Interest Rates on Post Office saving schemes increased....

No. 6-1/2011-NS.II (Pt.)

Ministry of Finance

Department of Economic Affairs

(Budget Division)

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

New Delhi, the 11th November, 2011.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Sub: Decisions on the recommendations of the Committee for

Comprehensive Review of National Small Savings Fund (NSSF).

The Thirteenth Finance Commission in its Report had, inter alia, recommended that all aspects of the design and administration of the NSSF be examined with the aim of bringing transparency, market linked rates and other much needed reforms to the scheme. As a follow up of this recommendation, the Government had constituted a Committee on 8th July, 2010, headed by Smt. Shyamala Gopinath, the then Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India for comprehensive review of NSSF. The terms of reference of the Committee included review of the existing parameters for the small saving schemes in operation and recommend mechanisms to make them more flexible and market linked; review of the existing terms of the loans extended from the NSSF to the Centre and States and recommend on the changes required in the arrangement of lending the net collection of small savings to Centre and States; review of other possible investment opportunities for the net collections from small savings and the repayment proceeds of NSSF loans extended to States and Centre; review of the administrative arrangement including the cost of operation; and review of the incentives offered on the small savings investments by the States.

2. The Committee submitted its report to the Government on 7th June, 2011. Comments/views of Department of Posts, Department of Revenue, Department of Financial Services, Department of Expenditure and all State/Union Territory Governments were sought on the recommendations made by the Committee.

3. The recommendations of the Committee have been considered in detail, taking into account the views/comments received from other Departments, States/UTs and representations received from various agents’ associations and others. After detailed examination the following decisions have been taken:-

Rationalisation of Schemes:

(i) The maturity period for Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will be reduced from 6 years to 5 years.

(ii) A new NSC instrument, with maturity period of 10 years, would be introduced.

(iii) Kisan Vikas Patras (KVPs) will be discontinued.

(iv) The annual ceiling on investment under Public Provident Fund (PPF) Scheme will be increased from Rs. 70,000 to Rs..1 lakh.

(v) Interest on loans obtained from PPF will be increased to 2% p.a.from existing 1% p.a.

(vi) Liquidity of Post Office Time Deposit (POTD) – 1, 2, 3 & 5 years – will be improved by allowing pre-mature withdrawal at a rate of interest 1% less than the time deposits of comparable maturity. For pre-mature withdrawals between 6-12 months of investment, Post Office Savings Account (POSA) rate of interest will be paid.

Interest Rates on Small Savings Instruments :

(i) The rate of interest paid under Post Office Savings Account will be increased from 3.5% to 4% p.a.

(ii) The rate of interest on small savings schemes will be aligned with G-Sec rates of similar maturity, with a spread of 25 basis points (bps) with two exceptions. The spread on 10 year NSC (new instrument) will be 50 bps and on Senior Citizens Savings Scheme 100 bps. The interest rates for every financial year will be notified before 1st April of that year.

(iii) Assuming the date of implementation of the recommendations of the Committee as 1st December, 2011 the rate of interest on various small savings schemes for current financial year on the basis of the interest compounding/payment built in the schemes, will be as given below:-

Instrument	Current Rate (%)	Proposed Rate (%)
Savings Deposit	3.50	4.0
1 year Time Deposit	6.25	7.7
2 year Time Deposit	6.50	7.8
3 year Time Deposit	7.25	8.0
5 year Time Deposit	7.50	8.3
5 year Recurring Deposit	7.50	8.0
5-year SCSS	9.00	9.0
5 year MIS	8.00 (6 year MIS)	8.2
5 year NSC	8.00 (6 year NSC)	8.4
10 year NSC	New Instrument	8.7
PPF	8.00	8.6

(iv) Payment of 5% bonus on maturity of MIS will be discontinued.

Commission to Agents

(i) Payment of commission on PPF schemes (1%) and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (0.5%) will be discontinued.

(ii) Agency commission under all other schemes (except MPKBY agents) will be reduced from existing 1% to 0.5%.

(iii) Commission at existing rate of 4% will continue for Mahila Pradhan Kshetriya Bachat Yojana (MPKBY) agents.

(iv) Incentives, if any, paid by the State/UT Governments will be reduced from the commission paid by the Central Government.

Investments from NSSF :

(i) The minimum share of States in net small savings collections in a year, for investment in State Governments Securities, will be reduced from 80% to 50%. The remaining amount will be invested in Central Government securities or lent to other willing States or in securities issued by infrastructure companies/agencies, wholly owned by Central Government.

(ii) Yearly repayment of NSSF loans made by Centre and States, will be reinvested in Central and State Government securities in the ratio of 50:50.

(iii) The period of repayment of NSSF loans by Centre and States will be reduced to 10 years, with no moratorium.

(iv) For the current financial year the prevailing interest rate of 9.5% will continue. From 1st April, 2012 revised interest rate will be notified.

(iv) Half yearly payment of interest by the Centre and the States will be introduced.

