Teachers in Maharashtra on strike from July 14

Around 30,000 University and college teachers across Maharashtra will go on indefinite 'cease work' strike from tomorrow demanding implementation of 6th pay Commission and regularisation of around 10,000 teachers affected by NET/SET from 1991 and 2000 among others.
The teachers are forced to hold `cease work', as the promises made in the Legislative council on June 4 are not being fulfilled, secretary of Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers' organizations (MFUCTO)Prof Tapati Mukhopadhayay told reporters.
Tomorrow the `cease work' will begin at 6.30 am and "the metropolis is already on the move and the teachers are determined to get the genuine benefits due to them from the government, she said.This is also to express their resent and protest against the state government's failure to implement its several long pending demands.
Under the banner of the MFUCTO, a conglomeration of 10 teachers' unions in the state, the teachers will stop working from tomorrow for an indefinite time, the Federation president Prof C R Sadasivan said.On June 4, the Minister for higher and technical education Rajesh Tope assured in the Legislative council to implement 6th pay commission recommendations for university and college teachers by mid-July.If implemented, the teachers will get a 30 per cent hike and the arrears for the last three years that comes to a total of around Rs 1500 crore.
"The strike is to make the government realise that our demands like implementation of 6th Pay Commission, resolving the long-pending demands of the academic community including the problem of National Eligibility Test (NET) and State Eligibility Test (SET) qualification condition wrongly introduced on about 10,000 teachers retrospectively are to be taken seriously by the state," Sadasivan said.
The Maharashtra state has not implemented Sixth pay Commission revised pay scales for teachers in spite of Central financial assistance communicated through directions of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and University Grants Commission to do so and pay 40 per cent of arrears immediately and claim the amount by March 31 this year, he said.
The teachers Federation also demanded for uniform leave package which was advocated by the UGC and other demands which were due from 5th pay commission."We are also opposing corrupt practices in admissions, which denies the interest of merit-based admission in the universities and colleges," he said.
MFUCTO president said that the Federation sent a series of letters from February 2009, to Maharashtra Minister for Higher and Technical Education, Tope, the Secretary in the Department J S Saharia, and copy to the Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.The Federation has sent their letters of original Movement in April and in June and even gave a call of mass casual leave on July 6 to make the government realise their demands.
"Since there was no response from the government, we have decided to go on strike. But we want to make it clear that we wanted to avoid the indefinite 'cease work' because it will have far reaching impact on the academic calendar and student community when the universities and colleges have begun the academic year 2009-10," Mukhopadhayay said."It is still not late for the government to invite us for debate, " he said.
It is unfortunate that the Minister has promised the teachers on the floor of the House that he will take up the issue immediately and introduce a Government Resolution, but alleged that the bureaucracy is determined to create obstacles to the process, Sadasivan added.Meanwhile, the officials from the Department of higher and technical education said the teachers have been already told that the matter is under consideration.
Source: Samaylive

Railway Minister addresses General Managers’ Conference

MINISTER CALLS UPON GMs TO TAKE ALL POSSIBLE MEASURES TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MONITORING COMMITTEES TO BE SET UP FOR PROJECTS

The Minister of Railways Kumari Mamata Banerjee has called upon General Managers of Zonal Railways to take all possible measures to further improve all aspects of Railway operations specifically catering, cleanliness, punctuality, safety and security on the Railways as well as take care of social and economic obligations. Addressing a two-day conference of the General Managers of all Zonal Railways and Production Units here today, the Railway Minister said that all Zonal Railways should be more active in ensuring the safety and security of the passengers as the Railways operate round the clock and visible to all.

The Minister said that there is a need of continuous monitoring mechanism to improve the punctuality performance in all Zonal Railways. Kumari Mamata Banerjee further said that quite often there are complaints of delay in completion of on-going railway projects. She said that projects should be completed in a time bound manner and accordingly tenders etc., should be finalized and floated in time.

She said that the budget allocation should be properly spent on the projects and the fund should not remain unspent. She further said that there is a need to make concerned officers accountable and responsible for the delay of projects. She also advised to constitute a monitoring committee at each zone consisting of all core concerned departments to ensure effective implementation of the projects.

She also called upon GMs to commercially utilize railway’s vacant land to mobilize the resource especially through Private Public Partnership model in areas like developing world class stations. She said that Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) needs to be more effective to ensure proper utilization of vacant railway land and land bank should be improved.

Talking out the beautification of railway stations/premises, the Railway Minister said that local touch like local art, paintings and traditional symbols and designs should also be given due place in addition to national level things to make the station premises more attractive with regional/traditional look. Kumari Mamata Banerjee further said that railway employees are the assets of the Indian Railways and are the backbone of this vast organization. They need to be attended to properly and their welfare should be a priority.

It is in this context that Railways will be providing its vacant land for setting up of medical colleges and schools for the benefit of the children of railway employees along with general public. She said that vigilance departments of Railways should play more active and effective role in order to ensure more transparency and an efficient corruption free system in the Railways.

