Opening of Post office till 10:00 PM on 31.03.2016

To view, please CLICK HERE. 

Slow servers hamper postal services

The financial services offered by postal department through ‘Core Banking Solution (CBS)’ get caught up in poor connectivity problem.

The CBS is a system in which account records of customers will be maintained centrally across branches in the nation and accessed through internet whenever there is a transaction or enquiry. This is the system followed in commercial banks.

The CBS is being introduced in all branch and head post offices of the nation. In Tiruvannamalai division, Tiruvannamalai Head Post Office was the first office to be connected in CBS on 20 October 2014. Then Arani Head Post Office was connected to CBS. Gradually other post offices were also converted as CBS branches. Out of 74 offices in the district including 72 branch post offices and two head post offices 68 are brought into CBS network. The last office to be converted to CBS was Thellaru Branch Office that was in December 2015.

Though almost all but six offices were brought under CBS, the technology that replaced the conventional account maintenance system turned bane instead of a boon. Reason: inconsistent and slow connectivity. Poor processing speed due to low server band width when compared to the volume of data processed, expansion of network and growth of customer base.

All the financial business done in a CBS branches including savings account, fixed account, recurring deposits, bonds like National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra, Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme as well as Postal Life Insurance schemes will have to depend on network.

An employee said, “for example a customer comes in and wants to deposit some money in his savings account or withdraw money or want to encash his/her NSC bond we need to open their account records using specific software called pinnacle and with the help of the internet. If the record takes time to open or struggles to open customer has to wait. The wait extends from minutes to hours.

“When we say network is down, they ask us when will be it be back. But we are not certain about it ourselves and we are not able to tell them,” a staff said on the condition of anonymity.

“Even when network is ok, it takes much time to process when we enter figures. Some time it takes till late in the night before employees finish with the system. At a time pressure was high from higher ups to start more accounts we feel helpless dealing with poor system,” said another employee.

Source : thehindu.com

Acceptance of POSB business in the case Finacle CBS application is not accessible or slow to accept the transactions presented at the counter - invoking of Business Continuity Plan (BCP) - SB Order 2

To view, please CLICK HERE. 

Process of Accepting RD Transactions of MPKBY and PRSS Agents

To view, please CLICK HERE. 

Revision in Interest Rates of Small Savings Schemes - SB Order No. 01/2016

To view, please CLICK HERE. 

Easy access to health services to the public: GIS-enabled HMIS application and the self-printing of e-CGHS cards

Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

29-March-2016 20:10 IST

 Shri J P Nadda launches GIS-enabled HMIS application, self-printing of e-CGHS Card 

“A significant steps towards Digital India and for easy access of health services to the common man”: Shri J P Nadda

Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched two major Digital initiatives to provide easy access to health services to the public: GIS-enabled HMIS application and the self-printing of e-CGHS cards, here today. Launching these initiatives of the Health Ministry, the Union Minister stated that the Health Ministry remains committed to strengthening public health systems and providing user-friendly health services in the country. He further stated that that this will provide a tremendous opportunity to further strengthen and enhance the reach of key interventions.

Terming these as significant and forward looking steps contributing to Digital India, Shri J P Nadda said: “The initiative will not only monitor the performance and quality of the health services being provided under the NHM, but will also provide effective healthcare to the rural population throughout the country”. The GIS-enabled HMIS services will provide comprehensive data on a GIS platform on 1.6 lakh Government Health facilities spread across the country. The project has been developed with the objective of enabling the effective usage of the HMIS application, enhancing analytical capabilities of States/UTs and providing a geographical display of HMIS data using GIS. The application also has scope of incorporating map layers of roads and water bodies which will provide comprehensive information regarding health facilities and disease vulnerable areas of the country. At present, the application is available in login domain of HMIS portal. It is planned to put it in public domain in near future. Moreover, the mapping provides data only on public health facilities presently, which shall soon be expanded to cover private facilities also, the Union Minister informed.

