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Madan Lal

Will Kaushik Basu be key man in shaping some economic policies?
A man said to be close to the Prime Minister , Dr.Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Advisor, who is to hang his boots in August end, is likely to give some important notings on economic issues like GAAR, fiscal deficit gap, oil pricing and other factors that need to be improved to lift the sagging economy.

Will DMK's fill the jail affect voting for President's election ?
DMK leader Alagiri has given a call to 'fill the jail' to protest against the detention of a former DMK minister Veerapandi Arumugham under the Goondas Act. Arumugam, who was already in jail in connection with a case of land grabbing, was about to get bail when the Goondas Act detention was slapped on him. Besides, countless DMK leaders are being jailed for long periods of time on criminal cases since Jayalalithaa came to power.DMK's 23 MLAs , 18 Lok Sabha MPs
and 7 in RS will not able to vote.Will this affect Presidential elections?

Keshubhai’s ‘Third front’: A tactical arrangement?

A buzz in Gujarat these days is that Keshubhai has joined hands with Govardhan Zadaphia, President of Maha Gujarat Janata Party (MGJP) and may join MGJP soon as part of their joint endeavour against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Keshubhai’s call to impose Presidential rule in Gujarat followed by his resignation from BJP is seen as testimony to it. It is also heard that both have the backing of some senior BJP leaders in centre and a ‘Yoga guru’ of national fame. Whispers in the corridors have been that Keshubhai has advocated the need for a ‘Third front’ (creating safe passage for his goal) for two reasons; first, it would avert polarisation and second, it would facilitate the post electoral arrangement with the Congress party.) Is it really a tactical arrangement against the 'polarising star' of Gujarat?

Desh Deepak Verma is new Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs
Desh Deepak Verma has been appointed new Secretary Parliamentary Affairs. 1978 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer Verma is presently DG Sports Authority of India.
( We said this only yesterday )

Anurag Srivastava to be Joint Secretary I & B
Anurag Srivastava is being appointed new Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He is 1992 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Sanjay Kumar Srivastava likely to be Vice Chairman, DDA
As the grapevine has it, Sanjay Kumar Srivastava is likely to be appointed as Vice Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Presently, he is Chief Secretary of Goa where he has been successfully serving as the Chief Secretary for the last three years. He is an IAS
officer of 1980 batch who belongs to the AGMUT cadre.

Anil Goswami takes over as Secretary, Social Justice & Disability in GoI
Anil Goswami has taken over as new Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment as well as Secretary, Disability Affairs on July 2. He is a 1978 batch IAS of Jammu and Kashmir cadre.

C S Kedar to be Chairman BDA, Bangalore
C S Kedar who on central deputation is presently Director General (DG) of Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is going to be Chairman of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). He is an IAS Officer of 1979 batch who belongs to Karnataka cadre.

Agarwal is new JS Housing and Urban Poverty Aleviation
Brij Kumar Agarwal has been appointed Joint Secretary, in the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Poverty Alleviation in the Government of India. He is 1985 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

(We had said this on June 11, 2012)

U P Singh is now CVO KVIC
Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Steel Udai Pratap Singh has been appointed as the new CVO, of the Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC). He is 1984 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre.

Palsania to get one year extension ?
S K Palsania, DIG CBI, is likely to get one year extention in his Central Deputation tenure . State Government has given the NOC. He is an IPS officer of 1995 batch who belongs to the Orrisa Cadre.

Prabhat is new IG CRPF
Nalin Prabhat, DIG AP Police, has been appointed as IG CRPF. He is an IPS Officer of 1992 batch who belongs to the Andhra Pradesh Cadre.

63rd batch of IRS-C &CE going to the US in four groups
As many as 101 probationers of 63rd batch of IRS -Customs and Central Excise (C & CE) are going to the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, USA, for overseas attachment for one week from July 2012 in four groups.

Ms. Rasika Choubey returning to her cadre
Ms. Rasika Choubey, IDAS (1987), Joint Secretary & Financial Advisor, President's Secretariat, is reverting to the Department after spending Eight long years on deputation in her present position. She is expected to be posted in New Delhi.

Will Ajay Bhatnagar return to Jharkhand ?
Will Ajay Bhatnagar IG CISF (Airport) return to the parent Jharkhand cadre early ? Picture is not clear.The MHA has turned down the request of the state government for his return on the plea of shortage of officers. He is an IPS officer of 1989 batch from Jharkhand cadre.

