Self-help groups of women to provide food on Indian railways

Passengers travelling in trains will now have the option of enjoying food prepared by some women’s self help groups as Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is planning to tie up with them to enhance its e-catering portfolio.

The empanelled SHGs will be displayed on e-catering websites with their menu and prices. Passenger may choose meal or food items offered by SHGs and place the order. This will help in sustainable development of SHGs, a senior official said.

“The proposed association with SHGs is part of our plan to empower women,” said IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director A K Manocha. “The initiative aims to develop local communities and ensure all-inclusive growth.”

The IRCTC CMD noted that India has no less than one crore SHGs, mostly functioning in rural and semi-urban areas with 10 to 20 members (majority women) per group.

“We plan to collaborate with some of them which are into making food items,” he said, adding that “the finer points will evolve clear in the weeks to come.”

Currently, IRCTC provides e-catering facility in all the trains passing through the most important 45 stations of Indian Railways. It also provides food to 1516 trains without pantry cars. The food is directly delivered by the vendor on the berth/seat of the passenger.

In its e-catering service which facilitates supply of food on ordering two hours before boarding the train, IRCTC is already in a collaboration with Foodpanda, KFC, Domino’s, TFS, Street Foods, Wimpy, Jan Aahar, Mio Amore, Alibaba, Cafe Lite, Hello Curry and Ratna Cafe besides IRCTC Food Plaza and IRCTC Fast Food Units.

The e-catering facility allows passengers to have food of their choice at agreeable prices while travelling. They may book online at www.ecatering.irctc.co.in or by making a phone call to 0120-2383892-99 or the toll-free number at 1800-1034-139 or 1323.

They can also choose to SMS to 139 by giving details of their PNR and seat number. The mobile app “Food On Track” is now available for booking too.

Cash deposits or withdrawals aggregating to Rs 50 lakh or more in a financial year in one or more current account of a person will have to be reported by the bank to the I-T authorities.

In order to check black money, the CBDT has notified norms under which cash receipts and high value transactions beyond a certain threshold will have to be reported to the Income Tax authorities with effect from April 1.

Under the new norms, cash receipts, purchase of shares, mutual funds, immovable property, term deposits, sale of foreign currency will have to be reported to the tax authorities in a prescribed format, which is Form 61A.

The Finance Ministry notification said the registrar will have to report purchase and sale of all immovable property exceeding Rs 30 lakh to I-T authorities.

It further specified that professionals will be required to inform the tax department of receipt of cash payment exceeding Rs 2 lakh for sale of any goods or services.

As regards bank deposits, the notification said banks will have to report cash deposits aggregating Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year in one or more accounts of a person.

The same threshold will apply for term deposits in banks, but would exclude renewal of term deposits. These norms will also cover deposits and withdrawal made in Post Office Account.

It further said banking companies or financial institutions will also have to report to the authorities payments made by a person aggregating to Rs 1 lakh or more in cash or Rs 10 lakh or more by another mode against bills in respect of one or more credit cards in a financial year.

Commenting on the same, Nangia & Co Executive Director Neha Malhotra said domestic black money represents a bigger danger which needs conviction on the part of the government to contain this menace.

“One of the stringent recommendations from SIT on curbing generation of black money in India was putting a cap on huge cash transactions as these mostly take place in illegal activities.

“In this direction, by imposing more stringent reporting requirements on cash transactions, government is addressing the root cause i.e. curb the generation of black money,” she said.

The notification has also laid down the reporting norms for cash payment of Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year for purchase of bank drafts or pre-paid instrument issued by RBI.

Cash deposits or withdrawals aggregating to Rs 50 lakh or more in a financial year in one or more current account of a person will have to be reported by the bank to the I-T authorities.

A company will be required to report receipt of Rs 10 lakh or more from a person in a financial year for acquiring bonds, debentures, shares or mutual funds.

The Form 61A, the notification said, will have to be furnished to Director of Joint Director of Income Tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation) through online filing. 

IBA circular on Pension for CRS/Removal/Discharged Employees!

IBA circular on Pension for CRS/Removal/Discharged Employees!

HR & INDUSTRIAL RLATIONS

No. HR&IR/CIR/2015-16/MI/1852

December 23, 2015

Chief Executives of Member banks which are parties to Bipartite Settlement dated 10.4.2002.

Dear Sir,

Special Leave Petition No. 17054/2009 before the Hon’ble Supreme Court – Bank of Baroda vs. S.K. Kool – Supreme Court decision dated 11.12.13 against the Bank – Review Petition (C) No. 2344/2014 & (2) SLP No. 11443/2014 Bank of Baroda vs. G. Sukla before the Supreme Court.

We refer to our Circular No. CIR/HR&IR/KU/MI/1004 dated 30.6.2015 regarding treatment of cases in which an employee who is imposed with punishment of “removed with superannuation benefits” under Clause 6(b) of the Bipartite Settlement dated 10.4.2002/27.5.2002 on “Disciplinary Action & Procedure therefor for Workmen” in view of the above captioned Hon’ble Supreme Court Judgement. Member banks were advised to consider implementation of the said judgement in such cases.

