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It's a very good site giving information about GoI postings and is very useful. It will be much more useful if vacancy details in different ministries, on deputation are also incorporated in this site.

V Chandra

Thy name is Air India
If media reports are to be believed, the Air India has incurred loses to the tune of over Rs 500 crore because of the strike by the pilots. What a state of affairs? 1982 batch IAS officer of UP cadre Rohit Nandan is the CMD of Air India.

(WE SAID THIS ON JUNE 16)
PM to keep Finance Portfolio?
This is almost certain that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is now going to keep Finance Portfolio. And C Rangrajan is going to be his key advisor.

UPA would field either Ms.Mohsina Kidwai or S.C. Jamir for Vice President's post?
After keeping Hamid Ansari and P A Sangma aside as presidential nominee; Congress needs to woo the Muslim minority and the tribal community of North-east. Party insiders say that Congress finds a suitable solution in either of the options i.e. Ms. Mohsina Kidwai and Jamir. In addition, ignoring either of them would put the BJP in trouble as Congress thinks so.

RSS still puzzled on Narendra Modi's positioning as 'PM material'?
In the wake of Gujarat elections; the insiders say, The Rashtriyaswayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) is going through dilemma on the theory having two possibilities. What, if Modi was projected as 'the PM material'? One section says that voters of Gujarat would rally around Modi as they would feel proud to see the next PM from Gujarat. The other section in RSS feels that why the voters would cast their votes to a person who would no longer serve them as Chief Minister. Interesting! Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would have to wait for some more time.

Will Sangma get Ms. Mamata's backing?
It is heard in the corridors of power that P.A.Sangma has been promised backing by Trinamool Congress besides YSR Congress.

Has Akhilesh Yadav's magic fizzled out?
It is heard that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Singh's magic has fizzled out in less than three months and that there is a chaos in the state with criminals and mafia gangs indulging in shooting, kidnapping and looting like the old days.

What does Ms.Mayawati want?
As the grapevine has it the Dalit queen it is heard has asked for burying of her CBI cases in lieu of votes for Pranab Mukherjee.

What for has NK Singh hosted a dinner?
A dinner was hosted by N.K. Singh for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of India (PCI) Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia. It is heard that this too has got implications on President's elections. Nitish wants package for Bihar against JD (U) votes.

Virbhadra Singh resigns: Turns bane into boon!
After a special court in Shimla framed corruption charges, the Union Minister Virbhadra Singh resigned. The insiders say not to take his move as simple as it appears. First, he pretended to show his high-morale. Second, he claimed his turn as CM (giving Anand Sharma's claims a big dent) in the name of seeking justice from 'people's court'. He knew it well as to why the Congress high-command (already suffering several wounds of corruption) would not allow him to go to the people's court? Tactfully he aimed at both in one go; the goal (CM's post) and the means (morality).

BUREAUCRACY

Will Srivastava be new Secretary Civil Aviation?
Name of K N Srivastava has started doing the round for the post of Secretary Civil Aviation. He is a 1978 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.

Who will be new Secretary to the President of India?
Who will be new Secretary to the President? Names of 1976 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre R Gopalan and 1976 batch IAS officer of Assam Meghalaya cadre Ranjan Chatterjee are currently in circulation. Both the officers are considered close to Pranab Mukherjee.

Will new Secretary be the choice of Pranab Mukherjee?
Will Pranab Mukherjee have any say in the appointment of new Secretary to the President? Atleast present President Ms Pratibha Patil had no say in the appointment of Christy Fernandese as her Secretary. Infact, she wanted 1972 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre A K Singh as her Secretary. Name of 1973 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer Christy Fernandese was however approved by Sonia Gandhi at the behest of Ahmad Patel who hails from Gujarat.

Will IAS officer be Secretary to the President?
Omita Paul may go to the Rashtrpati Bhawan as OSD though in the rank of a Secretary. It was stated that post of the Secretary to the President is a cadre post and it will go to the IAS officer only.

K K Suresh Kumar selected as MD, HNL
K K Suresh Kumar, Director (Marketing), HLL, has been selected for the post of MD, Hindustan News Print Limited (HNL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on June 26, 2012. As many as six persons were interviewed for the same.

IPS officer resigns in Andhra Pradesh
Seniormost IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre P Goutham Kumar resignes for being ignored for the post of Director General of Police. He is a 1975 batch IPS officer.

