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The website is great source of power to the government officials who otherwise would receive such information / news in months time. It is requested to start a weekly section on any department or organisation that would focus on the work condition, problems, strengths, weaknesses, motivation level, promotion avenues etc e.g. the employees of EPFO or Prasar Bharti. Wish you all the best and happy DEEPAWALI.

KK

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Team Anna is being investigated with a 'fine comb'..... their past and present is under the scanner!!! And if this is all that they've been able to come up with then kudos to Team Anna!!!! Congress's pally Media is doing a hatchet job and magnifying and distorting the 'fine comb' findings!!!!! Fact of the matter is had Team Anna's pressure not been there and the uprising against corruption that they were instrumental in bringing about , 2 G ke maamle mein Congress would have done a Bofors!!! In the end Congress's bhonpus Singhvi, Tiwari and Renuka would have made it look as if Raja did a great favour to the Country and for all you know Raja would even got a Padma Bushan!!! Please do remember that at one stage our PM had given a clean chit to Raja...... next would have been a commendation for stellar service to the Nation!

The way they are investigating Team Anna if they investigate Sonia's hairdresser or maid!!!

It'll be revealed to the Nation that via 'cooking and hairdressing' how fortunes are made!!

Kani does not deserve to be held culpable under Section 409!!! The plan seems to be is get her convicted under a harsh section so that High Court can strike it down... Court will say CBI's being unreasonable and it'll be easier to get Kani off the hook and it will digested by the Nation!!! As of now the main concern is to get her out on bail and this will take place in a week or so.... Karuna in fact is camping in Delhi and wants to take his 'dear flower' with him!! CBI's ' harshness' is aimed at getting her Public sympathy!! What also surprises how Radiia has been 'insulated'!!!! Like they say 'Jabh Rattan aur Mukesh ho saath toh darr kahe ka'!!

Now let's see what SC has to say on Swamy's plea on PC being included in the accused list!!!!

Many say PC was the brain behind 2 G Scam and actually Raja ne kiya PC ko assist!!

Sonia has ordered Mohna to do a hatchet job on RTI!!!!! Every excuse in the book is being used....... RTI is deterring honest officials from expressing their views....transparency is slowing down governance.....it's being misused and abused.....basically Sonia wants Government to have the right to reject RTI Applications that the Government feels are not for 'Public good' (to be read as Ruling Party's good)!!! And though Advani has warned Mohna against watering down of RTI, BJP would like the act to be watered down.... what is bad for Neta Peter is bad for Neta Paul too!!

On RTI Government wants its own RTI... Right To Interject!!!!

Or in simple words where it does not want to reveal info Right to Reject!!

If Omar Abdullah wants the AFSPA to be lifted from some areas he needs to lead by example and first reduce his Security.... AFSPA can only be lifted if normalcy has returned to the area its being lifted from... why doesn't he prove this 'first hand' and reduce his own security?????? Crores are spent on the Security of Father and Son and reduction of Security would indeed send the right signal and would also save money!!!

Omar they say has a thinking cap and he puts it on when he has to think!!!

When he thought up the AFSPA lifting idea the cap dhonne ke liye was lying in the sink!!

PS.... Sushma and Jaitley fell ill in Advani's Rath and were driven to Hospital by Rudy in his car.... tiull last heard Advani's not even enquired about their wellbeing .... signs that he considers them as adversaries!! IE used to be anti establishment and now it's become pro establishment... news and views content and Sarkaari ads reflect this change!!! Ghadkari got his stomach stapled... now he says he'll stand from Nagpur in the Lok Sabha elections..... in the end I can predic tin his case it'll 'be all dressed up but nowhere to go'!!!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Will Mayawati get Sawarna support?
In the last election, Mayawati won because of the support of Sawarnas. Will she get the same kind of support this time? Only time will tell.

