What people say about us !

Really, it is a very good and informative site.

S C Dhawan

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Bedi and Kejri.... Pinni and Ghevar (Sweets.. Pinni from Bedi's and Ghevar from Kejri's hometowns), In 2011 got braver and braver, But when 5 State Polls came, Don't know why they became tame??

It is indeed surprising how they've changed track.... akin to 'driving in the fast lane' and all of a sudden shifting to 'walking on the footpath'!! Bedi's daughter's admission in a Medical College and Kejri's Trusts, they say have put both on the back foot!! However, despite Congress's best efforts they've not been able to come up with anything on Anna... Anna ki Jai!! Having said this I'd like to say that if even Mr. Honesty in Congress , Mr. Manmohan Singh, is put under the scanner like Team Anna has been put under ..... outcome will be a mountain of scum!! Anna should no longer go on a fast....... Bedi and Kejri should only expound what Anna says and Anna should
concentrate only on corruption!!! On IAC being seen as anti Congress...... well fact of the matter is if BJP had been in power IAC would have been seen as anti BJP and BJP would have been beating its chest that IAC is a front for Congress!!! Politicians have played dirty and blocked the passage of even the Jokepal Bill.... Lokpal Bill was killed by Congress and replaced with Jokepal!!!!

Rahul keeps saying in UP 'Aap ke ghar mein rehtha hoo', 'Aap ka khaana khatha hoo'!!

That's because after his home stays he's done nothing to correct the problems he's seen the people face and that too first hand!!! Okay as BSP is in power in UP he has an excuse 'what could I do'.... but have you heard him even utter a word demanding correction of the problems
he's seen people face.... he could have at least got Congress MPs utilize MPLAD finds to correct some of the inadequacies he experienced firsthand...... he and his Mom have underutilized their MPLAD funds... why??? No doubt in UP Congress's tally will go up...... from 20 seats to about 32 seats ( does not include RLD)!! But can Congress being King Maker be seen as a Victory for Rahul.....the vote is fractured and its a post poll alliance, so its not the People's mandate???? In
Punjab Manpreet Badal is hoping with everything crossable, that with 2 seats he'll be King Maker!!! And Congress becoming King Maker will in fact harm it in the General Elections.... anti incumbency would set in by then!! Can Congress go in for a midterm Poll...... could be???? And
Rahul could parachute into PM's chair...... and imagine they say Rahul is against nepotism.... fact is it's because of gross and shameless nepotism he is where he is!!

Maya must send a thank you note to EC for covering up her wasteful spending!!!
BSP's elephant's tusk is down whereas the tusks of the elephant statues upwards all are bending!
Why to EC Cycles and Hands do not look offending???
And Air Force to cover up 'badals' (clouds) in the sky why EC is not sending??

Why is EC taking the Indian electorate to be a bunch of 'simplistic fools'!!! In UP people are aware of Maya's waste on statues.... by covering up the statues EC has in fact helped Maya... few may forget about this waste.... after all our memories are short and we know about the inducements used during elections!! Crores are spent in each constituency and EC should try to tackle this menace.... you think EC does not know that the figure EC has mandated as expenditure during
election is a joke.... candidates spend this money on just 'chai paani'!! Electoral reforms are a must.... but this cannot take place because first the objective of becoming an MP or MLA has to
change..... its for sure that MPs and MLAs make minimum 10 times of what they spend during elections!! It's like a business!!! And coming back to covering of Maya's statues... what a colossal waste!!!

PS......Mamtha's got Sonia livid...... Sonia's livid that an ex employee is showing Congress her 'teeth'!!! Present COAS has been declared 'persona non grata' by Congress...... at one time it's said they tried to bait him to stop his age demand by promising him a Governorship... he refused saying 'what credibility will I have as a Governor if I cannot prove that I did not lie about my age'...... well known fact.....Congress's allergy to Singh....... because he's refused to play ball in two big Tenders??? BCCI should request for a break and fly the Indian Team to Bangladesh and play a couple of matches so that Tendu scores his 100 centuries...... and if BCCI wants to abs sure he does this the match can be fixed!!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Bihar CM felicitates Richard Gere (UPDATED)
Hollywood star Richard Gere who is attending a religious discourse on Buddhism by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the 10-day Kalachakra puja in Bihar's Bodh Gaya was felicitated by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on January 9,2012.

