PMO likely to review India Post's progress on April 14

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is likely to undertake a review ofIndia Post on April 14 regarding action taken by the department for setting up its payments bank.

According to sources, PMO will also take stock of progress made by Department of Post (DoP) to improve functioning through initiatives like e-commerce and IT modernisastion.

The Public Investment Board (PIB) has already approved the Rs 800-crore proposal from India Post for setting up a payments bank and after the PMO review, it will be sent to the Cabinet for final approval.

"Top officials of DoP will brief PMO about the progress made so far by the department in improving efficiency and what is the latest update regarding the payments bank," a source said.

The meeting with PMO is likely to take place on April 14, the source added.

The PMO is monitoring the progress made by DoP to improve its functioning and utilising the vast network of post offices across the country for financial inclusion.

Earlier this year also, PMO had taken a review of DoP with special focus on the implementation of proposals submitted by a task force on leveraging the department's post office network.

India Post has selected Deloitte to advise it on setting up a payments bank.

The India Post payments bank will primarily target unbanked and under-banked customers in rural, semi-rural and remote areas, with a focus on providing simple deposit products and money remittance services.

The pilot for the payments bank is set to start from January 2017 and the full-fledged operations may start by March.

As many as 40 international financial conglomerates including World Bank and Barclayshave shown interest to partner the postal department for setting up the bank.

For strengthening the e-commerce infrastructure, DoP has set up 57 new state-of-the-art parcel centres across the country through which more than 400 e-commerce companies are being serviced.

Source:- The Economic Times

Declaration of Holiday on 14th April, 2016 – Birthday of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Resume the sale of pre-printed NSC and KVP by post offices​

Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, vide its OM Dated 8.4.2016 has now allowed sale of physical pre-printed NSC and KVP  by post offices​.

However, post offices either CBS or non CBS should place rubber stamps on NSC & KVP before handing over to the customer/Agent. Sample of rubber stamp is given below

Payment of Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees - Revised Rates effective from 1.1.2016.

No. 111/2016-E-ll (B)

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Expenditure

North Block, New Delhi

Dated the 7th 'April, 2016.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Payment of Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees - Revised Rates effective from 1.1.2016.

The undersigned is directed to refer to this Ministry‘s Office Memorandum No. 1/3/2015-E-ll (B) dated 23rd September, 2015 on the subject mentioned above and to say that the President is pleased to decide that the Dearness Allowance payable to Central Government employees shall be enhanced from the existing rate of 119% to 125% with effect from 1st January, 2016.

2. The provisions containedin paras 3, 4 and 5 of this Ministry’s OM. No. 1-(3)/2008-E-II(B) dated 29th August, 2008 shall continue to be applicable while regulating Dearness Allowance under these orders.

3. The additional installment of Dearness Allowance payable under these orders shall be paid in cash to all Central-Government employees.

4. These orders shall also apply to the civilian employees paid from the Defence Services Estimates and the expenditure will be chargeable to the relevant head of the Defence Services Estimates. in regard to Armed Forces personnel and Railway employees, separate orders will be issued by the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Railways, respectively.

5. ln so far as the employees working in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department are concerned, these orders are issued with the concurrence of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

(Nirmala Dev)

Deputy Secretary to the Government of India

Recommendations of 7th CPC for the Employees of Department of Posts

Postal Services Board :

The Commission has examined the demand for granting apex level to the members of the PSB and is of the view that adequate functional justification for the same does not exist. ( Para 11.8.11)

The Commission however is no t in favour of creating an additional post of member to discharge the financial function and is of the view that the portfolios of the six members can be so re-arranged that the need to create a new post of Member is obviated. ( Para 11.8.12)

IPS (Group – A):

In so far as Director, National Postal Academy is concerned, the view taken is that functional justification from upgrading the post to Apex level does not exist. As far as the rest of the demands for upgradation / creation of posts are concerned, these are administrative matters, which may be taken up with the concerned departments in the government. ( Para 11.8.15)

Postmaster Cadre :

