WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

Dear All,

Welcome to 2011

On behalf of AIPEU Koraput Divisional Branch, we wish you and your family members a very happy and prosperous new year 2011.

PURNA CHANDRA MAHARANA

NILAMBAR NAIK

RAJENDRA PRASAD SAHU

DOP took responsibility for the delay in Speed Post Delivery

Dear Comrades,

The Postal department has taken responsibility for the delay in home minister P Chidambaram's letter reaching West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee which created some commotion and apologised for the incident.

In a written statement, a home ministry spokesman said the minister's letter to the chief minister on the law and order situation in West Bengal was sent by Speed Post on December 22, 2010.

"It reached Kolkata general post cffice on December 24 at 6:00am. The letter should, therefore, have been delivered on the same day which was a working day," the spokesman said.

The spokesperson said India post general manager post Alok Sharma wrote to the home ministry on Monday and apologized for the delay in delivery of the "article."

Bhattacharya and his Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M) had said it was regrettable that the contents of the letter were "leaked" to media even before the recipient had received the communication, apparently unware that a postal problem led to the delay in it reaching the chief minister.

Daily News and Analysis
Published: Wednesday, Dec 29, 2010, 19:19 IST

INDIA POST MARCHES AHEAD

Dear Comrades,

Mail Sorting to be Automated in Metros, National Address Database Management System Envisaged

India Post is the largest postal network in the world. It provides postal facilities within reach of every citizen in the country through its vast network at affordable prices. India Post has made a long journey. From 23,344 post offices at the time of independence to 1,55,035 post offices (1,39,173 Post Offices are in rural areas and 15,862 Post Offices in urban areas) with an average post office serving 7174 people and covering an area of approximately 21.2 sq. kms.

Project Arrow

The Department has launched “Project Arrow”, to lay the foundation for a comprehensive, long term transformation of India Post. Project Arrow aims at comprehensive improvement of the core operations of the post office as well as the ambience in which postal transactions are undertaken. The response of the general public and the staff of the Department to the initiative has been overwhelmingly positive and Project arrow offices have shown significant increase in revenue earnings. The initiative Project Arrow- Transforming India Post has also won the Prime Minister’s award for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2008-09. So far 1530 Post Offices have been covered under this project.

Mail Operations

In order to streamline the processes relating to processing, transmission and delivery of mail and to improve the quality of service of mail products used by the public, the Department of Posts has undertaken a number of new initiatives. Mail Network Optimization Project has been launched to optimize the existing mail network of Department of Posts and streamline core mail operations. It also seeks to bring in greater standardization and improvement in the operational processes relating to mail processing, transmission and delivery.

The Department has undertaken a project to set up Automated Mail Processing Centers (AMPCs) in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad with a view to automate mail sorting. These automated systems would be used for sorting of mail, which would help the Department in increasing the productivity at Mail Offices in these cities.

The Department has inducted a dedicated cargo aircraft for carriage of mail, parcels and logistics to the North East Region in order to bring in consistency in mail transmission. The India Post aircraft operates on Kolkata-Guwahati-Imphal-Agartala-Kolkata route on a regular basis. This initiative has provided a vital communication link for the NE region in terms of its linkages with the rest of the country and helped the Department e-solve the problems associated with mail transmission to and from this region.

The Department has also undertaken an initiative to put in place a National Address Database Management System with an objective to effectively manage the address database of public/customers, update the addresses online, and helping the customers in locating correct addresses. The Department has also mechanized the mail delivery processes in the North-East Region of the country with a view to expedite the mail delivery process in hilly and difficult terrains of the Region. GPS device has been provided in all Mail Motor Vehicles in NE region for better and safe monitoring of mail movement in the region.

Computerization and Networking of Post Offices

Under the plan project of computerization and networking of Post Offices, Department of Posts has supplied computer hardware, peripherals and power back up equipments to 14324 Post Offices till date. Under XI Plan Scheme, upgraded computer hardware viz. servers, desktops peripherals etc and power backup equipments like UPS and gensets have been supplied to 1939 Post Offices computerized during earlier five year plans. 1308 sites/ locations have been connected under Wide Area Network (WAN). All Head Post Offices, Administrative Offices, Major Speed Post Centres and Accounts Offices have been connected under WAN. 10530 Offices have been provided with broadband facilities.

The IT Modernization Project Phase II of India Post under XI plan envisages computerization of all the non-computerized Post Offices in the country (Departmental single handed Post Offices) and all GDS Post Offices phased over the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.

Extensive computerization of the post offices have allowed the introduction of many e-enabled services such as:

iMO

An on-line domestic money transmission service called iMO was launched in January 2006 which enables the customer to receive money in minutes from any of the post offices providing this service. Under this service, a person can send amount from Rs.1000/- up to Rs.50,000/- in one transaction. It is already functional in 9250 Post Offices across the country.

e-Money Order (eMO)

The electronic money order, which has been launched in October 2008, facilitates transmission of ordinary money orders through electronic media. eMO have the same tariff structure as the existing money order service. India Post has also signed bilateral agreement for exchange of electronic international money order service with Emirates posts, UAE.

e-Payment

e-Payment is a ‘Many to One’ service through which bills (telephone, electricity, municipal dues, taxes etc.) are paid by customers in Post Offices which are then electronically consolidated and paid to the service provider. The service is presently available in more than 8,000 Post Offices across the country and will soon be extended to all computerized Post Offices.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

