Consumer Price Index

As per latest Consumer Price Index (193) increase in DA (Provisional) will be by 32 slabs. Final figure will be known on 31-10-2011 for DA increase w.e.f. 1^st November 2011.

ईद मुबारक !

ईद त्योहार आप सभी को मुबारक हो !

तीज की शुभकामनाएँ !

॥ॐ॥ तीज व्रत की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ ॥ॐ॥

NOINO WZ meets ZM West Zone

On 29^th August 2011 NOINO, WZ delegation met Zonal Manager, WZ Shri R. R. Dash. NOINO delegation was led by Shri G. Kamath, All India General Secretary. Shri V.V.Shastri, Zonal Secretary, WZ; Smt Anagha Sant, Organising Secretary; Shri Manish Patankar, WZ Jt.Secretary and Shri Anil Bhagdikar, Divisional President, Nagpur DO were also present in the delegation. Smt Mini Ipe, RM(P&IR) was present from the management side to assist the ZM. The meeting continued for nearly 2 hours. Major part of the discussion was occupied by the issue of transfers & the sudden change in criteria. We discussed the following issues related to Class-I officers in this meeting:

 1. Transfers of ABM’s(S): We pointed out that in the recent round of job rotations in the cadre of ABM(S) only 6 ABM’s(S) were given transfers to their desired places. A few request-transfers of ABM’s(S) had not been considered. We demanded that these transfers should be considered forthwith. We also submitted a list of such officers.  

Zonal Manager said that there were no vacancies where these officers needed transfers. He said that due to excess number of marketing officials already posted in almost all divisions in Maharashtra, he could not transfer these officers and assured that after March-2012 he would review the situation and accordingly transfer these officers after March-2012 closing.

            We strongly protested this and said that whatever might be the situation these officers should be transferred to their desired places as they were out of their parent divisions for more than 3 years. We submitted that a few years ago the situation demanded that the marketing officials, especially in the cadre of ABM(S) & BM, were retained in the home divisions & hence the so-called excess postings were counted. If at all the excess postings were considered by the then management, the current batch of ABM(S) should not be punished for no fault of theirs. We also contested the number of vacancies as according to us there was a clear gap of 35 nos. between the number of ABM’s(S) promoted & the subsequent job-rotation from AAO to ABM(S).

  2. Less no. of Job Rotations : We informed the Zonal Manager that in the recently concluded round of Job rotations in the cadre of AAO very few officers were job rotated. We also pointed out that there were no representations from Programmers / Audit / Inspection. We also protested the postings of ABM(S) on job-rotations to the divisions only in Gujarat.

            On this issue Zonal Manager said that they were having vacancies in only Gujarat. He also informed us that they had prepared a panel of ABM(S) which would be operated as and when required and would be exhausted by March-2011, by which time most of the candidates who appeared for interview would be job rotated as per the needs arising.

  3. Delay in AAO Notification:   We had already taken up this issue with the CO. However, we requested the Zonal Manager to take follow-up with the Central Office on this issue as there were lots of resentment among the aspiring candidates as also among those who were expecting transfers to their desired places.

            On this issue Zonal Manager said that notification was being issued by Central Office and because of issue of change in age criterion in case of 1B pending with Ministry of Finance, the CO was not in a position to issue notification, but assured to take up the matter for early issue of notification.

  4. Biased attitude of the Manager(P&IR)DM, Nagpur DO:  We informed the Zonal Manager that Shri M.K.Joshi, Manager(P&IR)DM, Nagpur DO who was also the Mentor of Class-I federation was acting in a totally biased manner thereby creating lots of problems in the Nagpur Division. We protested this and expressed surprise that a person who was an office-bearer (or a pseudo-office-bearer) in the Union was continuing merrily with the portfolio of P&IR. We reminded the ZM that in the past we had pointed out to the Zonal Management that the Nagpur management was posting some officers in the divisional office or Nagpur City on promotion while officers who spent 3 years or more were being posted away from Nagpur - to remote areas. No action had been taken so far in this matter. We, therefore, demanded immediate action in this matter.

            On this issue Zonal Manager assured to look into the matter.

  5. Shifting of Mumbai DO-IV to Sanpada in Navi Mumbai:   We informed the Zonal Manager that the proposal of shifting of MDO-IV to Sanpada in Navi Mumbai would result into lots of problems for the employees. At present, most of the employees were from the western route and commuting from western route to central harbour route would be very difficult for them. We, therefore, demanded the cancellation of the proposal of shifting of MDO-IV in the interest of majority of the employees. Zonal Manager assured us to look into the matter.

  6. Shortage of Staff Quarters for Officers: - We informed the Zonal Manager that in almost all the divisions there was acute shortage of Staff Quarters. It was also observed that while considering the proposal for constructing staff quarters the exact no. of officers in that area was not being taken into consideration, as a result of which many of the officers had to either stay in a leased accommodation, that too with enhanced rent or had to live in a  rented house. Hence, many officers suffered monetary losses after promotions. We, therefore, requested the Zonal Manager to take immediate action in this matter.

