What people say about us!

Your website is a very good and reliable source not only for me but for thousands others like me. Keep up the good work Sir.

Vikram Kapoor

In UP seems Maya's vote bank is intact!!!
In her vote bank anti incumbency has had minimal impact!!

Congress has failed to split Mulayam's Muslim vote!!!
'We've punctured cycle' Congress karr rahi thi abh takk gloat!!

By the looks of it Congress is running on its pally Media's hot air!!!
Congress is more like a tortoise but Pally Media saying it is like a Hare!!

Seems the survey that Congress got done was misleading!!!
Seems down the garden path Congress ko voter was leading!!

Voter has become abs shaana!!!
And by the looks of it Congress ko Public yaad karra dehgi both Nani and Nana!

Kudos to Rahul because he's given it all!!
Though I'm sure his detractors will say 'wherever he campaigns Congress does fall'!

Maya says Gandhis treat elections like a picnic!!!
And invites to the picnic the entire Gandhi and extended family click!!

Akhilesh has said what is so great about Rahul eating a Dalit cooked meal!!
Says his cook of 8 years is a Dalit so what is the big deal???

When you pay for a survey you could get a result aimed at pleasing the client!
Questions put to sample being surveyed that are client pliant!!

Did Ghadkari include his name in the 'list of 6 probable candidates for PM's post'?
I recall 'I'll be PM one day' he used to boast!!!

The faster BJP realizes 'Modi is its only hope' the better!!!
'PM wars' between leaders karr rahi hai BJP ko fetter!!

Should undertake a smart campaign to show all inclusive growth in Gujarat!!
A Sarkaar that generates jobs and does not believe in giving kairaath (dole)!!

Teaches people to fish and also gives them opportunity to fish!!
And not make 'vote banks dependent on getting pakki pakayi fish dish'!!

Said this proverbially as Gujarat has a huge veggie presence!!!
BJP now needs to drill with Gujarat example into majority minority sense!!

More to reduce Allies allergy to Modi!!!!
And fill up the ditches joh Modi ke liye Congress ne hai khodi!!

In Goa Congress has promised a bridge over area that is landlocked!!!
By BJP this is going to be 'avidly mocked'!!

You have heard of Bridge over River Kawai!!
Now in Goa Congress has promised Bridge over River Hawai (hawaa mein or fib)!!

Joke.. Indian Minister visited Russian counterpart and was in total awe!!
Because in the Minister of a Socialist Country's home sheer opulence he saw!!

The Russian seeing his surprise pointed to a bridge and said 'this is 10% of bridge's cost'!
The Russian came visiting and when he saw the opulence in Indian Mantri's home he was lost!

The Indian Mantri seeing Russian's shock said 'do you see that bridge'???
The Russian strained his eye but he could not even see a footbridge!

The Indian Mantri then proudly said 'this is 100% of the bridge'!!
Power for Netas is time to 'pillage!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Is there going to be a price war in aviation sector?
The minister has already cleared the proposal to import aviation fuel which will help the cash strapped airline burdened with skewed oil pricing policy but will the outcome of free imports lead to a price war is the whispers in aviation circles.

Maharashtra has PSU's liquidating for 17 years
Maharashtra has 85 state PSUs, that employ 199,000 which has a cumulative loss of Rs 1,360 crore. Interestingly, of these 85 State PSUs, 23 are classified as non-working and three have been under liquidation for period varying between 17 and 24 years.

What is Ashok Chavan upto these days?
It is heard that former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is going to Delhi to complain about reasons of Congress's failure and he
is likely to blame present CM Prthviraj Chavan for the same.

Do recent actions of Pulok Chaterjee give hope to industry?
India Inc is once again simmering with hope after Coal India was given a diktat to immediately provide coal to the power utilities, now the industry hopes that Companies Bill and GST will also be cleared in the coming budget. Will the PMO's new avtar live upto its image?

No wrong in elected representative addressing a bureaucrat as "Sir"?
There is nothing wrong in an elected representative addressing a bureaucrat as "Sir" . The above conclusion has been drawn from the responses received during a debate conducted by whispersinthecorridors.com, to elicit whether it is appropriate for an
elected representative to address a bureaucrat as "Sir"?

