Rotational Transfer of Section Officers with more than 16 years of service in the same Ministry/Department

Rotational transfer policy was formulated by DOPT in respect of CSS Officers in all grades which was communicated recently by DOPT in its Office Memorandum 4/12/2011- CS-I(D) dated 02.03.2012, (Click here to read this Office Memorandum).

Now, in the first phase DOPT has come up with an implementation order  relating to the above mentioned Rotational Transfer policy, in which Section Officers also who have completed 16 years of service in the same Ministry or Department have been issued with transfer orders to different Ministry or department.

However, Section officers who have completed 16 years of service in one ministry or department but who are due for their superannuation within two years have been exempted from this rotational transfers.

This is the text of Office Memorandum F.No: 6/10/2012-CS-I (S) dated 05.03.2012 issued in this matter.

F. No. 6/10/2012-CS-I(S) 
Government of India 
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions 
Department of Personnel & Training

2nd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhavan, 
Khan Market, New Delhi. 
Dated the 5th March, 2012.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject:- Rotational Transfer of Section Officers with more than 16 years of service in the same Ministry/Department.

   The undersigned is directed to refer to this Department’s OM No. 21/7/2011-CS.I (D) dated 08th September, 2011 vide which the details of Section Officers who have completed more than 7 years in the same Ministry/Department in whatever capacity was sought in connection with Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1654 dated 10.08.2011. The information has since been received from Ministries/Departments and has been compiled. A decision has been taken in DOP&T to implement RTP in a systematic manner with the approval of the Competent Authority. The implementation schedule has been circulated to all the Ministries/Departments vide OM No. 4/12/2011- CS-I(D) dated 02nd March, 2012.

   2. In the first phase, after excluding those officers who are due to superannuation within two years, it is proposed to transfer the Section Officers as per Annexure-I & Annexure II, who have completed more than 16 years in the same Ministry/Department as on 01.01 .2012.

   3. Ministries/Departments and officers concerned may check the enclosed information and bring to the notice of this Department urgently if any other Section Officer with more than 16 years of service (excluding those who are due for superannuation within two years as on 01.01.2012) has been left out or if there is any other error/omission in the list.

   4. The officers indicated in annexure are requested to indicate their preferences for posting in the enclosed format Annexure-III which should reach CS-I Division by 9.03.2012. It may be noted that seeking option is only for the purpose of assisting this Department in deciding the posting and this should not in any way be construed as a right for claiming posting of choice. The option may be faxed at 24629414.

sd/- 
(Monica Bhatia) 
Director, CS-I

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS ORDER

Expenses for the training to be repaid if employee quits .

The Centre has made it mandatory for bureaucrats to execute a bond to pay back all expenses incurred by the government before taking up an advanced training programme, in case they leave the course or service mid-way.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has written to all states and Union Territories about inclusion of the new clause related to the bond for recommending officers to attend Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA).

“The officer selected for the APPPA programme will be required to execute a Bond prior to his/her joining the programme and submit the same to his/her Cadre Controlling Authority that he/she will serve the Government for a period of five years, or to repay the total expenses incurred on the training in the event of his/her resignation, voluntary retirement or quitting programme without completing,” Joint Secretary (Training), DoPT, Upma Srivastava said.

She said that the government’s directive will come into effect from 38th APPPA programme scheduled to begin in July.

The programme is aimed at imparting specialised training in courses related to disaster management, public expenditure management, economics of regulation, management systems and rural development among others.

The estimated cost of the course, which includes a short term foreign study visit, is about Rs 3.38 lakh.

According to a DoPT official, the move was taken after noting instances of officers leaving the training programme or courses for better options.

No . 12013 / 04/20 11-Trg(TNP-38, h APPPA)

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel . Public Grievances and Pensions

Department of Personnel and Training

(Training Di v is ion)

****

Block-IV,3rd Floor. Old JNU Campus,

New Delhi-II 0067

Dated 21″ February, 201 2

Subject: 38′h Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA)-2nd July 2012 to 31 st March 2013- inclusion of Bond condition reg.

