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Dr V V Ravi

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

What is the significance of PMs statement ?
Why did PM Manmohan Singh say that this is going to be the last Cabinet reshuffle ? There is strong possibility of Rahul Gandhi taking over as PM in the coming months.

Wings of Chidambaram clipped ?
The PM has clipped the wings of Home Minister P Chidambaram by making Jitendra Singh MoS Home. Jitendra Singh is Secretary to Rahul Gandhi and he can not be treated like a junior minister.

Why did Moily go ?
Law Minister V Moily had to go because he failed to control the judiciary and the Government had to face several embarrassments.

Who scuttled Scindia's change ?
Minister of State Jyotiraditya Scindia was sure to become MoS with independent charge. Some forces became active and scuttled the move.

Only Yadav face goes from the Cabinet
Arun Yadav was the only Yadav face in the Congress party. It is a mystery as to whose advice he was shown door from the Manmohan Singh Cabinet.

Victory of Jaipal Reddy
One big business house was after the blood of Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy. Who is the winner Vedanta or Reliance ?

BUREAUCRACY

Kaun Banega RBI Governor ? (8)
With so many contenders eyeing or the post of Governor Reserve Bank of India, insiders feel present Governor D Subbarao may get an extension.

A.K Upadhyay to hold additional charge as NHAI chief
A.K Upadhyay who recently was appointed as Secretary, Road Transport and Highway by the Government of India (GOI) has been given additional charge of Chairman National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a period of six months. He is an IAS officer of 1975 batch who belongs to the Bihar cadre.

Ashok Kumar to be JS Power
G Ashok Kumar is being tipped to be new Joint Secretary Power in the Government of India. He is 1991 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Ms Gongulee Thomas to be Ambassador to Turkey
Ms Susmita Gongulee Thomas has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Turkey. She is presently Consul General of India to San Francisco.

N Kumar to be Director (Technical ) CIL
N Kumar is being tipped to be new Director (Technical) of the Coal India Limited (CIL).

Harmeet Singh to join as DD, SIB Delhi
Harmeet Singh, Staff Officer Director, IB who had been transferred has completed his training and will soon be joining as (DD) Deputy Director SIB Delhi. He is an IPS officer of 1992 batch who belongs to the Assam-Meghalya cadre.

Kamal Nayan Choubey is PS to Dinesh Trivedi
Kamal Nayan Choubey has been appointed as private secretary (PS) to Indian Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi. It may be stated that while Trivedi was MoS, Health and Family Welfare in GOI, Choubey was Trivedi's PS. Choubey is an IPS officer of 1986 batch who belongs to the Jharkhand cadre.

Sanjay Lohiya is new Director in PMO
Sanjay Lohiya has been appointed as Director in the Prime Minister's Office. He is 1994 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

( We said this on 6 july 2011)

Krishna Kumar to be Director PMO
Krishna Kumar has been selected for the post of Director in the Prime Minister's Office.He is 1997 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre.

IB clearance must for ministers' non-govt personal staff
All the Union Ministers are learnt to have been asked by the Prime Minister that they should not appoint non-governmental personal staff without the verification of their 'character and antecedents' by the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

Vaidhyan is Dy Secretary Expenditure
Sigy Thomas Vaidhyan has been appointed Deputy Secretary Expenditure in the Government of India. Vaidhyan is 2002 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

Rajesh Khurana's deputation in IB ends
Rajesh Khurana Deputy Director, IB, HQ New Delhi has completed his central deputation. He is an IPS officer of 1994 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Will Satyapal Singh be ADG Mumbai?
Will Satyapal Singh Additional DG join in Mumbai ? Singh had been nominated by High Court, Gujarat as a Member of SIT but due to some personal compulsion he is under dilemma whether to join or not to join. He is an IPS officer of 1980 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Atul Kumar Mathur is Director, NEPA
Atul Kumar Mathur Addl.DG (CID&TS) Meghalaya Police Shillong has joined as Director North-East Police Academy Barapani (NEPA), Shillong in place of R.R Verma. Mathur is an IPS officer of 1980 batch who belongs to Assam -Meghalaya cadre.

IA&AS officer Goel transferred from Northern Railway
AK Goel, Deputy Director (Hqrs), in the office of the Principal Director of Audit, Northern Railway, New Delhi, has been transferred and posted Deputy Director (Reports), in the office of the Principal Director of Audit, Air Force & Navy, New Delhi against an existing vacancy.