The issue came to the fore when, recently, Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik asked his Cabinet Ministers to maintain dignity of the office. Patnaik conveyed his mind when a Minister addressed "Sir" to an IAS officer in his presence. "You are Cabinet Minister and should maintain your dignity" the Chief Minister was reported to have said.

The whispersinthecorridors.com , thus, asked its surfers "How far it is appropriate for an elected representative to address a bureaucrat as "Sir". And the majority respondents said - There is nothing wrong in an elected representative addressing a bureaucrat as "Sir".

While some said that Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik's advisory to his Cabinet colleagues to refrain from addressing the bureaucrats as 'Sir', was unwarranted, others said that it reflects his feudalistic and hierarchical mindset .

While K Y Dasu, DIG/Retd. (CISF) said, "An elected representative addressing a bureaucrat as 'Sir', is neither a crime nor political taboo and there is nothing wrong in it", TVS Narayan said "Politicians calling Bureaucrats 'Sir' is perfectly in order. Not every politician need do this. It is a relative equation, where the Politician might be giving value to the person and not to the position. The politician must be a person of propriety and stature who wanted to give due respect to another individual. Nothing wrong in the salutation. I do not say everybody should do it".

Yet another respondent A K Saxena who is a retired civil servant asserted that Patnaik's advisory to his Cabinet colleagues to refrain from addressing the bureaucrats as 'Sir', was unwarranted. "He owns a feudalistic and hierarchical mindset . Ego massage is an important aspect of Communication skill. If an elected representative addresses a bureaucrat as 'Sir', his job is completed quickly and without bribe", he said.

Others like J B Sinha, NVK Prabhakar, S K Tewari were also of the opinion that there was nothing wrong in elected representative addressing a bureaucrat as "Sir".

However, those who feel that a Minister addressing a bureaucrat as 'Sir' is not appropriate said that it was incorrect because though 'Sir' is just an addressing word, in India, it is invariably associated with seniority and superiority. "Therefore in Indian context the minister calling a bureaucrat as 'Sir' is not appropriate", claimed Nandan.

"Bureaucrats are public servants and elected representatives represent the people. Therefore it is inappropriate for an elected representative (of the public) to address a bureaucrat (a public servant) as Sir", says Ajay adding "But this is India, Sab Chalta Hai, Sir"

For details : Read February issue of the Whispers In The Corridors

BUREAUCRACY

44 IAS officers of 1992 batch empanelled in GoI
As many as 44 IAS officers of 1992 batch and various cadres have been empanelled as Joint Secretary or equivalent in Government of India. The officers include: Ashish K Bhutani of Assam-Meghalaya cadre; Jayesh Ranjan, K Vijayand, Sanajay Jaju, Vikas Raj of AP cadre; Dipak Kumar Singh, Chanchal Kumar, Harjot Kaur Bamhrah, Hukum Singh Meena, Ravi Manubhai Parmar of Bihar cadre; Dinesh K Srivastava of Chattisgarh cadre; Nidhi Khare of Jharkhand cadre; K Ellangovan of Kerala cadre; Vimlendra Sharan, Om Prakash N Gupta, Manisha Arun Patankar of Maharashta cadre; Kailash Chandra Gupta, Ashish Srivastava, Neelam Shammi Rao, V L Kantha Rao, Kalpana Srivastava, Ravindra Kumar Pastore, Seema Sharma of Madhya Pradesh cadre; Sriram Taranikanti, Shashi Ranjan Kumar, Rakesh Ranjan, Vulunmang Vualnam of Manipur-Tripura cadre; Sanjay Kumar of Nagaland; Sarvjit Singh, Raji Pramod Srivastava, K A P Sinha of Punjab cadre; Rajat K Mishra of Rajasthan cadre; Rajendra Kumar, Neeraj Mittal, Rajesh Lakhani, Mangat Ram Sharma, Pradeep Yadav of Tamil Nadu cadre; Rakesh Kumar of UK cadre; Narendra Bhooshan and Anurag Srivastava of Uttar Pradesh cadre; Rajeev Verma, Ashwani Kumar, Sanjiv Kumar of AGMUT cadre and Barun Kumar Ray of West Bengal cadre.

