What people say about us!

I make it a point to go through the whispers and most of them turn out to be true.

Geetha Krishnamurthy

UPA-II Report Card, Petrol Price Hike and Cabinet Meeting

'A trail of tears, turns and twists'

Within twenty four hours the glorious gala evening (commemorating the third successful year of UPA-II) took place; the prices of petrol witnessed a historic hike tearing the "Aam aadmi". Interestingly the petrol sparked off a trail of twists and turns in the stands of the UPA allies.

Taking to the flash-back; Mulayam Singh Yadav (on 22nd May at PM's residence) not only shared the stage with Sonia & Dr. Manmohan but also displayed the report card of UPA-II. Simply it was a testimony to the Sonia's grip over the allies and a saga of skill of the party managers but interestingly it was the beginning of a new story ahead.

On Thursday; shortly before the cabinet meeting was scheduled to start Samajwadi Party (SP) steps forward in a back-foot mode when SP leader Mohan Singh termed the entire episode as a 'Breach-of-trust" on part of the Congress Party. He claimed that Mulayam Singh was there for
dinner only but somehow managers manipulated to take him on the stage. In a way SP simply declined to pay the political price for petrol price hike.

Hardly had the SP taken a U-Turn; three of the UPA allies (NCP, TMC & DMK) played a twist and did not turn up to attend the cabinet meeting. Interestingly Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy himself failed to attend the meeting and the cabinet could not hold any discussion post petrol
price hike.

One may call it a coincidence or a trail of tears, twists and turns.

Is the mood in the BJP sullen?
It is heard that the mood of the top brass of the BJP was very sullen during the National Executive held in Mumbai. What could be the reason infighting or pure anarchy?

Did Modi get a rousing welcome?
It is heard that Narendra Modi got a rousing welcome when he entered the venue of the BJP National executive.

Ashish Bahuguna to be new Secretary Agriculture
Ashish Bahuguna is all set to succeed P K Basu as Secretary Agriculture in the Government of India. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.
( We said this on May 08 )

Saurabh Chandra to move Commerce
Finally Secretary IPP in the Government of India Saurabh Chandra is moving as Secretary Commerce. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Arvind Mayaram to be Secretary IPP
Arvind Mayaram is all set to replace Saurabh Chandra as Secretary Industrial Policy and Promotion (IPP) in the Government of India. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Pankaj Agrawal to be Secretary Coal
Pankaj Agrawal is all set to succeed Alok Perti as Secretary Coal. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Anil Goswami to be Secretary Border Management
Anil Goswami is all set to take over as Secretary Border Management in the Government of India. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of J & K cadre

Vibha Puri Das to be Secretary Tribal Affairs
Secretary Higher Education Vibha Puri das is being moved to the Department of Tribal Affairs in the Government of India. She is 1976 batch IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

Ashok Thakur to be new Secretary Higher Education
Now suspense is over. Ashok Thakur is being appointed Secretary Higher Education in the Government of India. 1977 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer is presently Special Secretary Higher Education. Earlier his name was proposed for the post of Secretary
Tribal Affairs.

Dutta appointed Additional Director, CBI
Rupak Kumar Dutta has been appointed new Additional Director of the CBI. He is 1981 batch IPS officer of Karnataka cadre.
( We said this on April 24 )

Saleem Ali appointed Special Director, CBI
K. Saleem Ali has been appointed as Special Director in CBI, in the scale of pay of Rs. 75500-80000. He is 1978 batch IPS officer of Manipur -Tripura cadre.
( We said this on May 2 )

Process for GM's panel starts
Process for new panel of General Managers(GMs) in Railways has started.

Two posts of Directors vacant in Petroleum Ministry
As many as two posts of Directors are lying vacant in the Petroleum Ministry. One of the posts is meant for a CSS cadre officer.

