P Gopinath
India Post embraces IT to keep pace with changing times: Secy P Gopinath
At a time when technology is rapidly revolutionalising channels of communication, the Indian Postal Department has also embraced IT and diversified into areas like e-commerce and financial services to be on a par with the new age. Department of Post Secretary P Gopinath, a 1977-batch IPoS officer, shares with Bureaucracy Today how the public sector postal monolith has transformed itself to keep pace with the changing times.
By Soma Chakraborty
Aiming at making itself technology-enabled, self-reliant market leader, India Post under the leadership of Secretary P Gopinath has taken various revolutionary measures which have transformed the Government-run Postal Department into a highly reliable service for both common people and corporates alike. One of such steps is ‘India Post 2012’, an ambitious IT transformation project which will enable the Government to create a national asset of 1,55,000 IT-enabled post offices.
“The focus of the Department in the last one year has been on rolling out the IT modernization project along with its emphasis on service delivery improvement and the launch of new e-enabled products and services. The India Post 2012 project, scheduled to be completed by mid-2015, is the first of its kind undertaken by any postal operator in the world. The primary focus of the programme is to improve and automate the Post Office Savings Bank, Postal Life Insurance counter operations of post office and mail through business process re-engineering and the creation of efficient operations. The project will provide the Core Banking facility, ATMs in urban areas and micro-ATMs in rural areas,” Gopinath tells Bureaucracy Today.
She further says, “The project will bridge the urban-rural divide, will make the post office the focal point of delivery of social security schemes of the Central and State governments under Direct Benefit Transfer and will provide biometric authentication of financial transactions and multiple channels like the ATM, mobile banking and net banking for the Savings Bank customer. It will also provide an electronic and secure mode of money transfer, particularly in rural India. To add to our bouquet of e-services, India Post has also launched the e-IPO service for the payment of RTI fee by all Indian residents through the e-Post Office portal. The e-Post Service is now available in one-to-many and many-to-one sender/recipient modes.”
INITIATIVES TO TAP CORPORATE SEGMENT
Keeping in view the increasing role of business in customer transactions in the emerging e-commerce market, the Postal Department has introduced various facilities like Cash-on-Delivery for speed post and business parcel products and the track and trace facility for speed post and parcel products.
“To cater to the return logistics requirement for the emerging e-Commerce, the facility of returns through speed post in the form of ‘Business Reply Speed Post’ service is being planned. The department has also started a pre-mailing activity in the form of Business Post so as to cater to the requirements of corporate customers and to assist bulk mailers. The Print to Post Service has been started with a view to integrating the mailing process of bulk mailers right from printing a letter to delivery,” Gopinath tells Bureaucracy Today.
Aiming at faster communication of messages, the department has introduced an ePost Service. “It is a hybrid mail service where the message travels electronically and at the destination point the message is printed and delivered in paper format. Apart from sending ePost messages through post offices, individual customers can register themselves online to use the facility of pre-paid account wherein they can send ePost messages using their own computers and the Internet. The corporate version of the facility enables ministries/ departments/ PSUs and other organizations to send ePost messages from their premises in bulk. The instant transmission of the messages gives a futuristic approach and will help in tapping the emerging business in this field,” the 1977-batch IPoS officer says.
COMPETITION FROM PRIVATE COURIER SERVICES
On the competition from private courier services, Gopinath tells Bureaucracy Today, “The market today is large enough to accommodate more than one operator. The private couriers operate in a niche market with its own market space and clientele. None of the private couriers has a pan-India presence to the extent that India Post has. We are the sole player in the market that can offer pan-India service. This is our USP and the reason why our customers choose India Post for effecting delivery across the country.”
She further says, “Despite over three decades of operations, the private courier sector in India is far from being ready to handle the kind of volumes that India Post does and reach the farthest corners of the country. Many of the private couriers in India do not follow labour laws and transparent service deficiency compensation policy. With the launch of the India Post IT Project we are ready to offer customers improvement in service delivery.”
VISION FOR INDIAN POSTAL DEPTT
On her vision for the Indian Postal Department, Gopinath says, “Our vision is to make India Post products and services the customer's first choice and all our efforts are geared towards this goal.”
“Our efforts towards providing world-class service to customers have already started bearing fruits. The Mail Network Optimization Project of India Post has bagged the National E-Governance Award 2012-13 under the category ‘Outstanding performance in citizen-centric service delivery’,” the IPoS officer says proudly.
National awards in e-Governance are presented every year by the Department of Reforms and Public Grievances in collaboration with the Department of Information Technology to recognize and promote excellence in implementing e-Governance initiatives by various Government sectors.
