Who are our viewers?

I saw the site today. Impressive indeed. New format is very good and systematic. Keep it up.

S C Agrawal

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Robert says ' If I feel like it I will become a Neta'!!!!

And said ' Next in line is Priyanka and then our Beta'!!!

His saying Priyanka's time will come means he too feels Rahul's 'unfit'!!

If Rahul flops this is the only way into the political pic Priyanka does fit!!

Rahul they say has grown up during this Poll!!!

Playing the 'lead role'!!!

But sadly often he makes statements that reek of doublespeak!!!

I think he should check out Congress's actions before he does speak!!

Like on corruption.... on not allying with the nefarious lot!!!

It's like in Billiards the cue ball both times he did pot!!

Modi not campaigning will hit BJP's prospects!!!

On being asked to come Modi just responded with 'his respects'!!

Though some say BJP does not want to waste Modi now!!!

And though Modi wanted to come to Party he did bow!!!

Maya knows she faces monumental anti incumbency!!!

But to tackle this she shows no urgency!!!

Maybe she feels her Vote Bank is solid and will not waiver!!!!

She feels her plank that she's Dalit ki Beti will save her!!

Cycle is now moving at the speed like one of those speedy four wheelers!

Problem is its image of being a party of goondas and wheeler and dealers!!

Swamy's in Sri Lanka and Sonia and PC are in a tizzy!!!!

Because info they've got is Swamy on the mobile has been a bit too busy!!

Yes the Mobile number is local and despite best efforts number is unknown!!!

Swamy's 'known' phones/mobiles are been tapped round the clock is well known!!

Will Swamy get the info he's vowed to reveal?????

If he gets it I'm sure fate of at least 'two' he's going to seal!!

Swamy has to realize now people want proof of his finger pointing!!!

And if he does not back his finger pointing with proof it's going to be disappointing!!

Local Polls in Maharashtra are on!!!

And these will reveal how down UPA's gone!!!

Will Pawar's fib he's going to retire do the job????

And will Kalmadi be able to show his value with the money he did rob (fund his men)??

Will the two Senas cut each other to size???

Or has there really been in Maharashtra 'saffron's' rise????

Election pe election means kaam kaaj stops in Poll States!!!

Like Punjab and Uttrakhand are 'at ease' as for results Punjab and Uttrakhnad waits!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

President's rule in Uttar Pradesh?
In the political circles it is widely believed that in the event of hung Vidhan Sabha, President's rule is going to be imposed in Uttar Pradesh.

Kudos to Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar as he goes global
Bihar Government being headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will be organizing a three day global summit in Patna to draw a road map for the development of Bihar. It will be held from February 16, 2012. A galaxy of experts, besides NRIs from Bihar, based in UK, USA and Canada will attend the summit. Certain economists including those from London School of Economics (LSE), London, who have studied Bihar in the past, will as well attend the maiden mega event of its kind.

Whose blood is Amar Singh baying for?
It is heard that former SP, General Secretary is creating enough trouble for his arch rival Azam Khan who was responsible for Amar Singh's departure.

BUREAUCRACY

List of GMs for elevations as EDs in banks finalised
As the grapevine has it, names of certain General Managers (GMs) of Public Sector (PS) banks have been okayed for elevation as Executive Directors (EDs). They include S K Kalra, Anil Kumar (both from Allahabad Bank), P Srinivas and R Atmaram (both from Andhra Bank), Arun Tiwari from Bank of Baroda, Bhupinder Nayyar and R K Goyal (both from Bank of India), Upagupta Mohapatra from Central Bank of India, C.G.Pinto & K G Shenoy (both from Corporation Bank, Sudhir Kumar Jain and Sadhuram Bansal (both from Dena Bank), Malay Mukherjee from Indian Bank, K Subramanian from Indian Overseas Bank, Atul Gautam from Oriental Bank of Commerce, Ranjan Dhawan and B P Sharma (both from Punjab National Bank), Ambrish Nanda from United Bank of India, S K Sangar from Union Bank of India.

Rahul Khullar appointed Ambassador to Belgium
Rahul Khullar presently Commerece Secretary has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Belgium in succession to Jaimini Bhagwati. He will also be accredited as Ambassador of India to the Council of the European Union and The European Commission.
(We said this on December 2, 2011)

Will Rahul Khullar move to Belgium?
Final decision about the new Commerce Secretary will only be taken after the departure of Jaimini Bhagwati to UK from Brussels after February 12. Will Rahul Khullar move to Belgium, is a million dollar question.

