AUV's trial to be conducted again in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 25 (PTI) After the successful preliminary trial of the indigenously developed Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) in a Kerala reservoir, the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute is expected to carry out another round of experiment in the same lake this year.

A senior scientist in-charge of the project said the trial conducted in the Idukki Dam reservoir, one of the largest in the country, was a success.

"Another round of trials will be held in the same lake before trying it in the sea," the scientist told PTI from CMERI at Durgapur, a Research and Development Institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

"We chose Idukki reservoir in Kerala since it offers the required parameters for conducting the test", the scientist said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

HRD ministry mulling second shifts in universities

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The idea of starting second shifts in existing universities and colleges is doing the rounds in government circles.A roundtable on higher education, set up by HRD Ministry, today discussed about such a measure which is aimed at utilising fully the facilities that remain unused after the class hours.

The committee, chaired by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, explored the possibilities whether facilities could be used for second shifts in the existing institutions.There are about 480 universities and nearly 20,000 colleges in the country. Facilities at majority of these institutions remain unutilised in the evening hour.

The round table also discussed about uniform accounting standards to be followed by educational institutions. The educational institutions are following different accounting standards at present.It discussed about freedom for faculty to go outside the system for development and enhancement.

The members of the round table include UGC Chairman Sukhadeo Thorat and CSIR Director General Samir Brahmachari.

Power of contempt must be exercised with caution: CAT

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The Central Administrative Tribunal has held that the power of contempt in judicial proceedings has to be exercised with "abundant caution".
"The power of contempt, which is essentially a local tool to secure respect and confidence in judicial proceedings, has to be exercised with abundant caution," the Tribunal bench comprising members Shanker Raju and Veena Chhotray said.
The CAT passed the observation on a plea of a doctor who had filed a contempt petition against MCD for allegedly not obeying the Tribunal's previous order directing it to regularise certain period of his service during which he remained absent as per the service rules.
The doctor R R Gautam had also challenged the charge sheet issued against him in 2009 which questioned the genuineness of the medical certificate produced by him.
"Every act cannot be a definite defile or wilful negligence of the court's order.

Payment of Interest on Savings Bank Account on Daily Product Basis

RBI/2009-10/322
DBOD. No. Dir. BC 77/13.03.00/2009-10

 February 19, 2010

All Scheduled Commercial Banks
(Excluding RRBs)
Dear Sir
Payment of Interest on Savings Bank Account on Daily Product Basis
Please refer to our circular DBOD. No. Dir. BC.128/13.03.00/2008-09 dated April 24, 2009 advising banks that in view of the present satisfactory level of computerisation in commercial bank branches, it is proposed that payment of interest on savings bank accounts by scheduled commercial banks would be made on a daily product basis with effect from April 1, 2010. Further, banks were advised that in order to ensure a smooth transition, they may work out the modalities in this regard.
2. We advise that payment of interest on savings bank accounts may be made by banks on a daily product basis with effect from  April 1, 2010.
Yours faithfully
(P. Vijaya Bhaskar)
Chief General Manager-in-Charge

CVC to join hands with NGOs to check corruption

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The Central Vigilance Commission has decided to involve non-government organisations (NGOs) to check corruption in government offices and departments.
"We are interacting with civil society organisations across the country and planning their roles and responsibilities to fight corruption," Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha said.
These NGOs will be roped in to work in coordination with Chief Vigilance Officers of different organisations to get information about unfair practices, he told PTI.
The Commission has asked offices to use the latest software for accounts, manpower and logistics-related work.
The probity watchdog, CVC, is mandated to advise and guide central government agencies to draft and implement different measures to check corruption in government offices, departments and Public Sector Units (PSUs).

No arrogance while discharging duty, advises apex court

The Supreme Court has advised those in power to ensure that there should be no trace of arrogance and vanity while discharging their official duty.

A bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice A.K. Patnaik gave this counsel to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), while also rebuking it for dismissing one of its head constables Angad Das arbitrarily.

“People in power and authority should not easily lose equanimity, composure and appreciation for the problems of the lesser mortals. They are always expected to remember that power and authority must be judiciously exercised according to the laws and human compassion, said the bench Thursday.

“Arrogance and vanity have no place in discharge of their official functions and duties,” the bench said while restoring Das’s original punishment of compulsory retirement with all pensionary benefits and gratuity.

The CRPF June 14, 1996, imposed the punishment of compulsorily retirement on Das, serving in the 51 Battalion in Jammu and Kashmir, on the ground that he obtained the job using a false birth date certificate.

