Whispers Forum

DEBATE (1)
Cabinet and officials to see that corruption does not takes place in their respective domains. Any single person can never bring about a change until and unless he gets cooperation of his team members and followers.
Dev Malik
DEBATE (2) Corruption
There is poverty in the country because of corruption. Education and Health Services are very expensive because of corruption. We expect Modi to do something for this evil.
Ganga Tiwari
Chatterjee played his innings well
T Chatterjee played his innings very well and God too has been very gracious to him . Very rare that a man who could not become Joint Secretary at the Center straight comes to take over as Secretary to Govt of India with Environment to fit into. I recall our old association when he was posted as Registrar at NIFT. Broad minded, sensitive to hardship and problems of the lower strata of society he would go all out alleviating the issues to the best of his capabilities and have always drawn a big round of applause even from his critics. A positive and versatile personality with magnetic force facilitating access to one and all without fear and favour in the areas of his domain ensuring percolation of the benefits of development and growth down the line. I wish him best of luck and long healthy life .
O P Sharma
“A Wise decision that must be replicated across the board”
Some Media reports promptly enhance the feel-good factor. Sample this one on PM Modi’s Good Governance.
20 Joint Secretaries in Union Ministry of Home Affairs have been delegated substantial financial and administrative powers in matters of executing works , land purchases upto Rs 50 crores, full powers incurring administrative expenses, hiring accommodation, TA, LTC and related cases in the ministry.
A prudent step to responsibilise the army of JSs in MHA.
The decision must be replicated in all union ministries.
An effective mechanism of checks and balances by way of submitting monthly returns to respective Financial Advisors and union Secretaries must be evolved.
Now is the time to abolish posts of Special Secretaries and Addl Secretaries in GOI in a phased manner as these would become redundant.
This will result in huge savings in expenditure from public exchequer.
Let the State governments follow suit.
Give a good buy to top heavy structure of bureaucracy at the Centre and the States.
A K Saxena (A retd civil servant)

DEBATE(1)
In this materialist world, corruption is a part of life. It can only be controlled.
Vijay Tiwari
DEBATE (2) corruption
One big element of corruption is the misuse of officer perks & facilities (especially burning of petrol for personal purpose and having personal staff much more than entitlement by the Ministers & Bureaucrats. I don't know why PM is keeping quite and also the public persons, who are honest tax payers. The legislature and executive, who have a feudalistic mentality and misusing office perks & facilities are causing great harm to the country. They should be eliminated from the scene for the betterment of the country and for the benefit of the poor.
BBS
Presidential government in the offing ?
After 2019 general election and likely two-third majority in Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha shortly thereafter, Modi will move - well before anti-incumbency hits him - to change the form of government to Presidential. And the Constitution may get abridged to about 10-15 pages like that of the US. In fact our Constitution by its sheer size makes the country ungovernable and makes the governance a lawyer's paradise and judges' bastion.
Dr R Mishra
1 % Mightier Than 99%
Ever since the Reserve Bank of India revealed the figures of 99% currency in the denomination of 500/1000 having been received back, the opposition parties have been going gung-ho & gaga. They have declared the demonetization a failure. They have called the Prime Minister a liar. They have certified that there is no black money in India. They have certified themselves to be honest. They have the support of the Trin Mool Congress of Mamata Banerjee and her arch rivals- Marxists. They are all either colour blind or deluding themselves. Whoever thought that black money was stashed in the form of currency notes alone? Only the ordinary citizens unfamiliar with the crafty ways of the crooked white-collar criminals would subscribe to that view. Others have a fairly good inkling of what form does the black money take in India. It is in the form of gems, jewels, gold, silver and jewellery. Indian intelligence is known for its selective vision. How else can somebody explain the mystery of the missing 11 kg solid gold Nazarana coin of the Nizam of Hyderabad or the pearl carpet of Baroda or the heirlooms of Kashmir or the treasures of the old state of Gwalior and other princely states or even the tonnes of silver seized from Choti Sadari, gold from the Moti Doongri and elsewhere? Black money is black only due to evasion of tax, otherwise it is as white as the dead 1000/500 notes. The parallel economy has cocked a snook at the Modi establishment. After all, the Indian economy is as old as the country’s civilization and is a superior management school than Harvard or LSE. Cash was needed for real estate business because the market practice was to pay in the ratio of 60:40, meaning through banking channels 60% and cash 40%. Bribes were transacted in cash, gold and real estate according to the status of the beneficiary. Non-banking channels were used to stash cash or other assets in tax havens abroad. The black economy/parallel economy is trying to portray demonetisation as a failure, but it is the biggest success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The facts are as follows: 1. The black economy has been crushed for long. It will take several decades to come to exercise the power it had done till 9 November, 2016; 2. It is the 1% that was ruling the 99% in the twisted Indian democracy which acquired the public contempt as the government of the corrupt, by the corrupt and for the corrupt; 3. The RBI says only 1% of the invalidated currency of about Rs. 9000 crores approximately has not come back to the bank. The Opposition is using it to justify their misplaced opposition to demonetisation. They are terribly wrong and again trying to fool the people. This amount is enough to buy parliament election for the corrupt, organize terror strikes in several places in the country, create demons of fugitive cowards of criminals taking refuge in enemy country, run