Friday 29 September 2017

Special Philatelic Exhibition on 02.10.2017 by Odisha Circle




Cabinet approves Enhancement of age of superannuation of doctors other than Central Health Service (CHS) doctors to 65 years

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Cabinet
27-September-2017 18:32 IST


Cabinet approves Enhancement of age of superannuation of doctors other than Central Health Service (CHS) doctors to 65 years 
 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the enhancement of age of superannuation of doctors other than Central Health Service (CHS) doctors to 65 years in the following manner:

 i.  Ex-post facto approval to enhance the superannuation age of doctors of Indian Railways Medical Service to 65 years. 
 ii. Ex-post facto approval to enhance the superannuation age to 65 years for doctors working in Central Universities and IITs (Autonomous Bodies) under Department of Higher Education and doctors in Major Port Trusts (Autonomous Bodies) under Ministry of Shipping. 
iii. The superannuation age has been enhanced to 65 years in respect of doctors under their administrative control of the respective Ministries/Departments [M/o of AYUSH (AYUSH Doctors), Department of Defence (civilian doctors under Directorate General of Armed Forces Medical Service), Department of Defence Production (Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service Medical Officers), Dental Doctors under D/o Health & Family Welfare, Dental doctors under Ministry of Railways and of doctors working in Higher Education and Technical Institutions under Department of Higher Education]. 
iv. The Union Cabinet has further approved that doctors shall hold the administrative posts till the date of attaining the age of 62 years and thereafter their services shall be placed in Non-Administrative positions. 

The decision would help in better patient care, proper academic activities in Medical colleges as also in effective implementation of National Health Programmes for delivery of health care services. 
Around 1445 doctors of various Ministries/Departments of the Central Government would be benefitted.
The decision will not have much financial implications as large number of posts are lying vacant and the present incumbents would continue to work in their existing capacity against sanctioned posts.

Background :

•         The age of superannuation of doctors of Central Health Service was enhanced to 65 years w.e.f 31st May, 2016. 
•         The doctors other than Central Health Service including doctors of other systems of Medicine of Central Government requested for enhancement of age of superannuation on the ground of parity with CHS and shortage.


Clean India Mission prioritizes behavioural change

*K V Venkatasubramanian

Till three years ago, millions of people across India, mostly the rural population and many in urban regions, were nonchalant about performing their early morning rituals, particularly relieving themselves anywhere out in the open. They were unconcerned about hygiene, and diseases that could afflict them. Parents were exposing their children to grave dangers.

All these have changed considerably for the better following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a Swachh Bharat with universal sanitation by October 2, 2019 (Mahatma Gandhi’s150th birth anniversary). Down this period, open defecation, a way of life over centuries, has been curtailed.

Universal sanitation is at the core of India’s development agenda. Till 2014, only 39 percent people had access to safe sanitation facilities. As the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) completes three years, five states, nearly 200 districts and nearly 2.4 lakh villages across the country have declared themselves open defecation free (ODF). Besides,1.5 lakh villages have ranked themselves on the village Swachhta Index based on solid and liquid waste management in villages.

Improved sanitation has resulted in major household savings. Every rupee invested in improving sanitation leads to a saving of Rs 4.30, shows a recent independent study by UNICEF to estimate the cost benefits of the SBM. On an average, the cost-benefit ratio was 430 percent, “considering on one hand the expenditure from households and the government, and on the other hand the financial savings induced by improved sanitation,” the study found. The benefits are the highest for the poorest quintile of the population.
Besides, in fully ODF communities, an average family that invests in a toilet saves around Rs 50,000 per year--considering medical costs and mortality averted, and also time savings. The study, carried out in 10,000 rural households randomly selected across 12 states, found that 85 percent of family members use their latrines. The survey was conducted to measure the economic impact of sanitation at a household level.
Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, says an independent survey conducted across 140,000 households by the Quality Council of India found that “household toilet usage stands at 91 per cent."

Accessible and secure toilets have induced a big qualitative change in villagers’ lives, especially women who were forced to defecate in the open in darkness, suffering mental torture—with their safety, security and dignityimperilled.

