CAT CASE UPDATE

Dear Members,

                        The CAT Ernakulam posted the case to 10-3-2014 and fined Rs.2000/- to DOPT for the delay in filing reply and given ultimatum to submit reply by 10-3-2014.



                          Members are also requested  to furnish their names and details while commending.  As anonymous comments will not be published.


SG

CABINET APPROVED MERGER OF 50% DA WITH PAY AND 7TH PAY COMMISSION TERMS OF REFERENCE

CABINET APPROVED MERGER OF 50% DA WITH PAY AND 7TH PAY COMMISSION TERMS OF REFERENCE

New Delhi, Feb 20: Ahead of general election, the Centre today took key decisions to woo minorities and Government employees.

For minorities, the Cabinet has decided to form equal opportunity commission as suggested by Sachhar Committee. This commission will suggest ways to ensure equal opportunities in jobs, education and even finding house on rent for minorities. The commission is expected to be constituted soon.

Terms of reference for 7th pay commission

In order to benefit over 50 lakh employees and over 30 lakh pensioners, the Cabinet alsoapproved terms of reference for seventh pay commission. This includes merging dearness allowance above 50 per cent with basic pay. Currently DA is around 90 per cent of basic pay and another hike of 10 per cent is expected soon. DA is calculated on the basis of change in retail inflation.

Non-statutory coal regulator

In another significant decision, the Cabinet gave its nod for setting up non-statutory coal regulator. This mechanism is expected to resolve the disputes between coal and power companies.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved payment of salary and other dues to HMT. This will entail an expenditure of over Rs. 77 crore.

Nod for Rs. 8,000 cr foreign investment

The CCEA also approved foreign investment of approximately Rs. 8,000 crore. It gave its nod to the proposal for acquisition of 100 per cent equity stake in Prizm Payment Services Pvt Ltd by Hitachi Consulting Software Services India Pvt Ltd and Hitachi Ltd, Japan. The approval would result in foreign investment of approximately Rs. 1,540 crore in the country.

Similarly, the committee approved the proposal of GlaxoSmithKline Pte Ltd, Singapore for the acquisition of 24.33 per cent of shares in the existing Indian subsidiary company of the GSK Group in India by way of a voluntary open offer under SEBI (SAST) Regulations in the pharmaceutical sector. This would result in foreign investment of approximately Rs. 6,390 crore in the country.

Govt likely to increase and merge dearness allowance with basic pay

Feb 20, 2014

Govt likely to increase and merge dearness allowance with basic pay

Government may increase and merge dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay with the Union Cabinet expected to include the proposal as part of the terms of reference of the 7th pay commission. 

The move will facilitate announcement of interim relief to more than 50 lakh government employees and 30 lakh pensioners by the newly-constituted pay commission before the code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls come into force. 

Central government employees unions have been demanding that besides raising DA to 100%, the government should revise the pay and merge DA with basic pay, considering market inflation and price hike of essential commodities.

As per practice, DA is merged with basic pay when it breaches the 50% mark. DA merger helps employees as their other allowances are paid as a proportion of basic pay. 

An official said if merger of 50% DA with basic pay was decided, it could lead to hike in salary by around 30-35%. He added that there were instances of announcing interim relief to employees apart from DA by a newly constituted pay commission prior to their implementation. 

Merger of 50% DA with basic pay was done in the 5th pay commission, but the 6th commission did not recommended it. 

The Centre is expected to announce next month a hike in dearness allowance by 10% which would make it 100% of basic pay. It will be the second double digit DA hike in a row as the government had announced a hike of 10% in September last year, effective from July 1, 2013. 

An official said hike in DA will not be less than 10% and would be effective from January 1 this year. 

Source:-The Times of India

OA 709/2013 - Filed by Confederation of Central Government Stenographers Association, HQ Kerala - Present position.

17 February 2014

OA 709/2013 - Filed by Confederation of Central Government Stenographers Association, HQ Kerala - Present position.

CAT PARITY CASE UPDATE

Dear  Members,

                          Our  parity case will come for next hearing on 20th February 2014.  The CAT  fine DOPT Rs.2000/- as fine for not filing reply statement  and given four weeks time only to reply that is on 20th February 2014.  Let us hope for the best,


Harisuthan
Secretary General

Regulation of pay on imposition of a penalty under CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965.

Regulation of pay on imposition of a penalty under CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965.

To view Department of Personnel & Training OM No.6/3/2013-Estt (Pay-I) dated 06-02-2014 please Click Here.

Recovery of wrongful/excess payments made to Government servants.

To view DoPT OM No. 18/26/ 2011-Estt (Pay-I)  dated 06-02-2014 please Click Here.

08 Feb, 2014 12:37p.m.

The standing committee of Parliament on social justice and empowerment have recommended the government to raise the retirement of the employees age to 65 years. The recommendations is based on the fact that growing lifespan was adding to the need for "productive ageing". 

The recommendation for increase in retirement age comes with a reminder that senior citizens would form 12.4% of the total population in 2026 from 7.5% in 2001. 

