Wednesday 31 January 2018

AICPIN for the month of December 2017

AICPIN for the month of December 2017

No.5/1/2017–CPI
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT
LABOUR BUREAU
‘CLEREMONT’, SHIMLA-171004
DATED: 31st January, 2018
Press Release
Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) — December, 2017
The All-India CPI-IW for December, 2017 decreased by 2 points and pegged at 286 (two hundred and eighty six). On 1-month percentage change, it decreased by (-) 0.69 per cent between November, 2017 and December, 2017 when compared with the decrease of (-) 0.72 per cent for the corresponding months of last year.
The maximum downward pressure to the change in current index came from Food grotip contributing (-) 2.37 percentage points to the total change. At item level, Rice, Arhar Dal, Gram Dal, Groundnut Oil, Chillies Green, Brinjal, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, French Beans, Green Coriander Leaves, Methi, Palak, Peas, Potato, Radish, Tomato, Banana, Sugar, ESI Premium Contribution, Toilet Soap, etc. are responsible for the decrease in index. However, this decrease was checked by Wheat Atta, Coconut Oil, Fish Fresh, Goat Meat, Onion, Tamarind, Coconut, Electricity Charges, Firewood. Secondary School Fee, Flowers/Flower Garlands, etc., putting upward pressure on the index.
The year-on-year inflation measured by monthly CPI-IW stood at 4.00 per cent for December, 2017 as compared to 3.97 per cent for the previous month and 2.23 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year. Similarly, the Food inflation stood at 4.32 per cent ‘against 3.91 per cent of the previous month and 0.67 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.
At centre level, Jamshedpur and Tiruchirapally reported the maximum decrease of (7 points each) followed by Doom Dooma Tinsukia, Siliguri, Godavarikhani and Jalpaiguri (6 points each). Among others, 5 points decrease was observed in 7 centres, 4 points in 10 centres, 3 points in 9 centres, 2 points in 21 centres and 1 point in 13 centres. On the contrary, Darjeeling recorded a maximum increase of 8 points followed by Maria’ (4 points) and Srinagar (3 points). Among others, 2 points increase was observed in 2 centres and 1 point in 2 centres. Rest of the 5 centres’ indices remained stationary
The indices of 35 centres are above All-India Index and 43 centres’ indices are below national average.
The next issue of CPI-IW for the month of January, 2018 will be released on Wednesday, 28th February, 2018. The same will also be available on the office website www.labourbureanew.gov.in.
(AMRIT LAL JANGID)
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
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Get Ready For The Blue Moon, Super Moon And Blood Moon

Get Ready For The Blue Moon, Super Moon And Blood Moon

In Asia, the last Blue Moon and total lunar eclipse happened on December 30, 1982

Get ready for a rare lunar event that has kept the Internet abuzz from the beginning of the year. A Super Moon, Blue Moon and a total lunar eclipse can be seen on the evening of January 31.
Dr. Debiprosad Duari, Director, M. P. Birla Planetarium, Kolkata, explains more about the rare event.
Lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse is a spectacular celestial show, during which the bright, pearly-white disc of the full Moon turns dark, and sometimes takes on the colour of dark copper, or even dried blood. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon are so aligned that for a period of time, the full Moon passes through the shadow of Earth in space (called Earth’s Umbra).
Why is it termed Blood Moon or Copper Moon?
During a total lunar eclipse, though the Moon gets shadowed by the Earth, sunlight passing through the Earth’s atmosphere, break down in its constituent colours and the red part gets scattered by the atmosphere and falls on the Moon’s surface, thereby making it take on a reddish copper hue. For this reason since antiquity, a totally eclipsed Moon is called a “Blood Moon”. It has no other special relevance other than the fact that the colour of the Moon looks blackish-red.
Why is it called a Blue Moon?
This full Moon occurs twice in a calendar month, the last one being on January 2. The next one, on January 31, is termed a “Blue Moon”. The Moon does not turn blue but historically the second full Moon of an English calendar month is termed as a Blue Moon. Hence the oft-quoted phrase of a rare occurrence of any event as “once in a Blue Moon”.
Super Moon
The coming lunar eclipse will be more spectacular because during the eclipse, the Moon will be near its perigee (the Moon reaches its perigee on January 30 at around 15:28 hrs. IST) and hence it will look larger than an average full Moon, and is termed a Super Moon.
At what time can we see the eclipse in India?
In India, the eclipse will start around 17:18 IST. It will be total at 18:21 hours and remain totally eclipsed till 19:37.
Then after, the total eclipse will end and the Moon will slowly come out of the shadow of the Earth, the partial eclipse ending around 20:41 hrs. The totality of the eclipse will last for about 1 hour and 16 minutes.
So this rare event is happening after 150 years?
Many pages on the Net say that it is happening after 152 years and the last time it happened was in 1866. But this was for the Americas, not for everywhere on the globe.
In Asia, the last Blue Moon and total lunar eclipse happened on December 30, 1982. So, it is happening after 35 years for sky enthusiasts in India.
Do I need any special binoculars or a telescope to see this rare phenomenon?
Not at all. It can be seen through the naked eye.
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No Orange Passport For Those With ECR Status, Last Page Will Be Printed

