Sunday, 31 August 2014
Monday, 25 August 2014
Admissibility and Annual Ceiling in Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy – Minister’s Reply
Reimbursement of Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy admissible if Institution where children are studying is affiliated to any board or recognized by the Central or State Government or Union Territory Administration or by University or a recognized educational authority
CEA Annual Ceiling : Rs. 18000/- per child
CEA Annual Ceiling for disabled children : Rs. 36000 per child
Hostel Subsity Annual Ceiling : Rs. 54000/- per child
Hostel Subsidy for disabled children : Rs.9000 per month per child
Gist of Minister’s Reply in the Parliament on Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy
Children Education Allowance for Central Government Employees – Annual Ceiling and Details of Admissible Institutions
While answering to a question in Parliament on 18.7.2014, Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said in a written form regarding the details of Children Education Allowance that it has been informed by the Department of Personnel and Training that the annual ceiling limit for reimbursement of Children Education Allowance (CEA) is 18,000/- per child. The Hostel Subsidy shall be 4,500/- per month per child.
The annual ceiling for reimbursement of CEA for disabled children of Government employees is 36,000/- per annum per child and the rates of Hostel Subsidy for disabled children ofGovernment employees is 9,000/- per child per month.
These revisions are applicable with effect from 1st January, 2014.
The reimbursement is admissible for the children studying in institutions affiliated to any Board or recognised institution, whether in receipt of Government aid or not, recognised by the Central or State Government or Union Territory Administration or by University or a recognised educational authority having jurisdiction over the area where the institution is situated.
Source: PIB
Thursday, 21 August 2014
Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System
(AEBAS) be implemented in all central government offices
Aadhaar watch on babus
New Delhi, Aug. 20: The
sarkari babu will have to make every minute count.
The
Narendra Modi government has ordered that an Aadhaar Enabled Biometric
Attendance System (AEBAS) be implemented in all central government offices.
A
circular issued to all central government offices in the capital today has also
asked employees, of all ranks, to submit their contact details (email ID,
residential address, telephone and personal mobile phone numbers) to the
department of personnel and training that is with the Prime Minister’s Office.
Delhi
police are already building a databank containing the cellphone number, email
ID, name, rank and “personal number” and of every city cop, from constable to
commissioner, on the orde
rs
of the PMO. A letter from the home ministry on August 5 had asked for such a
databank, which will also include the municipality in which the cop lives. “All
the station house officers are on the job,” an officer said.
The
circular issued today does not give a date from which the new attendance system
will be implemented. It says “Aadhaar number is mandatory to register attendance”.
At
least one state — Jharkhand — has begun implementing the AEBAS. But a central
government order means the system will have to be adopted across the country.
The
system will be implemented in the capital first and then in all central offices
outside New Delhi. The order is binding on all employees, including those in
the armed forces.
To
implement the system, all offices will have to install fingerprint scanners
with Wi-fi Internet. The objective of the system, sources said, is “to check absenteeism
and measure the time an employee spends in office and the time he or she checks
in and checks out”.
Similar
systems have been implemented in many corporate offices, both in the private
and the public sector, though they are not based on Aadhaar, the card issued to
citizens by the Unique Identification Authority of India that was headed by
Nandan Nilekani and created by the UPA II government of Manmohan Singh in 2009.
The
system will also seek to ensure that employees cannot backdate attendance or
mark attendance for someone else.
On
July 1, Nilekani had met Modi and finance and defence minister Arun Jaitley and
given a presentation on the Aadhaar scheme that impressed the new regime.
Police
clueless
Delhi
police have been left befuddled by the message from the PMO asking for the
databank.
“This
is unprecedented. We are not clear about the objective behind it,” a senior
officer said in private.
“It
seems the PMO is going to be the new control room for everything: it will keep
a tab on all government officials including the police,” conjectured an IPS
official posted in the home ministry.
The
Delhi police, who claim to be the world’s largest metropolitan force with their
80,000 personnel including nearly 50,000 constables, have thrown themselves
into the massive exercise.
