Will there be coalition government in Delhi?

It is believed that in the fierce political battle there is possibility of a coalition government in Delhi. One can wait and watch.

Decision on BJP's President likely after Delhi polls

J P Nadda, the current BJP president, joined the Modi cabinet as Health Minister. Despite Nadda’s tenure ending in January 2024, it was extended due to the elections. The announcement may come after the Delhi elections. BJP leaders Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Manohar Lal Khattar, Dharmendra Pradhan, Vinod Tawde, Rajnath Singh, and Bhupendra Yadav are among the names being considered. The RSS and BJP leadership’s approval will play a crucial role. Given BJP’s history of unexpected choices, a surprise candidate cannot be ruled out.

IPS Rajat Saklecha, a 2016 batch officer of the  Madhya Pradesh cadre is currently posted as Superintendent of Police in Mandla ,a tribal dominated district of MP.

His vision for the district focuses on increasing cybercrime awareness ,especially in rural areas, where fraud is common. “Our aim is to minimize cybercrime in the district, and if it happens, we want to ensure a quick recovery of losses,” he said.

A major concern he highlighted is fraudsters exploiting innocent villagers by misusing SIM cards obtained in their names “Fraudsters started making and misusing SIM cards registered in the names of villagers. People here are often tricked into such scams. We are focusing on prevention through awareness campaigns while also taking remedial measures,” he explained.

Additionally, underreporting of crimes has been a significant hurdle. “If crimes are not reported, detection becomes difficult, and the chances of repetition increase,” he noted.

To tackle this Saklecha introduced cybercrime training at every station in the district "Earlier, people had to travel to the district cybercrime office, which was inconvenient and discouraged many from reporting crimes. Now, every police station has trained personnel to handle these complaints," he said.

Under his leadership this initiative has made a significant impact as more people are now coming forward to file complaints “In 2023 we recovered 250 mobile phones, but last year, we recovered 1,020 devices.” He shared

In addition to combating cybercrime, Saklecha is also focusing on reducing road accidents in the districts “Last year, around 250 people lost their lives in road accidents. We are working to bring this number down by 20%” he added.

After the appointment of G P Singh as DG CRPF, Harmeet Singh is expected to be appointed new DGP of Assam. He is 1991 batch IPS officer.

2007 batch IRS (C&CE) officers are being promoted to the rank of Commissioner in a couple of weeks.

Pankaj Agrawal, Secretary Power, has been assigned an additional charge of Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs till January 25, 2025. He is a 1992 batch IAS officer of MP cadre.

Ms Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, has been assigned an additional charge of Secretary, Ministry of Ayush till January 25, 2025. She is a 1993 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre.

P Bala Kiran, Joint Secretary, DoPT, has been assigned an additional charge of Secretary-cum-Controller of Examination, National Recruitment Agency (NRA). He is a 2008 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) is holding the interviews for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) on February 1, 2025.

Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta, Director (Finance), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is in the race for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).

Khanna S, Director (Refineries), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is in the race for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).

Justice Arindam Sinha, Judge, Orissa High Court, has been appointed to perform the duties of Acting Chief Justice of that High Court with effect from January 20, 2025, consequent upon the retirement of incumbent Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh, Chief Justice, Orissa High Court, on January 19, 2025.

Two Additional Judges have been appointed as Permanent Judges of the Gauhati High Court. They are: Justice Kardak Ete and Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita.

As the Indian rupee continues to grapple with historic lows against the US dollar, the upcoming Union Budget 2025 could see the government raising import duties to curb dollar demand and support domestic industries. Experts opined that this move could bolster the Indian economy. Notably, the rupee recently touched an all-time low of 86.70 against the dollar on January 13, marking its steepest single-day fall in nearly two years.

Abhishek Ranjan, CVO, GRSE, Kolkata, has been assigned an additional charge of CVO, Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad for a period of six months upto May 31, 2025. He is a 2008 batch IOFS officer.

Manu Srivastava has been appointed as President of Madhya Pradesh IAS Association while Avinash Lavania will be Secretary.

Ms Nidhi Gahlot has been allotted the Indian Trade Service (ITrS). She has been posted as Assistant DGFT and is an officer of the 2024 batch.

The Department of Financial Services has advertised for the post of Chairperson in Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), New Delhi. The post will fall vacant on June 1, 2025.

The Department of Financial Services has advertised for Senior Administrative Officer/ Officer on Special Duty (Sr AO/OSD) in the office of the Custodian for Mumbai.

As many as 13 candidates have been shortlisted for the posts of Assistant Architect in Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Five candidates have been selected for six posts of Assistant Professor/ Lecturer (Anatomy) in the Directorate of Ayush, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi. These candidates are Aishwarya MA, Jyotsana Kumari, Balkrishna Tripathi, Sarita Gola and Yalem Tatak.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has advertised for the post of Executive Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rajkot.

The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) has advertised for two posts of Deputy Controller of Aid, Accounts and Audit (General Central Service) on deputation basis. Details can be availed from the website of the Ministry of Finance.

National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) has advertised for the position of Research Associate, Gwalpahari, Gurugram, Haryana.

