Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Sri B. V. Sudhakar is posted as New CPMG for Andhra Pradesh Circle


 Directorate has issued an order of Shri B. V. Sudhakar (IPoS-1981 batch) as new Chief Postmaster General of Andhara Pradesh Circle. 

Payment of Dearness Allowance to Gramin Dak Seveaks (GDS) at revised rates w.e.f. 01.01.2013 onwards-reg

Directorate vide memo No. 14-01/2011-PAP dated 30th April, 2013 has issued order for payment of DA to GDS at revised rates w. e. f. 1/1/2013, please CLICK HERE. 

Acceptence of Business from SAS Agents - SB Order no 6/2013

To view SB order No. 6/2013 issued under Directorate memo No. 107-01/2013-SB dated 25/4/2013, please CLICK HERE.

Change of Mode of Dispatch of outstation Cheques for Clearence - SB Order no 5/2013

To view SB order No. 5 issued by Directorate under memo No. 109-03/2013 dated 25/4/2013, please CLICK HERE. 

Application forms and prospectus for the post of PA/SA/Postman/Mail Guard/MTS under sport recruitment quota in Gujarat Postal circle

To view the details, please CLICK HERE. 

Retention of Quarter on Retirement or Terminal Leave - Amendment in Supplementary Rule 317-B-11: Date of applicability

To view the details, please CLICK HERE

Core banking solutions in six post offices of Nagpur Region from June

NAGPUR: Six post offices of Nagpur region are among the 124 offices in the country where India Post will be first implementing core banking solutions (CBS). This initiative is part of postal department efforts towards modernization of its services.

In the pilot phase, eight postal circles have been selected. They include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The six offices from Nagpur Region are Nagpur City head office (HO), Nagpur GPO; Gondia HO, Khamgaon HO, Wardha HO and Yavatmal HO. Offices coming under these HOs will be also covered under the project.

"In CBS, the small saving scheme customers would be able to conduct transactions of their accounts from any other post office which is also covered under the system. Other offices will be covered under CBS in another two more phases," Post Master General of Nagpur Region M. E. Haque said.

In Nagpur Region, the CBS is scheduled to become operational by June. According to the department officials, everything is on track. "We hope to implement the system as per schedule unless there is some glitch. The National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) is helping us in this process while TCS is conducting training of our employees," said Haque.

The CBC process might also prove to be the groundwork for the entry of the postal department into banking services as it has already got approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). "Definitely, this is a part of the foundation work.Among all the central government departments we have the biggest network in the country and deepest penetration in rural areas. So, we have a ready-made infrastructure for such an endeavour. But no other directive has come to us from the top in this regard," Haque said.

There are also plans to introduce ATMs, abou
t 1000 of them, in all HOs, said Haque adding, "ATM reduces the cost of transaction for the postal department. While each counter transaction costs about Rs.25/-, ATM transaction costs Rs.10-14/- per transaction."

Commemorative Postage Stamp on 'Hari Singh Nalwa" will be released on 30/4/2013.


Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communications & Information Technology will release Commemorative Postage Stamp in honour of 'Hari Singh Nalwa'  at C. D. Deshmukh Memorial Auditorium, Main Building, India International Centre, Max Muller Marg, New Delhi on 30th April, 2013 at 11.00 AM.

Deputation to Bangkok to participate in training programme.


Directorate vide Memo No. 10-21/2012-TRG dated 22/4/2013 has nominated the following officers for deputation to participate in a training programme "Direct Mail and Advanced Marketing" at Asian Pacific Postal College Bangkok, Thailand from 29th April, 2013 to 24th May, 2013. 

1. Shri U. C. Prasad, ASP (BD) o/o the CPMG, Bihar Circle, Patna. 
2. Shri Piyush Rajan, IP (BD) o/o the CPMG, UP Circle, Lucknow (Fellowship). 