No Orange Passport For Those With ECR Status, Last Page Will Be Printed

The Kerala High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre based on a Public Interest Litigation plea challenging its decision to introduce orange-coloured passport for those who require emigration checks, PTI reported.
The petitioners, lawyer Shamsuddeen Karunagappally and Shajahan, argued that the government’s decision would lead to the segregation of people on the basis of their educational qualifications and economic status.
“Emigration Check is required for a passport holders who do not have an education beyond 10th grade, have less than taxable income and who seek migration for employment,” the petitioners said. “To make their underprivileged status known publicly through separate colour code is a grave invasion of their fundamental right to privacy and dignity.”
The petitioners disagreed with the government’s rationale that an orange-coloured passport would help the workers stand out in difficult situations and make it easier for authorities to process their documents. They said the workers would be more vulnerable to harassment and exploitation since their status would be apparent because of their passport.
The petition has also challenged the Centre’s decision to remove the last page from the passports, which contains personal information including the name of the father, mother, spouse, address, Emigration Check Required and the old passport number.
In the heat of this, the government on Tuesday rescinded its decision to issue passports with orange-coloured jackets to those with ECR status, such as unskilled workers seeking employment abroad.
“A decision was taken by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on the recommendations of a three-member committee comprising officials of MEA and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, not to print the last page of passport booklet,” the External Affairs ministry said in a statement.
Noting it received several individual and collective representations requesting to reconsider this decision as well as orange-coloured passport, it said at a meeting chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday in the presence of Minister of State for External Affairs V.
K. Singh, the decision of the ministry on both these issues was reviewed in the light of these representations.
“After comprehensive discussions with the various stakeholders, the MEA has decided to continue with the current practice of printing of the last page of the passport and not to issue a separate passport with orange colour jacket to ECR passport holders,” it stated.
On January 12, the External Affairs Ministry said that India has decided to do away with the last page of the passport that contains the names of the spouse, parents and address of the passport-holder while changing the colour of ECR passports for unskilled workers.
The last page also contains information such as Emigration Check Required (ECR) and old passport number with date and place of issue of that passport.
With the last page of the passport not to be printed, passport holders with ECR status would be issued a passport with orange colour passport jacket and those with non-ECR status would continue to get a blue passport, the ministry had said.
ECR passport holders require clearance from the Protector General of Emigrants to go abroad in order to prevent exploitation.
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Aadhaar -Based Profiling Fears Serious, Supreme Court Says

