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Excellent coverage; I used to see daily and update my self what is happening in our country.
Ashok Chaturvedi

Did PM snub Pawar ?
It is heard that Sharad Pawar was snubbed by PM and was told in no uncertain terms that many of the scandals of his ministers in Maharashtra will be brought to light soon.

Will Ahmed Patel's son contest from Bharuch ?
It is heard that Ahmed Patel's son Faizal likely to contest from Bharuch in the up coming elections.

Differences in agenda mars Team Anna's movement
Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal and Baba Ramdev all have different agendas about what they want the movement to be. Advantage Congress?

Is Manmohan Singh waiting to clear certain FDIs
It is heard that Manmohan Singh wants to clear certain FDIs that are from the US.

This is state of affairs of Congress in Punjab
If you ask about the Congress Party in Punjab, people say that party affairs have gone from bad to worst in the state.

BUREAUCRACY

Official empanelment list of 1982 batch IAS officers
As many as 44 officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of 1982 batch belonging to various cadres have officially been empanelled as Additional Secretary in Government of India. The officers include: K A Ganai (J & K); JK Malvika Pawar (Rajasthan); Tapan Ray (Gujarat); Girish Shankar (Bihar); Anand Kulkarni (Maharashtra), C B enkatramana (AP); D Singh Dhesi (Haryana); Vinod Zutshi (Rajasthan); Rohit Nandan (UP); Rajib Gauba (Jharkhand); S K Patnaik (Karnataka); Pravir Kumar (UP); J S Deepak (UP); Aruna Sundarrajan (Kerala); G Elias (Kerala); Neeraj Gupta (UP); Sanjay Mitra (West Bengal); N C Goel (Rajasthan); Trilochan Singh (West Bengal); A K Srivastava (UP); Amarjit Singh (Gujarat); G L Krishna Rao (Karnataka); Ajay Nath (MP); K Skandan
(Tamil Nadu); Rashmi Verma (Bihar); Gautam Chatterjee (Maharashtra); Pradeep Sen (Rajasthan); Raghav Chandra (MP); J S Mathur (MP); Navin Verma (Bihar); Ramesh Abhishek (Bihar); V K Thakral (MT); K K Jalan (Haryana); G Gurucharan (Karnataka); A N Jha (MT); P K Jha (UP); H K Pande (West Bengal); Vineet Chaudhary (Himachal Pradesh); Sudhir Kumar (Bihar); H K Das and J P Prakash (AM); Dalip Singh (Haryana) and T Y Das and K S Kropha (AM).
(We said this on July 25, 2012)

Nine IAS officers of 1982 batch empanelled as Addl. Secretary in GoI
As many as nine officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of 1982 batch of various cadres have been empanelled as Additional Secretary in Government of India. The officers include: Ramesh Chander Nayyar of Punjab cadre while Sanjiv Nair of UP cadre and Dilip Kumar Samantaray of MP. Similarly, M N Vidyashankar of Karnataka; K Deenabandu of Tamil Nadu; K V Satyanarayanan of MT; G V Krishna Rau of Karnataka; H Khekuto Khulu of Nagaland and Sajen Peter of Kerala cadre.

PM to bid farewell to Gopalan and Basu
Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, who is also Finance Minister, is going to hold a farewell party for Secretary, DEA R Gopalan and Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu on July 31.Prime Minister is all praise for the good work done by Gopalan and Basu.

Venu Rajamony is Press Secretary to President
Indian Foreign Service officer Venu Rajamony has been appointed as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee.He is presently Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Finance .

A K Agarwal is DG ESIC
Anil Kumar Agarwal has taken over as Director General of Employees' State Insurance Corporation( ESIC) under Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India. He is a 1981 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.
(We said this on July 18, 2012)

Anil Trigunayat is new HC to Malta
Anil Trigunayat, presently Ambassador of India to Libya has been concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Malta, with residence in Tripoli (Libya).

CISF DG, Rajiv is also DG, NDRF&CD
Rajiv, DG, CISF, has been assigned additional charge of Director General, National Disaster Response Force & Civil Defence (NDRF & CD). He is a 1975 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

MP cadre IPS to be PS to MoS Urban Development in GoI
Sushovan Benerjee is being appointed as Private Secretary to Union Minister of State for Urban Development, Prof. Saugato Roy. He is a 1989 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Services of Mathew confirmed
Competent Authority, Government of India has confirmed the services of Anoop T Mathew in IPS. He is a 2006 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre.

