Saturday, November 2, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
7th CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION
ANNOUNCED BY THE GOVERNMENT
Central Government today announced the constitution of the 7th CPC.
Confederation of Central Government Employees and workers alongwith NFPE has
been demanding appointment of 7th CPC right from 2011 onwards.
We have conducted continuous agitational programmes including Parliament March
and also one day nationwide strike on 12th December 2012. After
12th December Strike we have decided to go for indefinite
strike and strike ballot is also announced. We congratulate the entire Central
Government employees who rallied behind Confederation. Confederation is the
only organization which has conducted serious agitation demanding constitution
of 7th CPC.
Government has not yet announced the Chairman, Committee members
etc of the 7th CPC and also terms of reference. Further our
demand for merger of DA, giving effect from 01.01.2011, inclusion of three
lakhs Gramin Dak Sevaks under the purview of 7th CPC, granting
DA merger to GDS and settlement of other demands in the 15 points Charter of
Demands are also pending. Before announcing the terms of reference of 7th CPC.
If Government is not ready to accept our above demands, Confederation National
Executive will meet shortly and shall decide for further course of action.
ANNOUNCEMENT
OF 7TH CPC IS ONE STEP FORWARD AND IT IS THE VICTORY OF THE
WORKERS WHO FOUGHT FOR IT.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
HAPPY
INDEPENDENCE DAY!!
HAPPY
INDEPENDENCE DAY!!
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!
FINANCE MINISTRY ASKS
INDIA POST TO REROUTE BANK PROPOSAL
New Delhi: The
expenditure department of the finance ministry has sent back India Post’s draft
cabinet note seeking Rs.1,900
crore to set up a commercial bank to another wing of the ministry and asked it
to first seek the approval of the expenditure finance committee (EFC). The
entity is proposed to be named Post Bank of India.
The postal department
is among 26 applicants that sought banking licenses from the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) on 1 July, part of the government’s initiative to expand the Rs.77 trillion banking industry and widen access to
financial services among the 40% of the population that are yet not included in
the system.
“Since the proposal
has financial consequences, we have told India Post to first approach the
expenditure finance committee with their proposal before going for an
inter-ministerial consultation on the matter,” said a finance ministry official
who didn’t want to be named.
A second finance
ministry official confirmed this. He said the expenditure finance committee was
yet to receive the note from the postal department. He said, however, that the
committee was likely to clear the proposal once it’s received.
“We cannot pre-empt
how much money EFC will approve, however I am sure the proposal makes sense
because they have such a vast network which they should utilize. The only thing
is they have to develop the standards to meet the RBI guidelines,” he added.
Approval of the
expenditure finance committee, headed by the expenditure secretary, is required
for proposals involving spending of more than Rs.300 crore and the setting up of new autonomous
organizations, regardless of the amount.
The postal department,
faced with the dwindling of its main business as more people switch to
electronic means of communication and courier companies, wants to leverage its
extensive reach across India by entering the banking business. It’s currently
involved in the financial industry to the extent that it runs post-office
savings schemes, besides collecting deposits for tax-free savings programmes.
In its guidelines for
new banking licenses announced on 22 February, RBI required applicants to prove
their eligibility on several fronts—from promoter holding to past experience to
business plans. The minimum capital required by applicants for licenses
is Rs.500
crore, and foreign shareholding in the new banks is capped at 49% for the first
five years.
The new banks have to
be set up under a non-operative financial holding company (NOFHC), RBI said.
They also have to maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio—the ratio of
capital to risk-weighted assets, a measure of financial strength—of 13% for the
first three years. New banks also need to list their shares within three years
of starting operations.
The finance ministry
has been reluctant to allow India Post to enter the commercial banking
business.
In order to apply for
a license, the department of posts will have to create a legal entity to
segregate its banking and postal businesses, said a second finance ministry
official.
“It will have to be a
government-owned company or a bank under a statute since a government
department cannot become a bank,” said the official, who didn’t want to be
identified.
“Added to that, the
postal department has no experience when it comes to giving credit. They have
only been taking deposits till now. Sanctioning and disbursing credit needs an
entirely different aptitude,” the official said. “We had conveyed our views
to EY,
when they had approached us on this issue,” he added. EY (formerly Ernst
& Young) is consultant to India Post’s bid for a banking license.
A third finance
ministry official said it will be difficult for India Post to get a banking
license from RBI since the guidelines call for a non-operative financial
holding company.
