Important points to be checked by IP/ASPs while visting SOs

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Transfer and posting in ASP-Northern Region

RO Calicut vide letter No. Staff/1-3/2011/III dated 29.08.2013 has ordered the following transfers and posting in the cadre of ASP.

1. P.K. Sivadasan, ASP, Taliparamba and designated ASP(Vig), RO Calicut to be ASP(OD), Kannur
2. P.C. Sajeevan, IP, Mananthavady and designated ASP, Pattambi sub division to be ASP, Taliparamba Sub Division

Posting of CPMG Kerala Circle..................


  Smt. Shanthi Nair (IPoS-1979), has been posted as Chief PMG Kerala vide Directorate letter No. 1-16/2013-SPG dated 27.8.2013. She is now working as Chief PMG Tamilnadu. 

   The Association extends a hearty welcome to Madam to Kerala Circle and offers her all the support of our cadre in the days ahead.....

Split duty hours for PMs in CR- CS writes to PMG(CR)/CPMG

Copy of the letter issued to PMG(CR)/Chief PMG is reproduced below for information of all the members:

No.  IP/ASP/ASSN/13                                                                                           Date:   23.8.2013

To,

The Postmaster General

Central Region

Kochi- 682020

 Sir,

                        Sub: Split duty hours for Postmasters of ASP Cadre in Central Region-reg:

This is to bring to your kind notice that split duty hours have been imposed for Postmasters in three of the Head Post Offices in Central Region causing much inconvenience to those ASPs working in these offices. Such a practice is now prevalent in Central Region only whereas in all the other two regions continuous duty hours are in vogue.

 It is to be pointed out that the practice of split duty for Postmasters in Central Region was stopped from 10.04.2002 vide RO letter No. Est/3-9742 dated 1.4.2002 and there appears to be no justified reason for introducing this practice again. Moreover, split duty allowance is limited to Group C and D and as such, our members are made to do split duty without any allowance.

             As such, I request your good self to reconsider the said decision and cause necessary action to maintain status quo in the matter for which we would be ever grateful to you.

 

    

Thanking You,

                                                                                                                             Yours faithfully

                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                         Ajith Kurian

                                                                                                                         Circle Secretary

Copy to

1. The Chief PMG, Kerala Circle for favour of information and necessary action.
2. Sri. Vilas Ingale, General Secretary, IP/ASP Association for information.

Death of a Govt. Employee does not entitle his family for compassionate appointment-Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that death of a government employee in harness does not entitle the family to claim compassionate employment and the person seeking appointment must possess the eligibility for the post.

A bench of justices B S Chauhan and S A Bobde also said that the competent authority should examine the financial condition of family of the deceased and job should be offered to the eligible family member only if it is satisfied that they would not be able to cope up with the crisis."Mere death of a government employee in harness does not entitle the family to claim compassionate employment. "The competent authority has to examine the financial condition of the family of the deceased employee and it is only if it is satisfied that without providing employment, the family will not be able to meet the crisis, that a job is to be offered to the eligible member of the family. More so, the person claiming such appointment must possess required eligibility for the post," it said.

The bench allowed an appeal filed by MGB Gramin Bank which had challenged a 2010 judgement of the Rajasthan High Court by which one Chakrawarti Singh, son of a deceased Bank employee, was directed to be appointed under a scheme of compassionate employment.Singh's father, who was working as a Class III employee with the Bank, had died on April 19, 2006 while in harness. Singh had applied for compassionate appointment on May 12, 2006.

The bench set aside the judgements of the High Court, saying, "The reasoning given by the single judge as well as by the division bench is not sustainable in the eyes of law." It also said that "an ameliorating relief should not be taken as opening an alternative mode of recruitment to public employment".

Retirement benefits cannot be withheld pending enquiry

To view the news published in 'The Hindu' on  19.8.13 PLEASE CLICK HERE

Retirement age of Central Govt. Employees not likely to be raised

There is raging speculation that the Centre may raise the retirement age of its staff but top sources say there is no such move. 

“There is no such plan to raise the retirement age to 62 from 60 years,” a reliable source in the Government said.There are about 50 lakh Central Government employees working in various departments including the Railways across the country.Recent media reports had claimed that the Ministry of Personnel was working on a proposal to increase the age of service by two years as part of Government’s plan to defer payouts in the form of pensions and other payments to check fiscal deficit.

