What people say about us!

There is no doubt about it that whispers is very good website to know Top Level appointments in Govt./Public Sector undertakings and the Government.

Sunil Kumar

Will Najma Heptulla be Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha?
Mrs.Najma Heptulla, Ex-Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Parliament of India, who is at present BJP's Rajya Sabha Member is likely to file nomination for Deputy Chairman of the Rajya .

Who will be President of Pune NCP unit?
With the elevation of Ms.Vandana Chavan a close confidante of Sharad Pawar president of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to the Rajya Sabha the post of the Pune NCP President has been lying vacant. The ones who are trying their luck are those who had lost in the recent civic
elections and are seeking political rehabilitation. In the race are former mayor Ms. Rajlakshmi Bhosale, former corporators Nilesh Nikam and Shrikant Patil and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) chairman & Ankush Kakade, MLC Anil Bhosale.

Will Gehlot -Joshi fight be advantageous Vasundhara?
As CP Joshi's supporters are destabilizing Ashok Gehlot there is a certain clarity emerging in Rajasthan politics, its advantage Vasundhara Raje. It is certainly increasing her chances of her comeback as Chief Minister when the state elections take place next, say BJP party insiders.

What next for Achutanandan?
The popular people's leader of Kerela politics and former Chief Minister V.S. Achutanandan rides in the sunset alone after his expulsion from the Polit Bureau. Will the next step of the Central Committee be to remove him from the post of leader of the opposition from the Kerela assembly?

Will Dr. Subba Rao muster courage to cut rates?
The date of RBI Board meeting is coming closer. Come April 17 the RBI Governor Dr. D. Subba Rao will have to decide on what it has to do with the interest rates. Given that inflation continues to remain high, rupee remaining weak, oil flaring up leading to foreign exchange reserves dwindling, and governments unabated borrowing making liquidity tight does he have any reason to cut rates? Experts say the rates should be increased, instead. But sources say there are
pressures on the RBI Governor to loosen the rates a wee bit. Will he oblige when his hand his hemmed, needs to be seen?

Are the cops combing Western Ghats for naxal activities?
It is heard that police teams of Maharashtra, Karnataka are planning to undertake joint combing operations in Western Ghats for possible Naxal activities.

Dinesh Trivedi has many options
As the grapevine has it, former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi has many options as far as contesting general elections of 2014 was concerned. 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.

BUREAUCRACY

Number of 1978 batch IAS empanelment goes to 39
With the empanelment of Ram Lubhhaya and K S Mehra to the rank of Secretary in the Government of India ,number of empanelled officers has risen to 39.

Ashok Thakur to get posting
Ashok Thakur who is solitary IAS officer of 1977 batch in the Government of India to get posting as Secretary .Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer Thakur is likely to be appointed Secretary Tribal Affairs.

Cadre of 2010 batch IAS officer transferred to Sikkim
Cadre of Karma R Bonpo has been transferred from Manipur-Tripura to Sikkim. He is a 2010 batch IAS officer of Manipur-Tripura cadre.

Khullar gets additional charge of IPP for three months
Secretary Commerce Rahul Khullar has been given additional charge of the Secretary Industrial Policy and Promotion for three months. He is 1975 batch IAS officer of ut cadre.

Abhijit Chatterjee selected as Director (Fin.), CIL
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.

Vijay Kumar gets additional charge of Secretary, Drinking Water
Secretary Rural Development S Vijay Kumar has been given additional charge of Secretary Drinking Water and Sanitation for one month. He is 1976 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

A K Jain appointed Advisor, Planning Commission in GoI
A K Jain, Resident Commissioner, Madhya Pradesh Bhawan, New Delhi, has been appointed as Advisor, Planning Commission under the Government of India in place of S P Seth (IAS 1975). Jain is an IAS officer 1986 batch of Madhya Pradesh cadre. Orders of his appointment have been
issued.
(We said this on March 2)

Debashish Panda gets premature repatriation
Debashish Panda, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Government of India, has been given premature repatriation. He is a 1987 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

P K Sharma deputed to Dy. Commissioner, Delhi Municipal Corp
Pawan Kumar Sharma has been shifted on inter-cadre deputation from Madhya Pradesh to AGMU cadre and appointed as Deputy Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Delhi. He is a 1999 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Devraj Dev repatriated to parent cadre
Devraj Dev, who was working on an inter-cadre deputation to Bihar, has been repatriated to his parent Tamil Nadu cadre. He is a 1999 batch IAS officer.