Besides that, although
India Post boasts of a strong 150,000 branch network, a majority of these may
not get converted into bank branches in the event it gets a license, this
official added.
“Expertise in
(handling) National Savings Certificates will not be enough for giving credit,”
he added, making the point that the department has no specialized experience in
the business.
India Post had 154,822
branches across the country as of 31 March, the latest data available, the
largest for any postal department in the world, and close to 90% of
them—139,086—are in rural India. This is more than four times the number of
rural branches run by India’s banks.
RBI has clarified that
the conditions it has set are merely the necessary ones and that all applicants
meeting them won’t be given a license. The central bank will screen the
applications, refer them to an advisory committee and take a final call on
licenses based on its recommendations.
If the focus is
financial inclusion, the focus should be on looking for solutions rather than
raising barriers, said Ashvin Parekh,
national leader, global financial services at EY.
“Nobody is saying to
convert the existing Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) into a commercial bank.
Post Bank of India has to be a subsidiary which needs to be registered as a
company and the government equity in this new entity could be diluted,” he
said. Through the POSB, India Post collects deposits starting as low as Rs.20 with an annual interest rate of 4%.
Naina Lal Kidwai,
country head of HSBC India and
president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry lobby
group, said in an interview that though she is opposed to creating any more
public sector banks, she supports the idea of the Post Bank of India.
“The postal authority
is a very interesting one because of its ability to deliver cash where banks
have never been able to reach. To create a post bank, which many countries have
done, is quite interesting. So for those exceptions, we could and should look
at giving (it a) banking license,” she added.
However, Kidwai wants
the government to reduce its share in the banking system from 70% now to
30-50%, besides which she’d like to see consolidation of the sector.
“We have to fund such
banks through taxpayers’ money. These banks can rarely raise money from the
capital market. Some of those can actually be merged so that we create fewer
banks. So we should see a restructuring of our entire banking sector,” she
added.
sabhar : NFPE
DA FORMULA MAY GOING TO BE CHANGED
New series of Consumer Price Index (Base for
calculation of D.A) under preparation:
Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India has decided to prepare a
new series of Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers.
For this purpose, Government
has set up a Standing Tripartite Committee (STC) to advise the Government on
issues pertaining to the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (New
Series).
The STC will go into
details of various parameters that are taken into consideration for updation of
the base year such as the weighting diagram, consumption basket, selection of
centres, sample size of establishments for price collection etc.
Government has no specific information about the skilled/semi-skilled worker outsourced by the Central Government /State Governments through contractors not being paid as per the CPI.
However, the Contract Labour
Act, 1970 inter-alia, contains provisions for payment of wages to these
categories of workers.
The contract workers
are also entitled to receive minimum wages as notified by the appropriate
Governments from time to time.
This information was given by Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shri Kodikunnil Suresh in the Lok Sabha today in reply to a written question.
HAPPY
INDEPENDENCE DAY!!
HAPPY
INDEPENDENCE DAY!!
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!
FINANCE MINISTRY ASKS
INDIA POST TO REROUTE BANK PROPOSAL
New Delhi: The
expenditure department of the finance ministry has sent back India Post’s draft
cabinet note seeking Rs.1,900
crore to set up a commercial bank to another wing of the ministry and asked it
to first seek the approval of the expenditure finance committee (EFC). The
entity is proposed to be named Post Bank of India.
The postal department
is among 26 applicants that sought banking licenses from the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) on 1 July, part of the government’s initiative to expand the Rs.77 trillion banking industry and widen access to
financial services among the 40% of the population that are yet not included in
the system.
“Since the proposal
has financial consequences, we have told India Post to first approach the
expenditure finance committee with their proposal before going for an
inter-ministerial consultation on the matter,” said a finance ministry official
who didn’t want to be named.
A second finance
ministry official confirmed this. He said the expenditure finance committee was
yet to receive the note from the postal department. He said, however, that the
committee was likely to clear the proposal once it’s received.
“We cannot pre-empt
how much money EFC will approve, however I am sure the proposal makes sense
because they have such a vast network which they should utilize. The only thing
is they have to develop the standards to meet the RBI guidelines,” he added.
Approval of the
expenditure finance committee, headed by the expenditure secretary, is required
for proposals involving spending of more than Rs.300 crore and the setting up of new autonomous
organizations, regardless of the amount.