Want of access to proper sanitation prompts high health and economic outlay: it costs India 6 percent of its GDP every year. Research has highlighted an indisputable link between toilets, malnutrition and irreversible stunting. For the populace continuously exposed to a faecally-contaminated environment, absence of a toilet can have far-reaching effects. Insanitation affects children leading to 100,000 deaths due to diarrhoeal diseases. Nearly 40 percent of India’s children are physically and cognitively stunted, according to the World Bank.

A major challenge facing the government is to bring about behavioural change in people’s mindsets, especially among rural masses—totally different from building a toilet, an infrastructure programme, that can be accomplished.  It is focusing on this most important factor, which requires dealing with a centuries-old deep-rooted habit of people going out (to defecate) and then getting them to talk about it. Several interpersonal techniques through community approaches to sanitation are being used across the country to trigger behavioural change; fundamental to the SBM.
Beyond the hundreds of thousands of toilets being built, "a genuine prioritisation of behaviour change interventions is taking place,” says Nicolas Osbert, Chief of WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene), UNICEF India.
To strengthen and take the mission forward, the Centre, under an accelerated fortnight-long campaign “Swachhta hi Seva” (cleanliness is service), is executing a series of activities--such as cleaning toilets, bus stands, movie halls, railways stations, public halls and more. The campaign will culminate with Swachh Bharat Diwas on October 2.

Efforts are on to move beyond the current drive for open defecation-free cities and work towards faecal sludge management for a safe urban environment without any risk to land and rivers. Every day, India generates a colossal 1.7 million tonnes of faecal waste. About 78 percent of this sludge (human excreta and water mixture) remains untreated and is dumped into rivers, groundwater or lakes in the absence of proper treatment systems. Sludge contains disease-carrying bacteria and pathogens and poses threat to health.

Youths and other stakeholders are being encouraged to come up with innovative solutions to problems for sustainable, environmental-friendly and affordable toilet technology for hilly, dry, flood-prone and remote areas; novel technological solutions to monitor usage of toilets and bring behavioural change for toilet usage and hygiene;
They have been invited to suggest unconventional models and methods to improve operation and maintenance of school toilets; pioneering solutions for menstrual health management and innovative solutions for early decomposition of faecal matter.

Unlike earlier open-ended programmes, the mission has been put on a fast track to accomplish the sunset clause--an ODF India by constructing 12 million toilets. Realising that this is a difficult and time-consuming venture involving behaviour change, sanitation has been made everyone’s business—be it the pradhan or the collector or the Member of Parliament. It is being operated through the Prime Minister, chief ministers, district magistrates, VMs (village mukhiyas). Also, an army of swachhagrahis has been created and nukkad nataks (street plays) have been promoted.

Behavioural change is being motivated through mass media and interpersonal messages communicated by celebrities, who are creating awareness about the ill-effects of open defecation.
*******
The author is an independent journalist and columnist, with four decades of experience across media streams--print, online, radio and television. He writes on science and developmental issues.

Views expressed in the article are author’s personal.
 Source : PIB

UPU News : Technology can create single global postal network

26.09.2017 - UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein has said that technology, the one single factor that has profoundly impacted the Post, must be harnessed to the sector’s advantage.

“At the UPU, we believe that this can be done by using technology to address deficiencies in global supply chains,” said Hussein in his opening remarks to UPU World Postal Business Forum participants. 
He explained that while the uptake of the internet has accelerated mail substitution, it has also fuelled the growth of e-commerce, which is one of the greatest opportunities facing the sector. He noted that the Post’s adoption of technology would be critical to ensuring the cross-border transfer of e-commerce items.
“As an intergovernmental organization tasked with postal development in the world, the UPU is very much concerned with the linkages between national physical and digital infrastructures,” he said. “We strive to have all the 192 national networks of our member countries to act as one and the changes in technology allow us to do just that.”
Also present to open the forum was UPU Council of Administration Chairman and PTT Turkish Post CEO Kenan Bozgeyik, who echoed the UPU Director General’s message, adding that, “Some gaps that are present [in the postal network] will be filled in with technological products and help us become an even stronger sector.”

