Opening of 54 new Kendriya Vidyalayas under Civil Sector

The Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the opening of 54 new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) under Civil Sector during the 12th Five Year Plan as recommended by the Expenditure Finance Committee. These 54 KVs will be located in 53 districts in 17 States. 

The total cost of opening of these new KVs is projected at Rs. 927.40 crore. The non-recurring costs covering constructions cost, furniture, fixture will be Rs. 793.58 crore and recurring cost covering pay and allowance and other expenses will be Rs.133.82 crore. Per unit cost of construction of a school building is Rs. 14.55 crore. 

These new KVs when fully functional will provide quality education to approximately 54,000 students in addition to 12 lakhs students already studying in the present KVs. 

The main objective of KVS is to cater to the educational needs of children of transferable Central Government employees including defence and para-military personnel by providing a common programme of education. There are at present 1094 functional Kendriya Vidyalayas including three abroad. These are in Moscow, Kathmandu and Tehran. 

Kendriya Vidyalayas are considered as model schools in terms of physical infrastructure, teaching resources, curriculum and academic performance. These schools constitute important educational infrastructure spread over the length and breadth of the country. Kendriya Vidyalayas are pace setting schools, have consistently turned out excellent academic performance, as is evident from Board Results of Class X and XII exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). 

Source: PIB

Voluntary retirement under FR 56(k), etc. and amendment of Rules.

No.25013/3/2010-Estt (A)

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

Department of Personnel and Training

North Block, New Delhi-110 001

Dated : 27th February, 2014

Subject : Voluntary retirement under FR 56(k), etc. and amendment of Rules.

The provisions of Fundamental Rule 56(k), 56(m) and Rule 48 of CCS(Pension) Rules, 1972 relating to acceptance of request of voluntary retirement have been revisited as per the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench judgement dated 4th August, 2010 in 0.A.No.1600/2009 filed by Shri Gopal Singh Purohit Vs U01 & Others to bring them at par with each other.

2. The matter has been examined in consultation with Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare and the Ministry of Law. FR 56(k) and 56 (m) have been amended vide Extra Ordinary Gazette Notification No.GSR.27(E) dated 17th January, 2014. It shall be open to the appropriate authority to withhold permission to a Government servant who seeks to retire under FR 56(k) or 56 (m) in the following circumstances:

(i) If the Government servant is under suspension ; or

(ii) If a charge sheet has been issued and the disciplinary proceedings are

pending; or

(iii) If judicial proceedings on charges which may amount to grave misconduct, are pending.

Explanation: For the purpose of this clause, judicial proceedings shall be deemed to be pending, if a complaint or report of a police officer, of which the Magistrate takes cognizance, has been made or filed in a criminal proceedings.

3. Copy of the Gazette Notification No.G.S.R.E.(27) dated 17.1.2014 amending FR 56(k) and FR 56(m) is enclosed.

4. All Ministries/Departments are requested to bring the contents of this O.M. to the notice of all concerned.

Sd-

(B.Bandyopadhyay)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Source:http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/25013_3_2010-Estt-A.pdf

Newly Developed ‘SMS Gateway’ Launched for Sending Alerts to Railway Passengers Regarding their PNR Status

Indian Railways added another milestone by launching yet another innovative scheme called the ‘SMS Gateway’, which will enable passengers to get SMS alerts on the status of reserved tickets. The ‘SMS Gateway’ which was developed by Centre for Railway information Systems (CRIS), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Railways, was launched by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury here today on the occasion of a seminar on the theme “Role of IT in Rail Services – Present and Future”. The seminar was organised by the Centre for Transportation Research and Management (CTRAM), an autonomous body of the Ministry of Railways. Present on occasion the were Shri Arunendra Kumar, Chairman, Railway Board, Shri D. P. Pande, Member Traffic, Shri Kul Bhushan, Member Electrical and Shri Alok Johri, Member Mechanical, of Railway Board. 

The ‘SMS Gateway’ project will be used to send SMS alerts to passengers in case of status change in the PRS tickets, as compared to the initial booking status (For example W/L to RAC, RAC to CNF, W/L to CNF). SMS alerts prior to chart preparation will be sent once a day, in case of status change only, beginning from 5 days before the journey date. The SMS alerts after chart preparation (which is normally done 3-4 hours before train departure), will convey the actual Berth No., Coach No. and RAC No. for those passengers whose final Charting status has changed as compared to the initial booked status. In case of any ticket upgradation or seat re-allotment also SMS alerts will be sent. 

It is estimated that a large of SMS alerts will be sent on daily basis (approx. 4 lakh), hence the system will be made ONLINE in phases. Initially, the system would be configured for sending post chart alerts in a few selective Rajdhani trains, followed by other Mail Express trains. Subsequently the pre chart alerts will be enabled. 

This facility will greatly reduce the last minute enquiry rush on the PRS websites and Call Centre as well as reduce the4 crowding near the pasted Chart locations on the Railway Platforms. This service will be provided free of cost to the users. This will enhance the image of Indian Railways. 

Taking the things forward, CRIS took up the project for setting up of SMS Gateway of sending alerts to passengers, sanctioned by the Railways Board. Till now passengers can find about their PNR status through website enquiries or Call Centre (139) or IVRS or SMS enquiry. Railways decided to proactively send the SMS alerts to passengers at no extra charges to them. 

During the development of the application for sending SMS alerts, considerable challenges were faced, to ensure that there is no adverse impact in the normal functioning of the backend main PRS system (CONCERT), which is one of the largest ticketing applications in the world. M/s Mahindra Comiva and Velti System, India were the technical partners of CRIS for making this project a success. 

PIB