SMS SERVICE TO PLI INSURANTS - BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

When you withdrew money from ATM, alert is sent through SMS.  When you pay LIC premium in a bank (not in LIC counter) through ePayment, you get confirmation SMS from the LIC.  Whenever cheques are cleared you get SMS from the bank. 

Like that Our Department has also started SMS service to the sender of eMO and the Speed Post.  Kurnool Postl Region under AP Circle has already started SMS service to the Savings Bank Depositors (SMS will be sent whenever withdrawal is made).

It is learnt that the Department has given directions in the online module of  Postal Life Insurance that the SMS service to the insurants is being launched shortly hence, the data entry operators should enter the mobile number of the insurants in the column provided therein.

Let we build the Department more stronger.

Dealing assistant, the deemed PIO under Secion 5(5) of the RTI Act, was imposed penalty of Rs 1000/-

Shri Balbir Singh, the Applicant filed an RTI application dt.24.7.09 with the CPIO, O/o CPMG, Ambala requesting for information against 9 points with regard to transfer procedures. On not receiving any reply, he filed an appeal dt.31.8.09 with the Appellate Authority. On not receiving any reply from the First Appellate authority, he filed a complaint dt.nil before CIC. The CIC vide its order dt.30.10.09 directed the PIO to provide the information by 30.11.09 and to show cause in writing for the delay in furnishing information, by 4.12.09.


The Bench of Mrs. Annapurna Dixit, Information Commissioner, scheduled the hearing for December 10, 2009. Shri R.S.Yadav, CPIO, Shri S.N.Bhatia, Shri R.D.Bansal and Shri Ram Nath represented the Public Authority. The applicant was not present during the hearing.

Decision

Shri R.S.Yadav, CPIO vide his letter dt.-.11.09 submitted that on receipt of CIC order dt.30.10.09, the whole episode came to light and explanation of the official at fault was called for keeping the RTI application under active consideration. The RTI application was received on 27.7.09 and it was transferred to the staff section on 29.7.09 where it was to be dealt with by Shri Som Nath Bhatia, the then Dealing Assistant and Section Supervisor (Staff Section) working under the control of Shri V.K.Malhotra, the then APMG (Staff) & PIO (retired on superannuation on 30.9.09). He added that Mr.S.N.Bhatia could not put up the said RTI application to Shri Malhotra due to heavy rush of work as well as ill health and he put up the RTI application only on 3.9.09 with a draft letter addressed to the Complainant requesting him to furnish the receipt of Rs.10/- for taking further action. Shri Malhotra signed the draft letter and marked the file back to Shri Bhatia on 8.9.09. Since, the Complainant was BPL card holder, no fee was to be charged from him and as such the letter was not dispatched to the Complainant. The Respondent emphasized the fact that due to heavy rush of work, Shri S.N.Bhatia forgot to put up the file to the PIO along with the information sought by the Complainant. On receipt of the CIC’s order, information was supplied to the Complainant on 18.11.09. He further added that process for direct recruitment of Postal Assistants in Circle Office/Army Postal Service is in progress and a large number of applications received for the posts are being processed to finalize the recruitment by 31.12.09, the target date fixed by the Postal Directorate. In this way, Shri S.N.Bhatia and Shri Malhotra were busy in finalizing recruitment process of Postal Assistants and they could not supply the information timely to the Complainant. However, keeping in view the gravity of the laxity/carelessness on the part of Shri S.N.Bhatia, strict action is being taken against him.

The Commission after reviewing the explanation observed that no reasonable cause for the delay in furnishing information has been provided by the Respondents. Also, the deemed PIO, Mr. S.N. Bhatia has failed to provide the information on time not once, but twice. The first time he failed to put up the RTI application to Mr. Malhotra and left it unattended to from 29.7.09 to 3.9.09 and the second time, even after having received the approval from Mr. Malhotra on 8.9.09, failed to reply to the Complainant till 18.11.09. The Commission while holding Mr. Bhatia as the deemed PIO under Section 5(5) of the RTI Act, is constrained to impose a penalty on him under Section 20(1) of the RTI Act and accordingly directs the Appellate Authority to recover an amount of Rs. 1000/- for a delay of 4 days (from 30.8.09 to 3.9.09) from the salary of Mr. Bhatia . The amount to be paid in a single installment through a Demand Draft in favour of PAO CAT . The Demand Draft should reach the Commission by 10th February 2010 and it should be addressed to Shri G.Subramanian, Under Secretary & Deputy Registrar, Central Information Commission, Club Building, Old JNU Campus, New Delhi 110 067. The complaint is accordingly disposed off.

CIC Decision No CIC/AD/C/2009/000956 dated 10.12.2009

Calculation of accrued interest if HBA is obtained from the Department

Pay disbursing authority (Accounts Branch of HOs or Budget section in case of RO/CO) is responsible for calculation of income tax due on the salary and giving Form 16 to the employees. Form 16 shows the taxable income and details of income tax deducted. These details are to be entered in the returns and submission of returns to the Income Tax Deparetment is the responsibility of employees. However, we should also know the method of calculation of income tax so that the clerical error if any is detected well intime and correct tax is assessed by Accounts Section.

