What people say about us
Provides very useful inside information about what is happening in the corridors of
power.
B.S. Kanwar

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Shouldn't Congress be celebrating post these State Elections. It's won third time in Assam, won Kerala, though by a wafer think majority... but win is a win, arch enemy BJP has come out a cropper....... but there are no celebrations in Congress!!!! Sonia knows now she's got to deal with a 'spring in her step' Mamtha! And then in AP Jagan and his Mom have done very well!!! Congress's 'we'll win on our own one day' dream has moved from difficult to impossible! Yes Congress can rejig its 'majority on our own' and say majority with ex Congressmen ........then too the dream looks far fetched !!!! Though some would say Congress will celebrate after it gets over the scare VS gave Congress in Kerala..... Congress's knees are still shaking!!!

Rahul: Mummy what will I be.....will I become King..... or will I remain a Yuvraj!!!

Mama: Rahul .... Rahul...... the future's not asked to see..... today I'm worried about my own Raj!! (should be sung to the tune of Que Sera Sera)

PC says in TN Congress lost because of inflation and corruption!! A geographical correction and a factual correction....... this anti Congress feeling is pan India and the factual correction is people are grossly angry not because of inflation and corruption...... on inflation it's the 'so what' or ' it's an outfall of growth' and on corruption it's the sheer chori and seena jori attitudes that's got the public livid........ yes they are shocked by the size of the chori!!! How can people forget the ' eat less' advice by the main protagonist of both corruption and inflation ... Mr. Pawar!!!! Then Mohna's initial defence of Raja!!!Sonia's stoic silence!! How can people forget Pranab Da's forecasts..... inflation will come down.... like Met Office which always gets it wrong!! And 'closet' Congressman Montek's pearls of economic wisdom that were music to every capitalist's ears!!!!!!!

Public abh bann gayi hai shaani,

Mentally abh sabh issues ka karte hai doodh ka doodh aur paani ka paani!!

Who says Courts are heartless????? After DMK's loss the Court did not want to hand Karuna a double whammy...... so Kani being packed off to jail verdict was postponed..... it is now a foregone conclusion that Kani has to go to Jail!!! Gives Congress more time to ask Karuna for once to remove his goggles and see the picture!!!! It's said post the results Azagiri got emotional.......Karuna in the meantime thanked the electorate for giving him 'rest time'..... meaning I'll be back!!! Now that he's no longer in power both his wives are hoping he'll spend more time on his own!!!!!

Like they say wives respect hubbies who go to work!!!

Do not respect those who at home do lurk!!!

Diggy's stock in Congress is rising..... Congress's Assam victory is the latest feather in his hat!!!!! And with this his enemy list is rocketing...... this is only natural in Congress!!!! Becoming close to 10 Janpath has its fallouts!!! Like Gogoi is not too happy with Diggy taking/getting credit for the Assam victory!!!! Also many now say that when Diggy was with Rahul in Noida why did he not advice Rahul to spend a night or two in jail........ would have done wonders for Rahul.......his assurance to the Farmers that Congress was with them would not have looked empty and also sent a message that when he says I stand by you he goes all the way!!! His detractors say 'Diggy does not need a trial by fire like Rahul does........ and if he advised Rahul to stay in jail for the night he too would have had to do ditto....... Diggy's an astute Neta...... really how come he did not advice Rahul to grab this opportunity????? So now Rahul plods along his political path inconsequently!!!

For Rahul: With what is on stake a night or two in jail is peanuts!!!!

The one who misses such an opportunity bus people would say is nuts!!!

For Diggy: When you go up the ladder you have to step on toes and hands!!!!

Into the bad books of many your name lands!!

Amar Katha reveals a lot about Amar and of many of his pals!!!! There are some who have 'gone underground' temporarily out of embarrassment!!! Not the main Star.... Amar...... he's saying the tapes are spliced!!!! Amar is now more of a liability!!!! He's going to find more and more people shying away from him!!!! If he still remains in the news it's going to be for all the wrong reasons!!!! In one TV show he holds his ears and takes out his tongue..... this pic frame has been frozen and now is selling like hot cakes as 'nazar patoos' (evil eye repeller)!!!

