GUIDELINES ON OFFICIAL STATISTICS RESEARCH / SEMINAR

GUIDELINES ON OFFICIAL STATISTICS RESEARCH / SEMINAR

FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

1. Introduction

1.1 The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has been promoting research studies and seminars in official statistics by way of providing financial assistance and data support under the Plan Scheme Capacity Development (Capacity Development of CSO, Institution Development and Capacity Building). These guidelines indicate the eligibility conditions, procedures for submission of proposals and general conditions of assistance.

2. Proposals Eligible for Assistance

2.1 The CSO provides assistance only for those projects and seminars relevant to official statistics. In particular, the proposals relating to the following are considered eligible for assistance:

(i) Studies/ surveys contributing to bridge the data gaps in official statistics.

(ii) Studies/ surveys contributing to the development of methodologies for improving official statistics.

(iii) Studies/ surveys to assess/ evaluate the existing statistical reporting systems including the coverage, content and timeliness.

(iv) In-depth statistical analysis and studies based on reports and data sets released by official agencies with a view to facilitate policy formulation and development planning.

(v) Methodological studies, Pilot studies, Case studies, etc. which complement and can provide value addition to official statistical system.

(vi) Conferences, seminars and workshops having adequate relevance to official statistical system.

(vii) Statistical studies on social sectors: gender, health, education, employment, disability, crime, women & children, drug abuse, under employment, child and women trafficking, undocumented migration, employment opportunities, and /or social security for disabled persons, crime against women, economic contribution of home based workers, valuation of non- economic household activities of women; Statistical measurement of air /water pollution, land degradation, waste generation; Statistical measurement of Green House Gases emission; impact of climate change on different sectors viz agriculture, health, natural resources etc.

(viii) Study to develop a methodology for seasonal adjustment of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and other indicators

(ix) Any other statistical study/survey which contributes to or enhances the official statistical system.

2.2. The proposals relating to pure theoretical research in statistics and for holding annual meetings of statistical associations/ societies will not be eligible for financial assistance.

3. Institutions Eligible for Assistance

3.1. The professional/ research institutions engaged in the field of official statistics with qualified statisticians, economists and social scientists and belonging to one of the following categories are eligible for assistance under the scheme:

(i) Government institutions including Directorates of Economics and Statistics of States/Union Territories.

(ii) Institutions receiving annual recurring grants from the Central or State Government Agencies including Indian Statistical Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), University Grants Commission (UGC), etc.

(iii) Institutions registered as professional society under the Societies Registration Act.

(iv) Institutions registered as ‘Trusts’ under Trusteeship Act.

(v) Institutions incorporated under the Companies Act, and

(vi) Proprietary and Partnership concerns of repute.

3.2 The reputation of a particular institution and its eligibility for receiving assistance in the case of institutions listed at Sl. Nos. (iii) to (vi) will be decided by the Secretary of the Ministry. The institutions are therefore advised to submit, copies of registration certificates, audited annual reports and balance sheets of last three years, details of payment of service tax, etc along with their proposals.

4. Proposal Submission

4.1. The institution seeking financial assistance should submit the proposal in prescribed formats. Each proposal will contain four distinct parts as listed below:-

(i) A forwarding letter along with an undertaking from the head of the institution.	(Format I)
(ii) A profile of the institution indicating its technical capabilities	(Format II)
(iii) The technical details of the proposal	(Format III)
(iv) The financial details of the proposal	(Format IV)

5. The profile of the institution should not exceed ten pages which should include brief details of similar projects completed during the last five years. The organizations seeking financial assistance should submit one copy each of the reports of three best projects completed by them at the time of making the request.

5.1. The technical details of the project should be furnished in a concise, complete and logical manner. In particular, it should contain (a) the objectives, (b) data elements and sources, (c) proposed analytical framework and methodology, (d) specific outputs envisaged, and (e) likely potential and value addition in regard to official statistics and its applications. In the case of primary surveys, geographical coverage, subjects of enquiry, sampling and survey units, sampling scheme and sample size, survey and estimation methods, etc. should be invariably provided. The relevance of the study/ survey to official statistics also needs to be indicated in the proposal.

