Central Government Employees & Employment Corner

Central government employees could soon hear news that will come as music to their ears. The government is mulling increasing the retirement age and the pension amount. The proposal has been put forward by the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Committee, as per a Zee News Hindi report. The proposal reportedly talks about increasing the age of retirement and initiating a Universal Pension System in the country. As per the committee’s report, a recommendation is made under which the employees must be given a minimum pension of Rs 2,000 per month. The committee has sought better provisions for senior citizens. Pensioners could benefit from this plan. It has been stated in the report that to increase the time span of employment, the age of retirement will need to be extended. This may be done to ease the stress on the social security system. The report also talks about skill development for those above 50 years of age. The report also suggests that the central and the state government sho...

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday said that pregnant women and 'divyang' (differently-abled) employees of central government departments have been exempted from attending office in the wake of a sharp spike in Covid cases. However, they will be required to remain available and work from home, he said. Officials and staff living in Covid containment zone have also been exempted from coming to office, till the time the containment zone is de-notified, said Singh, who is the minister of state for personnel. He said physical attendance of government servants below the level of under secretary has been restricted to 50 per cent of actual strength and the remaining 50 per cent, will work from home, according to a statement issued by the personnel ministry on Sunday. Rosters will be prepared accordingly by all departments concerned, Mr Singh said. However, he said, officials and staffers, who are not attending office and are working from home, will remain available on telephone ...

In response to the increase in Covid-19 instances, the government reintroduced limitations across all Central government offices on Monday, including limiting physical attendance of personnel below the level of under-secretary to 50% of the time, with the remaining 50% working from home. According to an order issued by the department of personnel and training on Monday, biometric attendance, which was reinstated in November 2021 after a nearly one-and-a-half-year hiatus, has been terminated in all Central government offices with immediate effect and until further notice. Officers at the rank of under-secretary and above, on the other hand, are required to report to work on a regular basis. To avoid overcrowding, staggered hours – from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. – have been reinstated at Central government offices. Government personnel who work from home must be reachable by phone and email at all times. Persons with impairments and pregnant women employees are exempt ...

The All-India CPI-IW for November 2021 increased by 0.8 points and stood at 125.7 (one hundred twenty-five and point seven). On 1-month percentage change, it increased by 0.64 per cent with respect to the previous month compared to an increase of 0.33 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago. The Labour Bureau, an attached office of the M/o Labour & Employment, has been compiling Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers every month on the basis of retail prices collected from 317 markets spread over 88 industrially important centres in the country. The index is compiled for 88 centres and All-India and is released on the last working day of the succeeding month. The index for the month of November 2021 is being released in this press release. The Dearness Allowance for Central Government Employees is computed based on the CPI-IW index's 12-month average. Now only the December month's CPI-IW is required for the calculation of the Dearness allowance beginn...

Year-End- Review-2021- Department of Personnel & Training 1.  National Recruitment Agency:   Marking a paradigm shift in government recruitment, a multi-agency body called the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) was set up to conduct a Tier-I Common Eligibility Test (CET) to screen/shortlist candidates for the Group B and C (non-technical) posts which were otherwise shortlisted through separate exams conducted by SSC, RRB and IBPS. It aims to provide a common eligibility test to all candidates at the nearest District Headquarter, particularly those in rural areas / aspirational districts and will contribute to equity and inclusiveness in recruitments as well as Ease of Living by eliminating multiple exams.  Appointments of Secretary-cum-Controller of Examination and other officers including secretariat staff have been done and National Recruitment Agency is functional/ operational since July, 2021. 2. Lateral Recruitment at the Levels of Joint Secretary, Director and De...

  Year-End- Review-2021- Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare Posted On: 30 DEC 2021 3:47PM by PIB Delhi   JEEVAN PRAMAAN (Digital Life Certificate) related reforms In November 2014, an online system for submission of life certificate “Jeevan Pramaan” was launched by the Hon'ble Prime Minister. Through Jeevan Pramaan, a pensioner can give an online Life Certificate, anytime and from anywhere, by attaching a biometric device to his PC/Mobile or using services of a Common Service Centre (CSC) or any nearest bank branch. DoPPW roped in the India Posts and Payment Bank (IPPB) under the Department of Posts for Digital Life Certificate. The IPPB is now fulfilling the major initiative of DoPPW, viz. DLC from Home by roping in 1,89,000 Postmen & Gramin Dak Sevaks .   Approximately 2,99,816 Central Government Pensioners have already availed this facility till now. DoPPW also roped in an Alliance comprising 12 Public Sector Banks which does “Doorstep Banking”...

Is the government planning to continue the LTC cash voucher scheme?  Reports indicate that the Finance Minister is considering the Cash Voucher scheme in the upcoming Union Budget 2022.  Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has urged the finance ministry to review the decision to introduce Leave Travel Concession cash voucher in place of LTC fare to central government employees in the forthcoming Budget. FHRAI submitted the recommendation a week after sharing its views in the pre-budget meeting called by the Ministry of Finance on December 17. In a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, FHRAI Vice President Gurbaxish Singh Kohli urged to "review the decision to introduce LTC cash vouchers in lieu of LTC fare to the Central Government employees". The government -- on October 12, 2020 -- announced the LTC cash voucher scheme, under which employees can purchase any goods or services with a GST rate of 12 per cent or above to avail of the ben...