TIE UP WITH INDIA POST PAYMENTS BANK

MUMBAI: About 20 commercial banks have initiated talks with the department of posts for a strategic tie-up with its proposed payments bank India Post Payments Bank. 

Department of posts is among the eleven applicants to have received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to float a payments bank. The tie-up will involve payments banks sourcing loans for commercial banks, while commercial banks will offer credit cards to customers of payments banks. 

Speaking to ET, PN Ranjit Kumar, postmaster general (Mumbai), said, "All payments banks are expected to get into alliance or collaborations with some leading banks or financial institutions. Several commercial banks have evinced interest to forge tie-ups with India Post Payments Bank. However, it is premature for India Post to consider partnerships at present." Payments banks are expected to ride on technology to of-fer cheaper and quicker remittance service to customers, and many banks fear that they could actually eat into their business. 

As per regulations, they can collect deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh, provide debit cards and offer thirdparty transactions, but they can neither offer loans nor provide credit cards. 

India Post received 20 proposals, including from the State Bank of India and IDBI Bank, said people familiar with the matter. Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairman of SBI, refused to comment on the alliance, saying that it is too premature to talk at this juncture. "It is two sides of the same coin. They can be a threat in some areas but they can also open up opportunities for us which we need to maximise on," she said, dwelling on the threat aspect.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Status of Cadre Review Proposals as on 31.10.2015

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Seventh Pay Commission may bring pay parity in civil servants, officers up in arms

Officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the top rung of the country's bureaucracy, are up in arms after rumours that the Seventh Pay Commission could bring about parity between them and other civil servants who are lower down in the civil service hierarchy. 

 

Associations of IAS officers have held several formal and informal meetings to weigh options before them to thwart any attempt to whittle away at the advantages they now enjoy over others by virtue of securing top grades in the civil services exam. 

 

            Nearly 200 young IAS officers have so far submitted their representations to Cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha, the country's top bureaucrat, and to the central IAS officers' association, airing serious concerns over the reported move by the pay panel towards salary parity and doing away with the IAS edge in what is known as empanelment."I was astonished to see media reports on the proposals towards parity between the services, which is nothing but an attempt to equate the gold medallist with last-benchers.Such proposals not only go against the principles of competition but also penalise top performers in the name of parity," said 1993 batch IAS officer on condition of anonymity . 

 

Top-ranked students in the civil services exam are assigned the IAS and Indian Foreign Service, followed by other branches such as the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian Revenue Service (IRS). Empanelment refers to the selection of officer to a post which has the rank of joint secretary in the central government. The next step could be a petition by the Central Indian Civil and Administrative Association, the lobby group of IAS officers, to the cabinet secretary, who is also an IAS officer. 

 

Sanjay Bhoosreddy, the honorary secretary for the association, told ET that over 100 IAS officers have expressed anguish with his grouping so far about the reported recommendations of the pay panel which is due to submit its report by the end of this year. "The key concerns of the junior IAS officers pertain to emoluments and losing edge in empanelment," he said.For years, officers from branches such as the IPS and IRS have complained that they do not make it to the rank of joint secretary in the same numbers that IAS officers do, and that their salaries are lower than those of IAS officers despite working on equally complex assignments. There are some 4,800 IAS officers across India. TS Krishnamurthy , an IRS officer who went on to become the Central Election Commissioner, argued that handing non-IAS officers a permanent handicap is not such a good idea.Instead, after some length of time, all those in the All-India Services should be treated equally . "I had a disadvantage; every time I had a handicap of two years and I feel no reason why there should be differentiation after 18 or 20 years," he said. 

 

N Jaya Prakash Narayan, a bureaucratturned-politician and founder of Lok Satta Party , said the need of the hour is far-reaching reform instead of cosmetic changes in the Indian administrative services. "The government should seriously look at making bureaucracy an instrument for change through specialisation, competition, incentive to perform and autonomy ," he said. 

 

"While we are recruiting some of the best people through a rigorous competitive examination, there is a widespread perception that the country is not getting best out of them over a period of time irrespective of which service they belong to."  

