NANO to the rescue of NAMO

The decision of Tatas to shift the Nano Car project to Gujrat  after the bitter experience at West Bengal has given an opportunity to the State to  have some good cheer  for the festival  season. The Modi Government which has been facing international criticism for it's human rights violations and for it's insensitivity to plight of population displaced by ambitious developmental projects has seized the god sent (or Mamta sent) opportunity to tout this development as a tribute to State's investor friendly climate. So much is the feeling of elation that some fans of Narendra Modi find the similarity between his abbreviated name  (NAMO) to NANO rather exciting .

The State does deserve substantial credit for having facilitated this quick transfer due to decisive abilities of it's CM. The fact that the State was able to quickly start the process for acquisition for land required for approach roads and it's ability to mange the same without protest from the affected farmers speaks for it's management techniques.

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 ?

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.

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.

Sixth CPC:What is the latest

The decisions of the Govt. Of India on recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) were notified on 29th August 2008 by the Department of Expenditure , Ministry Of Finance.

The recommendations which are modified include changes in Pay Bands PB-1 (now pushed higher at Rs.5200-20200), PB-2 (now increased to  Rs. 9300-34800) and PB-4 (now starting  lower at Rs.37400-67000)

Grade pay has been increased in several cases over the recommendations oF VIth CPC, the increase  ranges from Rs.500/- to Rs.1000/-,

A new grade is carved out of PB-4 which is to be designated as HAG (Rs.75500-80000/-).

Govt. have approved a multiplication factor of 1.86 (to be rounded off to next multiple of 10) for calculation of corresponding stage in the new scales and rate of annual increment is increased to 3% (4% for achievers) of the sum total of basic pay and Grade Pay.

The Group B Services OF Delhi & Andaman Nicobar Islands Civil & Police Services as well as the cadre of Section Officers in the Central Secretariat Service and Department of Posts shall be placed in PB-2 at induction stage and shall move to PB-3 after 4 years of regular service in Grade Pay of Rs. 5400/- on non functional basis. Somewhat similar benefits have been approved for IAAD officers in whose case all posts of Section Officers , Asstt Accounts/Audit Officers  are to be merged into one .

The Gr, B Officers in Railways and the Audit/Accounts Officers in IAAD are to get grade pay of Rs.5400/-in PB-3 instead of PB-2 as recommended by the Commission.

Scientists in Space, Atomic Energy and Defence Research & Development Organisations have been given various benefits ranging from Rs.1000/- to 2000/- for recognition of good performance. 

The Govt's approval for revised pay-scales is to be implemented w.e.f 1st Jan. 2006. However the arrears for various allowances such as Transport Allowance,HRA shall be payable at the revised rates  from 1st Sept.08 only   . As announced earlier 40% of the arrears are payable in Fy 2008-09 and rest 60% in subsequent year.

For the Purpose of Calculation  Of Dearness Allowance the All India Consumer Price Index 2001 is to be adopted This index presently stands somewhere around 140 and was around 116 in 2006. (The approximate rate of DA payable was found on a Govt Officials' blog.)

Other major decisions concerning administrative reforms relate to approval Of Assured Career Progression Scheme (ACP) with provision for promotion after 10,20 and 30 years and setting up of Anomalies Committees to take care of grievance regarding unfair treatment  Cadre review and empanelment of Gr.A Services is to be updated in one year.

The CPMF Officers of the rank of Commandant and below are to be considered for payment of allowances comparable to Army while deployed in terrorism infested/difficult  areas. However the officers would be losing some personal privilege since the posts of personal attendants known as Suraksh Sahayak are to be abolished . The posts of Addl.DIG upgraded to DIG level  in CPMF shall continue to be manned by their Officers.

The Ministry of Finance has subsequently brought out Revised CCS Pay Rules  2008 for Central Govt. Employees which were followed with instructions Dt. 30th August 2008 which provide the tables for calculation of matching pay and Grade Pay and the methodology for calculation and payment of arrears. This we shall take up in subsequent posts.

Later.....Please see the latest post on this site for exact rates for DA and other allowances

 

 

So, finally the suspense over the Sixth CPC report is over!

SINGH seems to have again proved that he is the KING. After winning the confidence vote in the Parliament and having firmed up his grip on the Government PM Manmohan Singh managed to steer the Sixth Pay Commission Report through the Cabinet seemingly with  benefits for everyone. While detailed report on the final decisions is yet to trickle down, the first reports indicate that the matter was tackled in a humanitarian spirit and some harsh suggestions from FM Chidabaram were overruled (including the suggestion for locking up 60% of the arrears in the GPF till retirement).

At this hour when Central Para Military Forces are engaged in tough operations at more than one place in the country and the hardships involved are reportedly taking a heavy toll on the morale of the security forces , the decision to give benefits to Jawans over and above the recommendations of the Central Pay Commission (CPC) and a handsome Military Service Pay to officers was the most sensible  decision to be  taken by the Govt while considering the report.

Increase in annual increment rate to 3% (against 2.5% recommended by the CPC ) and a higher fitment benefit  is another decision which will take the sting out of one major criticism of the report and  shall be giving a reason for cheer to everyone.

The reshuffling of various categories of employees to Pay Bands higher than the ones recommended by the CPC would also take care of the wide ranging dissatisfaction in middle level officers who had complained about the benefits for top level functionaries being much higher than those of others. Special mention needs to be made about opening of the PB-4 for middle level officers- a move which shall ensure that PB-4 shall not be an exclusive domain for top civil servants .

