No exemption from Training for employee in the verge of retirement

Ministry of Railways has issued a Circular rejecting NFIR’s request from exempting staff who are on the verge of retirement.

No exemption from Training for employee in the verge of retirement

Railway Employees at the verge of retirement should NOT be exempted from attending the promotional training – Railway Board

Ministry of Railways has issued a Circular regarding successful completion of promotional training should be mandatory before being promoted to a particular post.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
RAILWAY BOARD

No.E(MPP)2015/3/28

New Delhi, dated 26.l l.2015

The General Manager,
All Indian Railways &
Production Units.

Sub: Successful completion of Promotional training – reiteration of instructions.

Reference Board’s letter No.E(MPP)99 /19 /l /5.3 dated 25.2.2002 (RBE No.25/2002) conveying Board’s decision that successful completion of promotional training should be mandatory before being promoted to a particular post.

The subject matter was discussed during PNM meeting with NFIR. During the interaction, it was pointed out that those staff, who are on the verge of retirement should be exempted from attending the promotional training.

Federation’s demand has been examined in detail in consultation with various training centres and it has been decided that instructions issued vide Board’s letter dated 25.2.2002 referred above be followed strictly. No exemptions are permissible.

(Anuradha Singh)
Director (MPP)
Railway Board

Download Railway Board Circular No.E(MPP)2015/3/28 dated 26.11.2015

No interviews for government jobs from Jan 1; skill test may continue: DoPT

No interviews for government jobs from Jan 1; skill test may continue: DoPT

New Delhi: All central government ministries and their Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) were today told to dispense with the requirement of interviews for selections at junior level posts within next two days, however, they may continue with skill or physical test.

The timeliness set regarding completing the process of the discontinuation of interview by December 31, 2015 has to be adhered to strictly, a communique sent by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to secretaries of all central government ministries said.

From January 1, 2016, there will be no recruitment with interview at the junior level posts in government of India ministries, departments, attached and subordinate offices, autonomous bodies and PSUs.

“All the advertisement for future vacancies will be without the interview as part of the recruitment process,” said today’s Office Memorandum No.39020/01/2013-Estt (B)-Part.

The decision to discontinue interview for recruitments is for all Group C and non-gazetted posts of Group ‘B’ category and all such equivalent posts, the DoPT said.

“It is also clarified that as skill test or physical test is different from interview, they may continue. However, these tests will only be of qualifying nature. Assessment will not be done on the basis of marks for such tests,” it said.

In case of specific posts where the ministry or department wants to continue undertaking interview as a process of recruitment, a detailed proposal seeking exemption will have to be sent to the DoPT with the approval of the minister or minister-in-charge.

The ministries have been asked to send a consolidated report to the DoPT by January 7 in this regard.
“Report so to be furnished with the approval of the minister or minister-in-charge shall include the details of the name and number of posts where the interview is discontinued and posts for which the exemption has been sought within the purview of the administrative ministries or departments,” the order said.

Similarly, the Department of Public enterprises has also asked all ministries to advise PSUs under their administrative control to adopt a revised mechanism of recruitment for the non-executive level posts by dispensing with the practice of interview.

PTI

Armed Forces are not Perceived as an Attractive Career Any More – 7th CPC has worsened the Situation Further

The reason for this is that the 7th Pay Commission has systematically and with malevolent intent, downgraded the Armed Forces from an All India Service that it was considered to be.

Armed Forces are not Perceived as an Attractive Career Any More – 7th CPC has worsened the Situation Further

Armed Forces are not Perceived as an Attractive Career Any More – We would have been better served if the Commission had concentrated on dealing with the challenges faced by the military in attracting talent.
Those familiar with Dante Alighieri, the 13th century Italian poet, and his enduring work, The Divine Comedy, will be aware of the nine layers of hell. The ninth level, symbolised by the three mouths of Satan, was reserved for traitors. One can, but speculate, as to who would occupy them, if the poem had been set in India.

Raja Jaichand of Kannauj is a certainty; his assistance to Mohammed Ghouri led to Prithviraj Chauhan’s defeat and death, ushering Muslim rule in India. Another certainty is Mir Jafar who was instrumental in Robert Clive’s victory at Plassey; ensuring subsequent British rule in India. The third choice, if left to the serving and retired military community, would unanimously be the Seventh Pay Commission.

The reason for this is that the 7th Pay Commission has systematically and with malevolent intent, downgraded the Armed Forces from an All India Service that it was considered to be. That its actions have been cloaked in ambiguity and hypocrisy, with blatant disregard for facts, suggests arrogance and an utter contempt for propriety.

That the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations suffer from major lacunae is in no small measure because the Government continues to insist, despite forming the largest cadre affected by its deliberations, that the Armed Forces is incapable of providing expert representation and requires a Civilian Defence Audit and Accounts officer to represent them. This in itself is abhorrent.

Benjamin Disraeli, the former British Prime Minister, once said, “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Table II of the Commission’s report illustrates this in full. It has compared component-wise defence expenditure in percentage terms of 10 selected countries and drawn two conclusions.

First, that “Increased expenditure on personnel has been at the expense of operational and maintenance expenditure”. Second, that “The need to calibrate growth in expenditure on pay and allowances for defence forces personnel so as to ensure that the composition of defence expenditure — between capital and revenue and within revenue between pay and allowances and others is not skewed so as to adversely affect the operational and strategic objectives of the defence forces”.

From these conclusions, the 7th Pay Commission has clearly shown its intent as to how it wished to proceed regarding emoluments for the defence forces. This raises the fundamental question as to the rationale for selecting countries for comparison: Was it of similar size or threat perception? Comparisons with our neighbours, especially those inimical to us, would be helpful, despite the fact that every country has its own unique circumstances that needs consideration.

Moreover, how can we compare component-wise expenditures in percentage terms, without comparing defence Budgets as well as that would it put things in perspective? The Commission itself points out that defence expenditure as a percentage of the gross domestic product and as percentage of Government expenditure has declined from 2.19 per cent in 1995-1996 to 1.80 per cent in 2012-2013 and from 14.50 per cent in 1995-1996 to 12.89 per cent in 2012-2013 respectively.

In contrast, China’s defence budget for 2012 was two per cent of its GDP. As its GDP is approximately six times as that of ours, expenditure on its defence forces was more than seven times than ours and as their forces are about double our strength, in real terms, their defence expenditure has been triple ours.

The logical conclusion, given our adversarial relationship with China, would have been for the Commission to have recommended an increase in the defence budget, in which case, it needn’t have focused on the “skewed revenue-capital expenditure” to the extent it has.

Take another statistical anomaly, the 7th Pay Commission has compared pay progression of a service officer vis-à-vis, Civil Services and concluded that “Not only has the starting pay of a defence officers been placed substantially higher at 29 per cent more than his/her civilian counterpart, this gap continues to remain wide at over 20 per cent for the first nine years of service. In fact, the pay of defence service officers remains uninterruptedly higher for a 32 year period. Thereafter, the pay of defence and civil service officers are at par”.

However, these figures only tell a part of the story, as the picture changes dramatically if we were to also compare the service/rank profile and promotion opportunities for both cadres. The fact is that by 16-18 years all in the Civil Services are at the level of Joint Secretary while only 50 per cent of any given batch of Service Officers will reach the rank of Colonel by then.

Subsequently, only four per cent of that batch are likely to reach the rank of Major General (equivalent of Joint Secretary) after 33-35 years of service and only about one per cent will reach the rank of Lt Gen or equivalent unlike the Civil Services in which over 95 per cent retire as Secretaries. This is truly a case of comparing apples and oranges.

