What people say about us!

Quite interesting whispers

Kartar Singh

Forces active to reunite Mulayam Singh Yadav & Amar Singh
As the grapevine has it, forces are active in reuniting two estranged political leaders. They are Mulayam Singh Yadav & Amar Singh.

Muslim from Madhya Pradesh gets SP ticket from UP
A Muslim leader, Choudhary Munnavar Salim from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh has been given Samajwadi Party ticket for Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. Any future plans?

Who is trailing in Rajya Sabha nomination from UP?
It is heard that a renowned politician is trailing in Rajya Sabha nomination.

Congress to use Amar Singh
As the grapevine has it, Congress is going to use Amar Singh.

A tug of war between BJP & JD-U for 1 of 6 seats in RS from Bihar (UPDATED)
A tug of war has ensued between the ruling Janata Dal United(JD-U) and its coalition partner i.e.BJP in Bihar over one of the six seats in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP has already finalised its two nominees. They are :Ravi Shankar Prasad (for the 3rd consecutive time) & Dharmendra Pradhan-a leader from Orissa.The JD-U has finalized names of its three nominees.They are:King Mahindra, Ali Anwar & Anil Sahni.Since BJP & JD-U have surplus votes of 21 & 12 respectively, efforts are to ensure that no RJD candidate was able to enter the Rajya Sabha from Bihar this time.

Satyavrat Chaturvedi's re-election to RS from Uttarakhand doubtful (UPDATED)
Re nomination of Satyavrat Chaturvedi in the Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand has run into rough a weather. Such a situation has arisen due to revolt by Harish Rawat & 18 of his supporter MLAs.

BJP is also toying with the idea of entering RS poll arena in Uttarakhand (UPDATED)
As the grapevine has it BJP is also toying with the idea of entering Rajya Sabha's poll arena in Uttarakhand.There is a feeling that the BJP could get benefit due to a revolt in the ruling Congress.

Congress trying to have a consensus on RS nominee from Uttarakhand (UPDATED)
As the grapevine has it Congress trying to have a consensus on a nominee for Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand.In context party High Command had summoned Uttarkhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.The rebel faction led by Harish Rawat is seeking nomination for a local candidate.

BUREAUCRACY

Rajan Katoch to be new Director Enforcement
Rajan Katoch is being tipped to be new Director Enforcement. 1979 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre Katoch is presently Additional Secretary Commerce.

Make Infant DGP of Karnataka CAT
The Bangalore bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has quashed the appointment of Shankar M. Bidari as DGP of Karnataka and directed the government to appoint 1977 batch IPS officer A.R. Infant as ad hoc head of police force. Bidari is 1978 batch IPS officer.

1981 batch IAS to get ACS rank in West Bengal
Three 1981 batch IAS officers Mssrs Nihar Banerjee, A K Agrawal and Dr. Tuk Tuk Kumar are being promoted to the rank of ACS in West Bengal.

S K Gupta selected as Director (Tech), HPL
S K Gupta, AGM, IRCON, has been selected for the post of Director (Technical), Hindustan Prefab Limited (HPL) at Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on March 16, 2012. As many as 10 persons were interviewed for the same.

Utpal Kumar Singh is PS to Uttarakhand CM, Vijay Bahuguna
Utpal Kumar Singh has been appointed as Principal Secretary (PS) to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.He is an IAS officer of 1986 batch who belongs to the Uttarakhand cadre.

Dr S S Sandhu continues as Secretary to Uttarakhand CM, Vijay Bahuguna
Dr S S Sandhu is continuing is Secretary to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.He is an IAS officer of 1988 batch who belongs to the Uttarakhand cadre.

D.K. Kotia is PS Home in Uttarakhand
D.K. Kotia who so far was Principal Secretary (PS) to Uttarakhand's Chief Minister has now been posted as PS Home. He is an IAS officer of the 1981 batch who belongs to the Uttarakhand cadre.

IAS reshuffle likely in Rajasthan
As the grapevine has it, a thinking about IAS reshuffle in Rajasthan is going on.

Exercise for IAS changes in Karnataka is on
As the grapevine has it, an exercise for IAS changes has begun in Karnataka. However, that will happen only after conclusion of the budget session.

Will UP Lokayukta get two years extension?
Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta N K Mehrotra is likely to get two years extension in his tenure .

Anil Kumar is also head of CITCO
Secretary Home and Industries Anil Kumar has also been appointed director Chandigarh Industries and Tourism Development Corporation Limited (CITCO) with immediate effect.

Empanelment of 1978 batch IPS officer Arvind Verma as DGP deferred
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has reportedly deferred the case of 1978 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre, Arvind Verma reviewed for the empanelment as DGP/ equivalent post in Government of India.