Poll truck between Ajit Singh & Congress for UP polls likely
As the grapevine has it, Ajit Singh Chief of the Lok Dal and Congress party are going to have an electoral alliance for forthcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. As against Ajit Singh's demand for 60 seats, Congress has offered him 35 seats. To this he has consented with a condition that a ministerial berth be reserved for his son, Jayant, in the UPA government. This deal is likely to materialize soon.

Diwali dinner at Ashok Chavan's residence
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan hosted a pre Diwali dinner at his residence, those invited were Prithviraj Chavan, and all top bureaucrats and cops.

BUREAUCRACY

Travel expenses of PM & his colleagues
Expenses of Ministers and PMO are going up. Ministers' expense have reached a level of Rs.546 cr and that of Indian Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh's expense have reached the level of Rs. 85crore in UPA-I and Rs.70 cr UPA-II. On the other hand, during tenure of the then Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, expenses of NDA Ministers' were approximately Rs.268 cr and that of Vajpayee were approximately Rs.55 cr.

Oversupply of Economists in UPA
There is a galaxy of economists in the UPA government but none of them have been able to control inflation or manage the image of this country. The India growth story story that was sold by the UPA is fast collapsing. Oversupply of economists with the UPA - who have ended up confusing the markets
and local denizens with their cacophony of forecasts and prescriptions. This confusion is contributing to a climate of rising inflationary expectations resulting in flight of capital say observers.

Railway Ministry in a state of comatose
Believe it or not but, the Railway Ministry seems to be in a state of comatose. It has never happened in the history of Indian Railways that four members of the Railway Board held additional charge of General Managers in railway zones, However, at present four Members are holding additional charge. They are: Member Electrical Kulbhushan - GM, Central Railway (CR) Mumbai, A.K.Vora, Member Staff -of GM East Coast Railway (ECoR), Bhubaneshwar, Sanjeev Handa, Member Mechanical- of GM Railway Coach Factory (RCF) Chennai and K.K. Srivastava Member Traffic -of GM East Central Railway (ECR) Hajipur.Moreover, 15 people were killed as a train mowed them in Bilaspur, but neither any onus has been fixed nor anybody has made any statement on the mishap that took place on October 22, 2011.

13 posts of GMs are vacant in Railway Ministry
As many as 13 posts of General Managers (GMs), will be vacant in Railway Ministry on October 24, 2011.They are that of: Rail Wheel Factory (RWF), Bangalore, Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, Rail Coach Factory (RCF) Kapurthala, Central Railway (CR), Mumbai, South East Central Railway (SECR), Bilaspur, Western Railway (WR) Mumbai, South Eastern Railway (SER) Kolkata, East Coast Railway (ECoR), Bhubaneshwar, Central Organisation for Electrification (CORE) Allahabad, Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) Varanasi, South Western Railway (SWR) Hubly & South Central Railway (SCR) Secunderabad.

M D Sreekumar, Director, HLL, selected as MD, HMT-MT
M D Sreekumar, Director (Tech & Oper), HLL, has been selected for the post of Managing Director, HMT Machine Tools Limited (HMT-MT) at the PESB meeting held on October 24. Six persons were interviewed at the selection meeting.

IRS-IT officers of 1986 batch in Joint Secretary panel
As the grapevine has it, 46 IRS-IT officers of 1986 batch figure in the list for empanelment as Joint Secretary's appointment in the Government of India (GoI).

Empanelment of 1985 batch of IPoS on the anvil
As the grapevine has it, empanelment of 1985 batch of Indian Postal Service Officers (IPoS) is going to be taken up during next meeting of the CSB scheduled to be held on October 31,2011.

CSB to meet on October 31, 2011
Next meeting of the CSB will be held on October 31, 2011.

