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V Venugopalan

Who is going to be Vice President ?
By declaring Hamid Ansari it’s Vice Presidential nominee the Congress has meticulously lured Left and its allies and has manoeuvred with Muslim minority as well. Now it aims at countering PA Sangma’s tribal card. Insiders say that Tribal Affairs Minister, V Kishore Chandra Dev has exhibited his aptitude heading Joint Parliamentary committees. Apart, being a tribal leader with reconciling personality ,Kishore is said to be one who could counter Sangma’s card best.

IFS officers surpass IAS officers of 1993 batch
Unlike the past Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers belonging to 1993 batch have been more luck as they have already been empanelled as Joint Secretaries in the Government of India (GOI). However, it will take at least one month for empanelment of IAS officers of 1993 batch as Joint Secretaries in the GOI.

Rajagopal gets Apex scale
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Government of India, has granted apex scale to  V Rajagopal, Special Director,IB, Government of India. He is an IPS officer of 1976 batch of AGMU cadre.

Maheshwari to join GoI
A P Maheswari, Additional DG, UP Police is likely to  go on  central deputation as IG. He is a UP cadre IPS officer of 1984 batch.

I & B Ministry setting up a Film Commission
In a bid to make India a filming destination, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is looking at setting up a Film Commission that will initially act as a single-window clearance agency to issue permits for shooting obviating the need for multiple approvals.

Deka appointed JD in IB
Tapan Kumar Deka, Director (DD), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India,has been appointed as Joint Director, Intelligence Bureau (IB).He is an IPS officer of 1988 batch of HP cadre.

C K Dey selected as Director (Finance), ECL
C K Dey, Head (F&A), OIL, has been selected for the post of Director (Finance), Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board meeting held on July 11, 2012. As many as 12 persons were interviewed for the same.

Bagra gets extension as CMD NALCO
B L Bagra, Director, Finance, NALCO who is having the additional charge of CMD has been  granted extension for more 3 months.

Extension of inter cadre deputation of IAS officer denied
The extension of inter cadre deputation of Haryana cadre, IAS officerof 1986 batch, Mhathung Kithan from Haryana to Nagaland has been denied by Government of India.

Rakesh appointed new CVO, CWC
Joint Secretary Rural Development in the Government of India Sanjay kumar Rakesh has been appointed as Chief Vigilance Officer Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC),GOI. He is an IAS officer of 1990 batch of Manipur Tripura Cadre.

Gupta is new DIG, BSF
Nihil Jayaprakash Gupta, Deputy Director (MPA) Nasik, has been appointed DIG, Border Security Force ( BSF). He is an IPS officer of1996 batch of Maharashtra cadre.
(We said this on13 March 2012).

N Rajamarthandan to join CBI as SP
N Rajamarthandan,Comdt.II MLP Bn.Tura,Meghalaya Police  is likely to be inducted as SP in Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI).  He is an IPS officer of 2006 batch of Assam Meghalaya cadre.

Venkatesh to be promoted in CBI
H Venkatesh, SP, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to be promoted as DIG, CBI. He is an IPS officer of 1998 batch of Kerala cadre.

4 IRSE officers get HAG orders
As many as four IRSE officers have got HAG orders. They are: Pradeep Kumar PCE SCRly to Adviser Project Railway Board, V shrihari PCE WRly posted as PCE SCRly, Anirudh Jain PCE NERly posted as PCE WRly & O.P. Agrawal SAG WRly posted as PCE NERly

Deputation tenure of Ashok Kumar ends
Central deputation tenure of  Ashok kumar has ended .A 1982 batch Tamil Nadu cadre, IPS officer, Ashok Kumar was Joint Director ,CBI in Chennai.

Rajiv Mehta to be ADG, CRPF and not Kini
The MHA has recommended name of 1981batch, IPS officer, Rajiv Mehta for the post of ADG, CRPF. Earlier the name of Radha krishan Kini, IG, BPR&D was in circulation .

Dixit to be DG, ACB in Maharashtra
In all probability P N Dixit will be new DG Anti-Corruption Bureau in Maharashtra. He is a 1977 batch IPS officer.

Sridevi Goel to be DG, Police Housing in Maharashtra
Ms Sridevi Goel is being tipped to be new DG, Police Housing Corporation, in Maharashtra. She is a 1977 batch IPS officer.