5.2. In the case of proposals for organizing conferences/ seminars, the technical details should include (a) the objective/ relevance of the seminar, (b) the duration of the conference/ seminar, (c) the details of technical sessions, (d) type of participants and expected number and (e) facilities being provided by the institution.

5.3. The financial details should include both unit costs and total costs in respect of various expenditure heads including expert/ professional fee, travel cost, computer hiring charges or data processing charges, stationery and printing, telephone and postage charges, training and workshops, survey expenses, software development and tabulations, overhead costs, etc. No financial assistance is given for procurement of equipments including computer hardware/ scanner/ printer.

Proposals can be submitted to Additional Director General, Social Statistics Division, Central Statistical Organisation, M/o Statistics and Programme Implementation, West Block-8, Wing No.6, R.K. Puram, New Delhi.

The technical proposal as well as financial proposal may be submitted also at director.ssd3@gmail.com

5. Financial Assistance

5.1 The quantum of financial assistance in the case of studies/ surveys would be up to a maximum of Rs. 15 lakhs. In the case of natural resource accounting studies the project assistance should not exceed Rs.20 lakhs. In case of projects costing less than two lakhs, the assistance will be released in two instalments in proportion of 80:20. For projects costing more than two lakhs but less than ten lakhs, the assistance would be released in three instalments in proportion of 40:40:20. For projects more than ten lakhs, the assistance may be released in four installments. The assistance released will be linked to specific milestones to be achieved as per time schedule indicated in the proposal. The release would also be dependent on the completion of formalities like submission of progress reports and utilization certificates.

5.2 In the case of seminars/ workshops, the quantum of assistance would not exceed Rs. 5 lakhs for International Seminars and Rs. 2 lakhs for national Seminars and will be released in one or two instalments, depending on the amount and duration of seminar.

5.3 The assistance can be by way of financial support (partial or full) and/ or data support. The type of assistance required by the institution should be clearly indicated in the proposal.

6. Sanction Procedure

6.1 All proposals which satisfy eligibility criteria/conditions shall be placed before the Screening Committee along with assessment report. The Screening Committee will comprise of

i) Director General , CSO ---- Chairman

ii) Deputy Director General (Social .Statistics Division )--Member

iii) Deputy Director General (Industrial Statistics Division)--Member

iv) Deputy Director General (National Accounts Division)---Member

v) Director ,IFD MOSPI ----- Member

vi) Head ,ISI Delhi ------ Member

vii) Head D/o Statistics ,Delhi University (Non-Official) ----Member

viii) Nominee of IASRI, New Delhi ------- Member

ix) Director/Joint Director, SSD,CSO ------ Member Secretary

6.2 The Screening Committee may (a) recommend the proposal for the consideration of the “Empowered Committee” , or (b) decide not to recommend the Proposal to “Empowered Committee” (specific grounds of rejection should be given) or seek further clarification. The Project Directors of the research proposals short-listed by the Screening Committee would be required to make a Power Point Presentation before the Screening Committee elaborating objective, study methodology, data sources proposed impacts of the study etc.

