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Too good as most of your information are true

Vishal Kumar

Samajwadi Party to bring Army Chief to Rajya Sabha?
Army Chief, General V. K. Singh is likely to be made Member of Rajya Sabha by the Samajwadi Party, as Mulayam Singh Yadav wants to ensure his Rajput votes at the forthcoming 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Will small savers go for small savings instruments?
An increase in small savings investment rate ( by 0.5 %) taking NSC to 8.9 % and PPF to 8.8 percent is likely to attract small investors as there are not too many alternatives to earn at this point in time. Traditionally preferred Fixed Deposit rate are likely to take a beating as RBI eases monetary policy. Government bonds (yield around 8.3 %) and AAA rated corporate deposits (yield 9.6 %) are also likely to see a reversal with the monetary policy easing. This move on part of the Government will help attract savings in these instruments as also help Government bridge its current account deficit.

Will RBI not help the Re. this time?
RBI is not likely to intervene in arresting Re. fall this time as it realizes that direct currency intervention cannot hold the Re. for long as there are worries of trade deficit, FII inflows and the broad strength of US economy recovering is giving strength to the Dollar. Besides, Dollar sales impact liquidity negatively and this in turn impacts a smooth functioning of monetary policy.

Who is behind Kataria?
The recent theatrics in Rajasthan BJP over Gulabchand Kataria is a shadow boxing between L.K. Advani and Nitin Gadkari, point out political analysts. It is a manifestation of Central BJP politics being played out in the state, say insiders.

Drastic political upheaval on anvil
In the post Presidential poll scenario there is going to be a drastic political upheaval in India.

Justice Lokur to be Judge of the SC?
The Supreme Court Collegium is believed to have cleared the name of Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court Justice M B Lokur for Judge in the Supreme Court.

Justice Eqbal to be CJ of Delhi High Court?
Grapevine has it that Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Justice M Y Eqbal is moving to the Delhi High Court in the same capacity.

Justice Sikri to be CJ of Punjab & Haryana HC?
Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri is likely to be appointed Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The post is lying vacant.

Siddharth Luthra to be Additional Solicitor General?
Grapevine has it that leading lawyer of Delhi Siddharth Luthra is being appointed Additional Solicitor General.

Justice Alok Singh to move to Jharkhand High Court?
Justice Alok Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court is likely to be transferred to the Jharkhand High Court.

Justice Nirmaljit Kaur to move to Rajasthan High Court?
Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Nirmaljit Kaur is likely to be transferred to the Rajasthan High Court.

Mystery over the posting of Ashok Thakur?
Posting of 1978 batch IAS as Secretary in the Government of India has commenced but one officer of 1977 batch IAS is still waiting in the wings to get posting. He is Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer Ashok Thakur. What is the mystery?

Where is the appointment file of new TRAI Chief?
Official orders of the appointment of Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar as TRAI Chief have so far not been issued. It is believed that certain Telecom Company bosses have mounted pressure on the Government for not appointing Khullar. Does this mean that the Government has succumbed to the pressure!

CSB to meet today
CSB is meeting today to prepare panel for the post of Joint Secretaries in a couple of departments.

Sunil Krishna is senior-most serving IPS officer
Sunil Krishna is presently senior-most serving IPS officer in the country. 1973 batch IPS officer of UP cadre Sunil Krishna is presently DG in the NHRC.

Promotion of Members in CBDT and CBEC in a limbo!
The promotion of members in CBEC/CBDT is in a limbo. With an existing vacancy in each of the Boards and at least 2 more vacancies by July in CBEC, and 1 in CBDT; the promotion woes of the IRS officers continue. With DoPT insisting on 2 years residual service and 2 years completed service as Chief Commissioner, the chances of any officer fulfilling the stringent criteria are bleak. Meanwhile the existing Members are reconciling themselves to long tenure of additional charges.

1987 batch IA&AS officers get SAG
1987 Batch of Indian Audit & Accounts Service (IAAS) have been promoted to the Higher Administrative Grade (Rs. 67000-79000). The officers are K R Sriram, Ms. Dolly Chakrabarty, Ms. Mahua Pal, Ms. Divya Malhotra, Ms. S Snehalatha, Ms. T Vani Sriram, Ms. Sangita Choure, Ms. Aditi Roy Choudhury and L A C Singh.