India Post is pursuing the objective of financial inclusion through its 1,39,182 post offices in rural areas and 15,797 post offices in urban areas. The total number of accounts with post office has increased from ` 14.23 crore in 2003-04 to 24.10 crore in 2009-10. The outstanding balance in Post Office Savings Bank accounts in 2009-10 was ` 5,83,789 crore. India Post has already computerised its Savings bank operations in 11,000 post offices. Some of the new initiatives in provision of Financial Services are:

Postal Finance Mart

Postal Finance Mart (PFM) offer all the financial products and services under one roof “One Stop Shop for Financial Services” in a fully computerized office supported by technology, at par with reputed banking institutions. During 10th Five Year Plan, a total of 313 postal finance Marts have been set up across the country. A target for setting up of 500 postal Finance Marts has been fixed for the 11th Five Year Plan, out which 122 have already been set up.

Core Banking solution for Post Office Small Savings Scheme customers

Any-where, Any-time and Any branch banking i.e. Core Banking Solutions (CBS) is included in the X1 Five Year Plan with a financial outlay of Rs. 106 crores for development of CBS software, Customer Relations Management, Training Project Management Unit, Centrallized Bank Office, etc. which support Post Office Savings Bank and Saving Certificates business with improved operational efficiency with delivery channels like ATM, internet, phone and mobile banking services to Small Savings Scheme customers.

PLI/RPLI.

The post offices also provide insurance services to Government and semi-government employees and to the rural populace under the banner of POSTAL LIFE INSURANCE (PLI) and RURAL POSTAL LIFE INSURANCE (RPLI). The number of Rural Postal Life Insurance policies has increased from 26.66 lakhs in 2003-04 to more than 70 lakhs in 2008-09 and more than 99 lakhs in 2009-10. Postal Life Insurance policies were more than 44 lakhs as on 31.3.2010

PREMIUM SERVICES

Premium services such as Speed Post, Bill Mail Service, Business Post, Express Parcel Post, Logistics Post, Media Post and retail Post etc. are being provided through the postal Network across India. The revenue from premium products has been growing consistently. During the year 2009-10 revenue through these services was 1625 crore, an increase of 13.24% over the revenue of 1435 crore accrued during the year 2008-09.

LEVERAGING OF THE POSTAL NETWORK

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) The Department of Posts has been given the responsibility to disburse the wages to NREGS beneficiaries through Post Office Savings Bank account. Starting with Andhra Pradesh Postal Circle in 2006, the payment of wages under NREGS is currently operational in 19 Postal Circles comprising of 21 States. The scheme is operational through 96,895 post offices (including HOs/SOs/BOs). Nearly 4,67 crore NREGS accounts have been opened up to October 2010, and the amount disbursed during the Apr- Oct 2010 is approximately Rs. 7113 crores.

Collection of Rural Price Index Data:

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implmentation (MoSPI) has entrusted the collection of statistics for acertaining the Rural Price Index to 1,181 post offices across the country with effect from October, 2009. The data so collected are electronically transmitted to MoSPI.

Tie-up with Reliance Money Limited

Sale of gold coins by tying-up with Reliance Money Limited has been launched on 15th October, 2008 as part of retail post in selected post offices. Scheme is available through 700 POs. The Department has sold 421 kg.Gold and earned Rs 3.61 crores from 1st April, 2010 to 30th November 2010.

Old Age Pension

Old Age Pension is being paid through 29.52 Post Office Savings accounts in Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, M.P., Maharashtra, North-East and Uttarakhand, and through money order in Karnataka, Kerala, M.P., Maharashtra, N.E., Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand.

On Line Acceptance of RTI Applications :

The Department has designated 4707 CENTRAL ASSISTANT PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS (CAPIOs) at least one in each Tehsil level across the country. The officers in charge of the computerised Customer Care Centres have been identified to act as CAPIOs for the Department and to receive RTI requests and appeals on behalf of other Central Public Authorities who have agreed to avail of this facility in Post Offices in pursuance of Section 5 (2) and 19 of the RTI Act, 2005. The designated CAPIO at a Post Office receives requests and appeals under the RTI Act 2005 for forwarding the same to the Central Public Information Officer or senior officer specified under sub-section (1) of section 19 of the RTI Act 2005 or the Central Information Commission (CIC), as the case may be.

International Operations of India Post

The Post Office is an important channel for international trade, enabling individuals and organisations to transfer goods, money and information across the borders for commercial purposes.

International Parcel and Express Services

Parcel Exports and imports in packet-sized shipments have seen a spurt in recent years. India Post has responded to this trend by revamping its portfolio of international products in tune with the current demands of the market. Standardised cartons have been introduced for parcels under the product name International Flat Rate Boxes. These boxes are convenient and secure, and they ensure faster handling during transmission. The accompanying customs documentation has been simplified for convenience of customers.

World Net Express

India Post has also launched a premium express service called WorldNet Express through a unique collaboration with Duetsche Post, the national postal carrier of Germany. This service enables customers to despatch express parcels to over 200 countries, and has advanced features like tracking of parcels through internet, telephone and SMS. This service is also supported by a 24 hour telephone help line.