Do or die for Gadkari
It is a matter of do or die for Gadkari in the forthcoming elections as he does not have electoral success behind him. His extension as Party President to a large extent will depend on what happens in Punjab, UP, Uttarakhand and Goa. Will his strategy pay off?

Brahmins to be decisive factor in UP election?
It is widely believed that Brahmins are going to be the deciding factor in the ensuing Vidhan Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. But, they are with whom?

Congress hires a Pune industrialist for talks with Anna
It is heard that a Pune based industrialist on behest of the Congress is in talks with Anna Hazare.

Bedi to get Rajya Sabha BJP nomination
It is heard that Kiran Bedi has been promised a BJP Rajya Sabha nomination.

Is Govindacharya active in UP?
It is heard that RSS ideologue is very active in UP these days.

Why is Kushwaha so important?
Babu Singh Kushwaha ,who was once a peon in Kanshi Ram's house, rose to power as the 'most influencing backward class' leader. Such is his influence in UP that Mayawati perceived him as a threat to her leadership and sacked him. Today Kushwaha is being wooed by the BJP and Congress purely because he influences 60-70 seats, which both the parties are clamoring for.

PM to campaign in Punjab, Uttarakhand and UP
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to campaign for the Congress party in three states Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand

Sonia Gandhi to campaign in Uttarakhand on Jan 17, in Punjab on Jan 19
UPA Chairperson and Congress Chief, Sonia Gandhi will also campaign for Congress party in Uttarakhand on January 17 while in Punjab on January 19.

Rahul Gandhi refuses to campaign for BMC polls
As the grapevine has it AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has refused to campaign in forthcoming polls to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) which is also known as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Is it because of his preoccupation in Uttar Pradesh (UP) assembly polls or he wanted to send a message to state leaders of the party? This question is hotly being debated in corridors of power.

BJP targeting Muslims
BJP is targeting UP Muslims by saying that it is a progressive party and that Gujarat is the model where the Muslims have the highest per capita GDP.

BUREAUCRACY

Next Cabinet Secretary -Will the history be repeated?
1978 batch IAS is confident that next Cabinet Secretary in the country will belong to this batch only. They have a logic - After 1966 batch IAS officer B K Chaturvedi 1970 batch IAS officer K M Chandrasekhar became the Cabinet Secretary. And now 1974 batch IAS officer Ajit Seth is Cabinet Secretary. If one goes by this trend now the turn comes to 1978 batch IAS.

Jayati Chandra to be Member CAT?
Jayati Chandra who is retiring this month end is likely to be appointed Administrative Member of CAT in the Allahabad bench. She is 1975 batch IAS officer of UP cadre.

Will Zohra Chatterjee get charge of CMD CIL?
Grapevine has it that Additional Secretary Coal Zohra Chatterjee is being given additional charge of the CMD of the Coal India ltd (CIL). She is 1979 batch IAS officer of UP cadre. Term of CMD CIL N C Jha is coming to an end on January 31.

Who will be new Chairman of CBDT?
Who will take over as Chairman of the CBDT on February1? Picture seems to be not clear. Present Chairman M C Joshi is superannuating on January 31.

IAS cadre of Lalithalakshim transferred from TN to WB
The cadre of V Lalithalakshmi has been transferred from Tamil Nadu to West Bengal on the ground of marriage to Saurav Pahari--a 2008 batch IAS officer of West Bengal. Lalithalakshmi is an IAS officer of 2008 batch belonging to Tamil Nadu cadre.

Lt Gen Hasnain moves to Delhi
Lt Gen A Hasnain who head the 15 Corps in Srinagar has been moved to Delhi. His posting is yet to be announced. He is unlikely to be made Military Secretary.

