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Gujrat elections to be turning point ?
Gujrat Vidhan Sabha election is going to be turning point in the Indian History. If Narendra Modi wins, despite all the odds, no one will be able to stop him from becoming the Prime Minister.

Will Raghuram Rajan help UPA ?
The question making rounds is will the plain-speaking Rajan, who seems to like to call a spade a space, fit into a government which believes in the idea of a welfare state. The trouble is, if he calls a spade a spade, it won't take much time for the government to marginalise him. If he does not, he won't be effective anyway, say insiders in the Finance Ministry.

BUREAUCRACY

Praveen Mahajan is new Chairperson of CBEC
Praveen Mahajan's order as Chairperson of the CBEC have been issued on Thursday. Her vacancy will be filled up by MS Shobha Chary.

(We said this on July 26,2012)

Empanelment of 1989 batch IPS officers soon
IPS officers of 1989 batch will shortly be empanelled as Joint Secretary in the Government of India. The empanelment meeting has already been conducted. However, there are some mild queries that can resolved any time.

Ajay Chibber was put to number two
Ajay Chibber, Assistant Secretary- General of the United Nations Development Programme was put on number two for the post of Chief Economic Advisor. He had reportedly solid backing of Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Cadre of IAS officer transferred to AGMUT
The cadre of Ms. Arti Lal has been transferred from Gujarat to AGMUT on marriage ground to Gaurav Sharma, a 2009 batch IPS officer of AGMUT. Ms. Lal is a 2010 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.

Siddique goes as PS to Chidambaram
A Siddique has moved to the Finance Ministry as PS to Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram. He is a 1995 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

Chary is Member of CBEC
Orders of senior IRS officer Shobha Chary as Member in CBEC, have also been issued on Thursday.

Seven vacancies of Judicial Member in CAT
There are going to be Seven vacancies of the Judicial Member in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) during 2013. One can apply to the DoPT .

PDG formed for security of Parliament House
The proposal to form the Parliament Duty Group (PDG) has been finally materialized for the security of Parliament House. This group is formed to deal with the security threats.

IRS-IT officer quits service
Indian Revenue Service (IRS-IT) officer, K Shubhendra has resigned from the service.

Vashist appointed First Comdt., Parliament Duty Group
Ajay Kumar Vashist, Senior Commandant, CRPF, has been appointed as First Commandant of Parliament Duty Group. He was already looking after the security of Parliament House New Delhi. He is a directly appointed gazetted officer of 1992 batch.

Nanda is new PS Home in Gujrat
S K Nanda has been appointed new Principal Secretary Home in Gujrat. He is 1978 batch IAS officer.

IAS postings in Gujrat
H K Dash will now be Principal Secretary, Environment and Forests. Joint MD of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd, K Srinivas, has been transferred as Secretary, General Administration Department (GAD). He will continue to be in charge of the Sardar statue project.

Yashaswi Yadav to go to UP on deputation
As the grapevine has it, Yashaswi Yadav is poised to go to UP on inter cadre deputation. He is 2000 batch IPS officer ofMaharashtra cadre.

Custodian Office may be wound up by end of 2013
The Office of Custodian, established in 1992 under the Special Court (TORTS) Act,1992, may be wound up by end of 2013 by the Parliament by repealing the said Act. A bill in this regard may be placed before the Parliament by the Government this year.

JS level vacancy in DIPP
There is a vacancy of Joint Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the Government of India. The vacancy is due to the transfer of Chaitanya Prasad, IAS within the ministry.

Jitendra Kumar to join GoI
Jitendra Kumar, IGP, BMP, Patna, Bihar Police is likely to go on central deputation as IG. He is 1993 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre.

1987 batch IPS officer quits service in MP
P M Mohan, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), PHQ, Bhopal, has resigned from the service. The Madhya Pradesh Government has accepted his resignation and retired him with effect from August 9, 2012.

Bisth to head Forest Departmemnt in West Bengal ?
S S Bisth ,MD of the Forest Development Corporation is likely to head the Forest Department in West Bengal.

Passport officer goes to Shanghai
IFS officer V S D L Surendra passport Officer in Viskhapatnam has been moved to Shanghai.

Karuppasamy empanelled as Joint Secretary in GoI
P Karuppasamy, a 1998 batch SGSL batch officer of Central Secretariat Services, has been empanelled as Joint Secretary or equivalent under CSS in Government of India.

PESB seeks applications for CMD, HSCL
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) is seeking applications for the post of Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Steel Works Const. Ltd (HSCL) Ltd fallen vacant since July 1, 2012. Those willing to apply can send their applications to PESB before September 17, 2012.

