SAY NO TO "FRAUD", AN INSIDE STORY.

FRAUD – A COMPLETE STUDY

A. PREAMBLE:

Now a days , real threat to IP cadre is multifarious frauds. Frauds in lakhs are common in all divisions. Fraudulent persons are developing confidence among the people. The innocent people give money to them without getting any documentary evidences. It results unrecoverable loss to the department and contributory negligence to the Inspectorial staff as well as operative staff.

B. FIRST THING TO DO is recovery, recovery and recovery only. Fraudulent persons should be handled softly. All ways and means should be adapted to recover the whole amount of loss. Nothing is wrong in giving false hopes like ‘police case will not be given if entire amount is recovered,' Minimum punishment will be given' and 'the same post will be given after enquiry' . Time gap should not be given for recovering the amount. Some anti-social elements will preach the fraudulent persons not to credit the amount stating that (1) if the amount is credited voluntarily, it will be taken as a documentary evidence against them (2) Even if the amount is credited, the employment will not be given by the Department (3) Even if the amount is credited, the police case will be given (4) If the amount is not credited into Government, the same will be utilized for meeting police case and court case. If the entire amount is recovered, the angle of investigation will be different and the course will not be more harsh.

C. MODUS OPERANDI

1. Suppression of SB/RD deposits and RPLI premiums:

Entries are made only in passbooks. The amount is not brought into postal accounts. There will be no entries in the departmental records such as SB/RD/RPLI journals and BO daily accounts. This type of frauds can be detected only by verification of passbooks with reference to SB/RD ledger balances and RPLI journals.

2. Suppression of RD MPKBY bulk lists and RD PRSS bulk lists:

Suppression of RD MPKBY agents’ lists and RD PRSS lists can be detected only by verification of agents’ copies of RD MPKBY agents lists and RD PRSS lists with office records. There is no use in verification of copies of MPKBY lists available in the office.

3. Forgery withdrawals/ fraudulent withdrawals:

Forgery withdrawals are made by preparing withdrawal forms by forging the signature of the depositors. Fraudulent withdrawals are made by withdrawals in which the signatures / LTIs were obtained previously from the actual depositors. There will be no entries in the passbooks but the amount will be charged into postal accounts. The amount will be taken by the fraudulent officials. Some fraudulent BPMs make entries in the passbooks in respect of forgery / fraudulent withdrawals and show the passbooks to the Mail overseers and Inspecting Officers for verification at the time of visits / inspections.

4. Change of denomination of RD accounts by using data entry;

If the denomination of RD account is Rs.10.00,it gives maturity value of Rs.600.00+ Rs.128.90 = Rs. 728.90. If the denomination is changed to Rs.1000/-using the data entry, it will give maturity value of Rs. 60000/-+12890/-= Rs.72890/-.The fraudulent SPM will obtain signatures in application side and acquittance side of withdrawal form in blank form and fill up with the inflated figures of Rs. 72890/-. The In-Charge of SBCO of a Head office is the correct authority to watch and report such kind of malpractice. In some Head Offices, RD transactions are not fed up-to-date in V2 software of SBCO branch. Use of the data entry should be permitted by the Divisional office for restricted period only. Unauthorized use of the data entry should be checked by the Inspectorial staff and by the DSMs.

D. HOW TO CONTROL FRAUDS IN BRANCH OFFICES?

1. (a) Lists of passbooks not received for entry of interest from the BOs should be prepared and two copies should be sent to the concerned Sub Divisional heads by registered post before 20th of July of every year vide Rule 75(1) (iii) of POSB Manual Volume I. The third copy is retained at Account office as office copy.

(b) A separate paragraph should be mentioned in BO IR whether the list of passbooks not received for entry of interest was received from the Account Office or not.

(c) During the inspection, four SB passbooks from the above list should be verified. If such passbooks cannot be verified, SB 46 notices should be issued for equal number of passbooks to be verified.

(d) If the list of SB passbooks not received of interest is not supplied by the Account Office, four SB passbooks which were not received for entry of interest should be verified.

(e) One copy of the above list should be given to the Mail overseer who will verify all SB passbooks in the list before the 31^st March of the next year.