Aadhaar -Based Profiling Fears Serious, Supreme Court Says

The Supreme Court expressed concern over private entities being allowed to use the Aadhaar platform.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said apprehensions of profiling of citizens on the basis of Aadhaar data is a serious issue that needs examination but the court also cannot neglect benefits to the common man by way of middlemen being eliminated and welfare schemes reaching the beneficiaries.
“Profiling is a very serious issue and we have to engage our mind on that aspect. But equally important is that the government has been able to provide benefits to communities under the scheme. It allows doorstep delivery of services and benefits to people,” Justice D Y Chandrachud, who is part of a five-judge Constitution bench, said during the ongoing hearings related to pleas challenging the scheme.
Praising Aadhaar for providing citizen-centric services and social benefits, the Supreme Court said it could not neglect the advantage of the scheme while deciding its constitutional validity. It, however, expressed concern over private entities being allowed to use the Aadhaar platform and misuse data for profiling individuals, an issue on which, it said, the Centre had to satisfy the court.
As senior advocate Shyam Divan termed Aadhaar as an “architecture of digital dictatorship” under which the state will be able to keep track of movements of its citizens and maintain constant surveillance, the bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan demurred, observing that linking it to mass surveillance was “like stretching too much”.
Divan responded that there was a genuine apprehension that Aadhaar data could be aggregated to profile individuals in what will be violative of the right to privacy. He said with the government and private entities making Aadhaar mandatory, profiling will be an easy task after collecting data pertaining to the use of the ID.
“My point is not that it is tracking but the architecture can be misused in future for tracking and profiling of people. We are living in a democracy and profiling cannot be allowed. The state cannot be allowed to aggregate the data, which could be used to track people. It cannot be allowed even if it is for the purpose of providing them benefits like health and education,” he said.
“There is nothing wrong in aggregation for limited purpose for providing subsidies, scholarships and benefits under MGNREGA. Will it not pass the test? But the larger aggregation of data could not be allowed. The government has told us the benefits of Aadhaar in weeding out fake beneficiaries of welfare schemes and it is not possible for the court to ignore it. How to maintain proportionality?” Justice Chandrachud asked.
“If you have an I-phone in your pocket, then your movements could be easily tracked. Your whereabouts could be also known if you use ATM card. We are all living in a highly networked world,” the bench said. Justice Chandrachud also referred to the World Bank report appreciating the Aadhaar scheme.
Divan, however, said that constitutional validity of a scheme could not be judged by World Bank reports and articles published in foreign journals and told the bench to consider reports in local journals pointing out how governments had failed in providing relief to farmers who are dying.
The bench said, “This is the positive aspect of Aadhaar. At least we have a citizen-centric delivery of services. There are some problems with Aadhaar and the government has to explain on it, including how can it be allowed to be used by private entities. We need to see which are the areas of concern and we will examine it,” the bench said.
Source: TOI
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Budget 2018 – Govt May Sidestep Demand For Boost To Maternity Benefit Scheme

Budget 2018 – Govt May Sidestep Demand For Boost To Maternity Benefit Scheme

The rollout of the scheme in its first year of implementation has been tardy with only 96,460 women receiving cash transfers.

Demands from activists and economists for a raise in the budget 2018 allocation for the government’s maternity benefit programme have failed to cut ice with the Centre.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has not sought any increase for the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), which promises Rs 6,000 to pregnant and lactating mothers for the birth of their first child, in its wishlist to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for Union Budget 2018, an official said.
The ministry has asked for Rs 25 billion for the programme, the same as last year.
An initial amount of Rs 27 billion was announced for the scheme during Union Budget 2017 but it was later revised to Rs 25 billion.
About 60 top economists of the country wrote to Jaitley in December last year, pointing out that the amount of Rs 27 billion set aside by the Centre was a third of what is required under National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, which entitles all pregnant women and lactating mothers to at least Rs 6,000, and not just mothers of first-borns.
It is reliably learnt that NITI Aayog had opposed the move to restrict benefits to only mothers of first-borns but the Prime Minister’s Office stuck to its guns because of the cost factor.
The rollout of the scheme in its first year of implementation has been tardy with only 96,460 women receiving cash transfers until January 15, 2018. This is less than 2 per cent of the total 51.6 lakh women the government seeks to benefit annually.
As a result, in the next fiscal, the government will have to provide cash benefits to double the number of women, while last years budget would have lapsed.
This shows that the government is not serious, said Dipa Sinha, convenor of the Right to Food campaign, who was among those who wrote to Jaitley.
“By the government’s own truncated estimate, 52 lakh women were to benefit from the scheme in the current financial year. But since only a fraction of them have received the cash transfer, it means the government needs to now reach out to double the annual estimate in the next financial year and, therefore, should have at least sought twice the funds allocated last year,” Sinha explained.
She added that the scheme is violative of the NFSA, under which all pregnant and lactating mothers, except government employees, are entitled to a sum of at least Rs 6,000.
The PMMVY programme is, however, restricted to only one child per woman. The scheme also excludes any woman who already has a child today because it applies only to the birth of the first living child.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised New Year Eve address to the nation on December 31, 2016 announced the pan-India expansion of the maternity benefit scheme which was until then being implemented across 56 districts as part of a pilot project.
In May 2017, the Union Cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana for pregnant women and lactating mothers, effective from January 1, 2017.
Under the scheme, a woman would receive Rs 5,000 in three instalments upon meeting different requirements and remaining Rs 1,000 under Janani Suraksha Yojana after institutional delivery.
According to Sinha, by adding conditionalities such as institutional delivery for women to claim Rs 1,000 of the total Rs 6,000, the government is denying mothers their right under law.
Maternity benefits became a legal entitlement in 2013 under the NFSA, which states, “Subject to such schemes as may be framed by the central government, every pregnant and lactating mother shall be entitled to [nutritious food and] maternity benefit of not less than rupees six thousand, in such instalments as may be prescribed by the central government.
Source: BS
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Tuesday 30 January 2018

