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.

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.

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

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

Post Bank of India - Wikipedia article

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is a proposed state-owned commercial bank in India. The bank would use the existing network of the public-sector postal service, India Post.

History

In 2006, it was announced that India Post would open a bank to erase its ₹1,000 crore deficit during the 11th Five Year Plan, emulating Poste italiane. In February 2013, it was announced that India Post had hired Ernst and Young to prepare a report on the proposed bank. Some officials of the Ministry of Finance had opposed the plan saying that India Post did not have the expertise to provide banking services such as handling credit.

In August 2013, the Planning Commission of India said that even though it supported the plan, it was not feasible owing to financial difficulties at the moment. It also felt that converting post offices into bank branches may hamper their original function. In October 2013, the Cabinet of India rejected the proposal on the grounds that India Post did not have sufficient expertise in running a bank. In December 2013, India Post announced that it would install ATMs in 1000 of its office across India in the first half of 2014.

On 27 February 2014, India Post opened its first ATM in Chennai. In April 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave in-principle banking licences to IDFC and Bandhan Financial Services out of 26 applicants, but India Post was not considered for a licence because it had not received the mandatory clearance from the government. However, the RBI said that it would examine the proposal separately in consultation with the government.

In September 2014, a task force was formed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which aimed to study ways in which the existing postal network could be leveraged. The task force was headed by T. S. R. Subramanian. On 4 December 2014, the task force submitted its report to Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad. The report said that more services should be provided in the field of banking, insurance and e-commerce.

In late December 2014, it was announced that India Post would issue ATM-cum-debit cards to its Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) account holders. In January 2015, it was announced that the Indian government was considering a legislature, to finalise the setting up of the bank, following which a banking license would be applied for at the Reserve Bank of India. On 28 February 2015, during the presentation of the Budget it was announced that India Post will use its large network to run a payments bank.

Role in financial inclusion

India Post has about 1,54,000 post offices, of them 90% are in rural areas. There is one post office for every 7176 people in India. India Post also has 2,96,000 agents in the rural area. About 2.2 crore people, already receive their National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) payments by post offices. After State Bank of India, India Post has the largest deposits valued at ₹6 lakh crore.

T. S. R. Subramanian has said that it could aid in the ongoing Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana financial inclusion plan.

Structure and funding

The Payments Bank will be set up on a lean operating model. It will focus on financial inclusion by harnessing low-cost technology based solutions to extend access to formal banking especially in rural areas and among unbanked and under banked segments of the society. It has proposed by the task force that the existing Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) should be continued to run parallel to the new bank initially. Later, it should be merged with the bank. The existing post offices shall provide banking services to customer, whereas the bank branches shall handle back-office work, like processing loan applications, assessing credit worthiness and risk assessment, investment operations etc.

The Post Bank shall also provide institutional accounts to panchayats and micro-credit agencies. Initially, the bank will operate separately from the postal business, with a branch in every district for the first three years. The bank will require an initial funding of ₹500 crore from the government.[13]

New Pension Scheme: Guidelines for processing of Family Pension Cases

PENSION FUND REGULATORY

AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

B-14/A, Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhawan

Qutab Institutional Area, Katwaria Sarai

New Delhi~110016

F. No. PFRDA/24/Exit/1

May 26, 2016

Shri Amit Sinha
Executive Vice President,
NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited,
1st Floor, Times Tower.
Kamla Mills Compound,
Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel,
Mumbai - 400013

Subject: Guidelines for processing of Family Pension Cases.

DearMr Sinha,

This has with reference to regulation 6(e) of the PFRDA (Exit and Withdrawals under NPS) Regulation 2015 relating to family pension and transfer of corpus from subscribers NPS account to government nodal office, if the subscriber or the family members of the deceased subscriber avails the benefit of family pension.

