Saturday, 2 July 2016
DoP on the lookout for IPPB CEO, COO
NEW DELHI: THE Department of Posts has asked Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank to recommend board level officers or senior executives, who may be interested in managing the DoP’s payments bank as CEO of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), on deputation basis.
The IPPB, will be operational from March 2017 with 2,000 employees and 50 branches, which it will gradually increase to 650 by September 2017. It also plans to have five independent members and four in-house representatives in IPPB. Independent directors together will hold 51 per cent share in IPPB while 49 per cent will be held by the Government.
DoP will follow routine selection processes and recruit the CEO and COO through the Department of Financial Services. “We will have 650 branches co-located with post offices in most cities. We will also link all 1.55 lakh post offices as banking correspondents of IPPB,”said SK Sinha, Secretary, DoP.
My Stamp
Soon an individual or a corporate entity can get their photo or logo printed inside a postage stamp for Rs 12 lakh, the Department of Posts said, a move that is likely to help garner Rs 600 crore for the department.
The move is a step ahead in promoting philately in India. Earlier, India Post only allowed printing of photo or design next to postage stamp on a Rs 300 My Stamp sheet. Such stamps were allowed for use in general postal mail.
“We have opened up customised printing of ‘My Stamp’ for individuals and corporates. Anyone can get his logo or photo printed inside the stamp for net cost of Rs 12 lakh. There will be 5,000 sheets comprising 60,000 postage stamps,” Sinha said.
My Stamp has so far been issued for Amazon India, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and proposals are pending from various entities.
India Post is eyeing a jump of about Rs 100 crore in turnover at Rs 141 crore from the philately segment this fiscal and Rs 60 crore from ‘My Stamp’ initiative.
Source : http://www.newindianexpress.com
For just Rs 300, leave stamp of yourself with India Post
NEW DELHI: You can now have your picture printed on a postal stamp. Be it a picture of a bride and groom or an infant on his first birthday or those of close buddies during a college reunion, the Indian postal department is ready to give a special touch to your cherished moments - a special stamp customised just for you.
And don't worry about the cost -it is as low as Rs 300 for a pack of 12 stamps.
"Philately is one of the core focus areas for the postal department and we have been looking at initiatives that take the postal department closer to the masses," Secretary (Posts) SK Sinha told.
In fact, the initiative has been in the offing for some time, but the postal department has now decided to give it a fillip. The facility is available at key post offices across major towns and cities. And the postal department has now decided to offer the service through the online channel and one can make a booking through the philately section of its website http:www.epostoffice.gov.in "We are receiving a good reaction to the move, and thus it is being offered at more and more locations. The online route is also gaining traction," Sinha said.
While the post office hands out the customised stamps right on the stamp after you hand them over your preferred picture, the online route could take at least three to four days.
"We also seek a government identification card and a declaration from the individual to ensure that the information and the picture provided to us is genuine," the top postal official said.
There are a variety of themes being offered to go with the customised stamps, including the Taj Mahal, Ajanta Caves, Port Blair Island, Mysore Palace, Hawa Mahal, the Fairy Queen train, the Ghats of Varanasi, Ellora Caves, Victoria Memorial, The Sun Temple of Konark and the Gateway of India.
The postal department has also introduced an offer for the corporate sector and private institutions.
Source : http://www.prameyanews7.com
Minimum wage for central govt employees may be hiked
Union representatives meet Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Suresh Prabhu, demanding increase in minimum monthly pay beyond Rs18,000 suggested by Seventh Pay Commission
New Delhi: Under pressure from the unions, the government has indicated that it may increase the minimum monthly pay of central government employees beyond the Rs.18,000 suggested by the Seventh Pay Commission, seeking to defuse a strike threat.
The assurance has divided several government unions on whether to go ahead with the indefinite strike starting 11 July.
Three cabinet ministers—finance minister Arun Jaitley, home minister Rajnath Singh and railway minister Suresh Prabhu—met representatives of several government staff unions late on Thursday for almost two hours and assured them that their demand would be looked into.
The unions have been demanding Rs.26,000, higher than the Rs.18,000 approved by the cabinet on Wednesday on the Seventh Pay Commission’s report. The government said it was more than doubling minimum pay from Rs.7,000 after accepting the recommendations of the commission, which would put an extra Rs.1.02 trillion in the hands of 10 million government employees and pensioners.