Justice Ahluwalia moves to Kolkata High Court
Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been transferred to Kolkata High Court on his own request.

Empanelment of 1978 batch IPS officer Jain as DGP deferred
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has reportedly deferred the case of 1978 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre, Arvind Kumar Jain reviewed for the empanelment as DGP/ equivalent post in Government of India.

Bala Baskar is Secretary of Auroville Foundation
N Bala Baskar has taken over as Secretary of the Auroville Foundation in Tamil Nadu. He is former 1975 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre.
(We said this on February 2)

Ms. Prakash posted as DAG in PAG (C&RA), Ahmedabad
Ms. Roopal Prakash, Deputy Director (Report) in the office of Director General of Audit, Post and Telecommunications, New Delhi, has been transferred and posted as Deputy Accountant General (Admn/ITMG) in the office of Principal Accountant General (C&RA), Gujarat, Ahmedabad.

1985 batch IRAS officer Bharat Salhotra empanelled as JS in GoI
Bharat Salhotra, an Indian Railway Accounts Services (IRAS) officer of 1985 batch, has been empanelled as Joint Secretary in Government of India.

IES officer Dr. Mohan Chutani promoted as Economic Adviser, DIPP
Dr. Mohan Chutani, Director, Cabinet Secretariat (on deputation), has been promoted to Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) and posted as Economic Adviser, DIPP. He is an Indian Economic Service (IES) officer of 1986 batch.

11 posts of Judges vacant in Madras HC
As many as 11 posts of judges are lying vacant in Madras High Court against 60 approved strength including three posts of Permanent Judges against 45 approved strength and eight of Additional Judges against 15 approved strength.

Transfers and postings in Railways
Services of four officers have been affected with their transfers and postings in Railways. Accordingly, SC Gupta, SG/IRSE, on return from deputation, has been posted in Western Railways (WR) while Gyanendra Singh, Group `B` officer of Electrical Department in Central Railway (CR) is being shifted to CORE and Pradeep Jain, SAG/IRSEE, ECOR was transferred to Western Railway (WR) in the same capacity and posted in the cadre. Besides, R B Gupta, SAG/IRSEE, on being relieved from the post of ADRM, Ratlam, Western Railway (WR), has been shifted to Central Railway (CR).

Space Deptt seeks applications for Controller, Semiconductor Lab
The Department of Space, Bangalore, is seeking applications for the post of Controller in Semiconductor Laboratory, Chandigarh. The willing officers may apply before March 15, 2012.

1985 batch IPS to be ADG in Bihar
1985 batch IPS officer Rajesh Chandra is being promoted to the rank of ADG in Bihar.

1994 batch IPS to get IG rank in Bihar
1994 batch IPS officers Mssrs Anupama Nilekar, Paresh Saxena, Amit Kumar, N K Azad, Baldeo Prasad and Shailesh Kumar Singh are being promoted to the rank of IG in Bihar. Kundan Krishnan who is on Central deputation would get proforma promotion.

1997 batch IPS to get DIG rank in Bihar
1997 batch IPS officers Alok Kumar, Ajitabh Kumar, Sanjay Singh,Vinod Kumar and Z H Khan are being promoted to the rank of DIG in Bihar.

Two IDAS officers moved to Bangalore
Two IDAS officers Ms K Savitri and A N Balu have been moved to Bangalore.

V K Pawar promoted in Madhya Pradesh
V K Pawar has been promoted to the rank of DG in Madhya Pradesh. He is 1977 batch IPS officer.

Radhey Shyam gets addl charge of GM, NEFR
Radhey Shyam, GM/CLW, has been given additional charge of GM/North East Frontier Railway (Construction), in addition to his own, for a period of three months.

Atul Arya shifted to DLW, Patiala
Atul Arya, SG/IRSME/RCF/Kapurthala, has been shifted to DLW/Patiala in the same capacity.

Kundan Kumar transferred to WCR
Kundan Kumar, SAG/IRSME/Southern Railway (SR), has been transferred to West Central Railway (WCR)) in the same capacity and posted in the cadre.

Ramesh Kumar shifted to NWR
Ramesh Kumar, SAG/IRSME/West Central Railway (WCR), has been transferred to North Western Railway (NWR) in the same capacity and posted in the cadre.

