Quote of the Day April 2

Grant of Non Functional Scale to Section Officers of CSS- Clarification on Fixation of Pay

CLICK HERE to view the DoPT OM
Our Comment -- Adhoc service to count in this order

Guidelines for providing certain facilities in respect of persons with disabilities who are already employed in Government for efficient performance of their duties

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SUPPLEMENTARY FAQs on Children Education Allowance Scheme (CEA)

CLICK HERE PLEASE

Submission of Quarterly returns in respect of the Recruitment Rules

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Declaration of Holiday on 14th April , 2014 - Birth day of Dr, B. R. Ambedkar

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Processing of cases under Rule 9 of CCS Pension Rules and cases where reports in prescribed proforma to be submitted to CVC

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NATIONAL CONVENTION OF CG EMPLOYEES AT NAGPUR ON APRIL 4, 2014

CONFEDERATION OF CENTRAL GOVT. EMPLOYEES & WORKERS

      1^st Floor, North Avenue PO Building, New Delhi – 110001

      Website: www.confederationhq.blogspot.com

            Email: confederationhq@gmail.com

Circular No. 14                                                            Dated: 07-03-2014

To

               1)     All National Secretariat Members/Women’s Committee Members

               2)     Chief Executives of all Affiliated Organisations

               3)     General Secretaries of all state and District C-O-Cs.

NATIONAL CONVENTION OF CENTRAL GOVT. EMPLOYEES

2014 APRIL 4 (FRIDAY) AT NAGPUR

COM: A.K. PADMANABHAN, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, CITU, WILL INAUGU RATE.  LEADERS OF OTHER TUs/CONFEDERATION WILL ADDRESS.

VENUE: CONVENTION :  JWAHAR VIDHYARTHI GRUH, CIVIL LINES, NAGPUR

ACCOMMODATION      :  MLA HOSTEL, CIVIL LINES, NAGPUR

DELEGATE FEE             :  RS.300/- PER HEAD (Rs. THREE HUNDRED ONLY)

ACCOMMODATION  FROM 03-04-2014 TO 04-04-2014, 9 A.M. AND   FOOD FOR ONE DAY ON 04-04-2014 WILL BE PROVIDED

(See Note Below)

Reception Committee Contact Numbers:

Com. Nilesh Nasare                                 :      09850354898

Com. P.K.Das                                         :      09423635211

Com. B.N.Chikate                                   :      07588630274

Com. Gurprit Singh                                 :      09422440266

Com. G. S. Pawade                                 :      09423111152

Com. Sanjay Sathe                                  :      09970244366

Com. Khadse                                          :      09421779684

Com. Tupkar                                           :      09422803948

NB:  Taking into consideration that majority of the other states delegates will be arriving Nagpur on 3rd April, accommodation is arranged from 3rd April 9 A.M. to 4th April 9 A.M.  Only limited accommodation is arranged for 4th after 9 A.M.  Delegates who want to stay more days than above, may contact the Reception Committee in advance and make arrangement on payment basis. This restriction is made to reduce the expenditure of Reception Committee.  There is no other source of income for the C-O-C Nagpur, except Delegate fee.  Delegates are requested to cooperate.

QUOTA OF NUMBER OF DELEGATES FOR EACH ORGANISATION AND C-O-C (already notified earlier)

1.   NFPE                          -   100         12.      Defence Accounts                           -        6

2.   ITEF                           -   35           13.     AICGHSEA                                     -        5

3.   NFAEEA                    -   10           14.     Customs Gr. D Officers Fedn.       -        6

4.   Audit & Accounts                         15.     Customs Mini                                  -        6

       Association               -   15            16.     C.E. Mini Exe. Officers                  -        4

5.   National Fedn.                              17.     C.E. Inspectors                                -        6

       of Civil Accts            -   20           18.     Canteen Employees Fedn.              -        6

6.   Ground Water                              19.     Census                                             -          2

       Board                          -  15          20.     N.S.S.O.                                           -          4

7.   I.S.R.O.                       -     6          21.     CPWD JE                                        -          2

8.   IBM                            -    10         22.     Pondichery State Govt. Empl.        -       10

9.   GSI                             -    5 each                   Fedn.(each affiliate five)

10. Survey of India                            23.     All other Affiliates                     -          3 (Delegates

    (All Unions)                  -  20                                                                                Each)          

11. DMIEA                      -   10

C-O-Cs

1.   West Bengal                                      11.     Gujarat                                         -          3

       (including                                         12.     Rajasthan                                      -         3

       Kolkata based                                   13.     Chandigarh (Punjab,

       affiliates)                  -        15                      Hariyana) & JK                           -        3

2.   RCC, NE                   -         5             14.     Himachal Pradesh                       -          3

3.   Bihar                          -        5            15.     Andhra Pradesh                           -        10

4.   Odisha                       -         3            16.     Karnataka                                     -        10

5.   Chattisgarh                -        3           17.     Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry        -        10

6.   Jharkhand                  -        3            18.     Kerala                                           -         10

7.   Madhya Pradesh       -         5           19.     Delhi                                            -          10

8.   U.P.                            -         10                   (including Delhi based affiliates)

9.   Vidarbha                    -        70          20.     Dehradun (Uttarakhand)             -      2

10. Maharashtra                                     21.     Other C-O-Cs including

       (HQ Mumbai)           -        10                   Maharashtra State                        -     2 each

ALL AFFILIATED ORGANISATIONS AND C-O-Cs ARE REQUESTED TO ENSURE PARTICIPATION OF DELEGATES AS PER QUOTA FIXED. THIS IS COMPULSORY.

