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Aaj Ki Aawaz

In Punjab Sonia said the Akali Government neglecting the poor!!!

To the poor in Punjab Congress she tried to moor!!

In Punjab Muslims do not play a decisive role!!!

So like they'd say in Punjabi 'Congress da drama assi haa gareeban do koll'!!

Bottom line is at least Akalis did not take poor for a ride!!!

Robbed poor via corruption and then being on the corrupt lot's side!!

Ground reality is Akalis are doing better!!!!

Sukhbir Badal is now being billed a 'go getter'!!!

Despite being ahead Akalis have made a 'SOS' demand!!

'Please send Rahul to campaign in Punjab' message sent to Congress's High Command!

India Today survey puts Congress ahead in Punjab... survey again!!

As PTV reporters do the same survey and Akalis will be seen to gain!!

No Punjabi will risk speaking on his preference!!!

Wrong revelation and tomorrow Punjab Police will be used to beat int them sense!!

Punjabis recognized those who got the India Today survey done,

As Congressis and so 'Congress won'!!

Rahul is working night and day but he's fighting a losing battle!!

UPA's chori, chori and seena jorri and inability to control inflation ne kiya hai Nation ko rattle!

In fact because of faulty speech writing people in UP feel 'does he think we are cattle'???

He's annoyed the Voter and now with this he's having to 'battle'!!

Maya and Mulayam are leading and Congress and BJP are neck to neck!!

Now .... now.... is the time to undertake a reality check!!!

And Congress now wants Mamtha out and Mulayam in!!!!

On SP becoming largest Party in UP hope Congress does pin!!

Will Mulayam send Akhilesh to Delhi and he could be MOS in MOD!!

Ministry of Dough (slang for money) is how many decipher MOD!

And with Congress's dependence on SP as MOS he'll not be a 'sidelined'!!!

SP needs the 'dough' as its reserves have declined!!

SP in UP and Akhilesh as MOD would mean 'both hands up to elbows in ghee'!

Though if you put this to Akhilesh he'll touch his ears and lament 'chee chee'!!

Mamtha's really shown her insensitivity by doing a comparison of

infant mortality figures!!

From her comparison ' Mamtha lacks mamtha' is what one figures!

She could have handled this issue humanely!!!

There is a time to respond aggressively and a time to respond tamely!!

There is more to RIL mulling 'buy back of shares'!!!!

Though its being said 'for RIL investors RIL really cares'!!!

RIL says this buy back will boost RIL share price!!!

Apt analogy.... it will be like Mukesh will eat kheer and shareholders

will get rice!!!

His younger bro Anil is not in 'restructuring debt'!!

In this case restructuring means 'to pay instalment another loan one does get'!!

The debt level of Anil'S ADAG is fast becoming 'unsustainable'!!!

Such debt is not maintainable!!!!

Check out the debt of our higher flyer Industrialists....shocking!!

On borrowed money their lifestyles are 'rocking' (happening or too good)!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Is Gadkari making Joshi sulk?
Varanasi MP Murli Manohar Joshi, who is regarded by the party as an important Brahmin face, was sulking after some of his nominees were rejected.

Has Congress fired all salvo's for UP elections?
Congress has virtually fired all the arrows in its quiver, it has offered 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities in the OBC category, promised another 9 per cent quota for minorities if it comes to power in the state, forged an alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal to buttress its position in Western Uttar Pradesh, roped in more than 60 turncoats from different parties and above all pitched the prestige of its heir apparent Rahul Gandhi, who would now be ably assisted by his sister Priyanka. Will all this magic work to get Congress the tally above 22 seats that it got in the last elections?

Is Supriya Sule in trouble over citizenship?
It is heard that PIL against Supriya Sule has been filed in Mumbai High Court seeking her citizenship status.

Who will Dera's ask to vote this time?
It is heard that Dera's in Punjab are promoting individuals instead of any party this time. But who will the Dera's bless when the two day meeting takes place on 22 January is the whispers in corridors.

BUREAUCRACY

SC Collegium to clear names of five Judges?
Grapevine has it that Supreme Court Collegium is going to clear five names for SC Judge in a week or two. According to informed sources,
names of Justice M B Lokur, Chief Justice of AP High Court; Justice J N Patel, Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court; Justice V Gopala Gowda Chief Justice of Orissa High Court; Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Acting Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court and Justice Kurian Joseph, Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court are expected to be cleared.

AP Governor Narsimhan to continue
Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narsimhan whose term was to expire on January 21 has been asked to continue. Official communication has been sent.

