Ex-Gratia and Productivity Linked Bonus Are Not the Same Scheme If you’ve ever heard a colleague say “PLB” while describing what your PSU actually pays as ex-gratia, here’s the simplest way to catch the mistake: ask whether everyone got the same rate. If the answer is yes, it can’t be PLB. Productivity Linked Bonus is, … Read more
Why PSU Employees Assume Leave Encashment Is Always Tax-Free A lot of PSU employees treat leave encashment like a quiet bonus, money the company hands you that somehow stays off the tax department’s radar. I hear this most from new joinees who haven’t sat through a payslip with TDS deducted on an encashment payment yet. … Read more
What Actually Happens If You Can’t Pay Your HBA EMI There is no penalty and no late fee, not the way a bank loan default works. Your House Building Advance EMI is deducted directly from your salary by your PSU; you never pay it yourself. If your salary in a given month cannot cover the … Read more
A 35-Year Career, a ₹6,000 Pension — Why This Needed Raising A colleague of mine retired after 35 years of service. Thirty five years of EPF deductions, employer contributions, all of it. His EPS pension came out to six thousand rupees a month. Six thousand. In today’s market, that is not an amount that can … Read more
The wife who came looking for a job A few years back, a colleague in our PSU organisation died in service. He was not old. He had small children. And within weeks of his death, his wife came to the HR office — not to collect documents, but to ask if the organisation could give … Read more
What Is Gratuity and Who Gets It in a PSU? It is not a bonus. It is not a gift from your employer. It is your legal right, a statutory payment you earn by serving an organisation for a minimum period of time. Think of it as a loyalty reward backed by law. The Payment … Read more
Filed Your ITR. Refund Not Coming. What Is Actually Happening? Last year, two people I help with taxes asked me the same question — “I filed weeks ago, where is my refund?” One had an old outstanding tax balance that silently swallowed the refund. The other got a notice asking them to relook at their … Read more
The Day Two Nominees Fought Over One Employee’s Money A colleague in my PSU died during his service. He had two wives. The first wife was documented — her details were on record with the organisation from the beginning. The second wife had no paperwork trail with the company at all. After his death, the … Read more
The One Housing Loan Benefit Most PSU Employees Underuse If you work in a PSU, you already know about the House Building Advance. Ask any colleague planning to buy or build a house — they will tell you to go for the company loan first. The interest rate is low, and everyone knows it. But … Read more
You Have Form 16. But That’s Not Enough to File ITR Every June, the same thing happens in PSU offices across India. Form 16 arrives. Someone collects it, hands it to the person who “knows these things,” and the ITR gets filed in 20 minutes. Job done. Or so it seems. Form 16 only tells … Read more