Central Govt likely to approve 7% additional DA

Govt to increase dearness allowance to 107 p.c The Government is likely to approve a hike in dearness allowance (DA) to 107 per cent from the existing 100 per cent, benefiting around 30 lakh Centre’s employees and its 50 lakh pensioners including dependents. 

“The average rate of retail inflation for industrial workers from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 works out to be 7.25 per cent. Thus the Central government will hike dearness allowance for it employees by 7 per cent,” an official said. He said the Finance Ministry will now put a Cabinet proposal for approval of 7 per cent DA hike from July 1 this year as the revised Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers data for June was released by Labour Ministry on Saturday. 

With increase in DA, the pensioners will also gain as the benefit provided to them as dearness relief will be hiked to 107 per cent of basic pay. The previous UPA government had increased DA to 100 per cent from 90 per cent with effect from January 1, 2014, on February 28 on the basis of agreed formula for revision of the allowance. However, the central government employees’ union is not very enthused by the 7 per cent hike in the dearness allowance as their long pending demand of merger of DA with basic pay has not been given heed by 7th Pay Commission and the government. 

“The erosion of value of wages is unbearable at 50 per cent dearness allowance. Now it will be 107 per cent. It is high time to merge DA with basic pay to provide relief to employees,” Confederation of Central Government Employees’ President KKN Kutty told PTI. 

“We had summited our memorandum in this regard to 7th Pay Commission. They forwarded it to Central Government. We have apprised about the issue to the newly elected NDA government. But no decision has been taken so far,” he said. With merger of DA with basic pay, the salary and allowances paid in proportion of basic pay are increased. 

As per earlier practise DA was merged with basic pay once it breached 50 per cent mark. But the 6th Pay Commission has disallowed that. 

Source : The Hindu

[http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-to-increase-dearness-allowance-to-107-from-100/article6366781.ece]

FAQs on Biometric Attendance System (BAS)

Frequently Asked Questions on Bio-Metric Attendance System

Q.1 How does an organisation start Biometric Attendance System (BAS) for their employees? Ans. Please submit details of the nodal officer and upload a signed request by the head of the department on attendance.gov.in portal. System would send OTP to the mobile number/email id of the nodal officer which needs to be entered again on the portal for verification. Back-end administrator would then check the details of the organisation submitted and make the organisation active by assigning it a unique sub-domain which will be the first name of the website. Nodal officer will then be sent an email by the system giving username (which will be the sub-domain name assigned to the organisation) and a password.

Q.2 Steps to be done by the nodal officer to start registration of employees Ans. Nodal officer would need to login on attendance.gov.in with the user name and password sent on completion of step 1 and then create master list of locations of their offices, designation of their offices and divisions/units/groups within their organisation.

Q.3 How does employee start registering on the portal ? Ans. After nodal officer completes step 1 & 2, employee can start registering on-line either at attendance.gov.in by submitting their details along with their Aadhaar number.

Q.4 What are steps of verification of employees? Ans. Nodal Officer would need to verify details submitted by the employee including whether Aadhaar number entered by the employee belongs to them. After completing of the above verifications, employee would be informed by SMS/Email that his registration process is completed on the attendance.gov.in is completed.

Q.5 Whether an employee will be able to mark his attendance on any Biometric Attendance System (BAS) terminal installed in any Government Building Ans. Yes, this will be possible as employee database for all central Government employees will be maintained centrally with a unique 6 digit id provided for every Government employee (based on the last 6 or first 6 digits of his/her Aadhaar number whichever is available in the system). The dashboard reports would be able show the location/building from where an employee has marked his attendance.

Q.6 How will an employee mark attendance if he/she is not having Aadhaar number ? Ans. Aadhhar number is essential for registering an employee in AEBAS. Government employees who are not having Aadhaar number can enrol themselves for Aadhaar numbers in the special camps which are being held by UIDAI in various Government Buildings or permanent enrolment centres of UIDAI in Delhi as per details available at the link below as given: https://appointments.uidai.gov.in/easearch.aspx

Single point of contact for arranging Aadhaar enrollment facility at Bhawans is as per details given below.

Shri Suman Kumar, ADG, Regional office, UIDAI, Delhi Phone : 23481111 Email: suman[at]uidai[dot]net[dot]in

Q.7 Is network connectivity essential for marking attendance Ans. Yes, as it is an online attendance system. Network connectivity will be essential for marking attendance. Therefore, two types of connectivity are being planned with each attendance terminal; one wi-fi connectivity on NICNET/broadband and other sim based GSM connectivity in the tablet.

At a high level the overall solution has two main components.

