Central Government Employees & Employment Corner

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the Terms of Reference of 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) as follows:- a)  To examine, review, evolve and recommend changes that are desirable and feasible regarding the principles that should govern the emoluments structure including pay, allowances and other facilities/benefits, in cash or kind, having regard to rationalization and simplification therein as well as the specialized needs of various Departments, agencies and services, in respect of the following categories of employees:- i.  Central Government employees-industrial and...

Government on Friday raised dearness allowance to 100 per cent, from 90 per cent, benefiting its 50 lakh employees and 30 lakh pensioners. The decision to hike DA for its employees, and to provide dearness relief for pensioners, by 10 per cent to 100 per cent was taken by the Union Cabinet in its meeting held. However contrary to the rumors, no decision on the DA merger was taken by the government, which came as a huge disappointment.

The Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) have a heavy duty agenda for Friday, the last day of the month, as the government plans to make several announcements before the code of conduct kicks in. Setting the terms of reference of the 7th Pay Commission is among the agenda for tomorrow's meeting. The DA merger also will be included in the ToR. The Cabinet is likely to take up on Friday a proposal to increase the retirement of the central government employees to 62.

Central Govt. employees and pensioners will find reasons to celebrate this week. The union cabinet is likely to clear some long awaited demands for it's staff in the next meeting later this week The F.M., currently on foreign tour, likely to return India on 26th February and after which cabinet meeting is likely to take place. According to information available with us, merger of 50% D.A., an additional hike of 10% D.A. from 01.01.2014, granting of Interim Relief and enhancing retirement age to 62 years are under the consideration of Govt. and some of these are to be approved in the next cabinet meeting. As the notification of loksabha poll may be issued in the first week of March, this would be the last cabinet meeting before the code of conduct comes into force. So the central employees and pensioners may definitely hope for some bonanza to be announced this week.

The Government has not issued any statement so far on the issue of DA merger. According to Confederation, DOP&T has finalized the terms of reference of Seventh Central Pay Commission and submitted to Cabinet for approval. Details of the terms of reference finalized by DOP&T is not disclosed to the staff side. Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram will visit Australia as per the schedule he will attend the G20 meeting on February 22 and 23, followed by investor conferences on February 24 and 25. and if the above reports are not correct then it is most likely that cabinet will take any decision only after his return from abroad. So good news may be expected in the next weekend.

Terms of reference for 7th pay commission In order to benefit over 50 lakh employees and over 30 lakh pensioners, the Cabinet approved terms of reference for seventh pay commission. This includes merging dearness allowance above 50 per cent with basic pay. Currently DA is around 90 per cent of basic pay and another hike of 10 per cent is expected soon. DA is calculated on the basis of change in retail inflation.

After the OROP announcement at the budget the  UPA  government is likely to ask the seventh central pay commission to merge 50%  dearness allowance  with basic pay of the employees. This is likely to be the part of the terms of reference (ToR) for the commission, to be considered by the Cabinet this week. The Commission may suggest interim relief as well. The hikes will be all the more appealing as the Centre is expected to increase the dearness allowance by 10% to 100% by the end of February.  Earlier in 5th pay commission, the DA was merged with the basic pay when the DA  crossed 50%.  Assuming an employee gets Rs 100 as basic pay and Rs 100 as DA at present, the basic will rise to Rs 150, even if 50% allowance is merged. The remaining part of the DA will be calculated on this new basic A higher basic pay will also impact the house rent allowance (HRA) of employees as it is calculated at 30% of the basic pay for central government ...

It may sound like ridiculous as number of times articles regarding this topic has published in different websites and newspapers. But as per our sources and media reports, centre finally decided to hike retirement age to 62 years. The process has received PM's nod and awating cabinet approval which is likely to be obtained in the next meeting. The newly set up seventh CPC has recommended this hike in an interim report which got Govt. approval. As per information available with us, this move will not benefit those who are going to be superannuated in this month or those who are already in extension.

A reliable source close to Congress and a Cabinet Minister have told that, the Cabinet Minister himself, during a meeting of Trade Union Wing of his party told ‘the Central Government would announce some important decisions in respect of central government employees within a week or two. This will be good news for all the central government employees.’ A close ally of a Central Minister told that, in a meeting held with the leaders of the state unit of his party day before yesterday, the Minister told the Leaders ‘a proposal of increasing retirement age of central government employees to 62 years has been waiting for Cabinet nod. It is expected that the cabinet will clear this proposal within a week. After it gets the Cabinet Nod, the formal announcement will be made by Central Government before the Election announcement.’

