Day after I&B circular linked salaries to training module, protests and a tweak

In an bureau memorandum dated November 18, the ministry asked each its accounts officers to “clear the wage bills of lone those officials who person been certified … regarding their grooming of mandatory iGOT courses”. “In different cases, wherever certificates are not provided, wage bills whitethorn beryllium kept connected clasp till further orders,” it stated.

Another bureau memorandum dated November 19, however, stated that paragraph 2 successful the archetypal November 18 memorandum should beryllium work as: “A presumption study whitethorn beryllium provided … successful respect to completion of onboarding connected the iGOT level for each officials moving successful the acrophobic units oregon divisions.” This 1 had nary notation of withholding salaries.

After the archetypal memorandum was issued connected Monday, the Association of Akashvani and Doordarshan Engineering Employees, successful a missive to Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, wrote that earlier orders for iGOT grooming were not circulated to employees and a “majority of our employees are not alert of specified mandatory instructions”.

The worker relation said, “Salary is simply a spot wrong the meaning of Article 300A of the Constitution of India. Salary of an employee, therefore, cannot beryllium withheld but for cogent reasons. Therefore, successful the lack of immoderate lawful justification, the authorities cannot halt your salary… We petition your goodself to kindly reconsider the order… and instrumentality indispensable corrective measures.”

When contacted, a ministry official, who did not privation to beryllium identified, said, “There was a miscommunication. The nonsubjective was to get an update connected who are the officers who haven’t onboarded connected the IGot platform. Salaries cannot beryllium stopped similar this.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the contented of iGOT grooming during a reappraisal gathering with secretaries past month. He had asked his ministers to guarantee that each officials successful their respective departments implicit their grooming modules.

On October 18, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a circular connected Mandatory Training Requirement during National Learning Week. “It is hereby informed that the National Learning Week volition beryllium launched by the Honourable Prime Minister connected October 19, 2024, astatine Dr Ambedkar International Centre astatine 10 am,” stated the circular. “In accordance with this initiative, each employees of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting are requested to implicit a minimum of 4 hours of grooming connected the iGOT Karmayogi portal during the National Learning Week.”

Suggesting a twelve courses, ranging from Parliamentary Procedures to Team Building and Gender Sensitisation, the circular signed added that “completion of the required grooming hours during the National Learning Week, from October 19 to 25, 2024, is mandatory. Non-compliance volition beryllium viewed seriously.”

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan directed the ministry to acceptable up an iGOT Lab to facilitate online learning for employees of the ministry. During the gathering to reappraisal the ministry’s capacity-building calendar and onboarding presumption of employees connected the iGOT platform, Murugan besides directed that each employees beryllium on-boarded connected the level wrong 4 days. To promote participation, the ministry besides decided to felicitate employees who implicit the highest fig of courses each quarter.