If HBA is sanctioned, the accrued interest on HBA is exempted from income under section 24(b) of income tax act.

If the loan is obtained from the bank or other institutions the interest will be deducted alongwith principal and the bank authorities will give the certificate to that effect which can be given to the accounts branch for calculation of taxable income.

If loan is obtained from the Department i.e if HBA is obtained, the interest will be recovered only after repayment of principal amount is over. However, the accrued interest can be exempted from income u/s 24(b) of Income Tax Act.

Exemption for Interest portion of HBA is admissible up to maximum of Rs. 1,50,000/- if HBA has been sanctioned on or after 01/04/1999. Exemption is admissible up to maximum of Rs. 30,000/- if HBA has been sanctioned on or before 31/03/1999.

Repayment of Principal sum of H.B.A. is exempt u/s 88 of Income Tax Act. This can be shown along with GPF Contribution/L.I.C. Premium/P.L.I. Premium etc. of which maximum rebate admissible is Rs. 1,00,000/-.

Example for calculation of HBA Accrued interest

1st instalment Rs 2,50,000 paid on 2.4.2008 2nd instalment of Rs 2,50,000 paid on 5.9.2008 Recovery of instalment @ Rs 2000 commenced from the month of October 2009

Month and Year	Amount Paid(Rs.)	Amount Recovered (Rs.)	IBB (Rs.)	Cumulative Amount (Rs.)
04/2008	2,50,000		2,50,000
05/2008			2,50,000
06/2008			2,50,000
07/2008			2,50,000
08/2008			2,50,000
09/2008	2,50,000		5,00,000
09/2008			5,00,000
10/2008			5,00,000
11/2008			5,00,000
12/2008			5,00,000
01/2009			5,00,000
02/2009			5,00,000	47,50,000
03/2009			5,00,000
04/2009			5,00,000
05/2009			5,00,000
06/2009			5,00,000
07/2009			5,00,000
08/2009			5,00,000
09/2009			5,00,000
10/2009		2000	4,98,000
11/2009		2000	4,96,000
12/2009		2000	4,94,000
01/2010		2000	4,92,000
02/2010		2000	4,90,000	59,70,000

(Cumulative Total for the period 01/03/09 to 28/02/10 = Total of IBB of 03/2009 Rs. 5,00,000/- to IBB of 02/2010 Rs. 4,90,000/-)

Calculation of Notional Interest :

Cumulative I.B.B. from 01/03/09 to 28/02/2010      Rs. 59,70,000/-

    59,70,000   x  11.5

---------------------- =    Rs. 57,212.50/- Interest .

            1200

Therefore in above case the accrued interest is Rs. 57,213/-

The recovery of Rs. 10,000/- can be shown as exemption u/s 88 whereas Accrued Interest on HBA Rs. 57,213/ can be shown as exempt u/s 24(b).

Offer of appointment in the grade of AAO in IP&T AFS Group 'B'- reg

Ministry of Communictions & IT vide Memo No 27-7/2009 SEA II dated 21.12.2009 has issued provisional order of appointment in the grade of AAO in IP&T AFS Group 'B' to 465 officials who have passed JAO Part II examination in the Pay Band-2 of Rs 9300-34800/- plus GP of Rs 4800 w.e.f. 30.12.2009 or the date of assumption of charge whichever is later.  The detailed list is available in the DOT website.

Click here to see the order and the list

Post offices to sell pension scheme by Feb 2010

The department of posts (DoP), which has recently acquired a certificate of registration from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) as one of the points of presence, is gearing up to offer services under the New Pension System (NPS) by the middle of February.

Officials of the postal department said modalities for formally offering services as a point of presence (PoP) is being worked out. “We are working on modalities to offer our services to under NPS. We hope to have everything in place by middle of February to NPS subscribers,” Manisha Sinha, director (financial services), department of posts, told Financial Chronicle. PoPs act as the interface between subscribers and the NPS.

Sinha said that among the issues that need to be resolved is the compatibility of the technology platform of the post offices that would offer the NPS products. “We are working on our IT set up and its compatibility with the Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) of the NPS,” she said.

The National Securities Depository (NSDL) is the sole CRA under the NPS.

Ashok Pal Singh, deputy director general (technology) department of posts, said that the IT compatibility would be implemented soon. “The technology sophistication of postal department is being upgraded to be compatible with the requirement of NPS,” Singh said. The department of posts has decided to offer its services from 800 post offices initially and gradually scale it up. “We will bring in more post offices as we go along. Eventually, we should be able to offer NPS products from all the 12,000 post offices,” Sinha said.

At present, the NPS is being distributed by 21 entities through nearly 800 branches spread all over the country. PFRDA is working with these institutions to bring all their branches under NPS in a time-bound manner. NPS will now be sold through over 1600 outlets of DoP and other entities.

Sinha said that the transaction volumes under NPS are still thin and there would not be significant fee income at the present state of development of the system. “If you ask me whether this is good business, I think it is not so yet. NPS is a volumes game, which is very low. One has to generate awareness and increase access points to bring in more subscribers,” Sinha said. The NPS, which was launched on May 1, 2009, has barely roped in over 3000 subcribers till date.