The Commission recommends that while 25 percent of the posts of Senior Post Master may continue to be filled up from Post Master Gr.III through seniority based promotions, eligible officers from the Post Masters’ cadre (Postmaster Gr.II and Postmaster Gr.III) may also be permitted to appear for LDCE along with Inspector (Posts) for the balance 75 percent of the Senior Postmasters’ posts ( Para 11.8.18)

Inspector Cadre :

The Commission, therefore, recommends that Inspector (Posts) who are presently in the GP 4200 should be upgraded to GP 4600. With this upgradation, Inspector (Posts) shall come to lie in an identical grade pay as that of their promotion post of Assistant Superintendent of Posts (ASPOs). A higher grade would thus need to be extended to ASPOs. Accordingly, the Commission recommends that the promotional post of ASPOs be placed in the next higher GP 4800 and further, the post of Superintendent (Posts), which is presently in the GP 4800, be moved up to GP 5400 (PB-2). ( Para 11.8.21)

Postal Assistants / Sorting Assistants / LSG / HSG-II / HSG-I:

The Commission is of the view that there is no justification for enhancement of minimum educational qualifications for Direct Recruits for Postal Assistants/Sorting Assistants from Class XII to Graduation and the entry grade pay from GP 2400 to GP 2800. No justification for upgrading LSG, HSG-II & HSG-I (Para 11.8.23 & 11.8.24)

P A ( SBCO) :

The Commission is therefore of the view that no upgradation is warranted. As regards grant of cash handling allowance, the Commission is of the view that with the spread of banking and internet based payments coming into vogue there is no merit in granting an allowance for handling cash. ( Para 11.8.27).

Postman :

The Commission has noted the entry level qualifications prescribed (Class X or ITI for MTS) as also the work content, and is of the view that there is no justification for further raising the entry grade pay of Postman. ( Para 11.8.29)

Mail Guard :

As no modification in the grade pay of Postman is recommended, the Mail Guard shall also be placed in same pay level. ( Para 11.8.33)

Multi Tasking Staff :

 No upgrade is considered necessary for either MTS-domestic or MTS-foreign posts. ( Para 11.8.37)

Binders :

There is no justification for raising the entry grade pay as sought. ( Para 11.8.39)

Artisans :

The Commission is of the view that no anomaly exists in the present pay structure of these posts. The cadre of artisans in the Department of Posts shall accordingly be extended only the corresponding replacement level of pay. ( Para 11.8.43)

Translation Officer :

The Commission, therefore, suggests that a comparative study of the job profiles be carried out by the department to arrive at the precise job content and a view taken thereafter. ( Para 11.8.45)

Technical Supervisors :

No upgrade is recommended. (11.8.47)

Gramin Dak Sewaks:

The Commission has carefully considered the demand and noted the following:

a.         GDS are Extra-Departmental Agents recruited by Department of Posts to serve in rural areas.

b.         As per the RRs, the minimum educational qualification for recruitment to this post is Class X.

c.         GDS are required to beon duty only for 4-5 hours a day under the terms and conditions of their service.

d.         The GDS are remunerated with Time Related Continuity Allowance (TRCA) on the pattern of pay scales for regular government employees, plus DA on pro-rata basis.

e.         A GDS must have other means of income independent of his remuneration as a GDS, to sustain himself and his

Government of India has so far held that the GDS is outside the Civil Service of the Union and shall not claim to be at par with the Central Government employees. The Supreme Court judgment also states that GDS are only holders of civil posts but not civilian employees.

The Commission endorses this view and therefore has no recommendation with regard to GDS

( Para 11.8.49 & 11.8.50)

Separate Cadre for S As / B Es :

System Administrators and Marketing Executives have demanded creation of separate cadres with higher pay scales. Presently incumbents of these posts are drawn from the cadre of Postal Assistants/Sorting Assistant Cadre.

The V and the VI CPC have also dealt with this issue and have not recommended separation of cadres. The Commission also does not see any rationale for creating separate cadres.

