whispers in the corridors
Lalu, Akhilesh remain silent on 50 years of Emergency
On the 50th year of ‘1975 Emergency’, while BJP and NDA allies attacked the Congress, leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav chose to be silent. This is striking, as both leaders emerged from the anti-Emergency movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan. The likely reason behind their silence could be political compulsion. Both the RJD and Samajwadi Party are part of opposition alliances with Congress—RJD in Bihar’s Mahagathbandhan and SP in the INDIA bloc. Leaders feared criticizing Congress could weaken their unity ahead of upcoming elections.
As many as 16 officers of Indian Police Service of various cadres and batches are retiring in June, 2025. They are: Omvir Singh of AGMUT cadre; Vikash Kumar of Bihar; Vivek Srivastava and Hasmukh N Patel of Gujarat cadre; Deshraj Singh and Shiv Charan of Haryana; D C Sagar of MP; S D Baviskar of Maharashtra; S M Narvane of Odisha; Rajendra Namdeo Dhoke of Punjab; Ravi Prakash Meharda and Shiv Raj Meena of Rajasthan; V Satyanarayana of Telangana; Aditya Misra and Aditya Prakash Verma of UP and Niladri Chakraborty of West Bengal cadre.
Rajiv Kumar Arora could be the next Financial Advisor, Defence Services in the Ministry of Defence. He is a 1989 batch IDAS officer and presently posted as Special CGDA at the HQ.
Sugata Ghosh Dastidar, Financial Advisor, Defence Services, MoD, is scheduled to retire in July. He is a 1986 batch IDAS officer.
L Venkateshwar has been promoted to Chief Secretary grade in Uttar Pradesh. He is a 1991 batch IAS officer of UP cadre.
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B L Meena has been promoted to Chief Secretary grade in Uttar Pradesh. He is a 1991 batch IAS officer of UP cadre.
Narendra Bhooshan has been promoted to Chief Secretary grade in Uttar Pradesh. He is a 1992 batch IAS officer of UP cadre.
Anurag Srivastava has been promoted to Chief Secretary grade in Uttar Pradesh. He is a 1992 batch IAS officer of UP cadre.
Bhaskar Barua, DGM, NRL, has been selected for the post of Managing Director, North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on June 25, 2025. Four candidates were interviewed for the same.
Manoj Kumar, CVO, Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), Mumbai, has been assigned an additional charge of CVO, Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA), Mumbai for a period of six months. He is a 2003 batch IRS-IT officer.
Shashvat Kumar has been appointed as Commandant in Sashastra Seema Bal(SSB) on deputation basis. He is a 2016 batch IPS officer of Tripura cadre.
Cadre of Kunal Uttam Shrote has been transferred from Manipur cadre to Tamil Nadu on the grounds of his marriage with Mrs Meera. He is a 2021 batch IPS officer.
Cadre of Ms Charua has been transferred from Tripura cadre to Rajasthan on grounds of marriage to IPS Sujit Shankar. She is a 2022 batch IAS officer.
Cadre of Krishna Chandra Gupta has been transferred from Tripura cadre to Bihar on grounds of marriage to IPS Ms Garima. He is a 2023 batch IAS officer.
Deputation tenure of Shashi Shankar, presently posted as DIGF, Regional Office, MoEF&CC, Ranchi has been extended for a period of one year beyond July 12, 2025. He is a 2009 batch IFoS officer of Rajasthan cadre.
Ravi Prakash Srivastava, Assistant Commissioner, Delhi Zone, has taken voluntary retirement from Indian Revenue Service (Customs).
R D Dhiman former Chief Secretary has been appointed as Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). He is former 1988 batch IAS officer. Amit Kashyap will be another Member.
Md Sabir Khan, Assistant Commissioner, Ahmedabad Zone, has taken voluntary retirement from Indian Revenue Service (Customs).
Mahesh Kumar, who is presently posted in Eastern Railway (ER) and is returning from study leave, has been posted as Chief Workshop Engineer (CWE) on the Railway itself. He is an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) officer.