anti-national outfits like Naxals/Maoists, promote NGOs under cover of social, cultural, educational, environmental or such other veneer but actually indulging in religious conversions and stoking strife in society in the name of right to freedom of speech or privacy or some such thing. They have failed to come to power on the flawed economic calculations that demonetisation has slowed down the economy; 4. The real economy has registered a very healthy growth but the black economy operation having registered a fall have slowed down construction industry till a fair regime takes place. The RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) is going to deliver that as the old formula of 60:40 is going to be replaced by legal and transparent transactions. It is welcome that the black money generating parallel economy working has been dealt a death blow by a single act of demonetisation. The people do not feel sorry for it. Only the shenanigans of the black economy are feeling upset and crying like Gurmeet Singh RR of Sirsa (Haryana); 5. The opposition killed so many people only to stop the process of smooth demonetisation by paying their old or sick supporters, who need not have stood in the queue at all, unless they were to be exploited for political gains. The people of India did not suffer a single casualty. Had it been the case, there would have been mass scale riots in the country. But the people cooperated whole heartedly and did not complain of a single death; 6. The kind of unqualified support the people gave to demonetisation shook the entire opposition, which has still not recovered from the trauma of suddenly losing billions of black money and the power they wielded with its help. The rout of these parties from UP or elsewhere disoriented them. They are carrying their tirade against the Prime Minister and the government on ground of fall in GDP rate in the current quarter. It was bound to happen this way only for a short time. The economy will register double digit growth in less than one year, but then these leaders will turn enigmatically quiet; 7. The most valuable gain of demonetisation was the return of public trust in the government. A simple comparison between the complete lack of trust in the UPA-I & II governments of Man Mohan Singh and full trust in the Modi led NDA/BJP government tells it all. Economic data can wait- for the moment a recuperating India is more important than anything else. The economy is on the right course and its rejuvenation is not far away; 8. The Prime Minister has added several feathers in his cap since last November: he has his nominees in the positions of the President of India and the Vice-President of India. He has his party’s government in Assam and UP for the first time. He has made gains in several other territories under the opposition. The rout of the opposition in every territory is a sign of the decline and loss of faith in any others because Modi promises what he delivers. His government’s social welfare schemes are benefiting the deserving beneficiaries in a transparent way- something many had not seen for decades; 9. The inflation run to the North without any market logic, as under the previous government, was tamed only by the Modi government; 10. Fear of the law was drilled into the looters. The end of their operations brought to an end the market manipulations affecting all spheres of the economy and brought some discipline in the market. The Congress and all other political outfits with the word Congress attached to their identity tag, should stop wasting time in criticizing the Prime Minister and his government. If they adopt a positive approach to politics as a means to serve the people and not themselves, they will use the opportunity to think better and better than the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Else their future is sealed and they will sink before the present government gets the mandate for another term.
M LGupta
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) in abeyance
PESB is an important Institution catering to the requirement of senior managerial positions at Public Sector undertakings. Since the transfer of its earlier Chairman as Secretary to the President of India , this position has remained vacant for over a month now giving impression of insignificant role that PESB plays in selection of executives. This does not behove well to the reputation and credibility that this Government enjoys in actions and deliveries. While the PM may be right in concluding the unsuitability of the existing Members to qualify the criteria enshrined for Chairmanship, the longer the delay goes the beginning of the attitude of complacency goes around which otherwise is completely devoid of the style of present dispensation and suicidal for governance of the public sector undertakings. Placing a professional of integrity enjoying reputation shall be an exercise in the interest of PESB and government undertakings rather than providing heavenly abode to retirees.
O P SHARMA
Getting back to drawing board for quality outcomes
What is common in the case of Gorakhpur death of children due to lack of oxygen supply/ suffering from acute Encephalitis, the two rail accidents --- for lack of communication between the repair/maintenance agency and poor level performance of Government run public sector undertakings or bodies. The common factor is the employees have forgotten the importance of SOPs the standard operating procedures.
“After the first level of investigation, we can claim that the deaths did not take place due to disruption of gas supply. The discussions happened in detail, but issue of gas supply that should’ve come to light didn’t come up,”
A "traffic block" is required when a line needs to be locked against movement of vehicles for maintenance work. Such a block is granted by the section controller, who in this case is stationed in the Delhi divisional regional manager's office. "The station master had asked the controller for the block but it was denied. This is a big negligence,"
In Management if we talk of TQM (total Quality Control) or motivation programmes the first important input is zero tolerance of quality at each step of work supplemented by the sequence and drill and only that makes the holistic success. The accidents and poor performance is taking the routine work as burden and treated in casual way and not visiting drawing board again to identify mistakes and do corrections is the real factor of the accidents and poor performance.