Arun Mishra joins DGCA
Arun Mishra has joined as new DGCA. He is a 1986 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.

Iqbal Ahmad is new CIC in Madhya Pradesh
Iqbal Ahmad has been elevated as Chief Information Commissioner in Madhya Pradesh. He is a retired 1974 batch IAS officer of this State cadre.

Khandaray is back to J & K
A 1995 batch IPS officer, Satish Khandaray is back to the parent J & K cadre from inter -cadre deputation of Maharashtra. On return, he has been appointed as OSD to DGP Ashok Prasad.

Tenure of Saha to expire on August 2
The tenure of Chairman of the Central Warehousing Corporation, B K Saha is coming to an end on August 2, 2012. A 1967 batch retired IAS officer, Saha has been Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh.

Three High Courts in North East
Three new High Courts are being set up in the North-east states by next year end.

68 PPS to get IAS in UP
As many as 68 State Civil Services officers are being promoted to IAS in Uttar Pradesh in the coming months.

UP to get 18 IPS this year
In view of the largest state, Uttar Pradesh has been allotted as many as 18 direct IPS officers this year.

Book of an IPS creates flutter in AP
A book penned by a serving IPS officer in Andhra Pradesh has created waves in the bureaucratic circles. A 1987 batch IPS officer, Vinoy Kumar Singh, in his book, has criticized several politicians and bureaucrats.

1989 batch IPS officer may be elevated to ADG rank in CG
As the grapevine has it a 1989 batch IPS officer of IG rank may be elevated to the rank of ADG.

Apoorva Srivastava goes to Paris
First Secretary in Indian Embassy Kathmandu, Apoorva Srivastava has been moved to Indian Embassy in Paris.

J S Karape transferred as PD, Audit Defence, Pune
J S Karape, Accountant General (A&E)-II, Maharashtra, Nagpur, has been transferred and posted as Principal Director of Audit, Defence Services, Pune under the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

Brig. Kalisipudi Ravi Prasad selected for 38th APPPA
Brig. Kalisipudi Ravi Prasad, Brig. Administration, HQ School of Artilery, has been selected for 38th Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) to be conducted from July 2, 2012 to March 31, 2013.

Manjeet S Dhillon empanelled Joint Secretary in GoI
Manjeet S Dhillon has reportedly been empanelled as Joint Secretary in the Government of India. He is an ITS officer of 1981 batch.

Ms. Nutan Raj promoted as EA, Commission for Agri. Cost & Prices
Ms. Nutan Raj, Director, DGCIS, Mumbai, has been promoted to Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) and posted as Economic Adviser, Commission for Agriculture Cost and Prices. She is an Indian Economic Service (IES) officer of 1986 batch.

Nani Mali gets posting in Delhi Government
IAS officer, Nani Mali has been appointed as Special Secretary, PWD in the Delhi Government.

T R Kesavan is COO, TAFE
T R Kesavan has assumed charge as Chief Operating Officer of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE), Chennai, the third largest tractor manufacturing company in the world. A gold medalist in Mechanical Engineering and Post Graduate in Management, Kesavan has been Sr. Vice President of the company which registered a phenomenal growth rate of 30.4% when the industry as a whole achieved only 11.4 % growth in 2011-12.

IAS changes in Orissa
Altogether 27 IAS officers have been reshuffled in Orissa. New postings are MssrsVishal Dev Vice Chairman Bhubneshwar Development Authority,Sanjiv Kumar Mishra Commissioner BMC,N B Jawale Excise Commissioner,D V Swamy Commissioner Cuttack Municipal Corporation,Sailendra Narayan Dey OSD to the Chief Secretary.Posting of new Collectors is as under :-Bishnu Prasad Sahu (Malkangiri), Balwant Singh (Keonjhar), M Muthukumar (Nuapada), Yamini Sarangi (Nabarangpur), Naba Kumar Nayak (Puri), Arvind Agarwal (Angul), Bhupendra Singh Poonia (Kandhamal), Rajesh Pravakar Patil (Mayurbhanj), Satya Kumar Mallick (Jagatsinghpur), Durga Prasad Behera (Kendrapada), Ranjit Mohanty (Balasore), Basudev Bahanipati (Gajapati), Sashi Bhushan Padhi (Rayagada), Ravindra Pratap Singh (Sonepur) and Debraj Mishra (Balangir) .

