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Showing posts from September, 2008

Service chiefs discuss pay panel report with Antony

The armed forces on Tuesday submitted their revised salary vouchers ending a month-long deadlock over their decision to withhold "discriminatory" pay commission report, paving the way for the personnel to receive part arrears just in time for Diwali. Simultaneously, the three services chiefs discussed the ways for moving forward on the issue at their regular weekly meeting here with Defence Minister A K Antony, Defence Ministry sources said. "The meeting today was a regular weekly meeting of the Defence Minister with the Services chiefs. But pay commission issues were top on the agenda of the meeting," sources said. The developments come after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a three-member ministerial committee headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee last Friday to consider their four core issues. Also, Antony had taken a tough stand and asked the defence chiefs to accept the 6th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations temporarily, after t

70 per cent "pensionary weightage" to jawans

The government has agreed to restore 70 per cent "pensionary weightage" to jawans, even as Defence chiefs on Thursday intensified efforts to get "anomalies" in the 6th Pay Commission notification removed. "The government has given in principle approval to reverting to the 70 per cent pensionary weightage, as demanded by the Services, overruling the 50 per cent recommended by the Central Pay Commission (CPC), providing much-needed relief just before this Diwali," top Defence Ministry sources told reporters here. Espousing their cause, the Services chiefs today apprised Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on the issues. Earlier, jawans used to get 70 per cent of their last drawn pay as pension calculated on the basis of their 10-month average salary before retirement. Under the CPC notification, the jawans, who form the backbone of the Armed Forces but retire at a relatively young age, are to be prov

'Save India Campaign' launched by scientists to attract & retain the young scientific talent

Confederation of Atomic and Space Scientists/Technologists (COAST)  met on the second COAST meeting exhibited the concern over the exodus of experienced scientists from these premier departments DAE & DOS. In order to attract and also retain the young scientific talents in these organisations, a 'Save India Campaign' was launched. More details at the NATIONAL FEDERATION OF ATOMIC ENERGY EMPLOYEES Blog

Conveyance Allowance and Travelling Allowance

Department of Expenditure, The Ministry of Finance has issued office memorandum related to the acceptance of sixth pay commission recommendations on Conveyance Allowance and Travelling Allowance. The memorandum on Conveyance Allowance can be downloaded from here   The memorandum on Travelling Allowance can be downloaded from here

LTC Acceptance

The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance & Pension Department of Personnel Training has issued office memorandum related to the acceptance of sixth pay commission recommendations on LTC. The main points are Parents dependent on the Govt. employees are eligible for LTC irrespective of whether they are staying with Government employee or not. Fresh employees can avail 3 home town travel and one to any place in India during the first two block of for years. Travel entitlements for LTC will be same as that of official tour with no daily allowance. The memorandum can be downloaded from here

Antony urges PM to address forces’ pay panel demands

As the armed forces have refused to take their salaries recommended by the pay panel unless their â€Å“core issues are addressed, Defence Minister A.K. Antony has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take their demands into consideration. Antony’s letter comes after the three services’ chiefs put their foot down and sought redressal of their demands pertaining to the Sixth Pay Commission. Antony last week strongly recommended that the prime minister and the finance minister (P. Chidambaram) consider the four issues raised by the forces, a defence source said Monday. The reviewed report of the Sixth Pay Commission has upgraded the civilian and paramilitary counterparts of officers of the rank of lieutenant colonel and equivalent to a higher pay band. As a result, civilian officers who were in the lower pay bracket and were hitherto drawing lesser pay than lieutenant colonels and officers of equivalent rank would now draw a higher basic salary. The armed forces have been conten

Antony favours armed forces, wants anomalies in Sixth CPC sorted out

Defence Minister A K Antony has strongly favoured sorting out of anomalies in the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) notification raised by the three services chiefs in their representation to the government. In his latest letter to Finance Minister P Chidambaram this week, Antony raised the issues, including the ones relating to Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBORs), top Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi on Friday. Yes, the Defence Minister has written a letter to the Finance Minister in which he has raised certain issues relating to the disparities that has crept into the pay commission notification, the sources confirmed. Among the issues raised by Antony was the one relating to the extant pensionary weightage and sought that it be restored till the time the proposal for lateral entry for them into paramilitary and central police forces was approved and implemented. Under the Sixth CPC proposal, the PBORs are to be given an opportunity for lateral entry into the paramilitary

DOPT issues clarification on Increment and promotions after 1-1-2006.

