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You Are the Visitor No.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

LTC rule relaxed.

Relaxation of LTC rules

As per D o P &T memo no. F.No. 3101113 /2009- Estt.(A) the use of own car/hired taxi for the purpose of LTC may be admissible to the handicap employees or handicap dependant members by the Head of the Department after obtaining the following documents/conditions to avoid misuse.

(i)Medical Certificate from competent authority.
(ii) Undertaking from Government servant that journey in authorized mode IS
not feasible and he actually travelled by own car/hired taxi.
(iii) such claim should not be more than journey performed by the entitled
class by rail/air by the shortest route

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Courier, Express, and Postal Business and the Nobel Prize

The Courier, Express, and Postal Business and the Nobel Prize


The research that Oliver Williams completed that brought him the Nobel Prize in Economics highlight key issues in the transformation of the courier, express and postal (CEP) business over the past two decades. In its press release, the Nobel Committee stated that "Oliver Williamson has argued that markets and hierarchical organizations, such as firms, represent alternative governance structures which differ in their approaches to resolving conflicts of interest. The drawback of markets is that they often entail haggling and disagreement. The drawback of firms is that authority, which mitigates contention, can be abused. Competitive markets work relatively well because buyers and sellers can turn to other trading partners in case of dissent. But when market competition is limited, firms are better suited for conflict resolution than markets. A key prediction of Williamson's theory, which has also been supported empirically, is therefore that the propensity of economic agents to conduct their transactions inside the boundaries of a firm increases along with the relationship-specific features of their assets."So what does that mean in plain English? More importantly, why am I writing about this award in a blog dedicated to the courier, express, and postal industry?Simply, operators in this business have a choice as they try to provide service across a broad geographic area or across the range of transportation and communications needs of their customers within a firm rather than through contractual arrangements between regional or modal partners. With few exceptions, when faced with the choice of providing service with a partner through a contract or within the constructs of a corporate structure, operators in this business have chosen corporate structures. The expansions of Deutsche Post, FedEx, TNT, and United Parcel Service all followed this path.These firms succeeded by out-competing national postal operators that had to offer international service through bi-lateral or multi-national contractual arrangements, many of which were negotiated through the Universal Postal Union. The key problem of these contractual arrangements were that the operator selling the international service could not truly tell the buyer how long it would take to get delivery because they could not control the end-to-end service. Nor could the originating operator offer a seamless track-and-trace service until many years after the global corporate operators had made them a requirement of international express and parcel delivery.The choice of a corporate model reflects a choice on a less global scale as well. Efforts by La Poste (France) and Royal Mail to provide service throughout Europe illustrate attempts to create a corporate structure within the Europe for parcel delivery to replace the contractual service that involved each national postal operators. The Austrian Post has purchased a number of firms focused in Eastern Europe with a goal of creating a stronger regional delivery competitor. The recent decision to merge the post offices in Sweden and Denmark also illustrates the choice of a corporate rather than a contract model to provide service within the CEP markets that the two independent posts now operate. Finally, Purolator Courier, a Canada Post subsidiary, and Canada Post itself, have established a strong corporate presence to handle cross-border traffic. Purolator is using its presence in the cross-border market to begin a domestic United States service.Now there are limits to the use of a corporate model in the CEP industry. Firms in the industry use both a corporate and contractual or franchise model to provide retail services. The cost of maintaining a stand-alone retail infrastructure that has different business challenges than the rest of the CEP business has driven many firms to switch from the corporate to the contract model for this part of the business.The last area that may fall under the contract model is the pick-up and delivery services themselves. Here the question is whether it is better to manage the delivery process with employees or contractors. The local courier business has always used a contractor model reflecting the uncertainty of the traditional on-demand unscheduled delivery service that they offered. FedEx Ground has used that model since its founding as Roadway Package Express. The recent court cases, IRS rulings, and NLRB rulings illustrate the challenge of maintaining the delivery function as a contractual arrangement and still maintaining proper control over the delivery portion of the service. However, both FedEx and local couriers believe that the cost advantages of managing delivery with contract drivers rather than employees is worth creating the proper legal structures to both ensure a reasonable level of control while still maintaining the driver's contractor status.The question of corporate vs. contract models will likely come up as Congress looks at potential business models for the Postal Service. The work of Oliver Williams suggests that use of contract model could work for the retail side of the business where a franchiser that does not live up to its end of the bargain could be replaced. His work also suggests that delivery contractors could work in those areas where control over the appearance and schedule of the deliverer was not an issue. This is precisely what the Postal Service does with box-route contractors that serve many rural areas.
More importantly, his work explains why breaking the Postal Service into regional franchises or separating the delivery from processing and collection processes make little sense. Once the separation occurred the various parts would still have to contract with each other to provide end-to-end service. There is no competitive market for large-scale sortation. The growth of UPS’s and FedEx’s use of Parcel Select suggests that the collection and sortation companies would still have to contract with a company running the existing delivery network. Mr. Williams research suggests that there would be significant coordination issues and contractual gamesmanship between the various parts of what is now a unified Postal Service. The experiences of Citi Mail in Sweden and TNT, DX and others in UK illustrate the preference of operators to offer end to end service and the coordination issues and contractual gamesmanship that exists in developing interline agreements when these firms have to contract with either a national postal operator or another independent operator. [One of the drivers behind mergers and territorial expansion of railroads and less-than-truckload trucking firms in the US was the failure of a regulated interline process to resolve contractual and service issues when one firm passed freight to the other]
Finally, his work suggests the mail business will see more consolidation and not less in the future. The current process in which multiple firms handle the process a taking a document from concept to delivery with each handoff handled via a contracted or regulated process, could soon involve fewer firms as the advantage of integrating more of these processes within a single firm becomes clear to firms on either ends of these processes merge.
Source-Allan Robinson’s blog