Following the order for his retirement, Das wrote a mercy plea to the authorities begging that he should not be retired and instead be awarded any other punishment. In his plea, he said that if he is forced to retire, his entire family including his five daughters, would be ruined and would be forced to begging. He also argued that his birth certificate was not false but was issued to him by the block development officer (BDO) and the panchayat authorities.

Irked by Das’s mercy plea, the CRPF authorities treated it as his appeal against his punishment of compulsory retirement entailing all retirement benefits like pension and gratuity etc and ordered his “removal from service”, depriving him from all terminal benefits.

Das appealed in the apex court. The apex court regretted the attitude of the authorities, saying: “The appellant had sent a very polite letter of request to the additional deputy inspector general of police praying that his request for re-employment be kindly considered because he has enormous responsibility of educating and marrying his five daughters. The prayer was made with folded hands and touching his feet. The letter reflected pinnacle of humility”.

The apex court said no provision of law permits the authorities to treat a letter of request for re-employment as an appeal.

“The DIG (Police) has no power or authority to enhance the sentence of the appellant. We fail to comprehend how such an innocuous and polite letter of request seeking re-employment on compassionate ground can ever receive such an unwarranted and arrogant reaction. The order is wholly arbitrary and illegal,” the apex court said.

CAT steps in to rescue AIIMS employees on pay scale

New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) The Central Administrative Tribunal has held that an employee of an autonomous organisation like AIIMS is entitled to similar pay and allowances akin to Central government servants.

"Applicants cannot be discriminated against despite being in autonomous organisation, where the government rules and instructions and the decision in pay and allowances would mutatis mutandis (the necessary changes) extend to him," the Tribunal, comprising Members Ramesh C Panda and Shanker Raju, said.

The CAT passed the order on a plea of Sudesh Kumar and others, working as private secretaries and personal assistants in AIIMS, seeking parity in terms of pay scale with Central government employees.

CVC gist of circulars issued during the year 2009

Intention of not returning loan is misconduct

New Delhi: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has refused the plea of a policeman to quash departmental actions of forfeiture of increments for not paying back the loans taken from a moneylender, saying it amounts to grave "misconduct" on his part.

"The charge against the policeman was that while taking the money from a moneylender..., he never had the intention to pay it back. This act by the delinquent was alleged to be amounting to a gross misconduct, carelessness and unbecoming of a member of the police force," the Tribunal, comprising Members Shanker Raju and Veena Chhotray, said.

The order was passed by declining the plea of Mukesh Kumar, a Delhi police constable, who had challenged the decision of the authorities making him liable for punishment of forfeiture of three increments on the ground of misconduct.

The tribunal referred the service rules, saying that the person shall maintain absolute integrity, devotion to duty and do nothing which is unbecoming of a government servant.

While rejecting the contention of the constable regarding the legitimacy of conducting dual proceedings against him, the tribunal said that there was no bar in conducting departmental proceedings against the delinquent official where he is also facing a criminal trial in court.

The CAT also rejected the allegations of arbitrariness on the part of the enquiry officer, saying that the authorities duly considered the pleas of self-defence by the delinquent.

Kumar was found guilty of misconduct in departmental proceedings, conducted after a case under section 138 (Cheque bounce due to insufficiency of funds) of the Negotiable Instruments Act was registered against him by the moneylender accusing him of taking money with the intention of not paying back to him.

No interference if selection process for UPSC is fair: CAT

New Delhi: If UPSC selection criteria for shortlisting candidates is processed in a fair, impartial and reasonable manner, no case for any interference is required, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has held.

"We find no basis to accept the contention regarding arbitrariness or discrimination against the applicants," the Tribunal, comprising Members Shanker Raju and Veena Chhotray, said while dismissing a petition. 

The applicants -- Atul Kumar Nasa and Ajay Sachan, approached the CAT after not being issued call letters for interview for the posts of Deputy Drugs Controller despite claiming to be fulfilling all eligibility conditions.

The tribunal rejected their contentions, disputing validity of shortlisting criteria of the UPSC.

"As per the settled law, even a selected candidate has no legally enforceable right," the CAT said.

It noted that preferential treatment would be meted out to those candidates by the Commission having higher qualifications after it was approved by the competent authority.

The tribunal consented with an earlier apex court decision, cited as a precedence, saying there is every presumption in form of the bonafide exercise of power by the administration unless the contrary is proved with a proof of a very high degree of credibility.

It refuted the allegations of arbitrariness in the selection process as the UPSC had followed the shortlisting criteria uniformly.

