What people say about us!

I make it a point to go through the whispers. Most of them turn out to be true.

Geetha Krishnamurthy

Appointment of Governors this week?
Much awaited appointment and reshuffle of the Governors is expected to be made this week. Half a dozen appointments are expected.

Is Sonia Gandhi going to act now?
It is heard that there is going to be a major reshuffle in the Congress following the defeat in recent elections, and unearthing of scams. It is also heard that despite a lot of pressure from party men AICC chief Ms. Sonia Gandhi had decided to take action only after April 30, 2012 since the Parliament is going to go in for a recess. It is for the first time since electoral success in 2004 and 2009 that Sonia Gandhi has been facing serious issues of national importance that are challenging the leadership of the Congress Party. However the question remains that whether she will have the courage or not, to act and make a major reshuffle in the party?

Arjun Munda injects transparency in "Good Governance"
The Chief Minister of Jharkhand Arjun Munda has injected transparency in the administration to ensure' "Good Governance."

Cabinet expansion in Manipur on the anvil
As the grapevine has it, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh is going to expand his cabinet in near future.

BUREAUCRACY

IAS unlikely to head NHAI?
There is reliable information that this time IAS officer is unlikely to head the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Justice Kalifullah is new Judge of the Supreme Court
Chief Justice of the J&K High Court, Justice Ibrahim Kalifullah, has been elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court of India.
(We said this on February 27)

Justice Ranjan Gogoi to be a judge in SC
As the grapevine has it, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court (HC), is going to be elevated as a judge in the Supreme Court (SC).

Justice Das to succeed Justice Gogoi?
Justice Bimala Prasad Das of the Orissa High Court is likely to succeed Justice Ranjan Gogoi as new Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

V K Gupta to be GM, Northern Railways
Secretary of the Railway Board V K Gupta is being tipped to be new General Manager of the Northern Railways.

Alok Johri to be GM, NCR, Allahabad
Alok Johri seems to be going to be new General Manager of the North-Central Railways, Allahabad.

Virdi to be GM, NFR
According to informed sources, R S Virdi is going to be new General Manager of the North Frontier Railways.

Justice Singh is Acting CJ of J & K HC
Justice Virender Singh, senior most Judge has been appointed as Acting Chief Justice of the J & K High Court.

P K Chaudhary is new Chief Secretary of Haryana
Secretary Industrial Policy and Promotion in the Government of India P K Chaudhary is returning to the parent Haryana cadre as new Chief Secretary. He is a 1977 batch IAS officer.
(We said this on March 21)

Sindhushree Khullar is new Secretary, Planning Commission
Secretary Sports and Youth Welfare in the Government of India Ms. Sindhushree Khullar has moved as Secretary Planning Commission.1975 batch UT cadre IAS officer Ms Khullar has replaced Ms Sudha Pillai who superannuated on March 31.
(We said this on March 30)

D R S Chaudhary is new Secretary, Steel
D R S Chaudhary has been appointed new Secretary Steel in the Government of India. 1977 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Chaudhary was earlier Secretary, Public Enterprises.
(We said this on March 30)

O P Rawat is Secretary, Public Enterprises
O P Rawat has been appointed new Secretary Public Enterprises in the Government of India. He is a 1977 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on March 30)

Lamba is Secretary, DoNER
A S Lamba has been appointed new Secretary DoNER in the Government of India. He is a 1977 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.
(We said this on March 27)

Sharma to be Additional Secretary, Legal Affairs
M K Sharma, Joint Secretary, Legal Affairs, in Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, is likely to be promoted as Additional Secretary, Legal Affairs. He is a Judicial Service officer. His appointment file is pending before ACC for consideration.

Balwinder Singh is now Advisor in Corporate Affairs
Balwinder Singh, Ex-Special Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been appointed as Adviser in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He is an Andhra Pradesh cadre IPS officer of 1976 batch.

New Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board to be an IFS officer
As the grapevine has it, new Chairman in the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is going to an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre from 1981 batch whose file has been lying with Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests Ms. Jayanthi Natarajan.

Sharma is acting DG of BPR&D
K N Sharma, Additional DG, BPR&D, will look after the additional charge of DG, BPR&D. Her is Gujarat cadre IPS officer of 1976 batch. The post has fallen vacant following the superannuation of Vikram Srivastava.

