'Whispersinthrcorridors' provides valuable information about the changes in the bureaucracy.
A Muthukrishnan

Contact-suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com> &

<mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com>

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Pranab Da's Budget leaves a lot to chance!!

That's what I get to see in a glance!!!

He says he's kept his tax proposals 'revenue neutral'... gamble!

Looking down the road I feel defenitely revenues will tumble???

He hopes Indirect Taxes will rise!!!

Now here he's not been wise!!

Because the prognosis is Global economic outlook is bleak!!

He should actually prepare for in Indirect Tax revenue mein leak??

Strife in the Middle East is here to stay!!

Oil will go up even more experts say!!

Sonia's Food Security Bill....where is the money?????

Or when required will he pull out from the hat the proverbial Bunny???

Or for that matter the additional money required for MNREGA wage hike!!

Though his proposal Sonia's gonna like!!

58,000 crores have been earmarked for social spending!!!

Now it depends how much of this in the pockets of the unscrupulous lot will be ending!

Because following the paradigm ' 92 paisa of every Rs. 100 being pilfered away'!!

You can estimate how much from 58,000 crores 'will go the other way'!!

I doubt his optimism that economy will grow at 9%!!!

And I feel much higher the deficit percentile will be sent!!

Pranab Da knows he is not going to be FM for long!!

He knows this Budget was his 'swan song'!!

He has already presented 6 Budgets and enough is enough!!!

And he needs to do something about that nagging cough!!

Home Minister PC rushed home looking upset!!!

Seems Pranab Da did not heed some of his advice which made him fume and fret!

Pranab Da wanted to stay away from PC's trickery!!!

Which PC tries to pass off as his 'economic sorcery'!!!

Mohna as usual was expressionless!!

Sonia seemed pleased though UPA's in a mess!!

What was needed was a reduction in Sarkaar's own expenditure!!

But in this area Pranab Da refused to venture!!

Like controlling expenses of those in power would defeat the reason to be in power!!!

Like can you imagine the money spent when Robert Vadra cycles for an hour!

Why should the Nation pay for security of Sonia's near and dear??????

Let Congress pay this security expense if on their security there is fear!!

Confucius says..... all in all this Budget was an opportunity wasted!!

By inflation the Common Man will continue to get pasted (beaten)!

Adds.....this Budget down the line will create a bubble or two!!!Post Congress's social spending spree in the past bubbles were created too!!!!

Bharat Kumar

To become 'Mahatma' of Kalyug, Rahul has a long way to go
True that Rahul Gandhi is increasingly finding space alongside Mahatma Gandhi on the same wall in several Congress leaders' chambers. It is also true that Rahul Gandhi who does not fight shy of crediting his status in politics to his lineage to the illustrious Nehru-Gandhi family but chooses Mahatma Gandhi when it comes to speaking about his ideal. Still, Rahul has a long way to go to become 'Mahatma' of Kalyug.

An ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi, as he claims to be, "If I have any ideal in politics, that is Gandhiji for me", Rahul Gandhi is making efforts to replicate Mahatma Gandhi by going around the country and getting the feel of the ground realities and the problems of the people.

Rahul also speaks about poverty and contends that till the poorer sections of the nation are not given a lead on the road of progress, India would never be able to match other developed nations of the world.

But, the young, innocent general secretary of Congress who appears to be contributing his best to the party will have to go a long way to earn the epitome of 'Kalyug Ka Mahatma', feel majority of those who responded to the debate - CAN RAHUL GANDHI BECOME "MAHATMA GANDHI " IN THIS "KALYUG"? - conducted by whispersinthecorridors.com.

While few respondents said that he (Rahul Gandhi), who wants to build cadre of Congress at grassroots by injecting a whiff of fresh air, is not only an icon for the Indian youth but is also striving hard to do a Mahatma Gandhi in today's " Kalyug, others - much more in number- thought that the very idea of comparing Rahul Gandhi with the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi was like living in a fool's paradise.

"The ideal and philosophy of both these persons do not match. One fought for the nation during freedom movement and the other is fighting for the party and, in other words, creating a space for himself to become the Prime Minister of the country in the days to come".

Rahul Gandhi can, however at the most, become "Mahatma' for the sycophants in the Congress party whose only qualification is that they know the art of being the Yes-man and enjoy power.

