US Postal Service to issue Akkineni Nageswarara Rao (ANR) stamp

The US Postal Service is going honor legendary Tollywood actor late Akkineni Nageswarara Rao by issuing a postage stamp on his birthday. "It is a rare honor and is the first time that an Indian actor has been accorded this honour," read a note issued by the Akkineni Foundation of America (AFA). The postal stamp will be released in a grand ceremony to be held in Dallas, Texas on September 20th, on Dr. ANR's Birthday to mark this tribute. 

The celebrated actor won the hearts of millions of movie lovers was one of the leading matinee idol's of India who wowed the audiences with stellar performances in films between 50's to 80's. He also played pioneering role in relocating the Telugu film industry to Hyderabad. 

AFA also plans to release the stamp in India at the first "International Akkineni Awards Ceremony" in the presence of ANR family members. The event hosted by AFA will be held on December 17th, 2014 at ANR College, Gudivada, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh. 

"It's is a rare honour and the first time in the history of the USA that an Indian movie actor getting this recognition. We are thankful to USPS for consenting to our request to issue this postal stamp in remembrance of Dr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao", Dr.Prasad Thotakura, AFA President said. 

"I am deeply touched and so are other members of the Akkineni family by the issuance of this postage stamp, and I am deeply grateful to USPS for conferring one of America's highest honors to my father Akkineni Nageswara Rao" the legendary actor's son Nagarjuna Akkineni said. "While my father has been cited many times as being among the most adored artiste of all time, the recognition in his being portrayed on a U.S. postage stamp will rank as a great honor. It is certainly a big tribute to Indian cinema and our culture." 

Combining influences from theatre era and the contemporary cinema performances with his own innovations, Dr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao helped establish tremendous versatility in films — and in doing so, left behind an unforgettable mark on cinema across the globe that will always be remembered for generations to come. 

Akkineni made his debut in films playing the lead actor's friend in the Tamil-Telugu Bilingual 'Dharmapatni' in the year 1941. He was 17 at the time. He was noticed for his performance in folklore based movies and eventually got his first break for the 1950 movie 'Samsaram'. As an actor ANR has played a variety of roles ranging from a charming prince to a valiant soldier to a holy saint, and from a college student to a calm government officer. In mythological role he was a inspiring. 

Akkineni Nageswara Rao was honoured with a number of awards including 3 Filmfares, PadmaVibhushan, Dada Saheb Palke Award, Nandi Award, Kalaimamani and Life time Achievement Awardfrom Telugu Association of North America. 

ANR has acted in over 255 films in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. A majority of his films were both commercial and critical successes. Apart from being a movie star, ANR was a prolific writer. Some of his prominent books include his autobiographical work, Nenu Na Jeevitham, the memoirs of his first visit to the USA, Nenu Choosina America, and the expression of his thoughts in his book, A Aalu. 

ANR 's final movie project was Manam that saw three generations of the Akkineni family including himself, his son Nagarjuna and grandsons Naga Chaitanya, Akhil in it. The movie is the biggest success of year 2014. The iconic actor bid adieu to the world on Jan 22.

Source:-The Times of India

Should you have 6 meals or 3 meals a day?

Healthy eating and healthy living revolves around having sufficient food (read: a balanced diet!). 

But how many meals should you have per day? Healthy eating is a key component of weight loss and muscle building for those who want to maintain a healthy weight. Our strength and conditioning expert, Arnav Sarkar lays out the benefits of three meals versus six meals. He also tells you when you should have three meals and six meals for optimal health benefits.

As per popular belief "going more than three hours without eating anything would lead to a drop in energy levels, loss of lean muscle tissue, increased fat storing, etc," says Arnav. Hence it was always important to eat every three hours. So, three good meals in a day is a good option since fasting experts reveal that six meals is responsible for body fat and poor hormones.

