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BUREAUCRACY

Who will be Chief of BARC?
Who will succeed R K Sinha as Chief of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)? Tie is said to be between S Basu and Dr Chetal.

No takers for Jt Secretary, Atomic Energy
As the grapevine has it, there are no takers for the post of Joint Secretary - Atomic Energy in Government of India (GoI). The post has been lying vacant ever since premature return of Ms. Revathy Iyer took place.

Das to be JS, DONER!
T Y Das is being tipped to be Joint Secretary - DONER in the Government of India. He is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

180 IAS to be recruited
To meet shortage of IAS officers in the country, there is a move to recruit 180 officers during the year 2012.

ITDC achieves a major turnaround under Dr. Panwar
From a loss making Corporation to a profit earning Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) in the Government of India (GoI), is in a nutshell, the story of Dr Lalit K Panwar who had assumed charge as new Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) in middle of April 2010. Dr. Panwar who has many firsts to his credit, in an interview to whispersinthecorridors.com, unfolded his line of action, that facilitated the ITDC to achieve this turn around, saying that ITDC's cumulative losses which stood at Rs. 11 crore in 2009-10 & at Rs. Nine crore in 2010-11 had been wiped out. "Our balance sheet for the year end on March 31, 2012 will show a profit of Rs. 21 crore," informed Dr Panwar who is a Rajasthan cadre IAS officer of the 1979 batch. The PSU is not only debt free but also has cash in hand amounting to Rs.250 crore. All this was achieved despite the fact that recommendations of 6th pay commission for 2500 officers & employees of the ITDC having been implemented & their arrears cleared, he added. Replying to a question Dr Panwar said that this had entailed a financial burden of Rs.70 crore on the ITDC.

V K Gupta's stocks to go up in the Railway Ministry
As the grapevine has it, stocks of V.K. Gupta - Secretary, Railway Board, in the Railway Ministry will go up in the wake of Mukul Roy having taken over as the new Railway Minister.


GMs postings in Railways may take place now
Posting of four General Managers (GMs) in Railway Ministry should happen now in the wake of Mukul Roy having taken over as the new Railway Minister.

Four officers in Railways to be elevated as GMs
Four senior Railway officers will soon be elevated as General Managers (GMs) in Railway Ministry for slots of GMs in Northern Railway (NR), North Central Railway (NCR), North Frontier Railway (NFR) open line & NFR-Construction. Names of four officers who will be GMs are: Alok Jauhri, V.K. Jain, V.K. Gupta and R.S. Jain.

Postings of DRMs in Railways may take place now
Posting of over 10 Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) in Railway Ministry should happen now in the wake of Mukul Roy having taken over as the new Railway Minister.

NGT related file pending for last five months
File relating to appointment of Chairman and other members in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has been pending for the last five month with Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests, Ms. Jayanthi Natarajan. It may be stated that selection of incumbents for the NGT was done by a panel of experts that was headed by a judge of the Supreme Court.

Jai Shankar Mishra to be State Election Commissioner UP?
Jai Shankar Mishra is likely to be appointed new State Election Commissioner in Uttar Pradesh. He is a 1980 batch IAS officer.

DPC held for 1986 batch IRS (IT)
DPC has been conducted of 1986 batch IRS (IT) officers for the empanelment to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Government of India.

Vini Mahajan gets Health in Punjab
The most powerful Joint Secretary in the PMO, Ms Vini Mahajan, is back to the parent Punjab cadre after completion of central deputation tenure. On return, 1987 batch IAS officer Ms Mahajan has been appointed Secretary, Health.

Arun Rath joins as Chairman and Professor of new Institute
Dr Arun K Rath, Retd. 1973 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand Cadre has joined as Chairman & Professor, Centre for Corporate Governance & Social Responsibility at International Management Institute, Qutb Institutional Area, New Delhi. After superannuation as Secretary, Ministry of HRD, Government of India, Dr. Rath served earlier as Dean, School of Public Policy & Governance at Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. He is also in the Boards of Coal India, Mangalore Refinery and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd as part time Independent Director.

P K Gupta to be Judicial Member of CAT!
P K Gupta is being tipped to be new Judicial Member of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

DoPT creates new 1479 posts in IRS-IT!
Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) is reported to have created as many as 1479 new posts in Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT). They include: 20 posts of Apex scale while 50 of HAG+ level and HAG level post was increased from 116 to 150; SAG level from 731 to 831; NFSG+JAG from 1253 to 1565; STS from 1358 to 1396; JTS level post rises from 734 to 1091 and 570 posts are reserved. Total figure of posts has been revised from 4192 to 5678. Interestingly, there were no posts at HAG+ and Apex scale. Now, 70 posts have been created at these levels.

