7th Pay Commission award to go to Cabinet next month

New Delhi: Finance Ministry plans to put up the 7th Pay Commission award for cabinet approval by fourth week of June.

7th Pay Commission award is likely to be sent to the Union Cabinet for approval next month, a top Finance Ministry official said on Thursday asked not to be named because he was not authorized to release the information.

“Implementation cell of the 7th Pay Commission met all stakeholders and took their inputs. The Empowered Committee or Secretaries group will be holding discussions internally on the inputs of 7th pay commission recommendations on June 11 and hope to put up the 7th Pay Commission award before cabinet by fourth week of June,” the official said.

The Finance Ministry received huge comments from various stakeholders on 7th pay commission recommendations.

The official also said 7th Pay Commission award for central government employees and pensioners will be implemented within July.

“The Secretaries group now is reviewing the Implementation cell’s observation and the process of 7th Pay Commission award is in the last stage,” he added.

He said Implementation cell in Finance Ministry has already sent its observation on 7th pay commission recommendations after vetting to the Secretaries group.

The 7th pay commission was set up by the UPA government in February 2014 to revise remuneration of about 48 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners.

The Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur proposed the highest salary at Rs 250,000 and the lowest at Rs 18,000. The commission also recommended 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay, 23.55% overall increase in salary, allowances and pensions. The increase in allowances was recommended 63% while pension was proposed to rise 24%.

Apart from this, the Commission also recommended for abolition of some allowances and advances.

After receiving the 7th pay commission recommendations on November 19, government set up a 13 members secretary-level Empowered Committee or Secretaries group, headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, in consultation with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to process the pay panel’s recommendations that would put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the exchequer.

An Implementation Cell has been created in the Finance Ministry which works as the Secretariat of the Secretaries group.

The Secretaries group is likely to purpose 30 percent basic pay hike of central government employees and it’s also recommending for doubling of existing rates of allowances and advances.

Source : Sen Times

CHQ News - Requested Directorate to circulate Association's Constitution to all circles

No. CHQ/AIAIASP/Constitution/2016                                                  Dated: 27/5/2016.


To,
Shri V. Ramaswamy,
Assistant Director General (SR & Legal)
Department of Posts,
Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-110 001.


Subject : Submission of fresh copy of constitution of All India Association of Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents Posts.


Ref. : Directorate memo No. 15/03/2016-SR dated 22nd March 2016


Respected Sir,


It is bring to your kind notice that in response to above captioned letter, this Association has submitted a fresh copy of Constitution (corrected upto 1st April 2016) to Directorate under letter of even number dated 6/4/2016 with a request to circulate the same to all circles, but till date no action is found taken thereon.


It is therefore requested to kindly circulate this Association’s Constitution to all Circles at the earliest.


Hoping for a positive action and line in reply.
Yours sincerely,


Sd/-
(Vilas Ingale)
General Secretary

CHQ News : Combined All India Seniority list of Inspector Posts for the year 2001 and 2002

No. CHQ/AIAIASP/Seniority List/2016                                                 Dated: 27/5/2016.


To,
Shri G. Rajeev,
Director (SPN)
Department of Posts,
Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-110 001.


Subject : Preparation of Combined All India Seniority list of Inspector Posts for the year 2001 and onwards - regarding.


Ref. : Directorate memo No. 7-1/2015-SPB-II dated 17th May 2016


Respected Sir,


This Association conveys its sincere thanks to the staff of SPB-II Division of Directorate for issue of long pending combined All India Seniority list of Inspector Posts for year 2001 and 2002.


Most of the members of this Association noticed that combined seniority lists of Inspector Posts cadre for the year 2001 and 2002 circulated vide above captioned memo are not prepared correctly. Further, due attention is found not bestowed while fixing the seniority among the promotee and direct recruit Inspectors of the same year of the recruitment etc. Therefore many Inspector posts are going to submit their representations to Directorate through proper channel.


It is therefore requested to accept and consider the representations received from Inspectors and settle their grievances according to the rules and regulations framed by the nodal ministry. It is also requested to release remaining years combined seniority lists in phased manner only.


A positive action is requested.