If anyone has observed working of Udapi restaurants or Sushi bar, every day in morning the drill is discussed and in the evening the supervisor points out the mistakes done by each member. Even a gardener spends time to make a circle perfect. It may look mundane or unimportant but that is the way for perfection. This is how the character of country is moulded, the character ensures everything is done perfect – whether the task is small or bid. In India, it is important to inculcate revisiting drawing board and focus on standardization and strict follow of operating procedure.
Aruna Sharma

DEBATE (1) Corruption
Modiji's dream for corruption elimination should be actively supported by Chief Ministers. Here it is to mention that public or common man are mostly interfaced and serviced by state govts. and there is rampant corruption in services provided by them like Police, Development Authorities, Muincipal Corporations, Power Corporations, Land Registrations, issuance of driving licenses/ration cards etc. The state govts should do their best for e-governance and make things simpler and transparent. The Chief Minister
should also allow CBI for checking anti corruption activities in their states suo-motto otherwise Modi through act of parliament should extend jurisdiction of CBI upon bribery cases of state goverments. This will have a very good impact upon common man.
Prasun Banerji
DEBATE (2) Corruption
Corruption in India is an issue that adversely affects the country's economy and the credibility of central, state and local government agencies. But modi is doing at its best.
Shiv Ranjan
Is Demonitisation a failure ?
Agreed that about 99% of the demonitised notes have been returned to the banking system. The quantum of counterfeit currency was not as much as somebody had expected. Does that mean demonitisation was a failure? RBI has only said that 99% of the notes have been returned to the banks. Does depositing unaccounted black money in bank make it white money? If the loot of the past years is deposited in bank in small tranches, does that absolve one of all the ills? Then, how can one say that there was no black money in the system? Only time and Income tax department will tell that. Now the counterfeit currency! Do you expect those with known counterfeit currency to go to the bank and deposit it? The account of counterfeit money given by RBI is only the notes deposited by those gullible public who unknowingly went to the bank and deposited. No sane person will knowingly go to a bank with large quantity of counterfeit currency. Those who had such money, have destroyed them. Do terrorists operate without financial support? The politicians who have ruled this country for the past 70 years ought to know. How does terrorism thrive? They also need money to survive and that money is unaccounted because terrorists and their supporters and sympathisers do not file income tax returns and show their accounts and profit & loss. Those who declared there was not a single paisa loss to the exchequer in the 2G scam are today shouting that demonitisation caused loss and damage to the economy. Some turbulence was expected when you undertake such a massive corrective measure unheard of anywhere in the world. At least the present government did not loot lakhs of crores like they did in 2G, Coal and scams. No gain without pain. If in the process of cleansing the mess/loot accumulated over the past seven decades we are put to some inconvenience, we should suffer it. True, some people died standing in queue during the demo process. We are all here to die one day. They were destined to die and would have in any case died standing in some other queue, ie Railway reservation counter, OPD of govt hospitals. In this country, we have stood in line for everything right from buying a Kg of onion in the nineties, overnight lines for railway reservation during summer vacation. Go to the OPD of RML/Safdarjung hospital in the capital or numerous health centres through out the country in urban/rural areas. The hale and hearty people will fall sick standing in queue at these places. Those shouting at TV discussions visit these places only to inaugurate these places in front of media. We are where we are because of the creepy, corrupt rulers we had for very long years. We have totally failed to exercise our right to choose honest and capable leaders. It is essential that rulers should not only be honest themselves but capable too. Otherwise, they fail in their duty to protect the country and its resources from being looted by others. A PM should not merely be honest but should keep a watch over the system so everybody else also remain honest and let the country prosper. This was compromised during the previous regime, resulting in many scams.
Kamal

DEBATE (1) Corruption
Narendra Modi can not eradicate corruption.No one can check it reason is simple “Corruption is still undefined “.
Girja Shankar
“ Will Modi’s dream of eliminating corruption come true?”
My honest opinion : No way.
This will remain a pipe dream despite PM Modi’s best intentions.
Let us be realistic, not idealistic. Corruption is a universal malaise. Its complete elimination is a myth. It can, however, be mitigated depending upon the political Will.
First , corruption in local bodies having large public interfaces that impact the common man. Mumbai floods are a classic case of BMC’s insensitivity, inefficiency and political corruption.This is the position in 3255 urban local bodies in India. Police is compromised.
Even, legitimate claims are allowed only after greasing the palms of Inquiry officers, SHOs and their cronies in Police and clerks, engineers, Commissioners of corporations in local bodies. Encroachment on government lands,is a permanent source of income for beat constables, hawaldars, sub-inspectors ,engineers and commissioners. Extortion is considered a matter of right. Due to brazen interference by the political class, responsive mechanism is non-existent and supervision lax.
