TERMINATED CONTINGENT LABOUR REAPPOINTED WITH BACK WAGES - CAT ORDERS

TERMINATED CONTINGENT LABOUR REAPPOINTED WITH BACK WAGES - CAT ORDERS

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NORMS FOR OPENING OF POSTOFFICES & TARGET FOR OPENING OF POs FOR FY 2014-15

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES offered by DoP

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Re-Appropriation Proposals-adherence to the Principles of Financial Propriety

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SB ORDER NO 7 / 2014 -- Amendment to Sub rule 3 of Rule 8 of SCSS Rules 2004

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NEW HSG-II & HSG-I RECRUITMENT RULES

After publication of HSG II New Recruitment Rules (few months back) and HSG-I New Recruitment Rules (two days back) many officials are under the impression that the length of qualifying service in LSG & HSG-II  for next promotion is changed for all officials as per the new Recruitment Rules.  It is not so.  In the HSG-II and HSG-I Recruitment Rules there is a clause which states that as far as the existing LSG & HSG II officials (as on date of publication of the new RRs) the length of service as per the old Recruitment Rules is enough  for promotion of HSG II and HSG-I.  The new length of service condition is applicable only to those officials who get promotion to LSG & HSG II after the notification of the new RRs.  All  Circle / Divisional Secretaries are requested to bring the above important clause to the notice of all concerned, so that eligible employees will not be denied  promotion.

2.       Earlier IP Line officials are posted against HSG-I Postmasters post on promotion as ASP. As per the new HSG-I Recruitment Rules all the HSG-I posts are earmarked for promotion to General line HSG-II officials and there is no IP line posts in the HSG-I now. Circle Secretaries are requested to take up the case with chief PMGs to fill up all HSG-I posts (including IP line posts) by granting promotion to General line HSG-II officials with three years HSG-II service

BRANCH/DIVISIONAL CIRCLE SECRETARIES

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE.

PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED WHEN TAKING UP BRANCH./DIVISIONAL/CIRCLE LEVEL CASES AT DIRECTORATE LEVEL

Some of the Branch/Divisional/Circle Secretaries are forwarding Divisional/Circle level cases to the CHQ by post and also by email, even without discussing the case with the Divisional / Regional / Circle Administration.  Whenever CHQ takes up any case of a Division / Circle at Directorarte level, it should clearly mention that the issue was taken up at Circle level and the reply given by the Circle Administration (written or oral) shall also be mentioned.

               Conducting monthly meeting by Divisional head with Divisional Unions, Bi-monthly meeting by Regional PMG/DSP (HQ) with Circle Unions and JCM (Regional Council) meeting/Formal four monthly meeting by Chief PMG with Circle Unions at regular intervals is mandatory.  If these meetings are held regulartly at Divisional/Regional/Circle level, then most of the Divisional/Circle level items can be discussed with the administration and the administration is bound to give a written reply.  if any Divisional head is not holding monthly meeting every month, then the Divisional Secretary should taken up the case through Circle Union with Chief PMG for issuing instructions to the Divisional head.  If any Regional, PMG/DPS (HQ) is not holding Bi-monthly meeting every two months, the case should be taken up with Chief PMG through Circle Union for issuing instructions to the PMG/DPS (HQ).  If Chief PMG is not holding JCM (RC) meeting and formal four monthly meeting, then Circle Secretary should take up the case with CHQ       for issuing suitable directions from the Directorate to Chief PMG.  If Chief PMG is not ready to intervene in any case, that matter should be reported to CHQ with details of the cases taken up with CPMG.

               It is the responsibility of the Divisional/Circle Secretary to ensure that formal meetings (MM, BM, FM, JCM RC) are held regularly with the Divisional/Regional and Circle Administration.  Whenever any case is sent to CHQ, a mention should be made to the effect that the case is taken up with Circle Administration and such and such reply (either oral or written) is given.  If CPMG is not ready to discuss, it may be mentioned.  CHQ will mention this fact in our letter to/discussion with Directorate.  Normally Directorate will not entertain Divisional/Circle level issues, unless a clear mention is made that the issue was taken up at Circle level but could not be settled and the stand taken by the CPMG is also mentioned.

