Minutes of the 63rd Meeting of Standing Committee of NCJCM held on 23.04.2025 under the Chairpersonship of Secretary

No.3/7/2024- JCА
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training
Pers. Policy (JCA) Section

North Block, New Delhi
Dated the 20th May, 2025

To

Shri Shiva Gopal Mishra
Secretary, Staff-Side
National Council, JCM
13-C, Ferozshah Road, New Delhi-110001

Subject: Minutes of the 63rd Meeting of Standing Committee of National Council (JCM) held on 23.04.2025 under the Chairpersonship of Secretary (P).

Sir,

I am directed to send herewith a copy of minutes of the 63rd meeting of the Standing Committee of National Council (JCM) held on 23.04.2025 at CSOI, KG Marg, New Delhi under the Chairpersonship of Secretary (P) for information.

(PARVEEN JARGAR)
उप सचिव/Deputy Secretary

MINUTES OF THE 63RD MEETING OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF NATIONAL COUNCIL (JCM) HELD ON 23.04.2025 AT 3:00 PM AT CSOI, KG MARG, NEW DELHI.

The 63r Meeting of the Standing Committee of National Council (JCM) was held on 23d April, 2025 at 3:00 pm at CSOI, KG Marg, New Delhi, under the chairpersonship of Secretary (P). List of participants is at Annexure- 1.

2.At the outset, Additional Secretary (PP) welcomed the Chairperson, Leader (Staff Side), Secretary (Staff Side), Members of the Staff Side and representatives of Ministries and Departments. The Chairperson also welcomed the participants to the meeting. in her opening remarks, Secretary (P) mentioned that it was her first opportunity to chair the meeting of the Standing Committee as Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training. She underscored the significance of the Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) platform in addressing service matters related to Central Government employees. The Chair acknowledged the active participation and meaningful contributions made by the Staff Side in raising issues of concern. She stated that the feedback and inputs provided by the Staff Side were instrumental in identifying areas that require policy intervention and administrative improvements.

3.Opening speeches were made by Shri Shiva Gopal Mishra, Secretary, Staff Side, and Shri M. Raghavaih, Leader of Staff Side. The key points raised by them are given in Annexure-ll.

4.The agenda items were discussed and decisions were taken as under:-

(i) Item No. 3/SC/63/25 – Harassment being faced by the retired Employees since the money they deposited through bharatkosh.gov.in for CGHS Card not deposited in the CGHS Account due to various technical reasons in the online payment system. (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare)

Staff Side stated that in many cases the money deposited by retired employees through bharatkosh.gov.in for CGHS card was not reflecting in the CGHS Account due to various technical reasons in the online payment system. The representative of Department of Health & Family Welfare informed that CGHS is currently in the process of integrating the Payment gateway (Bharatkosh) as part of the CGHS Card Application itself in coordination with O/o CGA. The said mechanism intends to automate the process and completely avoid errors during the payment of CGHS Subscription.

For past cases, it was decided that a list of specific cases where amount has been deducted but not reflected in CGHS Account would be given by Staff Side to M/o H&FW for their quick resolution and M/o H&FW may circulate the name and contact details of the nodal officer for disposal of such past cases.

(PARVEEN JARGAR)
उप सचिव/Deputy Secretary

(ii) Item No. 16/SC/63/25 – NPS Pensioners to be allowed in CGHS and FMА benefit (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare) On the demand that NPS Pensioners who joined on compassionate ground and retired with less than 10 years’ service may also be allowed to join CGHS, it was decided that Staff Side may give a fresh proposal in this regard for consideration of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

(iii) Item No. 4/SC/63/25 – Revision of the Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme as proposed by the Staff Side (Department of Expenditure) On the demand of revision of the Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme it was decided that a copy of the revised proposal of Department of Expenditure may be provided to Staff Side for their comments.

(iv) Item No. 6/SC/63/25 – Request for issuing clarification regarding date next increment after effecting re-fixation of pay under Stepping up of pay of senior employee at par with Junior Employee. (Department of Expenditure &DOPT) of It was decided that clarification with illustrative cases would be prepared in the form of FAQ and uploaded on the website by DОРТ.