DOPT has issued fresh clarification on increment and promotions after 1-1-2006. tween 1-2-2005 and 1-12 2005 are eligible for increment on July 2007 as they completes 6 months after increment. For those whom the increment is on 1-1-2006, the news scale is considered including the increment on 1-1-2006. They are also eligible for increment on July 2007.   The memorandum also clarifies on the promotions after 1-1-2006. It can be accessed at http://164.100.50.223/six_pay_comm/clarifications.pdf

6th pay gains: Cut taxes to benefit staff

Government employees are upbeat over the Sixth Pay Commission report, little realizing that more than them it is the Government which is the main beneficiary. Of the Rs 16,000-crore benefit that the panel is supposed to give over Rs 5,300 crore would go back to the Government by way of income-tax at 33 per cent alone. In fact, some employees would now be subjected to an additional tax as their salaries would touch the Rs 10-lakh per annum mark. In its latest report, the Reserve Bank of India has come up with the desired suggestion of reducing the income-tax rate and raising exemption limits, for increasing the disposable income and ease inflationary pressure. The high inflation rate, around 13 per cent on wholesale price index (more on the basis of consumer price index) has already eroded substantial part of the pay panel benefit. The taxes would eat up the rest. It is well-known that wage revision is undertaken primarily to neutralise the effect of price rise. One, it is dearness al

DRDO seeks foreign help in attracting, retaining talent

Bleeding from an exodus of talent, India’s premier military research body Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is seeking tips from other countries in attracting and retaining the best scientific brains. We have organised an international workshop on ‘Future roadmap for Science and Technology Network’, where experts from the US, Britain, Australia, Germany and Israel will deliberate upon the issue, said Arun Kumar, director of the DRDO’s Recruitment and Assessment Centre. ‘Our main objective is to gain from their experience in highly specialised areas like scientists’ recruitment and retention,’ Kumar added. Former president A.P.J. Kalam, who once headed DRDO, will inaugurate the four-day workshop that will also see participation by scientists and other stakeholders from the public and private sectors, as also the government. DRDO, which celebrates its golden jubilee this year, loses a scientist every second day to a plum post in the private sector. According to the

Big raise on cards for university teachers

A University Grants Commission pay panel has promised that the average raise for university teachers will be higher than what corresponding government officials are to receive under the Sixth Pay Commission. The committee, headed by former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice-chancellor G.K. Chadha, is also set to recommend a uniform retirement age. The age is 65 in central universities but, as Chadha pointed out, it varies from 55 to 70 in educational institutions under states. “We will ask all states to invoke a uniform policy on the age of retirement and re-employment of teachers. The uniformity is essential to rid India’s higher education sector of inter-regional disparities,” Chadha said today. The committee has been criticised by teachers’ bodies for failing to submit its report by the September 6 deadline. The panel was set up along with the Sixth Pay Commission and both reports were to be implemented together. The Centre finalised the findings of the pay commission and no

Excise, Customs men up in arms against pay panel 'anomalies'

Peeved by the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, superintendents of Central Excise and Customs have decided to stage a protest before Parliament on September 16 to press for higher pay scale and better promotional avenues. "The reason behind it (the protest) is the apathetic and indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned in matters of promotion, pay scale, working condition, staff position etc," the All India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers (Delhi unit) said in a statement on Friday. The government has already notified the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, which will put a burden of over Rs 23,000 crore on the government coffers during the current financial year. The Association has alleged that compared to employees in other cadres, the promotional opportunities are far less for inspectors and superintendents engaged in collection of indirect taxes like Central Excise, Customs, Service Tax, Inland Air Travel Tax and Fo

