gfiles magazine

January 24, 2013

Booster for sagging morale


COVER STORY
gfiles awards
Booster for sagging morale
Many honest and sincere officers continue to serve unnoticed. A refreshing deviation in this dismal scenario were the gfiles Governance Awards
by Neeraj Mahajan
Great nations are not built by brick and mortar but people who are prepared to shed sweat in peace and blood in war. Have you wondered what is it that makes ordinary men and women go beyond the call...READ MORE

The man for all seasons and reasons


SPECIAL REPORT
 
The man for all seasons and reasons
 
A master strategist – he has always known which strings to pull, how and when... but like an overconfident gambler he seems to have stretched his legs a bit too far. Away from the limelight many people are waiting for him to fall – will he—when and how is the big question.
 
by Neeraj Mahajan in New Delhi & Ajit Ujjainkar in Mumbai
 
The higher you go…the greater and faster you fall – this is a simple law of physics that does not apply to Ratnakar Yashwant Gaikwad the high-profile and well connected 61 year-old man for all seasons and reasons. If the present day ground situation is an indication-- his days are numbered but the big question obviously is – when, how and how soon will he have his great fall? Who will bell the cat—if at all?...READ MORE

A lawyer without passing the law exam


SPECIAL REPORT / cbi
 
A lawyer without passing the law exam
 
Though the need for the CBI was felt as early as 1948, it came into being in 1963. Despite having the finest investigators— it has no powers of its own. Whosoever in power wants this lame duck with borrowed crutches – to keep begging for powers than no one wants to give.
 
by Ajit Ujjainkar
  
It might have done wonderwork in the past and had the greatest of investigators – but that’s beside the point. CBI’s greatest folly is that it is an organization destined to hit and miss -- produce lot of smoke but no fire. Imagine a person who knows the law and can plead a case quite convincingly before any judge but technically does not have a LLB degree...READ MORE

Revival on the cards


STOCK DOCTOR
dr gs sood
 
Revival on the cards
 
ENTERING 2013, investors need to be cautiously optimistic and should not expect any fireworks. While the fundamentals of the econo­my will continue to improve, the mar­kets may not witness any major upside from the current levels since they have already run up a lot ahead. Recent policy pronouncements have changed the mood and expectations, the first pre-requisite of any bull run and has helped PE expansion from 13 times to nearly 16 times. this has to be followed by execution leading to earnings expansion that may require further rate cuts to revive the invest­ment cycle, failing which the market may fall. Foreign institutional inves­tors have remained strong buyers despite domestic institutional and retail investor selling due to high fixed deposit rates. Domestic selling may considerably reduce, especially if the Reserve Bank of India announces rate cuts with the focus shifting from infla­tion to growth...READ MORE

CIC & misinformation


MY CORNER
error in judgment amitabh thakur
 
CIC & misinformation
CIC’s stand that departmental enquiries and criminal investigations are the same seems to misinterpret the law. This means withholding information from the public domain, which is the right granted to the citizens.
 
Are departmental enquiries and criminal investigations of the same nature? While the Supreme Court has made it clear that the nature and intent of the two are different, the Central Information Commission (CIC) seems to think otherwise.  That too in a matter related with the Right to Information Act. 2005, which promotes transparency and accountability, enabling access to information under the control of public authorities to citizens...READ MORE

Who am I?


