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POLITICS

Will Vimal Kirti Singh contest from Chapra Lok Sabha seat ?
Whispers in the corridors of power have it that Vimal Kirti Singh would contest 2014 general elections from either Gopalganj or Chapra Lok Sabha seat. The 1986 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre is currently serving as Principal Resident Commissioner of Jharkhand in Delhi. The speculations, doing rounds for few weeks, have gained momentum after R K Singh, former Home Secretary, GoI, joined BJP formally. Will he?

R S Pandey to join BJP
Former Secretary Petroleum and former Nagaland Chief Secretary who is presently the Interlocutor between Government of India and NSCN (IM) is joining the BJP. He is retired 1972 batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre.

BUREAUCRACY

18 officers of 1995 batch IAS officers still in consideration zone
Altogether 62 IAS officers belonging to 1995 batch have been cleared for empanelment to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Government of India, however 18 officers of this batch are still waiting to be included in the list due to lack of proper records.

60 IAS officers of 1984 batch get CVC clearance for empanelment as AS?
As many as 60 IAS officers, sources say, have been given clearance by CVC for the empanelment as Additional Secretaries. CVC has, reportedly, sent the files to DoPT. The allotted strength of 1984 batch was 125.

Shailendra Singh poised to be JS, IPP
As the grapevine has it Shailendra Singh may soon be appointed as Joint Secretary, Industrial Policy & Planning (IPP), Department of Commerce, GoI. He is a 1988 batch IAS officer of MP cadre.

Chawla in fray of Sr Adviser to ED, World Bank?
Whispers in the corridors of power have it that Arunish Chawla is also in the fray of Senior Adviser to Executive Director, World Bank. He is 1992 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre. Will he move to IMF?

Subhash Garg to return Rajasthan
Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, Subhash Garg, is all set to return to the parent Rajasthan cadre. New Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia has asked for the services of Garg. He is a 1983 batch IAS officer.

Will Agarwal be appointed as JS, P&P, MHA ?
Whispers have been doing rounds that Krishan Ballabh Agarwal may be appointed as Joint Secretary, Policy & Planning (P&P). Agarwal has, reportedly, found place on the panel for JS, P&P, MHA. A 1985 batch IAS officer of Jammu &Kashmir cadre is currently serving as Principal resident Commissioner in Delhi, Govt of Jammu &Kashmir .

Who will succeed Lall as Sr Financial Adviser, AIIMS, Delhi ?
Sandeep Lall, Senior Financial Adviser to AIIMS, Delhi, is all set to complete his five-year term of deputation on December 31, 2013. The guessing has started as who would succeed him on the slot on January 1, 2014. He is a 1995 batch IA&AS officer.

Is Deepa Krishnan in fray for PFRDA's Chairperson ?
Whispers in the corridors of power have it that Deepa Krishnan also is in the fray of the post of Chairperson, Provident Fund Regulatory & Development Authority. A 1977 batch IRS officer is currently serving CBDT as Member (P&V).

Aman Singh is now Principal Secretary to Chhattisgarh CM
Aman Singh who successfully managed the PR has been appointed Principal Secretary to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh.

Baijendra is again Principal Secretary to Chhattisgarh CM
Baijendra Kumar has again been appointed Principal Secretary to Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh. He is a 1985 batch IAS officer.

Sudhir Bhandari posted in Ministry of Road Transport
Sudhir Bhandari, ICAS 1982, has been posted in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, as Principal Chief Controller of Accounts (against the vacant post) , in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary in the Govt of India

19 IAS and one IPS officer facing inquiries
As many as 65 cases (RCs & PEs) are pending under investigation/inquiries against 19 IAS, one IPS and 67 other Allied Central services personnel.

Interviews for Dy MD NABARD and Exim Bank next week
Interviews for Two Dy MDs each in NABARD and the Exim Bank will take place on December 23 and 24.

