Hunar Haat at Delhi

Ajit glowfriend Food Festival, Tourism , , , , , , ,

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During month of  February Delhi weather gets pleasant with mellow sun and cool breeze, flower beds are blooming with new crop of winter seasonals and there is much improvement in air quality.If there is an opportunity for enjoying a tasty meal in warm sunshine and simultaneously appreciating some artworks there is a great temptation for going out and savouring the  great experience.The newly introduced Hunar Haat (Market of Artisans) at Connaught Place looked quite inviting with performing folk artists and lines of eateries offering cuisine prepared by master chefs from all over the country.

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The Haat turned out to be an event organised by National Minorities Development and; Finance Corporation (NMDFC) under Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) scheme of the Minority Affairs Ministry. We were told that the  scheme aims to to encourage artists . For historical purposes -the first “Hunar Haat”,  was organised in November last year at Pragati Maidan, the one under progress at Baba Kharak Singh Marg  is the second edition .

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The sidewalk at Baba Kharag Singh Marg has been converted into a mini market for display of these skills .The items on display have an amazing variety of art ware besides the eateries offering Kashmiri tea to Lucknowi Biryani besides Dilli Ki chat.The show is appropriately titled  “Craft Aur Cuisine Ka Sangam”.The performance by folk artists adds another colourful dimension  to the event.

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As per the info provided to us  100 artisans and 30 culinary experts from about 24 states and union territories are participating at about 130 stalls .The highlight of the Haat is “Bawarchikhana” where various cuisines from different parts of the country are being showcased and the visitors can enjoy to their hearts content.

Delhiites were seen enjoying the great opportunity to savour the best of foods from all over the country which include Dal Bati Churma and Thali from Rajasthan, Sandesh and Rasogolla from West Bengal, Awadhi Mughlai foods from Lucknow, Malabari food from Kerala, Litti Chokha of Bihar, Dhokla and Jalebi from Gujarat, Kashmiri Wazwan from Jammu and Kashmir Puran Poli from Maharashtra, , Bhutte Ke Khees and Sabudana Kheer and Khichri from Madhya Pradesh.

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The Haat is expected to return to Delhi annually around this part of the winter.There appeared to be a promise that the  experiment will be a success and Delhiites  will continue to enjoy year after year.

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Getting nostalgic with Delhi Heritage Foundation

Ajit glowfriend Delhi, Tourism , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This New Year opened on an exciting note.Seventh of January brought a surprise invite from Delhi Heritage Foundation an organisation working for reviving ancient culture and preserving heritage of Delhi the capital city of India.The organisation conceived and promoted by certain prominent citizens of old city has brought together bunch of city lovers enthused with past glory of the Shahjahanabad and fired with zeal for preserving it’s cultural heritage and traditions.Going through the Facebook page of the organisation and impressed by the committed, crusading spirit of the dedicated citizen vigilantes we promptly lapped up the invite.

The event titled Tangible and Intangible Heritage of City of Delhi opened floodgates of nostalgia about the old city popularly known as the walled city, having been protected by fortification by Mughal Emperors over middle ages. Several participants having been born and grown up in the city and others having migrated in course of their formative years in life spoke emotionally  about the ways of old Delhi. While someone spoke about the artistic ways of traders and market men other speaker gushed over the culinary delights of Chandni Chowk the Central market which was in historic times, and continues to be  the nerve centre of commercial activities. For everyone  mention of areas covered by narrow lanes and bye lanes evoked passionate memories of having discovered the charms of the city on foot.

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Secretary Dr.GG Saxena interacting with audience

The tone for the evening was set by Dr. SY Qureshi an eminent ex civil servant and leading light of the organisation who in keynote address recalled the lost glory of the city and shared his vision for preserving and recreating the lost heritage of city of Shahjahanabad . It transpired that The Delhi Heritage foundation has  on it’s own initiated moves  for preservation of several historic monuments by coming up with the novel scheme of encouraging educational institutions to adopt a monument.

Another highlight of the evening were the narratives on Cinema theatres of Delhi which were succumbing to loss of business in hard times.Even mention of names of of picture halls had element of excitement for everyone bringing back memories of a Mughal-e-Azam or Pakiza and excitement associated with queuing up for a first day first show ticket outside Regal in Connaught Place or Golcha in Daryaganj.Every one felt the need  for re energising the picture halls located on prime places in the city with innovative techniques.

