Monday, February 29, 2016

Bi-Monthly / Four Monthly Meetings with Regional / Circle administration.

It has been brought to the notice of GS by few members over phone that, many Circle Secretaries are not requesting their Regional / Circle administration for holding of bi-monthly / four monthly meetings regularly with Regional PMsG and Chief PMG which results non settlement of local issues / problems. The following Regional / Circle Level issues are said to unresolved for months/years together in many circle. 

1.  Issue of circle seniority list (gradation list) / up-dation as on 1/7/2015
2.  To conduct training on Finacle / McCamish software to IP/ASP
3.  Non-payment of PLI/RPLI incentive bills of IP/ASPs
4.  Consideration of Inter-circle Rule 38 transfer cases
5.  Consideration of requests of IP/ASPs for transfer at their choice station etc.  
6.  Filling up of vacant post of IPs (direct recruit quota)
7.  Filling up of vacant post of ASPs 
8.  Supply of good quality of furniture to headquarter of sub divisional heads
9.  Replacement of batteries of laptops provided to IP/ASPs
10. Non-payment of TA / Medical bills etc.
11. Issue of adhoc promotion orders from ASP to PS Gr. B against vacant post 
12. Filling up of vacant posts of Mail Overseers
13. Non-payment of IO/PO honorarium bills of IP/ASPs
14. Grant of amount to purchase briefcase / purse for office use
15. Non reimbursement of newspapers bill to ASPs
16. Non implementation of orders issued by CO i/c/w promotion from IP to ASP and ASP to PS Gr. B cadre. 
17. Non holding of DPC for MACP for IP/ASP cadre

CHQ has already directed to all Circle Secretaries through this blog on 12/2/2015 and 21/5/2015 to take up these pending issues with the concerned authorities through bi-monthly / four monthly meetings, but till date most of the Circle Secretaries did not turned up with the agenda on the pending issues to their regional / circle administration. It is also noticed by CHQ that many circles are not updating their existing circle blog regularly. 

It is therefore directed to all Circle Secretaries, CHQ office bearers and members to submit the agenda for bi-monthly and four monthly meetings without loss of time with a request to hold the meeting/s at the earliest. The issues taken up with administration and minutes of the meetings may be published on circle blog for the information to members. 

My Cancellation - New Service launched by India Post.

After the launch of My Stamp in 2011, now India Post has launched ‘My Cancellation’ service which allows the customer to get a special cancellation with a special message for the specific occasion alongwith a personalized ‘My Stamp’. By introducing ‘My Cancellation’ service the Department of Posts is offering a chance to send letters with a personalised touch. As it is a special facility, My Cancellation will be available only for those who order a minimum of 100 sheets of My Stamp on the same theme. My Cancellation facility will be offered for Rs. 1,500.

First ever My Cancellation has been issued by Tamilnadu Postal Circle along with My Stamp to well-known stamp dealer and philatelist of Chennai Mr. V. Ethiraj on the occasion of wedding of his son Ramesh. My Stamp with a to-wed couple’s photo printed on it used on the well designed cover for wedding invitation has been provided special ‘My Cancellation’ on 1st January 2016. Mr. Ethiraj has sent wedding invitations to friends and philatelic fraternity in this specially made cover bearing My Stamp and My Cancellation by speed post with additional postage affixed on it.




Highlights of Union Budget 2016-17

Following are the highlights of Union Budget 2016-17 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament on Monday:

* No change in personal Income Tax slabs

* 4-month Compliance Window for domestic black money holders; tax, interest on them at 45%

* Relief for tax payers who earn below Rs 5 lakh; ceiling of rebate u/s 87A raised to Rs 5,000 from Rs 2,000

* House rent deduction raised from Rs 20,000 to Rs 60,000

* One-time dispute resolution scheme for retro taxcases, penalty, interest waived

* High level committee headed by Revenue Secretary to oversee creation of fresh liability using retro tax law

* Corporate Tax for new manufacturing units fixed at 25%

* Clean energy cess increased from Rs 200/ton to 400/ton on coal, lignite and peat

To read news published on The Times of India, please CLICK HERE. 


