Friday, March 13, 2015

Women Personnel in Defence Services

Press Information Bureau 
Government of India
Ministry of Defence 

Women Personnel in Defence Services 

Women personnel in the Armed Forces are not being deployed for combat operations and on naval warships. Induction of women in combat duties has not been recommended by the studies carried out by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQIDS) in 2006 and High Level Tri-Services Committee in 2011. 

In the Armed Forces, Women are inducted as Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) alongwith men SSCOs with a tenure of upto 14 years. All officers including SSCOs, irrespective of gender, are eligible to hold substantive rank of Lieutenant Colonel after completion of 13 years of reckonable commissioned service. Further, Women SSCOs are eligible for grant of Permanent Commission in specific branches in the three Services viz. Judge Advocate General (JAG) and Army Education Corps of Army and their corresponding branches in Navy and Air Force; Naval constructor in Navy and Accounts, Technical, Administration, Logistic and Meteorology branches in Air Force in terms of extant Government Policy. 

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Dr Bhola Singh and others in LokSabha today. 

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Ordnance Factories should be corporatized into a single corporation under leadership of a competitive management.

Press Information Bureau 
Government of India
Ministry of Defence 

Ordnance Factories 

Kelkar Committee had recommended that “Ordnance Factories should be corporatized into a single corporation under leadership of a competitive management. This corporation should be accorded the status of Navratna”. 

The following steps have been taken by the Government on research and development initiative for innovation and import substitution in last one year: 

To avoid the delay in processing of R&D projects at Ordnance Factory Board Headquarters (OFBHQ), financial powers have been delegated to all levels. 

Factories have been given target to increase the expenditure on R&D activities to 3% of their turnover by the year 2018-19 in a phased manner. 

Factories are being encouraged to associate themselves with reputed Academic Institutes for Research Assistance. 

Core technologies have been identified for 12 Ordnance Factories to put in more focused efforts to cope up with Technology denial regime. 

Joint working on some of the large projects with Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) from the inception stage and to render manufacturing assistance, wherever required by DRDO is being encouraged. 

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri Gaurav Gogoi and others in Lok Sabha today. 
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Digital Life Certificate for Pensioners; More Than One Crore Pensioners May be Benefitted by the Scheme

Press Information Bureau 
Government of India
Ministry of Finance 

Digital Life Certificate for Pensioners; More Than One Crore Pensioners May be Benefitted by the Scheme 

Under the ‘Digital India Mission’, Government has launched ‘Jeevan Pramaan – an Aadhaar based Digital Life Certificate’ for pensioners on 10.11.2014. This facility provides an option to the pensioners to submit their life certificate digitally by authenticating biometrically using UIDAI Database. The pension disbursing agencies integrated with the Jeevan Pramaan Portal will get access to digital life certificate. The pensioners need not go to the pension disbursing agency in person. 

Aadhaar numbers is used for bio-metric authentication of pensioners. All pensioners having Aadhaar number may avail this facility. More than one crore pensioners may be benefitted by the scheme. 

Government has taken a number of steps to bring awareness among the pensioners regarding the digital life certificate scheme such as publicity through leading newspapers, organization of camps for pensioners, regular meetings with pension disbursing agencies etc. 

This was stated by Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State in Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. 
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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Classification of posts in the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 — Clarification Reg.

No. 13026/3/2012-Estt(L)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training

Old JNU Campus, New Delhi 110 067
Dated: 09.03.2015

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Classification of posts in the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 — Clarification Reg.

The undersigned is directed to refer to this Department’s Notification No. 21/2/75-Estt.(D) dated 11.11.1975 reclassifying the posts under the Central Government as Group ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ &’`D’ in place of Class "I" ‘II’, ‘III’ & ‘IV’ and to state that wherever the old nomenclature of Class ‘I’,II’, ‘III’ & ‘IV’ are mentioned in the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, the same may be read as Group ‘A, ‘B’,’C’ & ‘D’,-respectively.