IAS postings in Andhra Pradesh
Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi has been appointed Collector and DM of Hyderabad (Urban). Christina Z. Chongthu will be Collector, Nizamabad, replacing D Varaprasad, who in turn has been made Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, AP State Civil Supplies Corporation.

30 CCL officers transferred
Transfer orders of 30 CCL officials have been issued on Friday.

CDR R K Okhandiar takes over as Director (Comme & Mkt.), ITDC
CDR R K Okhandiar has taken over as Director (Commercial & Marketing), India Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ITDC).
(We said this on January 17, 2012)

CORPORATE

Dr. Khullar's first ever discussion on public platform
Dr. Rahul Khullar appeared and shared his views for the first time on a public platform as TRAI Chairman as admitted Dr Khullar himself while chairing the Round Table Discussion on 'Cross Media Ownership' organised by ASSOCHAM in Delhi. He is a retired IAS officer of 1975 batch of UT cadre.

TRAI Chairman shows his conviction for a reasonable
As the regulating authority, TRAI Chairman, Dr. Rahul Khullar showed his conviction for a robust regulatory framework to check the growing concentration & monopolistic practices arising out of 'Cross Media Ownership'. Elaborating the horizontal as well as vertical aspects of 'Cross Media Ownership' he strongly advocated the need for wide discussions before coming to TRAI's recommendations on the issue. Dr. Khullar was chairing the Round Table Discussion on the aegis of ASSOCHAM which facilitated a platform for regulators and stakeholders to discuss the issue.

ASSOCHAM holds round table discussion on 'Cross Media Ownership'
TRAI chairman, Dr. Rahul Khullar said that there were serious issues of monopoly both horizontal and vertical in ownership, what constituted limits of market dominance and how mergers and acquisitions impacted the free market of ideas that needed a wide range of public discussion before the TRAI formulated its recommendations. He clarified that he was not speaking of content regulation in this context. "If one newspaper controls all contents of opinion through cross-media ownership, if one TV group owns both channels and cable distribution, it could pose grave danger. Dr. Khullar (retired IAS of 1975) was chairing round table discussion organized by ASSOCHAM on 'Cross Media Ownership' on July 27 in Delhi. He further said that no democracy can survive if you do not have plurality and diversity of opinion." In the Indian context there were also lingual barriers to plurality creating non-competitive markets in South India that needed to be considered. Drawing on his experience in his previous assignment as Commerce Secretary of Central Government Dr. Khullar said the very reasons that denied banking license for industrial establishments also worked in the case of cross-media ownership. Freedom to form one's own opinion is denied is such monopoly, he pointed out quoting from the serious threat UK Parliament saw in the monopoly ownership of media in UK by newspaper baron Murdoch of the News of the World. The inaugural session was addressed by D S Rawat, Secretary General of ASSOCHAM; T V Ramchandran, Chairman, ASSOCHAM National Council on Communications Convergence. Round table was further addressed by R Prasad, Member, Competition Commission of India; Prakash Javadekar (MP); Dr. Paramita Dasgupta, Professor, Administrative Staff put forward a presentation on the issue. Several eminent guests participated in the discussion include N Parameshwaran, Principal Adviser, TRAI; P N Vasanthi, Director, CMS; Shantanu Bhanja, CMO, HT Media Limited; Siddhart Varadrajan, Editor,
The Hindu; Pulak Baghchi, VP STAR India; Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary Gen., Consumer Unity & Trust Society. Ms. Nanita Kohli Khandekar, Columnist Business Standard Limited played as the moderator of the panel discussion.

Chanda Kochhar inducted Member of High Level Committee
ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar, has been inducted as Member of High Level Committee on Financing Infrastructure.

Dugar appointed Additional Director of Zensar Technologies
Munish Dugar has been appointed as Additional Director of Zensar Technologies

Lalbhai appointed Executive Director of Arvind
Punit Lalbhai has been appointed as Executive Director of Arvind.

Bhaskaran appointed CEO & MD of X Pro India
C Bhaskaran has been appointed as CEO & MD of X Pro India.

Sharma appointed Additional Director of Rajdhani Leasing and Finance
Kamal Sharma has been appointed as Additional Director of Rajdhani Leasing and Finance

Elavia appointed Chairman of Grindwell Norton
Keki Elavia has been appointed as Chairman of Grindwell Norton.