Appreciating P Gopinath’s immense contribution in making the Indian Postal Department high-tech and customer-friendly and putting it on a par with its global counterparts, the Bureaucracy Today editorial team designates the dynamic IPoS officer as Bureaucrat of the Month for the May 2014 issue of the magazine.
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Friday, May 9, 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
INCREASE IN ALLOWANCES
Subject:- Clarification on increase in certain allowances by further
25% as a result of enhancement of
Dearness Allowances w.e.f. 1.1.2014.
Copy
of O.N. No.A-27012/1/2014-Estt. (Allowance) 28th April,2014 from
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension Department of Personnel
& Training
The undersigned is
directed to refer to para 1(j) of this Department’s O.M. No.12011/03/2008-Estt
(Allowance) dated 2.9.2008. This provides that the limits of Children Education
Allowance would be automatically raised by 25% every time the Dearness
Allowance on the revised pay structure goes up by 50%. References are being
received from various quarters with regard to
the amount of Children Education Allowance admissible consequent
upon enhancement of Dearness Allowance
payable to Central Government employees
@ 100% w.e.f. 1St January,
2014 announced vide Ministry of Finance,
Department of Expenditure O.M. No.1/1/2014-E-II (B) dated 27 th March, 2014.
GDS COURT CASE
Case came up for hearing on 7th May in the Delhi High Court. Advocate for Government of India, Department of Posts requested for extension of time for filing reply statement. Court granted four weeks time to file reply statement. Other full details will be exhibited in the website within two days.
7 th and previous Central Pay Commissions
Seventh Central Pay Commission
In a resolution dated 28th February, 2014, Government of India has appointed the Seventh Central Pay Commission comprising Justice Shri Ashok Kumar Mathur as Chairman, Shri Vivek Rae as full time Member, Dr. Ratin Roy as part time Member and Smt. Meena Agarwal as Secretary. The Commission is headquartered in Delhi and has been given 18 months from date of its constitution to make its recommendations. To this end the Commission will set up its team of Officers, Advisers, Institutional Consultants and Experts and call for required information and documents from Ministries and Departments of Government of India and various Service associations.
The dates of appointment and submission of recommendations of the previous six central pay commissions are as under-
Central Pay Commissions
|
Date of Appointment
|
Date of Submission of Report
|
First Pay Commission
|
May, 1946
|
May, 1947
|
Second Pay Commission
|
August, 1957
|
August, 1959
|
Third Pay Commission
|
April, 1970
|
March, 1973
|
Fourth Pay Commission
|
June, 1983
|
Three Reports submitted in June, 1986;
December, 1986 and May, 1987 respectively |
Fifth Pay Commission
|
April, 1994
|
January, 1997
|
Sixth Pay Commission
|
October, 2006
|
March, 2008
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MEDIA NEWS
Delhi HC refuses to stay functioning of Seventh Pay Commission
MAY 7, 2014
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday declined to stay the functioning of the Seventh Pay Commission while hearing a plea that challenged a notification on inclusion of a former IAS officer as a member of the panel.
Justice Sudershan Kumar Misra also issued notice to the central government on the plea filed by retired members of the all India Services, central civil services and armed forces against the government's February 28 notification constituting the commission.
The petitioners argued that inclusion of a former Indian Administrative Service officer, Vivek Rae, in the four-member commission give rise to a "real likelihood of bias" on his part to give a favourable recommendation to the IAS.
The petition said: "The impugned resolution, by retaining the practice of including a member of the IAS as a member of the commission has given rise to a real likelihood of bias on the part of such member in favour of maintaining the status quo, under which the IAS enjoys a position of special privilege in respect of pay fixation."
Rae has a directed pecuniary interest in the recommendations of the commission, as it would also determine his pension and retirement benefits, alleged the plea.
The petitioners further questioned the practice of previous pay commissions providing an "edge" in pay scales to members of the IAS over other members of the AIS and other central civil services including India Forest Services (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), and all other group A central services.
"Past report of the commission rise to a reasonable apprehension that the reason for the repeated rejection of the demands for parity of other services in the AIS with the IAS is attributable to the fact that the commission has always comprised of a member of the IAS," the petition submitted.
Central government counsel, however, argued the commission was not a "one-man show" and that it recommendations inturn have to go through scrutiny of the government and Rae was included in the commission because of his wide experience in the field.
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur is the chairman of the commission and former petroleum and natural gas secretary Rae, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) Rathin Roy, OSD in finance ministry's expenditure department Meena Agarwal are the members.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
PHOTOS OF MARRIAGE OF DAUGHTER OF COM. M. KRISHNAN SECRETARY GENERAL NFPE & CONFD.