R S Khurana selected as Director (Projects), MRVCL
R S Khurana, GGM, DFCIL, has been selected for the post of Director (Projects), Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation Limited (MRVCL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on Friday. As many as eight persons were interviewed for the same.

CSB to meet on Monday
CSB is meeting on Monday to prepare panel for Joint Secretary in couple of Departments.

Vinod Kumar is HC to Republic of Kiribati
Vinod Kumar, presently High Commissioner of India to Fiji has been concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Kiribati, with residence in Suva.

36 IRS officers of 1985 batch empanelled as Joint Secretary
As many as 36 Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers of 1985 batch have been empanelled as Joint Secretary/equivalent. The officers include Prakash Chandra, P S Punia, Girja Dayal, Ashim Kumar, Himalini Kashyap, I Sasi Kala, Om Prakash Mehra, V Mahalingam, M Tirumala Kumar, Kantipudi Krishana Rao, Rananjay Singh, Harish Kumar, Pramod Nangia, J B Mahapatra, Anjali Tiwari, G V Gopal Rao, Anu J Singh, Shefall Shah, D V Redy, D P Semwal, Geetamala Mohantyaney, Manas Shankar Ray, Nilimesh Baruah, Nitya nand Mishra, l Raghubir Sharan Upadhayay, Amit Jain, Anuja Sarangi, Hemant Kumar Sarangi, Sunil Kumar Ojha, S R Sikdar, Manik lal Karmakar, H L Dihana, Vijay Kumar, K Timothy Zimik and Pritam Singh.

Where is Anubhav?
Anubhav went to USA on study leave seven years ago and now the Manipur Government is waiting for his return. He is an IPS officer of 2000 batch who belongs to Manipur Tripura Cadre.

Mustfa Mohammad gets NOC for central deputation
U P Government has given NOC for central deputation to 1995 batch IAS officer Mustfa Mohammad.

Prasad to get foreign assignment?
A M Prasad is expected to get foreign assignment. He is 1989 batch IPS officer of Orissa cadre.

Mathai gets prestigious assignment
Abraham Mathai, Chief Security Advisor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights based in Geneva has been nominated to the Global Steering Group of the United Nations Inter-Agency Security Management Network (IASMN) responsible for developing security management policies for all the 48 UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes on a global basis. At the time of joining the International Civil Service in 1997, Mr. Mathai (IES-1982 and IPS-1983) was Assistant Inspector General at the Special Protection Group, New Delhi. Mathai had attended training programmes with the US Department of State Diplomatic Security Services, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Scotland Yard Police where he was trained in hostage incident management. He is also trained by UNITAR in Multilateral Diplomacy.

Ajit Kesri is new Secretary Revenue in Madhya Pradesh
Ajit Kesri has been appointed Commissioner and Secretary Revenue in Madhya Pradesh. He is 1990 batch IAS officer.

IAS changes in TamilNadu
Rajendra Ratnoo has been appointed Collector, Cuddalore district. V. Amuthavalli will now be Deputy Secretary to Government, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department. V. Sampath has been made Collector, Villuppuram district, vice C.T. Manimekalai who has been posted as Deputy Secretary to Government, Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department. Dr. R. Kannan will be Principal Secretary/Commissioner of Survey and Settlement.

Jaitapur on highly quake prone area
Jaitapur may face a threat of a high intensity earthquake as it lies close to the latitude on which Latur and Koyna in Maharashtra says American seismologist Roger Bilham. Latur and Koyna have faced strong earthquakes earlier.

U. Prakasham is Director Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur
U. Prakasham on central deputation is be Director Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur. He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1983 batch who belongs to the Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Post of GM vacant in FCI, Jammu & Kashmir
The post of General Manager (J&K) has been lying vacant in Food Corporation of India, Jammu under the Department of Food & Public
Distribution. Interested candidates only IAS can send their applications to the Department before January 31, 2012.

Justice Ganguly to retire
Judge of the Supreme Court of India Justice AK Ganguly is retiring on February 2.

K Subramanya is Solar Energy Industry Advisory Council
CEO of the Tata BP Solar K Subramanya has been made Member of the Solar Energy Industry Advisory Council, set up by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

One post of IG vacant in BPR&D
One post of IG level is vacant in BPR& D Head Quarters.

One post of IG vacant in BSF
One post of IG level is vacant in the Border Security Force (BSF)

A K Srivastava is Director SAIL
A K Srivastava has been appointed Director on the Board of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

Karna is back from deputation
1991 batch IDAS officer R K Karna who was on deputation to the NCR Planning Board, New Delhi is back to the cadre. On return he has been posted as Jt CGDA in the Headquarters.

