Monday, 27 June 2016
Saturday, 18 June 2016
Empowered Committee recommendations on 7th Pay Commission report – Detailed report by Mr.Dorai
Empowered Committee recommendations on 7th Pay Commission report – Detailed report by Mr.Dorai
MEDIA REPORT THAT EMPOWERED COMMITTEE OF SECRETARIES ARE PLANNING TO RECOMMEND 30 PERCENT INCREASE IN BASIC PAY SHALL ACTUALLY RESULT IN LOWER BENEFIT THAN WHAT THE 7TH CPC RECOMMENDED – M.DORAI
Recent news appearing in the media that the Empowered Committee of Secretaries are planning to recommend 30 percent increase in the Basic Pay of Central Government employees has come as a bolt from the blue as it shall fetch lower benefit than what has been recommended by the 7th Central Pay Commission.
It is not clear whether the media is bungling on this issue without confirming the authenticity of any such move by the Empowered Committee.
Surprisingly quite a large number of central government employees and the Central Government Employees Federations/Associations including the media are not aware that 7th CPC had already recommended a minimum of 32% increase in the basic pay. In fact the recommendation works out to more than 32% increase in basic pay and may go even up to 40% in most of the cases, since after multiplying the existing Pay and Grade Pay by a factor of 2.57 the resulting figure is fitted into the pay matrix at the next higher slab.
The following illustration shall make clear the percentage of increase in basic pay which come to more than 32% of the basic pay:
Under 6th CPC: Assumed Pay & G.P Rs.29490+ D.A at 125% Rs.36863= Rs.66,353
Under 7th CPC: Pay & G.P Rs.29490 x 2.57 factor = 75,789 to be fixed at the next slab of Rs. 77,700 at level 10 in the Grade Pay of Rs.5400
Fitment Benefit : Rs.77,700 – Rs.66,353 = Rs.11,347
Percentage of increase: 38.32% of the basic pay (Rs.11,347 / Rs.29490 =38.47%). The increase will be only 17.10% if both basic and D.A are to be added.(Rs.11,347 / 66,353 = 17.10%)
The VII CPC has arrived at a factor of 2.57 for multiplication with the pre-revised Basic Pay comprising pay in the pay band and grade pay to arrive at new basic pay thereby including 32% of increase in the basic pay. The VII CPC have recommended 32% hike uniformly to all the employees as fitment benefit to the existing pay and grade pay and raised the existing 2.25 factor to 257% or 2.57 factor.
(The increase come to 14.22% if both the basic pay and D.A. are reckoned. However it must be noted that none of the pay commissions in the past had projected the increase by including both basic pay and D.A but had taken only Basic Pay into account for arriving at the percentage of fitment benefit granted as a bonanza.)
THE FOLLOWING COMPARISON OF FITMENT BENEFIT GRANTED BY 6TH CPC AND THE 7TH CPC SHALL GIVE CORRECT PICTURE:
INCREASE GRANTED UNDER 6TH PAY COMMISSION:
i. The 6th CPC had granted approximately 40% increase on the maximum of 5th CPC basic pay scale without taking into account Dearness Pay and D.A as on 1/1/2006 for the purpose of projecting the increase. The fitment benefit of 40% was distinctly shown as Grade Pay.)
ii. The increase granted by 6th CPC works out to 21.5% only if D.P and D.A are to be included in basic pay (40/1.86* factor = 21.5%)
( *1.86 factor means: 1 is to be taken as 100 which stands for Basic Pay and .86 should be taken as 86% which constitute 50% of Dearness Pay +24% DA on both Basic Pay and Dearness Pay i.e. Basic Pay100 + D.P 50 =150 x 24% =36% totaling to 186 or 1.86 factor which the employees had already drawn under 5th CPC Pay Scale as on 1/1/2006)
INCREASE RECOMMENDED UNDER 7TH PAY COMMISSION:
i. The recommended increase in basic pay by 7th CPC without taking into account 125%D.A as on 1/1/2016 come to a minimum of 32% which may go upto 40% of basic pay comprising Pay in the pay band and Grade Pay depending upon the slab in which the 2.57 multiplication factor gets fitted into at various levels of pay in the pay matrix.
ii. The recommended increase come to only 14.22% if both the basic pay and the 125% D.A as on 1/1/2016 is taken into account.(32/2.25 =14.22%) In other words 2.57*-2.25** = 32.
(*2.57* factor means: 1 + 1.25 + 32 =2.57. While 1 stands for 100% Basic Pay comprising Pay in the pay band and Grade Pay, 1.25 stands for 125% D.A. as on 1/1/2016 and .32 stands for 32% increase in Basic Pay comprising Pay in the pay band and grade pay recommended as Fitment Benefit by VII CPC totaling to 257% or 2.57 factor.