Letter issued to Member (P) regarding Incorrect checking of answer paper of Inspector Posts Examination 2012 held on 13th and 14th October, 2012.

o. CHQ/IPASP/PS Gr.B-Exam/2013                       Dated :     27/4/2013.

To,                                                                        
Shri S. Sarkar,
Member (P)
Department of Posts,
Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi 110 001.

Subject : Incorrect checking of answer paper of Inspector Posts Examination 2012 held on 13th and 14thOctober, 2012.

Ref.      : Directorate Memo No. A-34013/07/2012-DE dated 8th Jan.2013

Respected Sir,

          I am enclosing herewith a copy of representation dated 8th April 2013 received from 8376177-X WO Zaware Ravikumar Pandurang, 101, Area Postal Unit, PIN-902601 C/o 99 APO addressed to Director General in connection with incorrect checking of his answer paper of Paper-I (IPO) held on 13th October, 2012.

          Directorate vide its memo under reference has announced the result of the departmental examination for selection of the posts of Inspectors of Posts Examination for the year 2012 held on 13th and 14th October, 2012. It is noticed from the said result that, the above named official has shown secured 68 marks in Paper-I (IPO), where as answer sheet received by official under RTI Act, 2005 undoubtedly shows that he has correctly solved 105 questions which may get 210 marks instead 68.  His name was also shown wrong in the result list. The details of the candidate appeared in the said examination is furnished herewith for kind ready reference.

  1. Name of the candidate     :         ZAWARE RAVIKUMAR PANDURANG
  2. Name of city of examination:      Mumbai (Maharashtra)
  3. Examination centre code :         140
  4. Roll No.                           :         1241400353
  5. Question booklet Series   :         A (sl. No. 102509) Paper-I (IPO)
  6. OMR Answer sheet          :         106503
  7. Bar code No.                    :         506496 (shown in result list)
  8. Revised mark position would be :          900 marks with 4th rank in MAH Circle                         
        This Association therefore have a doubt as to whether outsourced agency appointed for holding and preparation of result are really doing their job with accuracy at all level. The copies of OMR Answer sheet, keys of answer sheet series ‘A’ and question book No. received from above named official are also enclosed herewith for information and necessary action. 

          In view of above, it is requested to your kind honour to ask DE Division in the Directorate to reconcile the result of above named official and declare the official as successful candidate in the examination with revised circle merit.

        It is hoped that requests made on documentary evidence would be given close, kind and positive consideration and Association shall be obliged with your kind reply.
         
          With warm regards,                                     
                                  Yours sincerely,

Sd/ 
(Vilas Ingale)
General Secretary

Copy forwarded for information and necessary action to :

The Chief Postmaster General, Maharashtra Circle, Mumbai 400001. This refers to his office letter No. Rectt/2-10/2011 dated 04/03/2013.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Amendment to Rule 93-A of Postal Manual Volume VII

To see the correction slip No. 01/2013-D dated 28/2/2013 issued by Directorate, please CLICK HERE.

Supplementary DPC for the promotion to PS Gr. B cadre.


This is in continuation to earlier information posted on blog. To view the list of officers due for promotion in Supplementary DPC for promotion to PS Gr. B cadre, please CLICK HERE.

Schedule for holding Postmaster Grade - I Examination 2013 announced.


Directorate vide Memo No. A-34012/4/2012-DE dated 23/4/2013 has announced the schedule for holding Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for promotion to the cadre of Postmaster Grade I for the year 2013. The following is the schedule of the examination.

DPC for promotion to JTS Gr. A cadre

To view JTS Gr. A cadre transfer / posting order issued by Directorate vide Memo No. 4-3/2012-SPG dated 26/04/2013, please CLICK HERE. 

To view JTS Gr. A cadre promotion and posting order issued by Directorate vide Memo No. 4-5/2012-SPG dated 26/4/2013, please CLICK HERE. 

Congratulation to the officers and best luck at all level.