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Swiss Post restructures courier and express services

Swiss Post restructures courier and express services

The volume of courier and express mail handled by Swiss Post has dropped significantly in recent years. The poor economic climate has simply accelerated this trend. Swiss Post must respond to this development and intends to put synergies between distribution bases and courier centres to even better use in future.
From 1 November, courier centres in the larger conurbations are to be integrated into existing distribution bases. This consolidation process has already taken place in the other regions of Switzerland.
Swiss Post will define the actual operational structure at each location by February 2010, and job cuts are likely. Swiss Post therefore intends to negotiate a redundancy plan with the trade unions without delay. This restructuring will not affect services.
Swiss Post's courier and express services have been suffering both economically and structurally. Volumes have been declining significantly for years. In addition, increasing competition in this market segment is causing margins to fall further, resulting in the need for permanent monitoring of organisational structures.
Back in 2007, Swiss Post integrated a number of its courier centres and branches into the distribution bases, taking advantage of synergies in the field of service provision. As of 1 November, the courier centres in Geneva, Lausanne, Berne, Basel and Zurich, as well as the courier branches in Winterthur, Aarau and Olten, will be integrated into the distribution bases of the respective locations and will no longer be managed as independent organisational units. This new organisational structure will not have any repercussions for customers, who will continue to receive all products and services to the usual high standard.
Over 300 employees currently work at the courier centres and branches, mostly on a part-time basis. These employees will be transferred to the distribution department of PostLogistics. From the time of organisational integration on 1 November until February 2010, Swiss Post will be working on a detailed organisational and operational concept for each of the affected locations, taking experience of current operations into account. This sensible timeframe means that services can be optimally integrated and the required number of employees determined for the future.
Swiss Post plans to negotiate a redundancy plan with the trade unions to cover any job losses. The objective is to save as many jobs as possible. In the event of redundancies, however, Swiss Post will act responsibly and support the affected employees with professional reorientation.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

DEEWALI GREETINGS


DEEWALI GREETINGS to ALL VIEWERS


Friday, October 16, 2009

Observance of National Postal Week

Berhampur Division observed the National Postal Week
“Involvement of more and more staff and heart core love towards the organization can make it healthy and strong. Every good and outstanding work is to be recognized and felicitated. The employees should adjust with the change of face and role of the Postal Department.” These are some advising words of Shri Santosh Kumar Kamila,PMG,Brahmapur Region in his speech delivered in a gathering of staff and others on the occasion of the concluding day ceremony of National postal Week(09-10-2009 to 15-10-2009) organized by the Sr.Supdt. of Post Offices, Berhampur Division in the main hall of Berhampur Head Post Office building in the evening of 15th October-2009.

Coincidentally, the foundation day of Berhampur Division was also celebrated on the occasion. Shri Dibakar Patnaik, SSPOs, Berhampur in his briefings told that on 1st August 1948 Berhampur Divison was formed to control over the Post Offices situated in the districts of undivided Ganjam, Phulbani & Koraput and Shri N Rai was the first Supdt, of this division.

In order to celebrate the WEEK, different competitions etc. were held among the local school students during the period. Prizes were distributed to the students who stood 1st.2nd and 3rd in the competitions.

On the occasion, Gopalpur SO which has retained the first rank among the Project Arrow Post Offices in the national level, was selected as the best Sub Post Office in the division and a rolling trophy was presented by the PMG to the SPM and staff .

15th October was celebrated as the PLI day. Shri Nakul Behera , IPO and some GDS employees were awarded for procurement of highest business in PLI/RPLI during the last year.

S/Shri Judhisthir Behera, B B Sahu, ,Rudra Prasanna Sahu , S Kamaraju were awarded as the best PA, best Sys.Admnstr., best Postman, best Gr-D of the division respectively for their sincerity, best performance and devotion to duty.

Smt Urmilata Sahu , PA Berhampur HO for her bravery and instant courageous action was felicitated with a citation and cash award of Rs.500/-

The meeting which had a gathering of around 200 employees, students , parents and teachers was ended with the vote of thanks given by Shri Muralidhar Sethi, Sr.Postmaster, Berhampur HO.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Modernisation of India Post

Accenture to modernize Department of Posts.


Global IT and consultancy farm Accenture has bagged an order from the Postal Department to modernise the post offices across the country.The financial details of the deal were not known.
As per the modernisation contract,
Accenture would design an enterprise IT architecture and migrate the Department of Post (DoP) to a more efficient IT system, Accenture said in a statement.
The project is designed to help the DoP, which has been reporting losses to drive revenue and regain market share in different services and products such as bill payment, e-posts, life insurance, money transfer and banking.
The technology upgrade would also benefit citizens via speedier banking and insurance services, track and trace abilities and would help the postal department to compete effectively with the local and international courier firms.
Accenture would also advise DoP on the development of a wide-area network that helps connect all post offices on which various online services can run.
Krishna G V Giri, who leads Accenture&aposs Management Consulting practice ( Health and Public Service operating group) in the Asia Pacific region said," Armed with efficiency at DoP, the government
will be better positioned to share various social schemes, such as
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, with even the most remote citizens.