6.3 The “Empowered Committee” will consist of:

(i) Chief Statistician Of India ---- Chairman

(ii) Director General, CSO ----Member

(iii) DG& CEO, NSSO ----Member

(iv) Additional Secretary &Financial Adviser, MOS&PI -----Member

(v) ADG (Social Statistics Division) ----Member

(vi) ADG(National Accounts Division) -----Member

(vii) Director, ISI Kolkata ----Member

(viii) Director, IASRI, New Delhi ----Member

(ix) Sr. Economic Advisor, M/o Industry and Commerce,--- Member

Deptt of Industrial Policy and Promotion Udyog Bhavan

New Delhi

(x) Deputy Director General(SSD)- Member Secretary

6.4 The project proposals received for assistance would be considered by the“Empowered Committee” of the Ministry. The Committee may also take the advice of the Screening Committee duly constituted for the purpose and/ or the advice of external experts and the subject matter Ministry. The recommendations of the “Empowered Committee” would be communicated to the institution. The proposals, which are accepted by the “Empowered Committee”, will be further processed for administrative/ financial approval and sanction letter would be issued indicating tasks to be accomplished, the amount of assistance, schedule of payment and other conditions of assistance like signing of Bond/MOU and providing Bank Guarantee wherever applicable. The institutions receiving the assistance are required to accept the conditions formally and sign a bond in a judicial stamp paper of Rupees Ten only. Format of the bond is given in Format VA. The Government Institutions and those receiving annual recurring grants from the Central or State Government Agencies are exempted from furnishing the prescribed bond. Instead a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) as per Format- VB should suffice which may be signed and executed.

6.5 On signing of the Bond/ MOU and its submission, the first instalment of assistance would be released. However, in case of non – governmental institutions, a bank guarantee equivalent to the amount of advance also has to be submitted before release of first installment. These institutions can also take the option of not taking any advance installment and claim installments on the basis of completed work as stipulated in the sanction letter. In that case no bank guarantee would be required.

7. Other conditions of assistance

7.1 The amount of assistance would be released in favour of the institution or university or authorized person by designation only and not to the Project Director or the Researcher. Thus all sanctions of the Ministry will be issued in favour of the institution.

7.2 In some cases, Project Director himself or herself is forwarding the applications. In those cases, an undertaking would be required to be given by the project director as per the format-I of the guidelines.

7.3 The institutions or the Project Director will not accept any financial assistance from any other source for the project unless it is included in the proposal and approved by the Government.

7.4 The persons employed in the project will not be treated as the employee of the Government of India. The conditions of their service will be governed in accordance with the rules and orders of the institution.

7.5 The financial assistance is not available for incurring any capital expenditure.

7.6 The institution will provide the required infrastructure facilities like accommodation furniture, computer, library, laboratory equipments, communication facilities and secretariat services. The overheads for providing these facilities will be normally 5% of the project cost and the maximum overheads in exceptional cases can only be up to ten percent.

7.7 The data collected for the project should not be used or shared for any purpose other than for the completion of the project till the report is accepted by the Ministry and released for the public use.

7.8 The institution shall make suitable arrangement for the safe custody of data including schedules, working sheets, tabulations, tapes, floppies, CDs, manuscripts, etc. relating to the project for a period of three years after the completion of the study/ survey.

7.9 The Project Director and other experts mentioned in the project proposals should not be changed without the prior approval of the Ministry.

7.10 The institution receiving grants from the Government are governed by the “General Financial Rules” of the Government. The utilization and audit certificates are to be furnished to the Government in prescribed format.

7.11 Submission of monthly/ quarterly financial and physical progress reports to the Monitoring Officer and Government is obligatory on the part of the Project Director failing which the Ministry has the right to terminate the project and get the amounts already disbursed along with interest fully refunded.

7.12 In case of non-compliance of terms and conditions as laid down in the sanction letter, the institute will have to return the entire money along with interest of 10% per annum.

8. Project Duration

8.1 The duration of any study/ survey except the natural resource accounting studies would not generally exceed one year. However, in exceptional cases and if adequately justified, a time frame of more than 12 months but not exceeding 24 months could be allowed for the completion of the study/ survey. In the case of natural resource accounting studies, the normal duration of a study would not exceed 2 years.

8.2 In the case of conferences/ seminars, the total duration of all such events should not exceed five days.

8.3 In normal circumstances, no extension of duration of the project would be admitted. However, in exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the agency, it would be permitted, if applied well in time with adequate justification for the delay. If the permission for extension of duration is not obtained/ granted, the Ministry has the right to:

(i) impose a penalty by reducing 1% of sanctioned amount of the project for delay of a month or part thereof for first six months of delay and thereafter the penalty would be @2% per month provided the delay is exclusively on the part of project director. The penalty will be imposed with the stipulation that it will not, in any way, be prejudicial to the quality of the proposed project/ study

(ii) terminate the project; in that case, institution will have to refund the entire amount along with penal interest of 10% per annum

(iii) impose any other penalty as decided by the Empowered Committee.