Will there be any Secretary in the Department of Youth Affairs?
A piquant situation has arisen in the Government of India. Post of Secretary, Youth Affairs has been lying vacant for quite some time but the minister has opposed to the posting of any officer. He is of the view that Ministry of Sports and Youth Welfare can be managed only by one Secretary. One can now wait and watch.

Srinivasan to be Additional Secretary, Space!
S Srinivasan is being tipped to be Additional Secretary Space in the Government of India. He is a 1980 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.

Watal is now empanelled as Secretary
R P Watal has also been empanelled to the rank of Secretary in the Government of India. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

6 Brigadiers in fray for 2 posts of DIG in NSG
As many as six Brigadiers of Army are in fray for two posts of DIGs in National Security Guard (NSG). One post each of DIG, Operations & DIG, Training Centre has been lying vacant in the NSG. A high level regarding this is being held in Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Delhi on February 8, 2012. Among others it will be attended by NSG's Director General (DG) R.K. Medhekar & Ajay Chadha, Special Secretary (Internal Security), MHA.

T.R. Bajalia to be DMD, SIDBI
T.R.Bajalia who is currently Executive Director (ED), IDBI Bank Limited, will be new Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of SIDBI.

Whose babies are PS banks?
Whose babies are Public Sector (PS) banks? This question is a hot topic of discussion in business & corporate sector because inordinate delay is taking place in finalising Chairman & Managing Directors (CMDs) in six PS banks. Similar is the ordeal regarding new Executive Directors (EDs).

Uncertainty hampers working of PS banks
Normal working of Public Sector (PS) banks has been hit owing to uncertainty about a decision regarding new Chairman & Managing Directors (CMDs) & Executive Directors (EDs).

Will Joy Oomen opt for VRS?
Outgoing Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh, Joy Oomen is likely to seek VRS. He is 1977 batch IAS officer.

Antony Chacko selected as Director (Ope), HMT Ltd
Antony Chacko, MD, Ferro Scrap Nigam Limited (FSNL), has been selected for the post of Director (Operations), HMT Limited at a Public Enterprises Selection Board meeting held on Tuesday. Three persons had appeared for the interview.

Sood also accredited Ambassador, Monaco
Rakesh Sood, presently Ambassador of India to France has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Principality of Monaco, with residence in Paris.

Reshuffle in RBI on the anvil
As the grapevine has it, there is going to be re-allocation of responsibilities among Deputy Governors (DGs) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Devi Prasad Pande poised to be Secretary, Railway Board
Devi Prasad Pande who is presently Advisor in the Railway Board (RB) for Traffic -Transport Management (TTM) is poised to be new Secretary of the RB.

C K Mathew to be CS, Rajasthan
C K Mathew will assume charge as Chief Secretary (CS) Rajasthan on March 1,2012. He is an IAS officer of 1977 batch who belongs to the Rajasthan cadre.

Faiz-ur-Rehman is new CPMG, Gujarat Circle
Faiz-ur-Rehman (IPoS-1979), presently Chief PMG, Maharashtra Circle has been transferred and posted as Chief PMG, Gujarat Circle vice Ms Humera Ahmad (IPoS-1979), who is transferred as Chief PMG, Maharashtra Circle.

Cheema to return to West Bengal?
K S Cheema who is on deputation to Punjab is likely to return to the parent West Bengal cadre after the outcome of Vidhan Sabha polls. He is a 1993 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.

Will Reddy and Vini Mahajan return to Punjab?
It is heard that in the event of Amrinder Singh's return to power, 1985 batch IAS officer D P Reddy and 1987 batch IAS officer, Ms Vini Mahajan would return to the parent Punjab cadre from central deputation.

Name of Jindal in circulation for Ahemdabad?
Now another name, Atulesh Jindal, has been doing rounds for the post of DG (Investigations) Income Tax in Ahemdabad. 1978 batch IRS officer Jindal is presently posted in Udaipur.

Will Tripathi be DG (Investigations), IT in Hyderabad?
K K Tripathi is likely to be posted as DG (Investigations), Income Tax in Hyderabad.

Goyal is officiating DG, NDRF
Mukul Goyal, IG, National Disaster Response Force and Civil Defence (NDRF&CD), New Delhi will look after additional charge of Director General, NDRF&CD till further orders. He is an IPS officer of 1987 batch who belongs to the Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Sudesh Kumar goes to Shillong
Sudesh Kumar, IG, Border Security Force (BSF) has been transferred to Shillong frontier BSF. He is an IPS officer of 1987 batch who belongs to Kerala cadre.

