India Post launches overseas money transfer

Transferring money to India from 190 countries across the world will now become easier through the MoneyGram service launched by India Post.

The service will be available at 99 Head Post Offices and Mukhya Dak Ghar across Andhra Pradesh, according to a press release from the department. In India money can only be received from abroad through the service. For transferring the amount, the sender will have to fill up the ‘Send Form’ at the overseas MoneyGram counter and pay the principal amount apart from charges. A special 8-digit reference number will be given to the sender which will be conveyed by him to the payee.

For receiving the money, the payee in India has to approach a post office offering the service and fill up the ‘Receive Form’ along with the reference number.To ensure that the amount reaches the right hands, the payee will have to carry valid photo identification such as PAN card, driving license, passport, voter ID, ration or Aadhaar card.

For a foreign national to receive money in India, the original passport with valid Visa has to be presented at the time of collecting money. The limit on the amount sent through the transaction is US $ 2,500 and the payment will be made in Indian rupees at the prevailing exchange rates. Further, the transaction can be used only for personal remittances and towards remittances favoring foreign tourists visiting India.

Trade-related transactions such as purchase of property, investments, donations or contributions to charitable organizations and credit to NRE accounts are not allowed under the scheme. The service operates as per the guidelines of RBI and all KYC/AML/CFT rules of RBI will be applicable. Also, not more than 12 remittances are allowed to be received by a single individual in one calendar year.

Source : New Indian Express

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It’s a mad rush for unique ID applications

H Abdul Basith of Teynampet was smiling on Wednesday. The retired postal employee, after several futile visits to the T Nagar post office to apply for Aadhar (unique identity card), had finally got hold of an application. "God, it is a mad rush there," he said.

Basith is not alone. Hundreds have been thronging the five post offices in the city, including the one on Sivagnanam Street, T Nagar, since October 24 when India Post began issuing the cards along with nationalized banks and insurance companies. "The chaos begins at 5.30 in the morning when the security personnel are  woken up and  asked for applications," said S Samuel, senior post master, T Nagar. The other offices are at Anna Salai, the GPO on Rajaji Salai, Mylapore and ParkTown.

Before the 12-digit unique identification number, on the lines of the social security schemesin the West, can be provided,images are taken,fingerprints lifted and irises of each individual scanned.

However, the postal department is unable to cope with the huge demand. While, the Anna Salai office has given away tokens till December 2, those in T Nagar and Mylapore have issued tokens till December 30 and 31.

Several applicants, from places like Kottivakkam and Medavakkam, have been turned away. "The biometric UID card will be of great use in the future, since it will do away with several other identification cards. I am keen on getting one," said S Anandaraj of Choolaimedu who was asked to come later.

Shortage of manpower and machines has meant that the biometric details of just45-60 personscan be captured a day at each office. It takes at least eight minutes to capture fingerprints and scan the iris of an individual. For the elderly the process could take about15 minutes.

India Post, Chennai circle, will procure 25 more machines by mid-December to cover areas such as Adyar, Ambattur, Avadi, Besant Nagar, Anna Nagar, Flower Bazaar and Washermenpet.

About 96 head post offices in the state will be covered by January. Post offices in all taluk headquarters will get Aadhar kiosks by March. "We plan tosetup mobilecentresfor corporates and government employees," said M S Ramanujan, postmaster general, Chennai circle

Source : Times of India

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Editorial - December 2011

No one can dare to dispute the fact today that there is great frustration amongst the Postal employees, due to the protracted delay and lethargic disposal of agreed demands in strike charter of July 2011. When we issued strike notice, the whole mechanism of Postal service had activated and worked. After called off the strike in the wake of definite assurances by the head of the department, again the red tapism and usual lethargy in disposing the genuine agreed demands is revived.

 

Secretary, Department of Posts & Member had agreed during the negotiations to reduce the cash norms to GDS from Rs. 20000/- to Rs. 10000/-. It was agreed for causing orders protecting full wages for GDS in cases of reduction of workload. It was assured that the casual labourers engaged prior to 1993 will be provided with new pay scales within a month and for others it will be considered subsequently. There are many such items, if you go through the agreement, you could see. Whether any of them was brought in to action by issue of orders?

The proposal of cadre review was mooted by us during 2008. Time frames have been fixed twice and the latest is before 30.10.2011. Two informal sittings were over. Thereafter, static silence is prevailing. When the Department initiated fifth cadre review for IPS officers now, will it not its duty to finalise the first cadre review for the poor Postal operative cadres. Will not the anger agony and anguish prevailing among the so called system administrators be felt by the powers?

