Post offices across nation to be networked

Post offices across the country will be online integrated into a single network, Union Minister of State for Communications and IT Killi Kruparani said on Sunday. “Post offices have more account holders than banks and more customer-friendly services are in the offing”, she said, at the foundation stone ceremony for a modern post office at Kukatpally.

The new post office is being constructed at a cost of Rs.2 crore and will be one of the hubs for the ‘Logistic Post service’. The Minister explained that under ‘Project Arrow’ 149 post offices were modernised in the State and another 48 were in the pipeline while Aadhaar-enabled pension disbursement and other monitory benefits would also be taken up. Around 1,000 POs across the country would be equipped with ATMs along with GIS maps and the Mobile Money Order facility would be introduced in October, Ms. Kruparani said. An ultra modern Automated Mail Processing Centre will be inaugurated at Shamshabad soon. She also said that more post-offices would be built through PPP model. LSP chief Jayaprakash Narayan, Chief Postmaster General Karuna Pillai and Director of Postal Services Mariamma Thomas were present.

My Stamp service launched

The Department of Posts has launched ‘My Stamp’ service through which one can customise Rs.5 stamps with their own photo along with an image of their choice. Customers can get 12 stamps for a price of Rs.350. “These stamps can be used as postal stamps on letters and invitations to add a personal touch,” Chief Postmaster General Karuna Pillai said.

The service is currently available at Abids GPO and the post office will take the photo and deliver the stamps in 10 minutes.

Source:-The Hindu

Consolidated instructions relating to action warranted against Government servants remaining away from duty without authorisation / grant of leave-Rule position.

To view Department of Personnel & Training OM No. 13026/3/2012-Estt (Leave) dated 28th March,2013 please  Click Here.

Circle JCA calls for relay strike in front of PMG Office, Kochi

The Circle JCA has decided to conduct relay strike in front of RO, Kochi from 01.04.2013, against the anti-
labour attitude of the PMG.

Interest rates for post office savings schemes cut

Millions of small savers and PPF account holders would be earning less on their post office savings schemes, with the government deciding to reduce interest rates on them marginally by 0.10 per cent.

 

The interest rate of Public Provident Fund (PPF) has been lowered from 8.8 per cent to 8.7 per cent with effect from April 1, said a Finance Ministry statement. However, the rates on savings deposit schemes and fixed deposits up to one year operated by the post offices have been kept unchanged at 4 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively.

 

Further, Monthly Income Schemes (MIS) of 5-year maturity will earn an interest of 8.4 per cent.

 

The National Savings Certificates (NSC) having maturity offive and 10 years will now attract 8.5 per cent and 8.8 per cent interest respectively, down 0.10 per cent each. The interest rates would be applicable for the entire 2013-14 fiscal.

 

The rate for senior citizens savings scheme (SCSS) has been fixed at 9.2 per cent, down from 9.3 per cent.

 

The revision in interest rates follows a decision taken by government last year to link the small savings returns with the market rate. The new rates are required to be announced at the beginning of a financial year.

 

Launching of Electronic Indian Postal Order — e'IPO'.

No. 1/44/2009-lR
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training

North Block, New Delhi

Dated the 22th March, 2013

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject : Electronic Indian Postal Order — launching of.

On the initiative of Department of Personnel and Training, Department of Posts has launched a service called "elPO (Electronic Indian Postal Order) w.e.f. 22.03.2013. This is a facility to purchase an Indian Postal Order electronically by paying a fee on-line through e-Post Office Portal i.e.http://www.epostoffice.gov.in. It can also be accessed through India Post website www.indiapost.gov.in . As per RTI Rules, 2012, fees may be paid by electronic means, if facility for receiving fees through electronic means is available with the public authority.

2. At present, this facility is provided only for Indian Citizens abroad across the globe to facilitate them to seek information from the Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) under the RTI Act, 2005, Debit and Credit cards can be used to purchase elPO.

3. The user needs to get himself registered at the website. He has to select the Ministry/Department from whom he desires to seek the information under the RTI Act and the elPO so generated can be used to seek information from that Ministry/Department only. A printout of the elPO is required to be attached with the RTI application. If the RTI application is being filed electronically, elPO is required to be attached as an attachment.

