SB ORDER No 08/2015

SSC CHSL 2015 Online Applications Last Date Extended ( 17.7.2015 for Part-I and 20.7.2015 for Part-II )

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES APPLYING FOR CHSL EXAMINATION 2015 

      There has been some technical problem with SSC Website and candidates applying online have been encountering difficulty in submitting their applications. In order to rectify the problem the SSC Website WILL NOT BE available for today i.e. 7th July, 2015. The website will be available from 8th July, 2015 onwards. Inconvenience caused is regretted. 

      Keeping in view the convenience of candidates the Commission has extended the last date for receipt of applications to 17.7.2015 for Part-I and 20.7.2015 for Part-II.

SSC CHSL (POSTAL ASSISTANT EXAM) REFERENCE BOOKS AND PREPARATION PLAN

Disclaimer:- All Information provided in this post are Compiled by A. Praveen Kumar for in good faith of Postal Assistant Exam Aspirants. Author of blog does not accepts any responsibility in relation to the accuracy, completeness, usefulness or otherwise, of the contents.

Friends, last three years, I published Postal Assistant exam material and model cum practice papers. All the aspirants welcomed my efforts and appreciated countrywide. This year also I am planning to post valuable information / quality material and model papers at free of cost in my blog. (Last year material is available ("akulapraveen.blogspot.com") @ Blog Archive, select the months Oct-2012 to July-14)

This year Staff Selection Committee conducting Postal Assistant exam by Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination, 2015 and last date for apply is 13/07/2015.

I am receiving mails form the Postal Assistant exam aspirants regarding books to refer & how to prepare and publishing of quality study material.

Books are keys to success for any exam. Candidates should polish their basics by using best books. Candidates make big mistake while choosing books for exams. Never choose all in one book, these kind of guides doesn't concentrate on fundamentals. 

For Arithmetic:  (Any two books)

NCERT Math Books from 6th to 10^th (gives you best base in strong fundamentals)

1.Magical book on Quicker Maths by M.Tyra

2. Quantitative Aptitude by R.S.Aggarwal

3. Numerical ability and Quantitative by P.K.Mittal

4. Quantitative aptitude by Arun Sharma

5. Quantitative aptitude by Abhijit guha

6. Quantitative aptitude by A.Gulati

For Reasoning section: (Any Two)

1.A modern approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal reasoning by R.S.Aggarwal

(R. S Aggrawal’s reasoning series is ok, but there are no shortcuts in these books. All are traditional methods).

2.  Analytical Reasoning by M.K. Pandey

3. A modern approach to logical reasoning by S.Chand

4. Logical and Analytical Reasoning by A.K.Gupta

For English section: (Any Two)

1. For English you can buy any English Grammar book of your local language. This will help you getting basic idea on English grammar. Later you can switch to any Standard English grammar book like "Intermediate English Grammar" of Raymond Murphy or Wren & Martin

2. Objective General English by R.S.Aggarwal.

3. Objective General English by S.P. Bakshi

4. Objective English for Competitive examinations by Hari mohan Prasad and Uma Rani Sinha.

For General awareness: (Any Two)

NCERT Books from 6th to 10th for History, Polity, Economics and Science (always the best)

1.General awareness and Current affairs digest by M.Laxmikanth

2. General knowledge and General awareness by Ravi chopra

3. Advanced Objective general knowledge by R.S.Aggarwal

4. Current affairs and General awareness by M.G.Rahmani

5. General knowledge by Manohar Pandey

For Current Affairs you can buy Pratiyogitha Darpan / Kiran (If you can afford around Rs. 75/- per month) Mahindra’s Current Affairs (it costs you around Rs. 30/-) or any leading competitive exams magazine of your language. But no book is perfect; better to make your own short-notes on Current Affairs.

1.    Just Remember, Almost all the topics they cover in Postal Assistant exams are of the classes 6th to 10th. So, Even a 10th Standard kid can clear this exam, if given enough time. With me? But the thing is, you have to complete the paper in given time. So, don't you think you can do it with little efforts and practice? (This is the same answer for those people who say, "I am not from science background. That's the reason why I can't write Postal Assistant Exams". Friends, you just lack practice. Not skills. Remember it).