SILLY POINT
humour mk kaw
 
Who am I?
From Adi Sankaracharya to Nandan Nilekani
 
INDIA is an ancient civilisation. Over the millennia, we Indians have suffered from a definite identity cri­sis. So our savants have asked the only question that is worthy of exploration: Who am i? The Upanishads too asked this question and after many false starts came up with the famous ‘Tat twam asi, Shvetaketu’ (Thou art that, Shvetaketu). This answer held sway till the 8th cen­tury AD, when Adi Sankaracharya tried to improve on it, by declaring ‘Chidananda rupa shivoham shivoham’ (consciousness and bliss combined, that Shiva am I)...READ MORE

Whatever you create will happen to you


PERSPECTIVE
life sadhguru
 
Whatever you create will
happen to you
 
THE New Year is a tremen­dous opportunity and possi­bility for newer visions of life. Unfortunately, if you feel the world around you, you will see that your experience is a cacophony of voices, thoughts and emotions. With all the conveniences and facilities we have, human beings today remain in an absolute confusion. When man is in this level of confusion, the pain and suffering that he creates for himself and for others is untold...READ MORE

The Changemakers


GOVERNANCE
gfiles awards
 
The Changemakers
 
Changemakers simply create history as founders, innovators and titans. They are the stuff that legends and folklores are made of. They are the harbingers of change who are the pride of any country, society or organisation, people cut above the rest, who think out of the box and have unconventional ways of doing things. They have the courage of conviction and determination to walk the untrodden path. There are still many such personalities waiting to be discovered. Neeraj Mahajan makes an attempt to look into the lives of some changemakers in the Indian bureaucracy – who were discovered and awarded by gfiles in the first ever Governance Awards 2012...READ MORE

Energy pricing in doldrums


GOVERNANCE
energy gas pricing
 
Energy pricing in doldrums
The UPA has embraced the soft option of increased dependence on imported coal, gas and crude oil instead of going for energy self-sufficiency
 
by Naresh Minocha
 
The UPA Government has thrown up its hands over rational energy pricing and energy self-sufficiency. It is groping for crutches to steer the country out of the muck-racking politics over energy pricing, especially with regard to offshore Krishna Godavari (KG) basin gas. It just does not how to balance the conflicting interests of energy producers and consumers without compromising...READ MORE 

Legitimising corruption


Governance
law t n pandey
 
Legitimising corruption
Judicial legitimacy to corrupt practices thwarts anti-corruption efforts, especially if corrective measures take a long time in being enforced
 
National and international pressures have created great anxiety and concern regarding corruption and corrupt practices, and the ways and means for checking this are being conceived, debated and strategies discussed. People across the country are becoming increasingly agitated about eradicating corruption, catching the delinquents and punishing them. The judiciary too has become an active participant through its decisions and actions like constitution of special investigating teams (SITs). To illustrate the judiciary’s concern, observations of the apex court in one of its judgments (in the case of State of MP vs. Sri Ram Singh & Ors. JT 2000 (1) SC 518) were:...READ MORE

Rape and Punishment


governance
law enforcement a k verma
 
Rape and Punishment
The police alone cannot prevent rape. We need a social order where men do not exercise power and dominance over women.
 
Rape is not necessarily an act of a deviant mind. More often, it is a crime of opportunity. The intent behind the crime can be an amalgam of several thought streams. Principally it is not about sex. The main motivation can be a drive to seek domination and power, with ingredients of intimidation and violence interlaced. Instinct has a big role to play. It is important to understand this to determine how rapists should be punished...READ MORE

Clarion call for the Republic


GOVERNANCE
constitution m g devasahayam
 
 
 
 
INDIA’s First Republic is completing 63 years. Instead of indulging in hype and hyperbole, it is time we got seri­ous about the real state of the Republic and the role of its head, the President...READ MORE

Tails I lose


GOVERNANCE
railways hobson’s choice
 
Railways:Heads you win,
Tails I lose
Despite being an environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transport, Indian Railways is caught between profitability and social obligations
 
by Bisheshwar Mishra
 
The Indian Railways may take pride in being the world’s largest and cheapest passenger carrying service. But it does so by incurring a huge loss of Rs 25,000 crore. Of the 20,000 odd trains that the Railways run every day, more than 14,000 are passenger carrying trains. It is also noteworthy that every new Railway Minister without fail introduces in his budget speech some new trains...READ MORE