Delhi’s
is the only police force in the country that is under the Union home ministry’s
direct control. Police sources said the directive came in the form of a
ministry letter dated August 5.
Additional
deputy commissioner Mahesh Batra then wrote to all the zonal deputy
commissioners to help prepare the databank.
“May
kindly direct the concerned to collect the same from every employee under your
control and feed the information by August 13,” says the letter, dated August
11, of which The Telegraph has a copy.
“There
will not be an extension of this date, being time-bound requirement by Prime
Minister’s Office….”
Not
surprisingly, the deadline has been missed. A senior officer said the task
would be completed by the end of this month.
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
Sunday, 17 August 2014
Friday, 15 August 2014
Thursday, 14 August 2014
IMPORTANT CAT JUDGEMENT
DECLINING REGULAR PROMOTION BEFORE THE DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ACP OR MACP SCHEME SHOULD NOT BE A BAR FOR GRANTING ACP/MACP
Refusal to accept promotion, earlier to 09.08.1999 when the ACP scheme was promulgated, does not make an employee ineligible for grant of first financial benefits under ACP scheme when the scheme came into force only on 09.08.1999
Facts: The Applicant (who was appointed on 08.03.1980), while working as Radio Mechanic in India Meteorological Department refused his promotion due to family circumstances, when his promotion order was issued on 30.07.1998.
The Assured career Progression Scheme came into force on 09.08.1999. The Applicant having completed 12 years of service and stagnating in the same post of Radio Mechanic was rejected for the financial benefit of ACP on the ground that he refused his promotion when offered on 30.07.1998 earlier to the introduction of ACP scheme on 09.08.1999.
Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACP) was introduced for financial upgradation on 19.05.2009. As per this scheme, an employee will be entitled for three financial upgradation after completion of 10, 20 and 30 years of continuance of service. The Applicant became eligible for 1st ACP in 2000 and 2nd MACP in 2010. The grievance of the Applicant is that, he was denied 1st ACP and 2nd MACP. Hence he filed this OA challenging the Office Orders 10/11-12-2008 and 20-9-2010 whereby he was denied the financial upgradation.
The Respondents state that he refused promotion issued by Order dated 30.07.1998. In terms of DoP&T O. M. No. 35034/1/1997 Establishment (D) (Vol. IV), dated 18.07.2001, the Applicant cannot be said to stagnate in the same post. Hence the 1st ACP benefits was refused. The Applicant annexed the judgement of Bombay Bench of the Tribunal as appeared in Swamynews of July, 2008.
The Bombay Bench of the CAT held that “If an employee has refused the promotion before the enforcement of ACP Scheme, the facts would remain that he has actually not been given any financial upgradation which he could have been before regular promotion. He remains on the scale of pay still stagnated”. In view of this clarification, the clarification of Respondents cannot be accepted. Ernakulam Bench of CAT in OA No. 768 of 2005 considered condition No. 10 makes it amply clear that if an employee is accepting ACP benefit, he is deemed to have given unqualified acceptance for regular promotion on occurrence of vacancy subsequently”. That precludes factoring of past refusal while given ACP benefit.
In view of the above, refusals of promotion earlier to 9-8-1999, has no effect on the grant of financial benefit under ACP scheme. Hence, the clarification given no Doubt No. 38 by DoP&T cannot be accepted in this case as the Applicant herein refused promotion earlier to the coming of ACP Scheme. In that view, refusal of grant of 2nd financial upgradation under MACP scheme amount to punishing him for the second time. Hence, the eligibility of benefits under ACP scheme has to be recknoned on the actual date namely 9-8-1999. Hence declaining promotion earlier to 9-8-1999 is no reason to deny the first ACP introduced on 9-8-1999. Hence, a direction was given to Respondents to grant the Applicants benefits under the ACP scheme irrespective of the fact of their refusal of promotion earlier to 9-8-1999. Time given for implementation was 6 weeks.
