What people say about us!

All the opinion makers visit your site.

N C Menon

POLITICS

What worried Congress in Chintan Shivir?
It is back to 2004 when the BJP did well but the allies failed. Now the Congress is facing the same. Its allies SP, DMK, NCP, etc are facing tough anti -incumbency sentiments. The worry in the Congress is largely the deja-vu of the 2004.

What happens to Muslim votes?
Minority vote is one of the trickiest vote that the Congress is looking at gaining back. This was a musing in the Shivir. Will it win the Muslims back ?

AICC reshuffle and appointment of Governors on cards
Reshuffle in the All India Congress Committee and the appointment and transfer of Governors is on cards.

BUREAUCRACY

Will Gauri Kumar be new Textiles Secretary?
Latest buzz is that Ms Gauri Kumar may be appointed new Textiles Secretary. She is a 1979 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. Earlier the names of Sudhir Bhargava and Madhav Lal had cropped up for the post.

Formal orders of Vivek Rae in a day or two
Formal orders of the appointment of MSME Secretary, Vivek Rae as Petroleum Secretary are expected to be issued in a day or two. He is a 1978 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

Who will be MSME Secretary?
Who will succeed Vivek Rae as MSME Secretary? Now the names of two 1979 batch IAS officers Sudhir Bhargava and Zohra Chatterjee are in circulation.

Dr P K Mohanty to be new CS of Andhra Pradesh?
As the grapevine has it, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty would succeed Minni Mathews as the new Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh. Premature repatriation of 1979 batch IAS officer, Mohanty, has been approved by the GoI.

Ravi Mathur is now Secretary in GoI
Ravi Mathur is first after R Ramanujam, in 1979 batch IAS, to have joined as Disinvestment Secretary in the Government of India. He is a 1979 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Dhal is new Joint Secretary, Health
N B Dhal is joining as Joint Secretary, Health in the Government of India. He is a 1993 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.
(We said this on December 31, 2012)

Naresh Gupta moves to Bangalore in CAT
Tamil Nadu cadre former IAS officer Naresh Gupta has been moved from Patna to Bangalore as Administrative Member of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

Mundra is new CMD of Bank of Baroda
S S Mundra has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bank of Baroda. Prior to this he was ED, Union Bank of India.
(We said this on December 19, 2012)

Subrahmanyam is new ED Union Bank of India
K Subrahmanyam has been appointed as Executive Director of Union Bank of India. He is currently General Manager, Indian Overseas Bank.

Media Adviser to Lok Sabha Speaker resigns
Rakhee Bakshi, Media Adviser to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Ms Meira Kumar, has reportedly resigned.

Alok Sheel gets in-situ promotion
Dr Alok Sheel, Joint Secretary, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister has been elevated as Additional Secretary. He is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

Deependra Pathak likely to get fresh assignment ?
Deependra Pathak may be bestowed with the fresh responsibility, possibly, today. After Deepak Mishra, he would be the next high-profile officer to be bestowed with the crucial assignment. After completing a five-year term of central deputation, the former Director Petroleum (Exploration I) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Pathak though has reported back to the Delhi Police HQ but yet to get the new assignment. He is a 1990 batch IPS officer of UT cadre. Prior to this he was Additional Commissioner of Police (CP) in Delhi.

Orders of S K Pal issued
The orders of S K Pal for the appointment as Director (Finance), National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) have been issued on January 21, 2013. He is presently General Manager, IRCON.
(We said this on August 29, 2012)

Will Sharma return to Jharkhand as Chief Secretary ?
There is again loud thinking in the Government of India to send Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) DG R S Sharma as Chief Secretary of Jharkhand. He is a 1978 batch IAS officer.

Will Dhawan succeed Pandey as ADG (Medical), MHA?
Whispers in the corridors of power are make it a buzz that most likely it is A. K. Dhawan, IG (Director/Medical), CRPF who would be succeeding BS Pandey as the new Additional Director General (Medical), MHA.

