Introduction of combined mo form

UNION BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS; KISAN VIKAS PATRA TO BE REINTRODUCED

The following are the Union Budget 2014-15 highlights

For individuals

* Tax slab on personal income remains unchanged

* Income tax exemption limit raised by Rs 50,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh and for senior citizens to Rs 3 lakh

* Exemption limit for investment in financial instruments under 80C raised to Rs 1.5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh.

* Investment limit in PPF raised to Rs 1.5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh

* Deduction limit on interest on loan for self-occupied house raised to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh.

* Kisan Vikas Patra to be reintroduced, National Savings Certificate with insurance cover to be launched

* Long term capial gain tax for mutual funds doubled to 20 pc; lock-in period increased to 3 years

* Mandatory wage ceiling of subscription to EPS (Employee Pension Scheme) raised from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000

* Minimum pension increased to Rs 1,000 per month

* LCD, LED TV become cheaper

* Cigarettes, pan masala, tobacco, aerated drinks become costlier

Deduction limit on interest on loan for self-occupied house raised to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh

New projects

* 5 IIMs to be opened in HP, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha and Rajasthan

* 5 more IITs in Jammu, Chattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

* 4 more AIIMS like institutions to come up in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Vidarbha in Maharashtra and Poorvanchal in Uttar Pradesh

* Govt proposes to launch 'Digital India’ programme to ensure broad band connectivity at village level

* Kisan TV for farmers, Arun Prabha TV for northeast.

* National Rural Internet and Technology Mission for services in villages and schools, training in IT skills proposed

* Govt proposes Ultra Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal Power Technology

* A project on the river Ganga called ‘Jal Marg Vikas’ for inland waterways between Allahabad and Haldia; Rs 4,200 crore set aside for the purpose.

* EPFO to launch the “Uniform Account Number” Service for contributing members.

* New programme “Neeranchal” to give impetus to watershed development in the country with an initial outlay of Rs. 2142 crores.

* Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana to generate awareness and help in improving the efficiency of delivery of welfare services meant for women.

* Free Drug Service and Free Diagnosis Service to achieve “ Health For All”

* Two National Institutes of Ageing to be set up at AIIMS, New Delhi and Madras Medical College, Chennai.

5 more IITs in Jammu, Chattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala

Allocations

* Rs 100 crore to support about 600 new and existing Community Radio Stations

* Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to cover every household with sanitation facility by the year 2019

* Rs 100 crore for metro projects in Lucknow and Ahmedabad

* Rs 2,037 crore set aside for Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission called ‘Namami Gange’

* Rs 150 crore allocated for increasing safety of women in large cities

* Rs. 7,060 crore for the project of developing 100 Smart Cities.

* Set aside Rs 11,200 crore for PSU banks capitalisation

* Govt provides Rs 500 crore for rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiri migrants

* 1000 crore provided for “Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna” for assured irrigation.

* Rs. 50,548 crore under the SC Plan and Rs. 32,387 crore under TSP

Rs. 7,060 crore for the project of developing 100 Smart Cities

Economic initiatives

* Composite cap of foreign investment to be raised to 49 per cent in Defence and Insurance sectors.

* Requirement of the built up area and capital conditions for FDI reduced to 20,000 square metres and USD 5 million respectively for development of smart cities.

* Manufacturing can sell its products through retail including Ecommerce platforms.

* Requirement to infuse Rs.2,40,000 crore as equity by 2018 in our banks to be in line with Basel-III norms PSUs will invest through capital investment a total sum of Rs. 2,47,941 crores.

* Rs 4,000 cr set aside to increase flow of cheaper credit for affordable housing to the urban poor/EWS/LIG segment.

* Govt in favour of consolidation of PSU banks

* Govt considering giving greater autonomy to PSU banks while making them accountable

The numbers

* Government expects Rs 9.77 lakh crore revenue crore from taxes

* Plan expenditure pegged at Rs 5.75 lakh crore and non-plan at Rs 12.19 lakh crore.

* Fiscal deficit target retained at 4.1 pc of GDP for current fiscal and 3.6 pc in FY 16

* Disinvestment target fixed at Rs 58,425 crore

* Gross borrowings pegged at Rs 6 lakh crore

* Contours of GST to be finalised this fiscal; Govt to look into DTC proposal.

