What people say about us!

Like many others my day too begins with the 11 AM updates and I always make it a point to go through 5 PM updates! You and your team are doing a great service not only to the executives and corporate world but also to the society! One knows things before others. Keep it up! Let there be little more news/whispers about the corporate world …especially banking!

Bikash

POLITICS

How many seats will Modi win?
By conservative estimates whispers has learnt that there could be 119-120 seats in favour of BJP in Gujarat.

BUREAUCRACY

Justice Eqbal to be Judge of Supreme Court?
M Y Eqbal , Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Justice, is being elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court of India. The SC Collegium is believed to have cleared the name of Justice Eqbal.

Will Madhav Lal move to GoI?
There is a buzz that Jammu & Kashmir Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal is moving to the Government of India. A 1977 batch IAS officer if goes to the Government of India may be Cabinet Secretary because of his age. He is scheduled to retire on July 1, 2015.

Khandey to be Chief Secretary of J & K?
In case, Madhav Lal moves to the Government of India, in all probability, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey will succeed him. He is a 1978 batch IAS officer.

Why proposal of Gujaral turned down?
There was a proposal from the top to give additional charge of Secretary, Disinvestment to Secretary Expenditure R S Gujaral. The proposal was reportedly turned down and the additional charge of Disinvestment was given to Secretary, Financial Services, D K Mittal.

Pant appointed Joint Secretary, Defence Production
Kamlesh Kumar Pant has been appointed Joint Secretary, Defence Production. He is a 1993 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on November 19, 2012)

IRS-IT officer quits service
Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) officer, Sushil Kumar Negi, presently ADIT (Inv.) in the office of DGIT (Inv.), Patna has quit the service.

Deepika Suri to join CBI
Ms Deepika Suri has been appointed Superintendent of Police in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). She is a 1999 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on November 29, 2012)

Charu Sinha to join NIFT?
Ms Charu Sinha is likely to join Central Deputation as Director (Centers), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Hyderabad in the Ministry of Textile ,Government of India. She is a 1996 batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Meeting of CNS on December 7
Committee on National Security and Central Police Personnel Welfare (CN& CPPW) will meet on December 7, 2012 for DG, ITBP and DG, BSF in the Chamber of Home Minster.

Mishra to get two years extension?
S K Mishra, IG (G), Border Security Force (FHQ), New Delhi, is likely to get extension in deputation tenure for two years. He is a 1985 batch IPS officer of Jammu & Kashmir cadre.

Deputation tenure of Sahay extended
Deputation tenure of Anurag Sahay, Chief Vigilance Officer , Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has been extended for two years. He is a 1991 batch IRS officer.

Commissioners posting likely in CBEC
CBEC is going for intra city postings for some Commissioners. Some of the organisations to be affected are, DRI, Delhi Central Excise and Customs and Mumbai Customs at Nhava Sheva. This is a precursor to major changes to be effective in March 2013.

Lt Gen Thakur to be Deputy Chief of Army
Chief of Military Intelligence, Lt Gen D S Thakur will be new Deputy Chief of Army. In all probability he will succeed Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali, who retired on November 30.

Lt Gen Singh to be DGMI
Lt Gen R N Singh, currently the Chief of Staff in the Eastern Command is likely to be appointed as the new DG, Military Intelligence.

Resignation of Ms Ruchika Jain accepted
Resignation of a 2007 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS officer, Ms Ruchika Jain has been accepted by the Government of India. She is now joining the IRS.

Gautam Ghosh is Dy Secretary, MHA
Gautam Ghosh has been appointed as Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs in Government of India. He is a Central Power Engineering officer of 2000 batch.

Kavita Singh appointed Director, Health
Ms Kavita Singh has been appointed as Director, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Government of India. She is a 1995 batch IP&TA and FS officer.

Bishan Singh Bonal empanelled as Joint Secretary in GoI
Bishan Singh Bonal has been empanelled as Joint Secretary in Government of India. He is a 1980 batch Indian Forest Service officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

K K Jain selected as MD, FSNL
K K Jain, GM, SAIL, has been selected for the post of Managing Director, Ferro Scrap Nigam Limited (FSNL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on November 4, 2012. As many as 11 persons were interviewed for the same.

R S Shukla joins AIIMS
R S Shukla, Joint Secretary and & CVO, Department of Health and Family has joined as the new Deputy Director, Administration, AIIMS.
(We said this on October 5, 2012)

Upadhyay gets extension in CBI
Superintendent of Police in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Ghanshyam Upadhyay has been given extension in deputation tenure till August 24, 2014. He is a 1999 batch IPS officer of Orissa cadre.

