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R N Singh

POLITICS

Will Modi become PM ?
Entire country is busy these days in discussing Narendra Modi. Only question being discussed is -will he become PM ?.

BUREAUCRACY

V.C.Pharka is Principal Secretary(PS) to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister.
V.C.Pharka who so far is Principal Secretary (PS) Youth Service and Sports, Horticulture to the Himachal Pradesh Government is being appointed as Principal Secretary(PS) to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister designate Vir Bhadra Singh.Pharka is an IAS officer of the 1983 batch who belongs to the Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Jagdish Chand Chauhan is private secretary to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister.
Jagdish Chand Chauhan is is being appointed as Private Secretary(PS) to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister designate Vir Bhadra Singh.Jagdish Chand Chauhan is an IAS officer of the 2000 batch who belongs to the Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Vir Bhadra Singh to take oath as Himachal CM on December 25,2012
Himachal Pradesh's Chief Minister designate Vir Bhadra Singh will take oath on December 25,2012 in Shimla. He will be administered oath by Himachal Pradesh Governor Ms. Urmila Singh. It may be stated here that Vir Bhadra Singh will become the CM Himachal Pradesh for a record 6th time.

Justice Sen appointed Judge of Supreme Court
Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Justice Vikramjit Sen has been elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Formal orders have been issued.
( We said this on December 4 )

Justice Eqbal appointed Judge of Supreme Court
Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Justice, M Y Eqbal has been appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Formal orders have been issued
(We said this on December 5 )

Justice Gowda appointed Judge of Supreme Court
Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, Justice V Gopala Gowda has been elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Formal orders have been issued.
( We said this on December 6 )

Justice Elipe Dharma Rao is Acting CJ of Madras HC
Justice Elipe Dharma Rao has been appointed acting Chief Justice of the Madras high court late on Friday evening.

Former Telecom Secretary chargesheeted by CBI
THE CBI has chargesheeted former Telecom Secretary Shyamal Ghosh in the allocation of additional spectrum in 2002 when the NDA was in power. He is retired 1965 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.

IRS officer is Joint MD Air India
Syed Nasir Ali has taken over as joint managing director of Air India. He is 1990 batch IRS officer.

Kundu to move to Addis Ababa
First Secretary in Indian High Commission in London Ms Jaya Shree Kundu is moving to Addis Ababa as Second Secretary in place of Sanjay Kandur who has joined the MEA Headquarters.

2 IAS in run for PS to Himachal Pradesh CM
As the grapevine has it V C Pharka (1983 batch) and Narendra Chauhan (1984 batch) are in reckoning for being appointed as Principal Secretary (PS) to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister.

Four IRS-IT officers shifted
Four officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) have been transferred and posted at different places. Accordingly, Gaurav Kanaujia has been posted as Deputy Secretary, TPL, Division, CBDT, New Delhi while Deepak Mittal will now be under Member (A & J), CBDT, Delhi and P R Mane is shifted to CCA, Nagpur. Besides, Ajay Dhoke has been transferred to NADT, Nagpur.

Anthony de Sa to be officiating Chief Secretary, MP
Chief Secretary, Madhya Pradesh, R Parasuram (IAS-78) is going on a week's leave from 23rd December, and Anthony de Sa (IAS-80), who is Additional Chief Secretary (Food and Transport Departments), has been appointed officiating Chief Secretary for the duration of the Chief
Secretary's absence.

Vineet Chaudhary to get posting under new govt. in H.P.
As the grapevine has it, Vineet Chaudhary may get his posting after the newly elected government in Himachal is formed. He is a 1982 batch IAS officer of H P cadre.

Retired IPS officer in Tamil Nadu promoted
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the Tamil Nadu Government to promote retired police officer K Gopalakrishnan as an IGP.

IAS officer dies in Punjab
Harjit Inder Singh Grewal has passed away in Chndigarh. He was 1992 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre.

3 IPS officers of UD cadre empanelled as Joint Secretary in GoI
Three officers of Indian Police Service (IPS) belonging to 1989 batch and Uttarakhand cadre have been empanelled as Joint Secretary or equivalent in Government of India. The officers include: Ram Singh Meena, Ashok Kumar and Safi Ahsan Rizvi.

Maj Gen Mathson to head in Hyderabad
Major General Cherish Mathson will take over the command of an Indian Army division in Hyderabad on January 1.

Dwivedi gets additional charge in J & K
Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Secretary Health and Medical Education has been given additional charge as Commissioner of Food Safety.

Two new Members of WBPSC from Private Sector
This time two new Members in the West Bengal Public Service Commission have been appointed from the Private Sector. They are Debopriya Mullick and Dipankar Dasgupta.