Sd/-
(Mukul Ratra)
Director

Source:http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/13026_3_2012-Estt.L-09032015.pdf
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No Curtailing of Public Holidays

Press Information Bureau 
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions 

No Curtailing of Public Holidays

As per the existing policy, the Central Government Administrative Offices observe up to 17 holidays in a year on specified occasions which consist of 3 National Holidays (on 26th January, 15th August and 2nd October) and 14 other holidays to celebrate festivals of different regions/religion in a diverse country like India.

At present there is no proposal under consideration of the Government to curtail the public holidays for government employees.

This was stated by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in Prime Minister’s office Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question by Shri S. Thangavelu in the Rajya Sabha today.
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Cadre Management in the CSS

Press Information Bureau 
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions 

Cadre Management in the CSS

The Department of Personnel & Training has taken various measures to fill up the total vacancies of 2633 in Assistants’ Grade and 478 in Section Officers’ Grade in all the participating Ministries and Departments of Central Secretariat Service, existing as on 1st January, 2015.

Around 1250 of the 2633 vacancies in the Assistants’ Grade have been filled up on an adhoc basis in February, 2015 after successful conclusion of the litigation concerning seniority list of Upper Division Clerks in the High Court of Delhi on 21st January, 2015.

To fill up the vacancies in the Section Officers’ Grade (seniority quota), zones for promotion have been issued for Select Lists upto 2014. Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for Section Officers’ Grade for the year 2014 has also been held for which 333 vacancies have been reported to Union Public Service Commission.

The shortfall in the Assistants’ Grade occurred as the Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGLE) 2013 had to be re-conducted by Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on the directions of Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi. 1267 direct recruitment quota vacancies for the year 2013 and 756 (tentative) vacancies for the year 2014 have been reported to SSC for filling up through CGLEs. Final results of CGLEs 2013 and 2014 have not yet been declared.

This was stated by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in Prime Minister’s office Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question by Dr. K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao in the Rajya Sabha today.
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Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Modi Govt May Implement Seventh Pay Commission Report From April 2016

Modi Govt May Implement Seventh Pay Commission Report From April 2016.


The Seventh Pay Commission drafted in to make a new pay structure for the 30 lakh Central government employees would not be able to submit its report in August this year, the Commission is likely to seek extension till October.

The reports of Seventh Pay Commission will be implicated from April next year as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Parliament on February 27, “The 7th Pay Commission impact may have to be absorbed in 2016-17.”

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said above statement in his pre-budget speech. His statement indicates that the government may implement Seventh Pay Commission report from April 2016.

The UPA government formed the Seventh Pay Commission on 28 February 2014 under chairman justice Ashok Kumar Mathur with a timeline of 18 months to make its recommendations. According to present position, the commission will take at least 20-24 months.

However, the Sixth Pay Commission had submitted its report within 18 months.

As a result of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, pay and allowances of the central government employees more than doubled as per Fourteenth Finance Commission estimates.

As such, the central government employees are expected to get 100 percent salary hike under the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.

Issues like inflation, the government’s financial position and salary structure of government employees in other countries would also be considered as parts of pay panel recommendations.

Read More at ......The Sen Times
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Grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme – Clarification reg.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(Railway Board)

No PC-V/2010/MACP/7/ECR

New Delhi, dated 04/09/2014

The General Manager (P)
East Central Railway,
Hajipur

Subject: Grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme – Clarification reg.

Ref: ECR’s letter No.E/205(A)/O/ECR/HJP, dated 11.07.2014

In context of E.C.Railway’s letter under reference, it is stated that the matter has been examined and it is clarified that:-

(a) The employees joining a post in Grade Pay of Rs.4600, on direct recruitment basis may be considered for grant of financial upgradation in Grade Pay of Rs.4800, Rs.5400 of PB-2 and Rs.5400 of PB-3, provided that no two successive grades i.e., feeder and promotional are in the same Grade Pay.