Observance of National Postal Week

Parcel Rate under logistic post reduced in North Bengal

The postal department in north Bengal has drastically reduced the rates for parcels under the surface logistic post category as the department is observing ‘Postal Week’ spanning 9 October to 15 October.
According to the director, postal services, north Bengal, Mr Sanjiv Ranjan, the surface logistic post is an innovative concept conceived by the postal department to cope with the mounting parcel pressure.
“The conventional parcel system allows parcel up to 20 kg per entry and the limit in regards to the express parcel is 35 kg per entry. But there is no limit in case of the surface logistic parcel,” he said.
The postal official further said that the scheme, introduced around two years back, had not grown popular in north Bengal because the rates were not fixed.
“But the rates have not just been fixed but drastically reduced as per the decision taken by the regional department this month. The rates have been reduced from Rs 8 per kg to Rs 2 per kg on the Siliguri -Kolkata route. Similar reductions have been made in case of parcels going by six national and six state routes,” he said.
“We hope, the rationalization of the rates in respect to the surface logistic parcel would provide a fillip to the commercial enterprise in north Bengal. We are taking initiatives to inform the corporate and other customers in the region in course of the postal week being observed in Siliguri now,” Mr Sanjiv Ranjan said.
The postal official further said that the timing of postal services in some of the post offices in Siliguri, Darjeeling, Malda, Islampur and Raiganj had been advanced from 10 a.m. to 7 a.m. for 3 days a month as per suggestions from some of the senior citizen customers. “ The three hours thrice a month is reserved to cater to several requirements of the senior citizens like drawing of pension and submission of telephone bills,” Mr Sanjiv Ranjan said.

India Post-past and present

Changing face & Role of
Department of Posts

From P & T Department
to India Post



The Department of Posts have come up
a longway from 1854 to 2009

Berhampur Postal Region observed Business Development Day




Berhampur Postal Region observed Business Development Day



Three post offices ( Aska, Phulbani and Boudh) will start facilitating booking of Rly tickets services very soon.This was announced in the Customers meet organised by the Business Development and Marketing, office of Postmaster General, Berhampur , Department of Posts, India at the Conference hall of Hotel Nandan Residency, Brahmapur on 14th October-2009 .The memorandum of understanding between the ministry of Railways and Dept. of Posts has been signed on 12th instant. The Customers’ meet was organised on the occasion of (National Postal Week) Business Development Day. Briefing the Customers and media, Shri Santosh Kumar Kamila, IPS Postmaster General said that India Post is having the largest network in the world having 1,55,000 Post Offices around the nation. Apart from transport of mails and money in different ways , the Department of Posts is providing various products and small savings schemes which can be availed of by the customers according to their choice and requirement. A competitive market can provide better services and India Post always invites constructive complaints and competition to offer better services to its customers; Shri Kamila said. Speaking about speed post, he said that people can track their articles and also electronic money orders (eMO) through an SMS. The customer has to SMS the speed post or money order number (PNR) by typing SP & eMO to 55352 respectively. This will result in locating the status of the article and money order sent. Speed Post also offers money-back guarantee, under which Speed Post fee will be refunded if the consignment is not delivered within the prescribed delivery norms.
On answering a question from the audience,the PMG said that, the Core Banking System is in process and efforts are on to be launched very soon.

Among others Shri Jerimio Naik, Asst.Director(BD and Mails) welcomed the customers and media persons present and requested them to take the maximum benefit of the meet.
Shri Dibakar Patnaik, Sr.Superintendent of Post Offices, Berhampur Division gave a nice and attractive Power Point Presentation on the various products launched by the Department of Posts.
Shri Biswanath Lenka,Asst.Director(Staff) offered thanks to the mass present, at the end of the meet.
There was a gathering of around one hundred customers including press personalities, educationists , businessmen, bankers and officers from PSU and organizations and Sr.Postmaster, Berhampur HPO.
The Department of Posts is committed to serve the masses but the organisation has to be economically viable at the same time. The Department is taking new initiatives in a manner that serve the people in more comprehensive manner and help the Department to sustain itself.
Brand ‘India Post’ is a trusted name among its customers and hence, the new initiatives as well as established schemes draw more and more people to it.
The meet was organized under the supervision of Shri Gopesh Dash,ASP(BD)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Self-service Post Office

Self-service Post Office
Arousing great interest was the Self Post Locker from TRECO, an electronic self service post office that completes the challenge of first and last mile logistics. When customers have purchased a stamp for a letter they can drop it off in the letterbox built into the system. A separate letterbox for registered letters or Express mail is an option that can easily be added. The locker can also function as a traditional PO box, only with much less administration. As the locks of the boxes are controlled electronically, there is no need for keys, which can easily become lost; Customers still have a unique PO box number, but the actual box containing the mail may be different from day-to-day depending on the volume of mail for received. Thus it is also possible to receive parcels in the box and pay for parcels where COD or customs fees apply.