(v) Interest rate on existing investments from NSSF in Central Government securities till 2006-07 will be re-set at 9% and on those from 2007-08 till 2010-11 will be re-set at 9.5%.

Operational Issues of NSSF

(i) A Monitoring Group drawn from Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of India, Department of Posts, State Bank of India, other select banks and select State Governments will be set up to resolve various operational issues like reducing the time lag between collection and investment, etc.

4. Necessary notifications, including those requiring amendments to rules of various small saving schemes and National Small Savings Fund (Custody & Investment) Rules, 2001 will be notified separately. The above decisions will take effect from the dates to be specified in the notifications.

5. This has the approval of Finance Minister.

(Shaktikanta Das)
Addl. Secretary to the Govt. of India

Click here to download Original release

How to Detect Hidden Camera in Trial Room?

In front of the trial room take your mobile and make sure that mobile can make calls........
Then enter into the trail room, take your mobile and make a call.....
If u can't make a call......!!!!
There is a hidden camera......
This is due to the interference of fiber optic cable during the signal transfer......

Please forward this to your friends to educate this issue to the
public......To prevent our innocent ladies from HIDDEN CAMERA...........

Pinhole Cameras in Changing Rooms of Big Bazaar, Shoppers Stop?

A few days ago, I received this text message:
Please don't use Trial room of BIG BAZAAR there are pinhole cameras to make MMS of young girls.
So, please forward to all girls. Also forward to all boys who have sisters and girlfriends.

Don't be shy in forwarding this message. Because its about protecting the integrity of all girls & ladies.

HOW TO DETECT A 2-WAY MIRROR?

When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc., How many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror I.e., they can see you, but you can't see them. There have been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in female changing rooms or bathroom or bedrooms.

It is very difficult to positively identify the surface by just looking at it. So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of Mirror we are looking at?

CONDUCT THIS SIMPLE TEST:

Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror.

However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR! (There may be someone seeing you from the other side). So remember, every time you see a mirror, do the "fingernail test." It doesn't cost you anything. It is simple to do.

This is a really good thing to do. The reason there is a gap on a real mirror, is because the silver is on the back of the mirror UNDER the glass.

Whereas with a two-way mirror, the silver is on the surface. Keep it in mind! Make sure and check every time you enter in hotel rooms.

Share this with your sisters, wife, daughters, friends, colleagues, etc

Railway Minister Announces Fresh Measures to Prevent Misuse of Tatkal Travel Scheme

The Minister of Railways Shri Dinesh Trivedi at a press conference here today said that several measures are proposed to be implemented in the next one week or so with a view to prevent misuse of Tatkal scheme by agents/unscrupulous elements by the activities during opening hours of the reservation counters:. These measures announced by him are as follows:-

i. The advance reservation period of Tatkal scheme should be reduced from two days at present to one day excluding the day of journey from the train originating station. For example, if train is to depart from the originating station on the second of the month, theTatkal quota for that particular train shall open at 0800 hours on the first of the month.

ii. There shall be no refund on confirmed Tatkal tickets subject to the exceptions such as cancellation of trains, late running of trains, etc. This is proposed on account of the following reasons :-

· Advance reservation period of Tatkal is very short i.e. approximately one day. It is expected that the passenger would have a firm programme of travel before booking the Tatkal ticket.

· To prevent misuse of Tatkal ticket by unscrupulous elements by resorting to speculative booking.

iii. No duplicate Tatkal tickets shall be issued. Duplicate Tatkal tickets shall be issued only in exceptional cases on payment of full fare including Tatkal charges.

iv. Tatkal tickets shall be sold only on production of one of the eight prescribed Identity cards as proof of identity. For this purpose, a self-attested photo copy of the identity card on which the passenger(s) proposes to travel shall be attached to the requisition slip. The details of the identity proof shall be captured by the system and indicated on the reserved tickets as well on the chart. It will not be mandatory for the passengers to go to the counter to book the Tatkal ticket, however, the proof will have to be sent in the aforementioned manner. During the journey, the passenger will have to produce original proof of identity indicated on the ticket. In future, when AADHAAR is operational, the issue of Tatkaltickets will be linked to AADHAAR.

v. Agents / RTSAs shall be restricted from the booking Tatkal tickets at the counters between 0800 hrs. and 1000 hrs. This restriction shall be enforced through frequent inspection at the counters. The agents both web service agents and web agents shall also be restricted from booking Tatkal tickets on the internet between 0800 hrs. and 1000 hrs.

vi. Even for internet booking for Tatkal tickets, the passenger shall enter the identity proof type and number, which is to be used for travel. These details shall be printed on the ERS as well as the chart for Tatkal tickets.

vii. There shall be only four passengers per PNR for Tatkal tickets.

viii. The web services agents of IRCTC will be permitted to book only one Tatkal ticket per train per day on the internet.

ix. Cameras will be installed at the ticket counters for maintaining stricter surveillance.