Ordinary employee get 20% hike and president gets 300%

The Government of India has enhanced the emoluments of the President of India, the Vice President and state governors to Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 1.10 lakh per month respectively. The hike comes close on the heels of Government announcing a bonanza for its employees by implementing the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission report under which an ordinary employee gets a hike of 20%. Is this justified? We are not seeing the amount of hike but the percentage. Will this help to improve the morale of ordinary employees. Post your comments here. We would like to inform our visitors that our discussion forums were down due to huge traffic even after we migrated to new servers. Currently the issue has been rectified and the forum is live. You can access the discussion forum at http://staffcorner.net/talk/   (Please copy and paste or type the link in the address bar)

Armed forces take pay panel grievances to finance minister

Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta has met Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Prithviraj Chavan with the grievances of the armed forces over the pay panel's recommendations, an official said Wednesday.Unhappy with the lowering of parity in payscales in comparison with the bureaucracy and paramilitary forces, Admiral Mehta met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sep 4 and drew his attention to the issue arising from the Sixth Pay Commission's recommendations. "Admiral Mehta met Chidambaram and Chavan yesterday (Tuesday) on the core issues in the pay commission's report concerning the armed forces," the official said on condition of anonymity. The armed forces earlier sought that the cabinet, rather than the anomalies committee of the finance ministry, should consider the matter. The cabinet, following the assurance of the prime minister, is likely to take up the "core issues" of the armed forces

New website for discussion forum

We have been facing regular server downtime due to the huge traffic since the gazette notification for the sixth pay commission was released. To reduce the downtime we have a new website for the discussion forum at http://www.staffcorner.net/talk/ . We have also added two new forums - for defense personals and for pensioners .   

IT officials appeal to Manmohan on pay anomalies

Unhappy with modified Sixth Pay Commission award, taxmen have pointed out discrepancies in the revised pay scale and have sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in the matter. Pointing out the discrepancies in the revised pay scale, income tax officials said when compared with their counterparts in some other departments, it amounted to virtually "lowering of status" of senior revenue officials. "We are shocked at the decision of the government to ignore recommendations of the Pay Commission to upgrade the pay scale of members of CBDT to Rs 80,000 (fixed), even though the pay scales of Directors General of Police and Principal Chief Conservators of Forests have been upgraded without any recommendation," said a memorandum submitted by the Indian Revenue Service Association.

Group `D` staff may not require to pay tax on arrears

Group 'D' employees of the Central government, including peons and drivers, can heave a sigh of relief as they are likely to get their 40 percent salary arrears in full without any income tax deduction on implementation of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. While the Group 'D' government employees will not have to pay tax on arrears, those belonging to higher levels can also claim marginal benefit by filing Form 10E of the Income Tax Returns, said a senior official of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Among the Group 'D' employees, drivers receive highest salary because of over-time allowance, the tax official said, adding, "even they will fall short of the taxing limit by a whisker." High ranking officials would not get as much benefit as their Group 'D' counterparts get as they already are in a larger tax bracket and may also be required to pay a "surcharge" on their salaries, Chartered Accountant Subhash Lakhotia said

New pension rules with better pay panel package

This should cheer former central government employees. With the Centre notifying the new pension rules, they can expect a higher pension packet from next month. The revised pensions are higher than what the sixth Pay Commission recommended. Although the move benefits the cross-section of retired employees, those in higher brackets have gained more in real terms. New pensions for defence and railway personnel will be notified separately. Older pensioners have an added reason to rejoice. Centenarians will get 100% extra pension calculated at revised rates. Similarly, those over 80 years will get an additional 20% of their basic pension. This goes up by 30%, 40% and 50% for those over 85, 90 and 95, respectively. To get an idea of the quantum of hike, a person with a basic pension of Rs 10,000 — who used to get Rs 22,050 in hand — will now receive a total pension of Rs 26,216. The new rates are effective from January 2006 and the arrears will be given out in two instalments — 40% durin