Garg is now Principal Secretary to UP Chief Minister
Rakesh Garg is going to be new Principal Secretary to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. He is 1980 batch IAS officer.

Harinder Hira is new CS, HP
1976 batch IAS officer Ms Harinder Hira is new Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh. Ms Hira will also retire on May 1. She is the third successive women Chief Secretary after Asha Swarup and Rajwant Sandhu.
(We said this on February 15)

Sudripto Roy appointed OSD in HP
ACS in Himachal Pradesh Sudripto Roy has been appointed OSD in the Mantralaya. Roy, who is 1978 batch IAS officer, is expected to be next Chief Secretary on May 1.

Will Dr Ravindra Singh join as AS, Culture?
Dr Ravindra Singh whose appointment was made as Additional Secretary, Culture in the Government of India is now unlikely to move to the centre. He is a 1979 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Baijendra Kumar to head New Raipur Development Authority
Principal Secretary Housing and Environment in Chhattisgarh N Baijendra Kumar has also been made Chairman of the New Raipur Development Authority. He is 1985 batch IAS officer.

Shiv Raj Singh to head Power Companies in Chhattisgarh
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Shiv Raj Singh has been made head of the state Power Companies.

Prasad to take charge as Director in PDA office in July 2012
Amitabh Prasad, who has been transferred and posted as Director in the office of Principal Director of Audit, London, has initially joined as SDO and will take full charge in July, 2012 with relieving R Naresh of the same.

85 posts of Judges vacant in Allahabad HC
As many as 85 posts of Judges have been lying vacant in Allahabad High Court against, an approved strength of 160. They include 18 posts of Permanent Judges against 76 approved strength and 67 of Additional Judges against, 84 approved strength.

Ram Kripal moves to Ajmer
Ram Kripal, Deputy Director General, NSSO (FOD), has been transferred to NSSO (FOD), Ajmer, Rajasthan as Deputy Director General. He is an Indian Statistical Officer of 1985 batch.

Two CBI officials selected for Mid Term training
Two officers of CBI have been selected for the Mid career one month training, 3rd batch, Phase-V, MCTP course, 2012 in United Kingdom (UK). They are H.C. Galhotra, Rajasthan (batch 1985) and Rishiraj Singh, Kerala cadre (1985 batch).

13 IRS officers empanelled as Joint Secretary in GoI
As many as 13 Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers of 1985 batch have been empanelled as Joint Secretary in Government of India (GoI). The officers include: Vivek Johri, Debi Prasad Dash, P Nageshwara Rao, Ringzing D Negi, C Rajendran, Bankey Behari Agarwal, Prasanna Kumar Dash, Parminder Singh Sodhi, Sharawan Lal Meena-1, D P Nagendra Kumar, Kamal Jeet Chaudhary, Ajay Jain and Dr. Sugan Lal Meena-II.

10 IRTS officers empanelled as Joint Secy. in GoI
As many as 10 Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officers of 1985 batch have been empanelled as Joint Secretary in Government of India (GoI). The officers include: Rajiv S Stock dilution of Rs 35,230 Crs on the anvil?

Ms. Gupta is DD (CRA), PD, Audit (Central), Lucknow
Ms. Sarita Kumari Gupta, Deputy Accountant General (SRA/ITRA/CERA), in the office of Principal Accountant General (Audit), Bihar, Patna, has been transferred and posted as Deputy Director (CRA) in the office of Principal Director of Audit (Central), Lucknow, branch office Patna
under the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

IAS officer celebrates retirement in Madhya Pradesh
Ever heard of retirement celebration? Infact, 1980 batch IAS officer Pukhraj Maroo retired on March 31 as ACS in Madhya Pradesh and his wife Dr Shobhna Maroo and daughter Michelle Maroo hosted a big party in a posh hotel to celebrate retirement. While leaving the hotel all the guests were presented a flower carrying one quote "Goodbyes are not forever, Goodbyes are not the end. They only mean, "I'll miss you, until we meet again".

Infant is new DGP of Karnataka
A R Infant has been appointed new Director General of Police in Karnataka. He is a 1977 batch IPS officer.