A K Singh is also DG, CAPART
A K Singh, Deputy Director General, CAPART, has been given additional charge of DG, CAPART for one year. He is a 1987 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

Rajesh Kumar Singh to be Joint Secretary, Tourism
Rajesh Kumar Singh on central deputation is poised to be Joint Secretary, Tourism. He is Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer of 1991 batch.

Rakesh Kumar is now JS, Health
Rakesh Kumar has been elevated as Joint Secretary Health and Family Welfare in the Government of India. He is 1992 batch IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

Vishwas Mehta shifted laterally
Joint Secretary National Defence College (NDC) Vishwas Mehta has been shifted laterally to the Health Ministry in GoI. He is an IAS officer of the 1986 batch who belongs to Kerala cadre.
(We said this on March 12)

Deb to take over as Secretary, Sports in GoI on April 16
Pradeep Kumar Deb, who was appointed as Secretary, Sports in the Government of India, will assume the charge on April 16. He is a 1977 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Rajinder Bhagat appointed Ambassador
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
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
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.

8 in fray for chiefs of general insurance companies
There are Eight contenders for new chiefs of two public sector (PS) general insurance companies interviews for which are scheduled to be held on April 16,2012. They are: Dr. A K Saxena -Oriental Insurance Company, Kuldeep Singh- National Insurance Company Ltd (NIC), Ms. Usha
Nair United ,Joseph-United, Sanat Kumar-New India Assurance Co. Ltd, Raghvan-General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), Girija Kumar -National Insurance Company Ltd (NIC) & Yogendra Rao-National Insurance Company Ltd (NIC). Probably chief for New India Assurance Co. will also be selected.

Arun Mishra's term in ICAO, Montreal to end in August 2012
Arun Mishra who was is India's representative at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Montreal will be completing his tenure in August 2012. He is an IAS officer of the 1986 batch who belongs to the West Bengal cadre.

File of CMDs in PS banks stuck on the issue of lateral shifting?
Banking circles are agog with rumours that 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, is stuck up on the issue of lateral shifting of certain incumbents. Those who had already been selected 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 Vijaya Bank to Allahabad Bank & H S Mundra -ED Union Bank of India to Bank of Baroda.

Efforts afoot to dilute AERA
As the grapevine has it efforts are afoot to scuttle Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) of which maiden Chairman is Yashwant S. Bhave took over the charge on August 1,2009. Bhave is a retired officer of Indian Administrative Service (1972 Batch).

25 per cent posts of Commissioner vacant in CBEC
It may sound quite strange, but it is true. There are 25 per cent posts of Commissioners that are lying vacant in the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC).

MP cadre IAS rated most powerful bureaucrat
1987 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Manoj Srivastava has been rated as one of the most powerful bureaucrats in India by a media house. His actions in Indore, Mandsaur and Bhopal were cited to prove this case.

Transfer and postings in Railways
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.

CBDT constitutes DRPs at Delhi and Mumbai
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has constituted two Dispute Resolution Panels (DRPs) comprising of three Commissioners, Directors of Income Tax as Members. Accordingly, Hari Kishan, CIT-I, Delhi, Mrs. Rashmi Saxena Sahni, DIT (TP)-Delhi and Mrs. Gopal Mukherjee, CIT-V, Delhi are the Members in Delhi-I DRP while Kuntal Kumar Sen, DIT (IT)-II, Mumbai, Akhilesh Ranjan, CIT-XI, Mumbai and Mrs. V K Gupta, DIT (IT&TP), Ahmedabad, have been made Members of Mumbai-I DRP.

PESB invites applications for CMD, Bridge & Roof Co. Ltd
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of CMD, Bridge & Roof Co. Limited. Those who wish to apply can send their applications before May 25, 2012.

Pratapgarh has no takers
Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh has been without a district magistrate for more than 28 days.