Bishnupada Sethi's third poetry book "Beyond Feelings" published
Bishnupada Sethi, 1995 batch Orissa cadre IAS officer, has done it again. His third English poetry book titled "Beyond Feelings" has been published by IUniverse. Sethi, to whom writing poetry came as a natural urge, had previously written two English poetry books namely, "Where Shall I Go!" in 2005 and "My World of Words" in 2010. "Beyond Feelings" carries forward the search with which Sethi began his poetic journey in his first volume. Here questions of home and destiny keep eluding the poet as he realizes that both of them ever keep changing their places or merging one with the other. Finding that he has "no desire to move away from (home)" he carries it in him wherever he goes. And the idea of home for the poet is not a definite place where he lives but the places and situations where he has been. The poet's distancing from the objects of desire has enabled him to achieve a lucidity which becomes the watermark of his poetry.

Kahlon applies for CMD Coal
Rajpal Singh Kahlon is reported to have applied for the post of CMD Coal India Ltd. He is 1984 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.

Who will be Jute Commissioner?
Who will be new Jute Commissioner? The post has been lying vacant for several months. 1989 batch IAS officer Atri Bhattacharya who is presently Secretary Jute Manufacturers Development Council is holding additional charge of Jute Commissioner.

SAG promotion of 11 IRSS approved
The SAG promotion file of remaining 11 1987 batch IRSS officers has reportedly been approved by Member Mechanical panel.

Three IRS officers selected as Accountant Member in ITAT
Three Indian Revenue Service (IRS, IT) officers have been selected as Accountant Member in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) under the Ministry of Law and Justice. The officers include: Jason P Boaz, CIT-V, Bangalore; T R Meena, CIT (A), Alwar and Shankar Lal Meena, CIT-III, Rajkot.

IRS officer, Abidi promoted as CIT (A)-5, Kochi
Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, S M J Abidi has been posted as CIT (A)-5, Kochi after promotion to the grade of Commissioner of Income Tax.

Mid-Career Training Programme for IAS officers from April 30 at Mussoorie
Mid-Career Training Programme (MCTP) for IAS officers is being organised between April 30 and June 22, 2012 at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNNA), Mussoorie.

5 IRS officers posted OSD, CCIT (CCA), Delhi, Mumbai after promotion
Five Indian Revenue Service (IRS-IT) officers have been posted as OSD in CCIT (CCA) region after promotion to the grade of Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT). Accordingly, Debjyoti Das, Surabhi Varma, Sulekha Verma and Sunil Bajpai have been posted at CCIT (CCA), Delhi while Aparna M Agarwal is being appointed at CCIT (CCA), Mumbai.

DGICCE panel for Inspectors
Directorate General of Inspection Customs & Central Excise (DGICCE), New Delhi, is preparing a panel of officers for the appointment of Inspectors on deputation in the DGICCE.

DGICCE panel for Superintendent (Gr. B)
Directorate General of Inspection Customs & Central Excise (DGICCE), New Delhi, is preparing a panel of officers for the appointment of Superintendent (Gr. B) in the DGICCE.

PAKISTAN WHISPERS
Petition seeks to get former army chiefs involved in coups declared as traitors
A petition has been filed by an advocate Rana Ilamuddin Ghazi in the Lahore high court praying that the former army chiefs Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Zia ul Haq and Parvez Musharraf should be declared as traitors as they had abrogated the constitution and usurped peoples' fundamental right of free speech to perpetrate their dictatorship. The petition also prays that the court should declare all their collaborators including politicians, bureaucrats and judges permanently disqualified for holding any public office. Upon an observation by the chief justice that no proceedings could be initiated against Ayub, Yahya or Zia ul Haq as they were all dead the petitioner pointed out that at least Musharraf was still alive and he should be declared a traitor and the election commission be barred from registering the political party floated by him. The matter has been adjourned sine die without any interim orders.

Government doesn't intend to sack COAS or ISI boss
During the course of hearing of a petition against possible government plans to sack army chief Keyani or DG ISI Shuja pasha the Attorney General of Pakistan clarified that there was no such move afoot in any quarter of the federal government. Not satisfied with a verbal assurance the Chief Justice asked the AG to file a written statement in the matter after getting instructions from the government within two weeks.