The postal department had earlier voiced its concern over the low fees of the points of presence. PoPs earn Rs 20 as fees per transaction handled by them. “We did express reservations on the fees which we feel is low. But one of the main reasons for joining the NPS was that is was absolutely necessary to have retail presence like that of the post offices to make NPS a success,” Sinha said.

“We are part of government and we feel it is our duty to support a government initiative,” Singh said.


Source : MyDigitCom

Postal staff found dead in offfice

CHENNAI: A 49-year-old postal department staff was found dead in his office in Flower Bazaar on Friday morning. Though there was initial suspicion about the cause, police confirmed the death was natural.

Staff members who noticed the body of T R Raghavalu were frightened and called the police immediately. Flower Bazaar police conducted a detailed investigation. They learnt that Raghavalu was an alcoholic. His wife had died 18 years ago. He was working on a contract basis in the office.

"He usually went to his house in Meenambedu in Ambattur after work. But on days when work is heavy, he would to stay back. On Thursday night, he had stayed back in the office," said a senior police official.
 
Source : Times of India, Chennai

Group A officers can only act as Chairman as per the corrigendum issued by the Department in the committee for MACPS

Directorate has issued orders ON 9.12.2009 modifying the eligibility for chairman for the committee to be held MACPS. As per the  original order of the Department of Personnel and Training Member of the Committee should not be below the rank of Under Secretary or equivalent in PB-3 with Grade Pay of Rs 6600/- and the Chairperson should be a grade above the members of the Committee.

As per the orders of the Department dated 9.12.2009, the officer holding the post in JTS with grade pay of Rs. 5400/- in PB-2 [in the event of non-availability of STS officerl can act as chairperson of the Screening Committee in Department of Posts.
Now as per the order No  No.4-7I(MACPS)/2oO9/ PCC dated 11.12.2009, it is modified that the officers should be in PB-3. 

ASPs promoted to PS Group 'B' should join the post within 31.12.2009 to earn increment on 1.7.2010

Directorate has issued promotion orders for 139 officers to the cadre of Postal Service Group 'B' on 16.12.2009 vide memo no No. 9-51./2009-SPG.  (List available in sahuliyat.com and http://postalinspectors.blogspot.com/

Out of 139 officers promoted thirty nine have been post to other circles.  If the official  joined after 1.1.2010, the increment will not be drawn on 1.7.2010.  Hence, the officers are advised to join the promotional post on or before 1.1.2010.

The nomination position of the cadre is as follows:-
 (Waittttttttttttttttttttttting for more than 25 years ????????????? in a cadre for promotion)

Last OC candidate 1983 Batch officials remaining 32
Last SC candidate 1988 Batch officials remaining 25
Last ST candidate 1985 Batch cleared.

Give priority to locals in post office jobs: Raj Thackeray

Pressing his party's demand for employment to 'sons of soil', MNS chief Raj Thackeray has warned the Post Master General to give priority to locals for the post office jobs or else cancel the recruitment procedure.
"Vacancies in Maharashtra post offices should be filled by local people only. It will give justice to them and influx of outsiders can be controlled," Raj said in a letter written to Post Master General, M S Bali.

Objecting to an advertisement published on October 23, about vacancies of postmen in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai in national newspapers, Raj said this encouraged lakhs of outsiders to apply.

"Lakhs of applications have been received for the posts from across the nation due to advertisement published in national newspapers for local jobs," Raj said, adding, "the same advertisement could have been given in local papers."

On the recruitment norms, Raj said "the post office manual says the applicant should be 10th standard pass with knowledge of the state language which is Marathi in this case."

"However, the advertisement said that knowledge of local language is desirable, which means applicants should know any local language, not necessarily Marathi," he said.

Raj also claimed that about 50,000 outsiders have applied for the job and the whole recruitment process should be cancelled by the post office

Source : http://www.indianexpress.com/news/give-priority-to-locals-in-post-office-jobs-raj-thackeray/556075/

75% Of the Citizens dissatisfied with the quality of information given under RTI

The study made for RTI pointed out that 12% of the women and 26% of men were aware of RTI Act. The study has also pointed out that more than 75% of the citizens were dissatisfied with the quality of information provided to them. The information in this regard is, however, not centrally maintained.


A Budget Estimate of Rs. 14.16 crore has been made under the Centrally Sponsored Plan Scheme on “Strengthening, Capacity Building and Awareness Generation for effective implementation of the RTI” for the year 2009-10. The Scheme is being implemented, inter alia, through State Information Commissions, State Administrative Training Institutes and Central Government Agencies.

Till 11.12.2009, a sum of about Rs. 3.63 crore has been spent. Financial proposals for utilizing additional funds are under examination/approval.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

22372 CAT cases are pending as on 30.9.2009

During 2007 and 2008, 17725 and 18287 cases were filed in the Central Administrative Tribunal(CAT). During 2007 and 2008, 18674 and 20352 cases were disposed of respectively. As on 30.09.2009, there were 22372 cases pending in various benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal.
The following steps have been taken to clear the backlog :

(i) Monthly Pendency report is called for from all the benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal and the rate of disposal is personally monitored by the Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal.