She also emphasized the need to further improve functioning of Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs). The Minister of State for Railways, Shri K.H.Muniyappa in his address pointed out that world is facing a global economic slowdown which is affecting not only industry but transportation sector as well. Though there some visible signs of economic recovery Railways need to really work hard to achieve the targets set for the current year and also the 11th plan targets which are very steep, he added.

He also said that though the number of consequential train accidents have reduced considerably in the first three months of current years, it is necessary that accidents on account of factors within railway control be curbed at all costs. He emphasized the need to provide adequate security and safety to the passengers and to evolve public awareness campaign at a large scale in this regard.

He said that Railways are committed to provide protection to passengers at both stations and on trains. Women RPF (Railway Protection Force) squads need to be deployed for security of women passengers particularly in sections where a large number of women travel alone regularly, Shri Muniyappa said. While addressing the GMs conference, the Minister of State for Railways Shri Shri E.Ahamed said that Railway Budget 2009-10 has addressed many expectations of the people with more concern for the traveling public in general and the down trodden in particular.

However, he said that there are areas of concern like time and cost overruns in project implementation, cleanliness of railway premises and present trend of thefts on trains. He said that vital projects need to be monitored and reviewed and every delay explained and addressed right from tendering stage to project completion.

Whereas cleanliness of railway premises is concerned, there is a need to evolve a system of tendering whereby only competent, committed and sincere agencies are selected. He called upon the GMs to organize more decoy checks and take all necessary steps to identify anti-social elements frequenting trains and stations. Chairman, Railways Board, Shri S.S.Khurana also addressed the conference. Also present on the occasion were the Members Railway Board and other senior officials of the Ministry of Railways. Safety performance, punctuality performance, freight loading, production and quality of output improvement of catering, cleanliness etc, are some of the major issues being discussed during the two-day conference.

Shortage of personnel in paramilitry forces

There is a shortage of personnel in paramilitary forces in the country. The details are under:-

Force	Percentage of Shortage at the entry point
	Officer Grade	Sepoy
Assam Rifles	1	Nil
BSF	19.02	5.97
CISF	30.96	11.19
CRPF	17.10	1.69
ITBP	41.98	13.69
NSG*	37.28	9.97
SSB	1	9

Recruitment in Central Para Military Forces is an ongoing process with the help of UPSC, SSC and Force recruitment boards. Recruitment Centres for constables exist in various States to ensure that no part of the country is neglected and regular recruitment takes place periodically so that maximum number of vacancies are filled up.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shri Ajay Maken, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

Railways make special provision for disabled persons

To permit easy access to the disabled persons, Railways have made special provisions like standard ramps, non-slippery walkways, wheelchairs, earmarked parking lots for vehicles used by disabled persons, signage etc., at ‘A-1’ and ‘A’ category Railway Stations and planned for completion such facilities at ‘B’ category stations by March 2010.

Toilets and water taps suitable for needs of the disabled passengers, ‘May I Help You’ booths etc., have also been provided at such Stations/Platforms. Railways have also planned to provide facility of inter platform transfer and engraving on edges of platforms. Inter platform transfer facility has been planned by way of connecting all the platforms at the stations through Foot Over Bridge subway with ramps or by providing lift at each platform to connect Foot Over Bridge subway. A work for provision of 50 escalator/lifts has been sanctioned for major stations of all zonal railways.

Indian Railways also have about 1600 passenger coaches which have a separate compartment specially designed for wheel chair borne passengers. These compartments have facilities like wider entrance door, wider aisle and knee space to permit easy movement of wheel chair, toilets adapted to need of such passengers, arrangements for securing wheel chair during the journey etc.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Ministry of Railways, Shri K. H. Muniyappa in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Revised Tatkal Scheme from 1st August 2009

As per the announcement made in the Railway Budget 2009-10, Advance Reservation Period (ARP) for Tatkal Scheme has already been revised from 5 days to 2 days for journeys commencing from August 1, 2009. Action has also been initiated to make this scheme available destination-wise and for levying of revised minimum Tatkal charges.

All accommodation including general and Tatkal accommodation is meant for general passengers with the only difference of Advance Reservation Period. Creation of additional reserved accommodation is a continuous process for which Railways run new trains, augment the load of existing trains, run special trains, etc.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Ministry of Railways, Shri K. H. Muniyappa in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Vice President to give away prizes of the 21st National Youth Parliament Competition for Kendriya Vidyalayas

Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India will be the Chief Guest at the Prize Distribution Function of the 21st National Youth Parliament Competition, 2008-2009 for Kendriya Vidyalayas being held tomorrow in New Delhi and will give away the prizes to the winners of the Competition.

The students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, CLRI, Chennai, which stood first in the competition, will present a short sitting of “Youth Parliament” on the occasion.The Vidyalayas and students who secured positions in the competitions will be awarded, shields, trophies and certificates during the Prize Distribution Function. The Running Parliamentary Shield and Trophy for standing first at National Level will be awarded to Kendriya Vidyalaya, CLRI, Chennai. Besides, trophies will also be awarded to 5 Vidyalayas which stood first in their respective zones and 12 Vidyalayas which stood first in their respective regions. Under the scheme of Youth Parliament, 21st National Youth Parliament Competition for Kendriya Vidyalayas in the series was organized during 2008-2009 with 90 schools participating.