And he ignored DGP's post
Infact, R K Dutta was all set to become new DGP of Karnataka because of his seniority. A 1981 batch IPS officer Datta however, preferred to join the CBI only as an Additional Director.

IFS officer to be JS AYUSH in GoI
Anil Ganeriwala is joining the Government of India as Joint Secretary, AYUSH. He is a 1986 batch IFS officer of Sikkim cadre.

Garg is new Director in DEA
Sanjay Garg has been appointed Director in the Department of Economic Affairs. He is a 1994 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

Sudha Devi is new PS to MoS Health
Ms M Sudha Devi has been appointed PS to Union Minister of Health in the Government of India. She is a 2003 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Dinesh Dixit, AGM - SEBI seeks VRS
Dinesh Dixit, AGM in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has sought voluntary retirement from service (VRS).

Who will be new Member of CBDT?
Who will be new Member of the CBDT? Tie is said to be between R K Tiwari and Jaspal Singh.

IES facing crunch of Directors
As the grapevine has it, the Indian Economic Service (IES) has been facing a shortage of officers at the Director level.

Former CMD of NPCIL is Chairman of World Body
Outgoing Chairman and Managing Director of NPCIL, Shreyans Kumar Jain, has reportedly become the Chairman of the Governing Board of World Association of Nuclear Operators - Tokyo Centre (WANO-TC), Japan.

Ms. Alka Jha is DDG & PCOPMA
Ms. Alka Jha has joined as DDG and Principal Compliance Officer of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PCOPMA) in the Postal department. She is an officer of the Indian Postal Service officer of 1987 batch. Earlier she was General Manager (GM) Business Development (BD) in the Postal department.

Jain to be MD of Chhattisgarh Power Distribution Company?
Grapevine has it that A.K. Jain (Ex MD - UPCL- Uttarakhand) is going to take charge of MD, Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution/ Transmission Company ..

Vishal Gagan is now Director
Deputy Secretary in the Department of Tourism in the Government of India Vishal Gagan has been promoted as Director. He is a 1998 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.

Rakesh Srivastava is also PS, Culture in Rajasthan
Rakesh Srivastava, Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner, Tourism, has been assigned additional charge of Literature, Arts and Culture in Rajasthan. He is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Prof. Chhipa is first VC of Hindi University, Bhopal
Professor Mohanlal Chhipa will be first Vice-chancellor of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi University, being opened in Bhopal. He has been a Vice-chancellor of Mahrishi Dayanand Sarswati University, Ajmer, in Rajasthan.

Has Ajoy Mehta's problems just increased?
It is heard that Mahagenco MD Ajoy Mehta (IAS 84) is having a tough time these days because the audit of the fire in Mumbai's Mantralaya has been assigned to him.

Bijaya K Mishra posted to ECR
Bijaya K Mishra, SG/IRAS, on return from deputation, has been posted to East Coast Railway (ECR) in the cadre.

12 CSS officers shifted
As many as 12 officers of Grade-I of CSS and working at the level of Under Secretary in various Ministries have been shifted. Accordingly, K C Singha has been shifted from Defence to Telecom while S E Rizvi is being tranferred from Telecom to Defence and T P Kerketta from Defence to Textiles. Similarly, Sangeeta Rao has been shifted from Textiles to Defence; Mercy Epao from Expenditure to Labour; P K Tamrakar from Labour to Expenditure; L B Toulte from DoNER to Health; Ashin Khattiyya Deori from Healthi to Labour; Shersha from Labour to Mines; D Choudhary from Legal Affairs from DoNER; H M Meena from Mines to Tribal Affairs and Italia Mohan has been shifted from Tribal Affairs to Legal Affairs.