Public is not the stake holder. No feed back mechanism. No fear of compromised police and corporations officials.
Right to Service Act is in the limbo. Public officers are duty bound to perform their duties within the stipulated time with no other option to avoid penalty. But, no one is penalised in the normal course except. Passage of Lokpal Bill is in cold storage. Concept of Zero tolerance to corruption remains a political rhetoric. Statutary audit and IT raids on local bodies officials are not conducted regularly.
India is a federal democracy, but, not a co-operative federalism. Eliminating corruption is a joint venture that needs joint efforts of the Centre, States and local bodies. State governments ruled by political dispensations different from the one at the Centre, work at loggerheads at different wavelengths and priorities. CMs of states like West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka, behave like CEOs of “Sovereign, Independent Republics “
Decisions are taken under political pressures rather than on merit. Mediocrity thrives. Pliable bureaucrats consider it safer to prostrate before the political class. Grievance redressal mechanism has failed for the poor .
Big ticket scams of UPA era did not get the attention, they deserve.
PM Modi’s honesty and incorruptibility, is beyond doubt. He has no personal axe to grind. His commitment to India’s development, is unquestioned. Rampant corruption has stunted India’s development. PM Modi’s series of bold initiatives to reduce corruption index like : Demonetization, benami assets etc are notable. But, efforts made to fast-track conviction of the accused involved in Congress-led UPA scams, are not are extremely slow. Loan defaulters and money launderers are having free runs in the country or abroad.
Raids on suspects by IT, ED, CBI and other enforcement agencies must be increased.
A K Saxena (A retd civil servant)
Now a chorus has started
It seems that our secular parties and presstitutes will catch at any straw to beat the govt with. So now a chorus has started ,even among so called economists that since 99% of demonetised notes have been returned, demo was a failure! Wahat convoluted arguments! Of course the notes were supposed to return, as the government had announced two amnesty schemes, where people could retain 50% by paying the rest as tax. The idea was to bring all money into circulation , and not penalise people, except in case of drugs and money laundering. Also scrutiny is going on and those who deposited cash will be investigated and made to pay up taxes with penalty. Soon these same elements will start a chorus that the poor tax evaders are being harassed! Well these secular elements have lost all credibility, and more they shout, the more people will shun them! Let them keep up their impotent rage, till they are annihilated in next election! People cannot be fooled all the time in the name of caste and religion!
S Chatterjee
Award the officials
Power Ministry should also award the officials of their Ministry who mulches the public sector undertakings the most.
BBS

The Appellant sought copy of the file noting with comments of DGMS (Navy) staff relating to his transfer to HQ 8 Mtn Div as DADH. The PIO denied the information under Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act claiming that the file noting(s) on which the postings have been discussed is likely to contain the profile, specialisation, past appointments and likely future employability of officers including the location and operational status of the units concerned. It was argued that these noting(s) would also contain details of more than one officer as a chain transfer is normally effected. The advocate of the Appellant stated that the Appellant only wants to know the circumstances under which his particular transfer was effected. He also clarified that the Appellant does not want any security or deployment details or information about transfer of other officers but only the noting of DGMS(Navy) relating to his transfer. The CIC allowed the disclosure of information after applying severability. The specific portion where Appellant’s transfer has been deliberated upon was directed to be provided will be provided. The specific information related to security and personal information of other officers was to be blackened out.
Comments
When an applicant raises a very limited request seeking to only know the circumstances under which he was transferred, it is not appropriate to deny the limited information by citing the larger picture of security in a generic manner.
Citation: Rajesh Batlish v. Integrated HQ M/o Defence (Navy) in File No. : CIC/INAVY/A/2017/103441/SD; Date of Decision: 31/08/2017

DEBATE (1) Corruption
Narendra Modi can not eliminate corruption. When your vision itself is corrupt how can you eliminate corruption. He should not look corruption with jaundiced eye. Are his partymen not corrupt ?
Raj Kumar Keshwani
Debate(2) Corruption
Things are changing in better way. And with time, corruption is also not a big issue for India.
Indira
Excellent choice
Rajiv Mehrishi is an excellent choice for the post of CAG. Whispers said it long time back!
Vijay
Discharging duties of DG for last 15 months
Incidentally, Shri Raju as senior most Additional Director General of GSI was discharging the duties of DG for last 15 months.
Gautam Bhattacharya
Politics no cure for Japanese Encephalitis
Gorakhpur has been in the news now for more than 25 years due to deaths caused by the Japanese Encephalitis. Figures of 70 children dying in less than 48 hours a few days ago is chilling. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated on its website that “JEV is transmitted mainly during the warm season, when large epidemics can occur. In the tropics and subtropics, transmission can occur year-round but often intensifies during the rainy season and pre-harvest period in rice-cultivating regions. There is no antiviral treatment for patients with JE. Treatment is supportive to relieve symptoms and stabilize the patient”. This disease attacks the brain in children. There is an urgent need to set up research in mission mode to find a cure for it. Merely because the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the BSP ignored the challenge, the Yogi Adityanath government can’t follow them. Prove that this is a different government now?