“Three top ministers called us and we met at Rajnath Singh’s house for two hours till 11pm last night. We have been assured that the minimum wage issue is going to be referred to one of two committees that the government is setting up to rectify any anomalies in the pay commission recommendations’ implementation,” said Shiva Gopal Mishra, general secretary of the National Joint Council of Action (NJCA), a confederation of several government staff unions.
The council claims a membership of 3.3 million, including workers of Indian Railways, the country’s largest employer.
Mishra said Jaitley accepted their concern. “He said the government will try to rectify some of our demands, including minimum wage,” the NJCA general secretary said.
Union leaders claimed that the pay commission’s recommendation and the government’s announcement raising minimum pay from Rs.7,000 to Rs.18,000 had glossed over the fine print.
“Now, base pay plus dearness allowance (DA) makes the minimum wage Rs.15,700. They have increased it to Rs.18,000,” said K.K.N. Kutty, national president of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers.
“When you are doing away with DA in the new system, the hike cannot be just Rs.2,000,” said C. Srikumar, general secretary of the All India Defence Employees Federation, a union of civilian workers in factories and establishments under the ministry of defence.
Mishra said the home minister assured them that “their interaction with us has the blessings of PM Narendra Modi”.
“On minimum wage, we are for a negotiated settlement and it seems there is some consideration at the highest level,” he added.
An office-bearer at an employees’ union said the government’s offer had posed a dilemma to union leaders, noting that it wasn’t a written assurance, “without which it will be tough to accept that the government is indeed serious in reworking the minimum wage”.
The offer had ended up dividing the unions on whether to proceed with the strike, this person said on condition of anonymity. “And we could not reach a conclusion on Friday on our next course of action,” he said, adding that the railway workers’ union was hesitant about going on strike.
Mishra, who is also the general secretary of All India Railwaymen’s Federation, sounded a conciliatory note.
“We are fighting for the welfare of our own workers...a strike is an option if government does not listen to us. There seems to be a political willingness to solve what we are demanding and that’s what was indicated last night,” Mishra told reporters in New Delhi.
On Friday, NJCA wrote to all unions that “government has proposed to refer the issue of minimum wage and fitment formula (for calculation of salary) to a committee for reconsideration. The NJCA will await communication in this regard from the government”.
It said that it will meet on 6 July again to decide on the proposed strike.
What is interesting is that increasing the minimum pay will change the salary fitment calculations. If the minimum wage is hiked from Rs.18,000 to even Rs.20,000, the fitment rate will be higher than the 2.57 times approved by the government based on the pay commission recommendations.
“If the 2.57 fitment formula is tinkered with, then salary and pension in general for all segments of employees will go up, putting further stress on the exchequer. So the government has to walk a fine balance and a lot of homework is required,” said a government official, who declined to be named.
The acceptance of the pay commission recommendations is a potential boost to the consumer economy.
A further hike could lift consumption further, but it will be tough on government finances, the official said.
Rating agency India Ratings and Research Pvt. Ltd said the gross impact of pay hike on the economy is likely to be Rs.94,775 crore.
“The central government will receive income tax on this payout and collect excise duty on consumption, after sharing the increase in income tax and excise duty with states. Thus the net impact on the central government finances is estimated to be Rs.80,641 crore,” said D.K. Pant, chief economist of India Ratings and Research.
Source: PO TOOLS Blog
Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Here's a quick look at the 7th Pay Commission recommendations and the likely implications:
Here's a quick look at the 7th Pay Commission recommendations and the likely implications:
-The Union Cabinet approved 23.55 percent overall hike in salaries, allowances and pension involving an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore or nearly 0.7 percent of the GDP.
-Average salary hike includes 14.27 percent increase in basic pay, the lowest in 70 years. The previous 6th Pay Commission had recommended a 20 percent hike which the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.
-Recommendations to be implemented from January 1, 2016
-Minimum pay fixed at Rs 18,000 per month; maximum pay at Rs 2.25 lakh
-The rate of annual increment retained at 3 percent
-24 percent hike in pension.