Sabh kuch seekha Amar ne na seekhi iss ne achaayee!!!!

Sach hai Duniya waalon ki joh gandh mein haath dalta hai haath mein aathi hai chaayi (dirt)!!!

On the Delhi Throne you have Madam..... in UP there is Bhenji....... in Delhi there is Aunty.........in WB Didi........ in TN there is Amma!!!! Those murderers who kill the girl child need to take note of this!!!!! Men literally grovel in front of these ladies!!!! Give the girl child a chance to make her mark in this World....... let her live...... educate her...... encourage her!!!

Daughter or son .... ki farak painda yaaro!!!!!

Maarna hai toh galat mindset ko maaro!!!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Contact-suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com> &

<mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com>

Mukul Roy to be new Railway Minister (UPDATED)
Railway Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee will hand over her baton to her trusted lieutenant Mukul Roy as far as the Railway Ministry was concerned. Currently Roy is Indian Minister of State for Shipping.He was at one time the non- executive director of United Bank of India from 2002 to 2005. He got the prestigious honour of becoming one of the members of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament of India) in April 2006. In August that same year he was appointed as a member of the Committee on Urban Development as well as a member of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was in April 2008 that Mukul Roy was appointed as a key leader of the Trinamool Congress, West Bengal, taking up the post of the party's all India general secretary. Since May 2009 Mukul Roy is the Minister of State in the Ministry of Shipping, Govt. of India. Mukul Roy, besides being a savvy politician, is also a social worker who is involved with various development projects, such as educating the poor.Away from the political minefield, Mukul Roy is a family man residing in Kolkata, West Bengal. He tied the knot on August 14,1980; his wife's name is Rekha Roy. The couple has one son. Mukul Roy's favourite past times are watching cricket matches (only one-day games!) and he is also a huge fan of the famous West Bengal football club Mohan Bagan. He will rarely be found missing any of the club's games!
(We said this on May 11)

Prediction of bureaucrats about Assembly polls comes true
Who says that bureaucrats have little or no inkling about politics? Bureaucrats during a random survey by <whispersinthecorridors.com> (carried on March 11) has shown following sentiments.

West Bengal : TMC + Congress to form the government

Tamil Nadu : AIDMK to form government

Kerala : Congress backed government

Puducherry: Congress to form government

Assam : Congress to retain power.

And to the utter surprise of one and all, they were almost100 per cent correct.

Petrol Prices to shoot up dearly? (UPDATED)
With the Assembly polls in five states over, now the pampering of common man is also going to end. Inflation notwithstanding, the UPA government is soon going to announce a steep hike in domestic petrol, cooking gas and diesel prices. Petroleum products in reality have been deregulated and are to be changed only once every fortnight but the government uses it as a tool of convenience - increasing the prices as and when it is comfortable. With the spiralling rise in global crude oil prices - severely hitting the bottom-line of the state-owned Oil Marketing Companies, the government is coming under intense pressure to take a call on hiking prices of all the four much -consumed petroleum products-petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene.
(We said this on April 20)

BUREAUCRACY

Gupta is out of the race?
H.C. Gupta, Senior-most Member, Competition Commission of India (CCI) is now out of the race for the post of Chairman of the commission. He is a retired 1971 batch IAS officer who belonged to the Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Will Anurag Goel be new Chairman of CCI ?
As the race for the post of Chairman of the Competition Commission of India picks up, Anurag Goel is reported to be leading the aspirants and the top contender at this point of time. Goel is a retired IAS officer of the 1972 batch who belonged to the Uttar Pradesh.

Anil Wadhwa to be India's envoy to Thailand ?
As the grapevine has it, Anil Wadhwa is poised to be India's new Ambassador to Thailand. Presently, he is posted in Oman.

Will Sanjay Mitra be PS to West Bengal, CM ?
As the grapevine has it, Sanjay Mitra will be Principal Secretary (PS) to new West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee. He is an IAS officer of 1982 batch who belongs to West Bengal cadre. Presently, he is Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister's office. Delhi circles, however, rule out this possibility.