Ms.Bhavana Saxena gets a new posting
Ms.Bhavana Saxena DIG Railways AP Police has been appointed as SP, (FRRO), Hyderabad Airport. This position is under Intelligence Bureau (IB) of the Government of India. She is an IPS officer of 1996 batch who belongs to the Andhra-Pradesh cadre.

Dharmendra Sharma on a one-week official tour to the US
Dharmendra Sharma who on central deputation is Joint Secretary (IS-1) in the Ministry of Home (MHA) has on a one-week official tour to gone to the US. He is an IAS officer of 1988 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Narendra Bhooshan is Director, ITPO
Narendra Bhooshan who so far was Managing Director (MD) of the State Road Transport Corporation, Lucknow on central deputation has joined as Director, ITPO New Delhi, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India. He is an IAS officer of 1992 batch who belongs to the Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Ms.Nandita Chatterjee to head CAPART
Ms.Nandita Chatterjee who on central deputation is Deputy Director General (DDG) in the Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technologies (CAPART) has been made DG, CAPART for three months. She is an IAS officer of the 1980 batch who belongs to the West-Bengal cadre.

24 DANIPS officers regularized IPS
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the Government of India (GOI) has regularized 24 DANIPS officers belonging to batches of 1997 to 2003.

Kulkarni promoted as Lt. General
Major General Kulkarni has been approved for promotion as Lt. General in Indian Army.

Rajesh Banga nominated for 37th APPPA
Rajesh Banga, Superintending Engineer, CPWD, New Delhi, has been nominated for the 37th Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) which commenced at the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi on July 1, 2011. The programme includes detailed framework of conceptual and applied modules to enable professional exposure on public administration in Indian and international context.

CSS officers fail to furnish APR
As many as 246 CSS officers, of Under Secretary and above level, have not furnished their Immovable Property Return (IPR) for the years 20090 and 2010 which were supposed to have been submitted by January 31, 2010 and January 31, 2011 respectively.

Many posts lying vacant in Karnataka
There are many posts that have been lying vacant in the Karnataka government. Main among them are: Health Commissioner & Commissioner Municipal Corporations' Administration.

Pakistan : Army and government react differently to US aid
Pakistan's army and its government have reacted differently to the suspension of US aid including stoppage of reimbursement of coalition support fund. The army seems to be playing it cool claiming it won't affect the military's resolve to fight terrorism as 'the Al Qayeda is common enemy for both the US and Pakistan. The country's Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar however told reporters on Tuesday that if US aid was cut then the troops deployed on the western (afghan) border to fight Al qayeda and Taliban will be pulled back as the country can't afford prolonged deployment of the troops in the area without financial support. 'If at all things get difficult we will just get all our troops back', The defence Minister has stated.

New Police postings in Goa
Vijay Singh has been appointed as SP Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC). Arvind Gawas has been posted as SP (North). SP Allen de Sa who was holding charge as SP (South) has been posted to immigration and security. SP Vaman Tari will now be SP (South). Shekhar Prabudessai has been made SP (headquarter, wireless and special branch). Vishram Borkar has been transferred as principal, PTS.Tony Fernandes will be SP (coastal security) . Omprakash Kudtarkar has been posted as SP of Konkan Railway. Atmaram Deshpande will now be SP (traffic).

Wa s it Lashkar again? (UPDATED)
Sources in Mumbai police say the trail left behind is that of Lashkar e Toiba. Though they do not want to name it specifically because of talks with neighbouring country its been spoken in hushed tones in police department.

Was there an alert before the blast? (UPDATED)
Intelligence agencies say that there were warning of blast with the police nearly a month in advance , though specifics were not said in the report but they were warned.

CORPORATE

Badal Das is now Acting Chairman of AAIFR
Badal Das has taken over as Acting Chairman of the the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR).He is former 1972 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Harshad Sharma quits Meridian, joins K&V Media
Senior Creative Director Harshad Sharma has quit Meridian Communications, Mumbai, and tied up with K&V Media to form SK&V Communications - an ATL agency.

Kumar elevated as CEO Sun TV Network
K Vijay Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of Sun TV Network has been elevated to the post of Chief Executive Officer of the Company with effect from July 12, 2011.