Vijay Kumar is now Special Commissioner, Gujarat Government
Considering the outstanding meritorious background and contributions by A K Vijay Kumar, who was on deputation as Executive Director, GAIL India been appointed as Special Commissioner for Investment Promotion, Government of Gujarat at Delhi which is otherwise held by only IAS officers so far, in addition to his assignments with Gujarat State Petroleum as Executive Director. GSPC and its Group has been awarded with major three Pipelines i.e. Mallavaram (AP) - Mehsana passing through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, Mehsana -Bhatinda & Bhatinda-Jammu against GAIL ,who was one of the major contender.

Seven IRS officers promoted as CCIT
Seven IRS officers have been promoted as Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT) and posted at various places. Accordingly, Gautam Kar has been posted as CCIT-V, Kolkata (CCA WB); Suresh Jandhyala has been posted as DGIT (investigation), Chennai (CCA, TN); Anil Kumar Agrawal has been posted as CCIT-IX, Kolkata (CCA, WB); Bal Krishna Mishra has been posted as CCIT-VI, Chennai (CCA, TN); Deepali Bahadur has been posted as CCIT, Shimla (Chandigarh, CCA, NWR); Jayant Kumar Hota has been posted as CCIT, Jalpaiguri (Kolkata, CCA, WB) and Devendra Prasad Sharma has been promoted and posted as DGIT (Invest.) Cochin (CCA, Kerala).

Inter-region transfers of IRS officers
There are inter-region transfers of five IRS officers. Accordingly, Prema Malini Vasan, CCIT-I, Chennai, has been shifted as CCIT-I, Hyderabad; Pramod Chandra Srivastava, CCIT-III, Hyderabad, has been moved as CCIT-VII, Mumbai; Shyam Murari Nigam, CCIT-V, Kolkata has been posted as DGIT (Inv.), Jaipur (CCA, Rajasthan); Arun Kumar Singh, CCIT, Shimla (Chandigarh, CCA, NWR), has been posted as DGIT (Invest.), Chandigarh (CCA, NWR) and Bratati Mukherjee, CCIT, Jalpaiguri (Kolkata, CCA WB) has been shifted as CCIT-VIII, Kolkata (CCA WB).

Local changes of IRS officers
There is local posting of seven IRS officers. Accordingly, Brijesh Gupta, DGIT (Invest), Jaipur, has been posted as CCIT, Jaipur (CCA, Rajasthan); Gyan Chand Jain, CCIT-II, Chennai (CCA TN) has been moved as CCIT-I, Chennai (Chennai, CCA TN); Rajeshwara Rao G, CCIT-I, Hyderabad (CCA AP) has been posted as CCIT-III, Hyderabad (Hyderabad CCA AP); Navin Chandra Joshi, CCIT-IX, Mumbai (CCA) has been made CCIT (C)-I, Mumbai (CCA); Santosh Kumar Sahu, CCIT (C)-I, Mumbai (CCA) has been shifted as CCIT-IX, Mumbai (CCA); Kiran Oberoi Vasudev, CCIT-VII, Mumbai (CCA), has been made CCIT-Cent-II, Mumbai (CCA) and Subbiah Bose, CCIT-VI, Chennai (CCA TN) will now be CCIT-II, Chennai (CCA TN).

Will State Electricity boards pay coal companies?
How many electricity boards will default on paying dues to Coal India, Western India Coalfields and other coal companies is a question that is worrying the executives of all PSU's .

Future of companies when coal blocks are cancelled
What is the future of investors in companies that are listed on the bourses and are likely to face an axe on coal mines ? Firstly, it is the investors hard earned money that has gone for a toss, as most shares are trading lower than their issue price, if the coal blocks get cancelled the companies will have to pay the debtors first like the bank and foreign investors and government institutions. The ones who remain untouched and unaffected are the powerful politicians who candidly admit that illegal mining is a small industry.

Ms Padma Angmo to be Dy Secretary in Election Commission
Ms Padma Angmo is going on dputation to the Election Commission of India as Deputy Secretary. She is 2002 batch Indian Information Service officer.

