PFRDA identifies 21 Banks as Makers of Excellence under Atal Pension Yojana Outreach Programme;The Number of Current APY subscribers crosses 86 Lacs mark

Ministry of Finance

PFRDA identifies 21 Banks as Makers of Excellence under Atal Pension Yojana Outreach Programme; The Number of Current APY subscribers crosses 86 Lacs mark.

15 FEB 2018

With a view to bring the economically disadvantaged section of the society in the unorganized sector within the pension fold or old age income security coverage, Government had launched the Atal Pension Yojana (APY)in May 2015.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in association with Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance conducts APY Outreach Programme on a regular basis.
Accordingly, PFRDA has observed a Campaign namely, Makers of Excellence for the Chairmen and MDs of all the Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks (Rural & Urban) & Department of Post for registration of subscriber under APY during the month of Dec 2017 for a fortnight. Under the campaign, nearly, 6 lacs APY accounts were sourced by the APY Service Provider Banks. Targets were allocated to various banks to be achieved during the Campaign. A total of 21 banks- 6 Public sector banks, 14 Regional Rural Banks and 1 Cooperative Bank were able to achieve the target under the campaign and became the Makers of Excellence. PFRDA has planned to award the Top Management of the winning banks at the upcoming PFRDA Pension Conclave in national capital.

The winning Banks and their performance is as below:

S. No.	Name of the APY Service Provider	Category	Number of Branches	Minimum No. of Funded Accounts to be Sourced under Makers of Excellence Campaign	Actual No. of Funded Accounts Sourced under Makers of Excellence Campaign	Remarks (Qualified /Not Qualified
1	CANARA BANK	PSU	6,050	35,000	101,669	Qualified
2	INDIAN BANK	PSU	2,588	15,000	76,823	Qualified
3	ANDHRA BANK	PSU	2,903	15,000	57,315	Qualified
4	BANK OF BARODA	PSU	5,460	30,000	42,665	Qualified
5	ALLAHABAD BANK	PSU	3,143	20,000	30,029	Qualified
6	VIJAYA BANK	PSU	1,603	10,000	28,241	Qualified
7	GRAMIN BANK OF ARYAVART	RRB	700	3,500	5,915	Qualified
8	MADHYA BIHAR GRAMIN BANK	RRB	698	3,490	5,507	Qualified
9	PRAGATHI KRISHNA GRAMIN BANK	RRB	650	3,250	5,383	Qualified
10	PRATHAMA BANK	RRB	412	2,060	5,288	Qualified
11	BARODA UTTAR PRADESH GRAMIN BANK	RRB	924	4,620	5,125	Qualified
12	ANDHRA PRADESH GRAMEENA VIKAS BANK	RRB	768	3,840	4,893	Qualified
13	BARODA RAJASTHAN KSHETRIYA GRAMIN BANK	RRB	819	4,095	4,560	Qualified
14	PURVANCHAL BANK	RRB	570	2,850	3,368	Qualified
15	KAVERI GRAMEENA BANK	RRB	497	2,485	2,942	Qualified
16	DENA GUJARAT GRAMIN BANK	RRB	234	1,170	2,322	Qualified
17	BIHAR GRAMIN BANK	RRB	376	1,880	2,258	Qualified
18	CHAITANYA GODAVARI GRAMEENA BANK	RRB	203	1,015	1,714	Qualified
19	PALLAVAN GRAMA BANK	RRB	256	1,280	1,431	Qualified
20	SAPTAGIRI GRAMEENA BANK	RRB	207	1,035	1,074	Qualified
21	THE BEGUSARAI CENTRAL COOPERATIVE BANK LTD	DCCB	9	45	113	Qualified

The APY scheme became operational from 1st June, 2015 and is available to all citizens of India in the age group of 18-40 years. Under the Scheme, a subscriber would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs.1000 to Rs.5000 per month, depending upon his contribution, from the age of 60 years. The same pension would be paid to the spouse of the subscriber and on the demise of both the subscriber and spouse, the accumulated pension wealth is returned to the nominee.

The APY Scheme follows the same investment pattern as applicable to the NPS contribution of Central Govt employees. During the year 2016-17, it has earned a return of 13.91%.
The number of current APY Subscribers has crossed 86 lacs mark. The yearly addition in APY enrollment is provided below:

APY Subscriber Addition (In Lacs)
Year	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18( till 13thFeb 2018)	Total
No of Subscribers ( lacs)	24.84	23.99	37.63	86.46

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Ministry of Railways Announces one of the World's Largest Recruitment Drive

Ministry of Railways Announces one of the World's Largest Recruitment Drive.