Gautam Basu's chances bright as Director,BARC
As the grapevine has it, Prabir C Basu who presently a Director in the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has very bright chances of being appointed as new Director. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay. However, a final decision is yet to be taken in this regard

40 GMs in Zone of consideration for CGM in SBI
As many as 40 General Managers(GMs) of the State Bank of India(SBI) are in zone of consideration for elevation as Chief GMs (CGMs) whose interviews are slated for June 2 & 3,2012.They are: Ranjit Goswami, Ms. Sasikala Varadachari, Devaprasad Mozumder, Supriyo Kumar Chaudhuri, Mrs. Usha R Nair, Riten Chinmoy Ghose, R Ganapathy Subramanian, Salil Kant Saran, R J Ghatey, Rakesh Sharma, Man Mohan Pathak, Ashish Kumar Roy, T S Krishnaswamy, Yosovardhan Sinha, Chakravarti V Balaji, K S Subramanian, Arun Kumar Agarwal, Sunit Vasant Joshi, Lingaraj Mohapatra, Kajal Ghose, C R Sasikumar, Dr. M G, Vaidyan, Rajeev Lal, Vandrangi Madhusudhana Rao, Adayapalam Natarajan Appaiah, Ms. Rohini Bhaskar Upasani, Naresh Kumar Malhotra, Chandramouli Shankaran, Appachu S Thimmaiah, Sanjay Kumar Magoo, Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma, Samir Kumar Bhattacharya, Mrs. Jayanthy Lakshmi, Sunil Srivastava, T P Nageshwara Rao, Arijit Basu, Dr. Malayanur Sreenatha Sastry, R Arumugapandi, Mrs. Varsha Vasant Purandare and Dinesh Kumar Khara.

60 positions of IAS officers vacant in Punjab cadre

As many as 60 positions of IAS officers have been lying vacant in Punjab cadre. There are 161 officers in the position against strength of 221 IAS officers in the State.

IA & AS officer Manoj Sahay posted as AG (A&E), Ranchi
Manoj Sahay, Principal Director of Commercial Audit & Ex-Officio Member Audit Board, Ranchi, has been posted as Accountant General (A&E), Jharkhand, Ranchi under the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

Major Gen Subramaniam to be Lt Gen in Indian Army
Major General Subramaniam has reportedly been cleared for promotion to the rank of Lt General in the Indian Army.

Kohli goes to MEA Hqs
Sanjay Kohli has been moved from Doha to the Ministry of External Affairs Headquarters.

Retired IPS is now VC in Uttar Pradesh
Retired 1975 batch IPS officer V C Goel has been appointed Vice Chancellor of Charan Singh University Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.

Post of Member (Fin.), Land Ports Authority of India vacant
The post of Member (Finance) of the Land Ports Authority of India is lying vacant on deputation basis. Those willing to apply can send their applications to Rakesh Singh, Joint Secretary, Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi at the earliest.

Vajpayee to join Settlement Commission ?
S S Vajpayee is likely to join Income Tax Settlement Commission. He is 1976 batch IRS officer.

Chahal to go to Mizoram
Virender singh Chahal, IG/Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police (PHQ) is likely to join Government of Mizoram as IG .He is an IPS officer of 1991 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Aggarwal to be IG BSF ?
Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal Deputy Director, Sardar Vallabhbai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad is likely to join as IG,BSF. He is an IPS officer of 1992 batch who belongs to Rajasthan cadre.

Pankaj Thakur promoted in IB
Pankaj Thakur, Assistant Director, (Intelligence Bureau) Government of India, has been promoted as Deputy Director. He is an IPS officer of 1998 batch who belongs to the Karnataka cadre.

Thakur appointed CGA in Finance Ministry
Jawahar Thakur has been appointed as Controller General of Accounts in Ministry of Finance, Government of India. He is an ICAS Officer of 1979 batch.

Amrit Abhijat is new PR chief of UP Chief Minister
Amrit Abhijat has been appointed new Chief of the Public Relations Department of the Uttar Pradesh Government. He is 1995 batch IAS officer.

Rajneesh Dubey is back to Uttar Pradesh
JS Forests and Environment in the Government of India Rajneesh Dubey is back to the parent Uttar Pradesh cadre. On return 1988 batch IAS officer Dubey has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Lucknow Development Authority.
(We said this on 15 May 2012

Deputation tenure of IRS officer Sanjay Kumar extended
Deputation tenure of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sanjay Kumar as Financial Advisor in the Delhi State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (DSIIDC), New Delhi, has been extended for more one year.

IRS officer V K Singh appointed Director (FT & TR-I), CBDT
Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer V K Singh has been appointed as Director (FT & TR-I) in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Department of Revenue, New Delhi.

Sarkar appointed Director I & B
Ms. Niti Sarkar has been appointed as Director, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. She is an IRAS Officer of 1995 batch.

