As many as 24 IAS officers of various cadres and batches are retiring in September, 2023. They are: Dharmendra Sharma of AGMUT cadre; Bidyut Bihari Swain of Gujarat; Vikas Yadav and Jagdish Sharma of Haryana; Moti George Lakra of Jharkhand; Kapil Mohan and G Kumar Naik of Karnataka; Dr Pradeep Kumar Vyas, R S Jagtap, S L Ahire of Maharashtra; Pankaj Kumar and Neposo Theluo of Nagaland; Dr Indu Malhotra, Bhupinder Singh, Sanjay Popli, Madhavi Kataria, Mohd Ishafaq of Punjab; Yagya Mitra Singh Deo and Renu Jaipal of Rajasthan; Shambhu Kallolikar and MP Sivanarul of Tamil Nadu; Saibal Barman, Tapan Kanti Rudra, Jayanta Kumar Aikat of West Bengal.

There are strong reports that the Income Tax Settlement Commission is being revived. A few years back this Commission was wound up.

Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi, Special Secretary (G20 Operations), has been appointed as Secretary, CPV &OIA, Ministry of External Affairs. He is a 1991 batch IFS officer.

The central deputation tenure of Ms Sukriti Likhi, working as AS &FA, Ministry of Steel, has been extended for a period upto September 19, 2025. She is a 1993 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre.

The central deputation tenure of Piyush Goyal working as CEO, NATGRID, has been extended for a period upto November 19, 2025. He is a 1994 batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre.

Pawan Kumar Mishra, Director (Finance), Central Coalfields Limited, appears to be an eligible candidate for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Central Coalfields Limited (CCL).

After a long time, the Ministry of Railway will be filling the vacancy of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The Ministry is holding interviews for the post through Search-cum-Selection Committee (SCSC) on October 5, 2023.

No officer of 1998 batch from Jharkhand cadre has been empanelled for holding Additional Secretary and Additional Secretary equivalent posts in the Government of India.

The Finance Ministry has notified setting up of one GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) bench in Kerala and Lakshadweep together.

The showcase district of Noida Administration is not able solve the problem of registration of flats. As per information, more than 32,000 owners are waiting for months to get their flats registered. The registration deptt has written letters to all three authorities - Noida, greater Noida and Yamuna e-way in this regard. Without the NoC from the authority, registry cannot be done. All three authorities have failed to solve the problems of residents. CM Yogi had directed related departments to clear the mess so that registry could be done, but mess continues.

Eleven Additional Judges have been appointed as Permanent Judges of Punjab & Haryana High Court. They are: Ms Justice Nidhi Gupta, Justice Sanjay Vashisth, Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, Justice Namit Kumar, Justice Harkesh Manuja, Justice Aman Chaudhary, Justice Naresh Singh, Justice Harsh Bunger, Justice Jagmohan Bansal, Justice Deepak Manchanda, and Justice Alok Jatin.

Dr Harvinder Kumar Narula, Principal Scientist (AGB) at ICAR Headquarters, has been designated as CPIO and FAA.

Ms Anchal Khandelwal has been appointed as Director (FT&TR II) in FT&TR division of CBDT on deputation basis. She is an IRS-IT officer.

Rajesh Kumar Mishra has been appointed as Addl CIT (OSD) in the office of Pr.CCIT, Mumbai, Mumbai region. He is an IRS-IT officer.

Rajesh Gera, Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC), is retiring on September 29, 2023. The Government of India is yet to declare his successor.

Last date for receiving nominations for the post of Deputy Chief of Mission (JS level), Embassy of India, Brussels, under the Department of Commerce, has been extended up to October 2.

Last date for receipt of applications for the post of Chairman (JS Level), VO Chidambaranar Port Authority (VOCPA), Tuticorin, under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has been extended upto to October 25.