Rokhum Lalremuruata is new Director Mining
Rokhum Lalremuruata has been appointed as Director in Ministry of Mines, Government of India. He is an Indian Civil Services officer of 1996 batch.

Ms. Shanti Priya Sarella is Director Defence
Ms.Shanti Priya Sarella has been appointed as Director in the Ministry of Defence. She is an IA & AS service officer of 1996 batch.

Javed Ahmed to be new Police Commissioner, Pune
Javed Ahmed is likely to be appointed new Police Commissioner Pune in Maharashtra. He is 1980 batch IPS officer.

Two IAS officers get new postings in Tamil Nadu
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 Karthikeyan is being made Commissioner of Corporation of Chennai.

Roongta is Member of High Level Committee
Former CMD of the SAIL S K Roongta has been appointed Member of the High Level Committee set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.Presently he is Vice Chairman BALCO & Managing Director,Vedanta Aluminium.

Huzar Lollen gets super-time scale
Huzar Lollen,Secretary, Civil Supplies, Arunachal Pradesh has been promoted in Super Time Scale. He is an IAS officer of 1996 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

IFS officer moves to Andman & Nicobar
Dr Shashi Kumar Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in Goa has been moved to the Andman & Nicobar Administration. Chief Conservator of Forests Yogesh has also been transferred.

IIM Indore Chairman resigns
Chairman of the IIM Indore L N Jhunjhunwala is reported to have resigned.

IAS changes in Uttar Pradesh
Majid Ali has been appointed Principal Secretary Science and Technology.Jitendra Kumar will now be Secretary Human Rights Commission.

IPS postings in Uttar Pradesh
M K Bashal has been appointed as head of the PTC Sitapur.Lalji Shukla has been moved to PTS Meerut.

Bala Baskar bereaved
Mrs Rajeswari Natrajan mother of former 1975 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer Bala Baskar has passed away in chennai.

Steel Minister Verma meets Afghan President in Kabul (UPDATED)
Minister of Steel, Government of India, Beni Prasad Verma met President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai on April 10, 2012. Secretary Steel, D R S Chaudhary; PS to Steel Minister, Ravinesh Kumar; Chairman, SAIL, C S Verma; CMD, NMDC, N K Nanda and other senior officers from India and Afghanistan were also present on this occasion. They discussed various aspects of bilateral cooperation and mutual development between the two countries. Karzai stressed on the need for better participation of Indian private and public sector companies in various mining projects in Afghanistan. A Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed between the two countries in the presence of Prime Minister of India during the visit of Karzai to India in October' 2011. This was a step towards reinforcing cooperation in various sectors with special focus on mineral exploration and mining. Verma also met Vice President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Abdul Karim Khalili on the same day. During which the latter stressed on expediting implementation of projects. Earlier on April 9, 2012, a meeting took place between the Minister of Steel and the Minister of Mines, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Wahidullah Shahrani where they discussed the prospects of mineral exploration and mining as well as other related issues. An MoU on Co-operation in the Field of Steel Sector was also signed between Minister of Steel, Government of India and Minister of Mines, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The MoU will not just act as a catalyst in the development of Afghanistan but will also be a high point in ensuring co-operation in the two countries. The initiative will also facilitate greater economic ties between the two countries. Steel Minister hailed the MoU as a significant measure aimed at strengthening ties with Afghanistan and boosting socio - economic restructuring of the country. He also described the MoU as a measure of encouraging investments by public and private sector Indian companies in Afghan Iron and Steel and other allied sectors.

ITI's maiden venture at DEFEXPO-2012 (UPDATED)
ITI Ltd participated in DEFEXPO 2012 for the first time. The exhibition was held in New Delhi recently. ITI showcased its products and services relevant to the Defence sector. A K Antony, Union Defense Minister visited the ITI stall where he was received by K L Dhingra, CMD, ITI Ltd. Dr. M M Pallam Raju, Minister of State for Defence and Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to the Minister of Defence were present on the occasion. The dignitaries were briefed about ITI activities and its contribution to the defense sector communication activities.

Mrs. Vasan, CCIT, Hyderabad resigns (UPDATED)
Mrs. Prerna Malini Vasan, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCA), Hyderabad, has resigned from Indian Revenue Service (IRS). She is 1974 batch IRS officer.