(**2.25 means: 1 + 1.25. While 1 stands for 100% of Basic Pay comprising Pay in the pay band and Grade Pay, 1.25 stands for 125% of D.A. as on 1/1/2016 totalling to 225 or 2.25 factor which the employee was already drawing under 6th CPC Pay Scale as on 1/1/2016. Added to it is 32% fitment benefit on Basic Pay comprising Pay and Grade Pay totaling to 257 or 2.57 factor. In other words 2.25 + 32 =2.57 factor).
Thus it may be seen that if the media report is really true that the Empowered Committee of Secretaries are planning to revise the increase in fitment benefit to 30% of the Basic Pay alone, it is highly deplorable as it shall lead to still lower fitment benefit than what has been proposed by the 7th CPC which recommended 32% minimum increase in the basic pay by arriving at 2.57 factor. This 2.57 factor recommended by 7th CPC for multiplication of basic pay shall come down to 2.55 factor if the Empowered Committee of Secretaries are going to recommend 30% increase in basic pay alone as under:
Basic Pay = 100%
D.A. as on 1/1/201 =125%
Fitment Benefit =30%
Total 255% or 2.55 factor
CONCLUSION: It is high time, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries entrusted with the task of reviewing the recommendations of VII Central Pay Commission desist from taking any hasty decision without fully analyzing the ground realities as the result will be dismal if really such a move is on the anvi. This 32% minimum increase in Basic Pay comprising Pay in the pay band and Grade Pay recommended by VII CPC which come to only 14.22% increase if both basic pay and D.A is taken into account, has caused disgruntlement and anguish among all the central government employees. If there is going to be an increase of 25 to 30 percent on both basic pay and grade pay or 50 to 60 percent increase on basic pay alone, then there can be some contentment among the central government employees who have been desperately waiting for a pay hike for more than 10 years. What is required is a concerted and concrete effort to solve the grievances relating to pay hike, in consultation with the stake holders with a pragmatic approach to resolve the issues.
M.DORAI
Deputy Director
ESIC MODEL HOSPITAL
(Ministry of Labour, Govt. of India)
Rajajinagar,Bangalore-560010- is the Author of this article
Source: http://7thcpcupdates.in/
Media reports substantial pay hike for central employees
Govt employees to get hiked salary from August, arrears in one installment ahead of Dusshera
The central government employees and pensioners are likely to get their 6 months of arrears just ahead of the Dusshera festival in October.
As per media report, increased salary of July will be credited to the 47 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners' accounts on August 1, 2016. But the arrears of last 6 months will be credited in one installment ahead of the Dusshera in October.
As per sources, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha has recommended a 30 percent increase in minimum and maximum basic pay structures along with doubling of existing rates of allowances and advances.
The 7th Pay Commission had suggested a maximum basic pay of Rs 2,50,000 and a minimum of Rs 18,000. A 30 percent increase would translate into maximum salary of Rs 3,25,000 and minimum at Rs 23,400, respectively.
The central government employees and pensioners are likely to get their 6 months of arrears just ahead of the Dusshera festival in October.
As per media report, increased salary of July will be credited to the 47 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners' accounts on August 1, 2016. But the arrears of last 6 months will be credited in one installment ahead of the Dusshera in October.
As per sources, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha has recommended a 30 percent increase in minimum and maximum basic pay structures along with doubling of existing rates of allowances and advances.
The 7th Pay Commission had suggested a maximum basic pay of Rs 2,50,000 and a minimum of Rs 18,000. A 30 percent increase would translate into maximum salary of Rs 3,25,000 and minimum at Rs 23,400, respectively.
Sunday, 12 June 2016
650 Branches Of India Post Payments Bank To Come Up In All Major Districts
Government is firming up plans to set up 650 branches of India Post Payments Bank at all major district headquarters by September 2017, Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said in a letter to all postal employees.
"The India Post Payments Bank shall be set up with an investment of Rs 800 crore. The plan is to roll out 650 branches at all major district headquarters so that it may leverage the extensive outreach of the Department of Posts," Prasad said in the letter.
The Cabinet on June 2 cleared the proposal to set up India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) with a corpus of Rs 800 crore and a plan for 650 branches operational by September 2017. It will be scaled up further to cover the entire country by the end of 2018-19.
"The Prime Minister has urged that these 650 branches shall be made fully functional by September 2017," Prasad said.
DoP is gearing up to launch the payments bank with a workforce of 3.5 lakh.
Prasad, in his letter, reached out to all postal employees for support.
"I earnestly appeal to all employees of the department and the Grameen Dak Sevaks to take pride and ownership in establishing the India Post Payments Bank which truly serves the cause of Antyodaya - serving the last man standing," he said.