9. Monitoring

9.1 The Ministry will appoint a monitoring officer/ Committee for every sanctioned project. The monitoring officer could be from the Ministry or Statistical officers working in other Ministries/ Departments. The monitoring officer will maintain the conduct of the study/ survey and its completion as per time schedule. He would also recommend, wherever appropriate and warranted, the release of various instalments based on physical progress of the study/ survey.

9.2 A monthly progress report indicating the physical and financial progress of the project, other than Natural Resource Accounting (NRA) project for which quarterly physical and financial report has to be submitted by the institutions receiving assistance from the Ministry. The progress reports in the prescribed format (Format VI) has to reach both the Ministry and the monitoring officer/Committee by tenth of every month or quarter in case of NRA project. The institution is also required to submit a utilisation certificate ( FORMAT VII ) duly signed by the Head of the Institute/ Registrar of University for Government / Government affiliated bodies, Recognised universities and deemed universities while claiming second and subsequent installments. In case of other Organisations including NGOs, the utilization and audit certificates ( FORMAT VII and VIII) will be certified by Chartered Accountant for release of second and subsequent installments. In the case of conferences/seminars, if the total grants received from all sources exceed the budget for the event, the excess amount has to be refunded by the institution.

10. Submission of Study Reports

10.1 The Project Director/ Principal Researcher would prepare a draft report on completion of the study/ survey and submit three (3) copies of the same to the Ministry and one copy to the monitoring officer. The report will be examined by an expert officer also. After submission of draft report, the Project Director or his nominee may give a power point presentation of the report before the Screening Committee / Empowered Committee and interested Officers of the Ministry. The suggestions/opinions given in the course of presentation and the subsequent discussion along with the suggestions of the concerned Division and Subject Expert may be taken into account by the Project Director in finalizing the report. Twenty (20) hard copies and a soft copy in MS Word will be submitted with in two weeks of communicating the comments. It needs to be ensured that the revision has been made as per the comments received and reasons for non-acceptance of the comments, if any, should be properly explained in the forwarding letter.

10.2 The institution is also required to send the primary and secondary data collected as a part of the project to the Ministry in CD as ASCII file or as any commonly used database files.

11. Dissemination of Reports

11.1 The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation will have the right to make available the report of the studies to the users including Central and State Government agencies and the National Library. It may also place a summary of the report in its website or/ and in the publication(s) of the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). However, the Ministry will not be responsible for the findings or opinions expressed in the report and the institution which prepared the report will be responsible for the same.

11.2 The institution is also free to publish the report of the studies. However, it should be clearly acknowledged on the first page of the report that the study has been carried out with financial support provided by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. It should also contain disclaimer that the Ministry is not responsible for the findings and opinions expressed in the document.

11.3 In the case of workshops/ seminars, name of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has to be prominently displayed on the banners and other documents prepared by the institution. The institutions / Organisations being provided financial assistance is required to provide free registration to one officer from CSO for attending the seminar / conference. In case CSO could not participate in the Seminar / Conference, the institution /organization should submit a copy of all the technical materials to CSO.

Format-IA

Address/ ph /fax no & email id

Dated:

The Deputy Director General,

Central Statistical Organisation

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

West Block -8, R.K.Puram

New Delhi-66

Subject: Proposal for undertaking/conducting a study/ seminar on……………..

Sir,

I am glad to forward herewith a proposal for undertaking/conducting a study/ seminar on…………………. at a total cost of Rs…………………………. The study is proposed to be completed over a period of………….. months/ The seminar is proposed to be held during …………. (period)………………….. Mr./Ms./Dr………………………… who is working as …………………….. in this institution will be the Project Director/ Principal Research Investigator.