Health Management Information System (HMIS) is a web-based monitoring system that has been put in place by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) to monitor its health programmes and provide key inputs for policy formulation and interventions. It was launched during October, 2008 with uploading of district consolidated figures. To make HMIS more robust and effective and in order to facilitate local level monitoring, “facility based reporting” was initiated since April, 2011. At present, 1.94 lakh health facilities (across all States/UTs) are uploading facility wise data on monthly basis on HMIS web portal. Data are presently being made available to various stakeholders in the form of standard & customized reports, factsheets, score- cards etc. HMIS data are widely used by the Ministry and States for policy planning, monitoring and supervision purpose.

The Union Health Minister, while launching the self-printing of the E-CGHS card, stated that this will provide ease and access to all those beneficiaries such as the pensioners who may find it difficult to go to the CGHS centres for renewal, and in the event of loss/misplacement of the card. As this can be printed from any location once the process of application based on authentic documents has been approved, this enables easy reprinting by the beneficiary himself/herself. The beneficiary can access this facility by visiting the CGHS portal at cghs.nic.in where simple steps for this have been enumerated.

Also present at the meeting were Shri B P Sharma, Secretary (HFW), and senior officers of the Health Ministry. 

Central Government Holiday Homes

Central Government Holiday Homes – Updated List as on 11.01.2016, provided by Directorate of Estates – Holiday Homes can be availed by MPs, working and retired Central government Employees, State Government Employees, Autonomous and Statutory bodies employees

There are totally 14 Central Government Holiday Homes in prominent tourist places and 49 touring hostels available throughout India, for the purpose of stay by Central Government Employees.

To view, please CLICK HERE. 

Why should I change my password?

If you read my last column, I sincerely hope you’ve changed your password to a more secure one.

You might ask, quite correctly: “Why should I change my password? No one’s out to get me.”

The problem is that it’s not about you necessarily. Your account could just be one of many on some large, popular site. And you know what they say about the weakest link…

Many hackers just want access to as much account data (usernames, passwords, personal information) as possible. In this case, the individual doesn’t really matter. The hackers will try to get this information using what’s called a ‘brute-force attack’. They bombard a website with one password after another, until they find the correct combination.

In this situation, the more difficult your password is to guess, the better your chances are of not being hacked and losing control of personal and potentially-sensitive information.

Enable two-factor authentication

But using a password that’s difficult to crack isn’t the only way to protect yourself. Perhaps, the easiest way to do this is to enable two-factor authentication.

Two-factor authentication, or two-step verification, is offered by many sites nowadays, such as Gmail and Facebook to name just two.

To enable it, you just enter your mobile number to receive a one-time code, which you need to enter before you can login to your account.

You will normally get this code once a month, but you could also get it if you try to login from a different computer, or try to access a site from a different location, to where you normally access it from.

What makes a strong password?

Many experts say that the best passwords are a minimum of 16 characters long, containing uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.

You should also avoid things like your name, common words, predictable phrases — in short anything that’s easy to guess.

There’s no denying that following this advice will definitely make for a strong password.

But when you’re advised to have a different password for each account, how will you possibly remember each one?

Password manager anyone?

Enter the password manager. These bits of software can change your life. The password manager will simply store all your difficult-to-hack passwords for you.

You can install a browser extension, and it will also auto-fill the correct password for the account you’re trying to log into. 1Password, LastPass and Dashlane are the best-known password managers out there.

What this means is that you can create a different, strong, unique password for each of your online accounts and never worry about forgetting them.

And you can download a desktop or mobile app for your password manager of choice, so that you always have access to your password at your fingertips.

I hope this helped and you found some of the advice useful.

Until next time, stay safe online!

