Revised Train Fares for Journey in AC-First Class, AC-2 Tier, Executive Class & First Class from Tomorrow.

   The Ministry of Railways has revised passenger fares with effect from tomorrow i.e. 1st April 2012 in AC-First Class, AC-2 tier, Executive Class and First Class only. There is no revision in other classes of travel. The revised fares in these classes would be applicable to all types of trains on Indian Railways network.

   The revised fares will also apply to tickets issued in advance for journeys to commence on or after 1st April 2012. In the case of tickets already issued at pre-revised rates, the difference in fares from 1st April 2012 will be recovered from passengers either by TTEs in the trains or by the booking offices before commencement of the journey by the passengers as per the usual practice in case of such fare revisions.

  The revised list of fares for the information of the public is being displayed at the stations and has been made available to the railway staff well in time. The revised passenger fare table is also available on the website of the Ministry of Railways i.e. indianrailways.gov.in

PIB

Portability in Saving Bank Accounts.

   Damodaran Committee was set up by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 26, 2010 to look into banking services rendered to retail and small customers. The Committee submitted its report to RBI on July 04, 2011. The Committee has recommended that customer should be allowed to maintain the same account number in a bank even when he/she moves to another city or shifts his account to another branch in the same city. RBI has taken action on the recommendations submitted by the Damodaran Committee and in October, 2011 advised Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for implementation of the above recommendation.

   RBI has also stated that provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Rules do not support account portability between banks as records pertaining to identity of a client has to be maintained by the bank establishing relationship with the customer for a period of 10 years from the date of cessation of the transactions between the client and the bank.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

PIB

All India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers.

   All India Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) on base 2001=100 for the month of February, 2012 increased by 1 point and stood at 199 (one hundred & ninety nine).

   During February, 2012, the index recorded maximum increase of 5 points in Puducherry centre, 4 points each in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mariani Jorhat centres, 3 points in 4 centres, 2 points in 10 centres and 1 point in 30 centres. The index decreased by 5 points in Quilon centre, 3 points each in Tiruchirapally and Salem centres, 2 points in 2 centres, 1 point in 8 centres, while in the remaining 17 centres the index remained stationary.

   The maximum increase of 5 points in Puducherry centre is mainly on account of increase in the prices of Rice, Goat Meat, Poultry (Chicken), Curd, Snack Saltish, Country Liquor, Refined Liquor, Shirting Cloth (Synthetic), Bus Fare, Auto-rickshaw Fare, Barber Charges, Flower/Flower Garlands etc. The increase of 4 points each in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mariani Jorhat centres is mainly due to increase in the prices of Rice, Groundnut Oil, Mustard Oil, Goat Meat, Fish Fresh, Vegetable & Fruit items, Tea (Readymade), Electricity Charges, Flower/Flower Garlands, etc. The decrease of 5 points in Quilon centre is due to decrease in the prices of Coconut Oil, Fish Fresh, Onion, Vegetable & Fruit items, etc. The decrease of 3 points each in Tiruchirapally and Salem centres is due to decrease in the prices of Rice, Eggs (Hen), Onion, Garlic, Tamarind, Chillies Dry, Vegetable items, Flower/Flower Garlands, etc.

    The indices in respect of the six major centres are as follows :

1. Ahmedabad    

196

2. Bangalore       

204
3. Chennai          186

4. Delhi             

182

5. Kolkata          

186

6. Mumbai          

200

   The point to point rate of inflation based on CPI-IW(General) for the month of February, 2012 is 7.57% as compared to 5.32% in January, 2012. Inflation based on Food Index attained the level of 5.08% in February, 2012 as compared to 0.49% in January, 2012.

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Pension to Retired Employees.

   The Government had introduced the New Pension System (NPS) from 1st January, 2004 through a Notification dated 22nd December, 2003 for new entrants to Central Government service, on mandatory basis, except to Armed Forces, joining service on or after 01.01.2004 replacing the existing system of defined benefit pension system. NPS has also been extended to autonomous bodies, State Governments and un-organised sector. The employees working in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) are not covered mandatorily under NPS. However, three CPSEs, viz Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. Manganese Ore (India Ltd. ) and NALCO have adopted NPS on voluntarily basis with effect from 01.01.2004, 01.07.2011 and 01.01.2007 respectively.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

PIB

Online Reservation of Concessional Tickets.

   All persons including physically handicapped persons can book full fare tickets on payment through the internet. However, booking of concessional tickets requiring verification of the requisite concession certificate and also retention of copies of the said certificate issued/signed by the competent authority at the railway counter as documentary evidence is not done through internet. Accordingly, the facility of e-ticketing has not been extended to such cases where the physical document is to be verified at the time of booking on concessional fare in case of disabled persons.

   Rail reservations through the IRCTC website are available from 00:30 hours to 23:30 hours. The services are not available for only one hour from 23:30 hours to 00:30 hours when the system is shut down for maintenance activity.

   The working of the system is regularly monitored. The following measures have been taken to improve the functioning of the IRCTC website.

   Capacity of the servers has been upgraded to meet demand. Internet Bandwidth has been increased to 450 Mbps. Agents have been restricted from booking Tatkal tickets and on the opening day of the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) between 0800 hours and 1000 hours.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri K. H. Muniyappa in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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CCS(Leave) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2012.

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRA ORDINARY, PART II,
SECTION-3, SUB-SECTION (i) ]

Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Personnel and Training

New Delhi, the 28th March, 2012.

NOTIFICATION

   GSR...(E)... In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 read with clause (5) of article 148 of the Constitution and after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India in relation to persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the President hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, namely: -

   I. (I) These rules may be called the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2012.

      (2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

   2. In the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, for rule 12, the following rule shalt be substituted, namely:-

   "12.(l) No Government Servant shall be granted leave of any kind for a continuous period exceeding five years.

   (2) Unless the President, in view of the exceptional circumstances of the case, otherwise determines, a Government servant who remains absent from duty for a continuous period exceeding five years other than on foreign service, with or without leave, shall be deemed to have resigned from the Government service:

   Provided that a reasonable opportunity to explain the reasons for such absence shall be given to that Government servant before provisions of sub-rule (2) are invoked”.

[F.No.13026/2/2010-Estt.(L)]

sd/-
(Mamta Kundra),
Joint Secretary to the Government of India.

   Note: The principal rules were published vide Notification No. S.O. 940, dated the 8th April,1972 and were last amended vide Notification number G.S.R dated 28th March, 2012.

Source:http://circulars.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/13026_2_2010-Estt-L-A.pdf

CCS(Leave) (Amendment) Rules. 2012.

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II,
SECTION-3, SUB-SECTION (i) 1

Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Personnel and Training

Notification

New Delhi, the 28th March, 2012.

   GSR....... In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 read with clause (5) of article 148 of the Constitution and after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in relation to the persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the President hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, namely:-

   I. (1) These rules may be called the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2012.

      (2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

   2. In the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, in rule 39-D, the following Note shall be inserted, namely:-

   “Note.- The expression ‘permanent absorption’ used in rule 39-D shall mean the appointment of a Government servant in a Public Sector Undertaking or an Autonomous Body, for which he had applied through proper channel and resigns from the Government service to take up that appointment.”