Bidari to head Police Housing Corporation in Karnataka
Outgoing DGP of Karnataka S M Bidari has been appointed Chairman of the Police Housing Corporation in Karnataka.

VRS of IAS officer opposed in Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Nadu Government has opposed the VRS request by 1983 batch IAS officer K Ashok Vardhan Shetty.

Outgoing Haryana Chief Secretary is Information Commissioner
Outgoing Haryana Chief Secretary Ms Urvashi Gulati has taken over as Information Commissioner in the state. 1975 batch IAS officer Ms Gulati retired on March 31.

Dash promoted as ACS, Comm., Industries, Employment in MP
P K Dash has been promoted to the rank of Chief Secretary and posted as Additional Chief Secretary in Madhya Pradesh, Commerce and Industries and Employment. He is a 1981 batch IAS officer.

Swadeep Singh is now ACS, Labour also in MP
ACS Tribal Welfare in Madhya Pradesh Swadeep Singh has also been made Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Labour. He is a 1979 batch IAS officer.

Pravir Krishna returns to MP cadre
Pravir Krishna has returned to his parent cadre of Madhya Pradesh. He is an IAS officer of 1987 batch. On completion his central deputation he had done APPA course.

Harish Agarwal poised to be a Director in MEA
As the grapevine has it, Harish Agarwal on central deputation is poised to join Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as a Director. He is an Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer of 1997 batch.

Manoj Jhalani joins GoI
Manoj Jhalani has joined the Government of India as Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare. He is a 1987 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

IG gets promotion on last day of retirement
Poonuswamy, IG (Adm&Works), CRPF Directorate, New Delhi was promoted as Additional DG on the last day of his retirement. He is a CRPF cadre officer of 1973 batch.

Five IPS officers selected for training in UK
Five IPS officers have been selected for training in the United Kingdom. They are Mssrs: Khagen Sharma - Assam -1982, Umesh Kumar - Assam - 1984, Pradeep Kumar - Assam - 1984, Rajeeb Mohan Singh - Assam - 1984 and Kuladhar Sakla - Assam - 1985.

Kiran Kumar is Director of SAC
A S Kiran Kumar, Associate Director, Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, has taken over as Director. He has succeeded R R Navalgund.

Basudeb Banerjee is new Home Secretary in West Bengal
Basudeb Banerjee has been appointed West Bengal Home Secretary. He is 1983 batch IAS officer. Outgoing Secretary Home, G D Gautama, has been made Information Commissioner.
(We said this on March 30)

IAS changes in Manipur
Principal Secretary Ameising Luikham has been given additional charge of Education-S, Adult education and SCERT Dr J Suresh Babu has been made Principal Secretary Home, CAF&PD and IFCD.

Prakash Thosre is new MD in Maharashtra
Prakash Thosre is reported to have been appointed new MD of the Maharashtra Forest Development Corporation in place of S K Sood. S W H Naqvi will be Wildlife.

Deepak Sharma to be promoted as PCCF in Karnataka
Deepak Sharma is being promoted as PCCF in Karnataka on March 31, 2012. He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1977 batch who belongs to the Karnataka cadre.

Binod Kispotta demits office from Manipur Government
Binod Kispotta who was Principal Secretary (PS) Home and Personnel with the Manipur Government demitted office from Manipur Government on March 31, 2012.He is a Manipur cadre IAS officer of 1987 batch.

D S Poonia, CS, Manipur to hold charge of Personnel
D S Poonia, Chief Secretary with the Manipur Government, has been given charge of Personnel department. He is a Manipur cadre IAS officer of 1978 batch.

IAS changes in Kerala on the anvil
As the grapevine has it, IAS changes are on the anvil in Kerala.

Justice Ganguly to be Chairman of WBHRC?
Former Judge of the Supreme Court Justice A K Ganguly is being tipped to be new Chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission.

IFS promotions & postings in Maharashtra
As many as five Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers have been promoted & posted. They are: S.K. Sood (1976 batch) retired on March 31,2012, P.J. Those (1977 batch) posted as M.D. FDCM, S.W.H. Naqwi(1977 batch) promoted as PCCF & posted as Wild Life & Chief Wild Life Warden of Maharashtra, Devendra Kumar(1982 batch) promoted as Additional PCCF & posted as APCCF(RU) & D.K.Tyagi on return from GOI to CCF Yeotmal.