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/

Implementation of BCP for next 3 working days in CBS Offices

From: Director (CBS)

Sent: 29 March 2016 08:15

Subject: Implementation of BCP for next 3 working days in CBS Offices  

Respected Sir/Madam, 

We have issued various mails regarding smooth operations of CBS Offices up to 31st  March 2016 by invoking Business Continuity Plans (BCP) for accepting Deposits, New Accounts / Certificates / Agent RD Schedules in offline mode but with setting up a control room at Dak Bhawan and kind of calls received with control room, it is observed that still CBS Post Offices are not clear in executing various BCP orders. Therefore, I am once again mentioning the steps to be taken for smooth functioning of CBS operations in the light of slowness of Finacle:-

  

1.  If Finacle is slow in any CBS Post Office, only withdrawals and closures transactions should be carried out on line and all other Deposits, New Accounts, New Certificates, Agent RD LOTs should be accepted offline. 

2. Passbook updating should be avoided in next three days. 

3. Unnecessary Reports  should not be generated. 

4. Sacking of officials (if system is hanged) should be avoided as after 15 minutes, automatic sacking happens. 

5. In Offline mode, Deposits in RD, SB and PPF are to be accepted in already circulated Excel sheets (refer BCP document). For SSA, orders will be issued separately. 

6. For new investments, creation of new CIF should be avoided. If Finacle is working, use old CIF ID and open new account which takes very less time. If Finacle is slow or not working, in case of opening of accounts, AOF with KYC documents (if required) should be accepted with Pay-in-Slip and counterfoil of Pay-in-Slip should be given to customer after putting date stamp and signatures. In case of Certificates, receipt from NC 4a should be issued. Details of such new accounts should be noted in a Register and cash can be accounted for in SB Cash. If cheque is already cleared or clearance is received in next three days, amount can be accounted in SB Cash. These accounts can be opened in Finacle when speed is improved (but before 31st March) and date of acceptance of cash or date of clearance of cheque should be mentioned as Value Date in Finacle. If cheques are cleared without entering into Finacle, funding can be done by Debiting 0007 Office Account and Crediting 0382 or 0017 Office Accounts and then debiting 0382 or 0017 office accounts and crediting new account. No new investment should be refused by any CBS Post Office up to 31st March. 

7. In respect of Agent RD LOTs, SOP has been circulated for accepting Agent LOTs in MS Excel and Agent LOTs prepared through Portal by putting value date as date of presentation of Agent LOTs. No Agent LOT/List in MS Excel should be refused by 31st March 2016. Agent List in MS Excel can be accepted through PEN Drive, E Mail or CD and saved on the desktop first. After words, it can be processed as per SOP circulated. 

For any further query, Directorate Control Room numbers or CEPT Chennai Team numbers can be contacted.  

With regards,

Sachin Kishore

Director (CBS)

Sansad Marg,

Dak Bhavan

Instruction for assessing your indiapost mails

CLICK HERE to view the details. 

Padma Bhushan Award to Saina (Badminton Player)

The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Bhushan Award to Ms. Saina Nehwal, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 28, 2016.

Income Tax / Central Excise /Customs Inspectors unhappy with pay commission recommendation

Finance Ministry Inspectors Furious over 7th Pay Commission Recommendation – The agitated inspectors claim that they will be drawing less salary than inspectors attached to other ministries.

On an average the Inspectors of various departments of finance ministry bring revenue to the Government to the tune of around 7000 crores in a year.

The Inspectors attached to the finance ministry are not happy with the 7th pay commission recommendations, however they are more furious that their voice has not been listened by their higher officials and by the empowered Committee of Secretaries as well. The agitated inspectors claim that since independence this will be the first time they will be drawing less salary than inspectors attached to other ministries, thanks to the 7th pay commission, they say.

7th Pay Commission : Next meeting on 30th March

As per information available with us, Next meeting with Empowered Committee under Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary will be held on 30.03.2016 at Cabinet Secretariat, Committee Room, Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.