Manoj Lakhanpal joins as GM (Fin), BLC, Kolkata
Manoj Lakhanpal, Deputy General Manager (Finance), Balmer Lawrie & Co Limited (BLC), Mumbai, has joined as General Manager (Finance), BLC, Kolkata.
(We said this on November 29, 2012)

Deepak Kashyap empanelled as Joint Secretary in GoI
Deepak Kashyap has been empanelled for the post of Joint Secretary or equivalent in Government of India. He is a 1985 batch officer of Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS).

Mayank Aggarwal made ADG (N), DDN, New Delhi
Mayank Aggarwal, ADG, (M&C), PIB, New Delhi, has been made ADG (N), DDN, New Delhi. He is an Indian Information Service (IIS) officer.

Prashant Kumar empanelled as Joint Secretary in GoI
Prashant Kumar has been empanelled for the post of Joint Secretary or equivalent in Government of India. He is a 1985 batch IFS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Avtar Singh gets one year extension
Second Secretary in Indian High Commission London, Avtar Singh has been given extension till January 2014.

Vital Infrastructure Security programme underway at Chennai
Vital Infrastructure Security programme is being organized at Tamil Nadu Police Academy Vandalur, Chennai from January 21 to February 1, 2013.

Kanthraju moves as Director, Tiger Reserve
HC Kanthraju has been moved from Mysore and posted as Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. He is an IFS officer.

Amar Kumar Sinha shifted to NCR
Amar Kumar Sinha, SAG/IRAS, Northern Eastern Railway (NER), has been transferred to North Central Railway (NCR) and posted in the cadre.

HAG Level Promotions in ISS
It is 6 weeks, ACC approved the names of six officers of ISS for promotion at HAG level. However, MOSPI has not yet issued posting orders. ISS Officers are wondering if the DOPT has revised its guidelines for implementation of ACC Orders within 4 weeks ?.

Dr Sobti is new VC of BBAU
Former Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Dr Ranbir Chander Sobti has taken over as Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow-based Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU).

Gujarat Tourism wins India Pride Award 2012-13 (UPDATED)
Gujarat Tourism has won the India Pride Award in the category of (State PSUs) "India Image Enhancement/Creating a Global Brand" this year, it is an as initiative of Dainik Bhaskar. Vipul Mitra who is an IAS Officer of 1986 batch Gujarat Cadre is the Principal Secretary of Gujarat Tourism. Vipul Mittra will receive the India Pride Awards from Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, Union Minister, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt. of India in a function to be held in Delhi at Hotel The Oberoi, on January 28, 2013. Gujarat Tourism has achieved continuous benchmarks under the command of it's Secretary Tourism-Vipul Mittra. It is to be noted that millennium superstar Amitabh Bachchan is the brand Ambassador of Gujarat Tourism.

R C Nautiyal selected as Director (Pers), GRSE (UPDATED)
R C Nautiyal, GM, BEL, has been selected for the post of Director (Personnel), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting. As many as 12 persons were interviewed for the same.

Mrs Sonali Kumar posted as Financial Commissioner (Co), J&K, Delhi (UPDATED)
Mrs Sonali Kumar, Principal Secretary, Coordination, has been appointed as Financial Commissioner (Coordination), Jammu & Kashmir Government, New Delhi after promotion to the fixed scale of IAS. She is a 1979 batch IAS officer of J&K cadre.

P K Jain selected as Director (Mkt), MMTC Limited (UPDATED)
P K Jain, CGM, PECIL, has been selected for the post of Director (Marketing), MMTC Limited as a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on January 22, 2013. As many as 12 persons were interviewed for the same.

CORPORATE


Mandal quits TFCI
Sujit Kumar Mandal has resigned as Director of Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd (TFCI).

Singh appointed Govt Nominee Director, TFCI
Amrik Singh, Under Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance has been appointed as Government Nominee Director on the Board of Directors of Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd.