Mitra appointed Additional Director of Nicco Parks and resorts
Sunil Mitra has been appointed as Additional Director of Nicco Parks and resorts

Kirpal quits Dolphin offshore
Manjit Kirpal has resigned as Director of Dolphin offshore.

Thakkar quits Gujarat Lease Finance
Viren Thakkar has resigned as Director of Gujarat Lease Finance.

Saraf appointed Director of Educomp Solutions
Manav Saraf has been appointed as Director of Educomp Solutions.

Boedecker appointed MD, Merck Ltd
Merck Ltd has appointed Dr. Claus-Dieter Boedecker as Managing Director of the company w.e.f. August 1, 2012

Dizki cease to be MD, Merck Ltd
Dr Marek Dizki has ceased to be Managing Director of Merck Ltd w.e.f. July 31, 2012

Kumar given addl. charge as Company Secy. Purvankara Projects Ltd
A Anil Kumar, Chief Financial Officer of Purvankara Projects Ltd will hold additional charge as Company Secretary of the company w.e.f. July 25, 2012 .

Rahevar quits Shrey Chemicals Ltd
Prakash Rahevar has resigned as Director of Shrey Chemicals Ltd .

Sridhar appointed Independent Director, Strides Arcolab Ltd
S Sridhar has been appointed as Independent Director of Strides Arcolab Ltd.

(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)

Govt should abolish vacant posts

The Government should try to rectify the mistakes done by MOS&PI by creating 90 posts of DDG, Joint Secretary level officers, by cutting down the size of these posts by strict evaluating the justification of creation of these posts. At least now, the Government should abolish the vacant posts of DDG of MOS&PI and save huge amount of public
money.
Chandrika

Select list needs to be revised
CAT had given some judgment in the case of direct recruit of Section Officers presently working as Under Secretaries. Delhi High Court had stayed that decision. A vacation judge in Supreme Court had kept I in abeyance the Delhi High Court's stay order (desh ki prabhu satta par koi aag nahi lagi thi). Unless and until the select list of Under Secretaries for the years 2003 to 2008 are not revised through a DPC in UPSC, it will illegal on the part of the Department of Personnel & Training to make the Under Secretaries (direct recruit SOs)for the year 2004 & 2005 as ad-hoc Deputy Secretaries overlooking the Under Secretaries (promotee) for the year 2003. At the Under Secretary level are equal. You cannot create discrimination and violate the constitution.

Anju Saxena

Ms. Mahajan to prove her mettle
Ms. Praveen Mahajan will prove to be one of the best chairpersons. The posterity will always remember her contribution to the cause of revenue, welfare of staff and facilitation for trade and industry. She has got inborn capabilities to extract maximum talent out of her subordinates and also exhort trade to discharge their tax liabilities honestly. She has given due recognition to the diligent staffers. Under her chairmanship, the revenue department will leave an indelible mark in the international community. It appears that sun is going to rise for the department of customs, central excise and service tax and particularly in the larger interest of the trade and foreign investors.

Surfer

RIT

Pseudonymous RTI application - What should a PIO do?

The appellant filed an application under with the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) seeking information related to the visit of the personnel of CEPC to an International Corporate Fair held in 2010. The Public Information Officer (PIO) furnished detailed para-wise information to the appellant. During the hearing, the respondent submitted that CEPC had deputed certain officials to visit the residential address of the appellant and they did meet the appellant there but on a query from the officials, the appellant had informed them that he had not filed the impugned RTI application. He also submitted that the PIO had written a letter to the appellant to appear before him for certain clarifications but the appellant did not appear before the PIO. However, the PIO supplied the requisite information to the appellant. The respondent further asked the Commission as to what decision should PIO take in a case where the information seeker denies having filed the RTI application. The Central Information Commission (CIC) held that if the information seeker denies to have filed the RTI application, then this should be duly recorded in the order of the PIO and the matter should be closed. The Commission also observed that the PIO cannot compel an appellant to visit his office. The Commission dismissed the appeal stating that the appellant was not satisfied from the documents supplied to him but he has not appeared before the Commission to canvass his case.

Comments

Pseudonymous applications are seen many times leaving a PIO confused as to how to he should respond to them. This order provides that a PIO may close all such cases while recording it in the order and not insist on the presence of the applicant in his office.

Citation: Mr. Sushil Kumar v. Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) in File No.CIC/LS/A/2011/002461

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)