               On behalf of the CHQ, I request all Branch/Divisional/Circle Secretaries  to follow the above procedure when you are taking up Circle/Divisional level cases at CHQ level.  The above procedure is not applicable to general cases of All India nature.  Such cases can be taken up with CHQ, even without taking it up at Circle level.

                                                                       M. KRISHNAN

                                                                 Secretary General, NFPE

                                                & General Secretary, AIPEU Gr.C (CHQ)

AIPEU GDS (NFPE) & NFPE SUBMITTED MEMORANDUM TO 7th CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION

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COVERING LETTER 

MEMORANDUM COPY

Gist of the contents/items placed in Memorandum will be published soon.

Acknowledgements:

My sincere thanks to Com.K.V.Sridharan, Former General Secretary, AIPEU Gr.C., & Leader, JCM Staffside and Com.M.Krishnan, Secretary General, NFPE & General Secretary, AIPEU Gr.C., Com.R.Sivannarayana, President, AIPEU Gr.C., and all other well wishers for their valuable contribution, intensive efforts and remarkable suggestions during the preparation of this Memorandum.

Readers, please send your suggestions and remarks to the CHQ through e-mail.

= P.Pandurangarao

   General Secretary

MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED TO 7TH CPC BY ALL INDIA POSTAL SBCO EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

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Small Saving Schemes for the benefit of all including Weaker Sections of Society

The Small Savings Schemes that are currently in operation in the country are: Post Office Savings Account, Post Office Time Deposits (1,2,3 & 5 years), Post Office Recurring Deposits, Post Office Monthly Income Account, Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, National Savings Certificate (VIII-Issue), National Savings Certificate (IX-Issue) and Public Provident Fund.

The above accounts can be opened by a person who has attained the age of majority and is of sound mind, except the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme which can be opened by a retired person who has attained the age of 55 years or 60 years on the date of opening of account. The accounts can be opened by an individual and the guardians on behalf of minor also.

Benefits of small savings schemes are equally available to all persons which include weaker sections of the society.

With the objective of facilitating payment of various Government benefits transferred under different schemes of Central and State Government, a new category of savings account called ‘Basic Savings Account’ was notified. An individual adult and also a guardian of any minor, including people from the weaker sections, whose names are registered for any Government Welfare Scheme, may avail benefits from the said schemes. They can open Basic Saving Account, without depositing any amount, in any post office for the said purpose.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

 source:PIB

Changes made in labour laws, trade unions criticise -- NEWS

NEW DELHI: As part of labour reforms, the government has amended three archaic laws to provide for doubling of theovertime hours from 50 per quarter and enabling women to work in night shifts among other changes which evoked sharp criticism from labour unions.

The amendments to the Factories Act, the Apprentices Act and the Labour Laws (exemption from furnishing returns and maintaining registers by certain establishments) Act were approved by Cabinet last night.

The Cabinet has given its approval (for the amendments). The amendments would be beneficial for the labourers," Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said here today. "We expect that it will be tabled in the present session of Parliament," he added.

Among the changes made in the laws are relaxing of certain norms to enable women to work in night shifts, doubling the provision of overtime from 50 hours per quarter to 100 hours in some cases and from 75 hours to 125 hours in other work of public interest and others.

According to Minister of State Labour and Employment Vishnu Deo Sai, the amendment to the Factories Actwas to make it more compatible to the requirement of the present scenario in industrial sector. However, trade unions critisized the "hasty, employer-friendly amendments" in the name of development and are likely to meet soon to decide action programme against it.

"Under the cover of so-called gender parity, the amendments said that women can work in night shifts. We feel that in the Indian context, the time has not come for us that we can leave our sisters and daughters so that they work in night shifts. We are against that. Congenial atmosphere is still not there so as to let women work the night shifts," said AITUC Secretary D L Sachdev.

Talking about the provision for doubling the overtime hours from 50 per quarter, he said that through this, more liberty is being given to the employer.

"While AITUC is not opposed to simplification process per se in maintaining registers and sending returns for each Act for small and medium enterprises, it opposes increasing the ambit of such industries from 10 to 40 workers. It should have been done gradually," he said.

On Apprentice Act, no provision has been made for monitoring breach by provisions of the employers, he said.

According to an amendment proposed in the Apprentices Act, it will now not be compulsory for an employer to absorb 50 per cent of the apprentices as permanent employees.