"One of the major claims for three meals a day being better for fat loss is that it helps to keep insulin and blood sugar levels low and thus bodyfat is lower. In my personal opinion, however, this is where most people make a major mistake. They do not take the total caloric intake into calculation," explains Arnav.

Arnav Sarkar elaborates the benefits of eating 3 meals a day:

Easy to follow in the long term - All offices, schools and colleges give people time to have breakfast, lunch and dinner — meals that you can eat at home. There are also those who do not feel like eating first thing in the morning, and generally do not feel like eating till lunch. If this is the case, then do keep in mind that breakfast does not have be eaten immediately upon waking up. You can eat your breakfast even a couple of hours after waking up. So no need to miss breakfast altogether.

Allows you to eat bigger meals - This is where six meals a day becomes a problem for those who love to eat big and are trying to lose weight. Six small meals never make one mentally feel like they have eaten a meal, they always feel that they are snacking, and thus mentally are always craving for a meal.

Teaches you to control hunger better - In most cases, eating six times a day tends to make one eat more, since they tend to mentally crave food every 2-3 hours whether they are actually hungry or not. So when they decide to eat only three times a day, they slowly start to control their hunger better as they now go longer without food and develop better mental control.

Arnav Sarkar elaborates the benefits of eating 6 meals a day:

Ideal for eating a lot of calories - If you need to eat a lot of calories to gain weight or because you are an athlete who burns a lot of calories, then frequent meals is ideal for you.

Great to follow when trying to consume high amounts of protein - Our bodies were not designed to be able to digest 70-80 gms or more of protein in one meal easily. It's always best for most people to keep protein to about 15-40 gms at each serving, and maybe a bit more for really big guys who exercise a lot.

Great to follow when trying to consume large amounts of carbs.

Helps avoid drops in energy/sugar levels - Some people truly cannot go on for more than 3-4 hours without eating anything and still be able to perform well. For these people, smaller frequent servings work well and help to keep their energy/sugar levels stable.

Arnav has chalked out and elaborated the importance of three meals and six meals; it is up to you to decide what are your needs and which meal will supplement it.

Source:-The Times of India

Govt to increase dearness allowance to 107%, up from 100%

Government is likely to approve a hike indearness allowance (DA) to 107 per cent from the existing 100 per cent, benefiting around 30 lakh central employees and 50 lakh pensioners including dependents.

"The average rate of retail inflation for industrial workers from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 works out to be 7.25 per cent. Thus the central government will hike dearness allowance for it employees by 7 per cent," an official said.

He said the finance ministry will now put a Cabinet proposal for approval of 7 per cent DA hike from July 1 this year as the revised Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers data for June was released by labour ministry on Saturday.

With increase in DA, the pensioners will also gain as the benefit provided to them as dearness relief will be hiked to 107 per cent of basic pay.

The previous UPA government had increased DA to 100 per cent from 90 per cent with effect from January 1, 2014, on February 28 on the basis of agreed formula for revision of the allowance.

However, the central government employees' union is not very enthused by the 7 per cent hike in the dearness allowance as their long pending demand of merger of DA with basic pay has not been given heed by 7th Pay Commission and the government.

"The erosion of value of wages is unbearable at 50 per cent dearness allowance. Now it will be 107 per cent. It is high time to merge DA with basic pay to provide relief to employees," Confederation of Central Government Employees' president K K N Kutty told PTI.

"We had submitted our memorandum in this regard to 7th Pay Commission. They forwarded it to Central Government. We have apprised about the issue to the newly elected NDA government. But no decision has been taken so far," he said.

With merger of DA with basic pay, the salary and allowances paid in proportion of basic pay are increased. As per earlier practise DA was merged with basic pay once it breached 50 per cent mark. But 6th Pay Commission has disallowed that.

Source:-The Times of India

Transfer and Posting in Berhampur Region

The following transfer and posting order has been issued vide RO, Berhampur Memo No. ST/11-20/2013/Ch-II dated 27-08-2014.

