What people say about us!

It is most informative and reliable site by which we can know what is happening in the government.

Rajendra Kumar

POLITICS

Vinod Rai vacates official Bungalow
Vinod Rai seems to be a rare commodity in the present day system. He has vacated his Kushak Road earmarked house. His term as CAG is coming to an end on May 22. Rai who is former 1972 batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre has moved to his Vasant Vihar house.

BUREAUCRACY

28 Ambassadors to be appointed this year ?
There are going to be 28 Ambassador level vacancies in the country by December end. Hectic activities in the Ministry of External Affairs has already started .

Rajeev Chawla is new JS, Higher Education in HRD
Rajeev Chawla has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Higher Education, in the Ministry of HRD. He is a 1987batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.
(We said this on May 14, 2013)

3000 posts of Judges vacant in India
There are only 15,000 judges are posted against the 18,000 positions and three thousand posts of Judges are still vacant in India.

No IAS as Ombudsman in Insurance
There will be no retired IAS officer as Ombudsman in the IRDA. Some IAS officers had appeared for interview but they were reportedly not selected.

Batra to be officiating CMD of IDBI ?
In all probability B K Batra will take over as officiating CMD of the IDBI on June 1. He is presently Deputy MD of the IDBI.

Appointment of Bank EDs and CMDs delayed
Pressures and pulls have led to delay in the appointment of Bank EDs and CMDs. CVC is yet to clear the file.

Who will succeed Archana Arora in NDMC ?
Who will succeed Archana Arora as Chairman of the NDMC? Tie is said to be between two 1984 batch UT cadre IAS officers R K Verma and Jalaj Srivastava.

DPC of 1981 batch IRS (IT) soon
DPC for the promotion of 1981 batch IRS (IT) officers is expected to take place in a couple of months.

IG CRPF (Cobra) has been given the charge of IG (Pers)
Sanjay Agrawal has been given the charge of IG (Pers) after Ravi Prakash Mehrda completes seven years term on central deputation on May 11. Agrawal is IG (Cobra), CRPF. He is a 1992 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Mirji is new Police Commissioner, Bangalore
B G Jyothi Prakash Mirji is the new Police Commissioner Bangalore. He is a 1982 batch IPS officer.

Harikishore is new Director, Tourism in Kerala
S Harikishore has taken over as the Director of the Kerala tourism department. He is a 2008 batch IAS officer.

Agrawal moves from CRPF
Rozy Agrawal, IDAS- 94 on repatriation from CRPF has been posted as IFA to Southern Naval Command & Southern Air Force Command, T'puram. Agrawal was Deputy F A in CRPF .

L V Sudhir Kumar posted as DG, NAAA, Shimla
L V Sudhir Kumar, Director General of Audit, Central, Kolkata, has been transferred and posted as Director General, NAAA, Shimla.

5 IPS Probationers allocated M-T cadre
As many as five Probationers of Indian Police Service (IPS) of 2011 batch have been allocated Manipur-Tripura cadre. They are Rakesh Balwal, Pandey Hemant Maheshnaraian, Ajit Pratap Singh, Sudipta Das and Prem Ranjan Singh.

Kishore Jha likely to join central deputation
Kishore Jha is likely to join central deputation at Additional Director General level post. He is a 1982 batch IPS officer of Manipur-Tripura cadre.

Daya Shankar empanelled as Joint Secretary in GoI
Daya Shankar has been empanelled for the post of Joint Secretary or equivalent in Government of India. He is an Indian Telecommunication Service officer of 1982 batch.

Manish moves to Washington
Manish has been moved to Washington from Indian High Commission in Colombo.

Names of officers sought for DS/Director (Inv.II), CBDT
The Department of Revenue has sought applications for the post of Deputy Secretary/Director (Inv.II) falling vacant soon in Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The name of eligible officers can be forwarded to the Department before May 31, 2013.

PESB seeks applications for CMD, HMT Ltd
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), HMT Limited falling vacant next year on May 1, 2014. Those willing to apply for the same can send their applications to the PESB before June 26, 2013.