Another amendment to the Act will enable to add 500 new skills and vocations in the industry, including those related to the IT sector. One of the amendments to the Factories Act states that now employees can avail leave with pay after completing 90 days in job. The earlier stipulation was 240 days.

CIVIL STATUS TO GDS

Editorial POSTAL LIFE (P4 CHQ)

A reply to a question in LOK SABHA on 14^th July 2014, the Hon’ble Minister of Communication & IT and Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad Jee said that the GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS are not regular Government Employees. They are part time workers and are governed by a separate set of Conduct and Engagement Rules. They do not form part of the regular civil service. They are engaged for only 3 to 5 hours daily work. It is mandatory for them to have an independent source of livelihood before being engaged as GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS and explained as Government already given so many welfare schemes like SDB (Service Discharge Benefit Scheme), exgratia gratuity etc,. 

With due respect and regards we appeal and urge our Hon’ble Communication Minister who are the Minister also for Law & Justice to not to deny the “JUSTICE’ to 2.73 Lakh Gramin Dak Sevaks down trodden and poor employees working in the department of posts

 In the present set up of the social, economic structure of rural areas, the daily wages for an agricultural labourers has been fixed much above the daily rate of a GDS. Resultantly, the GDS employees are not able to meet the family expenses and have one square meal a day.

 The declaration of Justice Talwar Committee that ’95.70 % joined the Postal Department as ED agents hoping to get full time absorption and only 4.08 % took it as a side occupation” is the real fact still prevailing and they are solely depending upon their wages for their livelihood” in rural areas, still many of them are underpaid and lesser in the standard of living while comparing the MNREGS beneficiaries.

 Notwithstanding our genuine claim to declare the GDS as holder of civil posts and dispen the class within the class which is in violation of Article 14 &16 of the Union Constitution, we wish to put forth the feasibilities of such departmentalization of GDS and improve the service with the existing infrastructure in an effective manner.

 With the hope of departmentalization at the one day, the GDS are prolonging their life with more expectation of their future. Their hopes can be considered by introducing various new services in the rural areas with the cooperation’s of the Human resource ministry and by introducing various social and developmental activities.

 The Post Office alone has such a vast network and infrastructure and it can be fully utilized by providing various new services to rural public through post office by its own saving bank scheme to distribute the Govt. welfare measures as if we are doing under the MGNREGS Scheme e.g (1) the work like pension payment (2) sale of  cash certificate (Government bonds) (3) Introducing all kinds of bill services and commercial activities in the rural areas like acceptance of electricity bills, Land Revenue, Panchayat taxes etc. under business activities of Postal Department or tie with such governmental organizations. This would result to enhance the working hours for eight hours and introduce various new works at village level with the cooperation of other government and public sector organization. If time factors for all the work performed by the GDS is formulated certainly it will pave way for the regularization of many GDS actually working for more than six hours but not avaled the benefit of the departmentalization. We do not want any incentive are perks denying our regularization. There is nothing wrong to entrust the work of part time contingent in the case of departmentalization of the Branch Offices. 

 If all the GDS are departmentalized by scraping  the existing GDS system with eight hours work and each official assigned with various new works to improve the functioning of rural Post Offices in order to make it more remunerative and will overcome the financial problems of the department. This vast infrastructure will really be an invaluable asset to the department in this era of e-commerce and e-governance not at all a liability. If Post Offices are kept open for more hours by introducing more new work as suggested above there is every possibility for increasing the workload generating extra revenue for the department. By considering all above facts and cause action for departmentalization of rural Post Offices for improvement of rural postal net work it Justified.

A New Programme of Financial Inclusion - opportunity to Gramin Dak Sevaks -- NEWS

Government to Launch A New Program of Financial Inclusion in Mission Mode to Provide Households with Facilities of Savings, Credit, Remittances, Insurance and Pension: FM 

The Union Finance Minster Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Government is going to launch a new program of Financial Inclusion in Mission Mode which will provide households with facilities of savings, credit, remittances, insurance and pension among others. He said that this is a marked shift from earlier effort where only opening of account was the focus of the financial inclusion drive. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley was speaking after holding a meeting with theChief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Financial Institutions(FIs) here today.

The meeting was attended among others by Shri G.S. Sandhu, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Ms. Snehlata Shrivastva, Additional Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Public Sector Banks and Financial Institutions and senior officers of Ministry of Finance.