The myriad suggestions for recreating the lost glory of city poured in  from enthusiastic participants. The phoenix like ability  of the city to reinvent itself was best summarised by Chairman in a poetic rendering of Mir Taki Mir which refers to a stage when the city was passing through times difficult.It is recalled that master of Urdu poetry had introduced himself in a mushaira  as

” Dilli Ek Shahar tha Aalamein Intikhab ..rahne wale hain hum us ujde dayar ke”

It is a matter of historical knowledge that the city later on rebuilt itself to take pride of place in leading cities of the world.

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Challenges of content sharing in social media

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A bunch of old colleagues from a common cadre recently met over a batch party and thought of forming a What’s App group initially with the understood objective of saying Hi and Hello to each other.One of our colleagues with certain accomplishments by way of posts in social media chose to be the self appointed Group Administer (GA).

The group expectedly had some teething troubles as different participants looked towards each other with different colour shades.It also appeared that over the years people had developed different likes and dislikes.However everyone agreed to the rules set by the GA that personal prejudice should not come in way of appreciating efforts of the group members.

In any organised line of service a bunch of individuals start together on a common platform but things do not  stay as  such. A career in civil services offers myriad opportunities for interacting with high and mighty.Your growth over the years substantially depends also on your individual PR skills and in some cases ability to specialise with extra curricular achievements making yourself a box of choclate with attractive wrapping papers.With passage of time some figures come to pump up  as towering personalities and their administrative differences  tend to get blurred.

Like other segments of society our group also had fair share of generous hearted souls who enjoy the habit of massaging the egos of each other whereas other group members  may be less impressed with such achievers and their admirers. When such people come together to form a social networking group situation expectedly has risk of getting a bit chaotic.

At the initial stage the Group appeared to be periodically dormant as well as hyperactive since participants in their anxiety to register their presence passed on whatever contents they could lay their hands on.One colleague had great enchantment with ancient wisdom on medical science  and  generously  blessed the group with such posts on health matters with fair sprinkling of Sanskrit poetry with preachings for welfare of humanity.While I consider all such humanistic preachers and those relying on untested medical wisdom as ignorants , some would be willing to wade through rivers of blood to support such homely  preachings on lifestyle techniques.Everyone has a right to be his natural self.

Like other groups a participant in the group  has  ability to shine as  master of several languages and a person with literary achievements.  Therefore  his writings have fair share of pieces in exotic languages and are accompanied by  translations  in various other languages. While the practice happens to be puzzling for some  also for the reason that  the passages posted  are sometimes not  self written but  apparently copied from  twitter or  other sources yet there are others who fall head over heels for such erudite renditions .

The first genuine difference cropped up when a colleague posted a joke on behaviour of college girls. The Pahlaj Nihlani of the Group i.e. the Group Administrator was up with red flag  chastising others to be extra cautios with dignified  inputs on sensitive matters even in a closed group.In the present day atmosphere of universal connectivity on social media the Group Administrator appeared to be  justified in being upset as there are precedents of irresponsible contents inviting trouble on small issues.Therefore fires were quickly doused  with emotional appeals in the name of of group unity and our love and affection for each other. And…the group continues to roll on.

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Recommendations of VIIth CPC:Suggestions for Performance linked Incentive Schemes

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The  VII CPC has examined the status of performance related incentive schemes presently in practise on basis of recommendations of the VIth CPC in Chapter 15 of the report and made certain important suggestions.

Tracing the evolution of such incentives it has referred to the report of 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission which had visualised such incentives as a prerequisite for an effective governance system. The issue was taken up by Vth and VIth CPC as a tool for providing incentive for effective Administration.The Scheme formulated by VI CPC covered organisations as well as individuals.

The previous Pay Commission had made the implementation of  the Scheme optional for the various units after taking into consideration the difference in functional scope of various units of Government. The implementing Departments had to draw a roadmap of activities and harmonise the same with individual achievements. It had added the condition of Departments having prepared a Results Framework Document (RFD) for two preceding years, and also several additional measures such as developing IT based attendance and performance monitoring systems.

The recommendations had failed to make  major impact in face of difficulties in making requisite budgetary provisions, absence of clear performance evaluation parameters and aberrations such as high achievers caught in mediocre environments. The Commission has also noted the failure of earlier schemes of Performance Linked Bonus (PLB) conceived for Govt. Servants due to absence of clear, quantifiable targets and performance evaluation of any individual.

The Commission in it’s report has pointed out that in public services the objectives are not quantifiable in monetary terms like private sector organisations.The task of laying down the parameters for performance evaluation and reward for different services and Government Departments is therefore rather complex. However there are precedents in other countries where such schemes for incentivising good performers through objective criteria have been implemented with success. Some countries have evolved separate set of norms for senior civil servants and junior functionaries.

