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An excellent site which enlightens all citizens to know inside information about Politics, Bureaucrats and senior level officers of various ministries at a glance.

Sunaina Singh

Why does UPA want a dialogue with opposition party on coal block allotment issue?
The UPA now wants to explain to opposition parties its action on coal allotment it has done previously. There is no room for explanation when a statutory body like CAG has already raised a stink on the entire method say BJP inner circle. Besides the scam ridden UPA is so much on the backfoot that it wants to save face somehow by entering into a dialogue thereby buying time for its survival.

Ajay Sancheti is "Pramod Mahajan" in making
Ajay Sancheti of Nagpur, who early this year was elected to the Raya Sabha as a BJP nominee from Maharashtra, is "Pramod Mahajan" in the making.

Did Congress pressurise Economic Times web page to be removed?
It is heard that Economic Times webpage carried an article by Swamy Anklesaria Aiyar which stated Congress would not win more than 100 seats in 2014. The Congress high command intervened to get the article removed.

Over 3000 delegates to attend Kerala Govt.'s global meet
Over 3000 delegates will attend the three day international mega event being organised by the Government of Kerala in Kochi from September 12 to 14,2012.The event is an initiative of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy . Theme of the event is "Emerging Kerala 2012, Global Connect". Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is nodal Agency for the event.. 'The event is aimed at show casing Kerala to the world', said official sources.

BUREAUCRACY

20 IAS officers retiring in August
As many as 21 officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of various cadres and batches are retiring in August, 2012. They include: Bhupinder Prasad and Sharad Kamini Prabhu Sodhi of AGMUT cadre, Samirendra Chatterjee and Surajit Mitra of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, Navin Kumar and Subha Kirti Majumder of Bihar cadre, Raj Kumar and Phateh Singh of Haryana cadre, Jitendar Pal Singh of Himachal Pradesh cadre, Sunita Sharma of Jammu & Kashmir cadre, Shambhu Dayal Agrawal and Subhash Jain of Madhya Pradesh cadre, Rajiv Aggarwal and S N Karle of Maharashtra cadre, Dipak Kumar Chakraborty and Santanu Das of Manipur-Tripura cadre, Laxminarayan Nayak of Orissa cadre, Karma Nidup of Sikkim cadre, Ajay Bhattacharya of Tamil Nadu cadre and Pratap Singh Gusal of Uttarakhand cadre.

Empanelment of 1979 batch IAS officers next month
Empanelment of 1979 batch IAS officers to the rank of Secretary in the Government of India is expected to take place in September.

Syedain Abbasi poised to be Joint Secretary, Steel
As the grapevine has it, Syedain Abbasi is poised to be Joint Secretary, Steel. He is Assam-Meghalaya (A-M) cadre IAS officer of the 1990 batch.

Dr Alok Sheel poised to be Member in EAC to PM
As the grapevine has it, Dr Alok Sheel is poised to be Member in the Economic Advisory Council (EAC)to the Prime Minister. He is an IAS officer of the 1982 who belongs to the Kerala cadre. Presently, he is a Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).

Nair appointed DG, NDRF
P M Nair, Special DG, Operations, CRPF has been appointed as DG, National Disaster Management and Civil Defence (NDRF&CD). He is an IPS officer of 1978 batch who belongs to the Bihar cadre.
(We said this on August 9)

Vice President to have an IAS as Secretary
Since the President of India has appointed a non-IAS as Secretary, it is believed that Vice President will appoint an IAS officer as his Secretary.

Selection of CVOs this week ?
The meeting of selection committee for scrutinising Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) is likely to be convened within a week. The meeting will be presided over by Chief Vigilance Commissioner.

IRS officer quits
Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) officer Kaushal Kumar Sharma, presently working as Commissioner of Income Tax-I, Kochi, has resigned from the service.

