Home Ministry introduces flexi-hours for its employees

Home Ministry introduces flexi-hours for its employees

The Home Ministry has allowed flexi-hours for it's employees with a maximum relaxation of two hours to attend social obligations or visit a doctor but they have to ensure a 40-hour work schedule in the week.

"In exceptional cases like consultation with doctors in Central Government Health Services, hospitals, attending social obligation, late arrival in the morning, early departure in afternoon up to two hours (maximum) will be allowed subject to the condition that prior intimation or approval of the immediate supervising officer has been obtained," Home Secretary G K Pillai said in an order.

The arrangement has been made after the ministry employees made two representations to Home Minister P Chidambaram on November 19 last year and March 3 this year.

Chidambaram had then assured the employees of working out a solution and subsequently asked Pillai to issue an order, sources said.

No regular pay scale for contractual posts: CAT

No regular pay scale for contractual posts: CAT

The subsequent merger of a contractual post into a regular establishment of a government department will not entitle an employee to claim a regular pay scale, the Central Administrative Tribunal has held.
The Tribunal was hearing a matter of an ex-armyman Jai Ram Solanki, appointed on contractual basis, who demanded the regular pay scale associated with Office Superintendent after the regular establishment of MCD took over the post in 2001.
"The appointment was purely on contractual basis for a particular project with certain stipulations which included payment of a fixed remuneration. Thus, claim for a regular pay scale would not be tenable. Again, even the subsequent merger of the post in the regular establishment of the MCD would not give him any such right," it said.
Source-PTI

Know about Form 15H & 15G

Everyone is aware that Form 15G and form 15H are used for avoiding the TDS deduction while computing the interest earned during the financial year. In this article discussions are made on important points to remember while submitting the Form 15G and Form 15H to the deductor.
Form 15H :- Declaration under sub-section (1C) of section 197A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, to be made by an individual who is of the age of sixty-five years or more claiming certain receipts without deduction of tax.
• Form 15H can be submitted only by Individual above the age of 65 years.
• Estimated tax for the previous assessment year should be nil. That means he did not pay any tax for the previous year because his income is not coming under the taxable limit.
• This form should be submitted to all the deductors to whom you advanced a loan. For example you have deposit in three SBI bank/Post Office branches Rs.100000 each. You must submit the Form 15H to each branch.
• Submit this form before the first payment of your interest. It is not mandatory but it will avoid the TDS deduction. In case of the delay, the bank/Post Office may deduct the TDS and issue TDS certificate at the end of year.
• You need to submit form 15H to bank/Post Offices if interest from one branch of a bank exceeds 10000/- in a year.
• You need to submit for 15H If interest on loan ,advance, debentures , bonds or say Interest income other than interest on bank/Post Office exceeds 5000/-.
Form 15G:- Declaration under sub-sections (1) and (1A) of section 197A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, to be made by an individual or a person (not being a company or a firm) claiming certain receipts without deduction of tax of tax.
• Form 15G can be submitted by Individual below the age of 65 years and Hindu Undivided family.
• The above points are applicable to the Form 15G as well, except the Form 15H is only for the senior citizen.
• Form 15G should be submitted before the first payment of interest on fixed deposit.
Difference between form 15G and 15H:-
1. Form 15G can be submitted by individual below the Age of 65 Years while form 15H can be submitted by senior citizens i.e. individual’s above the age of 65 years.
2. Form 15G can be submitted by Hindu undivided families but form 15H can be submitted only by Individual above the age of 65 years.
3. 15G CANNOT BE filed by any person whose income from interest on securities/interest other than “interest on securities”/units/amounts referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 80CCA exceeds maximum amount not chargeable to tax.
In nutshell we can say that anybody whose tax on estimated income is not NIL and having income from interest on securities/interest other than “interest on securities”/units/amounts referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 80CCA exceeds maximum amount not chargeable to tax cannot file DECLARATION u/s 15G . This is clear from the point 3 & 4 of the of From 15 G.
However, if you are eligible and also fulfil the condition, the payer cannot deduct the tax even if it is above 10,000.
Note:- Maximum amount not chargeable to tax for Hindu Undivided family (HUF) and Individual male (below the age of 65 years) for A.Y. 2010-11 is Rs. 160000/- and for Individual female (below the age of 65 years) for A.Y. 2010-11 is Rs. 190000/- .
Senior Citizens who are eligible to file Declaration in Form 15H has no such conditions. They can submit form 15H even if there total Income from interest on securities/interest other than “interest on securities”/units/amounts referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 80CCA exceeds maximum amount not chargeable to tax if tax payable by them is NIL. This is clear from point 4 of the form 15H, which reads as under:-
” 4. that the tax on my estimated total income, including *income/incomes referred to in the Schedule below computed in accordance with the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for the previous year ending on relevant to the assessment year _____________ will be nil”

INDIPEX 2011

INDIPEX 2011 is organized by India Post

Indipex 2011 is organised by India Post, Government of India in collaboration with the Philatelic Congress of India (PCI) under the patronage of the Federation Internationale de Philatelie (FIP) and the auspices of the Federation of Inter-Asian Philately (FIAP). The World Philatelic Exhibition ( hereinafter referred to as INDIPEX 2011) will be held in Halls No.8-11 of the Pragati Maidan Exhibition Complex, New Delhi, India from 12th to 18th February 2011.

Your Photos on Real US Postage!

Your Photos on Real US Postage!