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley further said that this time the Government is targeting the individual households rather than the village. He said that there are 7.5 crore households in the country who do not have bank account so far. The Finance Minister said that the Government is targeting that every village should get a banking facility within a reasonable distance and that every household should have at least one bank account within the time frame of one year. This is a big challenge and there are several difficulties like lack of connectivity and infrastructure facilities etc, the Minister added.

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley said that in our country where we have very low levels of financial literacy, it is essential that people understand the importance of availing financial services which will enable them to participate in the growth story. Therefore, financial literacy will receive a special emphasis in this new programme of financial inclusion, the Minister added.

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley said that technology has made rapid strides in recent times and, therefore, the Government must use technology, especially mobile based services in a big way to achieve the desired results. The Government has integrated provisions of access to banking facilities, account opening, financial literacy, credit availment, micro insurance and pension, the Minister added.

The Financial Inclusion Mission has two phases starting from 15^thAugust this year. The first phase will get over by 14^thAugust, 2015 and the second Phase by 14^thAugust, 2018. Most of the activities will be done in Phase – I and insurance and pension would be covered in Phase – II.

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley added that the previous efforts did not involve the State Government and District administration. He said that this time the State Governments have been requested to achieve this ambitious task. There would be State level and District level Committees to monitor the progress under the plan, the Minister stated.

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley said that there was no pull factor in the earlier campaign where people could demand access of banking facilities in their villages. He added that under the Mission, there would be awareness generation amongst the people so that they can ask for opening of their bank accounts by the banks and the business correspondents.

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley stated that in the past, the Know Your Customer (KYC) process was very cumbersome. This has now been eased and the e-KYC facility has been introduced in the banks.

 Comparison between Old Financial Inclusion Programme and New Programme.

Old Program	New Program
Village based approach for  villages where population greater than  2000 (Limited Geography)	Households in all villages
Only Rural	Both Rural and Urban
Mobile BC	Fixed Point BC in each SSA comprising of 3 to 4 villages. This visit other villages in the SSA on fixed days.
Focus on opening of Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts (BSBDA)	Focus on Financial Literacy, opening of BSBDA Account, Convergence with other subsidy schemes& Micro Insurance/Pension, RuPay Debit Card, USSD Scheme, Kisan Credit Card
Monitoring by banks	Monitoring Mechanism at Centre, State, District level. Active participation of state and district emphasized.
Operation of Accounts offline; separate server.	Accounts on line ‘on CBS of banks. Provision of RuPay Card to each account holder giving him freedom to operate anywhere

 Besides above, the following decisions were also taken in today’s meeting of the CEOs of Public Sector Banks and Financial Institutions which was chaired by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley.

• New emphasis on fixed point  Business Correspondents (BCs) like :

o                       Common Service Centres (CSCs)

o                       Gramin Dak sevaks

o                       PDS shops

o                       NBFCs

• Banks to explore the possibilities of installing ATMs in rural areas under RBI subsidy scheme

• Convergence with the efforts of UIDAI to enroll beneficiaries for Aadhar number during account opening

• Convergence with the efforts of other programmes  of SHGs / JLGs

• e-KYC to be used for opening of accounts in the camps where Aadhaar number is available

• Financial literacy material would be standardized by IBA

• Logo / tagline of the plan to be used on all correspondence material for one year
• Overdraft facilities would be after satisfactory operation
• Grievance redressal cell at State level by State Level Banker’s Committee(SLBC)
• In order to ensure viability of  BCs Banks would start a financing scheme
• Banks would take Micro ATMs which are Aadhar enabled
• All Pass book based KCCs to be enabled on Rupay card
• Mobile wallet cash points also to be used as BCs
• Monitoring mechanism strengthened.
• State Governments requested to depute an officer to SLBC for monitoring purpose

Opening of NFPE Union office at Kakinada HPO by SPOs Shri Md. Azmathulla (Allotted by SPOs in HPO Building)

Transfers & Postings in ASP Cadre

R.O, Vijayawada has ordered the following transfers and postings in ASP Cadre vide memo dated 01.08.2014.