IAS changes in Madhya Pradesh
Rajesh Kumar Rajora has been appointed Secretary (Panchayat and Rural Development) replacing Ms Kalpana Shrivastav who was posted as Managing Director (Women Finance and Development Corporation). DD Agrawal will now be Commissioner (Food Security) and Controller (Food and Drug Administration). Controller (Food and Drug Administration) M Geetha will assume Agrawal's previous charge.

Two IRS-IT officers get addl. charges
Two officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) have been given additional charges. Accordingly, K Satyanarayanan, CCIT-I, Bangalore, has been assigned an additional charge of CCIT-II, Bangalore while K K Mohapatra, CCIT-I, Kolkata will be holding an additional charge of CCIT-III, Kolkata.

18 IRS-IT officers shifted
As many as 18 officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) working at the level of Additional/Joint/Deputy/Assistant Commissioner have been shifted to various Directorate. Virendra Ojha and Dr Deepak Pandurang Ripote have been transferred to Directorate of IT & TP, Mumbai while Jasdeep Singh is being shifted to Directorate of IT & TP, Delhi and S Ravichandran to Directorate of IT & TP, Chennai. Similarly, Manoj Kumar G has been shifted to Directorate of IT & TP, Bangalore; S Swaminathan to CCA, Chennai; Dr Vedanshu Tripathi to Directorate of IT & TP, Delhi; Jadhav Shukracharya Krupacharya and Amit Kumar Singh to Directorate of IT & TP, Mumbai; Manoj Pandey to Directorate of IT & TP, Delhi; Vikram Batra to Directorate of IT & TP, Mumbai; Satya Sai Rath to Directorate of IT & TP, Bangalore; Neha Chaudhary and S K Chatterjee to Directorate of IT & TP, Delhi and Dileep Kumar has been transferred to Directorate of IT & TP, Mumbai. Besides, Sameer Sharma has been shifted to CCA, New Delhi while Susan Dolores Goerge is being posted to Directorate of Vigilance, New Delhi and Syamal Dutta was appointed to CBDT, New Delhi.

Two IRS-IT officers retire
Two officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) namely S Gopalkrishnan, CCIT-II, Bangalore and Girdhari Lal, CCIT-III, Kolkata have retired.

A R Goyal posted as Joint Secretary in GoI
A R Goyal has been appointed as Joint Secretary to the Ministry of Food & Public Distribution. He is an officer of Central Secretariat Service (CSS).

Harish Gujarati joins DFCIL
Harish Gujarati has taken over as Director, Operations and Business Development in Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCIL). Earlier, he was posted with Railway Board.
(We said this October 8, 2012)

CBI to appoint DIG rank officer in Dubai
India's premier investigative agency CBI, reportedly, is soon to depute a DIG-rank officer at Indian Mission, Dubai.

G Srinivasan posted as Deputy Secretary, DoPT
G Srinivasan has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). He is a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer.

Ms Revathi Bedi posted as DG, Defence/Comm. in CAG
Ms Revathi Bedi, Director General of Audit, Post and Telecommunications, New Delhi, has been transferred and posted as Director General (Defence/Communication) under Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

9 UP State officer awarded IAS cadre against 2002 vacancies
As many as 9 officers of Uttar Pradesh State Civil Service have been awarded Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre against the vacancies of 2002. The officers include: Dileep Sahay, Ajay Kumar Upadhyay, Jai Prakash-II, Rakesh Kumar Goel, Rajeshwar Prasad Singh, Mrs Anita Chatterjee, Dr Jitendra Bihari Sinha, Tirath Raj Tripathi and Muktesh Mohan Mishra.

Upadhyay gets new assignment in Sikkim
G P Upadhyaya has now been posted as Principal Secretary, Social Justice, Empowerment &Welfare Department vice Alok Kumar Shrivastava in Sikkim. He is a 1987 batch IAS officer. Shrivastava has proceeded on central deputation.

Satish Kumar posted as Joint Secretary in GoI
Satish Kumar has been appointed as Joint Secretary to the Ministry of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances. He is an officer of Central Secretariat Service (CSS).

Bhattacharya moves to MEA Hqs
Dr Kheya Bhattacharya, DPR in Geneva,has been transferred to the Ministry of External Affairs Headquarters.

Army to get two additional Selection Board
With a view to creating awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career, two Service Selection Boards have been constituted for Indian Army.

