People new to city still prefer postal ID cards

People new to city still prefer postal ID cards

CHENNAI, December 24, 2015 

EFFORTS ON TO MAKE CARD VALID PROOF FOR PASSPORT

Identity cards issued at post offices continue to be popular with people who have recently shifted to the city. On an average, post offices receive 4,000 applications for ID cards every month.

The cards are used to open bank and postal accounts, get LPG connections, ration cards and driving licences. However, residents demand that the cards used for address proof must be delivered soon. “Many people who migrated from north-eastern states apply for the cards. But, we do not provide cards to people who do not have proper accommodation. We ask for authorisation letter from house owners and our postal staff members also go on a verification drive,” said a postal official.

It is also an accepted ID proof to produce during train travel. Sources in the Transport department said they accept postal ID cards as an address proof document. But, the applicant also has to attach an affidavit as it is not listed as accepted document in the government procedure.

Efforts are on to have postal ID cards accepted as a valid document to get passports.

Since the launch of the service in 2008, nearly 3.5 lakh cards have been issued in Chennai city region. Customers need to pay Rs.270 to get ID cards and Rs.600 under tatkal system.

The card is valid for three years. While cards applied under tatkal process are delivered in a fortnight, customers complain that they have to wait for more than a month under the regular process.

A consumer activist said the service needs to be popularised in suburban areas. “The department must also introduce a system to alert customers about expiry of the validity period. The procedure to renew the card must be hassle free and done at a less cost,” he said. Officials said the cards are now delivered through registered posts.

Source :  http://www.thehindu.com

Surpluss.in partners with India Post to expand delivery service

ET Bureau | 24 Dec, 2015, 03.33PM IST

KOLKATA: Surpluss.in has partnered with India Post to expand its delivery service across the nook and corner of the country, including providing cash on delivery option.

"The partnership with India Post as our delivery partner will provide wider reach and network. This alliance would give a huge boost to our delivery services," said Surpluss.in executive director Tarun Bhardwaj.

Surpluss.in is an e-commerce firm which is into the recommerce space or sells surplus, refurbished and unboxed products. Apart from consumer electronics and mobiles, Surpluss.in operates in a host of categories like lifestyle, healthcare, home decor and jewelerry.

Bhardwaj said the recommerce industry is pegged at Rs 1.15 lakh crore and is expected to accelerate by 2020. Recently, the company also partnered with OnEMI to offer EMI option to customers.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Post 'well poised' to take on competition

MUMBAI: India Post is confident that with its wide network of branches it is 'well poised' to take on competition from its peers in banking sector.

Speaking at a seminar on Financial Inclusion organised by ET Edge, A K Dash, Chief Postmaster General, Maharashtra said, "We have 1,55,000 branches and 1,30,000 in rural areas so we are well poised."

The Department of Post, is one of the 11 candidates that have received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to float a payment bank.

The Department of Post will float a 100% subsidiary to be known as India Post Payments following an approval from the Cabinet. "Once the payment bank comes, which we expect sometime next year, then we will look at partnering with some technology partners and maybe some other banks who will have different products than what a payments bank can offer," said Dash. India Post has received proposal from close to 20 banks for partnership, sources said.

Payments banks are not permitted to to give loans but can accept deposits up to Rs 1 lakh. They are allowed to sell third party products like mutual funds and insurance. While issuing the in-principle licence for small banks and payments banks, the RBI has said that the move is aimed at reaching out to the unbanked population in the formal financial sector.

Stating that India Post has a big advantage, Dash said that the rural postmaster is someone who knows everyone and is trusted. "The postmaster and the postman steals the trust and they also know the people in the village so that will be very useful for finding out and having the deposits, having the payments system and selling third party products," he said.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

RBI extends deadline to exchange pre-2005 notes to June 30

MUMBAI: Reserve Bank today extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, including Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, by another six months to June 30, 2016.

The Reserve Bank had, in June 2015, set the last date for public to exchange pre-2005 banknotes notes as December 31, 2015.

"RBI, on a review, decided to extend the date for the public to exchange their pre-2005 banknotes till June 30, 2016," it said in a statement.

However, RBI added that from January 1, 2016, such facility will only be available at identified bank branches and Issue Offices of the Reserve Bank.

Soliciting cooperation from members of public in withdrawing these bank notes from circulation, RBI has urged them to exchange pre-2005 bank notes at the identified bank branches or Issues Offices of the Reserve Bank, convenient to them.

Over 164 crore pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, including of Rs 1,000 were shredded in offices of Reserve Bank in 13-month period ending January, as per official data.

The face value of the shredded currency notes was around Rs 21,750 crore.

