer IG Garhwal range M A Ganpati has been promoted to the rank of ADG.

IAS changes in Uttar Pradesh
Arvind Kumar Dwivedi and Dilip Kumar Gupta will now be DMs of Banda and Chitrakoot respectively.Ajay Agrawal has been moved as DM Gazipur.Vijay Biswas Pant has been made DM Mahoba .Chandra Prakash Mishra has been posted in Sugar Mills Federation.Pankaj Kumar will now be MD of Eastern Electricity Distribution Company.

1995 batch IAS get super-time scale in Haryana
1995 batch IAS officers have been given super-time scale in Haryana.

IAS postings in Punjab
Arvinder Singh has been posted as Secretary Home Affairs and Justice.Sanjay Kumar will be Secretary Revenue and Survey Commissioner.Jaspal Singh will be Secretary Expenditure.

SP Jorhat shifted
Debojit Hazarika SP Jorhat was transferred and appointed commandant of the Abhayapuri-based 8th Assam Police Battalion.

Salil Khare IRS to attend LHDNM OECD seminar in Malaysia (UPDATED)
Salil Khare, Additional Commissioner Income Tax, Bhopal will be attending the LHDNM OECD seminar on Audit of Small and Medium Enterprises at the Malaysian Tax Academy, Kuala Lumpur from January 17 to 21. He is an IRS officer of the 1993 batch. He is the only IRS officer from the country to attend the seminar.

Cabinet reshuffle likely on January 17, 2011 (UPDATED)
In corridors of power it is strongly believed that Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's Cabinet will be reshuffled January 17, 2011.

P. Chidambaram to host a lunch for scribes on Jan. 15 (UPDATED)
P. Chidambaram Minister of Home Affairs has invited media people for lunch at home on January 15, 2011.

Shashi Prakash is new CIC Tripura (UPDATED)
Former Chief Secretary Shashi Prakash has been appointed Chief Information Commissioner in Tripura.He is retired 1976 batch IAS officer.

RTI

Are Employee Associations covered under the definiton of Public Authority?

Information about the election for Executive Committee proposed to be conducted by All India SC/ST Railway Employees Association (AISCSTREA) was refused by the Zonal President, claiming that the Association is not a Public Authority. The Commission noted that AISCSTREA is indirectly controlled and substantially financed by the Railway Board, Ministry of Railways. The office premises have been granted by the Railways and substantial financing in the form of receipts under the head Central Share are received from the Railways. Even the letterhead of the Association clearly states that it owes it's recognition and registration to the Railway Board. The CIC observed that a regime of transparency is in the interest of the Association. The CIC declared the Association a Public Authority under the RTI Act 2005 and directed the General Secretary to appoint the CPIO in the organization and comply with the other provisions of the RTI Act.

Comments

There are thousands of organisations claiming to represent the interests of employees of the Public Authority out of which many receive grants from the government. Some of these unions appear to be accountable to no one. Will this order turn out to be a milestone for the transparent working of the associations ?

[Mr. Kumar Shrawan Bhivgade v. Western Railway and the All India SC/ST Railway Employees Association [CEC] in File No: CIC/AD/C/2009/001263]

- 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)

CORPORATE
Reshuffle in TATA Group
Anil Sardana will take over from incumbent Prasad Menon as head of Tata Teleservices.
N Srinath MD of Tata communications, will replace Sardana, the listed unit of the mobile carrier, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra).Vinod Kumar will be new managing director and chief executive officer, the international telecoms services firm.

