The Narendra Modi government’s decision to accept the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, promising Rs 1 lakh crore of hikes in salaries, perks and pensions for over 1 crore serving and retired government employees, has been hailed as a big bonanza for the top executives in the government. Besides, this is also a booster dose for the growth-hungry Indian economy that’ll benefit from a consumption boost.

But, no government employee is really celebrating the 7th pay commission hike — neither the top babu nor the class C employee, who is the lowest cadre. Why?

Reasons will vary depending on who you talk to.

If it is a top executive, he will complain about the huge difference in compensation with the private sector. Even after the 7th Pay Commission hike, the highest salary drawn by a government employee, the cabinet secretary, is Rs 2.5 lakh per month.

If one compares this with that drawn by a chief executive of a medium-sized private sector company with an annual turnover of Rs 1,000-2,000 crore, this figure is a pittance. The private sector counter part will be drawing anywhere between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 25 lakh per month, besides generous provisions for annual bonuses and performance-linked perks.

“This is one reason why there is a drain form the government to private sector that has escalated of late,” observes a senior government official who wished not to be identified. “And many of those who stay back have a feudal-sort of mentality. They make up for their losses for serving the government by way of hefty ‘under table’ payments,” the official said.

The government has announced salary increases in the range of 14. 27 percent to 25.5 percent. The government has put on hold allowance payments. This is against about 40 percent rise in pays implemented by the sixth pay commission in 2008. The 7th pay hike, the employee unions argue, is the lowest in the last 70 years.

Unlike the private sector, where the compensation is revised annually depending on the performance and skills, government employees have to typically wait for a decade for any substantial revision in their wages, if one sets aside the 3 percent routine annual pay increase.

Often, even the well performing bureaucrats feel that there is no value for their work, beyond the element of mental satisfaction, since the reward is same for the performers, laggards, sleepy heads and those who take a detour during their morning walks to office only to punch in their attendance and later return post lunch.

Performance-based pay dumped?

A quick glance at the 7th pay commission recommendations show that the government hasn’t so far accepted the Mathur panel recommendation of performance-based pay or has watered down the key proposal to nothing.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley largely dodged questions on performance pay saying administrative issues will be looked at by a separate committee. This has irked many bureaucrats who were batting against uniform pay for all.

This was suggested by the sixth pay panel too, but remained on paper since there was no methodology to effectively assess performance. Mathur panel, noting that now the systems are in place, had pushed for performance pay and even sought to change the bonus mechanism.

“We are also of the view that there should not be automatic payment of bonus and all existing schemes of payment of bonuses should be linked to productivity,” it said.

Until the time the performance-linked pay scheme is implemented, the existing bonus schemes should be reviewed and linked with increased profitability and productivity under well-defined parameters, the panel had proposed.

This recommendation was critical since if the pay is linked to performance that can change the very ‘sarkari’ nature of the government staff and improve the productivity of the government departments. The Mathur panel also talks about how the civil servants need to be more efficient focusing more on targets and not processes.

Now, in the case of non-executive cadre (the C-class employees, there is no more class-D peons), their salary is now better than their counter-parts in the private sector. Jaitley, during the presser, cited an IIM-Ahmedabad study that said the pay of government employees is now distinctly greater than their private sector counter parts leaving no room for protests.

But, they too are unhappy. Why?

The fundamental reasons can be tracked to the rising aspirations of middle class and a sharp spike in the cost of goods and services over the period, though inflation figures indicate otherwise. When it comes to ambitions, the class difference almost nil. The wish for better education and lifestyle among the lower-income group is as high as the upper class.

“Even a clerk wants to send his son to a top engineering college or even abroad for higher studies. That is one side of the ‘problem’ why the class C staff isn’t satisfied with even a marginal increase in pay. On the other hand, the cost of living and prices of food items have gone up so much since the sixth pay commission that a salary of Rs 20,000 means nothing for him,” said the official who quoted earlier.

That’s a valid argument. The pay package of non-executive staff, which makes up majority of the total government workforce, hasn’t gone up commensurate with the sharp rise in the costs of expenses. This is possibly the reason why they lament despite the pay increase, the official said.

If indeed the government has dumped the proposal to link the pay increase and bonus provisions to performance and targets, that is a big regressive step and mistake by the Modi government. It wouldn’t do any good to improve the efficiency and work culture of the government staff.