M.K. Garg is ED to MoS for Railways
M.K. Garg, SA Grade IRSME Officer(1987 batch), has been appointed as the new Executive Director (Public Grievances) to the Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa. He has succeeded Naresh Goyal.

Kalyani Chadha gets extension
Ms. Kalyani chadha, Director,Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, has been given extention of one year in her central deputation tenure. She is an IRSME officer of 1988 batch.

Sanjay Kumar unlikely to join GoI
Sanjay kumar, ED, North Zone Noida is now unlikely to join the Government of India. He is an IAS officer of 1992 batch who belongs to Nagaland cadre.

Four IPS supended in TamilNadu in one year
In the Jayalalitha regime four IPS officers Thukkaiandi, M.S. Jaffer Sait, P. Sivanandi and Pramod Kumar, have been placed under suspension during past one year.

D S Minhas, DGP, Himachal Pradesh to go on one month leave
D S Minhas, Director General of Police (DGP), Himachal Pradesh, (HP) who is going to retire on August 31,2012 is proceeding on a month's leave. He is an IPS officer of 1977 batch who belongs to the HP cadre.

Vimla Mehra gets DG rank in Delhi Police
Vimla Mehra, Special Commissioner of Delhi Police (Security) has been promoted as Director General of Police (HAG + Scale) in the cadre. She is an IPS officers of 1978 batch who belong to the AGMU Cadre.

Garima Bhatnagar promoted in Delhi Police
Ms. Garima Bhatnagar, DIG Special Branch, New Delhi, has been promoted as Inspector General of Delhi Police. She is an IPS officer of 1994 batch who belong to the AGMU cadre.

DoPT's historic move
In the wake of state government's reluctance to relieve Sanjeev Chaturvedi an Indian Forest Service (IFS)of the 2002 batch had filed a petition in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) following which the CAT had further issued instructions to Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) neither to debar him nor to cancel his appointment if he failed to join on central deputation within the stipulated time-frame. Finally; on June 20, 2012 the DoPT had issued an order to the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) to relieve the said officer following which the MoEF had relieved Chaturvedi on June 29, 2012. The same day he joined the AIIMS as Deputy Secretary. This is perhaps for the first time that the Government of India had exercised its power in getting an officer relieved from a state cadre.
(We had said this on June 16, 2012)

Smita Pant moves to London
Smita Pant looking after Bangalesh Desk as Deputy Secretary in the MEA has been moved to Indian High Commission, London as First Secretary.

Bobhidatta Basantia promoted to AG, CAG, Mumbai
Bibhudatta Basantia, Director in the office of Principal Director of Audit, Navy, Mumbai, has been promoted to the grade of Accountant General (SAG) and will remain posted here in this office under the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

13 posts of Judges vacant in Calcutta HC
As many as 13 posts of Judges have been lying vacant in Calcutta High Court against 58 approved strength including 2 posts of Permanent Judges against 45 approved strength and 11 of Additional Judges against 13 approved strength.

Sanjay Aggarwal, Dy. Chief Materials Manager selected for 38th APPPA
Sanjay Aggarwal, Dy Chief Materials Manager, (e-procurement), has been selected for 38th Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) to be conducted from July 2, 2012 to March 31, 2013.

V K Jain is Director Srinagar Airport
V K Jain has been posted as Airport Director (APD) of the Srinagar Airport by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

PESB seeks applications for CMD, SCI
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) is seeking applications for the post of CMD, Shipping Corporation of India Limited (SCI) falling vacant next year on January 1, 2013. Those willing to apply can send their applications to the PESB before July 26, 2012.

IAS Association to be revived in Uttar Pradesh
The defunct Uttar Pradesh IAS Association is being revived. It has been defunct since 2007.

Ms. Agarwal posted as Director (Fin. Account), Railway Board
Ms. Shilpi Agarwal, SG/IRAS, presently working on Northern Railway, has been transferred to Railway Board and posted as Director Finance Accounts.

Samuel is now CCLA in Andhra Pradesh
M. Samuel has been appointed as Chief Commissioner Land Administration (CCLA) in Andhra Pradesh. He is 1978 batch IAS officer.