Revised document sending procedure to CPC w.e.f.01.04.2016

All CBS Sub offices has to send the KYC application form ( Single sheet) to concerned HO only day-to- day basis One official should identify @ HO to scrutinize the all KYC application forms received from Sub offices and if there are any omissions in KYC application forms the same should be return to Sub offices in SO bags for wanting of omissions. If KYC forms are in order, then all the KYC forms of sub offices along with the KYC forms of Head Office should be sent to CPC (CBS) in one cover/bag by registered post on daily basis w.e.f 01.04.2016

The following points should observe while scrutiny the documents at HO level

Ø  All AOF forms, KYC documents (ID proof/ Address proof/Age proof) and any other documents submitted by customer should preserve at SOL level only in date-wise A4 size binders.

Ø  Don’t fold the KYC Application Forms while sending to CPC. Kindly ensure the sufficient size covers for register booking purpose

Ø  Don’t staple the Photograph on KYC Application Form. Please paste the photograph on KYC application form at space provided.

Ø  For Joint a/cs don’t use Joint photograph of the customers. Please paste the individual Photographs of the customers against the fields mentioned for Applicant (1) /Applicant(2).

Ø  Please mention correct CIF id and Account id / Registration number of certificates against the fields provided in the KYC Application Form.

Ø  If any images (sign & photo) are not clear in Finacle application please send the revised KYC Application Form for re-scanning

Ø  If any omissions are there in KYC application forms pl return the forms to concerned sub offices for supply of omissions.

Civil Service officers present memorandum to Dr Jitendra Singh on 7th CPC report

A delegation of Civil Service officers representing the “Confederation of Civil Service Associations” called on the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh here and sought his intervention for implementing the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) report, so as to address their long standing grievance of discrimination vis-a-vis certain other All-India Services.

In a memorandum presented to the Minister yesterday, members of the delegation acknowledged that the 7th CPC, while recommending the status-quo, had addressed their long pending demand for "parity" with other services. But, the memorandum alleged that the main cause of resentment among the non-IAS Civil Service Officers was that all the senior level posts covering majority of Departments, be it technical or administrative, are today manned by IAS Officers, which is the main cause of grievance among the non-IAS Civil Service Officers. The memorandum called for giving equitable treatment to all the Services so that the gap between the IAS and other Services does not widen and lead to, what they described as, chaotic situation.

The memorandum claimed that the majority view in the 7th CPC was in favour of changing the status-quo on the issue of pay disparity also. They said, at present, there is a clear edge enjoyed by the IAS and Indian Foreign Service over other Services in terms of additional increments.

The memorandum requested that disparity in Pay may kindly be removed altogether. In addition, it also requested that the new system of cadre restructuring be adopted and a comprehensive cadre review may be undertaken by all Services so that officers can get promoted in time.

The memorandum also requested that in the Committee of Secretaries, appointed by the Government to examine the report of the 7th CPC, such members should be appointed who represent all different sections of stakeholders and may function with neutrality.

Dr Jitendra Singh gave the delegation a patient hearing and said that he will forward their case to the Union Finance Ministry. 

Source:-PIB

Notifying of Recruitment Rules within ten weeks time period after the same are approved by the Union Public Service Commission - regarding.

To view DoPT OM No. AB.14017/61/2008-Estt (RR) dated 17.3.2016, please CLICK HERE. 

PFRDA to train 75,000 people to drive NPS

NEW DELHI: Pension fund regulator PFRDA proposes to train 75,000 people who will form a "totally committed" workforce for the implementation of government's National Pension System.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is in the process of hiring training institute(s) that "has/ have the capability to train and create a totally committed workforce that would become the driving force for implementation of NPS".

As per the Request for Proposal, the regulator proposes to cover 600 district head quarters across the country covering about 45 participants per session with an objective to train around one employee per branch/uploading office. There would be about 1,670 sessions.

"Thus, in all approximately, 75,000 participants are to be trained," the RFP document said.

