What people say about us!

You are doing a great job. Please .keep it up and all the very best.

Prabhu Jhingran

Who will be next President of India?
Who will be next President of India? Infact about one dozen names are currently in circulation for the top post.Names include Vice President Hamid Ansari,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Former President Abdul Kalam, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony, Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Dr Karan Singh,Treasurer of the Congress Party Moti Lal Vora, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, CJI Justice H S Kapadia, CPI Leader A B Vardhan and Raj Mohan Gandhi.

Dinesh Trivedi not to contest next Lok Sabha poll on a TMC ticket
As the grapevine has it Dinesh Trivedi who faced the wrath of Trina Mool Congress(TMC) chief & West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee, will not be contesting general elections of 2014 on TMC's ticket.It may be stated that Dinesh Trivedi's Railway portfolio had derailed in the wake of fare hike that he had announced while presenting the Railway budget on March 14, 2012.Dinesh Trivedi a Gujarati Kutchi industrialist had won parliamentary election as a TMC
candidate from Barrackpore constituency in West Bengal. Trivedi had defeated his nearest rival Tarit Topdar, six-time heavyweight and the then sitting CPM MP, by more than 60,000 votes during last Lok Sabha polls. Barrackpore was considered to be the biggest strongholds of the Left front outside Kolkata. Trivedi hails from Bidada village of coastal Mandvi in Gujarat's Kutch district was a TMC' Rajya Sabha MP before entering into the Lok Sabha.

Tenure of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha to end
K. Rahman Khan, Deputy Chairman,of the Rajya Sabha has completed his tenure as Deputy Chairman on April 2 .Will Congress Party further extend his tenure or not?

BUREAUCRACY

Will Shekhar Agarwal join TRAI or CAT?
As the grapevine has it, Shekhar Agarwal who currently on central deputation is Secretary Defence Production (DP) is likely to join TRAI or the CAT. He is an IAS officer of 1977 batch who belongs to the UP cadre.

Vivek Rae tipped to be Secretary, Defence Production (DP)
As the grapevine has it, Vivek Rae - who currently on central deputation is Director General (DG) Acquisitions - is tipped to be Secretary Defence Production (DP). He is an IAS officer of 1978 batch who belongs to the AGMUT cadre.

Shankar Agarwal tipped to be Director General (DG), Acquisition
As the grapevine has it, Shankar Agarwal - who currently on central deputation is Additional Secretary Defence - is tipped to be Director General (DG) Acquisition. He is Uttar Pradesh (UP) cadre IAS officer of 1980 batch.

Gopalan gets three months extension
R.Gopalan Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, has been given extension in service for a period of three months beyond his date of superannuation, ie., April 30, 2012. He is 1976 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

Finance Minister clears appointments of EDs in PS banks
As the grapevine has it file relating to appointments of 17 new Executive Directors(EDs) in public sector(PS) banks has been cleared by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.Basically, General Managers(GMs) will be elevated as EDs in PS banks.

Anil Jain to join Planning Commission
Resident Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh in Delhi Anil Jain is all set to join the Planning Commission as Advisor (Energy) . He is 1986 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on March 2)

Sasmal selected as Director (Operation.), PGCIL
R P Sasmal, ED, PGCIL, has been selected for the post of Director (Operations), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on April 10, 2012. As many as 10 persons were interviewed for the same.

Neeraj Mittal is now JS Petroleum
Neeraj Mittal, Director, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India has been promoted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry. He is an IAS officer of 1992 batch who belongs to the Tamil Nadu cadre.
(We said this on March 6)

1989 batch to be Joint Secretary in R&AW
1989 batch is being promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary in the R&AW this month,

Anand Mohan to be Director, Urban Development
Anand Mohan on deputation is going to posted as a Director in Ministry of Urban Development (UD). He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1996 batch who belongs to the Rajasthan cadre.

List of changes in MEA being prepared
As the grapevine has it, list relating to changes in Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is being prepared.

How can the list of CMDs in PS banks be changed?
Experts say that the file relating to appointment of six of 11 Executive Directors (EDs) of Public Sector (PS) banks who have been short listed for the post of CMDs cannot be changed because it had been okayed by Dr. D Subbarao RBI Governor. They are:Mrs. Archana Bhargawa - ED Canara Bank to United Bank, Mrs. V R Iyer ED Central Bank of India (CBI) to Bank of India (BOI), R K Dube -ED Central Bank of India (CBI) to Canara Bank, Ashwani Kumar - ED Corporation Bank to Dena Bank, Ms.Shubhalakshmi Panse ED VijayaBank to Allahabad Bank & H S Mundra -ED Union Bank of India to Bank of Baroda.

