Pension to Retired Employees.

   The Government had introduced the New Pension System (NPS) from 1st January, 2004 through a Notification dated 22nd December, 2003 for new entrants to Central Government service, on mandatory basis, except to Armed Forces, joining service on or after 01.01.2004 replacing the existing system of defined benefit pension system. NPS has also been extended to autonomous bodies, State Governments and un-organised sector. The employees working in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) are not covered mandatorily under NPS. However, three CPSEs, viz Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. Manganese Ore (India Ltd. ) and NALCO have adopted NPS on voluntarily basis with effect from 01.01.2004, 01.07.2011 and 01.01.2007 respectively.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

PIB

Online Reservation of Concessional Tickets.

   All persons including physically handicapped persons can book full fare tickets on payment through the internet. However, booking of concessional tickets requiring verification of the requisite concession certificate and also retention of copies of the said certificate issued/signed by the competent authority at the railway counter as documentary evidence is not done through internet. Accordingly, the facility of e-ticketing has not been extended to such cases where the physical document is to be verified at the time of booking on concessional fare in case of disabled persons.

   Rail reservations through the IRCTC website are available from 00:30 hours to 23:30 hours. The services are not available for only one hour from 23:30 hours to 00:30 hours when the system is shut down for maintenance activity.

   The working of the system is regularly monitored. The following measures have been taken to improve the functioning of the IRCTC website.

   Capacity of the servers has been upgraded to meet demand. Internet Bandwidth has been increased to 450 Mbps. Agents have been restricted from booking Tatkal tickets and on the opening day of the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) between 0800 hours and 1000 hours.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri K. H. Muniyappa in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

PIB

CCS(Leave) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2012.

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRA ORDINARY, PART II,
SECTION-3, SUB-SECTION (i) ]

Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Personnel and Training

New Delhi, the 28th March, 2012.

NOTIFICATION

   GSR...(E)... In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 read with clause (5) of article 148 of the Constitution and after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India in relation to persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the President hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, namely: -

   I. (I) These rules may be called the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2012.

      (2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

   2. In the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, for rule 12, the following rule shalt be substituted, namely:-

   "12.(l) No Government Servant shall be granted leave of any kind for a continuous period exceeding five years.

   (2) Unless the President, in view of the exceptional circumstances of the case, otherwise determines, a Government servant who remains absent from duty for a continuous period exceeding five years other than on foreign service, with or without leave, shall be deemed to have resigned from the Government service:

   Provided that a reasonable opportunity to explain the reasons for such absence shall be given to that Government servant before provisions of sub-rule (2) are invoked”.

[F.No.13026/2/2010-Estt.(L)]

sd/-
(Mamta Kundra),
Joint Secretary to the Government of India.

   Note: The principal rules were published vide Notification No. S.O. 940, dated the 8th April,1972 and were last amended vide Notification number G.S.R dated 28th March, 2012.

Source:http://circulars.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/13026_2_2010-Estt-L-A.pdf