Rashtrapati Bhavan, the august premises where the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces awards highly coveted medals to select members of the military, witnessed an unusual, unprecedented and ignominious scene recently. An anguished delegation of military veterans returned over 2,000 gallantry and distinguished service medals to the president to register their protest over the government's stubborn denial of the long-promised one-rank-one-pension (OROP) dispensation for retired faujis.
More than the status of the serving community, it is the plight of the retired military personnel that has triggered the unseemly returning of medals by the veterans. As per current pension norms, all military personnel receive different pensions for different ranks depending on when they retire. This, incidentally, is true for the civilians also and only those who attain the pay scale of secretaries to the government of India have the benefit of OROP.
But given the fact that military personnel retire at a very early age harmonisation was sought and successive governments since the days of Rajiv Gandhi have promised to do so, but never delivered on the promise. Consequently many pension asymmetries prevail. For instance, a sepoy who retired before 1996 gets a pension that is 82 per cent less than a post-2006 retiree.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Are you all aware of Rule 49-O ?
Rule 49-O is a rule in The Conduct of Elections Rules.It describes the procedure to be followed when a valid voter decides not to cast his vote.Well,I invite you all to the different angles of this.
Text of Rule 49-O says If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.
Current scenario implies Since the ballot paper / Electronic voting machine (EVM) contains only the list of candidates, a voter cannot record his vote under Section 49-O directly. He must inform the presiding officer at the election booth. This violates the secrecy of the ballot. However, with paper ballot a different method is used to "waste" ones vote, which is stamping on multiple candidates.
Negative / Neutral Voting is there in the proposals of the Election Commission of India.
Text of Rule 49-O says If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.
Current scenario implies Since the ballot paper / Electronic voting machine (EVM) contains only the list of candidates, a voter cannot record his vote under Section 49-O directly. He must inform the presiding officer at the election booth. This violates the secrecy of the ballot. However, with paper ballot a different method is used to "waste" ones vote, which is stamping on multiple candidates.
Negative / Neutral Voting is there in the proposals of the Election Commission of India.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Satyam to exercise cost-cutting, relocate onsite staff
Satyam Computer on Thursday announced cost-cutting measures including relocating onsite support staff to tide over the current financial crisis in the company and meet the challenges posed by the global economic slowdown.
The company has also put a freeze on expenses relating to internal issues. "All capital expenditures, unless required to meet customer deliveries, are being suspended till further notice. This includes renewal of laptops, office renovation.
The company has suspended external training as well as the advertising and marketing co-lateral expenses for the time being.
The company has also put a freeze on expenses relating to internal issues. "All capital expenditures, unless required to meet customer deliveries, are being suspended till further notice. This includes renewal of laptops, office renovation.
The company has suspended external training as well as the advertising and marketing co-lateral expenses for the time being.
Azharuddin to join Congress
Former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin is all set to join the Congress party.
He wants the Congress to come back to power.
He wants the Congress to come back to power.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Taliban plan to target India
After Pakistan agreed to enforce Islamic law in large areas of its restive North West Frontier Province (NWFP), including Swat Valley, in a concession to buy peace in the region, intelligence sources confirmed the threat that Taliban actually poses to India which is not far from the Indian boundary.
Government may ban FDI in cigarettes
The commerce ministry is considering a proposal to ban foreign direct investment in the manufacture of cigarettes for sale in the country.
A proposal to prohibit FDI in the manufacture of cigarettes, where it is manufactured for domestic consumption, has, accordingly, been initiated by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and is under consideration of the government.
Satyam recalls 1,500 onsite staff
Satyam Computer Services has called back more than 1,500 overseas employees, attached to projects that are shut down due to termination of contract by clients.The first batch of 170 employees who were attached to State Farm Insurance, an Illinois-based insurance company, that terminated its contract with Satyam, has already returned to Satyam headquarters in Hyderabad.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Ford Story 2.0 Web Site Launches
Ford created TheFordStory.com Web site in December to help show the public that the company is different – Ford has a plan centered around great new products that deliver on fuel economy, quality, safety and smart technologies.
Now the company is introducing “version 2.0” of this social media Web site. Highlights of the updated site include:
· Daily updates of fresh content, showing the progress on Ford Motor Company's plan. A particular emphasis will be on fuel economy and quality, as Ford tries to make the reality of where we stand competitively match the perception the public has today.
· An Outside Voices area, providing visitors the ability to not only see what Ford is saying about itself, but also what consumers and the news media are saying about the company directly.
· Easier ability to share individual articles and videos, allowing visitors to spread Ford's story and progress to others.
· Connection with other external social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr – and it now can be browsed on iPhones.
3G auction may fetch only Rs 20,000 cr
The Finance Ministry has sharply scaled down the estimated income from auctioning 3G spectrum. The Budget estimate for the year 2009-10 pegs revenues from the auction, expected to be held later this year, at Rs 20,000 crore only.
The total income from collecting telecom licence fees, entry fees and spectrum charges from the operators for the year 2009-10 is estimated at Rs 33,335 crore compared with the revised estimate of Rs 13,174 crore during 2008-09.
USO fund
----------
While the Universal Services Obligation fund has collected nearly Rs 20,000 crore for rolling out telecom services in rural areas, the Finance Ministry has allocated only Rs 1,800 crore for 2009-10.
The total income from collecting telecom licence fees, entry fees and spectrum charges from the operators for the year 2009-10 is estimated at Rs 33,335 crore compared with the revised estimate of Rs 13,174 crore during 2008-09.
USO fund
----------
While the Universal Services Obligation fund has collected nearly Rs 20,000 crore for rolling out telecom services in rural areas, the Finance Ministry has allocated only Rs 1,800 crore for 2009-10.
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