            Zonal Manager responded immediately on this issue by seeking information with the concerned authorities. He also informed that he had given a green signal for construction of new staff quarters at Jeevan Shanti, Santacruz on that very day. He assured us that due care would be taken and if needed he would ask Engineering department to build quarters accordingly.

  7. Information Sharing Meeting: We informed the Zonal Manager that all the Divisional Offices were holding information sharing meetings for Development Officers & Agents  on regular basis. However, all the divisional offices were not conducting information sharing meetings for all classes of employees. We demanded that information sharing meeting should be conducted for class-I officers at Zone level and also at Division level.

            On this issue he was positive and assured that he would take positive steps in this regard.

(As reported by Shri V.V.Shastri, Zonal Secretary, NOINO, WZ)

NOINO Guwahati Divl unit formed

The relentless march of NOINO continues!! On 28th August 2011, the Guwahati Divisional Unit (under Eastern Zone) of NOINO was formed. Shri Pulak Dey, our dynamic GS of NOINO EZ was present to guide the deliberations. Following are the elected office-bearers:-

     President: Shri K K Sarma, ADM/FM, DO

     Working President: Smt K J Rance Mao, DM, PGSS, DO

     Divisional Secretary: Shri Subhasis Bhattacharjee, AO, Ombudsman

     Treasurer: Shri K C Das, Manager(F&A), DO

     Org Secr:  Shri  P Bhandary, AAO, Biswanath Charali Br.

     Joint Secr: Shri Sudarshan Sahu, AAO, Nagoan Br

     Executive committee members:-

           Shri M B Roy, SBM, Biswanath Charali Br.

           Shri M Choudhury, AAO, GBO-I

           Smt. Tarulata Singh, FM(ADM), STC

           Shri P C Das, AO, Lalganesh SO

On the following day i.e. 29.08.2011 Shri Pulak Dey, GS, NOINO, EZ along with the newly elected committee members of Guwahati Divl Unit met the Sr DM of Guwahati Division Shri S Kumar at 10.30 AM in his chamber. The meeting with Sr DM was in a frank and cordial atmosphere.

The formation of Guwahati Divisional Unit is an important mile-stone for NOINO as it is the Capital town of North Eastern States of our country. The contribution of Shri Sibabrata Saha , Divisional Secretary, Silchar Divl Unit in this regard is praiseworthy. Shri Saha was himself present on this occasion and played key-role in organising this meeting.

Annual GB meeting of NOINO Belgaum Divn

The Annual General Body Meeting of Belgaum Divisional Unit of NOINO was held at Gokak on 28th August, 2011. It was also a "Sneh Sammelan" of BMS affiliated unions in LIC. The representatives of NOIW and NOIP also participated in this meeting. NOINO members of Dharwad Division and Raichur Division who participated in good numbers added colour to the meeting.

The meeting began with Shramik Geet by Shri M B Karjol of NOIW. Shri Lakshminarasimhan, SBM of Gokak Branch welcomed the gathering and noted with satisfaction the presence of more than 50 participants in the meeting. Newly joined members of NOINO were given floral welcome by Shri B P Rao, MM of Belgaum Division and active member of NOINO, who presided over the meeting. Shri C T Joshi, addressing the gathering dealt at length the history of NOINO and its phenomenal growth in a short span of 8 years. He discussed the prevailing scenario in LIC before the formation of NOINO and the decision of few officers at Mumbai to form NOINO. He also said that due to the efforts of NOINO, officers got many benefits which were not even thought of by Cl-1 federation in its more than 45 years of existence.

Sri M A Bapat, Vice President, NOIW stressed the need of co-ordination amongst the BMS affiliated unions in LIC. He also declared that a Unit of BLIAS had started recently in Belgaum Division and exhorted all members to strengthen BLIAS. He also suggested to have combined different committees of NOIW & NOINO covering different subjects to have better solutions to the problems faced by employees and Officers.

Shri S G Elangadi, Vice President, NOINO in his inimitable style narrated the achievements of NOINO. He also dealt with the pending problems of officers that were taken up with Management by NOINO. He appealed every body present to enrol atleast ONE more member and come to the next meeting with one new member. He also stressed that we should meet at least 3 times a year to keep ourselves charged.

Shri H Bhogesh Rao, then spoke on the methods to be followed to achieve a good growth in membership. Shri B P Rao, MM Belgaum and an activist of NOINO in his presidential address exhorted everybody to remember the Objectives of BMS and work to implement these objectives.

All members present spoke on the occasion telling their experiences. The meeting also elected the following Office bearers :

  President: Shri S G Joshi, Manager(Claims), DO, Belgaum.

  Divisional Secretary: Shri H Bhogesh Rao, AO(NB), DO, Belgaum.

  Treasurer: Shri V R Sidhanti, AAO, SO Khanapur.

