Sunday 28 September 2008

an obituary for victims of violence

       On reading the latest news about the bomb blast at Mehrauli in New Delhi many thoughts  came to mind. The first one was  as to how the human mindset changes by recurrence of a particular experience. Another bomb blast in Delhi is not a sensational news item nowadays.The headcounts in the recurring tragedies perhaps only contribute to some statistical notebook in some Ministry or the crime records of some Police Station. For vast majority of the people given the task of running the country the sadness of the events perhaps matters not much more than the loss of a one day match. The pictures of wailing mothers and wives of the persons lost in the senseless violence evoke less emotional response than the loss of a participant in the bigboss or other reality show. Something worth being forgotten by the next morning. For, if this amnesia was not there some of the decision makers would have taken shelter in some distant Himalayan monastry having found it impossible to forget the haunting faces of innocent humans whose lives were snuffed out for the reason that some people in their greed for power consider it necessary to keep the society divided in blood thirsty warring groups.


       Other thought  which struck me was about the metamorphosis which would result in the society  if all the the ultras in the subcontinent joined the mainstream and became peace loving people . Surely for a lot many people such turn of events  would be a tragedy of immense magnitude.  So many TV anchors and talk show coordinators would be out of job and would not be able to aspire for recognition which is conferred as a consequence of their fiery oratorical skills. Absence of bloodshed and tears would certainly be a horrenduos development for those who live by the fire power of anchor's mike and also for the barons of news paper industry who perhaps secretly crave for a blood spattered front page to make the impact of screaming headlines more commercially viable. 


         And lastly does anyone spare a few thoughts for the families caught in the tragedies, after the initial dust and din is settled. How the children mange after losing parents , how the wives of cops lost in the course of duty manage after loss of the bread winner. Also does anybody try to find out as to what went wrong in the society so that so many  educated young men at an impressionable age were tempted to follow the path of violence instead of a dignified existence bringing up families instead of destroying lives. Does anyone spare a few tears for the mother who had given a healthy and intelligent child to the society ,but to whom the society returned back the coffin of a bullet ridden terrorist. Are we doing anything to change the scenario ?

Thursday 4 September 2008

Sixth CPC Benefits:That sinking feeling

    Since the first round of calculations after notification of Govt. decisions is over, there     is a sinking feeling amongst many of the employees. The Pay Commission benefits      which   appeared to be too good to be true to some at one stage, now seem to be           gradually slipping away after realization of the Income Tax liabilities. Since the tax on   the   entire amount of arrears is to be paid in this financial year and there is no precise commitment about the date by which the balance of arrears would be paid, the picture is a bit despondent. Here are some sample calculations to find out as to how much would be left out to employees. (These are just random sample calculations  which were attempted for sake of having a clear picture . Please do not make requests for advice on individual cases). Since all circulars are available on the net (and some calculators have also been hosted on individual blogs) making individual calculations is not difficult. There is possibility of calculation errors also.If any mistakes are noted,suggestions would be welcome. Income Tax calculations would differ for each case .What is shown here is only approximation.





Monday 1 September 2008

Sixth CPC Report(xvi):Announcement Regarding Allowances

The Ministry Of Finance has on 29th August 2008 notified the rates of DA and other allowances which are admissible to Central Govt. Employees on basis of recommendations of the Sixth CPC. The details are available on the Ministry website. The revised rates for pension are also available on the same website along with the resolution containing Govt's approvals relating to benefits for the pensioners.