File of DG, IGNFA- Dehradun in the Cabinet Secretariat
As the grapevine has it file relating to appointment of new Director General (DG) of the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun has been lying in the Cabinet Secretariat. Two Indian Forest Service(IFS) officers are in the fray.They are:R.K. Goyal (1977 batch) &
A.K. Wahal (1978 batch).

Interviews for chiefs non life insurance companies on April 16, 2012
Interviews for selecting two new chiefs of two public sector (PS) non life insurance companies will take place on April 16,2012. Earlier, only chief of Oriental Insurance was to be selected on April 11,2012. However, that has been postponed. 8 GMs in fray for the post of CMD,Oriental Insurance Company Ltd (OICL) and New India Assurance Co.

CBI Selection Committee meeting tomorrow
CBI's Selection Committee's meeting is to be held tomorrow in which CVC Chief, Director, CBI, Secretary(MHA) and Secretary(PP.) will participate. The meeting will be held in the chamber of CVC.

Ashok Kumar Roy assumes charge as GIC's CMD
Ashok Kumar Roy who on April 9,2012 was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC)has assumed his charge.He will hold this charge till July 31, 2015. Hitherto,Roy was officiating as CMD of GIC.

Ms.Shanmuga Priya transferred to Madhya Pradesh cadre
Ms.Shanmuga Priya an officer IAS of 2010 batch who so far was in Tamil Nadu cadre on marriage grounds has been transferred to Madhya Pradesh cadre.She is married to her batch mate Ganesh Shankar Mishra who is also an IAS officer.

DRMs' transfers on the anvil
As the grapevine has it transfers & postings of Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs') are on the anvil.However, newly inducted Railway Minister Mukul Roy is reported to have given a list of five incumbents to his Ministry officials to post them as DRMs.

Mystery shrouds delay in promotion at Commissioner level in CBEC
Mystery shrouds delay in promotion at Commissioner level in CBEC. Even though, DPC had cleared 68 officers of 1990 batch belonging to the cadre IRS-CC & E on January 9, 2012; the same has failed to fructify into orders.

Ms Neera Rawat to join GoI
Ms. Neera Rawat will be relieved by the Uttar Pradesh Government within a week to join central deputation. 1992 batch IPS officer Ms Rawat is all set to join as GM (Security), Airports Authority of India.

Nayan Mani Borah to retire as CMD, OIL on April 30,2012
Nayan Mani Borah who took over as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Oil India Limited (OIL) on December 1, 2008, after a successful stint would be retiring on April 30,2012.

Ms. Tewari posted as PD, Audit (Central), Bangalore
Ms. Keerti Tewari, Accountant General (LBA&A), Karnataka, Bangalore, has been transferred and posted as Principal Director of Audit (Central), Bangalore.

Who will be new Commissioner BMC?
Who will be new Commissioner of the Bombay Municipal Corporation? Tie is said to be between two 1982 batch IAS officers Gautam Chatterjee and A K Jain.

P P Mathur is now Chairman in Madhya Pradesh
P P Mathur has been appointed Chairman of the Narmada Valley Grievances Redressal Authority in Madhya Pradesh. He is former 1972 batch IAS officer.

Bureaucratic reshuffle in Maharashtra this month end
A major bureaucratic reshuffle is expected to take place in Maharashtra in the last week of this month.

Seven posts of Judges vacant in Orissa HC
As many as seven posts of judges have been lying vacant in Orissa High Court against an approved strength of 22. This includes three posts of Permanent Judges against 17 approved strength and four posts of Additional Judges against five approved strength.

Khurana transferred
R.K. Khurana, Deputy Director General (RS&P), Dte. of Income Tax, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi has been transferred to NSSO(CAP), MOSPI, New Delhi as Deputy Director General. He is an Indian Statistical Officer of 1981 batch.

Three contenders for post of ACS Home in Kerala
As the grapevine has it, there are three Kerala cadre IAS officers who are in fray for the post of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Home in Kerala. They are: Somasundaram (1979 batch) Ms. Nivedita Haran (1980 batch) and Sajan Peter (1982 batch).

Five IPS officers selected for UK
Five IPS officers have been selected for the 3rd batch phase V MCTP in UK. They are Mssrs Ajay Kumar Verma Bihar 1985 batch, R K Mishra Bihar 1986 batch, Dinesh Singh Bisht Bihar 1987 batch, Sunil Kumar Bihar 1987 batch and Gupteshwar Pandey Bihar 1987 batch.

