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Wish You a Very Very Happy & Prosperous New Year

NEW YEAR GREETINGS

Grant of Dearness Relief to Pensioners who are in receipt of provisional Pension - Revised rate effective from 1.7.2016

Grant of Dearness Relief to Pensioners who are in receipt of provisional Pension - Revised rate effective from 1.7.2016 on implementation of decision taken on recommendation of 7th Central Pay Commission.

Office Memorandum for Revision of Dearness Relief of Pensioners who are drawing Provisional Pension

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, New Delhi vide Office Memorandum dated 28.12.2016 has ordered that pensioners who are drawing provisional pension and whose provisional pension has been revised in accordance with the instructions mentioned in DOPT's Office Memorandum No. 38/49/2016- P&PW(A) dated 30.11.2016 would also be entitled to dearness relief on their revised provisional pension, in terms of DOPT's Office Memorandum No. 42/15/2016-P&PW(G) dated 16.11.2016, w.e.f. 1.7.2016.

Click Here to See Office Memorandum dated 28.12.2016

7th Pay Commission – New Allowances ‘Likely’ to be Paid from October 1 – This development comes days after the second meeting of the committee on allowances which was held on September 1.

7th Pay Commission – New Allowances ‘Likely’ to be Paid from October 1 – This development comes days after the second meeting of the committee on allowances which was held on September 1.

7th Pay Commission allowances for all central government employees under the new pay matrix will be implemented from October 1, 2016, a top Finance Ministry’s official told in anonymous.

Central Government employees will be receiving the revised allowances from October 1, 2016. The recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission covers some 48 lakh Central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners. “This development comes days after the second meeting of the committee on allowances which was held on September 1, following which the employees will now get the new allowances with their October salaries,” he said.

Under the chairmanship of Union Secretary, the Committee on Allowances met with representatives of the Central government unions on September 1. The committee is likely to submit its report to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley within a week.

The central government employees union leader Shiv Gopal Mishra also said after the meeting, “Let us believe that, after the meeting, report of the said committee would be sent to the Government of India for its acceptance.”

A press release issued by the government after the Cabinet approval to Pay Commission recommendations had said: “The 7th Pay Commission examined a total of 196 existing allowances and, by way of rationalisation, recommended the abolition of 51 allowances and subsuming of 37 allowances. Given the significant changes in the existing provisions for allowances which may have wide-ranging implications, the Cabinet decided to constitute a Committee headed by Finance Secretary for further examination of the recommendations of 7th pay commission on allowances.”

“Allowances contribute 63 percent in the pay hike recommendation. The allowances which the commission proposed is very substantial. So, the central government employees now get a little hike in pay but the finance ministry will soon move the Cabinet with changes in allowances providing for full compensation to the central government employees after getting the report from the committee on allowances,” said the official.

The sources indicate that no arrears for allowances will be paid, as per usual practice, the allowances would be paid from the date of implementation.

However, the central government employees unions demanded for implementation of the allowances with retrospective effect from January 2016.

Source: gconnect

Secy panel on 7th CPC to have key meeting on June 11; salary hikes unlikely to come in July : Zee News Report

Secy panel on 7th CPC to have key meeting on June 11; salary hikes unlikely to come in July : Zee News Report

New Delhi: The Empowered Committee of Secretaries (CoS) headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha processing the report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission is expected to meet on June 11 to finally wrap up its report on the remuneration of government employees.

It is reported that the secretaries panel will finally hear out all the stakeholders, including the Central ministries and Departments, and finalise its report, which will be handed over to the government on June 30.

Sources added that even the Prime Minister's Office is keen on a favourable pay hike for the central government employees, so the panel is likely to recommend a minimum salary at Rs 24,000 and the highest salary at Rs 2,70,000.

The 7th pay panel headed by AK Mathur had recommended the minimum salary at Rs 18,000 and maximum salary at Rs 2,50,000.

Sources added that the government is exploring options for meeting the additional payout over and above what was recommended by the 7th pay panel. The payout could be substantial with salary hike and arrears adding up to a Rs 1.02 lakh crore burden on government finances.

However, it seems that the government employees will have to wait more for the salary hike. Once the report moves from the table of the empowered group of committee to the cabinet, it is likely to take another month before the notification on pay hike will eventually come.

Even the Finance Ministry is keen that higher salaries reach government employees just before the festive season starting mid-August, as spurt in consumption during the festive period will have a domino effect on the economy.