Tomar re-designated as MD, TFCI
Shivendra Tomar who was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer w.e.f. June 3, 2011 has been re-designated as Managing Director of Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) w.e.f. July 1, 2011.

Nova Iron & Steel Ltd appoints Addl. Directors
Sanjay Singal and Ravi Prakash Goyal as Additional Directors of Nova Iron & Steel Ltd w.e.f July 8, 2011.

Bagchi appointed VP, Digitas India
Saugata Bagchi has been appointed as Vice President of Digitas India and will be heading the Mumbai office.

Ojha appointed National Sales Head, BIG MAGIC
Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd has appointed Abhay Ojha as National Sales Head for its regional channel BIG MAGIC.

Jain appointed Company Secy. Provogue (India) Ltd
Ajayendra Pratap Jain has been appointed as Company Secretary of Provogue (India) Ltd with effect from July 6, 2011 in place of Mukesh Khetan.

Gopal appointed Addl. Director, Surana Corporation Ltd
The Board of Surana Corporation Limited has appointed Jagdish Gopal as Additional Director of the Company .

Kapoor resigns as Non Exec. Non Independent Director, Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd
Arun Kumar Kapoor, Non-Executive Non Independent Director of Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd has tendered his resignation from the office of Director of the Company with effect from July 12, 2011.

Gupta appointed Non Exec. Addl. Director, Akanksha Cellular Ltd
Akanksha Cellular Ltd has appointed Lalit Gupta as Independent Non Executive Additional Director of the Company w.e.f. July 13, 2011.

Four directors of Shree Nath Commercial & Finance Ltd cease to be on company's Board
The Board of Shree Nath Commercial & Finance Ltd accepted the resignation of Samarth Aggarwal, Sundeep Kalra, Amit Khanna and Rishabh Gulati from the post of Directors w.e.f July 13, 2011.

Narang resigns as Company Secy. Ester Industries Ltd
Girish Narang, Company Secretary of Ester Industries Ltd has resigned from his post w.e.f. June 30, 2011.

Sharma quits as Senior Creative Director, Meridian Communications
Harshad Sharma has quit Meridian Communications, Mumbai as Senior Creative Director.

Who is empowered and who is accountable ?

The problem with the Government in India is that he who is accountable is not empowered and she who is empowered is not accountable.

M N Buch

" CVC's selection must be transparent ?"

P J Thomas, former CVC's plea to the President of India on 13th July,11, to stay the appointment of new CVC till the outcome of his latest petition before Delhi High court is known, is liable to be rejected as his appointment was already quashed by the Supreme court. Such dilatory tactics must be discouraged. According to grapevine, Thomas still enjoys the backing of powerful persons in the GOI and in the Congress party.

The point that I wish to emphasize is that the selection of CVC or for that matter all anti-corruption watch dogs must be kept fully transparent for the following reasons: (a) Giving post retirement bonanza to its favourites is a convention in the present Congress-led UPA government; (b) The practice of favouring the favourites is market-driven . 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. These officers are good at boundary management; (c) The present opaque practice of GOI perpetuates mediocrity and generates a revolution of rising expectations among the ever obliging, pliable retiring / retired civil servants; (d)The virtues like honesty, competence, commitment to public good, are "virtual realities"; (e)Former/serving Secretaries or equivalent level officers viz; G K Pillai, Pradeep Kumar, Naresh Dayal IAS (Retd) and Railway Board member A P Mishra were in the fray for CVC's post; ( f) All four are, or have been, civil servants. While quashing the appointment of P J Thomas - who was appointed by the GOI, despite objections from the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Supreme Court had observed that the CVC's office "shall not be restricted to civil servants".

Against this background, consider these questions:--(i)Why did G K Pillai opt out of the race for CVC? Who pressurized him?(ii) How did the GOI fail to locate a non- civil servant for the post as per SC's directions? If not, why? (iv)Was the CVC's vacancy put to open advertisement inviting applications/nominations?

Could the details of criteria,/ benchmark set for appointment of CVC , the track records, experiences profiles and special achievements of the four shortlisted aspirants, be placed by the GOI in the public domain to dispel misconceptions from the public mind ? The bureaucratic corridors are agog with different versions of "inside stories".

