REIMBURSEMENT IN RELAXATION OF RULES

NO.S.14025/2/2011-MS
Government of India
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
313, 'D' Wing, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi -110108
Email: so2ms-mohfw@nic.in

Dated: 11th January,2011

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Sub: Delegation of powers of Head of Department to Head of Office for settling permission cases and post facto approval to reimbursement in relaxation of rules in emergent cases under CGHS/CS (MA) Rules, 1944.

The undersigned is directed to invite reference to para (ii) of this Ministry's Office Memorandum NO.S.14012/9/75-MC (MS) dated 18.06.1982, as mentioned at point 4 under Appendix-VIII of CS (MA) Rules, 1944 relating to reimbursement in relaxation of rules in emergent cases, which stipulates that powers for settling permission cases and post facto approval should not be exercised by authorities lower than Heads of Departments.

2. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has examined the question of further delegation of powers to Head of Offices/officers at Under Secretary level, in such offices, which are not headed by officers equivalent to a Deputy Secretary, in the matter and it has been decided with the approval of the competent authority to delegate such powers in the following manner:-

"In case of medical reimbursement, delegation of power can be given to Under Secretaries in the Departments of Central Government declared as Heads of Offices subject to the condition that upto Rs. two thousand for taking treatment in OPD and upto Rs. Five thousand for taking treatment in IPD under CGHS/CS(MA) Rules, 1944. This delegation of powers can be exercised as per the prescribed rate list of nearest CGHS covered city or actual whichever is lower for CS (MA} beneficiaries and as per package rate for CGHS beneficiaries in CGHS cities."

3. This order is applicable to both CGHS and CS(MA) beneficiaries.

4. This Office Memorandum issues with the approval of Ministry of Finance vide 10 No 14(1)/E.IIA/2010 dated 06.07.2010.

S/d
(Sanjay Pant)
Under Secretary to the Government of India.

SC NOTICE TO CENTRE/STATES

New Delhi, Mar 4 (PTI) The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre, all states/UTs on a PIL for setting up of high-powered statutory Civil Services Boards to decide transfers/postings of civil servants to rid the bureaucracy of political interference, corruption and inaction.

A bench of justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma sought response from the Union Cabinet Secretary and respective Chief Secretaries on the petition jointly filed by 83 former bureaucrats through counsel Menaka Guruswamy.

"There is an urgent need to make the civil servants accountable, sensitive and responsive. If this is achieved, there will be across-the-spectrum benefits. At present, the system of transfers, postings, promotions, disciplinary action and other personnel matters pertaining to the higher civil services are ad-hoc and non-transparent.

Source: PTI

CHALLENGES BEFORE INDIA POST

India Post's recent initiatives, which include slotting itself in cyberspace through the ePost Office, are pointers to the manner in which the world's largest postal network can be better leveraged to strengthen the financial and communication infrastructure. The Internet and other affordable alternatives have hit the basic function of post offices: delivering letters and other mails. In India, as an answer to a question raised in the Lok Sabha reveals, the volume of mail traffic fell from 6,677.18 million pieces in 2006-07 to 6,391.15 million in 2007-08, and rose marginally to 6,540.90 million in 2008-09. That the figure for 1997-98 was 15,749.30 million points to the severity of the fall. Internationally too, there are clear signs of the Internet eating into postal systems. Developed economies, in particular, saw postal businesses slump further with the onset of the recession. Statistics provided by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) show that between 2008 and 2009 domestic mail volumes were down 12 per cent globally (translating to about 13 billion pieces). Although there are signs of recovery now, particularly in the parcel and express segments, fundamental challenges posed by the emergence of alternatives to the post remain.
India's expansion of telephone services — the number of telephone subscribers increased from 76.54 million in 2004 to 764.77 million in November 2010 — and the growth of broadband are important developments that could further eat into the letter-post. Against this backdrop, the ePost Office, through which customers can carry out some basic services such as Money Order transactions, marks the beginning of what could be a new chapter for India Post. Its agreement with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to work more closely in socio-economic areas with the provider of unique identity ID cards will be watched with interest round the world. An excellent way of strengthening India Post's finances would be to build on its biggest strength — as the world's largest postal network whose reach extends to all households in the country — and take a range of services closer to Indian residents: financial services and insurance products, for a start. Optimism over economic growth offers India Post an opportunity to correct its deficit-ridden balance sheets and also play a larger role in development by strengthening business-to-business and business-to-consumer segments. Making this change — while maintaining its key public service role as a provider of affordable services for a country of a billion-plus people — is the strategic challenge facing India Post.
The Hindu March: 07, 2011