Plan expenditure pegged at Rs 5.75 lakh crore and non-plan at Rs 12.19 lakh crore

Administrative reforms

* Committee to look into all fresh tax demands for indirect transfer of assets in wake of retrospective tax amendments of 2012

* Expenditure management commission to be setup; will look into food and fertilizer subsides

source: THE HINDU

DO LETTER , regarding cleanliness of POs

Modernisation of Post Offices : Lok Sabha Q&A

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF  COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

LOK SABHA

STARRED  QUESTION NO 17

ANSWERED ON   07.07.2014

MODERNISATION OF POST OFFICES

17 . Shri PRATHAP SIMHA

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Government has modernised, computerised and upgraded a number of post offices in the country and if so, the details of the post offices modernised/upgraded during the last three years and the current year, State/ UT-wise;

(b) whether the Government has achieved the targets fixed for modernisation/upgradation of the post offices in the country and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) the time by which the remaining post offices are likely to be modernised/upgraded/ computerised; and

(d) the steps taken by the Government to expedite the modernisation process of all the post offices in the country?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 17 FOR 7TH JULY, 2014 REGARDING “MODERNISATION OF POST OFFICES”

(a) Yes, Madam. Government is upgrading the post offices by modernising and computersing the departmental post offices in a phased manner. The Department has conceived ‘Project Arrow’ in April 2008 for improving ‘Look and Feel’ of the post offices with a focus on infrastructure, branding, IT and human resource and also set-right the core areas under ‘Core Operations’ by improving the quality of service relating to mail delivery, remittances, Savings Bank and office service levels.

All the departmental post offices have also been computerised.

I. Circle-wise details of post offices modernised under ‘Look & Feel’ activities of Project Arrow in the last three years are given below:

Sl. No.	Name of the Circle	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
1.	ANDHRA PRADESH	15	48	8
2.	ASSAM	05	18	2
3.	BIHAR	15	48	2
4.	CHHATTISGARH	00	15	2
5.	DELHI	05	25	5
6.	GUJARAT	15	48	3
7.	HARYANA	05	22	2
8.	HIMACHAL PRADESH	03	15	2
9.	JAMMU& KASHMIR	02	20	5
10.	JHARKHAND	02	10	4
11.	KARNATAKA	11	49	3
12	KERALA	10	35	2
13.	MADHYA PRADESH	07	48	3
14.	MAHARASHTRA	20	49	3
15.	NORTH EAST	03	64	24
16.	ODISHA	08	20	2
17.	PUNJAB	00	35	2
18.	RAJASTHAN	25	50	3
19.	TAMIL NADU	10	49	3
20.	UTTAR PRADESH	25	49	3
21.	UTTARAKHAND	05	14	5
22.	WEST BENGAL	16	49	12
	Total	207	780	100

II. The Circle-wise details of computerised post offices during the last three years are as under:

Sl. No.	Name of Circle	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
1.	ANDHRA PRADESH	60	0
2.	ASSAM	0	0
3.	BIHAR	88	46
4.	CHHATTISGARH	9	3
5.	DELHI	33	3
6.	GUJARAT	67	2	Nil#
7.	HARYANA	35	1
8.	HIMACHAL PRADESH	0	0
9.	JAMMU& KASHMIR	34	0
10.	JHARKHAND	24	12
11.	KARNATAKA	4	0
12	KERALA	70	0
13.	MADHYA PRADESH	16	6
14.	MAHARASHTRA	138	5
15.	NORTH EAST	13	0
16.	ODISHA	7	0
17.	PUNJAB	3	1
18.	RAJASTHAN	47	14
19.	TAMIL NADU	63	30
20.	UTTAR PRADESH	175	27
21.	UTTARAKHAND	9	0
22.	WEST BENGAL	59	26
	Total	954	176

# All the departmental post offices have been computerized.

(b) The targets under modernisation have been achieved to the extent of availability of Plan funds.

During 11th Plan, 1735 post offices were modernised under Project Arrow against the target of 1759 post offices. The minor shortfall was due to curtailment of Plan funds.