World's First Paperless Post

World's First Paperless Post
Zumbox has created a web-based platform for the delivery of paperless mail, making it the world’s first and only paperless postal system. For every US street address the company has created a corresponding digital mailbox – a Zumbox – enabling mail and other content to be sent as digital files and received online with no paper, printing, postage or scanning. It represents a more cost-effective and environmentally responsible way to send postal mail. Compared with standard email it is also secure, data-rich and spam-free. As a marketing channel Zumbox offers precise geo-targeting and analytics capabilities, while empowering consumers with greater control and convenience. Zumbox is a closed system with bank-level security and complies with PCI, HIPAA and BITS security standards.

World Post Day-2009

Celebrating World Post Day 2009

Posts around the world marked World Post Day with a number of activities. Hong Kong citizens were allowed to send one letter free of charge through the post. Post Fiji invited the public to visit its main mail processing centre. And Mali Post used the day to launch a nationwide HIV-prevention campaign in its post offices.
World Post day is celebrated annually on 9 October, as this is the date the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was created in Berne in 1874. On this day, posts worldwide draw attention to the importance and value of their services in keeping people and businesses connected through a myriad of activities reminding people that some 438 billion letters and six billion parcels are still sent through the post annually. And financial, logistics and electronic services are also part of the wider range of services posts offer today in an era of increasing electronic communication.
Postal services worldwide employ more than five million people, and some 660,000 postal establishments make up the largest physical distribution network on the planet.
In 2009, the postal sector has felt the pinch of the economic crisis, as weak consumerism and less advertising mail saw some of the world’s largest posts register significant drops in letter-post volumes and revenues. On the other hand, however, the same posts have seen their parcels volumes grow as e-commerce motored along despite the crisis. And posts offering financial services continue to see the number of savings accounts and deposits grow exponentially. On World Post Day, the UPU also celebrated the centenary of its monument, located in Berne and designed by French sculptor René de Saint-Marceaux, who was a native of Reims, France. Celebrations were held in Berne to mark the occasion, with Swiss Post and France’s La Poste issuing stamps.

Celebration of National Postal Week


The India Post is celebrating the National Postal Week from 9th October to 15th October.On the occasion, a list of postage stamps (first in the nature) is furnished below for reference of viewers.

Indian Postage Stamps-First look
First postage stamp of India -- The first postage stamp in India was released on July 1, 1852, by Sir Bartle Frere, the governor of Sind. These stamps are known as `Scinde Dawks of 1/2 Anna Denomination'. These were the embossed pieces of paper with a circular design in red, white and blue colours. They were used in the province of the Sind and for the Bombay-Karachi route only. Today, the cost of the this stamp is more than Rs 2 lakh.
First postage stamp after independence -- Depicting the national flag, the first stamp of post-independence India was issued on November 21, 1947. It was a sheet of 96 stamps with 12 rows of 8 stamps. The stamp was proposed to be released on Independence Day but due to political disturbances and continuous violent situation it came out only in November along with other stamps, including that of Ashokan Capital (state emblem of India) and Douglas DC-4 aircraft.
First Indian lady on stamps -- The portrait of Meera was the first postage stamp on a woman. It was issued on October 1, 1952 with a denomination of 2 anna. In the same year, stamps on Indian saints and poets like Kabir, Tulsidas, Surdas, Ghalib and Rabindranath were also released.
First stamp of one rupee -- A stamp on banyan saplings and Rani Laxmi Bai were the first stamps of India in decimal convene. Until 1957, the Indian rupee was divided into 16 anna. From April 1957, the rupee was divided into 100 naya paise.
First stamp on a living personality -- The stamp on Dr Dhondo Keshan Karve, an educationist was the first postage stamp issued on a living personality. This 15 paise postage stamp was released in 1958 on birth centenary of Dr Karve.
First triangular stamp -- The `stylised mountain road' was the first triangular stamp issued in 1985 to commemorate the silver jubilee of establishment of Border Roads Organisation.
Stamp having maximum character -- Indian stamp having maximum characters was issued on Centenary of Indian National Congress (INC). It was a block of four stamps having 61 faces of A O Hume (founder of INC), W C Banerjee (first president of INC) and Rajiv Gandhi, who was the second personality to appear on a postage stamp during his lifetime.
Single largest stamp -- India Post issued its single largest stamp on August 20, 1991 on Rajiv Gandhi.
First scented stamp -- India Post issued a fragrance stamp and a miniature sheet on sandalwood in 2006. To maintain the fragrance, tiny globules were embedded during the course of printing of stamps. The scent could be inhaled by gently rubbing the upper surface of the stamp.

NATIONAL POSTAL WEEK










India Post celebrates
NATIONAL POSTAL WEEK
from
09-10-2009 to 15-10-2009
October 9th is the World Post Day. Starting from 9th October India Post is celebrating Postal Week. During this week, India Post will get in touch with its customers informing them of new initiatives. One of the key initiatives of India Post is the introduction of three aircrafts carrying mail, parcel, speed post and logistic consignments. This will result in delivery of parcel and logistic consignments by next day in major cities. With one lakh fifty five thousand post offices in the country, India Post has the largest postal network in the world. World Post Day is celebrated every year on 9th October, to commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern. It was declared World Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo Japan in 1969. Since then, countries across the world use the occasion to introduce and promote new postal products and services.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Fixtion of Pay and calculation of Arrears for GDS