Cooperative Department of MP gets award
Computer Society of India gives e-governance award to various government departments/undertakings for their outstanding works every year. The selection committee of the Computer Society of India selected the Cooperative Department of Madhya Pradesh for CSI Nihilent e-governance awards 2012-13 for "Award of Appreciation" for its web portal e-Cooperatives in Hyderabad in the month of November 2013. This software provides online registration of cooperative societies, provide information about elections, membership list, office bearers and audit reports about 37000 societies in MP, and all information transfer within the Cooperative Department. The Principal Secretary, Ajit Kesari and Registrar, Manish Srivastava played an important role in its preparation. It is worth mentioned here that the Nihilent e-governance awards 2011-12 was also awarded to the portal of e-procurement of Madhya Pradesh Government for its outstanding works. The award was received on December 14, 2013 at Vishakhapatnam. The Registrar Cooperative Societies, Madhya Pradesh Manish Shrivastava and the Additional Commissioner, Cooperation (Information Technology) Ajay Dixit received the award on the behalf of Cooperative Department.

IAS changes in Delhi Government
M M Kutti, currently serving as Principal Secretary to Delhi Chief Minister has been appointed Finance Secretary of Delhi Government .Archana Arora will now act as the Secretary to the Home Department. Neela Mohan, has been made Deputy Commissioner of South Delhi.

DPC for promotion of 1991-92 batch IRS officers complete
The much awaited DPC meant for the promotion of 1991-92 batch IRS officers is completed. The minutes of the meeting has, reportedly, sent to the ACC on December 06 itself. Once ratified by ACC the officers would be promoted from Additional Commissioner of Income Tax to the rank of Commissioner of Income Tax. They would have to wait for few more weeks.

Orders of Kuruvilla for Director, BECIL yet to come
The orders of George Kuruvilla, GM, BECIL, for the appointment as Director (Operation & Marketing), Broadcasting Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) are yet to be issued by Government of India. However, the vacancy is arising on February 1, 2014.

V K Mishra is CCIT of Bhopal
V K Mishra, who was Chief Commissioner Income Tax (CCIT) in Indore, has been posted as CCIT of Bhopal. He is a 1978 batch IRS officer.
(We said this on Nov 8, 2013)

Narendra Kumar in fray for DG, ICFRE
Whispers in the corridors of power have it that Narendra Kumar's is one among the strong contenders for the top slot of DG, ICFRE, Dehradun. The 1978 batch Indian Forest Service officer of MP cadre is currently serving in MP as PCCF and also as Member, Environment & Forest, NVDA, Bhopal. The post has been lying vacant since June 4 this year after the retirement of Dr V K Bahuguna.

PESB invites applications for Director (MB), BLC
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Director (Manufacturing Business), Balmer Lawrie & Co Limited (BLC) falling vacant on January 1, 2015. Those willing to apply can send their applications to the PESB before February 19, 2014.

Post of Director (Ope), RINL to be advertised soon
The Ministry of Steel is all set to advertise the post of Director (Operations), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), falling vacant in August 2014 with the end of extended tenure of Umesh Chandra.

Arun Duggal to succeed M S Verma ?
Arun Duggal is likely to succeed M S Verma as Chairman of the International Assets Recreation Company (IARC).

Meghalaya Chief Secretary to get six months extension ?
Meghalaya Chief Secretary WMS Pariat is all set to get six months extension in service. He is scheduled to retire on December 31.

Post of Director (Fin), RINL to be advertised soon
The Ministry of Steel is all set to advertise the post of Director (Finance), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), falling vacant as soon as present incumbent P Madhusudan joins as CMD, RINL.

V K Raina posted as Asst Director (News) DDK, Srinagar
Indian Information Service (IIS) officer V K Raina has been posted as Assistant Director (News), DDK, Srinagar after promotion to Junior Grade of IIS Group 'A'.

