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POLITICS

Has Congress missed lessons in direct cash transfer scheme?
The direct cash transfer scheme, already being hailed by the UPA government as the 'game changer', has drawn flak from many who are likely to implement it. It seems that the government has not taken lessons from NREGA which is routed in corruption and does not benefit the end user.

Essential qualification for next CAG?
Heard in the corridors of power - Essential qualification of the next CAG as far as Congress Government is concerned " He must possess qualities to be excellent Public Debater ".

Finally Maharashtra CM finding acceptance!

It is heard that party colleagues of Prithviraj Chavan have not only started agreeing with him but also emulating and admiring him for this honest and no nonsense approach. Many say they now have the backing of their leader against which they can stand and fight anyone who pressurizes them or acts corrupt.

Has Keshubhai Patel been let down?
He was promised big money but Congress has failed to spend a dime to keep up the promise.

What was Mulayam Singh promised?
It is heard that SP Chief, Mulayam Singh was promised a huge sum for supporting the FDI in retail.

BUREAUCRACY

Farooqui seemingly close to make it as Secretary, Forests & Environment
As the grapevine has it, M F Farooqui is poised to make it as Secretary, Forests & environment. If everything falls in place Farooqui would succeed T Chatterjee and would ensure a smooth way for impending decision for the slot of Secretary, Heavy Industries. A 1978 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer Farooqui is presently, Special Secretary in Ministry of Environment & Forests. Interestingly, Farooqui's name has also been doing rounds for the post of Secretary, Heavy Industries.

Asif Ibrahim is new Chief of IB
S A Ibrahim, who has been appointed new Director of the Intelligence Bureau, will take over as OSD on December 1. Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh cleared the appointment file of Ibrahim at 4,50 pm on Tuesday. A 1977 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS officer, Ibrahim will be first Muslim since independence to head this organization.

15 IPS officers retiring in November
As many as 15 officers of Indian Police Service (IPS) of various cadres and batches are retiring in November, 2012. The officers include: Umapathi and P John Victor of Andra Pradesh cadre while P K Srivastava and Saizela S of AGMU cadre and V Narayan of Bihar cadre. Similarly, Anil M Navaney of Chhattisgarh cadre; Kumud Chowdhary of Jharkhand cadre; G M Hyath of Karnataka cadre; K K Chellappan of Kerala cadre; A G Dhanvijay of Maharashtra cadre; Abbjit Dutta of Sikkim cadre; K Ramanujan of Tamil Nadu cadre; Utthan Kumar Bansal of Uttar Pradesh cadre and V V Thambi and Subrata Sarkar of West Bengal cadre are also retiring in this month.

11 IAS officers retiring in November
As many as 11 officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of various cadres and batches are retiring in November, 2012. The officers include: Tishyarakshit Catterjee Chitta Ranjan Biswal and B Kamal Kumar Pargi of Andhra Pradesh cadre while Malay Kumar Roy of Madhya Pradesh cadre and R C Mishra of Manipur-Tripura cadre. Similarly, Rabi Narayan Senapati and Aurobindo Behara of Orissa cadre; R Christodas Gandhi of Tamil Nadu cadre; M S Raizada of Uttar Pradesh cadre; Asit Baran Chakraborty and Dibyen Mukherjee of West Bengal are also retiring in this month.

Ms Das is new Secretary, CIC
Ms Tshering Yangzom Das presently Joint Secretary, Ministry of DONER has been promoted to the rank of Additional Secretary and posted as Secretary, Central Information Commission (CIC). She is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
(We said this on November 28, 2012)

Saraswati Prasad is JS Drinking Water
Saraswati Prasad has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation, in the Government of India. He is a 1985 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
(We said this on November 16, 2012)

Trivedi appointed JS, Food in GoI
Official announcement of Prashant Trivedi as Joint Secretary Food & Public Distribution in the Government of India has been made. He is a 1989 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on November 22, 2012)

Mohapatra to be JS &FA IT
Jagannath Bidyadhar Mohapatra is being appointed Joint Secretary and FA in the Ministry of Information Technology. He is a 1984 batch IRS (IT) officer.

Oberoi gets posting in Singapore
M M Oberoi, Joint Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has been appointed in Interpol Digital Crime Centre Directorate, Singapore. He is a 1992 batch IPS officer of AGMUT cadre.

Yadav relieved to join CRPF
B S Yadav, Additional DGP (Home Guard), Tripura Police, has been relieved by the Tripura Government to join central deputation as IG CRPF, New Delhi. He is a 1987 batch IPS officer of MT cadre.

