G files march 2016 by Gfiles

BOOK REVIEW

ASHOK LAVASA PAY FOR POLLUTION p10 YOGESH SHARMA ANAR PATEL’S GUJARAT LAND DEAL p39

March 5, 2016 ` VOL. 9, ISSUE 12

SUBHASH CHANDRA THE Z FACTOR

p46

gfilesindia.com

NPA Mess Banking system totters under bad loans

Power Shift

EX DEF P E A OR NC FI T E p3 LLI : G 6 P ETT

Power is shifting from the legislature to the judiciary and media

M S

ISSN 0976-2906

PRESENTS

MEMORY CLOUDS The Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on April 21, 2015, on Civil Services Day, gave a clarion call to record and upload the memoirs of senior and experienced civil servants. Hence... gfiles brings you a compilation of reminiscences by senior civil servants which were published in gfiles between 2007 and 2015. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss the opportunity to learn from the wealth of experience of veteran civil servants. Pre-order the book in advance to avail of the one-time offer of `720.

Featuring Prabhat Kumar BG Deshmukh MC Gupta Kripa Narayan Srivastava V Selvaraj Sushil Chandra Tripathi Romesh Bhandari Devi Dayal Reva Nayyar VP Sawhney SK Mishra Dr G Sundaram KC Sivaramakrishnan Nitish Sengupta Vishnu Bhagwan Gen Noble Thamburaj Baleshwar Rai Arun Bongirwar Arvind S Inamdar Madhav Godbole Ved Marwah Trinath Mishra Vineeta Rai Arun Kumar Rath Ajit Nimbalkar TR Kakkar Najeeb Jung MS Gill Shovana Narayan Lt Gen JFR Jacob Brijesh Kumar Surrinder Lal Kapur Yogendra Narain and many more...

You can make the payment through cheque, DD or RTGS in favour of gfiles.

For further information or queries: Mail us at editor@gfilesindia.com or log on to www.gfilesindia.com/memoryclouds.html

From the Editor

vol. 9, ISSUE 12 | MARCH 2016 Anil Tyagi | editor TR Ramachandran | executive editor Niranjan Desai | roving editor GS Sood | consulting business editor Vartika Nanda | consulting editor Rakesh Bhardwaj | editorial consultant Naresh Minocha | contributing editor Anish Gandhi | consultant, foreign affairs Narendra Kaushik | associate editor Sanjeev Acharya | associate editor 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 Media | edit & design Madan Lal | Webmaster Abhisshek Tyagi | director advertising & marketing delhi: PALLAV MOITRA | director marketing +919810119937; e-mail: pallav@gfilesindia.in e-mail: adv@gfilesindia.com chandigarh: RAMESH SHARMAâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; +918699519405 e-mail: rameshsharmaemail@gmail.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 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; +91 9845730298 e-mail: venu@gfilesindia.in $1,/ 7<$*, 35,17(5 38%/,6+(5 QG IORRU GGD VLWH QHZ UDMLQGHU QDJDU QHZ GHOKL Ä&#x192; +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 Amar Ujala Publications Ltd., C-21 & 22, Sector-59, Noida 201301 U.P. (INDIA). All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts in New Delhi only

&217$&7 HGLWRU#JILOHVLQGLD FRP )25 6$/(6 DGY#JILOHVLQGLD FRP )25 68%6&5,37,21 KUG#JILOHVLQGLD FRP 7(/ )$;

wo major issues cropped up during a recent discussion on the state of affairs in Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one was the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;power shiftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and the other was the catastrophe in Indian banks. BN Uniyal, a veteran journalist, asked me, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you observe that power is shifting from the legislature to the judiciary to the media?â&#x20AC;? I was confounded. And so gfilesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cover story on this power shift was born. Our ace writers, Alam Srinivas, MG Devasahayam and Dr GS Sood, were equally troubled about the escalating Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of Public Sector Banks (PSBs). If the PSBs keep doing business the way they are, the financial system of the country is in jeopardy. gfiles is carrying the power shift in India and the NPAs catastrophe stories with equal emphasis. Uniyal has keenly observed the Indian polity, society and politicians for five decades. He writes about the impact of the power shift, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bureaucrats and their decisions and actions are also affected as much by the impulses flowing in the system from different quarters. If these impulses are not in harmony or synchronised at some higher level of thought or theory, bureaucrats are sure to get disoriented like a robot whose wiring gets tangled up.â&#x20AC;? The power shift and the NPAs are both serious governance issues. The resultant mayhem is the accumulated effect of non-performance of the legislature, which has ultimately intimidated the financial and democratic set-ups. Why has this happened? Is the democratic set-up faulty or are our governance tools not working in a coordinated manner? The prime factor is that our legislature could not anticipate the impact of the multiplication of problems in India. Our leadership seems to have been myopic. Planning and implementation were not robust. In the last 68 years, the population has grown four times from 33 crore to 127 crore, but the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resources have not grown with the same rapidity. The lacklustre governance created a new mass which exploited the financial and natural resources of India and amassed wealth which created a society of haves and have-nots. In 1991, India opened the Pandoraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s box of liberalisation. We invited everybody though the system of governance was not in place for regulation and monitoring. India needed proper planning for education, healthcare, roads, science and technology, agriculture and so on. Our only capital is human resources (HR) but a technologically untrained and semi-literate HR is a liability. The legislature failed miserably in realising the desires and aspirations of unemployed youth. The judiciary and media noticed the distasteful emergence of crony capitalism in legislatures. The crumbling system led to the power shift. Why has this happened? The system of governance that India inherited from the British was meant to rule Indians, not India. Independent India adopted the system verbatim, destroying the basic fabric of Indian governance. But there is still hope. We have to create a system which is more cohesive and accountable. The legislative bodies have to work hard to create a robust system where the gap between haves and have-nots can be eliminated and democracy strengthened. If the shift of power from the legislature to the judiciary and media is not halted, then a new breed of unaccountable satraps will emerge and the legislature will face an unmanageable crisis, because, as it is rightly said, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. ANIL TYAGI

Download the gfiles app

www.indianbuzz.com

editor@gfilesindia.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

CONTENTS

LETTERS editor@gfilesindia.com

6 Bric-a-Brac

silence in the congress, rss watching the bjp, indresh in trouble, resource crunch in congress

Form IV (See rule 8) gfiles

Governance 10 implementing swachh bharat 36 pushing defence production

1. Place of Publication: 2. Periodicity of Publication: 3. Printer’s Name: Whether Citizen of India?: (if foreigner, state the country of origin): Address:

Cover Story 14 is the eminence of the legislature eroding?

4. Publisher’s Name: Whether Citizen of India?: (if foreigner, state the country of origin): Address:

Banking 22 bailing out the banks 24 need for regular audits 28 the new shylocks State Scan 39 gujarat: anar patel’s land deal 42 maharashtra: allies at loggerheads 45 Leisure

travel to pachmarhi

46 Book Review the zee factor

50 Perspective the elemental fire

51 Stock Doctor staying the course

57 By the Way

making psu appointments, road surfaces, doordarshan posting, training the top rung

Relevant articles I am writing this letter to compliment |you on the publication of gfiles, a monthly magazine, which I receive quite regularly. The magazine covers a number of relevant issues with regard to governance and has filled in a void which had existed for a long time. I read the articles in the magazine with lot of interest and find them quite relevant. I wish you and the gfiles team all the best in your future endeavours. Lt Gen Nirbhay Sharma, Governor, Mizoram via post

Start-Up India Apropos the cover story, “Bumpy road ahead!”, (gfiles, February 2016) the new initiative launched by the Prime Minister will not bear any dividends unless its implementation is visible. I am convinced that ‘Discover, Invent and Make in India’ will strengthen the roots of the economy. The writer has explained the ifs and buts of the new SIAP in much detail. This helps one get a clear view and also warns against overexpectations. I hope the initiative is successful and the country’s entrepreneurs benefit from it. SK Mittal via mail

Need for debate My compliments to the writer for having

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

5. Editor’s Name: Whether Citizen of India?: (if foreigner, state the country of origin): Address: 6. Name and Addresses of Individuals who own the newspaper and the partners or shareholders:

Holding more than one percent of the total capital Shareholders:

New Delhi Monthly Anil Tyagi Yes Not applicable 118 2nd floor, DDA Site 1, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi-110060 Anil Tyagi Yes Not applicable 118 2nd floor, DDA Site 1, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi-110060 Anil Tyagi Yes Not applicable 118 2nd floor, DDA Site 1, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi-110060 Anil Tyagi Abhisshek Tyagi 118 2nd floor, DDA Site 1, New Rajinder Nagar New Delhi-110060 Sarvashrestha Media Pvt Ltd Quality Edumedia Pvt Ltd

I, Anil Tyagi, hereby declare that the particulars given are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Dated. March 01, 2016 Sd/ Anil Tyagi Publisher

such apt observations and comments (“A nation sans security?”, gfiles, February 2016). What then is the remedy? We need to move beyond this lament. My view is that it is high time that the debate on national security and foreign policy move into the domain of informed public discussion with adequate vigour and remain there till we see results. Media houses will need to play a major role in this important aspect of nation building rather than devote their time predominantly to mundane issues and stories with their eyes on sensationalism and TRPs. Maj Gen (retd) JP Alex via blog

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

Bric-a-brac lows & highs

Congress in a quagmire no communication within or without

former Congress legislator from Bihar, who was being wooed by the BJP, decided to give a last try before he cut his links with the party he had served and represented: he came to Delhi and met Rahul Gandhi with his tale of woe. A senior general secretary of the AICC was also present. After hearing the Bihar leader, the Congress Vice-President is said to have commented, ”Congress mein wohi reh gaye hain jinki aur kahin poochh nahin hai.” Taken aback, the man from Patna pointed at the AICC general secretary and retorted, “poochh toh in jaison ki kahin nahin hai, meri toh poochh hai.” He met Sonia Gandhi and narrated the incident. The Congress President is said to have queried, “Kya party chhorney ka irada hai?” He quietly handed in his resignation. After joining the BJP, he was accommodated in the organisational structure. And thus the Congress lost a tried and tested political hand. Dissatisfaction is clearly growing in the Congress ranks. A majority of the AICC office-bearers, PCC presidents and CLP leaders prefer Sonia continues though she is keen to pass on the baton to her son. The chasm created by indecision is telling on the party. Himanta Biswal of Assam waited for the central leadership to respond and ultimately quit to join the BJP. Similar was the story in Arunchal Pradesh. In Chhattisgarh, following the by-election scam, the PCC president issued showcause notices to Ajit Jogi and his son, Amit. They managed to pull strings in Delhi and the Pradesh leadership was left looking silly.

Going by the stars G awaiting rss’ strategy aw

HE new year of the Hindu calendar, Chaitra Shukladi Vikram Samvat 2073, begins on April 8. This New Year is very important for the ruling BJP and RSS dispensation and its leadership. Everybody is looking for the announcement of some tactical move by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, a Konkanstha Brahmin. Top RSS leaders are meeting at Nagaur in Rajasthan before the festival of Holi. Generally, no news emerges out from RSS meets unless they want it to. However, sources disclosed that the milieu within the RSS is not very enthusiastic about the recent developments. There is intense internal debate on the way the BJP and the government are being run. But sources also indicate that Bhagwat is in no mood to disturb the applecart. In private conversation with senior leaders, he has stated that till September 2016, the RSS is in wait and watch mode. Other topra ranking RSS leaders don’t agree with the chief and are suggesting the need for a Plan B in case the present set-up does not yield the desired results. Prime Minister P Narendra Modi is, meanwhile, undeterred by all these developments as there is no one in the hierarchy who can fill his shoes and, second, he directly talks to the RSS chief. Let’s all wait and watch.

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

www.gfilesindia.com

INSIDE EYE

ILLUSTRATIONS: ARUNA

Caught in the act ghar wapasi in the rss

HAT does the RSS do when a top-ranking leader is found engaged in undesirable activities which are not acceptable to the organisation? They ask him to pack up and go back home. It is called ‘ghar wapasi’ in the RSS. Indresh Kumar, a senior RSS leader who hails from the small town of Kaithal in Haryana, is under the scanner of the RSS headquarters. He was looking after the Forum for Integrated National Security (FINS) and the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) and is considered something of a security expert within the RSS. His statements, activities and involvement with the Haryana government were found to be out of sync with the philosophy of the organisation. His nephew, who lives in Panchkula in Haryana, was found to be using his uncle’s contacts in the state for promoting allegedly nefarious activities. Sources disclosed that even Indresh was found using his clout with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to gain various favours for his cronies. The RSS leadership politely asked Indresh to withdraw from FINS. His complete ‘ghar wapasi’ will take time as he is still looking after the MRM but right now he has not much work to do for the ruling dispensation.

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

Bric-a-brac lows & highs

Out of pocket? congress finances in doldrums

NE cannot believe that the Congress party, pa which has ruled India for 53 years, is facing a resource crunch and, an if leaders of the party are to be believed, is running on overdraft. There Th is a joke doing the rounds that the ‘Congress is a poor party with rich leaders’. lea Another peculiar feature is that most top-ranking leaders are advocates ad by profession and most of them are either Rajya Sabha members or o are aspirants for the Upper House. Kapil Sibal, Ashwani Kumar, KTS Tul Tulsi, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Manish Tiwari, Anand Sharma, Palaniappan Chidambaram and Randeep Singh Surjewala are all advocates. Sources disclose that Kapil Sibal has been promised a birth in the Upper House Hou by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. Ashwa Ashwani Kumar and Manish Tiwari are trying from Punjab. Chidambaram desires a seat from Karnataka but his candidature will be personally decided by Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandh Gandhi. Anand Sharma is in a fix as he does not have any state for himself, only Rahul can save him. One party leader suggested that, to overcome the suggeste resource crunch, all these advocate resou lead leaders can be asked to donate just 10 1 per cent of their wealth earned during Congress rule. ea Or, the leadership can ask Kamal Nath to partly share the burden and the issue can be resolved; but, who will speak to ‘Mr 15 per cent’?

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

GOVERNANCE

swachh bharat ashok lavasa

Those who pollute should pay The success of the Swachh Bharat Mission depends on the ability of public bodies to build effective systems and of the public to adhere to those systems

HE Swachh Bharat Mission is a flagship programme of the government that is associated with the prestige and image of the country and the self-respect and dignity of Indians. It aims at improving standards of living, providing adequate infrastructure and reorienting habits and behaviour to contribute to clean surroundings in a growing economy facing wide disparities in

income and lifestyles and struggling to meet the inadequacies of public infrastructure. In a large measure, the success of the programme depends on the ability of public bodies to build effective systems and of the public to adhere to those systems. Improving public participation in the Mission and making it sustainable has been a key priority of the Prime Minister. There are three primary challenges

Improving public participation in the Swachh Bharat Mission is a key priority

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

associated with the Mission: 1. How to bridge the gap between personal hygiene and public sanitation. Niji safai aur sarvajanik swachhata ke beech ka faasla kaise meetaya jaye? Unless people become concerned about the cleanliness of their surroundings as they are about personal cleanliness, it is difficult to expect them to participate in a Mission that cannot succeed without their wholehearted involvement. 2. How to introduce the pollutersto-pay principle (Jo kare so bhare ka siddhant) in waste management. Increasing urbanisation, rapidly changing lifestyles and the shift from durability to disposability in consumer goods is bound to hike the generation of waste and enormously increase the pressure on public waste management systems. The urban local bodies (ULB) would not be able to cope with it. To make this arrangement sustainable, the equation between those who generate waste and those who are responsible for managing it would have to be redrawn. Those who pollute must pay in proportion to the pollution load that they cast on public systems. Besides, bulk generators of waste must participate in waste management so that they augment the total resources deployed for waste

www.gfilesindia.com

Citizens, RWAs and big commercial establishments and other generators of bulk waste would have to ensure segregation at source

management and reduce the burden on the overstretched ULBs. 3. How to stop treating waste as a burden, a liability, a nuisance and start seeing it as a resource. (Kude ko samasya nahin sansadhan samjhen.) This would require not only the return to the basic principles of three ‘R’s—Reduce, Reuse and Recycle— but also evolve business models that turn waste management into a viable economic activity so that the exploitation of fresh resources is also reduced. Considering the enormity of the problem of waste generation as the pace of urbanisation increases and disposable income leads to growing consumerism, the regulatory regime governing the waste management system will require a radical change. The capital required for augmenting waste collection and management infrastructure may not

www.indianbuzz.com

The capital required for augmenting waste collection and management infrastructure may not be easily forthcoming in the near future be easily forthcoming in the near future. This would necessitate a participatory model of responsibility sharing in which citizens, resident welfare associations, market associations and big commercial establishments and other generators of bulk waste would have to ensure segregation at source. They would also have to take on the responsibility of decentralised processing or transportation, wherever feasible. Bulk waste generators, such as hotels, hostels, banquet areas and so on, would have to set up their own facilities for bio-meth-

anation, or composting, so that the load on ULBs is reduced and waste management can be done in a costeffective manner.

