BJP on the defensive?

The BJP has found itself on the backfoot following Amit Shah's recent statement regarding B R Ambedkar. This has placed the party in a challenging position, particularly as it has worked diligently in recent years to expand its appeal among Dalit and backward caste voters. Historically, the BJP was often viewed as a party representing primarily Brahmins and Baniyas. However, over the last decade, it has succeeded in broadening its base to include a more diverse spectrum of castes within the Hindu community. Dr. Ambedkar, as the principal architect of the Constitution and a Dalit icon, holds a revered position across political and social spectrums. Any perceived misstep in discussing his legacy can alienate key voter groups, especially Dalits, whom the BJP has actively courted. In the midst of this controversy, another incident has provided some relief to the BJP. A senior BJP MP was reportedly pushed by the Leader of Opposition during a heated parliamentary session. The BJP has used this event to shift the narrative and mount a counteroffensive attack against the Congress, accusing its leadership of disrespectful behaviour.

Young MPs to discuss 'One Nation, One Election 'issue

As many as 39 MPs including Priyanka Gandhi, Bansuri Swaraj, Supriya Sule, Anurag Thakur are Members of JPC constituted to discuss the proposed One Nation, One Election bill. The committee also comprises members like Manish Tewari and Kalyan Banerjee who vehemently opposed the introduction of the bill. The JPC has been given the time frame of 90 days.

Five officers of Indian Police Service (IPS) of the same 1992 batch are DGPs (Heads of Police) in five States. Rupin Sharma is DGP, Nagaland, while Nalin Prabhat is DGP, Jammu & Kashmir and Gaurav Yadav is DGP, Punjab. Similarly, Dr Jitender is DGP, Telangana and Idashisha Nongrang renders service as DGP, Meghalaya.

Rupin Sharma DGP, Nagaland	Nalin Prabhat DGP, J&K	Gaurav Yadav DGP, Punjab	Dr Jitender DGP, Telangana	I Nongrang DGP, Meghalaya

V Srinivas, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances and Department of Pensions & Pensioners Welfare has been assigned an additional charge of Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) from December 20 to December 25 during the period of absence on leave of incumbent. He is a 1989 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Two Special Directors presently posted at ED have been denied further extension. Monica Sharma, an IRS officer posted at the HQ is ending her tenure this month while the tenure of Sonia Narang will come to an end in January next year. She is an IPS officer and posted as Spl Director, Central Region.

Mr Mukesh Meshram, Director General, Uttar Pradesh Tourism with additional charge of Principal Secretary Tourism and Culture, has been on the helm of various prestigious departments, but anchors his life on the values of Gautam Buddha and Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta. The 1995 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, originally from Balaghat, is a compassionate being who humbly terms his transition from hamlet to prominent posts as an ‘interesting journey’ and asserts ‘human nature is remembered while posts and designations fade away’.

Whispers In The Corridors spoke to Mr Meshram who recently celebrated the Foundation Day of Laxmibai Academy, the school dedicated to his late mother in Balaghat. The academy has a strength of 450 students- all coming from distant villages. Avers he, “The sole idea is to provide students value-based education in an interesting manner”. Detailed interview in January issue… https://whispersinthecorridors.com/magazine.php

A total of 260 IAS officers are in positions in Gujarat cadre against a total authorized strength of 313. There is a shortage of 53 IAS officers in the cadre.

Vinay Kuamr Bassi, ED, BHEL, is in the race for the post of Director (Engineering, Research & Development), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).

M T Panda, GM SAIL, is in the race for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, HLL Lifecare.

Gowei Sankara Rao Naramsetti, currently serving as Director (Finance) and Chief Executive Officer of Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, has been entrusted with the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director of the company for an initial period of three months, effective January 1, 2025.

Alok Ranjan Jha, presently Ambassador of India to Belarus, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Zambia. He is a 2002 batch IFS officer.

The tenure of lateral entry posting of Govind K Bansal working as Director, Department of Health & Family Welfare has been extended up to December 30, 2025.

Pravin Kumar Singh, a 2021 batch ITS officer, has been posted at the DoT Headquarters. He is a JTS level officer.

The DGFT has relieved Manoj Kumar Verma of the posting as Director (Statistics) with effect from December 18, 2024. He is a 2006 batch ISS officer.