[F.13026/3/2011-Estt.(L)]

sd/-
(Mamta Kundra)
Joint Secretary to the Government of India

   Footnote: The principal rules were published vide Notification No.S.O. 940, dated the 8th April, 1972 and were last amended vide Notification number G.S.R. 898(E) dated the 26th December, 2011.

Source:http://circulars.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/13026_3_2011-Estt-L.pdf

Validity of Duty Passes for travel in Duronto Express Trains.

R.B.E No.37/ 2012

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(RAILWAY BOARD)

No. E(W)2009 PS 5-1/ 30

New Delhi, dated 21st March 2012.

The General Managers (Personnel & Commercial)
All Indian Railways &
Production Units.

Sub:- Validity of Duty Passes for travel in Duronto Express Trains.

Ref.: Railway Board letter No.TC-II/2910/09/Duronto Train dated 30-9-2009 (Commercial Circular No.53 of 2009)

   Instructions have been issued vide Board’s letter No. TC-II/2910/09/Duronto Train dated 30-9-2009 (Commercial Circular No.53 of 2009) regarding the basic fare structure and classes of travel available on Duronto Express Trains. With a view to facilitate inspection of these trains, the issue to allow ‘Duty Passes’ on Duronto Express Trains was under consideration in Board’s Office.

   2. After careful consideration, it has been decided to allow railway offcials to travel in Duronto Express Trains while travelling ON DUTY only subject to the following:

   (i) The entittlement of Railway officer/staff to travel in Duronto Express trains will be same as that in case of Rajdhani Express trains with the only exception that the highest class in which they can travel in these trains will be 2 AC and not 1AC.

   (ii) The maximum number of berths/seats which can be booked in a train per trip will be as under:

II 4 Berths
III 6 Berths
A.C.Chair Car 6 Seats

  (iii) At the time of booking tickets against this quota, only wait listed ticket will be issued and the berths will be confirmed at the time of release of Emergency Quota, on receipt of request keeping in view the inter-se seniority of officers/urgency of travel etc.

   (iv) At the time of preparation of reservation charts, the unutilized accommodation earmarked for this purpose shall get released to RAC/Wait-listed passengers.

   (v) The accommodation to be earmarked for onboard ticket checking staff manning the train will be on the pattern of Rajdhani Express trains.

   (vi) CTC Squad of Railway Board and CCMs’ Squad of zonal Railways and staff of Vagilance Department can conduct surprise checks in these trains on the authority of duty pass without advance reservation.

   3. This issues with the concurrence of the Finance Directorate of the Ministry of Railways.

   4. Receipt of this letter may please be acknowledged.

(N.C. Jain)
Dy. Director Estt. (Welfare)
Railway Board.

Source:http://www.airfindia.com/Orders%202012/Duronto%20Duty%20Pass_21.03.2012.pdf

Demand for One Rank One Pension for Retired Army Personnel.

   The ex-servicemen Associations have been demanding for several years grant of same pension which is granted to new pensioners with same rank and same length of service irrespective of date of retirement, popularly known as "One Rank One Pension" (OROP). The differentials in pension between the past and the new retirees arise on account of the fact that the computation of pension depends on the pay scale of the person at the time of retirement and pension undergoes change as and when the pay scales are revised.

   Their requests have been considered by the Government and over the years several improvements have been made in pension of past pensioners in accordance with the recommendations of successive Pay Commissions, as accepted by the Government. The Cabinet Secretary Committee constituted by the Government of India to look into the demand of OROP and related issues gave seven recommendations to reduce the gap between past and current pensioners. All the seven recommendations were accepted and implemented which has significantly reduced the gap between the past and present pensioners and also considerably improved the pension of disabled ex-servicemen. However pension reform is a continuous process.

   This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri A.K. Antony in written reply to Shri T.M. Selvaganapathi in Rajya Sabha today.

PIB

Management of Funds Under NPS.


   The investment of pension funds of Government employees, who are covered as subscribers to the New Pension System (NPS), was hitherto being made through a pooling arrangement whereby the funds of such employees were credited to a pool account (pending reconciliation of subscribers’ contribution details) from which such funds were allocated to pension fund managers for immediate investment in the best interest of the subscribers. These funds of the Government employees are being managed based on the investment Pattern prescribed by the Government.

   The pension funds of the Government employees, who are covered by NPS, are managed by three pension fund managers, namely, SBI Pension Funds (Pvt.) Limited, UTI Retirement Solutions Limited and LIC Pension Fund Limited.

   The Pool account is proposed to be discontinued from 1st May, 2012. Thereafter, it would be possible for the individual subscribers to exercise their individual choices regarding investment pattern and the pension fund manager.

   NPS is a defined contribution based pension system where the actual returns would be determined by the market based returns.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

PIB

Tax Concession on Education Loan.


   Section 80E of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides for a deduction to an assessee (being an individual), out of his income chargeable to tax, on account of any amount paid by him in the previous year by way of interest on loan taken by him from any financial institution or any approved charitable institution for the purpose of pursing his higher education or for the purpose of higher education of his relative.

   Under the earlier provisions, the deduction was available only for pursuing full time studies for any graduate or post-graduate course in engineering, medicine, management or for post-graduate course in applied sciences or pure sciences including mathematics and statistics.

   The provisions of the aforesaid section 80E were amended vide the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 by substitution clause ( c ) of sub-section (3) so as to extend its scope to cover all fields of studies (including vocational studies) pursued after passing the Senior Secondary Examination or its equivalent from any school, board or university recognized by the Central Government or State Government or local authority or by any other authority authorized by the Central Government or State Government or local authority to do so.

   The above-mentioned tax incentive can be claimed by an individual depending on the amount he/she spends by way of interest on loan for higher education. There is no fund earmarked for this purpose. The expense to the Government is in the form of revenue forgone on account of such claims during a financial year. The revenue forgone during the year 2010-11 on account of deduction under section 80E, as reported in the Receipts Budget 2012-13, is Rs. 138 crores.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri S.S. Palanimanickam in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

PIB

Declaration of Holiday on 14th April, 2012 - Birthday of Dr.B.R. Ambedkar.

MOST IMMEDIATE

F. No.12/2/2012-JCA-2
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
(Department of Personnel & Training)

North Block, New Delhi
Dated the 27th March, 2012.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject:- Declaration of Holiday on 14th April, 2012 - Birthday of Dr.B.R. Ambedkar.

   It has been decided to declare Saturday, the 14th April 2012, as a Closed Holiday on account of the birthday of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, for all Central Government Offices including Industrial Establishments throughout India.

   2. The above holiday is also being notified in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881(26 of 1881).

   3. All Ministries/Departments of Government of India may bring the above decision to the notice of all concerned.

sd/-
(Ashok Kumar)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India

Source:http://circulars.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/12_2_2012-JCA-2-27032012.pdf

Extending the validity of full/half sets of Privilege Passes, Post Retirement Complimentary Passes, Widow Passes and Privilege Ticket Orders (PTOs).

R.B.E. No.41/2012

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(RAILWAY BAORD)

No. E(W) 2007/PS 5-1/9

                                           New Delhi, dated 26 -03-2012

 

The General Managers (P)
All Indian Railways &
Production Units.

