India S Postal System Is a Huge Asset Which Is Currently Under-Utilised, Under-Skilled

India’s postal system is a huge asset which is currently under-utilised, under-skilled and under-developed. The 1.5 lakh post offices in a country of 6.4 lakh villages (that’s where the post office really matters) represent a reach unmatched by any other organisation. If it is developed and used well, it can give a leg-up to those parts of the country and their denizens who have benefited the least from the high growth of the post-reform period.

Till not so long ago, post offices were relics of the past where the urban middle class would not venture unless absolutely necessary. The burgeoning private courier companies appeared to be driving the last nail in the coffin of the slowly declining giant. But then, just as hope always triumphs in India, the post office began to change. It gave itself a new logo, prominent urban post offices began giving themselves a new look and you could spot PCs across counters.

The post office management is now getting bolder by the day and big brothers in the government have given it permission to spend Rs 2,000 crore in the next two years to bring in an IT revolution. All post offices will be linked, a core banking solution will be installed and pre-paid cards will be introduced with which you will be able to send money from anywhere to any post office through your cellular phone. All that the person at the other end will have to do to get instant credit is have a savings bank account with his post office.

For that last leg of the operation to be completed, the post office’s savings bank operations will have to be transformed. That can happen in only one way — by converting the financial services operations of the postal department into a proper bank, giving it a banking licence. Banks have well defined procedures and processes, the skills needed to run them are standardised, as are the benchmarks by which they can be judged. And you can easily get the public sector banks to lend a helping hand to enable the Post Bank of India (PBI) to get going. Initially, PBI will be an outreach for the established banks, but over time it should be able to give vigorous competition.

A parliamentary standing committee has again reiterated the demand for such a bank to be set up. And if or when (it is really a matter of time) it is, it will be a behemoth from day one. In financial year 2008, postal savings bank schemes had total outstandings of Rs 3.4 lakh crore, which was second only to the deposits of the State Bank of India that stood at Rs 5.4 lakh crore. (ICICI Bank came third at Rs 2.4 lakh crore deposits.) In the same year, postal mail traffic fell by 4 per cent. So did the number of money orders, by 8 per cent, but their total value went up by 7.8 per cent. Simultaneously, the post office’s “business development activities”, the cumbersome name for newer services like Speedpost, grew revenues by 24 per cent to almost a quarter of the department’s total revenue. So like it or not, the post office is changing. It only makes sense to get it to change the right way.

Once the post office becomes a bank with a logistical arm and not the other way round, it will be able to bury the canard that it is a loss-making outfit. In 2008, the postal department’s budgetary deficit was Rs 1,511 crore. If it were a bank with assets equal to the savings bank liabilities, it should have been able to earn a very modest return on assets of 0.5 per cent, which would have put it at the bottom of the public sector banks league table. That works out to Rs 1,727 crore, over Rs 200 crore more than the deficit. Right now it is the Government of India and the finance ministry that keep the postal department poor. All the deposits go to the central exchequer, to be passed on to states as loans in proportion to their small savings. The department earns a fee to run the inefficient and archaic savings bank system.

Why is it necessary to reinvent the post office and improve the self-esteem of postal employees? The post office with its reach is the best placed to open bank accounts for the beneficiaries of the rural employment programme, recipients of government pensions and the like. The postman remains the best equipped to affirm a person’s proof of residence. Once the banking function of the post office gets going and expands, it will give a boost to India’s financial savings the same way bank nationalisation did and helped push up the national savings rate. The whole scenario is predicated on PBI being run efficiently and on keeping its transaction costs low with the use of information technology and processes for handling no-frill accounts currently being evolved.

The big question is, what does PBI do with its deposits which are relatively costlier as postal rates are higher than banks'. It should remain a narrow bank, eschewing retail and commercial lending and instead investing in secure but relatively high-yielding bonds issued by infrastructure companies looking for longer term funds. PBI could also subscribe to Nabard bonds whose proceeds Nabard could lend to microfinance organisations whose members could get paid through their savings bank accounts with PBI. You have a bit of a virtuous cycle there. An efficient PBI will not only boost financial inclusion but help reduce fraud in social welfare payments. All this must be made to happen.