Armed forces take pay panel grievances to PMO

Unhappy with the lowering of parity in payscales in comparison with the bureaucracy and paramilitary forces, the armed forces have drawn Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s attention to the issue rising from the Sixth Pay Coommission’s recommendations. The Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman and Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta met the prime minister on Thursday and discussed the issue with him. “Admiral Mehta has gone to the prime minister to brief him about his recent visit to Japan and South Korea and seized the opportunity to draw his attention to the erosion of parity between the armed forces officers and their civilian and paramilitary counterparts,” a senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. It is understood that the prime minister assured the naval chief that he would consider the issue. Ahead of meeting the prime minister, Mehta wrote to Defence minister A K Antony on September 1 that these “core issues” would affect the joint operations of the armed for

Anomalies in Annual Increment Dates

[  From the comment on the Sixth Pay Commission Blog by jkchat ] I would like to point out the following anomalies about Annual Increment: (i)The Hindi Version of the Resolution dated 29.8.2008 states (page no. 16; Paragraph VII (iii) that the Government has accepted CPC recommendation with the modification that there would be two dates of increment, viz., 1st January and 1st July of each year. However, the English version of the Resolution (page no. 43; Paragraph VII (iii)says that the Government has accepted CPC recommendation of granting Annual Increment, in all cases, on 1st July in respect of employees completing six months and above in the scale as on 1st July. Which is the correct position, the Hindi version or the English version? (ii) The Notification dated 29.8.2008 for the CCS(RP) Rules, 2008 states (page 39; Paragraph 10) as under: "There will be a uniform date of annual increment, viz., 1st July of every year. Employees completing 6 months and above in the revised

TRICKS

<From a comment posted in the sixth pay commission blog> My fellow Govt. employees, I want to draw your kind attention to the TRICKS played by this anti-govt. employee Government. (1) The base year for calculation of DA has been changed to 2001 from 1982. this will results in lesser DA in coming years. even during current very HIGH inflation scenario we have got only 4% DA in last 6 months. So, you can imagine what will happen in coming years (hardly 2% increase). If the 5th pay comminssion would have continued then we would have got at least 8% DA, and it would have been merged with our basic pay. So, government played a dirty politics to divert our attention from this matter. Now, we can see how small the rise is compare to previous pay commission. (2) This government has showered its blessing on higher officials only. It has treated with apathy the juniors and middle level officers. (3) The biggest anamoly in this commission is the sudden jump when we compare 12000 scale

Armed forces want cabinet to consider pay revision

Contending that dilution of parity with the bureaucracy and paramilitary forces will hinder their operations, the armed forces want the cabinet, rather than the anomalies committee, to consider their demands over the pay panel report.The Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman and Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta wrote a letter to Defence minister A.K. Antony Sep 1 saying these core issues, if left unaddressed, will result in “despondency” among the armed forces. Mehta said in the letter that the erosion of parity between the armed forces officers and their civilian and paramilitary counterparts would affect the joint operations. “The command and control functions will be seriously hampered between army, BSF (Border Security Force) and CPMF (Central Paramilitary Forces), where infighting will jeopardize operations,” the letter says. The reviewed report of the Sixth Pay Commission has upgraded the civilian and paramilitary counterparts of the officers of the ranks of lieutenant col

Govt puts payout of arrears on fast track

To expedite the payment of salary arrears to lakhs of its employees after implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission's report, the government has waived any “pre-check” of the claims they would be submitting. This has been done to ensure that arrears are cleared at the earliest when the salary for September is paid to employees on the last working day of the month. The employees would, however, be required to furnish an undertaking so that the government can later deduct any excess payment made to them due to any miscalculation. Usually, the drawing and disbursement officer in a government office is supposed to verify the salary and arrear bills of every employee but the one-time exception will save the accounts section the additional burden. It will, however, work out the details of the dues later. After the new salaries were notified on August 29, the government came out with a detailed “ready reckoner” that took into account each earlier pay scale and the corresponding chang

