NEWS PERTAINING TO OCTOBER 2009

• 29.10.2009: BSNLMRS - Guidelines for regulation of expenditure on indoor treatment: BSNL has issued guidelines for regulation of expenditure on indoor treatment under BSNLMRS, where CGHS rates have not been specified in respect of any treatment or procedure. View guidelines...

• 28.10.2009: Grant of 3rd increment to 48 SDE (C) who passed LDCE in 2004: BSNL has issued further clarifications to Punjab and Madhya pradesh Civil Zones. View orders...

• 28.10.2009: Local officiating in the grade of SDE (E): BSNL has reiterated its earlier orders to fill up existing vacancies as a stop gap arrangement. View letter...

• 26.10.2009: DPE forwards our letters to DoT for necessary action: Dept. of Public Enterprises has forwarded two letters from AIBSNLOA CHQ, one on Removal of disparity in BSNL pay scales and another on Management Trainees Recruitment Rules, to DoT for necessary action.  We shall pursue the issues further with DoT. View DPE letter...     View CHQ letters on  1. Disparity in pay scales of BSNL Executives...      2. Management Trainee Recruitment Rules...

• 26.10.2009: JTO Direct Recruitment Examination Results: BSNL has declared the results of the JTO Direct Recruitment Examination held on 21st June 2009 View results...

• 25.10.2009: Any deviation at lower level will be dealt with: Telecom Minister A Raja today said any deviation by lower rung officers from government's policy decision on spectrum allocation would be dealt with. "I have made it clear, any deviation in the lower level, after the policy decision was taken by the government, to show favouritism to a specific company by a lower officer, will be dealt with," he told reporters at Chennai on sidelines of a function. "I was very categorical from the beginning and I want to reiterate it now," he said. (PTI)

• 23.10.2009: Scheme & Syllabus for JTO LICE: BSNL has circulated the syllabus for JTO Internal Competitive Examination for promotion to JTO Telecom under 35% and 15% quota of vacancies. View scheme & syllabus

• 23.10.2009: BSNL revises the limit of outdoor medical treatment for the retired BSNL Executives: BSNL has revised the limit of outdoor medical treatment for the retired BSNL Executives at par with working employees.  For those who had retired before 1.1.2007 in the pre-revised scales, status quo will continue. View orders...

• 23.10.2009: BSNL endorses DPE orders on revision of IDA rate: BSNL has endorsed the DPE order dated 21.10.2009 revising IDA rate from 18.5% to 25.3% w.e.f.1.10.2009. View endorsement...

• 22.10.2009:CBI probing spectrum distribution: India's central investigating agency is conducting a search in the offices of the telecoms ministry to probe the manner in which wireless radio spectrum was given to telecommunications firms, a spokesman for the agency said on Thursday. It is for possible "irregularities in 2G spectrum distribution," Harsh Bhal, spokesman for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said, without giving further details. A spokesman for the telecom ministry was not immediately available for comment. Telecom firms in India offering second-generation (2G) mobile services get some spectrum to start with after they take a telecoms licence. Subsequent allocation is done in slabs linked to the firm's subscriber numbers.(Reuters)

• 22.10.2009: DPE issues orders for revision of IDA rate: DPE has issued orders revising IDA rate from 18.5% to 25.3% w.e.f. 1.10.2009. The increase in rate is 6.8% as has been reported by us on 30.9.2009.  View orders...

• 21.10.2009: Meeting with GM (Rectt): Declaration of Results for JTO (Direct Recruit) Examination held on 21.6.2009: GM (Rectt) informed us that the results will be declared by 31st October 2009. Revaluation of answer sheets of candidates who had secured a few marks less in the LDCE for promotion to SDE held in the year 2007: He informed us that the work is in progress.  We requested him to expedite the process.

• 21.10.2009: Our stand vindicated: We have been all along pointing out the very huge expenditure being incurred by BSNL higher level officers in holding meetings/seminars in five star hotels,  staying in luxurious hotels, frequent foreign visits and flying by air for even short distance travels, unmindful of the strain placed on BSNL finance.  Now, DPE has issued elaborate guidelines for economy measures and rationalisation of expenditure in CPSEs wherein restrictions have been imposed on similar expenditures.  These guidelines are of much relevance to BSNL and our views on the matter stand vindicated.  View guidelines...

