Date: 3.7.2016

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Congress protests against BJP govt’s proposal of 7th Pay Commission

Date : 3.7.2016

Congress protests against BJP govt’s proposal of 7th Pay Commission

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Congress on Saturday staged a protest at Jantar Mantar against the BJP government’s decision regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.

Addressing a ‘dharna’ at the Jantar Mantar, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Ajay Maken said the decision of the government will adversely affect around 1 crore people, and the figures will go up to 2.5 crore if employees of the State governments are also taken into account, and the number would further swell to 10 crore people if the those dependent on these people are also included.

He said the Congress party was committed to join the government employees in their fight against the Central Government for getting a fair deal in the implementation of the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.

He said the Congress party will join the Government employee’s shoulder-to-shoulder in their fights on the streets for getting justice.

Protesting against the proposal of the Centre in implementing the 7th Pay Commission, the Congress protesters termed the recommendations ‘a betrayal on the government employees by the Modi government’ and said the 7th Pay Commission has recommended just 14.27 per cent hike in the salaries of the government employees, which was the lowest as compared to the recommendations of all the previous Pay Commissions.

Maken said the government employees, who include Armed forces, para-military forces and teachers, were very eagerly looking forward to the recommendations of the Pay Commission in the hope of getting a good hike in their wages, which would offset their rising expenses.

“But the BJP Government’s decision regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission was a total let down for the Central Government employees, and they were totally disappointed as all their dreams have been shattered,” Maken added.

Besides Ajay Maken, prominent other leaders who participated in the dharna were National Confederation of Central Government Employees general secretary I A Siddiqui, Government employees leader and ex-MP Sajjan Kumar, chief spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee, former Delhi Minister Dr Narendra Nath, Leader of the Opposition in the MCD Varyam Kaur and district and block Congress committee presidents.

Date : 3.7.2016
Digital India eNewsletter - Fourth Edition (June 2016 Issue)

Dear all, The implementation of several key elements of Digital India within a short span of time is the reflection of the commitment shown by the Government of India toward Digital India Programme and it is our endeavour to present this information to you in the 4th edition of the Digital India Newsletter which is attached herewith for your viewing. The government has completed two years under the leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. During this time, governance has seen a transformation via Digital India Programme, a flagship programme of this government. All three departments under the Ministry of Communication & IT – Department of Posts, Department of Telecommunications and Department of Electronics & Communication made tremendous success under the programme in the past two years to support digital empowerment of India & Indians. Through its wide network, Department of Posts enabled citizens residing in the hinterlands, to access core banking services & has brought the initiative to 21,319 Post Offices till date, among other things. The Department of Telecommunications is rapidly increasing the access to high-speed internet connectivity in 48,199 out of 250,000 gram panchayats in India. Simultaneously, Department of Electronics & Information Technology has established 1.66 lakh Common Services Centres to provide e-Services in rural regions & bridge the digital divide. The link for the 4th edition of the DIGITAL INDIA NEWSLETTER is given below : http://digitalindia.gov.in/newsletter/newsletter_june/index.php I hope the newsletter will be helpful to the readers to track the latest development under Digital India programme. Feedback and suggestions are welcome. Happy Reading! Regards, Ms. S.Radha Chauhan (IAS), President & Chief Executive Officer, NeGD

Date : 2.7.2016

At the press conference held to give the details about the Seventh Pay Commission, finance minister Arun Jaitley cited an IIM-A study to drive home the point that the government staff is indeed getting higher if not same salaries at the similar experience levels.

Interestingly, the same study has proof that the government servants are paid less at the top level, which may be the reason for the brain drain to the private sector from the public sector.

The IIM-A study was done for the Seventh Pay Commission and its purpose, in the premier educational institution's own words, was "to provide comparative analysis of salaries/emoluments in the government sector vis-à-vis central public sector undertakings/ private sector in India." (The study, which is available online, does not take into account the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations or increments.)