Before going into the general elections, Finance Minister P Chidambaram lured Defence personnel with approving their long-pending demand of One Rank, One Pension (OROP) in his Interim Budget. The announcement came few days after Congress Vice President had assured defence personnel of looking into their demand of ‘One Rank, One Pension’. "I am on your side. I understand your concerns. You give your life for the country, I will do all that I can to see that your demands are met," said Gandhi, addressing a gathering of over 500 ex-servicemen in Delhi. Delivering speech on Vote on Account in the Lok Sabha, Chidambaram said Rs 500 crore estimated requirement for implementing one-rank-one-pay scheme for armed forces in 2014-15.  OROP basically implies payment of uniform pension to personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement. Consequently, any further enhancement in pension rates will automatically b...

Circular No. 5/2014 Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes North Block, New Delhi dated the 11th of February, 2014 Subject: - Clarification regarding disallowance of expenses under section 14A of the Income-Tax Act in cases where corresponding exempt income has not been earned during the FY -regarding. Section 14A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (`Act’) provides for disallowance of expenditure in relation to income not “includible” in  total income . 2. A controversy has arisen in certain cases as to whether disallowance can be made by invoking section 14A of the Act even in those cases where no income has been earned by an assessee which has been claimed as exempt during the financial-year. 3. The matter has been examined in the Board. It is pertinent to mention that section 14A of the Act was introduced by the Finance Act, 2001 with retrospective effe...

AIRF ALL INDIA RAILWAYMEN'S FEDERATION No.AIRF/24/(C) Dated : February, 2014 The Executive Director, Estt.(IR), Railway Board, New Delhi Dear Madam, Sub:  Justification to Scrap New Pension Scheme It was agreed in the Joint Meeting, held on 7th February, 2014 with Full Board that, necessary material/justification may also be furnished by the Federations for proposed refernce to be sent to Hon'ble Finance Minister from the Hon'ble Minister for Railways. Accordingly, we are sending herewith a detailed justification for taking necessary action in the matter. Yours faithfully, sd/- (Shiva Gopal Sharma) General Secretary  AIRF’s Justification to Scrap New Pension Scheme (NPS) 1. Discriminatory treatment between two sets of Railway employees viz – one appointed before 01.01.04 and the others appointed on 01.01.2004 and thereafter. 2. Although the contribution is defined, the benefit has not been defined. 3.  Extrac...

MINISTRY OF FINANCE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 2659 ANSWERED ON 07.02.2014 DATA ON CPF PENSIONERS 2659 . Shri D.B. CHANDRE GOWDA Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:- (a) Whether his Ministry has data relating to Contributory Provident Fund (CPF) pensioners in the country; (b) if so, the details thereof along with the existing rate of pension to CPF pensioners; (c) whether the Government proposes to increase the said rate; (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and (e) the number of CPF pensioners as on 31st March, 2013? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE (E&FS) (SHRI NAMO NARAIN MEENA) (a) to (e) No Sir. Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DOP&PW) has informed that there is no provision in the Contributory Provident Fund Rules (India), 1962 for grant of monthly pension to the Contributory Provident Fund retirees. However, an ex-gratia is paid on monthly basis to those CPF beneficiari...

Around 3 million defence pensioners may finally see their long-standing demand of ‘one rank, one pension (OROP) fulfilled with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi reportedly backing the proposal. Gandhi will meet a delegation of ex-servicemen (ESM) on Friday to discuss the OROP issue, which could boost the Congress’ fortunes in an election year. "He is taking personal interest in the OROP issue and there could be some forward movement,” a source said. The Congress vice-president will also address an ESM rally in Uttarakhand on February 22. The OROP will ensure that retired soldiers of the same rank and the same length of service receive the same pension, irrespective of their date of retirement. The scheme is estimated to cost Rs. 2,000 crore annually. Currently, all pre-2006 (the year the 6th pay panel report became effective) pensioners receive lesser pension than not only their counterparts but also their juniors. For instance, a major general who retired in ...