Ojha is PS to MoS, Tribal Affairs
Dhirendra Ojha has been appointed PS to Minister of State, Tribal Affairs. He is a 1990 batch, Indian Information Service officer.

Placement Committee meeting of CBDT for CIT
Placement Committee meeting to post Commissioners of Income Tax has commenced on Wednesday morning and will continue today also.

DG Shipping Corporation of India to be appointed soon
Shipping Corporation of India to get new CMD soon , as the grapevine has it, a hectic lobbying is going on  over the appointment.

S S Garbyal to be ADG MoEF
As the grapevine has it, S S Garbyal is poised to be ADG, Forests, in the Ministry of Environment &Forests (MoEF). He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1977 batch of AGMUT cadre. At present, he is posted as PCCF, Mizoram.

1979 batch IPS to get DG rank in Bihar
Three 1979 batch IPS officers,Mr Krishna Chowdhary, A C Verma and A S Nimbran are being promoted to the rank of DG in Bihar early next month.

Appointment of Members of NHAI in speedy process
NHAI is reportedly soon to appoint members of PPP and Technical committees. July 10 was the last date for submission of applications. As the grapevine has it, hectic lobbying is going on for the appointments.

Swati Kulkarni to move to Muscat
Counsellor in Capetown, Ms Swati Kulkarni  has been moved to Muscat.

Narula is new CEO J & K
Umang Narula has been appointed Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), J&K.He is a 1989 batch IAS officer.

No files are being cleared in AP?
It is heard that no files are being cleared in Andhra Pradesh secretariat because of total paralysis of the administrative machinery.

Pravindra Yadav promoted to AG, CAG
Pravindra Yadav, on return from deputation, has been promoted to the grade of Accountant General (SAG) and will take over as Principal Director (Union Finances & Accounts) under the Comptroller & Auditor General of India. He is an IA&AS officer of1996.

8 posts of Judges vacant in Gujarat HC
As many as eight posts of judges have been lying vacant in Jharkhand High Court against 20 approved strength including three posts of Permanent Judge against 10 approved strength and five of Additional Judges against 10 approved strength.

Kuldip Kumar Singh, Director in Sr. DDG, TEC selected for 38th APPPA
Kuldip Kumar Singh, Director in the office of Senior DDG, TEC, TelecomEng Center, has been selected for 38th Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) to be conducted from July 2, 2012 to March 31, 2013.

12 IFS officers transferred in MP
As many as 12 officers of Indian Forest Service (IFS) have been transferred and posted at different places in Madhya Pradesh. Accordingly, M C Sharma has been posted as CCF, Gwalior while G Krishna Murthy will now be CCF, Hoshangabad and A K Bisaria is CCF, Sagar. Similarly, S P Rayal has been posted as CCF, Gwalior; Mahendra Yaduvendu as CCF, PCCF office, Bhopal; Basant Kumar Singh as CCF, Ujjain; Satyanand as Conservator of Forests, Bhopal; Rakesh Kumar Pathak as Conservator of Forests, Balaghat Headquarter, Jabalpur; Mrs.Bindu Sharma as Conservator of Forests, (work plan) Indore; S S Rajput as Conservator of Forests, Betul; B S Annigeri as Conservator of Forests and Mrs. Kamalika Mohanta has been shifted as Conservator of Forests, Umaria.

Rajneesh Goyal front runner for PS to Karnataka CM (UPDATED)
As the grapevine has it the name of Rajneesh Goyal is in circulation for the post of Principal Secretary (PS) to new Karnataka Chief Minister Jagdeesh Shettar. He is an IAS officer of 1986 batch who belongs to the Karnataka cadre. Presently, he is Managing Director(MD) of the Karnataka State Industries Development Corporation(KSIDC).

Will I.S.N.Prasad return as PS to Karnataka CM? (UPDATED)
As the grapevine has it the name of I.S.N.Prasad is also in circulation for the post of Principal Secretary (PS) to new Karnataka Chief Minister Jagdeesh Shettar. He is an IAS officer of 1986 batch who belongs to the Karnataka cadre. Presently, he is Principal Secretary (PS) Information Technology(IT) and Bio Technology (BT) to the Karnataka Government.

Ranganath to continue as CS, Karnataka (UPDATED)
S. V. Ranganath present Chief Secretary to the Karnataka Government will continue.He is an IAS officer of 1975 batch who belongs to the Kanataka cadre.

