January 2015

Page 1

GOVERNANCE MG DEVASAHAYAM ON MODI’S MISSING AGENDA p28 NSEL SCAM END GAME FOR JIGNESH SHAH p32

January 5, 2015 `200 vol. 8, issue 10

FIRST STIRRINGS Lt Gen JFR Jacob

p40

gfilesindia.com

KN Kumar Dr Shrikar Pardeshi

Ved Marwah

Amitabh Kumar Dr Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary

Governance Awards 2014

Badge of Honour Balvinder Kumar

ISSN 0976-2906

Pratibha Singh

Rinkesh Roy

Dr KM Abraham

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Agile, Versatile, Reliable

Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv)

“A Perfect Blend� - Men, Machine & Mission

From the Editor

A

vol. 8, ISSUE 10 | January 2015 Anil Tyagi | editor TR Ramachandran | executive editor Niranjan Desai | roving editor GS Sood | consulting business editor Rakesh Bhardwaj | editorial consultant Naresh Minocha | contributing editor Neeraj Mahajan | contributing editor Ajit Ujjainkar | bureau chief (mumbai) Harishchandra Bhat | associate editor (bengaluru) Venugopalan | bureau chief (bengaluru) Kanika Srivastava | sub-editor & coordinator Mayank Awasthi | reporter Pawan Kumar | production coordinator Sumer Singh | assistant manager, logistics Nipun Jain | finance Gautam Das | legal consultant Bushchat Publishing | edit & design Madan Lal | Webmaster Abhisshek Tyagi | Director advertising & marketing RAKESH ARORA— +919810648809 e-mail: adv@gfilesindia.com mumbai: 48/C-1, Areshwar, Mhada, S.V.P. Nagar, Andheri(W), Mumbai 400 053 bengaluru: 2210, 10b main road, 3 block, jayanagar, bengaluru 560 011 CONTACT — +91 9845730298 e-mail: venu@gfilesindia.in $1,/ 7<$*, 35,17(5 38%/,6+(5 QG IORRU GGD VLWH QHZ UDMLQGHU QDJDU QHZ GHOKL ă 7(/ )$; +All information in gfiles is obtained from sources that the management considers reliable, and is disseminated to readers without any responsibility on our part. Any opinions or views on any contemporary or past topics, issues or developments expressed by third parties, whether in abstract or in interviews, are not necessarily shared by us. Copyright exclusively with Sarvashrestha Media Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction of any material of this magazine in whole, or in part(s), in any manner, without prior permission, is totally prohibited. The publisher accepts no responsibility for any material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with any advertisement without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. Published and printed by Anil Tyagi on behalf of Sarvashrestha Media Pvt. Ltd at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt Ltd. E-125, Site-B, Surajpur Ind. Area, Gautam Budh Nagar, Greater Noida-201306 U.P. (INDIA). All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts in New Delhi only

TITHI Devo Bhava’ or ‘A guest is akin to God’ is an ancient Indian credo. India will have the most powerful personality of the world as its atithi on Republic Day. US President Barack Obama’s visit is likely to be highly significant for Indo-US relations. Though the White House has been silent till now on the agenda of the visit, America’s sudden regard for India is the underlying connotation. Obama is not attending the India Gate parade to witness the self-proclaimed mighty defence system of India or its colourful jhankis. Whenever and wherever the US President travels, he means business and business on America’s terms. The US business delegation bowls over nations in such a way that the entourage appears to be doling out largesse for the poorest of the poor in the particular host country. Containing a rising China has become an imperative for the US, and it must find friends in the region. Given that the US is stretched militarily, it has no stomach for any adventures in Asia. It needs a friendly nation in Asia to balance a progressively more assertive China. Taiwan and Japan alone are insufficient and, while Pakistan received billions of American dollars during the decades of US engagement with Afghanistan, it cannot be counted as trustworthy by anyone in Washington. The US has to focus on India. According to Gallup’s annual public opinion poll, India was perceived by Americans as their sixth favourite nation in the world. Some 72 per cent of Americans viewed India favourably in 2014. The US has outlined the following bilateral initiatives in 10 key areas: 1. Advanced global security and countering terrorism. 2. Disarmament and non-proliferation. 3. Trade and economic relations. 4. High technology. 5. Energy security, clean energy and climate change. 6. Agriculture. 7. Education. 8. Health. 9. Science and technology. 10. Development. The facts prove otherwise. US exports to India focused mainly on the following sectors: 1. Engineering goods and machinery, including electrical (31.2%). 2. Aviation and aircraft (16.8%). 3. Precious stone and metals (8.01%). 4. Optical instruments and equipment (7.33%). 5. Organic chemicals (4.98%). Today IBM and HP employ more than 100,000 Indians each; dozens of American companies maintain their largest overseas R&D centres in India; Boeing, GE, Exxon Mobil and others sell billions of dollars worth of equipment a year to India. Indian investors have investments in American icons, such as New York’s Pierre Hotel, and Hollywood’s Dreamworks Studios, as well as in iron ore mining in Minnesota and oil fracking in Appalachia. Bilateral trade is touching $100 billion. The focus of US industry is obvious—to generate more and more business from India’s 40-crore people’s market. It is to be seen if President Obama’s mission is as much about politics as about trade. India and the US share many cultural values—democracy, free market, multi-ethnic societies and tolerance for diversity. There is also the intense cold war between the US and Russia, whose President, Vladimir Putin, has just visited India. The world is cautious about the intense war for economic dominance and India is in a position to provide a shock-absorbing mechanism. Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi only do business with the US in fields like insurance, medicine, defence, electronics and so on when India needs sustained American support in agriculture, health and education? Modi has a diplomatic and tactical role cut out for him during the Obama visit. In Gujarati fashion, he must achieve more in negotiation. At the same time, he must be wary of the US becoming authorised to flit about the Indian economy like a fly-by-night operator in the name of bolstering India. ANIL TYAGI

Download the gfiles app

www.indianbuzz.com

editor@gfilesindia.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

3

CONTENTS

LETTERS editor@gfilesindia.com

6 Bric-a-Brac

pilot docu, pravasi divas, fm radio plan & anand sharma

Remembering Shastri Reading about the legend, Lal Bahadur Shastri, took me to the time of Independence when such heroes set up and managed the entire administration with their selfless attitude of serving the country. Hopefully, by reading the history of these legends, the contemporary politicians will learn to be down to earth and work industriously for the betterment of the nation. Shankar Kumar via email

10 Cover Story

gfiles governance awards: recognising excellence

28 Governance

where is the government’s blueprint? 32 jignesh shah: time for closure 34 inspectors mar ease of doing business in india

38 keeping shareholders uppermost 40 First Stirrings

lt gen jfr jacob goes down memory lane

First Stirrings

42 Silly Point

appropriating gandhi

44 My Corner

the stereotype to break

46 Book Review

the dramatic decade, the first in pranab mukherjee’s trilogy

49 Stock Doctor 2015 will be better

50 Perspective

energy in consecrated spaces

57 By the Way

dhesi, lateral appointments, retirement blues & federal freedom

Serving the nation This is with reference to your December issue on the age of retirement. I would like to comment that there is a decline in morality and national character all around. Things can still be improved if the top echelons of the ruling party in the country have the determination to stop the rot. Re-employment after retirement and extension of service should be a total no-no at all levels including the PMO. So long as the present practice continues, the All India Services will not be able to “give its best” to the nation. Talent cannot bloom as long as sanctity of rules are not maintained. RN Srivastava via blog There is no harm in giving extensions to the deserving officers (gfiles, December 2014, ‘Counting old as gold’). If someone voluntarily wants to give his or her services to the nation and he is capable and useful for the country, then he must get the opportunity of re-employment. Every officer cannot be judged on the same platform after the minimum retirement age of 60. Some can be exceptional and some can be normal. Those who are exceptional can continue with their services and the others can take rest after they retire. R Sriram via email

4

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

I have read Neeraj Mahajan’s piece headlined, ‘They could not accept a Secretary questioning orders’ with great interest. The first thing that strikes me is that it got my name wrong, although I had given my visiting card to Mahajan. My surname is spelt Jaswal, and not Jaiswal. At a more substantive level, I would say that the article altogether leaves out the second half of my career. During this period I held various positions of importance, including that of Secretary, Information Technology, at the time when the National e-Governance Plan was formulated and approved. The article also omits any mention of my postretirement work as Member Secretary of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector and Director of Common Cause, a public interest organisation of long standing. In the last eight years or so that I have had the privilege of leading it, Common Cause has been in the vanguard of the campaign for governance reform and probity in public life and has wielded the instrument of public interest litigation to great effect. Surely, these events would have been interesting even from the anecdotal angle. I hope these observations will be taken in the right spirit. KK Jaswal via email The error is regretted — Editor

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

5

Bric-a-brac airs & fairs

Legend of Rajesh Pilot from real to reel life

I

T was May 15, 1999, when Sharad Pawar, PA Sangma, Tariq Anwar and the late Rajesh Pilot met at Pawar’s residence to debate the right of the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi to lead the Congress party. It was decided that a new political party would be launched, for which all four would be the public face. The leaders decided that the new formation would be announced the next day at a press conference. Pilot moved out from the meeting at midnight and went straight to 10, Janpath to discuss the conspiracy and coup d’état of Pawar. Sonia Gandhi was obviously thankful to Pilot for the information. The following day,, Pawar, Sangma and Anwar announced the launch of a new party by the name of Nationalist Congress Party. Pilot was not seen till the end of the press conference. But Pilot was a fiery leader. He would have reached great heights if he had not met with an accident and died in his constituency, Dausa. His phenomenonal rise is a motivational story for Congressmen. The son of a poor Gujjar farmer from Dadri, he joined the Air Force. In his career in politics after that, he became a prominent leader within the Congress in no time. Rama Pilot, his wife, is making a documentary film on him and is in consultation with scriptwriters, musicians and other technical experts. It is to be seen how she depicts her husband to the world.

g

Gujarat shines on Guj pravasi divas blues prava

V

ibrant Gujarat is a flagship event of the State government and was launched by Narendra Modi when he was Chief Minister of the State. This year, it coincides with the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas which has been o organised by the Ministry of Indian Overseas Affairs in Ahmedabad with much fanfare. This time Modi, a former host, will be attending the m programmes as a guest. But this is not news. Sources say that the Gujarat progra government requested all the State governments to sponsor the Pravasi govern Bharatiya Divas. There is no dearth of government sponsors of the event. Bharat All States Sta were eager to participate but in the background there were murmurings among the Congress-ruled States. The BJP-ruled States have murmu already alread fallen in line. Sources disclosed that Congress-ruled States’ Chief Ministers were of the opinion that their States should not sponsor Mi the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as it coincides with Vibrant Gujarat. According to them, it is an event to promote only Gujarat and no other State will benefit from it. These States could not do much as the Pri Prime Minister himself was taking a keen interest so no State could dare not to participate. Finally, the Congress-ruled States fell in line as well to promo promote the Gujarat conclave. When the Prime Minister himself is in charge of the ceremonies, who would dare speak out openly?

g

6

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

www.gfilesindia.com

INSIDE EYE

ILLUSTRATIONS: ARUNA

Now playi playing queue for fm licences lic

R

ADIO can be a very powerful weapon to reach out to the masses at minimum expense. Prime Prim Minister Narendra Modi understands this and has delivered two talks, “Man K Ki Baat�, on the radio. Entrepreneurs have been quick to sense the power of the radio after its sensible use by Modi and are rushing to Shastri Bhawan, af which houses the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, to get radio licences at Mi the earliest. The ministry is making a move to issue more and more FM radio licences mini to spread the reach of the government to the masses. Businessmen running other businesses who have not been able to enter the mainstream media do not want to lose this opportunit opportunity. Surprisingly, it has been noticed that business houses who are running runni Ponzi schemes in the financial sector and siphoned millions of rupees rup by duping the poor are also applying for FM radio licences. Most of the Ponzi scheme operators are under CBI and Intelligence Bureau scanning. It has to be seen how the fiery and energetic advocate-turned-politician, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Arun Jaitley, keeps a watch and sees to it that no unscrupulous or financial jugglers get licences. Will the Shastri Bhawan officials keep manipulators away? Bh

g

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

7

Bric-a-brac airs & fairs

Anand An nand Sharma hangs on leader of which house?

A

N NAND Sharma, a former Congress minister, thinks he is still in power. It’s a long-cherished desire of his to be the leader of the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha. But B things are not too smooth in the Congress, even if someone is claimed to be the most competent leader. Sharma is known for his English writing as well as Hindi speeches. So nothing wrong if he thinks that he is the obvious choice there is no to be the Lea Leader of the House. As the Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, was away campaigning in the Rajya Sabha, S Jammu & Kashmir elections, Sharma did not let the for the Ja opportunity go and masqueraded as the Leader of the oppor Opposition in the House. Not only this, he reportedly Oppo went around saying that he was the Leader and that, address the Opposition, the government should talk to ad him. The ruling dispensation retorted that he was not to him even the th Leader of his own party in the House, let alone the Oppo Opposition. Then he claimed he was the Deputy Leader Finally, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya of the Opposition. Opp p o Sabha, PJ Ku Kurien, had to make it clear that there was no such post according to the t Constitution. But who can make Sharma believe is not claimed but earned and one cannot that reputation re earn ea it in a day. This is not commerce, Anand!

g

8

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. vol.88, ,issue issue10 7 | |October January 2014 2015

9

COVER STORY gfiles awards 2014

RECOGNISING The gfiles Governance Awards 2014 felicitated civil servants who strove to make a difference by taking good governance practices to the people

10

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

by NARENDRA KAUSHIK

A

DDITIONAL Secretary in the Union Coal Ministry AK Dubey proudly remembers an incident involving his friend and Kerala cadre colleague KM Abraham, now posted as Secretary (Finance) in the Kerala Government. The incident took place when the two served in a central ministry. The duo were once in a meeting with their minister. The latter

wanted Abraham’s consent for a decision which could have had a negative impact on the government exchequer. According to Dubey, Abraham, a mechanical engineer and a martial arts black belt, as usual, put his foot down. Moreover, when the minister, also from Kerala, reminded Abraham of their common religious roots, the latter shot back, “Leave God in the church.” The incident is an example of how some civil servants in the country

www.gfilesindia.com

PHOTOS: RAJEEV TYAGI & MANOJ

EXCELLENCE exhibit guts in standing up to their political masters when the latter wish to use national resources to push their personal and political agenda. Abraham, a 1982-batch IAS officer, was honoured at the gfiles Governance Awards 2014 with the Excellent Contribution Award in a glittering function held in December at the Civil Services Officers’ Institute, New Delhi, for investigating fraudulent collection of thousands of crores of rupees by the Sahara group from

www.indianbuzz.com

small investors. Former Delhi Police Commissioner and prominent internal security expert Ved Marwah received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Minister of State for External Affairs, General VK Singh, for setting highest standards of leadership in governance. Marwah, a Padma Shri and former Director-General of the National Security Guard (NSG), felt the Lifetime Achievement Award would sustain him for some more time.

The minister, who also holds independent charge of Statistics and Programme Implementation, gave the Exceptional Contribution Award to the civil servants, including Abraham. They were Amitabh Kumar, IRS; Dr Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary, IAS; Dr Shrikar Pardeshi, IAS; KN Kumar, IAS; Balvinder Kumar, IAS; Pratibha Singh, IFS; and Rinkesh Roy, IRTS. The bureaucrats received awards for building bridges on rivers, schools on mountains, razing illegal

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

11

COVER STORY gfiles awards 2014

builders to mint billions of rupees by taking advantage of the government’s change of land use (CLU) rules. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks of ‘maximum governance, minimum government’ and emphasises accountable governance for development by observing former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s birthday (December 25) as Good Governance Day, it is a strong vindication of gfiles’ long-standing position.

