HRD seeks Union Cabinet approval

Sibal good news for teachers?

Over 4.5 lakh teachers across India’s state universities and affiliated colleges are set to finally receive a long overdue pay bonanza with the Centre preparing to drop a controversial norm preventing it from financing fund-strapped state governments. The human resource development ministry will move the Cabinet on Thursday to allow it to pay state governments 80% of the additional financial burden imposed by hiked University Grants Commission teacher salaries, top government sources have told HT

The HRD ministry is seeking Cabinet sanction to dump a controversial norm in the UGC pay package, which was notified on December 31, 2008, and has been implemented across India’s central universities but eludes state varsity teachers.

The norm the ministry wants to junk allowed the Centre to financially assist only those states that raise the retirement age of their college and university to 65 years. Different states at present have different retirement ages.

Paying all states up to 80% of the additional cost for salary hikes could run up a Central bill of up to R8,000 crore a year, officials said. “But this is the same amount we were earlier too preparing to pay — except that now we are not insisting on raising the retirement age,” an official said.

Education ministers from most states — both those ruled by the Congress and those ruled by Opposition parties — had asked HRD minister Kapil Sibal at their meeting on June 18, 2010 to retract the norm insisting on hiking the retirement age to 65 years to entitle them to Central funds.

Some states like Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh have argued that hiking the retirement age would hurt young aspiring teachers — an argument rejected by the HRD ministry citing the massive vacancies in universities that in fact forced the hike in superannuation age.

Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have argued that teachers in their states were a part of the government cadre and that their retirement age could not be raised selectively without hiking the age of superannuation of other government employees.

Kerala and West Bengal have argued that teacher retirement age is solely a state subject and have questioned central attempts to link the financial assistance package to the retirement age hike.

The HRD ministry has also received several petitions from state university teacher groups pleading the Centre to aid states financially to facilitate their salary hikes.

Source : Hindustan Times

NPS - New Pension Scheme Subscribers can avail SMS and Email facility to know their status

NPS - New Pension Scheme Subscribers can avail SMS and Email facility to know their status

Terms and Conditions for SMS and E-Mail facility

1.1 Definition

In these Terms and Conditions, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Alert/Facility” means the (services of providing the ) customized messages with respect to specific events/transactions relating to a subscriber’s Account sent as Short Messaging Service (“SMS”) over Mobile phone or email to the email account of the subscriber;

“Subscriber” means the person who holds a permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) opened by CRA and who is also IRA compliant;

“CSP” means the cellular service provider through whom the investor receives the mobile services.

“CRA” means NSDL who have been appointed as Central Recordkeeping Agency by PFRDA.

1.2 Availability

1.2.1 CRA at its sole discretion may discontinue the facility at any time by providing a prior intimation through its website or any other medium of communication. CRA may at its discretion extend the facility to investors who register mobile numbers originating outside India.
1.2.2 The Facility would be generated by CRA and will be sent to the subscriber on the mobile number or E-mail Address provided by the subscriber. Further, the time and the completeness of the Alerts content and delivery would be entirely based on the service availability of the service provider and its connectivity with other CSPs or the mail server availability of the respective websites. The Alerts are dependent on various factors including connectivity and therefore, CRA cannot assure final and timelydelivery of the Alerts.
1.2.3 The Subscriber will be responsible for the security and confidentiality of his/her Mobile Phone/email account to be used for this Facility.

1.3 Process

1.3.1 This Facility provides information to investors over mobile phones and email ids for PRAN getting generated and the units getting allocated in Tier I and Tier II of the account, a day after the units get credited. These Alerts will be sent to those subscribers who have provided their mobile numbers and /or email ids to their nodal offices (like PAOs/DTOs/POPs etc.) while filling a PRAN application form.
1.3.2 The Subscriber is duty bound to acquaint himself/herself with the detailed process for using the facility and interpreting the Alerts for which NSDL is not responsible for any error/omissions by thesubscriber.
1.3.3 The subscriber acknowledges that this facility will be implemented in a phased manner and CRA may at later stages or when feasible, add more features. CRA may, at its discretion, from time to time change the features of any Alert. The subscriber will be solely responsible for keeping himself/ herself updated of the available Alerts, which shall, on best-effort basis, be notified by CRA through its website or any other medium of communication.

1.4 Receiving the information through SMS and Emil

1.4.1 The subscriber is solely responsible for intimating in writing to his/her nodal office/POP any change in his /her mobile phone number and /or email id. CRA will send the alerts only to the numbers/email id recorded in it system.
1.4.2 The subscriber acknowledges that to receive Alerts, his/her mobile phone must be in an ‘on’mode(reachable) as well as well as the email id must be ‘active’. If his/her mobile is kept ‘off’ for a specific period from the time of delivery of an Alert by CRA or the email account is no more in active State , that particular information may not be received by the subscriber.
1.4.3 The subscriber acknowledges that the facility is dependent on the infrastructure, connectivity and services provided by the CSPs /or the e-mail service provider within India. The subscriber accepts that timeliness, accuracy and readability of information sent by CRA will depend on factors affecting the CSPs and other service providers. CRA shall not be held liable for non-delivery or delayed delivery of Alerts, error, loss or distortion in transmission of information to the subscriber.
1.4.4 CRA will endeavor to provide the facility on a best effort basis and the subscriber shall not hold CRA responsible/liable for non-availability of the facility or non performance by any CSPs or other service providers or any loss or damage caused to the subscriber as a result of use of the facility (including relaying on the information for his/her investment or business or any other purposes) for causes which are attributable to / and are beyond the control of CRA. CRA shall not be held liable in any manner to the subscriber in connection with the use of the facility.
1.4.5 The subscriber accepts that each Alert may contain certain account information relating to the subscriber. The subscriber authorizes CRA to send any other account related information, though not specifically requested, if CRA deems that the same is relevant.

1.5 Withdrawal or Termination

1.5.1 CRA may, in it s discretion, withdraw temporarily or terminate the facility, either wholly or in part, at any time. CRA may suspend temporarily the facility at any time during which any maintenance workor repair is required to be carried out or incase of any emergency or for security reasons, which require the temporary suspension of the facility.
1.5.2 Notwithstanding the terms laid down in clause 1.5.1 above, either the investor or CRA may, for any reason whatsoever, terminate this facility at any time. In case the subscriber wishes to terminate this facility, he/she will have to intimate his/her PAO/DTO/POP accordingly.

1.6 Fees
1.6.1 At present, CRA is levying no charge for this facility on the subscriber/PAO/DTO/POP. The subscriber shall be liable for payment of airtime or other charges, which may be levied by the CSPs in connection with the receiving of the information. As per the terms and conditions between the CSPs and subscriber, and CRA is in no way concerned with the same.

1.7 Disclaimer

1.7.1 This Facility is only additional information for the investors and is not in lieu of the Transaction statement required to be provided by the CRA to its clients on a yearly basis.
1.7.2 CRA shall be not be concerned with any dispute that may arise between the investor and his/her CSP and makes no representation or gives no warranty with respect to the quality of the service provided by the CSP or guarantee for timely delivery or accuracy of the contents of each Alerts.
1.7.3 The Subscriber shall verify the transactions and the balances in his/her account from his/her nodal office and not rely solely on Alerts for any purpose.
1.7.4 CRA will not be liable for any delay or inability of CRA to send the Alert or for loss of any information in the Alerts in transmission.

1.8 Liability
1.8.1 CRA shall not be liable for any looses, claims and damages arising from negligence, fraud, collusion or violation of the terms here in on the part of the investor and/or a third party.