NO SUBSIDIZED LPG FOR THOSE WITH ANNUAL FAMILY INCOME OVER RS 10 LAKH

New Delhi: Tax payers with annual family income of more than Rs 10 lakh will not get subsidised cooking gas (LPG) from next month as the government today decided to limit supply of under-priced fuel to cut subsidies.

At present, all households are entitled to get 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rate of Rs 419.26, while the market price is Rs 608.

The government had asked well-off people to voluntarily give up using subsidised LPG and instead buy cooking fuel at market price, Oil Ministry said in a statement.

So far, over 57.5 lakh LPG consumers, out of nearly 15 crore customers, have given up subsidies.

“While many consumers have given up subsidy voluntarily, it is felt that consumers in the higher income bracket should get LPG cylinders at the market price,” the statement said.

The government, it said, “has decided that the benefit of the LPG subsidy will not be available for LPG consumers if the consumer or his/her spouse had taxable income of more than Rs 10 lakh during the previous financial year computed as per the Income Tax Act, 1961.”

This would, however, be done initially on “self-declaration basis while booking cylinders from January 2016 onwards.”

To cut subsidy bill and reduce fiscal deficit, the previous UPA government had restricted the number of subsidized domestic cylinders per household to six every year in September 2012, revising it to nine the following January.

The cap was revised in January 2014 to 12 cylinders a year, starting April 1.

The subsidy for 12 cylinders in a year is paid directly in the bank account of consumers which they use to buy LPG at market rate.

The subsidy payout on LPG in 2014-15 was Rs 40,551 crore, which this fiscal will be less than half as oil prices have slumped to six year low. During April-September, the subsidy outgo was Rs 8,814 crore.

There are no estimates of how many LPG customers would have a taxable income of Rs 10 lakh or more.

PTI

The communications and IT ministry is set to a launch a slew of schemes on Dec 28 that will seek to digitally connect rural post offices across the country

NEW DELHI: The communications and IT ministry is set to a launch a slew of schemes on December 28 that will seek to digitally connect rural post offices across the country and enable core banking facilities at 12,000 other post offices.

The ministry will also announce a programme to set up over 1,000 ATMs in three months for the convenience of post office savings bank customers.

Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will launch the schemes to mark the 'Good Governance Day'.

The ambitious project to digitise all transactions made by postmen in rural India will include equipping branch postmasters with solar powered, biometric hand-held devices. 

It will be launched at three pilot circles in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. A senior government official told ET that the Good Governance Day will hence be a critical date for the government to measure its success in digitising governance and for setting new digitisation goals. The official said the government's attempt to mark the day on December 25 last year had become controversial and it was thus decided to shift it to December 28. "By March 2017, 1.30 lakh hand-held devices will be made available across rural branch offices. This instrument will revolutionise lives of people across villages," the official said.

Booking and delivery of Speed Post, registered mail, money orders, sale of stamps and postal stationary will be done through these devices and paper receipts will be generated instantaneously, the official said. "All financial transactions shall also be reconciled immediately and cash on delivery amount collected in the village will be immediately credited to the account of e-commerce company," the official said.

These devices will also facilitate biometric authentication of social security beneficiaries at the time of pay-out, "reducing leakage in the scheme", the official said. 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Pension who joined on or after 2004

AIACEGEO HAD SUBMITTED MEMORANDUM BEFORE 7TH CPC AND SUBSEQUENTLY TO BOARD DRAWING A PARALLEL WITH THE NATURE OF DUTIES PERFORMED BY THE ARMED FORCES. AIACEGEO HAS STATED THAT THE NATURE OF WORKS OF EXECUTIVE EMPLOYEES OF CBEC ARE COMPARABLE WITH DEFENCE PERSONNEL 

Now AICEGEO request other Associations of CBEC to come forward to urge Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to consider our demand of CBEC employees to exempt them from the National Pension Scheme just like the defence forces. That means all who joined on or after 2004 should be entitled for old pension scheme

Despite Pressure From States, Centre To Implement Pay Commission Award By Next Year

New Delhi: Despite pressure exerted by the State governments, the central government has decided to implement the Seventh Pay Commission Award for central government employees in the course of next year.
Sinha said, “Increase in salary bill due to Seventh Pay Commission will not strain central government’s fiscal position.”

A senior official in Finance Ministry, who familiar with the pay commission matter said that some states are expected to delay implementing the Seventh Pay Commission Award to central government employees from centre side to be able them to get extra time for absorb similar pay hikes for state government employees.

“There are several states who have approached the Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Secretary and Niti Aayog, seeking more time in implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission’s report,” he said to Indian Express.

However, the central government is confident that the government will stick to fiscal consolidation laid out in the Budget and implementation of Seventh Commission’s recommendation of 23.6% hike in salaries and pensions of central government employees with effect from January 1, 2016, could not hurt centre’s finances, he added.