Girls create history in IFS
For the first time in the history of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS),18 girls have joined in 2012 batch. Altogether 35 candidates were selected for the IFS. Day is not very far when women will rule the IFS

Bijay Kumar appointed CVO, FCI
Bijay Kumar, MD ,National Horticulture Board (NHB) has been appointed as CVO, Food Corporation of India, Ministry of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India. He is an IAS officer of 1986 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Shankar Narayan is DC &AG, Eastern Region
Shankar Narayan, Additional Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (Eastern Region), has been appointed as Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General in this office under the office of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He is an IA & AS officer of 1978 batch.

Kini to be ADG, RPF ?
Radhakrishna Kini, IG/Director- Research, BPR&D New Delhi is likely to be appointed as Additional DG, HQ, Railway Protection Force (RPF). This proposal is under process. He is an IPS officer of 1981 batch who belongs to the Bihar cadre.

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh is new DG Assam rifles
Lt Gen. Ranbir Singh has been appointed new Director General of Assam Rifles. He is currently on deputation to the Home ministry.

Canara Bank CMD Raman to be SEBI Member
As the grapevine has it, the name of Sunder Rajan Raman has been cleared for being appointed as a Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank since September 1, 2010.

10 vacancies of DIG in CBI ?
The Prime Minister has approved the upgradation of 10 posts of SP rank to DIG rank in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Justice Siddiqui to be Permanent Judge of MP HC
Justice M A Siddiqui is likely to be appointed Permanent Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a week or two.

Dr T S Sridhar in fray for Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary's post
Dr T S Sridhar, who is presently Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Higher Education in Tamil Nadu, is in fray for the slot of Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. He is a 1978 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre

V N Kaul is only authority in country
There is only a retired bureaucrat in the country who knows the reality in the Coal Block allocation issue. Reason is simple - a1965 batch retired IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre V N Kaul has been Secretary Coal as well as the CAG.

Only 34 IAS officers in Sikkim
It is said that, there are presently only 34 IAS officers serving in Sikkim.

Rajesh Agrawal ,Director Technical, NFL resigns
Rajesh Agrawal Director Technical with National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL) has put in his papers which are yet to be accepted.

Mahalingam gets extension
Counsel General in Jaffna V Mahalingam has been given extension till December this year.

IPS postings in Assam
R.Chandra Nathan, Additional DGP, Administration, Assam Police has been transferred as ADGP(V&AC), Assam, Guwahati in place of Pradeep .Pradeep Kumar, Additional DGP,(V&AC), Assam Police, Guwahati will now be Additional DGP Administration .

Ms. Jaiker is now ACP, Delhi
Ms.Benita Mary Jaiker,on completion of training has been transferred as ACP/Defence Colony(South Distt.), Delhi Police. She is an IPS officer of 2010 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

1982 batch IAS officers are ACS in Maharashtra
Two 1982 batch IAS officers Anand Kulkarni and Sudhir Kumar Goel have been promoted to the rank of ACS in Maharashtra.

Sikkim Chief Secretary gets six months extension
Karma Gyatso, IAS (SK-1977), Chief Secretary to the Government of Sikkim has been given extension in service for a period of six months beginning September 1.

Post of Registrar, DRT-I vacant
The post of Registrar, Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT)-I, Chennai under the Department of Financial Services is vacant. This vacancy is for the officers of Central Secretariat Service (CSS) working at the level of Deputy Secretary/Director. Those willing to apply can send their applications to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) before September 7, 2012.

Transfers and postings in Railways (UPDATED)
A number of senior officers have been transferred and posted in different places in Railways. Accordingly, Anurag, SAG/IRTS/SCR, on being relieved from the post of DRM/BZA, has been posted in the cadre of South Western Railway while A K Manocha, SAG/IRTS/NFR, on being relieved from the post of DRM, RNY, is being shifted in the cadre of Northern Railway and Dr Sidheesh Kumar JAG/IRMS Sr. DMO/WCR has been moved to CR. Similarly, Ram Saran SAG/IRSME RCF/RAE Bareli has been transferred to COFMOW and posted as CME; Arvind Kumar Sharma ECR working WPO/Patna to ECR and Dhirendra Mehrotra, NER shifted to RCF/RAE-Bareli.