ICFRE's scientist Dr Rashmi conferred 'Innovator of Year Award-2012'
Dr Rashmi, Scientist, Chemistry Division, Forest Research Institute (Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education) Dehradun, was awarded 'Innovator of Year Award- 2012' by Uttarakhand Science and Technology Congress- 2012.

Dr S P Sharma transferred to Delhi (UPDATED)
Dr S P Sharma, Commissioner, Economics and Statistics, Madhya Pradesh, has been transferred to Delhi. He is an officer of Indian Statistical Service.


Rajendra Mishra is also Commissioner, Economic & Statistics in MP (UPDATED)
Rajendra Mishra, Principal Advisor, State Planning Commission, Madhya Pradesh, has been assigned an additional charge of Commissioner, Economic and Statistics, Madhya Pradesh. He is a 1987 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Mrs Neelam Vohra shifted to Expenditure in GoI (UPDATED)
Mrs Neelam Vohra has been transferred and posted as Deputy Secretary, Department of Expenditure in Government of India. She is a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer.

S Subrahmanyan is MD ( MiG Complex), HAL (UPDATED)
S Subrahmanyan has taken over as Managing Director of HAL's MiG Complex at Nasik. Prior to this, he was Chief of Projects at HAL's Helicopter Division (Bangalore). A graduate in mechanical engineering from college of engineering, Guindy, Chennai, Subrahmanyan is also a post-graduate in aircraft production from IIT, Chennai. One of his main tasks at Nasik will be to focus on ensuing new projects at the MiG Complex. Subrahmanyan joined HAL as Management Trainee in July 1980.

Patnaik to be Secretary of Vice President (UPDATED)
G S Patnaik is being tipped to be new Secretary to the Vice President of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari. He is a 1980 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

ICFRE DG, Dr Bahuguna holds talks with Tripura officials (UPDATED)
Dr V K Bahuguna, DG, ICFRE, held a meeting with Chief Secretary, Government of Tripura Dr S K Panda along with Senior officers of ICFRE and Tripura Forest Department to discuss the establishment and activities of the special centre of ICFRE for state of Tripura. Dr. Panda thanked Dr. Bahuguna for opening the Center and promised all help. DG informed that agro forestry models developed by ICFRE can be applied in forest lands allotted to tribal's under Forest Right Act-2006. This will also ensure enhanced greenery of the State. Dr. Bahuguna also offered to train artisans in making products from Bamboos, Canes and other forest based materials. If the skill of the artisans can be enhanced then they can produce marketable produce and generate Livelihood. Once successful in Tripura, which is rich in forest resources, these models will be replicated to other tribal areas. Dr Panda, Chief Secretary requested ICFRE to take up Impact Assessment studies on forestry projects being implemented in the state. He requested ICFRE to develop agro forestry models and raise 20 lakh Bamboo seedlings. He also requested ICFRE to produce quality planting material for use in afforestation programmes in the state and also to train staff of forest department and other Stake holders in various forestry activities. Dr. Bahuguna who met the CM and Forest Minister promised that ICFRE considers Govt. of Tripura as important partner and ICFRE will carry out many projects to help the rural poor and tribal people of North East. S Talukdar, PCCF, Govt. of Tripura Forest Department, Ashok Kumar, Addl PCCF (P), S Kumar, Addl PCCF (P&D), G S Raju, Project Director, Tripura JICA Project, Dr. N S Bisht, Director RFRI, Jorhat, Assam, P K Das, CCF, Pawan. K Kaushik, Regional Director, Extension, CFERE were also present during the meeting.

7 IRS-IT officers shifted (UPDATED)
As many as seven officers of Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) have been transferred and posted at different places. Accordingly, Ms Neha Chaudhary has been shifted to TPOI (5), Delhi with additional charge of APA, Delhi while Dr Vedanshu Tripathi was transferred to Circle 2 (I), Delhi and S K Chatterjee is being moved to TPO II (7), Delhi with additional charge of APA, Delhi. Similarly, Ms Priyanka Singh has been posted to TPO I (4), Delhi; Dileep Kumar to TPO I (10), Mumbai with additional charge of APA, Mumbai; Jadhav S Krupacharya to TPO II (7), Mumbai and Amit Kumar Singh to DDIT (Tech) (IT)-I, Mumbai.

Orders of Justice Arun Mishra issued (UPDATED)
Official orders of the transfer of Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice, ArunMishra to the Kolkata High Court have been issued.
(We said this October 23, 2012)

Notifications for three Kerala HC Judges issued (UPDATED)
Notifications for the appointment of three Justices namely Balakrishnan, Chitambresh and A M Shaffique as Additional Judges of Kerala High Court have been issued.