Tripathi appointed Dy Secretary in GoI
Sambit Tripathi has been appointed as Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Government of India, New Delhi. He is an IRS (IT) Officer of 1998 batch.

IPS changes in Uttar Pradesh
Krishna Mohan will be SP Chandauli.Amit Kumar Pathak has been made SP Railways.Shailesh Mani Tripathi will move to Vigilance Lucknow and Dalbir Yadav to ACB Lucknow.

One post vacant in NCRB

One post is vacant for the position of Assistant Deputy Director in National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB),Ministry of Home Affairs, Government. of India .

Post of Director, Govt Museum & Art Gallery, Chandigarh vacant
One post of Director, Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh is vacant on deputation basis. Officers who wish to apply can send their applications to the concerned department.

IAS changes in Uttar Pradesh
RC Srivastava has been appointed principal secretary of technical and commercial education departments.Kumar Kamlesh will remain principal secretary in the departments of land development, water resources and surface land development. Rajneesh Gupta has been appointed transport commissioner. Hariraj Kishore will continue to hold the charge of handicraft, textiles and khadi and village industries.Kaushal Raj Sharma, will be DM Mainpuri.Roshan Jacob has been transferred to the industrial and infrastructure department. G Srinivasulu will be new DM Rae Bareli. Sanyukta Samaddar will be DM Balrampur .

Panda bereaved
Mother of S C Panda's who is the Additional Secretary (FA) Ministry of Home Affair, Government of India has passed away in Orissa.

R.Raghavan on deputation to be IRDA's ED (UPDATED)
R.Raghavan General Manager General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) has gone on deputation to IRDA as Executive Director (ED).He will head Insurance Information Bureau.

Ms Bharadwaj posted in Rome (UPDATED)
Ms. Alka Rehani Bhardwaj, Principal Director of Commercial Audit & e.o. Member Audit Board-I, Mumbai has been posted as Director of External Audit (SAG level), World Food Programme (WFP), Rome vice Ms. Rebecca Mathai. She is in IA&AS officer.

Vacancies in BPR &D (UPDATED)
BPR&D has invited applications from IPS officers for filling up the posts of Principals at central detective training schools at Kolkata,Jaipur,Delhi/Gaziabad ,(PB -3 GP-7600) and Vice Princopals at Jaipur,Gaziabad and Hyderabad .(PB-3, GP-6600).

Big B's tweet on the rise of tourist numbers in Gujarat (UPDATED)
"Thrilled to have worked silently to proved all negatives wrong". He has congratulated Gujarat Tourism team led by Vipul Mittra(IAS,Gujarat cader1986 batch). His tweet is read by 2.6 million followers worlwide, and Gujarat Tourism have effectively used this tool of social network to popularise Gujarat as a key tourist destination. The number of tourists increased by over five million in last two years ,since Vipul Mittra took over as Principal Secretary Tourism, turning Gujarat into one of the top tourist destinations in India.

Six CGM grade officers of ITS group 'A' shifted (UPDATED)
As many as six officers of CGM grade of ITS group 'A' have been transferred and posted at different places. Accordingly, V K Mahendra, PGMTD, Pune, MH circle has been posted as CGM, MH circle while P K Sarkar, PGM (Hq.), CTD is being appointed as CGM, ETP and N N Banerjee, CGM, Assam Circle will now be PGM (Hq), CTD. Similarly, Angsu Mukhopadhyay, CGM, ETR, Kolkata, has been shifted as PGM, CO, Bangalore, Karnataka circle; Sudhir Bhandari, PGMTD, Ahemadabad, Gujarat Circle as CGM, Inspection Circle, Jabalpur and Pradeep Nagpal, CGM, HR circle was posted as CGM, ALTTC, Ghaziabad.

Ashwani Kumar to go Arunachal Pradesh ? (UPDATED)
Ashwani Kumar 1992 batch is likely to be be transfered to Arunachal Pradesh.

Will Kutty be transferred ? (UPDATED)
There are rumours thar Principal Secretary to Delhi Chief Minister Dr M Kutty is being moved to Arunachal Pradesh. He is 1985 batch IAS officer.