Anita Singh moves to chamber of ex CS in UP
Ms. Anita Singh, Secretary to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav, has moved to the official chamber of ex-Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh. She is 1990 batch IAS officer.

Malini Aggarwal gets proforma promotion
Ms. Malini Aggarwal Deputy Director, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel N Police Academy, Hyderabad has been granted proforma promotion as IG by the State Government of Rajasthan. She is an IPS officer of 1994 batch who belongs to the Rajasthan cadre.

Diwan Chand gets super-time scale in Delhi Government
Diwan Chand, Project Director, Administrative Tribunal, N C T of Delhi, has been promoted to the Super Time Scale. He is AGMU cadre IAS officer of 1995 batch.

Dr. T. P. Singh is Assistant DGl, Climate change in ICFRE
Dr. T. P. Singh, a 1996 Batch IFS Officer of Haryana Cadre has been posted on deputation as Assistant Director General(ADG), Climate change in the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Government of India, Dehradun. His work will focus on reducing Carbon Dioxide emissions in the country by way of forestry based activities. Dr. Singh has been specifically chosen for this job as he just finished his PhD in climate change from University of Toronto, Canada. His research focussed on economic modelling of world's carbon markets, which is one of the most important mechanisms to tackle the problem of global warming. Prior to this, Dr. T. P. Singh also had his Masters in Geo-informatics from the Netherlands, where he specialised in Clean Development Mechanism projects for the developing countries.

MEA invites applications for DPOs
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has invited applications from the officers of All India Services/Central Secretariat Service for the posts of Deputy Passport Officers (DPO) lying vacant in the Regional Passport offices and Passport office including one post each at Bangalore, Bhopal, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Ghaziabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Nagpur, Panaji, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi and Delhi (Headquarters). The willing CSS officers may send their applications
before April 30, 2012 to the Ministry.

Tahang Taggu moves to Arunachal Pradesh
Tahang Taggu has been moved from Goa to Arunachal Pradesh. He is 1999 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

Two IAS transferred from Goa
P Srinivas Reddy and W V Ramana Murthy have been transferred to Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli administration and Pondicherry respectively.

Six IAS posted in Goa
Six IAS officers from Delhi have been moved to Goa. They are Mssrs D P Dweveidi, F O Hashmi, Z U Siddique, Jaidev Sarangi , Mathew Samuel and Mohan Lall .

Justice Gaur elevated in Delhi HC
Justice Sunil Gaur an additional judge in Delhi High Court has been elevated as a permanent judge in the same high court.

Suspension of Radhakrishnan in Chhattisgarh
Suspension of 1978 batch IAS officer T Radhakrishnan has been revoked in Chhattisgarh. He has now been posted as Chairman of the Board of Secondary Education.

Anurag Sharma is new Police Commissioner Hyderabad
Anurag Sharma is new Hyderabad city police commissioner.1982 batch IPS officer Sharma has replaced AK Khan .

IAS changes in Goa
Neeraj Semwal, secretary to Governor has been appointed as commissioner of excise. N D Aggarwal has been made Collector South Goa whereas South Goa Collector Pawan Kumar Sain has been appointed as secretary to chief minister. T M Balakrishnan will now be Secretary, Town and Country Planning.

Odisha Tourism gets 'best heritage state award' (UPDATED)
Odisha Tourism has bagged the PATWA International Award under the category "Best Heritage State in India" for 2012 in a prestigious award ceremony at ITB Berlin. Director Tourism, H S Upadhyay and President Tour Operator Association Simon Benjamin were present in the ceremony to receive the award. PATWA organizes international awards every year at the ITB Berlin, which is the world's biggest travel fair, attended by exhibitors from 180 countries and more than 7000 journalists. The PATWA award is given in cooperation with Messe Berlin, to recognize Governments, individuals, organizations involved in promotion of tourism from various sectors such as aviation, hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, government agencies and the like. The PATWA is the world's biggest 'Travel Writers' organization, represented by members from 70 countries across the world. The aim of the PATWA International Award is to honor the destinations, entrepreneurs, who have made an invaluable contribution in Aviation, Hospitality and Tourism industry. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General-UNWTO, Ray Bloom, Chairman, IMEX and Subodh Kant Sahay, Minister for Tourism, Government of India were specially present during the ceremony amongst a large number of diplomats, State professionals, Ministers of Tourism and media from all over the world. Efforts by Tourism Department, under the stewardship of A K Tripathy, Principle Secretary, to promote Odisha as a cultural and heritage destination by organizing various international festivals and running successful media campaigns in both print and electronic media have borne fruits. The Award ceremony was held on March 8, 2012 at 2-ICC Building, ITB. International Women's Day was also celebrated during the function with the support of United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

Rajinder Bhagat appointed Ambassador (UPDATED)
Rajinder Bhagat, presently High Commissioner of India to Ghana has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to Burkina Faso, with residence in Accra.