It was also speculated that the move may be timed ahead of Lok Sabha elections.Sources in the Ministry said raising retirement age requires a detailed consultation with all stake holders and discussion with the Finance Ministry. Without the Finance Ministry’s nod, the matter cannot be processed, they said.The retirement age for a majority of Central Government employees is 60 years. However, the age for retirement in case of teachers and scientists is 62 years.

In a related development, Chhattisgarh Government has recently increased the age of retirement to 62 years from 60 for its employees.The age of superannuation varies in State Governments with majority of them keeping it at 60 years.The Centre had in 1998 raised the retirement age of Central Government employees to 60 from 58 years.

POSB - SCHEMES AND INTEREST RATES (from 01.04.2013)

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SB orders from 2010-13 in brief

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Aadhar biometric info to be used in passports

MUMBAI: The Unique Identification Authority of India is in talks with the Union external affairs ministry to link the Aadhaar card to the passport issuing process to make it simpler.

"Biometric information is already captured for the unique ID cards. It means people who use their UID card for KYC (Know Your Customer) can skip the queue for biometrics at the passport centre," said a senior official from UIDAI. The Aadhaar card is already valid address and identity proof for passports.In a workshop organized on Monday to push the e-KYC service flagged off in May, officials said it aims to integrate and simplify the data accumulation and verification needed for a series of services like getting a new SIM card, passport or bank account.

The e-KYC allows individuals to authorize service providers to receive an electronic copy of their proof of identity and address that was given for the UID card. Only demographic information (name, address, date of birth, gender and mobile number) collected during Aadhaar enrolment will be shared at the request of and/or with the consent of the Aadhaar user. The person can authorize UIDAI to release the KYC data either in person (through biometric authentication) or online through a one-time password (that can be sent to a phone number or email)."The department of revenue has notified e-KYC as a valid KYC process. This means agencies that subscribe to this format of KYC can make it easy for their new customers. The whole process can be made paperless," said UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani at the workshop in Bandra aimed at the banking and telecom sectors.

The merits of this service include easy-to-keep records that are cost-effective and non-disputable. The transactions can be tracked in case of any query, explained an official.So far Maharashtra has received over 6 crore Aadhaar cards that cover more than 80% of the city population.

 

Strike by Railway employees- Answer by Minister in Lok Sabha

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 897

ANSWERED ON 08.08.2013

STRIKE BY RAILWAY EMPLOYEES

897 .  Shri GURUDAS DAS GUPTA, R. THAMARAISELVAN

         P. LINGAM, S. RAMASUBBU

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the All India Railwaymen’s Federation and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen have threatened to go on an indefinite strike in case their demands are not met;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the reaction of the Railways thereto and the manner in which the Railways propose to address the situation so as to prevent such strike?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY)

(a) and (b): All India Railwaymen’s Federation (A.I.R.F.) and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (N.F.I.R.) have made numerous demands. Some of the demands are setting up of VIIth Central Pay Commission, abolition of New Pension Scheme, merger of Dearness Allowance with Pay, filling up of all vacant posts, implementation of the report of Joint Committee for career growth of Track Maintainer, reduction in duty hours of staff. While A.I.R.F. have indicated that if their grievances are not resolved in a time bound programme, the Federation would be compelled to conduct strike ballot as a first step. N.F.I.R. have decided to give a time of four months to the Government for satisfactorily settling their demands failing which the Federation will be compelled to give call for ‘Indefinite Strike’ on Railways.

(c): Some of the demands like setting up of VIIth Central Pay Commission, abolition of New Pension Scheme, Merger of Dearness Allowance with Pay which are not within the purview of Ministry of Railways are being considered for referring to concerned Ministries/ Departments. In accordance with Government’s policy, other demands of the Federations are given due consideration within the framework of existing rules and financial constraints, and action as considered necessary is taken. 

GS writes to Secretary Posts on merger of IP & ASP cadre

Copy of the above letter is reproduced below for information of all concerned:

No. GS/AIAIASP/1/2012                                            dated      19/08/2013

To,

Ms P Gopinath,

Director General,

Department of Posts,

Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg,

New Delhi 110 001.

Subject  : Minutes of the meeting taken by Member (Personnel) regarding  restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre.

Ref.       : Director (SR) letter No. 01/01/2011-SR dated 6^th September, 2012 & No.  02/02/2012-SR dated 17^thApril, 2012.