• 21.10.2009: Syllabus, scheme and application form for LDCE for promotion to SDE (T): BSNL has circulated syllabus, scheme and application form for LDCE for promotion to SDE (T) for 33% vacancies of years 2007 and 2008. View Eligibility & Scheme...       View Syllabus & Application Form...

• 19.10.2009: BSNL plans revenue growth from internet data centres: Looking at newer revenue streams, state-run telecom operator BSNL plans to set up and operate internet data centres (IDCs) in partnership with private players on revenue-share basis.The PSU has invited expression of interests from data centre service providers (DCSP), wherein all capex shall be borne by the bidder in the BSNL provided covered space, a company official said. A data centre, also called a server farm, is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecom and storage systems. Data centres are used by companies to house their servers. With the growing number of telecom players, the demand for IDCs are also on the rise. BSNL will tap customers like IT and telecom firms to store their data in its server farm, the official said. (PTI)

• 15.10.2009: BSNL now sets sights on Ethiopian Telecom: 'If successful, BSNL will manage ETC’s networks on behalf of the Ethiopian government, outline business growth strategies and manage the operations of the company. Apart from a revenue share, BSNL will also get a fixed fee. The company is already considering buying a stake in Kuwait’s Zain Telecom, which is also present in 22 countries, including 16 African nations.' Read More...

• 15.10.2009: Regular promotion of adhoc STS (Telecom) officers: BSNL has issued orders for regular promotion of 280 adhoc STS (Telecom) officers. View orders...

• 14.10.2009: All India GSM subscriber figures for September 2009: View figures...

• 13.10.2009: Govt. auditor says RCom inflated revenues: 'The government-appointed auditor Parekh & Company is understood to have revealed that Reliance Communications (RCOM), the flagship company of the R-ADAG group, has inflated the company’s revenues by Rs 2,915 crore in 2007-08 and also evaded licence fee of Rs 315 crore.' Read More...

• 13.10.2009: Income Tax liability on perquisite of Govt. accommodation: BSNL decides to bear the liability of Income Tax on perquisite of accommodation provided by it to its employees for the finance year 2009-2010 (assessment year 2010-2011) and onwards. View orders...

• 12.10.2009: Govt to take considerate view of per-sec billing model - Pilot: The government will take a considerate view of the telecom regulator Trai's proposal to bill customers based on per second usage instead of the prevailing pulse system, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot today said. Talking on the sidelines of an event, Pilot said "we will take a considerate view on that" when asked about the per-second billing model — where customers are charged for the actual usage instead of the prevalent practice of billing them for a minute even if they use less than that. "It's up to Trai to take a call on how we proceed. Broadly speaking, we are of the opinion that India is such a large market that there is sufficient competition and we must do everything to ensure that the customer gets the best possible service at the best possible price."
  Talking during an event in Geneva this week, Trai Chairman J S Sarma said "We may ask all the operators to consider per-second pulse as a mandatory tariff option along with their other tariff plans." Sarma further said Trai may soon come out with a consultation paper on the subject and invite suggestions on the new model. Though some of the operators are voluntarily offering per second billing option, the move to propel telecom operators towards a tariff system that charges consumers per second of usage is likely to hit the revenues of the telcos. (PTI)

• 09.10.2009: CHQ writes to CMD BSNL requesting intervention to remove severe injustice being meted out to the Officers of Official Language Cadres 'Let the SLP be withdrawn and the vacancies in the cadre of AD (OL) available prior to issue of Recruitment Rules 2005 be filled up by promoting the Officials eligible as per Recruitment Rules 2002 and also the abolished posts of ADs (OL) be revived.' Read More...