Source:- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Internship on RTI for Law students

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AIPEU, Gr.-C, CHQ writes to the Secretary (Posts) for amendment of P A recruitment rules

AIPEU, Gr.-C, CHQ writes to the Secretary(Posts) on violation of business hours in various circles

AIPEU, Gr.-C, CHQ writes to the Secretary (Posts) regarding non-permitting officials awarded with punishment of censure for departmental examination

Confederation News : Dharana and rally on 19.11.2015 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi



 

 

 

Dated: 30.10.2015

Dear Comrades,

                As you are aware, the National JCA of Central Government employees has decided to organize  Dharna and  rally on 19^th at Jantar Mantar. The participation in the rally, as per the decision, will be from among the comrades working in and around Delhi.  The Delhi State committee of Confederation has been requested to organize campaign programme to ensure large scale participation of comrades working in the city of Delhi.  We appreciate that the programme comes in the wake of the National festival of Diwali, which is celebrated throughout the country but with much more enthusiasm in Northern parts of the country.  This makes the task of the Delhi State Committee much more difficult.  Being the decision taken at the National level and taking into account the issues involved, we request the Delhi State committee and the office bearers to take all necessary steps to ensure large number of Central Government employees in the rally on 19^th.

                We have also requested the available members of the National Sectt. at Delhi to campaign at the adjoining areas of Delhi.   The programme chalked out in consultation with them is given hereunder. 

                We request the affiliates and the concerned State Committees to give necessary instruction to organize meetings on the indicated dates and places.  They are also requested to make necessary arrangements for the comrades from these places to reach  Delhi and back.

                With greetings,

Yours fraternally,

M. Krishnan

Secretary General

 

Date:                 Name of the comrades                                                Place

3.11.15                  KKN Kutty & Parasar                                       Ambala

4.11.15                  .do.                                                                        Agra

3.11.15                  MS.Raja & Balwinder Singh                         Chandigarh

4.11.15                  .do.                                                                        Simla

5.11.15                  Vrighu Bhattacharya & Rajkumar                  Faridabad

12.11.15 to 17.11.15: Vrighu Bhattacharya,                                Delhi

 Giriraj Singh Ashok Kanojia and others                                 Delhi

16.11.17               KKN. Kutty & Parasar & A.K. Kanojia        Ghaziabad

17.11.17               KKN. Kutty & Parasar                                      Meerut.                                               

Meeting to be held at 6 PM on 06.11.2015 in the campus of Bhubaneswar GPO in c/w two-days nation-wide strike on 1st & 2nd December, 2015 by NFPE unions

In-house training of newly recruited PAs of Bhubaneswar Division

 

Com. D Gnaniah, former Secretary General, NFPTE joins AIPRPA

The senior most leader of NFPTE and former Secretary General of NFPTE, Comrade D.Gnaniah,  at his age of 95 years has been enrolled as a basic member in All India Postal and RMS Pensioners Association when a delegation consisting of Comrades K.Ragavendran GS AIPRPA; M.Kannaiyan State President AIPRPA TN; and leaders of Coimbatore District comrades S.Karunanidhi (AGS TN); T.Subramanian (Senior leader); S.Balakrishnan (former P3 President); T.S.Venkatachalam; and R.Karunakaran visited the residence of legendary nano-generian leader Gnaniah. Comrade Gnaniah greeted  the efforts to organise all postal pensioners under one umbrella and accepted the invitation from the Reception Committee to 2nd State Conference of AIPRPA to attend the conference. 

The visit and the greetings from the senior most legendary leader of P&T trade union movement is indeed a boost to the entire organisation.

The AIPEU, Group-C, Bhubaneswar Division congratulates Com. K Ragavendran and his team members for such nice efforts.

India Post collects Rs 800 cr from cash-on-delivery facility

The postal department is reviewing its service features to attract more number of e-commerce customers.

NEW DELHI, NOV 1:  

Emerging as a leading distribution channel for the e-commerce sector, India Post collected over Rs 800 crore through cash-on-delivery (CoD) facility and is looking to further strengthen its position in the segment by starting a pilot service for same-day delivery.

The postal department has also earned around Rs 70-80 crore through speed post in the year 2014-15 from e-commerce business.

“Since the introduction of CoD facility, the Department of Post has collected more than Rs 800 crore and remitted to customers,” an official said.

In order to generate more business, the postal department is reviewing its service features to attract more number of e-commerce customers, the official further said.

“As part of this exercise, the Department of Posts has started pilot for same/next day delivery in identified cities for identified PIN codes. A national account facility has also been introduced under Speed Post,” he added.

The CoD facility was launched in December 2013 to cater to the needs of customers and benefits from the growing e-commerce market.

The CoD has emerged as one of the most sought after services for e-commerce entities. Customers in the country tend to prefer CoD as the online payment modes are yet to catch up in many parts of the country while many people are not comfortable with advance payments for products purchased online.

The initiatives taken by the department for parcel segment have resulted in revenue of Rs 105.51 crore in 2014-15.

With dwindling letter or document traffic, the department is focusing on the fast-growing parcel segment and various measures have been taken to modernise the department under the Digital India initiative.

