CAG flays DoP for fraudulent encashment of postal savings Certificates

A fraudulent encashment of Kisan Vikas Patra/National Savings Certificates worth Rs 9.01 crore between 1996 and 2004 could have been prevented if the Head Post Office in Varanasi had sent the statement of unsold cash certificates to Director of Accounts (Postal), CAG said today.

”...statement of unsold cash certificates was not being sent by HPO (Head Post of office) Varanasi Cantt to Director of Accounts (Postal), Lucknow. If the prescribed procedure ...had been scrupulously followed that would have prevented the fraudulent encashment of KVPs/NSCs worth Rs 9.01 crore,” a CAG report tabled in Parliament said.

In another incident, the auditor has found irregularity in payment of interest amounting to Rs 2.26 crore to subscribers of Public Provident Fund Scheme as provisions relating to the scheme were not scrupulously followed.

The report said Post offices in Delhi have also not been able realise revenue to the extent of Rs 98.36 lakh due to failure of Chief Post Master General in Delhi to deduct commission in advance on purchase of revenue stamps from the state government.

The CAG Report for the year ended March, 2011 noted an infructuous expenditure worth Rs 64.62 lakh due to failure of Department of Post (DoP) to construct a postal complex on a plot acquired in 1990. 

Source : The Hindu Business Line

While the saving deposits with banks have a positive growth, there has been a decline in small savings collections - Minister informed Rajya Sabha

The details of saving deposits with Banks and Gross and Net Small Savings Collections during 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and during the current year are given below:-

(Rs. In Billion)

	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Saving Deposits with Banks	11,367	12,855	14,442	15,578(April-August)
Gross Small Savings Collections	2509.3	2,747.2	2,190.0	516.7 (April-June)
Net Small Savings collections	643.5	586.5	6.5	(-) 19.2 (April-June)

           

Revision of tariff for occupation of Inspection Quarters / Inspection Rooms

This has a reference to Department of Posts(Estate Division) earlier Letter No. 6-2/2004-Bldg. dated 4-8-2005. As communicated vide Department of Posts (Estate Division) Letter No.6-5/2009-Bldg dated 27-08-2012 the rates for occupation of Inspection Quarters / Inspection Rooms is rationalized as follows:-

A)   Inspection Quarters / Inspection Rooms:

i)             For Officers of the Department of Posts while on duty / leave, retired officers of Department of Posts, other Government / PSU Officers on official visit and others for period of 10 days:

Sl. No.	Category of visitor in Inspection Quarters / Inspection Rooms	Rent per Day (More than six Hours)
		X Class Cities	Y & Z Class Cities
1.	Officers of Department of Posts on official visit	`25/-	`25/-
2.	Officers and dependent family members of Department of Posts on personal Visit	`100/-	`50/-
3.	Retired Officers of Department of Posts	`100/-	`50/-
4.	Other Government / PSU Officers on official visit and others	`250/-	`150/-

ii)           The charges for the use of :-

Air conditions        :-       `20/- per day or a part thereof

Room Heaters        :-        `10/- per day or a part thereof

B)   Rates for officers for stay in Inspection Quarters/Inspection Rooms for periods exceeding 10 days:-

i)             For period exceeding 10 days and upto 60 days:-Same as in para (A) above {With permission of the Controlling Authority i.e. Head of the Circle}

ii)            For period beyond 60 days:-10% of Basic pay (including special pay) [With permission of the DG Posts]

The revised rates indicated above will take place with immediate effect. 

Retirements on Superannuation

The following officers are retiring from service on 31.08.2012 on superannuation . We wish a happy and peaceful retired life to them.

1.M.Chandra Sekhar Reddy, SSPOs Chittor Dn,

2.R.RamaKrishna, ASRM Hyd Stg Dn, Hyderabad.

3. K.Siva Prasad, Office Superintendent ,Circle Office Hyderabad.

Restructuring of India Post by separating its regulatory and services functions

Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal has called for restructuring of 150-year-old Department of Post by separating its regulatory and services functions to meet challenges of technological age.

"The postal department should also restructure itself to meet challenges of 21st century. The Department of Post (DoP) should look into prospect of bifurcating the ministry from the regulator and the operator, just as was done in the telecom sector," Sibal told PTI.