Kundu is on foreign tour
Sanjay Kundu, IG (Operations), Border Security Force has gone abroad for one week on an official tour. He is an IPS officer of 1989 batch who belongs to Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Ms Kaur to continue in MHA
Ms Inderjeet Kaur, Director (P-I), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India will continue till a substitute joins. Her central deputation period is going to expire soon. She is an Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officer 1990 batch.

Bala Prasad is CEO, NMPB
Bala Prasad has been appointed CEO of the National Medicinal Plants Board (JS Level) in the Government of India. He is a 1983 batch IFS officer of Manipur-Tripura cadre.

Deo Dutt moves as Member, SSC
CEO of the National Medicinal Plants Board, Dr Deo Dutt has moved as Member of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). He is a 1984 batch IFS officer of Jharkhand cadre.

Post of IT Ombudsman vacant in CBDT
Post of Income Tax Ombudsman is vacant in CBDT.

Post of Asst. Director vacant in NCB
Post of Assistant Director is vacant in Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) under the Ministry of Home.

Post of JCIT/Addl. CIT (OSD) vacant in ITA division, CBDT
Post of JCIT/Addl. CIT (OSD) is vacant in ITA division of Central Board of Direct Taxes.

Rajshekhar to hold additional charge
Y V V J Rajshekhar, Joint Secretary, Power, NCT, Government of Delhi, will be holding the additional charge of OSD vigilance, IPGCL/PPCL, Joint Secretary, PWD. He is a DANICS Cadre Officer.

Transfer of IAS officer cancelled
Transfer of 2005 batch IAS officer of UT cadre Pawan Kumar Sain, to Goa has been cancelled.

Chhabra, unlikely to get extension?
M C Chhabra, IG (Modernization), BPR&D, is unlikely to get three months extension in Central Deputation tenure. He is an IPS officer of 1988 batch who belongs to the Odisha cadre.

Post of Dy. Director (Mgmt Services) vacant in ISTM, New Delhi
The post of Deputy Director (Management Services) has been advertised lying vacant in the Institute of Secretariat Traininig and Management (ISTM), New Delhi. Those willing to apply can send their applications to the Deputy Director (Administration), Institute of Secretariat Training and Management Administration block campus, Olof Plame Marg, New Delhi within two months.

Diversion of four DCIT posts in IT
Four posts in the grade of Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT) have been diverted from the CCIT (CCA), Delhi region to the TPL division.

PAKISTAN WHISPERS
Joy ride for police, magistracy in stolen cars
Islamabad High Court has ordered a thorough inquiry into allegations that some police officers have been encouraging car thefts in the city and the unclaimed recovered vehicles are being distributed on 'superdari' for personal use by senior police officers and magistrates. Eleven such cases, where the unclaimed stolen vehicles confiscated by the police have been made over inter alia for personal use of Islamabad (West) Judicial Magistrate, Magistrate (sudder), City Magistrate, Asstt Commissioner (sudder) and Asstt Commissioner (PM Secretariat), have been identified. The vehicles being used by these worthies include Corolla luxury cars, Toyota jeeps and Suzuki Mehran. Coming down heavily on the scamsters the high court has directed that apart from legal action a suitable entry should also be made in the CRs of the concerned officials and magistrates regarding their misconduct. During 2011 Islamabad police registered 396 cases of car theft and recovered 79 vehicles out of which the unclaimed vehicles were distributed on 'superdari'.

SC admits petition against possible sacking of Army Chief, ISI, DG
A three judge bench of Pakistan's Supreme Court has admitted a petition filed by Advocate FK Butt praying for restraining the federal government from sacking Army Chief Keyani and DG ISI Shuja Pasha. The petition filed soon after the sacking of the former Defence Secretary, Naeem Khalid Lodhi was returned by the apex court's registrar as not being maintainable but the bench presided over by Chief Justice, Iftekhar Mohammad Chowdhary dismissed the registrar's objection and admitted the petition for hearing. In the normal course Gen Keyani is to retire on 29 November 2013 and Shuja pasha on 19th March this year.

