Don’t raise fund yourself to finance your study abroad, govt tells officers after a few cases of negotiations detected

THE government has reiterated that no officer is allowed to raise fund or ask for contribution from any source to finance his or her study if prior government permission is not obtained. The notice has come in the backdrop of detection of a few cases where officers had negotiated or taken financial assistance from private bodies and other domestic organizations, not known to sponsor study programmes, for financing their study programmes, without the previous knowledge of the government. Under Rule 10 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, no officer except with the previous sanction of the government can accept contributions or otherwise associate himself with the raising of any fund or other collections in cash or kind in pursuance of any objective whatsoever. The power to give cadre clearance for ex-India study leave or leave for the purpose of pursuing study abroad vests with the respective cadre controlling authorities viz., department of personnel and training (DoPT) in respect of IAS officers, ministry of home affairs (MHA) in respect of IPS officers and ministry of environment & forests in respect of IFS officers. The new directive further said that the state governments, Central ministries or Departments which are competent to grant study leave within India, shall ensure, before granting the leave that officials have given clear information on expenditure including travel, hospitality etc., and sources of funding and details of agencies bearing funding.

Bonanza for 1.3 million Indian Railway employees The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal of the ministry of railways for payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) to the railway employees to the extent of 75 days’ wages for FY09. About 13.05 lakh non-gazetted Group B, C and D employees are likely to be benefited from the decision. In fact, this will be the highest PLB payment ever to be made by Indian Railways. PLB is based on the productivity indices reflecting the performance of the Railways. The wage calculation ceiling prescribed for payment of PLB to the eligible non-gazetted railway employees (excluding RPF/RPSF personnel) is Rs 3500 per month. The financial implication of payment of 75 days’ PLB to railway employees has been estimated to be Rs 889 crore.