(Para 11.8.51 & 11.8.52)

Report of the Seventh CPC : Highlights of Executive Summary

Chapter - 17

17.1 : Minimum Pay:

After considering all relevant factors and based on the Aykroyd formula the minimum pay in government is recommended to be set at Rs.18000 per month. (chapter 4.2)

17.2 : New Pay Structure:

The present system of pay bands and grade pay has been dispensed with and a new pay matrix has been designed. The status of the employee, hitherto determined by grade pay, will now be determined by the level in the pay matrix. Separate pay matrices have been drawn up for civilians, defence personnel and for military nursing service. All existing levels have been subsumed in the new structure; no new levels have been introduced nor has any level been dispensed with. (para s 5.1.13 to 5.1.17 )

17. 3 :  In the “horizontal range” of the pay matrix level corresponds to a ‘functional role in the hierarchy’ and as the employee’s level rises he or she moves from level to level. The “vertical range” for each level denotes ‘pay progression’ within that level and an employee would move vertically within each level as per the annual financial progression of three percent. The starting point of the matrix is the minimum pay which has been arrived based on 15th ILC norms or the Aykroyd formula. (para 5.1.21)

17.4 : Fitment:

The starting point for the first level of the matrix has been set at Rs.18,000. This corresponds to the present starting pay of Rs.7,000, which is the beginning of PB-1 viz., Rs.5200 + GP 1800, on the date of implementation of the VI CPC recommendations. Hence the starting point now proposed is 2.57 times of what was prevailing on 01.01.2006. This fitment factor of

2.57 is being proposed to be applied uniformly for all employees. (para 5.1.27)

17.5 : Annual Increment :

The rate of annual increment is being retained at 3 percent. (para 5.1.38)

17.6 : Entry Pay:

The differential of entry pay between new recruits and promoted employees at various levels has been done away with. (para 5.1.32 and para 5.1. 33)

17.7 : Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP):

i.               This will continue to be administered at 10, 20 and 30 years as before.

ii.              In the new Pay matrix, the employees will move to the immediate next level in the hierarchy.

iii.             In the interest of improving performance level, the benchmark for MACP has been recommended to be enhanced from ‘Good’ to ‘Very Good’

iv.            The Commission has proposed withholding of annual increments in the case of those employees who are not able to meet the benchmark either for MACP or a regular promotion within the first 20 years of their service. (paras 5.1.44-5.1.46)

17.21: Cadre Review :

To hasten the process of cadre reviews and reduce the time taken in inter-ministerial consultations, it is recommended that the examination of the cadre restructuring proposal should be undertaken at the department level itself with one member each from DoPT and Department of Expenditure attending such meetings chaired by the concerned Secretary of the cadre seeking the review, in the capacity of the cadre controlling officer. The proposal can thereafter be placed before the Cadre Review Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary where the concerned Secretaries are represented. (para 7.3.17)

17.22 : Common Categories:

To streamline the common cadres residing in different Departments/Ministries/UTs it is recommended that the government assign specific ministries to be the nodal ministry for each such category. These nodal ministries be tasked with drafting model recruitment rules laying down the educational qualifications, job responsibilities and pay structure for all such categories. A few examples are the Statistical Cadres and Fire-fighting staff.(para 7.7.75)

17.23 : Allowances:

The entire structure of allowances have been examined de novo with the overall aim of transparency, simplification and rationalization, keeping amongst other things, the proposed pay structure in mind. The Commission has recommended abolishing 52 allowances altogether. Another 36 allowances have been abolished as separate identities, but sub summed either in an existing allowance or in newly proposed allowances. Particular emphasis has been placed on simplifying the process of claiming allowances. Allowances relating to Risk and Hardship will be governed by the proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix. (para 8.2.5)

17.24 : Most of the allowances that have been retained have been given a raise that is commensurate with the rise in DA. Allowances that are in the nature of a fixed amount but fully indexed to DA have not been given any raise. Regarding percentage based allowances, since the Basic Pay will rise as a result of the recommendations of this Commission, the quantum of percentage based allowances has been rationalized by a factor of 0.8. (para 8.2.3)