Supply chain focus

The annual UPU World Postal Business Forum brings together industry experts to discuss the latest trends, products, services, technologies and processes facing the postal sector. This year’s forum is focused on the global e-commerce supply chain.
Experts from the UPU’s Postal Technology Centre, the Post and the private sector will take the stage, leading discussions under the theme, “Connecting the dots: e-commerce, technology and the postal network”. They will discuss the Post’s role in the global e-commerce value chain, overcoming customs-related challenges, e-commerce payment solutions and the impact of cloud and mobile technologies on the digital economy.
The annual conference, which continues until tomorrow, is taking place at the POST-EXPO postal and parcel industry exhibition in Geneva. The UPU will also be available to answer any questions about its technical solutions between 26 to 28 September at its stand (#6095) in the POST-EXPO exhibition hall.

Second UPU World CEO Forum starts in Moscow

18.09.2017 - Some 60 postal chief executives have gathered at the exclusive UPU event, where they will discuss leading multidimensional growth and promising postal business strategies.

The forum, organized by the UPU and hosted by Russian Post, will guide CEOs through the process of diagnosing the environment in which Posts operate before having them determine the exact business models they can implement to progress with changing global dynamics.
UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein thanked Russia for their gracious hosting in his opening remarks and encouraged all CEOs to take an active role in discussions.
“We want you to embrace this forum as a critical space where your views, ideas and inputs into the UPU can be harnessed and channelled,” said the Director General.
For his part, Russian Post CEO Nikolay Podguzov added that forum participants should not only keep in mind, but also take advantage of the Post’s unique role as a public-facing organization in all reaches of the world. 
“This is why Posts need to diversify to create more sustainable and profitable business opportunities,” he explained. 

High-level support

Also present to welcome CEOs were several high-level guests from the Russian Federation, including Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich and Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Mass Media Rashid Ismailov. Both stressed the postal sector’s critical role as a public infrastructure network.
“The digital economy is characterized by growth rates and will become the main driver for growth of the global market and inclusion of populations, which means there needs to be development in infrastructure to match this,” explained Dvorkovich.
“The Post is something that exists in some places where there is nothing else, we cannot live without the Post,” he said.
Ismailov reiterated the importance of the Post as an intermediary for public services, adding that the forum would “play a positive role in the development of the postal industry by facilitating [Posts’] cooperation”.

Second edition

The 2017 event is the second edition of the forum, which was designed by the UPU as an exclusive space for CEOs to discuss the latest challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
Their first day of deliberations focused on the sector’s current challenges in a changing global environment before examining how postal operators are meeting the needs of two important stakeholders: governments and customers.
Tomorrow, forum participants will examine the gap between customer expectations and what the Posts are doing about it, finishing with business strategies they can take back to their organizations.
Tune into #UPUCEOs on Twitter to follow along with the discussions.

SOCIAL SERVICE BY NFPE UNIONS OF HOWRAH DIVISION

RED SALUTE TO THE COMRADES OF HOWRAH DIVISION

            BY DONATING ONE MONTH'S 1% DA ARREAR ,THE MEMBERS OF NFPE, HOWRAH DIVISION HAS CREATED A HISTORY. ON THE AUSPICIOUS OCCASION OF OUR GREAT FESTIVAL, DURGA PUJA,  STARTED A NEW PROJECT CALLED " AMADER DURGA".

 IN WHICH, DISTRIBUTED ABOUT 304 NEW DRESSES AMONG THE STREET CHILDREN, ORPHANAGE, FLOOD AFFECTED AREA CHILDREN, CHILDREN OF VERY POOR REMOTE VILLAGES OF MEDINIPUR DISTRICT, EVEN TO THE CHILDREN OF VERY POOR MINORITY VILLAGES TOO.

            NOT ONLY THE EMPLOYEES OF HOWRAH DIVISION, ALSO MANY OTHERS FROM OTHER DIVISIONS HELPED US IN THIS PROJECT.