Mansoor Ijaaz granted visa to visit Pakistan
US businessman of Pakistani origin and central character in the 'memogate' Mansoor Ijaaz was granted visa for one year multiple entries to visit Pakistan for recording his evidence before the supreme court appointed judicial commission in the memo case. Ijaaz visited the Pakistani High Commission in London along with his lawyer on Thursday and was given the visa almost instantaneously. It raises questions about the claim made by his lawyer before the SC appointed commission earlier that the authorities were not issuing visa to his client. Government sources had at that time asserted that Ijaaz had not even applied for a visa and that the needful will be done the moment his application was received.

Who Will Provide Security To Mansoor Ijaaz; Government or Army?
US businessman of Pakistani origin Mansoor Ijaaz will arrive in Pakistan on 24th January and will land at Chaklala airbase reserved for the country's defence establishment. Pakistan's Minister for the Interior Rehman Malik has told media persons that the federal government shall provide fool proof security to Ijaaz during his stay in the country. Pakistan's army has also claimed that security to Ijaaz shall be provided by the army in view of apprehensions expressed by him about threat to his life due to his version of memo related events being in conflict with that of the civilian government. Ijaaz landing at the high security Chaklala defence air base however indicates that the army shall not allow any civilian agency to be involved in any manner and he may be kept completely out of reach for the civil establishment.

SAIL, Chairman, Verma inaugurates a new unit at Rourkela Steel Plant (UPDATED)
An Air Separation Unit (ASU)-3 at Tonnage Oxygen Plant-II of SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) was inaugurated today by C S Verma, Chairman, Steel Authority of India Limited. B B Singh, Director (Personnel), SAIL, G S Prasad, CEO, RSP, were among senior officers present on the occasion. The ASU-III, which has capacity to produce 700 tonnes of Oxygen per day, would help the blast furnaces in improving the hot metal production. The new ASU would also facilitate simultaneous blowing of the convertors in SMS-II which will in turn improve the efficiency of the steel melting shop. Verma also inaugurated the High Top Pressure at Blast Furnace-III of RSP. The job has been carried out using in-house resources. The project is designed for Top Pressure up to 0.4 kg/cm2, which would facilitate increasing the production and productivity of the blast furnace. The SAIL Chief also visited the various modernization and expansion sites of RSP and interacted with the Plant's Projects collective.

L&T highlights innovation in safety, energy efficiency & automation at ELECRAMA 2012 (UPDATED)
Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the Electrical and Automation major and leaders in low voltage switchgear, has put up an impressive display of innovative products, systems and solutions at ELECRAMA 2012 as well as launched a number of products for the future. The products/solutions highlight three vital needs for business and society - life protection & equipment safety, security and energy efficiency - in the day-to-day utilization of electrical and automation applications. L&T’s display of products and solutions comprise powergear, controlgear, metering with communication devices, energy management system, industrial automation, distribution products, building automation, low and medium voltage switchboard, intelligent motor control, reactive power compensation system, SCADA solutions for different industry verticals, process automation systems and competencies around DCS, PLC, Drives, SCADA and Robotics. Speaking on the display of its products and solution, senior Vice President and Head of L&T Electrical & Automation, S C Bhargava said, “With the electrical industry growing as a result of infrastructure development, we have the challenge to offer intelligent and energy efficient products and solutions. Our business philosophy combines long-term relationship with customers and lower carbon footprint. We have a good spread of products and solutions that will enhance our partnership and relationship with customers.” He further added, “We are geared to go an extra mile and expand our range further and work towards bigger growth in the years to come. Our future products and solutions will be examples of improving energy efficiency.”

Anil Srivastava to be Joint DGCA (UPDATED)
Anil Srivastava is all set to join the Government of India as Joint Director General of Civil Aviation .He is 1985 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Additional Judge appointed to Jharkhand HC (UPDATED)
Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh has been appointed as an Additional Judge of the Jharkhand High Court for a period of two years.

Bombay HC gets five additional Judges (UPDATED)
Justice Manoj Shivlal Sanklecha, Justice Ramesh Deokinandan Dhanuka, Justice Sunil Prabhakarrao Deshmukh, Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar and Justice Mrs Sadhana Sanjay Jadhav have been appointed as Additional Judges of the Bombay High Court for a period of two years.

Nayak is new Collector of Mayur Bhanj in Orissa (UPDATED)
Naba Kumar Nayak has been appointed new Collector of Mayur Bhanj in Orissa.

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

Singh appointed non executive Director Austral Coke Projects
Om Prakash Singh has been appointed as the non-executive director of Austral Coke & Projects.

Patel resigns from Sezal Glass
Dilip K Patel independent director of Sezal Glass has resigned from the directorship of the company.

