CHQ News:- Promotion and postings in Postal Services Group ‘B’ cadre.....relief thereof

No. CHQ/AIAIPASP/DPC-PS Gr.B/2015                               Dated :     21/12/2015

To,                                                                                          

Ms Kavery Banerjee, 

Secretary (Posts),

Department of Posts, 

Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg, 

New Delhi 110 001. 

Subject : Promotion and postings in Postal Services Group ‘B’ cadre. 

Ref.        : Dte Memo No. 9-02/2015-SPG dated 10/11/2015

Respected Madam,

          IP/ASP Association would like to bring to your kind notice that Directorate vide above captioned memo has appointed 122 Inspector Line Officers on regular basis in PS Gr. B cadre, but few circles have not implemented orders despite having clear orders to relive the promoted officers to their new assignments within 15 days from the date of issue of order.

It is to further bring to your kind notice that as per above orders all the ASPs promoted to PS Gr. B cadre had to be relieved from their former assignments within 15 days from the date of issue of order  by Directorate. It has also stated in Directorate’s above captioned letter that, in case, an officer is not willing to accept his promotion (including those 31 officers whose debarment period will be over in February/March 2016), his declination letter in writing should be sent to Directorate within 30 days from the date of issue of order, failing which, it shall be presumed that he has declined the promotion.  

Requisite period have already been elapsed to join the new assignment on promotion so the promotion of officers who have not joined may be treated as cancelled and vacancies arise owing to deemed refusal and filled these in supplementary DPC vacancies.

It is therefore fervently requested to your kind honour to look into the matter personally and cause to issue necessary instructions to the defaulting circles to implement the Directorate orders in the spirit of given directions. All the procedures in this issue may be completed by the end of this month.

Thanking you,   

                                                                                Yours sincerely,

 Sd/-

(Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

Scheme for engagement of a dependent of deceased casual labourer engaged on or before 01.09.1993 on compassionate grounds to Gramin Dak Sevak Post

To view please Click Here.

Review of existing provisions for filling up of vacant GDS posts [Other than GDS BPM] - order date 17.12.2015

To view please Click Here.

Strengthening establishment of Single Handed Branch Post Offices - order date 17.12.2015

To view please Click Here.

Scheme for engagement of a dependent of deceased GDS on compassionate grounds - review of existing point based system of assessing indigence - order dated 17.12.2015

To view please Click Here.

Why implementing the Seventh Pay Commission recommendation is a herculean challenge

By Shantanu Nandan Sharma, ET Bureau 

Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, a former Supreme Court judge and chairman of the Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC), has returned to his home town Jodhpur in Rajasthan after spending two years in Delhi and submitting a 900-page humongous report recommending a hike in pay, allowances and pension for 47 lakh government employees and 52 lakh pensioners.

Even as the government kickstarts the process of implementing the report, something that will cost the exchequer over Rs 1 lakh crore, Mathur nowa-days hears only the disgruntled voices.

He continues to read complaints in newspapers and hears deep anxiety among civil servants over phone calls. 

The Confederation of Civil Service Associations (COSCA), comprising 20 different class-I services such as Indian Police Service, Indian Revenue Service and Indian Information Service, amongst others, met finance minister Arun Jaitley early this month. The purpose of that meeting was to press their demand that the empowered panel of secretaries, which will examine the report before the Cabinet takes the final call, must not be dominated by one service, read IAS. 

What they want is the removal of the edge that the IAS enjoys so far, something that was fiercely opposed by one member in the CPC, thereby making it difficult for the government to draw a conclusion. Then, the Central Secretariat Service which is considered the backbone of the Central government ministries and the one that comprises over 12,000 employees, is planning a massive agitation in the coming week near North Block. They will protest against what they call an unfair treatment meted out by the CPC because "some officers with vested interests" misled the Commission. 

Meanwhile, the armed forces personnel, the officers in particular, have made their unhappiness public. Though the CPC increased their pay substantially — packages are about 30 per cent higher than their civilian counterparts — the withdrawal of free ration in peace areas for officers by the Commission seems to have hurt them the most. 

