DA hike for section of CPSE employees

The government has announced a five percentage point increase in dearness allowance effective from July for employees of the public sector enterprises that follow the Central Dearness Allowance pattern.

The Department of Public Enterprises has cleared the proposal for enhancing the existing rate of DA from 22 per cent to 27 per cent.

"These rates may be made applicable in the case of CDA (Central Dearness Allowance) employees, whose pay have been revised with effect from January 1, 2006," The DPE said in a circular.

However, only 69 CPSEs out of 242 follow the CDA pattern.

As many as 96 per cent of the total 15 lakh people employed in all Central Public Sector Enterprises are paid the Industrial Dearness Allowance (IDA).
Source:PTI

Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme

A portion of monthly contributions paid while in service is credited in a Saving Fund, on which interest accrues. A Government servant while entering service has to apply in Form No. 4 of the above Scheme to the Head of Office, who shall issue a sanction for the payment of subscriber’s accumulation in the Savings Fund segment together with interest and arrange for its disbursement, soon after retirement. Payments under this Scheme are made in accordance with the Table of Benefit which takes in to account interest up to the date of cessation of service. Insurance cover benefit under this Scheme is available to the family in the event of death of the subscriber. No interest is payable on account of delayed payments under this Scheme.

central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme, 1980 - Tables of Benefits for the Savings Fund for the period from 1.1.2009 to 31.12.2009.

Railway Ministry:

In continuation of this Ministry's letter No.PC-III/2000/GIS/2 dated 15.01.2008, a copy of O. M. No.7(2)/EV/2008 dated 22.12.2008 of the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure on the above subject is forwarded herewith for information and necessary action.

Finance Ministry:

The undersigned is directed to r/efer to this Ministry's O.M. No.7{3)/EV/2oo7 dated 18th December, 2007 forwarding ther ewith Tables of Benefits under CGEGISfor the year 2008. New Tables of Benefits for the savings fund of the Scheme based on a subscription of Rs.I0 per month from 1.1.1982to 31.12.1989 and Rs.15 per month w.e.f. 1.1.1990 onwards have been prepared for the year 2009 and a copy of the table is enclosed. Another Table of Benefits for the savings fund based on a subscription of Rs.10 per month for those employees who has opted out of the revised rates of subscription w.eJ. 1.1.1990 have also been drawn up for the year 2009 and a copy of that table Is also enclosed. The amounts in the Tables have been worked out on the basis of interest @ 10% per annum(compounded quarterly) for the period from 1.1.1982 to 31.12.1982, 11% per annum(compounded quarterly) w.e.f. 1.1.1983 to 31.12.1986, 12%per annum(compounded quarterly) w.e.f. 1.1.1987 to 31.12.2000, 11% per annum (compounded quarterly) w.eJ. 1.1.2001 'co 31.12.2001, 9.5% per annum(compounded quarterly) w.eJ. 1.1.2002 to 31.12.2002, 9.0% per annum(compounded quarterly) w.e.f. 1.1.2003 to 31.12.2003 and 8% per :annum (compounded quarterly) w.eJ. 1.1.2004 onwards. The mortality rate under the Scheme has been taken as 3.75 per thousand per annum up to 31.12.1987 and 3.60 per thousand per annum thereafter in both the cases. While calculating the amount it has been assumed that the subscription has been recovered or will be recovered fr om the salary of the month in which a member ceases to be in service failing which it sh'Juld be deducted from accumulated amounts payable.

2. In its application to the employees of Indian Audit and Accounts Depa.rtment this Office Memorandum issues in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Price data once a month

The government will release inflation data, based on the wholesale price index, every month rather than on a weekly basis.

The base year for the new data has been changed to 2004-05 from 1993-94. “The new series of WPI inflation with 2004-05 as the base year would be introduced in November,” commerce minister Anand Sharma told reporters after a meeting of the cabinet committee on economic affairs.

However, the government will come out with a weekly price index for primary articles, such as rice and wheat, and commodities, including fuel and power, to facilitate the monitoring of the prices of agriculture commodities and petroleum products that are “sensitive in nature”.