Maternity leave DoPT Order: Rule 43, which makes provision for maternity, for the sake of convenience

Maternity leave DoPT Order: Rule 43, which makes provision for maternity, for the sake of convenience

DoPT: Delhi High Court order on maternity leave in case of surrogacy

No.13018/6/2013 -Estt.(L) 
Government of India 
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions 
Department of Personnel & Training


JNU Old Campus, New Delhi
Dated 29 January, 2018
OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Writ Petition No.844/2014 in the High Court of Delhi filed by Ms. Rama Pandey, Teacher, Kendriya Vidyalaya V/s UoI & Others - reg.

The undersigned is directed to enclose herewith Hon' ble High Court of Delhi's Order dated 17th July, 2015 in the Writ Petition No.844/2014 in the High Court of Delhi filed by Ms. Rama Pandey, Teacher, Kendriya Vidyalaya V/s UoI & Others.

2. All Ministries/Departments are advised to give wide publicity of its contents to the concerned officers.

3. This issues with the approval of Secretary (P).

(Sandeep Saxena) 
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India

As per standard mailing list. 
Copy to: 
NIC, DOPT - for uploading on the website.

12.4 Rule 43, which makes provision for maternity, for the sake of convenience, is extracted herein below:

"...43. Maternity Leave :
(1) A female Government servant (including an apprentice) with less than two surviving children may be granted maternity leave by an authority competent to grant leave for a period of (180 day's) from the date of its commencement.

(2) During such period, she shall be paid leave salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave. NOTE :- In the case of a person to whom Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 (34 of 1948), applies, the amount of leave salary payable under this rule shall be reduced by the amount of benefit payable under the said Act for the corresponding period.

(3) Maternity leave not exceeding 45 days may also be granted to a female Government servant (irrespective of the number of surviving children) during the entire service of that female Government in case of miscarriage including abortion on production of medical certificate as laid down in Rule 19: 'Provided that the maternity leave granted and availed of before the commencement of the CCS(Leave) Amendment Rules, 1995, shall not be taken into account for the purpose of this sub-rule'.

(4) (a) Maternity leave may be combined with leave of any other kind. (b) Notwithstanding the requirement of production of medical certificate contained in sub-rule (1) of Rule 30 or sub-rule (1) of Rule 31, leave of the kind due and admissible (including commuted leave for a period not exceeding 60 days and leave not due) up to a maximum of one year may, if applied for, be granted in continuation of maternity leave granted under sub-rule (1).

(5) Maternity leave shall not be debited against the leave account..."
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Postmen with Smartphones to Cater IPPB Services

Postmen with Smartphones to Cater IPPB Services

A special dispensation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will enable the payments bank to link accounts of existing post office savings bank customers and let them access both on the same screen and perform transactions.

Postmen with Smartphones to Cater IPPB Services : A special dispensation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will enable the payments bank to link accounts of existing post office savings bank customers and let them access both on the same screen and perform transactions.

New Delhi: India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will press into service postmen equipped with smartphones to go door to door and will open 3,250 customer access points across 650 districts when it launches operations in March, seeking to cater largely to under-banked rural areas.

The bank will leverage the 155,000 technologically upgraded post offices, of which 129,000 are in rural areas, as well as the existing customer base of India Post, Anant Narayan Nanda, secretary, department of posts, and chairman of IPPB, said in an interview.