As for the Rs 1 lakh crore bonanza, yes it will certainly fuel the consumption growth in the economy. But, don’t get it wrong thinking that the government staff are happy. They are not.http://www.firstpost.com/business/7th-pay-commission-heres-why-govt-staffers-arent-really-celebrating-windfall-2864594.html?utm_source=FP_CAT_LATEST_NEWS

File photo

New Delhi, June 20

Initiating fresh action in the VVIP chopper deal money laundering case, the ED today conducted searches in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad on at least 10 premises of some “involved” firms and froze shares worth over Rs 86 crore kept by them in foreign shores.Officials said during the searches, conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the agency seized many documents and issued orders to freeze shares of certain firms located in Dubai, Mauritius and Singapore.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd)The agency had recently filed a fresh chargesheet in the case naming British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel James as part of its probe.The ED had registered a PMLA case in this regard in 2014 and named 21 people in its FIR. It had also arrested Delhi-based businessman Gautam Khaitan in the case, who is out on bail now. — PTI

This photo taken on January 2, 2016, shows security personnel stand guard next to a barricade outside the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab. Reuters file photo

Jammu, June 21

Some militants are suspected to be hiding in villages near Pathankot and could attack the Indian Air Force base that had been attacked in January, the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Home Affairs said on Tuesday.

The committee, which was in Jammu to review the security along India’s international border, had earlier gone to Pathankot.

“After going back from Pathankot, we made our suggestions to the government and said that there can be further attack on Pathankot… We were told by the villagers that some terrorists were still hiding in the villages there,” committee Chairman P Bhattacharya told reporters.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd)

After the recommendation of the committee, the government has alerted the CRPF, BSF and the army and handed over the security of the airbase to them, he said.

“Do you know that a few days ago, government asked the CRPF, BSF and the Army to guard the air force station because some terrorists are hiding there? How they are hiding there, it is not my business to find out but as we got the information from the villagers, it was very clear to us that they are hiding somewhere. We have informed the Government of India about it,” Bhattacharya said.

When asked to comment on the permission granted by the Indian Government to Pakistan’s joint investigation team to visit the airbase to investigate January’s attack, he said he was not in favour of allowing Pakistani intelligence officers to visit the strategic facility.

“The committee does not support the idea of the Government of India of bringing this intelligence branch of Pakistan here. What for? But for any foreign policy of the Government of India, we are not the proper forum, we cannot take the decision to do this and not to do this”, he said.

A five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) from Pakistan had visited India between March 27 and 31 to collect evidence with regard to the attack.

Bhattacharya said the policy guidelines have to be framed by the Indian government.

“The committee conducted intensive tours of Indo-Bangla border and India-Pakistan border and now we are heading towards Srinagar. We went to Pathankot which is the most vulnerable area”, he said.

The committee said it was satisfied with the measures being taken by the BSF to check infiltration, but advocated providing fully modern equipment to the force.

“As of now, they have explained to us the way they are trying to prevent infiltration. You cannot say what is happening today or tomorrow but up till now, it is all right,” Bhattacharya said.

Replying to a question regarding Pakistan violating international norms on the IB by constructing concrete bunkers, Bhattacharya said India should take up the matter very seriously with Pakistan.

“As I understand from the government of India’s stand, they have taken a strong stand on this issue,” he said.

He added that the BSF jawans guarding the international border in Jammu and other parts of the country need the most modern amenities and equipment.

Referring to the problems faced by troops at the border, Bhattacharya said the committee will submit its recommendations to the ministry of home affairs and the ministry of foreign affairs, but refused to give details. — PTI

India always tried to maintain ‘hegemony’ in South Asia: Pak

Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz. AFP file photo

Islamabad, June 21

India always tried to maintain its “hegemony” in the South Asia region and Pakistan has rejected this while “effectively” protecting its interests, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has claimed.Answering a question about the Indo-Pak ties in an interview to Samaa TV, Aziz said India has always tried to maintain its hegemony in the South Asia region.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd)“Pakistan rejected this (Indian) hegemony and has effectively protected its interests and its stance over Kashmir, nuclear deterrence and conventional balance,” Aziz was quoted as saying.He maintained that “protecting Pakistan’s sovereignty and vital interests is a great achievement as a nation”.Talking about the Afghan refugees problem, Aziz said it became a security issue for Pakistan as refugee camps have become “safe havens for terrorists” due to unregulated movement.“We have re-established our writ over FATA (tribal areas) but if the Afghan border remains unregulated, our tribal areas can’t stay safe,” he said.Calling for repatriation of Afghan refugees, Aziz said the repatriation would be a gradual movement and Pakistan would need a plan of action for the process.He said Pakistan is paying for the policies it adopted during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan which resulted in five million refugees coming to Pakistan with “drugs, guns bringing instability”.Aziz claimed that when the current government came to power, it decided to pursue the policy of non-interference which meant Pakistan would not fight someone else’s wars. PTI

