DA for Central Government Employees.

The Union Cabinet Yesterday (24.09.12) approved to release additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2012, representing an increase of 7 per cent over the existing rate of 65 per cent of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate for price rise.


The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 6th Central Pay Commission.

REVISION OF TARIFF FOR INSPECTION QUARTERS /INSPECTION ROOMS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF POSTS.

D.G. Posts No. 6-5/2009-Bldg Dated: 27.08.2012.




I am directed to refer this office letter No. 6-2/2004-Bldg. dated 4.8.2005 on the subject mentioned above.2. The question of revision of tariff for occupation of Inspection Quarters/Inspection Rooms under the Department of Posts has been under consideration for some time. It has now been decided by the competent authority that the rates of tariff for occupation of Inspection Quarters/Inspection Rooms may be further rationalized as follows:(a) Inspection Quarters/Inspection Rooms:(i) For officers of the Department of Posts while on duty /leave, retired Officers of Department of Posts, other Government /PSU Officers on official visit and others for period up to 10 days:

Sl No. Category of visitor in Inspection Quarter/Inspection Rooms Rent per day(More than six hours)

X class cities Y&Z class cities

1. Officers of Department of Posts on official visit Rs. 25/- Rs. 25/-

2. Officers and dependent family members of Department of Posts on personal visit Rs.100/- Rs. .50/-

3. Retired Officers of Department of Posts Rs.100/- Rs. 50/-

4. Other Government/PSU Officers on official visit and others Rs.250/- Rs. 150/-

These rates include the charges for electricity and refrigeration.

(ii) The charges for the use of: Air Conditioners: Rs. 20/- per day or a part thereof. Room heaters Rs. 10/- per day or a part thereof.(b) Rates for officers for stay in Inspection Quarters/Inspection Rooms for period exceeding 10 days:(i) For period exceeding 10 days and upto 60 days: Same as in para 2(a) above {with permission of the Controlling Authority i.e. Head of the Circle}(ii) For period beyond 60 days: 10% of Basic Pay (including special pay){With permission of the DG, Posts}3. The revised rates indicated above will take place with immediate effect.4. This may kindly be brought to the notice of all concerned for information, guidance and necessary action. Copy of Hindi version is enclosed.5. This issues with the concurrence of Integrated Finance Wing vide their Dy. No. 201/FA/12/CS dated 09.08.2012. Sd/-(Prabhudas Xalxo)Asstt. Director General (Bldg)

Working more than 8hrs a day ups heart risk

Working more than eight hours a day raises the risk of heart disease by up to 80 per cent, a new study has revealed.



Researchers said that long working hours could be condemning thousands of employees to heart attacks and strokes.

The warning follows analysis of 12 studies dating back as far as 1958, involving a total of 22,000 people from around the world.


The analysis, by scientists at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, found that those whose working days that were longer than the traditional eight hours had a 40 to 80 per cent greater chance of heart disease.

The size of the increase varied depending on how each study was carried out.

 The effects were more pronounced when participants were asked how long they worked for - but when researchers closely monitored working hours, the increased risk of heart disease was closer to 40 per cent.

Lead researcher Dr Marianna Virtanen said the effects could be due to "prolonged exposure to stress."


Other triggers could be poor eating habits and lack of exercise due to restricted leisure time.


Middle-aged workers putting in 55 hours or more a week had poorer brain function than those clocking up no more than 40 hours, with lower scores on tests to measure intelligence, short-term memory and word recall.

Britons work some of the longest hours in Europe, with full-time employees averaging 42.7 a week.

Those in Germany typically work for 42 hours, while Danes do 39.1.


It estimated that more than five million people a year in Britain work unpaid extra hours to hang on to their jobs.

But the long-term toll on workers' health could be devastating, the new research suggests.

"There are several potential mechanisms that may underlie the association between long working hours and heart disease," the Daily Mail quoted Dr Virtanen as saying in a report on the findings.

In addition to prolonged exposure to psychological stress, she said other triggers could be raised levels of the stress hormone cortisol, poor eating habits and lack of physical activity due to restricted leisure time.

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Source :  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Use of Bar Code for booking of Registered articles by all Post Offices and Bulk Mail Booking Offices

Five foreign consultants in race for ‘Post Bank of India’ project

The Department of Posts has issued request for proposals (RFP) to five top notch foreign consultancy firms for the proposed Post Bank of India project.






The five short-listed firms are Accenture Services, Boston Consulting Group, Ernst & Young, KPMG Advisory Services and McKinsey & Co.





The Department of Posts (DoP) is looking to set up a bank — Post Bank of India (PBI) — to provide banking services with special focus on rural areas.





