Task Force on Leveraging the Post Offices Network of the Country

            A Task force on leveraging the post offices network of the country  among others had suggested setting up of three subsidiaries as a part of a holding company under the Postal Department under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology for extending services in the fields of banking, insurance and e-commerce.  The Report of the Task Force headed by former Cabinet Secretary Shri T.S.R. Subramanian was submitted to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi today.

            In all five subsidiary companies will be called Strategic Business Units (SBU)..Two other subsidiaries are for distribution of 3^rd party products and services like providing e-services for general public for bill collections and providing of application forms, documents and certificates on commercial basis. Another subsidiary is for .delivery of government services like Aadhaar ration cards, Vikas patras, etc. on agency basis. It was also proposed that each SBU will have a separate  independent board to operate commercially as  a  profit  centre. Each one of the SBU over the time may go for public participation through public issue. It was proposed that a new postal law may be enacted to give statutory basis for these operations.

            After receiving the Report, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said that there will be a structured response to the recommendations of the Task Force on priority basis.  He said after  having felt the need to rediscover the potential of the postal department  in the country, he had made a request to the Prime Minister to which Shri Narendra Modi had readily responded by constituting this Task Force. He hoped that the vast connectivity of the Postal Department would be fully exploited to be a part of the e-commerce boom in the country. The Minister said that not a single employee of the postal department will be removed as a part of any reformation of the Department. He also said that there will not be undue increase in the price of the post card and other postal services that are mostly used by the poor.

            Earlier the Chairman of the Task Force Mr. Subramanian said that as banking and financial services  are not available in most of over six  lakh villages of the country, it was felt that a ‘Post Bank of India’ which is professionally organized should contribute for a financial inclusion of the rural poor.  He also hoped that there could be a creation of over five lakh new jobs over next 3-5 years.  He pointed out that State Governments are also keen on the prospects of implementation of the recommendations of this Task Force.

            The Task Force was constituted on 21^st August this year  had the following members:-

1.      Shri T.S.R. Subramanian, Retd. Cabinet Secretary       -  Chairman

2.      Shri T.V. Mohandas Pai, Bangalore                             -  Member

3.      Dhri G.N. Bajpai, Mumbai Former Chairman, SEBI   -  Member

4.      Dr. Ravindra H.Dholakia, IIM, Ahmedabad               -   Member

5.      Shri R S. Sharma, Secretary (E&IT),Govt.of India      -   Member

6.      Shri L.C. Goyal, Secretary, Deptt. of Rural                 -   Member

                        Development, Govt. of India

7.      Shri Rakesh Garg, Secy. Deptt. of Telecom,G.O.I      -   Member

8.      Ms. Kavery Banerjee, Secretary, Deptt. of Posts        -    Member

9.      Shri Kamleshwar Prasad,Member (O),Deptt.of  Posts-   Member

10.  Shri Vasumitra, CPMG,Delhi Circle,Deptt.of Posts    -Member Secretary

For the full report of the Task Force pls. click the link below

http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Task_Force_on_leveraging_the_Post_Office_Network.pdf

Introduction of Plastic Notes

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Finance

28-November-2014 17:16 IST

Introduction of Plastic Notes

It has been decided by the Government to introduce plastic notes in the denomination of Rs. 10/-. One billion plastic notes of the denomination of Rs. 10/- will be introduced in a field trial in five cities selected for their geographical and climatic diversity. The primary objective of introduction of polymer/plastic notes is to increase its life and not to combat counterfeiting. The cities selected for field train are Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar.

The Reserve Bank of India has informed that since the proposal is at a trial stage, the decision on replacement of currency notes with plastic notes will depend on the outcome offield trial.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Jayant Sinha in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

 

Source : PIB 

Biometric Attendance System – Are the Central Government Employees Supporting or Opposing It?

On the 21st of last month, the DOPT issued an order announcing its decision to implement the new biometric attendance system linking the employee’s Aadhaar number with his/her attendance. This system, according to the order, was to soon be implemented in offices of all the Central Government departments and their various agencies.

It is well known that the system has already been implemented in all the Government-run offices in New Delhi. The order says that the system will be implemented completely before the end of this year. And, before January 26, 2015, the scheme will be expanded to other regions of the country.