-The Commission recommends abolishing 52 allowances; another 36 allowances subsumed in existing allowances or in newly proposed allowances
-Recommendations will impact 47 lakh serving govt employees, 52 lakh pensioners, including defence personnel
-One Rank One Pension proposed for civilian government employees on line of OROP for armed forces
-Ceiling of gratuity enhanced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh; ceiling on gratuity to be raised by 25 percent whenever DA rises by 50 percent
-Cabinet Secretary to get Rs 2.5 lakh as against Rs 90,000 per month pay band currently
-Financial impact of implementing recommendations in toto will be Rs 1.02 lakh crore - Rs 73,650 crore to be borne by Central Budget and Rs 28,450 crore by Railway Budget
-Total impact of Commission's recommendation to raise the ratio of expenditure on salary and wages to GDP by 0.65 percentage points to 0.7 percent
-Military Service Pay (MSP), which is a compensation for the various aspects of military service, will be admissible to the defence forces personnel only
-MSP for service officers more than doubled to Rs 15,500 per month from Rs 6,000 currently; for nursing officers to Rs 10,800 from Rs 4,200; for JCO/ORs to Rs 5,200 from Rs 2,000 and for non-combatants to Rs 3,600 from Rs 1,000
Source:http://zeenews.india.com/business/news/economy/7th-pay-commission-know-the-key-recommendations-cleared-by-cabinet_1901470.html
7th Pay Commission: Big Hike Cleared For Around 50 Lakh Government Employees
Written by Rahul Shrivastava |
Highlights
With this hike, several senior government officials will draw a higher salary than lawmakers in Parliament.
Salaries and allowances will rise by at least 23.5 per cent, which had been recommended by the 7th Pay Commission. The hike - the lowest in the last 70 years - is expected to cost the taxpayer an additional Rs 1 lakh crore annually, or nearly 0.7 per cent of GDP.
The government is eyeing the economic push the move will provide to the sluggish demand scenario in the economy.
The hike is built around the recommendation for a 14.27 per cent hike in basic pay.
Rs. 73,650 crore of the total payout will come from the general budget, while Rs. 28,450 crore will come from the railways.
One of the key changes suggested by the pay commission is the 'New Pay Structure', which will do away with pay bands and grade pay.
The previous Pay panel had recommended a 20 per cent hike which was eventually doubled when it was implemented in 2008.
The highest pay is pegged at Rs. 2, 25,000 per month for apex scale and Rs. 2,50,000 per month for cabinet secretary and others at the same pay level.
The rise will be more than double as the current pay in this scale is Rs. 90,000 per month.
The move has led to the discontent among the lawmakers who allege disparity. However, the government is also considering a hike in salaries and allowances of lawmakers.
The minimum pay recommendation is Rs. 18,000 per month. This too is more than double of the present Rs. 7,000.
Sources say Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has made provisions for the payout. Though the government is making an effort to increase revenue by bringing more under the tax net, the payout will reduce the government's kitty. Especially, because the Centre also needs about Rs.70,000 crore to meet the One Rank One Pension (OROP) commitment.
But the government is not complaining. The huge payout, once implemented, will boost the consumption demand at a time when the economy is moving sluggishly due to poor demand.
While some experts believe that the additional cash in the market may fuel an inflationary trend, experts say that the impact of the pay commission may become a turning point for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to trigger demand that drives growth investment and profits.
Source:http://m.ndtv.com/india-news/7th-pay-commission-government-may-clear-big-hikes-today-1425842?pfrom=home-topstories
7th पे कमीशन: कैबिनेट मीटिंग शुरू, 30% ज्यादा सैलरी पर हो सकता है फैसला - BHASKER
नई दिल्ली. मोदी सरकार की कैबिनेट बुधवार को सेवंथ पे कमीशन को मंजूरी दे सकती है। सेक्रेटरीज की एम्पावर्ड कमेटी ने कमीशन की सिफारिशों से भी 18 से 30% ज्यादा सैलरी बढ़ाने की सिफारिश की है। इस पर फैसला लेने के लिए कैबिनेट की मीटिंग शुरू हो चुकी है। तुरंत होगा एलान या मोदी 15 अगस्त तक करेंगे इंतजार...
