August Current Affairs; Important for all exam

    TOP ONE LINER

     Malabar gold & Diamonds has appointed which bollywood actor as its Brand Ambassador-  Anil kapoor

·         Union Ministry of HRD has launched which initiative to create awareness about water conservation among all school students in the country-  Samagra shiksha jal suraksha

·         Who has been awarded the MS Swaminathan award for environment protection- Kennth M Quinn

·         To curb air pollution, Indian army has launched e-cars in which city- NNew Delhi

·         Operation Muskan is an initiative of which place- Hyderabad

·         Which state has topped the ranking in breastfeeding an infant and young child feeding practices in the country- Manipur

·         Who has been awarded as the united states ambassador to the united nation- Kelly knight craft

·         Who has been awarded as the National Order Of Merit by the president of Guinea-  Ramnath kovind

·         Aadi perukku festival was celebrated in which state- Tamilnadu

·         India and which country have launched a joint initiative named Innovation For Clean Air – United Kingdom

·         A mobile library bus service under the Ghar Ghar Dastak Ghar Ghar Pustak scheme was launched in which city- New Delhi

·         Who has neen nominated as the director on the Central Board Of Directors of RBI- Atanu Chakarborty

·         Which state will have the country’s first Central Institute Of Chemical Engineering And Technology (CICET)- Gujrat

·         What is the name of rover of the chandrayan2 mission-  pragyan

·         Sadbhavna divas is the birth anniversary of -  Rajiv Gandhi

·         Madhur deora has been named as the president of which organization- Paytm

·         HRD minister Rmesh pokhriyal launched a teachers training program titled- NISHTHA

·         Who has been appointed as the new home secretary-  Ajay Kumar Bhalla

·         Which ministry has launched National Digital Library Of India- Human Resource Development

·         BCCI gave the title sponsorship rights to which company for next 5 years- Paytm

August Current Affairs; Important for all exam

·        Top one Liner

Who has been appointed as a new finance secretary-  Rajiv kumar

·         World skill international competition 2019 which is also referred as Olympic for skill is schedule to take place in which country – Russia

·         Which city has been nominated as India’s best city for student – Bengluru

·          Who has been awarded “Bharat Gourav” award – kapil dev

·         One nation one ration card scheme has been implemented in 4 Indian states on a pilot basis-  Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra

·         The Gandhinagar model village was built with Indian assistance in which country- Srilanka

·         Which bank become the first Indian bank to link up with china’s national advance payment system – State Bank of India

·         India’s first underwater train will be launched in which city-  Kolkata

·         Which Indian state will host khelo India in January 2020-  Assam

·          Which city will host Goldest investors summit 2019- Srinagar

·         Which country will host the 2022 commonwealth games- England

·         First Indian institute of skill will be setup in which city- Mumbai

·         India’s first space museum has been inaugurated in- Hyderabad

·     Atal community center innovation in which city to encourage the spirit of innovation at the community level- New Delhi

·         Airtel has unveiled e-governance platform “SWAN”  for which state- Uttar Pradesh

·         India has signed a deal worth Rs. 1500 Crore to acquire R-27 air to air missiles from which country- Russia

·         Cabinet has given nod to the setting up of ISRO technical liaison unit in which country- Russia

·         52^nd ASEAN summit is being held in which country- Thailand

·         CRISIL has predicted India GDP growth rate for FY2020- 6.9%

·         The 22^nd national conference on e- governance will be held in which state- Meghalaya

Theme- digital india success to excellence

·         Which company has launched an initiative called “Samarth” aimed at bringing India’s                    artisans, weavers and handicrafts producers on to e-commerce- Flip cart

·         Who has won the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award for journalism- Ravish kumar

·          Who has been given the additional charge of the counter terror force NSG (National Security Guard)- S.S. Deswal

·         Women & child development ministry is observing world breastfeeding week with the theme- Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding

·         Which payment bank has decided to convert itself into small finance bank in order to offer small loans to customers- India post payment bank

·         Which state has launched an awareness campaign named as “save green, stay clean”- west Bengal