The Authority after examining the issue has finalized the policy with respect to transfer of accumulated pension wealth of the subscribers to government and where the subscribers family has availed the additional relief given by the government in the family of family pension Accordingly, the guidelines for processing of such claims are being enclosed herewith for your guidance and implementation of the same.

Therefore, you are advised to intimate to all the accounting formations under the central government, state governments (excluding the states which have clarified that they do not provide the benefit including Punjab & Sikkim) and autonomous bodies falling under theirjurisdiction about the policy guidelines and also the process to be followed

The same shall be made part of the online exit module. In case if you want any clarifications on the matter. you may write back to us

Yours sincerely,

(Venkateswarlu Peri)

General Manager

Enclosure: a/a
CC:
Shri Kamal Chaudary
Chief Executive Officer,
National Pension System Trust,
3'd Floor, Chatrapati Shivaji Bhawan
B-14/A, Qutab Institutional Area
New Delhi 3100 016

Guidelines for processing of Family Pension cases

Online processing of Withdrawal request in case family pension is provided by the Nodal Office to the claimant(s)/subscriber(s)

1. The family member(s)/subscriber(s) who is/are availing Family Pension from will submit the No objection certificate (Annexure-II) to the concerned Nodal Office.

2. Nodal Office will authenticate the Annexure II.

3. Nodal Office shall fill in the declaration form Annexure I & provide necessary authentications.

4. Nodal Office (first User) will login into CRA system to select the option that the family pension is being/ has been granted to the family members of the deceased subscriber or to the subscriber.

5. Nodal office will enter the details of family member(s)/subscriber(s) into the CRA system to whom the family pension is being given (as mentioned under Annexure II).

6. A new field - Nodal Office bank detail will be enabled. Nodal Office will provide its bank details as per Nodal Office Declaration form (Annexure I).

7. Nodal Office (first User) will submit post entering the complete details.

8. Nodal Office (second User) will authenticate and authorise the said request. Claim ID will get generated on successful submission of Withdrawal request.

9. Nodal Office will print the online form dispatch the same along with duly filled attested both the Annexures - I and II to CRA.

10. On receipt of documents, CRA will initiate the withdrawal request in the CRA system.

11. The accumulated pension wealth, of the particular deceased subscriber or the subscriber (in case of disability) for whom the withdrawal request is raised, will be transferred to the Nodal Office bank account as per the settlement cycle.

Source: SA blogspot. Com

Exemption of Railways from National Pension System

Exemption of Railways from National Pension System – NFIR

Exemption of Railways from National Pension system (NPS) as recommended by the Railway Ministers – kind intervention and approval requested

NFIR

National Federation of Indian Railwaymen

No.IV/NPS/PFRDA BILL/Part I

Dated: 26.6.2016

Shri Narendra Modiji,

Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,

South Block,

Raisina Hills,

New Delhi-110011

Sub: Exemption of Railways from National Pension System (NPS) as recommended by the Railway Ministers – kind intervention and approval requested.

The National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) brings to your kind notice to the standing demand raised by the Federations seeking exemption of National Pension System (NPS) and restoration of Defined Benefit Pension Scheme [Liberalized Pension Scheme i.e. Railway Services (Pension) Rules 1993].

In this connection, the NFIR brings to your kind notice that the nature of duties performed by the Railway employees are akin to those in the armed forces. The NFIR also invites your kind attention that since British Rule, the Railways was conceived and operated as un auxiliary wing of the Army. It is an admitted fact that by virtue of its complex nature, Railways required a high level of discipline and efficiency to be able to perform its role as the prime transport mode. Railways is an operational organization required to run the services round the clock throughout the year. The Railway employees are expected to work in inhospitable conditions, braving extreme weather conditions under open sky, unfriendly law and order scenario and inherent risks associated with the Railways operations itself.

