CAG’s compliance Audit Report on Information Technology Applications in PSUs

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s (C&AG) Audit Report No. CA 23 of 2009-10 – Information Technology Applications in Public Sector Undertakings (Compliance Audit) was tabled in the Parliament today i.e., 9th July, 2009.

Report No. CA 23 of 2009-10 contains results of Information Technology Audit of different IT applications used in various areas of activity in nine Public Sector undertakings (PSUs) under five Ministries.

Some common deficiencies noted in audit were incorrect mapping of business rules, the business continuity plans, disaster recovery plans and IT security policy were either not in place and where formulated were deficient, weaknesses in input controls and validation checks did not ensure completeness, reliability and integrity of data.

The Information Technology Audit of various software programmes revealed the following weaknesses/deficiencies:

The Frequent Flyer Programme of National Aviation Company of India Limited is a customer loyalty reward programme. The IT audit revealed deficient input controls resulting in issuance of award tickets even when adequate mileage points were not available at credit of members. The system had deficient information security controls due to which confidentiality, integrity and availability of information could be compromised.

Coal India Limited (CIL) decided to implement computer network project ‘CoalNet’ for data sharing between the Ministry of Coal, CIL and its subsidiaries. The CoalNet project was not implemented completely in any of the subsidiary companies even after seven years due to non standardisation of the business process. Absence of standard back up procedure made the data unsafe against disasters. Lack of adequate training on CoalNet and non-availability of user manuals also indicated the absence of business continuity plan. The implementation of CoalNet remained unsatisfactory despite an investment of Rs.39.58 crore.

Bharat Electronics Limited introduced SAP in October 2006 in Bangalore Complex and subsequently in other units. Acquisition and implementation of SAP, utilisation of Production Planning and Material Management modules of SAP at Bangalore Complex were reviewed. The savings projected by implementation of SAP towards inventory carrying cost, cost of goods sold and reduction in sundry debtors by the Company did not materialise. Failure to design the required controls in the system, inappropriate customisation etc., during data migration resulted in non-utilisation of the SAP system to its full potential and as a result the integrity and accuracy of the data could not be ensured. Consequently the Company still depended on the legacy system and resorted to manual interventions.

Biecco Lawrie Limited undertook computerisation without formulating an IT policy and developed several modules. The deficiencies in system design like non-integration of different modules with finance modules and non-enforcement of data integrity resulted in manual intervention at each stage which rendered the system vulnerable to the risk of incorrect generation of data. In view of such deficiencies, the Company could not achieve the complete benefits of computerisation.

A review of RAMCO e-Application system in Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited revealed control weaknesses such as users IDs were not linked with employee ID and employee wise entry details (IN entries) did not match with exit details (OUT entries) which defeated the primary objective of access control. Non-integration of the RAMCO e Applications system among various units resulted in manual intervention and led to risk of data entry errors. Non-provision of maintaining history of changes in the system resulted in lack of audit trails.

GAIL (India) Ltd. switched over to SAP ERP system in August 2005. Review of the Financial Accounting module and e-Security issues for the period August 2005 to September 2008 revealed lacking input controls, validation checks and supervisory controls leading to unreliable database. Inadequate customisation of system led to incomplete or incorrect data. Non-rationalised user roles and authorisations to critical combinations and sensitive transactions posed the risk of misuse and manipulation.

Audit reviewed the implementation and customisation of Material Management module of Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The review revealed deficiencies in the input controls and validation checks which ran the risk of unreliable data entering into the system. Some features of the system were not adequately customised.

Human Resource module of the SAP system of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited was not customised for manpower planning activities, determination of staffing needs, selection of personnel for various postings based on pre-defined criteria. Lack of input controls in the system also resulted in feeding of erroneous and incomplete data affecting integrity of data maintained.

Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) of Steel Authority of India Limited computerised the Invoicing System which comprised of a ‘File Server System’ using Oracle9i developed in house. It was seen that there were multiple data entries of the same source data which delayed the preparation of invoices. There were inadequate physical access controls, as well as environment controls which rendered the System and data unsafe against un-authorised access, as well as fire hazards.

Representation of women members on Selection Committees/Boards Mandatory

Government has initiated steps to ensure better representation of women members on various Committees/ Boards concerned with the selection to posts in Central Government and also to monitor the trend in recruitment of women. Accordingly, DoPT has written to the secretaries of all Ministries/Departments of GoI, UPSC and SSC to instruct all appointing authorities to scrupulously observe the following guidelines:-

(i) The composition of selection Committees should be representative. It should be mandatory to have one woman member in the Selection Boards/ Committees for making recruitment to• ten (10) or more vacancies and lady candidates are expected to be available for the service / Post.

(ii) Where the number of vacancies against which selection is to be made is less than 10, no efforts should be spared in finding a lady officer for inclusion in such Committees / Boards.

(iii) In the event of such an officer not being available in the Ministry / Department itself, there is no objection to nominating lady officer from any other office at the same station.

(iv) Wide Publicity should be given to all appointments in Government, Advertisements should be issued in the language (s) spoken by large number of people of the State/UTs, apart from English and Hindi.

Earlier, the Govt had issued such guidelines for various Committees/Boards concerned with selection to Group C&D posts only.

Further, for Group'C' level Posts, having only basic qualifying requirements, information about vacancies for recruitment should also be disseminated through schools and colleges in that area, in addition to normal channels.

With a view to monitoring the trend in recruitment of women, all Ministries/ Departments are requested to submit a consolidated report including attached/ subordinate offices on the total number of posts and employees group- wise and gender wise as on 31.03.2009 latest by 31.08.2009. The consolidated annual position as on 31st March of every year may also be furnished thereafter by 30th May of that year.

All Central Ministries/Departments asked to redress public grievances within two months

The total number of cases of public grievance received in the Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Secretariat and Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances is 109620, 101995, 124052 and 52933 during the years 2006,2007, 2008 and 2009 (upto 30.6.2009) respectively.

Out of the above figures 28489, 29591, 37879 and 18267 were respectively forwarded during these years to various Ministries and Departments for appropriate action. Directions have already been issued to all Ministries/Departments to redress grievances of the citizens within a period of two months. Redress of grievance is primarily the responsibility of the concerned Ministries/Departments/organizations. However, overall status is reviewed periodically. With the introduction of a Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), citizen can view the status of his complaint on the web.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Central government's steps to eradicate corruption

The Government is fully committed to implement its policy of "Zero Tolerance against Corruption¨ and is moving progressively to eradicate corruption from all spheres of life by improving transparency & accountability. Several steps have been taken to combat corruption and to improve the functioning of Government. These includes:

„ Issue of Whistle Blowers Resolution, 2004;

„ Enactment of Right to Information Act, 2005;

„ The pro-active involvement of Ministry/Department through Annual Action Plan on Vigilance as a preventive measures;

„ Issues of comprehensive instructions on transparency in tendering & contracting process by the CVC;

„ Instructions issued by the CVC advising the organizations to adopt integrity pact in major Government procurement activities;

„ India is amongst the countries who have signed the United National convention against Corruption;

„ Introduction of e-Governance and simplification of procedures and systems; and

„ Issue of Citizen Charters.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Amendment to RTI Act

The Government proposes to strengthen right to information by suitably amending the laws to provide for disclosure by government in all non-strategic areas. In this regard, it is proposed to review the number of organizations in the second schedule to the Right to Information Act, 2005 and make rules for more disclosure of information by public authorities.

