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Informative and useful.

Nani Mali

POLITICS

When RTI, a so called bane for bureaucracy, became a boon for bureaucrat
Sometime 'Babus' term RTI a bane simply because it works as a deterrent too to the decision making. But recently a big-shot 'babu' was found full of gratitude to the RTI which may add fuel to the 'feel good factor' of the political masters of crises ridden UPA. After the Delhi High Court came up with its judgement directing the GoI 'to issue fresh orders empanelling the petitioner for appointment as Secretary to the GoI w.e.f June 2010' the petitioner, a bureaucrat of 1977 batch, landed to the conclusion and was heard saying that "had this RTI not been into existence the judiciary would not have been equipped enough in the case to come up with such a historic judgement".

Will Sibal continue as Law Minister?
With the cabinet reshuffle on cards, likely by June second week, the political leaders these days seem to have a unanimous opinion that the trio, Sonia-Rahul-PM, may like Sibal to continue as Law Minister till the time of judgement i.e. LS polls.

BUREAUCRACY

Who will be new Power Secretary?
Who will be new Secretary Power in the Government of India ? The top bosses have prepared a panel of three names consisting of P K Sinha 1977 batch IAS UP, Ratan Watal IAS 1978 batch IAS AP and Ajit Sharan IAS Haryana 1979. Who will make it ?

Parihar is new Joint Secretary, Forests and Environment
S P S Parihar is all set to join the Government of India as Joint Secretary, Forests and Environment. He is a 1986 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Govil to go IMF !
Manoj Govil is being tipped to be new Advisor to the ED, International Monitory Fund (IMF) Washington. He is a 1991 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Seth appointed Ambassador to Union of Comoros
Ms Manju Seth (YOA: 1996), presently Ambassador of India to Madagascar has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Union of Comoros, with residence in Antananarivo

Cadre of IAS officer transferred to Uttarakhand
The cadre of Mrs Iva Sahay has been transferred from Himachal Pradesh to Uttarakhand on the ground of marriage to Dr Ashish Kumar Srivastava, a 2011 batch IAS officer of Uttarakhand. Mrs Sahay is a 2010 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

30 posts are above Addl Secretary level in Income Tax
As many as 30 posts in Income Tax have been approved of at HAG plus scale at the level of CCs that are above the level of Additional Secretary to Government of India and below the rank of Special Secretary /Secretary to Government of India. The majority of the officers used to retire at CC level only with a privileged few becoming Members and Chairman in CBDT. These officers can draw HAG plus scales above the rank of Additional Secretary.

531061 posts of Group C vacant in GoI
A total of 531061 posts of Group C have been lying vacant in the various departments of Government of India.

73 posts of Judges vacant in Allahabad HC
As many as 73 posts of Judges have been lying vacant in Allahabad High Court against 160 approved strength including 21 posts of Permanent Judges against 76 approved strength and 52 of Additional Judges against 84 approved strength.

1962 batch IPS fraternity
There is a strong fraternity amongst 1962 batch IPS officers in the country. In Golden Jubilee out of the total 62 officers 41 officers attended. They also meet every second year.

Bhargava to return in June
The 1991 batch IFS officer Dhirendra Bhargava is returning to the parent Madhya Pradesh cadre from central deputation in June.

BHEL Director (IS & P) Dubey to retire in July
MK Dubey, Director (Industrial Systems & Products), in the Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) is retiring on July 31, 2013.

Dawla is Govt Nominee Director on Board of Mysore Bank
M Mahmood Dawla, Under Secretary, Department of Financial Services, has been nominated as Government Nominee Director on the Board of State Bank of Mysore.

Verma empanelled in GoI
Vikas Verma has been empanelled to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Government of India. He is 1984 batch IAS officer of UP cadre.

Siddique likely to join central deputation
A P Siddique is likely to join central deputation at Inspector General level post. He is a 1991 batch IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Mishra is posted as DDG (LF-II) HQ Department of Telecom
S K Mishra has been transferred and posted as Dy. Director General (LF-II) at HQ, Department of Telecommunication. Mishra has recently completed his APPA training from IIPA, Delhi. He belongs to Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service.