Prashant Nana Saheb Nikam is Director, Home
Prashant Nana Saheb Nikam, on central deputation has joined as Director in Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on March 22, 2012. He is an IRAS officer of 1996 batch. Hitherto, he was posted as Dy. FA&CAO at Bhopal in West Central Railway. He had completed full-time MBA from Cranfield University, UK. During his MBA he was one of the finalists at the European Business Plan competition held in Belgium. He had also written a paper on Sub-Prime crisis.
(We said this on February 29, 2012)

Mayawati regime's decision reversed by UP CM Akhilesh Singh Yadav
As forecasted in these columns on March 15, 2012, the system of IG Zones & DIG Ranges has been revived in Uttar Pradesh (UP) by the new Chief Minister Akhilesh Singh Yadav.

IPS officer Rahul Sharma awarded for saving lives in Gujarat riots
Rahul Sharma, who risked his life to save innocent lives during Gujarat riots and faced the music for his scrupulous works, has been conferred with the Satyendra Dubey Award by IIT Kanpur Alumni Association. He had received B. Tech. degree from this Alma-Mater in Electrical Engineering in 1987. Sharma, who is a 1992 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of this State cadre, was then Superintendent of Police (SP) of Vadodara in riot-torn state. He is credited with saving many lives by ensuring order and harmony. It may be mentioned here that Rahul was posted at Bhavnagar from Vadodara, where he was the Western Railways SP, just before February 27, 2002 -the day the Sabarmati Express was torched. At his new posting, Rahul ensured that peace was maintained in the district during his brief stint there. For the cause of peace and order, he felt compelled to ruffle the feathers of some of his superiors during this short tenure. In his line of duty, he had to resort to open fire on a mob which was on its way to attack members of another community in Bhavnagar town. Subsequently, he suffered humiliation by being posted to a low-profile post. During the process of enquiry, the tech savvy Rahul procured the cell phone call details of that period from Cellforce and AT& T, the telecom service providers in the city at that time. These call details provided many important clues that led to the implication of many bigwigs of the state polity as well as the bureaucracy. Later, Rahul was sent on a deputation to the CBI in 2004 as the Gandhinagar SP. He was subsequently promoted and joined the CBI in Mumbai as DIG (economic offences wing) in May 2007. He returned after the five-year stint to his parent cadre and was posted at Rajkot as DIG arms unit in 2009. During these long years, Rahul performed his duties according to the provisions of law to serve the society, used the technology innovatively, and underwent a sequel of humiliation and harassment but upheld his value systems with exemplary sacrifices.

Lohiya to join in Mumbai?
M S. Lohiya SP (MH) Police is likely to go on central deputation as Regional Deputy Commissioner, Mumbai in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. He is an IPS officer of 2001 batch who belongs to Maharashtra cadre.

Rajiv Krishna to be IG, BSF?
Rajiv Krishna IGP (UP) Police is likely to be appointed as IG, Border Security Force. He is an Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer of 1991 batch.

Rakesh Singh to take charge as Punjab CS on Monday
Rakesh Singh will take over as new Chief Secretary of Punjab on Monday. He is 1978 batch IAS officer.

Gillani gets extension in CBI
S J M Gillani has been granted extension in the CBI for the period from 21.03.2012 to 20.03.2012 i.e. beyond the maximum tenure of 7 years in relaxation of IPS Tenure Policy. He is a 1994 batch IPS officer of J & K cadre.

Vikram Thakur, Deputy Director in IB may be granted foreign assignment
Vikram Thakur, Deputy Director, Intelligence Bureau, is likely to be granted foreign assignment by Government of India. He is an Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer of 1996 batch.

DIG rank 1994 batch IPS officers of AGMU cadre to get IG rank
1994 batch IPS officers of DIG rank of AGMU cadre are likely to be IG rank officers as the matter for their empanelment is under process.

Post of Cabinet Secretary abolished in Uttar Pradesh
Post of Cabinet Secretary created by the Mayawati Government has been abolished in Uttar Pradesh by the new Government.

1998 batch IPS officers to get DIG rank in Orissa
1998 batch IPS officers are being promoted to the rank of DIG in Orissa this month.

Seven DIG level posts vacant in ITBP
As many as seven posts of DIG level are currently vacant in the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Jhingta gets extension
N S Jhingta, PS to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpayee, has been granted extension in his central deputation upto 2014. He is a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) cadre officer.