He reasoned that the postman has a vital emotional connect and is almost part of every family in villages.
"In coming days, the role of all employees, including Grameen Dak Sevaks, will be very significant in successful rollout of the Payments Bank to make financial inclusion possible for every Indian," Prasad said.
DoP at present manages around 1.55 lakh post offices, of which about 1.3 lakh are in rural areas.
"I have no doubt in my mind that given your capabilities and your whole-hearted co-operation, we can accomplish the task. India Post has a footprint in every corner of the country," Prasad said.
IPPB will offer digitally-enabled payments, banking and remittance services of all kinds among entities and individuals as also provide access to insurance, mutual funds, pension and credit products in partnership with third-party financial service providers and banks.
"IPPB is being set up primarily to achieve the goal of full financial inclusion of the people in our country. It shall be a technologically-enabled banking platform that gives a wide range of services such as direct benefit transfers and all kinds of payments and remittances," the minister added.
India Post launches logo and tagline design contest for IPPB on MyGov
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Communications & Information Technology
10-June-2016 14:41 IST
India Post launches logo and tagline design contest for IPPB on MyGov
The Department of Posts on 10.6.16 launched a logo and tagline design contest for the soon to be set up India Post Payments Bank on the MyGov website. The Cabinet has on 1st June 2016, given its nod to the setting up of the IPPB under the Department of Posts to further financial inclusion in the country.
Department of Post wants to connect with and involve the people of India in designing the DNA of the India Post Payments Bank. One of the guiding principles of the India Post Payments Bank would be cocreating value propositions and products with its customers and other stakeholders. The present contest is the first step towards this ongoing engagement. It has also initiated a nationwide survey to understand the needs of different segments of customers.
Reward: The contest is open to all Indian citizens, institutions, agencies and entities for a period of one month, until 9th July 2016. The best entry will be awarded Rs 50,000/. A panel of eminent designers/ experts will help shortlist 20 best entries which will thereafter be put up for voting on the MyGov platform for the final selection of the winner.
About the India Post Payments Bank
The India Post Payments Bank will offer digitally enabled payments, banking and remittance services of all kinds between entities and individuals and also provide access to insurance, mutual funds, pension and credit products in partnership with third party financial service providers and Banks. It is poised to emerge as the main vehicle of financial inclusion in the country by bringing the physical reach of 1.55 lakh post offices and a modern payments platform powered by ubiquitous information and communication technologies together to create a national payments architecture that can be accessed by all users like never before. The stakeholders of the India Post Payments Bank within the Government and outside are looking at this new entity as a catalyst to social and financial inclusion. The roll out of the IPPB is to be completed by September 2017.
Source : PIB
Steps To Be Taken To Prevent Frauds In CBS Offices
Steps To Be Taken To Prevent Frauds In CBS Offices - Directorate Order No.25-11/2016-FS-CBS Dated 10.06.2016
Government of India
Ministry of Communication & IT
Department of Post
Financial Services Division
Dak Bhawan, New Delhi -110001
Directorate Order No.25-11/2016-FS-CBS
Dated 10.06.2016
Subject : Further steps to be taken to prevent frauds in CBS Offices
1. It was requested earlier that all SBCO staff should be given training at WCTCs by User Champions for End User/Supervisor Module before SBCO training by Infosys. Please ensure that all SBCO staff has been trained by User Champions as well as Infosys. A certificate of completion of training should be obtained from all SBCO staff and kept in their service book.
2. Divisional Heads should ensure that SBCO staff is comparing LOT generated through MIS server with the vouchers received from SO/HO. Wherever, there is shortage of staff in SBCO, necessary help should be provided from Post Office staff to SBCO (spared from SBSO branch) to complete voucher checking.
3. Any objection received from SBCO by Divisional Head or Vigilance Branch of RO/CO should be investigated promptly.
4. Transfer of account from one CBS PO to another CBS PO should be carried out at HO only. If any application for transfer is submitted at any CBS SO, that SO has to verify genuineness of the customer by taking fresh KYC documents (if required). Application should entered in a register to be maintained in manuscript and forward with KYC documents to its HO for transfer of account. In HO, one designated PA should transfer the account and Supervisor has to verify the same. After transfer, Application of transfer and KYC documents should be returned to SO duly entered in SO slip. SO should make entry in the register and maintain separate Guard File for keeping such applications.
5. All visiting/ inspecting officers should check this register and guard file at SO.
6. No SO should transfer any account from one scheme to another. Any such request should also be sent to HO along with documents and recommendations by SO. This activity should be done only by Supervisor at HO and verify by another Supervisor at HO. All such requests should be entered in a register HO and kept in n separate guard file. This should also be checked and verified by inspecting / visiting officers.
