Whispers Forum

The bureaucracy is designed for efficiency. Its peculiar behaviour reflected in personal quirks, predilections and unusual lifestyle, could impact co-workers. Let me share some interesting anecdotes. First, the Disclaimer. My motive is not to hurt anyone or denigrate any service. Details withheld for obvious reasons.
(a)An ICS officer known for his extreme honesty and no-nonsense approach, did not spare his wife. As chief secretary, he once asked the police to even challan her for driving without a licence.
(b)In another case, a union Secretary ( first batch IAS), a stickler for good English, could not stand grammatical mistakes and spelling errors in file notings. The acts of omissions and commissions were meticulously noted in his infamous “Red diary” detailing officer. The reprimand would then be recorded in officers’ APRs with documentary evidence. Appeals against adverse entries were meaningless. The officer curiously bicycled from his official bungalow (in Lutyens Delhi) to office and back to save on petrol. The official bicycle, gloriously parked alongside the official car, evoked derisive laughter by the one-man show !
(c) I recall the unresolved stand-off that existed between a Joint Secretary and an Addl Secretary(both IAS).Ego clash. The former refused to report to his senior. The altercation turned into a public spectacle as they did not see eye-to-eye. The impasse continued for weeks as the Secretary failed to bring about a “rapprochement” between the warring officers till the senior was unceremoniously transferred.
(d)In another curious case,a union secretary refused the officially allotted government bungalow and preferred to stay in his private flat in Delhi so that he and his spouse (also a govt employee) could claim house rent allowances. It was surprising to see him residing in the neighbourhood of marginalized workers. A noble initiative motivated by greed. Some felt it was unbecoming of a Secretary due to his failure to maintain the dignity of the high office he held.
(e)Going further, a dipsomaniac union Secretary,obsessed with week-end late-night dinners, drank like a fish.Post-dinner,he used to be physically escorted by the official driver back home as he could hardly walk under the effects of liquor.
The list of misdemeanours is illustrative, not exhaustive. I suppose, it still continues.
A K Saxena (Former civil servant)

The Appellant filed sought the list of petrol pump functioning in the urban area of district Bareilly. Further, he asked about the land requirements with layout of one Pump, the details of pumps which not fulfilled the land requirements and related information. The PIO denied the information holding that the appellant has not disclosed the public interest warranting disclosure of such an information. The CIC observed that reply furnished by the Respondent is not meticulous and directed the concerned PIO to revisit the instant RTI Application and provide a revised point-wise reply as available in their records. The CIC strongly recommended the IOCL to explore the viability of maintaining such information on their official website pertaining to list of petrol pumps functioning all over India and related issues regarding land requirement/measurement for allotment of petrol pump.
Comments
Making the information available in the public domain proactively is in keeping with the letter and spirit of suo-motu disclosures prescribed under Section 4 of the RTI Act, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of the RTI Act to obtain the information.
Citation: Shri Anand Singh Chauhan v. Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), CIC/IOCLD/A/2023/626935; Date of Decision: 07.05.2025
Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Vishakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books PIO’s Guide to RTI and Right to Information – Law and Practice. Her weekly article is being published since 2008 on this site. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and third party audit to individuals / organisations. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation at the link https://www.rtifoundationofindia.com

The Supreme Court and some High Courts have recently observed that the existing defamation laws are being misused and consume a lot of time of courts. SC has also directed that it should be decriminalised.
With so many means including social media available for any one to express his/her opinion on various issues , why cannot individual(s) . who feel DEFAMED, also use these means to reply to the accusation, rather filing a case in the court? It is a matter between two or more individuals and they should sort it out. However if there is an accusation against a Constitutional Office, it should be taken up.
Defamation should be examined under Law of Torts and a separate court should be set up and appeal only to High Court.
This will save time and effort of the High and Supreme Court.
S Gopal

Political dynasts are causing great harm to the polity. More often than not, born in the lap of luxury, they lack both education and experience. Their forefathers might have been educated, or at least possessed experience born out of struggle. However, these dynasts, lacking in both, often latch on to caste and religion and try to capture vote banks on the basis of such identity politics. One example is trying to increase reservations in services beyond 50%. What these dynasts do not realize is that the serious business of government cannot be conducted without efficiency of administration. In case their proposals are agreed to by the country, efficiency of administration will become so drastically reduced that all dreams of becoming a developed nation will evaporate. Utter chaos will reign. And these dynasts will fiddle while Rome burns.
V K Reddy