P K Sinha to be Secretary, Shipping
P K Sinha is being appointed as Secretary, Shipping. He is a 1977 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Sharad Gupta is new Secretary Official Languages
Name of Sharad Gupta has been cleared for the post of new Secretary Official Languages in the Government of India.He is 1977 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre .
(We said this only yesterday)

A K Banerjee selected as Director (Fin.), ONGC Ltd
A K Banerjee, GGM, ONGC, has been selected for the post of Director (Finance), ONGC Limited. As many as 12 persons were interviewed for the same.

Rajasekharan to be new GM Northern Railways
General Manager of the RCF Rajsekharan is being tipped to be new GM of the Northern Railways.

Ms Rita Teaotia is new AS Information Technology
Ms Rita Teaotia will be new Additional Secretary Information Technology in the Government of India. She is 1981 batch IAS officer
of Gujarat cadre.

Uncertainty about new Steel Secretary
Uncertainty about new Secretary Steel continues.

Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma to be in Delhi on Feb. 23
Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma is going to return to Delhi from his election tour of Uttar Pradesh, on February 23, 2012.

Home Secretary proposes and Home Minister disposes
Now all eyes are on the PMO to decide the extension in service to Mizoram Chief Secretary Vanhela Pachuau. Infact,Union Home Secretary R K Singh had reportedly rejected the recommendation of the Mizoram Chief Minister for granting six months extension in service beginning March 1. The CM wanted an extension to his CS for the implementation of Congress Policies and Programmes in the state. When the file reached to the Home Minister P Chidambaram ,he reportedly recommended extension to Pachuau.

Awasthi to get extension in CBI?
Hitesh Chandra Awasthi, Joint Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)is likely to get further extension of one year in CBI. He is an IPS officer of 1985 batch who belongs to Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Uncertainty still on chiefs of UTI, LIC
Uncertainty prevails as far as appointments of regular chiefs of UTI Asset Management Company (AMC) & the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India were concerned.

Mystery shrouds delay in Ms. Sadhana Dixit's elevation
Mystery shrouds delay in Ms. Sadhana Dixit's elevation as Member (Finance) Telecom Commission. Her file has been lying in the PMO for a pretty long time. She is an IP&TAFS officer of 1976 batch. Is Defence Minister A K Anthony something to do with this appointment?
(We said this on June 6, 2011)

N C Sinha's elevation as GM stuck up
As the grapevine has it, the CVC clearance has been denied in case of N.C. Sinha for elevation as a General Manager (GM) in Railways.
Presently he is Hubly based Chief Operations Manager (COM) with South Western Railway (SWR).

IAS officer seeks VRS
1990 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre S.E.Sekhara Babu has put in his papers, seeking voluntary retirement from service .

Why Gopalan is shifting to new house?
Secretary DEA R Gopalan who is scheduled to retire on May 1 is shifting to a new Government house in Delhi. Any significance -one can
only wait and watch.

Is a report against Lt Gen Bikram Singh ready?
Grapevine has it that a report against Lt Gen Bikram Singh is being moved from the Army Headquarters directly.It may be recalled that Lt
Gen Bikram Singh is a powerful contender for the post of next Army Chief.

S P Singh moves to Delhi from Mizoram
S P Singh has been moved from Mizoram to Delhi .He is 1984 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

Reena Ray goes to Mizoram
Reena Ray has been transferred from Delhi to Mizoram.She is 1984 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

Is the coming year challenging for SEBI chief?
The SEBI Chairman UK Sinha has completed one year stint though the year has been marred with some controversy it was a year of consolidation and continuity. Sinha's years at North Block and UTI did come in very handy in such situations. However the coming year is likely to more challenging, as the markets will react to the global and domestic economic challenges. The task ahead for the SEBI Chief is cut out as he will have to make the primary market more efficient and arket manipulation cases will have to be dealt with a firm hand. Sinha's equation with the ministry will doubtless help him along the way.

Three IAS cleared for ACS rank
Two 1979 batch IAS officers Dr Amitabh Rajan and T C Benjamin and 1980 batch IAS officer Swadheen K Kshtriya have been cleared for ACS rank in Maharsahtra.