While fast and reliable solutions are today available for transhipment of goods to individuals and institutions engaged in international trade, this is mostly limited to the metros and larger cities. The efforts of India Post is to make such services available across the country, thus bringing international trade within the reach of individuals and SMEs even in remote towns and villages. India Post has also initiated discussions on plans to make international trade more inclusive with the Customs Department and agencies like the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.

International Remittance Services

The contribution of international remittances to the country’s GDP has been gaining increasing recognition in recent years. According to World Bank estimates, India would be receiving US $ 55 billion in remittances from abroad during 2010, which is much more than any other country. The Post Office is widely considered the friendliest and safest channel for remittances. India Post has recognised the significance of this business segment, and is offering a portfolio of remittance services to customers. This ranges from instant money transfer on the Western Union platform , to electronic money orders on the International Financial System, the latter being a collaborative platform among postal operators. India Post has recently launched the MO Videsh international money order service on the Euro Giro platform. India Post is also actively supporting the efforts of the Universal Postal Union to set up worldwide systems for money remittances and payments, that are accessible and affordable to the common people.

e-Commerce

e-Commerce has been identified as a priority area by India Post for increasing the access to citizens to postal services and also as an area for diversification of business. A pilot project in this sector is being readied for launch, under the brand e-Post Office. This portal is being developed with the technical support of the National Informatics Corporation. The e-Post Office will initially retail postal products like money orders and sale of philatelic stamps. Customers can access the portal through internet from any part of the country, and carry out the booking of money order or purchase of stamp using their debit or credit card. Once the transaction is completed on the portal, its delivery will be effected through the physical network of India Post. The e-Post Office will subsequently expand its scope to include all postal and postal financial services. It will ultimately emerge as a self-contained e-Commerce portal supported by India Post’s nation-wide ‘brick- and- mortar’ network at the back-end, and facilitating trade at global level through tie-ups with partner postal organisations. The e-Post Office is envisaged as an inclusive enterprise capable of taking postal and other government services beyond the four walls of the office building to the doorstep of the citizen.

Human Resource Development

In a labour intensive service organization like Postal Service, the employees play a major role in achieving high quality of service and customer satisfaction. The Department is going through a process of transformation. Upgrading the skills of the employees, sensitizing them to the changes and preparing them for the transformation through IT Induction is of prime importance. In the XIth Plan a comprehensive plan for training covering all the cadres has been put in place.

A new cadre for the Postmasters has been created so as to bring in professionalism in management of the post offices. This cadre will play a critical role in making post offices vibrant and user friendly organizations as well as in successful implementation of the flag ship project India post 2012 for induction of IT and modernization.

PIB, 27 Dec 2010 SP/AB  (Release ID :68712)

DOP has initiated external consumer audits to understand the growing needs of urban customers

Dear Comrades,

The department of posts has initiated external consumer audits to understand the growing needs of urban customers worried over decline in its market share in mail service business that it once dominated.

India Post will conduct these audits primarily in its urban post offices to gauge market sentiments of the urban population, which is rapidly switching to private courier service providers.

“The idea is to build India Post brand for greater acceptability in cities,” said an official with the department. In the recent years, the department’s revenues from its postal operations have been on the decline. The specific areas of business where the department’s revenue receipts appear on the decline are ordinary post, money-orders and postal-orders.

There has, however, been recent improvement in the department’s revenue figures. Figures as on October 2010 show the department’s revenue receipts on postage realised in cash at Rs 1,321 crore, which is a 11% increase to the figure as on October 2009.

However, commission on money-orders and postal-orders have made only marginal improvements, a concern which has prompted the department to initiate major overhaul in the way it handles mailing operations.

To arrest the slide in business, India Post has initiated the process of redesigning its existing mail network. It has introduced innovations such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology in mail processing for better tracking of mail bags and articles to draw high-end and urban mail customers.

In the 11th plan period (2007-12), the department has undertaken measures to improve the quality of mail operations, including automation of mail processing activities, induction of dedicated freighter aircraft for transmission of mail and restructuring of existing mail network.

“These new initiatives are expected to result in better quality of service which in turn, would help the department in increasing mail traffic and revenue,” said the official, requesting anonymity. The department recently conducted a customer satisfaction survey at a select few top-tier urban centres. The department during the current fiscal is expected to generate revenues of Rs 6,956 crore, way below its estimated working expenses of more than Rs 10,552 crore.

The department’s inability to arrest its declining revenues has come under criticism from the Parliament as well. “We strongly recommend analysis of the position and taking up of effective steps to increase the revenue receipts particularly when the working expenses of the department are increasing year after year,” said a Parliamentary Standing Committee report.

 

Ecomnomic Times

CHERLAPALLY PRISON TO TIE UP WITH INDIA POST, ECIL

Dear Comrades,

 

ONGOLE: The Prisons Department plans to tie up with India post and Electronic Corporation of India Limited to provide jobs for computer literate prisoners throughout the year through its pilot BPO-behind-bars in Cherlapally Central prison in Hyderabad, Director-General of Prisons C N Gopinath said on Sunday.

“We will be signing a memorandum of understanding next month with the Postal Department which has a lot of data to be computerised. We are also in advanced stage of negotiations with the ECIL for compiling data collected under the Unique ID card project”, he told reporters here after inspecting the sub-jail here.

The Hindu

27th Dec, 2010

To provide services of official ready-made postal packs at the POs

Dear Comrades,

An article containing few suggestions copied from gopetition.com is reproduced hereunder for information of all concerned.