Government has received representations expressing doubts about the proposed amendments. Non-Governmental Organisations and Social activists will be consulted on the proposed amendments. However No time frame can be fixed for completion of the process.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Income of NPS Trust to be exempt from income tax; also from DDT and STT

Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance in his Budget Speech informed the Lok Sabha today that he proposes to exempt the income of New Pension System (NPS) Trust from the income tax and any dividend paid to this Trust from Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT). Similarly, all purchases sales of equity shares and derivatives by the NPS Trust will also be exempt from this Securities Transaction Tax (STT), he added.

The Finance Minister further proposed to enable self employed persons to participate in the NPS and avail of the tax benefits available thereto. Underlining that NPS will continue to be subjected to the Exempt-Exempt-Taxed (EET) method of tax treatment of savings, Shri Mukherjee said that it is proposed to provide necessary fiscal support to the NPS for the establishment this much needed social security system.

“The New Pension System is an important milestone in the development of a sustainable, efficient, voluntary and defined pension system in India”, Shri Mukherjee emphasized.

Was Election 2009 rigged?

The Election Commission has now officially taken up the investigation of charges of rigging and fraud through the Electronic Voting Machines.

Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla is sitting over a major scandal of a possible massive rigging of elections by manipulation of software of the Electronic Voting Machines.

But for the charge levelled by a former Delhi chief secretary five years senior to him in the Indian Administrative Service cadre, Chawla would have rejected such claims of rigging.

Omesh Saigal, a 1964 batch IAS officer of the Union Territory, stunned him with a presentation to force him to order an inquiry into any possibility of such a rigging.

Chawla is himself a Union Territory cadre IAS of 1969 batch.

Deputy Election Commissioner Balakrishnan has been asked to conduct the inquiry on the basis of a report handed over by Saigal to the CEC, with a software he got developed to show how the elections can be rigged.

Saigal, who is an Indian Institute of Technology alumni, has demanded an urgent check of the programme that runs the EVMs used in elections since 2004.

He demonstrated with his software that its manipulation ensured that one has to just key in a certain code number and that will ensure every fifth vote cast in a particular polling booth goes in favour of a certain candidate.

In his letter to the CEC, Saigal alleged that the software written onto the EVMs has never been checked by the Election Commission ever since these machines were manufactured than 6-7 years back.

His contention is that the EC merely relied on the certificates supplied by the manufacturers, the government-run BEL and ECIL. He alleged that these government firms had subcontracted private parties who actually provided these certificates.

"A public software audit of these machines from time to time, especially after and before an election, was a must to retain the credibility of the elections," Saigal affirmed, demanding that for the sake of transparency names and ownerships of these private companies must be disclosed, as also the details of the factories where they were actually manufactured.

The records retained in the factories must also be immediately taken over by the EC to prevent any tampering and to facilitate an audit, he said.

He also pointed out how, after nearly two years of deliberation, Germany's Supreme Court ruled last March that e-voting was unconstitutional because the average citizen could not be expected to understand the exact steps involved in the recording and tallying of votes. Earlier, Ireland had given up e-voting for similar reasons.

In the United States too, after considerable controversy the Federal Election Commission has come up in 2005 with detailed voting system guidelines which run into more than 400 pages.

Saigal said that it is noteworthy that not a single safeguard mentioned in these guidelines are in place in India.

Saigal said he had gone into all the safeguards built into the e-voting system in India with the help of former colleagues and IT experts and finds it both 'possible and plausible' to rig these machines and get a crooked result.

"If the credibility of the electoral process is to be ensured,pre- and post-election checks of the software now fused onto the chips of the EVMs is a must," Saigal said.

It is not that all the 10 lakh odd machines used in the poll need to be checked. If we take only those booths where one of the candidates has received 75 per cent of the votes and in constituencies where the
margin of the winner is less than 15,000, not more than 7,000-odd machines will need to be checked.

Saigal argued in his report that "if we cannot do this we must revert to the paper ballot."

"The need for a fair, free and transparent polling system transcends any reasons anyone may have to the contrary," he added.

USE OF HINDI IN BANKS (RBI MASTER CIRCULAR)

Acceptance of cheques drawn and signed in Hindi

(i) The offices of banks situated in Hindi speaking areas should display prominently in their Banking Halls notice-boards in Hindi and English indicating that the bank accepts cheques drawn/ signed in Hindi.

(ii) Cheques drawn, endorsed and signed in Hindi should be accepted for payment without observance of any additional formality.

(iii) The drawing officers of the Government offices whose specimen signatures are registered with the offices of the banks, should be permitted to use only one language, i.e. either Hindi or English, for the purpose of signing cheques.

Signature in Hindi on official documents

a) Official documents drawn up in English can be signed in Hindi. However, name of the signatory may be typed in English below the signature. Documents of financial nature (including pay bills) can also be signed in Hindi; the officer, should, however, record his signature in one script only on such documents in order to obviate chances of confusion or fraud.

b) The term “Official Documents” will include all notes, drafts/ fair copies of letters, sanctions/registers etc. wherein a person signs in his official capacity instead of his personal/individual capacity.

c) The official documents/correspondence can be signed in any language as the signature of a particular person is merely a symbol and it can be in any language.

NEIST (RRL Jorhat) selected

Imphal, July 03 2009:
The North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST), Lamphelpat substation has been selected as a centre for joint research programme between CSIR, New Delhi and the Third World Academy of Sciences.

Under this exchange programme, Godfrey Ngupula of Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute would do research programme on Lake Victoria, the largest lake of Africa under the supervision of Dr Huidrom Birkumar Singh, Scientist in-charge of NEIST substation, Lamphelpat, conveyed a press release.
Source: The Sangai Express

Compilation on instructions on mobility of personnel published

The Department of Pension and Pensioner's Welfare has brought out a compilation carrying all the instructions issued time to time on the mobility of personnel between Central Government and Central Autonomous Bodies, state government, Central Government to state autonomous bodies and vice versa. The instructions are brought out in a brochure and ready-to-use form.
To View Click Here

New TA entitlement for Shatabadi (EC)/ Rajdhani (FC)

Representation of Women Members on the various Committees/ Boards concerned with selection to Group C&D posts in Central Government.

Benefit of reservation to persons with disability who acquire disability after entering into Govt. service.

UTN not mendatory for filing it returns

PIB
The Central Board of Direct Taxes have further decided that the Notification No. 31 of 2009 dated 25.3.2009 amending or substituting Rules 30, 31, 31A and 31AA of the Income Tax Rules, 1962 shall be kept in abeyance for the time being.