Highways or killerways


GOVERNANCE
roads safe travel
 
Highways or killerways
With one death every four minutes – a majority in four states of UP, Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat – it will be a mockery to call our Highways world-class.
 
by Bisheshwar Mishra
 
Development of infrastructure like roads and railways in India – is stuck in a quagmire of constraints. Paucity of funds, tardy decisions due to democratic, political, administrative and social roadblocks have contributed to keep the infrastructure in a perpetual state of neglect. While everyone agrees that development of infrastructure like roads and railways is the sine qua non of economic growth and prosperity, work in these two sectors has remained woefully neglected and imbued with inherent constraints...READ MORE 

Family first


Bric-a-brac
 
Family first
Digvijaya on a peace-keepingmission
AICC General-Secretary Digvijaya Singh is known to take on all those who cross his path, whether it is the high and mighty P Chidambaram, or the all-powerful Ahmed Patel. But when it comes to his family, he is not willing to compromise. This is exactly what happened recently. With his 10 years of self-imposed banwas coming to an end, he is planning to contest the Lok Sabha elections and focus on national politics. As per plan, his son, Yashwardhan, is being groomed to contest from Raghogarh, the family seat. The young Singh has already held a yatra and is busy familiarising himself with the constituency, while the doting father is trying to bury the hatchet with the Scindias, who have some influence in Raghogarh. So, when a new Congress office was opened in the State, Digvijaya Singh publicly embraced Jyotiraditya Scindia and delivered a speech full of praise and admiration in his favour, calling him one of the brightest stars of the Congress. Jyotiraditya also reciprocated by heaping praises on the leadership of Digvijaya Singh. The new-found bonhomie between the two...READ MORE

Present imperfect, future tense


Bric-a-brac
 
Present imperfect, future tense
ambika soni’s fate hangs in balance
Once rated to be the second-most powerful woman leader in the Congress, second only to Sonia Gandhi, Ambika Soni seems to losing her prominence. So much so that scribes are now mockingly calling her biography as ‘The rise and fall of Ambika Soni’. So far there are no indications that she would be given any major responsibility now that she has lost her ministership thanks to her own politics, say insiders. Though she is the convenor of the Chintan Shivir organising committee, the chairperson of the Meghalaya election screening committee and a member of the publicity committee sub-group set up for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress leaders says all this is thanks to Digvijaya Singh who heads the publicity committee and is pushing her case as a...READ MORE

Bitter fight


Bric-a-brac
 
Bitter fight
factionalism in Haryana Cong to the fore
 
Haryana Congress continues to be a faction-ridden battleground with the majority of leaders pitted against each other. This came out clearly again when state PCC President Phool Chand Mulana, a loyalist of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, called a meeting of the Haryana PCC in Chandigarh. While AICC general-secretary Hari Prasad was stranded at Delhi airport due to fog and could not make it to the meeting, the three big leaders of Haryana – Selja, Kiran Chaudhary and Chaudhary Birender Singh – did not attend as they had all been suspended by the PCC President and as far as anyone knows, the suspension has not been revoked. Their claim is that since they are AICC members, so the PCC has no jurisdiction to suspend them. This was their plea against their suspension for not attending the  meeting. Only one MP and two state ministers were present at the meeting, which was a complete non-starter...READ MORE

Virbhadra needs no anand


Bric-a-brac
 
Virbhadra needs no anand
himachal cm aims at his adversaries
The newly-elected Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is visibly a happy man today. The only time his grin turns into a scowl is when he sees AICC general-secretary in charge of Himachal Pradesh Birender Singh. So much so that he looked past him and failed to acknowledge him at his own swearing in. Another leader who has been adversely affected by Virbhadra Singh’s victory is Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma. Chaudhary Birender Singh had been opposing Virbhadra allegedly at the behest of his old friend Anand Sharma. The duo allegedly tried to marshal the opponents of Virbhadra Singh after the assembly election results, but the wily Thakur was too smart for them. Before anyone could react, he had already faxed a signed list of 30 Congress MLAS favouring him as the Chief Minister. The list was reportedly sent straight to 10 Janpath. Sonia Gandhi, it is said, was in no mood to create trouble knowing well that Virbhadra was no Harish Rawat and had the capacity to split the party right down the middle. Not only this, Virbhadra also informed Sonia Gandhi about allegedly the money collected by the AICC general-secretary in the name of ticket distribution. He reportedly sent all the documents to 10 Janpath. It is said...READ MORE

