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19/04/2014

NEW TRAVELING ALLOWANCE FROM 1.1. 2014

NEW TRAVELING ALLOWANCE FROM 1.1. 2014

Grade Pay
Full Rate
GP 10000 and above
Rs. 780
GP 7600 to 8900
Rs. 690
GP 5400 to 6600
Rs. 600
GP 4200 to 4800
Rs. 510
GP below 4200
Rs. 315

16/04/2014

10 financial investment products for pre-retirement and post retirement to help you plan your retirement



Retirement Planning in India is not an easy job at all. Rising inflation numbers, slowing economy growth, love for Gold and of course too many financial products do not make life easy for any individual planning for retirement. Mis-selling of financial products by banks and other financial institutions has only doubled the customer’s confusion. 
In this article, we will be talking about different retirement products available for investment in India. Retirement has two phases – Accumulation and Distribution. Accumulation phase is the period where you accumulate the amount required for your needs post retirement. Distribution phase is where the accumulated corpus is distributed well to suffice the post retirement needs. Let us look into financial products for investment pre-retirement and post retirement.

Pre-Retirement Investment Products

1) NPS: New Pension Scheme or NPS is a perfect retirement product open to all individuals across the country. NPS has delivered annualized returns of around 10% in the last 4 years. This scheme is mandatory for government employees. The fact that fund managers of NPS scheme can also take exposure to equity and equity related instruments is also a positive for the scheme in the long run.

NPS also provides tax benefit in the form of deduction under section 80C. Remember that it is mandatory to purchase annuity worth 40% of the corpus accumulated through NPS at the time of retirement. You can use these Pension Calculators from Govt. of India to calculate basic pension, family pension and pension commuted.

2) EPF: Employee’s Provident Fund or EPF is the most popular retirement saving instrument in India. Though it was introduced as a retirement product, not many see it so. The current rate of return from EPF is fixed at 8.5% p.a. EPF offers deduction up to 1 lakh limit under section 80C; interest from EPF is tax free and withdrawal is also tax free if there is continuous service of 5 years.

Unlike NPS, EPF does not have any restrictions such as purchasing annuity. However, it is advisable to stay invested in this scheme by opting for EPF transfer whenever there is change of job. This would ensure that you reap the benefits of guaranteed returns along with power of compounding.

3) Equities: No matter how many financial instruments you pick, none of them can match the returns provided by equity related instruments such as Stocks and Mutual Funds. While investing in these instruments, make sure that you pick products for the long term i.e at least 10 years or more and your emotions are under control in this period.

This doesn’t mean you have to stick to the product evening though it is not performing well. Review the products every year or switch to better products only is something has gone wrong fundamentally. Mutual funds also give you an option of monthly SIP, where you can invest in a disciplined manner for your retirement. Equity related products are also tax free after 1 year of investment.

4) ETF: Exchange traded funds, popularly known as ETF’s are also a good option for accumulating corpus for retirement. In India, ETF can be done through Index or Gold. Index ETF tracks the index and Gold ETF invests in Gold. You can purchase units of ETF by purchasing Gold units every month. You would thus benefit from cost averaging rather than investing in bulk and entail the risk of timing the markets.

5) Bonds: Bond is a type of loan taken from you by a company or government and giving you some interest for the loan. You would have seen a flurry of bonds these days such as IIFCL tax free bonds, HUDCO bonds, inflation bonds, etc. Many of these bonds are for 10 and 15 year durations. Some of these bonds offer interest rates in excess of 10-12% p.a. Do check the ratings of these bonds before investing in them.

Post-Retirement Investment Products

1) Monthly Income Schemes: Post retirement, you would require schemes which provide regular income for you. Such schemes are popularly known as Monthly Income Schemes (MIS). Various mutual funds provide these in the form of funds. Post office also provides MIS.

You usually invest a lump sum and the corpus is invested in various instruments to provide you monthly income. Post office offers interest rate of 8.4% p.a and the maturity period would be 5 years.