It needs to be appreciated that as in the armed forces, large number of Rail Workforce stays away from their families for long period while performing duties in remote and jungle areas where minimum required facilities are lacking. The nature of duties of Railway employees is critical and complex & hazards involved are also very high. Though efforts are made for enhancing safety measures, a large number of Railway employees lose their lives or meet with serious injuries in the course of performance of their duties each year. This was also admitted by Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Chairman, High Level Safety Review Committee in his report presented to the Railway Ministry.

Conceding the plea of NFIR, the former Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge and also the present Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu have sent proposal to the Finance Minister in March, 2014 and November 2015 respectively urging upon the Government to exempt Railway employees from the purview of National Pension System OPS). In spite of proposals of the Railway Ministers, the Government has not yet accorded approval for exempting Railways from National Pension System (NPS). There is alround dissatisfaction and resentment among the Railway employees against.New Pension System.

The Railway employees are also a dissatisfied lot as the 7’r’ CPC has not done justice in respect of their pay structure etc. Added to this, non-abolition of National Pension System [NPS) has generated anger among all sections of Railway employees which compelled us to serve Strike Notice on 09’n June 2016.

NFIR, therefore, requests your kind intervention in the matter to see that the proposals of the Railway Minister seeking exemption of Railways from National Pension System (NPS), is approved-.by the Government without further loss of time.

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

(Dr.Raghavaiah)

General Secretary

Source: NFIR

Design IPPB's Identity and WIN!

Dear Colleague, India Post Payments Bank has received the cabinet approval on June 1, 2016 and is now racing ahead at full speed to be set up. We want you to help us define IPPB’s DNA by inviting you to design its logo or create a tagline. There is a total prize of INR 50,000 for the best logo and tagline submission if received from the same person. Submitting an entry for both (Tagline and Logo) is not mandatory, you can submit either one and stand a chance to win INR 25,000 for either the submitted logo or the tagline. We encourage you to spread this message to people around you and encourage them to participate. To participate and access more information, click here: http://tinyurl.com/IPPBcontest. Help us make this competition a success by sharing the above contest link through email, WhatsApp or Facebook. The last date for submissions is 9th July 2016.  Looking forward to your participation. Regards IPPB PMO Team

Surya Namaskar in Postage Stamps as part of International Yoga Day

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi is a huge Yoga fanatic. And two years ago at the UN General Assembly, he declared the 21st of June, i.e. the longest day in the year, as International Yoga Day. And this year, in commemoration of the second iteration of International Yoga Day, the PM has released a set of postage stamps, based on the Surya Namaskar. The twelve stamps feature all the twelve Asanas that make up the Surya Namaskar. Among the twelve, six stamps have a value of five rupees, and the other six are valued at twenty-five rupees. This marks the kicking off of a worldwide celebration of Yoga as a way of life beyond just exercise.