Considering all factors the CPC has observed that exercise for evolving a system for performance based rewards should be preceded by proper understanding of the system, adequate planning and capacity building at various levels.The vagaries of Govt.functions makes it impossible to devise a common performance based incentive Scheme. The Commission has suggested simple and effective schemes which should have common features for the Department. It has been suggested that the reward system should be an annual feature and should not be linked to savings effected by the employee.

In conclusion the Commission has recommended introduction of Performance Related Pay for all categories of Central Government employees, based on quality RFDs, reformed Annual Performance Appraisal Reports and broad Guidelines.The Performance Related Pay should subsume the existing Bonus schemes. The Commission notes that there could be a time lag in implementing the Performance Related Pay by different Departments.In the interim period the Ministries and Departments can review the existing Bonus Schemes and create linkage  with increased profitability/productivity with definite parameters.

Another important suggestion made by the CPC pertains to weightage to be given for in the APAR to personal attributes of the public servant in comparison to his performance in achievement of results.The Commission feels that it should be in ration of 40:60 instead of current  ratio of 60:40.

It has also strongly pleaded for fixation of definite time frame for drafting, reviewing and finalising  RFDs .It would also be necessary that these timelines get synchronised with the preparation of the APAR ..”so that the targets set under RFD get reflected in individual APARs in a seamless manner.”

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VIIth CPC Recommendations for the Defence officers cadre

Ajit glowfriend Army, CPMF, Seventh CPC

The country has around 47 Lakh Central Govt Employees out of which  there are 14 Lakh defence service personnel constituting around 30% of total strength .In the Army, the officer cadre comprises of  the two functional branches viz., Arms and Services.The bulk of the officers are at the lower end of the pyramid, with significantly smaller numbers at the vertex.

The Indian Navy Officers’ cadre comprises officers from the Executive, Engineering, Electrical and Education branches.

The officer cadre in the Indian Air Force consists of Flying Branch and Ground Duties Branches (Technical and Non-Technical). The Army Medical Corps (AMC) and Army Dental Corps comprise Medical/Dental officers as well as Non-Technical officers

The Pay Commission was confronted with the issues relating to persisting shortage in the ranks of officers which is currently around 23% and the consequential need for cadre review.While considering the comparative pay scales the Commission noted that after recommendations of previous CPC the starting pay of a defence officers is about 29 percent higher than his/her civilian counterpart.This gap remains wide for first nine years of service (over 20 percent) .In fact the pay of defence service officers remains uninterruptedly higher for a thirty-two year period and only thereafter pay of defence and civil service officers are at par.

In addition to higher pay the defence service officers are better placed with benefits like  (a) free rations or ration money allowance in lieu of free rations (b) tax concession available in Canteen Store Depots (c) military concession vouchers for travel in Railways and by air (d) free electricity upto 100 units each month (e) concessions on water charges.

The CPC made  comparative analysis of pay structures of armed forces in USA & UK with pay scales applicable to Indian Army and noted that “…….. defence service officers and JCO/ORs in India, based on VI CPC pay scales, are placed quite well in terms of pay, even in relation to defence personnel in countries like US and UK, where the GDP per capita in PPP terms for the country as a whole is significantly higher than that of India”

Major decisions taken by the Commission are to the effect that  there is no case for revision in the structure of Grade Pay by taking Rank Pay into consideration while determining the top of the pay scales of certain ranks and no change is warranted in the manner of pay fixation for Lt. Colonel/Colonel and  Brigadier/equivalent.

Considering the submission that grant of NFU to Organised Group ‘A’ Services in Ministry of Defence  has created command, control and functional problems the Commission had recommended for extension of NFU to the officers of the Defence forces and CAPFs (including ICG) as well.

However several suggestions made by Services in joint Memorandum such as those relating to pay fixation for re employment of officers and select promotion schemes have not been agreed to. These would remain in accordance for rules for Central Govt employees.The Commission  has also not found any justification in further scaling up all Lieutenant Generals to the HAG+ grade.

For the Short Service Commissioned Officers the Commission it has been recommended that the SSC officers should be allowed to exit at any time between seven years and ten years of service instead of the existing exit option at ten and fourteen years. The option for permanent commission should be exercised in the seventh year, instead of the tenth year as it exists today. As package for those exiting the Commission has recommended Terminal Gratuity at uniform 10.5 months of reckonable emoluments, for exit any time between seven years and ten years.

In order to facilitate their rehabilitation, the Commission has recommended that such officers be provided benefit of Fully funded (a) one year Executive Programme at premier management institute or (b) M. Tech programme from premier technology institute as well as Concession towards Civil Service Examination by way of relaxation in age by five years.