M L Gupta

DEBATE (1) Corruption
In India we support corruption not protest against it. So it is next to impossible.
Sonia Singh
Debate(2)Corruption
Modi is playing his cards by making his team strong. He doesnt bother to corruption.
Saba Naqvi
Top in Government is heavy
The top in the Government has become heavy. We need to first bring a cut here. Thereafter, the middle level and lower level should be taken up for cut. All offices in the country should start processing cases only in electronic mode and not in physical mode. The Government servants, be it may be at any level (barring some sensitive ones) should only be given transportation and allowance and house rent. We would be saving money on misuse of official transport. We would also be divesting ourselves with a majority of CPWD activities.
B B Srivastava
Tax Compliance Society
Tax simplification is key to success of tax compliance society. Number of good measures have been taken by the Govt. with regards to direct tax compliance. Return Forms have been simplified. One punch line of IT Department in ad. of return filing has worked extremely well that we trust you and less than 1% cases are scrutinised. Govt. tried to remove fair among the public. Revenue as well as tax payer numbers went up. It looks that people are not averse of paying tax and filing return but are afraid of difficulties and harassment faced during scrutiny and in result do not file returns. Govt. can remove this fear at least for lower income group i.e. people earning less than Rs. 5 lakhs by way of not scrutinising the cases. It is anticipated that this will increase number of tax payers as well as revenue and return filers. People have shown trust and confidence in the Govt. and with this result, the ruling party or its alliance is in power in 18 States. Now it is turn of the Govt. to reciprocate in the same way by having trust and confidence in public. A small initiative can be taken that the cases of Sr. Citizens specially retired and house wives whose income is less than Rs 5 lakhs are not put to scrutiny. This will be very positive step to show some regards to sr. citizens and will create a environment of trust and confidence among the public. Any retrograde step will not give desired result . The officials involved in scrutiny of such cases can easily be deployed for more productive and innovative work so that the revenue or direct tax collection increases. Let us work together in this direction so the Govt. can achieve its objective of development. At the same time Govt. must recover the money from loan defaulters so the revenue deficit is met comfortably. It is estimated that even recovery from 100 defaulters may solve the problem. All the best.
Naveen

Debate (1) Corruption
If IT used properly then only corruption will vanished, so that system holds the record. Otherwise it is impossible to eradicate corruption from the Country.
Ashok Jain
Debate (2) CORRUPTION
Might is right
Damini Shah
Debate (3) Corruption
Demonetization is a big failure by BJP govt. There is no support in corruption from demonetization, moreover it made the worst impact on economic situations.
Amir Ali
It’s a sham
The branch and section level offices in the past use to be a neglected area. As a result of the modernization scheme of DAR&PG, the branch and section level offices have started giving good looks. AS&FA (Home) in a recent expenditure meeting yelled at officials of DAR&PG as to why they are operating scheme when individual Ministries/Departments get funds for works and office expenses. But the person does not realize that these provisions goes for the satiating of Ministers and Senior officials. Why does he not puts spoke on the expenditure being incurred in the misuse of office perks & facilities especially in the use of vehicles and personnale. A person can use only 600 litres of petrol per quarter and have only one car (RTI). It is surprising that during the last ten years none of the Ministries/Departments have sent any report to Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas about excess consumption of petrol. Shame on you.
B B Srivastava
Soldier & Civil Servant
It is an ill-advised exercise in public discourse to compare the contributions of the soldier and the civil servant. It is easier to attack the civil servant for all the ills of the nation and extoll the soldier for all virtues. Doklam should put an end to such televised debates. The civil servants have achieved a victory without an actual war with China, which was looking so imminent. The soldier facilitated the successful negotiations. Public service is a unified structure. The views of serving and retired public servants on various issues of public interest and their own service matters highlight an important point: civil servants have lost moral authority over their subordinates. In brief, they must regain it soon.
M L Gupta

Debate (1) Corruption
From my view, Only one person cannot make a change. We have to stand side by side to fight against corruption and support our system like Demonetization was a big step against it.
Sohail Mateen
Debate ( 2) Corruption
Intentions are good in so called Modi Govt. but one need cooperation from down the line people who always say yes to corruption for their personal interest of work. So it speeds up the work and gets it done early.