(i) Front End System (to be installed at client user end)

(ii) Back End System (attendance servers to be hosted in NIC data centre with connectivity to UIDAI for real-time bio-metric authentication)

The Front End System would be a hardware device like Android tablet or a Desktop PC having client application. Once the user ID (6 digit unique number assigned to an employee) is entered, the application would prompt user to provide the biometric data through finger print/Iris scanner which will be sent through the network connectivity to the backend system.

The Back End System (also called the attendance server) would have functionalities to receive data from the client terminals and send it for real-time Aadhaar authentication. It would also have features for organisation/employee registration and preparing real-time attendance reports in dashboard.

It would be possible to see dashboard reports of each organisation by using sub-domain assigned to an organisation e.g.nic.attendance.gov.in

Q.8 No of bio-metric terminals required Ans. Every employee will need to enter his 6 digit unique id on the touch screen of the tablet and then present his bio-metric (finger print/ iris) for authentication. This may initially take up to 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on number of attempts required. With some practice and training, the time for giving bio-metric attendance by each employee may reduce to less than 10 seconds. Therefore one bio-metric terminal may be sufficient for about 30 to 40 employees during 30 minute peak load time. Assuming 50% to 70% employees will be coming to office during the peak timings, one bio-metric terminal can be planned for catering to every 50 employees in the department. Also, multiple machines will be put in the entry gate which can be commonly used by employees of different ministries/departments, waiting time in the queue will further reduce.

Q.9 Where to install tablet based terminals? Ans. it is suggested to install multiple AEBAS terminals at the entry gates of the buildings where security is positioned round the clock.

Q.10 Where to install desktop based finger print devices? Ans. it is suggested to install desktop finger print devices on Windows desktop PCs connected on LAN (NICNET) in the offices of JS and above and also with section officers for marking attendance of the employees working in the respective sections in order to avoid rush at the attendance terminals installed at the entry gates.

Q.11 Who would maintain the attendance terminals, connectivity and attendance software for desktop PCs? Ans. It would be additional responsibility of FMS who are maintaining LAN/NICNET connectivity in the Bhawans under guidance and coordination of nicnet/network managers. Additional FMS are being proposed to be deployed at Bhawans under this project.

Q.12 Type of reports which will be available on dashboard Ans. Some of the sample reports can be viewed at jharkhand.attendance.gov.in and deity.gov.in/attendance. Attendance software is being developed with assistance of UIDAI team. Please send your valuable feedback in improving the features and MIS reports of the attendance system software.

Q.13 Expected Role of NIC HoDs/Teams posted in Ministries/Departments Ans. Deity/NIC/NICSI/UIDAI are the implementing agency for this project and the bio-metric attendance system will need to be made operational in every ministry/department as soon as attendance terminals are delivered which is expected soon. NIC HODs of the bhawan/ department/ministry or its attached/ subordinate office in consultation with nodal officer of that office will identify locations where attendance terminals are to be installed in the Bhawans. Since, NICNET connectivity is the primary connectivity for running the AEBAS. NIC Bhawan network coordinators are requested to help in getting the power supply extended at those locations with help of local CPWD offices. NIC Bhawan network coordinators along with network team at NIC hqrs will also be responsible for extending LAN/alternate connectivity at the entry gates and install WI-FI access points/Attendance terminals. NIC HODs posted in Ministries/Bhawans are requested to provide technical assistance to the Nodal officers in completing registration of all employees on the portal and provide handholding training/technical assistance in smooth installation/running of the attendance terminals. NIC HODs will also be keeping inventory of bio-metric terminals/devices installed in various locations in their Ministry/Department.

Q.14 Role of nodal officers in the ministries Ans. Nodal officers will get the details of all employees entered on the portal and also organize special camps in their Bhawans with help of UIDAI regional office, Delhi for enrollment of employees not having Aadhaar numbers. Nodal officers would also be responsible for creating masters of location, designation and divisions/groups within their organization. Verification of employees data will also be done by the nodal officers of the department whereas QC team of UIDAI will be assisting in verification of Aadhhar data of employees. You are welcome to send feedback and suggestions in helpdesk-attendance[at]nic[dot]in

Source: www.attendance.gov.in

Exclusivity of Central Government Health Scheme to be phased out

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

29-August-2014 10:46 IST

Exclusivity of Central Government Health Scheme to be phased out

Health Minister ushers in new era of transparency in departmental working.

Beginning September 1, 2014 the doors of 20 Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centres in Delhi will be thrown open to senior citizens from among the public for free consultation.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, unveiled today a pilot project with wide ramifications for the future of public health care. There was wide criticism of the CGHS’ closed door policy towards people in need of medical help who were not family members of central government employees.

