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Was there a showdown between Anthony and PM?
It is heard that in the last Cabinet meeting AK Anthony had a showdown with PM Manmohan Singh over the coal scam. Sonia Gandhi it is said did not interfere in the matter and watched the showdown patiently. People close to the development say it was AK Anthony speaking on behalf of Madam.

Reshuffle in Cabinet and Organisation this week?
Reshuffle in the Union Cabinet and reorganization in the AICC is expected to take place this week.

Three Union Ministers to join AICC?
There are strong rumours of three Union Ministers Jairam Ramesh, Gulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik joining the Congress Organisation.

Janardan Dwivedi,Tharoor and Manish Tiwari to join Cabinet
Janardan Dwivedi, Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tiwari are expected to join the Manmohan Singh Cabinet in the ensuing Cabinet expansion. Dwivedi will either get Power Ministry or HRD Ministry.

Two DMK Ministers to join Union Cabinet
Two DMK leaders T R Balu and T K S Elangoven are likely to join the Union cabinet. Balu is expected to get Textile Ministry.

Narayan Rane to be Maharashtra CM ?
Narayan Rane (presently, Industries Minister from Maharashtra) may become the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra to counter Sharad Pawar. He has reportedly made an offer to 10 Janpath to become the Maharashtra CM. It is also heard that there will be induction of two ministers in the state cabinet - Amit Deshmukh and Manik Rao Thakre .

Prithviraj Chauhan to be Petroleum Minister ?
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan is likely to return to the Central politics as Petroleum Minister.

Jaipal Reddy to be CM of Andhra Pradesh
Rumour mill says that Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy is being moved as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh .

Scindia and Jitin Prasad to get Independent charge?
Two Ministers of State, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasad are likely to be MoS Independent Charge.

Kiran Reddy to move to Centre
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Reddy is expected to join the Manmohan Singh Cabinet.

Who will join the Cabinet from West Bengal?
Who will join the Union Cabinet from West Bengal? Deepa Dasmunshi or Adhir Chaudhary? One can only wait and watch.

Wasan to lose Shipping Ministry ?
Shipping Minister G K Wasan is likely to lose the Shipping Ministry. His successor is yet to be known.

Harish Rawat to be elevated
Harish Rawat is likely to be elevated to the cabinet rank. Satpal Maharaj from the Uttarakhand may also fine a place in the cabinet.

BUREAUCRACY

Vivek Rae to be new Secretary, Defence Production?
Grapevine has it, that DG, Acquisition Vivek Rae is being appointed new Secretary, Defence Production. He is a 1978 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

Shekhar Agrawal to retire this month end
Secretary, Defence Production, Shekhar Agrawal is retiring on September 30. He is a 1977 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Did Maken oppose Amarjit Singh?
There are rumours that Sports Minister Lalit Maken scuttled the proposal of the appointment of Dr Amarjit Singh as Chief of the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Dr Singh is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.

Golcha promoted as IG in CBI
Satish Golcha, DIG, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been promoted as Joint Director in CBI. He is a 1992 batch IPS officer of AGMU cadre .
(We said this on July 22, 2012)

Alkesh Kumar Sharma is Joint Secretary, Road Transport & Highways

Alkesh Kumar Sharma has joined as a Joint Secretary in Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India (GOI) on September 17,2012. Alkesh Kumar Sharma is an IAS officer of 1990 batch who belongs to the Kerala cadre. Hitherto, he was the Managing Director (MD) of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation(KSIDC). Sharma was also Secretary to Government of Kerala, Industries (Investment Promotion) Department. He has held several other important posts including that of National Project Co-ordinator, UNDP Project, GoI, Private Secretary to Union Minister of State, Ministry of Housing & Poverty Alleviation, GoI and Director of Tourism, Government of Kerala. He had been a Director of Apollo Tyres Ltd since February 09, 2012. He had also been a Director at Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. since June 30, 2010. Besides, he had been a non Executive Director of Nitta Gelatin India Ltd since July 17, 2009 and Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Limited since July 20, 2009. He had been a Director of Bamni Proteins Ltd since July 17, 2009. He served as a Director of Western India Plywoods Ltd. He was been Director of PTL Enterprises Limited since February 2, 2012.
(We said this on July 10, 2012).