Incentive-based pay set to debut with science & tech department

The Union government will soon offer an incentive-based salary package for employees of some departments and allow recruitment from the private sector on contract, in line with the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission aimed at reforming the bureaucracy. The department of science and technology, or DST, has already moved to put in place an incentive-based system, said a senior finance ministry official, who didn’t wish to be identified. “Once DST implements it, we expect there will be pressure on other government departments to follow suit,” this official added. The government on 14 August accepted the Pay Commission’s recommendations, offering 5 million employees an average raise of about 21%. According to the same finance ministry official, the cabinet has laid down that any government department was free to put in place a performance-related incentive system provided that it is “budget-neutral”, meaning the expense will have to be offset through savings in other expenditure.

Government clarifies, income-tax only on 40 per cent pay arrears this year

Government today said it would tax only 40 per cent of salary arrears to be paid to central government employees in the current fiscal on implementation of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. Generally speaking income earned in a year is taxed in that particular year, official sources said. A section of the media today reported that the entire amount of arrears would attract tax this fiscal. As per the notification issued by the government last month, central government employees will get 40 per cent of arrears during the current financial year and the remaining amount in the next financial year. Government instructions issued on August 30, 2008, regarding fixation of pay and payment arrears consequent to implementation of the Sixth Central Pay Commission recommendations clearly states that in authorising the arrears income tax as due may also be deducted and credited to the government. The arrears with effect from January 2006 would cost Rs 29,373 crore. Of the arrears, 40 per c

Government to tax entire salary arrears - 100% this year

For 5.5m government staff looking forward to take home the 40% of the accumulated arrears on their increased salary next month, in time for some festive spending on Diwali and Eid, here's a sad news. The government has decided to levy tax on the entire amount of arrears - even for the 60 % which will be paid next year, in the current fiscal itself. For most employees, the decision would virtually wipe out almost the entire amount of 40% arrears to be paid to them this year. Senior bureaucrats will suffer the most as their tax would be topped with a surcharge of 10%, applicable on an income of Rs 10 lakh and above. A senior finance ministry official said the surcharge to be paid by officers of the rank of joint secretary and above ranges between Rs 24,600 and Rs 52,500. The impact would be less on the lower grades.

Forces "unwilling" to implement 6th Pay Commission report

The Armed Forces have communicated to Defence Minister A K Antony that they were "unwilling to implement" the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) report without "anomalies" being removed to restore their status and parity of pay scales. "A high level delegation from the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) made a presentation to Defence Minister A K Antony and top officials on anomalies, as introduced in the notified CPC report for officers, though it expressed satisfaction over the pay hikes for personnel below officer rank," Defence Ministry's top sources said here today. After witnessing the presentation, Antony was quoted as assuring the Armed Forces that he would take up "the anomalies" with the government and get them addressed, sources said. The presentation comes in the wake of Chairman of COSC and Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta meeting Antony on Friday evening just hours before the CPC report was notified seeking to stop the governmen

Pay Calculator revised

The Pay Calculator has been updated to fix the revised pay at the minimum of the Pay Band and consider the increments in the existing scale. Find it at http://staffcorner.com/calc_mirror1.html

Dearness Allowance - Revised Rates.

By Sanjaysgpgi2002 - post at http://staffcorner.com/talk/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=858#p5702 (edited) Recommendation of Sixth Central Pay Commission - Decision of Government relating to the grant of Dearness Allowance to the Central Government Servants - Revised Rates. New rates of DA has been announced on http://india.gov.in/govt/paycommission.php ( http://164.100.50.223/six_pay_comm/allowances.pdf ) From 1-1-2006 : No Dearness Allowance From 1-7-2006 : 2% of Basic Pay and NPA, where applicable From 1-1-2007 : 6% of Basic Pay and NPA, where applicable From 1-7-2007 : 9% of Basic Pay and NPA, where applicable From 1-1-2008 : 12% of Basic Pay and NPA, where applicable From 1-7-2008 : 16% of Basic Pay and NPA, where applicable All the allowances and pension related queries are answered.1.But what about LTC? No circular has been issued by MoF so far on revised frequency and revised entitlement of LTC for CG employees. Any idea about this? 2. What about Family Planning Allowance? No ord