The meeting came to an end with vote of thanks by Shri R K Sangam, AO(Athani BO).

Shri N K Amminabhavi, Dn Secretary, Dharwad Division anchored the program.

Shri R K Sangam proposing Vote of Thanks. Seated from L to R : Shri G Lakshminarasimhan, SBM, Gokak; Shri C T Joshi, VP, NOIP; Shri B P Rao, MM, DO, Belgaum; Shri S G Elangadi, VP, NOINO; Shri M A Bapat, VP, NOIW

NOIP writes to Current-in-Charge

NATIONAL ORGANISATION OF INSURANCE PENSIONERS

(Affiliated to Bharateeya Mazdoor Sangh)

3AB, Hashim Bldg., 40, Veer Nariman Marg, Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400 001. Tel. : 022-22040958

President : Shri S. L. Burman Working President : Shri Ashok J. Joshi General Secretary : Shri C.Y. Kalele

Date : 26th August 2011

The Current-In-Charge,
Life Insurance Corporation of India,
Yogakshema, J. B. Marg,
Mumbai - 400 021.

Dear Sir,

Re. : Important Issues of LIC Pensioners.

We wish to place before you important issues of LIC pensioners and look upon you to initiate steps for reddressal of the long pending issues confronting LIC Pensioners.

We would invite your kind and immediate attention to the following major pending issues:

1) Recently on 19th Aug. 2011, Rajasthan High Court, Division Bench Jaipur has dismissed the Review Petition of LIC on pensioners’ issues. We request you to ensure, in response to the High Court verdict, immediate implementation of the High Court verdicts of 12-01-2010 and 21-01-2011 without taking recourse to avenging the affected pensioners.

2) We request you to initiate steps to amend LIC Pension Rules, 1995 providing for upgradation of Basic Pension of all pensioners irrespective of the dates of their retirement, at the time of every wage revision of existing employees in consonance with the Central Govt. employees’ pension rules.

3) Loss in gross pension is inflicted upon pensioners who retired within less than ten months from the effective date of new wage revision period e.g. who retired during the period from 01-08-2007 to 31-05-2008 when new wage revision came into effect from 01-08-2007. We have detailed some representative cases in our letter of 21-04-2011.

We request you to initiate steps to amend LIC (employees) Pension Rules, 1995 regarding computation of Basic Pension taking 50% of the average emoluments of last ten months or 50% of last pay drawn, whichever is beneficial to the retiring employees AND arrange to issue instructions to review all such cases of anomaly right from the wage revision effective from 01-08-1987 upto the present one effective from 01-08-2007 and refix the basic pension of all those who have suffered the reduction in gross pension.

4) The quantum of ex-gratia payment to pre-1986 retirees is too meagre. The number of pre-1986 retirees is dwindling fast. We request you to raise the ex-gratia amount being paid to pre-1986 retirees without any further loss of time.

Over and above the aforesaid major demands, we also urge upon you to look into the other demands contained in our Charter of Demands submitted on 23-07-2007 and subsequent representations.

We are eager to meet you in person to discuss these pending issues of LIC pensioners in detail.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

C. Y. Kalele
General Secretary
NOIP-BMS

Special Mention in Rajya Sabha by Dr. Bharatkumar Raut, MP on LIC

You are aware of the sustained campaign by the BMS affiliated unions (NOINO / NOIW / NOIP / BLIAS) in LIC against the proposed amendments in the Insurance Act & LIC Act. You are also aware that the Maha-Dharana organized by the above 4 unions on 1st August 2011 in New Delhi was a grand success forcing the Government to keep the issue on the back-burner in this session. Many MP's actively supported this movement(Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi, Prakash Javadekar, Chandan Mitra, Bhagatsingh Koshyary, Sumitra Mahajan(All BJP); Kalikesh Singhdeo(BJD); Sharad Yadav(JD-S); Dr.Bharatkumar Raut (Shivsena)).

However, to keep up the pressure, we requested Dr. Bharatkumar Raut to make a special mention in the Rajyasabha. Based on a note prepared by us, Dr. Raut was kind enough to make a special mention in the Rajyasabha yesterday, i.e. 25th August 2011. A written reply is awaited on this matter from the Finance Ministry. We will keep you updated on the same. We once again thank Dr. Raut for taking up our cause in the Parliament.

                                                                       

SPECIAL MENTION IN RAJYA SABHA on 25-8-2011

by DR. BHARATKUMAR RAUT, M.P.

Proposed motive of the Central Government for Corporatization of LIC through amendments in Insurance Act, 1938 & LIC Act, 1956

            Sir, I wish to mention an important issue of proposed amendments in Insurance Act.  The proposal to further hike FDI in Insurance Sector from 26% to 49% and other proposed amendments will affect crores of policy holders and its employees, officers and agents.

