Pensioners accounts not to have more than 14 transactions in a Year

Pensioners accounts not to have more than 14 transactions in a Year

Reserve Bank Of India

RBI/2015-16/294

DGBA.GAD.No.2278/31.12.010/2015-16

January 21,2016

The Chairman & Managing Director/
The Chief Executive Officer
All Agency Banks

Dear Sir/Madam

Payment of Agency Commission on pension accounts

As you may be aware, agency banks are being compensated at Rs.65 per transaction for handling pension computation, payment and related services on behalf of Central and State Governments. As per the norms followed by the Government, a pensioner’s account should not have more than 14 credit transactions in a calendar year attributable to pension and related arrear payments, if any.

2. It has however come to our notice that certain banks are apportioning payment of arrears on account of Dearness Relief (DR) and/or delay in start of pension monthwise, thus, resulting in inflated agency commission claims. It is reiterated that number of commisionable transactions for payment of agency commission on account of pension in a year should not exceed 14. This includes one monthly credit for payment of net pension and a maximum of two per year for payment of arrears on account of increase in DR, if applicable.

3. It is also reiterated that cases involving payment of arrears on account of late start/restart of pension qualifies as a single transaction for claiming of agency commission. In other words, any payment of arrears on account of late start/restart of pension should be effected in a single credit transaction instead of separate monthly credits.

4. Some of the Central Government Departments and State Governments prefer to compute the pension figures on their own and pass them on to banks for payment. Such transactions may be included under non-pension payments, on which agency commission is payable on a turnover basis as per the existing norms (currently at 5.5 paise per Rs. 100/-).

Yours faithfully

(Manish Parashar)
Deputy General Manager

source : CLICK HERE

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The CPC recommendations were the biggest headache for ministry - Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.

Government is planning to defer the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission award.

With a massive financial resource crunch estimated for 2016-17, the government is planning to defer the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission award.Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the formation of an empowered committee of secretaries to work out ways for staggering the award through more than one financial year, instead of letting the Rs 1,02,100-crore bill from the implementation of the award come up at one go.A top-ranked official said one of the options for the empowered committee was to defer the increase in allowances for central government employees, while letting the rise in pay for all scales to go through. According to finance ministry figures, the ratio of allowances to pay for these 4.7 million employees is 1:1.4. For instance, the Budget estimates in 2015-16 pegged the salary bill for all central government employees at Rs 60,731 crore, whereas the tab for allowances is Rs 84,437.4 crore.The step would allow Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to keep the Budget numbers for this financial year and the next close to the targeted 3.9 per cent and 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) that he has committed himself to. For instance, even if the annual expenditure for 2016-17 were kept at about Rs 18 lakh crore (almost unchanged from Rs 17,77,477 crore in 2015-16), the Pay Commission recommendations would add another 5.5 per cent to it.Given the sluggish pace of GDP growth and the almost negative deflator, the aggregate Budget numbers would otherwise be impossible to sustain on the back of the current trend in growth of tax receipts - just 50 per cent of the Budget estimates after the first eight months of the year, according to Controller General of Accounts data. The assumptions being worked on in North Block are that these might not change dramatically in the next financial year, too.The announcement of a deferral is expected to be part of Jaitley's Budget speech on February 29. The formation of an empowered committee for the pay panel recommendations, again a first for the central government, is meant to bring all stakeholders on board in the exercise.The official explained ministry-wise consultations with the department of expenditure in the finance ministry, in the run up to the Budget, were mostly over. Those discussions had proceeded on the assumptions that the Pay Commission recommendations would be implemented. It was now necessary to bring the secretaries of key departments on board about the need for a drastic cut-back on those estimates.The status quo on allowances would also allow the government to ignore the demand made by various staff associations to raise the minimum level of salary for employees. The Pay Commission has suggested that the minimum should be Rs 18,000 per month; the unions have demanded that it should be raised to a band of Rs 19,000 to Rs 21,000 a month. Such a change would have created a ripple effect. About 70 per cent of the government employees are bunched in the non-executive ranks; the starting salary for them tops about Rs 42,000 a month, show calculations by the Commission. Even a modest increase in pay for them would cascade the bill for the government by another Rs 50,000 crore annually. The award of the Commission is slated to take effect from January 1 this year. A key element in the plan to defer some elements of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations will be the railway ministry. Government managers reckon the powerful unions of the Indian Railways need to be brought on board for this plan to be successful. The higher wage bill for the Suresh Prabhu-led ministry works out to Rs 28,450 crore a year, only a shade less than the yearly loss it makes on its passenger services at present. No formal communications have been sent out to the railway unions by the committee. "It will follow once the empowered committee has decided to take a call on which allowances to clip," said the official. In a recent television interview, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha had said the Pay Commission recommendations were the biggest headache for his ministry, struggling to keep the grate expenditure of the Union government under control.    

