Monday, April 21, 2014
7th Pay Commission Questionnaire – Ratio of Minimum & Maximum Salary, Grade Pay Suggestion, Increment Date, Determination of HRA and NPS...
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
SEVENTH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION
NEW DELHI-110001
Meena Agarwal
Secretary
D.O No. 7CPC/15/Questionnaire
9th April, 2014
Dear ………..,
As you may be aware the Seventh Central Pay Commissions has been constituted by the Government on 28 February 2014 with a view to go into various issues of emoluments’ structure, retirement benefits and other service conditions of Central Government employees and to make recommendations on the changes required. The terms of reference of the Seventh Central Pay Commission are available on thehttp://7cpc.india.gov.in .
2. A Questionnaire seeking the considered views of all stakeholders is enclosed. The response of your Ministry to this Questionnaire is sought. I shall be grateful if the replies are furnished to the Commission on or before 10th May, 2014, so as to enable the Commission to take them into account as part of its examination of the issues that it is mandated to address. The reply may be sent to Post Box No. 4599, Hauz Khas P.O, New Delhi 110 016, and in the case of email to secy-7cpc@nic.in.
Encl:- As above.
With Regards,
Yours sincerely,
(Meena Agarwal)
To all Secretaries to Govt of India
7th CPC Questionnaire
1. Salaries
1.1 The considerations on which the minimum salary in case of the lowest Group ‘C’ functionary and the maximum salary in case of a Secretary level officer may be determined and what should be the reasonable ratio between the two.
1.2 What should be the considerations for determining salary for various levels of functions falling between the highest level and the lowest level functionaries?
2. Comparisons
2.1 Should there be any comparison/parity between pay scales and perquisites between Government and the private sector? If so, why? If not, why not?
2.2 Should there at all be any comparison/parity between pay scales and perquisites between Government and the public sector? If so, why? If not, why not?
2.3 The concept of variable pay has been introduced in Central Public Sector Enterprises by the Second Pay Revision Committee. In the case of the Government is there merit in introducing a variable component of pay? Can such variable pay be linked to performance?
3. Attracting Talent
3.1 Does the present compensation package attract suitable talent in the All India Services & Group A Services? What are your observations and suggestions in this regard?
3.2 To what extent should government compensation bestructured to attract special talent?
4. Pay Scales
4.1 The 6th Central Pay Commission introduced the system of Pay Bands and Grade Pay as against the system of specific pay scales attached to various posts. What has been the impact of running pay bands post implementation of 6th CPC recommendations?
4.2 Is there any need to bring about any change?
4.3 Did the pay bands recommended by the Sixth CPC help in arresting exodus and attract talent towards the Government?
4.4 Successive Pay Commissions have reduced the number of pay scales by merging one or two pay scales together. Is there a case for the number of pay scales/ pay band to be rationalized and if so in what manner?
4.5 Is the “grade pay” concept working? If not, what are your alternative suggestions?
5. Increment
5.1 Whether the present system of annual increment on 1st Julyof every year uniformly in case of all employees has served its purpose or not? Whether any changes are required?
5.2 What should be the reasonable quantum of annual increment?
5.3 Whether there should be a provision of variable increments at a rate higher than the normal annual increment in case of high achievers? If so, what should be transparent and objective parameters to assess high achievement, which could be uniformly applied across Central Government?
5.4 Under the MACP scheme three financial up-gradations are allowed on completion of 10, 20, 30 years of regular service, counted from the direct entry grade. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the scheme? Is there a perception that a scheme of this nature, in some Departments, actually incentivizes people who do not wish to take the more arduous route of qualifying departmental examinations/ or those obtaining professional degrees?
6. Performance
What kind of incentives would you suggest to recognize andreward good performance?
7. Impact on other organizations
Salary structures in the Central and State Governments are broadly similar. The recommendations of the Pay Commission are likely to lead to similar demands from employees of State Governments, municipal bodies, panchayati raj institutions & autonomous institutions. To what extent should their paying capacity be considered in devising a reasonable remuneration package for Central Govt. employees?
8. Defence Forces
8.1 What should be the considerations for fixing salary in case of Defence personnel and in what manner does the parity with civil services need to be evolved, keeping in view their respective job profiles?
8.2 In what manner should the concessions and facilities, both in cash and kind, be taken into account for determining salary structure in case of Defence Forces personnel.
8.3 As per the November 2008 orders of the Ministry of Defence, there are a total of 45 types of allowances for Personnel Below Officer Rank and 39 types of allowances for Officers. Does a case exist for rationalization/ streamlining of the current variety of allowances?
8.4 What are the options available for addressing the increasing expenditure on defence pensions?
8.5 As a measure of special recognition, is there a case to review the present benefits provided to war widows?
8.6 As a measure of special recognition, is there a case to review the present benefits provided to disabled soldiers, commensurate to the nature of their disability?