PESB seeks applications for MD, BCPL
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Managing Director, Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL) falling vacant on June 1, 2013. Those willing to apply can send their applications to the PESB before July 19, 2013.

Gauhati High Court gets Additional Judges
Nishitendu Chaudhury, Lanusungkum Jamir and Manash Ranjan Pathak have been appointed as Additional Judges of the Gauhati High Court, in that order of seniority, for a period of two years with effect from the date they assume charge of their office.

Judges appointed in Madhya Pradesh High Court
Justice Keshav Kumar Trivedi and Justice Sheel Nagu, Additional Judges of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh have been appointed as Judges of Madhya Pradesh High Court with effect from the date they assume charge of their office.

Justice Paul gets one year extension as Additional Judge of MP High Court
Justice Sujoy Paul has been given extension for one year as Additional Judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh with effect from May 27, 2013.

OPEC highlights its oil market (UPDATED)
The OPEC Reference Basket dropped for the second-consecutive month in April, declining by $5.39 or more than 5% to stand at $101.05/b. Year-to-date, the Basket declined by $10.22 or 8.7% from the same period last year. Crude oilfutures took a substantial hit again in April, with Brent falling 5.6% to July 2012 levels with a monthly average of around $103/b. Nymex WTI edged 1% lower to average $92/b. A vulnerable global economy combined with the prospect of moderate demand growth, rising crude production, and high stocks sent prices tumbling. Crude oil also lost ground amid cross-commodity and equity market herd behaviour as momentum trading led to a selloff that sent commodities, such as gold and silver, plunging by record levels. The latest CFTC and ICE commitment of traders' reports confirmed the bearish investor sentiment towards oil in April. However, the Basket has shown some improvement since the start of the month to stand at $101.67/b on May 9. World economic growth is forecast at 3.2% in 2013, following growth of 3.0% in the previous year, unchanged from the last report. The US housing and labour markets continue to show a recovery, but given persistent fiscal uncertainties, the US growth forecast for 2013 remains unchanged at1.8%. Japan's forecast has been revised to 1.1% from 0.8%, on support from recent monetary stimulus. The Euro-zone's forecast remains unchanged, with an expected contraction of 0.5%. Slowing exports have impacted China's economy and growth has been revised to 8.0% from 8.1%, while India's forecast is unchanged at 6.0%. A fragile recovery in the global economy has been visible since the beginning of the year, but momentum has started slowing again and growth risks are skewed to the downside. §World oil demand growth in 2013 remains unchanged from the previous report at 0.8 mb/d, broadly in line with the estimate for 2012. However, the performance of the first quarter of this year has been revised down based on actual data. A large portion of the growth is seen coming from China, with a 0.4 mb/d increase. The other non-OECD countries are expected to add some 0.8 mb/d, with the Middle East region accounting for around 0.3 mb/d, followed by Other Asia and Latin America with growth of about 0.2 mb/d each. In contrast, OECD demand is expected to see a contraction of around 0.4 mb/d, which is slightly less than in 2012. Non-OPEC supply is forecast to grow by 1.0 mb/d in 2013, following an increase of 0.5 mb/d in 2012, broadly unchanged from the previous report. OECD Americas remain the driver of growth in 2013, while OECD Europe is seen experiencing the largest decline. OPEC NGLs and nonconventional oils are expected to increase by 0.2 mb/d in 2013. In April, total OPEC crude oil production, according to secondary sources, was estimated to average 30.46 mb/d, an increase of 0.28 mb/d over the previous month. Product markets continued losing ground in April due to sharp declines in light and middle distillate cracks, which have been pressured by rising supplies along with weaker demand worldwide.

Bhaskar Bhushan to pursue Diploma in Cyber Laws (UPDATED)
Bhaskar Bhushan is pursuing a PG Diploma in 'Cyber Laws' through distance education from Nalsar University, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. He is a 2009 batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Five IAS officers shifted in Tamil Nadu (UPDATED)
As many as five officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been transferred and posted at different places in Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, Dr Niranjan Mardi has been posted as Principal Secretary, Home, Prohibition and Excise Department while Rajeev Ranjan will now be Principal Secretary, Highways and Minor Ports and Gagandeep Singh is Secretary, Revenue Department. Similarly, Dr S Vijay Kumar has been appointed as Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries and Dr Girija Vaidyanathan was made Principal Secretary/Commissioners of Land Administration.

