After 7th Pay Commn., Retirement Age likely to be Hiked

Hiking the Retirement Age for the Central Government Employees to 62

After the announcement of the 7th Central Pay Commission, rumors of the retirement age hike is being heard again. The media speculates that the government may take a decision on hiking the retirement age for the central government employees to 62 may be taken in a couple of weeks time.

Even though the government had made it clear that there was no such proposal, the same was the case with the pay commission.

CNBC TV18 Reports that the proposal to extend the retirement age of central government employees by two years has received fresh impetus.

 A decision on this could be taken within a week or two, and would be the second major populist decision by the UPA to woo the urban middle class and the powerful government employee mass in Indian society.


Ref : http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/7th-pay-panel-formed-retirement-age-may-go62-yrs_956487.html?utm_source=ref_article

Seventh Pay Commission for central government employees announced

 Ahead of elections, the government on Wednesday announced constitution of the Seventh Pay Commission, which will go into the salaries, allowances and pensions of about 80 lakh of its employees and pensioners.


 "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved the constitution of the 7th Pay Commission. Its recommendations are likely to be implemented with effect from January 1, 2016", Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in a statement.


 The setting up of the Commission, whose recommendations will benefit about 50 lakh central government employees, including those in defence and railways, and about 30 lakh pensioners, comes ahead of the Assembly elections in 5 states in November and the general elections next year.


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


 As the Commission takes about two years to prepare its recommendations, the award of the seventh pay panel is likely to be implemented from January 1, 2016, Chidambaram said.



 The sixth Pay Commission was implemented from January 1, 2006, fifth from January 1, 1996 and fourth from January 1, 1986.


 The names of the chairperson and members of the 7th Pay Commission and its terms of reference will be finalised shortly after consultation with major stakeholders, Chidambaram said.

ECHS Membership when husband and wife are Defence Personnel - Clarification

1. There were a No of issues which come into effect when both husband and wife are defence personnel or one of them is a defence person and other is a Central Govt employee. The issues also included whether one or both parents can be made members of the ECHS.
2. We had taken up the case with the MOD and clarifications have been issued vide MOD letter No 22(20)05/US(WE)/D(Res) dated 10 Feb 2006(copy attached). In brief it contains the following clarifications:-
3. When Both Husband and Wife are Defence Pensioners
1. Only one has to give ECHS contribution.
2. Both can cover their respective parents by making two ECHS contributions.
4. When one is a defence person and other is a Central Govt employee, the latter has the choice to withdraw from CGHS when the spouse becomes a member of the ECHS.

Form 14 by the spouse-after the death of the pensioner

Submission of Form 14 by the spouse to the pension disbursing bank after the death of the pensioner – instructions reg

No.1/27/2011-P&PW(E)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, P.G. & Pensions
Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare

 

 

3rd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan,
Khan Market, New Delhi
Dated: 20th September, 2013

 

 

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

 

Sub: Submission of Form 14 by the spouse to the pension disbursing bank after the death of the pensioner – instructions reg.

The undersigned is directed to draw attention to the requirement of applying for family pension in Form 14 as given in rule 81 (2) (A) (ii) of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972.

 

2. This Department has been receiving representations from various quarters to do away with the condition of applying for family pension in Form 14 as it is causing inconvenience to widows, who find it difficult and embarrassing to present themselves before two Gazetted Officers/persons of repute for attestation of Form 14.

 

 

3. Before commencement of family pension, personal identification details of the spouse such as specimen signature, personal mark of identification and left hand thumb impression, proof of age/date of birth of spouse and an undertaking from him/her for recovery of excess payment are to be obtained by the bank. Form 14 serves as a standard processing sheet, which defines and delineates the exact requirement of information to be given to the pension disbursing Bank. It was apprehended that in the absence of this standard, the widows may be asked to submit any relevant or irrelevant information by the bank. This could also lead to delay in commencement of the family pension.