BIOMETRIC ATTENDANCE SYSTEM is the procedure of registering the attendance by placing the thumb imprint on a machine which captures the imprint and records the time of entry or exit from the office. In the moderate scheme, the employee has to manually enter his/her 6-digit Aadhaar number and then confirm his/her identity by fingerprint and iris-scan.

How do the Central Government employees feel about this new system that has become the talk of the town?

As far as we could see, about 95% of the employees are not greatly affected or troubled by this new system.

Once in a while, employees tend to be late to work due to unavoidable reasons like unexpected traffic hurdles or they might have to go out for their personal work during office hours. There is no denying these facts. But the system is a major irritation for those who are habitually late to work and go out on personal business during office hours. The change of system has hardly produced any reaction from those who are regular and on time at work.

But, there are no answers to the questions raised by employees who are forced to stay back to complete their work.

Source: www.employeesnews.in

Merger of ASP cadre in to PS Gr. B cadre.....updates!!!

Meeting regarding merger of ASP cadre into PS Group B cadre was held in the chamber of DDG (Estt) on 28/11/2014. Following were present.

1.     Smt. Trishaljit Sethi, DDG (Estt.), Postal Directorate

2.     Shri Harinder Singh, Director (Estt.), Postal Directorate

3.     Shri Tarun Mittal, ADG (PE-1)

4.     Shri Vilas Ingale, General Secretary

5.     Shri Roop Chand, Ex-General Secretary

6.     Shri Santosh Kulkarni, Ex-CHQ Treasurer

7.     Shri Yadagiri G. Nyalapelli, CHQ Treasurer

8.     Shri P. Ajith Kumar, Asstt. General Secretary-I

9.     Shri Parmanand Kumar, ASP (PMU), Directorate

DDG (Estt) welcomed the representatives of the Association and requested for healthy and fruitful discussion to resolve this vital and long pending issue. The proposal submitted by the Association on 20/11/2013 was discussed in detail. Official side expressed their difficulties in implementing the proposal in toto. It was stated by the official side that there are 2106 posts of Inspector Posts and 1990 posts of ASP in the Department. During the course of discussion, it was proposed to upgrade few posts of ASP in Divisional Office into PS Group B cadre in Group A Postal / RMS divisions, CO/RO etc. as well as to retain the Gazetted status of remaining ASPs in their personal capacity till their retirement / promotion in case of merger of IP cadre and ASP cadre into a single cadre. Inspector, Posts will get Grade Pay of Rs. 4600/- after merger at par with Inspectors in CBDT/CBEC as per our demand. Meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere.

In view of the discussions held in the meeting, official side desired a fresh proposal from the Association. The same will be submitted very soon.

 

Source : CHQ Blog

Aadhar enabled bio-metric attendance system – Early leaving is also to be treated as late coming…

"As per existing instructions, half a-day’s casual leave should be debited for each day of late attendance, but late attendance upto an hour, on not more than two occasions in a month"...

Govt introduces Aadhar enabled bio-metric attendance system

The Centre on Friday decided to phase-out manual attendance system and use an Aadhar enabled bio-metric attendance system (AEBAS) in all its offices.

“It has been decided to use an Aadhar enabled bio-metric attendance system in all offices of the central government, including attached and sub-ordinate offices, in India,” said an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

Aadhar is a 12 digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the central government.

The system will be installed in the offices located in New Delhi by this year end.

In other places this may be installed by January 26, 2015, it said.

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) will provide technical guidance for installing the system, the order said.

The equipment will be procured by the ministries or departments as per specifications of DeitY on Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) rate contract from authorised vendors.

The expenditure will be met by the ministries or departments concerned. “The manual system of attendance may be phased out accordingly,” it said.

The bio-metric attendance system is only an enabling platform. There is no change in the instructions relating to office hours, late attendance etc. which will continue to apply, the order said.

As per existing instructions, half a-day’s casual leave should be debited for each day of late attendance, but late attendance upto an hour, on not more than two occasions in a month, and for justifiable reasons may be condoned by the competent authority.

“Disciplinary action may also be taken against government servants who are habitually late. Early leaving is also to be treated in the same manner as late coming,” the instructions said.

All central government ministries and departments have been asked by the DoPT to follow the orders which comes into force “with immediate effect”.