17.25 : Risk and Hardship Allowance:

Allowances relating to Risk and Hardship will be governed by the newly proposed nine-cell Risk and Hardship Matrix, with one extra cell at the top, viz., RH-Max to include Siachen Allowance. This would be the ceiling for risk/hardship allowances and there would be no individual RHA with an amount higher than this allowance. (para 8.10.65 and para 8.10.66)

17.26 : House Rent Allowance:

In line with our general policy of rationalizing the percentage based allowances by a factor of 0.8, the Commission recommends that HRA should be rationalized to 24 percent, 16 percent and 8 percent of the Basic Pay for Class X, Y and Z cities respectively. The Commission also recommends that the rate of HRA will be revised to 27 percent, 18 percent and 9 percent when DA crosses 50 percent, and further revised to 30 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent when DA crosses 100 percent. (para 8.7.15)

17.27 : Currently, in the case of those drawing either NPA or MSP or both, the amounts of NPA/MSP are included with the Basic Pay and HRA is being paid as a percentage of the total amount. The Commission recommends that HRA should be calculated as a percentage ofBasic Pay only and that add-ons like NPA, MSP, etc. should not be includedwhile working out HRA. (para 8.7.16)

17.28 : The Commission, in the interactions it has had with the men on the ground at all field locations it has visited, has seen first-hand that the lack of proper housing compensation is a source of discontentment among these employees. The service rendered by PBORs of uniformed services needs to be recognized and Housing provisions of PBORs of Defence, CAPFs and Indian Coast Guard have been simplified and HRA coverage has been extended to them. (para 8.7.26)

17.29 : Uniform related allowances have been amalgamated under a simplified Dress Allowance payable annually. It is thus recommended that uniform related allowances be subsumed in a single Dress Allowance (including shoes). (para 8.16.14)

17.30 : Any allowance, not mentioned here (and hence not reported to the Commission), shall cease to exist immediately. In case there is any demand or requirement for continuation of an existing allowance which has not been deliberated upon or covered in this report, it should be re-notified by the ministry concerned after obtaining due approval of Ministry of Finance and should be put in the public domain. (para 8.2.5)

17.32 : Night Duty Allowance:

While the present weightage of 10 minutes for every hour of duty performed between the hours of 22:00 and 06:00 the present prescribed hourly rate of NDA equal to (BP+DA)/200 may be continued, the amount of NDA should be worked out separately for each employee and the existing formulation for giving same rate of NDA for all employees with a particular GP should be abolished.

(para 8.17.77)

17.33 : OTA should be abolished (except for operational staff and industrial employees who are governed by statutory provisions). At the same time it is also recommended that in case the government decides to continue with OTA for those categories of staff for which it is not a statutory requirement, then the rates of OTA for such staff should be increased by 50 percent from their current levels. (para 8.17.97)

17.34 : All non-interest bearing Advances have been abolished. (para 9.1.4)

17.35 : Regarding Motor Car Advance and Motor Cycle/Scooter/Moped Advance, since quite a few schemes for purchase of vehicles are available in the market from time to time. The employees should avail of these schemes and both these advances should be abolished. (para 9.1.7)

17.36 : Regarding other interest-bearing advances, the following is recommended: (para 9.1.8)

i	P C Advance	Rs.50,000 or actual price of PC, whichever is lower	May be allowed maximum five times in the entire service.
ii	HBA	34 times Basic Pay OR Rs.25 lakh OR anticipated price of house, whichever is least	The requirement of minimum 10 years of continuous service to avail of HBA should be reduced to 5 years. If both spouses are government servants, HBA should be admissible to both separately. Existing employees who have already taken Home Loans from banks and other financial institutions should be allowed to migrate to this scheme

17.37 : The three different kinds of leave admissible to civilian/defence employees which are granted for work related illness/injuries–Hospital Leave, Special Disability Leave and Sick Leave are being subsumed and rationalized into a composite new Leave named Work Related Illness and Injury Leave (WRIIL). (para 9.2.36)

1.    Full pay and allowances will be granted to all employees during the entire period of hospitalization on account of WRIIL.

