NJCA MEETING ON 25th JUNE, 2016 AT NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to hold conference with top CBDT, CBEC brass

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to hold a conference with the top brass of the IT department, Customs and Central Excise from across the country in June on a host of issues related to taxpayer services and effective implementation of taxation laws and government policies.

PM Narendra Modi

Officials said Modi, along with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is expected to hold the interaction with the Directors General and Principal Chief Commissioners of the two large departments working under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) during their annual brainstorming and discussion conference in the national capital here on June 16-17.

This will be the first time that the two boards administering direct taxes (CBDT) and indirect taxes (CBEC) under the Finance Ministry will be holding their annual officers conference at the same time.

Earlier these two boards used to hold this separately with the chief guest being the Finance Minister.

While the itinerary and other fine details for the two-day conference are still being worked out, it is expected that Modi will be the keynote speaker to inaugurate the session at Vigyan Bhavan here, while Jaitley would be the lead speaker where he would talk to the top brass of the two boards.

The meetings, they said, have been planned in such a way that the sessions are divided into two broad subjects of government's plans of financial inclusion and ensuring a transparent tax regime for businesses and foreign investors and the second being solution finding modules to issues and challenges being faced by the departments.

Modi, in his recent review meetings with the CBDT and CBEC has been reiterating the need to reduce taxpayers' grievances and ensure a quick resolution of these issues.

He is also expected to outline the government's goals and aims vis-a-vis some flagship programmes like 'Make in India' and 'Startup India', they said.

PTI

Get a chance to meet PM Modi by answering 20 questions!

New Delhi: Answer 20 questions related to the initiatives taken by the NDA government in five minutes and get a chance to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in person to receive a certificate signed by him.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed e-rickshaws in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on May 1.

As part of the MyGov initiative, a 'governance quiz' has been organised on the mygov.in portal to find out how well people know about the government's initiatives aimed at improving governance.

The 20 questions are randomly picked from the question bank so that chances are little they are the same for different participants.

You can be asked about the solar energy capability added in 2015-16, the approximate amount of money transferred through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, the amount agriculture scholars get as senior fellows in third year and the number of districts covered under the Bet Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme.

The participant has to click on one of the four options on the scheme. A scorecard is displayed to tell how much one has scored.

The website says that winners will be adjudged on the basis of maximum number of correct answers. And in case, multiple participants give same number of correct answers, then the one who took the least time to complete the quiz will be declared winner.

The option of skipping 'tough' questions and returning to them later is also available.

PTI

Points for Discussion With RM: 14 Mar 16 - Lt Gen SK Bahri

I would like to state at the outset we pensioners are dependent on what a serving soldier gets. So it is important for the govt to look after its serving soldiers as they are the spearhead of any country, even though some of our CAPFs are claiming that they are the 1^st line of defence! I have been in three ops and can tell with confidence none of these khaki clad pseudo soldiers want to be in the front line when the balloon goes up. This spearhead now feels that it is under siege from all sides. Somebody had the temerity to say that they have volunteered for this job with their eyes open and they knew their conditions of service, so why are they cribbing now. I can say with authority that when I was commissioned in 1952 we were a service apart with a special status, but after Gen Thimayya’s resignation due to his differences with his Commie RM, the then pacifist PM’s statement that the civil govt is supreme gave the civil servants an excuse to claim supremacy over the defence forces, while the political masters did not interfere. Thereafter, a concerted effort has been on to down grade the importance of the armed forces. I daresay a very dangerous course has been set which may cost the nation an unbearable price. One must remember that if the civil servants make any amount of blunders the country has a chance to rectify matters, but if the defence forces make a blunder the results could be worse than what happened to us in 1962 and to Pakistan in 1971.