NE of the oft-repeated criticisms of the waste management regime is that it is governed by ‘feeble’ laws that are implemented by ‘weak’ organisations lacking authority, wherewithal and often inclination for enforcement. This, obviously, requires a major overhaul of the relevant laws, rules and regulations. There is an urgent need to decriminalise pollution and introduce civil monetary liability as a deterrent. Those who violate must compensate society by paying a penalty that could be utilised for taking remedial measures. Prosecution leading to imprisonment should be reserved for grave violations causing substantive damage to the environment.

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

GOVERNANCE

swachh bharat ashok lavasa

Bio-composting is required to reduce filth in public places and make processing more efficient

Monetary penalty should be severe and swift, including spot fines. Till that is done, state governments and municipal authorities will have to use existing rules to make the enforcement mechanism more effective, as has been done by some municipal authorities.

N order for this new regime to take roots, it is necessary to understand the nature and character of the waste generated and ensure scientific management that is driven by adopting alternative technologies. Nearly half of our waste (some estimates put it at almost 65 to 70 per cent in residential areas) is wet waste that can be easily converted into ethanol, methane or compost. This can be done at the household level, the colony level or the institutional level. This holds the key to the success of modern waste management. Nothing short of a biocomposting revolution is required to

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

There is an urgent need to decriminalise pollution and introduce civil monetary liability as a deterrent. Those who violate must compensate society by paying a penalty reduce filth in public places, reduce the burden of segregation at the processing level and make processing more efficient. Once we stop mixing wet waste with dry waste, it would become easier to collect dry waste, whether plastic, glass, electronic, biomedical or construction and demolition waste, and take it for processing. This will have to be supplemented by strict implementation of the extended producersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsibility, which makes them accountable for collecting the waste that the disposal of the products manufactured or

marketed by them causes. This makes the producer a stakeholder in waste management like bulk generators. All the above challenges, trends and approaches are equally valid for the success of the Mission. Massive efforts in a systematic way are being made by the government, involving different sections of society. As we learn from the mistakes of the past, we have to convert the drive provided by the Prime Minister into a sustainable process that acquires momentum and efficacy. The tendency for excessive consumption, the senseless withdrawal of groundwater and water flowing from glaciers and springs will have to be curtailed. The insensitivity with which precious food is converted into refuse will have to change. Only then can we move towards a society that burdens the earth for its needs, and not for its unending greed. g The writer is Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change

www.gfilesindia.com

b an

bu an

z. uz

.co m .co m

z uz

an di

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

www.indianbuzz.com

b zz co m . an u o m z b di c z o . n in u a z c b m . z di n o z u in a c i z b . m z u o nd n z b

a i c i . u m z d nb uz .co in z b a om di n uz z.c m in dia nb uz z.co m in dia anb buz zz.co n di an bu i

COVER STORY

democracy institutions

The emergence of judiciary and media

Testing times The dilution of the role of the legislature, particularly of the professional politician, in public life and the emergence of new power centres—judiciary, media, NGOs—around us have resulted in disharmony. Governance, as a consequence, has suffered the most by BN UNIYAL

HERE does power to get things done or power to provide relief and redress or power to punish and reward, for that matter, reside in our system today? Who do you go to complain to when an apathetic official fails to do his

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

job? How do you stop an uncaring functionary from pursuing a patently nasty scheme? Or, how do you wake up a slumbering bureaucracy or a distant judiciary to action? There was a time when you would have run with your complaint to your local ruling party or opposition leader, your ward municipal member, or your

MLA and MP if you had the right contacts or you were resourceful enough. But what did you do if you weren’t? Most likely you took a pen and paper and shot off a letter to one of them or maybe, to a top official known for his sense of duty. But that was a long time ago. What about today? Hardly anyone would act

www.gfilesindia.com

along those lines, for no one today believes it would be any use or worth one’s while. Instead, a distressed person will snap a shot of the scene and post it on Facebook or on some such social media site, and eight times out of 10 will surely receive the desired response. On another occasion, one may as well ring up a TV channel and have a cameraman with a voice recorder on the scene within minutes. The grievance would be featured countrywide on the channel in no time with a commentary so acidic that it would burn a hole in the heart of the concerned official. The news clip would in no time send the concerned official, even the local MLA and MP and the concerned minister scurrying about to announce that the needful had already been ordered, if not already done. In yet another matter, the aggrieved person or complainant may, instead of calling in the media, choose to move a court of law, even a High Court or the Supreme Court, to secure a favourable order which the concerned official may now ignore or sit upon at his own peril. If everything fails, the aggrieved citizen may very well engage a lawyer to invoke Article 32 of the Constitution before the highest court in the land. And, if the matter is absolutely urgent, heartrending, revolting or requiring instant intervention, a court may take suo motu cognisance of it and call in the concerned parties for immediate hearing and necessary action. All this time it is as if your local politician, MLA or MP and even the government official have no role whatsoever in the matter. If they make an appearance, it would be only in the last scene of the last act like the proverbial police posse arriving in its hooting jeep moments after the lynch mob is finished with the carnage. The executive represented by a

www.indianbuzz.com

gutless sook will appear last to make belated amends. Why so? Simply because over the last about four decades or so a major power shift has taken place away from the legislature and the executive to the judiciary, the media, the numerous NGOs and a huge substratum of guntoting politico-mafia operators, the last of whom appear to be factotums of politicians but are their head honchos in reality. They have all chipped away the powers of the legislature. So much so that the legislature has today been reduced merely to a technicality to pass budgets and bills, mostly with-

ply, garbage collection, traffic arrangement, religion, policing, military recruitment—that can be said to be outside the reach of the courts. No wonder the courts have become the most powerful and pervasive of the traditional four estates, often overshadowing and even countervailing the legislature, the primary estate without which the other two would become meaningless. Courts today order and monitor routine executive (and all too often even legislative) actions. Day in and day out, one keeps hearing of judges issuing all too mundane orders that should lie in the domain of the executive. Some matters which are otherwise not even the domain of the executive, such as who should wear what sort of dress when going to a temple, are now being adjudicated by the courts. Today, judges are being called upon to rule not only on admission to higher medical colleges but also on enrolments in nursery schools, and even on such ludicrous matters as whether or not hurling abuse is cruelty under a particular law.

Over the last about four decades or so a major power shift has taken place away from the legislature and the executive to the judiciary, the media, the numerous NGOs and a huge substratum of gun-toting politico-mafia operators, the last of whom appear to be factotums of JUDICIAL ACTIVISM politicians but are their PILs, suo motu cases, head honchos in reality out any debate. As a result, the politician and the bureaucrat have both been reduced almost to non-entities. The judiciary and the media have assumed ever larger—even overarching—roles in our public life. The judiciary was always important as a dispenser of justice and interpreter of law and occasionally as oblique initiator, though not maker, of new laws. But today courts are there all over in our public life. There is no aspect of our private or public life—social, economic, community, family, gender, sex, food, clothing, education, water sup-

judicial monitoring

HE term judicial activism first came into use in the US even before our Constitution was framed, but no note of the concept or doctrine was taken by any member during the debate in the Constituent Assembly. In India the term came into use only recently, sometime in the late 1980s when politicians in power first began expressing concern over the growing numbers of public interest litigations which were seen as encouraging encroachment by the judiciary into the legislative and

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

COVER STORY

democracy institutions

executive spheres. Even many judges felt upset with frivolous or vexatious PILs, particularly with those motivated by narrow private, personal and commercial interests. However, PILs have persisted and have now become an extremely important instrument for exposing political and bureaucratic corruption and for containing and correcting executive excesses or heedlessness. Once PILs had become a legitimate and commonly accepted valid instrument, suo motu action by courts could not have remained far behind. Today, the doctrine of suo motu or suo sponte is as commonly accepted, even hailed, as is the institution of PILs. The term and practice of suo motu— most often written as suo moto which may not be grammatically correct— came into vogue during the first some years of this decade. A friend of mine from Pakistan told me in London some time ago that the term was picked up by the Indian judges and media from Pakistan where, he claimed, the term was already in use before it became current in India. Be that as it may, the fact is that the doctrine is recent in our country. It has found so much favour with the public that today, instead of frowning at it as judicial terminological expansionism, even the tallest political leaders from both the ruling and the opposition parties are often heard urging the courts to take suo motu notice or action in this matter or that. Another recent innovation in law that has further relentlessly hacked at the power and authority of the politicians, legislature and the executive is the practice of judicial monitoring of ongoing police investigations. Like PILs and suo motu court actions, judicial monitoring of ongoing cases has

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

also grown manifold. These three practices—PIL, suo motu court cognisance of cases and judicial monitoring—often clubbed under the omnibus term judicial activism, have together vastly expanded the role of the judiciary in our public life. What began with a PIL under Article 32 in 1979—Husnara Khatoon Vs State of Bihar—has now changed the very character of Indian democracy. It is as if the constitution itself had been reconstituted outside Parliament. How has it all happened? Clearly, such a vast and far-reaching transformation in judicial practice could not have come about without humongous transformations in other spheres of public life. I would say the judiciary has only recalibrated its role in response to changes in the conduct and character of the other two estates

of our democracy. Judicial activism has often provoked criticism—even extremely hostile criticism—from parliamentarians, but not from the public at large. The public has actually hailed judicial activism. The criticism has not daunted even the judiciary. “The most unfortunate part of the scenario,” noted a bench in a recent judgment, “is that whenever one of the three constituents of the state, i.e., the judiciary, issues directions for ensuring that the right to equality, life, and liberty no longer remains illusory for those who suffer from the handicaps of poverty, illiteracy and ignorance, and directions are given for implementation of the laws enacted by the legislature for the benefit of the have-nots, a theoretical debate is started by raising the bogey of judicial activism or overreach.” The bench clarified that it was necessary to erase the impression that the superior courts, by entertaining PIL petitions for the poor (who could not seek protection of their rights), exceeded the unwritten boundaries of their jurisdiction. The judges said it was the duty of the judiciary (like that of the legislative and executive constituents of the State) to protect the rights of every citizen and ensure that all lived with dignity. Such a stand by the judiciary would have been unimaginable some decades ago as, for instance, during the Indira Gandhi regime of committed judiciary. Also, without constant chipping away of the powers and authority of the executive and persistent belittling of the legislature due to its own failings we could not have seen the collegiums system being turned down so resoundingly by the Supreme Court last November. And yet it is simply over-simplistic to blame the judiciary for overreaching its powers and authority. In fact, it

www.gfilesindia.com

would be patently wrong. One can certainly cite instances of a court here or a court there occasionally overextending its reach but in such cases correctives have been applied quickly by a higher court. The fact is that it is not the courts that have snatched powers of the legislature or the executive; it is most often the legislature that has ceded its powers to the courts. Often it is the legislature that draws or drags to the court matters which should be sorted out at political level but are not because of inexperience, vendetta and venom. The recent Delhi government case before the Supreme Court on the city’s water crisis in the wake of Haryana’s Jat agitation is a glaring example of total unwillingness to work in a democratic system. And that is exactly what the highest court observed when it roasted Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on the pit. “Why are you here?” the court asked him, “What are you doing here? You should have been out there working out a solution with the Haryana government instead of trying to score a point here in the court!” What a shame—a Cabinet minister of a state government requiring to be scolded like a truant schoolboy! It is such conduct of politicians that has disparaged and disgraced them in the public eye.

MEDIA Ringmaster, censor, roaster, rescuer, defender

HE politicians’ power, reputation and image have been further besmirched by caterwauling anchors of the legions of our TV channels who often roast, squelch and kibosh political party spokespersons on their shows as if they

www.indianbuzz.com

Today’s TV anchors act like public tribunes, ringmasters, censors and roasters all dressed in one. If they get away with all their ballsy putdowns, it is simply because the audience delights in the fourth degree treatment meted out to the captives in the TV studios were worms. Nothing has soiled the image of the politician as have the TV debate shows. The merciless damning and battering, the teasing, taunting and jibbing and ridicule to which these spokespersons are subjected to often feels worse than public flogging in some countries. Sometimes all this becomes so disgraceful and demeaning that one must switch the TV off for the sake of one’s nerves and sensibilities. Yet, most people feel that that is exactly what the politicians deserve, for politicians are looked down upon by one and all in the country today. Yet, what gets besmirched in the process are not a few individual

politicians but all politicians as a class and, as a politician is commonly seen as representing a legislature, what gets disparaged at the end is thus the legislature itself. Today’s TV anchors act like public tribunes, ringmasters, censors and roasters all dressed in one. If they get away with all their ballsy putdowns, it is simply because the audience delights in the fourth degree treatment meted out to the captives in the TV studios. No one can dispute that the constant exposure to the mass media has pulled politicians down many notches on the political totem pole during the last VRPH GHFDGHV 5HVSHFW LV D GLI¿FXOW word to append to a politician’s name today, and politicians know it well. They often bemoan that the very word politician has become anathema and even a hate word among the common people but they just do not know what to do about it. They know the public despises them but just cannot do anything about it because no system can run without their class. What is interesting is that the people know that too. That is why they come out in such large numbers to cast their votes at election time. “Well,” they seem to say, ”We can’t do without them but

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

COVER STORY

democracy institutions

we certainly can kick them in and out HYHU\ ÂżYH \HDUV Â´ $QG LQ EHWZHHQ WZR elections, why not enjoy seeing them roasted on TV channels or disparaged in courtrooms. The pleasure is vicarious and reminiscent of Roman ludi circences but it is, nevertheless, fun and some solace too.

SOCIAL MEDIA Instant messaging, redundant politician

URING the last three years social media has emerged as yet another power-grabber. Young people were hooked on the social media even before, but it is Narendra Modi who first made social media mainstream. So much so that now even TV channels have sat up and are constantly monitoring what is trending there. A lot of news now flows from social media to TV channels, from TV channels to news portals, and from news portals to the print media. The print media is actually becoming increasingly redundant, if not irrelevant, as far as news is considered. Politicians now monitor smartphones for latest news and spend more time fiddling with these than they do with

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

Today courts are there all over in our public life. There is no aspect of our private or public lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; social, economic, community, family, gender, sex, food, clothing, education, water supply, garbage collection, traffic arrangement, religion, policing, military recruitmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that can be said to be outside the reach of the courts

their morning newspapers. The more resourceful of them have teams of young e-savvy monitors following every bit of social news and passing them on quickly to their masters for necessary action, if any. So, whoever today has a complaint against a policeman, a municipal official, a goon or a goonda rushes to the social media or a TV channel and not to an MLA or an MP or a senior official because he knows how little say in the matter they have. A complaint through TV reaches the concerned authority faster than one raised through a legislator. TV, assisted by the social media, has now become the real champion of social causes, of the poor, the oppressed and the victimised. Even the police and the vic politician want the news of an incident politic to first appear on a TV channel to give a justi justification for their punitive action or reward as they fear their action rew may otherwise be misunderstood as partisan or favouritism by the pa common comm people. As A a result, the role of the politician and, consequently, of pol the legislature as a communicator between an aggrieved citizen be and an a government authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an RIÂżFLDO RIÂżFL RU D PLQLVWHUÂ˛KDV DOPRVW evaporated. There was a time when evapo people used to throng the houses of legislators with bunches of questions legisla and with w requests to get their matters

www.gfilesindia.com

of urgent importance raised in the assemblies and Parliament. Question Hour, Call Attention motion and Special Mention were once the only instruments for venting public grievances. Today, hardly anyone bothers about them. I wonder how many of the young generation are even aware of such legislative instruments. These instruments have little relevance to the times we live in where every grievance demands instant redressal. An Assembly or Parliament that meets once every three or four months, often for only a few weeks which are all so often wasted away in riotous wrangling over non-issues, cannot meet the needs of an instant age. Little wonder then if the legislature seems no longer germane to our lives today! The reason why affairs have taken this turn is basically that the politicians during the last some decades have failed themselves, the country and the people. Horrendous corruption, shameless loot of public money, appalling self-aggrandisement, extreme arrogance of power, persistent misuse of authority, indifference to the problems of the suffering people, unwillingness to take unpopular decisions, timidity in the face of obstacles and brashness in committing oppression, and many other

www.indianbuzz.com

similar issues, have demeaned the profession of politics. Power cannot stay for too long in such hands in any system, particularly in a democracy like ours.

