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POLITICS

Will direct cash transfer be a success?
The direct cash transfer scheme, already being hailed by the UPA government as the 'game changer', has drawn flak from experts working on social inclusion programmes and the bureaucracy.

Is DMK and SP's behaviour debasement of political posturing in India?
Monumental corruption in the name of political blackmail is the weapon UPA is using with gusto. DMK and SP have enough skeletons in their cupboards and UPA is using it as an arm twisting tactic. The regional parties defend it by opportunistic invocations in the name of upholding "secularism" and keeping communal forces at bay. Does this sloganeering eyewash their respective voters ?

Congress and the IA&AS
There is a joke going on in the IA&AS these days that Congress must take orientation classes for first time MP's so that they do not commit such absurd improprieties such as to ask the CAG and Supreme Court Judges to come for public debate.

BUREAUCRACY

Pande to be AS, Forests and Environment
Hem Kumar Pande is being tipped to be Additional Secretary, Forests and Environment, in the Government of India. He is a 1982 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.

Empanelment of 1982 batch IPS takes place
Empanelment of 1982 batch IPS officers to the rank of ADG in the Government of India has taken place.

Post of Additional Secretary in Finance Ministry down-graded
A post of Additional Secretary has been down-graded to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

Additional Secretary Fertilisers to be from Tamil Nadu
New Additional Secretary from Tamil Nadu cadre is being appointed in the Department of Fertilisers.

BSF DG denied extension in service
D G BSF U K Bansal has been denied three month's extension in service. A 1974 batch UP cadre IPS officer Bansal will superannuate today.

Subhash Joshi gets additional charge of DG, BSF
Subhash Joshi has been given additional charge of DG BSF. He is a 1976 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

Saurabh Chandra to hold additional charge of MSME
Secretary IPP Saurabh Chandra will hold additional charge of the Department of MSME from December 22 to January 6. He is a 1978 batch IAS officer of UP cadre.

R S Shukla to join AIIMS as new Dy Dir. Admin
R S Shukla, Joint Secretary and & CVO, Dept. of Health and Family Welfare will succeed Vineet Chaudhary as the new Dy. Director, Administration, AIIMS. He is a 1986 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.
(We said this on October 5, 2012)

M Ravindran selected as Director (HR), GAIL
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.

Basant K Gupta to move as Indian Ambassador to Italy
As the grapevine has it, Basant Kumar Gupta is poised to move to Italy. The PMO had overruled the then Minister for external Affairs S M Krishna's recommendation to appoint Gupta as India's envoy to Canada. After Admiral Verma made it as India's envoy to Canada, the prospects for Basant Gupta for Italy comes as the PMO's honour for the outgoing Minister Krishna. A 1979 batch IFS officer Gupta successfully rolled-out Krishna's dream project of 'Passport Seva Kendra' in the capacity of Additional Secretary, Passports.

Will Raghavan move from Indian High Commission in Singapore?
Indian High Commissioner in Singapore Dr T C A Raghavan may move from Indian High Commission in Singapore soon. His term is scheduled to complete in May 2013.

Story of River Tribunals
If Supreme Court had to order a meeting of CM's of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to resolve the Cauvery Waters dispute, insiders wonder at the huge unnecessary expenditure being incurred on the Cauvery Waters Tribunal which has been in existence since 1990. But that is the status of most River Tribunals. Surely Supreme Court must ask why all these Tribunals were created? Most Rivers now have a Tribunal even if they have no water.

54 IRS officers to get promotion ?
Altogether 54 IRS officers are reportedly being promoted to the rank of Commissioner in Income Tax soon.

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

Bharathi returns to Orissa
N B Bharathi, Deputy Director, Intelligence Bureau, Government of India, is back to the parent Orissa cadre. He is a 1998 batch IPS officer of Odisha cadre.

Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer is Member - SIT in Karnataka
Ashok Kumar, Additional DG, Tamil Nadu, has been appointed as Member - SIT in Karnataka. He is a 1982 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

Cadre clearance sought for Brij Lal
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has asked the Uttar Pradesh Government for cadre clearance of Brij Lal, (DGP, Training), UP Police, for Central Deputation as DG. He is a 1977 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Sujit to get extension in CBI?
The central deputation tenure of Sujit Kumar, DIG, Training, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is likely to be extended for one year. He is a 1994 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Will Rajasthan DGP change?
The rumours have started doing rounds that Harish Chand Meena, DGP Rajasthan is likely to be replaced shortly. He is a 1976 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre. Any clue?

Jaideep Kumar Tatmia is Sr DAG, PAG, Jaipur
Jaideep Kumar Tatmia, Director in the office of Principal Director of Audit, Central Lucknow, has been transferred and posted as Senior Deputy Accountant General (ES-II) in the office of Principal Accountant General (E&RSA), Rajasthan, Jaipur under the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

Mrs Alka Arora Mishra empanelled as JS in GoI
Mrs Alka Arora Mishra has been empanelled as Joint Secretary or equivalent in Government of India. She is a 1985 batch officer of Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS).

Will Manoj Lakhanpal be GM (Fin), BLC, Kolkata?
There is a whisper floating around that Manoj Lakhanpal, Deputy General Manager (Finance), Balmer Lawrie & Co Limited (BLC), Mumbai, is expected to take over as General Manager (Finance), BLC, Kolkata.

A P Singh waiting for posting
Anand Pratap Singh, Private Secretary to Ex-Steel Minister, Virbhadra Singh is now waiting for posting. He is a 1997 batch IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Naidu appointed CVO, CPCL
The Competent Authority has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for appointment of D P Naidu, IRS(C&CE-93) to the post of Chief Vigilance Officer in Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Chennai.

Sunil Srivastava joins as Chief GM, SBI, Kolkata
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
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, Bhubaneswar 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.

Mohapatra gets ACS rank in Orissa
J K Mohapatra has been promoted to the rank of ACS in Orissa next week. He is a 1979 batch IAS officer.
(We said this on November 24, 2012 )

Kulbir Krishan is new DGP of Meghalaya (UPDATED)
Kulbir Krishan will take over as new DGP of Meghalaya on December 1.He is 1976 batch IPS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

Ram Niwas is new DGP of Chhattisgarh (UPDATED)
Ram Niwas has taken over new DGP of Chhattisgarh on Friday. He is 1982 batch IPS officer.
( We said this on November 19, 2012)

Ms Mamta Kochar posted as Director, Tourism in GoI (UPDATED)
Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) officer, Ms Mamta Kochar has been appointed as Director in the Ministry of Tourism, New Delhi on deputation basis for a period of five years.

Samantary promoted as ACS in Madhya Pradesh (UPDATED)
D K Samantary has been promoted to the rank of ACS in Madhya Pradesh. 1982 batch IAS officer Samantary will head the PMT-PET Board.

Swadeep Singh to head Board of Secondary Education in MP (UPDATED)
Swadeep Singh will now head the Board of Secondary Education in Madhya Pradesh. He is 1979 batch IAS officer.

A T Parnaik is DG, Border Roads (UPDATED)
Lieutenant General A T Parnaik has taken over as Director General, Border Roads (DGBR), in New Delhi on November 30, 2012.

Manisha Verma is JS NAC (UPDATED)
Manisha Verma has been appointed Joint Secretary in National Advisory Council (NAC). She is 1993 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.