The competition was held in two stages, first at the regional level and then at the national level. The position of regional winner was determined on the basis of evaluation of performance for the national level. The Vidyalayas, which stood first in their respective regions, then competed at the national level.

Teams of judges which inter-alia included MPs/Ex-MPs alongwith officers of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan evaluated the presentations. On the basis of the evaluation, Kendriya Vidyalaya, CLRI, Chennai was declared winner at the National Level. Youth Parliament Competition was started by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in the schools under the Directorate of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi and NDMC in1966.

In 1978, Kendriya Vidyalayas situated in and around Delhi were included in the competition alongwith the Delhi schools. In 1988, a separate National Youth Parliament Scheme for Kendriya Vidyalayas was introduced as a part of the celebrations of 40 years of India’s Independence and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth centenary. In 1997-98, two more national competitions, one for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and the other for Universities and Colleges were introduced as a part of the celebrations to commemorate 50 years of India’s Independence.

The Youth Parliament Scheme aims at inculcating the spirit of self-discipline, tolerance of diverse opinion, righteous expression of views and other virtues of democratic way of life in the younger generation. Besides the scheme also acquaints the students with the practices and procedures of Parliament, techniques of discussion and debate and develops in them the quality of leadership.

Backlog of Schedule Tribes (ST) Vacancies

The Ministry is aware about tribal backlog in various Departments of Central Government and services of Public Sector Undertakings. A special recruitment drive has been launched to fill up the backlog reserved vacancies. Some vacancies reserved for the Scheduled Tribes remain unfilled for the reasons like non-availability of suitable candidates, gap between arising of a vacancy and its filling up etc.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Supreme Court panel seeks three-fold pay hike for trial court judges

In what could be the biggest ever salary hike for lowly-paid trial court judges, the Supreme Court-appointed National Judicial Pay Commission (NJPC) has proposed more than three-fold jump in their pay that translates to a monthly increase of Rs 20,000 at the entry level. Less than three months after being appointed head of the second NJPC, Justice E.Padmanabhan, a former judge of the Madras HC, submitted his report to the SC proposing an average 3.07-fold hike in the existing salaries that was recommended by the first NJPC in 1999.

The recommendations of the first NJPC headed by Justice Jagannatha Shetty had entitled civil judge (junior division) starting salary of Rs 11,775, civil judge (senior division) Rs 15,200, district judge (entry level) Rs 20,800 and district judge (super time scale) Rs 23,850. With the increase proposed by the second NJPC, the starting salary of a civil judge (junior division) is expected to be around Rs 35,000, a hike of nearly Rs 24,000. As per Justice Padmanabhan’s recommendations, salary of civil judge (senior division) would be around Rs 45,000, which means a hike of around Rs 30,000. Similarly, the salary of district judge (entry level) would be around Rs 60,000 and that of DJ (super time scale) Rs 70,000.

The logic given by Justice Padmanabhan, after extensive research and hearing of parties almost on a daily basis, was that the first NJPC had recommended salaries of the lower judiciary keeping in view the then salaries of HC judges which was fixed at Rs 26,000 and that of HC CJ at Rs 30,000, SC judges at Rs 30,000 and CJI at Rs 33,000.

However, with the CJI and SC and HC judges getting more than three-fold hike in their salaries, the second NJPC thought of applying the same logic for trial court judges. The salary structure for the higher judiciary got changed with retrospective effect, as the government in January this year agreed to revise the salary of HC judges to Rs 80,000, HC Chief Justices Rs 90,000, SC judges Rs 90,000 and CJI Rs 1 lakh. The appointment of the second judicial pay commission had come through a judicial order of the apex court on April 30 in an application filed by the All India Judges Association.

Source: The Economics Times

Reserve Bank of India move to roll back on 79-yr-old's pension stayed

A Reserve Bank of India circular seeking to roll back an enhanced pension to a 79-year-old man, who had put in 36 years of service in the RBI, was stayed by the Madras high court on Thursday. D Balakrishna Gupta joined the RBI as a clerk in 1951.

He retired as staff officer in 1987, having put in more than 36 years of service. Since he had opted for a pension scheme , he was getting a gross amount of Rs 10,983 as pension. In September 2003, through an administrative circular, the RBI upwardly revised the pension of Gupta and informed him that he would get a gross amount of Rs 14,552.

But after five years, in October 2008, the RBI sent a letter to Gupta informing him that the pension enhancement made in 2003 was impermissible under the RBI Pension Regulations 1990, and that the rise was being withdrawn. Shocked, Gupta moved the high court, stating that the bank was not fair in unilaterally withdrawing the hike, that too with immediate effect. Once a pension was updated and revised, the RBI cannot again reduce it to the initial amount, he said. He was also not given any opportunity to explain his position before passing the impugned order, he submitted.

