What people say about us!

This site is very informative. I thank all who are associated with this job. Hats off to all of them.
Ashok Kumar Jain

Is Rahul Gandhi leading path to economic reforms ?
It is heard that Rahul Gandhi is behind various economic reforms that are taking place. Some of the ideas are initiated or taken to conclusion by Jairam Ramesh and Anand Sharma.

Is Rajiv Shukla trying for Aviation portfolio?
It is heard that Rajiv Shukla is trying for the post of Minister of State for Civil Aviation, who is backing his ambition ?.

Is a big Indian businessman in trouble over Uranium mines ?
An Indian businessman who has bought Uranium mines in Australia is in trouble for not mining the same. It is heard that the visiting Australian PM Julia Gillard has told Manmohan Singh about the same and asked him to intervene in the matter.

Will Sonia's vote bank politics of land acquisition succeed ?
The Land Acquisition Bill has emerged as another flagship legislations with Sonia Gandhi's imprimatur, a pro-people measure that strategists feel can do what job guarantee scheme and loan waiver did for Congress's image. It is felt that freeing the farmers from government's supreme powers to acquire land for "public purpose", as mentioned in the existing 1894 law, would shore up party's credentials among the key social segment, say insiders. Will it really work to the benefit of those aimed at or will it just be a piece of another legislation that will leave the countryside up in arms needs to be seen.

What happened in RSS - BJP meeting on weekend ?
It is heard that the meeting of Senior RSS and BJP leaders that was held over the weekend discussed how to counter the allegations made by IAC leader Arvind Kejriwal on Gadkari. There was also a discussion on second term of Nitin Gadkari.

Is Congress in mood to appease Mayawati ?
It is heard that Congress lead UPA is in a mood to appease Mayawati by keeping her in good humor. After conceding to BSP's demand of bringing constitutional amendment bill providing reservation to dalits in promotions in government jobs, now the Congress is planning to induct Maya's close confidant and former director general of police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Brij Lal, who is also a dalit, as special DG of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

BUREAUCRACY

24 IAS officers retiring in October
As many as 24 officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of various batches and cadres are retiring in October, 2012. The officers include: R Chandramohan and R P Pal of AGMUT cadre; Urmila Subbarao of Andhra Pradesh; Ranjan Chatterjee and Sharad Gupta of Assam-Meghalaya; Varun Nath Maira of Gujarat; Balbir Singh Malik of Haryana; Syed Fazalullah and Bishen Dass of Jammu and Kashmir; N Sriraman of Karnataka; S Sundereshan, K Jayakumar and K B Valasakumari of Kerala; Jatinder Singh Sahani and G P Thakur of Maharashtra; Jayanth Kumar Dev of Orissa; Subodh Chandra Agrawal of Punjab; Pankaj and Karan Singh Rathore of Rajasthan; D Raajendran of Tamil Nadu; Sanjeev S Ahluwalia of Uttar Pradesh; Dipankat Mukhopadhayay, Dilip Ghosh and Sailendra Krishna Das of West Bengal cadre.

Justice Arun Mishra to move to Calcutta ?
Latest Grapevine has it that Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, Justice Arun Mishra is being transferred to Calcutta High Court.

Will Justice Roy move to Rajasthan High Court ?
Amitava Roy is likely to be transferred from Guwahati High Court to Rajasthan High Court as Chief Justice.

D S Mishra appointed Joint Secretary, Mines
D S Mishra has been appointed new Joint Secretary Mines in the Government of India. He is a 1984 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on September 4, 2012)

R Nair selected as CMD, HOCL
R Nair V B, CGM (P & E), HOCL, has been selected for the post of Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on October 22, 2012. As many as 10 persons were interviewed for the same.