A.R. Infant to continue as DGP Karnataka (UPDATED)
A.R. Infant will continue to as DGP to the Karnataka Government. He is an IPS officer of 1977 batch who belongs

E K Bharat Bhushan to move Steel Ministry (UPDATED)
E K Bharat Bhushan is moving to the Ministry of Steel as Additional Secretary. He is 1979 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

Machendranathan to be DGCA(UPDATED)
S Machendranathan who is presently Additional Secretary Steel is moving to the Ministry of Civil Aviation as DGCA.He is 1979 batch IAS officer of TamilNadu cadre.

Two officers of Railways on deputation (UPDATED)
P K Sinha, SAG/IRAS/COFMOW, has been selected and approved for deputation to IRCTC as GGM (Finance), IRCTC/Delhi while Kanwaljit Singh Asla, IRAS/SG, was approved for secondment to IRCON International Ltd. as Joint GM (Finance) for Malaysia.

R S T Sai extension as THDC chief rejected (UPDATED)
Proposal pertaining to extension R.S.T.Sai as the Chairman & Managing Director(CMD) of Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd.(THDC) has been rejected.

A B L .Srivastava's proposal of NHPC's full time chief rejected (UPDATED)
Proposal pertaining to appointment of A.B.L. Srivastava as Chairman & Managing Director(CMD) of NHPC has been turned down. Presently he is the Director (Finance) in NHPC.

CBEC's personnel wing initiative bears fruits(UPDATE)
Personnel wing of the Central Board of Excise of Customs (CBEC) under the leadership of Member Personnel Ms.Praveen Mahajan has blazed a new trail. As many 150 Superintendents are very soon going to be elevated as Assistant Commissioners.This was pending for over last two years.

1991 batch IAS officer quits service (UPDATED)
A 1991 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, L V Nilesh has quit Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and his resignation has been accepted by Government of India.

A V Shukla is Aid-de-camp to Rajasthan Governor (UPDATED)
Anand Vardhan Shukla has been posted as Aid-de-camp to Governor, Rajasthan. He is a 2000 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre

CORPORATE

Nasir Ali is new Joint MD Air India
Nasir Ali has been appointed new Joint Managing Director of the Air India. He is an official already working in the Civil Aviation ministry.

Singapore invites Indian investment for greater economic ties
Singapore's Prime Minister H E Lee Hsien Loong has urged Indian industry leaders to invest for greater economic cooperation and development especially in education, health and power. "We are in the process of setting up a board of investment to help potential investors in executing the projects", he said while addressing a joint business meeting organized by industry bodies ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI. Loong, who is here with a 30 member delegation on a four-day visit,
said both countries are mutually important economic partner, with bilateral economic relations growing exponentially after signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in 2005 Dilip Modi, immediate past-president ASSOCHAM, said that Singapore is India's largest trade and investment partner in ASEAN. Bilateral trade reached US$ 17.44 million in 2010-11. Singapore has become a preferred center of operations for Indian companies active in the Asia Pacific region. "Combined with a good enabling environment, strong air connectivity and the presence of a large Indian community, Singapore has emerged as a key offshore logistics and financial hub for many Indian corporate. There are estimated to be about 4000 registered "Indian" companies in Singapore," he said. Adi Godrej, president of CII, said bilateral trade post CECA has been growing at close to 20% annually with the exception of a couple of years when trade was affected by the global financial crises. Between 2006-07 and 2010-11, trade has grown by 51% and we hope the target of $32 billion would be achieved by 2015. Indian firms too have invested in a large variety of sectors in Singapore such as IT and ITEs, FMCG, steel etc. Facilitative business environments, competitive tax regime, excellent connectivity, a network of FTAs and strong Government support and encouragement have given Singapore an edge over other countries, added Godrej. R V Kanoria, president of FICCI, said Indian entrepreneurs are increasingly using Singapore as a launch pad to expand their business globally, with their presence from services to manufacturing and from hi-tech to basic of business.

Bhat re-appointed MD & CEO, Karnataka Bank Ltd
P. Jayarama Bhat has been re-appointed as the Managing Director & CEO of Karnataka Bank Ltd w.e.f. July 14, 2012.

Chand resigns as CFO, Birla Corporation Ltd
P. K. Chand, Chief Financial Officer of Birla Corporation Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. July 10, 2012.

Kannan appointed as GM Operations, Om Pizza
V Kannan has been appointed as GM Operations, Om Pizza.