2. I certify that this institution will provide all the facilities and infrastructure for the completion of the study/ seminar and undertake as follows:

(a) This proposal or other similar proposal has not been submitted to any other agency/ Department for funding/ the proposal has also been submitted to……………………. for partial funding up to Rs……….lakhs.

(b) The Project Director/ Principal Research Investigator will continue to work in the institution till the completion of the study/ seminar. In case the Project Director leaves without completing the project, the institution will take full responsibility to complete the project as per the existing terms and conditions.

(c) The institution will take full responsibility for monitoring the progress of the project, sending progress reports and utilisation certificates, etc. and ensuring proper and timely implementation.

3. It is requested that the project proposal may be considered favourably for providing financial assistance of Rs………………..

2. Details of documents enclosed are given in the attached Checklist.

Signature of the Head of the Institution

Name of the Head of the Institution& Stamp

Format-I(B)

Check-list

1. Forwarding letter along with the undertaking from the Head of the Institution

2. A copy of the Registration Certificate

3. One copy each of the Annual Reports and Balance Sheets for the last three years

4. Profile of the Institution and its activities

5. Details of professional staff regularly employed by the Institution

6. Details of computer and infrastructure facility available

7. Details of major projects completed during last five years

8. Objectives of the Proposed Project and the methodology

9. Relevance of the study in the development of official statistics

10. Activity time schedule (GNAT chart)

11. Staffing time schedule (GNAT chart)

12. Curriculum Vitae of each the experts (including Project Director)

13. Budget estimates of the project head-wise

14. Total cost of the project and duration of the project

15. Name and address of the authorized person by designation in whose name cheque/ DD is to be issued

Format-II

PROFILE OF THE INSTITUTION

1. 1. Name and address of the Institution

2. 2. Name and Designation of the Head of

the Institution

3. Status of the Institute (As per Para 3.1 of the guidelines)

4. 4. Details of Professional staff regularly employed in the Institution in the concerned Branch/Unit

Sl. No.

Designation

Scale of Pay

Number

5. 5. Details of computer and infrastructure facilities already available.

(a) (a) Hardware

(b) (b) Software

(d) (d) Office accommodation

(e) (e) Transport facility

6.6. Details of Major Projects completed during last five years.

(f) (f) Title of the Project

(g) (g) Name of the Project Director

(h) (h) Detailed description of the project

(i) (i) Detailed description of actual services provided

Format-III

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

1. 1. Name of the Institution

2. 2. Name of the Project Director/ Principal Research Investigator

3. 3. Title of the Project

4. 4. Objectives of the Project

5. Curriculum Vitae of each of the experts (including Project Director) in the staffing schedule.

(i) (i) Name

(ii) (ii) Date of birth

(iii) (iii) Nationality

(iv) (iv) Personal address

(including telephone No., e-mail address)

(v) (v) Educational Qualification

(vi) (vi) Other training

(vii) (vii) Employment record

Sl. No.	Position	Period		Experience
Sl. No.	Position	From	To	Experience

(viii) (viii) List of Publications

(ix) (ix) Other relevant details

(x) (x) Is he regular employee of the institution Yes/ No

(xi) (xi) If no, the nature of contract with the institution

(xii) (xii) Is he available on full time basis? Yes/ No

(xiii) (xiii) If not, what are his other assignments? Pl. describe.

6. Description of data sources and analytical tools.

7. Survey methodology (in case of primary data collection)

(j) (j) Survey objectives

(k) (k) Geographical coverage

(l) (l) Subject coverage

(m) (m) Sampling units

(n) (n) Sampling design

(o) (o) Sample size

(p) (p) Estimation Procedure

(q) (q) Tabulation plan

8. Work programme

(i) (i) Tasks

(ii) (ii) Activities

(iii) (iii) Outputs

(iv) (iv) Logical sequence of activities and outputs leading to realisation of the objectives

Format-IV

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

1. 1. Name of the Institution

2. 2. Name of the Project Director/ Principal Research Investigator

3. 3. Title of the Project.

