Tuesday, 17 January 2017

PFRDA to organise National Pension System service fortnight from February 1


"In order to ensure availability of information and ease problem, PFRDA and NSDL/CRA send various communications regularly to promote awareness regarding NPS.

The activities scheduled to be taken up during the fortnight (Feb 1-15), include updating subscriber details, printing of transaction statement for the subscribers, resolving grievances and addressing issues of pending exit/withdrawals under NPS.

PFRDA will organise a service fortnight from February 1 for building subscribers awareness and disseminate information regarding National Pension System (NPS) - the government's flagship pension programme. According to the Pension Fund and Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA), subscribers and employees of the central and state governments are not fully aware about NPS which leads to a large number of queries and grievances.

"In order to ensure availability of information and ease problem, PFRDA and NSDL/CRA send various communications regularly to promote awareness regarding NPS.

"However, it has been observed that in absence of latest contact details in their NPS accounts, most of the subscribers are not receiving such communication," the regulator said.

Therefore, during the awareness fortnight at offices of central and state governments, besides sharing information, nodal offices and the subscribers will be apprised about the need of updating their personal data to enable the system to work effectively.

The activities scheduled to be taken up during the fortnight (Feb 1-15), include updating subscriber details, printing of transaction statement for the subscribers, resolving grievances and addressing issues of pending exit/withdrawals under NPS.

PFRDA said the central ministries and state governments will be required to encourage the subscribers attached to them for downloading mobile apps. The maximum number of downloads of the app will be awarded.

The regulator said that downloading of mobile app by the subscribers will considerably reduce the dependence on the nodal officers.

"This will result in saving time and efforts of the nodal officers," it said. As on November 30, 2016 there were about 1.4 crore subscribers under NPS with over Rs 1.61 lakh crore asset under management.

Sunday, 15 January 2017

GDS Commission latest developments.

FNPO & NUGDS are giving correct information to our colleagues about the GDS commission report without hiding the truth, we are maintaining cent percent transparency in every issue. The following developments have taken place in the last week.

On 09/01/ 2017 Our officers approached Minister to give concurrence to publish a report.

On  10/01/2017 Minister clear the file.

On 11/01/2017 Minster's office raised the objection to publish the report citing Election commission code of conduct.

On 12/01/2017 & 13/01/2017, our department discusses the issue of Election commission code of conduct & staff side pressure finally Department decided to meet Election commissioner on 13/01/2017.

Our Department officers propose to meet Election commissioner on 16/01/2017 to get the clearance.

We may get a reply on the same day or next day.

We request our colleagues, we maintain enough patience on this issue .we cannot remain silent furthermore, we will show our protest on 17/01/2017 by conducting peaceful hunger fast with our NUGDS Circle office bearers to the Department.

FNPO&NUGDS always interested GDS welfare, not other issues.

D.Theagarajan                            P.U. Muralidharan.
S.G. FNPO                                   G.S NUGDS
 