Shikha Sharma
Tax Compliance Society
Tax simplification is key to success of tax compliance society. Many good measures have been taken by the Govt. with regard to direct taxes. Form has been simplified. There has been reasonable increase in number of return filers and also increase in direct tax collection. One punch line of the IT Department has worked wonderfully that we trust you and less than 1% cases are scrutinised. It means removing fear. People are not averse of paying taxes and in filing returns but are afraid of difficulties and harassment faced during scrutiny. In case this fear is taken away, the number of tax payers will increase as well as tax collection. One way may be the people earning upto Rs. 5 lakhs can easily be put up in this category and are not subjected to scrutiny. People have shown their trust and confidence on the Govt. and in result ruling party or its alliance is in 18 States. Now the Govt. can show the same trust and confidence in the public by way of removing fear of scrutiny of the lower income group people i.e. people earning upto Rs. 5 lakhs. This small step can be taken up at least for Sr. Citizens (retired and house-wives) whose earning is less than Rs. 5 Lakhs. This will send a good signal among the people and number of tax payers as well as return filers will increase. Any retrograde step for Sr. citizens earning upto Rs 5 lakhs will not give positive result . Let us work in the direction so the direct tax collection goes up as well as number of tax payers and return filers increase. Tax simplification is the need of the hour. We must recognise it. The staff involved in such scrutiny cases can easily be redeployed in more innovative and profitable work for the Department. Good luck and all the best for excellent result.
Naveen
How Railway Officers are to be blamed ?
Saxenaji you might be a retired IAS officer. It is only Ministry on which IAS has no control and it was expected such a criticism from an IAS chap. The Districts in the country are manned by IAS people and they turn a blind eye to illegal mining. If an illegal mining baron was trying to to push forward his dumper over the track, then what Railways can do. In Khatoli it was pure personal error. How Railway Officers are to be blamed. Don't be of wrong impression that any drastic action has been taken by P..M. The last incumbent Chairman Railway was in any case going to retire on 31.8.2017. Why don't you realise that Ashwani Lohani, the new Chairman, is also a Railway Officer who turned around ITDC and brought operating profit in Air India. Since, Independence we have the best Railway Minister, who has shown no personal interest in Railways. He has told officers not to submit any files relating to tenders to him for decision. They should take decision on their own. The people in the country have a hobby of travelling in Railway Train, an area where Railways suffer huge losses and there is not sufficient money to adequately of safety needs.
B B Srivastava

DEBATE (1) Corruption
The initiatives taken by Modi Government would no doubt reduce corruption to some extent but complete eradication cannot be possible so long as greed and immorality prevail.A corrupt man when deterred by some harsh steps will find other ways to continue with his corrupt ways.We are quite familiar with the fable of a man who would make money in every job assigned to him.Finally he was stripped of all the work and told just to sit on the bank of a river and count the waves .The man in this job too found a way to make money.He would just stop boatmen from ferrying passengers across the river on the pretext that it would disturb the waves he was counting and thus would jeopardize his work.the boatman would grease his palm and he would let them go.During the last three years while we have seen improvement at the Centre, across the country in towns and cities the culture remains the same-the police continuing collecting 'haftas'from hawkers,common man still having to pay bribe for getting his work done or for access to benefits he is entitled to.There is ,though optimism that Prime minister Modi will be able to rein in if not fully eradicate corrution in the country.
Aarti khosla
“ Dera Jhoota Sauda “
Conviction of rapist- cum- anarchist Ram Rahim, sentenced for 20 years of isolated confinement with rigorous imprisonment, is a classic example for a case study of politico- bureaucratic – police nexus leading to mayhem, incendiarism, killings in Haryana, Panjab, UP, Rajasthan and Delhi with large concentration of deras.Fine of Rs 30 lakhs to be divided between two aggrieved girls. He has been convicted 15 years after the rape complaint filed in 2002. Thanks to covert support by successive governments in Haryana and Centre in lieu of en bloc voting by Dera followers.
Demand for converting 20 years RI to Life imprisonment is growing.
A large cache of illegal arms, ammunition, hand grades, AK 47, petrol bombs etc was recovered from his “ ashram “ ,an euphemism for a 5-star guest house.
Of several DGs, Addl DGs, IGs in Haryana police, it is shocking that not a single top officer cared to visit Ground Zero.Not worth their salt. Later, in the day, one IG was seen on TV getting updated by a DySP . SIs and constables galore.
Bureaucracy proved worthless, glued to seats. Chief Secy, Addl Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries- all failed to take pro-active steps to avoid flare-up.A collective failure of appointed Executive in collusion with the elected Executive. Tackling emergency to diffuse anarchy lay within domain of permanent bureaucracy. Why were they awaiting orders from CM and his council of loose cannons .
The extent of Executive culpability must be assessed. Haryana &Panjab High court -monitored investigation by the CBI is needed. Based on its findings, FIRs must be filed by CBI againstflagrante delicto and charges approved by high court.
The larger question crying for attention is : Why permit self- styled Godmen have private armies. Let us take the discussion further,
It will be foolhardy to assume that India’s intelligence and security agencies were oblivious to the fact. We refused to learn from history and history repeated itself with vengeance.
Recall some infamous Babas and Godmen who owned huge private armies..
Bhindrawale? Too well known to need a recall.
Asaram Bapu and his son had battalion of armed sevadars. Both are presently cooling their heals in jails. Asaram’s appeal for bail invited the wrath of Supreme court in its hearing on August 28,2017.