4. 4. Expert/ Employee time.

Sl. No.	Name	Employment Status in codes	Position	No. of months	Remuneration per month	Total Remuneration
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)

Total (Col.7)

Codes for Employment Status

-----Category---- Codes

A regular employee of the Institution engaged

in the Project on a full time basis -1

A regular employee of the Institution engaged

in the project on a part time basis -2

An employee recruited specifically for the

Project on a temporary basis -3

An independent expert -4

5. Estimated Travel Cost

Sl. No.	Name	Place of Visit	Duration of Stay	Daily allowance per day	Total Daily allowance	Codes for Mode of travel	Travel expense
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)

Total (Cols. 6 & 8)

Mode of Travel (Codes)

Air - 1

Rail - 2

Taxi - 3

Own Car - 4

Bus - 5

Others - 6

6. Workshop expenses (For NRA Projects)

Sl. No.

Type of Workshop

Duration

No. of Participants

Total Cost

7. Field Survey and Tabulation Expenses.

(i) (i) Sample size

(ii) (ii) Rate per unit (Rs.)………………….

(iii) (iii) Total field survey expenses (Rs.)………

(iv) (iv) Tabulation expenses (Rs.)…………….

(v) (v) Report writing (Rs.)………….

(vi) (vi) Report Printing (Rs.)…………

(vii) (vii) Total expenditure (Rs.)………………….

8. Revenue Expenses (recurring) on Stationery, telephone, faxes, etc.

9. Contingencies

10. Overhead expenses (5%)

11. Summary of Financial Statement

Sl. No.	Item	Amount (Rs.)
1.	Fees, salaries, consultancy etc.
2.	Travel expenses i. i. Daily allowance ii. ii. Travel cost (local field survey)
3.	Workshop expenses (for NRA projects)
4.	Field survey, tabulation, report writing & printing expenses
5.	Expenses on stationery, telephone, fax, postage, etc.
6.	Contingencies
7.	Overhead expenses (5%)
Total

12. 12. Signature of the Project Director with date

FORMAT-VA

FORMAT OF BOND

(For use of Non-Government Organisations)

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS THAT we the …………………………………………………, an institute/society/trust registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860)/Trusteeship Act and having its office at ………………………………………………………………………….…..in the State of ………………………………………. (hereinafter called the ‘Obligors’ which term shall unless exclude or repugnant to the context be deemed to include his successors or assigns) are held and firmly bound to the President of India (hereinafter called the ‘Government’) in the sum of Rs. ….( Rupees……………………………………………………………. only) well and truly to be paid to the President on demand and without demur for which payment we bind ourselves and our successors and assignees by these presents.

2. SIGNED this ……….. day of …………………………….in the year two thousand and……………..

3. WHEREAS on the Obligors request, the Government has as per Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation letter No. ……………………………………... dated ………..(hereinafter referred to as the 'letter of Sanction' which forms an integral part of these presents and a copy thereof is annexed hereto as Annexure- A) agreed to make payment of Rs ……… (Rupees ………………………………………………..only), in favour of the Obligors for the purpose ----------------------- on condition of the Obligors executing a bond in the terms and manner contained hereinafter and which the Obligors have agreed to.

4. WHEREAS the Obligor agrees to submit both physical and financial progress reports monthly (or quarterly in case of NRA project) to the Monitoring Officer/Committee and also a copy to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, failing which the Ministry has the right to terminate the project with full refund of amounts already disbursed. The periodical audited statement will be submitted to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation by the organization before release of each instalment except in case of research institution set up by an act of parliament whose report is laid on the table of Parliament or Universities. If regular process of audit takes more time the accounts may be got audited by a Chartered Accountant.