Kerala Cabinet approves 10th pay commission proposals

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the revised pay scales will be implemented from February 1 with retrospective effect from July 1, 2014.

The revision will be accompanied by a hike in dearness allowance of three per cent from January 1, 2015, and six per cent from July 1, 2015, thereby clearing all DA arrears to date. 

 The pay and pension arrears will be distributed in four half-yearly installments from April 1, 2017, and will carry the same interest as provident fund deposits

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3rd Day Mass Dharna at Chennai

FNPO Participated in NJCA Dharna Program @ Chief PMG Office  Campus, Tamil Nadu Circle, Chennai 600 002 on 21.01.2016

 3வது நாள் தர்ணா - FNPO சார்பாக சென்னையில் நடந்த ஆர்ப்பாட்டம் 

 

FNPO Participated in NJCA Dharna programe 
 

Shri. O.P.Khanna, GS AIPAOA, 

Shri. Jagdhish Sharma Asst Secy Finance, FNPO,

Shri. V K Mathur Dy GS NUPE P-IV, 

Shri. Devendrakumar CS NUR-C, 

Shri. Omprakash CS NUPE PIV Delhi Circle 

& OTHERS Participated in NJCA Dharna program at Jantar Mantar.

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வள்ளியூரில் நடந்த சமத்துவ பொங்கல் கொண்டாட்டம்.

நமது தேசிய சங்க நெல்லை கோட்ட துணை தலைவரும் வள்ளியூர் அஞ்சலக அதிகாரியுமான திரு.S.வெங்கடேஸ்வரன் அவர்கள் தலைமையில்    வள்ளியூரில் சமத்துவ பொங்கல் விழா கொண்டாடப்பட்டது. அதில் வள்ளியூர் உபகோட்ட அதிகாரி திருமதி.மேனகா அவர்களும்அனைத்து தோழர்  தோழியர்களும்  மற்றும் பொதுமக்களும் கலந்து கொண்டனர்.

Shri.S.Venkateswaran, Postmaster Gr II, Vallioor

Shri.S.Venkateswaran, Smt.Menaga IP and others

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Mass Dharna at Chennai, Tamil Nadu Circle

 Mass Dharna at Chennai, Tamil Nadu Circle

 Secretary General Shri.D.Thiyagarajan,

 

Mass Dharna at Bihar Circle

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வருந்துகிறோம்.

                  நெல்லை கோட்ட தேசிய சங்கத்தின் முன்னாள் பொருளாளரும் தற்போதைய விருதுநகர் கோட்ட தலைவருமான திரு. ஐயங்கன்னு அவர்களின் தாயார் திருமதி திருமலையாட்சி அம்மாள் (வயது 80) அவர்கள் இன்று நண்பகல் 1100 மணிக்கு காலமானார் என்பதை வருத்தத்துடன் தெரிவித்து கொள்கிறோம்.   அன்னாரது ஆத்மா சாந்தியடைய இறையருள் வேண்டுகிறோம். அன்னாரின் இறுதிசடங்கு அவர்களின் சொந்த ஊரான நெல்லை மாவட்டம் சுரண்டை அருகில்  உள்ள அருணாச்சலபுரம் என்ற கிராமத்தில் 20.01.2016 இன்று நடைபெறும்.
                 அவரது பிரிவால் வாடும் அவர்தம் குடும்பத்தினருக்கு எமது தேசிய சங்கத்தின் ஆழ்ந்த அனுதாபங்கள்.

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3 days Mass Dharna throughout the nation.

Federation request to conduct three days Mass Dharna at all work places throughout the nation on 19th to 21st January 2016 on the call of NJCA.
Departments instruction on 3 days Dharna programme from 19^th to 21st January,2016 of NJCA

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Unions demand hike in I-T exemption ceiling to Rs 5 lakh

Finance Minister assures trade unions that govt will not go for privatising Railways and Coal India

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday expressed concern over the declining job growth between 2004-05 and 2011-12 — roughly the period of United Progressive Alliance governments compared to the period between 1999-00 to 2004-05, coinciding with the previous National Democratic Alliance regime — and assured trade unions of government’s commitment to generate more employment opportunities for the common man.

Interacting with representatives of trade unions for pre-Budget interactions, Jaitley said a cause for concern is that the compound annual growth rate of employment decelerated during 2004-05 to 2011-12 to 0.5 per cent, as compared to the 2.8 per cent growth during 1999-2000 to 2004-05.

He also assured the trade unions of not going for privatising the Railways and Coal India. Jaitley said the government aims at safeguarding the existing jobs and give better environment to the common man.  The finance minister said that’s why more money is needed for investment in infrastructure to create more job opportunities for the youth.

