When number portability is enabled....

Telecom minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday will unveil mobile number portability in Haryana, allowing 18 million cellphone users in the state to retain their number while changing the service provider. Most of the country will have this facility by the New Year, while it will be available throughout the country by March 2011.
Here we bring you the to-dos of mobile number portability in six quick steps:

• Send an SMS to 1900 in following format: PORT - eg. PORT 9999999999.
• You will get an SMS reply that contains a unique porting code.
• SMS to the preferred operator quoting the unique code. This code is valid only for a few days, and one must apply again if it expires.
• Your existing operator will check with new operator & if there are no dues then approval will be given for porting.
• You will get an SMS on the time and date when porting will take place. Rules mandate that process be completed within 4 days of applying.
• After porting is complete, wait for an SMS from your new operator confirming the switch. Your phone may be dead for about 2 hours when the porting takes place.

Immediate Separate Redressal Commission for Armed Forces : Supreme Court (Updated)

The Hon'ble Supreme Court today ordered the immediate constitution of a separate commission to examine the pay / pension anomalies and other grievances of the defence services.
The functioning of the commission would be directly monitored by the Supreme Court. The Commission would comprise of Justice Kuldip Singh, Retired SC Judge as the Chairperson and would have as its members Justice SS Sodhi, General VP Malik, Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi and one person to be nominated by the Government of India.
The Commission would independently look into the grievances of members of the defence services and the Government would have no say in the same.
The Government of India, in its affidavit, had only consented to refer the rank pay issue to the proposed Commission and did not agree to any other term of reference. The Court disregarded the affidavit alongwith the stand of the Government and also ruled that the rank pay issue would NOT be referred to the Commission since the orders had already been passed by the Supreme Court. The Court also refused to recall or modify its earlier orders on the rank pay issue and instead referred the review application preferred by the UoI to the Chief Justice for directions that it be placed before some other Bench.
A historic step indeed for the Armed Forces of India.

The salient features for the said Commission, as laid down by the Supreme Court in its order, are as follows :
(1) The Commission shall be called ‘Armed Forces Greivances Redressal Commission’
(2) The Commission shall look into all grievances forwarded to them in writing or email by serving and retired personnel.
(3) Commission shall frame schemes for rehabilitation of soldiers who are discharged at young ages.
(4) The term of the first Commission shall be two years, renewable at the option of the central govt.
(5) The Commission shall be based at CHANDIGARH. Central Govt to provide adequate infrastructure for the same.
(6) Last drawn pay and allowances of the members to be protected.
(7) The Commission shall also recommend change of rules if in its opinion the same are defective or inadequate.
(8) All civil and military authorities to extend full co-operation to the Commission.
The complete order of the SC can be accessed by clicking here.

Treatment of MSP on re-employment

A fresh clarification has been issued on the treatment of Military Service Pay on re-employment.
The same can be accessed by clicking here.

The operative part is as follows :
“It has been decided in consultation with the Department of Expenditure, that since the element of MSP is not reckoned in the pay fixation on re-employment, it need not be reduced from the pension either. Hence, In respect of all those Defence officers/personnel, whose pension contains an element of MSP, that need not be deducted from the pay fixed on re-employment.”