The study has been conducted on the salaries of nurses, physiotherapists, lab technicians, doctors (MBBS), doctors (MD/MS), dieticians, OT assistants, radiographers, teachers (PRT), teachers (TGT), teachers (PGT), principals (HS), scientists, technical staff (railways), account officers, graduate engineers, software developers, network engineers, system analysts, programmers, data entry operators, foremen, draftsmen, electricians, plumbers, welders, drivers, store-keepers, cashiers, clerks, library staff, secretarial staff, publicity staff, photographers and cameramen, receptionists, gardeners, and general helpers.

It is citing this study that the finance minister asserted at the press conference that a government helper gets Rs 22,579 monthly, which is more than 2 times the wage of the private sector counterpart.

This is indeed true. Take a look at the table below:

It shows wide variation in the salary levels of the private sector and public sector staff. Out of the 20 categories mentioned in the table, only in three cases government salaries are lower.

For as many as 17 categories the government salary is higher than the private sector counter part. The widest variation can be seen in the case of data entry operators (25 years of experience) , in whose case the government salary goes up to Rs 86,482.

In the private sector, the top salary for a data entry operator (10 years of experience) is just Rs 21,000. So also is the case of general helper. Here the government salary goes up to Rs 73,739 as against the private sector salary of Rs 28,000. Precisely, this is what the finance minister was mentioning at the press conference.

But then there is a catch: the sample jobs taken for the study doesn't include many top level categories, where the private sector salaries are much higher than the government salaries. Neither does it mention why it didn't take these categories.

"Initially, we identified a comprehensive list of sample job roles which are relevant for our study through a consultative method. Final job roles were identified in consultation with the Seventh Central Pay Commission," the study says in the executive summary. This doesn't exactly explain why the top level pays were kept out of the study's purview. And it is here where the skew is huge in favour of the private sector.

For instance, take the banking sector. In the last financial year, the chairman of State Bank of India drew a salary of Rs 31 lakh per annum, while Chanda Kochchar, managing director and CEO of its private rival ICICI Bank, drew a salary of Rs 4.8 crore per annum. SBI's total assets as of March 2016 stood at Rs 20,48,080 crore as against ICICI Bank's Rs 7,20,695 crore. However, the top paid executive in the Indian banking sector was Aditya Puri, managing director of HDFC Bank (total assets Rs 7,08,846 crore), who received Rs 9.73 crore per annum.

The numbers given above clearly say why the top government bureaucrats are not really happy about the Seventh Pay Commission implementation 

In its concluding remarks, the IIM-A study says: In most of the roles studied here, salaries across Government and CPSUs are in similar range. In many of the roles studied here, government is paying higher salaries compared to the private sector, particularly in initial years, for jobs at the lower levels of skill requirement and hierarchy. Salary in government is relatively lower compared to the private sector, particularly in later years, for some highly skilled jobs.

This is one area the government needs to address urgently. And it is not about equal pay, but equitable pay

Date :2.7.2016

Department of Posts scouts for payments bank CEO, COO 

The Department of Posts has written to chiefs of several public sector banks asking them to nominate officials to fill the posts of chief executive officer and chief operating officer at the department’s payments bank, which is to be unveiled soon.

“We have written to select public sector banks like Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India (and) Union Bank to recommend their board-level officers or senior executives who may be interested in managing our payments bank as CEO on one-year deputation basis,” Department of Posts Secretary, S.K. Sinha, said.

The Secretary clarified that a similar request was not sent to State Bank of India to avoid conflict of interest as country’s largest lender has partnered with Reliance Industries, which has been granted a payments bank licence by the Reserve Bank of India.

March deadline

Since the government has set a March 2017 deadline for launching the payments bank's operations, the department wants to bring in top management quickly. The formal process of appointing a full-time CEO and COO will be initiated simultaneously, for securing approvals from competent authorities, including the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Mr Sinha said: “We expect the board of IPPB to be in place within 30 to 45 days. If we get the name of the CEO, then we can have the board running.”

The India Posts Payment Bank (IPPB) will have 650 branches across the country.