Source: Zee News

7th Pay Commission: Govt employees to get higher pay scales than recommended earlier : Media Reports

7th Pay Commission: Govt employees to get higher pay scales than recommended earlier : Media Reports

  

New Delhi: This news will surely come like an icing on the cake for the central government employees.

As per media reports, a secretaries group is ready with its review on 7th Pay Commission. But it will submit its report once the elections get over.

The surprise element in the secretaries group review report is that it has pushed for higher pay than the recommendation made by the 7th Pay Commission.

Reports say that the secretaries group has recommended between Rs 2,70,000 and Rs 21,000 hike for the higher and the lower level. This is twenty thousand more in the upper limit prescribed by the 7th CPC and three thousand more in the lower level set by the commission.

It may be recalled that the government had set up a high-powered panel headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to process the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission which will have bearing on the remuneration of 47 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners.

The implementation of the new pay scales is estimated to put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the exchequer in 2016-17. Subject to acceptance by the government, they will take effect from January 1, 2016.

Source: Zeenews

Govt likely to implement 7th Pay Commission award around September-October : Media Reports

Govt likely to implement 7th Pay Commission award around September-October : Media Reports

New Delhi: The Central government employees will have to wait till September-October to get higher salaries under the 7th Pay Commission.

As per a Financial Express report, government is expecting that higher salaries released around the festival period starting with Durga Puja and Diwali will boost consumption, which will have a multiplier effect on the economy. 

Though the employees will get arrears with retrospective effect from January 1, no retrospective arrears in allowances will be given. With the move, the exchequer would be able to save around  Rs 11,000 crore. 

The commission had estimated the additional outgo in FY17 due to its award at R73,650 crore.

Source: Zee Business

Pay panel award may keep Railway cost optimisation under stress

Pay panel award may keep Railway cost optimisation under stress

Cost optimisation efforts of the Indian Railways will be under pressure this financial year due to implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, a top official has said.



"This fiscal, the cost optimisation move of the Railways will be under pressure owing to implementation of the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission," Sanjay Mookherjee, Financial Commissioner, Railway Board, told agency.


During 2015-16, he said, the Railways saved around Rs 12,000 crore, of which Rs 4,000 crore came from fuel.


The balance Rs 8,000 crore was from various austerity measures and also by way of increasing efficiency.


According to Mookherjee, the additional burden due to the Pay panel recommendations would be around Rs 30,000 crore per annum.


To meet this additional liability, the Indian Railways had built a corpus for the last three years through developing certain funds. "Part of the liability will be met from these funds and the balance through internal resource generation," he let out.


However, he made it clear that development and expansion of the Railways would not be hit as the resources were provided by the government while LIC had offered Rs 1.5 lakh crore.


The LIC funds will be used to develop infrastructure and the Railways and has a servicing period of 30 years.


Through additional resource generation, the target for finances this year was to increase 10.1 per cent to Rs 1.85 lakh crore from the earlier Rs 1.67 lakh crore.


Besides, IRFC will raise Rs 20,000 crore from the market during 2016-17, the Commissioner said. During the year, the Railways is expected to mobilise a substantial chunk of funds through dynamic pricing, realisation from freight by widening the basket of commodities and higher containerisation.



The Railways would also operate a cold chain infrastructure through a separate subsidiary called Translog, he added.

Source: MoneyControl

Discontinuation of Interview at Lower Level Post : DOPT Released a Note

Discontinuation of Interview at Lower Level Post : DOPT Released a Note

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

He has called upon the Government Organizations' to end this practice at the earliest as it will help in curbing corruption, more objective selection in transparent manner substantially easing the problems of poor people. 

He has emphasized that the recruitment should be made on merit basis through transparent, online processes leading to less Government and more Governance. 

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

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

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

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

The matter has also been taken up with the State Governments/UTs to undertake similar exercise, from time to time. In this regard letters from Secretary (Personnel) to the State Chief Secretaries have been issued on 4th September 2015 and letters from MoS (PP) to the State Chief Ministers have been issued on 29 th September 2015 and 1 st January, 2016. 

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

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

Read Full Note regarding Discontinuation of Interview at Lower Level Post issued by DOPT 

DA LETTER ISSUED BY FINANCE MINISTRY FOR CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES @ 125% FROM JANUARY, 2016.