7. SBCO staff should sing in each and every voucher after tallying with LOT generated through the system in token of having checked TRAN ID, Account number and Amount.
8. SBCO should also see the value date printed in LOT and if any value date of more than 3days of the LOT date is used, objection should be raised if no error book entry of approval of competent authority is not attached with the voucher.
9. Postmaster of HPO shall designate one PA who will generate LOT of Office accounts of Single/ Double handed SOs and see if any transaction of more than Rs.25,000/- is shown in these LOTs. Customer Account details of such transactions should be generated from HACLI Menu and sent to PRI(P) / Inspection Post / ASP(Post) for verification.
10. All CBS Post Offices should be instructed that BO transactions should not be entered if BO Bag is received after 3.30 PM. These transaction should entered on the next day
11. All CBS Post Offices should be directed to complete their transactions maximum by 5 PM and no new transactions should be entered after 5 PM. All supervisors should verify transactions regularly without delay so that EOD can be started by 5 PM.
12. All Supervisors should tally teller account with each counter PA with Treasurer’s Cash book and ensure that teller account has become 0 before start of EOD.
13. Teller Cash Account of each Single/ Double handed SO should be checked at HO by a designated PA to ensure that balance has been made as 0.
14. SOs should not lodge cheques in Finacle. Cheques received from New Investment and subsequent deposit should be sent to HO by preparing manual list. HO should lodge cheques presented at SOs for new investment against clearing office account of SO and for subsequent deposits in its own clearing account. SOs should check their New Investment Clearing Office account daily to see clearance received at HO and open accounts with value date as clearing date and fund the account.
15. Activities of security pledge or release in case of TD or NSC or KVP should also be carried out at HOs only. In case such request is submitted at SO, SO can verify the facts and recommend security pledge or release on the application and send to HO. At HO, a designated Supervisor will use HAFSM menu and execute the request. Another Supervisor or Postmaster has to verify the same. Application should be returned to SOs which will do necessary entries on the original certificates and keep requests in a separate guard file.
This has the approval of competent authority.
Sachin Kishore
Director(CBS)
View Original Order
Sunday, 5 June 2016
INDIA POST PLANS TO SELL HOLY WATER FROM GANGES RIVER
The Indian government believes it has found a new revenue source: It will bottle and sell water from the holy, and filthy, Ganges River online.
For years the government has been racking its brains to save the national post office given email, mobile phones and courier services have almost killed letter delivery revenues.
The plan is to sell water from the holy river through a government portal to Hindus who can have a bottle of Gangajal (Hindus call the Ganges "Ganga" and "jal" is water) delivered to their homes by the postman.
Empty plastic bottles on sale to believers at the riverside.
On Monday, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is minister for Telecom and IT but also heads the Postal Department, told journalists the idea killed two birds with one stone: It would revive the post office's revenues while serving the "cultural needs" of the people.
"I used to get enquiries asking why we can't use the network of India Post to deliver Ganga water. I have directed the Department of Posts to utilise the e-commerce platform and make the arrangement for providing pure Gangajal from Haridwar and Rishikesh (holy places for Hindus) to people. They have assured [me] that they will take pro-active steps to address these cultural needs," said Prasad.
The idea makes business sense because the demand for Ganges water is phenomenal. Hindus believe that a dip in the waters of this river can cleanse them of all their sins. India's longest river, the Ganges is an icon of the Hindu faith and revered by all Hindus without exception.
Amrit Dhillon
The main cremation ghat on the Ganges River at Varanasi, India.
The only problem is that the Ganges is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world. Multiple government attempts to clean it have failed. It is more septic tank than river because, as it flows 2500km from the Himalayas through four states where 400 million Indians live, it passes through 100 towns and cities. The river absorbs all their human and industrial waste.
Experts estimate that more than 3 billion litres of untreated sewage from these towns are pumped into the river every day. Apart from sewage, waste from tanneries enters the water, adding high levels of chromium, arsenic and mercury.
At the ancient city of Varanasi, the Ganges receives an additional ingredient: human ash and flesh from the cremation areas known as ghats. The level of toxins and dangerous bacteria found in the river are 3000 times higher than what the World Health Organisation considers safe.
Amrit Dhillon
A boy jumps into the Ganges River at Varanasi.
But none of this information has any effect on believers. Vishwambhar Nath Mishra is a 50-something priest at Varanasi who continues his childhood habit of bathing in the waters every morning. Knowing that it is swarming with fecal matter makes no difference to him.
Wherever Mishra travels, in India or abroad, he takes a small bottle of Ganges water with him.
"In the hotel bathroom, I fill the bath or bucket and add a few drops of Ganga water to purify it. Then I can start my day," he says.
Devout Hindus get ready to take dip in the Ganges at Varanasi.