Railway employees to join nationwide strike

Date : 2.7.2016

Railway employees to join nationwide strike

IN SOLIDARITY: Railway employees under the banner of the Southern Railway Mazdoor Sangh and All India Railwaymen Federation taking out a march to the Divisional Railway Office in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday to drum up support for the indefinite strike by Central government employees that begins on July 11.

MR. KANNIAH SAID THE AGITATION WAS NOT ONLY FOR SETTLING WAGE DISPARITIES BUT ALSO TO HIGHLIGHT THE ANTI-LABOUR POLICIES AND THE DECISIONS TO PRIVATISE RAILWAYS, DEFENCE, AND POSTAL WINGS.

Around 40 lakh railway employees will join the postal, defence and other Central government employees in the indefinite strike from July 11, working president of All India Railwaymen Federation (AIRF) N. Kanniah has said.

Against privatisation

Addressing a dharna organised by the Southern Railway Mazdoor Sangh in front of the Divisional Railway Office here to drum up support for the July 11 stir, Mr. Kanniah said the agitation was not only for settling wage disparities but also to highlight the anti-labour policies and the decisions to privatise Railways, defence, and postal wings.

Fare hike likely

If the decisions are not reversed, Mr. Kanniah said, freight and passenger fare will increase in Railways. The poor man will be made to suffer by multinational and private companies.
Lack of job security will create a serious social imbalance and upset social justice, he added.

Notice given

The AIRF leader said the union had already issued a strike notice to the General Manager, Southern Railway, on June 9.

Train services to be hit

The strike will affect train movement, he said.

C.S. Prasannakumar, Assistant General Secretary, SRMU; S. Gopikrishna, Divisional Secretary, SRMU; P. Unnikrishnan, Divisional President, SRMU, were present.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/

FM Promises ‘Minimum Pay’ 7th Pay Commission Hikes

Date : 2.7.2016

FM Promises ‘Minimum Pay’ 7th Pay Commission Hikes

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has promised to consider to hike the minimum pay of central government employees beyond Rs 18,000, a day after the cabinet cleared 7th Pay Commission award for its employees.

Central government employees have been demanding hike in minimum pay since November 19, when 7th Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur submitted its report to Jaitley.

The Finance Minister said he was not ‘rigid’ on the issue and the government will try to rectify some of employees’ demands including minimum pay.

Jaitley met with representatives of central government employees unions at Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s house for two hours till 11pm on Thursday night.

Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu attended the meeting and assured unions leaders of central government employees that their demand would be looked into.

“The minimum pay of central government employees Rs 18,000 was made on recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. But government will consider hiking it after discussions with all stakeholders,” he said in the meeting.

“Three ministers called us and we met them at Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s house late on Thursday for almost two hours. We have been assured that the minimum pay issue is going to be referred to one of two committees that the government is setting up to rectify any anomalies in the pay commission recommendation implementation,” Shiv Gopal Mishra, General Secretary of the National Joint Council Action (NJCA), a confederation of several central government employees’ unions, told reporters after the meeting.

he council claims a membership of 3.3 million, including the central government employees – Railways, Defence, Postal, Income Tax, Central Customs and Central Excise etc.

NJCA already have rejected Modi government’s overall 23.5 percent pay hike bonanza based on 7th Pay Commission recommendations and would go on indefinite strike from 6 am, 11 July.

They have been demanding Rs 26,000 as minimum pay instead of Rs 18,000 approved by the government based on the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations.

Mishra also said the Home Minister assured them that “their interaction with us has the blessings of PM Narendra Modi”.

“On minimum pay, we are for a negotiated settlement and it seems there is some consideration at the highest level,” he added.

The increasing the minimum pay will change the salary fitment factor. If the minimum pay is hiked from Rs.18,000 to even Rs.20,000, the fitment factor will be higher than the 2.57 times approved by the government based on the pay commission recommendations.

If the 2.57 fitment formula is tinkered with, then salary and pension in general for all central government employees will go up.

NJCA wrote to all central government employees unions that “government has proposed to refer the issue of minimum pay and fitment factor to a committee for reconsideration. The NJCA will await communication in this regard from the government”.