T Lighting the lamp at the function

constructions, designing the interface for tax payees and the income tax department, conserving wildlife and environment, facilitating e-registration of property and promoting cultivation of fish. This points towards the stellar role played by civil servants in implementation of good governance in the country. The awards ceremony, third in as many years, coincided with gfiles’ seventh anniversary. The awardees were finalised by an independent group comprising former Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar, former Chief Secretary of Haryana Vishnu Bhagwan, former Power Secretary Anil Razdan and former Special Secretary (Internal Security) MB Kaushal and bear enormous credibility. Gen. Singh saluted the awardees for what he called the ‘good’ they had brought out. He was sure good governance would transform the country by ridding it of corruption and delay in decision-making. Singh asked the civil servants to expedite implementation of decisions taken by the ministers. “Once something is decid-

12

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

ed, they must implement it,” he said. Prabhat Kumar, former Governor of Jharkhand, was of the view that the awards would work as a stimulus for other bureaucrats and encourage them to raise the bar of their performance. To buttress his point, he cited the example of how the Nanda Devi Bio-diversity Reserve was cleaned by a civil servant and how an SDM (Sub Divisional Magistrate) built a road in very difficult terrain in the Northeast. gfiles has been at the forefront of highlighting governance issues for over 84 editions. It has constantly endeavoured to scrutinise governance. The monthly magazine has exposed time and again how governments at the Centre and in different States have benefitted private interests through their decisions. The publication broke the story of the MCX-NSEL scam of Jignesh Shah and did not rest till the scamster was booked. It exposed how the Haryana Government, headed by the then Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, allowed private persons and

HE PM has introduced several measures to bolster governance. He replaced Arvind Mayaram with Rajiv Mehrishi as Secretary in the Economic Affairs department of the Finance Ministry. Since Mehrishi was behind the introduction of a slew of market reforms in Rajasthan, his posting is considered a major step in the process of pushing the reforms agenda. Modi has assured protection to bureaucrats for their bonafide decisions. Since taking over, he has effected over 170 transfers of Joint Secretary-level and above officers. No wonder, world leaders from US President Barack Obama to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to British Prime Minister David Cameron are hailing his leadership. Obama feels Modi has made efforts to shake up ‘bureaucratic inertia’. “The Australian Government has runs on the board when it comes to free trade. And I know PM Modi too has runs on the board when it comes to getting India to actually respond to making the Indian bureaucracy work for people,” Abbott said after meeting Modi in November. Back home, Prabhat Kumar claims this is the first time that a Prime Minister has exhorted civil servants to furnish their innovative ideas.

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

13

COVER STORY gfiles awards 2014

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Ved Marwah IPS (Retd)

Ved Marwah (third from left) receiving the award from Minister of State for External Affairs, General VK Singh (right). Also seen are Prabhat Kumar (left), Arup Roy Choudhury (centre), MB Kaushal (third from right) and RK Tyagi (second from right)

For setting highest standards of leadership and governance in internal security issues, leaving a lasting imprint on positions held in government

P

ADMA Shri and former IPS officer Ved Marwah is known as one of the most outstanding policemen the country has ever had. With a deep understanding of internal security issues and the problems of terrorism and extremism, he has the distinction of serving in various capacities during his career span of 36 years. He has held some of the most responsible positions, including those of Governor of Manipur and Jharkhand with additional charge of Mizoram and Bihar; Adviser to the Governments of Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar; Convener,

14

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

Internal Security, of the First National Security Council Advisory Board; Special Secretary, Internal Security, Union Ministry of Home Affairs; Director General, National Security Guard; Commissioner of Police, Delhi; Joint Secretary, National Police Commission; First Secretary, High Commission of India, London; and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kolkata. A recipient of the Police Medal for Gallantry, he writes and comments extensively on security issues in the media and has authored some weighty books that include India in Turmoil–J&K,

Left Extremism and Northeast, and Uncivil Wars–Pathology of Terrorism in India. His recent contribution on Counterinsurgency in Punjab has been published by the University of Indiana, US, and Autonomy in Jammu and Kashmir by Kreddah, Amsterdam. A postgraduate from St Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, and a diploma-holder in Public Administration from the University of Manchester, UK, Marwah till recently was Chairman, Task Force, National Security and Criminal Justice System, Centre-State Commission, Ministry of Home Affairs. He is currently an honorary Professor at the Centre for Policy Research, a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, and President of the Centre for Public Affairs, New Delhi.

www.gfilesindia.com

EXCEPTIONAL CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Amitabh Kumar receiving the award from General VK Singh

Amitabh Kumar IRS For changing the orientation of tax administration from enforcement to taxpayer service and for introducing several innovative schemes in the field of tax administration

A

1987-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service, Amitabh Kumar did an MBA from Southern Cross University, Australia, Advance Management from Maxwell School of Public Policy, US, and Leadership & Change Management from Wharton Business School, US, besides being an alumnus of the University of Delhi. He received three commendation certificates from MoS Finance (the most by any IRS officer) on the occasion of 150 years of the Income Tax Department in 2011-12. Besides, his contribution to public

www.indianbuzz.com

service has been recognised almost every year since 2007 by CBDT. He is credited with having launched a Tax Return Preparer Scheme (TRPS) that involved online training to unemployed graduates to enable them to prepare tax and TDS returns (at a very nominal cost) for those who could not do it themselves. The scheme has so far provided employment to nearly 10,000 graduates and helped more than 50 lakh taxpayers in filing returns. The scheme found reference as one of the nine most innovative schemes

in Asia in the book BYOB, published by the Department of Administrative Reforms, Government of India. His scheme of Aayakar Sewa Kendra, to act as a single window interface between taxpayers and the Income Tax Department, identified 18 services provided by the field formation of the department, giving definite timelines for delivery of these services. He also introduced the concept of Tax Payers Lounge to showcase all taxpayer services such as PAN application, e-filing, e-payment, viewing of refund status online, viewing of taxpayer status online, TRPS and so on, under one roof. The Tax Payers Lounge has been awarded for four consecutive years by the ITPO for presentation, use and popularity. Amitabh Kumar is posted as Director, Income-Tax (HRD), CBDT in the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India.

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

15

COVER STORY gfiles awards 2014

EXCEPTIONAL CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Dr Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary receiving the award from General VK Singh

Dr Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary IAS

three lakh man (woman) days of work for inhabitants of these remote areas, providing livelihoods besides creating vital assets for the community. He has also taken up the construction of 527 school projects which were abandoned since 2006 in a record time of one year through community participation and convergence of schemes. He has also been credited with having carried out a mammoth exercise over eight months for creating electoral awareness, enrolment and participation–resulting in increase in voter turnout to 81 per cent from the previous 43 per cent. The women’s turnout increased from 34 per cent to 79 per cent, apart from 100 per cent facilitated participation by differently abled, aged and infirm voters. Dr Chaudhary is now posted as District Collector, Kathua.

For ensuring security of life and socio-economic betterment of people in remote areas in Jammu & Kashmir

A

2009-batch IAS officer of the Jammu & Kashmir cadre, Dr Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary has done a remarkable job in the fields of education and elections in the remote and militancy-affected hilly areas of Reasi district in J&K. He has been instrumental in constructing 70-foot bridges and 85-odd schools in inaccessible areas where many cases of deaths were reported due to drowning while crossing channels and rivulets. Attendance in these schools also remained poor in cloudy weather as parents did not send

16

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

children to schools, fearing immediate flooding of small rivulets with huge catchment areas. His work has been a great confidence-booster for the poor and tribals. Within one year, the number of deaths reduced to near-zero from an average of 50 per year. An epitome of people’s participation and functioning of democratic government, the work has helped improve accessibility for other government services besides being instrumental in tackling terrorism. Implemented in a very cost-effective manner, it has generated more than

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

17

COVER STORY gfiles awards 2014

EXCEPTIONAL CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Dr Shrikar Pardeshi receiving the award from General VK Singh

Dr Shrikar Pardeshi IAS

office. The online registration brings convenience, transparency and speed to realty deals as users do not have to go to the registration offices. His other significant contributions include the water conservation campaign in Yavatmal, Akola and Nanded districts, the Copymukta Abhiyan to stop cheating in SSC and HSC exams in Nanded (an experiment that was adopted all over the State), the Pat Padtalni Abhiyan to detect and remove bogus enrolment of students in aided private schools, leading to saving of more than `2,000 crore for the State government, action against illegal constructions and the launch of SARATHI–an innovative and modern information helpline for citizens of Pimpri Chinchwad. Dr Pardeshi is currently posted as Inspector-General of Registration & Controller of Stamps, Government of Maharashtra.

For his unique initiative in Maharashtra that launched e-registration of properties from the developer’s office to bring convenience, transparency and speed to realty deals

A

2001-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, Dr Shrikar Pardeshi secured the 10th and 1st positions in the UPSC exam in India and Maharashtra, respectively. An MBBS and MD in Preventive and Social Medicine from BJ Government Medical College, Pune, Dr Pardeshi has been presented with many national and State awards. He is the recipient of the National Award from the Prime Minister for work done in the field of water con-

18

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

servation through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Nanded and the National Award by the Computer Society of India for e-governance in Nanded. As Inspector-General of Registration and Controller of Stamps (IGR), Pune, he took the unique initiative in association with MCHI-CREDAI, an apex body of developers, to launch e-registration of properties—making Maharashtra the first State to offer e-registration of property from the developer’s

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

19

COVER STORY gfiles awards 2014

EXCEPTIONAL CONTRIBUTION AWARD

KN Kumar receiving the award from General VK Singh

KN Kumar IAS

Yojana as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, and the Clean & Green Scheme in Meghalaya to promote clean and green villages. His initiative for training the entire Rural Development and Fisheries Department officials and staff on ethics led to tangible improvement in governance. He is also credited with having turned Meghalaya into one of the leading producers of strawberry, anthuriums and roses in the Northeast. His Placement-Linked Skill Development Scheme in Meghalaya became the precursor of a massive grantcum-loan assistance of $120 million by the Asian Development Bank, Manila for ‘Supporting Human Development in Meghalaya’. KN Kumar is at present Principal Secretary, Fisheries & Rural Development, and Chief Executive Officer, Meghalaya State Skills Development Society.

For successfully implementing his vision to move the state of Meghalaya ‘from dependence to selfsufficiency’ in production of fresh fish, leading to a major impact on livelihoods and the State GDP

A

1987-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, KN Kumar is known for his exceptional work in the field of fisheries in Meghalaya besides significantly contributing to agriculture, rural development and skill development. The Thousand Ponds Scheme to construct a thousand fish ponds in seven districts of Meghalaya, launched by him in 2005, added 500 hectares of water area for inland fisheries. As Deputy Commissioner, his drive to construct fish ponds in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya through

20

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

the Employment Assurance Scheme between 1995 and 1997, and the ambitious Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission to create one lakh fish ponds of 1,000 square metres size, encapsulated the vision to move the state ‘from dependence to self-sufficiency’. Now, the State imports 25,000 tonnes of fresh fish from Andhra Pradesh. So far 5,681 fish ponds have been constructed and entered the production cycle, leading to a major impact on livelihoods and the State GDP. His other notable work includes launching of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

21

COVER STORY gfiles awards 2014

EXCELLENT CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Balvinder Kumar receiving the award from General VK Singh

Balvinder Kumar IAS For steering the Noida Authority through the land acquisition crisis that was at its peak due to agitations and legal cases lodged by farmers, plunging many development and housing projects into uncertainty

A

1981-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Balvinder Kumar has worked in various positions of responsibility, including Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Fertilisers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Noida Authority, Vice-Chairman, Lucknow Development Authority, Managing Director, UPSIDC, Principal Secretary in the Departments of Social Welfare, Women & Child Development,

22

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

Taxation, Food & Civil Supplies, and Revenue in Uttar Pradesh. Balvinder Kumar, who served two stints as chairman-cum-CEO of the Noida Authority, was sent to Noida in July 2011 by the Mayawati-led BSP regime when the land acquisition crisis was at its peak, and agitations and legal cases lodged by farmers had plunged many development and housing projects into uncertainty. An astute administrator with tact and an understanding of ground realities, he

managed to placate the farmers and negotiate a solution. He has also been credited with having considerably improved the public interface of DDA by introducing computerisation and bringing transparency in the system. Suspended or transferred several times for not toeing the politicians’ line, he channelled time and energy into painting and writing. An avid painter and a transcendental meditation expert, he has done over 100 abstract artworks which found their way to the Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi and Lucknow. His book, Man’s Spiritual Journey, touches upon aspects like the human mind’s inbuilt tendency towards negativity, the relevance of God in new-age spiritualism and the conflict of self with the inner self. Balvinder Kumar is at present posted as Vice-Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority.

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

23

COVER STORY gfiles awards 2014

EXCELLENT CONTRIBUTION AWARD

AK Dubey, Additional Secretary, Coal, accepting the award on behalf of KM Abraham (inset) from General VK Singh

Dr KM Abraham IAS For protecting the interests of millions of investors and helping retrieve thousands of crores of rupees while working as Whole Time Member at SEBI, thereby saving the financial markets from an impending scam

A

1982-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, Dr KM Abraham is credited with having investigated irregularities in the way the Sahara group had raised thousands of crores of rupees in capital and passing an order in 2011, asking the Sahara group companies to refund investors’ money and holding (among others) Subrata Roy liable. His meticulous and unimpeachable investigation into the Sahara companies was so

24

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

thorough that neither the Securities Appellate Tribunal nor the Supreme Court could find fault and challenge its authenticity. Despite pressure from the powerful to go easy on several cases, including those of the Sahara companies, his report on the money raised from the public by the Sahara group in utter disregard of the prevailing regulations became the ultimate basis for the Supreme Court to order the arrest of the Sahara supremo.

An MTech from IIT, Kanpur and a Phd from the University of Michigan, US, Dr Abraham is also a Chartered Financial Analyst and Licenced International Financial Analyst from the US. He has over 34 years’ experience in various positions in public sector management and academic assignments with specialisation in the financial sector, public finance, higher education, social sector and governance. A man of multidimensional expertise with a track record of significant academic achievements and analytical approach, he has demonstrated his leadership and motivational skills in successfully managing various large organisations, projects and programmes–often under challenging environments. Dr Abraham is at present the Secretary, Finance, Government of Kerala, with additional charge of the Social Justice and Higher Education.

www.gfilesindia.com

EXCELLENT CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Pratibha Singh receiving the award from General VK Singh

Pratibha Singh IFS

For the National Biodiversity Target 2020, she has made special efforts in Uttar Pradesh by taking steps such as preparing a People’s Biodiversity Register and forming Biodiversity Management Committees for nine villages. She drew up the State Biodiversity Rules and is continuously engaged in preparing baseline data for biodiversity in the State. Several new species have been recorded for the first time. She has made commendable efforts to involve the youth in biodiversity awareness programmes and has been instrumental in taking biodiversity conservation to schools through State-level contests. She has also planned Statewide plantation of more than four crore saplings over the 2014-15 monsoons. She is at present Principal Secretary, Forests, UP Government, and is also working as a Conservator of Forests on the UP State Biodiversity Board.

For her remarkable efforts in conservation of wildlife and environment, thus contributing significantly towards achieving the national biodiversity target

A

1994-batch IFS officer and an alumnus of the University of Delhi, Pratibha Singh is the first officer ever in India to resign from the Indian Foreign Service and join the Indian Forest Service, placing on record her love for wildlife and the environment. A postgraduate in public policy and management from IIM, Bengaluru, she has to her credit yet another master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, US, in Public Management, specialising in Energy, Environment and Sustainability. She is a Leed Green

www.indianbuzz.com

Associate from the US Green Building Council and has expertise in working in zoos, both in India and abroad. Her contribution is specifically laudable in the areas of forest conservation, afforestation, increasing green cover outside forest areas, forest and wildlife protection, man-animal conflict, and biodiversity conservation. Her efforts in establishment of the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, the lion safari in Etawah, the declaration of ecosensitive zones, and upgradation of facilities in Kanpur and Lucknow zoos have been widely acclaimed.