In view of the above, same relief given by Bombay Bench is to be followed in this case also.
In the result, the impugned Order, dated 10/11-12-2008 and 20-9-2010 are set aside. The Respondents are directed to grant financial benefits under the ACP scheme to the Applicant in 12 weeks from the date of receipt of this order.
This the OA stands allowed.
(Shri. Ganesh Bhavrao Shrote v. Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences Mausam Bhavan, New Delhi, New Delhi, 8/2014, SwamynewS 98, (Bombay), date of judgement 5-8-2013)
NB: Reproduced from Swamy’s News August 2014-Tribunal Judgements
Government considering amendments to Minimum Wages Act
New Delhi: The government is considering a proposal to amend the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Lok Sabha was informed on August 11. "The proposal to amend the Minimum Wages Act 1948 is under consideration," Labour and Employment Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. Under the provisions of Minimum Wages Act 1948, both central and state governments are appropriate governments to fix, review and revise mimimum wages of workers employed in the scheduled employment under their respective jurisdiction, Tomar said.
The appropriate governments have been empowered to notify any employment in the schedule where the number of employees is 1,000 or more in a state and fix rates of minimum wages in respect to employees employed therein, he said. The minister said that presently there are 45 scheduled employments under central sphere and the workers employed in various mini cement plants and petroleum products outlets are not included in the scheduled employment of central spehere.
The rates of minimum wages fixed by central government are applicable to establishments under its authority, railways administration, mines, oilfields, major ports and corporations created under Acts of Parliament, he said. In the unskilled section of agriculture sector, rates of wages including Variable Dearness Allowance per day w.e.f April 1, 2014, are Rs 215, Rs 195 and Rs 193 in Area A, Area B and Area C respectively. Similarly for the highly skilled in the same sector, it is Rs 283, 262 and Rs 235 for Areas A, B and C respectively, he said.
Replying to another question, Tomar said that there are 56,90,636 beedi workers in the country as on July 31, 2014, in various states. Under various medical assistance given to the beedi workers for different diseases, 31,74,440 workers benefited from various health schemes in 2013-14. He said that there were 4,96,416 beneficiaries under educational schemes in 2013-14 while the number of beneficiaries under group insurance scheme in the same period was 7,02,320.
Source: Deccan Chronicle News
Identification of Sensitive Posts in Central Government Department
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 2921
ANSWERED ON 30.07.2014
IDENTIFICATION OF SENSITIVE POSTS
2921 . Shri SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH
Will the Minister of PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS be pleased to state:-
(a) whether the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) has issued instructions to all Chief Vigilance Officers regarding sensitive posts;
(b) if so, the details of guidelines/norms/ criteria laid down by CVC for identifying sensitive seats;
(c) the details of references received from Central Government under section 8(1)
(c) of CVC Act during the last three years indicating the present status of those references; and
(d) the details of complaints received against officials specified in sub-section 2 of section 8 of CVC Act together with investigations made into the complaints under section 8(1)
(d) of CVC Act?
ANSWER
Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister ofState in the Prime Minister’s Office. (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)
(a) & (b): The Central Vigilance Commission and the Government have issued instructions for effecting rotational transfers of officials posted on sensitive posts in each organization which offer scope for corruption. As per Commission’s instructions issued vide letter Nos. 98/VGL/60 dated 15.04.1999, 02.11.2001 and 004/VGL/90 dated 01.05.2008, 04.01.2012 (for public sector banks) and 11.09.2013, it was prescribed that Ministries/Departments/Organizations and CVOs are to identify the sensitive posts and staff working in these posts and also ensure that they are strictly rotated after every two/three years to avoid developing vested interests.
Identification of sensitive posts and effecting rotational transfers are continuous processes, and the Commission has asked the CVOs of the organizations to ensure strict implementation of Commission’s guidelines.
(c) & (d): As per the functions and powers of the Central Vigilance Commission under Section 8 (1) (c) of the Act, the Commission shall inquire or cause an inquiry or investigation to be made on a reference made by the Central Government in respect of a public servant. Further, the Commission causes inquiry/investigation on complaints received by it under Section 8 (1) (d) of the CVC Act.