(b) Similarly, the employees joining a post in Grade Pay of Rs.4200, on direct recruitment basis may be considered for grant of financial upgradation in Grade Pay of Rs.4600, Rs.4800 and Rs.5400 of PB-2, provided that no two successive grades i.e., feeder and promotional are in the same Grade Pay.

(c) Accordingly, the employees joining a post in Grade Pay of Rs.2800, on direct recruitment basis may be considered for grant of financial upgradation in Grade Pay of Rs.4200, Rs.4600 and Rs.4800 of PB-2, provided that no two successive grades i.e., feeder and promotional are in the same Grade Pay.

2. Further, the grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme is subject to fulfilment of terms and conditions contained in Board’s letter dt. 10.06.2009 (RBE No.101/2009) and clarifications issued in context thereof and the same may please be ensured while considering cases for financial upgradation under MACP Scheme.

Sd/-
(N.P.Singh)
Dy.Director, Pay Commission - V
Railway Board.

Source: NFIR
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Monday, March 09, 2015

Distribution of work among various non—teaching posts Kendriya Vidyalayas – regarding.

KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA SANGATHAN

Date : 15.01.2013

F.11029-21/2012-KVSHQ (Admn.-I)

The Deputy Commissioner 
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan 
All Regional Offices

SUB: Distribution of work among various non—teaching posts Kendrlya Vidyalayas – regarding.

Sir/Madam,

In pursuance of the decision taken in the JCM meeting held on 25.07.2012 a committee was constituted for the purpose of study of the work distribution among various non-teaching posts in Kendriya Vidyalayas. Accordingly based on the recommendations of the committee the competent authority, KVS has decided to distribute the work among various non-teaching posts such as Section Officer / Assistant / UDC / LDC / Sub-staff with immediate effect. The post-wise details are given in Annexure-I.

You are, therefore, requested to distribute the same among all Kendriya Vidyalayas put under your administrative jurisdiction for implementation.

This issues with the approval of the Commissioner, KVS.

Yours faithfully,

(Dr. E. Prabhakar) 
Joint Commissioner (Pers.)

Annexure-I

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan

(Admn-I Section)

Distribution of work among various non-teaching posts in Kendriya Vidyalayas.

1. Section Officer

I) To supervise all office work.

ii) To report APAR of the Sub-staff / LDC / UDC

iii) To assist the Principal in discharging of his duties efficiently.

2. Assistant

I. To maintain service book and personal file of the staff.

II. To scrutinize the TA / DA, LTC, Medical bills as per norms.

III. To scrutinize the Pay bill & Arrear bill as per norms.

IV. To scrutinize the Establishment bills as per norms.

V. To scrutinize the RTE claim bills as per norms.

VI. To scrutinize the Income tax calculation of Staff and ensure correct TDS.

VII. To Draft the letters for Vidyalaya correspondence to KVS/CBSE/NCERT etc.

VIII. To assist in smooth conduct of audit (internal/AG audit) files and replies thereof.

IX. To monitor the file of correspondence for welfare of the staff i.e. Sr. Scale/Selection scale / In-Service Course disciplinary case/Court case etc.

X. To monitor the purchase process as per requirement by issuing the tenders & taking approval of Chairman VMC on Comparative statement.

XI. To keep record of minutes of VMC/VEC meeting & to assess the Principal in arranging VMC meeting as per KVS norms.

XII. To process the cases for condemnation.

XIII. To dispose of RTI applications.

XIV. To extend guidance to the UDC/LDC in discharging their work.

XV. Preparation of pension papers to liaise with local authority/electricity authority/water authority/fire department etc.

XVI. Any other work assigned by Principal from time to time.

3. UDC

I. To prepare and uploading of monthly pay bill.

II. To prepare arrear bills of staff.

III. To keep record of saving of staff u/s 80 & calculate Income Tax of staff on salary and ensure TDS.

IV. To maintain cash book of VVN & school fund.

V. To maintain Ledger of School fund A/C

VI. To maintain Ledger of VVN Account and keep watch on financial ceiling.

VII. To prepare Annual account of VVN account & School fund A/c as per norms.

VIII. To prepare Budget of school fund account & VVN account as per norms

IX. To prepare monthly and quarterly statement of VVN account & School fund.

X. To maintain petty cash book.

Xl. To maintain record of fees collection and its summary through DCR, CS ll & CS 54.