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

25

COVER STORY gfiles awards 2014

EXCELLENT CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Rinkesh Roy receiving the award from General VK Singh

Rinkesh Roy IRTS

He introduced long-haul trains (combining two trains and running them as one) and was also associated with the designing of pathbreaking 25-tonne axle load wagons. As Director, Traffic Transportation, Ministry of Railways (2007-2012), he was responsible for freight movement on a pan-India basis, managing a fleet of 4,000 locomotives and 3,400 freight trains which were deployed over a 64,000-km network. Responsibilities included monitoring freight operations over the entire network on a 24x7 basis, doing course corrections, improving asset utilisation and, most important, meeting the demand for freight in the country. Rinkesh Roy is currently Chief Freight Traffic Manager on the East Coast Railways that has now become the highest freight-loading railway of Indian Railways. g

For his excellent contribution in significantly increasing the efficiency and freight-loading capacity of Indian Railways

A

1992-batch officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Services, Rinkesh Roy secured first rank with a distinction in BA Hons (Economics) from Utkal University. An alumnus of Harvard University and National University of Singapore, he did his master’s in Public Management (majoring in Economics) and was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew fellowship in 2013. Having worked in varied capacities, he gained rich experience in the interface and working of iron-ore mines, steel plants, collieries, power plants and port operations, and

26

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

has developed expertise in railway operations and strategic planning for Indian Railways. He was instrumental in proposing and implementing policies that overcame capacity constraints by increasing the standard train lengths by one wagon, and decentralising of powers from the Railway Board to the Zonal Railway level for coal-loading, resulting in shift of coal traffic from road to rail. He was a key member of the team set up by the Government of India to handle the coal crisis of 2011 brought about by strikes in the Singareni Coal Fields and the Telangana agitations.

www.gfilesindia.com

THANK YOU

FOR MAKING

GOVERNANCE AWARDS 2014 A SUCCESS FOR BRANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GFILES GOVERNANCE AWARDS 2015 CONTAC T T Mobile: +91 99111 10385 Phone: +91 11 2874 4789 Fax: +91 11 4508 2832 Email: adv@gямБlesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

27

GOVERNANCE

agenda mg devasahayam

Modi Governance: Quo Vadis? The Modi government has been in power for nearly eight months now. Yet, there is no sign of an architecture or blueprint of Modi’s governance agenda

T

LV GH¿QHG DV ³D GLOHPPD RU GLI¿FXOW circumstance from which there is no HVFDSH EHFDXVH RI PXWXDOO\ FRQÀLFWing or dependent conditions”. The µGLI¿FXOW FLUFXPVWDQFH¶ KDV EHHQ FUHated by the Sangh Parivar, comprising his ministers and party MPs pursuing a hate agenda, causing nationwide doubts and apprehensions. Modi’s governance agenda as rolled out and DV SUDFWLVHG DUH µPXWXDOO\ FRQÀLFWLQJ¶ At the core of Modi’s agenda is ‘people-oriented government and governance, putting citizens at the centre of development processes’ and ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. It also has the promise

of reforming the current governance system and making the government agencies accountable to the citizens. But, nearly eight months down the line, there is as yet no sign of a governance architecture or blueprint. This is probably due to lack of clarity about ‘governance’ and hijacking of the agenda by vested interests. In the process, governance is reduced to the government, its bureaucracy, laws, rules, policies, programmes, processes and procedures. Governance is far more than that and, in reality, is a joint venture between the government, private and voluntary sectors. The government creates a conducive

PIB

HE day of Christmas (December 25) was observed as Good Governance Day to celebrate the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On this occasion, present Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his commitment towards providing transparent, effective, accountable and good governance and exhorted the people to embark together on this mission. A question has risen as to whether Modi’s ‘governance agenda’ has substance or it is mere tokenism! This poser is valid because on the governance front the Prime Minister is facing a Catch-22 situation, which

Prime Minister Narendra Modi releasing the 'Make in India' logo: A question has risen as to whether Modi’s governance agenda has substance or it is mere tokenism

28

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

www.gfilesindia.com

political, administrative, legal and living environment; the private sector promotes enterprise and generates jobs and wealth; and the voluntary sector educates and mobilises citizen groups to participate in economic, social and political activities. All are partners in the venture of good governance, which only can deliver ‘inclusive development’. Being a joint venture, governance should adhere to the basic functional norm of involving stakeholders in the decision-making and implementation process. This is not happening and unilateralism prevails. The recent Indo-Russian nuclear deal for 12 more reactors despite the pathetic performance of the Russia-built Koodankulam nuclear power plant and prolonged public protest is D W\SLFDO H[DPSOH $OVR D OHDNHG ÂłVHcretâ€? Intelligence Bureau report condemned several NGOs and eminent activists as anti-national for opposing such detrimental projects. The report accused the voluntary sector of ‘taking down’ India’s development and negatively impacting GDP growth to the extent of 2-3 per cent per annum! This is a fallacy manufactured by Modi’s blue-eyed ‘core governance team’ that has its own pre-set ideology, philosophy and priorities which are different from the ones propounded by him. This is basically an inbreeding coterie comprising people associated with several think-tanks LGHQWLÂżHG ZLWK D SDUWLFXODU PRGH of thought. The list includes the India Foundation, Friends of BJP, the Centre for Accountable Governance, the India Policy Foundation, the Arthakranti Pratishthan, Niti Central, the Public Policy Research Centre and, above all, the RSS-backed Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF). From among these think-tanks have emerged an array of pro-corporate

www.indianbuzz.com

ministers, key party honchos who call the tune, the top echelon of the PMO, the all-powerful National Security Adviser (Ajit Doval, who headed VIF), the head of public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati and some of the most visible party spokespersons. Now the VIF is headed by a former Army &KLHI ZKRVH QDPH ÂżQGV PHQWLRQ DV RQH RI WKH EHQHÂżFLDULHV LQ WKH $GDUVK housing scam!

J

UST one example would convey the VWURQJ FRUSRUDWH 01& LQĂ€XHQFH over this ‘core governance team’. A Minister of State in the Finance Ministry once headed the Omidyar Network, the philanthropic arm of eBay in India, and pushed for FDI in e-commerce. A close associate of his worked for the Blackstone Group, a stakeholder in a large number of industries, including the Vedanta Group of which PC Chidambaram was a standing counsel and Director on the Board till the day he took over as the Union Finance Minister in UPA I. Ever since the BJP took power, this Group launched a high-octane campaign, advocating that real ‘development’ for India is to denude its verdant jungles/ forests and dig out the mines and minerals below. That it could lead to disastrous ecological imbalance and loss of livelihood for millions of tribals is not their concern. The Blackstone Group has also been mentoring POSCO and Monsanto, mired in serious controversies relating to environment, tribal land, coastal ecology and Genetically ModiÂżHG FURSV 2WKHU FRPSDQLHV DUH -LQdal and Google. Till recently, Blackstone India was headed by a former CEO of Reliance Industries. The Omidyar Network is said to have funded a 2012 study on ‘Why India Needs Aadhaar’. Executed by researchers from the University

of California, it made out a case for the then controversial Unique ,GHQWLÂżFDWLRQ 1XPEHU SURMHFW ZKLFK the BJP had strongly opposed. Now, after Modi’s endorsement, Aadhaar is being linked to not just transfer of EHQHÂżWV WR WKH SRRU EXW DOVR WR YDULRXV government services, including issue of passports, gas connections, and so on. Another think-tank top-brass heads the management team in India RI D ÂżUP =HXV &DSV ZKLFK KDV D 6DXGL prince as its chairman and describes itself as an investment platform for infrastructure projects. For inputs on policy-making and investment decisions, Modi’s governance style is depending less on ministers and bureaucrats and much more on private and ‘independent’ think-tanks. This trend started with the UPA, but is now pursued with PXFK PRUH ÂżQHVVH :KLOH WKH 83$ was constantly criticised by the BJP IRU GHSHQGLQJ RQ DQ ÂłH[WUD FRQVWLWXtionalâ€? NGO called the National Advisory Council, the NDA government is relying on corporate-controlled ‘independent’ think-tanks for policy decisions on ‘investment’ and security-related issues. Access to these ‘intellectual portals’ is severely restricted and they are not open to fresh or innovative ideas from sources that do not toe their line. Most ‘development agenda’ appear to have been pre-cooked during the UPA days, outwardly opposed by the BJP, but are now being dished out with renewed vigour! 7KHVH LQFOXGH HQVXULQJ ÂłPLQLPXP government, maximum governanceâ€?; unleashing capabilities of the young; empowerment, not entitlement; expediting POSCO Steel and ultra mega power projects; Mumbai Metro; Delhi-Mumbai and other industrial corridors; bullet trains between top metros; dramatically opening up defence production to the private

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

29

GOVERNANCE

agenda mg devasahayam sector; National Population Register, census and electoral rolls to be linked with Aadhaar; 100 smart cities; and slums giving way to better living spaces. Added to these are relaxing 6(= UXOHV WR PDNH LW YLUWXDO UHDO HVWDWH business; upping the insurance FDI; and subverting the Land Acquisition Act 2013 to favour carpetbaggers at the cost of farmers! On the foreign policy front, it is pandering to Sri Lanka’s ‘dynastic tyranny’! This is Modi’s unfolding governance agenda. In the process, three of his crucial pre- and postelection commitments have been cast to the winds. These are: Working with the people on the principle of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, thereby re-establishing the credibility of the institutions of democracy involving full and committed participation of the voluntary sector of civil society in the process of governance; meeting the greatest challenge of ending the curse of poverty in India with HPSKDVLV RQ ÂłSRYHUW\ HOLPLQDWLRQ´ QRW PHUH ÂłSRYHUW\ DOOHYLDWLRQ´ DQG VLQFH WKH ÂżUVW FODLP RQ GHYHORSPHQW belongs to the poor, the government focusing its attention on those who need the basic necessities of life most urgently and providing security to all citizens. 0RUH VSHFLÂżFDOO\ VSHDNLQJ IDLOXUH to retrieve the black money stashed abroad is seen as the biggest governance failure of the Modi government thus far. This is intriguing because, as head of VIF in 2011, Doval had laid down the strategy and measures to get back the money plundered abroad. He wanted the government to design a multi-pronged strategy—ranging from enacting appropriate laws, empowering its investigative and intelligence agencies, using political and diplomatic pressures and leveraging India’s new economic clout—to

30

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

achieve its goals. Importantly, political will has to be created to achieve WKLV QDWLRQDO REMHFWLYH 6RPH GHÂżQLWH steps suggested by him were: i) A penal law to declare criminals those who have illegally stashed money abroad. The Government of India (GoI) should then claim itself DV WKH VROH RZQHU DQG EHQHÂżFLDU\ of all Indian monies, assets and bank accounts held abroad by or the dependants of Indian nationals without due declaration. ii) Since a substantial portion of this money owes its origin to criminal activities like corruption, misappropriation, fraud, cheating, drug/land PDÂżD ORRW WHUURULVW ÂżQDQFLQJ DQG VR on, which are all cognisable offences, GoI should suo moto register an om-

For inputs on policymaking and investment, Modi’s governance style is depending less on ministers and bureaucrats and much more on private and ‘independent’ think-tanks. This trend started with the UPA, but is now pursued with much more finesse nibus criminal FIR against suspected XQLGHQWLÂżHG SHUVRQV DQG LQLWLDWH investigation. The government can then get assistance of foreign police and, more importantly, gain access to banks abroad to get vital information. iii) Unclaimed monies stashed abroad should be declared by a special law as vested in GoI with a provision that they can be claimed only by providing credible evidence to show that these monies were earned in legal business. iv) The present and potential

power of India should be leveraged, like the US and Germany did, to reclaim the black monies of its nationals stashed abroad. v) Every electoral candidate should ÂżOH DQ DIÂżGDYLW EHIRUH HOHFWLRQV WKDW he does not hold illegal money abroad. By an Act of Parliament, persons who have accumulated funds abroad should be barred from holding any SXEOLF RIÂżFH DQG JHWWLQJ ORDQV IURP banks as a form of punishment.

I

N conclusion, the supercop wrote: Âł$V D QDWLRQ ZH RZH LW WR WKH deprived and ordinary people of India and its future citizens the sacred duty of unearthing these vast national resources, which have the potential to transform the country into a developed nation much sooner than we can otherwise‌Being viewed as a corrupt and dishonest nation of buccaneers, who bolt away with billions of dollars when a vast population of our country is living in abject poverty, will hardly give us the moral and ethical authority to be of example to the world. The time is propitious and we need to act, displaying highest degree of national will, to get our ORRWHG PRQH\ EDFN ´ 0DÂżD PRQH\ hoarded abroad is a serious national security issue. As NSA, Doval is part of the all-powerful PMO and has the IXOO FRQÂżGHQFH RI WKH 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU Yet no steps on the above lines have been initiated! If Modi is to deliver his ‘Development-cum-Governance Agenda’, he must get out of the Catch-22 syndrome and break free of the inbreeding coterie which is taking him onto the wrong track. Otherwise the poignant poser—‘Modi Governance: Quo Vadis?’—will continue to loom large! g

The writer is a former Army and IAS officer. Email: deva1940@gmail.com

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

31

GOVERNANCE nsel scam follow-up

Jignesh Shah

The end game begins Jignesh Shah is selling his stake as he and his company, FTIL, have been declared unfit to run any exchange by NEERAJ MAHAJAN

T

HE higher you go, the greater your fall. Two, there are no permanent mai-baaps to break your fall each time you land in trouble. These are the biggest lessons to be learned from the fate of businessmen like Subrata Roy, Jignesh Shah, B Ramalinga Raju of the Satyam group, Shahid Balwa of DB Realty, Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless and Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom. The end game has begun. Shah is going to withdraw from the stock exchange business he painstakingly created, but not before the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police filed a 9,360-page chargesheet against him in the `5,574-crore fraud at the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). The Forward Markets Commission (FMC) declared him and his company, Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL), unfit to run any exchange. Since his release on bail, Shah

32

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

has been busy selling his stake to Uday Kotak, the promoter of Kotak ak Mahindra Bank, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, SBI Life njhunwala, Insurance urance and anyone else who was interested. Kotak ak wanted to buy the entire 26 per cent and quoted ted `550-575 per share, but eventually ntually increased the price to `600. Kotak already ady owns 40 per cent stake in Ahmedabad Commodity Exchange hange (ACE), which it purchased chased in 2009. The he FMC has cleared the MCX-Kotak X-Kotak deal. This means ns that Kotak will havee a board nominee and will have a say in appointing the

www.gfilesindia.com

CEO and managing director directo of MCX. Kotak is banking on new am amendments in the Forward Contract Regulation R Act (FCRA), like reductio reduction in CTT, and permission to start opti option trading and for institutions to par participate in the commodity market. It is i not clear when these will happen, but bu this was an important consideratio consideration for it to acquire a stake in MCX. The FCRA amendment Bill B is likely to be placed before Parliament Parliam during next year’s Budget session. sess Interestingly, while the Harshad Mehta scam in 1992 ensured the emergence of SEBI as a strong regulator, something similar is happening nearly two decades later. l The `5,600-cro `5,600-crore NSEL scam is proving p to be a bless blessing in disguise for the t FMC. Anothe Another positive dev development has been be that the FM FMC, which was under u the Consum Consumer Affairs Ministry, has been Ministry taken over ove by the Ministry. The Finance Min of capital markets division d has the Finance Ministry Min been renamed Financial Markets Divis Division and the FMC Chairman Chai has been designated on a par with a Secretary Secreta in the Government of India. Hopefully, this th should mean function functional autonomy for the regulator which may not no have to look behind its back b for the ministry’s nod. The regulator may soon be able to hire pro professionals

www.indianbuzz.com

A positive development has been that the FMC, which was under the Consumer Affairs Ministry, has been taken over by the Finance Ministry and experts in the field of commodities, finance and law. If all this goes as planned, the FMC may emerge as a strong and powerful regulator like SEBI. Or maybe a new regulator may be put in place, merging the two as suggested by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission. Meanwhile, some more startling disclosures are expected from Anjani Sinha, the sacked CEO and MD of NSEL, who initially tried to exonerate the promoters but later filed a fresh affidavit alleging that the NSEL board knew what was going on. Sinha, whose wife, Shalini Sinha, traded on MCX for about `40,000 crore in one year, claimed that his wife was a small garment designer and the trades reflected in the name of SNP Designs was actually speculative

trading by Shah on MCX. If Sinha was the main culprit in the scam, why was he retained by Shah for 12-13 weeks after the scam? This only shows the collusion between the two, sources said. According to sources, the investigation by EOW, CBI and ED seem to be not going anywhere and the FTIL-NSEL merger order (draft), passed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been challenged in Bombay High Court by FTIL. It is said that about eight companies registered at NSEL auditor Mukesh P Shah’s address had a La Fin connection (La Fin is the investment company through which Shah holds a significant stake in FTIL) and were active on NSEL. These include Maximum Trading, Prathama Trading Limited, Tezas Trading Co Ltd., Zylog Commercial Pvt Ltd, Dynamatic Developers Ltd, Zodiac Trade Link Pvt Ltd, Sarba Mangalam Fintex Pvt Ltd and Prathama Trading Ltd. All these companies got out in June 2013 without losing a penny in NSEL despite doing trading worth `1,400 crore. Atleast one of these companies, Dynamatic, is partly owned by La Fin.g