For more details read the upcoming March issue of WHISPERS IN THE CORRIDORS magazine.

BUREAUCRACY

Pradeep Puri to be CMD, UTI AMC ?
Former bureaucrat Pradeep Puri is likely to succeed U K Sinha as UTI AMC Chairman and Managing Director.

Arun Kumar Gupta likely to be appointed Joint. Director, CBI
As the grapevine has it, Arun Kumar Gupta, IG, WB, likely to be appointed Joint. Director, CBI. He is an IPS officer of the1985 batch, who belongs to the West Bengal cadre.

Extension for T.S Vijayan chief of LIC in a limbo
As the grapevine has it, T.S. Vijayan whose five year term as Chairman of the LIC comes to an end in May 2011 is unlikely get an extension. He is the longest serving chairman of LIC. He will be having two more years to retire while completes his five year term in May 2011.

Posting of Railway GMs gets a new twist
Posting of senior railway officers on elevation gets a new dimension. As the grapevine has it, DoPT has been advised to fill up slot of Financial Commissioner (FC) and Member Technical in the Railway Board. This will automatically create two clear cut vacancies and two railway officers who too need to be elevated can be covered. They are: Rajeev Bhargawa and Abhay Khanna (both contenders for GMs). Presently the file is in the ACC.

Justice Rathore to be Judicial Member of CAT
Former Judge of the Rajasthan High Court Justice Rathore is being tipped to be Judicial Member of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

Shailesh Kumar Singh is now JS Urban Development
Shailesh Kumar Singh has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Urban Development. He is 1991 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre.
( We said this on February 4 )

Manjari Kackar is new Member CBDT
Manjari Kackar has taken over as new Member of the CBDT on Monday.She is 1974 batch IRS officer.
( We said this on October 29,2010 )

Ms. Punam Kishore Saxena is new Member CBDT
Ms. Punam Kishore Saxena DGIT has taken over as member in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday. She is 1974 batch IRS officer.
( We said this on October 29,2010 )

Rath appointed Chairman of grievances redressal panel in Coal India
Coal India Ltd has appointed Dr. Arun Kumar Rath , Dean & Professor ,Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, as Chairman of the Shareholders Grievance Committee of Coal India , a Navaratna company of Govt. of India . It is a statutory Committee under Clause 49 of SEBI and is mandated to attend to the grievances of the huge number investors and shareholders after the phenomenal success of the IPO of Coal India. The first meeting of this prestigious Committee was held in New Delhi on Feb 25 , 2011, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Rath to review action taken on the grievances received by Coal India from its investors .The Committee will meet at least once a quarter for timely follow up action.

Mid career training for IRS officers
Mid career training for IRS officers belonging to batches of 1990 and 1991 will commence at MDI, Gurgaon on March 21, 2011. Besides, MDI they will undergo one week's training at Duke University of USA.

Post of ITDC's Director, Commercial to be re advertised
The post of Director Commercial in ITDC is going to be re advertised as Ravinesh Kumar (IRTS officer of 1990 batch) who was selected earlier, has refused to join.

4 names figured but Jairam Ramesh rejected for his PS
As the grapevine has it, four names were suggested to Indian Minister of State for Environment and Forests (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh for the post of his new private secretary (PS). However, he rejected the same. His earlier PS Rahul Bojja is now Collector Warangal. Bojja is an IAS officer from 1990 batch who belongs to Andhra Pradesh cadre.

N.C. Jha heads the CIL
N.C. Jha Director Technical in Coal India Ltd (CIL), is acting Chairman of CIL from March 1,2011. He has succeeded Patha S. Bhattacharyya who retired on February 28, 2011.
(We said this in beginning of February 2011)

Jayant Singh posted as a Deputy Director LBSNAA, Mussourie
Jayant Singh an IRTS officer from 1993 batch is poised to join the Mussoorie located Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) as a Deputy Director. It may be stated that his wife Ms.Roli Singh (IAS officer of 1994 batch from Rajasthan cadre) had also been appointed as a Director in the LBSNAA, Mussourie

Who will be new Director in President's Secretariat?
Since present Director to the President of India Faiz Ahmad Kidwai will be going as India's new Consul General in Jeddah , the post will fall vacant. However, there is an uncertainty regarding his successor.