According to Nanda, this will give a huge fillip to existing customers. India Post has around 170 million savings bank accounts.

“By December 2018, 2 lakh postmen and gramin dak sewaks carrying mobile phones will offer doorstep banking to customers predominantly in rural areas. Eventually, this number will increase to 3.5 lakh,” Nanda said.

The bank plans to start with 3,250 access points—five each in 650 districts—and scale up the number every month. It will employ 3,000 people—roughly half the staff will be on deputation from state-run banks and India Post.

The bank is in the process of training postmen to carry out basic banking facilities such as opening bank accounts and conducting transactions on the mobile phone. Besides assisting customers, the postmen will also teach them how to perform transactions on their own. They will receive monetary incentives for both assisted and eventually self-service transactions.

Customers will be able to access a range of services including net banking, National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), Real-time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS). They will be able to pay utility bills, invest in mutual funds and buy insurance products on the app.

The gramin dak sevaks and postmen will be trained by banking institutions. An internal survey by the department showed that between 70% and 80% of postmen use smartphones for personal use and are active on social networking sites and should be able to use the app with ease, Nanda said.

At present, the post office accepts payments of around Rs46,000 crore in cash every year. With the entire network moving towards accepting digital payments, a significant portion of this amount could be handled by the banking network, an indication of the potential available for business.

IPPB is 100% owned by India Post; it received a payments bank license from RBI in January 2017 and has begun operations on a pilot basis in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

India has three other operational payment banks—Airtel Payments Bank, Paytm Payments Bank and Fino Payments Bank.

“India Post does have the largest reach in the rural parts of the country and the idea of financial inclusion through postmen seems very promising,” said Ashish Aggarwal, a consultant at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. “However, the execution has to be well done to have mass impact. The postmen need to be well-trained and equipped as even basic banking involves much more than delivering courier (packages) and letters,” he added.

www.ippbonline.org
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ePost office door delivery

ePost office door delivery

ePost office of IndiaPost offers variety of online Postal services like purchase of stamps,payment&purchase of postal order for RTI. Now you need not visit miles to collect the holy water Gangajal, just login (link: http://www.epostoffice.gov.in) epostoffice.gov.in &receive the hold water at your doorstep. 
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With only a few days to go, these tips will help you crack the GATE

With only a few days to go, these tips will help you crack the GATE

With only a few days to go, these tips will help you crack the GATE

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an All India Entrance Examination for admissions for M.Tech, M.E courses at the IITs, NITs, other reputed Tier 1 institutions and many private universities across the country. GATE 2018 is going to be conducted by IIT Guwahati this year for 23 papers on February 3, 4, 10 and 11 across eight sessions.
The mode of the examination is expected to remain the same as for GATE 2017. It is a computer-based exam and will be held for three hours. Virtual calculator will be provided during the online exam. There are 65 questions containing MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) and NAT Questions (Numerical Answer Type) for 100 Marks.
Crack this
This year, more than 50 PSUs are recruiting through the GATE-18 score. Some of the prominent PSUs that recruit via GATE Score are DRDO, BHEL, NTPC, PGCIL, IOCL, SAIL and BAARC. “To get good GATE score, one should have a very good command on technical subjects, as GATE strongly tests your knowledge in all technical areas. Also, to crack a PSU job through GATE, getting a good GATE score is not the only important component, you also need to have a deep insight into the subject as many PSUs have an interview round during their recruitment process,” says president of T.I.M.E. Institution, R .V. Reddy.
Here are some tips and strategies on “what to do?” and “what not to do?” in the last few days from the experts.
Don’t spend time going all over the topics again
This is not the time to start reading from the scratch. You need to go ahead with short notes and revise the practice questions and answers you have read before. One important advise to students is to figure out a way to find out about topics which were not covered by you at all. This can be done by looking at the synoptic note of the topic mentioned in the study material/textbook so that you can be in a position to answer if the question comes out as a direct question.
Easy subjects first
Start studying the subjects which is easier and prioritise them accordingly. The more you solve, the more you answer correctly, and this confidence will help you get energised to attempt the difficult questions too. This is important to keep your energy and excitement intact for cracking GATE.
Use short notes
Try and make short notes from the tutorials or common discussion forums or from any other study material. This will help you speed up your preparation, as notes don’t go into the details of the subject. This will therefore help you cover the essential concepts needed for the exam and thus save time.
Solve previous question banks
Try to solve as many papers as you can. If you are not able to solve or get the correct answers, go back to your notes or explanations and understand those from the study book and move on. Don’t stick to books which have vast explanation of topics.
Avoid the Internet
It is very common for students to search on the net and download the soft copies of the books and notes. These soft copies can be found easily, downloaded and shared. But the disadvantage with soft copies is that the Internet also has many other things to distract you like music, videos, chats and so on.
Don’t think too much, start working
If you think about all subjects you need to finish, you will feel the burden. Just plan out what you want to study today and be sincere and complete it the same day.
“Finally do not take too much stress or study late at night. Eating and sleeping on time will give you the much needed energy to put in your best during the exam. Relax on the final day and sleep early. Hard work never goes unpaid, so keep calm. All the best.” says Mr. Reddy.
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How to sell stamps on CSI Environment?