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

33

GOVERNANCE obstructing rules

Inspector Raj bleeds economy! Reforms have not improved the ease of doing business in India and everybody knows why. There has to be a check on the still pervasive inspector raj. by NARENDRA KAUSHIK

A

JAY Jain and Saurabh Jain regret the day they decided to shift their textile industry from Jind (Haryana) to Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh). Unlike Haryana, where they bribed inspectors of 10 different departments—industries, labour, ESI, PF, sales tax, fire and safety, pollution, excise, weight and measurement, and electricity—systematically, in Greater Noida the demands are arbitrary. For instance, in Jind they paid a specific amount to the labour enforcement officer through their industry association every quarter and had the Deputy Labour Commissioner playing mediator in case of a dispute between an industrialist and an enforcement officer. In Greater Noida, the gratification demands by the officer have no pattern and no moderator. Moreover, unlike Haryana, where the sales tax regulations are not very stringent, in Uttar Pradesh it is nearly impossible for a businessman to transport machines without paying a hefty bribe to tax sleuths. Whereas in Haryana the rate for sales tax annual assessment is `1,500, in Uttar Pradesh an industrialist has to cough up around 20 times more. In Haryana, agents for pollution certification can procure a no-objection

34

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

certificate (NoC) for an annual fee of `10,000, in Greater Noida even a low-level official from the State pollution department can seal the factory in case his gratification demands are not met. In Haryana, the fire and safety inspector insists on installation of fire extinguishers made by a manufacturer who pays him a commission, in UP the Jain brothers need to get an NoC from the fire department for a price. Since the law and order situation in UP is pretty bad, there is also the possibility of criminals ordering them to sell their scrap to a particular company and to hire vehicles of a particular transporter only. In case they wish to take the legal route to set up their unit in Greater Noida, it will take at least six months. Or, they can get a sales tax number and excise clearance and start production, greasing the palms of the rest whenever they turn up for inspections.

Bribing of various inspectors is a uniform feature from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. India’s exchequer may be losing at least a few thousand crores to such corruption annually

“Who will wait for six months to complete the formalities? Wouldn’t it be wiser to do production in that period?” Saurabh, the elder of the two, asks with a shrug. Monudeep Banerjee, a manufacturer of returnable packaging and the Jains’ neighbour, who is in the process of shifting his unit from Gurgaon to Greater Noida, endorses the statement. Rob exchequer to pay rogues What brings the Jains and Banerjee to western Uttar Pradesh are the property prices which have been on a downward curve in the last halfdecade. They also anticipate evading all their taxes in league with corrupt state government machinery. This is what brought Govind Kumar, a paint shade printer, from Rajasthan to Greater Noida. “Yahan saree earning sirf aapki hai (here the earnings belong to you alone), provided you pay a fraction of it in bribes. The rent is negligible and power supply is good,” Kumar, who employs less than half-a-dozen workers in his unit, notes. Being a small unit, he escapes the labour, ESI and PF dragnet. Sales tax savagery But Kumar often gets on the wrong side of the sales tax department. In such situations, his most preferable

www.gfilesindia.com

mantra is to quietly pay the quoted price: “Either pay what is demanded, or forget about the consignment,” he says. Kumar cites the example of a Delhi-based Japanese printer manufacturer, who he bought a printer from, to buttress his point. The manufacturer charged `2.78 lakh for the printer from him, but ended up paying around `2 lakh to Noida sales tax officials in penalty because the delivery from its warehouse near Indira Gandhi Airport was late by two days. Unlike Haryana, Rajasthan and other States where you can transport a consignment anywhere on the basis of the invoice, in UP the receiver and sender are required to fill in the truck number, driver’s name, licence number and other sundry details. In case the vehicle changes on the way (it always does on long routes) and the driver and consignee fail to convey the same to the sales tax office, they will get into a soup. For a consignment worth `1 lakh, the bribe rate in the sales tax is `10,000 (10 per cent). But for something less costly (say, `45,000), it may go up to even 50 per cent of the cost. Kumar also has before him the example of his neighbour, a paint manufacturer. The latter’s premises were sealed after he refused to cough up a few lakhs for a State pollution inspector. Licence for corruption Yet Kumar is lucky. He does not have to face a labour enforcement officer, who is considered to be the biggest threat to the industry. The officer, according to the Factories Act, 1948, can inspect any place with his assistants or experts and seize documents, take measurements and photographs. His only constraint under the law is that he has to operate within the local limits for which

www.indianbuzz.com

PHOTOS: NARENDRA KAUSHIK

Michael Dias, Secretary, The Employers Association, Delhi, feels the inspection system is an insidious disease

he is appointed. The officer has the licence to enquire about almost anything under the sun. But his biggest weapons are the Industrial Disputes Act, Bonus Act, Overtime Act, Gratuity Act, Minimum Wages Act and a host of other laws, any violations of which are considered criminal acts and can lead to issuance of a non-bailable warrant against the factory manager/managing director. He teams up with workers’ unions to extort bribes from factory owners. “He is the real naak ka baal (thorn in the flesh). He turns up at any odd hour, invents excuses (contract workers, height of a washroom, age of worker, exposed electric wires, absence of fire buckets, service conditions, and so on) and seeks gratification,” a member of the Association of Greater Noida Industries (AGNI), claims. Since small- and medium-size units can hardly afford to fulfil all provisions of the law, they pay him every month. The officer reports to the Deputy Labour Commissioner (DLC)

appointed in every district. The DLC reports to the Labour Commissioner. The latter, in turn, reports to the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) headquartered in New Delhi.

T

HE Labour Enforcement Officer (LEO) has to keep the entire chain in good humour (deliver cash packets)—right up to the bureaucrats and politicians—to maintain a plum posting. He not only takes bribes in cash and kind (gold bangles, diamond earrings), but often pushes his own favourites into recruitment. A few labour officers even own or control the transport system and have a say in the award of different contracts in factories (like the sale of scrap). “The inspection system is an insidious disease. It is like black money—all pervasive but not visible in the open,” says Michael Dias, Secretary, the Employers Association, Delhi. Dias, also a lawyer, accuses the government machinery of treating businessmen like criminals. “Captains of industry make the economy grow.

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

35

GOVERNANCE obstructing rules

They are treated shabbily. Laws have been created to frighten and extort money from them,” Dias fumes. PP Mitra, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Union Labour Ministry, who currently holds the charge of the Chief Labour Commissioner, was unavailable for comments. No escape There is no escape route. If an industrialist somehow manages to save himself from the labour enforcement machinery (including clerical staff), the possibility is he will be hauled by the company registrar office, Director of Factories, pollution control boards, ESI, PF, sales tax, fire and safety, electricity, excise (applicable in case a unit manufactures for the open market), and weight and measurement departments. The last nine have their own set of inspectors. “Licences are sold for as much as `25 lakh. Besides, one also has to pay bribes for their renewal,” claims Aditya Gildiyal, Secretary, AGNI. Ajay Jain discloses industrialists in Jind pay monthly bribes to

In the offing a) Single registration for all labour laws. b) Registration time to be reduced from 27 days to a single day. c) Overhaul of tax systems. d) Time-bound power connectivity. e) Property registration to be made easier. f) ITIs to be run by stake holder industrial units. g) Flexibility of employment. Currently, an employee who puts in 240 days of work is deemed permanent. h) Online registration for small units employing less than 40 workers. Single compliance report for all 44 labour reforms and waivers on fulfilling prerequisites.

linesmen to ensure that they have access to uninterrupted power even if villages and cities remain dark. Dias says bribing of various inspectors is a uniform feature from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The exchequer may be losing at least a few thousand crore rupees to such corruption every year. “It is a fairly realistic figure, though it may be difficult to quantify the exact amount. In every State, the inspectors have their rate lists. Only packaging changes with the government. The essence remains,” Dias notes.

Licences are sold for as much as `25 lakh, says Aditya Gildiyal, Secretary, AGNI

36

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

Modi messiah Dias and Gildiyal hope that the slew of labour reforms announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the proposed amendments to the Factories Act, 1948, Apprentices Act, 1961 and Labour Laws Act, 1988, will deliver a knockout punch to the inspector raj.

S

HRAMEV Jayate, a scheme unveiled by Modi in October 2014, promises protection to manufacturing units against selective inspections, digitisation and portability of provident fund accounts through allotment of Universal Account Numbers (UAN) to industry workers. Under the scheme, a unique Labour Identification Number (LIN) will be allotted to each unit and, once it registers on the Shram Suvidha Portal, it will be in a position to file self-certified single online return for 16 out of 44 central labour laws. After digitisation, it will be mandatory for the labour enforcement officers to conduct inspections on the basis of a computer lottery and file inspection reports within 72 hours of the inspection. Modi has promised to cut down the compliance sheet for the companies from the present 80 pages to a single sheet.

www.gfilesindia.com

Ashok K Sharma, Associate VicePresident (Human Resources) in Moser Baer, hopes the States will implement the measures announced by the Prime Minister. He is sure the measures will prove to be oxygen for small- and medium-size industries. “The scheme will bring about transparency, speed and connectivity and erase mistrust between employers and employees. It will lead to a positive environment,” Sharma says. Gildiyal, who also handles human resources in Case New Holland, the multinational manufacturing tractors in Greater Noida, agrees with Sharma. Even Dias hopes to see better times in the evening of his life. Recently, Anup Chandra Pandey, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, informed Dias that the government has drafted ‘the Small Factories and other Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Bill, 2014’, to simplify the labour laws. Among other things, the draft Bill proposes to make the inspector a guide rather than a prosecutor and take small factories out of the ambit of existing labour laws. The Bill prescribes one register and has provisions for e-working and electronic returns. Once the Bill becomes law, the payment of wages to the workers

Shramev Jayate promises protection to manufacturing units against selective inspections and portability of provident fund accounts through allotment of Universal Account Numbers to industry workers will be done directly into their bank accounts. Moreover, it would allow a cluster of small factories to set up common facilities. Proposals plethora Apart from bringing in flexibility in employment, the Modi government wishes to introduce single registration for all labour laws, cut down registration time to a single day from 27 days, provide electricity connections quickly, ease up property registration, overhaul tax systems and make vocational training demand-driven by handing over Industrial Training Institutions (ITIs) to local companies. The Prime Minister hopes to improve India’s standing in the World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ (currently placed at 142 in the list of 189 countries) index by at least 50 notches

Announcements so far a) Shramev Jayate—a scheme which proposes transfer of industry workers’ wages, PF and other benefits into bank accounts. It would empower the workers, industrialists and government authorities to inspect the payments online. After allotment of Universal Account Numbers (UAN), the workers can carry their PF account forward. b) Shram Suvidha Portal—would allow industries to register for Labour Identification Number (LIN) and file single electronic returns for 16 out of 44 central laws. Enforcement officers will have to file their inspection reports within 72 hours. Compliance sheet for companies pruned to single sheet from 80 pages.

www.indianbuzz.com

in the next few years. Ajay Shriram, President of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), believes the labour reforms will lead to creation of job opportunities in the country. Besides unveiling Shramev Jayate, the Modi government recently brought former Rajasthan Chief Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi into the Finance Ministry (as Economic Affairs Secretary in place of Arvind Mayaram). Since Mehrishi has been credited with scripting major labour reforms in Rajasthan, the central government’s move is being seen as an indicator of its positive intent.

T

HE Labour Ministry has drafted a separate law to regulate factories employing less than 40 employees. The Small Factories (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Bill 2014 would allow such factories to register online, submit a single compliance report for all 44 labour laws and do away with many outdated provisions of labour welfare. Yet, there are sceptics who are keeping their fingers crossed. “The announcements and proposals are no doubt good and will eradicate corruption. But I want to see when they will actually get implemented on the ground,” says Kosh Vasudeva, Welfare Officer in ITD Cementation, a multinational involved in construction of Metro projects in Delhi. The industrialists look at curbs on inspector raj as directly proportionate to increasing ease of doing business in the country. They are doubtful about the success of Modi’s ‘Make in India’ pitch. “Inspector and business can never grow together. One can only grow at the expense of the other,” Saurabh Jain signs off. (A few names have been changed to protect identity) g

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

37

GOVERNANCE

corporate market value

Unlocking value for shareholders Owner groups should understand that the long-term interests of different shareholder groups, be it minority or majority, are always aligned by K SUBRAMANIAM

C

OMPANIES must be managed in a manner so as to create maximum value for all its stakeholders. Over the past few years, several corporate houses have tried and undertaken various steps such as demerger, delisting, buyback, open offers and so on. However, there is hardly any example of a holding company unlocking intrinsic value, especially for its minority shareholders. We all know, in India it is not unusual to find holding companies quoting at massive discounts compared to the sum of the parts valuation of their constituents. At times, these discounts can go up to as much as 70-90 per cent of the sum-of-the-parts valuations of quoted/listed investments. Some of the reasons cited for such discounts are poor corporate governance, ` cr

inconsistent or volatile dividend policies and numerous deterrents in friendly/hostile takeovers. Also, in several situations, formation of these holding companies appears irrational; the parts of holding companies are completely unrelated businesses serving no purpose or logic except helping promoters or promoterfamilies continue their control. In a holding company structure, promoters control their key or strategic companies through a holding company. Even though economic interest remains the same, their effective control increases. As a result, minority investors do not value the holding company at NAV. Normally, non-operating companies have a basket of more than one companies’ shares. Not all the companies are attractive from minority investors’ point of view. Promoters never sell even when price

Value of investments

Market cap

% discount

BF Investment

1323.4

376.3

-71.6%

Kalyani Investment Company

3266.3

578.4

-82.3%

Balmer Lawrie Investments

1058.6

594.9

-43.8%

Kama Holdings

2208.8

548.4

-75.2%

Pilani Investments

2241.1

1162.6

-48.1%

KBIL (on Sept 2)

2394.8

854.6

-64.3%

KBIL (latest)

2394.8

2226

-7%

38

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

is very high and never go for buybacks if the discounts become too steep. Also, sometimes promoters may remove some holdings through intricate intra-group transactions, causing suspicion and discomfort in minority shareholders’ minds. Some examples of holding companies with their market cap, value of investments and resultant discounts are given in the table. KBIL and the market perception of KBIL… Kirloskar Brothers Investments Ltd (KBIL) is the holding company of the Kirloskar group. It holds a 55.6 per cent stake in Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd (KOEL) and 54.5 per cent stake in Kirloskar Pneumatic Ltd (KPL). Apart from being the holding company of these two companies, the company does not have any business of its own per se. KBIL’s primary source of income is the dividend that it receives from its subsidiaries, KOEL and KPL. The market value of KBIL’s investments in KOEL and KPL combined was close to `2,400 crore before the restructuring. However, just like any other holding company, KBIL too was trading at a steep discount of 64 per cent to its investments (read NAV) as its market cap then was just `850 crore. For a layman it means a company where two of its holdings were valued at more than `2,400 crore was available just

www.gfilesindia.com

for `850 crore. This was happening on account of perception amongst minority shareholders that, just like any other holding company, KBIL too would never unlock its intrinsic value and therefore the stock traded at a deep discount. The restructuring at KBIL… In a landmark decision that may herald newer benchmarks of corporate governance and value unlocking for minority shareholders, the Kirloskar group recently announced a novel plan of restructuring across various groups of shareholders. KBIL in a notification to BSE on September 2 said it will reverse merge with Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd (KOEL), an operating company. KBIL shareholders would receive 76 shares of KOEL for every

www.indianbuzz.com

5 shares held in KBIL. For example, a shareholder holding 10 KBIL shares would now receive 152 KOEL shares, valued at `38,600. In addition to that, a shareholder would also receive 10 shares of a new company, which will house the investments in Kirloskar Pneumatic (the value of which is around `400 crore). The market understandably presumes that, down the line, this holding company would also go the KBIL way and would eventually merge with Kirloskar Pneumatic.