Bandopadhyay to be Secy to West Bengal, CM
As the grapevine has it, Alpan Bandopadhyay will be the Secretary to new West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee. Bandopadhyay is an IAS officer of 1987 batch who belongs to West Bengal cadre. Presently, he is Secretary, Municipal Affairs in West Bengal government.

Santanu Basu to join CM Secretariat in Kolkata
Santanu Basu is all set to join the new Chief Minister's Secretariat in Kolkata. The 2000 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, Santanu, is presently PS to Mamta Banerjee in the Rail Bhawan.

Samar Ghosh to continue as West Bengal CS
One thing is certain that present Chief Secretary to the West Bengal government Samar Ghosh will continue. This was amply clear as Trinamool Congress (TMC) founder president Ms. Mamata Banerjee who is also Railway Minister had stated recently "Dakshata ka koi rang nahin hota (that there is no colour of talent)". This 1977 batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre is famous for his integrity, probity and
ability. Mamata Banerjee has reportedly spoken to Ghosh.

Major changes in CMs Secretariat unlikely in West Bengal
Whispers in the corridors of power rule out major changes in the secretariat of the new Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee in the near future.

R.S. Kahlon to get important assignment in West Bengal
It is believed that Rajpal Singh Kahlon is going to get important assignment in the new regime of Mamata Banerjee. He is a 1984 batch IAS officer for the West Bengal cadre.

Sharma is new PMG Allahabad Circle
Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) officer of the Indian Postal service A.K. Sharma (1981) has been posted as Post Master General (PMG), Allahabad, U.P. Circle.

Clouds of uncertainty hover over new LIC chief
Clouds of uncertainty hover over selection of new chief of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). Related committee of Secretaries is scheduled to meet and mull over the issue on May 19, 2011. However, so far no call letters have been issued to any of the 10 short- listed candidates. Interestingly, all of them had joined LIC in 1977.They are: D.K. Mehrotra, Thomas Mathew (both MDs), Ms.T.T. Mathew, A.K. Sahoo, K.B. Saha, D.D. Singh, Mohan Raj, S. Sarkar and Ms.Vijailakshmi. A.P. Singh is the only Executive Director of the 1977 joining who has been left out. It is intriguing because usually a panel of 15 candidates is prepared for such positions. Moreover, in the past over 15 candidates were issued call letters for interviews. It was so because criteria for issuing call letters states that an incumbent must have served one year as ED for being eligible for short- listing for the panel for Chairman's post. This time it has been ignored. Financial experts
feel if the list was enhanced then there could have been a better contest. There are many EDs who on account of being left out are quite frustrated.

Ms. Trishaljit relieved from DoPT
Ms. Trishaljit has been relieved from the position of Director, DoPT as she had been appointed as CVO in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. She is an IPoS officer of 1990 batch.

R.K Verma poised to be ADG, CISF
R.K Verma who is presently Director, North East Police Academy, is likely to be appointed as ADG, CISF. He is an IPS officer of 1978 batch who belongs to the Bihar cadre.

7 GMs cleared for elevation as EDs in PSU banks !
According to an unconfirmed report, names of seven General Managers (GMs) from the different Public Sector Banks have been cleared for elevation as Executive Directors (EDs). All-together 34 General Managers (GMs) were in contention for the promotions. Those GMs whose names have been cleared are : Atul Gautam-Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), C.G. Pinto- Corporation Bank, T.R. Chawla Dena Bank, S.K. Jain Bank of India, S.K. Widhani-Allahabad Bank, Deepak Narang -Allahabad Bank and Chandrashekharan- Indian Overseas Bank (IOB).

M. Sheela Priya to be PS-I, to Tamil Nadu, CM
As the grapevine has it Ms. M. Sheela Priya will be Principal Secretary (PS)-I to the new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms. J. Jayalalithaa. She is an IAS officer of the 1977 batch who belongs to Tamil Nadu cadre.

P. Ram Mohan Rao to PS-II, to Tamil Nadu, CM
As the grapevine has it, Dr. P. Rama Mohan Rao will be Principal Secretary (PS)-II to new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms. J. Jayalalithaa. He is an IAS officer of 1985 batch who belongs to Tamil Nadu cadre.

