4 JULY 2016

Ø  Lower-ranked Central government employees draw significantly higher salaries than their counterparts in the private sector but in the upper tier the reverse is true, says an IIM-Ahmedabad study commissioned by the Seventh Pay Commission. The ‘Salary Comparison Study’ conducted in October 2015 examined 40 professions, including nurses, teachers, scientists, electricians, drivers and clerks. It found the salaries of gardeners, clerks, receptionists and drivers lower in the private sector. For instance, a driver in the private sector typically earns around Rs. 12,000 a month, while an entry-level driver in government service earns around Rs. 25,000, including additional benefits and allowances. Even qualified professionals working with the government at the entry level are paid more. Government doctors with an MBBS degree get Rs. 80,500 a month while their counterparts in the private sector are paid only Rs. 50,000. But the trend gets reversed with greater experience and higher skill sets. The private sector pays much more to highly skilled professionals. A doctor with an M.D. or M.S. degree and 15 years of experience in the private sector is paid Rs. 3,70,000 a month compared to Rs. 1,60,000 in the government. The fatter pay cheque is because of advanced skills as well as a scarcity of specialists, the report says. Same is the case with engineers with expertise in niche technologies, executing critical roles. Private firms pay them much higher as they are difficult to retain, it says.

Ø  In a move that could affect several high-profile officers, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has expedited cases relating to disproportionate assets and corruption registered against Indian Police Service (IPS) officers that have been pending for over 10 years, a senior government official told The Hindu.

Ø  The U.S. Department of Defense resisted moves by the Congress to curtail Gen. Zia’s nuclear programme, a key U.S. policy maker of the time says in a new book. The book titled Senator Pressler: An Independent Mission to Save Our Democracy sheds new light on U.S. attempts to deal with the Pakistan nuclear programme which under the Presidency of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq thrived due to an elaborate international smuggling network led by Dr. A.Q. Khan. “The Pentagon strongly opposed it at the time,” he says in his autobiography, revealing that it was President Ronald Reagan who found his expertise on India-Pakistan ties of interest and encouraged him to come up with an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act 1961 which became known as the “Pressler Amendment”.

Ø  India’s first insurance policy covering public liability to an atomic power plant operator has been issued to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) but the reinstat-ement of insurance value post a claim will be decided later, industry officials said. We recently got the insurance policy covering all our atomic power plants. The total premium came around Rs. 100 crore for a risk cover of Rs. 1,500 crore. The policy complies with all the provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, said an insurance industry official. The Central government had announced in June 2015 the setting up of the Rs. 1,500-crore India Nuclear Insurance Pool to be managed by national reinsurer GIC Re. The insurance policy was issued by the country’s largest non-life insurer New India Assurance Company Ltd.

Ø  India’s biggest oil refinery that state-run IOC, BPCL, HPCL and EIL plan to set up on the west coast will cost $30 billion or Rs. 2 lakh crore, a senior official said.