Singh to be JS, Environment and Forests
Maninder Singh is likely to join Government of India soon as Joint Secretary Forests and Environment. He is a 1989 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

NALCO's Ex CMD,Bagra poised to resume duty
Ex-CMD of NALCO, a NAVRATNA PSU of Ministry of Mines, B L Bagra, is all set to join duty back after a gap of almost two months. Bagra's term as Director (Finance) with additional charge of CMD expired on August 27, 2012. The Ministry did not recommend extension thereafter for want of CVC clearance and charge of post of CMD was given to next senior director A Das. ACC has not accepted the recommendation of the Ministry and has extended the term for three months, with an advice to the Ministry to sort out vigilance issues in the meanwhile. It is understood that the Ministry has investigated role of all directors following a complaint for award of a pipeline project and has concluded that there was nothing wrong on part of Bagra. The result of investigation was conveyed to CVC about seven months ago who has yet to finalise its view, in respect of all the Directors. Interestingly, the print media, local and national, attributed the termination of tenure of Bagra proposed by Ministry to an alleged scam in Lime Procurement. It is understood the matter of Lime Procurement is at preliminary stage in the Ministry and investigation is yet to start, if at all required .What is interesting, is that Bagra now approved by ACC as Director is the senior most and as per rules is likely to be given charge of CMD.

Ms Kale gets additional charge of PG Emigrants
Mrs Ranjana Kale, Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, has been given additional charge of Protector General of Emigrants.

APEDA is out of dilemma over political appointment?
The longstanding appointment of Chairman, APEDA is finally out of the dilemma. Reportedly, the hectic lobbying for a political person attributed to the delay in appointment; which is ruled out now. It is yet to figure out the name of IAS officer to be appointed as the next Chairman of APEDA. Presently, A K Tripathy, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, is in the additional charge of Chairman, APEDA. Tripathy is a 1986 batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre.

Joseph joins as CMD, AIC
Plappallil J Joseph has taken over as Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of Agriculture Insurance Co Ltd (AIC). Earlier, he was General Manager, United India Assurance.

Decks cleared for A K Srivastava to be ADG, MoEF
Ashish Kumar Srivastava is poised to be ADG, Forests in the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) from December 1, 2012. He is a 1980 batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of Jammu & Kashmir cadre. At present, he is posted as IG in MoEF.
(We said this on July 13, 2012)

Dhanaraj to join Cabinet Secretariat ?
S Xavier Dhanaraj , Superintendent of Police (SP), TN Police, is likely to be appointed as Deputy Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat , Government of India. He is a 2007 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

Chakrabaty appointed as Housing Secretary
Debashish Chakrabaty has been appointed as the Housing Secretary in Maharashtra Government. He is a 1986 batch IAS officer.

Nitish Kumar to be Dy Secretary, MHA ?
Nitish Kumar, Superintendent of Police (SP), J&K Police is likely to be appointed as Deputy Secretary, MHA, Government of India under Central Staffing Scheme (CSS). He is a 1990 batch IPS officer of J&K cadre.

Sanjeev Arora to join IB ?
Sanjeev Arora, Superintendent of Police(SP), Odisha Police is likely to be inducted as Additional Deputy Director, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Government of India . He is a 2005 batch IPS officer of Odisha cadre.

Daljit S Choudhary to be Director, MHA ?
Daljit S Choudhary, Private Secretary to Union Coal Minister, Shri Prakash Jaiswal is likely to be appointed as Director, MHA, Government of India under Central Staffing Scheme. He is a 1990 batch IPS officer of UP cadre.

Singh is new Director, Environment
Bishwajit Kumar Singh has been appointed Director in the Ministry of Environment and Forests in the Government of India. He is a 1989 batch IFS officer of J & K cadre.

Srivastava is Dy Secretary, Petroleum
Nalin Kumar Srivastava has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He is a 2001 batch ICAS officer.

Will Singh be Member, CAT ?
Gauri Shankar Singh, DGP, Jharkhand is likely to be appointed as Administrative Member in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). He is a 1977 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre.

PESB seeks applications for Director (Pers.), GRSE
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Director (Personnel), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) fallen vacant since September, 2012. Those willing to apply can send their applications to PESB before November 9, 2012.