2.    Beyond hospitalization, WRIIL will be governed as follows:

a.         For Civilian employees, RPF employees and personnel of Police Forces of Union Territories: Full pay and allowances for the 6 months immediately following hospitalization and Half Pay only for 12 months beyond that. The  Half Pay period may be commuted to full pay with corresponding number of days of Half Pay Leave debited from the employee’s leave account.

b.         For Officers of Defence, CAPFs, Indian Coast Guard: Full pay and allowances for the 6 months immediately following hospitalization, for the next 24 months, full pay only.

c.         For PBORs of Defence, CAPFs, Indian Coast Guard: Full pay and allowances, with no limit regarding period.

17.38 : The Rates of contribution as also the insurance coverage under the Central Government Employees General Insurance Scheme have remained unchanged for long. The following rates of CGEGIS are recommended: (para 9.3.6)

Level of Employee	Monthly Deduction(Rs)	Insurance Amount (Rs.)
10 and above	5000	50 00 000
6 to 9	2500	25 00 000
1 to 5	1500	15 00 000

17.39 : A simplified process for Cadre Reviews and revamping of the screening process under Central Staffing Scheme have been recommended. (para 7.3.41)

17.40 : Health Insurance:

The Commission strongly recommends the introduction of health insurance scheme for Central Government employees and pensioners. In the interregnum, for the benefit of pensioners residing outside the CGHS areas, the Commission recommends that CGHS should empanel those hospitals which are already empanelled under CS (MA)/ECHS for catering to the medical requirement of these pensioners on a cashless basis. This would involve strengthening of administrative capacity of nearest CGHS centres. The Commission

recommends that the remaining 33 postal dispensaries should be merged with CGHS. The Commission further recommends that all postal pensioners, irrespective of their participation

in CGHS while in service, should be covered under CGHS after making requisite subscription. The Commission recommends that possibility of such a combined network of various medical schemes should be explored through proper examination. (para 9.5.18)

17.41 : Pension:

The Commission recommends a revised pension formulation for civil employees including CAPF personnel and Defence personnel, who have retired before 01.01.2016. This formulation will bring about complete parity of past pensioners with current retirees:

i.              All the personnel who retired prior to 01.01.2016 (expected date of implementation of the Seventh CPC recommendations) shall first be fixed in the Pay Matrix being recommended by this Commission, on the basis of the Pay Band and Grade Pay at which they retired, at the minimum of the corresponding level in the matrix. This amount shall be raised, to arrive at the notional pay of the retiree, by adding the number of increments he/she had earned in that level while in service, at the rate of three percent. Fifty percent of the total amount so arrived at shall be the revised pension. In the case of the Defence personnel, total amount so arrived at shall be inclusive of MSP.

ii.             The second calculation to be carried out is as follows. The pension, as had been

fixed at the time of implementation of the VI CPC recommendations, shall be multiplied by 2.57 to arrive at an alternate value for the revised pension.

iii.            Pensioners may be given the option of choosing whichever formulation is beneficial to them. (para 10.1.67)

17.42 : Since the fixation of pension as per formulation (i) above may take a little time it is recommended that in the first instance the revised pension may be calculated as at (ii) above and the same may be paid as an interim measure. In the event calculation as per (i) above yields a higher amount the difference may be paid subsequently. (para 10.1.68)

17.43 : The Commission recommends enhancement in the ceiling of gratuity from the existing Rs.10 lakh to Rs.20 lakh from 01.01.2016. The Commission further recommends, as has been done in the case of allowances that are partially indexed to Dearness Allowance, the ceiling on gratuity may increase by 25 percent whenever DA rises by 50 percent.(para 10.1.37)

17.44 : Lump sum Compensation for Invalidation due to Disability :