Indian brains migrated to America for jobs; it is high time Indian brains provide employment to American workers. In your absence also India developed, but not at the desired speed. There are currently enormous opportunities for you to earn better than your American jobs only if you work as lawfully as in America. Brains are the strength of a nation. It is time for all Indian brains to break the spell of America and build India which shall provide thousands of jobs to American workers. Because of lack of high grade brain power, the quality of all public works and services deteriorated so much that it was summed up by a single word: corruption. Our highways, cities, housing projects, health, education, media, creative industry- to name a few offer enormous opportunities . What a single dedicated public servant can deliver to a city or state & nation can be summed up by Sridharan delivering the Delhi Metro. We need dedication at that level and in 5 years we will create more jobs for Americans than H1B Visa Trump sells.
M L Gupta

US President Donald Trump’s sudden new $100000 H-1B visa fee announcement followed by American companies snipping off the holidays and calling back the employees on leave to India on a short notice was a shocker. In fact it seems that the move was purposefully done at a time when most Indians are back home for festivities and pre-wedding season preparation. But what is even more pathetic is that our so called ‘Influential American Indians’ like the Google & Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Thomas Kurian who leads Google Cloud, CEO Adobe Shantanu Narayen and many others succumbed to the dictate and sent emails to their employees urging them to return immediately. Couldn’t these and similar influential Indian personalities including former Vice President Kamala Harris, members of the U.S. House of Representatives-Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, and Shri Thanedar utter a single word leave alone raise their voice.
Tyaga Roy

The changes brought in by Mr. Donald Trump are likely to impact India in a very major way. Lots of scientists and engineers who would go on visas to the USA and send back remittances to India are unlikely to do so now. More Indians are likely to come home or stay in India looking for domestic jobs. Coupled with high tariffs that make our exports uncompetitive, Mr. Trump is trying to hurt the Indian economy in a major way. In addition, he is giving hints that the USA is likely to shift strategically to Pakistan. However, Mr. Trump is underestimating Mr. Narendra Modi. Mr. Modi is a very astute politician. He has already started redefining India's strategic alliances. He is looking for alternative markets. The GST cuts are likely to give domestic consumption a boost. Now, there is a need for improving employment and growth. One way is to resurrect the public sector. However, management control will have to be flexible and not subordinated to Ministries. Another way is to improve medical tourism. Let India become a hub for medical tourism. Hospital care is good and affordable in India. Set up hospitals catering to foreign nationals in SEZs. Land can be provided cheaply to these hospitals without EWS beds. Let these hospitals pay income tax on their profits at a higher rate and let there be no exemption from Income Tax to them. Government can also allow those who were working on visas in the USA to rent infrastructure in SEZs. They can run their own companies that can be given single window clearances for their companies in 24 hours. Extra infrastructure can be constructed in SEZs for both offices/ factories and residential units for such eligible persons. What Mr. Trump is trying to do to India may just backfire and boost India's way to becoming a developed economy by 2047.
Vijay Kumar