Chavaly to join Finance Ministry
Sharmila Chavaly has been appointed as Joint Secretary Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.
(We said this on August 6, 2012)

Name of Samant cleared for JS, Water Resources
Nandan Singh Samant is all set to join as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Water Resources in the Government of India. He is a 1986 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

DK Mittal is in Mumbai till September 18,2012
DK Mittal, Secretary, Financial Services i.e. Banking in the Government of India (GOI) will be holding parleys with top bosses of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Mumbai on September 17 & 18,2012 .He is an officer of 1977 batch who belongs to the Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Final decision about CMDs in PS banks likely
A final decision about appointment of new Chairman cum Managing Directors(CMDs) in public sector(PS) banks is likely to be taken during current Mumbai trip of DK Mittal Secretary Financial Services i.e. Banking in the Government of India (GOI).He is an officer of 1977 batch who belongs to the Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Ms Panse's file of Allahabad Bank's CMD in MHA
The file relating to appointment of Ms Shubhalakshmi Panse as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Allahabad Bank in Kolkata had reached the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday. Presently, she is an Executive Director (ED) with the Vijaya Bank.
(We said this earlier and on January 18, 2012)

Sandhu to be IG, BSF
PS Sandhu IGP Northern Range Belgaum is likely to be appointed as IG, BSF. He is an IPS officer of 1985 batch who belongs to the Karnataka care.

Information of foreign travel being gathered
Ministry of External Affairs is gathering details of foreign travel by all its nearly 4,000 officials. A Member of Parliament has sought details of the travellers' cheques issued and other travel allowances.

Proposal of Sabat sent to MHA
CRPF, Directorate, New Delhi, has sent a proposal to MHA for the appointment of Satya Narain Sabat as ED, Security in AIR India. He is a 1990 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

PC Agrawal GM, Eastern Railway likely to be shifted
As the grapevine has it ,PC Agrawal, General Manager (GM),Eastern Railway (ER)likely to be shifted.

UP Governor has two Principal Secretaries
Now Uttar Pradesh Governor has two Principal Secretaries. Earlier 1978 batch IAS officer G B Pattnaik was Principal Secretary. Now 1979 batch IAS officer Kush Verma has also been posted in Raj Bhawan as Principal Secretary.

Five posts of Judges vacant in Supreme Court
As many as five posts of Judges were still lying vacant in Supreme Court against approved strength of 31.

Now ILS officers stake their claim in CIC and SICs
After the verdict of the Supreme Court of India that the Central Information Commission (CIC) and State Information Commissions (SICs) will now be headed by judges, now Indian Legal Service (ILS) officers have also staked the claim.

Will Sudheer Chaudhary join NHRC?
Sudheer Chaudhary, IG, Haryana Police, is likely to join as Joint Secretary in the National Human Rights Commission. He is a 1988 batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre .

Justice Jain is Chairman of HRC in Haryana
Former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice V K Jain has been appointed new Chairman of the Haryana State Human Rights Commission.

Anand Jain to join GoI?
Anand Jain, SP, J&K Police is likely to go on deputation to the Government of India. He is an IPS officer of 1999 batch who belongs to J&K cadre.

Will Kezo be new DGP of Meghalaya ?
B Kezo, presently serving the Nagaland Government, may return to the parent Assam-Meghalaya cadre to become DGP of Meghalaya. He is a 1978 batch IPS officer.

IA&AS officer gets UN assignment
Services of B Basantia (IA&AS-1996), Principal Director (DT-II) CAG office have been placed at the disposal of United Nations to work as Capacity Development Advisor with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Kabul, Afghanistan, on deputation basis for a period of one year from the date of joining the assignment.

Four UP cadre IAS officers to go to UK
Four Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officers viz. Amrit Abhijat, Mukesh Kumar Meshram, Ms Anita C Meshram and Nitishwar Kumar are going to UK this month for One year training course.

Is A K Gupta most powerful bureaucrat in UP?
Anil Kumar Gupta, UP cadre IAS officer of 1979 batch, is considered to be most powerful bureaucrat in Uttar Pradesh because he is Chairman of UP Power Corporation, Chairman of UP Power Transmission Corporation and Chairman of UP Power Utpadan Corporation apart from being the Industrial and Infrastructure Development Commissioner & Principal Secretary Energy. He is also Chairman of UPSIDC.

Ajitha Kumar gets extension till December
Consul in Hong Kong P Ajitha Kumar has been given extension till December end this year.