Yours sincerely,


Sd/-
(Vilas Ingale)


General Secretary

Cadre Restructuring of Group 'C' employees in Department of Posts

Secretaries Group To Revise 7th Pay Commission Recommendations

New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha who is heading the Empowered Committee or Secretaries group is likely to hand over a report on the revised pay structures of 7th pay commission recommendations to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley by the end of next month. 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said government had requisite fund to implement 7th pay commission award. Cabinet Secretary Sinha will finally make his appearance before the the Empowered Committee or Secretaries group on June 11 to make a proposal on the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission before cabinet nod. 

recommendations to be submitted by June “The proposal will be placed before the Cabinet after the finance ministry’s review. We don’t think it will take more time for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s consideration and the new pay structures will be implemented from July after cabinet nod,” said a top official from the Finance Ministry who did not wish to be named. 

The 7th Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur submitted the report on November 19. It had proposed the highest salary at Rs 250,000 and the lowest at Rs 18,000. The commission also recommended 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay, 23.55% overall increase in salary, allowances and pensions. 

The increase in allowances was recommended 63% while pension was proposed to rise 24%. Finance Minister Jaitley is likely to agree with the Secretaries group. “I think it should not be touched again,” the official said. Once the new structure is implemented, salaries of around 48 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners will rise by 30 percent. The Finance Minister already said the 7th pay commission award would not make the commodity prices to go up. 

The central government employees and pensioners will also spend more money on a variety of goods after receiving the 7th Commission award with arrears from January 2016. “This means higher consumption similar to what happened in the past. But the previous two Pay Commission awards came with a lag of two years. So the arrears were large. 

This time, it will not be so,” says Pronab Sen, former Chief Statistician, government of India and now Country Director, International Growth Centre, a think tank based at LSE, run in partnership with University of Oxford. 

The official also agrees with Sen and said there was no possibility of any impact of the report on the market at this stage of implementation as there were no impacts when the Pay Commission had first submitted the report. The government formed a 13 member secretary-level Empowered Committee or Secretaries group headed by Sinha in January to review the report of the 7th Pay Commission before cabinet nod. The 7th pay commission was set up by the UPA government in February 2014. It submitted the report after around 22 months. After getting the 7th pay commission report, the finance minister Jaitley while introducing the Seventh Pay Commission report on November 19, already said that the final decisions on the Seventh Pay Commission report took five and a half months including the process of Secretaries group. Finance Minister also said, government had requisite fund to implement it. 

The secretary group is likely to propose pay structure of minimum at Rs 21,000 and the maximum at Rs 2,70,000 Accordingly, the Secretaries group is likely to reach the conclusion to propose 30 percent basic pay raise instead of 14.27 per cent, which was recommended by 7th Pay Commission. 

They are also mulling for doubling of existing rates of such allowances and advances, which has been recommended for abolition by the 7th Pay Commission, sources said. TST 

Source: Indian Military Veterans

Government doctors retirement age to be raised to 65: PM

SAHARANPUR: Citing shortage of doctors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced raising the age of retirement of government doctors to 65 years and said the Union Cabinet will give its nod to the decision this week. 

In a rally to observe the second anniversary of his government, Modi said there is a need for more doctors across the country but it was not possible to fill the gap in two years of his government. 

The decision will cover all government doctors whether serving under states or the central dispensation, he said. 

"There is a shortage of doctors. In government hospitals, their retirement is 60 years in some states, 62 in some others. If adequate number of medical institutes were there, then we would have more doctors and would not feel the shortage. It is difficult to make doctors in two years but poor families cannot be forced to live without doctors.

"Therefore from Uttar Pradesh, I want to announce this to my countrymen that this week our government's Cabinet will take a decision and the retirement age of our doctors, whether in states or government of India, would be made 65 years instead of 60 or 62," he said. 

It will allow doctors to serve patients and provide education for a longer period, he said, adding that his government is also working fast to have more medical colleges to have more doctors in the field. 

Modi's announcement came after he appealed to doctors to serve poor pregnant women for free on each ninth day of every month, saying it will contribute to his government's efforts to deal with illness among the poor. 

If one crore families can give up on LPG subsidy, then Modi said he is sure that doctors can serve poor expectant women for 12 days in a year, he said.

Source : timesofindia

Hyundai Motor India Announces Special Offer For Central Government Employees

To read the details, please CLICK HERE.

Change of Role of SBCO in the backdrop of implementation of CBS (Addendum SB order 14/2015)

To view Directorate SB order No.14/2015 circulated under memo NO. 116-15/2013-SB (Pt.SBCO) dated 25.5.2016 , please CLICK HERE.