            Life Insurance Corporation is the backbone of the Indian economy with its huge investment in public infrastructure.  It is also a stabilizing factor in the volatile market.  With huge funds, its role will be more crucial in the days to come.  The need of the hour is to give some more incentives to LIC, not to cut its limbs by diluting and removing the sovereign guarantee on LIC policies.

            The proposed amendment to distribute 90% instead of existing 95% of the valuation surplus to its policyholders would mean that they would get lesser bonus.  This will affect LIC's credibility and image, ultimately reducing its business.  The proposed amendment that 5% of valuation surplus may be utilized by the Central Government in any manner that it thinks fit is devoid of logic. 

            The proposal of increasing the equity capital of LIC from 5 to 100 crores  and then to any extent through the notification shows the intention of Government to by-pass the Parliament and corporatize LIC through a public issue at a later date.

            I request the Government to stall the proposed amendments and save  the interests of LIC and its policyholders, officers, employees and agents.

श्रीकृष्णजन्माष्टमी की शुभकामनाएँ !

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ।।
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ।।

॥ॐ॥ श्रीकृष्णजन्माष्टमी की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ ॥ॐ॥

Anomaly in fixation of AAO's

Due to June 2000 notification anomaly arose with the AAO’s appointed (direct-recruits) / promoted (class-III 1b) before November 1993 and fitted at the minimum of the scale of AAO {or AO (on promotion) as the case may be}. The matter was brought to our knowledge recently and we immediately wrote to the ED(Personnel) pointing-out the discrepancy and requesting for immediate redressal of the anomaly. The letter written by us is reproduced below. We assure that we will follow-up the matter till its logical end.

20.8.2011

-------------

The Executive Director (Personnel),

L.I.C of India.

Dear Sir,

Re: Anomaly in fixation

              We are enclosing a copy of a representation by some officers regarding the anomaly in fixation. The crux of the matter is as follows:-

1. The officers promoted under Clause 1(B) are fitted to the minimum of the scale at the time of promotion. Though they have been granted computer increment earlier, the effect gets nullified as they are fitted to the minimum of the scale of AAO.
2. Due to this, an officer who has joined after November 1993 is drawing one more increment than those who have joined earlier. This amounts to discrimination. Even in the case of Direct recruit officers, the effect of this increment gets nullified when they are fitted to minimum of the scale in the cadre of AO.
3. The issue had been raised by NOINO for a number of times during the recently concluded wage settlement as also earlier. The management had assured to look into the matter after & outside wage-revision. However, even after 1 year since the wage-settlement, this issue has not been resolved.
4. In an exactly similar situation, the State Bank of India has in the year 1996 itself (i.e a good 15 years back) has rectified this anomaly by granting one more increment to all such affected officers including in the cadre of AO’s. We have enclosed copies of two relevant circulars of SBI.

 There is no justification in not resolving this issue. We, therefore, demand that:-

A.      The employees who were getting the computer increment earlier and were fitted to the minimum of the scale on promotion should be granted one more increment either from 1^st November 1993 or from their date of promotion whichever is later.

B.     One more option for re-fixation for all the affected employees.

Waiting for your favourable response,

Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

Ganesh Kamath

GS, NOINO

NOINO WZ study class - views of AI General Secretary

Recently (on 15^th & 16^th August 2011) NOINO West Zone arranged a study-class for their activists from West Zone and Zonal Presidents & Zonal Secretaries of other Zones at Satara. Report of the study-class stands published on 17^th August. Our All India General Secretary Shri Ganesh Kamath was present during the entire period of the study-class. In the following thought he has expressed his views on the study-class.

STUDY CLASS AT SATARA

               The study class at Satara was an experience to remember for me. But first of all, let me first congratulate Shri Vishwas Shastri & his team at Satara for organizing a wonderful study class. Shri Shastri is never short of enthusiasm, many-a-time ignoring his own health. His dedication to the organization is worth emulating. It is clear that such an event required a good amount of money. However, except for the delegates fees' collected, never a word was uttered by Shri Shastri about funds. He was ably supported by Shri Daithankar, Shri Gangakhedkar, Shri Zari, Smt Chothe, Shri Sadigale & others(whose names I do not recollect, for which they may kindly forgive me) for which we all are eternally grateful.

               The lecture by Dr. Pingle opened new vistas of outlooks to the life. All present were richer by the experience. All the delegates participated with fervour. The group discussions saw even new activists discussing animatedly. The elocution competition brought forth the talent among the participants.  The cultural programme saw many talented artists coming to the fore. Our Gujarati brothers broke into an impromptu garba. Shri Vilas Purkarji, (our Zonal President with a multi-faceted personality) surprised many with first rendering an Odissi poem at the inauguration & then joining our Gujarati brothers in the Garba with gay abandon. Smt. Gore from Nagpur sang soulfully & the Gazhal which she sang to end the programme moved many.