The postal department,
faced with the dwindling of its main business as more people switch to
electronic means of communication and courier companies, wants to leverage its
extensive reach across India by entering the banking business. It’s currently
involved in the financial industry to the extent that it runs post-office
savings schemes, besides collecting deposits for tax-free savings programmes.
In its guidelines for
new banking licenses announced on 22 February, RBI required applicants to prove
their eligibility on several fronts—from promoter holding to past experience to
business plans. The minimum capital required by applicants for licenses
is Rs.500
crore, and foreign shareholding in the new banks is capped at 49% for the first
five years.
The new banks have to
be set up under a non-operative financial holding company (NOFHC), RBI said.
They also have to maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio—the ratio of
capital to risk-weighted assets, a measure of financial strength—of 13% for the
first three years. New banks also need to list their shares within three years
of starting operations.
The finance ministry
has been reluctant to allow India Post to enter the commercial banking
business.
In order to apply for
a license, the department of posts will have to create a legal entity to
segregate its banking and postal businesses, said a second finance ministry
official.
“It will have to be a
government-owned company or a bank under a statute since a government
department cannot become a bank,” said the official, who didn’t want to be
identified.
“Added to that, the
postal department has no experience when it comes to giving credit. They have
only been taking deposits till now. Sanctioning and disbursing credit needs an
entirely different aptitude,” the official said. “We had conveyed our views
to EY,
when they had approached us on this issue,” he added. EY (formerly Ernst
& Young) is consultant to India Post’s bid for a banking license.
A third finance
ministry official said it will be difficult for India Post to get a banking
license from RBI since the guidelines call for a non-operative financial
holding company.
Besides that, although
India Post boasts of a strong 150,000 branch network, a majority of these may
not get converted into bank branches in the event it gets a license, this
official added.
“Expertise in
(handling) National Savings Certificates will not be enough for giving credit,”
he added, making the point that the department has no specialized experience in
the business.
India Post had 154,822
branches across the country as of 31 March, the latest data available, the
largest for any postal department in the world, and close to 90% of
them—139,086—are in rural India. This is more than four times the number of
rural branches run by India’s banks.
RBI has clarified that
the conditions it has set are merely the necessary ones and that all applicants
meeting them won’t be given a license. The central bank will screen the
applications, refer them to an advisory committee and take a final call on
licenses based on its recommendations.
If the focus is
financial inclusion, the focus should be on looking for solutions rather than
raising barriers, said Ashvin Parekh,
national leader, global financial services at EY.
“Nobody is saying to
convert the existing Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) into a commercial bank.
Post Bank of India has to be a subsidiary which needs to be registered as a
company and the government equity in this new entity could be diluted,” he
said. Through the POSB, India Post collects deposits starting as low as Rs.20 with an annual interest rate of 4%.
Naina Lal Kidwai,
country head of HSBC India and
president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry lobby
group, said in an interview that though she is opposed to creating any more
public sector banks, she supports the idea of the Post Bank of India.
“The postal authority
is a very interesting one because of its ability to deliver cash where banks
have never been able to reach. To create a post bank, which many countries have
done, is quite interesting. So for those exceptions, we could and should look
at giving (it a) banking license,” she added.
However, Kidwai wants
the government to reduce its share in the banking system from 70% now to
30-50%, besides which she’d like to see consolidation of the sector.
“We have to fund such
banks through taxpayers’ money. These banks can rarely raise money from the
capital market. Some of those can actually be merged so that we create fewer
banks. So we should see a restructuring of our entire banking sector,” she
added.
sabhar : NFPE
DA FORMULA MAY GOING TO BE CHANGED
New series of Consumer Price Index (Base for
calculation of D.A) under preparation:
Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India has decided to prepare a
new series of Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers.
For this purpose, Government
has set up a Standing Tripartite Committee (STC) to advise the Government on
issues pertaining to the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (New
Series).
The STC will go into
details of various parameters that are taken into consideration for updation of
the base year such as the weighting diagram, consumption basket, selection of
centres, sample size of establishments for price collection etc.
Government has no specific information about the skilled/semi-skilled worker outsourced by the Central Government /State Governments through contractors not being paid as per the CPI.
However, the Contract Labour
Act, 1970 inter-alia, contains provisions for payment of wages to these
categories of workers.
The contract workers
are also entitled to receive minimum wages as notified by the appropriate
Governments from time to time.
This information was given by Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shri Kodikunnil Suresh in the Lok Sabha today in reply to a written question.
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