One decision which may appear retrograde to progressive minded mangement experts however stands out. That decision is to discard the recommendation of the CPC for ending further  recruitments for the Gr.D category staff and upgrading the peons and khallasis to semi skilled Gr. C staff. The Govt. could not agree on that and so the humble relics of medieval ages shall hang around for a decade or so, till some Govt. understands the need for dispensing with this organ of governance.

For the Forest and Police Services there are a few benefits in addition to what the CPC had sought to give , such as the creation of Posts of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Director General Of Police for every State. But these have apparently not gone down too well and some officers gave vent to their frustration in media over the unfair deal which successive pay commissions have meted out to them.

The Indian Media as usual wants to paint the Pay Commission benefits  as monstrous assault on national economy.On the other hand there was a tough looking guy on the TV who used this opportunity for being projected in national media, for IAS bashing saying that all officers are unworthy of the service !

 

Sixth CPC Report:(xv) Recommendations Central Paramilitary Forces

The  recommendations concerning Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMFs) are covered under Ministry of Home Affairs  in Chapter 7.19 of the Sixth CPC report .The CPMFs comprise of the following 7 outfits.

Assam Rifles which originated as Cachar Levy in 1835 is presently having more than 63000 personnel (46 Battalion) .The force working under operational Control of Army guards Indo Myanamar border .

The Border Security Force (157 battalions) has been deployed on international borders since 1965 and also in anti insurgency operations.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)  created in 1969 has more than 1 Lakh personnel deployed for guarding Airports (54), PSU Establishments (269) and several Govt. Buildings (49) including North Block , Part of South Block and CGO complex. It also provides technical consultancy for security and related matters.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) (201 Battalions) having replaced Crown Representative Police of pre independence era is the oldest CPMF. The personnel from this force are engaged in major anti insurgency/ terrorism / militancy related operations in the country.

Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) assists in Disaster Management related work in Central & Western Himalayan Regions and also in providing security cover for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

National Security Guard (NSG)  tackles high risk security operations.The personnel are drawn from Army (as Special Action Group) and CPMFs (as Special Rangers Group). The NSG commandos provide security cover for VIPs and take charge of security on special occasions.  

Sashastra Sena Bal which started as Special Services Bureau (SSB) in 1963 is deployed along Indo Nepal & Bhutan border covering stretch of more than 1900 kms in 20 Districts.

The major demand from CPMFs for being given status of organized Group A Services has not been agreed to on the ground that these services do not fulfill the pre requisites for such declaration as fixed by MHA. In support of it’s recommendations  the Commission has pointed out that substantial number of posts in these forces including those in pay scale of 18400-22400 are filled up by drawing officers on deputation from IPS and also pointed out that many intermediate grades do not exist in the hierarchy of these organizations. The Sixth CPC has also reiterated it’s philosophy of avoiding creation of too many services.

Commission has also not agreed to creation of certain additional posts demanded by CPMFs for creating promotional avenues on the ground that there should also be functional justification for posts . It has  felt that the provision of ACPs and the system of Running Pay Bands would minimize the grievances of such nature.

On the positive side the Commission has recommended the merger of the post of Addl DIG with that of DIG (16400-200000) . It has recommend that all posts upto the rank of DIG and 50% posts in the grade of IG and equivalent should be filled by promotion from officers of CPMF.

The following pay structure has been recommended for non gazetted executive cadres of CPMFs.

Commission has also noted that except for CISF all CPMFs are not filling up posts of ASI in the executive cadre .This step being contrary to order Dt.10/10/97 is affecting the structural parity within the forces . It has suggested that all CPMFs should continue the post of ASI since this is a functional necessity.

Other recommendations made by the Commission  include payment of ration money at par with Armed Forces to existing beneficiaries and doubling of the rates for Detachment Allowance (without linkage to DA) . Rates of Kit Maintenance Allowance are proposed to be doubled with increase of 25% after every hike up to 50% in DA. The rates of Uniform Grant are recommended as Rs.13000/-(initial) and Rs.6000/- (renewal-every 3 yrs).

For taking care of housing needs, facility of Compensation in lieu of Quarters (CILQ) has been recommended for all personnel in SO grade also. Commission has also recommended a new Family Accommodation Allowance at the lowest rate of HRA payable to all CPMF personnel who do not qualify for benefit HRA or CILQ or rent free accommodation for reason of their stay in barracks. This will also be a DA linked Allowance.

Commission has rejected the demand of one month’s extra pay for CPMFs having benefit of 60 days earned leave in a year on the ground that the personnel  are already compensated by this 30 days extra leave.

Another major change suggested is for stopping further recruitments to the cadre of followers and absorbing the existing cadres to -1S pay band with the objective of converting them to Gr.C combatant staff  after suitable training. It has been suggested that all non essential jobs handled by followers should be outsourced.

Recommendations also suggest that the practice of attaching Constables (Suraksha Sahayaks) / combatants at the residence of Officers for attending to Telephone calls  or other such personal responsibilities should be stopped. If any cases of violations of these instructions are found, the salary of constables deployed should be recovered from the Officer concerned. The report states that if any posts are required for such personal tasks the appropriate sanction should be taken and the jobs should be outsourced.