Recall Sant Rampal whose army of 8000 goons had stored sophisticated weapons, acid tankers, hand grenades, petrol bombs etc to wage a war against the State to shield their Guru. Followers were in no mood to let their guru arrested.Police was shocked to discover large cache of arms and ammunitions.The guru finally surrendered. He has been let off by Hissar court onAug 29,2017 from charges of sedition and obstructing govt officers from performing their duties. All this due to failure of Prosecution in making a fool proof cases,ostensibly under political pressure.
Megalomaniac Ram Rahim, sentenced for 20 years of isolated confinement with rigorous imprisonement by the CBI court on Aug 28,2017, had an army of commanders, sub-commanders and 15,000 armed commandos .All trained by ex- armymen hired on payment of fat salaries. Furthermore, arguments in cases of alleged murders of two journalist-whistleblowers,are likely to be finalised in CBI court on Sept 15,2017. Solid evidences. Death penalty is for sure.
Caste-based private militias
There are a large number of caste-based armed militias,mostly thriving in Bihar and UP, who raise their heads to kill members of the lower or rival castes.Take a look at them..
Ram Varishka Yadav - Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena led by one late Ram Varishka Yadav. His army of Yadav clan unauthorisedly occupied 220 acres Jawahar Bagh Park in Mathura UP. With massive cache of arms, ammunitions, AK47, the private army of 3,000 gave stiff resistance to para-miltary forces before final eviction. SP govt under pressure of Yadav clan, did not take action
Ranvir Sena-- An upper-caste landlord militia in Bihar, for protecting the rights of the Bhumihar, against “ domination “of the Rajputs.
Besides above , there are several other Senas, fronts, morchas in Bihar owing allegiance to their castes. All have armed militias. Bihar had about a dozen private militia groups belonging to different castes and sub-groups who used to terrorise people in the name of protecting rights of their particular caste or group.While some have been wiped out, others become active during elections.
The moot point is : Are Private Militias legal? Are these not a threat to national security?
Private armies of self-styled godmen and caste-based organisations have no place in indian democracy. They indulge in mis-adventurism to browbeat courts, State and the public.A serious threat.
If, law of the land is silent on keeping private militias , PM Modi must consider introducing a Bill in Parliament for banning private militias in private hands.
A K Saxena (A retd civil servant)
Petty rules of income tax
In the case of NRIs, the income tax department applies the TDS rule to extract income tax at the highest rate of 30% from even the pettiest pay-outs received by the assessee like the 3.5% savings bank interest of a few rupees credited to the account, even if it is below the exempt limit of Rs 10,000 for a year. And then the person has to file a return next year to claim the eligible refund of such petty amounts. Again, while crediting the eligible refund of income tax and the interest thereon(that becomes payable due to the delay on the part of the income tax department to process the return), the department goes to the petty extent of deducting 30% TDS on the interest amount so paid so payable to the assessee.On a refund of Rs 440, an interest of Rs 10 was also to be credited but the office paid out only Rs 7 and deducted Rs 3 by way of 30% TDS thereon! The taxpayer has to file a return next year to get it back! Is this the pettyfogging way a department earning a revenue of Rs 20 lakh crores should frame its rules in dealing with the tax-paying assessees? This kind of rule is self-destructive wasting the time of the department as well as the assessee.Will the government make the rules more tax payer-friendly by doing away with this draconian TDS provision?
M S Krishnan

(DEBATE 1) Corruption
I think the question is premature in terms of its timing because no government can actually totally eliminate corruption in a short time. Having said that what can be done is to give a signal and show a vision of what the governments plan is towards reducing corruption. In this respect, the government has taken a few sensible steps which raise hope for future:
RP Pandey
(DEBATE 2 ) Corruption
Modi government has already shown its will. The biggest touted achievement of the present government at the Centre is that you don’t hear tales of entrenched corruption. Retail corruption would also certainly appear to have come down.
Sujit
(Debate 3 ) CORRUPTION
Modi’s biggest achievement - huge reduction in big corruption
Narendra Modi’s biggest achievement in office is, arguably, a huge reduction in big corruption (involving top politicians and industrialists). Hard data on corruption doesn’t exist, so assessments can be subjective and incomplete.
Ragarshi
Is promotion of non-IAS service really delayed?
This has reference to the claim that the promotion of all the non-IAS service is being deliberately delayed by the interference of IAS officer. The author has not given any fact in favour of his claim which gives an impression that the reporting is based on biased perception and not on the facts. I am yet to see any IAS making such a poor representation. There is no denying the fact that there are outstanding officers in all the services, but the IAS, as a lot, has an edge over others because of their wider experience.
If an IAS officer feels proud in writing IAS after his name, it should not be objected to. No one has prevented other service officer to follow the suit. All civil servants are supposed to work as a team and we should not wash our dirty linen in public.