Major reshuffle of IAS officers in Punjab (UPDATED)
As many as 24 IAS officers have been shifted in Punjab. Accordingly, Rakesh Singh, Chief Secretary, has been given the additional charge of Governance Reforms and Vigilance while Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu will now be as Financial Commissioner, Development and NS Kang is being made as Financial Commissioner, Revenue and Relief and Rehabilitations. Similarly, A R Talwar has been made Principal Secretary, Industries and Information Technology; Suresh Kumar as Principal Secretary, Local Government; Jagpal Singh Sandhu as Financial Commissioner, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development; KBS Sidhu as Principal Secretary, Irrigation; Satish Chandra as Principal Secretary, Finance, Planning and Special Economic Package, Programme Implementation; Karan Avtar Singh as new Principal Secretary, Science Technology and Environment and Non-conventional Energy; Kalpana Mittal Baruah as Principal Secretary, Department of Investment Promotion, Principal Resident Commissioner in the Capital; Vinni Mahajan as Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare after repatriation to Punjab from Central deputation. Besides, S K Sandhu will continue as Principal Secretary to Chief Minister with holding assignment as Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development; Vishvjit Khanna is posted as Principal Secretary, Cooperation and Civil Aviation); Sanjay Kumar as new Secretary, Water and Sanitation; Anjli Bhawra as Secretary, Medical Education and Research; Anirudh Tiwari as Secretary, Power, Personnel and General Administration; P S Aujla is made Secretary, PWD and Sports; Raminder Singh as new Commissioner, Ferozerpur and Faridkot Divisions. Ashok Gupta will now be MD, Punjab Agro beside being as Secretary, Coordination; D S Grewal is posted as new Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies and Secretary, Food Processing; Himmat Singh as Member Secretary of the State Women's Commission; Sarvesh Kaushal is new Secretary, Freedom Fighters; SS Channy as Secretary, Cultural Affairs, Archives, Archaeology and Museums and B S Sudan has been made as Secretary, Revenue and Survey Commissioner of WAKF.

G M Doss promoted as CIT (UPDATED)
Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, G M Doss, Additional Commissioner of Income Tax has been promoted to the grade of Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT).

Smair Kumar shifted to Northern Railway (UPDATED)
Samir Kumar, JAG/IRTS/East Central Railway (ECR), has been shifted to Northern Railway (NR) and posted in the cadre.

Ms Ayush transferred to Northern Railway (UPDATED)
Ms. Saroj Ayush, JAG/IRTS, on return from deputation, has been transferred to Northern Railway.

Post of Adviser, Labour & Manpower vacant in Planning Commission (UPDATED)
One GCS post of Adviser, Labour, Employment & Manpower in Planning Commission has been advertised. Those willing to apply can send their applications to Personnel Department at the earliest.

Anurag Agrawal is new MD PIDB (UPDATED)
Anurag Agrawal will be new Managing Director of the Punjab IDB. He is 1990 batch IAS officer.

DEBATE - Should bureaucrats alone be held accountable for policy decisions ?

Bureaucrats now feel that Ministers and Politicians also be held responsible for 'policy decisions' taken by the government. They also want that entire cabinet should be held accountable for policy decisions. How far they are correct in their thinking ?

Mail your to the point views to suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com or mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com

CORPORATE

Mohanty appointed Director (Technical), SAIL
S S Mohanty, Chief Executive Officer, Bokaro Steel Plant has been appointed as Director (Technical) on the Board of Steel Authority of India Limited w.e.f. March 15, 2012.

Sivanandan appointed director on Forbes and Company
D Sivanandhan has been appointed as director on Forbes and Company.

Wang appointed additional director of 3M India
Albert C Wang has been appointed as additional director of 3M India.

Shah resigns director of Euro Multivision
Nenshi L Shah has been appointed as director of Euro Multivision.

Agarwal resigns as director from Websol Energy System
Om Prakash Agarwal has resigned as director of Websol Energy System.

Bagai and Co appointed by Oscar Investments
S R Bagai & Co Chartered Accountants have been appointed as statutory auditors of Oscar Investments.

Patil appointed Company Secy. Agee Gold Refiners Ltd
Agee Gold Refiners Limited has appointed Ms. Hemangi Shailesh Patil as Company Secretary on February 10, 2012.

Agarwal ceases to be Non Exec. Independent Director, Websol Energy System Ltd
Om Prakash Agarwal , Non-Executive Independent Director of Websol Energy System Ltd has resigned from the Board of Directors of the company.

Gupta appointed Part-time Non Exec. Director, RECL
Dr Sunil Gupta has been appointed as Part-time Non-official Director on the Board of Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (RECL) for a period of three years.

Sunil Mittal appointed Co-Chairman, India-Africa Business Council
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appointed Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Group CEO, Bharti Enterprises Ltd as the Co-chairman from the Indian side of India-Africa Business Council.

Politician not politicking

For the first time in my life I have heard a politician talking his heart and not politicking. All Indians should be proud of him and run a campaign to make him a lifelong CEO of Indian Railways.

BKA

Two Standpoints....