Acceding to the submissions, Justice V Ramasubramanian granted interim stay on the operation of the impugned letter of the RBI, and posted the matter to June 15 for further proceedings.

Source: Times of India

ACP ORDER ONLY AFTER GENERAL ELECTIONS

ELECTION COMMISSION

RETURNED

THE ACP FILE

ACP ORDER

ONLY AFTER

GENERAL ELECTIONS

Declaration of holiday on 14th April, 2009 - Birthday of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

F.No.12/6/2009-JCA-2

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

(Department of Personnel & Training)

******

North Block,New Delhi
Dated the 2nd April, 2009

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject : Declaration of holiday on 14th April, 2009 - Birthday of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar


It has been decided to declare Tuesday, the 14th April, 2009 as a Closed Holiday on account of the birthday of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, for all Central Government Offices including industrail establishments throughout India.

2. The above holiday is also being notified in exercise of the powers conferred by section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act of 1881 (26 of 1881)

3. All Ministries / Departments of Government of India may bring the above decision to the notice of all concerned.

(Dinesh Kapila)

Deputy Secretary to the Govt. of India

First working day of the year will be treated to have completed 6 months of service on first of July –Order from Finance Ministry

F.No.1/1/2008-IC

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Expenditure Implementation Cell

New Delhi, dated the 13th March, 2009

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Date of next increment in cases where Government servants are not able join posts in a particular grade pay on promotion/appointment on 1st of January of a year due to Sunday or Gazetted Holiday – Clarification regarding.

As per the provisions of Rule 10 of CCS (RP) Rules, 2008, w.e.f. 1.1.2006, in the case of all Central Government employees there is a uniform date of increment, i.e. 1st July of every year.
Government servants completing six months and above in the revised pay structure as on 1st of July are eligible to be granted the increment. From the above provision of CCS (RP) Rules it flows that Government servants who have rendered less than 6 months of service as on 1st of July of a year will not be eligible to draw increment on that day and their date of increment will fall 12 months later on the next 1st of July.

Accordingly, all the Government servants who join posts in a particular grade on account of promotion / appointment etc., on 1st of January of a year will be eligible to draw their annual increment on the 1st of July of that year. However, those who join the posts between 2nd January and 30th June, will not be eligible for the same. In the light of the above position, some administrative departments have sought clarification from this Department regarding date of next increment in cases where Government servants are not able join posts in a particular grade pay on promotion / appointment on 1st of January of a year due to 1st of January falling on a Sunday or Gazetted holiday.

In this connection, it is clarified that in the normal course, if a Government servant was to join post in a grade pay on appointment / promotion on 1st of January of the year happened to be a Sunday or Gazetted holiday, the Government servants who join posts on the 1st working day of the year will be treated to have completed 6 months of service on 1st of July of that year for the purpose of granting them annual increment on that day.

(ALOK SAXENA)

DIRECTOR

An Office Memorandum has been issued by Finance Ministry

An order has been issued by Finance Ministry today regarding Dearness Allowance.

As per the said O.M., Dearness Allowance has been increased from 16% to 22%.

All Central Government Employees have to wait till April to get the arrears as it has been
Ordered that arrears for the month of January 2009 and February 2009 shall not be payable before the disbursement of salary for the month of March 2009.

Click to view the O.M.

Related Posts:

O.M. has been released by Central Board of Direct Taxes...

O.M. has been released by Central Board of Direct Taxes...

Government of India, Ministry of Finance

CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES

Directorate of Income Tax (Human Resource Development)

ICADR Building, Plot No.6, Vasant Kunj Institutional Area Phase-II

New Delhi - 110070.

Telefax 26130594, Tel. 26130592
dated 6th March, 2009th F.No. HRD/CM/175/15/2008-09/324

Clarification on grant of Grade Pay of Rs. 5400 in PB-2 on non-functional basis to Income Tax Officersof Income Tax Department

To,All Chief Commissioners of Income Tax (CCA)

All Director Gererals of Income Tax

Sir / Madam,

I am directed to invite your attention to Government of India, Department of Expenditure resolution No. 1/1/2008-1Cdated 29th August 2008 notifying acceptance of recommendations of 6th Central Pay Commission, wherein it was dicidedto grant Grade Pay of Rs. 5400 in PB-2 on non-functional basis to Group B officers of Income Tax Department (i.e. Income Tax Officers) after 4 years of regular service in the grade pay of Rs.4800 in PB-2. The relevant portion of Section II, part C, FirstSchedule of the notification No. GSR 622(E) dated 29th August is reproduced below:-

2. Clarifications have been sought by many field formations, individual officers as well as employees association (ITGOA) on how the period of 4 yesrs is to be counted for this purpose. i.e. whether the period of 4 years of regular service is to be countedfrom the date of promotion in the grade fo Income Tax Officers or from the date when the pay scale of Income Tax Officers was revised from Rs. 6500 - 10500 (pre-revised) to Rs. 7500 - 12000 (pre-revised), i.e., from 21st April 2004.