2. Maintenance of special error book:

(a) If any transaction is noticed by the SO, which have been found taken place at BO after the receipt of interest statement and the passbook has not been received, the SO should note the fact in the Special Error Book and a copy of the special error book should be sent to the Sub Divisional head vide Rule 76 (b) of POSB Manual Volume I and DG Posts Letter No.35-15/86-SB dated 27.03.2003.
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(b) Fraudulent BPM will not send SB passbooks to Account Office for entry of interest since he committed fraud in these passbooks. Serious note should be taken when the passbooks are not sent for entry of interest when the transactions are taken place in these accounts.

3.Direct supervision by the Account Office:

(a) Account office should watch closely the work of the Branch Postmaster. If there is any correction or overwriting in the BAT in the pay-in-slip or withdrawal form, the passbook should be called for to verify the correct BAT. The corrections in the BO daily accounts should be brought to the notice of the Sub Divisional head. If the Account Office doubts the integrity of the Branch Postmaster, the same should be brought to the notice of the Sub Divisional head.

4. Direct supervision by the Mail overseer:

(a) Major part of the work of a Mail overseer is supervision of work of a Branch Office. Sub Divisional heads are saddled with so many targeted items of works where Mail overseer is concerned only with the supervision of Branch Offices. Sub Divisional heads spend few hours in the Branch offices and returned to the head quarters for attending some other works. Each Mail overseer can have 40 to 60 branch offices in his beat. Mail overseer can spare maximum eight hours in the Branch Offices checking all records and passbooks. Mail overseers should visit each BO once in quarter.

(b) Mail overseer should bring all irregularities found during the visit to the Sub Divisional heads such as shortage of cash, non-writing of BO accounts and non-writing of SB/RD journals. Mail overseer should not give oral warning to BPMs and it will not give any positive results.

(c) Mail overseer should verify heavy withdrawals more than Rs. 5000/- by obtaining passbooks from the depositors. There is no use in verifying SB journal of the Branch office. He should verify all heavy withdrawals since from his last visit and note down in his diary. When the heavy withdrawal memos are received subsequently he will furnish his verification report in the heavy withdrawal memos. He need not go the Branch Office for each heavy withdrawal memo.

(d) Mail overseer should take two copies of extracts of passbooks verified and send one for copy for verification at Head office in respect of SB accounts and to the Account office in respect of RD accounts. One copy is kept as office copy to be filed along with his diaries. If any difference is noticed in the balance of any account, action should be taken to send the passbooks to Account office for verification. Verified copy should be pasted over the office copy which is kept in the diary.

(d) Mail overseer should check BO accounts, SB/RD/RPLI journals and all receipt books since his last visit.

(e) Where there are two Mail overseers, their beats should be interchanged for every year.

(f) Mail overseer should enquire conduct and character of BPM with neighbouring Branch offices. If there is fraud in ten accounts out of five hundred accounts, it is tolerable. When there is fraud in hundred accounts, what is the use of the post of Mail overseer in a Sub Division?

5. Supervision by the Sub Divisional head:

(a) An office should be inspected within a year. If the office could not be inspected within a year, the reason for the delay should be noted in the Inspection Report as well as in the diary.

(b) Inspecting Officer should give more importance in respect of paragraphs relating to verification of passbooks than any other paragraphs. These paragraphs find important role in fixing contributory negligence when the amount could not be recovered from the delinquent BPMs.

(c) The following passbooks should be verified

(i) Four SB passbooks from the list of passbooks not received for entry of interest or four SB passbooks which were not received for entry of interest when the above list is not received.

(ii) Four other SB passbooks in which heavy deposits / withdrawals have been taken place.

(iii) Two current RD passbooks

(iv) Two discontinued RD passbooks

(v) Two TD passbooks

(vi) Five RPLI premium receipt books.

(d) If required number of passbooks could not be verified for any reason, SB 46 to the equal number of passbooks should be issued. SB 46 should be sent by the registered post and the RL receipts should be filed along with IR report.

(e) IR should be issued within 10 days from the date of inspection.

(f) As far as possible, stop gap arrangement in respect of BPMs, the incumbent should be changed once in two months.

(g) Any error book entries regarding SB branch matters and any information from the Account Office regarding integrity of the BPMs should not be ignored. It should be verified through Mail overseers.