Arvind Kumar to be permanent Judge of Karnataka HC (UPDATED)
Notification for the appointment of Justice Arvind Kumar as Permanent Judge of Karnataka High Court has been issued.

CORPORATE

Govt to set up independent regulatory for coal sector
With a view to ensuring transparency and best mining practices in coal sector, the Government of India is contemplating to constitute an independent regulatory Authority. It will help in evaluating of a more competitive market, creating a level playing field for new entrants in this sector.

Raise personal income tax exemption to Rs 3 lakh: ASSOCHAM
Raise personal income tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh, reduce service tax and excise tax to eight per cent from 12 per cent and increase deduction of interest on housing loan to 5 lakh to revive consumer demand and boost investment, ASSOCHAM said in its pre-Budget recommendations to the government. The effective rate of corporate tax should also be brought down to 25 per cent from 32.45 per cent at present. "The base exemption limit of resident individual below the age of 60 years should be increased to Rs 3 lakh, to incentivize people to come into the tax net , ensure higher collection from greater compliance and encourage consumption and savings," reveals the ASSOCHAM pre-Budget memorandum for 2013-14. The Pre-Budget memorandum for 2013-14 was jointly released by the President R N Dhoot, Chairman & Co-Chairman of taxes council Ved Jain and J K Mittal respectively and Secretary General ASSOCHAM Mr. D S Rawat. The excise duty and service tax rates were increased in the last two Union Budgets from 8 per cent to 12 per cent. Meanwhile the industrial growth has significantly fallen and due to low capital investment and high inflation, the demand for indigenous goods and services has been affected adversely. "It is therefore, recommended that the excise duty and service tax rates should be restored to the earlier level of eight per cent prevailing two years ago," the memorandum said. Dhoot said it was essential to revise the rate of depreciation on plant and machinery back to 25% from the existing level of 15% in view of the technologies. It said the tax base for goods and services has already expanded to generate high revenue and the government can selectively increase customs duty rates to neutralize the effect of lower tax rate of excise duty and service tax. Besides, by increasing customs rates, the government should protect the domestic industry from unfair competition from countries like China. There are cases where goods are being sold in the global market below production cost in highly competitive markets abroad. At present, the limit of deduction of interest on housing loan is Rs 1.50 lakh per annum. This should be increased to Rs 5 lakh to boost the housing sector as also give relief to middle class families. Moreover, to encourage investments in infrastructure during the 12th plan period, the deduction under 801A(4) "profit linked incentives in form of 100% deduction of income in SEZ development" must be continued, says the chamber chief. Moreover, with a view to have a level playing field and removal of such levies in the proposed Direct Tax Code (DTC), the additional levy of tax by way of surcharge and education cesses should be removed on corporate assesses and similarly education cess on non-corporate assesses. The surcharges, including the education cess were levied as a temporary measure. Further justifying the demand for tax reduction rates, at a time when the global economy is passing through tough times, "the Indian industry is facing competitive disadvantages due to complex multi-layered tax indirect tax structure having cascading effect on cost, high compliance cost and prolonged tax litigation". Another significant recommendation in the pre-budget memorandum submitted to the Finance Minister P Chidambaram relates to tax re-assessment in a blanket manner under Section 147/148 of the Income Tax Act on matters already examined.

REC wins silver medal in display at IITF-2012

Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) has won silver medal for excellent display of village electrification theme in the 32nd India International Trade Fair-2012 held from November 14 to 27, 2012 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi along with other PSUs of Ministry of Power under the Ministries and Departments pavilion category in a ceremony held on 27th November, 2012. Dr. D Purandeswari, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry gave away the awards in the presence of Rita Menon Chairman and Managing Director Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).

Rao takes over as Director, BDL
G Raghavendra Rao has taken over as Director (Technical) of Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a Hyderabad based Mini-Ratna Company.

Mittal quits Industrial Investment Trust
Raj Kumar Mittal has resigned as Director of Industrial Investment Trust.

Bajaj appointed as MD of Haryana Financial Corporation
Tarun Bajaj has been appointed as MD of Haryana Financial Corporation.

Shah appointed as Director of Asian Electronics
DB Shah has been appointed as Director of Asian Electronics.

Kabra quits Zee Learn
Arun Kabra has resigned as CFO of Zee Learn.

Bairaga appointed as Director of Matru Smiriti Traders
Alok Bairaga has been appointed as Director of Matru Smiriti Traders.

Agarwal quits Tirupati Inks
Rajesh Agarwal has resigned as Director of Tirupati Inks.