Source: DDI News

Ceiling limit for purchasing goods in CSD canteens

Parliament Question & Answer - Ceiling of purchasing in 'Military Canteens'

Yes, there is ceiling for purchasing grocery items in CSD Canteens for all categories card holders.

Canteen Stores Department (CSD) Canteens, which is familiar to known as Military Canteens, every card holder can only purchase within the limit and minimum of Rs.3500 per month. This topic discussed in Parliament today, Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar said in a written reply to a question regarding this subject as follows…

“Ceiling for purchasing goods in military canteens has been prescribed taking into account the budgetary allocation to the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) by the Government, actual need / requirement of the individual and their purchasing power. For ceiling purpose the officials have been divided into 5 categories as mentioned under :-

The ceiling was revised on 21st August 2006 and again on 27th October 2008 to be effective from 1st January 2009. At present no change in the ceiling limit is proposed.

Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988 — Relaxation to travel by private airlines to visit J&K.

No.31011/7/2014-Estt.(A-IV)

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

Department of Personnel and Training

North Block, New Delhi-110 001

Dated: 28th November, 2014

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject:- Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988 — Relaxation to travel by private airlines to visit J&K.

The undersigned is directed to refer to this Ministry’s O.M. No.31011/3/2014- Estt.(A-1V) dated 26th September, 2014. It has been decided that the Government servants while availing Leave Travel Concession (LTC) to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) under the special dispensation scheme allowed by the aforesaid O.M. may also travel

by private airlines subject to the following conditions:-

(i) Officers entitled to travel by air may also travel by private airlines from their headquarters;

(ii) Officers not entitled to travel by air may be permitted to travel by private airlines between Delhi /Amritsar and any place in J&K.

2. Air travel by private airlines is to be performed in Economy Class only an at LTC- 80 fare of Air India or less.

3. Air Tickets to be purchased directly from the airlines (Booking counters, website of airlines) or by utilizing the service of Authorized Travel Agents viz. ‘M/s Balmer Lawrie & Company’, ‘M/s Ashok Travels & Tours’ and ‘IRCTC’ (to the extent IRCTC is

authorized as per DoPT’s O.M. No. 31011/6/2002-Estt.(A) dated 02.12.2009) while undertaking LTC journey. Booking of tickets through other agencies is not permitted.

4. All other conditions prescribed in this Ministry’s O.M. No. 31011/3/2014-Estt.(AIV) dated 26.09.2014 would continue to apply.

5. The order will remain in force for a period of one year from the date of issue of this order.

sd/-

(B. Bandyopadhyay)

Under Secretary to the Govt of India

Source :www.persmin.gov.in

Age before duty: Babus to retire at 58 instead of 60

In a move that would help curb the relentless increase in the Centre’s non-Plan spending and ease the way for infusion of more young blood and professionalism into the country’s largely moribund bureaucracy, the Narendra Modi government is planning to reduce the retirement age of central government employees from the present 60 to 58.

The move that comes at a time when the Seventh Pay Commission is mulling another sharp boost to the pay structure of the Centre’s 5-million-strong workforce is also aimed at creating the requisite space for lateral entry of technically qualified professionals into the government, official sources told FE.

The retirement age was last revised in 1998, when the then NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee raised it from 58 to 60 years. The last UPA government had reportedly considered enhancing the retirement age further to 62 just before the general elections, but dropped the move.

The superannuation age was increased from 55 to 58 way back in 1962.

The total wage and salaries bill of the central government, excluding PSUs but including the railways, rose sharply between 2008 and 2010 due to the revised pay scales (along with payment of arrears) implemented as per the Sixth Pay Commission’s proposals.

The wage bill rose from Rs 1.09 lakh crore in 2007-08 to Rs 1.4 lakh crore in 2008-09, and further to Rs 1.7 lakh crore in 2009-10, before the growth moderated to Rs 1.84 lakh crore in 2010-11. The government spent Rs 2.54 lakh crore in wages and salaries in 2013-14. The railways (with 1.4 million employees), defence (civil), home affairs, India Post and revenue account for more than 80% of the total spending of the Centre on pays and allowances.

Thanks to successive pay commissions, the salaries and other emoluments of government employees have, on average, more than doubled in every decade since independence even though lack of sufficient performance incentives is still considered to be a drawback.