IPS officers yet to submit property information
According to available information IPS officers 35 from Punjab, 30 from Jharkhand, 28 from Kerala, 28 from Chhattisgarh, 25 from Haryana, 24 from Sikkim, 22 from Orissa and 22 from Madhya Pradesh, have so far not submitted property returns to the Government.

K. K. Saxena is Vice Chief, RCT, Lucknow
K. K. Saxena who retired as General Manager of the Varanasi located Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) is Vice Chairman of the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT), Kolkata.

Vimal Kumar to be Director, NATGRID-MHA
Vimal Kumar on central deputation is poised to be a Director the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). He is an Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer of 1996 batch.

Thakral gets extension in deputation tenure
The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for the extension of central deputation tenure of V K Thakral, IAS(MT-82) as Chief Vigilance Officer in the Oil India Limited, New Delhi for a period of 3 months beyond November 3 after completion of seven years' tenure.

3 IAS officers in panel for CEO, Goa
The Minisry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the Government of India (GoI) has sent a panel of 3 IAS officers to the Election Commission of India (EDI) for the post of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Goa. These officers are: D.C Sahoo (1996 batch),T. M. Balakrishnan (1996 batch) & Tahang Taggu (1999 batch).

Das is new DRM of Sealdah
S. K. Das has taken over as new DRM of Sealdah on Monday. The present incumbent has been posted in Northern Rly, New Delhi.

CVC for fine on 9 officers of CIL
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has filed an application of request to impose fine on nine officers of the Coal India Ltd (CIL).They face corruption charge.

Will Maharashtra be able to initiate environmental action against Lavasa?
Mahasrashtra government has replied to the Mumbai High Court that it will initiate credible action against Lavasa. The ownership of Lavasa has always been known as it is owned by NCP's supremo Sharad Pawar . With an alliance partner in the state can Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan do anything against Pawar and even reply to the Court. People close to the matter say the state government will ask for more time and not file any reply till the deadline is nearer.

D.P. Singh appointed CMD, Punjab & Sind Bank (UPDATED)
D.P. Singh, (UP cadre IAS,batch 1980), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences has been appointed to the prestigious post of Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) Punjab & Sind Bank.Orders will be issued tonight or the day after Diwali.
(We said this on Aug 30, 2011)

1981 batch IAS officers get ACS rank in Punjab (UPDATED)
Two 1981 batch IAS officers Anjuly Chib Duggal and D S Bains have been given Chief Secretary rank in Punjab. Presently Anjuly Chib Duggal is on deputation to the Government of India.

Ms. P. Gopinath gets proforma promotion (UPDATED)
Ms. P. Gopinath (IPoS-1977) who presently on deputation to Ministry of Commerce and Industry is working as Member Secretary, Tariff Commission, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotional has been given proforma promotion to the Grade of Member, Postal Services Board, IPS Group 'A'

(DEBATE)
LOKPAL BILL AND BUREAUCRACY
The debate on Lokpal Bill and the subsequent anger and protests across the country led by veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare has instilled a fear of accountability among the bureaucracy. How should the bureaucrats react to the situation?
Mail your views to suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com or mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com

CORPORATE

Will the foreign currency situation become worse?
There is definitely a flight for money in the country with the foreign investors pulling out to safe haven and exiting developing country's like India. Much of this can be seen in the way the stock markets are behaving. However if the export figures have to be reworked (after subtracting the questionable exports to Bahamas) India's current account deficit will go notches higher. This will lead to more demand for dollars and worsening of the Rupee. Experts say it could even go to 54-54 levels.

Who owns DLF?
One of the key questions that is likely to be unearthed and asked by the legal eagles is the actual ownership structure of DLF. There are many powerful family people of Congress party involved in it.

Will Riju Jhunjhunwala join active politics?
Grapevine has it that Director Bhilwara Group, Riju Jhunjhunwala, is joining active politics. He is Business Management Graduate from UK.

