Current Affairs: Passage of the Day - 7 May 2024 | Current Affairs & General Knowledge - CLAT PDF Download

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Five individual choices for posting, on-request posting, and booking of air tickets for all the personnel while proceeding on leave – these are some of the key decisions made by the BSF in a bid to improve ‘satisfaction level’ of its personnel.
According to the data, provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, more than 46,000 personnel from six Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) took early retirement during the last five years (2019-2023). “The maximum — more than 21,000 men and women — who took early retirement were from the Border Security Force (BSF), which guards the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders,” an official said.
A order issued last month by IG (personnel) said: “The DG (BSF) has approved the guidelines/instructions to be complied regarding posting/transfer and grievance redressal of non-gazetted officers with a view to improve satisfaction to the force personnel based on the recommendations of the board. Five choices for posting will be obtained from the individual at the time of Annual Turnover in Personnel and training (P&T). All static posting of any particular location will be considered as one choice. Similarly, all headquarters at Delhi, 25 as well as 95 battalions of BSF will be considered as one choice,” the order said.
“On-request posting of the individual will be counted if he gets posting at the desired place. Posting of the individual at the surrounding place of his request will not be counted as ‘own request posting’. However, if someone has completed his tenure at a particular place and requested for posting at another place, his posting even if considered based on his choices will not be considered as own request. Moreover, requests for posting on terminal ground to any particular location will not be considered as ‘own request posting’,” the letter states.
“In order to prompt disposal of all grievances, including DG’s interview cases in frontier headquarter (FHQ); the concerned heads of unit, headquarters, and training centres will forward all grievance and DG’s interview cases of directly to FHQ with their specific recommendation and relevant documents through software only,” the letter further said.
Last month, the BSF signed a memorandum of understanding with a Delhi-based travel company – for booking of air tickets for its personnel proceeding on leave. According to a communication , the facility is available for personnel and their dependents — air ticket with concessional fixed fares for one year, free seat selection, free rescheduling, and no convenience fee.”
[Excerpt from Indian Express “BSF : On-request posting, Airfare booking etc. in New Guidelines” Dated 07/05/24]

Q1: What is the primary objective of the new guidelines introduced by the Border Security Force (BSF) for non-gazetted officers?
(a) To increase the number of early retirements
(b) To restrict personnel choice in terms of posting
(c) To improve job satisfaction and reduce early retirements
(d) To enforce mandatory postings without options for personnel

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Q2: According to Ministry of Home Affairs data, how many personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have taken early retirement in the past five years?
(a) Over 46,000
(b) Over 21,000
(c) Over 5,000
(d) Over 10,000

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Q3: How many choices for annual posting locations are permitted under the new guidelines for BSF personnel?
(a) Two
(b) Three
(c) Four
(d) Five

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Q4: What benefits are provided to BSF personnel and their dependents under the memorandum of understanding with a Delhi-based travel company?
(a) Discounted hotel bookings
(b) Free seat selection and rescheduling
(c) Fixed fare flights and free seat selection
(d) Free accommodation during travel

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Q5: Which of the following is NOT one of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)?
(a) Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
(b) Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
(c) Indian Coast Guard (ICG)
(d) Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

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