Filling the gap

Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena would know this better.

Filling the gap

With experience comes more responsibility. Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena would know this better. He had to answer a question on bio-medical waste disposal during the Question Hour on Monday. The query was for the Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan,who is caught up in the global climate change negotiations in Durban. Meena answered the question without much difficulty as he was the Minister of State for Environment and Forests during UPA-I.

INSIDE SOURCE

While addressing a gathering at the Jantar Mantar on Sunday,Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal did more than the customary government bashing. He let out a secret about the CBI. According to Kejriwal,former special director of the CBI,M L Sharma,was all set to become the director of the agency and was even congratulated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But when Sharma reached his office,he was in for a shock as the name of Ashwani Kumar was announced as the next director. According to Kejriwal,the incident happened some three years ago. Sharma a 1972 batch Rajasthan cadre IPS officer who had handled high profile cases like those of Priyadarshini Mattoo and Uphaar tragedy during his long stint in the CBI was a batch-mate of Kejriwals colleague and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi. So,no prize for guessing who was Kejriwals source.

House uncut

A PARLIAMENTARY delegation from Myanmar got a taste of functioning of the Indian Parliament when they visited the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The delegation was ushered into the visitors gallery during the Question Hour. Minutes after they took the seat,the House witnessed major ruckus with the Opposition cornering Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde over coal allocation. This surprised many of the members of the delegation who got up to see the roaring tempers inside the House. Amid chairman Hamid Ansaris repeated pleas to maintain decorum,Cabinet minister Farooq Abdullah wondered what impression the visiting delegation might have gained.

Tailpiece

IN his excitement to criticise Kapil Sibal for his reported attempts to pre-screen content on social networking sites,celebrated investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala,often called Indias Warren Buffet,seemed to cross the line by a yard in his tweet: Dont think Sibal even understands the internet. This happens when you make a lawyer an IT Minister. Like hiring Mayawati for an item song.

Bid to rescue blacklisted Rajiv Gandhi institute

New Delhi: It was among the 40-odd deemed to be universities which was blacklisted by the HRD last year. A year later,the Cabinet will on Tuesday consider a proposal to convert it into an institution of national importance.

On the Cabinet agenda,sources said,is a proposal to introduce in the winter session,the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development Bill,2011. The Bill,piloted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is aimed at creating an institution of national importance for development of youth. In fact,the HRD Ministry had opened the doors for elevation of the institute,which was established in 1993,after blacklisting it as undeserving of the status.

NCHRH Bill to be discussed in Cabinet

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New Delhi: THE National Commission for Human Resources for Health Bill 2011 will be taken up by the Cabinet on Tuesday. The NCHRH will be an overarching body for regulation of medical sciences and allied sciences education and will be responsible for ensuring availability of healthcare providers,including doctors,nurses,pharmacists,paramedics across the country to reduce shortages.

The commission would have three arms National Board of Health Education,National Evaluation and Assessment Committee and national councils for each of the professions to provide a grievance redressal mechanism.