A K Manocha selected as CMD, IRCTC (UPDATED)
A K Manocha, Chief Operations Manager (COM) in the Ministry of Railways (MoR) has been selected for the post of Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on May 21, 2013. As many as 13 persons were interviewed for the same.

CORPORATE

Gautam Adani re-appointed Exec. Chairman Adani Enterprises Ltd
Adani Enterprises Limited has re-appointed Gautam S Adani as Executive Chairman of the company for a further period of five years w.e.f. December 1, 2013

Bhushan ceases to be Director, The Orissa Minerals Development Corporation Ltd
EK Bharat Bhushan, Special Secretary and Financial Adviser, Union Ministry of Steel, has ceased to be Director of The Orissa Minerals Development Corporation.

Chandra appointed Director, The Orissa Minerals Development Corporation Ltd
Lokesh Chandra, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Steel, has been appointed as Director of The Orissa Minerals Development Corporation Ltd.

Ayyanna resigns as Independent Director, Divi's Laboratories Ltd
Prof. C. Ayyanna has resigned as Independent Director of Divi's Laboratories Ltd on account of personal reasons

Prasad appointed Nominee Director, Coal India Ltd
Coal India Limited has appointed Sujata Prasad, Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor, Union Ministry of Coal as a Nominee Director on the Board of Directors of Coal India Limited.

Majumdar designated as Chief Management Advisor, Birla Corporation Ltd
Birla Corporation Limited has appointed Pracheta Majumdar as a Whole-time Director and designated as Chief Management Advisor of the Company.

Bhargava ceases to be part-time Director, Gail (India) Ltd
Sudhir Bhargava, former Special Secretary, Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has ceased to be Part-time Government Nominee Director of GAIL (India) Ltd.

Shettigar appointed Company Secy.,Yes Bank Ltd
Yes Bank Limited has appointed Shivanand R. Shettigar as the Company Secretary of the Bank.

Baldua appointed CEO, Surya Roshni Ltd
Surya Roshni Limited has appointed Tarun Baldua as Chief Executive officer (CEO) of the Company.

Girish appointed National Sales Manager, Surya Roshni Ltd
Girish B O has been appointed as National Sales Manager (Lighting Division), Surya Roshni Ltd.

Dasgupta appointed Nominee Director, Hotel Leelaventure Ltd
Hotel Leelaventure Ltd has appointed Uttara Dasgupta as Nominee Director of the State Bank of India (SBI) on Board of Directors of the Company.

Patil appointed Company Secy., Kolte-Patil Developers Ltd
Kolte - Patil Developers Limited has appointed Vinod Patil as Company Secretary of the company.

Viswanathan appointed Company Secy., Uniply Industries Ltd
Uniply Industries Limited has appointed Jayanth Viswanathan as the Company Secretary of the Company.

Giri appointed Company Secy., Oriental Trimex Ltd
Oriental Trimex Limited has appointed Anuj Kumar Giri has as Company Secretary 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)

Sandhu also conquered Mt Everest !
This refers to the news item that Ravindra Kumar IAS (2011) has scaled Mt. Everest. He may be the first IAS officer to do that but certainly not the first civil servant. S S Sandhu IDAS (1981) conquered Mt Everest a couple of years ago.