I personally am disappointed with the Govt for the following reasons:-

a) The defence services are aware that the bureaucratic environment is against them and hoped that the political hierarchy will look after their interests. Unfortunately, this hope has been belied. What is more galling is that while the civil services take the cream away, soldiers are grudgingly given watered down “chaach”, despite their sacrifices.

b) It took us over 30 years to get the Parliament to approve OROP but again there is quibbling over a few hundred crores. Soldiers don’t quibble when the task given to them is to be carried out with inadequate equipment, for no fault of theirs. Did the political masters ever question NFU being granted for all civil servants, and how much it cost? The civil servants do not even provide an estimate so that public is not shocked as to how much it costs the country to keep the golf playing babus in velvet. NFU has its unwarranted side effects as all civil servants are assured of progression in their careers whatever the quality of their service is, because there is no selection of the fittest one for a job. Imagine the cost to the country in terms of mediocrity being rewarded. For me to become a Lt Gen I was screened by 5 selection boards. Pray tell me how many selections our counterparts go through. It is a cakewalk for them!

c) It is often thrown in our face that as we get MSP, so we are adequately compensated. They never tell as what percentage of them draw deputation allowance, for just working from a different desk. We do not ask for a special allowance for being deployed in the desert, mountains or jungles. Even a person serving in Siachen is being offered a lessor allowance than a babu in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh or Ladakh. That too as a percentage of his salary unlike soldiers, who get a fixed amount whatever be their salary.

d) Despite govt orders that no one will wear uniform items similar to the army uniform. But right under the nose of the MHA and MOD every CAPF wears camouflage uniforms. With the result that in the recent Haryana riots Army flag march columns had to carry banners with ARMY written on them to identify themselves, as the police and BSF/CRPF personnel standing by the roadside were wearing similar uniforms. It is surprising that every police force wants to play soldiers without its culture or training. Some of us noticed that the last DG NSG was wearing a red band on his turban instead of a black/navy blue band. Also, it is disheartening that an outfit whose backbone is sourced from the Army is headed by a policeman, who has not run through even an obstacle course in the last 20 years, and is not an officer from the Special Forces. The Defence Security Corps has been guarding airbases, naval installations, ammunition depots, ordnance factories, defence PSUs and army workshops but are not required to wear camouflage uniform. But CISF wears it while guarding airports (not done in any other country) and even I am sure, Reliance oil refinery in Jamnagar!

e) Soldiers have to fight, go to Courts to get their dues. 6^th CPC is a prime example of soldiers having to fight for rank pay, pension fixation at bottom of pay band, and broad banding of disability pension. A few years ago Maj Gens had to go to court as their pension was fixed below that of Brigs. Why does MOD let this happen? Does it not know the difference in ranks of the armed forces? And when SC ordered payment of 6 % interest to the affected people who had been denied rank pay, MOD appealed against this and got SC to amend the order to deny interest worth 20 yrs. A reasonable govt would not have appealed and instead taken action against the people who had played this fraud on the soldiers. Something unthinkable in our country.

f) A recent instance is of the CDA(P) seeking clarifications from MOD on payment of OROP. To every query the answer from MOD was to ensure that the soldier gets lesser of the two options posed by the CDA(P). The Chairman 7^th CPC has lauded the Secretary of the Commission, an IDA&AS officer for his extensive knowledge of the armed forces and so had tendered expert advice. I would like to state that I as a CO had to send cases of rum to our PAO at Deolali, like other COs, just to get the Part II orders of my JCOs & OR published so that they could get their legitimate allowances. I also had the honour of informing the Secy Def Fin, Chief and the RRM, as MGO that a Director (Budget) in the MOD was demanding Rs 20 Lakhs from the CMD of a company for issuing an order for engines, which I had got cleared from the RRM. Nobody did anything about it and he was instead posted to the UN. But the man was sentenced to 10 yrs RI in New York as he tried the Indian tricks when posted in UNO’s procurement section.

Sir, in the interest of National security, please integrate servicemen in the Ministry in the true sense of the word, so that there is transparency and expert advice in its functioning and you get to know what is happening. When I retired in 1990 I am aware that none of the Chiefs was on speaking terms with the Defence Secretary. The DESW must be headed by a service officer who can do justice to ESM. Most western countries have e retired General officer as Minister of Veteran Affairs so that the PM and RM get correct advice, uncoloured by parochial views. Why do we do it differently?

OROP must be given in the true form with effect from 1 Apr 2014 based on pensions drawn during FY 2013/14 2014 as the start point, it should be based not on the average but on the maximum pension of the rank and qualifying service, this will leave room for fudging of figures by CDA(P). Also pensions should be revised every year and not every 5 years as envisaged by the Koshiyari Committee. The Nation has enough money and it should not stint on its armed forces, which have ensured the security of the nation and allowed it to prosper unhindered. Therefore, Soldiers should be rewarded for their consistent performance.