       
            AIPEU, Group-C, Odisha Circle  greets all the NFPE members of  Howrah Division for  such noble works.

Happy Durga Puja



No exclusive pacts for India Post Payments Bank

| Sep 27, 2017, 04:00 IST
Mumbai: India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will follow a business strategy of putting up payment platforms in the form of public infrastructure that can be used by all players. The bank has said that it would not enter into an exclusive deal with any participant.
"Of the 11 payments banks that are licensed, we are the only one that is government-owned. There is a difference in terms of our business objective. We do not seek profit but want to create public value," said A P Singh, CEO, IPPB.

"We will be putting up payment infrastructure that can be used by all — banks, e-wallet companies, insurance companies. Basically, we will shun exclusivity and there will be no discrimination on anyone coming on our platform," said Singh. He was speaking at the Digital Money 2017 conference that marked 10 years of the digital payment industry.

IPPB, which was launched in January, has opened eight access points — four in Jharkhand and four in Chhattisgarh. "Since, we are a post office and have a large customer base, acquiring customers is not a problem. But getting them to transact is a huge challenge," said Singh. He added that offering higher interest rates on savings was not working.

IPPB has started business with a paid up capital of Rs 125 crore from the government. It has also received Rs 375 crore as grant-in-aid according to the Output-Outcome Framework for Schemes 2017-18 for the department of posts.

"The grant is to deepen and widen the market, not just for us but for everyone. The postman will do assisted transactions and help self-service transactions," added Singh.Speaking at the summit Srikrishnan H, MD & CEO, Jio Payments Bank (a joint venture between Reliance Industries and SBI), said that the journey for digital finance through the e-wallet route did not seem to be valid any more and the stored value model is not holding good.

Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank MD & CEO Sudhakar Ramasubramanian said that although telco-promoted banks could get the size and scale, the challenge was to get customers to transact. "For payment banks, this is a daily labour model. We do not have the advantage of annuity income that a 'spread' business brings," he added. 
Source :  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

GRANT OF DEARNESS RELIEF TO CENTRAL GOVERNMENT PENSIONERS/FAMILY PENSIONERS - REVISED RATE EFFECTIVE FROM 1.7.2017

Outsourcing of Services – engaging workers through contractors by Ministries/Departments of Central Government Employees – compliance with provisions of Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act 1970

Rate of Dearness Allowance applicable w.e.f. 01.07.2017 to employees of Central Government and Central Autonomous Bodies continuing to draw their pay in the pre-revised pay scale/Grade Pay as per 6th Central Pay Commission

No. 113/2008-E.II(B)
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Expenditure

New Delhi dated. the 26th September, 2017.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject- Rate of Dearness Allowance applicable w.e.f. 01.07.2017 to employees of Central Government and Central Autonomous Bodies continuing to draw their pay in the pre-revised pay scale/Grade Pay as per 6th Central Pay Commission

The undersigned is directed to refer to this Department’s OM. of even No. dated 7th April, 2017 revising the rate of Dearness. Allowance wet. 01.01.2017 in respect of employees of Central Government and Central Autonomous Bodies continuing to draw their pay in the pro-revised pay scale i Grade Pay as per 6th Central Pay Commission.

2. The rate of DA admissible to above categories of employees of Central Government and Central Autonomous Bodies shall be enhanced from the existing 136% to 139% w.e.f. 01.07.2017.

3. The provisions contained in paras 3, 4 and 5 of this Ministry’s .O.M.No;1(3)12008-E.II(B) dated 29th August, 2008 shall continue to be applicable while regulating Dearness Allowance under these orders.

4. The contents of this Office Memorandum may also be brought to the notice of all organisations under the administrative control of the Ministries/Departments which have adopted the Central Government scales of pay.