NGOs Parallel power centres, antagonists, foreign funding

GOs came to be grafted onto the Indian socio-political system sometime in the 1980s from the British Quangos (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations), which were first encouraged by the Labour Party there mainly to foster its fringe organisations by providing government funding. Early organisational support and funding were ploughed in by numerous foreign organisations. Various American agencies of rather doubtful origin, flush with funds from intelligence agencies, were the first on the scene. The Peace Foundation was, perhaps, the first. The Ford Foundation was yet another. In my time as a Leftist newspaper reporter, we hunted organisations funded by these organisations. But todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s today s Leftists feel no embarrassembarrass ment in tapping them for funds. But that is a different matter. NGOs

were not called so those days but voluntary organisations, and were fewer in number, limited in scope, short of funds, and not as corporatised as the ones we have about us today. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NGOs are different. One, they are numerous in number. Two, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;at least, large numbers of WKHPÂ˛DUH Ă&#x20AC;XVK ZLWK IXQGV HQRXJK to enable their head honchos to travel ÂżUVW FODVV WR IRUHLJQ FRXQWULHV GR]HQV of times a year and stay deluxe during their travels. Third, they have large domestic donors too, most of them big corporates whose vested interests they often serve. Four, they function IURP SRVK RIÂżFHV HPSOR\ ODUJH DQG highly paid staff, hire top lawyers when needed, frequently dine and wine media bosses, presenters and anchors, and often load them with costly gifts. (I must here admit that I WRR KDYH RFFDVLRQDOO\ EHQHÂżWWHG IURP their largesse.) And, last but not least, as the saying goes, some of them are so resourceful that they even hire lobbyists, PR agencies and imagemakers when they so need. It would be incorrect to paint all or every NGO with the same brush, but the picture I have painted is true of many, if not most, of those one comes across in cities like Delhi. These NGOs have power in that they mould public opinion not only for causes they espouse but also for or against political parties they happen WR EH LQ FRQMXQFWLRQ RU FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFW ZLWK They wield power in that they can rouse the people for or against a government proposal or project and stall or hastenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;mostly stallâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;work on government schemes by dragging matters to court or by organising agitations. The ruling regimes often claim that this is done at the behest of vested interests, both domestic and foreign. This may not be true always, but often is. Many government

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

COVER STORY

democracy institutions

schemes have been frustrated by such agitations and court cases launched by various NGOs. To that extent, the power of the legislatures and the executive has been curtailed. The balance of power and its structure in the system have both changed drastically in other ways too. The chess board is no longer the same as we had hitherto known. Neither are the pieces of the game the same, nor the moves. Actually, the very theory of the game is no longer the same as before. These changes on the power chess board have not come about overnight. They had been in the making a long time. The earliest sign appeared in the late 1960s when the Congress monopoly on central and state power centres was broken under the onslaught of many new social and political alliances, which eventually fragmented the unitary power system. As a result, today nearly half the country is ruled by political parties that are really not public political parties but private parties of individual leaders, like what once used to be called private armies. This power shift has cracked the system and, though different types of coalition arrangements have been tried to keep the ramshackle federal structure to move on, a new, effective and result oriented balance of power is yet to emerge.

THOUGHT Historical, religious

HE early years of the republic began with the idea that what should matter now is not the past but the future, not history but economic development, not religion but science, not orthodoxy but a new openness, and so on and so forth. We had groups and parties with

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

sharp edges on both the Right and the Left of the political spectrum, but their brambly tips were soon smoothening out. Today, however, it all feels so divergently different. Thought has fallen by the wayside and history, distant history, almost from as far back as the stone age, has pushed thought aside and taken over the centrestage of the nation. The belief

Horrendous corruption, shameless loot of public money, appalling selfaggrandisement, extreme arrogance of power, persistent misuse of authority, indifference to the problems of the suffering people, unwillingness to take unpopular decisions, timidity in the face of obstacles and brashness in committing oppression, and many other similar issues, have demeaned the profession of politics that thought could mould our outlook and attitude towards history has faded out and it now seems history must remain resurgent. Science is all about us, of course, but no longer in the mainstream of national consciousness DQG WKH LGHD RI VFLHQWL¿F WHPSHU LV hardly heard in any circle now. Over the last some years, religions have become increasingly rivalrous. Modi’s strident style of politics is, of course, one reason, but cannot be the only reason. Possibly, his stridency itself is the result of a certain intolerance that had been building in the system

earlier. Altogether, history and religion have become the real moving powers today. There are yet other ways in which power and authority once centralised in the hands of the legislature and the executive of the day have been eroded or fragmented by the creation of numerous different tribunals, commissions, authorities, and so on. The utility of these innovative instruments has not been studied or assessed at any length or in depth yet. They seem to be almost free from any detailed parliamentary scrutiny, though they are funded from the consolidated fund approved by it. It will be interesting and useful to study this power shift in the system, the dilution of the role of the legislature, particularly of the professional politician in public life, and the emergence of new power centres around us. All this is relevant because politics and the political system are fast reorganising themselves in ways whose far-reaching implications will affect the future of the FRXQWU\ VLJQL¿FDQWO\ In the meantime, governance has suffered at all ends and in all spheres of national life. The predicament of the executive is, perhaps, the worse today. It is true that bureaucracy ZRUNV PRVW HI¿FLHQWO\ ZKHQ UXQ ZLWK clear-cut rules, but clear-cut rules alone are not enough for it to work effectively. Bureaucrats and their decisions and actions are also affected PXFK E\ WKH LPSXOVHV ÀRZLQJ LQ WKH system from different quarters. If these impulses are not in harmony or synchronised at some higher level of thought or theory, bureaucrats are sure to get disoriented like a robot whose wiring gets tangled up. That is what seems to have happened as a result of the power shift in the system described above. g

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

BANKING npa imbroglio

A huge

cover-up? 22

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

www.gfilesindia.com

In this age of Whatsapp and Twitter, many of us may have read a story wherein a gang of dacoits loot a bank and one of the younger members of the gang wants to count the booty there and then in the bank itself. But he is wisely advised by an elderly dacoit that they need not count it there as it will only increase the risk of being caught, and also they do not need to count it at all as the entire media will blaze the amount robbed in no time and they can simply stay cool and watch various TV channels headline the story. But the elderly robber is in for a rude shock when he watches TV channels quoting the amount at `10 crore wherein repeated counts of the booty confirm it to be only `2 crore. He soon realised that the remaining `8 crore had been tricked away by a smart coterie of bankers themselves; the crony capitalists, the law-enforcing agencies, accommodative media and politicians patronising all of them. The recent NPA crisis of public sector banks is in fact such a story playing out in the Indian banking system and it is set to worsen and pose a real threat to the financial stability of the country, thereby endangering even national security. This, primarily, was the reason a bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief justice TS Thakur himself, took suo motu cognisance of the matter, based on a story in a leading daily on a massive write-off of bad loans by public sector banks and ordered the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to share with it the names of all defaulters who owe over `500 crore and continue to lead a “lavish lifestyle”. More than the RBI Governor, Raghuram Rajan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be worried about the mounting bad loans in the Indian banking system, a majority of which is in the books of staterun banks. This is because it can potentially derail the fiscal arithmetic of his government, which is walking a tightrope in fulfilling its commitment of fiscal consolidation. Indian banks require around `3 lakh crore to meet the Basel-III norms (a target that otherwise is extremely difficult to achieve due to multiple factors), while the government has so far committed only `70,000 crore. However, with the recognition of and provisioning for NPAs that may well be more than `7 lakh crore, the amount that the government will need to meet Basel-III norms is any body’s guess and will be an unachievable target in the near future. The dwindling investors’ interest for these banks in the market has further made the task

www.indianbuzz.com

almost impossible to achieve. Also, the NPAs, as a percentage of net worth, are well over 50 per cent for the majority of the state-owned banks. If some of the sectors, such as steel and power, where impairment of large parts of loans is yet to be assessed whereas loan growth continues to be high, and those of some big corporate groups are taken into account, the NPAs may be much more than what most estimates now gauge. This will further increase the recapitalisation amount needed for the public sector banks. The matter that needs to be probed thoroughly is how public sector banks and financial institutions have been advancing such huge loans without proper guidelines or an adequate loan recovery mechanism, thereby putting a huge burden on the public exchequer. Corporate credit accounts for a majority of the bad loans, as compared to housing loans that have the lowest NPAs at less than 1 per cent. The corresponding figure for retail loans is less than 3 per cent while it is estimated at 8 per cent in case of farm credit. The highest delinquency is in the corporate loans category at 8-12 per cent. In the case of individuals, banks, through the Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL), are able to check the total amount of loans that a person has borrowed, what is his EMI, his credit history and so on. It is not only surprising but shocking as well that there is no similar database which covers companies' loan portfolios and track records despite the fact that the amount of corporate loans is very high as compared to individual loans. It is due to the higher losses in such loans that interest rates on retail loans (that have lowest NPAs) and other loans are kept high. Finally, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced in his Budget speech that such a database will be collated. Unless the basic underlying causes that have resulted in the present crisis in the public sector banks are addressed, the taxpayers’ money will continue to be squandered like this. These include the issues of governance, ownership and political interference and allowing the public sector banks to function at arm's-length distance, as prudent and viable commercial entities. Even the opaque functioning of the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) Cell, that has supported dubious firms, needs to be probed thoroughly, says Dr GS Sood. MG Devasahayam and Alam Srinivas analyse.

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

BANKING npa imbroglio

Time to walk the talk The RBI has to conduct regular audits to prevent another bout of crony capitalism that can further damage the balance sheets of the banks by ALAM SRINIVAS

FTER Swachh Bharat, it is now time for Operation Swachh Banks. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated a massive nation-wide campaign to clean up the balance sheets of banks, especially the state-owned ones, which are saddled with huge amounts of bad loans, or NPAs (Non-Performing Assets). On the hopeful side, which is loudly cheered by the social media, are the banks’ efforts to sell the assets of wealthy business persons, who flaunted their money and luxury assets, but whose companies failed to repay their loans…again and again and again. The name of this game is shame. The idea is to recover whatever money the bank can because the companies cannot repay and, in the process,

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

make the entrepreneurs go through public disgrace. In addition, a few banks like the Punjab National Bank (PNB) publicise the names of the ‘willful defaulters’, that is borrowers who can repay but don’t. Legally, their loans haven’t been declared as NPAs and written off, that is, they will never be repaid. In its latest list, the PNB claimed that it had 904 willful defaulters, and they owed almost `11,000 crore to the bank. On the pessimistic side, the central bank forced the banks to truthfully reveal their NPAs, and not hide them, and adjust it against their profits. In the last quarter results, several public sector banks incurred huge losses, or witnessed huge dips in profits because of this pressure. For instance, in its October-December 2015 quarter, the State Bank of India kept aside

almost `8,000 crore as ‘contingencies’, almost double the previous allocation. The bank’s profits plummetted to just over `1,100 crore in the December quarter, a 70 per cent slump from the previous one. Several experts praise Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor, for the manner in which he has twisted the banks’ arms to force them to clean up their balance sheets. They are excited about the powers granted to the banks to convert their loans into equity, become majority shareholders in companies whose loans became bad, and either sell off the assets or effect management changes later. In the case of the Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines, a consortium of banks and other stakeholders have begun to sell Kingfisher’s assets, which include aircraft and real estate.

www.gfilesindia.com

Others feel that Rajan has gone overboard. The process can weaken the banks and many of them can go under. Since the government will not allow this to happen, it will merge the weak banks with the strong ones, a move that will impact the banks whose balance sheets are robust. These analysts think that the central bank needs to treat each case separately to see which are the serious businesspersons, who have inadvertently got into trouble, and those who deliberately took the wrong decisions. One shoe and one rule cannot fit all. More importantly, the initiatives to improve the banking sector, which is saddled with bad loans of 6.6 per cent of their overall loan portfolio, estimated Credit Suisse, are lopsided. Experts contend that un-provided NPAs are 30-75 per cent of the capital of state-owned banks, and un-provided stressed loans, which may turn bad soon, even higher at 65-200 per cent. This implies that the banks will need a huge infusion of cash by 2017 and this will pressure government expenditure and impact the annual fiscal deficits in the near future. The situation will turn worse before it goes out of gear, if Rajan and Co. don’t change their approaches and mindsets soon. Why target only big defaulters? Whether it is the RBI, the finance ministry and the banks, the talk is invariably about how to deal with the NPAs of large companies, or those who have enormous personal wealth but allow their companies to incur huge losses through gross mismanagement. Thus, the focus is always on individuals like Mallya, who flaunt their personal aircraft, yacht, and beachhouses, but throw up their hands when it comes to paying back the banks’ loans. So, they become the target of anger, and quite legitimately

www.indianbuzz.com

too. But this is like capturing only half the picture, which can lead to problems. The banks need to target all the willful defaulters and even those companies or individuals whose loans are likely to turn bad in the near future. There is no place for discrimination for several reasons. One, the amounts owed by small and medium businesses are substantial, as is evident from the PNB’s latest list of willful defaulters. None of them falls into the ‘big business’ category. Most of them are little-known players, but the amounts

Several experts praise Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor, for the manner in which he has twisted the banks’ arms to force them to clean up their balance sheets. Others feel that Rajan has gone overboard. The process can weaken the banks and many of them can go under

they owe to the bank are in hundreds of crores of rupees. Most important, it is easier to pressure them, rather than large businessmen.

HIS change of focus is critical once the government, as promised, introduces a Bankruptcy Act in Parliament. This, claimed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, would allow companies to shut down easily, and enable the lenders to easily initiate a process to recover their monies. However, as experiences from developed nations prove, small and medium businesses are generally keener to declare bankruptcy. Hence, the banks need to focus on large as well as other businesses, so that they can take corrective and proactive actions in cases of bankruptcy. Change in management Last year, the RBI allowed banks to convert their loans into equity, hike their combined stakes in a defaulter company to 51 per cent, and take over the management. Unfortunately, there are several caveats that may hinder the use of this power. One, it

An alarming position 1. 27 state-owned banks have written off `2.77 lakh crore ($1 billion) of bad loans in the last 10 years. 2. Out of this, `1.14 lakh crore ($16.8 billion), or 40 per cent, of the total bad loans were written off during the last three years over FY 2012-15. 3. A further `52,227 crore is expected to be written off in FY16 (India Ratings report). 4. This would take up the total bad loans to `3.29 lakh crore ($48 billion). 5. The proportion of stressed assets surged to 17 per cent for public sector banks while for private banks it is 6.7 per cent and for foreign lenders, 5.8 per cent, as of September 2015. So the PSU banks' asset quality is the worst amongst the lot (almost three times worse than their peers). 6. Among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), India's NPA rate is the second highest after Russia, and this year it may surpass Russia to top the list.

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

BANKING npa imbroglio

applies only to new loans that may go bad in the future, and not to the existing stressed loans. The only window of opportunity for existing debt is if there is a provision to do a debt-equity swap in the original loan agreements. Thus, the banks can use this power for the fresh loans that they give now. Two, most bankers feel that the banks have no expertise to manage companies. They can assess businesses, become the watchdogs and insist on corporate transparency, but their managers don’t possess entrepreneurial, leadership and managerial skills. Hence, even if they own a majority in a stressed company, they will need to find the right managers to run it. This is not an easy task; moreover, it is time-consuming and can hurt the financials of the company even more. Whenever lenders have taken over companies, they have largely failed because of their attention on how to get their money back rather than how to put the company back on track.

