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

BJP finds reasons for rejoice?
BJP's two days National Executive at Parel Kamgar Stadium Mumbai concluded with a 'feel good factor'. It is speculated that Gadkari's victory and Modi's supremacy would bring a whole lot of troubles to the BJP and NDA in the time to come. The inaugural highlighted the BJP's inclusive politics but in an exclusive manner. If Narendra Modi's presence in the National Executive was a condition to demonstrate the unity and strength of BJP; Sanjay Joshi's resignation was a precondition for Modi's presence. It was the National Executive meet of 'a party with the difference'. Ironically; Gadkari appealed for discipline and unity for the party and Modi claimed that UPA government had neither leader nor policy. But Congress emphasises on the differences within the BJP by highlighting Advani's absence when a resolution was brought to amend BJP's constitution crafted to pave the path for Gadkari's second consecutive term. Congress (ailing by its allies) finds Modi's supremacy as a reason to rejoice as it would keep Nitish Kumar constantly uncomfortable and till mission 2014 was accomplished.

Pranab Mukherjee to be President?
Whether someone likes him or not, indications are there that Pranab Mukherjee is going to be new President of India.

Jaitely still in full force?
It is heard that Arun Jaitely is in full force in the BJP and RSS and is masterminding many issues in both the places.

How was Modi welcomed to the address of BJP Rally?
When Narendra Modi rose to address the BJP rally he was greeted with 'Dekho dekho kaun aya, Gujarat ka sher aaya'.

Who does Modi liken UPA to?
Modi draws comparison of UPA government to the jailed Nirmal Baba who offers rasgullas as a panacea to all ills saying that economic rasgullas are being pocketed by UPA.

Was MP CM a favourite with the masses?
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) Shivraj Singh Chouhan was applauded by the masses when he spoke about the achievements of his state in agro production, girl child welfare related schemes and construction of rural roads. Most of the people were overheard saying that they wanted same success in Maharashtra and were in awe of the son in law from MP who left them spell bound.

Ashish Bahuguna appointed new Secretary Agriculture (UPDATED)
Ashish Bahuguna will succeed P K Basu as Secretary Agriculture in the Government of India on June 1. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.
(We said this on May 8)

G C Pati appointed Secretary, Animal Husbandry (UPDATED)
G C Pati has been appointed Secretary Animal Husbandry and Dairying in the Government of India. He is 1978 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.
(We said this on May 8)

Sudhir Kumar appointed Secretary Food (UPDATED)
Sudhir Kumar has been appointed Secretary Food in the Government of India .Presently, he is Special Secretary Women and Child Welfare (WCD) in in the Government of India (GOI). He is an IAS officer of 1978 batch who belongs to the UP cadre.
(We said this on May 26)

S R Rao is new Secretary Commerce (UPDATED)
R Rao has been appointed new Secretary Commerce in the Government of India. Appointment of 1978 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre IAS officer Rao has come as a big surprise in the bureaucratic circles.

3,634 positions of Judges vacant in Courts of States/ Union Territory
There are 3,634 vacancies of Judges in District & Subordinate Courts of the State Government/ Union Territory in the country. There are 14,374 Judges in position against 18,008, sanctioned strength.

IA & AS Ms Bharadwaj posted in Rome
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.

Verma gets additional charge of CMD NMDC
SAIL Chairman C S Verma has been given additional charge of the CMD of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) for three months.

Rajesh Kumar selected as Director (Tech), TCIL
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.

Two new Army Commanders on June 1
Army commanders will be appointed on June 1 in East and Western Commands - Lt-Gen's, Sanjiv Chhachra ( Military Secy.) and DS Suhag (Corps Commander).

R Raghavan on deputation to be IRDA's ED
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.

Post of Secretary, Official Language still vacant
The post of Secretary, Committee of Parliament on Official Language has been lying vacant since August 2011.

Ashwani Kumar to go to Arunachal Pradesh?
Ashwani Kumar 1992 batch is likely to be transferred to Arunachal Pradesh.

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

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

15 positions of IAS officers vacant in Sikkim cadre
As many as 15 positions of IAS officers have been lying vacant in Sikkim cadre. There are 33 officers in the position against strength of 48 IAS officers in the State.

IA & AS officer S C Pandey is PAG, Audit, J &K
S C Pandey, on return from deputation, has been transferred and posted as Principal Accountant General (Audit), Jammu & Kashmir, Srinagar. He is an IA&AS officer of 1983 batch.