                                                                         Fraternally yours,

POSTAL ASSISTANT EXAM- PREPARATION GUIDANCE PART-2

Disclaimer:- All Information provided in this post are Prepared &Compiled by A. Praveen Kumar, SPM, Papannapet SO-502303, Andhra Pradesh for in good faith of Postal Assistant Exam Aspirants. Author of blog does not accepts any responsibility in relation to the accuracy, completeness, usefulness or otherwise, of the contents.

Quantitative Aptitude

Quantitative aptitude forms a major section in Postal Assistant exam, so it shouldn't be taken lightly and must be practiced on a regular basis.

Quantitative aptitude measures your overall reasoning and analytical skills. It makes sure that you have the ability to deal with practical issues and skills to achieve desirable success in life. A Quantitative Aptitude test evaluates you on the numerical ability and accuracy level in the mathematical calculations. It consists of several types of questions ranging from pure numeric calculations to arithmetic reasoning.

First let’s delve into the challenges aspirants usually face at Quantitative Ability.

Which materials should I refer to? Are coaching materials enough?

I am very slow in quant, how do I increase my speed?

I have very low accuracy at this section? How do I increase my accuracy?

How much time, do I should I spend on each question?

Students are often under misconception that referring multiple materials will help them in getting a better score. The idea is basically to get your fundamentals strong. Initially, refer to one standard Book /material which is available in the market. Once you are thorough with it, you can refer more materials just for practice purpose. Ensure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to coverage, as it is as important as depth.

A good book: Buy a good book of quantitative Aptitude to improve your basics. Most of the questions asked in these exams are of not more than 10th class level. I suggest “Magical Book on Quicker Maths – Tyra and Quantitative Aptitude by Arun Sharma.

The syllabus of the Quantitative Aptitude is as follows.

Number theory - In Number theory, you will get questions on Divisibility, remainders, LCM and HCF, MCQs on Unknown numbers from given condition for Fractions-comparisons.

Basic Maths Questions - In basic math’s, you have to prepare for Surds, indices,    BODAMAS, Roots, squares and Cubes.

Average and Ratios: - In this section, you will get sub topic questions like simple average, Ratio-Proportion-variations and questions on partnership.

PERCENTAGE, PROFIT AND LOSS, RATIO AND PROPORTION, PARTNERSHIP,CHAIN RULE, TIME AND WORK, PIPES AND CISTERNS, TIME AND DISTANCE, PROBLEMS ON TRAINS, BOATS AND STREAMS, ALLIGATION OR MIXTURE, SIMPLE INTEREST, COMPOUND INTEREST, AREA, VOLUME AND SURFACE

For above sections, you need to practice a lot. Don't avoid above sections, as you all know, above said topics are most asked question in competitive exam.

The Approach for Maths, stands on two pillars.

Pillars                  

1.    Conceptual Clarity :  Read NCERT Books

For some topics directly from quantitative aptitude books

2.    Lot of Practice:     From  Quantitative aptitude books

Your task is to cover one topic at a time, first get conceptual-clarity and then solve maximum questions at home.

The very first step to prepare well for quantitative aptitude is to know well about the types of questions that are covered under this heading. This can be done by a little bit of research and by taking up the questions of this section. 

Once you know about the types of questions, one by one take up these types and start preparing. When you start preparing for a question type, take up as many questions as you can from good books and papers and try solving them. Do not consider any type less important or insignificant because you never know which question type may be highlighted in this section. 

Whenever you learn any short-cut technique, you note it down in your diary. Similarly, whenever you make any mistake while solving sums, you also note that down in your diary. Night before the exam, you review that diary of mistakes. Why do this? Because it is the “Art of Aptitude.

Merely knowing the concepts or formulas won’t help. Because unless you practice different variety of questions, you won’t become proficient in applying those concepts flawlessly in the actual-exam.

Second, despite knowing concept and formulas, people make silly mistakes either in calculation or in plugging the values.

Make sure you learn how to recognize when/ why should use a specific method to solve a problem. Work on practice problems for each topic ranging in levels of difficulty. When practicing, try to solve the problem on your own first then look at the answer or seek help if you are having trouble.

Questions in quantitative aptitude are not very tough; the only thing needed is practice so that you'll realize how to manage time by Switching between questions by leaving time taking questions for the end.

By firm practice, you'll get good at switching between questions and save time which is the deciding factor in such exams.

Also, if you are unable to solve a few questions do make it a point to get it solved from a senior, teacher or a fellow student. Don't leave any question unsolved. 

Once you get in a habit of attempting these questions start focusing on your accuracy. Though it is important to attempt all questions it is equally important to do them accurately. After you've worked on achieving a high accuracy level, you need to learn the technique of time management because it is important to attempt the questions correctly in a given amount of time. You cannot just sit for hours solving one question. This again can be achieved by a lot of practice. 

If you simply cannot determine the answer to a question, make a guess.  Think about the problem and the information you know to be true.  Make a guess that will be logical based upon the conditions of the problem. After you perform your calculations, see if your final answer is close to your guess.

Important Tips:-

1. Learn shortcuts- Formula and tricks

The first step is to learn all basic formulae, the most important being the rule of BODMAS, this will allow you to solve simple mathematical questions. Then try to learn various tricks to solve a quantitative aptitude problem. For instance, tricks such as learning where addition or multiplication is to be used can help. The best way to learn tips and tricks is to follow logical thinking and attitude.