LGO Examination 2012 - Postponed to 16.09.2012

It was It was communicated vide Directorate letter no  A-34012/6/2012-DE dated 22.8.2012 that the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for promotion of Lower Grade Officials (LGO) to the cadre of Postal Asst. / Sorting Asst. for the year 2012 to be held on 9.09.2012 is rescheduled and now it will be held on 16.09.2012(Sunday). The timings are as follows.  

                    

Date of Examination	Paper Nos.	Time
16.9.2012	Paper-I	10 00AM to 11 00 AM
16.9.2012	Paper-II	12 00 Noon to 01 00 P.M.

Admissibility of HRA during Child Care Leave - Clarification

Click here to  view Ministry of Finance(Department of Expenditure) OM No.2(9)/2012-E.II(B) dated 27.08.2012 on the above subject matter.

Circle Allotments to PS Group B Examination 2012 Candidates

Directorate has issued Circle allotments to the candidates who came out successful in PS Group B Examination held on 03.06.2012 vide Memo no 9-34 / 2011-SPG dated. 27.08.2012. All the successful 9 candidates from A.P Circle got allotment to A.P Circle.
Click here to view the Directorate order in original.

Sri SQ.Samshuddin, Asst Supdt of Post Offices, Bapatla Sub Dn of Tenali Dn who suffered  total body paralysis followed by Brain hammarage is in serious condition.He was discharged from KIMS Hospital Secunderabad with no hope of recovery and at present admitted in Lalitha Super Specialty Hospital, Kothapet, Guntur. He was in coma kept on ventilator and response to the treatment is minimal. Let us pray for his recovery.

Mandatory publication of tender enquiries by Ministries/Departments on the Central Public Procurement Portal

Click here to view Department of Posts Letter No. 12-9/2011-UPE dated 7-8-2012 on the above subject matter.

Congratulations YoungTeam INDIA for winning 3rd Under- 19 Cricket World cup defeating Australia in Australia in the final

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Inspector Posts Examination 2012 - Postponed to 15 & 16.09.2012

It was communicated vide Directorate letter no A-34012/07/2012-DE dated 22.08.2012 that the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for promotion to the cadre of Inspector Posts(66.6%) Departmental Quota for the year 2012 scheduled to be held on 08&09.09.2012 is rescheduled and now will be held on 15 & 16.09.2012.

Postal Officer's Association - New Office bearers elected

The following new Office Bearers are elected during the All India Conference of Postal Officer's Association(India) held at NewDelhi.

1. President - Sri. S. V. Rao, SSPOs, Hyderabad South East Division. (M--07838027729)

2. General Secretary - Sri Virendra Kumar Singh, ADG (Philately) Postal Directorate. (M--09910337929)

3. Treasurer - Sri S. Ranganathan, ADG (Techonlogy) Postal Directorate. (M--09650801486)

Vacancy position for LGO Examination to be held on 09.09.2012

Circle Office, Hyderabad, vide letter no RE/2-2/LGO Exam/2012 dated 21.08.2012, has communicated the vacancy position for the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for Promotion of Lower Grade Officials to the cadre of PA/SA for the year 2012 to be held on 09.09.2012.

Click here to view the Vacancy position Division wise in AP Circle.

Over Rs 750 crore lying in Silent post office savings Bank Accounts

 The government today said around Rs 752 crore is lying as unclaimed deposits in more than 2.49 crore inactive savings accounts in post offices.

"Rs 752,44,57,414.03 is the amount lying in all inactive (silent) accounts as on March 31, 2011 in 2,49,59,446 accounts," Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

West Bengal led the tally of unclaimed deposits with over Rs 107 crore lying in 20.16 lakh accounts, followed by Tamil Nadu (Rs 105.87 crore in 62.72 lakh accounts) and Uttar Pradesh (Rs 68.61 crore in 21.74 lakh accounts).

"The depositor of such account can activate the account at any time by transaction. Notices are issued every year to the account holder of such accounts who are not maintaining minimum balance. Special drives are launched to re-activate such accounts by issuing notices and giving information through electronic media," Sibal said.

Revision of Medical Fee payable to Medical Officer for conducting Medical Examination of PLI / RPLI proponents

 Directorate of Postal Life Insurance, vide  letter No.22-02/85-LI Vol III (Pt) dated 22-08-2012 has revised the fees payable to Medical Officer for conducting Medical Examination of PLI / RPLI proponents as follows and the revised rates will be effective from the date of issue of this letter.