Chatterjee resigns as MD SC Johnson
Shumone Chatterjee has resigned as Managing Director of SC Johnson's India operations.

Amrolia appointed as CEO of Chennai Business School
J. N. Amrolia Director on the board of Ashok Leyland John Deere Construction Equipment Company, has taken over as the Chief Executive Officer of Chennai Business School (CBS).

Ghosh appointed ED (Service & Support), Lenovo India
Lenovo India has appointed Sudipto Ghosh as Executive Director (Service & Support)

Srinivasulu appointed Company Secy, Suryajyoti Spinning Mills Ltd
Srinivasulu Raju Y has been appointed as Company Secretary of Suryajyoti Spinning Mills Ltd .

Banerjee ceases to be Independent Director, Nilachal Refractories Ltd
Shakti Kumar Banerjee has ceased to be Independent Director of Nilachal Refractories Ltd w.e.f. June 25, 2012

Khakre appointed Company Secy. Finaventure Capital Ltd
Yogesh Khakre has been appointed as Company Secretary of Finaventure Capital Ltd w.e.f. June 30, 2012

Jariwala resigns as Director, Refnol Resins and Chemicals Ltd
Ms D  J Jariwala, Director of Refnol Resins and Chemicals Ltd has resigned from the Board of Directors of the company w.e.f. June 15, 2012

Sud resigns as Director, Nitco Ltd
Atul Sud, Director of Nitco Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f.June 26, 2012

Vijayalakshmi resigns as Comapny Secy. Elgi Rubber Company Ltd
Ms K Vijayalakshmi, Company Secretary, Elgi Rubber Company Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. July 5, 2012

Shankar appointed Company Secy. Elgi Rubber Company Ltd
C Shankar has been appointed as Company Secretary of Elgi Rubber Company Ltd w.e.f. July 5, 2012

Sahoo ceases to be Nominee Director, Kamat Hotels (I) Ltd
Aswini Sahoo, Nominee Director of Clearwater Capital Partners (Cyprus) Limited has ceased to be Director of Kamat Hotels (I) Ltd .

Chakravorty appointed Director (F&B), Sheraton Bangalore Hotel
Joyjit Chakravorty has been appointed as Director (Food & Beverage) at Sheraton Bangalore Hotel, Brigade Gateway

Amin ceases to be Whole-time Director, Alembic Ltd
Ms Malika Amin has ceased to be Whole-time Director of Alembic Ltd with immediate effect.

SAIL Chairman hints at further collaborations with Kobe
India's largest steel maker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Kobe Steel of Japan today signed a memorandum of agreement at Kobe's headquarters in Tokyo for setting up a 0.5 million tonne per annum iron nugget making plant using Kobe's patented ITmK3 technology at SAIL's Alloy Steels Plant in Durgapur, West Bengal, India with an investment of Rs. 1,500 crore. As per the agreement, SAIL and Kobe Steel will be entitled to equal share of production from the plant for captive use. A joint venture company 'SAIL-Kobe Iron India Pvt. Ltd.' in which SAIL and Kobe Steel hold equal equity, has already been incorporated. The agreement was signed by SAIL Chairman C S Verma and Kobe Steel President & CEO N Sato in the august presence of Beni Prasad Verma, Union Minister for Steel, Govt. of India, D R S Chaudhary, Secretary (Steel), Govt. of India, U P Singh, Joint Secretary (Steel), Govt. of India, and other senior Indian officials from SAIL & Kobe Steel including Rakesh Kulshreshtha, Executive Director, SAIL & Chairman, SAIL-Kobe Iron India Pvt Limited. Speaking on the occasion, Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma expressed his happiness at the joint venture of SAIL and Kobe Steel and was optimistic about more projects for the Indian steel industry with the help of Japanese technology. "The ITmK3 technology will also utilise dump iron ore fines, disposal of which has become an environmental issue," he said. Chaudhury assured that Ministry of Steel, Govt. of India would provide full support for the project. SAIL Chairman Verma remarked, "With this joint venture with Kobe, SAIL is going to achieve twin objectives of bringing in latest technology to the country, and also adopting environment-friendly processes. This will be a milestone in the history of SAIL, setting new benchmarks of international collaboration in the field of iron-making. This is the first step of our collaboration with Kobe which could extend to other areas in future." Expressing his earnest wish that ITmk3 technology will contribute, through this joint venture project with SAIL, to further development of Indian Steel industry, Kobe Steel President Sato agreed with SAIL Chairman stating "this ITmk3 JV project will become a golden opportunity for the both companies to explore other fields where we can collaborate for mutual benefit".