Taxpayers filing their income tax returns for assessment year (AY) 2009-10, or any other earlier AY, may continue to file their returns without mentioning the Unique Transaction Number (UTN) as required under the said Notification. The filing of such returns shall be treated as valid and in compliance to the requirements under section 139 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Further, the date from which the Notification No. 31 / 2009 shall become applicable on tax deducted at source (TDS) or tax collected at source (TCS) and deposited during the current financial year shall be notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes subsequently.

All deductors / collectors of TDS / TCS may continue to deposit their TDS / TCS and file their quarterly TDS / TCS returns as per procedure existing prior to issuance of Notification No.31 / 2009 dated 25.3.2009.

BSC/BY/GN-154/09

Prithviraj Chavan announces standing committee for implementation of recommendations of task force for women in science

PIB

Government has constituted a Standing Committee to oversee the timely implementation of the recommendations of the task force for women in science. Announcing this at a press conference in New Delhi, Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Prithviraj Chavan said that the Committee under his chairmanship has 18 members. He said that the task force has submitted his report which is being studied and all feasible actions will be completed in a time bound manner. The Minister also said that a sub-committee will be constituted for development of women friendly policies and practical support systems inclusive of crèche, campus housing, transport, facilities for the elderly, mentoring, etc. Earlier, Shri Chavan interacted with several women scientists at the Women Scientists Meet 2009 organized by CSIR in coordination with DST and DBT. Some of the other outcome of the interactions are:

• Efficiency of existing gender sensitive scheme will be studied and actions taken to enhance their efficiency through revision of parameters and strengthening of implementation systems.

• A Nationwide survey of the reason for the pipeline leakage will be commissioned.

• Attempts will be made to make gender audit in scientific establishments obligatory: webpage information should carry statement of graduated goals and set up monitoring goals.

• Addressing the problems rather than achieving numerical goals will be the priority.

• Special schemes will be developed to avoid under employment of women.

Prof. S.K. Brahmachari, DG, CSIR, Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, DST and Dr. M.K. Bhan, Secretary, DBT were also present on the occasion.

PRA/SKK

Research labs (CSIR) in line

A GROWING trend in recent times is national research laboratories and R&D institutions seeking deemed university status so that they are able to award degrees (mainly PhD) in their own names.

Institutions declared to be deemed universities by the University Grants Commission are essentially of two kinds. One is the large number of unregulated and largely private-run teaching shops with little research component. They have acquired the deemed university status to gain degree awarding authority.

The other is institutions involved in research in specific disciplines. These institutions, with hardly any teaching programmes besides orientation-level graduate courses towards the doctoral programme, do not fulfil the objectives of a regular university. Thus many argue that they do not deserve to be granted deemed university status.

Many prominent research institutions have become deemed universities in the recent past. Among them, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, and the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar, Haryana, achieved the status in 2002, while the Department of Atomic Energy and its constituent institutes and laboratories got it in 2005.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is seeking to become one as an umbrella organisation of all its constituent laboratories. Its proposal, made on September 29, 2002, has been conditionally recommended to be granted the status.

It is curious that the CSIR or the DAE wants to be a deemed university. One can understand that individual laboratories having special academic programmes, such as the TIFR, would like to be able to award degrees given the problems of university-institute linkages. But the entire umbrella organisation becoming one would seem illogical.

“Laboratories can offer degree-level programmes of a holistic nature in association with other institutions and can be recognised as universities. However, the organisations or departments themselves should not be treated as universities,” says the Yash Pal Committee report.

Until recently, these institutions were awarding PhD degrees through their affiliations with universities. The rigid structures of universities and their low administrative efficiency and below par academic calibre are the reasons institutions cite to acquire independent authority.

In a guest editorial in the journal Current Science in 2005, S.C. Lakhotia of Banaras Hindu University argued that these linkages failed because in this arrangement the university system did not gain either academically or financially.

“Ideally,” wrote Lakhotia, “scientists in research institutions and university departments should have developed academic linkages for joint supervision system so that the university also owned the research work. The research institutions took the university system only as a ‘post-office’.... Such an arrangement where one partner only gives and the other only receives cannot obviously continue for very long.... Recognising research institutes as ‘deemed universities’… is a negation of the original objective for which the dual system of universities and research institutes was set in place in the first instance…. The present mess in the system of higher education cannot be solved by research institutes ‘breaking away’ from the university system…. By creating more and more ‘deemed universities’ one would only help the other universities to be ‘doomed’.”

“I have this apprehension as well,” said S.K. Joshi, former Director-General of the CSIR, “that even the existing linkages would further weaken by seeking deemed university status for the CSIR. But we tried very hard for the National Physical Laboratory [NPL] to develop joint academic programmes, joint supervisors for PhDs, etc., but nothing worked.”

“We suffer from national laboratories-institutions syndrome,” wrote P.N. Srivastava, former Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Current Science, commenting on the issue of research institutions seeking deemed university status. “The standard of science in the country will never go up by taking care of national laboratories and may be utmost a score of universities,” he said.

“The present demand for seeking deemed university status could… be interpreted as an exercise to legitimise the current situation of the national laboratories and redefine their goals,” wrote N. Raghuram, a biologist of the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, in an opinion piece in the journal. If the institutes are able to fulfil all the roles – teaching, curriculum development and examination – they may as well become full-fledged universities and work with comparable budgets, leaving aside the pretension of being national laboratories created for a different purpose, he said.

“The issue of deemed universities is just one of the many facets of the growing dichotomy between universities and national laboratories.”

Courtesy: R. Ramachandran (FRONTLINE)

Interview of Prof Yash Pal with FRONTLINE

The idea of deemed universities has come to such a stage that even R&D institutions such as the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are aspiring to become deemed universities. The TIFR is one, the entire Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has also become, the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre….

I was at the new space institute of ISRO [Indian Space Research Organisation]. They have set up an institute. But again I told them, if you want to be able to give degrees, nothing wrong. Please try to become a university.

As regards the CSIR, I have nothing against individual laboratories developing an academic programme, but the CSIR as a whole, I don’t understand. It is babus becoming part of a university. A research laboratory could become a deemed university. This is not bad because, you have equipment, you have the people, you set up a proper programme, courses, then it is fine. If the CSIR headquarters decides the central courses, then it is not a university. And, similarly, if the DAE headquarters determines the courses, then the bureaucracy takes over.

Workshop on Restructuring of Common cadre of CSIR

Another workshop, good, at least we were away from our desks for one day, got involved in some game activity, supplemented with "a sumptuous meals and high tea". Oh god! at least for one day we were spared from not being chased by the scientists, a day of luxury , which we can't afford in our daily mundane life. Sounds interesting or irrational , either way , today first batch of CCO's of Delhi Labs & Hq participated into the workshop, subject of which is very close to their heart, may be it is only because of "carrear progression" and "cadre merger or demerger" issue.
The workshop was inaugurated with a thought provoking lecture by our very knowledgeable, esteemed, newly appointed J.S (Admin.), Dr.K.Jayakumar. I strongly feel that he is one of the leaders we will be proud of, having him at CSIR. He was assisted by Ms. Kutty, a senior retired bureaucrat, who has been appointed as consultant by CSIR to revamp CSIR administration and some senior HR professional from Hewitt Associates, Ms Sharmistha (Head at Hewitt Academy for Strategic HR, India) and Mr.Shiv.