E. HOW TO CONTROL FRAUDS IN SUB OFFICES?

I. FRAUDULENT USE OF DATA ENTRY:

(a) Fraudulent use of Data Entry is the main factor in the frauds of Sub Offices. Data Entry is available in many offices without authorisation of Divisional Office. DSMs should be instructed to install Data Entry for specific period. DSM should uninstall Data Entry as soon as the purpose is served. Inspecting Officer should check whether Data Entry is available and if so, the purpose for which Data Entry is kept.

Method to check whether Data Entry is available in the system

Click Start -> Search -> For Files & Folders

Select ‘Computer’ (or all the Drives viz., C:\, D:\, E:\ F:\ etc., may be searched)

Search “ *dataentv5.exe ”

If data entry packages available, then the result will be

sbdataentv5.exe

rddataentv5.exe

tddataentv5.exe

misdataentv5.exe

scsdataentv5.exe

ppfdataentv5.exe

nssdataentv5.exe

certdataentv5.exe

If data entry packages are not available, then the result will be

No items match your search.

(b) Now a days, the fraudulent SPMs made forgery / fraudulent part withdrawals in RD accounts. Normally number of part withdrawals in a sub office is five percent of total RD accounts. If there are a large number of part withdrawals in a year, it should be suspected.

Method to check particulars of part withdrawals within a period

Login →Counter or Super (Enter button must be used instead of mouse)

Reports → RD Reports → Accounting of loans

Please enter from date and to date and Click ‘OK’

Account number, amount and date of withdrawals will be shown in the screen for

the given period. If there is any abnormal number of withdrawals noticed, passbooks of high value denomination should be obtained and verified whether there are any part withdrawals in the RD passbooks.

(c) (i) Initially once works relating to the Data Entry is completed after computerization, List of balances should be taken and certified by the SPM. The signed copy should be forwarded to concerned SBCO. SBCO should do the ledger agreement for that SO. DE should be removed by DSM and it should not be installed / used once again at any cost.

(ii) The SPM should request the Divisional office for Data Entry stating the particulars of accounts to be modified and reason for such request. After getting written permission from the Divisional Office with period of permission, the DSM should install the Data Entry Module for that particular scheme.

(iii) A register in the following format should be maintained in all Computerised POs., which should be reviewed by the Sub Divisional Heads during inspections/visits.

Sl. No	Date	Scheme	Account No.	Nature of Problem	Rectified through DE on (date)	Rectified by (Name of the official)	Sign. of the official	Sign of SPM/ HPM

(iii)After completion of works for which Data Entry is given, the data entry module should be removed/un-installed by the DSM.

(iv) 100% completion of works relating to Data Entry is the only way to avoid frauds in a sub office.

(d) During the visit or inspection, the Inspecting Officer should check whether unauthorised Data Entry is available. If unauthorised Data Entry is available, the Data Entry should be deleted. If we ordinarily delete the file, it will go to ‘RECYCLE BIN’. The Data Entry can be used restoring from RECYCLE BIN, If we use ‘SHIFT + DELETE’, the file will be deleted without going to Recycle Bin.

(e) The register maintained for Data entry modifications should be critically reviewed by the Sub Divisional Heads w.r.t the written permission accorded by the Divisional Heads and the details of accounts modified / corrected.

II. Supervision by the Sub Divisional head and inspectorial staff:

(a) An office should be inspected within a year. If the office could not be inspected within a year, the reason for the delay should be noted in the Inspection Report as well as in the diary.

(b) Inspecting Officer should give more importance in respect of paragraphs relating to verification of passbooks than any other paragraphs. These paragraphs find important role in fixing contributory negligence when the amount could not be recovered from the delinquent SPMs.

(c) As per latest Sub Office questionnaire, the following passbooks should be verified in respect of single sub offices.

(i) Fifteen SB passbooks which were not received for entry of interest (ii) Ten TD passbooks.

(d) Inspectorial staff may verify the following passbooks in addition to the above passbooks.

(i) Ten SB passbooks in which heavy deposits /heavy withdrawals were

made.

(ii) Five RD current passbooks.

(iii) Five RD discontinued passbooks.

(iv) Five MIS passbooks

(v) Five RPLI premium receipt books.