There are numerous other infirmities, beyond the scope of this article, but the trend is clear from the fact that while the highest risk and hardship allowance in the Services is for operational service at Siachin and amounts to Rs31,500, a Group A officer is eligible to 30 per cent of basic pay as Hardship Allowance for serving in Leh, Guwahati or Shillong which will be in the range of Rs50,000 to Rs75, 000.

Similarly, paratroopers, who are the core element of our rapid deployment force required to carry out “out of area contingency” tasks apart from being trained to operate behind enemy lines in a conventional war, will receive 40 per cent of Risk Allowance as compared to Commando Battalion for Resolute Action personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force, who are deployed in Maoist areas.

Changes to the Disability Allowance have been suggested on the specious grounds that senior officers are availing of this prior to super annuation, while the Civil Services have been left out.

All of this clearly smacks of bias. Finally, despite the 7th Pay Commission noting “that there are exclusive elements that distinguish the defence forces personnel from all other Government employees. The intangible aspects linked to the special conditions of service experienced by them set them apart from civilian employees”, it has made every effort in all aspects of compensation to disadvantage the Armed Forces in comparison to the Civil Services.

We would have been better served if the Commission had concentrated on dealing with the challenges faced by the military in attracting talent. Not only are the forces deficient of officers to the tune of 20 per cent to 30 per cent, but what is alarming is that for the past three years, more than 40 per cent vacancies at the Indian Military Academy and the Officers Training Academy remain unsubscribed.

Clearly, despite all lip service to the contrary, the Armed Forces are not perceived as an attractive career. By its actions, the Commission has only worsened the situation further. We will pay heavily for this in the future, unless the Government takes corrective action, which given its track record is unlikely. Let us not be under any misapprehension, the only ones laughing at the discomfiture of our military are the Chinese and Pakistani Armed Forces, and they have every reason to be satisfied.

Source: Daily Pioneer

Discontinuation of Interview at Junior Level Posts in the Government of India – Dopt Orders on 29.12.2015

Discontinuation of Interview at Junior Level Posts in the Government of India – Dopt Orders on 29.12.2015

No 39020/01/2013-Estt (B)-Part
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
(Department of Personnel and Training)

North Block, New Delhi.
Dated the 29th December, 2015

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject:- Discontinuation of Interview at Junior Level Posts in the Government of India- recommendation of Committee of Secretaries.

The undersigned is directed to refer to this Department’s D.O. of even number dated 04.09.2015 and subsequent OM’s dated 09th October, 2015, 09th November, 2015 on the above subject seeking detailed information on the progress made/action taken in the matter.

2. It is informed that Secretary (Personnel) had convened meetings on 14th December, 2015 and 17th December, 2015 to review the progress of implementation of the “No Interview Requirement Proposal” and to get the updated status on the decision/progress made by the various Ministries/Departments. Keeping in view the queries raised by the representative of various Ministries/Departments the following is once again clarified:-

(a) The decision to discontinue interview for recruitments is for all Group ‘C’, Group (which are now reclassified as Group ‘C’) Posts and for nongazetted posts of Group ‘B’ Category and all such equivalent posts.

(b) The ‘No Interview Requirement” proposal has to be implemented for all the junior level posts in Government of India Ministries/Departments/attached Office/Subordinate Office/Autonomous Bodies/Public Sector Undertakings.

(c) Instructions issued by the Department of Public Enterprises on 14 th December, 2015 vide OM No. DPE-GM to all Administrative Ministries concerned with CPSES under them with advice to dispense with the practice of interview (copy enclosed).

(d) The timelines set regarding completing the process of the discontinuation of interview by 31.12.2015 has to be adhered to strictly. From 01 st January, 2016 there will be no recruitment with interview at the junior level posts as mentioned at 2(a) above, in Government of India Ministries / Departments / attached Office / Subordinate Office / Autonomous Bodies / Public Sector Undertakings. All the advertisement for future vacancies will be without the Interview as part of the recruitment process.

(e) The interviews will be done away even in cases where in the past the selections used to be made purely on the basis of performance in the interview. The Ministries/Departments/Organizations’ will consider revising the scheme for selection for such cases.

(f) It is also clarified that as Skill Test or Physical Test is different from Interview, and they may continue. However, these tests will only be of qualifying nature. Assessment will not be done on the basis of marks for such tests.

(g) In case of specific posts where the :Ministry/Departments wants to continue undertaking Interview as a process of recruitment, a detailed proposal seeking exemption will have to be sent to the DoPT with the approval of the Minister/Minister In-Charge.

3. All the Oentral Ministries/Departments are therefore requested to ensure that necessary action in respect of their Ministry/Department/Organizations are completed within the stipulated time.

A consolidated report with the details of the decision taken/progress made in this regard should also be furnished to this Department at the earliest and not later than 7th January, 2016. Report so to be furnished with the approval of the Minister/Minister In-Charge shall include the details of the name and number of posts where the interview is discontinued and posts for which the exemption has been sought within the purview of the administrative Ministries/Departments.

4. A soft copy of the consolidated information may also be sent to this Department at sumita.singhnic.in

sd/-
(Manisha Bhatnagar)
Under Secretary to the Government of India

Authority : www.persmin.gov.in
Click to view the order

NC JCM and Confederation described it as retrograde recommendations, unexpected and unacceptable

NC JCM and Confederation described it as retrograde recommendations, unexpected and unacceptable

Central Government need to pay attention to the flaws of the 7th Pay Commission report

The statistics reveals that there are 88% of total strength of Government servants are in Group ‘C’ Category.

Obviously those who are representing these 88% at the Forums which are constituted to negotiate with concerned Departments and Government about their issues are capable of weighing the advantages and disadvantages of recommendations of 7th central pay commission.

The Staff Associations and Workers federations are the one who are representing Group C and Group B at various levels of negotiating forums know the plights and facts of government servants more than anybody. They in fact never utter a word of praise on 7th CPC recommendations since the day the report was submitted to the Finance Minister.

National Council JCM and Confederation described it as Retrograde recommendations, unexpected and un acceptable. They declared that all the central government employees are upset and dis satisfied since many of their demands were not considered by 7th pay commission.

1. Pay Scales and allowances are arrived by multiplying 2.57, just 14.29 % increase over existing pay and Allowances after DA neutralization.
2. The rate of HRA has been abruptly reduced,
3. Payment of CCL has been reduced for second 365 days.
4. Same confusion in MACP continues,
5. Uncertainty in Pension benefit in NPS continues.
6. Existing Pension provisions are left un touched. None of the proposals submitted by Pensioners Associations are not considered.
7. Minimum Pay is very much less; Maximum Pay is lavishly higher. [Minimum Rs.18000 – Maximum Rs.275000]
8. Gap between Minimum and Maximum Pay is not reduced, but unfortunately increased. [In sixth CPC it is 1:12 , 7th CPC Recommends 1:14]
9. All the Pay commission reduced the number of pay scales but 7th Pay commission maintained the existing pay scales,
10. 55 Allowances are abolished, No new allowances are introduced,
11. Same 3% increment continues, NCJCM demand for Two Increment Days 1st January and 1st July is not considered
12. No considerable benefit on Promotion,
13. Interest free advances including LTC advance are abolished,
14. Except the introduction of New Pay Matrix, nothing new in the recommendations of 7th Pay commission
15. Again uniform Multiplication factor was not applied for arriving Entry Pay for various Grades.

Low value for Lower Grades high value for higher Grades. Again the disparity in arriving Entry Pay is maintained by 7th CPC also.

What sixth CPC had recommended in some cases, what Government has suggested in some issues, what the Department has told, that has been just followed by the 7th Pay commission.

So the Central government employees are expecting the Government to pay attention to the concerns of Govt servants in respect of some recommendations of 7th pay commission which need to be addressed to boost the morale of the Central Govt staffs.