M Narendra to be CMD of Canara Bank
As the grapevine has it, M Narendra Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) may be laterally shifted as CMD of the Canara Bank.

Eleven EDs to appear for interview
Eleven EDs are appearing for interview on January 12 for the post of CMD in the Nationalised Banks.

CCS holds back a defence deal
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in the Government of India (GoI) during its meeting held last week held back a deal pertaining to purchase of 75 trainers planes for its young pilots in Air Force. The deal worth nearly Rs 3000 crore was to be Okayed in favour of a Swiss company. However, as the grapevine has it Defence Minister A K Antony has ordered for a review of the whole process.

36 IRS (IT) officers of 1985 batch empanelled as Joint Secretary
As many as 36 IRS (IT) officers of 1985 batch have been empanelled as Joint Secretary or equivalent level in Government of India. They include Messrs: Prakash Chandra, P S Punia, Girija Dayal, Ashim Kumar, Himalini Kashyap, I Sasi Kala, Om Prakash Mehra, V Mahalingam, M Tirmala Kumar, Kantipudi Krishana Rao, Rananjay Singh, Harish Kumar, Pramod Nangia, J B Mahapatra, Anjali Tiwari, G V Gopal Rao, Anu J Singh, Shefali Shah, D V Reddy, D P Semwal, Geetamala Mohananey, Manas Shankar Ray, Nilimesh Baruah, Nitya Nand Mishra, R S Upadhyay, Amit Jain, Anuja Sarangi, Hemant Kumar Sarangi, Sunil Kumar Ojha, Virendra Singh, S R Sikder, Manik Lal Karmakar, H L Dihana, Vijay Kumar, K Timothy Zimik and Pritam Singh.

New postings of IAS officers of UT cadre
As many as six IAS officers of the UT cadre have got new postings. They are: Shurbir Singh (2004 batch) DC Aizwal (Mizoram) to Delhi, Ms. Prerna Puri (2006 batch) Commissioner of Chandigarh civic body to Arunachal Pradesh, Sanjay Goyal (2004 batch) Daman Diu to Arunachal Pradesh, Manoj Sahu (2006 batch) Daman Diu to Arunachal Pradesh, Jaspal Singh (1996 batch) to Arunachal Pradesh & Meena Chaudhary (2000 batch) to Arunachal Pradesh.

R K Malhotra, IRAS, NR, shifted to Railway Coach Factory
R K Malhotra, JAG/IRAS, Northern Railway, has been transferred to Railway Coach Factory, Rae Bareli and Posted as Dy. FA&CAO, Lucknow.

Justice Mridula Sharma to join AFT
Justice Mridula Sharma is poised to join the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) as a Member.

IPS changes in Haryana on the anvil
As the grapevine has it changes of IPS officers are on the anvil in Haryana.

6 IPS officers shifted by EC in Punjab
As many as six IPS officers have been shifted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for this month state assembly polls.

Ashutosh Jindal's successor yet to be decided
Successor to Ashutosh Jindal who was Adviser (Info & Engg) in the Embassy of India, Brussels (Belgium) is yet to be decided. Jindal who is an IAS officer of 1995 batch belongs to the Tripura cadre. He has already joined as Delhi based Resident Commissioner.

No major changes to happen in Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki is unlikely to go in for a major bureaucratic reshuffle in the state. However, there may be some minor changes.

Kumari Nirmaljit Kaur appointed Addl. Judge of Punjab & Haryana HC
Kumari Nirmaljit Kaur has been appointed an Additional Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for a period of six months with effect from January 10, 2012.

Choubey is back to Jharkhand
Kamal Nayan Choubey is back to the parent Jharkhand cadre after completion of his Central Deputation tenure. He is an IPS officer of 1986 batch who belongs to the Jharkhand cadre.

Post of CMD vacant in STCIL
The post of CMD has been lying vacant in State Trading Corporation of India Limited (STCIL). Those willing to apply can send their applications to Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) before March 9, 2012.