2) SCSS: Senior citizens saving scheme (SCSS) is just the kind of retirement product you would need post retirement. This is the safest investment option for senior citizens. You can gain an interest of 9.2% p.a with a maturity period of 5 years. The account can be opened in post office or any nationalized banks.

3) Reverse Mortgage: Reverse mortgage is a wonderful option given to senior citizens for a regular source of income. You can pledge your house with a bank to receive income from the bank regularly for a set period of time. The amount received will depend on the valuation of the house and the term opted. A recent ruling on this scheme has made the income received from house property under this scheme totally tax free.

4) Pension Plans: Pension plans are provided by insurance companies as well as mutual funds. They would invest a lump sum amount and provide you monthly income just as in the case of SCSS or MIS. Charges from insurance company provided pension or annuity plans are usually higher than mutual fund provided ones.

5) Liquid Funds and FD’s: The investment options given above do not give you proper liquidity. As senior citizens, you might need to put some amount aside as an emergency. To make sure that this amount also earns decent returns, you can opt for liquid funds or fixed deposits of varying tenures. Liquid funds are also tax efficient.

Conclusion

These are the retirement products available for investment in our country. Ideal time to start saving for retirement would be 1-2 years after you get your first job. If you have not started yet, it is time to start now.
Source - business-standard

Employees going for work abroad can fill PF data online

Organised sector employees going abroad for offshore work can now fill their PF details online for seeking the Certificate of Coverage — which attests that the person concerned is covered under social security schemes, and get it in three working days.

Applicants will be able to enter their data such as names, PF account numbers and the period for which Certificate of Coverage is required, according to a circular of Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s (EPFO).

The retirement fund body said the software has been upgraded for the purpose allowing applicants to fill data online. This is expected to eliminate mistakes.

The employees need to download their applications after filling it up online and get it countersigned by employers.

The employer would have to submit the document to the concerned Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, who will issue the CoC within three working days.

At present, organised sector workers covered under social security schemes run by EPFO are exempted from contribution towards such schemes in other countries with whom India has singed social security agreements. But for availing such benefit, they are required to produce CoC to the authorities of the visiting country.

At present, social security agreements with nine countries– Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Luxembourg, France, South Korea, Netherlands and Hungary-are in operation.
Source - gov employees .in

02/04/2014

FAQ on Children Education Allowance Scheme – Dopt Orders on 1.4.2014

The following FAQs supplement the FAQs in respect of Estt.(Allowances) Section already placed in public domain vide F. No.21011/08/2013-Estt.(AL)Establishment Allowances Section Children Education Allowance Scheme (CEA)

SI. No.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answer

1. Whether the examination fees as charged by the school is reimbursable? “Examination fee” has been included as part of reimbursable items as indicated in para 1(e) of O.M. dated 2nd September, 2008, subject to the fulfillment of other existing conditions vide) OM No.12011/01/2012-Estt.(AL) dated 31-07-2013. The said orders do not have a retrospective effect.

2. Whether reimbursement of amount of fee paid during 1at and 2nd quarter could be claimed in 3rd or 4th quarter, without the fee receipts of the 3rd and 4th quarter? No. As it is reimbursement for the whole year, original receipts for the fee paid for the 3rd / 4th quarter has to be submitted to ensure that the child has not dropped out of the school in the mid-session. O.M. No.12011/01/2013-Estt. Allowances dated 23.04.2013 refers.

3. Whether a Government servant is required to give a certificate that the spouse, if earning, has not claimed CEA? Yes. In terms of O.M. No.12011/01/2013-Estt.(Allowances) dated 23.04.2013, the claimant Government servant is required to furnish an undertaking that reimbursement of CEA has not been claimed in respect of the child by the spouse of the claimant.

Click to view the order...
Source-90paisa

Submission of quarterly returns in respect of the Recruitment Rules - Dopt orders

Attention is invited to Para No. 5.5 of this Department's O.M. No. AB.14017/48/2010-EstL(RR) dated 31st December, 2010 wherein it has been stipulated that Quarterly returns in respect of the recruitment rules for service should be sent in time to the Department of Personnel & Training and the Union Public Service Commission (for Group 'A' & 'B' posts) to enable them to keep a watch on the progress made in finalizing the recruitment rules. 