Ms. Rajani Jha, who is presently serving in South Central Railway (SCR), has been transferred to Indian Railways Institute of Financial Management (IRIFM) and posted as Professor (Training). She is an Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) officer
An Expert Committee has been constituted to review the existing provisions of IDES Group A posts, Recruitment Rules, 2013 and to submit its recommendations for initiating requisite proposal for amendment update of existing RRs of IDES( Group A) 2013 by July 30.2025. The five member Committee will be headed by K V Nagireddy, - Chairman Director, DE, EC, Kolkata.
World Resources Institute (WRI) is seeking Senior Programme Communications Associate-Content Creator for its New Delhi office.
United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has advertised for Strategic Customer Development Effectiveness Manager, Hyderabad.
Entries for Tamil Nadu State Coordinator (Consultant) for International Organization for Migration (IOM) have been invited. Applications must reach latest by June 30, 2025.
Three vacancies for the post of Specialist Grade III Assistant Professor (Cardiac Anaesthesia), Department of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW). Online applications must reach on or before July 3, 2025.
Four vacancies for the post of Specialist Grade III Assistant Professor (Dermatology, Venereology & Leprosy), Department of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Online applications must reach on or before July 3, 2025.
Three vacancies for the post of Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) (Chemical) in Office of the Development Commissioner (MSME), Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
The Ministry of Culture has invited applications for the post of Administrative Officer, National Museum, Janpath.
One Director post lies vacant in the Office of Custodian, Mumbai under the department of Financial Services on deputation basis.
Filling up of six posts of Senior Manager in TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs on deputation basis.
Sandeep Kumar Hisaria has been appointed as Whole-Time Director of XL Energy Limited.
Vishal Nanjibhai Vadhel has been appointed as Additional Non-Executive Independent Director of Sharanam Infraproject and Trading Limited.
Mrs. Nikita Gautam Roy has been appointed as Additional Director (Non-Executive Independent) of Likhami Consulting Limited.
Dr G Trinadh Kumar, IG Forest (C), Sub-Office Hyderabad, is assigned the additional charge of Regional Office, Gandhinagar. He is a 2002 batch IFoS officer of AGMUT cadre.
Satya Prakash Negi, DDGF (C), Regional Office, Chandigarh is assigned the additional charge of DDGF (C), Regional Office, Lucknow. He is a 1998 batch IFoS officer of Jharkhand cadre.
Joyanta Chakraborty, Director, Ministry of Civil Aviation has been given premature repatriation to his parent cadre in order to avail the benefit of promotion. He is a 2006 batch IRSEE officer.
The post of Ashish Kumar Srivastava as Regional Director has been upgraded to Director level in the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Prayagraj. He is a 2011 batch IAS officer of UD cadre.
Ambarish Vemuri has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for a period of three years. He is a 2016 batch IFS officer.
In a landmark development for India’s renewable energy landscape, THDC India Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Government of Gujarat and Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited for the supply of 184.08 MW of power from Tehri Pumped Storage Plant in Uttarakhand. The agreement is aimed at supporting Gujarat’s peak-hour power demand and enabling the large-scale integration of renewable energy (RE) into the grid. The signing ceremony, held on 25th June, 2025, was graced by Kanubhai Desai, Minister of Finance, Energy and Petrochemicals, Government of Gujarat; S J Haider, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat; Anupam Anand, MD, GUVNL; Ms. Bhakti Shamal, Joint Secretary, Government of Gujarat R K Vishnoi, CMD, THDCIL, A KVijay Kumar, Special Officer, THDC India Ltd (Former Special Commissioner, Investment Promotion, Govt of Gujarat), Sipan Kumar Garg, Director (Finance) , THDCIL and K P Jangid, Director (Finance), GUVNL. Vishnoi stated that this agreement reinforces THDCIL’s commitment to driving the energy transition through innovative hydropower technologies. With India’s first Variable Speed Pumped Storage Plant, we are offering Gujarat a reliable and green energy solution to meet its dynamic peak-hour requirements. The Tehri PSP stands as a testament to THDCIL’s engineering excellence and vision for a sustainable energy future. THDCIL is steadily advancing sustainable energy solutions through innovative and State-of-Art technologies in Power Generation. The focus remains on reliability, flexibility, and supporting India’s clean energy transition. Sipan Kumar Garg, Director (Finance), THDCIL, added that this marks a strategic step in THDCIL’s journey toward delivering innovative and commercially viable clean energy solutions. The organization remains committed to driving sustainable growth through such forward-looking initiatives. The MoU and PPA also align closely with the Government of India’s vision of promoting pumped storage technology as a reliable solution for flexible generation and grid balancing, particularly in the face of rising renewable penetration and variable demand patterns. Sourav Nandy, GM (Finance), GUVNL, R K Verma, AGM, THDCIL, Ajay Vaish, DGM, THDCIL and other officers of Govt. of Gujarat and GUVNL were also present during the occasion.