- कैबिनेट की मंजूरी के बाद यह प्रपोजल पीएम ऑफिस जाएगा।
- फाइनेंस मिनिस्ट्री इसे पहले ही मंजूरी दे चुकी है।
- कहा जा रहा है कि मोदी 15 अगस्त को लालकिले से अपनी स्पीच के दौरान इसका एलान कर सकते हैं। मीडिया रिपोर्ट्स में 1 अगस्त से बढ़ी सैलरी देने की बात भी आ चुकी है।
इतनी और बढ़ोत्तरी होने की उम्मीद
- पे कमीशन ने इम्प्लॉईज के लिए कम से कम 18,000 रुपए और ज्यादा से ज्यादा 2,25,000 रुपए (कैबिनेट सेक्रेटरी और इस लेवल के अफसर के लिए 2,50,000 रुपए) मंथली सैलरी की सिफारिश की थी।
- पीके सिन्हा की अगुआई वाली सेक्रेटरीज की कमेटी ने पे कमीशन की सिफारिशों से भी 18 से 30% ज्यादा सैलरी तय करने की बात कही है।
- यानी 18,000 की जगह करीब 27,000 और 2, 25,000 की जगह 3, 25,000 रुपए सैलरी हो सकती है।
- इम्प्लॉइज को अगस्त महीने से एरियर के साथ सैलरी दिए जाने की उम्मीद है।
सरकारी खजाने पर कितना पड़ेगा बोझ?
- कमीशन ने सैलरी, पेंशन और अलाउंस मिलाकर कुल 23.55% की बढ़ोत्तरी की बात की है।
- इससे केंद्र पर 1.02 लाख करोड़ रुपए का बोझ आएगा जो कि कुल जीडीपी का 0.7% है।
- 39100 करोड़ रुपए सैलरी, 29300 करोड़ रुपए अलाउंस और 33700 करोड़ रुपए पेंशन पर खर्च होंगे।
- आम बजट पर 73650 करोड़ रुपए और रेलवे बजट पर 28450 करोड़ रुपए का बोझ आएगा।
70 साल में सबसे कम इजाफे की सिफारिश
- पैनल ने बेसिक सैलरी में 14.27% से 16% इजाफा करने की सिफारिश की है। यह 70 साल में सबसे कम बढ़ोत्तरी की सिफारिश हैं। 6th पे कमीशन में 20% सैलरी बढ़ाने की सिफारिश की गर्इ थी।
क्या हैं कमीशन की अहम सिफारिशें?
- केंद्र के इम्प्लॉईज की बेसिक पे 16% और अलाउंस 67% तक बढ़ाने की बात कही गई है। टोटल सैलरी 23.5% बढ़ाई जाए। पेंशन में एवरेज 24% की बढ़ोत्तरी हो।
- मिनिमम बेसिक पे 7 हजार से बढ़कर 18 हजार रुपए किया जाए। सैलरी में सालाना 3% इन्क्रीमेंट हो।
- केंद्र के सभी एम्प्लॉइज के लिए भी वन रैंक-वन पेंशन हो। इसके दायरे में 10 साल पहले रिटायर हुए एम्प्लॉइज भी होंगे।
- ग्रैच्युटी की लिमिट 10 से बढ़ाकर 20 लाख रुपए। जब भी डीए 50% बढ़ेगा, ग्रैच्युटी लिमिट 25% बढ़ेगी।
- सैलरी तय करने के लिए पे बैंड और ग्रेड पे का सिस्टम खत्म।
- 56 तरह के अलाउंस खत्म किए जाएं, सभी को एक जैसी पेंशन।
- पैरा मिलिट्री फोर्स के लिए भी शहीद का दर्जा। मिलिट्री सर्विस पे दोगुना होगा। यह सिर्फ आर्मी पर लागू होगा। बाकी पर नहीं।
क्या है सेवंथ पे कमीशन?