2.    Stop saying, I have so many family problems. So, can't concentrate on preparation. First let us know, who the hell on earth don't have problems? See, nobody will remember your problems when you failed in the exam. Even your mom, dad and close friends will say that you lost it because of your negligence. Can you show me a single person, who sincerely says that you lost it because of your personal problems? Friends, they don't know your feelings, they don't want your emotions, all just they want is to talk about your success. So just stop searching reasons for failures and start make yourself ready for the exam.

3.    Stop thinking, What if I lost this exam? Pretty good question, isn't it? The answer is, the earth never gonna blast, the sun never gonna turn black and the most important thing, you never gonna die because of it. May be some blank faces and emotional atyachars for two or three days. Later everything gonna be fine. The only disappointing thing is, you just have to wake up in sad mood on the very next day of your result. But it’s not such a big deal. You will start preparing for another exam. After all we are here to win. Nobody gonna die as a loser. Who knows?  This may be your last step towards your goal :) Be positive. Just avoid negative thoughts. 

4. Is Coaching Necessary to clear the SSC (Postal Assistant Exam?)

Of course not. Now a day’s almost all coaching institutes have became money minded. They just concentrate on covering topics rather than explaining them. So, if you are sincere enough, then you surely can prepare on your own without taking the help of any coaching class. By doing so, you can save your valuable money and time. The only best thing with coaching classes is, they just provide you the good environment of preparation. I mean, you will be motivated if people around you are continuously discussing about the issues related to preparation. Ofcourse, you can create this environment by making a group with your friends too. Combined studies and sharing ideas really help you prepare well. But make sure that all your friends are sincere and enthusiastic as you. 

5. What if I don't have good friends?

No problem, you can join in any Facebook group (Postal Assistant Exam) in which people who prepare for exams interacts and helps each other. But don't waste too much time in chatting with others. 5 to 10 minutes per day for a good cause is Ok.

6. Gathering Materials:

Don't try to buy every book with the name "Postal Assistant" on it. So, before going to collect the materials just read the syllabus. Make a list of topics to read; according to it you can buy the books. Books list are mentioned above.

7. Making Timetable:

If you are working somewhere: If you are working somewhere then it may not possible to dedicate the whole day on your preparation. Try to spend at-least five hours per day on preparation. Morning two hours and night time 3 hours. Try to practice Aptitude and Reasoning sections at morning. Try to manage reading news paper during the day time. At evening you can concentrate on English / General Knowledge section according to your convenience and interest. On holidays better work with practice sets and General Awareness topics. 

If you are completely dedicated to Exams: Congratulations. You have the whole day with you to prepare. But don't be a book worm. Too much of anything is good for nothing. Try to wake up at 4 (We know its really difficult for you at initial days. But trust us , your body will get used to it within 4 or 5 days). Work with Aptitude and Reasoning sections according to your convenience. You can prepare till 8 or 9 depending on your interest. Later you can have breakfast and do your favorite task for 1 hour. Later read the news paper and note important points. Try to remember if there are any new names and numbers / dates. Complete your lunch by 1 PM. Walk around for 10 to 15 minutes. Have a quick nap for two hours. Wake up by 4 PM. Prepare English for Two hours. Complete your dinner by 9. Prepare general awareness or any other subject according to your convenience. Go to bed by 11 PM Sharp. 

8. Starting Preparation: Before starting your preparation, just mug up the following things

·      Math tables upto 20

·      Squares up to 30

·      Cubes up to 15 

·      Powers of 2 (upto 12)

·      Powers of 3 (upto 6)

·      Complements of 100 (the difference between 100 and the given number). This will help you calculating faster. 