Unhappy with pay hike, Army wants review

The military is unhappy with the pay hike cleared recently. And the discontent is so high that over the last couple of days, all three service chiefs have met the Defence Minister to ask for a review. The cause of worry is the morale of about 25 thousand mid-level officers. Before the Sixth Pay Commission report, IAS officers equivalent to Majors, Lieutenant Colonels all were on same pay-scale of Rs 15,100. But after the report, IAS officers will earn Rs 11,000 more as basic pay. Due to this, strong resentment is brewing among Majors, Lt Colonels and equivalent ranks. Over 25,000 Majors, Lt Colonels and equivalent ranks in three services are considered the forces' cutting edge. Earlier, at a pay scale of about Rs 15,000 Majors and Lt Colonels were at par with their IAS counterparts. Another reason for resentment is the fact that Lt Generals, second only to the Army chief and in-charge of key fighting formations, are paid less than Director Generals. Lt Gens who command more

Defence Ministry approves new pay scales for officers, PBORs

The Ministry of Defence, on the basis of the Sixth Central Pay Commission, has approved new pay scales and other allowances for officers as well as for the Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) of the Armed forces. The Government on October 2006 set up the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) and the Commission submitted its report on March 24 this year. The report covered among other things, matters relating to structure of emoluments, allowances and conditions of service of Armed forces personnel.

New Pay Scales of Defence Forces Officers

The Ministry of Defence has notified the new paybands along with grade-pay and Military Service Pay for Defence Forces Officers following the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission. ( in Rs.) Post Pay Band Grade Pay Military Service Pay # Lieutenant / equivalent 15600-39100 5400 6000 Capt / equivalent 15600-39100 6100 6000 Major / equivalent 15600-39100 6600 6000 Lt. Col / equivalent 15600-39100 7600 6000 Colonel/equivalent @ 37400-67000 8700 6000 Brigadier/equivalent @ 37400-67000 8900 6000 Major Gen/equivalent 37400-67000 10000 Nil* Lt Gen / equivalent 37400-67000 12000 Nil Vice Chiefs and Army Cdr / equivalent 80000 (fixed) Nil Nil Service Chiefs 90000 (fixed) Nil Nil   #           No arears on account of Military Service Pay shall be payable. *            The element of Military Service Pay shall be taken on account for purposes of fitment at the time of p

Are government salaries really low?

Though the government has formally notified the liberal pay hikes to its staff with uncharacteristic alacrity, one question remain unasked. Are government salaries as low as they are made out to be? By Shivshanker Verma When the Pay Commission submitted its proposals to the government, it was widely expected that its implementation would be delayed because of the huge financial burden. Public finances are already under strain because of the scary rise in subsidy bills and populist programmes like the jobs guarantee and farm loan waiver schemes. It was also expected that the government would not risk the expansionary effect of a pay hike when inflation has ben at a 13-year peak. But the lure of earning the gratitude of millions of government workers ahead of general elections proved too irresistible to the government. Unlike most big government programmes, there was no dilly-dallying with this one. Within months of receiving Pay  Commission recommendations, the central government he

Pay panel revises education allowance

The modified recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission, notified by the government on Friday, also ensures a rise in the children education allowance besides an increase by 21 per cent on an average in the salaries of the government employees. Retrospective effect The revised salaries will reflect in next month’s pay though the report is to be implemented with retrospective effect from January 1, 2006. The arrears would be given in cash – 40 per cent this financial year and 60 per cent in the next fiscal. Reimbursement According to the notification, children education allowance will be reimbursed up to maximum Rs.1,000 per child per month subject to a maximum of two children from the present Rs. 50 per child. Hostel subsidy Besides, hostel subsidy has been raised to the maximum limit of Rs. 3,000 per month per child from Rs. 300 currently. Also, these reimbursements would be automatically raised by 25 per cent once dearness allowance on the revised pay bands become 50 pe