Delhi Confidential: Sip Of Life

HNBG Central University in Uttarakhand has been without a regular head since the HRD Ministry fired the last vice-chancellor, Jawahar Lal Kaul, in 2017, for administrative irregularities. While the government had launched its search for the next V-C within a month of sacking Kaul, there’s been no appointment for close to one-and-a-half years. It turns out that the institution’s wait for a V-C is only set to get longer as the President’s office is learnt to have returned the file with a panel of three finalists submitted by the ministry. Rashtrapati Bhavan is learnt to have asked the government for a fresh set of names for the post, as one of the three finalists, Avinash Khare, was appointed vice-chancellor of Sikkim University in the interim.

Quick Rise

Within days of joining the BJP, former Samajwadi Party MP Neeraj Shekhar is set to be part of a high-profile function on Wednesday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases a book on former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. The book has been written by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh. Neeraj, Chandra Shekhar’s son, who had been among the more aggressive Samajwadi Party MPs, had resigned last week. His resignation was accepted immediately, and he joined the BJP the following day.