Railway Bonus Orders: Grant of ad-hoc bonus for 30 days to the Group ‘C’ & `D’ RPF/RPSF personnel for the financial year 2014-2015

Railway Bonus Orders: Grant of ad-hoc bonus for 30 days to the Group ‘C’ & `D’ RPF/RPSF personnel for the financial year 2014-2015

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(RAILWAY BOARD)

RBE No.140/2015

No.E(P&A)II-2015/Bonus-1

New Delhi, Dated 02/11/2015

The General Managers/CAOs (R),
All Indian Railways & Production Units,
(As per mailing list)

Subject: Grant of ad-hoc bonus for 30 days to the Group ‘C’ & `D’ RPF/RPSF personnel for the financial year 2014-2015

The President is pleased to decide that all Group ‘C’ & ‘D’ RPF/RPSF personnel, may be granted ad-hoc bonus equivalent to 30 (thirty) days emoluments for the financial year 2014-2015, without any eligibility wage ceiling. The calculation ceiling of Rs.3500/- will remain unchanged.

2. The benefit will be admissible subject to the following terms and conditions:-

a) Only those Group ‘C’ & ‘D’ RPF/RPSF personnel who were in service on 31.3.2015 and have rendered at least six months of continuous service during the year 2014-2015 will be eligible for payment under these orders. Pro-rata payment will be admissible to the eligible personnel for period of continuous service during the year ranging from six months to a full year, the eligibility period being taken in terms of number of months of service (rounded to the nearest number of months).

b) The quantum of ad-hoc bonus will be worked out on the basis of average emoluments/calculation ceiling whichever is lower. To calculate ad-hoc bonus for one day, the average emoluments in a year will be divided by 30.4 (average number of days in a month). This will thereafter be multiplied by the number of days of bonus granted. To illustrate, taking the calculation ceiling of Rs.3500/-(where actual average emoluments exceed Rs.3500), ad-hoc bonus for thirty days would work out to Rs.3500×30/30.4 = Rs.3453.95 (rounded off to Rs.3454/).

c) All payments under these orders will be rounded off to the nearest rupee.
d) In the matter where the aforesaid provisions are silent, clarificatory orders issued vide this Ministry’s letter No.E(P&A)II-88/Bonus-3 dated 29.12.1988, as amended from time to time, would hold good.

e) All the Group ‘C’ & ‘D’ RPF/RPSF personnel, regardless of whether they are in uniform or out of uniform and regardless of place of their posting, shall be eligible only for ad-hoc bonus in terms of these orders.

3. This issues with the concurrence of the Finance Directorate of the Ministry of Railways.

Sd/-
(Salim. Md. Ahmed)
Deputy Director/E(P&A)-II
Railway Board.

Authority: http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

PM to launch Gold Related Schemes on 5th November, 2015; First ever National Gold Coin minted in India with National Emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved to be released among others on the occasion

PM to launch Gold Related Schemes on 5th November, 2015; First ever National Gold Coin minted in India with National Emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved to be released among others on the occasion

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will launch the three Gold related Schemes i.e. Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), Gold Sovereign Bond Scheme and the Gold Coin and Bullion Scheme on Thursday, 5th November, 2015 in the national capital.

The salient features of each of the aforesaid scheme are as follows:

Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), 2015
The GMS will replace the existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999. However, the deposits outstanding under the Gold Deposit Scheme will be allowed to run till maturity unless the depositors prematurely withdraw them.

Resident Indians (Individuals, HUF, Trusts including Mutual Funds/Exchange Traded Funds registered under SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations and Companies) can make deposits under the scheme. The minimum deposit at any one time shall be raw gold (bars, coins, jewellery excluding stones and other metals) equivalent to 30 grams of gold. There is no maximum limit for deposit under the scheme.

The gold will be accepted at the Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTC) certified by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The deposit certificates will be issued by banks in equivalent of 995 fineness of gold. The designated banks will accept gold deposits under the Short Term (1-3 years) Bank Deposit (STBD) as well as Medium (5-7 years) and Long (12-15 years) Term Government Deposit Schemes (MLTGD). While the former will be accepted by banks on their own account, the latter will be on behalf of the Government of India. There will be provision for premature withdrawal subject to a minimum lock-in period and penalty to be determined by individual banks for the STBD. The interest rate in the STBD will be determined by the banks. The interest rate in the medium term bonds has been fixed at 2.25% and for the long term bonds is 2.5% for the bonds issued in 2015-16.

Interest on deposits under the scheme will start accruing from the date of conversion of gold deposited into tradable gold bars after refinement or 30 days after the receipt of gold at the CPTC or the bank’s designated branch, as the case may be and whichever is earlier. During the period from the date of receipt of gold by the CPTC or the designated branch, as the case may be, to the date on which interest starts accruing in the deposit, the gold accepted by the CPTC or the designated branch of the bank shall be treated as an item in safe custody held by the designated bank.