Fixtion of Pay and calculation of Arrears for GDS
Some viewers have reported difficulties while using the calculators for fixation and calculation of arrears due to the GDS for the period 01-01-2006 to 30-09-2009
The viewers are requested to follow the steps furnished below for accuracy of Pay Fixation and Arrear calculation.
Steps to be followed :
1)Download 2 files namely a) Newer GDS payfix and b) New GDS Arrear Calculatior
2)First use the pay Fixation Calculator. Enter the pay as on 1-1-2006 and below the TRCA i.e. 5% (fixed amount drawn from 01-04-2004) below the column according to his/her statusor designation.In the same column the Revised pay as on 01-01-2006,01-01-2007,01-01-2008 and 01-01-2009 will appear. By following these steps one can determine the revised pay the GDS is entitled from time to time beginning from 01-01-2006 after addition of increment due on the 1st of January.
The fixation of of pay part is over. The Divisional superintendent after fixation of the pay of the GDS will send the statement to the respective DDOs.
The DDOs after getting the revised pay statement of each GDS will calculate the Arrears from 01-01-2006 to 30-09-2009.
Now use the program namely New GDS Arrear Calculator.
1) Enter the Old pay as on 01-01-2006 at the prescribed column
2) Rate of Increment now getting (old rate)
3) Month of Increment (1,2,3,4...etc.)
4) New Pay as on 01-01-2006 ( As calculated by using the previous program)
5) Rate of Increment (New rate)
6) TRCA(5%) fixed amount now getting
After entering the above figures, the total arrear to be paid with spliting 40% and 60% will appear in the table.
The rate of old scale and increment and corresponding new scale of pay with increment are given in a tabular form in the program.
All the viewers are requested to use the calculator and post their comments for further improvement.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Revised pay fixation and Arrear Calculator for GDS

Gramin Dak Sevaks Revised Pay Fixation from 01-01-2006 and Arrear pay calculator from 01-01-2006 to 30-09-2009 are available at the following link. Please download and use for fixation of Pay for the GDS as on 01-01-2006 and then use the arrear calculator for calculation of arrears and (40%) amount to be paid before 31-10-2009.

http://www.4shared.com/file/140028975/c85a98e1/Newer-GDS-Pay-fix.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/140017122/3a99c239/New_GDS_Arrear_Calculator-.html

Postal Core banking in Orissa


Postal Core Banking in Orissa



Your neighbor hood post office will now also double up as your bank. India Post would launch core banking facility in Orissa by the end of this month.
The core banking will start at five places - Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Berhampur. Assessing its success, it would be extended to other parts of the State, Chief Post Master General Yeshodhara Menon said here on Friday. India Post, at present, is celebrating the National Postal Week.
As things stand today, it has already tied up with State Bank of India (SBI) for collection of loan applications against various types of securities. So far, applications for Rs 16.2 lakh have been received.
Modernising itself, the DoP has already computerised 479 of its branches and aims at completing its total automation work by 2011.
Menon informed that the Orissa Circle of has taken up a pilot project to pay the wages under NREGS on smart card basis. Termed the NREGS ICT Pilot Project this is currently under implementation in 25 branch post offices of the State where at least 5,000 smart cards have already been issued. Once successful, the project will be extended soon.
Currently, a large chunk of India Post’s saving bank accounts are NREGS wage earners. It has opened 8,68,422 accounts where Rs 57.38 crore was deposited out of which s 45.74 crore has been disbursed.
The CPMG Orissa said India Post has ventured into insurance sector and plans a huge coverage in near future.
Among others, Post Master General SK Kamila and Director (Postal Services) L Pradhan were present.

B-school chalks out Dept of Posts revamp

B-school chalks out DoP revamp

Department of Posts may get a fresh lease of life if Jamnalal Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai, has its way. A team of students from the business school has chalked out innovative strategies to revamp the business of India Post, which is the most-widely distributed post office system in the world with more than 155,000 post offices
The strategies provided to make postal services commercially viable include tying up with fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, gift shops, cellular service companies, banks and other financial institutions to deliver their products, mobile bills and debit/credit card statements.
The paper is part of ‘Strategym 2009’, the annual business convention of JBIMS, to be hosted on October 27 and 28. In the past, the business school’s papers have been adopted by renowned corporations like LIC and UTV, to name a few.
“We are in talks with some FMCG companies and postal officials to explore opportunities of setting up a website, where companies can post details of their products and consumers can order them and pay by cash on delivery or by credit card. The postman can collect the goods from the FMCG companies and deliver them to the consumer. Apart from getting the deepest possible penetration for the companies, this model will also get regular business of high volumes to the postal department, whereas the end consumers will get home delivery of all the FMCG products on time, thus providing a win-win situation to all. The revenue-generating strategy will first be implemented only in major metros,” says Bhushan Dhade, a team member.
The students also propose to make post offices work in two shifts between 8 am to 8 pm, instead of the current norm of closing at 5 pm, thus optimally utilising its manpower and other infrastructure, and making itself more approachable to the general people who work between 9 am and 7 pm. The students believe that, instead of a voluntary retirement system to cut down on manpower, increasing the working time with two shifts will be in the best interest of the postal department’s over 500,000 employees.
As part of the study conducted to revive one of the oldest sectors of the country, the students visited remote areas of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and other states in India, where they found that most farmers and villagers still borrow money at exorbitant interest rates from local money lenders.
The students suggest that if the postal department’s huge deposits of its postal savings scheme can be given as loans to poor farmers and villagers against a collateral security of land or precious jewellery, it will provide poor people in rural India an exploitation-free source of money at much lesser interest rates. On the other hand, the money in savings scheme will be utilised in a better way.
Other strategies include delivering mobile bills and debit/credit card statements, assuming that the department can charge Rs 10 for a mail being delivered with a guarantee of delivery within 48 hours. The team also suggests tying up with gift companies from where the gifts can be directly mailed to the consumer by the postman.
The six-member team, which aims to make the department self-financing, worked on the rationale that post is a primary means of communication for a large part of the Indian population but very little attention has been given to it. Situation is such that perhaps India — along with its neighbours, namely Pakistan and Bangladesh — are the only countries wherein the postal department has been so bereft of reforms.
The study states that, on an average, a post office serves an area of 21.26 sq km and a population of 6,602. Postal services encompass three broad areas of activity — retailing postal products and services, transmission of postal articles and delivery of postal articles.
Owing to the far-flung reach and its presence in remote areas, India Post is also involved in other services such as small savings banking and financial services and is also utilised by other departments of the Central government and state governments to perform several functions on their behalf. But, due to slow induction of technology and old staff norms, manpower costs increased exponentially.
Corresponding adjustment of product and service pricing lagged behind expenditure in a soft state, which perceived postal services as the common man’s means of communication and, therefore, needed to be under-priced with the state picking up the subsidy tag. The postal deficit met from the general budget increased 1632.8 per cent from 1998-99 to 2008-2009 to reach Rs 5,395 crore, competing for top place with food and fertiliser subsidies