The CGDA has promoted 10 IDAS officers to STS. They are: Manish Sharma, Ms Krishna Priya S, Ashutosh Garg, Ms Sangeeta S, Sahil T. George, Pranjal Verma, Nikhil Dube, Manoj Kumar, Hrishkesh Deshmukh and Deepak Kumar. All these officers belong to the 2020 batch.

K B Singh, IGF, has been relieved of the charge of RT Division and assigned charge of FPD Division, while S Rajesh, IGF, stands relieved of charge of FPD Division in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, New Delhi.

Six IAS officers have been assigned new responsibilities in W Bengal. Vivek Kumar has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, while Abhishek Kumar Tiwary takes over as Managing Director, West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited and Shashank Sethi is now Managing Director, WBHIDCO. Similarly, Yeluchuri Ratnakara Rao was posted as Secretary, Non-Conventional & Reusable Energy Sources Department and Jagdish Prasad Meena was appointed as Secretary, Personnel and Administrative Reforms with additional charge of Member-Secretary, Pollution Control Board and Divisional Commissioner, Presidency Division. Besides, Mrs. Roshni Sen ACS, Fisheries, will also hold charge of ACS, Environment Department.

Shantmanu has been posted to Jammu and Kashmir segment of AGMUT cadre. He is a 1991 batch IAS officer. Prior to this, he was serving as Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

Dr. Baldev Singh, who is currently serving in Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW), has been posted as Principal Chief Medical Officer (PCMO) in PLW itself. He is an Indian Railway Health Service (IRHS) officer.

Shivendra Mohan, Chief Works Engineer (CWE) in South Central Railway (SCR), has been transferred to North Western Railway (NWR) and posted as Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer (PCME). He is an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) officer.

Last date to apply for the engagement of Senior Consultant for Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) Division of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been extended. The revised date is January 17, 2025.

M Sankaranarayan has been appointed as Assistant Director (Vigilance) in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on deputation basis. Prior to this, he was serving as Chief Vigilance Inspector, Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.

National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), New Delhi is seeking applications for one post of Planner and two Consultants Admin/Coordination) Disease Control General of Health Services (Dte. GHS) post on contractual basis. Online applications must be filed before January 7, 2025.

Four Assistant Provident Fund Commissioners (APFCs) have been appointed to the post of Regional PF Commissioners (RPFCs) on a regular basis. These officers are: Rajib Mukherjee, Akshaya Bhargava, Bijay Prasad and Prashant Kumar.

The Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) has advertised for the post of Account Officer, MoD, HQs, Strategic Systems Quality Assurance Group, Hyderabad on deputation basis.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences has advertised for the post of Director Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. Applications must reach on or before January 10, 2025.

As many as 21 candidates have been shortlisted for interviews to four posts of Assistant Director IEDS, (Metal Finishing) in the office of Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Interview dates will be announced shortly.

As many as 25 candidates have been shortlisted for interviews to five posts of Assistant Director IEDS, (Chemical) in the office of Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Interview dates will be announced shortly.

Two Senior Accounts Officers under the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Ministry of Expenditure have been transferred and given new postings. These officers are Ram Niwas Garg (Power Ministry, Bengaluru) and C T Uma (Health Ministry, Chennai).

Ms Archana Shukla has been appointed as Joint Director at Deputy Secretary level in the National Testing Agency (NTA). She is a 2013 batch ISS officer.

Amit Kumar has been appointed as Joint Director at Deputy Secretary level in the National Testing Agency (NTA). He is a 2014 batch ISupplyS officer.

Sandip Kumar Mishra has been appointed as Director in the National Testing Agency (NTA). He is a 2007 batch IRS-IT officer.

Ms Shivani has been appointed as Joint Director at Deputy Secretary level in the National Testing Agency (NTA). She is a 2013 batch IRPS officer.

Dr N Nandakumar, presently Consul General, Consulate General of India, Shanghai, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Mali. He is a 2007 batch IFS officer.

Alok Ranjan Jha, presently Ambassador of India to Belarus, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Zambia. He is a 2002 batch IFS officer.

Dr Rajesh Kumar has been appointed as Principal Secretary, Correctional Administration Department in West Bengal. He is a 1990 batch IPS officer of W Bengal cadre.

