Tax hound Sudhir Chandra takes over as new CBDT chairman

A FEW months ago, a survey undertaken by babusofindia.com sprang a surprise by declaring 1973 batch IRS officer Sudhir Chandra as the fourth most powerful bureaucrat in India, 2010 behind cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar, principal secretary to PM TKA Nair and home secretary GK Pillai. Chandra, the no non-sense officer in North Block who as Member, Investigation in CBDT brought hopes to thousands of IRS officers by demonstrating that an IRS officer was no less than an IAS.

On December 31, 2010, Sudhir Chandra was appointed as the chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes, replacing his IRS batch-mate SSN Moorthy. Post retirement, Moorthy will relocate himself to Mumbai to take charge as Member in Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).

While announcing that Chandra is the fourth most powerful bureaucrat in India, Team BoI wrote: “When 400 taxmen carried out a massive search operation across properties of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda last year to trace his Rs 2000 cr allegedly unaccounted assets, a tax hound sitting at his North Block office was instructing everybody how to be extremely polite in handling the operation, but at the same time be as courageous as “Rani of Jhansi”. That was just the beginning of a string of I-T raids at the premises of impregnable IAS officers and leading business houses which were hitherto considered as safe domains…Chandra has proved that no one including politicians and top bureaucrats should feel secured and flaunt their unaccounted money because of their clout in the corridors of power. He is truly the corridors’ game-changer.”

Read

Know The Super Taxman

Gujral to hold addition charge of NHAI chairman

RS Gujral, a 1976 batch Haryana cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways has been given the additional charge of chairman, National Highways Authority of India. The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) has approved giving additional charge to Gujral for a period of three months from January 1, 2011. Current chairman Brijeshwar Singh, on his superannuation on 31st August 2010, was re-employed as chairman, NHAI, on contract basis, first for a period of three months which was later extended by one month.

Read

Kamal Nath’s Old Hand

Action and Appointments

a) Vice Admiral DK Joshi on Friday took cover as the chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) from Air Marshal SC Mukul. Earlier Vice Admiral DK Joshi was Commander in Chief of Andman and Nicobar Command.

b) Air Marshal DC Kumaria will take over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command (WAC) at Subroto Park, in New Delhi on 01 January 2011.