He said the government wants to create better social security system for the labour force working both in organised and unorganised sectors.  Highlighting the major initiatives of his government in labour sector, he also informed the trade unions that states such as Rajasthan have also introduced major reforms in three labour legislations — the Industrial Disputes Act, the Factories Act and the Contract Labour  Act. Trade union leaders demanded an increase in income tax exemption ceiling for salaried class to Rs 5 lakh in the upcoming Budget.

The income tax exemption ceiling at present is Rs 2.5 lakh.

They also demanded that disinvestment in profit-making public sector units be stopped forthwith and budgetary support should be given for revival of potentially viable sick CPSUs.

Representatives of 11 trade unions also opposed foreign direct investment in crucial sectors like defence production.

They also asked the government to take effective measures to contain inflation. A ban on forward trading in commodities and rationlisation of tax/cess/duty on petroleum products were some their other demands.

"We also expressed our serious concern and dismay over the manner the government has been pushing various major economic policy related decisions through promulgation of Ordinances. In particular, we opposed the Ordinance on the coal, insurance sectors and Land Acquisition Act...we demand all such Ordinances should be withdrawn forthwith," All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) Secretary D L Sachdev told reporters after the meeting.

A joint statement by the 11 unions said: "Concrete steps must be taken to recover huge accumulated unpaid arrears, which have already crossed Rs 5 lakh crore on direct and corporate tax accounts alone."

The trade unions also suggested that the scope of the MGNREGA be expanded to agriculture operations and urban areas.

They also said special investigation team constituted for unearthing black money must deliver visible result, which is yet to be seen.

Representatives from the Centre for Indian Trade Unions, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Indian National Trade Union Congress and AITUC attended the meeting. 

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Painful Reality Behind India Post COD Services

Thousands of products from e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, HomeShop18, Shopclues, Naptol and Yepme are reaching the remotest corners of India everyday, owing to their last-mile partnership with India Post, the government-operated postal network. On its part, India Post transacted business worth Rs 500 crore in cash-on-delivery alone for e-commerce players in 2014-15. Its revenue from this business rose from Rs 20 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 100 crore in 2013-14. But that’s just one side of the story.

To reach as many customers as possible at the fastest pace, even if it means getting drones to do the job, online retailers are learnt to be coping with the infrastructure hurdles of India Post. In fact, many leading companies are said to be directly in touch with Union minister of communications, Ravi Shankar Prasad, as well as senior bureaucrats in the ministry, to resolve last-mile issues.

While e-commerce companies tied up with India Post to reach India’s interiors and access pin codes that no courier company could, this has helped them only in a limited manner. On bicycles, India Post delivery men hardly match courier boys on motorbikes, who are faster and are also able to carry heavier parcels. Some postmen have to walk on rough terrains to reach distant addresses with parcels containing anything from mobile phones and apparel to fancy accessories and kitchenware.
A senior Snapdeal executive told, “As most of the India Post team uses bicycles, we have ensured products weighing less than five kg are routed through them for delivery.” Against that, a courier delivery boy often carries parcels 10 times the size, according to industry sources. An Amazon spokesperson said, “We appreciate and understand that the last-mile delivery methodology of India Post is mostly on bicycles and we are in discussions with India Post to come up with a solution/delivery methodology for large-sized Amazon packages.”
Flipkart did not respond to a questionnaire on the issue.
An official at India Post said the department was gearing up for the challenges and infrastructure was being upgraded. The department has already generated substantial revenue from its tie-up with e-commerce companies. While there’s no word yet on replacing bicycles with motorbikes and on whether the current India Post delivery staff, typically much older than those employed by private courier companies, are ready for the change, the official said logistics could be outsourced to a third party for delivery of goods, depending on volume.
Currently, the slow mode of sending parcels via India Post to pin codes unheard of is upsetting the sales targets of top e-commerce companies, for which every missed delivery could translate into a lower GMV (gross merchandise volume) and valuation. Also, it could mean missing the next round of funding from a marquee investor.
There are other issues, too. For instance, a Bengaluru-based online retailer-cum-stylist had partnered India Post in 2013. However, according to its co-founder, the two-year-old company had to discontinue the arrangement after it was found postmen were seeking money from customers for deliveries to remote areas such those in the Northeast. “Such incidents are serious enough to malign the reputation of a company,” he said.
Another challenge is the India Post delivery team doesn’t get any volume-based incentive because it’s a government organisation.
On the other hand, private courier companies were often enthused by such offers, an official said.
The fact that 70-80 per cent of orders for companies such as Flipkart and Snapdeal are from non-metro areas shows how critical it is for them to compete in the remotest parts of India. Amazon, for example, took pride in saying it had delivered a parcel to pin code 790002 — a destination called Balemu in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district.
The dark side of the e-commerce revolution is equally real. A recent Wall Street Journal report had highlighted the plight of courier boys carrying parcels weighing 23-46 kg in large backpacks day after day, all for a monthly salary of less than Rs 10,000. “This low-tech army of urban sherpas hauls bags of online purchases down narrow alleys and up flights of stairs, lugging everything from laser printers and kitchen appliances to cans of Coca-Cola for their country’s burgeoning consumer class,” the report had said.
Source: The Business Standard