Four IRS-IT promoted to DCIT
Four officers of Indian Revenue Service (IRS-IT) have been promoted to the grade of Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (Senior Time Scale). The officers include Jagdish Narayan Sharma, S M Shrivastava and Lakhan Lal Choubey.

IRS-IT officer Amit Nigam gets selection grade
Indian Revenue Service (IRS-IT) officer, Amit Nigam, presently Joint Commissioner of Income Tax has been accorded selection grade (non-functional).

NDA & Naval Academy Examination results declared
Union Public Service Commission has announced the result of the written part of the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination (I) 2012 held on April 15, 2012.

Dr Padwal is SIC in Goa
Former Director of Goa State AIDS Control Society Dr Pradip Padwal was sworn in as State Information Commissioner (SIC) in Goa.

IAS changes in Uttar Pradesh
There is minor IAS reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh.Avnish Awasthi has been appointed as Principal Secretary, Institutional Finance. Sanjiv Nair, Principal Secretary, Cane Development will move to Planning in the same capacity. Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar will now be Principal Secretary, Sugar Industries and Cane Development Department.Yogesh Kumar has been divested of his charge as Principal Secretary, Institutional Finance.AB Rajmauli will be DM, Ballia replacing Brijendra Pandiyan, who now comes to Kanpur ,Dehat.

IPS reshuffle in Himachal Pradesh (UPDATED)
As many as nine officers of Indian Police Service (IPS) working the capacity of Superintendents of Police (SP) have been transferred and posted at different fields in Himachal Pradesh. Accordingly, Vimal Gupta has been made SP (Intelligence) in the CID while RS Negi will now be SP (Narcotics) and Anand Dhiman is posted to Welfare Officer, Police Headquarters. Similarly, Rajinder Bhatia has been posted as SP (Security) in the CID; Ramesh Chajjta as SP, Leave Reserve; Kushal Sharma as SP, Police Training College (PTC), Daroh ; Sanjeev Gandhi as Commandant, 2nd Battalion at Sukoh.

Will Mishra be Chairman of Paradeep Port Trust ? (UPDATED)
S.S.Mishra a railway officer has reportedly been selected as Chairman of the Paradeep Port Trust.He is presently posted as Member Traffic Inland Waterways Authority. Alhough 13 IAS officers 1 IPS officer and two Railway officers had applied for the job,the selection was finalised on 6th august in the shipping ministry.1982 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer Shobhana Pattanayak was the seniormost applicant amongst IAS officer and 1985 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre S S Mishra was also considered to be a powerful contender.

IPS reshuffles in Gujarat soon (UPDATED)
As the grapevine has it, as many as 24 IPS officers would be transferred and posted in Gujarat post Independence Day.

Rekha Gupta selected as Member NCDRC ? (UPDATED)
Ms Rekha Gupta has reportedly been selected as member of the National Commission for Consumer Grievances Redressal ( NCDRC).

CORPORATE

Vedanta Group EC, Anil Agrawal in newly constituted BSIIAC
Vedanta Group Executive Chairman has been inducted as Member in newly constituted Bihar State Industrial Investment Advisory Council (BSIIAC) in Bihar.

Govt to shut down Food processing unit of HMT
The Government of India has approved a closure of unviable Food Processing Machinery Unit, Aurangabad of HMT Limited

Dey appointed Director of India Steel Works
Subrata Dey appointed as Director of India Steel Works

Choksey appointed as Additional Director Libord Securities
Yogesh Choksey has been appointed as Additional Director Libord Securities.

Das quits Sunitee Chemicals'
Madan Das has resigned as Director of Sunitee Chemicals'

Atri appointed as Executive Director of Agro Dutch Industries
Vivek Atri appointed as Executive Director of Agro Dutch Industries

Vaidya quits Dwarikesh Sugar Industries
SS Vaidya has resigned as Director of Dwarikesh Sugar Industries

Gandhi appointed Additional Director ,Madhusudan Industries
Nilesh Gandhi has been appointed as Additional Director of Madhusudan Industries

Sankaran appointed Executive Director, CyberTech Systems and Software
Balasubramanian Sankaran appointed Executive Director CyberTech Systems and Software

Chakraborty appointed as Director,NTC Industries
Dilip Chakraborty has been appointed as Director of NTC Industries

Parekh appointed Director of RDB Realty & Infrastructure
Surendra Kumar Parekh has been appointed Director of RDB Realty & Infrastructure

Desai appointed as Chairman of Man Infraconstruction
Bergis Desai has been appointed as Chairman of Man Infraconstruction

Murali appointed Director of Bhagiradha Chemicals & Industries'
B Murali has been appointed Director of Bhagiradha Chemicals & Industries'

Gandhi apppointed Director of Sundaram Clayton
Kamlesh Gandhi has been apppointed Director of Sundaram Clayton

Jain quits Lakshmi Precision Screws'
Rajesh Jain has resigned as Director of Lakshmi Precision Screws'.

