Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Date: 31.05.2016
India Post opened 85 lakh accounts under Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme: MoC & IT
India Post has played a key role in securing the girl child under #BetiBachaoBetiPadhao movement. Out of the total 91 lakh accounts opened under Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme, India Post has contributed by opening 85 lakh accounts.
Monday, 30 May 2016
Date: 31.05.2016
Ravi Shankar Prasad ordered the postal department to provide the Ganga water from Haridwar and Rishikesh to people
The government is planning to sell online the water from river Ganga, considered holy by many Hindus. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said he has ordered the postal department to provide the Ganga water from Haridwar and Rishikesh to people.
"We would get requests by a vast network of people that the Ganga jal be made available to the people. I learnt it on field visits. I have directed my department to provide for a network using e-commerce platform so that people of India can get 'shudh' (pure) Ganga jal from Haridwar and Rishikesh. We assure you all that we will take proactive steps to address the cultural needs of the people of India," Prasad said.
Last year, the postal department had sold water from Godavari, sourced during the auspicious Pushkaram period. According to Hindu traditions, Pushkaram is celebrated at shrines along the banks of 12 major rivers considered sacred in India.
Clean Ganga by 2018, says Uma Bharti
Ganga, considered one of the 10 most polluted rivers in the world, will become one of the cleanest by 2018, Union minister Uma Bharti had said last week. Lamenting that the river has often been used as a gateway to disposing affluents, Bharti exuded confidence that it would be transformed into the "10 most clean rivers in the world by 2018."
Participating at an event to mark two years in office of the NDA government, Bharti said the government is seriously working for Ganga rejuvenation and claimed that what could not be achieved in the past 29 years after spending Rs 4,000 crore was taking place now. The Union minister said funds are not an issue and the Centre is contributing sufficient funds to ensure that the target of 2018 is not missed.
Bharti had earlier assured the Lok Sabha that she would announce on the floor of the House in 2018 that the river has been rejuvenated
Bonded labourers, sex workers, forced beggars: India leads world in slavery
The Gallup survey was conducted across 15 states and covered nearly 80% of India’s population, the foundation said. (HT File Photo)
India has the largest population of modern slaves in the world with more than 18 million people trapped as bonded labourers, forced beggars, sex workers and child soldiers, a global survey report said on Monday.
The Global Slavery Index by human rights organisation Walk Free Foundation said the number was 1.4% of India’s population, the fourth highest among 167 countries with the largest proportion of slaves.
“Existing research suggests all forms of modern slavery continue to exist in India, including inter-generational bonded labour, forced child labour, commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, forced recruitment into non-state armed groups and forced marriage,” said Grace Forrest, co-founder of the Australia-based foundation.
The survey said an estimated 45.8 million people are living in modern slavery globally and 58% of them are concentrated in India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan.
The Gallup survey was conducted across 15 states and covered nearly 80% of India’s population, the foundation said.
The report coincided with the Centre unveiling a draft bill that envisages punishment for gangs involved in human trafficking and scrutiny of placement agencies, many of which are accused of forcing children into bonded labour and prostitution.
The Cabinet recently cleared proposals to “address new forms of bondage such as organised begging rings, forced prostitution and child labour”. India abolished bonded labour in 1976 but gangs continue to trap people from poor rural areas with the promise of better jobs. Most of them are sold into domestic work, prostitution, or to brick kilns, textile units and farms.
The foundation requested the Centre to frame a policy for private employers so that they keep a check on bonded labour in their supply chain, an issue repeatedly raised by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, who runs a campaign called Bachpan Bachao Andolan against child labour.
His organisation said on Monday the true test of the draft bill “will lie in ensuring time-bound prosecution and rehabilitation, and fixed accountability and stringent monitoring parameters for law enforcement agencies”.
The survey produced case studies to highlight individual cases, underpinning social and economic reasons behind this.
“This is an old disease in the village that if you are not able to pay off your debts you will have to work as a bonded labour in the field of a powerful person. My husband was employed far from the village so that he cannot run away,” the report quoted a woman as saying.
Another woman working as a domestic help said she was never paid wages and “in the name of debt, I was made a victim of sexual violence”. It said a skewed sex ratio in some parts of India “has fuelled trafficking of women for forced marriage”.
The report also highlighted the recruitment of child soldiers by militant groups active in several states, including Jammu and Kashmir, and Jharkhand, and the Northeast.
