7th CPC recommendations on Gazetted and Restricted Holidays – Dopt expects comments from NC JCM Staff Side

7th CPC recommendations on Gazetted and Restricted Holidays – Dopt expects comments from NC JCM Staff Side

F. No.12/23/2015-JCA-2
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Personnel and Training
Establishment (JCA – 2) Section

North Block, New Delhi,
Date January 22, 2016

Shri Shiv Gopal Mishra
Secretary

National Council (Staff Side)
Joint Consultative Machinery for Central
Government Employees
13-C, Ferozshah Road, New Delhi 110 001

Subject: Recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission – Comments – regarding

Sir

Please find attached the extracts of para-9.2.19 on the above Report on ‘Gazetted and Restricted Holidays. The Commission has expressed opinion that the present system is working well and has recommended status-quo.

2. It is requested that your comments in this matter may please be provided to this Department, preferably, by 05.02.2016, so that a view can be taken.

Yours faithfully
sd/-
(G.Srinivasan)
Deputy Secretary to Government of India

Encl: As above

Implementation of the recommendations of the 7th CPC – Meeting of Nodal officers of various Departments will be held on 2.2.2016

Implementation of the recommendations of the 7th CPC – Meeting of Nodal officers of various Departments will be held on 2.2.2016

Meeting of Nodal officers of various Departments – implementation of the recommendations of the 7th CPC – Issues on way ahead

F.No.1-1/2016- IC
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Expenditure

New Delhi, 29.1.2016

Meeting Notice

Subject : Meeting of Nodal officers of various Departments – implementation of the recommendations of the 7th CPC – Issues on way ahead.

In order to process the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission, the Cabinet has approved setting up of an Empowered Committee of Secretaries chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. Accordingly, the ECOS has been set up as per this Ministry’s OM No.1-4/2015/EIII-A dt. 27.1.2016 (copy placed on the website of this Ministry, viz, www.finmin.nic.in).

2. As provided in the said OM dt. 27.1.2016, the Implementation Cell created in this Ministry shall work as the Secretariat for the ECOS.

3. This Ministry has already requested all the Ministries/Departments vide DO letter No.1-4/2015/EIII.A dt. 21.11.2015 from JS(Pers) addressed to all the Secretaries to nominate a nodal officer at the level of a Joint Secretary to interact with the Implementation Cell during the curse of processing of the recommendations of the 7th CPC.

4. Accordingly, Joint Secretary (Implementation Cell) shall take a meeting of all the Nodal Officers of the Ministries/Departments on 2.2.2016 at 11 .00 a.m. in Conference Hall (R. No. 72), North Block, New Delhi to discuss the relevant issues in connection with the processing of the recommendations of the 7th CPC and to concretise the points of action pertaining to all the Ministries/Departments in general and also in regard to specific issues concerning individual Ministries/Departments with a view to enabling an effective, holistic and quicker processing of the recommendations of the 7th CPC and for submission of the matter before the ECOS.

5. As this is the first meeting of the Nodal Officers to formulate the action points on the way ahead on processing of the recommendations of the 7th CPC, it is requested that the concerned nodal officers may kindly make it
convenient to attend the meeting.

sd-
(Amar Nath Singh)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India

To
All the nodal officers of Ministries/Departments, as per list attached.

Authority: www.finmin.nic.in

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Expected DA on Jan 2016 - AICPIN for December 2015

Expected DA on Jan 2016 - AICPIN for December 2015

No.5/1/2015- CPI
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT
LABOUR BUREAU

`CLEREMONT’, SHIMLA-171004
DATED: 29th January, 2016

Press Release

Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) – December, 2015

The All-India CPI-IW for December, 2015 decreased by I point and pegged at 269 (two hundred and sixty nine). On 1-month percentage change, it decreased by (-) 0.37 per cent between November and December, 2015 which was static between the same two months a year ago.

