IIT faculty seek study compensation Years lost for PhD cited

IIT teachers have demanded financial compensation apart from their basic salaries for the years they spend in higher learning and pursuing a PhD instead of working after undergraduation.

The teachers have suggested that the compensation either be provided as a fixed monthly allowance or as a percentage of their basic salary through a scheme existing in apex scientific research organisations.

This is the first time the IITs have specifically cited the higher qualifications their teachers require to join the faculty — unlike in most universities — to argue for better pay.

This demand was partly articulated in a memorandum submitted by the All India IIT Faculty Forum — a body elected by teachers at the premier engineering schools — to the human resource development ministry on Monday.

Faculty sources confirmed that an additional document explaining this new request would be submitted to the ministry soon.

Faculty across the IITs are protesting against a new pay regime notified by the government, which snips salaries recommended by a central pay panel and ignores a slew of other incentives suggested by the panel. The Telegraph had reported the new pay regime on August 18.

The University Grants Commission allows those who have cleared a National Eligibility Test — or its state equivalents — to conditionally join university faculty if they have enrolled for a PhD, before its completion.

A PhD, however, is the minimum qualification for anyone joining the IITs at the lowest regular teaching post on offer — that of an assistant professor. IIT faculty are arguing that they should be compensated for the financial loss they suffer because of the delay in their joining the workforce.

In their memorandum, the faculty have calculated what they argue is the financial loss a youngster studying to teach at an IIT would suffer, as compared to joining a central government job.

On an average, a student takes six years — two years for postgraduation and four years for a PhD — after his undergraduation to become eligible to teach at an IIT. On the other hand, he can join the government immediately after completing his undergraduation.

During their postgraduation and PhD, scholars are paid a study allowance but this amount is significantly lower than what they could have earned if they joined the government.
Source: The Telegraph

New Pension Scheme - Recruited on or after 1.1.2004

THE GAZETTE OF INDIA
EXTRAORDINARY - PART I - SECTION 1
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
New Delhi, Monday, December 22, 2003/PAUSA 1, 1925

Ministry of Finance

(Department of Economic Affairs)

(ECB & PR Division)

NewDelhi,the 22nd December,2003.

F.No.5/7/2003-ECB & PR. – The Government approved on 23rd August, 2003 the proposal to implement the budget announcement of 2003-2004 relating to introducing a new restructured defined contribution pension system for new entrants to Central Government Service, except to Armed Forces, in the first stage, replacing the existing system of defined benefit pension system.

(i) The system would be mandatory for all new recruits to the Central Government Service from 1st of January 2004 (except the armed forces in the first stage.). The monthly contribution would be 10 percent of the salary and DA to be paid by the employee and matched by the Central Government. However, there will be no contribution form the Government in respect of individuals who are not Government employees. The contributions and investment returns would be deposited in a non-withdrawable pension tier-1 account. The existing provisions of defined benefit pension and GPF would not be available to the new recruits in the Central Government service.

(ii) In addition to the above pension, accout, each individual may also have a voluntary tier-II withdrawable account at his option. This option is given as GPF will be withdrawn for new recruits in Central Government service. Government will make no contribution into this account. These assets would be managed through exactly the above procedures. However, the employee would be free to withdraw part or all of the ‘second tire’ of his money anytime. This withdrawable account does not constitute pension, investment, and would attract no special tax treatment.

(iii) Individuals can normally exit at or after age 60 years for tier-I of the pwnsion system. At exit the individual would be amndatorily required to invest 40 percent of pension wialth ot purchase an annuity (from an IRDA-regulated life insurance company).In case of Government employees the annuity should provide for pension for the lifetime of the employee and his dependent parents and his spouse at the time of retirement. The individual would receive a lump-sum of the remaining pension wealth, which he would be free to utilize in any manner. Inidviduals would have the flexibility to leave the pension system prior to age 60. However, in this case, the mandatory annuitisation would be 80% of the pension wealth.

Architecture of the New Pension System

(iv) It will have a central record keeping and accounting (CRA) ingrastructure, several pension fund managers (PFMs) to offer three categories of shemes viz. option A, B and C.

(v) The participating entities (PFMs and CRA) would give out easily understood information about past performance, so that the individual would able to make informed choices about which scheme to choose.

(2) The effective date for operationalisation of the new pension system shall be from 1st of January, 2004.

Incase of Death or Disability of Government servants recruited on or before 1.1.2004

Additional Relief on death/disability of Government servants covered by the NPS(New Pension Scheme) recruited on or after 1.1.2004

The Central Government has introduced the New Pension System (NPS) with effect from 01 January 2004.

The NPS covers, at present, new entrants to Central Government services (excluding Defence Forces) and is also available to all other citizens of India from 1st May 2009.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has been established through a Government Order to oversee and regulate implementation of the NPS system. The NPS is based on individual pension accounts of participating subscribers. Each NPS subscriber is allotted a unique Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN).

This pension system is based on two types of sub-accounts created by individual subscribers: Tier-I non-withdrawable pension account, and Tier-II withdrawable savings account.