Not a Cakewalk

"It's Dil Maange More for everyone in the government. I wish I could make everyone happy... I feel very sad to hear that many in the armed forces are still not satisfied," Justice Mathur told ET Magazine over phone from Jodhpur, adding that he travelled across the country including Siachen to get a pulse of the conditions the forces serve in before making his recommendations. 

For the government, the challenge begins only now. Implementing a pay commission report is not a cakewalk particularly when the chairman and two of its members are not on the same page on a number of issues — including the contentious one of whether IAS officers should be allowed to continue with the edge that they have enjoyed so far over other civil servants.

In 2008, the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government took about five and a half months to implement the Sixth Central Pay Commission, and in the backdrop of disparate voices and continuous lobbying by various services even after the submission of the Seventh CPC report, the present government's job could turn out to be much more challenging.

"The government can't make the pill more bitter than it is. We expect the government instead to sweeten the Commission's recommendations further," says IRS officer Jayant Misra, who is also the convenor of COSCA. "We have also appealed to the finance minister and cabinet secretary that the empowered committee of secretaries must not have more than 25 per cent members from one particular service so that the report can be examined objectively and impartially."

The government has set up an implementation cell for the Seventh CPC, to be headed by a joint secretary-ranked IAS officer, RK Chaturvedi. This cell, which comes under the department of expenditure, will give all the inputs to a committee of secretaries (CoS) to be formed under the cabinet secretary for examining the report. The expenditure secretary will then compile the decisions of the CoS and prepare the Cabinet note. And the Union Cabinet will take the final decision on which of the recommendations could be accepted, and which discarded. 

This process may take six months or more. But as it involves Rs 1,02,100 crore, with the new pay scale likely to be effective from January 1, 2016, the government has to make a provision for the last quarter of the current fiscal year, apart from earmarking a sizeable expenditure in the coming Budget to be presented in February. The Railways, which have to bear Rs 32,000 crore of the burden, also has its task cut out."The Seventh Pay Commission is a big challenge for the Railways. We have to talk to the finance ministry and collectively find a way out," says railway minister Suresh Prabhu, who has his hands full in his attempt to restore the financial health of the organisation. With a workforce of about 1.4 million, the highest in any government department, the Indian Railways will face the brunt of the Seventh CPC load. 

The Balancing Act

Overall, the government will take a hit of Rs 39,100 crore on account of salary hikes and another Rs 29,300 crore from allowances, if the government decides to accept the CPC recommendation as it is. Of the allowances, a whopping Rs 17,200 crore will be on account of only one allowance — house rent. 

It is on the allowances front that the government can save some money if it delays implementing the report. While the pay hike per se will be retrospective, with government servants getting arrears with effect from January 1, 2016 if the Centre accepts it as the effective date, the payment on account of allowances is prospective in nature.

Money is, however, not the only challenge that the government has to cope with at this juncture. The bigger challenge is how to arrest the growing discontent among various layers of civil servants who are at loggerheads with each other. Whereas IPS, IRS, IIS among others want parity with IAS in terms of rank and pay, the next layer, the Central Secretariat Service, has its angst against their immediate superiors in the civil services hierarchy. "We are not in a tussle with the IAS. But many Group "A" services officers don't want us to move up the ladder. We have taken the agitation path, as the Pay Commission did not even hear us out because of some officials with vested interests," says Rakesh Kumar, general secretary of the Central Secretariat Service Forum.

Back in Jodhpur, Justice Mathur may be wishing he could have pleased all government officers, but as he himself realises the only way to achieve that would be to drive the government bankrupt. 

Sourec:-The Economic Times

Seventh Pay Commission chairman finds discrepancy between IAS and non-IAS glaring

Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, chairman of the Seventh Pay Commission, tells ET Magazine in an exclusive interview that he was up against various demands from all the services. And that he tried hard but couldn't succeed in bringing Commission member Vivek Rae on board before recommending an end of IAS supremacy. Edited excerpts:

As the Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC) report reflects, there were serious differences between you and one member of the Commission on key issues such as IAS retaining its edge over other civil servants. Why did you fail to build a consensus?