Compendium on Preservation and Disposal of Records

To view the compendium issued by Shri Pradipta Kumar Bisoi, Director, RAKNPA, Ghaziabad, please CLICK HERE.  All members are directed to download and keep on record.


Retirement in the month of February 2016

Tooday, following PS Gr. B Officers are retiring from Govt. Service on superannuation.

Sl. No.
Name of Officer
Designation
Circle
1
Shri M. B. Shahajan
Sr. PM, T. Nagar HO, Chennai
Tamil Nadu
2
Shri S. B. Malik
Sr. PM, Lodhi Road HO, New Delhi
Delhi
3
Shri R. S. Khati
SPOs, PSD, Bareilly
Uttar Pradesh
4
Shri S. N. Das
SPOs, Nagaon Division
Assam
5
Shri K. Prakash Rao
SPOs, Mahabubnagar Division
Andhra Pradesh
6
Shri Chaturbhuj Meher
PM (HSG-I) Sambalpur HO
Odisha


CHQ wishes them a very happy, healthy and long retired life.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

31st All India Postal Table Tennis Tournament at Mumbai from 25-29/2/2016

Gujarat Circle men and women Table Tennis teams beat Assam Circle and won team championship trophies in 31st All India Postal Table Tennis Tournament being held at Mumbai. 

Today and tomorrow, individual matches will be played. 

Valedictory function will be held on 29/2/2016 at Mumbai University Sports Pavilion, Marine Lines, Mumbai 400020. Shri Dilip Vengsarkar former Captain of India Cricket team will be guest of honour of the function. 

CHQ congratulate the team members and their coach for grand victory.

Govt. to implement pay hike recommendation, expects little impact on inflation

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.

PF may be withdrawn online from August

NEW DELHI: Retirement fund body EPFO may launch by August an online facility to withdraw provident fund, a move that will reduce paperwork and provide hassle-free service to its subscribers.

With the new facility, settling PF withdrawal claims would just take few hours.

"We are hopeful of launching an online facility for PF withdrawal claims by August this year. We have already digitised our records and processes using Oracle operating system," a senior EPFO official told PTI .

"EPFO will soon buy blade servers for setting up three Central Data Centres at Gurgaon, Dwarka (Delhi) and Secunderabad. All the three centres will be connected to 123 offices of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)," he said.

The process of procuring servers would be completed by May while the testing would start in June to gauge the response of the system in place.

"After intensive testing and trials in June and July, we are planning to launch the online PF withdrawal facility in August this year," the official said.

Once this is operational, subscribers can apply online for PF withdrawal, which will be transferred directly to their bank accounts.

At present, subscribers who wish to settle their accounts with the EPFO are required to apply manually.

For settling online claims, the subscribers would have to activate their Universal (portable PF) Account Numbers which are seeded with KYC details including bank accounts, Aadhaar number and permanent account number.

The EPFO has over five crore subscribers.

As many as 6.15 crore UANs were issued by EPFO out of which 2.34 crore have been activated by the subscribers so far.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Inter-Circle Transfer of Inspectors of Posts under Rule 38 of P&T Manual Vol. IV-Reg.

No. CHQ/AIAIPASP/Tfr-38/PUN/1/2016                          Dated :    26/2/2016.

To,
The Director General,
Department of Posts,
Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi 110 001.

Subject :  Inter-Circle Transfer of Inspectors of Posts under Rule 38 of P&T Manual Vol. IV-Reg.

Respected Madam,

          I am enclosing herewith a copy of application dated 25/2/2015 received from Shri B. H. Naik, Inspector Posts, Central Sub Division, Jalandhar (Punjab Circle) regarding transfer under Rule 38 of Postal Manual Vol. IV from Punjab Circle to Karnataka Circle.  

The applicant is a surplus candidate of IP examination 2008 and allotted to Punjab Circle in the year 2014. He has already applied for Inter-Circle transfer under Rule 38 to Punjab circle on 16/1/2015 on family ground. There are sufficient vacancies at Karnataka Circle to accommodate the official. But Punjab Circle is not relieving the official on ground of non completion of probation period. There is only one outstation IP candidate is working in Punjab Circle.