A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)

High handedness of authorities

Few days back there was a news that there has been sealing of properties in Govind Puri, Kalkaji, N.D. area. I was shocked at high handedness of the authorities in this act. Govind Puri's first settlement started in 1959 at that time it was a part of the village land. DDA and other authorities did not exist at that time. One can find registered property papers of 1959 with the house owners. These house owners have registered paper with stamp duty, house tax, paid development charges for water, electricity. Paid for road cutting and even sewer charges, paying house tax to death tax to different Delhi Govts. But when construction of house comes they pay to Delhi Police, MCD engineers per floorwise otherwise they wont allow to construct the House. As there is no system exist of Map plan approval for colonies and even for colonies like GP which existed before 1959. These hapless, unfortunate owners have caste their votes since 1959 to elect so called power brokers Councillor, MLA &MPs who have become millioners and becoming the sole proprietor of these colonies by way of having a pie in every sale, purchase and disputes. Present CM who has been there for 2 terms and MPs and other have no remorse or moral as these conditions suit them. Can I ask as a citizen why a person who has been owner of these properties can not own a house on his land and live in constant fear of these sharks. Why this shameless Government allow building plan approval for these colonies. This could be one of the reason why Anna & Ramdev came on streets because system has failed the citizen and a common citizen lives in constant fear & fleece. If you have guts correct the system & give a relief to a commoner pl. My words might have hurt for authorities but it a pain of the commoner.

Raghav

LTC to retired Govt. officials

It is quite logical to extend the LTC to retired Govt. servants as they have served the Govt. for more than 30 years of their life. This will not only give something to retired officials but will boost tourism and ultimately Govt. will get some revenue from the LTC traveller. I support the idea of extending LTC to retired officials.

Ashok K umar

Cabinet reshuffle - a lackluster exercise

Is ko kahte hain khoda pahar nikla chuha. The long expected cabinet reshuffle has been such a lacklustre excercise that rims of paper have been wasted by the media on speculation and now on postmortem.The only bright spot in the whole excercise has been Railways getting a full time minister and that too a bright one.Dinesh Trivedi ,as appears from his background, is well-educated with a MBA from an American University.He is sauve,well informed and makes friends easily.With his business background and other qualities he has the right credentials for the tough and challenging job of running the Railways which at present are in dire straits.We wish him well and look forward to his brand of treatment for this vital organisation.

Aarti Khosla

Discrimination by 6th pay commission

The retired government officers did not get fair share from the 6th pay commission. The Prime Minister should look in their living standards and increase pension and perks including all other facilities at least 50% in the start. If a government servant is retired and he has to pay house rent where he will look for funds. Those who took services should pay him appropriate amount for food and shelter. In such circumstances those who are due for retirement will not worry for post retirement jobs here and their homes will not be disturbed. PM after the government assignments had to go to Assam for MP seat and seek appropriate funds for his Kharcha and other maintenance. Why is he working for getting enough money for his livlihood. So are the pensioners. He is a government chief economic advisor and gets pension which is not enough to run the show. Please think practically for others too so that they get a chance of better living and life after retirement. Forget the increase in age of retirement. The perks need to be increased considerably suitable to all. That's a practical suggestion if you live in welfare state.

Kunwar Ramsumiran

Santha Sheela Nair- Gesture of Wisdom by Amma.

Prasad, PS to Member Planning Commission

Minutes of meeting

Minutes of the meeting of the Religious Committee were denied u/s 8(1) (a) and 8(1) (g) claiming that it contains a report regarding law and order received from Delhi Police which is marked as Secret. In response to a show cause notice for imposition of penalty, the CPIO & Joint Secretary (Home) submitted that when the RTI application was received he was on leave. He explained that when the First Appellate hearing was held he became aware of the RTI application. He further
informed that the information was denied since there was some tension at that time because of demolition of certain religious structures. Since the minutes revealed issues regarding different religious structures, he felt that revealing the information could lead to some strife. While dropping the penalty proceedings, the PIO was warned by the CIC to ensure that some reasons are detailed when claiming exemption.

Comments

Merely stating an exemption without giving any reasons cannot be a valid ground to deny information under the RTI Act. A CPIO must outline the reasons, at least briefly, when denying the information. A CPIO should ensure that proper system to receive an application is in
place even in his absence.

Mr. Tariq Qamar v. Home Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi in CIC/SG/A/2011/000866/12726Adjunct

- 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)