The appellant sought the enquiry findings in relation to the complaints filed by her and her husband. The Respondent stated that it has been informed to the Appellant that since a court case filed by her is pending before the Court of Law, therefore, inquiry in her complaint was put on hold awaiting the final verdict of the law. The Appellant contended that the information has been wrongly denied on the ground that matter is sub-judice before Court of Law. She contended that no stay order has been granted by the Hon’ble Court for non-disclosure of any information and the subject matter before Court of law relates to pay fixation while she through instant RTI application sought action taken report on her complaint of harassment by the concerned teacher. The CIC held that the initial denial of information by the PIO on the plea that the matter is sub-judice before the Hon’ble Court of Law was inappropriate more particularly when such information as sought by the Appellant is regarding her own complaint which she has every right to know. The CIC observed that the only pertinent exemption from disclosure appears to be with respect to the names and identifying particulars of the persons which may be reflected on the noting/comments/reports/statements on the relevant information sought for and cannot be divulged considering the exemption of Section 8(1)(j) and Section 8(1)(g) of the RTI Act. The PIO should have redacted the personal information of other third-party officers by invoking the provisions of Section 10 of RTI Act. The PIO was directed to provide a revised categorical reply intimating the broad updated outcome of Appellant’s complaint to her and also advised to exercise due diligence in future while responding to the RTI Applications.
Comments
The matter being sub-judice is not a valid ground for denial of information as per the provisions of the RTI Act unless there is an express injunction order passed by the Court prohibiting disclosure as clearly defined in Section 8 (1)(b) of the RTI Act.
Citation: Seema Gupta v. Office of the Deputy Director of Education, File No: CIC/DIRED/A/2024/609275; Date of Decision : 25.08.2025
Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Vishakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books PIO’s Guide to RTI and Right to Information – Law and Practice. Her weekly article is being published since 2008 on this site. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and third party audit to individuals / organisations. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation at the link https://www.rtifoundationofindia.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Sunday, discussing the upcoming GST 2.0 reforms set to take effect on September 22, 2025. Following points were highlight
- GST Reforms: The new system simplifies the tax structure into two main slabs: 5% and 18%, with a 40% rate reserved for luxury goods. This will reduce taxes on approximately 375 goods and services.
- Savings: The combined effect of income tax exemptions and GST rate cuts is expected to save citizens over ₹2.5 lakh crore in a year.
- Atmanirbhar Bharat: PM Modi emphasized the importance of self-reliance and urged citizens to buy "Made in India" products, promoting domestic manufacturing and industries.
- GST Bachat Utsav: The Prime Minister announced a "GST Bachat Utsav" (GST Savings Festival) starting from September 22, which coincides with Navratri celebrations. This initiative aims to boost consumer spending and economic growth.
- Benefits: The reforms will make daily essentials cheaper, benefiting the poor, neo-middle class, and middle class. The reduced GST rates will apply to various products, including food items, medicines, and electronics.
NN

In his independence day address to the nation this year, PM Modi flagged the issue of ‘obesity as a major health challenge for India and appealed to reducing cooking oil consumption by 10%’. The observation went largely un-noticed by the media. It is time to pause and ponder over PM’s appeal that merits serious consideration.
Statistically, as per WHO, one out of eight people in the world is living with obesity. Worse, worldwide, adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990 and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. An alarming trend especially in India, where people are avid foodies. In India, the edible oil import of palm,soyabean and sunflower oils from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina and Brazil come to 16 million tonnes per annum for meeting domestic demand.The import needs to be reduced to save on foreign exchange. This would, no doubt, hit the importing firms. But, the health of the people cannot be ignored.
Also, for public well-being, medical advice needs to be meticulously followed. The cardiologists advise against consuming high- calorie, deep-fried snacks to combat the rising obesity that raises blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other parameters beyond permissible limits.So, let us avoid consuming deep-fried samosas and the sugar-loaded jalebis. If we do not correct ourselves now, then we are complicit.
A K Saxena (Former civil servant)

There are demands for a caste census in India. This is done with the hidden agenda of increasing reservations in government jobs (and education) so that open competition and merit are killed to nurture vote banks. Many corrupt dynasts support such a step because they feel such a stand may bring them back to power. But why are such exercises confined to services? There should be a caste census of criminals in the country. This will disclose which castes have the most criminals and which have the least. This will show how and which dominant castes are dominating political life through criminalization of the polity. There should also be a caste census of public representatives from the panchayat level to Parliament. This will give a real reflection of how powerful which caste is. Then we can think of giving reservations in the political arena to those castes which are least represented. There should also be a caste census of the armed forces. Those castes who do not join the armed forces in proportion to their population should have to join the armed forces commensurate to their proportion in the population failing which their reservation benefits in services and education should be reduced. There should be a caste census of contractors, transporters, hoteliers, businessmen, industrialists. Those castes who do not have representation proportionate to their population should be given reservations in government tenders and contracts. There should be a caste census of cattle owners. Those castes who do not own cattle wealth should be given reservation benefits in the dairy industry and animal husbandry departments. The cattle should be distributed evenly in proportion to the population of each caste to ensure that the benefits of animal husbandry reach all castes. There should also be a caste census of all those who were hanged, jailed or punished by the British for participating in the freedom struggle. Those castes who do not have representation in proportion to their population in the shaheeds and freedom fighters should have reduction in their reservation quotas. Further, so called Minorities cannot have any castes since there is no varna system in these religions. As it is they have ruled the country for a thousand years of foreign rule. The practice of giving reservations to religions other than Hindu on the basis of caste by calling them OBC to nurture vote banks is totally unreasonable and should be done away with. This will also allow us to arrive at the real number of actual OBCs. As it is, the populations of these religions are included in OBCs to artificially inflate their figures and nurture
Vijay Kumar