·         According to UGC,  all universities in India will get the final subscription to access which Swedish software from sep. 1, 2019- Urkund

·         DRDO has successfully test fired indigenously developed quick reaction surface  to air missiles which has a strike range of – 25-30 km

·         The department of biotechnology plans to scan nearly Indian genome over the next 5 years, under genome India initiative- 20,000

·         Who has bagged gold in women’s 53 kg category of the Poland open wrestling tournament in warsaw- vinesh phogat

·         According to the archeological survey of India, the rural settlement bharati huda in Jabalpur village in odishas cuttack district is- 3600 years

·         Which city has got its first “pink toilet” dedicated to women with facilities for sanitary napkins and baby care- Noida

·         Indian film actor Aamir Khan has launched the mission shakti sports initiative in which state- Maharashtra

·         Which company has announced to buy majority stake in a Mumbai based technological

Startup “Fynd” – Reliance

·         Pathamadai silk Mat of which state has recently granted a GI tag- Tamil Nadu

·         Which state govt has launched a new higher education model called as resource    assistance for college with excellence (RACE)- Rajasthan

·         Arka suprabath is a new variety of – Mango

·         Which state has topped the list of states in India in terms of GDP growth rate in 2018-19- west Bengal

·         Who will become the first woman head the Indian National Science Academy- Chandrima saha

·         Union environment minister has launched a website which contains all the information related to- COP 14

·         Listening, lerning & leading is a book written by- Venkaiah Naidu

·         Singapur convention on mediation is an agreement to settle – cross broder commercial disputes

·         Who is the author of the book Resurgent India-  bimal jalan

·         Which mobile company has launched the mobile operating system named as “Harmony OS “- Huawei

THE CODE ON WAGES, 2019: New Labour Law Part 1

THE CODE ON WAGES, 2019

For making the functioning of labor law in an easier way govt. of India take some efforts. First step in this area is THE CODE ON WAGES, 2019. An Act to amend and consolidate the laws relating to wages and bonus and matters connected there with or incidental thereto. The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 8th August, 2019. This act combine 4 labor law (1) Payment of wages act 1936, (2)Payment of Minimum wages act 1948,(3) Payment of bonus act1965, (4)Equal remuneration act 1976 into one code on wages, 2019.

Some important point of this act is-

(1) This Act may be called the Code on Wages, 2019.

(2) It extends to the whole of India.

Definitions

"wages" means all remuneration whether by way of salaries, allowances or

otherwise, expressed in terms of money or capable of being so expressed which would, if the terms of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment, and includes,—

(i) basic pay;

(ii) dearness allowance; and

(iii) retaining allowance, if any,

          but does not include––

(a)  any bonus payable under any law for the time being in force, which does not form part of the remuneration payable under the terms of employment;

(b) the value of any house-accommodation, or of the supply of light, water, medical attendance or other amenity or of any service excluded from the computation of wages by a general or special order of the appropriate Government;

(c) any contribution paid by the employer to any pension or provident fund, and the interest which may have accrued thereon;

(d) any conveyance allowance or the value of any travelling concession;

(e) any sum paid to the employed person to defray special expenses entailed on him by the nature of his employment;

(f) house rent allowance;

(g) remuneration payable under any award or settlement between the parties or order of a court or Tribunal;

(h) any overtime allowance;

(i) any commission payable to the employee;

(j) any gratuity payable on the termination of employment;

(k) any retrenchment compensation or other retirement benefit payable to the employee or any ex gratia payment made to him on the termination of employment.

"worker" means any person (except an apprentice as defined under clause (aa) of section 2 of the Apprentices Act, 1961) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and includes—

(i) working journalists as defined in clause (f ) of section 2 of the Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955; and

(ii) sales promotion employees as defined in clause (d) of section 2 of the Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976, and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Code in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched or otherwise terminated in connection with, or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute, but does not include any such person––

(a) who is subject to the Air Force Act, 1950, or the Army Act, 1950, or the

Navy Act, 1957; or

(b) who is employed in the police service or as an officer or other employee

of a prison; or

(c) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or

(d) who is employed in a supervisory capacity drawing wage of exceeding fifteen thousand rupees per month or an amount as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time.