A merger of 50% of the dearness allowance with the basic salary, likely to be part of the Seventh Pay Commission’s award, which is to implemented from 2016, is expected to hike the Centre’s wage bill by a third and strain its fiscal situation. In February this year, the government hiked DA to 100%, from 90%, benefiting both its employees and 3 million pensioners.

The Centre’s expenditure on pension stood at Rs 74,076 crore in 2013-14 and the estimate for the current fiscal is Rs 81,983 crore. However, growth in the outgo on pension is expected to moderate due to the National Pension System based on the concept of defined contribution, launched in January 2004. The NPS has been accepted by large sections of central government employees and most state governments have shifted their employees to the new system.

According to Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings, reducing the retirement age will give the government an opportunity to outsource more jobs, including by bringing in people as temporary consultants, who will then have to be paid only a fixed salary but not pension or provident fund. Their salary component will then show up as administrative costs, rather than as wage bill.

The finance ministry is weighing the pros and cons of the proposal to cut the retirement age. The move, sources said, is also in line with the BJP’s manifesto, which had promised to rationalise and converge ministries, departments and other arms of the government, open up government to draw expertise from industry, academia and society and tap the services of the youth in particular to contribute to governance.

Source : http://www.financialexpress.com/

Whether 7th Pay Commission proposes to submit Interim Report?

Is Interim Relief Likely for Central Government Employees?

Is it really possible for Central Government employees to get an interim relief this time? Let us look at it in detail.

‘Interim Relief’ may be defined as the temporary relief given to employees before the new Pay Commission’s recommendations are implemented. ‘Interim relief will be treated sui generis’, most of the Finance Ministry orders included the sentence when sanctioning interim relief.

If one looks at the interim relief granted in 1983 and 1993, it can also be inferred that interim relief is granted in order to correct the errors in salary revision once every ten years. One gets the feeling as if an entire Pay Commission was lost simply for the sake of a small hike.

During the previous Pay Commission, particularly in 5th CPC, since 50% DA Merger was granted, there was no interim relief.

Here are some of the reasons why interim relief is normally granted :

* It has been granted a number of times before, in the past.

* DA Merger hasn’t been sanctioned this time

* Prices have touched the skies

* Some errors in the formulation of once-in-a-decade Pay Commission…etc.,

Reasons cited for the Government’s refusal to sanction DA Merger/interim relief:

* 7th Pay Commission was constituted at the justify time.

* There was no recommendation for DA Merger in the 6th Pay Commission

* There was a recommendation against DA merger in the 6th Pay Commission (the Commission is, therefore, not recommending merger of dearness allowance with basic pay at any stage).

* In the event that the Price Index is taken as 115.76 instead of 306.33 for the DA calculations.

All the Central Government Employees Unions and Federations are functioning with the intention of getting the DA merged with the basic pay. If that doesn’t happen, these federations are hoping that interim relief will be offered through the 7th Pay Commission’s interim report.

This is very much possible if Modi Government is willing to accept the demand.

And one more updation on this issue, Member of Parliament Shri.Shantaram Naik asked some questions about the 7th Pay Commission including submission of interim report as follows…

RAJYA SABHA

7th Pay Commission

230. SHRI SHANTARAM NAIK: Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

(a) the details of meetings, the 7th Pay Commission has taken so far and the items/ issues discussed till date;

(b) the States, visited, by the Commission if any till date and the States which the Commission proposes to visit;

(c) whether the Commission proposes to take the views of the State Governments as regards their pay-scales since invariably, most of the States adopt the Central Pay Commission reports;

(d) whether Commission proposes to submit any interim report;

(e) whether the Commission proposes to make any recommendations to bring in financial transparency; and

(f) if so, the details thereof?

The written answers of above said questions will be available on or after 25th November 2014.

Source: 7thpaycommissionnews.in

KISAN VIKAS PATRA (KVP) RE-LAUNCHED ON 18/11/2014

SALIENT FEATURES OF RE-LAUNCHED KISAN VIKAS PATRA:

1.Amount Invested doubles in 100 months ( 8years 4 months)

2.Available in denominations of Rs 1,000, 5000, 10,000 and Rs 50,000.

3.Minimum deposit Rs 1000/- and no maximum limit.

4.Certificate can be purchased by an adult for himself or on behalf of a minor or by two adults.