Mordani quits Parekh Aluminex
Vikram Mordani has resigned as Director of Parekh Aluminex.

Two Directors appointed on Board of Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd
The Reserve Bank of India has appointed R Ravi Kumar, General Manager, RBI and Ashok Narain, also General Manager, RBI as Additional Directors of Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd.

Nanda quits Eveready Industries Ltd
D A Nanda has resigned as Director of Eveready Industries Ltd.

Kumar appointed Addl. Director, Indraprastha Gas Ltd
Rajendra Kumar has been appointed as an Additional Director of Indraprastha Gas Ltd.

Mohan ceases to be Director, Indraprastha Gas Ltd
R Chandra Mohan has ceased to be a Director of Indraprastha Gas Ltd.

Sharma quits Cosmo Films Ltd
Ms Neetu Sharma has resigned as Company Secretary of Cosmo Films Ltd.

Dixit appointed Company Secy., Cosmo Films Ltd
Ms Jyoti Dixit has been appointed as Company Secretary of Cosmo Films Ltd.

Four Directors appointed on Board of DFL Infrastructure Finance Ltd
DFL Infrastructure Finance Ltd has appointed the following Additional Directors on its Board -S Mahadevan, Dr R Baskaran, Ms S Mythili and Ms Krithika Sambamoorthy.

Prakash appointed Whole-time Director, DFL Infrastructure Finance Ltd
B Prakash has been appointed as a Whole-time Director of DFL Infrastructure Finance Ltd.

Mittal quits IITL Projects Ltd
Raj Kumar Mittal has resigned as Director of IITL Projects Ltd.

Bhuvaneshwari appointed Company Secy., Swelect Energy Systems Ltd
Swelect Energy Systems Limited has appointed Ms J Bhuvaneswari as the Company Secretary.

(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)

New CBI Director

As per WIC news, Ranjit Sinha took over as CBI Director on Dec 3, 2012. People of India have high expectations from him. Unfortunately, his selection was mired in controversies. The selection procedure for Director CBI should be amended to stall similar controversies in future.

The following considerations are pertinent : (a) The present procedure is arbitrary, discretionary and the same is based on 'pick and choose', ( b) The authority of selection lies solely with the ruling dispensation; (c) A transparent, non-partisan selection process is the sine qua non for making sensitive appointments; (d) Associating Cabinet Secretary with the selection is not advisable as he serves the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) as its Secretary ; (e) Furthermore, associating the outgoing CBI Chief with selection of incoming chief is unethical as it could bring in biases and prejudices.

Against this backdrop, it will be just and fair to conduct the selection of CBI Director in four stages as follows: (i)The DOP&T should identify 5 to 6 eligible candidates on the basis of criteria laid down in the RRs; (ii) The list should be screened by a committee of top twenty or so IPS officers of DG rank (excluding the eligible candidates) after taking into consideration the general reputation of eligible candidates, their finest qualities of head and heart and, of course, their seniority. The peer group in any organized Service is the best source for antecedents verification and assessing general suitability of candidates ;(iii) The draft short list, thus prepared, should be vetted by the CVC from vigilance angle; (iv) The CVC's recommended candidates must be interviewed by the collegiums headed by the PM with LOP (LS)and the CJI as Members. The selection should be finalized by the collegium on the basis of consensus. Recall the P J Thomas fiasco when the majority decision taken by the PM and HM, after ignoring the dissenting views of LOP (LS) attracted strictures from the Supreme Court. Let the GoI learn lessons from its past mistakes. The RRs of Director, CBI must be revisited by DOP&T and amended accordingly in consultation with the UPSC.

A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)

Functional upgradation not extended
In conformity with the IRS officers it is mentioned that- The CISF & RPF officers Recruited through Civil Services will get JS level in 30 yrs & HAG in 40 yrs of service. Even Functional Upgradation is not extended to them ? The Apex court verdict that GoI should bring parity in promotion & appointment is nt Going to be implemented. It is for sure.

SR

Chairpersons of two IRS Boards sitting quietly

The Chairpersons of the two IRS Boards are sitting quietly waiting for some post retirement sinecure to come their way. The Members of the two Boards do not want to rock the boat either. They are very happy being at the top of their own ladders (howsoever humiliating the treatment vis a vis all other services). That is the reason why the IRS is treated in step motherly fashion.

Arjun Mallik

For political reasons

The minimum fare of Railway is Rs.2/- because of political reasons. This infact should be Rs.20/-. Further, the platform tickets are purchased only by the privileged.

Bimal Bahadur