5. NOW the condition of the above-written obligation is such that if the Obligors shall duly fulfill and comply with all its the conditions mentioned in the Letter of Sanction, then the above written bond or obligation shall be void and of no effect, but otherwise it shall remain in full force and virtue. If a part of the grant is left unspent after the expiry of the period within which it is required to be spent, the obligors agree to refund the unspent balance along with interest thereon at the prevailing borrowing rate of the Government of India unless it is allowed to be carried over.

6. The Obligor agrees and undertakes to surrender/ pay to Government the monetary value of all such pecuniary or other benefits which it may receive or derive/have received or derived through/ upon unauthorised use of such grant. The decision of the Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation concerned will be final and binding on the obligors as regards the monetary value of aforementioned to be surrendered/ paid to the Government.

7. In case of delay of completion of project with in approved timeframe, if not properly justified, the Ministry has the right to:

(i) (i) impose a penalty by reducing 1% of sanctioned amount of the project for delay of a month or part thereof for first six months of delay and thereafter the penalty would be @2% per month provided the delay is exclusively on the part of project director. The penalty will be imposed with the stipulation that it will not, in any way, be prejudicial to the quality of the proposed project/ study

(ii) (ii) terminate the project; in that case, institution will have to refund the entire amount along with penal interest of 10% per annum

(iii) (iii) impose any other penalty as decided by Empowered Committee

8. AND THESE PRESENTS ALSO WITNESS THAT

The decision of the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on the question whether there has been breach or violation of any of the terms or conditions mentioned in the Letter of Sanction shall be final and binding on the Obligors; and

9. Obligors on the day herein written above and accepted by ……………….for and on In witness thereof, these presents have been executed as under on behalf of the behalf of the President of India on the date appearing below.

SIGNED FOR AND ON BEHALF OF

(Name of the Obligor Association )

in the presence of

1 Signature

2) Signature

Witness Name and Address

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Accepted for and on behalf of the President of India

(Name and Designation)

Witness

Name & Address

Date………………………..

Designation …………………………

FORMAT-VB

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU)

BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT INSTIUTION/AUTONOMOUS BODY FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT/GOVERNMENT UNDERTAKING CONCERNING RESEARCH PROJECT

The Government of India, represented by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (hereinafter referred to as “the Ministry”) and the Government Institute/Autonomous Body funded by the Government/Government Undertaking having its office at………………………………………………………………………… in the State of………………………………..(hereinafter referred to as “Institution”), desiring to undertake research project, have reached the following understanding;

I. Objective

1.1 The institution agrees to undertake the research project for filling the data gaps and strengthening the official statistics.

II Scope

2.1 The Government of India will provide and bear the cost of the project as approved by the Ministry.

2.2 The areas and duration of the project will be as per the approval of Standing Research Advisory Committee (SRAC) and will be reviewed by the Ministry and or by the Monitoring Officer or Technical Monitoring Committee as approved by the Ministry.

III Financial Obligation.

3.1 The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation vide letter No. ……………………………….dated………..(hereinafter referred to as the ‘letter of Sanction’ which forms an integral part of this MOU and a copy thereof is annexed hereto as Annexure-A) agreed to make payment in favour of Institution of Rs…………(Rupees……………………………..only), on the condition of signing MOU in the terms and manner contained hereinafter and which the Institution has agreed to.

IV General Terms and Conditions

4.1 The Institution agrees to submit both physical and financial progress reports monthly (or quarterly in case of NRA project) to the Monitoring Officer/Committee and also a copy to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, failing which the Ministry has the right to terminate the project with full refund of amounts already disbursed.

4.2 The financial assistance is normally not available for incurring any capital expenditure.

4.3 The institution or the Project Director will not accept any financial assistance from any other source for the project unless it is included in the budget of the proposal and approved by the Ministry.

4.4 The institution will provide the required infrastructure facilities like accommodation furniture, computer, library, laboratory equipments, communication facilities and secretariat services. The overheads for providing these facilities will be normally 5% of the project cost or the percentage fixed by the Government from time to time and the maximum overheads in exceptional cases can only be up to ten percent.