This is a pilot project for now. We will see how much demand accrues for the CGHS clinics and the ability of the clinics to handle demand from the general public before extending the service to more people in more cities,” Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

The service for senior citizens will be available on all working days between 1.30 pm and 3 pm. They will however not be given free medicines which is only for central employees.

On his first day in office, Dr Harsh Vardhan had announced that governance in all the outreach departments of the Ministry of Health would be made transparent. Within the first three months, the CGHS has completed a thorough review of its operations with the intention of identifying vulnerable spots which often offer scope for corruption.

The Minister has ordered that all information regarding medical claims that are pending for more than 30 days be put on the website, http://msotransparent.nic.in/cghsnew/index.asp. Over the years complaints had been piling up over the opaqueness of the process of reimbursing claims.

There were also complaints of CGHS doctors prescribing branded drugs beyond the approved list. Taking all factors into consideration, it has been decided that all beneficiaries and the public at large ought to know which the drugs are on the list and so they will be on view on the above-mentioned website, the Health Minister stated.

Dr Harsh Vardhan reiterated that henceforth only 1,447 generic and 622 branded medicines will be prescribed. Exceptions will be made only for patients suffering from cancer and similar diseases.

Additionally, it has been decided that CGHS beneficiaries will be provided with medicines for a maximum of one month. In case they are going abroad for extended periods, the medicines will be given for three months, he informed.

The CGHS doctors will be forbidden to prescribe investigations or implants that are not listed. A technical committee has been constituted to update the list of medicines, investigations, procedures, implants and other procedures of treatment.

Dr Harsh Vardhan said he is considering broad reforms in all wings of the ministry. “I encourage people, especially the media, to probe our affairs so that over time the employees realize the futility of trying to be corrupt. In addition, I will use information technology to prevent corruption at source.” 

Source : PIB

Soon, attendance of govt staff to be tracked online through attendance.gov.in

In what could be a revolutionary step towards monitoring and tracking the work of government officials, the NDA government has launched an “attendance website” to serve as a centralised database for all central government employees.

Though the website, attendance.gov.in, is still in the process of being developed, officials said it is expected to be modelled on the lines of similar websites of the Jharkhand government and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology.

To illustrate, the home page of the Jharkhand government’s attendance website gives the total number of employees present on the given day, along with graphical representations of “real-time attendance” and statistics on the percentage of people logging into office during different time slots, giving an idea of how many officials come to office during the designated timings. Further, a search for any registered employee yields complete details, along with the employee’s attendance/leave status.

Officials said the Centre’s website is likely to emulate most of these features and is expected to be as open to the public. “This level of open tracking takes transparency to another level, a key focus of this government,” said an official.

The Narendra Modi government had recently directed all central government offices to introduce Aadhaar-based biometric attendance systems. Officials said this website is the next step in that direction. The attendance record entered on the biometric devices in government offices will feed the data to this website, which will act as a centralised management information system (MIS) for attendance.

The database for all central government staff will be maintained centrally with a unique six digit ID provided for each employee, based on either the last six or first six digits of the Aadhaar number. Currently, the website has over 16,000 registered users, spread across 113 organisations. The maximum number of officials registered currently are from the Planning Commission. There are no active users or active devices yet.

For an organisation/ department to be registered, the nodal officers of that department will have to login to the website and create a master list of locations of their offices, designation of their offices and divisions/ units/ groups within their organisation. Following this, each employee can start registering online by submitting the relevant details along with Aadhaar numbers.

Source: http://indianexpress.com

Issue of revised Recruitment Rules of PS Gr. B Cadre and reduce share of General Line officials from 6% to 3%…reg

No. CHQ/IPASP/CRC/2012             Dated :     29/8/2014.

To                                                                                          

Ms Kavery Banerjee,   

Secretary (Posts)

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

Subject : Issue of revised Recruitment Rules of PS Gr. B Cadre and reduce share of General Line officials from 6% to 3%…reg

Respected Madam,   

            

IP/ASP Association would like to draw your kind attention to its letters of even number dated 15/7/2013, 19/11/2013, 6/1/2014, 17/4/2014, 16/5/2014 and 21/6/2014 regarding finalization of Recruitment Rules of PS Gr. B cadre and reduction the share of General Line officials from 6% to 3% in LDCE for the promotion to the cadre of PS Gr. B. But till date nothing is heard from Directorate.

