Debashish Panda, Secretary, Financial Services, is scheduled to retire this month. He is a 1987 batch UP cadre IAS officer.  Indications are that in view of the budget, he may be given a short extension or an additional charge to some other Secretary on Feb 1.

Prashanta Kumar Agrawal has been appointed as DGP Haryana for a period of two years .He is a 1988 batch IPS officer.

Lieutenant General, Upendra Dwivedi has been appointed as the Commander, Northern Army Command, Udhampur.

(We said this on Nov 23, 2021)

Lieutenant General R P Kalita has been appointed as the Commander, Eastern Army Command, Kolkata.

(We said this on Nov 23, 2021)

The Government of India has started searching for a candidate for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, GAIL (India) Limited. A vacancy of this post is arising on September 1, 2022 with the retirement of incumbent Manoj Jain.

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has advertised the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, MECON Limited lying vacant since September 13, 2021.

Posting of Ashok Tiwari as Inspector General in Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is expected soon. He is a 1993 batch IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre.

The central deputation tenure of D V Swamy working as Development Commissioner (DC), Cochin Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) is coming to an end in March 2022. He is a 2001 batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre.

The Director General of Police (DGP) of a Union Territory state is not well. It is whispered that whenever he is transferred out of Delhi, he falls sick. He was not well when he was posted as DCP in a state some years ago.

The central deputation tenure of Shankar Manoharan working as Director, Department of Space is coming to an end on January 31, 2022. He is a 1998 batch IDAS officer.

The Police Medal for Gallantry (PMG) has been conferred to Prashant Kumar, ADG Law and Order UP for the encounter of a heinous interstate gangster, Shiv Shakti Naidu who had gunned down a Delhi Police constable in the court premise in Delhi in 2015. He had also conducted a loot of more than five crore from the office of Raj Kundra in Delhi. The dreaded criminal had 14 criminal cases against him and carried a reward of one lakh rupees on his head from the state of Uttar Pradesh. It’s a matter of great honour for an officer that CM UP Yogi Adityanath has also personally congratulated Prashant Kumar through a tweet last night from his personal handle. Prashant Kumar has earlier bagged the coveted gallantry medal in 2020 & 2021 respectively. In 2007 he was conferred with the President's Police medal for meritorious service and President’s Police medal for distinguished service in 2014. In 2021 he was conferred with home ministers Ati Utkrisht Seva Padak.  CM UP Yogi Adityanath had earlier conferred ‘ Mukhyamantri Utkrisht Seva Padak’ in 2018 & ‘Parakram medal in 2020 for his singular contribution in wiping out crime from western UP & his illustrious performance on Law & order front.  Prashant Kumar has also received commendation disc from DG CISF, ITBP & DGP UP. With such an impressive tally of medals in his kitty he becomes one of the most decorated officers in UP Police. As ADG L&O UP, Prashant Kumar heads the UP STF & ATS also which have had a series of achievements to their credit during his tenure. With the liquidation of Five lakh rewardee dacoit, Gauri Yadav in the month of October 2021, the UP STF has completely wiped out notorious dacoits from the state of UP.  Each member of the team including ADG LO Prashant Kumar were conferred with a cash reward of Rs. 3 lakh for this significant achievement. With the kind of trust Prashant Kumar enjoys with the higher ups, it’s quite natural that  his much adorned shoulders will  also have to bear more and more challenges & responsibilities in days to come.

Vinay Kaushal has been relieved to join as Private Secretary in the personal staff to the Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports on deputation basis. He is an IRS-IT officer.

V R Hari has been appointed as Director (Finance), Kerala State Electricity Board Limited in the Government of Kerala on deputation basis. He is an IRS-IT officer.

Arjun Singh has been appointed as DCIT(OSD) in the office of Principal CCIT, Ahmedabad, Gujarat Region. He is an IRS-IT officer.