(v) Item No. 7/SC/63/25 – Stepping up of pay of Seniors promoted prior to 31.12.2015 getting lesser Basic Pay than the Juniors promoted after 01.01.2016. (Department of Expenditure) On the demand of stepping up of pay of Seniors promoted prior to 31.12.2015 getting lesser Basic Pay than the Juniors promoted after 01.01.2016, DoE informed that they are allowing stepping up request on case-to-case basis. It was decided that cases if any may be referred by Staff Side to DoE.

(vi) Item No. 17/SC/63/25 – Constitution of 8th Central Pay Commission. (Department of Expenditure)

It was noted that the Government has announced to constitute the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC). The Staff Side stated that the orders on the constitution of 8th CPC and To Rs are awaited.

(vii) Item No. 8/SC/63/25 – Not allowing the benefit of favourable Service Litigation judgments to the similarly placed employees, even if passed by the

Apex Court. (Department of Expenditure, DoPT) It was explained that the Govt. in principle agrees with extension of relief given by Courts to the similarly placed employees, where the judgment is in consonance with the Govt. rules and policies. However, the matter needs to be examine8० र case basis, taking into account various factors like financial and administrative implications, impact on the concerned services for which consultation with nodal Ministries and Departments is taken and decision is taken suitably. Further, National Litigation Policy has been put in place to minimise the litigation.

(viii) Item No. 13/SC/63/25 – Enhancement of House Building Advance from 25 Lakhs to 50 Lakhs and grant second House Building Advance for extension or repairing of house. (Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs) It was informed by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs that enhancement of HBA from 25 Lakh would be considered in consultation with Dept. of Exp. after receipt of recommendations of the 8th CPC.

(ix) Item No. 14/SC/63/25 – Option for submission of pensioners’ death certificate of defence pensioners to sparsh through pension disbursing banks. (Department of Defence) It was informed by Department of Defence that the facility to upload death certificate is already available at SPARSH Portal. Further, a Death certificate can be uploaded on SPARSH through SPARSH Service Centres which include 14 banks, Common Service Centres and around 500 offices of DAD. In case of mismatch in name in PPO and death certificate, the HoD is authorized to certify the genuineness of the records, who takes due precautions to avoid any fraudulent claims. It was decided that a FAQ may be prepared by Department of Defence and uploaded on their website.

(x) Item No. 18/SC/63/25- Revision of Pension for BSNL Pensioners (Department of Telecommunication)

On the insistence of the Staff Side that the Department of Telecom may reconsider the matter since the affected persons are pensioners in the age group of 70 plus and 80 plus etc., Department of Telecommunication explained that at present the matter is sub-judice. It was decided to wait for the outcome of the case.

(xi) Item No. 5/SC/63/25 – Encashment of Earned Leave to reemployed Ex-servicemen while on retirement from reemployed service. (Department of Personnel and Training) It was decided to examine the proposal in consultation with Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare and Department of Expenditure.

(xii) Item No. 9/SC/63/25 – Determination of minimum qualifying service for promotion to different non-gazetted grades (Department of Personnel and Training) It was decided that Staff Side would submit their suggestions/proposal for consideration of the Govt.

(xiii) Item No. 10/SC/63/25 – Relaxation in the eligibility service- change in the crucial date i.e. from 1st April to1st January. (Department of Personnel and Training) It was stated by the Staff Side that Department of Post has given relaxation for the vacancy year 2019 and 2020. The Staff side demanded for issuing necessary approval after examining the proposal of CBDT. It was decided to examine the matter relating to CBDT case for relaxation not agreed in past.

(xiv) Item No. 11/SC/63/25 – The clause 5.2 of the Circular issued regarding Leave by the DoPT may be modified and make it applicable to other Festivals also. (Department of Personnel and Training) Staff Side demanded that there should be a provision for change in the dates of non-Muslim Festivals. It was noted that the Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committees at the State Capitals are authorised to change the date of holiday in respect of Islamic festivals based on confirmation of dates by the religious bodies namely Ruyat-e-Hilal (the moon sighting) Committees. It was noted that frequent changes in the dates of holidays are not advisable as this causes significant inconvenience and disruption.