With the picture of present day India in mind, and considering the India at Global level, Millions of Indians use Indian Postal Services in sending usual mails, parcels, gifts packages etc. to their family, friends or business acquaintances overseas very often.

Since at present, there are no postal packs offered by the post-offices, people have to pack their things in usual envelopes or in boxes as possible on their own. It causes great inconvenience to consumers as the packaging in such a case becomes completely subjective to the consumer. Plus there are greater risks of faulty packaging and damage to the parcel in the delivery process.

Most advanced countries provide services of ready-made postal packs and mail-boxes at their post offices which consumers can purchase from post office itself and use for sending their delivery items in within the country and overseas. This provides uniformity in the postal system, convenience to the users and is beneficial to the Department Of Posts as well.

Hence, the purpose of this petition is to suggest and request the concerned authorities to focus on provision of such services at Indian Post Offices as well for the convenience of consumers and uniformity in the postal system on whole.

Petition:

We, the undersigned, appeal with a suggestion to the Department of Posts, Government of India, to provide services of official ready-made postal packs and parcel mail-boxes at the post-offices for convenience of consumers at sending parcels etc within India and Overseas.

Post-Induction training to 25 trainee PAs

Dear Comrades,

Out of the 25 newly recruited PAs who had undergone Pre-Induction training at WCTC, Berhampur from 20.12.2010 to 25.12.2010, 13 PAs have been ordered to take Post-Induction training at Jeypore(K) HO. Rest 7 and 5 Nos. of PAs will commence their training at Rayagada HO and Koraput HO respectively w.e.f. 27.12.2010. Their Induction training orders will be isued shortly.

Moreover, Second batch training for 8 nos of PAs have already commenced at WCTC, Berhampur w.e.f. 27.12.2010 Forenoon.

SOFT SKILL TRAINING FOR POSTMEN STAFF

Dear Comrades,

One Soft Skill Training programme for Postman has been organised by the Divisional Office on 25.12.2010 and 26.12.2010 wherein 60 nos. of Postmen have participated. Shri Sanjay Ku Patra, ASPOs-Cum-Trainer has imparted training to them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Khadi Stamp to be highlight of World Philatelic Exhibition

Dear Comrades,

Mahatma Gandhi made khadi one of the symbols of freedom struggle and now the postal department is all set to release a stamp on the fabric for the first time.

The stamp, which will cost Rs 100, will be released in February here when the capital hosts the World Philatelic Exhibition after a gap of 13 years.

"We wanted to experiment with clothes. We thought of silk and khadi. We chose khadi as silk was used by other countries to print stamps. Khadi is associated with Mahatma Gandhi and our freedom struggle," Harpreet Singh, Director of INDIPEX 2011 World Philatelic Exhibition, told PTI.

He said they will be printing limited numbers of the stamp and it will be sold initially in Delhi before distributing it in other cities of the country. It is not the stamp on khadi alone that will attract eye-balls at the exhibition but a personalised stamp option, "My Stamp".

"We have several kinds of stamp templates from which people can choose and then their photograph can be printed alongside the stamp. It will serve as a philatelic memento, which could be used as a greeting card as well," Singh said.

Organised by India Post, Government of India, the exhibition is an attempt to promote interaction between stamp collectors, dealers, philatelic journalists and publishers, designers and security printers, and postal administration.

Some rare and as old as 200-years-old stamps on themes like history, science, culture and environment arranged in the form of a story by individuals from India and 70 other nations will be displayed at the show from February 12 to 18.

"After 13 years, India is playing host to this exhibition. It is different from the previous exhibitions in India because of its scale of participation, individually as well as country-wise," Subash Chandra Barmma, General Manager INDIPEX 2011 World Philatelic Exhibition, said. Over 500 foreign delegates and about 5000 school children and stamp buffs will participate in the exhibition.

The exhibition, which will be inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil on February 12 at Pragati Maidan, will see the participation of over 100 individuals from India. India hosted the first international philatelic exhibition on a small scale in 1954, as part of the centenary celebrations of the Indian postages stamp. The next time India hosted the exhibition was in 1973 followed by 1980 and 1989.

The last international exhibition that India hosted was in 1997. 2011 INDIPEX exhibition coincides with the centenary celebrations of the first airmail flight in India between Allahabad and Naini on February 18, 1911.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI)

MSN News, 19/12/2010

KARNATAKA CIRCLE LIFTS POSTAL VOLLEYBALL TITLE

Dear Comrades,

Karnataka outplayed Tamil Nadu 3-0 to win the 26th All India Postal Volleyball Tournament at Sree Kanteerava Stadium here today.

In the finals, the hosts defeated Tamil Nadu 25-22, 25-12, 25-23 in a battle that lasted an hour and 18 minutes. Karnataka won the title for the ninth time. For the winners, Deepak Shetty, Pavan, Sarvana and Janardhan, were outstanding in defence and smashes. Murugan and Satish fought a losing battle for Tamil Nadu.

In the match for the third place, Andhra Pradesh defeated last year's champions Gujarat 3-2: 25-23, 17-25, 25-21, 21-25, and 15-12.

International Sri Sreeshekhar and Ekalavyan Awardee and Guest of Honor Olympian Pramila G Aiyappa distributed the awards.