As many as 17 members of State Civil Service of UP have been promoted as IAS against the Select List of 2022 and allocated UP cadre. The officers are: Shree Prakash Gupta, Priti Jaiswal, Santosh Kumar Vaishya, Dharmendra Singh, Anand Kumar Shukla, Arvind Kumar Mishra, Vijay Kumar, Avneesh Saxena, Ritu Suhas, Rajesh Kumar, Shatrohan Vaishya, Vinod Kumar, Ravindra Kumar, Himanshu Gautam, Mukesh Chandra, Umakant Tripathi and Narendra Singh.

Nipun Pande, Joint Director, EL, UT, Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), has been selected for deputation as Joint Development Commissioner (JDC) in the office of Development Commissioner (Handlooms) under the Ministry of Textiles, Delhi, for a period of four years. He is an Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) officer.

Ajay Kumar Pradhan, who is presently posted in Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), has been posted as Chief Track Engineer (CTE) in the Railway itself. He is an Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) officer.

Pankaj Kumar, who is presently posted in Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE), has been posted as Professor, RST. He is an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) officer.

Sameer Dikshit, who is presently working as Principal Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer (PCSTE) in Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), has been transferred to North Western Railway (NWR) and posted in the same capacity. He is an Indian Railways Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) officer.

Upendra Bhumij has been transferred from East Coast Railway (ECoR) to Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) and posted as Principal Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer (PCSTE).

The 13th Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs’ Conference (IPACC) held recently, wherein 20 Army Chiefs were present. The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the Indian Army Chief, and the US Army Chief who participated in the conference, all emphasised the need for greater collaboration to ensure a free, open, and secure region while respecting the territorial integrity of all nations. The Army Chief General Manoj Pande said that apart from maritime challenges, the Indo-Pacific also faced a wide range of security and humanitarian concerns. US Army Chief General Randy George also said - this region is critically important to the US, which is why we are here and exercising more than anywhere else in the Pacific. The conference IPACC has been organized by the India for the first time along with the United States.

On the basis of the results of the written part of the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination, (II) 2023 held by the Union Public Service Commission on September 3, the list of successful candidates has been announced. The candidates qualified for interview by the Services Selection Board (SSB) of the Ministry of Defence are eligible for Admission to Army, Navy and Air Force Wings of the National Defence Academy. The course is commencing from 2nd  July, 2024. The result is also available at Commission’s website.

As many as 147 officers in the grade of Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Customs and Indirect Taxes have been shifted and given new postings. The complete list can be seen here:

https://whispersinthecorridors.com/pdf/Office_Order_164_%202023.pdf

As many as 25 officers in the grade of Additional/Joint Commissioner of Customs and Indirect Taxes have been shifted and given new postings. The complete list can be seen here:

https://whispersinthecorridors.com/pdf/Office_165_2023.pdf

Kishor Rungta, Chairman-cum-Manginag Director, Madras Fertilizres Limited (MFL) informed that the company has posted the highest ever net profit since inception of the Company that the net profit for the year 2022-23 is Rs 185.33 Cr. By this, the Company has reached another milestone that it has achieved profit for 3 consecutive years, which makes me really proud and happy. The revenue from operations of the Company has also been increased by around 50% (Rs 3447 Cr for the financial year 2022-23 as against Rs 2302.16 Cr). The MFL continues to meet the fertilizer demand of the farmers by effective production plan and strategies. “I am happy to share some of the highlights of the performance of the Company during the fiscal 2022-23” says Rungta.

Plant Highlights:

 The Company has produced 519800 MT of Neem Coated Urea which is the best annual production (previous best 503900 MT in the FY 2021-22), with the Capacity Utilisation of 106.8%. Annual Specific Energy Consumption of 7.584 GCal/MT of Urea.     Quarterly Production of 146169 MT of Urea during Jan-Mar 2023 is the Second highest production since inception (Previous Best 146662 MT during Oct-Dec 2021). Monthly production of 51000 MT achieved during March 2023 is the Best monthly production (Best 50662 MT in Dec 2021). At the close of Mar 31, 2023, 3276 days were completed without any lost time accident covering 11.01 million man-hours.