CWC celebrates world food day (UPDATED)
Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) celebrated the World Food Day at its Corporate Office, New Delhi as well at some of its Regional Offices recently. Worldwide 16th October is celebrated as World Food Day because on this day in 1945 the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of U.N. was founded with the aim to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen the solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Theme for this year's celebrations was "Agricultural Cooperatives: Key to Feeding the World". In the function organized on the occasion at the CWC's Corporate Office, JNL Srivastava, IAS (Retd), former Secretary (Agriculture & Cooperation), Government of India and presently the Managing Trustee, IFFCO Foundation was the Chief Guest and delivered the key note address. Karnail Singh, IAS (Retd), former Additional Secretary (Agriculture & Cooperation), Government of India and presently Member, Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority also delivered a talk on the relevance of the Cooperative Societies in warehousing and storage of foodgrains and minimize storage losses at the farm level. CWC, which has currently a storage capacity of 10 million tonnes, gives priority for scientific and preservation of foodgrains with the objective to reduce the post harvest losses. The World Food Day is celebrated every year by CWC to renew pledge for better storage and preservation of foodgrains and to contribute towards National Food Security.

Rajiv Chaudhry joins as DRM, Bhopal, WCR (UPDATED)
Rajiv Chaudhry, Railway Board, has joined as Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Bhopal, West Central Railway (WCR) on October 23, 2012. He is an officer of Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE).
(We said this June 8, 2012)

Orders of Neeraj Kumar's repatriation issued (UPDATED)
The orders for the repatriation of Neeraj Kumar Gupta presently Executive Director, ITPO, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, to his parent cadre, have been issued. He is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on October 20, 2012)

Railway generates revenue up by 25.92 per cent (UPDATED)
Indian Railways has generated a total approximate earnings of originating basis during the period from first to October 10, 2012 were Rs. 3131.75 crore compared to Rs. 2487.17 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 25.92 per cent.

Joining of Arun Jain delayed (UPDATED)
Arun Kumar Jain, who was appointed as Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), is waiting for revised orders as he felt downgraded at the level of Additional Secretary against the post of Secretary level depriving him of pay and rank. He is still serving as Adviser, Inter State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Jain will join new place of posting only after receiving revised orders. He is a 1977 batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre.
(We said this on September 19, 2012)

Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd announces Q2 & half year results (UPDATED)
Sterlite Industries (India) Limited has announced its results for the Second Quarter (Q2) and Half Year (H1) ended September 30, 2012. According to official release, strong production and sales volumes of silver and lead at Zinc India, commercial power at Sterlite Energy Limited (SEL) and refined copper at Copper India generated revenues of Rs. 11,029 crore in Q2, up 9% year-on-year and Rs. 21,620 crore in H1, up 8% year-on-year. The fall in metal prices was largely offset by the depreciation of the Indian rupee. Q2 EBITDA was in line with the corresponding prior quarter at Rs. 2,538 crores and marginally lower for H1 at Rs. 4,875 crore, reflecting improved operational efficiencies, lower metal prices, higher metal premiums and significant depreciation of the Indian Rupee. Interest costs during Q2 was lower at Rs. 178 crore compared with the corresponding prior quarter primarily due to rupee appreciation in the quarter which resulted into lower foreign exchange loss being transferred to interest cost. During Q2, the company recorded a foreign exchange gain of Rs. 219 crore due to appreciation of Indian Rupee from Rs. 56.30 per US dollar as on 30 June 2012 to Rs. 52.70 per US dollar as on 30 September 2012, which helped offset the foreign exchange loss in Q1. With the improved performance and lower foreign exchange losses at Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL), Sterlite's share of Loss of Associate decreased to Rs. 61 crore in Q2 and Rs. 227 crore in H1 as compared with Rs. 243 crore and Rs. 349 crore respectively, in the corresponding prior periods. Depreciation cost during Q2 and H1 was higher at Rs. 522 crore and Rs. 1,040 crore compared with Rs. 446 crore and Rs. 866 crore respectively in the corresponding prior periods due to capitalization of new plants at Zinc India and SEL.

S S Malhi selected as Director (Tech), WCL (UPDATED)
S S Malhi, CGM, SECL, CIL, has been selected for the post of Director (Technical), Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on October 23, 2012. As many as 11 persons were interviewed for the same.

CORPORATE

PM to meet PSU Chief today
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet the chiefs of PSUs today to discuss their problems and to assure them greater autonomy and empowerment. 25 heads will attend the meeting.

Dhingra re-appointed Alternate Director, Berger Paints India Ltd
Kanwardip Singh Dhingra has been re-appointed as Alternate Director to Gurbachan Singh Dhingra on the Board of Directors of Berger Paints India Ltd.