Senior Citizens' Welfare Fund Rules, 2016

To read the Gazette notification, please CLICK HERE.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account Rules, 2016

To read the gazette notification dated 18th March 2016, please CLICK HERE.

Redesigning The Uniform Of Postman

Acceptance of POSB business in case Finacle CBS application is not accessible or slow to accept transactions presented at the counter invoking Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

To view Directorate Memo No. 116-15/2013-SB (CBS) Pt.II dated 25.5.2016, please CLICK HERE.

Secretaries group to revise 7th pay commission recommendations

New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha who is heading the Empowered Committee or Secretaries group is likely to hand over a report on the revised pay structures of 7th pay commission recommendations to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley by the end of next month.

Cabinet Secretary Sinha will finally make his appearance before the the Empowered Committee or Secretaries group on June 11 to make a proposal on the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission before cabinet nod.

“The proposal will be placed before the Cabinet after the finance ministry’s review.

We don’t think it will take more time for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s consideration and the new pay structures will be implemented from July after cabinet nod,” said a top official from the Finance Ministry who did not wish to be named.

The 7th Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur submitted the report on November 19.

It had proposed the highest salary at Rs 250,000 and the lowest at Rs 18,000.

The commission also recommended 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay, 23.55% overall increase in salary, allowances and pensions. The increase in allowances was recommended 63% while pension was proposed to rise 24%.

Finance Minister Jaitley is likely to agree with the Secretaries group. “I think it should not be touched again,” the official said.

Once the new structure is implemented, salaries of around 48 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners will rise by 30 percent.

The Finance Minister already said the 7th pay commission award would not make the commodity prices to go up.

The central government employees and pensioners will also spend more money on a variety of goods after receiving the 7th Commission award with arrears from January 2016.

“This means higher consumption similar to what happened in the past. But the previous two Pay Commission awards came with a lag of two years. So the arrears were large. This time, it will not be so,” says Pronab Sen, former Chief Statistician, government of India and now Country Director, International Growth Centre, a think tank based at LSE, run in partnership with University of Oxford.

The official also agrees with Sen and said there was no possibility of any impact of the report on the market at this stage of implementation as there were no impacts when the Pay Commission had first submitted the report.

The government formed a 13 member secretary-level Empowered Committee or Secretaries group headed by Sinha in January to review the report of the 7th Pay Commission before cabinet nod.

The 7th pay commission was set up by the UPA government in February 2014.

It submitted the report after around 22 months.

After getting the 7th pay commission report, the finance minister Jaitley while introducing the Seventh Pay Commission report on November 19, already said that the final decisions on the Seventh Pay Commission report took five and a half months including the process of Secretaries group.

Finance Minister also said, government had requisite fund to implement it.

The secretary group is likely to propose pay structure of minimum at Rs 21,000 and the maximum at Rs 2,70,000

Accordingly, the Secretaries group is likely to reach the conclusion to propose 30 percent basic pay raise instead of 14.27 per cent, which was recommended by 7th Pay Commission.

They are also mulling for doubling of existing rates of such allowances and advances, which has been recommended for abolition by the 7th Pay Commission, sources said.

Source : Sen Times

Women investors remained below 25% in securities market:Survey

NEW DELHI: Male investors continue to dominate the Indian securities market while the percentage of women considering such market as an investment avenue has remained at less than 25 per cent, says a survey by Central Depository Services India Ltd (CDSL).

It further said that equity is the preferred mode of investment for capital market investors.

Out of total individual demat accounts held as on March 31, 2011, till March 2015, 76 per cent of such accounts pertain to male resident investors, as per a survey by CDSL, which has over 1.09 crore demat accounts.

Even though it is generally perceived that over a last few years women have increasingly become financially independent but only 24 per cent female resident investors have demat accounts, it added.

For NRIs, the said proportion is 81 per cent of males and 19 per cent females.

"The higher percentage of demat accounts opening by NRI males as compared to resident males may be due to higher percentage of Indian males working abroad as compared to Indian females," it added.

However, market sentiment plays the same role in decision making of both genders.

CDSL has compiled profile of investors in depository environment, their investment pattern and level of transactions based on the data available in its system.

The top 18 cities contribute nearly 40 per cent to total (1.09 crore) demat accounts in CDSL system. Over the years the contribution of rest of the country has increased, although marginally.

Even though there has been increase in demat accounts, the number of operational accounts have decreased in terms of percentage and also in absolute terms.