As many as 86.87 crore pieces of Rs 100, 56.19 crore pieces of Rs 500 and 21.75 crore pieces of Rs 1,000 were shredded.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Lok Sabha approved hike of wage ceiling for Bonus to Rs 21,000 and Bonus calculation ceiling to Rs 7,000

The Lok Sabha has approved amendments to the Payment of Bonus Act that seeks to make more workers eligible for bonus by raising the pay eligibility limit of employees to Rs 21,000 per month from Rs 10,000. 

Railways hikes tatkal ticket charges for AC, sleeper class

The government has increased the tatkal ticket booking charges by up to 33 per cent. The Indian Railways has increased the tatkal booking charges for travel in sleeper class, AC-III tier, AC-II tier and executive class and will come into effect from December 25.

The announcement came immediately after the winter session of Parliament concluded on Wednesday. The second class (general) tatkal charges will remain unchanged.

The revised charges :

» The minimum tatkal charges for sleeper class have been raised from Rs. 90 to Rs. 100 and the maximum charge from Rs. 175 to Rs. 200. The amount will vary depending upon the distance travelled.

» The hike in travel charges in AC compartments is even more. The minimum tatkal charges in AC-III have increased from Rs. 250 to Rs. 300 while the maximum charges have gone up from Rs. 350 to Rs. 400

» The minimum charges for AC-II tier have been increased from Rs. 300 to Rs. 400, and the maximum charges have been hiked from Rs. 400 to Rs. 500.

» Passengers travelling in the executive class will need to pay Rs. 400 instead of Rs. 300 as the minimum tatkal booking charge and Rs. 500 against the earlier sum of Rs. 400 as maximum cost.

» The tatkal booking for second class sitting will remain the same at Rs. 10 as minimum and Rs. 15 as maximum charge, depending on the distance.

Reallotments and Promotions in ASP Cadre

Circle Office Hyderabad has ordered the following Reallotments and Promotions in ASP Cadre vide CO memo dated 23-12-2015.

Click here to view CO memo dated 23-12-2015.

New Nomenclature to LDC and UDC designations in Central Govt offices

Designations like Lower Division Clerk (LDC) and Upper Division Clerk (UDC) in central government's employee hierarchy have been replaced with new nomenclature. 

The posts of UDC and LDC under Central Secretariat Clerical Service (CSCS) have been rechristened as Senior Secretariat Assistant and Junior Secretariat Assistant, respectively, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said. 

Minimum Pensions fixed by Govt., recommended by various committees, complaints regarding anomalies

Minimum Pensions fixed by Govt., recommended by various committees, complaints regarding anomalies: Lok Sabha Q&A

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 3564

ANSWERED ON: 21.12.2015

Minimum Pensions

HARISH DWIVEDI
Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:-

(a)the minimum pension fixed by the Government for the employees retired from the Government departments, corporations and Semi-Government departments;

(b)the minimum pension recommended by the various committees constituted so far by the Government;

(c)whether the Government has received complaints regarding anomalies in minimum pension scheme; and

(d)if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI BANDARU DATTATREYA)

(a): The minimum pension fixed for retired Central Government employees is Rs. 3,500/- per month with effect from 01.01.2006. For pensioners, including those retired from public sector corporations and other establishments, to whom the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 framed under the Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 applies, provision of a minimum pension of Rs. 1,000/- per month has made with effect from 01.09.2014.

(b): The Sixth Central Pay Commission had recommended pension of Rs. 3,330/- per month in respect of employees retired from the Central Government.

The minimum pension of Rs. 1,000/- per month under the EPS, 1995 implemented by the Central Government was one of the recommendations of the Expert Committee constituted by the Government. Apart from this, the Committee on Petitions of the Rajya Sabha under the chairmanship of Shri Bhagat Singh Koshiyari in its 147th Report had recommended to increase Government share of contribution under EPS, 1995 from 1.16 per cent to 8.33 per cent to support the minimum pension level of Rs. 3000/- per month. However, it was not found feasible for implementation.

(c) & (d): No complaints regarding anomalies in minimum pension in respect of Central Government employees have been received by the Government.

However, representations, grievances and complaints have been received from various quarters that the monthly pension to pensioners under EPS, 1995 have not increased to Rs. 1,000/- per month even after the notification in respect of pensioners who had taken short service pension, commutations or return of capital. Some grievances also relate to the fact that pension has not increased for those drawing more than Rs. 1,000/- per month.