1 Shri H.S.Mohapatra, ASP(HQ), RMS ‘BG’ Division, Berhampur is transferred and posted as ASP(HQ), Koraput Division, Jeypore(K).

2 Shri Sudhansu Padhi is posted as ASP(HQ), RMS ‘BG’ Division, Berhampur. 

The Securities Laws (Amendment) Act 2014

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Fixation of pay of State Government Employees on their appointment in Central Government, subsequent to implementation of CCS (RP) Rules,2008.

To view please Click Here.

Revised Recruitment Rules, 2014 for the post of HSG-I in POs and RMS Offices

To view Department of Posts Letter No.4-26/2009-SPB-II dated 27th August, 2014 containing Gazette Notification dated 17th July, 2014 please Click Here.

Snapshot of handing over of stamp blowup to Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar by Shri P.K. Bisoi, Cheif PMG, Maharashtra Circle

Shri P.K. Bisoi, Cheif PMG, Maharashtra Circle handed over stamp blowup to Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar at his residence on 26th August 2014

During Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series against the West Indies in November 2013, the Mumbai Cricket Association paid numerous tributes to the master blaster, one of which was to issue a commemorative postage stamp in legend's honour. On first day of Test match a commemorative postage stamp on 'Sachin Tendulkar 200th Test Match' was released on 14th November 2013 by the then MoC.

Source:-CHQ Blog

PM sets up Committee to identify obsolete laws within three months

Prime Minister has approved the constitution of a Committee to carry out a review to identify obsolete laws. 

The newly-constituted Committee will examine all Acts recommended to be repealed by the Committee on Review of Administrative Laws, which had been appointed by the Union Government of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in 1998. The Prime Minister has expressed concern that out of the 1382 Acts recommended for repeal by that Committee, only 415 have been repealed so far. He has called for a focused and result-oriented exercise to systematically weed out archaic laws and rules. The Committee will also examine Acts and Rules which may have become obsolete within the last ten to fifteen years. 

The Committee will be chaired by Shri R. Ramanujam, Secretary PMO. Shri V.K. Bhasin, former Secretary, Legislative Department, will be its other member. The Committee will submit its report within three months, so that a comprehensive Bill can be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament, based on its recommendations. 

Source:-PIB

CHQ News:- 7CPC : Members of Karnataka Branch met with Joint Secretary at Bangalore

As per the request of Sri Manjunatha Hubballi Circle Secretary Karnataka Circle, CHQ has permitted the Officer Bearers of All India Association of Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents Posts Karnataka Branch to meet with Joint Secretary and other members of 7CPC during the camp at Kumara Park, Bangalore and explain the cadre grievances of our cadre and also discuss the issues mentioned in our Memorandum. 

Accordingly, Sri Tarkesh ASP o/o CPMG Bangalore, Sri Hariram IP o/o CPMG, Bangalore, Sri Ramesh ASP o/o South Karnataka Region,  Sri P Chidanand ASP o/o Bellary Division, Sri H B Hasabi ASP o/o SPOs, Bagalkot Division met with Shri Jayanth Sinha Joint Secretary and other members of 7CPC on 25/8/2014 and explained about cadre grievances listed in the Memorandum in detailed. Joint Secretary and other members listen the grievances our cadre in a very positive manner & assured to consider the genuine problems of the cadre favorably. The copy of Memorandum also handed over to Joint Secretary. 

Special Covers released durIng ODIPEX-2014

To view the Special Covers on " Maha Bodhi Society of India, Odisha Centre", "INTACH Bhubaneswar Chapter", "Pale-Capped Pigeon", "Ancient Site of Khandagiri & Udayagiri". "NALCO" and "East Coast Railway Hqrs, Bhubaneswar, Odisha"  please Click Here.

Notification for recruitment of Postman and Mailguard Vacancies in Odisha Circle

 To view please Click Here.

