National Postal Week Celebrations Begin With Various New Wins And Inaugurations

Pune, 13th October 2022: National Postal Week is celebrated in India every year from 9th October onwards. 9th October is celebrated as World Post Day, which marks the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) of the United Nations, headquartered in Bern, Switzerland. India is a member of the UPU.

National Postal Week 2022 culminates on the 13th of October, celebrated as Antyodaya Diwas. On this occasion, the Pune Postal Region has organized a Mid-term Award Distribution and Felicitation Function followed by a Press Meet. Ramchandra K. Jayabhaye, Postmaster General, Pune Region, has apprised the representatives of Print and TV Media of the following schemes and latest developments and initiatives of the Department. Mahesh Iyengar, Director of the Press Information Bureau, and Simran Kaur, Director of Postal Services, Pune Region, were also present.

Since its inception in 1854, the Indian Postal Service has offered its services to all corners of the nation. The Pune Postal Region has four Districts – Pune, Ahmednagar, Solapur and Satara. The region has 11 divisions, including Railway Mail Service Division, 2,657 Post Offices, 10 Head Post Offices, 486 Sub-Post Offices, 2,161 Branch Offices, 11 Mail Processing Units, and more than 6,000 Dak Karmayogis.

Post Office Saving Schemes – Postal Small Saving Schemes offer the highest interest rates compared to the same products available from other Financial Institutions. The Department of Posts offers a variety of schemes, which mainly include Post Office Savings Bank, PPF, Sukanya Samruddhi Yojana, Sr. Citizen Savings Scheme, MIS, RD, Term Deposits, NSC/KVP, Jan-Suraksha Accounts, and others. The Indian Postal Department has the largest CBS Platform in the world, connecting more than 1,55,000 Post Offices in real time. With technological advancements, the Department is offering Mobile Banking, Internet Banking with interoperability with banks, and Interoperable ATM Cards. Investors can open and close their accounts through Internet Banking without physically stepping into the Post Office. Hence, investing in Post Office Saving Schemes is a safe and popular investment option for generations. The facility of e-Passbook is also available through the website and will be available on the Post Info App shortly.

From 1.4.2022 to 30.9.2022, more than 81 lakh CBS transactions have taken place in around nine lakh accounts in Pune Postal Region, with deposits/withdrawals of more than Rs. 13,000 Cr. More than 3.71 lakh citizens have opened their accounts during the period. (7,821 PPF A/cs, 35,800 Sukanya Samruddhi A/cs, 15,139 Senior Citizens A/cs, 23,218 Monthly Income Scheme accounts). Pune Postal Region had 51.50 lakh Live Accounts as of 30.9.2021. Those have increased to 55.10 lakh as of 30.9.2022. From 1.4.2021 to 30.9.2021, 2.09 lakh accounts were opened, and 3.71 lakh accounts have been opened during the same period in 2022.

During the period from 1.4.2021 to 31.8.2021, a revenue of Rs. 74.05 Cr. was generated by Pune Postal Region, whereas, a revenue of Rs. 82.56 Cr. is generated from 1.4.2022 to 31.8.2022.

Insurance – In the urban area, the Postal Life Insurance with a life cover of Rs. 50 lakh, and in rural areas, a life cover of Rs. 10 lakh can be availed by citizens. Highlights of PLI are that it offers a High Bonus with Low premiums, covers War Risk, which is not covered by similar industry products, and has an online Premium Payment facility with better tax-free returns. During the current Financial Year, the lives of 8,90,865 individuals in the Pune Postal Region have been secured through PLI. The Department also offers a High Claim Settlement Ratio of 99.32%, which is also one of the main reasons for its popularity.

Parcel Service – The Department of Posts provides One Stop Packaging Solution at Pune Head Office and Pune City Head Office (City Post). Dedicated counters providing Parcel Packaging Services are available and equipped with Wrapping/Strapping Machines, flat rate boxes and other packaging materials. During the National Postal Week on 12th October 2022, a fully operational Parcel Packing Unit at Chinchwad-East Post Office was inaugurated and offered to the citizens. Various types of Parcel Services are provided by the Department of Posts – Speed Post Parcels, Business Parcels, and Registered Parcels. However, Airlift is provided only for Speed Post Parcels. Further, the Department has a dedicated Road Transport Network (RTN) linking various major cities across the country. In Pune Region also, Intra Region RTNs are being run, which can be availed by the customers for their Logistics needs. The Department of Posts is offering most of the best industry practices under Supply Chain Management like Track and Trace on every scan, SMS facility for delivery, discounts, API Integration, National Account Facility, Cash on Delivery, and revised insurance rates for valuable parcels. The Press and Media were further informed that a dedicated 24×7 Parcel/Documents Booking Facility will be available at the Counter at Pune Railway Station for the convenience of citizens. During the period from 1.4.2021 to 30.9.2021, 32,000 articles were booked at the said Railway Station Counter, which, this year, increased to approximately 40,000 articles. Also, booking hours of Post Offices located primarily in residential areas like Aundh Camp PO, Hadapsar PO, NIBM PO, Katraj PO, and Chinchwad-East PO have been increased for the convenience of customers, who are desirous of availing this facility after their office hours in Post Offices.