(ii) Targets are set up by the Chairman for the Benches.

(iii) During the All India Conference 2009, the Benches were advised to give priority to the disposal of old cases pending since 2004 to 2007.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Speed complaints for the year 2008-09 is 0.0104% only

There are not many complaints of inefficiency and delay regarding Speed-Post from any parts of the country. Department of Post handled 21.14 Crore Speed Post articles during 2008-09. During the last 3 years and upto October, 2009, department handled 12.86 crore, 17.73crore 21.14 crore and 12.96 crore Speed Post articles and the percentage of complaints is 0.113, 0.098, 0.103 and 0.113 respectively only. As may be seen, the speed post traffic has been growing by an average of 25% and complaints on an average by 0.104% only. There is however scope for improvement.
Occasional complaints arise which are on account of dependence on external agencies for transmission and last mile delivery. The Department of Posts has been taking a number of steps to improve the Speed Post service most efficiently in the country. This reply was given by Shri Gurudas Kamat, Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Rajya Sabha today.
Source : Press Information Bureau

Decisions taken in the first meeting of the National Anomaly Committee held on 12th December, 2009

The The first meeting of the National Anomaly Committee was held on 12th December, 2009 and the details of the meeting are available Confederation of Central Government Employees - Blog.   As per the details available the Government side has accepted to issue orders in major issues.
Some of the main issues discussed in this meeting as per the release of the Confederation are

1.Fixation of pay on promotion (when direct recruits getting more pay than promotees)
2.Revision of option given under CCS Revised Pay Rules 2008 and F.R.22(I) A(1) for fixation of pay
3.Anomaly in pension for Government Servants who retired/Died in harness between 1.1.2006 and 1.9. 2006
4.Date of next increment (postponement of regular increment for more than one year to the employees who were getting pre 6cpc increment from Febrauary to June)
5.Fixation of pay in the revised pay scale where pre-revised pay scales have been merged with higher pre-revised pay (illustration 4B CCS Revised Pay Rules 2008)
6.Parity in pension of all pre 1996 retirees with those who retired on or after 1.1.2006

As per the minutes of meeting, for the issues 1 to 4 detailed above demands of confederation were accepted and issue of formal orders are awaited. For the last two issues Government has agreed to consider the issue once again.

PMG Kanpur launched Operation 100% Delivery of Speed Post Articles

KANPUR: With an objective to provide best quality postal service to the citizens, `operation 100 percent delivery of speed post articles, registered and ordinary mails' will soon be launched in all the post offices and its division throughout the city.
The Post Master General Kanpur Shri Ram Bharosa while talking to media persons said, "Under the objective of 100 percent delivery of speed post articles, all the divisional heads and post office in charge will personally see that all the articles received are delivered to the public on the same day. "
Addressing the post masters, he said: "the operation can be successful in a real and a true way if all the post masters involve themselves in daily monitoring." However, if the articles are undelivered by postman, then it should be sent for re-trial to check up for the correctness of remarks and should also confirm to deliver the article during re-trial, he added.
Source : Times of India, Kanpur

Officer holding the post of JTS with grade pay of Rs. 5400/- in PB-2 [in the event of non-availability of STS officer] can act as chair person of the Screening Committee for MACPS in Department of Posts.

Department of Posts, PC Cell Memo NO No.4-7/MACPS/2009/-PCC dated 9.12.2009

Subject:-Modified Assured carrier Progression Scheme to central Government civil Employees with effect from 01-09-2008

I am directed to invite your attention to the Para 9&10 of this office OM No 4-7(MACPS)2009-PCC dated 18 Sep 2009 regarding constitution of Screening committee for MACPS. Parag 9 of the OM provides that Member of the Committee should not be below the rank of Under Secretary or equivalent in PB-3 with Grade Pay of Rs 6600/- and the Chairperson should be a grade above the members of the Committee.

Keeping in view the difficulties experienced -by various Circles for constitution of the Screening Committee due to non-availability of officers of the rank of Under Secretary or equivalent in the Grade Pay of Rs.6600 and likely delay in holding the meetings of the Screening Committee in the light of the existing provisions; the issue has been considered in the Directorate and I am directed to convey that Officer holding the post in JTS with grade pay of Rs. 5400/- in PB-2 [in the event of non-availability of STS officerl can act as chair person of the Screening Committee in Department of Posts.

In case of any difficulty experienced following the above change in the composition of the screening committee, the same may be brought to the notice of this Directorate for examination.

This has the approval of Secretary (Posts).

Sd/- (Surendra Kumar), Assistant Director General (GDS/PCC)

Khaki Uniform to Postman/Multiskilled employees

Department has again introduced khaki uniforms to Postman/Multiskilled employees vide Directorate letter No 2-33/2008-UPE dated 9.12.2009.

The present dark blue trousers and a light blue full-sleeved shirt in polyester cotton cloth for male employees and light blue sari, with a dark blue border for female employees was introduced in the Department in the year 2004 to mark Department's 150th anniversary.

Department called for suggestions from the Unions/Associations during the October 2008 as there was a demand to change the colour of the uniform. Now the Department has again introduced the khaki colour uniform the Postman and multi skilled employees.