As per the RFP, the regulator proposes "to have services of training institute(s)/professional institute(s) for training of employees of Points of Presence (POPs, POP-SPs/APY-SPs /  Corporates / retirement advisers / or any other stakeholders/intermediaries as decided by PFRDA under NPS...".

Currently, NPS has more than 1.14 crore subscribers with total Asset Under Management (AUM) of more than Rs 1.09 lakh crore.

NPS is a voluntary, defined contribution retirement savings scheme designed to enable the subscribers to make optimum decisions regarding their future through systematic savings during their working life.

Individual savings are pooled into a pension fund which are invested by PFRDA regulated professional fund managers as per the approved investment guidelines into the diversified portfolios comprising of government bonds, bills, corporate debentures and shares.

Source :  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Personal information under RTI Act

The Department of Personnel and Training have been impressing upon the public authorities to disclose maximum information proactively, so that public at large need not file RTI applications to seek information held by the public authorities.

In this regard, it was brought to the notice of the public authorities from time to time that they may not disclose personal information of an individual as it does not serve any public interest.

Some of the stakeholders have objected to disclosure of personal information as it would put the lives of the information seekers at risk.

Based on directions from High Court of Kolkata in the matter of Shri Avishek Goenka Vs UOI and in the interest of stakeholders, the DOPT is inviting comments from the stakeholders on draft OM within 15 days.  These comments may be sent to Shri R.K. Girdhar, US (RTI) through e-mail only at usrti-dopt@nic.in.

Click here for Draft OM

Source:-PIB

Installation of Signage Boards at Rural Post Offices

To view DDG (RB) DO letter No. 40-1/2013-Plg dated 21.3.2016, please CLICK HERE. 

Review of Recruitment Rules - regarding.

To view DoPT OM No. 14017/61/2008-Estt (RR) dated 17th March 2016, please CLICK HERE. 

Declaration of Assets and Liabilities by Public Servants under section 44 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 - Filling of Returns by public servants on or before 15th April, 2016 - regarding.

To view please Click Here.

1. The first return as on 1st August, 2014 under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 should be filed on or before the 15th April, 2016.

2. The next return as on 31st March, 2015, under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 should be filed on or before the 15th April, 2016. 

3. The annual return as on 31st March, 2016 under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 should be filed on or before 31st July, 2016.

4. The annual return for subsequent years as on 31st March every year should be filed on or before 31st July of that year. 

Promotion and postings of Postal Service Gr. B cadre.

No. CHQ/AIAIPASP/PS Gr.B/DPC-AP/2014                           Dated :    28/3/2016.

To,

Shri Rajkumar,

Director (Staff),

Department of Posts,
Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi 110 001.

Subject : Promotion and postings of Postal Service Gr. B cadre.

Ref.        : Directorate No. 9-02/2015-SPG dated 10-11-2015 and 26-2-2016.

Respected Sir,

Kindly refer to this Association’s letters of even numbers dated 11/1/2016 and 20/2/2016 vide which it was requested to set up review DPC for promotion to the cadre of PS Gr. B for the vacancies of 2015-16 for 4 officers whose names were not considered in regular DPC held on 10.11.2015. But Directorate vide memo No. 9-02/2015-SPG dated 26/2/2016 has considered the cases of only two officers viz. Shri V. Mariappan (TN) and K. Prakasa Rao (AP).  The following two cases are still pending at Directorate.

1.    Shri M. Chandrasekhar (Andhra Pradesh) : Officer was promoted to PS Gr. B cadre in supplementary DPC held under memo No. 9-25/2014-SPG dated 14/7/2015 and allotted to PTC Mysore. But due to some problems officer was not relieved to PTC Mysore by AP Circle. Now, it was told by AP Circle that, requisite information have already been sent to Directorate for consideration of request of the officer for promotion to the cadre of PS Gr. B.