West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha governments suggested delay in implementation of Seventh Commission’s recommendation for central government employees will give them more time to equip themselves with resources to meet Seventh Pay Commission Award for their employees, he confirmed.

West Bengal assembly elections are slated for next year and the Bengal government constituted Pay Commission for its employees on November 28, eight days after the Central Pay Commission submitted its report. Accordingly, it is expected that the state Pay Commission to follow on the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations.

Punjab Finance Minister P S Dhindsa said, “Punjab’s finances are under stress and the burden of the Pay Commission’s recommendations will certainly have an impact… Our officials have informally taken up the matter with the Centre.”

“We are yet to assess the fiscal implication of the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations,” Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan said.

“At this stage, we don’t want to comment on it,” Additional Finance Chief Secretary of Odisha R Balakrishnan said.

We didn’t get any comment from Tamil Nadu government in respect of implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations.

Despite pressure from the state government, no sign has been found that the central government not to implement the seventh pay commission award in next financial year, the sources in Finance Ministry said.

The implementation cell for processing and implementing accepted recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission is working hard to implement it in next year as ministers and top officials in Finance Ministry are pressing hard for this, sources added.

Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha made it clear while interacting with reporters after a meeting of economists which was chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at NITI Aayog, that the government’s fiscal position is strong enough to bear the impact of implementation of Seventh Pay Commission.

TST

About 400 employees sacked by Dept of Posts in Gujarat

Over 100 employees of India Post gathered at Gujarat University on Friday to protest against the department's sacking of around 400 employees in the state on December 23 -allegedly without giving any reason. Sacked employees said that each of them was asked to sign a paper by superiors accepting his termination from job with immediate effect with claim to a month's salary.

A senior postal department official in Ahmedabad said, "The termination orders of around 400 employees was directly issued from the central office.Nobody was consulted at local level.' He added that the headquarters of India Post had ordered vigilance inquiry into 2013-14 recruitments following several complaints. After the inquiry, the whole recruitment has been cancelled, affecting personnel across the country.

The sacked employees say they had been recruited in Group C (clerical) and Group B (officer) cadres in April this year.Advertisement for the posts had appeared in June 2014, and the preliminary competitive exam had taken place in November last year. They had been allocated their postings on June 1.

Some fraud candidates sunk the ship with genuine candidates.

People new to city still prefer postal ID cards

CHENNAI, December 24, 2015 

EFFORTS ON TO MAKE CARD VALID PROOF FOR PASSPORT

Identity cards issued at post offices continue to be popular with people who have recently shifted to the city. On an average, post offices receive 4,000 applications for ID cards every month.

The cards are used to open bank and postal accounts, get LPG connections, ration cards and driving licences. However, residents demand that the cards used for address proof must be delivered soon. “Many people who migrated from north-eastern states apply for the cards. But, we do not provide cards to people who do not have proper accommodation. We ask for authorisation letter from house owners and our postal staff members also go on a verification drive,” said a postal official.

It is also an accepted ID proof to produce during train travel. Sources in the Transport department said they accept postal ID cards as an address proof document. But, the applicant also has to attach an affidavit as it is not listed as accepted document in the government procedure.

Efforts are on to have postal ID cards accepted as a valid document to get passports.

Since the launch of the service in 2008, nearly 3.5 lakh cards have been issued in Chennai city region. Customers need to pay Rs.270 to get ID cards and Rs.600 under tatkal system.

The card is valid for three years. While cards applied under tatkal process are delivered in a fortnight, customers complain that they have to wait for more than a month under the regular process.

A consumer activist said the service needs to be popularised in suburban areas. “The department must also introduce a system to alert customers about expiry of the validity period. The procedure to renew the card must be hassle free and done at a less cost,” he said. Officials said the cards are now delivered through registered posts.

Source :  http://www.thehindu.com

Surpluss.in partners with India Post to expand delivery service

ET Bureau | 24 Dec, 2015, 03.33PM IST

KOLKATA: Surpluss.in has partnered with India Post to expand its delivery service across the nook and corner of the country, including providing cash on delivery option.

"The partnership with India Post as our delivery partner will provide wider reach and network. This alliance would give a huge boost to our delivery services," said Surpluss.in executive director Tarun Bhardwaj.

Surpluss.in is an e-commerce firm which is into the recommerce space or sells surplus, refurbished and unboxed products. Apart from consumer electronics and mobiles, Surpluss.in operates in a host of categories like lifestyle, healthcare, home decor and jewelerry.

Bhardwaj said the recommerce industry is pegged at Rs 1.15 lakh crore and is expected to accelerate by 2020. Recently, the company also partnered with OnEMI to offer EMI option to customers.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com