Know Dr Hari Om: DM Kanpur
Dr. Hari Om District Magistrate (DM) Kanpur City, who has taken action against AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi & others is
Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer of 1997 batch. This is his 10th district as DM. Earlier, he had served in Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Koshambi etc. Dr. Tripathi may have shot into limelight now but he is a well known literary figure. Having studied at Allahabad University & Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr. Tripathi has to his credit three books. As the grapevine has it, the action against Gandhi was taken due to security constraints on account of the Mahashivratri festival. He told whispersinthecorridors.com that it was purely an administrative decision.

Who will be new Chairman of IIM Ahemdabad?
Who will succeed Vijaypath Singhania as Chairman of the IIM Ahemdabad? Names of Dr R A Mashelkar, Deepak Parekh and A M Naik are in circulation.

S Narsing Rao to be maiden IAS to head CIL
S Narsing Rao Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the state controlled Singareni Collieries Company of Andhra Pradesh is the maiden IAS officer who will be Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Coal India Ltd. He has been CMD of the Singareni Collieries company since September 2006.He is an IAS officer of 1986 batch who belongs to the Andhra Pradesh cadre. Temporary charge was earlier held by Sushil Chandra Verma, a1949-batch IAS officer of MP cadre. Presently, Ms. Zohra Chatterji Additional Secretary Coal is holding additional charge as CMD of the CIL. She is an IAS officer of the 1979 batch who hails from the Uttar Pradesh (UP) cadre. In early 1980 M.S. Gujaral former Chairman Railway Board (CRB) had served as CIL's CMD. He had been able to attain a major turnaround during his stint in the CIL.

Sudhir Kumar Tiwari promoted
Sudhir Kumar Tiwari, IES, promoted as Economic Adviser, Animal Husbandry Sudhir Kumar Tiwari, Director, Agriculture and Cooperation,
has been promoted to Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) and posted as Economic Adviser, Animal Husbandry. He is an Indian Economic Service (IES) officer of 1985 batch.

12 posts of Judges vacant in Delhi HC
As many as 12 posts of judges have been lying vacant in Delhi High Court against 48 approved strength including five posts of Permanent
Judges against 29 approved strength and 7 of Additional Judges against 19 approved strength.

CBDT seeks applications for posts of Directors
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is seeking applications from the willing officers for the posts of Directors falling vacant soon in FT& TR-I division, ITCC division, IAT-I division ITA-I division and V & I Division in CBDT. The applications can be sent to the office before February 27, 2012.

Vijay Kumar is back from UN Mission
2009 batch IDAS officer is back to the parent cadre from UN Mission. He is posted in Chandigarh.

IAS reshuffle in Andhra Pradesh
M Chaya Ratan has been appointed Special Chief Secretary (Home) . She will replace bB P Acharya.D Sambasiva Rao has been appointed Principal Secretary (Fiscal Policy) in the Finance Department.Praveen Prakash has been made Commissioner of Public Health and Family Welfare.J Shyamala Rao has been posted as the Metropolitan Commissioner in place of 1986-batch officer Rajeshwar Tiwari, who was moved out as Principal Secretary (School Education).Neetu Kumari Prasad will now be District Magistrate of East Godavari, while Anita Rajendra will take over the same post in Prakasam.M Dana Kishore has been shifted to Minorities Welfare Department as Secretary.

Gujarat Tourism prepares ground for hosting Gujarat Travel Mart from Feb 22
Gujarat Tourism has prepared the ground for organizing second consecutive edition of 'Gujarat Travel Mart' from February 22, 2012 in
Gandhi Nagar. The event will be inaugurated by Jaynarayan Vyas Minister for Tourism with the Government of Gujarat at 6.00 pm at Exhibition Hall No. 2, Mahatma Mandir Exhibition Centre, Gandhinagar. According to Principal Secretary, Tourism, Vipul MIttra, the second edition of 'GujaratTravel Mart' which is set on a B2B platform with over 200 registered buyers fromover 30 countries exploring business opportunities for discerning travel and tourism products, will make the event one of the most sought after travel events in the country. Gujarat contributes to 16% of the industrial production of the country and has also mobilised the highest share (12.7%) of the investments in the country. As a cheer to the hotel industry, as many as 37 hotel-resorts have been given approval by the government. It is the biggest ever inbound travel event in Gujarat. The hosted buyers are from the following countries: Australia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Fiji Islands, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Zimbabwe. Vipul Mittra, who is an IAS officer of 1986 batch and belongs to the Gujarat cadre, said "the event has support of major travel - trade and hospitality association in India such as 'Association of Domestic Tour Operators Association of India (ADTOI), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), Indian Association of Tour Operators, etc. The event is being managed by 'Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd. The Mart will last till February 24. Mittra said that the added advantage in this year's exhibition is that there will be exhibition of airlines, adventure, travels and tourism, new circuit for road and railway package, water transportation, hotel resort etc. Around one lakh visitors are expected to visit this event. A special attraction of FAM tour is an integral part of the exhibition. The travel community will get an opportunity to discover and experience the colourful and exotic tourist destinations of Gujarat. This event is supported by major travel-trade and hospitality association in India i.e. ADTOI, ATOAI and IATO. A real attraction in the exhibition will be 'Gujarat Pavilion' which will showcase the different facets of Gujarat such as festivals of Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi oriented tours, heritage hotels, Buddhist trails in Gujarat, wild life resorts etc. GTM will showcase 'Gujarat' as India's key travel source market, Mittra added.