We had a consensus in most of our recommendations barring maybe a couple of them. It is a 900-page report. In most of the recommendations, there was total consensus. As far as equalising the IPS (Indian Police Service) and IFoS (Indian Forest Service) with IAS (Indian Administrative Service) was concerned, one member of the Commission gave a dissent note. Look, IPS and IFoS are all-India services like that of an IAS. The statistics will tell you how challenging their job is. Many police and forest officers get killed in operations. So, why not giving the same pay and promotion avenues to them? 

But finally one member Vivek Rae gave a long dissent note arguing for status quo. Why could you not build a consensus so that it would have been easier for the government to take a call in implementing your recommendation?

I tried to convince Vivek Rae. He is a former secretary to the government of India and has very long experience in the government. When I could not convince him, we decided I and the two members would put our arguments separately.Let the government take the final call. I felt that there is a lot of angst among civil servants across services against the IAS and their superiority. Even the other member Rathin Roy had a similar view. We noticed in our interactions that the non-IAS officers were peeved at the way the colonial hangover of Indian Civil Service (ICS later became IAS) still remains. IAS Association told us that we should not go beyond recommending the pay structure. But we found that many service matters are actually interlinked to pay. Non-IAS officers don't get promotions on time, and that has a bearing on their pay. Earlier pay commissions too looked into the matter, but I decided to call a spade a spade. I sensed the IPS, IFoS and other Group "A" services were really agitated about the way they were discriminated in promotion. I thought this needs to end. After all, if most bureaucrats belonging to various services remain unhappy, it will impact governance. So, I recommended there should be no discrimination.

The Pay Commission is going to put a huge burden on the state exchequer. Did you take into account the possible burden on the government finances when you decided on a pay hike?

Of course, we did. That's why we could not make everyone happy. Everyone wanted a huge hike. Revenue Service officers, for example, wanted a huge hike because the revenue collection was going up. But we did not go by their argument. It's their job (to get more revenues), I said. There were many other demands from all services. We can't give everything to everyone. If we conceded, the government of India will go bankrupt. Even then, if our recommendations are accepted as they are, the government will need `1,02,100 crore. That's a huge burden. 

If I ask you about one or two recommendations that you were very satisfied with, what would those be?

Our recommendation on the pension for defence personnel is a very satisfying one. We prepared a matrix that takes care of the need of the defence personnel who have been demanding OROP (One Rank One Pension). Also, we recommended a level playing field among all civil servants after the completion of 17 years in service. When they are eligible to be joint secretaries in the government of India, there should be a transparent screening process so that only the brighter lot gets selected. Another highlight of our report is that we rationalised allowances. Never before have allowances been scrutinised the way we did. Out of 190, we found many were outdated. They outlived their utilities. Why should anyone have a `5 haircutting allowance? We have either abolished those or merged with other allowances.

Armed forces officers are not very happy with the recommendations...

We only stopped free-food allowances in peace areas, that too only for officers, not for jawans (for PBOR, i.e. Personnel Below Officer Rank). But overall we gave them a very good deal. Armed forces personnel will now get a pay much higher than their civilian counterparts. For them, there is no deduction for future pension (unlike other civil servants). We also increased their MSP (military service pay). I myself visited Siachen and witnessed the hardship faced by the armed personnel. We have liberally increased high-altitude allowances. I feel very sad to hear that many of them are still not happy.

Any regrets?

It's Dil Maange More for everyone in the government. I wish I could make everyone happy. 

Source:-The Economic Times

Rare full moon to light up skies on Christmas: NASA

A full moon will light up the skies this Christmas, a rare event which has not occurred since 1977 and will not happen again till 2034, according to NASA. 

December's full moon, the last of the year, is called the Full Cold Moon because it occurs during the beginning of winter. 