5.KVP can be purchased from any Departmental Post office. This facility will also be extended shortly to the designated branches of commercial Banks.

6.Facility of nomination is available.

7.Certificate can be transferred from one person to another and from one post office to another.

8.Certificate can be en-cashed after 2 1/2 years from the date of issue.

Table Showing Premature closure of KVP  (for Den. Rs. 1000)

Period	Amount Payable
2 and half years but less than 3 years	1201
3  years but less than 3 and half years	1246
3 and half years but less than 4 years	1293
4  years but less than 4 and half years	1341
4 and half years but less than 5 years	1391
5  years but less than 5 and half years	1443
5 and half years but less than 6 years	1497
6  years but less than 6 and half years	1553
6 and half years but less than 7 years	1611
7  years but less than 7 and half years	1671
7 and half years but less than 8 years	1733
8  years but before maturity of the Certificate	1798
On maturity of Certificate  8 Years 4 month  = 100 months	2000

Govt plans to use India Post's postmen to educate people on schemes and policy - NEWS

New Delhi: The government is planning to use India Post's 1.55 lakh-strong branch network to reach out to citizens in far flung and backward areas and educate them about the various policies, schemes and incentives.

The ministry of information and broadcasting runs various awareness programmes for the citizens leveraging the Internet and the social media.

However, these initiatives are still out of the reach of many who live in backward and far flung areas there is no connectivity, sources said.

"This category of population is sizable and within the reach of post offices. I&B ministry can design programmes region-wise, which can then be used by the postman to go to these areas and educate the people," a source said.

The idea is to utilise the huge network of India Posts' post offices across the country, especially to reach out to people in areas not connected with the Internet, and educate them about the government's policies, schemes and incentives, the sources added.

With the world's largest postal network, India Post has about 1.55 lakh post offices spread across the country. On an average, a post office serves an area of 21.21 sq km and a population of 7,175 people.

Besides, postman can also be used for directly collecting feedback from the people in rural areas on various policies and schemes, sources added.

"Also digital boards and panels can be set up at the post offices across these areas to educate people on not just schemes and policies, but also on issues related to health and education," they said.

The Task Force set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is already holding consultations in this regard with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Modi has set up the Task Force to leverage the postal network in India to enhance the role of India Posts in financial inclusion, among other services and it is expected to submit its report by year-end.

The Task Force includes the Department of Posts Secretary Kavery Banerjee, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg, Department of Electronics and IT Secretary R S Sharma, Rural Development Secretary L C Goyal and former SEBI Chairman G N Bajpai.

Former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian is the Chairman of the Task Force.

Source : PTI

Indian e-commerce market to hit $15 bn in 2 years

New Delhi: Increasing Internet penetration and growing preference for shopping online will drive the eCommerce market in India to USD 15 billion by 2016 with a whopping 100 million people going online to shop, tech giant Google said on Thursday.

Compared to 8 million in 2012, about 35 million people are now buying everything from apparel to electronics to cosmetics and furniture from online stores.

This number is expected to grow almost three times to 100 million in the next two years.

India is estimated to have 302 million Internet users by December 2014, overtaking the US as the world's second largest online userbase.

"The online shopper base will grow 3X by 2016 and over 50 million new buyers will ce from tier I and II cities. The confidence to shop online is on the rise as 71 percent non-buyers (respondents) from tier I and II cities said they plan to shop online in the next 12 months," Google India Managing Director Rajan Anandan told reporters here.

India's etailing market is at an inflection point and will see rapid growth to become a USD 15 billion market by 2016, he added.

According to analysts, the eCommerce market in India is currently estimated to be worth about USD three billion.

Of the 100 million online shoppers, about 40 million are expected to be women. Already, women buyers in tier I cities are driving growth, outspending men by 2X.

They are shopping across categories like apparel, beauty and skincare, home furnishing, baby products and jewellery.

Also, over two-thirds respondents highlighted that they preferred shopping online for convenience and variety along with discounts.

The research was conducted by Forrester Consulting across 6,859 respondents.

Over 60 percent respondents said buying online was directly correlated with social status.

Mobile phone also emerged as an important access device for online shoppers with one in three online buyers transacting online on their mobile phones in tier I and II cities.

In tier III, one in two respondents said they use mobile phones to purchase online.