HREE, it is counter-intuitive to realise that it is not easy to sell a company which is already in trouble. And when it is apparent that the lenders are desperate to sell to recover their monies, the offer price is likely to be hugely discounted, and much below the market price. Most contend that taking over a company and finding a lucrative buyer is tough, and may suck off crucial management bandwidth of the banks. It may turn out to be an impractical proposition. Public sale of assets The same is true of sale of assets of companies that have

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

defaulted. Potential buyers know that the lenders are desperate to sell, so they offer low prices unless they are keen to buy. Experiences show that normally the lenders are unable to extract the market prices, and they are happy that they do get some money back. In the case of Kingfisher, one of its planes was sold as metal scrap in pieces and was purchased by a scrap dealer. This shows that if there are delays in the sale of assets—generally

The RBI has to realise that, while it may be good for it to play the carrot-and-stick policy, the banks can use the central bank’s lollipops to hide their stressed debt. This has happened, and is happening, with the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) scheme

because no one ups the floor prices— the assets lose value really fast. So, it is a Catch-22 situation for the lenders. They have to act fast, correctly estimate what the market will pay, and then conduct the auction quickly. In most cases, this doesn’t happen because of the lack of expertise within the banks and the inherent bureaucracies that delay the process. For example, it took over three years for the consortium led by SBI to merely take over Kingfisher’s Mumbai property and put it on the auction block. Thus, the bankers need to adopt a comprehensive approach—convert debt into equity if they can do so, acquire majority stakes, effect management (not ownership) change, that is, they get in a new team to manage the company and not sell their combined stakes, change the fortunes of the company, and then either recover their loans or get the new management to sell the assets, either piecemeal or through a stake sale deal. For this, the banks have to get in experts. One of the options is to tie up with a slew of private equity players or investor-consultants, whose job is to take over managements and turnaround firms. There are several local and global players who do this efficiently and also hike the value of the assets over a short period. They can then help the bankers to sell the assets within a few years. America, in the 1980s, was full of management experts who conducted leveraged buyouts and made huge sums when they finally sold the assets. Policy loopholes The RBI has to realise that, while it may be good for it to play the carrot-and-stick policy, the

www.gfilesindia.com

What needs to be probed 1. Is this another coal/2G scam in the making? Have corporate houses benefitted from this largesse in the same way as in the coal and spectrum allocation scams? The amount of loss, `3.29 lakh crore, so far is much more than the `1.86 lakh crore in the case of the coal scam and `2 lakh crore in the 2G scam. Further, this is actual loss and not opportunity loss as in the case of the coal and 2G scams. 2. How much of the above loans were secured? What efforts were made to recover money owed through sale of such security and how much was recovered? 3. Were proper rules followed while disbursing and monitoring these loans? Have rules been flouted to help promoters siphon off taxpayers' money? Or, were bank officials hand-in-glove? The Bhushan SteelSyndicate Bank case and the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) recommending action against officials of 26 banks, which together provided `2,650 crore to Zoom Developers, are pointers to the fact. There have been glaring instances of diversion of funds to unrelated businesses and frauds. 4. How and why has such a huge pile of bad loans accrued in the system? How much of it can be attributed to the

banks can use the central bank’s lollipops to hide their stressed debt. This has happened, and is happening, with the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) scheme. It had the right intentions to allow companies that got into financial troubles because of external reasons the leeway to get out of their binds. But the bankers and businesspersons, with political support, got together to protect the potential defaulters. One of the biggest beneficiaries of CDRs was Mallya. Then the RBI allowed banks to roll over loans given by high gestation period infrastructure after every five years to another bank or consortium. The logic was simple: banks lend to projects that make money after years, and if something goes wrong like unexpected delays, the money gets stuck.

www.indianbuzz.com

economic downturn? How much of it has happened due to regulatory aspects/loopholes? 5. What about fixing responsibility? Is it big and powerful promoters who use system loopholes to their advantage, at times with active political patronage, or the unprofessional and callous public sector bank managements? Should the naming and shaming of scrupulous and willful defaulters not be done? 6. Are our banks adequately equipped with technical expertise, policy implementation and coordinated efforts within themselves? Promoters often inflate value of security or collateral offered to cover their part of the equity, making the projects more risky from inception and banks indirectly finance such equity. This also leads to much lower recovery in the event of default. The government-owned banks neither have a standard risk assessment mechanism nor any coordination and credit information exchange amongst themselves; the result is that a loan rejected by one bank is passed by another. Bank officials of the public sector banks lack technical expertise and skills and there is a huge gap between pay packages of private banks compared to public sector banks that hampers in attracting good talent.

The roll-over enables the bank to treat it as fresh loans, which can only go bad after a few years. Obviously, this became a convenient way for the banks to help businesses. The RBI needs to monitor each such roll-over deal that happens in the future to prevent blunders.

VEN the latest policies that the lenders can take over management and sell the assets of NPA firms can be, and is being, misused and manipulated. The RBI has recently warned that the banks have to carefully check the backgrounds and antecedents of the buyers. The reason: there were cases when the original owners, who defaulted on the loans, bought their own assets through front and benami companies. Thus, they

got the assets back at a discount, and were rid of the loans too. This can even happen in cases of management takeovers. The banks cannot prevent them; more important, like in the past, some of the errant banks can act together with the corporates. Clearly, tackling NPAs and stressed loans isn’t easy. Banks have restricted skills and cannot manage companies or sell assets. They need to form a panel of individuals and specialist firms that can help the lenders to achieve their objectives. In addition, the central bank has to keep an eye on the banks and conduct regular audits to prevent another bout of crony capitalism that can further damage the balance sheets of the banks. Rajan’s job has only just begun. He has spoken, now he has to act. g

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

BANKING

npa mg devasahayam

Non-Performing Assets

Banker’s heist? There is a distinct difference in how the banks come down heavily on small borrowers and treat the big defaulters with kid gloves

N economic and commercial parlance, banking is a kind of business different from others. In general terms, it is accepting and safeguarding money owned by other individuals and entities, and then lending out this money in order to earn a profit. Banking institutions, therefore, should judiciously combine two distinctly different functions— one as public trustee and the other as profit-making business entity. At the core of its function is the management of its assets in a prudent and profitable manner. The way they are managing their assets, India’s public sector banks (PSBs) are failing in both functions. In the event, the Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of these banks have become the talk of the town. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) estimates, the top 30 loan defaulters alone currently account for one-third of the total gross NPAs of PSBs. The current debt-burden of just 10 corporate entities amounts to a staggering `7.8 lakh crore: The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group — `1.25 lakh crore; Vedanta Group — `1.03 lakh crore; Essar Group — `1.01 lakh crore;

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

Adani Group — `96,031 crore; Jaypee Group — `75,163 crore; JSW group — `58,171 crore; GMR Group — `47,976 crore; Lanco Group — `47,102 crore; Videocon Group — `45,405 crore and GVK Reddy — `33,933 crore. Though the Finance Minister has reportedly set aside `70,000 crore this year to ‘service’ corporate NPAs, it is not known how much of these bigguns’ dues falls in that category. It is because the banks, the RBI and the government are very reluctant to declare the details of the biggest defaulters. They willingly take shelter under Section 45E (1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, which stipulates that any credit information contained in any statement submitted by a bankLQJ FRPSDQ\ VKDOO EH WUHDWHG DV FRQ¿dential and shall not be published or otherwise disclosed. In an order passed in 2011, the

Central Information Commission directed the RBI to reveal publicly the names of the top 100 industrialists who defaulted on loan repayments to PSBs with a view to “put pressure on such persons to pay their dues”. The RBI moved the Delhi High Court, seeking quashing of this order on grounds that it went against “the cardinal common law principle of bankers’ duty of confidentiality and against the basic tenets of banking”. But this ‘common law principle’ does not seem to apply to small defaulters. About four years back, when rumblings of the bad-loan saga were just beginning to surface, some PSBs placed advertisements in daily newspapers with photographs of individual defaulters alongside a stern warning that if they failed to respond, photographs of their guarantors would also be published. SBI, India’s

NPAs of 11 major PSBs is revealing: Bank State Bank of India Bank of Baroda Bank of India Punjab National Bank Indian Overseas Bank IBBI Bank Central Bank of India UCO Bank Bank of Maharashtra Dena Bank United Bank Total

Gross NPA (` crore) 72,792 38,934 36,519 34,338 22,672 19, 615 17,564 14, 932 8,302 7,916 6,722 280,306

% of Loan 5.1 9.7 9.2 8.5 12.6 8.9 9 11 8 9.9 9.6

www.gfilesindia.com

largest bank with NPA of `72,792 crore, targetted a woman with a petty outstanding loan of `52,264. Other banks followed suit. But none of them touched the big guns!

HE methods these banks adopt to recover small NPAs far surpass that of the legendary Shylock of The Merchant of Venice. Referring to this phenomenon, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had this to say: “Law becomes more draconian in an attempt to force payment. The SARFAESI Act of 2002 is very procreditor as it is written….Its full force is felt by the small entrepreneur who does not have the wherewithal to hire expensive lawyers or move the courts, HYHQ ZKLOH WKH LQÀXHQWLDO SURPRWHU once again escapes its rigour. The small entrepreneur’s assets are repossessed quickly and sold, extinguishing many a promising business that could do with a little support from bankers.” Here is a real-life narrative of a

www.indianbuzz.com

The methods banks adopt to recover small NPAs far surpass that of the legendary Shylock of The Merchant of Venice. Referring to this phenomenon, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had this to say: “Law becomes more draconian in an attempt to force payment...” Small Scale Industry (SSI) near Chennai to substantiate what the RBI Governor said. A term loan was received by the company from the Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC). A PSB provided working capital/bill discounting assistance of `15 lakh in 1988 against the hypothecation of raw materials, stock-in-proFHVV DQG ¿QLVKHG JRRGV $V DGGLWLRQal security, the bank surreptitiously

retained the title deed of the residential house belonging to the guarantor. The fully set up factory commenced production in February 1989 as captive unit of a large industry manufacturing commercial vehicles and engines and a major supplier to Defence Forces. However, the captive business of about `50 lakh per annum unexpectedly collapsed due to severe budgetary cuts imposed in the Defence Ministry. The PSB was immediately put on notice and proposal for diversifying manufacturing activity was submitted with request to enhance working capital limits. Had those proposals been sanctioned, the SSI would have diversified the product range, marketed the products and become viable and profitable. No support whatsoever came and the SSI folded up. After killing the SSI, in September 1998, the PSB filed an application in the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) under the Recovery of Debts Due to

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

BANKING

npa mg devasahayam

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

BANKING

npa mg devasahayam

Banks and Financial Institutions, 1990 (RDDBFI Act), claiming a sum of `97,33,574, and seeking its recovery by attaching and selling the residential house. This property was coveted by a certain senior bank official, who had expressed it openly. So, when the RBI issued guidelines on July 27, 2000, for One Time Settlement (OTS) of dues from SSIs, this PSB was not really interested in complying with it. After several letters, the bank intimated an arbitrary figure of `38.68 lakh. On its review by a special recovery group, comprising two General Managers and a Zonal Manager in December 2001, dues were brought down to the correct amount of `20.05 lakh as per RBI’s OTS norms; `5 lakh was immediately paid as down payment with a request for early confirmation. The confirmation never came because senior bank managers were not propitiated with bribes!

HE PSB turned Shylock on September 25, 2004, and issued a notice under Section 13 (2) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act), claiming a massive sum of `3.27 crore as dues to be paid within 60 days. The bank got the residential house attached, put up a notice of possession and another for ‘Tender Sale’, naming and shaming the entrepreneur. Prospective bidders went and inspected the house. The Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) prevented this foul game in time by issuing a stay order. On December 20, 2006, the Tribunal quashed all coercive actions of the bank under SARFAESI Act as invalid and illegal. On August 3, 2007, DRT passed final orders on the PSB’s application to determine the dues. Despite ‘dis-

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

Bankers are seeking more arbitrary powers that cannot be challenged. They are already the prosecutor, jury and judge as far as the borrowers are concerned. Now they want to be executioners as well covery of documents’ ordered by the DRT, the bank concealed the settlement at `20.05 lakh. Even the oftrepeated settlement at `38.68 lakh was denied by the PSB. But DRT had proof and, therefore, decreed this amount as due with PLR of interest at 8 per cent, recording the undertaking given by the bank’s counsel. The entrepreneur deposited `51.14 lakh in DRT. This should have given a quietus to the whole matter, allowing the entrepreneur to breathe easy. Not to be. After immediately appropriating the full amount, the PSB went on appeal before the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT), Chennai, with all kinds of falsehood, intention-

ally giving the wrong address for service to the entrepreneur. The bank retracted from the undertaking given by its counsel before the DRT. The Appellate Tribunal set aside the DRT order on January 28, 2009, by relying on a totally irrelevant Supreme Court judgment. The copy of this order was released after four months, just a day before the Presiding Officer retired. Immediately thereafter, the Bank moved application before the DRT for a Recovery Certificate for the full amount with further interest and costs, that is `16,849,192. Behind the back of the borrower, the DRT issued Recovery Certificate for this amount. The DRT’s RO immediately issued Demand Notice for the amount on July 7, 2009, summoning the entrepreneur on July 24, 2009, at 11.30 am to initiate the recovery procedure. Fortuitously, a writ pettion in the Madras High Court, against the DRAT order, came up for hearing on the same date and a stay was obtained at 11 am. Shylock sought revenge by activating the SARFAESI notice of May 7, 2007, claiming `5.07 crore as

www.gfilesindia.com

`25,000 crore has been allocated in Union Budget 2016 for recapitalisation of banks

rowed the money or had stood guarantee lose all dignity and perish in the process. For they have the laws, the State and the judicial system to propitiate, protect and pamper them. Let us see how this happens. When an entity or an individual borrows money from the bank and delays repaying the borrowed money, banks classify them as defaulters and initiate actions for recovery of loans. The special enactments empowering EDQNV DQG ¿QDQFLDO LQVWLWXWLRQV WR proceed against the defaulters are the RDDBFI Act and SARFAESI Act. dues and appointed an ‘Authorised Officer’ to take possession of and sell the residential house. This would have happened but for the HC rendering its judgment, setting aside the DRAT order and castigating the bank and its officials. The HC’s Order Copy was released on April 9, 2010. The 90-day limitation for PSB to file a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court expired on July 8, 2010. The HC order was clear and there was no scope for any appeal. The senior counsels of the bank had given their opinion against filing an SLP. But the bank’s senior managers overruled these opinions and filed an SLP after a delay of 24 days. Despite this grievous flaw, the SC condoned the delay, entertained the SLP and issued a notice to the entrepreneur. After 12 listings, 28 adjournments and over four years of anguish, SLP was finally disposed of by the SC on October 14, 2014, with a crisp twoline order: “Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the relevant material. We do not find any legal and valid ground for inter-

www.indianbuzz.com

ference. The Special Leave Petition is dismissed.” Thus came the closure of the case after nearly two decades of hostile and frivolous litigation by the PSB. Perjury was the bank’s practice in the tribunals, High Court and the Supreme Court. All this happened with the full knowledge and connivance of senior managers, including a former CMD. Under the Banking Regulation Act, the RBI can intervene and remedy the situation. But this is only on paper. Desperate and repeated pleadings to the RBI Governor fell on deaf ears. Responses from the Ministry of Finance and Chief Vigilance Commissioner were no different. There are far worse victims of PSBs than this entrepreneur. India’s modern-day Shylocks have far exceeded this character in greed, cruelty and deceit. They not only want a pound of flesh, but also the blood that flows. This carnal demand is made on small entrepreneurs who had staked everything to establish a business and live in dignity. These Shylocks do not care a damn if the person who had bor-

HESE were enacted to facilitate easy recovery of loans due to banks, the former with the help of adjudicating authorities and the latter an arbitrary suo motu procedure with powers to attach collateral/mortgaged properties and sell them. These are co-existing remedies, meaning banks can resort to both at the same time. This is where there is huge corruption by bank managers. Most of the genuine commercial/residential properties mortgaged to the banks become high-value over time. SARFAESI gives sweeping powers to bank managers to summarily take possession of these properties once a loan is declared NPA. If the borrower bribes the bank managers heavily, they allegedly settle the dues without charging interest on the borrowed amount and release the property. If not, the properties are sold through brokers at prices much below market rates and the booty is shared. The hapless borrower, deprived of livelihood, is thrown on the streets. It is largely with this view that NPAs are ‘manufactured’ for truly secured loans.

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

BANKING

npa mg devasahayam

A more insidious method of corruption is to sanction huge loans without proper due diligence and accept fake or low-quality properties as security. Though counted as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;securedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, these are actually unsecured loans. It is in these loans that large default takes place and invoking the SARFAESI Act is of no use to the banks. So, they move the DRT under the RDDBFI Act so that banks

the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions are challenged, are not always obliging. Bankers want this impediment to be removed and are seeking more arbitrary powers. They are already the prosecutor, jury and judge as far as borrowers are concerned. Now they want to be executioners as well. Despite its Governor blowing hot and cold, RBI is yielding. Its December 2014 guidelines allow banks to classify any defaulting borb rower as non-cooperative and then a wilful defaulter. A non-cooperative borrower â&#x20AC;&#x153;is one on who does not engage constructively with his lender by defaulting tiv in timely repayment of dues while

can hunt for properties of the borrower and his family not given as collateral. This is a cumbersome process, consuming years of litigation and counter-litigation. In the meanwhile, NPAs keep mounting and skyrocketing as is happening now. Despite draconian powers under the SARFAESI Act and vast powers under the RDDBFI Act, banks are unable to prevent NPAs or recover them quickly largely because of inefÂżFLHQF\ FRUUXSWLRQ RU SROLWLFDO VNXOOduggery. Tribunals and courts, where

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

having ability to pay, thwarting ha lendersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; efforts for recovery of their len dues du by not providing necessary information sought, denying access to for DVVHWV ÂżQDQFHG FROODWHUDO VHFXULWLHV DV obstructing sale of securities, etc. In ob effect, a non-cooperative borrower eff is i a defaulter who deliberately stonewalls legitimate efforts of the lenders to recover their dues.â&#x20AC;? 7KH GHÂżQLWLRQ HQFRPSDVVHV DOO borrowers within its scope and leaves very little room for them to raise a voice or stand up for rights. Any legitimate attempt to do so or any attempt not to succumb to the demands of the banks would lead to a borrower EHLQJ FODVVLÂżHG DV QRQ FRRSHUDWLYH and then being declared a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;willful

defaulterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Following up, the RBI in January 2015 revised its willful defaulter guidelines, which not only QRWLÂżHV D ERUURZHU DV ÂłZLOOIXOÂ´ EXW also declares him a defaulter for life. Going a step further, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed to completely bar willful defaulters from any access to equity and debt markets.

