Former President APJ Abdul Kalam Dies at 83

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam Dies at 83

Shillong:  India's 11th President APJ Abdul Kalam died on Monday evening at a hospital in Meghalaya, where he had gone to deliver a lecture. He was 83.

The former President, who was in office from 2002 to 2007, had collapsed during the lecture at the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong, around 6.30 pm. He was taken to the Bethany hospital. Doctors said he had suffered from a massive cardiac arrest.

"President Kalam was brought to the hospital at 7 pm. When he brought in there was no sign of life. He was taken to ICU to try and revive him, which was futile," hospital sources told NDTV.
The government will declare a seven-day national mourning, reported Press Trust of India, quoting Union Home Secretary LC Goel

Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, "Deeply saddened at the sudden demise of the former president of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. He was an inspiration to an entire generation."

Messages of condolence also poured in from various leaders.

Known as the Missile Man of India, Dr Kalam had played a pivotal role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998. One of the most loved Presidents,  he was also known as the People's President. While in his 70s, he was nominated for the MTV Youth Icon of the Year award in 2003 and in 2006.

For his achievements, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan and Bharat Ratna.

Dr Kalam was born in Rameswaram on October 15, 1931, to a poor family. His father was a boatman.A bright student, his interest in flying led to a degree in aeronautical engineering, and eventually to supervising the development of India's guided missile programme.

He was also the author of 10 books. His autobiography, Wings of Fire, written in 1999, had been a best seller.

Dr Kalam's last tweet, posted in the morning, read:

Going to Shillong.. to take course on Livable Planet earth at iim. With @srijanpalsingh and Sharma.

Source: NDTV

MOD invites LTC Claim Details for one time relaxation – BPMS

MOD invites LTC Claim Details for one time relaxation – BPMS

One Time Relaxation for LTC claim

(AN ALL INDIA FEDERATION OF DEFENCE WORKERS)
(AN INDUSTRIAL UNIT OF B.M.S.)
(RECOGNISED BY MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, GOVT. OF INDIA)
CENTRAL OFFICE: 2-A, NAVEEN MARKET, KANPUR – 208001, PH & FAX : (0512) 2332222
MOBILE: 09415733686, 09235729390, 09335621629, WEB : www.bpms.org.in

REF: BPMS / CIR / LTC / 01

Dated: 27.07.2015

To,
The Office Bearers / CEC Members,
President / Secretary of the Unions
Affiliated to BPMS

Subject: One Time Relaxation for LTC claim
 

Dear brothers & sisters,
 

Namaskar
 

You may be aware of that Shri S N Batwe, Patron/BPMS highlighted some of the following issues related to LTC, thereupon vide letter No. BPMS / DoP&T/ LTC / 50 (7/2/R), Dated 10.11.2014 this federation requested the DoP&T as well as MOD to consider the issues sympathetically :-

(i) Earlier { DoP&T F.No. 31011/412007-Estt.(A), dated 02.05.2008} the Group ‘B’ Central Government employees were entitled to travel by Air from their place of posting or nearest airport but now {vide DoP&T O.M. No. 31011/ 3/ 2014-Estt.(A-IV), dated 26.09.2014} only eligible Government servants may travel from their place of posting or nearest airport, hence necessary clarification was required so that the Group ‘B’ employees may be entitled to travel by Air from their place of posting or nearest airport;

(ii) Vide DoP&T F.No. 31011/4/2007-Estt (A), Dated 30.04.2012 the Air travel relaxation under LTC for NER was extended for 02 yrs from 01.05.2012, i.e., applicable upto 01.05.2014 and vide DoP&T F. No. 31011/2/2003-Estt.A-IV, dated 15.06.2012 the Air travel relaxation under LTC for J&K was extended for 02 yrs from 18.06.2012, i.e., applicable upto 18.06.2014 whereas this order grants the relaxation for air travel w.e.f. 26.09.2014. There were some of the employees who have travelled by Air under LTC in the intervening period, i.e., 01.05.2014 / 18.06.2014 and 26.09.2014 in anticipation of extension of such relaxation as per prevailing practice. To mitigate the financial hardships of such employees, the DoP&T O.M. No. 31011/ 3/ 2014-Estt.(A-IV), dated 26.09.2014 should have retrospective effect, i.e., 01.05.2014.

(iii) Some of the defence civilian employees while availing LTC by Air to destinations like A&N Islands, J&K and NER, did not follow the instructions regarding purchase of their air tickets only from the booking counters/websites of Air India or from the Authorized Travel Agents [M/s Balmer Lawrie & Co, M/s Ashok Travels & Tours and IRCTC] and their LTC claims are not being allowed. Hence, one time relaxation is required to settle these cases.

Now, Min of Defence is considering the case (iii) and invited the details from concerned authorities. Hence, all are requested to forward their details through proper channel in given format only.

Thanking you.