9. Allowances
9.1 Whether the existing allowances need to be retained or rationalized in such a manner as to ensure that salary structure takes care not only of the job profile but the situational factors as well, so that the number of allowances could be at a realistic level?
9.2 What should be the principles to determine payment of House Rent Allowance?
10. Pension
10.1 The retirement benefits of all Central Government employees appointed on or after 1.1.2004 a re covered by the New Pension Scheme (NPS). What has been the experience of the NPS in the last decade?
10.2 As far as pre-1.1.2004 appointees are concerned, what should be the principles that govern the structure of pension and other retirement benefits?
11. Strengthening the public governance system
11.1 The 6th CPC recommended upgrading the skills of the Group D employees and placing them in Group C over a period of time. What has been the experience in this regard?
11.2 In what way can Central Government organizations functioning be improved to make them more efficient, accountable and responsible? Please give specific suggestions with respect to:
a) Rationalisation of staff strength and more productive deployment of available staff;
b) Rationalisation of processes and reduction of paper work; and
c) Economy in expenditure.
c) Economy in expenditure.
12. Training/ building competence
12.1 How would you interpret the concept of “competency based framework”?
12.2 One of the terms of reference suggests that the Commission recommend appropriate training and capacity building through a competency based framework.
a) Is the present level of training at various stages of a person’s career considered adequate? Are there gaps that need to be filled, and if so, where?
b) Should it be made compulsory that each civil service officer should in his career span acquire a professional qualification? If so, can the nature of the study, time intervals and the Institution(s) whose qualification are acceptable, all be stipulated?
c) What other indicators can best measure training and capacity building for personnel in your organization? Please suggest ways through which capacity building can be further strengthened?
13. Outsourcing
13.1 What has been the experience of outsourcing at various levels of Government and is there a case for streamlining it?
13.2 Is there a clear identification of jobs that can be outsourced?
14. Regulatory Bodies
14.1 Kindly list out the Regulators set up under Acts of Parliament, related to your Ministry/ Department. The total number of personnel on rolls (Chairperson and members + support personnel) may be indicated.
14.2 Regulators that may not qualify in terms of being set up under Acts of Parliament but perform regulatory functions may also be listed. The scale of pay for Chairperson /Members and other personnel of such bodies may be indicated.
14.3 Across the Government there are a host of Regulatory bodies set up for various purposes. What are your suggestions regarding emoluments structure for Regulatory bodies?
15. Payment of Bonus
One of the terms of reference of the 7th Pay Commission is to examine the existing schemes of payment of bonus. What are your suggestions and observations in this regard?
A PRESS NEWS
17.04.2014Why not a ‘Post Bank of India’?
Personal Loan E-Approval- Upto 30 lacs @ 13.9% in 48 Hours Special Offer for Salaried Customerfinlinker.com/Personal-Loan
Using the massive India Post network for banking services would give a big push to financial inclusion
April 17, 2014:
The issue of granting new commercial bank licences was mooted in the Union Budget of February 2010. Since then there have been discussion papers, draft guidelines and, after the final guidelines were issued, 25 applications have been under close scrutiny.
The process came to an end with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announcing the grant of in-principle approval to two applicants — Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation Limited (IDFC) and Bandhan Financial Services.
In the case of India Post, however, the RBI has indicated that its application would need to be put through a different process in consultation with the government.
Opening up the licensing window periodically results in a spate of complications and it is now recognised that it may be better to have a system of ‘on tap’ applications. Moreover, thought is being given to a system of ‘differentiated bank licences’; the full guidelines still have to be set out and this will take time. The 22 applicants that have not been granted a licence will need to reapply.
Long haul: The two entities given in-principle approval — IDFC and Bandhan — are likely to take very different courses to setting up banks. It will, however, be a decade before they become forces to reckon with. In fact, as Rajiv Lall, Chairman IDFC, rightly points out, the setting up of a bank is a marathon, not a sprint.
Potential: The RBI in its communication on licensing banks has indicated that India Post’s application will need to be examined and processed on a different footing.
Ostensibly, a major thrust to financial inclusion is one of the key reasons for considering the formation of new banks.
It is here that India Post will take centre-stage. There are 155,000 post offices, of which about 140,000 (90 per cent), are in the rural areas. As such, India Post is pre-eminently suited for a bank licence. Trying to achieve financial inclusion without a central role for India Post would be like stagingHamlet without the Prince of Denmark.
History: The idea of a postal bank was mooted in the late 1980s by the then Finance Secretary S. Venkitaramanan and he subsequently followed it up after he became RBI Governor in December 1990. But the proposal was shot down by the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry’s opposition arises from the procedure followed for savings garnered by the postal system. The funds collected under various schemes are remitted to the government and the postal system draws on the government when there are outgos. Since the totality of inflows each year invariably exceeds the outflows, the government gets a bonanza.
Apprehensions: The erroneous apprehension is that there would be an unmanageably large cash outflow from the government when the postal bank is set up. This issue can be easily tackled.