"The committee feels that with the increase in life expectancy and relatively better state of health of people, the government needs to look at continuity of employment up to 65 years," said the report.

It also recommended that government look at greater post-retirement opportunities for senior citizens and create greater financial support. 

While suggesting immediate redressal for the ageing population, the panel sought to train the government's focus on the 60-plus group by pointing out that its growing numbers would be a serious challenge in health and social care. 

Specifically, it underlined that as per population projections, the 80-plus bloc, the most-vulnerable group, would see a sharper rise in numbers. 

The urgency of parliamentarians towards senior citizens comes amid growing global realization that increasing lifespan is creating a new demographic bloc requiring state intervention. 

Seeking government attention, the committee noted that senior citizens comprised 7.5% of the total population in 2001 but their share is likely to increase to 12.4% in 2026. Importantly, UN projections say while India's population will rise by 55% by 2050, that of 60-plus would increase by 326% and that of 80-plus would go up by 700%. 

The panel said special focus should be on the octogenarian bloc. "This age group is the most vulnerable and runs the risk of getting dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson disease, depression in their older years," it said, and asked the Centre to constitute an expert group of relevant government departments to devise specialized healthcare programme for them

Views/suggestion for VII CPC memorandum

Dear Members,

                          Members from across the country are sending their views on submitting our  memorandum to the CPC.  Few points received are given below for discussion.


   1.          Few members suggest  elimination of  grade pay and  restoring pay scale system

   2.          Merger of Grade-II and I (5000-5500 to GP Rs.4200/-) is felt to be great blow to
                our promotional scopes.  In the past Grade-I stenos were equal scale with Group
                B gazetted,  After merger of  Grade-II and I with less grade pay we are the loser.
                This  anomally should be set right.

3.             Getting equal grade pay  with CSSS

4.            Enhancing the  salary of Grade-III(Now grade-II) Stenographer.

5.            Improving the promotional opportunities to Stenographers.

6.            Change of nomenclature  as Executive Secretary/Sr.Executive Secy, etc with change in
               the duties  ie., taking more responsibility in the administration instead of sidelining us
               as is enjoyed by Stenographers in companies, ie, more promotional/responsibilities in
                managerial capacity in the changing scenario

               These are  few suggestions/views received from our members.  I request all to comment, submit their views/suggestions for preparation of the draft memorandum to be submitted to the CPC.


M.Harisuthan,Secretary General V

7th Pay Commission - Chairman and Members' profile.

05 February 2014

7th Pay Commission - Chairman and Members' profile.

7TH PAY COMMISSION – CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS’ PROFILE

The much awaited appointment of Chairman, members and secretary for 7th Pay Commission has been officially made by Central Government as per the Statement of Finance Minsiter Shri. P.Chidambaram yesterday. As per FM’s Statement Shri Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur (Retired Judge of the Supreme Courtand Retired Chairman, Armed Forces Tribunal) will be the Chairman of 7th Pay Commission constituted by Government in the month of September 2013.

 Shri Vivek Rae, (Secretary, Petroleum & Natural Gas) will be holding charge of Member (Full Time) of 7th Pay Commission. Dr.Rathin Roy (Director, NIPFP) will be the part time Member. Secretary of 7th Pay Commission will be Smt.Meena Agarwal who is Officer on Special Duty in Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.

This 7th Pay Commission would study the pay and allowances as well as Central Government Pension for each cadre in all Central Government Departments and would file a detailed report to the Government recommending the quantum of revision in pay scale considering the nature of work.

A brief on the profile of 7th Pay Commission Chairman and Members is as follows:

Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, Chairman of 7th Pay Commission:

Mr. Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, M.A.,L.L.B – was born on August 7, 1943 . He was enrolled as an Advocate of the Rajasthan High Court on October 20, 1967 . He was appointed as Assistant Government Advocate and Deputy Government Advocate on August 2, 1969 and Government Advocate of Jodhpur from January 31, 1977 to July 12, 1978 . Appointed as Additional Advocate General in 1981. He was appointed as Additional Judge on July 13, 1985 and permanent Judge of the Rajasthan High Court on July 23, 1986 . He was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court on February 18, 1994

§                  He was appointed as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court from February 3, 1996 . Transferred to the Calcutta High Court on December 22, 1999 .

§                  He was elevated as Judge , Supreme Court of India on June 7, 2004.
§                  Retired on August 7, 2008 (F.N)

 Shri.Vivek Rae, Member (Full Time) 7th Pay Commission:

Mr. Vivek Rae took over as Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in the month of February, 2013.