A very large number of investors (nearly 75 per cent) have not transacted even once during the year ended March 2015.

There is a direct co-relation between number of demat accounts being opened and the activity in primary market and healthy primary market is essential for return of retail investors to capital

Google may get government's nod to test 'internet balloon'

NEW DELHI: After many bureaucratic run-ins over its ambitious plan to provide internet connectivity using high-altitude balloons, Google may be close to conducting a pilot of Project Loon in India. The communications and IT ministry is in discussions with the internet giant to test its technology through a pilot, but only for four days. The location of the pilot is expected to be in Andhra Pradesh or Maharashtra . 

According to a top government official, the idea is to test as many alternative models of providing internet connectivity in India as possible. "We are trying to test the effectiveness of Loon in the interiors of the country, since there is already ample connectivity in urban areas," said the official, who did not want to be identified. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been tasked with the job of zeroing in on the location and other requirements for the pilot. Discussions between Google's Loon team and NIC are expected to happen this week, said a second official aware of the plans. Project Loon aims to provide 4G LTE internet connectivity in "remote and rural areas".

Project Loon uses helium-filled balloons floating 20 km above the earth's surface (or about twice the cruising altitude of commercial jetliners). Signals from each balloon can cover a diameter of 40 km on the ground, and a network of balloons in the stratosphere is envisaged for seamless connectivity.

Trials are underway in Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the United States. Google did not immediately reply to an email seeking comments. Loon is one of a handful of alternatives being explored by the government to provide internet connectivity to all parts of the country. Another is an effort being championed by Microsoft to deploy unused radio waves known as 'White Space.' 

Facebook is pursuing a global project to use solar-powered drones, satellites and lasers to provide internet connectivity. While Google and Facebook say that their aim is to reach unserved communities, both companies earn the major portion of their revenue from advertising, and adding more internet users makes commercial sense, too.

Key concerns 

Google first proposed a pilot of Loon in India last year. However, the proposal was shot down by various ministries, including telecom, civil aviation, home and defence because of concerns relating to spectrum, air space, security and surveillance. 

One of the primary concerns was that the spectrum band required by Google for the transmission — 700MHz to 900MHz — is currently occupied by telecom service providers and could lead to interference with cellular transmissions. Besides, the civil aviation ministry feared that the balloons may interfere with flight paths; the home ministry was worried about surveillance; and the defence ministry was apprehensive about the balloons floating over military establishments and coming in the way of military aircraft.

The first official quoted above said that the location of the pilot will be identified based on suggestions from the civil aviation ministry that the helium-filled balloons should be hosted at a place where there is minimal interference with the civilian air space. "We will identify the location and then approach the civil aviation ministry for permission. It will be done like in the case of joy rides — we will provide specifics in terms of the starting and closing time of the pilot for them to be adequately informed," said the official. However, the issue of spectrum is still a tricky one. After the plans are firmed up, the department of telecom will be approached for permission, said the official. 

Most telecom service providers are opposed to the idea of government providing spectrum free of charge to companies such as Google and Microsoft for these alternate connectivity projects. They have urged the telecom department to ensure that broadcast frequencies be only allocated through an open auction. 

Ravi Shankar Prasad , the union minister for communications and IT, said in December last year that the government was in principle agreeable to trials of Project Loon. Prasad said he had proposed a partnership with state-run BSNL , and that his ministry would help Google obtain clearances from the civil aviation and the defence ministries. 

BSNL is coordinating with Google for the project, including space, spectrum coordination and equipment testing, CMD Anupam Shrivastava told ET. BSNL had initially proposed Madhya Pradesh for the pilot. At present two airwave bands are under evaluation —700MHz and 2500MHz. The latter seems the more likely choice as it does not require the telecom department's approval, Shrivastava said. The state-run BSNL has 20MHz of spectrum in the 2,500MHz band across 14 service areas which it sees as apt for offering 4G services.

Source : Times of India

Amazon India will no longer offer refunds on electronics

NEW DELHI: Amazon India has silently upgraded its return policy for electronic items. As per the new guidelines , electronics are no longer eligible for refunds. However, customers can still get defective items replaced. It is important to note that this is applicable only for products that are fulfilled by Amazon. For items that are seller-fulfilled, it is up to the seller to issue refunds for items that can't be repaired or replaced.

"Mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, monitors, cameras and camera lenses that are fulfilled by Amazon are not eligible for refund and have a replacement only policy. In case you have received a defective or a damaged mobile phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, monitor, camera or camera lens that is fulfilled by Amazon, you will be eligible for a free replacement by the seller as per the product replacement policies provided on Amazon.in," according to the company.

Amazon India did not clarify what will happen if the seller cannot provide replacements for electronic items fulfilled by Amazon.

For refurbished electronics like mobiles, tablets and laptops, Amazon India will issue refunds if the customers return the same within 10 days of purchase.

According to the company, products that are 'Fulfilled by Amazon' indicate that "they are stored, packed and dispatched by Amazon."

Source : Times of India

CHQ News : Crucial and decisive meeting on 7th pay commission likely on 11th June

The Empowered Committee of Secretaries (CoS) headed by Cabinet Secretary P. K. Sinha processing the report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission is expected to meet on June 11 to finally wrap up its report on the remuneration of government employees.

It is reported that the secretaries panel will finally hear out all the stakeholders, including the Central ministries and Departments, and finalise its report, which will be handed over to the government on June 30.

Sources added that even the Prime Minister's Office is keen on a favourable pay hike for the central government employees, so the panel is likely to recommend a minimum salary at Rs 24,000 and the highest salary at Rs 2,70,000.

Clarification of refund of RD Default fee when Finacle is down in CBS Post offices

India Post payments bank will be functional by March 2017

India Post’s payments bank will start functioning from March 2017 and serve as a wider platform to implement financial inclusion programmes, Information Technology & Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Sunday.

He said the proposed India Post payments bank will have immense potential to sell third-party product and services. About 50 companies, including some from abroad, are keen to partner with postal department for the payments bank, like the World Bank, Citi from America, Barclay’s from England, he said.

Reacting to a query, he said these institutions will offer third-party services such as insurance products, mutual funds, banking instruments and a variety of financial instruments.

Asked on the interest shown by these institutions, the minister said, “...that board will decide, I’m only saying value addition of postal department it is attracting so much global attention...they will decide how much to give them. It is a call they will take,” he said.

The payments bank of postal department will become a big platform of financial inclusion, Prasad said. “We are going to invest about Rs 800 crore — Rs 400 crore will be invested by the department and the remaining amount will be equity part (mobilised as equity),” he said.

“Postal department has the widest network in India. We have 154,939 post offices in the country, out of that 25,560 are departmental post offices and 129,379 are branch post offices,” he said.

“Under (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, we have decided to re-energise the postal department for India’s growth and financial inclusion,” he further said.

In August 2015, the RBI had given in-principle approval to 11 entities to start payments bank, including the postal department.

The approval is valid for 18 months and all the entities are required to submit a detailed business plan after which they shall be given the final nod.

Source : business-standard.com

GDS WORK LOAD DOCUMENTARY FILM BY AIGDSU

7th Pay Commission To Bring A Sense Of Relief For Central Govt Employees

New Delhi: The 7th Pay Commission award would bring a sense of relief among the central government employees, but it would be a challenge for the government to contain country’s inflation, economists observed.

Top economist in Modi government familiar with the matter told The Sen Times on Friday asking not be named, that the 7th Pay Commission would speed up country’s economy and bring about a positive change in the lives of government employees. Their purchase capacity would increase and so, businessmen would have its advantages at different level.

“There is no demerit of salary hike, but some people would try to take immoral advantages of the situation. It has to be stopped,” he noted.

He also told us that it is necessary to hike up the salary of government employees as the 6th Pay Commission has been implemented since January, 2006.

However, he does not think that the 7th Pay Commission award would shoot up inflation in the country.

The government should have to be careful against the unscrupulous quarter who might try to take immoral advantages of the 7th Pay Commission award, he also said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley when presented the Economic Survey in parliament said that the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission would not impact market price volatility.

The officials of Prime Minister Office (PMO) also said the government will execute the new pay scale for the central government employees soon.

“The 7th Pay Commission award was supposed to be executed from the month July. It’s almost ready and government’ll do it,”said the senior officials of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The senior officials of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also said, the government will give the better pay package of its employees than 7th Pay Commission recommendations.

“The salary and allowance hike for the central government employees on the proposal of the Secretaries group would not be nominal but a handsome one,” they added.

The 7th Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur proposed the highest salary at Rs 250,000 and the lowest at Rs 18,000. The commission also recommended 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay, 23.55% overall increase in salary, allowances and pensions. The increase in allowances was recommended 63% while pension was proposed to rise 24%.