D Govinda Kumar empanelled as Joint Secretary in GoI
D Govinda Kumar has been empanelled for the post of Joint Secretary or equivalent in Government of India. He is an IRSME officer of 1983 batch.

SAIL Bhilai Steel plant bags Energy Conservation Award 2013
A unit of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), was awarded the top prize in the National Energy Conservation Awards 2013, in recognition of 'systematic and serious efforts made by BSP for efficient utilization and conservation of energy during the last two years.' Chairman SAIL C S Verma received the award from President of India Pranab Mukherjee, in the presence of Union Minister of State for Power Jyotiraditya Scindia at Vigyan Bhavan. Instituted by the Ministry of Power, the awards are based on stringent evaluation criteria and adjudged by an eminent panel of industry experts under the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). From a pool of nine other participants, SAIL BSP was chosen for the award for achieving a savings of 2.92% in electrical energy consumption, 1.74% in thermal energy consumption, and an overall reduction of 3.1% in specific energy consumption in 2012-13 over the previous year. Various departments of the Plant came together to ensure judicious distribution of resources, maximization of internally generated by-product gases and reduction in consumption of purchased fuels.

Mrs Ruby Ahluwalia shifted to Central Railway (UPDATED)
Mrs Ruby Ahluwalia, SAG/IRAS, has been transferred and posted in the care in Central Railway.

Madhukar Sinha transferred to Eastern Railway (UPDATED)
Madhukar Sinha, SAG/IRAS, East Central Railway, has been transferred to Eastern Railway and posted in the cadre.

Sanjeeb Kumar returns from deputation to IRCTC (UPDATED)
Sanjeeb Kumar, SAG/IRAS, on return from deputation to IRCTC, has been posted on East Central Railway in the cadre.

K C Selvamani posted to MP& CG CCA (UPDATED)
Indian Revenue Service officer of Income Tax cadre, K C Selvamani has been appointed to CCA MP and Chhattisgarh at Additional/ Joint Commissioner level.

BEML bags 'outstanding company' award (UPDATED)
BEML LIMITED, a Public Sector Company under the Ministry of Defence, has been conferred with the Award of "Outstanding Company in Mining Equipment." The Award has been instituted by EPC World Group. EPC World Awards acknowledges the excellence in the field of infrastructure and construction sectors across the country of the companies and Individual from Infrastructure, Construction and Real Estate sectors and encourage them to perform even better. The EPC World awards have evolved as the national platform as one of the best industry recognition awards in India. Entries are judged and conferred by eminent jury members from the industry. At a function held at Delhi today, G Ravichander, Chief General Manager (Marketing) has received the Award from Natwar Singh, former Union Minister and Dr. Chandan Mitra, Member of Rajya Sabha.

Harsh Kumar Bhanwala joins as Chairman, NABARD today (UPDATED)
Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Executive Director, India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL), has taken over as Chairman, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on December 18, 2013.

(We said this on Nov 26 and Dec 13, 2013)

Snehlata Shrivastava relieved of NABARD charge (UPDATED)
Snehlata Shrivastava has been relieved of additional charge of Chairperson, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). She is a 1979 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

P Balasubramanian selected as Director (Fin), BPCL (UPDATED)
P Balasubramanian, ED, BPCL, has been selected for the post of Director (Finance), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on December 18, 2013. As many as 10 persons were interviewed for the same.

CORPORATE

Has Reliance Power President Johri proceeded on leave ?
There are strong rumour that President of the Reliance Power R S Johri has proceeded on leave.

Narasaiah resigns as Director , Vivo Bio Tech Ltd
Dr V Narasaiah has resigned as Director of Vivo Bio Tech Ltd.

Budhia appointed Company Secy., Bhartiya International Ltd
Ms Shilpa Budhia has been appointed as the Company Secretary of Bhartiya International Ltd.