As many as 121 candidates have been shortlisted for the posts of Assistant Director (Cost) in the office of Chief Advisor Cost, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.

IAS officers have been reshuffled in Bihar. Rajesh Kumar has been appointed as Commissioner, Kosi Division, Sahrasa, while additional charge of Commissioner, Purnia Division, while Dayanidhan Pandey will take over as Additional Member, Revenue Board. Similarly, Pranav Kumar was posted as Secretary, Arts, Culture and Youth; Manoj Kumar Singh as Secretary, Health; Sanjay Kumar Singh, Secretary, Commercial Tax, was relieved of additional charge of Secretary, Health and Mrs Seema Tripathi will join as Secretary, Bihar Human Rights Commission.

Dr Navneet Sharma has been inducted as SP, NIA on deputation basis for a period of five years. He is a 2015 batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre.

Sakthi Ganesan S has been inducted as SP, NIA on deputation basis for a period of five years. He is a 2013 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

As many as 11 Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officers have been shifted in Punjab. Saurabh Gupta has been appointed as APCCF and CEO CAMPA, while Amit Mishra takes over as CCF, IT and Basanta Raj Kumar was made APCCF (Administration & Coordination. Similarly, Mrs Pratima Srivastava is posted as APCCF (Forest Conservation and Nodal Officer FCA); Tushar Kanti Bahera as APCCF (Development); Mahavir Singh as CCF, PCA; Sanjay Bansal as CCF, CGM, PSFDC; Satnam Singh as CCF (PBIP); K Kannan as CCF (Working Plan); Satender Kumar Sagar as CCF, Wildlife and Amit Chauhan has been shifted as DFO (M&E).

Deendayal Port Authority, Kandla has achieved a record single-day dry cargo handling of 3,01,196 MTs on January 19, 2025, surpassing the previous best of 2,93,023 MTs (May 9, 2023). Utilizing capacity to its fullest!

As many as 88 officers have been promoted to the grade of Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT) in the Indian Revenue Service of Income Tax.

Jasbir Singh Chouhan has been promoted to the grade of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (PCIT) in the Indian Revenue Service of Income Tax.

A K Pal has been promoted to the grade of Additional Chief Advisor (Cost) in the Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS).

Three officers have been promoted to the Higher Administrative Grade (Principal Chief Controller of Accounts) in Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS).

Sudhir Bhargava, former Secretary in the Government of India, has been appointed as Independent Director,  Kajaria Ceramics. He is a 1979 batch retired IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

The deputation tenure of Unmesh Sharad Wagh working as Deputy Chairperson, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), Mumbai, has been extended for a further period of two years. He is a 2000 batch IRS-C&IT officer.

The deputation tenure of Ms Anupama Nilekar Chandra working as Additional Director General, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has been extended for a period of one year beyond February 23, 2025. She is a 1994 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre.

REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited (RECPDCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of REC Limited, the Maharatna CPSU under the aegis of Ministry of Power, has handed over the project specific SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) of HVDC Transmission Project under TBCB route viz, Rajasthan Part I Power Transmission Limited to Adani Energy Solutions Limited on 20th January 2025 at Gurugram. Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL) emerged as the Transmission Service Provider (TSP) through Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) process conducted by RECPDCL, the Bid Process Coordinator, for development of the transmission project on Build, Own, Operate & Transfer (BOOT) basis. This is the first HVDC transmission project, whereby the project is awarded to a private sector developer through TBCB route. The scheme covers establishment of 2 Nos. HVDC terminal stations of 6000 MW at Bhadla (Rajasthan) and Fatehpur (UP), + 800 kV HVDC line (Hexa Lapwing) from Bhadla to Fatehpur (955 km) along with associated works. Estimated cost of the project is around ₹ 22,700 Crore. The SPV was handed over by T S C Bosh, CEO, RECPDCL to Sanjay Arvind Johari, Chief Business Development Officer, Adani Energy Solutions Limited in the presence of Senior Officials of RECPDCL, Adani Energy Solutions Limited and Central Transmission Utility of India Limited. The implementation period of the project is 54 months.