Saturday, October 10, 2009

POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK-the largest retail bank

From 'annas' to millions, Post Office Savings Bank has come a long way

With a minimum amount of four annas ( 0.25 paisa) and with an interest rate of 3.75 per cent per annum, the 'Post Office Savings Bank' came into existence during the period of Director General Sir RF Fogg in 1882. But, no one had ever imagined that the Post Office Saving Bank would play a vital role in the GDP (gross domestic product) of the country. With the ongoing postal week, October 10 will be celebrated as the 'Savings Bank Day'. The day will be utilised to establish better communication with customers as well as to enhance the revenue collection by opening maximum savings account in the city. Chief Post Master Krishna Kumar Yadav said: "On the basis of networking, Post Office Savings Bank is the largest retail bank of the country. It had a deposit of Rs 3,515,477.2 million in the year 2007 and, according to a World Bank Report, the savings at post offices was equivalent to seven per cent GDP of the country. It has a network of 1,54,000 branches and more than 172 million savings bank account holders. Around 2,80,000 accounts are being operated by people at Kanpur General Post Office. "In the current financial year, around 54,394 new accounts have been opened. Around 1,900 accounts are beneficiaries of NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, now Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act)," he informed. Since all banking services are provided by the postal department, Yadav discussed about various savings schemes which are going to be monetarily beneficial for those investing in them. "These are such schemes which will definitely attract a large number of people and we are hopeful of a good response." The various savings schemes include 'Savings Deposit' where one can open an account with a minimal amount of Rs 50 and can withdraw it any time. Whereas 'Term Deposits' are quite popular with clients as they provide the facility to deposit a certain amount of money for one year to five year at different rates of interest, per annum. The Chief Post Master also mentioned about the 'Recurring Deposits' where people have to open an account with a certain sum of money and has to deposit the same amount monthly for a year. Further discussing about the schemes, another officer said: "There is also the 'Senior Citizen Savings Schemes' which is only meant for the elderly. Besides Public Provident Fund Scheme, monthly income schemes are also very popular. They provide monthly interest to the depositor which is equivalent to fixed monthly income."

Friday, October 9, 2009

Tracking of Speedpost articles and eMOs

Tracking of Speedpost articles and eMOs

For SMS Tracking of Speed Post articles ,

type:SP(space)Speed Post Number

AND

For SMS Tracking of eMO,

type:MO(space)PNR Number

And send the sms to 55352 Each SMS costs Rs.2/- only

GDS Pay revision orders issued

The Department of Posts in OM No.6-l 12009_pE.II. dated 9-10-2009 issued the Revison of Pay Allowances for GDS employees.

The Gist of the orders is furnished below.

Fixation of Pay:- Pay to be revised from 01-01-2006

(a) Allowance as on 31-12-2005+ (b) TRCA(5% fixed) + 74% DA( on a+b)+ fitment amount

then the allowance will be fixed at the stage in the corresponding scale.

Annual increase will be given after completion of one year from 1-1-2006.

Fixation of TRCA in the revised rate will be done by the Divisional Supdt. and other independent units (Gazetted Postmasters etc. for their staff only)The statement of fixation of TRCA and rate of annual increase up to 30-09-2009 to be sent to DDO for drawal of arrears from 01-01-2006 to 30-09-2009. 40% of Arrear to be paid before 31-10-2009 on receipt of the prescribed undertakings and the rest will be in the next F.Y after specific orders in this regard.The undertakings to be kept in guardfile at Divisional Office.

Other allowances effective from: 09-10-2009

OMA for BPM/GDS SPM=Rs.100

FSC for BPM/GDS SPM Rs.25 and for others Rs.10/- P.M.

Cash Conveyance Allowance Rs.50/- p.m

CMA for Rs.60/- p.m.

CDA for BPM Rs.500/- or 250/- as the case may be.

Exgratia gratuity Rs.60000/- and Severance allowance Rs.60000/-(Max.)