Will Debabrata Saha move from Italy?
Whispers in the corridors of power are that Debabrata Saha, Indian Ambassador to Italy, may move from Italy soon.

Bose to be Chairman of Tuticorin Port Trust!
Deputy Chairman of the Paradip Port Trust S Anantha Chandra Bose is being tipped to be Chairman of the Tuticorin Port Trust.

FSB takes place on Monday
As announced on this site the Meeting of Foreign Service Board has taken place on Monday.

16 IPS officers empanelled?
If insiders are to be believed, as many as 16 IPS officers belonging to the 1979 batch have been empanelled to the rank of DG in the Government of India. A couple of IPS officers of this batch may get equivalent posts. Meeting for empanelment took place on Monday. Two CIT categories in restructuring?

Two categories of CIT likely
If insiders are to be believed in the restructuring there are going to be two categories as far as Commissioners of Income Tax(CIT) are concerned. One will be Commissioner and another senior Commissioner.

Deepika Suri to join CBI
Ms Deepika Suri Srivastava is all set to join the CBI as SP soon. She is a 1999 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Mrs Renu posted as Additional Director, IFU India
Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) officer, Mrs Renu Amitabh presently, working as Additional CIT, Delhi, has been posted as Additional Director in the Financial Intelligence Unit (IFU) India, Department of Revenue under Ministry of Finance.

Renu Sharma joins in Brussels
Mrs Renu Sharma, Finance Secretary, Mizoram Government has taken over as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) Brussels. She is a 1988 batch IAS of AGMUT cadre.
(We said this on November 20, 2012)

Maj Gen Ghai promoted
Major General Ghai has been promoted to the rank of Lt General in the Indian Army.

Nikhil Gupta to join NPA?
Nikhil Gupta, DIG, Maharashtra Police, is likely to be appointed as DIG (Deputy Director) Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Police Academy (NPA), Hyderabad. He is a 1996 batch IPS officer of Maharashtra Police.

Will Thomas case be repeated?
It is heard in the Ministry of HRD that Thomas case is being repeated in the appointment of new Chairman of the UGC.

Prof Ved Prakash to be VC of IGNOU?
Grapevine has it that, acting Chairman of the UGC Prof Ved Prakash is being appointed Vice Chancellor of IGNOU.

Conviction for publishing concocted interview of IAS Anant Kumar Singh upheld
Additional District Judge, Lucknow, has dismissed the appeal of Raman Kirpal (reporter), A K Bhattacharya (editor), Deepak Mukherjee and Sanjiv Kanwar (printers and publishers) against the conviction order passed by CJM in the year 2007 for publishing a concocted interview of the then District Magistrate Anant Kumar Singh in the year 1994 by the sensational title "Any man will rape a woman in a lonely spot: DM, Muzaffarnagar" along with his photographs. Cancelling the bail of the convicts, the Court had also asked them to surrender before the Magistrate for serving the jail term. They have not done so. Now, the trial court has issued non bailable warrant on 26.11.2012 to secure their presence for executing the order of the court. One convict Ghanshyam Pankaj died during the pendency of the appeal. Singh an IAS of 1984 batch of UP cadre is presently, Joint Secretary in the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of HRD, New Delhi.

Amit Agrawal elevated in EAC
Amit Aggarwal presently, working as Director in the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) has been elevated to the rank of Joint Secretary. He is a 1993 batch IAS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre.

Renuka Mishra to be IG, ITBP
Mrs Renuka Mishra, IGP, Uttar Pradesh Police is likely to be appointed as IG, ITBP, in place of B K Maurya, IPS. She is a 1990 batch IPS officer of UP cadre.

Story of Ombudsmen
Even though Ombudsmen posts were sanctioned by Government in both CBEC and CBDT, the powers to be are determined to make the posts dysfunctional. The rules state that complaints against officers can be filed online, but at least on CBEC side, the OMBUDSMEN have no room to sit much less access to computers. Even worse, the Ombudsperson in Bangalore has not even received her salary what to talk of official accommodation. Similar was the position in Delhi, but at least the officer has got accommodation but without any staff. Now that Ombudsmen have been selected for Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, will things improve? Not likely since CBEC has suddenly realised the nuisance value the Ombudsmen have in enforcing some discipl ne in officers, whether of attendance or of passing orders on time. Surely Government of India must review the unnecessary expenditure being incurrred on posts which are only meant for post retirement sinecures: but that is the story with most post retirement jobs in Tribunals and Regulatory Authorities: pass the buck. People still desirous of approaching the ombudsman would do well to read the powers of Ombudsman at link below:
http://cbec.gov.in/it-ombud/it-ombudsman-guidelines.pdf