Sd/-
(Nirmala Dev)

Deputy Secretary to the Govt. of Indi

I need to speak up now

Yashwant Sinha writes: The economy is on a downward spiral, is poised for a hard landing. Many in the BJP know it but do not say it out of fear


I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy. I am also convinced that what I am going to say reflects the sentiments of a large number of people in the BJP and elsewhere who are not speaking up out of fear.
Arun Jaitley is considered to be the best and the brightest in this government. It was a foregone conclusion before the 2014 elections that he would be the finance minister in the new government. His losing his Lok Sabha election from Amritsar was not allowed to come in the way of this appointment. One may recall that in similar circumstances Atal Bihari Vajpayee had refused to appoint Jaswant Singh and Pramod Mahajan, two of his closest colleagues in the party, to his cabinet in 1998. His indispensability was established further when the prime minister rewarded him not only by giving him the finance ministry including the department of disinvestment, but also the ministries of defence and corporate affairs. Four ministries in one go out of which he still retains three. I have handled the ministry of finance and know how much hard work there is in that ministry alone. Finance ministry, in the best of times, calls for the undivided attention of its boss if the job has to be properly done. In challenging times it becomes more than a 24/7 job. Naturally, even a superman like Jaitley could not do justice to the task.
Jaitley was, to begin with, a lucky finance minister, luckier than any in the post-liberalisation era. Depressed global crude oil prices placed at his disposal lakhs of crores of rupees. This unprecedented bonanza was waiting to be used imaginatively. The legacy problems like stalled projects and bank NPAs were no doubt there and should have been managed better like the crude oil bonanza. But the oil bonanza has been wasted and the legacy problems have not only been allowed to persist, they have become worse.
So, what is the picture of the Indian economy today? Private investment has shrunk as never before in two decades, industrial production has all but collapsed, agriculture is in distress, construction industry, a big employer of the work force, is in the doldrums, the rest of the service sector is also in the slow lane, exports have dwindled, sector after sector of the economy is in distress, demonetisation has proved to be an unmitigated economic disaster, a badly conceived and poorly implemented GST has played havoc with businesses and sunk many of them and countless millions have lost their jobs with hardly any new opportunities coming the way of the new entrants to the labour market. For quarter after quarter, the growth rate of the economy has been declining until it reached the low of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal, the lowest in three years. The spokespersons of the government say that demonetisation is not responsible for this deceleration. They are right. The deceleration had started much earlier. Demonetisation only added fuel to fire.
And please note that the methodology for calculation of the GDP was changed by the present government in 2015 as a result of which the growth rate recorded earlier increased statistically by over 200 basis points on an annual basis. So, according to the old method of calculation, the growth rate of 5.7 per cent is actually 3.7 per cent or less.
Even the SBI, the largest public sector bank of the country, has stated with unusual frankness that the slowdown is not transient or “technical”, it is here to stay and the slowdown in demand has only aggravated the situation. It has openly contradicted what the BJP president said just a few days ago that the slowdown in the last quarter was on account of “technical” reasons and will be corrected soon. According to the SBI chairman, the telecom sector is the latest entrant to the long list of stressed sectors.
The reasons for this decline are not far to seek nor have they appeared suddenly. They have been allowed to accumulate over time to cause the present crisis. It was not difficult to anticipate them and take counter measures to deal with them. But that called for devoting time to the task, serious application of mind, understanding of the issues and then working out a game plan to tackle them. It was perhaps too much to expect from a person who was carrying the heavy burden of so many extra responsibilities. The results are there for all of us to see.
The prime minister is worried. A meeting convened by the prime minister with the finance minister and his officials appears to have been postponed indefinitely. The finance minister has promised a package to revive growth. We are all waiting with bated breath for this package. It has not come so far. The only new thing is the reconstituted Economic Advisory Council of the prime minister. Like the five Pandavas they are expected to win the new Mahabharat war for us.
The performance of the monsoon this year has not been flattering. This will further intensify rural distress. The farmers have received “massive” loan waivers from some state governments varying from one paise to a few rupees in some cases. Forty leading companies of the country are already facing bankruptcy proceedings. Many more are likely to follow suit. The SME sector is suffering from an unprecedented existential crisis. The input tax credit demand under the GST is a whopping Rs 65,000 crore against a collection of Rs 95,000 crore. The government has asked the income tax department to chase those who have made large claims. Cash flow problems have already arisen for many companies specially in the SME sector. But this is the style of functioning of the finance ministry now. We protested against raid raj when we were in opposition. Today it has become the order of the day. Post demonetisation, the income tax department has been charged with the responsibility of investigating lakhs of cases involving the fate of millions of people. The Enforcement Directorate and the CBI also have their plates full. Instilling fear in the minds of the people is the name of the new game.
Economies are destroyed more easily than they are built. It took almost four years of painstaking and hard work in the late nineties and early 2000 to revive a sagging economy we had inherited in 1998. Nobody has a magic wand to revive the economy overnight. Steps taken now will take their own time to produce results. So, a revival by the time of the next Lok Sabha election appears highly unlikely. A hard landing appears inevitable. Bluff and bluster is fine for the hustings, it evaporates in the face of reality.
The prime minister claims that he has seen poverty from close quarters. His finance minister is working over-time to make sure that all Indians also see it from equally close quarters.
The writer, a member of the BJP, is a former Union finance minister
Source : http://indianexpress.com