Post	Present Scale	Reivised Pay Scale	Corresponding Pay Band and Grade Pay
			Pay Band	Grade Pay
Income Tax Officers	7500 - 12000	7500 - 12000 8000 - 13500 (after 4 years)	PB - 2 PB - 2	4800 5400

3.The issue has been examined in the Board. It is hereby clarified that all Income Tax Officers, who have completed 4 yearsor more of regular service in the grade of Income Tax Officers as on 1st January 2006 would be entitled to the grade pay of Rs. 5400 in PB-2 on non-functional basis on 1st January 2006, irrespective of the fact that pay scale of Income Tax Officersstood revised to Rs. 7500 - 12000 from 21st April 2004. Further, after 1st January 2006, grade pay of Rs. 5400 in PB-2 on non-functional basis would be granted to an Income Tax Officers on completion of 4 years of regular service in the grade of Income Tax Officer.Yours sincerely, (Praveen Kishore)Joint Director of Income Tax (HRD) New Delhi

Madhya Pradesh is going to implement 6th CPC…

The recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission will be implemented by Madhya Pradesh Government with effect from January 2006.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared that the state government employees are entitled to get the benefits of the Pay Commission's recommendations with effect from January 1, 2006.

According to an official statement, such recommendations will benefit around 500,000 state government employees. While the mode of payment for benefits from Jan 1, 2006, to Aug 31, 2008, is yet to be decided by the government, the benefits from Sep 1, 2008, to Feb 28, 2009, will be disbursed with the salary payable on coming April 1.

Chouhan further went on to say that the arrears for the period from 1st Sept, 2008 to 28th Feb, 2009, would be paid in April 2009 itself. The official statement declared that the decision is certainly helpful for around three lakh (300,000) pensioners. There will be a proportionate increase in salaries of government school teachers and panchayat secretaries from April 1, 2009.

BRIEF ON EX-SERVICEMEN CONTRIBUTORY HEALTH SCHEME

BRIEF ON EX-SERVICEMEN CONTRIBUTORY HEALTH SCHEME
(ECHS)
Preamble
1.This Brief is set out as given below, and is only a preliminary guideline for information of the environment/members joining the ECHS. This Brief provides progress on the ECHS as on 01 September 2003, and must be referred to in conjunction with “Frequently Asked Questions” issued by the Central Organisation ECHS in August 2003. A detailed booklet on the scheme will be prepared in due course, once procedures are formally approved by the GOI/MOD: -

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BDR gets raise, BSF to follow

Bangladesh Rifles soldiers are reported to have got a raise today, just over a week after the mutiny that shook their country and stunned the world, and Indian paramilitary forces are also on their way to getting better allowances.

The Sheikh Hasina government in Dhaka today increased the border area allowance for BDR soldiers cutting across ranks, intelligence sources said. “We have received reports that the allowance was raised from Taka 260 to Taka 500,” a source said.

Hasina also agreed to the demand of “full rationing” for the 200-year-old force, bringing it on a par with the army, the sources said. So far, the BDR’s rations would be about 60 per cent of the army’s.

In India, the disparity in rations between the paramilitary forces and the army was rectified by the Sixth Pay Commission last year.

However, some of the demands of the BDR mutineers, who killed the army officers leading them allegedly over disparities in pay and perks, echo those put forward by Indian paramilitary forces.

One that has been repeatedly raised is that of the hard area allowance that army soldiers receive in difficult service conditions but paramilitary men fighting shoulder-to-shoulder do not.

The pay commission approved the hard area and risk allowances for the paramilitary forces, but left it to the home ministry to decide the quantum. The cabinet committee on security also gave its in-principle sanction recently.
Yesterday, home ministry officials sat through a presentation on the issue from paramilitary forces. The Centre has also set up a committee headed by an additional secretary (finance) to look into the issue, sources said.
“It is more or less agreed upon to give the hard area allowance and risk allowance but we are yet to finalise the percentages,” a senior home ministry official said.

However, the ministry will consult the Election Commission before taking a decision since the model code of conduct is in force. The hard area allowance for the army is 15 per cent of basic salary, and the paramilitary forces have demanded the same.

Source: The Telegraph

Pay your insurance premium at Post Offices

INDIA POST TIE-UP WITH ICICI PRUDENTIAL POSTAL GOLD COINS GO TO HARYANA AND UTTAR PRADESH NEXT WEEK
In yet another move to expand its basket of services, India Post has done a tie-up with ICICI Prudential for collection of insurance premium through Post Offices. The service is now available at more than 200 Post offices in Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra Postal Circles. Their will be no additional cost involved for the customer.

The premium amount realized will be sent to ICICI Prudential through ePayment system of India Post. The tie-up with ICICI Prudential is a step in the direction to make the Post office a one stop shop for the community. Now, the customers will have the convenience to pay their insurance premium at their neighborhood Post office.

