DBT funds in post offices soon

Racing against time to make the ambitious Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) visibly effective before the 2014 general elections, the government will bring money transaction through post offices under the DBT ambit. This desperate move is aimed as a remedy to banks opening accounts of DBT beneficiaries at snail’s pace.

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s review meeting with key ministers, the government announced that post offices will also be included from October 1 while three pension schemes — for old age persons, widows and the disabled — would now be covered under DBT from July 1. The list would also include districts where the beneficiaries’ biometrics were collected under the National Population Register (NPR). They include Odisha, West Bengal, UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

Several complaints had poured in after the scheme was launched from January 1 about the problems of the banks to open zero-balance accounts of the beneficiaries, especially in rural areas.

The government also targets to expand the DBT to cover 78 more districts in the next phase of the DBT rollout which will begin from July 1.

To plug the loopholes, PM’s focus will be on digitisation of databases and opening of more bank accounts. “There will be a thrust on digitisation of data of beneficiaries in all districts, irrespective of the rollout of DBT as this is a critical activity which need not wait and can be done in parallel,” said a press release.

“The department of financial services will be asked to ensure coverage of all beneficiaries with bank accounts. It will ensure that all Micro-ATMs that are procured will have specifications such that they are inter-operable and are Aadhaar enabled,” the release added.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, 06.04.2013

Coming soon: ATMs, Internet banking at post offices

There is a good news for around 200 million post office saving bank (POSB) account holders. 

The Department of Posts (DOP) has launched a project to provide account holders with ATM facility. Under the project, all post offices throughout the country will be connected through an IT network.

Besides, account holders will also be able to avail Internet banking facilities.

“We will connect the network of 1.55 lakh post offices that includes 1.2 lakh in rural areas,” said Kavery Banerjee, member, technology, postal services board. “Our central data centre is ready and vendors are developing customised banking service solutions.”

POSB operates small savings schemes on behalf of the ministry of finance and has over 260 million account holders, out of which about 200 million are saving and recurring deposit account holders. Total outstanding balance under all accounts in the POSB stood at around Rs.3,96,664 crore as on March 2012.

At present, an account holder has to go to a post office during office hours to withdraw money. Moreover, there is no facility of electronic transfer of money to a third-party account.

“Once customers are provided with the ATM facility, they will be able to withdraw money from any ATM, including that provided by banks,” said Banerjee.

Customers will, however, have to wait for more than a year to avail the ATM facility. POSB will start implementing core banking solution in limited number of post offices by the end of this year. Next year, it will be implemented in large number of post offices once the system is perfect.

For rural post offices, the department will provide handheld devices that will enable one to perform all banking operations.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, 06.04.2013

Gezette Notification prescribing Disciplinary Authorities to Postmaster Cadre officials

Please click here to view Notification

ADDENDUM to the Revision in Interest Rates of Small Savings Schemes w.e.f 1st April 2013

Please Click here to View the Order

V2 SBCO - Silent Account Service Charge execution problem.

This problem is due to previous Technical Revival for this Financial Year

Take backup for safety measures

Use the following command to change the remark.  Here ?? means V2 Office code  01, 02, 03 ....,

Go to Command prompt  C:\>

C:\SBCO\SB>  fOXPRO

USE SBTRA??

REPL ALL TTYPE WITH 'XXX FOR TTYPE ='SCG'

Then go to V2SBCO software Master Maintenance, Index service ....

Then Report - > Annual Report - Silent Change  View the report and Give "Y" to deduct the service charge

Leave Encashment on Suspension/Dismissal/Removal - Dopt Clarification Orders

1. Whether leave encashment can be sanctioned to a Govt. servant on his superannuation while under suspension? 

Leave encashment may be allowed in such cases. However, Rule 39(3) of CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 allows withholding of leave encashment in the case of a Govt. servant who retires from service on attaining the age of superannuation while under suspension or while disciplinary or criminal proceedings are pending against him, if in view of the authority there is a possibility of some money becoming recoverable from him on conclusion of the proceedings against him. On conclusion of the proceedings he/she will become eligible to the amount so withheld after adjustment of Government dues, if any. 

2. Whether leave encashment can be sanctioned to a Govt. servant on his dismissal/removal, from service? 

A government servant, who is dismissed/removed from service, ceases to have any claim to leave at his credit from the date of such dismissal, as per rule 9(1). Hence he is not entitled to any leave encashment. 

Source: www.persmin.nic.in
[http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/Leave-25032013.pdf]

INDIA POSTS TO SET UP THIRD AUTOMATED MAIL PROCESSING CENTER IN HYDERABAD

Hyderabad, April 1: India Post will set up the third Automated Mail Processing Centre in Hyderabad in the next few weeks.The Rs 60 crore centre, coming up near the international airport at hamshabad, can sort 30,000 mails every hour. This is expected to reduce time to deliver the mails. The department delivers 1.75 crores of letters, 2.7 lakhs of parcels and 1.9 crore money orders every day. The first two centers are in Delhi and Kolkata.

 

Source : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

Cabinet likely to approve Central D.A. from January 2013

8% hike likely to be approved on 2.4.2013

Union Cabinet is likely to approve tomorrow a proposal to increase dearness allowance (DA) to 80 per cent from existing 72 per cent benefiting about 50 lakh employees and 30 lakh pensioners of the central government.

"The Union Cabinet may consider the finance ministry proposal to increase the DA by 8 per cent to 80 per cent in its meeting scheduled for tomorrow", a source said.

The hike would be effective from January 1, 2013 and the employees and pensioners would be entitled for arrears, he said.

The government had hiked DA to 72 per cent in September last year, which had come into effect from July 1, 2012.

"It is good that they are increasing DA. We demand that they should merge up to 50 per cent DA with the basic pay as per the practice and set up the seventh pay commission at the earliest", Secretary of Confederation of Central Government Employees, K K N Kutty said.

As per the practice, the DA is merged with basic pay when it breaches the 50 per cent cap. This helps employees get higher allowances as those are paid as proportion of the basic pay.

Source : Indian Express

Link Aadhaar Number Tool designed for entering Aadhaar Number for existing Savings Bank Accounts.

Dopt Clarification Orders on Joining Time Rules :

 Dopt has issued some clarifications as in the type of Questions and Answers.

Joining Time Rules 

1. Whether Joining time / Joining Time pay is admissible in case of technical resignation of a Government servant to join another Government organization? 

For appointment to posts under the Central Government on the results of a competitive examination and or interview open to Government servants and others, Central Government employees and permanent/provisionally permanent State Government employees will be entitled to joining time. 

A Government servant shall be treated on duty during the period of joining time and shall be entitled to joining time pay equal to the pay and allowances like DA, HRA, CCA, drawn before relinquishment of charge at the old post. But temporary Central Government employees with less than 3 years of regular continuous service, though entitled to joining time would not be entitled to joining time pay. {Rule 4 (4) of CCS(JT) Rules}