Jawahar Thakur to join on July 1
Jawahar Thakur will take over as Controller General of Accounts in Ministry of Finance, Government of India from 1st July. He is an ICAS Officer of 1979 batch.

Suspension of IPS officer revoked
Suspension of 1982 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IPS officer SR Tewari has been revoked.

Appointment of CVO cancelled
Appointment of Ram Chander Adwal, IRSSE(83) as CVO, Bridge & Roof (India) Limited, Kolkata has been cancelled.

Qureshi moves from Doha to Jeddah
First Secretary in Doha Mohammmad Raghib Qureshi has been moved from Doha to Jeddah.

Post of Secretary still vacant in National Jute Board, Kolkata
The post of Secretary has still been lying vacant in National Jute Board, Kolkata under the Ministry of Textiles. Those willing to apply can send their applications to the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) before June 15, 2012.

Post of Deputy Secretary, NEC, Shillong vacant
The post of Financial Adviser has been lying vacant in the North-Eastern Council Secretariat (NEC), Shillong, Meghalaya under the Minister of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER). This Deputy Secretary/Director level post has been advertised. Those who wish to apply can send their applications to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India before July 31, 2012.

H R Suthar of Gujarat awarded IAS cadre
H R Suthar of non-State Civil Service of Gujarat has been awarded IAS cadre.

Bundhela promoted in IB
Narender Singh Bundhela, Assistant Director,FRRO(Intelligence Bureau) Government of India, has been promoted as Deputy Director, IB. He is an AGMU cadre IPS 1998 batch.
(We said this on 15 May 2012)

Big B's tweet on the rise of tourist numbers in Gujarat
"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 worldwide, and Gujarat Tourism has 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.

Book of Sumit Majumdar
Cambridge University Press has published Professor Sumit Majumdar's book (ISBN: 9781107622869) titled 'India's Late, Late Industrial Revolution: Democratizing Entrepreneurship.' In this book, Professor Majumdar, of the University of Texas at Dallas, catalogues how India is experiencing a late, late industrial revolution, and explains this revolution through a combination of rigorous analysis and anecdotes about India's entrepreneurs, Indian firms' strategies and the changing role of government in Indian industry. Professor Jagdish Bhagwati has said about the book that…"Sumit Majumdar has written a superb book that breaks new ground and offers many new insights. And he writes gloriously. His book will become a classic;" and Sir Geoffrey Owen, of the London School of Economics, has written "The improvement in India's economic performance over the past twenty years is one of the great successes of globalization……..this book sheds valuable light on one of the most important economic developments of our time."

IPS changes in Tamil Nadu
Asra Garg has been transferred as SP Tirupur district. Tirupur SP V. Balakrishnan will now be SP Madurai.

Tripura to have HRC
Human Rights Commission is being set up in Tripura in the coming months.

Seven SAG officers of ITS group 'A' transferred
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.

Six CGM grade officers of ITS group 'A' shifted
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.

New postings of some IAS officers in Nagaland
Services of some IAS officers have been affected with new assignments in Nagaland. Accordingly, Chief Secretary, Lalthara has been assigned an additional charge of Power Department while Principal Secretary Justice a& Law C J Ponraj will be holding an additional charge of P& AR and Sentiyanger Imchen is now Commissioner, Health and Family Welfare Department. Similarly, M. Patton IAS has been transferred and posted as Secretary Transport; Bendang Longchari is given an additional charge of Geology & Mining; Vyasan as Deputy Commissioner, Wokha; Govind Jaiswal as Joint Secretary, Home department and Kesonyu Yhome has been posted as Joint Secretary, School Education Department.

Sudhir Kumar poised to be Secretary Food
As the grapevine has it there are now chances of Sudhir Kumar becoming Secretary Food.Presently, he is Special Secretary Women and Child Welfare (WCD) in in the Government of India (GOI). He is an IAS officer of 1978 batch who belongs to the UP cadre.

CORPORATE

Newaskar appointed Director (Other Units), BEL
Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) has appointed Amol Newaskar as Director (Other units).

Wassenberg appointed CFO, REpower
REpower has appointed Marcus A Wassenberg as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Tanti appointed COO, REpower
Vinod R Tanti has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of REpower.

Sudipta resigns as Company Secy. Micro Technologies (India) Ltd
Ms Sudipta V, Company Secretary of Micro Technologies (India) Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. May 23, 2012.