This Association would like to bring to your kind notice that Directorate vide their memo No. A-141-177/2009-SPB-II dated 14th December, 2010 has issued guidelines for Inter-Circle transfer of Inspectors of Posts under Rule 38 of P&T Manual Vol. IV.  In the said memo it has stated that minimum service limit is 3 years for surplus qualified IPs and CPMG of the Circle where the IPs are working would be competent to permit such transfer in consultation with the CPMG of the Circle where the transfer is sought for by the individual.

In view of the above submissions, it is requested to kindly arrange to issue necessary directions to CPMG Punjab and Karnataka Circle to consider Inter-Circle transfer of above named official at the earliest.  

Hoping for a favourable action and line in reply is requested. 

Yours sincerely,

 Sd/-
(Vilas Ingale)
General Secretary

Copy forwarded for information and necessary action to : -

1.   The Chief Postmaster General, Punjab Circle, Chandigarh 160017 w.r.to STB/9-14/06-V dted 24/9/2014

2.       The Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle, Bangalore 560001 w.r.to his office letter No. STA /7-5/XVII dated 9-2-2010.

Centre has approved new 11 Sainik Schools


S. No.
State
Districts
Remarks
1.
Arunachal Pradesh
Niglok Village District East Siang
“In-principle” approval accorded
2.
Mizoram
Chhingchhip
Memorandum of Agreement signed
3.
Odisha
Sambalpur
“In-principle” approval accorded
4.
Rajasthan
Alwar
Memorandum of Agreement signed
5.
Rajasthan
Jhunjhunu
Memorandum of Agreement signed
6.
Uttar Pradesh
Jhansi
Memorandum of Agreement signed
7.
Uttar Pradesh
Mainpuri
Memorandum of Agreement signed
8.
Uttar Pradesh
Amethi
Memorandum of Agreement signed
9.
Uttarakhand
Rudraprayag
Memorandum of Agreement signed
10.
West Bengal
Darjeeling
“In-principle” approval accorded
11.
Maharashtra
Chandrapur
“In-principle” approval accorded

Changes in Civil Services Examination

An Expert Committee has been constituted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) under the chairmanship of Shri B.S.Baswan to comprehensively examine the various issues, raised from time to time regarding the Civil Service Examination, with respect to the eligibility, syllabus, scheme and pattern of the Examination vide notice dated 12.08.2015. The Committee has been given extension of time till August 2016 to submit its report.

This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question by Shri Neeraj Shekhar in the Rajya Sabha on 25-2-2016.

Additional chance to civil service aspirants

Central Government provided an additional attempt in Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2015 to those candidates who appeared in Civil Services Examination 2011.

Further two additional attempts were also provided to all category of candidates with consequential relaxation of maximum age, if required, with effect from Civil Services Examination (CSE)-2014.

The Tribunal vide order dated 27.10.2015 inter alia directed the Central Government to examine whether even such candidates who were eligible to take CSE 2011 or had taken 2012 or 2013 or 2014 examination should also be given another chance to take Civil Services Examination in 2015 with new pattern.

In compliance with the directions of Tribunal, the issue was examined by the Central Government. However, the request for additional attempt in Civil Service Examination 2015 to the candidates who did not appear in Civil Service Examination 2011, was not acceded to.

This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question by Dr. K. P. Ramalingam in the Rajya Sabha on 25-2-2016.

Source:http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=0

Three new Information Commissioners take over in Central Information Commission on 25-2-2016

Shri Bimal Julka, Shri Divya Prakash Sinha and Shri Amitava Bhattacharyya were administered the oath of office of the Information Commissioners, Central Information Commission (CIC) by the Chief Information Commissioner, Shri Radha Krishna Mathur. 

With their induction, the total number of Information Commissioners including the Chief Information Commissioner has gone upto 11 in the Central Information Commission.

Shri Bimal Julka, a former IAS officer, before joining the office of Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission, was holding the post of Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in Government of India. His area of eminence includes Administration and Governance. 

Shri Divya Prakash Sinha, a former IPS officer, before joining the office of Information Commissioner in Central Information Commission, was holding the charge of Secretary (Security) in the Government of India. His area of eminence includes experience in security. 

