Central Govt. to abolish the interview process for non-gazetted posts from January 1, 2016

From January 1 next year, there will be no requirement of interview for Group D,C and B non-gazetted posts in central government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Sunday as part of efforts to put an end to the menace of corruption in jobs.

In his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, he recalled that he had suggested in his Independence Day address that the practice of holding interviews for recruitment at lower levels in governments could be done away with.
“The government has completed the entire process to do away with interviews for lower rank jobs. There will be no requirement of interview for Group D,C and B non-gazatted posts in central government. It will come into effect from January 1, 2016,” Modi said.

Rules regarding quoting of PAN for specified transactions

                    The Government is committed to curbing the circulation of black money and widening of tax base. To collect information of certain types of transactions from third parties in a non-intrusive manner, the Income-tax Rules require quoting of PAN where the transactions exceed a specified limit. Persons who do not hold PAN are required to fill a form and furnish any one of the specified documents to establish their identity.

                    One of the recommendations of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money was that quoting of PAN should be made mandatory for all sales and purchases of goods and services where the payment exceeds Rs.1 lakh. Accepting this recommendation, the Finance Minister made an announcement to this effect in his Budget speech. The Government has since received numerous representations from various quarters regarding the burden of compliance this proposal would entail. Considering the representations, it has been decided that quoting of PAN will be required for transactions of an amount exceeding Rs.2 lakh regardless of the mode of payment.

                    To bring a balance between burden of compliance on legitimate transactions and the need to capture information relating to transactions of higher value, the Government has also enhanced the monetary limits of certain transactions which require quoting of PAN. The monetary limits have now been raised to Rs. 10 lakh from Rs. 5 lakh for sale or purchase of immovable property, to Rs.50,000 from Rs. 25,000 in the case of hotel or restaurant bills paid at any one time, and to Rs. 1 lakh from Rs. 50,000 for purchase or sale of shares of an unlisted company. In keeping with the Government’s thrust on financial inclusion, opening of a no-frills bank account such as a Jan Dhan Account will not require PAN. Other than that, the requirement of PAN applies to opening of all bank accounts including in co-operative banks.

                    The changes to the Rules will take effect from 1st January, 2016. The above changes in the rules are expected to be useful in widening the tax net by non-intrusive methods. They are also expected to help in curbing black money and move towards a cashless economy.

A chart highlighting the key changes to Rule 114B of the Income-tax Act is attached

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Last date for self Drawing System 31-12-2015

All are informed that the Self Drawing system will be fully dispensed with from 31.12.2015. Hence all the Gazetted Officers in districts other than Trivandrum are requested to complete their bill processing, taking print outs and e submission before 31.12.2015 itself. After that, your login will not permit such activities and your DDO alone can process your bills, if not done.

Digi Locker facility from Central Government for storing records

Central  government has launched a scheme called DigiLocker.  Anyone having an Aadhar card can login to digitallocker.gov.in and upload scanned copies of all the important documents like 10th marksheet, 12th marksheet, Graduation certificate, electricity bill, PAN, Driving License, Passport etc. So whenever, you will need those documents (for verification by govt agencies while applying for any service etc), you can directly give your locker number and it is done! No more hassles of carrying those documents and tons of photocopies. Please use it and share with friends A very Practical step taken by Government.

To sign up for DigiLocker,  you need your Aadhaar number (issued by UIDAI). 

There are two ways to sign up:

1. Mobile OTP: Use this method if your Aadhaar number is linked to your mobile number.

2. Biometric: If you have a biometric device attached to your computer, you can sign up by scanning your fingerprint.

Here are five things you need to know about Digital Locker or DigiLocker:

1. Digital Locker will provide secure access to government-issued documents. It uses authenticity services provided by Aadhaar.

2. Digital Locker is aimed at eliminating the use of physical documents and enables sharing of verified electronic documents across government agencies.

3. Digital Locker provides a dedicated personal e-storage space to citizens, linked to their Aadhaar numbers.

4. Digital Locker will reduce the administrative overheads of government departments and agencies created due to paper work. It will also make it easy for Indian citizens to receive services by saving time and effort as their documents will now be available anytime, anywhere and can be shared electronically.

5. To sign up for your Digital Locker, you need your Aadhaar number and a mobile number linked to that Aadhaar number. To sign up, visit https://digitallocker.gov.in/