During the 12th Plan, 2,500 post offices are proposed to be modernised under Project Arrow with an outlay of 284.00 crores. During the first two years of the 12th Plan, 880 post offices have been modernised under Project Arrow. Thus, so far, 2615 post offices have been modernised under the 11th and 12th Plan.

(c) & (d) All departmental post offices have been computerized. Modernisation by way of improvement of post office infrastructure and ‘Look & Feel’ is a continuous process dependent on availability of funds.

Source: Lok Sabha Q&A

Railway Budget 2014-15: Highlights

Here are the main Highlights of Railway Budget 2014-15 presented by Union Railway minister Sadananda Gowda in Lok Sabha today(08 July 2014) at 12.00Hrs.

* Rail budget seeks course correction, avoids populism

* No increase in rail fare

* Stress on resource mobilization through PSU surplus, FDI and PPP

* Bullet train on Ahmedabad-Mumbai corridor proposed, Speed of trains to be increased in nine sectors

* More thrust on passenger amenities, cleanliness & efficient station management

* Multi pronged approach for improving safety & security, 4000 women RPF constables to be recruited

* Revamping railway reservation system into next generation e-ticketing, Wi-fi services in major stations & in select trains, mobile based wakeup calls for passengers

* 58 new trains introduced; 11 existing trains extended

* Railway university and innovation incubation centre to be set up

* Top priority to transparency, e-procurement to be made

* Compulsory in higher purchase, online registration for wagons in next two months

* Highest ever plan outlay of ­ 65,445 crore with higher allocation for safety measures

Proposed Pay Structure in the Final Memorandum of NC JCM to 7th CPC

Proposed Pay Structure in the Final Memorandum of NC JCM to 7th CPC

National Council JCM , Staff Side has finalised its Memorandum to be submitted to 7th Pay Commission and it has been posted in its website NCJCMstaffside.com for all central government employees. The Full Final Memorandum consists 98 pages and the download link is provided below this post

Chapter —VII
Proposed Pay Structure and Rate of Increment

In the preceding chapters we have dealt with the various principles of pay determination as was enunciated by the successive Pay Commissions. The 6 CPC introduced the new concept of Pay Band and Grade Pay. We are not able to comprehend any logical methodology having been adopted by the 6th CPC in constructing the Pay Band and Grade Pay. In the ultimate analysis, we found that there had been no uniform multiplication factor. It varied from 2.2 time to 3. The changes effected by the Government while implementing the recommendations of the 6th cpc further compounded the confusion and making t more irrational and arbitrary. The 6 cPC in their report stated that they have upgraded certain pay scales having appreciated the contention made by the employees organizations. They merged certain other pay scales in an effort to delayering the functions. But the new pay that emerged from such upgradation/merger was not equivalent to the higher pay scales in the said group. For instance, the erstwhile pay scales of Rs.5000-8000, 5500-9000 and 6500-10500 were merged. The multiplication factor for pay band construction was 1.86 times of the minimum. Therefore the pay band for the pre merged pay scales was determined to begin at Rs.9300/-. Having merged, the pay band must have begun at 12,090/-, i.e. 1.86 times of 6500/- in which the other pay scales were merged.

7.2 The manner in which the Grade pay was devised is also questionable. At the lower level the Grade Pay progresses @ Rs.100/- ,i.e. 1800, 1900, 2000, etc. The pay in the Band + Grade Pay at the entry level is 5200 + 1800 = 7000. An employee is entitled for 3% increment every year. He gets a financial benefit of Rs. 210 every year on account an increment whereas on promotion his grade pay gets increased by just Rs.100/. only. The Grade Pay was devised at 40% of the maximum of the pre revised time scale of pay. The maximum of any time scale of pay will depend upon the rate of increment and the span of the scale of pay. The ratio between the minimum and the maximum of all pay scales was not uniform, rather it could not be uniform. Therefore, prescribing Grade Pay as a percentage of such variable maximum, in our opinion, was erroneous. Normally fitment benefit represent the gap between pre revised minimum and the revised minimum. The 6th CPC recommendation of Grade Pay did not serve this purpose also. Having been expressed in absolute quantum amount it gave varied benefit in different pay bands as also at different stages in the same pay bands.