Online Applications are invited around 90,000 posts in Group C Level I (Erstwhile Group D) like Track maintainer, Points man, Helper, Gateman, Porter and Group C Level II categories like Assistant Loco Pilots (ALP), Technicians (Fitter, Crane Driver, Blacksmith, Carpenter) through Railway Recruitment Boards websites.
Largest Computer based test in the World is scheduled tentatively in April - May 2018.
Educational Qualifications for various posts are class Xth passed & Industrial Training Institute certificate (ITI).
Selection procedure only includes Computer Based Test without Interviews.

15 FEB 2018

Ministry of Railways has announced one of the world's largest recruitment processes for 89409 posts in Group C Level I (Erstwhile Group D) & Level II Categories. Online applications have been invited for the Group C Level II posts like Assistant Loco Pilots, Technicians (Fitter, Crane Driver, Blacksmith, and Carpenter) and Group C Level I (Erstwhile Group D) posts like Track maintainer, Points man, Helper, Gateman, Porter. This recruitment drive is open for candidates who have passed Class Xth & ITI for Group C Level I posts & Class Xth & ITI or diploma in engineering or a graduation in engineering for Group C Level II posts like Assistant Loco Pilots, Technicians and aspire to join Indian Railways.

Ministry of Railways has published a notification no. CEN 01/2018 for Group C Level II Categories posts for the candidates in the age group of 18-28 years who have passed Class X and have an industrial training certificate (ITI) or diploma in engineering or a graduation in engineering.

The notification no. CEN 02/2018 about Group C Level I (Erstwhile Group D) posts for candidates in the age group of 18-31 years and who have passed Class X and have an industrial training certificate (ITI). The notifications have already been uploaded on RRB Websites. The link of the website is as follows:

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,4,1244

For Group C level II posts, the monthly salary along with allowances as per the Seventh Pay Commission (level 2) Scale (19,900-63,200) will be given to the selected candidates. For Group C Level I (Erstwhile Group D) posts, the monthly salary along with allowances as per the Seventh Pay Commission (level 1) Scale (18,000- 56,900) will be given to the selected candidates. Applications for Group C Level II posts will be accepted till 5th March 2018 & for Group C Level I (Erstwhile Group D) posts will be accepted till 12th March 2018.

Free Sleeper Class Railway Pass facility shall be available for SC/ST candidates for Computer Based Aptitude Tests, Physical Efficiency Tests, Document verification during the recruitment stages

IMPORTANT DATES:

Railway Recruitment Group C Level II Notification	February 3, 2018
Start of Railway Recruitment Group C Level II 2018 Online Application	February 3, 2018
Application Closes	March 5, 2018
Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBT) tentatively	April- May, 2018
Railway Recruitment Group C Level I 2018 Notification	February 10, 2018
Start of Railway Recruitment Group C Level I 2018 Online Application	February 10, 2018
Railway Recruitment Group C Level I 2018 Application Form Closes	March 12, 2018
Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBT) tentatively	During April and May, 2018

VACANCY DETAILS FOR GROUP C Level II POSTS

VACANCY DETAILS FOR GROUP C Level I (Erstwhile Group D) POSTS

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UJALA - Unnat Jyoti By Affordable LEDs for All : FAQ

UJALA - Unnat Jyoti By Affordable LEDs for All : FAQ

1. What is the UJALA scheme?

Hon'ble Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi described the LED bulb as "Prakash Path" - "way to light". A simple act of change of one light bulb to LED at South Block Prime Minister's office heralded a movement in the entire country for considering the same change. The initiative is part of the Government of India's efforts to spread the message of energy efficiency in the country. UJALA scheme aims to promote efficient use of energy at the residential level; enhance the awareness of consumers about the efficacy of using energy efficient appliances and aggregating demand to reduce the high initial costs thus facilitating higher uptake of LED lights by residential users. It may be noted that the scheme was initially labelled DELP (Domestic Efficient Lighting Program) and was relaunched as UJALA.

2. Who is eligible to get LEDs under the UJALA scheme and what are the requirements to purchase the LEDs?

Every domestic household having a metered connection from their respective Electricity Distribution Company is eligible to get the LED bulbs under the UJALA Scheme.The consumer can purchase the LED on EMI payment (monthly/bimonthly instalments in electricity bill) or on upfront payment by paying the full amount. The consumer needs to carry the following documents to get the UJALA LED bulb:

1) For EMI - Copy of latest electricity bill and copy of Government authorized ID proof

2) For Upfront - Copy of Government authorized ID proof.