               The trip planned to Sajjangad was a thoughtful welcome addition, one which gave the participants a chance to brush with the divine. Anagha Sant, our organizing secretary of WZ is an able lady who conducted the questionnaire part with finesse. She is a woman with clear concepts & a clean heart & needs to be complimented for her enthusiastic participation. The heartful rendition of 'Vande-mataram' by Shri Badge was the icing on the cake.

               All in all, I loved the experience. I thank all the participants for making this event a grand success.

Ganesh Kamath

GS, NOINO

Study Class of NOINO WZ at Satara - a report

A two-day Study Class of NOINO WZ was organized at Hotel Lake View, Satara on 15^th & 16^th August 2011. 128 officers from 18 Divisions participated in this study class. Two delegates from North Zone Shri S.K.Saini, President, NOINO, North Zone & Shri Rajeev Sharma, GS, NOINO, North Zone and one delegate from Central Zone Shri R.O.Kalra also participated in the study class as  observers.  The lodging & boarding arrangements for all the participants were made at the Hotel itself. The 2 days’ study class was inaugurated by Shri P.K.Mahapatra (Marketing Manager, Satara DO). Dr. Umesh Pingle (DMR, Satara DO); Shri Ganesh Kamath, All India General Secretary, NOINO;  Shri Mahadeo Bapat, All India Vice President, NOIW; Shri A.B.Deshpande, President, NOIW, WZ were the guests of honour. Also Present on the dais were Shri Vilas Purkar, President, NOINO, WZ; Shri Vishwas Shastri, GS, NOINO, WZ, Smt Anagha Sant, Organising Secretary, NOINO, WZ; Shri S.D.Daithankar, President, NOINO Satara DO during the inaugural session.

The study class started with a Shramik Geet beautifully sung by Shri Sanjay Sanglikar, ABM(S), Ratnagiri, and lighting of lamp by Shri P.K.Mahapatra (MM, Satara DO) & other dignitaries present. Thereafter, Shri Vishwas Shastri, GS, NOINO, WZ introduced all the guests present on the dais. Shri S.D.Daithankar, President, NOINO, Satara unit, in his welcome speech welcomed all the dignitaries and delegates for the study class at Satara and gave information about the various beautiful scenic locations of Satara.

 Shri Vilas Purkar, President, NOINO, WZ in his introductory speech underlined the importance of such a study class and its utility in development of Karyakartas. Shri A.B.Deshpande, NOIW, WZ President showered his blessings & wished the study class great success. Shri P.K.Mahapatra in his inaugural speech appreciated the efforts taken by NOINO in raising the important issues of Class-I officers, particularly in securing a handsome charter. He also stressed the need of organization in the present scenario.

The inaugural function was followed by an informative & eye-opening lecture on stress management by Dr. Umesh Pingle, DMR, Satara DO. Everybody was greatly impressed with his lecture. Dr. Umesh Pingle in his humorous way entertained the gathering and educated them to over-come the stress in a simple manner. All longed to hear him for some more time, but time constraints ruled otherwise.

After the informative lecture on stress management by Dr.Umesh Pingle there was a lecture on Mass Communication through Mail and group SMSing by Shri Vishwas Shastri. This was done with the help of power-point presentation. The main attraction of the study class was how to draft a charter and how DA is merged/neutralized while drafting charter. On this subject Shri Mahadeo Bapat, All India Vice President, NOIW, delivered a wonderful presentation, which everybody listened with rapt attention. Shri Bapat was thanked by NOINO, WZ for his efforts.

An elocution competition was organized there-after. The objective was to encourage new activists to be proficient in public speech. One person from each division was asked to speak on one of the 4 given topics. Everybody actively participated in this elocution competition. Three officers namely Shri Vilas Purkar from Nashik, Shri Kirit Barot from Nadiad and Shri S.K.Saini acted as  judges for this competition. The three winners were: - 1. Shri Amit Vaidya from Vadodara 2. Shri Anil Bhagdikar from Nagpur and 3. Shri H.P.Shah from Nadiad. The winners were awarded prizes by Shri Ganesh Kamath.

After the elocution competition Shri Ganesh Kamath, All India General Secretary, NOINO, gave an inspiring lecture on ‘How to conduct gate meetings and how to deliver a speech’. Shri Kamath drawing on his vast experience and knowledge gave lots of simple but very practical & important tips to all the participants. Everybody was enthralled with his high quality 1 hour marathon speech.

An entertainment programme was organized in the evening in which about 20 participants show-cased their talents. The main attraction of the program was a soulful Gazhal sung by Smt Madhuri Barve from Nagpur. Shri Vilas Purkar sang bharud (Marathi folk song) with great gusto. Our Gujarati brothers broke into a colourful Garba which everybody enjoyed.

On the 2^nd day a trip to Sajjangadh was arranged in the morning. Sajjangadh is a beautiful place on hill surrounded by natural scenic beauty, wherein the Samadhi of Swami Ramdasji, Guru of Shivaji Maharaj also exists. Everybody enjoyed the trip.