G R Rao is also CCIT-I, Hyderabad (UPDATED)
G Rajsehwar Rao, CCIT-III, Hyderabad, has been assigned additional charge of CCIT-I, Hyderabad.

Purnima Singh gets addl. charge of DGIT (Log.), Delhi (UPDATED)
Purnima Singh, CCIT-XII, Delhi, has been given additional charge of DGIT (Logistics), Delhi.

Rao appointed CVO NCL,Singrauli (UPDATED)
K P Venkateshwar Rao has been appointed as Chief Vigilance Officer (Director Level) in the Northern Coalfields Limited, Singrauli, He is 1995 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

A K Jha appointed NTPC's Director Technical (UPDATED)
Appointment orders of A.K. Jha Executive Director (ED),NTPC as NTPC's Director Technical have been issued.

S. Srinivasan is Additional Secretary & FA, Space (UPDATED)
Sudarsanam Srinivasan on central deputation has joined as Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser, Department of Space, in the Government of India (GOI). Hitherto,he was Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Orissa. He is an IAS officer of 1980 batch who belongs to the Orissa cadre.
( We said this on February 9 )

ASSOCHAM holds SMEs Sammelan-Meet Your Bankers (UPDATED)
The CMD of Indian Overseas Bank M Narendra on Thursday said that his bank which has been awarded the best SME 's Bank of the year will further promote the SMEs. Speaking at the first-of-its-kind "SMEs Sammelan-Meet Your Bankers" , organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) jointly with Ministry of MSME, Government of India, Narendra said that his bank has policies exclusively for SME's adding that this year the bank has grown by 35 percent as compared to last year .Among others, ED of Canara Bank A.K Gupta said that the people should not get upset with downfall in the economy as it is a temporary phase and added that his bank will soon open 47 SME's branches. Canara Bank was also recently awarded the National Award for Agriculture and Khadi Village development, he said. The Head SME's Division India -YES Bank, Manish Arora, said "In India SME 's financing is a biggest challenge but we as a private bank will open 750 branches exclusively for SME's by 2015".

Two IAS officers exchange postings in Tamil Nadu (UPDATED)
Mrs. V Kalaiarasi, Regional Deputy Commissioner (Central), Corporation of Chennai, has been transferred and posted as Collector, Pudukkotai while Mrs. B Maheswari who was holding this post of Collector will be posted in place of Mrs. Kalaiarasi.

CORPORATE

Odisha Tourism gets 'best heritage state award'
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.

Kaul ceases to be Nominee Director, PTC India Ltd
V. M. Kaul has ceased to be Nominee Director of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited on the Board of PTC India Limited w.e.f. March 31, 2012.

Singh appointed Nominee Director, PTC India Ltd
Ravi P. Singh has been appointed as Nominee Director of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited on the Board of PTC India Limited w.e.f. April 3, 2012.

Mehta to resign in October
Chairman of the Shell Group in India Vikram Singh Mehta is going to step down as the chairman .

Yoo appointed CEO of Mirae Asset Global Investments (I) Pvt. Ltd.
Jisang Yoo has been appointed as the new CEO of Mirae Asset Global Investments (I) Pvt. Ltd.

Malhotra appointed Director Orb Energy
Naresh Malhotra has been appointed as Director of Orb Energy

Khan appointed CFO of Dollex Industries
Mehmood Khan has been appointed as Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of Dollex Industries.

Maitra is CEO, Bokaro Steel Plant
Anutosh Maitra has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

Britto appointed Director (Technical), RCF
Rashtriya Chemicals And Fertilizers Limited (RCF) has appointed C. M. T. Britto as Director (Technical) w.e.f. April 11, 2012.

Khan appointed CFO, Dollex Industries Ltd
Mehmood Khan has been appointed as a Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of Dollex Industries Ltd w.e.f. April 2, 2012

Nazare resigns as Director, Shree Digvijay Cement Company Ltd
Alvaro Joao Serra Nazare, Director of Shree Digvijay Cement Company Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. April 1, 2012.

Menon resigns as Company Secy. Poddar Developers Ltd
Jayshanker Menon has resigned as Company Secretary of Poddar Developers Ltd.