The constituents of NCJCM already formed National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) to invite the attention of Central Government through agitation Programmes to settle their demands. Now they modified their charter of demands to include the issues regarding 7th Pay Commission recommendation and cautioned that unless it is not settled before March 2016, they will be going for indefinite Strike.

7th Pay Commission did injustice to 98% of Central Government Employees

7th Pay Commission did injustice to 98% of Central Government Employees

Association for Administrative Staff states that while 7th CPC basic pay at lower level is 10 times of existing grade pay, it is 14 times in higher level.

7th Pay Commission did injustice to 98% of Central Government Employees – All India Association of Administrative Staff (Non-gazetted) provides comparative chart of increase in basic pay at lower level and higher level keeping Grade Pay as a factor

I am bringing the following to your knowledge and information of Central Government Staff that VIIth Pay commission has done injustice to 98% of the Central Government Staff by just giving a multiplication factor of around 10 times their existing Grade Pay but generously awarded more than 14 times multiplication benefit to higher officials. So please fight for uniform multiplication of 14 times of the Grade pay and for each year of service one increment at the new scale as recommended to retired employees to give justice to all.

PB I Rs 5200-20200 Grade Pay	Minimum recommended @ entry level by 7th CPC (Rs) in the Pay Matrix	Multiplication factor by VII th pay Commission
1800	18000	10 times
1900	19900 (difference +1900)	10.47
2000	21700(difference +1800)	10.85
2400	25500(difference +3700)	10.62
2800	29200(difference +3800)	10.42

Initially for first 2 stages every Rs100/ in GP the corresponding proposed increase is 1800 0r 1900 but for GP difference of Rs 400/ at later 2 stages the corresponding increase is only Rs3700/ to Rs3800/- whereas it must be Rs1800 0r 1900 multiplied by 4times to Rs7200-7600/.

PB II Rs 9300-34800 Grade Pay	Minimum recommended @ entry level by 7th CPC (Rs) in pay matrix	Multiplication factor by VII th pay Commission
4200	35400(difference +6200)	8.42 times
4600	44900 (difference +9500)	9.76
4800	47600(difference +2700)	9.91
5400	53100(difference +5500)	9.83

Initially for Rs1400/- GP difference the corresponding increase proposed is Rs6200/- but in next stage for Rs 400/- GP the proposed hike is mind blowing Rs 9500/-, in next stage for Rs 200/- GP the increase is Rs 2700/- and for Rs 600/- GP hike further increase is Rs5500/-

PB III Rs 15600-39100 Grade Pay	Minimum recommended @ entry level by 7th CPC (Rs) in the Pay matrix	Multiplication factor by VII th pay Commission
5400	56100	10.38times
6600	67700 (difference +11600)	10.25
7600	78800(difference +11100)	10.36

For a GP of Rs1200/- difference the hike proposed is Rs11600/- and for another Rs1000/- GP increase the increase given by CPC is Rs 11100/-

PB IV Rs 37400-67000 Grade Pay	Minimum recommended @ entry level by 7th CPC (Rs)in the Pay matrix	Multiplication factor by VII th pay Commission
8700	118500(difference +39700)	13.62 times
8900	131100 (difference +12600)	14.73
10000	144200(difference +13100)	14.42

For a GP increase of Rs1100/- the CPC proposed a hike of Rs39700/- and for a GP difference of Rs200/- the CPC recommended a increase of Rs12600/- and for a GP increase of Rs1100/- the CPC recommended a hike of Rs13100/-

It will easily understood the members of VIIth Pay commission done fixation and recommendation quite irrationally without any uniformity in a whimsical manner. If 14 times multiplication is awarded to all the staff uniformly Min.Basic will be Rs1800* 14 = 25200/-for entry level staff. Kindly publish this in your website.

Source: All India Association of Administrative Staff (Non-gazetted)

Government to Increase Maternity Leave from 12 to 26 weeks

Government to Increase Maternity Leave from 12 to 26 weeks 

The Ministry of Labour is expected to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, which presently entitles women to 12 weeks of maternity benefit whereby employers are liable to pay full wages for the period of leave.




Government to Increase Maternity Leave from 12 to 26 weeks – The International Labour Organisation recommends a minimum standard maternity leave of 14 weeks or more.

The union government is set to increase the maternity leave for women employed in private firms from the existing 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi Monday said the Ministry of Labour has agreed to increase maternity leave to six-and-a-half months. “We had written to the Labour Ministry asking that the maternity leave be extended taking into account the six months of breastfeeding that is required post childbirth. The Labour Ministry has agreed to increase it to six-and-a-half months,” said Maneka.

The Ministry of Labour is expected to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, which presently entitles women to 12 weeks of maternity benefit whereby employers are liable to pay full wages for the period of leave.

Officials of the WCD Ministry said they will push for extending the leave to eight months, or 32 weeks, for women employed in both private and government sectors.

But WCD officials said the Labour Ministry has expressed reservations about increasing the maternity leave any further as they perceive that doing so will adversely affect the employability of women.

“The Labour Ministry has decided on six-and-a-half months following meetings with various stakeholders. We, however, feel that eight months of maternity leave — for women in government as well as private sectors — is required. We will move a note to the Cabinet Secretariat in this regard. Six months of exclusive breastfeeding is very important to combat malnutrition, diarrhoea and other diseases in infants and to lower infant mortality rate,” said a WCD official.

The International Labour Organisation recommends a minimum standard maternity leave of 14 weeks or more, though it encourages member states to increase it to at least 18 weeks. At 26 weeks, India is set to join the league of 42 countries where maternity leave exceeds 18 weeks. It, however, falls behind several East European, Central Asian and Scandinavian countries, which have the most generous national legislation for paid maternity leave.

Women employed in government jobs in India get a six-month maternity leave as per the Central Civil Service (Leave) Rules 1972. The last circular in this regard was issued in 2008, when it was increased from four-and-a-half months. If the WCD Ministry’s recommendations to the Cabinet Secretariat are accepted, the Department of Personal & Training will have to issue orders to enhance it to eight months.

Moreover, women government employees are allowed to take childcare leave of up to two years in phases at any point till their child turns 18 years old. The Seventh Pay Commission recently recommended that only the first 365 days of leave should be granted with full pay, while the remaining 365 can be availed at 80 per cent of the salary. But Maneka recently petitioned Finance Minister Arun Jaitley against the proposal, terming it a regressive step at a time when women are trying to become more economically independent.

“Women in India need longer maternity leave in absence of any support in parenting from men. It should not be seen as a deduction in labour hours but as a long-term investment from the future economic point of view. This is in addition to the fact that women need long maternity leave to recuperate and invest in child care,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research.

She added that a recent analysis of the Maternity Benefit Act by CSR for the National Commission of Women showed that discrimination against pregnant women was widely prevalent in the corporate sector in the country.

Source: gconnect.in

3,40,000 Bank Employees Go on a Strike on January 8

Around 340,000 bank employees across the country would strike work on January 8 to protest the violation of bilateral settlement by the five associate banks of the State Bank of India (SBI), a top leader of All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) said.

3,40,000 Bank Employees Go on a Strike on January 8 – The five associate banks of the SBI are State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.
Chennai – Around 340,000 bank employees across the country would strike work on January 8 to protest the violation of bilateral settlement by the five associate banks of the State Bank of India (SBI), a top leader of All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) said here.

The five associate banks of the SBI are State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.

“Nearly 340,000 bankers would strike work on January 8. The strike is to protest against the violation of bilateral settlement by the five associate banks of SBI and their attempt to force unilateral service conditions on employees,” CH Venkatachalam, AIBEA general secretary, told IANS here on Monday.

According to him, it is the AIBEA that has given the strike call.

Explaining the rationale behind the strike call, Venkatachalam said the service conditions in the SBI are different and based on the agreement between the SBI management and the employees’ union.