Merani appointed CEO, Xander Finance
The Xander Group Inc., has appointed Amar Merani as Chief Executive Officer of Xander Finance

Ananth appointed VP & Business Head (Climate Solutions), India, Ingersoll Rand
Ingersoll Rand has appointed Sudarshan S Ananth as Vice President and Business Head (Climate Solutions), India Region.

Vij appointed GM, McCann Delhi
Ranjeev Vij has been appointed as General Manager at McCann Delhi .

Das appointed Creative Director (Digital), Mccann Mumbai
Abhishek Das has been appointed as Creative Director - Digital at McCann Mumbai

Patwa appointed Addl. Director, Shakti Pumps India Ltd
Shakti Pumps India Ltd has appointed Navin S. Patwa, as an Additional Director of the company.

Garg appointed Nominee Director, Shakti Pumps India Ltd
Ms. Poonam Garg has been appointed as Nominee Director of Shakti Pumps India Ltd

Puri appointed Director, KKR Capstone
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP has appointed Akhil Puri as Director of KKR Capstone

(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)

Contradiction in govt employment
While employment opportunities for youth in government have declined, there is no end to reemployment of retired senior bureaucrats in various commissions regulatory authorities and tribunals. Those who are left out are made independent directors in PSUs . If these retired bureaucrats were such a brilliant lot , the state of governance would not have been in such a great mess. When some retired bureaucrats can be reemployed even after the age of 65 years , there is no justification for having upper age limit in govt service. State of governance will dramatically improve if there is periodical screening to identify corrupt and inefficient not by their corrupt and inefficient bosses but by means of a public hearing comprising independent persons of integrity and end to practice of reemploying retired bureaucrats or giving fixed tenures

Sudhir Chopra

Empanelment of Secretaries
Dr . G Sundram "Plight of Honesty : the untold bureaucracy" tells the insight story in the empanelment of Secretaries in the Govt.

H Singh

Tragedy but true!

Are you sure that name proposed by Cabinet Secretary for the posts of JS and above are merit based. Let us not talk about merit and correctness in Indian system. I personally feel that a position in a Ministry that should be occupied by a professional is occupied by any of the IAS officer irrespective of his experience, educational background, integrity and knowledge. In India, an IAS officer with a degree in Sanskrit language is preferred over a meritorious officer with degree in Economics or Finance (in other central service) for a position in Finance Ministry or other economic ministry.

Mohan

RIT

Should the PIO transfer the RTI applications to concerned public authority in all cases?

The appellant filed an application under Right to Information (RTI) Act with the President's Secretariat seeking information related to the news of IPS Officer's murder. In response to the application, the Public Information Officer (PIO) gave the name of the department from where the desired information could be obtained. The appellant requested the First Appellate Authority (FAA) to direct the PIO to transfer his petition to the concerned Public Authorities. The FAA also advised the appellant to seek the information directly from the concerned department. During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the appellant submitted that instead of advising him to approach the respective ministries for getting further information the PIO should have transferred his RTI application to the concerned PIO in the respective ministries. The respondent submitted that the appellant knew about where the desired information could be found and he should directly apply to those public authorities and not seek the information from the President Secretariat or expect them to transfer his RTI application to other public authorities. The Central Information Commission (CIC) observed that wherever the PIO knows clearly where the desired information could be found he should invariably transfer the RTI application to the PIO of that public authority and should not expect the information seeker to make separate RTI applications. Since the PIO of the President secretariat knew that the grievance of the appellant had been transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), he should have transferred the
application also.

Comments

The view of the different benches of the CIC has varied on the interpretation of this issue as to whether the applicant is expected to file an application to the PIO of the concerned public authority. The disposal of the RTI application by the PIO has been as per the DoPT circulars (http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/dopt-814) and (http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/dopt-742). Perhaps, the higher judiciary should step in to set aside the confusion and decide the issue.

Citation: Mr. Subhash Chandra Agrawal v. President's Secretariat in File No.CIC/SM/A/2012/000754

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)