(d) If required number of passbooks could not be verified for any reason, SB 46 to the equal number of passbooks should be issued. SB 46 should be sent by the registered post and the RL receipts should be filed along with IR report.

(e) IR should be issued within 15 days from the date of inspection.

For kind attention of OAs, Postal Divisional Office and concerned supervisor whether ASPOs (HQ) or ASPOs (OD):

When a Sub Postmaster commits a fraud, the Circle Level Investigation of the Region will analyse all lapses on the part of the Head office, Sub Divisional head and Divisional office. They will fix contributory negligence, if any lapses are noticed on the part of the OA Divisional office and concerned supervisor.

A. Review of Sub Postmaster’s Monthly Report (SMR):

The following points should be reviewed in respect of SMRs.

(1) SMR should be prepared in correct format of PA 17 (a). In the reverse side, the transactions of the current month and the transactions of corresponding month of the last year of in respect of each branch should be noted. If the decrease in the transactions of SB and RD deposits and increase in the withdrawals should be reviewed critically. If such irregularities are noticed, SMR should be sent to the Sub Divisional head for verification.

(2) Now a days, Sub office monthly reports are sent instead of SMRs. It does not contain the transactions of the corresponding month of the previous year. It should not be accepted. The SPM should be asked to send SMR in correct form PA 17(a).

(3) There should be specific remarks in the SMRs by the Head Postmaster whether ‘Satisfactory’ or Not satisfactory’. Serious note should be taken on the remarks of the Head Postmaster such as ‘Not satisfactory’. Such SMRs should be sent to the Sub Divisional heads without fail. Watch should be made in respect of SMRs sent for verification.

(4) Serial numbers of the ECB memos should be noted in the SMRs. Continuity of ECB serial numbers should be watched.

(5) Generally the fraudulent SPMs do not send SMRs. They know that if SMRs are sent, they will be caught. Non receipt of SMRs from a Sub Postmaster should be reviewed seriously. Non receipt of SMRs should be watched by a register maintained for the purpose.

The following points should be reviewed in respect of ECB (Excess Cash Balance) memos: .

(1) There should be specific remarks in the ECB memos by the Head Postmaster whether ‘Satisfactory’ or Not satisfactory’. Serious note should be taken on the remarks of the Head Postmaster such as ‘Not satisfactory’. Such ECB memos should be sent to the Sub Divisional heads without fail. Watch should be made in respect of ECB memos sent for verification.

(2) Break in the serial numbers should be watched by maintaining a register each page for a Sub Office. If the break in serials is noticed, the SPM concerned should be addressed to send the wanting ECB memos with copy to the Head Postmaster. All correspondence should be made by the registered post.

Reviews of SMRs and ECB memos are tools to bring out the frauds. Many frauds are being unearthed by such reviews.

The following points should be reviewed in respect of IR branch:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1. <!--[endif]-->In respect of Inspection Reports having the remarks ‘Not satisfactory’, the concerned BO or SO should be ear-marked for second inspection. Second inspection should be carried out during the next half year.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->Serious note should be taken in respect of IR/VR paras in respect of irregularities relating to Savings Bank matters. Such paras should be communicated to the Sub Divisional heads or to some other Inspectorial staff immediately. Periodical reminders should be made.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3. <!--[endif]-->In some divisional offices, no office copy is maintained for outward correspondences. It is not correct. All correspondence should be made by registered post by keeping office copies.