SAIL posts Q3 PAT of Rs. 1107 crore
The unaudited financial results of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) for October-December '10 (Q3) of the current financial year, taken on record by the company's Board of Directors in Delhi on January 13,2011 mirrored the market conditions in which the steel industry is operating. On the one hand is slowly firming up demand leading to record sales, while on the other a sharp hike in cost of inputs has exerted substantial pressure on margins. The SAIL Board has
approved interim dividend for its shareholders at 12% of the company's paid-up capital amounting to Rs. 495.65 crore. With a record gross sales turnover in Q3 of Rs. 12,276.81 crore, a growth of 17.5% over the corresponding period last year (CPLY), SAIL's turnover for the first nine months of FY '11 was Rs. 33,905.40 crore, 9.6% higher than CPLY of FY '10. In the first nine months of FY '11, SAIL's net worth grew by Rs. 2,798 crore to Rs. 36,115 crore as on 31st December '10. During the same period, the company's debt-equity ratio came down from 0.50:1 to 0.39:1 as a result of better debt servicing. The company's market borrowings came down to around Rs. 14,176 crore on 31.12.10 from a level of Rs. 16, 511 crore on 31.3.10. Reviewing the Q3 performance, SAIL Chairman C.S. Verma said: "there has been an uptrend in sales and profit compared to the preceding quarter, despite a higher cost push. I am confident that our SAIL team will leave no stone unturned to face all challenges to maintain this improving trend."

Seshasayee appointed Addl. Director, Infosys Technologies
Infosys Technologies Ltd has appointed R. Seshasayee as an Additional Director of the Company with immediate effect.

Lakhina appointed Addl. Director Genesys International
Genesys International Corporation Limited appointed Anil Kumar Lakhina as an Additional Director of the company w.e.f. January 12, 2011.

Srivastava nominated as Director, Hindustan Zinc Ltd
Union Ministry of Mines has appointed Ms. Anjali Anand Srivastava, Joint Secretary , Ministry of Mines as Government Nominee Director on the Board of Hindustan Zinc Limited with immediate effect in place of Sanjeev Kumar Mittal.

Chowdhary re-appointed MD , Ceat Ltd
Ceat Limited has re-appointed Paras K. Chowdhary, whose current term is expiring on January 17, 2011, as the Managing Director of the Company for a further period upto March 31, 2012.

Patel steps down as ED, Provogue (India) Ltd
Nigam A. Patel has stepped down from the post of Executive Director of Provogue (India) Ltd with immediate effect but will continue to serve the company on the Board in the capacity of a Non-Executive Director.

Jayanthi appointed CEO, Capgemini Outsourcing
Aruna Jayanthi, the global delivery officer for Capgemini Outsourcing, has been elevated to the rank of Chief Executive Officer in India.

FORUM
(The views expressed in this column are of the contributors. We do not owe any responsibility, whatsoever, of the views of our surfers as they are their personal opinion. However, we would also request our contributors not to be personal, directly or indirectly, in presenting their views. Instead of countering the views which ‘X’ has already expressed, our contributors are advised to present their own views. Also be brief, say about 200 words at the most since any views longer than that if eliminated at our end would carry the risk of the contrbutor’s item losing its original essence)


Don't entertain anonymous people

It will be best if e-mails of those persons who want to remain anonymous are not given space in forum. in fact it will be much better if the e-mail address of each contributor is also given in future. "Name & address withheld on request" must not appear on WIC henceforth. also WIC should consider campaign like Wikileaks & provide platform for feeding documents & video recoding of bribe taking or pictures etc. it will bring revolution in ending corruption from this country.

Brajesh Kumar Yadav.

Mantra for CBEC to Generate Revenue

In Govt. Ministries/ Deptts./PSUs/MNCs/ Banks/ Hospitals/ Private Cos. etc., a number of Outsourcing agencies/ Security agencies are in operation. These agencies are providing manpower to various Departments. But they are not depositing SERVICE TAX correctly. For example, an Agency is providing 200 manpower/ Security guards in Five organizations, say 40 in each. What these agencies doing? These are depositing Service Tax for 40 people but enclosing the same receipt along with bills in all five organizations. Thus they are keeping Service Tax for 160 people in their pockets. To curtail such mal-practices, CBEC should write to all such Departments to intimate the details of such agencies. Moreover, Central Excise Department may also write to all service providers to file an Affidavit, indicating therein the details of manpower they are providing to various Departments. Thereafter, the details may be cross-checked with the service tax, deposited by them. Hope by this action, CBEC may generate more revenue to the country.