Admiral Sunil Lanba (R), hailing from Palwal in Haryana, on Tuesday took charge as Navy Chief. Succeeding Admiral Robin Dhowan, he will have a full three-year tenure till May 31, 2019, becoming the 23rd Navy Chief. PTI

Admiral Sunil Lanba (R), hailing from Palwal in Haryana, on Tuesday took charge as Navy Chief. Succeeding Admiral Robin Dhowan, he will have a full three-year tenure till May 31, 2019, becoming the 23rd Navy Chief. Prior to this appointment, he was heading the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command. A navigation and direction expert, Admiral Lanba has four decades of experience in both Eastern and Western Fleets. A former chief of the National Defence College, he has provided impetus to skill development, synergising combat operations, coastal security and infra development along the Western seaboard. 

(From left) Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi. PTI

Raj Sadosh

Our Correspondent

Abohar, June 16

Flight Cadets Bhawana Kanth of Darbhanga in Bihar, Avani Chaturvedi of Madhya Pradesh and Mohana Singh of Rajasthan, undergoing training for commissioning in the Fighter Stream of the IAF flying branch, will create history as they pass out of the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad on June 18. The fiesty women comprise the first batch of women flight cadets.Mohana Singh, who studied at the Global Institute of Management and Emerging Technologies (GIMET), Amritsar, belongs to Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. Her father is in the Air Force and mother is a teacher. Mohana said as a Flt Gunner in the Aviation Research Centre, her grandfather would go to different places on various missions. She wanted to live the same life. Mohana’s aim is to be a part of future combat missions.“Night flying was exhilarating. I remember the small puffs of crackers bursting 1,000 feet below on my first take-off. During my first sector solo sortie at night, blinding lightning left me frightened. As I descended, I encountered clouds. I faced difficulty in discerning between the stars in the dark sky above and the small clusters of light on the dark ground beneath. “I was unable to keep a connect between the instruments and the visual indications of the aircraft altitude. I recalled what my Instructor had taught me: ‘No unnecessary head movement, switch over to instruments, trust your Instruments.’ I disregarded the visual indications and continued the descent, relying totally on the instruments,” she said. Cadet Bhawana did BE (Medical Electronics) from BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru. It was her dream to “fly like a free bird”. “I want to be a good fighter pilot and make my country and parents proud,” she said. Cadet Avani Chaturvedi, who has done BTech (Computer Science) from Banasthali University, Jaipur, had a few hours of flying experience in the flying club of her college. This motivated her to join the IAF.  “I want to fly the best fighter aircraft and learn more and more each day,” she said.

Proposed Jat stir Forces reach Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Hisar, Bhiwani, Jind and Kaithal districts

CRPF personnel deployed at Jat Dharamshala in Hisar on Saturday. Tribune photo

Chandigarh, May 28

In the wake of members of the Jat community threatening to launch a fresh agitation for reservation, security was today beefed up in Haryana as Central forces were deployed in seven sensitive districts across the state.The Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Hisar, Bhiwani, Jind and Kaithal districts, a top police official said.“The deployment has been done as a precautionary measure,” Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Mohd Akil said, adding that the police were fully geared up to meet any situation.A sedition case was registered against Jat Sangharsh Samiti chief Yashpal Malik and 125 others yesterday for allegedly threatening peace and communal harmony in Haryana by instigating people to launch a fresh quota agitation. — PTI

Police on alert

Hisar: Paramilitary forces and the police have been put on alert in the district in view of the threat by Jat groups to resume their agitation from June 5. Hisar Range IGP OP Singh also held a meeting with SPs, DSPs and SHOs of five districts of the range. The IG told the policemen not to get swayed by any kind of divisive propaganda and deal with the anti-social elements belonging to any caste, region or party with a firm hand. He said the police would not let the divisive elements succeed in their designs. — TNSPrinting presses refuse to publish pamphletsJind: Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kumar Arya today said the police had made all arrangements for the maintenance of law and order in the district. “The police will not allow anyone to disturb peace,” he said, adding the police had increased surveillance and keeping an eye on the movement of suspicious elements.Some Jat leaders alleged the police were threatening villagers for not taking part in the agitation and even printing presses had refused to publish their pamphlets and posters for agitation.