XII. To maintain Assets registers/maintenance of Staff quarters.

XIII. To calculate & deduction of TDS form suppliers and file Income Tax return of Staff & dealers.

XIV. To check the work done by LDC/ Sub-Staff.

XV. To extend guidance to LDC relating to work allotted to LDC, if there is no Assistant in the Vidyalaya.

XVI. Any other work assigned by Principal from time to time.

4. LDC

I. To maintain stock register of office contingency VVN & details of various stocks & their annual verification etc.

II. To prepare monthly schedule and Broad sheet GPF/CPF/CPS/HBA etc.

III. To prepare comparative statement after obtaining rates

IV. To prepare monthly report of enrolment and vacancy position etc.

V. To prepare T. C. & keep record and uploading of T.C. on website.

VI. To maintain scholar register/admission forms.

VII. To maintain casual leave register/diary dispatch register and postal expense register.

VIII. To maintain current staff attendance register & keep old register.

IX. To type all the letters of correspondence in English or Hindi.

X. To issue character certificate/NOC etc. to students & correspondence with KVS/CBSE/NCERT for welfare of the students.

Xl. To maintain allotment of staff quarter/hostel flies.

XII. To keep all record in store systematically.

XIII. To keep record of all fee collection receipt for audit purpose.

XIV. Preparation of Railway concession forms.

XV. Work related to financial assistants to students.

XVI. Checking up of E-mail for submission to Principal.

XVII. Any other work assigned by Principal/Assistant from time to time.

5. SUB STAFF

I. Maintenance and upkeep of Principal office/office and other department (other than class rooms).

II. To attend the call-bell of the Principal/office.

III. To ring the bell of the Vidyalaya at the prescribed times.

IV. To circulate the orders/letters amongst the staff.

V. To attend to telephone calls operating of fax machine & franking machine & Xerox machine & to handle fire fighting equipment’s.

VI. To assist in maintaining file/records/retrieval documents pertaining to TA/LTC/ Medical/Leave application monthly return forms/Pay bill etc.

VII. To handle bank operations i. e. deposit/withdrawal of cash from bank.

VIII. To assist in local purchase

IX. To operate water pump/use of electrical equipment/water cooler etc.

X. To assist in maintaining Diary/dispatch of letter

XI. To attend post office work

XII. To check all light point in class rooms to be Off and Water tapes off in toilet and drinking point after school hours.

XIII. To maintain mobile no. and local address of the staff members.

XIV. Any other work assigned by Principal / SO / Assistant / UDC / LDC from time to time.

Note : Where there is the post of Section Officer, the work allotted to Assistant will be looked after by the Section Officer/UDC by distributing the work by Head of office in addition to their own duties as described against the post of Section Officer and UDC.

2. Where there is no post of Section Officer or Assistant the work allotted to Assistant will be looked after by the UDC/LDC in addition to their own duties as described against the post of UDC and LDC.

3. The distribution of work among the non-teaching staff is just to facilitate administrative convenience and may be redistributed by the Principal of the Vidyalaya concerned based on the ground realities.

Source:http://kvsangathan.nic.in/CircularsDocs/cir-admn-15-01-13.pdf
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Sunday, March 08, 2015

Is NPS better than EPF?

Is NPS better than EPF?

The NPS is more complicated than EPF, but it may ensure a sufficient retirement kitty

If there’s one investment option that has received generous tax breaks in the Budget, it is the National Pension System (NPS). In a watershed move, the Finance Minister has also announced that employees in the organised sector will now be able to opt out of contributions to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and invest in the NPS instead. So, if given this choice, what should you do? Here’s how they compare.

