What people say about us!

Normal media houses only publish factual events, but 'whispersinthecorridors.com' is doing a social service and sensitizes the issues with alerting the Government of India to expedite its pending works.

A K Das, AGM, BHEL

POLITICS

Will BJP cross 232 ? (Internal Survey )
The ongoing election process has fuelled the speculations across the board whether Modi led BJP would be able to garner the fare share of seats having the first claim to form the Government of at the centre. This is something what the over enthusiastic BJP strategists have been expecting at best:- (numbers within brackets represent total number of seats in respective states)

UP: 43 (80), Rajasthan: 22 (25), MP: 26 (29), Gujarat: 24 (26), Bihar: 24 (40), Karnataka: 15 (28), Maharashtra: 19 (48), Chhattisgarh: 08 (11), Jharkhand: 09 (14), Uttarakhand: 04 (05), Haryana: 06 (10), Punjab: 03 (13), Assam: 03 (14), WB: 02 (42), Kerala: 01 (20), Andhra Pradesh (United): 05 (42), Odisha: 03 (21), Tamil Nadu: 02 (39), Goa: 01 (02), Daman & Diu: 01 (01), Nagar Haveli: 01 (01), Himachal: 03 (04), J&K: 01 (06), Delhi: 05 (07), Andaman & Nicobar Islands: 01 (01)

Yet it would be tested by time only whether the enthusiastic figures (232) estimated by the over enthusiastic BJP strategists would turn into reality or not.

Is there lull before storm ?
Is there a lull before the storm in the BJP ?.One can watch the developments in the coming few days.

Director will now get 1 lakh for per sitting !
If top sources are to be believed, now the Independent Directors will be entitled to get fee of Rs one lakh for per sitting. Previously the fees was Rs 30 thousand.

BUREAUCRACY

Javed Usmani likely to get UN assignment
The whispers about Javed Usmani's supposed foreign assignment seems to be moving along right direction. It is reliably learnt that Usmani, Chief Secretary of UP, has crossed half the way to his supposed assignment with United Nations. It is reliably learnt that External Affairs desk at PMO has moved the proposal ahead a couple of days back. One can not deny that the rumour about Usmani's fate as new Cabinet Secretary in Modi's regime may prove to be futile. Let's wait and watch.



Secretaries catering to '5Ts' to be on Modi's top priorities
Even though the 16 May only would unfold the roadmap ahead but if the extit-poll surveys are to be indicators 'Five Ts' may find place on Modi's top priority list as new PM. These 'Five-Ts' would encompass Trade (Commerce), Tax (Finance), Tourism, Transport (MoRTH, Railways, Shipping & Civil Aviation) Telecom & IT. The insiders believe that after settling into the government and consolidating his delivery mechanisms at PMO Modi may rehash the top slots catering to these 'Five Ts'. Spectators say that the month of June would be crucially important for several key departments and positions.

No Secretary level vacancy but supreme slot on offer this month?
It may sound ironical but interesting it is. Followed by five Secretary level vacancies in April there is none in the month of May. But after Dr Manmohan Singh's farewell in South Block the supreme slot of bureaucracy, Principal Secretary to PM, is now clear seem to be on offer. By the noon on 16 May the guessing game would be on its peak to make out the name of the successor of Pulok Chatterjee in PMO. Indian bureaucracy is desperate while guessing the names? .

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

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

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


45 IRS (C&CE) officers (1992 & 93 batch) are poised for Commissioner
Whispers in the corridors of power have it that as many as 45 Additional Commissioners (C&CE) are waiting in the wings for Commissioner (C&CE). Reportedly, the DPC took place on last Friday in Mumbai.

No proposal initiated for the coveted slot of FC, Railway Board?
Many top order officials in Railway Board find it difficult to find convincing reason as why proposal for the appointment of Financial Commissioner, Railway Board, was not initiated. Interestingly, it had been clear to all that the slot was supposed to fall vacant on April 30 following the superannuation of Rajendra Kashyap on April 30, 2014. Some insiders believe that it was part of the tricky trails of Railway Board.

GoI announces OROP to all Armed Forces personnel
The Government of India has announced the grant of One Rank One Pension (OROP) to all the Armed Forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement, and any future enhancement in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. This implies bridging the gap between the rate of pension of the current pensioners and the past pensioners, and also future enhancements in the rate of pension, to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. It further implies that pensions of past defence retirees will be equal to that of a person with same rank and length of service and same group retiring with effect from April 1, 2014, and future enhancement in the rates of pensions will be automatically passed to the past pensioners.