Payment of minimum rate of wages

No employer shall pay to any employee wages less than the minimum rate of wages notified by the appropriate Government.

Fixation of minimum wages

The appropriate Government shall fix the minimum rate of wages payable to employees

(a) for time work; or

(b) for piece work.

The minimum rate of wages on time work basis may be fixed in accordance with any one or more of the following wage periods, namely:––

(i) by the hour; or

(ii) by the day; or

(iii) by the month.

Components of minimum wages

 (1) Any minimum rate of wages fixed or revised by the appropriate Government under section 8 may consist of––

(a) a basic rate of wages and an allowance at a rate to be adjusted, at such intervals and in such manner as the appropriate Government may direct, to accord as nearly as practicable with the variation in the cost of living index number applicable to such workers (hereinafter referred to as "cost of living allowance"); or

(b) a basic rate of wages with or without the cost of living allowance, and the cash value of the concessions in respect of supplies of essential commodities at concession rates, where so authorised; or

(c) an all-inclusive rate allowing for the basic rate, the cost of living allowance and the cash value of the concessions, if any.

(2) The cost of living allowance and the cash value of the concessions in respect of supplies of essential commodities at concession rate shall be computed by such authority, as the appropriate Government may by notification, appoint, at such intervals and in accordance with such directions as may be specified or given by the appropriate Government from time to time.

Procedure for fixing and revising minimum wages

(1) In fixing minimum rates of wages for the first time or in revising minimum rates of wages under this Code, the appropriate Government shall either—

(a) appoint as many committees as it considers necessary to hold enquiries and recommend in respect of such fixation or revision, as the case may be; or

(b) by notification publish its proposals for the information of persons likely to be affected thereby and specify a date not less than two months from the date of the notification on which the proposals shall be taken into consideration.

(2) Every committee appointed by the appropriate Government under clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall consist of persons––

(a) representing employers;

(b) representing employees which shall be equal in number of the members

specified in clause (a); and

(c) independent persons, not exceeding one-third of the total members of the

committee.

(3) After considering the recommendation of the committee appointed under clause (a) of sub-section (1) or, as the case may be, all representations received by it before the date specified in the notification under clause (b) of that sub-section, the appropriate Government shall by notification fix, or as the case may be, revise the minimum rates of wages and unless such notification otherwise provides, it shall come into force on the expiry of three months from the date of its issue: Provided that where the appropriate Government proposes to revise the minimum rates of wages in the manner specified in clause (b) of sub-section (1), it shall also consult concerned Advisory Board constituted under section 42.

(4) The appropriate Government shall review or revise minimum rates of wages ordinarily

at an interval not exceeding five years.

Source-https://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/THE%20CODE%20ON%20WAGES%2C%202019%20No.%2029%20of%202019.pdf

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL METHODS

METHODS OF PERFORMANCE APPRASIAL

Traditional Method-

·        Balanced Scorecard: A Balanced Scorecard defines what management means by "performance" and measures whether management is achieving desired results. The Balanced Scorecard translates Mission and Vision Statements into a comprehensive set of objectives and performance measures that can be quantified and appraised.

·        Critical incident method: The critical incident method for performance appraisal is a method in which the manager writes down positive and negative performance behavior of employees throughout the performance period.

·        Weighted checklist method: This method describe a performance appraisal method where rater familiarize with the jobs being evaluated, prepares a large list of descriptive statements about effective and ineffective behavior on jobs.

·        Paired comparison analysis: Paired comparison analysis is a good way of weighing up the relative importance of options. A range of plausible options is listed. Each option is compared against each of the other options. The results are tallied and the option with the highest score is the preferred option.

·        Graphic rating scales: The Rating Scale is a form on which the manager simply checks off the employee’s level of performance. This is the oldest and most widely used method for performance appraisal.

·        Essay Evaluation method: This method asks managers/ supervisors to describe strengths and weaknesses of an employee’s behavior. Essay evaluation is a non-quantitative technique. This method is usually used with the graphic rating scale method.