Date : 30.05.2016
A Note of Memorandum which is submitted to GDS Pay Committee in a meeting regarding Oral Evidence on dated 27.05.2016 at New Delhi & along with a representation on the issues of GDS has been submitted to Dr. K.Hari Babu Hon'ble MP(Lok Sabha) ,Visakhapatnam by Ch.Laxmi Narayana & L.Krishna Prasad RR,Visakhapstnam.
Sri.Dr.K.Hari Babu assured that he pursue the matter with the Ministry of Communication &IT and also with the GDS Pay Committee and also he promised he will try to recommend the issue to get a positive concern from the Govt.of India.
A Note of Memorandum which is submitted to GDS Pay Committee in a meeting regarding Oral Evidence on dated 27.05.2016 at New Delhi & along with a representation on the issues of GDS has been submitted to Dr. K.Hari Babu Hon'ble MP(Lok Sabha) ,Visakhapatnam by Ch.Laxmi Narayana & L.Krishna Prasad RR,Visakhapstnam.
Sri.Dr.K.Hari Babu assured that he pursue the matter with the Ministry of Communication &IT and also with the GDS Pay Committee and also he promised he will try to recommend the issue to get a positive concern from the Govt.of India.
Sunday, 29 May 2016
30.05.2016
Postal Department to Consider Issuing Special RTI Stamps for Payment of Fees
The move would help phase out postal orders, which cost more to the exchequer than their Rs 10 issue price.
Indian postage stamps. Credit: StampexIndia
It defies logic as to why the Department of Posts should incur an expenditure of Rs. 37.45 on every Rs. 10 postal order that is submitted along with an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. But this is precisely what has been happening since the RTI Act came into force in 2005. In the absence of any enabling provision, such as a special stamp for payment of the fees, RTI applicants have been forced to pay through postal orders.
While the issue has been discussed at length, the introduction of new stamps for the payment of RTI fee costs has been restricted by the provisions of the Indian Postal Act, 1898, which prescribes that postage stamps be used for only postal articles.
However, following a Central Information Commission (CIC) order on March 30, 2016, the postal department has decided to constitute a new committee to consider issuing RTI stamps, similar to the radio and TV licence fees stamps, said RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal, on whose petition the decision had come.
Agarwal said an earlier committee had rejected the CIC recommendations on the flimsy grounds of letting things continue as they are.
He claimed that documents received under an RTI response revealed that officers at the security printing presses cited red-tapism and the unavailability of paper as the cause for their inability to print RTI stamps despite printing postage stamps of a prominent living cricketer against postal norms within a few days of the decision on the RTI stamps.
Incidentally, in 2015, a committee comprising four senior officials of the Department of Personnel and Training, CIC and the Department of Posts had discussed the matter of issuing special RTI stamps. It also received suggestions from several citizens. It was told that the postal department had also constituted an expert committee to examine the possibility of introducing exclusive RTI stamps.
The expert committee had said introducing exclusive RTI stamps was not a feasible option and had instead suggested a definitive series of postage stamps.
Thereafter the four-member committee deliberated only on the issue of ordinary postage stamps as a mode of payment for RTI fees. But when it sought the opinion of S.K. Tripathi, director of the postal department, it was told that the Indian Postal Act did not allow the use of postage stamps for purposes other than sending postal articles.
Another glitch that came in the way was section 25(3)(e) of the RTI Act, according to which each ministry or department is required to provide information related to the charges collected by them under the RTI Act. It was thus contended that while monitoring payments to each ministry or department through postal orders was possible due to their particular serial number, the same would not be feasible with ordinary postage stamps.
It was also pointed out that the central government had already launched RTI Online to enable the filing of RTI applications online, including the payment of RTI costs, and the service had been utilised for filing over 190,000 applications since its launch in August 2013.
Besides, the Centre had also launched the facility of electronic Indian postal order, or elPO, to purchase IPOs electronically by online payment. The use of postage stamps for payment of RTI costs, the committee had observed, would thus be a regressive step in the efforts towards electronic delivery of services.
Holding this view, the committee had observed that use of postage stamps as mode of payment for RTI costs would not be feasible legally or from an accounting point of view. Also, it said, it would not be in line with the Centre’s move towards Digital India.