Is Haryana Govt. advocating to DOPT for re-employment of a top brass again?
Whispers in the corridors of power make it a buzz that Haryana Government has been advocating for the re-employment of a top-brass for another six months. Spectators in big business and politics are desperate to know the reasons as why Haryana Govt. has been inflexibly after the re-employment.

Will Srivastava be new Commissioner of Police in Jaipur?
Whispers in the corridors of power have it that Anand Kr Srivastava may make it as the successor of B L Soni. Srivastava, a 1994 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre, is currently serving as IG of Police, Bharatpur Range.

Thy name is IFS in Uttar Pradesh
Strange are the ways in the Forest department at Lucknow, UP. A CF (Conservator) sits on a CCFs (Chief Conservator's) post. Looks like UP is short of Chief Conservators. A DFO sits on a CFs post at the Zoo. Looks like UP is short of Conservators. An SDO sits on a DFOs post. Looks like UP is short of DFOs. Well, these are powerful individuals, so people are out to please them. But then in the Government itself, the Secretary has been there for over 13 years. No state would have a Forest Secretary posted in the Secretariat for 13 years!! Are there no other capable people in the Department ?

Prabhat likely to join at Milan (Italy) as Consulate General of India
Whispers in the corridors of power have it that Manish Prabhat may move to Milan, Italy as Consulate General of India. Currently he is serving at MEA HQ as Director, Finance. He is a 1996 batch Indian Foreign Service officer.

Sharma is new Secretary, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Power
Bhaskar Jyoti Sharma has been appointed as Secretary, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power for a period of one year. He is a 1999 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.

Sinha is new Director, Defence
Amitabh Ranjan Sinha has been appointed as Director in the Ministry of Defence for a period of five years. He is a 1998 batch IP&TA&FS officer.

Yaduvanshi poised to succeed Dhawan as new ADG (Medical), MHA
As the grapevine has it Dr N K Yaduvanshi is all set to succeed A K Dhawan on May 31 as new Additional Director General (Medical) MHA. Yaduvanshi is presently Director (Medical) Seema Suraksha Bal.

File of Nair piled at ACC
The file of R Nair V B, CGM (P & E), regarding the appointment as Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL) is lying at Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) for final approval.

File of Khalbande stuck for final approval
The file of V H Kalbande regarding the appointment of Managing Director, North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC) is waiting for a final approval of the Ministry. The orders of his appointment are expected to be issued in first week of June, 2013.

Joining of Rattan as Director (Engg), NPCC delayed
The joining of V K Rattan, GM, NHPC, on the post of Director (Engineering), National Projects Construction Corporation Limited (NPCC) is learnt to be delayed, due to his personal reasons. His orders of joining have already been issued with appointment letter.

Mrs Jayanthi posted as Director, DoPT
Mrs G Jayanthi, Director, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, has been transferred and posted to the Department of Personnel and Training in the same capacity.

Mrs Singh appointed as Chairperson, NCPCR
Mrs Kushal Singh has been appointed as Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). She has been Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan. She is a retired 1974 IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Rai posted as ED, Railway Board
R C Rai, SAG/IRAS, Northern Eastern Railway (NER), presently working as FA & CAO (Chod), has been transferred to Railway Board and posted as Executive Director (F)/PPP.

Verma shifted to NER
R N Verma, SAG/IRAS, presently working as FA & CAO/Con, Western Railway (WR), has been shifted to North Eastern Railway (NER) and posted as FA & CAO (Chod).

Dutta transferred to Southern Railway
Gautam Dutta, SAG/IRSME/DMW, has been transferred to Southern Railway (SR).

Dr Vrat to be Director on Air India Board
Dr Prem Vrat has been appointed as non-official part-time Director on the Board of Air India.

IAS changes in Jharkhand
There is IAS reshuffle in Jharkhand. New postings are Himani Pandey, Director, Industries; Amitabh Kaushal, DC East ,Singhbhum; Sunil Kumar, DC, Ramgarh; Pooja Singhal ,Labour, Commissioner; Manoj Kumar, DC ,Palamu ; Hans Raj, DC, Chatra; Fidalis Toppo ,DC , Pakur; Manish Ranjan, Director, Aid Control and Abubakar, DC, West Singhbhum.

IPS officer suspended in Bastar
Bastar SP Mayank Srivastava has been suspended by the Chhattisgarh Government. He is a 2006 batch IPS officer.