As part of initiatives to leverage the e-commerce sector, the department has forged tie-ups with leading online market places like Snapdeal, Amazon, Paytm and Yepme for parcel delivery and has also set up modernised 48 centres to handle the packages.

The e-commerce sector in India is growing at 47 per cent CAGR and India Post is the only delivery agency with a pan-India reach, the official said.

Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had earlier said that India Post with the world’s largest postal network was best suited to offer delivery services to e-commerce firms.

The Minister had suggested that India Post should strive to become the largest player in the e-commerce segment.

The Postal Department has 1,54,882 post offices, of which 1,39,182 are in rural areas. The department employs around 4,60,000 personnel and handles close to six billion mail pieces in a year.

Source : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/

More than letters: Japan's postal service aims to stay relevant by becoming 'a total life-support' company

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  Japan Post will put up one of the world’s biggest initial public offerings of the year. Photo: AFP
  At a time when physical postal services are becoming an anachronism as companies and the public increasingly turn to electronic communications, Japan Post is looking for ways to remain relevant.

  And justifying the company's physical presence in post offices across the country is more important than ever now that the two money-spinning components of the post office are to make their debuts on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

  The IPO, scheduled for November 4, will be the biggest in Japan in more than 30 years and is the first of three planned releases by the government. In total, the sell-off is designed to generate more than US$30 billion that will help fund reconstruction in parts of Japan hardest-hit by the March 2011 earthquake.

  Yet despite the vast numbers that are being discussed, some have serious concerns about the privatisation of an organisation that employs 237,000 people, earned revenue of US$152 billion in 2014 and has total assets of US$2.84 trillion, putting it in 13th place in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies.

  "The government says it will spend the money on reconstruction work in Tohoku, but that's just an excuse," said Kobo Inamura, whose opposition to privatisation plans caused him to resign as director of international postal services in the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in 2005.

  "That money should come from tax revenues," he insisted.

  "Japan Post has suddenly become a charity. Japan Post controls the world's largest assets, in the form of postal savings of the Japanese people, but privatisation means how those funds are used can be influenced by villains and vultures, and that worries me."

  And Inamura, now a visiting professor at Tokyo's Chuo University specialising in the economics of public policy, claims that as income from the postal savings and life insurance arms of the company are presently used to subsidise the postal service in the remotest parts of the country, "privatisation will be the death of the postal network in small communities".

  Already, the lack of investment in the maintenance of offices, on delivery vehicles and computer systems was evident, Inamura said. And he feared that would only accelerate after privatisation.

  Hence, perhaps, Japan Post's "Watch Over" system.

  Initially introduced in 2013 as a programme under which employees of Japan Post stop by the homes of elderly people to make sure they are in good health and then pass that information on to their relatives, the fee-based system is being expanded this year.

  Trials have begun in Yamanashi and Nagasaki prefectures with the introduction of iPads that directly connect the elderly with their families, their community, their health care providers and service providers.

  The aim, Japan Post said, was to become a "total life-support company".

  "The post office can be an important provider of life support for the people of Japan and a key part of our social infrastructure," said Hideo Murata, senior manager for public relations for Japan Post Holdings.

  Japan Post began working with IBM and Apple in 2014 to develop the service, with the companies setting a target of up to 5 million subscribers by 2020.

  The apps include FaceTime, Messages, Mail, Photos and iCloud Photo Sharing, along with access to the App Sore, iTunes Store and iBooks Store. The iOS 8 has award-winning features designed with the elderly in mind, such as settings for low vision and hearing-impaired users.

  Other features for the elderly devised by IBM include reminders and alerts about medications, exercise and diet.

Japan Post will put up one of the world’s biggest initial public offerings of the year. Photo: AFP

At a time when physical postal services are becoming an anachronism as companies and the public increasingly turn to electronic communications, Japan Post is looking for ways to remain relevant.

And justifying the company's physical presence in post offices across the country is more important than ever now that the two money-spinning components of the post office are to make their debuts on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The IPO, scheduled for November 4, will be the biggest in Japan in more than 30 years and is the first of three planned releases by the government. In total, the sell-off is designed to generate more than US$30 billion that will help fund reconstruction in parts of Japan hardest-hit by the March 2011 earthquake.

Yet despite the vast numbers that are being discussed, some have serious concerns about the privatisation of an organisation that employs 237,000 people, earned revenue of US$152 billion in 2014 and has total assets of US$2.84 trillion, putting it in 13th place in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies.

"The government says it will spend the money on reconstruction work in Tohoku, but that's just an excuse," said Kobo Inamura, whose opposition to privatisation plans caused him to resign as director of international postal services in the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in 2005.

