Dr Jitendra Singh addresses workshop on Anubhav and Sankalp, Minister presents Anubhav awards for Best write-ups The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh has said the government will soon devise an institutional mechanism and devise pre-retirement and post-retirement policy including counseling. Addressing the workshop on Anubhav and Sankalp here today, Dr. Jitendra Singh said a scheme will also soon be unveiled for involving Pensioner Organisations on how to make best use of the services of pensioners. Recalling that the Anubhav idea is a brainchild of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Dr. Jitendra Singh said the pensioners welfare and utilizing the vast resource pool of pensioners is the concern of the entire country and we all have stake in it. He said that at present there are more number of pensioners than the serving employees. For good governance, we need good tools and in this case the best tools are the government employees themselves, he added. Addressing the gathering, Secretary, Department of Pensions & Pensioners Welfare and Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Shri Devendra Chaudhry said the workshop will provide new energy to the retiring employees and also boost their confidence. He said that the retiring employees should give something back to the society and get something back from the society as well. He said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had given the vision about Anubhav initiative on September 12, 2014. He said that the retired employees need to engage themselves and contribute to Government initiatives like educating the people to use the accounts opened under Jan Dhan Yojana, Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya and Kaushal Vikas Yojana etc as per their interests. Earlier inaugurating the workshop, he said that the workshop of Anubhav and Sankalp together, is being held for the first time. Commenting upon the Anubhav Awards given on the occasion, he said that the present (serving) is giving awards to the past (retired) in recognition of their contribution. There is a great energy in synergy, he added. He said that this workshop is a step towards preserving the institutional memory. He also said that the Department plans to hold one such workshop at a large scale in the month of May this year, where the senior officials from railways, defence, postal and telecom departments will be participating. Dr Jitendra Singh also gave away awards for best write-ups received under the Anubhav scheme. Shri PK Panigrahi, Sr. DDG, Department of Telecommunications, Shri A. Natarajan, Sr. Section Engineer, Railways and Shri M. Balaraj, Technical Officer, DRDO were presented awards for their Anubhav write-ups. Special prizes were also conferred upon Shri Alok Rawat, former Secretary, Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare, Shri Jai Narain, Postman and Shri R.K Sharma, Sr. Commandant, CISF. The Anubhav awards are being given on the completion of one year. The Department received over 1,000 write ups of the retired employees. The criteria for selection of awards is job related enthusiasm, performance orientation, subject knowledge and practical suggestions. The write ups have been evaluated by IIPA and 73 profiles were shortlisted. The workshop emphasised that the retiring employees should be given their rights with dignity and should also be a source of inspiration due to their rich experience. The retiring employees shared their experiences and also gave their suggestions to make the retired life an engaging, healthy and happy life. The Department of Pensions & Pensioners Welfare has now also enabled acceptance of audio files on the online software Anubhav. Anubhav files can be submitted by retiring employees along with their pension application form. These however need to be approved by their Head of Office. Another initiative called Sankalp has also been launched by this Department to channelize the experience and skill of retired Government servants towards meaningful interventions in society. The Sankalp is a project to channelize the skill, experience and time available with Central Government Pensioners into meaningful social intervention. The project has started on pilot basis for 2,000 pensioners. The Department has so far registered more than 1500 pensioners and 19 Pensioners' Associations under this project. The Department has also registered 16 NGOs to involve Central Government Pensioners in social activities. During the workshop the participants were exposed to the activities of organizations working in society and where the retired government servants could engage themselves after retirement. Many participants opted to work for one or more of these organizations. This step will certainly provide new energy to the retiring employees as well as boost their confidence at this crucial stage of life.