Webindia123.com
Bangalore Thursday, Dec 16 2010 IST

Best Wishes for Muharram

Dear All,
Best wishes to all of our Muslim Brothers and Sisters on the occasion of holy Muharam.

"The Last Post" bags gold medal at The Stamps of India National Exhibition

Dear Comrades,
The contents of an article published in Orissa Diary is reproduced hereunder :-
Report by Orissa Diary bureau; New Delhi :

 “The Last Post” a short film made by Anil Dhir on the Dak Tonga of Jeypore, Koraput has bagged the Gold medal at the SINE 2010 held in New Delhi from the 10th to 12th December. The Film had earlier got the Silver Medal in Indepex 2009 at Chennai.

The film is based on the life story of Nila Nayak, his two horses Budhhu and Sania, and the rickety mail cart in which he carries the mailbags for the Post Office in the picturesque town of Jeypore in Odisha. It is a story of a small town man, caught up in the agony of existence, his own and his family’s, a man who has sacrificed his present and his future for the sake of the past.

Nila Nayak belonged to the breed of maverick individuals, for whom the quote “the meek shall inherit the earth” was very appropriate. The film is his story, the story of a man, who in spite of all adversities still maintains a family tradition that was set by his great grandfather, and in spite of all odds, he still trudges through and ekes out a meager living from a job that he and his family have being doing since his living memory.

The film encompasses the lives of Nila, his wife Chanchala, his son Padmanabh, the postal department and the people of the small town of Jeypore. This is the story of how, in spite of the radical changes that have happened in a century, Nila’s small microcosmic world remains unchanged, unaffected and pristine.

Why does Nila still do a job that is not remunerative? Why has he passed on the baton to his son and convinced him that his future too lay in carrying the mail? Why does the Post office, which boasts of modernising all its services, still carry the mail in the horse Tonga? These are the questions, which intrigued the film maker, and made him journey into Nila’s world. What Anil learnt has culminated in this short film.

This is not a story of man animal relationship, tradition versus modernity, modern postal history or of crumbling family and social values, but it is rather a human interest story which speaks of one mans determination to live life on a path set by his forefathers, his frustrations at the metamorphosing world where his mettle remains unchanged, the bleak uncertainness and chill penury which has driven him to drunkenness and despair, and a state where there is no silver lining behind the dark clouds that loom on his life’s horizon.

The proceeds and earnings of the film all went to the cart puller, with the abject intention that he and his mail cart keeps rolling, uphill and downhill, carrying the mail as has been done for nearly a century.

Postscript: Nila Nayak died on the 2nd of January 2008 , just two weeks after this film on him was completed. They say that he died of alcoholism, but by what all he shared with Anil during his short friendship, he says that he died of a broken heart. Unfortunately, he never got to see the film that was shot on him.

India Post, after viewing the film was kind enough to enhance his daily allowance from Rs 90/- to Rs 250/- and there is hope that it will be further increased soon. For Nila, it was too little and too late.

Nila’s son Padmanabh now runs the mail cart as has been done since the last eight decades. Just recently two of his horses died, he has just one horse left. The Mail Tonga, a tradition that has lasted nearly a century will come to an end if the horse is not replaced. Anil Dhir is trying to get him a pair of horses. It would be nice if the government or the public help him in this cause.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Pre-Induction Training of new PAs

Dear Comrades,

As per R.O., Berhampur instructions, 25 Nos. of new PAs will be imparted pre-induction training for 6 days i.e. from 20.12.2010 to 25.12.2010 at WCTC, HPO Building, Berhampur. They will have to report to the Divisional Office, Jeypore(K) on 27.12.2010 positively.

The second batch for 8 more PAs will commence from 27.12.2010 to 01.01.2011 at the same venue.

All India Postal Volleyball Tournament

Dear Comrades,

Bangalore: The 26th All India Postal volleyball tournament commences at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Monday. Nearly 150 players, from teams representing 11 postal circles, are expected to participate in the four-day competition. The event will conclude on Thursday.

The teams:

Gujarat, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Army Postal Service, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, West Bengal, Orissa .

The Hindu, Monday, Dec 13, 2010

INDIA POST TO PRINT BEST TIGER STAMPS DESIGNED BY STUDENT

Dear Comrades,

Three thousand schoolchildren took part in a Save the Tiger stamp designing competition here Sunday. The six best designs will be issued as India Post stamps on Children’s Day, Nov 14, next year.The competition set the mood for the larger world philatelic exhibition, Indipex 2011, by the India Post next year, aimed at bringing together the philatelic community.

An exhibition will take place Feb 12-18 at Pragati Maidan in the capital. A total of 71 countries will participate in it, displaying their collection of stamps and other philatelic items.

Indipex 2011 director Harpreet Singh said a letter-writing competition on the subjects ‘Save the Tiger’, ‘What steps you and your parents are taking to make your home more environments friendly’ and ‘What India can do to preserve the earth for future generations’ was also held. He said the aim of organising the event was to augment students’ interest in philately and develop the power of writing. “This generation is increasingly exposed to the e-world with access to all information on web,” he said.

“We hope that through the exhibition we develop an interesting and educative way to shape people’s mind to think innovatively and individually about the growing concerns of today and our rich diversity of culture and heritage through philately,” he added. The competition was held for three categories of students - those up to Class 5, from Classes 6 to 8 and from Classes 9 to 12. The postal department will organise more such competitions and events across the country.