PESB seeks applications for Director, NSC
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Director (Commercial), National Seeds Corporation Limited (NSC). Those willing to apply can send their applications to the PESB before May 31, 2012.

PESB seeks applications for CMD, AYCL
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), Andrew Yule & Company Limited (AYCL). Those willing to apply can send their applications to the PESB before May 30, 2012.

Ravindranath is DG, Medial Services (Army) (UPDATED)
Lt Gen Gautam Ravindranath has taken over as Director General Medical Services (Army). He was commissioned in the Army Medical Corps as Captain on January16, 1975.

Lt Gen Mukherjee takes over as DG, Artillery (UPDATED)
Gen Anjan Mukherjee assumed the charge as Director General Artillery. He took over from Lt Gen Vinod Nayanar who superannuated from service in March 2012. Lt.Gen Mukherjee was commissioned in December 1973.

R Krishnan takes over as Director (HR), BHEL (UPDATED)
R Krishnan has assumed charge as Director (Human Resource) of the Navratna Public Sector engineering and manufacturing enterprise Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). Prior to this, he was heading the company's Heavy Power Equipment Plant, Hyderabad as Executive Director. An Electrical and Electronics Engineer from REC, Trichy (now NIT) and a Post Graduate in Design & Production of Heavy Electrical Equipment from MACT, Bhopal (Presently MANIT, Bhopal), Krishnan joined BHEL as an Engineer Trainee in 1977. He has 35 years of diversified and versatile professional experience through working in major segments of BHEL.
(We said this on Sep. 13, 2011)

Sunil Soni to be Additional Secretary Banking (UPDATED)
Sunil Soni is being tipped to be new Additional Secretary Financial Services in the Government of India. He is 1981 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.

Chahar to be Additional Secretary Legal Affairs (UPDATED)
S S Chahar is being appointed Additional Secretary Legal Affairs in the Department of Law in the Government of India.

Sanjay Singh to be Additional Secretary Legislative (UPDATED)
Sanjay Singh is being tipped to be Additional Secretary Legislative Affairs in the Government of India.

Ms Priti Mohanty is new CGDA (UPDATED)
Ms Priti Mohanty has taken over as new Controller General of Defence Accounts. She is 1977 batch IDAS officer.

Ajit M. Sharan to be Additional Secretary Revenue (UPDATED)
Ajit M. Sharan on central deputation is poised to be Additional Secretary Revenue.He is an IAS officer of 1979 batch who belongs to the Haryana cadre.

Sreekumar to join as MD, HMT-MT on April 16 (UPDATED)
M D Sreekumar, Director (Tech & Oper), HLL, who was selected as Managing Director, HMT Machine Tools Limited (HMT-MT) by PESB, will take over the charge at Bangalore on April 16, 2012.

NMDC's Ladies Club distributes free lunch to cancer patients (UPDATED)
Mineral Eves Club, Hyderabad, a Ladies Club of NMDC officers' Head office, Hyderabad distributed free lunch to poor patients and their attendants at Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute at Jubilee Hills. The ladies of the Club personally served the food to the patients. Mrs. Sagarika Nanda wife of CMD, NMDC, Mrs. Bharti Singh wife of Director (Personnel), Mrs. Sipra Das wife of Director (Commercial) of the Club were present on this occasion while Mrs. Sutapa Bhattacharya, Secretary, Mineral Eves Club coordinated the programme.

Former IAS officer is now Chairman in Uttar Pradesh (UPDATED)
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Navin Chandra Bajpai has been appointed as the Chairman of the State Planning commission.

Anand Prakash is new FC in Delhi (UPDATED)
Anand Prakash has been appointed new Financial Commissioner in the Delhi Government.1979 batch UT cadre IAS officer Anand Prakash has succeeded P Mehra who retired on March 31. He will also be CMD DFC.
( We said this on March 29 )

Ms Mukherjee goes on deputation to MCD (UPDATED)
Ms Debashree Mukherjee has gone on deputation as OSD in the Municipal Corporation,Delhi.She is 1991 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

Jha is Director DTE in Delhi Government (UPDATED)
S N Jha has been appointed Director DTE in the Delhi Government. He is 1999 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

Justice Kuldip Singh appointed as Judge of HP HC (UPDATED)
Justice Kuldip Singh, Additional Judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court has been appointed as Judge of the same High Court.


