Ministry of Railways Invites Suggestions from the Public Regarding the Forthcoming Railway Budget 2016-17

Ministry of Railways Invites Suggestions from the Public Regarding the Forthcoming Railway Budget 2016-17

Ministry of Railway has invited suggestions from the public regarding the forthcoming Railway Budget 2016-17. The suggestions can be given online on the website of Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) with the URL http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/. The icon with the Title “Public Suggestions on Forthcoming Railway Budget 2016-17” is available on the home page itself on the website.

The suggestions can be given on 15 Heads(with many sub heads) namely Computerization, Electrical, Electrification of lines, Finance, Foot over Bridges, Freight (Traffic Requirements Sidings, Rake Handling facility), Infrastructure(Freight Corridors, High Speed Corridors, Port and Mine Connectivity, PPP Initiatives), Innovative Ideas, Land(Commercial Utilisation of land, Station Development), Railway Lines(New Lines, Gauge conversion, Doubling, Doubling), Road over/ Under Bridges, Suggestions on Crime prevention, Suggestions on Safe running of Trains/Disaster Management, Tourism Related, Trains(New Trains, Extension of Trains, Augmentation of Trains, Frequency of Trains, Tourist Trains, Pantry Cars & Catering)

The last date of submission is 15th January, 2016.

7th Pay Commission recommended to grant higher Grade Pay to ACIO-II and ACIO-I

7th Pay Commission recommended to grant higher Grade Pay to ACIO-II and ACIO-I

Intelligence Bureau (IB) : Upgradation of posts of ACIO-II and ACIO-I

IB has demanded upgradation of the posts of ACIO I and II in the executive cadre as well as in other cadres on the ground that till the IV Pay Commission these posts in IB were in higher pay scales compared to Sub Inspectors and Inspectors in the CPMFs. The pay scale of ACIO-II was Rs. 1640-2900 as compared to pay scale of Rs. 1400-2300 of Sub Inspectors of CPMFs. Similarly, the pay scale of the posts of ACIO-I in IB was also higher than the pay scale of Inspectors in the CPMFs.

Consequent upon the implementation of the V CPC recommendations, the pay of ACIO-II and ACIO-I in IB was downgraded and brought at par with the pay scales of Sub Inspectors and Inspectors of CPMFs at Rs. 5500-9000 and Rs. 6500-10500 respectively. The VI CPC also maintained the same parity.

The justification given by IB is that duties performed by the ACIO-II and ACIO-I are not comparable with the duties performed by the Sub Inspectors and Inspectors of CPMFs as the responsibilities of IB are more sensitive as well as hazardous.

The upgradation in pay to ACIO-I and ACIO-II has been duly supported by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The fact that ACIO-I and II have multidimensional role to play in the organisation is also noted.

The grant of higher GP 4600 to ACIO-II and GP 4800 to ACIO-I is therefore being recommended by this Commission.

7th CPC recommended to upgrade to Apex Scale

7th CPC recommended to upgrade to Apex Scale

National Academies : The Commission has received a number of demands from both the civilian and defence employees that the heads of National Academies should be upgraded to Apex Scale.

The Commission finds merit in upgrading only the heads of tri-services institutions of the defence forces. Accordingly, it is recommended that the heads of the following three triservices institutions should be upgraded to Apex Scale:

a. National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi
b. National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, Pune
c. Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington

Only those officers should be posted as heads of these establishments who have minimum two years of service left before superannuation. No extension in service should be granted based on these recommendations.

Key changes to Mandatory Quoting of Pan Rules of the Income tax Act

Key changes to Mandatory Quoting of Pan Rules of the Income tax Act

Rules regarding quoting of PAN for specified transactions amended

The Government is committed to curbing the circulation of black money and widening of tax base. To collect information of certain types of transactions from third parties in a non-intrusive manner, the Income-tax Rules require quoting of Permanent Account Number (PAN) where the transactions exceed a specified limit. Persons who do not hold PAN are required to fill a form and furnish any one of the specified documents to establish their identity.

One of the recommendations of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money was that quoting of PAN should be made mandatory for all sales and purchases of goods and services where the payment exceeds Rs.1 lakh. Accepting this recommendation, the Finance Minister made an announcement to this effect in his Budget Speech. The Government has since received numerous representations from various quarters regarding the burden of compliance this proposal would entail. Considering the representations, it has been decided that quoting of PAN will be required for transactions of an amount exceeding Rs.2 lakh regardless of the mode of payment.

To bring a balance between burden of compliance on legitimate transactions and the need to capture information relating to transactions of higher value, the Government has also enhanced the monetary limits of certain transactions which require quoting of PAN. The monetary limits have now been raised to Rs. 10 lakh from Rs. 5 lakh for sale or purchase of immovable property, to Rs.50,000 from Rs. 25,000 in the case of hotel or restaurant bills paid at any one time, and to Rs. 1 lakh from Rs. 50,000 for purchase or sale of shares of an unlisted company. In keeping with the Government’s thrust on financial inclusion, opening of a no-frills bank account such as a Jan Dhan Account will not require PAN. Other than that, the requirement of PAN applies to opening of all bank accounts including in co-operative banks.

The changes to the Rules will take effect from 1st January, 2016.

The above changes in the rules are expected to be useful in widening the tax net by non-intrusive methods. They are also expected to help in curbing black money and move towards a cashless economy.
A chart highlighting the key changes to Rule 114B of the Income-tax Act is attached.