IPS changes in Chhattisgarh
IG, Bastar, Himanshu Gupta has been shifted to the PHQ as IG ,CID. Arun Deo Gautam will now be new IG, Bastar and Ajay Yadav new SP, Bastar.

Bastar gets new SP, IG in CG
Ajay Yadav has been appointed new SP, Bastar while Arun Dev Gautam will now be IG, Bastar range in Chhattisgarh.

Ankit Anand is new Collector, Bastar in CG
Ankit Anand has been appointed as Collector, Bastar. He is a 2006 batch IAS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre.

Subramanian selected as Director (Mktg), FACT (UPDATED)

V Subramanian, GM, IOCL, has been selected for the post of Director (Marketing), The Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on May 29, 2013.

M A Waheed promoted as Conservator of Forests in AP (UPDATED)
M A Waheed has been promoted to the rank of Conservator of Forest (CC). Presently, he is on deputation as Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, A P State Minorities Finance Corporation Limited, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. He is a 1999 batch IFS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

'Huge potential for helicopter usage in India' (UPDATED)
Keeping in line with the national policy of acquiring indigenous capabilities and self reliance, the HAL took initiative to organise a one-day seminar on "Future trends on Helicopter technologies" on May 29, 2013. Speaking on the occasion renowned aerospace scientist Prof Roddam Narasimha called for pragmatic policies to meet the strategic vision in the helicopter manufacturing and technology. He said one should learn from failures and set workable vision. He complimented HAL for achieving success in ALH and hoped that the eco-system built by the company further helps all the players involved in Helicopter technology. Prof Gopal Krishna of Indian Institute of Science made a key-note presentation on structural health monitoring of aircraft. Speaking on the occasion, Dr R K Tyagi, Chairman, HAL felt that usage of civil helicopters is far less in India although there is huge scope and potential for civil helicopters. He said HAL has launched modernization drive and capacity augmentation will happen in due course. He complemented HAL's Helicopter Complex for its achievements, particularly in last one year in which IOC for weaponized version of ALH "Rudra" was achieved. Designers, researchers, R&D institutes, academicians, regulatory authorities, helicopter pilots and users attended the day-long seminar.

NBCC acquires impress profit in Q4 (UPDATED)
National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd. (NBCC) A CPSU under the Ministry of Urban Development, Govt. of India of which Anoop Kumar Mittal is CMD. NBCC audited financial results has posted 45.25 percent increase in net profit at Rs 95.97 crore in Q4. For the entire 2012-13 fiscal, net profit increased to Rs 207.50 crore from Rs 190.17 crore in 2011-12.

CORPORATE

NALCO's sales turnover at Rs.6809 crore
The National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Navratna PSU under Ministry of Mines, has declared its financial results for 2012-13 fiscal. According to the audited financial results for the year, taken on record by the Board of Directors in a meeting chaired by CMD, Ansuman Das, the NALCO has posted a net sales turnover of Rs.6809 crore, up 4.75%, over Rs.6500 crore achieved in the previous fiscal. The rise in sales turnover is mostly attributed to higher production and sale of alumina. However, the net profit of the company was Rs.593crore during the year as compared to Rs.850 crore in last fiscal, due to reduced Aluminium prices in London Metal Exchange and high input costs. The company has improved performance in production and sales for the year 2012-13. During the year, the company has achieved highest-ever bauxite production of 54.19 lakh tonnes, against the previous best of 50.03 lakh tonnes achieved in 2011-12. Similarly, NALCO's Alumina Refinery has produced 18.02 lakh tonnes of alumina hydrate, which is an all-time high, against the previous best of 16.87 lakh tonnes achieved in 2011-12. However, during the year, the metal production of the company was reduced marginally from 4.13 lakh tonnes to 4.03 lakh tonnes, due to planned shutdown of pot shells of the smelter. The net power generation by company's Captive Power Plant was 6,076 million units. In terms of sales, during the year, the company sold 9.85 lakh tonnes of alumina hydrate, against 8.43 lakh tonnes in 2011-12. Aluminium export by the company also increased to 1.44 lakh tonnes this year from 0.98 lakh tonnes achieved in the last financial year.

Parekh appointed CMD, Pidilite Industries Ltd
Pidilite Industries Ltd has appointed M B Parekh as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the company with immediate effect.