Shri Amitava Bhattacharyya, a former IAS officer, before joining the office of Information Commissioner in Central Information Commission, was holding the charge of Chairman, Staff Selection Commission. His area of eminence includes Administration and Governance. 

Source : PIB

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Resolution-7 passed in AIC Jaipur

No. CHQ/AIAIASP/AIC-Reso/7/2016                                   Dated:  25/2/2016

To,

The Director General,
Department of Posts,
Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-110 001.

Subject :     Grant of Special allowance for IP/ASPs working in RO/CO.

Respected Madam,

          The 39th All India Conference of All India Association of Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents, Posts was held at Jaipur on 13th and 14th February 2016 and above subject was discussed in detail. After discussion, following resolution was passed unanimously by All India Conference.

 “At present PS Gr. B officers working at CO/RO are getting monthly special allowance @ Rs. 1200/- for performing desk work. Inspector Posts and Assistant Supdt. Posts working in CO/RO are also attending similar responsible work like ADPS. AIC Jaipur unanimously resolved to request Secretary (P) to consider grant of similar benefit to IPs/ASPs working in RO/CO”.

 It is therefore requested to kindly consider the resolution in the interest of service to enhance the productivity and efficiency in quality of service by Inspectorial cadre.

          This Association hopes that an early action will be taken by the Department.
          Yours sincerely,

Sd/- 
 (Vilas Ingale)
General Secretary

Resolution-6 passed in AIC Jaipur

No. CHQ/AIAIASP/AIC-Reso/6/2016                                   Dated:   25/2/2016

To,

The Director General,
Department of Posts,
Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-110 001.

Subject :     Providing clerical assistance to Sub Divisional Head.  

Respected Madam,

          The 39th All India Conference of All India Association of Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents, Posts was held at Jaipur on 13th and 14th February 2016 and above subject was discussed in detail. After discussion, following resolution was passed unanimously by All India Conference.

 “The work load on Sub Divisional Head has tremendously increased with the introduction of new services and launch of new products/business in the Department. Besides, technology implementation at grass root level at Branch Post office is need of hour. In order to implement the changes effectively, there, is essential requirement of clerical assistance to Sub Divisional head to cope up with the ever increasing burden. Therefore AIC Jaipur unanimously resolved to request Secretary (P) to consider immediate provision of at least one clerical assistance to all sub divisional head”.

 It is therefore requested to kindly consider the resolution in the interest of service to enhance the productivity and efficiency in quality of service by Inspectorial cadre.

          This Association hopes that an early action will be taken by the Department.
          Yours sincerely,

 Sd/-
 (Vilas Ingale)
General Secretary

Resolution-5 passed in AIC Jaipur

No. CHQ/AIAIASP/AIC-Reso/5/2016                                   Dated:   25/2/2016

To,

The Director General,
Department of Posts,
Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-110 001.

Subject :     Regarding inclusion of ‘chain vacancies’ --- Implementation of guidelines issued vide Directorate Letter. No.25-10/2014-SPG dated 09-07-2014

Respected Madam,

          The 39th All India Conference of All India Association of Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents, Posts was held at Jaipur on 13th and 14th February 2016 and above subject was discussed in detail. After discussion, following resolution was passed unanimously by All India Conference.

“Department of Posts vide Personnel Division letter dated 09/07/2014 has issued instructions to percolate the seniority quota vacancies arising in higher grades in a vacancy year down to lower cadres/grades and to take into account along with the clear vacancies arising in a particular grade. It was also stated that DPC may take into account all existing and clear anticipated vacancies in a grade as well as chain vacancies on account of retirement etc. in the higher grades, which can be clearly anticipated in the same vacancy year. AIC Jaipur unanimously resolved to request Secretary (P) to consider inclusion of chain vacancies and implementation of guidelines enumerated in Directorate letter no. 25-10/2014-SPG dated 09-07-2014 in letter and spirit at Directorate/CO/RO level”.

 It is therefore requested to kindly consider the resolution in the interest of service, just and fairness.