Kailash Kulkarni to join as CEO, L&T Mutual Funds (UPDATED)
Kailash Kulkarni, National Head- Sales, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company has put his papers. He is expected to join as CEO, L & T Mutual Funds.

Ms Suyash likely to join as CEO, UTI Mutual Funds (UPDATED)
Ms. Ashu Suyash is expected to join as CEO UTI Mutual Funds. Presently, she is MD and CEO of Fidelity Mutual Funds Company.


Fidelity Mutual Funds plans to exit from Indian market (UPDATED)
Fidelity Mutual Funds is planning to exit from Indian Market. It has appointed J P Morgan to search a strategic buyer for its portfolio. Over a period of time they have accumulated a loss of 350 Crores.

P C Sabharwal is no more (UPDATED)
Former 1976 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre P C Sabharwal has passed away in Delhi. He was 61.

Singhal brothers bereaved (UPDATED)
Father of two Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officers Mukul Singhal and Arun Singhal has passed away in Lucknow.

Krishan Kumar appointed Ambassador Morocco (UPDATED)
Krishan Kumar presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External affairs, has appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom
of Morocco.
(We said this on February 13)

Meena appointed HC to Guyana (UPDATED)
Puran Mal Meena presently Joint Secretary in the Minisry of External Affairs, has been appointed as the next Hight Commissioner of India to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. He is 1983 batch IFS officer.
(We said this on February 10)

Subrata Bhattacharjee appointed Ambassador to Guatemala (UPDATED)
Subrata Bhattacharjee presently Deputy Chief of Mission in Embassy of India, Cairo, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Guatemala.He is 1989 batch IFS officer.
(We said this on February 4)

UPSC announces final results of Combined Defence Services Exam (I) 2011 (UPDATED)
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced the final results of Combined Defence Services Examination (I)-2011. A total of 356 candidates (272 Men and 84 Women), have finally qualified the same.

Snehlata Kumar appointed Consultant Planning Commission (UPDATED)
Ms Snehlata Kumar has been appointed Consultant in the Planning Commission in the rank of Additional Secretary. She is 1979 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Brig. J Verma selected as CMD, HDPEL (UPDATED)
Brig. J Verma, SM, VSM, DDG (MS) under the Ministry of Defence, has been selected for the post of Chairman and Managing Director of Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers Limited (HDPEL). Five persons were interviewed for the same.


PAKISTAN WHISPERS
Who Is the 'Senior Officer' Involved in Nurses Recruitment Bribery Scandal?
The Punjab provincial government had launched a special drive for recruitment of 1000 nurses as ordered by the CM Shahbaz Sharif in September last year. While a special recruitment team headed by Addl secretary (health) Khurshid Zaidi with a posse of senior officers from health department and 10 section officers from GAD was still holding interviews complaints were received that bribes between 40 and 70 thousand rupees were being demanded from the candidates. Three officials associated with the recruitments were suspended, further process including joining of duties by 300 selected candidates halted and a thorough probe by the health department started during the course of which the name of a senior officer of the health department started emerging as the delinquent. Soon after the inquiry officer was instructed to shelve the inquiry to avoid incurring the wrath of the CM. The matter has frozen since.

