What people say about us!

I had been an ardent reader of whispersinthecorridors. However, now a days I find that you don't have any thing sensational to bring out and most of the days try to come out with news relating to empanelment of IAS Officers. My humble suggestion is to bring to the readers some coups so that it evince the interest.

K Sudeesh Kumar

Is FDI a way for Congress to build its tattered image?
The more regional parties make noise against FDI the better it gets for the Congress. The party is desperately looking to mend its tattered image after a series of corruption scandal has marred its image. The image matters to the Congress in urban, semi-urban areas because the party witnessed a significant vote bank shift in 2009 from the BJP in favor of itself. It needs to be recalled that it was Sonia Gandhi in 2005 who had asked for the wisdom in allowing retail from PM. Besides, there are many in the party who has been vociferous about the ills of big retail. But last month, at a rally convened at Ramlila Maidan, the same Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh spoke up in eloquent defense of the proposal to permit FDI in retail. Will the party succeed in distracting the voters?

Is Mamata bitting nails?
Mamata Bannerjee could not have had a bad timing, her detractors are in glee. She has not been able to reach the adult political posturing with 21 MPs on FDI issue, say political watchers. She is also facing a tough time from her party colleagues after the reshuffle taken place which has not gone too well with them many are sulking and some have not come to Writers Building to take up their job. She has left a bad taste with the public with the current rankle at home and in Delhi, now what needs to be seen is how she will be able to rise back to one who means words than just bark.

Is Stalin's ill-health making Azagiri stronger in DMK?
It is heard that MK Stalin is down with some serious disease and so the party is relying more and more on Azagiri to lead. Even though the succession battle is on Azagiri by default is a strong contender say insiders.

BUREAUCRACY

Prasad poised to be new Ambassador to Switzerland?
Rajesh N Prasad, Deputy High Commissioner (Indian High Commission, London), reportedly, is poised to make it as India's new Ambassador to Switzerland. Earlier an abrupt development awarding three months extension to Chitra Narayanan, India's Ambassador to Switzerland had seized Prasad's deployment as her successor in spite of his orders issued. Prasad is a 1980 batch IFS officer.

Railways to fill over 2 lakh posts
Ministry of Railways is contemplating to fill over two lakh posts of various Railway Zones in the country. As many as 244098 posts are lying vacant.

A R K Kini promoted in BPR&D
A R K Kini has been promoted to the rank of ADG in the BPR&D. He is a 1981 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre.

P K Purwar selected Director (Fin), MTNL
P K Purwar, GM, BSNL, has been selected for the post of Director (Finance), Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board meeting held on November 23, 2012. As many as six persons were interviewed for the same.

Tenure of Dr Sarkar as AS, DoPT extended
The tenure of Dr S K Sarkar as Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has been extended for a period of three months beyond December 2, 2012. He is a 1979 batch IAS officer of West Bengal.

Ayyangar to get new posting
Dr G S G Ayyangar is moving from the NATGRID.The 1987 batch IAS officer of Manipur-Tripura cadre will now get new posting.

Neeraj Kumar withdrew plea from CAT
After the appointment of Ranjit Sinha as new CBI Chief, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar has withdrawn his plea from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

Jyoti Kalash to represent India in 'India-ASEAN car rally'
A 1990 batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre, Jyoti Kalash has been selected by the Government of India to represent India in the prestigious 4th India-ASEAN car rally. The car rally will start from Indonesia on November 25 and the flag-down ceremony will be held on December 17 at Guwahati. The rally will pass through Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and will enter India through Moreh sector of Manipur and will cross Kohima and Dimapur. The total length of the rally is approx 8,000Kms. This is the second time Kalash is doing this Car rally as he had also participated in the first India ASEAN car rally held in 2004.

Mrs Deepa Krishna's road to CBDT Member rough
Grapevine has it that, Mrs Deepa Krishna CCIT-II Delhi is facing a rough weather as far as her elevation Member CBDT was concerned.

Mohapatra to get ACS rank in Orissa
J K Mohapatra is being promoted to the rank of ACS in Orissa next week. He is a 1979 batch IAS officer.

