Minister for Communications Manoj Sinha today said that Government is working on setting up 650 India Post Payments Bank and gearing up fast to provide its financial services through all of 1.55 lakh post offices to fulfil the Prime Minister’s vision of financial inclusion. Speaking here on the occasion of World Post Day, he said that Indian Postal Department is undergoing major transformationwith changing times, be it the inter-operability of ATMs, core banking or providing of Passport Seva and Aadhar enrolment. He said that so far 57 Post Offices are providing Passport Seva and in coming days 93 more will be added to the list.Shri Sinha launched International Tracked Packetservice designed speciallyto meet the cross border requirements of e-Commerce sector in Asia-Pacific Region. He said, at the beginning, the service will be available to 12 countries and gradually the whole world will be covered.
This new service has many special features like affordable price, track & trace, volume discounts, pick up facility, compensation for loss or damage and, therefore, high value for money.He said, with the launch of this service, Department of Posts is set to start a new chapter of close collaboration between the post office and the business in India that want to reach to their customers abroad. The Minister also launched e-IPO (Indian Postal Order) in the denominations of Rs. 10/-, Rs. 20/-, Rs. 50/- &Rs. 100/-, as a pilot project in Bihar, Delhi and Karnataka and said that in the next two months, the service will cover the entire country.e-IPO will be used for all purposes like fee payment for RTI/ educational institutions/ Court/ online registration for Cable Operators etc.Customer can purchase e-IPO online from one’s home or workplace, as per one’s convenience. This launch is a part of Digital India Initiative as the payment will be made through Debit Card/ Credit Card / Net Banking.eIPO can be purchased online at:https://www.epostoffice.gov.inor, it can also be accessed through a link at Official website of India Post i.e. http://www.indiapost.gov.in. Shri Sinha also unveiled the revamped website of the India Post which is made more user-friendly and informative to meet the need of customers in a better way.
The citizens shall benefit by getting relevant information fast and in a user- friendly manner.During the function, commemorative stationery in the Post Card, Inland Letter and Envelope Category, each featuring five postal heritage buildings viz. Patna G.P.O, Delhi G.P.O, Mumbai G.P.O, Shimla G.P.O & Kolkata G.P.O.was also issued.For the first time, the stationery has been issued in multi-colour format.Members of Parliament Ms. MeenakshiLekhi, Dr.Udit Raj and Shri Ramesh Bidhuri graced the occasion as guest of honour. Secretary (Posts) Shri A. N. Nanda and Member (Planning) Ms. MeeraHanda were also present on the occasion.India Post celebrates the National Postal Week every October from 9th to 15th October, starting with World Post Day which is celebrated each year on 9th October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in Berne. The purpose of World Post Day is to create awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’ everyday lives and its contribution to the social and economic development of countries. Moving a step ahead, Department of Posts celebrates National Postal Week undertaking programme/ activities aimed at generating a broader awareness of its role and activities among the public and media on a national scale.