 

 

4. The matter has been examined and it has been agreed that in case the pensioner and spouse are holding a joint account, the possibility of claim for family pension from someone else does not arise. Therefore, in such cases, there is no requirement of Form 14. The spouse may inform the Bank of death of the pensioner and request the bank for commencement of family pension, through a simple letter. He/she may enclose a copy of death certificate of pensioner, PPO, proof of his/her own age/date of birth and an undertaking for recovery of excess payment. In other cases, i.e., where the pension is not being credited to the joint bank account of the pensioner and his/her spouse, Form 14 will be continued to be obtained by the banks. However, the condition of attestation of Form 14 has been done away with and witnessing by two persons has been considered as sufficient.

 

 

5. For all future cases, Head of Office will forward to the PAO, along with similar details for the pensioner, the specimen signature, personal mark of identification, left hand thumb impression, the proof of age/date of birth and an undertaking from the spouse regarding recovery of excess payment. After the death of the pensioner, the spouse of the deceased pensioner will be required to provide only death certificate to the paying bank, who will identify the spouse based on their formation given in the PPO and its own “Know Your Customer” procedures. Where the pensioner and his/her spouse do not have a joint account, Form 14 will be required as in para 4 above.

 

 

6. This issues with the concurrence of Department of Expenditure, vide their ID No. 601/E.V/2013, dated 13.09.2013.

 

 

(D.K. Solanki)
Under Secretary to the Government of India

Source : www.pensionersportal.gov.in
 

Cabinet hikes dearness allowance by 10%

Release of additional installment of dearness allowance to Central Government employees and dearness relief to Pensioners, due from 1.7.2013

The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal to release an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2013, in cash, at the rate of 10 per cent increase over the existing rate of 80 per cent.

 

 

Hence, the Central Government employees as well as the pensioners are entitled for DA/DR at the rate of 90 per cent of the basic with effect from 01.07.2013. The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula based on the recommendations of the 6th Central Pay Commission.

 

 

The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both dearness allowance and dearness relief would be of the order of Rs. 10879.60 crore per annum and Rs. 7253.10 crore in the financial year 2013-14 ( i.e. for a period of 8 month from July, 2013 to February 2014).

MACP on Hierarchy: Supreme Court dismissed the Govt. petitions against HC Decision

MINISTERIAL STAFF ASSOCIATION, SURVEY OF INDIA

Dear Comrade,

The Principal CAT [OA 904/2012 dt. 26-11-2012], Delhi and the Punjab & Haryana High Court [CWP No. 19387 of 2011 (O&M) Date of Decision: 19.10.2011] have held that MACP is to be granted on promotional hierarchy and not on next higher Grade Pay as per the 6th Pay Commission Recommendation. 

 

The SLP filed by Union of India against the P&H decision was dismissed by the Supreme Court [CC 7467/2013].

 

 

 

 

Yours Comradely,
Manoj Kumar Sharma
Secretary General
Ministerial Staff Association
C/o-Northern Printing Group
Survey of India
Dehradun:- 248001

Base YEAR updation of Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) 2013-14=100

Labour Bureau, Government of India

                                   CPI - Industrial Workers

Base YEAR updation of Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) 

 2013-14=100

Background of CPI-IW series:

 The CPI-IW series on scientific lines was first introduced with base 1960=100 which was based on the results of Family Living Survey conducted in 1958-59 at 50 industrially important centres. The series was then, updated on base 1982=100 and a revision in 1999-2000 has further updated the base on 2001=100. The current series of CPI-IW  with base year 2001=100 covers 78 industrially important centers spread across the country.

Need for Base Updation:

The consumption pattern of the working class population undergoes change over a period of time and therefore, it becomes necessary that the consumption basket is updated from time to time to account for these changes and to maintain the representative character of the index. The need for frequent revision of base on account of fast changing consumption pattern of the target group has been recommended by International Labour Organisation, National Statistical Commission, National Commission on Labour and also Technical Advisory Committee on Statistics of Prices and Cost of Living. Also this recommendation was strongly reiterated by the Index Review Committee set up under the Chairmanship of Prof. Chadha which inter-alia stated that the intervening gap between the two series should not exceed 10 years. Labour Bureau accordingly, has proposed to revise the base year of the existing CPI-IW series 2001=100 to a more recent base year preferably, 2013-2014=100.