The maximum downward pressure to the change in current index came from Food group contributing (-) 1.36 percentage points to the total change. At item level, Arhar Dal, Masur Dal, Moong Dal, Onion, Potato, Tomato, Peas and other Green Vegetables & Fruit items, Petrol, etc. are responsible for the fall in index. However, this decrease was checked by Rice, Wheat, Wheat Atta, Fish Fresh, Eggs (Hen), Poultry (Chicken), Goat Meat, Milk (Buffalo), ESI Contribution, Rail Fare, Barber Charges, Flower/Flower Garlands, etc., putting downward pressure on the index.

The year-on-year inflation measured by monthly CPI-IW stood at 6.32 per cent for December, 2015 as compared to 6.72 per cent for the previous month and 5.86 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year. Similarly, the Food inflation stood at 7.94 per cent against 7.86 per cent of the previous month and 5.73 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.

At centre level, Ludhiana reported the maximum decrease of 7 points followed by Ahmedabad and Rourkela (6 points each), Tripura, Varanasi, Lucknow and Kodarma (5points each). Among others, 4 points decrease was observed in 9 centres, 3 points in 4 centres, 2 points in 11 centres and 1 point in 12 centres. On the contrary, Quilon recorded a highest increase of 7 points followed by Warangal (4 points), and Rangapara-Tezpur, Chhindwara and Mundakkayam (3 points each). Among others, 2 points increase was observed in 5 centres and 1 point in 9 centres. Rest of the 16 centres’ indices remained stationary.

The indices of 37 centres are above All-India Index and other 40 centres’ indices are below national average. The index of Jabalpur centre remained at par with All-India Index.

The next issue of CPI-IW for the month of January, 2016 will be released on Monday, 29th February, 2016. The same will also be available on the office website www.labourbureaunew.gov.in.

sd/-
(SHYAM SINGH NEGI)
DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL

Click to view the order in Hindi

Click to view the order in English

Authority: www.labourbureau.nic.in

Instructions for processing foreign visits of officers of the Government of India for approval of Screening Committee of Secretaries (SCoS)

Instructions for processing foreign visits of officers of the Government of India for approval of Screening Committee of Secretaries (SCoS)

Clarification on revised comprehensive guidelines/instructions on foreign visit by officers of Government of India

No. 4(4)/E.Coord/2015
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Expenditure

North Block, New Delhi.
Dated 25th January, 2016.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Instructions for processing foreign visits of officers of the Government of India for approval of Screening Committee of Secretaries (SCoS).

This Department has been receiving references seeking clarification on certain issues with reference to this Department’s OM of even number dated 05-01-2016 on the above subject. Accordingly the following clarification is issued

a) Approval of SCoS is not required in case of foreign visits of upto Joint Secretary level officers as part of foreign training component, Mid-Career Training Programme (MCTP) or any other training, irrespective of number of members and days”.

b) The provision of seeking approval of Cabinet Secretary for condoning delay in submission of proposals sent less than 15 days before the date of departure of delegation has been done away with.

c) Calculation of number of foreign visits in respect of any officer will be with reference to calendar year.

(N. Radhakrishnan)
Director (E. Coord)

Source: www.finmin.nic.in

Click to view the orders

7th CPC Recommendations on Encashment and Accumulation of Earned Leave

7th CPC Recommendations on Encashment and Accumulation of Earned Leave

“The recommendations in relation to pay of both the civilian and defence forces personnel will also lead to a significant increase in the pay drawn and therefore in the total amount of leave encashment available for an employee. Therefore raising the present ceiling of 300 days is not recommended by the Commission”.

Earned Leave : Presently 30 days EL per annum is granted to Civilian employees and 60 days to Defence personnel.

EL can be accumulated up to 300 days in addition to the number of days for which encashment has been allowed along with LTC.

Suggestions have been made to increase the accumulation to 450 days, allow encashment of 50 percent of the accumulated EL after 20 years of service and delink encashment of leave from LTC. A novel concept of “gifting” has been put forward, wherein employee should be allowed to ‘gift’ certain number of days of leave to one’s spouse or one’s colleague. “Vacational” staff like teachers, principals, etc. have demanded restoration of 10 days EL, which was changed to 20 days Half Pay Leave by VI CPC.