It was the agreement that there will be no closure of RMS offices or post offices. This was reiterated more than thrice in all the recent three agreements. But the Chief PMG Maharashtra abolished two sections arbitrarily. The staff went on strike. When our leaders discussed with the Directorate, and in turn the senior officer telephoned the Chief PMG in the presence of them, he was replying that he will not restore and if need be he may be transferred from the circle. The Directorate replied what to do? If they could not control the circle head, what is the need for higher bodies and agreements and all those? Are they really not having teeth or is it an enactment of drama already decided to play to deceive us?

When there is an agreement that there will be no closure of Post offices and in case of inevitable circumstances simultaneous opening of post offices will be ensured, willfully, it is being denied by some PMGs for which there is no action or intervention from the Directorate. What prevented them to issue clear cut instructions on this score?

The Sub PM once punished with minor penalty is not entitled to work as SPM in whole career. No one shall be posted to one B/C class office as SPM more than once in whole career. All these orders are issued by vigilance section as preventive measures. Alright! Whereas the Chief PMG who involved in corruption and caught red handed by CBI is now reposted as Chief PMG, West Bengal with the same financial powers authorities and all privileges.  No such yardsticks as applied to postmasters are smeared to such officers. Even though it was agreed to cancel both the vigilance orders on SPM postings, nothing is moving so far because they are poor postal Assistants and not the bureaucrats.

For the first time, based on stiff position of the Hon’ble Minister, the cluster policy for officers was introduced in the Postal service. Now they are seeking opinions among the same officers about the same cluster policy. For what? Just to dilute or withdraw the same in favour of them. We are not objecting? Nor least bothered? But why not the same spirit is not being extended in causing orders in the cases of agreed items in the strike charter?

 

Training centers are institutions which will motivate the trainees and refresh them. What is going on PTC Madurai? A lady officer who is a sadist and not having an inch of humanity and very notorious for her topsy turvy activities is posted and ruining the atmosphere? The Nazi regime of Hitler is revived in the PTC and the authorities to control the atrocities and highhandedness are remaining as silent spectators. While posting in charges for training centers, is it not the prerequisite to select polite, gentle and firm officers who could motivate the staff with kindness and advices. Whether the training centers can be improved by the sadists and egoistic characterized persons?

In many divisions, Circles, the departmental orders and instructions are grossly violated. Many new recruited officers never care the Rules and regulations and simply dictate their dictums. There is no check on them. There is no refresher training to them on human management and the criterion to adhere the Government of India orders with consecrated look. Their topsy turvy activities are not being controlled by the Circle heads.

 

Without minding the cost of expenditure and inconvenience to staff, one PMG is opening post offices on Sundays just for booking two or three speed post articles. The counter working hours have been enhanced to 10 to 11 hours of a day. We don’t know whether he knows the concept of Night post offices. He never calculates the loss incurred due to opening of POs, staff, wages, electricity etc. This is nothing but to appear in the press daily with some new announcements which are all not worthy and lead loss to the department.

There are very many similar to these episodes. As the social Audit Panel and also the Fifth Pay Commission right pointed out that the existence of Director posts are white elephants, it is nothing but creating two power centers in region and the sufferers and victims are the employees at large. This is an introspection of the events and shape of things that are required to be judged in the right perspective.

Never – the – less, we are trying our level best not to resort to direct action and settle the issues by talks unless such an action is forced upon us callously by the powers – that – be. The present situation is entirely undesirable and it cannot be allowed. There can be no justification for continued increase in the misery of the workers due to protraction in settlement of their demand! We should not be pushed into wall once again to restart and revive agitational programmes.

 

Will the authorities understand our feelings and act swiftly to avert further action?

 

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NFPE GPO

Meeting with Senior officers, Directorate

On 24. 11.2011, Com. M. Krishnan, Secretary General NFPE and President CHQ, General Secretary Com. K. V. Sridharan and Com. Satyanarayana, General Secretary, Postal Accounts met the Secretary and discussed the issues. The need for review meeting on the decision arrived on strike demands and convening JCM Departmental Council meeting was discussed and stressed. Secretary (P) Ms. Manjula Prashar assured to convene the meeting shortly.

Thereafter, Secretary General & General Secretary P3 met Member (P), DDG (P) and other senior officers and discussed various issues. The following are the outcome and information, we gathered from the Directorate.

1.      LGO Exam: - Decision has been taken ignore the language papers and exam result will be decided based on the marks secured in Arithmatic Paper (25 X 2) communication will be sent to CMC for valuation of arithmetic paper and finalise results.

2.      IPO Exam:  A Committee has been constituted to review the out of syllabus questions on law paper. The Committees report is expected within a forthnight Threafter decision will be taken about the valuation of IPO exam papers. It seems that it will take atleast a month’s time for finalistion.