Associations impact..Mail Overseers back in place in Central Region Kochi

Orders issued by PMG, Central Region, Kochi (Kerala) unilaterally withdrawing Mail Overseers from various Sub Divisions in Central Region, Kochi has been withdrawn and the Mail Overseers taken away from the Sub Divisions have been reinstated to their original posts.

Advance Reservation Period for Booking Reserved Train Tickets Reduced to 60 Days from Existing 120 Days from 1st May 2013

The Ministry of Railways has decided that the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) for booking reserved train tickets will be reduced from existing 120 days to 60 days (excluding the date of journey) w.e.f. 1st May 2013. The details are as below:-

I. With effect from 01.05.2013, the ARP will be of 60 days (excluding the day of journey) and booking will be done accordingly. However, all the bookings done upto 30.4.2013 under the ARP of 120 days will remain intact.

II. Cancellation of the booking made beyond the ARP of 60 days will, however, be permitted.

III. There will be no change in the case of certain day time express trains like Taj Express, Gomti Express etc. where lower time limits for advance reservations are at present in force.

IV. There will also be no change in the case of limit of 360 days for foreign tourists. 

Supplementary DPC for promotion to the post of PS Gr. B for the year 2012-13.


During the course of meeting with Secretary (Posts), on 6/2/2013 the issue of supplementary DPC for the promotion to the post of PS Gr.B was discussed and accordingly, Directorate vide memo No. 9-23/2012-SPG (Pt.) dated 22/4/2013 have called for the certain records / documents of 84 officers for convening the supplementary DPC for the promotion to the post of PS Gr. B for the year 2012-13 by return FAX.
 
OC : Last candidate of 1989 batch : A. Karunanithi (Tamil Nadu)
SC : Last candidate of 1990 batch : K. C. Velayudhan (Kerala)
ST : Last candidate of 1990 batch : Ram Krishan (Himachal Pradesh)
 
All the officer bearers and Circle Secretaries are requested to keep liasion with their circle and ensure timely submission of records / documents by the circles to Directorate.
 

New Project Arrow Portal launched by Honorable Secretary, DOP on 25/04/2013



This Web Portal has been developed for Project Arrow so that objectives and deliverables of the project are widely disseminated in the public domain and a proper channel is put in place for receiving feedback from stakeholders i.e. post office customers and the staff members. This interactive interface will facilitate in getting feedback and suggestions from customers across the country which will be vital inputs for further improving both the core operations and the ‘Look and Feel’ of Project Arrow Post Offices.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE SITE

Payment of Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees – Revised Rates effective from 1.1.2013

To view the copy of DA order issued under No. 1(2)/2013-E.II(B) dated 25th April, 2013 by Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Expenditure North Block, New Delhi, please CLICK HERE. 
To view orders in Hindi, please CLICK HERE.

To view copy of orders circulated by DOP, please CLICK HERE. 

 

Children Education Allowance - Clarification

To view DOPT OM No. 12011/01/2013-Estt.(Allowances) dated 23rd April 2013, please CLICK HERE.

PA / SA Examination for 2013....selection criteria


As per schedule declared by Directorate, PA/ SA examination for the year 2013 have already been  started in phase manner in each circle. The following criteria are likely to be followed for selection of candidate.

Qualifying Marks :

Category
% of marks required
Remarks
OC
40%  i.e. 10 marks in each part
40% in aggregate
OBC
38%  i.e. 9 marks in each part
38% in aggregate
SC/ST
33%  i.e. 8 marks in each part
33% in aggregate

Computer Test :

As per above qualification of marks, candidates will be called for computer test in 1:5 ratio

15 Minutes : For typing of 450 words passage
15 Minutes : For data entry work. 

Launch of RTI web portal for online filing of RTI application.

To view OM No. 1/1/2013-IR dated 22/4/2013, issued by DOP&T, please CLICK HERE. 