Rao to move Arunachal Pradesh ? (UPDATED)
V.P. Rao at present Secretary Goa Government is likely to be transfered to Arunachal Pradesh. He is 1999 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

Seven SAG officers of ITS group 'A' transferred (UPDATED)
As many as seven officers of SAG of ITS group 'A' have been transferred and posted at different places. Accordingly, V Srinivasan has been posted as CGM, AP Circle, Hyderabad while Shrihari Roy will now be CGM, ETR Kolkata and Ashok Kant is being made CGM, Assam Circle, Guwahati. Similarly, G C Basu has been appointed as CGM, WB circle, Kolkata; G K Upadhayay as CGM, HR Circle, Ambala; M K Jain-II as PGM TD, Pune, MH Circle and T Natarajan has been made CGM, STR, Chennai.

SAIL signs JV agreement for wagon components manufacturing facility (UPDATED)
Maharatna Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has signed a joint venture agreement with Burn Standard Company Limited (BSCL) at Kolkata for setting up a Wagon Components Manufacturing Facility at the premises of BSCL at Jellingham, Purba Medinipore district, in West Bengal, with a capacity to produce 10,000 bogies and 10,000 couplers per annum. The estimated capital outlay for the project is about Rs 200 crore. The agreement was signed in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee, Union Minister for Railways Mukul Roy, West Bengal Minister for Industries & Commerce Partho Chatterjee, SAIL Chairman C.S. Verma, Railway Board Member (Mechanical) Keshav Chandra and other senior officials of the West Bengal government, Railway Board and SAIL.

Speaking on theoccasion, Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee said: ''The facility would lead to overall development of the region and I urge the officials to complete it by 2013 and not 2014 as planned. I have complete trust in SAIL's capacity and capabilities and the company is doing exemplary work for the state. The symbiotic relation between SAILand Railways has the potential to grow further and it should be harnessed fully.''

SAIL Chairman C.S. Verma stated, "Indian Railways and SAIL have a longstanding association. The Indian Railways has been providing the critical service of transporting practically all of SAIL's raw material and finished products. Several SAIL plants together produce a wide variety of steel products used by the Railways, including rails, wheels & axles, material for coach manufacturing, etc. "

Forests PS, Devraj Birdi is also Member, MPSTDC Board in MP (UPDATED)
Forests Principal Secretary Devraj Birdi has been inducted as Member in the Board of Directors of Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC). He is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Rajesh Kumar selected as Director (Tech), TCIL (UPDATED)
Rajesh Kumar, GGM, TCIL, has been selected for the post of Director (Technical), Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board meeting held on May 25, 2012. As many as 12 persons were interviewed for the same.

CORPORATE

Rangarajan to head panel for reviewing poverty line
Noted economist C Rangarajan has been appointed head of the expert group to review the Tendulkar Committee methodology for estimating poverty.

Jayakumar appointed MD & CEO, Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd
Dhanlaxmi Bank Limited has appointed P G Jayakumar as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank w.e.f. May 18, 2012

Pandey ceases to be Director, Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd
Sudhanshu Pandey, IAS, Principal Secretary, Power Development Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir has ceased to be the Director of Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd w.e.f. March 2, 2012

Kumar joins as Addl. Director, Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd
Rakesh Kumar who has assumed charge as Director (Finance) of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd has also joined the Board of Directors of the Corporation as an Additional Director w.e.f. May 23, 2012

Gupta resigns as Company Secy. SBEC Sugar Ltd
Anup Gupta has resigned as Company Secretary of SBEC Sugar Ltd w.e.f. May 10, 2012

Raghunandan appointed CEO and Whole-time Director, Jyothy Laboratories Ltd
Jyothy Laboratories Ltd has appointed S Raghunandan as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Whole-time Director.

Exim Bank appoints Nominee Director on Board of Alkyl Amines Chemicals Ltd
Export-Import Bank of India has appointed Ms. Meena Verma as its Nominee Director on the Board of Alkyl Amines Chemicals Ltd in place of Ms. Rima Marphatia.

Pandey is Director (Raw Material & Logistic), SAIL
Following nomination by Central Govetnment, the Board of Directors of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has approved the appointment of A. K. Pandey, Executive Director, SAIL as Director (Raw Material & Logistic) on the Board of Directors of the company w.e.f. May 24, 2012.

Gurappa appointed CFO, ICSA (India) Ltd
ICSA (India) Limited has appointed Chinna Gurappa as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company w.e.f. May 23, 2012.

Kloff ceases to be Independent Director, Yes Bank Ltd
Wouter Kolff , Non Executive Independent Director of Yes Bank Ltd has ceased to on Board of the Bank w.e.f. May 24, 2012.

