Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
In accordance with the scheme for National Pension System (NPS), as notified vide Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs)’s Notification No. 5/7/2003-ECB & PR dated 22.12.2003, the System is mandatory for all new recruits to the Central Government service (except armed forces) from 01.01.2004. Accordingly, as per Rule 2 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, as amended on 30.12.2003, these rules are applicable to Government servants appointed to civil posts on or before 31.12.2003. The date on which the vacancies arose or the date on which the examination was conducted for filling up the vacancies is not relevant for deciding the applicability of the Central Civil Services (Pension) rules, 1972. Ministry of Home Affairs have not sought any advice from Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare on the question of having a policy to cover the paramilitary personnel appointed after 01.01.2004 under the Old Pension Scheme on the ground that the vacancies arose, or the examination was conducted, in the year 2003. However, a reference was received from Ministry of Home Affairs in a specific case relating to appointments as Sub-Inspector in various Central Para Military Forces after selection in August, 2003 on the basis of an Examination conducted in 2002. Appointments on the basis of these selections were made in Central Reserve Police Force in 2003 and the candidates appointed were covered by the pension scheme under Central Civil Service (Pension) Rules, 1972. However, in the Border Security Force, offers of appointment on the basis of the same examination/ selection were issued in January, 2004. On a petition filed by some personnel appointed in the Border Security Force on the basis of that examination, Hon’ble High Court of Delhi directed to cover the petitioners under the Central Civil Service (Pension) Rules, 1972 on the grounds of administrative delay on the part of Border Security Force in making appointments. The order of Hon’ble High Court of Delhi was implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs/ Border Security Force in view of the peculiar circumstances of that case. The decision taken in that case is, however, not relevant for deciding applicability of Central Civil Service (Pension) Rules to all appointments made on or after 01.01.2004 in the Central Para Military Forces or in any other Department/organization on the basis of year of examination/ selection. This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of NorthEastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, DrJitendra Singh.
Dr Jitendra Singh delivers inaugural address at 44th Advanced Professional Programme for Civil Servants and officers
The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that lateral entry at the Joint Secretary level will enrich governance. Delivering the inaugural address at 44th Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) for Civil Servants and officers, organized by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Dr Jitendra Singh dispelled misgivings appearing in a section of media in recent weeks and said that lateral entry into services has been there even in the past and the Government has tried to institutionalize it and streamline it, so that the process is more objective and aimed at selecting the best, based on pure merit and specific requirements of a given assignment. Such appointments are purely of contractual nature and not regular ones, he added. The Minister said that several of the new and innovative programmes and schemes launched by the Government call for specialized expertise, for which a functionary appointed through lateral entry could serve the purpose more optimally and effectively. In addition, he said, there are several posts lying vacant at different levels in bureaucratic hierarchy including at the level of Joint Secretary and Deputy Secretary /Director. During his speech, Dr Jitendra Singh spelt out various path-breaking, revolutionary decisions taken by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He said, soon after the Government took over in 2014, Prime Minister gave us the Mantra of "maximum governance, minimum government" and looking back four years, we have abundantly fulfilled this pledge. This is for the first time in 70 years after independence, Dr Jitendra Singh said, that instead of taking credit for framing new rules, the Government has sought to draw satisfaction in doing away with around 1,500 such rules which had become obsolete or irrelevant with the passage of time, and some of which were a legacy of the British Raj, like, for example, the practice of getting documents attested by a Gazetted officer. In the last four years, Dr Jitendra Singh said, while every possible step was taken to provide a work-friendly environment for civil servants, at the same time, on the other hand, most of the Government programmes involved more and more of citizen participation and even the flagship programmes turned into mass campaigns. He particularly cited two examples. One, the introduction of new practice of three months' of mentorship in Government of India for fresh IAS officers before they went to their respective cadre allocated States for further assignment and second, an overall transformation with a new format for PM Excellence Awards which were earlier based mostly on individual performance, but, in the last three years, are based mostly on the targets and outcomes achieved by different districts in the public welfare and priority programmes of Government of India. Chairman IIPA and former Governor of Karnataka, Shri T.N. Chaturvedi, Director IIPA Dr. Tishyarakshit Chatterjee and Programme Director Prof. Ashok Vishandass also spoke on the occasion.