On the other hand, the service conditions of the five SBI associate banks are common with those of other banks.

“In May 2015, a common settlement was signed between Indian Banks’ Association (IBA-management body) and All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) which defined the duties and remuneration of the employees for undertaking various jobs in the banks,” Venkatachalam said.

He said the five SBI associate banks are parties to the settlement and hence governed by the settlement terms.

“But the managements of the five associate banks are implementing the service conditions of the SBI, which is illegal and violation of the settlement,” he said.

Asked why the strike has been called early in the year, he said the union had deferred the strike call given for December 1 and 2, 2015, on the intervention of deputy chief labour commissioner, Delhi.

“The bank management is forcing its rules without any discussion with the unions from the New Year onwards and hence we are forced to respond,” Venkatachalam said.

Source: Profit NDTV

Government officials have to declare outcome of foreign trips

Government officials have to declare outcome of foreign trips

New Delhi: Government officials undertaking foreign trips will have to clearly spell out the outcome of such tours. All those who undertook official foreign visits since 2013-14 need to submit details of the outcome of such tours in the next few days.

The move comes against the backdrop of persistent feeling in many quarters that the trips, ostensibly for gaining experience and insights, often turn into pleasure jaunts.

There have been cases of officials traveling abroad in numbers more than necessary, stretching the duration of stay and visiting and stopping at places irrelevant to the stated purpose of the trip.

In keeping with the new work culture, the NDA government has created a website under its Software Management Information System for uploading details of foreign tours and visits by officials.

Ministries and departments have set a December-end deadline for its officials to upload details on this portal.
Moreover, every ministry and department has been directed to prepare a “rolling plan” for future foreign visits to be undertaken by officials.

“The idea behind the rolling plan is to submit the proposed trips of officials in the next quarter. This can be updated and amended. Government wants foreign trips by officials on government expenditure to be result-oriented,” said a senior government official.

According to sources, cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha recently called a meeting to ensure that officials and departments comply with the decision.

“In certain cases, it’s difficult to get the details of foreign visits by officials, who have already gone back to the states or are retired. But the message has gone to one and all to provide the outcomes of their visits since they must be keeping some details.

We are also trying to get the records kept in departments so that some details can be uploaded,” said a government source.

TNN

KVS issued guidelines on Air Travel on Tour / LTC

KVS issued guidelines on Air Travel on Tour / LTC

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (HQ)
18, Institutional Area, SJS Marg
New Delhi – 110 016

F.No.1-1/2015/KVS (JC-Fin)

Date: 17.12.2015

The Deputy Commissioner & Director,
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan,
All Regional Offices & ZIETs.

Sub: Guidelines on Air Travel on Tour / LTC

Sir/Madam,
During the audit on the accounts of Regional Offices and Kendriya Vidyalayas, the audit parties observed that the officers entitled for travel by Air have booked their Air Tickets through private travel agencies, which is not in order as per the extant orders and have also objected to it.

As per the Government of India guidelines, Air Tickets may be purchased directly from offices of the Air India ( at Booking counters/website of Airlines) or by utilizing the services of Authorized Travel Agencies namely M/s Balmer Lawrie & Company, M/s Ashok Travels & Tours and IRCTC (to the extent IRCTC is authorized as per DoPT’s OM No.311011/6/2002-Estt.(A) dated 02.12.2009).

The same procedure should be following for booking the Air Tickets for performing the Leave Travel Concession travel facility.

The copies of the following orders are enclosed herewith:

1. Government of India, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (Department of personnel and Training) OM.No.311011/6/2002 – (Estt.(A) dated 2nd December 2009. [Click to view the orders]

2. Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure office Memorandum No.19024/1/2009-E.IV dated 16th September, 2010. [Click to view the orders]

3. Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Office Memorandum No.19024/1/2012/E.IV dated 9th July 2013. [Click to view the orders]

4. Government of India, Ministry of Personnel, public Grievances and pensions (Department of personnel and Training) OM.No.311011/5/2014-(Estt.(A-IV) dated 23rd September 2015 [Click to view the orders]

In this connection, Deputy Commissioner, Regional Offices and Director, ZIETs are requested to inform their subordinate offices for strict compliance of the above orders.

Yours faithfully,
sd/-
(M.Arumugam)
Jt. commissioner (Finance)

Click to view the order

Authority: www.kvsangathan.nic.in

Payment of Bonus Act & PLB to Railway Employees – A Brief Note By KV Ramesh

Payment of Bonus Act & PLB to Railway Employees – A Brief Note By KV Ramesh

THE PAYMENT OF BONUS ACT, 1965 & PLB TO RAILWAYMEN

BY: K.V.RAMESH, Sr.JGS/IRTSA

PAYMENT OF BONUS ACT, 1965 & AMENDMENTS THEREOF

• Minimum bonus 8.33% of the salary/wage of an employee.
• Maximum bonus including productivity linked bonus shall not exceed 20% of the salary/wage of an employee.
• Previous amendment of 2007 was notified on 13 December 2007 and made effective from 1st April, 2006.
• Minimum bonus of 8.33% of (Rs. 3500/- X 12= Rs. 42,000/-) is approximately Rs. 3500/-.
• 20% of above referred Rs. 42,000/- is Rs. 8,400/-. However, the limit is given as Rs. 8,300/-.

Details of amendments to the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965:

PRODUCTIVITY LINKED BONUS FOR RAILWAY EMPLOYEE

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE PLB SCHEME ARE AS UNDER: –

a) The output for a year is reckoned by the equated net tonne kilometres by adding together:-

i) Total goods revenue net tonne kilometres.
ii) Non-suburban passenger kilometres converted by a factor of 0.076.
iii) Suburban passenger kilometres converted by a factor of 0.053.

b) The input is taken as the non-gazetted staff strength (excluding RPF/RPSF personnel), increased by the incremental increase/decrease in capital (over average of last three years) during the year.

C) Highest PLB amount of 78 days’ wages was paid for the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15.

d) The wage calculation ceiling prescribed for payment of PLB to the eligible non-gazetted railway employees is 3500/- p.m. The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs. 8975 for 78 days.

• Amount paid as bonus never shown meaningful increase over last 15 years.
• Only between 2006-07 and 2007-08 there was a visible increase in bonus amount.
• If bonus is linked with inflation at the rate of average 12% per year from 2001-02, it should have become Rs.24000 now, even without considering any productivity improvement.
• Bill passed in Lokshaba is a very late action taken by the Government.
• Railways should not try to put any rider on this very late action.

After enactment of the present bonus bill,wage calculation ceiling prescribed for payment of PLB to non-gazetted railway employees will be increased to 7000/- p.m.

The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee can also go upto Rs.21,000. But, Railway Board is having proposals to revise the calculation formula for PLB which may reduce the expected benefit.

Source: IRTSA

Fight for uniform multiplication of 14 times of the Grade pay

Fight for uniform multiplication of 14 times of the Grade pay

SHRI KHAJA SYED HAMEED HAS PREPARED A COMPARATIVE CHART ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF 7TH CPC WHEREIN INCREASE OF PAY HAS BEEN ANALYSISED ON THE BASIS OF EXISTING GRADE PAY. IN THIS METHOD ALSO GROUP C AND GROUP B EMPLOYEES FOUND SUFFERER. THE STATEMENT AS PREPARED BY HIM IS GIVEN BELOW:

VII th Pay Commission Injustice

Dear Sir,

I am bringing the following to your knowledge and information of Central Government Staff that VIIth Pay commission has done injustice to 98% of the Central Government Staff by just giving a multiplication factor of around 10 times their existing Grade Pay but generously awarded more than 14 times multiplication benefit to higher officials. So please fight for uniform multiplication of 14 times of the Grade pay and for each year of service one increment at the new scale as recommended to retired employees to give justice to all.