DA LETTER ISSUED BY FINANCE MINISTRY FOR CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES @ 125% FROM JANUARY, 2016.

CLICK HERE TO SEE LETTER

7th Pay Commission: Central government employees will have to wait more : Media Reports

7th Pay Commission: Central government employees will have to wait more : Media Reports

New Delhi: In what could upset millions of central government employees, the implementation recommendations of 7th Pay Commission may be further delayed.

As per New Indian Express report, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries “wants to address various concerns” raised by the Joint Consultative Machinery before “taking a final call on the recommendations of the commission”.

The high-powered panel headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to process the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission will have bearing on the remuneration of 47 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners.

The implementation of the new pay scales is estimated to put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the exchequer in 2016-17. Subject to acceptance by the government, they will take effect from January 1, 2016.



Source: zeenews

Wait for 7th Pay Commission Bonanza Gets a Little Longer : Indian Express News

Wait for 7th Pay Commission Bonanza Gets a Little Longer : Indian Express News

NEW DELHI: Central government employees have to wait a little longer for the 7th pay Commission bonanza announced in November last year, as the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) headed by Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha wants to address various concerns raised by the Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) before taking a final call on the recommendations of the commission. The empowered committee with 12 secretaries on board was set up on January 27 to process the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

In a recent meeting attended by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar with Cabinet Secretary and others, JCM representatives raised the concerns over pay commission recommendations on minimum pay and allowances saying it will cause difficulty to the employees.

It is learnt that the Cabinet Secretary also asked the E-CoS members to hold interactions with their staff associations and other stakeholders to expedite the process.

“Cabinet Secretary assured that fair consideration will be given to all points brought out by JCM before taking a final view. He also said that E-CoS needs to examine the report of the commission in entirety as well as the issues raised by JCM in consultation with all other stakeholders. It may take some time to take some time to take a final call on the recommendations of the commission,” a government note said.

The empowered committee was told by staff representatives that the minimum pay of Rs.18,000 pm recommended by the pay commission was on the lower side and needed to be revised upward by taking into account inflation and appropriately considering social obligations and housing of the staff.

A major concern has been raised with Cabinet Secretary on the new pension scheme saying that it should be done away with. The staff associations have argued that employees governed by the National Pension Scheme are deprived of family pension and do not have the provision of provident fund.

Source: Indian Express

7th Pay Commission Pay Structures Likely To Be Revised : The Sen Times

7th Pay Commission Pay Structures Likely To Be Revised : The Sen Times


New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha who is heading the high-powered secretaries committee to examine the report of the 7th Pay Commission is likely to revise pay structures of central government employees before handing over it to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in June.

“We don’t think secretaries committee will be able to hand over proposal to Finance Minister before June, considering time taking process of Implementation Cell in the Finance Ministry which works as the Secretariat of the secretaries committee to review demands submitted by the central government employees unions. However, the new pay structure will be effective from January 1,” sources further said.

The Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur presented its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in November.

The Commission had proposed minimum pay to Rs 18,000 per month but the secretaries committee is likely to propose to make it Rs 20,ooo, they added.

However, central government employees unions demanded minimum pay Rs 26,000. “we think it should not be touched to Rs 26,ooo,” they confirmed.

Once the minimum pay is hiked, salaries of 48 lakh central government employees will rise than the seventh Pay Commission recommendations.

They said everyone’s salary should be ‘automatically’ increased when the minimum pay is increased.

They said it was ‘natural’ for the secretaries committee to recommend to hike maximum basic pay proposed by the pay panel. “It also happened before.”

The government formed the 13 members of Empowered Committee of Secretaries headed by Sinha on January 13 to review the report of the Justice A K Mathur-led Pay Commission.

The secretaries of Home, Defence, department of personnel and training, pension and PW, revenue, expenditure, posts, health, and science and technology. Chairman of Railway Board, Deputy CAG and Secretary (Security) in the Cabinet Secretariat are also members of Empowered Committee of Secretaries headed by Sinha.

The Seventh Pay Commission led by Justice A K Mathur was set up by the UPA government in February 2014.

After getting the report, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, the impact of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations would be an increase of 0.65 percentage on expenditure on salaries to GDP compared to 0.77 per cent in 6th Pay Commission.

However, he said, government had requisite fund to implement it.