·      Try to learn 10 new English words per day (including Antonyms and Synonyms) (you should do this upto 7 days before your exam)

·      Learn Place value of Alphabets

9. During Preparation : 

·      For Aptitude and Reasoning: Pick any topic and try to learn the basics of the topic. Once you feel you perfectly got the topic then only go for problems. And remember, example problems are always easier to read and understand. It something like, riding bicycle when somebody is holding it. At that time you will feel that you are perfect at bicycle riding. But before going to the race, you have to test yourself whether you can really ride it or not. More than 70% of our friends fail at this point. Why to point others? Even my brother too does this. He is a lazy bug. He just opens the book, reads the concept and says "It is easy!!!" and sleeps. But after exam he comes with a sad face and says "Di, the paper was very tough. Even I also couldn't answer more than 100 questions (!!!). Nobody can clear this exam". Then where on the earth all those people who have cleared the exam came from? From mars? The only problem is, he has laziness and attitude. Which they don't have. Hope you have got what I am trying to say. Practice... Practice... Practice.... Practice till the end of your exam.

·      For English Language:  Try to learn the basics first. Later you can go with concept. And remember, spoken English is different and competitive English is different. You shouldn't be a fluent English speaker or you shouldn't learn every English word to clear the Exam with good marks. Just learn the basics perfectly and practice well. That's enough. 

·      Making Notes for Current Affairs: It’s better to depend on THE HINDU or The Times of India to make your CA notes. If you have any problem with them then you can go with any local language news paper. Maintain a notebook for Current Affairs. Read the news paper completely. Just write the date in the notebook as the main heading. Make some sub headings like International Events, National Events, Economy, Sports, People in News etc. Don't copy the news paper as it is, just 2 or 3 lines are enough. Try to highlight if there are any names or numerical values. And don't write everything you see in the news paper. They won’t ask you about silly things like Politician's second wife, Bollywood heroines' daughter and Cricketer's ankle pains the topics which the news papers publish as  their main headlines. Just ask yourself a question "Is it going to be appear in the exam?", if you feel YES, then write it. If you feel no then don't write. Of course, its not such an easy task as we are saying. We too agree. But trust us, day by day you could observe the improvement in you and finally you will be the expert of making Current Affairs notes.

9. Spirituality: Yep you heard it correct. Believe in god. Daily pray for 10 minutes (it would be more nice if you can Meditate). Of course, we are not saying that the god will show you the correct options during the exam. But the feeling "somebody is there to help me" makes you stay calm and peaceful.

 10. Merely passing the exam won’t help you at all. Your job is totally dependentent on the rank you get. The higher rank you get, the more chances for the selection. So, don't just try to clear the exam. Try to give your best. 

Final words: Friends, I hope this article will help you in your preparation and last but not the least, the main aim is to provide information and complete quality study materials of competitive exams for free. So, feel free to review my materials/ postings. So please feel free to share your views on the topics which are not clear in this blog, the areas which I should concentrate more and any other improvement you want to see in "akulapraveen.blogspot.com" so that I can make them available soon. All the Best.

That's all for now friends. Happy Reading

Next Post: SSC-CHSL (Postal Assistant Exam)- General Awareness Preparation Guidance (syllabus wise and topic wise preparation details will be posted)

-   Akula. Praveen Kumar, Sub Postmaster, Papannapet SO-502110, Andhra Pradesh

MNREGA world's largest public works programme: World Bank

WASHINGTON: India's rural employment guarantee programme MNREGA has been ranked as the world's largest public works programme, providing social security net to almost 15 per cent of the country's population, World Bank has said. 

India is among the five middle-income countries running the world's largest social safety net programmes, said a World Bank Group's report 'The State of Social Safety Nets 2015'. 

"The world's five largest social safety net programmes are all in middle-income countries (China, India, South Africa and Ethiopia) and reach over 526 million people," it added. 

The combined spending on social safety nets in 120 developing countries amounted to about USD 329 billion between 2010 and 2014, it said. 

India's Mid-day meal scheme has been classified as biggest school feeding programme benefiting 105 million beneficiaries. 

The top honours for public works programme went to MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act) with 182 million beneficiaries or 15 per cent of India's population. 

The World Bank ranked the Janani Suraksha Yojna with 78 million beneficiaries as the top-most social security programme with conditional cash transfers. 

Also, it ranked the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme as the second-largest unconditional cash transfer social security progamme in the world. 

"The World Bank Group and the ILO share a vision of social protection for all, a world where anyone who needs social protection can access it at any time," said Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group President and Guy Ryder, Executive Director, ILO, in their joint statement. 