****

In continuation of this Department’s Circular of even number dated 17th November 2011 on the above subject. It has now been decided with the approval of competent authority to include the following clause under terms and conditions of APPPA programme:

“THAT, in the event of APPPA participant failing to resume duty, or resigning or voluntarily retiring from service or otherwise quitting service, withouj returning to duty after expiry or termination of the period of training, OR failing to complete the training programme, OR quitting the service at any time within a period of FWE (5) years after the return to duty, he shall forthwith pay to the Government or as may be directed by the Government, on demand the said sum together with interest thereon from the date of demand at Government rates for the time being in force on Government loans. “

2. The officer selected for the APPPA programme will be required to execute a ‘ Bond’ (copy enclosed) prior to hislher joining the programme and submit the same to hislher Cadre Controlling Authority that he/she will serve the Government for a period of five years, or to repay the total expenses incurred on the training in the event of his/her resignation, voluntary retirement or quitting programme without completing. This will take effect from 38th APPPA programme.

(Upma Srivastava)

Joint Secretary to the Government of India

All India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers - AICPIN for the month of January, 2012

AICPIN for the month of January, 2012

Ministry of Labour & Employment

All India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers           
All India Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) on base 2001=100 for the month of January, 2012 increased by 1 point and stood at 198 (one hundred & ninety eight).

During January, 2012, the index recorded maximum increase of 9 points each in Haldia and Bhilai centres, 7 points  in Jamshedpur centre, 6 points each in Tiruchirapally and Srinagar centres, 5 points  in 2 centres, 4 points in 7 centres, 3 points in 7 centres, 2 points in 11 centres and 1 point in 18 centres. The index decreased by 3 points each in Rangapara Tezpur and Godavarikhani centres, 2 points each in Madurai and Mercara centres, 1 point in 8 centres, while in the remaining 16 centres the index remained stationary.

The maximum increase of 9 points in Haldia and Bhillai centres is mainly on account of Housing Index and increase in the prices of Wheat, Mustard Oil, etc. The increase of 7 points in Jamshedpur centre is mainly due to Housing Index and increase in the prices of Mustard Oil, Goat Meat, Vegetable & Fruit items, Tea (Readymade), Firewood, Soft Coke, Barber Charges, etc. The increase of 6 points in Tiruchirapally and Srinagar centres is mainly on account of Housing Index and increase in the prices of Rice, Wheat Atta, Mustard Oil, Milk, Vegetable & Fruit items, Tea (Readymade), etc. The decrease of 3 points in Rangapara Tezpur and Godavarikhani centres is due to decrease in the prices of Rice, Onion, Chillies Green, Vegetable items, etc. The decrease of 2 points in Madurai and Mercara centres is due to decrease in the prices of Rice, Wheat, Fish Fresh, Poultry (Chicken), Onion, Vegetable & Fruit items, etc.

The indices in respect of the six major centres are as follows :

1. Ahmedabad-192

2. Bangalore-200

3. Chennai-187

4. Delhi-181

5. Kolkata-184

6. Mumbai-199

The point to point rate of inflation based on CPI-IW (General) for the month of January, 2012 is 5.32% as compared to 6.49% in December, 2011. Inflation based on Food Index dipped to the level of 0.49% in January, 2012 as compared to 1.97% in December, 2011.

DA WILL BE DECIDED IN NEXT CABINET MEETING ON 15/03/2012.

Dearness Allowance for Central Government Employees and Pensioners...

Rate of additional Dearness Allowance from January 2012, Cabinet Ministry will decide in the next meeting which will be held on 15th March 2012...

DA from Jan 2012 – Cabinet will decide in the next meeting…

DA from Jan 2012 – Cabinet will decide in the next meeting wich is held on 15.03.2012 …

The additional Dearness allowance which is announced every six months by the Central Government to the Central Government employees and the Pensioners is based depending upon the price hike of essential commodities all over the nation.

The statistics of All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPIN-IW) is increased on account of the proportionate rise in twele-month as of December 2011,  regarding the additional DA to be announced from 1.1.2012, which is based on the price rise from July 2011 to Dec 2011 in about 70 selected areas throughout India. These calculation are done by the Labour Ministry and it was sent to the Finance Ministry and discussed in the meeting of the Cabinet Ministers. The decision is expected to be finalised in the next meeting.

DA from 1.1.2012 may increase 7% form the existing rate is expected. Now all the Central Government employees and pensioners are getting 58% from their basic pay (Pan in the pay band + Grade Pay), it will become as 65% from 1.1.2012. The minimum of the enhanced amount of DA will be Rs.500 to the existing employees.

After the final decision is taken from the Cabinet Committee, order will be issued by the Finance Ministry in the end of this month and the DA for the month of March will be included in the salary and the previous two month’s DA will be paid as arrears in the month of April 2012.

HAPPY HOLI

Dole cha Dolagovindam

Chape scha Madhusudanam

Rathe tu Bamanam drustwa

Punarjanma na bidyate.

wishing d day of divine grace & glory.