Source: TST

6 PERCENT DA TO CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES IS REALLY A HOLI GIFT BY THE GOVERNMENT

6 PERCENT DA TO CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES IS REALLY A HOLI GIFT BY THE GOVERNMENT

DECLARATION OF SIX PERCENT DEARNESS ALLOWANCE TO CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES W.E.F. 1ST JANUARY 2016 IS REALLY A HOLI GIFT BY THE GOVERNMENT

CLICK TO SEE NEWS

PAY COMMISSION REPORT LIKELY IN JUNE 2016 : MEDIA SOURCES

PAY COMMISSION REPORT LIKELY IN JUNE 2016 : MEDIA SOURCES

Pay Commission Award To Get Cabinet Nod In June: PMO

New Delhi: The Seventh pay commission award for central government employees will be placed for cabinet’s nod in June after the completion of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry states assemblies’ poll process, the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) official said on Thursday.

The proposal is almost ready to be recommended by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries on the Seventh pay commission recommendation, according to the PMO official.

There were some disputes among the central government employees’ bodies about the Pay Commission recommendations, which are under consideration of secretaries committee.

Following the context, the finance ministry sent an interim report on the proposed pay structure, including the disputes surrounding it, to the PMO.

PMO sent it back to the ministry with instruction to address the genuine concerns raised by stakeholders and accommodate their demands as much as possible. After these processes, it will be sent to the cabinet in June, the official said.

Although, there is indication that the Empowered Committee is also positively mulling the demand of central government employees for hiking the minimum pay, which was recommended very low by the Seventh pay commission and removing anomalies of Seventh pay commission recommendations like scrapping of advances, allowances.

It is likely to take another 45 to 60 days to settle the issue, in the main time, the model code of conduct, which is currently in place for five states assemblies’ poll, which will end May 21, so,that’s the right time to implement the Seventh pay commission award in June, according to the official.

This means although the new pay structure is to be in place since July 1, the central government employees may start drawing the increased salaries from January with arrears of the previous six months. But the House Rent Allowance (HRA) will be paid from the date of the Seventh pay commission award implementation.

The Seventh Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur recommended the minimum basic pay of central government employees is Rs 18,000 per month while the maximum is Rs 2.25 lakh per month, its increased the pay gap between the minimum and maximum from existing 1:12 to 1: 13.8.

“All pay commissions made up pay gap between employees and higher officers from second Pay Commission 1:41 ratio to Sixth pay commission 1:12, except it,” said the official.

Sources: The Sen Times

7th Pay Commission report bill: Centre does not budget for 25% of amount : Financial Express

7th Pay Commission report bill: Centre does not budget for 25% of amount : Financial Express

Report of Financial Express : 

CLICK HERE TO SEE REPORT..........................

Partial solar eclipse in India tomorrow: Here’s how and where to watch : The Indian Express

Partial solar eclipse in India tomorrow: Here’s how and where to watch : The Indian Express

India might not be getting the total solar eclipse on Wednesday, but people in the Northeast and Eastern coastal strip of the sub-continent will be able to get a partial view of the spectacle. Here is a map of all the places in India where people can see the partial solar eclipse on March 9:  

However, a partial solar eclipse does not come with lesser risks for those who view it with their naked eyes. Here is what you need to do if you want to catch a glimpse:

Do’s:

# Use protective eye wear, such as welder’s glasses (rating not less than 14) and a solar filter of optical density 5 or more

# Homemade pinhole camera is the safest way to watch an eclipse

# Use a solar filter to protect your DSLR camera sensor

# Use a high ISO setting and high resolution — to keep exposures very short and prevent blurring from vibrations

DON’Ts:

# Use ordinary sunglasses, smoked glass, X-ray film, stacks of negative film to view the eclipse

# Look directly at the sun with your camera/eyes unless both are protected, even if the eclipse in partial. It can burn your eyes

# Take photos of the eclipse without using special protective filters, it again can burn your eyes and harm the camera

Source: The Indian Express

Seventh Pay Commission: Employees threaten indefinite stir : The Hindu

Seventh Pay Commission: Employees threaten indefinite stir : The Hindu

The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, including workers in the railways and defence services, has threatened to go on an indefinite strike from April 11. The workers are demanding, among other things, approval of their demand on the Seventh Pay Commission. The workers also demanded that the Union government should roll back its policy of privatisation of public sector units and that the move to engage contract workers should end.

The protesting workers also alleged that the government was engaged in bringing about anti-worker labour policies and that the participatory pension programme should be abandoned by the government.