To apply online please visit to http://odisha.postalcareers.in/ 

India Post to connect its offices through CBS and also plans to roll out 3000 ATMs

MUMBAI: Preparing itself to start commercial banking operations, India post announced the launch of over 1000 ATMs in the near feature. It will also enable core banking solution CBS at its 25000 offices over the next year. 

Speaking at a financial inclusion conclave a senior official of India post elaborated on the technology initiatives in reaching the post off account holders. "We have invested around Rs 5000 crore in technology since 2012. Already 676 postal offices are connected through CBS. By March 2016, 25000 offices will be on CBS," said Kalpana Tewari, member (Planning and Technology), department of post. 

"We plan to roll out 3000 ATM by FY18, of which 1000 will be in the near future," she said. The department is already running a pilot in Chennai and Delhi. Once it gets stream lined and RBI allows interoperability even other bank account holders willl be able to transact through the ATMs. India Post is already on the RBI's electronics funds transfer platform. 

India Post's banking technology system is being built by Infosys, while TCS is setting up the CBS platform. If the postal system in the country is on CBS, it means that a post office savings or deposit account holder will be able to operate his account from any post office in any geographic location in India, the same way one can operate a commercial bank account these days. 

India Post already has a tripartite arrangement with the Andhra Pradesh government to disburse MNERGA payments online through the postal network in the states. It is also working on similar such initiatives with other states. 

India Post has already indicated its intention to apply for a Payments Bank licence under the RBI's proposed differentiated licences scheme though it did not get any favourable response from the banking regulator in its initial attempt at getting a commercial banking licence. "We are awaiting to see how the final guidelines fit in the benefit of the organisation," Tewari said. 

Source:-The Economic Times

Larger contributions sought for PM's National Relief Fund

• New Delhi: Seeking larger contributions for the Prime Minister''s National Relief Fund, the PMO has asked all central ministries to display the message on their websites and inform the common man that such donations enjoy tax benefits.

Source:-PTI

CVC seeks strong anti-corruption mechanisms for regulators

• By Ashwini Shrivastava New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) Anti-corruption watchdog CVC has sought tough measures to check corruption in various regulatory bodies including SEBI and FMC besides appointment of full-time chief vigilance officers (CVOs) in some of these regulators.

EPFO to pay 8.75 % interest on PF deposits in '14-15

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) Retirement fund body EPFO's trustees on Tuesday decided to retain interest payment on provident fund deposits for 2014-15 at 8.75 per cent.

"It has been decided to pay 8.75 per cent interest in the current fiscal," Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC) K K Jalan told PTI after the meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision making body of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

Consultations on Planning Commission

Consultative meetings were held today relating to the proposed new design and structure for the Planning Commission. These were part of consultations after the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, from the ramparts of Red Fort, on the 15th of this month, had said “….We will replace Planning Commission with a new institution having a new design and structure… a new faith towards forging a new direction to lead the country based on creative thinking, Public Private Partnership, optimum utilization of resources, utilization of youth power to the nation, to promote the aspiration of State Governments seeking development, to empower the State Governments and to empower the federal structure.” 

Subsequently, the Prime Minister had invited ideas from people on what shape the new institution to replace the Planning Commission can take. A special open forum was created on the website mygov.nic.in for inviting suggestions on the new institution. 

"We envision the proposed Institution as one that caters to the aspirations of 21st century India & strengthens participation of the States.... Let the ideas flow,” Shri Narendra Modi said as the above Open Forum was created on mygov.nic.in, on last Tuesday. 

Various experts were invited for the consultations held at the Planning Commission today. Among those who participated in today’s meetings were Shri Yashwant Sinha, Dr. Bimal Jalan, Dr. Saumitra Chaudhury, Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Shri M.J. Akbar, Dr. Y.K. Alagh, Dr. Nitin Desai, Dr. Shankar N. Acharya, Shri T.N. Ninan, Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Dr. Shekar Shah, Dr. Pronab Sen, Dr. T.C.A. Srinivasa Raghavan, Dr. Rajat Kathuria, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Dr. Surjit Bhalla and Shri Sumit Bose.

