One should not be surprised if a woman IAS officer is appointed as the Home Secretary in August. If this happens, it would be the first. Sources said that this govt is known for surprises and anything is possible.

The Government of India has withheld the release of funds to the Ministries and Departments beyond the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22. No further extension to ongoing schemes and release of funds will be allowed beyond March 2021.

G Mahendiren, Assistant Director, in NSO (FOD), SRO, Virudhunagar, has resigned from Indian Statistical Service (ISS).

The CAG has got two new posts of Dy CAG. The HAG level posts have been approved by the Cabinet recently.

Recently held DPC has cleared the names of three IIS officers, presently ADGs, for promotion as DG. They are Ms Shephall Sharan, Dhirendra Ojha and DJ Narain. Their file has reportedly been sent for ACC approval.

One investigating agency is reportedly starting to register alleged corruption cases against the officers of other investigating agency. One case has been registered against an officer while two more  are said to be in the pipeline. Power gallries are abuzz that why the agency is doing so and who has given such direction?

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has picked three candidates from the same organization CONCOR, one after another, for various Board level appointments. Rahul Mithal, Director CONCOR, has been chosen for CMD RITES, while Santosh Kumar Jha, ED CONCOR was picked up for Director Operations and Commercial KRCL  and Anuj Kumar GGM, CONCOR is selected for Director Finance CWC.

There are four posts of Chief General Manager (CGM) in Finance Department of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Three of them have been lying vacant for a long time apart from Member Finance. Only one CGM is handling all financial affairs in this big organization.

The deputation period of D. Bhaskara Rao has been extended for one more year till June 14 next year. He is presently posted at UIDAI, Hyderabad regional office. He is an ITS officer.

Subhash Kumar has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Delhi on deputation basis. He is an IRS-IT officer.

Anirudh Saran Singh, Chilakala Rajeswara Reddy and Dr Praveen Mittal have been promoted to the grade of Joint Commissioner of Income Tax (JCIT).

Ravi Kant Gupta has been appointed as Additional CIT (OSD) in the office of Pr.CCIT, Delhi Region while  Gaurav Pundir  was made JCIT (OSD) in the office of Principal CCIT, Delhi region and M Babu Rao  is  ACIT(OSD) in the office of Principal CCIT, Nagpur Region.

Bank Board Bureau (BBB), associated with the appointment of top officials for public sector banks and financial institutions, has invited applications for the post of Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Punjab National Bank on a full-time basis. The last date for submitting the complete online application is July 17, 2021.

Pramod Kumar has been empanelled as a member of the main panel consisting of 16 members for appointment to the post of General Manager or equivalent in the Zonal Railways. He has been considered suitable for the posts of General Manager (Open-Line) and General Manager (Non-Open Line). He is an Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) officer. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal for his empanelment.

Sanjeev Kishore has been empanelled as a member of the main panel consisting of 16 members for appointment to the post of General Manager or equivalent in the Zonal Railways. He has been considered suitable for the posts of General Manager (Open-Line) and General Manager (Non-Open Line). He is an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) officer. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal for his empanelment.

Vijay Sharma has been empanelled as a member of the main panel consisting of 16 members for appointment to the post of General Manager or equivalent in the Zonal Railways. He has been considered suitable for the posts of General Manager (Open-Line) and General Manager (Non-Open Line). He is an Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) officer. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal for his empanelment.

Ms. Archana Joshi has been empanelled as a member of the extended panel consisting of 12 members for appointment to the post of General Manager or equivalent in the Zonal Railways. She has been considered suitable for the posts of General Manager (Open-Line) and General Manager (Non-Open Line). She is an Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal for her empanelment.

Mohit Sinha has been empanelled as a member of the extended panel consisting of 12 members for appointment to the post of General Manager or equivalent in the Zonal Railways. He has been considered suitable for the posts of General Manager (Open-Line) and General Manager (Non-Open Line). He is an Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) officer. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal for his empanelment.

The Central Secretariat Service (CSS) Forum, in a letter to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), requested to promote the eligible officers without further delays. The Forum urged that no Supreme Court/High Court has stayed promotion against any petition. The officers of CSS are the backbone of the Government of India and deserve to be promoted on time.

Sunil Kumar, Chief Engineer (CE), Northern Railway, has been selected for deputation to National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) for the post of General Manager (Contract) at New Delhi for a period of five years. He is an Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) officer.

Vinesh Kumar, Assistant Executive Engineer (AXEN), Western Railway, has been selected for deputation to Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Limited (MRVC) for the post of Executive Engineer (XEN) at Mumbai for a period of three years.

Rajiv Kumar Srivastava,  Deputy Chief Vigilance Officer (Dy. CVO), Stores, BH, Headquarters, Northern Railway has been selected for deputation to Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) as JGM (Stores) at New Delhi for a period of three years. He is an Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS) officer.

SK Senapati, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer (Sr. DME), Coordination, Raipur, South East Central Railway (SECR) has been selected for deputation to Braithwaite & Company Limited (B&CL) to the post of General Manager at Visakhapatnam for a period of three years. He is an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) officer.