Consequent upon implementation of the minimum pension to pensioners under EPS, 1995 vide notification number GSR 593(E) dated 19.08.2014, the pension of all member/widow(er)/disabled/ nominee/dependent parent pensioners whose original pension was less than Rs. 1,000/- per month had been fixed at the minimum of Rs. 1,000/- per month. In cases where members had preferred option for Commutation, Return of Capital and Short Service Pension and have already availed these benefits as per choice exercised by them at the time of making pension claim, the deductions on account of these options would continue to apply on the minimum pension of Rs. 1,000/- per month that has now been fixed. In such cases, the pension amount would be less than Rs. 1,000/- per month even after implementation of the said notification

 

The World Bank Has Shown Keen Interest To Financially Support The Proposed India Post Payment Bank

The World Bank has shown keen interest to financially support the proposed India Post Payment Bank, having approached the department of posts (DoP), say sources.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had in October approved the proposals of 11 applicants, including the DoP, to start a payments bank. These entities may offer most of the services offered by commercial banks, except for loans and credit card products.

"The World Bank wants to part-finance the project. We are having discussions at the inter-departmental and ministry level and would come out with a final decision early next year," said a senior official in the department.

In October, the Bank had said the decision on the 11 new payments banks should expand penetration of banking in the rural areas, helping to transform the rural remittances market.

The Bank is still seeking some clarity on the DoP issue, said its spokesperson. "There has been only one exploratory meeting with the postal service," the person added.

According to officials in the ministry of communications, which oversees DoP, the latter is weighing options on the partners to choose for the project. It is also in the process of finalising a consultant for the project, the tender for which would be opened on January 6. And, waiting for Public Investment Board clearance from the finance ministry, expected next month.

"It's only after the consultants do their research that we'd decide whom we want to partner with," said a senior DoP official.

The department has 155,000 branches in the country. In the first phase, it plans to start payment banking services across 500 post offices.

The ministry has said as many as 17 banks and financial institutions -- including Deutsche Bank, IDBI, Barclays, YES Bank, ICICI Prudential and HDFC -- are seeking an alliance with the proposed India Post Payment Bank. "They want to use the postal network by entering into tie-ups for delivery of services such as loans, monthly instalments, collections, insurance, mutual funds and premiums, among other things," added the official.

Recently, Japanese business conglomerate Hitachi had also said it was keen to partner DoP for payments bank solutions. In a meeting with communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad this month, Yutaka Saito, president of Hitachi, had discussed the possibility.

PTI

Expenditure towards Salary of Central Government Employees on implementation of 7th Pay Commission will be around 25000 Cr and not      Rs.1 lakh Crore as projected by media reports says Confederation

Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, Karnataka State has come up with a detailed report on actual expenditure involved out of 7th Pay Commission recommendations.

Comrades,

There are various reports in the media about the impact of the 7th PayCommission recommendations on the common man and the government resources at large, the reports suggest that amount of ₹one lakh crores of public money has been spent for implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations for 35 lakhs central Government employees, Perhaps the strongest criticism of PayCommission awards is that they play havoc with government finances and also state government demand support to implement the 7th Pay Commission recommendations. At the aggregate level, these concerns are somewhat exaggerated and which is totally wrong.

Let us examine the 7th Pay Commission report vide para no 3.65 and 3.66 and the website of Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Expenditure Pay Research Unit for Brochure on Pay and Allowances of Central Government Civilian Employees visit website http://finmin.nic.in/pru/BROCHURE/PayAllowance2013-14E.pdf

The 7th Pay Commission report para number 3.65 and 3.66

3.65 The total expenditure on pay and allowances for civil personnel of Central Government in the recent years is brought out in Table 9.

Table 9: Expenditure on Pay and Allowances

Year	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Amount(₹crore)	51,664	80,110	1,07,402	1,07,550	1,17,565	1,29,599
As a percent of GDP	1.04	1.42	1.66	1.38	1.33	1.30

The Commission has obtained details of expenditure from each Ministry/Department for up to FY 2012-13. Of the total expenditure on pay and allowances of Rs.1,29,599 crore for the financial year 2012-13.

3.66 The expenditure per capita on pay and allowances for Civil Central Government personnel for FY 2012-13 was Rs.3.92 lakh per annum i.e Rs.32666/- per month.

Add 35% DA for the period 1/4/2013 to 1/1/2016 average salary of Civil Central Government personnel as on 1/1/2016 at 125% DA which works around Rs.37500/- per month (Rs.4.50 lakhs per annum ) without 7th CPC recommendations . i.e., Rs.1.57,000 crores.

Add average 16% wage increase due to 7th Pay Commission which works out to Rs 43500/- per month (₹5.22 lakhs per annum) with 7th Pay Commission implementation .

Total Expenditure for 35 lakhs for Civil Central Government personnel for FY 2016-17 is around Rs.1,83,000 crores In respect of pensions expenditure for 55 lakhs pensioners amount is around Rs.81,000/ crores as on 1/1/2016. which is against the revenue receipts of Rs.19 lakh crores. The percentage of revenue receipt and wages is just around 13% of the total revenue is spent on the wages and pension for the Central Government personnel. In fact it is just at 1.3% of the GDP.