K.N. Venkatramanan to be Secretary to TN, CM
As the grapevine has it, K.N. Venkatramanan is poised to be Secretary to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister designate Ms. J.Jayalalithaa. Presently, he is Secretary, Personnel and Adminisrative Reforms with the Tamil Nadu government. He is a 1987 batch IAS officer who belongs to the TN cadre.

Ramalingam to be Additional Secretary to TN, CM
As the grapevine has it, Ramalingam is poised to be Additional Secretary to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister designate Ms.J. Jayalalithaa. He is a 1996 batch IAS officer who hails from the TN cadre.

Shankar to get prominence in Tamil Nadu
C.V. Shankar is back to the parent Tamil Nadu cadre from UN assignment. The 1982 batch IAS officer, Shankar, is expected to get an important assignment in the new regime.

N.K. Yadav is CGMT, MP Circle
N.K. Yadav Chief General Manager Telecom (CGMT) of value added services in BSNL has now taken over CGMT, Bhopal Circle.

Aditya Arya is new DGP, Goa
Dr. Aditya Arya has taken over as new Director General of Police (DGP) of Goa. Earlier, he was Special Commissioner of Police Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. He is an IPS officer of 1981 batch who belongs to the UT cadre.
(We said this on April 8)

Jayalalithaa to sit in old secretariat building
As the grapevine has it, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister designate Ms.J. Jayalalithaa has made it clear that after being sworn in as the Chief Minister, she will like to sit in old secretariat building on Beach Road i.e.Rajaji Salai, Chennai. Staff including officers is working on a war footing to facelift the old secretariat building because it was abandoned once the secretariat shifted to newly constructed building under the previous regime.

Who will be new Police Commissioner of Chennai?
Who will be new Police Commissioner of Chennai? This question is hot topic of discussion following an impressive victory by AIADMK led by Ms. J. Jayalalithaa in recent assembly polls.

2 contenders for Police Commissioner of Chennai
As the grapevine has it there are two contenders for the slot of Police Commissioner Chennai. They are: S.George (IPS officer of 1984 batch) and J.K. Tripathi (IPS officer of 1984 batch). Both are rated as outstanding police officers.

Will Tamil Nadu DGP go ?
Will present DGP with Tamil Nadu government Bholanath be shifted in the wake of change in regime in Tamil Nadu? This question is hotly being discussed in corridors of power. He is an IPS officer of the 1976 batch.

S.K. Upadhyay has chances of becoming DGP, TN
As the grapevine has it S.K. Upadhyay has chances of being appointed as new DGP of Tamil Nadu, provided existing DGP Bholanath was shifted. Both of them are IPS officers who belong to 1976 batch.

No change likely in Assam
There will be no change in administrative scenario of Assam. As it is Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has emerged much stronger in wake of a very good performance by ruling Congress party in recent assembly polls. Analysts, feel that Tarun Gogoi will relatively enjoy a free hand in governance.

Bureaucratic overhaul likely in Kerala
With the Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) scrapping past the majority mark, in what turned out to be an evenly contested assembly elections in Kerala- the closest ever- the state bureaucracy is in for a major overhaul once the political dust settles in.

M. Nene is no 1 for IOC's Director Marketing
M. Nene is number one for the post of Director, Marketing of the Indian Oil Corporation.

Kerala Chief Secretary to go !
Changes are expected right at the top and the Chief Secretary Dr. P. Prabhakaran is likely to get the axe. For most Congress leaders he is an 'eyesore'. Prabhakaran, is an IAS officer of the 1978 batch who belongs to the Kerala cadre. He will retire on March 31, 2012.

Jayakumar to be relived of Home in Kerala
K. Jayakumar Additional Chief Secretary Home, Kerala is also likely to be shifted if observers are to be believed. Jayakumar is an IAS officer of the 1978 batch who hails from the Kerala cadre. He will retire in October 2012.