Agarwal appointed Company Secy. Poddar Developers Ltd
Deepak Agarwal has been appointed as Company Secretary of Poddar Developers Ltd w.e.f. March 15, 2012

Jhaveri resigns as Director, Ultratech Cement Ltd
N. J. Jhaveri has resigned as Director of Ultratech Cement Ltd w.e.f. April 4, 2012.

Shivakumar resigns as Director, Info-Drive Software Ltd
K. Shivakumar has resigned as Director of Info-Drive Software Ltd w.e.f. April 10, 2012.

Guleria appointed VP ( Sales & Mktg.), HMSI
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has appointed Yadvinder S Guleria as the Vice President ( Sales and Marketing ) with immediate effect.

Promotional avenues need review

The existence of ISS cadre of MOS&PI and its promotional avenues needs to be reviewed vigorously. The NSSO has nearly 50 ROs throughout the country, headed by JS level officers. It is strange to find that these ROs were previously headed by JTS level officers, suddenly like a floodgate have opened all these posts have been upgraded to the level of JS level officers, which is sheer misuse of powers and government exchequer. Some serious thought should be given by the Government in this aspect and find out the ultimate result/gain after this upgradation of posts.

Suneil

Delay in promotion

Mystery also shrouds the delay in promotion to CBEC members for last six months.

Kumawat

Indigenisation of Defence Production

I agree with the views expressed by the author as far as the poor condition of cadre is concerned. The high motivation level is required to retain good officers in the Service. As the Govt. is emphasizing on modernisation of OFs for indigenisation of Defence Production, it is all the more important to attract best talent in the country to translate this vision into action and hence the IOFS deserves a better deal to reverse the decay of the cadre and if no timely action is taken the day is not far when this service may cease to exist.

Gyaneshwar Tyagi

It may not be true

What is written about the out going Railway Minister may not be true. Atleast the budget he placed in the Parliament needs appreciation. Further, you may give specific instances of short comings rather than giving general remarks.

P Sanyal

Exploitation of Kendriya Vidyalaya Teachers

The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) is doing a wonderful job in providing quality education to the children of the Central Government employees at very reasonable cost. The students of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) have excelled in every field and have brought laurels to the KVS. All the credit goes to the KV teachers, who work hard with the students, who come from not so effluent socio-economic backgrounds including wards of Group D employees. The KV teachers work in very difficult environment. They have to be result oriented and face humiliation by the Principals and higher authorities for the same. They also have to face taunts, slapping of the students and last but not the least even being murdered by the students.

In such situations, the teachers expect support from the management. However, instead of providing support, the KVS management is bent upon harassing the KV teachers and in the process destroying the very foundation of the existence of KVS. In the last 2 years the policies of KVS management are anti its teachers. Last year, the management framed the guidelines for transfer the KV teachers. Due to widespread and rampant transfers, there was a lot of resentment amongst the teachers. The affected teachers ran from pillar to post to get the unjust transfers stopped/ reversed. Some people took advantage of the situation and it is rumored that a lot of money also changed hands. Many of the teachers went to Court to seek justice and many of the transfers got stayed also. The Court also was critical of the policy framed by the KVS management and consequently the KVS management was forced to amend the transfer policy for this year.

This was viewed adversely by the KVS management and in order to teach the KV teachers a lesson, the management has increased the working hours of the teachers. This has been done on the pretext of implementation of Right To Education Act (RTE). To give it legitimacy, the KVS has got the increase recommended by its in house Committee and approved by its Board of Governors. Both the Committee and the Board of Governors are staffed by the persons who are subservient either to the KVS management or to the Central Government and do not have
courage to say no and displease their bosses.

Accordingly, the KVS has increased the working hours of the teachers from 6 hour 10 minutes to 7 hours 30 minutes i.e. an increase of 22 per cent. Can any person even think of increasing the working hours by such an extent in one go? Only KVS can do this. And that too without any commensurate compensation. And mind you, this increase in working hours is for the KV teachers only and not for the students, who will follow the original schedule. So students are not benefitted by these extra hours forced upon the teachers.

The RTE provides for many other measures for the benefit of the students like free education, mid day meal, teacher student ratio, facilities to be provided at the schools, etc. However, KVS management has conveniently turned its blind eye to all these. Only KV teachers have been asked to sacrifice.