The Short Term Bank Deposits will attract applicable Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR). However, the stock of gold held by the banks will count towards the general SLR requirement. The opening of Gold Deposit Accounts will be subject to the same rules with regard to customer identification (KYC) as are applicable to any other deposit account.

The designated banks may sell or lend the gold accepted under STBD to MMTC for minting India Gold Coins (IGC) and to jewellers, or sell it to other designated banks participating in GMS. The gold deposited under MLTGD will be auctioned by MMTC or any other agency authorised by the Central Government and the sale proceeds credited to the Central Government’s account with the Reserve Bank of India. The entities participating in the auction may include the Reserve Bank, MMTC, banks and any other entities notified by the Central Government. Banks may utilise the gold purchased in the auction for purposes indicated above. Designated banks should put in place a suitable risk management mechanism, including appropriate limits, to manage the risk arising from gold price movements in respect of their net exposure to gold. For this purpose, they have been allowed to access the international exchanges, London Bullion Market Association or make use of over-the-counter contracts to hedge exposures to bullion prices subject to the guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank.

Complaints against designated banks regarding any discrepancy in issuance of receipts and deposit certificates, redemption of deposits, payment of interest will be handled first by the bank’s grievance redress process and then by the Reserve Bank’s Banking Ombudsman.

It may be recalled that the Government of India announced the Gold Monetisation Scheme vide its Office Memorandum F.No.20/6/2015-FT dated September 15, 2015. The objective of the Scheme is to mobilise gold held by households and institutions of the country and facilitate its use for productive purposes, and in the long run, to reduce country’s reliance on the import of gold..

The list of CPTCs and Refiners are certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards. Indian Banks Association has finalized the necessary documentation including the tripartite agreements between the designated banks, CPTCs and the Refiners under the Scheme. Banks have put in place the requisite systems and procedures to implement the scheme and will continue to improve them.

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme
The Government of India has decided to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds. The Bonds will be issued in multiple tranches subject to the overall borrowing limits of GOI. Applications for the bond under the first tranche will be accepted from November 05, 2015 to November 20, 2015. The Bonds will be issued on November 26, 2015. The Bonds will be sold through banks and designated post offices as notified. It may be recalled that the Union Finance Minister had announced in Union Budget 2015-16 about developing a financial asset, Sovereign Gold Bond, as an alternative to purchasing metal gold.

Sovereign Gold Bond will be issued by Reserve Bank India on behalf of the Government of India. The Bonds will be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities including individuals, HUFs, trusts, Universities, charitable institutions. The Bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram. The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with exit option from 5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates. Minimum permissible investment will be 2 units (i.e. 2 grams of gold).The maximum amount subscribed by an entity will not be more than 500 grams per person per fiscal year (April-March). A self-declaration to this effect will be obtained. A mechanism will be put in place for internal verification of the self declarations.

In case of joint holding, the investment limit of 500 grams will be applied to the first applicant only. Each tranche will be kept open for a period to be notified. The issuance date will also be specified in the notification. Price of Bond will be fixed in Indian Rupees on the basis of the previous week’s (Monday–Friday) simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd. (IBJA).Payment for the Bonds will be through electronic funds transfer/cash payment/ cheque/ demand draft. The investors will be issued a Stock/Holding Certificate.

The Bonds are eligible for conversion into demat form. The redemption price will be in Indian Rupees based on previous week’s (Monday-Friday) simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity published by IBJA. Bonds will be sold through banks and designated Post Offices, as notified, either directly or through agents. The investors will get interest at a fixed rate of 2.75 per cent per annum payable semi-annually on the initial value of investment for the bonds issued in 2015-16.

Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time. Know-your-customer (KYC) norms will be the same as that for purchase of physical gold. KYC documents such as Voter ID, Aadhaar Card/PAN or TAN /Passport will be required. The interest on Gold Bonds shall be taxable as per the provision of Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) and the capital gains tax shall also remain same as in the case of physical gold. Department of Revenue has agreed to ensure tax neutrality between the purchase of physical gold and investment in the gold bonds. This will require amendments in the existing provisions of the Income Tax act , which will be considered in the 2016-17 Budget. Bonds will be tradable on exchanges/NDS-OM from a date to be notified by RBI..The Bonds will be eligible for Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR). Commission for distribution shall be paid at the rate of 1% of the subscription amount.

Gold Coin/Bullion Scheme
The Indian gold coin & bullion is a part of the Gold Monetisation Programme. The coin will be the first ever national gold coin minted in India and will have the National Emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on one side and Mahatma Gandhi on the other side . Initially the coins will be available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams. A 20 gram bullion will also be available. Initially, 15,000 coins of 5gm, 20,000 coins of 10 gm and 3,750 of bullions of 20 gm will be made available through MMTC outlets. The Indian Gold coin & bullion is unique in many aspects and will carry advanced anti-counterfeit features and tamper proof packaging.
The Indian Cold coin & bullion will be of 24 karat purity and 999 fineness. All coins & bullion will be hallmarked as per the BIS standards. These coins will be distributed initially through designated & recognised MMTC outlets and later through specified bank branches and post offices.