Modifications in Transfers ordered vide memo dated 13.06.2014 : 

Sl No.	Name of the Officer S/Sri	Present post of working	Place of posting on transfer	Remarks
1.	M.Srinivasa Murthy	ASRM Y Dn and apptd ASP, Bapatla	ASP(Hqrs),O/o SPOs, Tenali Dn, Tenali	Vice  sl.no.2
2.	K.Ramesh Babu	ASP(Hqrs), O/o SPOs, Tenali Dn Tenali	ASP(Hqrs), O/o SRM Y Dn, Vijayawada	In the interest of service
3.	Ch.Siva Rama Prasad	ASP(Hqrs) Vijayawada Dn and Apptd ASRM(Hq), O/o  SRM, RMS ‘Y’ Dn,	Dy. Manager, SPCC, Vijayawada	Vice Sri S.Srikarbabu stands re-allotted to Visakhapatnam Region

 Part-I(Re-allotments) 

Sl no.	Name of the official. S/Shri	Present place of working.	Place of posting on re-allotment	Remarks
1	K.PrakashRao	ASP, Nizamabad North Sub Dn Hyderabad Region	ASP. Bapatla Sub Dn, Tenali Dn, Vijayawada Region	Vice Post Vacant
2.	P.S.Pavan Kumar	ASP, HCR, on deputation to PTC,Mysore	ASP(Hqrs), O/o SPOs, Gudur Dn, Gudur, Vijayawada Region	Vice Post Vacant
3	S.Srikar Babu	Dy.Manager, SPCC, Vijaayawada, Vijayawada Region	ASP, Tekkali Sub Dn, Srikakulam Dn, Visakhapatnam Region	Vice Post Vacant

     Part-II(Promotions)            

Sl no.	Name of the official. S/Shri	Present place of working.	Place of posting to the cadre of Assistant Superintendent of Post Offices, on promotion.	Remarks
1	Sk.Ahmed Ali	IP, Vijayawada Region	ASP. Kanigiri  Sub Division, Prakasam Dn	Vice post vacant

JUST FOR INFO : GOOGLE DRIVE NOT ACCESSIBLE IN MOST OF THE TIME

Inaccessible Google Drive In Sify Network

Most of the Time Google drive was inaccessible in SIFY Netwotk. 

Reason Behind This:

Most of the websites has been blocked by SIFY Network. But Some important Sites are allowed in SIFY for Communication purposes. Google drive is one of the site which is allowed in sify network.

Google Drive is not working because Youtube and Google DNS Address is same. Google drive was not blocked by SIFY, but you tube has been blocked by SIFY Network.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES offered by DoP

PRODUCTS/SERVICES OFFERED BYTHE DEPARTMENT OF POSTS 

1. TraditionalMail: 

(i) Postcard, inland lettercard,bookpost,envelopes,businessreplyservice,parcels.

(ii) Addon features- Registration, cashondelivery(valuepayablepost),insurance. 

2. PremiumProducts: 

(i) SpeedPost–Timespecificandassureddelivery service. 

(ii) BusinessPost –Includes pre-mailing activities for bulkmail. 

(iii) Express Parcel Post – Express delivery of parcel through surfacetransportationto corporatecustomers. 

(iv) Logistic Post–Deliveryofheavyparcels andconsignmentloads. 

3. E-enabledservices: 

(i) e-Post–bridgesthedividebetweenthosewhohaveaccesstocomputers/internetandthosewho donot. 

(ii) E-BillPost–ThisisaninformationtechnologyenabledserviceforpaymentofutilityBills. 

(iii) Bill Mail Service – A cost effective solution for mailing of periodiccommunicationsin thenatureoffinancialstatements. 

4. MoneyTransfer: 

(i) Domesticmoneyorderservice. 

ElectronicMoneyOrder(eMO)–Moneytransfertakesplaceelectronically.AmaximumamountofRs.5000/-canberemittedinoneeMO. 

Instant MoneyOrder (iMO)–An onlinemoneytransfer system where heremittancetakesplaceinstantly.Therange ofmoneywhich can beremittedthroughthisservice isfromRs.5,000/-to Rs.50,000/-. 

(ii)InternationalMoneyTransferSystem–TransferofmoneyfromForeignCountriestoIndiabeingimplementedincollaborationwithM/sWesternUnionMoneyTransferandM/sMoneygram.RemittancethroughInternationalFinancialSystem(IFS)inpartnershipwithpostsinothercountriesisalsopossible. 