Bhasin and Trehan elected for SEPC
Lalit Bhasin, renowned Advocate, and Dr. Naresh Trehan, renowned Cardiologist, have been re-elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively, of Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), set up by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India. Rajesh Sharma is the Director General and CEO of SEPC. SEPC has been created by Department of Commence to promote export of services from India.

UPSC announces SCRA-exam result
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced the result of Special Class Railway Apprentices' (SCRA)-Examination, 2011. As many as 42 candidates qualified the examination.

Bangladesh PM, VP & Sibal to be in Agartala on Jan 11
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will grace the convocation of Tripura University on January 11, 2012 in Agartala She would also be honoured with an honorary D. Litt said vice-chancellor Arunoday Saha. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar who visited Dhaka along with India Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on September 6, 2011 had then invited the Bangladesh Premier to visit Tripura. Besides, Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Indian Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal & .Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar will grace the occasion.

Justice Bhat is no more
Former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, Justice Moti Lal Bhat has passed away. He was 80.

Lt Gen Choudhary is new DGMO
Lt Gen A K Choudhary has taken over as Director General Military Operations. The General is an alumnus from NDA and IMA and was commissioned on 22 Dec 1974. The General Officer has had a distinguished career, in both command and staff assignments. Lt Gen Ashok Kumar Choudhary has been awarded Ati Vishist Seva Medal, Sena Medal, Vishist Seva Medal and the Chief of Army Staff's Commendation for gallantry and distinguished service to the Nation.

PAKISTAN WHISPERS
Pakistan: KMC has no funds even for laundering used uniforms donated by Texas Fire Service for Karachi Firemen
Karachi Metropolitan Council (KMC)'s fire department is in dire financial straits. Firemen haven't got their salary for over two months and even uniforms, leather boots and winter clothing haven't been issued due to paucity of funds for the last two years. Some used uniforms and leather boots were donated about a year back by the fire department of Texas State (US) but even these haven't been issued to the Karachi firemen as the KMC is unable to arrange Rs 2 lakhs needed for laundering the used uniforms before these can be issued for use by its firemen. Fire fighting operations in the city are the worst as fuel supply for fire tenders has been stopped for the last four months and the firemen have to make arrangements for fuel by requesting petrol pump owners every time there is a fire incident which obviously adds to their reaction time for reaching the scene of the incident and occasionally resulting in ugly scenes due to angry reactions by the public who is unaware of the firemen's real woes.

Pakistan : Punjab has 45% shortage of Patwaris
Law Minister of Pakistan's Punjab province Rana Sanaullah has told the provincial assembly that there is 45% shortage of Patwaris against the authorised strength in the state. Concerned authorities had approached the CM for filling up the vacancies about two years back but the CM didn't approve the proposal as the government intends to go for computerisation of land records and other activities connected with land administration. Besides the government also wants to recruit well qualified personnel for the post as the work done by Patewaris is of important nature requiring well educated and skilled man power.

Pakistan : Punjab has 45% shortage of Patwaris
Law Minister of Pakistan's Punjab province Rana Sanaullah has told the provincial assembly that there is 45% shortage of Patwaris against the authorised strength in the state. Concerned authorities had approached the CM for filling up the vacancies about two years back but the CM didn't approve the proposal as the government intends to go for computerisation of land records and other activities connected with land administration. Besides the government also wants to recruit well qualified personnel for the post as the work done by Patewaris is of important nature requiring well educated and skilled man power.

Changes in IAS posting in Haryana(UPDATED)
The transfer order of Smt. Amneet P Kumar (IAS:2001) from Administrator, HUDA, Faridabad to Director, Industrial Training, Haryahan has been cancelled and she will continue as Administrator, HUDA, Faridabad. On the other hand, R C Verma (IAS:2001) who was posted as Administrator, HUDA, Faridabad, is now made Director, Industrial Training, Haryana. M L Kaushik (IAS:2001), Joint Secretary, Forests Department and Deputy Commissioner, Fatehabad, has been assigned additional charge of Deputy Commissioner, Sirsa.