First, for the outstanding savings-bank balances (i.e. the pre-zero balances) the government could issue non-negotiable securities with varying maturities ranging from treasury bills to long-term bonds.
The interest rate on these bonds could be negotiated by the Postal Bank and the Ministry of Finance and should be above the present postal savings bank rate to cover operational expenses and any future rise in the savings bank rate.
Second, as regards time deposits, the pre-zero liabilities could be discharged on the due date by the government and any fresh time deposits would be the liability of the Postal Bank. Third, for certain schemes, such as Provident Funds and Senior Citizen Retirement schemes, these could be handled by the Postal Bank on an agency basis, for which the Postal Bank could be suitably remunerated.
Capital: It is estimated that about ₹1,800 crore would be required to set up a Postal Bank. The Government is being approached for ₹623 crore and the rest will be raised by the Postal Bank from the market.
The Bank will be of a very different genre than the present public sector banks and, as such, should not be rejected as yet another public sector bank that may not be desirable.
Branches: A bogey raised is that the Postal Bank will not be able to handle the large network of branches.
This could be a calibrated process in which, initially, a few offices could be set up as branches and select Post Offices could be designated as extension counters with all other post-offices operating as an agency network. In course of time, the extension counters can be converted into full-fledged branches and new extension counters set up. Over some years, a large network of Postal Bank branches could be set up.
Investment skills: The Postal Bank will need a team of skilled specialists to invest in government securities and money market instruments. The Postal Bank should be able to earn on its portfolio of investments a margin well above the cost of funds, which would make it viable.
Limited lending: The Postal Bank should initiate lending operations very cautiously as it builds up lending skills.
Loans should initially only be given by a few select branches with skilled personnel and restricted to small amounts.
It would, of course, be necessary to ensure that lending operations are based on transparent criteria with strict observance of lending norms.
Financial inclusion: The new government should undertake a concerted drive to remove the conceptual cobwebs preventing the setting up of a Postal Bank, considering the great potential such a bank has for taking banking to the masses.
The writer is an economist
(This article was published on April 17, 2014)
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Govt woman employee can get uninterrupted two-year leave for child care: SC
PRESS NEWS
A bench of justices S J Mukhopadhaya and V Gopala Gowda set aside the order of Calcutta High Court which had held that Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules do not permit uninterrupted CCL(Child Care Leave) for 730 days.
"On perusal of circulars and Rule 43-C, it is apparent that a woman government employee having minor children below 18 years can avail CCL for maximum period of 730 days i.e. during the entire service period for taking care of upto two children. The care of children is not for rearing the smaller child but also to look after any of their needs like examination, sickness etc," the bench said.
It said that CCL even beyond 730 days can be granted by combining other leave if due and the finding of the High Court was based neither on Rule 43-C nor on guidelines issued by the central government.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by a woman government employee Kakali Ghosh challenging government's decision not to grant her leave of 730 days for preparing her son for secondary/senior examinations.
She had first approached Central Administrative Tribunal Calcutta for getting leave. The tribunal had ordered in her favour but the High Court reversed the order after which she moved the apex court.
The apex court set aside the High Court's order.
"We set aside the impugned judgement dated September 18, 2012 passed by the Division Bench of Calcutta High Court, Circuit Bench at Port Blair and affirm the judgement and order dated April 30, 2012 passed by the Tribunal with a direction to the respondents to comply with the directions issued by the Tribunal within three months from the date of receipt/ production of this judgement," it said.
Source: http://www.financialexpress.com
The Supreme Court today held that a woman employee of central government can get uninterrupted leave for two years for child care, which also includes needs like examination and sickness.
A bench of justices S J Mukhopadhaya and V Gopala Gowda set aside the order of Calcutta High Court which had held that Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules do not permit uninterrupted CCL(Child Care Leave) for 730 days.
"On perusal of circulars and Rule 43-C, it is apparent that a woman government employee having minor children below 18 years can avail CCL for maximum period of 730 days i.e. during the entire service period for taking care of upto two children. The care of children is not for rearing the smaller child but also to look after any of their needs like examination, sickness etc," the bench said.
It said that CCL even beyond 730 days can be granted by combining other leave if due and the finding of the High Court was based neither on Rule 43-C nor on guidelines issued by the central government.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by a woman government employee Kakali Ghosh challenging government's decision not to grant her leave of 730 days for preparing her son for secondary/senior examinations.
She had first approached Central Administrative Tribunal Calcutta for getting leave. The tribunal had ordered in her favour but the High Court reversed the order after which she moved the apex court.
The apex court set aside the High Court's order.
"We set aside the impugned judgement dated September 18, 2012 passed by the Division Bench of Calcutta High Court, Circuit Bench at Port Blair and affirm the judgement and order dated April 30, 2012 passed by the Tribunal with a direction to the respondents to comply with the directions issued by the Tribunal within three months from the date of receipt/ production of this judgement," it said.
Source: http://www.financialexpress.com