V.K. Tharran

This is day light robbery

This is with reference to the very pertinent points raised by Ms. Aarti Khosla about the ways & means to check the price rise. In this regard I would like to add that there is a plethora of State and Central Government agencies which if list is compiled will run into more than 100, yet there is still no solution in sight. The main objectives for setting up the Food Corporation of India, was to fulfill the objectives of the National Food Policy i.e. Effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers, Distribution of food grains throughout the country for public distribution system, Maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of food grains to ensure National Food Security. Unfortunately in its 45 years of existence, FCI has actually aggravated the crisis management oriented food security due to gross mismanagement. Yet heads do not roll. If precious harvest grown by the farmers after back breaking toil, sleepless nights keeping night vigil, fear of cattle grazing or money lenders goons threatening to set fire to standing crops because of non payment of a few installments, has to rot in the open and precious godown space auctioned off to soft drink companies then the present crises was bound to happen.

We have the gigantic PDS with a network of about 4.99 lakh Fair Price Shops (FPS) in the country which is the largest distribution network of its type in the world. Then we have National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) which has mandate to act as agent of any Government agency or cooperative institution, for the purchase, sale, storage and distribution of agricultural, horticultural and other consumer goods. It also acts as warehouseman under the Warehousing Act and owns and constructs its own godowns and cold storages. Thus I want to know who is stopping the government from directly purchasing onions & other essential items directly from the farmers & do away with these middlemen. Are these middlemen & their interests more important? In order to safeguard the interests of middlemen so that they continue to earn hefty commission the Delhi Government has once again taken soft decision & safer option of providing subsidy to the large onion traders so that prices can be kept at around Rs. 40 per kg for consumers as the government will pay remaining Rs. 40 as subsidy as interests & cut of onion trader cannot be curtailed. Please remember this subsidy amount being squandered away is the hard earned money of the people. But who cares.

Lok Nath Mehra

Stenographer Cadre in Filed Offices ill-treated

I would like to say that much has been said and read about the CSSS in this Website, but the poor Stenographer Cadre in Filed Offices (terminology used by the 6th CPC) is being ill-treated again after the implementation of the 6th CPC.

I am saying this on the ground that the 6th CPC has strongly recommended that there should be no parity among the CSSS and others, therefore, Pay Commission has recommended Rs.4200/- Grade Pay in PB-II for the PAs and or Grade C Stenographers.

I am sorry to point out that after the implementation of the 6th CPC Report for the Stenographers Cadre in CSSS and the filed offices suddenly, the GoI i.e. Union Ministry of Finance has approved Rs.4600/- Grande Pay in PB-II for the Grade C Stenographers in CSSS only on the plea that they are direct recruit.

Here, I want to clarify that the GoI has promotion quota for Grade D Stenos, meaning thereby that they would not be extended the GP of Rs.4600/-. It is unlikely.

In this connection, I want to say that the Stenographers in other than Central Secretariat offices are also recruited through open competition only, and the minimum qualification is Graduate and the final selection is done after interview.

It is, therefore, requested that the persons sitting in the Ministry of Finance and DoPT should accept this that injustice has been done and extend the benefits of Rs.4600/- GP to the Stenographers in other than CSSS. This way, it will avoid unnecessary litigations before the Hon?ble Tribunal (CAT) and Courts, which will also save the hard earned money of the tax payers being used for the legal purposes.

Thank you very much.