Sub:- Extending the validity of full/half sets of Privilege Passes, Post Retirement Complimentary Passes, Widow Passes and Privilege Ticket Orders (PTOs).

   Instructions were issued vide Board’s letter of even number dated 10-7-2008 raising the validity period of half set of Privilege/Post Retirement Complimentary /Widow Passes to four months from the date of issue as in the case of full set passes. Further, in terms of instructions issued vide Board’s letter No. E(W)2010/ PS 5-17/1 dated 3-6-2011, Privilege Pass/PTO/Post Retirement Complimentary Pass in the next year’s account should not be issued more than 100 days in advance of beginning of the next year.

   2. Consequent upon the decision of the Board to enhance the period of advance reservation from 90 days to 120 days vide Commercial Circular No. 12 of 2012 dated 6-02-2012, the issue regarding enhancing the validity period of passes and PTOs was under examination in Board’s Office with a view to facilitate securing confirmed reservations on such Passes and PTOs. After careful consideration by Board, it has been decided that the validity period of full/half sets of Privilege/Post Retirement Complimentary/Widow Passes and PTOs shall be one month more than the Advance Reservation Period, in general. Hence, the validity of such Passes/PTOs shall be Five months instead of Four months, at present. However, if advance reservation period is reduced in future, the validity of Pass/PTO will not be less than four months period. Accordingly item 3 (iv), (v) & ( xiv) of Schedule-II under heading "General Rules", item No. (i) under Column 4 of Schedule-IV and item Nos. 11 & 12 under Annexure’ C’ of Railway Servants (Pass) Rules, 1986 (Second Edition, 1993) should be revised as per Advance Correction Slip No.73.

   3 . This issues with the concurrence of the Finance Directorate of the Ministry of Railways.

sd/-
( Debasis Mazumdar )
Joint Director Estt. (Welfare)
Railway Board

Source:http://airfindia.com/Orders%202012/Extension%20of%20validity%20of%20Privilege%20Pass%20RBE%2041_26.03.2012.pdf

Regarding Detailed head for consolidated pay or remuneration paid to a contracted person.

Government of West Bengal
Finance Department
Budget Branch

No. 1 – F.B.

 


Kolkata,
The 3rd January, 2011

MEMORANDUM

Sub:- Regarding Detailed head for consolidated pay or remuneration paid to a contracted person.

   It is observed that for making payment of consolidated pay or remuneration to the contracted persons, some departments are treating such payment differently. In some cases it is incurred under detailed / sub-detailed heads “01-01” whereas in some cases it is incurred under detailed head ‘02’ and in the rest cases it is incurred under detailed / sub-detailed head ’31-01’. Such bookings may lead to improper accounting as well as confusion.

   In view of the above circumstances, the undersigned is directed by order of the Governor to say that for general contractual payment, the charge will be debitable to the detailed head “02-Wages”, whereas for payment towards professional and Special Services, the charge will be debitable under '28-Payment of Professional and Special Services-02-Other Charges’ subordinate to concerned major / sub-major / minor / sub-head to avoid further irregularities, with immediate effect.

Sd/-
A. Ahmed
Deputy Secretary.

Source:http://www.wbfin.nic.in/writereaddata/Contractual%20pay.pdf

ECHS Facilities to Ex-Servicemen.


   The Government has sanctioned 426 Polyclinics for Ex- Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS). 227 Polyclinics were sanctioned in the year 2002, all of which are functional. Due to increasing ESM population an additional 199 Polyclinics including 17 Mobile Clinics were sanctioned in October 2010, out of which 43 Polyclinics are operational, thus at present 270 Polyclinics are functioning. In addition the Government has sanctioned 15 new Regional Centers to strengthen the ECHS Services, out of which 6 Regional Centers are already functional. As on 1st March, 2012, there are 39,46,898 beneficiaries which include 12,34,069 ex-servicemen and 27,12,829 dependents.

   The ECHS beneficiaries can avail treatment at state Government hospitals/Clinics. The cost of treatment at Government hospitals is reimbursed at the approved rates and 80% advance of the estimated cost of the treatment at Government hospitals/Clinics is admissible to the ECHS beneficiaries.

   At present 1383 Private hospitals/Dental Clinics/Diagnostics Centers and Eye clinics throughout the country are empanelled with ECHS, where the ECHS beneficiaries can avail cashless treatment. In emergency cases, reimbursement is made at approved rates, even for treatment in non-empanelled hospitals.

   This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr MM Pallam Raju in written reply to Shri Virender Kashyap and Shri Kuldeep Bishnoi in Lok Sabha today.

PIB

Revision of Interest rates for small savings schemes.

No. 6-1/2011-NS.II (Pt.)
Ministry of Finance
Department of Economic Affairs
(Budget Division)

New Delhi, the 26th March, 2012.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Sub:- Revision of Interest rates for small savings schemes.

   The undersigned is directed to refer to Ministry of Finance’s O.M. of even number  dated 11th  November, 2011, vide which the various decisions taken by the Government on the recommendations of the Shyamala Gopinath Committee for Comprehensive Review of National Small Savings Fund (NSSF), were communicated to all concerned.

   2. One of the decisions of the Government based on the recommendations of the Committee relates to revision of interest rates every financial year, to be notified before 1st  April of that year. Accordingly, the rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the financial year 2012-13 effective from 1.4.2012, on the basis of the interest compounding/payment built-in in the schemes, shall be as under:


Scheme

Rate of interest w.e.f.1.12.2011

Rate of interest w.e.f.1.4.2012

Saving deposit

4.0

4.0

1 year time deposit

7.7

8.2

2 year time deposit

7.8

8.3

3 year time deposit

8.0

8.4

5 year time deposit

8.3

8.5

5year recurring deposit

8.0

8.4

5year SCSS

9.0

9.3

5year MIS

8.2

8.5

5year NSC

8.4

8.6

10 year NSC

8.7

8.9

PPF

8.6

8.8

3. Necessary notifications, including those requiring amendments to rules of small savings schemes will be notified separately.

4. This has the approval of Finance Minister.

sd/-
(Shaktikanta Das)
Addi. Secretary to the Govt. of India

Source:http://finmin.nic.in/the_ministry/dept_eco_affairs/budget/InterestRate_SmallSaving_26032012.pdf

Railway Service (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008 – Date of next Increment in the revised pay structure under Rule 10 of the RS(RP) Rules, 2008.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA/BHARAT SARKAR
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS/RAIL MANTRALAYA
(RAILWAY BOARD)

S.No. PC-VI/2801
No.PC-VI/2012/I/RSRP/1

RBF No.40/2012
New Delhi, dated 23.03.2012

The GMs/CAOs(R),
All Indian Railway & Production Units
(As per mailing list)

Sub:- Railway Service (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008 – Date of next Increment in the revised pay structure under Rule 10 of the RS(RP) Rules, 2008.

   In accordance with the provisions contained in Rule 10 of the RS(RP) Rules, 2008, there will be a uniform date of annual increment, viz, 1st July of every year. Employees completing 6 months and above in the revised pay structure as on 1st of July will be eligible to be granted the increment. The first increment after fixation of pay on 1.1.2006 in the revised pay structure will be granted on 1.7.2006 for those employees for whom the date of next increment was between 1st July, 2006 to 1st January, 2007.