Medium sector IT/ITeS in Hyderabad & B'lore may go to Philippines: ASSOCHAM (UPDATED)
Current developments taking place in the Southern part of the nation clearly indicate that India's prominence as an Information Technology/Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITeS) hub is fast fading away as many of the ITeS/BPO firms especially, medium enterprises from Hyderabad and Bangalore are shifting or expanding their bases in Philippines owing to concerns pertaining to infrastructure, cost of doing business and availability of skilled labour observed the just concluded survey undertaken by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). According to the ASSOCHAM Eco Pulse (AEP) Study titled "Sustaining India's IT/ITeS Leadership", the prevailing macroeconomic and sectoral conditions have been resulting in a shifting of ITeS/BPO industry away from India to Philippines-especially from Hyderabad and Bangalore. Such a trend is yet not being noticed in the National Capital Region and Pune.
"The driving forces are multitude, ranging from ease of doing business, availability of abundant English speaking workforce at lower wages and better infrastructure to government incentives. It is imperative for Governments at the Centre and States to quickly initiate remedial measures on war footing to stem the loss as the capital flight will not only severely affect the growth and employment but threaten India's leadership in the knowledge industry," said Mr D.S. Rawat, national secretary general of ASSOCHAM. In India the sector has evolved as a major GDP contributor and plays a vital role in employment generation and export promotion. It has helped the nation to create Brand Equity and as a proportion of national GDP, the IT/ITeS sector revenues have grown from 1.2 per cent in 1997-1998 to an estimated 6.4 per cent in 2010-2011. Its share of total Indian exports (merchandise plus services) has increased from less than 4 per cent in 1997-1998 to 26 per cent in 2010-2011.

NBCC signs MoU for CSR activity (UPDATED)
NBCC, a Construction CPSU, has recently signed an MoU with Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba Memorial Foundation for disbursement of Merit-cum-Means Scholarship (100% expenditure support) to 600 meritorious girl students from rural schools - 200 each in the States of Bihar, Mizoram & Tripura. This is a part of NBCC CSR Initiative and the expenditure made on these Scholarships would be met out of its CSR Budget. As per the MoU, Loomba Foundation shall also make the matching contribution for educating 200 students, preferably girls in each State of Bihar, Mizoram & Tripura. The MoU was signed by the Training Head of NBCC and Country Head of Loomba Foundation in presence of S/Shri Ajay K. Garg, Director (Finance), A. K. Mittal, Director (Projects) & Smt. Meera Shankar, Executive Director of NBCC.

ONGC, CMD, Sudhir Vasudeva presents dividend to Govt. of India (UPDATED)
Sudhir Vasudeva, CMD, ONGC, presented a cheque of 3964.35 crore to Jaipal Reddy, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas at New Delhi on January 10, 2011, as the Interim Dividend of the Company. The amount enriches shareholders as part of ONGC's Interim Dividend of 5347.20 crore that ONGC had announced post its 226th Board Meeting held on January 4, 2012. This dividend payout comes on the back of strong financial performance of the Company in the first half of the financial year 2011-12. The payout works out to 6.25/- per equity share of 5 each (on 8,555,490,120 equity shares). The year has been a remarkable period for ONGC during which the E&P major made a total of 15 notified discoveries of hydrocarbon blocks reinforcing its stature as the flagship oil & gas company of the country.

Anand Dayal, ED, BL&C, selected as Director (Manufacturing), BL&C (UPDATED)
Anand Dayal, ED, BL & C, has been selected for the post of Director (Manufacturing Business), Balmer Lawrie & Company Limited (BL&C) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on Tuesday. As many as eight persons were interviewed for the same.