Complaints received are processed as per the Complaint Handling Policy of the Commission.Complaints received in the Commission are scrutinized and wherever specific and verifiable allegations of corruption/having vigilance angle are noticed, the complaint are forwarded to CVO/CBI for conducting investigation/inquiry into the matter and submission of report. Details of complaints received during the last three years and the advice tendered by the commission are annexed.Monday, 11 August 2014
Thursday, 7 August 2014
MoC Shri. RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD Replied in RAJYA SABHA on 1.8.2014 regarding
STATUS ON DEMANDS OF GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS
Sl. No.
|
Issue
|
Action taken / Government’s view
|
1
|
Demand for regularization as Government servant.
|
Gramin Dak Sevaks, about 2,65,000 in number are a distinct category of employees, who do not form part of the regular civil service. They are governed by a separate set of conduct and engagement rules. They are engaged for 3 to 5 hours in a day. Their livelihood is not solely dependent on the allowances paid by the Postal Department. They are mandatorily required to possess independent sources of income for adequate means of livelihood. They are discharged on attaining the age of 65 years and while in employment are required to have residence mandatorily within the post village/delivery jurisdiction of the post office.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Superintendent of Post Offices vs. PK Rajamma (1977)(3) SCC has also held that the Extra Departmental Agents [now called Gramin Dak Sevaks] are holders of the civil post outside the regular civil service.
|
2
|
Demand for restoration of parity in bonus ceiling with departmental employees
|
Bonus ceiling stands revised at par with departmental employees vide DG Posts letter No. 26-04/2013-PAP dated 04.10.2013.
|
3
|
Demand for cent percent compassionate engagement to GDS posts from dependents of Gramin Dak Sevaks dying while in employment
|
Compassionate engagement is allowed in only hard and deserving cases. The term, ‘hard and deserving cases,’ is defined as cases earning more than 50 points designed from a point based criteria based on indigence. There is no justification to allow compassionate engagement in cent percent cases in cases of death of Gramin Dak Sevaks irrespective of indigence.
|
4
|
Request to ban direct recruitment to Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS)/Postman posts and filling up of 25% posts of MTS/Postman based on seniority by GDS employees.
|
Statutory Recruitment Rules for MTS provide for direct recruitment/absorption directly to MTS against 25% of the direct recruitment vacancies on the basis of selection cum seniority & another 25% by direct recruitment on the basis of competitive examination restricted to GDS. Statutory Recruitment Rules for Postman provide for direct recruitment from amongst GDS to the extent of 50% of the vacancies on the basis of limited departmental examination.
|
5
|
Request for filling up of all vacant posts in all categories of GDS in Postal and RMS.
|
Instructions have been issued to all Circles to fill up all vacant posts of GDS Branch Postmaster and justified posts of all other approved categories.
|
6
|
Request for extending one more option to GDS for enrolment under the service Discharge benefit Scheme (SDBS) and allowing GDS to make contribution to the Scheme
|
Existing GDS have already been provided one more and last option for their enrolment under the Scheme before 31.01.2014. GDS beneficiaries have also been allowed to contribute towards the scheme at the rate of Rs. 200 per month per GDS effective from October, 2013.
|
7
|
Request for merger of 50% DA to the remuneration of GDS.
|
This is based on the similar demand made by Central Government Employees. The Government has not taken any decision on the issue for the Central Government employees either.
|
8
|
Demand for inclusion of Gramin Dak Sevaks within the purview of the 7th Central Pay Commission.
|
The Government has successively constituted Committees for revision of the wage structure and other service conditions of GDS from time to time after each Central Pay Commission. The last such Committee was constituted by the Department in the year 2007 named Shri RS Nataraja Murti Committee. The latest request for their inclusion in the 7th CPC stands referred to the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure.
|
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Sunday, 3 August 2014
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