Transfer posting in JTS GR "A" cadre

MUMBAIPEX 2015- DISTRICT LEVEL PHILATELIC EXHIBITION

Allotment/Posting in ASP cadre

The competent authority has ordered the allotment/posting of the following officer in ASP cadre on discharge from APS on age/service limit with immediate effect in the interest of service.

Sr. No.	Name & designation of the officer	Present Unit	Allotment Unit	Remarks
1.	Shri M Y Nagdive	On deputation to APS C/O APO 56	Nagpur Region	On discharge from APS in the interest of service.

Comparison of weighting diagrams of the existing and revised series of CPI

Comparison of weighting diagrams of the existing and revised series of CPI

Base Year Revision of Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) releases Consumer Price Indices (CPI) for Rural, Urban and Combined, at State/UTs and all India level, w.e.f. January 2011. The Base Year of this series of CPI is 2010=100 and weighting diagrams are based on the results of Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) 2004-05.

2. Now the CSO is in the process of revising the Base Year from 2010=100 to 2012=100. The weighting diagrams have been prepared on the basis of the results of CES (2011-12). With this revision, the gap between Price Reference Year (Base Year) and the Weight Reference Year has been minimized. Apart from this, a number of methodological improvements have been introduced in the revised series, which are as follows:

Weighting diagrams have been prepared using the Modified Mixed Reference Period (MMRP) data of CES (2011-12), to make consistent with the international practice of shorter reference period for most of the food items and larger reference period for the item of infrequent consumption/purchased. In the old series (Base Year 2010=100), Uniform Reference Period (URP) data were used.

In the existing series of CPI, COICOP (Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose), an international standard classification, is being followed broadly, whereas in the revised series, it would be completely followed, except a few deviations which are necessary for Indian context.

The Geometric Mean, instead of Arithmetic Mean being used in the old series, of the price relatives with respect to base prices would be used to compile elementary/item indices.

In case of PDS items, prices of Antyodaya Anna Yojanna (AAY) have also been included in addition to Above Poverty Line (APL) & Below Poverty Line (BPL) prices being taken in the existing series.

Due to change in the consumption pattern from 2004-05 to 2011-12, the weighting diagrams (Share of expenditure to total expenditure) have changed. A comparison of weighting diagrams of the existing and revised series is given in the table below:

Table: Comparison of weighting diagrams of the existing and revised series of CPI

Comparison of existing and revised series of CPI

4. In the CES (2011-12), some of the items of CES (2004-05) were dropped from the schedule and a few new items were added. Market survey was conducted to identify shops, fix specifications and collect prices of the new items. Based on the availability of prices, a few new items have been included in the revised series. At the same time, some of items of the existing series have been dropped, in respect of which, prices have not been reported for quite a long period of time. Accordingly, the number of priced items has changed from 437 to 448 in rural and from 450 to 460 in urban at all India level. The number of priced items varies from State to State. If a particular item has occurred in any State, that item has been considered in the All India item basket. In the revised series, 11 new priced items have been added, without dropping any item, in rural sector at all India level. In case of Urban, 7 priced items have been dropped and 17 new priced items have been added.

5. Adopting the aforementioned improvements in methodologies, the first series (revised) would be compiled for the month of January 2015 and released on 12th February 2015. In order to estimate the old series of CPI, using the revised series, a linking factor would be provided. The year on year inflation rates for each month of 2015 would be compiled and released, with the respective press release, using the Linking Factor. From January 2016 onwards, the inflation rates would be compiled using the actual CPI of the revised series, as the indices for a given month of the year 2015 and 2016.

LTC to neighboring countries : Ministry of Civil Aviation nods.

The civil aviation ministry has given its nod to a proposal to provide leave travel concession for government employees to Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka to boost tourism in the region.

A senior official in the ministry confirming the development said, “The move is intended to boost tourism within SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries. Pakistan and Bangladesh has been left out for now because of security issues.”

The approval from the ministry of civil aviation was required so that the LTC can be availed of on national carrier Air India while flying to these countries.

United States Postal Service hits hard times

United States Postal Service hits hard times

After 200 years of daily deliveries, the United States Postal Service has fallen on tough times. 