Leave Encashment permitted at the time of retirement:

CPC	Earned Leave
IV CPC	240 days
V CPC	300 days
VI CPC	300 days
# # excludes 60 days EL encashment during LTC

Half Pay Leave (HPL) : Presently, government employees are entitled to 20 days of Half Pay Leave for each completed year of service, credited @10 days on the 1st of January and 1st of July every year. There are representations that encashment of HPL should be allowed at the time of superannuation.

Analysis and Recommendations : The demands lack merit. Elsewhere in the report it has been recommended that 20 days HPL granted to “Vacational” staff be converted into 10 days EL. Hence, HPL will henceforth not be available to them. No change other than this is recommended

Analysis and Recommendations : In many organizations, employees are encouraged to take leave on the premise that it revitalizes them and is beneficial for the organization in the long run. Such a system is not prevalent in the government sector in India, but substituting leave with cash is also not desirable. Hence, no change in encashment guidelines is recommended.

The Commission recognizes that Earned Leave is, as the name suggests, earned by an employee through the services rendered. Hence, it is personal to the employee and the concept of “gifting” cannot be considered.
The demand of “Vacational” staff can, however, be agreed to. Hence, it is recommended that “Vacational” staff be granted 10 days EL in place of 20 days Half Pay Leave. Other than this no other change is recommended.

Secretaries Committee to hold first meeting to process 7th Pay Commission report on Feb 2

Secretaries Committee to hold first meeting to process 7th Pay Commission report on Feb 2

Nodal officers of different ministries and departments will hold first meeting on February 2 to formulate action points for processing 7th Pay Commission report that have bearing on remuneration of about 1 crore central government employees and pensioners.

An Empowered Committee of Secretaries, headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, has been set up to process the panel’s recommendations that would put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the exchequer.

An Implementation Cell has been created in the Finance Ministry which will work as the Secretariat of the Committee.

Joint Secretary (Implementation Cell) would take the meeting of all the Nodal Officers of ministries/departments on February 2 to discuss the relevant issues in connection with the processing of the recommendations, a Finance Ministry office memorandum said.

The meeting is aimed at strengthening the points of action pertaining to all the ministries/departments in general and also with regard to specific issues with a view to “enabling an effective, holistic and quicker processing” of the recommendations.

In November 2015, the Finance Ministry had asked concerned Ministries and Departments to nominate a nodal officer at the level of a Joint Secretary to interact with the Implementation Cell.

The recommendations when implemented would have a bearing on the remuneration of 47 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners.

Subject to acceptance by the government, the recommendations will take effect from January 1, 2016.


PTI

DoPT has already introduced one-page form for Central Pensioners – Dr Jitendra Singh

DoPT has already introduced one-page form for Central Pensioners – Dr Jitendra Singh

DoPT’s innovative reform to switch over to the use of “one-page” form

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

28-January-2016 18:36 IST

Dr Jitendra Singh appeals for use of ‘one-page’ form

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh has appealed to various ministries in the Central Government as well as the State Governments to cooperate in carrying forward the Department of Personnel & Training(DoPT)’s innovative reform to switch over to the use of “one-page” form or format to apply for jobs, issue of birth and death certificates and availing of various Government schemes.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the service delivery mechanism needs to be not only citizen-centric, but essentially youth-centric because it is the youth who comprise more than 65% of India’s population today. It is, therefore, the need of the hour, he said, to revisit and re-look the existing practice wherein an individual applying for a job, a loan or a Central scheme has to go through the process of filling up lengthy, often complicated and even repetitive information.