5. Financial Services: 

(i) PostOfficeSavingsBankAccounts–SB,RecurringDeposit,TimeDeposit,MonthlyIncomeScheme,SeniorCitizenSavingsScheme,PPF, NSC, KVP. 

(ii) CoreBankingSolution; 

(iii) Third PartyProducts–Retailing ofMutualFunds, NewPensionSchemeetc. 

6. PostalLife Insurance: 

(i) PostalLifeInsurance– Oldestlifeinsurance schemeforthe benefitofemployeesofGovernment,public sector andautonomousbodies. 

(ii) Rural PostalLileInsuranceCaterstoinsurancerequirement ofrural populace. 

7. RetailServices: 

(i) Billcollection. 

(ii) Datacollection–Election CommissionofIndia,RegistrarGeneralofIndia. 

(iii) SaleofapplicationformsofUPSC,Universities, etc. 

(iv) Paymentofwagesto beneficiariesofMGNREGS, PaymentofOld AgePension,etc. 

(v) BookingofRailwayTickets 

( Theabovelist is indicative,notexhaustive)

GK/Current Affairs Questions asked in RBI Grade B (DR) exam held on 3 August 2014

Friends.. Here are some questions asked in RBI Grade B officers exam held on 3 Aug 2014. These questions were shared by our friends Debasish Gupta and Ramesh Kumar K.

1. Who is the Finance Minister of India?- Arun Jaitley

2. Current Governor of RBI?- Raghuram Rajan

3. Father's day 2014 was celebrated in India on?- June 21

4. What happened with MH370 air plane?- Disappeared over Indian Ocean

5. First Nobel prize winner of Asia?- Rabindranath Tagore

6. Which Union Minister at present lost the Lok Sabha elections but becameminister through Rajya Sabha membership?- Arun Jaitley

7. Prime minister's first foreign tour was to which country?- Bhutan

8. How many banks are collaboration with SBI

9. What is 'C' in SAARC?- Cooperation

10. Governor of World bank.

11. Who gave 1000 billion dollar to Uttarakhanad development

12. Dadasaheb phalke award winner in 2014?- Gulzar

13. NEFT stands for?- National Electronic Fund Transfer

14. Cabinet Minister in Lok Sabha?- Venkaih Naidu

15. FIFA World Cup 2014 was hled in?- Brazil

16. Chief Minister of Telangana?- Chandrasekhar Rao

17. Who is Ajit Kumar Doval?- National Security Advisor

18. Attorney General of India?- Mukul Rohatgi

19. Name the Germany Chancellor?- Angela Merkel

20. World woman's day is celebrated on?- March 8

Courtesy : http://www.currentaffairs4examz.com/

NORMS FOR OPENING OF POSTOFFICES & TARGET FOR OPENING OF POs FOR FY 2014-15

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CSAT row: English marks not to be included for gradation or merit in UPSC exam

English marks in CSAT-II will not be included for gradation or merit and 2011 candidates may get a second chance to appear for the test next year, government announced in Lok Sabha today seeking to defuse the UPSC row that has seen the aspirants on warpath.

"Government is of the opinion that in the Civil Services Preliminary examination, Paper-II, the marks of the question section on 'English Language comprehension skills' should not be included for gradation or merit," MoS Personnel Jitendra Singh said seeking to mollify the agitating candidates.

In a brief statement Singh said, "Candidates, who appeared in Civil Services Examination 2011, may be given one more attempt in 2015."

Parliament has witnessed repeated uproar and several adjournments in the past few days over the issue.

Immediately after the statement, B Mahtab (BJD) and Dharmendra Yadav (SP) stood up demanding clarification whether Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) has been done away with.

However, the Minister stood up to say that he has said whatever he wanted to.

Earlier, opposition had demanded in the Rajya Sabha a definite time-frame from government to resolve the issue and served a privilege notice, forcing adjournment of the House.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Sharad Yadav (JD-U) accused the government of "going back on its promise" of resolving the issue expeditiously.

The students have been demanding that the pattern of CSAT be changed to give level-playing field to those coming from rural areas.

There are two compulsory papers of 200 marks each in the preliminary examination. These papers are also known as CSAT-I and CSAT-II.

The CSAT-II paper carries questions on comprehension, inter-personal skills including communication skills, logical reasoning and analytical ability, decision-making and problem- solving, general mental ability, basic numeracy, and English language comprehension skills (of Class X level).

