For Presentation8217;s sake

Working under five ministers in 14 months,the various directorates in Railway Board have become quite adept at making presentations on their respective verticals.

Working under five ministers in 14 months,the various directorates in Railway Board have become quite adept at making presentations on their respective verticals. After arrival,every new minister has been demanding an overview of the work each directorate does as part of their initiation process. Currently,new Railways Minister C P Joshi is holding rounds of meetings viewing presentations of various important directorates. A few months ago it was Pawan Kumar Bansal and before that it was Mukul Roy. Since Joshis predecessors have served rather short stints in office,the directorates have only had to make minor updates and modifications in their presentations. The Railway babus,however,are now hoping Joshi will stay on a little longer and grant them some reprieve from this exercise.

STILL ON TOP

FOR a moment one thought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,on his official visit to Japan,was caught on the wrong foot when he responded to a Japanese bankers question with an uncharacteristic answer: The higher we go in public life,the lesser we know. And then the banker,who had asked him about the regulatory difficulties foreign banks face to open branches in metropolitan cities in India and other technical issues,was in for a detailed answer that just showed Singh was still in full know of every regulatory detail in the finance sector.

FLYING HIGH

VERY few people occupying high offices would be able to match the ability of Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to explore the outside world. Take the latest case. After she was done with a visit of Belarus,Kumar decided not to proceed to her next halt,Ukraine,for,she did not want to be subjected to a security search upon landing. Back in Delhi for a while,she has taken off again,now to Slovenia.

IN COOLER CLIMES

TEMPERS may have risen on the Indian side over the recent incident of Chinese incursion in Indian territory but MPs have now decided that the issue requires some clear and cool headed thinking. With the mercury scaling scorching new heights in New Delhi,members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence have decided to visit the ice-clad regions of Nathul-la and Tawang to take a stock of the Armys border management along the India-China border. The committee is slated to visit the eastern sector of the India-China border during the first week of June.

HOME CONNECTION

US Secretary of State John Kerrys speech at the 50th African Union Summit also attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari was rather short,but one that instantly struck a chord. And it had to do with his better half. Kerry revealed that his Africa connection came through his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry. Born in Mozambique,she grew up in Maputo,studied in Johannesburg,and as a student even marched up protesting apartheid. The mention was enough to draw a huge applause from the audience.