Anil Trigunayat is new Ambassador to Libya (UPDATED)
Anil Trigunayat, presently Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Libya.
( We said this on February 2 )

Debraj Pradhan appointed Ambassador to Equatorail Guinea (UPDATED)
Debraj Pradhan, presently Ambassador of India to Angola has been concurrently as the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Equatorail Guinea, with residence in Luanda.

Transfer and postings in Railways (UPDATED)
Services of four officers have been affected in Railways. Accordingly, Naresh Saini SAG/IRSSE, on return from deputation (RCIL), has been posted to Southern Railway (SR) in the cadre while R Baskaran, SAG/IRSSE from South Western Railway (SWR) is being shifted to Southern Railway (SR) in the same capacity and posted in the cadre and K Vijay Kumar, SAG/IRSSE, was shifted from South Central Railway (SCR) to Southern (SR) in the same capacity and posted in the cadre. Besides, PN Jha, SAG/IRSME, has been shifted from Eastern Railway (ER) to RWF and posted in the cadre.

Two IAS officers get new postings in Tamil Nadu (UPDATED)
Two Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers shifted in Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, PWC Davidar has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation Limited while Dr. D Kathikeyan is being made Commissioner of Corporation of Chennai.

Abhijit Chatterjee selected as Director (Fin.), CIL (UPDATED)
Abhijit Chatterjee, Director (Finance), CCL, has been selected for the post of Director (Finance), Coal India Limited (CIL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on March 11, 2012. As many as 14 persons were interviewed for the same.

CORPORATE

Adi Godrej to head high-level committee
Ministry of Corporate Affairs has set up a high-level committee, headed by Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej to improve corporate governance.

Prasad resigns as Independent Director, Reliance Mediaworks Ltd
Ajay Prasad, Independent Director, Reliance Mediaworks Ltd has resigned from the Board of Directors of the company.

IDBI appoints new Nominee Director on Shah Alloys Ltd Board
IDBI Bank Limited has appointed Arakhita Khandual, General Manager of IDBI as the new Nominee Director of Shah Alloys Ltd w.e.f. April 16, 2012 replacing M. B. Kaul.

Srinivasan resigns as CEO & ED, Paper Products Ltd
M. K. Srinivasan, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Paper Products Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. June 30, 2012.

Khaitan resigns as Director, Rama Newsprint And Papers Ltd
Haigreve Khaitan has resigned as Director of Rama Newsprint And Papers Ltd w.e.f. April 5, 2012.

Revankar takes over as MD, Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd
Umesh Revankar has taken over as Managing Director of Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd w.e.f. April 1, 2012.

Sridhar resigns as MD, Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd
R Sridhar has resigned as Managing Director of Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd w.e.f. April 1, 2012.

Bajwa resigns as Director, USG Tech Solutions Ltd
Kuldip Singh Bajwa, Director of USG Tech Solutions Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. February 24, 2012 .

Chordia resigns as ED Gokul Refoils And Solvent Ltd
Gyan Chordia has resigned as the Executive Director of Gokul Refoils And Solvent Ltd w.e.f. March 31, 2012

Malla appointed Exec. Assistant Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City
Aditya Shamsher Malla has been appointed as Executive Assistant Manager ( Sales & Mktg.) at The Westin Mumbai Garden City.

Balani resigns as Company Secy. Shree Surgovind Tradelink Ltd
Ms Sanam Sandeep Balani has resigned as Company Secretary of Shree Surgovind Tradelink Ltd w.e.f. March 26, 2012.

Ong appointed Head (Corporate Affairs), Citi South Asia
Jane Ong has been appointed as the Head ( Corporate Affairs), Citi South Asia.

Guleria appointed Vice President
Yadvinder S Guleria has been appointed as Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) by the Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI).