We have been receiving queries from member banks seeking clarifications as to whether the award staff employees who are imposed with punishment of “compulsorily retired” (6c) and “discharged from service” (6d) are also covered under the above judgement.

We have examined the matter and are of the view that employees imoposed with punishment of “removal”, “compulsory retirement” and “Discharge” as per Clause 6 (b) (c) and (d) of Settlement dated 10.4.2002 are to be considered with superannuation benefits, i.e. Pension and/or PF and Gratuity as would be due otherwise under the Rules or Regulations.

Yours faithfully,

       Sd/-

K. Unnikrishnan

Deputy Chief Executive

***************************************************************

Backround Information:

UFBU signed an exclusive Settlement on 10-4-2002 containing the provisions on Disciplinary Action and Procedure thereof.  Under this Settlement, for proved Gross Misconduct, the following punishments have been prescribed under Clause 6.

• 6 (b) be removed from service with superannuation benefits i.e. Pension and / or Provident Fund and Gratuity as would be due otherwise under the Rules or Regulations prevailing at the relevant time and without disqualification from future employment; or

• 6 (c) be compulsorily retired with superannuation benefits i.e. Pension and / or Provident Fund and Gratuity as would be due otherwise under the Rules or Regulations prevailing at the relevant time and without disqualification from future employment; or

• 6 (d) be discharged from service with superannuation benefits i.e. Pension and / or Provident Fund and Gratuity as would be due otherwise under the Rules or Regulations prevailing at the relevant time and without disqualification from future employment; or

However, under the plea that Pension Regulations does not contain the above similar provisions, employees who were inflicted with the above punishments were being denied pension.

SBI to Buy 4 Air India Flats for Rs 90 Crore: Report

In an all-cash deal, State Bank of India (SBI) is all set to  buy four premium flats in the city's Tony Peddar Road area from the loss-making Air India for Rs 90 crore.

The legal team of Air India is preparing a draft sale agreement which will then be given to the counterparts from State Bank of India, the country's largest lender.

The government recently gave a go-ahead to state-owned Air India to sell the flats to SBI for about Rs 90 crore as part the airline's asset monetisation plan.

"Once the purchase agreement is signed by both the parties, the bank will initiate the process to take possession of the flats. It will take a month's time," a source told PTI. 

"SBI is buying these flats in an all-cash deal," the source said.

The asset monetisation plan was approved along with the carrier's turnaround plan by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs in April 2012 when it also doled out a Rs 30,000 crore bailout.

The state-owned lender is planning to allocate these four flats situated at upmarket Peddar Road in South Mumbai to its top executives. Each of these 3-BHK flats has a carpet area of 2,033 square feet.

SBI has already taken two floors in the nearly-empty, 22-storey Air India Towers at Nariman Point, which till a few years ago was the headquarters of the national carrier.

The cash-starved airline was looking to sell these flats for the past two years. In August 2013, it had floated bids for e-auctioning of the four flats.

Under the asset monetisation plan, Air India has to mop up Rs 5,000 crore over a 10-year period, starting from 2013-14, in its bid to bridge the widening mismatch in its revenue and expenditure.

Faced with a substantial debt burden, the national carrier has been exploring various options to raise money to meet its funding requirements. These include sale of properties and land parcels. 

Air India, whose debt burden is about Rs 40,000 crore, is surviving on a bailout package approved in 2012.

The erstwhile UPA government had approved Air India's turnaround plan, with a committed public funding of Rs 30,231 crore, staggered over a period of nine years, with some specific riders.

SBI Rules Out Further Cuts in Lending Rate This Fiscal

After reducing its base rate by 40 basis points last year, State Bank of India on Friday ruled out any tinkering with its lending rates in the remaining months of the current fiscal. Last October, SBI had reduced its base rate by 40 basis points, from 9.70 per cent per to 9.30 per cent.

The nation's largest lender also ruled out going ahead with its share sale plan this fiscal.

"I don't really think (base rate will be cut) so, but maybe once we cross the year end then we will see," SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya told reporters after opening the second 'InTouch' branch at Colaba in South Mumbai.

The rate reduction by SBI was following a 50 bps repo rate cut by the RBI on September 29.

Earlier this week, private sector HDFC Bank reduced its base rate by 0.05 per cent to 9.30 per cent, matching with that of SBI, and 5 bps lower than its private sector rival ICICI Bank, which is maintaining its minimum lending rate at 9.35 per cent.

Talking about the new base rate calculation based on the marginal cost of funds, Bhattacharya said the formula will not make a huge amount of difference on base rate but will help in transmission. "Some more amount of transmission will definitely happen but I don't think it is going to be humongous."

However, many analysts have pegged an 80-160 bps reduction in base rate by banks from April when the new method will be in force.

On the Rs 12,000-crore follow-on public offer that the lender was planning to raise, she said SBI is unlikely to raise the money in this fiscal. The bank had been planning this OFS sale even in last fiscal as market was not conducive.