Parpia re-appointed MD & CEO, Geometric Ltd
Geometric Ltd has re-appointed Manu Parpia as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company w.e.f. April 8, 2013.

Elango appointed Whole-time Director, Cairn India Ltd
Cairn India Ltd has appointed P. Elango, Interim CEO, as a Whole-time Director of the company.

Tolar quits Suven Life Sciences Ltd
Dr Martin Tolar has resigned as Director of Suven Life Sciences Ltd on account of his preoccupation.

Jindal appointed Addl. Director, Vishesh Infotecnics Ltd
Visesh Infotecnics Ltd has appointed Anil Jindal as an Additional Director of the company.

Wadhwa appointed Addl. Director, Halonix Ltd
Halonix Ltd has appointed Jaideep Wadhwa as an Additional Director of the company.

Throve quits Indo Amines Ltd
Ms Jyoti Throve has resigned as Company Secretary of Indo Amines Ltd.

Singhvi quits Pratik Panels Ltd
Jaswantraj M Singhvi , Executive Director of Pratik Panels Ltd has resigned from the company.

Jain appointed Director, Pratik Panels Ltd
Uttam B Jain has been appointed as Director of Pratik Panels Ltd.

Four Directors cease to be on Board of Sanathnagar Enterprises Ltd
Surendra Shah, Manish Joshi, Sanjay Ambre and Somanathan Koranchirath have resigned as Directors of Sanathnagar Enterprises Ltd.

Two addl. Directors appointed on Board of Sanathnagar Enterprises Ltd
Pankaj Kumar Jain and Babusingh Rajguru have been appointed as additional Directors on the Board of Directors of Sanathnagar Enterprises Ltd .

ONGC Videsh's De-Kastri oil export terminal is Russia's 'Best Oil Terminal 2012' (UPDATED)
The De-Kastri Oil Terminal of Sakhalin-1 project (in which ONGC Videsh Limited has 20 percent stake) located near the De-Kastri settlement in Ulchi District of Khabarovsk Krai, has bagged the Best Oil Terminal Award of Russia in 2012. The award was announced at the VII International Oil Terminal Congress 2012 held in St. Petersburg. This is the second time that the De-Kastri Terminal has received an award from International Oil Terminal Congress. Earlier in 2009, it was recognized as the Terminal of the year for its economic, environmental and social performance. The oil is transported to the terminal from the Sakhalin-1 onshore production facilities at northeast of Sakhalin island via a 226-kilometer pipeline. The oil terminal has been in operation since 2006 and is recognized for its cutting edge technology and effective and sound environmental practices. The terminal provides storage and export facilities that accommodate year-round crude oil export to world markets. One of the largest of its class, the single point mooring facility is being utilized to safely load the tankers in heavy ice conditions. The terminal is the first in Russia to successfully accomplish the year-round export of oil during severe arctic winter conditions using specifically designed fleet of double -hull Aframax class tankers. To ensure safe navigation through ice fields during severe winters, the tankers are escorted by ice-breaking vessels. Since the start of the operations, the terminal has offloaded 550 tankers till now with 51 Million tons of Sakhalin-1 produced oil, which makes it one of the largest ports of Far East Russia. This efficient De-Kastri Terminal is an integral part of Sakhalin - I project in which ONGC Videsh has 20 % stake. The project is being implemented by an international consortium and operated by Exxon Neftgas Limited. The other consortium members in the block are Exxon Neftegas Limited (30%); Rosneft (20%); Japanese consortium SODECO (30%).

(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)

Shinde has helped 'actual' terrorists !

By accusing national parties, Sushil Kumar Shinde has injected much needed enthusiasm to the terrorists operating from outside India. They must be eagerly waiting for it.

Kalyan

Ambedkar was against reservations !

For the record, Ambedkar himself was against reservations and quota.

Vijay Kumar