Source: Business Standard

Sl No Details Amount

1. Income chargeable under "Salaries" (including 60% of 6th Pay Commission arrears of Rs 91960) Rs 488276

2. Deductions under savings (Section 80C, 80CCC, 80CCD, 80D etc) Rs 100000

3. Net Taxable income (rounded to nearest Rs 10) Rs 388280

4. Tax Payable on Sl 3 Rs 31656

4 (a) Education Cess Rs 950

5. Total Tax Payable Rs 32606

IT PAYABLE AFTER SUBMITTING FORM 10-E (TABLE B)

Sl No Details Amount

1. Income chargeable under "Salaries" excluding the 60% arrears Rs 396300

2. Deductions under savings (Section 80C, 80CCC, 80CCD, 80D etc) Rs 100000

3. Net Taxable income Rs 296300

4. Tax Payble on Sl 3 Rs 13630

4(a) Education cess Rs 409

5 Total Tax Payable Rs 14039

6 Tax Payable for previous year (After revising income of previous year - as per Form 10E) Rs 12755

7 Total tax Payable (Sl 5 and 6) Rs 26794

8 Relief eligible (Sl 5 of Table A - Sl 7 Rs 5812

MACP Arrears Calculator

Second stage of Postal JCA Programme

" POST CARD CAMPAIGN & MEET THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AND MEMBERS OF LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY" from 8.6.2010 to 15.06.2010.

Organize effectively the Post Card Campaign by mobilizing entire employees to write a post card to Hon'ble MOC&IT in the following format:

Shri.A.Raja

Honourable MOC & IT

Government of India

Electronic Nikethan

CGO Complex

Lodi Road, New Delhi - 110003

Respected Sir,

POSTAL EMPLOYEES REQUEST YOUR KIND INTERVENTION TO DIRECT THE POSTAL BOARD TO DISCUSS THE CHARTER OF DEMANDS OF POSTAL JOINT COUNCIL OF ACTION FOR REACHING SETTLEMENT OF OUR JUSTIFIED ISSUES.

Thanking You Sir,

Name:

Designation:

Office:

Date:

Yours faithfully,

Sunday, June 13, 2010

DOP ISSUED CLARIFICATION ON UNIONS NAME ON AUTHORTISATION LETTERS

THE FNPO AND NAPE GROUP C WROTE TO THE DEPARTMENT THAT THE OTHER UNIONS HAVE RAISED OBJECTION IN SOME CIRCLES ABOUT THE OLD NAME NUPE GROUP C .THE DEPARTMENT ISSUED ORDERS AND THE SAME ARE POSTED BELOW FOR THE INFORMATION OF ALL DIVISIONAL/CIRCLE SECRETARIES AND NECESSARY ACTION.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

Ministry of communications& IT

Department of Posts

Dak Bhavan,Sansad Marg

New Delhi-110001

No 13/01/2010-SR Dated 4th June,2010

All Heads of Postal Circles

Subject:- CCS (RSA) Rules,1993-Reverification of membership for recognition of

Service Associations-Clarification regarding.

Sir/Madam

I am directed to refer to the Department’s letter of even number dated 1.02.2010 on the above mentioned subject. Some Service Associations, which have recently made an amendment in their constitution against Article-Name, reported that some of their Circle/Divisional Secretaries used the old popular name of the union/Association while submitting the letters of authorization. There is an apprehension that such letters of authorization may not be accepted by the competent authority.

2 .It is hereby clarified that such authorization forms either in the old popular name of the union/association or in new name may be accepted and counted against the new name of the union/association as amended by this office and shown in the letter dated 18-02-2010

Yours faithfully,

(Subhash Chander)

Director (SR& Legal)

Send this Article to a Friend

Inflation touches double digits

Sujay Mehdudia

At 10.16 per cent, it is the highest in the last 19 months

NEW DELHI: The plight of the common man, reeling under the impact of rising prices, worsened with the inflation rate surging into double digits — it touched 10.16 per cent in May, the highest in the last 19 months. This could force the Reserve Bank to tighten liquidity in its future policy directions.

According to the latest figures, essential items that have become dearer and directly hit the pocket of the common man include pulses, vegetables and sugar. Furthermore, the prices of metal, textiles and plywood prices have also gone up, as inflation has spread to non-food items.

Inflation data released officially on Monday says that the final figure for March was 11.04 %, up from the provisional 9.9 %. The data for May too will be revised later. As per the provisional data, the previous high of 10.72 % was witnessed in the last week of October, 2008.

“It is always a matter of concern. Something more needs to be done by the Reserve Bank. It is already doing it. We are in touch with the bank,'' Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters.

Inflation, which remained confined to food items for some time, has now spread to manufactured goods. Food inflation remained at the enhanced level of 16.49 % despite moderation from 16.87 % in the previous month.

“The picture is clear that inflationary pressures are now stronger. The March figures are revised upwards. The manufacturing sector inflation is up and is not confined to food. So, some action would be called for by the RBI in terms of policy tightening,'' Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C. Rangarajan said.

Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said, “There is no doubt that in the first few months there has been a rise in inflation. Our assessment is that it going to come down towards the end of the year. I think that remains my view and you will see. I completely agree with Mr. Rangarajan for policy action by the central bank to curb inflation.''