(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 Indicators of Economic Growth

Ice Cream & Mineral Water ! It is good that the UPA government has prescribed new indicators of economic growth in the form of ice cream cones and bottled mineral water. We are also thankful to the economic policies of this government which aggressively marketed mineral water by withdrawing supplies or curtailing the supply of potable municipal water. The shortage thus created, compelled the targeted "middle class", which really is not so middle as it is imagined to be by the 28 rupees cut off mark of poverty policy planners, to buy mineral water. A country that has always prided itself in opening free water outlets for the Aam Aadmi to drink the nectar of God free of any charge has started doing business in selling water- an act of grossest debasement put in the category of worst sins for the social or welfare minded. It is not as if the middle class alone were forced to promote the business of bottled mineral water. I have not found a single hotel in India where the taps in the guest rooms prominently display the sign "Fit For Drinking'. This is normal in any hotel in London ( I quote because this government is quick to quote from Europe or America at the drop of a hat).Instead, every room in Indian hotels provides one small bottle of mineral water "complimentary". Additional bottle costs anything between 45 to 75 rupees each. For the ice cream, the reforms seem to mean only the promotion of ice cream, cola, burger, insurance, pensions and retail . Lakhs of small vendors have been thrown out of business ever since big business (qualifying for the tag of an MRTP/FMC company before reforms) was allowed to enter ice cream. The consumer, largely children, has been cheated of her pocket money, for what got her for just 5 rupees costs now 20 rupees. The reason being that it is no more simple ice cream cone but "frozen desserts". What is its shelf life? One year or more. If the children do not carefully check the date of manufacturing, packing or expiry, they might end up eating harmful ice cream leading to complicated medical condition like jaundice! But that does not seem to be any cause for worry for the government, as it is more concerned about increasing revenues. If there is any change in the Finance Ministry, which looks improbable before 2014, the consumer should be prepared to file her Income Tax return as became necessary when 1/6 included a mobile phone. It is so cheap now that the small unskilled workers also use one these days. But the story of ice cream makes an interesting revelation also, ever since licencing it used to be a serious concern for the ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Industry once upon a time and the administrative control over ice cream used to be rather pretty hot. So, let us enjoy our newly gained opulence and enjoy our mineral water and ice cream.

M L Gupta

Complete misconception

The thought has been recently expressed on this channel that Members of the Railway Board are "given Honorary ranks of Secretary". This is a complete misconception. Railway Board functions as a Ministry of the Government of India and the members of the Railway Board are ex-officio Secretaries to the Government of India and the Chairman is ex-officio Principal Secretary to the Government of India.

A K Singh

Nobody has learnt any lesson from the 2G scam
It appears that nobody has learnt any lesson from the 2G scam involving Raja and Bahura. Aviation Minister Ajit Singh is reportedly busy canvassing to get his own man as Secretary when the present incumbent retires this month.

N K Mathur

RIT

Disclosure of reasons for not empanelling an officer under RTI

The appellant sought the reasons for being left out in the empanelment list of IPS Officers by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the year 1994-95 while all his APRs were outstanding. The PIO informed that as per DoPT's O.M. No. 1/7/2009-IR dated 1.6.2009, the information sought in the RTI application cannot be classified as 'information' and the same cannot be provided. The appellant argued before the Central Information Commission (CIC) that whereas his juniors have been empanelled and, therefore, he should be provided the reasons for being left out from empanelment list when all his APRs are 'Outstanding'. The CIC noted the admission of the respondent that the decision for promotion of IPS Officers is taken in the meeting of the CPEB. Observing that the meetings of the CPEB are a matter of official record, the CIC ruled that what has been sought by the appellant is covered under the definition of 'information' as per section 2(f) of the RTI Act. The Commission directed the PIO to provide the reasons, as per record, whereby decision was taken to leave out the appellant in the empanelment list of IPS Officers for the year 1994-95.

Comments

This decision of the CIC is likely to bring in transparency in the process of empanelment..

Citation: Mr. Kamal Saini v. Ministry of Home Affairs in Case No. CIC/SS/A/2012/000236

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