Initially for first 2 stages every Rs100/ in GP the corresponding proposed increase is 1800 0r 1900 but for GP difference of Rs 400/ at later 2 stages the corresponding increase is only Rs3700/ to Rs3800/- whereas it must be Rs1800 0r 1900 multiplied by 4times to Rs7200-7600/.

It will easily understood the members of VII th Pay commission done fixation and recommendation quite irrationally without any uniformity in a whimsical manner. If 14 times multiplication is awarded to all the staff uniformly Min.Basic will be Rs1800* 14 = 25200/-for entry level staff. Kindly publish this in your website.

Kindly fight for justice.

Thanking you Sir,

Yours sincerely
Dr.Hameed

 Source: http://aiamshq.blogspot.in/

PWDs in Central Government – 7th Pay Commission Recommendations

Person With Disabilities in Central Government – 7th Pay Commission Recommendations

PWDs in Central Government

The government provides three percent reservation in jobs for PWDs. Apart from this reservation at the entry stage, DoPT has issued instructions regarding identification of jobs, post-recruitment and pre-promotion training, providing aids/assistive devices, accessibility and barrier free environment at work place, preference in government accommodation, grievance redressal, and preference in transfer/posting for PWDs. In a recent notification, a provision has been made for ten years’ (fifteen years in case of SC/ST and thirteen years in case of OBC candidates) relaxation in the upper age limit for direct recruitment to civil posts/services under the Central Government.

Moreover, there are certain special entitlements as given below:

i. Special Allowance for Child Care for Women with Disabilities at the rate of Rs.1,500 pm;
ii. Transport Allowance at double the normal rate, subject to a minimum of Rs.1,000 pm;
iii. Constant Attendance Allowance for retired employees with 100 percent disablement at the rate of Rs. 4,500 per month;
iv. Special Casual Leave for four days in a calendar year for specific requirements relating to disabilities;
 v. Special Casual Leave for ten days in a calendar year for participation in Conferences/Seminars/Trainings/Workshops related to disability and development.

In case the disability is work related, the following additional provisions are available:

a. Special Disability Leave;
b. Disability Pension;
c. Educational Concession to children of Defence personnel who are disabled in action.

For employees with differently abled children, Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy is granted at double rate.

Demands

Associations of employees with disabilities made the following demands before the Commission:

i. Suitable enhancement in the existing provisions
ii. Provision of Common Room in offices with suitable recreational facilities
iii. Additional rebate in House Building Advance and Automobile Advance
iv. Establishment of Welfare Committees in the ministries

Analysis and Recommendations

The National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, 2006, enunciates the measures that need to be taken by the government to ensure equal opportunities, protection of justifys and full participation in society for PWDs, in consonance with the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution. India is also a signatory to the UN Convention on the justifys for Persons with Disabilities. Thus, provision of appropriate measures for employees with disabilities is the responsibility of the Union Government.

The Commission has made various recommendations regarding PWDs at different places in the report. They are consolidated here for ready reference:

i. In recognition of the singular responsibility faced by differently abled women in raising their children, the Special Allowance for Child Care for Women with Disabilities has been enhanced from the present rate of Rs.1,500 pm to Rs.3,000 pm

ii. Transport Allowance at double the normal rate has been retained, and the minimum amount has been increased from Rs.1,000 pm to Rs.2,250 pm

iii. Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy have been kept at double rate for differently abled children

iv. Constant Attendance Allowance has been enhanced from Rs.4,500 pm to Rs.6,750 pm

v. Special Disability Leave has been subsumed in Work Related Illness and Injury Leave (WRIIL), with improved provisions

vi. Educational Concession, hitherto available only to the children of Defence personnel killed/missing/disabled in action, has been extended to similarly placed personnel of CAPFs, Indian Coast Guard, RPF and police forces of Union Territories mutatis mutandis.

Besides the above recommendations, there are a few suggestions that can go a long way in improving the working environment for these employees :

i. In our interactions, it has been highlighted that easy access, particularly to toilets, remains an issue of concern. Hence, it is suggested that Guidelines and Space Standard for Barrier Free Built Environment for Disabled and Elderly Persons, issued by CPWD, Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment, should invariably be followed while designing new government premises. Their application in the existing offices may also be explored.

ii. Every ministry should have a Welfare Committee, with due representation of differently abled employees, to address their concerns.

iii. The grievance redressal machinery should be strengthened and made more effective

Demand of Central Government Employees to increase the Fitment Factor recommended by 7th CPC

Demand of Central Government Employees to increase the Fitment Factor recommended by 7th CPC

The demand to increase the 2.57 Fitment Factor along with the hike of 14.29 percent is growing among the Central Government Employees

The 900-page long report of the 7th Pay Commission was submitted to the government on November 19. One of the most important recommendation on the report is the Fitment Factor. It is the most important factor deciding the hike of salaries of the Central Government employees.

Fitment Factor is used to calculate the revised basic pay of existing employees with effect from the implementation of 7th CPC. The new revised basic pay of a Central Government employee is calculated by multiplying his/her current (Pre-revised) basic pay with the Fitment Factor.

The 7th Pay Commission has recommended a uniform Fitment Factor of 2.57 for all. The actual raise/fitment recommended by the Commission is 14.29 percent only. The report says that the fitment includes a factor of 2.25 on account of DA neutralisation, assuming that the rate of D.A. would be 125 percent at the time of implementation of the new pay.

The 7th Pay Commission has evolved a new pay fitment table by merging the existing Grade Pay and Pay Bands for all group of Central Government employees, which is called as Pay Matrix Table. The Pay Matrix comprises two dimensions. It has a “horizontal range” in which each level corresponds to a ‘functional role in the hierarchy’ and has been assigned the numbers 1, 2, 3, and so on till 18. The “vertical range” for each level denotes ‘pay progression’ within that level. These indicate the steps of annual financial progression of three percent within each level. The starting point of the matrix is the minimum pay which has been arrived based on 15th Indian Labour Congress (ILC) norms or the Aykroyd formula.

On recruitment, an employee joins at a particular level and progresses within the level as per the vertical range. The movement is usually on an annual basis, based on annual increments till the time of their next promotion. When the employee receives a promotion or a non-functional financial upgrade, he/she progresses one level ahead on the horizontal range.

The Pay Matrix chart has included a number of Fitment Factors. 6 types of Fitment Factor, including 2.57, 2.62, 2.67, 2.72, 2.78, and 2.81, have been listed. Under the heading of ‘Index,’ all the Central Government employees have been divided into 18 categories. Since different Fitment Factors have been used for all these categories, it leads one to believe that the new factor will apply for the existing employees too.

Criticism has come from all the circles over the addition of a mere 14.29%, leading to 2.57, while the employees were currently drawing a dearness allowance of 125% of their basic pay. The minimum wages have been decided on this criterion alone (the 6th Pay Commission had fixed the minimum wages as Rs.7000. The 7th CPC minimum wages of 18,000 has been arrived at by multiplying the previous number by 2.57).

One might remember that similar requests were presented at the time of the 6th Pay Commission too. The commission had recommended the Fitment Factor of 1.74, but, due to constant pressure from the NC JCM Staff Side members, it was increased to 1.86. The demand to increase the 2.57 Fitment Factor along with the 14.29 percent hike is growing among the Central Government employees.

Source: 7thpaycommissionnews.in

Lower Division Grade Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for Group C Staff 2015 Nomination of qualified candidates Regarding

Lower Division Grade Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for Group C Staff 2015 Nomination of qualified candidates Regarding.

No. I 3/3/20 14-CS.II(B)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training

3rd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhavan,
Khan Market, New Delhi
Dated: the 28th December, 2015

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Lower Division Grade Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for Group ‘C’ Staff 2015- Nomination of qualified candidates-regarding.