This clearly shows that that the increase in impact for the government of India finances is just additional Rs.25,000/- crores not additional Rs.1,00,000/- crores as per the media reports.

The 7th Pay Commission recommendations’ impact need not give jitters to the government because the rise in government wages will amount to only 0.4 per cent of GDP.

One more aspect is that technically, the recommendations of a Central Pay Commission are only for Central Government employees and States are not bound to follow suit. Indeed, up to the 1980s, States constituted their own Pay Commissions and prescribed their own pay scales, based upon their fiscal capacity.

Let us not be carried over by the media or press reports, hence we should educate each and every employee for struggle and so that a decent wage hike is achieved.

Comradely yours

(P.S.Prasad)

General Secretary

Government mulls gratuity to employees under National Pension System

NEW DELHI: Government is considering a proposal to provide gratuity to its  employees covered under National Pension System (NPS) on retirement, Parliament was informed  today.

"As per the amendment, the Central Civil Services (Pension)  Rules are not applicable to the government employees appointed after December  31, 2003," said Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

On introduction of NPS from January 1, 2004, the rules governing gratuity was changed, he said.

However, the benefit of death or retirement gratuity had been extended  to the central government servants, covered by New Pension Scheme on provisional  basis from May 5, 2009, he added.

"This was in respect of Central  government employees covered by NPS in cases where a government servant is  retired on invalidation not attributable to government duty, death in service  not attributable to government duty; where government servant is discharged from service due to disease or injury  attributable to duty and death in service," he said.

In another reply,  Sinha said Pension Fund and Regulatory and Development Authority has decided to  facilitate offering eNPS through validation of PAN card details and KYC  confirmation from the bank for the bank account of an active users.

Replying to another question, he said there has been a reduction in amount of  inflows on account of borrowing from overseas in the form of external commercial  borrowings (ECBs) in the recent months.

Indian companies have raised  USD 16.2 billion from ECBs between April-November period of the current fiscal  as against USD 20.2 billion in the same period last fiscal.

RBI has  issued a framework containing guidelines for issuance of rupee denominated bonds overseas in September, he said.

"Under the framework Indian corporates, body corporates Real Estate  Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment Trusts can issue Rupee  denominated bonds overseas up to a maximum of USD 750 million equivalent per  annum under the automatic route," he added.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Railway Recruitment Board Non-technical recruitment 2016 for 18252 Posts

Railway Recruitment Board  Non-technical recruitment 2016 for 18252 Posts :Indian Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) Ministry of Railways has recently released a recruitmentnotification to fill 18252 vacancies of Commercial Apprentice, Traffic Apprentice, Goods Guard, Junior Accounts, senior clerk, Traffic Assistant and Enquiry clerk. Interested eligible candidate who are looking jobs in Indian Railway can apply online from official websitewww.indianrailways.gov.in from 26 December 2015 to 25 January 2016. RRB employmentnotification more details like age limit, Educational qualification/ selection process/ how to apply/ application fee and other details given below.

Advertisement No: 03/2015

Name of the post and other details: 
01. Commercial Apprentice (CA): 703 Posts
02. Traffic Apprentice (TA): 1645 Posts
03. Enquiry-cum-Reservation Clerk: 127 Posts
04. Goods Guard: 7591 Posts
05. Junior Accounts Assistant-cum-Typist: 1205 Posts
06. Senior Clerk-cum-Typist: 869 Posts
07. Assistant Station Master (ASM): 5942 Posts
08. Traffic Assistant: 166 Posts
09. Senior Time Keeper: 04 Posts

Total Number of posts: 18252 Posts

Job Location: All India

Educational qualification: Railway Recruitment Board invites applications from the candidates who have passed degree of Graduation in any stream from a recognized University.

Note - Full details of Advertisement like age limit/ educational qualification/ Application fee and other details will be availed on this page from 26 December 2015.

Examination Fee :
(1) GEN/OBC male candidates = Rs.100
(2) SC/ST/Ex-Servicemen / Women/ Minorities/ Persons with Disabilities/Economically backward classes = No examination fee

How to apply: TA, CA, Goods Guard, ASM, Jr. Accountant and other above given posts applications invite online from 26-12-2015 to 25-01-2016 though official websitewww.indianrailways.gov.in

Selection Procedure :
The candidates will be selected on the basis of Written Test only.

Important Dates :
Starting date for online registration - 26 December, 2015
Closing date for online registration - 25 January, 2016
Date of Online Written Examination - March-May, 2016

Advertisement : Click Here

Notification : Click Here (Available soon)

Apply Online : Click Here (Available soon)

Official Website - http://www.indianrailways.gov.in

Note - Full details and apply online link will available from 26 December 2015 so wait and revisit

Hindi Advertisement : Click Here

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