Healthcare, Education Facilities for NPPS Employees

Healthcare, Education Facilities for NPPS Employees

Facilities for NPPS employees

In respect of employees at the Nuclear Power Plant sites, healthcare facilities are provided to all the employees and their family members through Contributory Health Service Scheme (CHSS) of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) through hospitals established by NPCIL/DAE at the Nuclear Power Plant sites and/or hospitals empanelled for the purpose. The wards of employees are provided education facility upto 12th standard through Atomic Energy Central Schools (AECS) managed by Atomic Energy Education Society (AEES), an autonomous grant-in-aid institution of DAE.

With regard to people living in the vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants, NPCIL has been contributing in the areas of education, healthcare and infrastructure & skill development through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Neighborhood Development Programme (NDP). NPCIL is running primary health centers through NGOs and providing Out Patient (OPD) services. It also runs Mobile Medical Vans and conducts free medical camps. It has also upgraded several primary health centers and provided medical equipment, ambulances, prosthetic aids etc. A multi-specialty hospital is being set up at Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu under the Neighborhood Development Programme. In respect of education, school buildings have been constructed, improvements made in existing buildings, provisions for drinking water and toilet blocks made, educational aids including books, computers, bags & uniforms distributed and scholarships provided for meritorious students in neighborhoods of nuclear power plants.

NPCIL extends support for infrastructure around nuclear power plants like construction of roads, bridges, school buildings, drinking water schemes, water tanks, bore wells, community centres, crematoria, multi-purpose halls solar street lights etc. In the last two years and the current year, infrastructure projects totaling to about Rs. 67 crore have been planned.

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a reply to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha today.

Source: PIB News

Tax on Provident Fund withdrawn

Tax on Provident Fund withdrawn

The Centre has withdrawn its proposal to impose tax on Employee Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals.

From the very beginning, Central Government Employees unions all over the country have been opposing the government’s decision to impose tax on the money that they had been saving during their entire careers. After the Union Budget, the Central Government workers unions vehemently opposed the plan.

On February 29,  Arun Jaitley, the Finance Minister, presented the Union Budget for 2016-17 in the Parliament. It was announced that tax will be imposed on 60 percent of the EPF. The decision was met with stiff opposition all over the country. The opposition parties demanded that the tax on Provident Fund be withdrawn.

Arun Jaitley informed that decision in this regard will be made during the debates on the Budget. Accordingly, during the Parliamentary debate yesterday, Arun Jaitley voluntarily announced the decision to withdraw the taxes on Provident Fund. He added that tax exemption for Rs.1.5 lakhs will be given for the contribution made for pension funds.

The decision to exempt 40 percent of the PF funds from taxes stays. When the government made the announcement to impose taxes, the opposition parties and trade unions all over the country accused it of imposing new taxes whenever it faced cash crunch.

The government had clarified that the decision to impose tax on PF savings was not meant for increasing the revenue of the government, but to encourage workers to join pension schemes. But, it has now announced that the tax has been withdrawn.

Members of the Parliament have welcomed the government’s decision to withdraw the taxes on PF savings. It has to be mentioned here that Arun Jaitley, in his statement, had said that the taxes will encourage people to save more.

Congress Vice President, Rahul Gandhi said that the government has succumbed to the pressure from the people and has withdrawn the taxes on PF savings.