The changes in the inflation data pattern are being brought in line with global practices. “The new proposal is based on the recommendations of the National Sample Survey Organisation, and the practice is followed worldwide,” said Sharma.

At present, the base year for the wholesale-price-index-based inflation is 1993-94, and it measures the price movements of 435 items. The new WPI will include more items, mostly processed food products and industries such as telecom which were earlier not properly reflected in the index.

Abhijit Sen, a member of the plan panel, who headed a working group that updated the existing index, said the existing price index, which uses 1993-94 as the base, might have been underestimating inflation. The new index will capture the economic scene better, he said. The panel plans to update the indexes of industrial production and consumer prices, too.

Officials said an underestimation could mean that the recent price surges seen in food items and industrial products such as metals was actually much higher. “WPI will now become more representative of today’s price reality,” said D.K. Joshi of Crisil.

According to policy-makers, monthly WPI data along with the weekly numbers for primary articles will help the Reserve Bank of India to better manage its monetary policy.

Plan panel officials said data generated under the new indirect tax regime — the goods and service tax is scheduled to be introduced from next fiscal — would come in handy in calculating the new index.
Source: Telegraph

Centre planning to establish 10,000 ITIs and 1,000 Polytechnics across country

Centre planning to establish 10,000 ITIs across country

The Central government is planning to establish 10,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in rural areas across the country for imparting technical training to the rural youth.

Union minister of state for planning V Narayanasamy announced this on Monday while inaugurating the first national convention of rural institutes, organized by the National Council of Rural Institutes.

“We have opened the flood gates for foreign investment in the education sector. Our thrust is on expanding the educational infrastructure in the rural areas by opening more institutes and universities,” the minister said.

He said plans were afoot to set up one rural university in each backward and tribal clusters across the country. Besides, 25,000 schools would also be set up in rural areas under the Public-Private Partnership mode.

The ambitious Bharat Nirman programme launched by the government of India with an outlay of Rs1 lakh-crore has helped in containing migration of rural people to urban areas to a certain extent what with creation of better infrastructure facilities in villages, he added.

“With emphasis on rural education and health care apart from infrastructure development, people in rural areas could feel better off. We can stop migration through such efforts,” Narayanasamy pointed out. National Council of Rural Institutes chairman S V Prabhath, former director of IIT-Madras P V Indiresan and others were present.
Source: PTI


Centre approves setting up 1000 new polytechnics: Minister

A new scheme of setting up 1,000 polytechnics across the country has been approved by the Centre to create more job opportunities for youth and arrest migration of rural youth to urban areas in search of jobs, Union Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs V Narayanasamy said today.

Inaugurating the first National Convention of rural institutes organised by the National Council of Rural Institutes (NCRI), he said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government was committed to provision of Urban facilities in Rural Areas (PURA) propagated by former President A P J Abdul Kalam.

''Skill training is needed for millions of youngsters. Older people also needs to be re-trained. The NCRI can play a lead role here,'' he observed.

The success stories of the Gandhi Gram Rural University in Tamil Nadu and Barefoot College built by Barefoot Architects in Tilonia, Rajasthan, amply manifested the Gandhian principles of higher learning and rural development, he pointed out.

He said under the National Mission on Education, internet connectivity would be provided to 20,000 colleges and 10,000 departments in universities at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore in the next three years. The Union Government also planned to set up 2.50 lakh common service centres across the country, he added.

He urged the NCRI to promote at least one rural university in each of the clusters of backward and interior rural and tribal areas of the country.

Noting that wherever local bodies were active and functioned well, the implementation of rural developmental programmes was much better, he stressed the need for developing skills of Panchayat Raj Institutions in designing, planning, monitoring and implementation of these programmes.

The UPA Government's agenda was to transform India into a ''superpower of peace and inclusive prosperity in 21st century.'' Referring to the Centre's decision to restructure the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana and convert it into a national Rural Livelihoods Mission, he said a multi-pronged strategy would be adopted for poverty reduction in a time-bound manner by providing sustainable livelihood through various means to rural people below poverty line.

Poorest of poor, hitherto uncovered by government schemes, would be provided identity cards by the Unique Identification Authority of India and made part of inclusive development, he added.
Source:UNI