DOLA PURNIMARA SHRADHA,SHUVECHHA,AVINANDAN,PREMA O PRANAMA

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES , PURI DIVISION  WISHES A COLOURFUL DOLA &  HOLI TO ALL ITS MEMBERS AND ALL THE BROTHERS  AND SISTERS OF POSTAL FAMILY PURI DIVISION . 


SECRETARY
G.C.PRATIHARI

Speed Post, money orders may get costlier

India’s department of posts has proposed to raise tariffs for most of its services, including Speed Post, money orders, postcards and inland letters, by 15-20% for the first time in 10 years to cover increased costs of printing and transportation.

File Photo

The new tariffs are expected to be implemented by April and will generate additional revenue of Rs. 1,000 crore for the department, according to two department of posts officials, who declined to be named.
“The last time the rates were increased was in 2002. Since then, the cost of printing and transportation has gone up significantly; the tariffs need to be hiked significantly,” one of them said.
The proposal has been approved by the seven-member Postal Commission that decides on policies. The Postal Commission is headed by the secretary of the department of posts. The commission has approved the tariff increases and has forwarded the proposal to Sachin Pilot, junior minister in the ministry of communications and information technology, for approval.




The increase in tariff for Speed Post can be implemented once the minister approves it. Hikes in tariff for the most of the other services need a change in the Postal Act.
The postal department has been running at a loss for a number of years. Its deficit widened to Rs. 5,632.46 crore in the year ended 31 March 2010 from Rs.3,593.09 crore the previous year, Gurudas Kamat, a former minister of state for communications and information technology, had told Parliament in reply to a question.
The latest deficit numbers were not available.
The deficit had increased substantially because of an increase in salaries and pension because of the implementation of Sixth Pay Commission.
“The main reason (for the deficit) is that the rates of most of the postal services do not reflect the market price as they are subsidized to make them within the reach of common man and to the remotest area of the country,” Kamat had said.
In recent years, the postal department has started a number of services—including ePost, railway ticket vending and the sale of gold coins—to increase revenue and stay relevant in the age of email.
EPost is a hybrid mail service through which as many as 992,000 messages were sent until November, earning the department Rs. 81.07 lakh. Between January and October 2011, it earned Rs. 2.04 crore as commission by selling 1.37 million railway tickets through post offices, and Rs. 6.25 crore by selling 591.4kg of gold coins in 2011.

Postal ballot system needs improvement: experts

While electronic voting machines (EVMs) have replaced paper ballots in India, little has been done to change the old postal ballot system, which is at the centre of a raging controversy in Uttarakhand, experts and top officials today said.

"This is an old age system where we feel that a lot of improvement can be done. It can be done by bringing new software or electronic gadgets that will allow the armed personnel to cast their votes from the place of their posting," said Anil Jaggi, an IT expert here.Despite being a costly affair, the Election Commission has not taken steps to improve the postal ballot system for the armed forces, officials said. The cost of a postal ballot is roughly around Rs 100 per ballot that includes the postage which is to be paid by the state government.

"So far, politicians in our state have not shown any interest to improve the postal ballot system in the state," said a top official of the state election commission.

As a war of words escalated between BJP and Congress over the postal ballot issue in Uttarakhand, the election commission last month had put the onus on the army for the large number of undelivered postal ballots.

The ruling BJP, which banks on the support of army personnel, had asked the commission to clear the air on the controversy pertaining to the undelivered postal ballots.

This time, over 1.19 lakh people including one lakh army personnel are casting their votes through ballot papers and those which reach the counting centre till 8am of March 6 will be taken in account.

Experts said the postal ballots could play a crucial role in as many as 20 constituencies out of the total 70 in the hill state where assembly elections were held on January 30.

Since the time period between the polling and the counting is very long, the election commission is expecting the polling percentage of the postal ballots to be heavy.

Meanwhile, even as BJP general secretary Dharmendra Paradhan, who is incharge of the party affairs in the hill state, accused railways and postal department of not delivering the postal ballots, Congress today slammed the BJP for raking up the issue.

"BJP knows that it has already lost the race. So, it is enacting the drama to distract the people's attention from real issues," said Surendra Kumar, a state Congress spokesman.

In the past, Congress had alleged that postal ballots had marred the chances of their candidates including that of senior Congress leader Satpal Maharaj in the 2008 Pauri Lok Sabha by-election.