Ajit Parasnis appointed new DGP Maharashtra
Maharashtra government has appointed Ajit Parasnis Director General (Home Guards) as the new Director General of Police. He is an IPS officer of the 1976 batch who belongs to the Mahasrashtra cadre. He will succeed D. Sivanandan who retired w.e.f. Feb 28.
(We said this on Feb 8)

Arup Patnaik appointed Mumbai Police Commissioner
The Maharashtra government has appointed Arup Patnaik Additional Director General of Police (Highway Traffic) as the new Mumbai Police Commissioner. . He is an IPS officer of the 1979 batch who belongs to the Mahasrashtra cadre.
(We said this on Feb 25)

Sanjeev Dayal is DG, Police Housing Corporation, Maharashtra
The Maharashtra government has appointed Sanjeev Dayal Mumbai Police Commissioner as the Director General, Police Housing Corporation, Maharashtra. He is an IPS officer of the 1977 batch who belongs to the Mahasrashtra cadre.

P. Sreedharan is Additional Secretary Lok Sabha
P. Sreedharan who so far was a Joint Secretary in the Lok Sabha secretariat has now been elevated as Additional Secretary in the Lok Sabha secretariat.
(We said this in January 2011)

Radhesh Shyam is Joint Secretary Lok Sabha
Radhesh Shyam who so far was a Director in the Lok Sabha secretariat has now been elevated as Joint Secretary in the Lok Sabha secretariat.

IA&AS officer transferred as DG New Delhi
Ms. Saroj Punhani, Director General (Commercial-II) in the office of The Comptroller & Auditor General Of India, New Delhi, has been transferred and posted as Director General of Audit, Economic and Service Ministries, New Delhi, against an upgraded post.

3 IAS officers to be promoted in Jharkhand
As many as three IAS officers of the 1995 batch in Jharkhand will soon be elevated to suppertime scale. They are: Nitin Madan Kulkarni, Ajay Kumar Singh and Satyendra Singh.

Bureaucratic reshuffle in Maharashtra after the assembly session
Much delayed bureaucratic reshuffle in Maharashtra is likely to take place only after budget session of the state assembly.

Big "B" praises Vipul Mittra's book
Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan in his blog has written "While on culture and arts and literature, I was wanting to bring to the attention of all my EF, on a marvelous book written by Vipul Mittra, Secretary Tourism, Gujarat with whom I had the great pleasure of spending most of my time during the making of the Gujarat Tourism films, called 'Pyramid of Virgin Dreams' - a refreshing and humorous rendition on the life in bureaucracy in India. It has been released to rather lavish reviews and has moved up to to the number one best seller in its category in some of the book stores in Mumbai."

Five IRS officers get additional charge
As many as five IRS officers in the grade of CCIT/DGIT have been given additional charge. While ML Agrawal (CCIT - Bangalore) has been given the charge of CCIT - III, Bangalore, PP Srivastava (CCIT - Mumbai) has been given the additional charge of CCIT XI, Mumbai. Similarly Jaspal Singh (CCIT - Panchkula) has been given the charge of CCIT - Chandigarh, Pramila Srivastava (CCIT - Gaziabad) of CCIT - Dehradun and Sudhir Chandra (CCIT - VI, Chennai) has been given the additional charge of DGIT (Inv), Chennai.

GOM to tackle Corruption
In a bid to improve governance through tackling corruption, the Union government has now constituted a Group of Ministers (GOM). It would consider measures for tackling corruption. This includes speedier processing of corruption cases of public servants, transparency in public procurement and contracts, discretionary powers of Central ministers and competitive system for exploiting natural resources.

State funding of elections in the offing !
The State funding of elections seems to be in the offing. The Group of Ministers (GOM) constituted to consider measures for tackling corruption is understood to be addressing issues relating to State funding of elections. Funding of elections is believed to be the starting point of corruption.

GOM to make recommendations in a time bound manner
The Group of Ministers (GOM) constituted to consider measures for tackling corruption, it is learnt, has been asked to make its recommendations in a time bound manner.

IAS changes in Uttar Pradesh
Rajiv Agrawal has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Lucknow Development Authority.M K Narayan will now be Secretary PWD.No appointment of Chairman of the Board of Revenue has been made after the retirement of Sunanda Prasad. R K Singh has been moved as Special Secretary Medical Education.Selwa Kumar will now be DM Kanshiram Nagar.D C Shukla has been appointed Special Secretary Rural Development.P K Mishra will be DM Balrampur and Y K Bahal DM Mahamaya Nagar.S K Yadav will be Director Training and Employment.