For the Junior Commissioned Officers the CPC has not agreed to the demand for a common pay scale.Demands pertaining to review of pay scales of JCOs /ORs have also not been agreed to by the VIIth CPC.

Services had sought a review of pay scales of JCOs/ORs in certain select categories with the objective of enhancement of their Grade Pay with the objective of  bringing  them at par with their civil counterparts. This demand has been not accepted by the CPC  citing the fact that the personnel already enjoy advantages such as Military Service Pay.The Commission has not agreed to disturb the relativities between sepoy and constables in CAPF.

The Commission has recommended  an  exercise for standardisation under which all X trades should mandatorily involve obtaining a qualification which is equivalent of a diploma in engineering (recognised by AICTE).

Several other demands such as change in packages for Havildar / Naib Subedar and modifications in MACP have been turned down.

For Honorary Commissioned Officers the Commission has recommended that the Junior Commissioned Officers on their promotion as Honorary Lieutenant or Honorary Captain shall be placed in the pay level 10 and pay level 10B respectively. They will, in addition be paid Military Service Pay of ₹15,500 per month on par with that payable to all the Commissioned officers.

Other important recommendations include benefit of of MSP for non combatants .For Air Force it recommended increase in MSP from pre existing Rs. 1000/-to Rs.3600/- per month.

Regarding Military Service Pay as indicated in previous writings it has been held that the the same will be  available only to Military Service Personnel upto rank of Brigadiers and the present structure has been held to be acceptable for future also.

Lateral Movement/Resettlement of Defence Forces Personnel is another important area covered in this chapter It has been recommended that the primary focus of the Government with regard to lateral entry as far as CAPFs are concerned should be on personnel retiring from the ranks of Sepoys (& their equivalents), who may be asked to opt for continuation or lateral movement in CAPF after seven years of service . The personnel in cases of such lateral movement be given due pay protection (however MSP shall not be admissible on such lateral movement). As compensation the personnel may be given lump sum payment @ 10.5 time of last pay drawn.After serving in CAPFs they shall continue upto the retirement age and be covered in so far as their pensionary benefits are concerned under the New Pension system.

CPC has also recommended for facilitating lateral entry of retiring defence forces personnel to Defence Civilians organisations like Ordnance Factories, DRDO, Naval Dockyards, Military Engineering Service, Border Road Organisation, Base Repair Depots etc. and desired that this option should be available for all defence forces personnel, irrespective of the number of years of service.

Commission has suggested far fetching reforms  in the institutional framework with use of IT in matching the available database on retiree work force with the market forces and sought synergising out put of all agencies involved in welfare of ex army personnel through intervention and control of Central Govt.

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Final Verdict on conviction of Juvenile

Ajit glowfriend Public Matters, Women , ,

Last three years in Delhi have seen many ups and downs in the trial of  persons involved in tragic case of brutalisation of a girl in Delhi on 16th December 2012.The horrible crime committed in heart of National Capital witnessed protests from young and old in most vocal fashion. The local police and the trial court under pressure of public opinion acted swiftly and finalised the proceedings leading to conviction of six accused. Moved by the force of public resentment the Govt. tried it’s best to save the life of the young victim, even sending her for treatment abroad. There was also some show of strict action against petty Govt. servants whose negligence is believed to have created enabling conditions for bus operators with shady credentials to operate in the National Capital.The identity of victim was kept a guarded secret and name Nirbhaya (fearless) was given to the victim in appreciation of her fighting spirit.

Yet much remains to be done. The eldest of the accused among the six perpetrators of crime committed suicide -perhaps out of feeling of guilt,being a middle aged family man.The youngest having been found to be a juvenile at the time of committing of crime is now a free man having completed detention period of three years.The remaining four persons convicted by lower rungs of judiciary still evade the hangman’s noose since their appeal against the conviction is yet to be deliberated upon by the Apex court.

Country’s  law makers had left no stone unturned to shed crocodile tears on the tragedy. At the last stage when the juvenile accused completed his period of detention and his release appeared imminent,headline grabbing opportunities were contrived  by making a show of knocking at midnight at the doors of Supreme Court- a dramatic move  which expectedly proved to be unproductive being not supported by law.Country is still waiting for legislative action to plug loopholes which came to fore in dealing with juveniles responsible for heinous crimes.

It is a moot point whether the wide publicity given to this case has brought about any respect for law or it has helped the younger generation of women in feeling secure.Tragically in the three years which followed the mass uprising against crime against women, young women have continued to suffer in the National Capital as well as in rest of the country .