HE scenario is such that the SARFAESI Act, a subordinated legislation devoid of natural justice, will now be the rule of law with respect to defaulters. For example, if the bank resorts to action under Section 13(4) of SARFAESI, appealing against it would make the borrower â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;nonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;cooperativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Thus, it not only empowers the bank to decide upon the fate of the borrower, but also denies him the right to appeal. Once FODVVLÂżHG DV QRQ FRRSHUDWLYH LW LV just a matter of time to classify him as a willful defaulter; and once a willful defaulter, what awaits him is banishment for a lifetime, completely chokLQJ DOO DYHQXHV RI ÂżQDQFLDO DVVLVWDQFH With these harsh regulations on loan recovery and NPAs, the new PDQWUD VHHPV WR EH ÂłWKH EDQN LV DOZD\V ULJKWÂ´ *RQH DUH WKH GD\V RI customer-friendly banking. Now a borrower will have to obey what his banker says else his fate is sealed! Tragically, because of rank crony capitalism being practised by the government and its instruments, it is the small fry who face the gallows while the big whales keep laughing all the way to their banks! These banks are the axis of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Make in Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; juggernaut propelled by the big whales. Ideal ground for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bankerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Heistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; promoted by the UPA and now perpetrated by the NDA! 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. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

DEFENCE

weapons production

Sukhoi fighter jets are an important part of Indiam Air Force

India eyes arms export market Raising the limit of foreign direct investment in defence to 49 per cent and proposed divestments point at the country aiming to get a slice of the huge arms export market

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

by MK SHUKLA

HERE is an old adage that says that if you wish others to help you, you must help yourself first. To no one does it apply as acutely as to India. Having ignored its defence preparedness for over a quarter of a century, during which it has witnessed an unflustered growth of moral and liberal decadence and simultaneous increase in separatism and secessionist ideologies, New Delhi has woken up to the reality that nothing is a better guarantee to

secure and preserve a lawful society and nation than military power. Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s military, for the first time since the 1950s, finds itself holding obsolete weapons systems. An ordinary soldier has no proper helmet or bulletproof vest, much less effective assault weapons for a different kind of operations, and its air force is aged. Something is urgently required to be done. Since there is not enough money in the kitty after subsidising capitalists and distributing funds in the name of job creation without building substantive assets, the

www.gfilesindia.com

Narendra Modi administration has hit upon the idea of involving foreign partners in the country’s defence production programmes. After raising the bar on foreign direct investment (FDI) to 49 per cent and even more in select cases, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials are now busy working out plans to boost production and productivity in the country’s defence public sector enterprises (PSEs) and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). Reforms in defence PSEs and the OFB are also necessitated by the fact that the country is aiming to get a slice of the huge arms export market. Since India is seen as working hard at pulling itself out of the intellectual and ideological socialist quagmire of the past, global companies are beginning to make attractive offers. For instance, Swedish defence major Saab AB is keen to manufacture

Gripen. We are looking at setting up a complete ecosystem here, which will provide 100 per cent benefit to India for the next 100 years.” US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin is also keen to set up shop in India. It has offered to build its flagship F-16 fighter jet in India, as India scrambles to modernise its aging defence fleet while trying to establish the country as a manufacturing base. Lockheed Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Marillyn Hewson made the offer to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September, as Phil Shaw, CEO of Lockheed’s Indian unit, said in a recent

interview at the Singapore Airshow. The US and Indian governments are negotiating the deal, he said.

positive international attitude has lifted the veil of despondency and boosted the confidence of the country’s defence managers. They are now also targetting a 20-fold increase in arms exports from the current $150 million to $3 billion in a decade. If the plan succeeds, it would turn one of the world’s largest importers into a major seller of defence equipment. Defence Production Secretary Ashok Kumar Gupta said some time ago that the steps taken by the Prime Minister to spur defence manufacturing, if properly implemented, could open up the possibility of hitting the target by 2025. The challenge is to boost private sector investment and

its Gripen aircraft in India. To meet the requirements to set up operations for the next-generation fighter, the company is looking at 100 per cent technology transfer to India and investment help from Indian partners, said Jan Widerstrom, Chairman, Saab India, in an interview. At the ‘Make in India’ event in Mumbai, Widerstrom spoke about how Saab is open to sharing critical technology with Indian partners, the need for financial help, and how the company is eager to create hi-tech jobs in manufacturing the Gripen with several Indian joint venture partners. “Yes, we are offering complete aerospace capablility, not just manufacturing capability. We are willing to do a copy-and-paste Swedish defence major Saab AB is eager to create hi-tech jobs by manufacturing the Sweden factory here in India for the Gripen with several Indian JV partners

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

DEFENCE

weapons production

technological expertise, he said. “Arms exports will not only take us toward the goal of self-reliance in defence production, but will also create tremendous employment opportunities,” he added. Currently, India has a nominal share in the $64 billion worldwide arms trade. Its exports range from supplying parts for Russia’s Sukhoi fighter jets to a naval vessel recently commissioned in Mauritius. The sectors where India has export potential include naval ships, helicopters and components for aircraft, according to

Since there is not enough money in the kitty after subsidising capitalists and distributing funds in the name of job creation without building substantive assets, the Modi administration has hit upon the idea of involving foreign partners in the country’s defence production programmes

ment. The process may begin with HAL where preparation for the same began way back in 2012 when RK Tyagi was appointed its CMD. At the time of his retirement in January last year, Tyagi had changed the image of HAL from being a company that ‘imports, assembles and supplies”, as remarked in an official task force report. When he took over, six patents were filed; when he quit, the company owned about 1,100 patents for technological innovations. And this is the surest way to succeed in the technology-intensive aerospace business.

US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin offered to build the F-16 fighter jet in India

consultant PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). “India’s exports target seems ambitious,” said Deba R Mohanty, a defence analyst and chairman of Indicia Research and Advisory in New Delhi. “If it’s able to meet such targets, then it will in all likelihood be a competitor to many countries, including China.” According to Bloomberg, China’s defence exports reached $1.5 billion in 2014, the eighth largest in

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

the world in a ranking dominated by the $23.7 billion sold by the US, according to IHS Inc. research. India imported $5.6 billion, the most after Saudi Arabia. BUT India has a long way to go. And the immediate task is to ensure efficiency, production and productivity at its defence public sector enterprises and in the units under the control of the OFB. To do this, the government has decided to open up all the defence PSEs for divest-

ESIDES HAL, the government also plans to divest at least 20 per cent of its shares in the other defence PSEs. It may sell its stake in Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics for the first time. The company makes missiles, including the nuclearcapable Agni series. The Defence Production Secretary recently said the government would divest as much as 75 per cent of its shareholding in Bharat Electronics. The other public sector defence enterprises included in the list of divestment are BEML, Mazagon Dock, Goa Shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd., Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd and Hindustan Shipyard. The government controls about 54 per cent of BEML, while the other companies are 100 per cent government-owned. These proposed divestments are part of the government’s plan to carry out $150 billion modernisation of the equipment and weapons system of the Indian Armed Forces. The stake sale will provide capital and openness for growth and enable defence PSEs to compete with the private sector, which has been allowed gradual entry into defence production over the past few years. g

www.gfilesindia.com

STATE SCAN gujarat land deal

Anandiben in the eye of a storm The alleged land deal involving the Gujarat CMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter, Anar Patel, near the Gir sanctuary, has put the CM and her party in a difficult spot by YOGESH SHARMA

political storm is brewing in Gujarat over a land deal for a resort on the fringes of the Gir sanctuary with which Anar Patel, daughter of Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, is associated. The issue, raised by the Congress, has provided fuel to the rivals of the Chief Minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who have launched a hush-hush campaign against her over the last several months. Anar admits that she has business relations with one of the promoters of

the controversial Wildwoods Resorts and Realties Pvt Ltd (WWRRPL), but denies any involvement in the deal. The state government, on the other hand, has claimed that there was nothing illegal in the allotment of government land to WWRRPL. BJP leaders have condemned the Congress allegations as politically motivated to defame the Chief Minister and her daughter. Senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia, who culled all details of the deal, says the speed at which the entire process of clearing land and other permissions for the project was done and the throwaway price

The land was alloted to WWWRRPL when Narendra Modi (right) was Gujarat Chief Minister and Anandiben Patel (left) was the Revenue Minister

www.indianbuzz.com

at which the government land has been given to the promoters, tells the tale of corruption of the Narendra Modi model of governance at the time when Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat and Anandiben was Revenue Minister. After Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, she became the Chief Minister. But she still has the revenue department under her. This controversial deal has certainly added to the problems of the Chief Minister, who is facing a powerful Patidar agitation for the past seven months. Modhwadia says that it all began with the allotment of 250 acres of government land next to the Gir lion sanctuary. The company was registered with the Registrar of Companies on July 23, 2008. At that time, the company was owned by Sanjay Dhanak, a Dubai-based businessman and son of a former MLA close to the BJP. It applied for land on September 1, 2008, and the district-level valuation committee suggested a nominal price for the land on December 5, just in three months. The District Collector forwarded the application to the government the very next day, on December 6, 2008. The state-level committee cleared the proposal with the valuation of `15 per sq m in December 2009 and, in July 2010, the Cabinet, with Modi

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

STATE SCAN gujarat land deal

19, 2009, Wildwoods applied to the Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), Dhari, for obtaining recommendation/NOC for construction of resorts having the following facilities: Phase-I Cottages—60; Phase-II Villas-A—75; land requirement for construction—77,768 sq m.

O Anandiben Patel has been under fire for the past few months

as Chief Minister and Anandiben as Revenue Minister, cleared the project. He says the land was given to WWRRPL at `15 per sq m, which comes to `60,000 per acre. The estimated market price of this land was to the tune of `50 lakh per acre—a total of `125 crore for 250 acres. The firm changed hands in 201112. One of the original promoters of the company and its present owners are Anar’s business partners, he says. It was acquired by Parshwa Texchem (India) Private Limited, owned by Dakshesh R Shah and Amol Shripal Sheth’s Anil Infraplus Limited. Currently, the ownership pattern of Wildwoods is Parshwa Texchem (50 per cent), Anil Infraplus (49.9 per cent), Shah (0.04 per cent) and Anil Hospitality Ventures Limited (0.04 per cent). Shah and Parshwa Texchem are business partners of Anar Patel, he says. Wildwoods also brought an adjoining 172 acres of agricultural land. Non-farmers are not permitted to purchase agricultural land, but the

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

N December 14, 2009, Gujarat’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden granted an NOC for establishing and opening of resort at Patla village of Dhari to WWRRPL via their letter No.WLP/28/0/327-31/2009/10. Meanwhile, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Government of Gujarat, issued a circular No.WPS/32/B/6129-85/2010-11, dated December 7, 2010. It directed

The land is in an eco-sensitive zone. But the company was given permission, flouting all norms for any activity in the region, alleges the Congress

Anar Patel, Anandiben’s daughter

firm was granted permission in 2011. The state government permitted conversion of agricultural land to nonagricultural use. The land is in an eco-sensitive zone. But the company was given permission, flouting all norms for any activity in the region. On August

that, as per direction of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the Government of India, on August 19, 2010, for any non-forest activities within a 10-km radius of a protected forest, it is mandatory to get prior environmental clearance from the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife. The resort did not come up as, in a suo motu PIL, the Gujarat High Court sealed all resorts in the eco-sensitive area. However, to protect the interests of this company, the government changed its rules and reduced the noconstruction area from 2 km to 1 km. Anar reacted to the controversy through her Facebook account: “I,

www.gfilesindia.com

It is alleged that Wildwoods Resorts and Realties Pvt Ltd was allotted 250 acres of government land next to the Gir sanctuary

Anar Patel, am neither a director nor a shareholder in WWRRPL (Wildwoods Resorts and Realties Private Limited), Anil Infraplus and Parshva Texchem. I don’t have to do anything with WWRRPL, anybody can check with the government authority.” “Indeed, Daksheshbhai (Dakshesh Shah, who owns WWRRPL along with Amol Shripal Seth of Anil Infraplus) is my business partner, but that doesn’t mean that I am there in all his companies. He is a self-made businessman and is in business since last 22 years,” she wrote. “We started a company, named ‘Anar Projects’, seven years back with business interest in retails and services. We never took any favour from any government organisation, we strictly followed all rules and regulations in all manners. It’s disheartening that my individuality is attacked based on sheer assumptions.

www.indianbuzz.com

I believe in my moral strength, not in anyone’s favour,” she wrote in her latest post. However, the Chief Minister’s trouble did not end with these denials. A PIL was filed in the Gujarat High Court on February 20. Somnath district-based RTI Activists Sangathan (RAS) filed a PIL seeking the court’s intervention in the matter. The PIL has raised the issue of the conflict of interest, saying the 250-acre land

While farmers are not allowed to dig a borewell because of the sanctuary, Wildwoods is being allowed to go ahead with the construction work, claims Nalin Kotadiya, a BJP MLA

was given to Wildwood Resorts at an official rate of `15 per sq m, against the rate of `180 per sq m. On the other hand, Nalin Kotadiya, BJP MLA from Dhari constituency, has come out openly against the Chief Minister. He said the state government had approved `10 crore for a bridge in a village with a population of 200 people. The bridges and roads in this area were being developed to pave a grand entrance for the proposed site of Wildwood in Khamala village, he said. He alleged that while farmers are not allowed to even dig a borewell because of the sanctuary, Wildwoods is being allowed to go ahead with the construction work. Kotadiya is likely to raise a question on the development projects in this area in the Budget session of the Assembly to add more dust to the storm raised by the Congress. g

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

STATE SCAN

maharashtra politics

Caught in a tangle

With the BJP-led government caught in an internal tussle with its ally, the Shiv Sena, and growing mistrust between the Congress and the NCP, it is the people who are the ultimate losers by K SUBRAMANIUM

ALL it stalemate, gridlock or deadlock, the seeds of the present state of affairs in Maharashtra lie in the hung verdict of the assembly elections of October 2014. In hindsight, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decision to snap its decades-old alliance with its longstanding ally, the Shiv Sena, proved correct. But it did not help the party catapult itself to power all on its own,

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

falling short of the majority by 25-odd seats. Some miscalculations on some seats left the BJP with no other choice but to once again woo its estranged ally to stabilise its government. It took almost a month for the BJP to arm-twist its ally into joining the government. The Sena too needed the reins of power as civic elections to key municipal corporations like BMC, Kalyan-Dombivali, Thane and Aurangabad, were due in 2015-16, or are slated to be held by 2017. In a bid

to maintain its separate identity and wary of what the BJP might do next, the Sena is still smarting in its new avatar of ”opposition in treasury benches”, or “ruling opposition”. Attacking the BJP-led government—of which it is a part both in Maharashtra and at the Centre—often has raised questions about the Sena’s intentions and its ability to solve people’s problems. The BJP is not letting go a single opportunity to deflate the Sena’s ego, be it over the open space

www.gfilesindia.com

policy, reviving Mumbai’s nightlife, open-air gym at Marine Drive and, the latest, the fire at Deonar’s dumping ground. The 2017 BMC elections should prove to be a breaking point if either of the two get power on their own. The single biggest difference between the two estranged allies is that while the Sena has its shakhas right till the ward level, the same cannot be said about the BJP and other political parties, at least in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane city. In the absence of a clear mandated opposition—and an opposition that appears to be hopelessly divided too— the squabbling BJP-Sena government will continue at least for the time being, until and unless they decide to throw it away. Or, the wily Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar might decide to recall his party rebels who left the party fold to contest the Assembly elections and won on the BJP ticket. A sizeable number of the 123 BJP MLAs are erstwhile NCP or Congress legislators. At present, the NCP with its numerical superiority in the Maharashtra Legislative Council is calling the shots in all respects. A senior BJP minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that this government is sur-

Although it is grabbing the headlines by attacking the BJP and the government, it has no other alternative to offer to the public at large. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has quietly been preparing for the 2017 BMC elections. Only time will tell if the AAP can upset the applecart of the BJP and Sena.

Uddhav Thackeray: Running with the hare, hunting with the hound

viving at the mercy of the NCP. Another reason for the lacklustre performance of the BJP-led government has been a pronounced disconnect between the party’s top leadership and its cadre at the grassroots. Despite the 1.25 crore registered active members in the state, the party fared badly in the recent civic polls. The Sena too is solely dependent on Uddhav Thackeray and his son, Aditya, to deliver power in elections.