Dineshwar Sharma to get pro-forma promotion
Dineshwar Sharma, Addl. Director, SIB, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, is likely to be granted proforma promotion as the State cadre has given him promotion to the DG rank. He is an IPS officer of 1979 batch who belongs to the Kerala cadre.

Yogesh Deshmukh to get pro-forma promotion
Yogesh Deshmukh, Zonal Director, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Government of India, is likely to be given proforma promotion. He is Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS officer of 1995 batch.

LBSNNA, Mussoorie seeks applications for posts of Dy. Directors
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNNA), Mussoorie, is seeking applications from the Indian Administrating Service (IAS) officers of batches between 1998 and 2002 for the four posts of Deputy Directors at LBSNNA, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. The interested officers can send their applications to the Personnel Department at the earliest.

PESB seeks applications for post of Director (Fin), BLC
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) is seeking applications for the post of Director (Finance), Balmer Lawrie & Co. Limited (BLC). Those willing to apply can send their applications before May 9, 2012.

WCO of CBEC seeks names for Tech. Officer (Compliance/Enforcement)
The World Customs Organization (WCO) of CBEC has invited nominations for the post of Technical Officer (Grade A3) in the Compliance and Facilitation Directorate (Compliance/Enforcement). Nominations can be sent to Joint Secretary (Customs), CBEC before March 31, 2012.

WCO of CBEC seeks names for Tech. Officer (Facilitation/Procedures)
The World Customs Organization (WCO) of CBEC has invited nominations for the post of Technical Officer (Grade A3) in the Compliance and Facilitation Directorate (Facilitation/Procedures). Nominations can be sent to Joint Secretary (Customs), CBEC before March 31, 2012.

Dr. Suresh Mehrotra bereaved
Dinesh Chandra Mehrotra-the eldest brother of Dr. Suresh Mehrotra Editor in Chief of <whispersinthecorridors.com> and English monthly magazine titled "Whispers in the Corridors" passed away after a brief illness. He was 70. Cremation of Dinesh Chandra Mehrotra took place in Ujjain on March 22, 2012.

NMDC signs MoU with Govt of India (UPDATED)
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between NMDC Limited and Ministry of Steel, Govt. of India on the commitments of NMDC concerning its performance in the year 2012-13. N K Nanda, Chairman-cum-Managing Director (Addl. Charge), NMDC and P K Misra, Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Govt. of India signed the MOU. The parameters of the MOU are Production of Iron ore, Sale of Iron ore, Project Implementation, R & D efforts, Sustainable Development, Energy conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Quality Compliance, Manpower Productivity, Human Resource Management, Corporate Governance, Customer Satisfaction, Compliance to DPE guidelines, Financials etc.

RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav admitted to AIIMS, Delhi (UPDATED)
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President and former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi after his health deteriorated.

Rajan S Katoch's appointment order issued (UPDATED)
Appointment order relating to posting of Rajan S Katoch as the new Director of the Enforcement Directorate(ED) has been issued. He is an IAS officer of 1979 batch who belongs to the Madhya Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on March 17, 2012)

Vasan appointed Addl DG, NIA (UPDATED)
NR Vasan, OSD to AP Bhawan, Government of AP, has been appointed Additional DG, National Investigation Agency (NIA). He is 1981 batch AP cadre IPS officer.

IPS officer Mehaboob Alam gets extension in central deputation (UPDATED)
The central deputation tenure of Mehaboob Alam as IG (RAF), CRPF, has been extended for further three months. He is a 1981 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu.


Sourabh Garg posted as Joint Secy., Expenditure in GoI (UPDATED)
Sourabh Garg, has been appointed Joint Secretary, Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance. He is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.

Manoj Jhalani is Joint Secy., Social Justice & Family Welfare in GoI (UPDATED)
Manoj Jhalani has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Social Justice Family Welfare under the Government of India. He is a 1987 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Tenure of Ashish Gupta as Director, NRHM, Haryana extended (UPDATED)
Deputation tenure of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Ashish Gupta as Director, National Rural Health Mission, Haryana, has been extended for a period of two years.

5 IAS officers of 1987 batch elevated as PS in Gujarat (UPDATED)
As many as five IAS officers belonging to 1987 batch have been promoted as Principal Secretaries (PSs) by the Gujarat Government. Those who were promoted on March 22, 2012 were: Raj Kumart, R P Gupta, Raj Gopal, Moya Chwango and V S Gadvi.