Scope and Coverage

 The current series of CPI-IW with base 2001=100 was constructed on the basis of employment data in seven sectors namely, Registered Factories, Mining, Plantations, Ports & Docks, Public Motor Transport, Electricity Generation & Distribution Establishments and Railways sector. The current series comprises of a basket of about 370 items and 289 price collection markets spread across 78 centres of the country. In the existing series, the Working Class Family Income & Expenditure Survey was conducted during 1998-99 by the NSSO and a sample size of 41040 family budget schedules and 15960 house rent schedules (i.e. about a total of 57000 schedules) were canvassed from 78 industrially important centres of the country. The price collection work was done by the Labour Bureau and the main survey work of income & expenditure data collection was conducted by NSSO.

In line with the recommendations of Index Review Committee (IRC), the possibilities of extending the  scope of the new series to two more additional sectors i.e. Handloom and Construction sectors are being considered. However, Labour Bureau expects an increase in the number of centres from existing 78 centres to around 88-95 centres approximately. Consequently, the total number of family budget enquiry schedules and house rent schedules to be canvassed would increase to 70,000 schedules approximately.

Committees:

i)                    Standing Tripartite Committee

The Index Review Committee (IRC) headed by Prof. G.K. Chadha recommended for constitution of a Standing Tripartite Committee (STC) of all the stakeholders.  Accordingly Ministry of Labour & Employment constituted a Standing Tripartite Committee (STC) vide order No. Y-12011/5/2010-ESA(LB), dated 12^th January, 2011.

The Terms of Reference of the STC formed are as follows: 

            The Standing Tripartite Committee will                

{i}       examine the various aspects of the base year revision of Consumer Price Index Number Series for Industrial Workers {CPI-IW} including the selection of Centres, sample size, sampling design, methodology for deriving the weighting diagram and linking factor;

{ii}      examine the method of price collection procedures and machinery of price collection;

{iii}     examine the centre specific weighting diagrams for all the centres, selection of base year, compilation of base year prices, trial indices; and

{iv}     consider any other relevant issue{s}/matter as may be necessary.

Secretarial assistance to the Standing Tripartite Committee will be provided by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour.  The Committee may also enlist the assistance of subject matter experts within and/or outside the Government and may co-opt members according to necessity.