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Know about Rural ICT for GDS in India Post

Launch of the Rural ICT project of the Department by handing over the solar powered, biometric hand-held devices with connectivity along with the application software to Gramin Dak Sewaks from three pilot Circles viz Bihar, UP and Rajasthan on 28th Dec 2015

Benefits of Hand-held device to the rural citizen 

1. Electronic transactions- Booking and delivery of Speed Post, registered mail, money orders, sale of stamps and postal stationery will be done through these devices and paper receipt shall be generated 
2. instantaneously thereby eliminating chances of overcharging and other problems associated with manual transactions. Savings Bank deposits & withdrawals, PLI/RPLI premium deposits and loan/claim payments will also be done electronically on these devices. 
3. Immediate uploading of transaction data and financial reconciliation- Using mobile connectivity, data pertaining to all transactions done on the hand-held devices shall be uploaded onto the central server. E-Money order will reach the destination post office instantaneously unlike present day where the money order is digitized at the nearest computerized Post Office and leads to delay in delivery. All financial transactions shall also be reconciled immediately without any manual intervention and Cash on Delivery amount collected in the village shall be immediately credited to the account of e-Commerce Company. Similarly the artisans would be able to fulfill e-commerce orders and receive immediate payment for their sold products online. This will have a positive impact on the overall economy of the villages. 
4. Automatic track and trace- Speed Post and Registered letters/parcels and money remittances will be trackable at the Branch Post Office level and booking/delivery information will also be uploaded to central server immediately. 
5. Fraud and leakage elimination- As Savings Bank and Postal Life Insurance transactions will be done on a real-time basis and through immediate generation of receipt and voice message, chances of fraud would be eliminated. Biometric authentication of MNREGS and social security beneficiaries at the time of pay-out would also reduce leakage in the schemes 
6. Post Offices as Common Service Centres- Branch Post Offices shall be able to work as Common Service Centres and offer services such as Railway Reservation, online bill payment for electricity and water utilities, mobile and DTH recharge, insurance policy premium payments & transactions for partner banks/insurance companies/mutual funds etc

Achievements and Success of India Post

Average business provided by major players is as follows:

• Amazon: ~3 Lakh articles per month (peak 6 Lakhs)
• Snapdeal : 80000 articles per month
• Myntra : 50000 articles per month
• Flipkart : 30000 articles per month
• Yepme : 60000 articles per month
• Parcel Revenue : Rs. 92.35 Crores till Nov 2015
• Speed Post revenue : Rs. 1023 Cr till Nov 2015 (~10% eCommerce business) 

Revenue Growth 

• Speed Post revenue growth in the current FY is more than 16%. CAG report laid in Parliament on 8th May 2015 highlights that Speed Post is far better than private couriers, in terms of reach, assured delivery and delivery time. 
• Department has tied-up with more than 400 e-commerce agencies including Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, YepMe, Shopclues etc for delivering e-Commerce pre-paid as well as Cash on Delivery (CoD) orders. Amazon is the largest business partner in e-Commerce. Rs 1000 Crore COD collection by Department of Posts so far and this figure this likely to cross Rs 1500 Crores by the end of the current FY. 
• Parcel revenue which registered 2% decline in 2013-14, registered 37% growth in 2014-15. 117% growth in parcel revenue till 31st October 2015 in the current FY. 

Digital India 

• Core Banking Solution (CBS) rolled out in 12441 Post Offices along with 300 ATMs. CBS shall be rolled-out in all 25,000 Departmental POs along with 1000 ATMs by 31st March 2016. 
• Core Insurance Solution (CIS) rolled out in 23,792 Post Offices and shall be rolled out in all 25,000 Departmental POs by 31st March 2016. 
• Supply of solar powered, biometric hand-held devices with connectivity to about 20,000 rural Branch Post Offices shall be completed by 31st March 2016. All 130,000 rural post offices would be provided with hand-held devices by March 2017. 

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E-Commerce Parcel Hub.

E-Commerce Parcel Processing Centre at Parel, Mumbai was dedicated to nation by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Minister of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India on 9th January, 2016. 