PTI

CAT clears air on promotion benefits

If an employee, fulfiling the eligibility criteria for promotion to a particular post, works for a reasonable period on that post against a vacancy,, the government cannot deny him/her the actual promotion and accompanying financial benefits, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has held.

A Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) bench headed by Chairman Justice V.K. Bali held that in such a situation, it would be arbitrary to deny salary and other benefits of the promoted post to the employee.

The bench ordered the Delhi Government to re-fix the salary and retirement benefits of six retired school teachers, who had been given notional promotion to the post of principal, albeit without any accruing financial benefits.

Rejecting the Delhi Government’s arguments that all promotions had to be prospective and retired employees had no right to actual promotion, the CAT allowed the petition filed by Gaurishankar Sharma, Budh Prakash Tyagi, Raj Kumar Uppal, Prabhu Dayal, Jagdish Prasad Sharma and Chintamani Mathur.

It directed the Delhi Government to fix the correct salary of the petitioners, from the dates each of them had been promoted notionally to principal and to fix par arrears of salary for the period they were in service.

The CAT also ordered payment of revised retirement benefits, with six per cent interest on arrears within four months. The petitioners had served as heads of schools over several years.

But the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC), held after their retirement, recommended only notional promotion for them and accordingly, the government did not give them any financial benefit of promotion.

Aggrieved  by  the  decision, they moved the CAT, seeking benefit of the pay scale  of principal, from the date they were assumed charge of the post, plus the arrears of pay and allowances after proper pay fixation, with retrospective  effect.  They also  demanded  revision  of  their retirement benefits.

The government contended the DPC could not be convened due to procedural reasons while they were in service and making them principals was only a stopgap arrangement. It said petitioners were not eligible for revision of retirement benefits and back wages because their promotion was only notional.

But citing the Supreme Court’s rulings on the issue, the CAT rejected these arguments.

“By virtue of the fact that the Applicants have actually worked on the post of principal, they would …be eligible for payment of back wages also, besides salary for the post of principal, from the date they have been notionally promoted to that post,” it said.

CAT comes down heavily on AG

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Central Administrative Tribunal has criticised the decision of the Accountant- General for denying commuted leave to a woman employee who was about to retire.
Central Administrative Tribunal member K.George Joseph, in an order issued recently, also directed the AG’s office to regularise the leave of Elsy John, retired supervisor of the AG’s Office.
The Tribunal directed the AG’s Office to disburse the withheld leave encashment, gratuity and salary along with an interest of nine percent per annum from May 1, 2008, till the date of actual payment. The amount should be paid within 15 days of receipt of the copy of the order of the tribunal.
The tribunal also came down heavily on the then Accountant General (A&E) V.Raveendran for denying the leave.
‘’Under the guise of being lenient, the AG is ready to sanction any kind of leave other than commuted leave. There is no justification in denying leave to the applicant and on insisting that she should not take commuted leave. The refusal to sanction commuted leave to the applicant is against the leave rules and is unjust, mala fide and reeks of personal prejudice. It is illegal, inhuman and arbitrary,’’ the Tribunal opined.
‘’Commuted leave is to be granted on the strength of a medical certificate to a Government servant, if there is a reasonable prospect of his returning to duty on its expiry.
Leave cannot be denied at the whims of the sanctioning authority. If it is denied, it is sheer harassment,’’ the Tribunal said.
If the AG had any doubt about the genuineness of commuted leave asked for, he could have got a second opinion at least for the period of leave from May 6 for which the applicant had applied in advance,the Tribunal said.
‘’AG has failed to find any administrative exigency that can justify the denial of commuted leave to the applicant who was on the verge of retirement. The duties entrusted with her were also not so high and important that her absence could have an impact on the administration. She was only one among the many senior accountants in the office and had informed her superior about her intention to go on leave,’’ the Tribunal said.
Elsy John was denied commuted leave and her salary was withheld for the month of April, 2008, and for 11 days in May, 2008.
She was also denied leave encashment for 43 days at her credit.
Though she was designated as supervisor in the office of the AG by virtue of her elevation under accelerated promotion scheme, she was actually entrusted with the duties of one of the many senior accountants.
She had applied for commuted leave from April 1, 2008, for 32 days and again from May 6, 2008, for 11 days, as she could not attend duties owing to illness. The leave application for 32 days, along with medical certificate was submitted only on May 5, as she was bedridden. She later retired on May 31, 2008.

© Copyright 2008 ExpressBuzz

Date of joining is immaterial for pay fixation: CAT

New Delhi, Feb 11 (PTI) Candidates selected for posts in the Delhi government will be entitled to parity in pay scale fixation even if they join later than their colleagues, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has held.