W

HAT it means is that KBIL’s investments, which were valued at 60-70 per cent discount, have now been valued at NAV, creating major value for minority shareholders (see the table). For

promoters, even though it means a reduction in stake, their effective control remains the same. In a country like India, where a high level of corporate governance practices, especially in manufacturing sector companies, are not a commonality, it requires exceptional courage and extraordinary mindset in promoter groups to take such innovative and ground-breaking steps. It should be imperative for owner groups to understand that the long-term interest of different shareholder groups, be it minority or majority, are always aligned and any step seemingly taken to benefit minority shareholders will always create long-term value for the owner and promoters’ group. It’s a win-win situation for all at the cost of nothing! g

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

39

FIRST STIRRINGS lt gen jfr jacob

PHOTO: RAVI BATRA

‘I joined the army to fight the Nazis’ Lt Gen JFR Jacob, the only Jew to have risen to the highest echelons of the Indian Army, speaks of a bygone era

40

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

H

E hails from a family that migrated to India some 200 years ago and he proved himself a great warrior. One of the heroes of the 1971 war, he led India to a decisive victory and retired as the Army Commander of the Eastern Command. He later went on to serve as the Governor of Goa and Punjab. But behind all this there is the

story of an officer who was on the verge of putting in his papers. But General PP Kumaramangalam, the last of the Sandhurst-trained King’s Commissioned Indian Officers in the Indian Army who later went on to be the seventh Chief of the Indian Army, proved to be an ideal senior officer and became his guiding angle. “If it wasn’t for him (Kumaramangalam),

www.gfilesindia.com

I would have left the Army. He protected me all the time,” says Lt Gen Jacob-Farj-Rafael “JFR” Jacob. “There is a lot of professional jealousy in the army. Everyone wants to succeed sometimes at the expense of others,” says Gen Jacob. Today, at 94 years of age, Gen Jacob is a frail man, but with a sharp mind. He did not marry and has no one to call family, but for the four private staffers who assist him. “Each time I decided to marry, some obstacle came my way. I nearly got married a couple of times,” he says casually. His was a Jewish family that came from Baghdad to Delhi via Afghanistan about 200 years ago. “Jews have lived in India for 2,000 years in Cochin. They had been traders since King Solomon’s time. India is a hospitable country. There has never been antiSemitism in India. It’s a wonderful country, we got shelter here,” he says. Jacob was born in Calcutta, in British India, in 1923. His father, Elias Emanuel, was an affluent businessman who lost his money because of illness. At the age of nine, Jacob was sent to a boarding school in Darjeeling. Even while in school, he always wanted to join the army. Of course, then the purpose was different. Motivated by the plight of European Jews, he enlisted in the British Indian Army. “I joined the army to fight the Nazis and Germans because of the atrocities they were committing. The refugees from Germany were coming to India.” The urgent requirement for manpower during World War II meant that the men were sent to the war front with rudimentary training. After graduating from the Officers’ Training School, Mhow, in 1941, Jacob’s regiment took part in action in the Middle East, Burma and Sumatra for five years in World War II.

www.indianbuzz.com

“Those days, because there were so many people to be trained and hardly enough infrastructure, there was very little training. I learnt my soldiering in the battlefield and was wounded in Burma,” he says. Jacob almost got a chance to fight the Germans, but his regiment was cut to pieces before they arrived there. One of the important lessons that he learnt as a 2nd lieutenant in the Middle East was that respect is earned, not commanded. In those days, there used to be Viceroy’s Commissioned Officers (VCOs), now called Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs). One day, Jacob scolded one of them in front of the men. He went and com-

One of the important lessons that he learnt as a 2nd lieutenant in the Middle East–during World War II—was that respect is earned, not commanded plained to the Battery Commander, who called Jacob. “I was a 2nd lieutenant, he was a major. He said, Jacko (that is my nickname), how old are you. I said, 19. He said, You know how much service he has got. I said, 24. He said, That will be all.” Jacob, who saw soldiering in both the British Indian Army as well as the Indian Army, is full of praise for the British. Before Independence, the officers were mainly British and the troops were Indian.“It is wrong to say the British ill-treated Indian officers. If Indian officers knew their job, they were looked after. But if they didn’t do their job, they got a boot like anyone else. The British were thorough professionals who knew how to respect professional Indian officers,” he says. Jacob never got a chance to participate in the 1947-48 Kashmir war as he

was teaching in the school of artillery and it wouldn’t let him go. In 1962, too, he missed the war as both “Sam” Manekshaw and he were instructors at the Staff College, Wellington. Sam Manekshaw was a major-general while Jacob was a lieutenant colonel. In the 1965 war he saw some action while commanding an infantry division, which later became the 12th Infantry Division, in Rajasthan and also composed the Army manual on desert warfare. But, in a way, the first main war he saw after World War II was the 1971 war, where, as the Chief of Staff of the Eastern Command, he planned the war, and conducted and controlled the operations.

I

N the course of his 36-year career in the army, he raised a regiment (3 medium regiment), commanded a brigade, a division and raised a corps (16 corps) and was the Eastern Army Commander. But he has one regret. While others like Manekshaw were publicly hailed as the heroes of the 1971 war, he, who did most of the strategic planning and execution including flying to Dhaka to convince Gen Niazi to surrender, wasn’t even recommended for a war medal. All he has got in return for his efforts in 1971 is a PVSM, which today any general routinely gets at least once before retirement. Some even get two. On the positive side, the people of Bangladesh rate him highly as the general who got them their freedom from the tyranny of Pakistan. Even Pakistan’s official history of the 1971 war, compiled by Pakistan’s National Defence College, gives him credit— “the credit really goes to General Jacob’s meticulous preparations in the Indian Eastern Command and to the implementation by his Corps commanders”. g – Neeraj Mahajan

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

41

SILLY POINT humour mk kaw

Who owns Gandhi, anyway?

W

hen Nripendra Misra escorted Narendra Modi to his prime ministerial chair, perceptive observers, apart from noticing that Modi signed his charge assumption report with a Mont Blanc pen, could not have missed the startling fact that there were no photographs of his spiritual or political gurus on the mantelpiece. No Golwalkar, no Savarkar, no Hegdewar, no Madan Mohan Malaviya or Shyama Prasad Mookerjee either. Mahatma Gandhi stood alone in his pristine purity and Modi worshipped him with a few convenient flowers placed there by a resourceful PMO. In that moment pregnant with history, Modi snatched away the Mahatma from the grasp of the Indian National Congress and washed away all the innuendoes and allegations about the murder of the Mahatma by the Hindutva brigade, whether of the Hindu Mahasabha variety or its RSS clone. This is not to allege that Modi had any selfish designs in this endeavour. He was a genuine admirer of the Mahatma not only because he was a Gujjubhai like him, but because much of what he said made sense. He did not find Gandhi obscurantist, trying to promote the self-sufficient village or basing his model of employment generation on revitalisation of village industries. (As the Congress led by Nehru so blatantly did. Which is why Gandhi suggested in 1947 that the Congress should be disbanded.) He had obviously read Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock, which spoke of the electronic village as a futuristic model of development around the globe.

42

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

So much for the Mahatma. But the Mahatma was a larger-than-life character and he was owned by all varieties of people from Vinoba Bhave to Nelson Mandela to Martin Luther King to Richard Attenborough. No one in the whole wide world could lay claim to an unchallenged descent from Bapu. Modi could not have overlooked the fact that it was the Sardar, who in his capacity as Home Minister of India had arrived at the conclusion that the RSS was the villain of the piece and had banned the organisation. For many years, people with an RSS background were not recruited into government service. Obtaining proprietorship rights over him was a much dicier proposition.

What made the endeavour achievable was the fact that the Congress had, in its anxiety to promote the Dynasty, allowed the Sardar to suffer by neglect and had almost consigned him to limbo. And so Modi thought up the project for erecting the tallest statue in the world, a formidable Statue of Unity 697 feet tall, that would immortalise Sardar Valabhbhai Patel much more than his Bismarckian feat of integrating 538 princely states with India that is Bharat. That left only one more member of the Holy Trinity. Although he did not consider Panditji’s policies to be wrong, he did not hero-worship him to the extent that Atalji did. Modi took over the most visible emblem of Jawaharlal’s personality, namely the Jawahar jacket. He asked a fashion designer to build a 21st century version of the jacket and experimented with all the vibrant colours of the spectrum. These

www.gfilesindia.com

jackets enhanced his 56'' chest, duly enlarged by a bullet-proof vest, and made him the most nattily dressed Indian Prime Minister of all time. Having established ownership rights over these stalwarts, Modi turned his attention to the spiritual giants that this country has produced and adopted Swami Vivekananda as his personal icon. He was the hero who had introduced the West to the perennial philosophy and was a noncontroversial proponent of Hinduism. At the same time, he had exhorted the youth of the country to arise, awake and not stop till the goal was reached. Modi’s first name was Narendra, not unlike the Narendernath of Vivekananda. (There was an unsubstantiated rumour or speculation that he was Vivekananda reborn.) And Modi was the only Prime Minister to have, like Vivekananda, roamed the length and breadth of this vast country as Parivrajak, a

ARUNA

www.indianbuzz.com

wandering monk. He had seen the lives of the poor at close quarters and when he spoke about the problems faced by the womenfolk in attending to the call of nature, he based his remarks on “experienced reality” (bhoga hua yatharth). The Hindus have numerous scriptures, but the Bhagwad Gita stands a class apart. It is a treatise on spirituality, it is not the kind of shashtra that exhorts us to hold our nose and recite Vedic mantras. Its most telling aphorisms are “Yoga is skill in action” (yogah karmasu kaushalam) and “even-mindedness is yoga” (samatwamyogahuchyate). Learned observers have discovered that it can be used as a management manual and a guidebook on enlightened citizenship.

S

o Modi, in his naturally shrewd way, presented this Hindu scripture not carrying the odium of Hindutva to various VVIPs of the world like the Emperor of Japan and the President of the US. He had filed his papers as a candidate for the 2014 elections from Vadodara constituency situated on the banks of the river Narmada, a river holy to Hindus. But at some stage in the proceedings he shifted to Varanasi, the oldest city of the world. Varanasi is so holy that deceased Hindus of all climes are flown to the city so that their bodies can be cremated at the Manikarnika Ghat, where Lord Shiva is personally present to grant absolution even to sinners. Varanasi is so hallowed that Hindu widows from all over migrate to this city and wait patiently for Yama’s messengers to claim their souls. It is also located on the banks of the river Ganga which falls directly from heaven onto Shiva’s tresses.

Again, by the simple strategy of selecting the right city and the right river, Modi gave a subliminal message to all Hindus that he was an ardent Hindu nationalist but he did it tactfully so that the minorities would not take umbrage. His latest coup is the manner in which he battled the swollen-headed Thackeray cousins by putting in his claim to the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji. That annexation was not incredible, as Shivaji is too great to be imprisoned in the household shrine of a particular political family. But most of us could not believe our ears when he said, loudly and emphatically, that he had great respect for Balasaheb and would, therefore, as a gesture of goodwill, desist from criticising the Shiv Sena. That was a masterly stroke. Only a genius who rewrites the rules of the game can attempt such a complicated gambit. Poor second-generation Thackerays! They did not know which way to look. The tailpiece features the comment made by an internet writer of comedy pieces. He stated that Modi had not spared even the unfortunate Kejriwal who was down and out and had bitten the dust. Arvind’s greatest weapon was the broom. By wielding this plebeian instrument on Gandhiji’s birthday, Modi had snatched away even this proletarian weapon from Kejriwal’s nerveless hands. I find the comment churlish. What should Modi have used? A vacuum cleaner? Really, some people seem to have become paranoid about Narendrabhai. All that Modi has to do now is to steal Indiraji from the Mother and Son, and his Ashwamedha Yagna would be complete. g MK Kaw is a former Secretary, Government of India

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

43

MY CORNER

corruption amitabh thakur

The making of Yadav Singhs It is scary to realise that the Yadav Singhs of the country get the best support from the system and that they have a number of friends among peers, superior officers in the department, senior bureaucratic circles and the political class

Y

ADAV Singh does not need an introduction any more. The suspended ex-Chief Engineer of the Noida Development Authority, Greater Noida Development Authority and Yamuna Expressway Authority is now among the uncrowned kings of the great Indian corruption bazaar. A person who joined the Noida Authority in 1980 as a junior engineer, finds his place among his illustrious brothers in the UP engineering sector who are said to have siphoned off billions from the State exchequer. These people are among some leading examples of extreme distortion of the presentday bureaucratic system where deceitful, enterprising, unscrupulous, dishonest and corrupt people can hijack the entire system through the aid and assistance of powerful political masters and equally unscrupulous powerful bureaucrats. But while Yadav Singh is there for everyone to see, an important point being less discussed is the making of Yadav Singhs. Yadav Singh could not have been made in one day. We all know what is the position and situation of a junior engineer, or an assistant engineer, or an executive engineer, in the government framework vis-à-vis the big lords—the politicians

44

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

and top bureaucrats. He is nothing more than small fry in the big ocean, one who is always fearful of his existence and is always wary of the huge structure under which he has to work. If in such a structure, people like Yadav Singh are emerging, it needs to be understood that it can happen only when he is supported by all kinds of external powers—be it his senior officers, the senior bureaucrats, the powerful politicians or the other big touts; in fact, everyone in the machinery who is anything and has the power to impact the making or breaking of the system in any manner. If we go slightly deeper in this particular example, we find that everyone knew how a diploma-holder rose dramatically through the ranks to become so powerful as to subvert the entire system through his corrupt means. It is also known that Singh was extremely close to many top politicians, who occupied the veritable seats of power in the State, whose

It is known that Singh was extremely close to many top politicians, whose blessings he got while undertaking all kinds of illegal acts

blessings he got whilee undertaking all kinds of illegal acts, other than taking huge kickbacks and commissions in his job as an engineer. er. It is true that the income-tax department raid changed anged everything for this man who is said to be living like a king in Noida, da, but there are many close acquaintances quaintances of this man who are said to be saying with full confidence onfidence that even today he is least perturbed becausee he knows that finally he will be able to sail through hrough because, when it would come to operating in n the hugely complex legal maze, he would again emerge powerful because cause of the massive assistance tance he would get from m the battery of talented legal eagles, equally supported orted by the lacunae in the investigation processs and the various loopholes holes in the existing law that his legal friends would ould find out. Hence, these people feel, whatever ver is happening today is nothing but a transient storm m that will soon pass ss off. The confidence of these people naturally gets bolstered by the fact that Singh has seen all this previously. The man who, in 2002, was elevated to the post of chief maintenance engineer directly from a junior post, allegedly carried out after sidelining all other eligible officials who were senior to him, first faced the heat of the law enforcement machinery when in March 2012 an inquiry was ordered into the allocation of work to the tune of `954 crore in violation of rules and regulations and reports of experts in Noida, where he was accused of

www.gfilesindia.com

ARUNA

masterminding the scam. A suspension notice was pasted at his house, his office was sealed, an FIR was filed against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, besides sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, are the UP Gangster and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986. Singh was said to have left the country and, on the recommendation of the Noida Police, a red corner notice was issued by Interpol. A fivestar hotel in Noida was sealed on the assumption that he had a stake in it. And yet, within a few months,

www.indianbuzz.com

in a complete shift of fortune, the red corner notice wa was withdrawn, the hotel was re-ope re-opened and the CB-CID found that no charges were His suspension made against him. Hi 2013 and was revoked in November Novem year, he was after about a ye engineer-in-chief of o the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway Authorities, A Aut all at the same time. example of Singh The exam is not to presented here h pinpoint a single indiwas one vidual. If there t Singh, the matter could been controlled. have bee But there are two distinct factors facto that make this matter matt extremely worrisome and frightworrisom ening. The Th first is that he is not no an isolated phenomenon. It is phenome just tthat this happened to him, otherwise there are erwis thousands of Yadav thousa operating Singhs coolly, recklesscoo ly, mercilessly and daringly in the system. system Singh’s case because came on record re he got caught while the rest are all sitting pretty. The second factor that makes this phenomenon dangerous is the fact that all these people get the best support from the present-day system. Every Yadav Singh has any number of friends and well-wishers among his peers, his superior officers in the department, senior bureaucratic circles and the political class. They also have many friends among journalists, legal professionals and even among social activists. This is because these people have money to spend.