The mechanized e-Commerce Parcel Hub is spread in an area of about 12,000Sq. feet built up area. Processing of parcels at this centre is fully mechanized & computerized using conveyer belts, scanners and computers and electronic weighing scales etc. Dedicated transport facility is provided to dispatch parcel bags to Airport Mumbai for dispatch by air to all places in India. This hub is designed to handle 30,000 e-Commerce parcels in a day in three shifts. This Parcel Hub is equipped with CCTV to enhance security. Articles booked by all the major e-Commerce players are being processed at this centre.

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சொல் ஒன்று செயல் மற்றொன்று - இதுவே மோ(ச)டி சர்க்கார்

RTI Reveals That 'Make In India' Logo Was Made By An American Firm

Logo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-hyped Make in India initiative, which aims to brand India as a manufacturing hub is designed by a foreign company's Indian arm, reveals a query under Right to Information Act.  

Replying to query by a Madhya Pradesh-based activist, Chandra Shekhar Gaur, Union commerce and industry ministry replied, "No tenders were invited for designing Make In India logo. In 2014-15, tenders were invited by the ministry for appointing a creative agency. And on its basis, Weiden+Kennedy India Limited, was chosen. And it's this company which designed the logo for Make In India".

Wieden+Kennedy, founded in Portland, Oregon, is one of the largest independently owned advertising agencies, with presence in Amsterdam, Beijing, London, New York, Portland, Shanghai, Tokyo and India. Activist Guar also sought information on total payment made for the creation of the Make In India logo, but the ministry said in its reply — No separate payment was made for creating the logo.
While replying to another query, the ministry informed that Weiden+Kennedy India Limited was hired for Rs 11 crore for advertising and promotion of Make In India, campaign, for 3 years — Rs 4.32 crore for financial year 2014-15, Rs 3.6 crore each for 2015-16 & 2016-17, said the reply in last week of December.
Gaur said, "It feels good to hear about 'Make In India' and the campaign also talks good about our country. It's a good initiative, but it would have been better and sent a stronger message if this was done by an Indian firm. There is no dearth of creative talent in India."
Originally published in the Times of India

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Wish You Happy Pongal 2016.

உலக தமிழர்கள் அனைவருக்கும் இனிய பொங்கல் நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்

Thai Pongal (Tamil: taippongal) is a Tamil harvest festival. Thai Pongal is a four day festival which according to the Gregorian calendar is normally celebrated from January 13 to January 16, but sometimes it is celebrated from January 14 to January 17. This corresponds to the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of the Tamil month Thai.
Thai Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people in the India (state of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry), Sri Lanka, as well as Tamils worldwide, including those in Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa,USA, Singapore, Canada and UK. Thai Pongal corresponds to Makara Sankranthi, the winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India.
The day marks the start of the sun’s six-month-long journey northwards (the Uttarayanam). This also corresponds to the Indic solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac Makara or Capricorn. Thai Pongal is mainly celebrated to convey appreciation to the Sun God for providing the energy for agriculture. Part of the celebration is the boiling of the first rice of the season consecrated to the Sun - the Surya Maangalyam<sup>.

The origins of the Thai Pongal festival may date to more than 1000 years ago Epigraphic evidence suggests the celebration of the Puthiyeedu during the Medieval Chola empire days. Puthiyeedu is believed to represent the first harvest of the year. Tamil people refer to Pongal as "Tamizhar Thirunaal," the festival of Tamizhs. Thai Pongal, also referred to as Makara Sankranti, is referred to in the classic work of Hindu astrology, the Surya Siddhanta.</sup>

Thai refers to the name of the tenth month in the Tamil calendar, Thai (தை). Pongal usually means festivity or celebration; more specifically Pongal is translated as "boiling over" or "overflow." Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled with lentils that is ritually consumed on this day. Symbolically, pongal signifies the gradual heating of the earth as the Sun travels northward toward the equinox.
This day coincides with Makara Sankranthi which is celebrated throughout India.

Days of the festival 

Margazhi Kolam

Though rarely followed in cities, most villages in Tamil Nadu mark the arrival of Pongal festival a month before (Margazhi - mid December to mid January) by embellishing the floor space of their dwelling entrance with decorative patterns called Kolam - drawn using rice flour and different colour powders- by female members of the family on or before dawn. Traditionally dwellings are whitewashed with in the month of Margazhi to welcome the auspicious Thai Pongal.