Lt Gen SK Bahri

7CPC : Meeting of Nodal officers of various Departments–Col Ranbir Lamba

Implementation of the recommendations of the 7th CPC – Issues on way ahead

Implementation of the recommendations of the 7th CPC – Meeting of Nodal officers of various Departments will be held on 2.2.2016
Meeting of Nodal officers of various Departments – implementation of the recommendations of the 7th CPC – Issues on way ahead
F.No.1-1/2016- IC
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Expenditure
New Delhi, 29.1.2016
Meeting Notice
Subject : Meeting of Nodal officers of various Departments – implementation of the recommendations of the 7th CPC – Issues on way ahead.
In order to process the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission, the Cabinet has approved setting up of an Empowered Committee of Secretaries chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. Accordingly, the ECOS has been set up as per this Ministry’s OM No.1-4/2015/EIII-A dt. 27.1.2016 (copy placed on the website of this Ministry, viz, www.finmin.nic.in).
2. As provided in the said OM dt. 27.1.2016, the Implementation Cell created in this Ministry shall work as the Secretariat for the ECOS.
3. This Ministry has already requested all the Ministries/Departments vide DO letter No.1-4/2015/EIII.A dt. 21.11.2015 from JS(Pers) addressed to all the Secretaries to nominate a nodal officer at the level of a Joint Secretary to interact with the Implementation Cell during the curse of processing of the recommendations of the 7th CPC.
4. Accordingly, Joint Secretary (Implementation Cell) shall take a meeting of all the Nodal Officers of the Ministries/Departments on 2.2.2016 at 11 .00 a.m. in Conference Hall (R. No. 72), North Block, New Delhi to discuss the relevant issues in connection with the processing of the recommendations of the 7th CPC and to concretise the points of action pertaining to all the Ministries/Departments in general and also in regard to specific issues concerning individual Ministries/Departments with a view to enabling an effective, holistic and quicker processing of the recommendations of the 7th CPC and for submission of the matter before the ECOS.
5. As this is the first meeting of the Nodal Officers to formulate the action points on the way ahead on processing of the recommendations of the 7th CPC, it is requested that the concerned nodal officers may kindly make it convenient to attend the meeting.
sd-
(Amar Nath Singh)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India
To
All the nodal officers of Ministries/Departments, as per list attached.
Authority: www.finmin.nic.in

Col Ranbir Lamba ( one man army)

Meeting with the Finance Minister: 18 Dec 2015

General

1.      A delegation comprising the following veterans met the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley at 1800 hours on 18 Dec 2015:

a) Lt Gen Raj Kadyan

b) Lt Gen Balbir Singh

c) AVM RP Mishra

d) CPO Dhani Chand

e) Sgt Vijay Kumar

f) ELT 1 Ved Pal Rathee

g) Sep Dharam Singh

h) Sep Lakh Pat Hooda

 

2.      As a preamble the Minister emphasised the point that every Indian holds the defence forces in high regard and will not grudge an increase in their emoluments. The respect is well  earned by the defence forces through remaining apolitical (he gave the contrasting example of Pakistan) and by maintaining a dignified collective persona. Underscoring the patriotism that is associated with the defence forces, he mentioned that whenever a defence veteran is called for comments on the TV, everyone expects and knows that he will speak in favour of India unlike some others.  Nothing must be done by anyone to lower that high pedestal on which our soldier is placed by the countrymen.   In this connection he also mentioned about the need to avoid monetising the military.

Points made by the delegation

3. The points submitted pertained basically to OROP but also covered some aspects of the 7th Pay Commission. A brief summary is given in succeeding paras.

4. The Judicial Committee.        When an apprehension was expressed about the terms of reference of the Committee - that they will draw reference only from the govt - the Minister allayed all fears by clarifying that the Committee will be open and take views from all stake holders.

5. Core Issues of OROP.    It was recommended that he following are core issues and need to be resolved by the govt themselves instead of being handed over the Judicial Committee, as without these OROP loses its basic meaning:

a) Periodicity of the pension equalisation to be annual and not five-yearly. 