Sales Highlights:

The Company has achieved an All Time Record sale of 5,29,879 MTs of Vijay Neem Coated Urea since revamping of Urea Plants which is 5% increase over previous year sale of 5,04,559 MTs. The Company has sold 5,37,383 MTs of both NPK 20-20-0 and NC Urea during the year against the previous year sale of 5,30,812 MTs. The Company has achieved record movement of 5,37,117MT which is the best in the last 10 years. Sold 157.42 KL of Vijay Neem which is the highest in the past 10 years and it is 38 % increase over previous year sale of 113.63 KL. Under “Basket Approach” MFL sold 7836 MTs of Vijay Organic which is the highest in the past 7 years and 15% increase over previous year sale of 6832 MTs. In addition to Organic Manure, Under “Swachh Bharat Mission”, Marketing of City Compost, a product from Municipality/Factory waste, has been undertaken and 9608 MTs was sold which is 50% increase over previous year sale of 6403 MTs.  With respect to Market Development and Agro Service Programs, MFL’s Marketing personnel have contacted 20822 farmers during the year and continuously imparted knowledge to farmers on use of eco-friendly products for soil health, soil fertility, Soil vitality and balanced fertilization (Integrated Nutrient Management). Method demonstrations and farmer seminars were organized in coordination with State/Central Agricultural extension departments. In pursuance to the Prime Minister’s Mission on empowering the Farmers vide Supportive Schemes & Education on farming techniques, MFL continues its service to the farmers through “Kisan Suvidha Kendra” at Gangavathy and Shimoga in Karnataka State. Farmer services like soil sample analysis and recommendation of fertilizer dosage based on soil test report, educating the farmers on weather, crop Insurance and other improved farm technologies were offered.

Engineers India Limited (EIL) and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG) signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for FY 2023-24 on September 27, 2023. The MoU was signed by Shri Pankaj Jain, Secretary, MoP&NG and Ms. Vartika Shukla, C&MD, EIL. Shri Praveen Mal Khanooja, Additional Secretary, MoP&NG, Shri Rohit Mathur, Joint Secretary, MoP&NG, Shri Ashok Kumar Kalra, Director (HR), EIL, Sanjay Jindal, Director (Finance), EIL, Atul Gupta, Director (Commercial), EIL, Rajiv Agarwal, Director (Technical), EIL, Rajeev Gupta, Director (Projects), EIL and senior officials of EIL also graced the occasion. On this development, C&MD EIL, Ms Vartika Shukla, expressed "EIL's outstanding performance is evident in our robust financial results for the fiscal year 2022-23. Over the past few years, EIL has strengthened its Green Business Portfolio and remains dedicated to achieving the highest ratings in all domains outlined in the MoU."

Two Assistant Accounts Officers (AAOs) have been shifted. Nikesh Mudgal has been posted to PFMS, Delhi, while Rajesh Kumar Sinha is shifted to the Ministry of External Affairs.