What are some of the things people are doing with Photo Stamps?

For over a hundred years, the USPS was the only producer of U.S. postage. For many of those years, stamp subjects were mostly confined to dead presidents and national monuments. During this time you didn't want to be on a stamp, for that meant you would have been dead for more than ten years.
But that all changed with Photo Stamps and similar services such as those from Pitney Bowes and Zazzle.com. Now, most anyone can create their own custom postage stamps with personalized photos. For obvious reasons, there are a few restrictions. In fact, when the service was in its test phase, a Website was able to order photo stamps with notorious images. But for most people, they'll be able to commemorate their favourite person, pet, or event.
Some of the most popular personalized stamps are those of proud parents featuring their new babies. Weddings are another popular subject of these picture postage stamps. Pets are popular also, and not just cats and dogs, but birds and lizards too. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and little league sports teams are also popular subjects of this custom picture postage. And people aren't shy about putting their own mug on these photo postage stamps.
People are designing their own stamps as well, much like the Postal Service does. People are designing customized stamps with their own Christmas designs and Valentine's Day designs for example.
Business are putting their logos on this customized postage. Realtors, service businesses, and tech companies are some of the many business types that are taking advantage of this new marketing tool.
PhotoStamps.com themselves are offering customized postage designs, if you don't want to create your own. Their collection includes NFL teams, college teams, and picture stamps featuring images of Anne Geddes. Don't miss the Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary stamps either.
Best of all, the Photo Stamps can be used as official US postage, and they will sure to be noticed with a smile by family, friends and associates when they come in the mail.

Insurance Union Issues Petition Against Japan Govt's Postal Reform

Insurance Union Issues Petition

Against Japan Govt's Postal Reform

A federation of labour unions of Japanese life insurance companies called on the government Monday to make sure its review on the nation's postal privatization process does not allow the insurance business of state-owned Japan Post Holdings Co. to become too big.
The National Federation of Life Insurance Worker's Unions issued a petition against the postal reform bill the government has been working on as the state is planning to raise the 13 million yen upper limit on postal insurance payments through legal changes.
"It is sure to deal a heavy blow to the private sector," says the petition, which has 864,260 signatures, mainly from employees of life insurance companies.
With the petition, the federation plans to request a meeting with Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei, who is also in charge of the nation's postal reforms.
Japan's postal privatization, the symbol of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reforms, was put on hold after the Democratic Party of Japan-led government took power last September.
The current government has been working to include the increase in the upper limit on postal insurance payments into the postal reform bill.
Meanwhile, private insurance companies have been opposed to the ceiling increase, saying the move may cause a flight of money to Japan Post Insurance Co. on the back of its implicit state guarantee and impede fair competition against private companies.

Record Collections under Postal small savings schemes

Collections under Postal small savings schemes

set to touch record high

Collections under the government’s small savings schemes such as post office deposits and instruments such as Public Provident Fund, National Savings Certificate and Kisan Vikas Patra are set to scale a record high in the current fiscal in states such as West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, according to finance ministry officials.
In most of these states, where small savings schemes have traditionally been popular, collections till January were far higher than in the full year till March 2009.
In West Bengal, for instance, collections till January at Rs23,238 crore were 21% higher than what people in the state deposited in small savings schemes in the full year till March 2009.
In Maharashtra, the rise was even more striking: Collections till January at Rs19,965 crore were 54% higher than in fiscal 2009.
Economists and finance ministry officials attribute the spurt in small savings deposits to payment of wage arrears to government employees following pay revisions announced in March 2008.
Salaries of state and Central government employees were raised from January 2006. Since then they are being paid arrears in instalments. The Union government paid the second instalment of arrears in August.
“The increase in small savings deposits is largely due to to the Sixth Pay Commission,” said Nasir Sajjad, regional director of small savings in Mumbai.
“People chose to deposit in small savings schemes because on the one hand, they offer assured returns, and on the other, the returns are higher than bank deposits,” he added.
Government employees normally save through safe instruments, according to Mihir Rakshit, former professor of economics at Calcutta University. “For a large section of government employees, the post office is the obvious choice,” he said.
The post office monthly income scheme, which is by far the most popular small savings scheme across India, offers 8% interest a year and a 5% bonus on maturity after six years. A six-year deposit with State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank, would fetch only 7.25% annual interest and no maturity bonus.
In some states, increase in rural income, too, has contributed to the growth in small savings deposits, said Jameel Asghar, regional director of small savings in Kolkata.
“People’s income in rural areas have increased because of various government initiatives such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, a scheme that guarantees 100 days of work a year to one person in each family,” he says.
In West Bengal, there are over 20 million small savings depositors, and at least 15% of them, or three million people, are from rural areas and economically weaker sections.
The increase in small savings deposits will help states cut borrowing costs in the long run. The Centre gave each state a part of the amount raised through small savings as a 25-year loan carrying 9.5% interest, which is to be reduced to 7.5% from next year under recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission. The Central government gives these funds to states net of new small savings deposits and withdrawals.
States such as West Bengal, Gujarat and Maharashtra have been paying 7.8-8% in the current fiscal to borrow from the market, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s banking regulator.
For West Bengal, borrowing cost had shot up to 8.63% in January, according to an official of the finance department of the state government, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he isn’t authorised to speak to the media.
“If more money is available through the small savings route, all states would benefit, more so after the Centre agreed to the demand for reduction in interest rate,” he added.

source-I net