It said that it will meet on 6 July again to decide on the proposed indefinite strike from July 11.

News dated 02.07.2016 TST

Date : 1.7.2016
A seperate Rail Budget must continue for the sake of transparency.

On The Right Track

THE BUREAUCRACY, WHICH HAS MADE RAILWAYS THEIR OWN FIEF WITH ABSOLUTE FREEDOM FROM ACCOUNTABILITY, WILL NOT ALLOW ANY CHANGE IN STATUS QUO.

WRITTEN BY S PUSHPAVANAM |Updated: July 1, 2016 8:34 Am

A panel headed by Bibek Debroy, a member of Niti Aayog, has suggested that the practice of a separate railway budget be discarded. This remedy is worse than the disease.

The step is expected to help depoliticise the Railways. But Suresh Prabhu, the railway minister, is already refusing to announce new lines and new trains for political reasons and has introduced transparency in tendering. Next, it is argued that it would help the government to take decisions without losing track of commercial viability. If that is the intent, the Railways needs to tackle other issues.

For instance, the unions, entrenched in a corrupt relationship with bureaucrats, will never allow reducing the staff cost from the current 53 per cent of the revenue to at least 40 per cent when 10 to 20 per cent is the norm and commercial viability threshold in railways elsewhere. The bureaucracy, which has made Railways their own fief with absolute freedom from accountability, will not allow any change in status quo. In fact, they would try to expand the fief solely to serve their interests. As the Debroy report reveals, when nine zones became 17, efficiency only decreased.

Source : Indian Express

Date :1.7.2016

26-week maternity leave for women employees soon in private sector

All establishments, including in private sector, will have to provide 26-week maternity leave to their women employees under a new bill, which the government plans to push in the upcoming Monsoon Session, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said today.  While there is already a provision of 26-week or six- month maternity leave for the government employees, most private sector firms offer maximum three months of such leave. Besides, these benefits are not provided at all in many smaller establishments.  

Speaking to reporters here, the Minister said the new Maternity Benefit Bill, which seeks to enhance maternity leave to 26 weeks from existing 12 weeks, will be shortly taken up by the Cabinet for approval and the Ministry will push it for passage in the Monsoon session of Parliament.  He, however, appeared to rule out making it mandatory to provide work-from-home option to the working mothers.  "There are certain establishments where they can get (the permission to work from home). But in other establishments they will get the facility of (26 weeks maternity leave) after amendment in the Act," Dattatreya said.  He was replying to a query about the steps being taken by his Ministry to promote the concept of work from home to increase women participation in the workforce.  Asked about the paternity leave and other benefits for fathers, the Minister said, "The Bill is about mothers and children. It is not about the men." 

 The Minister also said that the model law that allows shops, malls and cinema halls, among other establishments, to run 24x7 throughout the year will increase women participation in the workforce as it allows them to work in night shits.  "The is a pro-women law. Besides, it will help in employment generation. This will help increase women participation in the workforce," the Minister said.  The Model Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Bill, 2016, was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday.  "The law also allows women to work in night (shifts).. There is provision for all facilities for women like drinking water, lavatory, creche, first aid and security," he said.  The Model law also provides for creches if the establishment has 30 women/50 workers.  While adopting the model law, the states can modify it as per their requirements.

 Source : The Economic Times

Govt decides not to withhold appointment letters pending the verification of character and antecedents of the successful candidates

Date : 1.7.2016

Govt decides not to withhold appointment letters pending the verification of character and antecedents of the successful candidates

The Government has decided that the issue of appointment letters need not be withheld pending the verification of character and antecedents of the successful candidates. The appointing authorities will issue provisional appointment letters after obtaining the attestation form and self declaration from the candidate.

In the appointment letter, it will be clearly mentioned that in case character and antecedents of the candidate is found not verified or any false information is given by the candidate in his/her self-declaration, the provisional appointment will be cancelled forthwith and other criminal/legal action will also be taken, as a consequence. This decision aims to achieve the Government’s vision of ‘Minimum Government and Maximum Governance’ and deliver citizen-centric good governance.