Lt Gen Singh is new GoC Southern Command
Lieutenant General A K Singh is new General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Southern Command .

A K Singh CMD, CMPDI is CMD,SECL too
Ashok Kumar Singh Chairman-cum-Managing Director CMPDI has taken additional charge of CMD, South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL). So far,this charge was with N.C. Jha Director Technical Coal India Ltd.(CIL).However, Jha is now heading CIL , so Singh will be holding additional charge of CMD, SECL.

Sudripto Roy elevated as ACS in Himachal Pradesh
Sudripto Roy has been elevated as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) by the Himachal Pradesh government. He is an IAS officer of 1978 batch who belongs to Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Minor shake up in Himachal Pradesh
In a minor bureaucratic reshuffle Ms.Manisha Nanda (1985 batch IAS,from Himachal Pradesh cadre) who is Principal Secretary (PS) Tourism with the Himachal Pradesh government was given charge of Personnel. Thus,Ajay Mittal (1982 batch IAS,from Himachal Pradesh cadre) will now be PS Home and Non Conventional sources of Energy.

AP repatriates services of V. Radha, IAS to Maharashtra
The Andhra Pradesh government has repatriated the services of Mrs. V. Radha, Chief Executive Officer, Employment Generation and Marketing Mission, Panchayat and Rural Development on completion of her deputation term to her parent cadre Maharashtra. She is an IAS officer of the 1994 batch who hails from the Maharashtra cadre. She was on inter-cadre deputation to Andhra Pradesh.

29 IPS officers of pre-1997 batches empanelled for the post of DIG
As many as 29 IPS officers of pre-1997 batches have been empanelled for the post of DIG. They are Raj Kumar Dewangan (CH), V J Gautam (GJ), Dr. K Laxmi Narayan Rao, (GJ) , K Vanniaperumal (TN ), Jasvir Singh (UP) and D Dutt Misra (UP) of 1992 batch, I M Desai (GJ), Sashi Nath Jha (JH), Gulzar Singh (JK), S Gopinath (KL) and Prem Prakash (UP) of 1993 batch, Mrs. Sampat Meena (JH), Sunil Kumar Sharma (JK), K K Lohani (MP), M S Kanwar (MP), A S Choudhary (MP), Anand Kumar Srivastava (RJ), R Radhakrishnan (TN) and D Prakash (UP) of 1994 batch, Mrs. R Malarvizhi (BH) and Dr. Asha Mathur (MP) of 1995 batch, Bachu Singh Meena (BH), Hanif Qureshi (HY), Shafqat Ali Watali (JK), Jagjit Kumar (JK), Farooq Khan (JK), Avtar Singh Bali (JK), J S Sansval (MP) and H M Jaya Ram (TN) of 1996 cadre.

Steel Minister presents Rs. 425.36 cr. cheque to PM as SAIL's interim dividend
Union Minister of State for Steel Beni Prasad Verma, on behalf of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), handed over a cheque for Rs. 425.36 crore to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh towards 12% interim dividend payment to the Government of India for the year 2010-11. Present on the occasion were Secretary (Steel) P.K. Mishra, SAIL Chairman C.S. Verma and SAIL Director (Finance) Soiles Bhattacharya. The Government holds 85.82% of SAIL's total paid-up equity capital of Rs. 4,130.40 crore.

Along with Rs. 80.74 crore as dividend tax, total payment by SAIL with respect to interim dividend to the Government works out to Rs. 506.10 crore. Besides this, total contribution made by SAIL to the national exchequer (towards excise and custom duties, corporate tax, sales tax, royalties, etc.) during the first nine months of 2010-11 was Rs. 7,737 crore.

The Board of Directors of SAIL will recommend final dividend for 2010-11 while approving the financial results for the year some time in the first quarter of FY '12. After obtaining the approval of shareholders in Sept. '11, final dividend would be paid to the Government and other shareholders of the company.