12 December 2010 16:39:06 by IANS

SEBI TIGHTENS PROMOTER NORMS

DEAR COMRADES,

The capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has made some significant changes in the capital market regulations. It has tightened the framework for preferential allotment of shares to promoters' groups to prevent misuse of preferential allotments, warrants, and convertibles to manipulate share prices.

 

SEBI has also prescribed a specific pre-announced date for the credit of dividend and bonus shares so that investors can manage their cash or securities flow efficiently. Companies that make an acquisition just after the end of the latest disclosed financial year as stated in their draft offer documents, would henceforth be required to include a proforma financial statement, revealing materiality of the acquisition in terms of total book value in the balance sheet or the proportion of the acquired entity's income to total income.

SEBI also paved the way for insurance companies to list on the bourses. It said that insurance companies will have additional disclosures relating to the specific nature of the business. The market regulator also accorded qualified institutional bodies (QIB) status to insurance funds set up by the Department of Posts such as Postal Life Insurance Fund and Rural Postal Life Insurance Fund.

12 Dec, 2010, 01.04AM IST, Ashish Gupta,ET Bureau

Amendment to RTI Rules

Dear Comrades,

DoPT vide the following OM has made few amendment to RTI Rules. Details are reproduced hereunder.

File No. 113512008-IR

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

Department of Personnel Training

North Block, New Delhi-110001

Dated 10th December, 2010.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject : Amendment to RTI Rules.


The Government proposes to notify Right to Information Rules in supersession of the existing rules, namely, the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005 and the Central Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules, 2005. Comments if any, on the proposed Rules may be sent at e-mail address, usrti-dopt@pic.in by 7th December, 2010.


(R.K. Girdhar) US(RT1)

For complete details on the above mentioned OM please click the following link:-

http://persmin.gov.in/WriteReadData/RTI/RTI_rules_01122010-1.pdf

Putting a Stamp On It

Dear Comrades,

Extract of Article published in Indian Express.

Look out for some rare stamps at this philately exhibition in the Capital.

In the world of philately, there are few stamps more coveted than a print of the Queen’s head that was erroneously printed upside down, of which only 20-30 copies were printed in India in 1854, and only two copies exist in the country today. Or for that matter, the rare British postal notice conveying condolences to the relatives of the Indian postmen who were on the historic ship, Titanic, that sank way back in 1912. Specimens of these will be on display at the Stamps of India National Exhibition, which opened in the Capital yesterday, at the NSIC Exhibition Hall in Okhla. The two-day exhibition is the first national exhibition being organised by an independent organisation in the city after a gap of 29 years.

“Philately is booming. If you see the options even on eBay, you’ll see how well it is doing. Stamps are the perfect investment,” says Harish Gupta, industrialist and a third generation stamp collector, who is in the city for the event. The exhibition will have 200-plus exhibitors and more than 1,000 frames with some of the best international award-winning exhibits.

DOP released syllabus for Dept. Exam in respect of Postmaster Gr-I

Dear Comrades,

The syllabus for Departmental Examination in respect of Post Master Grade- I in Postal Wing has been released by DOP.

No. 137-8/2009-SPB.II

Government of India

Ministry of Communications & IT

Department of Posts

Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg

New Delhi, Dated the 08 December, 2010

To,

All Chief Postmasters General

Subject: - Syllabus for Departmental Examination in respect of Post Master Grade- I in Postal Wing.

Sir/Madam,

I am directed to refer to Directorate’s letter No. 13-2/2010-PE.I, dated 03.02.2010 whereby a separate cadre of Postmaters has been constituted in the grades of Senior Postmaster, Postmaster Grade-III, Postmaster Grade –II and Postmaster Grade-I, by carving out the posts from existing General Line posts in Postal Wing.

2. Reference is also invited to Directorate’s letter of even number dated 22.11.2010 forwarding therewith copy of Recruitment Rules, namely, Department of Posts, Senior Postmaster (Group B Gazetted), Postmaster (Grade- ‘III and II’ – Group B non-gazetted) and Postmaster (Grade- I Group C non-Gazetted) Recruitment Rules, 2010, dated 9th September, 2010. It was stated inter-alia in the said letter that initial constitution of the various Grades of Postmasters shall be done by inviting options/applications from the existing incumbents of LSG, HSG.II, HSG.I in Post offices and PS Gr, ‘B’. In case, after filling up the posts as per the provisions of the Recruitment Rules certain number of posts still remain unfilled, the same would be filled up as per the provision contained in col. 12 of the respective Recruitment Rules.

3. The Recruitment Rules for the Grade of Postmaster Grade-I provides for filling up of the vacancies by promotion through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination from amongst the Postal Assistants working in Post offices with five years of regular service in the grade. Thus, the unfilled posts, after the initial constitution, if any, and regular vacancies subsequently will be filled up on the basis of Limited Departmental Competitive Examination. The Pattern and scheme for Limited Departmental Competitive Examination decided by the Competent Authority to fill up the vacancies in the grade of Postmaster Grade-I is forwarded herewith as in the Annexure.

4. It is requested that the provisions of the Recruitment Rules and the Syllabus may be brought to the notice of all concerned.