56 IRS (C&CE) officers get new posting after promotion to Commissioners
As many as 56 officers of Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Central Excise) have been posted at various stations after promotion to the grade of the Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise. Accordingly, A K Raghunathan has been posted as Commissioner, Coimbatore CX while Ajay Saxena will now be Commissioner, Surat CX-II and Amitabh Kumar is Commissioner, Surat CX-I. Similarly, Ashish Verma has been made Commissioner, Aurangabad CX (A); Ashok K Ranjan, Commissioner, Calicut CX; Ashutosh Awasthi as Commissioner, Kolkata Cus. Airport; Ashutosh Baranwal as Commissioner, Mumbai Cus.-(Import); Avadesh K Singh as Commissioner, LTU, Chennai; B V V T Prasad Naik as Commissioner, Tirunelveli CX; Bijoy Kumar Kar as Commissioner, LTU, Bangalore; C Dhanasekaran as Commissioner, Cochin CX (A); C R Meena as Commissioner, Cochin CX (A); D Balasubramanian as Commissioner, Tiruchirapalli Cus. (P); D D Sherpa as Commissioner, Siliguri CX; D K Srinivas as Commissioner, Tuticorn Cus. (P); D Krishnan as Commissioner, Cochin Cus (P); D Purushottam as Commissioner, Mangalore Cus; G Sree Harsha as Commissioner, Haldia CX; Gaigongdin Panmei as Commissioner, Shillong Cus (P); Irfan Ahmed as Commissioner, Jamnagar Cus (A); Jagdish Singh as Commissioner, Cochin CX; Jane K Nathaniel as Commissioner, Chennai Port (Import); Javed A Khan as ADG, Audit, Ahmedabad; K K Jaiswal as Commissioner, Kolkata CX-I (A); K N Raghavan as Commissioner, Customs, Cochin; Kishori Lal as Commissioner, Aurangabad CX; M M Parthiban as ADG, DRI, Chennai; M Rama Rao as ADG, NACEN, RTI, Kolkata; Manoj Kumar Arora as ADG, DG EP Hqrs. Delhi; Nishith Goyal as commissioner, Thane CX-II; P Hemavathi as Commissioner, Mysore CX; P K Mishra as Commissioner, Bhubaneswar CX (A); Pradeep Kumar, Commissioner, Raipur CX; R Bhagya Devi as Commissioner, Chennai CX-III; R C Sankhla as Commissioner, Ranchi CX (A); R Manga Babu as Commissioner, Salem CX (A); Raj Kumar as Commissioner, Kolkata CX-III (A); Rajeev Jain as ADG, NACEN, Faridabad; Rajesh Puri as Commissioner, Jammu and Kashmir CX; Ram Niwas-I as Commissioner, Mumbai-I Cus (Adjudication); Ravinder Saroop as Commissioner, Mumbai-III, ACC import; Renu Jagdev as Commissioner, Kolkata CX-V; S Faheem Ahmed as Commissioner, Salem CX; Samanjasa Das as ADG, CEI, Kolkata; Sandeep Prakash as Commissioner, Bangalore Customs; Sanjay Pant as Commissioner, Bangalore CX-II (A); Sanjeev Srivastava as Commissioner, Ahmedabad (Adj) CX-ST; Seema Jere Bisht as Commissioner, Mumbai CX-II; Shrikant S Patil as Commissioner, Surat CX-I (A); Sunil K Singh as Commissioner, Ahmedabad CX-III (A); Tejasvini P Kumar as Commissioner, Ahmedabad ST, V Usha as Commissioner, Settlement Commission, Chennai; Vivek Chaturvedi as Commissioner, Settlement Commission, Kolkata and Yogendra Garg has been posted as Commissioner, Mumbai-I, Customs (Export).

Five C&CE Commissioners transferred
As many as five IRS (C&CE) officers in the grade of Commissioners have been transferred and posted at different places. Accordingly, Ashok K Arya has been posted as Commissioner, Delhi CX-I (A) while B K Sinha will now be Commissioner, LTU, Mumbai and Ranjana Jha is Commissioner, Allahabad CX (A). Similarly, R P Raheja has been posted as ADG, Audit, Mumbai and Suresh Kishnani as Commissioner, Mumbai CX-I.

Post of CIO vacant in Investment Division of Posts Deptt
The post of Chief Investment Officer (CIO) (HAG level) is vacant in Investment Division (PLI), Department of Posts under the Ministry of Communications & IT. The interested candidates can send their applications to Deputy Director General (Personnel), Department of Posts, Dak Bhawan, New Delhi.

7 IAS officers of 2011 batch get postings in Rajasthan
The Rajasthan Government has posted field seven IAS officers of 2011 as Assistant Collectors. They are: Haulianlal Guite-Udaipur, Ms. Shivangi Swarnkar-Jodhpur, Nakate Shivprasad Madan-Bharatpur, Abhimanyu Kumar-Ajmer, Sandesh Nayak -Bikaner, Bhagwati Prasad Kalal-Pali and Ms. Anupama Jorwal-Alwar.