The undersigned is directed to say that the final result of Lower Division Grade Departmental Competitive Examination for Group ‘C’ Staff 20 IS, held on 19-04-2015 was declared by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on 11-08-2015. 7 candidates have been recommended for appointment to the post of LDCs in CSCS against DE quota vacancies in LDC grade (as per Annexure).

2. The cadres may first verify the eligibility/service particulars,etc. of the candidate(s) including the condition that he/she belongs to an office participating in CSCS.

3. The candidates mentioned in the Annexure have not been medically examined and as such, they should be medically examined by the prescribed competent authority. The dossiers of the candidates are forwarded herewith and these should be retained on their appointment in the Ministry/Department as part of their personal files.

4. These candidates shall have to pass, if they have not already passed, one of the periodical type-writing tests in English or Hindi held by the Staff Selection Commission at a minimum speed of 30 words per minute in English or 25 words per minute in Hindi or Typewriting test at 25 w.p.m . in Hindi from Department of Official Language under the Hindi Teaching Scheme as provided in DP&T O.M. No. 16/4/99-CS.II dated 29.5.1990 within a period of one year from the date of appointment, failing which no annual increments shall be allowed to them until they pass the said test. If they do not pass the said typewriting test within the period of probation, they shall be liable to be reverted to their substantive post.

The candidates, who had already passed the Typewriting Test prior to their appointment if any, be granted the increment as per relevant rules/ instructions.

5. Offer of appointment may please be made to the candidates in the order of merit as indicated. Copies of offer of appointment issued to them may please be forwarded to this Department and also to the Staff Selection Commission. The date(s) of their joining the post of LDC may also be intimated to this Department as soon as possible under intimation to the Commission. If any of the candidates declines to accept the offer of appointment, the same may be cancelled and his/her dossier be returned directly to the Commission keeping copies of all correspondence made with the candidate(s) under intimation to this Department.
6. The persons when appointed may be given compulsory training (including basic computer skills) within one year of their joining the post in convenient batches as laid down in this Department’s O.M.No.20/23/88-CS.II dated 13th March 1989.

7. The seniority of these candidates is to be fixed in accordance with the sub paragraph(s) of Sub Rule 3 of Rule 17 under the Head II LD Grade of CSCS Rules, 1962 (.amended vide notification dated 08-11-2010).
8. Receipt of this O.M. together with its enclosures may please be acknowledged.

Encl. (Dossiers).

(Rajesh Sarswat)
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India
Tel: 24654020

Annexure to O.M. No. 13/3/2014-CS.II(B) dated ,28th December, 2015

S.No.	Name S/Shri	Rank No	Cadre where working	Cadre where nominated
1.	Pawan Kumar Sahu	1	Science & Technology	Coal
2.	Gautam Kumar	2	Science & Technology	Coal
3.	R Bala Chandran	3	Law & Justice	Information & Broadcasting
4.	Rahul Goswami	4	Expenditure	Expenditure
5.	Dinesh Kumar	5	Expenditure	Mines
6.	Ashish Bisht	6	Labour & Employment	Information & Broadcasting
7.	Ravish Kumar	7	Civil Aviation	Rural Development

Official Order

Higher Grade Pay for Railway Commercial clerk, Reservation Clerk and ticket checking staff

7th CPC has recommended that Posts of Railway Commercial Clerks, Enquiry Cum Reservation Clerks (ECRCs) and Ticket Checking staff (TTEs and TCs) are merged as Commercial and Ticketing Staff and then placed in the appropriate level in the new pay matrix


7th CPC recommends higher grade pay for Railway Commercial clerk, Reservation Clerk and ticket checking staff- Three categories to be merged and then placed in the appropriate level in the new pay matrix


7th Pay Commission proposes that all these cadres are to be merged and called as Railwy Commercial ant Ticketing Staff.  50% posts which require class XII qualification will have to selected and like wise 50% of posts for which graduation will be eligibility will be selected through RRB.  Both these posts will be upgraded to Grade Pay of Rs 2000 and Rs. 2800 respectively prior fixation of new pay under 7CPC.  The remaining post after selection through RRB will have to be filled through promotion



Commercial Staff

There are three categories of Commercial Staff–Commercial Clerks, Enquiry Cum Reservation Clerks (ECRCs) and Ticket Checking staff (TTEs and TCs). They are responsible for commercial duties like issuing of tickets–unreserved as well as reserved, handling enquiries, checking of tickets on board trains, etc. Their present structure, along with the employee strength in each GP is as follows:

Grade Pay	Commercial Clerks	ECRCs	Ticket Checking Staff	% of Total Strength
4600	5975	2320	7021	20.28
4200	13648	5800	16072	47.03
2800	6572	2425		11.91
2400			7723	10.23
2000	3679			4.87
1900			4287	5.68

For Commercial Clerks, the minimum educational qualification stipulated is Class X.  Entry into the cadre is only at GP 2000 – 50 percent direct recruitment through RRB; 33 1/3% through LDCE from eligible erstwhile Gr.D staff of Traffic and Commercial Departments with three years of continuous service; 16 2/3% through promotion of matriculate employees in GP 1800 from eligible categories.

For ECRCs, graduation is the minimum requirement, with entry GP2800.

Entry in Ticket Checking staff is at GP 1900–50% direct recruitment by RRB with the minimum educational qualification of Class X and the remaining 50 percent filled by promotion–33.33% by General Selection and 16.66 percent by LDCE with minimum qualification of Class X.

All the three categories have demanded improvement in their pay structure. Representations have also been received to upgrade the entry level qualification of Commercial Clerks and Ticket Checking staff from the current level of Class X to graduation. It has also been stated that with the proliferation of technology for booking unreserved and reserved tickets, the requirement of Commercial Clerks and ECRCs is going down. At the same time, with an increase in the number of trains, the need for Ticket Checking staff is on the rise. Hence, it has been suggested that these three cadres should be merged.

Analysis and Recommendations

The Commission analysed the year-wise data pertaining to the percentage of reserved tickets booked at the counters vis-à-vis those booked through the internet:

Reservations on Indian Railways

A clear trend towards increase in internet booking is visible, so much so that internet booking has now exceeded the counter booking. With the introduction of innovative technological solutions for the unreserved sector, like the recently launched mobile application, the counter sales of unreserved tickets are also likely to go down.

Hence, the Commission finds merit in the argument that the three categories of Commercial staff should be unified into a single cadre. Accordingly, it is recommended that they should be consolidated into one cadre called Commercial and Ticketing Staff. The cadre will have the following structure after merger:

Grade Pay	Level	% Distribution of Posts
4600	7	20
4200	6	47
2800	5	22
2000	3	11

Employees in GP 1900 should be upgraded to GP 2000; those in GP 2400 should be upgraded to GP 2800 and then placed in the appropriate level in the new pay matrix. The inter-se seniority will be as per normal rules of seniority. Proper training will have to be imparted to the employees as per the requirements. The recruitment in the cadre should be at two levels:

a.   At Level 3: 50% from open market through RRB, with minimum qualification of Class XII, 33 1/3 % through General Selection from Traffic and Commercial staff in GP 1800 fulfilling the eligibility criterion, and 16 2/3% through LDCE.

b.   At Level 5: 50%from open market through RRB, with minimum qualification of Graduation, and 50% through promotion.

With this merger, employees in GP 1900 and GP 2400 will get the benefit of upgradation. At the same time, the job content of all three categories will be enriched, as they will be able to join any of the three streams. Organizational flexibility will be enhanced as the department will have a larger pool of employees for optimal utilization, as per the requirement.