T

HEY are milk-yielding cows who can provide money, logistical support, material comforts, costly gifts and so on to anyone desirous of these good things of life, which naturally makes them the favourite of many. They are milking the system with both hands and are distributing a part of this booty to all concerned powerful elements, which makes everyone happy and gives these Yadav Singhs a natural position of privilege and advantage. Contrast this with an honest government employee living off his salary, who is neither going to take an extra step to do things out of the rulebook nor is going to give a single penny to anyone. Naturally, such empty-pocket people can never be the crowd-pullers and are bound to remain lonely while the Yadav Singhs, openly playing with the system, are bound to be the system’s favourite. It is this situation, the larger societal reaction, the bigger public assistance and people’s approval towards the Yadav Singhs of society, that actually make them dangerous just the way the glamorisation and acceptance of mafia dons and criminal-politicians does. Add to this the various other factors that come to the rescue of these Yadav Singhs, right from the law to the law enforcement authorities to the legal eagles to sometimes even the judiciary, and we understand why they are so powerful and dangerous and why we need to fight most vociferously against each of them— ideologically, legally, socially and politically—if we are truly interested in having the better, cleaner or more transparent system that we allegedly strive for. g

Amitabh Thakur, an IPS officer from UP, is also working for transparency in governance. The views expressed are personal.

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

45

BOOK REVIEW politics non-fiction

Parliament: A political institution and not merely a debating club Shubhabrata Bhattacharya reviews The Dramatic Decade, the first of a trilogy penned by Pranab Mukherjee

T

HE genesis of the United Front (multi-party alliance) politics in India and the strategy to successfully manage the dialectic associated with such eventuality is perhaps the core of the first volume of political biography penned by the Chanakya of modern India, Pranab Mukherjee. It is a chronicle written by an active participant in the events of a period which would serve as a watershed in the history of democracy in India. It is a mustread for students of politics and practitioners of ethical governance. Dedicated “to the millions of political activists who have protected and nurtured democracy in India”, the book upholds the supremacy of the political class. It underscores that Parliament is “a political institution and not merely a debating club”. The Rashtrapati as author has also subtly emphasised that numbers in the Rajya Sabha should not be misused to filibuster the ruling party, which enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha courtesy of a direct mandate . The volume released in the second year of his presidency, confines itself to his early years and dwells on momentous developments in the late 1960s, the dramatic 1970s and ends with the setting in of the decade of the 1980s. It profiles the fall and rise of the Congress, pre- and post1977 elections. It gives an authentic narration of the reasons for the failure of the Janata Party experiment.

46

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

me: ‘I hope you will not do anything which will make me ashamed of you. It is when you stand by a person in his or her hour of crisis that you reveal your own humanity. Do not do anything that will dishonour your forefathers’ memory.’ His meaning was clear, and I didn’t, then or later, waver from my loyalty to Indira Gandhi.” Title: The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years Author: Pranab Mukherjee Publisher: Rupa Publications Pages: 348 Price: `399

There are many versions about Pranab Mukherjee and his “Machiavellian ways”. Though he has not touched 1984 in this volume, it may be worthwhile to recall that it was alleged that he had “conspired” to be the successor to Indira Gandhi. It was repeatedly said in the UPA days that Sonia Gandhi could not “trust” him. Those who subscribe to these views will do well to read the Prologue to this volume. Recalling the values he imbibed from his freedom-fighter father, Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee (who was a District Congress Committee president in rural Bengal when India attained Independence), Pranab Mukherjee writes: “Father taught us the value of selfrespect….in 1978 when the Congress split under Indira Gandhi, he told

Chronicling the developments leading to the birth of the Congress(I) on January 2, 1978, he traces the process of “de-Indiraization” which was unleashed by the same people who sang Hallelujah in the days of the Emergency and became turncoats when the Congress was defeated in 1977. “Sycophants of yesterday turned rebels of today,” Mukherjee comments. The role played by the “Thursday Club” and the inability of most of the senior organisational leaders to fathom the feelings of the ordinary Congress worker in the days after the 1977 debacle have been vividly recorded. He openly acknowledges the role of Sanjay Gandhi and writes, “Sanjay Gandhi’s boys became the cornerstone of our new movement.” Under Indira Gandhi’s instructions the resolution setting up the Congress(I) was handwritten by Mukherjee. He was entrusted several organisational tasks by Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi in the days following the Congress split. Mukherjee, who

www.gfilesindia.com

was Minister for Revenue & Banking prior to the 1977 defeat, was entrusted with the duties of the Treasurer of the Congress (I) in 1978—he held that position till he became a minister again and handed over the party treasury to Sitaram Kesari in 1980. Though he lost the Lok Sabha election in 1980, Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi inducted him as a Cabinet Minister when Congress rule returned. He was made Leader of the Congress(I) in the Rajya Sabha (Leader of the House) in January 1980 and served in that capacity till endDecember 1984—a tenure till then superseded only by Govind Ballabh Pant. (Later, Dr Manmohan Singh’s 10-year tenure, 2004-2014 overran this record. Mukherjee also served as Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, 2004-2012.) Though he does not mention this in his book, Indira Gandhi appointed him Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee to preside over this crucial body in her absence—other members were R Venkataraman, PV Narasimha Rao and ND Tiwari. It will be interesting to read what Mukherjee has to say about these years, perhaps in the second volume of his trilogy. The book is perhaps the first tome written in modern India (and perhaps anywhere in the world) wherein a serving President of the Republic has delved into his own experience in bringing into sharp relief the sanctity of the oath of office and secrecy which ministers take. While one stalwart after another betrayed Indira Gandhi before the Shah Commission, set up by the Janata Party government (including Siddhartha Shankar Ray, who proposed and drafted the Emergency document on June 25, 1975) Mukherjee faced the onslaught. He was prosecuted by

www.indianbuzz.com

the Commission. The stand taken by Mukherjee that he could not divulge details of actions taken by him as minister of the Union, being bound by the oath of office and secrecy, was subsequently adopted by Indira Gandhi before Justice JC Shah. The Delhi High Court upheld Mukherjee’s constitutional argument and till date the verdict of Justice MK Chawla in the matter prevails.

M

ukherjee recalls that the core of the Congress strategy of fighting back, as enunciated in the AICC resolution adopted at the time of the split in January 1978 was “organising dissent and resistance”. The year saw the Janata Party plunge itself into a vortex due to the inner contradictions caused by the individual ambition of the Morarji DesaiCharan Singh-Jagjivan Ram troika and the dialectic of the constituent parties who had cobbled together the Janata Party in May 1977. The inner contradictions and infighting in the Janata regime are vividly recorded in the volume. The election of Indira Gandhi from Chikmagalur; her expulsion from the Lok Sabha; the upsurge in the morale of the Congress workers who effectively participated in the “Jail-Bharo” movement have all been vividly recorded. Mukherjee writes: “An eventful 1978 came to an end. It had started uncertainly for us ….but ended with hope and renewed strength…Under (Indira Gandhi’s) inspiring leadership, it took Congress workers just a year to regain courage, conviction and confidence in the future. The non-performing conglomeration known as the Janata Party started counting its days.” The volume records the irony that,

just as Indira Gandhi finished her speech at a Congress(I) convention in Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in July 1979, the news of Morarji Desai resigning as Prime Minister in New Delhi reached her. She flew back to the national capital. Thereafter her stewardship and Sanjay Gandhi’s backroom manoeuvres brought achchhe din for the Congress. (Sanjay Gandhi’s meetings with Raj Narain played a pivotal role in the dismantling of the Janata regime and set in motion the fragility of the subsequent Charan Singh regime which paved the way for Indira Gandhi’s triumphant return to power through the ballot box.) Mukherjee was asked by the mother-son duo not to contest the Lok Sabha elections. He went to his native Bolpur but lost. After the results he received a summons from New Delhi and rushed to 12 Willingdon Crescent, which had been the NehruGandhi home in the Janata days. He records his post-poll meeting with Indira Gandhi thus: “Sanjay Gandhi told me she had been upset ever since she heard of my defeat, and she made her displeasure evident when I met her. I was unambiguously chastised…. (he kept standing all the while). I could do nothing but stand there till she calmed down. Then she sent me home with a basket of fruit.” Despite negative media reports and speculation which suggested that his days were “over”, Mukherjee was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister when Indira Gandhi returned to power. And subsequently he was asked to head the ruling party in the Rajya Sabha—a daunting task as the Congress(I) had only 69 seats in a House of 244. The volume records the dexterity with which he handled the numbers game.

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

47

BOOK REVIEW politics non-fiction

So much so that by March 27, 1980, by managing to induce Congress(U) members to join the Congress(I) fold and by managing the support of Independents and other friendly forces, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee had managed to put the ruling party in a comfortable position in the Rajya Sabha and thwart the trouble which the ruling party faces even today in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) despite enjoying the clear mandate of the people in the House of the People (Lok Sabha). Thus the political manager who steered the two UPA regimes through stormy days was not new to the game— he had perfected the rules of the game in his younger days. And who else but Indira Gandhi had seen the ability in him, as the manager of contradictions and the master of dialectic. A littleknown fact that emerges in the volume is that Mukherjee started his political career not in the comfort of the Indian National Congress. In the turmoil of the 1960s, when a sizeable number of senior Congressmen in West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan had left the Congress and formed the Bharatiya Kranti Dal. Mukherjee’s mentor, Ajoy Mukherjee (the first non-Congress Chief Minister of West Bengal), was one of them. The Bengal unit was called Bangla Congress. In 1969, Mukherjee came to the Rajya Sabha as a Bangla Congress MP, elected in the process of United Front politics in his State. Later, he caught the attention of Indira Gandhi during a House debate and the rise and rise of India’s modern-day Chanakya began. The volume records the chronology of events that led to the birth of Bangladesh—Mukherjee has been modest in mentioning the role he played in the events. The present regime in Dhaka, led by Sheikh

48

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

play an obstructionist role against the wishes of the ruling party, which had come to power with the mandate of the people. So, the handling of a delicate situation by maintaining a balance required political judgement, not always available with persons otherwise eminent and competent.”

Mujibur Rehman’s daughter, Hasina Wajed, has acknowledged his contribution by honouring him when he was a Union minister some years back.

T

HE volume also provides a vivid analysis of the Golak Nath case and the subsequent Keshavananda Bharati case judgment as also the judgments in the Privy Purses case and the bank nationalisation case. The genesis of the judiciary versus executive stand-off has been chronicled. He writes: “The sum total of this face-off was that while the State always had the larger national interest in mind, the courts always chose the rights of individuals above all else. While history remains confined to books, the impact of those years is still being felt.” Mukherjee’s observations on functioning of Parliament merit attention. The quote below will have relevance in all times to come: “The House is a political institution, not merely a debating club. It has to transact the business of the nation initiated, and be guided by prevailing political forces. The Rajya Sabha has to play a balanced role in transacting business. It was not a secondary chamber, but at the same time it could not take advantage of the numerical position of a party to

Mukherjee is categorical on the choice of candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President and presiding officers in legislatures: “I am of the view that offices such as those of the President and VicePresident should not be held by people other than politicians…. In India presiding officers are elected with the support of political parties and, as such, one cannot expect them to be free of political inclination altogether. Though they must strive to remain neutral, their neutrality cannot be stretched to a ridiculous extent.” Mukherjee is a village boy; educated in his native Bolpur district of West Bengal, he came to Calcutta (now Kolkata) at the age of 21 for his postgraduate studies and achieved his degree as a “private student” (not enrolled in a college). The easy bonhomie that has developed between him and the “chaiwallah” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, therefore, is not difficult to fathom. One hopes the lessons in good governance which emerge from a close reading of the book published by Rupa and distributed by the modern paradigm of Amazon will go down well and strengthen the roots of Indian democracy. g The reviewer is a former editor of national publications. He worked in Yojana Bhavan during the tenure of Pranab Mukherjee as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.

www.gfilesindia.com

STOCK DOCTOR dr gs sood

Y

It’s different this time

EAR 2014 witnessed the best ever gains made in the history of equity markets in India—a gain of around 35-40 per cent when the Sensex came to a kissing distance of the 29,000-mark. The ongoing correction has taken some sheen off the market and the big question every time the market hits a new high is “Is it different this time?” Most times, the bull markets have abruptly ended, giving investors a rude shock. These investors are those who were neither willing to accept nor prepared for a steep fall, putting forth arguments on the robustness of the economy, too much of liquidity and so on. The main reason for the correction, besides being part of the global selloff, is that the FIIs are pulling out from the Indian market and heading for the safety of US treasuries. Russian events have made global investors riskaverse—its currency has witnessed a freefall and interest rates have almost doubled. An almost 50 per cent fall in oil prices is also considered a big reason for the current sell-off as it is indicative of lower growth. Global investors are also selling other assets to cover losses in oil. However, there are big chances that deflationary pressures in the West will spur another round of quantitative easing. The US Fed is, at the least, likely to delay the much anticipated rate hikes. Amongst the local reasons, currency volatility is the biggest culprit with the rupee declining to 64 a dollar. The widening trade deficit in November to an 18-month high has added pressure. It is speculated that the RBI may delay the rate cut as that may fuel capital outflows, depreciating the

rupee further. Parliament’s inability to pass any major legislation has also not gone down well with investors who think that economic recovery will get delayed. Yet, I believe that “it’s different this time” since our macro-fundamentals have improved a lot and we are the most favoured investment destination for foreign investors. The wise policy-making by the RBI is likely to prevent any steep decline of the rupee. Moreover, higher foreign exchange reserves of US$314 billion and lower current account deficit of around 2 per cent of the GDP have put us in a stronger position to defend the rupee if there is a heavy outflow of dollars from either debt or equity markets. With inflation now moderating, the interest rate outlook looks

Stock Shop R B BY

AKESH

HARDWAJ

Ashoka Buildcon (CMP `136)

A

SHOKA Buildcon (ABL) is a leading infrastructure development company having a pan-India presence with strong inhouse integrated road infrastructure execution capabilities and a proven track record. As of date the company has executed 60 road and bridge projects. Besides BOT projects and EPC work, it has also made good progress in Power T&D segment. SBI Macquarie has invested `800 crore in ACL, a subsidiary of ABL, to fund its BOT projects. The well-funded balance sheet and strong partner in SBI Macquarie enable the company to acquire BOT

benign. Since the Indian market has witnessed the steepest rise in 2014, it became the natural choice for profit taking by the FIIs. India, therefore, remains a multiyear story though 2015 may see relatively tempered returns due to the sharp rally in 2014. So far the market has been led by macro changes and the same is likely to continue for another year or so. It is only from FY 2016-17 that the market may be led by earnings growth, a phase that could continue for as long as 3-5 years. Investors can, therefore, use the current correction as an opportunity to accumulate quality stocks at reasonable valuations and should not attempt at timing the market because when stability returns, they may find that they have missed the bus again. g

projects in view of limited competition. The EPC business is likely to grow at more than 20% YOY. At the CMP, the stock is trading at 12x FY16E EPS of `11 compared to its peers trading at 17x-20x. The government’s focus on infrastructure has ignited hope among local players with the NHAI initiating tenders to award road projects worth `60,000 crore in the last quarter of the fiscal. These tenders are a mix of EPC and BOT projects. On EPC contracts, the government is likely to award projects totalling 8,000 km. Cooling inflation and downward interest rate scenario bode well for companies like ABL. The company has a diversified portfolio mix of projects and robust order book position. Invest for the long term for decent returns.