The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has approved the rate of Dearness Allowance (DA) payable to the Executives and Non-unionised supervisors of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) with effect from January 1, 2022 for 2017. Pay Scales rate is 29.4%.

Indian Railways on Wednesday postponed its Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) and 1st Stage Computer Based Test (CBT ) of Centralised Employment Notification following protests by job aspirants over the selection process of its recruitment exams. It has also formed a high power committee to look into the concerns and doubts raised by candidates in regard to the results of 1st Stage CBT of NTPC issued by Railway Recruitment Boards on January 14-15 of this month. The Committee will look into the results of 1st Stage CBT and methodology used for short listing candidates for 2nd Stage CBT without affecting existing shortlisted candidates. It will also look into the introduction of 2^nd Stage CBT in Centralised Employment Notification.

The DoPT has invited nominations of officers by February 17 to fill up the post of Senior Adviser to the Executive Director, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila (JS level), under the Department of Economic Affairs.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has invited applications from CSS officers to fill up the post of Deputy Secretary on deputation on Foreign Service Terms basis. 

Nominations of IFS officers have been invited by March 21 for appointment to the post of Director, National Zoological Park, New Delhi (Delhi Zoo) (DIGF level) on tenure deputation basis under the Central Staffing Scheme of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Shailendra Dashora has taken over the charge as Chief Post Master General (CPMG), Rajasthan Postal Circle. He is an IPoS officer.

Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hyperion Global Group, LLC, an infrastructure telecommunication distribution company based in the USA, have entered into a contract to develop, manufacture and supply Internet of Things (IoT) devices for the US market. As per the contract signed on January 21, 2022, BEL will manufacture and supply IoT devices worth US $73 Million to Hyperion during the first year of commencement of supply with a provision to negotiate and supply upgrades of the products, worth US $365 Million, in the next five years. Hyperion's next generation global telecommunications infrastructure devices are all set to revolutionise the way people live, learn, communicate, and consume data. This global infrastructure is the key to unlocking unprecedented levels of performance and speed made possible by the combination of IoT and 5G. Hyperion will accomplish this by strategically implementing a six-phase strategy to meet its customer demands. The contract pairs Hyperion's need to provide advanced connectivity solutions with BEL's world-class engineering and manufacturing capabilities. BEL, as India's leading defence electronics company, is uniquely qualified to deliver a durable product to Hyperion, USA, which has a robust product roadmap and global expansion strategy in place.

The contract was signed last Friday (January 21, 2022) by BEL's New York Regional Office and Hyperion in the presence of M V Rajasekhar, Director R&D, BEL, Nick Studebaker, CEO, Hyperion Group, Mrs Prabha Goyal, GM (BEL-Panchkula), and other senior officials of BEL and Hyperion. M V Rajasekhar, Director R&D, BEL, said: “BEL is happy to be associated with Hyperion Group in being a part of the communication revolution that has taken the world by storm. We are hoping to supply lakhs of IoT devices to Hyperion in the next five years.” Mrs Anandi Ramalingam, Chairman & Managing Director, BEL, said: “BEL is looking forward to expanding its global footprint and the contract with Hyperion is another major step in that direction. Our Central Research Laboratory will be actively working on this project and our New York Regional Office, which is handling our marketing activities in the US, will be closely interacting with Hyperion for the timely execution of the contract.”  Nick Studebaker, CEO, Hyperion Group, said: “We are excited to have BEL as our strategic manufacturing partner. We believe that the IoT space will be truly transformative in the way individuals, small to large businesses, municipalities and governmental organizations at the local, regional, and national levels communicate. We are looking forward to participating in this exciting opportunity with BEL and its talented and accomplished team.”

On appointment to the IAS against the Select List of 2019, Mrs Anusua Dutta Barua is posted as Joint Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department, while Mrs Varshaty Das was appointed as Joint Secretary, indigenous Faith & Culture Department.