Farindra Choudhary, who works as a cook, has kept a bottle of Ganges water at home for eight years.
"Since I can't go very often to the Ganges, I keep this with me at home and use it on special religious occasions,' she said.
It is this belief that prompts Prasad to say "there is a huge demand for Gangajal", especially among Hindus who live nowhere near the river. Every Hindu who bathes in the Ganges takes a bottle of the water home, to use during prayers or bathing.
People pick through rubbish at a section of the Ganges near the ghats at Varanasi.
"If I commit too much pap [sin], I will be able to purify myself with it," said Ritu Bhatt, a maid in New Delhi who brought a bottle back with her from Varanasi last month after cremating her mother there.
Its other purpose is to purify Hindus of the "pollution" of having accidentally touched someone from the lowest caste.
"If a high-caste Hindu touches an untouchable, he has to purify himself by drinking a mixture of cow dung, cow urine, and Ganga water," says Bindeshwar Pathak, head of Sulabh International, an NGO that promotes the building and use of toilets.
Pathak says he was forced to drink this mixture as a child by his mother after he inadvertently touched a low-caste workman in the house.
Critics of the plan say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing a Hindu nationalist cultural agenda by promoting the sales of Ganges water. The government has already succeeded in persuading the UN to celebrate an International Yoga Day as "an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition", as he put it in a speech to the UN. The first such day was celebrated last June. Many Indians see these ideas as an attempt to make Hinduism a global brand.
R K Sinha, head of India Post, has told Indian media the post office might partner with packaging companies for bottling the water.
India Post is the biggest postal network in the world with almost 155,000 offices. It will make the bottles available for sale in stores and through home delivery.
Radha Gupta, a gym instructor in New Delhi, a devout Hindu, was bewildered by the timing of the plan.
"Of course it will be good for the post office but wouldn't it have made more sense for the government first to clean the Ganga and then sell the water?"
Should the plan come to fruition, the government will face competition from online retail giant Amazon India. On sale on the site are bottled Ganges water in brass containers for "holy purposes" for 401 rupees (NZ$8.70), as well as several options in plastic bottles. Prices start at about $8.50 "for the container", not for the water.
For years the government has been racking its brains to save the national post office given email, mobile phones and courier services have almost killed letter delivery revenues.
The plan is to sell water from the holy river through a government portal to Hindus who can have a bottle of Gangajal (Hindus call the Ganges "Ganga" and "jal" is water) delivered to their homes by the postman.
Empty plastic bottles on sale to believers at the riverside.
On Monday, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is minister for Telecom and IT but also heads the Postal Department, told journalists the idea killed two birds with one stone: It would revive the post office's revenues while serving the "cultural needs" of the people.
"I used to get enquiries asking why we can't use the network of India Post to deliver Ganga water. I have directed the Department of Posts to utilise the e-commerce platform and make the arrangement for providing pure Gangajal from Haridwar and Rishikesh (holy places for Hindus) to people. They have assured [me] that they will take pro-active steps to address these cultural needs," said Prasad.
The idea makes business sense because the demand for Ganges water is phenomenal. Hindus believe that a dip in the waters of this river can cleanse them of all their sins. India's longest river, the Ganges is an icon of the Hindu faith and revered by all Hindus without exception.
Amrit Dhillon
The main cremation ghat on the Ganges River at Varanasi, India.
The only problem is that the Ganges is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world. Multiple government attempts to clean it have failed. It is more septic tank than river because, as it flows 2500km from the Himalayas through four states where 400 million Indians live, it passes through 100 towns and cities. The river absorbs all their human and industrial waste.
Experts estimate that more than 3 billion litres of untreated sewage from these towns are pumped into the river every day. Apart from sewage, waste from tanneries enters the water, adding high levels of chromium, arsenic and mercury.
At the ancient city of Varanasi, the Ganges receives an additional ingredient: human ash and flesh from the cremation areas known as ghats. The level of toxins and dangerous bacteria found in the river are 3000 times higher than what the World Health Organisation considers safe.
Amrit Dhillon
A boy jumps into the Ganges River at Varanasi.
But none of this information has any effect on believers. Vishwambhar Nath Mishra is a 50-something priest at Varanasi who continues his childhood habit of bathing in the waters every morning. Knowing that it is swarming with fecal matter makes no difference to him.
Wherever Mishra travels, in India or abroad, he takes a small bottle of Ganges water with him.
"In the hotel bathroom, I fill the bath or bucket and add a few drops of Ganga water to purify it. Then I can start my day," he says.
Devout Hindus get ready to take dip in the Ganges at Varanasi.
Farindra Choudhary, who works as a cook, has kept a bottle of Ganges water at home for eight years.
"Since I can't go very often to the Ganges, I keep this with me at home and use it on special religious occasions,' she said.