New PSSKs not opened during last six years due to non-receipt of justified proposals and non-fulfilment of norms.

Panchayat Sanchar Seva Kendras (PSSKs) are opened only in villages with Panchayats. At present, there are 4962 PSSKs in the country (as on 31.3.2009). Many of the villages are covered by either the Branch Post Offices (Bos) or where Bos do not justify by the PSSKs. PSSKs are opened only on initiation of proposals by duly elected Gram Panchayats subject further to fulfilment of stipulated norms. No new PSSKs have been opened during last six years due to non-receipt of justified proposals and non-fulfilment of norms.

The scheme was aimed at augmenting postal network in rural areas. But most PSSKs have been found to be financially non-viable and have not shown desired results after their establishment.

Alternate modes of communication are now available. Therefore, there is fall in demand for postage stamps/ stationery and sale proceeds of most PSSKs are low. Further, PSSK agents do not take interest in the work and Gram Panchayats do not exercise effectively control & supervision over them.

Continuous monitoring of PSSKs is done during inspections and field visits by the officers of the Department of Posts.
This reply was given by Shri Gurudas Kamat, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology in Rajya Sabha today.

Health check up is not mandatory, if the villager is between 19 to 35 years of ager of all Rural Postal Life Insurance Policies taken upto Rs 25,000/-

Health checkup is the norm for life insurance policies in general. Health checkups is not mandatory, if the age at entry of a villager is between 19 to 35 years and sum assured of all Rural Postal Life Insurance policies taken by him/ her is up to Rs. 25000/-

Department of Posts under its extant Endowment scheme launched a drive to procure small value micro insurance policies without mandatory health checkups. Details are as under:

• Type of Assurance: Endowment Assurance maturing at the age of 40, 45, 55, 58 and 60 years
  
• Sum Assured: Minimum Rs. 10000/- and Maximum Rs. 25000/-
  
• The Maximum limit of sum assured of all policies taken by one person is Rs. 25000/-
  
• Age limit at entry: Minimum 19 years and Maximum 35 years on next birth day
  
• Declarations: About self health and family history.
  

The insured person/ nominee has to submit claim application along with policy document and Premium Receipt book. This reply was given by Shri A. Raja, Minister for Communications and Information Technology in Rajya Sabha today.

Andhra crisis - A Post office was set fire in Kadapa town of Rayalseema

Hyderabad, Dec 11 (IANS) The political crisis in Andhra Pradesh, triggered by the central government's decision to grant separate statehood to Telangana, deepened Friday with legislators from the other two regions continuing their mass resignations while shutdowns paralysed life in parts of the state.

The southern state stood divided on regional lines, with as many as 130 legislators submitting their resignations protesting the decision on Telangana. However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said no hasty decision will be taken on the issue of a separate Telangana state, Congress MPs from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions who met him Friday in New Delhi quoted him as saying. As many as 20 Congress MPs, including union ministers, led by K.Sambasiva Rao met the prime minister and raised their apprehensions on carving out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

In the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, protestors attacked a branch of the HSBC Bank while in Kadapa town of Rayalseema, a post office was set afire.

Click here to read the full article published in Sulekha.com

Grant of Full pension to Government servants who retired on or after 1.1.2006

As per the memo No 38/37/08-P&PW(A) dated 2.9.2008, pension at 50% of the emoluments or average emoluments, whichever is more beneficial was allowed only for the Government servants retiring on or after 2.9.2008.  Subsequently, it was clarified vide OM No 38/37/08-P&PW(A) dated 11.12.2008 that pension of Government servant retiring on or after 1.1.2006 will also be calculated based on the emoluments or average emoluments received during the last 10 months, whicherver is more beneficial but his pension would continue to be proportionate to the pension on completion of 33 years of qualifying service.


Now as per the Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare Memo No F. No 38/37/08-P&PW(A) dated 10.12.2009,  the linkage with full pension with 33 years of qualifying service is dispensed with effect from 1.1.2006 instead of 2.9.2008. Hence, all officials retired from service on or after 1.1.2006 is eligible for 50% of emoluments or average emoluments whichever is beneficial irrespective of  completion of 33 years of qualifying service or not.

Click here to see the Dept of Pension and pension welfare memo dated 10.12.2009

TOKEN SYSTEM LIKE BANKS INTRODUCED IN POST OFFICES AT CHENNAI

When you visit post office for making savings bank transactions either for deposit or for withdrawal you have to stand in a queue for long time till you get your own turn. No proper arrangement is generally available in post offices to regulate the crowd. The customers themselves have to stand in a queue and sometimes some people shortcut the queue also. In Chennai City, T. Nagar, Ashok Nagar and Mylapore post offices token system like bank has been introudced recently which is welcomed by all customers of India Post as well as the employees.

Old age pension payment at the Post Office itself instead of through Postman to eradicate the culture of collecting ‘commissions,’

Tamilnadu government disbursing different type of pensions to widows, handicapped, old aged people etc as a economy measure through post offices. The money orders are sent by the Taluk offices through the post offices and it takes more number of days to reach the beneficiary. Normally pensions are paid on fixed dates like last day of the month in case of Government pensioners or on the first day of every month in case of others. But these poor beneficieries are not getting the pension on a fixed date due to various administrative reasons. The payment is made through money orders even on the last day of the month.