"This rare event won't happen again until 2034. That is a long time to wait, so make sure to look up to the skies on Christmas Day," NASA said in statement. 

The US space agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission has been investigating the lunar surface since 2009. 

"As we look at the Moon on such an occasion, it's worth remembering that the Moon is more than just a celestial neighbour," said John Keller from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, US. 

"The geologic history of the Moon and Earth are intimately tied together such that the Earth would be a dramatically different planet without the Moon," he added. 

The LRO mission has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon, NASA said. 

Source:-The Economic Times

CHQ News:- All India Conference at Jaipur from 13th to 14th February 2015

ALL INDIA ASSOCIATION OF INSPECTORS AND ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS, POSTS

CHQ Qtr. No. 12, P & T Colony, Khurshid Square, Civil Lines, Delhi 110 054.

Amrendra Kumar President ASP (Inv.) o/o CPMG, Bihar Circle, Patna 800001

Vilas Ingale General Secretary Senior Postmaster Thane Head Post Office Thane 400601

Yadagiri G. Nyalapelli Treasurer ASP (T) o/o SSPOs, Mumbai East Division Mumbai 400014

No. GS/AIAIASP/CWC-Jaipur/2015-16                                 dated     18/12/2015

NOTIFICATION

Under the provisions of article 30 of the Constitution of All India Association of Inspectors and Assistant Superintendent Posts, it is hereby notified that the pre-conference Central Working Committee meeting of the Association will be held at Jaipur on 13^th February 2016 at 10.00 hours.

Venue   : Hotel Vesta International, Near Sun and Moon Chamber, Ajmer Pulia, Gopal  Bari, Jaipur 302001.

Agenda :

1. Confirmation of the minutes of last CWC held on 7/2/2014 at Ahmedabad.
2. Approval of Annual Report of CHQ for the period from 7/2/2014 to 12/2/2016.
3. Approval of audited accounts of CHQ for the period from 7/2/2014 to 12/2/2016.

4. Organizational and financial review of CHQ.

5. Any other item with the permission of the Chair.

All the CHQ office bearers and Circle Secretaries are requested to attend the meeting well in time.

Sd/-

(Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

Copy forwarded for necessary action to :

1. The Director General (SR Division), Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110001

2. All Chief PMsG (through concerned Circle Secretaries)

3. Shri Amrendra Kumar President  AIAIPASP &  ASP (Inv) o/o CPMG, Bihar Circle, Patna 800001.

4. All CHQ Office bearers / Circle Secretaries.

  .............................................................................................................................

ALL INDIA ASSOCIATION OF INSPECTORS AND ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS, POSTS

CHQ Qtr. No. 12, P & T Colony, Khurshid Square, Civil Lines, Delhi 110 054.

Amrendra Kumar President ASP (Inv.) o/o CPMG, Bihar Circle, Patna 800001

Vilas Ingale General Secretary Senior Postmaster Thane Head Post Office Thane 400601

Yadagiri G. Nyalapelli Treasurer ASP (T) o/o SSPOs, Mumbai East Division Mumbai 400014

No. GS/AIAIASP/39th-AIC-Jaipur/2015-16                       dated     18/12/2015

Notification

Under the provisions of article 25 of the Constitution of All India Association of Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents Posts, it is hereby notified that the Biennial 39th All India Conference of the Association will be held at Jaipur on 13^th and 14^th February, 2016.

Venue: Hotel Vesta International, Near Sun and Moon Chamber, Ajmer Pulia, Gopal Bari, Jaipur 302001.

Agenda :

1. Confirmation of the minutes of 38^th Biennial Conference held at Ahmedabad on 7^th and 8^th February 2016.

2. Approval of Annual Report of CHQ for the period from 7/2/2014 to 12/2/2016.
3. Approval of audited accounts of CHQ for the period from 7/2/2014 to 12/2/2016.  

4. Organisational Review

5. Subject matters for debate/discussion and decision thereon.
(a) Recommendations of Seventh Pay Commission.

(b) Cadre restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre

(c) Combined Seniority list of Inspector Posts

(d) CAT case Ernakulam Bench.