The Commission recommends an increase in the existing lump sum compensation of ₹9 lakh for 100 percent disability to ₹20 lakh. However it finds no justification to recommend broad banding for payment of Ex-gratia award to service personnel boarded out on account of disability/war injury attributable to or aggravated by military service. (para 10.2.65)

17.45 : The Commission notes that cadets are not considered on duty during training and therefore cannot be treated at par with serving defence forces personnel. The Commission,

however, keeping in viewthe facts relating to cadets,recommends an increased ex-gratia disability award from the existing ₹6,300 per month to ₹16,200 per month for 100 percent

disability. (para 10.2.67)

17.46 : Disability Pension:

Keeping in view the tenets of equity, the Commission is recommending reverting to a slab base system for disability element, instead of existing percentile based disability pension regime. Distinct rates separately for officers, JCOs and ORs have been prescribed. (para 10.2.55)

17.47 : Ex-gratia Lump sum Compensation to Next of Kin:

The Commission is recommending the revision of rates of lump sum compensation for next of kin (NOK) in case of death arising in five separate circumstances, to be applied uniformly for the defence forces personnel and civilians. (para 10.2.77)

Circumstances	Proposed ( Rs.)
Death occurring due to accidents in course of performance of duties.	25 lakh
Death in the course of performance of duties attribute to acts of violence by terrorists, anti-social elements etc.	25 lakh
Death occurring in border skirmishes and action against militants, terrorists, extremists, sea pirates	35 lakh
Death occurring while on duty in the specified high altitude, inaccessible border posts, on account of natural disasters, extreme weather conditions	35 lakh
Death occurring during enemy action in war or such war like engagements, which are specifically notified by Ministry of Defence# and death occurring during evacuation of Indian Nationals from a war-torn zone in foreign country	45 lakh

Highlights of Recommendations of Seventh Central Pay Commission - PIB News

Recommended Date of implementation: 01.01.2016

Minimum Pay: Based on the Aykroyd formula, the minimum pay in government is recommended to be set at ₹18,000 per month.

Maximum Pay: ₹2,25,000 per month for Apex Scale and ₹2,50,000 per month for Cabinet Secretary and others presently at the same pay level.

Financial Implications:

The total financial impact in the FY 2016-17 is likely to be ₹1,02,100 crore, over the expenditure as per the ‘Business As Usual’ scenario.  Of this, the increase in pay would be ₹39,100 crore, increase in allowances would be ₹ 29,300 crore and increase in pension would be ₹33,700 crore.

Out of the total financial impact of ₹1,02,100 crore, ₹73,650 crore will be borne by the General Budget and₹28,450 crore by the Railway Budget.

In percentage terms the overall increase in pay & allowances and pensions over the ‘Business As Usual’ scenario will be 23.55 percent. Within this, the increase in pay will be 16 percent, increase in allowances will be 63 percent, and increase in pension would be 24 percent.

The total impact of the Commission’s recommendations are expected to entail an increase of 0.65 percentage points in the ratio of expenditure on (Pay+Allowances+ Pension) to GDP compared to 0.77 percent in case of VI CPC.

New Pay Structure: Considering the issues raised regarding the Grade Pay structure and with a view to bring in greater transparency, the present system of pay bands and grade pay has been dispensed with and a new pay matrix has been designed. Grade Pay has been subsumed in the pay matrix. The status of the employee, hitherto determined by grade pay, will now be determined by the level in the pay matrix.

Fitment: A fitment factor of 2.57 is being proposed to be applied uniformly for all employees.

Annual Increment: The rate of annual increment is being retained at 3 percent.

Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP): 

Performance benchmarks for MACP have been made more stringent from “Good” to “Very Good”.

The Commission has also proposed that annual increments not be granted in the case of those employees who are not able to meet the benchmark either for MACP or for a regular promotion in the first 20 years of their service.

No other changes in MACP recommended.