A. K. Verma, Ex-ISS

DEBATE (1) Corruption
Atleast, Modiji has thought of rampant corruption in India. Though his intentions are clear but will he be able to dent the system.
R B Mathur
“ Cadre review without Accountability increases self-complacency”
PM Modi’s decision to haul up top Railway officers for negligence in UP rail accident, is praise-worthy.
Ironically, the Railway services officers have benefited the most from cadre reviews (CR).Accelerated promotions without raising accountability standards, increase the comfort zone of bureaucracy.
Let us take the cadre review debate further.
GoI is mulling over 25% job cuts in its strength, screams one prominent daily. Whispersinthecorridors.com regularly monitors progress of cadre review ( CR) proposals of organised Gr A Services.
What about various Gr B services that face the brunt of the cuts. The country needs a slim, trim and bureaucracy, fully committed to work instead of idling away time due to lack of work. The job cut plan of GOI, If, inspired by the objective of curtailing bludgeoning government office expenditure , it deserves appreciation.
What is the ground reality ?
The reality check will uncover the covert plan of top bureaucracy. DOP&T along with cadre controlling authorities increase number of top posts through the charade of Cadre review,which is a a tool to fulfil the expansionist designs . This results in an inverted pyramid of top bureaucracy with bulging middle standing on effete bottom.
Some mathematical formulation and checklist are used by the CR div of DoP&T,to justify creation of top rung posts. A simple clerical check. No application of mind.
The trick employed by smart cadre controlling authorities to make the cadre review proposals “budget-neutral “, is to abolish posts at lower rungs and show savings matching savings, at times notional.
Career progression of top officers involves creation of additional posts without reference to workload requirement. The role of Staff Inspection Unit (SIU) in MoF was gradually diluted by UPA govt before finally scrapping it. Thanks to the wisdom of the then successive Finance ministers Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram. Worse, in the anxiety for quick promotions at par with the IAS, in cases, where eligible candidates were not available due to non-fulfillment of conditions contained in Rectt Rules, promotions were made on ad hoc basis.
Situation in some ministries has become topsy turvy. Jobs earlier performed by Director-level functionaries are now handled by ADG and DG level officers. This is how bureaucrats create work for each other.
Instead of addressing the public concerns relating to cutting down on bureaucratic obesity, the GoI, as a ritual, announces its decision, year after year, to inject fresh blood by hiring private sector professionals for top management positions in PSUs and government bureaucracy. This is one way to impress business houses. The induction experiment,one may recall, has already failed due to differences in work-cultures in private and government sector. Imprudent decision.
Though, PM Modi has attention for details, but, he cannot be expected to devote time on micro- details. Top bureaucracy, instead of briefing him truthfully, grabs the opportunity to suppress details of negative implications of carrying out cadre reviews in organised services. Elevated incumbents in several ministries are searching for work; others are prompt in demanding additional facilities (as per new entitlements) like fully-furnished bigger rooms, independent chauffeur- driven cars, new furnitures, TV sets, additional back-up manpower supports etc. This adds to office expenses.
Did the GOI in MoF ever think of quantifying the financial implications of such seemingly innocuous cadre review exercises and increase in concomitant expenses ?
The Indian Economic Service ,cadre-controlled by MoF, is the biggest beneficiary. Both IES and the ISS, its sister service ,got immense benefits by creating top posts in respective cadres, without assessment of workload justifying creation of new posts by abolishing posts at lower rungs.
Other organised Services particularly the IPS, IRS (IT), IRS ( Custom & Excise), Telecom, Railways etc have grown top heavy by virtue of cadre reviews.
More officers, more corruption. Some elevated officers without adequate workload serve as devils’ advocates.
Disciplinary action is often cited to do away with dead wood,the non-performing human assets
The CVC has hit the roadblock as government deptts are withholding sanctions to prosecute 84 corrupt officers . These 84 officers are reportedly involved in 45 cases of alleged wrongdoing. Some cases have been pending sanction for up to five years despite the political leadership pushing for strict action against corrupt government officers. Horrible state of affairs.
A word about non-performing officers. PM Modi has been persistently stressing upon the importance of finalising disciplinary proceedings against Group A officers. One wonders whether the CVOs in ministries, PSUs, Banks ,are taking their jobs seriously. Investigations move at snails’ pace. PMO must reprimand the laggards.
Media reports that 138 graft cases attracting Prevention of Corruption Act, have been pending in Supreme court due to delay in deciding appeals, some as old as 15 years
PM Modi, one trusts, is honest and incorruptible. But, his blind reliance on bureaucracy ,is a matter of concern. He may guard against it .
PM is urged to take action on the following lines:-
(a) keep all cadre review proposals in abeyance ;
(b) Revive SIU or similar professional body in MOF for scrutinising manpower demands of ministries and deptts of GoI ;
(c) Subject all cadre review proposals to scrutiny by SIU on workload basis.
A K Saxena (A retd civil servant)