As per existing provisions, the appointing authorities undertake an exercise of verification of character and antecedents of the successful candidates before issuing the formal appointment order. The Government has decided that now the verification of character and antecedents will be carried out, but the issue of appointment letters need not be withheld pending such verification.

The necessary instructions in this regard have been issued to all Ministries/Departments and also brought to the notice of the State Governments/Administrators of Union Territories.

Source:-PIB

Banks will not exchange pre­2005 notes from today, only 20 RBI offices will swap them

Date : 1.7.2016

Banks will not exchange pre­2005 notes from today, only 20 RBI offices will swap them

MUMBAI: Banks will no longer exchange notes introduced prior to 2005. From Friday , if anyone has such notes he would need to approach one of the 20 offices of the Reserve Bank of India directly to get such notes exchanged. However, there's a way out: If one has such notes, the person can deposit those notes in his bank account and the bank will send those notes to RBI. 

Since January 2014, the RBI, through banks, has been withdrawing currency notes circulated prior to 2005. The central bank on Thursday said a large percentage of these notes have since been withdrawn, with only a small percentage still remaining in circulation. "On a review thereof, it has since been decided that July 1 onwards, the facility for members of public to exchange the pre­2005 notes will be available only at the following offices of RBI: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi," a release from the RBI said. 

The RBI has also clarified that these pre­2005 bank notes will continue to remain legal tender, meaning people can use these notes just like other notes which were printed and circulated since 2005.

Source:-The Economic Times

Revision in interest rate of Small Savings Schemes up to 30-09-2016

Date : 1.7.2016

Revision in interest rate of Small Savings Schemes up to 30-09-2016

‘Notification On ‘7th Pay Commission’ Next Week’

Date : 1.7.2016

‘Notification On ‘7th Pay Commission’ Next Week’

New Delhi: The notification on 7th Pay Commission might be issued next week and the government employees will start receiving new pay cheques from this month.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said government salaries have to be competitive with the private sector.

The top Finance Ministry officials on Thursday said that notification in this regard is expected to be issued next week.

The union cabinet had on Wednesday approved the he long-awaited 7th pay commission Report’s recommendations hiking salaries of central government employees as well as pensions.

Initially, the public servants will be able to draw the hiked part of their basic pay and they will start receiving the hiked allowances five to six months later.

For example, employees belonging to the minimum pay of the existing 6th Pay Commission scale had so far been drawing a Rs 7,000 basic salary plus allowances. From July, their basic pay will rise to Rs 18,000, but their allowances will remain the same until the committee headed by the Finance Secretary to announce new allowances.

The officials said since the pay scale will be made effective retrospectively from January 1 this year, the public servants will be able to claim their arrears from the day after the notification is issued.

After the cabinet meeting, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said government salaries have to be competitive with the private sector, for which the Commission had engaged IIM-Ahmedabad to make the comparison.

“This will attract best talent in the government sector,” said the minister.

However, as per the cabinet approval, the minimum pay is now Rs 18,000 and maximum is Rs 2.5 lakh, but ideally the minimum should have been 1/10th of the maximum, the employees’s union leaders claimed.

The Cabinet ditto with the 7h Pay Commission recommendations, the commission recommended 23.55 per cent hike in salaries, allowances and pensions and a 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay for Central government employees, the lowest in 70 years.

The central government employees are in for disappointment as the cabinet approved a 14.27 per cent hike in basic pay, which is significantly lower than what the 6th pay commission had recommended. Sixth Pay Commission had recommended a 20 per cent hike in basic pay which the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.

The Congress and the Left parties Thursday came out in support of the indefinite strike from July 11 call given by central government employees’ unions to protest the “inadequate” hike in their salaries. While the Congress said the hike was the worst in the last 70 years, the CPM said it was “disappointing.”

Date : 1.07.2016

Creation of new postal circle named TELANGANA postal circle

Date : 1.07.2016
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