(xv) Item No. 12/SC/63/25 – Regional Recruitment of Non-Gazetted Staffs (Department of Personnel and Training) It was noted in that regional recruitment was done away with by SSC since 2007 view of the Supreme Court decision. The Committee took note of necessity of the demand and it was decided that a discussion between SSC and RRB and Staff Side would be arranged to discuss the issue. For this purpose, Staff Side would nominate 2-3 members.

(xvi) Item No. 15/SC/63/25 – Amendment in the DOP&T Instructions regarding implementation OF Aadhar Enable Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) for attendance of all Government Employees by various Ministries / Departments / Organizations (MDOs)(Department of Personnel and Training) AEBAS has been implemented to impress punctuality in government offices and instructions/reminders are issued from time to time to ensure effective implementation of AEBAS.

(xvii) Item No. 19/SC/63/25 -Facilities for the Staff Side Members of the National Council JCM and Departmental Council JCM. (Department of Personnel and Training) At present Staff Side Members of National Council are eligible for TA/DA as admissible to officers in Pay Level 12 and 13 for official meetings. There is no provision for facilitating non official visits.

(xviii) Item No. 3/19/SC -Maximum coverage under the deposit linked insurance scheme (insurance scheme for central government employees) may be increased from Rs. 60,000/- to Rs. 6.00 lakh. (Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare) It was informed that DoPPW has referred to DoE the proposal for enhancement of insurance coverage from Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 3.5 lakh. The matter is under examination in DoE. It was decided that Staff Side will give its comments in the matter.

(xix) Item No. 6/SC/22 -Restoration of Commuted Portion of Pension after 12 Years (Department of Expenditure & Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare) It was noted that the pensionary benefits had been generally included in the Terms of Reference (ToR) of previous Pay Commissions. It has now been decided by the Government to constitute the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC). However, the Staff Side insisted that since this matter was already under consideration of DoE for quite some time and broad consensus in the matter had emerged, this matter may be taken up separately instead of being referred to the 8th CPC. It was decided to review the demand of Staff Side by Department of Expenditure.

(xx) Item No. 8/SC/62/23 – The Staff Side demand to reconsider the proposal for option to switch over to the 7th CPC Pay Scale at least for a period of one year i.e. 25.07.2017, not yet considered. (Department of Expenditure) The Staff Side demanded for reconsideration of the proposal for option to switch over to the 7th CPC Pay Scale at least for a period of one year i.e., 25.07.2017. Staff Side also stated that in the earlier meetings, the Special Secretary, MOF (DOE) had agreed to consider on case-to-case basis. It was decided that Department of Expenditure would look into the matter.

(xxi) Item No. 21/21/SC – Grant of Risk Allowance to Central Government Employees including Defence Civilian Employees and Railway employees w.e.f. 01.07.2017 and inclusion of new hazardous activities in the list of grant of Risk Allowance. (Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Defence & Department of Expenditure) On the demand of grant of Risk & Hardship Allowance to Defence Civilian Employees and Railway employees, it was decided that M/o Railways may refer the matter to D/o Expenditure for its reconsideration. Further, Department of Defence would expedite the matter relating to identification of additional posts, which may fall into Hazardous category.

(xxii) Item No. 13/SC/62/23 – To retain the status of the employees of Ordnance Factories who are on deemed deputation in the 7 Ordnance Factory Corporations as Central Government Employees / Defence Civilian Employees till their retirement and other issues including Compassionate Appointment (faced by the employees of Ordnance Factories – So far, no meeting with the Staff Side has taken place as decided in the meeting. (Department of Defence Production) DDG, D/o Defence Production explained that the empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) has further decided to extend the period of deemed deputation of all the employees of erstwhile OFB up to 31st December, 2025 on same terms and conditions as issued earlier vide DDP OM dated 24.09.2021. On the issue related to compassionate appointment, it was informed that the compassionate appointment policy is under examination in D/o Ordnance (C&S), Kolkata. The Staff Side demanded to expedite decision on compassionate appointment.

(xxiii) Item No. 9/SC/22 – Grant of one notional increment for those who retired\on superannuation on 30th June. (Department of Personnel and Training) It was noted that DoPT had issued orders in this regard and the demand was fulfilled.