 

The full impact of the organization’s difficulties has yet to reach the Lower Valley, but slower delivery times are looming as further cuts are made.

United States Postal Service profits have been declining for more than a decade, mostly due to internet communications taking the place of First-Class Mail, once the main source of postal income.

Unique in the world of business and government, the United State Postal Service is funded entirely by its own profits and not through taxes, yet is required to serve all customers in the country, regardless of location.

In addition, the Postal Service is overseen by the U.S. Congress, which in 2006 required the organization to pre-fund all its retirement obligations within 10 years. For the past three years the Postal Service has been unable to meet the $5.5 billion annual payments to the retirement fund, defaulting instead.

Due to the organization’s shaky financial situation, the Postmaster General has made cuts to service, starting with the 2012 closing of 150 out of nearly 500 mail processing plants across the country.

Though there were talks of closing the mail processing center in Yakima, it avoided that fate. According to Sunnyside Postmaster Isidro Rodriguez, there are no plans to do so now following the recent closure of the Pasco center.

Rodriguez says mail from Grandview and Sunnyside and points west are all processed in Yakima, while Prosser and points east are now served by the Spokane center.

Rodriguez, who was hired as interim postmaster last June before being named to the post on a permanent basis last fall, says the Sunnyside Post Office is feeling impacts of other cutbacks.

With the Outlook Post Office not having a postmaster, a postal worker from Sunnyside has been filling in at that post.

Besides an Outlook route, Sunnyside also has four other rural routes.

“We have a skeleton crew right now,” Rodriguez says. “We’re trying to manage our hours.”

Because of stretching to help cover Outlook, the Sunnyside Post Office is looking to hire two part-time workers – one for mail distribution and to be a carrier.

Grandview Postmaster Steve Barrientes said he doesn’t anticipate any layoffs with the changes being made this year.

“There is a lot of shuffling underway to prevent layoffs in the region,” he said.

Postal service in Grandview is not being impacted by the closures of processing facilities, but Prosser, Barrientes said, has been impacted by the closure of the Pasco processing plant.

For Grandview postal service patrons, Barrientes says there is nothing to worry about. Regarding slower first-class and periodical mailings, Barrientes said, “Grandview customers will continue to receive their mail as they have been.”

But changes are coming. The organization is currently bleeding money, a situation that would not be fixed even if the retirement pre-funding requirements were removed. As a result of cuts to staff, service has slowed down on a lot of rural routes, and the Postal Service itself has relaxed the standards for First-Class Mail.

According to the United States Postal Service, standards were changed this month, affecting roughly 14 billion pieces of the total volume of mail, about 9 percent, and up to 16 percent of First-Class Mail. The average delivery time for mail went from 1.8 days to 2.1 days, which means an extra day for customers on rural routes or who do not live near a processing plant.

Changes in rural delivery are a major concern for U.S. Postal Service customers like Brenda Tatum-Carlson of Granger, who relies on the daily delivery at her home.

“We order our prescriptions on-line,” said Tatum-Carlson, “but depend on the post office to get items to our house.”

If, in the future, the U.S. Postal Service was to decide to close either the Granger or Zillah offices, due to budget constraints, Tatum-Carlson said she would be forced to drive 20-miles to pick up her mail and medications in Toppenish. “It would be a really bad situation for me,” she added.

Fewer days of mail delivery could prove a real challenge for area senior citizens, according to Gloria Alexander, president of the Sunnyside Senior Citizen Group.

Her concern is for those senior citizens who are too afraid to use computers for on-line banking and bill paying.

“Many of us don’t ‘do’ computers. So not getting regular delivery of our mail would prove to be a real hardship,” said Alexander.

A reduction in daily and Saturday home  delivery would cause problems for other seniors with disabilities and who actually depend on the mailman for daily contact. For example, Cherry Fairbanks Morse said her mailman often delivers packages right to the door.

“He knows I have a disability and my husband is ill,” she explained. “Sometimes if he doesn’t see any movement at our house, he rings the doorbell just to check on us,” Fairbanks Morse said.