J R Biswas appointed as Sr DAG, PAG (Audit), Gangtok
J R Biswas, Senior Deputy Accountant General, West Bengal, Kolkata, has been transferred and posted as Senior Deputy Accountant General (Audit) in the office of Principal Accountant General (Audit), Sikkim, Gangtok Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

Chaturvedi to be promoted in SPG
S S Chaturvedi, DIG, Special Protection Group (SPG) is likely to be promoted as IG, Special Protection Group (SPG). He is a 1990 batch IPS officer of MT cadre.

J P Sharma is Additional RC UP in Delhi (UPDATED)
J P Sharma has been appointed additional Resident Commissioner UP in Delhi. He is 1981 batch IAS officer.

Sunil Srivastava joins as Chief GM, SBI, Kolkata (UPDATED)
Sunil Srivastava, GM, State Bank of India, Delhi, has joined State Bank of India, Kolkata as Chief General Manager on November 29, 2012. Srivastava a strict disciplinarian brings more than 28 years of banking expertise to give SBI Kolkata a turn around.

21 IRS-Customs officers shifted after promotion to CC, Customs (UPDATED)
As many as 21 officers of Indian Revenue Service (IRS)-Customs have been transferred after promotion to the grade of Chief Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise. Accordingly, P J R Sekhar has been posted to CC, CX, Bhubneshwar while Neerja Shah was transferred to DG, HRD, Delhi and Arun Tandon is CC, CX, Mumbai-I. Similarly, S Subramanian has been shifted to CC, CX, Koch; M V B Rao to DG, Valuation, Mumbai; Vanaja N Sarna, DGICCE, Delhi, A K Agarwal to CC, CX, Lucknow; Ram Tirath to DG Export Promotion, Delhi; T Jayaraman to CC, CX, Bhubneshwar; Ananya Ray to CC, CX, Shillong; Sanjeev Behari to CC, Customs & CX, Pune; Sujit Kumar Sinha to CDR, CESTAT, Delhi; K Anantha Padmanabhan to CC, Customs (Preventive), Chennai; Rakesh Mishra to CC, CX, Ahmedabad; G S Sarna to CC, TAR, Delhi; Bimal Behari Prasad to DG, Safeguard, Delhi; Indra Prakash Lal to CC, CX, chennai; Kaushal Srivastava to CC, CX, Delhi; C Dube to CC, CX, Meertu; B S Vasudev to CC, Customs, Mumbai-III and A K Kaushal to CC, Customs, Mumbai-I.

Need to link tribal livelihood with NTFP: Dr Bahuguna (UPDATED)
On his official visit to Agartala, the Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun chaired a high level meeting of the senior forest officials at Aranya Bhavan to review the research and extension priorities of the state. In view of the current scenario as discussed among the officials, Dr. Bahuguna emphasized to take immediate steps towards exploring new ways to link up tribal livelihood with forest based income generation activities in the state. While defining the aims and objectives of the newly established Centre under ICFRE at Gandhigram in Agartala, he also advised the Centre to take up new programs for promotion of NTFP based livelihood generation through development of cultivation techniques besides their value addition. Dr. Bahuguna also pointed the lands vested to the people under the Recognition of Forest Rights Act (RFR), 2006 as an important resource for income generation activities through ultivation/afforestation with commercially important bamboos species like Kanak Kais and Barak and Agar under Agro-forestry. He also informed that looking into the potential of broom grass and scope of orchids in Tripura, ICFRE has already sanctioned some extension and research projects on various schemes including Direct to Consumer Scheme of the Council. S Talukdar, the PCCF and other senior officials of the forest department assured necessary support to the Centre to achieve its goal to serve the people of Tripura.

M Ravindran selected as Director (HR), GAIL (UPDATED)
M Ravindran, ED, GAIL, has been selected for the post of Director (Human Resources), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on November 29, 2012. As many as 13 persons were interviewed for the same.