P.Karunanithy,B.Sc.,

ASPOs (HQ) ,

O/o The Supdt. of POs,

Karaikudi 630 003

REGAIN OF FAITH

 Postal services do not seem to have lost their relevance in the age of internet. Indicating a growing demand for postal facilities, in the last fiscal year alone, as many as nine residential areas have asked for a post office to be opened in the vicinity. This is a far cry from say, until five years ago, when not a single letter would land at the doorstep of the postal department.
Strange as it may sound, denizens 'e-quipped' with smart phones and all things prefixed with an 'i', are queuing up to request for the humble postal service. In 2011-12, the department received nine official written applications from colonies across the twin cities requesting that it relocate a post office to their area.
"Everybody suddenly wants a post office in their colony. As residential areas are expanding, people are feeling the need for a post office somewhere nearby. But, according to department policy, we cannot exceed a certain number of post offices in the state and, hence, we try to relocate existing post offices to areas where the demand is higher.
"Applications for relocation started increasing around five years back. Until 2010, there would be just about five such applications but last year that figure was nine, which is a big jump," said an official. However, it is learnt that this number denotes just a fraction of the actual demand for post offices in the city with officials saying that the department has also received several unofficial requests last year.
The increasing demand for post offices across the city is also reflected in the number of mails being handled by the department and the revenue thus generated. From a total of 3.77 lakh postage items handled in Hyderabad in 2007-08, the figure soared to a whopping 6.74 lakh in 2010-11. The figure accounts for ordinary mail, registered mail, money orders and registered parcels. Meanwhile, the total revenue in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts from various postal services went from around Rs 85 crore in 2009-10 to more than Rs 91 crore in 2011-12.
Karuna Pillai, chief postmaster general of AP Circle, said, "Although personal mails are not too many, business mails, speed posts and express parcel service have picked up immensely and are really popular. We have seen a 32% rise in the overall business over the last one year."
She further added, "The post office's connection with the people is slowly reviving. We never received requests for relocating post offices in such large numbers before. With the expansion of residential colonies, there has been a tremendous spurt in demand".
The most recent post office relocation, done last month, was the one that moved facilities from Suchitra Junction in Bowenpally to Jeedimetla. The allocation was achieved on the back of substantial public demand. And what is more, sources in the department revealed that soon after the relocation, even Suchitra Junction residents have requested for a separate post office in their locality.
Meldy Titus, a resident of Sahara Estates and among the nine localities which have appealed that a post office be shifted to their colony, said, "A post office in the colony is very necessary. Currently, the nearest post offices are at LB Nagar and the Geological Survey of India, which are at least two kilometres away. Despite telephone and internet connections, a post office is essential as many important documents like banking details, hall tickets for exams, call letters and college applications are still sent by post." City builders, too, agreed that having a post office in the vicinity of a property only added to its value as it signified for the customer that the locality was developed and had good infrastructure.

Measures to Check Fall in Saving Deposits

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)

           While the saving deposits with banks have a positive growth, there has been a decline in gross and net small savings collections.

            The Government, inter alia, has taken the following decisions with regard to interest rates and other measures for making small saving schemes attractive:-

1.      The rate of interest on small savings schemes has been aligned with G-Sec rates of similar maturity, with a spread of 25 basis points (bps) with two exceptions.  The spread on 10 year NSC (new Instrument) will be 50 bps and on Senior Citizens Savings Scheme 100 bps.

2.      The rate of interest on Post Office Savings Account (POSA) has been increased from 3.5 % to 4%.   The ceiling of maximum balance in POSA (Rs. 1 lakh in single account and Rs. 2 lakh in joint account) has been removed.

3.      The maturity period for Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) has been reduced from 6 years to 5 years.

4.      A new NSC instrument, with maturity period of 10 years, is being introduced.

5.      The annual ceiling on investment under Public Provident Fund (PPF) Scheme has been increased from Rs. 70,000 to Rs. 1 lakh.

6.      Liquidity of Post Office Time Deposit (POTD)-1,2,3 & 5 years – has been improved by allowing pre-mature withdrawal at a rate of interest 1% less than the time deposits of comparable maturity.  For pre-mature withdrawals between 6-12 months of investment, Post Office Savings Account (POSA) rate of interest will be paid.

The Reserve Bank of India has also deregulated the savings bank deposit interest rate effective October 25, 2011.  Banks are now free to determine their savings bank deposit interest rate, subject to the following two conditions: First, each bank will have to offer a uniform interest rate on savings bank balances up to Rs. 1 lakh, irrespective of the amount in the account within this limit.  Second, for savings bank balances over Rs. 1 lakh a bank may provide differential rates of interest, if it so chooses.

 This was stated by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri   Namo Narain   Meena in written reply to a question in the  Rajya  Sabha today.

RE-SCHEDULE OF IPO EXAM

IPO EXAMINATION 2012

(MOST URGENT)

CONDUCTING OF LIMITED DEPARTMENTAL COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR PROMOTION TO THE CADRE OF INSPECTOR POSTS (66.66%) DEPARTMENTAL QUOTA FOR THE YEAR 2012. {RE-SCHEDULED}

  

Sub: Conducting of Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for promotion to the cadre of Inspector Posts (66.66%) Departmental quota for the year, 2012.