Poor Progress of Development Projects by Districts & Subordinate Entities Causes Concern in KP
Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is concerned at the poor performance of district, tehsil and municipal administrators in development projects. Rs 1.52 billion earmarked for the purpose for the cxurrent fiscal (1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012) may remain largely unutilised as even formal approval of the competent authority has not been obtained till now. Besides there is a carry forward liability of Rs 583 million for last year's unfinished projects out of which only Rs 230 million have been posted till Oct 2011. While the district government blames 'political interference' for their poor performance authorities in the state secretariat at Peshawar hold the lack of competent and well trained manpower at the districts and tehsils responsible for the fiasco. The matter is coming up for a thorough review at the state headquarters in Peshawar at a meeting to be chaired by the CM.i

"We Will Return With Our Beloved Ones Or Die Here" : Relatives of Missing Persons
Relatives of 'missing persons' (those picked up by the ISI) have been camping in front of the Parliament house in Islamabad for over two weeks now. Led by Amna Masood janjua whose husband too is among the missing persons the campers have declared their resolve to return only when their missing relatives are handed back to them or else "we will die here". Bibi Amna has also demanded that those responsible for abducting the missing persons must be exposed and punished.

Army Major From ISI Summoned By Islamabad High Court
Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi of Islamabad High Court has summoned Maj Tariq of ISI for personal appearance on March 13 in a case
relating to two missing persons both of whom are Doctors and brothers. Dr Abdul Qayyum and Dr Abdul Waheed have been missing since August 2011 after they were allegedly picked up by ISI from Rahimyar Khan and Lahore respectively. High Court decided to summon Maj Tariq after being informed by the counsel that another detainee Osman Hanif picked along with the doctor brothers who has since been released had in his statement before the Magistrate confirmed that they were picked up by Major Tariq and kept in confinement in a building in Islamabad's Sector G-9/4.

NAB Planning to Reopen Cases Against Nawaz Sharif Family?
There are reports that the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) retired admiral Fasih Bokhari has temporarily put on hold the bureau's decision to reopen cases relating to non repayment of bank loans of Rs 4.9 billion obtained by former PM Nawaz Sharif's family in the mid 1990s. According to bureau sources the former PM had in the agreement vide which he had gone into exile to Saudi Arabia agreed to freezing of his family's business assets but had on his return to Pakistan petitioned the courts asking for the same to be unfrozen and returned to him. In January this year the apex court had upheld a judgement of the Lahore High Court that the bureau should return to the Sharifs Rs 115 million and immovable assets of Hudbiya paper mills lying with the National bank Islamabad. Admiral Bookhari is reported to have told senior officers of the bureau that a comprehensive decision on reopening of cases against all politicians will be taken shortly. RegardsNN Ojha

DEBATE - Should bureaucrats alone be held accountable for policy decisions ?

Bureaucrats now feel that Ministers and Politicians also be held responsible for 'policy decisions' taken by the government. They also want that entire cabinet should be held accountable for policy decisions. How far they are correct in their thinking ?

Mail your to the point views to suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com or mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com

CORPORATE

R Krishnan to succeed Sachdev in BHEL
R Krishnan is going to succeed Anil Sachdev on April 1 as Director (Personnel) in the BHEL Corporate office. He is presently ED Hyderabad unit of the BHEL.

(We said this on Sept. 14, 2011)

Has Vijay Mallya's position in Aviation Sector weakened?
Has Vijay Mallya's position in Aviation Sector weakened in the past few years ? Yes, if the insiders are to be believed. They say that his
position has weakened after the departure of Prafulla Patel from the Civil Aviation Ministry.

Rajkumar Dhoot takes over as new president of ASSOCHAM
Rajkumar Dhoot, Member of Parliament and Managing Director of Videocon Industries, today took over as president of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) while Rana Kapoor, founder, Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of Yes Bank will be the Senior Vice-president and Sunil Kanoria, Vice-chairman of SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited is the Vice-president. Dhoot said that the ASSOCHAM established in 1920 would continue to play a leading transformational role nationally and globally. "The lead chamber will empower Indian enterprises by focusing on the most critical and relevant issues in a highly impact-oriented manner." Outgoing president, Dilip Modi, Managing Director of Spice Mobility, said it was a memorable experience and a great learning curve to head the organisation representing four lakh members across the country. Dhoot was first elected to Rajya Sabha in June 2002 and served the
parliamentary standing committee on finance, consultative committees for the ministry of commerce and industry, and the ministry of urban development and poverty alleviation. He has been consultative committee member for the ministry of finance and permanent special invitee at the consultative committee for the ministry of petroleum and natural gas. In May 2008, Dhoot was re-elected to Rajya Sabha and is currently member of the committee on information technology. Born on September 11, 1955 at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, Dhoot is also involved in social work which includes promoting education, running a multi-specialty charitable hospital and constructing roads in Gangapur and Aurangabad.