Recently Directorate has finalized & circulated revised Recruitment Rules of HSG-I in Post Offices and RMS offices under Memo No. 4-26/2009-SPB-Ii dated 27^th August 2014. But inspite of repeated request letters and detailed proposal under letter dated 4/7/2011 from this Association, no steps have been taken by Directorate to finalize RRs of PS Gr.B cadre. Actually, as per the clause 3.1.5 of DoPT OM No. AB-14017/48/2010-Estt (RR) dated 31^st December 2010 “The Recruitment Rules should be reviewed once in 5 years with a view to effecting such changes as are necessary to bring them in conformity with the changed position, including additions to or reduction in the strength of the lower and higher level posts”. Due to non-settlement of this issue, Department has not conducted the LDCE for the promotion to the cadre of PS Gr. B for the year 2013 and as well for the year 2014. Sr. Postmaster’s Examination also not held from 2010 onwards.

It is therefore requested to direct SPG Division to finalize RRs of PS Gr. B cadre at the earliest.                                                                                        

                                                                              Yours sincerely,

Sd/- 

(Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

Copy forwarded for necessary action to :

The Director (R & P), Department of Posts, Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110001. He is requested to refer SR Division letter No. 09-01/2014-SR dated 11^th January 2014. LDCE for the promotion to the cadre of PS Gr. B for the year 2013 and 2014 may be conducted separately only after revision of Recruitment Rules of PS Gr. B cadre and reduction of share of General Line officials from 6% to 3%. 

 

Source : CHQ Blog

Agenda for holding of periodical meeting with Secretary (Post) to look the promotional proposals of IPs/ASPs.

No. CHQ/IPASP/Agenda/2012                 dated  : 29/8/2014.

To

Ms Kavery Banerjee, 

Secretary (Posts)

Department of Posts,

Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg,

New Delhi-110 001.

Subject :   Agenda for holding of periodical meeting with Secretary (Post) to look the promotional proposals of IPs/ASPs.

Ref:    No. 01/01/2011-SR-dated 25^th August 2011 & 02/02/2012-SR dated 17^th April 2012

Respected Madam,  

                I would like to draw your kind attention to this Association’s letter of even number dated 28/4/2014 and 23/6/2014 regarding non holding of periodical meetings as promised while recording the minutes of meeting taken by Secretary (Posts) with representatives of this Association on 11/8/2011 under memo No. 01/01/2011-SR dated 25^th August 2011.

       

        It is to bring to your kind notice that this Association has already submitted agenda to Directorate and it is learnt that SR Division has issued two reminders to DDG (P) and DDG (Estt) to comment upon the items submitted by the Association, but it is seen that due consideration has not been given by them. Resultantly, the genuine demand of the Association has time and again been left out unresolved.  During your last tour to Bihar Circle, President of this Association and Circle Secretary of Bihar Circle have met you at Patna on 20/6/2014 and explained the present position of pending issues by submitting memorandum.

        It is therefore once again requested to your kind honour to look into the matter personally and arrange for fixing date and time for holding of periodical meeting with this Association at the earliest.  

        With profound regards,   

        Yours Sincerely,

Sd/- 

 (Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

Copy forwarded for information and necessary action to : 

 

Shri Arun Malik, Director (SR & Legal), Department of Posts, Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110001.

Cadre restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre.

No. CHQ/AIAIPASP/Cadre Restructure/2014        dated  :     25/8/2014.

To,

Ms Kavery Banerjee,

Secretary (Posts), 

Department of Posts,

Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg,

New Delhi 110 001.

Subject :   Cadre restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre.

Respected Madam, 

We would like to invite your kind attention to this Association’s letter of even number dated 30/4/2014 followed by reminder dated 19/5/2014 whereby it was brought to the notice that, cadre restructuring of Group ‘C’ cadre was finalised by Department on 28^th April 2014 under the Chairmanship of Shri V. P. Singh, DDG (P). Everybody knows that second cadre review case of Inspector Posts and ASPs is pending since long in the files of Directorate.

We would like to further bring to your kind notice that the recommendation of second cadre review committee that gave its report in the year 1990 has not been executed by the Directorate till date and due to this, the stagnation is being faced in the cadre of IPs/ASPs and long span of service running up to 24 to 25 years which IP/ASP has to put in, before getting promotion to PS Gr. B cadre. During the course of informal meetings with officers of Directorate it was assured that this will be looked into at the time of cadre restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre, but unfortunately as on date neither the representatives of this cadre are called for discussion of cadre restructuring nor the proposal submitted by this Association for merger of ASP cadre into PS Gr. B cadre is materialised. This issue is dealt in Directorate file No. 25-35/2011-PE-I.

        It is therefore once again requested your kind honour to kindly call immediate meetings with the members of this Association for the discussion of cadre restructuring of Inspector Posts cadre and finalisation thereof as has been done for other cadres.

An early order in the matter is requested with a line in reply.

        Yours Sincerely,

Sd/-

 (Vilas Ingale)

General Secretary

 

Source : CHQ Blog