Top 6 of AP CM Kiran Kumar Reddy

1. Jawahar Reddy.
2. Vinay Kumar.
3. Shamsher Singh Rawat
4. B. R. Meena
5. Reddy Subramaniam
6. Dinesh Reddy.

2 strong contenders for 2 posts of Member, SEBI
As the grapevine has it names of two of nine contenders are in circulation as strong candidates. Dr. Asha Ram Sihag (IAS,1983 batch, Himachal Pradesh cadre) and S. Raman Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Canara Bank. Dr Sihag is currently Senior Advisor to Executive Director (ED) of Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila. He is a product of IIT Delhi where he did his M. Tech. He did his Ph.D. from Cornell University, USA. Other contenders are: K L Dhingra CMD ITI Bangalore, Chandan Sinha Chief General Manager (CGM) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Alok Mishra CMD Bank of India (BoI), J P Dua CMD Allahabad Bank, Satish Chandra Joint Secretary Law, Prashant Saran Member SEBI whose present term expires on May 17, 2012 and Ms. Usha Narayanan ED SEBI. Interviews are scheduled to take place on May
8, 2012.

Injeti Srinivas to return Orissa
Joint Secretary Sports and Youth Welfare Injeti Srinivas is returning to the parent Orissa cadre after completion of central deputation tenure this month. He is 1983 batch IAS officer.

Railway GMs appointment file in CS office
Appointment file of Railway General Managers is believed to have been lying in the Cabinet Secretariat.

116 positions of IAS officers vacant in AGMUT cadre
As many as 116 positions of IAS officers have been lying vacant in AGMU cadre. There are 221 officers in positions against sanctioned strength of 337 in the cadre.

Das may move to Lakshadweep
Shankarsan Das, (DIG) Addl. CP Anti Corruption, Government of Delhi likely to be transferred from Delhi to Lakshadweep. He is an IPS officer of 1994 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Who will be DIG, NHRC?
Who will succeed Ms Mamta Singh as DIG National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)? The MHA is reported to have sent a panel of three IPS officers consisting of Rajeev Sabharwal (UP: 93), Ashutosh Kumar Sinha (MT: 93) and Tsewang Namgiyal Kalon (JK:95) In case, NHRC does not find suitable among the three officers sent by MHA then Vipul Kumar, IPS (JK: 96), who is already working as SP in NHRC, as DIG may be promoted.

2 contenders for post of ICAO in Montreal
As many as two incumbents are in contention for India's representative at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Montreal. The last date for applying was April 16, 2012. Present incumbent Arun Mishra will be completing his tenure in August 2012. He is a West Bengal cadre IAS officer of the 1986 batch.

Are Delhi airport users asked to pay more because someone has defaulted?
It is heard that Delhi Airport users have been asked to pay more airport charges because of default of payment of airport charges to GMR Infrastructure by Air India and Kingfisher Airlines to the tune of Rs 600 crs each.

IA & AS officer Rajvir Singh to go Afganistan
Services of Rajvir Singh (IA&AS-1991), Principal Director of Audit, Northern Railway, New Delhi have been placed at the disposal of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for appointment as Audit Planning and Reporting Advisor in the Control & Audit Office (CAO), under the Civilian Technical Assistance Programme (CTAP), on deputation basis for a period of one year. He will be relieved from his present duties w.e.f. by Ms. Divya Malhotra, Principal Director (Railway Board) who will hold additional charge of the post until further orders.

Sunil Kumar to move to Beirut
Third Secretary in Indian Embassy Cairo Sunil Kumar has been moved to Beirut in place of S Gopalkrishnan.

Air Vice-Marshal gets promotion
Air Vice- Marshal Jagjit Singh has been promoted as Air Marshal. He will take over as DG (Aircraft) at the Air Headquarters on June 1.

Pukhraj Maroo to head INTACH in Madhya Pradesh
Retired 1980 batch ACS Madhya Pradesh Government Pukhraj Maroo has been appointed Convener of the Indian Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

IAS changes in Uttar Pradesh
Prabhat Kumar Sarangi has been appointed new Director, Land Acquisition, Revenue Board.Leena Jauhri has been moved as Secretary, Minority Welfare and Muslim Waqf. Nepal Singh Ravi has been kept in waiting. Pravir Kumar has been given additional charge of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation. Rajeev Kumar has been given the charge of Rural Development.