BRVA to be set up in Assam
Brahmaputra River Valley Authority (BRVA) is being set up in Assam to deal with the flood and land erosion problem in the northeastern region. An IAS officer will be made CEO of this Authority.

10 posts of Inspector vacant at DG, C&EC, Chennai
As many as 10 posts of Inspector are lying vacant in Directorate General of Systems & Data Management of Customs & Central Excise, Chennai. Those willing to apply can send their applications to this Directorate General at the earliest.

Post of DCP East in Jaipur lies vacant
The post of DCP East has been lying vacant for more than five months.

Post of DCP West in Jaipur lies vacant
The post of DCP West has been lying vacant for more than five months.

Meeting between Naxalites and MHA officials to start!
Talk between Naxalites and Home Ministry, Government of India officials is likely to start shortly. On the same context meeting between Home Minister and Swami Agnivesh was held on November 19, 2012.

Rakesh Agrawal is back to HP
Rakesh Agrawal has returned from central deputation to the parent Himachal Pradesh cadre. On return, he has joined as IGP, Kangra. He is a 1994 batch IPS officer of HP cadre.

Singh appointed Member, SIT
Seemant Kumar Singh, DIG, Karnataka Police, has been appointed as Member SIT, Karnataka High Court. He is a 1996 batch IPS officer.

Four officers of Mizoram awarded IAS cadre
Four officers of Mizoram State Civil Service have been awarded IAS cadre against the vacancies of 2010. The officers include Biaktlunga, V Lalremthanga, P Lalchhuanga and Lalthangpuia Sailo.

New Meghalaya DGP next week
New DGP of Meghalaya is being appointed next week. B Kezo who was appointed DGP did not return to Meghalaya.

Two IAS officers get additional charges in Haryana
Two officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been assigned additional charges in Haryana. Accordingly, Mrs Suprabha Dahiya will also be working as Administrator, HUDA, Rohtak while Mrs Neelam Pradeep Kasni has been assigned an additional charge of Administrator, HUDA, Hisar.

DoPT seeks applications for DD, JNNURM
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has invited applications for the post of Deputy Director (BSUP) in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation on deputation basis. Those willing to apply can send their applications to DoPT at the earliest.

Sushil Kumar Sahai is also CCIT-II, Patna
Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) officer, Sushil Kumar Sahai presently working as CCIT (CCA), Patna has been assigned an additional charge of CCIT-II, Patna.

Anuradha Mukherjee is VC in West Bengal
Anuradha Mukherjee has been appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor of Kazi Nazrul Islam University in Asansol.

IAS changes in Bihar
A K Chauhan has been appointed Principal Secretary, Labour Resources department. Ajay V Nayak will replace Chauhan in the Vigilance Department as its Principal Secretary. Sandeep Paundrik will be the new Energy Secretary. S Shiv Kumar has been made additional member of the board of revenue.

Sudhir Rajpal is new DG, IPR in Haryana
Sudhir Rajpal, Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Gurgaon has been appointed new Director-General, Information Public Relations and Cultural Affairs. He is a 1990 batch IAS officer.

IPS changes in Haryana
ADG Telecom SS Deswal has been posted as ADG (Crime).Puran Kumar has been posted as SP (Crime) with additional charge of SP (Telecom). Pankaj Nain will now be Assistant Inspector General, (Administration).