Respected Madam,           

               
In response to Directorate’s requisition of letter calling final view point of the Association on merger issue, it is submitted that this Association sought some clarification mentioned therein so as to discuss the same amongst our members before arriving at final conclusion. Unfortunately despite issue of repeated reminders no attention seems to have been paid at Directorate level towards above said letters.            

At the same time no importance is being bestowed to IP/ASP cadre and their demands, may it be case of Grade Pay, fixation of pay under higher responsibility, merger or other career progression. These pending issues concerning our cadre are enhancing the sense of discontentment.

It is therefore urged to kindly look in to this vital issue personally and arrange to provide demanded clarification which is otherwise also binding on association before we go ahead on this sensitive issue. This will enshrine interest both the Association and Department as well. The Association has no objection if the matter is to be discussed in the meeting only for which next meeting as per convenience of members may kindly be ordered to fix. The Association will look forward positive response of the Department.

Hoping for favorable action and line in reply.  

Yours sincerely, 

 

(Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

Grade Pay Case update

OA No. 289/13 filed by the Association came up before the Hon'ble CAT Ernakulam Bench today. After hearing the arguments from both the sides, the case has been posted to 4.9.13 for detailed hearing.

Post Bank of India will be set up- MOS

    Department of Posts has proposed to set up a Post Bank of India. This will be an independent entity, separate from the current operations of Small savings Schemes being carried out by the Department on behalf of Ministry of Finance. The Department of Posts has accordingly submitted an application to the RBI on 28.06.2013 seeking a banking license subject to necessary Cabinet approval.

  

This information was given by Dr. Smt. Killi Kruparani, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
 

India Posts asked to re-route bank proposal

The expenditure department of the finance ministry has sent back India Post’s draft cabinet note seeking Rs.1,900 crore to set up a commercial bank to another wing of the ministry and asked it to first seek the approval of the expenditure finance committee (EFC). The entity is proposed to be named Post Bank of India.

 

The postal department is among 26 applicants that sought banking licences from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 July, part of the government’s initiative to expand theRs.77 trillion banking industry and widen access to financial services among the 40% of the population that are yet not included in the system.“Since the proposal has financial consequences, we have told India Post to first approach the expenditure finance committee with their proposal before going for an inter-ministerial consultation on the matter,” said a finance ministry official who didn’t want to be named.

 

A second finance ministry official confirmed this. He said the expenditure finance committee was yet to receive the note from the postal department. He said, however, that the committee was likely to clear the proposal once it’s received. “We cannot pre-empt how much money EFC will approve, however I am sure the proposal makes sense because they have such a vast network which they should utilize. The only thing is they have to develop the standards to meet the RBI guidelines,” he added.

 

Approval of the expenditure finance committee, headed by the expenditure secretary, is required for proposals involving spending of more than Rs.300 crore and the setting up of new autonomous organizations, regardless of the amount.The postal department, faced with the dwindling of its main business as more people switch to electronic means of communication and courier companies, wants to leverage its extensive reach across India by entering the banking business. It’s currently involved in the financial industry to the extent that it runs post-office savings schemes, besides collecting deposits for tax-free savings programmes.In its guidelines for new banking licences announced on 22 February, RBI required applicants to prove their eligibility on several fronts—from promoter holding to past experience to business plans. The minimum capital required by applicants for licences is Rs.500 crore, and foreign shareholding in the new banks is capped at 49% for the first five years.

 

The new banks have to be set up under a non-operative financial holding company (NOFHC), RBI said. They also have to maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio—the ratio of capital to risk-weighted assets, a measure of financial strength—of 13% for the first three years. New banks also need to list their shares within three years of starting operations.The finance ministry has been reluctant to allow India Post to enter the commercial banking business.In order to apply for a licence, the department of posts will have to create a legal entity to segregate its banking and postal businesses, said a second finance ministry official.

 

“It will have to be a government-owned company or a bank under a statute since a government department cannot become a bank,” said the official, who didn’t want to be identified.“Added to that, the postal department has no experience when it comes to giving credit. They have only been taking deposits till now. Sanctioning and disbursing credit needs an entirely different aptitude,” the official said. “We had conveyed our views to EY, when they had approached us on this issue,” he added. EY (formerly Ernst & Young) is consultant to India Post’s bid for a banking licence.A third finance ministry official said it will be difficult for India Post to get a banking licence from RBI since the guidelines call for a non-operative financial holding company.