7.3 The Grade Pay system brought about various anomalies, which were raised at the NAC but found no resolution despite discussions on several occasions in the last 6 years. We are of the firm view that the 7” CPC should revert to the Pay Scale System which has been time tested. We have constructed the pay scales maintaining the relativities with the time scale of pay suggested by both 5’ and 6th cPC•

7.4 While constructing the pay scales we have taken the rate of increments at 5% instead of 3% presently available. We have done so on the ground that most of the PSUs including the banking industries provide the incremental rate at 5% and over a period of time it raises the salary level of the personnel. We therefore request that the 7th CPC may recommend the rate of annual increment at 5%. Incidentally we may also state that the uniform date of increment prescribed by the 6th CPC has encountered certain problems and anomalies. We, therefore, suggest that the 7th cpc may recommend, for administrative expediency, two specific dates as increment dates, Viz. 1st January and 1st  July. Those recruited/appointed/promoted during the period between l January and 30th June will have their increment date on 1stt January and those recruited/appointed/promoted between 1st July and 31st December will have it on 1st  July next year. This apart we request the Commission to specifically recommend that those who retire on 30th June or 31St December are granted one increment on the last day of their service.

7.5 We have also felt that a further reduction in the number of pay scales is needed. While constructing the pay scales we have removed those pay scales pertaining to Grade Pay of Rs.1900, 2400, 4600, 8700 and the scale of pay of Rs. 75500-80000. We are of the opinion that the instrument of Special Pay which was in operation earlier should be brought back to address the need of intermediary grades in certain organizations. The Associations and Federations representing the employees and officers of various departments and various categories will submit their memorandum indicating the pay scales to be assigned to the categories of the
employees and officers they represent taking into account the nature of functions assigned to those categories separately.

7.6 Presently, functional promotion is made to the next hierarchical position whereas MACP promotion ¡s Grade Pay based, irrespective of the fact whether a particular Grade Pay exist in the hierarchy or not in the concerned department. Our suggestion to reduce the number of pay scales go a great extent to obviate the difficulty encountered due to the dual system of promotion.

7.7 We have constructed open- ended pay scales. This is to ensure that no employee stagnates without increment. The pay of the Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary has been kept as a fixed amount as has been the recommendation of the 6th CPC. In consonance with our view on the need for further de-layering, we have suggested only 14 Pay scales indicating in the table the minimum of each of them. The said 14 pay scales are given below:

In Table 7.2, the corresponding pay scales of the 6” CPC recommended Grade Pay are given for reference.

Table No. 7.1.

Proposed pay scale minimum.

Sl. No.	Pay scale No.	Present PB	PB No.	Grade Pay	Proposed minimum of the pay scale.
1	S.1	5200-20200	PB.1	1800	26000
2	S-2	5200-20200	PB 1	2000	33000
3	S-3	5200-20200	PB 1	2800	46000
4	S-4	9300-34800	PB 2	4200	56000
5	S-5	9300-34800	PB 2	4800	74000
6	S-6	9300-34800	PB 2	5400	78000
7	S-7	15600-39100	PB 3	5400	88000
8	S-8	15600-39100	PB 3	6600	102000
9	S-9	15600-39100	PB 3	7600	120000
10	S-10	37400-67000	PB 4	8900	148000
11	S-11	37400-67000	PB 4	10000	162000
12	S-12	75500-80000	HAG	0	193000
13	S-13	80000( Fixed )	Apex scale.	0	213000
14	S-14	90000 (Fixed)	Cabinet Secy	0	240000

Table 7.2.

New Pay scale minimum

SL.No.	Grade pay of 6thCPC	Minimum of the  new pay scale
1	1800	26000
2	1900	31000
3	2000	33000
4	2400	41000
5	2800	46000
6	4200	56000
7	4600	66000
8	4800	74000
9	5400	78000
10	5400 in PB3	88000
11	6600	102000
12	7600	120000
13	8700	139000
14	8900	148000
15	10000	162000
16	12000	193000
17	75000-80000	202000
18	80000 fixed	213000
19	90000 fixed	240000

Download :FULL-FINAL-Memorandum of NC JCM