Basic Calculations: Practice basic calculations involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentage increase, fractions etc on daily basis. I know it sounds silly for a pro (in school time) in Mathematics but it is a necessary thing to do to improve your score.

2. Learn to estimate the answers and use of Common sense

Believe it or not! Common sense is the most important tool when it comes to solving quantitative aptitude problems. So, use common sense. Think what could be more practical and then choose your solution. Have a fair clarity on how to get the right option in minimal time.

3. Learn to do mental calculations

Numerical Ability section is designed to make you rely on quicker mental calculations otherwise its hard to get a very good score. The less paper you use for calculations, the better you could score.

4. Time management

Generally, students spend too much of time for solving a single quantitative aptitude question. And although they end with the correct answer, they might not be able to complete all questions. Therefore, divide time. Ideally, nothing more than two minutes should be given to a quantitative aptitude question.

5. Practice makes a man perfect

Yes! Practice is the key. Don’t expect yourself to be too intelligent, rather hone your skills by practicing mock tests. These tests will give you a fair idea about what type of questions may come and also allow you to find the best ways to produce the right answer. Moreover, practicing tests gives you an opportunity to learn time management and reduces average time for getting a solution.

6. Make friends

Well, if you are actually interested in clearing the quantitative aptitude test with flying colours, then you should practice by making friends. Friends, who have common goals, can help you in studying and finding different ways of getting a solution. Moreover, you can do mock tests and ask each other questions, discuss on the techniques used for deriving an answer.

7. Sleep and exercise

Finally, it is important to treat your body well if you want to enhance your capabilities. Therefore, sleep at least 8 hours a day to make sure that your brain has enough time to rest. Also, start exercising. This will not just keep you fit on physical levels, but it will also make sure that your mind exercises and receive better blood flow to protect your memory.

At the time of Examination (Quantitative Part)

The Aspirant must not lose the confidence during preparation and while giving the examination.

One should be able to attempt easy questions successfully in reasonably quick time, and he should also be able to attempt most of the moderate level questions. One should ensure that not much time is spent trying difficult questions that you cannot understand. The mantra is to allocate one minute of thinking time for each difficult question. If you feel you have not made any headway, jump to the next question. This will ensure that you don’t up end wasting time too much time on a single question. If you have time left at the end of the test, you can always come back to answer the remaining questions.

Don't panic if you can't solve the question. Just move on & try to solve another one.

If time permits, go back and resolve the more difficult problems on the test on a separate piece of paper.  If these "new" answers are the same as your previous answers, chances are good that your solution is correct.

Do not feel that you must use every number in a problem when doing your calculations. Some mathematics problems have "extra" information.  These questions are testing your ability to recognize the needed information, as well as your mathematical skills. 

If you know that your answer to a question is incorrect, and you cannot find your mistake, start over on a clean piece of paper.  Often times when you try to correct a problem, you continually overlook the mistake.  Starting over on a clean piece of paper will let you focus on the question, not on trying to find the error. 

Whenever possible, draw a diagram.  Even though you may be able to visualize the situation mentally, a hand drawn diagram will allow you to label the picture, to add auxiliary lines, and to view the situation from different perspectives.

Always read math problems completely before beginning any calculations.  If you "glance" too quickly at a problem, you may misunderstand what really needs to be done to complete the problem. 

Reasoning Preparation

Reasoning is getting much attention in most of competitive exams to test the judgement and other skills related to presence of mind and analytical ability of a candidate.

Reasoning can be taken as a scoring subject as compared to the quantitative section as it takes only thinking ability of a candidate and if the candidate is able to apply it, in most cases he can be sure of his scoring. 

Reasoning questions are very important part as they test candidate's decision making, preciseness, analytical ability etc. Reasoning questions are normally considered to be very confusing as the candidates cannot easily decide on an answer without taking some time and applying good analytical skills so reasoning should not be attempted first. Candidate should attempt this section after saving some time from Questions of General awareness and General English.

Reasoning mostly covers sections like Critical Reasoning, Analytical reasoning and Reasoning Data Sufficiency. Reasoning basically depends on the skill level and thinking ability of mind and if the candidate lacks in that, he needs to develop them through hard practice of reasoning questions. 

Reasoning questions have large variety and widely classified into verbal and Non-verbal reasoning.

 Verbal reasoning includes questions classified as below:-

Alphabetical and numerical series

Questions deriving from some given facts and relations

Questions on Directional analysis

Coding-decoding on a pattern

Questions on age calculation

Questions on Mirror images

Questions on Human relations

and More.......

Non-verbal reasoning includes questions on some series of graphical representations. For example, four graphical pictures are shown depending upon some series; the candidate has to decide the next in series by finding out the logic used in creating the series.

 Topics to be prepared

Series

Analogy (both word based and numerical)

Odd pair (both word based and numerical)

English Dictionary based word arrangements, missing letters

Box containing some number, you’ve to find missing number.

Ranking, missing characters etc

As you can see from the above, majority of the questions are asked from “series” (analogy, odd pairs, dictionary etc). Around half of the reasoning questions are based on this topic only.

Therefore, I suggest you first solve all the sums related to “series” from your reasoning book. And within that, more emphasis should be given to

Analogy (words and numbers)

odd pair (same)

Classification

Dictionary based series

Inserting missing characters

Logical sequence of words

The word based analogy/odd pair is very easy (compared to number based or letter based).

But number based analogy/odd pair etc. can be a tough cookie.

So while in exam, keep an eye on wrist watch. Don’t spend too much time in just one question.

Coding and Decoding

Typical coding decoding (PEAR written as GFDN then REAP is written as..)