PESB seeks applications for MD, Hindustan News Print Ltd
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has sought applications for the post of MD, Hindustan News Print Limited. Those willing to apply can send their applications to PESB before June 15, 2012.

PESB seeks applications for Director, Bharat Dynamics Ltd
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has sought applications for the post of Director, Bharat Dynamics Limited. Those willing to apply can send their applications to PESB before June 21, 2012.

Railway function
In a significant move to encourage and incentivise the lower rung of employees of Indian Railways, special felicitation programmes are being organised in all the Railway Divisions to recognize the services and contribution of employees like Gangmen, Trolleymen, Gatemen, OHE Khalasis, single maintenance cadres etc. These employees along with their colleagues work day and night very hard in the field under difficult conditions to ensure safety of trains and thereby smooth running of the whole system. In Delhi, the main felicitation function was held at State Entry Road where Smt. Poonam Mittal, Chairperson of Railway Women's Welfare Central Organisation (RWWCO) was the Chief Guest. She presented souvenirs. In her speech, she said that these employees play a crucial role in ensuring safe and smooth railway operations and are an important part of the vast Railway system. She emphasised that the team effort is the hallmark of Indian Railway's functioning and called upon everybody to continue to give their best for Indian Railways which is hailed as the lifeline of the nation.

Anil Sant bereaved
Munshi Singh Sant father of 1988 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre Anil Sant has passed away in Lucknow.

Cabinet Secretary to head panel for selecting 2 Members in SEBI
In a major departure from the past Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth will head the panel that is going to interview nine contenders for two posts of Member, SEBI in Delhi on May 8,2012.Others who will sit with him are:R.Gopalan Secretary Finance, D.K.Mittal Secretary Financial Services,Naved Masood Secretary Corporate Affairs,Professor Shekhar Chaudhury Director IIM Kolkata,Suman Bery noted Economist & Director General for Economic Council and SEBI Chairmnan U.K. Sinha.

Who will be 2 SEBI MEmbers?
Who will be two SEBI MEmbers?This question is hot topic of discussion in corridors of power. As the grapevine has it S. Raman Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Canara Bank is sure to make it. However, the road for Dr Sihag who is currently Senior Advisor to Executive Director (ED) of Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila may be tough if does not want to quit IAS & join in SEBI. He is a product of IIT Delhi where he did his M. Tech. He did his Ph.D. from Cornell University, USA. Dr Sihag could make it only if the condition of quitting was waived off. In that case K L Dhingra CMD ITI Bangalore has very bright chances. However, he will, have a tough time from Prashant Saran Member SEBI whose present term expires on May 17, 2012.

Orders of R N Choubey cancelled (UPDATED)
Orders of the appointment of Rajiv Nayan Choubey as Additional Secretary Home have been cancelled. He is 1981 batch IAS officer of TamilNadu cadre.

Anil Swarup is new Additional Secretary Home (UPDATED)
Additional Secretary Labour and Employment in the Government of India Anil Swarup has been moved to the Ministry of Home Affairs in the same capacity. He is 1981 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Two IRS officers promoted as CIT (UPDATED)
Two IRS officers have been promoted as Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT). Accordingly, Sanjay, Additional Director (Inv.), SFIO, Mumbai and B K Gupta Additional Director (IT), SFIO, New Delhi have been granted pro-forma promotion to the grade of Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT)

CBDT Chairman Laxman Das is also Member, (P&V) (UPDATED)
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman, Laxman Das has been assigned additional charge of Member (P&V), CBDT and the Zonal charge of North (Delhi, NWR) & UP.