R Sehgal

Relationship between Caste - Varna and Reservation Policy
Because of ancestral callings by birth and duties of all Varnas pre-decided, the Brahmin's duty was to impart education. Even if he was illiterate by virtue of his birth, he was considered Pandit- Enlightened. Hence, hold on education of Brahmins cannot be denied. (Vashiyas had hold on business, Kshtriyas on military and rule due to practice of jobs by birth in a particular varna).Thus, role of Brahmins in promoting education since Vedic times cannot be denied, rather it must be appreciated. They imparted education mostly free or Shiksha For Bhiksha and Diksha, in old times. We may not find such examples in other civilizations of giving education for almost free. But at the same time, they were sharing knowledge and imparting education only to the three Varnas and not the fourth Varna rather the fourth Varna was socially, religiously, legally banned and according to their beloved Smiritis i.e. old Hindu Law Books. The Fourth Varna was subject to punishment, social wrath if they even tried to listen or tried to learn. Let us not beat around the bush and accept the whole truth - their role was questionable because it was favouring three Varnas and damaging the fourth. While the three Varnas may defend the discriminatory education policy, it cannot find any positive reaction from the Fourth Varna. This is not whole truth to say that they stopped everyone from education and kept only with themselves. They imparted it but very selectively. Their hold on education perpetuated due to professions by birth in ancient India i.e. Vedic. Ambekdar father being an officer and his going to school was a side effect of British rule, because British had nothing to do with discrimination in school admissions based on Varna, their main focus on looting natural resources of India. Gradually when all castes started going to schools, the hold on education of a particular caste became lose and that is the reasons that one can see rise in education of Dalits from 1900 onward. And today fortunately all Indians irrespective of caste can proudly go to schools for education, unlike Vedic and post Vedic times. We have seen dark phases in our civilization wherein millions of people of the fourth Varna had no basic human rights. Three Varnas headed by the first enjoyed 'ancestral reservation' or 'unfettered reservation' based on their birth which continued for thousands of years. So, reservations in professions and jobs in Hindu society are not new to us, it is just that we forget the past and someone needs to remind us the policies we practiced and we practice now. This is the history of our Indian reservations' policy in the context of Hindu society. We should ask ourselves after availing 'ancestral reservation in jobs and professions' for thousands years since Vedic period, today people are making hue and cry for a trivial reservation policy for SC/STs which was just for 10 years and been in place just for 63 years only? I am certain the present reservation policy would end up the day when Caste as an institution stands abolished in the same way as the 'ancestral reservation policy' disappeared with abolition of Varna System. We should keep in mind that reservation policy for SC/ST is just a means (legal tool) to an end(annihilation of caste) and not an end in itself. Once end is achieved, means will automatically disappear. It is just a matter of time.

R K Singh

No one was ever banned from attending schools
It's strange to read that few people who are the obvious beneficiary of the inhuman policy of reservation, have come up with a strange argument that Dalits were not allowed to go to school. I just want to ask who was banning them. Brahmins were no longer the masters nor were the Rajputs ever since the Delhi sultanate came into power. Persian and Turkish languages were ruling and Sanskrit had become extinct. Then who banned the so called Dalits from schools ? The truth is that in most of the villages it is the Brahmins who were providing free education to everyone and those who are skeptic can verify this fact. In the USA a far worse system of keeping the black guys handcuffed and chained forever was in vogue but no one demanded reservation on this ground. Still in the USA it is only the talent which rules that's why it is the most powerful and most innovative country and we are ? No points for guessing where we stand with talent being massacred in the name of democracy.

Sunil

Dalits were allowed to go to school
There is a lot of myth being created that Dalits were not allowed to go to school during earlier times. How is it then that Babasaheb Ambedkar or Babu Jagjivan Ram got educated? The fact is that the traditional domination of the Brahmins was in Sanskrit. The Shudras (this includes service castes like Kayasthas, Yadavs, Jats etc i.e. all who did not belong to Brahmana, Kshatriya or Vaishya folds)) were not entitled to read Sanskrit. However, this domination did not extend to either vernacular or Persian or English education. The Shudras and Dalits as well read the vernacular and Persian and English too were open to them. With the coming of the British and English education, the education system got most secular since it was in English and modern education. The problem was not that Dalits were not allowed education but that there was the notion of untouchability that was prevalent. The Dalits were made to sit separately and no one touched them. However, the reform in Hindu society to rid it of casteism has deep roots starting from at least the Indian renaissance and Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Jotiba Phule, Keshab Chandra Sen, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Baba Ambedkar all took the struggle for equality forward. This Culminated in the abolition of untouchability by the Constitution and constitutional protection which has been the law now for the 66 years of the Republic. In independent India, by law, there is no discrimination, only reverse discrimination.

Vijay Kumar