IP Exam Daily Spark: Day 19 Information & Technology Act, 2000

 One Day, One Minute, One Rule --– 51
51. What are the guidelines for the merger of the Postmaster Cadre with the General Line Cadre?

The Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, issued guidelines on July 26, 2019, for the merger of the Postmaster Cadre (Postmaster Grade I, II, and III) with the General Line Cadre (LSG, HSG II, and HSG I). The guidelines address how officials in the Postmaster Cadre will be aligned with the corresponding General Line Cadre grades and how inter se seniority will be determined.
• Officials in the Postmaster Cadre will be considered to hold the corresponding General Line Cadre grade from their date of appointment in the Postmaster Cadre. If an official held a post in the General Line Cadre before being appointed to the Postmaster Cadre, their original date of appointment in the General Line Cadre will be used.
• For officials appointed as Postmaster Grade I through the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE), the date the results were published will be considered the notional date of appointment for seniority purposes. This is for seniority only and won't affect their pay.
• For officials promoted to LSG based on a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC), the date the promotion order was issued will be the notional date of appointment for seniority, also without affecting their pay.
• The inter se seniority among officials will be maintained as it was in the feeder grade of Postal Assistant.
• Officials in Postmaster Grade-II will be considered to hold the post of HSG-II from their appointment date to Postmaster Grade-II.
• For officials who held the LSG post and opted for Postmaster Grade-I, their notional date of appointment in Postmaster Grade-II (now HSG-II) will be the date their immediate junior in the LSG cadre was appointed as HSG-II in the General Line. This is for seniority only and doesn't impact pay.
• The inter se seniority from the LSG cadre will be maintained in the merged HSG-II grade.
• Officials in Postmaster Grade-III will be deemed to hold the post of HSG-I from the date of their appointment to Postmaster Grade-III.
• For officials who were in HSG-II and opted for Postmaster Grade-II, their notional date of appointment in Postmaster Grade-III will be the date their immediate junior in the HSG-II cadre was appointed to HSG-I in the General Line. This is only for seniority and will not affect pay.
• The inter se seniority from the HSG-II cadre will be maintained in the merged HSG-I grade.
• After determining the post-merger seniority, an official may be considered for a notional promotion if a junior has already been promoted, provided all other conditions are met. Such notional promotions will not have an effect on pay until the official actually takes charge of the higher post. For instance, a Postmaster Grade-II official may receive a notional promotion to HSG-II from a date earlier than their actual promotion, but the financial benefit will only be from the date they actually held the Postmaster Grade-II position.
• All circles were instructed to complete this exercise by September 15, 2019, and submit a compliance report.
( DG(P) No. X-1-3/2019-SPN-II dated July 26, 2019).