Source:-PIB

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act,2013-Submission of declaration of assets and liabilities by the public servants for each year-regarding.

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CHQ News: Holding of DPC for the promotion to the cadre of JTS Gr. A for the vacancy year 2014-15

It has been decided by Directorate to hold DPC for promotion to Junior time Scale (JTS) of Indian Postal Service (IPoS) for the vacancy year 2014-15. The list of officers in the zone of consideration is circulated to all circles with a direction that, each circles APMG /AD (staff) will personally hand over the requisite information to Directorate on allotted date to their circle. 

To see the copy of Directorate DO letter and list of officers falling within the ZoC, please Click Here.  

Bureau of Indian Standards Licence for Service Quality Management Systems Certification to M/s O/o the Chief PMG, Odisha Circle, Bhubaneswar and 1.Puri HO, 2.Chhatrapur HO, 3.Rourkela HO

Revision in interest rates of Small Savings Schemes w.e.f 1st April 2014 ( SB Order No. 04/2014)

To view please Click Here.

EPFO's Central Board of Trustees to meet today to discuss interest rate on PF deposits

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation will discuss the interest rate on PF deposits at its trustees' meet on Tuesday. 

The fund body is the custodian of the lifetime savings of over 50 million formal sector workers. 

The fund's Central Board of Trustees (CBT) generally fixes the rate at the end of the fiscal. This year, the EPFO has broken with tradition to take up the issue earlier. 

However, a decision may not come on Tuesday as the proposed interest rate may not be acceptable to union representatives. The EPFO's agenda note says that the CBT should either fix the rate at 8.7% or defer a decision till the last quarter of the financial year. 

The interest on PF deposits was 8.75% in 2013-14 and 8.5% in 2012-13. 

The CBT is headed by the labour and employment minister and includes minister of state for labour, the labour secretary, unionists, employers' representatives and other officers. 

Source:-The Economic Times

CHQ News:GS writes to Secretary (Posts) i/c/w enhancement of rate of honorarium to IO/PO for conducting inquiries under Rule-10

No. GS/AIAIASP/GDS-Hon/2013                                    dated :    25/8/2014

To,

Ms Kavery Banerjee,

Secretary (Posts),

Department of Posts,

Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,

New Delhi 110 001.

Sub: Grant of honorarium to part time Inquiry Officers/ Presenting Officers for conducting inquiries under Rule-10 of GDS (Conduct and Engagement) Rules, 2011 and revision of financial powers delegated to CPMG for sanction of the Honorarium.

Ref:   Directorate memo No C-32016/03/2005-VP dated 23.08.2005.

Respected Madam,

  

        IP/ASP Association would like to invite your kind attention to this Association’s letter of even number dated 22/6/2013 followed by reminders dated 13/9/2013 and 11/11/2013, 1/2/2014, 25/4/2014 and 23/6/2014 whereby it was brought to the notice that, Directorate vide memo No 32016/12/2011-VP dated 04.07.2011 on the basis of notification issued by DOP&T has revised honorarium rates for Inquiry Officers/ Presenting Officers engaged for conducting departmental enquiries which was further revised on 8.1.2013. Under the existing structure, minimum Rs 5000/- and Maximum 10000/- are required to be sanctioned as honorarium if the enquiry is completed within stipulated time frame. But no such revision whatsoever has been made for IO/PO for conducting GDS inquiries, perhaps this was not part of DOP&T memo as no such cadre exists in any other department except DOP.

        It is further bring to your kind notice that the minimum rate of honorarium have already been revised for departmental inquiries and the FR 46 B also stood amended (vide MOF, DOE I.CU.O.No.4.2/5/2008-IC dated 29.01.2009). The issue in question was discussed at length with the then Secretary (Posts) and OSD to Secretary (Posts) in the informal meeting held on 23/9/2013. During the course of dialogue, both the officers apprehending the position, assured that Department will re-look into the matter and shall accordingly convey the approval, but till date nothing is heard from Directorate despite issue of above captioned reminders.