The RBI is scheduled to announce the first quarterly review of the monetary policy on July 27. It may also take some action to deal with the deteriorating price situation that time.

Experts feel that rising inflation could prompt the Reserve Bank to tighten money supply on July 27.

Printer friendly page

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail Send this Article to a Friend

Inflation touches double digits

Sujay Mehdudia

At 10.16 per cent, it is the highest in the last 19 months

“It is always a matter of concern. Something more needs to be done by the Reserve Bank. It is already doing it. We are in touch with the bank,'' Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters.

The RBI is scheduled to announce the first quarterly review of the monetary policy on July 27. It may also take some action to deal with the deteriorating price situation that time.

Experts feel that rising inflation could prompt the Reserve Bank to tighten money supply on July 27.

Printer friendly page

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Retirement benefits of Government servants who were on Extraordinary leave/unauthorized absence/suspension as on 1.1.2006 and retired/died thereafter without joining duty

No. 38 /37 /08 – P&PW(A)

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

Ministry of Personnel Public Grievances and Pensions

Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare

********

Lok Nayak Bhawan,

Khan Market, New Delhi – 110 003

Dated 15th June, 2010

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Sub: Regulation of pension and other retirement benefits of Government servants who were on Extraordinary leave/unauthorized absence/suspension as on 1.1.2006 and retired/died thereafter without joining duty

The undersigned is directed to say that in accordance with Rule 33 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, for calculation of pension, the expression emoluments means basic pay as defined in Rule 9 (21) (a) (i) of the Fundamental Rules which a Government servant was receiving immediately before his retirement or on the date of his death. In accordance with Note 3 under this rule, if a Government servant immediately before his retirement or death while in service had been absent from duty onextraordinary leave or had been under suspension, the period whereof does not count as service, the emoluments which he drew immediately before proceeding on such leave or being placed under suspension shall be the emoluments for the purposes of this rule.

Doubts have been raised in regard to the manner in which the pension and other retirement benefits of Government servants, who were on extraordinary leave/unauthorized absence/suspension has been examined in consultation with the Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) and the following clarifications are issued:

Category of Government servant Manner in which pension and other pensionery benefits are to be regulated

Government servant, who was on extraordinary leave/unauthorized absence – the period whereof does not count as qualifying service – as on 1.1.2006 and retired/died thereafter without joining duty. In accordance with Rule 33 of CCS(Pension) Rules, 1972, the basic pay which he drew immediately before proceeding on such leave, shall be the emoluments of the purpose of pension The pension/family pension thus calculated will be revised in accordance with the instructions contained in this Department’s O.M. No. 38/37/08-P&PW(A) dated 1.9.2008 and will be paid to the pensioner/family pensioner fromthe date it becomes due.

For the purpose of gratuity, the emoluments shall also include Dearness Allowance admissible on the date of retirement/death of the Government servant.

The pension/family pension/commutation of pension and gratuity will be regulated in accordance with the rules/instructions applicable before 1.1.2006.

Government servant, who was on extraordinary leave – the period whereof counts as qualifying service – as on 1.1.2006 and retired/died thereafter without joining duty. The pay of such a Government servant will be notionally revised w.e.f. 1.1.2006 and this notionally revised basic pay will be reckoned as emoluments forthe purpose of pension

For the purpose of gratuity, the emoluments shall also include Dearness Allowance admissible on the date of retirement/death of the Government servant.

His pension/family pension, commutation of pension and gratuity will be regulated in accordance with the instructions contained in this Department’s O.M. No. 38/37/08-P&PWA() dated 2.9.2008 and will be paid to the pensioner/family pensioner fromthe date it becomes due.

Government servant, who was under suspension as on 1.1.2006 and retired thereafter without joining duty. Such a Government servant, on retirement, is entitled to only provisional pension. The emoluments which he drew immediately before suspension shall be the emoluments for the purpose of provisional pension. This provisional pension will not be raised until the conclusion of the departmental / judicial proceedings and issue pf final order thereon.

3. These order issue with the concurrence of Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) vide their U.O.No. C-33/EV/2010 dated 13.5.2010

4. In their application to the persons belonging to Indian Audit and Accounts Department these orders issue in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

(Tripti P.Ghosh)

Director

Payment of second installment of 60% arrears to the Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS - Postal Department)

No. 6-1/2009-PE.II

Government of India

Ministry of Communications & IT

Department of Posts

(Establishment Division)

Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg

New Delhi-110001

Dated: 10 June 2010

To,

All Chief Postmasters Gereral,

All Postmasters General,

All General Managers (Finance)

Director of Accounts (Postal)