Bhogi

The day preceding Pongal is called Bhogi. On this day people discard old belongings and celebrate new possessions. The disposal of worn-out items is similar to the traditions of Holika in North India. The people assemble at dawn in Tamil Nadu to light a bonfire in order to burn the discards. Houses are cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look. The horns of oxen and buffaloes are painted in villages. In Tamil Nadu farmers keep medicinal herb (neem, avram, sankranti)in northeast corner of each fields, to prevent crops from diseases and pests.
Bhogi is also observed on the same day in Andhra Pradesh. In the ceremony called Bhogi Pallu, fruits of the harvest such as regi pallu and sugar cane are collected along with flowers of the season. Money is often placed into a mixture of treats and is poured over children. The children then separate and collect the money and sweet fruits.
This day is celebrated in Punjab as Lohri and in Assam as Magh Bihu / Bhogali Bihu.

Thai Pongal

The main event, also known as Thai Pongal, takes place on the second of the four days. This day coincides with Makara Sankranthi, a winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India. It marks the start of the Uttarayanam, the day of the sidereal solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac i.e. Makara or Capricorn.
In the Tamil language the word Pongal means "overflowing," signifying abundance and prosperity.
During the festival milk is cooked in a vessel. When it starts to bubble and overflow out of the vessel, freshly harvested rice grains are added to the pot. At the same time other participants blow a conch called the sanggu and shout "Pongalo Pongal!" They also recite "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" ("the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities"). This is repeated frequently during the Pongal festival. The "pongal" is then served to everyone in the house along with savories and sweets such as vadai, murukku, paayasam.

Tamils decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and embellish the floor with decorative patterns drawn using rice flour.^[3] kolams/rangolis are drawn on doorsteps. Family elders present gifts to the young.
 Newly cooked rice and savouries prepared for celebrating Pongal.

The Sun stands for "Pratyaksha Brahman" - the manifest God, who symbolizes the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one and all tirelessly. The Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial wheel of time.

Maatu Pongal

Maatu Pongal is celebrated the day after Thai Pongal. Tamils regard cattle as sources of wealth for providing dairy products, fertilizer, and labor for plowing and transportation. On Maatu Pongal, cattle are recognized and afforded affectionately. Features of the day include games such as the Jallikkattu and taming wild bull.
Kanu Pidi is a tradition for women and young girls. During Kanu Pidi women feed birds and pray for their brothers' well being. As part of the "Kaka pidi, Kanu pidi" feast women and girls place a feast of colored rice, cooked vegetables, banana and sweet pongal on ginger or turmeric leaves for crows to share and enjoy. During this time women offer prayers in the hope that brother-sister ties remain forever strong as they do in a crow family.
On this day celebrants bathe and decorate their cattle with garlands. Cows are decorated with manjalthanni (turmeric water) and oil. Shikakai apply kungumam (kumkum) to their foreheads, paint their horns, and feed them a mixture of venn pongal, jaggery, honey, banana and other fruits. In the evening people pray to Lord Ganesh. One ritual is to light a torch of coconut leaves and carry it around cattle three times and then run to the border of the village to drop it. This is believed to remove the evil influences caused by the jealousy of other people over the cattle.

Kaanum Pongal

Kaanum Pongal, the fourth day of the festival, marks the end of Pongal festivities for the year. The word kaanum in this context means "to visit." Many families hold reunions on this day. Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love. Landlords present gifts of food, clothes and money to their tenants. Villagers visit relatives and friends while in the cities people flock to beaches and theme parks with their families. Celebrants chew sugar cane and again decorate their houses with kolam. Relatives and friends receive thanks for their assistance supporting the harvest.
In Andhra Pradesh, Mukkanuma, the final day of Sankranthi festival, is celebrated by worshiping cattle. Mukkanuma is famous among non-vegetarians. People do not eat non-vegetarian dishes during the first three days of the festival, saving them for the day of Mukkanuma.

 

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The Officer Who Negotiated Pakistan’s Surrender In 1971, Lt Gen JFR Jacob passes away

           Lt Gen JFR Jacob (retd), who negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka following the 1971 war, passed away today. Jacob, who was 92, breathed his last this morning after prolonged illness, army sources said.

Jack Farj Rafael Jacob was from a family of Baghdadi Jews and was born in Kolkata in 1923. In an interview to the Times of Israel, he had said that he joined the army to fight Nazis and said that the only place he ever encountered anti-Semitism was in the British Army, never in the Indian Army. 

Born in the Bengal Presidency under British India, Jacob joined the army at the age of 19 and also fought in World War II and the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965.
             Lt Gen Jacob when he had met with PM Modi in December 2014 | Source: @narendramodi However, Jacob is best known for his role in India's victory in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 and the liberation of Bangladesh. Jacob, then a Major General, served as the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army's Eastern Command during the war. While recounting to Rediff how the India-Pakistan surrender was arranged, Lt Gen Jacob had spoken of how he landed in Dhaka to negotiatate with his counterpart Lieutenant General Ameer Abdullah Khan Niazi for a surrender. He also spoke of how the Indian Army had proceeded directly towards Dhaka instead of taking the other cities.