2. It is observed that Ministries/Departments are not sending quarterly returns to this department or UPSC. Therefore, UPSC has requested this Department to collect the information from the Ministries/Departments about the posts which are required to be filled up in consultation with the Commission, but are being filled in a different manner. 

3. Ministries/Departments are, therefore, requested to send the status of Recruitment Rules for all Group 'A' and 'B' posts to DoP&T and UPSC as on 31.12.2013 by 30.4.2014 and on quarterly basis. It is also requested to send the details of the posts that are required to be filled in consultation with UPSC but are being filled in different manner so that the information can be submitted to the Commission. The quarterly report mays be submitted in the enclosed proforma. 

Proposed Direct Taxes Code 2013

The Finance Minister, in his speech on Interim Budget 2014-15, made the following observation on Direct Taxes Code (DTC):- 

"Revenues are of paramount importance. The best source of revenue is taxes and for that we need modern tax laws. I am disappointed that we have not yet been able to introduce GST. I leave it to you to answer the question, who blocked the GST when an agreement on the game-changing tax reform was around the corner? We have also got ready a Direct Taxes Code that will serve us for at least the next twenty years. I intend to place it on the website for a public discussion without partisanship or acrimony. I appeal to all political parties to resolve to pass the GST laws and the DTC in 2014-15." 

Accordingly, the DTC, 2013 along with DTC Bill, 2010 is placed on http://incometaxindia.gov.in. A write-up on the significant changes in the proposed DTC, 2013 is also placed on the website. The report of the Standing Committee on Finance is available at the http://loksabha.nic.in. Comments, if any, on proposed DTC, 2013 may be sent on email ID: dtc13-dor@nic.in.
Source - 90 paisa

Central Civil Service (Joining Time) Amendment Rules, 1989

New Delhi, the 10th March, 1989 

G.S.R. 197. — In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 read with clause (5) of article 148 of the constitution and after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in relation to persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the President hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Central Civil Services (Joining Time) Rules, 1979, namely :- 


1. (1) These rules may be called the Central Civil Service (Joining Time) Amendment Rules, 1989. 

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette

2. In the Central Civil Services (Joining Time) Rules, 1979 for sub-rule (1) of rule the following sub-rule shall be substituted, namely :- 

(1) When a Government servant joins a new post at a new post without availing full joining time by reasons that:- 

(a) he is ordered to join the new post at a new place of posting without availing of full joining time to which he is entitled ; or 

(b) he proceeds alone to the new place of posting and joins the post without availing full joining time and takes his family later within the permissible period of time for claiming travelling allowance for the family :- 

The number of days of joining time admissible under sub-rule (4) of rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (Joining Time) Rules, 1979, subject to a maximum of 15 days reduced by the number of days of joining time actually availed of shall be credited to his leave account as earned leave; 

Provided that the earned leave at his credit together with the unavailed joining time allowed to be so credited shall not exceed 240 days. 

[No. 19011/12/86-Estt. (Allow)] 

Source: www.persmin.gov.in

Upgradation Pay Scale to Railway Accounts Staff w.e.f, 1/1/1 996 on actual basis – NFIR

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS 
(RAILWAY BOARD)

No PC.V/2003/CC/25

New Delhi, dated 19.03.2014

The General Secretary 
NFIR 
3, Chelmsford Road, 
New Delhi-110065

Sir,
Sub :- Allotment of improved Pay Scale to Railway Accounts Staff w.e.f, 1/1/1 996 on actual basis.

The undersigned is directed to refer to NFIR’S letters No.NFIR/VI/CPC/Main/10/Pt. IX dt. 28.02.13, NFIR/Vl/CPC/Main/10/PI IX dt 9.5.13, NFlR/Vl/CPC/Main/10/Pt.9 dt 13.8.13 and NFIR/VII/Cpc/Main/10 Pt.9 dt 5.11.13 on the above subject and to state that in context of another case involving identical issue the matter was under consideration in consultation with Central Agency Section/Department of Law and Justice, and based on opinion of Ld. Additional Solicitor General of India an SLP has been filed in that matter before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The said SLP is pending before Hon’ble Supreme Court. As such the matter at present is sub-judice.