 

Besides that, although India Post boasts of a strong 150,000 branch network, a majority of these may not get converted into bank branches in the event it gets a licence, this official added.“Expertise in (handling) National Savings Certificates will not be enough for giving credit,” he added, making the point that the department has no specialized experience in the business.India Post had 154,822 branches across the country as of 31 March, the latest data available, the largest for any postal department in the world, and close to 90% of them—139,086—are in rural India. This is more than four times the number of rural branches run by India’s banks.

 

RBI has clarified that the conditions it has set are merely the necessary ones and that all applicants meeting them won’t be given a licence. The central bank will screen the applications, refer them to an advisory committee and take a final call on licences based on its recommendations.If the focus is financial inclusion, the focus should be on looking for solutions rather than raising barriers, saidAshvin Parekh, national leader, global financial services at EY.

 

“Nobody is saying to convert the existing Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) into a commercial bank. Post Bank of India has to be a subsidiary which needs to be registered as a company and the government equity in this new entity could be diluted,” he said. Through the POSB, India Post collects deposits starting as low as Rs.20 with an annual interest rate of 4%.Naina Lal Kidwai, country head of HSBC India and president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry lobby group, said in an interview that though she is opposed to creating any more public sector banks, she supports the idea of the Post Bank of India.

 

“The postal authority is a very interesting one because of its ability to deliver cash where banks have never been able to reach. To create a post bank, which many countries have done, is quite interesting. So for those exceptions, we could and should look at giving (it a) banking licence,” she added.However, Kidwai wants the government to reduce its share in the banking system from 70% now to 30-50%, besides which she’d like to see consolidation of the sector.“We have to fund such banks through taxpayers’ money. These banks can rarely raise money from the capital market. Some of those can actually be merged so that we create fewer banks. So we should see a restructuring of our entire banking sector,” she added.

 

Rule 38 case of Surplus IPs -case of Sri. Baiju Kumar

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DPC for PS Group B- latest position

 

 It is confirmed from Directorate that the following circles have yet not submitted the CRs/APARs and requisite information for convening DPC for the promotion to PS Gr. B for the year 2013-14.

1. Bihar 2. Haryana 3. Jharkhand 4. North East 5. Uttar Pradesh 

Circle Secretaries and CHQ office bearers of these Circles are once again requested to keep the liasion with Circle Administration and ensure dispatch of CRs/APARs within a couple of days. DPC is badly delayed and we need to get it approved by the end of this month. 

Seniority list of Inspector Posts- update

  Today, it is learnt that  the requisite information from all circles have been received at Directorate and seniority list of Inspector Posts cadre for the year 1998, 1999 and 2000 is likely to be circulated very soon.

Grade Pay case-update

 

 The Grade Pay case filed by the Association before the Hon'ble CAT Ernakulam Bench stands posted to 14.8.13 before the Bench from the Registrar's Court. As we have decided not to file any rejoinder, the case is likely to be posted for hearing when it comes up on 14th . 

Development of Chilli Spray for Women by DRDO

  Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), Tejpur, a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a chilli spray i.e.CAPSISPRAY. It is an eco-friendly non-lethal chilli

spray for personal protection and self- defence. It contains Oleoresin Capsicum extracted from the world's hottest chilli, the Bhut Jolokia (Capsicum Assamicum), largely cultivated in Assam and other parts of North Eastern States of India.

 The prototype of chilli spray is ready and the product is required to be tested for several toxicology parameters.DRDO will take further steps to popularize the product once trials are over.This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Anil Desai and Shrimati Rajani Patil in Rajya Sabha today.

Peaceful demonstration does not amount to misconduct-Chennai High Court

Madras High Court quashes the charge memo issued to two State Bank of India (SBI) officers

While quashing the charge memo issued to two State Bank of India (SBI) officers alleging misconduct for holding a lunch hour demonstration in August last year, the Madras High Court has held that a mere peaceful demonstration, per se, inside the campus, cannot be understood as a mark of misconduct under the rules.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Chitra Venkataraman and K.B.K.Vasuki passed the common judgment on appeals filed by two officers of the bank against a single Judge’s order of February 8 this year.

The two, D.Thomas Franco Rajendra Dev, Deputy Manager, SBI, RBU, LHO, Chennai and D.Suresh Kumar, Chief Manager, RBU, LHO, Chennai, were the general secretary and elected president of the All India State Bank of India Officers’ Association respectively. The association held a lunch hour demonstration on August 28 last year in front of the local head office and in all the administrative offices of the bank. Members, including the two officers, participated.