Narang quits JCT Ltd
Dr Satya Pal Narang has resigned as Director of JCT.

Desai quits Thomas Scott (India) Ltd
Ms. Khyati P. Desai has resigned as Company Secretary of Thomas Scott (India) Ltd w.e.f. October 1, 2012

Jain appointed Asst. Company Secy., Thomas Scott (India) Ltd
Ms Sonam Jain has been appointed as the Assistant Company Secretary of Thomas Scott India Ltd w.e.f. October 1, 2012

Marimathu quits Centum Electronics Ltd
Manny Marimuthu, has resigned as Director of Centum Electronics Ltd

Sanghavi ceases to be Director, KLG Capital Services Ltd
Jitendra Sanghavi has ceased to be Director of KLG Capital Services Ltd

Gupta quits Spanco Ltd
V K Gupta has resigned as Independent Director of Spanco Ltd

Mandawewala quits Remi Metals Gujarat Ltd
R R Mandawewala has resigned as Director of Remi Metals Gujarat Ltd

Kapasi quits Remi Metals Gujarat Ltdt
K N Kapasi has resigned as Company Secretary of Remi Metals Gujarat Ltd

Mehta appointed as Director of Larsen and Toubro
Vikram Singh Mehta has been appointed as Director of Larsen and Toubro.

Makar quits Fortis Malar Hospital
Poonam Makar has resigned as Company Secretary of Fortis Malar Hospital.

Gupta quits Spanco
VK Gupta has resigned as Director of Spanco.

Chaturvedi appointed as Director of Remi Metals Gujarat
Shashank Chaturvedi has been appointed as Director of Remi Metals Gujarat

(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 contrbutor’s item losing its original essence)

DEBATE

FDI in retail is in the economic interest of India. This has already been proved in the case of China where 100 per cent FDI already exists. Technology , professionalism, infrastructure are required for growth of the sector which is run by middlemen who make the money without investing in any of these.Proper safeguards to protect the farmer and small manufacturer are however essential.
S Swarup

For a viable, accountable and civilized police system

The responses put forward by some to the suggestion made here to reduce the IPS strength are clearly naive proposals to further increase the top-heaviness by giving still higher pay scales and ranks to the top brasses of DG,ADG,IG,DIG etc over and above what was obtained through post-pay commission-pressurising last time and bring in new promotion avenues and more unbridled powers in the form of police commissioner posts in more cities and towns, taking away district magistrate supervision etc. What is required is a new police set-up like in advanced countries where the higher police officials are hired and held to account by and by the local government and also promptly fired in the event of any misdemeanour or failure unlike the total immunity and lack of accountability which the police enjoy in this country as a result of which it is the citizens who suffer immeasurably as the VIPs and the police are mutual beneficiaries of each others' mollycoddling.

P K Mohanty

Top heavy bottoms up

How come the bureaucratic structure at the top, both at the Centre and in States, has become so bloated and offers lucrative sinecure to all and sundry when the 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment Acts explicitly entail transfer of functions, functionaries and funds at the appropriate level? Why are state governments dithering on effecting this much needed structural transformation by enacting enabling legislation? Is the Constitutional scheme not being flouted by over staffing at the top and under staffing at the point of service delivery to citizens? The 14th Finance Commission would be shortly required to make recommendations among other things on measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of Panchayats and Municipalities during 2015-2020. Close on its heels, the Seventh Central Pay Commission may also be expected to be constituted. Can there not be synergy in their approach and recommendations in so far as augmentation & allocation of funds and transfer & apportionment of functions along with functionaries at the decentralized level is concerned? Is decentralized deputation anachronistic or infra dig?

S K Tewari

Are lists shared ?

There are many instances of Posting of officers on ODI/Agreed list in CBEC to sensitive posts for the simple reason that ODI/Agreed lists are maintained and kept exclusively in the Directorate of Vigilance and are not even shared with the CVO, CBEC's office, even though the office of CVO has both the right as well as need to know about officers figuring on these lists. Many times, successive DGs have resisted sharing this with CVO, for the simple reason that both the posts of DG as well as CVO are manned by a single officer. Further, it is doubtful if these lists are shared by the DG Vigilance with the Administrative Sections dealing with postings and transfers of officers.

Labh Singh