This tie-up is expected to bring the customers closer to Post office. In the service category, insurance is one of the fastest growing industries with a very high potential. The highly popular sale of gold coins by India Post is being opened in Uttar Pradesh & Haryana Postal Circles from next week. The service was taken to post offices in Kerala earlier this week. With this, select Post offices from 14 Postal circles will provide this service to the public. Department of Posts began selling 24 carat ‘Gold Coins’ at 102 Post offices in Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu from 15th October.

Later, the service was extended to Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan. Apart from enhancing the revenue of the Department, this has enabled India Post to usher in a new image of India Post as a modern and relevant organization in all areas of life. Gold is the latest addition to a range of retail activity that India Post has already taken up. India Post has been selling various products under Retail Post category and there is sustained growth in the revenue from these activities.

Post Office sells UPSC applications and university applications, it retails Darjeeling Tea in West Bengal, it markets Aloe Vera products in Gujarat and it takes orders for distribution of Prasadams of various temples in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

UGC directs Bihar government to implement revised pay package

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed the state government to take action with regard to implementation of the revised pay package for college and university teachers of the state.
In a fax message sent to the state HRD secretary, the UGC has pleaded for payment of revised pay, enhancement of the age of superannuation from 62 to 65 years, and release of 40 per cent arrears during the current financial year itself. The payment may be made taking an undertaking from each beneficiary that any excess payment made due to incorrect fixation shall be adjusted against the future payments due.
Taking note of the UGC’s notification about revised pay package, the leaders of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations of Bihar (FUTAB) and the Federation of University Service Teachers’ Associations of Bihar (FUSTAB) have appealed to the chief minister to implement it in a time frame formulated by the Union HRD ministry. They pointed out that several state governments have already acted on the Union HRD ministry notification and started making payment of the revised scale. Mayawati government in UP took a cabinet decision last week to implement the sixth payscale for the teachers of all the colleges and universities of the state.
In a memorandum submitted to the CM, FUTAB working president K B Sinha and general secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh and FUSTAB president Ram Jatan Sinha and secretary Dilip Chaudhary pointed out that over 40 per cent post of teachers are vacant and with ambitious plan of both the Centre and state government to increase the number of colleges and universities, a large number of teachers would be required to cope with the enhanced load. It is for these reasons and also to retain the experienced teachers that the Central government had decided to enhance the age of retirement of teachers from 62 to 65 years.
The Bihar government perhaps anticipated this contingency long time back and amended Section 67 of the Bihar State Universities Act, 1976, and Section 64 of Patna University Act, 1976, to provide that the date of retirement of a teaching employee will be the same as the UGC decides in future.
Thus, the age of retirement be raised uniformly to 65 years as per UGC directive and as per provisions of the existing university Acts, they added.
Patna University Teachers’ Association president Dharm Prakash and general secretary Randhir Kumar Singh have also urged the state government to implement the revised UGC pay package, including enhancement of the age of superannuation, at the earliest.

ACP (Assured Career Progression) clarification will be expected in next week

The “FAST TRACK COMMITTEE” meeting was held on 19-Feb-2009 at New Delhi.

The following points were finalized as per the information received.
1. Assured Career Promotion (III – ACP) order will be announced next week.
2. Grade Pay of Rs. 4200 for Pharmacist will be discussed in the next meeting.
3. Grade Pay of Rs. 4200 will be given to Master Crafts Man (MCM), agreed by the Finance Ministry.

Special Class Railway Apprentices’ Examination 2009

The Union Public Service Commission will hold the Special Class Railway Apprentices’ Examination, 2009 on July 26, 2009 for recruitment to the Special Class Apprentices in the Mechanical Department of Indian Railways. The examination will be held at various centers across the country.
The minimum age for eligibility is 17 years and the maximum 21 years as on 1st August 2009, with usual relaxation in the upper age limit for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Classes and certain other categories of candidates. The candidate must have passed in the first or second division, the Intermediate or an equivalent Examination of a University or Board approved by the Government of India with Mathematics and at least one of the subjects Physics and Chemistry as subjects of the examination. The candidates must apply in the Common Application Form devised by the Commission for its examinations, which can be purchased from the designated Head Post Offices/Post Offices throughout the country against cash payment of Rupees Twenty only.
All applications must reach the “Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110069” on or before the March 30, 2009. However, in respect of candidates residing abroad or in certain remote areas, the last date for receipt of applications is April 6, 2009.
For details regarding eligibility conditions, the syllabus and scheme of the examination, centres of examination, guidelines for filling up application form etc. aspirants must consult the Detailed Notice of the examination published in the Employment News/Rozgar Samachar dated February 28, 2009 or the UPSC website http://www.upsc.gov.in.