A senior BJP minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that this government is surviving at the mercy of the NCP

Sharad Pawar is the tallest mass leader in Maharashtra today

www.indianbuzz.com

VEN before the Assembly election results were announced in October 2014, the NCP declared its unconditional support to the BJP for forming the next government. The move underlined the notion that the NCP cannot survive without power. It had a ripple effect, putting the BJP in an awkward situation as it had fought the elections on the issue of the alleged corruption of NCP leaders. Secondly, initially it widened the rift between the BJP and Sena. Thirdly, the distrust and suspicion of the Congress towards the NCP has only grown. And lastly, the NCP has been bailing the Devendra Fadnavis government out of many tricky legislative tangles. The 2014 Assembly election has created a strange situation where the Congress is the main opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and the NCP controls the Upper House. In the last monsoon session, the BJP helped the NCP in ousting Shivajirao Deshmukh, a Congressman, from the Council chairman’s post. The situation is such that the allies are not trusting each other anymore and the bureaucracy is having a field day. It is more so because of the fact that, barring senior BJP ministers Eknath Khadse, Prakash Mehta, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Vishnu Savara and the Sena’s Diwakar Raote and Ramdas Kadam, none has had any previous experience of being in the government. These and some other junior ministers of state had been

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

STATE SCAN

maharashtra politics

The Prime Minister called on NCP’s Sharad Pawar in Baramati recently, triggering speculation over ties between the two parties

ministers in the previous Sena-led government in 1995-99. In contrast, almost all the NCP legislators have had a fairly long experience of being in government. Most of the greenhorn BJP ministers are not even aware of the enormous power that they command. One often finds them and the first-time Sena ministers asking for directions from the administrative staff and the bureaucracy on matters of governance. If you have senior ministers calling bureaucrats and lower-ranking officials ‘Sir’, or the minister himself walking down to the bureaucrat’s office, it speaks volumes of the way the government is functioning. Recently, a senior bureaucrat simply went on a foreign tour informing the senior Sena minister who heads her department after she had already left India. What more can underline this than Chief Minister Fadnavis’s own admission that the administration is refusing to fall in line—he twice made his exasperation known publicly. He finally cracked the whip on senior bureaucrats, asking them to undertake compulsory field visits to offices coming under the jurisdiction of their respective departments and report back on measures to improve the administration. There are several posts in the administration that are

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

The situation is such that the allies are not trusting each other anymore and the bureaucracy is having a field day lying vacant for quite some time now. The biggest examples of the bureaucracy and the administration taking the government for a ride have been the “oversight” in granting tariff waivers to JSW and the infamous “Government Resolution on Sedition” slapped against the media and anyone daring to speak against the government. In most cases, it was left to the Chief Minister to do the firefighting. Even as the government fumbles, the opposition, the Congress, is in no position to exploit the situation as it is bereft of any known leader with a panMaharashtra appeal.

NE thing, though, should be noted here; in the recent round of civic elections in Maharashtra, the Congress emerged as the number one political party. That means that though the BJP may have succeeded in “Congress Mukta Bharat” at the Lok Sabha and Assembly level, it has not succeeded in removing the Congress base at the grassroots level and its support lifeline, the cooperative sector. Despite this being the case, its

leaders continue to be at loggerheads with each other, trying to undermine each other’s authority. The latest example of it has been the Sanjay Nirupam-edited controversial issue of Congress Darshan. In such a situation, where no party has a mass leader left, NCP chief Sharad Pawar is sitting pretty. But Pawar is saddled with the ticklish issue of how to hand over the reins of his party, and to whom and how. He needs the BJP to stay politically relevant and is touted as being one of the reasons behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling on Pawar’s home turf in Baramati. When it comes to showcasing public welfare schemes, the BJP-Sena led government has nothing much to show. The only initiative that it can tout is its flagship programme, the ‘Jalayukta Shivar’ (recharging of village groundwater reservoirs) to tackle drought conditions in the state. The rest of the announcements are more of a populist nature rather than having any impact on public life. Even the infrastructure projects are yet to get off the ground. The worst is yet to come. For the fourth consecutive year, the monsoon has failed. Already the water crisis is looming large on the horizon and is going to get worse as the government faces a stormy annual budget session. g

www.gfilesindia.com

LEISURE

travel madhya pradesh

Verdant gem

ACHMARHI is a lovely hill resort girdled by the Satpura ranges, it offers absolute tranquility. Bridle paths lead into placid forest groves of wild bamboo, jamun, dense sal forests and delicate bamboo thickets Complementing the magnificence of nature are the works of man. Pachmarhi is an archaeological treasure- house. In cave shelters in the Mahadeo Hills is an astonishing richness in rock paintings. Most of these have been placed in the period 500800 AD, but the earliest paintings are an estimated 10,000 years old. Contrasting cultures and ages exist in harmony as if time and trends mean

little in this serene, wooded place. Pachmarhi is for unwinding, effortlessly. Roads meander gently groves of trees, open spaces and heritage cottages sitting contentedly in their old gardens. The town has a quiet gentility about it as if Victorian traditions and high collars still governmost peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. Much of this ambience has been set, and is still being maintained, by the strong presence of the Army whose Education Corps is headquartered here. The old cottages, meticulously maintained by the Military Engineering Services, have changed little since the days of Kipling. Pachmarhi was discovered by

STAY Amaltas: Tel: (07578) 252098; email: amaltas@mptourism.com Champak Bungalow: Tel: (07578) 252034,252587; email: champak@mptourism.com Glen View: Tel: (07578) 252533, 252445; email: gview@mptourism.com Hotel Highlands: Tel: (07578) 252099/252399; email: highland@mptourism.com Rock-End Manor: Tel: (07578) 252079; email: rem@mptourism.com

www.indianbuzz.com

GETTING HERE Nearest airport is at Bhopal (195 km) connected by regular flights with Delhi, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Indore and Mumbai. Regular bus services with Bhopal, Hoshangabad, Nagpur, Pipariya and Chhindwara. Taxis are available at Pipariya(47 km), on the MumbaiHowrah mainline via Allahabad, and is the most convenient railhead.

Captain Forsyth in 1857. The British developed Pachmarhi as a resort and their influence is embodied in its churches and colonial architecture. The elevation and the forests of the Satpuras, with their streams and waterfalls, are picturesque and home to much wildlife. Pachmarhi lies within the Pachmarhi Biosphere Preserve, created in 1999 to link two forest reserves into a larger wildlife conservation area at the highest point in Central India. g

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

BOOK REVIEW

non-fiction autobiography

by SHUBHABRATA BHATTACHARYA

`17 to billionaire: A saga of determination

e set off for Delhi from his home in Hissar with `17 in his pocket at the age of 17. The flourishing family business in the grains trade had gone bankrupt. Debt made his functioning as a trader difficult as credit was denied. The autobiography of billionaire entrepreneur Subhash Chandra, The Zee Factor: My journey as the wrong man at the right time (co-authored by Pranjal Sharma; published by HarperCollins) is a fascinating saga of determination and sagacity. It gives a rare insight into Delhi’s powerbroking and underscores the role chicanery plays in inter-corporate rivalry. It’s a must-read as a case study in business schools, not only in India but perhaps in the entire emerging world where regulations of yore have given way to a new jargon, “ease of doing business”. Releasing the book, Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged his longstanding association with Chandra (whose family has an RSS background) and complimented him on his growth story, saying, “Risk is part of his swabhav.” “I am not scared of jumping into situations that would scare others. I do not fear anything… I prefer to enter segments that others ignore... My entry into rice exports, broadcasting, packaging, amusement parks are all examples of this. I don’t mind failing if I know that I tried my best,” writes the man who launched India’s first private TV channel, Zee, on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary in 1992 and gave India its first DTH, Dish TV,

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

Title: The Z Factor: My journey as the wrong man at the right time Authors: Subhash Chandra and Pranjal Sharma Publisher: HarperCollins Pages: 300 Price: `699

on October 2, 2003. Two of his failed ventures—Indian Cricket League (2006) and Agrani (1994)—proved precursors to the IPL and successful satellite mobile telephony. “Life is full of crises, hope, challenges and enjoyment… the determination to do more, learn more, has stayed with me,” he writes. At the book launch, his comment: “If you adapt to change, success will come to you,” summed up his life story. As a fledgling, he played a pioneering role in modernising food procurement in the late 1960s, as his suggestion caught the imagination of officialdom. The paradigm of FCI and Army’s purchase of foodgrains changed due to him. He also, perhaps, paved the roadmap for restructuring of loans by banks while seeking funds for his food business. He strayed into the business of

supplying poles for telephones with the help of powerbrokers in Delhi. He recalls his benefactor, BR Chopra, “At one time he was the chauffeur of Congress leader Jagjivan Ram. He used his political connections to get things done in Delhi.” The case study of Chopra cited in the book is not isolated: Delhi has seen many such rags-to-riches stories. Recently a prominent automobiles dealer, who once sold seat covers and accessories in a municipal market, celebrated his son’s wedding—the guest list read like the Who’s Who of Delhi’s power corridors. In the 1960s-70s, having used the benefits accorded to the small-scale sector, Chandra observes, “This sector depended a lot on government subsidies and tax exemptions. Most players in the sector were making money from exemptions, but not doing any real business.” “Delhi has a culture of encouraging intermediaries. Most of them have worked in the government or assisted someone in the government. All of them claim to be well-connected, with deep understanding of how files moved in various ministries,” writes Chandra. He describes how he made contact with Sanjay Gandhi through one “Tripathi”. (The full name of this dramatis personae is withheld, perhaps, because he prefers to keep this contact anonymous. He mentions Anil Chanana—a name well known in power circles in the days of Sanjay and his Delhi Youth Congress chief, Jagdish Tytler. However “Tripathi” and one “Sharma” are provided the

www.gfilesindia.com

shroud of anonymity.) There seems to be a factual error in this otherwise well-chronicled tome. Chandra says he used to visit Sanjay in a house in Nizamuddin where, he claims, Indira Gandhi had moved after losing power in 1977. It is history that Mrs Gandhi shifted to 12, Willingdon Crescent (now Madam Teresa Crescent) from 1, Safdarjung Road. Also, the people assisting Sanjay in those days were Raghu and JN Mishra. No “Tripathi” or “Sharma” are recalled by those who were close to the Gandhi family during that phase. At another point, Chandra says he met Rajiv Gandhi through Manubhai Desai, who, Chandra claims, used to host Rajiv in Mumbai. Sources, while acknowledging Desai as Rajiv’s acquaintance, wonder if the latter ever stayed with the former in Mumbai. Chandra describes how he benefitted by becoming close to Dhirendra Brahmachari. He bid for exporting Basmati rice to the erstwhile USSR, with whom India had a rupee-rouble trade pact. He vividly describes his interactions with Rajiv and his close aide, Vijay Dhar, and goes on to narrate how, when he complained to Dhar that Brahmachari was making extraordinary monetary demands, the matter went right up to the then Prime Minister, who met him at her residence late at night. The fall of Brahmachari, whom Rajiv despised, can perhaps be traced to the brief chat that Chandra had with Mrs Gandhi. (Vijay Dhar was a prominent invitee at the book release function and he finds mention in more than one narrative of Chandra’s success story.) There is an aside: having ousted the established supplier of Basmati to the USSR, Chandra faced trouble in Moscow when his rice was described as sub-standard. Apparently, the previous exporter was sending Parmal in

www.indianbuzz.com

the guise of Basmati. Chandra apparently changed tack—his Basmati (or whatever went under that name) was never rejected again. The money from sale of rice to USSR apparently fed the coffers of the ruling party. Amitabh Bachchan’s role in Delhi’s power circles is mentioned. Chandra refers to the “Kashmiri Group,” comprising Arun Nehru, ML Fotedar and Dhar, which was at loggerheads with the group of RK Dhawan, Brahmachari “and some others”. He used this to his advantage when cornered by Brahmachari for funds from his rice export. The book gives a vivid description of the setting up of Zee. Chandra’s handling of giants like Rupert Murdoch is detailed. And so is his relationship with STAR. Many icons in the media have been analysed and discussed.

Chandra has not only pioneered businesses, but has outstripped India’s corporate world in what is popularly known as CSR While writing on the telecast rights in cricket, Chandra describes how the BCCI, headed by Jagmohan Dalmiya, preferred ESPN-STAR Sports over Zee:”I realised I would need help for taking on Dalmiya. I happened to have very good relations with BJP leader Arun Jaitley. I have a good equation with him even today… I sought Jaitley’s help but he was cold and said, ‘I will see, Subhashji’ ”. Much later, I learnt that it was not Dalmiya but Jaitley who favoured ESPN-Star sports because he genuinely believed that the foreign companies are more honourable or professional than Indian ones. If Jaitley was in the government, as he is now, would his beliefs remain the same? Sometimes

these genuine beliefs don’t fade away.” Lamenting that he was “let down” by Jaitley and Rajiv Shukla, he writes, “I also knew Rajiv Shukla… he did not take my calls. I lost my cool… I don’t know how true this is, but some people allege that Rajiv is open to persuasion and can change his position based on practicality.” “There are no permanent allies or enemies in the world of the BCCI,” writes Chandra while mentioning how he backed Sharad Pawar and ensured Dalmiya’s defeat, but that too did not help him in securing favours off the cricket field for Zee.

HANDRA has not only pioneered businesses, but has outstripped India’s corporate world in what is popularly known as Corporate Social Responsibility. While corporates have grudgingly agreed to the government stipulation of devoting 2 per cent of profits for CSR, Chandra’s firms, going by the Vaishya practice of Dasaundh, puts aside 10 per cent for CSR. Ekal Vidyalaya—a concept of single-teacher school embedded in the community—has been promoted by him and the Prime Minister feted him at the release function for running 52,000 such schools, where a single teacher teaches children from Nursery to Class V. Apart from education, the foundation that runs Ekal is also diversifying into healthcare. Chandra says that now that infrastructure is a vertical of his empire, he intends playing a role in the development of smart cities. He concludes his book thus: “I remain a hungry person who ‘does not want to die’, who wishes to be remembered after current journey ends someday”. The saga of Subhash Chandra will indeed have no end. g The writer is a former Editor of Sunday and National Herald

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

SPOTLIGHT The Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration of the Make in India Week in Mumbai. The Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (Independent Charge), Nirmala Sitharaman, and the Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Amitabh Kant, and the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Swadheen Kshatriya, are also seen.

Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, Arun Jaitley, at the launch of the official YouTube channel of the Ministry of Finance, in New Delhi. The Finance Secretary, Ratan P. Watal and the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Shaktikanta Das, are also seen.

The Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs, M Venkaiah Naidu, presented the Swachh Survekshan awards at a press conference in New Delhi. The Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA), Dr. Nandita Chatterjee, is also seen.

The Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Sunil Arora, addressing at the Annual Convocation of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), in New Delhi.

The Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge), Prakash Javadekar releasing the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;App (2.2 Version) on medical plant by Neighborhood App (0.4.0 Version) on common medical plans of Bengaluru Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; at the National Interaction-cum-evaluation workshop for Environmental Information System (ENVIS) centres in New Delhi. The Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ashok Lavasa, is also seen.

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

www.gfilesindia.com

PHOTOS: PIB

The Union Minister for Mines and Steel, Narendra Singh Tomar, launching the project ‘UNCOVER’ initiative in India, at the inauguration of the 55th meeting of Central Geological Programming Board in New Delhi. The Secretary (Mines), Balvinder Kumar, is also seen.

The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, at the 16th Meeting of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) and 37th Meeting of the Transport Development Council (TDC), in New Delhi. The Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, P Radhakrishnan, and the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Sanjay Mitra, are also seen.

The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge), Dharmendra, addressing a press conference about a National Seminar on ‘Lignocellulose to Ethanol-Roadmap for India’, in New Delhi. The Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, KD Tripathi, is also seen.

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal, chairing the 40th meeting of the Standing Committee on Safety in Coal Mines, in New Delhi. The Secretary (Coal), Anil Swarup, is also seen.