        It is therefore requested to pass an order to resolve this long pending issue at the earliest.

       

Yours sincerely,

Sd/-

(Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

Copy forwarded for information and necessary action to :

Shri Aman Sharma, OSD to Secretary (Posts), Department of Posts, Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110001.

CHQ News:GS writes to Secretary (Posts) i/c/w cadre restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre.

No. CHQ/AIAIPASP/Cadre Restructure/2014                      dated  :     25/8/2014.

To,

Ms Kavery Banerjee,

Secretary (Posts), 

Department of Posts,

Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg,

New Delhi 110 001.

Subject :   Cadre restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre.

Respected Madam, 

We would like to invite your kind attention to this Association’s letter of even number dated 30/4/2014 followed by reminder dated 19/5/2014 whereby it was brought to the notice that, cadre restructuring of Group ‘C’ cadre was finalised by Department on 28^th April 2014 under the Chairmanship of Shri V. P. Singh, DDG (P). Everybody knows that second cadre review case of Inspector Posts and ASPs is pending since long in the files of Directorate.

We would like to further bring to your kind notice that the recommendation of second cadre review committee that gave its report in the year 1990 has not been executed by the Directorate till date and due to this, the stagnation is being faced in the cadre of IPs/ASPs and long span of service running up to 24 to 25 years which IP/ASP has to put in, before getting promotion to PS Gr. B cadre. During the course of informal meetings with officers of Directorate it was assured that this will be looked into at the time of cadre restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre, but unfortunately as on date neither the representatives of this cadre are called for discussion of cadre restructuring nor the proposal submitted by this Association for merger of ASP cadre into PS Gr. B cadre is materialised. This issue is dealt in Directorate file No. 25-35/2011-PE-I.

        It is therefore once again requested your kind honour to kindly call immediate meetings with the members of this Association for the discussion of cadre restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre and finalisation thereof as has been done for other cadres.

An early order in the matter is requested with a line in reply.

        Yours Sincerely,

Sd/-

 (Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

CHQ News:-Circle Conference.....Tamil Nadu Circle

41st Biennial Circle Conference of Tamil Nadu Circle was held at Tiruchendur on 21st and 22nd August 2014. The following office bearers are unanimously elected;

1. President : Shri M. Newton Balakrishnan, ASP Tiruchendur Sub Division. 

2. Circle Secretary : Shri S. Aruldoss

3. Circle Treasurer : Shri P. V. Sekar

PM's email to all bank officers

• Bank account for each household is a "national priority"

• Try your best to ensure that no one is left without a bank account

• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana to be launched across the nation on August 28th: every account to get a debit card and Rs. 1 lakh accident cover

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has written an email to all bank officers, referring to his Independence Day announcement of the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana – the National Mission on Financial Inclusion with the objective of covering all households in the country with banking facilities, and having a bank account for each household. 

Describing the task as "gigantic," the Prime Minister said, "We need to enroll over 7 crore households and open their accounts. This is a national priority and we must rise to meet this challenge. There is an urgency to this exercise as all other development activities are hindered by this single disability. I am sure we will overcome this situation collectively."

The Prime Minister has urged bank officers to "put your shoulder to the wheel and try your level best to ensure that no one is left without a bank account. This itself will be a source of immense satisfaction for you and your teams. I will myself recognize the achievements of the best performing branches."

The Prime Minister said: "The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana lies at the core of our development philosophy of Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas. As we move rapidly forward in this knowledge era with modern banking and financial systems, it is untenable that a large majority of our population is deprived of basic banking facilities. I sometimes wonder whether we have made matters so complicated that the poor and the marginalized are those who are trapped in a perpetual cycle of exclusion and deprivation. We need to break that cycle and the Jan Dhan Yojana is the first step in that direction. With a bank account, every household gains access to banking and credit facilities. This will enable them to come out of the grip of moneylenders, manage to keep away from financial crises caused by emergent needs, and most importantly, benefit from a range of financial products."