• 08.10.2009: Meeting with GM (Personnel): GS met GM (Personnel) today and discussed the following issues:- (1) Promotion on regular basis as DEs/AGMs(Telecom): GS pleaded for early issue of Orders for promotion of the eligible Officers as regular DEs/AGMs. GM (Pers) informed that Administration is in a fix on the issue since one of the Associations has conveyed that this would invite contempt of court. (2) Promotion of the eligible JTOs against the short fall in quota for SC/ST candidates: GS requested for early filling up of the unfilled quota of SC/ST candidates for promotion from JTOs to SDEs. GM (Personnel) informed that roster for the purpose is under preparation. But the senioity list of the JTOs from Kolkata Telephones has not been received which is still awaited. Once the roster is complete, all unfilled quota for SC/ST candidates will be covered in the next DPC. [Note: GS subsequently tried to contact DGM(A), Kolkata Telephones who was not in office at that time. However, his PS has been requested by GS to mail the seniority list of the JTOs to GM(Personnel) immediately]. (3) Covering of Electrical/Civil Subjects in the Syllabus for MT recruitment: On this issue, GM (Personnel) clarified that the Examination for MT recruitment would be held keeping in view of the areas covered for Telecom Operations and the paper is proposed to be of general type. (4) Local Officiating against the vacant posts of AGMs in Corporate Office: GS pleaded for early issue of local officiating Orders against the vacant posts of AGMs in Corporate Office. He also requested to enlarge the numbers. GM (Personnel) assured to cover all the available vacant posts.

• 06.10.2009: Meeting with GM (Rectt): We met GM (Rectt) yesterday to ascertain the status of re-evaluation of the answer sheets of candidates who had scored just a few marks less than qualifying marks in the LDCE for promotion to SDE (T) held in 2007. GM (Rectt) informed us that the excercise has already been commenced but it may take a few more months to complete.

• 06.10.2009: Allahabad CAT order on DGM Direct Recruitment: We had posted a message on 01.10.2009 that Allahabad CAT is reported to have stayed holding of Examination for DGM Direct Recruitment, notified to be held on 11.10.2009. The operative portion of the order says,"We are of the view, prima facie, that 'direct recruitment' is not warranted under Recruitment Rules and Respondent should not be allowed to create uncertainty for the Applicants and/or third party (i.e. person who may be selected in future for Direct Recruitment). In the totality of the circumstances we are satisfied that the applicants are entitled to interim relief prayed for." "In the result we restrain the respondents and concerned authorities not to proceed with direct selection/recruitment in pursuance to the impugned advertisement No.14-1/09-Recruitment I Section BSNL dated 14.7.2009; this order however does not preclude the respondents from considering the claim and exercising their option to make promotion (regular/adhoc), as the case may be. List on next date with office report regarding status of pleading to enable the Bench to fix date for final hearing. Apart from the applicant, the learned counsel, representing the Respondent shall ensure that this order is communicated to the concerned authorities within 48 hours. List on 06.01.2010".

• 06.10.2009: CHQ writes to CMD BSNL on Non-utilisation of available man-power - Case of Drivers: 'We would like to draw your kind attention to a particular area where BSNL is incurring huge expenditure in the form of salary, allowances etc, but is unable to utilise the available man-power. Due to various reasons, BSNL has gone for mass-scale hiring of vehicles instead of having its own fleet of vehicles for operation and maintenance activities.' Read More...

• 05.10.2009: CHQ writes to CMD BSNL on holding of DPC for promotion from SDE (C) to EE (C): 'We would like to draw your kind attention to the fact that the last DPC for promotion from SDE (Civil) to EE (Civil) was held long back in December 2008 and no DPC has been held thereafter, though there had been at least two DPCs held every year previously.' Read More...

• 05.10.2009: CHQ writes to Shri.P.J.Thomas, new Secretary, DoT, welcoming him in his new assignment: 'BSNL is crossing a tumultuous period and we believe that faster decisions and greater autonomy, apart from resolving the above cited issues, are predisposed to providing better service to BSNL customers.' Read More...

• 01.10.2009 1700 Hrs: DGM Direct Recruitment Examination stayed: Allahabad CAT is reported to have stayed holding of Examination for DGM Direct Recruitment, notified to be held on 11.10.2009.

• 01.10.2009 1415 Hrs: 60% arrears of IDA Pay revision orders issued: As already reported by us, BSNL has issued orders for payment of 60% arrears of IDA pay revision. View orders...