Six applicants, selected as medical officers in 2002, approached the tribunal seeking parity in terms of fixing of pay scale, back wages and pension after they were denied these as they joined late due to some legal hurdles.

"The applicants would be eligible for appointment to the post of Medical Officer (Ayurvedic) from the date three other persons selected along with them were appointed," the tribunal, comprising Chairman V K Bali and Vice Chairman L K Joshi, said.

The CAT, however, held that they would not be entitled to back wages.

It also ordered the Delhi government to place them under the pension scheme of 1972.

Amendment in CCS Leave rules-1972

Central Vigilance Commission Website: A Bold Anticorruption Experiment

SC directive on payment of service charges to local bodies in respect of Central Government properties

Guideline for discritionary allotment on medical ground in general pool of quaters

Facility of retention of accomodation in the case of re-employment

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF NATIONAL ANOMALY COMMITTEE HELD ON 12" DECEMBER, 2009

National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) System – Refinement of process-flow and enhancement of features

The National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system has been successfully handling significant volumes, ever since its launch in November 2005. More than 6 million transactions were processed by the system during the month of January 2010 alone. The coverage has also increased substantially with the participation of over 63,000 bank branches spread across the length and breadth of the country.
2. NEFT uses the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology to assure end-to-end security and the Indian Financial Network (INFINET) to connect bank branches for electronic transfer of funds. In line with the system capabilities and user expectations, a number of initiatives have been taken in the recent past to extend operating hours, increase the number of batches and handle more transaction types. Incidentally, NEFT has no amount restrictions and accepts cash up to Rs. 50,000 for originating transactions.
3. With a view to further strengthen the NEFT system in terms of availability, convenience, efficiency and speed, the following refinements to process-flow and enhancements to operational features are being introduced –
(i) Tightening of Return Window – Presently, the NEFT procedural guidelines mandate banks to return NEFT transactions in the very next available batch. The NEFT system has, however, been designed to allow destination banks to return transactions on a T+1 basis. The traffic analysis has revealed that a major chunk of returns are effected by banks either in the last batch of the day or in the first batch of the next day, indicating that the transactions are processed by the destination batches only at the end of the day instead of batch-wise. In order to streamline the system and complete the processing cycle on a near-real-time basis, the concept of return within two hours of completion of a batch is being introduced. The B+2 return discipline would require banks to afford credit to beneficiary accounts immediately upon completion of a batch or else return the transactions within two hours of completion of the batch settlement, if credits are unable to be afforded for any reason. Required changes in the SFMS / NEFT software has been carried out. Necessary changes are also being made to the Procedural Guidelines for the purpose.
(ii) Increase in Operating Hours – NEFT is currently available from 9 am to 5 pm on week days and from 9 am to 12 noon on Saturdays.  There have been constant requests from various individual and business segments to elongate the operating hours. After examining the feasibility and customer benefits, it has been decided to extend NEFT operating hours from 9 am to 7 pm on week days and from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturdays. Member banks need to effect changes at their end to initiate and / or receive NEFT transactions taking full advantage of the increased hours of operation.
(iii) Move to Hourly Settlements – On date, NEFT has six batches of settlement at 9 am, 11 am, 12 noon, 1 pm, 3 pm and 5 pm on week days and three batches of settlement at 9 am, 11 am and 12 noon on Saturdays. An analysis of daily data has shown that the volume of transactions processed in batches that have a gap of two hours between batches is double the volume of transactions processed in batches that have only an hour’s gap between them. With a view to evenly space out transactions across batches, as also to make the system near-real-time, it has been decided to introduce the concept of hourly settlements. Accordingly, there would be eleven hourly settlements starting from 9 am to 7 pm on all week days and five hourly settlements from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturdays. Necessary changes have been carried out in the SFMS / NEFT software.
(iv) Implementation of Positive Confirmation – At present, the un-credited NEFT transactions are returned by destination banks and it is presumed that credit for all other transactions have been afforded to beneficiary accounts. In order to remove any ambiguity and to introduce the element of positive confirmation, the NEFT outward message format is being modified to contain two additional fields, wherein mobile number and / or e-mail address of the originating customer can be populated. A new message format is also being introduced to relay to the originating bank an acknowledgement containing the date and time of credit, immediately after the credit is afforded to beneficiary accounts. This message would flow from the destination bank / branch to the originating bank / branch. The originating banks after receiving the positive confirmation from the destination banks shall have to initiate a mobile SMS or generate an e-mail to the originator to convey the fate of the transaction. Detailed process flow for generating the positive confirmation is enclosed. SFMS / NEFT has been modified to add the required fields in the existing messages as also to handle the new messages.
4. The above modifications will be implemented in NEFT with effect from March 1, 2010. Member banks are advised to carry out appropriate changes to their CBS / system interfaces to handle the enhancements. In order to facilitate smooth migration, IDRBT-Hyderabad would release modified patches to be applied on SFMS / NEFT applications by February 15, 2010. For any additional information / clarifications, the NEFT team at your bank can contact officials of DPSS or IDRBT through email.