Kohli resigns as Director, Birla Power Solutions Ltd
Upkar Singh Kohli has resigned as Director of Birla Power Solutions Ltd.

Rajendra appointed Nominee Director, Avanti Feeds Ltd
Anita Rajendra, lAS, has been appointed as Nominee Director of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (APIDC) on the Board of Directors of Avanti Feeds Ltd

Goenka appointed Chairman, CESC Ltd
Sanjiv Goenka has been appointed as Chairman of CESC Ltd.

Shriram to be re-appointed Deputy MD, DCM Shriram Industries Ltd
DCM Shriram Industries Ltd has re-appointed Alok B Shriram as Deputy Managing Director of the company for a period of five years w.e.f. October 1, 2013.

Dhariwal appointed CFO, Precision Pipes and Profiles Ltd
Precision Pipes and Profiles Company Ltd has appointed Manish Dhariwal as the Chief Financial Officer of the company.

Goyal re-appointed Chairman, Modern Steels Ltd
Modern Steels Ltd has re-appointed Amarjit Goyal as Chairman of the company for a period of three years w.e.f. June 29, 2013

Two Directors cease to be on Board of Credit Suisse Finance (India) Ltd
Indranil Ghosh and Sanjay Kumar Singh have ceased to be Directors of Credit Suisse Finance (India) Ltd.

Three Directors appointed on Board of Credit Suisse Finance (India) Ltd
Neil Bharadwaj, Partha Basu and Chintan Bhansali have been appointed as additional Directors of Credit Suisse Finance (India) Ltd.

Mahajan appointed Independent Director, Simbhaoli Sugers Ltd
Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd appointed C K Mahajan as an Independent Director of the company.

Kapadia resigns as Director, VCK Capital Market Services Ltd
Narendra L Kapadia has resigned as Director of VCK Capital Market Services Ltd.

Munjal appointed Addl. Director, Shivam Autotech Ltd
Shivam Autotech Ltd has appointed Charu Munjal as Additional 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)

Accounting transparency and CAG contributions of Vinod Rai

Vinod Rai, the eleventh CAG of the Independent India demitted the Constitutional post on May 22, 2013 after making valuable contributions to the nation for which he shall be remembered and idealized forever. It will be in the interest for the future of the nation that his successor upholds his legacy and perform his constitutional duties with responsibility but without fear or favour. Rai's achievement as the CAG has been to liberate the auditor from its erstwhile status as an adjunct to the PAC and spare its reports the
pain of evaluation with reference to context, thereby elevating the auditor into a stand-alone oracle of financial propriety in the government. It's because of Rai, the CAG became a topic of dining table discussion. Earlier, the CAG was treated as an appendage of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which studies the CAG report and is headed by the leader of the Opposition. But Rai made sure that as long as he was at the helm of affairs, the government wouldn't escape scrutiny for its financial dealings. Be it 2G, CWG or the mining scam, Rai's figures and findings always put the government in the dock. Rai didn't confine himself to the so-called mandate of handling the government's balance sheets. He made the bold decision of targeting not only government expenditure but also the corporate-politician nexus involved in the allocation of natural resources. He took a range of steps to make CAG reports more accessible and comprehensible to the common man, especially through Noddy Books. During his tenure, the Opposition enjoyed the luxury of sitting back and using his reports to put the government on the mat. Rai's relentless audit and fearless disclosures have told the story of the massive real and potential losses in the sale of 2G telecom spectrum, the Commonwealth Games, allocation of captive coal blocks and irrigation projects. The CAG report on Coal Allocation proved a lethal weapon for the Government stating that there was a lack of transparency in the allocation of coal mining licenses between 2004 to
2011, which cost the exchequer $34 billion. The CAG in its 2010 Second Generation Spectrum Audit Report criticized the Telecommunication Ministry's handling of the allocation of mobile Spectrum to various companies. The allegations over the mishandling of the spectrum allocation forced A. Raja to resign as Telecommunications Minister and he was accused of selling the licenses on a first-come-first served basis in 2008. The Supreme Court cancelled all 122 licenses allocated to nine telecoms companies in February 2012. The CAG's report on CWG scam presented to Parliament in August 2011 was critical of chairman of the Commonwealth Games 2010 Organising Committee and president of Indian Olympic Association Suresh Kalmadi's role in the scam. It also heavily criticised the Delhi Government on cost and the Central Government for not monitoring the overspending by the Delhi Government. He was arrested in April 2011 over alleged corruption and other misdemeanors in connection with the Commonwealth Games. Some of the widely noticed CAG reports during Rai's tenure:

- Allocation of coal blocks and augmentation of coal production

- Ultra mega power projects under special purpose vehicles

- Implementation of public-private partnership Indira Gandhi

- International Airport, Delhi;

- Commonwealth Games 2010

- Issue of licenses and allocation of 2G spectrum

- Hydrocarbon production sharing contracts

- Fertiliser subsidy.