To sign or not to sign


...by the way
 
To sign or not to sign
It is a well-known fact that Ministers, especially Chief Ministers, verbally order their principal secretaries or private secretaries to do most of their administrative work. It is also well-known that whenever a file comes from a Ministers’ office for a favour, a yellow slip is tagged with a pencil note. The note helps the Minister avoid any query under the right to information or any investigation. Thus, when Mayawati was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Vijay Singh, an IPS officer who was her secretary, used to send a file with his signature stating that the Chief Minister had given her approval to the matter under consideration. Akhilesh Yaday, the present Chief Minister continued this practice, with his Secretary Anita Singh, a 1990 batch IAS officer, signing on files on his behalf. All was well until Amitabh Thakur an IPS officer of 1992 the batch, belled the cat. Thakur challenged the practice of secretaries in the Chief Minister’s office signing such files. Thakur filed a petition in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, alleging that one of his files had been signed by Anita Singh instead of the Chief Minister. In his appeal, Thakur argued that Mulayam Singh Yadav and other Chief Ministers of UP used to sign the files of officers themselves. The issue that has now arisen before the High Court is whether a secretary can sign files on behalf...READ MORE

Balancing act


...by the way
 
Balancing act
Governance is the art of balancing all the resources at one’s disposal. A slight error in judgement can prove to be a grave mistake.Who knows this better than Shiela Dikshit, the fire-brand Chief Minister of Delhi. The fact that she likes to be surrounded by favourable forces was amply clear when she asked the Central Government to put Delhi Police under her adminstrative control. Even otherwise, she seems to be having a tough time marshalling the men and women close to her. One such person is her trusted lieutenant P K Tripathy, a retired IAS officer who is a known power centre in her absence. He was recently...READ MORE

Delhi LG running out of time?


...by the way
 
Delhi LG running out of time?
The North Block, which administers Delhi Government, is thinking of changing the Lt Governor of Delhi, the constitutional head of the Union Territory. This is mainly because of Tejinder Khanna’s absence from the National Capital when the infamous rape incident took place on December 16. If sources are to be believed, Khanna, who was on a visit to the US, was asked by the Union Home Ministry to rush back to New Delhi immediately. Khanna has been lucky enough to hold on to the hot seat as the Lt Governor of Delhi for more than five years. Whenever there is any discussion to remove him, some kind of public unrest take place in Delhi. The national Capital witnessed many demonstrations in 2012 and disturbed a lot of people, but Khanna was not one of them. While he is an able administrator, the year-end rape incident is being seen as adding fuel to the fire that country is witnessing, forcing the Home Ministry to think of changing guard...READ MORE

The untouchable Singh

...by the way
 
The untouchable Singh
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is facing a peculiar problem. It is small ministry but its spread and grip is nationwide. With meagre resources on hand, three public sector undertaking under its umbrella, it has one Cabinet Minister and two Ministers of State. C P Joshi the firebrand member of Parliament from Rajasthan, has a tight grip on the Ministry. As a result, the two Ministers of State – Dr Tushar A Chaudhary and Sarvey Sathyanarayana – are only figurative heads, who literally have any work on hand, barring the routine signing of files in the Ministry. The de facto boss of the Ministry is R P Singh, Chairman, National Highway Authority of India. It is the biggest PSU under the Ministry and all work related to national highways is routed through the NHAI.,,,READ MORE