PFRDA has already put in place the institutional framework and infrastructure required for administering the ‘New Pension Scheme’ (NPS) for government employees as well as other citizens of India.

Various institutional entities such as
Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA),
Pension Fund Manager(PFM),
Trustee Bank (TB),
Custodian and NPS
Trust have been appointed and are now functional.

with various intermediaries. Immediately after passage of the PFRDA Bill, necessaryregulations are to be notified under the PFRDA Act.

Application Form PRAN

WELCOME KIT - Details of New Pension Scheme

Pending passage of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill in Parliament, a conference of Chief Ministers of the various State Governments was organized by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in January 2007 on the New Pension System (NPS). As part of the action taken on the decisions taken at the conference, the Government of India has advised PFRDA to appoint, from the public sector, a Central Recordkeeping Agency and Fund Managers to manage the pension funds of employees of the Central Government and autonomous bodies covered by the NPS. Later, the system developed by the selected CRA and pension funds is expected to be offered to the State/Union Territory Governments for their use and for use by the autonomous bodies under such governments covered by the NPS.

Selection of Record-keeping Agency (CRA)

PFRDA issued an advertisement (22nd January 2007) inviting Expression of Interest (EoI) from public sector entities with experience of developing and managing technology based central administration and recordkeeping systems, for functioning as CRA responsible for opening and maintenance of personal retirement accounts of the subscribers under the NPS and providing a number of related services.

Public sector entities with at least 5 years in central recordkeeping and administration functions, minimum positive net worth of Rs.50 crore (Rupees Fifty crore) and experience in managing over five lakh individual accounts per year over the last three years were eligible to submit expression of interest.

In response to the advertisement, PFRDA received EoIs from the following six entitles
· Life Insurance Corporation of India
· National Securities Depository Limited
· Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited
· Union Bank of India
· UTI Technology Services Limited
· Writer Information

The EoIs submitted by all the six entities were scrutinized in the light of eligibility criteria prescribed by the PFRDA and Request for Proposal (RFP) documents, inviting detailed technical and commercial proposal, were issued to the following four entities which satisfied the eligibility conditions:
· Life Insurance Corporation of India
· National Securities Depository Limited
· Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited
· UTI Technology Services Limited

Out of these four entities only three entities submitted their technical and commercial proposal to PFRDA in accordance with the requirements detailed in the RFP documents. Life Insurance Corporation did not submit any proposal.

An evaluation committee was constituted to evaluate the technical and commercial proposals and to recommend to PFRDA the most suitable entity to function as CRA. The committee recommended National Securities Depository Limited as the most suitable entity to function as CRA based on the requirements specified in the RFP document. PFRDA accepted the report of the committee and has selected the National Securities Depository Limited as CRA. Contract negotiations are underway and NSDL is expected to be appointed as the CRA in respect of Government employees under the NPS, shortly.

Selection of sponsors of Fund Managers

PFRDA issued an advertisement and Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from public sector entities for sponsoring Pension Funds for Government employees under the New Pension System. To be eligible, the sponsors were, inter alia, required to have at least 5 years experience of fund management, with average assets under management of not less than Rs. 10,000 crore for the month of March 2007.

The last date for submission of Expression of Interest (EoI) was 25th May 2007. In response, Expressions of Interest were received from seven public sector entities namely, Canara Bank, IDBI Capital Market Services Limited, Life Insurance Corporation of India, State Bank of India , UTI Asset Management Company Private Limited, Securities Trading Corporation of India Limited and Punjab National Bank.

Four out of these seven entities met the requirements of eligibility as laid out in the PIM and were invited for issuance of Request for Proposal (RFP) for sponsoring Pension Funds under the NPS. The four entities to which the Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued on 11th June 2007 are, IDBI Capital Market Services Limited, Life Insurance Corporation of India, State Bank of India and UTI Asset Management Company Private Limited.

Their proposals, including the technical and commercial bids, were received in PFRDA by the deadline of 4th July 2007. An independent Selection Committee was constituted by PFRDA and entrusted with the responsibility of evaluation of the proposals received from the eligible entities, and to short-list the three best value bidders in terms of requirements (technical & commercial) of RFP.

Based on the overall evaluation, including technical and commercial parameters, the Committee found (i) State Bank India, (ii) UTI Asset Management Company Private Limited and (iii) Life Insurance Corporation of India as the three best value bidders, and recommended their appointment as sponsors of Pension Funds under the New Pension System.

Contract agreements with the selected sponsors are expected to be signed shortly, authorizing them to incorporate separate companies as pension funds for managing the corpus under the NPS.

Women employees allege harassment at workplace

Women employees of Balaji Wafers today took out a rally in protest against the alleged sexual harassment at work place.

In a memorandum submitted to the district collector H S Patel, they alleged that eve teasing and harassment of women employees had become a daily routine in the company.

When they approached management with complaints, they were allegedly misbehaved and insulted, the memorandum said.

The women employees have been on strike for last three days and have warned not to resume work until action is taken by the management in this regard.

They have the support of CPI-M in their protest.

Patel could not be contacted for his comment.
Source: PTI