(xxiv) Item No. 3/SC/62/23 – The request of the Staff Side that DoP&T may issue a clarification that service associations under CCS(RSA) Rule, 1993 and Employees Cooperative Societies / Banks which are covered under the Central Cooperative Societies Act and the respective State Government Cooperative Societies Act are out of the purview of Rule 15(1) of the CCS(Conduct) Rules, 1964. It was decided that the matter will be examined by the Department of Personnel & Training – So far, no instructions is issued by the DoP&T in this regard. (Department of Personnel and Training) The demand for issuing a clarification that service associations under CCS (RSA) Rule, 1993 and Employees Cooperative Societies / Banks covered under the Central Cooperative Societies Act and the respective State Government Cooperative Societies Act are out of the purview of Rule 15(1) of the CCS(Conduct) Rules, 1964 was discussed. It was requested by the Staff side to issue necessary clarifications in this regard as early as possible. It was decided that the matter will be examined by the Department of Personnel & Training in the light of recent judgement of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court.

(xxv) Item No. 9/SC/62/23 – So far no Government orders issued for a one time relaxation for employees who availed LTC-80 to Andaman & Nicobar Island by purchasing Air Tickets from Agents other than authorized Agents. It was decided that the proposal will be reconsidered by Department of Personnel & Training. – It is demanded that necessary orders may please be issued at the earliest. (Department of Personnel and Training) The Staff Side insisted that since one time relaxation has been given for purchasing Air Tickets for availing LTC-80 to the employees who travelled to J&K and NER, the same benefit to the employ yees who availed LTC-80 for travelling to A&N Islands by purchasing Air Ticket from other than authorized agents may also be given These employees have actually travelled to A&N Islands, the only dispute is with regard to the Fare and the Ticket purchased from other than authorized agents. In such cases the actual LTC-80 Fare on the day of Travelling may be paid to them and remaining amount if any may be recovered from them as was done in the case of J&K and NER. It was informed that matter was reconsidered but not agreed to. Settlement of issues other than agenda points raised in meeting of 20.09.2023 & 15.12.2023

(xxvi) Item No. 2.0 – Anomalies and implementation of DOP&PW OM dated 03.03.2023 – the decision taken in the meeting 15.12.2023 that DOP&PW will hold a meeting with the Staff Side to resolve the issues represented by the Staff Side. (Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare) It was decided that DoP&PW may further have a meeting with the Staff Side on the issue.

(xxvii) Item No. 2.2- The issue of recoveries from retirement benefits of retiring Government Servants. Staff Side urged to issue clear instructions to Ministries /Departments to prevent such recoveries. (Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare) On the issue of recoveries from retirement benefits of retiring Government Servants, Staff Side urged to issue clear instructions to Ministries / Departments to prevent such recoveries. Director (DoP&PW) informed that instructions in this regard have been issued vide OM No. dated 18.10.2024. It was decided that DoP&PW will issue FAQs in the matter.

(xxviii) Item No. 2.3 – The issue of Old Pension Scheme to Central Government Employees recruited after January 1, 2004, against vacancies prior to that date may be examined. (Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare) It was decided that Ministry of Railways and DoP&PW may look into the matter and resolve as per discussions held with Ministry of Railway and DoP&PW.

(xxix) Item No. 2.6 – Payment of 18 months of DA / DR arrears to Government Employees which were frozen during the Covid-19 pandemic period. (Department of Expenditure) Staff Side reiterated its demand for restoration of 18 months of DA / DR arrears to Government Employees which was frozen during the Covid-19 pandemic period. DoE informed that as the adverse financial impact of pandemic in 2020 and the financing of welfare measures taken by the Government had a fiscal spillover beyond FY 2020-21, arrears of DA/ DR were not considered feasible.

(xxx) Item No. 2.9 – Restoration of Festival Advance to the Central Government Employees. (Department of Expenditure On the demand of restoration of Festival Advance to the Central Government Employees, it was decided to review the matter by Department of Expenditure.

(xxxi) Item No. 2.7 – The Defence Ministry may hold regular meeting with Staff Side to resolve the issues arising after Corporatization of Ordnance Factories. (Ministry of Defence and Department of Defence Production) It was observed that several meetings had been held under the chairmanship of Secretary (DP) & Joint Secretary (LS) with recognized federations/confederations. However, the Staff Side demanded that regular meetings should be held with the Federations by the Joint Secretaries of the Administrative Divisions through the Additional Meeting Mechanism constituted by the Ministry of Defence.