   2. The Staff Side has represented on this issue and has requested that those employees who were due to get their annual increment between February to June during 2006 may be granted one increment on 01.01.2006 in the pre-revised scale.

   3. On further consideration and in exercise of the powers available under RS(RP) Rules, 2008, the President is pleased to decide that in relaxation of stipulation under Rule 10 of these Rules, those Railway employees who were due to get their annual increment between February to June during 2006 may be granted one increment on 1.1.2006 in the pre-revised pay structure on 1.7.2006 as per Rule 10 of RS(RP) Rules, 2008. The pay of the eligible employees may be re-fixed accordingly.

   4. This issues with the concurrence of Finance Directorate of the Ministry of Railways.

   5. Hindi version will follow.

sd/-
(Hari Kishan)
Director Pay Commission-II
Railway Board

Source:www.nfirindia.com

All you wanted to know about Mutual fund ELSS

   There are so many tax saving investment options; how Mutual fund ELSS Schemes stand out from all other options?

   A Mutual Fund ELSS is similar to diversified equity funds. That means the fund manager can invest in shares of various companies across various industries. The difference is ELSS has got the added tax benefit, something a diversified equity fund does not offer.

   ELSS is part of the Section 80C instruments which are cumulatively eligible for a deduction from income up to Rs.1 Lakh. This gives the tax payers benefits from 10 per cent to 30 per cent (excluding the educational cess) based on their current tax slab.

   The other tax saving investments like NSC, PPF will give only 8% return p.a whereas the Mutual Fund ELSS has got the potential to deliver more than 12% return p.a. Also the lock-in period in Mutual Fund ELSS is 3 years and with NSC it is 6 yrs lock-in and with PPF it is 15 years. Among the various tax saving investment option, Mutual fund ELSS has got the least lock-in period.

   Ulips are also one of the tax saving investment options. But now everyone has realized that Ulips has got heavy front loaded charges. Moreover smart investors want to separate their insurance from their investments. They no longer see insurance as an investment; they see insurance as a protection plan. So the smart investors go only for pure term insurance and reject ulips.


This is how Mutual Fund ELSS stands out of the crowd.

   Before deciding to go for Mutual fund ELSS, here are some points to ponder over. First check your overall portfolio. Does it need more equity exposure? If yes then you can go for ELSS; if no then you can go for PPF or NSC.

   Second thing is to keep in mind, the equity investments are for long term, say 5 years or more. Though the lock-in period in ELSS is 3 years it is better to invest with a time horizon of 5 yrs or more.

   Also investors need to keep in mind, SIP is the best form of investing in mutual funds and ELSS is not an exception. So doing an SIP in ELSS is a good strategy to be followed.

   The poor performing ELSS has given around 10% annualized return in the last 5 years whereas the best performing ELSS has delivered around 25% annualized return in the last 5 years. So investors need to be careful in choosing the right ELSS scheme. Past performance, risk adjusted return, consistency are a few parameters to be evaluated in selecting a best performing ELSS scheme. Investors also can approach financial advisors for selecting the right scheme.

   There are two groups of ELSS investors. Majority of investors belong to the first group. They will wake up late to these tax saving investments. For salaried individuals, it is typical that they will be informed by their accounts department somewhere around end of January to provide proof of tax saving investment immediately or else extra tax will be deducted from their February salary. At the neck of the moment, the choice ends up being guided by convenience alone. They tend to think about tax first and investments later. As long as something saves tax, its real benefits and features as an investment are paid less attention to. That means the investments will be chosen more for convenience than for suitability.

   There is another group of investors. Though this group is a very small group, it is a very smart group. They will not rush for tax saving scheme at the last minute. They will plan in advance. That means they will have more time to choose the right product. They will save tax as well as choose a good investment option. They will also check whether this particular tax saving scheme will suit their overall portfolio or not; will this tax saving investment is going to fit into their comprehensive financial plan. That means they will consciously choose an investment which saves tax as well as helps them in achieving their financial goals like children’s higher education, buying a house, retirement plans.

   So…now just check up which group you are in.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.

A step by step guide to first financial plan.

   Prabu was a college student till yesterday. Today he has got a job. He has changed his costume from T-shirt and jeans to a formal wear with a tie. When he got his first pay cheque, his father advised him to save, his girl friend asked him to take her out on a date, and his friends wanted a party. Prabu was totally confused what to do with his first salary. What are all his actual priorities? Let us help him by laying out a step by step initial financial plan for him.

Get a PAN Card:

   PAN Card is an ID card issued by income tax department. This card is useful in filing your Income Tax returns. Apart from this, the PAN card is very much useful in opening a bank a\c, demat a\c, investing in mutual funds and the like. The required documents for getting a PAN card is a passport size photo, address proof and an identification proof. You need to apply with either UTI or NSDL. They are the two approved agencies by income tax department for issuing PAN card.

Personal Accident and Disability Insurance:

   Almost every day you can find a news column about road accident. It may be your colleague, your distant relative, your neighbor, your friend, your classmate. The stories of such incidents give us a reminder that the accidents can happen to anyone. The impact of these accidents on ones working life could be huge. Some accidents could reduce our employability temporarily or permanently. Personal accident and disability insurance policies will cover the financial losses arising out of accident and disability.

   You need to decide the coverage amount of this policy based on the estimated loss you may suffer because of accident. That is how much loss you may incur from employment temporarily or permanently because of the accident. This will cost you approximately Rs.1500 p.a for a coverage of Rs.10 lakhs.

Health Insurance:

   Most people don’t think about health insurance very often. But it comes to mind first when a loved one is sick. Under health insurance, the insurance company pays the medical bills if the insured person becomes sick and hospitalized. Health insurance can protect a family from financial damage in case of severe and serious illness.

   If you have a health insurance from your employer, that may not be sufficient. Employer may cover the employee and not his family members. And moreover these policies are not portable and cannot be individualized if you leave the job. Employer provided policies cannot be transferred to another employer in case you switch your job. Also employer provided policies will give you coverage as long as you are employed. Once you retire you may not be having coverage. It is really unfortunate that only after your retirement you need health insurance at the most. If you plan to take a fresh policy after retirement, insurance company will not cover the pre-existing diseases at that point in time. Though your employer provides a health insurance policy it is better for you to take a separate health insurance policy at least with a small amount of coverage.

   The coverage amount of the health insurance policy need to be decided based on your health consciousness, your family health history, and the class of hospital you choose for treatments.

Term Insurance:

   Generally as a beginner, there will not be any requirement for any life insurance. But if your parents are financially depending on you, then you need to cover yourself with life insurance. As a breadwinner, today you are there for your family to provide a lifestyle. In case of any mishappening to you, your family members should not compromise on their lifestyle. That is why it is advisable to cover yourself with life insurance if you have dependents.

   But don’t fall prey for ulips. Go for a pure term insurance policy. These policies give you a high coverage with low premium. The premium for a sum assured of Rs.10 lakhs will cost a 25 year old only Rs.2500 p.a. approximately.

Emergency Reserve:

   Once you have completed the above obligations, you need to build an emergency reserve or contingency fund. One aspect of financial planning involves planning for situations where there could be a temporary break in one’s professional income. This could happen, amongst other reasons, due to ill health or could even be self opted. Such planning requires creation of contingency fund. The size of a contingency fund is linked to one’s estimate of what could be the maximum duration of such a break. For instance some people plan for the possibility of a 3 months break, others for 6 months.