Major reshuffle of IAS officers in Haryana (UPDATED)
As many as 24 officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been transferred and posted at different places in Haryana. Accordingly, Mrs Shakuntala Jakhu has been posted as ACS, Cooperation while Hardeep Kumar will also be Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Department and Ram Niwas is Principal Secretary, Panchayats Department, Secretary BAC and Commissioner, Gurdwara Elections. Similarly, P Raghavendra Rao has been made Principal Secretary, Urban Local Bodies; Mrs Shashi Bala Gulati is also made OSD, Manpower Planning, Secretary, Rajya Sainik Board; T C Gupta as Principal Secretary, Food & Supplies, Secretary, Cell for Proper Utilization' Disposal; Amit Jha as Principal Secretary, Fisheries; S N Roy as Principal Secretary, Medical Education & Research; Avtar Singh as Principal Secretary, Environment; Tarun Bajaj as MD, State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, MD Financial Corporation MD Mass Rapid Transport Corporation; Mahvir Singh as DG and Secretary, Food & Supplies, Special Secretary Food and MD, CONFED; Sudhir Rajpal as DG and Special Secretary Information, Public Relations & Cultural Affairs and Grievances as well as DG, Sports and Youth Affairs; Mrs Sumitra Misra is assigned additional charge of Transport Commissioner and Special Secretary; Anurag Rastogi as DG and Special Secretary, Town & Country Planning and Urban Estates; Anil Malik as Special Secretary and Commissioner, Excise & Taxation; Ashok Kumar Yadav as MD, HAFED; S K Goyal as Special Secretary, Irrigation and Administrator, CADA; Aurag Agarwal is also made MD, Vidyut Prasaran Nigam and Special Secretary, Power and DG, Power Reforms; Rajbir Singh will also be working as Special Secretary, GAD, Secretariat Establishment and Monitoring and Coordination Departments; Ramesh Krishan as Joint Secretary, Home Department; Rajiv Ranjan as Joint Secretary, Finance, Director, Environment; Nitin Kumar Yadav as Director, Development & Panchayats and Joint Secretary and Director, Rural Development, Haryana and Mrs Amneet P Kumar as Joint Secretary, Finance.

5 IAS officers shifted in Karnataka (UPDATED)
As many as five officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been transferred and posted in Karnataka. Accordingly, Arvind Jadhav has been appointed as Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism department while C S Kedar will now be Chairman, Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation, Bangalore and E Venkataiah is Principal Secretary, Social Welfare department. Similarly, Shambhu Dayal Meena has been posted as Secretary Youth Services department; Mohammad Mohsin as Administrator, CADA (M&G), Belgaum with additional charge of Commissioner, Upper Krishna Project (Rehabilitation and Resettlement), Bagalkot. Subir Hari Singh has been given additional charge of Chairman, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

Member, UPSC to launch his next literary work on Nov 25 (UPDATED)
Prof. Purushottam Agrawal, renowned laureate and Member, Union Public Service Commission, is all set to come up with his next literary-work 'Hindi Sarai: Astrakhan Via Yerevan', a Hindi Travelogue. The book will be launched at India International Centre in New Delhi on November 25, at 5.50 pm. Prof Agrawal, former Professor and Chairperson of Centre of Indian Languages (JNU), is an acclaimed academician, literary critic, political analyst, poet and an independent columnist as well.

CORPORATE

Shashi Sinha appointed Chairman of BARC TechComm
Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC ) has appointed Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands India as the Chairman of its technical committee, also called the TechComm. BARC consists of members from IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation), ISA (Indian Society of Advertisers) and AAAI (Advertising Agencies Association of India), with IBF holding the major stake.