Khap announces do-or-die agitation

Hisar: The Satrol khap has announced to launch a do-or-die agitation for reservation to the Jats community at Narnaund village in the district on Saturday. Addressing a press conference, khap president Inder Singh said that the state government had cheated the Jats on the demand of reservation. He said that the six castes, which were included in the OBC (C) category, would raise their demand jointly. The khap leader opposed the registration of a criminal case against Jat leader Yashpal Malik and insisted that BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini should be arrested first for his utterances against the Jats. TNS

Lahore, June 16

The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader who telephonically directed the terrorists during the attack on the Pathankot air base has reportedly managed to flee to Afghanistan from Pakistan.“The alleged JeM handler who communicated by telephone more than two dozen times with terrorists in Pathankot before they carried out the attack on January 2 has managed to cross the Afghan border,” said a member of the joint investigation team probing the attack.He said the JeM handler, who is in late 20s, was in the tribal area of Pakistan when he communicated 18 times with the terrorists. “The law enforcement agencies tried to trace him (in the tribal belt), but there are reports that he has managed to escape to Afghanistan,” he said, without disclosing the JeM leader’s identity.He said the investigation agencies have been under “immense pressure” from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to thoroughly probe the matter and come up with “true facts”.Although the counter-terrorism department (CTD) of Punjab Police registered an FIR against the alleged attackers of the Pathankot air base and abettors, not a single person has been charged.The FIR was registered at the Gujranwala CTD police station under Sections 302, 324 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and Sections 7 and 21-I of the Anti-Terrorism Act.The FIR says Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval informed that the attackers had come from Pakistan and “probably crossed the border adjacent to the Pathankot area”.  — PTIhttp://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/jem-pathankot-handler-flees-to-afghanistan/252992.html

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25The first batch of women fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is slated to pass out of the IAF training academy on June 18. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will be chief guest on the occasion.These women pilot have been selected for combat role. At present, they are flying training aircraft, Kiran. After passing out from the academy, they will be sent for one-year training in combat role.The air force has allowed three women in combat stream for five years, on experiment basis. Women pilots in the IAF are cleared for all operational roles, including low-level tactical flying, para drop, air maintenance (northern and eastern sector) and special heli-borne operation. The women pilots undergo jungle and snow-survival course.They have undergone stage-I and stage-II training at the academy and have been assessed for their suitability. Now they will get training in the fighter stream.

CHANDIGARH: In a bid to counter the misuse of social networking sites by militants, the army’s Northern Command on Tuesday joined social media platform Twitter to interact with people of Jammu and Kashmir.

In his first tweet from the handle NorthernComd.IA, Northern Command Generalofficer-commanding-inchief (GOC-in-C) Lt Gen DS Hooda wrote: “Presence of Northern Comd on Twitter is a step towards involving our citizens in activities of Indian Army in J&K.”

“I look forward to positive interaction through this forum,” he tweeted next.

The army has earlier reached out to the masses in Jammu and Kashmir through Twitter and Facebook to generate awareness about public welfare initiatives such as Operation Sadbhavna. However, with the new Twitter handle, people can directly interact with the senior most army officer in the state. ‘FLEDGLING FIRST STEP’

Appreciating the move, Lt Gen HS Panag (retd), who is a former army commander of the Northern Command, said: “This is a positive development and the army must make the most of it.”

An avid user of social media himself, he said, “It is important that the army’s social media outreach be used effectively to share basic information, if not everything.”

Similarly, Lt Gen Ata Hasnain (retd), a former commander of Srinagarbased 15 Corps, sees this as a “fledging first step” but adds that this should have happened “some light years ago”.

“Physical outreach has limitations and time constraints. Social media is the enabler which facilitates interactive outreach to millions at the press of a button,” said Hasnain. “There is much to be learnt about strategic communication where your message reaches the people you want it to reach. Being on social media is insufficient; being there with the right focus, aim and intent is the necessity,” he said.

The officers said that the initiative should not remain limited to the Northern Command headquarters. “It must go down to the corps and divisions,” Hasnain said.

War memorial inaugurated by RM at Hoshiarpur on 15 Jun.
Credit goes to Brig Manjit Singh  Chairman Sanjha Morcha for initiation.approval of design .laying foundation  during his tenure as Director Sanik Welfare Punjab  .
His dream has come true for ESM of Hoshiarpur and the Martyrs.
Well conceived idea of Brig Manjit. Weldone