   This emergency fund gives a psychological security to you. In case you need to quit you r present job and need to search a new one, you can do that comfortably and confidently as you have an emergency fund for the intermediate period. You need not panic. If you have created a contingency fund, in the event of any emergency you need not pre-close your other investments and hence you avoid paying penalty or booking losses.

Tax Planning:

   You can save under section 80 C up to Rs.120000. Out of this Rs.20000 need to be invested in the infrastructure bonds and the balance Rs.100000 can be invested in NSC, PPF, insurance premium, and ELSS mutual funds., You can give maximum allocation to ELSS mutual funds, as you are so young and in the beginning of your career.

Other goals:

   You may have other goals like buying a laptop, higher studies, and vacation. You need to plan for all these goals. You need to keep in mind two things before deciding an investment. They are your risk tolerance and time horizon. How much risk you are afford to take and psychologically comfortable in taking? When do you need this money back? Based on the answers to these questions you need to choose the right kind of investment plan.

   Plan out your work and work out your plan. Normally we don’t plan to fail, but we fail to plan.If you work on your financial plan, when your friends are partying and taking their girlfriends out, you will be definitely going to be retired richer than your friends.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance)and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder Director of Holistic Investment Planners (http://www.holisticinvestment.in/mutualfund-sip ) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.

Stenographer Grade ‘C’ Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, 2010 - allocation of candidates — regarding.

MOST IMMEDIATE

No.5/7/2012-CS.II(C)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training

3rd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhavan,
Khan Market, New Delhi-100003.
Date: 23rd March, 2012.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject:- Stenographer Grade ‘C’ Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, 2010 - allocation of candidates — regarding.

   The undersigned is directed to say that the final result of the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination 2010 in the grade of Private Assistant of CSSS has been declared by Staff Selection Commission and is available on the website of SSC. As per Rotational Transfer Policy for CSSS Personnel, an official at any level, on promotion, shall be posted out of the Ministry/Department if he/she has served in the same Ministry/Department in any capacity for a period exceeding the prescribed tenure for promotion laid down in this Department’s O.M. No.13/1/2009-CS-II dated 15.7.2011.

    2. All the Cadre Units are, therefore, requested to obtain personal information from the candidates who have qualified the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination 2010 in the grade of Private Assistant of CSSS in the enclosed proforma and forward the same to this Department positively by 30.3.2012 directly to CS-II Division by FAX (No.24622365) to enable this Department to make nomination of successful candidates to various Cadre Units. In case the requisite information is not received by the stipulated date, it would be presumed that the candidate concerned has no option to furnish and this Department will make nomination as per availability of vacancy.

sd/-
(Kameshwar Mishra)
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India

Source:http://circulars.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02csd/LDCE_2010.pdf

10 Things To Do Before You Retire

   Don’t put off today what you can’t afford to do tomorrow. In spite of the world wide pension crisis and a growing acceptance that we must plan and save for our retirement, the harsh reality is we are actually not saving enough. Research reports reveal that only 15% of the individuals are saving sufficiently for their retired life. Here are a few tips on things to do before you retire so that your retired life is more comfortable and enjoyable.

Get Rid of All Your Debts

   If you are taking a housing loan, personal loan, car loan or any other loan make sure that you will be repaying them on or before your retirement. You need to choose the term of the loan in accordance with your retirement age. You can enjoy your retired life when you have 100% financial freedom, not when you have to repay your loans.

Protect Your Emergency fund

   Emergency expenses can happen any time. But the possibility goes up during the old age. So we need to enhance the emergency reserve year on year based on the inflation and change in your expense levels. Emergency fund will give you a sense of security and also you need not touch your other investments during emergency where you need to pay pre-closure penalty. Also don’t forget to refill the emergency fund once you met an expense out of emergency fund.

Establish a Retirement Budget

   You need to visualize your retired life well in advance and need to create a budget for your retirement. That is you will not be going to office. So the expenses on transport and clothes may come down. Also you will have more time to spend. You may need to spend more on leisure travel and health care.

Examine Your Cash Flow

   Take a close look at your cash inflow as well as outflow. Is there going to be any income after retirement? Like rent, royalty…. Would there be any unwanted outflow during retired life? Like paying life insurance, or SIP. At times during your beginning of the career , you could have taken a policy where you need to pay premium up to the age of 60. But now you may plan to retire at 55 itself. So you need to realign your existing policy and other investments in sync with your retirement age.

Grow Your Retirement Corpus

   Find out how much corpus you need to have when you retire so that you will be having complete financial freedom. A professional financial planner will of great assistance to you in this regard.

Develop a withdrawal strategy

   How are you planning to withdraw your cash outflow during retirement from the retirement corpus? Monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annually? Through Sytematic Withdrawal plan in mutual funds or by way of dividend or interest. All these will have a great impact on the corpus you need to accumulate. So you need to decide in advance.

Minimize taxes

   Your retirement corpus and retirement income need to be tax efficient. You need to pay taxes for the interest accrued irrespective of that you withdraw the interest or reinvest under a cumulative option. But you need to pay income tax only when you withdraw from the mutual funds. Careful selection of investment vehicle can reduce your tax during the retired life.

Get Sufficient Mediclaim coverage

  The moment you retire, your employer will stop covering you under the group mediclaim. So you need to plan for your individual medical cover well in advance. At old age the medical expenses are inevitable. If you have not planned it properly the all your retirement plan will become a mess.

Consider Inflation adjusted annuities

   The monthly income you need when you retire is not going to be the same even after 5 years of your retirement. Inflation will increase your retirement expenses year after year. So year after year your retirement income needs to go up.

Oversee estate planning

   How your fixed assets and financial assets need to be distributed to your legal heirs? Create a WILL. You can avoid creating relationship problems to your next generation because of your left out wealth.

   The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.

Government employees to get 7 percent additional dearness allowance.

   Over four-million central government employees will go home with an increased pay packet from now, with the union cabinet Friday hiking the dearness allowance to 65 percent of the basic salary from the existing 58 percent with retrospective effect from  1st January this year.

   The hike, about 7 percent from the present rates, will also be applicable to central government pensioners.

   The increase in the allowances will cost the government exchequer Rs.7,474.53 crore annually, according to the decision taken at the cabinet meeting presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.

Release of additional instalment of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief.


   The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to release an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners w.e.f. 1.1.2012 representing an increase of 7% over the existing rate of 58% of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate for price rise. The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 6th Central Pay Commission. The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both dearness allowance and dearness relief would be of the order of Rs.7474.53 crore per annum and Rs.8720.32 crore in the financial year 2012-13 (i.e. for a period of 14 months from January, 2012 to February, 2013).

Source: PIB

Government Formulating Policy for Raising Retirement age in Sick & Loss Making CPSEs.


   On the basis of recommendations of Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE), the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) is formulating a policy for enhancement of age of superannuation from 58 to 60 years for employees of such sick and loss making Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) whose revival packages have been approved by the Government and which will continue to be in Public Sector after implementation of revival package. The above policy would be notified after inter-ministerial consultations and approval of competent authority.