ASSOCHAM to organize conference on "State of Corporate Fraud Control in India" (UPDATED)
National Conference on "State of Corporate Fraud Control in India" organized by ASSOCHAM would be inaugurated by the Union Minister of Corporate Affairs, Dr. M. Veerappa Moily on January 23, 2012, at The Royal Plaza, New Delhi. The conference is being organized to discuss - Whether our control systems were geared up to mitigate the corporate fraud risk and whether the traditional control techniques were still effective to provide reasonable assurance? It would also see discussions on how to build an effective ethics and compliance eco-system, detect fraud better and what are essential building blocks in terms of people, processes and technology that are required for an effective fraud risk management program? The role of the board and its committees in fraud risk management and best practices to be imbibed by our assurance and risk functions to counter the fraud menace would also be discussed during the event which among others would be addressed by Deepankar Sanwalka, Chairman, Internal Audit & Corporate Fraud Council, ASSOCHAM; KallolKundu, Chief Internal Auditor, The Oberoi Group; AtulPandya, Chief Internal Auditor, Ambuja Cements Ltd; Ashish Aul, Partner, Governance, Risk and Compliance Services, KPMG; P. Ranganathan, Special Director-Internal Audit, Ashok Leyland Ltd. ; Himanshu V Vasa, Group Internal Audit, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. ; Satish Shenoy, Vice President, Bombay Chapter, The Institute of Internal Auditors - India and Dinesh Anand, Partner & Co Head Forensic, KPMG.

Sharma appointed CVO Goa Port Trust (UPDATED)
C S Sharma has been appointed Chief Vigilance Officer (Director Level) in the Mormugao Port Trust, Mormugao. He is 1995 batch ITS officer.

Konala is new CVO Mangalore Port Trust (UPDATED)
Navin Kumar Konala has been appointed Chief Vigilance Officer (Director Level) in the New Mangalore Port Trust, Mangalore. He is 1994 batch ITS officer.

DEBATE

Is it appropriate or inappropriate for an elected representative to address a bureaucrat as "Sir"?

Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik has asked Cabinet Ministers to maintain dignity of the office. Patnaik conveyed his mind when a Minister addressed "Sir" to an IAS officer in his presence. "You are Cabinet Minister and should maintain your dignity" the Chief Minister said. How far it is appropriate or inappropriate for an elected representative to address a bureaucrat as "Sir".

Mail your to the point views to suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com or mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com

CORPORATE

NERAMAC's "North East Food Processing Expo" Officially Launched
Four day long "North East Food Processing Expo" slated from Jan 16, 2012, at NEDFi HAAT, in Ambari, Guwahati for the promotion of the food processing industry of the eight states of the north eastern region, will not only see the leading and upcoming food processing industries of the Seven Sister States and Sikkim but also the first generation entrepreneur on agri-business showcasing and selling their exotic produces & products to the common masses through designated stalls under the banner of NERAMAC (North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation) Ltd., a Govt. of India Enterprise under the Ministry of DoNER, facilitating this prime event with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Govt. of India. According to S Bhattacharjee, Managing Director, NERAMAC, "this initiative will provide a platform to the tiny and small food processing units of the north eastern region to show case their expertise on food processing in the region, We at NERAMAC are constantly trying to intervene and support these entrepreneurs in providing a good market to their produces and products & thereby they earn profitability to sustain their operations through value addition in the region". The event is aimed at giving strong support to the food processing entrepreneurs of North East to showcase their expertise and activities and thus obtain firsthand market updates. The participants represent processors from all the eight North Eastern states viz, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Local & national brands like Repose, Bhogali Jalpan, Britannia franchisees are also participating in the event to make the event more lucrative. APEDA, NHB & CIPET have also consented to be a part of the Expo to support the processors & Exhibitors in providing knowledge base to take forward their ventures.

Why SEBI is against Japyee Group?
In the corridors of power one question is being asked why the SEBI is against the fast growing Japyee Group.

Sanghi resigns from Sanghi Polyester
Ravi Sanghi, director has resigned from Sanghi Polyesters.

Sakthivel takes over as Chairman AEPC
Dr A Sakthivel has taken over as Chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).

Bhatnagar resigns from Directorship of Tijaria Polypipes
Padam Prakash Somprakash Bhatnagar, of Tijaria Polypipes has resigned from the directorship of the company.

Central Bank of India appoints two shareholder directors on its Board
Prof. Narayanaswamy Balakrishnan and Brijlal Kshatriya will join the Board of Central Bank of India as shareholder directors w.e.f. January 10, 2012 for period of three years.