Agarwal insists a lot of time has been wasted on discussing the issue of using postage stamps for the payment of RTI fees. He said RTI stamps are the way ahead and their sale in a particular year can be taken as collected RTI fees and copying charges for that year. “Attractive RTI stamps should be issued only in three denominations of rupees two, 10 and 50, which will also serve as tool of popularising the transparency Act,” he suggested, adding that the beginning could be the release of exclusive RTI stamps in the inaugural session of the annual CIC convention to be held in October.
Saturday, 28 May 2016
May 29, 2016
Regional allotment of Inspector Posts candidates
The following Candidates who qualified in combined Graduate Level Examination 2013, approved for appointment as Inspector Posts and alloted to AP Circle under DR Quota are allotted to Vijayawada region for posting in IP cadre.
1. Ms Lakshmi Kothapalli
2. Sri Simhadri Suresh
Date : 29.05.2016
Fresh ownership model to run India Post Payments bank professionally: Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Union Communications and IT Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad Friday said the government is considering a different ownership structure to “professionally” run the payments bank of the Department of Posts.
The government, which has committed to invest Rs 400 crore in the payment bank of the postal department, is hoping to launch the bank by March 2017 said Prasad. “We propose to have Rs 400 cr investment by the government and the rest by way of equity. It would be a separate architecture from the postal department. The bank will be run professionally,” said Prasad.
The Postal department was one of the 11 entities to be given in-principle approval by the RBI to launch payments banks. However, at least three companies – Cholamandalam, Tech Mahindra and Dilip Shanghvi-Telenor-IDFC – have already said they would be surrendering their licences citing aggressive play by competition.
Prasad said the postal department has begun giving 4,000 hand-held devices to the rural postmen on a pilot basis and will soon be rolling out 1.3 lakh of such machines, which will help them sell third-party products, make e-commerce deliveries, etc. According to him, a major chunk of the department’s over 1.5 lakh post offices are in the hinterlands, which contributes over 60 per cent of the e-commerce players’ catchment area.
Prasad on Friday said over 22,000 post offices have already been connected under the core banking system and the department has also started over 800 ATMs.
Prasad also said that the government’s ambitious Digital India programme is empowering the people across the country. He said the government has been working with a mission of “banking the unbanked, funding the unfunded, securing the unsecured and pensioning the unpensioned”.
Date : 28.05.2016
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE BEFORE THE GDS PAY COMMITTEE BY NUGDS
This is a presentation made by CH. Laxmi Narayana ,All India President NUGDS narrating the postal employees service in Rural India to the public before the GDS Pay Committee for the postal employees in Rural India.
CLICK HERE to see the video.
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE BEFORE THE GDS PAY COMMITTEE BY NUGDS
This is a presentation made by CH. Laxmi Narayana ,All India President NUGDS narrating the postal employees service in Rural India to the public before the GDS Pay Committee for the postal employees in Rural India.
CLICK HERE to see the video.
Friday, 27 May 2016
Date: 28.05.2016
ASP Rotational transfers issued in Hyderabad Region for the year-2016
R.O Hyderabad has ordered the following Transfers and Postings in ASP cadre vide memo dated 26.05.2016.
Sl no
|
Name S/S
|
Present post held
|
Transferred to the post of
|
1
|
P.Varaprasad
|
ASP(H) Adilabad Dn
|
ASP(H) Peddapalli
|
2
|
R.Prabhakar Rao
|
ASP® Peddapalli Dn
|
ASP(H) Nalgonda
|
3
|
Santoshkumar Narahari
|
S.A.S RO Hyderabad
|
ASP Legal cell RO Hyderabad
|
4
|
K.Srikanth
|
ASP Legalcell RO Hyderabad
|
S.A.S. RO Hyderabad
|
5
|
KRK Reddy
|
ASP® Nizamabad
|
ASP (H) Nizamabad
|
Date.27.05.2016
RICT Pilot / Phase I Rollout - Branch PO Data mapping with AO & Sub Division
RICT Pilot / Phase I Rollout - Branch PO Data mapping with AO & Sub Division
It is requested to furnish the details duly signed by divisional head in scanned copy as well as excel format directly to RS - PIC e-mails IDs (rspic@indiapost.gov.in&rict.cept@indiapost.gov.in) on or before 30.05.2016. The response must be submitted only by means of India Post Domain email ID.