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal speaking at the signing ceremony of a tripartite MoU with the state of Bihar on “UDAY” (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana) for operational and financial turnaround of discoms, in New Delhi. The Secretary, Ministry of Power, PK Pujari, is also seen. Compiled by Kanika Srivastava

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

PERSPECTIVE cosmos sadhguru

YTHOLOGY is replete with stories about fire, indicating the significance of this element in human perception. From Agni, the god of fire, sacrifice and divine knowledge in Vedic cosmology to Prometheus, the man who brought fire to humanity in Greek mythology—the tales are many and varied. According to the yogic system, both the human body and the cosmos are composed of just five elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether. With mastery over these five elements, one can experience the entire cosmic mechanism. Among the five elements, fire is particularly significant. Life upon this planet, as we know, is essentially solar-powered—we are alive thanks to a huge ball of fire. Any machine we create is invariably fuelled by fire. We may call it electricity, petrol, gasoline, diesel, wood or coal, but it is essentially fire-driven. Fire also finds a deeper manifestation within the human system. The fires that burn within us can be categorised into three, in terms of life experience. The first is jatharagni. Jathara literally means stomach or the digestive process. Food is a fuel that needs to be broken down to release energy, and without a little digestive fire in your belly, you cannot digest it. If this digestive fire is wellfuelled, it also becomes reproductive fire. These two fires of digestion and reproduction are together called jatharagni. If your jatharagni is strong, you enjoy a robust body. Another fire belongs to the realm of the mind and beyond and is called chittagni. Chitta is a dimension of intelligence which transcends the limitations of the physical. Your physical form is an outcome of a certain memory structure—genetic and karmic. There is something in you that

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

Of the fires within remembers how to turn a meal into a human being, and not, for instance, into a rhinoceros! It is memory which gives you a form. Much of your intelligence is subservient to this memory and serves the integrity of your form. But chitta is unsullied by memory and does not serve the physical form. Chittagni is the fire of intelligence, of intellectual acumen. If your chittagni is not reasonably fired up, your intellect becomes feeble and ineffective. When your chittagni burns bright, the physical aspects recede in importance, and you are often less interested in food and sexuality. This is not about renunciation, as is often believed, but about transcendence. The next dimension is bhutagni— the elemental fire. When bhutagni is active, your focus and interest will shift away from the antics of your body and mind to a more fundamental aspect of creation. Mastery of bhutagni gives you mastery over the life process itself. If you can touch the elemental fire of bhutagni, you become a boundless being. Beyond all this is sarvagni, a dimension in which there is no creation as you know it. According to

modern science, the physical aspect of creation makes up less than 4 per cent. The rest, they say, is dark matter and dark energy. Sarvagni is that dimension. Generally, a yogi will focus only on sarvagni because this is the ultimate fire. Jatharagni is a very obvious fire, chittagni is subtler, and bhutagni subtler still. But sarvagni seems almost absent. And yet, without it, nothing would happen. It is a very cool fire that doesn’t burn like the others, but holds all other fires within it. When you approach a level of yogic expertise termed bhuta siddhi, you have achieved mastery of the elements. Life opens up its bounty to you. Health, well-being, clarity, enlightenment—none of these can be denied to you anymore. Even a sambar takes at least 13 ingredients! But life is just a game of five ingredients: once you master these, you can penetrate the deepest mysteries of the universe. Not surprisingly, those who have attained self-realisation have often termed it a cosmic joke! g Sadhguru, a yogi, is a visionary, humanitarian and a prominent spiritual leader (www.ishafoundation.org)

www.gfilesindia.com

STOCK DOCTOR dr gs sood

A prudent budget

XCEPT for introduction of dividend tax for those receiving it in excess of `10 lakh, I could hardly find anything that can be termed negative for the market in the Union Budget 2016. The measure of dividend tax can best be described as ‘penny wise pound foolish’, looking at the current scenario of the market and the disproportionate damage it may cause to the sentiment compared to the minuscule revenue it will end up generating. In fact, the muchneeded focus on agriculture, rural development and infrastructure will give the desired push to demand stimulation in rural India, that has become a matter of concern post two consecutive monsoon failures and the world economy going through a massive slowdown. Also, it will be a step towards ensuring food security and will prepare the necessary base for the ‘Make in India’ initiative. By sticking to the fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent of GDP, the Finance Minister has not only reiterated the fact that fiscal stability and discipline remain his key focus, but has also ensured that dysfunctional consequences of fiscal splurge are not allowed to spread to the economy in the form of inflation and currency depreciation. However, in view of the impending implementation of one rank one pension (OROP) and recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, how the FM will meet the target is not clear. A massive boost to infrastructure will not only augur well for economic growth but will also be positive for sectors such as

steel and cement that are languishing for quite some time due to demand slowdown across the world and crash in commodity prices. The `25,000 crore allocated for recapitalisation of public sector banks is too little to not only meet the Basel III norms in time, but is grossly inadequate in view of the deep malaise the banking sector is facing following mounting NPAs. Also, this will not enable the banks to give the much-needed push to credit growth for the private sector. The Budget has nothing positive for the corporate sector which is reeling under consecutive earnings downgrades and has seen a sharp deterioration in the interest coverage ratio that may further compound the woes of the banking sector. Lack of incentives for the corporate sector and the capital market in general and no relief in direct taxation will result in the savings rate going down

further. This may not augur well for an economy that desperately needs investment to pick up. Also, this may prove to be counterproductive for the success of the ambitious disinvestment target of the government in view of the market not showing any signs of revival anytime soon. The face-off in Parliament over the JNU and Rohith Vemula issues is unlikely to make room for any major reform to get through in this session. The global scenario remains equally volatile with Japan introducing negative interest rates and China continuing to witness FII outflows. Investors will do well to exercise caution as there may be some more downturn felt in the market. However, wherever value is seen, one needs to start investing gradually. Even investing in Nifty in a staggered manner shall give decent returns over a period of two-three years. g

Stock Shop BY

RAKESH BHARDWAJ

KNR Constructions (CMP `461)

HE massive allocation for infrastructure, especially road construction, in the Union Budget 2016 augurs well for a company like KNR Constructions which has well established credentials in this sector. KNR Constructions quarterly results have been satisfactory despite the Chennai floods that would have affected execution. Given

their order book and very low debt the in balance sheet and track record, it is a very sound company in the road construction space. A strong order book providing long visibility coupled with proven execution capabilities and healthy operating margins will enable strong earnings growth, going ahead. The stock is available at a PE of just 10 with a TTM EPS of more than `45 as against the industry PE of more than 20. There is hardly any downside in the stock that is set to give decent returns over a period of two-three years.

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. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

birthdays IAS officers’ birthdays March 16, 2016 — April 15, 2016

IAS officers’ birthdays March 16, 2016 — April 15, 2016

Manish Singh

Kamal Kishore Soan

D Sambasiva Rao

Atri Bhattacharya

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: JHARKHAND

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

singhm9@ias.nic.in

soankk@ias.nic.in

raods2@ias.nic.in

bcharyaa@ias.nic.in

Prem Singh

Vipin Chandra Sharma

Manish Kumar Verma

Balamurugan D

CADRE: MANIPUR-TRIPURA

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: ODISHA

CADRE: BIHAR

singhp2@ias.nic.in

sharmavc@ias.nic.in

vermamk@ias.nic.in

balamurugan@ias.nic.in

Vikas Shankar Kharage

Richa Sharma

Lakku Venkateshwarlu

Umesh Kr Singh Chauhan

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: CHHATTISGARH

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: KERALA

kharagev@ias.nic.in

sricha@ias.nic.in

venkatl@ias.nic.in

umeshksc@ias.nic.in

CN Dalvi

Satyajeet Rajan

Dibyendu Sekhar Misra

B Venkatesham

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: CHHATTISGARH

CADRE: TELANGANA

dalvicn@ias.nic.in

rajans1@ias.nic.in

misrads@ias.nic.in

venkatesham@ias.nic.in

Arun Kumar

Sunil Kumar Bhargava

Pritam Singh

Prem Singh Meena

CADRE: ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

CADRE: ODISHA

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: BIHAR

kmrarun3@ias.nic.in

bhargav2@ias.nic.in

singhp9@ias.nic.in

meenaps@ias.nic.in

Manoj Sharma

Rajesh Kumar Sinha

Kunwar Fateh Bahadur

Vishnu Kumar

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: KERALA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: JHARKHAND

smanoj@ias.nic.in

sinhark1@ias.nic.in

bahadurk@ias.nic.in

kumarv7@ias.nic.in

Shailesh Kumar Singh

Mahendra Jain

Anil Malik

Ajay V Nayak

CADRE: JHARKHAND

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: HARYANA

CADRE: BIHAR

singhsk3@ias.nic.in

jainm@ias.nic.in

amalik@ias.nic.in

nayakav@ias.nic.in

Sanjay Kumar Shukla

Nilima Jauhari

Richa Bagla

Ajay Kumar Gupta

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: KERALA

shuklask@ias.nic.in

jauharin@ias.nic.in

baglar@ias.nic.in

guptaa3@ias.nic.in

Satyaprakash TL

Meenakshi Rajagopal

RS Shukla

Pankaj Kumar

CADRE: HARYANA

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

lsatya@ias.nic.in

rgopalm@ias.nic.in

srajen@ias.nic.in

kumarp15@ias.nic.in

JM Balamurugan

Nitin N Kareer

C Parthasarathi

Kusumjit Sidhu

CADRE: PUNJAB

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: TELANGANA

CADRE: PUNJAB

bmurugan@ias.nic.in

kareernn@ias.nic.in

parthasa@ias.nic.in

sidhuk@ias.nic.in

Hari Raj Kishore

Shakuntala Gamlin

Mahesh Kumar Singh

Sunil Arora

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

kishoreh@ias.nic.in

gamlins@ias.nic.in

singhmk3@ias.nic.in

aroras@ias.nic.in

Ranbir Singh

Neelam Shammi Rao

Sanjeev Verma

Monika Sehgal Garg

CADRE: UTTARAKHAND

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: JAMMU & KASHMIR

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

singhr4@ias.nic.in

raons@ias.nic.in

vsanjeev@ias.nic.in

gargms@ias.nic.in

Aswini Kumar Parida

Shahla Nigar

Manoj Kumar Shrivastava

Jagdish Chander Sharma

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: CHHATTISGARH

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

paridaak@ias.nic.in

nigars@ias.nic.in

manojkrs@ias.nic.in

sharmajc@ias.nic.in

16-03-1971

16-03-1973

17-03-1968

18-03-1958

19-03-1958

19-03-1968

20-03-1966

20-03-1969

21-03-1976

21-03-1966

22-03-1959

23-03-1959

25-03-1957

25-03-1969

25-03-1958

26-03-1969

26-03-1961

26-03-1959

27-03-1966

27-03-1961

28-03-1957

28-03-1961

29-03-1964

29-03-1961

30-03-1968

31-03-1973

01-04-1960

01-04-1974

01-04-1966

02-04-1956

02-04-1960

03-04-1957

04-04-1968

04-04-1976

04-04-1961

05-04-1960

06-04-1974

07-04-1961

07-04-1966

08-04-1975

09-04-1959

10-04-1968

10-04-1976

11-04-1956

12-04-1958

12-04-1956

12-04-1977

13-04-1956

14-04-1965

15-04-1957

For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

www.gfilesindia.com

IPS officers’ birthdays March 16, 2016 — April 15, 2016

V Balakrishnan

Karuna Sagar

DM Awashthi

Vivek V Phansalkar

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: CHHATTISGARH

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

balakrishnan@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

karunasagar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

dmawashthi@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vvphansalkar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Rajiv Jain

Kaustubh Sharma

Jitendra Kumar

Thrilok Chandra KV

CADRE: JHARKHAND

CADRE: PUNJAB

CADRE: BIHAR

CADRE: KARNATAKA

rajivjain@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

kaustubh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

jitendra_kumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

thrilok@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

R Thirugnanam

Yash Pal Singhal

M Sulaiman Salaria

Vinay M Kargaonkar

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: HARYANA

CADRE: JAMMU & KASHMIR

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

thirugnanam@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

yashpal@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sulaiman@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vmkargaonkar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Rohit Chaudhary

VS Yadav

Anil Kumar

V Murugesan

CADRE: PUNJAB

CADRE: MANIPUR-TRIPURA

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: UTTARAKHAND

rohit@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vsyadav@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

anil_k@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vmurugesan@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Narasingha Bhol

Ravinder Singh Yadav

Ajay Chaudhry

Rajesh Dewan

CADRE: ODISHA

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: KERALA

narasingha@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

rs_yadav@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ajaychaudhry@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

rajeshdewan@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

B Dayananda

Vijay Kumar Singh

Balbir Singh

Rajiv Ranjan Verma

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: MADHYA PRADESH

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

bdayananda@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vijaykumarsingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

balbirsingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

rajivrv@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

N Sanjay

Satya Brata Bhoi

Anand Kumar

Amitabh Yash

CADRE: ANDHRA PRADESH

CADRE: ODISHA

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

nsanjay@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

spjsp.orpol@nic.in

a_kumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

amitabhyash@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Devendra Singh Chauhan

Anuj Sharma

Shivanand Jha

A Shankar Rao

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: SIKKIM

drdschauhan@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

asharma@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

shivanandjha@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ashankarrao@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Balaji Srivastav

Christopher Doungel

Sandeep Bishnoi

Gollapalli Nageswara Rao

CADRE: AGMUT

CADRE: MANIPUR-TRIPURA

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

CADRE: PUNJAB

balajisrivastav@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

cdoungel@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

sandeepbishnoi@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

gnrao@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Rajesh Kumar

M Nanjundaswami

BK Dak

Dalbir Singh Bharati

CADRE: JAMMU & KASHMIR

CADRE: KARNATAKA

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: MAHARASHTRA

krajesh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

mnanjundaswami@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

dak@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

dalbirsingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

BS Jebalia

Anil Singh K Jadeja

K Vanniaperumal

Kewal Khurana

CADRE: GUJARAT

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

CADRE: UTTARAKHAND

jebalia@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

asjadeja@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

vanniaperumal@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

ssp-usn-ua@nic.in

Dinkar Gupta

Hardeep Singh Dhillon

Ashok Kumar Rathore

Gyanwant Singh

CADRE: PUNJAB

CADRE: RAJASTHAN

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

dinkargupta@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

hsdhillon@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

akrathore@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

gsingh@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

Sanjoy Mukherjee

Aloke Prasad

Anil Kumar

C Chandrasekhar

CADRE: WEST BENGAL

CADRE: UTTAR PRADESH

CADRE: TELANGANA

CADRE: TAMIL NADU

sanjoym@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

alokeprasad@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

anilkumar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

cchandrasekhar@mail.svpnpa.gov.in

17-03-1974

17-03-1957

18-03-1962

18-03-1971

19-03-1967

20-03-1963

20-03-1964

21-03-1970

21-03-1957

22-03-1964

22-03-1965

23-03-1963

23-03-1972

24-03-1957

25-03-1961

25-03-1968

26-03-1961

26-03-1975

27-03-1968

28-03-1965

28-03-1970

29-03-1960

30-03-1959

31-03-1958

01-04-1963

01-04-1970

01-04-1960

02-04-1957

03-04-1967

04-04-1963

04-04-1964

04-04-1960

04-04-1964

05-04-1964

05-04-1967

05-04-1968

06-04-1970

07-04-1965

07-04-1977

08-04-1963

09-04-1971

09-04-1958

10-04-1964

11-04-1971

12-04-1961

13-04-1967

14-04-1960

14-04-1978

15-04-1966

15-04-1958

For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

www.indianbuzz.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

birthdays Lok Sabha Members March 16, 2016 — April 15, 2016

Lok Sabha Members March 16, 2016 — April 15, 2016

Radheshyam Biswas

Col. Sona Ram Choudhary

Rajeshbhai N Chudasama

Sharadkumar M Bansode

AIUDF (Assam)

BJP (Rajasthan)

BJP (Gujarat)

BJP (Maharashtra)

radheshyam.biswas@sansad.nic.in

col.sonaram@sansad.nic.in

mp13junagadh@gmail.com

sbansodeg@yahoo.co.in

CR Patil

Ramdas Chandrabhanji Tadas

Sandhya Roy

Rahul Ramesh Shewale

BJP (Gujarat)

BJP (Maharashtra)

AITC (West Bengal)

SS (Maharashtra)

c_r_patil@yahoo.com

rctadas@gmail.com

roysandhya@yahoo.com

rahul.shewale2014@gmail.com

DV Sadananda Gowda

PR Sundaram

Sumitra Mahajan

Jayasingh T Natterjee

BJP (Karnataka)

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

sadanandagowda@yahoo.com

aiadmkprs@gmail.com

s_mahajan@nic.in

jjtnatterjee@gmail.com

Raosaheb Patil Danve

Devendra Singh (Alias) Bhole

BJP (Maharashtra)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

raosaheb.danve@sansad.nic.in

devendra.singh19@sansad.nic.in

Devender Goud T

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy

Rajesh Pandey

Dilip M Patel

TDP (Andhra Pradesh)

AITC (West Bengal)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

BJP (Gujarat)

prajeshmangal@gmail.com

dilip2455@gmail.com

19-03-1959

Jual Oram

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Smriti Zubin Irani

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

23-03-1976

selvaraj@sansad.nic.in

BJP (Gujarat)

Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa

16-03-1954

16-03-1955

18-03-1953

18-03-1955

19-03-1959

22-03-1961

31-03-1945

01-04-1953

02-04-1951

02-04-1954

02-04-1955

02-04-1956

BJP (Odisha)