Mr. Vivek Rae entered the Indian Administrative Service in 1978, a brief stint as a Management Trainee with Hindustan Lever Limited (subsidiary of Unilever Limited). As a civil servant, Mr. Rae has acquired wide ranging experience cutting across social and economic sectors, including health, education, planning and finance. Mr. Rae served as Deputy Commissioner in the state of Arunachal Pradesh from 1985 to 1988 which is the cutting edge of government administration for delivery of development programmes at the field level, combined with magisterial responsibilities for law and order. Mr. Rae served briefly at the Prime Minister’s Office during 1989-90 and thereafter worked as Assistant Resident Representative with the United National Development Programme, New Delhi from 1991-1995, with responsibility for Industry, Trade and Technology programmes. Mr. Rae worked as Finance Secretary and Planning Secretary in the state of Goa during 1996-1999, Planning Secretary in the National Capital Territory of Delhi during 1999-2001 and Joint Secretary (Plan Finance) in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India during 2002-2006. The assignment in the Ministry of Finance entailed responsibilities for appraisal and review of major development programmes and investment decisions of the Government of India.

As Chief Secretary of Andaman & Nicobar Islands (2008-2010), the highest ranking civil servant leading an administration of more than 20000 employees, Mr. Rae was charged with responsibilities for overall coordination, policy formulation and implementation of programmes across the entire spectrum of development activities including health, education industries, labour, agriculture & animal husbandry, fisheries, forests, tribal welfare,social welfare, tourism, shipping, ports, public works and other activities. The responsibilities also included direct oversight for matters relating to internal security, coastal security and police administration.

Earlier, Mr. Rae served as Director General (Acquisition) in the Ministry of Defense of the Government of India, during 2010-12 with responsibilities for modernization of the Indian Armed Forces, handling a budget of about US$ 10-13 billion per annum. Mr. Rae was posted briefly as Secretary, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, prior to taking up the current assignment.

 Shri.Rathin Roy, Part Time Member, 7th Pay Commission

Shri Rathin Roy took charge as Director NIPFP in May 2013. Prior to joining NIPFP, he has been the Director of Asia Pacific Regional Centre, UNDP, Bangkok, and the Director, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), UNDP, Brazil. He has also served as the Public Resource Management Advisor, and the Acting Cluster Leader, Inclusive Development, in the Poverty Practice, Bureau for Development Policy (BDP), UNDP. On invitation from the Government of India, he also served as the Economic Advisor to the Thirteenth Finance Commission, a Constitutional body of the Government of India. He has worked in over 80 countries during and prior to his tenure with UNDP, and is a well known figure in the world of applied macroeconomic and fiscal policy.

He holds a PhD in Economics and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, UK. Post-PhD, he was tenured in the Economics Faculty at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and an Economist with the Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester.

Smt.Meena Agarwal, Secretary, 7th Pay Commission:

Smt. Meena Agarwal is a 1981 batch IRAS officer and wife of Shri OP Agarwal, a 1979 batch ex-IAS, who is now in a senior position at World Bank.

Smt. Meena Agarwal is presently Officer on Special Duty, Procurement Policy Division, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance

Chairman and Members of 7th Central Pay Commission

MERGER OF DA WITH BASIC PAY FOR CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES – DAINIK BHASKAR NEWS.

Dainik Bhasker has recently reported that Central Government is likely to merge 50% of DA with Basic Pay of Central Government Employees.

Dainik Bhaskar has also reported that DA merger might be announced in the next fortnight after vote on account in the Parliament.

In the event of DA merger with Basic pay it would additional amount of around Rs. 20,000 crores.

Dainik Bhaskar reports as follows

50 फीसदी डीए को मूल वेतन में जल्द ही मर्ज करने की है तैयारी

38 लाख कर्मियों, 25 लाख पेंशन- भोगियों को लुभाने की कवायद

20 हजार करोड़ का अतिरिक्त बोझ पड़ेगा सरकारी खजाने पर

केंद्र सरकार के कर्मचारियों और पेंशनरों तथा इनके परिवारजनों के तकरीबन ढाई करोड़ वोटों पर अब सरकार की नजर है। तकरीबन 38 लाख कर्मचारियों और 25 लाख पेंशनभोगियों को लुभाने के लिए शीघ्र ही 50 फीसदी महंगाई भत्ता (डीए) को मूल वेतन में मर्ज करने की तैयारी है।

इसका फैसला अगले पखवाड़े हो सकता है। यदि ऐसा हुआ तो सरकारी खजाने पर लगभग 20,000 करोड़ रुपये का अतिरिक्त बोझ पड़ेगा।

इसे ट्रेड यूनियन से जुड़े पदाधिकारियों का दबाव कहें, रेलवे समेत सभी केंद्रीय कर्मचारियों के अनिश्चितकालीन हड़ताल की धमकी या फिर ढाई करोड़ वोटरों को लुभाने की कोशिश कहें, लेकिन सच्चाई यही है कि डीए मूल वेतन में मर्ज हो रहा है। तकरीबन 12 लाख कर्मचारियों का प्रतिनिधित्व करने वाले संगठन एआईआरएफ के महासचिव शिव गोपाल मिश्रा का कहना है कि पिछले दिनों ही उन्होंने इस बारे में प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय और वित्त मंत्रालय से पत्राचार किया है। वह इस सिलसिले में व्यय सचिव से भी मिले थे।

आगे की स्लाइड्स में पढ़ें पूरी खबर-