Minister of State for Communications (lndependent Charge), Manoj Sinha today launched the e-Commerce Portal of the Department of Posts (DoP). The Portal will provide an e-Market place to sellers especially to rural artisans / self-help groups / women entrepreneurs / State and Central PSUs / Autonomous Bodies etc. to sell their products to buyers across the Country. The small and local sellers, who have been left behind in e-Commerce space will now, by leveraging the vast physical and lT network of DoP, be able to maximize their reach and retailing power. The buyers can access the products of their choice displayed by sellers on the portal and place online orders by making digital payments. The products will be shipped through Speed Post.Shri Sinha also launched the internet banking facility for Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) customers which are under Core Banking Solution (CBS). Now, around 17 Crore POSB accounts will be intra-operable and customers can also transfer funds online to RD and PPF accounts of Post Offices. This facility will help customers to do their transactions without physically visiting post offices.
With the objective of bringing philately to the mainstream of the education system and incentivizing it, in 2017, Department of Posts had launched a scholarship program for school children called Deen Dayal SPARSH (i.e Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby). The Scheme has caught the imagination of children across the country as is evident from nearly 4 times increase in the number of their participation from 20,652 children in 2017-18 to 74,555 children in 2018-19. Out of these, 920 students have been selected for the award of Scholarship of Rs. 6000/- per annum. 40 scholarships are being awarded by each circle to 10 students each from classes Vl, Vll, Vlll & lX under this Yojana. Shri Sinha presented the scholarships to the selected children from Delhi Circle and interacted with the selected children from Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh Postal Circles through Video Conference.
Shri Sinha also presented the Meghdoot Awards to the Gramin Dak Sewak (GDS) and employees of the Department in eight categories in recognition of their outstanding contribution. The Meghdoot Award was revived after 2011 under the guidance of Shri Manoj Sinha. Each of the 8 awards carries a cash award of Rs. 21,000, a gold medallion and a citation. Shri Sinha also launched the revamped Website of lndia Post during the function. The revamped Website has a better look with features refurbished for easy access and is organized overall for better responsiveness across all devices including mobile phones. The new Website of the Department is a step towards increasing the Department's digital reach.Shri Sinha said that "these initiatives are in keeping with the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of bringing governance to the doorstep of our citizens". Shri Sinha also thanked the Media for reporting and publicizing the various initiatives of lndia Post like the Post Office Passport Sewa Kendra, Aadhar Centres, lndia Post Payments Bank and all the other citizen centric initiatives of the Department.