- कमीशन के चेयरमैन अशोक कुमार माथुर हैं। उन्होंने कुछ महीने पहले फाइनेंस मिनिस्टर जेटली को सिफारिशें सौंपी थीं।
- यह कमीशन यूपीए सरकार ने फरवरी 2014 में बनाया था। इसे 18 महीने में रिपोर्ट सौंपनी थी। लेकिन इसका टर्म अगस्त 2015 में चार महीने के लिए बढ़ा दिया गया था।
- कमीशन के सुझावों को सरकार को 1 जनवरी 2016 से लागू करना है। लिहाजा एरियर मिल सकता है।
- इन सिफारिशों का 50 लाख इम्प्लॉईज और 58 लाख पेंशनरों को फायदा मिलेगा।
BHASKER
“NATUREPEX-2016” - Philatelic exhibition on Nature and Environment
The Philatelic exhibition on Nature and Environment- “NATUREPEX-2016” is going to organized by Eastern India Philatelist’s Association at Bhubaneswar from 30th September to 2nd October, 2016. In this context, a co-ordination meeting between the office bearers of Naturepex-2016 is going to be held with the officers of Odisha Circle under the chairmanship of the Chief Post Master General, Odisha Circle on 07.07.2016 at the Conference Hall of O/o the Chief P.M.G, Odisha Circle at 15 00 Hrs.
Proposed Medal designs for the Exhibition
Public authorities should use India Post services, not private courier service
It is observed that several government-departments, public-authorities and public-sector-undertakings (PSUs) use private courier service rather than postal services.
With premium postal-services like Speed Post now available at most post offices and destinations, it should be made compulsory for all bodies under central and state governments for compulsorily using only normal postal-services. Registered Post should be used at destinations not covered by premium Speed Post service. Postal Department should take up the matter with Department of Public Enterprises and others concerned.
In Focus Public sector services should be utilised by all public authorities as far as possible to encourage public sector and to prevent the public money from going to services under private sector.
Postal department can also provide special privilege to Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) by introducing sponsored postal stamps against some minimum purchase of postal stamps where such sponsored postal stamps can carry design advertisements from these PSUs but only after being approved by the postal department.
Such sponsored postal stamps can have some advertisement cost per stamp like in case of inland-letter cards and post cards. This idea will give increased revenue earning for postal department, and an advertisement-field for PSUs.
However Speed Post tariffs will have to be rationalized and revised to be uniform for local and non-local services with equal tariff-rise for every additional 50 gms rise in slab-weight to compete charges of private courier services.
Source: PO Tools blog
7th CPC to get Cabinet nod soon, here’s why you will get 10 per cent less arrears in hand
The 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations are likely to be cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, leading to a much-awaited bonanza for 47 lakh central government employees and 53 lakh pensioners in the form of higher salaries and arrears from January 1, 2016, the date from which the recommendations will be made applicable.
However, if you are one of the working central government employees your arrears would come with a 10 per cent applicable deduction, that would be passed on to the National Pension System (NPS). Similar deductions are applicable to the increased salary component.
The 10 percent deduction from arrears and salary will come with a matching contribution from the government into the NPS for managing for creating a pension corpus at the time of retirement.
“The arrears that Central government employees will get with effect from January 2016 will come with 10 per cent deduction which will flow into their individual accounts under the NPS. There will be a matching contribution from the government,” Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), Hemant Contractor, told FeMoney.
It is expected that the increased salary and arrears would take effect from August 1, 2016.
Contractor said that the total amount that would flow into the NPS kitty from the 7th Pay Commission would be substantial. “We are expecting the money arising out of 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations will be released soon. The increased flow would be substantial. However, we have not been able to make an exact calcuation on the amount since we do not know the payment schedule. The amount would depend on the time and amount of arreards released in each tranche if it is released in parts,” the PFRDA Chairman said.
NPS is applicable to all employees joining services of Central Government, including Central Autonomous Bodies (except Armed Forces) on or after January 1, 2004. Many State Governments have adopted NPS architecture and implemented NPS mandatorily for their employees joining on or after a cut-off date.
A subscriber contributes 10 per cent of his salary plus DA into his Tier-I (pension) account on a mandatory basis every month which is invested along with the matching contribution from the employer.
The accumlation is managed by select pension fund managers (PFMs) as per guidelines laid down by PFRDA and is used for old age income benefit of subscribers. The pension regulator administer the National Pension System.
The 7th Pay Commission has recommended a 23.55 per cent hike in pay and allowance. While pay will go up by 16 per cent, increase in allowance will be 63 per cent and increase in pension 24 per cent. The impact the 7th Pay Commission recommendations on the government coffers will be to the tune of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, with Rs 73,650 crore impactg on the Union Budget and Rs 28,450 crore on the Railway Budget.