75 IPS officers of 1977 batch empanelled to hold DIG or equivalent posts
Altogether 75 IPS officers of 1977 batch have been empanelled to hold DIG or equivalent level posts under the Government of India. They are Hargobinder Singh, Sharad Agarwal, Atul Katiyar, Surendra Singh Yadav and Sagar Preet of AGMU cadre, Vijay Kumar, Yaram Nagi Reddy, N Madhusudhan Reddy, Devendra Singh Chauhan, Sanjay Kumar Jain and Murgesh Kumar Singh of AP cadre, Omendra Nath Bhaskar of Bihar cadre, Dipanshu Vijay Kaabra and Jaideep Singh of Chhattisgarh cadre, Anupam Singh Gehlot and Khursheed Ahmed of Gujarat cadre, Anand Pratap Singh and Rajinder Mohan Sharma of Himachal Pradesh cadre, Amitabh Singh Dhillon and Sanjay Kumar of Haryana cadre, Mrs. Suman Gupta and Ashish Batra of Jharkhand cadre, G A Dar and Naseerudin Wani, Kastoori Lal Bhagat, Alok Kumar, Vijay Kumar-II, Garib Dass, Vipulav Kumar, and A K Atri of J & K cadre, Balram Kumar Upadhyay, Gogulothu Lekshman and Mahipal Yadav of Kerala cadre, S Murugan, B N S Reddy, P H Rane, K V Sharat Chandra and Bapadmanayan of Karnataka cadre, Millind Rambhau Bharambe , Viswas Narayan Nangare Patil and Rajvardhan of Maharashtra cadre, Solomon Yash Kumar Minz, Makrand Deoskar, Joga Umesh and Datla Sreenivasa Varma of MP cadre, S Sadanand Ilme and Saurabh Tripathi of Manipur Tripura cadre, Janardan Singh of Nagaland cadre, D K Pattanayak, Asheet Kumar Panigrahi, K D Sambhaji, Sanjay Kumar and Mrs. Rekha Lohani of Orissa cadre, Naunihal Singh, Arunpal Singh, Pavan Kumar Rai and Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal of Punjab cadre, S Sengathir and Hawa S Ghumaria of Rajasthan cadre, Sanjay Kumar, V Varadharaju, S Murugan, C Sridhar, K Periaiah, Modak Abhin Dinesh, Sumit Sharan, Maheshwar Dayal, Ayush Mani Tiwari and A G Mouriya of TN cadre, V Murugesan and Sanjay Kumar Gunjyal of Uttarakhand cadre, Deepak Ratan , Mohit Agarwal and Naveen Arora of UP cadre and K Jayaraman of WB cadre.

Vijay Latha Reddy is new Dy NSA
Vijay Latha Reddy has been appointed Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA). Reddy is 1975 batch IFS officer.
(We said this on Feb 8)

ACC approves Vijaylakshmi Gupta's appointment as Secy, Defence Finance
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Mrs. Vijayalakshmi K. Gupta as Secretary (Defence Finance) in the Ministry of Defence. She will take over from March 31. She is an IDAS officer of the 1974 batch.
( We said this on February 12 )

Mrs Nita Kapoor to retire on March 31
Mrs Nita Kapoor Secretary, Defence Finance will retire w.e.f. March 31, 2011. She is an IDAS officer of the 1973 batch.

Joeman Thomas gets additional charge of MD ONGC Videsh Limited
The Government of India has entrusted the additional charge of Managing Director, ONGC Videsh Limited to Shri Joeman Thomas, Director (Exploration), OVL from 28 February 2011. Joeman Thomas Joined ONGC-VL in 2001 and was actively involved in the growth of ONGC-Videsh Limited portfolio to its current status today.

Nadadur appointed Addl. Secy & FA, Deptt of Space
The ACC has also approved the appointment of R.G. Nadadur, Director (PP&PM), Indian Space Research Organisation under the Department of Space as Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser, Department of Space. He is an IAS officer of the 1980 batch who hails from the Karnataka cadre.
( We said this on February 15 )

Minor IAS reshuffle in Maharashtra
There has been a minor IAS reshuffle in Maharashtra. While Dr. Sudhir Kumar Goyal has been made PS Agriculture Marketing, Dr. Sanjay Chahade has been appointed DG Yashwant Chavhan Institute - Pune, Ashwani Kumar has been made Special Secretary Revenue & Forest, Mrs. Anna Dani has been given the charge of Additional Secretary Forest, Chandrakant Dalvi has been made Commissioner and Director - Land records, Pune and Shailesh Kumar Sharma who has been shifted from the post of DG Land Records is yet to be given new posting.