After the trip the 2^nd day’s proceedings started with a Shramik geet by Shri Vishwas Shastri. A questionnaire had been distributed to all participants on the 1^st day which was to be answered by all participants and to be given to Smt Anagha Sant on the same day. On the 2^nd day Smt Anagha Sant reviewed all the answers given by the participants, she took lots of pain in evaluating these question papers and drawing conclusions for her review.

After Smt Anagha Sant’s review, Shri Ganesh Kamath spoke on ‘Organisation and Qualities of Karyakarta’. In an hour-long speech, Shri Kamath in his inimitable style explained as to what is organization, why there is a need of Organization and what are the qualities of a karyakarta. He gave lots of stress on the discipline to be maintained by each & every NOINO activist and appealed everybody to follow the principles of BMS in general & Shraddheya   Shri Dattopant Thengadiji in particular. And at the end of his speech he congratulated and thanked all the members of NOINO Satara DO for their excellent hospitality and making the study class a grand success. The atmosphere was charged after Shri Kamath’s speech.

At the end Shri Vishwas Shastri proposed the vote of thanks on behalf of NOINO, WZ.

The study-class ended on a high note with Shri V V Badge, Manager(Sales), Satara singing ‘Sampoorna Vande-Mataram’ with unmatched quality & feelings.

The whole study class proceedings were conducted by Shri Vikas Gangakhedkar, Treasurer, NOINO, WZ. All the members from NOINO Satara DO took lots of pain and worked day and night for the success of the study class.

Bravado..!! IISc scholars fast in support of Anna

IISc (Indian Institute of Science), Bangalore (Bengaluru) is the premier research institute of Govt of India.

On 15^th August 2011 the scholars (students) of the institute decided to fast for one meal to show their solidarity to Anna Hazare’s movement against corruption in India and pledge support to the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by civil society members.

As such, kitchens of all the three mess(es) of the institute were closed for the evening of 15^th August and scholars kept fast.

We appreciate the move of the scholars and extend our support to the cause of the nation.

स्वतन्त्रता दिवस की बधाई

भारतवर्ष के चौंसठवें स्वतन्त्रता दिवस पर सभी देशवासियों को हार्दिक बधाईयाँ !

Happy Independence Day!

(From General Secretary's desk)

   I wish all of you a very happy independence day. It has become customary to wish one another a happy independence day. All patriotic citizens of the country wish each other in the right spirit. However, one cannot but be pensive & think about the future of this country. With scams galore & corruption rampant, it is to be said that difficult times are ahead. The international scene is much worse. The American economy is in doldrums, Greece has gone bankrupt, Italy needs 500 billion euros to repay its debt; Spain & Germany are not far too behind & are tethering on the brink.

   The Corporation is also facing the biggest challenge at the moment, with business in the red & no-one at the TOP to take responsibility. The only thing we as a common person can do is to be sincere & honest in whatever we do & try to imbibe the same values in the next generation. Only good values & principles will deter a person from commiting follies. We need to be optimistic & I am sure our country will come out of the prevailing situation. Vande mataram!!!

Ganesh Kamath
GS, NOINO

रक्षाबंधन की शुभकामनाएं

॥ॐ॥ रक्षाबंधन की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं ॥ॐ॥

॥ॐ॥ श्री कृष्ण गोविँद हरे मुरारी, हे नाथ नारायण वासुदेवा ॥ॐ॥

Those women & girls who do not have brothers may tie Rakhis to Gods

AAO job rotation - NOINO protests the lapse

It was brought to our notice that AAO’s working in Central Office and Internal Audit Deptt, West Zone were not interviewed for job-rotation to marketing side. We immediately wrote to the ED(Pesonnel) in this regard protesting the lapse. The letter written to the ED(P) is reproduced below:

13.8.2011

The Executive Director (Personnel),

L.I.C of India.

Dear Sir,

Re: Interview to the cadre of ABM (S)

           We reliably learn that the AAO’s working in either Central Office or in Internal Audit (which is under Central Office) who have applied for job-rotation have not been called for interview by the Western Zone though they satisfy the required criteria. We do not know the reasons why they have not been called for interview.

            However, we feel that if these officers are not called for interview in spite of the fact that they have applied for the same & having satisfied the criteria, this would amount to discrimination.

            We, therefore, urge you to intervene immediately & take action & ensure that these officers are given an opportunity for rotation to marketing at the earliest.

Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

Ganesh Kamath

GS, NOINO

NOINO DELEGATION MEETS ED(P)

NOINO DELEGATION MEETS ED (P) ON PENDING ISSUES

         A NOINO delegation comprising of Dr. Sunil Bhushan Sharan, All India Working President; Shri Ganesh Kamath, All India General Secretary;  Shri Dattaraj Prabhukhanolkar, GS, NOINO Mumbai unit & Shri Manish Patankar, President, NOINO Mumbai unit met Executive Director ( Personnel), Shri B Manivannan on 8^th August 2011 to discuss the following pending issues:-

1. One more pension option: - We once again raised this demand & enquired about the status. ED replied that currently no steps were being taken to raise this issue with the Government though the issue was already with the Government. One possible obstacle was the rising gap between the contribution of the employees & the provision to be made for a DA-linked pension. Since the number of employees who had not opted was small, the expected contribution from them would also not be much. We, however, argued that the burden of the shortfall would not be much & LIC had the financial capacity to bear it. We strongly insisted that the matter should be pursued with the government forthwith. 
2. AAO notification: - We protested the delay in the notification of promotion to the cadre of AAO & asked the reasons for the same. ED replied that a) the process for this years’ drafting of ITSG personnel was underway & b) the process of raising the age of qualifying for AAO’s under 1(B) to 45 was underway. This was expected in a short while after which the notification would be issued. This would ensure that more vacancies would be available.
3. Housing loan with HFL: - We strongly protested the various & serious problems faced by the employees after the portfolio was transferred to HFL. We raised certain issues in this respect. E.g. a) the last date for take-over of loan was 31^st March 2011. However, in absence of individual intimation, several employees were denied the take-over by HFL for no fault of theirs. b) HFL was charging full EMI though i) option of payment of only interest was given by employees & ii) though part loan was released, EMI was charged for full loan. ED replied that he would discuss this matter with HFL & HPF & try to sort out matters at the earliest. We, however, reiterated that the only solution was to bring back this portfolio back to LIC.
4. Allowance to CA’s & to officers acquiring other professional qualifications: - We submitted that in other institutions like SBI where the CA’s were recruited in Scale II & scale III, they were getting paid substantially more. We also pointed out that the CA’s recruited in the AAO cadre were becoming frustrated due to this & were resigning from LIC. We demanded that a substantial allowance on the lines of Actuarial/IT should be paid. ED replied that the management will examine what it could do to stop the brain-drain. We also pointed out that the officers are not paid anything if they acquire the professional qualifications like FIII after they become officers. We strongly demanded that this injustice should be removed forthwith. We also pointed out that in RBI the officers were being paid Rs 900 if they pass JAIIB & 1100 if they pass CAIIB (2000 if they pass both). ED assured that the management would examine the issue.
5. Class IV & III recruitment: - We inquired about the reasons of the delay in Class IV recruitment. ED replied that there were litigations in some of the courts which would be combined & presented before the Supreme Court. A result in this matter was expected shortly, after which the decks will be cleared for the Class IV recruitment. We also demanded that Class III recruitment should be started forthwith to reduce the burden on the Class I Officers. ED replied that after the recruitment of Class IV, a decision will be taken in this matter.
6. Information sharing meeting: - We pointed out that Information sharing meeting had not been conducted since 19^th July 2010 & hence such a meeting with associations should be conducted immediately. ED agreed that it was a long time since such meeting was not conducted & said that such possibility would be explored at the earliest
7. Problems associated with EFEAP & compensation for the same: - We pointed out that the employees particularly in branches were bearing the brunt of the policyholders due to the problems emanating after the implementation of EFEAP. We also pointed out that even where the implementation was done long back, the problems showed no signs of subsiding. ED said that he would discuss this matter with IT. We also strongly demanded compensation for the programmers as well as all the officers involved in the implementation of EFEAP as this process had to be completed only after office hours. ED agreed to examine the issue. 
8. 5 days week: - We reiterated our demand of 5 days week. ED replied that no such proposal was on anvil.
9. Status of the post of a regular Chairman: - ED said that the picture was likely to be clear by September.
10.  LTC: - We reiterated our old demands that a) LTC rules should be simplified b) Encashment of LTC to be granted c) Air-travel to be allowed for all officers d) Holiday homes to be constructed by LIC wherever possible. ED said that these matters would be examined after a while.
11.  Meal coupons: - We reiterated our earlier demand that the meal coupons should be linked with DA. We demanded that since a year would be completed in September, the review should be taken forthwith. ED replied that no such proposal was being considered. However, we insisted that the amount should be revised at the earliest.

NOINO assures the Class I Officers that it will continue to pursue the pending issues.

Extended EC meeting of NOINO in Delhi

  1. It has been decided to hold the extended EC meeting of NOINO on 21st & 22nd November 2011 in Delhi.

  2. BMS has organised a mammoth morcha on 23rd November 2011 to protest the anti-labour policies of the Central government in Delhi. All of us have to compulsorily participate in the Morcha. In fact, the EC meeting has been so arranged to co-ordinate with the Morcha.

  3. All the National office-bearers have to attend the EC meeting. This means that GS, WP, Treasurer/Asst Treasurer/ All Vice-presidents/ All joint secretaries/Zonal Secretaries/Zonal Presidents & EC members have to attend.

  4. In addition to the above the divisions have to ensure that minimum 3 participants & maximum 5 participants come to the Meeting. If there are 3 participants, there should be at least 1 female officer. The other two should be Divn Secy & President. If there are 5 participants there should be at least 2 female officers. This limit does not apply to Delhi divisions.