Friday, April 19, 2013

Bihar at fifth position in terms of inward remittance

PATNA: Bihar figures at fifth position in the country in terms of receiving foreign remittances, with a total of over Rs 200 crore sent through post offices in the last fiscal. Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh are ahead of Bihar in terms ofremittance sent by Indians to their home through Western Union money transfer with assistance from post offices, Anil Kumar, Director, Business Development, Bihar postal services told PTI.

Like other states, remittances to Bihar also came mostly from gulf countries, he said.  Within Bihar, major share of remittance was sent to post offices of Siwan, Bhojpur, Muzzafarpur, Gopalganj and Patna, the Director said.

Due to large sums of money coming from abroad, these districts are popularly referred as "money order districts."  Kumar said in Bihar, more than one lakh people sent remittance though western union money transfer.

Out of 9,614 post offices in the state, 225 of them have the facility of money transfer.  Across the country there are 1.55 lakh post offices out of which 1.20 lakh have money transfer facility.

The official said the department has started 
mobile money transfer (MMT) in rural areas of the state for making transfer of money even more easier.

This service was launched in 118 post offices in rural areas of Bihar, he added. 

 

Post office Savings Bank Rules with year

The Government Savings Bank Act 1873
Indira Vikas Patra Rules 1987
The Government Savings Certificate Act 1959
National Savings Certificate (VIII Issue) Rules 1989
The post office Savings Bank General Rules 1981
Kisan Vikas Patra Rules 1988 
The post office Savings Account Rules 1981
National Savings Scheme Rules 1987
The Post office Recurring Deposit Rules 1981
The Post office Savings Certificate Rules 1987
The post office Time Deposit Rules 1981
The Post office Savings Certificate Rules 1960
National Savings Scheme Rules 1992
Senior Citizens Savings Scheme Rules 2004
Post Office (Monthly Income Scheme) Rules 1987
 

Snail mail lives on in Internet Age: biz loves letters


If you thought letters are fast becoming history due to mobile phones and emails, think again. Postal department’s revenue from mail services has increased, thanks to business letters. More than 637 crore letters were sent out in the financial year ending March 2012.
The department
 earned revenue of Rs. 2,940 crore for the year ending March 2012 from its mail services, an increase of about two percent over the previous year’s sales.
“Both revenue and the number of mails will increase when the data for the financial year March 2013 is out,” said an official of Postal department.

“Personal mails have declined due to increase in coverage and availability of mobile phones and also due to emails. However, letters sent out by corporates have increased,” said Kavery Banerjee, member (Technology), postal service board.

SBI, LIC and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIADI) are some of the big customers of the postal department. For example, till December 2012, the postal department had sent 18.38 crore Aadhar letters. The government is aiming at providing Aadhar cards to all the citizens.
Except Aadhar letters, the rest of business mail traffic is concentrated in big cities. The volume has increased so much that the department has set up automated mail processing centres in Delhi and Kolkata. The department plans to set up similar centres in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Filling up the vacancies in Higher Selection Grade-I (HSG.I) in Post Offices (POs) and Railway Mail Service (RMS) Offices

To view the copy of Dirctorate memo No. 04-44/2012-SPB-II dated 18th April, 2013, please CLICK HERE.

Union Cabinet approved DA 8% w.e.f. 1/1/2013.

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to release an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.01.2013 at the rate of 8 percent over the existing rate of 72 percent.

Thus, the combined impact on the exchequer on account of both DA and DR would be of the order of Rs.8629.20 crore per annum and Rs. 10067.36 crore in the financial year 2013-14 (that is for a period of 14 months from January, 2013 to February, 2014).

Friday, April 12, 2013

Mumbai gets its first Mahila Dak Ghar


The first Mahila Dak Ghar – a post office entirely operated by women staff was inaugurated today by Ms. P Gopinath, Secretary, Post and Chairperson, Postal Services Board, Government of India, in Mumbai.  