DEBATE

ARE PEOPLE LOSING INTEREST IN DEFENCE SERVICES THESE DAYS ?

What do you think? Why people are losing interest in Defence Services? Have they lost attraction because they are no more that lucrative as they have been earlier or there is a decline of 'nationalism' among the people of country these days. There is a shortage of over 12,000 officers at the junior and the middle rung alone in the Defence services in the country.

Mail your 'to the point' views in brief at

suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com or mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com

CORPORATE

Air India COO resigns
Air India's Chief Operating Officer Capt Gustav Baldauf has resigned from his post.

Chandrashekhar Joshi roped in by Marriot group
Chandrashekhar Joshi has been appointed as the Director of sales and marketing at the Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL),Mumbai. Earlier, he had worked in the hotel industry for over 10 years and began his career with Le Meridien, Pune.

Raul Borja roped in by Marriot group
Chef Raul Borja has been appointed as Japanese chef de cuisine at Spices, JW Marriott Mumbai. He has previously worked with hotels such as Hyatt Regency in Manila; Beirut Marriott ; Taj Palace Hotel, Dubai.

Quality Management Systems of WAPCOS now conform to ISO 9001:2008
The Quality Management Systems of WAPCOS have now been upgraded to conform to ISO 9001:2008 for Consultancy Services in Water Resources, Power and Infrastructure Development Projects. The Certificate to this effect was presented by Indian Register Quality Systems to R.K. Gupta, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, WAPCOS Limited. The Company's Vision is to be a Premier Consultancy Organisation recognized as a Brand in Water, Power and Infrastructure Development for Total Project Solutions in India and Abroad. The upgradation of Quality Management Systems is an initiative taken by WAPCOS Limited in adapting to international standards, excellence in project delivery systems, use of State-of-the-art Technical Expertise, Innovativeness, Capacity Building and Client's Satisfaction.

Das resigns as Jt. MD and CEO, Ace Edutrend
S. K. Das, Joint Managing Director & CEO, Ace Edutrend Ltd resigned from the services of the Company w.e.f. February 28, 2011.

Maheshwari resigns as Director, Hind Syntex
Manoj Maheshwari, Non-Independent Director has resigned from the Board of Directors of Hind Syntex Ltd with effect from February 18, 2011.

Isogai is Addl. Director, Sharp India
Sharp India Ltd has appointed Tomio Isogai as an Additional Director of the Company with effect from February 25, 2011.

Antulay and Khandelwal cease to be Directors of PNB
M. A. Antulay and G. P. Khandelwal, Directors on the Board of Punjab National ceased to be Directors on the Board of the Bank w.e.f. February 27, 2011.

Gautam to step down as Chairman, Hanmer MSL
Sunil Gautam, Chairman, Hanmer MSL, is stepping down from his current post.
He had founded Hanmer & Partners in 1999.

Rao appointed Director (Exploration), ONGC
S. V. Rao has been appointed as Director (Exploration) of Oil And Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. with effect from February 25, 2011. He has assumed the charge of Director (Exploration) on February 25, 2011.

Bagra to assume addl. charge as NALCO CMD
B. L. Bagra, Director (Finance) has been assigned the additional charge of the post of CMD of National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) w.e.f. February 27, 2011.

Murli resigns as Head (Finance & Accounts), Percot Meridian
R Murali, Head (Finance and Accounts) resigned from Percot Meridian Ltd with effect from February 19, 2011.

Shankar appointed Head (Finance & Accounts), Percot Meridian
Siva Shankar has been appointed as Head (Finance & Accounts) , Percot Meridian Ltd with effect from March 15, 2011.

Shetty resigns as ED, Disney Studios Intl. Production , India
Swati Shetty, Executive Director (Theatrical Productions and Acquisitions) Disney Studios International Production (India) has resigned from the company.

Kapoor appointed as Chairman, Timex Group India
Timex Group India has appointed Kapil Kapoor as Chairman of the Board. He is also the COO ( Global Business Development of Timex Group, USA).

FORUM

DEBATE -Reasons behind shortage of junior army officers are (i) less number of young people aspire to be army officers (ii) There is no compromise on standards of entry as NDA/IMA/Direct entry. (iii) Less grooming of young ones at school level for entry into army/services (iv) No proper publicity. The best would be to give Scholarship at School level and also more entry from the Sainik and army schools. Publicity camps in All cities/markets. In the long run this shortage would go if implemented correctly.