       This Association hopes that an early action will be taken by the Department.
          Yours sincerely,

Sd/- 
 (Vilas Ingale)
General Secretary

E- com gives new life to India Post

The Asian Age 24 Feb 2016 : 
Villagers in India opting for services provided by online retailers to get goods delivered

Alwar, Feb. 23: With his rickety bicycle and sackcloth mail bag, 62- year- old Indian postman Chet Ram does not look like a worker at the vanguard of an ecommerce revolution delivering everything from mobile phones to cow manure. He pedals miles each day in rural Rajasthan state, ferrying packages to villages and takes payments in cash because most of his customers do not have bank accounts, let alone credit cards. While in the United States online giant Amazon and its ilk experiment with futuristic drones and one- hour deliveries, in rural India e- commerce retains a distinctly old- fashioned feel.

Yet the dawn of online shopping is changing the lives of people in rural areas — and is breathing new life into India Post, the ailing state- run postal network, which has struggled with a huge deficit for years.

In the past two years the 160- year- old postal giant has tied up with 400 e- commerce companies including Amazon and Indian giant Flipkart to deliver a diverse range of goods.

It deploys its vast network of about 460,000 employees across 155,000 post offices to take goods to customers in remote areas, often hundreds of kilometres ( miles) from the nearest town.

Government clerk Surinder Singh Yadav from rural Ula Hedi village in Neemrana district says the dawn of e- commerce has transformed shopping for his family, who now nudge him to order products they see advertised on television.

“These companies give us a variety we don’t get in our local markets, quality at competitive rates and a doorstep delivery” said Yadav, as he accepted a delivery of a spray paint machine.

Online commerce The absence of reliable private delivery companies outside the big cities led India Post to step in to fill the gap.

“Until recently, people in these rural areas had aspirations but no means to access the market,” Kavery Banerjee, secretary of India Post, told AFP.

“Now we are delivering women's clothes and latest electronic gadgets even in the remote regions of country like Leh and Ladakh,” she added. It has been a huge success, with parcel deliveries increasing 15- fold to 75,000 daily deliveries in the past two years. But India’s vast areas of rural terrain, where roads can be poor and infrastructure patchy, pose challenges to the digital revolution.

Most small post offices, like the one in Neemrana, depend on unreliable public transport to collect parcels from region's bigger post offices.

Postal workers use bicycles and old cloth mail bags which make it difficult to transport bigger or multiple parcels.

Many rural Indians are still new to the Internet — up to a billion people are not yet online in the country — and are wary of ecommerce sites, preferring to hand over money only after receiving the goods.

Part of the firms’ success has been driven by giving customers the chance to pay cash on delivery — although it takes up to two days to find out if a parcel was accepted by a distant recipient.

“It has given a sense of empowerment to customers who are not confident about e- commerce shopping,” said K. C Verma, an assistant superintendent at a post office in Behror, a town close to Neemrana.

One such customer is Sudesh Yadav, a farmer's wife in Daulat Singh Pura village in Neemrana who refused to accept her parcel of a car cleaning kit.

“The company has sent the order almost a week late,” she told the postman who had cycled to her home on a cold January morning to deliver the goods. “We have already purchased it from a nearby town. Take it back,” she said.

Financial woes India Post, founded under colonial rule in 1854, hopes the huge growth of e- commerce will enable it to reverse its ailing financial situation. The value of cash- on- delivery parcels handled by the postal department is expected to register a 300 per cent increase by the end of financial 2015 compared with last year, India Post said.

It hopes to slash its $ 800 million average annual deficit and improve profitability at its 140,000 rural post offices.

Communication and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters last month that the Indian postal department had the potential to become the "world's leading e- commerce delivery platform".

The department has upgraded or added around 70 modern parcel handling centres with existing post offices in the last two years and plans to add to its standing fleet of around 900 mail vans across India.

It also plans to address the issue of tracking deliveries, including by giving handheld devices to postal workers. For rural India's postmen, the flood of parcel deliveries recalls the days of the 1980s or 1990s when sending letters and postcards was much more common.

“These parcel deliveries in the last couple of years are once again making us busier,” Ratan Lal, a postman with Neemrana post office said.