Keram appointed Addl. Director, Pearl Electronics Ltd
Pearl Electronics Ltd has Tarun Keram as Additional Director of the Company

Usha appointed Nominee Director, Sree Rayalaseema Alkalies & Allied Chemicals Ltd
Sree Rayalaseema Alkalies & Allied Chemicals Ltd has appointed S Usha as a Nominee Director of the company.

(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)

Take timely final Call to close or revive sick CPSE

It was interesting to read the news in whispersinthecorridors dated 16-12-2013 under the main (Heading -Politics ) titled " 44 Revival Proposal for CPSES" - The Government of India has approved 44 revival proposals of CPSES involving cash and noncash assistance of around 28513 Crores till date . A reference to BRPSE (Bureau for Rehabilitation of Public Sector Enterprises ) website further provides A very positive feedback about turn around stories of some of the CPSES ( Under the Heading Metamorphosis -Turn Around Stories of 11 CPSES) like BPCL, CCI, HEC, HIL, Mecon Ltd, Braithweight Ltd etc. All those involved in the Turn Around of these 11 as well other CPSE who turned around with GoI support need to be congratulated. Though the BRPSE web site do not appear throw light on sick units which could not be revived / did not turn around in a reasonable time of say 3-5 years after providing cash & non cash assistance.

The above should also raises the very important question as to why in some of the CPSE/CPSES no final decision could be taken as to revive or close down for over a decade ( like BIFR referred- Case No : 503/1992 ) resulting in secured creditors the banks ( mainly PSU's ) and unsecured creditors ( including small scale & SME's ) suffering for last over 2 decades without any final outcome.

It is essential that the Central Government must take a final decision either to revive or close the sick unit in maximum period of 3 years from the date of unit becoming sick so that the secured & unsecured creditors can get the final answer to settlement or write off of dues in a reasonable time and Government is also in a position to put the surplus assets to effective usage in time.

Timely Revival / Closure and timely follow up action for productive usage of surplus assets can add to GDP growth of may be 1 % to 2 % ( guesstimate ) per annum as assets ( mainly land ) running into few thousand crores are lying unused with Sick Units.

R K Nagpal

Why Lakshminarayana not given posting ?

Lakshminarayana has not been given a posting because he dared to take on corrupt, venal and marauding IAS officers of Andhra Pradesh. How can an IPS officer dare touch an IAS officer even if he or she is looting the state. Such IPS officers who get lower rank in Civil Services Exam should learn how to behave. This will serve as a lesson to all those non-IAS offices who dare mess-up with the IAS.

Manish Bhalla

Unprecedented in diplomatic history

The arrest and handcuffing in public of a woman IFS officer who is our consul general in New York is unprecedented in diplomatic history. The US governments contention that US domestic law supersedes the Geneva Convention governing diplomats serving abroad is specious and a double edged sword. Nothing stops the Indian government from arresting and handcuffing in public the US consul generals posted in Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai for unnatural offences committed by them on their Indian servants punishable under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Even the Supreme Court would support such action by the government leave alone the 1.3 billion people of India.

D Choudhury

Do away with number of Govt offices

With the need and demand of the hour the Government in future will have to set up more regulatory/quasi judicial bodies involving extra expenditure for creation of new offices, their maintenance, their day to day office expenses and also for the payment of salary/wages of its employees. In near future two important quasi judicial bodies are going to be set up viz. (i) Lok Pal & (ii) Public Grievance Commission. The expenditure incurred there is going to have a severe bearing on the already constrained budgetary resources and fiscal deficit of the country.

What we require to do now is to do away with a number of Government offices, which as on date have become redundant and have lost relevance. A lot of money of the Government could be saved. When we have bodies/authorities like Coal India Limited (CIL)(limited to holding company); Steel Authority of India(SAIL)(limited to holding company); Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Electricity Authority (CEA), then why the need of having a full fledged Ministry.

One can convert the CIL, SAIL, CWC and CEA into Ministries on the lines of the Ministry of Railways wherein the Railway Board and the Ministry are one and the same thing. There could be many such other Government bodies/organizations in other Ministries also. Alternatively, these bodies/organizations could be merged in the main Ministry/Department and made a technical wing of it.