It is this belief that prompts Prasad to say "there is a huge demand for Gangajal", especially among Hindus who live nowhere near the river. Every Hindu who bathes in the Ganges takes a bottle of the water home, to use during prayers or bathing.
People pick through rubbish at a section of the Ganges near the ghats at Varanasi.
"If I commit too much pap [sin], I will be able to purify myself with it," said Ritu Bhatt, a maid in New Delhi who brought a bottle back with her from Varanasi last month after cremating her mother there.
Its other purpose is to purify Hindus of the "pollution" of having accidentally touched someone from the lowest caste.
"If a high-caste Hindu touches an untouchable, he has to purify himself by drinking a mixture of cow dung, cow urine, and Ganga water," says Bindeshwar Pathak, head of Sulabh International, an NGO that promotes the building and use of toilets.
Pathak says he was forced to drink this mixture as a child by his mother after he inadvertently touched a low-caste workman in the house.
Critics of the plan say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing a Hindu nationalist cultural agenda by promoting the sales of Ganges water. The government has already succeeded in persuading the UN to celebrate an International Yoga Day as "an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition", as he put it in a speech to the UN. The first such day was celebrated last June. Many Indians see these ideas as an attempt to make Hinduism a global brand.
R K Sinha, head of India Post, has told Indian media the post office might partner with packaging companies for bottling the water.
India Post is the biggest postal network in the world with almost 155,000 offices. It will make the bottles available for sale in stores and through home delivery.
Radha Gupta, a gym instructor in New Delhi, a devout Hindu, was bewildered by the timing of the plan.
"Of course it will be good for the post office but wouldn't it have made more sense for the government first to clean the Ganga and then sell the water?"
Should the plan come to fruition, the government will face competition from online retail giant Amazon India. On sale on the site are bottled Ganges water in brass containers for "holy purposes" for 401 rupees (NZ$8.70), as well as several options in plastic bottles. Prices start at about $8.50 "for the container", not for the water.
Why everyone wants a piece of India Post’s payments bank
New Delhi: India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is yet to start operations, but, already, it is the hottest game in town.
Banks, insurance firms and asset management companies are approaching it with offers of equity partnerships, joint ventures or other mutually beneficial arrangements.
That shouldn’t surprise anyone.
IPPB will, on the day it launches, have a network of more than 150,000 branches, of which almost 140,000 are in India’s rural hinterland.
In total, 50 companies including Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank, Citibank and several state-owned banks have sent proposals to the department of posts for a partnership. The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, has offered to be an equity partner. Money transfer company UAE Exchange is ready to open vostro (in which the Indian bank will manage a local account corresponding to one held in a foreign bank) accounts for rupee currency, targeting Indians living in West Asia.
Like other payments banks, IPPB will target financially excluded customers such as migrant workers, low-income households and tiny businesses. It will not lend money and, as a result, will be shielded from the risks that conventional banks are exposed to. And it will have a huge offline presence to complement its online one, for which the department of posts has already identified a core banking solution (the software that runs banks).
The department of posts was among the 11 entities that got an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start a payments bank. Three entities have surrendered their licence after they discovered the business is characterized by high volumes and low profit margins. For India Post, though, the business will be a natural extension.
India Post already accepts money from customers as part of its post office bank accounts and long-term deposit schemes such as National Savings Certificate. Its money order service is widely used by migrant workers to remit money back home.
It will also not have to gain trust of customers like its competitors, especially in the rural areas, as the local postman is still an integral part of the day-to-day lives of the rural populace.
On Wednesday, the cabinet approved a proposal to set up IPPB with a corpus of Rs.800 crore. Communications and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said IPPB has plans to open 650 branches and will be operational by September 2017.
“IPPB will be a game changer for rural and suburban India. We had initially planned to roll out operations in three years. But the Prime Minister has given us a challenge to start operation in a year’s time. Allgrameen dak sevaks in rural post offices will be given hand-held devices by March 2017 and by September 2017, all 650 branches of postal payments bank will become operational,” Prasad said.
The payments bank will begin with Rs.400 crore equity capital and Rs.400 crore as grant from the government. IPPB plans to set up 5,000 automated teller machines as well, he added.
N.C. Saxena, former secretary of the erstwhile Planning Commission, said that financial institutions are sensing the potential that IPPB has in terms of its connectivity and reach.
“In today’s digital era, telegrams and post cards are no longer used. But India Post has a vast infrastructure already in place and a very good rural network. Besides the 1.5 lakh post offices, they also have a network of temporary post offices—basically one-person post offices—that take care of the last-mile connectivity in rural areas,” he said, adding that financial institutions both in the private and public space cannot hope for a partner with a better reach in rural areas.