Infrastructure inadequacy major roadblock to growth: Luxury CEOs
A whopping 95 per cent of the chief executive officers (CEOs) representing the global luxury industry opine that lack of adequate infrastructure is the key barrier confronting the growth of luxury industry in India, according to a just concluded joint survey by ASSOCHAM and Yes Bank. "The lack of premium retail infrastructure in India is impacting both expansion plans along with bottom-line margins of the global luxury industry due to higher rentals thereby leading to a demand-supply mismatch," according to the 'India Luxury Top Management Survey 2012,' jointly conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Yes Bank. The survey was at the 'India Luxury Summit-2012,' organised by the ASSOCHAM in New Delhi on November 23, 2012. The Indian market for high-end products and services is estimated at over eight billion (bn) dollars and is currently growing at annual rate of about 20 per cent and is likely to cross $14 bn during the course of next three years on the back of rising per-capita income and evolving consumer trends, highlights the ASSOCHAM-Yes Bank survey. "Finding the right quality infrastructure space has been the biggest impediment for global luxury firms," asserted the CEOs. "Lack of quality infrastructure is a huge bugbear for luxury brands in India, thereby forcing them to go slow in their expansion plans and steep rentals together with high duties further impede the growth and development of the sector." Besides, inordinate high duties, varying tax structures, bureaucratic delays, red-tapism, exchange rate volatility, imposition of caveats, political and regulatory landscape are other significant challenges being faced by the luxury industry, highlighted the CEOs. The ASSOCHAM-Yes Bank surveyed about 300 global business leaders, stakeholders and influencers representing the global luxury industry from France, India, Italy and UK during August-November to ascertain the challenges being faced by the industry, extent of opportunities, industry perspective on outlook of Indian economy, consumer behaviour, market entry strategies, marketing mediums, financial management and the overall future outlook of the industry. Some of the significant players across various verticals who participated in the ASSOCHAM-Yes Bank luxury survey included - GUCCI, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Ocean Style Yachting, Canali India, L'Oreal Luxe India, LVMH India, Judith Leiber, The Phenix Mills, The SPA Group, Geetanjali Group, The Bauers, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts, Da Milano Leathers, Reliance Brands, Hidesign and others. Interestingly, though majority of global retail management still views the recently proposed 100 per cent approval for single brand retail in foreign direct investment (FDI) with a certain amount of apprehension and awaiting further clarifications regarding the same. Amid those who participated in the India Luxury Summit-2012 organised by ASSOCHAM included - H E Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Italy; H E Joao Cravinho, Ambassador and Head of Delegation, Delegation of the European Union; Prof. Armando Branchini, president, ECCIA & ED, Fondazione Altagamma; Sanjay Kapoor, MD, Genesis Luxury and D S Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM.

Pradeep Shankar is new CEO, SiliconIndia
SiliconIndia has appointed Pradeep Shankar as the CEO of the company.

Alok Chaturvedi is new COO, SiliconIndia
SiliconIndia has appointed Alok Chaturvedi as COO of the company.

Monica Tata quits Turner International India
Monica Tata, General Manager, Entertainment Networks, South Asia, Turner International India has resigned after a stint of eight years with the company. She will, however, continue to serve her notice period at Turner till the end of the year.

Das quits Timken India Ltd
Ajay K Das has resigned as the Managing Director of Timken India Ltd.

Koul appointed MD, Timken India Ltd
Sanjay Koul has been appointed as Additional Director on the Board of Directors of Timken India Ltd as well as Managing Director of the company.

Singh appointed MD, Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd
Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd has appointed Ranjit Singh as Managing Director of the company.

Sharma quits Jindal Cotex Ltd
Rajesh Sharma has resigned as Non Executive and Independent Director of Jindal Cotex Ltd .

Gupta quits Jindal Cotex Ltd
Vijesh Gupta has resigned as Director of Jindal Cotex Ltd

Kumar ceases to be Nominee Director, Polygenta Technologies Ltd
IFCI Ltd. has withdrawn the nomination of Awadhesh Kumar as Nominee Director on the Board of Directors of Polygenta Technologies Ltd.

(The views expressed in this column are of the contributors. We do not owe any responsibility, whatsoever, of the views of our surfers as they are their personal opinion. However, we would also request our contributors not to be personal, directly or indirectly, in presenting their views. Instead of countering the views which ‘X’ has already expressed, our contributors are advised to present their own views. Also be brief, say about 200 words at the most since any views longer than that if eliminated at our end would carry the risk of the contrbutor’s item losing its original essence)

Appointment of retired officers gives wrong signal

A conscientious Government should think why it sees merit in appointing a retiring police officer as a Member of Human Rights Commission and a retiring IAS officer an Information Commissioner. Apart from giving out a wrong signal that India's talent-pool is severely depleted, it also conveys the Executive's fondness for always putting a square peg in a round hole.

Prasanna Kumar Mishra

(Former Coal Secretary)

Super Babu becomes enlightened

It is said that Super Babu has become enlightened after they retire. The degradation in AIS is the fault of their deliberate ignorance when they were at the helms of affair. They failed to democratize and make the system equitable. Rather they usurped the powers which was supposed to be in the Institutions. Service became more important than Nation and Organisation.

SR