INC (West Bengal)

jualoram@sansad.nic.in

adhir@sansad.nic.in

V Sathyabama

Parayamparambil K Biju

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

CPI-M (Kerala)

sathyabama.vasu@gmail.com

pkbijump@gmail.com

Om Prakash Yadav

Dushyant Chautala

22-03-1972

23-03-1962

03-04-1974

03-04-1988

BJP (Bihar)

INLD (Haryana)

opyadavmp@gmail.com

dchautala@gmail.com

Bharati Dhirubhai Shyal

Alok Sanjar

BJP (Gujarat)

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

mpbhartishyal@yahoo.com

aloksanjar.mp@gmail.com

23-03-1964

04-04-1963

Jayadev Galla

Hukum Singh

TDP (Andhra Pradesh)

BJP (Uttar Pradesh)

jg@jayadevgalla.in

hukumbjp@gmail.com

24-03-1966

05-04-1938

Dev Varma (Moon Moon Sen) Prasun Banerjee 28-03-1954

06-04-1955

AITC (West Bengal)

raimadevsen@gmail.com

prasuntmcsc@gmail.com

SR Vijayakumar

Md. Badaruddoza Khan

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

CPI-M (West Bengal)

sr.vijayakumar@sansad.nic.in

b.khan@sansad.nic.in

29-03-1974

08-04-1954

Rajiv Pratap Rudy

Doddaalahalli K Suresh

BJP (Bihar)

INC (Karnataka)

rprudy.office@gmail.com

dksuresh18@gmail.com

30-03-1962

08-04-1966

For the complete list, see www.gfilesindia.com

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

10-04-1982

11-04-1941

12-04-1943

14-04-1967

14-04-1973

15-04-1953

Rajya Sabha Members March 16, 2016 — April 15, 2016 18-03-1953

Chandrapal Singh Yadav SP (Uttar Pradesh)

smritizirani@sansad.nic.in

05-04-1949

sukhendu.sekhar@sansad.nic.in

AK Selvaraj 07-04-1958

09-04-1936

Birender Singh

SAD (Punjab)

25-03-1946

sukhdevd@sansad.nic.in

BJP (Haryana)

Jaya Bachchan

S Muthukaruppan 25-03-1958

AIADMK (Tamil Nadu)

09-04-1948

SP (Uttar Pradesh)

jbachchan@sansad.nic.in

Dola Sen

Jairam Ramesh

AITC (West Bengal)

INC (Andhra Pradesh)

26-03-1967

Oscar Fernandes 27-03-1941

INC (Karnataka)

oscar@sansad.nic.in

09-04-1954

jairam@sansad.nic.in

Mani Shankar Aiyar 10-04-1941

INC (Nominated)

Kiranmay Nanda

Shantaram Naik

SP (Uttar Pradesh)

INC (Goa)

29-03-1944

12-04-1946

k.nanda@sansad.nic.in

Shantaram.naik@sansad.nic.in

PJ Kurien

Salim Ansari

INC (Kerala)

BSP (Uttar Pradesh)

31-03-1941

12-04-1962

Pj.nanda@sansad.nic.in

salim.ansari@sansad.nic.in

Bhubaneswar Kalita

Najma A Heptulla

INC (Assam)

BJP (Madhya Pradesh)

01-04-1951

13-04-1940

b.kalita@sansad.nic.in

najmah@sansad.nic.in

K Rahman Khan

Bhupinder Singh

INC (Karnataka)

BJD (Odisha)

05-04-1939

krkhan@sansad.nic.in

13-04-1951

Bhupindersingh.mp@sansad.nic.in

www.gfilesindia.com

Tracking

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

PHOTOS: PIB

PK MOHANTY The 1979-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre has been appointed the new Chief Secretary of Kerala.

DJ PANDIAN The 1981-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre has been appointed Vice-President and Chief Investment Officer of newly created Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as an Indian nominee.

VINOD KUMAR THAKRAL The 1982-batch IAS officer of the Manipur-Tripura cadre has been assigned additional charge as Member (Finance), Atomic Energy/Space / Earth Commission.

BHANWAR LAL The 1983-batch IAS officer of the Telangana cadre has been appointed Chief Electoral Officer of the newly created state of Telangana.

AMBUJ SHARMA The 1983-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed Additional Chief Secretary, Industries and Commerce, in Tamil Nadu.

ATANU CHAKRABORTY The 1985-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre has been appointed Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DG, DGH) in the rank of Additional Secretary for a period of four years.

President Pranab Mukherjee with the Officer Trainees of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) of the 2015 batch

AMIT KHARE

PRIYANK BHARTI

The 1985-batch IAS officer, Principal Secretary, Finance, Government of Jharkhand, has been given additional charge as Development Commissioner of the state.

The 2001-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre has been appointed Director in the Ministry of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping.

DINESH MALHOTRA

The 2002-batch IAS officer of the Union Territory cadre has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The 2000-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre has been appointed Managing Director, HP Tourism Development Corporation.

Moving On: IAS officers retiring in March 2016 ASSAM-MEGHALAYA

Bhaskar Mushahary (1980)

ANDHRA PRADESH

Ramesh Kr Nimmagadda (1982)

BIHAR

Sudhir Kumar (1982) Rameshwar Singh (1983) Prabhakar Jha (2000)

CHHATTISGARH

Ramesh Krishan (1997)

JHARKHAND

Sajal Chakrabarty (1980)

JAMMU & KASHMIR

MAHARASHTRA

SM Khanapure (2002)

HARYANA

Bishnu Prasad Sahoo (2001) Nityananda Palai (2003)

ODISHA

ADUSUMILLI V RAJAMOULI The 2003-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre has been appointed Additional Secretary to the Chief Minister.

Madhu Sudan Sharma

SAUMYA GUPTA

SIKKIM

The 2004-batch IAS officer of the Manipur-Tripura cadre has been assigned additional charge as Director, Agriculture Marketing, in the Delhi Government.

CT Wangdi (2001)

Mohammad A Bukhari (1999) TAMIL NADU Mohan Verghese KARNATAKA Chunkath (1978) KS Sathyamurthy (1999) NS Channappa Gowda (1999) UTTARAKHAND S Raju (1983)

Dinesh Kumar Shrivastava (1992) Madhusudan Prasad (1981)

RAJASTHAN

NIKHIL KUMAR

UTTAR PRADESH

Alok Ranjan (1978) Brij Kishor Singh (1997)

DS BAINS The retired IAS officer has been appointed chairman of the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC).

KETAN SHUKLA The 1986-batch IFS officer has been appointed the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Botswana.

gfiles inside the government

www.indianbuzz.com

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

IYR KRISHNA RAO The 1979-batch IAS officer has taken over as Chairman of the Brahmin Welfare Corporation.

RICHA VERMA The 2012-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre has been appointed Sub Divisional Officer (Civil), Nahan district, Sirmour, in Himachal Pradesh.

ANSHUL GARG The 2013-batch IAS officer of the Jammu & Kashmir cadre has been appointed Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Ramnagar, in Jammu & Kashmir.

P HARISH The 1990-batch IFS officer has been appointed the next Ambassador of India to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a group photograph with the IAS probationers of the 2015 batch at the Parliament Library in New Delhi on February 23, 2016. The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, the Secretary, DoPT, Sanjay Kothari, and other dignitaries are also seen.

ALOK VERMA The 1979-batch IPS officer of the Union Territory cadre has taken over charge as the new Police Commissioner, Delhi.

NIRMAL KAUR The 1983-batch IPS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, IG/Director, BPR&D, has been appointed Additional Director General in the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).

HC AWASTHI

Vice President M.Hamid Ansari interacting with the Officer Trainees of the Indian Foreign Service (2014 batch) in New Delhi on February 26, 2016.

The 1985-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre has been appointed DG, Telecom.

Rajasthan cadre has been appointed Nodal Officer for the implementation of Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) in Rajasthan.

SANJAY AGRAWAL

VIJAY KUMAR SHARMA

The 1992-batch IPS officer of the Rajasthan cadre has been appointed the new Police Commissioner, Jaipur.

The 1986-batch IFS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre has been appointed Managing Director, HP State Handicrafts & Handloom Corporation Ltd, in Himachal Pradesh.

DAYAL GANGWAR The 1998-batch IPS officer of the Odisha cadre has been appointed Deputy Inspector General in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

MEENU CHAUDHARY The 2000-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre has been deputed as Private Secretary to DV Sadanand Gowda, Minister for Law & Justice.

MAHMOOD ALAM TARIK The 2004-batch IPS officer of the

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

SANTOSH KUMAR KAMILA The 1986-batch IPoS officer has been

THE FOLLOWING JUDGES HAVE BEEN APPOINTED JUDGES OF THE MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT: Justice JARAT KUMAR JAIN, Justice SUSHIL KUMAR PALO, Justice VANDANA KASREKAR, Justice RAJENDRA MAHAJAN, Justice CHANDRAHAS SIRPURKAR.

appointed Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) in the Ordinance Factory Board (OFB).

SK SAHAY The 1979-batch IRS-IT officer is the new Member of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) (IT).

AMIT GOVIL The IRS-IT officer has been appointed Commissioner of Income Tax in the office of Principal CCIT, Delhi region.

ARVIND KUMAR NAUTIYAL The 1992-batch IRSME officer has been appointed Director in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in the Government of India.

UK SINHA The 1976 IAS officer of the Bihar cadre has been re-appointed SEBI Chief for one year, till March 1, 2017. He was given a two-year extension earlier.

www.gfilesindia.com

...by the way Skilling the top rung

Under Modiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s watch

epartment of Personnel and Training (DoPT) 6HFUHWDU\ 6DQMD\ .RWKDUL ZDQWV WR LPSURYH WKH VNLOOV of the top civil servants so DoPT has constituted a board of National Facilitators who will run different training SURJUDPPHV IRU RIÂżFHUV 7KH IDFLOLWDWRUV RQ ERDUG DUH IRUPHU &RDO 6HFUHWDU\ 6. 6KULYDVWDYD IRUPHU $JULFXOWXUH 6HFUHWDU\ $QXS .XPDU 7KDNXU 1DWLRQDO 6KLSSLQJ %RDUG &KDLUPDQ 9LVKZDSDWL 7ULYHGL DQG IRUPHU UHWLUHG 8UEDQ 'HYHORSPHQW 6HFUHWDULHV 6XGKLU .ULVKQD DQG 8SHQGUD Nath Bora. This high-powered group has planned â&#x20AC;&#x153;high TXDOLW\Â´ WUDLQLQJ PRGXOHV LQ DVVRFLDWLRQ ZLWK WKH 8QLWHG Nations Development Programme. The programme will start with the screening of Sydney Lumetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1957 classic, 12 Angry Men, to sharpen the leadership skills of top bureaucrats, emphasising ethics and values through WKLV ÂżOP ,W RIIHUV OHVVRQV RQ EXLOGLQJ FRQVHQVXV DPRQJ pe so s with t different d e e t personalities pe so persons from different backgrounds. The Th focus will be on bureaucrats â&#x20AC;&#x153;comprehending â&#x20AC;&#x153;comp the SRZHU RI LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQFH LQ WKH SRZHU RI LQĂ&#x20AC; functioning of leadership, relating to the th traits and behaviours associated with leadership and dealing with multiple stakeholders st in a complex and PXOWLFXOWXUDO HQYLURQPHQWÂ´ 7KH 81'3 KDV SUHSDUHG WKH two-day module on leadership at the request of the DoPT. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The entire programme will have the following ethos interspersing all sessions â&#x20AC;&#x201D; accountability, creativity/ possibility thinking, going within, positivity, positive vision and inspiring goals, actions: What is mine to do?â&#x20AC;? as per the course module. Leading a stress-free as well as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;wholesome life in all dimensionsâ&#x20AC;? will also be a part of WKH Âľ(WKLFV DQG 9DOXHVÂś PRGXOH 7KH ÂżOP 12 Angry Men LQ ,QGLDQ GLUHFWRU %DVX &KDWWHUMHH UHPDGH LW DV Ek Ruka Hua Faisla LV WKH VWRU\ RI KRZ MXURUV DUH asked to reach a unanimous decision on whether a person is guilty or not, with the accused set to receive a death VHQWHQFH LI WKH MXU\ ÂżQGV KLP JXLOW\ 7KH ÂżOP VKRZV KRZ D ORQH MXURU ZKR KDG GRXEWV DERXW WKH HYLGHQFH PDQDJHV WR win over his 11 colleagues. g

www.indianbuzz.com

wo important resource-rich public sector undertakings are on the radar of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and the Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). The NMDC is idle without a permanent chairman, though Gopal Singh was selected by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) in July 2015 but there was no initiative from WKH 3ULPH 0LQLVWHUÂśV 2IÂżFH WR FOHDU KLV QDPH $W the same time, there were also rumours about the clandestine manner in which he was selected. Sources disclosed that the PMOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s silence is possibly because it was aware about the modus operandi of the then PESB chairman. It is now learnt that the Ministry of Steel has scrapped the selection panel and a search committee has been constituted to select a new and competent candidate. Meanwhile in the DGH, the SRVW RI '* ZDV YDFDQW IRU D ORQJ WLPH )LQDOO\ $WDQX &KDNUDERUW\ D EDWFK ,$6 RIÂżFHU RI WKH *XMDUDW cadre, has been appointed. He is at present working DV 0DQDJLQJ 'LUHFWRU RI WKH *XMDUDW 6WDWH 3HWUROHXP Corporation Ltd. Chakraborty has served in the districts of Vadodara, Sabarkantha and was Collector RI $PUHOL GLVWULFW ,Q *DQGKLQDJDU KH KDV VHUYHG LQ the Finance, Home, Tribal Development and Labour Departments. He has also worked as Principal 6HFUHWDU\ (FRQRPLF $IIDLUV )LQDQFH 'HSDUWPHQW *XMDUDW 0RGL LV FOHDUO\ VHOHFWLQJ WKH KHDGV RI 368V very carefully. g

gfiles inside the government

vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

...by the way The cost factor

UDQVSRUW 0LQLVWU\ RIÂżFLDOV DUH VDLG WR EH LQ D WL]]\ about what the surface of roads in India should be like. This situation has come about because the construction business is in recessionary mode. The cement industry, particularly, is facing a crunch because of low demand. So, members of the Manufacturers of Cement Association (MCA) met the Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, and requested him to use a cement component in laying highways. Gadkari patiently listened to them and then suggested they should meet National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman Raghav Chandra. Currently,

Now for some real news

upriya Sahu, IAS, has been recommended by the Prasar Bharati Board as the next DG Doordarshan. She will take charge after approval from the ACC. But in the meantime, there seems to be a lot of talk over her selection for the coveted job in the nearly dead organisation. A large chunk of SURIHVVLRQDOV UHIXVH WR DFFHSW KHU FUHGHQWLDOV DV ÂżW WR lead a huge force of techno-programme cadre. The Chairman of the Board too was heard to be fuming over the coup. He even had a showdown with the CEO. Sources reveal that to bring Doordarshan back on rails, he was set to promote a professional culture by inducting internal candidates. It is also learnt that he had sounded both the Ministers, who gave a nod to his scheme of things. In such a situation, the unexpected somersault in the guise of Sahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appointment has raised many an eyebrow. The KDVWH WR SXVK WKH FDVH RI WKH ODG\ RIÂżFHU DV WKH ORQH candidate is also being frowned upon. Is a group of bureaucrats apprehending inconvenient times ahead, behind this move? Are these bureaucrats trying to hide something that is already known to others! g

ZH OHDUQ 1+$, RIÂżFLDOV DUH FRQGXFWLQJ D FRVW EHQHÂżW analysis. But everyone knows there are two methods WR FRQVWUXFW D URDG 2QH Ă&#x20AC;H[LEOH SDYHPHQW ZKLFK consists of various layers of granular material with a layer of bituminous materials on top. The other is rigid pavement, which consists of cement concrete pavements laid on a well-prepared granular sub-base. With the international prices of bituminous materials slumping by 25 per cent in February, the rigid pavement method is obviously more costly. In addition, rigid pavements exert more wear and tear impact on vehicles. In these FLUFXPVWDQFHV 1+$, RIÂżFLDOV DUH NHHSLQJ D GLVFUHWH silence as they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what the Ministry would like. MCA leaders are, meanwhile, knocking on the doors of NHAI, but there appears to be no light on the road. g ILLUSTRATIONS: ARUNA

gfiles inside the government vol. 9, issue 12 | March 2016

www.gfilesindia.com

Regn.No.DL(C)-14/1161/2016-2018 Licence No. U(C)-03/2016-17, 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. `200, vol. 9, issue 12 | Date of Publication: 5/3/2016 | Pages 60