The previous Sixth Pay Commission had recommended a 20 per cent hike in basic pay which the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.

A 13 members secretary-level Empowered Committee or Secretaries group, led by cabinet Secretary P K Sinha was formed in January to review the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission before cabinet nod and the Secretaries group is likely to finalize its work.

The new pay scales will be effective from January 1 for all central government employees.

Source : Sen Times

Heads of Circle Conference held at Hyderabad 20-22 May 2016

L to R (1) M. S. Ramanujan Member (HR) (2) T. Murthy Member (O) (3) S. K. Sinha Secretary (Posts) (4) Hon'ble MoC Shri Ravishankar Prasad (5) Ashutosh Tripathi Member (P) (6) Sanjeev Thapar Member (Tech)

Dr. Charles Lobo CPMG Tamil Nadu Circle receiving award from Hon'ble MoC. Shri Stephen Mervin Alexander PMG Chennai City Region also seen in picture

Brig. B. Chandrasekhar, CPMG UP Circle receiving award from MoC

Heads of Circle (CPMsG) Conference held at Hyderabad from 20th May to 22nd May 2016. Shri Ravishankar Prasad Ji, Hon’ble Minister of Communications and Information Technology Govt. Of India gave way the awards to the best performing circles / divisions on 22nd May 2016. 

The brief of his speech as under: 

Government is committed to reform the postal department. Two unique qualities of Department of Posts are Extensive network spread in nook and corner of the Nation and Emotional connect of Postman with the rural life. 

India is at the tipping point of digital revolution and Postal department should be the fulcrum of economic development especially in rural life. 

Postal department's share in E-commerce is around 15% only, which needs to be improved drastically. The entire ecosystem to reform the postal department needs to change.

1. Pick up points to reach the customers proactively to collect and deliver posts/ parcels. 

2. India Post Payments Bank needs to be flawlessly implemented. It should act as a platform for 3rd party services. Human Resource Training needs to be given. Postal Payment Bank should be started definitely by March 17.

3. Implementation of IT modernization solutions needs to be improved. We keep getting complaints of glitches leading to harassment to customers.

4. Parcel Delivery : New ideas to generate revenue with Technology infusion. Geo tagging and better location identification needs to be considered. 

5. Human Resource capacity building : Need to incentivize the performance... Good incentive at right time will be a big motivation. Best practices should be replicated pan India. 

6. Good sign boards pan India should be ensured. 

7. Metamorphosis of postal department should be branded well.

8. Surety of punishment is more important than Severity of punishment... in case of disciplinary cases. Any laxity in timely completion of disciplinary proceedings should be viewed seriously.

9. Philately should be ventured as a new source of revenue generation. My Stamp, Commercialisation of stamps need to be tried to earn revenues. 

10. Social Media should be effectively used for complaint redressal and creation of awareness regarding departmental initiatives/ schemes.

11. I work hard... I expect all of you to work hard to achieve the goals of government.

12. Recruitment to fill up vacant posts should be done in a transparent and fair means. Any irregularity should be viewed seriously and responsibility should be fixed.

13. Congratulated the Department of Posts for good work done in the last 2 years in different schemes like Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, CBS, Postal ATMs, E-Commerce.

Hon'ble PM’s “Mann ki Baat”programme on 22.05.2016

To read the text of Hon'ble Prime Ministers "Mann ki Baat' programme held on All India Radio on 22/5/2016, please CLICK HERE.

7th Pay Commission – 27% increase expected as against 14.29% recommended

7th Pay Commission Latest News – 27% increase expected as against 14.29% recommended by 7th CPC – Increase in Minimum pay expected now is Rs. 20,000 in the place of Rs. 18000 recommended by 7th Pay Commission

Recent developments regarding implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations indicate that Govt may consider some of the demands of Staff Side, JCM such as minimum pay and multiplication factor etc., relating revision of Pay Central Government Employees.

7th Pay Commission has recommended that minimum Basic Pay of Central Government Employees which is Rs. 7000 presently to be increased to Rs. 18,000. This works out to 14.29 % increase when taking in to account the dearness allowance of 125% with effect from 1st January 2016.

As far as existing employees are concerned 7th CPC has recommended that their present basic pay has to be mulitiplied by 2.57, to arrive at new new basic pay as on 1st January 2016. This new basic pay is 14.22% more than the existing one.