How to sell stamps on CSI Environment?


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Railways Sends Employees For First Foreign Pleasure Trip

Railways Sends Employees For First Foreign Pleasure Trip

Secunderabad-based SCR has taken the lead in "optimising welfare activities for its non-gazetted workforce.

Indian Railways first non – working foreign tour is under way — not for senior officers but for gangmen, trackmen and other non-gazetted employees.
In a first for the national transporter, 100 non-gazetted workers of South Central Railway flew to Singapore and Malaysia for a six-day vacation on January 28, said a statement.
While 25 per cent expenditure of the tour is being borne by the employees, 75 per cent is from the Staff Benefit Fund (SBF), M. Umashankar Kumar, SCR chief public relations officer, said in a statement.
“The 100 strong group of employees… comprised of Group C and D category employees, with preference given to employees from lower cadres and those nearing retirement. Allocation of number of slots for each Division, Workshop and Headquarters was given on the basis of their sanctioned strength,” he said.
Secunderabad-based SCR has taken the lead in “optimising welfare activities for its non-gazetted workforce, by organising the first-of-its-kind Employees Overseas Camp on Indian Railways”, he said.
The itinerary covers tourist sites such as Universal Studios, Sentosa and Night Safari in Singapore and includes the Kuala Lumpur City Tour, Petronas Towers, Batu Caves and Genting Highlands in Malaysia.
SBF funds are allocated by Railway Board for various welfare activities of non-gazetted employees working in the national transporter.
They are usually used for scholarships for lower grade employees, to benefit the girl child, camps for children and other such socially relevant causes, an official said.
The SCR had sent a proposal for the tour in December last year for its employees.
Less than a month later, the group was on its way to foreign shores.
Source: PTI
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It’s Not So Rosy Anymore: Economic Survey Paints A Sobering Picture

It’s Not So Rosy Anymore: Economic Survey Paints A Sobering Picture

The exuberance of previous surveys is gone. ‘Stuff happens,’ says the chief economic adviser.

The lead author of Economic Survey 2017-18 and India’s chief economic adviser, Arvind Subramanian, presented a sobering prognosis of how Indian economy could perform in the short term, claiming it will grow at between 7% and 7.5% in next financial year.
This is in strong contrast to the rosy picture Subramanian painted in his first economic survey, for 2014-’15, when he had said that double-digit growth for India’s Gross Domestic Product was within reach.
Asked by a journalist why India had slipped from this sweet spot, he was candid. “Stuff happens,” he said.
Subramanian went on to describe why the ebullience had slipped out of his reports – and the economy. The bad stuff, he said, was the result of the “temporary” impacts of the government’s decision in November 2016 to demonetise high value currency notes and the introduction in in April 2017 of Goods and Services Tax. But these effects, he said, were now fading. . He could not have predicted demonetisation and had advised that a better GST system to be put in place. Subramanian did admit, though, that he had underestimated the impact of one factor he had foreseen – the bad loans with which Indian banks are saddled and the unhealthy balance sheets of Indian companies. The unexpected high interest rates of borrowing money made investment difficult and the rise in global oil prices have hemmed in the economy, he added.
The survey did take a dig at the cost demonetisation imposed on the economy by diverting focus away from reviving investments. “Mobilising savings, through attempts to unearth black money or encouraging a shift away from gold investments, is important but perhaps not as urgent,” the Survey said.
Niti Ayog’s chairperson Rajiv Kumar was quick to take issue with this. He said he expected a better growth rate next year than the “conservative” 7%-7.5% predicted by the Survey.
But the gravity reflected in the Survey goes beyond quibbling over the topline numbers.