India Post Mail Operations - Documentary Video


A Sorting Assistant speaks - Department of Posts


Frequently Asked Questions on LTC entitlements of Fresh Recruit


No. 31011/7/2014-Estt.(A-IV)
Department of Personnel and Training
Establishment (A-IV)
Dated: 26th September, 2014
North Block, New Delhi
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on LTC entitlements of Fresh Recruit
The 6th CPC had recommended that “Fresh Recruits” to the Central Government may be allowed to travel to their Home Town along with their families on three occasions in a block of four years and to any place in India on the fourth occasion. This was accepted by the Government and orders were issued vide DoPT O.M. No. 31011/4/2008-Estt.(A) dated 23rd September, 2008.
2. This Department receives a number of references seeking clarifications from various Ministry/ Departments about the year wise LTC entitlements of Fresh Recruits. Based on the same, a set of frequently asked questions have been answered as under:
Question 1. What are the LTC entitlements of a Fresh Recruit?
Answer: Fresh recruits to the Central Government are allowed to travel to their home town along with their families on three occasions in a block of four years and to any place in India on the fourth occasion. This facility shall be available to the fresh recruits only for the first two blocks of four years applicable after joining the Government for the first time.
Question 2. How are the two blocks of four years applied to the Fresh Recruit?
Answer: The first two blocks of four years shall apply with reference to the initial date of joining the Government service even though the Govt. servant may change the job within the Government subsequently. However, as per Rule 7 of CCS (LTC) Rules, 1988, the LTC entitlement of a fresh recruit will be calculated calendar year wise with effect from the date of completion of one year of regular service.
Question 3. Are the LTC blocks of four years in respect of Fresh Recruits same as the regular blocks like 2010-13, 2014-17?
Answer: No. The first two blocks of four years of fresh recruits will be personal to them. On completion of eight year of LTC, they will be treated at par with other regular LTC beneficiaries as per the prescribed blocks like 2014-17, 2018-21 etc.
Question 4. If a fresh recruit does not avail LTC facility in a particular year, can he/she avail it in the next year?
Answer: No. Carryover of LTC to the next year is not allowed in case of a fresh recruit as he is already entitled to every year LTC. Hence, if a fresh recruit does not avail of the LTC facility in any year, his LTC will deem to have lapsed with the end of that year.
Question 5. How will the LTC entitlements of a Fresh Recruit be exercised after the completion of eight years of service?
Answer: (a) After the completion of eight years of service, when the next LTC cycle of fresh recruit coincides with the beginning of the second two year block (eg. 2016-17) of the running four year block (2014-17), he will be eligible only for ‘Home Town’ LTC if he/she has availed ‘Any Place in India’ LTC in the eighth year. Cases, where the new LTC cycle of fresh recruit coincides with the second year of the running two year block (ex. 2017 of 2016-2017), he will not be eligible for LTC in that year. Refer illustrations 1 & 3 for further explanation.
(b) At the end of the eighth year of LTC, when the new LTC cycle of a fresh recruit coincides with the beginning of a regular four year block, his entitlement in the regular block will be exercised as per the usual LTC Rules. Refer illustration 2.
Question 6. How will the LTC entitlement computed in case of a fresh recruit joining the service on 31st December of any year?
Answer: A fresh recruit who joins the Government service on 31st December of any year, will be eligible for LTC w.e.f. 31st December of next year. Since, 31st December is the last date of a calendar year, his first occasion of LTC ends with that year. Hence, he may avail his first Home Town LTC on the last day of that year. From next year onwards he would be eligible for the remaining seven LTCs. Refer illustration 3.
Question 7. How will the entitlements of a fresh recruit be computed who has joined the Govt. service before 01.09.2008?
Answer: A fresh recruit who has joined Government service before 01.09.2008 (i.e before the introduction of this scheme) and has not completed his first eight years of service as on 01.09.2008 will be eligible for this concession for the remaining time-period till the completion of first eight years of his/ her service. Refer illustration 4.
Question 8. Can a fresh recruit whose Home Town and Headquarters are same, avail LTC to Home Town?
Answer: No. A fresh recruit whose Home Town and Headquarters are same, cannot avail LTC to Home Town. He may avail LTC to any place in India on the fourth and eighth occasion only. As per Rule 8 of CCS (LTC) Rules, 1988, LTC to Home Town shall be admissible irrespective of the distance between the Headquarters of the Govt. servant and his Home Town which implies that Headquarters and Home Town should be at different places.
sd/-
(B. Bandyopadhyay)
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India
Ph. (011) 23040341
Illustration
Illustration 1:
An employee joins the Government service on 1st September, 2008. As per the CCS (LTC) Rules, he will become eligible for LTC with effect from 1st September, 2009 (i.e. after the completion of one year of regular service). His entitlement for Home Town / All India would be as under:
Year of LTC
Type of LTC
LTC Occasion
01.09.2008 – 31.08.2009
Nil
01.09.2009 – 31.12.2009
Home Town
1st
01.01.2010 – 31.12.2010
Home Town
2nd
01.01.2011 – 31.12.2011
Home Town
3rd
01.01.2012 – 31.12.2012
Any Place in India
4th
01.01.2013 – 31.12.2013
Home Town
5th
01.01.2014 – 31.12.2014
Home Town
6th
01.01.2015 – 31.12.2015
Home Town
7th
01.01.2016 – 31.12.2016
Any Place in India
8th
01.01.2017 – 31.12.2017
Nil
01.01.2018 – 31.12.2021
New LTC Block

 
Explanations:
1.After the completion of the first eight years, when the fresh recruit gets into the middle of the running regular block of four calendar years (ex. 2014-2017) where the new LTC cycle of fresh recruit coincides with the second year of the running two year block (ex. 2017 of 2016-2017), he will not be eligible for LTC in that year (i.e. 2017).
2.It can be seen from above that LTC entitlement for a fresh recruit is calculated calendar year wise with effect from the date of completion of one year of regular service.
 