If I were Mamta Banerjee:

1. Since I have made it my life mission to oppose every reformist step that the UPA wishes, I would quit it, and take it on like I did the commies.

2. I would immediately and with retro effect direct all TMC members to revert back to 1970 level salaries and perks. I would also advise TMC members to revert to fixed line phones, dump their TVs, dump their computers, internets, ACs, drive in ambassadors and or on bicycles, and of course, travel by unreserved compartments.

If I were Dr. Manmohan Singh:

1. Since I have been whining and not doing any real work / reforms (all the tough ones were done by Mr. Vajpayee) for past 20 years, I would now wake up and act like PM. I would dare to take calculated risks. I would increase petrol-diesel prices as India can ill afford 70% outgo of its foreign exchange earnings on crude.

2. Either I would call TMC bluff OR, I would let TMC call my bluff and quit and retire.

Prashantha

It is in bad taste

I think it is in bad taste to make fun of Pranab Mukerjees strong Bengali accent when he speaks in English. How many Englishmen can even speak a single word in any Indian language, leave alone have an Indian accent? This mocking of Indians by Indians shows a colonial mind set
founded on an inferiority complex engendered by 150 years of British tyranny. Recall how Mani Shankar Aiyyar made fun of Makens English? He expected Maken to speak and write Queens English, only in Manis case it is unclear if the Queen in question is Queen Sonia? That was
immature snobbery from someone with above average intelligence. Who cares if Indians speak English with Indian accents as long as the content makes sense?

D Choudhury

Wait for Draupadi Chir Haran

Unfortunately, the founding fathers of our constitution did not see the depth of decadence our political system will sink." Well written, but what can the aam aadmi do when even the wise fear even whispers? We can't be oblivious of our epics: the Mahabharat can't be forgotten. Draupadi Chir Haran & the Lakshagrih were long anticipated by the poet, who alone had the courage to recite loudly what he thought was the right thing to write.

Incidentally, the Nehru dynasty has no prowess to impose itself on the nation like many of the regional satraps, who can not be replaced by ideology, law or guile. They are being foisted on the nation by those who have interest in keeping them there. Honestly speaking, words like unity, integrity, nation are more intriguing than any enigma wrapped in conundrum coated with honey !!!

M L Gupta

Sleeping Tamil Nadu MPs

For Mumbai the frequency of Rajdhani Express is daily. But for Chennai, the TN Express, GT Express is wait listed daily. Never they have bothered for increase in frequency of Chennai Rajdhani and Chennai Duronto Express. Also the quality of food for the fare, i.e. be it 3rd AC or 2nd AC is of substandard quality without any menu being issued. The TT or the person concerned for this is not at all available in the coach if the passenger wants to complain. The
bearers simply dodge saying that the persons preparing these food are responsible. Most of the times, the food is served in a cold state and these fellows are not bothered and the poor passengers are exploited. Now since the fare is going to be raised, will these problems be set right or still it is going to worsen. It is a shame that nobody is paying attention to this.

Michael

Strike of gazetted officers in Income Tax Dept-

1. It has become an annual ritual for lower and middle level employees in I T Department to resort to strike for their demand.

2. This results in poor performance by the department in many areas including enforcement and tax payer service.

3. It is high time the finance minister pays heed to indiscipline by this group of employees. It is ironical that a Finance Minister who is considered a trouble shooter for the ruling party has trouble in his own backyard.

4. Govt should seriously consider autonomising CBDT to ensure better discipline from CBDT field formations.

Ravinder

Are the details of the service book liable to be disclosed?

The estranged wife of a government servant asked whether the name of wife has been entered in the Service Book of her husband; If yes, the name as entered in the Service Book; and the name of the nominee & his successor. The appellant also sought the attested photocopy of Service Book and GPF documents of her husband, Shri R B Bhavuk. The third party strongly objected to the disclosure of the requested information on the plea that the same was his personal information and moreover, if disclosed it would not only endanger his life but also the life of the nominee as well. The CPIO declined to disclose the information under Section 8(1)(g) & (j) of the RTI Act. The Commission observed that whether the name of the wife has been entered in the Service Book of any employee is relevant to the functioning of the personnel and establishment division of the Public Authority. Hence, the Commission directed to disclose in 'Yes' or 'No' whether the name of the wife has been entered in the Service Book of her husband. Refusal of the information about the GPF and nominees was upheld under section 8(1) (j).

Comments

Some parts of the Service Book are personal in nature where other parts are purely administrative in nature. The places of posting, total period and category of leave availed of from time to time etc. ae administrative information and can be disclosed.

[Smt. Nirmala Bhavuk v. Central Excise & Customs in Appeal No. CIC/SS/A/2012/000107]

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)