No unmanned railway crossing by 2015-16

Following the train-bus collision that killed eight people in Bihar, Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa announced Thursday that there would be no unmanned railway crossing in the country by 2015-16."Railways has set a goal to convert all unmanned railway crossings into manned by 2015-16," Muniyappa told mediapersons here."There are about 14,000 unmanned railway crossings across the country. We have decided to work for safety of railway and its passengers," Muniyappa said.

NO SERVICE TAX ON RAILWAY TICKETS ISSUED BEFORE OCTOBER 1, 2012

The railways ministry has made partial modification in levy of service tax on passenger fares in the AC classes/first class from October 1, 2012. The ministry clarified on Friday that service tax of 3.7% on passenger fares will not be levied on tickets issued and booked before October 1, 2012. Therefore, for people who bought tickets in advance, the service tax would not be collected on board, an official release said.

Cabinet clears Rs. 2300 crore One rank One Pension

After the DA/DR hike announcement, its another bonanza for the ex-servicemen. The union government has set aside Rs 2,300 crore for the implementation of the one-rank-one-pension - a demand that has been pending for years. This has been a major irritant between the armed forces and the bureaucracy.

In recognition of this demand, the Prime Minister in his Independence Day address this year, had mentioned about the OROP, apart from several other measures. A high level committee was formed to look into the demands of the ex-servicemen. According to the scheme, every ex-serviceman will be eligible for the same pension at his rank, regardless of when he joined or retired.

The Union Cabinet secretary Ajit K Seth was put in charge of a committee that has submitted its report, though after more than a month's delay.

OROP implies that servicemen of the same rank and same period of service should get the same pension, irrespective of when they retired. It also means that as and when pension is enhanced, the benefit will also be passed on to those who have retired earlier.

Dearness Allowance hiked by 7% to 72%

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh led Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) met today evening and cleared the dearness allowance hike. The meeting which supposed to take place last Friday was postponed due to political reasons. The hike will be 7 per cent and the new DA will be 72 per cent of the basic pay for all central government employees. The hike will be effective from July 1, 2012, and employees will get arrears from that date.

The hike is expected to cost government an additional Rs. 7,400 crore a year on the exchequer. The decision, which would benefit about 50 lakh of employees and 30 lakh pensioners of the central government

The government had last increased DA in March this year from 58 per cent to 65 per cent, which was effective from January 1, 2012.

The government periodically hikes the DA, which is calculated based on the consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW). The consumer price index (CPI) based on movement in retail prices, soared to 10.03% in August, from 9.86% in July, which means a higher DA hike next time.

Cabinet likely to approve DA hike (7%) on Friday (21st Sept, 2012)

The Union Cabinet is likely to approve the hike in the dearness allowance of the employees and pensioners, on Friday. Once approved, the dearness allowance for the employees and the dearness relief for pensioners will become effective from July 1, 2012. It may take few more days for the issue of the order by the Finance Ministry.

The hike, which is calculated based on CPI-IW is supposed to be to 72 per cent from the current 65 per cent. The CPI is currently around 10%, that may push for an even higher DA hike during January 2013. This hike will benefit 50 lakh employees and 30 lakh pensioners. However the hike may be negligible when compared to the price hike that we can expect from the recent fuel price hike.

According to confirmed sources, the proposal to increase dearness allowance (DA) by 7 per cent of the basic pay is scheduled to come up for consideration of the Union Cabinet on Friday.

The Last DA hike effective from Jan 2012 was also 7%.

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The meeting of the Union Cabinet, which was scheduled to consider the DA hike for the central government employees and pensioners, has been put postponed to next week.

"The Cabinet, CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) and CCI (Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure) meetings scheduled for Friday, have been postponed," an official announcement said.

Cabinet meetings are supposed to take place on Thursdays, but they have been postponed owing to political turmoil.

However the the figures (7%) as well as cabinet approval for the DA hike is just a formality and may not include a decision as it is based on the CPI-IW which has already been published. Even after the cabinet approval, it will take few days for the Finance Ministry to issue order.

BEML begins delivery for stainless steel EMU

Railway Gazette reported that Bharat Earth Movers Limited has begun delivering a development batch of 10 nine car electric multiple units built to a revised design which features stainless steel car bodies.

Indian Railways is planning to use the new design to gradually replace existing steel EMUs in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai which suffer from corrosion. The EMU is intended to offer a modern appearance, with 3+3 seating equivalent to sophisticated metro cars.

Following approval by the Research Designs & Standards Organisation and RITES, the first unit has begun trials on Eastern Railway's Sealdah division.

RAILWAYS BURDEN TO RISE BY 1200 CRORES EVERY YEAR

The diesel price hike has come as a shocker for the Railways,which is reeling under a financial crunch.However,there is no immediate plan to increase freight tariff.

The Rs 5 hike in the price of diesel is expected to put an additional burden of around Rs 1,200 crore every year on the cash-strapped Railways,headed by Trinamool Congress nominee Mukul Roy.There is no move as yet to increase freight charges though the increase in diesel price will hit us badly.As of now,we have no plan to shift the burden on freight operators, a senior railway official said.

The railways had effected a 20-25 % hike in freight rates before the rail budget this year. The transporter consumes about 280 crore litres of diesel every year to run its fleet of around 4,500 diesel locomotives,hauling both freight and passenger trains. The Railways paid about Rs 13,209 crore in the current fiscal and Rs 11,741 crore during the last fiscal towards its fuel bill.The increase in fuel consumption every year is due to addition of new services and more freight haulage.

Since nearly six months have already passed in 2012-13,the additional cost of the fuel bill will be around Rs 100 crore per month this fiscal, an official said.

The three oil PSUs IndianOil, HPCL and BPCL supply fuel providing a subsidy of 30 paisa per litre as the Railways is a bulk consumer.