Sincerely yours
sd/-
(MUKESH SINGH)
Secretary/BPMS & Member, JCM-II Level Council (MOD)

Government of India
Ministry of Defence
D(Civ-I)

Subject : Proposal for seeking one time relaxation in respect of LTC 80 claims of Defence Civilian Employees

Defence Civilian Employees’ Federations are pursuing the above issue in the meetings of the JCM Departmental Council wherein they have informed that many Defence civilian employees while availing LTC by Air to destinations like A&N Islands, J&K and NER, did not follow the instructions regarding purchase of these air tickets only from the booking counters/websites of Air India or from the Authorized Travel Agents [M/s Balmer Lawrie & Co, M/s Ashok Travels & Tours and IRCTC]. A number of employees being first time travellers by air, did not observe these instructions due to ignorance. As a result, there administrative authorities have rejected their claims under LTC 80 submitted by them after performing the journey. To resolve this issue, the employees Federations have approached this Ministry and have requested to take up the matter to DoP&T with recommendation that:

a) Claims of Group C and B employees who are otherwise not entitled for Air Travel, in case they have availed LTC 80 by purchasing Air tickets from other than the authorized agents may be considered as a one time measure and a relaxation may be granted to pass their LTC claims as a special case;

b) For such employees who have purchased Air Tickets prior to 26 Sep 2014 from other than authorized agents to travel to A&N Islands, in their case, the LTC claim may be restricted to their entitled class in Steamer/Ship

2. The DoP&T have communicated vide their letter No.31011/6/2015-Estt.A IV dated 1st July addressed to JCM, National Council, that it would not be feasible to relax the LTC rules as a one-time measure. However, cases of individual hardship as recommended by Ministries/ Departments would be considered on a case to case basis.

3. Accordingly, it is proposed to take up the matter with the DoP&T for a decision on the LTC claims submitted by the defence civilian employees where the air tickets have not been purchased by these employees in accordance with the Government instructions. It is requested that the details of such cases may please be furnished in the enclosed proforma latest by 17 Aug 2015, along with views/comments, so that a consolidated proposal could be sent to the DoP&T for consideration of one time relaxation.

Encl : Proforma

Sd/-
Gurdeep Singh)
Under Secretary (Civ)

Click to view the proforma

Source : BPMS

Demand to removal of stagnation in services and timely promotions – Central Secretariat Services Forum

Demand to removal of stagnation in services and timely promotions – Central Secretariat Services Forum

Central Secretariat employees demand timely promotions

Central Secretariat employees have demanded removal of stagnation in Services and facilitation of timely promotions. A deputation of “Central Secretariat Services Forum” led by its Convenor, Shri D.N.Sahoo called on Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State Personnel, here today and thanked him for his positive and cooperative response to all their grievances in the past one year and expressed the hope that he would also find a way out to overcome the anomaly in Services which has been adversely affecting them for the last several years. They also handed over a memorandum to him.

Dr Jitendra Singh assured that the problems and grievances faced by the employees will certainly be resolved and observed that the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) had, on his instructions, sent a favourable proposal in support of their demands but there were certain technical queries from the Finance Ministry which are also in the process of being replied.

Dr Jitendra Singh said the Modi Government took over with a pledge for ‘maximum Governance, minimum Government’ and adopted several radical measures to simplify governance and provide a comfortable and work-friendly environment for its officials. It is in the same spirit that the officials of different Secretariat Services are also intended to be made comfortable and achieve a sense of esteem through timely promotion and befitting status in their service career, he added.

The members of the deputation submitted to Dr Jitendra Singh that as per the Central Secretariat Service Rules, promotion from Under Secretary to Deputy Secretary, for example, requires only five years of approved service in a total of about 30 years of service period but the irony is that several of the employees who have already put in 20-22 years of service are still awaiting promotion and many of them attain superannuation as Under Secretaries or even Section Officers. They said that since there is no financial implication involved and Dr Jitendra Singh has the reputation of being sympathetic to the cause of employees, it is hoped that their grievances will be addressed in the justify earnest.

Among the members of the deputation were S/Shri Pradeep Kumar Singh, R.P.Gupta, V.Sreekumar, Mrityunjay Jha, Ashok Kumar, Manoj Kumar Singh, Brajesh Sikka, Kumar Manoj Kashyap, R.P.Sati, Ujjwal Kumar and P.K.Sharma.

Source: PIB News

Is there any connection between the report of 7th CPC and OROP announcement?

Is there any connection between the report of 7th CPC and OROP announcement?

“Is there any connection between the submission of report of 7th CPC to Central and the announcement of OROP to Defence Personnel?”

The 7th Pay Commission has announced through on its portal last month that the task was given by the Government to the commission will be completed within the time frame and the commission will submit its recommendations before September this year to Central Government.

Some believe that the two reports could be linked.

“The 7th Pay Commission is all set to submit its report to the Government before August 15.”
“The Prime Minister is expected to announce the implementation of OROP in his Independence Day address to the nation.”