   The above information was given by the Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Shri Praful Patel in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

PIB

E-Tickets through Mobile Phone.


   Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, has launched the scheme for booking Railway e-tickets through mobile phone through its website i.e. irctc.co.in/mobile. The broad features of the schemes are as follow:-

    Users can use their existing IRCTC user ID and password.

    After booking tickets through the mobile phones, users receive a reservation message with the ticket details.

    The service charges of IRCTC are similar to e-tickets i.e. Rs. 10/- per ticket for second/sleeper class and Rs. 20/- per ticket for all other classes.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri K. H. Muniyappa in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Source:PIB

Submission of Immovable Property Return for the year 2011 (as on 1.1.2012) by the Central Secretariat Service Officers.

IPR MATTER
REMINDER

No.26/02/2011-CS.I(PR)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions,
Department of Personnel & Training
CS,I Division

2nd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan,
Khan Market, New Delhi,
Dated: 21st March, 2012.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject:- Submission of Immovable Property Return for the year 2011 (as on 1.1.2012) by the Central Secretariat Service Officers.

   Attention is invited to this Department O.M. of even number dated 4.1. 2012 on the subject mentioned above and to say that the Immovable Property Return (IPR) for the year 2011, as on 1.1.2012, in respect of CSS Officers (Under Secretary and above level) was required to be furnished by 31.1.2012 and to be forwarded to this Division by 28.2.2012 for records. However, the IPRs in respect of a large number of officers have not yet been received in this Division as yet. The list of officers whose IPR for the year 2011 have not been received in this Division is annexed with this OM.

   2. Attention is also invited to this Department O.M. No.11012/11/2007- Estt.A dated 27th September, 2011 notifying that Class ‘A” officers, who do not submit the property return by the prescribed time would be denied vigilance clearance and will not be considered for promotion and empanelment for senior level posts in Government of India.

   3. Administrative Ministries/Departments are, therefore, requested to obtain the IPRs for the year 2011 in respect of the defaulting officers and send the same to this Division without any further delay. It is also requested that appropriate action be taken in case of officers who failed to submit the IPRs on stipulated time besides ensuring that appropriate entry regarding late submission/non submission of IPRs is made in the relevant Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) of the concerned officer in terms of this Division O.M. No.10/01/2011-CS.l(PR) dated 19th January, 2012.

sd/-
(Rajiv Manjhi)
Deputy Secretary to the Govt. of India

More Details Click here....

Additional DA from 1.1.2012, Cabinet likely to approve today.

   We expected the same that didn’t happen last week, but Today Cabinet may approve 7% additional Dearness allowance from 1.1.2012 for Central Government staff and pensioners.

   Normally, the decision on announcing DA to the central government employees was to take place on the 2nd week of March and September every year. But this procedure was being postponed for various reasons. Last year, the announcement of DA from July 2011 was also postponed. The decision on the additional DA from March 2012 is expected to be finalized on 22.03.2012 at the Cabinet meeting scheduled on that day. 

   As of now, an increase of 7% is expected which will raise the DA from 58% to 65%. As usual, the DA for March will be paid in April and the arrears for the other two months will be paid separately.

Grant of Privilege Passes to the staff in the grade pay Rs.1800/-.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(RAILWAY BOARD)   

E(W)2010/PS-5-8/4

 
New Delhi, the dated 2nd March, 2012.

The General Secretary,
National Federation of Indian Railwaymen,
3, Chelmsford Road,
New Delhi — 110055.

Sir,
Sub.: Grant of Privilege Passes to the staff in the grade pay Rs.1800/-.

Ref.: NFIR’s letter No.1/15 dated 6.2.2010.

   The matter has been examined in consultation with Finance Directorate. It has been observed that since all the posts carrying GP 1800 in PB-1 have been classified as Group ‘C’, the employees retiring from these Group ‘C’ posts in PB-1 GP Rs. 1800 would automatically be entitled for Post Retirement Complimentary Passes /widow passes as per Group ‘C’ entitlement.

   Hence, there appears to be no need for issue of any general clarification

Yours Faithfully,

sd/-
For Secretary, Railway Board.

Source:www.nfirindia.com

Mobile Polyclinics for Ex-Servicemen.


   Providing Medicare to Ex-servicemen and their dependents is an ongoing process and the endeavor of the government is to continuously upgrade the quality of medicare services being provided. The Government has approved opening of additional 199 polyclinics including 17 mobile polyclinics besides the existing 227 polyclinics to improve accessibility of Ex-servicemen to medical facilities. Out of 199 polyclinics, 43 polyclinics have already been operationalised.

   Opening of new polyclinics is based on the ESM population in a particular area. Mobile polyclinics are proposed for remote/hilly areas where the ESM population is less and scattered. Presently 342 districts have been covered with 426 ECHS polyclinics (270 operational & 156 proposed) including 17 mobile polyclinics. The newly sanctioned polyclinics will be operationalised across the country including Himachal Pradesh in a phased manner over a period of time.

   This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju in a written reply to Shrimati Viplove Thakur in Rajya Sabha today.

Source: PIB

Job Opportunies in Social Sector.


   The Union Labour & Employment Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge has informed the Rajya Sabha that Reliable estimates of employment and unemployment are obtained through quinquennial labour force surveys conducted by National Sample Survey Office. Last such survey was conducted during 2009-10 .As per two most recent round of surveys, about 23.4 per cent and 25.3 percent of persons were estimates to employed in services sector. Against these estimates persons employed in social sector comprising education, health and social work and other community , social and personal service activity combined together were 6.0 per cent and 5.3 percent ,respectively during the corresponding period.

   As per data collected under Employment Market Information programme of Directorate General Of Employment & Training, employment in the organized sector, both public and private, increased from 26.4 million in 2004-05 to 28.7 million in 2009-10.

   The Minister was replying to a written question whether it is a fact that organisations working in the social sector in the country are continuously increasing the job opportunities; if so, Government’s reaction thereto; whether it is also a fact that job opportunities are not being increased in the corporate sector in comparison to these organisations; and the details thereof and the rate of increase of job opportunities in social and corporate sector in the year 2011?

Source: PIB

All you wanted to know about Mutual fund ELSS

   There are so many tax saving investment options; how Mutual fund ELSS Schemes stand out from all other options?

   A Mutual Fund ELSS is similar to diversified equity funds. That means the fund manager can invest in shares of various companies across various industries. The difference is ELSS has got the added tax benefit, something a diversified equity fund does not offer.

   ELSS is part of the Section 80C instruments which are cumulatively eligible for a deduction from income up to Rs.1 Lakh. This gives the tax payers benefits from 10 per cent to 30 per cent (excluding the educational cess) based on their current tax slab.

   The other tax saving investments like NSC, PPF will give only 8% return p.a whereas the Mutual Fund ELSS has got the potential to deliver more than 12% return p.a. Also the lock-in period in Mutual Fund ELSS is 3 years and with NSC it is 6 yrs lock-in and with PPF it is 15 years. Among the various tax saving investment option, Mutual fund ELSS has got the least lock-in period.

   Ulips are also one of the tax saving investment options. But now everyone has realized that Ulips has got heavy front loaded charges. Moreover smart investors want to separate their insurance from their investments. They no longer see insurance as an investment; they see insurance as a protection plan. So the smart investors go only for pure term insurance and reject ulips.