Military Service Pay (MSP): The Military Service Pay, which is a compensation for the various aspects of military service, will be admissible to the Defence forces personnel only. As before, Military Service Pay will be payable to all ranks up to and inclusive of Brigadiers and their equivalents. The current MSP per month and the revised rates recommended are as follows:

		Present	Proposed
i.	Service Officers	₹6,000	₹15,500
ii.	Nursing Officers	₹4,200	₹10,800
iii.	JCO/ORs	₹2,000	₹  5,200
iv.	Non Combatants (Enrolled) in the Air Force	₹1,000	₹  3,600

Short Service Commissioned Officers: Short Service Commissioned Officers will be allowed to exit the Armed Forces at any point in time between 7 and 10 years of service, with a terminal gratuity equivalent of 10.5 months of reckonable emoluments. They will further be entitled to a fully funded one year Executive Programme or a M.Tech. programme at a premier Institute.

Lateral Entry/Settlement: The Commission is recommending a revised formulation for lateral entry/resettlement of defence forces personnel which keeps in view the specific requirements of organization to which such personnel will be absorbed. For lateral entry into CAPFs an attractive severance package has been recommended.

Headquarters/Field Parity: Parity between field and headquarters staff recommended for similar functionaries e.g Assistants and Stenos.

Cadre Review: Systemic change in the process of Cadre Review for Group A officers recommended.

Allowances: The Commission has recommended abolishing 52 allowances altogether. Another 36 allowances have been abolished as separate identities, but subsumed either in an existing allowance or in newly proposed allowances. Allowances relating to Risk and Hardship will be governed by the proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix.

      Risk and Hardship Allowance: Allowances relating to Risk and Hardship will be governed by the newly proposed nine-cell Risk and Hardship Matrix, with one extra cell at the top, viz., RH-Max to include Siachen Allowance.

The current Siachen Allowance per month and the revised rates recommended are as follows:

		Present	Proposed
i.	Service Officers	₹21,000	₹31,500
iii.	JCO/ORs	₹14,000	₹21,000

This would be the ceiling for risk/hardship allowances and there would be no individual RHA with an amount higher than this allowance.

House Rent Allowance: Since the Basic Pay has been revised upwards, the Commission recommends that HRA be paid at the rate of 24 percent, 16 percent and 8 percent of the new Basic Pay for Class X, Y and Z cities respectively. The Commission also recommends that the rate of HRA will be revised to 27 percent, 18 percent and 9 percent respectively when DA crosses 50 percent, and further revised to 30 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent when DA crosses 100 percent.

In the case of PBORs of Defence, CAPFs and Indian Coast Guard compensation for housing is presently limited to the authorised married establishment hence many users are being deprived. The HRA coverage has now been expanded to cover all.

Any allowance not mentioned in the report shall cease to exist.

Emphasis has been placed on simplifying the process of claiming allowances.

Advances:

All non-interest bearing Advances have been abolished.

Regarding interest-bearing Advances, only Personal Computer Advance and House Building Advance (HBA) have been retained. HBA ceiling has been increased to ₹25 lakhs from the present ₹7.5 lakhs.

Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme (CGEGIS): The Rates of contribution as also the insurance coverage under the CGEGIS have remained unchanged for long. They have now been enhanced suitably. The following rates of CGEGIS are recommended:

	Present		Proposed
Level of Employee	Monthly Deduction  (₹)	Insurance Amount  (₹)	Monthly Deduction  (₹)	Insurance Amount  (₹)
10 and above	120	1,20,000	5000	50,00,000
6 to 9	60	60,000	2500	25,00,000
1 to 5	30	30,000	1500	15,00,000

Medical Facilities:

Introduction of a Health Insurance Scheme for Central Government employees and pensioners has been recommended.

Meanwhile, for the benefit of pensioners residing outside the CGHS areas, CGHS should empanel those hospitals which are already empanelled under CS (MA)/ECHS for catering to the medical requirement of these pensioners on a cashless basis.

  All postal pensioners should be covered under CGHS. All postal dispensaries should be merged with CGHS.