The unique registered investors on the National Stock Exchange of India have crossed 8 crore count (unique PAN numbers). The journey from 7 crores registered investors to 8 crore registered investors took about 8 months. Total number of client codes registered with the Exchange stand at 14.9 crores (clients could register with more than one trading member and includes all registrations done till date). The partaking of investors truly reflects the vision of Amrit Kaal, vision of a prosperous and inclusive India in which the fruits of development reach all regions and citizens. The recent 1 crore new unique PAN based investor registrations (First time registrations by a PAN) are not restricted to top tier cities and the cities beyond top 100 accounted for 45% of new investor registrations. States from Northern part of India accounted for 43% followed by West with 27%, South by 17% and East by 13% towards the last 1 crore new investor registrations. The top cities include the Delhi (including NCR) contributing to 7% followed by Mumbai (including Thane/Raigad) with 4.6% and Pune with 1.7%.  The sheer growth in number of participants can be attributed to the momentum observed in capital markets. The benchmark equity index – the Nifty 50 index has delivered annualised returns of 22.66% in last 3 years and the Nifty 500 index has delivered annualised returns of 24.89% in last 3 years (all returns as on September 26, 2023) indicating the performance is long term, broad based and not restricted to few securities. The first 6 months of current financial year has seen 76 lakhs of new investor registrations. Previously, the number of new investor registrations stood at 1.3 crores in FY23, 1.9 crores in FY22 and 0.90 crores in FY21. The 8 crore unique PAN investors correspond approximately to around 5 crores unique households in India amounting to around 17% households directly investing in Indian stock market via NSE’s extensive nationwide network of trading members.  Investors, in addition to investments in the equity shares, can use the exchange route to diversify their portfolio across asset classes using exchange traded products. Secondary market liquidity in some of the products has seen increased depth coupled with ease of entry & exist to the investors due to transition to T+1 settlement in Capital Market Segment. The daily average turnover of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) has increased close to 11 times from Rs 46 crores in FY14 to Rs 605 crores in FY23. Introduction of ETFs on different new themes, ETFs on Government securities, target maturity ETFs and Silver ETFs have also provided investors with wider array of ETFs to choose from.  Real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) which provide investors on the exchange to seek exposure to real estate and infrastructure assets, has observed daily average turnover of Rs 83 crores in this financial year in the Capital Market Segment of the Exchange.  Government bonds listed in Capital Market Segment of the Exchange also sees daily average turnover of Rs 13 crores, which also includes State Development Loans and Treasury Bills in addition to the long-dated securities. The holding of the bonds in demat account along with other securities has provided convenience to the investors. Sovereign Gold Bonds also sees a daily average turnover of Rs 8 crores on the exchange platform.  Overall turnover in the current financial year has witnessed growth of around 28% YoY in cash equity and 4% YoY in equity derivatives. The equity derivatives to equity cash ratio have been hovering around 2.5 in FY24 as compared to around 3 in FY23.  Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer, NSE said, "The vision outlined for the Amrit Kaal includes technology-driven and knowledge-based economy with strong public finances, and a robust financial sector. Technology has brought in ease of investor onboarding, made available self-paced learning modules to impart knowledge to the masses thereby enriching overall investing experience in financial products on the Exchange. The momentum in the capital markets, equity & debt, had a positive bearing on fund mobilisation in primary markets and deepening liquidity in the secondary markets. We expect the increased contribution of the domestic investors would help in long term growth of our economy.”

The Air Force Day is celebrated on 8 October every year . As part of the upcoming Air Force  Day Celebrations 2023, Air Marshal S P Dharkar Air Officer Commanding in Chief , Eastern Air Command  flagged off an MTB Cycling Expedition Led by Group Captain Amit Goel. The team would cover a distance of 1550Kms from Shillong to Mechuka. The cyclists over the next seven days would be gaining an altitude of approx 6000ft AMSL. The expedition aims to promote the spirit of comradeship, team work & adventure amongst air warriors.

The Government of West Bengal has expunged the name of Joyjit Choudhury as Additional Advocate General from the panel of advocates appearing for the State before Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench, Calcutta High Court within two months of his appointment after several corruption charges against him were reported to the government.

Bankesh Chandra Agrawal has been re-appointed as Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Shree Hari Chemicals Export Limited with effect from November 11, 2023.

Sarthak Agarwal has been re-appointed as Whole-Time Director of Shree Hari Chemicals Export Limited with effect from November 11, 2023.

Nihit Agarwal has been re-appointed as Whole-Time Director of Shree Hari Chemicals Export Limited with effect from November 11, 2023.

Akash Suri has been appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Whole-Time Director of Authum Investment & Infrastructure Limited.

Mahendra Kumar Baid has been re-appointed as Managing Director of BFL Asset Finvest Limited with effect from July 28, 2023.

Krishna Kumar Gupta has been re-appointed as Managing Director of Pasari Spinning Mills Limited with effect from August 31, 2023.