Illustration 2:
An employee joins the Government service on 1st January, 2009. As per the CCS (LTC) Rules, he will become eligible for LTC with effect from 1st January, 2010 (i.e. after the completion of one year of regular service). His entitlement for Home Town / All India LTC would be as under
Year of LTC
Type of LTC
LTC Occasion
01.01.2009 – 31.12.2009
Nil
01.01.2010 – 31.12.2010
Home Town
1st
01.01.2011 – 31.12.2011
Home Town
2nd
01.01.2012 – 31.12.2012
Home Town
3rd
01.01.2013 – 31.12.2013
Any Place in India
4th
01.01.2014 – 31.12.2014
Home Town
5th
01.01.2015 – 31.12.2015
Home Town
6th
01.01.2016 – 31.12.2016
Home Town
7th
01.01.2017 – 31.12.2017
Any Place in India
8th
01.01.2018 – 31.12.2021
New LTC Block

Explanations:
1.A the end of the eighth year of LTC, when the new LTC cycle of a fresh recruit coincides with the beginning of a regular four year block, his entitlement in the regular block will be exercised as per the usual LTC Rules.
Illustration 3:
An employee joins the Government service on 31st December, 2011. As per the CCS (LTC) Rules, he will become eligible for LTC with effect from 31st December, 2012 (i.e. after completion of one year of regular service). His entitlement for Home Town / All India LTC would be as under:
Year of LTC
Type of LTC
LTC Occasion
31.01.2011 – 30.12.2012
Nil
31.12.2012
Home Town
1st
01.01.2013 – 31.12.2013
Home Town
2nd
01.01.2014 – 31.12.2014
Home Town
3rd
01.01.2015 – 31.12.2015
Any Place in India
4th
01.01.2016 – 31.12.2016
Home Town
5th
01.01.2017 – 31.12.2017
Home Town
6th
01.01.2018 – 31.12.2018
Home Town
7th
01.01.2019 – 31.12.2019
Any Place in India
8th
01.01.2020 – 31.12.2021
Home Town
01.01.2022 – 31.12.2025
New LTC Block

Explanations:
i. A fresh recruit who joins on 31st December of any year, will be eligible for LTC w.e.f. 31st December of next year. Since, 31st December is the last date of that calendar year, his first occasion of LTC ends with that year. Hence, he may avail his first home town LTC on that day only (eg. 31st December, 2012). From next year onwards he will be eligible for the remaining seven LTCs.
ii. After the completion of eight years of service, when the next LTC cycle of fresh recruit coincides with the beginning of the second two year block (eg. 2020-21) of the running four year block (2018-21), he will be eligible only for the ‘Home Town’ LTC in that block if he has availed of ‘Any Place in India’ LTC in the eighth year. In case, the fresh recruit forgoes his eighth year LTC, then he has a choice to avail either ‘Any Place in India’ or ‘Home Town’ LTC in the following two year block (i.e. in 2020-21).
Illustration 4:
An employee joins the Government service on 10th May, 2006. As per the CCS (LTC) Rules, he will become eligible for LTC with effect from 10th May, 2007 (i.e. after the completion of one year of regular service). His entitlement for Home Town / All India LTC would be as under:
Year of LTC
Type of LTC
LTC Occasion
10.05.2006 – 09.05.2007
Nil
10.05.2007 – 31.12.2007
Home Town/ Any Place in India
1st
01.01.2008 – 31.12.2008
Home Town
2nd
01.01.2009 – 31.12.2009
Home Town
3rd
01.01.2010 – 31.12.2010
Any Place in India
4th
01.01.2011 – 31.12.2011
Home Town
5th
01.01.2012 – 31.12.2012
Home Town
6th
01.01.2013 – 31.12.2013
Home Town
7th
01.01.2014 – 31.12.2014
Any Place in India
8th
01.01.2015 – 31.12.2015
Nil
01.01.2016 – 31.12.2017
Home Town
Explanations:
A fresh recruit who has joined the Government service before 01.09.2008 (i.e. before the introduction of this scheme) and has not completed his first eight years of service as on 01.09.2008 will be eligible for this concession for the remaining time-period till the completion of first eight years of his/ her service.