·        Performance ranking method: Ranking is a performance appraisal method that is used to evaluate employee performance from best to worst. Manager will compare an employee to another employee, rather than comparing each one to a standard measurement

·        Forced ranking (forced distribution): Forced ranking is a method of performance appraisal to rank employee but in order of forced distribution. For example, the distribution requested with 10 or 20 percent in the top category, 70 or 80 percent in the middle, and 10 percent in the bottom.

 Modern Method-

·      Behaviorally anchored rating scales: This method used to describe a performance rating that focused on specific behaviors or sets indicators defining effective or ineffective performance. 23 It is a combination of the rating scale and critical incident techniques of employee performance evaluation.

·         Management By Objectives (MBO) method: MBO is a process in which managers/ employers set objectives for the employee, periodically evaluate the performance, and reward according to the result. MBO focuses attention on what must be accomplished (goals) rather than how it is to be accomplished (methods).

·      360 degree performance appraisal: 360 Degree Feedback is a system or process in which employees receive confidential, anonymous feedback from the people who work around them supervisors, peers and subordinates.

·       Human Resource Accounting Method: Human resources are valuable assets for every organization. Human resource accounting method tries to find the relative worth of these assets in the terms of money. In this method the Performance appraisal of the employees is judged in terms of cost and contribution of the employees. The cost of employees include all the expenses incurred on them like their compensation, recruitment and selection costs, induction and training costs etc. whereas their contribution includes the total value added (in monetary terms). The difference between the cost and the contribution will be the performance of the employees. Ideally, the contribution of the employees should be greater than the cost incurred on them.

1.1.     

                                                                           Factors Distorting Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisal is done by the managers or supervisors. They do this job under different situation, at different place and different state of mind and at different time. Their judgments are likely to be affected. They are human being. Their psychology, liking, disliking, preference, judgment etc. are likely to affect the appraisal of employees. There are chances that errors are likely to take place. But efforts should be there so that these can be minimized. Proper care should be taken to give fair and impartial assessment. Generally the following errors are likely to take place in assessment:

 (a) General Bias Errors: It depends upon the attitude of the assessor. Some may be very strict and other may be very liberal during the assessment work. They may not consider the actual performance of the employees for assessment work. It affects everyone in general.

(b) Halo Effect: During assessment when the assessor considers or gives importance to one criterion of the assessment and ignoring the other factor, the error is likely to take place. This is called halo effect. It gives wrong assessment of the employees.

(c) Relation Rating Error: When one task is related to another task then the assessor gives importance to that logical relationship more. It creates the error in the assessment.

(d) Contrast and Similarity Errors: The assessors assess the other employees based on their own assessment. The assessment may be similar or contrast to assessment of the employees.

 (e) Central Tendency Errors: When the evaluator does not take the extreme steps for evaluation, he avoids the extreme two ends. He follows the central path and gives and average rating for the performance. The range of assessment is very narrow. It dissatisfies the excellent performers but protect the poor performers also.

(f) Proximity Errors: When raters assess one high side then he assesses others also high side this is called proximity error. He wants to justice with everyone but in the beginning he has done the assessment on wrong side and that affects the whole assessment.

(g) Rating Inflation: When supervisor’s rating goes very high without any reason is called inflated rating. The supervisor should make that the ratings are on fact basis and not based on emotions or feeling of individuals. 

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Performance appraisal is a continuous system of tracking and measuring performance against agreed targets and identifying opportunities for improvement. In other words, performance appraisal is a set of policies to achieve a shared vision of the organization to help each individual employee to understand and recognize their contribution. But Performance Appraisal is also the tool to determine and communicate to an employee about his/ her performance on the job, ideally, establishing a plan of development for both parties. Managers are reluctant to provide candid feedback and have honest discussions with employees for fear of reprisal or damaging relationships with the very individuals they count on to get the work done. Employees feel that their managers are unskilled at discussing their performance and ineffective at coaching them on how to develop their skills. Many complain that performance appraisal systems are cumbersome, bureaucratic and time consuming comparing to the value that it adds. This leads both managers and employees to treat performance appraisal as a burden rather than a tool to a successful working relationship. The primary reason for having a PA program is to monitor employees’ performance, motivate staff and improve company morale. Monitoring performance requires routine documentation, which is accomplished through completing a performance appraisal form. When employees are aware that the company is paying special attention to their performance and that they could be rewarded with merit increases and promotions, they are motivated to work harder. Morale is improved when employees receive recognition or reward for their work. An effective PA program will assist the company in achieving its goals and objectives. Not only will training needs be identified and addressed during a PA review, but hidden talent can be discovered as well. Through identifying these training needs, staff can perform their jobs at the 20 highest level and be in a better position to address clients’, members’ and customers’ concerns and questions. A well-developed staff is more likely to be proactive, productive and resourceful, all of which helps to give the company a competitive edge, from improved customer relations to increased profits.