IAS officers have been reshuffled in Andhra Pradesh. G Sai Prasad, Special Chief Secretary to Government, Water Resources Department, is re-designated as Special CS to Govt., Water Resources Department and Ex-Officio Special CS to Chief Minister, while Ajay Jain, Special CS, Housing Department, is placed in full additional charge of Special CS, Tourism & Culture. Similarly, former IAS officer Budithi Rajsekhar, Ex Officio Special CS, Agriculture, Sericulture, Cooperation and Marketing, is placed in full additional charge of the post of Special CS, AHDD&F Department; Mrs K Sunitha is transferred and posted as PS, Public Enterprises Department, duly reliving Dr Yuvaraj from FAC; Dr N Yuvaraj is placed in FAC of the post of PS, H&T, Industries and Commerce; Dr G Vani Mohan, PS (GPM&AR), General Administration Department, is placed in FAC of the post of Commissioner, Archeology & Museums; Peeyush Kumar is posted as Principal Finance Secretary and is also placed in FAC to the post of PS, Planning Department; Mukesh Kumar Meena, PS, Revenue (Excise) Department, is appointed as PS, General Administration Department (Political), duly reliving S Suresh Kumar from FAC; S Suresh Kumar is transferred as PS, MA&UD Department; Saurabh Gaur as Commissioner, Civil Supplies & Ex officio Secretary to Govt; Kona Sasidhar, Secretary to Government, School Education, is placed in FAC of the posts of Secretary, Higher Education Department and Secretary, Skill Development Department and Bhaskar Katamneni was appointed as Secretary, ITC&E and also placed in FAC of the posts of Secretary, RTGS and Grama Sachivlaam, Ward Sachivalayam (GSWS) duly reliving Suresh Kumar; Kanna Babu as Commissioner CRDA; M V Seshgiri Babu as Commissioner of Labour; S Satyanarayana as Secretary, BC Welfare Department; Vadarevu Vinay Chand as Secretary, Revenue (Endowments); Pattanshetti Ravi Subash as CEO , NTR Vaidya Seva Trust and V Abishek is transferred and posted as Project Administrator, Polavaram LA& (RR).

IPS officers have been reshuffled in Andhra Pradesh. Rajiv Kumar Meena is appointed as Chairman, SLPRB, while N Madhusudan Reddy will take over as ADGP, L&O and Srfikanth was shifted as IGP, Operations. Similarly, G Pala Raju will take over as Director, FSL; Mrs R Jayalakshmi as IGP/Director, ACB; B Raja Kumari as IGP, APSP Bns.; B Satya Yesu Babu as DIG, PRO; K K N Anburajan as DIG, Welfare & Sports Babujee Attada as DIG, Greyhounds and Dr Fakkeerappa will be posted as DIG, APSP Bns.

Narayan Singh Rathore has been appointed as Additional Director and Managing Director of Deep Diamond India Limited.

K Shankar has been appointed as Additional Non-Executive Independent Director of Sanco Trans Limited.

Tejpreet Singh Chopra has been appointed as Additional Independent Director of DCM Shriram Limited.

Rajesh Mittal has been appointed as Additional Director (Non-Executive Independent) of GP Petroleums Limited.

Mrs. Priyanka Gandhi has been appointed as Additional Woman Independent Director of Oswal Overseas Limited.

Mrs. Neha Jinen Ghelani has resigned from the position of Whole-Time Director of Prime Fresh Limited.

Hamas has the last laugh despite collateral damage?

America had vowed to eliminate the Taliban and kept seizing control over Afghanistan for 20 years. America handed over Afghanistan to the Taliban after 20 years. The Taliban is still alive. Similarly, Israel pledged to annihilate Hamas and carried out collateral damage to Gaza killing more than 46 thousand innocent Palestinians. Israel killed Hamas and Hezbollah leaders but failed to ensure safe release of Israeli citizens in the custody of Hamas. Now, Hamas came face to face to strike a deal with Israel to get released Hamas militants in Israeli jail. Hamas is still alive despite having carried out heavy aerial bombardment on Gaza.

Sunil Kumar

Compensation by the Department of Social Welfare

A complaint dated 17.12.2024 for non-compliance of CIC’s order dated 22.07.2024 was heard by the CIC. In the order dated 22.07.2024, the CIC had admonished the casual conduct of Mr. RP Yadav, Supt.-cum PIO, Social Welfare (South), GNCTD, Delhi and had directed to revisit the RTI Application and provide a revised reply. The CIC noted that there is a substantial delay in compliance with the order and the respondent failed to explain the reasons for the delay. The CIC referred to the criteria for processing or sanctioning of the application, under the Financial Assistance to Persons with Special Needs (popularly known as Disability Pension). The CIC noted that Ms. Madhu (Appellant’s niece) is a physically challenged person; an orphan; a member of scheduled caste; a girl child; unmarried who cannot carry out her daily activities without assistance; and has no independent means of livelihood. The CIC observed that “The extraordinary circumstances and adverse conditions faced by Ms. Madhu establish her as the weakest of the weak and poorest of the poor, being the most deprived citizen whose case deserved extra sensitivity, and it certainly could not have been dealt with in an ordinary manner by the respondent public authority in the department of Social Welfare. The appellant, being her aunt, is the only support Ms. Madhu has”. For the loss, harassment and detriment suffered by her, the Department of Social Welfare was directed by the CIC to pay a compensation of Rs. 92,000/- to the appellant within a week.

Comments

In this case, the application for compensation of Disability Pension to Ms. Madhu was forwarded to the Deputy Director (FAS), New Delhi and was pending on the date of hearing. The case was dealt with in a very casual and insensitive manner as per the CIC and the action was condemned. The CIC observed in the order that the insensitivity as established based on the records is appalling to put it most euphemistically.

Citation: Ms. Devki v. Supdt. (South), Department of Social Welfare, New Delhi, CIC/DSWGD/A/2023/119725; Order dated 14.01.2025

Citation: Piyush Sharma v. O/o the Executive Engineer (E), PWD, New Delhi, File No: CIC/PWDDL/A/2023/132711; Date of Decision : 29.10.2024

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