	List of members of Standing Tripartite Committee (STC)
1.	Principal Labour & Employment Adviser                                                        Ministry of LAbour & Employment Shram Shakti Bhawan, Rafi Marg, New Delhi	Chairman
I.	Central Trade Unions/Workers Representatives (Two)
2.	Sh. Suryakant Shrikrishna Paranjape General Secretary, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, 185, Shaniwar Peth, Vishwakarma Bhawan, Pune-411 030	Member
3.	Sh. V.K. Sharma Working President Indian National Trade Union Congress Qtr. No. 398/B/Sector-3, P.O. Balco Nagar, Korba, Bilaspur-495 684.	Member
II.	Employer�s Organizations (Two)
4.	Sh. B.V.K.K. Rao Advisor (Finance) Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) Core 8, First Floor, SCOPE Complex, 7, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-03.		Member
5.	Sh. C.S. Rao Chief Economicst, Associated Chamber of Commerce & Industry of India) ASSOCHAM, 1, Community Centre, Zamrudpur, Kailash Colony, New Delhi-48		Member
III.	Independent Member (One)/Academic Representative (One)
6.	Sh. G.K. Lath Chartered Accountant A. Sachdev & Company, Chartered Accountants 27(11) Gokhale Marg,  Lucknow-226 001			Member
7.	Dr Arup Mitra, Institute of Economic Growth, University Enclave, University of Delhi (North Campus), Delhi- 110 007			Member
IV.	Women�s Organization (One)
8.	Ms. Pratibha Pandya, Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) Sewa Reception Centre Opp. Victoria Garden, Bhadra, Ahmedabad-380 001.				Member
V	State Representatives (Three)
9.	Sh. Vilas Kumar Kesavdas Buwa Dy. Commissioner of Labour, (Industrial Relations) Head Office, Office of the Commissioner of Labour, Kamgar Bhawan, C-20, E-Block, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Near City Park, Bandra(E), Mumbai-400051				Member
10	Sh. Thiru K. Kumaresan, Department of Economics and Statistics,  359, Anna Salai,Teynampet, Govt. of TamilNadu, Chennai-600 006				Member
11	Sh. M.L.Sharma Economic Adviser to Govt. Punjab Economic and Statistical Organisation, Punjab SCO No. 35-36, Sector 17-E, Chandigarh				Member
VI	Central Government Representatives (Three)
12.	Sh. Sanjay Kumar Deputy Director General Central Statistical Office(PCL Unit ), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg , New Delhi-1.					Member
13.	Sh. S. Bhavani Senior Economic Advisor Deptt. Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, 36, North Block, New Delhi -1					Member
14.	Dr. Anandi Ravichnadran Economic Adviser Department of Consumer Affairs Room no. 312, A Wing, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi- 110 001					Member
VII	Ministry of Labour & Employment (Two)
15.	Deputy Director General, Ministry of Labour & Employment Shram Shakti Bhawan, New Delhi						Member
16.	Director General,                                       Labour Bureau, S.C.O. 28-31, Sector 17-A, Chandigarh						Member Secretary

ii)                  Group of Technical Advisory Committee on Statistics of Prices and Cost of Living  (TAC on SPCL):

Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on request of Labour Bureau has constituted a small group of TAC on SPCL vide their office memorandum No. M-11011/4/2012-NAD(PCI), dated 14^th February, 2013.  The terms of reference of the small group shall be as follows:

The Group will:

(i)                 Examine all the technical issues relating to conduct of Working Class family Income & Expenditure Survey (WCFIES);

(ii)               Examine the centre specific weighting diagrams for all the centres, selection of base year, compilation of base year prices, trial indices and computation of linking factors etc;

(iii)             Consider any other issue (s) matter relating to revision of CPI(IW) as may be felt necessary;

(iv)             Submit its recommendations to the TAC on SPCL, within three years from the date of notification, for its consideration and approval.

  Composition of the Group:

(i)	Director General and CEO, National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and PI, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi- 110 001.	Chairman
(ii)	Additional Director General (FOD), National Sample Survey Office, East Block No. 6, R.K. Puram,  New Delhi- 110 066	Member
(iii)	Additional Director general (SDRD), National Sample Survey Office, Mahalanobis Bhawan, 1 64, GLT Road, Near Dunlop, Kolkata.	Member
(iv)	Senior Economic Adviser (Prices), Department of Economic Affairs,  Ministry of Finance, North Block, New Delhi � 110 001.	Member
(v)	Deputy Director General,   PCI Unit, National Accounts Division, Central Statistics Office, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi- 110 001.	Member
(vi)	Director General, Labour Bureau, Ministry of  Labour & Employment, SCO 28-31, Sector 17-A, Chandigarh.	Member
(vii)	Advisor, Department of Statistics and Information Mgt., Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, C-8-9, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Post Box No. 8128, bandra (East), Mumbai � 400 051.	Member
(viii)	Adviser, Monetary Policy Department, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office Building, 24th Floor, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai � 400 001.	Member
(ix)	Economic Adviser, Office of the Economic Adviser, Deptt. Of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi.	Member
(x)	Director, Labour Bureau, Ministry of  Labour & Employment, SCO 28-31, Sector 17-A, Chandigarh.	Member Secretary