Why not the other staff of KVS, who frame these atrocious policies be asked to put in extra hours? The people sitting the KVS headquarters are also part of the education system of the KVS and their working hours should also be increased by 22 per cent.

In fact, the staff and officers of Ministry of Human Resources Development, who is the administrative ministry of KVS and responsible for implementation of RTE be also asked to put in 22 per cent extra hours for the noble cause. They come to office their own will and time and expect the teachers to do all the hard work.

The teachers are already working under tremendous work pressure in the result oriented education. They cannot discipline students because any hard action taken by them is highlighted in the media. The Principals treat them as their bonded slaves and humiliate them as and when they desire to do so.

The teachers are required to come to school before the start of the school and stay beyond the working hours. Their lunch time is only 20 minutes.This includes time for leaving a class and joining the other class after the lunch break. How a teacher, who leaves home at 6 in the morning and would reach home in the evening, can be expected to have lunch within such a short time? Isn't is a very inhuman treatment of the teachers on the part of KVS management? And the KVS management can have its lunch break from 1 to 2 hours on the minimum, in addition to numerous tea breaks.

Now just spare a thought for the lady teachers. They will start their day at about 4 in the morning. After cooking food for the family they will leave for the school at about 6 in the morning and would reach back home at 4 in the after noon. This is the least time. In case a lady is residing in a metropolitan city and goes to school at the other end of the city or to the nearby town, it will take at least 2 hours each way. That means leaving home at 5 AM and returning by 5 in the evening. Where is their family life?

They had joined the teaching job with a view to have sufficient time for their families. Otherwise they are much more qualified and competent enough to compete and get the office jobs. Some of them could have even got better jobs than the people occupying higher positions in the KVS.

The teaching is a different profession from routine office work. It involves not only mental faculties of the teacher but physical labour also, speaking continuously for about 6 hours and moving from one class to another. Then there are preparations for tests, exams, checking of answer sheets, etc. It cannot be equated with normal office work done in air conditioned environment. On the other hand the class rooms are very hot in summer and cold in the winter.

Though, the teachers raised their concern with the KVS management, it was not accepted by them. As such, the teachers association was forced to go the Court for re-dressal of their grievances. The Government being all powerful, the KV teachers being posted at various parts of the country and also being harassed by the management for raising their voices, it is doubtful that they would get the justice. Moreover, the profession of teachers does not behove the to go to the
street like other militant trade unions.

The purpose for writing the above is to bring to the attention of the viewers of this site, the inhuman treatment of KV teachers by the KVS management. The patrons of this site are senior bureaucrats and officials, who take decision in the Government. Unless correctives steps are taken, the education system being provided by Kendirya Vidyalaya/ Central Schools is going to suffer irreparable damage. An idea of the frustration/ feeling of the KV teachers can be gauged by visiting the site www.aikvta.org and I request all to visit the same.

Mahesh Agarwal

This is a story worth sharing !!!

This about Mr.Zavere Poonawala who is a well-known industrialist in Pune. He had this driver named Ganga Datt with him for the last 30 years on his limousine, which was originally owned by Acharya Rajneesh.

Ganga Datt passed away recently and at that time Mr.Poonawala was in Mumbai for some important work. As soon as he heard the news, he canceled all his meetings, requested the driver's family to await him for the cremation and came back to Pune immediately by a helicopter.

On reaching Pune he asked the limo to be decorated with flowers as he wished Ganga Datt should be taken in the same car which he himself had driven since the beginning. When Ganga Datt's family agreed to his wishes, he himself drove Ganga Datt from his home up to the ghat on
his last journey.

When asked about it, Mr.Poonawala replied that Ganga Datt had served him day and night and he could at least do this being eternally grateful for him. He further added that Ganga Datt rose up from poverty and educated both his children very well. His daughter is a Chartered accountant and that is so commendable.

His comment in the end, is the essence of a successful life in all aspects: "Everybody earns money which is nothing unusual in that, but we should always be grateful to those people who contribute for our success. This is the belief, we have been brought up with which made me do,
what I did".

An inspiring example of humility.......

Contributed by-A Visitor

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)