Justice C S Singh appointed as Addl. Judge, Patna HC (UPDATED)
Chakradhari Sharan Singh has been appointed as an Additional Judge of the Patna High Court for a period of two years.

Justice A K Sharma is Judge of MP HC (UPDATED)
Justice Anil Kumar Sharma, Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has been appointed as Judge of the same High Court.

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

Stock dilution of Rs 35,230 crs on the anvil?
An estimated stock worth Rs 35,230 crs is likely to hit the share markets till June 2013.As per the SEBI listing guidelines of "minimum public shareholding" norms, government companies shall have a minimum public shareholding of 10 per cent and the private sector companies shall have a minimum public shareholding of 25 per cent. Currently, there are about 11 PSUs in which the government holds more than 90 per cent stake. The leading PSUs where the holding needs to be brought down are MMTC, HMT, National Fertilizers, Neyveli Lignite, RCF, State Bank of Mysore and STC. Similarly, there are about 110 private sector companies in which the promoters hold more than 75 per cent stake. Hence, leading private sector companies that need to dilute their shareholding include Wipro, DLF, Reliance Power, Omaxe, Bajaj Corp, Godrej Properties, Jaypee Infra, L&T Finance.

Who are corporates' who sold allocated coal blocks?
It is heard that some big corporates' sold the coal blocks for a handsome amount after the allocation and siphoned off the money.

Vasu Sharma writes letter to PM
A leading lawyer of Delhi, Vasu Sharma, has written a letter to the Prime Minister drawing his attention towards coal block allocation in the country. He has pointed certain anomalies in the allocation. He has also planned to file a PIL.

A corporate house breathes a sigh of relief
One corporate house who's name did not feature in the Coal Gate is rejoicing as its name is likely to appear in the next audit report of CAG. It is heard that the corporate in question said our "our crimes will look a lot less than everyone else's, so nobody can single us out".

Jaykrishna moves to ED, Direct Sales of HPCL
Jayakrishna S has been moved as Executive Director Direct Sales from the post of Executive Director Business Development. It is also heard that the post of ED Business development is not likely to be filled up and most likely will be merged on a later date.

Hemant Sharma is new CEO of CESU
Hemant Sharma has taken over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) of. He is 1995 batch IAS officer.

Lucas appointed non executive director of Essar Energy
Steve Lucas has been appointed non executive director of Essar Energy plc.

Ms. Vagadia appointed CFO of Suzlon group
Ms. Kirti Vagadia has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of Suzlon Group.

Banerjee quits Suzlon Group
Robin Banerjee who was CFO of Suzlon Group has quit the company.

Jogi resigns as Director of Shekhawati Poly Yarn
Sanjay Jogi has resigned from the directorship of Shekhawati Poly Yarn

Anand appointed MD and CEO Asian Paints
KBS Anand has been appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of Asian Paints.

Vamanray appointed additional director of Spectacle Infotek
Mathuria Tushar Vamanray has been appointed as additional director of Spectacle Infotek.

Vishnu appointed director of XL Energy
PR Vishnu has been appointed as independent director of XL Energy

Jain appointed additional director of Varun Industries
Raaja Jain has been appointed as the additional director of Varun Industries.

Oishi designated as Director & Managing Exec. Officer (Mktg & Sales), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has re-appointed Shuji Oishi as Whole - time Director who has been designated as Director and Managing Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) for a further period of three years w.e.f. April 13, 2012

Kochouseph Chittilappilly appointed Exec. Vice Chairman, V-Guard Industries Ltd
V-Guard Industries Limited has appointed Kochouseph Thomas Chittilappilly as the Executive Vice Chairman of the company.

Mithun Chittilappilly appointed MD, V-Guard Industries Ltd
Mithun K Chittilappilly has been appointed as the Managing Director of V-Guard Industries Ltd w.e.f. April 1, 2012 for a period of three years.

Umesh Chowdhury designated as Vice Chairman, MD & CEO, Titagarh Wagons Ltd
Umesh Chowdhary, has been designated as Vice Chairman and Managing Director and CEO of Titagarh Wagons Ltd w.e.f. March 24, 2012.