  This is how Mutual Fund ELSS stands out of the crowd.

   Before deciding to go for Mutual fund ELSS, here are some points to ponder over. First check your overall portfolio. Does it need more equity exposure? If yes then you can go for ELSS; if no then you can go for PPF or NSC.

   Second thing is to keep in mind, the equity investments are for long term, say 5 years or more. Though the lock-in period in ELSS is 3 years it is better to invest with a time horizon of 5 yrs or more.

   Also investors need to keep in mind, SIP is the best form of investing in mutual funds and ELSS is not an exception. So doing an SIP in ELSS is a good strategy to be followed.

   The poor performing ELSS has given around 10% annualized return in the last 5 years whereas the best performing ELSS has delivered around 25% annualized return in the last 5 years. So investors need to be careful in choosing the right ELSS scheme. Past performance, risk adjusted return, consistency are a few parameters to be evaluated in selecting a best performing ELSS scheme. Investors also can approach financial advisors for selecting the right scheme.

   There are two groups of ELSS investors. Majority of investors belong to the first group. They will wake up late to these tax saving investments. For salaried individuals, it is typical that they will be informed by their accounts department somewhere around end of January to provide proof of tax saving investment immediately or else extra tax will be deducted from their February salary. At the neck of the moment, the choice ends up being guided by convenience alone. They tend to think about tax first and investments later. As long as something saves tax, its real benefits and features as an investment are paid less attention to. That means the investments will be chosen more for convenience than for suitability.

   There is another group of investors. Though this group is a very small group, it is a very smart group. They will not rush for tax saving scheme at the last minute. They will plan in advance. That means they will have more time to choose the right product. They will save tax as well as choose a good investment option. They will also check whether this particular tax saving scheme will suit their overall portfolio or not; will this tax saving investment is going to fit into their comprehensive financial plan. That means they will consciously choose an investment which saves tax as well as helps them in achieving their financial goals like children’s higher education, buying a house, retirement plans.

   So…now just check up which group you are in.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.

Eight simple way to plan your Tax

   Eight Simple Ways to Plan your Taxes. You have got only a few more months to complete this financial year. Very soon you will get a call from your company to submit the proofs for tax saving investments. So why don’t you spend some time on organising your tax plan?

   1) Proper Allocation of Annual compensation

   Restructuring your salary with some additional components can reduce your tax liability. This restructuring doesn’t require any additional cash outflow. The following components can be efficiently used to reduce your income tax liability.

    Transport allowance to the extend of Rs.800 is exempt

    Medical expenses which are reimbursed by the employer are exempt to the tune of Rs.15000

    Food coupons like sodexo or ticket restaurant are exempt from tax up to Rs.5000

    Individuals who are all living in a rented accommodation can include House Rent Allowance ( HRA ) as a part of their salary

    Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) can be part of your salary as this can be claimed twice in a block of 4 years.

2) Effective Utilization of Tax Exemption

   As far as possible utilize the maximum exemptions available under section 80 C, 80 CCF and 80 D. The maximum exemption available under section 80 C is Rs. 100000.

   Under this section Rs.100000 investment or contribution can be made in PPF, NSC, Life insurance premium, 5 year FD with banks and Post offices, Mutual Fund ELSS, Principal Repayment of housing loan, and the tuition fees paid for children’s education.

   Under Section 80 CCF, you can invest up to Rs.20000 in infrastructure bonds.

   Under Sec 80 D, the premium paid towards the mediclaim policies are exempt. The maximum limit of exemption is Rs.15000 and for senior citizens the limit is Rs.20000 and for covering senior citizen parents there is an additional exemption to the extend of Rs.15000.

3) Properly Structure your Housing Loan

   The Principal repayment of a housing loan is eligible for a deduction up to Rs.100000 u/s 80C. The interest paid on a housing loan is eligible for a deduction up to Rs.150000 u/s 24B. If the housing loan is for a sizeable amount, then it is possible that the principal repayment and interest may exceed the specified tax exemption limit. To utilise the maximum tax benefit, an individual can consider going for a joint home loan with his/her spouse or parent or sibling. This will make sure that both the co-owners can claim tax deductions in the proportion of their holding in the loan.

4) Tax Plan in Sync with Overall Financial Plan

   You should not do your tax plan in isolation. You need to do it in sync with your overall financial plan. So a tax plan is not only to just save taxes and also it should assist you in achieving your other financial goals like children’s higher education, buying a home or retirement.

5) Avoid Last Minute Rush

   In fact the right time to do the tax plan is the beginning of the financial year. If you postpone your tax planning even now and do it in the last minute, then you will not be able to choose the right investment. In the last minute rush, you will be forced to choose a scheme which gives the proof immediately. Is the investment sound and profitable? Is there any other better options? You will not be able to choose the best scheme and you may settle with a mediocre one.

6) Invest Some Quality Time

  Before investing your money, you need to invest your time. You need to take some quality time to understand the various tax saving options and compare their benefits and limitations.

7) Check for Future Commitments

   Some tax saving options like NSC or ELSS need only onetime investment. Some other tax saving options like PPF, Ulips need periodical investments year after year. You need to be careful in choosing a tax saving scheme where you need to commit for periodical future payments. You need to check on a few things like; do you need such a future commitment? Will you be able to meet the future commitments at ease? The law may change and you may not get any tax exemption for your future payments. Would you consider the scheme irrespective of tax benefit for the future payments?

8) Changed Your Job; Redo your Tax Plan

   Did you switch your job in the middle of the financial year? Then you need to redo your tax plan with consolidating the income from both the companies. It is advisable to inform the new company about the income during the particular financial year from the old company. So that your new company will deduct the right amount of TDS. Otherwise you may need to pay extra tax at the end of the financial year.

   Whenever you change your job, you need to have a sitting with your financial planner or tax advisor. So that the required changes in your tax plan can be done proactively.

   With proper tax planning you can reduce your tax liability; save more; invest better and become wealthier.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (http://www.holisticinvestment.in/mutualfund-sip ) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.

Recognition of Sumananjali Nursing Home, Aurangabad (Maharashtra) for treatment of Central Government employees under CS(MA) Rules,1944.

No. S. 14021/4/2008-MS
Government of India
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi
Dated 7th March, 2012.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject:- Recognition of Sumananjali Nursing Home, Aurangabad (Maharashtra) for treatment of Central Government employees under CS(MA) Rules,1944.

   The undersigned is directed to say that a number of representations have been received in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for renewal of recognition of Sumananjali Nursing Home, Aurangabad (Maharashtra) for treatment of Central Government Employees and their family members under CS(MA) Rules, 1944.

   2. In view of the hardships faced by CS(MA) beneficiaries for their own treatment and the treatment of their family members at Aurangabad (Maharashtra), the matter has been examined in the Ministry and it has been decided to empanel Sumananjali Nursing Home, Aurangabad (Maharashtra) under Central Services (Medical Attendance) Rules, 1944.

   3. The Schedule of charges for the treatment of Central Government Employees and the member of their family under the CS(MA) Rules, 1944, will be the rates fixed for CGHS, Pune. The approved rates are available on the website of CGHS (www.mohfw.nic.in//cghs.html) and may be downloaded/printed.