Nine IRS officers made Members of DRPs (UPDATED)
As many as nine senior officers of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) have been made Members of Dispute Resolution Panels (DRPs). Accordingly, Kuntal Kumar Sen, DIT (IT)-II, Mumbai, Akhilesh Ranjan, CIT-XI, Mumbai and Sangeeta Singh, DIT (DP-I), Mumbai, have been made Members of DRP, Mumbai-1 while Pravin Kishore Prasad, DIT (IT), Bangalore, Sanjay Kumar, DIT (IT&TP), Kolkata and Mahendra Singh, CIT-II, Chennai, are Members of DRP, Chennai and Rajib Hota, DIT (IT), Chennai, Ms. Anuradah Goyal, CIT-II, Bangalore and Jagdish Babu, DIT (IT&TP) will be Members of DRP, Banglaore.

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

Sahi appointed MD, Volvo Buses India
Manish Sahi has been appointed as Managing Director, Volvo Buses India.

Saxena appointed Director of Jolly Plastic Industries
Kishore Saxena has been appointed as the Director of Jolly Plastic Industries.

Agarwal resigns as Director of Jolly Plastic Industries
Nitin Agarwal has resigned as the Director of Jolly Plastic Industries.

Chaterjee appointed as MD of SC Johnson
Shumone Chatterjee has been appointed as the Managing Director of SC Johnson.

Jain resigns as independent Director from Sarthak Industries
Vishwas Jain has resigned from the post of independent Director of Sarthak Industries.

Sharma appointed Additional cum Professional Director of Sarthak Industries
Sanjay Sharma has been appointed as Additional cum Professional Director of Sarthak Industries.

Three directors resign from Kwality Credit & Leasing
Bhagwan Das Soni, Amit Jajodia and Somnath Gupta have resigned as Directors of Kwality Credit & Leasing.

Xo Infotech appoints two Directors
Amishkumar Dantara and Dhanpal J Gandhi have been appointed as Directors of Xo Infotech.

Two directors resign from Xo Infotech
Anil C Mistry and Shankar Prasad Bhagat have resigned as Directors of Xo Infotech.

Gougeon appointed Additional Director of Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services
Jean Christophe Gougeon has been appointed Additional Director of Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Chandra appointed Director of Mind Tree Ltd
Professor Pankaj Chandra has been appointed Director on the Board of Mind Tree Ltd

Director of Kingfisher Airlines Ganguly resigns
Anil Kumar Ganguly has resigned from the Board of Directors of Kingfisher Airlines.

Majumdar appointed ED of Kotak Investment Banking
Shubham Majumder has been appointed Executive Director of Kotak Investment Banking.

Bhosale appointed Additional Director of Kadamb Constructions
Raju Shivaji Bhosale has been appointed Additional Director of Kadamb Constructions

Ramchandani appointed Additional Director of Kaycee Industries
Sona P Ramchandani has been appointed Additional Director of Kaycee Industries.

Two directors resign from Midfield Industries
Ashok Sagar and V G Krishna Rao have resigned as director of Midfield Industries.

Midfield Industries appoints two Addl Directors
U Srikanth and Kolli Lakshmi Sreedhar Reddy have been appointed as Additional Directors of Midfield Industries.

Impropriety being committed

Some publicity-crazy bureaucrats are committing grave impropriety by giving interviews to TV channels and magazines just before exercising statutory decision-taking functions. The channels are seen telecasting interviews with the present DGCA prior to a hearing of the Kingfisher Airlines matter and action against the airline and cancellation of their licence is being openly egged on by the reporter and advance responses being extracted from the official who is to exercise his powers. Such stand-up and sit-down interviews and publicity gimmicks are highly inappropriate and should be objected to by the parties to the proceedings and by the citizens. No judge gives such interviews before hearing a case and no official exercising statutory powers like Competition Commission, TRAI etc gives interviews before hearing cases. The courts have come down heavily on police officers giving interviews to the media about under-consideration cases.

S P Mishra

Crosscheck the facts

I think when eminent persons place such facts; it would be only prudent to crosscheck the facts they are writing and furnishing misleading facts. The fact is 'Braithwaite & Co. Ltd.' under the Ministry of Railways has already turn round and has started making good profits.

B K Bhutiani

Good job UP CM

No doubt, Navneet Sikhera is a street smart police officer with technical know how. Your state needs the services of officers like Sikhera and Ashutosh Pandey as the top brasses. Good job Akhilesh ji.

Himanshu Srivastava

This is perhaps the idea of Cabinet Minister Ajit Singh who himself is competent to think so much. He is sometimes picketed by a coterie otherwise he is a visionary.

Suresh Singh, Ex IRS

Congratulations!

Congratulations, hope this new life would bring lot of happiness and fulfills the dreams of his father.

Mayank Gupta

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)