Reality check

In previous surveys, the authors had enthusiastically laid out the economic promise held in the government’s policy initiatives, such as Jan Dhan bank accounts for the poor, the Aadhar identity project and integrated farm produce markets. They had suggested that the economy would take a leap after the implemention of GST and investments in the railways were increased. On the social sector front, the authors had last year said it was time for the government to ensure a “Universal Basic Income” for all citizens.
This year, the authors suggested that instead of adding to its agenda, the government should finish what it has already set out to do. This would include selling off the debt-crippled Air India, quickly easing the load off debt-riddled balance sheets of companies through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and consolidating and privatising nationalised banks.
The resurgence of exports after a long dive, the Survey hinted, would be the short-term saviour of the sluggish economy. But reviving investment by domestic industry would require more effort, and would involve smoothing out problems related to taxation-related litigation.
But even if the government stuck to the tasks suggested in the Survey, Subramanian warned of two fresh challenges that could impede the speed of recovery. There was a chance that investments could be dampered by if oil prices stay high and the partially-irrational high prices of Indian stocks undergo a correction.
Many experts believe the survey has provided sage advice in a year before the country goes into general elections. It remains to be seen, however, if the government would be able to stick to this advice in the budget on February 1. Some believe, though, that it will be tempted to make yet more ambitious promises to voters as the Opposition tries to keep the focus on the farming crisis and unemployment.

Agrarian distress

The one area where the Survey had little advice to offer even as it presented a rather bleak prognosis was agriculture.
The chapter summing up the state of economy noted that real wages for farm as well as non-farm work had fallen, that a production glut had led to a crash in the prices of crops such as potato and soyabean, that the real incomes of farmers had slumped and that sowing for both farming seasons for 2017-’18 had fallen by an estimated 6.1% for kharif and 0.5% for rabi, which was leading to lower demand for labour on the farms.
Instead of addressing these short-term concerns, the authors instead included a chapter on how climate change would impact agriculture in the medium and long run – by mid-century to the end of it. The chapter reproduced results that are mostly well known to the Indian and global climate change scientific community, such as, that irrigated areas would suffer the impacts of climate change less than non-irrigated areas.
The Survey asked for more research and suggested that subsidies for cereals be replaced with direct cash transfers, though pilot projects have failed. The Survey made an oblique reference to bringing agriculture-related issues under the joint control of the Centre and the states instead of letting it be a state subject alone. The authors of the Survey referred to it as deploying the “cooperative federalism technology” of the GST Council, where the Centre holds a veto over decision making though all sit together to decide upon the indirect tax system.
The Survey also suggested that funds transferred from the Centre to panchayats and urban local bodies could be made conditional and linked to how well they perform in collecting land revenue. This, the authors suggested, was because, “the bigger problem is that they (the local level rural and urban bodies of governance) are not fully utilizing the taxation powers they already possess”. This upends the conventional wisdom that local bodies, particularly at the rural level, have not been given enough powers of taxation by the states and the Centre.
If accepted, this suggestion could provide the rationale for the recent downward revision the central government has sought in the share of annual revenues it gives state government. In 2015-’16, it had celebrated “cooperative federalism” when agreeing to give a greater share of unconditional funds to states.
Source: Scroll
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Service Charge Withdrawal Hits IRCTC’s E-Tickets FY17 Revenue

Service Charge Withdrawal Hits IRCTC’s E-Tickets FY17 Revenue

The value of of tickets booked online increased just 2 percent to Rs 24,485.21 crore, said the report.

Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation’s internet ticketing revenue dropped by 26 percent in FY17 after the government withdrew service charge on etickets to promote digital payments.

A report in The Economic Times stated that internet ticketing revenue dropped to Rs 466.05 crore despite a modest 5 percent increase in the number of railway tickets booked online on IRCTC platform. The online ticketing platform sold about 209 million tickets through 2016-17 compared to 199 million tickets sold the previous year.