Symbols (circle is greater than, square is less than.

Maths operations (L=x, M=+, then value of 16L12M13 is.

Math operation. Can be mastered with practice and can be solved quickly and accurately. Same for symbol.

So practice as much as you can.

Conventional Venn diagram questions. (50 drink coffee, 40 drink tea…) Usually just 2 questions come. Good part, answer can be verified and once you practice enough it doesn’t even take one minute to solve it (2 circle venn diagram cases).

Arrangement

Sitting arrangement (line, table and circular)

Blood relations (mom-dad-father in law)

Building, car, colour, occupations of persons.

Schedules (lecture on Monday..etc.)

Direction based (Mohan moves three kms north…how far he is from home

To a new player, the arrangement questions may appear time-consuming. But once you’ve practiced enough sums, your speed will improve.

But the best thing with arrangement question, you can verify the answer (by applying the “conditions” given in the question to your arrangement).

Easiest of all arrangement is circular arrangement. Solve each and every sum given in your book. Once you’re comfortable with circular, move to linear and rectangular (dining table).

Next comes, Direction based question. Solve each and every sum given in your book.

Finally blood relations.

Misc.

Clock, calendar

Permutation Combination (rare)

Age related problems (dad is 22 older than..)

Geometry  

Image based (non-verbal)

Cubes-dices: predicting color, numbers in other faces

Sequence of figures

Paper-cutting, folding, punching

Mirrors and water reflection

Configuration, fitting pieces, odd pieces etc

Here are some tips to develop reasoning skills and solve reasoning problems.

Practice Puzzles- Solving puzzles can greatly help in improving solving skills and thereby helps to improve your reasoning power.

Analyse and arrange- Try to analyse what is given in the question and note it in a proper way on a paper to help you solve better.

Work on Given Data- Remember that the given problem will be solved by the data given only, don’t make any assumptions or judgment while solving the question. 

Negative prefixes- Be careful with words having negative prefixes like un-, non- , they can fool you for facts.

Use elimination- If nothing is coming out as a conclusion; try eliminating options according to the information given to find the correct answers.

Eliminate all words that are irrelevant to the argument.

Even though you need to comprehend all the words in the stimulus, they're not all important. The only words you'll need to deal with are the ones that make up the evidence and conclusion.

DONOT assume, USE ONLY Info provided in the question. This important as we need to unlearn the info we generally have and use on the info provided.MAKE SURE you have read all the choices carefully before proceeding to answer. NOTICE: The special clues, like “all,” “some,” or “none” when you read the factual information given in the question. Other qualifying words such as “other than,” “only” or “unless” are important, too. These cues can play a critical part in specifying the facts to be used in your reasoning.

Pay more attention to the word like “ONLY” and to the phrase “IF AND ONLY IF.” Saying “The Box will open IF AND ONLY IF both keys are used” sets up a highly specific condition that must be met. There is exactly one way to open the door-you must use both keys. By contrast, if the sentence says, “The Box will open if the key is used,” there may be several ways to open the door besides by using the key.

In questions that ask you to select a valid conclusion, always choose the one conclusion that must definitely follow from the information you are given. In questions that ask you to find the invalid alternative, choose the one conclusion that does not definitely follow from the information.

It is good idea to use the paper to draw the matrix, Venn diagram or schema to solve the logical reasoning questions.

Try to solve the easier questions first that can be concluded easily with the first hand information form the passage or the question. You can come back to difficult question again, this help to save time and score more marks.

English Preparation

By this competitive exam, the Department weighs the abilities of a candidate such as subject knowledge, reasoning abilities, conceptual knowledge, English Grammar, memory power, English sentence making skills etc. Competition is placed among the candidates is not only weighs the aspirants abilities but also help the Department to eliminate them who are not perfect for vacant seats. Thus the candidates have to face much tough competition in order to recruit for jobs.

Recommended Book for English Grammar

Some people might even advise you to use “Wren & Martin” etc. but such books are written from board exams/ academic point of view. And for the competitive exams we don’t need to study everything of English grammar; we just need a set of rules and practice questions.

If you already have some English grammar book (R.S.Agarwal, A.P.Bhardwaj) etc. use it.

If you don’t have any book, I suggest you go for Objective General English by SP Bakshi (Arihant Publication)

He has given direct “rules” and example-sentences from competitive exam point of view and it makes easy to handle sentence correction.

Plus, the book also contains good list of phrasal verbs, idioms and vocabulary

The Postal Assistant exam includes the general English questions such as on the topics of:

Grammar

 Vocabulary

 Sentence completion

 Synonyms &  Antonyms

 Comprehension of a passage

 Spotting the Errors

 Filling in the blanks

 Use of prepositions, idioms/phrases, Articles

 Test of spellings

 Re-arranging jumbled up sentences, etc.

 Tenses Active and Passive Voice and Transformation

 Direct and Indirect Speech

The level of questionings come in the exams is of 10th or 12th standard questions.

A candidate must have to prepare for the above mentioned topics in English to score a good percentage. The candidate can increase their English properly by reading English grammar books. 

Question will be asked from Vocabulary  which include Antonym, Synonym, Idioms,  spelling check, fill in the blanks, idioms etc , English Grammar and Comprehension, which include a unseen passage, Error correction, sentence improvement. There is no hard and fast rule, how many questions will come from a specific topic

For Vocabulary: Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis

Read  Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis , This book is a real gem, if you don't have this, then you must purchase it,  because this book will tell you about origin of words and you will hardly forget the words learnt from this book.