Three officers found in corrupt practices in Education Ministry
As many as three officials have been charged with corrupt practices in the Ministry of Education in Government of India. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has recommended action against such officers.

DoPT seeks applications for Chief Controller, VSSC
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has invited applications for the post of Chief Controller in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram. Those willing to apply for this Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) post can send their applications to the Department at the earliest.

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DoPT invites applications for Financial Advisor, NEC, Shillong
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has invited applications for the post of Financial Advisor in the North-Eastern Council Secretariat (NEC), Shillong (Meghalaya) under the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) on deputation basis. Those willing to apply for this Joint Secretary level post can send their applications to DoPT at the earliest.

OIL achieves record turnover (UPDATED)
Oil India Limited, the country's second largest oil and gas company, has achieved record turnover for the 2011-12 fiscal, as it focused on new areas like non-conventional shale gas and city gas distribution business. "The turnover of the company is the highest so far and stands at Rs 9863.23 crore, an increase of 18.54 per cent against the last fiscal (2010-11), while the profit after tax touched a new peak of Rs 3446.92 crore, an increase of 19.36 per cent over the previous year. As a result, the company has declared dividend at 400 per cent, which is also the highest so far," chairman and managing director S K Srivastava said at the 53rd annual general body meeting at its field headquarters here. Srivastava said the annual oil and gas production touched new heights of 3.847 MMT and 2633.29 million standard cubic metres (MMSCM) respectively.

Rare gesture by S K Panda (UPDATED)
S K Panda, Chief Secretary, Tripura, while on visit to Gandacherra, one of the remotest places in Tripura, learned about medical emergency to a pregnant tribal woman. Panda immediately offered the official helicopter used by him to the lady and accompanying doctor and offered to return to Agartala, state capital by road. The tribal lady was successfully evacuated to state capital. It is very difficult to find these qualities of selflessness and doing public service in these days. He is a 1980 batch IAS officer of Manipur Tripura cadre.

Shashi Shekhar to be AS &FA Forests and Environment ? (UPDATED)
Grapevine has it that Additional Secretary Revenue Shashi Shekhar is moving as AS & FA in the Ministry of Forests and Environment. He is a 1981 batch IAS officer of TamilNadu cadre.

Ms Ray is PS, Health, Education in A&N (UPDATED)
Ms Reena Ray has been appointed as Principal Secretary, Health and Education in Andman & Nicobar Administration. She is a 1984 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre.

Dr. Rakesh Hooja passes away (UPDATED)
Dr. Rakesh Hooja, Director of New Delhi-based Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), passed away in Delhi. He held several posts including Chairman of Rajasthan Board of Revenue, Additional Secretary (Training), Director of Harish Chandra Mathur Rajasthan Institute of Public Administration, Additional Chief Secretary (Development) GoR and Joint Secretary to GoI (Department of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs). He belonged to 1974 batch of IAS (Rajasthan Cadre).

CORPORATE


Coal India to buy assets abroad?
Coal India which is sitting on a cash pile of 43,780 crore is now reportedly keen to buy assets abroad.

Sharma is MD of HP Power Corporation
Decendra Kumar Sharma has been appointed new Managing Director of the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation.

Trivedi quits Neo Corp International
Dashrath Trivedi has resigned as Director of Neo Corp International.

Puri appointed Director of Fortis Malar Hospital
Sandeep Puri has been appointed Director of Fortis Malar Hospital.

Patel ceases to be Director of Yes Bank
Bharat Patel has ceased to be Director of Yes Bank

Gupta quits NELCO
SK Gupta has resigned as Director of NELCO.

Shah appointed as Director of FIEM Industries
Chandrakant Shah has been appointed as Director of FIEM Industries.

Ahluwalia appointed as Director of Indag Rubber
KMS Ahluwalia has been appointed as Director of Indag Rubber.

Gupta elected Chairman, Audit Bureau of Circulations
Shailesh Gupta from Jagran Prakashan has been elected as Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for 2012-13.

Ahmad elected Vice Chairman, Audit Bureau of Circulations
Syed Mahmood Ahmad, the Executive Vice President (Marketing) of ITC Ltd has been elected as Vice Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations for 2012-13.

K N Tilak Kumar elected President The Indian Newspaper Society
KN Tilak Kumar, Joint Managing Director, Deccan Herald ( Prajavani) has been elected as President of The Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2012-13.