From onset, the core of workshop was defined as complete revamping of CSIR Babulog bureaucratic structure, their role re-definition, evolution of babulog in a new awatar, administrative process re-definition. And the purpose of the workshop is to identify the areas of change and process of change by inviting ideas from every stakeholders, and identification of those CCO's (of course voluntarily) who can help in bringing out change.

After some discussion, the leader and motivators found that we as CCO's know that change is inevitable and we are bound to be a part of it. Who will tell them that we always felt the need of change and growth, as far I can remember, both at carrear progression and process automation front. In the year 2001 Mr.D.K.Chakraborty the then Dy.FA presented his dream of process automation of accounts procedures. Then during 2004-05 a plan of e-grid was floated upon and feedback from various labs were called upon before tenders for 'expression of interest' were invited. Recently too, our FA Ms.Sheila Sangwan stressed on the need for latest and modern ERP software for finance processes automation. In a nutshell we always need changes in these fronts and are eager for it but the question is only when it will come. The difference I felt this time, in the present approach, from earlier ones, is that the question of carrear progression and, cadre merger/ demerger and process of automation are merged in a bigger and one idea. The other difference is the pace of approach for cadre restructuring and cadre revamping. Here lies the catch point, the basic motive of organizing the workshop.... is it really for revamping and reorganization of administration at CSIR or just some shadow exercise to implement some hidden motives expressed at workshop in " between the line" statements.

Anyway some predetermined groups of CCO's were formed on and tasked with to came up with ideas of change of they desire, with logic behind it, how to effectively implement it and how the group can help in achieving the change. Apart from some diverse ideas, every group is unanimous about need of adoption of best practices, better carrear progression, better training (MoU have been singed with Amity and Manipal for providing MBA degree to staff of CSIR), specific role definition of CCO's, process automation, incentive for performance and some fringe benefits on the line of CSIR scientific staff.

On the question of fringe benefits, there comes the story of apples and oranges. It was reminded to CCO's that apples and oranges are two different category of fruits and they can't be treated at par and should not be mixed together. To be treated at par with apples the oranges must specialize themselves as MBA, CA or CS. Who will tell them that the oranges do have their own benefits by providing immunity and flexibility in system. It also helps in normalization of pressure(flow of establishment function) and prevent heart attack(collapse of system).

Some other aspects of restructuring and revamping were discussed at the workshop and also will be discussed on at some other labs in future also. But one thing I am very sure about that our new J.S and his team is very genuine and honest in their approach to problem and also welcome free flow of information and ideas.

One more thing I would like to mention here that by expressing my observation on my Blog is to provide alternate, informal and new platform of communication on the subject area as it can be accessed by any one 24 x 7 for discussion , i feel that this kind of a platform is still lacking in the present approach although JS (Admin.) did mentioned its need . During the workshop for the first time I did mention about my Blog, to which I got a positive response. Some seniors who had viewed my Blog occasionally with the help of fellow colleagues expressed their inability to view it periodically. So it's my humble request to all the tech friendly followers of blog to kindly guide them in bookmarking the blog and how to update it regularly and how to put comment on any post. I am looking forward for it and appreciate all your encouragement.

Last but not the least we also witnessed the gracious presence of our esteemed & honorable DG-CSIR, Dr. Samir K. Brahmachari and his noble, simple, straight and blessing thoughts. That came as a great source of encouragement for all of us.

CPWD clarification regarding contractor's profit and overheads , dt 9/6/2009

Purchase of Note Books/ Lap-Top computers by Ministries/ Departments, GoI OM Dt 26/05/2009

CAT says govt lacks grace, asks ITDC to pay arrears to ‘relieved’ employee

New Delhi : The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), country’s apex public services disputes redressal court, has slammed the government for dealing with difficult employees in manner that lacks grace.

“The court cannot but condemn circuitous ways (of the government) to cast out uncomfortable employees. As a model employer, the government must conduct itself with high probity and candour with its employees,” a Bench of Dr D P Sharma and N D Dayal of CAT observed in its written order, released on Wednesday.

The Bench was referring to the case of M L Jain, former vice-president of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), who was hastily “relieved” from duty after 34 years of government service. His only “indiscretion” was he wanted to postpone an official transfer to organise his daughter’s wedding. “In the modern and uncertain age it is very difficult to (be certain about) one’s future. Flexibility is required, and if it does not jeopardise government or administration, they should be graceful enough to acknowledge the flexibility of human mind and attitude,” the Bench said.

Jain, a resident of Gautam Budh Nagar, had worked outside Delhi for 25 years. When he received a transfer order to Kolkata as vice-president (East) on February 17, 2005, he wrote back requesting permission to operate from Delhi as preparations for his daughter’s wedding on July 13, 2005, were already underway.

Later, Jain wrote to ITDC again saying he was willing to opt for voluntary retirement as there was “no other male member in the family” and he had to make the necessary wedding arrangements.

Shortly after, Jain received a response from ITDC allowing him to continue in the Capital till the end of July, following which he had to join duty at Kolkata.

Happy with the response, Jain immediately expressed his wish to withdraw his request for voluntary retirement, but much to his chagrin, found that he had instead been relieved.

Jain told CAT he had requested for voluntary retirement only because he thought there was no other way he could be present for his daughter’s wedding. He also questioned why the ITDC had unexpectedly chosen to relieve him from service in “undue haste” and with “malafide intention” shortly after they agreed to defer his transfer till after the wedding.

ITDC contended before the Tribunal that Jain “wanted to stay in Delhi and for that purpose he put pressure on the respondent (ITDC) by opting for voluntary retirement”

“The applicant (Jain) has no right to withdraw his request, when his request for voluntary retirement had already been accepted by the ITDC management. No communication is required to be given,” the Corporation maintained, adding that his relieving from service was deferred only because of lack of funds to settle his claims.

Dismissing the ITDC’s arguments, however, the Bench ordered it to pay the entire arrears of salary due to Jain. “Much complication, which had arisen, could have been avoided by graceful attitude,” the Bench concluded.

Cortesy: Indian Express

Grant of family pension to the families of government servents kidnapped by insurgents/ terrorists

Reimbursment of the cost of cochlear implants under CGHS/CS(MA ) Rule

RTI applications received by a public authority relating to information concerning other public authority/authorities

DoPT OM Dt 12/06/2008

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON THE PAYMENT AND SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS ACT 2007-RBI

Q1. When did Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act, 2007) came into effect?

Ans. The PSS Act, 2007 received the assent of the President on 20th December 2007 and it come into force with effect from 12th August 2008.

Q2. What is the objective of the PSS Act, 2007 ?