Yours faithfully 
sd/- 
For Secretary/Railway Board

Source : NFIR

Grant of MACP benefit to the eligible employees in the hierarchy of promotional grade: Compliance of CAT Principal Bench Directive on 12.03.2014 in OA No. 864/2014 - BPMS

BHARATIYA PRATIRAKSHA MAZDOOR SANGH
(AN ALL INDIA FEDERATION OF DEFENCE WORKERS) 
(AN INDUSTRIAL UNIT OF B.M.S.) 
(RECOGNISED BY MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, GOVT. OF INDIA) 

CENTRAL OFFICE: 2-A, NAVEEN MARKET, KANPUR – 208001, PH & FAX : (0512) 2332222 
MOBILE: 09415733686, 09235729390, 09335621629, WEB : www.bpms.org.in 

REF: BPMS / MACPS / 64 (7/3/M) 
Dated: 31.03.2014 
To, 
The Secretary, 
Govt of India, Min of Defence, 
South Block, DHQ PO, 
New Delhi - 110011 

Subject: Grant of MACP benefit to the eligible employees in the hierarchy of promotional grade: Compliance of CAT Principal Bench Directive on 12.03.2014 in OA No. 864/2014. 

Respected Sir, 
With due regards, I would like to draw your kind attention on the subject wherein the issue of grant of MACP benefit in the hierarchy of promotional grade instead of hierarchy of grade pay is being demanded & discussed by this Federation at every forum.  


 It has now been brought to our notice that an affected employee had challenged the Government’s decision on grant of MACP benefit in the hierarchy of promotional grade vide his O.A. No. 1038/CH/2010 in CAT Chandigarh and that the Hon’ble CAT Chandigarh vide its order dated 31.05.2011 granted the prayer of the petitioner and directed the authorities to grant MACP benefit in the hierarchy of promotional grade. Thereafter, the Union of India represented by the Secretary, DoP&T appealed to the Hon’ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana vide CWP No. 19387 of 2011. This appeal of the DoP&T was subsequently dismissed vide order dated 19.10.2011. The Government thereafter approached the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide SLP No. 7467/2013, the Hon’ble Supreme Court dismissed the said SLP. 

Recently, CAT Principal Bench has issued direction on 12.03.2014 in OA No. 864/2014 that once an order has been passed by this tribunal and it has also been upheld at the level of the Supreme Court, there is no question of waiting for an approval from any Govt. department for implementation of the same. 

In view of the above, the issue now stands settled that eligible employee needs to be given MACP benefits in the promotional hierarchy only. 

As such, you are requested to kindly issue necessary directives to all units under your jurisdiction to implement the same immediately. 

Thanking you. 

Sincerely yours 
(MUKESH SINGH) 
Secretary 


Source : BPMS

Empanelment of public spirited senior level retired Civil / Defence Service Officers as National Level Monitors(NLMs) for monitoring implementation of rural development programmes

F.No. Q-11018/27/2012-NLM
Government of India
Ministry of Rural Development
Department of Rural Development
(NLM Section)

Room No 701, Block No 11,
C.G.O. Complex, New Delhi-110003,
Dated the 29th January 2014
Office Memorandum

Subject : Empanelment of public spirited senior level retired Civil / Defence Service Officers as National Level Monitors(NLMs) for monitoring implementation of rural development programmes.