Two IRS officers shifted (UPDATED)
Two Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers have been shifted. Accordingly, K C Badhok has been transferred from UOP, Director (ITA), CBDT to DGIT (Admn) while Deep Shikha Sharma is being shifted from UOP DGIT (Admn) to Director (ITA).

Two IRS officers promoted to JCIT (UPDATED)
Two Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers have been promoted to the grade of Joint Commissioner of Income Tax. The officers include Anand Kumar Pandey and K C Kanoiya.

Kumar Pal Gautam is OSD, Personnel in Rajasthan (UPDATED)
Kumar Pal Gautam, SDO, Ramgarh (Alwar), has been posted as Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Department of Personnel (A-1), Rajasthan, Jaipur. He is a 2009 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

S S Torka selected as Director (Engg.), MECON (UPDATED)
S S Torka, GM, MECON, has been selected for the post of Director (Engineering), MECON Limited at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on June 27, 2012. As many as nine persons were interviewed for the same.

Arun Jha is Additional Secretary, Admin. Reforms (UPDATED)
Arun Jha has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Jha an IAS officer of 1981 batch (Bihar Cadre) is presently Chief Vigilance Officer, BHEL, Department of Heavy Industry.
(We said this on June 20, 2012)

Rajneesh Kumar shifted to NWR (UPDATED)
Rajneesh Kumar, JAG/IRTS/NF, has been transferred to North Western Railway (NWR).

24 IAS officers of AGMU cadre transferred (UPDATED)
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, has issued transfers and postings orders of 24 IAS officers belonging to AGMU cadre. The officers have also been asked to join with immediate effect. Accordingly, Ms. Reena Ray has been shifted from Delhi to A &NI while Rajesh Kumar Srivastava is being shifted from Delhi to Puducherry and Ashwini Kumar was moved from Delhi to Mizoram. Similarly, Ms. Rinku Dugga has been posted to Arunchal Pradesh from Delhi; Huzar Lollen from Arunachal Pradesh to Delhi; Kaling Tayeng from Arunchal Pradesh to Delhi; Hage Bhatt from Arunchal Pradesh to Goa; T T Gamdik from Arunchal Pradesh to Puducherry; Kapa Kohli from Arunchal Pradesh to Goa, Hage Khoda Shalla from Arunchal Pradesh to Goa, Bolung Siram from Arunchal Pradesh to Delhi; Gamil Padu from Arunchal Pradesh to Delhi; Jokey Angu from Arunchal Pradesh to Puducherry; Talem Tapok from Arunchal Pradesh to Goa; Nami Mali from Arunchal Pradesh to Delhi; Onit Panyang from Arunchal Pradesh to A &AI; Zothankhuma from Mizoram to Delhi; Lalinghingova from Mizoram to Delhi; Redeny Ralle from Mizoram to Chandigarh; Chanchal Yadav from DD &DNH to Arunachal Pradesh; Abhishek Dev from Chandigarh to Arunachal Pradesh; V P Rao from Gao to Arunachal Pradesh; T M Balakrishnan from Gao to Arunachal Pradesh and Ramesh Tiwari has been shifted from Delhi to Arunachal Pradesh.

CORPORATE

A K Jain selected as Director (HRD), BSNL
A K Jain, SGM, BSNL, has been selected for the post of Director (HRD), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board meeting held on June 25, 2012. As many as 11 persons were interviewed for the same.

Verma elected President of NHBF
V C Verma, Director, Oriental Structural Engineers Ltd. has been elected as the President of National Highways Builder's Federation, a body of Highway Developers and Builders in India, at its Annual General Meeting held on 25th June 2012 at Hotel Royal Plaza, New Delhi.

Gautam Adani re-appointed MD, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone has re-appointed Gautam S Adani as Managing Director of the company for a further period of five years.

Why did L& T Chief meet UP Chief Minister?
Why did Chairman and Managing Director of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) AM Naik, meet UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday? Any guesses.

Mondal appointed Head (Retail Business), Yes Bank
Yes Bank has appointed Pralay Mondal as Head (Retail Business).

Chowdhry to step down as Director, HCL Infosystems Ltd
Ajai Chowdhry has decided to step down as Director of HCL Infosystems Ltd w.e.f. June 30, 2012.

Ramdas appointed Complex Director, The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi & The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa Hotel
Karthik Ramdas has been appointed as Complex Director (Sales), The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi and The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa hotel.

Three Part-time Directors cease to be on Board of BHEL
Ashok Kumar Basu, M A Pathan and Ms Reva Nayyar, Part-time Non-official Directors have ceased to on the Board of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on completion of their respective tenure on June 21, 2012.