As part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Coal India Limited, a motivational and thought-provoking lecture was delivered by internationally renowned author, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and thought leader Shiv Khera on 26th June 2025 at the SECL Headquarters Auditorium, Bilaspur. A large number of officers and employees from SECL Headquarters and operational areas attended the event. The fully packed auditorium listened attentively to Mr. Khera’s powerful insights and appreciated his impactful message. In his address, Khera emphasized that “Success does not come without struggle. Failure is a part of life, and we must teach the younger generation, especially children, to accept failure and learn from it, so they can become mentally strong.” He stated, “A true karmayogi is one who sees their company not just as a workplace but as their identity. Those who work with a sense of ownership from day one are the ones who eventually achieve real success.” He further added, “We must work towards turning our weaknesses into strengths. Success is not a matter of luck but the result of persistent effort.” CMD Harish Duhan expressed his gratitude to Khera, stating that every SECL employee would surely take away something valuable from this inspiring session, motivating them to bring positive changes within themselves and in their workplace. He added that the lecture by a motivational leader like Shiv Khera is highly beneficial not just for individual growth but also for organizational progress. It inspires us to understand and embrace the importance of perspective, values, and leadership. On this occasion, SECL Chairman-cum-Managing Director Harish Duhan, Board of Directors, CVO, and other dignitaries felicitated Khera with a memento. Present at the event were Director (Technical/Operations & Planning-Projects) N Franklin Jayakumar, Director (HR) Biranchi Das, Director (Finance) D Sunil Kumar, Chief Vigilance Officer Himanshu Jain, First Lady of SECL & President of Shraddha Mahila Mandal Mrs. Shashi Duhan, Vice Presidents Mrs. Ipsita Das, Mrs. Hasina Kumari, and Mrs. Vinita Jain, along with esteemed members of the SECL Steering Committee, Safety Committee, Welfare Board, SC/ST/OBC Associations, CISTEA, Area General Managers, HoDs, various union representatives, officers, and employees. It is noteworthy that to commemorate 50 glorious years of Coal India, the Golden Jubilee Lecture Series is being organized across all its subsidiaries. As part of this initiative, the event at SECL was conducted successfully. The event was anchored by Manager (HR) Varun Sharma, and the Vote of Thanks was delivered by Manish Srivastava, Deputy General Manager (HR/PR/Rajbhasha/Coordination)
Amitabh Kant, former CEO of NITI Aayog and Secretary, DPIIT, has been appointed as Senior Advisor to Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. Kant, who belongs to a 1980 batch retired IAS officer of Kerala cadre, has enjoyed a distinguished career spanning over four decades in public service and has a proven track record of driving transformative initiatives across India. His extensive expertise in economic development, innovation, and sustainable growth is expected to significantly benefit Fairfax’s long-term investment approach in India, and the industry insights and leadership experience he brings to Fairfax will help Fairfax to continue identifying and executing on opportunities within the region. Kant was a key figure during India’s G20 presidency, culminating in the historic New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration that emphasized digital public infrastructure, climate finance, and multilateral reform, and he has demonstrated an ability to unify diverse stakeholders around common development goals. As CEO of NITI Aayog, he was a driving force behind the Aspirational Districts Programme, which uplifted some of India’s most disadvantaged regions. His tenure as Secretary of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) saw pivotal reforms including the Make in India and Startup India campaigns, significantly improving Ease of Doing Business rankings by 79 places. Additionally, his work in promoting tourism with the ‘Incredible India’ campaign showcased his keen understanding of the power of cultural and economic integration.