Sethi appointed Addl. Director, PNB Gilts Ltd
PNB Gilts Limited has appointed Rakesh Sethi, Executive Director, Punjab National Bank, as an Additional Director on the Board of the Company.

Jagran Prakashan Ltd appoints two Addl. Directors
Akhilesh K. Gupta and Amit Dixit have been appointed as Additional Directors on the Board of Jagran Prakashan Ltd .

Mathew resigns as Director, Titan Industries Ltd
Ms Susan Mathew, IAS, Chairperson and Director, nominee of Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (TIDCO) has resigned from the Board of Titan Industries Ltd .

Sundaradevan appointed Chairman, Titan Industries Ltd
Dr. N. Sundaradevan, IAS, Nominee Director of TIDCO has been appointed as Chairman of Titan Industries Ltd .

Two directors cease to be on Board of Bank of India
M N Gopinath and Prakash P. Mallya have ceased to be on Board of Bank of India w.e.f. October 24, 2011.

Phadke resigns as Non Exec. Chairman Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services Ltd
Uday Y. Phadke, has resigned as the Non - Executive Vice-Chairman of Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services Ltd with effect from October 24, 2011. However, he will continue to be a Director on the Board of Directors of the company.

Joshi resigns as Director, Rapicut Carbides Ltd
Kuldip Shivram Joshi has resigned from the Board of Directors of Rapicut Carbides Ltd on personal grounds.

Sharma appointed CEO, Den Networks Ltd
Shailender Nath Sharma, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Den Networks Ltd with immediate effect.

Azhar appointed COO, Den Networks Ltd
Mohammad Ghulam Azhar, has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Den Networks Ltd with immediate effect.

Texier appointed Addl. Director, Grindwell Norton Ltd
Grindwell Norton Ltd has appointed Guillaurne Jean Philippe Texier as Additional Director of the Company.

All for a Noble Cause?

So, Kiran Bedi is presenting fudged travel bills, ostensibly, for a Noble cause. Do the rules of the Organisations inviting her approve of/condone, this submission of fictitious bills regarding claims made in excess of actual cost incurred. All for a Noble Cause?

S Singh

Why did GoI ask for applications ?

Why did GoI ask for applications from new candidates if they had to grant Dr. S S Mantha extension as chairman of AICTE. Is this also not hilarious. Several institutions are writing to Supreme Court of India and CVC to start an investigation in the matter. Thank you Dr Mehrotra for being the only forum where we could write the truth.

KCM : Pope of the Indian Vatican?

As a Catholic, I take strong offence to M L Gupta misusing the above term in his post. This has hurt the sentiments of millions of Catholics in India and abroad. The Editor-in-Chief must tender an apology for this serious lapse.

Dr Reetha George

Editor in Chief responds

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

However, if it has hurt anybody's sentiments then we express regrets for the same.

Application seeking indiscriminate information

The appellant had sought 08 paras of information regarding generation of power in various States and related information. The CIC quoted the Supreme Court judgment in Civil Appeal No. 6454 of 2011 (CBSE & Anrs Vs Aditya Bandopadhaya & Ors) while disposing the appeal. The Commission observed that the Right to Information is a cherished right but it has to be exercised with restraint. The requested information should be useful to the information seeker either personally or it should be useful socially or nationally. Wanton demand for information without any meaningful purpose behind it can not be countenanced as it puts undue strain on the limited resources of the public authority. Besides, collection, collation and transmission of information entails costs to the public authority.

Comments

In regard to information other than those enumerated in subsection (b) and (c) of section 4(1) of the RTI Act, equal importance and emphasis should be given to other public interests like confidentiality of sensitive information, fiduciary relationships, efficient operation of governments, etc.. The RTI Act should not be allowed to be misused in a manner where indiscriminate demands are made in the name of seeking information.

Ashok Kumar v. Ministry of Power in CIC/LS/A/2011/002230

- 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)