These organizations occupy huge infrastructure in the heart of the New Delhi. These organizations, these days are hardly carrying out any work of substantial relevance. They are understaffed and whatever employees are there do not have that amount of work, which can justify their earning. These days, they are also not carrying out any Consultancy work, wherein they could earn some money on their own. If one were to make a surprise visit to their offices, you will find that a number of officials/staff are missing from their seats. In the absence of substantial work people do gossiping, sleep during the office hours, attend to their personal work, indulge in share market, property dealings etc. As a result of restructuring & reorganizing of Government Departments, a lot of Government money could be saved and we will able to get ready made infrastructure for the regulatory/quasi judicial bodies.

BBS

Retirement age discussion futile

The discussion on change of retirement age is futile. In the present scenario, the pliable ones get post retirement government jobs and the competent ones get some consultancy job. Why then take the rest who are generally non-performers. Moreover, there is a long queue of youngsters waiting for jobs - why deny them at the cost of the oldies.

Prakash

Fear Not The Golden Kingdom (Corruption) But The Golden Deer

Delhi participated and India watched an interesting political drama through December 8-16, 2013.It was the Marich phenomenon. In the epic Ramacharitmanas Marich, an associate of the demon king Ravan takes the form of a golden deer and allures Sita, who asks Ram to catch the golden deer for her. Ram tried , rather unsuccessfully, to dissuade her to forget the golden deer, as there are no golden deer in the universe and it could be some illusion or trick of the demons. But Sita insisted and Ram had to go after the golden deer. Sometime later she heard Ram crying for help. Fearing danger to Ram's life she asked Laxman to go and help his brother. Laxman tried to reason with her that Ram could handle any situation but she almost ordered him. Ram had instructed Laxman not to leave Sita unguarded in the jungle and hence the reluctance of Laxman. But Sita made him obey her instructions. So Laxman drew a line around the hut and requested Sita not to cross it for her own security. No sooner was Laxman gone that Ravan appeared in the form of a Brahmin asking for alms and the rest of the story is well known. The Delhi elections re-created that drama once more with the Congress offering (to the LG) its "unconditional outside support" to the AAP led by Kejriwal. The BJP announced it would sit in the opposition. It created a non-stop debate on the acceptance or rejection of the offer. The grandstanding on the part of the national parties seemed to have genuinely divided the public opinion. It is still being debated if the AAP should have formed the government or not. This great game of deception is not easily appreciated by the people at different age group or involvement in public affairs or understanding of the web of political conundrums. On the surface, it all looks so nice, constructive and positive offer. But for Kejriwal there is nothing called unconditional support and, therefore, every support has hidden or open conditions which have not been revealed. The point is that the youth have to understand the nuances of the political chess and monologues being played on all of us publicly in TV studios, without any fear of retribution. No doubt, it is an invitation to the fly from the spider to dine at its apartment tonight ! It is upto the fly to accept the invitation and dine or get dined tonight itself ! But those aiming to vanquish the kingdom of gold should beware of the deer of gold !

M L Gupta

Perks given as largesse

This refers to my comments on the code of conduct. The perks given as largesse to the Mantralaya Secretaries ranging from Secretary ( 15000 ) Principal Secretary ( 23500 ) Addl . C. S. ( 35500 ) and lo and behold! C. S. (50000 ) ! In addition the C. S. also gets perk equivalent to a Cabinet Minister ! That's Maharashtra state for you.

Hemant

Absolutely wrong interpretation

In Railways, we have mainly two types of Services- viz. Technical and non Technical. Selection to both the services are through UPSC. But some vested interests in the bureaucracy call only the IRTS, IRPS, etc as the Civil Services. This interpretation is absolutely wrong, as even the Engineering services are Civil services, and not the Military services.

Rajiv

DATE WITH RTI

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