This is also reflected in Google search trends where mobile queries have grown 3X in the last three years.

Over 50 percent of shopping queries are now coming from mobile phones, compared to 24 percent two years back.

"Consumer confidence to shop online has grown significantly in last one and a half years and our objective was to understand the factors that are driving this growth and arrive at indicators that will propel the industry forward," Google India Industry Director for eCommerce, Local and Classifieds Nitin Bawankule said.

The eCommerce industry needs to act now to cater to this strong user growth trend, he added.

"Improved customer experience across all touch points, easy to use mobile apps can create a strong pull for non-buyers to shop online in tier I and II cities," he said.

In terms of challenges, 62 percent buyers said they were not satisfied with their online shopping experience, while 67 percent said the current return process was too complicated and expensive.

Among non-buyers, trust was a major issue with 55 percent saying they did not trust the quality of products sold online, were concerned about safety of online transactions (63 percent) and did not feel comfortable sharing personally identifiable information online (65 percent).

About 66 percent of total respondents said poor connectivity was also a major barrier for them to shop online.

Source : PTI

May raise tax exemption limit further: Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that he does not favour burdening the salaried and middle-class with more taxes but would go after the evaders in widening the net.

In fact, he would encourage more money being put in the pockets of tax payers that will lead to spending and collection of more indirect taxes.

"This widening of the tax base. What does it mean? I pay the same indirect tax as my attendant. Our volume of consumption may be different. So everybody is paying indirect taxes.

"And literally almost half your taxes are indirect taxes today. He pays excise, he pays customs duty, he pays service tax. Now as far as income tax is concerned, to bring those who evade tax is widening the tax net, I am all for it," the minister said in an interaction with PTI journalists at PTI headquarters.

He was replying to a question on whether his budget would look at widening the tax base to maximise revenue.

Jaitley, who will be presenting his first full fledged budget in February, said that in his last budget he had increased the tax exemption limit from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh and would even raise it further if he had more money.

"After all what are we talking about Rs 2.5 lakh today means, taking all the deductions which we have given, somebody up to Rs 3.5-4 lakh does not have to pay tax. So we have reached the situation broadly.

"One earning Rs 35,000-40,000 per month, if the person puts some money for savings, (he) won't have to pay tax. But people falling in this bracket say that they don't save anything with salary of Rs 35,000-40,000 (with) the present cost of living, the transport cost, the fees of children and so on," Jaitley said.

Therefore, the minister said, he was against reducing the exemptions to widen the tax net. "Then that's not my approach," he added.

"So I am quite willing, if I had my way and I had more money in my pocket, I would like to expand. But today the revenue position is challenging. Last time I gave several concessions, which were actually beyond my means.

"But it's all fine to bring those who evade tax under the tax net. But to bring this vulnerable section into the tax net, that can't be the policy today. In fact if you put additional money in their pockets and allow them to spend, then I collect correspondingly more indirect taxes so I will rather encourage more economic activity."

On black money within the country, he said: "It is huge quantity and more easily traceable. Because you go to real estate, you go to land, you go to mining, you go to jewellery, you go to luxury goods, you will find the domestic (black money). You go to educational institutions, you will find it there. Therefore to trace out the buyers and the recipients is also easy."

Source : Times of India

Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 – Advice of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to be communicated to the delinquent Government servant – Amendment – regarding

F. No.11012/8/2011-Estt.(A)

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions

Department of Personnel & Training

North Block, New Delhi- 110 001

Dated November 19th, 2014

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 – Advice of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to be communicated to the delinquent Government servant – Amendment – regarding

The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment on 16.03.2011, while dismissing the Civil Appeal No. 5341 of 2006 in the matter of Union of India & Ors. v/s S. K. Kapoor, had held that it is a settled principle of natural justice that if any material is to be relied upon in departmental proceedings, a copy of the same must be supplied in advance to the charge sheeted employee so that he may have a chance to rebut the same. The Hon’ble Court also observed that there may be a case where the report of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is not relied upon by the disciplinary authority and in that case it is certainly not necessary to supply a copy of the same to the concerned employee. However, if it is relied upon, then a copy of the same must be supplied in advance to the concerned employee, otherwise, there will be violation of the principles of natural justice.