(e) Regular promotions to P.S. Gr. B cadre

(f)  Regular promotion to Dy. Manager, MMS

(h)  LDCE for the promotion to the cadre of P.S. Gr. B.

(i)  LDCE for the promotion to the cadre of Senior Postmaster.
(j)  Rule 38 transfer IP/ASP cadre.

(k) HSG-I (IP Line) post.

 (l) Revised RRs of PS Gr. B / Dy. Manager MMS / Asst. Manager MMS

(m) Combined Seniority list of Inspector Posts.

(n) Women & Youth participation in Association activities.
(o) Activities in association with PSI.

(p) Membership verification
(q) Any other subject with the approval of the chair.
6. Financial Review of CHQ
7. Membership subscription / CHQ quota
8. Approval for Draft Resolutions
9. Amendments to Constitution, if any.
10. Maintenance of CHQ Blog
11. Election of Office Bearers
12. Next All India Conference.

13. Next CWC meeting.

Following members are called as Special Invitees :

1.   Shri G. P. Lahiry, Ex-President CHQ and Rtd ASP, South Hooghly Division, Kolkatta.

2.   Shri Dinesh Khare, Ex-President CHQ and Dy. Chief Postmaster, Bangalore GPO, Bangalore 560001.

3.   Shri Janardhan Sharma, Ex-GS CHQ & Rtd SSPOs, Meerut Div, Meerut.

4.   Shri S. Samuel, Ex-GS CHQ and Retd. Sr. Postmaster, T.Nagar HO, Chennai.

5.   Shri Hari Mohan, Ex-CS Punjab and SPOs (HQ) Chandigarh Division, Chandigarh 160017.

6.   Shri Mukund S. Badwe, Ex-OGS CHQ, Ex-President Maharashtra Circle, President, POA Maharashtra & SSRM, AMSD, Mumbai 400099.

All CHQ office bearers, Circle Secretaries, special invitees and delegates are requested to attend.

Sd/-
(Vilas Ingale)
General Secretary

Copy forwarded for necessary action to :

1. Director General (Posts), SR Division, Dak Bhawan,Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110001

2. All Chief PMsG (through concerned Circle Secretaries) with the request to relive all office bearer, delegates and special invitees well in time.

3. Shri Amrendra Kumar President AIAIPASP &  ASP (Inv) o/o CPMG, Bihar Circle, Patna 800001.

4. All CHQ Office bearers / Circle Secretaries.

5. Special Invitees.

Hitachi keen to partner Postal Department for payments bank: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Japan-based Hitachi is keen to partner with Postal Department for payments bank solutions, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today. 

The President and CEO of IT Systems, Hitachi Ltd, Yutaka Saito, today called on the minister and discussed about the possibility of Hitachi offering its banking solutions in a revenue sharing model to the Postal Department. 

"I have heard them, they have already met the Postal Department people. I have asked them to make elaborate presentations. They have come with the idea of revenue sharing model to install the banking solutions in all the post offices in India. We will consider it," Prasad said after the meeting. 

"I have asked the Postal Department to work out the details," he added.  

Hitachi payment services offer banking solutions related to ATM, point of sale (POS), cash and deposit machines and card management solutions to all leading banks of the country. 

"They are very keen to parter with Postal Department for payments bank solutions in the vast network of India's postal operations across the country and in rural areas," Prasad said. 

The minister further said what is important is the technical upgradation of rural post offices to make payment bank a success. 

"I have assured them that with Digital India opening up in India in a big way, there is enough scope for products, marketing, consumer base and above all innovation," he added. 

The Reserve Bank granted in-principle approval to 11 applicants, including Postal Department, in August to set up payments banks. 

As per RBI guidelines, payments banks would offer a limited range of products such as demand deposits and remittances. They will not be allowed to undertake lending activities and will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs 1 lakh per individual customer. 

They will be allowed to issue ATM or debit cards as also other prepaid payment instruments, but not credit cards. 

Source:-The Economic Times