Dr Bahuguna, DG, ICFRE chairs meeting in Tripura (UPDATED)
Dr. V K Bahuguna, DG, ICFRE, while chairing the meeting held with the Forest Department of Tripura on November 27, expressed concern and all support of Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education towards its Centre for Forestry Extension, Research and Ecotourism (CFERE) which has been opened to facilitate decentralization of R&D support along with its close collaboration with local stakeholders in Tripura. At the outset Dr. N S Bisht, Director, Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat and Surender Kumar, APCCF welcomed Dr Bahuguna, DG, ICFRE. S Talukdar, PCCF, Tripura while speaking on the occasion expressed that evolving sustainable development models for tribal livelihood and contribute technical scientific inputs in collaboration with SFD, is essential for the benefit of the people of Tripura in particular and North East in general. He further emphasized to strengthen the Centre with all necessary infrastructure and manpower to cater the multipurpose forestry research needs of Tripura. The other members present in the meeting were Ashok Kumar, Surendra Kumar, G S Raju, Dr. A Rastogi, MD, TFDPC Ltd. CM Deb Berma, G R Paul, CCF, R K Samal, P K Das, CCF, P Vishwas, CF, R.K. Das, DCF, Avinash Kanphade, Ms. Bhanumati, DFO all from Tripura Forest Department and Dr. N S Bisht, Director, RFRI, Jorhat and Pawan Kaushik, Regional Director, CFERE of ICFRE. The members expressed that Centre should take up R&D for sustainable model for eco-friendly use of forest land for tribal livelihood and development, transfer the technology develop to the target groups, R&D on NTFP based agro-forestry models besides value addition as additional income generating activities, developing model for eco- tourism. The issue of drying up of Howrah River and lowering of water table was discussed and it was suggested to prepare a concept note on the problem. The issue of operationalization of Van Vigyan Kendras also came up for the discussion and it was proposed by Regional Director CFERE that the Demo Village programme under VVK may be taken up under ICFRE provisions to which DG, ICFRE agreed and directed all concerns for follow up action. Dr. Ashok Kumar, APCCF thanked DG, ICFRE for his initiatives to open up an R&D Centre under ICFRE at Agartala.

V G Joshi selected as Director (Tech), MRPL (UPDATED)
V G Joshi, CGM, MRPL, has been selected for the post of Director (Technical), Mangalore Refineries & Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on November 30. As many as 11 persons were interviewed for the same.

CORPORATE

Rao re-appointed CMD, MIC Electronics Ltd
MIC Electronics Ltd has re-appointed Dr M V Ramana Rao as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the company.

Kapur appointed Part-time Official Director, Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd
Vikram Kapur lAS, Principal Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu has been appointed as a Part-time Official Director of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd .

Kadakia quits Ashok Alco Chem Ltd
Dr Anil M Kadakia has resigned as Managing Director of Ashok Alco Chem Ltd.

Jha appointed Addl. Director & Joint MD, Tayo Rolls Ltd
Hridayeshwar Jha has been appointed as Additional Director and also Joint Managing Director of Tayo Rolls Ltd.

Two Directors appointed on Board of Indiaco Ventures Ltd
Indiaco Ventures Ltd has appointed Suresh Ingale and Mohan Genaji Parmar as Directors on its Board.

Two Directors cease to be on Board of Indiaco Ventures Ltd
Ms Monali Patwardhan and Dhiren Shah have resigned from the Board of Directors of Indiaco Ventures Ltd.

Vadhera appointed Exec. Assistant Manager, The Westin Chennai, Velachery
Srijan Vadhera has been appointed as Executive Assistant Manager, The Westin Chennai, Velachery.

Contractor quits Jai Corp Ltd
D K Contractor has resigned as Independent Director of Jai Corp Ltd.

Joshi appointed GM, U Tropicana Alibaug
Hrishikesh Madhukar Joshi has been appointed as General Manager of U Tropicana Alibaug.

Ingale appointed as Director of Indiaco Venture
Suresh Ingale has been appointed as Director of Indiaco Venture.

Karnik quits Onward Technologies
Sudhir Karnik has resigned as Director of Onward Technologies.

(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)

Income Tax rebate erratic

I agree with the views of V Kumar that 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 especially considering the high travel cost.

S S Nayyar

Definition of family in Government

A female whose husband is either a business man or working in the private company can be treated as 'dependent' and a part of the family. Once this happens, then both the in-laws can also be treated as dependents. In case of male employees, your father/mother may have been a state government employee but now staying with at the Centre cannot be treated as a part of the family as he or she is getting Rs.3500/- as pension. Tell me is it possible for a retired person to get his medical treatment from that amount. Or is it possible for him to regularly to his old state government to get the medical re-imbursements. The parents are dependent on their sons both physically and financially. They should be also included in the term of 'family 'irrespective of the fact they are getting pension for medical benefits. Money will ultimately go from the Government coffers be it be State Government or the State Government. Moreover, we will be saving on unnecessary waste of energy.

Bimal Bahadur