Shuba Sharma to be Secretary CERC
Ms Shuba Sharma is all set to join Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) as Secretary. She is 1999 batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre.

Singh to be CVO, SDMC
Gyaneshwar Singh is likely to join as CVO SDMC. 1999 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IPS officer Singh is PS to Union Minister Rajiv Shukla.

Preeti Sudan gets three months extension
Joint Secretary Defence Preeti Sudan has been given three months extension in deputation tenure. She is 1983 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Applications for Chairman, FMC, Mumbai invited
Applications have been invited for the post of Chairman, Forward Markets Commission (FMC), Mumbai under the Ministry of Finance. Those interested to apply for the same can send their applications to the Department of Economic Affairs, Capital Market Division at the earliest.

Dube to start consultancy service
Former Director (Industrial Systems and Products) in the BHEL M K Dube having Illustrious career spanning over 37 years of outstanding contribution in the fields of operation management, general management, project management and business leadership is going to start Aadit Power and Industrial Solutions Pvt Ltd based in Bhopal.

Mukhopadhyay selected for Member (Secy), DVC (UPDATED)
P K Mukhopadhyay, Director (Production), Braithwaite, has been appointed as Member (Secretary) in the Board of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on May 15, 2014. As many as seven persons were interviewed for the same.

Annual performance review meeting taken by AAI Chairman (UPDATED)
Alok Sinha, IAS, Chairman AAI & Joint Secretary MOCA after taking over as Chairman, AAI in January 2014 took the first Annual Performance Review Meeting of AAI along with all the Board Members and CVO which was attended by all the Regional Executive Directors and Airport Directors of Kolkata & Chennai and HODs from CHQ. The key emphasis on deliberations had been to draw action plan towards improvement in the standard of customer services at AAI's Airports. It was amply made clear to all that a core team of officers at Corporate Headquarters will regularly monitor the improvements and progress in this regard which will be to meet the parameters of Master Plan so developed by Corporate Headquarters. Member (OPS) while welcoming all, emphasized on the theme of the one day meeting in his inaugural note. All the members while addressing the participants, apart from laying emphasis on the core functions of their respective areas, emphasized upon the team building and working cohesively towards the corporate strategy of Customer Satisfaction to achieve the target of ASQ of 4.5 and also complimented AAI for getting an average rating of 4.09 which is above world average of 4.07. Member (Finance) while addressing the gathering, informed that during 2013-14 AAI has increased its revenue figure by about 15% thereby achieving the net profit after tax as Rs.796.36 crores which has registered an increase of 8.3%. While indicating the profit figure, Member (Finance) emphasized that AAI shall continue to endeavor for reduction in its expenditure figure and target to reduce it at least by 20% and indicated various measures through which this can be achieved.Member (ANS) while addressing the gathering emphasized the need for safe and seamless air traffic services through Indian Airports as well as Indian Air space. He highlighted the importance of AAI in the international arena. He complimented the work done by the AAI employees in this direction which has resulted in series of awards and accolades by the well known organizations including Jane's Awards (second year in succession).

Bhatia is also Ambassador Republic of Liberia and to the Republic of Guinea (UPDATED)
Dinesh Bhatia, presently Ambassador of India to Cote d'Ivoire, has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Liberia and to the Republic of Guinea, with residence in Abidjan.

7 IRTS officers get SAG (UPDATED)
As many as seven officers of Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) have been promoted to the Senior Administrative Grade (SAG). The officers are: Sanjay Bajpai of NR; Prahalad Chandra Sahu posted to SECR; Neeraj Sharma and Nar Singh Das of NR; Arvind Malkhede; Biplav Kumar was shifted to NFR and H R Rao was posted to NER after promotion.

Ashish Kumar appointed as Director (Safety), Railway Board (UPDATED)
Ashish Kumar, who is presently Sr DOM, Moradabad, Northern Railway, has been appointed as Director (Safety)-II, Railway Board. He is an IRTS officer.

Vinod Bhatia posted as Director (Planning), Railway Board (UPDATED)
Vinod Bhatia, who is presently Director, TT (Punctuality), Railway Board, has been posted as Director (Planning), Railway Board. He is an IRTS officer.

Rajiv Gupta gets posting as Director (C&IS), Railway Board (UPDATED)
Rajiv Gupta, who returns from deputation to IRCTC, has been posted as Director (C&IS) in Railway Board. He is an IRTS officer.

