PMO monitors probe against officers, claims a news channel

THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun a probe against some government officials, who are accused of taking bribes from US companies. India’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is monitoring the investigations, says an Indian news channel. The news which was repeatedly on air, further said that allegation of corruption by babus was brought to the PMO’s notice by Indian ambassador to the US Meera Shankar, who wrote a letter to principal secretary to the Prime Minister T K A Nair on May 12 saying a number of Indian companies had received illegal payments from some US companies. The letter also made several references to payments made by US companies to Indian officers, the channel claims. Among the companies named in the report for allegedly paying bribe were Mario Covino of Control Companies, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation and Dow Chemicals. BoI (Babus of India) could not independently verify the allegations.

Officials meet to discuss SMEs The first meeting of the Sub-Group on the Infrastructure/Technology/Skill Development of the Task Force constituted by the Prime Minister’s Office was held in New Delhi recently under the chairmanship of Dinesh Rai, secretary, ministry of micro, small & medium enterprises. Additional chief secretary to Tamil Nadu P Selvam suggested that there should be some earmarked quota of industrial plots for MSEs. Several officers including Saurabh Garg, secretary-cum-commissioner gave valuable inputs. Prime Minister to address CMDs today Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh will address the chief executives of public sector enterprises and present the MOU and SCOPE Excellence Awards on October 15, 2009 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Four PSEs which will receive MOU awards for two consecutive years 2006-07 and 2007-08, are CONCOR, Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) and Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF). Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) will receive two MOU Excellence Awards in the mining and metal sector and also in the category of listed CPSEs for the year 2007-08. SCOPE excellence awards for the year 2007-08 will be received by S K Roongta, chairman, SAIL (Individual Category); CIL (Institutional Category); HEC (Special Institutional Category) etc.