BHEL contributes 75% thermal power generation in FY 2011-12 (UPDATED)
Power generation in the country received a boost with BHEL-built thermal sets generating 5.5% more power in fiscal 2011-12, compared to the previous fiscal. During the year, these sets registered a record generation of 459 Billion Units of electricity against 435 Billion Units in the year before. Significantly, this constituted 75% of the total power generated in the country from coal-based thermal utility sets. Similarly 42% of country's generation from hydro sets and 66% of country's generation from nuclear sets was contributed by BHEL sets. Consistently exceeding the national average efficiency parameters, in 2011-12 also, BHEL-manufactured thermal sets achieved an impressive Operating Availability (OA) of 85.9%, while the Plant Load Factor (PLF) at 75.5% was 2.3% higher than the national average. BHEL-make 200-500 MW thermal sets, which form the backbone of the country's thermal generating capacity, operated at an OA of 89% and a PLF of 79%. Notably, 14 BHEL-make thermal sets of various ratings operated at a PLF of over 90% and 152 sets achieved an OA of more than 90%. BHEL-make 500 MW thermal sets also maintained their record of consistent availability of above 90% for last five years. Significantly, 9 Power Stations out of 12 and 10 power stations out of 13 in the country awarded with the Government of India's National Awards for Meritorious Performance for the years 2009-10 & 2010-11 respectively, are equipped with generating equipment manufactured by BHEL, reaffirming the reliability and quality of BHEL equipment. During fiscal 2008-09, the installed capacity of BHEL-supplied Utility sets went up to 87,646 MW and the company maintained its share of 64% in the country's total installed capacity of 1,38,175 MW. BHEL has fully established state-of-the-art technology for manufacture of thermal sets up to 600 MW rating in the sub-critical range and has the capability to manufacture sets up to 1,000 MW rating. The company has also equipped itself to produce 660 MW / 700 MW / 800 MW thermal sets with supercritical parameters, and is shoring up its capability for higher rating Hydro sets and advanced class Gas Turbines to cater to upcoming market requirements. BHEL has been committed to the nation's power development programme and has reaffirmed its commitment to the Indian Power Sector by equipping itself by way of contemporary technology, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and skilled technical manpower. Significantly, the company has established the capability to deliver power plant equipment of 20,000 MW per annum.
Four probationary IAS officers get postings in Haryana (UPDATED)
Four probationary IAS officers of 2011 batch and Haryana cadre have been given postings. Accordingly, Amit Khatri has been posted as Assistant Commissioner, Hisar while Vinay Pratap Singh will now be Assistant Commissioner, Panchakula and Aditya Dahiya is Assistant Commissioner, Rohtak. Besides, Vijay Kumar Siddappa was posted as Assistant Commissioner, Bhiwani.


Transfer orders of Kaushik as Joint Secy., Forests, Bhiwani in Haryana cancelled (UPDATED)
Transfer orders of M L Kaushik from Joint Secretary, Forests, Fatehabad to Joint Secretary, Forests, Bhiwani, have been cancelled. He will continue as Joint Secretary, Forests Department, Fatehabad. Besides, Ashok Kumar Meena, who was ordered to be posted as Deputy Commissioner, Fatehabad, has now been appointed as Deputy Commissioner, Bhiwani.

Rajeev Mehrotra selected CMD, RITES (UPDATED)
Rajeev Mehrotra, Director (Finance), RITES, has been selected for the post of Chairman & Managing Director, RITES Limited at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on May 7, 2012. As many as 14 persons were interviewed for the same.

DEBATE

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked civil servants to take bold decisions, assuring them that there would be no witch-hunting in the name of fighting corruption. How far it is possible ?

Mail your views-mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com or Suresh. Mehrotra @yahoo.com

CORPORATE

Malhotra ceases to be Director, GHCL Ltd
Malhotra has ceased to be Director on the Board of GHCL Ltd w.e.f. on reaching the age of retirement w.e.f. May 5, 2012. He was Senior Executive Director (Operations) at the company.

Suresh appointed Director (Projects & Business Planning), SAIL
Steel Authority Of India Limited has appointed T. S. Suresh, Executive Director, SAIL as Director (Projects & Business Planning) w.e.f. May 4, 2012.

Jaideep Bhattacharya resigns as CMO, UTI Asset Management
Jaideep Bhattacharya has resigned as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of UTI Asset Management.

Grover appointed Company Secy. RR Financial Consultants Ltd
RR Financial Consultants Ltd has appointed Ms. Deepti Grover as Company Secretary of the company w.e.f. April 1, 2012.

Krasmann resigns as Director, Mather and Platt Fire Systems Ltd
Dr. Holger Krasmann has resigned as Director of Mather and Platt Fire Systems Ltd w.e.f. April 26, 2012.

Kudtarkar appointed Company Secy. Spectacle Infotek Ltd
Rohit D Kudtarkar has been appointed as Company Secretary of Spectacle Infotek Ltd w.e.f. May 3, 2012, in the place of Ms. Hetal V Shah who resigned from the company.