K. Mohandas likely to replace Prabhakaran as Kerala CS
If the Centre agrees to relieve K. Mohandas Secretary Ministry of Shipping, GoI to Kerala he might replace P. Prabhakaran as Kerala Chief Secretary. Sources said if given a choice, Mohandas, is also likely to get back to Kerala as he has barely eight months to go before retirement in February 2012. As of now he appears a strong contender for the post of state Chief Secretary.

Jose Cyriac also a contender for Kerala CS
If the Centre is unwilling to relieve K. Mohandas, then K. Jose Cyriac, Special Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, GoI will be in the reckoning for the post of Chief Secretary. He is an IAS officer of the 1977 batch who hails from the Kerala cadre. His advantage is that he has about two years before his retirement in April 2013.

Will E.K. Bharat Bhushan make the cut in Kerala?
If a strong lobby in the state Congress circle is to be believed, they would like to rope in E.K. Bharat Bhushan as Kerala Chief Secretary. The only problem is that Bharat Bhushan is on deputation to the GoI as the Director General Civil Aviation and he is also liked by the Union Civil Aviation Minister Vyalar Ravi. Bharat Bhushan is an IAS officer of the 1979 batch.

Bharat Bhushan's elevation would stifle half a dozen officers' chances
If the new Government in Kerala decides to bring in EK Bharat Bhushan as the new Chief Secretary of the state he will end up stifling the chances of at least half a dozen IAS officers waiting for elevation as CS. An IAS officer of the 1979 batch he will retire only in January 2015.

Punnose also in the line of fire
The Director General of Police, Kerala Jacob Punnose is also likely to be changed once the UDF government settles down. Insiders say that most UDF leaders from Kerala perceive Punnose as too close to the Left Democratic Front (LDF). Punnose is an IPS officer of the 1975 batch who hails from the Kerala cadre. He is likely to retire in August 2012.

Tamil Nadu - Truly women powered
With the AIADMK sweeping the Tamil Nadu state elections, J. Jayalalithaa's swearing in as the new state Chief Minister is a mere formality. When Jayalalithaa swears in as the Chief Minister, Tamil Nadu will create a new history women powered state. TN will probably be the only state in India that will have a woman as Chief Minister (Jayalalithaa), Chief Secretary (S. Malathi IAS 1977 batch) and Director General of Police (Letika Saran IPS 1976 batch TN).

Jaya may continue with Malathy as TN, CS !
Whispers doing the rounds in the corridors of power in Tamil Nadu suggest that Jayalalithaa led AIADMK government will spare the Chief Secretary S. Malathy and allow her to continue. An officer of the 1977 batch from TN, Malathy can bring in continuity to the new state government's initiatives as she has a reasonable time till October 2014 before retirement.

Will Amma spare Letika ?
Police circles have been speculating about whether AIADMK supreme would allow Letika Saran to continue as the state's Director General of Police. If whispers' are to be believed, Amma might not disturb Saran right now as she has barely a year for retirement next March and the post of DGP has been hotly contested in the CAT by the senior IPS officers and elevating someone else will open a pandora's box for her.

Major bureaucratic overhaul likely in TN
While the AIADMK government might not disturb the Chief Secretary and DGP in Tamil Nadu the fact remains that there will be a overhaul in the state's bureaucratic and police set up. The State Secretariat and Police Head Quarters and Chennai Police Commissionerate is likely to witness a major shake-up.

S.G. Sridhar to be officiating CMD, HMT
S.G.Sridhar Director(Operations) of HMT Limited has assumed charge as officiating Chairman & Managing Director(CMD) of HMT Ltd.He is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from R.V. College of Engineering, Bangalore and an MBA from Central College, Bangalore.After initial training in Kirloskar Electric Company, joined HMT Limited in 1977 as Engineer Trainee and rose to General Manager in 1999. During the span of 29 years from 1977 to 2006 in HMT Limited, he had held various functional responsibilities ranging from Sales, Marketing, business planning, formation of joint ventures, manufacturing plant etc. He was instrumental in formation of two joint venture companies and was General Manager of the Plant manufacturing Precision Machine Tools, Manipulators, refurbishing, etc., for a period of three years. During this period many new CNC turning centres and different varieties of Manipulators (import substitutes) were developed and supplied for Atomic energy plants.He then joined Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL)in March, 2007 as General Manager, Marketing for healthcare products. During this period the sales increased by 37%, distribution network was expanded, first medical diagnostic lab of HLL was set up at Delhi, new contraceptive products were launched through nationwide promotion campaigns etc.He has widely traveled in India & Abroad (visited over 12 countries including the USA, Germany, Italy, Srilanka and the UAE) with rich experience in marketing and manufacturing of engineering capital goods and FMCG health care products.He was GM Marketing in HLL before join ing he HMT as Director (Operations).
(We said this on April 4,2011)

