Central Government Employees: Cabinet may approve 6% dearness allowance (DA) hike next week.

Central Government Employees: Cabinet may approve 6% dearness allowance (DA) hike next week.

Cabinet may approve 6 percent DA hike next week

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is likely to approve hiking dearness allowance (DA) to 113 per cent from existing 107 per cent benefiting 30 lakh central government employees and 50 lakh pensioners in its meeting scheduled in next week.

“The Union Cabinet will take a proposal to hike Dearness allowance for its employees and dearness relief for its pensioners to 113 per cent in next week as per agenda listed for the meeting,” a source said.
The hike in DA would be effective from the January 1 this year.

As per practice, the government uses Consumer Price Index- Industrial Workers ( CPI-IW) data of the past 12 months to arrive at a quantum for the purpose of any DA hike.

Thus, the CPI-IW from January 1 to December 31, 2014 would be used to take a final call on the matter.
The CPI (IW) of the months January, February, March, April, May, June and July were 237, 238, 239, 242, 244, 246 and 252 respectively.

The consumer price index -industrial workers (CPI-IW) remained stationery at 253 for last five months August to December, 2014.

“The average of the consumer price index -industrial workers (CPI-IW) from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 works out to be 6.3 per cent. Thus the Central government will hike dearness allowance for it employees by 6 per cent,” the source added.

However, the employees’ bodies are pressing hard to merger of 50 percent DA with basic pay but it has not been given heed by the seventh Pay Commission as well as the government.

The merger of 50 percent DA was discontinued in the Sixth Pay Commission but the Fifth Pay Commission had recommended that if the DA crosses more than 50 percent then it should be clubbed with the basic pay.

TST via Central Government Staff News

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Goa government has dropped Gandhi Jayanti from the list of public holidays

Goa government has dropped Gandhi Jayanti from the list of public holidays

Panaji: In a decision that could spark nationwide outrage, the Goa government has dropped Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 from the list of public holidays.

Gandhi Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, has not been marked as a holiday in the current year’s calender, released yesterday.

The decision has triggered strong reactions from a section of legislators in the state.

Interestingly, Gandhi Jayanti disappeared from the list of commercial and industrial holidays released on a day when the Mahatma’s statue was unveiled in London.

Gandhi Jayanti has been celebrated all over the country for decades, with the entire nation gratefully recalling the services of the Mahatma, who led the struggle against the British rule through non-violent means.

Though the government is yet to formally clarify the rationale behind the decision, a senior official from the General Administration Department said it had the approval of government.

Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar was not available for comment on the issue.

Independent opposition legislator Vijay Sardesai said it was all the more surprising that dropping of the Gandhi Jayanti came just the day after the Mahatma’s statue was unveiled at Parliament Square in London.

“It is strange that back in the country his birthday is being dropped from the list of holidays. Is this nationalism or the BJP’s sense of civility?” he said.

The list which was released yesterday has retained all other holidays.

Condemning the decision, Goa’s lone Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik said BJP leaders claim they hold Gandhi in high esteem and started worshipping him in recent times, but actually denigrate him on every available opportunity.

Naik alleged that in the name of ‘Swachh Bharat’, BJP perhaps wants to obliterate the name of Gandhi in whatever form it exists, adding that he would raise the issue in Rajya Sabha tomorrow.

When Manohar Parrikar was Chief Minister of Goa, the government had sought to scrap a few public holidays, including Gandhi Jayanti, Good Friday and Old Goa Feast, but had to give up the move due to public outcry.

Source: Central Government News

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Indian Government Important Official Websites for Central Government Employees

Indian Government Important Official Websites for Central Government Employees

1. DOPT’S Recent Orders
2. Financial Orders

3. Air Travel Orders

4. Allowances Orders

5. APAR Orders

6. Advances Orders

7. CGEGIS Orders

8. HRA/ HAA Orders

9. Leave Orders

10. LTC Orders

11. MACP Orders

12. Miscellaneous Orders

13. Pay Orders

14. Pension Orders

15. TA Orders

16. Transport Allowance Orders

Source: Central Government News

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Railway takes steps under “swachh rail swachh bharat mission”

Railway takes steps under “swachh rail swachh bharat mission”

Ministry of Railways

13-March, 2015

Under the “Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Mission”, regular events on cleanliness are planned to be organized Railways at all railway premises. The focus of Indian Railways is to ensure clean and hygienic toilets, maintenance of cleanliness at stations, trains etc., tree plantation, and removal of encroachments, improving drainage, public awareness campaign and periodic monitoring of the mission. ”

Detailed instructions regarding waste management have been issued to Zonal Railways for prompt disposal of waste arising out of catering services at stations and in trains in order to maintain hygiene and cleanliness at all catering units. In order to segregate the garbage, the refuse bins (with three colours) so nominated are prominently painted in Green (for Bio-degradable waste), White (for recyclable waste) and Black (all other waste i.e. other than bio-degradable waste and recyclable waste) of sufficient size to ensure all collections. ”

Disposal of garbage is done by handling over the garbage to Municipal Authorities, through incineration, dumping in identified landfill sites and composing pit etc. Similarly, hazardous waste is also disposed off as per extant statutory guidelines. ”

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today. ”

PIB

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No Proposals To Increase Working Days To 6 Per Week: Centre

No Proposals To Increase Working Days To 6 Per Week: Centre

New Delhi: The central government today said it has no proposals to shift to six-day week working for its offices or reduce the retirement age of employees to 58 years.

“At present, there is no proposal to change working days for the Central government offices from five to six days a week or to reduce the retirement age of the Central government employees to 58 years,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

At present, the retirement age of the Central government employees is 60 years.

The Minister also said that the Seventh Pay Commission appointed in February 2014 is required to make its recommendations within 18 months from the date of its constitution. Former Supreme Court Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur is the Chairman of the Commission.

The government constitutes Pay Commission almost every ten years to revise the pay scales of its employees and often these are adopted by states after some modification.

The Sixth Pay Commission was implemented with effect from January 1, 2006.

PTI

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Bank News: Over 3.70 lakh complaints against banks in 5 years

Bank News: Over 3.70 lakh complaints against banks in 5 years

New Delhi: Over 3.70 lakh complaints have been received by the banking ombudsman during last five years with highest number of complaints, 1.02 lakh, against State Bank of India, reveals an RTI response.

The data received shows that 3,70,543 complaints have been received by 15 banking ombudsman during 2009-10 to 2013-14.

During 2013-14, 76573 complaints have been received against Public Sector Banks, Private Banks and Foreign Banks operational in the country with maximum number of complaints, 21,206, against largest bank State Bank of India, it says.

Punjab and Sind bank recorded least number of complaints during the year in the Public Sector Banks category.

Among the foreign banks operational in the country Standard Chartered recorded highest number of 3357 complaints during the year while the least number of complaints were against BNP Paribas, State Bank of Mauritius and JP Morgan Chase Bank National Association with one complaint each, the response to Ramesh Sharma said.

In the Private Bank category, ICICI Bank recorded highest number of complaints during 2013-14 with 5325 complaints against it while the least number of complaints were against Nainital Bank with just 15 complaints during the year, it said.

PTI

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