As a first step, under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, every account holder gets a RuPay debit card with a Rs 1,00,000/- accident cover. "As we go along, they will be covered by insurance and pension products," the Prime Minister said.

"I am confident that you will rise to the occasion and contribute to this national endeavour in significant measure. I am there to support you," the Prime Minister added. 

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana will be launched on 28 August, 2014 across the nation simultaneously. The Prime Minister will launch it formally in Delhi, with parallel functions at the state level which will be attended by Union Ministers, and also at district and sub-district levels. Camps are also to be organized at the branch level. 

Source:-PIB

How to beat fatigue at work

Do you often doze off on your desk at work? Fatigue is a major workplace hazard. It reduces your performance and productivity. 

Many studies have revealed that jaded people are often incompetent at work, and are thus paid less! To put it simply, fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy that does not go away even when you rest. People may feel fatigued in body or mind (physical or psychological fatigue). But what is the cause of fatigue?
Most of the time, it can be traced to one or more of your daily habits or routines. It is usually a result of physical exertion, poor eating habits, emotional stress, boredom, lack of sleep or weight.
With a few simple lifestyle changes, you can regain vitality and boost your energy levels. 

ALWAYS BE ACTIVE Walk over to your colleagues instead of using the chat messenger or email to communicate with your workmates. Take the stairs instead of the lift if your workstation isn't too high up in a building. Park your car a little further off and walk to your office. You may think that these small moves don't really matter, but your body is silently burning calories. You need to burn only 3,500 calories to lose 12 kg of weight.Even if you don't remember the math, your body keeps count of every single move you make, or don't make. 

GO FOR SMALL MEALS If you are used to eating three big meals a day, break it up into six to eight meals, and eat every two hours. Remember this, digestion is a calorie-burning activity in itself. Your body burns calories to digest the calories you eat. Eating at longer intervals fails to give your digestion sys tem a good workout. Apart from breakfast, lunch and dinner, go for mini meals (a fruit or biscuits) during your mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack breaks. 

HAVE A HEARTY BREAKFAST Not eating breakfast isn't smart - you may think you are eating less food during the day by directly going for your mid-morning tea or lunch, but not eating breakfast makes you gain weight! Because your body has been starved of food while you were sleep ing, it needs food within an hour of waking up, to get its various systems running smoothly (including me tabolism). So, when you skip breakfast, your body panics because it thinks it's starving and stores the next meal you eat in its fat reserves. 

SLEEP ON TIME Sleep deprivation causes weigh gain and makes people tired very easily. There are two main factors that regulate appetite. Leptin is the satiety hormone (which gives you the signal that you are full) while ghrelin is your hunger hormone (which gives you the signal that you are hungry). There are studies that suggest sleep deprivation causes both leptin and ghrelin to malfunction, leaving you with the feeling of not being full enough or making you feel hungry even when you may not need food. 

EXERCISE ON WEEKENDS If you're too busy with work to incorporate exercise in your daily routine, make it something you look forward to every weekend. Clubbing fun with fitness is the key to staying motivated. 

There's a host of things you can do - play squash, tennis, football, or jog, run, spin, dance and do yoga. 

A BETTER BALANCE Finding some `me' time is the ideal way to beat stress. Ask yourself: Are you taking on too much? Can you delegate some of your work? If you are constantly feeling overwhelmed and pressurised at work, maybe that's the reason you are gaining weight, even if you aren't leading a sedantary lifestyle. No matter what anyone says, a work-life balance is crucial to get the best of both your body and your mind. 

By Pooja Makhija Consulting Nutritionist & Clinical Dietician

Source:-The Times of India

9th state level Philatelic Exhibition — ODIPEX-2014 underway.