Ans. The PSS Act, 2007 provides for the regulation and supervision of payment systems in India and designates the Reserve Bank of India (Reserve Bank) as the authority for that purpose and all related matters. The Reserve Bank is authorized under the Act to constitute a Committee of its Central Board known as the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (BPSS), to exercise its powers and perform its functions and discharge its duties under this statute. The Act also provides the legal basis for “netting” and “settlement finality”. This is of great importance, as in India, other than the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system all other payment systems function on a net settlement basis.

Q3. What are the Reguations made under the PSS Act, 2007 and when did they come into force ?

Ans. Under the PSS Act, 2007, two Regulations have been made by the Reserve Bank of India, namely, the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems Regulation, 2008 and the Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008. Both these Regulations came into force along with the PSS Act, 2007 on 12th August 2008.

Q4. What are the objectives of these two Regulations?

Ans. The Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems Regulation, 2008 deals with the constitution of the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement System (BPSS), a Committee of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India. It also deals with the composition of the BPSS, its powers and functions, exercising of powers on behalf of BPSS, meetings of the BPSS and quorum, the constitution of Sub-Committees/Advisory Committees by BPSS, etc., The BPSS exercises the powers on behalf of the Reserve Bank, for regulation and supervision of the payment and settlement systems under the PSS Act, 2007.

The Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008 covers matters like form of application for authorization for commencing/ carrying on a payment system and grant of authorization, payment instructions and determination of standards of payment systems, furnishing of returns/documents/other information, furnishing of accounts and balance sheets by system provider etc., .

Q5. Does the PSS Act, 2007 define what is a “payment obligation”, “payment instruction”, “payment system” and other commonly used terms like “electronic fund transfer”, “gross settlement system”, “netting”, “settlement”, “systemic risk”, “system participant” and “system provider”?

Ans. Yes, these terms are defined in Section 2 (1) of the PSS Act, 2007.

Q6. What is a “Payment Obligation”?

Ans. “Payment obligation” is defined as what is owed by one participant in a payment system to another such participant which results from clearing or settlement or payment instructions relating to funds, securities or foreign exchange or derivatives or other transactions.

Q7. What is a “Payment Instruction”?

Ans. “Payment Instruction” is defined as any instrument, authorization or order in any form, including by electronic means, to effect a payment by a person to a participant in a payment system or from one participant in such a system to another participant in that system.

The payment instruction can be communicated either manually i.e. through an instrument like a cheque ,draft , payment order etc or through electronic means, so that a payment can be made by either a person to the participant in such a system or between two participants.

Q8. What is a “Settlement”?

Ans. “Settlement” means the settlement of payment instructions received and these include settlement of securities, foreign exchange or derivatives or other transactions.

Settlement can take place either on a net basis or on a gross basis. Both netting and gross settlement system are defined under the Act.

Q9. What is a “Payment System” under the PSS Act, 2007?

Ans. Section 2(1) (i) of the PSS Act 2007 defines a payment system to mean a system that enables payment to be effected between a payer and a beneficiary, involving clearing, payment or settlement service or all of them, but does not include a stock exchange (Section 34 of the PSS Act 2007 states that its provisions will not apply to stock exchanges or clearing corporations set up under stock exchanges). It is further stated by way of an explanation that a “payment system” includes the systems enabling credit card operations, debit card operations, smart card operations, money transfer operations or similar operations.

All systems (except stock exchanges and clearing corporations set up under stock exchanges) carrying out either clearing or settlement or payment operations or all of them are regarded as payment systems. All entities operating such systems will be known as system providers. Also all entities operating money transfer systems or card payment systems or similar systems fall within the definition of a system provider. To decide whether a particular entity operates the payment system, it must perform either the clearing or settlement or payment function or all of them.

Q10. Are entities operating a payment system or intending to operate a payment system required to get a license, approval or authorization for the purpose?

Ans. In terms of Section 4 of the PSS Act, 2007 no person other than the Reserve Bank can operate or commence a payment system unless authorized by the Reserve Bank. Any person desirous of commencing or operating a payment system needs to apply for authorization under the PSS Act, 2007(Section 5).

The application for authorization has to be made as per Form A under Regulation 3(2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008. The application is required to be duly filled up and submitted with the stipulated documents to the Reserve Bank.

All entities operating payment systems or desirous of setting up such systems are required to apply for authorization under the Act. Any unauthorized operation of a payment system would be an offence under the PSS Act, 2007 and accordingly liable for penal action under that Act.

Q 11. Is there any application fee to be submitted along with the application for authorization?

Ans. A sum of Rs 10,000/- is required to be submitted as application fee, which can be submitted by cash or cheque or payment order or demand draft or electronic fund transfer in favour of the Reserve Bank along with the application for authorisation.

Q12. What are the factors which the Reserve Bank will consider while deciding on an application submitted for authorization?

Ans. The Reserve Bank will consider factors like the need for the proposed payment system, the technical standards and design of proposed system, the security procedures and terms and conditions of operation of the proposed system, the procedure for netting of payment instructions, risk management processes, financial status of the applicant, experience of management and integrity of applicant, consumer interests, monetary and credit policies and other relevant factors while deciding on an application for authorization for commencing or operating a payment system (Section 7 of PSS Act, 2007).

The Reserve Bank will endeavour to dispose of all applications received for authorization within six months from the date of their receipt.

Q13. Can the Reserve Bank refuse to grant authorization to commence or operate a payment system?

Ans. Yes, the Reserve Bank can refuse to grant authorization under the PSS Act, 2007. However, the Reserve Bank has to give a written notice to such an applicant giving the reasons for refusal and also a reasonable opportunity of being heard {Section7 (3) of the PSS Act 2007}.

Q14. Can the Reserve Bank revoke authorization granted under the PSS Act 2007?

Yes, the Reserve Bank is empowered to revoke the authorization granted by it, if the system provider contravenes any provisions of the Act or Regulations, fails to comply with its orders/ directions or violates the terms and conditions under which the authorization was granted to it (Section 8 of PSS Act 2007).

Q15. Is there any appellate authority to whom an aggrieved applicant whose application for authorization is refused or a system provider whose authorization is revoked, can appeal?

Ans. The aggrieved applicant or aggrieved system provider can appeal to the Central Government within 30 days from the date on which the order of refusal or revocation is conveyed to him (Section 9 of PSS Act, 2007).

Q16. Can the Reserve Bank collect any authorisation fees and direct the applicant to furnish a security deposit?

Ans. Yes, Section 7 of the PSS Act, 2007 empowers the Reserve Bank to collect authorization fees while granting authorization. It can also call upon the applicant to furnish a security deposit for the proper conduct of the payment system. The quantum of authorization fees and security deposit can be decided by the Reserve Bank.

Q17. Does the Reserve Bank have powers to lay down any standards?

Ans. The Reserve Bank is empowered to prescribe the format of payment instructions, size and shape of instructions, timings to be maintained by payment systems, manner of funds transfer criteria for membership including continuation, termination and rejection of membership, terms and conditions for participation in the payment system etc (Section 10 of PSS Act, 2007).

Q18. Whether the Reserve Bank can call for returns, information etc., from the system provider with regard to the operation of the payment system?