2.   Shri V. V. Raman (Kerala) : 11 juniors officers to V. V. Raman promoted to PS Gr. B cadre vide above captioned memos. It is a fact that there was a complaint against the officer about sexual harassment and same was enquired by the circle level committee in depth and officer was exonerated from the charges by issuing warning.  In this case Kerala circle reported that vigilance clearance report has already been sent to Directorate.  

Sir, it requested that above cases needs your kind intervention for opening of sealed covers if any to promote the officers to PS Gr. B cadre against the vacancies of 2015-16.

With warm regards,

Yours sincerely,

Sd/-  

 (Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

Reminder to Secretary (Posts) for settlement of pending issues

No. CHQ/AIAIPASP/Pending/2015                               Dated :       28/3/2016

To,

Ms. Kavery Banerjee, 

Secretary,

Department of Posts,

Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg,

New Delhi 110 001.

Subject : Informal meeting with Hon’ble Secretary (Posts) with the representatives of IP/ASP Association.  

Respected Madam,  

               IP/ASP Association writes to draw your kind attention to the following concerns which were raised in the meetings with your honour and Member (P). This association will feel obliged your intervention on how best to get these settled at the earliest.

S. No.	Pending issues
1	Issue of combined seniority list of Inspector Posts cadre since 2001 onwards
2	Issue of revised Recruitment Rules of PS Gr. B cadre
3	Reduction of quota of General Line in PS Gr. B Examination from 6% to 3%
4	Holding of DPC for the promotion the cadre Dy. Manager MMS
5	Issue of revised Recruitment Rules for the post of Assistant Manager in MMS
6	Holding of PS Gr. B Examination for the year 2013, 2014 and 2015
7	Inter Circle Rule 38 transfer cases of Inspector Posts cadre
8	Holding of periodical meeting with Hon’ble Secretary (Posts)
9	Completion of appointment formalities of  candidates nominated by Staff Selection Commission for appointment as Inspector Posts on the basis of Combined candidates Level Examination 2013 and 2014
10	Vigilance enquiry in the death case of Ms Mohini Gupta Ex-ASP Ajmer (Rajasthan)

          

          The association is concerned about the slow pace of settling these issues which otherwise also part of the duty bestowed to the official/officer dealing to the cases. The pending issues can only be settled in much better way on your kind and dynamic approach for resolving the issues concerning IP/ASPs. Hence, early directions are requested.

             With respectful regards,

Yours sincerely,

Sd/- 

(Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

Retirement in the month of March 2016

Following JTS Gr. A / PS Gr. B / ASPs cadre officers are retiring from Govt. Service on superannuation on 31/3/2016

Sl. No.	Name of Officer	Designation	Circle
1	Shri M. Balasubramani	SSRM, ‘T’ Div, Tiruchirapalli  620001	Tamil Nadu
2	Shri V. M. Macwan	SSPOs, Valsad Division, Valsad	Gujarat
3	Shri S. Sreenivasagan	SSPOs, Virudunagar Division, Virudunagar	Tamil Nadu
4	Shri Nikhil Kr. Mondal	AD (Mails) %CPMG, WB Circle, Kolkata	West Bengal
5	Shri P. K. Sahoo	SPOs, Aska Division, Aska	Odisha
6	Shri D. M. Deshpande	Supdt., NSH, Mumbai	Maharashtra
7	Shri A. Prdmanabha Shetty	AD (PLI) %CPMG, AP Circle, Hyderabad	AP
8	Shri Radha Kanta Pradhan	ASP, Bhubaneshwar North Sub Div., Bhubaneshwar	Odisha
9	Shri V. K. Gautam	ASP (Legal Cell) % CPMG MP Circle, Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh

CHQ wishes them a very happy, healthy and long retired life. In few circles, senior ASPs are working on adhoc basis in PS Gr. B cadre and retiring without getting regular PS Gr. B promotion, their names are not included in the list, the same may kindly be reported to GS by SMS.