Monday 25 September 2017

100% AADHAAR LINKING OF GPF, PPF & EPF BY DEC, 2017 AND USING AADHAAR FOR PORTABILITY: DECISION OF CABINET SECRETARIAT MEETING

No. D-11011/36/2016- DBT (Cab.)
Govt. of India
Cabinet Secretariat
DBT Mission

Subject: Aadhaar linking and interoperability of General Provident Fund (GPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Employees’ Provident Fund (EFF) accounts regarding.

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Joint Secretary, DBT Mission, Cabinet Secretariat on 25th August, 2017 at 11:00 A.M in the Conference Hall, 4th floor, Shjvaji Stadium Annexe Building, Rajiv Chowk, New Delhi on the subject mentioned above. The list of participants isplaced at Annexure I.

2. Joint Secretary, DBT Mission welcomed the participants and stated that the objective of the meeting is to deliberate on Aadhaar linking of GPF, PPF and EPF accounts of employees, examine the possibility of a centralised repository of employees" fund details with Aadhaar as the primary identifier and establishing portability of fund accounts across organisations. He requested all stakeholders to share comments and suggestions in this regard.

3. Deputy CGA, Govt. Banking Arrangements, D/o Expenditure informed that an on-line salary application system, Employee Information System (EIS) is being developed within PF MS for implementation in all Drawing and Disbursing Offices (DDOS) and Pay Accounts Offices (PAOS) of Central Ministries. EIS is envisaged to be a central repository of details of all salaried employees, and it can also maintain details of GPF of government employees. He fiirther stated that at present, Aadhaar number is not a mandatory field in employee information records, due to which Aadhaar seeding may be low. it was discussed that if the employee data on E13 are linked with Aad’naar, it may serve the purpose of establishing interoperability of salary and GPF accounts across DDOs. It was highlighted that Railways and Defence departments are not covered under £18. An example of e-Samarth was cited, which is a centralised database of CRPP (Central Reserve Police Force) in MHA, which may be studied for this purpose. Dy CGA also mentioned that M/o Railways and Defence may also be consulted in this context.

4. Senior Audit Officer, Office of Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of IndiaDelhi stated that at present, State AG (Auditor General) offices assign new GPF numbers to employees while moving across different FAQs and there is no centralized mapping system with Aadhaar as the primary identifier. JS. DBT Mission requested that the matter may be taken up with the Office of C&AG, with the concerned Dy C&AG to examine the possibility of mapping all State GPF subscribers across the country. It was suggested that the role of a third party such as NSDL to create and maintain this database may also be examined.