While the curtains appear to be drawing on the tragic case we are confronted with the faces of two mothers whose heart bleeds for a child lost for no fault of theirs.On one side is the face of a mother who regrets the fact that one of the offenders is walking away free due to complexity of law. She feels guilty for not having  been able to secure justice for her brutally treated daughter .On the other side is face of a mother in a remote village who had no choice when her young child was moved over to a big city in search of livelihood and got sucked into a vicious life of crime.This mother perhaps also feels guilty for not having been able to give her due to the child.

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Seventh CPC: How the package for Armed forces was worked out

Ajit glowfriend Army, Seventh CPC , ,

While making recommendations for Armed forces the CPC had held consultations with the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Services, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, the Controller General of Defence Accounts. It has taken note of the demand from The Defence Services, in their Joint Services Memorandum, that the emoluments in the Defence Services should stand a fair comparison with the emoluments in Civil Services, in order to ensure  legitimate share of the available talent pool. The CPC also commissioned a study with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) as an independent expert agency dedicated to research and policy in defence and security on “Nature, Quantum and Components of Defence Expenditure and Defence Pensions. The study covered pattern of defence expenditure in India (1995-96 to 2013-14) and other important countries.

Comparing the defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP it was noted that Defence Expenditure as a percentage of GDP has declined from 2.19 percent in 1995- 96 to 1.80 percent in 2012-13. Also as a percentage of Central Government expenditure it has declined from 14.50 percent in 1995-96 to 12.89 percent in 2012-13. However Defence capital expenditure as a percentage of total defence expenditure has shown an increase from around 25 percent in later half of the 1990s to over 40 percent in the recent years.

The report indicated that considering  expenditure on procurement and infrastructure as percentage of defence expenditure India ranks at the first place among the ten countries covered by the study. Unlike some European countries Russia, India (from 27.55 percent in 2007 to 41.12 percent in 2012), and Pakistan witnessed the sharpest increase in share of expenditure on personnel as a percentage of defence expenditure between 2007 and 2012. The hike has been explained by the fact that Indian Armed forces are labour intensive and the increase in pay scales by VIth CPC is the major influencing factor.The Commission has stated that it has tried to strike a balance between capital and revenue expenses for the defence forces.

Besides ensuring pay structure comparable to Civil Services the CPC has also attempted to compensate for the hardships involved in Military Service by recommending continuation of Military Service Pay upto rank of Brigadier and equivalent and other allowances to compensate for risk and hardship borne by defence service personnel.It has also recommended a  defined benefit pension scheme, which entails no contribution as distinct from a defined contribution scheme which entails a monthly contribution by each official as applies to all other Central Government personnel.

The Commission has asserted that the Military Service Pay, which is a compensation for the various aspects of role performed by Armed Forces and has historically provided the edge to the Defence Forces over the civilian scales,  will be admissible to the Defence Forces personnel only. The Commission has reiterated that  the intangible aspects linked to the special conditions of military service set the Armed Forces apart from civilian employees.

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Rediscovering Lucknow- the City of Nawabs

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Lucknow the Capital of Uttar Pradesh,popularly called as the City of Nawabs,was my home town for several long years.The city has a rich historical and cultural heritage laden with art and literary works. Mythology suggests that the city has  been setup by Lord Lakshman hence named also as  Lakshmanpur.

 

The unique composite culture of doaba i.e. land of rivers Ganga and Yamuna has fostered the growth of literary traditions of Hindi literature as well as Urdu poetry known as Shero-Shairi .Colourful stories in back drop of Lucknow culture and history  have   provided inspiration and motivation to celluloid masters of Bollywood to spin some unforgettable masterpieces like Gurudatt’sChaudavin Ka Chand Rajendra Kumar and Sadhana starrer lyrical Mere Mehboob and tale of two ex Nawabs in Satyajit Ray‘s Shatranj Ke Khilari,.

Around 35 years ago I had boarded Lucknow Mail the popular train to Delhi from Lucknow’s Charbagh Railway  Station to join my new job.

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The Charbagh Railway Station

In between the city was revisited for short spells for occasional family commitments.When I had to recently make a series of short stays at the place for finalising some family matters, there was an opportunity for re bonding with the city.

Now having retired I had no time constraints, and there was ample time to freshly savour the history and culture of the town and have a leisurely trip down the memory lane.

The Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport at Lucknow is named after the famous Kisan leader and one time Prime Minister of India. Coming out of the Terminal a towering statue of former PM greets the visitor.