Sunil Kumar Jain has been re-appointed as Managing Director of Shri Krishna Devcon Limited with effect from November 1, 2023.

Bhupendra Singh Bundela has been re-appointed as Non-Executive Independent Director of Shri Krishna Devcon Limited with effect from March 30, 2024.

Naveen Kumar Jain, who is serving as Non-Executive Director of Shri Krishna Devcon Limited, has been re-designated as Executive Director of the company with effect from November 01, 2023.

Ms. Heena Agrawal, who is serving as Non-Executive Director of Shri Krishna Devcon Limited, has been re-designated as Executive Director of the company with effect from August 31, 2023.

Dr. Manoj Kumar Jhawar has been appointed as Whole-Time Director, designated as Director (Commercial & Operations), of PTC India Limited

Venigalla Sambasiva Rao has been appointed as Additional Director (Non-Executive Independent) of Danlaw Technologies India Limited.

Shireesh Shantaram Phal has been appointed as Additional Director (Executive) of Danlaw Technologies India Limited.

Naresh Gandhi has been re-appointed as Independent Director of Avasara Finance Limited.

Naresh Kumar Agarwal has been re-appointed as Whole-Time Director of Lehar Footwears Limited.

Ms. Rajeshwari Singh Muni, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Insurance Company Limited, has been appointed as Additional Director (Non-Executive) on the Board of GIC Housing Finance Limited.

Divya Kwatra has been appointed as Additional Director (Non-Executive Independent) of Standard Capital Markets Limited.

Sandeep Parikh has ceased to be Independent Director of Lyka Labs Limited on the completion of his tenure.

Subhash Chand Jain has resigned from the position of Independent Director of Sharma East India Hospitals & Medical Research Limited.

Nari Shakti Vandan Bill

After decades of waiting, the Women's Reservation Bill or Nari Shakti Vandan Bill was passed in both the houses of the Parliament. Political parties and analysts have raised the question that when the bill will take several years to be implemented, why did the government call a special session of Parliament and get it passed? It is in fact a part of BJP's strategy in view of the upcoming assembly and general elections. It is an attempt to increase its support base among women voters. It remains to be seen if it really will have any impact. However, BJP will try to capitalize on the issue in these elections that the opposition did not do anything on this bill which was lying in cold storage for years and BJP has brought it to empower women.

Nancy Kumari

Information about loans provided by Bank to a builder without due diligence

Information with respect to the Loan/Mortgage loan/Credit facilities sanctioned to M/s Om Sokhal Builders and Construction Pvt. Ltd including its directors, their spouses, etc. was denied by UCO Bank under section 8 (1) (e) and (j). The appellant argued that they were the buyers and there had been multiple loans on the same property by the builders, their relatives and the directors. The CIC noted that buyers, including the appellant, had booked a flat and because of the apparent malfeasance which had taken place advertently or inadvertently exhibiting lack of due diligence while financing the project as a whole or to the related parties or group industries. The appellant being buyer of one of the flats was not stranger to the subject matter. The CIC observed that the objective of the RTI is to bring transparency and accountability in the functioning of the public authorities. The whole episode had raised doubts on the propriety of the public authority i.e. bank in financing the project. It was also brought on record that there were criminal cases and civil cases pending investigation or final judicial pronouncements. The appellant has only sought information which was in the custody of the public authority and as the affected party, he has a right to the information sought. Public interest demanded that the same may be made available as sought by the appellant for bringing transparency and accountability, as the final rights and obligations will be decided by the respected courts or other authorities. The CIC directed to provide the information.

Comments

It is not uncommon to come across cases where a builder has taken suspicious loans or a bank has granted loans which are being investigated. It is the common buyer who is forced to suffer in silence.

Citation: Radhika Sharma v. UCO Bank, CIC/UCOBK/A/2022/602682, &CIC/UCOBK/A/2022/602617; 05.09.2023

Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Visakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books, RTI Right to Information - Law and Practice and PIO’s Guide to RTI. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and Third party audit. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link www.rtifoundationofindia.com

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