Channy ceases to be Chairman & Director, Punjab Communications Ltd
Sarwan Singh Channy, IAS, has relinquished the charge of the post of Chairman and Director of Punjab Communications Ltd assigned to him by the Punjab Government w.e.f. March 19, 2012.

Talwar appointed Chairman & Director, Punjab Communications Ltd
Achhru Ram Talwar, IAS, has been appointed as Chairman and Director of Punjab Communications Ltd w.e.f. March 19, 2012.

Verma re-appointed MD, Punjab Communications Ltd
Anurag Verma, IAS, has been re-appointed as Managing Director of Punjab Communications Ltd w.e.f. March 20, 2012.

Singh appointed Director (Operations), JW Marriott, Mumbai
Gagandeep Singh has been appointed as Director (Operations) at JW Marriott Mumbai.

Deshmukh appointed Director, Gujarat Meditech Ltd
Pravin Deshmukh has been appointed as a Director of Gujarat Meditech Ltd.

Shah resigns as Director, Gujarat Meditech Ltd
Sanjay S. Shah has resigned as Director of Gujarat Meditech Ltd w.e.f. April 25, 2012.

DVB Prasad has been appointed as director projects of Vijay Shanthi Builders
Krassmann resigns as director Mather Platt Fire Systems Holger Krassman has resigned as director Mather Platt Fire Systems.

Sawhney resigns as director of Swaraj Engines
A.M. Sawhney has resigned as director of Swaraj Engines.

2 appointed as additional director of Rabha Plastics
Kamlesh Bhanushali and Anand Gurnani, have been appointed of additional director of Rabha Plastics.

Kumar resigns as director of MSR India
P Kamala Kumar has resigned as director of MSR India.

Dr. Manmohan Singh - best choice for President

If Congress High Command agrees, Dr. Manmohan Singh is the best

choice for President of India.

Rakesh Bansal

Why plant stories in media?

By all accounts, Poonam Kishore of the IRS is probably a good officer. But why stoop to planting stories in the media?

Arjun Mallik

Best way to end corruption in CPWD

The best way to end corruption in CPWD will be by making some senior official responsible for overseeing implementation of various projects taken by CPWD on regular basis. CPWD should also ensure that the payments of the contractors are settled on regular basis as and when some work gets completed. The attitude of making 31st March payments allows its officials to extract something out of the contractors

A Srivastava

When will IFS officers be promoted in UP?

1982 batch yet to become APCCF 1986 batch CCFs 1991 batch CFs. For 1991 batch two promotions are due since 3 years.

Sudhakar

TAIL-PIECE

In Lok Sabha, a Congress MP told a story during his speech.

"There was a father who gave 100 Rupees each to his three sons and asked them to make purchasing in a manner so that a room is completely filled.

First son bought hay and couldn't fill the room.

Second son bought cotton and remained unsuccessful in filling the room.

Third son bought a candle for Re. 1, lit it up and the room was filled with light.

The MP added, "Our PM is like the third son. From the day he has taken charge of his office, our country is filled with the bright light of prosperity".

Soon, a voice from the back bench asked - "Where are the remaining Rs. 99?"

Contributed by-A Visitor

Is a penalty leviable if information is provided after the order of FAA?

An advocate had been removed from the panel of advocates of a bank. He filed an application under RTI seeking information related to his removal from the panel such as whether the branch manager has written a letter to the zonal office regarding his removal and whether he was removed on the basis of that letter. He also sought a copy of the said letter. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information claiming what has been sought is not information as defined under section 2(f) and is beyond the purview of the RTI Act. The copy of the letter was refused stating that it pertained to internal correspondence between the Branch and Zonal office. However, the PIO provided the information on the directions of the First Appellate Authority (FAA). The appellant submitted before the CIC that the PIO should be penalized for the delay in providing the information. The Commission rejected the appeal noting that the appellant had framed the query in Hindi in such a way that some deductions would have to be made to understand the information he was seeking and thus the PIO's helplessness was understandable.

Comments

There are cases where a PIO may be confused while reading a RTI application whether an interpretation has been sought or the applicant wants a copy of certain documents. In such cases, the PIO may seek clarification from the applicant.

Citation: Mr. Narendra Kumar Gupta v. Allahabad Bank in Decision No. CIC/SG/A/2012/000593/18384

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)