UBI to hire 2000 staff
United Bank of India is going to recruit 2000 staff to fill vacancies throughout the country.

Nageswar is GM SBI Bangalore
C Vemkat has taken over as General Manager Network in the Bangalore Circle of the State Bank of India.

Thacker appointed Part-time Director, Canara Bank
Pankaj Gopalji Thacker has been appointed as a Part-time Non-official Director on the Board of Directors of Canara Bank for a period of
three years.

Ramakrishnan resigns as ED Bajaj Electricals
R Ramakrishnan has resigned as Executive Director of Bajaj Electricals.

Jha appointed director of Chattisgarh Industries
Ram Bharos Jha has been appointed as director of Chattisgarh Industries.

Jain resigns from Chattisgarh Industries
Arihant Jain has resigned from the directorship of Chattisgarh Industries.

Thirumurthy appointed additional director Salona Cotspin
C Thirumurthy has been appointed as additional director of Salona Cotspin.

Poddar appointed independent director Gopala Polyplast
Rajkumar Poddar has been appointed as independent director of Gopala Polyplast.

Sharma resigns as director of Indian Infotech & Software
Suresh Chandra Sharma has resigned from directorship of Indian Infotech & Software.

Murarka appointed additional director of Indian Infotech & Software
Varsha Murarka has been appointed as additional director Indian Infotech & Software.

Chandak resigns from National Plywood Industries
Suresh Kumar Chandak has resigned from the directorship of National Plywood Industries.

Keshari resigns as Independent Director, Gallantt Ispat Ltd
Virendra Kumar Keshari has resigned as Independent Director of Gallantt Ispat Ltd .

Bidasaria resigns as Director, Girdharilal Sugar And Allied Industries Ltd
M. S. Bidasaria has resigned as Director of Girdharilal Sugar And Allied Industries Ltd w.e.f. January 25, 2012.

Agarwal appointed Addl. Director, Girdharilal Sugar And Allied Industries Ltd
Ram Gopal Agrawal has been appointed as Additional Director of Girdharilal Sugar And Allied Industries Ltd.

Muthiah appointed Vice Chairman, Tamilnadu Petroproducts Ltd
Tamilnadu Petroproducts Limited has appointed Ashwin C. Muthiah who is currently posted as Director as Vice Chairman of the company in the place of Dr. A.C. Muthiah. However,Dr.A.C. Muthiah will continue to be a Director on the Board of Directors of the company.

Bhardwaj appointed Addl. Director, Amtek Auto Ltd
R.N. Bhardwaj has been appointed as an Additional Director of Amtek Auto Ltd with immediate effect.

Poddar appointed Director, Gopala Polyplast Ltd
Rajkumar Poddar, has been appointed as an Independent Director of Gopala Polyplast Ltd.

Tulsyan resigns as Director, Tricom India Ltd
Hariom Tulsyan has resigned as Director of Tricom India Ltd w.e.f. January 6, 2012.

Kathpalia resigns as Director, BS Transcomm Ltd
Kapil Kathpalia, Director of BS Transcomm Ltd has resigned as Director of the company citing personal reasons.

Singh resigns as Company Secy. Vardhman Textiles Ltd
Mohan Singh has resigned as Company Secretary of Vardhman Textiles Ltd w.e.f. February 6, 2012.