Ans. The Reserve Bank is empowered to call for from the system provider returns, documents and other information relating to the operation of the payment system. The system provider and all system participants are required to provide Reserve Bank access to any information relating to the operation of the payment system (Section 12 and 13 of PSS Act, 2007).

Q19. Can the Reserve Bank inspect the premises of the system provider?

Ans. The Reserve Bank, in order to ensure compliance of the provisions of the PSS Act, 2007 and the Regulations made thereunder, can depute an officer authorized by it to enter any premises where a payment system is being operated, inspect any equipment, including any computer system or document, and call upon any employee of the system provider or participant to provide any document or information as required by it (Section 14 of PSS Act, 2007).

Q20. Can the Reserve Bank issue directions to the system provider?

Ans. The Reserve Bank is authorized to issue directions to a payment system or system participant to cease or desist from engaging in any act, omission or course of conduct or direct it to perform any acts as well as issue general directions in the interests of the smooth operation of the payment system (Section 17 and 18 of the PSS Act, 2007).

Q21. Does the PSS Act 2007 deal with netting and settlement finality?

Ans. The PSS Act 2007 defines “netting” and legally recognizes settlement finality. It states that a settlement, whether gross or net, will be final and irrevocable as soon as the money, securities, foreign exchange or derivatives or other transactions payable as a result of such settlement is determined, whether or not such money, securities or foreign exchange or other transactions is actually paid. In case a system participant is declared insolvent, or is dissolved or is wound up, no other law can affect any settlement which has become final and irrevocable and the right of the system provider to appropriate the collaterals contributed by the system participants towards settlement or other obligations.

This Act also legally recognizes the loss allocation among system participants and payment system, where the rules provide for this mechanism

Q22. What are the duties of a system provider under the PSS Act, 2007 ?

Ans. The PSS Act, 2007 lays down the duties of the system provider. The system provider is required to operate the payment system in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the Regulations, the terms and conditions of authorization and the directions given by the Reserve Bank from time to time. The system provider is also required to act in accordance with the contract governing the relationship among the system participants and the rules and regulations which deal with the operation of the payment system. The Act requires the system provider to disclose the terms and conditions including the charges, limitations of liability etc., under the payment system to the system participants. The Act also requires the system provider to provide copies of all the rules and regulations governing the operation of the payment system and other relevant documents to the system participants. The system provider is required to keep the documents and its contents, provided to it by the system participants, as confidential and is prohibited from disclosing the same, except in accordance with the provisions of law.(Sections 20 to 22 of the Act)

Q23. What is the mechanism for settlement of disputes under the PSS Act, 2007?

Ans. The Act lays down an elaborate mechanism for settlement of disputes between system participants in a payment system, between system participant and system provider and between system providers. The Act requires the system provider to make provision in its rules or regulations for creation of a panel to decide disputes between system participants. Where any system participant is dissatisfied with the decision of the panel, or where disputes arises between system participant and system provider or between system providers, such disputes are required to be referred to the Reserve Bank for adjudication, whose decision shall be final and binding on the parties. In cases where the Reserve Bank, in its capacity either as a system participant or system provider, is itself a party to the dispute, then there is a provision for referring such cases to the Central Government for adjudication. (Section 24 of Act)

Q24. What are the consequences of dishonor of electronic fund transfer under the PSS Act, 2007?

Ans. Under the PSS Act, 2007, dishonor of an electronic fund transfer instruction due to insufficiency of funds in the account etc., is an offence punishable with imprisonment or with fine or both, similar to the dishonor of a cheque under the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881. Subject to complying with the procedures laid down under the PSS Act, 2007, criminal prosecution of defaulter can be initiated in such cases. This provision was introduced to discourage dishonour of electronic payment instructions. (Section 25 of the Act)

Q25. Are there any penalties or punitive action laid down under the PSS Act,2007?

Ans. Under the PSS Act, 2007, operating a payment system without authorization, failure to comply with the terms of authorization, failure to produce statements, returns information or documents or providing false statement or information, disclosing prohibited information, non-compliance of directions of Reserve Bank violations of any of the provisions of the Act , Regulations, order, directions etc., are offences punishable for which Reserve Bank can initiate criminal prosecution. Reserve Bank is also empowered to impose fine for certain contraventions under the Act. (Sections 26 and 30 of the PSS Act, 2007).

Sensitizing the Public about corruption – display of standard notice board by Departments/Organizations - reg.

CAT chides Govt for denying medical reimbursement

NEW DELHI: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has chided the Centre for denying medical reimbursement to a government doctor's terminally-ill daughter who underwent treatment abroad and directed it to pay the hospital bill of Rs 17.31 lakh. "The decision (denying medical reimbursement) of the government is against all canons of humanity, sympathy, compassion and is also in flagrant violation of the Constitution of India," the tribunal said. Ravi Pathak, 45, a doctor at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital here whose daughter was administered stem cell transplantation at Singapore and died later, was denied medical reimbursement after the standing committee concerned concluded that the success rate of such treatment was less. "The decision in review by the standing committee revoking their earlier decision without any logic, rationale and reasoning is not only arbitrary and inhuman but also runs counter to the guaranteed fundamental right under the Constitution of India to a citizen of this country," the recent order by Shanker Raju, Member, CAT, said. The tribunal while expressing its anguish over the decision to deny the reimbursement cited instances in which "important persons" were allowed treatment abroad despite knowing that there was little chance of their survival.

CSIR reveals non-destructive method of mango testing

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has revealed a non-destructive technique for sorting mangoes in Chennai. The launch kicked off at a two-day awareness workshop conducted by the Central Electronics and Engineering Research Institute (CEERI), an arm of the CSIR. The awareness workshop is a CSIR initiative to reach out to industry representatives and to use its research to develop real world applications thus benefiting society.

The technique employs soft X-ray imaging and similar to airport security scan systems. Export quality Alphonso mangoes are afflicted with two types of physiological conditions called spongy tissue and seed weevil. Certain countries had banned Indian mangoes primarily due to this.

"The X-ray imaging technology helps segregate the mangoes with deformities by processing the internal density of the fruit and thus will provide a fillip to the export industry," said R Govindaraj, the project head, CEERI.

India is the largest producer of mangoes in the world. The current Indian export market is 50,000 tonnes a year and the estimated worth is Rs 125 crore. "America and Japan had banned imports of Indian mangoes citing quality control. The ban has recently been lifted. There is huge potential for expanding the export market. The technology can be used even in the local market and will benefit the consumers a lot," said Vijay Mehta, vice-chancellor of Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth.

Professionals from diverse fields such as horticulture, electronics and instrumentation, and marketing experts together attended the workshop. "Till around1990, Indian research institutions existed in isolation and there used to be no end-user participation. In foreign countries, industries have their own R&D wing and hence can scale up technology and increase productivity. But in India that is not the case. So central research institutions have to find a way to showcase their work and interact with industry," said Chandra Shekhar, director of CEERI. Industry representatives were encouraged to approach CSIR with their problems during the workshop.