Pension: The Commission recommends a revised pension formulation for civil employees including CAPF personnel as well as for Defence personnel, who have retired before 01.01.2016. This formulation will bring about paritybetween past pensioners and current retirees for the same length of service in the pay scale at the time of retirement.

The past pensioners shall first be fixed in the Pay Matrix being recommended by the Commission on the basis of Pay Band and Grade Pay at which they retired, at the minimum of the corresponding level in the pay matrix.

This amount shall be raised to arrive at the notional pay of retirees, by adding number of increments he/she had earned in that level while in service at the rate of 3 percent.

In the case of defence forces personnel this amount will include Military Service Pay as admissible.

Fifty percent of the total amount so arrived at shall be the new pension.

An alternative calculation will be carried out, which will be a multiple of 2.57 times of the current basic pension.

The pensioner will get the higher of the two.

Gratuity: Enhancement in the ceiling of gratuity from the existing ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh. The ceiling on gratuity may be raised by 25 percent whenever DA rises by 50 percent.

Disability Pension for Armed Forces: The Commission is recommending reverting to a slab based system for disability element, instead of existing percentile based disability pension regime.

Ex-gratia Lump sum Compensation to Next of Kin: The Commission is recommending the revision of rates of lump sum compensation for next of kin (NOK) in case of death arising in various circumstances relating to performance of duties, to be applied uniformly for the defence forces personnel and civilians including CAPF personnel.

Martyr Status for CAPF Personnel: The Commission is of the view that in case of death in the line of duty, the force personnel of CAPFs should be accorded martyr status, at par with the defence forces personnel.

New Pension System: The Commission received many grievances relating to NPS. It has recommended a number of steps to improve the functioning of NPS. It has also recommended establishment of a strong grievance redressal mechanism.

Regulatory Bodies:  The Commission has recommended a consolidated pay package of ₹4,50,000 and ₹4,00,000 per month for Chairpersons and Members respectively of select Regulatory bodies. In case of retired government servants, their pension will not be deducted from their consolidated pay. The consolidated pay package will be raised by 25 percent as and when Dearness Allowance goes up by 50 percent. For Members of the remaining Regulatory bodies normal replacement pay has been recommended.

Performance Related Pay: The Commission has recommended introduction of the Performance Related Pay (PRP) for all categories of Central Government employees, based on quality Results Framework Documents, reformed Annual Performance Appraisal Reports and some other broad Guidelines. The Commission has also recommended that the PRP should subsume the existing Bonus schemes.

There are few recommendations of the Commission where there was no unanimity of view and these are as follows:

The Edge: An edge is presently accordeded to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) at three promotion stages from Senior Time Scale (STS), to the Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) and the NFSG.  is recommended by the Chairman, to be extended to the Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS).

Shri Vivek Rae, Member is of the view that financial edge is justified only for the IAS and IFS. Dr. Rathin Roy, Member is of the view that the financial edge accorded to the IAS and IFS should be removed.

Empanelment: The Chairman and Dr. Rathin Roy, Member, recommend that All India Service officers and Central Services Group A officers who have completed 17 years of service should be eligible for empanelment under the Central Staffing Scheme and there should not be “two year edge”, vis-à-vis the IAS. Shri Vivek Rae, Member, has not agreed with this view and has recommended review of the Central Staffing Scheme guidelines.

Non Functional Upgradation for Organised Group ‘A’ Services: The Chairman is of the view that NFU availed by all the organised Group `A’ Services should be allowed to continue and be extended to all officers in the CAPFs, Indian Coast Guard and the Defence forces. NFU should henceforth be based on the respective residency periods in the preceding substantive grade. Shri Vivek Rae, Member and Dr. Rathin Roy, Member, have favoured abolition of NFU at SAG and HAG level.

Superannuation: Chairman and Dr. Rathin Roy, Member, recommend the age of superannuation for all CAPF personnel should be 60 years uniformly. Shri Vivek Rae, Member, has not agreed with this recommendation and has endorsed the stand of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The full report is available in the website, http://7cpc.india.gov.in.