PESB seeks applications for Director (Tech), SECL
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Director (Technical), South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) falling vacant next year on December 1, 2013. Those willing to apply can send their applications to the PESB before January 29, 2013.

SCI - TII panel discussion held on 'making integrity work for business'
The Transparency International India (TII) in coordination with the Vigilance Division of The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd Mumbai, organized a Panel Discussion on "Making integrity work for business" in the SCI Auditorium at Mumbai on December 19, 2012. The guest of honour was K S Ramasubban(retired IAS) former Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission and presently the Vigilance Commissioner, State Vigilance Commission of West Bengal. P S Bawa, (retired IPS), Chairman TII gave the Welcome Address. The key note address was given by S Hajara, C&MD of SCI. M B Sagar, IPS, CVO of SCI was also one among the eminent speakers who participated in the panel discussion.

IAS officer attends talk held by Boston University
Hubert H Humphrey Fulbright Fellowship Office, Washington D C organised a talk at Boston University on December 19. Dr Sitharam Gurumurthi (IAS, TN:72) was one among the group of 27 Fellows from 27 select countries in the first year of this prestigious Fellowship in 1979. Though the program was meant for the Humphrey Fellows in Boston and MIT, a couple of graduate students from Economics Departments of Boston, Harvard and MIT also attended the session as the subject of the talk was a comparative study of the Great Depression 1930 and Global Meltdown 2008 in the US. The talk was followed by a lively debate on the economic policies of the US Dr. Gurumurthi has recently been appointed as Member of the eight member Planning Board for the bifurcated University of Madras, the rest of the board comprising of former Vice Chancellors of various Universities.

S K Jain selected as Director (Engg), HSCC India Ltd
S K Jain, GM, RITES, has been selected for the post of Director (Engineering), HSCC (India) Limited at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on December 21, 2012. As many as 13 persons were interviewed for the same.

Welspun bags ASSOCHAM Global CSR Excellence Award 2012
Welspun Energy Ltd. (WEL) has successfully interwoven business with social inclusion and environment sustainability. This has differentiated Welspun Energy from its contemporaries. In a short span the organization has become the largest clean energy company in India. Simultaneous to business growth, WEL's social inclusion programs have been launched at all its project sites. After assessing the extensive work done by WEL, ASSOCHAM has identified Welspun Energy with its CSR Excellence Award 2012. The award was presented by Former President APJ Abdul Kalam on December 20, 2012 in New Delhi. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries like Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Justice R C Lahoti, Former Chief Justice of India. ASSOCHAM has chosen this year's winners based on their Corporate strategy that focuses on positive impacts and mitigates the negative impacts of doing business. Welspun Energy's CSR commitments were assessed on the National Voluntary Guidelines for the Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business 2011. These guidelines have been instituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. By initiating programs like 'Training the Trainer', Enrolling children in Schools, 'Healthy Baby Competition' and Skill Development for Women, Welspun Energy has engaged with local communities to bring a positive change in their lives. Its social inclusion initiatives are beginning to show transformational results in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. "It is a proud day for us at Welspun Energy Ltd. I am thankful to President Kalam and ASSOCHAM for recognizing our sincere efforts. I believe that local communities are our key stakeholders and any business must share its prosperity with those around it. Welspun Energy has been working on its triple bottom line. We have been engaging with local people to understand their needs and concerns. Based on an extensive consultation with the Sarpanch, District Collectors and local residents, we devise and implement our CSR programs.", said Vineet Mittal, Co-Founder and Managing Director Welspun Energy Ltd. Welspun Energy's leadership is also involved in various forums which are focused on sustainable growth on a global scale; these are - B20's Green Growth Action Alliance, World Economic Forum's (WEF's) Steering Committee on Sustainable Infrastructure & Urban Development. WEL was also recognized for its commitment to CSR by the Amity CSR Excellence Award 2011.

Five IRS-IT officers shifted after promotion to CIT
As many as five officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) have been posted at different places after promotion to the grade of Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT). Accordingly, Mini Sinha Verma has been appointed as CIT (B), Pune (Maharashtra) while Sudhanshu Shekhar Jha was posted CIT (A), Panaji (Bangalore, Karnataka) and O P Vaishnav is CIT (A)-20, Ahmedabad (Gujarat). Similarly, Jasbir Chouhan has been made CIT (A), Belgaum (Karnataka) and Arun Bharat as CIT (JUDL), Chennai (Tamil Nadu). Besides, Prabha Kant has also been promoted to the same grade and is on deputation.

Two IRS-IT officers posted as OSD, CCIT, Delhi
Two officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT), Priya Sahu and Tarun Seem have been appointed as OSD in the CCIT (CCA), Delhi region.