PHOTOS OF MARRIAGE OF DAUGHTER OF COM. M. KRISHNAN SECRETARY GENERAL NFPE & CONFD.
7th CPC- Public Notice inviting Views
CLICK HERE
Ready Reckoner on Standardisation of mails
CLICK HERE
Monday, May 5, 2014
aturday, May 3, 2014
HSG-I OFFICIATING PERIOD SHOULD BE COUNTED FOR PAY FIXATION & PENSIONARY BENEFITS
ONE MORE JUDGEMENT FROM CAT CHENNAI.. APPEAL FILED BY DEPARTMENT DISMISSED BY MADRAS HIGH COURT.
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE 28TH CIRCLE CONFERENCE OF AIPEU GROUP ‘C’ KARNATAKA CIRCLE HELD AT BANGALORE FROM 01.04.2014 TO 03.04.2014.
This 28th Circle Conference of AIPEU Group ‘C’, Karnataka Circle, Resolves as follows
The Federal Council meeting of NFPE which is the highest decision making body of NFPE held at Hyderabad in June 2013 had taken a decision to grant Associate Membership to the newly formed All India Postal Employees Union – GDS (NFPE) and also has decided to form Divisional/Circle Branches of the new GDS Union in all Circles and also given a call to all affiliates of NFPE to extend full support and cooperation to the new GDS Union.
The All India Conference of AIPEU Group ‘C’ which is the highest decision making body of AIPEU Group ‘C’, held at Thiruvananthapuram had taken a similar decision as above and had called upon all Branch/Divisional and Circle unions to extend full support and cooperation to the newly formed AIPEU-GDS (NFPE).
Unfortunately, in Karnataka Circle, the Circle Union could not take a decision to implement the above decisions of NFPE and AIPEU Group ‘C’ (CHQ), for various reasons.
As the earlier GDS Union AIPEDEU (now called as AIGDSU) has no connection with NFPE, the newly formed AIPEU-GDS (NFPE) is the only GDS Union which stands solidly with NFPE and implements all the decisions of NFPE including strike.
Taking into consideration the above facts and circumstances, this 28th Circle Conference of AIPEU Group ‘C’, Karnataka Circle hereby unanimously resolves to implement the above decisions of NFPE and AIPEU Group ‘C’ (CHQ) in Karnataka Circle in letter and spirit and to extend full support and cooperation to the newly formed AIPEU-GDS (NFPE). This Circle conference further decides to end the confrontative attitude of the Circle Union with NFPE & P3 CHQ, regarding GDS Union and shall go by the decision of NFPE and AIPEU Group ‘C’ (CHQ).
Friday, May 2, 2014
No. R-III/25/Misc/2014 Dated 02-05-2014
To
Secretary
Department of Posts,
Dak Bhawan,
New Delhi-110116.
Subject:-Allotment of
funds for O.T.A. and Medical.
Respected Madam,
Reports from Circles indicate that at
the end of the financial year 2013-2014 on 31st March, 2014 OTA bills for a minimum of 2
cycles and in some circles as many as 8
cycles are pending for encashment.
Same is the position in respect of
Medical bills.
It has been our experience that whatever
funds are allotted for the new financial year some portion of it is exhausted
in clearing the pending claims for the
previous year and remaining funds are exhausted by November/December depending
upon the number of pending OTA Bills and Medical Bills for the remaining part
of the year, the staff go on clamouring for allotment of additional funds which
even if given do not meet the requirements.
It is, therefore, requested that while
allotting funds for OTA & Medical Bills for the Financial year 2014-15 to
the Circles, the pending OTA bills and Medical Bills may also be taken into
account to avoid repetition of past years.
With
regards
Yours
sincerely,
(Giri Raj Singh) General
Secretary
Thursday, May 1, 2014
MAY DAY GREETINGS
AIPEU GDS (NFPE) COURT CASE - NEXT HEARING ON 7th May 2014
DEPARTMENTALISATION OF GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS (GDS)
AND
INCLUSION OF GDS UNDER 7TH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION
FIRST HEARING OF THE COURT CASE ON 7TH MAY 2014
DEPARTMENTALISATION OF GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS (GDS)
AND
INCLUSION OF GDS UNDER 7TH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION
FIRST HEARING OF THE COURT CASE ON 7TH MAY 2014
HON’BLE DELHI HIGH COURT ISSUED NOTICE TO THE GOVERNMENT AND DEPARTMENT OF POSTS.
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