D.G. Posts No. A-34012/07/2012-DE Dated 22^nd August, 2012.

I am directed to invite kind attention to this office letter No. dated 07.06.2012 wherein a notification was issued for Conducting of Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for promotion to the cadre of Inspector Posts for the year 2012 on 8^th & 9^th September 2012.

2.         The Competent Authority has now ordered to re-schedule and hold the above examination on 15^th & 16^th September, 2012 to the following timings:

Date of examination	Paper Nos.	Time
15th September,2012	Paper-I	10.00 A.M. to 01.00 P.M.
15th September,2012	Paper-II	02.00 P.M. to 05.00 P.M.
16th September,2012	Paper-III	10.00 A.M. to 01.00 P.M.
16th September,2012	Paper-IV	02.00 P.M. to 05.00 P.M

3.         This may be circulated to all concerned. There will be no change in other terms and conditions, issued in this office letter of even no. dated 07.06.2012.

4.         This issues with the approval of Competent Authority.

                                                                        Sd/-

(K. Rameswara Rao)

Assistant Director General(DE

OVER RS. 750 CR LYING IN INACTIVE POST OFFICE SAVING ACCOUNTS : GOVERNMENT.

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.

Responding to another query, Sibal said 79,604 complaints for non-delivery of Registered Letters, 41,794 for Speed Post and 8,257 related to Parcels were received in the April-June, 2012 period.

"Of these, 73,077 complaints for registered post, 38,154 for Speed Post and 6,147 for Parcels were addressed. As on June 30, 2012, 6,527 complaint cases of Registered Letters, 3,640 cases of Speed Post and 2,110 cases of Parcels are pending," Sibal said.

The major reason for the pendency are involvement of more than one postal circle/state in processing the complaints, time taken in making detailed inquiry or investigation and non-submission of the required details by the complainant in some cases, he added.

The Minister added that during 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12, departmental action has been initiated in 1,287 cases against postal employees and penalties have been imposed in 1,157 cases for non-delivery and loss of articles etc.

In a separate reply, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said the Department of Posts' (DoP) volume as well as revenue from speed post has continuously increased over the years.

"The volume of Speed Post has increased from 21.14 crore in 2008-09 to 24.08 crore in 2009-10, 27.45 crore in 2010-11 to 39.19 crore in 2011-12," Pilot said.

Revenues from speed posts have also grown from Rs 515 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 614 crore in 2009-10, Rs 749 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 900 crore in 2011-12, he added.

ALL THREE HOs OF PURI DIVISION ARE INCLUDED IN THE RENEWAL OF AMC FOR BY THE CHIEF POSTMASTER GENERAL OF ODISHA POSTAL CIRCLE FOR39 Nos. of Line Printers, 01 No. of T2255 DMP & 02 Nos. of Passbook Printers up to 30.06.2014

The Chief Postmaster General, Odisha Circle, Bhubanesdwar  has  approved the AMC of 39 Nos. of Line Printers, 01 No. of T2255 DMP & 02 Nos. of Passbook Printers up to 30.06.2014 as shown in the Annexure below.

Madhya Pradesh Govt. implements Agrawal Pay Commission’s recommendations

Accepting recommendations of Agrawal Pay Commission, the State Government has given Independence Day gift to government employees by revising rates of house rent allowance, free residential facility, conveyance allowance, vehicle/transport allowance, Reserved Area allowance and non-professional allowance. Besides, the State Government has also accepted the recommendation about calculation of pension as per Central Government’s index.

   State Government employees will start getting benefit of revised rates of house rent allowance, concessional rate of rent of government quarters in Reserved Areas and non-commercial allowance with retrospective effects from November 1, 2011. Benefits of remaining recommendations will be given with effect from August 1, 2012. The State Government will bear an annual burden of Rs. 500 crore due to acceptance of these recommendations.

House rent allowance

   Under this head, allowance of eight percent was given in cities with over five lakh population. Now, ten percent house rent allowance will be given in cities with over seven lakh population. Earlier, house rent allowance worth five percent was given in cities with 2 lakh to 5 lakh population. Now, seven percent allowance will be given in cities with 3 lakh to 7 lakh population. At present, four percent house rent allowance was payable in cities having 50 thousand to two lakh population. Now, five percent house rent allowance will be paid in cities with 50 thousand to three lakh population. Allowance worth 2.5 percent was given in cities with below 50 thousand population, which has been increased to three percent.