LTC Guidelines Updated on 11/01/2016-DoPT


Guidelines
1. Please ensure that you have applied for leave and submitted the completely filled self-certification form to your Administration before the LTC journey is undertaken.
2. Please check the eligibility before applying for LTC. LTC to Home Town can be availed once in a block of two years and LTC to Any Place in India may be availed once in a four year block. If not availed during these blocks, the LTC may also be availed in the first year of the following block.
3. Please note that the current two year block is 2016-17 and the current four year block is 2014-17.
4. In case of fresh recruits, LTC to Home Town is allowed on three occasions in a block of four years and to any place in India on the fourth occasion. This facility is available to the fresh recruits only for the first two blocks of four years applicable after joining the Government service for the first time. (For details, please refer to DoPT’s O.M. No. 31011/7/2013-Estt.(A-IV) dated 26.09.2014 available on `www.permin.nic.in’ << `OMs & Orders'<< ‘Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on LTC entitlements of a Fresh Recruit’)
5. A Fresh recruit may at his option choose to avail LTC under the normal LTC rules as entitled to other regular Government employees subject to the condition that he/she will have to forego his/her eight years LTC entitlement. It may be noted that the option once exercised shall be treated as final for the initial eight occasions of LTC and the fresh recruit shall not be allowed to change it in a later stage.
6. The retiring Government employees are eligible to avail LTC as per their entitlement provided that the return journey is performed before his date of retirement. LTC is not allowed after retirement.
7. Journeys on LTC are to be undertaken in the entitled class of the Government servant in public/Government mode of transport.
8. Travel by private modes of transport is not allowed on LTC, however, wherever a public transport is not available, assistance shall be allowed for the private transport subject to the certification from an Appropriate Authority that no other public/Government mode of transport is available for that particular stretch of journey and these modes operate on a regular basis from point to point with the specific approval of the State Governments/Transport authorities concerned and are authorised to ply as public carriers.
9. If a Government servant travels upto the nearest airport/ railway station by authorized mode of transport and chooses to complete the journey to the declared place of visit by `own arrangement’ (such as personal vehicle or private taxi etc.), if the public transport is already available in that part, then he may be allowed the fare for the journey performed by authorised mode of transport. This will be subject to the undertaking from the Government employee that he has actually travelled to the declared place of visit and is not claiming the fare reimbursement for the same.
10. Government servant may apply for advance for himself and/or his family members sixty five days before the proposed date of the outward journey and he/she is required to produce the tickets within ten days of the drawal of advance, irrespective of the date of commencement of the journey.
11. Reimbursement under LTC scheme does not cover incidental expenses and expenditure incurred on local journeys. Reimbursement for expenses of journey is allowed only on the basis of a point to point journey on a through ticket over the shortest direct route.
12. The time limit for submission of LTC claim is :
• Within three months of completion of return journey, if no advance is drawn;
• Within one month of completion of return journey, if advance is drawn.
13. Government officials entitled to travel by air are required to travel by Air India only in Economy Class at LTC-80 fare or less unless permitted to do so by any general or specific provision.
14. Officers not entitled to travel by air may travel by any airlines, however, reimbursement in such cases shall be restricted to the fare of their entitled. class of train or actual expense, whichever is less.
15. In all cases whenever a Govt. servant travels by air, he/she is required to book the air tickets either directly through the airlines or through the approved travel agencies viz: M/s Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd/ M/s Ashok Tours & Travels Ltd/ IRCTC. Booking of tickets through any other agency is not permissible.
16. Travel on tour packages is not allowed, except in the case of tours conducted by Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), State Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). In such cases, only the fare component shall be reimbursable provided ITDC/STDC/IRCTC separately indicate the fare component and certify that the journey was actually performed by the Government servant and his family members for which he is claiming the Leave 
Travel Concession.
17. Please ensure that your LTC claim is as per the instructions to avoid rejection of your claim.

88 percent of pension accounts have been linked to Aadhaar: Dr Jitendra Singh

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
12-January-2017 18:15 IST
Dr. Jitendra Singh chairs 29th meeting of SCOVA
88 percent of pension accounts have been linked to Aadhaar: Dr Jitendra Singh
Make Pensioners part of nation building process, says Minister
The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh chaired the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies (SCOVA) here today. The SCOVA meeting is organised by the Department of Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoP&PW), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and the last such meeting was held on June 27, 2016.
During the meeting, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that today’s interaction was very meaningful and stimulating, thus reflecting on the working of DoP&PW. The Minister said that there are about 50-55 lakh pensioners in the country and almost 88 percent of pension accounts have been seeded to Aadhaar. He further said that minimum pension has been increased to Rs. 9000 per person and ex-gratia amount has been increased from Rs. 10-15 lakh to Rs. 25-35 lakh.Dr. Jitendra Singh said that we need to put in place an institutionalized mechanism to make good use of the knowledge, experience and efforts of the retired employees which can help in the value addition to the current scenario. Dr. Jitendra Singh said the retired employees are a healthy and productive workforce for India and we need to streamline and channelize their energies in a productive direction. We should learn from the pensioners’ experience, he added. The Minister also said that the DoP&PW should be reoriented in such a way that pensioners become a part of nation building process.
In the meeting, discussions were held on the action taken report of the 28th SCOVA meeting. Further many issues related to pensioners were discussed threadbare, such as revision of PPOs of pre-2006 pensioners, Health Insurance Scheme for pensioners including those residing in non-CGHS area, Special “Higher” Family Pension for widows of the war disabled invalidated out of service, Extension of CGHS facilities to P&T pensioners, issue relating to CGHS Wellness Centre, Dehradun etc. The Minister directed for the prompt and time bound redressal of the grievances of the pensioners and said that we should have sympathetic attitude towards them.
The Secretary, DoP&PW, Shri C. Viswanath and other senior officers of the department were also present on the occasion. The meeting was also attended by the member Pensioners Associations and senior officers of the important Ministries/Departments of Government of India.

Friday, 13 January 2017