Source : http://www.financialexpress.com/
Here is everything you need to know about the proposed recommendations in the 7th Pay Commission.
Here is everything you need to know about the proposed recommendations in the 7th Pay Commission.
The Union Cabinet is expected to take up on Wednesday the Empowered Committee of Secretaries’s report on the 7th Pay Commission.
The Empowered Committee of Secretaries, which was formed to look into recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, has finalised its report, Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said.
Here is everything you need to know about the proposed recommendations in the 7th Pay Commission. Read more to find out what the Pay Commission changes are, if accepted by the Cabinet.
Date of implementation
The recommended date of implementation is January 1, 2016. So, government employees will get arrears from January this year.
Minimum Pay
Based on the Aykroyd formula, the minimum pay in government is recommended to be set at Rs 18,000 per month.
Maximum Pay
Rs 2,25,000 per month for Apex Scale and Rs 2,50,000 per month for Cabinet Secretary and others presently at the same pay level.
What are the financial implications?
The total financial impact in the FY 2016-17 is likely to be Rs 1,02,100 crore, over the expenditure as per the Business As Usual scenario. Of this, the increase in pay would be Rs 39,100 crore, increase in allowances would be Rs 29,300 crore and increase in pension would be Rs 33,700 crore.
Out of the total financial impact of Rs 1,02,100 crore, Rs 73,650 crore will be borne by the General Budget and Rs 28,450 crore by the Railway Budget.
In percentage terms the overall increase in pay & allowances and pensions over the Business As Usual scenario will be 23.55 per cent. Within this, the increase in pay will be 16 per cent, increase in allowances will be 63 per cent, and increase in pension would be 24 per cent.
The total impact of the Commission’s recommendations are expected to entail an increase of 0.65 percentage points in the ratio of expenditure on (Pay+Allowances+
Pension) to GDP compared to 0.77 per cent in case of 6th Central Pay Commission.
Pension) to GDP compared to 0.77 per cent in case of 6th Central Pay Commission.
What is the New Pay Structure?
The present system of pay bands and grade pay has been dispensed with and a new pay matrix has been designed. Grade Pay has been subsumed in the pay matrix. The status of the employee, hitherto determined by grade pay, will now be determined by the level in the pay matrix.
Fitment
A fitment factor of 2.57 is being proposed to be applied uniformly for all employees.
A fitment factor of 2.57 is being proposed to be applied uniformly for all employees.
Annual Increment
The rate of annual increment is being retained at 3 per cent.
Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP)
* Performance benchmarks for MACP have been made more stringent from “Good” to “Very Good”.
* The Commission has also proposed that annual increments not be granted in the case of those employees who are not able to meet the benchmark either for MACP or for a regular promotion in the first 20 years of their service.
* No other changes in MACP recommended.
Military Service Pay (MSP)
The Military Service Pay, which is a compensation for the various aspects of military service, will be admissible to the Defence forces personnel only. As before, Military Service Pay will be payable to all ranks up to and inclusive of Brigadiers and their equivalents. The current MSP per month and the revised rates recommended are as follows:
Short Service Commissioned Officers
Short Service Commissioned Officers will be allowed to exit the Armed Forces at any point in time between 7 and 10 years of service, with a terminal gratuity equivalent of 10.5 months of reckonable emoluments. They will further be entitled to a fully funded one year Executive Programme or a M.Tech. programme at a premier Institute.
Lateral Entry/Settlement
The Commission is recommending a revised formulation for lateral entry/resettlement of defence forces personnel which keeps in view the specific requirements of organization to which such personnel will be absorbed. For lateral entry into CAPFs an attractive severance package has been recommended.
Headquarters/Field Parity
Parity between field and headquarters staff recommended for similar functionaries e.g Assistants and Stenos.
Cadre Review
A systemic change in the process of Cadre Review for Group A officers recommended.
Allowances
The Commission has recommended abolishing 52 allowances altogether.
Another 36 allowances have been abolished as separate identities, but subsumed either in an existing allowance or in newly proposed allowances. Allowances relating to Risk and Hardship will be governed by the proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix.
Risk and Hardship Allowance: Allowances relating to Risk and Hardship will be governed by the newly proposed nine-cell Risk and Hardship Matrix, with one extra cell at the top, viz., RH-Max to include Siachen Allowance.