A performance management system includes the following actions.

• Developing clear job descriptions and employee performance plans which includes the key result areas (KRA') and performance indicators.
• Selection of right set of people by implementing an appropriate selection process.
• Negotiating requirements and performance standards for measuring the outcome and overall productivity against the predefined benchmarks.
• Providing continuous coaching and feedback during the period of delivery of performance.
• Identifying the training and development needs by measuring the outcomes achieved against the set standards and implementing effective development programs for improvement.
• Holding quarterly performance development discussions and evaluating employee performance on the basis of performance plans.
• Designing effective compensation and reward systems for recognizing those employees who excel in their jobs by achieving the set standards in accordance with the performance plans or rather exceed the performance benchmarks.
• Providing promotional/career development support and guidance to the employees.
• Performing exit interviews for understanding the cause of employee discontentment and thereafter exit from an organization.

According to Lockett (1992), performance management aims at developing individuals with the required commitment and competencies for working towards the shared meaningful objectives within an organizational framework.

Performance management frameworks are designed with the objective of improving both individual and organizational performance by identifying performance requirements, providing regular feedback and assisting the employees in their career development.

The major objectives of performance management are discussed below:

• To enable the employees towards achievement of superior standards of work performance.
• To help the employees in identifying the knowledge and skills required for performing the job efficiently as this would drive their focus towards performing the right task in the right way.
• Boosting the performance of the employees by encouraging employee empowerment, motivation and implementation of an effective reward mechanism.
• Promoting a two way system of communication between the supervisors and the employees for clarifying expectations about the roles and accountabilities, communicating the functional and organizational goals, providing a regular and a transparent feedback for improving employee performance and continuous coaching.
• Creating a basis for several administrative decisions strategic planning, succession planning, promotions and performance based payment.
• Promoting personal growth and advancement in the career of the employees by helping them in acquiring the desired knowledge and skills.

Some of the key concerns of a performance management system in an organization are:

• Concerned with the output (the results achieved), outcomes, processes required for reaching the results and also the inputs (knowledge, skills and attitudes).
• Concerned with measurement of results and review of progress in the achievement of set targets.
• Concerned with defining business plans in advance for shaping a successful future.
• Striving for continuous improvement and continuous development by creating a learning culture and an open system.
• Concerned with establishing a culture of trust and mutual understanding that fosters free flow of communication at all levels in matters such as clarification of expectations and sharing of information on the core values of an organization which binds the team together.

The performance management approach has become an indispensable tool in the hands of the corporate as it ensures that the people uphold the corporate values and tread in the path of accomplishment of the ultimate corporate vision and mission. It is a forward looking process as it involves both the supervisor and also the employee in a process of joint planning and goal setting in the beginning of the year.

 Benefits of a Performance Management System

A good performance management system works towards the improvement of the overall organizational performance by managing the performances of teams and individuals for ensuring the achievement of the overall organizational ambitions and goals. An effective performance management system can play a very crucial role in managing the performance in an organization by:

• Ensuring that the employees understand the importance of their contributions to the organizational goals and objectives.
• Ensuring each employee understands what is expected from them and equally ascertaining whether the employees possess the required skills and support for fulfilling such expectations.
• Ensuring proper aligning or linking of objectives and facilitating effective communication throughout the organization.
• Facilitating a cordial and a harmonious relationship between an individual employee and the line manager based on trust and empowerment.