A B Pandya appointed Chairman, Central Water Commission (UDATED)
Ashwin B Pandya has been appointed as the Chairman of Central Water Commission & Ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India. He was holding additional charge of the post since November, 2013. A graduate in Civil Engineering from Saurashtra University and post-graduate in Structural Engineering from IIT, Delhi, Pandya joined the Central Water Engineering Service in CWC in October, 1977 as Assistant Director.

CORPORATE

Sriprasad is new MD Valvo Buses India
V. R. V Sriprasad has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Volvo Buses India.

Anand re-appointed MD & CEO, Asian Paints Ltd
The Board of Asian Paints Ltd has approved the re-appointment of K B S Anand as Managing Director & CEO of the company w.e.f. April 1, 2015

Two directors cease to be on Board of TV Today Network Ltd
Rakesh Kumar Malhotra and Anil Mehsa have ceased to be Independent directors of TV Today Network Ltd w.e.f. March 31, 2014

Three directors cease to be on Board of Nakoda Ltd
Ms P B Jain, B L Maheshwari and P P Vora have resigned as directors of Nakoda Ltd

Sarada appointed Addl. Director, Avantel Ltd
Avantel Ltd has appointed A. Sarada as an Additional Director of the company

Bhutani appointed Addl. Director, Burnpur Cement Ltd
Burnpur Cement Ltd has appointed J C Bhutani as an Additional Director of the company.

Sanghi appointed Addl. Director, Narbada Gems and Jewellery Ltd
Narbada Gems and Jewellery Ltd has appointed Ms Bhavna Sanghi as an Additional Director of the company

Ian Desouza resigns as CFO, Bajaj Finance Ltd
Ian Desouza has resigned as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bajaj Finance Ltd due to personal reasons.

Three Independent directors re-appointed on Board of Themis Medicare Ltd
Hoshang N Sinor, Humayun Dhanrajgir and Vijay Agarwal have been re-appointed as Independent directors of Themis Medicare Ltd

(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)

Manmohan Singh's image intact

Too much is being written about the "image" of Dr. Manmohan Singh, outgoing prime minister of India, after the launch of Sanjaya Baru's book "An Accidental Prime Minister". TV shows and newspaper editorials are ruing the dent to the image of Dr. Singh, especially comparing as they saw it in 2009 and now in May 2014. I am a little amused at people concluding that Dr. Manmohan Singh's image has been dented in any way. If anything, Dr. Manmohan Singh is the only one who has succeeded in keeping his image intact in the company of notoriously corrupt people. What people like Baru and writers of editorial pieces , TV anchors and debating Moguls, intelligentsia and civil society, captains of politics and industry, diplomats and foreign governments, economists and academics, bureaucrats and citizens are bemoaning is the damage to their own perception of the image of the man that Dr. Manmohan Singh appeared to them.

M L Gupta

Injustice to Deputy Secretary level officers

Since the level of responsibility, duties and powers for Deputy Secretary and Director level officers in Govt. of India are the same and both these posts are interchangeable depending upon the seniority of the officer concerned, there used to be a total difference of only Rs.2300/- between the Pay Scales of these officers before implementation of the 6th Pay Commission's report - the starting Scale of Pay for DS being Rs.12,000/- and that for Director Rs.14,300/-. It was highly unjustified on the part of GoI when it granted Pay Band and Grade Pay with a Substantial Difference to these levels of officers at the time of implementation of the 6th Pay Commission's report. As is known, PB-3 of Rs.15600-39100 with GP of Rs.7600/- is prescribed for DS and Substantially Higher (almost double) PB-4 of Rs.37400-67000 with GP of Rs.8700 for Director level officers. This is one of the greatest anomalies in the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission's report. There has been a demand to grant PB-4 with a Grade Pay of say Rs.8000/- to DS level officers. When the Govt. could grant PB-4 to Lt. Colonels and Director level officers - VI Pay Commn. Recommended PB-3 to Director level officers and the Govt., later on, hiked the pay of Lt. Colonels - there is no logic to deny the same to DS level officers. It is not that only DS level officers are affected. In fact even All India Service and equivalent officers including young Section Officers and Under Secretary level officers will also be affected when they reach the level of DS. The Government should rectify this anomaly soon before the 7th Pay Commission starts its work, to meet the ends of justice. Let the Congress Govt. do this justice before it hands over charge to the next Government.

Dharam

DATE WITH RTI

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