Besides providing a platform for financial inclusion, the Post Bank of India will provide means of additional revenue generation for the DoP.





The consultancy firms chosen, out of the five short-listed ones, will as part of the assignment focus on Detailed Project Report (DPR) on creation of PBI, financial viability of PBI, proposed organisational structure of PBI in the light of RBI regulations, and relationship between PBI and Post Office Savings Bank.

---------- Source : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

'Dakiya' back in 'khaki'

Once the ubiquitous postman, whose uniform was changed from 'khaki' to blue to give him a corporate look, has been longing to go back to his original dress code. In fact, after the switch from 'khaki' uniform with a matching 'Netaji' cap, postmen feel that they had lost their 'friendly' image and wish to regain the image a 'dakiya' (popular name in Hindi for postman) through the 'khaki.'


There are 3,129 postmen in Madhya Pradesh who would now don back the khaki with the new India Post red logo. The team includes 119 women who would be supplied with khaki sarees replacing the existing blue ones. For men, the reverted khaki uniform, however, would not have the old Netaji cap.

in 2004 when the Union government changed the uniform of postmen from khaki to sky-blue shirts and deep-blue trousers. For women, the sky-blue sarees has a dark-blue border. The department of post personnel had been long demanding reverting the dress code.

"The blue uniform had not only nudged us out of market, but even made us look strangers," said president of postal employees association Prahlad Jaiswal, who has been spear-heading the fight to win back the almost lost-craze for the postman. "A crucial meeting on 'khaki uniform' with senior officials of the Madhya Pradesh circle will be held on September 13 at Bhopal, and we have been asking the Union government to reconsider our demand of going back to khaki," he said.

"The change from khaki to blue aimed to give a corporate touch from the drab-sounding and dull-looking khaki. However, no one realized that the change in uniform will make the postmen invisible," said the secretary of the association, Raju Yadav.

"The khaki uniform had given us the look of a government employee and made us look something different from run of the mill. Look at the uniform of forest officials and policemen, they are still the same and make them stand out from the rest of security agencies and other uniforms worn by the government employees," said Yadav.

"The decision to return back to khaki has already been taken," said a senior official of the postal department preferring anonymity. "It is a matter of time when postmen would be distributed the khaki uniform," he said.

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Source : The Times of India, Sept 12, 2012

Soon, the postman will knock, tablet in hand

Very soon, your friendly neighbourhood postman will bring along a tablet computer when he knocks at your door, to carry out all transactions related to delivery of cash, banking activities and a few more.






Infosys’ Vice-President and Head for India Business Raghu Cavale told Business Line that India Post is in talks with the IT major to source hardware and software for the next phase of its computerisation. This project will involve sourcing of low-cost 7-inch and 10-inch tablets and the development of apps for them. Infosys will also develop intellectual property (IP) out of its Bangalore office for these apps.





While the tablets will be used by the postman to enter data such as digital signatures and a delivery challan, the apps will be used by India Post to update its backend database in real time, helping it cut down on errors and fraud. India Post covers about 200 million customers across India and offers small savings schemes, postal life insurance, rural postal life insurance, pension payments and wage disbursements.

The postal department is looking at these solutions as a part of its modernisation drive and to increase operational effectiveness.

Growth forecast

On its part, Infosys sees its India business growing to about $1 billion in the next four years. It recently bagged a key IT outsourcing and consulting deal with India Post and another deal from the Income-Tax Department for its electronic TDS division.

At present, the India operations of Infosys contribute 2 per cent of its $7-billion revenues but the software major considers India one of its key emerging markets. This importance can be gauged from the fact that Infosys’ India business is one of the four verticals within Infosys that reports to the board directly.

The India Post project, which Infosys bagged recently, is worth Rs 700 crore. This project is aimed at spreading financial services across 1.5 lakh post offices in the country. As part of the project, Infosys will also install 1,000 ATMs for India Post to increase the effectiveness of its delivery channel.

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The Hindu Business Line, Sept 12, 2012

Govt considering unique number for all PF account holders

The Government is considering a proposal to give unique numbers to all provident fund account holders with life-time validity, a Regional PF commissioner said today. Regional PF Commissioner-I, Bangalore, Kamma Narayana said the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation headquarters has recently sought feedback on the proposal from PF commissioners in the country.

"The proposal is under consideration," he told reporters on the sidelines of an interactive session hosted by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) here.

The proposal, if implemented, would see an employee will have the same unique number despite changing jobs and having new employers.

"All through his life, that will be the permanent account number for him," Narayana said.

Asked if he expected the proposal to be implemented from the current financial year, he said "hopefully" but added that it's only at the proposal stage now.

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Source : The Financial Express, Sept 11, 2012