The value of of tickets booked online increased just 2 percent to Rs 24,485.21 crore, said the report.
In November last year, the government had withdrawn service charges levied on tickets booked online to push India towards a digital economy. Prior to the decision,  IRCTC used to levy a service charge of Rs 20 on every non-AC eticket and Rs 40 for every AC eticket.
Overall, IRCTC’s total income increased by 4.7 percent at Rs 1,596.31 crore in 2016-17, however, its gross margin and profit before tax grew just over 7 percent to Rs 353.42 crore and Rs 211.71 crore, respectively.
Since the internet ticketing forms the second-largest category for IRCTC at 30 percent, the service charge withdrawal took a toll on operating margins. IRCTC’s operating margin dropped to 41.17 percent in 2016-17 as compared to 42.93 percent in 2015-16.
Of the Rs 1,246.3 crore worth of expenditure that the company clocked in 2016-17, about Rs 100 crore of annual expenditure was accrued on the back of the ticketing system on the website, marketing, operation and after-sales service, IRCTC said in its annual report for 2016-17.
The ticketing platform churns revenue from other facilities inculding catering and hospitality, bottled water Rail Neer, travel and tourism, and internet ticketing. In 2016-17, travel and tourism contributed nearly 34 percent of the company’s revenue.
The government is now taking steps to make up for the revenue losses.  “The impact (of scrapping service charge) will be more visible in the current financial year (2017-18). However, we are trying to make up for the revenue loss through the travel, tourism and hospitality segments,” IRCTC Chairman M P Mall told the paper.
Source: ET
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Monday 29 January 2018

Solution for Database connection failed issues on CSI POS

Solution for Database connection failed issues on CSI POS

Below solution process in case of any office face issue in Data Base connection fail in POS login.
1.Goto 
http://172.19.64.105:8080/POS

2.goto database_build

3. Click on PMT.zip file and it will download

4. Extract the file

5. Click on start.bat

6. Enter the ip address and browse the destination folder to save

7. Click generate

8. Copy po_connection.db file generated to the below path

C:/POS/Application/BO/build/db_con

And

C:/POS/Application/Counter/build/db_con
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Appointment of Postal Assistants /Sorting Assistants selected through CHSL2015 conducted by SSC

Appointment of Postal Assistants /Sorting Assistants selected through CHSL2015 conducted by SSC


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Seventh Central Pay Commissions recommendations regarding revision of pay scales for amendment of Service Rules/Recruitment Rules : DoPT

Seventh Central Pay Commissions recommendations regarding revision of pay scales for amendment of Service Rules/Recruitment Rules : DoPT

Seventh Central Pay Commissions recommendations regarding revision of pay scales for amendment of Service Rules/Recruitment Rules : DoPT









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LATEST NEWS ON GDS COMMITTEE

LATEST NEWS ON GDS COMMITTEE

LATEST NEWS ON GDS COMMITTEE


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New Dress for Postmen/MTS launched by Shri Manoj Sinha - PIB

New Dress for Postmen/MTS launched by Shri Manoj Sinha - PIB

The Department of Posts has redesigned the uniform for Postmen (both male and female) and MTS cadre in consultation with National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi (NIFT). The uniform has been redesigned keeping in view the functionality, comfort and durability. The uniform will provide a strong brand identity of the Department of Posts as it provides for easy identification of postmen staff.

The Department enjoys credibility and respect through the field operatives that is the postmen. He is the face of the Department as he delivers letters and parcels to every door. Therefore, it is important that the uniform he wears, which identifies him with the Department should be such that he stands out. Khadi being indigenous to our culture and comfortable in all climatic zones of the country was found suitable for the postmen.

As per the recommendation of 7th CPC, the Government has decided to provide Rs. 5,000/- as dress allowance per year. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises has agreed to provide dresses for the postmen from its outlets in each district of the country. The Postmen can purchase dresses from outlets of KVIC from the dress allowances provided to them.

Hon’ble Minister of Communications, Shri Manoj Sinha launched the redesigned uniform for postmen/postwomen and MTS in New Delhi in the august presence of Hon’ble Minister of State (I/C), MSME, Shri Giriraj Singh. The 90,000 postmen/postwomen, Mail Guard, Multi Tasking Staff will get benefitted by the redesigned uniform.
Source:PIB



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