“I don’t think the U.S. Postal Service cares about things like that, but I would really miss my daily service if it were curtailed.”

Fairbanks Morse said having to travel downtown to pick up her mail would be an extreme hardship. “I wouldn’t be able to go every day,” she added.

Daily rural mail delivery of items such as the local daily newspaper would also be a hardship for rural mail customers, according to Yolanda Bickett of Sunnyside.

“My neighbor gets the paper in the mail a day late already,” Bickett said. “She gets all her items through the mail, including her meds. It would be an issue for her if rural delivery was cut. And for my family as well, because she shares the newspaper with us.”

The Postal Service has been discussing the possibility of closing more processing plants and reducing its staff even further to save costs. In addition, other options, such as cutting Saturday service, are on the table.

In the meantime, the Postal Service is looking at a potential rate increase this year, for almost every service except First-Class letters. Those will remain at 49 cents even if the rate increase goes through.

Republic Day 2015 Wishes To All Viewers and Members Happy Republic Day 

Republic Day in India is celebrated on January 26 every year. This day is significant, as it observes the enforcement of the Constitution of India which declared India as a sovereign, democratic and republic country. Every Indian celebrates Republic Day – a national holiday - with great zeal, enthusiasm and a lot of respect. Indians wear traditional clothes and celebrate the day  with unity and brotherhood.

Age limit of Retirement in Central Government Services – What says FR56..?

Age limit of Retirement in Central Government Services – What says FR56..?

“All Government servants are to retire on the last day of the month in which they attain the age of 60 years, subject to the exceptions mentioned therein”.

The DoPT Minister informed in the Parliament as a written reply to a question to the subject above mentioned as follows…

As per Rule 56 of Fundamental Rules all Government servants are to retire on the last day of the month in which they attain the age of 60 years, subject to the exceptions mentioned therein. A copy of the relevant rule is annexed. Different age of retirement for certain categories has been fixed on functional requirements.

Employees of the Supreme Court retire on attaining the age of 60 years. The employees of Central Universities are not Central Government employees. However, the retirement age of the employees are as under:-

(i) Vice Chancellor – 70 years

(ii) Teachers – 65 years

(iii) Registrar – 62 years

(iv) Finance Officer – 62 years

(v) Controller of Examination – 62 years Different age of retirement is prescribed on functional requirements.

Extracts of Provisions in FR 56

F.R. 56(a) Except as otherwise provided in this rule, every Government servant shall retire from service on the afternoon of the last day of the month in which he attains the age of sixty years.

Provided that a Government servant whose date of birth is the first of a month shall retire from service on the afternoon of the last day of the preceding month on attaining the age of sixty years. Provided further that a Government servant who has attained the age of fifty-eight years on or before the first day of May, 1998 and is on extension in service, shall retire from the service on expiry of his extended period of service. Or on the expiry of any further extension in service granted by the Central Government in public interest, provided that no such extension in service shall be granted beyond the age of 60 years.

(b) A workman who is governed by these rules shall retire from service on the afternoon of the last day of the month in which he attains the age of sixty years.

(bb) The age of superannuation in respect of specialists included in the Teaching, Non-Teaching and Public Health Sub-cadres of Central Health Service shall be 62 years. “Provided that for the specialist included in the Teaching sub-cadres of the Central Health Service who are engaged only in teaching activities and not occupying administrative positions, the age of superannuation shall be sixty-five years: provided further that such specialist of the Teaching Sub-cadres of Central Health Service who are occupying administrative positions shall have the option of seeking appointment to the teaching positions in case they wish to continue in service up to sixty-five years.”

(bbb) The age of superannuation in respect of nursing teaching faculty with M.Sc in Nursing in the Central Government Nursing Institutions shall be 65 years subject to the condition that they continue to function as faculty members after the age of 60 years.

India Post honours Mumbai's dabbawala

India Post honours Mumbai's dabbawala

Mahesh Zagade, Transport Commissioner, Maharashtra, releases the Special Cover on “Mumbai's Dabbawalas” in the presence of Raghunath Medge, President , Mumbai Dabbawala Association at the GPO Mumbai on Friday. Dr. V. Vinodkumar, DPS (HQ) o/o CPMG Mumbai is also seen in picture (extreme left)

RELEASES A COMMEMORATIVE SPECIAL COVER ON THEM

Maharashtra Postal Circle (India Post) released a special cover on Mumbai’s dabbawalas on Friday in recognition of their service — delivering fresh, home-cooked food to office-goers across Maximum City with precision. 

Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Shri Mahesh Zagade released the special cover at the Mumbai General Post Office here during a three-day philately exhibition, Mumbaipex 2015, which showcases shared heritage and culture.

Nearly 5,000 dabbawalas operate across Mumbai, delivering food to their customers on time using a unique identity code to sort the nearly two lakh lunchboxes.

Shri Zagade commended the dabbawalas for their service to society, and said the logistics of their operation was so sophisticated that it had become part of management studies in reputable institutions. The accurate delivery system was a case study at the Indian Institute of Management and Harvard Business School.

Shri Raghunath Medge, President, Mumbai Dabbawala Association, said the unique identification code developed by the dabbawalas was inspired by the pin code. Mumbaipex 2015 showcases rare collections of 25 philatelists.

The three-day Mumbaipex 2015 showcases rare stamp collections of 25 philatelists, covering varied themes. While on the first day they will release a cover on the dabbawalas, the second day would be dedicated to Dr. Bhauji Lad Mumbai City Museum, and on Sunday a special cover would be released on Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan, where Gandhiji had given the call for Quit India in 1941.

Recruitment for the Post of Postman/Mail Guard/MTS

Maharastra Circle( Maharastra and Goa State ) issued notification for recruitment for the Post of Postman/Mail Guard/MTS cadre.

To know available vacancy, Rules and Regulation log on  www.dopmah.in from 24.01.2015 at 1600hrs.

The last date for submission the online form is 18.02.2015 at 23.59hrs.

Cadre restructuring of cadre of Assistant Managers MMS

It is to inform to all Circle Secretaries and CHQ Office Bearers that in response to appeal of General Secretary, only Shri Arup Seal, Circle Secretary, West Bengal Circle has come forward with the following information which is required to take up the cadre restructuring issue of AMM cadre with Directorate. Remaining circles will furnish their information immediately.

No. of Sr. Managers MMS sanctioned posts in circle		1
No. of Sr. Managers MMS posts vacant		NIL
No. of Manager MMS sanctioned posts in circle		NIL
No. of Manager MMS posts vacant		N/A
No. of Dy. Manager MMS sanctioned posts in circle		1
No. of Dy. Manager MMS posts vacant		NIL (will be vacant on and from 01.07.2015
No. of Assistant Manager sanctioned posts in circle		10
No. of Assistant Manager posts vacant		6
Whether copy of Recruitment Rules of Inspector MMS (old cadre) is available in the circle office.		Available
Whether circle seniority list (gradation list) is available or otherwise		All India Seniority list issued by Directorate in Jan 2014 serves the purpose.

Commemorative Stamp on Beti Bachao Beti Padhao - 22nd January 2015.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Commemorative Stamp on Beti Bachao Beti Padhao - 22nd January 2015.

Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save Girl Child, Educate Girl Child) is a Government of India scheme that aims to generate awareness and improving the efficiency of delivery of welfare services meant for women.

Main Objectives of this Programme are to prevent gender biased sex selective elimination, to ensure survival & protection of the Girl Child, to ensure education of the Girl Child, to improve the Nutrition Status of Girl Child and to promote a protective environment for Girl Child. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' programme on 22nd January, 2015 from Panipat, Haryana.

India Post released a commemorative postage stamp to mark the launch of 'Beti Bachao - Beti Padhao' scheme, a flagship initiative to address issues that affect women, and also reverse the trend of an adverse and declining Child Sex Ratio. The stamp was released by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the function organized to launch the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao programme. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon'ble Minister for Communications & IT, Smt. Menaka Gandhi, Hon'ble Minister for Women and Child Development, Shri K.P. Solanki, H.E. Governor of Haryana and Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, Hon'ble CM of Haryana and Film Actress Madhuri Dixit, who has been made the Brand Ambassador of the campaign were present at the function.