Dr Jitendra Singh disclosed that DoPT has already introduced one-page form for Central Pensioners. Similarly, the death and birth certificates could also be simplified immediately, he said. The “National Centre for Good Governance” will be holding workshops under its initiative “Saral Avedan, Sugam Prakriya, Swachh Prashasan” with different Government departments to discuss how best to carry forward this initiative, he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh pointed out that there are a number of forms which run into several pages and the information asked for is repetitive which can be easily avoided. For example, he said, some of the forms ask for the parentage or marital status more than once, even though this may not be essentially required for the purpose for which the application is being filled. Citing an instance, he said, when a form is filled for pension, the most relevant information required is age, date of superannuation, last pay scale and bank account number.

According to Dr Jitendra Singh the purpose of the entire exercise is that any given form should be made as simple as possible, preferably a single A4 size page, the contents of the form should be easy to understand and brief to fill-in. Similarly, the documents to be attached with the form should also be easy and absolutely essential, he added. He also informed that the State Governments will be persuaded to initiate this exercise at the earliest.

Estt. B Section Discontinuation of Interview at Lower Level Posts

No.39020/09/2015)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance and Pensions
(Department of Personnel and Training)
Estt. B Section

Discontinuation of Interview at Lower Level Posts

The Prime Minister in his address to the nation on the Independence Day has stressed the need to discontinue holding interviews for recruitment for such junior level posts where personality assessment is not an absolutely necessary requirement.

He has called upon the Government Organizations’ to end this practice at the earliest as it will help in curbing corruption, more objective selection in transparent manner substantially easing the problems of poor people.
He has emphasized that the recruitment should be made on merit basis through transparent, online processes leading to less Government and more Governance.

The Department of Personnel and Training on the basis of recommendations made by the Committee of Secretaries has already taken a decision to discontinue interviews at the junior level posts at Group ‘B’ (Non-Gazetted), Group ‘C’ ,Group ‘D’ (which are now reclassified as Group ‘C’) and all equivalent posts.
All the advertisement for future vacancies will be without the Interview as part of the recruitment process. From 1 st January 2016 there will be no recruitment with interview at the junior level posts, in Government of India Ministries/Departments/attached Office/Subordinate Office/Autonomous Bodies/Public Sector Undertakings.

The interviews will be done away even in cases where the selections were made purely on basis of performance in the interview. The Ministries/Departments/Organizations’ will consider revising the scheme for selection for such cases.

As the Skill Test or Physical Test is different from Interview they may continue. However these tests will only be of qualifying nature. Assessment will not be done on the basis of marks for such tests.

The decision to discontinue interview for the junior level posts across the country will be major step towards achieving the objectives of citizen centric transparent governance.

The matter has also been taken up with the State Governments/UTs to undertake similar exercise, from time to time. In this regard letters from Secretary (Personnel) to the State Chief Secretaries have been issued on 4th September 2015 and letters from MoS(PP) to the State Chief Ministers have been issued on 29th September 2015 and 1st January 2015.

To Facilitate the implementation of the directions of the Hon’ble Prime Minister further by the various  Organizations/Ministries/Departments/Governments a one day workshop was also organized by the DOPT on 16 th November 2015.

Some of the State Government have shared the status in this regard with the DOPT. The Summary of the State Responses on the Discontinuation of Interview is as follows:

Manipur	It was informed that the State Government had undertaken the recruitment of Graduate Teachers under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) without conducting interview. This measure was successfully undertaken and was completely transparent and corruption free. It was informed that the second pilot measure in this regard is being undertaken by the Health Department.
Punjab	Some of the Departments have already implemented the decision and that there has been no problem with completely doing away with interviews for the posts of SDO in Irrigation Department, Senior Assistant in Secretariat and for a few lower level posts in Agro Industry Department.
Rajasthan	The representative from Rajasthan informed that interviews have been discontinued in some posts and retained in some of them. For Class 3/Ministerial staff and Group D/Class 4 level recruitment, there have been no interview. Similarly for Constable, there have been only written test and physical test. The interviews have been dispensed away for all the posts under the Rajasthan Education Service Rules,1970.
Maharashtra	Interviews for the recruitment of the clerks have been discontinued. For Class 2 non-Gazetted, Class 3 and 4 posts, interviews have been done away .The State Government has taken a decision and issued directions to the effect that the decision of discontinuation of Interview will also be applicable to all State Government undertakings and local bodies. About 61% of the recruitment is done without Interview.
Uttarakhand	The state Government has abolished interviews in the group ‘C’ and ‘B (non gazetted). There has been no interview in Class 3/4 levels of posts.
Jharkhand	No interview in ‘D’, ‘C’, and ‘B’ (non-gazetted)
Kerala	At present no interview are there for group ‘C’ and ‘D’ posts and even for some of the gazetted posts.
Sikkim	For Group D/Class 4 level posts there are no interviews. At Group C/III level, for 90% of posts there are no interviews.
Himachal Pradesh	There is a proposal to discontinue interview for Group C and Group B Posts
Haryana	No interviews at Group ‘D’ level
Tamil Nadu	The recruitment is done by the following four recruitment boards and the status vis-à-vis conducting the interview is as follows:- 1) Uniform Services Board- No interview 2) Medical Services Board- No interview 3) Teachers Recruitment Board —No interview 4) Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) — has assorted posts in which there is some degree of posts with interviews. In the State 85% of the total posts do not have interview as a part of recruitment process.
Telangana	Teachers — no interviews
Uttar Pradesh	No more interview for teachers
Puducherry	Notification for discontinuation of interviews for Groups C, D, and non-gazetted Group B has been issued.
Daman & Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli	No interviews in Group B (non gazetted), C and D posts. They have issued a recruitment pattern.

Disclaimer: The above status is based on the information provided by the State/UT representatives’ in the workshop held in New Delhi on 16.11.2015.

Source: ccis.nic.in

Promotion of Govt. Servants exonerated after retirement — Procedure and Guidelines to be followed – Regarding

Promotion of Govt. Servants exonerated after retirement — Procedure and Guidelines to be followed – Regarding.

 No.22011/3/2013-Estt (D)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
(Department of Personnel and Training)

North Block, New Delhi
Dated- 25.01.2016

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject:- Promotion of Govt. Servants exonerated after retirement — Procedure and Guidelines to be followed – Regarding.

The undersigned is directed to invite reference to the Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 22011/4/91-Estt(A) dated 14 th September, 1992 regarding procedure and guidelines to be followed by DPC in respect of Government servants against whom disciplinary/court proceedings are pending or whose conduct is under investigation. In case the Government servant is covered under any of the three conditions as mentioned in Para 2 of OM dated 14.09.1992, the recommendations of the DPC are to be kept in ‘sealed cover’ and subsequent action regarding opening of sealed cover will depend on the outcome of the disciplinary/criminal proceedings.

2. If on conclusion of the disciplinary/ criminal proceedings, the Government servant is exonerated, the procedure prescribed in para 3 of the OM dated 14-9-1992 is to be followed. This provides as under:-
“On the conclusion of the disciplinary case/criminal prosecution which results in dropping of allegations against the Govt. servant, the sealed cover or covers shall be opened. In case the Government servant is completely exonerated the due date of his promotion will be determined with reference to the position assigned to him in the findings kept in the sealed cover/covers and with reference to the date of promotion of his next junior on the basis of such position. The Government servant may be promoted, if necessary, by reverting the junior most officiating person. He may be promoted notionally with reference to the date of promotion of his junior.

However, whether the officer concerned will be entitled to any arrears of pay for the period of notional promotion preceding the date of actual promotion, and if so to what extent, will be decided by the appointing authority by taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances of the disciplinary proceedings/criminal prosecution. Where the authority denies arrears of salary or part of it, it will record its reasons for doing so. It is not possible to anticipate and enumerate exhaustively all the circumstances under which such denials of arrears of salary or part of it may become necessary. However, there may be cases where the proceedings, whether disciplinary or criminal, are, for example delayed at the instance of the employee or the clearance in the disciplinary proceedings or acquittal in the criminal proceedings is with benefit of doubt or on account of non availability of evidence due to the acts attributable to the employee etc. These are only some of the circumstances where such denial can be justified.”