4. The undersigned is further directed to clarify as under:-

   (a) “Package Rate” shall mean and include lump sum cost of in-patient treatment//day care/diagnostic procedure for which a CS(MA) beneficiary has been permitted by the competent authority or for treatment under emergency from the time of admission to the time of discharge, including (but not limited to)-(i) Registration charges, (ii) Admission charges, (iii) Accommodation charges including patient’s diet, (iv) Operation charges, (v) Injection charges, (vi) Dressing charges, (vii) Doctor/consultant visit charges, (viii) ICU/ICCU charges, (ix) Monitoring charges, (x) Transfusion charges, (xi) Anesthesia charges, (xii) Operation theatre charges, (xiii) Procedural charges / Surgeon’s fee, (xiv) Cost of surgical disposables and all sundries used during hospitalization, (xv) Cost of medicines, (xvi) Related routine and essential investigations, (xvii) Physiotherapy charges etc, (xviii) Nursing care and charges for its services.

   (b) Cost of Implants is reimbursable in addition to package rates as per CGHS ceiling rates for implants or as per actual, in case there is no CGHS prescribed ceiling rates.

   (c) Treatment charges for new born baby are separately reimbursable in addition to delivery charges for mother.

   (d) Hospitals empanelled under CS(MA) Rules, 1944 shall not charge more than the package rates.

   (e) Expenses on toiletries, cosmetics, telephone bills etc. are not reimbursable and are not included in package rates.

5. Package rates envisage duration of indoor treatment as follows:

Upto 12 days for Specialized (Super Specialities) treatment
Upto 7 days for other Major Surgeries
Upto 3 days for Laparoscopic surgeries/normal Deliveries
1 day for day care/Minor (OPD) surgeries

    No additional charge on account of extended period of stay shall be allowed if that extension is due to infection on the consequences of surgical procedure or due to any improper procedure and is not justified.

   In case, there are no CGHS prescribed rates for any test/procedure, then AIIMS rates are applicable. If there are no AIIMS rates, then reimbursement is to be arrived at by calculating admissible amount item-wise(e.g. room rent, investigations, cost of medicines, procedure charges etc) as per approved rates/actual, in case of investigations.

   6. (a) CS(MA) beneficiaries are entitled to facilities of private, semi-private or general ward depending on their basic pay. The entitlement is as follows:-

Sl.No. Pay drawn in pay band Ward Entitlement
1. Upto Rs. 13,950/- General Ward
2. Rs. 13,960/-to 19,530/- Semi-Private Ward
3. Rs.19,540/- and above Private Ward

   (b) The package rates given in rate list are for semi-private ward.

   (c) The package rates prescribed are for semi-private ward. If the beneficiary is entitled for general ward there will be a decrease of 10% in the rates; for private ward entitlement there will be an increase of 15%. However, the rates shall be same for investigation irrespective of entitlement, whether the patient is admitted or not and the test, per-se, does not require admission.

   7. The hospital shall charge from the beneficiary as per the CGHS prescribed rates or its own rate list whichever is lower.

   8. (a) The maximum room rent admissible for different categories would be:

General ward Rs. 1000/-per day
Semi-private ward Rs. 2000/- per day
Private ward Rs. 3000/- per day
Day care (6 to 8 Hrs.) Rs. 500/- (same for all categories)

   (b) Room rent mentioned above at (a) above is applicable only for treatment procedures for which there is no CGHS prescribed package rate.

   Room rent will include charges for occupation of bed, diet for the patient, charges for water and electricity, linen charges, nursing charges and routine up keeping.

   (c) During the treatment in ICCU/ICU, no separate room rent will be admissible.

   (d) Private ward is defined as a hospital room where single patient is accommodated and which has an attached toilet (lavatory and bath). The room should have furnishings like wardrobe, dressing table, bed-side table, sofa set, etc. as well as a bed for attendant. The room has to be air-conditioned.

   (e) Semi Private ward is defined as a hospital room where two to three patients are accommodated and which has attached toilet facilities and necessary furnishings.

   (f) General ward is defined as halls that accommodate four to ten patients.

   (g) Normally the treatment in higher category of accommodation than the entitled category is not permissible. However, in case of an emergency when the entitled category accommodation is not available, admission in the immediate higher category may be allowed till the entitled category accommodation becomes available. However, if a particular hospital does not have the ward as per entitlement of beneficiary, then the hospital can only bill as per entitlement of the beneficiary even though the treatment was given in higher type of ward.

   If, on the request of the beneficiary, treatment is provided in a higher category of ward, then the expenditure over and above entitlement will have to be borne by the beneficiary.

   9. In case of non-emergencies, the beneficiary shall have the option of availing specific treatment/investigation from any of the recognised hospitals of his/her choice (provided the hospital is recognised for that treatment procedure/test), after the specific treatment/investigation has been advised by Authorised Medical Attendant and on production of valid ID card and permission letter from his/her concerned Ministry/Department.

   10. The hospital shall honour permission letter issued by competent authority and provide treatment/investigation facilities as specified in the permission letter.

    11. The hospital shall also provide treatment/investigation facilities to the Pensioner CGHS beneficiaries and their dependent and eligible family members at their own rates or rates approved under CS(MA) Rules, whichever is lower. The hospital shall provide treatment to such pensioner CGHS beneficiaries after authentication through verification of valid CGHS Cards.

   12. However, pensioner CGHS beneficiaries would make payment for the medical treatment at approved rates as mentioned above and submit the medical reimbursement claim to the Addl. Director, CGHS through the CMO i/c of the CGHS Wellness Centre, where the CGHS Card of the beneficiary is registered.

   13. lncase of emergencies, the beneficiary shall have the option of availing specific treatment/investigation from any of the recognised hospital of his/her choice (provided the hospital is recognised for that treatment procedure/test), on production of valid ID card, issued by competent authority.

   14. During the in-patient treatment of the CS(MA) beneficiary, the Hospital will not ask the beneficiary or his attendant to purchase separately the medicines/sundries/equipment or accessories from outside and will provide the treatment within the package rate, fixed by the CGHS which includes the cost of all the items.

   15. If one or more minor procedures form part of a major treatment procedure, then package charges would be permissible for major procedure and only 50% of charges for minor procedure.

   16. Any legal liability arising out of such services shall be the sole responsibility and shall be dealt with by the concerned empanelled hospital. Services will be provided by the Hospital as per the terms given above.

   17. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare reserves the right to withdraw/cancel the above recognition without assigning any reason.

   18. The order takes effect from the date of issue of the O.M.

   19. The authorities of Sumananjali Nursing Home, Aurangabad (Maharashtra) will have to enter into an agreement with the Government of India to the effect that the Hospital will charge from the Central Government employees at the rates fixed by the Government and they will have to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (2 copies enclosed only for Hospital) within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of the above mentioned OM failing which the Hospital will be derecognized. Subject to above, the Hospital can start treating Central Government employees covered under CS(MA) Rules, 1944.

   20. This issues with the concurrence of the Finance Division vide their Dy.No.5424 dated 28.02.2012.

sd/-
(Sanjay Pant)
Under Secretary to the government of India

Source:http://mohfw.nic.in/showfile.php?lid=1015