EPFO may fix minimum pension at Rs 1,00

Retirement fund body EPFO is likely to fix the minimum pension for its subscribers at Rs 1,000 per month at the scheduled meeting the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) on February 22.

"The CBT will take a call on the proposal to fix minimum pension at Rs 1,000 per month for its subscribers in a meeting scheduled on February 22," a source said.

The meeting of CBT, the apex decision making body of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) had earlier in December deferred the decision on the matter.

Although the agenda for the meeting is yet to be finalised, sources said, the issue would come up for discussion.

According to EPFO data, as of March 31, 2010, there are 35 lakh pensioners subscribed to the retirement fund body, of which 14 lakh persons get a monthly pension of less than Rs 500.

The number of EPFO pensioners getting a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 is 7 lakh. The data reveals that there are cases where pensioners are getting a monthly pension as low as Rs 12 and Rs 38.

Although representatives of employers and employees have agreed on fixing the minimum pension at Rs 1,000 per month, there is no decision on the means of raising the additional fund requirement.

As per estimates, the decision will require an additional contribution of 0.63 per cent of subscribers' basic pay and dearness allowance.

The hike in contribution will be over-and-above the 8.33 per cent contributed by employers toward the pension account of employees, as well as the 1.16 per cent provided by the government under the scheme.

Source : ET

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Welcome to MONDAY MANTRA and we wish you all a week of enthusiasm

“ All changes are difficult and sometimes costly,
But if they are good changes, in the long run they pay off”

             The way to settle a disagreement is on the 
                          Basis of what is Right , not who is Right

No one is an exception to a problem that seems beyond our understanding. When we try to solve the problem, we feel ourselves getting more and more confused, more and more trapped. The issue  here is not that we are not persistent, but that the problem is too complex for us to solve, despite our sincerity in finding a solution.  

When we are in such a situation it’s time to pause, step back and look at an interesting equation which comes to our rescue at all times.It is called ‘E + E = ‘R’.  Following the equation gives us fewer conflicts because of which we conserve our mental energies and operate at a higher productivity levels enthusiastically.

‘E + E’ denotes ‘effort and efficiency’ and ‘R’ here is ‘the Result’ which is not always in our hands. Though, the equation looks a bit of a puzzle and at the same time appeals to our rational mind, it has been the very foundation of all teachings by the wise, the platform for peak performance and the hall mark of persons with calmness and peace. 

What is that equation which is so vitally useful?  God knows the answer but we can click and know it now. 

Welcome to MONDAY MANTRA and we wish you all a week of enthusiasm and peak performance.

Courtesy : http://postmastermaharashtra.blogspot.com & http://sapost.blogspot.com/

Postal Dept works towards Bank Permit

The department of posts will formulate a detailed project report for setting up a bank, in the XII Plan.

“The postal department has already conducted a study and has found that the proposal is feasible. DPR (detailed project report) is the next step to chalk out the exact blueprint for the model,” a senior official from the department of posts (DoP) told Business Standard.

The department will apply for a banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India. Post Bank of India may be set up with the required authorised capital of Rs 700 crore, the official added.

“The plan is to offer banking services in rural and semi-urban areas by converting our post offices into banks. The department has about 1.5 lakh post offices across the country, which is mainly located in rural areas,” a source said.

The department also operates the Post Office Savings Bank, where it has over 240 million savings accounts. It has a customer base of over 23.75 crore with an outstanding balance of Rs 6,19,611 crore as on March 31, 2011.

Do you know the Signs of High Blood Sugar?

An important part of managing diabetes is recognizing when your blood glucose (sugar) becomes too high and knowing what to do about it. In this article we will talk about what is too high a blood glucose level, how this can happen, help you recognize the key symptoms of high blood glucose and give some advice on what action you can take if it happens. 

So what is too high a blood glucose? 

When blood glucose is higher then 180 mg/dl (in US units) or 10mmol/L (in UK units) measured two hours after food, then the blood glucose is too high. The technical term for this is hyperglycemia. 

How is Hyperglycemia caused? 

Hyperglycemia is often a result of when food, activity and medications are not balanced. Some of the common reasons why this balance can be altered are: 



· Too much food or the wrong type food
· Not enough medication
· Not enough insulin
· Poor injection technique
· Overuse of injection sites
· Infections or illness
· Stress
· Increase in weight 

A common cause of hyperglycemia in diabetics is missing dose of insulin or not taking enough. Eating too much, can also cause a rise in blood sugar levels

Signs and Symptoms of Hyperglycemia 

In the early stages, there are likely to be no symptoms at all and even when symptoms do arise they may come on so slowly that they are not noticed.

You may get some of following symptoms: 

· More hunger or thirst then usual
· Excessive urination
· Tiredness and lethargy
· Frequent infections
· Blurred vision 
If untreated, high blood glucose may result in diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious condition due to a lack of insulin. This causes the body to try to find energy from other sources as it cannot use the glucose in the blood. Ketones and acid form as a result.