Bunching benefit in Pay fixation is recommended by 7th pay commission in some situation

Bunching benefit in Pay fixation is recommended by 7th pay commission in some situation

7th Pay commission in its report stated at page 79 entitled Entry Pay, that,” Although the rationalization has been done with utmost care to ensure minimum bunching at most levels, however if situation does  arise whenever more than two stages are bunched together, one additional increment equal to 3 percent may be given for every two stages bunched, and pay fixed in the subsequent cell in the pay matrix.

For instance, if two persons drawing pay of Rs.53,000 and Rs.54,590 in the GP 10000 are to be fitted in the new pay matrix,

1. The pay fixation for the person (A) drawing pay of Rs.53000 (PB + GP)

2. The pay fixation for the person (B) drawing pay of Rs.54590 (PB + GP)
( He has earned one increment more than ‘A’ )

[ Note : The above illustration is taken from 7th Pay commission official report. The revised pay for Rs.53,000 and Rs.54,590 in the GP 10000 are to be taken from the new pay matrix at Level 14.

Because the corresponding Level for Grade Pay Rs.10000 is Level 14.

But in the 7th CPC Report, Level 15 is mentioned instead of Level 14, hope it might be a typographical error. Readers are requested to Read it as Level 14 against Level 15 mentioned in the above illustration . see the image below…]

Lets now be clear about the above example..

The Person who has earned one increment more than his junior,  will get fixed one cell forward if they both happened to be fixed in the first cell of the particular Level

1.Where does the situation especially arise …?

These situations will arise in the cases of ..

a) Wherever Upgradation of Grades are recommended, there the Pay fixations for some persons in the Lower grade, irrespective of number of increments earned, as shown above, the Pay will have to be fixed at the first cell of Particular Upgraded Level.

In that Case the govt servants who have earned more number increments than his counterpart will be aggrieved by this method of Pay fixation

b) When the pay arrived by using uniform multiplication factor 2.57 is lesser than the minimum pay corresponding to the level prescribed for that Grade, where some cases, irrespective number of increments earned, has to be fixed at the first cell of that Particular Level.

Source: gservants.com

Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension

Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension

No.1(6)/2015/D(Pen/Pol)
Government of India
Ministry of Defence
Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare

New Delhi, Dated 23rd December, 2015

To
The Chief of Army Staff
The Chief of Naval Staff
The Chief of Air Force Staff

Sub :– Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension.

Sir,

The undersigned is directed to say that vide this Department’s letter No.17(4)/2008(1)/D(Pen/Pol) dated 11/11/2008 and letter No.17(4)/2008(2)/D(Pen/Pol) dated 12/11/2008, instructions were issued for grant of additional pension/family pension @ 20% to 100% to old pensioners/family pensioners of the age of 80 years and above.

2. A question has been raised as to how the amount of additional pension is to be regulated in cases the additional pension results in fraction of a rupee. The matter has been examined in consultation with Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) and Deptt of Pension & Pensioners Welfare and it has been decided that the amount of additional pension as finally calculated, may be rounded off to the next higher rupee. In cases the pension/family pension of old pensioners has been fixed/revised without rounding off the additional pension, in those cases also, the additional pension may be rounded off in the next higher rupee hereinafter. However, no arrears for the period from 1.1.2006 on account of such rounding off would be paid in those cases.

3. This issues with the concurrence of. Ministry of Defence (FinNo.1(6)/2015/D(Pen/Pol) /Pen) vide their ID No. 25(06)/2015/Fin/Pen dated 07.12.2015.

4. Hindi version will follow.

Yours faithfully,
(Manoj Sinha)
Under Secretary to the Government of India

www.desw.gov.in 

PF Withdrawal Made Easier, 2 Crore Employees to Benefit: 10 Facts

PF Withdrawal Made Easier, 2 Crore Employees to Benefit: 10 Facts

Of late, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has taken many steps to make provident fund (PF) accounts more user-friendly. Earlier this month, EPFO allowed its subscribers to file their PF withdrawal applications directly to the retirement fund body without employers’ attestation.

Here is a 10-Point Cheat-Sheet:

    1) This facility is applicable for subscribers, if details such as Aadhaar, PAN and bank account are linked to their Universal Account Number (UAN) and their know-your-customer (KYC) verification done by their employers.

    2) More than 2 crore subscribers whose KYC norms have been verified by the employers can avail this new withdrawal facility, EPFO said.

    3) However, the earlier norm of a waiting period of two months after leaving the previous job still applies for withdrawal purpose.

    4) The UAN facility was launched last year to facilitate PF transfers while subscribers change jobs. And all active subscribers have been allotted a number.

    5) The easier withdrawal facility will help subscribers who find it difficult to contact their previous employers, financial planners say.

    6) Under the earlier process, after leaving a job, employees were supposed to get their withdrawal forms attested through their employers for identification of their details.

    7) Withdrawal claims, however, have to be manually submitted by subscribers directly to the provident fund office.

    8) Subscribers filing their claims directly without employers’ attestation would have to use new forms that have been simplified for the new process.

    9) Subscribers who wish to take an advance from PF account can make partial withdrawal through the submission of Form-31. EPFO allows subscribers to take an advance in certain situations like house construction, repayment of housing loan and education of children and illness.

    10) Eventually, the EFPO plans to make the withdrawal process online to make it more subscriber-friendly. The retirement fund body plans to launch the online withdrawal facility this fiscal. (With Agency Inputs)

Source: profit.ndtv.com

Less than 12% OBCs in central government jobs out of 27% quota: RTI

Less than 12% OBCs in central government jobs out of 27% quota: RTI

Chennai: More than two decades after implementation of Mandal commission report, which mandates 27 percent reservation for OBCs in central government jobs, an RTI data shows that less than 12 percent of employees of central government ministries, departments and statutory bodies are from other backward classes (OBCs) as on January 1, 2015.

What’s more, 40 ministries, including social justice and 48 departments held back the information sought by Chennai based scientist E Muralidharan under the Right to Information Act. Among the departments that have not provided any information is ministry of human resources, which is a major employer of group A employees like professors in IITs and other central educational institutions.

Going by the data available, under the group A, B,C and D category of employees, out of 79,483 posts, there are only 9,040 OBC staff.

Surprisingly, data provided by the department of personnel and training, which was the recipient of the RTI appeal and is responsible for the appointments, itself fares poorly in this regard, with 12.91 percent Scheduled Castes (SC), 4 percent Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 6.67 percent OBC forming the pool of employees under the reservation laws. The total number of personnel in the department is 6,879.

This means that a significant number of posts which have been allocated for these communities are yet to be filled, which raises questions on the effective implementation of the Mandal committee recommendations, Muralidharan said.

A closer look at the data indicates that there is not a single OBC Grade A officer in the President’s secretariat; less than 9 percent of the 651 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) staff is from the OBC category. The higher education department employs only 5 percent OBC in Grade A officers and 10 percent OBC staff. Out of 41 Grade A posts in the department of scientific and industrial research, there is only one OBC officer.

Muralidharan has repeatedly filed RTIs every year to check the performance of the central government in appointments under reserved categories. “The departments are supposed to release the data, but they have been found wanting,” he said.

In the RTI query, Muralidharan asked what action was initiated against ministries and departments which did not provide the data. The under-secretary of the department of personnel and training, Raju Saraswat replied that two reminders were sent to the departments concerned, but he failed to state if any action was taken.

Muralidharan said that it was mandatory for the departments and ministries to furnish these details to DoPT by January 1 every year as per an office memorandum (OM No. No.43011/10/2002-Estt (Res.), dated December 19, 2003.

He pointed out that the poor implementation of caste-based reservations would result in the wedge of inequality increasing. “Reservations should be time-bound and there must be a of the positions filled,” he said.

TNN

No more affidavits, interviews for central government jobs

No more affidavits, interviews for central government jobs

New Delhi: Path-breaking initiatives like discontinuation of affidavits for host of central government services and ending job interviews for various posts from January 1 among other initiatives kept the Ministry of Personnel in news during 2015.