Sanjay Sharma has been transferred from Southern Railway (SR) to North Western Railway (NWR) on his own request and posted in the cadre. He is an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) officer.

Upon returning from deputation to Ministry of External Affairs, Dr Amar Nath Dube has been posted in Modern Coach Factory (MCF) as Principal Chief Personnel Officer (PCPO) (CHOD). He is an Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) officer.

Seven IPS officers have been given new posting while three others were handed over additional charges. Anjani Anjan has been posted as SP, Traffic, Ranchi, while Dhananjay Singh was appointed as SP, Deoghar and Ashwini Sinha will join as SP, Headquarters. Besides, Ajit Peter Dungdung will be posted as SP Jaguar; Mohammad Arshi as SP, Headquarters; Nidhi Dwivedi as Commandant, ZAP, Palamu and Anand Prakash was made SP, Seraikela Kharsawan. Besides, Sandhya Rani Mehta, Kishore Kaushal and Aman Kumar have been given additional charge of SP, ACB.

Mrs. Deepika Suri has been posted as IG, Disaster Management (State Disaster Emergency Response Force) Bhopal. She is 1999 batch IPS officer. With her appointment, ADGP G Akheto Sema has been relieved of the additional charge of Disaster Management.

Mrs Y Srilakshmi has been promoted to the grade of Chief Secretary in Andhra Pradesh. She is a 1988 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Ashutosh Agnihotri, presently in UT division has been assigned an additional charge of Services in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). He is 1999 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

Mrs. Sunaina Tomar, IAS, has resigned from the position of Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director from the Board of Torrent Power Limited due to her transfer and appointment as Additional Chief Secretary, Social Justice, & Empower Department, Gujarat Government and relinquishing the charge of the post of Additional Chief Secretary, Energy & Petrochemicals Department, Gujarat Government.

Shailesh Jogani has been appointed as Non-Executive, Independent Additional Director of Vardhan Capital & Finance Limited. Meanwhile, Arvind Kumar Kothari has resigned from the position of Non-Executive Independent Director of the company.

Krishna S Patel has been appointed as Chairman & Managing Director of NESCO Limited. Besides, Sumant J Patel has been appointed as Executive Director and Chief Mentor of the company.

Sahil Ashokkumar Gupta has been appointed as Managing Director on the Board of Rudra Global Infra Products Limited.

Mrs. Sunaina Tomar, IAS, has resigned from the position of Non-Executive Nominee Director and Chairperson from the Board of Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited due to her transfer and appointment as Additional Chief Secretary, Social Justice, & Empower Department, Gujarat Government and relinquishing the charge of the post of Additional Chief Secretary, Energy & Petrochemicals Department, Gujarat Government.

Ms. Juhi Vinod Pania has been appointed as Additional Director in the category of Non-Executive Independent Director on the Board of Baba Arts Limited.

Hans Raj Verma, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, who is also serving as Chairman and Managing Director of Chennai-based Tamilnadu Industrial Investment Corporation Limited (TIIC) has been appointed as Additional Director and Nominee Director (of TIIC) on the Board of Seshasayee Paper and Boards Limited (SPBL).

Amit Patankar and Amit Sinkar have been appointed as Additional Directors (Non-Executive & Independent) of Nidhi Granites Limited. Meanwhile, Rajesh Chheda and Vineetkumar Mishra have stepped down as Independent Directors of the company.

Anil Kumar Nayak, Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser, Ministry of Coal, has ceased to be a Part-Time Official Director on the Board of Coal India Limited (CIL).

Yogendra Jhaveri has been appointed as Additional Director (Non-Executive Independent) of Madhusudan Industries Limited.

Mahesh Fogla has been appointed as Additional Director (Independent) of India Home Loan Limited.

Ms. Priya Mahadevan, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), and Rajeev Kumar Das, Deputy Land & Development Officer, MoHUA, have been assigned the additional charge of the post of Director on Board of Hemisphere Properties India Limited (HPIL).

Ms. Kakarla Usha, IAS, has resigned from the post of Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director and Chairperson (nominated by Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited -TIDCO) of  Tamilnadu Petroproducts Limited consequent to withdrawal of her nomination by TIDCO.

Pratik Rashmikant Pota has been re-appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Whole-Time Director of Jubilant FoodWorks Limited with effect from April 1, 2022. Meanwhile, Berjis Minoo Desai has been re-appointed as Independent Director of the company with effect from May 29, 2022.

Bhushan Gajaria has been appointed as Additional Director (Independent), while Sagar Shah has been made Additional Director (Whole-Time) of Kapashi Commercial Limited. 

DEBATE(1)

Polticians and bureaucrats, both try to exploit each other  but ultimately bureaucrats succeed.