"I don't think we have any clear plans now. I don't think it will happen this fiscal year but then let's see."

After a meeting of its Committee of Directors on December 21, 2015, the bank had said in a regulatory filing that it had got permission to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore by selling Basel-III compliant Tier-II bonds on a private placement basis.

Following this, SBI had on December 24 raised Rs 4,000 crore through Tier-II bonds on private placement basis under Basel-III norms.

On the RBI deadline of March 2017 to clean up the balance-sheets, Bhattacharya said banks were in dialogue with the RBI.

"The RBI is having dialogues with banks. They are saying that where there are accounts which are inherently weak, it is better that we recognise them and we provide against them," Bhattacharya said.

Asked about the media reports of her name doing the rounds for the next Sebi chief, the veteran banker said there was no truth in them.

"This is said by the media. I don't know. You have to tell me where you get the information from," she quipped.

Syndicate Bank Recruitment for 115 Specialist Officers 2015

Syndicate Bank invites applications for recruitment of Specialist Officers. Syndicate Bank is going to fill up 115 posts through this job notification.

Dates to Remember:

• Last Date For Receipt of Application          :10-Dec-2015

Number of Vacancies:

There are in total 115 vacancies

Eligibility Criteria:

• Educational Qualification: Candidates should possess Bachelor Degree in Law (LLB) for Manager (Law) post, Qualified in Chartered Accountancy for Chartered Accountants post. For more details on how to apply, selection process, Application fees and other particulars go through notification.
• Age Limit : Should be between 21-35 years of age for Manager (Law) post, 21-30 years as on 01-07-2015 for Chartered Accountants.
• Age Relaxation: SC/ ST: 05 years, OBC: 03 years

           Official Website:
 

http://www.syndicatebank.in/RecruitmentFiles/Recruitment_SPECIALIST_CO_HRDD_24112015.pdf

For full details like online apply procedure, age limit, challan /online payment fee information, Educational Qualification on Syndicate Bank Recruitment 2015. Please visit above link.

From April 1, Kerosene Subsidy to be Paid Directly to Beneficiaries

 After paying subsidy to LPG users in their bank accounts, the government will from April 1 roll out a similar programme for kerosene in select districts, where the users will buy the cooking fuel at market rate but will get financial support directly in their bank accounts. 

The cash subsidy to be paid to users will be equivalent to the difference between current PDS price of about Rs 12 and market rate of Rs 43 per litre.

The move will help curtail subsidy outgo for kerosene, which in 2014-15 was about Rs 24,799 crore.

"Several state governments have come forward to implement direct benefit transfer (DBT) in kerosene in select districts," an official statement said.

The scheme will be rolled out from April 1 in Raipur, Durg and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, Panipat and Panchkula in Haryana, Shimla, Solan and Una in Himachal Pradesh, Chhatra, Giridih, East Singbhum, Hazaribagh, Jamtara and Khunti in Jharkhand.

Besides, the scheme will be implemented in Hoshangabad, Harda, Khandwa and Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh, Amaravati and Latur in Maharashtra, Taran Taran, Pathankot and Mohali in Punjab and Pali, Jhunjhunu and Kota in Rajasthan.

"Where such transfer is introduced, the consumer will pay the un-subsidised price of kerosene at the time of purchase. Subsequently, the amount of subsidy will be directly transferred to the bank account of the beneficiary.

"To avoid any inconvenience to the beneficiary through payment of un-subsidised price, subsidy shall be credited to eligible beneficiaries in advance during the initial purchase," it said.

With a view to incentivize States/UTs to implement DBT in kerosene, it has been decided that the states be given cash incentive of 75 per cent of subsidy savings during the first two years, 50 per cent in the third year and 25 per cent in the fourth year.

In case the states voluntarily agree to undertake cuts in kerosene allocation, beyond the savings due to DBT, a similar incentive will be given to those States/UTs, the statement said.

"While implementing DBT, states have been advised to take all necessary steps to ensure that eligible/genuine beneficiaries particularly in rural areas are able to access their full entitlement of kerosene. Special care should also be taken in areas having irregular power supply," it said.

Stating that the scheme will be implemented with effect from April 1, 2016, it said the state governments will be consulted in the meantime before operationalising the scheme.

The working of the scheme will also be reviewed after three months of implementation.

The National Sample Survey 2011-12 indicates that the total consumption of kerosene in the country, including both open market and PDS kerosene, was 71.30 lakh kilolitres.

Even though consumption of kerosene has been coming down over the years, 86.85 lakh kilolitres of subsidized PDS kerosene has been allocated to the states in the year 2015-16, which is higher than the total household kerosene demand in the country.

"Thus, there is evidence that some part of the kerosene allocation is diverted for non-eligible purposes," the statement said.

Also, there has been a major increase in coverage of power supply through electrification of villages. Nearly 45 lakh new LPG connections have also been given to the poor.

These measures, it said, have reduced the demand for kerosene, both for lighting and cooking purposes.