According to unofficial sources, the 7th Pay Commission is going to submit its report to the Government before August 15. The fact that the commission has completed its work much ahead of its deadline is indeed commendable. This is the first time in the history of Pay Commissions that a Commission has completed its report ahead of its deadline. Pay Commissions are synonymous with arrears. Last time, 20-month arrears were paid in two installments. If the new Pay Commission’s recommendations are implemented on time, it would be another first – the first to not have any pending arrears.

On June 24, the Pay Commission itself said on its website that the report-preparation is in its final stage, and that work will be completed on schedule. The announcement was welcomed by Central Government employees, and helped clear lot of doubts in their minds.

www.gservants.com has plenty of unconfirmed reports on various issues related to the 7th Pay Commission, including a minimum basic pay of Rs.21000, removal of the Grade Pay system that was introduced by the 6th Pay Commission, and a uniform 2.86 multiplication factor for all grades. The website also said that the leaders of railway employees federation had informed that the 7th Pay Commission will submit its report on August 30. This created tremendous excitement among Central Government employees.

Meanwhile, a popular English newspaper reported that the Pay Commission will submit its report towards the end of October.

In the midst of all these uncertainties, there comes another unconfirmed report that the recommendations will be submitted well before August 15. It adds that the Prime Minister will also announce the OROP scheme in his Independence Day speech.

We have been unable to find out if the 7th Pay Commission has any recommendations on OROP. But, there is wide expectation that the report will have some suggestions related to it.

Source: 7thpaycommissionnews.in

Proposal to rise the creamy layer from 6 to 10.5 lakhs

Proposal to rise the creamy layer from 6 to 10.5 lakhs

On 23rd of this month, some questions asked in Parliament related to Creamy Layer by the member of Shri T Devender Goud, the concerned department answered as follows…

Annual income criteria for OBC

“An Expert Committee set up in 1993 recommended for income criteria of Rs. 1 lakh per annum. The Expert Committee observed that since the Rupee value is bound to undergo change, the income criteria in terms of Rupees will accordingly stand modified with the change in value. The modification exercise may, normally speaking, be undertaken in every three years but if the situation demands, an interregnum may be less.

Keeping in view the recommendations of the Expert Committee, Government of India decided to constitute a Review Committee to consider the issue of modification of income criteria and circulated a Cabinet Note in March, 1999. The Cabinet approved constituting the Review Committee in its meeting on 27.11.2001. With the approval of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, the work relating to review the income criteria to exclude cream layer was entrusted to the National Commission for Backward Classes.

The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) submitted its report in January, 2004. The income criteria were revised on 9.3.2004. Hence, there was no delay in effecting the first revision of income criteria. NCBC was requested to review in December, 2007 and they submitted their report in July, 2008. After inter-ministerial consultation and the approval of Cabinet, the second revision was effected in October, 2008. Again, in July 2011, NCBC was requested to review the same and they submitted a report in September, 2011. The Cabinet approved on 16.05.2013 the revision of income criteria from 4.5 lakhs to 6.00 lakhs and, accordingly the 3rd revision was effected w.e.f. 16.05.2013.

The recommendation of the National Commission for Backward Classes in this regard was received and the same has been sent to Department of Personnel & Training”.

Government working on One Rank One Pension: Venkaiah Naidu

Government working on One Rank One Pension: Venkaiah Naidu

Bengaluru, Jul 26 (PTI) Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said that the Modi government holds the armed forces and their families in highest esteem and it is working hard on the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.

“It is a very important issue. That should be settled. We are working on that in principle, we hold our armed forces in highest esteem, their families also,” Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said.

He was commenting on social activist Anna Hazare’s protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on the issue.

Hazare today accused the NDA government of not fulfilling even a “single promise” including implementation of OROP scheme.

All issues cannot be resolved in a year and people have to understand NDA had “inherited bad economy and it is under repair”, Naidu told PTI here.

On reports that the government was trying to collect information to show the presence of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Pakistan, Naidu said even if the government had details, it wouldn’t be good to reveal them.

“The government is trying its best to get him back. He is responsible for heinous crime and massacre of the people.

Even if we have details it is not good to reveal them unless you are able to get him,” he said.

PTI

Expected DA from July 2015 – To wait for the month of June AICPIN data that will be released on July 31 to find out.

Expected DA from July 2015 – To wait for the month of June AICPIN data that will be released on July 31 to find out.

Expected DA from July to Dec 2015

What will the additional Dearness Allowance increase be from the month of July to Dec 2015? One has to wait for the AICPIN data for the month of June 2015 that will be released on July 31 to find out.
Central Government employees are not the only ones who are eagerly waiting to find out what the DA percentage hike will be from July to December 2015. Central Pensioners and employees of the banking sectors too are curious to know. Additionally, the employees are working under state governments are also covered in this circle.

It has almost been confirmed that there will be a 6% hike in DA this time. But, it will be absolutely confirmed once the June AICPIN statistics is revealed. The fluctuations of the June AICPIN is not expected to dramatically affect the fate of July’s DA hike, but it will have some impact on the DA hike that will be announced for January 2016.

You can understand this better if you refer to the table given below:

 

Source: CGstaffnews