In September last year, the two were issued charge memo for alleged misconduct under the bank’s officers’ service rules.They filed writ petitions contending that registered trade unions had a right to demonstrate peacefully. The right flowed from Art.19 (1) ( c ) of the Constitution. They denied that they instigated the officers of the bank to hold the demonstration. There was no misconduct.

A single Judge rejected the writ petitions, holding that the court could not interfere at the stage of charge memo on the basis of the defence pleaded by the petitioners. Aggrieved, the two filed the present appeals

Government likely to earmark Rs 1300 Crore for India Post Bank

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Obituary

It has been brought to the notice of the Association that father of Smt.J.Sheeba (ASP Vig: C.O)- Sri. Moideen Kannu (75) expired yesterday morning due to cardiac arrest. Funeral was held on the same day afternoon.  Association conveys its deepest condolences to the bereaved family.

Clarification regarding admissible/non-admissible items under CGHS

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Cabinet defers decision to raise retirement age

 

  A proposal to increase the retirement age of government employees from 60 to 62 years came to the Cabinet on Thursday but a decision was deferred. The government might make the announcement in the Prime Minister’s Independence Day address, his last before general elections in 2014. The ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions has proposed an increase in retirement age of government employees from 60 to 62 years, top sources confirmed.

 

 There are around five million central government employees in India. The previous occassion the government raised the retirement age of central government employees was in 1998, from 58 to 60 years. The move is meant to ease the financial burden on the government in terms of its pension liabilities, sources said.

 The retirement age of professors in all central universities was recently raised to 65 years. D L Sachdev, national secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress, said his union was totally against the increase of the retirement age beyond 60. It would hurt the youth, especially when the government is doing nothing to create jobs for them, Sachdev said.

 

 Congress-affiliated Indian National Trade Union Congress national president Sanjeeva Reddy said his union had been demanding increase in the retirement age to 62 years and would welcome it.

 

 Minister for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V Narayanaswami had ruled out an increase in the retirement age to a question in Parliament in the winter session this year. An official in the ministry, when asked, refused to speak about it.

 

Planning Commission object to Government funding for India Post Bank

The panel opines Rs 500 crore needed as initial paid up capital for launching Post Banks might not be feasible at present. Hopes of the Department of Posts (DoP) to launch full-fledged banking operations seem to have hit a roadblock, with the Planning Commission opposing government funding to start the project.

The DoP has moved a Cabinet note for the government to provide Rs 500 crore as initial capital to India Post towards starting a bank. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s norms for applying for a new banking licence, an entity needs paid-up capital of at least Rs 500 crore.Officials said the commission felt providing the Rs 500 crore needed as initial paid-up capital for launching the bank might not be feasible, owing to the tight fiscal conditions. “Though in principle, the commission does support the proposal, the current weak financial conditions are acting as a hindrance,” said a senior official. 

Overall, the department needs about Rs 1,900 crore to run full-fledged banking operations. Financial help from the government is required, as India Post recorded a deficit of Rs 5,806 crore in 2011-12, 8.5 per cent lower than the Rs 7,899-crore deficit the previous year. An official said India Post planned to start banking operations across 50 branches. However, a section within the Planning Commission felt converting a part of post offices into full-fledged banks would hamper the core functioning of these entities, another official said. For the government, India Post’s banking operations would be beneficial in expanding the ambit of its ambitious Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) programme. This is because there are about 1,50,000 post offices across the country, much higher than the number of all public sector bank branches combined. The banking correspondent model, as envisaged in DBT, would be accounted for by postmen. For every new deposit, a postman would get an additional commission of 0.07 per cent.The official said moves were also afoot to link all post office branches with core banking solutions. To launch banking operations, India Post would have to restructure its shareholding, as according to RBI norms, promoter companies of entities seeking to set up banks should have at least 51 per cent public shareholding. Currently, India Post is wholly owned by the Union government. A few years ago, India Post’s proposal to start banking operations was opposed by the finance ministry, as the DoP didn’t have expertise in areas such as handling credit.The DoP has a few savings instruments such as the post office savings scheme, as well as a life insurance scheme — Postal Life Insurance. It also acts as a distributor for mutual fund companies.

Amendment to RTI Act 2005

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