(xxxii) Item No. 2.8 – To extend CGHS benefits to the employees in Industrial Establishments under Western Naval Command, Mumbai. (Ministry of Defence & Ministry of Health & Family Welfare) On the demand to extend CGHS benefits to the employees in Industrial Establishments under Western Naval Command, Mumbai, it was informed that MoH&FW, vide OM dated 01.03.2024, has extended CGHS facility have been noted and wherever necessary, instructions to Departments and Ministries would be issued

(xxxv) Item No. 2.4- A request was made to issue ID Cards to the Staff Members for full tenure of the Staff Members instead of on yearly basis. (Department of Personnel and Training) Staff Side demanded to issue ID Cards to the Staff Members for full tenure of the Staff Members instead of on yearly basis. It was informed that as per the guidelines issued by MHA, non-official photo passes are issued for a period not exceeding one year at a time. The matter will again be taken up with MHA. The Staff Side would send a proposal in this regard.

(xxxvi) Item No. 2.5 – Staff Side requested for settlement of awards of the Board of Arbitration (BoA) through dialogue. (Department of Personnel and Training) It was noted that the matter of implementation of BoA Awards is under examination in consultation with concerned Ministries/ Departments. Staff Side requested for early settlement of awards of the Board of Arbitration.

The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the Chair.

KEY ISSUES RAISED BY STAFF SIDE REPRESENTATIVES

SHRI SHIVA GOPAL MISHRA, SECRETARY, STAFF SIDE

Shrí Shiva Gopal Mishra, Secretary, Staff Side welcomed the Chairperson and Members of the Standing Committee on behalf of the Staff Side. He strongly condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, and extended condolences to the bereaved families. The points raised by him are given below:

• Order on constitution and Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) are awaited.
• Requested the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to issue a clarification, in light of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court’s judgment, that service associations under CCS (RSA) Rules, 1993 are outside the purview of Rule 15(1) of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964
• Ministry of Defence have not yet issued instructions for Payment of NDA in 7th CPC Basic Pay notionally calculated at Rs.43600/- at par with Railways. The same may be issued without further delay.
• Urged that Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy for the financial year 2022-23 be considered under the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• Highlighted the need to include Group ‘B’ posts under the coverage of the JCM Scheme
• Noted twere last revised in 2014, resulting in several hospitals refusing to participate in the CGHS system; demanded the opening of more CGHS wellness centres.
• Proposed the exemption of Kilometer Allowance from income tax, similar to the exemption given to Travelling Allowance.
• Requested settlement of pending awards of the Board of Arbitration through dialogue and negotiations.
• Requested that all settled issues in process of settlement like CRC, Risk and Hard Duty allowance should be settled at an earlier and should not be referred to 8th CPC.

SHRI M. RAGHAVAIAH, LEADER OF STAFF SIDE

Shri M. Raghavaiah, Leader of Staff Side welcomed the Chairperson and Members of the Standing Committee on behalf of the Staff Side. The following key issues were raised by him: –

• Emphasized the importance of the Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) as a platform for resolving service matters through formal meetings.
• Urged for the regular holding of Departmental Council meetings as per the JCM scheme.
• Requested the early convening of the National Council (JCM) meeting.
• Demanded resolution of the pending issue regarding the exemption of TA component of Kilometer Allowance provided to Loco Pilots and Assistant Loco Pilots in the Ministry of Railways from income tax, similar to Travelling Allowance as this matter is pending since long.
• Stressed the need to grant Risk and Hardship Allowance to all employee categories where risk is involved. The Railway Ministry’s proposed may be considered and approval given.
• Suggested reconsideration of the Government’s decision to impose a total ban on the creation of new posts, highlighting the implications foradministrative efficiency and additional burden on Staff Requested the Cadre Restructuring Committees to expedite their work avoid reference of such matters to the 8th CРС.1`
• Drew attention to the pending awards of the Board of Arbitration and recommended resolving these matters through mutual negotiations.

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