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Thursday, November 26, 2015

The 7th central pay commission (CPC) was not supposed to look into the National Pension System (NPS). The terms of reference of the body headed by ex-judge Ashok Mathur limited the mandate in this regard to only the Old Pension System (OPS). Yet, the number of grievances and complaints were so many that the commission decided to deal with it in detail. The grievances ranged from lack of basic elements such as a grievance redressal mechanism to disadvantages in the tax regime and structural issues.

Amusingly, over a decade into its existence and after mopping a corpus of over Rs 24,000 crore as of 2013-14 from a little over 1.3 million people, the NPS still has critics, who wanted it scrapped. “The larger federations and staff associations advocated scrapping the NPS on the ground that it discriminates between two sets of government employees,” the commission noted. Some subscribers pleaded for reverting to the OPS, citing uncertainty regarding the actual value of their future pension in the face of market related risks.

Being a defined contribution scheme, NPS effectively shaves 10 per cent off an employee's take-home salary. While this is a concern for many, they also harboured the opposite worry —that this 10 per cent plus 10 (matching contribution from employer) might not be enough to give them a pension that is about half their last salary. The commission has asked the government to consider if the number can be reviewed.

The bad state of grievance redressal and absence of consultation with stakeholders has generated insecurity in stakeholders. Even senior Group-A officers of the central government, as well as All India Service (AIS) officers, are sceptical about NPS, the commission has noted.

Family pension, for widows/dependents of a deceased employee, is another common grievance. Staff associations have complained that this, after death of an employee, is not ensured in the NPS. More, if an employee dies at an early age, the family would suffer, since annuity from the contribution would be grossly inadequate.

Other such comparisons to instruments such as GPF, PPF and the OPS were widely heard by the CPC. Some were worried about the lack of choice for government employees, the asset allocation and fund managers under the NPS. The commission has asked the pension regulator to provide a range of options and investment mixes, calibrated on a life cycle approach, wherein younger employees are given an exposure to high risk, high return choices.

Another example of shoddy implementation of NPS came up in the case of AIS officers in some states, where contributions by the state governments concerned are yet to be fully made and deployed. The net result is contributions for 2004-2012 have not been fully made or have earned simple interest and did not get any market linked returns. Worse, contributions by some have been returned to them without interest.

This goes against the fundamentals of a defined contribution scheme. A typical employee’s service is 30-35 years. If he loses compounding benefits for a third of that period, what will he/she be left with? A lot of media coverage and official focus has been spent on where the NPS money is invested and its impact on the stock market. In the process, the source and the channels seem to have not received adequate attention. It is time for the government and the regulator to take serious note of the commission’s recommendations and make the NPS a Swachh Pension System.

Source : http://www.business-standard.com

26th November to be observed as 'Constitution Day'

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment

23-November-2015 14:58 IST

26th November to be observed as 'Constitution Day'

The Government has decided to observe 26th November as 'Constitution Day. On the day in 1949, the constitution was adopted which came into force on January 26, 1950 marking the beginning of a new era in the history of India. This year,the country is celebrating 125th birth Anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar . The 'Constitution Day' will be a part of these year-long nationwide celebrations. This will be a tribute to Dr. Ambedkar , who played a seminal role in the framing of the Indian Constitution as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Constituent Assembly

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the Nodal Ministry for celebration of Constitution Day. A number of activities will be taken up by other Ministries/Departments which include:-

· Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development has informed that following activities are proposed to be undertaken by all schools under the CBSE, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), Central Tibetan School Administration (CTSA), and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) and those under the State Governments and UTs on the occasion of the first "Constitution Day"-

i. Preamble to the Constitution (as it exists on date) to be read out in school assembly on 26th November, 2015 by all students.

ii. One period to be devoted on 26th November, 2015 for a talk on the salient features of the Constitution of India and its making, by a guest speaker or one of the teachers.

iii. Essay competitions and quizzes to be organized on the theme of the Constitution.

iv. An online Essay competition to be also organized on the theme of the Constitution by all CBSE affiliated schools.

· Department of Higher Education, MoHRD has informed that they have already intimated UGC, AICTE, etc. that the day may be celebrated as Constitution Day. It was requested that the colleges wherever possible may organize mock Parliament Sessions and debates on the Indian Constitution on 26th November, 2015. UGC informed that they have requested Dr Ambedkar University, Lucknow to make arrangements for organizing Quiz competition, wherein at State level winners from each State would participate in a quiz at the All India level

· Department of Youth Affair has proposed to ensure following activities:-

a) Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) shall organize quiz competition on Constitution.

b) NSS Units to organize lectures on the Constitution in their colleges/schools.

c) NYS Volunteers/NYKS Youth Club Members to bring awareness and explain the history of constitution in their areas.

d) The 'Preamble' of the Constitution be displayed at their headquarters and in their field offices.

· Ministry of External Affairs has informed that they have already instructed all the Missions/ Stations where Indian schools are located to ensure observance of Constitution Day on 26.11.2015. It is also proposed that Missions/Posts may undertake translation of the Indian Constitution in local language and consider its distribution among academic and research institutions, Parliaments, Indology Centres etc. For the instance, the Indian Constitution has recently been translated into Arabic.

· Ministry of Home Affairs has informed that they have the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and their establishments under Police-II Division, MHA would undertake appropriate action for celebration of Constitution Day on 26th November, 2015.

· Department of Sports has intimated the followings:-

i) All Chief Secretaries/ Sports Secretaries/ Administrator/ Advisor to Administrator have been requested to organize "Run for Equality".

ii) Sports Authority of India (SAI) is making arrangements for activities as follows:-

§ A Symbolic Run termed as "Run for Equality" at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where the trainees of SAI will participate.

§ Similar action will also be taken by Regional Centres where Run will be organized including SAI trainees and trainees of Come & Play Scheme.

§ The Run will be organized on the pattern it was organized on 31st October, 2015 on the occasion of National Unity Day as "Run for Unity."

· Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has decided to illuminate Parliament House Complex on the occasion of Constitution Day on 26th November, 2015 and they have also decided to call for Special Session of Parliament for this purpose.

· The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment has requested to all the State Government/ Union Territories to celebrate Constitution Day on 26th November, 2015.

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NCJ/AKP/ASB