The condition is characterized by vomiting, drowsiness, smell of acetone (like pear drops) on the breath and can result in coma. 
Monitoring your blood glucose regularly may help you identify when your blood glucose has become too high and recognizing the warning signs will help highlight to you that action needs to be taken. 


What to do if you experience Hyperglycemia
Hyperglycemia can usually be treated with either oral diabetic medications or insulin. If blood glucose levels don't respond to insulin or medication, diabetics are advised to contact their GP immediately. 
Remember: 
· Consult your doctor
· Continue with your diabetes treatment
· Consume plenty of fluids
· Test your blood glucose levels every 2-4 hrs
· Adjust your meal plan
· Adjust your medication or insulin (only if instructed by doctor to do so) 
As with many things in life, prevention is better then cure. Be aware of the causes of hyperglycemia and do what you can to prevent them.

Courtesy : http://katiharho.blogspot.com/ & http://sapost.blogspot.com/

5 Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do

For all the folks with cell phones. (This should be printed and kept in your car, purse, and wallet. Good information to have with you.)

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

1. Emergency 

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out. 

2.Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: 

  If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk). 

Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!' 

3.Hidden Battery Power 

Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time. 

4.How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone? 

To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following Digits on your phone: *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe.

When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

  

And Finally.... 

5.Free Directory Service for Cells 

Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem.. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800)FREE411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now. This is sponsored by McDonalds.

This is the  kind of information people don't mind receiving, so pass it on to your family and friends !!!

Courtesy : http://katiharho.blogspot.com/ & http://sapost.blogspot.com/

Internet Search Engines

Google: is the leader in the search space and definitely the most loved search engine today. Some other Search engine  as follows

Bing: Bing from Microsoft – many do not want to try or use it for one simple reason! It’s from Microsoft! But if you can lay aside your negative bias for ‘anything Microsoft’ and check it out for a week, you will be surprised at the results it delivers. If you don’t like it, you can always go back to using your earlier one. Bing is now also powering Yahoo Search results.

IxQuick: It was IxQuick which was the first search engine to offer encrypted search back in 2009. It has now also made SSL encryption the default on all searches – although other search engines too followed suit. Ixquick has a sister search engine called Startpage.

Startpage: Well Startpage may not exactly be a Google alternative, but for lovers of Google Search results, it looks to be the best alternative as basically Startpage uses Google Web results – but does not track you or your searches. You can use Startpage to search the web anonymously and protect your privacy. Moreover Startpage shows only a limited amount of relevant sponsored results on the top and the bottom of the results page. You can even add StartPage to your browser.

DuckDuckGo: This search engine too does not track your history and bans spammy sites and sites that are full of advertisements.

Dogpile: It is a metasearch engine, that allows you to simultaneously search not only Google, but also Bing and Yahoo. No longer can you trust just Google Search, as it pushes results from its own sister sites. Using such meta search engines, you can get the best of the three worlds.

Metacrawler: It is another meta search engines that searches and delivers search results from Google, Bing and Yahoo. By accessing multiple search engines for each query, it can provide you with a more relevant spectrum of results than you would from using any single search engine.

Blekko: It helps eliminate spam from search results by allowing you to use slashtags to deliver results that are relevant. For example, you can search with the slashtag “/windows” to get results that have to do with Windows.

Wolfram Alpha: It works in a way quite different from the traditional Search Engines. Search Engines index web pages, then look for textual matches, then give you lists of links. WOolfram|Alpha uses built-in knowledge curated by human experts to compute on the fly a specific answer to every query

Ask: Ask.com is the largest of the small search engines having approximately 5% odd US market share.  Forget its hated Ask toolbar for a moment and check it out.

Gigablast: This one styles itself as a Green Search Engine as 90% of its power usage comes from wind energy. If you want, you can also perform your query on the coal-based search engines by clicking links below the search results. It has a pretty big index and some nice advanced search options too. 

Courtesy : www.thewindowsclub.com

Renowned writer Sukumar Azhikode passes away  

Thrissur, Tuesday, January 24, 2012: Sukumar Azhikode, the legendary literary and social activist of Kerala passed away on Tuesday morning. He was 85.
Azhikode was admitted to the Amala hospital near here with symptoms of fast spreading cancer on December 10 last and he was on palliative treatment since then. His condition had turned critical on Saturday night and the end came around 6 am.
Azhikode was a towering presence for about six decades in Kerala’s literary and social spheres through his interventions as a powerful, erudite and charismatic orator and versatile writer. He had remarkable command over Sanskrit, Malayalam, and English languages and had deeply internalized the classical traditions of all the three languages.
He had acquired in depth knowledge of Indian philosophy, ethics and mythology and had made extensive explorations into Western philosophies, particularly into their humanistic sources. His scholarly and inspiring orations had given him direct access to the masses at levels which even the most popular politician of the state would envy of. His incisive literary critical works occupy prime stature in Kerala’s literary lineage.