Nine IPS have been assigned new responsibilities in Chhattisgarh. Prabhat Kumar and Vikas Kumar have been appointed as Superintendent of Police (SP), Special Intelligence Branch, Police Headquarters Nava Raipur, while Mayank Gurjar was made the Commandant, 15th Battalion, Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF), Bijapur. Similarly, Sandeep Kumar Patel is posted as Commandant, 16th Battalion, CAF, Narayanpur; Rajanala Smrithik as SP, STF Baghera, Durg; Robinson Guria as SP, Narayanpur; Chirag Jain as Additional SP, Mohla-Manpur-Chowki; Pooja Kumar as SP (Radio) Bilaspur and Umesh Prasad Gupta takes over as Commandant, 14th Battalion, Chhattisgarh Force Dhanora, Balod.
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has failed to find a suitable candidate for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Hindustan Shipyard Limited at a selection meeting held on June 26, 2026. As many as 12 candidates were interviewed for the same. The Board has recommended the concerned Ministry to select the candidate through Search-cum-Selection Committee (SCSC).
Ms. Karishma Jain has been appointed as Non-Executive Director of XL Energy Limited, effective May 2, 2024.
Naresh Manakchand Jain has been appointed as Non-Executive Director of XL Energy Limited, effective May 2, 2024.
Vinod Kumar Kathuria has been appointed as Independent Director of XL Energy Limited.
Harish Chand Mittal has been appointed as Independent Director of XL Energy Limited, effective March 5, 2025.
Dineshbhai Soni has been appointed as Additional Non-Executive Independent Director of Sharanam Infraproject and Trading Limited
Prasad Raju (Ramakrishnavara Prasada Raju Mantena) has been appointed as Additional Director (Technical Director) of Kimia Biosciences Limited.
Bhagirath Modi has been appointed as Additional Non-Executive Independent Director of Wires & Fabriks SA Limited.
Shailesh Kasegoankar has been appointed as Additional Non-Executive Independent Director on the Board of Suratwwala Natural Energy Resource Private Limited, a material subsidiary of Suratwwala Business Group Limited.
How will RTI Act grow?
After nearly two decades, the Central Public Information Officers are still thinking about whether to transfer the RTI application, to whom to transfer, when to transfer and the like. How will the RTI Act grow and flourish? Perhaps the question should be whether it would survive.
Vibhuti Pandey
Information sought is available with some other department
The appellant submitted that an arrear was calculated for refixation of his pay. The payment arrear details were prepared by the respondent division and sent to Asansol division duly vetted by Accounts. In this regard, the appellant sought the certified detail of arrear calculation in tabular sheet and the certified Copy of the calculation sheet sent to Asansol division. The PIO provided certain information and replied that the copy of the calculation sheet may be obtained from Asansol division. The CIC observed that the Respondent has not provided complete information to the Appellant and the reply is incomplete, vague and misleading. Merely stating that the information sought is available with some other department does not suffice the information being provided under the RTI Act. If the information sought by the Appellant is not available in their department, then the Respondent should have transferred the RTI application of the Appellant to the concerned department. The Respondent has neither transferred the RTI application under Section 6(3) of the RTI Act nor was assistance sought as per Section 5(4) of the RTI Act. The CIC directed the Respondent to take assistance under Section 5(4) of the RTI Act from the concerned PIO along with consolidated statement which includes due, drawn and balance amount to be paid and provide information to the Appellant, free of cost, within four weeks failing which to show-cause within this period as to why maximum penalty should not be imposed under the RTI Act.
Comments
This order of the CIC is unusual - It contains a direction to the PIO to perform certain functions with a built in show cause notice in case of failure to perform the direction.
Citation: Asim Kumar Dey v. North Eastern Railway, CIC/NERLG/A/2024/600144; Date of Decision: 30.04.2025
Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Vishakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books PIO’s Guide to RTI and Right to Information – Law and Practice. Her weekly article is being published since 2008 on this site. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and third party audit to individuals / organisations. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation at the link https://www.rtifoundationofindia.com