“The most revolutionary and path-breaking decision is abolition of attestation of certificates by gazetted officers instead promoting self-attestation,” Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh told PTI.

He said the government took this decision as it was willing to trust citizens, more importantly it’s youth who will not give wrong information while submitting self-attested documents.

This decision has come as a big relief to common people, especially those living in rural areas, who had to take lot of pain in getting documents attested.

The Ministry also recently discontinued the practice of submission of affidavit by the family members of deceased government employees for the appointment on compassionate grounds.

Now people are required to submit self-declaration at the time of applying for compassionate appointment. All states and union territories have also been asked by the Centre to do away with practice of getting gazetted officer-signed affidavit and seek self-attestation.

Singh, a Lok Sabha member from Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur constituency, said soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to end interviews from central government jobs, his Ministry has acted on it.

“We have decided that from January 1, next year, the process of interview for Group C and D recruitments will be abolished,” he said, adding that these are some steps which nobody thought of in past over 60 years after country’s independence.
Singh said the Ministry which is held by the Prime

Minister started several measures to increase transparency and simplify governance.

“We have started the process of simplification of various application forms being used in the government. We are converting multi-page application forms into one-page,” the Minister said.

Talking about other initiatives, he said a pension portal has been started. “Those who are getting superannuated can check the status of their pension online. They can also check pension payment orders online,” Singh said.

He said out of 6.5 lakh public grievances received by his ministry during the year, 4.8 lakh were disposed of.

“The ministry will continue to work towards simplifying governance,” Singh said.

In another novel initiative, the ministry started yoga camps for the central government employees and their dependents.

Besides, it exempted the parents of differently-abled children from the mandatory transfers so that they can take proper care of them.

The scheme of interaction of officers with school students has been launched in which the officers of government of India visit schools and share their experiences with the students.

As a pilot project, senior officers of Department of Personnel and Training have visited kendriya vidyalayas in Delhi and interacted with the students.

For the first time in the history of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the officers of 2013 batch were posted as assistant secretary in the Central Secretariat for a period of three months.

In order to crack a whip on non-performing bureaucrats, it has started assessing the performance of employees. The government has asked all its departments to identify such public servants and move proposals for their premature retirement.

The Personnel Ministry has formed rules to check unauthorised stay on foreign postings by IAS, IPS and IFS officers.

PTI

7th CPC recommends higher grade pay for Assistant Station Master (ASM) after upgradation of ASM to SM. ASM post to be abolished

7th Pay Commission has recommended higher grade pay for Asst Station Master after upgradation as Station Master.

Station Masters

The cadre of Station Masters, nearly 39,000 strong, is one of the visible faces of Indian Railways. They are connected with working of traffic, commercial duties like issue of tickets, goods handling, parcel handling, accounting of station earnings. They are also responsible for proper co-ordination between personnel of different departments posted at the station. Theirs is presently a three-tier structure:

Category	Grade Pay
Station Superintendent (SS)	4600
Station Master (SM)	4200
Assistant Station Master (ASM)	2800

Some major stations have posts of Station Superintendent (Gazetted).


Presently the mode of recruitment is as follows:

• SS–100 percent promotional
• SM–10 percent through  Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE), from serving non-ministerial graduates of Commercial and Traffic Departments; 15 percent+Shortfall against LDCE through Direct Recruitment from the open market; 75 percent through promotions from ASM
• ASM–25 percent through General Selection from specified serving matriculates in GP 1800, 1900, 2400 and 2800; 15 percent+Shortfall against General Selection through LDCE (from employees of specified categories of Commercial and Traffic Departments with qualification of graduation and a minimum service of 5 years for Group D staff); 60 percent+Shortfall against LDCE through Direct Recruitment from the open market.

There is a demand to upgrade ASMs from GP 2800 to GP 4200.

Analysis and Recommendations

The Commission notes that 7 percent of the entire cadre is presently in GP 2800, 53 percent in GP 4200 and 40 percent in GP 4600. Keeping in mind the identical educational qualifications required for the posts of ASM and SM, with practically no difference in the functions performed by them, and the historical importance of the post, it is recommended that the ASMs in GP 2800 should first be upgraded to GP 4200 and then fitted in the revised Pay Matrix. The cadre will then have 60 percent posts in Level 6 and 40 percent in Level 7.  The designation of ASM may be abolished. Separate recommendations have been made regarding Dress Allowance to Station Masters. Other demands like grant of Safety and Punctuality Allowance, Outturn Allowance are not justified.

From birth to death certificates, one-page form soon for all government services

From birth to death certificates, one-page form soon for all government services

 New Delhi: Applications for majority of services like birth or death certificates will soon be simplified and converted into one-page form format, the government announced today.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh also unveiled a single-page application form for pensioners on a day being observed as ‘good governance day’ which coincides with the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“For different schemes you have voluminous forms. Today, we are releasing one-page application form for pensioners. We plan to convert all multi-page or voluminous forms to single-page within a year,” he told reporters during a press conference here.

Singh said the aim behind this initiative is to make the forms as simple and small as possible for the beneficiary. “There should be relevant and minimum information asked for in an application form for government services and not repetitive ones,” he said.

Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, said he is coordinating with state governments and Union territories to replicate the same process.

“Every month we will be holding meetings with at least two central government departments and reviewing forms available for different services under them. Efforts will be to simplify the whole procedure and we hope to achieve the target of single-page form for all government services within a year’s time,” the minister said.
At present, one has to fill lengthy forms for getting birth, death and other certificates.

Secretary in Personnel Ministry Sanjay Kothari said the government plans to integrated Aadhaar number with government services so that people do not have to fill out whole details.

“We will be integrating Aadhaar data base for the services. But this will be possible only when all the people have Aadhaar numbers. It will further benefit people as they will not be required to fill out basic details like their residential address, among other things,” he said.

Singh said the government has been taking steps to ensure that the tax payers’ money, which is being spent through various schemes for benefit of the deserving segments, reaches them easily in required shape and measure in time.

“There is a need to have a critical look at the current procedures and forms in use in various departments and ministries in the government. There is a need to eliminate layers of decision making for adding speed to the disposal mechanism.

“There is a need to specify one-page forms seeking essential information for upholding the dignity of our citizens,” the minister said.

Singh said workshops have already been conducted with the National Social Assistance Programme of the Ministry of Rural Development, Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and Directorate General, Labour Welfare of the Ministry of Labour and Employment for simplification of the application forms.

Good Governance Day is observed on December 25, since the last year, coinciding with the birthday of Vajpayee.

PTI

7th CPC recommends higher grade pay for Sub Inspectors and Inspectors of CBI

7th Pay Commission has recommended higher grade pay for Sub Inspectors and Inspectors of CBI

Upgradation of pay of Sub Inspectors and Inspectors of CBI

The CBI has demanded upgradation of pay of Sub Inspectors and Inspectors working in CBI on the grounds that present pay scales are leading to high attrition at these levels. This has resulted in 33 percent vacancies in the SI cadre and 30 percent vacancy in the Inspector cadre. It has also been mentioned that there has been historical parity with the executive cadre of Intelligence Bureau.

Analysis and Recommendations

In the VI CPC report it has been mentioned that there is historical parity between the executive cadre of IB and CBI and that such a parity has to be maintained. Since this Commission has approved upgradation of pay of ACIO I and ACIO II in IB, the pay of  corresponding ranks in CBI  viz., Sub Inspector and Inspector are also recommended to be upgraded similarly. The upgradation has also been recommended keeping in mind the nature of duties performed by these ranks in the organisation. Accordingly the pay of Sub Inspector is upgraded from GP 4200 to GP 4600 and that of Inspector from GP 4600 to GP 4800.