Remember Cramming will not help you anyway in Vocabulary. You will have to understand the meaning of the words. Moreover many times directly question come from this book. This book many times helps you guess the meaning of the words, even if you see the word for the first time.

Practice from practice exercise at-least 2-3 times and mark words you forgot with red pen. Next time your attention will be there and you will remember that word forever.

Make a habit of reading English newspaper like THE HINDU or Indian Express and take a big notebook and write down meaning of new words (Use Dictionary or Online) you come across while reading.

Don't forget to revise your notebook and use them in your conversation and make memory link up with words you know. It depends on you, how you link up your memory to recall.

The notebook should be with you with constant updates until you clear some exam of your choice.

Moving to the next topic:

Grammar rules

From your grammar books, Study the grammar rules of noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, verb, conjugation, articles, active-passive, direct-indirect, parallelism, embedded question, with examples for sentence correction.

Solve maximum number of questions from standard book. If you come across any unique rule/case for sentence correction, note it in your diary for future reference.

English Grammar: Approach

1. Active Passive (voice) and Direct-Indirect (speech)

This is no-excuse topic. Because it relies on a set of simple rules, almost like math formulas.

Understand the grammar rules and practice maximum questions.

In your “diary” note down any special/odd rules you come across- including example sentences.

2. Sentence Correction& Improvement

To master sentence correction, you’ve to master two subtopics:

Grammar rules, Phrasal verbs

A.     Grammar Rules

First of all you need to know the grammar rules. But you don’t need to know all grammar rules.

Because in competitive exam, sentence correction relies on certain specific mistakes only.

For example: The topic “verb” has lot of theory and classifications.

But for “sentence correction”, it boils down to very few rules for example

Either, Neither, none, each and every is singular.

Wrong                   Each of the Solders are disciplined

Right           Each of the Solders is disciplined

Your task, first go through your grammar book, and note down such rules with example statements, in your note book. Revise these rules often (along with example sentences).

B. Phrasal Verbs

Grammar rules are like maths. Universal valid.

But Phrasal verbs are different game altogether. You need to know memorize the correct usage- case to case basis. For example:

Correct Phrasal verb                         wrong usage

Dispose of = sell            He has decided to dispose off his property

Dispose to = willing, interested     He is disposed in discussing that business proposition

Both statements are wrong because phrasal verbs are incorrectly used.

Many a times, candidates know the grammar rules very well, but they fail to detect the error in sentence because they’ve not prepared the phrasal verbs.

You next task: revise the list often and write down the very confusing ones into your diary: with example sentence. Once this is done, try to solve as many practice questions as you can.

3. Comprehension + Sentence Arrangement

Just one word: Practice.

Read English Newspaper daily, it will help sharpen your reading skills, fast and effective reading is necessary for any competitive exams otherwise your time will be over.

So make a habit of fast reading. Normally, first few lines of the passage, give you idea, what author is talking about. So, pay greater attention to first few lines.

Whenever you solve comprehension passages at home or read any English book/newspaper/web-article, you should note down any unfamiliar words in a separate diary.

Revise this diary once in a while. Don’t stop this exercise after the exam is over. Continue it, until you’re selected in your dream job.

SUMMARY 

 The Days left for the exams should have a scheduled time table prepared by the candidate for preparation. After making the schedule just stick to it. The time table must have all the required routine in preparation time mentioned. Also must include the timings of the resting and exam preparation, and other important activities. Take some rest time in the schedule too, so your mind will keep fresh, and don’t take much stress while preparations this may affect the health and mind both. Keep the self-confidence, do hard work, keep well time management. By doing this all you will be tough to compete in the examination. 

The candidate must have a confidence and a self-belief always when he/she appearing for the exam, just believe your own abilities. Hard work with knowledge will take you a step forward to the success. Try to attempt Sample papers and solved previous years papers so you can find where you are lacking. Try to keep a watch behind or a stop watch to check your own speed of attempting the questions. To score well in the examinations try some tricks to remember the big formulas with key that recall it easily.

That's all for now friends. Happy Reading

- Akula. Praveen Kumar, Sub Postmaster, Papannapet SO-502110, Andhra Pradesh

Source : http://akulapraveen.blogspot.in/

Bank proposes no minimum balance penalty - May increase costs for customers, say bankers

Customers might not be required to pay for non-maintenance of a minimum balance in a bank but could have to pay additional charges for use of other services in such cases, such as an account statement or ATM withdrawals or cheque book issuance.

In its bi-monthly monetary policy review on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said instead of penal charges for non-maintenance of a minimum balance in ordinary savings bank accounts, banks should limit the services available on such accounts, to those available to basic accounts.

While the decision on penalty removal is yet to be finalised, senior bankers said this would mean an increase in the charges paid by customers for transactions of all kinds. Further, RBI said banks should restore the services when the balances improve to the minimum required level.

Aditya Puri, managing director, HDFC Bank, said: "The consumer will end up paying more in the alternative. Let us say the minimum balance is Rs 10,000 and we earn four per cent on it. For Rs 400, we give you cheque books for the full year, ATM transactions, we give you the account balance and the statements. Break-even for the bank to provide those services is Rs 30,000. If you have consumer interest in mind, you will not push this because the alternative is, then you are charged for these services. If I start charging you for these, you will end up paying more. It is implied that if you don't charge on non-maintenance of minimum balance, you are authorised to charge on the transaction."

However, this proposal is still under consideration. Puri explained this was a suggestion by RBI and the Indian Banks' Association will explain its viewpoint to the regulator.