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Increase of DA by 9% for GDS


Dearness Allowance for GDS has been increased by 9%

i.e. from 114% to 123% from 01-07-2009
as per Dte. memo no. 14-5/2009-PAP dated 08-10-2009

The GDS pay revision orders are expected very soon. It is expected that the arrears are to be paid before Deewali. In order to speed up the process of drawal and disbursement of Arrear Pay for GDS, the undertaking form as furnished below may be downloaded and submitted by all GDS to concerned DDOs for early action.


UNDERTAKING


I hereby undertake that any excess payment that may be found to have been made as a result of incorrect fixation of pay or any excess payment detected in the light of discrepancies noticed subsequently will be refunded by me to the Government either by adjustment against future payments due to me or otherwise.


Date:


Signature----------------

Station:




Name----------------------




Designation-----------------

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

GDS Pay Revision Issue


It is learnt that Pay Revision orders of GDS are likely to be issued before end of this week.Otherwise there is a possiblity for grant of an advance on arrears. The details of pay revision structures have been posted by this blog earlier basing on the recommendations of Natarajamurthi Commision and Gopinath Committee.


As this blog believes only on facts and figures and not merely hearsays etc., the Clear picture of the pay fixation etc. will be published after issue of formal orders from the Directorate. (Expected before Deewali)

Till issue of that orders, the GDS brothers/sisters may calculate their pay and allowances for their pleasure sake as per postalinfo calculator published earlier in this blog , soon after recommendations of Natarajmurthi Commision and Gopinath Committee .

In order to expedite the procedure for drawal of Arrear and Allowances, all are requested to collect the undertakings from the GDS and submit to the respective DDO immediately. The proforma of UNDERTAKING is furnished below.

UNDERTAKING

I hereby undertake that any excess payment that may be found to have been made as a result of incorrect fixation of pay or any excess payment detected in the light of discrepancies noticed subsequently will be refunded by me to the Government either by adjustment against future payments due to me or otherwise.

Date

Signature -------------------

Station

Name -----------------------

Designation-----------------

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

India Post -a ray of hope for the Flood Victims



Duty is God
India Post -a ray of hope
for the Flood Victims

India Post Signs Invest Pact With two Fund Managers


Department of Posts Signs Invest Pact With two Fund Managers


India's federal postal department Tuesday signed pacts with two fund managers to help manage cash that it will collect daily as premiums from its life insurance customers.
The funds to be managed will be equally split between state-run UTI Asset Management Company and SBI Fund Management, a government statement said.
"The net accretion to the postal life insurance and rural postal life insurance will now be invested as per the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority guidelines," statement said.
The guidelines allow the fund managers can invest up to 15% of the total cash in shares.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

23,000 Postal Workers Opt for Buyout in US

23,000 Postal Workers Opt for Buyout in US

Approximately 5,000 full-time Postal Service employees -- but not letter carriers -- stopped working this week after accepting buyouts.
Happy Friday! Approximately 5,000 full-time Postal Service employees eligible for retirement ended their Postal careers this week, accepting $15,000 buyout offers as part of a cost-cutting move. Another 18,000 full-time workers have also accepted the offer, but have until Oct. 31 to complete the paperwork or opt out.
The Postal Service announced the buyout program in August as a way to save up to $500 million during the new fiscal year, which began on Thursday.
Officials stress that these are preliminary figures and likely to change as workers make their final decisions. In addition to the full-time staff, part-timers have until Oct. 16 to initially accept the buyout and until Nov. 30 to make a final decision.
The offer was extended to post office retail clerks, distribution center mail handlers and clerks, and vehicle technicians. Letter carriers were not eligible, because the Postal Service only targeted areas of its where it has an excess of workers, and the number of addresses grows, on average, by 1.5 million each year.
The Postal Service secured $4 billion in financial assistance from Congress earlier this week, meaning it will pay only $1.4 billion to pre-fund retiree health benefits. Postal officials soon also will release updated information on the possible closure or consolidation of Postal facilities. Source-The Washington Post

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Gifts of property (gifts-in-kind) above value of R.50,000 taxable from 01-10-2009


Gifts of property (gifts-in-kind)

above value of Rs.50,000 /-

taxable from 01-10-2009



The Income Tax Act 1961 (the Act) has been amended with effect from 1st October 2009 to provide that any gift-in-kind, being an immovable property or any other property, the value of which exceeds Rs.50,000 (rupees fifty thousand), will become taxable in the hands of the donee, being an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), as income from other sources under clause (vii) of sub-section 2 of section 56 of the Act. Therefore, any such person who receives a gift of any such property on or after 1st October 2009 must pay the income tax due on the value of the gift and disclose the taxable value of such property in the return of income for assessment year 2010-11 and subsequent years.The following types of gifts will, however, not be subject to tax, i.e. gifts (a) from a person who is a relative; (b) on the occasion of marriage of the individual; (c) under a will or by way of inheritance; (d) in contemplation of death of the donor; (e) from any local authority as defined in the Explanation to section 10(20) of the Act; (f) from any fund or trust established under section 10(23C) of the Act; (g) from any trust or institution registered under section 12AA of the Act. Relative is defined in the Act as (i) spouse; (ii) brother or sister; (iii) brother or sister of the spouse; (iv) brother or sister of either of the parents; (v) any lineal ascendant or descendant; (vi) spouse of any of the relative at clauses (ii) to (v); of the individual. Gifts received from these relatives will not be subject to tax. Earlier cash gifts exceeding Rs.25,000 were subject to tax with effect from 1st April 2004. Later the Act was amended with effect from 1st April 2006 to tax all cash gifts having aggregate value exceeding Rs.50,000. Cash gifts also enjoy exemptions as is available for gifts-in-kind.
Source:PRESS RELEASE No.402/92/2006-MC (21 of 2009) Dated: September 30, 2009