Free of cost residential facility

   Earlier, Rs. 200 to Rs. 800 house rent allowance was payable to inspectors, sub-inspectors, head constables and constables of police, foresters, deputy foresters, Vanpals, forest guards and Jail Department’s superintendents, deputy superintendents, chief wardens, wardens and matrons. Effecting an increase in the rates, now house rent allowance will be paid to employees of equal pay scale, as per employee’s eligibility for category of house and as per minimum licence fees at Rs. 758 + 150 = 908 to Rs. 1629 + 425 = 2054.

Vehicle allowance

   Rates of vehicle allowance for motor car has also been revised upward. Earlier, motor car allowance of Rs. 300 to Rs. 800 was given to government employees, which has been increased to Rs. 750 to Rs. 2000. Allowance for other conveyance sources has also been increased from Rs. 100 to Rs. 230 to Rs. 300 and Rs. 700.

Daily allowance

   Besides daily allowance, headquarters allowance and special rest allowance have also been revised upwards. In ‘A’ category Rs. 200 will be given in place of Rs. 80, in ‘B’ category Rs. 160 in place of Rs. 60, in ‘C’ category Rs. 120 in place of Rs. 48 and in ‘D’ category Rs. 100 will be given in place of Rs. 32. Rate of daily allowance in newly constituted ‘E’ category has been fixed as Rs. 70. Now, in ‘A’ category Rs. 200 will be given for one-day journey, Rs. 400 for two days, Rs. 600 for three days and Rs. 2000 will be given a simple rate on the journey of ten days.

Eligibility for air travel

   Earlier, officers of Secretary and above ranks were eligible for air travel. Now, officers of Grade Pay “A” category drawing Rs. 7600 have also been given eligibility for air travel. Besides, officers of Grade Pay Rs. 6600 will also be eligible for air travel through air service being operated by private operators within the state.

Meal allowance

Only Grad Pay will be accepted as basis.

Lodging allowance

   Now, Rs. 500 to Rs. 4000 per day will be given in place of Rs. 200 to Rs. 3000 for staying at hotels in mega cities outside the state. Earlier, Rs. 100 to Rs. 250 was given for staying at relative’s house. Now, Rs. 200 to Rs. 400 will be given. Rs. 250 to Rs. 2000 will be given for lodging in places within the state. Earlier, this facility was available to only class-I officers.

Local conveyance during tour

   Now, Rs. 150 to Rs. 1200 will be given in place Rs. 100 to Rs. 1000 for conveyance reimbursement. Rs. 50 to Rs. 250 will be given for making conveyance arrangement by employee himself as per earlier practice.

Transfer grant

   It will now be given at the rate of Rs. 900 to Rs. 3000 in place of Rs. 300 to Rs. 1000.

Vehicle allowance

   Class-III and IV employees at Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur will get Rs. 200 per month in place of Rs. 50 while disabled employees will be given Rs. 350 per month. The commission had recommended Rs. 75 for general and Rs. 150 per month for disabled employees. Thus, the State Government has sanctioned more funds than recommended by the commission.

House rent allowance in reserved areas

   House rent allowance was given at the rate of Rs. 22 to Rs. 126 to employees posted in reserved areas. It has been increased. Now, employees posted in reserved areas will get one percent more house rent allowance than employees posted in general areas.

Special allowance in reserved areas

   Earlier, special allowance of Rs. 120 to Rs. 600 was given to government employees posted in Category-1 development blocks in reserved areas. Now, they will get Rs. 400 to Rs. 1200. The allowance given to employees posted in Category-II development blocks will now get Rs. 300 to Rs. 900 in place of Rs. 80 to Rs. 400. Similarly, Rs. 150 to Rs. 450 allowance will be given in place of Rs. 40 to Rs. 200 in Category-III development blocks.

Uniform allowance in Jail, Home and Forest departments

   Uniform allowance given in these departments has also been increased from Rs. 800 to Rs. 2400 to Rs. 1200 to Rs. 3600. Renewal grant given every three years has also been revised upwardly. It will now be Rs. 800 to Rs. 2400 in place of Rs. 300 to Rs. 2000.