4.5 In case of delay of completion of project with in approved timeframe, if not properly justified, the Ministry has the right to:

(ii) terminate the project; in that case, institution will have to refund the entire amount along with penal interest of 10% per annum

(iii) impose any other penalty as decided by the Empowered Committee

4.6 The Project Director and other experts mentioned in the project proposals should not be changed without the prior approval of the Ministry.

4.7 The MOU shall come into force upon signature and shall continue in force till completion of the study.

The foregoing record represents the understandings reached between Institution and the Government of India upon the matter referred to therein.

For the Government of India For the Institution

(Signature) (Signature)

-------------------------------------------- -------------------------------

On behalf of Secretary Ministry of Statistics (Head of Institution)

and Programme Implementation

-------------------------------- -------------------------------

Date Date

FORMAT-VI

Monthly Progress Report of monitoring the projects

1. Name of the project:

2. Name of Project Director:

3. Report for the Month:

4. Progress:

A: Financial:

Head	Total budget as per project proposal (Rs.)	Expenditure during the month (Rs.)	Cumulative expenditure upto the month	Reasons for excess/shortfall, if any

B: Physical:

Activities	Month-wise Target as per project proposal till the month	Target achieved till the month	Reasons for shortfall/excess, if any
Activities	Month

Signature:

(Project Director)

FORMAT-VII

FORM GFR 19-A

(see Rule 212(1))

Form of Utilisation Certificate

Certified that out of Rs. ------------------- of financial assistance sanctioned till date in favour of ------------------under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India’s letter given in the margin below, a sum of Rs. ---------------------- has been utilized for the purpose of project sanctioned to the Institute and the balance of Rs.--------------------- remaining unutilized

S.No.

Letter No. and date

Amount

Total

2. Certified that I have satisfied myself that the conditions on which the financial assistance was sanctioned have been duly fulfilled / are being fulfilled and that I have exercised the following checks to see that money was actually utilized for the purpose for which it was sanctioned

Kinds of checks exercised

Seal

Signature-------------------------------- Designation-----------------------------------

Date---------------------------------------

FORMAT- VIII

AUDIT CERTIFICATE

It is certified that we have audited the balance sheet and account book as on -------------------------- ( Date & Year) and Receipt and Payment and Income and Expenditure Accounts on that date of the Institute from the book of accounts, records and other documents produced to us by the Institute.

In our opinion and to the best of our knowledge and according to the explanation given to us and subject to our observation as detailed below, we report that:-

(a) The Balance sheet read together with notes thereon gives a true and correct view of the state and affairs of the Institute as on ------------------- ( Date & Year)

(b) The Income and Expenditure Accounts gives a true and correct view of the surplus of funds over expenditure of Rs. ----------------------- for the year ending ------------------------------(Date & Year)

(c) The Receipt and Payment Accounts give a true and correct view of the transaction of the project for the year ending ------------------------(Date & Year)

(d) Not more than one Bank Account is operated for the Project.

(e) No funds are kept in the form of fixed deposits.

(f) Interest accrued in Savings Bank Account has been taken as receipt for use on Project.

(g) Bank reconciliation Statement is being prepared regularly every month.

(h) Cash book being written on real accrued basis,

(i) Expenditure shown in the Income and Expenditure Account is properly reflected in the Utilisation Certificate.

(j) There is no case of diversion of funds.

(k) The following Reports certified by the Competent Authority of the Institute form part of the Audit Certificate

(i) Physical and Financial Progress Report for the period---------------------

(ii) Cumulative Physical and Financial Progress upto Date--------------

(iii) Institutes’ fund Utilisation Certificate

(l) There is no audit objection in so far as the above said accounts audited by us. ( In case there is any audit objection and objections raised during the present audit, please furnish the details. )

The certificate shall be on the auditing firm’s letter head clearly indicating Signature, Name, Address, Telephone, Fax,, and email of the Auditor(s) with seal.