Girja Shankar

(DEBATE 2)

More than two millennia back, the master of statecraft Chanakya aka Kautilya aka Vishnugupta stated “नैकं चक्रं परिभ्रम्यति” which translates as "you cannot move a chariot having a single wheel." The Constitution of India unambiguously reflects the noble objective of the founding fathers who clearly laid down that the legislature, the executive and the judiciary must function like components of a well-oiled machine for the proper functioning of our democracy. However, present-day India is radically different from what it was in the initial decades post-Independence. Idealism plummeted in the political sphere and now almost anyone with deep pockets can don the mantle of a parliamentarian or legislator. Politicians are not "all bad" but it is often observed that they pressurise the bureaucracy to have things done their way. In such a situation, an honest officer's choices are certainly not easy - either ignore, buckle or protest at the cost of transfer or suspension! A babu who acts like a puppet will definitely have the advantage of his or her other mistakes or graft being 'pardoned' but that hardly augurs well for public welfare.

Abhijit C. Chandra

Is Finance Minister Listening ?

Banking services is one of the important services for the economic growth of the country. Banking services specially PSU banks requires serious thinking about the deplorable services. The working can easily be understood by their balance sheets specially NPA. It is reaching nearly 10%, even after this there is no accountability. It is being said that their salaries is directly proportional to NPA and inversely proportional to customer services. Customer services are completely neglected by banks. In Board, there is nominee from Govt. normally Joint Secretary from Ministry of Finance and one from Regulator i,e, RBI but no one looks what services are being provided to the customers. Country is passing thru a pandemic situation last one year and advisories are being issued on regular basis to remain inside and avoid rush. Every customer after close of FY is looking following five services which can easily be provided on line by banks to avoid rush in banks: 1. Bank Statement for FY 2. Interest Certificate 3. Submission of 15g/15H forms 4. TDS certificate 5. Form 16A for pensioners Can anyone from the Govt. or Regulator look how many PSU banks are providing these services on line? This is not a big job or requires Rocket Science but can be done easily by taking proper initiatives and making CMD of Banks directly responsible to provide these services on line thru net banking or mobile app to customers in specified time frame failing which action can be initiated. Govt. is giving required tax payers money to banks in the form of recapitalisation and banks should deliver the results. In case they are not, the right step should be disinvestment. Bank employees are being given rise in their salary, perks, pensionary benefits and number of holidays. Let them provide good services to customers and good earnings to Govt. as private banks. As situation in country due to Covid-19 pandemic is not conducive, Ministry of Finance should allow the submission of Form 15H later may be in month of July, 2021 and consider the same Form 15H submitted in FY 2020-21 is applicable for Q1 FY 2921-22. These small steps can be taken by the Govt. to ease the problems of Sr. Citizens when they are not allowed to come out and submit the Forms. Let us move to digital era in providing customer services on line as far as possible considering we have best software engineers in the world and can develop any software required by the Banks. Let us put 15 days time in providing above five services to customers on line by every PSU banks.

Naveen

Data about persons with disabilities

Information on 15 points was sought from Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment such as the number of persons having Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mental illness, Multiple Disabilities etc. Information about offence committed against persons with disability and data about the against persons with disability like their Marital Status, Employment Status, Education Status was also desired. Further, the appellant sought information about steps taken to encourage employment and equal participation of the differently abled in the field of work and to promote respect, empathy and tolerance towards the differently abled. The PIO submitted the available data of persons with disabilities (PwDs) category wise and State wise was provided. He added that the process of incorporating segregated data on autism and specific learning disabilities is ongoing as a part of the UDID initiative i.e ‘Unique Disability ID’ which is being implemented with a view of creating a National Database for PwDs, and to issue a Unique Disability Identity Card to each person with disabilities. The CIC held that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment ought to take certain extraordinary steps aimed at data creation entailing the aspects as pointed out by the Appellant in his RTI Application to the extent possible and to facilitate a centralised resource centre i.e the Ministry’s website for the general public. A copy of the order was marked to the Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment to expeditiously look into the serious concerns raised by the Appellant and to take note of the advisory of the Commission.

Comments

Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 Act was enacted under Article 253 of Constitution of India to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The applicant has used the RTI Act successful for creating a huge database for the persons with disability.

Citation: L Muruganantham v. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in File No: CIC/DEPDD/A/2019/648066, Date of Decision: 31/05/2021

Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com

Editor-in-Chief
mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com
suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com

Chief Executive Officer (Magazine)
mehrotra.sapna@gmail.com

Sanjay Sharma
Editor 
whisperseditor@gmail.com
(Cell): +91-9425022692

Sunil Salve
News Editor
sswhispers18@gmail.com
(Cell) : +91-9893512559

Abul Hasan 
Vice President (Business Development)
whispersinthecorridors.com@gmail.com
(Cell) +91-9981597666

whispersinthecorridors.com
A Unit of Arushi News Network
Corporate Office: E-19, 45 Bungalows T.T Nagar, 
Bhopal (M.P) India.
Phone & Tele Fax: +91-755-4221719

Dear surfers looking to an increased demand for latest news on your favourite website i.e. (https://www.whispersinthecorridors.com) we are nowadays updating it as and when the developments take place. Keep reading & wish you a happy browsing.

Share your information with suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com & mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com.