Devendra Kumar Bishnoi has been posted as Commandant, 3rd Battalion, RAC, Bikaner, while Shyam Singh was made SP, Bharatpur in Rajasthan. Besides, the transfer of Dr Rameshwar Singh as SP, Bharatpur has been cancelled.

Abhay Kumar, ACS, Home, Home Guards, Jail & Rajasthan Investigation Bureau and ex-officio Chief Vigilance Commissioner and ACS, Transport, will also hold the additional charge of the post of Chairman, Rajasthan State Bus Terminal Development Authority, Jaipur. He is a 1992 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Dr Jagmohan Singh Raju presently Chief Resident Commissioner of Tamil Nadu House, New Delhi, has resigned from Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with effect from January 27, 2022. He is a 1985 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

As many as nine IPS officers have been given new postings in Karanataka. Accordingly, Rav D Channannavar has been appointed as MD, Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation, Bengaluru, while Dr Bheemashankar S Guled was made DIG, East Division, Bengaluru City and Abdul Ahad is Director, Security & Vigilance KSRTC. Similarly, T Sreedhara has been appointed as SP, Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement; T P Shivakumar as SP, Chamarajangar; Mrs Divya Sara Thomas as Deputy Director, Karnataka Police Academy, Mysuru; Dekka Kishore Babu as SP, Bidar; Arunagshu Giri as SP, Koppal and Nagesh D L was made SP, Criminal Investigation Department, Bengaluru.

Gurender Singh Johal has resigned from the position of Non-Executive Non Independent Director of Vikas Proppant and Granite Limited.

Gaurav Tulshyan has been appointed as Additional Director of Barak Valley Cements Limited.

Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai has resigned from the position of Independent Director of Cipla Limited.

Vellayan Subbiah - who is serving as Non-Executive Independent Director of SRF Limited - has been appointed as Chairman on the Board of the company with effect from April 1, 2022.

William Kim has resigned from the position of Independent Director of Shoppers Stop Limited.

Sanjay Nayar has resigned from the position of Non-Executive Director of JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited due to other commitments.

Tulan Patel has retracted his resignation from the position of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Oceanic Foods Limited.

Role of standing committee commendable

The role of standing committee has been always pro public and deterrent to the corruption and it give me immense pleased by the level of journalism the 'Whispers' have carried with, it has shaded the stereotype reporting and started with public accountability journalism. Such a first movement in this pattern of journalism in today's time is absolutely required and beneficial for the survival of democracy and public trust.

P K Mithal

Entrance Tests

Now that the Supreme Court has declared that marks scored in Entrance Examinations like IIT-JEE. NEET, CAT etc, are not an indicator of merit, the court could have gone a step further and cancelled all such tests. It should have directed the government to conduct admissions to all courses only through a well designed computerized lottery system under each category- open and reserved. This will ensure equity as every candidate has the same chance of getting selected. This will provide great relief parents and children.

R Subramanian

Records pertaining to lawful interception

The total number of requests received under Section 69 and Rules there under from various agencies between 01.01.2015 to 31.12.2016. The PIO informed that the information sought was exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(a), (g) and (h) of the RTI Act. Further, the records pertaining to lawful interception are destroyed as per provisions contained in Sub-Rule 18 of the Rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951. The Respondent added that statistics of requests may be available with the Department of Telecom as the Review Committee under Rule 22 of the IT (Procedure and safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009 is dealt by this department. Hence the RTI application had been transferred to the actual custodian of information, viz. the Department of Telecom. The CIC found no reason to intervene in the matter.

Comments

In terms of the Sub-Rule 18 of the Rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951, records pertaining to directions for interception and of intercepted messages shall be destroyed by the relevant competent authority and the authorized security and Law Enforcement Agencies every six months. When the records have been destroyed as per the provisions of law, copies of the same cannot be provided.

Citation: Shri Avdhesh Kumar v. Ministry of Home Affairs in Second Appeal No. CIC/ISDIV/A/2019/640226, Date of Decision: 01.11.2021

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.