Amount of Sum Assured	Revised amount of fee payable (per proponent) (In `)
Upto the sum assured of `5 lacs	50/-
Above `5 lacs and upto `10 lacs of sum assured	60/-
Above `10 lacs of sum assured	70/-

21st meeting of the standing committee of voluntary agencies (SCOVA) to be held on 27th September 2012 in New Delhi

Department of Pension and Pension Welfare coming under Ministry of Personnel, Pu

It has also called for issues if any to be included in the agenda to be discussed in the meeting.blic Grievances and Pensions has requested all Pensioners’ Associations to attend the 21st meeting of the standing committee of voluntary agencies (SCOVA) to be held on 27th September 2012 in New Delhi.

Only one representative from each organization can attend the meeting.

Copy of the letter is reproduced below.

Handling of Public Complaints by India Post

Complaints regarding delay in delivery or any other service failure in respect of postal articles including speed post letters, money orders and registered posts are received from time to time. A statement of complaints received, settled and settlement percentage with respect to speed post letters, money orders and registered post for the last three years, i.e., for 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 is given in Annexure- I, Annexure-II and Annexure- III.

The volume as well as revenue of Speed Post has continuously increased over the years.  The figures for the last four financial years are as follows:

Speed Post	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
Volume (in Crore)	21.14	24.08	27.45	39.19
Revenue (Rs. in Crore)	515	614	749	900

Voluntary retirement of Shri. Anurag Priyadarshee (IPoS-1989), Director (Rural Business) postal Directorate.

Click here to view Department of Posts Order No. 13-1/2012-SPG dated 16.08.2012 on the above subject matter.

Change in text of column no.2 printed in the Standardized Uniform Savings Bank Passbook from Page No.2 to 24

Click here to  view SB Order No.10/2012 dated 16/8/2012 on the above subject matter.

SLP filed in Hon. Supreme Court against Karnataka High Court decision on fixation of pay on promotion to PO & RMS Accountants dismissed

 The Department of Posts has filed SLP in the Supreme Court  on the High Court Karnataka decision on fixation of pay of PO & RMS accountants on promotion,as per the opinion of the Ministry of Finance. Now the supreme court has dismissed the SLP. The Department has now no option except to implement the Karnataka CAT and High Court decision. The Supreme Court has fined Rs. 50000/- to Department.

ITEM NO.9                   COURT NO.5                 SECTION IVA

S U P R E M E   C O U R T   O F    I N D I A

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

WALK- IN FACILITY FOR PASSPORT

 The Ministry of External Affairs issued an advisory in June, 2012 to all Regional Passport Offices in the country to introduce walk in facility to ease availability of on line appointment and facilitate easy submission of forms for passport applications under following categories:

• Applicants for Tatkaal services (fresh / re-issue cases);
• Applicants for issue of Police Clearance Certificate (PCC);
• Applicants for deletion of ECR status in passports without any change in personal particulars;
• Applicants for inclusion of name of the spouse in passport;
• Applicants with valid passports, seeking new booklets in case of exhaustion of visa pages;
• Senior Citizens (above 60 years);
• Minor below 15 years whose parents hold valid passports;
• Physically challenged persons; and
• Central / State Government servants, their spouses and dependent minor children who have ‘No Objection Certificate’ / Identity Certificate.

         The Ministry of External Affairs has recently introduced walk in facility to ease online appointments and smoothen submission of applications at the six Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) under Regional Passport Office, Hyderabad from these above mentioned categories of applicant’s w.e.f. August 01, 2012.

        The Minister of State in the Ministry Of External Affairs Smt. Preneet Kaur provided this information in reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

Source: PIB

Sri Kapil Sibal Dedicates Automated mail Processing Centre, Delhi to the Nation

AMPC Capable of Sorting 10 lakh Mail Per Day .OCR System Recognizes the Pincode and Address for Taking Sorting Decision.

Sri Kapil Sibal, the Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology, dedicated Automated Mail Processing Centre (AMPC) Delhi to the nation here this morning. Speaking on the occasion Sri Sibal said that Department of Posts has to gear up to the challenges of 21st century in a comprehensive manner. These efforts will go a long way in making DoP a more efficient, reliable and trustworthy organization.