Transit facility for NATO supplies through Pakistan likely to be restored
Transit facility for military hardware and other supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan stopped some two months back in retaliation for NATO attack on Pakistani military outpost is likely to be restored after Pakistan's Parliament finalises new terms for the facility in the middle of February. Pakistan's Defence Minister, Chowdhary Ahmed Mukhtar in an interview to a private TV channel has advocated for restoration of the facility on a frame work of enhanced fees as the heavy trucks used for the supplies cause more damage to the roads than the normal goods carriers. The US is reportedly spending six times more to have the supplies delivered to the troops through alternative routes. Baluchistan on the Agenda of US House Committee on Foreign Affairs The US committee on foreign affairs is scheduled to devote a full session to discussion on Pakistan's troubled province of Baluchistan on 8th February 2012. The meeting is to be chaired by Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher co-author of a recent article with another congressman Louie Gohmert expressing support for an independent Baluchistan. The committee is likely to record testimony of three expert witnesses; a known pro Baluch independence supporter defence analyst Ralph Peters, an equally well known pro Pakistan (and obviously anti Baluch movement) professor of Georgetown university Christine Fair and Ali Dayan Hassan, Pakistan Director of Human Rights Watch. Pakistan watchers fear that the committee's deliberations might result in massive negative publicity for Pakistan on account of reports of massive human rights violations by the security forces in the province.

Srinivasan is AS & FA, Space (UPDATED)
Sudarsanam Srinivasan has been appointed as Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser, Department of Space. He is a 1980 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.
(We said this on January 27, 2012)

Akash Sharma selected as Director (Fin), TCIL (UPDATED)
Akash Sharma, Assistant VP Bajaj Hindustan Limited, has been selected for the post of Director (Finance), Tyre Corporation of India Limited (TCIL) at a Public Enterprise Selection Board meeting held on Wednesday.

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

India emerges as a hot destination for FDI
India has globally emerged as the hot destination as far as attracting foreign direct investments were concerned.

Mohanty is Director in NALCO
NR Mohanty has been appointed as the Director (Projects & Technical) of National Aluminium Company Limited.

Dr. V Vizia Sardhi, Director (HR), HPCL to retire in July
Dr. V Vizia Saradhi, Director, Human Resources, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), is retiring in July, 2012.

Prasad appointed Part-time Director, MMTC Ltd
MMTC Ltd has appointed Madhusudan Prasad, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India, New Delhi, as Part-time Nominee Director on the Board of MMTC Ltd.

Premanand resigns as Director, VIP Industries Ltd
T Premanand has resigned from the Board of Directors of VIP Industries Ltd w.e.f. January 31, 2012

Saha appointed Director (Works), VIP Industries Ltd
Ashish K. Saha has been appointed as a Whole-time Director of VIP Industries Ltd designated as Director ( Works) w.e.f. February 1, 2012.

Rathinam resigns as Director (Finance), BGR Energy Systems Ltd
S. Rathinam, Director (Finance) has resigned as Director of BGR Energy Systems Ltd w.e.f. February 7, 2012.

Parte resigns as Head (Legal), Man Industries (India) Ltd
Rajesh D. Parte, Group Company Secretary and Head (Legal), Man Industries (India) Ltd has resigned w.e.f. February 8, 2012.

Two directors appointed on Board of Simplex Trading & Agencies Ltd
Simplex Trading & Agencies Ltd has appointed Nilang P. Vaidya and Ankit A. Savla as directors on the Board of Directors the company.

Deshmukh appointed Addl. Director, Sicagen India Ltd
Sicagen India Limited has appointed Sunil Deshmukh as an Additional Director of the company with immediate effect.

Patil resigns as Company Secy., Goenka Diamond and Jewels Ltd
Ms Hemangi Shailesh Patil has resigned as Company Secretary of Goenka Diamond and Jewels Ltd w.e.f January 31, 2012.

Savita appointed Company Secy., Goenka Diamond and Jewels Ltd
Ms. Rashmi Omprakash Savita has been appointed as the Company Secretary of Goenka Diamond and Jewels Ltd w.e.f. February 1, 2012.

Virdi appointed Company Secy., Haryana Texprints (Overseas) Ltd
Ms. Jaspreet Kaur Virdi has been appointed as Company Secretary of Haryana Texprints (Overseas) Ltd w.e.f. November 14, 2011.

It is not clear

It is not clear how this order will affect ITS repatriation. Also, whether ITS repatriation is necessary??

Usha Agrawal

Is Shekhar Gupta in the race for Rajya Sabha membership?

Is it true that Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express is amongst the race of Rajya Sabha membership.

Ramesh

Fix deadline for disposing Court cases. The criteria should be first come first out. This was the recommendations of the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission accepted by the Government of India nothwithstanding the apex court's verdict on illegal first cum first out relating to 2G scam.

A Srivastava

Why should BSNL be affected by SC judgement?