The post of Nitin Jain has been upgraded as Director in the Ministry of Steel. He is a 2011 batch IRS-C&IT officer.

Inter cadre transfer of Lourembam Nelson Mangangcha from West Bengal to Assam-Meghalaya Cadre has been approved. He is a 2023 batch IAS officer.

Alok Raj, DG-cum-Chairman-cum-MD, Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation, Patna, has been assigned an additional charge of Chairman, Bihar Staff Selection Commission. Besides, Mohammad Sohail will be relieved of the additional charge of this post. He is a 1989 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre.

The post of Swapnil S Patil as Private Secretary to Kamlesh Paswan, MoS for Rural Development has been upgraded to director level. He is a 2011 batch IRS-IT officer.

Six officers have been included in the Grade-I of CSS i.e. Under Secretary of Central Secretariat Service for the year 2024. While Pritam Kumar Bagde, Ram Nagina Prasad and Ishwar Dutt Kashyap have been retained in the present cadre, Bhupendra Kumar has been posted to DIPAM, Vijendra Kumar Meena to Science & Technology and Dinesh Singh was posted to UPSC.

Unsoo Kim has been re-appointed as Managing Director of Hyundai Motor India Limited, effective January 25, 2025.

Jayaramakrishnan Kannan has been appointed as an Independent Director of Swan Energy Limited.

Ms. Sonia Mendiratta has been appointed as an Additional Director in the category of Non-Executive Independent Director of Cranex Limited.

Ms. Priyanka Pathak Ojha has been appointed as an Additional Director (Independent) of BJ Duplex Boards Limited.

Ms. Smeeta Bhatkal has been appointed as an Independent Director of Cupid Limited.

Santosh Desai has been appointed as an Independent Director of Cupid Limited.

Akshay Kumar has been appointed as an Independent Director of Cupid Limited.

Ms. Shaina NC has been appointed as an Independent Director of Cupid Limited.

Chengappa Ganapati has resigned from his position as an Independent Director of Tasty Bite Eatables Limited.

Ankit Mittal has resigned from his position as Executive-Non Independent Director of Fedders Electric and Engineering Limited.

Naresh Dharma Padir has resigned from his position as Whole-Time Director of Amarnath Securities Limited.

Slow growth rate

The value of the rupee has fallen drastically. According to the RBI, the value of rupee reached Rs. 85. Obviously, these days challenges are increasing in the Indian economy. Another reason for this is slow growth rate and rising inflation. After taking charge, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had also said that he would move forward on the path of creating an appropriate balance between inflation control and growth rate. According to the recently announced official data, the retail inflation rate of 5.8 percent, still remains much above the Reserve Bank's fixed range of inflation. In such a situation, the scenario of slow growth rate and challenge of inflation is emerging in the country at this time.

Sakshi Khare

Investigation conducted following a complaint against the appellant

The appellant submitted that he had been serving as Branch Manager in the Vikas Nagar Branch (PNB) of Nainital for 6 years and a complaint was filed against him concerning a dishonored cheque. He further argued that an investigation was conducted in the complaint and despite being the aggrieved party, copy of the report was not shared with him. The PIO of Punjab National Bank submitted that an investigation was conducted in the complaint as per recommendation of higher authorities. However, the report contained details regarding certain commercial operations carried out by the respondent bank, hence, the report was denied to the appellant as per provisions under Section 8 (1) (d) of the RTI Act. The CIC observed that the information concerns the appellant and non-disclosure of the same would not only adversely affect the rights of the appellant being the aggrieved party, but would also amount to violation of principles of natural justice. While the exemption claimed under Section 8 (1) (d) of the RTI Act may be applicable to certain portions of the report, the PIO is at liberty to redact the said portions as per procedure of severability laid down under Section 10 of the RTI Act. The CIC directed the Bank to re-examine the matter and disclose a redacted copy of the averred report after blackening out details exempted under Section 8 and 9 of the RTI Act, if any, reflecting the broad outcome of the report to the appellant.

Comments

Ther have been many cases where an application has been filed under the RTI Act seeking copy of the investigation report. The application may be filed by the complainant, the accused or a third party and usually the public authority tends to deny the information.

Citation: Yogesh Kumar Goyal v. Punjab National Bank, Second Appeal No. CIC/PNBNK/A/2023/128777; Date of Decision: 06.11.2024

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