Non Functional up gradation of officers of Organized Group A Services in PB-3 & PB-4

Click here to  view the Department of Posts Order No. 1-51/2009-SPG dated 16/8/2012 on the above subject matter.

Appointment in the Non-Functional Selection Grade in the Junior Administrative Grade

Click here to view Department of Posts Notification No.2-23/2011-SPG dated 16/8/2012 on the above subject matter.

DPC for PS Group B and Upgradation of IP Grade pay - an update

1. DPC for promotion to the post of PS Gr. B.

 Directorate vide memo No. 9-23/2012-SPG dated 23-07-2012 has already called for attested copies of ACRs of IPs for the period 2004-05 to 2010-11 for convening the DPC for promotion to the post of PS Gr. B by 31-08-2012 positively.  DPC is likely to be convened in the month of October, 2012.

2. Up-gradation of Grade Pay of Inspector Posts from Rs. 4200/- to Rs. 4600/-

 File is still in Ministry of Finance.It is learnt that same will be sent to Department of Expenditure also. 

Source : IP/ASP CHQ Blog

Rate of Incentive for delivery of UID Adhaar Cards - C.O Clarification

It was clarified by Circle Office, Hyderabad vide letter no BD/UIDAI/Del Incentive/2012 dated 13.08.2012 that the  incentive payable to delivery staff for delivery of UID Adhaar Cards is Rs 0.50 Ps per article on par with other speed post articles and no extra amount of incentive will be paid for Adhaar cards delivery. It was also clarified that no incentive is admissible for back office staff for handling Adhaar SP articles.

Click here to view the said CO letter in original.

Postal Assistant/Sorting Assistant Direct Recruitment for 2011&2012 - Notification issued

Chief Postmaster General, AP Circle, Hyderabad has issued notification for holding of Postal Assistant/Sorting Assistant Direct Recruitment for 2011&2012 through approved outsourced agency vide CO letter no RE/1-22/PA/SA/DR/201172012 dated 09.08.2012. The sale of applications will start on 11.08.2011 at all head Post offices and Identified post offices and last date for sale closes as 25.09.2012. The last date for submission of filled in applications is 01.10.2012.

Click here to view the notification and the vacancies announced Division wise.

Sri Vineet Pandey, PMG SK Region will hold additional charge of GM(CEPT), Mysore

Sri Vineet Pandey(IPoS 1988), PMG South Karnataka Region will hold additional charge of GM(CEPT), Mysore with immediate effect and until further orders.

(Dept of Posts order no 1-10/2009-SPG dated 16.08.2012)

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"Rural Post" Monthly Magazine from AIP ED Employees Union

All India Postal Extra Departmental Employees Union, AP circle Branch has brought out their inhouse monthly magazine "RURAL POST" which was inaugurated at Head post office Vijayawada on 15.08.2012 by Sri A.K.A.Joshi PMG Vijayawada. Sri D.S.V.R.Murthy, Director of Postal services also present on the occasion.

From left to right S/sri 1.SV.Sivaprasad, SSPOs Vijayawada, 2.Radha krishna, D.S, AIPEDEU, 3.A.K.A.Joshi, PMG,4. D.S.V.R.Murthy, DPS,5. B.V.Rao, AGS, AIPEDEU,6. K.Ramesh, SP PSD and 7.M.Hari Prasad Sharma, AD, R.O VJA.

MONEY ORDER TRHOUGH SMS - TRAILS COMPLETED AND THE SERVICES ARE EXPECTED TO BE LAUNCHED SOON

Here is a good news for the customers of postal services. Now, the money orders will become hassle-free and can be disbursed via an SMS. The trials are completed and the services are expected to be launched soon.

The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has developed a customized application to facilitate money order service to 155,000 post offices across India. BSNL is the technology enabler and this service will remain operator neutral.

Speaking to CIOL, BSNL CMD RK Upadhyay said that they are working as per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the department of post (DoP). "We are in the final stages of service rollout" he informed.

The government initially chose Bihar and Punjab to initiate the service since a lot of immigrant workers hail from these states.

India Posts Secretary, Smt Manjula Prasher had on an earlier occasion told CIOL that mobile money orders would be a good initiative to help immigrant workers who remit money to their home states.

The project will empower designated post offices with mobile devices that have pre-embedded the application. While transferring, the remittance senders' need to furnish basic details that includes receivers' mobile number.