This Post Office is located at New Customs House on the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road in the busy office area of South Mumbai, in close proximity of the Collectorate, Old Customs House, Asiatic Library and RBI. 
The office, which will be open from 10 am to 6 pm, offers both traditional and modern postal services like booking of all registered and speed post articles, e-Money Order, Western Union Money Transfer, e-payment of utility bills of MTNL, BEST And Mahanagar Gas Ltd, besides the Post Office Savings Bank transactions.
As of now, 12 female employees will run the Mahila Dak Ghar, headed by a Senior Superintendent of Posts.
Currently, the Maharashtra Postal Circle has a total staff strength of 26,468, out of which 5,008 are women. “As a mark of respect to the women of Maharashtra, we decided to launch the first Mahila Dak Ghar in this circle in Mumbai “said Col. K C Mishra, Chief Post Master General, Maharashtra and Goa Circle.
Earlier this year, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on March 8, Union Minister for Communication & IT, Kapil Sibal had inaugurated the first all-women post office in the country in New Delhi.
At the time, Mr Sibal had announced that more such offices would be opened in the country, especially in the metro cities. The new office in Mumbai is part of the same initiative.

Commemorative postage stamp released to mark centenary of Mumbai GPO


India Post today marked the centenary of Mumbai GPO building, wwiththe release of Commemorative Postage Stamp by Ms P. Gopinath, Secretary (Posts) and Chairperson, Postal Services Board, Government of India, at a function held in a precincts of the heritage building.   

As of the celebration, India Post has also orgnaised a philatelic exhibition on Mumbai at ground floor of the GPO.   

GPO, through the ages 

General Post Office, Mumbai was established in the year 1794 by the then Postmaster General for Bombay Presidency, Charles Elphinstone. Strategically located near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus and the Sea Port to allow quick transfer of mail from overseas and inland, this office has been serving the common man for over 200 years.   

The present GPO building was designed by John Begg, Consulting Architect and the construction was completed in 1913.  

The building is a magnificent example of the Indo-Saracenic style adopted by the British in India. Built in local grey Kurla Basalt with dressings of yellow stone from Malad and white stone from Dhragandhara, the architecture reflects a strong influence of Islamic architecture in its skyline dominated by domes and minarets.  
The most remarkable feature of the interior of the GPO is its central dome, which has distinctive3 resemblance to the Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur. It has a diameter of 65 feet, which is the largest in the city. Turrets and minarets resemble Moghul Architecture.   

Mumbai GPO to offer core banking services soon.
The business hall of Mumbai GPO is unique with 101 counters and serves about 40,000 customers a day. The renovated portion of Mumbai GPO known as ‘Bicentenary Hall”occupies 10,000 sq.ft. area and has been provided with modern amenities like computerised savings bank, multipurpose counter machines etc.   

Today, Mumbai GPO is counted among the major post offices in the country offering a bouquet of traditional and modern services. It is a one stop-shop for all postal services and can truly be called a ‘Post Mall’.   

Mumbai GPO will soon be offering Core Banking Services for its esteemed customers with a state of the art ATM. Very soon Mumbai GPO will be awarded ISO certification from Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS)  

General Provident Fund and other similar funds shall carry interest rate of 8.7% per annum w.e.f. 1.4.2013

 CLICK HERE to view the copy of notification. 

Recruitment on all India basis by open competition and otherwise than by open competition - Clarification regarding.

To view the copy issued by DOPT, please CLICK HERE. 

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Dearness Allowance from January 2013 - 6th CPC Recommendations on merger of 50% Dearness Allowance...

Dearness Allowance from January 2013 - 6th CPC Recommendations on merger of 50% Dearness Allowance...

"No any recommendation in 6th CPC Report on merger of 50% Dearness allowance with basic pay at any stage"...


Dearness Allowance from January 2013 - 6CPC Recommendation

As of now nobody knows the correct reason why the government is delaying the approval of DA hike from January 2013. Actually the delay in announcing the dearness allowance helps the people speculate more about the Governments Plan about whether the 50% DA will be merged or not. 