A collaborative model where industry shares a part of the research cost has been evolved. "Industry should also take the cue. Tomorrow this opportunity might go to someone else," said Nagesh Iyer, co-ordinating director of CSIR. Each mango sorting unit costs around Rs 30 lakh and the estimated cost of processing each mango is 12 paise. But efforts are being made to bring the per unit cost to below 5 paise.

"The business model is based on the fact that increased processing cost would be offset by access to a wider market and better pricing because of adherence to quality," said Dr Chandra Shekhar.
Courtesy: Food & Beverage News

India’s top innovation fund slated for expansion, makeover

While beneficiaries approve of the rigorous selection and monitoring processes and speedy disbursement of funds, they are unsure how the programme will fare in its expanded role

Seema Singh and Jacob P. Koshy

Bangalore/New Delhi: Adding to a lean list of new drugs developed in India that seek US regulatory appro-val, Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) is set to move an application to test a therapeutic molecule on humans.
The molecule is targeted at methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacterium that causes difficult-to-treat infections, particularly in hospital settings. Its treatment has eluded drug developers so far.
Also See Encouraging Research (Graphics)
BBIL’s molecule has successfully completed mid-stage clinical studies in India for effectiveness in humans and owes its success to one of the country’s earliest innovation funding programmes, the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (Nmitli), which was launched in 2000.
“If it wasn’t for the support from Nmitli, I would have out-licensed the molecule to a big pharmaceutical company,” said Krishna M. Ella, chairman and managing director of BBIL, a privately held company with around Rs260 crore in annual revenue in 2008-09.
Encouraged by Nmitli, various government agencies have designed similar programmes to fund research, though none has been as successful. Nmitli, which has spent around Rs400 crore on 57 projects so far, has seen a fourfold increase in its budget to Rs230 crore a year for the next three years.
Now the programme, administered by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India’s biggest public-funded research agency, is slated for an overhaul after its first review in nine years.
While beneficiaries approve of the rigorous selection and monitoring processes and speedy disbursement of funds, a rarity in Indian funding initiatives, they are unsure how the programme will fare in its expanded role, especially since it is being brought under a new CSIR entity, its planning and performance division.
CSIR director general Samir K. Brahmachari said this is being done to “bring synergy in the units” as the scheme will now focus on delivery of the technologies. “One reason why Mobilis (a low-cost mobile computer developed by Bangalore-based Encore Technology Pvt. Ltd) hasn’t reached the target audience in ,India but took off in Malaysia with government aid, is that it had no delivery chain linked to its business model,” Brahmachari said. He now wants to ensure that Soleckshaw, the solar-powered autorickshaw developed by a clutch of CSIR labs, gets 1,000 orders for the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be hosted in New Delhi in October next year.
Commercialization has never been Nmitli’s mandate. CSIR isn’t willing to reveal contents of the review report yet, but two review committee members said the report suggests having a finance and marketing professional in the core team, rather than outright commercialization.
The beneficiaries are divided on this. Mobilis creator Vinay L. Deshpande says India should implement a policy such as the First Order, a US department of defence practice, to ensure initial adoption of new technologies it funds.
Others such as Vishal Chandra, founder of Virtual Wire Technologies, a start-up incubated by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, that is building a product to enable televisions to wirelessly connect to DVDs and set-top boxes, said government handholding should be restricted. “I don’t think the government should be involved beyond providing funds and an enabling environment. Stifling competition and promoting a product would amount to protectionism,” Chandra said.
Some fear that in the second phase, when the focus for the programme should be on autonomy, clubbing it with the overall CSIR system might impede its swiftness.
“Nmitli should be spun off as a separate, independent body or board,” said a former CSIR laboratory director, now a professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, who did not want to be identified. “It is known that most things at CSIR are in a mess.”
G. Padmanaban, a reviewer of several Nmitli projects and a former director of IISc, also advocates more autonomy for Nmitli.
Incidentally, Yogeshwar Rao, the scientist who built the programme over the years, is leaving it to join the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad. “After eight years, I decided to move on,” Rao said. “Given an opportunity, I’d like to build something bigger than Nmitli.”
“Most of the credit goes to Yogeshwar Rao’s dedication, who single-handedly built this programme,” said M. Vidyasagar, executive vice-president of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, which was the first firm to be funded in 2002 as a lead agency in a bio-informatics project that had 18 other research institutions as partners.
Two products came out of it—Biocluster and BioSuite, software packages for life sciences that have been established as world-class but low-cost alternatives for Indian research institutions.
Vidyasagar added that commercialization should be left to the markets and the government shouldn’t have a role in it. “Our financial system is mature enough,” he said.
Many experts believe that with more money in its kitty, Nmitli should aim at bolstering its bona fides. In February, the Union cabinet gave its approval to increase CSIR’s equity share in the firms it partners, and fund a greater number of projects. Currently, only 3% of the applications are ultimately funded.
“What is needed most is a pre-Nmitli grant towards developing proof-of-concept technologies, which will seed a lot more companies, a lack of which is choking innovation today,” said Chandrasekhar Nair, founder-director of Bigtec Pvt. Ltd. Bigtec has developed a point-of-care molecular diagnostics tool with Nmitli funds and is reapplying for more money to develop the device for global markets.
Experts from the industry, which is now entitled for soft loans at a simple interest rate of 3%, also said loans should be converted into grants, which currently only go to the public sector projects, specifically to CSIR labs.
“The aim of a programme like this is to allow industry to take risks,” said M.S. Kohli, general manager, product development at Samtel Colour Ltd, which is working on an improved plasma display television. “So I don’t see why the government can’t give a grant instead of a soft loan.”
Kohli, however, said it is unlikely that products with international appeal are going to come out of Nmitli-funded projects in the near future.
For that, said BBIL’s Ella, the programme should take up risky projects and fund it with grants. “They should now get international experts to evaluate and monitor the projects because we don’t have a critical mass of reviewers in this country,” Ella said.
Biting the bullet and converting loans to grants will help, but it raises the risk of heavy-handed supervision of the projects, which so far has been “very light touch”, Vidyasagar said.
Courtesy: Mint

List of GOI Holiday (Delhi) during the year 2010

career progression of isolated post-delegation of power to Director for grade pay of 5400 and above (PB-3)

Withdrawal/witholding/recovery of pension/gratuity in the case of minor penalty proceedings.

Government to introduce bill to protect bureaucracy from political interference

When the Civil Services Bill, 2009, becomes an Act, bureaucrats will no longer be at the mercy of the arbitrary transfers and postings regime that operates currently.

The Civil Services Bill, 2009, which envisages an enforceable code of conduct for all bureaucrats through a new Central Public Services Authority (CPSA), will be piloted immediately after the Budget session of the Lok Sabha.

This will provide statutory backing to the conduct of all civil servants and appointments, transfers and postings will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. The Bill is being designed to prevent political interference in the bureaucracy.

The CPSA will be the body to professionally manage the civil services. This will include the appointment, performance, promotions, transfers and tenures of civil servants and how they spent the money allotted to departments.