The author has no exposure in the stock recommended in this column. gfiles does not accept responsibility for investment decisions by readers of this column. Investment-related queries may be sent to editor@gfilesindia.com with Bhardwaj’s name in the subject line.

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

49

PERSPECTIVE energy sadhguru

M

ANY years ago, when I first said, “Let’s build a temple,” people around me were incredulous. They said, “A temple? Because of you we stopped going to temples! And now you want to build one?” They couldn’t believe a die-hard sceptic like me could propose this. What people often forget is that the Indian temple was not intended as a place of prayer. It may be turning into a place of petition now. But traditionally, this was a culture that told you to simply sit and imbibe the energy of a temple for a while. This ensured that you passed through the world and all its transactions smoothly. It lubricated your passage so you were able to glide through life situations without getting trapped, and eventually enabled you to transcend them altogether. Temples were simply energy centres. If you were on a spiritual path with your own practice, you had your own self-charging method and did not need to visit them. (Nowhere else in the world does such wisdom exist.) But, otherwise, the temple was a public charging place. There was a time when every street in South India had as many as five temples. These were never in competition with each other because the underlying premise was that no human being deserved to live in a space that wasn’t consecrated. What do we mean by consecration? Consecration is the science of transforming a grosser element into a finer one. Everywhere around us, one form of existence is constantly mutating into another. When mud turns into food, we call it agriculture. When food turns into body, we call it digestion. When body turns into mud, we call it cremation—or burial. Similarly, when a material substance turns into the highest and subtlest possible

50

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

Energising spaces reverberation, we call it consecration. There is a whole sophisticated system of Indian alchemy, capable of transforming even a stone into the divine. This science of energising forms was the basis of the creation of ancient Indian temples. These temples weren’t like the buildings of today— heaps of cement and concrete. They were live spaces that served as powerful fields of transformation. Many gave their lives to build these temples because these were seen in ancient times as having tremendous possibilities, empowering human beings to blossom to their fullest potential. The methods of consecration were varied. Some were ritualistic processes, which involved the use of mantras or sounds; others were energy processes. The mantra process was based on the understanding that the entire universe is an amalgam of vibrations, and some key sounds or vibrations can help unlock a whole new dimension of life. This type of consecration needs periodic maintenance, but the one based on the direct use of energy does not need any. One of the unique features of the Dhyanalinga, the yogic temple I consecrated in 1999 with my own life energies, is the fact that it requires no maintenance whatsoever.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of understanding of this sophisticated science, a large number of temples have died out entirely. This is simply because subsequent generations have forgotten how to maintain these energy forms. As the Bhakti movement swept through the country in medieval times, emotion became the focus of the human relationship with the divine. More recently, we have reaped the benefits—the comforts and conveniences—of modern science, but have forgotten the subjective aspects of an older science capable of bringing profound inner well-being, balance and fulfilment to our lives. If everyone’s home, office and street reverberated with the intense and refined energy of these consecrated spaces, the results would be tremendous. When you live in a place saturated with grace, your evolution need not stick to the Darwinian scale. You can simply leapfrog ahead to your ultimate liberation. It is my dream that this possibility is opened up to the world, so every human being is offered the opportunity to live in a consecrated environment. g Sadhguru, a yogi, is a visionary, humanitarian and a prominent spiritual leader (www.ishafoundation.org)

www.gfilesindia.com

birthdays IAS officers’ birthdays Jan 16, 2015 — Feb 15, 2015

IAS officers’ birthdays Jan 16, 2015 — Feb 15, 2015

Anurag Yadav

Shailendra Kumar Aggarwal

Rakesh Kumar Gupta

Ravi Bhagat

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: JAMMU & KASHMIR

CADRE: PUNJAB

yanurag@ias.nic.in

skaggar@ias.nic.in

guptark4@ias.nic.in

ravibhagat.ias@ias.nic.in

Joga Ram

Net Ram

Devendra Kumar Dhodawat

D Anandan

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: SIKKIM

joga.r@ias.nic.in

ramn@ias.nic.in

dhodawat@ias.nic.in

anandan@ias.nic.in

Yogendra Tripathy

Dwarka Das Agrawal

Deepak Kumar

Sandhya V Sharma

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: BIHAR

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

tyogen@ias.nic.in

ddagrawal95@ias.nic.in

kdeepak@ias.nic.in

sharmasv@ias.nic.in

Apoorva

Amit Kumar Jain

Anjum Parwez

Neena Sharma

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: SIKKIM

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

apoorva@ias.nic.in

jainak7@ias.nic.in

parweza@ias.nic.in

sharman@ias.nic.in

Santosh Kumar Yadav

Mahesh Shukla

Anita Rajendra

Vasudha Mishra

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

yadavsk@ias.nic.in

smahesh@ias.nic.in

anitarajendra.ias@ias.nic.in

mishrav@ias.nic.in

PH Kurian

Navdeep Rinwa

Suresh Chandra Mahapatra

Ajay Singh

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: ODISHA

CADRE: CHHATTISGARH

kurianph@ias.nic.in

rinwan@ias.nic.in

mpatrasc@ias.nic.in

singajay@ias.nic.in

Gautam Chatterjee

Syedain Abbasi

Pritam B Yashvant

Nidhi Khare

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: JHARKHAND

cgautam@ias.nic.in

abbasis@ias.nic.in

pbyashvant@ias.nic.in

kharen@ias.nic.in

Bhaskar Jyoti Sharma

Raj Gopal

Bharat Lal Meena

Santosh Kumar Satapathy

CADRE: ODISHA

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: JHARKHAND

sharmabj@ias.nic.in

gopalr@ias.nic.in

bharatlm@ias.nic.in

satpathi@ias.nic.in

Praveen Kumar Gupta

Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru

Sanjay Jagannath Khandare

Rajeev Kumar Mittal

CADRE: UNION TERRITORY

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

guptapk1@ias.nic.in

chirusj@ias.nic.in

khandare@ias.nic.in

mittalr2@ias.nic.in

Mohammed Shayin

Amit Singh Negi

R Ramakrishnan

Sanjay Malhotra

CADRE: HARYANA

CADRE: UTTARAKHAND

CADRE: NAGALAND

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

shayinm@ias.nic.in

negias@ias.nic.in

rkrishr1@ias.nic.in

smhotra@ias.nic.in

Hemanga Kishore Sharma

Siraj Hussain

M Beena

G Prakash

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

sharmahk@ias.nic.in

hsiraj@ias.nic.in

beenam@ias.nic.in

prakashg@ias.nic.in

T Radha

SK Nanda

Vijay Bharti

Arun Kumar

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: HARYANA

radhat@ias.nic.in

sknanda@ias.nic.in

vijay.bharti@ias.nic.in

kmrarun4@ias.nic.in

Amit Dhaka

K Moses Chalai

Raj Kumar Dinesh Singh

Devesh Chaturvedi

CADRE: PUNJAB

CADRE: MANIPUR-TRIPURA

CADRE: MANIPUR-TRIPURA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

amitdhaka.ias@ias.nic.in

chalaikm@ias.nic.in

singhrd@ias.nic.in

cdevesh@ias.nic.in

16-01-1975

17-01-1981

18-01-1962

18-01-1965

19-01-1971

20-01-1959

20-01-1956

21-01-1972

21-01-1964

22-01-1973

23-01-1956

23-01-1956

24-01-1975

25-01-1959

25-01-1956

26-01-1956

26-01-1969

27-01-1964

28-01-1973

29-01-1967

29-01-1959

30-01-1973

30-01-1976

31-01-1956

01-02-1956

01-02-1968

02-02-1960

02-02-1967

03-02-1960

03-02-1969

04-02-1963

04-02-1962

05-02-1975

05-02-1957

06-02-1968

06-02-1965

07-02-1974

07-02-1976

08-02-1975

08-02-1977

09-02-1976

09-02-1971

10-02-1970

11-02-1963

12-02-1960

12-02-1968

13-02-1958

13-02-1974

14-02-1968

14-02-1976

15-02-1963

15-02-1966

For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

51

birthdays IPS officers’ birthdays Jan 16, 2015 — Feb 15, 2015

IPS officers’ birthdays Jan 16, 2015 — Feb 15, 2015

Anil Kumar Sinha

Rakesh Kumar Gupta

AK Atri

Dipanshu Vijay Kaabra

CADRE: BIHAR

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: JAMMU & KASHMIR

CADRE: CHHATTISGARH

anilkumarsinha@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

rakeshkgupta@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

akatri@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

dykabra@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Ch. D Tirumala Rao

Muktesh Chander

Ganesh Dutt Bhargava

Pragya Richa Srivastava

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: HIMACHAL PRADESH

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

tirumalarao@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

mukteshchander@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

gdbhargava@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

pragyaricha@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Om Prakash

Ramit Sharma

Rajeev Kumar

R Tamil Chandran

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

om_prakash@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ramitsharma@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

rajeevk@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

rtamilchandran@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Shiv Shankar Lal

Bipin Bihari

Prem Shankar Meena

Arun Pratap Singh

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

sslal@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

bipinbihari@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

psmeena@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ap_singh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Pallav Bhattacharjee

Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta

Ajay Kumar Tomar

MK Tiwari

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: PUNJAB

pallav@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

bhaskarjyoti@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ajayk@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

mktiwari@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

MR Ajith Kumar

Pranab Nanda

Renuka Mishra

Gupteshwar Pandey

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: BIHAR

mrajith@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

pnanda@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

renuka@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

snpandey@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Satish Kumar Mathur

Amit Kumar Sinha

Md Quaiser Khalid

SG Bhati

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: UTTARAKHAND

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: GUJARAT

satishkm@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

aksinha@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

qkhalid@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sgbhati@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Surendra Kumar

Ashutosh Shukla

Ashok Kumar Prasad

Raghubir Lal

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

surendrakumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ashutoshshukla@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

akprasad@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

raghubirlal@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

CV Muniraju

Rajesh Kumar

Pandeya Niraj Nayan

Nilabh Kishore

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: PUNJAB

muniraju@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

r_kumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

pnnayan@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

nilobhk@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Pankaj Kumar Thakur

Sham Lal Sharma

MR Krishna

Aruna M Bahuguna

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: JAMMU & KASHMIR

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

pkthakur@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

slsharma@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

mrkrishna@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

bahuguna@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Ashok Prasad

Vijay Kumar

Anisa Husain

Johny William

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: JAMMU & KASHMIR

ashokprasad@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vijay_kumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

anisa@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

jwilliam@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Bhaskar Chaterjee

Anjani Kumar

Mukesh Agrawal

TS Anbu

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

bchaterjee@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

anjanikumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

mukeshagrawal@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

anbu@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Avinash Kumar

Ritesh Kumar

Karan Singha

Sonal Misra

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

riteshkumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

karansingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sverma@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

16-01-1956

16-01-1965

17-01-1957

17-01-1955

17-01-1959

18-01-1968

19-01-1964

19-01-1970

20-01-1957

20-01-1971

21-01-1956

22-01-1955

22-01-1975

23-01-1961

23-01-1962

23-01-1974

24-01-1961

24-01-1963

24-01-1962

25-01-1972

26-01-1961

26-01-1966

26-01-1958

27-01-1961

28-01-1966

28-01-1969

29-01-1956

30-01-1957

31-01-1966

01-02-1958

01-02-1964

01-02-1967

02-02-1972

02-02-1967

03-02-1962

04-02-1959

05-02-1976

06-02-1963

07-02-1962

07-02-1974

08-02-1968

09-02-1965

10-02-1957

11-02-1962

11-02-1961

12-02-1958

12-02-1970

12-02-1974

13-02-1957

14-02-1957

14-02-1974

15-02-1974

For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

52

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

www.gfilesindia.com

birthdays Lok Sabha Members

Jan 16, 2015 — Feb 15, 2015

Lok Sabha Members

Jan 16, 2015 — Feb 15, 2015

Tariq Anwar

Shrikant Eknath Shinde

Kirit Somaiya

Sushma Swaraj

NCP (Bihar)

SS (Maharashtra)

BJP (Maharashtra)

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

kirit.somaiya@sansad.nic.in

sushmaswaraj@hotmail.com

Vincent H Pala

Asrarul Haque Mohammad

INC (Meghalaya)

INC (Bihar)

vincent.pala@sansad.nic.in

masrarul.haque@sansad.nic.in

Ram Prasad Sarmah

Bidyut Baran Mahato

BJP (Assam)

BJP (Jharkhand)

16-01-1951

04-02-1987

Mamtaz Sanghamita

KC Venugopal

AITC (West Bengal)

INC (Kerala)

mamtaz.sanghamita@sansad.nic.in

kc.venugopal@sansad.nic.in

Rahul Kaswan

Santosh Kumar

BJP (Gujarat)

JD-U (Bihar)

rahul.kaswan@sansad.nic.in

santosh.kumar19@sansad.nic.in

Ravindra Kumar Pandey

Venkateswara Rao Magantti

BJP (Jharkhand)

TDP (Andhra Pradesh)

rkpandey@sansad.nic.in

mvenkateswara.rao19@sansad.nic.in

16-01-1946

20-01-1977

20-01-1959

04-02-1963

05-02-1976

05-02-1960

12-12-1954

14-02-1968

Rajya Sabha Members

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

vijila.sathyananth@sansad.nic.in

JD-U (Bihar)

Prem Chand Gupta

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

SP (Uttar Pradesh)

ali.anwar@sansad.nic.in

ks.tanwar@sansad.nic.in

d.yadav@sansad.nic.in

03-02-1950

Javed Akhtar

RJD (Jharkhand)

pgupta@sansad.nic.in

NOM (Nominated)

AW Rabi Bernard

Darshana Vikram Jardosh

Upendra Kushwaha

17-01-1945

BJP (Gujarat)

RLSP (Bihar)

javed.akhtar@sansad.nic.in

darshanajardosh@gmail.com

upendra.kushwaha19@sansad.nic.in

Srinivas Kesineni

Maheish Girri

TDP (Andhra Pradesh)

BJP (Delhi)

kesineni.srinivas@sansad.nic.in

maheish.giri@sansad.nic.in

Pyarimohan Mohapatra

Kaushal Kishore

Shyama Charan Gupta

IND (Odisha)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

22-01-1966

25-01-1960

06-02-1960

08-02-1974

09-02-1945

kishore.kaushal@sansad.nic.in

Nishikant Dubey 28-01-1969

BJP (Jharkhand)

nishikant.dubey.mp@gmail.com

Gopal Chinayya Shetty 31-01-1954

BJP (Maharashtra)

gc.shetti@sansad.nic.in

Manoj Kumar Tiwari 01-02-1971 BJP (Delhi)

tiwari.manoj@sansad.nic.in

Geetha Kothapalli 04-02-1971

YSRCP (Andhra Pradesh)

kothapalli.geetha@sansad.nic.in

Chhedi Paswan 04-02-1956 BJP (Bihar)

chhedi.paswan@sansad.nic.in

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

24-01-1945

r.bernard@sansad.nic.in

INC (West Bengal)

Ronald Sapa Tlau

25-01-1940

asingh@sansad.nic.in

drasatyanarayanjatiya@gmail.com

IND (Uttar Pradesh)

Biswajit Daimary 04-02-1971

Dilipbhai Pandya

BPF (Assam)

30-01-1944

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

ds.pandya@sansad.nic.in

kpsingh.gnp@gmail.com

Dasrath Tirkey 09-02-1967

AITC (West Bengal)

Maulana Badruddin

IND (Jharkhand)

b.ajmal@sansad.nic.in

10-02-1944

BJP (Karnataka)

bpatil.mp@sansad.nic.in

pjavadekar@gmail.com

Parimal Nathwani

AIUDF (Assam)

Basawaraj Patil

30-01-1951

rao.inderjit@sansad.nic.in

12-02-1950

ambethrajan@sansad.nic.in

AITC (West Bengal)

Inderjit Singh Rao BJP (Haryana)

BSP (Uttar Pradesh)

30-01-1939

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

Baishnab Parida 15-02-1941

01-02-1956

BJD (Odisha)

parimal.nathwani@sansad.nic.in

Vijila Sathyananth 02-02-1971

Ambeth Rajan 09-02-1956

Jogen Chowdhury

Prakash Javadekar

11-02-1950

bj.diamary@sansad.nic.in

BJP (Gujarat)

dasarath.tirkey@sansad.nic.in,

Satyanarayan Jatiya BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

Krishn Pratap Singh 09-02-1977

INC (Mizoram)

04-02-1946

Amar Singh

BJD (Odisha)

04-02-1954

rs.tlau@sansad.nic.in

pyarimohanap@sansad.nic.in

Balabhadra Majhi balabhadra.majhi@sansad.nic.in

03-02-1959

P Bhattacharya

27-01-1956

09-02-1961

Jan 16, 2015 — Feb 15, 2015

Ali Anwar Ansari

Dharmendra Yadav

21-01-1961

15-02-1963

rp.sarmah@sansad.nic.in

Kanwar Singh Tanwar

03-02-1979

15-02-1942

14-02-1955

16-01-1954

21-01-1961

14-02-1952

baishnab.parida@sansad.nic.in

Veer Singh 15-02-1956

BSP (Uttar Pradesh)

For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

53

Tracking

For a complete list of appointments & retirements, see www.gfilesindia.com

PHOTOS: PIB

President Pranab Mukherjee with students of the Sardar Patel University of Police Security and Criminal Justice, Jodhpur, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on December 1, 2014

DS DHESI

ANAND KUMAR

The 1982-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre has been appointed Chief Secretary of Haryana.