India Post declares rebate on Gold Coins



India Post offers rebate on Gold Coins


Indian Posts launched a novel scheme for government officials this festival season by announcing that if they buy gold coins from the department they can get a rebate of 6 per cent.For the ongoing festive month, the Post Office department has launched the scheme to give a rebate of 6 per cent on the purchase of gold coins from September 24 till October 24 to all the government officials.Besides this, a scheme for general customers was also launched where 0.5 gm gold would be given free to all those who would purchase 10 gm gold from the post office. To avail this scheme, the customers are required to buy two coins of 5 gm each or a single coin of 8 gm or two coins of 1 gm each. Out of these two schemes a customer can only opt for one.Notably, all across the country the Indian Postal Department along with a private financial firm is selling 24 carat gold coins to all the post offices. The gold coins of weight 0.5 gm, 1 gm, 5 gm and 8 gm are available in post offices. These gold coins are manufactured by Valcambi Switzerland and are 99.99 per cent pure. To beautify them, they are also packed in silver cover.Gold coins are the hottest commodities on sale in India these days. While banks are competing with each other to open counters in their branches to sell gold coins, the postal department in association with brokerage firm Reliance Money and the World Gold Council (WGC) has been introducing novel schemes to sell coins through post offices. Buoyed by the huge success of gold coins sales through post offices, India Post is adding more post offices to step up the trade in the yellow metal. Every month, India Post is launching gold coins trade in new post offices. On Monday, India Post started the services in Jharkhand post circle, covering several post offices. And dozens of people came to the postal outlets to buy gold coins. India is the largest consumer of gold in the world. The approximate consumption of gold in India is around 700 tonnes per year. As per the currency scheme India Post-Reliance Money-WGC scheme, the postal department is selling 0.5 gm, 1 gm, 5 gm and 8 gm gold coins packed in tamper-proof sealed covers. India Post gives training in handling the software, developed by Reliance Money, for handling gold coins sale and transactions. Every customer is being given an invoice or bill detailing the transaction. While India Post earns an amount as commission, Reliance Money bears the service tax on the commission paid to India Post. The stocking and sale of gold coins in the post offices are under the direct supervision of the respective postmasters. The postmaster is required to check the Reliance Money web site on a regular basis for the latest updates of gold rates and discounts. Each coin comes with certification from Valcambi Switzerland and quality packaging, as well as a number and assayer certificate. The gold coins are packed in a sealed cover with the certification from Valcambi, Switzerland with the India Post logo. India Post is offering 5% special discount to its customers during festive seasons and special occasions.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Department of Posts to deal with several Products


India Post to enter into various business sectors to overcome loss

Revised D A for employees getting pay as per Vth CPC

Revised D A for employees getting pay as per Vth CPC
As per MOF OM dated No. 1(3) / 2008 - EII (B) dated 29-09-2009, the Dearness Allowance has been increased by 9% i.e. revised from (50+64=114%) to (50+73=123%) from 01-07-2009 for the employees getting pay as per Vth CPC.
The GDS are also to get (114+9)123% DA from 01-07-2009

GDS Pay Commission



It is learnt that the cabinet have approved


the GDS committee recommendations for
revision of Pay and Allowances

Postal Dept. penalised for wrong delivery of article

Postal dept shows up at wrong office, to pay

For delivering a letter at the wrong address despite its bearing the correct address, the Department of Posts, Chandigarh division, has been directed to cough up Rs 10,000 as compensation along with Rs 2,000 as costs by state consumer commission. The amount will be paid to Sector 8-resident Bharti Bedi who, hoping against hope, moved an appeal after the consumer forum had failed to side with her. Imposing a heavy fine with the intention to curb the ‘tendency of negligence’ among officials while handling consumers’ articles, the commission, said, “It is clear from records that the department was negligent in delivering the letter. Negligent employees should not get shelter under Section 6 (of the Indian Post Office Act which was cited by consumer forum in favour of the department), rather the department should keep a watch on such employees who must be more careful while performing their duties.”

According to the complaint, Bedi had applied to be registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), New Delhi, and sent a form with a draft of Rs 3,500 in June 22, 2006, through Speed Post. Though the last date of submission was June 30, 2006, Bedi did not receive any confirmation till August 23, 2006. Eager to know the status of her application, she penned a letter to the manager, National Speed Post Centre, New Delhi, the reply to which left her shocked. She was informed that her letter was inadvertently delivered to some other office instead of ICAI, which later returned Bedi’s documents as they had reached much after the last date of submission. Seeking compensation for damages suffered, Bedi moved a complaint alleging deficiency in services for loss of “a complete academic year”.

Stating that it was just a human error due to which the letter was delivered at the wrong address, the postal department had pleaded before the commission that it couldn’t be held liable for any loss, misdelivery, delay or damage under provisions of Section 6 of the Indian Post Office Act....