College teachers in Punjab, Chandigarh on 72-hour strike

Teachers of government and non-government colleges in Punjab and the union territory of Chandigarh went on a 72-hour strike on Tuesday demanding higher pay.
The 72-hour 'Education Bandh' was called by the Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisation (PFUCTO) in support of their demand for implementation of the new notifications of the University Grants Commission (UGC) on pay scales for faculty.
Over 10,000 teachers of five universities, 54 government colleges and 170 non-government colleges of the region are associated with PFUCTO
"There was some confusion among teachers of some colleges Tuesday because of the implementation of model code of conduct but nearly 7000 of them participated in the strike. However, from Wednesday, there will be no teaching activity in any of the colleges and all 10,000 will go on strike," Jagwant Singh, general secretary of PFUCTO, told sources.
He said in the past few days states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh had also implemented the UGC notifications but the "comparatively rich" Punjab has shown no signs of working in this direction.
"Discontentment among teacher community is rising and in the next two-three meetings we will also discuss the issue of boycotting Akali government in the forthcoming elections," said Singh.
Singh said: "We think that code of conduct has nothing to do with the implementation of already announced notifications but we will also talk to the election commissioner before deciding our future course of action."
The Punjab government has to contribute only 20 per cent and central government would release the remaining 80 per cent of funds, but still the state government is reluctant, he said.
The new UGC notifications came Dec 31, 2008 with the approval of the central government. Earlier they were supposed to come in October last year but got delayed because of assembly elections in Delhi. IANS
Source: Indiaedunews.net

Anomalies in state pay hike order irks teachers and employees

The UP state government move to woo teachers of the higher education and employees before Lok Sabha elections by implementing sixth pay commission may boomerang.

While the order issued for pay revision of teachers gives hiked salaries only from December 1, 2008 instead of January 1, 2006, as recommended by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the government forgot to issue an order for the employees of the corporations. Teachers were shocked to see the government order issued on Tuesday on pay hike which said that the revision will be applicable from December 1, 2008.

It also did not mention about revision of pension to retired teachers. Interestingly, 80% of the hiked salary of teachers will be given by the union government for next five years and state has to bear only 20% of the expenses. The Centre will give about Rs 700 crore and state government will dole out Rs 170 crore in 2009-10 financial year.

There are 17,500 teachers in 12 state universities, 345 government-aided colleges and 125 government colleges in UP. Over 20 lakh students are enrolled in these institutions. Describing state government's act as "cheating", Moulindu Mishra, president, Lucknow University Associated Colleges Teachers Association (LUACTA), said that teachers will be forced to launch an agitation, if government fails to correct the anomaly soon.

However, a "correction" seems unlikely in near future as election code of conduct has come into force and will continue till May 16. "In such a situation government should take permission from the Election Commission and issue another order providing full benefits to teachers from January 1, 2006, as it is being implemented in centre university and other state universities," said LUACTA president.

Pushpendra Mishra, general secretary, Lucknow University Teachers Association, also secretary, Federation of UP Residential University Teachers Association, said that government's act amounts to cheating and it will face the consequences in elections, if the order is not corrected soon. "Government is not treating teachers at par with employees as all others have got revised scale with effect from 2006," he said.

On the other hand, retired teachers were left out in the order. It happened in 1996 as well, when fifth pay commission report was implemented. Later, government implemented the revision for retired teachers but with effect from 2000 leading to huge losses. Sources also said that state government forgot to include RML National Law University in its pay revision order. The same is the case with the employees of the corporation who have been left out while pay revision has been implemented for all other state government employees.

Now, UP Jal Nigam officers and employees have formed a joint committee and have launched an agitation. Ram Sevak Shukla, convener of the committee, has started a hunger strike to protest against government apathy. "Government has given sixth pay commission to about 9 lakh employees but 18,000 working in corporations have been left out," said Shukla. A A Farooqi, president, UP Engineers Association, has also supported the agitation.

Source:Indiatimes.com

Madhya Pradesh government to implement Sixth Pay Commission recommendations…

The Madhya Pradesh government would implement the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission with effect from January 2006, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

Chouhan said the benefits of the Pay Commission's recommendations will be payable to state government employees with effect from January 1, 2006, and added it would benefit around five lakh (500,000) state government employees, according to an official statement Saturday.
The mode of payment for benefits from Jan 1, 2006, to Aug 31, 2008, will be decided by the government at a later date but benefits from Sep 1, 2008, to Feb 28, 2009, will be paid along with the salary payable on coming April 1.

"The arrears for the period from Sept 1, 2008, to Feb 28, 2009, would be paid in April 2009 itself. The modalities for payment of the arrears for the period from Jan 1, 2006, to Aug 31, 2008, would be decided separately. Cash payment of the Sixth Pay Commission scale would be made from March 2009 (payable on April 1,2009) to the employees of the state government," Chouhan said.

The statement said the decision would also help around three lakh (300,000) pensioners and there would be a proportionate increase in salaries of government school teachers and panchayat secretaries from April 1, 2009.

West Bengal Pay Commission News...

West Bengal Govt accepts Fifth Pay Commission recommendations. West Bengal finance department announced that the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission with certain improvements, which will be effective from April 1 this year.

Read more about West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay and Allowance) Rules, 2009 vide Notification No.-1690-F dated 23.02.09 "The state government has accepted, by and large, the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, constituted by it, with certain improvements."

Finance minister Asim Dasgupta said.25/02/2009 West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay and Allowance) Rules, 2009 WBS_ROPA_Rules_2009.pdfWho will benefit with 5th pay commission implementations?Beneficiaries will include ten lakh government employees, teachers and other staff.