Pune Postal Region has processed 9.57 lakh Inward and 8.82 lakh Outward parcels so far. 2.72 lakh parcels have been booked up to 30.9.2022 in Pune Region, as compared to 2.37 lakh parcels booked in the last Financial Year. Apart from this, 48,00,202 Inward and 18,61,508 Outward Speed Post Documents have been processed. An average of 80% of Speed Parcels and Documents are delivered on the same day.

It was also updated that during the period from 1.4.2021 to 30.9.2021, 3,14,306 parcels were delivered. However, during the period from 1.4.2022 to 30.9.2022, 3,29,745 Parcels have been delivered.

India Post Payments Bank(IPPB) – IPPB was launched by the Department of Posts in 2018. Paperless Banking, Aadhaar-enabled payments/withdrawals, Funding, Premium and Merchant Accounts, Bill Payments, EMI Payments, Linking of Gpay/UPI QR Code Transactions, and others are its broad features. Aadhaar enrolment of children below five years through CELC and Mobile Updation and Generation of Digital Life Certificate for Pensioners using IPPB Biometric Device is the special additional benefit that IPPB offers. Through IPPB, the Department of Posts is offering Tata AIG and Bajaj Allianz General as well as Life Insurance to citizens. During the ongoing campaign of Suraksha Ka Vaada, under General Insurance, which is going to end on 30th October 2022, the Pune Region has topped the country in providing maximum General/Life Insurance through IPPB to citizens with a premium of Rs. 1.71 Cr.

Pune Postal Region includes six Branches of IPPB, in which more than 11 lakh Savings A/cs have been opened so far (including 1,58,005 A/cs opened during the Current Financial Year) with a balance of Rs 84.85 Cr. An amount of Rs. 224 Cr. has so far been disbursed through the Aadhaar-based payment system. 1,15,042 IPPB Account-holders have benefitted through Insurance.

Philately – Pune Postal Region organized a Philatelic Exhibition from 2nd to 4th October 2022 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti at Bapu Bhavan, National Institute of Naturopathy, Pune. A special Cover of “Bapu and Pune” was released on this occasion. More than 2,000 School Students visited this Exhibition.

Also, it was specially mentioned that Pune Postal Region has given Special Recognition to two GI Tagged Products of the Pune District, i.e., Ambemohar Rice of Maval and Figs of Purandar, by releasing Special Covers on each of them on the recently held Philately Day on 10th October 2022. The Ministry of Food Processing and Atma Nirbhar Bharat, the scheme of One District – One Product was launched, under which, the tomato was the product for Pune. A special Cover on this aspect was also released on the same day.

Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra – The purpose of Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra (DNK) is to support the export promotion policy of the Government of India, where the Department of Posts is playing a major role in its success. Accordingly, in Pune Region, Pune HO is identified as Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra.

New Project – The PMG informed that a new building at Vijaynagar, Pune 411 030, is being constructed and, very soon, SP College Post Office, which was hitherto being run in rented accommodation, will be shifted to this new building. This building is equipped with a Solar pack, Advance Fire-fighting System, and other facilities. Besides housing the Post Office, this building has a dedicated Workplace Computerized Training Center for the benefit of the employees.

Also, major infrastructural improvements in a couple of years concerning Parcel Delivery have been done by setting up Nodal Delivery Centres (NDCs) at five locations across Pune equipped with five four-wheelers and 28 two-wheelers. As an environmentally-friendly measure, e-bikes are being used at Chinchwad-East NDC for parcel delivery. These centres provide dedicated Parcel Delivery Services only. New NDC is being set up at Sant Tukaram Nagar Pimpri to provide parcel delivery service in Pimpri.

Also, Pune GPO is selected for restoration as a Heritage Building in the ensuing and next financial year.

During the National Postal Week, the Pune Postal Region opened 3,213 accounts in one single day on the occasion of Vittiya Sashaktikaran Diwas (Financial Empowerment Day). The region also issued 1,988 Postal Life Insurance/Rural Postal Life Insurance Policies; 92 villages have been declared as Sampoorna Sukanya Gram; Nine villages have been declared as Five Star Villages; 15 villages have been declared as Sampoorna Bima Gram.

The Pune Postal Region has established eight Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs), where more than 32,000 passport applications have been processed in this Financial Year.

2,493 Post Offices have been appointed as Common Service Centers (CSCs) where various Citizen Centric Services like mobile recharge, bill payment, gas booking, and IRCTC are provided.

The Department also contributed to the success of the recently held Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign of the Government of India by delivering 18,614 Tirangas booked online, with a sale of 1,91,455 Tirangas across the Post Office Counters.