CORPORATE

HAL carries out maiden flight of upgraded Jaguar aircraft 'Darin III'
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) successfully carried out the maiden flight of avionics upgraded Jaguar aircraft "Darin III" on Wednesday. "This is significant moment for HAL as the upgrade will result in major operational improvement with regard to all weather air to ground, air to sea and air to air capabilities through incorporation of multi mode radar", says Dr R K Tyagi, Chairman, HAL. Darin III upgrade, with re-engining and change over to higher capacity alternators can make Jaguar one of the most potent aircraft in the arsenal of IAF with an extended life-span. The total design from system requirement capture, specification preparation, software, hardware, electrical, mechanical design and development has been done indigenously by HAL at its Mission & Combat System Research & Design Centre (MCSRDC) and aircraft trial modification is done by HAL's Overhaul Division. The fleet compliance will also be carried out by HAL. SDI of IAF is the design partner for display software development and Aircraft System Testing Establishment (ASTE) under the leadership of Air Vice Marshal Raghunath Nambiar takes care of system specification preparation, data analysis and flight testing along with Flight Test Centre of HAL. The upgrade incorporates new state-of-the-art avionics architecture including Mission Computer (MC), Engine and Flight Instrument System (EFIS), Solid State Digital Video Recording System (SSDVRS), Solid State Flight Data Recorder (SSFDR) and additional functions in inertial global positioning system (INGPS), autopilot, radar and RWR. The upgrade covers modern navigation, EW and weapon delivery system with INGPS using primary and reversionary modes, state-of-the -art, man-machine interface (near glass cockpit) with two smart multi function display and head-up display.

Harish Gujarati expected to join DFCIL next week
Harish Gujarati is expected to join as Director, (Operations and Business), Development in Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCIL) next week. The Railway Board where he is presently posted can relieve him of in couple of days. P N Shukla has vacated the post in DFCIL with the retirement in October.

Appointment orders of Kalita delayed
The appointment orders of R N Kalita, ED, RVNL, as Director (Catering Services), Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) are expected to be delayed as a non-candidate moved to Mumbai High Court against the appointment. However, Kalita was selected at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on July 19, 2012.

Member CBDT to retire on November 30
Member Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) S C Jaini is superannuating on November 30.

Ghaghda appointed Company Secy., Bhagwati Banquets And Hotels Ltd
Bhagwati Banquets And Hotels Limited has appointed Bhavesh Ghaghda as Company Secretary.

Menon appointed VP Corporate Affairs & Group Company Secy. Ansal Properties
Suresh Menon has been appointed as Vice President (Corporate Affairs) and Group Company Secretary of Ansal Properties & Infrastructure Ltd.

Madati quits Bhagyanagar India Ltd
Ms Sridevi Madati has resigned as Company Secretary of Bhagyanagar India Ltd.

Vohra appointed Exec. VP and Head, Dr Reddy's Laboratories
Dr Reddy's Laboratories has appointed Umang Vohra as Executive Vice-President and also Head of its North American generics business operations w.e.f January next year

Kumar appointed GM, Westin Pune Koregaon Park
The Westin Pune Koregaon Park has appointed Sujeet Kumar as General Manager of the property.

Wakharkar appointed GM, The Westin Chennai Velachery
The Westin Chennai Velachery has appointed Shrikant Wakharkar as General Manager of the property.

Satheesh to Head Indian operations at TELiBrahma Convergent Communications
PR Satheesh who was President, Travel Trendz TV has rejoined TELiBrahma Convergent Communications and appointed as Principal to oversee Indian operations.

Kapur quits Electrotherm India
Sudhir Kapur has resigned as Director of Electrotherm India.

Shah quits Orchid Chemical and Pharmaceuticals
Bharat Shah resigns as Director Orchid Chemical and Pharmaceuticals.

Chakraborty appointed as CFO of Dr Reddy's Lab
Saumen Chakraborty appointed as CFO of Dr Reddy's Lab.

Shah appointed as Director of NMDC
Mahesh Shah has been appointed as Director of NMDC.

(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)

Exempt Transport Allowance from Income Tax

As per recommendation of 6th Pay Commission, Government pays Transport allowance to the employees @ Rs.3200 +DA in Metro cities, but allows Income tax rebate only on Rs.800, the old rate of TPA. Since TPA is not income and treated as expenditure by the Government servants, the entire amount of TPA should be declared as non-taxable by the Income Tax Department. Hope Ministry of Finance would issue necessary guidelines on the subject immediately.

V. Kumar

Standardized template for contributors needed

It would be a good idea to develop and upload a standardized template for contributors to use while providing information. This could include important fields such as full name of government/ corporate employee, designation, event, details of transfer/ promotion etc. Position occupied at present, future designation and position, place of posting, year of selection etc. This list is illustrative and other information could also be provided in appropriate fields on the template.

Deepak Murdeshwar