What are revised pay Bands ?
Replacing the existing pay scales, a revised pay structure with five Pay Bands and distinct Grade Pay for each of the unrevised pay scales have been introduced.example,Group-D employee now drawing a basic pay of Rs 2,600 plus dearness pay of Rs 1,300 would get Rs 6,600 as basic pay in the revised pay structure.

What is highest pay as per revised pay scales in WB?
highest basic scale in Pay Band-5 will be from Rs 37,400 to Rs 60,000,5th pay commission, west bengal 5th pay commission, 5th pay commission west bengal, pay commission west bengal, west bengal government west bengal pay commission source -check about FIFTH PAY COMMISSION.

The Government of West Bengal through Finance Deptt. Resolution No. 6020-F dt. 28.8.2008 has appointed the Fifth Pay Commission for State Government ... wbfin.gov.in

Click here to M.O.
http://wbfin.gov.in/writereaddata/WBS_ROPA_Rules_2009.pdf

State Govt staff strike from Feb 26

UP government's move to appease the state government employees and teachers by announcing pay package as per the sixth pay commission report, seems to have boomeranged. Even after putting a huge burden of over Rs 15,000 crore on the state exchequer due to salary hike, around 15 lakh employees and teachers are far from being pleased.
They are demanding more and have threatened to go on strike and even vote against the ruling party in Lok Sabha elections, if their demands were not fulfilled. The state Employees' Joint Council and Federation of Employees and Teachers Association, on Saturday, announced to strike work for 72 hours from February 26, demanding `total parity' with their counterparts in the Central government in pay and perks.
RK Nigam, general secretary of the council told TOI that employees and teachers from all over the state, associated with around 200 association, will take part in the strike. He said that while all the state employees and government teachers strike work for three days, those in the roadways will resort to `chakka jam' (strike) on February27.
The state government had constituted Rizvi committee for pay revision of state employees as per the recommendation of the Sixth Pay Commission for Central government employees. But employees in the state are not happy with the pay review.
Even after the hike, they are not getting salaries and perk at par with the Central government employees. Officers in various state government services are also not happy with the pay revision. UP Adhikari Mahaparishad, which represents officers of all state services, on Friday, staged demonstration in Lucknow and planning a protest rally soon, if its demand for cadre review, hike and better promotional avenues are not met.
On the other hand, higher education teachers have threatened to vote against BSP, if government delays the implementation of pay revision as per the recommendation of the University Grants Commission.

Source:Times of India

West Bengal Pay Commission Recommends Pay Hike for State Staff

The fifth Pay Commission of West Bengal Government has recommended a pay hike for around 10 lakh state staff and nearly four lakh pensioners effective April 1st last year.
Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said that the government would scrutinize the report before making a final announcement within 15 days.
The minister said the report suggested that the minimum pension amount be increased to Rs 3,300 per month and maximum to Rs 35,000 per month.
Paramashish Ghosh Roy has more on the story.

Jharkhand's madrassa, Sanskrit school teachers demand pay hikes

Teachers of madrassas and Sanskrit schools in Jharkhand Tuesday held protests here demanding that the Sixth Pay Commission report, recommending pay hikes for government employees, be implemented for them too.
Hundreds of these teachers under the banner of the Madrassa-Sanskrit Teachers Coordination Committee (MSTCC) took part in the demonstration in front of the Governor's HOuse.
'We are part of the educational system but there is disparity when it comes to us,' said Srikant Pandey, president of MSTCC.
Like madrassas, which are Islamic seminaries, the Sanskrit schools are partly aided by the government. The teaching of Sanskrit is mandatory in the latter.
Abdul Hannan, secretary of the association, said: 'Besides implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, we want pension and provident fund facilities to be extended to us.'
The association has announced it will go on an indefinite hunger strike if its demands are not fulfilled by the government.

Fifth Pay Commission for State Government employees

The Government of West Bengal through Finance Deptt. Resolution No. 6020-F dt. 28.8.2008 has appointed the Fifth Pay Commission for State Government employees and certain other categories of employees as listed below in Parts A & B.

Read more...

SC issues notice to UGC, Bihar Govt on teachers' plea...

The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Bihar Government and the UGC on a petition filed by teachers of the B R Ambedkar Bihar University seeking a raise in their retirement age from 62 to 65 years.

A Bench comprising Justices L S Panta and B S Reddy has asked the state government and the University Grant Commission to file their response within three weeks. The Court passed the order on a petition filed by Senior Teachers Association of the university pleading that on the line of Central University their age of retirement should also be increased to 65 years.

"There should not be a difference in the age of superannuation between the teachers of Central and State Universities when the qualifications for appointment, pay scales and promotional avenues of the Central and State Universities are exactly the same," advocate Kumar Ranjan, appearing for the association said.

The association approached the apex court after the Patna High Court turned down its plea and asked them to approach the UGC for redressal of its grievances.

Source :The Hindu