Three IT Commissioners get fresh postings
Three officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) at the level of Commissioner have been given fresh postings. Accordingly, Madnesh Kumar Mishra has been posted as Additional DG (OSD), NADT, Nagpur while Chaitali Panmei will now be CIT (A)-2 and Sunita Bainsla was made DIT (T & R)-2, CCA, Delhi.

Five IRS-IT officers locally shifted
As many as five officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) at the level of Commissioner have locally been shifted. Accordingly, Avdhesh Kumar Nigam has been posted as CIT-I, Lucknow while Sanjay Kumar will now be CIT(A)-I, Lucknow and Prabodh Seth is CIT (A)-2, Faridabad (Chandigarh). Similarly, Anup Dubey has been posted as DIT (Logistics), Delhi; Ms M V Bhanumathi as DIT (Inv)-2, Delhi and S K Singh was posted as CIT (A & J),
CBDT, Delhi.

Three IT Deputy/Asst Commissioners transferred
Three officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) at the level of Deputy/Assistant Commissioner have been shifted. Accordingly, Ms Mayank Prabha Tomar has been posted as ACIT, Inv-IV, CBDT while Yatinder Singh is appointed as DDIT (Prosecution), CBDT and Om Prakash was transferred to Directorate of HRD.

CORPORATE

NMDC, Indian Railways sign MoU for doubling Kirandul-Jagdalpur line
An MoU was signed between NMDC Limited, a Navratna PSU under the administrative control of Ministry of Steel and the Indian Railways in the presence of the Minister of Steel, Beni Prasad Verma and Minister for Railways, Pawan Kumar Bansal on December 21, 2012. As per the provisions of the MoU, the 150 km Jagdalpur - Kirandul section of the Kottavalsa - Kirandul line of the East Coast Railway will be doubled to augment the evacuation capacity of NMDC to meet the increased demand for iron ore of the Indian steel industry. Another MoU was signed between RINL a PSU under the Ministry of Steel and the Indian Railways for setting up a forged wheel factory at Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. Speaking on the occasion, Verma commented, "This will usher in an era of growth dedicated to the service of the Nation. I am sure that apart from benefitting the steel industry in India, the doubling of the railway line will transform the lives of the local tribal population in Bastar, Chattisgarh and adjacent states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh." Speaking about the setting up of the forged wheel factory Shri Verma said, "This unit will be a specialized unit catering to the need for special grade wheels for high speed trains." He further added that setting up of the factory will considerably increase the industrial activity in the region and generate employment opportunities for the youth of the state. Bansal said that the proposed partnerships would provide the much needed impetus to investment in railway infrastructure and increase evacuation capacities from mines, plants and ports and freight traffic for the Railways. He also added that the proposed forged wheel factory would go a long way in meeting the future requirements of wheels for Indian Railways. The MoU for doubling of railway line was signed between Vinay Mittal, Chairman, Railway Board and C S Verma, CMD, NMDC. The project will be implemented by Indian Railways at a cost Rs.826 Crores and same will be funded by NMDC with provisions for suitable returns through freight rebate. The Railways will additionally make necessary investment in wagons, locomotives, other maintenance facilities and deployment of staff. The new line is likely to create an additional traffic of upto 12 million tonne per annum (MTPA) in a phased manner. The MoU for forged wheel factory was signed between Keshav Chandra, Member Mechanical, Railway Board and A P Choudhary, CMD, RINL. The Forged Wheel Factory being set up by RINL to supply forged wheels to the Indian Railways will have a capacity of producing 1,00,000 wheels every year. The factory, the biggest such plant in India will be completed within a schedule of 36 months at a cost of Rs. 1000 crores
(Approximately) and will generate 500 to 600 jobs. The Raw material for the factory will be supplied by RINL's plant in Vishakhapatnam in the form of Continuous Cast (CC) rounds. Also present on the occasion were Secretary /Steel, D R S Chaudhary and other senior officers of
the Ministry of Steel and Ministry of Railway.

NERAMAC MD, S Bhattacharjee gives presentation on NER potential
S Bhattacharjee, Managing Director, NERAMAC, gave a PPT presentation on North East Region - Potential to become an Organic Hub on a seminar on Indian Food Processing Industry-for Sustainable Prosperity in Agriculture held recently at IARI Exhibition Ground, Pusa, New Delhi organized by the All India Food Processors Association, New Delhi.

Mehra nominated as Director in State Bank of India, Bikaner and Jaipur
State Bank of India has nominated Rajeev N. Mehra, CGM (A&S) State Bank of India as Director on the Board of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.