The CPSA will have between three and five members, and will have a chairman who will have the rank of the Chief Election Commissioner. He will be appointed for five years by a committee comprising the PM, a judge of the Supreme Court and the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The Cabinet secretary will act as the convenor of the committee. Persons from political parties, MPs and MLAs are debarred from membership of the CPSA.

The central idea behind the Bill is to monitor and evaluate government programmes by linking their performance to that of the bureaucrats who run them and to protect the bureaucracy from political interference.

When this Bill becomes an Act, bureaucrats will no longer be at the mercy of the arbitrary transfers and postings regime that operates currently. No minister or chief minister will be allowed to shift a bureaucrat without explanation. A draft of the aims and objectives of the Bill said: “The public servant needs to be protected from victimisation or other adverse consequences and refusing to follow directions of superiors in service which are not in accordance with applicable rules and regulations.”

Once passed, the Bill will initially be applicable to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS). Later, all other services for which the Union Public Service Commission holds recruitment examinations, including the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), will come under its purview. In consultation with state governments, it will be applicable to the state services as well.

In other words, the Bill will, over a period of time, be applicable to all public servants in India who draw their salaries from the government.

Appointment criteria
The draft Bill visualises the appointment of all civil servants for a tenure not less than three years in one posting. If there is deviation from this, the public servant will have to be “compensated for the inconvenience and harassment caused due to such transfer before term”. The draft Bill doesn’t spell out what form this compensation will take.

The chief secretary and the director general of police (DGP) of a state will be selected out of a panel of suitable candidates of required seniority to be drawn up by a committee comprising the chief minister, leader of the Opposition and the home minister. Currently, it is the chief minister who is at liberty to choose chief secretaries and DGPs. In Uttar Pradesh, as in other states, DGPs are known to have been appointed for less than a year at a time.

Similarly, the Cabinet secretary will be selected from a panel by a committee comprising the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition and the home minister. Currently, the leader of the Opposition has no say in such an appointment. If there is deviation from the system, the Bill says Parliament must be told why it happened. By implication, the seniormost civil servant will not have an automatic right to become the Cabinet secretary, as is the current norm, weighted with performance parameters that are often termed subjective.

Performance evaluation
Currently, through the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) ministers and superiors have the power to make or mar a civil servant’s career.

With the new Bill, the ACR will become only a part of the evaluation exercise. The others are an enforceable code of conduct and a performance management system that will not only evaluate their individual performance but that of the department and the programme they run.

The ACR is a panoramic view of a civil servant’s work. In addition, what will be evaluated is job-specific achievements, through Annual Performance Agreements to which signatories will be the secretary (or head) of the department, the minister and the CPSA.

It is not that the government doesn’t currently evaluate performance of departments that run various programmes. This is done on a quarterly and annual basis. But in the absence of priorities and weighs, “some programmes get an implementation rating of 2 on 10, some get 10 on 10. The net result is the bureaucrat gets 9 on 10, but the people of India — the consumers of the programmes the state provides — give it 2 on 10. How can this happen?” asked Prajapati Trivedi, newly appointed secretary in the Department of Performance Management created in the Ministry of Personnel, while talking to Business Standard.

The new evaluation system will be based on a matrix of ratings given on the basis of performance agreements, drawn up and signed by the minister, the secretary and the CPSA. Currently, performance is evaluated based on a comparison of achievements against targets set between the evaluator and those being evaluated.

But Trivedi argues that what is needed is a selection of criteria and levels of targets by the evaluator at the end of the year.

He cites the example of a health minister in a country who agrees with the director general of hospitals on a set of criteria by which to evaluate the latter’s performance. One of the criteria is: total number of hospital beds available in the country.

The minister could also agree to allocate necessary funds from his ministry’s budget to help achieve the target of, say, 350,000 hospital beds. The quality of hospital beds has to be agreed on beforehand.

During the year, however, the minister is forced to divert funds allocated to hospital beds for an emergency programme to fight an unexpected epidemic. As a consequence, the director-general of hospitals is able to provide about 250,000 hospital beds that year.

How must the director-general’s performance be judged?

Clearly, the performance of the hospital department has been poor. But is the director general to blame for this? In fact, it is possible that the director-general managed to perform even under adverse budgetary conditions.

Therefore, mechanical task-setting will be replaced with a more flexible system giving weights to a number of tasks that a bureaucrat will perform as the leader of the team. In turn, he will set weighted targets for his team

Rewarding efficiency
Dimly recognising the problems in evaluation, the Sixth Pay Commission had recommended the introduction of a new performance-based pecuniary benefit, over and above their regular salaries, for government employees. The benefit was called the Performance Related Incentive Scheme (PRIS), payable to employees taking into account their performance over a period of time. It was based on the principle of differential reward for differential performance. However, while the salary increase was quickly implemented, almost no work has been done on this for the last two years.

One of the first suggestions on an accountability road map came in the report of Veerappa Moily, the Administrative Reforms Commission chief in the last government. He suggested that departmental minister and the secretary of the ministry sign an annual performance agreement providing “physical and verifiable details of the work to be done during a financial year”. He also said that the actual performance be assessed by a third party.Fired by the need to have a more responsive government structure, the government put in place a consultative exercise as far back as 2006 when the Cabinet secretary held a consultation with chief and home secretaries of states on a new system to govern bureaucracy.

Following this, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar set up a new department called the Performance Management Department which has already taken baby steps to asses how the new systems will go down with the bureaucracy.

Workshops have been held in the ministries of commerce, labour, tourism and heavy industry to test receptiveness. The response is overwhelming: bureaucrats are happy to embrace a new, additional system of evaluation that does away with the subjective element. “There is a hunger for this, that surprised us,” Trivedi said. Bureaucrats see the new system as a hedge from ministers who for reasons of patronage or cronyism, try to tweak government programmes.

“Efficiency is equity’s best friend. If there is performance, there will be efficiency (in spending public money) and there will be equity,” Trivedi said. “The worst way to achieve equity is to spend more money to achieve it,” he said, in the context of reports of leakage in public schemes such as the National Rural Employment Guarantees Scheme.

Salient features of the draft Bill
A politically neutral, professional, accountable and efficient public service is an essential instrument for promotion of good governance

The public servant must conduct themselves in a manner as to promote the principles underlying the Constitution of India while providing honest, impartial and frank advice to political executive in discharge of their function

They must ensure that public money are used with the utmost economy and careA Central Public Services Authority will aid an advice to the central government in all matters concerning the organisation, control, operation and management of public service and public servants.

It will recommend to the central government, policies on recruitment, tenure, nature of employment transfers, deputation, retirement, termination discharge, evaluation of performance, performance-linked payments to public servants, and all other matters concerning the services of public servants

It can review performance parameters of public servants
It can, subject to the declared policies of the central government including “but not limited to, reservations in the public service”, recommend ways in which recruitment to and career advancement in public service is “increasingly based on merit and on open competition”.

It will ensure transfers and postings are undertaken in a “fair and objective” manner.

Courtesy: Business Standard