21 IRTS officers get selection grade in Railways (UPDATED)
As many as 21 officers of Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) of Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) have been accorded selection grade with effect from January, 2012. The officers include: Ms Saroj Ayush (NR), Alok Tripathi (WR), R Gopalakrishnana (WR), Razi Syed Andaleeb (CR), Karuna Nidhi Singh (CR), Jyoti Prakash Mishra (ECR), Hamendra Kumar (WCR), Ashish Bhatia (NER), Atul Dhojraj Rane (CR), Ms Aashima Mehrotra (RB), Manisha Chatterjee (Verma), (SR), Shivendra Shukla (NCR), Samir Shankar (RB), Neeraj Kumar Mourya (RB), Rajesh Dutta Bajpai (ER), Lata Kumari (NFR/ECR), Pankaj Uke (WR), Samir Kumar (NR), Ashish Kumar (NFR), Ravi Prasad Padi (SCR) and Karan Singh (NR).

Pankaj Agarwal to be Secretary, Consumer Affairs (UPDATED)
Finally decks have been cleared for the appointment of Pankaj Agarwal, Special Secretary, Consumer Affairs as new Secretary, Consumer Affairs in Government of India. He is an IAS officer of 1978 batch who belongs to the Uttar Pradesh (UP) cadre.
(We said this in June 11, 2012)

CBDT Chairperson & Members get zonal charges (UPDATED)
Chairperson and Members of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) have been allocated zonal charges. Accordingly, Dr Poonam Kishore Saxena, Chairperson, has been assigned the charges of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujrat, Maharashtra while S S Rana, Member (P&V), will be holding the charge of Member (P&V), Mumbai, Member (IT), South Zone (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & Central Circles) and K Madhavan Nair, Member (Investigation) was given the charge of all DGs (Inv), and CC (Central Circles). Similarly, S C Jaini, Member (Revenue), has been given the charge of Eastern zone (WB & North East), Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand; Dr Sudha Sharma, member (L&C) gets charge of Member (L&C), Delhi and NWR, Member (A & J), MP, Chattisgarh and UP.

CORPORATE

Disinvestment process of three PSU's to start this year
Disinvestment of the MMTC, Hindustan Copper and Neyveli Lignite would go under the hammer this financial year.

Major disinvestment process this year
The Government of India has budgeted Rs 30,000 crore proceeds from disinvestment in the current financial year.

IPO of RINL delayed
IPO of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) has been deferred by the government due to weak market conditions. It was originally proposed in July.

Stake sales of STC and BHEL on cards
If top sources are to be believed, stake sales of State Trading Corporation (STC) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) are on cards.

Only 13,900 crore raised last year in disinvestment
The Government of India could raise only Rs 13,900 crore instead of budgeted target of Rs 40,000 crore last year. Rs 12,800 crore was mopped up through sale of ONGC shares.

Damodaran to head Committee
Former SEBI Chief, Damodaran will head 21 member panel, including representatives from the government and regulatory authorities and industry leaders such as Anand Mahindra and Kumar Mangalam Birla, to suggest ways to reform the regulatory environment for doing business in India.

Sinha is Head, BHEL's Rudrapur unit
An Assistant General Manager in BHEL's Bhopal unit, PK Sinha, has been made the head of the company's Rudrapur unit. He is likely to join at his new place of posting soon. He replaces SC Rai who has been
transferred to International Operations division.

Muralidhar selected as Director (Prod.), Instrumentation Limited
Alamuri Muralidhar, AGM, (Elect), RINL, has been selected for the post of Director (Production), Instrumentation Limited at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on August 24, 2012. As many as six persons were interviewed for the same.

Nair appointed GM, the Leela Goa
Shridhar Nair has been appointed as General Manager, The Leela Goa

Two Directors appointed on Globus Spirits Ltd Board
Vivek Gupta and Kunal Agarwal has been appointed as Non-Executive and Independent Directors of Globus Spirits Ltd

Saxena appointed MD, Volkswagen (Passenger Cars), India
Arvind Saxena has been appointed as Managing Director of Volkswagen (Passenger cars) India.

Raman appointed Director (F&B), Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa
Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa has appointed Srinivasan Raman as Director (Food and Beverage).