PIB

Acceptance of Diploma/Degree in Engineering prescribed for open market recruitment to posts on the railways

Acceptance of Diploma/Degree in Engineering prescribed for open market recruitment to posts on the railways — Duration of course regarding

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(RAILWAY BOARD)

RBE No.138/2015

No.E(NG)II-2013/RR-1/11

New Delhi, Dated 02/11/2015

The General Manager (P),
All Indian Railways & Production Units,
Chairman/Railway Recruitment Boards.

Subject: Acceptance of Diploma/Degree in Engineering prescribed for open market recruitnent to posts on the railways — Duration of course regarding

Instances have come to notice of this Ministry, wherein, candidates the written examination conducted by Railway Recruitment Boards are producing Diploma/Degree in Engineering of varied duration conducted by various institutions.

The matter has been looked into and it has been decided that henceforth a minimum of three year Diploma course in Engineering and a minimum of four year course in Engineering done after +2 shall only be accepted in addition to Diploma in Engineering obtained from Polytechnics. Instructions contained in Board’s letter No. dated 08.12.2011 still hold good.

Please acknowledge receipt.

sd/-
(Neeraj Kumar)
Director Estt. (N)-II
Railway Board.

Authority: http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

7th Pay Commission: IPS, IRS officers up in arms against ‘IAS supremacy’

7th Pay Commission: IPS, IRS officers up in arms against ‘IAS supremacy’

Sanjay R Bhoosreddy, Secretary of Central IAS Officers Association

New Delhi: About 20 central civil services, including IPS and IRS, have decided to petition Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC) to seek job parity and career progression enjoyed by IAS officers.

A meeting of representatives of central civil services was held here recently and it was unanimously decided to petition the CPC to inform it about job-related anomaly, official sources said.

The petition, citing in detail the discrepancy, will soon be sent to the seventh Central Pay Commission. The purpose behind sending such a request is to have parity and to end IAS supremacy, they said.

The move assumes significance as a war of words is going on between officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and those belonging to other central government services over the issue.

Officers belonging to Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Railways and other such central services have been seeking pay parity and career benefits enjoyed by those in IAS.

Opposing this, about 200 IAS officers have written to Department of Personnel and Training, cadre controlling authority for their service, requesting it to stonewall any move that seeks to bring down the edge given to them over other services due to various reasons.

IAS officers get empanelled to a Joint Secretary-level post in 11 years while those belonging to IRS and other services get it after putting in at least 13 years of service.

The early empanelment gives an upper hand to IAS officer, in terms of higher pay and other pecuniary benefits, as compared to their batchmate of other services.

“There is a lot of frustration and resentment among the young officers. They have taken a conscious decision of joining IAS after viewing their career options.

“Some of them have left very good private sector jobs abroad and joined the civil services. Most of them were selected in other services but they chose to sit in exam again to become an IAS officer. The merit of these boys should not be ignored,” said Sanjay R Bhoosreddy, Secretary of central IAS officers’ association here.

“If there is no place for merit, then many meritorious aspirants may opt out of civil services,” Bhoosreddy said.

IPS officers’ association Secretary P V Ramasashtry said a service can plead for how much pay it should get but not what others should not get.

“When the pay commission is yet to finalise their recommendations, the move triggered by some IAS officers was premature and avoidable.

“A service can plead for how much pay it should get but not what others should not get. One cannot understand how extra two increments can be the sole motivation factor and removal of the same thoroughly demoralises an officer who claims himself superior to others?,” he asked.

Many comments are pouring on social networking sites likeFacebook and micro-blogging portal Twitter by various officers of different services serving across the country on the issue.

PTI

No problem with OROP to paramilitary, raise retirement age to 60

No problem with OROP to paramilitary, raise retirement age to 60

Ex-servicemen demanding the for One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme here on Monday said they have no problem with the paramilitary forces also asking for it, but then they would also demand that the retirement age of soldiers be raised to 60.

“As far as we are concerned, all have the right and will be rather happy. But we would then demand government to permit us to serve till 60 years of age,” Group Captain (retd.) VK Gandhi, general secretary of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement told IANS at Jantar Mantar here.

“Soldiers are forced to retire at 40 (years)… A person who retires at 40 years, gets Rs 8 crore less than one who retires at 60 years,” he said.

While the retirement age for civil servants is 60 years, 85 percent of the soldiers are compulsorily retired aged between 35 to 37. Another 12 percent to 13 percent soldiers aged between 40 to 54, as per estimates.
Monday was the 141st day of the agitation at Jantar Mantar by the veterans, when Over 200 retired paramilitary personnel on Monday launched a three-day protest here demanding ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) for around 13 lakh retired and serving personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
The retired paramilitary personnel have gathered under the banner of Delhi-based All India Central Paramilitary Forces Ex-servicemen Welfare Association.

Source: Zeenews.india.com