 

b) The benchmark to upscale old pensions should be selected based on the top of the scale and not on average of minimum and maximum.

6.      It was impressed that point at 5 (a) will cost less than Rs 100 Crore whereas the point at 5 (b) will also remain within the limit of the accepted Rs 8,000 to 10,000 Crore.

7. Widows' Pension. Highlighting that widows are the weakest segment among pensioners, it was recommended that on widowhood the lady must continue to get the pension that her husband was getting.

8.      Disability Pension.    There is a strong case to continue with the percentage based system of granting disability pension as opposed to the slab system.

9. Pro Rata Pension. Those leaving the Service before completing the minimum qualifying pensionable service should be given pro rata pension depending on the total period they have served. In this, particular mention was made of the Short Service Commissioned Officers.

10.    Reservists Pension.  There is a relatively small and diminishing population of reservists. They should be given pension equal to the pension of a Sepoy with 15 years service.

Overview

11.    Nothing concrete can or should be expected from such meetings. However, these serve the useful purpose of maintaining contact with the political leadership, exchanging views and conveying our concern first hand. In the final analysis problems will get resolved only by talking across-the-table. Viewed in that light the meeting was useful.

 

Best regards,

Lt Gen Raj Kadyan

MY TOUR PROGRAMME - Brig CS Vidyasagar

Dear Sir,

I will be away on visits to various places to give a talk on basic issues affecting JCOs, OR and Family pensioners like

(a) Pensions.

(b) Who are all eligible for pensions.

(c) Various types of pensions for veterans and family pensioners.

(d) How to resolve disputes between widow and her in-laws on sharing of family pension.

(e) OROP.

(f) why pension arrears are less for JCOs and OR.

(g) Effect of elimination of 33 year rule to get full pension.

(h) Broad banding for disabled soldiers.

(j) Methods to get legitimate entitlements.

(k) What actions are required to be taken by veteran on his retirement.

(l) Def Pension Adalats.

(m) Armed Forces Tribunals etc.

My programme till Feb 2016 is as under:-

PERIOD LOCATION IN-CHARGE
12 – 17 Nov 2015 Bhubneshwar, Odisha PO Bidhyadhar Naik

04 – 08 Nov 2015 Agra, UP Hav Harish Chandra Asthana

11 – 15 Dec 2015 Chennai & Sirivilliputtur, Tamilnadu Lt Col PN Krishnan

29 Jan – 02 Feb 2016 Palghat, Kerala Veteran RR Unni

06 – 09 Feb 2016 Jalgaon, Maharashtra Brig AV Nattu

This will result my giving you delayed response to your mails. I am sure you will bear with me.

Regards,

Brig CS Vidyasagar (Rtd)

[ TSEWA]



 

Lecture Tour of Brig CS Vidyasagar- Tamilnadu

Dear Veterans,

 

      Despite the present agitation by the ESM regarding the Govt Notification of OROP, it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that all our Veterans and their widows are educated about their legitimate and correct fixation of their pensions, as per the present / current policies.

 

     The tour is primarily meant for educating our own fraternity about their pensions and arrears if any and ensuring that the  awareness is spread to all Veterans and their families down to the village level. For this purpose nucleus of teams will also be formed with volunteers, who would subsequently take on the task of handling the pension issues at every District level.

  

     Please attach no other motives with this tour programme. It is being sponsored by all Veterans who are interested in the welfare of ESM community. To derive maximum benefit, it should be ensured that a minimum of 100 Veterans and widows should attend each of the meeting. Since it will not be possible to sort out all individual cases on the spot, all affected Veterans are requested to submit their pension problems in writing along with a copy of their PPO or latest Pension slips and a self addressed Postal envelope. Their queries will be answered subsequently by post.

     Brig Vidyasagar, who is an expert and also who is already working on such education of our entitlements, will be visiting various stations in Tamilnadu, as per the programme given below:-

11 Dec 15  Friday Dep Secunderabad

12 Dec 15 Saturday  Arr Chennai

                10 am to 12.30 Interaction with Veteran JCOs, NCOs and OR and widows.

                Venue- AWHO Parameswaran Vihar Community Hall, 67, Arcot Road, 

                Saligramam, Chennai 93.

               4 pm to 6 pm - Interaction with Veteran Officers and widows at the same venue,

                given above.

