What people say about us!

As I understand , Whisper in the Corridors has been an important search document for the readers who would like to be updated with the bureaucrats. I believe, this can also be an window to express one's viewpoints over the bureaucrats role in tandem, given the change of the Government and its focus on governance

S.Majumder

Adviser, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), New Delhi

POLITICS

Three women leaders to play crucial role, two may get prominence
It is widely believed that five faces would play bigger roles immediately after the ninth phase of sixteenth Lok Sabha general elections would be over today. Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalita would have critically important roles to play. Sharp expectators of Indian politics believe that their fresh statements would bring-in turns and twists to the ongoing trail setting the stage for post May 16 scenario. In addition to these three faces ,Smriti Irani and Minakshi Lekhi may get much importance than it was anticipated. One can wait and watch only.

Why Sushmaji is silent ?
One question that is being asked in the BJP Circles these days is - "Why Sushma Swaraj is silent these days ? " Will she speak after the election results are announced ?

Four names recommended for SC
The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India R M Lodha has recommended the appointment of CJ of Orissa High Court Adarsh Goel, CJ of Calcutta High Court Arun Mishraand Gopal Subramanium and Rohinton Nariman as SC judges.

BUREAUCRACY

Lt Gen Dalbir Singh appointed next Army Chief
Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag has been appointed new Army Chief. He is presently heading the Eastern Command.
(We said this on July 22, 2013)

Last ACC meeting of UPA Govt today or today
Voices dropping to whispers that the last meeting of Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) of this UPA-led Government is being held on May 14 (before the results for Lok Sabha elections on May 16, 2014) in order to clear some important appointments in PSUs and Government of India.

Tandon is now JS, Banking
JS, Disinvestment, Alok Tandon, has been moved to the Department of Financial Services in the same capacity. He is a 1986 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Sinha is JS, 7th Central Pay Commission
Samir Kumar Sinha on return from ADB has been appointed Joint Secretary 7th Central Pay Commission. He is a 1994 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

Khare deputed as Director, ECI
Vivek Khare has been deputed as Director in the Election Commission of India (ECI) for a period of five years. He is a 1996 batch officer of Indian Telecom Service.

Kamboj appointed SP in CBI
Pankaj Kamboj has been appointed SP in the CBI. He is a 2005 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre.

Brija Kishore Singh to join CBI
Brija Kishore Singh is joining the the CBI as SP. He is a 2004 batch UT cadre IPS officer.

Rajashekara to be SP in CBI
Rajashekara N is all set to join the CBI as SP. He is a 2007 batch IPS officer of Nagaland cadre.

Sengupta selected for Director (Tech), MECON Ltd
S R Sengupta, GM, MECON, has been selected for the post of Director (Technology), MECON Limited at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on May 13, 2014. As many as eight persons were interviewed for the same.

AP CS to retire early
Dr Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, who was given an extension as Chief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh upto June 30, 2014, is voluntarily retiring on June 1, 2014. He is a 1979 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Ms Kapoor looks after addl charge of FC, Railway Board
The coveted slot of Financial Commissioner, Railway Board is lying vacant after the superannuation of Rajendra Kashyap on April 30 this year. Presently Ms Rashmi Kapoor, Additional Member (Finance), has been running the affairs as additional charge. She is a 1976 batch IRAS officer.

OSDs to CBDT Members relieved
In a sudden move, all OSDs attached to respective CBDT Members have been relieved. The officers would get back their original place of postings.

Jalan gets extension in CBI
Asif Jalan has been given extension as Superintendent of Police, CBI for a period of three years. He is a 2002 batch IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Verma gets extension in CBI
Superintendent of Police in CBI, GK Verma, has been given extension for a period of three years. He is a 2001 batch IPS officer of Sikkim Cadre.

Srivastava appointed ED, Railway Board
Manoj Kumar Srivastava has been transferred and posted as Executive Director (Perspective Planning), Railway Board. He is an IRTS officer.

Bhargava transferred to Northern Railway
Rakesh Kumar Bhargava has been transferred to Northern Railway. He is an IRAS officer.

24 IRTS officers get SAG
As many as 24 IRTS officers of 1992 batch have been granted non-functional SA Grade in Ministry of Railways. They are: Monica Agnihotri of RB; Sanjaya Mahapatra of DEP (Govt. of Orissa); Madan Ram Deora of NWR; Sunil Kumar of DEP (IRCTC); Navin Kumar Parsuramka of NR; Manoj Kumar Singh of NER; Shobhit Bhatnagar of RB; Santosh Kumar Jha of WR; Abhijit Narendra of RB; Mohd. Azhar Shams of SER; Gurinder Mohan Singh of NR; Rahul Agarwal of NR; Gulshan of NR; Uday V Bobhate of CR; Shrikant Mahiyaria of RB; Tripti Gurha of DEP (Min. of HRD); Brajesh Dharmani of NR; Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha of RB; Deomani of NR; Sanjay Kumar Mishra of ECOR; N Ramesh of SWR; K Manoj of SR; Radhey Shyam of NER and Varinder Kumar of ECOR.