Encl: As above

Yours faithfully, Sd/-, (Suraj Bhan), Assistant Director General (SPN)

ANNEXURE

Syllabus for Departmental Competitive Examination for the post of Post Master Grade-I in Post Offices

The examination for Postmaster Grade – I will consist of two papers of 100 questions; 90 minutes duration each. The questions will be on the pattern of objective type Multiple Choice Question (MCQ).

2. Syllabus for these two questions papers is given as under:

PAPER – I

(i) Customer Service & Grievances

a) Post Office Guide – Part I

b)Compendium of Processing and Disposal of Public complaints

c)Knowledge about DOPG, DOARPG and RTI cases

d) Consumer Forum/Post Forum/Citizen Charter

e) Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules,

f) Conduct Rules

g) General Financial Rules

(ii) Postal Operations

a) Postal Manual Volume V

b) Postal Manual Volume VI (Part I, II & III)

c) FHB Volume II
d) POSB Manuals (Volume I, II and III) OR compilation of POSB Manual Volume I & II written by Kawaljit Singh, AD (FS) Department of Posts
e) Project Arrow-Blue Book

PAPER – II

a)Knowledge of products and services of Departments of Posts

b) Marketing: Principles of marketing assessment of related products and services

c) PLI/RPLI, Post Office Insurance Fund Rule, outline knowledge about Insurance Schemes, Mutual Fund and other financial products and services in the market.

d) General Awareness and current affairs including general mental ability test covering logical reasoning (verbal and non verbal), numerical analysis (arithmetic) and basic mathematical equations and statistical tools like mean, median, mode, graphical representation of data, comprehension and basic language skills.

e) General principles of technology;

Basic technology requirement – computer, server, laptop connectivity of computers.

Courtesy: AIPEU P3 CHQ

Senior citizen fights the system to claim tax refund

MUMBAI: A senior citizen overcame bureaucratic indifference to claim refund for wrong tax deduction carried out on his investment under a scheme floated by the Government of India. His successful fight will help scores of investors who may have lost their hard-earned money to faulty tax deduction.

P H Sampat, a 76-year-old resident of Cuffe Parade, had invested several lakhs under the department of post's Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS). Sampat said, "Somewhere in 2005, the Central Board of Direct Taxes issued a directive that the postal department should deduct tax at source while paying quarterly interest."

Sampat, who began investing in the scheme in 2004, said, "On the scheme's maturity, the postal department paid me the principal amount, but after deducting Rs 5,266, which they claimed had to be adjusted towards non-deduction of tax for the interest paid during financial years 2004-05 and 2005-06."

 

Sampat said the postal department did not entertain his protests. Finally, he approached income tax officials.

Vindicating Samapat's stand, income-tax officer (TDS) Dilip M Sale, in his order, ruled, "As per the provision of Section 194 A(1) of the I-T Act, TDS has to be deducted at the time of credit of such income to the account of payee or at the time of payment thereof in cash or by issue of cheque or draft or by any other mode, whichever is earlier. Thus, the TDS deducted on May 25, 2010, on payment made during financial years 2004-05 and 2005-06 on account of Taj Mahal post office is found to incorrect/ wrong." Sampat said he flashed this order before postal department officials, who then agreed to refund the deducted amount.

 

M S Badwe, assistant director, postal services, said, "We will only refund the amount to those who approach us with their documents, which can prove that their case is similar to Sampat's."

Banks Hike Interest Rate To Cheer Depositors

Dear Comrades,

Savers have a reason to cheer as banks have started to revise upwards rates on fixed deposits. On Monday, India’s largest bank, the State Bank of India, raised interest rates on fixed deposits by 0.5 to 1.5 per cent per annum.

Another public sector lender, the Bank of India, has also revised rates on fixed deposits by up to 1 per cent. However, these rates will be applicable only on deposits made on or after December 7.

If you have an existing fixed deposit, you will continue to get the old rate. Other public sector banks are likely to follow suit over the next few days.

Financial advisers suggest that at this point, it may be preferable to go in for short term deposits because rates may increase further. A customer with a long term deposit will get locked in at a lower rate.

“Deposit rates for the overall banking system could go up further as there is still tightness in the liquidity situation of banks,” says Mr Siddhartha Sanyal, economist, Barclays Bank.

“Deposits are not growing fast enough to keep pace with the strong supply in government papers and a likely uptick in credit growth in the busy season. Also, in many cases, the bank fixed deposit rates are even lower than postal deposit rates, so it needs to go up even to match that level,” he adds.

Stock prices of banks fell sharply during the day today, with leading public sector banks such as SBI, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and BoB down 3.5 to 4 per cent.

Analysts feel that while banks are being forced to raise deposit rates, they will be unable to raise loan rates, thus pushing margins down.

“Deposits are growing at a slower pace than lending, so banks need to attract more of them,” says Mr Bhavesh Kanani, analyst with Sharekhan.

“There may be scope to hike loan rates if the demand increases,” he adds. Indian banks have seen net interest margins — the difference between what the banks charge on loans and what they pay on deposits, of over 3 per cent in the recent quarters.

Such margins are unsustainable, says Mr Vaibhav Agrawal, analyst with Angel Broking. Rates on deposits may increase further, he says. “Before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, fixed deposit rates were as high as 10.5 per cent, whereas now they are just around 8 per cent,” he says.

Deccan
December 7th, 2010

Products Through Post Offices - a PIB Release

Dear Comrades,

The Department of Posts has signed agreements with financial institutions including many other organisations to sell their products through Post Offices in the country. List of products sold at national level is as given below.