7th CPC recommended to upgrade to 5400 and 6600 to Russian Translators

7th CPC recommended to upgrade to 5400 and 6600 to Russian Translators

 Translators-cum-Interpreters (Foreign Languages)

There are posts of Translators-cum-Interpreters (Foreign Languages) in the ministries of Defence, External Affairs, Communication, Science and Technology and Cabinet Secretariat etc.

The cadre of Interpreters of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in their demand, has pointed out that no cadre review has taken place for their cadre in the last 38 years.

The cadre of Russian translators in Integrated Headquarters of MOD (Navy) has contended that they have the same entry level qualification and nature of duties as translators of other languages in the same office, but are placed in a lower pay scale.

Analysis and Recommendations : In so far as the case of Interpreters in MEA is concerned, the Commission is of the view that cadre review is an administrative issue and should be dealt with at the level of MEA only.

Regarding the case of Russian translators in the Ministry of Defence, the Commission studied the job profiles and educational qualifications required for Russian translators, vis-à-vis their Chinese, Sinhalese and Pushto counterparts.

The Commission finds merit in their demand for upgrade and accordingly recommends that Russian Translation Officers should be upgraded from the existing GP 4600 to GP 5400 (PB-3). Similarly, Russian Senior Translation officers should be upgraded from existing GP 5400 (PB-3) to GP 6600 and Russian Editors from existing GP 6600 to GP 7600.

Central paramilitary forces have demanded One Rank One Pension (OROP)

Central paramilitary forces have demanded One Rank One Pension (OROP): Government

New Delhi: Central paramilitary forces and troops in the Assam Rifles have demanded granting of One Rank One Pension (OROP) on par with defence personnel, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

“There are demands from the in-service and retired Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles personnel for extending One Rank One Pension (OROP) on par with defence personnel.

“CAPFs and Assam Rifles retire only on attaining the age of 57/60 years and they are entitled for pension and other pensionary benefits as per Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972. These rules are different from the pension rules applicable to ex-servicemen.

“Further, CAPF and AR personnel, who are appointed on or after January 1, 2004 are covered under New Pension System,” Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

He was responding to a question on whether the government has taken any steps to address this issue.

PTI

Dopt Minister Clarifies on Retirement Age 58 or 33 Years of Service

Dopt Minister Clarifies on Retirement Age 58 or 33 Years of Service

In Lok Sabha today, the Dopt Minister Shri Jitendra Singh said that there is no proposal to reduce the retirement age to 58 years of age or 33 years of service for Central Government employees.

In a written reply for the question regarding the retirement age of Central Government employees in Parliament today, the concerend Minster of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said that the there is no such proposal to reduce the retirement age with the connection of 33 years of service.

Retirement age, Retirement age 58, Retirement age of Central Government employees

Fixation of Pension as per 7th Pay Commission to Pre-2016 Retirees

Fixation of Pension as per 7th Pay Commission to Pre-2016 Retirees 

RAGHUNATHAN
Retired Central Govt Officer

FIXATION OF REVISED PENSION as per Para 10.1.67 , Sub para (i) of 7th CPC Report : Pre-2016 RETIREES

Shall First be fixed in the Pay Matrix on the basis of Pay Band and Grade Pay at which they Retired at the minimum of the Corresponding Level in the MATRIX..This amount shall be raised, to arrive at the Notional Pay of the Retiree, by adding th.e number of Increments he/she had earned in that Level while in Service, at the rate of 3 %. Fifty percent of the Total Amount so arrived at shall be the REVISED PENSION.

To arrive at the Notional Pay, the Number of Increments earned by the Retiree in the PAY SCALE AT THE TIME OF HIS RETIREMENT is to be DETERMINED based on the LAST BASIC PAY drawn in this PAY SCALE.

Hence, the Number of STAGES in the PAY SCALE at the time of Retirement from the STARTING PAY of the Pay Scale UPTO the .LAST BASIC PAY drawn DETERMINES the Number of Increments Earned (GAINED) by the Retiree.

Illustration on Fixation of Pension in Case 2 of Para 10.1.71 is RELEVANT.

In the above Illustration, it is mentioned that Pensioner retired at LAST PAY drawn of Rs.4000/- having drawn 9 Increments in the RETIRING PAY SCALE of Rs.3000-100-3500-125-4500. The Number of STAGES in this PAY SCALE from the STARTING PAY ( Rs.3000/-) UPTO the LAST BASIC PAY (Rs..4000/-) drawn is obviously 9 (NINE) which is Indicative of the Number of Increments Earned (GAINED) by the Retiree.

In View of the above Explanation, THE NUMBER OF STAGES IN THE RETIRING PAY SCALE FROM THE STARTING PAY OF THE PAY SCALE

UPTO THE LAST PAY DRAWN SHOULD BE TREATED AS THE NUMBER OF INCREMENTS EARNED (GAINED) BY THE RETIREE in the Retiring Pay Scale..This is for the Purpose of Fixation of Pension as per the Formulation shown in Para 10.1.67, Sub Para (i) of the 7th CPC Report.

Otherwise, Junior Pensioners will get MORE REVISED PENSION THAN SENIOR PENSIONERS resulting in Disparity and Injustice.

This may please given wide Circulation and brought to the Notice of Implementation Committee. I am THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL to You Sirs,

for Your Needful action.