File No.4-7/ (MACPS)/ 2009-PCC Ministry of Communications & IT Government of India Department of Posts Pay Commission Cell Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi-110001 Dated, 24 Dec 2013. To, All Head of Circles, All Postmaster Generals, All Directors of Accounts Sub; - Revised Pay Structure of the common category posts of Pharmacist cadre & Admissibility of Grade pays under MACP Scheme. In the light of Ministry of Finance, Department of expenditure, Implementation cell OM No. 1/1/2008-IC dated 18-11-2009 allowing NFSG to the cadre of Pharmacist and in particular DGHS (CGHS-II Section letter no. G. 12011/1/1/2010-CGHS II dated Nil the issue of admissibility of Grade pays under MACPS to the cadre of Pharmacist cadre has been examined in consultation with DOPT. DOPT vide ID NO. 86929/13/CR dated 09-12-2013 has clarified the issue as under;- "it may be clarified that in term of the provisions of Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACPS), thre...

Subject:  Restructuring of cadre artisan staff in Defence Establishments in modification of recommendations of 6th CPC - framing of Recruitment Rules for the posts of Master Craftsman (MCM) and Chargeman both in the same GP of Rs.4200/- Consequent upon the restructuring of the Artisan Cadre vide MoD letter of even number dated the 14.06.2010 framing of RRs for the posts of Master Craftaman and Chargeman could not be finalized as DOP&T has objection to promotion of MCM as Chargeman in the same GP of Rs.4200/-. Moreover, Ministry of Finance has also not agreed to grant of increment to MCM on their promotion in the same GP of Rs.4200/- to the post of Chargemen. Read more here...

The Centre today warned central government employees of consequences, including deduction of wages and disciplinary action, in case they took part in a two -day strike from Wednesday, which has been proposed by their union.  Citing a Supreme  Court  judgement, the government said that the employees' association does not have any right to strike work. It added that acts of violation by employees would be considered as "grave misconduct".  "Any employee going on a strike of any form would face the consequences which, besides deduction of wages, may also include appropriate disciplinary action," the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in a directive issued to the secretaries of all central government ministries.  The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers has issued a call for a strike on February 12 and 13.  "The right to form an association does not include any guaranteed right to strike. There is no statuto...

Former Supreme Court Judge Ashok Kumar Mathur will head the seventh Pay Commission, which will revise salaries of over 50 lakh central government employees and remuneration of 30 lakh pensioners. “The Prime Minister has approved the composition of the 7th Central Pay Commission,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The announcement for composition of the Commission comes ahead of imposition of model conduct which would come into force once the schedule for the general election due in April-May is notified. The Retired Supreme Court Judge, who had also headed the Armed Forces Tribunal, has been appointed chairman of the Commission. The Commission has been mandated to submit its report in two years time and its recommendations would be implemented from January 1, 2016. The other members of the Commission, include, Oil Secretary Vivek Rae (full time Member), NIPFP Director Rathin Roy (part-time Member) and OSD in Expenditure Department Meena Agarwal ...

With December AI CPI-IW index released,  centre is likely to announce next month a hike in dearness allowance by 10 per cent to 100 per cent. The hike will be the second 10% DA hike in a row. The government had announced a hike of 10 per cent to 90 per cent in September last year, effective from July 1, 2013. According to an official source, the preliminary assessment suggests that dearness allowance hike will not be less than 10 per cent and would be effective from January 1 this year. He said the exact percentage hike in DA could be calculated only when the revised all India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) for December is released on February 28. According to the provisional data released by government on January 31, the retail inflation for factory workers for the month of December stood at 9.13 per cent. "It would be 10 per cent this time and would be announced in March," Confederation of Central Government Employees President K K N Kutty ...

Sources close to the Central Government Employees Federations told that Merger of 50% DA will soon be taken up by the Central Government. An announcement in this regard is likely before the budget session of Parliament in February 2014. According to the sources, the central government is likely to consider the central government employees demand for merging of 50 % DA, for the reason that the DA will be crossing 100% level after January 2014. After announcing the government’s proposal to constitute the 7th pay commission, the community of central government employees has been convinced to have soft view on this government. Further the 50 lakh central government employees would be made happy if the 50% DA is merged with Basic Pay. It is told that , as the central government staff association and federations demanding it very seriously, in case the government decides go with this demand, there will be around one crore voters will be in favour of UPA government. So the government ma...