Aradhna Shukla is also OSD in NOIDA
The UP Government has also appointed 1981 batch IAS officer Aradhna Shukla as OSD in NOIDA.

Minor reshuffle of IPS officers in Delhi (UPDATED)
Some IPS officers of various batches have been transferred and posted in Delhi. Accordingly, SBK Singh has been posted as Joint Commissioner of Police in the Crime Branch while Zorammawia will now be Additional Commissioner in security wing and V Lalthakima is Additional Commissioner in Armed Police. Similarly, Sanjay Kumar has been posted as Deputy Commissioner of Prime Minister's security; P Karunakaran as Deputy Commissioner of Police, North-west district. LT Hrangchal has been shifted to Police Control Room (PCR) in the same rank; John Neihlaia as DCP in Departmental Enquiry Cell; Apur Bitin as DCP in Riot Cell and Kime Kaming has been posted as DCP in the 4th Battalion.

Gujarat emerges as top tourists destination (UPDATED)
'Khushboo Gujarat Ki' is spreading all over the world and the state is making inroads into the market for tourism industry in the country. Robust growth in tourist arrival - from 1.70 crore in 2009-10 to 2.23 crore in 2011-12. While Gujarat Tourism is making all-out efforts to maintain the momentum this year toothrough promotion of its upcoming events such as 'Saputara Monsoon Fest', Taranetar Fair, Navratri Festival & Rann Utsav all over the country, expected to act as a major booster for tourism infrastructure development in the state in line with the impressive growth in number of tourist Saputara Monsoon Festival (August 4 to September 1, 2012) At the Southern tip of Gujarat, folded into the densely wooded hills of the Sahayadris, lies the abode of serpents- Saputara. In the picturesque Dangs district, this is a hill station with a difference, where you can immerse yourself in a timeless land that is still pretty much the way God made it. After all legend has it that Lord Rama spent 11 years of his exile in these very forests. This picturesque hill station is perched on a plateau in the Dang forest area of the Sahyadri Range. At an altitude of about 1000 m. Saputara witnesses a uniform weather throughout the year. Saputara does not experience any extreme temperature variations and is an ideal getaway for the sun-scorched souls of the plains. The monsoon rains add to the magic of Saputara. Vipul Mittra, who is a 1986 batch of Gujarat cadre and presently working as Principal Secretary, Tourism Department, informed that the Gujarat Tourism plans to showcase this getaway monsoon destination to the nearby cities like Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai, Nasik in Maharashtra. Maharashtra is seen as the right target segment for this picturesque destination. Pune was the first in the series of cities in which Gujarat Tourism organized a road show to highlight this destination. Over the next 15 days, similar road shows will be held in other cities of Maharashtra. The Saputara Monsoon Festival will be a month long event where variety of activities/ attractions will be on offer for the tourists. Some of the events to be held as a part of the festival include water sports, adventurous activities, laser show, photography exhibition, heritage walk, cultural evenings, food festival, contests, etc. The idea is to keep the tourists engaged for the entire month through one activity or another in the best manner possible.

A S Bhattacharya is Director, IBPS (UPDATED)
A S Bhattacharya ex Chairman & Managing Director, Bank of Maharashtra has joined as Director of the Mumbai based Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).His term will be of three years.
(We said this on June 15, 2012)

Jawahar Thakur takes over as CGA (UPDATED)
Jawahar Thakur has taken over as Controller General of Accounts (CGA). Thakur, who belongs to Indian Civil Accounts Service of 1979 batch, assumed the charge on July 1, 2012.

Resignation of IRS officer accepted (UPDATED)
The Government of India has accepted the resignation of IRS officer M S Padamkumar from the service with effect from August 11, 2008.

ONGC wears top market cap again (UPDATED)
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (NSE: ONGC) has regained its position as the most valuable listed corporation of India. Its scrip surged on opening on the bourses on July 3, 2012 and reached an intra-day High of 289.80. With a total equity float of 855.55 crores, the market capitalisation of the oil major peaked to 247,938 crore. ONGC is now a clear 2 per cent ahead of its nearest rival (IT major) in market capitalisation, and around 2.6 per cent higher than the 3rd. ONGC ruled as the top market company earlier during a major part of last decade, before losing the spot to the largest private sector group, which is currently at the 3rd position.