The 9th state level Philatelic Exhibition — ODIPEX-2014 started on 22^nd Aug, 2014 will be concluded today the 24^th Aug, 2014. Stamp collections of many international and National awardee philatelists and School Children have been exhibited in 408 frames. Stamps and Special Covers on " Maha Bodhi Society of India, Odisha Centre", "INTACH Bhubaneswar Chapter", "Pale-Capped Pigeon", "Ancient Site of Khandagiri & Udayagiri". "NALCO" and "East Coast Railway Hqrs, Bhubaneswar, Odisha"  have been released in the Odipex. Children from different Schools of Bhubaneswar participated in quiz competitions on Philately.

'My Stamp' is one of the attraction among the youth in the Odipex.  The personalised stamp has two parts - the currency part and the photograph - detachable from each other. One can choose these backgrounds: zodiac signs, flowers, Taj Mahal, Panchatantra tales, trains, wildlife, aeroplane etc. One can get a set of 12 stamps of Rs.5 denomination for Rs.300.

Economy in use of paper

To view Department of Expenditure OM No. 25(6)/E.Coord-2014 dated 22/08/2014 please Click Here. 

Civil Services Examination, 2015

To view please Click Here.

Inclusion of Mobile Number (optional) in Method of Addressing - Partial Modification of Rule 26(c) of PO Guide Part-I

Department files additional reply in GP Case- case posted to 29.9.14 for final hearing

OA No.289/13 filed by the Association came up for hearing before the Hon'ble CAT Ernakulam Bench on 20.8.14. The Department filed additional reply to the rejoinder filed by the Association. The Hon'ble Tribunal after taking the additional reply on record, has posted the case to 29.9.14 for final hearing.

Source:-IPs/ASPs Blog, Keral Circle.

SB Order No.9/2014- Revision of maximum limit of subscription in a Financial Year of PPF Account.

'Clean-up' drive: Cabinet Secretary issues another directive

 In yet another directive aimed at improving the work culture in government offices, the Cabinet Secretary has asked all secretaries to improve the overall ambience of offices and ensure punctuality of officials especially in departments with major public interaction.

The top bureaucrat of the government has asked all the departments to increasingly emphasise on "cleanliness of work areas and improvement in the over-all ambience of office buildings as also punctuality on the part of the officials should be reviewed on sustained basis so that there is a visible improvement and there are no report of slippages in this regard."

Soon after taking charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met all the secretaries and had asked them to begin workplace reforms with cleaning-up of offices and improving the conditions, which would automatically result in efficient services to the citizens.

Taking urgent note of these instructions, the ministries have now issued instructions to their respective offices and field formations across the country.

In a directive issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to the Income Tax department, orders have been issued that "there should be no dust, no old ACs, almirahs and old furniture belonging to the office lying around the corridors or common areas near staircases and no betel-leaf stained corners."

The I-T department has a huge public interaction at its thousands of big and small offices in the country.

"To give a neat and tidy look to the sections, the officers concerned may also be impressed upon to take special interest in weeding out of obsolete papers and files and to record all closed cases after action on the issues considered thereon has been completed, as per the prescribed retention schedule," the CBDT instructions said.

The CBDT also asked its controlling and administrative officers to conduct surprise checks of the staff attendance and the duty register.

"All the officers and staff working in offices under the control of officers should strictly observe the prescribed office timings. It should be ensured that they do not overstay the lunch break and leave offices early before closing of office hours," the latest directives said.

"All heads of departments may be instructed to conduct regular, unannounced and surprise punctuality checks along with checking of attendance registers of the offices to see that the officials are observing office hours meticulously".

"Habitual latecomers may also be warned to mend their ways failing which disciplinary action may be taken against them," the order said.

In June, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) at North Block were told to get rid of clutter and weed out old and unwanted files.

Source:-The Economic Times