Pakistan : Targets in India identified and rehersal carried out says DG ISI
During the in camera briefing of Pakistni parliament's joint session on Friday the 13th Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha DG ISI stated that his agency had already finalised contingency plans for retaliation in case of an Abbottabad type operation by Indian security forces. 'Targets in India have already been identified' Shuja Pasha told the Parliamentarians and added, ' in fact we have already carried out rehearsal for the retaliatory attack'

IPS changes in Uttar Pradesh
K L Meena will be new ADG Meerut Zone. Jyoti Narayan has been appointed new SSP of Gautambuddha Nagar.

1986 batch IPS is ADG in Jharkhand
Two 1986 batch IPS officers B B Pradhan and V H Deshmukh and K S Meena have been promoted to the rank of ADG .1985 batch IAS officer Amitabh Chaudhary has also been given ADG rank.

1997 batch IPS is DIG
1997 batch IPS officer Suman Gupta has been promoted to the rank of DIG in Jharkhand.

IPS changes in Mizoram
Karnal Singh, IPS (AGMUT:1984) has been promoted to the grade of ADGP and posted as ADGP, Mizoram. L. Hrangnawna, IPS (AGMUT:1990) has been promoted to the grade of IGP and posted as IGP (Headquarters) in Mizoram. He will also look after the charge of DIG (Northern Range), DIG (Southern Range) as well as DIG (CID).

Three PCS get IAS in Mizoram
Three Officers of the 1986 batch Mizoram Civil Service have been promoted to the Indian Administrative Service with effect from 20.04.2011. They are 1. V. Sapchhunga, Addl. Secy, GAD, SAD 2.
Lalhmingthanga, Addl. Secy, DP&AR, Home 3. Rodney Lalrinawma, Addl. Secy, Planning, LAD. Their postings will later be notified by the Government

Sumit Bose to be Secretary Expenditure (UPDATED)
Sumit Bose is going to succeed Sushma Nath as Secretary Expenditure in the Government of India on June 1.This is evident from the fact that 1976 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre Bose has been tipped to be OSD Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance. He is presently Secretary Disinvestment.

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

CORPORATE

Dilsher Singh Kalha poised to head Punjab & Sind Bank
As the grapevine has it Dilsher Singh Kalha Principal Resident Commissioner of Punjab government in Delhi is going to be new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Punjab & Sind Bank. He is an IAS officer of 1977 batch who belongs to Punjab cadre. (We said this on May 13)

Singh is Zonal Manager, LIC South Zone
D. D. Singh has taken over as Zonal Manager of LIC South Zone, Chennai.

Vandrevala to be MD of Diligenta
IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said it has appointed Phiroz Vandrevala as the Managing Director and Vice Chairman of its UK subsidiary, Diligenta.

LIC nominates new Addl. Director on Reliance Infrastructure Board
R R Rai, nominated by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has been appointed as an Additional Director on the Board of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd with effect from May 10, 2011, on completion of the tenure of its earlier nominee V R Galkar on the Board of the Company.

Panjwani appointed Addl. Director, Hinduja Ventures Ltd
Dilip Panjwani has been appointed as Additional Director of Hinduja Ventures Ltd.

Saldanha re-designated as Founder & Chairman Emeritus Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
Gracias Saldanha, Chairman has stepped down as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd and has been re-designated as Founder & Chairman Emeritus with effect from May 10, 2011

Mohanty ceases to be Director, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd
A. S. Mohanty ceases to be a Director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd .

Rao joins Lenovo India as Head (SMB Business)
Rajiv Rao has joined Lenovo as Head of SMB business of Lenovo India.

Zhou joins Lenovo India as Head (Support Services)
Hunter Zhou has joined Lenovo as Head, Services Support, Lenovo India. He was previously with Lenovo EMG in the role of Director- Call Centre & Technical Service Support for China and Service Delivery for REM (rest of Emerging Markets).

Venkataraman appointed MD & CEO, Karur Vyasya Bank
The Reserve Bank Of India, on the recommendation of the Board of Karur Vyasya Bank has appointed K Venkataraman as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Bank for a period of three years with effect from June 1, 2011. He is currently the MD & CEO of the SBI Global Factors Ltd.

Brown to Head International Paper's India operations
Paul Brown , the President of its Asia operations of US-based International Paper has been appointed to head the company's India operations.

ARCIL withdraws nomination of two directors from Cimmco Birla Board
The nomination on the Board of Cimmco Birla Ltd of both Sanjoy Gupta and R M Agarwal has been withdrawn by Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Limited (ARCIL) w.e.f. April 21, 2011 and May 4, 2011, respectively.

Mani appointed Exec. Creative Director, Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett has appointed Rajesh Mani as Executive Creative Director.

Susman appointed Addl. Director, Trent Ltd
Trent Limited has appointed Simon Susman as an Additional Director of the Company w.e.f. May 11, 2011.

Raju appointed Group General Counsel, Religare Enterprises
Religare Enterprises Ltd has appointed Raghuram Raju as Group General Counsel.

Wattal appointed Director (F&B), Goa Marriott Resort
Gaurav Wattal has been appointed as Director (F&B) Goa Marriott Resort.

Nidugondi appointed VP (Mobile Financial Solutions), Comviva
Comviva has appointed Srinivas Nidugondi as Vice President, Mobile Financial Solutions.

FORUM

ACC Debate

The process of ACC is really time consuming. For e.g., the selection process of Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research Education (ICFRE), Dehradun has been compl eted by high power empowered committee under the Chairmanship of honourable Dr. Swaminathan, but the prestigious post of the Director General of the council under the MoEF, GoI is lying vacant since last so many months for want of ACC approval. In view of such delay there is a need to simplify and fasten the process of ACC approval. Further there is also a need to issue strict instruction to the concerned ministry and department to process the selection of these posts well in time to avoid adhocisum. The selection process for these posts should be in line with selections of Secretary, GoI and other Director Generals.

S.K. Singh

ACC debate

A very good point has been raised for discussion. All appointments above SAG level need not be referred to ACC. For example cases pertaining to Engineering Services can be well assessed by their respective ministries. Requirement of reference to ACC may be made applicable only for sensitive appointments in the ministries. This will save a lot of time in processing of promotions and will certainly curtail the delay and thus lessening burden on the departments in the chain for ACC approvals.

Dinesh Sharma

ACC debate

ACC approval should be required only for the selected posts the functioning of which is crucial to the central Govt. All other posts should be freed from ACC approval. This will bring in efficiency & speed in admin. Also officers will not have to wait for months together for their promotions.

D.C. Jain

ACC system is the most corrupt system of appointment

Selections are said to be sold from day one, starting from PESB. Thereafter, concerned Ministers has powers to give favours to number 2 in panel, which is also said to be sold on flimsy grounds and so on. ACC System is not only lengthy but also introduces corruption in CPSEs because almost all the CMDs "purchase their appointments". A shorter and transparent system is needed badly.

Rajesh Bahal

European English

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English". In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter. In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away. By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas. If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.

With regards,
V. Arunachalam

India Post, Chennai

CIC is not a political organization. It should refrain considering caste in decision taking in respect of Complaints/Appeals. Justice should be done to all.