3. Where and how can the LED bulb be procured?

UJALA LED bulbs are being distributed through special counters (kiosks) set up at designated places in a city. These will not be available at retail stores. The location details of distributioncounters is available at www.ujala.gov.in, wherein the locations are geo-tagged for consumer convenience.

4. What is the price of LED bulbs?

UJALA appliances can be purchased at Rs 70 per LED bulb, Rs 220 per LED tubelight and Rs 1200 per Fan. The price of appliances consist of component such as price of bulb, distribution, awareness cost, which is discovered through competitive bidding, Annual Maintenance Cost (AMC), cost of capital and administrative costs.

5. What if the LED bulb fuses? Is there any warranty?

If the LED bulb stops working due to a technical defects, EESL provides free-of-cost replacements for a period of three years. All replacements are done through designated replacement/ distribution kiosks as mentioned on www.ujala.gov.in. During the distribution period these LEDs can be replaced from any of the UJALA kiosks. Post distribution, there are state specific replacement drives that will indicate the retails shops/locations where replacement will be available.

6. Where can I register my complaints?

There are 4 types of redressal mechanisms available to the consumer:

1) Complaints during distribution can be addressed at our distribution agency’s customer care centre number which is publicised in our advertisements and awareness drives. EESL has ensured that a toll-free helpline number, corresponding to the manufacturer, is printed on the UJALA LED bulb box as well as the consent deed (payment receipt).Once the duration of the distribution is over the consumers can contact the respective manufacturer via these helpline numbers and seek replacement of the bulb. The respective manufacturer will guide the consumer to the nearest retail outlet, at which the bulbs with technical flaws can be replaced

2) EESL maintains a robust social media response system, where users can Tweet their complaint to EESL's Twitter handle @EESL_India.

3) A detailed email with description and contact details may also be sent to info@eesl.co.in.

4) UJALA Dashboard (www.ujala.gov.in) also has a complaint/ grievance resolution tab on the top right. Consumers are free to lodge their concerns on this platform.All complaints are usually addressed within 48 hours of receipt and a satisfactory resolution follows.

7. What does white and blue colour represent on the UJALA dashboard?

The blue colour indicates stateswhere UJALA distribution scheme has been launched and opened up to the consumers. The white colour indicates the states where the scheme is still in process of being implemented. UJALA being a government scheme has to follow stringent protocolsbefore it is launched in any state.

Source: www.ujala.gov.in

Skill India Initiative by Ministry of Railways - Training of Apprentices

Skill India Initiative by Ministry of Railways - Training of Apprentices

Targets training of 30 thousand Apprentices in its 16 Zonal Units and 7 Production Units

13 FEB 2018

As part of Skill India initiative, Ministry of Railways has been contributing in a big way to provide training to Apprentices in various disciplines training in categories like Fitter, Turner, Machinist, Welder, Painter, Carpenter, Electrician, Refrigerator and AC Mechanic, Mechanic (Motor Vehicle/Diesel) etc., since long. Ministry of Railways has kept a target of training of 30 thousand Apprentices in its 16 Zonal Units and 7 Production Units.

For the year 2017-18, about 26,000 training slots for Apprenticeship training have been notified. This is in addition to over 4000 persons already undergoing training in various establishments. An Employment Notification has been issued earlier in the week for recruitment of 62,907 staff in Level 1 pay scale and out of these, apprentices trained in Railway establishments will be given preference to the tune of over 12,000 vacancies which is in line with the recent amendments made in the Apprentices Act, 1961

With a large set up of Workshops and Production Units, Indian Railways has been in the forefront of implementation of the Apprentices Act, 1961. Railway Workshops have been imparting Apprentices. A large number of Apprentices were turned out from these Workshops and Production Units every year who were certified and granted the NCVT (National Council for Vocational Training) Certificate, making them employable for jobs in industry as well as for posts in Railways. In this way, the Indian Railways is contributing to Skill India.

Railway recognizes that skill development of the labour force is an important component of development of Human Resources. It is crucial for the industrial development of the country. Skill training imparted through formal institutions alone is not sufficient to make the labour force fully skilled. This needs to be supplemented by training in the actual work place.

Apprentices’ Training consists of Basic Training and On-the-Job Training/Practical Training at workplace. Basic training is an essential component of apprenticeship training for those who have not undergone any institutional training/skill before taking up on-the-job training/practical training. It counts for 20-30% of overall duration of Apprenticeship Training. The component of on-the-job training is performed and undertaken in the establishment itself.

PIB