Initial glimpse of the city while driving through  Airpot Road is quite majestic as Mayawati regime has decked up the drive from Airport to city with lavishly built monuments and Parks.

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The Samta Chowk
 
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City Skyline from dusk to  nightfall

Our stay in Lucknow at UPTDC owned Hotel Gomti offered view of an ancient house from the window and city skyline which looked more beautiful as dusk settled and later night fell and skyline lit up with exciting colours.

 

For the morning exercises the proximity of the place to botanical garden made it the best choice.

Exotic Flowering Species at the Botanical Garden

The Lucknow Botanical Garden has been made to grow into a collection of exotic plants in back drop of  a beautiful pond with water lilies. Joggers and morning walkers spread out on the middle area for utilisation of green lawn for yoga and aerobics.

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Panormic View of The Botanical Garden
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Early bird Health freaks at the Garden
The ShahNazaf Imambara

The Shahnazaf Imambara in the vicinity is being given a facelift as if it is coming out to welcome the visitors and faithful .

Mosque at the Immabara 

A mosque in proximity gives an insight into architectural accomplishment of architects and masons in the middle ages .

 

 

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Portrait of Wazid Ali Shah

The lobby at Hotel Gomti has a large beautiful painting of Wazid Ali Shah last of the Nawabs who is remembered for his munificence and love for art forms. His regime had provided the backdrop for movie Shatranj Ke Khilari. 

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With opening of Malls all over the city the landscape appears to have changed with time, but city has still retained the old world charm. Hazratganj the less than 2 km long stretch of market in heart of town covering  land mark buildings like GPO, Northern Railway Hqs and the Press Club besides the old Hanuman temple still remains the favourite shopping destination for upmarket Lucknowites.

 The GPO Building Lucknow
Panormic view at Press Club crossing
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Hanuman Temple at Hazratganj
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NR Hqs

While taking a stroll down the Hazratganj it was quite noticeable that with the fencing of walkways, the strolling along the footpaths (popularly referred to as “ganjing” in code book of students in old times) is no longer the pleasant experience it used to be, and popular hotspots such as lover’s lane have also vanished.Off course the addition of hotspots like Cafe Coffee Day and Aryan near Raj Bhawan has blended a new upmarket dimension to the ambience and compensated for the loss.

The Hazarat Ganj Market
It was a pleasant surprise to rediscover  the tantalising taste of tikki and pani ke batashe at MotiMahal Sweets and the malai paan at Ramasrey Halwai and to realise that skills of these masters of culinary delight have remained unchanged over the years.
Tomb of Begum Hazarat Mahal

As Hazratganj stretches towards river Gomti, historical buildings pop up from every corner.A turn to left takes us to Bara(large) Imambara and Chhota (small)Imambara.

Bara Imambara constructed in 18th Century by Nawab Asifuddaulah is also known as Asifi Immabara.There are tombs, mosques and other structures which are connected with royal activities. Chhota Imambara has a lighting Hall decorated with imported lamps.A local guide on visit to the place opens up loads of stories about royal behaviour, secret passages underneath and insight about architectural highlights.

Panormic View At Bara Imambara



There are anecdotes about royal treasures and underground tunnels which were to provide escape routes in ancient times.Close to Imambara is the clock tower with ancient picture gallery which has paintings depicting Royalty in full glory.Interesting insight into Royal charities is offered in the Wasikadar office located in the clock tower.The descendants of Royal family and other beneficiaries of Royal patronage are known as Wasikadars. The office maintains volumes of records for ensuring regular payments which may be as low as a handful of rupees.But being  a Wasikadar means being a part of royalty , something to be proud of to no extent.
History has left behind it’s footprints in shape of another land mark which are the ruins of British Fortress known as Residency- the place where families of British Resident and other Britishers stationed in Lucknow were staying when the city was besieged by soldiers of British Army under Mutiny in year 1857.
 
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The Ruins of Residency
89c38-thumb_img_4692_1024 The Museum At Residency









Residency with lush green lawns and preserved structures bears mute testimony to historic events of the era.A museum in the basement has rare collection of pictures and writings connected to uprising which was labelled as “Sepoy Mutiny” by the British.

As population increased Lucknow continued to grow beyond Gomti river as colonies of Niralanagar and Mahanagar came up.  Further stretching of city limits has added up Janaki Puram , Gomti Nagar and Indira Nagar taking the city upto outpost of Chinhat .As Metro Rail Construction Boards dominate the skyline even Wajid Ali Shah would find it difficult to locate his Lucknow.