3.      HSG I Recruitment Rules: At last, the UPSC approved the Recruitment Rules for HSG I, the file will be forwarded to Law Ministry for approval of draft for Gazette notification of HSG I Recruitment Rules and it will be finalized within a month.

4.      Postmaster Grade III: - The Issue will be finalized within a month as the file relating to HS GI Recruitment Rules had been approved. Volunteers will be called for among the HSG I after releasing DPC for HSG I and the posts will be filled first with the HSG I officials opted for postmaster Grade III. The remaining posts will be filled as per the Recruitment Rules of Postmasters.

5.      Cadre review: - DDG (P) assured that he will finalise a draft from the Department side and discuss the same in the first weak of December 2011. We explained the urgency and the need for the earliest finalization of this major demand.

6.      Postman Recruitment Rules : - Based on our strike demands to modify the Postman Recruitment Rules and also to have a discussion about this with staff side, a meeting with DDG (P) will be held on 2.12.2011 at 11.00 hours at Directorate.

7.      Allowance Committee: - The Committee constituted for review of allowances has finalized its recommendation and is expected to submit before the end of this month. Our CHQ views, as learnt, has taken note of while considering the issues. Orders may be expected.

8.      GDS Demands: - i) Despite strong recommendation by the Department, JS (FA) has once again return the file with some objections relating to the case of reduction of point from Rs. 20,000/- to Rs. 10000/- we should exert more pressure.

(ii) Similarly the enhancement of Bonus ceiling file was also returned by the internal finance stating that the GDS are doing duties less than 5 hours. This should also be taken vigorously

9.      Casual Labourers: - The Committee constituted to consider about application of revision of wages and also the future of the existing casual labourers/contingents has sought information from various circles. The finalisation of Committee, it is leant, will take more time, there are 21000 contingent part time casual labourers. We may think of suggesting to convert such posts as GDS or may be absorbed in the unfilled vacancies of GDS which were kept under skeleton.

10.  Postmaster Grade I: - The declined vacancies have been filled up with the remaining successful candidates of all the circles except five circles from which no informations were received. They have been addressed. No examination was held in Kerala Circle due to court cases.

11.  PA Recruitment: - PA Direct recruitment for the vacancies up to 2011 December may be scheduled in the month of April 2012 and the revised recruitment Rules will be brought in to effect. Directorate has initiated the process.

12.  Confirmation Exam: - In the revised PA recruitment rules, the confirmation examination has been removed. There is no examination hereafter. All will be confirmed by DPC committee as per 6 (i) (12) of the said rules. This is a major achievement so far our P3 Comrades.

13.  Rules 9 Cases/Review petitions: - Member (P) Ms. Yasodhara Menon informed that time bound action has been initiated to clear all pending Rule 9 Cases/Review petitions. She assured result-oriented action on other issues also.

    

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Letter from Union on PTC Madurai director

Hi All,

Please click the title "Letter from Union on PTC Madurai director" to know the information..


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!!!!!!!!Small savings schemes interest hike!!!!!!!!!

Hi All

Please click the title "!!!!!!!!Small savings schemes interest hike!!!!!!!!!" to view the order issued by the government.

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UIDAI ropes in TCIL for printing Aadhaar cards

UIDAI, which issues national identity numbers to residents in the country, has roped in state-run Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) to print Aadhaar cards to increase and expedite their distribution.

TCIL will start printing Aadhaar numbers generated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) at its facility in Mumbai tomorrow, Deputy Director General of the authority Kumar Alok told PTI.

"It will help in printing of about five lakh Aadhaar cards in a day", he added.

Besides the Mumbai facility, TCIL will soon float tenders to set up two more units having a capacity of 5 lakh each, which will be operational by December end.

TCIL, he further said, "will only be responsible for printing Aadhaar numbers and supply them to India Post for mailing it to residents. Besides, India Post will continue to print and post these numbers".

Initially, UIDAI had entrusted the printing and posting of Aadhaar cards to India Post, which could not manage the work load in view of its inadequate printing facilities at Kolkata and Delhi.

At present, India Post prints about 1.5 lakh Aadhaar cards a day whereas the UIDAI enrolls over 10 lakh residents daily, Alok said.

The printing capacity constraint has created a big backlog, he said, adding as many as 4 crore Aadhaar numbers, which were generated under the UIDAI scheme could not be printed and distributed.

Source : The Economic Times

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Happy Bakrid!!!!!!!!!!!!

PA CONFIRMATION EXAM MODEL PAPERS -UPDATE

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Confirmation exam model papers

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