India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) Logo and Tagline Design Competition Posted: 20 Jun 2016 09:10 AM PDT With over 1.54 lakh branches across the country, India Post enjoys the love and trust of millions of Indians. The objective of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is to provide affordable and useful banking services to people who don’t just have limited access to banks, but might never have banked before. This is true financial inclusion. With a network spanning across every corner of the country, the postal service will now deliver prosperity to rural India as well as semi urban towns. Now Government of India starts conducting logo design and tagline competition for India Post Payment Bank.  The design must be the visual identity of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB).  The winner will get prize money of Rs 50,000.  The last date for submissions is 9th July, 2016. Following are the terms and conditions for this competition By participating in the Competition, participants agree to be bound by, and are deemed to have read and understood these terms and conditions. General Guidelines 1.  The Competition is open to only Indian citizens. 2.  All entries for the Competition must be submitted to the Creative Corner Section of www.mygov.in. Entries submitted through any other medium/ mode would not be considered for evaluation. 3.  The winning design of the logo, and tagline would be the intellectual property of the Department of Posts (DOP) and the winner cannot exercise any right over it, after acceptance of the prize. 4.  The prize-winning design of the logo and tagline is meant to be used by the DOP for promotional and display purposes and also for any other use as may be deemed appropriate for the initiative. 5.  The design of the logo and tagline must not contain any provocative, objectionable or inappropriate content. 6.  The participant must be the same person who has designed the logo and created the tagline and plagiarism would not be allowed. 7.  Please note that the design of the logo and tagline proposed for the program must be original and should not violate any provision of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957. 8.  Anyone found infringing on others’ copyright would be disqualified from the Competition. DOP does not bear any responsibility for copyright violations or infringements of intellectual property carried out by the participants. 9.  Participant is to make sure that his/her MyGov profile is accurate and updated since DOP would be using this for further communication. This includes details such as name, photo and phone number. Entries with incomplete profiles would not be considered. 10. DOP reserves the right to cancel or amend all or any part of the Competition and/ or the Terms & Conditions/ Technical Parameters/ Evaluation Criteria. However, any changes to the Terms & Conditions/ Technical Parameters/ Evaluation Criteria, or cancellation of the Competition, will be updated/ posted on contest page on the MyGov platform. Participants are responsible to keep themselves informed as to any changes in the Terms & Conditions/ Technical Parameters/ Evaluation Criteria stated for this Competition. 11. The Participant(s) represent(s) and warrant(s) that he/ she will comply with all applicable Indian laws. The Participant(s) shall not disclose and/or use any information, if doing so is in violation of an obligation of antitrust law and/ or confidentiality. 12. By registering for participation in the Competition, the Participant(s) warrant that: a. They have complied with these terms and conditions; b. Their design of the logo and tagline is original; c. Their design of the logo and tagline does not infringe any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party; d. Any current employer and/or learning institution that the participant is employed by or enrolled with would have no claim on the design of the logo, and tagline developed and submitted. 13. DoP reserves the right to reject any entry based on its discretion. 14. DOP accepts no responsibility for any damage, loss or injury of any kind suffered by any participants in entering the Competition, including as a result of any participant winning or not winning any prize. 15. DOP will not be held responsible if the participants are not able to upload their entries on MyGov portal before the last date & time of submission for any reason whatsoever. 16. Entries must be made by the closing date and in the manner set out in the Competition terms and conditions. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. 17. Multiple submissions of either logo or tagline by the same participant would not be considered; however, a participant may submit any entry for either logo or tagline or both. 18. The results of the Competition would be declared on MyGov portal. Technical Parameters 1. A Participant should submit the tagline with an original, catchy tagline and logo that captures the essence of the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) Inspiration Guide. 2. The tagline should not be more than 8 words and can be either in Hindi or English. 3. The logo should be such that it can be converted into a monogram without losing the effectiveness of the communication. 4. The participant should upload the logo/tagline in JPG, PDF or PNG format only, along with the open file format, with a minimum size of 4” x 4” (inches). 5. A minimal look and feel in terms of colours and fonts is preferred, along with possible adherence to the current India Post identity. 6. Photographs in the logo are not acceptable. 7. The participant should upload the tagline/logo along with a detailed explanation of colour codes and measurements. Evaluation Criteria 1. The entries would be evaluated on the basis of elements of creativity, originality, composition, and simplicity. 2. Every entry would be evaluated on its own merit and while overt incorporation of elements from the Inspiration Guide has greater salience, a merely detailed entry would not adversely prejudice another innovative and original idea or entry, but not explained in that greater detail, from being adjudged better. 3. The decision of the Selection Committee would be final and binding on all the participants and no clarifications would be issued to any participants for any or their decisions. 4. Any legal proceedings arising out of the competition/ its entries/ winners shall be subject to local jurisdiction of Delhi State. 5. Out of the total entries received, MyGov would select the top twenty (20) entries through the detailed evaluation process as described above. Out of top twenty (20) entries, top 10 entries would be chosen through MyGov polls. 6. The final winning entry would be decided by the DOP, with equal weightage being given to the DOP’sranking and the rankings obtained through MyGov polls.