Srinivasan has resigned as CEO and ED of Paper Products
M K Srinivasan has resigned as CEO & Executive Director of Paper Products

Onashi resigns as MD and Director of Enkei Wheels (India)
Osamu Ohashi has resigned from the post of the managing director & director of Enkei Wheels (India)

Uchiyama appointed as Additional Director & MD Enkei Wheels (India)
Masakatsu Uchiyama has been appointed as Additional Director & Managing Director of Enkei Wheels (India)

Pandey resigns as director of JMDE Packaging & Realties
Ms.Roshini Pandey has resigned as director of JMDE Packaging & Realties

2 appointed as additional directors of JMDE Packaging & Realties
Kaushik Shah and Rachana Pandya have been appointed as additional directors of JMDE Packaging & Realties

Varadarajan appointed vice president of sales and business development Polaris Wireless
Srinivas Varadarajan has been appointed as Vice President of sales and business development for Polaris Wireless.

Chawla appointed Partner of India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA)
Haresh Chawla appointed as Partner in India of India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA).

WHISPERS' IMPACT

The WIC news item about bifurcation of MOSPI, had an electrifying effect on ministry's bureaucracy. The Cabinet Secretary gave a dressing down to Secretary-cum-CSI for delaying the implementation of PMO's orders. Non-compliance of orders, it is feared, might result in premature termination of deputation of two senior officers of MOSPI.

Renu J Kumar

15 applicants deprived

Recent decision of Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Cadre not to forward application of STS level officer for Deputy Secretary Level posts under Central Staffing Scheme has deprived as many 15 applicants from the luxury of enjoying higher status. This is because of acute shortage of officers in the Grade of STS of ISS. News that more than 100 posts are vacant in the grade of STS of ISS for the want of eligible officers in the feeder grade.

An ISS officer

Take corrective steps

Now when the dysfunctional machinery in the Ministry of Defence is out in the open, it is time to take corrective steps since this endangers the security of the country. There is urgent need for reforms here. The ministry is crowded with officers at every level. Three Secretaries, half a dozen additional secretaries, more than a dozen joint secretaries and scores of Directors/Deputy secretaries. Should someone not be held responsible for delays in procurement or purchase
of outdated vital equipment needed by the Army, Air Force And Navy. The details as coming out in the public domain of the Tatra trucks deal raise many doubts about the procurement rocedures in MOD not withstanding the existence of Defence Acquisition Cell or the Defence Procurement Boards. There seems to be neither proper planning nor timely acquisition of defence equipment. Nor do they seem to care about the quality and price. The time has come to fully integrate the
MOD and armed forces. Why not some of the senior posts at the level of Joint Secretaries and above be filled by officers of the forces? It is time attention is paid to clean up the mess as the defence of the country is at stake.

Aarti Khosla

Yahaan Forged Kaagzaat Bantey Hain

During my recent weekend trip to Uttarakhand, I was shocked to see a shop on Rishikesh - Haridwar Road that carried the above legend with a high sense of pride. The guy was merrily doing his business without fear of the Police, the local bodies and vigilance agencies. My investigations revealed that forged documents like ration cards.

driving licences, educational certificates,age and domicile certificates ,could be made available to the interested parties within two hours ,for a handsome price.Is this Good governance?

I am taking up the matter with the authorities concerned at the Centre and the States.During my service period, I had come across several cases of forged caste certificates by the civil services aspirants from the states of Jharkhand,Bihar ,UP where hundreds of SC/ST and OBC certificates ,were found to be forged .The defaulters are cooling their heels in jail. Will the authorities take note of this and take remedial measures?

A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)

Disclosure of "Default Cases" of the Banks The appellant wanted details of default cases which were compromised by the State Bank of India (SBI) during the last three years. The PIO claimed the matter pertained to commercial confidence and disclosure of trade secrets may harm the competitive position of the entity. He also stated that the information sought was vast and disproportionately can divert the resources of the public authority as per section 7 (9) of the RTI Act. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) also upheld the PIO decision. The appellant argued that he was not seeking the names of the defaulting parties and therefore the argument by the respondents of compromising information pertaining to third parties should not arise. The CIC observed that disclosing the year wise aggregate settled amount by the banks with the defaulting parties will help in transparent functioning of the public authority which is the very objective of the RTI Act. Accordingly, the Commission directed the respondent to furnish information limited to the total number of entities who have defaulted and the total settled amount for the past three years. Comments The rising Non-Performing Assets (NPA) in the banks has been a matter of concern for the citizens which has been wrapped in an opaque process. Hopefully, the implementation of this order would help in restoring transparency in banking industry.

Citation: Shri Kulbhushan Jain v. SBI in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2011/000841

Weekly article by Dr. (Mrs.) Anuradha Verma
(dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in), RTI Consultant to IIM, Indore and Co-author of the books: RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO's Guide to RTI by Taxmann. (The views are Personal)