DEBATE (1)

Yes, as per Constitutional structure only and only bureaucrats are responsible for implementation of law enacted by legislature as per the objects and reasons of the law enacted. If bureaucrats have any doubt about the policy decision being taken by them, they have provision to consult the judiciary under civil procedure code and make reference which provision is not being utilized by bureaucracy due to prevailing corruption attitude. If this procedure is adopted no politician can interfere in policy making and implementation of law enacted for the welfare of citizens/public, being the matter subjudice. The council of minister only ratify the policy/decision for further implementation. Large amount of tax payers is paid to bureaucrats as salary and prerequisites for implementation of law without discrimination. For this purpose huge workforce has been provided to them on the expenses of tax payers. Due to self interest and prevailing corruption large number of policy decision are taken involving council of ministers, may be by hiding facts put before them and not following the right procedures for convenience. If subordinates to the bureaucrats do not work and perform as per law and the directions/orders of bureaucrats, they have been given enormous power to deal with them under Conduct Rules and take disciplinary action. Such staff even may be removed even without enquiry. But due to own convenience action is not taken by bureaucrats. Bureaucrats must be taken up for ignoring such power which results in corruption (not only financial corruption but also moral corruption). There is no dearth of competent persons in the country to be replaced in place of the corrupt persons. The need is the timely action as per law by bureaucrats. The present situation in the country is due to failure of bureaucracy and other law enforcing institutions including judiciary. Further, if the council of ministers feels that the implementation of policy is not producing the desired results as per the law enacted, they have power to make further amendment even by way of ordinance.

RK

DEBATE (2)

This is a shame that the Indian Administrative Service has failed to develop an ethos of evidence based policy making in the country. If the Service as a whole stands up to solely offer an advice that is based on facts and evidence then the Serving officers as well as new comers will be saved from further humiliation associated with such investigations and the consequent censure and penalty. As some one who has seen the service closely, I can say that this ostrich-like attitude shall definitely spell doom for the Service as well as for the people of this country. LBSNAA should take a lead in getting rid of this attitude as a basic ethos in the Officer trainees at the entry level.

Rajeev Kumar

FORUM

Misplaced zeal and corruption in Surat Police

On this Friday night, police raided a pre-marriage get together in a farm house in Surat. The only crime was people were consuming beer and whiskey. Around 30 prominent businessmen of Surat who pay 100s of crores of rupee in taxes were arrested for this so called crime. Their wives many of whom had never consumed liquor in their life were also detained and were released on payment of (Rs. 20 lakh bribe money). It seems that while consuming liquor is a serious crime , corruption is a way of life. The policemen also misbehaved with the ladies including pregnant ladies.

Ravi Asthana

Why Pranabdada still speaks English in Bengali accent?

One wonders why Pranabdada, with his long years in various Ministries, still speaks English in Bengali accent. In fact, most of the Bengalis who come on TV are very poor speakers. Bengalis must be a very intelligent lot but they should develop the capacity to express themselves fluently when they speak to media or in public.

Kumar

Mumbai CAT bench not working on full strength

This is regarding the pathetic condition in the Central Administrative Tribunal, Mumbai Bench. It has been neglected for the past five years and is still settling matters filed in the year 2006 on wards. The matters filed in the year 2009 onwards are sometimes listed but left unheard, and given a long date, of two to three months. Against a sanctioned strength of two division benches, it is working with only one bench, thus delaying the matters. It's website also is not working for the last four months, so as to hide the internal situation.

Gaurang Sharma

Evidence of corruption or human rights violation necessary for schedule II organisations

Theappellant filed an application under the RTI Act seeking certain information from the respondent organization. The Commission noted that the respondent is an exempted organization listed under Schedule II of the RTI Act and therefore, is not amenable to any provision contained in the Act by virtue of Section 24. Furthermore, the information sought by the Appellant does not pertain to any violation of human rights and allegation of corruption, and therefore, does not fall under Proviso (I) to Section 24 of the RTI Act. The Commission ruled that an 'allegation of corruption' does not mean mere conjectures and surmises. Allegations ought to be supported by cogent and sound evidence which can lead the Commission to frame a prima facie view about corrupt or malpractices being involved in any given case. The Commission rejected the appeal ruling that such element is clearly missing as no evidence or material has been placed by the Appellant to establish prima facie case of corruption or violation of human right.

Comments

In cases of organisations which are beyond the purview of the RTI Act, an applicant must put up evidence of corruption or human rights violation for his application to be considered as a valid RTI application.

Shri Anil Prasad v. Sashastra Seema Bal in No.CIC/SS/A/2011/001855

- 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)