He pointed out that when he initially sought a surrender, it was turned down by the other Pakistani officers there and he also realised there were way more enemy troops than he thought. 

And I was thinking, suppose he doesn't surrender, what do I do? He has 30,000 troops, we have 3,000, he can fight for three weeks at least!

Despite his worry about what would happen if his counterpart didn't accept, Jacob went back to meet with the general and convinced him to surrender.

But once the surrender was accepted the Pakistan general and he had a discussion about how it would be done:

I will surrender in my office, Niazi said.
I said no, I have already given instructions that you will surrender at the racecourse, in front of the people of Dhaka.
"I won't," he said.
"You will," I said. "You will also provide a guard of honour." 

He also ensured that the enemy general wasn't killed: 

Near the airport, I saw a few of our troops trickling in. I saw two para boys in a jeep and I took them with me. When I got to the airport, Tiger Siddiqi turned up with a truckload of Mukti Bahini. I don't know why, but I felt he wanted to shoot Niazi.
If Niazi was killed at the airport, there would be no surrender.
I told the two para boys to shield Niazi, walked up to Siddiqi -- I told the two para boys to point their rifles at him -- and ordered him off the airfield.
Then Aurora and his entourage, including his wife, landed. I was supposed to travel with Niazi and Aurora, but I was told to make way for Mrs Aurora. She was more important. Since everyone else had gone, and this was the last car, I hitched a ride in a truck.
After the signing, the crowd was wanting to lynch Niazi. We had very few troops there. So we had put a cordon around Niazi, put him in an army jeep which whisked him away.

Post retirement, he also served as the Governor of Goa and Punjab.

In the interview with the Israeli paper, Jacob was asked whether he had ever considered immigrating to Israel given his Jewish descent. Here's what he said: 

"I am very proud to be a Jew, but am Indian through and through. I was born in India and served here my whole life; this is where I want die.”

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NJCM Letter to Govt on Bonus issue.

Raising of Bonus Payment Ceiling to the Central Government Employees: National Council (Staff Side) (JCM) addressed to the Secretary Department of Expenditure, Government of India. 

போனஸ் உச்ச வரம்பை ரூபாய் 3500 லிருந்து ஆக 01.04.2014 முதல் உயர்த்தி வழங்கிட, பாராளுமன்றத்தில் உரிய சட்ட திருத்த மசோதா நிறைவேறிவிட்ட போதிலும் நிதியமைச்சகம் இன்னமும் உத்திரவுவிடவில்லை. எனவே அரசின் உத்திரவு உடனே வெளியிட வலியுறுத்தி NJCM (Staff Side) செயலர் கடிதம் எழுதியுள்ளார். 

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சமத்துவ பொங்கல்

திருநெல்வேலி தலைமை அஞ்சலகத்தில் நடைபெற்ற சமத்துவ பொங்கல்
சிறப்பு விருந்தினராக தலைமை ஏற்று நடத்தி வைத்த நமது முதுநிலை கண்காணிப்பாளர் திரு.V.P. சந்திரசேகர்   அவர்கள்

பொங்கலிடம் நமது கோட்ட செயலாளர் திருமதி சூரியகலா உடன் தோழியர்
பின்னணியில் திரு கடற்கரையாண்டி

பொங்கலிடம் தோழியர் உடன் நமது முதுநிலை கண்காணிப்பாளர் திரு.V.P. சந்திரசேகர்   அவர்கள்,  அன்பு மாமா பாட்சா  மற்றும் தோழர்கள் 

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நம்மிடமே கருத்தும் கேட்கிறது GDS கமிட்டி.

தற்போதைய GDS கமிட்டியே வேண்டாம் என்கிறோம் நாம்.

நம்மிடமே கருத்தும் கேட்கிறது GDS கமிட்டி

Send your Suggestions / Feedback to GDS Committee through India Post Web Portal

The Department of Posts has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Shri Kamlesh Chandra, Retired Member of Postal Service Board to review the existing conditions of services, emoluments and other facilities such as discharge facilities, social security benefits welfare measures, methods of recruitment, minimum qualification for engagement, conduct and disciplinary rules of Gramin Dak Sewaks (GDS). The committee is constituted at a time when transformation is taking place in the rural post offices due to implementation of IT projects of the Department of Posts. The committee would like to know your views on the above issues to give its recommendations. 

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Post Bank likely to handle Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes

The entire direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for distribution of government subsidy is likely to be handled by the Post Bank - the new payments bank which will be under the Department of Posts. 