Friday, May 27, 2016
FNPO Tendered evidence before GDS Pay Committee
FNPO tendered evidence before the GDS pay Committee headed by Sri Kamalesh Chandra, Chairman, from the official side Sri TQ Mohammad Secretary, Sri Susheel Member and from the staff side Sri D Theagarajan, Secretary General FNPO, Sri TN Rahate, President FNPO, Sri Rajat S Das, working president , FNPO, Sri D Kishan Rao, Genral Secretary, NAPE Group-C, Sri B Shivakumar, Asstt. General Secretary, NAPE Group-C, Sri PU Muraleedharan, General Secretary, NUGDS, Sri CH. Laxmi Narayana Prsident NUGDS, Sri L LKrishna Prasad RR, NAPE Gr-C, AP Circle were tendered the evidence. A Video Presentation for 25 minutes was made before the commission showing the nature of duties of all the cadres of the GDS employees, usage of biometric devices for payment of MGNREGA, Social Security Pensions and the interview of the Hon’ble Communication Minister, Sri Ravi Sankar Prasadji covering the projects under took by the rural postal network present and future. Sukanya Samradhi Account, RPLI, sale of Godavari water, PM Suraksha Bhima Yojana were highlighted in the video. The Chairman and GDS committee keenly watched the video presentation and positively responded on the points raised in the memorandum. The Commission may call unions again in July 2016.
Some of the salient features of the evidence
1. Amending the rule 3A of the GDS conduct & Engagement Rules and allotting the GDS employees to work for 8 hours. Necessary documents obtained under RTI Act were submitted in support of the workload of the BPMs.
2. Dispensing with the unscientific point system for assessing the workload of BPMs and evaluations of new method for the GDSMC/MD/Packers keeping the future need of the rural postal system.
3. Reducing the cadres in the GDS System by making common cadre atleast two and suitably fixing the wages.
4. Fixing the wages of the GDS agents based on the scales implemented to the Central Govt. Employees in the 7th CPC minimum of Rs 20,000/- basic pay.
5. Finding ways and means for providing rented standard accommodation by the Department paying suitable HRA.
6. Cash conveyance arrangement to be made by the Department with conveyance allowance.
7. Fixed quota for the GDS employees in the PA recruitment and allowing GDS employees in the vacant posts of Postal Assistants like postmen & Group-D.
8. 5% LR
9. The compassionate appointment of the dependents in case of voluntary/invalid retirements
10. Liberal transfer facility in place of limited transfer facility.
11. Medical facilities, Group Insurance
12. Chapter wise discussion of our Memorandum .
Thursday, 26 May 2016
Thursday, May 26, 2016
MEETING WITH SECRETARY AND MEMBER (TECHNOLOGY)
Today the General Secretary along with S/S Rajat S Das,President,CHQ B. Sivakumar,AGS Ch Laxminarayana President,NUGDS.CHQ,Krishnaprasad,RR,Vishakhapatnam met Sri S.K.Sinha,Secretary Department od Posts and greeted him on his assumption. Letters were submitted on the following issues and discussed.
1. Malfunctioning of CBS & Macmash and consequent resent ment among the Group C employees.
2. Foriegn Post Office Kolkata issues.
3.Point based compassionate appointment of GDS employees and implementation of the orders
taking date of death as criteria.
The delegation thereafter met Sri B.V.Sudhakar,Member (Technology) and discussed the failure of Infocys in customizing the Finacle software and the issues raised by the NAPEC in previous letters.
Today a higer level meeting was held with Infosys Technocrats and dead line is fixed to rectify the soft ware by First week of June 2015.
There after a meeting was held with DDG (MB) on the Foriegn Post Office issues
General Secretary
1. Malfunctioning of CBS & Macmash and consequent resent ment among the Group C employees.
2. Foriegn Post Office Kolkata issues.
3.Point based compassionate appointment of GDS employees and implementation of the orders
taking date of death as criteria.
The delegation thereafter met Sri B.V.Sudhakar,Member (Technology) and discussed the failure of Infocys in customizing the Finacle software and the issues raised by the NAPEC in previous letters.
Today a higer level meeting was held with Infosys Technocrats and dead line is fixed to rectify the soft ware by First week of June 2015.
There after a meeting was held with DDG (MB) on the Foriegn Post Office issues
General Secretary
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES GROUP-‘C’
(Central Head Quarters)
No. 17-2-17, P&T Quarters, Atul Grove Road, New Delhi-110001
______________________________________________________________________
No. 1-1 Dated: 26-05-2016
The Secretary
Department of Posts
New Delhi-110001
Sub: Problems in the CBS & Mcamish
Ref: Union letter No. 1-1 dated 26-4-2016
Sir,
In continuation of our previous correspondence we further supplement the following for your kind attention and necessary action.