Mishra appointed Company Secy. Speedage Commercials Ltd
Alok Mishra has been appointed as Company Secretary of Speedage Commercials Ltd w.e.f. January 5, 2012.

Singhal appointed CFO, Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Ltd
Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Ltd has appointed Deepak Singhal as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company w.e.f. January 9, 2012.

Three directors cease to be on Board of Brooks Laboratories Ltd
Monika Sabharwal, Vivek Sharma and Lalit Mahajan have resigned as Independent Directors of Brooks Laboratories Ltd w.e.f. January 6, 2012.

Iyer appointed Non Exec. Chairman, Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd
Dr. S. Rama Iyer, a member of the Board of Directors has been appointed as the Independent Non-executive Chairman of Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd in place of R. Sampath w.e.f. January 6, 2012.

Shah appointed Non Exec. Director, Resurgere Mines & Minerals Ltd
Mayur Shah has been appointed as Additional Non Executive Independent Director of Resurgere Mines & Minerals Ltd w.e.f. January 3, 2012.

Vasanthi re-appointed Whole-time Director, Websol Energy System Ltd
Websol Energy System Ltd has re-appointed Ms Sreeram Vasanthi as Whole-time Director (Technical and Marketing) of the company.

Agarwal re-appointed MD & CEO, Websol Energy System Ltd
Sohan Lal Agarwal has been re-appointed as Managing Director & CEO of Websol Energy System Ltd.

Daryanani appointed Company Secy. Prism Infomatics Ltd
Prism Informatics Ltd has appointed Tulsi Daryanani as Company Secretary of the company w.e.f. January 2, 2011.

DEBATE (1)

How can a Minister be showing lack of respect to his office by addressing someone as Sir. This term is often used due to past associations and demonstrates a continuity of that relationship. The Minister may have been a past student of that bureaucrat or even a past subordinate. He is only respecting that past association. I find it hard to believe that someone like Patnaik is upset by this. Are you sure your report is correct?

O P Agarwal

Before Law everyone is equal

Lokpal Bill presupposes that before Law everyone is equal and hence bribery is bad. But Government still insists on old law that allows kidney-donation among close blood-relations only thereby encouraging Nepotism and corruption. If all humans are equal and a Nephrologist
confirms it, who is non-Medical authority (read Government or bureaucracy) to stop such transplant from non-relatives ? Secondly, 90% kidney failure is due to hereditary Diabetes or BP making thus kidney of near & dear ones unsuitable for the recipient . So this rule is to encourage 100% or total corruption in Hospitals / Medico circles as any intelligent lawyer or PIL can prove easily in Supreme Court.

Thus due to this non-sense diktat from Health Ministry

i) kidney transplants are still taking place all over India / world but without knowledge of Govts / local Administration.

ii) encouraging huge flow of black money right from Sale/ Purchase of kidney to unethical Doctors/ patients / Donors.

iii) corrupt politician like Amar Singh can go to Singapore but what about poor patients who don't have this black money to purchase a kidney?

iv) AAJTAK, other 24 hour channels , Daily newspapers / weekly Magazines must interview hapless patients queuing up at AIIMS, Ganga Ram Hospital etc and show to all what harassment, illegal activities go on to kidney , other patients ...

v) Leaders like Anna , Ramdev or Sri Sri Sri Ravishankarji must
educate public to donate all organs liberally say eyes , kidney etc as well as compel Govt to pass a sensible law on organ exchange / transplant so that illegal sale / purchase and black money is stopped.

vi) Those who can afford visit Singapore , Pakistan , Malaysia, USA etc and get transplant done. Thus due to Indian Govt's foolishness, other Countries are getting good Medico-business and we are losing tourists, Medico tourists .Tourism Minister must raise this issue.

vii) World Health Organisation ( WHO ) and UNO must give global laws on human organs a top-priority as Nation's Health Ministry is too conservative and hopeless on these issues.

viii) International Court of Human Rights must make above as violations of Human Rights and punish all concerned as to live healthy is fundamental right of every citizen including those cannot afford Black money transactions .

ix) We , the public, must wage a war against foolish rules and demand for justice on Human Organs Govt Policy as today I need a kidney , tomorrow you may need it ... let us fight for our future, all human beings and generations who will laugh at such foolish, nonsense provisions !