Oman delegation visits NBCC for border fencing works (UPDATED)

A nine Member Oman Delegation headed by Brig. Mohammed S H Al-Batashi, held meeting with NBCC Delegation headed by its Chairman-cum-Managing Director Vishnu P Das, in New Delhi on July 2, 2012, to explore the possibilities of engaging NBCC in the upcoming Border Fencing Works of SULTANATE OF OMAN. NBCC gave detailed presentation to the Delegates, on its experience and expertise in execution of Border Fencing jobs which it has been implementing in Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Pak Border.

E K Bharat Bhusan gets extension as DG, Civil Aviation (UPDATED)
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension of additional charge of the post of Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation to E K Bharat Bhusan for a further period of one year.
( We said this on June 29 )

Air Marshal A K Behl takes over as DG, Medical Services (UPDATED)
Air Marshal A K Behl has assumed charge as Director General, Medical Services (Air) at Air Headquarters, Pune. He was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in 1976.

CORPORATE

Why did Mittal fail in India ?
Why did Laxmi Mittal who is richest person in the United Kingdom fail to expand his business in India ? This could really be a subject of research.

Sugata Sircar is MD City Gas
Sugata Sircar has been appointed MD of the country's largest privatesector city gas distributor by sales, Gujarat Gas.

Calicut international airport rated best airport for Q1 2012
ACI-ASQ survey has rated Calicut International Airport with a score of 4.18 out of 5. The mean score rating on a scale of excellent (5) to poor (1), rated Calicut International Airport with a score of 4.18 for overall airport satisfaction considering 36 dynamic Airport key performance indicators. Calicut International Airport has scored above average in 24 out of 36 key performance indicators. Calicut International Airport has scored 4.18 for overall satisfaction against a segment average of 4.31 for Asia Pacific Airports having 2 - 5 million passengers per annum. ACI-ASQ Survey have Globally benchmarked Calicut International Airport at 68th position out of 184 participating Global Airports in six different pax categories. Airport Director, J P Alex said that the excellence in service is not a one-off, it is proven to be the result of continual efforts and commitment to provide the best possible services. ASQ identifies where to focus that financial and human efforts. Having attained a way forward in Global benchmarking standard, the endeavour is to sustain and become the best Globally in the competing pax category, he said
and added that by measuring the service performance actually delivered and accurately pin point areas of correction provide a secure and consistent set of management information, for taking business decisions.

Krishnan ceases to be CFO & Company Secy. The South Indian Bank Ltd
K. S. Krishnan has ceased to be Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Company Secretary of the The South Indian Bank Ltd w.e.f. July 1, 2012.

Mathew appointed Company Secy. The South Indian Bank Ltd
Jimmy Mathew has been appointed as the Company Secretary of The South Indian Bank Ltd w.e.f. July 1, 2012.

Gireesh appointed CFO, The South Indian Bank Ltd
C. P. Gireesh has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of the South Indian Bank Ltd w.e.f. July 01, 2012.

Chaturvedi resigns as CEO, ORG Informatics Ltd
Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, Chief Executive Officer of ORG Informatics Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. June 30, 2012

Goyal ceases to be Director (Commercial), EIL
G. D. Goyal, Director (Commercial) has ceased to be the Director of Engineers India Ltd w.e.f. July 1, 2012.

Gupta appointed Director (Commercial), EIL
Sanjay Gupta, Executive Director - Incharge (Commercial), Engineers India Limited (EIL) has been appointed as Director (Commercial) of the company.

Jain ceases to be Director (Technical), NTPC Ltd
D. K. Jain has ceased to be Director (Technical) of NTPC Ltd w.e.f. June 30, 2012.

Jha appointed Director (Technical), NTPC Ltd
A. K. Jha, Executive Director, NTPC has been appointed as Director (Technical) of the company w.e.f. July 1, 2012 .

Sairam ceases to be CFO Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Ltd
E. Sairam ceased to be the Chief Financial Officer of Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Ltd w.e.f. June 30, 2012 .

Asirvatham ceases to be Director, Gokaldas Exports Ltd
Prince Asirvatham, Director of Gokaldas Exports Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. July 1, 2012

Venkiteswaran ceases to be Director, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd
S. Venkiteswaran has ceased to be Director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd w.e.f. June 30, 2012

Gupta ceases to be Director, Sybly Industries Ltd

Mahendra Kumar Gupta, has ceased to be a Director of Sybly Industries Ltd w.e.f. June 1, 2012.