He noted a bank was also there to make a profit, not give free service. "This is a cost. To break even, to provide you the services, I actually need a minimum balance of Rs 20,000," he said.

K R Kamath, chairman and managing director, Punjab National Bank, said for a basic account, the clear instructions are that you cannot charge for not maintaining the balance. He said the direction is to have an entire set of accounts where it is defined that they wont be charged for non-maintenance of balance but would only be entitled to certain services.

Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic advisor — economic research department, State Bank of India (SBI), said, “It will be a decision by individual banks how they take the decision of non–maintenance of minimum balance. Since the policy suggests that the banks should limit the services to such accounts, so, if that is the case, there is a possibility that there is a re-look at the charges for things such as charges for number of ATM transactions etc. The RBI still needs to clarify what it means by limit services.”

Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist, Bank of Baroda, said a penalty for non-maintenance of a minimum balance was more relevant from the viewpoint of private sector and foreign banks, which charge a huge penalty or even make accounts defunct if a customer did not maintain a minimum balance. “If we want more people to use banking facilities and talk about financial inclusion, one cannot be so harsh on customers,” she said.

According to the head of retail operations of a public sector bank, these charges are levied to recover the operational costs incurred by banks for maintaining the accounts. "Even if there is just Rs 100 in such accounts, in our books it is still an account and we have to maintain it. There is no benefit except paying the minimum four per cent interest. Following computerisation, the cost for maintaining such accounts has come down but still it is an expense for banks. The penalty was intended to gradually weed out such accounts,'' he said.

The central bank also said that in the interest of their consumers, banks should consider allowing their borrowers the possibility of pre-paying floating rate term loans without any penalty.

“If borrowers have taken a floating rate loan from banks and if they pre-pay, banks are at a loss as it reduces the asset size. However, from a recovery standpoint, pre-payment is a positive thing. Pre-payment is not such a harsh action that the banks need to penalise the customers. Penal action will reduce the loan appetite of borrowers for loans. Thus, removal of penalty is an important step from the point of view of financial inclusion,'' says Nitsure.

Banks offer floating rate loans to some segments like the MSME (micro small and medium enterprises) sector. However, in case of retail loans, only home loans have floating rate, in which case the pre-payment penalty has already been abolished. All other retail loans like car loans and personal loans are fixed rate loans.

The banking regulator said that banks should also limit the liability of customers in electronic banking transactions in cases where banks are not able to prove customer negligence.

MEGHDOOT UPDATER 29.03.14 BY SRFIX

eghdoot Updater 29.03.14 For Post Office

Meghdoot Updater 29.03.2014 for Update the Parcel Net Update dated 29.03.2014

  

Srfix For use in Post Office only.

SUB ACCOUNT SUPPLEMENTARY " INCORRECT SYNTAX NEAR "

ssues In Sub Account Supplementary And Solution

a. Runtime error appearing for Supplementary--Printing SO Reports-->Summary-General
b. Runtime error appearing for Supplementary--View So Details--Other Data/Closing Balance.

Sub Account Error Message

• Incorrect Syntax Near 'Speedpo'
• Incorrect Syntax Near 'IEMOP'
• Incorrect Syntax Near '.' / Incorrect syntax Near '+'.
• Incorrect Syntax Near 'ip

Solution For Incorrect Syntax Near ''

CEPT Provides Solution for Incorrect Syntax Near '' in Sub Account 7.8 Supplementary .

Download attached Sub account Exls

Execute both exls using Script Tool.exe.

Download

Daily Current Affairs: 31 March 2014

1) Petrol price cut by 75 paise a litre; diesel hike put off: The price of petrol was on Monday cut by 75 paise per litre, the first reduction in five months, while the already unpopular monthly hike in diesel rates was put off during the election season.

2) US ambassador to India Nancy Powell resigned: In a sudden development, US ambassador to India Nancy Powell has resigned from her post, days after media speculation that she may be shipped out. "US ambassador to India Nancy J Powell announced in a US mission town hall meeting on March 31 that she has submitted her resignation to President Obama and, as planned for some time, will retire to her home in Delaware before the end of May," an announcement in the US embassy website said.

3) World Twenty20: Sri Lanka beat New Zealand to enter semis: Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 59 runs in a low-scoring World Twenty20 Super-10 group one match in Chittagong Monday to cruise into the semi-finals. New Zealand were bowled out for their lowest Twenty20 total of 60 in 15.3 overs in the final match of the group played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium.

4) Paris Gets First Female Mayor:  It was a victory to savour. As she bid to become the first female mayor of Paris, Spanish-born socialist Anne Hidalgo had to endure taunts from her opponents about her modest origins and lack of Parisian roots. But in the end, voters in the French capital brushed such snobbery aside and defied the national trend by electing the 54-year-old by a convincing margin.

5) Smriti Irani to contest from Amethi against Rahul Gandhi: The BJP has announced on Monday evening that its vice-president Smriti Irani will contest from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is the sitting MP from the constituency. AAP leader Kumar Vishwas had already announced to contest from the same constituency against Rahul Gandhi. The BJP's decision to field Irani from Amethi makes it a three-way blockbuster of a contest for the Lok Sabha seat.

6) President Pranab Mukherjee confers Padma awards: President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday conferred Padma awards on 66 eminent personalities at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Noted scientist Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar received Padma Vibhushan while classical singer Begum Parveen Sultana, actor Kamal Hasan, sportsperson Pullela Gopichand were among those who were honoured with Padma Bhushan. Padma Shri Awardees included sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik and actress Vidya Balan. Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were the Vice President Mohd. Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

7) K R Kamat front-runner for RBI Deputy Governor post:  Raghuram Rajan headed search panel has zeroed in on a successor to RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty and PNB Chairman K R Kamath is believed to be top in the reckoning. Besides RBI Governor Rajan, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Takru and other expert members had on last Friday interviewed CMDs of nine public sector banks here, an official privy to the selection process told PTI.