"That money should come from tax revenues," he insisted.

"Japan Post has suddenly become a charity. Japan Post controls the world's largest assets, in the form of postal savings of the Japanese people, but privatisation means how those funds are used can be influenced by villains and vultures, and that worries me."

And Inamura, now a visiting professor at Tokyo's Chuo University specialising in the economics of public policy, claims that as income from the postal savings and life insurance arms of the company are presently used to subsidise the postal service in the remotest parts of the country, "privatisation will be the death of the postal network in small communities".

Already, the lack of investment in the maintenance of offices, on delivery vehicles and computer systems was evident, Inamura said. And he feared that would only accelerate after privatisation.

Hence, perhaps, Japan Post's "Watch Over" system.

Initially introduced in 2013 as a programme under which employees of Japan Post stop by the homes of elderly people to make sure they are in good health and then pass that information on to their relatives, the fee-based system is being expanded this year.

Trials have begun in Yamanashi and Nagasaki prefectures with the introduction of iPads that directly connect the elderly with their families, their community, their health care providers and service providers.

The aim, Japan Post said, was to become a "total life-support company".

"The post office can be an important provider of life support for the people of Japan and a key part of our social infrastructure," said Hideo Murata, senior manager for public relations for Japan Post Holdings.

Japan Post began working with IBM and Apple in 2014 to develop the service, with the companies setting a target of up to 5 million subscribers by 2020.

The apps include FaceTime, Messages, Mail, Photos and iCloud Photo Sharing, along with access to the App Sore, iTunes Store and iBooks Store. The iOS 8 has award-winning features designed with the elderly in mind, such as settings for low vision and hearing-impaired users.

Other features for the elderly devised by IBM include reminders and alerts about medications, exercise and diet.

Source :http://m.scmp.com/

Canada Post halts controversial community mailbox program

Canada Post is suspending the conversion of door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes.

In a news release issued late Monday, Canada Post spokeswoman Anick Losier said the corporation will work "collaboratively" with the government of Canada to determine the best path forward given the challenges in the postal system.

"Efforts are now underway to place the comprehensive program on hold in an orderly fashion," Losier said in the release. "This involves roughly 460,000 addresses across the country which are currently in the process to be converted to community mailboxes."

Outgoing Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, whose portfolio includes Canada Post, said the corporation makes decisions independent of government.

'Arm's-length Crown corporation'

"They are an arm's-length Crown corporation and take their own operational decisions," Raitt told CBC News. "But they also have a statutory obligation to operate self-sufficiently, and if they are not then I expect they will be held accountable."

Canadian Union of Postal Workers national president Mike Palecek said members are "ecstatic" about the news.

"We've been fighting this campaign for a year and a half, and we're glad they finally put a halt to this disastrous program," he told CBC News. "It's time to talk about the future of Canada Post, about restoring service to those who have lost it, and about having a public mandate review of Canada Post so we can look at alternatives to these cuts."

Palecek said Canada Post should be looking at expanding services, such as having banking and financial services in post offices. He said it appears that the incoming Liberal government is following up on an election campaign promise to put an immediate moratorium on the cuts and to carry out a study.

The Liberal platform promised to ensure "high-quality service at a reasonable price to Canadians, no matter where they live."

"We succeeded in making this a major election issue and making sure that people understood exactly who it was and is to blame, and that's Stephen Harper and the Conservative government," Palecek said. "I think the Canadian public spoke loudly and clearly last week by changing the government."

Palecek said the CUPW will keep up pressure to restore delivery to the roughly one million addresses that have been converted to community mailbox service since the program began 10 months ago.

The Liberal Party declined to comment on the Canada Post announcement.

Montreal mayor ready to 'reconsider' lawsuit

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, who once took a jackhammer to the concrete base of a community mailbox to make a point about his opposition to Canada Post's plans, spoke to reporters gathered at city hall on Monday.

Coderre said he was prepared to consider withdrawing from the lawsuit he joined to block the implementation of community mailboxes in Canada.

The City of Montreal was one of several municipalities to join the Canadian Union of Postal Workers' lawsuit earlier this year.

"We'll see what happens, but if everything is suspended I'm even ready to reconsider. But clearly we have to have a truce — because you have to be vigilant with Canada Post, we never know. They say one thing and then the next day, who knows what happens," Coderre said on Monday.

"But since we have a new government who was very clear on what would be the outcome of Canada Post, let's sit together. We want to be a part of a solution."

 Source :http://www.cbc.ca/

Identification/Reidentification of Postmaster Grade I,II & III Post offices

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