AKS/HK/TR

(Release ID :77112)


Source : http://pib.nic.in/ dtd 11/11/2011

Some Internet Slang and Abbreviations

2 - To, also
4 - For
411 - Information
BRB - Be right back
BTW - By the way
CYA - See you
FWIW - For what it's worth
FYI - For your information
GB - Good Bye
GJ - Good Job
GR8 - Great
GTG - Got to go
HOAS - Hold on a Second
IC - I seeIDK - I don't know
IMO - In my opinion
JK - Just kidding
K - Ok
L8R - Later
LMAO - Laughing my (rear) off
LMK - Let me know
LOL - Laugh out loud
NC - No comment
NP - No problem
OMG - Oh my goodness!
PIR - People in the room (watching)
POS - Person over shoulder (watching)
QT - Cutie
ROFL - Rolling on the floow, laughing
SOS - Somone over shoulder (watching)
TC - Take Care
THX - Thanks
TIA - Thanks in advance
TMI - Too much information
TTFN - Ta-Ta for now (goodbye)
TTYL - Talk to you later
TY - Thank you
U2 - You, too
UR - Your, you are
VM - Voice mail
W8 - Wait
XOXO - Hugs and kisses
Y - Why?
YW - You're Welcome
ZZZ - Sleeping

Some general Smileys in the Internet

:) or :-)	Smile
^-^	Delighted; happy face
O:) or O:-)	Smiling angel
:D or :-D	Big, toothy smile
}:> or }:->	Devilish smile
:X or :-X	Lips are sealed
;) or ;-)	Wink
:( or :-(	Frown
:C or :-C	Big frown / Grumpy
:'( or :'-(	Crying
:-/	Sarcasm
:> or :->	Big grin
:p or :-p	Sticking out tongue
:* or :-*	Kiss
:o or :-o	Surprise; outcry
:O or :-O	Scream
:V or :-V	Talking; yakking
8) or 8-)	Smiley with glasses; author wears glasses
|:o	Ooooohhh noooooo!
O_O	Shocked; surprised; bug face
O_o	Confused face
<_<	Disappointed; ashamed; upset face
-_-	Equivalent to latter

11/11/11 (a.k.a. 11-11-11); Friday, November 11, 2011: Mathematics

The number eleven is the fifth prime number (contrary to popular belief, the number one ( 1 ) is not a prime number).

The base numeric number system lends itself to some interesting peculiarities as relates to the number eleven.

Base 10 for example:

(2 digits) 11 x 11 = 121

(6 digits) 111111 x 111111 = 12345654321

(9 digits) 111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Base 16 (hexadecimal) for example:

(2 digits) 11 x 11 = 121

(6 digits) 111111 x 111111 = 12345654321

(9 digits) 111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

11.11.11 11.11.11, auspicious or doomsday?

Get ready to experience once-in-a-lifetime moment this Friday.


At 11.11.11 on 11.11.11, the time and date will be a perfect same-numbered palindrome, reading the same backwards as forwards, an event which can only happen on one day every 100 years, the Daily Mail reported.

While some consider it as the perfect day for a wedding, some "prophecy" web forums claimed it could also be the end of the world.

The reason the date is so unusual is that 11.11.11 is the only double-figure palindromic date, since there is no 22nd month.

And the last time it happened, on November 11 1911, an almost supernatural event saw temperatures drop by more than 60F in a single day.

This was the Great Blue Norther, a cold snap which hit the U.S. causing blizzards and tornadoes as well as record falls in temperature.


In Kansas City, it was as warm as 76F (24C) in the morning - but this had dropped to 11F (-12C) by the end of the day.

A new film being released on Friday, entitled simply 11-11-11, predicts that the day will see the opening of a portal in to Hell, and says: "On this day, innocent blood will spill."

The film by Darren Bousman, director of several entries in the Saw franchise, features a man whose family dies in a car crash at 11.11am, and who then begins to be haunted by the number 11.

It plays on beliefs long held by some spiritualists, who say that the number has a special significance and claim that many people have a mystical attraction to the time 11.11.

One group believes that 11.11 is the special symbol of the "Spirit Guardians", a group of 1,111 celestial beings who supposedly look after mortals and manifest themselves in mid-morning.

However, most of those who have chosen this Friday as a day to get married are more attracted by the pleasing coincidence than by any deeper significance.

The small town of Gretna Green, a traditional wedding venue near the border between Scotland and England, will host at least 50 weddings on 11.11.11, compared to fewer than a dozen on a typical November Friday.

Wedding mania will be even more pronounced overseas, such as in India where thousands of couples have judged the date to be auspicious for a successful marriage.

The day will also be one of celebration for a number of children who will be turning 11 on 11.11.11.

Most famously, the 11th of November is Armistice Day in the UK - Veterans Day in the U.S. - when we celebrate the end of World War I and commemorate the victims of that war and subsequent ones.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com