Ravindra Kumar elected Deputy President, The Indian Newspaper Society
Ravindra Kumar of The Statesman is the Deputy President of The Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2012-13

Vadodaria elected Vice President, The Indian Newspaper Society
Kiran B Vadodaria of Sambhaav Metro has been elected as Vice President of The Indian Newspaper Society for year 2012-13.

Gupta elected Honorary Treasurer, The Indian Newspaper Society
Sanjay Gupta of Dainik Jagran, Varanasi has been elected as Honorary Treasurer of The Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2012-13

Shah quits Fiem Industries Ltd
Chandrakant D Shah, Independent Director on the Board of Fiem Industries Ltd has resigned from the Board of Directors of the company .

Gupta quits NELCO
SK Gupta has resigned from the Board of Directors of NELCO Ltd.

Hinracha appointed Executive Sous Chef, Mumbai International Airport
Hinracha appointed Executive Sous Chef, Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport Phongthorn Hinracha has been appointed as Executive Sous Chef at Red Zen, Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport.

Kini to be Senior VP, Coca Cola India
Venkatesh Kini to shortly join as Senior Vice President, Coca Cola India.

(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)

Lack of transparency in appointments

Presently, there is no transparency in appointments to CIC, CAT and similar other positions.

Ahmad Fareed

It is a fact that benefit of reservation has become almost hereditary at higher level. The suggestion that let 15 percent be divided in two parts. One part may be 5 to 7 percent should be open to all SCs and remaining 8 to 10 percent for poorer sections among SCs is well advised.

Inderjeet Singh

Well to do employees should quit reservation facility

Those SC/ST Government Employees who are at sound economical stage and can offer all the privileges to their children should quit all these facility.

Hemant

Irresponsible behavior of the CBDT?

The Income tax Act has amended the time barring date to 31.3.2013 from this year in order to allow assesses to be able to present all the data before the officers before assessment. This was done to check arbitrariness. Now the Central Board of Direct Taxes has issued a dictate that the 90 percent of cases be completed by 31.12.2012. This has made officers exert pressure on tax counsels and taxpayers to immediately attend. This kind of arbitrary and unlawful pressure makes the ITO powerful and the taxpayer is placed at the mercy. The circular also says that in cases that do not concluded by December 31, 2012, the board itself will look into cases. Wonder why the board is interested in assessment which is not their work. Something is rotten in the kingdom of IT. Will the FM look into the irresponsible behavior of the CBDT?

Arvind Swaminathan

IPS officers should set example

If leadership is all about leading by example, then the Indian Police Service (IPS) officers are not really setting the bar very high. According to the latest official statistics, an overwhelming majority of critical level posts in paramilitary forces remain vacant because of the apparent reluctance of IPS officers to serve in difficult and low-key postings. In three of the most demanding paramilitary organisations - the Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) - the vacancy of IPS officers at the cutting edge level of deputy inspector general (DIG) is anywhere between 75 to 90 per cent.

A J Singh

Hardworking officials not given grading they deserve

Hardworking officials are really not given the grading they deserve. But I would add that this is not restricted to officers belonging to the reserved categories. There are many officers who are not objective while recording ACRs. There are other considerations and caste may be one such consideration, but very rare. There are officers belonging to the reserved category who do not give credit for the good work done by their juniors. I stand by what I had said earlier i.e. SC/ST officers are given grading which they generally do not deserve.

Puliprath

RIT

Would Civil Services Officers' Institute provide reservation in Group C and D posts?

The appellant wanted to know whether the Civil Services Officers' Institute would provide reservation in the permanent Group C and D posts when these would be filled up in future. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed the appellant that they had no permanent posts and that all posts were filled up with contractual employees. He also stated that the government rules on reservation were not applicable to their organization as they are a society. During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the appellant submitted that the reservation rules of the government would be applicable to the Public Authority. The respondent submitted that it would not be possible to provide any information about what might happen in future. He also stated that at present they had no permanent employees and that all the employees had been engaged on contract basis. The CIC rejected the appeal stating that the appellant had sought information about the future and not about any existing information which the PIO was not obliged to provide.

Comments

Under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, it is not open to the citizens to ask for information about what might happen in future. Only the information available on records can be sought through an
application and the PIO is not obliged to give answers to hypothetical queries under the RTI Act.

Citation: Mr. Harender Singh v. Civil Services Officers' Institute in File No. CIC/SM/A/2011/002337

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)