“But the post office payment bank will have to quickly move to an online platform to make it easier for customers to access their accounts and conduct transactions,” Saxena said.
Source : http://www.livemint.com
Banks, insurance firms and asset management companies are approaching it with offers of equity partnerships, joint ventures or other mutually beneficial arrangements.
That shouldn’t surprise anyone.
IPPB will, on the day it launches, have a network of more than 150,000 branches, of which almost 140,000 are in India’s rural hinterland.
In total, 50 companies including Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank, Citibank and several state-owned banks have sent proposals to the department of posts for a partnership. The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, has offered to be an equity partner. Money transfer company UAE Exchange is ready to open vostro (in which the Indian bank will manage a local account corresponding to one held in a foreign bank) accounts for rupee currency, targeting Indians living in West Asia.
Like other payments banks, IPPB will target financially excluded customers such as migrant workers, low-income households and tiny businesses. It will not lend money and, as a result, will be shielded from the risks that conventional banks are exposed to. And it will have a huge offline presence to complement its online one, for which the department of posts has already identified a core banking solution (the software that runs banks).
The department of posts was among the 11 entities that got an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start a payments bank. Three entities have surrendered their licence after they discovered the business is characterized by high volumes and low profit margins. For India Post, though, the business will be a natural extension.
India Post already accepts money from customers as part of its post office bank accounts and long-term deposit schemes such as National Savings Certificate. Its money order service is widely used by migrant workers to remit money back home.
It will also not have to gain trust of customers like its competitors, especially in the rural areas, as the local postman is still an integral part of the day-to-day lives of the rural populace.
On Wednesday, the cabinet approved a proposal to set up IPPB with a corpus of Rs.800 crore. Communications and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said IPPB has plans to open 650 branches and will be operational by September 2017.
“IPPB will be a game changer for rural and suburban India. We had initially planned to roll out operations in three years. But the Prime Minister has given us a challenge to start operation in a year’s time. Allgrameen dak sevaks in rural post offices will be given hand-held devices by March 2017 and by September 2017, all 650 branches of postal payments bank will become operational,” Prasad said.
The payments bank will begin with Rs.400 crore equity capital and Rs.400 crore as grant from the government. IPPB plans to set up 5,000 automated teller machines as well, he added.
N.C. Saxena, former secretary of the erstwhile Planning Commission, said that financial institutions are sensing the potential that IPPB has in terms of its connectivity and reach.
“In today’s digital era, telegrams and post cards are no longer used. But India Post has a vast infrastructure already in place and a very good rural network. Besides the 1.5 lakh post offices, they also have a network of temporary post offices—basically one-person post offices—that take care of the last-mile connectivity in rural areas,” he said, adding that financial institutions both in the private and public space cannot hope for a partner with a better reach in rural areas.
“But the post office payment bank will have to quickly move to an online platform to make it easier for customers to access their accounts and conduct transactions,” Saxena said.
Source : http://www.livemint.com
Saturday, 4 June 2016
SOLUTION FOR MIS/TD/SCSS INTEREST NOT GENERATED IN DOP FINACLE
Issue Reported :
The interest is not generated for MIS/TD/SCSS account
Solution:
The recommended sequence to be followed by the user:
1. Check the next interest run date using HAINTINQ
2. If the next interest run date is less than current date, then
- Check if there any pending modifications of the account by trying to cancel or verify the account.Check in HAFI menu for the latest modification on the accounts.
- Cancel or verify the same and request DOP IT/CEPT team to run HACINT for this account
3. If the next interest run date is greater than current date, then
- Check if the interest has run for the month already in HTDTRAN
- If there is no record for the month, then
- Check the net interest credited for the account till date using HAITINQ
- Compare the above figure against the net interest expected till date (expected interest can be viewed in flow details tab of account modification menu or HTDINT)
- If the numbers match, then the expected interest amount has already been generated and hence no interest run happened
Verification of Transactions in CBS Post Offices - An important order from Director (CBS)
From: Director (CBS)
Sent: 03 June 2016 13:14
Subject: Verification of Transactions in CBS Post Offices.
Respected Sir/Madam,
Sent: 03 June 2016 13:14
Subject: Verification of Transactions in CBS Post Offices.
Respected Sir/Madam,
I am directed to inform that it has been observed by Infosys Team from the backend that Supervisors of CBS Post Offices are not verifying transactions on regular basis which is resulting in pilling up of transactions for verification at the closing hours. This is also resulting in delay is starting and completion of End of Day operations.
It is requested that instructions may be issued to all CBS Post Offices that every Supervisor to regularly verify transactions and should visit all Transaction Verification menus after every 30 minutes to see any pending transaction for verification.
This should be strictly followed.