Priyatu Mandal is also Director, HIPA in HP
Priyatu Mandal has been given an additional charge of Director, Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration (HIPA), Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. He is a 2006 batch IAS officer of HP cadre.

Niranjan appointed Secretary, Backward Classes' Welfare
K R Niranjan has been appointed as Secretary, Backward Classes Welfare in Karnataka. He is a 1997 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.

Incredible performance of ALIMCO for year 2013-14
Progressing on the path of growth and excellence, Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India, popularly known as ALIMCO, an ISO:9001-2008 a Schedule "C" Central Public Sector Enterprise has achieved highest ever turnover of Rs 155.34 crores during the Financial year 2013-14 as compared to previous year turnover of Rs 130.22 crore , showing a growth of 19% over previous year. Similarly, ALIMCO has also earned the highest ever Surplus of Rs 30.19 crore as against Rs 23.51 Crores in the previous year higher by 28%. Announcing the financial results, G. Narayan Rao, CMD, ALIMCO expressed that ALIMCO has transformed into a vibrant, credible and a top-line profit making CPSE in its category and is now poised to emerge as a leading global player in the field of rehabilitation of PWDs across the world. The Corporation has served approximately 1, 96,483 Numbers Of Beneficiaries (NOB) in the Financial Year 2013-14 as against 1,57,841 NOB in the Financial Year 2012-13 and 99,141 NOB in the Financial Year 2011-12. While whole industrial world or economists are struggling for/contended with 6 to 9% growth rate this Corporation has achieved 42% growth in 2011-12 and 59% growth in 2012-13 and 19% growth in the year 2013-14; thus cumulatively registering a growth of 170% in just a period of three years. This accounts for average growth rate of 57%. This is an unimaginable, magical, phenomenal and incredible performance of the Corporation, witnessing a turnaround of the Corporation, by converting its Networth from "Negative" to "Positive". In the view of elevating success graph of Corporation, it is planned to achieve a turnover of Rs 200 crore in the year 2014-15. ALIMCO, a MOU signing Corporation with the Government every year, has been rated as "EXCELLENT" in its MOU performance for the financial year 2012-13 . During the year under review Company has once again delivered a record performance and maintained its "EXCELLENT" rating which includes compliance of Corporate Governance. The Company has been maintaining the highest level of standards of corporate governance under the guidelines on corporate governance of CPSEs, ALIMCO with its 98% achievement was given "EXCELLENT" grading for the year 2012-13. Subsequently, during the year under review Company has once again maintaining an "EXCELLENT" grade in compliance of Corporate Governance. Further, ALIMCO has also been identified amongst 27 other major Grand CPSEs, out of total 240 CPSUs, qualifying it as "National champion" by the Public Enterprises Survey for the year 2011-12 done by Standing Conference Of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), New Delhi. Our Administrative Ministry (Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment) has always provided support and guidance in smooth functioning of the corporation. During the year Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has accorded "Mini Ratna" Status under Category-II to ALIMCO.

Parmar appointed Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust (UPDATED)
Ravi Manubhai Parmar has been appointed Chairman of the Mumbai Port Trust. He is a 1992 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre.
(We said this on March 21, 2014)

Ms Kiran Soni Gupta is new Textile Commissioner (UPDATED)
Ms Kiran Soni Gupta has been appointed new Textile Commissioner based in Mumbai. She is 1985 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Nair to be Secretary to Manmohan Singh (UPDATED)
Murlidhar Nair will be Secretary to Manmohan Singh ,the outgoing Prime Minister. He has been associated with Singh for the last 20 years.

CORPORATE

Babu is Chairman, Visakhapatnam Major Port Trust
M T Krishna Babu has joined as Chairman of the Visakhapatnam Major Port Trust (VPT).

Sriramalakshmi appointed Company Secy. Premier Energy and Infrastructure Ltd
Premier Energy and Infrastructure Ltd has appointed Ms V Sriramalakshmi as Company Secretary of the company.

