Record Keeping and Service Rules
This section covers office record management and the service rules that govern a Maharashtra government/PSU clerk's day-to-day work.
Records and correspondence
- Inward register: serial number, date of receipt, sender, subject, enclosures, and the section to which it is marked.
- Dispatch (outward) register: serial number, date of issue, addressee, subject and mode of dispatch; it is proof of communication.
- File movement: receipt → diary → noting → draft → approval → dispatch → filing.
- Classification and retention: papers are graded by importance, and low-value records are weeded out periodically under the department's schedule. e-Office digitises this flow.
Service rules
- Maharashtra Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1979 and (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1979 govern conduct and penalties; Leave Rules, 1981 govern leave.
- Probation, confirmation, seniority (by order of appointment), promotion, GPF/NPS, TA/DA and annual property returns are standard service matters.
- RTI Act, 2005: a Public Information Officer replies within 30 days.
Worked example
A letter dated 05.06 is received in the office on 10.06. The inward register's 'date of receipt' column takes 10.06, while 05.06 belongs to the 'letter date' column. Reasoning: the two dates answer different questions, and the time limit for a reply runs from receipt, so mixing them can make the office appear late or early.
Traps that cost marks
- Recording the letter's date as the date of receipt.
- Omitting enclosures from the inward entry.
- Treating the dispatch register as optional - without it, issue cannot be proved.