R Rddy

Pension schemes are likely to be the same in Govt./Private sector

After implementation of NPS, pension schemes are likely to be the same in Govt./Private sector. Once the pension schemes are made same, there will no harm in appointment/leaving the job either in Govt. or Pvt. Organisation.

RK

Very correct.

The assessment of Khosla on the Generals age issue is correct. You can't have your cake and eat it too!

S Singh

A blatant fraud by Gen V K Singh

I share the views expressed by K Khanna in WIC (9-1-12) on the age issue of Army Chief. Apart from taking stringent action against Gen, it also needs to be looked into as to what document was presented by him for appearing in NDA in 1966 in proof of his age as 1951, which is deemed to have been accepted by the then authorities in UPSC. As per Gen's own stand, his matric certificate and hospital records where he born, show his date of birth as 1950. Gen V K Singh really deserves action for making himself eligible for NDA exam through fraudulent means.

Pawan Kumar

Deterioration in the standards of civil service officers

I do agree that there is a general deterioration in the standards of civil service officers compared to their fore runners in the colonial days. But the demands on civil service officers are much more than what was there in the colonial days. Scruple less politicians masquerading as people's representatives, corrupt ministers, a caste torn society, a judiciary easily prone to haul up the bureaucrats instead of ministers or politicians, an ACR which can be damaged by politicians thus ruining his career and vote bank politics have all resulted in many bureaucrats making a tight rope walk. Many fall on the way, many join the corrupt, many feeble hearted are browbeaten by the politicians to join them and many switch off and look after themselves and satisfy with work a senior clerk can do. Very few have learnt the art of managing without losing their ethics. Reservation and unscientific recruitment policy can be attributed to this. While one can not wish away reservation (it will continue as long as we have democracy and vote bank politics and more and more castes and groups will go on joining this elite band wagon) ,it is time we rethink about the entire recruiting policy. The present day Examinations and interviews will not bring out the inherent quality and weakness of persons. A three days psycho-analysis of persons(in line with the SSB interviews) to know whether he or she is able to with stand the pressures, their moral attitude and their suitability should be thus assessed and given more importance. There is no use in crying hoarse later, when the best way is to weed them out at the entry level itself.

N Krishnan

Reason for VRS at senior level?

Such an important news. There must be reason for VRS at senior level. I think he has got UN Assignment and fede up with the ISS cadre management.

R K Sharma

Can the High Court rules over-ride the RTI Act?

The appellant's request for information relating to the Haryana Superior Judicial Services was refused by the APIO citing the rules 4(a) and 5 of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana (Right to Information) Rules 2007. On appeal, the FAA directed to provide information on certain points. Regarding remaining information, the FAA endorsed the decision of the APIO without claiming any exemption section of RTI Act. The respondent submitted that he was bound by the rules framed by his own High Court and could not comment on whether those rules were in conformity with
the provisions of the RTI Act or not. The Commission held that the stand taken by the Respondent is totally out of sync with the provisions of the RTI Act and directed to provide the information.

Comments

Many PIO's tend to refer to departmental rules or rules made by the public authority in exercise of its powers under Section 28 of the RTI Act. Section 28 confers powers on the competent authority, to make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act. But no competent authority can make rules to obstruct the disclosure of information by adding additional exemption provisions not contained in the original Act.

Shri Sudesh
Kumar Goyal v. High Court of Punjab & Haryana in file
No.CIC/WB/A/2010/000070SM

[Mr. Paras Nath Singh v. Ministry of External Affairs in CIC/SG/A/2011/002072/15657Adjunct]

- Weekly article by Dr. (Mrs.) Anuradha Verma
(dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in), RTI Consultant to IIM, Indore and Co-author of the book: RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE by Taxmann. (The views are Personal)