The booking at the post office is delayed for want of man power. The payment is further delayed due to money not reaching the concerned village post office. Even if reached, some postman insists for commission of Rs 20 from the beneficiary.

To eradicate this system of collecting commission and to effect immediate payment, the Kannankurichi Post Office in Salem has started disbursing the monthly direct to the beneficiaries at the post offices itself instead of through postman from Wednesday wherever, the pensioners attend the post office in person.

The local post officials organised a ‘tom-tom’ in the areas served by the Post Office a few days ago to make the pensioners aware of the new mode of payment. Notices were issued asking the beneficiaries to come with proper documents. It had a tremendous response. “The exercise was a huge success. We will continue it,” said a senior official of the post office.

Theft at Post Office - One server and 4 nodes were stolen from a Post Office near Dharmapuri

In a post office situtated at Palacode near Dharmapuri, the computers were stolen yesterday night.
Theft are common wherever secutiry arrangements are lacking. In Post offices theft of cash, stamps and certificates were only taken place so far. In the recent attempt, the miscreants taken away all the computers (1 server and 4 nodes) held at post office yesterday night. Police investigation is going on. Departmental officials started their work to provide standby computers and to restore the data from the backup available with them.

Revision of the proforma for sending dereservation proposals

In the Dept of Pers and Training OM. No. 3601 1120179-Estt(SCT) dated 2.11.1979 proformae for sending proposals for deresewation of resewed vacancies were prescribed. In view of the fact that a number of developments like creation of separate National Commissions for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, replacement of vacancy based rosters by post based rosters, ban on exchange of resewation between SCs and STs have taken place, Dept of Personnel and Training has now modified the said proformae. vide letter No 3602012/2007-Estt(Res) dated 7.12.2009.

Click here to see the OM and proformae

Attempted burglary at a post office near Chandralok theatre, Allahabad

An abortive attempt was made to commit theft at a post office near Chandralok theatre under Kotwali police circle on Monday night.
The police said that the miscreants made an abortive attempt to lift the cash box of the post office. The thieves managed to break the locks of main door but failed to take the cash box.

The police said that Rs 76,000 was kept in the cash box which was fixed in the ground and the thieves were unable to break it. The residents of the area noticed the lock of the post office broken and informed the police.

Modernised head post office dedicated to public

The Alappuzha Head Post Office (HPO), which was modernised under the Postal Department’s Project Arrow, was dedicated to the public recently.

K.C. Venugopal, MP, dedicating the modernised HPO, said conventional post, no matter what advances were ushered in by information technology, would continue to be the common man’s mode of communication. It was a matter of pride that the Alappuzha HPO was the first to be dedicated to the public from among the post offices modernised under Project Arrow.

Lauding the Postal Department, Mr. Venugopal also said a special postage stamp on Alappuzha’s famed kettuvallams, would be released before the next edition of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race.

Shobha Koshy, Chief Post Master General, Kerala Circle, talking on Project Arrow, said ATM and core banking facilities would be introduced in the Alappuzha HPO shortly as part of improving the savings bank facilities provided at the centre.

Source : The Hindu dated 9.12.2009

Losses of Air India

At the time of merger i.e. 2006-07, the loss of Air India was Rs.447.93 crores. The loss for 2008-09 is Rs.5000 crores (approximately). This information was given by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel in Rajya Sabha today.

The loss for the year 2007-08 was Rs.2226.16 crores and it is expected to be of the order of Rs.5,000 crores (Prov.) during the year 2008-09. The main reasons for the losses are prevalent economic recession, low yields, load factors, decline in cargo and freight revenue, Increase in fuel expenditure in 2008-09 and increase in aircraft maintenance expenditure.

Author's Comment : Air India serving upper class and India Post serving majority of lower class; Total number of employees in Air India - 16,000 and employees in India Post is 5,20,191 (India Post - estimated loss for 2009- 10 is about Rs 5200 Crores)

Source : Press Information Bureau

Constant Attendance allowance @ Rs 3000/- p.m. payable to pensioners who retired on 100% disability shall also be increased by 25% every time when DA goes up by 50%

Copy of Memo No 45/6/2008-P&PW(F) dated 7.12.2009 of Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare

Sub : Implementation of Government's decision on the recommendations of the VI CPC - revision of CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939 - Constant Attendant Allowance

The undersigned is directed to say on the Recommendations of Sixth Central Pay Commission in para 5.1.44 of its Report, orders were issued vide Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare O.M. No 38/37/2008-P&PW(A) dated 2.9.2008 that :

"in the case of pensioners who retired on disability pension under the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939, for 100% disability (wherethe individual is completely dependent on somebody also for day to day function), a Constant Attendant Allowance of Rs 3,000/- p.m shall be allosed in addition to disability pension, on the lines existing in Defence forces".

2. In this Department's OM dated16.4.2009, the provisions of the payment of Constant Attendant Allowance on the civil side were also laid down.

3. Ministry of Defence, Department of Ex-servicemens' Welfare vide thier leter No 16(6)/2008(1)/D (Pension/Policy) dated 4.5.2009 has issued orders to increase the rates of CSA by 25% every time when the Dearness Allowance payable on revised pay band goes up by 50%.