ICAR proceeding against scientist illegal: CAT

New Delhi, Feb 5 (PTI) The Central Administrative Tribunal has rapped the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for adopting an "illegal procedure" against a scientist during a departmental inquiry.

"There was no reason for the ICAR to have made an inquiry against the scientist for the same charges which are already a subject matter of the inquiry.

"No doubt, the ICAR could proceed against him with regard to fresh charges but combination of fresh with old charges makes the procedure illegal," the tribunal, comprising Chairman Justice V K Bali and Member R C Panda, said.

The CAT passed the order on a plea of S S Tomar, the principal scientist working with ICAR, seeking to restrain it from proceeding with the order of punishment of stopping three increments.

The tribunal noted that the charges levelled against him could not be proved during the inquiry.

No free diet to CRPF personnel in hospitals

New Delhi, Feb 5 (PTI) With the revised pay structure, the CRPF personnel are facing a unique problem -- jawans admitted in its hospitals are no longer entitled to free diet.

Prior to the implementation of 6th Pay Commission recommendations, jawans were getting free diet based on the pay scale limits set earlier. But now, the monetary ceiling for providing free diet to admitted patients has been fixed up to Rs 7,450 per month, sources said.

The same has been fixed at Rs 11,160 per month for severely sick patients and those suffering from TB.

As the salary of all personnel is revised, most of the constables have been placed in the pay scale of more than the new set limit for free diet.

SC directive on subsistence allowance to suspended staff

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that a government employee under suspension is not entitled to subsistence allowance on the basis of a revised pay scale if the disciplinary action against him or her has been taken before the revision.

A bench of Justices R V Raveendran and K S Radhakrishnan in a judgement said the suspended employee is entitled to subsistence allowance on the basis of a revised pay scale if the suspension had taken after the revision. 

Interpreting rule Note 3 to Rule 7 of the Revised Pay Rules and FR 53(1)(ii)(a) and Office Memorandum dated 27th August, 1958 of the Union of India, the apex court said the rule is clear that if the revision of pay takes effect from a date prior to the date of suspension of a government servant then he/she would be entitled to benefit of increment in pay and in the subsistence allowance for the period of suspension.

"But if the revision of scale of pay takes effect from a date falling within the period of suspension then the benefit of revision of pay and the subsistence allowances will accrue to him only after reinstatement depending on the fact whether the period of suspension is treated as duty or not," Justice Radhakrishnan writing the judgement said.

The apex court passed the judgement while upholding an appeal filed by the Centre challenging the directions passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal and the Delhi High Court to pay subsistence allowance to R K Chopa, a suspended employee of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.

PTI

India to step up R&D expenditure

HYDERABAD: Despite the global meltdown, India was all set to increase the expenditure on research and development from one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to two per cent in the coming five years, Minister for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan told reporters here today. The minister was in town to inaugurate a new Structural Biology facility comprising X-ray crystallography at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) funded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).Addressing a gathering of reporters, Chavan, who is also vice-president of CSI R, said: ``Some of the crucial areas that CSIR is all set to focus on are climate change, affordable health care, non-fossil energy, water security, national security and inclusive development with appropriate technology.’’ The minister also said that under a new scheme, INSPIRE (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research), bright young minds would be handpicked and nurtured so that they pursue research in science and technology. He also pointed out that the growth rate of scientific output of the country determined by publications was 12 per cent as compared to the global growth rate of four per cent.``We have broken into the top ten and by next year could well move up to ninth place,’’ the minister remarked.Speaking on the occasion, CCMB director Dr Mohan Rao said the new facility would help the institute immensely.``Earlier, this facility was available only in select institutes across the globe. Now, with this state of the art facility, we will be able to pursue research in molecular biology without a hitch,’’ he said.Responding to a query, the CCMB director said they would do their best to take forward the nearly Rs 1000-crore Translational Research project but as of now were still in the process of procuring land for the project.

Courtesy: Express

Indian Citation Index

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