India gives globe tips on UID

The unique identification project is yet to take off fully in India, but it has created an international buzz. A number of countries have shown interest in the project, which now consists of the world's largest biometric database of 13 crore people, surpassing the US immigration

department's database of 11.4 crore people.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is assisting the government of Papua New Guinea, a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean close to Australia, in starting a national identity scheme. Two UIDAI officials — deputy director general BB Nanawati and additional director general Anup Kumar — spent a week there this January to guide the country's government in providing biometric identity to its residents.

Papua New Guinea's high commissioner in New Delhi E Tarcisius said the project will help track students and will be part of the country's inclusive growth strategy. "We haven't had any identification programme so far," he said.

The authority had also provided inputs to Mauritius, Australia, Indonesia, France and Columbia on the project.

The UIDAI has enrolled a million people every day, but only four crore Indians have got their Aadhaar numbers because of the postal department's constraints in dispatching them.

RS Sharma, director general of the UIDAI, said collecting biometric details of over a billion people for just $3 (Rs 150) per person is unimaginable for many. The same cost 130 Euro (Rs 8,500) per person in the UK.

"The magnitude and the flawlessness of the project have caught the attention of people worldwide. They now say biometric collection has three phases — pre-9/11, post-9/11 and post-UIDAI," Sharma told HT

Indians abroad can now file online RTI application

The first step to seek online information from the government under the Right To Information Act has been taken.

Banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India, has allowed sale of electronic postal orders to Indian citizens living abroad through their credit and debit cards. "The 

facility will be used only for payment of fees under the RTI Act," says an order issued by RBI.

The facility available only for Indians living abroad would soon be extended to domestic citizens. "It is only matter of time before the government extends the facility to citizens living in India," said a senior government department.  

The RTI activists have been demanding online filing of application to reduce cost of seeking information from the government. A study by National Campaign for People's Right To Information had found that a person spends about Rs 220 for filing an RTI application with a government department.

"By providing online facility this cost will reduce dramatically," said Commodore (retired) Lokesh Batra, who had filed several RTI applications on the problems faced by Indians living abroad in using the transparency law since 2008. 

Till now, the Indians living abroad were allowed to file RTI applications with the Indian embassies and high commissions only. Many embassies and high commissioners had expressed their inability to accept a large number of RTI applications citing resource crunch.

Payment of the RTI fees of Rs 10 per application was the biggest hurdle in filing RTI applications as postal orders are not available outside India and fees in foreign currency was not accepted by many Indian missions.

With the new facility, the hurdle has been removed and the non-resident Indians will be able to submit RTI applications through an email with the respective Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs).

To make the system work, the CPIOs will be required to reply through email. Public information officers of RBI, Prime Minister's Office and the Planning Commission provide replied through email. "Others (CPIOs) will to follow suit," a government official said.

The department of posts has an international money transfer facility and would soon be providing electronic postal orders to facilitate online filing of applications from abroad. The way to make the facility seamless has been discussed by postal department minister Kapil Sibal and minister for personnel V Narayanasamy, mandated to implement the RTI Act.

Foreign Post Office to be set up at VALLEY .

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The Postal Department will set up a ‘Foreign Post Office’ in Kashmir valley to facilitate export and import of goods from the state.

“Many organisations in the valley have been demanding the functioning of a full-fledged Foreign Post Office in Srinagar, and we have decided that a Sub-Foreign Post Office will start functioning at Srinagar soon,” Cheif Post Master General, JK Circle, John Samuel told reporters here.

He said the space for the Foreign Post Office has been provided by Jammu and Kashmir government at Kashmir Haat, in the city, which will help exporters to import and export their goods through Post Office.

“The Foreign Post Office will have staff from the Customs Department who will check the exports on the spot and once customs has cleared the consignment, it will be directly sent to addresses outside India,” Samuel said.

He said the Foreign Post Offices are only provided in metro cities around the country, but Srinagar has been chosen as a ‘special case’.

The Chief Post Master General also announced that two new post offices will be set-up at Nowapora in the frontier Baramulla district and at Lal Bazar in Srinagar.

“The post office at Nowapora near Uri will be the closest post office to Line Of Control (LoC),” Samuel said.

He said the new post offices will be computerised and will provide all postal facilities including Speed Post, Registered Post and financial services.

He said ten post offices in and around Srinagar will be modernised in next three months and will be provided computerised and customer friendly facilities.

STILL 25 PAISE ; THE ORDINARY PEOPLE'S COMMUNICATION MODE .

One of the leading humor writers in Malayalam – Shri N Goplakrishnan – has defined a cardiologist as one who writes letters only on post “cards”! He describes himself as one of the leading cardiologists in his home town!