Patel appointed as additional director of Amraworld Agro
Mayurbhai Patel has been appointed as the additional director of Amraworld Agro.

Shah resigns as director of Amraworld Agro
Ashok Shah has resigned as of Amraworld Agro.

Krishnamurthy appointed as additional director of Taj GVK Hotels and Resorts
G Krishnamurthy has been appointed as additional director of Taj GVK Hotels and Resorts.

2 appointed as director of Kamalakshi Finance Corporation
Kailash Kahar and Bhupendra Thakur have been appointed as directors of Kamalakshi Finance Corporation.

Gurappa appointed as CFO of ICSA India
Chinna Gurappa has been appointed as CFO of ICSA India.

Pandey appointed as director of SAIL India
A.K. Pandey has been appointed as director of SAIL India.

Shetty appointed as additional director of Jet Airways
Gaurang Shetty has been appointed as additional director of Jet Airways.

Prasad resigns as director of Asian Electronics
D.G. Prasad has resigned as director of Asian Electronics.

Khanna has ceased to be director of Lloyd Steel
B.L. Khanna has ceased to be the director of Lloyd Steel.

Verma appointed as nominee director of Alkyl Amines India
Meena Verma has been appointed as nominee director of Alkyl Amines India.

N V Singh

What's new in it ?
What's new in it ? It's a every year phenomenon with CBDT telling something new
Manjeet Singh

What about postings ?
Is 1978 batch IAS empannelled for Secretary will get posting before
1979 &1980 batch officers ?

T K Ghosh

Wrong sterp
CSS officers are below IAS, IPS, IFS and Group 'A' Officers. The Department of Personnel & Training is in the process of implementing a promotion wherein a Direct Recruit Group 'B' officer will be becoming Under Secretary in 3 years against the requirement of 8 years as eligibility period prescribed in CSS rules. The step is also against the Supreme Court's verdict in a case. Direct recruit Section Officers of the CSS will become the most prestigious service people in the country. This is happening only because of the existing wrong practice of giving prior date seniority to Direct Recruit Section Officers in CSS. Today somebody may be 8th Class and some promotee Section Officer is on the job. Because of a wrong existing policy wherein the former will become senior to the latter at later date just because his vacancy slot had not been filled up. Actually the post should be carried forward and not the seniority. After all we have to give some weightage to age and experience. The Supreme Court has asserted this view in a number of services.

Bimal Bahadur

Baseless arguments on petrol price rise
Let us look at the arguments, Price of crude oil in the international market today - $92.10/bbl

Price of Rs. vs $ today - 56/$
So 1 bbl of crude cost Rs 5152 today but it cost

Rs.5400 in 2010 at $120/bbl and Rs at 45/$, so what has changed?

Price of petrol in Bangalore in Jan 2010 - Rs.58/Ltr.

Price of petrol in Bangalore in May 2012 - Rs 81.5/Ltr.

UPA you are unfit to rule this country get out!

Prashanth

First Appellate Authority directed to undergo rigorous RTI training The Central Information Commission (CIC) had issued a show cause notice to the Public Information Officer (PIO) to explain the denial of information under section 2(f) of the RTI Act. The PIO submitted that he had recently joined as PIO and was not having the knowledge of the RTI Act at the time of the receipt of the RTI application. When the appeal was filed at that time, the First Appellate Authority (FAA) had endorsed the decision of the PIO. The CIC was not satisfied by the explanation furnished by the PIO and under section 20(1) of the RTI Act, directed the Public Authority to recover an amount of Rs. 25,000/- from the salary of the PIO at the rate of Rs. 5000/- per month as penalty. The Commission further noted that the FAA has also demonstrated his complete ignorance on the practical application of the RTI Act. The Senior Divisional Manager was directed by the Commission to assign the FAA to a rigorous period of training so that he can satisfactorily discharge his obligations as per the provisions of the Act.

Comments

It is unfortunate that many organisations are yet to train their officers in the basics of the RTI Act which is not only obstructing the flow of information but is also leading to unnecessary levy of penalty. This is the first case where training has been ordered by the CIC which reminds of RI ordered by courts. In case any public authority is interested, we can hold training sessions for the PIO and FAA.

Citation: Shri Rajpal v. LIC of India in File No. CIC/DS/A/2011/000501

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)