Supervisors are also bound to verify all non financial modifications and it is observed that hundreds of such modifications are pending for verification. This is resulting in non picking up of such accounts by interest batches and customers are complaining that interest is not generated for his/her account.
This should also be ensured that Supervisors should verify all non financial modifications and account opening regularly.
This should be strictly followed.
Supervisors are also bound to verify all non financial modifications and it is observed that hundreds of such modifications are pending for verification. This is resulting in non picking up of such accounts by interest batches and customers are complaining that interest is not generated for his/her account.
This should also be ensured that Supervisors should verify all non financial modifications and account opening regularly.
It is also observed that some post offices start BO transaction posting very late resulting in delay in starting of EOD.
It is requested that transactions of BOs should be either completed by 4.30 PM or should be posted on the next day.
It is requested that transactions of BOs should be either completed by 4.30 PM or should be posted on the next day.
Postal Department's Payments Bank To Employ About 3.5 Lakh People: Ravi Shankar Prasad
2.3.2016 PTI NEWS.
Prasad has asked Department of Posts to hasten process of setting up all 650 payments bank branches by September 2017.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Thursday asked Department of Posts to hasten process of setting up all 650 payments bank branches by September 2017.
"Minister (Prasad) today met Postal Services Board for India Post Payments Bank and asked them to expedite the process of setting up this entity by September 2017 as desired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There will be about 3.5 lakh employees who are being trained in phases," an official source told PTI.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared proposal to set up India Post Payments Bank with a corpus of Rs 800 crore and has plans to have 650 branches operational by September 2017. It will be expanded further scaled up to cover the entire country by the end of financial year 2018-19.
Earlier, the Department of Posts (DoP) had to set-up 650 IPPB branches in three years.
With advancement of target, DoP will set up 50 branches by March, 125 by April, 200 in May, 300 in June, 400 in July, 525 in August and 650 by September.
"The Minister (Prasad) will hold review meetings every fortnight," the source said.
Initially most of the 3.5 lakh workforce will be posted on deputation who will be gradually replaced by fresh recruits.
Prasad has asked postal department to hire MD and CEO of the IPPB by August and set up selection committee for hiring Chief Financial Officer by June 15.
The minister has also advance dates for giving handheld devices to 1.3 lakh grameen dak sevaks.
"He has asked the Department of Posts to start rolling out handheld devices in from June 15 and finish the process by in next 3-4 months," the source said.
The IPPB will be managed professionally and most of its A grade employees will be hired from market. The IPPB board will have representation from various other government departments including the Department of Posts, Department of Expenditure, Department of Economic Services etc.
Government has approved Rs 800 crore corpus for IPPB which will have Rs 400 crore equity and Rs 400 crore grant.
Prasad has asked Department of Posts to hasten process of setting up all 650 payments bank branches by September 2017.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Thursday asked Department of Posts to hasten process of setting up all 650 payments bank branches by September 2017.
"Minister (Prasad) today met Postal Services Board for India Post Payments Bank and asked them to expedite the process of setting up this entity by September 2017 as desired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There will be about 3.5 lakh employees who are being trained in phases," an official source told PTI.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared proposal to set up India Post Payments Bank with a corpus of Rs 800 crore and has plans to have 650 branches operational by September 2017. It will be expanded further scaled up to cover the entire country by the end of financial year 2018-19.
Earlier, the Department of Posts (DoP) had to set-up 650 IPPB branches in three years.
With advancement of target, DoP will set up 50 branches by March, 125 by April, 200 in May, 300 in June, 400 in July, 525 in August and 650 by September.
"The Minister (Prasad) will hold review meetings every fortnight," the source said.
Initially most of the 3.5 lakh workforce will be posted on deputation who will be gradually replaced by fresh recruits.
Prasad has asked postal department to hire MD and CEO of the IPPB by August and set up selection committee for hiring Chief Financial Officer by June 15.
The minister has also advance dates for giving handheld devices to 1.3 lakh grameen dak sevaks.
"He has asked the Department of Posts to start rolling out handheld devices in from June 15 and finish the process by in next 3-4 months," the source said.
The IPPB will be managed professionally and most of its A grade employees will be hired from market. The IPPB board will have representation from various other government departments including the Department of Posts, Department of Expenditure, Department of Economic Services etc.
Government has approved Rs 800 crore corpus for IPPB which will have Rs 400 crore equity and Rs 400 crore grant.
Revised TDS for Agents W.E.F 01.06.2016 in DOP Finacle
TDS percentage on Agent Commission is changed to 5% (from 10%) with effect from 01/06/2016. This change is configured in Finacle.
In the case of back-value dated transactions for which 10% TDS is already accounted for, necessary error entries & accounting should be carried out.
In the case of back-value dated transactions for which 10% TDS is already accounted for, necessary error entries & accounting should be carried out.
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