The Group's Senior Director for Social Protection and Labor Arup Banerji said more countries at all income levels are investing in social safety net programs because they are transformational. 

"There is strong body of evidence that these programmes ensure poor families can invest in the health and education of their children, improve their productivity, and cope with shocks," he said. 

The report further stressed on the need to improve the efficiency of social safety net programmes by strengthening countries' capacity to target, integrate, administer, and evaluate social protection programmes, such as social and beneficiary registries. 

Well-designed programs are cost-effective, costing countries only between 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent of GDP - far less than most government spending on fuel subsidies. 

Source:-The Economic Times

Government increases daily minimum wage to Rs 160 per day

The government has increased minimum wage across the country to Rs 160 a day from Rs 137 with effect from this month. It has raised the threshold after two years on the basis of average increase in the consumer price index for industrial workers during this period. 

Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday said he has written to all chief ministers and lieutenant governors to take necessary steps to fix minimum rates of wages in respect of all scheduled employments in states and union territories not below the revised level. 

"While reviewing the movement of CPI-IW (consumer price index for industrial workers) during April 2014 to March 2015 over the period April 2012 to March 2013, it was observed that the average CPIIW has risen from 215.17 to 250.83. Accordingly, the NFLMW (national floor level minimum wage) has been revised upwards from existing Rs 137 to Rs 160 per day with effect from July 1, 2015," Dattatreya said. In order to have a uniform wage structure and to reduce the disparity in minimum wages across the country, NFLMW is fixed on the basis of the CPI-IW. The NFLMW was last revised from Rs 115 to Rs 137 per day in July 2013. 

NFLMW is a non-statutory measure and after every revision states are persuaded to fix minimum wages such that in none of the scheduled employments the minimum wage is less than NFLMW. The list of scheduled employment under the Minimum Wage Act, 1948, differs from state to state and covers a wide spectrum of employment creating sectors including industry, construction, agriculture and services sector. 

In a separate letter, Dattatreya urged all chief ministers and LGs to ensure compliance regarding social security coverage of outsourced staff working in the government departments, public sector undertakings, state cooperatives and other bodies. "The National Human Rights Commission incidentally is also monitoring the implementation as the social security is considered as a human right of an individual," the minister said in his letter written on Tuesday. 

He further said, "It has been observed that various departments, PSUs, state cooperatives and other state-run bodies are increasingly employing a large number of staff on outsourcing basis."

Source:-The Economic Times

Cash handling allowance payable to the SPMs of single handed and double handed Post Offices

File No. 5-06/2011-PAP

Government of India

Ministry of Communication & IT

Department of Posts

(Establishment Division) Dak Bhawan New Delhi

Dated 22^nd June 2015

To,

All Chief Postmasters General,

All Postmasters General,

All Regional Postmasters General

Subject: Cash handling allowance payable to the SPMs of single handed and double handed Post Offices.

            Cash handling allowance to the Sub Postmasters in single and double handed Post Offices responsible for handling/custody of cash is being paid with effect from 13.05.1989 at the rates given as below:-

Amount of cash handled on an average per day	Special pay/allowance payable per month
Rs.10001 to 20000	20
Rs. 20001 to 50000	25
Rs. 50001 to 100000	30
Above 1 Lakh	35

2.         On recommendations of the Vth Pay Commission, these rates were doubled with effect from 01-08-1997. On recommendations of the VIth Pay Commission, these rates were again doubled with effect from 01-09-2008 and further increased @ 25% with effect from 01-01-2011 & with effect from 01-01-2014 as per recommendations of the VIth Pay commission on an increase of D.A @ 50% each time. Current rates with effect from 01-01-2014 are given as below:-

Amount of cash handled on an average per day	Special pay/allowance payable per month
Rs.10001 to 20000	120
Rs.20001 to 50000	150
Rs.50001 to 100000	180
Above 1 Lakh	210

3.         The other terms and conditions will be same as laid down in this Directorate letter No. 6-4/80-PAP dated 25-02-1992 and other instructions issued from time to time on the subject.

This has the approval of the competent authority

                        Sd/-     

(Maj S. N. Dave)

Asst. Director General (Estt.)