8) Indian Shuttler Sourabh Varma loses Malaysia Grand Prix Gold final:Indian shuttler Sourabh Varma gave a fantastic fight but eventually went down to Indonesian 15th seed Simon Santoso in the men’s singles final of the $120,000 Malaysia Grand Prix Gold on Sunday. Despite leading a large chunk of the match, the eighth seeded Indian went down 21-15, 16-21, 19-21 in a marathon encounter which lasted an hour and nine minutes at the Stadium Perbandaran Pasir Gudang.

9) Slovakia elects Andrej Kiska as president: A non-aligned centrist, Andrej Kiska, swooped in to clinch Slovakia's presidency by a landslide, dealing a heavy blow to the credibility of the prime minister, Robert Fico, before a general election in 2016. Andrej Kiska will be Slovakia’s first president since independence in 1993 without a past in the Communist party.

Source : http://www.currentaffairs4examz.com/

EC allows RBI to grant new bank licences

The Election Commission on Tuesday gave green signal to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for "in-principle" grant of licences for setting up new banks.

Since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into operation on March 5, after the announcement of the general election schedule, the RBI had written to the Commission on March 12 seeking clarity on the issue of grant of new bank licenses.

"The Commission is of the view that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may take necessary action (for grant of in-principle approval for banking licences) as deemed appropriate," the EC Principal Secretary K. Ajaya Kumar wrote to RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

The RBI had earlier planned to issue new bank licenses in March after a gap of ten years. The RBI had received 27 applications initially. Later, Tata Sons and Value Industries withdrew, leaving 25 contenders in the race.

Earlier in the day, Dr. Rajan while unveiling bi-monthly monetary policy in Mumbai had said that once the central bank gets the Elections Commission's approval it would expedite the process and grant licences.

"Once they (EC) say there is no issue there, they (RBI) would be in a position to announce the bank licences very quickly after taking it to the committee of the central board," Dr. Rajan had said.

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

FinMin against raising I-T exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh

The Finance Ministry has rejected the recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on raising the income tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh. The recommendation was made as part of the Committee’s report on the Direct Tax Code (DTC). Adjusting the slabs will cause tax revenue losses to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore a year to the exchequer, the Ministry has said.

It has, however, agreed to the recommendation on reducing the age for tax exemption for senior citizens from 65 years to 60 years. The Ministry has also rejected the recommendation on inflation-proofing the tax exemption.

The Finance Ministry released the proposed Direct Taxes Code - 2013 on Tuesday. Of the 190 recommendations made by the Committee, the Finance Ministry has accepted 153 either wholly or with partial modifications. In his Budget speech in February, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said that the government will seek public opinion on the revised DTC.

Earlier, the UPA Government had introduced the DTC Bill in the Lok Sabha in 2010 and later referred to the Committee. The revised DTC Bill will now be re-introduced in Parliament by the next Finance Minister post-elections.

The Parliamentary Committee had proposed no tax on income of up to Rs 3 lakh per annum; at the rate of 10 percent for Rs 3-10 lakh; 20 percent, for Rs 10-20 lakh and 30 percent on annual income beyond Rs 20 lakh. At percent, there is no tax on income of up to Rs 2 lakh per annum. Income of Rs 2-5 lakh attracts tax at the rate of 10 percent, 20 per cent on Rs 5-10 lakh and 30 per cent on income beyond Rs 10 lakh.

The revised DTC provides for a fourth slab for individuals, HUFs and artificial judicial persons with a view to maintaining overall progressivity in the levy of income tax. If their total income exceeds Rs 10 crore, it is proposed to be taxed at the rate of 35 percent under the revised DTC.

The revised DTC also said the income from a house property, which is not used for business or commercial purposes, will be taxed under the head ‘income from house property’.

The recommendations accepted include those pertaining to simplifying the structure and the content of the DTC for making it more user-friendly and at the same time “ensuring tax buoyancy by tapping high capacity/income and evasion prone segments”.

The recommendations ministry has rejected include the one on retaining the rate of taxation for life insurance companies at 15 percent against the proposed 30 percent and abolishing the Securities Transaction Tax (STT).

The Ministry has said that the revised DTC captures all assets for Wealth Tax, whether physical or financial, thereby removing the discrimination for taxation purposes against “conservative” taxpayers who invest their savings in physical assets.

The rate for the Wealth Tax is proposed (for individuals, HUFs and private discretionary trusts) at 0.25 percent. The threshold for the levy of in the case of individual and HUF is proposed at Rs 50 crores.

The draft Code also does away with the Settlement Commission as it has “not achieved the intended purpose of early settlement of cases and additional revenue realisation”.

The DTC Bill, 2010 had provided for a 50 percent threshold of global assets to be located in India for taxation. “This threshold is too high. There could be a situation that a company has 33.33 per cent assets in three countries but it will not get taxed anywhere.

Accordingly, the revised Code provides for a threshold of 20 per cent of global assets to be located in India for taxation...” it said.

Jayesh Sanghvi, National Leader - International Tax Services, EY says, “The proposed revisions relating to the onus of proof with regard to GAAR, transition provisions with repect to tax losses and MAT credit are welcome but the one on relaxing small shareholdings from the net of indirect transfers and the reduction of the threshold from 50 percent to 20 percent for substantial value may continue to some uncertainties”.