The city of Nawabs in ancient times was famous for Nazakat and Nafasat two Urdu words meaning delicacy of style and tastes. Nazakat and Nafasat epitomised the character of Lucknowite in middle ages.The traditions have been meticulously preserved in Chickan Art works (very finely embroidered garments for both sexes) and semi solid Galouti kababs of famous Tunday Kababi in Aminabad in old city. 
 
Luckhnawi Tehzib in times of Nawabs was summed up as”Pahle Aap” culture, meaning “..Please Sir…you first”.There is a famous joke referring to two Nawabs who could not board a train as they kept on requesting each other to board the train first…”Pehle AAP..Pehle AAP”….and the train whistled and left the station.

Now as Metro Train network is coming up in the city Lucknowites shall definitely need to give up at least this one part of traditional culture  while boarding and de boarding the Metros or the slide gates would be locked !!.

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Seventh CPC :Army and MNS Recommendations

Ajit glowfriend Sixth CPC , , , ,

The recommendations for Armed Forces are based on approach similar to that adopted for civilian employees as spelt out in previous posts.The  Pay Bands and Grade pay have been done away and fitment factor of 2.57 has been applied to all categories.The entry pay to a category (except for MNS) is arrived at by calculating minimum of pay band and accounting for subsequent increments earned in the pay band (except for the rank of Brigadier where fitment table notified by the Ministry of Defence through its Special Army Instructions of October 2008.)

Like civilian pay scales the Commission has, for deciding entry pay at various stages, proposed index of rationalisation to account for higher degrees of responsibility and accountability at various levels .While this is  fixed as 2.57 for PB  -1 it rises  steadily climbing to to 2.81 for Service Chiefs .Index of 2.57 applies also to the officers in the rank of Colonel and Brigadier and their equivalent.

The starting pay in existing pay structure is ₹8,460 Sepoy (and equivalent), Under the recommendations the pay of entry level personnel in the defence forces, has been fixed in the Defence Pay Matrix at ₹21,700. Fixation of pay will follow the same principle as that for a regular promotion in the pay matrix.

The Commission has not recommended any increase in the number of MACPs. which is presently pegged at 8, 16 and 24 years .

The Commission has maintained pay parity in civilian and defence personnel at matching levels .Group `A’ entry level is identical at ₹56,100 in the case of both civilian and defence service officers. Similarly the pay of the Major General and Joint Secretary and equivalent officers and those above [viz., Lieutenant General (in HAG, HAG+, Apex) and Chief of each defence service] has been kept identical with their civilian counterparts. Identical pay levels has been devised for JCO/ORs and their civilian counterparts corresponding to the existing pay bands and grade pay.

For defence forces personnel, there are two separate matrices, one for the Service Officers and JCO/ORs and another for the Military Nursing Officers. The Pay Matrix designed for the Defence Forces personnel is more compact than the Civil pay matrix keeping in view the number of levels, age and retirement profile of the service personnel.

Defence Pay Matrix

The Commission has further clarified that the pay structure designed by it for the defence forces personnel has been done keeping in view (a) some of the aspects in their rank structure unique to them and (b) pay structure is not intended to determine the status of the personnel vis-à-vis their counterparts on the civil side.

In the design of the Pay Matrix for Military Nursing Service (MNS) , the Commission has kept in view the approach followed by previous Pay Commissions and traditional relativities between the Armed Forces Officers and Military Nursing Service Officers. In particular the pay scales/grade pay based on the V and VI CPC Reports were kept in view.

While deciding the level of minimum pay fro MNS the following formula has been adopted:Minimum Pay for a Rank in MNS= (Minimum Pay for that Rank in Defence Pay Matrix) x (Grade Pay of the Rank in MNS)/(Grade Pay of that Rank in the Services).The pay Matrix for MNS thus conceived is as below :

Pay MAtrix MNS

Following exceptions have  been made for purposes of rationalising the pay structure:

  1. In the case of Captains, the Commission has moderated the minimum pay level upwards to ₹59,00017, to avoid bunching of minimum pay of MNS Lieutenant and Captain.

  2. In the case of Brigadiers some moderation downwards from the figure arrived at by the formula (₹1,26,800) has been effected to provide suitable differential in the minimum of the pay level between Brigadier and Major General of MNS. Hence the mid-point of the minimum of the pay levels of Colonel and Major General viz., ₹1,19,700 has been taken as the minimum pay for the Brigadier of MNS.