1.Frequent server problem for which customers are fed up with Postal services inturn the officials including Postmasters at the front line are being victimized.
2.CTS clearing at HOs has become more burden on the officials and officials at HO/GPO are finding it very difficult to clear the cheques within the prescribed time limit as most of the time the server will be down.
3.CTS clearing on holidays at GPO/HOs seems to be useless as the officials will not be allowed to do any transactions but will be honoring the cheques just by viewing the balance and actual withdrawal will be shown and accounted on the next working day which seems to be at higher risk as other channels are kept open on holidays and Sundays.
4.On decentralization of PLI/RPLI the workload on Postmasters working at HOs has become hectic where there is no DPM post for treasury/ delivery/subaccounts.
5.Though some of the officers are merged office SOL is exiting and one of the official is provided use rid for the merged office and the officials acting as PA and supervisor which is highly irregular inspite of asking for merger of SOL the solution is not provided.
6.With reference to the order NO FNo.25-11/2016-SB dtd at DAK BHAWAN the 10/11/05/2016where in more pressure and burden is put on Postmasters/Supervisors of the HOs.The following clarifications are needed with reference to the said order.
a)On what authentication the Postmasters of the HOs should upload the DBT as in many circles the Emos(SSY) are directly fetched from Postman package with the local software namelyAnand tool and linked to finacle where it will be automatically shown as window delivery in postman package and directly reflected in treasury package and will be uploaded to finacle .Now many of the SPMs in the delivery post offices are directly sending email to the concerned HOs and asking for upload of the e-mos by attaching the file for upload.
b) If there is any discrepancies in the amount and account number who is responsible?
And how to check the same and on what authentication it should be uploaded.
c) Under each HO more than twelve delivery offices will be there and not less than 200000 e-mos will be there for uploading .This is an extra burden on Postmasters working at HO and in future no official may be willing to work under HOs.
We once again request to kindly initiate necessary action immediately.
Yours Sincerely,
(D Kishan Rao)
General Secretary
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES GROUP-‘C’
(Central Head Quarters)
No. 17-2-17, P&T Quarters, Atul Grove Road, New Delhi-110001
______________________________________________________________________
To
Sri Ravi Shankar Prasad
Honorable Minister of Communication & IT
Govt. of India,
New Delhi-110001
Honorable Sir,
Sub: Malfunctioning of CBS Vs detoriating service to the public in Banking and Insurance in the Department of Post – Request for immediate intervention.
My union which is representing the staffs who are shouldering the responsibility of manning the CBS and Insurance in Post Offices, compelled to bring the following for your kind intervention.
2. The IT modernization project was introduced in the Department two years back and nearly 20500 offices so far brought under CBS operation. But the innovation does not lead to technological improvisation ensuring the best possible service to the customers. But, instead, had rendered our staff with an unsavory and humiliating experience of encountering the public wrath and curse on day today basis. The Business in both the sectors rapidly coming down.
3. We expected a rapid change in the Department with the new technology and the initiatives taken by the Honorable Minister to take the service finally to the Post Bank of India in 2017. But the hope is slowly shattering and the staffs are working upto midnight to make the project a success.
4. All the assurances the administration, had given in the past and the transient nature of the problems had not proved to be credible and worthy merit. Instead the problems are aggravating day by day making every one skeptic of the words from the authorities that be.
5. The problem so far identified is the server capacity which is not enough compared to the no. of transactions, bandwidth and old computers and peripherals which has to be replaced. The Department issued orders to upgrade, but due to financial hurdles nothing has been done. As announced by the Honorable Minister the linking the BOS through RICT will further worsen the situation.
6. My union has fully cooperated and made so many suggestions to improve the situation and staff at the field level are frustrated with the continued malfunctioning of the technology. The staffs are doubtful how about the future and next stage of technology. Further there are frauds due to mishandling recently which are a tip in the iceberg. The management never felt any responsibility and innocent people are becoming the scapegoats.
7. There is no training/proper training and the staff are forced to handle the technology straightaway without any training.
8. My union therefore requests the Honorable minister to initiate necessary urgent action to develop the services to the satisfaction of customers and save the officials from public wrath.
Yours Sincerely,
(D Kishan Rao)
General Secretary
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