Jayakumar re-appointed MD & CEO, Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd
Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd has re-appointed Jayakumar P G as Managing Director and CEO of the Bank w.e.f. May 18, 2014

Pujara is MD, AI Champdany Industries Ltd
AI Champdany Industries Ltd has promoted N Pujara as the Managing Director of the company w.e.f. May 12, 2014

Dave appointed CEO, Stanrose Mafatlal Investments & Finance Ltd
Stanrose Mafatlal Investments & Finance Ltd has appointed Bharat N Dave as Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Shah appointed Company Secy. Stanrose Mafatlal Investments & Finance Ltd
Girish R Shah has been appointed as Company Secretary of Stanrose Mafatlal Investments & Finance Ltd

Rao appointed Addl. Director, Neuland Laboratories Ltd
Neuland Laboratories Ltd has appointed Ms Bharati Rao as an Additional Director of the company w.e.f. May 9, 2014

Agrawal to be appointed Independent Director, Trilogic Digital Media Ltd?
The Board of Trilogic Digital Media Ltd is to appoint Arvind Agarwal as Independent Director of the company

Lohia resigns as Director, UT Ltd
Pawan Kumar Lohia has resigned as Director of UT Ltd

Bardhan ceases to be Director (Operations), UT Ltd
Nandan Bardhan had ceased to be Director (Operations) of UT Ltd w.e.f. May 2, 2014

(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)

If Modi becomes PM - 3 immediate tasks to refurbish the economy

The greatest concerns in 2014 general election were development and inflation. Both were botched by corruption. The immediate solution to douse the people's anger against corruption is to tame the inflation. Food prices were the main causes for high inflation. Notwithstanding having the best food grain production in 2013-14, food prices skyrocketed. The crux of the problems was the lackluster storage facilities. Every year India loses 10 million tonne of foodgrain due to inadequate storage capacities. Millions of foodgrain are wasted lying in the open field. Facilities of cold storages are at nadir. India has half the capacity of its cold storage requirement. These let hoarders active and make artificial shortage in supply. Prices soared due to supply shortage. High price of onion before the State assembly elections was a case in point , even though production of onion was not at rock bottom. Why was then onion prices dropped sharply after Congress lost in Delhi Assembly election in December ?

The immediate solutions are to increase the food storage facilities and assert on cold storage facilities. In 2010 UPA government provided a number of incentives to establish a strong base for cold storage facilities to improve the distribution of perishable food products. But, the scheme became moribund because of cumbersome regulations and red tape. In this perspective, Modi's mantra of minimum government and maximum governance should be ideal to purge of red tape and cumbersome procedures.

The second immediate task should be to create a big platform for employment generation. Manufacturing is the mainstay in creating job banks in the country. China was an example. It was paradox that India 's golden period of economy (2004-09) relied more on service sector, unleashing less opportunities for manufacturing growth. There was almost no growth in the share of manufacturing in GDP during 2004 to 2012-13 , despite GDP surged to one of the best growth in the world. Share of manufacturing hovered around 15-16 percent of GDP during these periods.

National Manufacturing Policy was formulated under UPA government. But, few were there to take it. The main issue which haunted the new manufacturing policy was the availability of land. After the new Land Acquisition Act 2013, a number of SEZ projects remained idle. Some withdrew even after obtaining approval. State industrial and infrastructure development organizations - the prime organizations in acquisition of land for industries -deferred acquisition.

FDI to set up manufacturing facilities at green field level were chocked. Foreign investors preferred merger and acquisition route to invest in India.

Setting up of Land Bank is an immediate requirement to trigger the growth in manufacturing sector. Land is in the Concurrent List. However, State government has more say in land acquisitions. The immediate task for Mr Modi will be to set up land bank in cooperation with States government which are ruled by BJP and its coalition partners.

Service sector holds biggest share in GDP, accounting for about 60 percent. In service sector , trade churns a paramount share of 25 percent. But, over 92 percent of retail trade is in the unorganized sector. Service sector catalyzes a big potential for employment opportunities. The potential was, however, scuttled by the unorganized nature of trade sector. Organized retail sector plays a greater role in providing ample opportunities for employment. In this perspectives, FDI in retail sector, including in multi-brand retail , is imperative.

According to a report by Indian Staffing Federation, FDI in multi-brand retail can create 10 million jobs in 10 years. It was believed that FDI in retail would have wider impact on organized employment than what it happened in IT twelve years back.

On external front, the immediate task should be to increase export. Given the lackluster growth in West, thrust should be to increase trade with East Asia and

African countries. Bolstered by Look East policy, India's export to 10 ASEAN countries soared ten times since 2001-02. Political bonhomie surged between India and African countries. Large Indian people domiciled in Africa , comprising of a large chunk of Gujarati inhabitants, can be an important tool to gear up trade and investment in Africa. India has an edge over a number of developed nations to penetrate in this region. Even developed nation like Japan has lesser presence in Africa. A mutual understanding between Japan and India should be explored to jointly foray into this region.

Subrata Majumder

DATE WITH RTI

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