  5. The delegate fee will be 400 Rs. each.

  6. The stay arrangements will be available from 20th evening onwards to 23rd evening. The food arrangements will be from 20th night dinner till 23rd afternoon.

  7. The Zonal/divisional secretaries/presidents should immediately start finalising the names.

  8. The Zonal Secretaries/ Presidents will report the final names on 16th August to the All India GS & All India Working President.

  9. The Zonal Secretaries/ Presidents will report the confirmed booking of tickets & the details on 23rd August.

 10. Other details & changes if any would be conveyed later.

NOINO Dehradun Divl committee reconstituted

The All India General Secretary of NOINO, Shri Ganesh Kamath was on a visit to Dehradun division on 2nd August 2011 along with Shri Rajesh Dubey, All India Joint Secretary, NOINO. On this occasion, about 25 Class I Officers were present in the meeting. It was decided to re-constitute the committee of NOINO Dehradun unit in this meeting. Shri Rajesh Dubey in his inimitable style spoke on the need of NOINO & urged the officers present to dedicate themselves for the cause of organisation. Shri Ganesh Kamath spoke on the achievements of NOINO & the current situation in LIC. He also dwelt upon the status of various pending issues of the LIC employees. The following committee was unanimously formed:-

Name	Post and Designation	Mobile	E-mail
Shri Ghanshyam kumar	President, DM P&GS	9411395657	Kumar.ghanshyam@licindia.com
Shri P L Semwal	V.President, Mgr-CLIA	9412027054	p.semwal@licindia.com
Shri S S Pangty	V. President, AO-OS	9837525583	s.pangti@licindia.com
Shri Mahesh Joshi	Gen Secy , AO-V.Ngr Branch	9412348770	Mk_joshi@licindia.com
Shri Rishi Malhotra	Resi Secy- AAO-CLIA	9415723353	r.malhotra@licindia.com
Ms Hiya Banerjee	Jt Secy , AAO-Rishikesh	9456710942	Hiya.banerjee@licindia.com
Shri Ramesh Rawat	Jt secy, AAO, DDUN-2 Branch	9411362290	Rameshrawat10@licindia.com
Shri B M Deoli	Treasurer, BM –P&GS	9411208922	b.deoli@licindia.com
Shri Ravindra Bachhetti	Media desk, AAO-Sales	9412438104	Ravindr.bachetie@licindia.com

There-after the entire committee along with Shri Kamath & Shri Dubey met the DM-in-charge Shri J P S Bajaj & exchanged pleasantries. Shri Tribhuvan Adhikary, MM, Dehradun was also present in this meeting.

Along with the above committee, Shri Rajesh Dubey & Shri Sanjeev Singhal of NOIW were instrumental in the reconstitution of the committee. Shri Singhal strived hard to make the meeting a success & we thank him for his co-operation.

Mahadharna staged successfully

As proposed, the MAHADHARNA to lodge our protest against the proposed placement of the bills related to hike in FDI in insurance sector and LIC (Amendment) Bill 2009 in Rajya Sabha for discussion and passing, was staged very successfully today at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. About 1000 activists from all the 4 organizations of BMS working in LIC of India viz. NOINO, NOIW, NOIP & BLIAS attended the dharna. Four MP's also addressed the gathering. They were:

(a) Shri Prakash Javadekar, MP (Rajya Sabha), BJP and also President, NOINO,
(b) Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, MP (Lok Sabha), BJP,
(c) Shri Chandan Mitra, MP (Rajya Sabha), BJP, and
(d) Shri Bharat Kumar Raut, MP (Rajya Sabha), Shiv Sena.

All the 4 MP's pledged their support to the cause of the dharna and further assured that they would always be ready to stand with the 4 organizations whenever need arose.

Memorandums were also submitted to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.

The impact of the canvassing regarding the dharna and finally staging it was instant - the Central Govt dropped the idea of placing these 2 bills during current Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Initiating Mahadharna

Office-bearers of BMS & 4 affiliates who organized the Dharna - (From Right) Sarvashri S.L.Burman, President, NOIP; Atul Deshpande, GS, NOIW; Pawan Kumar, Zonal Organizing Secretary (NCZ), BMS; Manoj Gandhi, President, NOIW; Ganesh Kamath, GS, NOINO; Dr S.B.Sharan, Working President, NOINO; Swarup Biswas, GS, BLIAS

NOINO President Shri Prakash Javadekar, MP(Rajya Sabha)

Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, MP(Lok Sabha), BJP addressing Mahadharna

Shri Chandan Mitra, MP(Rajya Sabha) BJP, Journalist & Economic Analyst addressing Mahadharna

Shri Bharat Kumar Raut, MP(Rajya Sabha) Shiv Sena addressing Mahadharna

Shri Ganesh Kamath, General Secretary, NOINO addressing

Mahadharna concludes