4. It may be noted that this facility is only for purchasing an Indian Postal Order electronically. All the requirements for filing an RTI application as well as other provisions regarding eligibility, time limit, exemptions etc., as provided in the RTI Act, 2005 will continue to apply.

5. An elPO so generated must be used only once with an RTI application. To check any multiple use of the same elPO, the CPIOs shall maintain a record of the elPOs so received from Indian Citizens abroad. In case of any doubt, the details of elPO can be verified from the above mentioned site/portal of India Post.

Post Office opened

The Department of Posts, on Tuesday, opened a new post office on the premises of Karikkakom Sree Chamundeswari Devi temple.

Sobha Koshy, Chief Postmaster General, Kerala Circle, inaugurated the facility in the presence of Director of Postal Services (Headquarters) A. Govindarajan and Senior Superintendent of Post Offices Thiruvananthapuram (North) Division A. Ramadevi.

Sobha Koshy, Chief Postmaster General, Kerala Circle, inaugurates a post office on the premises of Sree Chamundeswari Devi Temple at Karikkakom in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

Infosys to power online services at 1.3 lakh post offices

NEW DELHI: Infosys has partnered with India Post for developing a service delivery platform that will allow more than 1,30,000 rural post offices to offer online services.

The platform will also connect and manage more than 130,000 handheld devices used by rural postal workers for distribution of social benefits under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and process Electronic Money Orders, Infosys said in a statement.

With this agreement, Infosys will facilitate India Post's Rural Systems Integration (RSI) programme, which will increase adoption of the department's services and enhance the reach of postal services to the country's rural population.

As part of an earlier agreement, Infosys is also partnering with India Post to transform its financial services operations and end-user experience under the Financial Services System Integration programme.

"We are very happy to partner with Infosys on one of the largest transformational journeys India Post has ever undertaken. We are confident that Infosys will help make the Rural Systems Integration project a success," India Post said.

Schedule for Holding of PA/SA Direct recruitment Examination for the Vacancies of 2011 & 2012

Tentative schedule for holding of PA/SA Direct recruitment for the vacancies of 2011 and 2012 has been announced & the examination will be held in three phases across the country for different circles vide Order No.A-34012/5/2011-DE dated 15.03.2013 of DE section.The Schedule has been given below.

21.04.2013 (Sunday) -  Gujarat,Kerala,Karnataka,Maharashtra,Andhra Pradesh & TamilNadu.


05.05.2013(Sunday)  -Assam,Madhya Pradesh,Chattisgarh,Jharkhand,North East,Odisha &West Bengal.


19.05.2013(Sunday) -Delhi,Haryana,Himachal Pradesh,J & K,Punjab,Rajasthan,UP & Utharakhand.


The examination will be held in 75 cities across the country.There would be multiple examination centres in each city.There would be a total of 1500 examination centres across the country.The Circle-wise list will be circulated shortly.

India Post readies plan to start bank

The postal department has appointed Ernst & Young as consultant for the project and based on the detailed project report, it will approach the Union cabinet for a final go ahead.

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India having opened the window for new bank licences, the Postal Department is finalizing the blueprint to set up a bank of its own at your neighbourhood post office, a move that will challenge the dominance of large public sector lenders in smaller towns and rural India.

While the department already has a balance sheet of Rs 6.18 lakh crore, which includes deposits of around 5.5 lakh crore, it is expected to set up a new entity that will function as the bank. Transferring the existing deposit base to the bank or converting the entity into a bank will entail an initial capital base of around Rs 55,000 crore to meet RBI's requirement, which the government will find difficult to provide. So, the proposed bank will start with the minimum capital requirement of Rs 500 crore, said a source familiar with the development.

"This will benefit rural areas enormously. There are nearly 1.55 lakh Post Offices and no capital cost of building is required. We are connecting Post Offices. As it is, we are offering savings bank in Post Offices and this is a natural progression. The matter is under discussion with the finance ministry and RBI," communications and IT minister Kapil Sibal told TOI.