Harish Kumar

Pay packets of heads of PSUs satisfactory while in service

But please also look at whether they have money to live respectably after retirement. No pension is given to PSU employees. A professional joining government service retires at least at SAG grade. He gets a pension of Rs. 55000 a month i.e. Rs.6.6 lakhs a year. PSU professional instead gets a one time payment of about 15 lakhs as company's contribution to PF and no pension.

In banks, management have recently given option to employees to opt for government type index linked pension in lieu of contributory PF. Similar option should be given to employees in well managed PSUs also. It can be started with Maharatnas and then to Navratnas.

This will also help in stemming corruption. It is true no matter what, corruption cannot be tolerated. However please take care of genuine needs of people.

Kumar

Kalmadi deserves harsh punishment

Let us hope that Kalmadi goes to Tihar Jail very soon! This would follow the ancient Congress tradition of going to jail when they fought for the country's freedom. The only difference now is that Kalmadi the Congressman is fighting for the cause of Black Money. How come the Chief Executive Officer of the CWG, Jarnail Singh , an IAS officer of doubtful integrity has not even been questioned by the CBI even once, leave alone been threatened with arrest? Is it because he wears a light blue turban like another well known Sardarji of Delhi or is it because he belongs to the weaker section of society? The CBI should investigate his benami properties in Punjab and Delhi as also his bank accounts in Delhi and Chandigarh to nail him in a disproportionate assets case.

D Choudhary

Initiate proper steps to control expenditure

Government should initiate appropriate steps to control expenditure, particularly grants being given to NGOs and other Institutions. At the end of the day, the outcome of any benefit out of the training never gets assessed. Similarly, the Railways, Most of the Government Servants in field offices whose job involves large number of field visits seldom travel by the entitled class. They travel by ordinary buses or sleeper class in train, but claim AC II tier or higher class fare. This should be checked by Railways by ensuring production of original tickets for claim. They can issue two tickets for claim purpose.

Sivakumar

Policy makers out to sell country's assets

It is again another insight danger game of Government to disinvest and hand over this profit making PSE to private sector at throw away price (remember disinvestment of VSNL and CMC which went to TATA. Now Tata Tele services stands on cost of these two PSEs, courtesy late Pramod Mahajan. Why?)

The expert committee appointed by PMO for selection of CMDs of MTNL and BSNL under leadership of mysterious person, who is considered close to private Network provider Company's group, backed by foreign multinational corporations and Indian leaders whose money always reaches through Mauritius way to back in India for acquiring Government assets in India are responsible for all this planned activity. The plan is to bring finance/economic background person in the Chair of Electronic PSES CMD post so that it becomes easy to disinvest this Navaratna corporation within some months.

Go back around 1969, when late Indira Gandhi regime was in India. That time there was one agenda of capitalist countrys. Infiltrate in India by acquiring PSE/PSUs but till Indira Gandhi was alive these powers could not succeed. Now a days situation has changed. Today the agenda of the policy makers is to acquire and control National assets at throw away prices any how. Current political leadership is also fully working for them because everybody is well settled in the Western world. Tomorrow if supposed revaluation take place in the country they will be comfortable because they are already financially well settled in the Western world and they need not worry about how to maintain rest of the life there.

In this MTNL/BSNL case, first PESB starts the process to select candidate for CMD's post, then suddenly PMO stops this process. Again, another special expert committee is appointed for selection of candidate (actually behind the screen is some mysterious NRI). After few days, one name is aired i.e. ex CEO of one controversial company who is competitor of MTNL/BSNL even today. But due to 2G spectrum (Raja) matter these power brokers changed the strategy and adopted safer way to use this finance and economic cadre for achieving target.

There are good officers in Indian Telecom Service. They very well know each and every cable pair of telecom network of country. They know every substitute of foreign technology of Telephone exchanges and infrastructure but they are ignored. Now Government has planned that those economic/finance Indian foreign expert rule this MTNL/BSNL.

This is well organized effort to finish cadre of Indian Telecom Officers. Enough is enough. Now every member of this cadre wants to raise the voice and demolish this plan to appoint finance/economic person as CMD of electronics corporations for saving existence of cadre as well as country's valuable assets from Indian foreigners.