— Special Correspondent

Source: The Hindu

Seventh Pay Commission: Good News! Govt won't scrap existing facilities, allowances : Media Reports

Seventh Pay Commission:
Good News! Govt won't scrap existing
facilities, allowances

New Delhi, Mar 4: After dropping enough hint that Government is all set to implement the recommendations of Seventh Pay Commission soon, here is yet another good news for central government employees.

According to Finance Ministry sources, Government won't be making any changes in the existing advances and facilities, enjoyed by Central government employees. Pay commission had suggested abolition of many privileges and facilities including risk allowance, small family allowance, festival advance and motor cycle advance etc in its recommendations.

Reportedly, employees associations and Trade Unions were not happy with the suggestions by the pay commission. They had requested government to make its stand clear on it. Reportedly, Finance Ministry was constantly in touch with PMO over the same. Finally PMO said that it doesn't want to disappoint government staff. A Finance Ministry sources was quoted by a news website as saying, "The PMO has sent its directive and it says that existing privileges cannot be curtailed. Betterment must be done for central government employees by protecting the current facilities".

Earlier, Government in its Budget document made the announcement that pay Commission will be implemented during the financial year 2016-17. Centre further said the once-in-a-decade pay hike has been built in as interim allocation for different ministries and budget numbers were credible. The voluminous budget documents state that "the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission due from January 1, 2016 is to be implemented during the financial year 2016-17 as also the revised One Rank One Pension scheme for Defence services." "The government has made provisions for the additional liabilities on these count," it said, without giving the amount allocated for implementation.

Source : OneIndia News

What Economic Survey 2016 Says about 7th Pay Commission Report Implementation.

What Economic Survey 2016 Says about 7^th Pay Commission Report Implementation.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday presented the Economic Survey in parliament. The government has said that the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission which has a bearing on the common man, has stated that it will not impact market price volatality.

According to report, increase in wages recommended by the 7th Pay Commission is unlikely to destabilise prices and will have little impact on inflation.

The Economic Survey for 2015-16 tabled in Parliament said despite high volatility in global financial markets, the Indian stock market has the higher ability to overcome adversity compared to global stock markets.

According to the survey, as the global financial system will stabilize, India will become the leading investment destination. Also, the country's strong economic fundamentals will continue to invest in the stock market.

According to the Economic Survey, "Most of the time, the current year remained financially stable and inflation remained within the central bank target of 4-6%.

The 7th Pay Commission has recommended a 23.55% hike in salary, allowances and pension, involving an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, to central government employees and pensioners. If the government accepts this recommendation, it would it destabilise prices and inflation expectations?

Most likely, it will not," the survey, tabled in Parliament, said.

Citing the example of implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, the pre-Budget document said the 7th Pay Commission award barely registered on inflation despite the lumpiness of the award, owing to the grant of arrears.

The survey noted that the wage bill (including for railways) will go up by around 52% under the Seventh Pay Commission, which was 70% under the 6th Pay Commission.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/

What Economic Survey 2016 Says about 7th Pay Commission Report Implementation.

Pay Commission Bonanza May Force Jaitley To Cut Capital Spending : Media Report

Report published in profit.ndtv.com is reproduced below :

Pay Commission Bonanza May Force Jaitley To Cut Capital Spending: Report

New Delhi: A $16 billion (Rs. 1.1 lakh crore) pay rise for government employees and costly food and farm programmes could force Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to cut capital spending in its annual budget, officials and economists say.

The spending pressure on Jaitley threatens to worsen imbalances in India's $2 trillion economy as consumption outpaces investment.



A populist budget, ahead of assembly elections in four states this year, could stoke inflation even as structural measures such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed tax and labour reforms look less likely.

It could also eat into capital spending needed for railways, roads, ports and power projects, seen as vital to India's integration into the global economy.

"It is not going to be a revolutionary or inspirational (budget) ... given the spending pressures," said Shilan Shah at Capital Economics. "It is most likely to lead to a sell-off in the bond market if the salary increase is implemented."

Jaitley presents his third budget on February 29 and is expected to implement the recommendations of a government commission to raise pay for 1 crore government workers and pensioners by 23.5 per cent.

While that hike would boost demand, economists question whether a policy dating back to an era of double-digit inflation is justified today, when Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has driven consumer price growth below 6 per cent.

Officials with direct knowledge of budget discussions said Jaitley could raise taxes on services and petroleum products to help cover the extra outlays.