Multiplication Factor as per 7th Pay Commission Report:

	Multiplication Factor
Existing Basic Pay (Pay in pay band + Grade Pay	1
Existing Basic Pay with DA	2.25
7CPC recommended Basic Pay	2.57
(Net increase = 14.22%)

Since the implementation of 6th Pay Commission recommendations provided an increase of 30% to 40% in the pay of Employees, pay hike of 14.22% proposed by 7th Pay Commission was termed by Staff Side, JCM as very meagre and retrograde. 

In this background, now it is disclosed by reliable sources that Empowered Committee formed by the Govt to process the 7CPC recommendations is considering the staff side’s demand to revise the minimum pay to Rs. 26,000. Minister of State for Finance has also promised to consider the demands of staff side for revising the minimum and multiplication factor, favourably. 

It is learnt that Govt may persuade Staff Side to settle with the minimum pay of 20,000 and multiplication factor of 2.86. This is 27% more than present pay. As a result Net increase in Basic Pay will be 27%. In addition to revision of minimum entry pay and multiplication factor, staff side has been demanding for revision of annual increment from 3% to 5%.

Source : govemployees.in

7th Pay Commission award now to get final nod

New Delhi: Salary of central government employees will almost hike 30 percent under the 7th Pay Commission award with employees in the lower rungs getting the highest percentage of raise.

The new pay structure under 7th Pay Commission for central government employees is likely to approve now at any cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Nodi in the chair as the results of elections in five Assemblies have been out and model code of conduct now is not a barrier for announcing 7th Pay Commission, sources of Finance Ministry said on Thursday.

The ‘achche din’ that had eluded it all of last year were back for the ruling party BJP, which celebrated two years in office just three days ago and had last year suffered massive defeat in the Delhi and Bihar assembly polls, there could have been no better second anniversary gift. It had won on its own steam in a northeastern state Assam for the first time, opened its account in Kerala and made some gains in West Bengal, they said. 

The BJP led central government is now in a pleasant mood, accordingly it may be announced better pay package of central government employees employees soon than 7th Pay Commission recommendations, they confirmed. 

The 7th Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur proposed the highest salary at Rs 250,000 and the lowest at Rs 18,000. The commission also recommended 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay, 23.55% overall increase in salary, allowances and pensions. The increase in allowances was recommended 63% while pension was proposed to rise 24%. 

The government formed a 13 members secretary-level Empowered Committee or Secretaries group, led by cabinet Secretary P K Sinha in January to review the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission before cabinet nod. 

The Secretaries group has reached the conclusion to propose 30 percent basic pay raise instead of 14.27 per cen, which recommended was recommended by 7th Pay Commission. They are also mulling for doubling of existing rates of such allowances and advances, which has been recommended for abolition by the 7th Pay Commission, sources said. 

“Secretaries group is finalising the the modified proposal of 7th Pay Commission award for central government employees. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will soon take the proposal to the Union Cabinet for approval,” they said. 

Source : Sen Times

Mother’s name sufficient for child passport: Delhi High Court

New Dehi: Delhi High said mother’s name is sufficient for a child to apply for a passport , especially because a single woman can be a natural guardian as well as a parent.

The court earlier this week directed the Regional Passport Office to accept the application form of the girl child of a single parent without insisting upon mentioning her father’s name.

The court ruled that authorities “can insist upon the name of the biological father in the passport only if it is a requirement in law, like standing instructions, manuals, etc.

In the absence of any provision making it mandatory to mention the name of one’s biological father in the passport, the respondents cannot insist upon the same”.

The court also took judicial notice of the fact that families of single parents are on the increase due to various reasons like unwed mothers, sex workers, surrogate mothers, rape survivors, children abandoned by father and also children born through IVF technology.”

The court said just because the software of the passport office didn’t accept a single parent’s applications, it cannot become a legal requirement.

The court also pointed out that on two previous occasions, in 2005 and 2011, the girl was issued a passport without her father’s name, which “makes it evident that the said requirement is not a legal necessity, but only a procedural formality, which cannot be the basis of rejecting her case”.

