The Govt’s voice

Neelam Kapoor,who is widely tipped to be the next Principal Information Officer (PIO),is now head of the Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP). An Indian Information Service officer,she is next in seniority and may well become the longest-serving PIO since she has nine years of service left. Her posting as the DAVP head is being seen as a crucial stepping stone for her next move. The DAVP top job is crucial in an election year. While Kapoor is learnt to have tried to hold both posts — at the DAVP and the PIB,where she had been for the last few months — the Government felt the DAVP would require her full attention in the run-up to the general elections.The buzz is that this can become her baptism by fire.