Pay Commission Award To Get Cabinet Nod In June: PMO

New Delhi: The Seventh pay commission award for central government employees will be placed for cabinet’s nod in June after the completion of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry states assemblies’ poll process, the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) official said on Thursday.

The proposal is almost ready to be recommended by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries on the Seventh pay commission recommendation, according to the PMO official.

There were some disputes among the central government employees’ bodies about the Pay Commission recommendations, which are under consideration of secretaries committee.

Following the context, the finance ministry sent an interim report on the proposed pay structure, including the disputes surrounding it, to the PMO.

PMO sent it back to the ministry with instruction to address the genuine concerns raised by stakeholders and accommodate their demands as much as possible. After these processes, it will be sent to the cabinet in June, the official said.

Although, there is indication that the Empowered Committee is also positively mulling the demand of central government employees for hiking the minimum pay, which was recommended very low by the Seventh pay commission and removing anomalies of Seventh pay commission recommendations like scrapping of advances, allowances.

It is likely to take another 45 to 60 days to settle the issue, in the main time, the model code of conduct, which is currently in place for five states assemblies’ poll, which will end May 21, so,that’s the right time to implement the Seventh pay commission award in June, according to the official.

This means although the new pay structure is to be in place since July 1, the central government employees may start drawing the increased salaries from January with arrears of the previous six months. But the House Rent Allowance (HRA) will be paid from the date of the Seventh pay commission award implementation.

The Seventh Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur recommended the minimum basic pay of central government employees is Rs 18,000 per month while the maximum is Rs 2.25 lakh per month, its increased the pay gap between the minimum and maximum from existing 1:12 to 1: 13.8.

“All pay commissions made up pay gap between employees and higher officers from second Pay Commission 1:41 ratio to Sixth pay commission 1:12, except it,” said the official.

Read at : The Sen Times

CHENNAI: With their huge bad loans and provisioning for the same affecting their profitability, India's banks may not reduce their lending rates in the near future following the slashing of interest rates on the small savings schemes, say experts.

They also predict that there will be a higher flow of savings into the capital markets via mutual funds and others.

The BJP-led central government, much to the chagrin of the common man, cut the interest rates on various small savings schemes and public provident fund (PPF), citing banks' grievance that they were not able to reduce their lending rates as interest on deposits were on the high side.

The interest rate was cut from 8.7 percent to 8.1 percent on PPF, from 8.5 percent to 8.1 percent on National Savings Certificate, from 8.7 percent to 7.8 percent for Kisan Vikas Patra and from 8.4 percent to 7.4 percent on five-year recurring deposit. Even the girl child scheme Sukanya Samridhhi Account (SSA) was not spared, with a cut from 9.2 percent to 8.6 percent.

Similarly, rate cut has been announced on various term deposits. The banks had been saying that they are forced to pay higher interest rate on their deposits as they have to compete with the small savings schemes enjoying tax benefits.

"This decision was expected as the government had indicated a move in this direction earlier. We hope that with this review of the small savings interest rates, banks would considerably hasten a re-look at their own lending rates and bring these down for both consumers and investors," business chamber FICCI's secretary general A. Didar Singh said in a statement.

"Banks have been pointing out the interest rates on small savings instruments as one of the factors that have deterred them from reducing their interest rates. With the government now having made this move, banks must take an immediate cue and support the incipient economic recovery," he added.

The slashing of interest rates on PPF and other small savings schemes may not result in banks cutting down their lending rates immediately given their own problems.

"In the near future the banks may not reduce their lending rates but will use this - interest cut on small savings schemes - to mobilise more deposits. If they have to kick start the economic growth, they have to mobilise deposits for lending," Saswata Guha, director, Financial Institutions at global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings, told IANS.

He also agreed that the banks have to contend with their huge bad loans and hence lending rate cuts may not happen soon.

"They don't have the wherewithal to reduce their lending rates now," Guha said. 

"The rate cut on small savings schemes is not all that bad and savers will now put some part of their money in the capital markets, mutual funds and others that give higher returns," Bhuvana Shreeram of Mumbai-based Financial Freedom Golden Practices told IANS.

"PPF rates have been as high as 12 percent for the first 15 years and have come down to average around 8.5 percent in the last 15 years. But look at the timing of this fall. In 2001, double digit PPF rates became history. And what happened to India's GDP and more importantly per capita income of Indians is important to note," Shreeram said.

According to her, when GDP and per capita income goes up, people have more money to spend, and the government will increase its spending thereby creating more jobs and more capital investments will come into the country which again means more jobs.

"Historically, through the good and bad times of the last 35 years, capital markets have given 17 percent average annual returns which is 2.5 times risk free rate," Shreeram said.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Memorandum submitted to GDS Committee by General Secretary, AIPEU GDS NFPE and Secretary General, NFPE

       Memorandum was submitted on 18th March 2016 to Sri T.Q.Mohd., Secretary, GDS Committee for revision of wages and other service conditions of GDS employees.Com.P.Pandurangarao, G.S.AIPEU GDS. (NFPE ) presented the case very effectively. Secretary GDS COMMITTEE gave positive assurances . Further, application for membership verification was also submitted to Dept. of Posts NewDelhi. All Comrades are requested to make maximum efforts to make AIPEU GDS NFPE as no.1 Union.

R.N. PARASHAR, SECRETARY GENERAL NFPE.