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

FAQ on Honorarium to MTS/Group 'D'

No. I-11020/1/2014-Estt.(AL)Government of India/Bharat Sarkar
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training

The following FAQs supplement the FAQs in respect of Estt. (Allowances) Section already placed in public domain vide F. No. 21011/08/2013-Estt.(AL)

Honorarium
SI. No.	Frequently asked Questions	Answer
1.	What are the rates of honorarium admissible to MTS/Group 'D' officials when they are appointed to work as Dispatch Rider/Scooter Driver?	The rate of such honorarium is pegged at Rs. 10/- per day in terms of this Department's OM No. No.17011/01/2011-Estt.(AL) dated 17-04- 2013
2.	What are the rates of honorarium admissible to MTS/Group 'D' officials/ Dispatch Riders/Scooter Drivers when they are appointed to work as Staff Car Drivers?	The rate of such honorarium is pegged at Rs. 20/- per day in terms of this Department's OM No. No.17011/01/2011-Estt.(AL) dated 17-04- 2013,

Source: www.persmin.nic.in
[http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/I-11020_1_2014-Estt.AL-31032014.pdf]

RBI grants bank licences to IDFC, Bandhan Financial

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India said on Wednesday it had granted bank licenses to IDFC Ltd and Bandhan Financial Services that would be valid for 18 months and would be subject to the two financial firms fully complying with central bank regulations. 

The central bank will also consider the application of India Post, but under a separate process to be carried out in consultation with the government. 

The RBI last year allowed corporate houses to form banks as part of an effort to expand access to financial services in the country. No new Indian bank has been formed since Yes Bank in 2004.

The Election Commission on Tuesday allowed the RBI to announce new bank licences even ahead of general elections set to conclude next month, according to a notice in the commission's website. 

The RBI had sought the commission's approval to issue new bank licences to ensure the process would not clash with the code of conduct ahead of elections, which prevents decisions that may be deemed as political from being taken by government officials or regulators. 

"The commission is of the view that Reserve Bank of India may take necessary action as deemed appropriate by the Bank," election commission said regarding the central bank's query.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

STEP BY STEP INTEREST POSTING IN SUB OFFICES SANCHAYA POST

 Interest Posting At SO In Sanchay Post

Step : 1

1. Take backup of all Database before doing the Interest Posting. 
2. Download the interest file belong to your office code available in your mail. 

Step : 2

• Copy this file in to HO to SO folder available in Server machine.

Step : 3
Login in Counter -> Select the Day Begin/End form -> Select from No. 0304 Import files
from HO -> New Form….. The following screen will be appear. 

Step : 4
After select the Import files from HO form the following menu will be appear 
>> Select the SB Interest Posting Radio button -> OK

Step : 5
After select the SB Interest Posting Radio button -> OK the following screen will be appear. >> Click on Select file to import menu 

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Step : 6
After Click on Select file to import menu following screen will be appear. 
>> Select the file from HO_to_SO folder belongs to your Sanchay Post Office Code -> Click on Open -> Click on Import file. After import data noted the 1st and last account number from the list and than Click on Save -> Send the form.

Step : 7
Login as Supervisor in Sanchay Post Online Software. Select the SB Menu -> Select Form No. 1305 SB Interest Calculation. The following screen will be appear -> Click on Calculate Interest.

Step : 8
After click on Calculate Interest Menu following screen will be appear. Select Annual Interest Posting Radio Button -> Enter the Year 2013 and Press Enter 2014 will be automatically appear -> Enter the Start Account Number & End Account number which is noted earlier and Press OK -> Wait until Successfully message is not appear. 

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Note : 

Before calculate the interest log out from all Sanchay post software and than follow the above step. Check the Interest Report for the year 2013-14 as well as Check in DB Analyzer for successfully posting of Interest in your database.


Courtesy : http://potools.blogspot.in

Allotments/ Reallotments in the cadre of Inspector Posts

Circle Office, Hyderabad has ordered  the following allotments/ Reallotments  in the cadre of Inspector Posts vide CO memo no  ST / 2-2 / 2014      dated 2.04.2014.

PART – A (Re-Allotmemts)

                         In continuation and partial modification of this office memo of even no dated 25/2/2014, the  competent authority has ordered the following re-allotments/transfers  in the cadre of Inspector Posts .

S. No	Name of the official and designation S/Sri/Smt.	Region in which working/ allotted previously	Region to which re-allotted	Remarks
1	Manigandan.B	Hyderabad	Kurnool	Vice post vacant
2	C.Kalyan Ram	Vijayawada	Kurnool	Vice post vacant
3	A.Ravi Babu	Vijayawada	Visakhapatnam	Vice post vacant and Spouse category
4	G.Manjunath	Vijayawada	Kurnool	Vice post vacant

The above transfer in respect of Sl.1 and 2 are at request of the officials. Hence no     

  TA/TP.

PART – B

(Region Allotmemt to APS officials who came out successful in the IP examination 2013) 

Sl NO	Name of the official	Region/Unit to which belongs	Region to which allotted
1	8376818-Y WO V.Hari Babu	APS	Visakhapatnam
2	8375696-N WO K.Naga Veera Venkata Rao	APS	Vijayawada
3	8376138-Y WO S S Prakasa Rao	APS	Vijayawada
4	8376824-M WO B.Shanmukha Rao	APS	Visakhapatnam
5	8676451-F WO V Sudhakar	APS	Vijayawada