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ECONOMIC TIMES, JUN 21, 2016
Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha wants unified stance in courts between ministries
NEW DELHI: In a fresh missive to all government departments, the Cabinet Secretary has issued an advisory that divergent positions should not be taken in court cases and differences between ministries on a particular issue should be resolved through mutual consultation. In a strongly worded note sent to all ministries on June 16, Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha observed that "at times different departments take divergent positions or individual interpretations in court cases", causing "avoidable confusion in the submissions finally deliberated upon before the courts". Sinha said it was the responsibility of the administrative ministry or department to take action at each stage, "including filing of a counter affidavit", after consultations with all concerned departments. "I would request you to ensure that differences, if any, in the stand of ministries or departments in any particular court matter are resolved through mutual consultation. It may also be ensured that the counter affidavits are filed only after appropriate vetting by the Department of Legal Affairs," the note says. The government advisory may be an attempt to generate a via media between ministries, present it to court and have some say in any eventual decision, instead of letting the court have the overriding say in crucial matters of the economy and policy. This is also a part of the government's overall attempt to cut down litigation and delays in deciding such cases in a bid to rev up the economy by freeing up muchdelayed projects from litigation.
INDIAN EXPRESS, JUN 21, 2016
Babus without rights
Informalisation of the workforce now extends to the government sector.
Written byBabu P. Remesh
A study conducted by the Indian Staffing Federation reports that about 12.3 million (43 per cent of the workforce) workers in the government sector are in temporary employment.
The recent suicide of Hridesh Kumar Sharma, an employee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) who was in financial distress allegedly because of irregular and delayed payment of salaries in his organisation, points to the deteriorating work conditions in the government sector. From its erstwhile status as provider of stable and secured employment, government institutions and public sector firms have slipped to a situation where the terms of work are increasingly dismal and comparable to those prevailing in the “informal sector”.
Gone are the days when all permanent employees were entitled to pension benefits. Salaries are delayed due to the funds crunch in the public exchequer or due to untimely allocation of money to state/local governments. The condition of the thousands of “temporary employees” working in various government departments and in quasi-government institutions and PSUs is even worse.
A study conducted by the Indian Staffing Federation reports that about 12.3 million (43 per cent of the workforce) workers in the government sector are in temporary employment. While 10.5 million among them are in casual employment (without any formal job contract), about 1.4 million are with written, short-term contracts.
Vacancies arising on retirement/superannuation (especially in the lower rungs of the organisation) are either frozen or perennially kept unfilled. Permanent staff are hired only for executive, managerial and professional positions. The logic of downsizing (or right-sizing!) the workforce runs deep in the government.
Many of the temporary employees in the government sector work in short-term or project-based positions, where they are given a short-term contract with consolidated paypacks. They are not entitled to social security benefits, leave and perks available to the permanent employees. In some cases, organisations extend the benefits of EPF and ESIC, especially when the tenure is relatively longer or if there is a likelihood of frequent renewal/extension of the contract. But, if the appointment is for a short duration, these benefits are not provided.
Of late, there has also been largescale outsourcing of government-sector work, either through transferring of non-core works to service providing agencies or by adapting flexi-staffing arrangements. In the case of flexi-staffing arrangement, the identified agency provides the required number of employees to the client organisation as leased employees or contract workers. Providing Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMC) to private agencies is another trend by which private employment is facilitated in the government. Many of the “temporary staff” work on a “permanent basis” but without any commensurate benefits and long-term commitment from the employer.
In this environment of government sector employment, intermediaries play a major role between the principal employer and the worker. In the absence of strict regulatory mechanisms, these workers are subjected to myriad forms of exploitation that include exorbitant charges for registration and periodic renewal, non-issuance of appointment orders, irregularity and delays in payment, payment of lower wages by way of imposing undue deductions, demanding work for long hours and denial of minimum wages. In most such cases, though the principal employer (government organisation) pays all the admissible payments and benefits to the temporary staff, the intermediaries pocket it as there is no efficient system in place to check malpractices. It is now common to see security guards working for 12 hours, menial staffs being paid below minimum wages, and salaries being delayed for several months.
Many Centre-sponsored development programmes (NACO, ICDS, NRHM, MGNREGA, UIDAI) are implemented by contract employees. For instance, over a lakh temporary workers are engaged with the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO). Some of these workers are inducted on a project mode, and their tenure renewed time and again. Many others are engaged as “voluntary workers”, who receive an honorarium, which often is less than the statutory minimum wage. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme has a 2.5-million dedicated workforce. Aanganwadi workers and helpers are paid a monthly salary of Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,500 respectively. The Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) under the NRHM receive monthly honorarium in the range of Rs 1,500-3,000, even after adding supplementary sums from the state governments. These employees are denied the status of workers and their contributions viewed as “voluntary, social service”!
These changes have brought in a clear-cut “dualism” in the government sector’s workforce, where, along with a gradually dwindling “protected permanent employees”, a segment of footloose labour, characterised by dismal working conditions and employment benefits, is growing. Unless measures are brought in to arrest the trend of temporalisation of employment and regulate service providers/placement and flexi-staffing agencies, the government sector could soon start to resemble private informal workplaces, in terms of intensive employment insecurity and inferior work conditions.