Gaur appointed Company Secy. Micro Technologies (India) Ltd
Ms. Neha M. Gaur has been appointed as Company Secretary of Micro Technologies (India) Ltd w.e.f. May 23, 2012

Paliwal resigns as Company Secy. Syncom Healthcare Ltd
J. C. Paliwal, Company Secretary of Syncom Healthcare Ltd has resigned from the company w.e.f. May 24, 2012.

Editorial Head and News Director of Aaj Tak quits!
Editorial Head and News Director of Aaj Tak, M Naqvi, is learnt to be planning to quit TV Today Network which he had rejoined in 2004 February and was responsible for successfully launching Tez and Dilli Aaj Tak. Earlier he was with the organisation from 1995 to 2000.

ICFRE organises a lecture by M. Damodaran-ex SEBI chief
M. Damodaran-former chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) delivered a lecture on "Bridging gape between performance & potential" in Dehradun on May 25,2012.The lecture was organized by Dehraun based Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) of which Director General(DG) is Dr. V K Bahuguna.It was attended by scientists of ICFRE & Indian Forest Service(IFS) officers besides 200 students of FRI- a deemed University.

Government of India exempts a duty of about Rs.55,000 Crore every year on Gold and Diamond Imports.

Government Subsidizes about Rs. 120,000 Crores every year on Kerosene of which more than 60% Kerosene is used for adulterating fuel (Read Petrol and Diesel). Government subsidizes over Rs. 500,000 Crores every year to greedy Corporate.

But Government Taxes Aam Aadmi who uses Petrol for commuting to work every day to fund its social spendings such as MNEREGA, Food Security etc., which are definitely not benefiting those who deserve. Isn't this a real mockery of democracy against common man?

Prashanth

Petrol price hike is a death blow!

This petrol price hike is like death blow. If the government increases LPG and diesel prices then I request Manmohan Singh to step down. It is better this government falls and financial emergency imposed. At least we can save crores in salary payment. Manmohan has become a captive of IAS and CSS and has forgotten his economics. The Babus propose and politicians meekly obediently sign files in lie of getting small cuts in deals handled by their ministry. The Ministers are not aware and babus have cornered bigger share. How will this government run? Let it fall. The sooner the better.

Raghav Behl

Cong ko ek sawal. Jiska daman me emergency ka dag hai, ushe kyon

rajgaddi ke liye chuna ja raha hai.

Chinton

Petroleum prices

Not only the UPA, the BJP has also let down the Aam-Admi. The state taxes on petrol in

Karnataka is a whopping 32%,which means for every increase of Rs.6 per litre by OMCs, the state will charge and increase of Rs.2.Instead of making a public show of their opposition to petrol price increase, BJP should ask states like Karnataka to reduce state taxes.

N Krishnan

Foolish opinion!

Someone has entered his opinion here on the Air India pilots' strike that the Civil Aviation Minister has unnecessarily intervened and that he should have asked the Civil Aviation Secretary to call the striking pilots for negotiations. What a foolish opinion! In such a serious issue where the recalcitrant pilots have even defied the high court's injunction against the strike, what is the civil aviation secretary supposed to do on his own with the pilots strike. It will be a sheer waste of time. The opinion looks like an insider-job by a babu who wants to show both the minister and the secretary of civil aviation in bad light.

C K Najib

We the people, demand...

The petrol hike has brought out the housewife onto the road in the country, with the rolling pin(belan) in hand against the totally unjustified hike. Those making illegal money are stashing their ill gotten money in foreign tax haven and indulging in the price-hike terrorism.I seek the indulgence of the policy makers to consider if it would have been even worth considering for them had the office of the Prime Minister were graced by a Mamata or Jayalalita or Mayawati? We need a woman PM so that she understands the economics of the kitchen as the incumbent has consistently shown his incapacity to understand it. He might know the world economic but doesn't know the home economic, especially the kitchen economics. We demand that 50% ministers in the cabinet should be women, so that no housewife is ever harassed by heartless finance ministers or prime ministers. We demand it. Let it be noted that the goli or bullet can never frighten the belan (roti rolling pin)! Beware of all (Anna, Kiran or Kejriwal etc) but most beware of the belan! Unless the housewives smile nobody can be gay! Housewife is not to be fooled by silly platitudes of the oil companies or the planning commission!

M L Gupta

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)