Source : Sen Times

Preservation period of records at Branch Offices

Preservation period of records at Branch Offices is as under -

1	Branch Office account (Pa.6)	3 years after they are used
2	BO Journal (Pa-5), BO slips	3 years after they are used
3	Book of BO receipts (Ms-87(a))	2 years after they are used
4	Regd lists/Parcel lists/Mail lists	2 years after they are used
5	Invoices received from P.S.D	3 years.
6	BO Slips	2 years.
7	Order book/Stock book	To be destroyed after special permission from Divisional head
8	Postman book (ms-87)	2 years
9	Book of postmarks	2 years
10	Deptl.Circulars	Permanent
11	Enumeration returns	5 years
12	Yearly value returns(yvr)	5 years

(Rule 21 of Branch Offices Rules)

Note: The records i.e Order book, Stock book, Postman book and Book of Postmarks should be destroyed by fire in presence of BPM or otherwise, in such a manner that they may not be used again. Other record should be torn up and sold as waste paper by BPM and credit sale proceeds to “UCR”

Handbook for Inquiry Officers and Disciplinary Authority

CLICK HERE to view handbook for Inquiry Officers and Disciplinary Authority issued by DoPT

Chance for reforms: 29% central employees to retire in 10 years

One of the chief problems in reforming India’s bureaucracy is that it is a powerful pressure group, which does not like to see a drop in its influence or a drop in its numbers. Now, a rare opportunity presents itself.

Of 3.3 million civilian central-government employees at the beginning of April 1, 2014, nearly one million (around 29%) are in the age group of 50-60 years, according to data released by the 7^th Pay Commission recently.

“This is a ready pointer to the number of retirements that would take place in the next ten years,” said the report, running into nearly 900 pages. “The Commission notes that losing experienced high-level personnel entails unquantifiable costs as new recruits will require training and on-the-job skills. At the same time it presents ministries/departments the opportunity to align their personnel requirement in line with their current and future challenges.”

That observation is in line with a frequently mentioned need for administrative reform, which could include bringing in professionals from outside government, introducing performance-linked salaries and paying higher salaries to fewer employees.

“Successive governments have been guilty of turning a blind eye to administrative reform without which economic reform will not have its desired effect,” former cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar wrote in a column in The Economic Times. “The greatest obstacle to ease of doing business is administrative incapacity and, to this, governments traditionally pay no heed. It is time we brought administrative reform to the top of the governmental agenda and create systems that ensure efficiency and accountability.”

IndiaSpend’s analysis of the staffing of government departments and numbers of those facing retirement reveals the opportunities that exist in each.

The Pay Commission decides salaries and incentives for central-government employees. The Commission, which is constituted once in every 10 years, is also considered to be the base to decide salaries for state government employees.

“A central-government employee is defined as all persons in the civil services of the Central Government or holding civil posts under that government and paid salaries out of the Consolidated Fund of India. This, however, does not include such persons appointed to serve Parliament or the Union Judiciary,” the report said.

Here are some departments that have a heavy concentration of employees in the 50-60 age group:

Ministries With Experienced Personnel

Ministry	Personnel (overall)	Personnel (ages 50-60)	Personnel aged 50-60 as % of all personnel
Textiles	3,095	2,328	75
Coal	305	196	64
Urban Development	30,665	18,962	62
Petroleum & Natural Gas	230	138	60
Science & Technology	6,680	3,787	57
Heavy Industry	246	138	56
New & Renewable Energy	187	97	52
AYUSH	164	84	51
Power	1,044	523	50

Among central-government employees, 22.23% are in the 20-30 age group, 22.28% in the 30-40 age group and 26.1% people in the 40-50 age group.

Age profile of Central Government Employees

While the sanctioned strength of central-government employees is more than four million, no more than 3.3 million positions are filled, indicating a vacancy of 744,000 positions or 18%.

Civilian Jobs Available in Department of Posts

Vacancies as percentage of sanctioned strength

The government recruited 857,764 people between 2006 and 2014 – an annual recruitment of only 100,000 people every year.

During the years 2012 to 2017, India’s labour force is projected to increase by 44.6 million, which is an average annual increase of more than 8.9 million. “This suggests that the Central Government is at best a marginal source for employment generation,” said the Pay Commission report.

The recommendations of the 7^th Pay Commission are likely to cost the exchequer more than Rs 1 lakh crore ($15 billion) in financial year 2016-17, an increase of 23% over existing salaries and allowances.

The 7^th Pay Commission has recommended a minimum pay of Rs 18,000 per month — for peons, clerks and some police head constables — and an annual increment of 3%. It has also recommended doubling the ceiling on gratuity (lump sum paid based on years of service) to Rs 20 lakh from the current Rs 10 lakh, enhanced medical insurance and pension schemes. 

Source : centralgovernmentemployeesportal