For Military Service Pay the Commission has recommended an MSP for the four categories of Defence forces personnel at ₹15,500 for the Service Officers, ₹10,800 for Nursing Officers, ₹5,200 for JCO/ORs, and ₹3,600 for Non Combatants (Enrolled) in the Air Force per month. MSP will continue to be reckoned as Basic Pay for purposes of Dearness Allowance, as also in the computation of pension but will  not be counted for purposes of House Rent Allowance, Composite Transfer Grant and Annual Increment.

For calculations in individual cases the procedure as outlined in previous post can be followed.The Report of CPC is also included in this blog on the “REPORTS” pages.In case of difficulty in viewing the pay matrix  original can be viewed on page 89 & 91 of the report.

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Seventh CPC: Approach for simplification and rationalisation

Ajit glowfriend Public Matters , , , , , , , ,

The Seventh CPC like other Pay Commissions had been entrusted with the responsibility of evolving pay structures which were rational and simple.It was expected that the pay packages offered should be able to attract best talent in civil and defence services and also be capable of ensuring  performance related efficiency while taking note of  the existing socio political setup in the country.The pay structure should ensure value addition to services by talent of individual employees.

While discussing the pay structure for civilian employees the report explains the evolution of compression ratio to present level.Compression ratio is the ratio between the lowest pay  and the highest salary drawn by Secretary to Govt. of India in the pay structure.At the time of first CPC the ratio was 1:36.4(min Salary of ₹ 55 against highest of ₹ 2000.) .This came down to 1:11.4 in sixth CPC (min Salary of ₹ 7000 against highest of ₹ 80000).

There were several innovations brought about by  VI CPC which included running pay bands for both Civilians as well as Defence forces as well as  the introduction of the concept of Grade Pay as a level differentiator besides  calculation of the annual increment on percentage basis.Sixth CPC had also recommended abolition of Gr.D category posts by elevation of present incumbents to Gr.C by skill upgradation.It reduced 35 pay scales of Vth CPC to 23 (19 Pay bands +4 fixed pay levels).

However the Seventh CPC was confronted by stakeholders with several inconsistencies in Pay bands and Grade Pay structures and anomalies in Entry pay  recommended by Sixth CPC at various level . This  scenario had lead to demand for a fitment factor which may cover all cases in equitable fashion.

The recommendations of Seventh CPC are for abolishing the system of Pay Bands and Grade Pay and creation of  new functional levels  by merging the grade pay with the pay in the pay band. Commission said that it has ensured that all of the existing levels have been subsumed in the new structure; and no new level has been introduced nor has any existing level been dispensed with.The Seventh CPC has recommended a Pay matrix with distinct Pay Levels. The Level would henceforth be the status determiner as per table given below:

Pay Levels as per Pay Matrix

The Commission  has pointed out that  with this methodology of pay fixation “..any new entrant to a service would wish to be able to make a reasonable and informed assessment of how his/her career path would traverse and how the emoluments will progress alongside. The new pay structure has been devised in the form of a pay matrix to provide complete transparency regarding pay progression.”

In addition to the pay matrix the CPC has also applied concept of rationalisation of entry pay to take care of uneven pattern of  a jumps in the career hierarchy under existing pay scales in the Government of India. This system is based on the premise that with enhancement of levels from Pay Band 1 to 2, 2 to 3 and onwards, the role, responsibility and accountability increases at each step in the hierarchy.

Rationalistion table.png

The  pay matrix as suggested by CPC is intended to  replace  existing system of Pay Bands and Grade Pay.The pay matrix comprises of two dimensions. ” It has a “horizontal range” in which each level corresponds to a ‘functional role in the hierarchy’ and has been assigned the numbers 1, 2, and 3 and so on till 18. The “vertical range” for each level denotes ‘pay progression’ within that level. These indicate the steps of annual financial progression of three percent within each level.”

The Commission has devised the pay matrix by calculating the sum of Basic pay and Grade Pay at various stages and multiplying the sames of  by a multiplication factor of 2.57 . While devising the pay matrix the entry pay has been calculated by adopting different multiplication factors (shown as index in table below) for different pay bands depending on respective functional responsibilities.Pay Matrix is given below.

Pay Matrix

Pay Matrix 2

The following methodology has been suggested for fitment:

“The fitment of each employee in the new pay matrix is proposed to be done by multiplying his/her basic pay on the date of implementation by a factor of 2.57. The figure so arrived at is to be located in the new pay matrix, in the level that corresponds to the employee’s grade pay on the date of implementation, except in cases where the Commission has recommended a change in the existing grade pay. If the identical figure is not available in the given level, the next higher figure closest to it would be the new pay of the concerned employee. “

The CPC report has given some working examples for calculation.Having had a brief insight into Civilian Pay Scales we shall take up Army Pay Scales shortly.

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