40% of a government employee’s salary could be linked to performance; promotion to additional secretary won’t be a cakewalk

IF THE government has its way, as high as 40% of the basic salary of an Indian government employee could be linked to performance. Though Sixth Pay Commission had recommended performance-linked incentives, it could have made a difference of just one or two percentage of an employee’s salary.

Also, the government has been contemplating to make the promotion from joint secretary to additional secretary much more rigorous, a senior cabinet secretary official told the Indian edition of an US magazine.

In fact, if the new formula of performance-linked pay is adopted, an employee with a basic salary of Rs 20,000 may find his performance determining the fate of Rs 8,000 of his pay. The issue cropped up in a meeting of committee of secretaries held on February 5, 2010, but it was not clear what finally transpired in that meeting.

Significantly, Dr Prajapati Trivedi, secretary (performance management), told Forbes India (issue dated Feb 19) that linking performance with pay was taken up by a committee of secretaries. “It’s just a matter of working out details. When done, upto 40% of the basic salary could be linked to performance. Then appraisal will not only have reputational implications but also financial”, he was quoted as saying in an article titled “Ranking our Netas”.

Dr Trivedi, who had a lateral entry into the government straight from the World Bank last year, has now been working on evolving a system of mapping performance of government departments and ministries. He further told the magazine on how the government would make the process of promotion from joint secretary to additional secretary much more rigorous.

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CVC disposes of 468 cases in December 2009

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) disposed of 468 cases during December 2009. The Commission advised initiations of major penalty proceedings against 70 officers. Of these, 20 were from public sector banks, 17 from ministry of railways, 11 from Northern Coalfields Ltd., 4 from Western Coalfields Ltd., 3 from MCD, 2 each from ministry of home affairs and Central Board of Excise and Customs.

Action and Appointments

a) Smt Justice Nirmal Yadav, Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, has been transferred as a Judge of the Uttarakhand High Court.

b) Justice Nisar Ahmad Kakru, Judge of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, has been appointed as Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

c) Birendra Prasad Verma and Dinesh Kumar Singh have been appointed as additional Judges of the Patna High Court.

d) T Mathivanan, Ardhanariswamy Arumughaswamy and Ms KBKVasuki, have been appointed as Additional Judges of the Madras High Court.