He would still have some room to ease tax rules on foreign investment and hit his deficit target of 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product in the 2016/17 fiscal year.

COSTLY PROMISES

The promised pay hike, an increase in food subsidies and a new crop insurance scheme for farmers would cost at leastRs. 1.2 lakh crore ($17.5 billion) - equivalent to 0.9 per cent of forecast GDP in 2015/16.

India's cash-strapped state railways, which employ 13 lakh, are also seeking central funds to cover higher pay - squeezing its investment budget and creating pressure to hike fares. Most of India's 29 states will raise wages soon.

Rajan, who cut policy rates by 125 basis points in 2015, has said the pay commission award, if implemented, could lead to higher inflation for one to two years.

Much depends on the timing of the government pay rises, which sources say could take retroactive effect on January 1, 2016. Economists and ratings agencies say the fiscal deficit target may have to be raised to 3.8 per cent of GDP to cover the hike.

LOSING PATIENCE

Analysts say the country's finances and economic performance, a rare bright spot for emerging markets over the past two years, are now under close investor scrutiny.

Foreign investors have been net sellers of Indian stocks and bonds this year, erasing all of the gains in the Sensex since Modi's landslide general election victory in May 2014.

Despite the windfall of low oil prices, half of which was clawed back through higher energy taxes, India's consolidated fiscal deficit exceeds 6 per cent of GDP and the national debt, at 68 per cent, is high by emerging market standards.

And although growth is forecast at 7.6 per cent in the current fiscal year, India's banks are hobbled by growing bad debts and do not have the means to fund new growth projects. ($1 = 68.6023 rupees)

Pay Commission Bonanza May Force Jaitley To Cut Capital Spending: Media Report

SEE OUTCOME OF NATIONAL JOINT COUNCIL OF ACTION MEETING WITH IMPLEMENTATION CELL REGARDING PAY COMMISSION ON 19.02.2016

SEE OUTCOME OF NATIONAL JOINT COUNCIL OF ACTION MEETING WITH IMPLEMENTATION CELL REGARDING PAY COMMISSION ON 19.02.2016

7th Pay Commission Meeting on Charter of Demands fixed on 19.02.2016

7th Pay Commission Meeting on Charter of Demands fixed on 19.02.2016

NJCA


National Joint Council of Action
4, State Entry Road, New Delhi

No. NJCA/2016

Dated: 15.02.2016

Dear Comrades,

Sub : MTG with Convener Implementation Cell 7th CPC

I met today sh. R.K. Chaturvedi Jt. Secretary (Convener 7th CPC Implementation cell) and informally told him about anguish of central government employees about retro grade recommendation of 7th CPC.

Convener Implementation Cell has fixed a meeting on 19th February, 2016 at 11.00 hrs. in the FRESCO MTG Room (168-D), North Block. Before this meeting we would like to hold an Internal Meeting at 5.00 pm on 18th February, 2016 in JCM Office, 13-C Ferozshah Road New Delhi to decide about common issues as well as Departmental issues.

Hope all of you will make it convenient to attend above.

With fraternal greetings,

Comradely Yours,

(Shiv Gopal Mishra)
Convener




By Special Messenger


F.No. 30-3/2016-IC


Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Expenditure
Implementation Cell

R No. 217, Hotel Ashok, New Delhi

Dated : 15th February, 2016




To
Shri Shiva Gopal Mishra,
Convener,
National Joint Council of Action,
4, State Entry Road,
New Delhi – 110055




Subject : 7th CPC recommendations and Charter of Demands of NJCA-Revision in the date of meeting -Reg.

Sir,

In partial modification of this Office letter of even number dated 12.02.2016 on the above subject it is intimated that the said meeting with the representative of the National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) which was earlier scheduled on 17th February, 2016 at 3.00 P.M. will now be held on 19th February, 2016 at 11.00 AM in the FRESCO Meeting Room (168-D), Ministry of Finance, North Block, New Delhi.

2. You are again requested to invite all the constituents/representative of NJCA, including the representatives of all major Ministries/Departments in this meeting.




Thanking you




Yours faithfully,

(Ram Gopal)
Under Secretary (IC-I)
Tel: 261 16647




Charter of Demands




1. Settle the issues raised by the NJCA on the recommendations of the 7 CPC sent to Cabinet Secretary vide letter dated 10th December 2015.