V S Rana Shimla

CSS and CSSS Merger

This is regarding observation of RC on merger of CSS with CSSS. He has gone to the extent of commenting that merger is nothing. I do not know what is the position of RC in GOI. However, going by the tone that he has expressed would naturally give an idea that he would be one from CSS. But he should not speak on behalf of GOI or the whole CSS cadre unless he is Director or JS in DOPT. As far as I know, CSS officers are not appointed JSs in DOPT for obvious reasons?. They can go upto Director rank in DOPT. For kind information of RC, I would state that 6CPC has recommended merger of Stenographers cadre with General cadre in all GOI departments and GOI has already accepted the recommendation vide DOE resolution dated 29.8.2008. [May wish to go through it, available in DOE's site]. CPCs recommendations, once accepted by GOI, are binding and are not subject to interpretation by individual departments. Furthermore, CPC's recommendations are always taken into consideration by all tribunals/courts while deciding such issues. He has also stated that there is difference between the nature of duties relating to officials of CSS and CSSS, their entry to the services and pre-requisite qualification for appointment etc. Let me enlighten RC that CPC is a specialized agency who had looked into all the aspects of the issue and after meeting with all stakeholders and due deliberations, has arrived to this conclusion. So you and I are nowhere to advise for merger or otherwise.

Kaushal

Highly mistaken

RC is sadly mistaken. CSSS does not want to thrive at the cost of CSS. He should know that merger of CSS and CSSS was approved by the Cabinet but not implemented because of CSS - it is they -as US, SO, DS, Director who are manning the CS Division and. They know very well that they cannot man the office of sr. officers like Secretary, AS, JS etc, whereas CSSS officers can manage Sections etc. well if not better than SOs. Sometime back, rule 12.2 of CSS Rules, 1962 was done away with (this rule provided for interpolation of SOs and PSs for purposes of preparation of Common Eligibility List for promotion as US.) In the new CSS Rules, 2009, this provision has been done away with. It is an acknowledged fact in the Secretariat that CSSS officers can discharge duties attached to the post of SO as well as PS and they do so in a lot many places in the Secretariat. CSS officers cannot man the personal sections of Secretary, AS and JS. Hence the opposition to the merger. This only shows their incapacity and proves that the CSSS officers are more efficient. The CSSS should press for the implementation of the merger. Recently, the cadre restructuring proposal of CSSS went to the Cabinet Secretariat and CSS officers there put all kinds of objections and it is still being hurled around between DOPT, Expenditure and PMO - for the last 4-5 months Cabinet Secretary should see through the game being played by the CSS officers in his office and put an end to this by approving the Cadre Restructure proposal of CSSS and give the much needed respite to CSSS. Thanks

Raja

There are still many positives

Greatness of our democracy and system lies in the fact that even in this season of scams and a total negative environment there are many positives to be picked up. The first positive is strength of our Constitutional institutions like CAG and Supreme Court who have helped to highlight the issues without being bogged down by various pressures.

Second positive is our independent media which have launched a scathing attack on corruption and have exposed it with the contempt it deserved. Third positive which I note with pride is despite it being called a rusted 'steel frame' many of our senior bureaucrats have stood their ground and have not succumbed to political or peer pressures. Prime example of this is the current CAG Vinod Rai who have almost single handedly revived the institution of CAG without seeking any personal glory. We also have example of his batch-mate GK Pillai who as Home Secy has not hesitated to initiate action against one of his rotten junior colleague.

It proves that one man can make a difference as long as the one stands up-to the values one hold.

MB

Problems cannot be solved by shooting down the messenger

M.L Gupta is well within his rights to express his views. One can agree or disagree but it should be done politely & not by belittling others. It is very easy to castigate anyone without citing any reasons & yet remaining anonymous. If the Editor of WIC has allowed his views then we have to respect their wisdom. Questioning voice of dissent is unfortunate; we are living in a Democracy & not Taliban Country. I still remember the excellent piece written by M.L Gupta under the heading ? To be honest or not to be is no question which had appeared in the forum some time back.

Dimpy Chopra

Happy Lohri

Happy Lohri to you and all officer and men of uniformed services. God bless happiness to one and all.

B P Singh

www.indiancpmf.blogspot.com