This is behind the screen effort to deceive the nation and the taxpayers as well. Now question arises that can this finance background person create revenue without technical knowledge? Is managing this Technical PSE is trading the shares or stocks in stock markets to trade the share? Is revenue created after calculating in accounts books?

Pramod Kumar

Another telecom scam!

The news item ( WIC dt 28th Feb,11;"Utter chaos prevails in public sector")about constituting a four member panel headed by Sam Patroda to scout for CMDs for State owned telcos : MTNL and BSNL is baffling. I made a check from DOT. Here are some startling facts.The posts of CMDs of MTNL and BSNL have been lying vacant since January 2010 and August 2010 respectively. This betrays the Congress-led UPA governments penchant for ad hocism and the deal driven appointments in the PSUs. My enquiries revealed that earlier the GOI had formed a six-member search-cum-selection committee, headed by K M Chandrashekhar,the present Cabinet Secretary, to locate new CMDs for the two telecom PSUs. The recommendations of Chandrasekhar committee for separate panels for MTNL and BSNL are reportedly still live as these have not yet been considered by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the PM. The Chandrasekhar committee, it is learnt, arbitrarily changed the eligibility criteria vitiating the entire selection process. The matter is reportedly sub judice before the Delhi High court. Further, Out of 170 applicants, only 12 were shortlisted for interviews which were held on a Sunday ( 3rd Oct,2010). Strangely, the Cabinet Secretary ( the chairman of selection committee) was absent during the interviews. .Against this background, Kapil Sibals decision to constitute another Search-cum-selection committee headed by Sam Patroda with K M Chandrasekhar ( the Cab Sec), T K A Nair ( Pr Secy to PM) and UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani as Members, seems quite puzzling, to say the least. The Cabinet Secretary has a lot to explain. Will the DOT and PMO clarify the position and reduce its trust deficit and enhance transparency in the name of Good governance?

A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)

How can she head MTNL?

How can Ms. Anita Soni be asked to head MTNL? There is a case pending against her.

R Kumar

Big B praises Vipul Mittra's book

BIG B, Amitabh Bacchan, has in his blog praised Vipul Mitra's book 'Pyramid of Virgin Dreams'. Mitra is 1986 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. (check out on http://bigb.bigadda.com/?p=7487).

Bachchan has written "While on culture and arts and literature, I was wanting to bring to the attention of all my EF, on a marvelous book written by Vipul Mittra, Secretary Tourism, Gujarat with whom I had the great pleasure of spending most of my time during the making of the Gujarat Tourism films, called 'Pyramid of Virgin Dreams' - a refreshing and humorous rendition on the life in bureaucracy in India. It has been released to rather lavish reviews and has moved up to to the number one best seller in its category in some of the book stores in Mumbai."

Congrats Vipul, great job

Raju

Commissioner C Excise

Malkangiri Collector's act foolish or praiseworthy

All would appreciate if somebody wants to be a Hanumaan (who always aimed to serve his lord and the creatures of lord) but to emulate Hanumaan, jumping from the 4th storey buildings terrace would be something foolish. Wish Collector would have remembered two things one, Lord Rama's blessings were with Hanumaan, and two, he was a bachelor.

C. Singh

Collectors be trained in handling naxal situations

As recent incidents have shown, the Collector of any district lacks training in handling naxal situations (including how to avoid getting kidnapped). It is high time these worthies get training in respect of how to conduct themselves in naxal infested districts, else all the gains made possible by the sacrifices of police and paramilitary forces who lay down their lives in combating the menace would be wasted.

Arjun Mallik

Prosecution record

Copies of certain documents were denied to the Applicant claiming that it consists of analysis of evidences by various decision taking authorities and their opinions thereon which has the potential to influence these evidences and to interfere with the proceedings of the court wherein prosecution of the Applicant is already under process. The Commission noted that copies of the relied upon documents submitted by the Respondents to the Court have already been provided
to the Applicant by the Court and that there is no order from the Court not to disclose any further information available with the Pubic Authority. The Commission directed to provide the documents after severing those portions that are exempt from disclosure under any of
the sub clauses of Section 8(1) of the RTI Act.

Comments

Public Authorities tend to avoid disclosure even after the filing of the charge-sheet, on various pretexts. With the filing of the charge-sheet which marks the end of the investigations, the documents should no longer be held as exempt.

Shri Vijai Singh Meena v. North Western Railway in File No: CIC/AD/A/2010/001543

- 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)