Ministries asked to put online info on their works every month

All central government ministries have been asked to highlight their achievements by putting online the details of the work undertaken by them on a monthly basis for greater transparency. 

The Cabinet Secretariat has recently issued instructions in this regard to secretaries of all the ministries. 

In order to ensure greater transparency and availability of information in public domain, it has been decided that henceforth, all ministries and departments may upload, on a monthly basis, their major achievements, significant developments and important events for the month on their official websites, the instructions said. 

Senior officials in the Cabinet Secretariat said it has been observed that some of the departments are hesitant in putting governance-related information in public domain. 

The secretaries will be responsible for ensuring that maximum information is put in public domain, they said. 

The Centre had recently asked all ministries to update their websites. Over 920 websites of various departments had failed quality audits following which the secretaries were asked to ensure that there is up-to-date governance related information on the websites and no "page under construction" links. 

The availability of information in public domain will also result in less number of Right to Information (RTI) applications filed by people with the ministries, the officials said. 

Source:-The Economic Times

Special Cover on Diamond Jubilee of Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology – 17th June 2016

The Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology (NIAT), the premier Aviation technical training establishment of the Indian Navy. It was set up as the Naval Air Technical School (NATS) in the wake of the induction of the amphibious Sea Land aircraft in 1956. It was later renamed to the Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology in the eighties. The institute imparts Aviation Technical Training to Technical Officers, Sailors and Aircrew of the Naval Air Arm, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) besides training personnel of friendly foreign Navies. The NIAT has several aircraft in its collection used for instructional purposes. The growth of the Institute has been rapid especially over the last decade. The institute is recognised as a ‘Centre for Aeronautical Science and Technology’ by Cochin University with the offering of a host of academic qualifications for courses conducted at the institute such as M. Tech, BSc, and Diploma in Aeronautics etc.

The Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology (NIAT) celebrated its Diamond Jubilee on 17th June 2016. A Special Cover was released jointly by Vice Admiral A. R. Karve and Smt. Sumathi Ravichandran, Postmaster General, Kochi Region to commemorate the occasion at Kochi Naval Base on 17th June 2016.

Dr Jitendra Singh says all Central Ministries & Departments to be linked to the online Pension Sanction and Payment Tracking System ‘Bhavishya’ soon

Dr Jitendra Singh says all Central Ministries & Departments to be linked to the online Pension Sanction and Payment Tracking System ‘Bhavishya’ soon

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

Dated: 27.06.2016

Dr Jitendra Singh says all Central Ministries & Departments to be linked to the online Pension Sanction and Payment Tracking System ‘Bhavishya’ soon

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS (IC) for Youth Affairs and Sports, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh has said all Central Ministries and Departments will be linked to the online Pension Sanction and Payment Tracking System ‘Bhavishya’ very soon. Chairing the 28th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies (SCOVA) here today, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that with this step, the pension release to the retired employees will be expedited and it will also help quick resolution of pending issues.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said we need to put in place an institutionalized mechanism to make good use of the knowledge, experience and efforts of the retired employees which can help in the value addition to the current scenario. India has a large number of pensioners today and to make best use of them is a challenge, he added. Dr. Jitendra Singh said the retired employees are a healthy and productive workforce for India and we need to streamline and channelize their energies in a productive direction. We should learn from the pensioners’ experience, he added. Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the Government has started ‘Anubhav’ scheme for the retiring employees to write an account of their experiences which can be helpful in improving the system. He also said that a focused approach and emphatic attitude needs to be developed towards the pensioners.

Earlier, the Secretary, Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare and Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Shri C. Viswanath directed that all the Pension Payment Order (PPOs) should be digitized. The 28th SCOVA meeting was attended by the member Pensioners Associations and senior officers of the important Ministries/Departments of Government of India.

The Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare has taken various initiatives for the welfare of the pensioners. The online Pension Sanction and Payment Tracking System ‘Bhavishya’ has introduced transparency and accountability into the pension sanction and payment process, thereby helping eliminate delays and bring satisfaction to the retiring employees and pensioners. The system keeps retiring employees and administration informed of the progress of pension sanction process through SMS/e-mail. In the year 2015-16, the scheme has been scaled up and will eventually cover all 9,000 Drawing & Disbursal Offices (DDOs) in the country.

‘Sankalp’ is an initiative for motivating retiring employees and pensioners to take up voluntary work after retirement so as to channelize their experience and skill towards productive work for society and nation building. The Department has so far registered 1,812 Pensioners, 16 Organisations and 19 Pensioners Associations under this project. Some Pensioners Associations have done exemplary work under the initiative.

‘Anubhav’ was launched in February, 2015 on the direction of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. This initiative is to showcase the outstanding work done by retiring employee that contributed to the efficiency, economy and effectiveness in Government functioning. It is envisaged that over a period of time this will create a wealth of information, institutional memory and innovative ideas and will motivate employees.

‘Jeevan Pramaan’ is a facility created for submission of Aadhaar based digital life certificate. This scheme was initiated by the Prime Minister on November 10, 2014. This scheme provides an excellent facility for the benefit of pensioners to submit their digital life certificate from the comfort of their homes. The Pensioners Associations are actively involved in motivating their fellow pensioners to get their pension accounts seeded with Aadhaar Number. Due to continuous efforts, as on date around 34 lakh i.e 71% of Central Government pensioners have seeded their bank accounts with Aadhaar Numbers.

Source: PIB

Committee of Secretaries has finalised its report on 7th CPC recommendations. We will soon draft Cabinet note based on the report: Finance Secretary

Committee of Secretaries has finalised its report on 7th CPC recommendations. We will soon draft Cabinet note based on the report: Finance Secretary 

The government is likely to soon announce the implementation of Seventh Pay Commission that would hike the salaries and allowances for over 1 crore government employees and pensioners by at least 23.5 per cent.

A Committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha has submitted its report on the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission which may be accepted, a financial ministry official said.

Based on the panel’s report, the Finance Ministry is preparing a Cabinet note and the issue may come up for approval by the Cabinet as early as June 29.

“Committee of Secretaries (CoS) has finalised its report on Pay Commission recommendations... We will soon (file) draft Cabinet note based on the report,” Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said here on Monday.

The government had in January set up a high-powered panel headed by Cabinet Secretary to process the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission which will have bearing on the remuneration of nearly 50 lakh central government employees and 58 lakh pensioners.

The Pay Commission had recommended 23.55 per cent overall hike in salaries, allowances and pension involving an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore or nearly 0.7 per cent of the GDP.

The panel recommended a 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay, the lowest in 70 years. The previous 6th Pay Commission had recommended a 20 per cent hike which the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.

The 23.55 per cent increase includes hike in allowances.

The entry level pay has been recommended to be raised to Rs 18,000 per month from current Rs 7,000 while the maximum pay, drawn by the Cabinet Secretary, has been fixed at Rs 2.5 lakh per month from current Rs 90,000.

Sources said the secretaries’ panel may have recommended higher pay increase, with minimum entry level pay at Rs 23,500 a month and maximum salary of Rs 3.25 lakh.

While the Budget for 2016-17 fiscal did not provide an explicit provision for implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, the government had said the once-in-a-decade pay hike for government employees has been built in as interim allocation for different ministries.

Around Rs 70,000 crore has been provisioned for it, officials said.

Mr. Lavasa said the Seventh Pay Commission report will be effective from January 1.

This news was published in 'The Hindu' on 27.06.2016

http://www.thehindu.com

Cabinet May Decide On 7th Pay Commission On Wednesday - NDTV

Cabinet May Decide On 7th Pay Commission On Wednesday

The Cabinet is likely to take up Seventh Pay Commission recommendations for government employees on June 29.

Implementation of new pay scales recommended by the 7th Pay Commission is estimated to put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the exchequer annually.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in his Budget for 2016-17 provisioned Rs 70,000 crore towards Seventh Pay Commission awards, which is around 60 per cent of the incremental expenditure on salaries.

The Pay Commission’s recommendations are due from January 1, 2016.

The central government constitutes the pay commission every 10 years to revise the pay scales of its employees. The Commission was set up by the UPA government in February 2014 to revise remuneration of about 48 lakh central government employees and 55 lakh pensioners.

Source : profit.ndtv

Post Bank of India - Wikipedia article

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is a proposed state-owned commercial bank in India. The bank would use the existing network of the public-sector postal service, India Post.

History

In 2006, it was announced that India Post would open a bank to erase its ₹1,000 crore deficit during the 11th Five Year Plan, emulating Poste italiane. In February 2013, it was announced that India Post had hired Ernst and Young to prepare a report on the proposed bank. Some officials of the Ministry of Finance had opposed the plan saying that India Post did not have the expertise to provide banking services such as handling credit.

In August 2013, the Planning Commission of India said that even though it supported the plan, it was not feasible owing to financial difficulties at the moment. It also felt that converting post offices into bank branches may hamper their original function. In October 2013, the Cabinet of India rejected the proposal on the grounds that India Post did not have sufficient expertise in running a bank. In December 2013, India Post announced that it would install ATMs in 1000 of its office across India in the first half of 2014.

On 27 February 2014, India Post opened its first ATM in Chennai. In April 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave in-principle banking licences to IDFC and Bandhan Financial Services out of 26 applicants, but India Post was not considered for a licence because it had not received the mandatory clearance from the government. However, the RBI said that it would examine the proposal separately in consultation with the government.

In September 2014, a task force was formed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which aimed to study ways in which the existing postal network could be leveraged. The task force was headed by T. S. R. Subramanian. On 4 December 2014, the task force submitted its report to Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad. The report said that more services should be provided in the field of banking, insurance and e-commerce.

In late December 2014, it was announced that India Post would issue ATM-cum-debit cards to its Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) account holders. In January 2015, it was announced that the Indian government was considering a legislature, to finalise the setting up of the bank, following which a banking license would be applied for at the Reserve Bank of India. On 28 February 2015, during the presentation of the Budget it was announced that India Post will use its large network to run a payments bank.

Role in financial inclusion

India Post has about 1,54,000 post offices, of them 90% are in rural areas. There is one post office for every 7176 people in India. India Post also has 2,96,000 agents in the rural area. About 2.2 crore people, already receive their National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) payments by post offices. After State Bank of India, India Post has the largest deposits valued at ₹6 lakh crore.

T. S. R. Subramanian has said that it could aid in the ongoing Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana financial inclusion plan.

Structure and funding

The Payments Bank will be set up on a lean operating model. It will focus on financial inclusion by harnessing low-cost technology based solutions to extend access to formal banking especially in rural areas and among unbanked and under banked segments of the society. It has proposed by the task force that the existing Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) should be continued to run parallel to the new bank initially. Later, it should be merged with the bank. The existing post offices shall provide banking services to customer, whereas the bank branches shall handle back-office work, like processing loan applications, assessing credit worthiness and risk assessment, investment operations etc.

The Post Bank shall also provide institutional accounts to panchayats and micro-credit agencies. Initially, the bank will operate separately from the postal business, with a branch in every district for the first three years. The bank will require an initial funding of ₹500 crore from the government.[13]

Complete ruling on preparation and maintenance of CRs (APARs)

To view copy of Directorate memo No. 51/5/72.Ests (A) dated 20th May 1972, please CLICK HERE.