Chandra to be Head of Reckitt Benckiser in India?
Akhil Chandra may be appointed as Head of Reckitt Benckiser for India operations shortly.

Sengupta appointed Exec. VP, TBWA/India
TBWA\India has appointed Subho Sengupta as Executive Vice President and also Head ( New Delhi & Gurgaon operations).

Todarmal ceases to be Director, Welspun India
Arun Todarmal has ceased to be Director, Welspun India.

(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)

Karnataka cadre IPS officer will be CBI chief

None of the 'Sinha's will be CBI chief, my two rupees on it! The fact that you saw the IPS seniority list and procastinated proves your naivety about power games. I will predict only this much.. He will be a Karnataka cadre IPS.

Trispe

Violation of rules in posting of CBEC and CBDT officers

I would like to use your esteemed column to bring the attention of the Finance Minister of India to the blatant violation of rules in posting of CBEC and CBDT officers. To maintain discipline and orderliness in the service the notion of seniority has to be given due respect. But in the previous regime bosses have disregarded this cardinal principle and have posted junior officers to senior posts disregarding the claims of senior officers in that very station. For eg, Commissioner Appeals is a junior level post but in many charges, junior officers have been posted as Commissioner Administration while poor senior officers are languishing in Appellate charges. Likewise, the CIT TDS is a senior level post yet junior level officers have been posted there while much senior officers are working in appellate charges. If the FM can just examine the orders he will find that most of the officers posted in this manner are personally close to the members of the Boards or were working in Directorates in close proximity to the erstwhile set up of the Ministry. This kind of arbitrariness has hurt the morale of the service and in particular senior officers who have better experience in handling the administrative issues. The FM is interested in increasing revenue collection and getting a good response in the CBDT and CBEC Conference on27 and 28th of August in Delhi. But a dissatisfied and demoralized workforce which has been systematically denigrated cannot deliver the results unless its legitimate concerns are addressed. Therefore he is requested to look into such anomalies and restore the matters to their correct and proper order.

Pradeep Menon

Overthrow this last yoke of British colonialism

In state Police organizations, the IPS leadership acts as devoted wife to Front line Police Officers(Constable to Inspector) but in case of Central Police Forces they act contrary to it because the financial interests of IPS are not looked after by Officers of these organizations through organized corruption. Hence they formulate such policies from which people feel aggrieved and seek redressal from courts. Wake up people. It is time to act to overthrow this last yoke of British colonialism.

Aridaman Jit Singh

Govt Servants be given LTC every year

Why can't the Government Servants also be given LTC every year, like those prevalent in the Banks? At least the family should get the benefit/concession.

V Raghavan

Right choice

Appointing Dr SP Singh as Mumbai Police Commissioner, Maharashtra Government has given an opportunity to an upright and honest officer. Right men for the job. Also suggest, take assistance of CAPFs in fighting terrorism in Mumbai as in Delhi.

K S Talian

RIT

Protection to third party information under RTI Act

The appellant sought a number of information regarding a certain property. The Public Information Officer (PIO) refused to furnish information as the owners of the property denied their consent for disclosure of information under section11 of the Act. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) overruled the order of PIO and allowed the appellant to seek complete documents regarding the property. The third party filed an appeal before the Central Information Commission (CIC). The CIC observed that the FAA has neither provided any reasons for overruling the order of the PIO for directing disclosure of the personal information to the RTI applicant, nor recorded any larger public interest while arriving at this conclusion. The CIC held that the FAA appeared to have pronounced his orders without due application of mind and without keeping in mind the relevant provisions under the RTI Act. The Commission further stated that within the transparency Act the right to privacy and personal information have been placed on a separate footing and are protected under the provisions of Section 8(1) (j), Section 10, Section 11 and Section 19(4) of the Act. The Commission upheld the order of PIO and dismissed the appeal.

Citation: Mr. Brij Mohan Kohli v. Chandigarh Administration in Appeal/Complaint No. CIC/DS/A/2011/003691 and CIC/DS/C/2012/000698

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)