4. Based on the recommendations of Sixth Central Pay Commission as contained in their para 5.1.68, it has beend decided that the rates of CSA payable to the Civilian employees shall also be increased by 25%, everey time the dearness allowance on the revised pay bands goes up by 50%

For Details click here to see the Memo dated 7.12.2009

Dearness Allowance rate calculation.

The All India Consumer Price index for industrial workers is released by the Labour Bureau Government of India on the last working day of the succeeding month. Consumer Price index number for the month of October 2009 released on 30.11.2009 is 165. Based on this index, the DA due upto October 2009 is calculated and given below. The increase is 32.67%. (Present DA rate from 1.7.2009 is 27%).

Month	All India Index	% of increase
Nov 2008	148	21.44
Dec 2008	147	22.38
Jan 2009	148	23.39
Feb 2009	148	24.32
Mar 2009	148	25.12
Apr 2009	150	25.98
May 2009	151	26.84
Jun 2009	153	27.78
Jul 2009	160	29.00
Aug 2009	162	30.23
Sep 2009	163	31.45
Oct 2009	165	32.67

Expected deficit of Postal Department for the year 2009-2010 is Rs 5632.46 Crore

The Department of Posts has had deficit for the last three years and it is expected to continue in the year also. The details of the deficit for the last three years and the estimates for the current year are as under;

Year	Amount in Crores of Rupees
2006-07	1249.52
2007-08	1511.44
2008-09	3593.09
2009-10	5632.46

Theft at MVP Colony Sub Post Office in Andhra Pradesh

In a theft at MVP Colony Sub Post Office on Saturday night Rs.1 lakh was allegedly stolen. Two persons reportedly entered the post office and took away Rs.1 lakh from the post office.  They also set fire to some files, Three Town Circle Inspector Ranga Raju said.  The watchman was sleeping in another room. Surprisingly, the doors or cupboards were not broken but the money was lost. It was also not clear why the files were set afire. Investigation is on

CIC Decision - CPIO to provide Rs.2,000/- to the Complainant as compensation for the expenses incurred by the Complainant in traveling to the Commission twice for the hearing and for the harassment he has been subjected to while running from pillar to post for the information

Shri Shiv Kumar Gupta filed an RTI application dt.7.10.08 with the CPIO/Dy. Divisional Manager(PLI), O/o CPMG, Lucknow requesting for information against 17 points with regard to KVPs and NSCs. Shri R.S.Pal, A.D.P.S.(Legal Cell), O/o CPMG, Lucknow transferred the RTI application to Supdt. of Post Offices, Fatehpur Division on 14.10.08 requesting him to provide the information directly to the Applicant. On not receiving any reply, the Applicant filed a complaint dt.10.12.08 with the UP Information Commission who transferred the case to CIC vide letter dt.23.5.09 . The complaint was registered at the Commission on 13.6.09. The Commission vide its order dt.30.9.09 directed the CPIO to provide the information to the Applicant by 30.10.09 and also to respond to the showcause notice issued to him by the Commission for the delay in supply of information, by 5.11.09.

The Bench of Mrs. Annapurna Dixit, Information Commissioner, scheduled the hearing for November 19, 2009 and the Commission directed the Public Authority to provide Rs.2,000/- to the Complainant as compensation for the expenses incurred by the Complainant in traveling to the Commission twice for the hearing and for the harassment he has been subjected to while running from pillar to post for the information . The amount to be paid by 15th of December.

Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) proposed to switch over from ePayment to ECS

Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) consumers were paying their bills through post offices using ePayment software in Mangalore/Puttur and Udupi Divisions.  As the MESCOM planned to switch over to ECS, the MESCOM did not renew its MoU with our Department.
Mescom used to pay Rs 5 for each bill to our Department. Mescom has 2.78 lakh consumers in Mangalore Division, 2.66 lakh in Puttur and 3.23 lakh in Udupi. Mescom officials said Post office remittances were 20%, but still the cost would have been huge following the new rates proposed by India Post.

Reimbursement of air fare along with rail and road fare in the case of LTC journey offered by IRCTC

As per Department of Personnel and Training Memo No 31011/6/2002-Estt.(A) dated 26.3.2008, the tours conducted by IRCTC will also qualify for the purpose of availing LTC on the lines of ITDC/STDCs and claim of two components viz rail fare and bus fare were admissible.

Now as per the Memo NO. 3101 11612002-Estt.(A) dated 2.12.2009 (provided in the link below) re-imbursement of air fare along with rail and road fare is also admissible in the case of LTC journey 'of Government servants in tours offered by IRCTC.

WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER SERVICE AFFECTED AS NRIs RETURNED HOME

Department has been earning huge business in foreign exchange, but owing to NRIs coming to the city over the last one month, business has been affected.

According to information, earlier, on an average, 10 people were using this facility everyday, but the figure has now reduced to two-three. The department of posts had started this scheme in April 2008 in collaboration with a private bank. According to information, till now, postal department had done business worth around Rs 2.60 crore. At present, the department is providing this service in 220 countries and business is coming in from Canada, Australia and USA.

