Earmarking of accommodation for On-board Housekeeping Staff (OBHS)

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(RAILWAY BOARD)

No.2013/TG-I/20/P/OBHS

New Delhi, dated 22.02.2013

General Managers,
All Zonal Railways.

(COMMERCIAL CIRCULAR NO.15 OF 2013)

Sub: Earmarking of accommodation for On-board Housekeeping Staff (OBHS)

Ref: Railway Board’s letters

   (a) No.2006/M(C)/165/9 dated 01.10.2007, 04.08.2009, 17.07.2009 and 19.07.2010

   (b) No.95/M(C)/141/1 Vol.II dated 21/28.05.2010

   Instructions have been issued by Board for implementation of On-board Housekeeping Scheme on Rajdhani/ Shatabdi/Duronto and important (Mail/Express trains vide letters under reference, In OBHS Scheme, a set of housekeeping staff travels on-board and carries out cleaning activities of coach compartments and toilets.

   2. The issue regarding earmarking of accommodation for OBHS staff has been examined by Board and it has been decided to earmark two berths/seats for them as under:-

   (i) Last two side berths/last two seats of the lowest reserved class available in the train should be earmarked for OBHS staff e.g., in the train having Sleeper Class as the lowest accommodation, berth nos.71 and 72 in S1 coach should be earmarked for them. Similarly, in the trains having AC Sleeper accommodation only, the last two side berths in B-I coach should be earmarked for OBHS staff.

   (ii) The list of trains in which OBHS facility has been provided will be forwarded by Mechanical Department to Commercial Department duly indicating whether this facility is being provided through contractor or through Railway staff.

   (iii) In case of non-Railway OBHS staff the contractor will be asked to deposit the fare for these berths/seats in advance. A flag will be put in the system to confirm whether payment has been received from the contractor or not.

   (iv) The contractor Will be required to give the names of the persons who may be going in the train at least 24 hours in advance. The names of these persons will be indicated in the chart with a special indication so that the public is aware of the same.

   (v) A provision for the cost of this fare will be kept in the contract at the time of calling of tender by Mechanical Department. In case of misuse of these berths/seats established, the only penalty will be cancellation of contract.

   (vi) In case of misuse of these berths/seats by departmental OBHS, strict as well as deterrent disciplinary action should be taken under D&A rules.

   3. CRLS will make necessary modifications in the software and intimate the date of effect to all Zonal Railways.

   4. After Implementation of this Scheme, a feedback may be sent after 3 months indicating the problems faced on this account.

   5. This issues with the concurrence/approval of Finance and Mechanical Directorates of Ministry of Railways.

sd/-
(S.K. Ahirwar)
Director Traffic Commercial(G)    
Railway Board                                         

Source: AIRF

PCDA Pension Orders 2013 : One Rank One Pension - Rate of Minimum Guaranteed Family Pension with effect from 24.9.2012 (Commissioned Officers)

   An Important circular has been issued by the Office of the PR.Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions)-Allahabad regarding that the Dependent Pension (Special) and Dependent Pension (Liberalised) to Defence Service Personnel and Ex-Servicemen and also issued the table of minimum guaranteed family pension effect from 24.9.2012 (Commissioned Officers). Implementation of Government decision on the recommendations of the Committee Secretaries Committee- 2012 on the issues related to Defence Service Personnel and Ex-Servicemen- Improvement in Casualty Pensionary Awards for pre- 2006 Armed Forces Officers and JCO/ ORs and equivalents.

   The main content of the order is reproduced and given for your information and also given a link to the original order...

Subject : Implementation of Government decision on the recommendations of the Committee Secretaries Committee- 2012 on the issues related to Defence Service Personnel and Ex-Servicemen- Improvement in Casualty Pensionary Awards for pre- 2006 Armed Forces Officers and JCO/ ORs and equivalents.

Reference : This Office Circular No. 503 dated 17.01.2013.

   Kindly refer to Table No. 1 appended in this office circular cited under reference. Your attention is invited wherein to various nomenclature columns (Column 6, 8, 11, 13, 17,19) the 2nd Life awards of SFP and 2nd Life awards of LFP have been shown. However, in the case of Commissioned Officers it should be Dependent Pension (Special) and Dependent Pension (Liberalised). In order to facilitate the PDAs for smooth revision and implementation, the same has been rectified and an amended Table No. 1(Revised) is enclosed for necessary revision/ action.

   It is also mentioned that the rates of Dependent Pension (Liberalised) in case both parents are alive are @ of 75% of LFP. This has been left out inadvertently which has now been reproduced in the revised table.

   2.All Pension Disbursing Authorities are authorized to revise/ update the family pension in respect of Commissioned Officers equivalent as per tables attached to this circular, if the same is beneficial. Table No. 1 appended in Circular No. 503 is replaced by Table No. 1(Revised) annexed with this circular.

   3.All other terms and conditions for revision of family pension in respect of pre-2006 Armed Forces family pensioners drawing pension under casualty pensionary awards shall remain unchanged.

sd/-
(ALOK PATNI)
ACDA(P)

No. Grants/Tech/0167-XIII (508)

Source:http://pcdapension.nic.in/6cpc/Circular-508.pdf

Budget 2013: 7 expectations of the salaried class.

   According to a survey by Assocham, a majority of salaried people want Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to raise the exemption limit on income-tax and increase deductions under various allowances so that they are left with more purchasing power.

   1. Exemption limit on income-tax: Over 89 per cent of the respondents said that the slab oftax free income has not moved up in line with real inflation. The current basic exemption limit of Rs. 2 lakh should be increased to at least Rs. 3 lakh, while the limit for women should go up to Rs. 3.5 lakh. This will increase the purchasing power of individuals and stimulate demand.

   2. Medical re-imbursement limit: With increasing healthcare costs, the existing tax free limit of Rs. 15,000 should be increased to Rs. 50,000, 89 per cent of the respondents said.

   3. Transportation allowance: Currently, this is tax-free to the extent of Rs. 800 per month. This limit was fixed more than a decade ago, and definitely needs to be revised upwards to at least Rs. 3,000 per month, given the rising commuting costs across the country, according to the survey.

   4. Interest on home loan: The deduction limit for payment of interest (on self-occupied property) has remained constant at Rs. 1.5 lakh since 2001. Since then, property prices have gone through the roof, increasing the quantum of home loan. An increase in the exemption limit to Rs. 2.5 lakh will be a welcome change, the survey found.

   5. Investments under Section 80C: This IT Act provides a deduction of Rs. 1 lakh for certain investments. The provision helps people in making forced savings that helps them in the future. A common man expects this limit to be increased to Rs. 2 lakh with a sub-limit of Rs. 50,000 exclusively for insurance and pension.

   6. Infrastructure bonds: Over 82 per cent respondents favoured the restoration of infrastructure bonds, considering that the government needs massive funds for the development of the infrastructure sector and also the lock-in period should be restricted to five years.

   7. Pension: Over 71 per cent of the respondents demanded that the national pension system (NPS) be brought under the EEE (exempt-exempt-exempt) as against EET (exempt-exempt-tax) at present. This means that investors get a tax exemption at all the three stages of investment, appreciation and withdrawal.

Source: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/cheat-sheet/article-budget-2013-7-expectations-from-the-salaried-class-318209