2. The matter was examined in consultation with Department of Legal Affairs and it was decided that in compliance of the above judgement, a copy of the advice of UPSC, if consulted, may be provided to the Charged Officer, before a final decision is taken in disciplinary proceedings. As the UPSC are also consulted in the processes relating to Appeal and Review, it was decided to also extend the benefit of supply of the advice to these cases as well.

3. The rules 15, 16, 17, 19, 27, 29 and 29-A of the Central Civil Service (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, have since been amended vide G.S.R. No. 769(E) dated 31.10.2014. A copy of the Gazette Notification is enclosed. The Notification is also available on the website of this Department at http://persmin.nic.in/DOPT.asp under OM & Orders -> Establishment -> CCS (CCA Rules). There is no change in the procedure upto the stage of consultations with UPSC. The amendment provides that a copy of UPSC advice is to be supplied to the Government servant and his representation, if any, on such advice is to be considered by the Disciplinary/ Appellate/ Revisionary/ Reviewing Authority, as the case may be, before passing the final order.

4. In brief, in the disciplinary cases, where the UPSC are to be consulted, the following procedure should be adopted:

a) The Disciplinary Authority shall forward or cause to be forwarded to UPSC for its advice:

(i) a copy of the report of the Inquiring Authority together with its own tentative reasons for disagreement, if any, with the findings of Inquiring Authority on any article of charge; and

(ii) comments on the representation of the Government servant on the Inquiry report and disagreement note, if any, with all the case records of the inquiry proceedings.

b) On receipt of the UPSC advice, the Disciplinary Authority shall forward or cause to be forwarded a copy of the advice to the Government servant who shall be required to submit, if he so desires, his written representation/ submission to the Disciplinary Authority within fifteen days. The Disciplinary Authority shall consider such representation and take action as prescribed in sub-rules (4), (5) and (6) of Rule 15 of CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965.

5. Similarly, in matters relating to Appeal/ Revision/ Review, a copy of the UPSC advice, if consulted, may be supplied to the Government servant and his representation, if any, thereon may be considered by the Appellate/ Revisionary/ Reviewing Authority before passing final orders.

6. All Ministries/ Departments/Offices are requested to bring the revised guidelines to the notice of all concerned authorities under their control.

7. Hindi version will follow.

sd/-

(J. A. Vaidyanathan)

Director (Establishment)

Source: www.persmin.gov.in

[http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/11012_8_2011-Estt.A-19112014.pdf]

Introduction of AADHAR Enabled Bio-metric Attendance System

No: 11013/9/2014- Estt (A-III)

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

Department of Personnel & Training

New Delhi, dated 21st November 2014.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Sub: Introduction of AADHAR Enabled Bio-metric Attendance System

It has been decided to use an AADHAR Enabled Bio-metric Attendance System (AEBAS) in all offices of the Central Government, including attached/ sub-ordinate Offices, in India. The system will be installed in the offices located in Delhi/ New Delhi by 31st December 2014. In other places this may be installed by 26th January 2015

2. The equipment will be procured by the Ministries/ Departments as per specifications of DeitY on DGS&D Rate Contract from authorized vendors. The expenditure will be met by the Ministries/ Departments concerned under their O.E. The manual system of attendance may be phased out accordingly.

3. The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) will provide the technical guidance for installing the system. The equipment already procured by DeitY have a built in AMC of three years. The Ministries/ departments may ensure that the equipment being procured by them have similar provision.

4. Biometric attendance system is only an enabling platform. There is no change in the instructions relating to office hours, late attendance etc. which will continue to apply. As per extant instructions, (contained in DoPT O.M. No: 28034/8/75- Estt-A dated 04-07-1975; No:28034/10/75-Estt-A dated 27-08-1975; No: 28034/3/82 —Estt-A dated 05-03-1982) half—a-day’s Casual Leave should be debited for each day of late attendance, but late attendance upto an hour, on not more than two occasions in a month, and for justifiable reasons may be condoned by the competent authority. In addition to debiting Casual Leave (or Earned Leave, when no CL is available). Disciplinary action may also be taken against government servants who are habitually late. Early leaving is also to be treated in the same manner as late coming.

5. These orders come into force with immediate effect.

6. All Ministries/ Departments are requested to bring this to the notice of all concerned.

(J.A Vaidyanathan)

Director (Establishment)