Reimbursement of tuition fee under CEA scheme consequent on implementation of 6th Pay Commission Recommendataions

In claiming reimbursement of tutition fee, Divisions/Units follow different procedures in allowing reimbursement of fees paid by the officials in advance i.e paid annually or half yearly.  Now Directorate has issued clarification in the letter reproduced below that the claim should be made only on quarterly basis by producing the original receipt each time and by submitting xerox copy with the claim submitted. 

Workmen's Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2009

Yesterday Parliament has passed Workmen's Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2009 which mainly provides for the following:

a) Change of name of the Act to Employees Compensation Act 1923

b) Enhancement in minimum compensation payable from Rs.80,000 to Rs.1,20,000 (in case of death) and from Rs.90,000 to Rs.1,40,000 (in case of permanent disability) and funeral expenses from Rs.2,500 to Rs.5,000.

c) Reimbursement of actual medical expenses incurred during treatment of injury caused during course of employment.

d) Increase in coverage by omission of restrictive clause in Schedule-II and inclusion of additional hazardous activities

e) Disposal of cases of compensation by Commissioner within 3 months

f) Empower Central Govt. to specify monthly wages for the purpose of compensation and enhance minimum rates of compensation from time to time.

Copy of the Bill is attached for your ready reference. It will become Act after getting the assent of the President and will come into force on such date as may be specified in the notification to be issued by the Govt.


Amendment Bill 2009

PFRDA All Set To Launch Savings Scheme From Dec 1st 2009

Employees appointed after 1.1.2004 has the option now to save the amount under Tier -II which basically aims at giving better returns on the deposits and which the investors can withdraw fully. This PFRDA Savings scheme is called as tier-II account and the returns generated from this will be higher as they follow market-linked investment patterns.

Liquidity which is a main issue with most of the investors in the current scenario is taken care of in the savings scheme by PFRDA. So investors with the savings schemes in PFRDA can withdraw his entire savings from the account in case of any emergency. Only clause being investors need to have a Tier -I account to open a Tier-II account. These two accounts will run independent of each other.

Tier-I account has become operational since May 01,2009 called the New Pension Scheme when PFRDA has announced various pensions plans. To recall a few basic points in NPS scheme, the investor can withdraw 20% of his investments before the age of 60 years and after attaining 60 years he/she can withdraw another 60% as lump sum. These withdrawals will be taxed as it comes under the exempt-exempt mode. In the exempt-exempt mode no tax is levied when money is being deposited and it generates interest. Tax is only levied at the time of withdrawal.

The registration for this savings scheme can only be done through POP-SP which are contact and collection points for the customers. There are 21 such collection points of NPS in the form of SBI, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Axis Bank, UBI etc. Minimum deposit is set at Rs1000/- at the point of account opening. And minimum contribution being Rs 250 per contribution. And minimum balance is set at Rs 2,000 at the end of financial year.

If you want to analyze and get more information about the new savings scheme from PFRDA, check the link. Leave your valuable comments and queries here and get them answered

Loan to students

Ministry of Human Resource Development has proposed to introduce a scheme for full interest subsidy during the period of moratorium on loans taken by students belonging to economically weaker sections from the banks under the Education Loan Scheme of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for pursuing any of the approved courses of studies in technical and professional streams from recognised institutions in India.

The scheme will be circulated to banks for implementation after the modalities of the schemes are finalized by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

This information was given by Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha today.

No mandatory cut in plan expenditure

Press release of Ministry of Finance.

Attention of the Government has been drawn to certain media reports about Finance Ministry imposing a 10% cut in plan expenditure. Ministry of Finance hereby clarifies that the mandatory cut of 10% /5% has been imposed on certain heads of non-Plan expenditure as part of austerity measures. No instructions have been issued for imposing a mandatory cut in Plan expenditure.

Merger of State Bank of Indore with SBI

The Government has granted sanction to State Bank of India (SBI), under Section 35(1) of the State Bank of India Act, 1955, vide Department of Financial Services’ letter dated 08.10.2009 for proceeding with the negotiation with State Bank of Indore for acquiring its business. Consequently, the scheme of acquisition of State Bank of Indore by the Stat Bank of India have been approved by Board of both the Banks. The Government keeps in view the interest of all the stakeholders including employees of the merging banks.

This information was given by Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha today.

100% Safe monthly investment is "Post Office RD Account Scheme"

Expert opinion for monthly investment given in the Economic Times is reproduced below. We should continue to encourage opening of this best monthly savings scheme:-

I am around 50 years old. I want to invest up to Rs 5,000 per month. Kindly advise on what is the best and safe instrument for a time horizon of 3-5 years. - Sudhakar C

Opnion given in Economic Times dated 30.11.2009 in the Query Corner

If you want 100% safe investment, you can invest in Post Office-RD, which is a five-year scheme and you will get Rs 36,4450 at maturity with a monthly investment of Rs 5,000. Returns are taxable as per tax slab. If you are looking for higher returns and can take some risk of equity investment, I advise you to go for a SIP. Start a SIP of Rs 3,000 a month in Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund and Rs 2,000 month in HDFC Prudence Fund.