Contributions
EPF contributions are mandatory for employees earning up to ?15,000 a month in the organized sector. Many employers however insist on EPF contributions for all their employees. The contribution is pegged at 12 per cent of your pay (basic plus dearness allowance). Your statutory EPF contributions are matched by your employer. If you are an employee who usually struggles to save, the EPF is a good option for you as it forces you to save at least 12 per cent of your pay.

But if you are targeting a comfortable retirement, note that EPF alone won’t be enough as it is pegged only to your basic pay. The NPS is a voluntary account; you can contribute anything starting from ?500 a month (?6,000 a year).

To avail of the tax breaks on the investment, the maximum limit is ?2 lakh a year. Unlike the EPF, the NPS allows you to skip contributions for a few months if you can’t afford it (investing once a year is mandatory).

So, the NPS scores over the EPF on two counts — you can save much more and do it with greater flexibility. But currently all your EPF contributions are matched by your employer. Not so for the NPS.

Portfolio

The money you pay into EPF is invested in ultra-safe options — Central and State Government securities, bonds and deposits from PSUs and a special deposit scheme from the Government. Last we know, G-Secs made up 40 per cent of the portfolio, PSU debt 32 per cent, with the deposit making up the rest of the EPF kitty. The EPF doesn’t actively manage its portfolio — it mostly buys and holds till maturity. This makes for low but predictable returns.

The key differentiator with the NPS is that it allows you to add an equity component to your retirement kitty. You also get to flexibly allocate your money between equities (up to 50 per cent), liquid funds/bonds and Government Securities (G-Sec) in any proportion you like.

You also have the choice of deciding who, among the six pension fund managers, will manage your money. Their individual track records are available on their websites.

You can rejig allocations once a year and also change your fund manager. Both the equity and the debt portions of the NPS have delivered double-digit returns in the last one year. But because they are invested in market instruments, your returns will fluctuate from year to year.

The G-Sec portion, for instance, delivered negative returns during the rising rate scenario, but is faring well with falling rates. Given that you are looking at the NPS as a long-term option, you need not worry too much about shorter term losses in the debt portfolio. Due to its portfolio structure, the NPS is likely to earn higher returns but with greater variability.

Returns
The interest you earn on your EPF account is decided by the EPF trustees who announce the rate every year. In the last four years, interest rates have been 9.5, 8.25, 8.5 and 8.75 per cent, respectively.

The returns on NPS depend on your asset allocation as well as choice of fund manager. If you choose a 30-50 per cent equity component, returns are likely to be in the double-digits, even assuming equities manage only 15 per cent a year and debt securities 8 per cent.

Disclosures
The EPF’s portfolio is not made public. But it is a government-backed scheme and the presumption is that it will not default on any payments. Returns are also announced and well-publicised.

With the NPS, you know exactly where it invests, with all the managers regularly disclosing their portfolios. But unlike the EPF, gauging NPS returns is not easy. Returns earned by different plans/managers are not available at one location. You need to compile them individually from the historical NAVs put out by the different fund managers.

So, the EPS is your best bet if you like to know exactly what you’re earning. The NPS works if you don’t mind leaving it to market forces.

Liquidity
The EPF allows you to withdraw your money before retirement if you resign from one job and take up another, after a gap. You can also draw money from it for constructing/buying a home, illness, marriage or education of children. You can use the sums withdrawn for these purposes.

In the NPS, if you withdraw before the age of 60, you need to compulsorily use 80 per cent of the proceeds to buy an annuity plan from an insurer. Even withdrawals after the age of 60 require you to use 40 per cent to buy an annuity. Only 60 per cent will be available to you to deploy as you please.

The EPF is certainly more flexible than NPS on early withdrawals. But withdrawing too much or too often can leave you short of a retirement kitty when you most need it.

Taxability
Contributions to the EPF are tax-free under Section 80C. Interest earned and withdrawals aren’t taxed either, unless you do so within five years of starting the account.

Investments in the NPS, up to ?2 lakh are tax-free. But the sums you withdraw at retirement are taxable at the prevailing income tax rates.

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