Tripathi appointed Addl. Director, Sybly Industries Ltd
Lallan Tripathi has been appointed as Additional Director of Sybly Industries Ltd w.e.f. June 1, 2012

Ponkiya appointed Company Secy. Scanpoint Geomatics Ltd
Keval N. Ponkiya has been appointed as Company Secretary of Scanpoint Geomatics Ltd.

Jauhari appointed Part-time Director, Dredging Corporation of India Ltd
Union Ministry of Shipping has appointed M. C. Jauhari, lAS, Joint Secretary (Ports) as Part-time Official Director on the Board of Directors of the Dredging Corporation of India Ltd w.e.f. June 21, 2012.

Menon appointed as CMD of Sobha Developers
Ravi Menon has been appointed as CMD of Sobha Developers.

Mohan appointed as CMD of Nevyeli Lignite Corporation
B Surender Mohan has taken as CMD of Nevyeli Lignite Corporation.

Kampani resigns as director of JM Financial
Ashith Kampani has resigned as director of JM Financial.

Selot appointed as CFO of Timex Group
Sachin Selot has been appointed as CFO of Timex Group.

Sharma resigns as director of Adani Power
Ravi Sharma has resigned as director of Adani Power.

Gupta appointed additional director of Sybly Industries
Mahendra Gupta has been appointed additional director of Sybly Industries.

(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)

Celebration is not called for

As a citizen, I feel amused that a section of press is making a hero out of Pranab Mukherjee. After all he was just another routine politician like Lalu or Mulayam. Academically also, he does not have the stature of some of the famous Presidents we had. He did not contribute anything great as FM. The celebration is not called for.

Vallavneni

Digvijay is not the only Thakur leader in Cong

It is not correct that only Thakur leader in Congress is Digvijay Singh. Unfortunately there are many more competent ones but are not in lime light due to some or the other reason. 1. Jitendra Singh - State H.M.; 2 Dr. Sanjai Singh -M.P. who hails from Amethi; 3. Jagdambika
Pal - M.P.; 4 Harsh Vardhan Singh

Dr R N Singh

ITS officers made to sit idle

Despite the fact that the ITS officers want to work, they have been made to sit idle while a lot of work needs to be done on e-governance, cyber security, IPv6 implementation. How can this arrogance be allowed to continue despite such an active press and RTI activists.

S K Gupta

Total mismanagement

It's total mismanagement and wastage of highly professional cadre. They can be utilized on various IT related posts presently being occupied by non-technical persons .Even there is lot of scope to utilize them in state government department dealing with computerization &IT activities.

Tarun Kumar

Appeal to CBDT

Can CBDT make the refund on-line for small tax payers (less than 10 lakhs) specially for Sr. Citizens to show some relief from inconvenience and harassment. It will good work by CBDT to show some respect to Sr. citizens.
Naveen Prakash

Dashing officer

V K Bahuguna has always been a dashing officer. He could achieve many things if he is able to keep his flock together.

J C Kala

RIT

Should the Board provide information held at different zonal offices?

The appellant sought information regarding selections held in all zonal railways from the year 2006 to till date in the categories of OS PB II. He also wanted to know how a particular para of a certain Railway Rule was being interpreted by all zonal Railways. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information stating that the applicant is seeking clarification/ opinion of the public authority and not information as per section 2(f) of the RTI Act. Regarding the selections held in all zonal railways the PIO stated that no such data is being maintained by the Public Authority. The Central Information Commission (CIC) accepted the PIO's plea that opinion/ clarification cannot be given under the RTI Act as they fall outside the ambit of definition of information as given in section 2(f) of the RTI Act. Regarding the information related to the selections held in all zonal railways, the Commission held that the information sought is voluminous and is held by different zones of the Railways which need to be separately approached by the appellant as per section 6(1) of the RTI Act. The Commission advised the appellant to approach the PIOs of the respective zones for this information through separate RTI applications.

Comments

It is very often seen that the central office of an organization transfers the application to the different zones and tries to compiles information just out of ignorance or the fear of imposition of penalty. Compilation of information from the field formations is not mandated under the RTI Act.

Citation: Mr. Bhagwan Das Ahirwar v. Ministry of Railways Railway Board RTI Cell, in File No. CIC/AD/A/2012/001292

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)