With all these historic reports, Rai increased the public profile of CAG as a constitutional mechanism to fight against corruption. He made extra efforts to communicate CAG findings to the wider public through
the issue of Noddy Books and also by declaring that draft CAG reports are accessible through RTI. He was also instrumental in preparing user friendly reports by including pictures and graphs. He set deadlines within the organizations for the issue of performance audits. He also changed reporting structures so as to ensure that audit is done in a holistic manner. He also defended the CAG at the public domain in the face of political and media onslaught. In the process, many ordinary people who had no clue what the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) does, suddenly became aware about the powers of this office. The respect that Rai commands was evident from the two-time standing ovation that he received at Moneylife Foundation's third anniversary function on 15th February when he delivered the keynote address. Rai is currently the chairman of United Nations Panel of External Auditors and member of the Governing Board of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

Rai will be remembered for making the statutory body of CAG into a pugnacious body. He held the position as CAG when India was experiencing the need for greater transparency and is reeling. The challenge is to uphold the legacy he has left and to further the ideas conceptualized by him such as including the projects under the PPP mode and the Panchayati Raj institutions under the ambit of CAG and constitution of a collegium type mechanism to choose future CAGs. I salute Vinod Rai!

I C Sharma

Reservations are a necessity

It is high time that people stop thinking that Dalits are duffers, dimwits or ineligible for any posts. Now read this Gayatri from a scavenger community in Tamil Nadu has scored 95% in plus 2 and has 197/200 cut off for Medicine. The 2012 lowest cut off for reserved was188.25.But the girl is forced to discontinue her studies and work as daily wager due to poverty, her parents too are daily wagers. Now will the anti-reservationists keep quiet. Dalits also possess merit and work hard but if basic necessities like even WATER is denied to them how can they compete with upper castes. So Reservations are a necessity.

Gautam

What about illustrious J&K officers ?

What about Ashok Suri, R. Tikoo, Gopal Sharma, Dr Ashok Bhan - all DG Rank Officers, who were allotted J&K Cadre and serve the State in various capacities from SDPO level to DG level in every nook and corner of this hilly state throughout their service?

Gunpreet Singh

Concrete alternative solution

Apart from grieving over the reservation system nobody is able to suggest any concrete alternative solution. What do we achieve by airing all disgruntlement? More hatred but no solution in sight. Youngsters of all cadres are pained and confused at such blow ups. Caste is a mindset and it will slowly erase from people's mind provided the Govt / NGOs allow it to vanish by not taking precipitate steps. A renaissance is needed for this in the society itself.

Nathan

Classic case

Apologists for reservations want to abolish the caste system before the reservations are abolished. This is a classic case of trying to preserve the reverse discrimination. Reservations are the reason why the caste system is not dying. In an era of equality given to us by the Constitution, it is the reservations which are making each community race toward backwardness. Caste consciousness has increased by leaps and bounds because caste has advantages in reservations. Socially, caste is a dead notion since 1947. But politically, it is alive and kicking. It is used as a vote bank and as job grab without merit. But for reservations, the caste system would have weakened much earlier! In case reservations are to be perpetuated forever in the name of Vedic times, how about the ill treatment of Hindus at the hands of Muslims for a thousand years? Should there be reservations for all Hindus for all times to come in this country?

Vijay Kumar

Justification of 1:1 Recruitment/promotion policy

If we really mean to improve the administrative efficiency not only in the Income Tax Department but also the Government of India and the states, we must examine the justification of 1:1 Recruitment/promotion policy in favour of the Field Experience than the fresh raw talent which takes its own time in picking up the niceties of the Ground Level Functioning in any Department.

Ashwani Kumar