3. The applicability of above provisions in so far as it relates to cases where the Government Servant, who has retired by the time he is exonerated of all the charges has been considered in respect of the following cases:

i. Where the promotion order pertaining to the relevant DPC has been issued  and the officers empanelled have assumed charge prior to the date of  superannuation of the retired Government Servant; and

ii. The retired Government Servant would have been in service and assumed  charge of the post had the disciplinary proceeding not been initiated against him/her.

4. It has been decided in consultation with the Department of Expenditure, Department of Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare and the Department of Legal Affairs that notional promotion and payment of arrears of pay, if any, for the period of notional promotion till the date of retirement to such a retired Government servant if found fit on opening of the sealed cover is to be decided by the appointing authority in terms of Para 3 of OM No.22011/4/91 -Estt. (A) dated 14/9/1992.

5. A retired Government employee who is considered for notional promotion from the  date of promotion of his next junior after opening of the sealed cover would also be entitled to fixation of pension on the basis of such notional pay on his notional promotion.

6. The provisions contained in this Office Memorandum shall become operational from the date of issue of this Office Memorandum. Past cases settled in accordance with the earlier provisions shall not be reopened.

(Gayatri Mishra)
Director (E-I)
Phone No. 23092479

Original Order

Maximum of 6 tickets can be booked by an individual user in a month – New restriction by IRCTC

Maximum of 6 tickets can be booked by an individual user in a month – New restriction by IRCTC

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways

28-January-2016 16:34 IST

Railway Ministry introduces new checks on booking of e-ticket/i-ticket through IRCTC website with a view to further prevent possible misuse

Under the new provisions a maximum of 6 tickets can be booked online by an individual user in a month on IRCTC website

This new provision will come into effect w.e.f. 15th February, 2015

The move aims to deter touts and to facilitate genuine users

In order to facilitate genuine users and prevent touting activities, various checks have already been put in place for the booking of e-ticket/i-ticket on IRCTC website including the following existing provision: –

1. Individuals are allowed only 2 tickets per user-ID in a day (for ARP booking) from 08:00 hours to 10.00 hours.

2. Individuals are allowed only 2 tickets per user-ID in a day (for Tatkal booking) from 10:00 hours to 12:00 hours.

3. Quick Book Option is disabled from 08:00 to 12:00 hours

4. All types of ticketing agents (YTSK, RTSA, IRCTC agents etc.) have been debarred from booking tickets during the first thirty minutes of opening of booking i.e. from 08:00 to 08:30 hours for general bookings, and from 10:00 to 10:30 hours and 11:00 to 11:30 hours for Tatkal booking in AC and non-AC classes respectively.

5. Booking is not allowed through e-wallet and cash cards from 08:00 to 12:00 hours.

6. There is only one booking in one user login session except for return/onward journey between 08:00 to 12:00 hours.

To further prevent any possible misuse, Ministry of Railways has now decided that effective from 15th February, 2016, a maximum of 6 tickets can be booked online by an individual user in a month on IRCTC website. This will replace the existing system under which a maximum of 10 tickets can be booked online through IRCTC website in a month by an individual. However, the existing condition will continue wherein these booking will be subject to a limit of booking 2 opening Tatkal tickets in 10:00- 12:00 hours period in a day and 2 opening Advance Reservation Period (ARP) tickets in 08:00-10:00 hours period in a day. 

This has been done keeping in view the analysis of usage of quota of 10 tickets which indicated that 90% of users are booking upto 6 tickets in a given month and only 10% are making more than 6 tickets. It is suspected that the 10% users might be involved in touting activities. Therefore to deter such touts and to facilitate genuine users, it has been decided that a maximum of 6 tickets can be booked by an individual user in a month.