The undersigned is directed to refer to Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare D.O. letter No.4/36/2013-P&PW(D) dated the 23rd December, 2013 and to say that the Ministry of Rural Development has evolved a comprehensive system of independent third party monitoring of implementation of its rural development programmes across the country by deputing Individual and Institutional National Level Monitors(NLMs) who are public spirited senior level retired Civil/Defence Service Officers and Academia, for ensuring accountability and transparency in the execution of various programmes of this Ministry. The experience/exposure to rural development and rural development related programmes is required for empanelment as Individual NLM. The empanelment of NLMs are done against open advertisement issued in the leading Newspapers and on the website of the Ministry inviting applications from eligible and willing Individuals and Institutions for empanelment as NLMs. As per the scheme, following categories/level of retired officers having working knowledge on computer use, upto the age of 65 years as on specified date of publication of advertisement, are eligible for empanelment as Individual NLM:


a) ex-service officer from the Armed Forces of the rank of Lt. Colonel and above,
b) retired officers of Para Military Forces having equivalent rank to Lt. Colonel or above in the Armed Forces,
C) retired Central/State Government Officers including IT professionals and Management Experts of the level of Deputy Secretary and above to the GOl,
d) retired Engineers of the rank of Superintendent Engineer and above in Central/State Government,
e) retired officers of the rank of Deputy Secretary in the offices of AGs and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
f) retired police officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police and above.
g) retired professors of any recognized University/Research Institutionsl Scientific organization, and
h) retired PSU/PSB officers of the rank of Deputy General Manager and above
2. This Ministry pays TA/DA and other monitoring charges to the NLMs as per terms and conditions of their services, The reports submitted by the NLMs are sent to the Programme Divisions of this Ministry for taking follow-up action on all the NLM reports. The reports of NLMs are also shared with the District Collector and the Chairman of the Vigilance and Monitoring Committee of the district for corrective measures.
Source-90paisa

Extension of validity of empanelment of private hospitals empanelled under CGHS

No.S.11045/36/2012/CGHS(HEC)
Government of India
Directorate General Of Central Govt. Health Scheme

Maulana Azad Road, Nirman Bhawan,
New Delhi 110108, dated the 31st March, 2014

OFFICE ORDER

Subject: Regarding extension of validity of empanelment of All Health Care Organizations empanelled under CGHS.

Attention is drawn to the Office Memorandum issued earlier extending validity of empanelment of all health care organizations under CGHS till 31st March, 2014.

2. It has now been decided to extend the validity of empanelment of all Health Care Organizations under CGHS for further period of three months or till finalization of next empanelment of health care organizations under CGHS whichever is earlier on same terms and conditions as defined in OM on which they were empanelled earlier.
Source-90paisa

01/04/2014

Central government employees to be prohibited access to social media at work


The central government Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it will issue an advisory prohibiting government employees from accessing social networking websites through officials systems and networks.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul asked the centre to immediately issue an advisory prohibiting public servants, who already have an official e-mail account, from using external services.

The bench took into note the submissions of Additional Solicitor General Rajeeve Mehra that 4.5 lakh government employees have been allotted official email accounts and they have started using them.


Mehra further submitted that there would be requirement of five million such account holders and setting up of such e-mail accounts would require some time and infrastructure.

"You (centre) will issue an advisory that those people who have been given official e-mail accounts (nic.in) will immediately use that e-mail ids and to increase the number of employees on official accounts,” the bench said.

The court told the government that the server pertaining to the official e-mail account should be “housed in India itself”.

It also asked the information and technology department to process a draft e-mail policy proposal for the committee of secretaries within two weeks, and the committee to approve the e-mail policy and another policy “on acceptable use of IT resources of the government of India” within two weeks after that.

Filing an affidavit, the centre told the high court that it has proposed a national e-mail policy for official communication of government employees, saying the objective of the policy was to ensure “secure access and usage of data” by them.

In an affidavit filed in the high court, the department of electronics and information technology said the use of e-mail accounts of external service providers will be “prohibited for official communication” by government employees.

Earlier, the bench had asked the central government to bring in an e-mail policy for government officials in consonance with the Public Records Act in order to bar transfer of data to a server outside the country.

The public interest litigation (PIL) filed by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader K.N. Govindacharya, said the use of e-mail accounts whose servers were outside India and transfer of the nation’s official data using this medium violated the Public Records Act.

The central government in its affidavit also said it has proposed another policy “on acceptable use of IT resources of the government of India” that lays down the guidelines with respect to use of all IT resources.

The court will hear the case April 30.

Source: www.gadgets.ndtv.com

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