5. Assistant Director, D/o Posts stated that that presently, around 25 lakh PPF accounts out of 27.2 lakh accounts are on Core Banking Solution (CBS) network and these accounts are portable across Post Offices. It was informed that every PPF account is associated with a PPF number and a Customer Identification Form (CIF) number, which is a unique number that holds all personal as well as account related information of the customer. ideally, a customer can have one CIF number in one post office. though the customer can have multiple accounts under these numbers. It was further informed that Aadhaar linking with individual accounts and CIF numbers is being undertaken and 4.7 crore ClFs out of total 56 crore CIFs (which also include savings certificates, term deposit accounts, etc) have been seeded with Aadhaar. JS, DBT pointed out that Aadhaar seeding is very low in this case, and the Department may undertake necessary actions to expedite the same to achieve 100% seeding by December 31, 2017. It was further suggested that all PPF accounts and CIF numbers may be linked with Aadhaar and the Department may share its suggestions on establishing a common repository of all PPF accounts using Aadhaar as the identifier.

6. 
Deputy Director, M/o Labour & Employment stated the Universal Account Number (UAN) provides portability for the employees covered under EPF. It was informed that 14 crore out of 4 crore active subscribers’ records have been seeded with Aadhaar. It was discussed that this will enable portability of EPF accounts when the details of Bank Account, Aadhaar and PAN are seeded in UAN database of the employees and are verified by employer on change of job. It was suggested that Aadhaar seeding of all may be taken up priority.

7. Deputy Secretary, Budget, D/o Economic Affairs stated that a host of small saving schemes including PPF are Operated by post offices, public sector banks and select private secror banks and Aadhaar seeding is being undertaken in all these accounts. JS, DBT Mission enquired if the. Department is taking any initiative to have a centralised platform for all savings schemes, given that all banks use different systems and Operate in silos. It was discussed that the Department may examine the matter and share updates in this regard.

8. 
After detailed deliberations, the following were agreed upon.
i. All stakeholder Departments to ensure 100% Aadhaar seeding of GPF, PPF and EPF accounts by December 31, 2017.

ii. All Departments to examine the possibility of developing common platforms for their respective service subscribers/employees/account holders using Aadhaar as the unique identifier to ensure portability across the financial system.

iii. DBT Mission to hold a review meeting with senior officers of all stakeholder Departments in the second week of September. 2017 to discuss the issue further.

                                                                                                                                   
Annexure-I

No. D-11011/36/2016-DBT (Cab.)
Government of India
Cabinet Secretariat
DBT Mission 

4th Floor, Shivaji Stadium Annexe
Rajiv Chowk, New Delhi- 110001
Dated: 29th August, 2017

Subject: Aadhaar linking and interoperability of General Provident Fund (GPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) accounts-regarding.
The undersigned is directed to forward herewith a copy of record of discussion of the meeting held under the chairmanship of Joint Secretary, DBT Mission, Cabinet Secretariat on 25.08.2017 at 11.00 AM on the subject mentioned above for information and further necessary action, please.

Sd/-
(Tulsipriya Rajkumari)
Assistant Director
DBT Mission

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation
(Ministry of Labour, Govt. of India)
Head Office
Bhavishya Nidhi Bhawan, 14- Bhikaiji Cama Place, New Delhi - 110066
(CENTRAL ANALYSIS & INTELLIGENCE UNIT)
No.CAIU/011(44)2016/Aadhar/10273
Date: 22.09.2017
To
All ACCs (Zones) including ACC (ASD),
All RPFC-I/ RPFC 11 (Regional Offices),


Sub:- Aadhaar linking and interoperability of General Provident Fund (GPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) -regarding.
Sir,
Please find enclosed herewith a letter No.D-11011/36/2016-DBT (Cab.) dated 29.08.2017 received from Assistant Director, Cabinet Secretariat, DBT Mission forwarding therewith record of discussions of the meeting held under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary, DBT Mission on 25.08.2017, wherein it has been directed that all the Departments should ensure 100% of Aadhaar seeding by December 31,2017.

2. It is requested to implement the instructions issued by the Cabinet Secretariat, DBT Mission, New Delhi for seeding of Aadhaar by December 31, 2017.
[This issues with the approval of ACC-II (CAIU)].

Yours faithfully,
Encl: As above
(A.K. Mandal)
Regional P. F. Commissioner-I(CAIU)