Bakshi now ED Hindustan Unilever
Hemant Bakshi has been appointed as Executive Director Home & Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever.

Tiwary now ED Sales HUL
Manish Tiwary has been appointed as Executive Director Sales and Customer Development, Hindustan Unilever.

Umashankar is VP CSO Ford India
P K Umashankar has been appointed by the Ford India as vice-president, Customer Service Operations (CSO).

Vittal resigns as ED (Home & Personal Care), HUL
Gopal Vittal, Executive Director, Home & Personal Care and also a member of the Board of Directors of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has resigned from the company w.e.f. January 20, 2012, to pursue opportunities outside the company.

Pillai resigns as Director, Sagar Cements Ltd
K.Thanu Pillai, Director, Sagar Cements Ltd has resigned from the company's Board of Directors w.e.f. January 18, 2012.

Vinayagamoorthy appointed CEO, Radaan Mediaworks India Ltd
Radaan Mediaworks India Limited has appointed Vinayagamoorthy as Chief Executive Officer of the company w.e.f. January 18, 2012.

Shankar appointed Workmen Employee Director, Union Bank of India
Union Bank Of India has appointed N. Shankar, Special Assistant, Union Bank of India, as Workmen Employee Director on the Board of Directors of the bank for a second term of three years w.e.f. January 19, 2012.

Patel resigns as Independent Director, Sezal Glass Ltd
Dilip K Patel, Independent Director, Sezal Glass Ltd has resigned from the Board of Directors of the company.

Under Secretaries continue to hold same division

While it is a welcome move that officers above the level Under Secretary who has served in a particular ministry of more than 10 years would be transferred. But, it is time we analysed the fact that under secretaries in a particular ministry continue to hold the same division for more than 3 years thus, paving no way for new entrants to bring in changes and on the other hand, they enjoy complete monopoly. In Subordinate offices, whom they consider as close to them they are being protected against any punitive action. So, in general, Under Secretaries should not be allowed to continue in the same division for more than 3 years. Whether Govt. would listen to this ? God Only Knows!

Siva Kumar

Kalmadi is emulating Yeddiyurappa

In trying to get back IOA President's chair, Kalmadi is emulating Yeddiyurappa, the ex-CM of Karnataka. After giving the entire BJP a stinking name Yeddi is busy touring the state to get back his gaddi.

N Krishnan

Weak Government of India?

Is Government of India so weak that it cannot enforce compliance of filing of property return by IAS/IPS/IRS officers? Sad commentary on discipline of these cadre officers.

T K Ghosh

Submission to CBDT

December 2011 is over but cases filed thru e-filing has still not been finalised for AY 2011-12 due to the reasons best known to IT authorities. At least ITRs of retired senior citizens can be finalized immediately without too much queries. Income tax department has many more missions to accomplish. Waisting time in assessing the ITRs of senior citizens will not result to any innovations. These are routine things and can be handled easily. Will Chairman CBDT take a note of not finalisation of ITRs of AY 2011-12 and be ready for implementation of DTC, likely to be announced in Budget Speech by Minister in March 2012.

RKM

Copy of the legal opinion obtained from the Ministry of Legal Affairs.

There was some discussion held between the then Solicitor General of India (SGI), the then Union Minister for External Affairs and the then Union Telecom Minister regarding the aspect of various cases filed by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) before the TDSAT and the Delhi High Court and during the said discussion, various issues related to the Telecom Sector were also discussed. Through the RTI application, the appellant had sought the copy of the written note / advice tendered by the then SGI. The CPIO informed the appellant that the Department of Legal Affairs is the custodian of the opinion tendered by the SGI and that such opinion is a confidential and privileged document and that the matter is also covered under Section 8 (1) (d) of the RTI Act. The FAA upheld the CPIO's Order holding that the information was exempt from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (e) rather than Section 8 (1) (d) of the RTI Act. The Commission held that the stand taken by the Respondent Ministry is not only incorrect but is also untenable. The Commission held that the advice tendered by the Law Ministry to the Department of Telecom does not per se fall under Section 8 (1) (e) of the RTI Act and directed to provide a copy of the said note / opinion given by the then SGI to the Department of Telecom free of cost within 10 days of receipt of this Order.

Comments

While the transparency in the working is welcome, the disclosure of the legal opinion may sometimes weaken the case of the government.

Sh. Subhash Chandra Agrawal v. Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Legal Affairs in Appeal No.CIC/SS/A/2011/001476

- 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)