The 1984-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre has been appointed Managing Director, National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation, in the rank of Additional Secretary.

K GNANADESIKAN The 1982-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu.

SUDHA KRISHNAN The 1983-batch IA&AS officer has been appointed Member Secretary, Expenditure Management Commission, under the Ministry of Finance.

SUTIRTHA BHATTACHARYA The 1985-batch IAS officer of Telangana cadre is the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), Coal India Limited (CIL).

MANISH GUPTA The 1991-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre has been appointed Joint Secretary, Labour and Employment, Govt of India.

RK SRIVASTAVA

The 1994-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce.

The 1984-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre has been appointed Chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

SHAKUNTALA GAMLIN

The Member (Staff) of the Railway Board is appointed Chairman, Railway Board.

MK KUTTY

54

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

The 1985-batch ICAS officer has been empanelled for the post of Joint Secretary or equivalent in the Government of India.

The officers have been promoted to the rank of Additional Secretary in the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the latter has been given Director rank.

A K MITTAL

The 1984-batch IAS officer of the AssamMeghalaya cadre has been appointed Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in the rank of Additional Secretary.

ARUNA SETHI

DEVENDER SINGH & VIPIN KUMAR

The 1984-batch IAS officer of the Union Territory cadre has been posted as Principal Secretary, Finance, in the Delhi government.

ALOK KUMAR

empanelled for the post of Joint Secretary or equivalent in the Government of India.

The 1985-batch IAS officer of the Union Territory cadre has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment.

PRAVIN KUMAR AGGARWAL The 1985-batch ICAS officer has been

SANTOSH KUMAR SARANGI

CHETAN BHUSHAN SANGHI The 1988-batch IAS officer of the Union Territory cadre is Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development.

M DEVARAJ The 1996-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre has been shifted as Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat.

SUNIL KUMAR BARNWAL The 1997-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre is the new Joint Secretary, Steel.

www.gfilesindia.com

ARUN KUMAR YADAV

VANI S RAO

The 1987-batch IAS officer of the Sikkim cadre has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.

The 1994-batch IFS officer has been appointed OSD in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs at Joint Secretary level.

The following senior IAS officers have been empanelled as Secretaries in the Government of India

V SRINIVAS

PRAKASH MISHRA The 1977-batch IPS officer of the Odisha cadre, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been appointed Director General in the Central Reserve Police Force.

NK SINHA (1980-batch Bihar cadre); NANDITA CHATTERJEE (1980-batch West Bengal cadre); RANGLAL JAMUDA (1981-batch Odisha cadre); AMRENDRA SINHA (1981-batch Uttarakhand cadre); ARUNA SHARMA (1982-batch Madhya Pradesh cadre).

The 1989-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre has been appointed Deputy Director (Administration) at Joint Secretary level in AIIMS under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

VIJAY KUMAR DEV

SURENDER SINGH

The 1987-batch IAS officer of the Union Territory cadre has been appointed Adviser to the UT Administrator in Chandigarh.

The 1980-batch IPS officer of the Jharkhand cadre has been promoted as Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

SATISH MATHUR

OP SINGH

The 2001-batch IAS officer of the Union Territory cadre has been posted as Secretary in Delhi Government.

The 1983-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, ADG, Airport, CISF, has been appointed Director General of NDRF.

JAGDEEP SINGH

RK PACHANANDA

The 2005-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre has been assigned additional charge as Director, Sports & Youth Affairs.

The 1983-batch IPS officer of the West Bengal cadre, ADG, CRPF, has been appointed Additional Director General (Airport), CISF.

ANUMULA GITESH SARMA The High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Fji has been concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Nauru, with residence in Suva (Fiji).

AP MAHESHWARI The 1984-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, IG, CRPF, has been appointed Additional Director General, Border Security Force (BSF).

RAMESH P SINGH The 1984-batch IPS officer of the Odisha cadre, IG, CISF, has been appointed Additional Director General (ADG), Border Security Force (BSF) .

DK PANDEY The 1984-batch IPS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, IG, CRPF, has been appointed as Additional Director General, CRPF.

SHAILENDRA SRIVASTAVA The 1985-batch IPS, ADG, Special Armed Forces is now the new Transport Commissioner in Madhya Pradesh.

ARVIND SAXENA The 1978-batch IRAS officer has been appointed Director and ex-officio Special Secretary, ARC.

Moving On: IAS officers retiring in January 2015 Assam

Madhya Pradesh

Sikkim

Shiv Shankar Gupta (1982)

Dev Raj Birdi (1992) Vishwa Mohan Upadhyay (1991)

Rinchen Ongmu (1979)

Chittaranjan Singh (2000)

Manipur-Tripura

MP Nirmala (1990)

Chhattisgarh RS Vishwakarma (1991)

Y Jugindro Singh (1991) Y Thamkishore Singh (1994) Abhinoy Halam (1999)

Jharkhand

Nagaland

Bihar

Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh

Alemtemshi Jamir (1977)

Kishore Kumar Sinha (1978) Sudhir Kumar Srivastava (1993) Mukesh Mittal (1997) Vishnu Swaroop Mishra (2003)

Odisha

Union Territory

Satish Balram Agnihotri (1980) Janaki Ballav Mishra (2000)

Deepak Mohan Spolia (1979) SP Dixit (1999)

EK Bharat Bhushan (1979)

Rajasthan

West Bengal

Maharashtra

Sudhir Bhargava (1979) Pradeep Sen (1982)

Somesh K Bhattacharya (1996) Subhash Ranjan Biswas (1997) Utpal Kumar Bhattacharya (1997) Ashok Bhattacharyya (1999)

Eheteshamul Haque (1998)

Jammu & Kashmir Anil Goswami (1978)

Kerala

PE Gaikwad (1997) GB Maware (1998)

gfiles inside the government

www.indianbuzz.com

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

55

Tracking

For a complete list of appointments & retirements, see www.gfilesindia.com

Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting Arun Jaitley in a group photograph at the inauguration of the professional training of the 66th batch of IRS (Customs & Central Excise) probationers in New Delhi on December 26, 2014. Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen

RAJINDER KHANNA The 1978-batch IRAS officer has been appointed Secretary, Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), Cabinet Secretariat.

JB MAHAPATRA The 1985-batch IRS-IT officer has been appointed Joint Secretary & Financial Adviser, Department of Science & Technology.

MADHUKUMAR REDDY ANAM The 1987-batch IRTS officer has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles. The following senior 1981-batch IPS officers have been empanelled for the post of Director General or equivalent in the Government of India RAJIV MEHTA (Assam-Meghalaya cadre), RUPAK KUMAR DUTTA (Karnataka cadre), MEERAN C BORWANKAR (Maharashtra cadre), K DURGA PRASAD (Andhra Pradesh cadre), SATISH CHANDRA JHA (Bihar cadre), SC MATHUR (Maharashtra cadre), MALAYA KUMAR SINHA (Uttar Pradesh cadre), KAMLENDRA PRASAD (Uttar Pradesh cadre), AK DHASMANA (Madhya Pradesh cadre), ARK KINI (Bihar cadre).

56

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

The following officers have been appointed new Additional Secretaries of Government in India: The 1983-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, RAGHVENDRA SINGH has been appointed in the Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation; 1983-batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, T VIJAYAKUMAR has been appointed Director General, Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART); 1979-batch ICAS officer, MJ JOSEPH has been appointed Director General of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Department of Consumer Affairs in the rank of Additional Secretary; 1984-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, ANANT KUMAR SINGH has been appointed Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA); 1984-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, D V PRASAD has been appointed Additional Secretary, Women and Child Development; 1984-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, DEEPAK KUMAR has been appointed Additional Secretary, Labour and Employment; 1980-batch IRS-C&CE officer, DEEPAK SHETTY has been appointed Director General, Shipping; 1984-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, VIJAYA SHRIVASTAVA has been appointed Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, Health and Family Welfare; 1982-batch IAS officer of the Manipur-Tripura cadre, AJAY NARAYAN JHA has been appointed Additional Secretary, Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance; 1984-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, ALOK SHRIVASTAVA has been appointed Additional Secretary, Shipping; 1984-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, RASHMI SHUKLA SHARMA has been appointed Additional Secretary, Panchayati Raj; 1984-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, T JACOB has been appointed Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training.

SHAKUNTALA DEVI The 1989-batch ICAS officer has been empanelled for the post of Joint Secretary or equivalent in the Government of India.

ASHOK KUMAR NAKRA The 1993-batch IRSEE officer has been

appointed Director in Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

SANJAY KUMAR The 1995-batch IRSS officer has been appointed Director, Ministry of Minority Affairs, in the Government of India.

www.gfilesindia.com

...by the way Federal freedom

W

Lateral appointments

B

ureaucrats in the government are a worried lot nowadays. Their concern is not due to the change of the government or hectic schedule within the ministries but the changing pattern of the governance within the ministries. As per sources, the government is in a mood to hire professionals on a lateral basis. This means that the government is likely to appoint professionals outside the bureaucratic domain for delivering best results. Sources have disclosed that the professionals/experts will be brought into the Petroleum, Communication, Environment and Infrastructure ministries from the corporate sector of the same nature. These professionals are likely to be appointed Joint Secretaries, Additional Secretaries and Secretaries. The professionals are required to be experts in their domain, have an outstanding performance track record and must be working with a reputed corporate house, NGOs, thinktanks or multinational companies. These professionals will be appointed for short durations: three to five years. The bureaucrats are naturally apprehensive. They do not have any issue as far as hiring the best talent is concerned, but what would their accountability be and who will check their antecedents? With the opening of the economy, there is already pressure within the government from different lobbies. So, when a Secretary or Joint Secretary is appointed as a lobbyist himself or herself, who will check their intentions, motives and the possibility of their serving bosses outside the ministry? g

www.indianbuzz.com

hat is the power of the central government when it deals with the States? The central government manages the finance, defence and foreign affairs in letter and spirit. In his announcement from the Red Fort on August 15, Narendra Modi disbanded the Planning Commission and opened a new debate in the ministries. If sources are to be believed, the new planning dispensation is of the opinion that the budgetary provision for the States will be transferred to the respective States in one tranche. Now the Secretaries and Joint Secretaries in the ministries are bewildered. The States report to different ministries for financial sanctions from time to time and ministries keep monitoring the schemes. If the money is transferred in one go, there will be no control or audit mechanism. Senior bureaucrats feel that Modi must have been offended by the federal mechanism of the Congress party but the new mechanism being implemented will open a Pandora’s box as the States have poor financial management and most of them are running on overdraft. The bureaucrats are afraid that if the money is passed on to the States in one go, it will be very difficult to stop misuse of the funds. It may create more financial indiscipline among the States. But who is bothered? g

gfiles inside the government

vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

57

...by the way 62 to 58!

Its Dhesi in Haryana

T

F

he government was honest enough while replying to the Rajya Sabha question of Mahendra Singh Mahra regarding the increase in retirement age from 60 to 62 years with a categorical denial by the Minister of State in the PMO, Dr. Jitendra Singh. However, it did not reveal its intention to, rather, reduce the retirement age from 60 years to 58 years. Bureaucratic circles are agog with rumours that the government is going to retire babus at the age of 58. gfiles talked to several officers and learnt that the cabinet note g the regarding reducing retirement age is ready. eady. It’s only a matter of time before this decision will be seen through. Perhaps immediately after the Delhi assembly elections! Providing employment opportunities was one of the major plankss on which Modi came to power. However, the he economy is not obliging liging the government byy turning around. So some intelligent ntelligent people in the government must have thought, Why not retire the lot of babus and go for fresh recruitments? If the government does not go in for fresh recruitment, the decision would still be hailed as an achievement. Do you remember Modi’s slogan of “maximum governance, minimum government”? gfiles, however, feels the decision, if taken, may boomerang in ways not anticipated by the wise man. g

inally, after a long struggle, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar has appointed DS Dhesi, a 1982-batch IAS officer, as the new Chief Secretary of the State. Dhesi will retire in 2019. In a way, he has a total of five years on hand. The administrative systems are being replaced slowly as another competent officer, Dr Dilip Singh, has also joined as Additional Chief Secretary and FCR, a No. 2 position in the bureaucratic hierarchy. PK Gupta, an outgoing Chief Secretary, tried hard to get an extension of three months. As per sources, his wife, Anuradha Gupta, also flew in from abroad to lobby for her husband but Khattar planned otherwise. He chose the roadmap of smooth governance and avoided the ad hocism. The selection of Dhesi was not an easy task, as Khattar has been approached by his followers, leaders and supporters regarding other competent candidates. Sources disclosed that Sanjiv Kaushal, a 1986-batch IAS officer and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, played a crucial role in the selection of the Chief Secretary. Kaushal and Dhesi had worked together as a team when Om Prakash Chautala was the Chief Minister. Dhesi is considered to be an expert in country and town planning as he has handled the department when he served the State in his earlier stint. Kaushal has a comfort level with Dhesi as compared to other aspirants for the post. Haryana observers say that Khattar does not have much experience of the administration and now the government will solely and completely be run by Kaushal, son-in-law of BS Ojha, former Chief Secretary of Haryana, Dhesi, and Khattar’s OSD, Jawahar Yadav. Wait and watch how the trio brings about change and development in the State. g

ILLUSTRATIONS: ARUNA

58

gfiles inside the government vol. 8, issue 10 | January 2015

www.gfilesindia.com

Regn.No.DL(C)-14/1161/2013-15 Licence No. U(C)-03/2013-15, Licence to post without prepayment Posted on 7th & 8th of every month at SPM SRT Nagar, Post Office, New Delhi 110055 R.N.I. No: DELENG/2007/19719. Rs`200, vol. 8, issue 10 | Date of Publication: 5/1/2015 | Pages 56+4

Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.