"Earlier initial capital approval sought for setting up Post Bank was about Rs 300 crore which has been increased to Rs 800 crore as there is proposal now that entire DBT scheme should be handled by it as well as saving accounts currently handled by DoP should also be moved under it," an official source told PTI. 

Public Investment Board ( PIB) will consider this proposal in its meeting on January 15 and then send its recommendation to Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for final approval, the official said. 

The Reserve Bank of India has granted Payments Bank permit to the postal department, which has 1.55 lakh branches across country and already provides financial services. 

Pilot for the Payments Bank is set to start from January 2017 while full-fledged operations are to start from March 7, 2017. 

Under DBT scheme government directly transfer subsidies in to bank account of people eligible for it. Subsidies of around 35-40 government schemes are covered under it including that provided on domestic LPG connections. 

As per official data, till December 27 around Rs 40,000 crore was directly reaching the beneficiaries through various schemes. 

As many as 40 international financial conglomerates, including World Bank and Barclays, have shown interest to partner with Postal Department for the payments bank. 

The DoP has shortlisted six consultants including McKinsey, KPMG, Ernst and Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The postal department expects to finalise consultant for setting up of payment banks by end of this month. 

At the end March 2015, the DoP housed around 20 lakh saving accounts which held total deposit of about Rs 47,800 crore. The payment bank wing of DoP is also proposed to manage these accounts. 

As per RBI guidelines, payments banks would offer a limited range of products such as demand deposits and remittances. 

They will, however, not be allowed to undertake lending activities and will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs 1 lakh per individual customer. 

They will be allowed to issue ATM or debit cards as also other prepaid payment instruments, but not credit cards.

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Delegation of powers to Heads of Offices for treatment availed in emergency circumstances- relaxation of rules regarding

Treatment availed in emergency circumstances – CGHS Orders

1967/2013/0EL/CGHS/SZ/DSZ-CGHS (P)
Government of India
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
CGHS (P) Section

Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi
Dated the 10th December, 2015

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Sub: Delegation of powers to Heads of Offices for treatment availed in emergency circumstances- relaxation of rules regarding.

The undersigned is directed to refer to this Ministry’s OM No. 5.12020/4/97-CGHS (P) dated 27/12/2006 and OM No. 5.14025/01/2014-MS dated 5/6/2014 vide which powers were delegated to the Head of Departments (HODs) to decide the cases of medical claims in respect of treatment obtained in emergency at private hospital/private nursing home/private clinics, subject to item-wise ceiling prescribed under CGHS/CS (MA) rules, 1944, irrespective of the financial limit on the total amount to be reimbursed.

2. The matter has been examined in this Ministry. In view of undue hardships being faced by the employees whose offices are located in far flung areas and whose HoD are at New Delhi or at any other place far away from the respective offices, if has been decided to further delegate the powers as follows:

“The Heads of Office not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Govt.of India may decide the cases of medical claims in respect of treatment obtained in emergency at private hospital/private nursing home/private clinics, as per the item-wise ceiling prescribed under CGHS/CS (MA) rules, 1944, subject to an overall limit of Rs. 2 lakhs per case.

3. Other contents of OM No. 5.12020/4/97-CGHS (P) dated 27/12/2006 and OM No. S.14025/01/2014-MS dated 5/6/2014 will remain unchanged.

4. This issues with the approval of Additional Secretary & Director General, CGHS and shall be effective from the date of its issue.

(Sunil Kumar Gupta)
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India

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ஆறு மாதங்களுக்குள் Recruitment பணியை முடித்து ஆணை வழங்க DoPT உத்திரவு

Entire recruitment process to be completed within six months – Dopt Instructions on 11.1.2016

Entire recruitment process including and starting from advertisement, conducting written examination or holding of interview may be completed within six months.

F. No. Misc-14017/15/2015-Estt. (RR)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, P.G. & Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training
North Block, New Delhi

Dated: 11.1.2016

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Instructions regarding time limit for holding examinations / interviews from the date of advertisement for the post under direct recruitment – reg.

The undersigned is directed to refer to the subject and to say that it has come to notice of this Department that there are instances of a long time lag between the date of advertisement for the vacancy and date of examination or interview. This delay may deny the opportunity to fresh candidates who become eligible during that period, while creating an atmosphere of uncertainty to candidates who have applied. .

2. All Ministries / Departments are, therefore, requested that while initiating the recruitment process to fill vacant posts(s) by the method of direct recruitment in their Ministries / Departments, it may be ensured that the entire recruitment process including and starting from advertisement, conducting written examination or holding of interview may be completed within six months.

3. The administrative Ministries / Departments may issue similar instructions to autonomous bodies / PSUs / statutory bodies under their administrative control.

(Mukesh Chaturvedi)

Director (E-I)

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