“Ravana wore ten crowns. Why can’t you wear just one?”: Bengaluru Police goes creative in helmet advt

“Ravana wore ten crowns. Why can’t you wear just one?”, says an advertisement issued by Bengaluru Police. The advertisement is creative and newsy, a day before the Dusshera. Its hashtag says: Helmets Save Life. Bengaluru Police’s DCP Traffic East handle adds a comment with the post: “Stop finding reasons for not wearing a Helmet. Life is too precious to lose for silly reasons”. In fact, Bengaluru Police’s pinned tweet is more creative. It says:

From awareness on stalking to guiding a complainant, cops now use Twitter at ease

Hyderabad Police advt on stalking

IF YOU are a police officer and active in Twitter, get ready for queries in social media too. And mind it, it’s not just queries alone, if you can’t crack the case, be prepared to get adverse feedback on your “inability” – and that too, all in an open forum. First, here is a recent Twitter conversation of a complainant who lost his laptop with the Bengaluru police which through its official Twitter handle trying to guide the complainant:

Kant as Khan: How DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant had to play Shah Rukh Khan’s “role”; more on branding

Kant while delivering his speech

THE organizers of the International Advertising Association requested Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan to be the chief guest in their IAA Silver Jubilee Summit held in Kochi earlier this month, but they did not want to take any risk. They needed someone as…

A print advertisement says joint secretary Ganai will inaugurate exhibition yesterday!

Ganai at the exhibition on February 6

HAVE you ever received an invitation card after the event got over? It does happen, and you invariably blame it to India Post. But what do you do when you spot a reasonably big-sized advertisement in a national newspaper stating that a joint secretary will inaugurate an event yesterday! You do laugh. It’s entertaining. Look at the advertisement issued by Photo Division of information and broadcasting ministry that had appeared in Delhi edition of Hindustan Times on February 7. It says: “Sh Khurshid Ahmed Ganai, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will inaugurate the exhibition on 6^th February, 2012 at 4.30…All are cordially invited”. The invitation is correct to the extent that the said photo exhibition remains open for public till February 10, and any confused guy landing up at New Delhi’s AIFACS hall to listen to 1982 batch Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS Ganai, does not need to come back empty handed. The exhibition showcases selected photos of winners of 1^st National Photo Awards, 2010.
In fact, Ganai is a close confidante of Abdullah family, and had served as principal secretary to Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah. A mechanical engineer before joining IAS, Ganai had also served as resident commissioner of New Delhi’s Jammu and Kashmir Bhawan.
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A Kashmiri Doc tops IAS exam

Action and Appointments

a) Vikram Misri, a 1989 batch IFS officer has been appointed as joint secretary in the PMO. He will replace Pankaj Saran, also an IFS.
b) S Sundareshan, a 1976 batch Kerela cadre IAS and currently secretary of the ministry of heavy industries, will hold additional charge of steel secretary till February 15, 2012.

WOOING BABUS: DLF offers up to Rs 27 lakh discount to government officials

DLF, India’s biggest real estate company by market capitalization, has offered discounts up to whopping Rs 27 lakh on its residential projects in eight cities to serving and retired bureaucrats. Gurgaon, its home turf, is however excluded from the list of cities where it has showered such discounts. In a big print advertisement designed with a heap of office files with three colours as in the national flag, the company has called it “a special tribute offer from DLF to all government and defence officials”.

In this week of Republic Day, the company has tried to catch in on the patriotic sentiments. It says in the advertisement: “It’s the time we return the favour of those who serve the nation selflessly”.

Real estate and auto companies occasionally try to woo government employees mainly for two reasons. First, the government employees form a sizable target audience for big value purchases as their job is one of the most secured, and many of them sit on huge cash reserves. There are over 5.5 million serving Central government employees alone. Also, such an offer becomes a window to reach a number of influential customers at the heart of power centers.

The DLF’s discount between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 27 lakh for its residential projects to sarkari employees, is however, valid till March 25, 2012 only in eight cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Jalandhar, Kochi, Lucknow, New Chandigarh, Panchkula and Shimla. According to the advertisement, the offer could be availed by serving and retired officials of the Central and state government, banks, PSUs, railways, defence and paramilitary forces.

Ex-home secretary GK Pillai wants PERC report to be thrown to dustbin

Outspoken former home secretary GK Pillai wrote in a column in a national newspaper that the recent report of Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy calling Indian bureaucracy the worst in Asia deserves to be consigned to the dustbin. This is how Pillai has argued on the issue: “If India scored 9.21 where 10 is the worst score, I can only conclude that the expatriate businessmen polled had no idea of what India is and how businesses in India — both local and foreign — are thriving. The report is, therefore, fit to be consigned to the dustbin, where I am sure it has already gone.”

Christy Fernandes’ liking of “beautiful machines” in Auto Expo featured in ads

Christy Fernandes

AFTER top business honchos criticized organizers of the ongoing Auto Expo in Delhi for free distribution of business-day passes and converting this serious business event into a “Kumbh Mela”, organizers including CII, SIAM and Auto Components Manufacturers Association gave full-page newspaper advertisements to counter those claims. And the advertisement featured among others the comments from Dr Christy Fernandes, a 1973 batch IAS and secretary to President of India. This is what Fernandes said, as displayed in the advertisement: “It was a great experience! My wife and I enjoyed the glimpse of some of the most beautiful machines. Congratulations to CII, SIAM and other sponsors who organized this wonderful show. Keep it up”. The claim of the organizers was that the Auto Expo was the king of all trade shows just like Kumbh mela is the king of all fairs.

A Machine in Expo

On Saturday, newspapers carried reports on how Mahindra and Mahindra CEO Anand Mahindra called it a Kumbh Mela after he was jostled and pushed around by the crowd.

The auto show, which saw participation from 1,500 exhibitors of 24 nations, was meant to be a serious business affair for the first two days but as CEOs said a large number of free passes were issued which turned it into a “general picnic”.

This biennial event saw unveiling of 24 cars by domestic companies and eight by global players in addition to eight new two-wheelers.