 

13 Dec 15  Sunday -  Arr Srivilliputhur 

              10 am to 12 noon -Interaction with Veterans and their widows.

                                       Arr Thirunelveli by road.

                                       3 pm to 5 pm - Interaction with Veterans and widows.

                                      ( Return to Chennai by train)

14 Dec 15  Monday-    Arr Vellore

               11 am to 1 pm- Interaction with Veterans and widows.

                                         (Night halt at Vellore)

   15 Dec 15  Tuesday -  Arr Thiruvannamalai

               10 am to 12.30 pm  - Interaction with Veterans and widows.

                                       Arr Trichy (AN)

              4.00.pm to 6.00 pm-                   -do-

                                        (Night halt at Trichy)

   16 Dec 15  Wednesday  Arr Thanjavur

              10 am to 12.30 am -                -do-

                                                       17 Dec 15 Thursday     Arr Chennai and dep to Secunderabad.     

  

    All future communication in this regard may be addressed to Col PN Krishnan, whose email ID appears first in the 'to' addressees, (Navaneethan Krishnan <navani54@yahoo.com> ) with a copy to me. Col PN Krishnan is requested to finalise the programme and issue a firm one, keeping 12 Dec 15, Chennai programme as the starting point, which is already confirmed.

  Col CT Arasu. We have spoken over phone. Please ensure success of this education programme. Also, inform your reps in Chennai and other districts to send maximum JCOs, NCOs and OR from neighboring districts of Chennai and other venues.   

   Col CR Sundar.  I trust you can help in motivating the Veterans in Chennai, Vellore and Thiruvannamalai to attend the meeting.      

   Col Samuel Raj-  Please pass on the message to the members of war wounded and disabled Veterans.

   Sgt Kandiah and Office bearers of Exwel Trust- Kindly render assistance in Thrunelveli and other districts through your web site.      

   Col PN Krishnan. Kindly peruse and send the mail to the concerned people. Also, consider inclusion of Coimbatore/ Krishnagiri and Madurai in the programme.            

 

Note : In case of any query or concerns, you may like to connect with 

Col PN Krishnan by mail at  navani54@yahoo.com or mobile # 9840223170. 

 

 

Thanks and Regards,

Col (Retd) TN Raman

Mob: 0- 9840033326

Meeting : Veterans Welfare Association - Lt Col CR Sundar

Veterans Welfare Association's important meeting

Venue :  No. 1, Sowbhagya Lakshmi St. , Rajeshwari Nagar,   Selaiyur, Near Camp Road Junction.

 

Day : Saturday

Date : 14 Nov 2015

Time : 10 am to 1pm

Lunch after 1pm.

Membership Drive.
Very important decisions concerning the whole State of Tamil Nadu regarding OROP agitation and return of medals will be taken.

Appointment of District Incharges will done.

All Offrs, JCOs and OR of Tamil Nadu requested to please take part in the meeting. Please inform all.

Lt Col CR Sundar
General Secretary

Meeting Panchkula : Revsed Schedule - Col Parmar

Date : 21 Sept 205
 

Venue :  Mahander Vihar RWA Hall, Mansa Devi Complex, Panchkula

 

REVISED SCHEDULE

 

1015h : Arrival of Guests

 

1030h - 1045h : Welcome by Col Rajinder Singh , Chief Convener  Haryana & Chandigarh

 

1045h -1215h :  Talks by Col BS Parmar,  President, Sainik Samaj Party.

                           Followed by Question-Answers Session

                           and discussion

1215h -  1230h : Concluding remarks by Chairman of the meeting

 

1230h - 1330h : Group Photo, Tea & Refreshment, and Membership session                                                        

  

Col BS Parmar,

President, Sainik Samaj Party

United Veterans Meeting - Lt Col CR Sundar

The General Body Meeting of United Veterans of Tamil Nadu
Date & Time : Sunday, 20 Sep 2015,  5 PM

Venue : Auditorium of Andhra Chamber of Commerce, New No. 23, Velugapudi Ramakrishna Buildings, Near Alfa Matric School West CIT Nagar, Nandanam - 600035

      
Kindly attend without fail. Give Wide publicity and Request Max attendance.

Lt Col CR Sundar

080 56 163792