The cancellation of licenses has no bearing on repatriation process. Or is the Minister looking for some excuse to spit out the problem which he had bitten but neither could chew nor digest.

Ram Kumar

Inequal distribution of work in Odisha

In Odisha state mostly one secretary is heading more than one department where he simple disposes file. Many are without work. There is no time for him to think of his department for innovation and developing a system beneficial for the public. The state takes pride in saying that the GDP growth of the state is the highest among the Indian states. But never say that the state is the poorest in India which is a fact. then where does the growth go? Will the state leaders introspect and take corrective steps or allow the state to continue to be poor? Was it the dream of the great leaders of Odisha?

Kalpana

Actual fight is between SP and BSP

As far as astrological predictions, my calculations indicates that there is actual fight is between SP and BSP where SP is in lead with around more than 150 seats leaving BSP behind to double digit. Because of Sani Sada Satti and Rahu positioned with birth moon may give a big jolt to Rahul Gandhi particularly in U.P. and also a shocking news to
BJP with about 50 seats.

V P Singh

Beauty of English prose!

I have studied the order of Judge O.P.Saini in the PC v/s SS. The entire order is an impressive scissors and paste work of several pronouncements of the Supreme Court & foreign courts. Hence criminal conspiracy also may be seen differently in different geographies. But none of the citations matches the 2G scam case. However, one fact is established: the ministers of the Congress Party had acted by the law. First it was the Law Minister, who advised that the whole issue be first considered by an empowered group of ministers in view of the case and various options indicated in the statement of the case.A responsible Telecom Minister should have become cautious after such sane advice. Then came the PM who directed the telecom minister to auction and not allot on FCFS basis in letter dated 02.11.2007 Then entered FM (PC).Judge Saini has recorded that the complaint didn't contain any allegations against PC nor any evidence led initially by SS when he examined himself on 07.01.2011. However, on 15.09.2011 the complainant filed an application under sec 311CrPC for summoning/recalling of witnesses for examination on behalf of the complainant and in that application only allegations were leveled against PC. The said application was allowed on 08.12.2011 and thereafter the complainant examined himself on 17.12.2011 and 07.01.2012. On the strength of the SC rulings cited, the Special CBI Court did not find merit in the case and dismissed it. So, there is not much to complain against the Judge, though the media has given the impression that the words and expressions are those of Judge O P Saini. Interesting as it may be,one para from this order needs to be reproduced (which is quoted from the citations by the SC):"A man joins a conspiracy by word or deed. However criminal responsibility for a conspiracy requires more than a mere passive attitude towards an existing conspiracy. One who commits an overt act with knowledge of the conspiracy is guilty. And one who tacitly consents to the object of a conspiracy and goes along with other conspirators, actually standing by while the others put the conspiracy into effect, is guilty though he intends to take no active part in the crime." The real import of this particular para is not very clear. May be there are other players, yet to be unveiled. Decidedly the Congress is out of this murky affair, but the SC will be approached to revisit earlier rulings on criminal conspiracy in white collar crimes of the 2G kind, as more than economic and financial interests of the nation the very security of the country is at stake. It is a different matter how India should govern itself!(SS=Subramaniam Swami; PC=P. Chidambaram; FCFS=First Come First Serve).

M L Gupta

Process of appointment of Ambassadors to be disclosed

The applicant sought various information from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) like the budget allocated to various divisions; salary and allowances being paid to the staff in Indian embassies; appointment process of Secretary/ Joint Secretaries/ Ambassadors; minutes of meeting of the Committees in MEA dealing with the above appointments etc. The PIO suggested the applicant to refer to some information available on the website of the MEA. The PIO further
informed that the appointment is as per the procedure laid down by the Government of India and as it involves examination of the ACR records of the officers, it cannot be provided under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. The minutes of meeting of the Committees in MEA dealing with the above appointments was denied under section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act. The Commission accepted that it would not be in the national interest to disclose the quantum of allowances paid to the staff exemption under Section 8(1)(a) was upheld. The Commission, however, directed to provide the process of appointment. The PIO states that there are three boards for dealing with personnel and postings. The Commission directed to provide the information on these and minutes of the last three meetings of these board.

Comments

The process of appointment /posting at the senior level has been talked out in whispers in the power corridors. Officers from other services are also likely to use this order to remove the wall of secrecy surrounding such appointments.

[Mr. Kishanlal Mittal v. Ministry of External Affairs in Decision No. CIC/SG/C/2011/001204/17022]

- 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)