Khurjekar appointed Non Exec. Chairman, Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery Ltd
Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery Ltd has appointed Madan B. Khurjekar who is a Director as Non-Executive Chairman of the company w.e.f. November 9, 2012

Dudhani resigns as Director, Emed.com Technologies Ltd
Sunny Dudhani has resigned as Director of Emed.com Technologies Ltd w.e.f. December 1, 2012

Mohite to resign as Director, Pacheli Enterprises Ltd?
Santosh Mohite is resigning as Director of Pacheli Enterprises Ltd

Iwatsu re-designated as Non Exec. Director, Kokuyo Camlin Ltd
Kokuyo Camplin Ltd has re-designated Hirofumi Iwatsu from being Whole-time Director to Non Executive Director of the company w.e.f. January 1, 2013 .

Jayaraman elevated as Vice Chairman, Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd
Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd has promoted K. Jayaraman to the post of Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company w.e.f. December 21, 2012

(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)

Fears to keep a check on wrongdoings
There are three types of fears to keep a check on wrongdoings whether they are Babus or politicians- the fear of God by whatever name you call it, the fear of ruler or government and the fear of society. Nehru's atheist secularism prevented teaching of religion in schools. The result; the majority Hindus remain nonreligious. Wrong doing was supported by the same Nehru in his support to his Minister Jagjivan Ram forgetting to pay Income Tax and his support to Teja. At a later date one of the eminent PMs, Devagowda justified corruption as a global phenomenon that can not be removed. The society itself has become divided with a hybrid culture of West and India. Even the sanctity of marriage is being questioned. So none of these fears mentioned above is visible in the country. When there is no fear, one can do anything and get away with it as is happening in our country.

N Krishnan

Megalomaniac juggernaut

A new breed of power-hungry and publicity-crazy babu who want to grab at least half a dozen posts in GoI and wield all the associated powers and perks, never leave a deviously-obtained (through political manipulation) additional charge posting of head of a department while being financial assistant of the department, defying all norms and proprieties and taunting his superiors and the government hoping to get away with it all through political and bureaucratic godfathers, has got just desserts but is preaching through this column. Let the destructive juggernaut be halted in its tracks lest the Armageddon do further damage to the polity.

P K Mohanty

Change of mind required

Reservation may not be an ideal solution for delivering social justice but not bad as a measure till we find a better solution. The higher castes even in bureaucracy even today discriminate SC/ST's while writing their CRs and giving postings. Problem lies with the centuries old caste system. Such people from higher castes still pratice castiesm in their social sphere. It is better to make efforts to eradicate the cause than to curse cures. Change of mind is required.

Sewa Ram

Continue reservation till evil of social inequality is eliminated

We have not understood the basic concept behind reservation in jobs and reservation in promotion. Let it be clear in the beginning that neither I belong to Scheduled Castes nor Scheduled Tribes and my comments are simply based on understanding of social issues. Reservation in jobs and promotions is not an end in itself but is a tool to correct a long and deep rooted curse of discrimination based on birth in the Indian society which does not find any parallel anywhere in the world. Reservation in jobs and promotions can be defined as "A tool to provide equal opportunity to socially and economically unequally placed people". The constitutional fathers were visionaries and it was their vision which has prevented civil war situation in our country. Let us answer certain questions: - Without the reservation policy, do you think we would have allowed 15% people belonging to Scheduled Castes and 7.5% people belonging to Scheduled Tribes to sit as Members of Parliament? Think over and answer honestly. If it had happened, the deliberate exclusion of such a large chunk of population would have brought social inequality to result in economic destitution and deprivation. In any democracy you can not do this with 22.5% of the population and if you do, you may push the society to civil war. Thanks to the fathers of the constitution to have had that vision.

Now the question arises, till when it (reservation) should continue ? The answer is very simple, the Patient remains in ICU till the Doctors are clear that he is recovered fully. Similar is the case here, the reservation should continue till the evil of social inequality and discrimination based on birth is eliminated from the roots. All right thinking people should support such an intervention as reservation and should never term it as "nail/nails in the coffin". Another issue is why reservation in promotion ? Since age relaxation is given to people belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other categories, they are always recruited at the higher age, which means lesser year to serve and lesser number of promotions. This is one reason, why you don't find many people belonging to these categories at higher/highest level in Governments/Public Sectors and Financial Institutions. The promotion in reservation perhaps will work as a tool to correct this aberration. I do not know why the age relaxation is given and accepted by people belonging to these categories since even at a normal age only people belonging to these categories will be recruited and once they enter at 21 years of age, they are bound to reach the highest level even without such reservation. Till this anomaly is corrected and the process of age relaxation is stopped, the reservation in promotion is a necessity and should never be termed as "nail in the coffin".

Hardip Singh Kingra