2. Remove the injustice done in the assignment of pay scales to technical/safety categories etc. in Railways& Defence, different categories in other Central Govt establishments by the 7 CPC.

3. Scrap the PFRDA Act and NPS and grant Pension/family Pension to all CG employees under CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 & Railways Pension Rules, 1993.

4-i) No privatization/outsourcing/contractorisation of governmental functions.

ii) Treat GDS as Civil Servants and extend proportional benefit on pension and allowances to the GDS.

5. No FDI in Railways & Defence; No corporatization of Defence Production Units and Postal Department.

6. Fill up all vacant posts in the government departments, lift the ban on creation of posts; regularize the casual/contract workers. 

7. Remove ceiling on compassionate ground appointments.

8. Extend the benefit of Bonus Act,1965 amendment on enhancement of payment ceiling to the adhoc Bonus/PLB of Central Government employees with effect from the Financial year 2014-15.


9. Ensure Five promotions in the service career of an employee.

10. Do not amend Labour Laws in the name of Labour Reforms which will take away the existing benefits to the workers.

11. Revive JCM functioning at all levels.

Source- http://ncjcmstaffside.com/

DOPT Issued Office Memorandum regarding Delegation of powers to extend deputation tenure upto 7 years

DOPT Issued Office Memorandum regarding Delegation of powers to Ministries / Departments/Borrowing Organisations to extend deputation tenure upto 7 years in cases of Deputations covered by DoP&T's OM No. 6/8/2009-Est(Pay-11) dated 17th June 2010 vide Office Memorandum dated 17.02.2016.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OM

Trade unions seek doubling of I-T exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh : Media Reports

Trade unions seek doubling of I-T exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh : Media Reports

In their pre-Budget memorandum, trade unions asked the central government to double the minimum income tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh, fix minimum monthly wage at Rs 18,000 and raise the basic monthly pension to Rs 3,000 for all workers.

“The income tax exemption limit has to be raised to at least Rs 5 lakh as recommended by Yashwant Sinha Committee as food inflation is sky high,” Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) zonal organisation secretary Pawan Kumar said after meeting finance minister Arun Jaitley and other officials.

 BMS has also demanded a minimum wage of workers should be Rs 18,000/month after the 7th Pay Commission recommended it to be the lowest scale for central government employees, Kumar said.

 Other suggestions of the unions include need for taking effective and timely measures to keep prices especially of food items under control, strengthening of social security schemes for the workers, extension of National Pension System to the workers of unorganised sector.

 The unions have also asked that fringe benefits like housing, medical and educational facilities and running allowances in railways should be exempted from Income Tax. They also demanded that PSUs should be strengthened and expanded and the disinvestment of government shares in profit making PSUs should be stopped.

 Among others, the pre-Budget meeting was attended by Vrijesh Upadhyay (BMS), Rajender Prasad Singh (INTUC), AL Sachdev (AITUC), Harbhajan Singh Sidhu (HMS), Tapan Sen, (CITU), and Sankar Saha (AIUTUC).

In his remark, Jaitley said one of the major priorities of the government is to make health and social security benefits accessible to unorganised sector workers.

Source: Financial Express

GOOD NEWS : 30% PAY HIKE MAY BE RECOMMENDED BY EMPOWERED COMMITTEE OF SECRETARIES : MEDIA REPORTS

GOOD NEWS : 30% PAY HIKE MAY BE RECOMMENDED BY EMPOWERED COMMITTEE OF SECRETARIES : MEDIA REPORTS

New Delhi: Empowered Committee of Secretaries processing the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission(7thCPC) in an overall perspective, are likely to double the percentage of pay hike recommended by the pay commission.

As per reports, central government employees are likely to expect basic pay hike of around 30%, which will be effective January 1, 2016.

The 7th central pay commission in its report submitted in November 2015 had recommended a pay hike of 23.55% for central government employees, with the highest basic salary at Rs 250,000 and the lowest at Rs 18,000.

The employees have been protesting that the hike in totality is only 14.27%, the lowest in 70 years., and are mulling over to go on an indefinite strike from 11 April.

Arguably, even the 6th CPC had recommended a 20 percent hike on the basic pay, which was revised to 40 percent at the time of implementation in 2008.

The 7th CPC , with its recommendations, is expected to cause an annual burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the exchequer, which would last for two to three years.

The notification to announce the pay commission award is expected in the budget.

Source : http://zeenews.india.com/