The receiver will get a 16-digit transaction code via SMS from which money can be claimed from a local post office. The government has planned to allow instant money order service up to Rs. 50,000.

©Cyber Media News

Government fixes 500-word limit for RTI query

The government has put a word limit of 500 words for filing an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Besides this, a new format has been devised for filing an appeal to the Central Information Commission under the transparency law.

The government has also made it mandatory for an appellant or his authorised representative to appear before the CIC either in person or through video-conferencing, according to new rules notified on July 31.

An application "shall be accompanied by a fee of rupees ten and shall ordinarily not contain more than five hundred words, excluding annexures, containing address of the Central Public Information Officer and that of the applicant," the new rules said.

Earlier, there was no word limit in seeking information. However, the rules said that "no application shall be rejected on the ground that it contains more than five hundred words".

According to a notification by the Department of Personnel and Training under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, an applicant will have to pay additional postal charges "involved in supply of information that exceeds fifty rupees".

There will be no fee charged from a person below the poverty line for providing a copy of the certificate issued by the appropriate government in this regard, it said.

The RTI Act, which was enacted in 2005, covers disclosure of information on almost all matters of governance.

Source:-The Economic Times

Rs 26,000 crores left unclaimed in bank, provident fund accounts

Investors have not claimed over Rs 26,000 crore from their provident fund (PF) accounts, insurance companies and bank fixed deposits, data released by the finance ministry revealed. A large part of the funds — over Rs 22,600 crore — is lying unclaimed with the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). New rules stipulate that those who have not transferred or shut their accounts for three years are not even entitled to receive interest on it. As a result, their benefits are passed on to the other EPFO subscribers.

Minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena told Parliament that over Rs 3,000 crore was lying with insurance companies. Within this, he did not specify if the amount included what individuals invested in unit-linked insurance plans (ULIP). Funds lying unclaimed with insurance companies remain in the policyholder account, which is invested in the market and returns on this are shared with policies that are still in operation in the form of bonuses.

Several insurance companies were, however, flouting the norms and were transferring the Ulip funds into the shareholder account, which benefited the promoters. Meena said the insurance regulator has now advised insurers that unclaimed money would not be appropriated or written back. In case of insurance, several policyholders stop paying premium after a few years although the policy term may be 15-20 years.

The government said that in case of banks, at the end of March, 2012, over Rs 425 crore was lying as unclaimed funds in fixed deposits. It, however, did not provide any estimate on the funds that are lying unclaimed in bank savings accounts, which are unclaimed for several years. Typically, an account becomes inoperative if no money is deposited or withdrawn for a specified period.

For unclaimed funds in fixed deposits, the government has introduced the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011 which has a provision for setting up a "Depositor Education and Awareness Fund" to take over inoperative deposit accounts which have not been claimed or operated for 10 years or more.

The minister also said that the Ministry of Labour and Employment has informed the government that the amount lying in the inoperative accounts under the EPFO cannot be utilized except for the settlement of the members' account.

Source : Economic times

Revision of postage rates of Foreign Parcels (AIR / SAL) w.e.f. 01.09.2012

Click here to view Department of Posts Letter No.29-1/2011-CF dated 09.08.2012 on the above subject matter.

Revision of rates of Honorarium payable to Inquiry Officers(IO) and Presenting Officers(PO)

Dept of Personnel &Training, vide its order no 142/15/2010. AVD-1 dated 31.07.2012, has revised the existing rates of honorarium payable to Inquiry Officers(IO) and  Presenting Officers(PO) as follows.

Sl no	Description	Existing rates		Revised rates
		Minimum	Maximum	Minimum	Maximum
1	I.O (Serving & Part time)	1,500	3,000	5,000	10,000
2	I.O (Retired)	-----	9,750	15,000	75,000
3	P.O (Serving & Part time)	750	1,500	5,000	10,000

The revised rates of honorarium communicated are ceilings only and the concerned Ministry / Department may decide the exact quantum of honorarium to be paid keeping in view the volume of work involved in specific cases. The number cases to be restricted to 10 in a year and not more than 2 at a time.

These revised rates will take effect from the date of issue of this OM i.e 31.07.2012 and will also apply to all inquiries in progress.  

Click here to view the said DOPT OM in original.