Students have been objecting to the level of aptitude and English language questions being asked in the examination claiming they are much above the standard prescribed for the examination.

The civil services examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in three stages--preliminary, main, and interview--to choose candidates for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

Source : The Economic Times

What is the Difference Between Log Off, Restart, and Shut Down?

A concept users frequently have difficulty with is the difference between “logging off,” “restarting,” and “shutting down” a system. This article will clear that up.

Tech support staff will often instruct users to take a specific action, such as “log off your system” or “power down the system.” Confusion between these terms can cause problems and waste the time of the support staff and the end user, so these are good, simple terms to understand.

To shut down (or power down, or power off) a system means that, when the process of shutting down is complete, the machine is powered down, and it will not come back up again without a someone taking further action, e.g., powering it back on again. If you expect your system will be needed for maintenance or remote access by someone else, shutting it down effectively prevents this.

To restart (or reboot) a system means that the computer goes through a complete shutdown process, then starts back up again. This is frequently required after software installations or during troubleshooting.

To log off a system means that the user who is currently logged on has their session end, but leaves the computer running for someone else to use. This is faster than a full restart and, generally, a better choice during the course of the business day when a system is shared between multiple users.

To power on a system means that you simply press the power button and let the system come up to a login prompt.

If you enter your username and password, you have gone a step further and have logged on.

If support staff instructs you to take a specific action, it is in everyone’s best interest that you do exactly what was suggested, and not something else. For instance, if you are instructed to “power on” your system, just power it on, but do not enter your username and password. Similarly, if you are requested to log off, just log off, but do not shut it down.

Current Affairs : 02 and 03 August 2014

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nepal; Addressed Nepal Parliament: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Kathmandu on a two-day visit to Nepal on Sunday, addressed the nation's Constituent Assembly. India's relation with Nepal is as old as the Himalayas and the Ganga, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi said on Sunday addressing Nepalese parliament. Annoucing a slew of measures to help Nepal in its development, Modi said, "border should be a bridge not a barrier between the two neighbours." Modi thus became the first Prime Minister to visit Nepal in 17 years. I K Gujral was the last Indian prime minister to visit Nepal in 1997.

2) 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games concluded: 20th Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2014 concluded at Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow, Scotland on 3 August 2014 at. The game that saw 17 sports in a competition of 11 days was held from 23 July to 3 August 2014. The Glasgow 2014 CWG was declaredclosed in presence of British Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex and vice patron of Commonwealth Games Federation. The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia. England topped the medals tally while Australia got thesecond position. Canada was third followed by Scotland.

3) India finished 5th with 64 medals in Commonwealth Games 2014: India in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, Scotland stood at the fifth position in the rankings after closing its account with total 64 medals (15 Gold, 30 silver and 19 Bronze). This was third highest medal haul after 2010 Delhi CWG (101 medals) and 2002 Manchester CWG (69 medals).

4) P Kashyap bags gold for India after 32 years in men’s singles in badminton: Kashyap became the 1st Indian in 32 years to win men's singles gold after he defeated Wong 21-14 11-21 21-19. Rewriting Commonwealth Games' badminton history, Parupalli Kashyap won India's third men's singles gold in CWG 2014 but Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa failed to defend their women's doubles title they won four years ago at home.Second seed Kashyap emulated former champions Prakash Padukone (1978) and Syed Modi (1982) to clinch his first major championship by defeating Singaporean sixth seed Zi Liang Derek Wong to turn the bronze he won four years ago in New Delhi into a gold. The 27-year-old won 21-14, 11-21, 21-19 in just over an hour at the Emirates Arena.

5) CWG: India men’s hockey team settle for silver: India’s quest for a Commonwealth Games hockey gold remained unfulfilled as they went down tamely 0-4 to title holders and world champions Australia in the final at the National Hockey Centre, in Glasgow on Sunday. Even though the two teams are class apart, it was an ideal opportunity for eight-time Olympic champions India to avenge their 0-8 thrashing at the hands of mighty Australia in the 2010 edition of the Games in New Delhi. But it was not to be as Australia produced a clinical performance and completely dominated the match by scoring two goals in each half to secure their fifth consecutive Commonwealth Games title since the introduction of hockey in the quadrennial event in 1998.

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