The writer is director, School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, IGNOU, New Delhi
FINANCIAL EXPRESS, JUN 20, 2016
On 7th Pay Commission implementation, private investment, Air India and more, here’s what govt is mulling over
Besides the government staff, economic analysts are keenly awaiting when and how the Centre will implement 7th Pay Commission award, which has implications for government finances (with estimated outgo of R74,000 crore in FY17) as well as on inflation.
By:Prasanta Sahu
The questions about GDP data refuse to wither away. Manufacturing GDP growth and the IIP data aren’t quite compatible, even if one considers the fact that apart from output, value addition is now being captured more efficiently.
Besides the government staff, economic analysts are keenly awaiting when and how the Centre will implement 7th Pay Commission award, which has implications for government finances (with estimated outgo of R74,000 crore in FY17) as well as on inflation. Also, with private investments yet to show decisive signs of picking up, the government has the difficult task of keeping the tempo in public spending, especially capital investments, at a time it is losing the benefits of low crude oil prices. Finance secretary Ashok Lavasa speaks on these issues in an interview to Prasanta Sahu. Excerpts:
Private consumption has been the growth driver. Despite the efforts by the government, private investors are yet to shed their diffidence. Among infrastructure sector, highways and railways have seen a turnaround but almost mainly because of government investment. How far is this model sustainable given the Centre’s (limited) fiscal capacity?
Many infrastructure projects, in which private sector has been involved, have started moving. In highway sector, for example, the hybrid annuity model has started attracting investors. As we go forward, we feel that the initiatives that have been taken by the government — to improve the ease of doing business and integrate various clearances — would give a push to private-sector investments. In infrastructure sectors, where the government plays a key role in awarding contracts, etc, we are seeing positive results too. If all the factors are favourable, the GDP growth could be close to 8% this year.
The questions about GDP data refuse to wither away. Manufacturing GDP growth and the IIP data aren’t quite compatible, even if one considers the fact that apart from output, value addition is now being captured more efficiently.
How important are lower interest rates in reviving demand?
I think it’s a question of giving a boost to demand. Sometimes people may have more expectation than whatRBIcould do (in terms of lowering rates). The RBI has had to consider various factors and take a considered view. It is not possible to please everyone all times. It is fair to expect that whatever lowering (of rates) has been done by RBI, finds an expression in the retail lending rates. I think the governor is right (in saying full transmission has not happened of its (cumulative 150 bps) rate cut since January 2015.
What will be the guiding framework of the “prospective planning” that will replace five-year Plan?
We could divide it into three parts: the period till which one can have some predictability on availability of resources, that will be, say, a three-year action plan. Beyond this, there will be medium-term (seven-year) Plan. Besides, there can be a prospective plan for the period till 2030. In the prospective plan, what you already have is sustainable development goals, which are part of the international commitments. Niti Aayog will look at integration of issues and prospective planning while department of expenditure will make the fund allocations for various programmes.
Will substantial additional provision be needed to meet the pay panel-related outgo in FY17?
It will be too early and premature to say whether budgetary provision is adequate or not. No one knows to what extent the government will accept the Pay Commission’s report. But, there is a provision in the Budget to take care of the impact of the pay commission award. (According to sources, FY17 Budget has provision of about R54,000 crore for honouring the pay panel’s award, but Lavasa refused to comment on this ).
Will Niti Aayog’s reported suggestions on strategic disinvestments in a clutch of PSUs, including Air India, be taken forward this year?
We haven’t so far received the recommendations you are referring to. We have to explore all forms of divestment and strategic sale is of course one of them. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management will be looking at all possibilities and deciding on which unit to be put on privatisation or disinvestment or strategic sale mode.
Is there any move to monetise surplus land with defence, railways and ports bodies?
This is not to be done as a central government policy. The railways has been trying to monetise land. Certainly, this is one source of revenue, but it may not be a very significant source. Whenever an entity decides to take up any piece of land for monetisation, it has to consider all the legal issues, physical condition, its own plans of utilising and ultimately, if there is a market for that (in case ofsale/leasing out).
ECONOMIC TIMES, JUN 20, 2016
Government to replace pen and paper with tablets for data collection
NEW DELHI: Pentium is mightier than pen at last the government's army of data collectors have admitted to this. July will see the first data collection exercise ever that will substitute penandpaper with computing technology (tablets in this case), and this is a first step in what will be a quick digitisation of this vast government programme. July's first quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) will be conducted by researchers using tablets, and guided by what's known as computerassisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technique. The statistics ministry has asked for around 700 tablets, at a per unit cost of Rs 20,000. Surveyors of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) will track and upload employment data, making huge time savings. "We have moved a proposal to the finance ministry to get 700 of these devices for PLFS, which is in advanced stages of being implemented. We used to collect data on paper which was then sent to data processing centres and then uploaded, leading to delays. In a way, we are setting a precedent," said an official from the ministry of statistics and programme implementation. This officer and others who spoke to ET did not wish to be identified. Use of technology can speed up data dissemination, they said. For example, the government's employment data is available only once every five years from National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). Plus, its scope is limited to the coverage area of the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI). ASI looks at registered factories only. The labour ministry's quicker quarterly surveys, started since the global economic crisis of 2008, are also not broad enough in scope. The US produces monthly employment data, and India needs to get there, officials said. Technology is critical in achieving that. Use of technology so far has been limited to back office. The statistics ministry runs portals that can process data. And postal department employees collect consumer price inflation data in rural areas and feed it into computers in back offices. But the interface of the surveyor and the surveyed has so far been penandpaper.