J P Chowdhury to continue as Exec. Chairman, Titagarh Wagons Ltd
J P Chowdhary will continue as Executive Chairman of Titagarh Wagons Ltd.

Somani resigns as Company Secy. Gangotri Iron and Steel Company Ltd
Ms. Priti Somani, Company Secretary, Gangotri Iron and Steel Company Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. March 31, 2012

Arora re-appointed MD, Arrow Textiles Ltd
Arrow Textiles Ltd has re-appointed Chand Arora as Managing Director of the company w.e.f. April 01, 2012

Nanda to continue to hold additional charge as CMD, NDMC until further orders
N K Nanda, Director (Technical), NMDC Ltd will continue to look after the charge of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, NMDC Ltd. beyond March 31, 2012, in addition to his regular assignment until further orders.

Two directors cease to be on the Board of Sunil Industries Ltd
Ashish Garg and Punit Agarwal, have resigned as directors of Sunil Industries Ltd w.e.f. March 15, 2012.

Merchant appointed Addl. Director, Trade Wings Ltd
A G Merchant has been appointed as an Additional Director of Trade Wings Ltd.

Merchant appointed additional director of Trade Wings
A G Merchant has been appointed as additional director of Trade Wings.

2 resign from directorship of Sunil Industries
Ashish Garg and Punit Agarwal have resigned from the directorship of Sunil Industries

2 appointed additional directors of Sunil Industries
Rohit Gadia and Iftadad Hossain have been appointed as additional directors of Sunil Industries.

The world does not run in a copy book fashion. No body can predict in advance whether a policy will be correct or incorrect in future. The bureaucrats cannot be held solely responsible to wrong policy decisions.

A Srivastava

Singh has harmed more than enemies

Never before has there been so much interpersonal clash in the bureaucratic circle. The Army Chief V K Singh will go down in history as the single individual who harmed the cause of the armed forces more than any enemy. The curse of individual politics and interpersonal
breakdown is affecting many more departmens as well. In the Income Tax department also, there is complete breakdown of official and unofficial communication between the Chairman and other members. In Customs And Excise also there is breakdown of relations between the members. When will these officers rise above personal egos.

A K Sharma

An irony!

Ministry's top technocrats serving highway sector not finding place even in shortlisting!!! It is irony.

S K Marwah

Three Honest Men & The Media

HD DevaGowda, Manmohan Singh & Antony are all simple men. We can take them at their word. But can we do so to the media, which has given ample proof of lost integrity. The Defence Minister's press conference is being twisted by several TV channels, some of whom claim to be the number 1 channel in the country. The Defence Minister was in his best: straight forward, confident, dignified and transparent. But the TV channels are portraying it as a divide or war between the Army Chief and the government. Obviously it is paid news. The lobbyists and their representatives are interviewed for several minutes, allowed to speak anything against the Army Chief. They should be arrested by the CBI and interrogated. The TV channels should not betray the trust of the aam aadmi. Many media personalities have collected disgrace in the Radia case. In the defence muck, they will also get arrested if they play dirty or obnoxious. Fearing the long arm of the law, people like HD Kumaraswami have already started taking pre-emptive action by making publicly disclosures about the lobbies that approached him with bribes for getting them business from the defence ministry. May be the next disclosures come from the former defence ministers. We will see more disclosures. There is no ground to say anything about HDD, MMS or AKA: simple people. But the lobbyist get what they want by seducing the vulnerable lower categories. Had they approached the Army Chief or MMS for a copy of the letter they would have failed, but by approaching some lower centre of control they got what they wanted and misused it for anti-national purposes in collusion with friendly or embedded media.

M L Gupta

Heartiest congrats

Heartiest congrats to Harinder on her elevation to the post of CS,HP. She was our batch mate in IRS(1974) and it is nice to see her becoming the top bureaucrat in HP. Best of luck to her.

R Bharadwaj

Position vacant

Time they filled this position soon. The Traffic Management and Road Safety bill was sent to Parliamentary committee and is pending. Time government took Road Safety seriously and appointed a sensitive Chairman who can help lead this.

Jay Parkhe

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)