As per the 6CPC recommendation accepted by the government, the Dearness Allowance supposed to be enhanced from 1st January of every year has to be paid with salary of month of March. The 6 CPC was very much clear about two things; first one is the formula for calculating the quantum of DA to be paid to central government employees and its frequency. Second one is on Merger of 50% Dearness allowance with Basic pay by converting it as dearness Pay

Sixth Pay Commission recommendation on Merger of 50% Dearness Allowance and sanctioning of DA to central government employees

It has been clearly told in 6 CPC recommendations under the Heading of Dearness Allowance, Chapter no 4.1…

4.1.18 ……This conversion, however, is not necessary in the revised structure being recommended where increments are payable as a percentage of the pay in the pay band and grade pay thereon and provision has been made for all allowances/benefits to be revised periodically linked to the increase in the price index. The Commission is, therefore, not recommending merger of dearness allowance with basic pay at any stage.

4.1.19 No real justification exists for revising DA once in 3 months. Accordingly, DA may continue to be sanctioned twice a year as on 1st January and 1st July payable with the salary of March and September respectively for administrative convenience with inflation neutralization being maintained at 100% at all levels.

As it was the recommendation of 6CPC , even after the seventh day of the month of April, the quantum of DA to be increased is yet to be declared by the government is quite new for central government employees. But it is evident that ‘announcement of DA hike can be delayed, but Payment of increased Dearness Allowance cannot be denied’.

Declaration of Holiday on 14th April, 2013 - Birthday of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.



MOST IMMEDIATE
F. No.12/4/2013-JCA-2
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances 86 Pensions
(Department of Personnel & Training)
North Block, New Delhi
Dated the 8th  April, 2013.
OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Declaration of Holiday on 14th  April, 2013— Birthday of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

It has been decided to declare Sunday, the 14th  April 2013, as a Closed Holiday on account of the birthday of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, for all Central Government Offices including Industrial Establishments
throughout India.

2.         The above holiday is also being notified in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (26 of 1881).

3.         All Ministries/Departments of Government of India may bring the above decision to the notice of all concerned.
Sd/-
(Ashok Kumar)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India
2309 2589

7 Motorcycle Safety Tips


Accidents can occur anytime anywhere on a bike and precaution is all that one can take. Here are the very basics to remember before hitting the road

 1.) Always Wear A Certified Helmet

Always wear a helmet when riding a two-wheeler. Choose the right helmet which fits snug, does not move and is made out of good quality impact absorption material. Buy a certified helmet from a reliable vendor and not road-side seller.

2.) Use Both Brakes For Stopping
The correct application of both the brakes unit will guarantee optimum stopping results. Hold the front brake lever gently and gradually increase pressure instead of grabbing it too hard too soon.

3.) Keep Speed Under Check
Keep your speed always under a check. Anything remotely scary or out of control in an unfavourable environment can spell disaster even before you realise it. Be well within the speed limits stated on any particular stretch of road.

4.) Dont Push Your Limit Or Your Luck
The motorcycle you are riding has limits and so do you. Do not push your luck and outdo your skills at any point. Relax, take it easy, be alert and stay within your limits on the road. Push limits on the race track.
5.) Maintain Safe Distance
Space is one of your biggest allies on the road. So keep enough space for yourself as well as the fellow traffic for movement. Do no tailgate i.e. stick close to vehicles ahead.

6.) Signal Your Moves In Advance
Give timely indication of the move you are planning to make. Do not change direction or the lane suddenly. Indicate the traffic around you of the move you are planning to make. Use the indicator signals and if necessary had signals too.

7.) Get spotted!
Always be in the open area and skip getting caught in the blind spots, especially of larger vehicles like trucks and buses. Make an eye contact before making an overtake and always keep the headlights on in order to be seen easily.