Toshniwal ceases to be Director, English Indian Clays Ltd
S K Toshniwal, Independent Director of English Indian Clays Ltd has ceased to be a Director on the Board of the company w.e.f. June 22, 2012.

Choudhary resigns as Company Secy. ITI Ltd
Ms Rachana Choudhary has resigned as Company Secretary of ITI Ltd w.e.f. May 25, 2012.

Mayuranathan appointed Company Secy. ITI Ltd
K T Mayuranathan has been appointed as Company Secretary of ITI Ltd w.e.f. June 22, 2012

Narendruni appointed Independent Director, XL Energy Ltd
Prasad Narendruni has been appointed as an Independent Director of XL Energy Ltd w.e.f. June 15, 2012.

Singh resigns as Independent Director, Horizon Infrastructure Ltd
Ajai Vikram Singh has resigned as Independent Director of Horizon Infrastructure Ltd w.e.f. June 25, 2012.

Sundar resigns as Chairman, Horizon Infrastructure Ltd
Sanjivi Sundar has resigned as Chairman of Horizon Infrastructure Ltd w.e.f. June 25, 2012.

Samant resigns as Whole-time Director, Horizon Infrastructure Ltd
Dinkar Samant has resigned as Whole-time Director of Horizon Infrastructure Ltd w.e.f. April 27, 2012.

Maheshwari appointed director of Sheel International
Nitin Maheshwari has been appointed as director of Sheel International.

Saxena appointed Director, Coal India
Bipin Kumar Saxena has been appointed as director of Coal India.

Narenduni appointed as director of XL Energy
Prasad Narenduni has been appointed as director of XL Energy.

Thakkar resigns as Director, ISL Consultants
Jagdish Thakkar has resigned as director of ISL Consultants.

Pandya resigns as Director, Super Domestic Machine
Kandarp Pandya has resigned as director of Super Domestic Machine.

Stenographer replaced by PSO

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has a typical system of wasting tax payers' mney. There are six levels of Stenographers Service in MEA ranging from Steno D Grade to PSO. Steno D is equal to UDC and PSO to a Director of GOI . However, duties of both are same - both provide secretarial assistance [typing and attending telephone] to their masters IFS(A) and IFS(B) officers. Many times it so happens that one Steno D is replaced by PSO in a foreign country in India's Embassies. When this happens, the job profile of both remains same, but, their entitlements like house( steno D is entitled to 2 bedroom and PSO is entitled to 5 bedrooms) and salary of PSO is more than double the salary of Steno D. Steno D gets Rs. one lakh and PSO gets Rs. 2.5 lakh
a month. In addition PSO gets RG (to spend on his dinners/lunches) in the range of Rs. 50000 per month, totaling his total emoluments to Rs. 3 lakh a month. Moreover, a PSO always hesitate from photocopying, faxing messages, distributing daks to other officers, bringing papers from his principal's desk etc. which are normal duties of a steno, being a supporting staff. Officers of IFS(A) as well as IFS(B) also avoid to get work from them and give some petty jobs for them just
fill the post. I feel it is wastage of valuable foreign currency and MEA should be pulled and asked not to waste tax-payers money in this fashion.

Vijay Kumar

RIT

Reconstruction of the missing file under RTI

Information regarding permanent absorption of an Indian Forest Officer (IFO) as M (Environment) in National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), such as certified copy of the office order, minutes of the screening committee that scrutinized his candidature, the minutes of the meeting of the selection committee, noting of the Competent Authority approving his permanent absorption, copy of NOC issued by his parent department and the copy of the RRs for the post of GM (Environment) against which his candidature was scrutinized by screening committee was sought. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed the appellant that the file pertaining to absorption of the said person was not traceable and hence the information cannot be provided. The Central Information Commission (CIC) observed that it was unfortunate that such an important file was missing. Holding that the citizen's Right to Information cannot be defeated by claiming that the concerned file containing the information was not traceable, the Commission directed the PIO to reconstruct the file by taking feedback from the concerned ministries and provide complete information to the appellant.

Comments

It is often claimed by the public authority that the records are untraceable and hence cannot be provided. This order opens up the possibility of the re-creation of the records for providing to the applicant.

Citation: D.P. Majhi v. National Highways Authority of India in Case No. CIC/SS/A/2012/000172

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)