U.C. Sharma

Dividend tax on remittances from abroad

The first result of the virtual amnesty scheme announced in this year's 'budget is now evident. It may be recalled that this budget allowed a dividend tax of 15% on such dividend remitted from abroad. Such a caper would be successful in nil tax jurisdictions. Dubai which has a near zero and in case of Export promotion zone at Jebel Ali actually zero tax has seen a growth of a number of dividend paying companies. The scheme works simply: set up a subsidiary company in Jebel Ali, create artificial profits by way of remittances from tax havens and declare handsome dividends which are then sent to the parent company. With minimal FII buying, the growth in foreign exchange reserves in the last two weeks of nearly 5 billion dollars is only a precursor to the likely flood of money expected from illegal accounts held abroad. But with huge surge inflows, the impact on Gold, property and share markets will make Newton turn in his grave.

SB

Retirement age should be 55

Ranbir Singh

Considering that government employees has option to take voluntary retirement after 20 years of service, the present age of 60 years for retirement needs to be lowered to say, 50 years. Now that more opportunities are available in private sector, availability of younger experienced professionals to this sector will be help in economic development and make government departments more dynamic.

A.K. Arora

Why do you want to increase the age of retirement when those who matter, manage to 'serve' till 65 or even more.

GSM

Retirement age should not be increased, as it will reinforce the already existing high level of unemployment.

Vinay

It is an excellent idea to have graded retirement age going upto 65, subject of course to

P Krishnan

I am getting gradually disillusioned with the deterioration of the contents of the Forum column. All rubbish. Today's column was the worst (14th May) Put some intellectual input into it covering administrative aspects. If you are getting the posts as today, better scrap the FORUM column

M Shivam
Kerala

assessment of the officer. The present Cabinet Secretary should be allowed to go till 67 which would be co-terminus with UPA government. Thereafter, every Cab Secretary should have 5 year tenure co-terminus with elected government. This will really change the morale, face and integrity of the civil service. Those who want to retire at 55 or 60 should be given full pension by extrapolating their increments till 65 and giving them full benefit of retirement plus full pension.

Rita

Retirement age must be raised as it will stop civil servants from hankering after post retirement jobs.

2. It will reduce corruption as government servants will get more time to complete their family obligations, eg, marriage of daughters, buying a flat, etc

3. Some people who think that lower retirement age increases employment should be informed that an old outdated economic theory actually said that if women are given jobs, there will be unemployment among men.

4. Younger retirement with private jobs. After that is nothing but pay-back time.

5. UPA has treated civil service so indifferently that this is the least they can do for the
civil service.

Suresh Babu

CMD, Punjab and Sindh Bank D S Kalha- good choice

An excellent choice. I have known him since 1982 when he worked with me as Additional Deputy Commissioner, Patiala. A straight forward officer, he can withstand political pressure. His experience in the Planning Commission will stand him in good stead in the new proposed assignment. I wish him all the best.

Satya Singhal

The UP government has lost face and the centre should take up the matter that no state can play around with the career of senior and reputed officers. It is a poetic justice in the case of Mr. Desh Deepak Verma.

Ananya

Your FORUM column is gradually becoming rotten. It may vanish soon. Today's was the most awful (14th May). You do not seem to edit the posts before publishing. You should change your editors or close the site altogether as better sites dealing with government functioning have come up. You seem to be working for the government in power.

Audit Paras of C&AG

Request for disclosure of information which went into the making of an Audit Report such as audit observations, marginal notes, audit notes and audit memos, etc. was denied claiming that these intermediary
documents are merely working papers and are not within realm of "Information" under the RTI Act. The CIC ordered for disclosure holding that disclosure could not be said to constitute a breach of privilege of the House.

Comments

The Article 151 of the Constitution provides that the reports of the C&AG shall be laid before the Legislature. However, it is silent about the draft report, half margins or draft audit notes. Therefore, the
Parliamentary privileges cannot be stretched to mean that every single item of information held anywhere, that may in future become part of the proceeding before the Parliamentary Committee, should be exempt
from disclosure. In view of the dominating role acquired by the C&AG reports in the media in cases of alleged corruption; this case has immense implications for bureaucrats.

[Full bench decision in CIC/AT/A/2007/00274, CIC/AT/A/2008/00726, & CIC/AT/A/2009/000732 in Shri Manohar Parrikar and others vs Accountant General, Goa and others].

- 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)