Sl.No. Name of Company/Financial Institution Description of product/service

1 Western Union Money Transfer International money transfer to India

2 UTI Mutual Funds Sale of UTI Mutual Funds through post offices

3 Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority Point of Presence for National Pension Scheme Accounts

4 M/s Nirmal Packaging Systems Sale of Corrugated boxes and Paper board envelops.

5 M/s Narsingh Dass & Co. Sale of Tyvek Envelops

6 Ministry of Railways Booking/cancellation of Railway Reservation Tickets under PRS Scheme

7 CBOP( Now merged with HDFC Bank) Sale/Purchase of foreign exchange

8 Reliance Money Infrastructure Limited Sale of Gold Coins

9 BSNL Sale of recharge coupons Sancharnet Cards etc.

10. India Post SBI tie-up Department sells assets and liability products of SBI through identified postal outlets.

11. NABARD-SHG linkage scheme India Post has entered into a tie-up with NABARD to disburse micro credit to women self help groups (SHGs) on pilot basis.

The Central and State Governments take various measures from time to time to promote and popularize small saving schemes through print and electronic media as well as holding seminars, meetings and providing training to various agencies involved in mobilizing deposits under the schemes. As part of this ongoing exercise, Government has taken following steps to make the small savings schemes more attractive and investor friendly:-

-Introduction of Bonus at the rate of 5% on the deposits made under Post Office Monthly Income Account (POMIA) Scheme on or after 8th December, 2007 upon the maturity of the deposit.

-The benefit of Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 has been extended to the investments made under 5-Year Post Office Time Deposits Account and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, with effect from 01.04.2007.

-With effect from 1.8.2007, the maximum deposit ceilings of Rs.3.00 lakh and Rs.6.00 lakh under the Post Office Monthly Income Account (POMIA) Scheme has been raised to Rs.4.50 lakh and Rs.9.00 lakh in respect of single and joint accounts respectively.

-The penalty on pre-mature withdrawal of deposits under the Post Office Monthly Income Account (POMIA) scheme has been rationalized from 3.5% to 2% on withdrawal on or before expiry of three years and 1% on withdrawal after expiry of three years.

-All categories of pensioners have been allowed to open and maintain ‘Pension Account’ under Post Office Savings Account Rules, with effect from 11th July, 2007.

-The restriction on opening of more than one account during a calendar month under the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme has been removed with effect from 24th May, 2007.

-Opening of “Zero deposit/Zero Balance” accounts for workers employed under NREG Act, under Post Office Savings Account Rules, with effect from 26th August 2008.

-Opening of “Zero deposit/Zero Balance” accounts for Old Age Pensioner Account under Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme, Widows Pensioner Account under Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and Disabled Pensioner Account under Indira Gandhi National Disabled Pension Scheme with effect from 13th October 2009.

-National Savings Institute, a subordinate organization under the Department of Economic Affairs (Budget Division) also maintains its web site i.e nsiindia.gov.in in collaboration with National Informatics Centre to facilitate interface with the public through wider dissemination of information on small savings and on-line registration and settlement of investor’s grievances.

This information was given in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today by Shri Gurudas K amat, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

Monday, December 06, 2010, 14:42 IST SP/AT   PIB

India Post to replace paper stamps with e-stamps for commercial services

Dear Comrades,

It may not ring a bell for a generation fed on emails and SMSes, but those who grew up sending and receiving letters and greetings will take note: paper stamps will be replaced by an electronic version in another two years.

Licking and sticking will be a thing of the past with India Post deciding to use e-stamps for all its commercial services, including post cards, inland letters and registered post across the country, 156 years after British East India Company introduced the country’s first stamp featuring Queen Victoria.

“The electronic form of postal stamps will fully substitute paper stamps in two years,” said an official with the ministry of communications and Information Technology. India Post currently has electronic stamping facility in select urban postal circles.

The postal department is working with USbased consulting firm Accenture to prepare a detailed modernisation plan that includes shifting to the e-stamp system, which is already in place in several developed countries. India Post, employing 5 lakh people in more than 1.5 lakh post offices, is the largest postal service in the world.

Vacancy in DOP - a PIB Release

Dear Comrades,

The number of posts lying vacant in the Postal Department category-wise and scale-wise is as under:

Number of posts in the pay scales of Group ‘A’ lying vacant   103

Number of posts in the pay scales of Group ‘B’ lying vacant   2404

Number of posts in the pay scales of Group ‘C’ lying vacant   46506

The vacancies are either meant to be filled up by promotion or by direct recruitment according to the provisions in the Recruitment Rules. The Departmental Promotion Committees are meeting periodically to fill up the posts by promotion. Also the Departmental Examination is held regularly to fill up promotional posts wherever the Departmental examinations are prescribed. The vacancies meant to be filled up by direct recruitment are also being filled up in accordance with the policies of the Government.

The shortage of manpower due to promotions, retirement, death or leave is managed by adhoc arrangements, redistribution and combination of duties and by engagement of Short Duty Staff in the Post Offices and paid substitutes for delivery of postal articles. These steps ensure that postal services are not adversely affected.

This information was given by Shri Sachin Pilot in written reply to a question today in Rajya Sabha the Minister of Stare for Communication and Information Technology.

PIB 18:08 IST