The current Siachen Allowance per month and the revised rates recommended are as follows:
House Rent Allowance
Since the Basic Pay has been revised upwards, the Commission recommends that HRA be paid at the rate of 24 percent, 16 percent and 8 per cent of the new Basic Pay for Class X, Y and Z cities respectively. The Commission also recommends that the rate of HRA will be revised to 27 per cent, 18 percent and 9 percent respectively when DA crosses 50 percent, and further revised to 30 percent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent when DA crosses 100 per cent.
In the case of PBORs of Defence, CAPFs and Indian Coast Guard compensation for housing is presently limited to the authorised married establishment hence many users are being deprived. The HRA coverage has now been expanded to cover all.
Any allowance not mentioned in the report shall cease to exist.
Emphasis has also been placed on simplifying the process of claiming allowances.
Advances: a. All non-interest bearing Advances have been abolished. b. Regarding interest-bearing Advances, only Personal Computer Advance and House Building Advance (HBA) have been retained. HBA ceiling has been increased to Rs 25 lakh from the present Rs 7.5 lakh.
Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme (CGEGIS): The Rates of contribution as also the insurance coverage under the CGEGIS have remained unchanged for long. They have now been enhanced suitably. The following rates of CGEGIS are recommended:
Medical Facilities
Introduction of a Health Insurance Scheme for Central Government employees and pensioners has been recommended.
Meanwhile, for the benefit of pensioners residing outside the CGHS areas, CGHS should empanel those hospitals which are already empanelled under CS (MA)/ECHS for catering to the medical requirement of these pensioners on a cashless basis.
All postal pensioners should be covered under CGHS. All postal dispensaries should be merged with CGHS.
Pension
The Commission recommends a revised pension formulation for civil employees including CAPF personnel as well as for Defence personnel, who have retired before 01.01.2016. This formulation will bring about parity between past pensioners and current retirees for the same length of service in the pay scale at the time of retirement.
The past pensioners shall first be fixed in the Pay Matrix being recommended by the Commission on the basis of Pay Band and Grade Pay at which they retired, at the minimum of the corresponding level in the pay matrix.
This amount shall be raised to arrive at the notional pay of retirees, by adding number of increments he/she had earned in that level while in service at the rate of 3 percent. In the case of defence forces personnel this amount will include Military Service Pay as admissible.
Fifty percent of the total amount so arrived at shall be the new pension. An alternative calculation will be carried out, which will be a multiple of 2.57 times of the current basic pension.
The pensioner will get the higher of the two.
Gratuity
Enhancement in the ceiling of gratuity from the existing Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. The ceiling on gratuity may be raised by 25 percent whenever DA rises by 50 percent.
Disability Pension for Armed Forces
Disability Pension for Armed Forces
The Commission is recommending reverting to a slab based system for disability element, instead of existing percentile based disability pension regime.
Ex-gratia lump sum compensation to next of kin
The Commission is recommending the revision of rates of lump sum compensation for next of kin (NOK) in case of death arising in various circumstances relating to performance of duties, to be applied uniformly for the defence forces personnel and civilians including CAPF personnel.
Martyr Status for CAPF Personnel
The Commission is of the view that in case of death in the line of duty, the force personnel of CAPFs should be accorded martyr status, at par with the defence forces personnel.
New Pension System
The Commission received many grievances relating to NPS. It has recommended a number of steps to improve the functioning of NPS. It has also recommended establishment of a strong grievance redressal mechanism.
Regulatory Bodies
The Commission has recommended a consolidated pay package of Rs 4,50,000 and Rs 4,00,000 per month for Chairpersons and Members respectively of select Regulatory bodies. In case of retired government servants, their pension will not be deducted from their consolidated pay. The consolidated pay package will be raised by 25 percent as and when Dearness Allowance goes up by 50 percent. For Members of the remaining Regulatory bodies normal replacement pay has been recommended.
Performance Related Pay
The Commission has recommended introduction of the Performance Related Pay (PRP) for all categories of Central Government employees, based on quality Results Framework Documents, reformed Annual Performance Appraisal Reports and some other broad Guidelines. The Commission has also recommended that the PRP should subsume the existing Bonus schemes.
Source : The Indian Express
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