            There is a little magazine in Malayalam called “Innu” (meaning “today”) which is published only as a letter card. It has now entered the 30^th year of its publication, with the letter card being posted more than 10,000 subscribers all over the world!!

            Here follows a collection of facts concerning the post card, the letter card and the art and science of Deiltology.

The Post Card

            In official terms, the post card can be defined as a type of open communication written on a card of prescribed size. The common dimensions of the card are 14  × 9 cm.

Post cards are commonly available in two varieties – either as a single card for just sending a communication or as a set of two attached cards – one for the outgoing communication and the other for the receiver of the card for immediately sending a reply. The replier cannot delay the return communication since the card has already been paid for by the initiator of the correspondence!

One of the little known information about the post card is that they can be used for transmission within India only. An individual or institution can also print cards for communication of messages among their staff or consumers. Such privately manufactured post cards should also follow the dimensions of the official post cards. They should not be thinner or more flexible than an embossed post card, and they should have the same size and thickness of embossed post card.

History of Indian Post Card

            The quarter anna post card was introduced for the first time by the Indian Post Office in July 1879. This was meant to provide postage from one place to another within British India. This was the cheapest form of post provided to the Indian people to date and proved a huge success.

The establishment of a large postal system spanning India resulted in unprecedented postal access where a message on a postcard could be sent from one part of the country to another part (often to a physical address without a nearby post office) without additional postage affixed. This was followed in April 1880 by postcards meant specifically for government use and by reply post cards in 1890. The postcard facility continues to this date in Independent India.

Post Cards Elsewhere

            The private postal card was developed by John P. Charlton of Philadelphia in 1861 for which he obtained the copyright which was later transferred to H.L. Lipman. The cards were adorned with a small border and labeled "Lipman's Postal Card, Patent Applied For".  They were on the market until 1873 when the first Government Postcards appeared.

The United States issued pre-stamped postal cards in 1873.  The United States Postal Service was the only one allowed to print the cards until May 19, 1898 when Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act which then allowed private firms to produce cards.  The private mailing cards cost one cent to mail instead of the letter rate which was two cents.  The term "Private Mailing Card" was required to be printed on cards that were not printed by the United States Postal Service.  Only the government was allowed to print the word "Postcard" on the back of postcards.  Private printers used the terms, Souvenir Card, Correspondence Cards and Mail Cards. 

Inland Letter Card

            The Inland Letter card is different from the post card in that here the communication is not open. In order to see what is written one will have to open the flaps of the inland letter card. What is written on a post card can be seen by every one who handles the card.

            Technically, the inland letter card is a communication contained on a sheet of paper with prescribed size & folding. Inland letter card is also used for transmission within India only. For sending messages to foreign countries one will have to make use of special inland letter cards of higher values called the aerogramme.

            The Malayalam magazine Innu (meaning today) is printed entirely on such an inland letter card. It contains every thing from poems to editorials to cartoons to letters to the editor that can be seen in a full size magazine – but in the smallest scale imaginable!! 

Dieltology

Deltiology is the study and collection of post cards. Professor Randall Rhoades of Ashland, Ohio, coined a word in 1945 that became the accepted description of the study of picture postcards.

Worldwide, deltiology is thought to be the third largest hobby after stamp collecting and coin/banknote collecting. Postcards are popular because just about every subject imaginable has been, at one time or another, pictured on a postcard.  History itself can be tracked on postcards, from famous buildings, important personalities, various art forms, and many more subjects like these.

However, Compared to philately (the systematic collection of postage stamps), the identification of the place and time of production of a post card can often be an almost impossible task. This is mainly because postcards, unlike stamps, are produced in a largely unregulated manner.

Because of this many collectors often limit their acquisitions to cards by specific artists and publishers, or by time and location.

One of the most popular specializations in dieltology refers to town views. These refer to actual scenes from a particular town or region. Most of these collectors centre around the views of the town where the collector reside or the town where he or she grew up.

Preserving Your Post Card Collections – Some Tips

·         The major enemies of post cards are fire, humidity, dirt, sunlight, mold, and bugs. It is best to keep your collection safe in a deposit box, that is cool, dry and dark.

·         Do not use albums with plastic sleeves. This Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) substance will cause chemical damage to antique paper if left for long periods of time.

·         If descriptions of individual post cards have to be noted for exhibition purposes it must be ensured that it is done using pencil. Do not use tapes or such material to attach post cards to exhibition panels.

·         When exhibiting old post cards special care has to be taken that they are never exposed to direct