Non-practicing allowance (NPA)

   Rates of non-practicing allowance have also been revised upwardly. Earlier, it was Rs. 2500 on Rs. 10 thousand payable at the rate of 25 percent of basic pay. Now, it has been fixed at Rs. 630 on the basic pay of Rs. 25 thousand 200.

Great pension robbery continues unabated in Tamil Nadu

 In 2010, the CBI conducted raids in post offices in Chennai and arrested 
11 postmen on charges of taking bribes from poor pensioners of the 
Tamil Nadu government's social security scheme. The situation, it appears
 , remains the same even now after banking correspondents were appointed
 to put an end to the corrupt practices. The action then was based on a report
 published in The Times of India.

With the AIADMK government enhancing the social security pension from
 Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per month since May last, pensioners allege that postmen
 extract a 'tip' of up to Rs 50 for each payment they make to beneficiaries.
 Even the banking correspondents, who the state government engaged a few 
months ago with the help of banks to deliver pension at the doorsteps, are 
corrupt, allege pensioners.

The banks were roped in to get rid of irregularities that take place when postmen
 disburse the money. The banking correspondents carry handheld devices with 
printers and biometric authentication equipment and on confirmation, the
 pension is disbursed with a receipt.

Biometric parameters like thumb impression and images of 4.5 lakh pensioners,
 of the total 26.4 lakh, have been recorded, and smart cards given.

However, D Janakiammal, a widow from Rosalpatti panchayat in Virudhunagar,
 who received a smart card few months ago,said she was being offered only Rs 950 . "Initially,the correspondent said the balance sum was meant for service charges 
for the bank and later he said it was his wage. We kept silent,"
 she said. Janakiammal said the receipt given by the correspondent was indeed 
for Rs 1,000. Her story is no different from that of other pensioners in the village.
 So far, 3,209 villages in the state are covered by banking correspondents.

A Kuppammal, an old-age pensioner from South Poigainallur in Nagapattinam
 said the postman, who delivers her pension, demands Rs 50 every month, but 
she could give him only.30. "Otherwise, he just does not go away." She alleged
 about 50 pensioners in her village did not get the payment last month. 
"When we inquired at the taluk office, we found that the payment had been 
made to the postal department last month. We do not know where the money
 went," she said. V Alagappan of Nanamedu in Cuddalore said nearly 30 
pensioners from his village were to get pension from the local postoffice, 
buton payment of Rs 50. "I can't imagine my life without this amount as 
the daily wage is insufficient," he said.

Social security pension schemes cover old age, disability, widow,
 destitute/deserted wives, agricultural labourers and single women.Revenue 
officials warn that action would be severe, including suspension, if complaints
 are found to be true. "We have already suspended postmen in the past. 
Corrupt banking correspondents will face a similar fate," a senior revenue 
official said.The banks are paid Rs 50 to produce each biometric smart 
card as non-recurring payment and another Rs 30 for each transaction
 as recurring payment. The state also issued an order recently, bringing
 private banks, like HDFC, ICICI and Axis Bank, into the scheme to deliver
 pensions at doorsteps.

The Association of Transparency and Anti-Corruption has demanded
 a probe into it

(source - Times Of India)

Tamil Nadu post offices best in the country

Nobody cares for the good old post offices as Tamil Nadu does. The State not just has the third highest number of post offices in the country, they are kept in best shape too.
As per details available with the Ministry of Communications and IT, Tamil Nadu has 12,065 post offices in the country, thus becoming the State with third largest network of post offices. The other two states having more number of post offices are Andhra Pradesh (16,141) and Uttar Pradesh (17,640).
But Tamil Nadu has beaten both these states when it comes to their upkeep and modernisation. The State has taken most interest in modernising its post offices and has managed to computerise 2,516 of them. 
Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have managed to computerise only 2,184 and 2,336 post offices respectively till the end of last year. Not just in computerisation, Tamil Nadu is way ahead of other states in providing internet connectivity in its post offices. 
The State has around 1,448 post offices having internet connectivity. Here, Kerala is closely behind with 1,070 post offices.
Similarly, the State is also in the number one slot with highest number of ATMs installed in the post offices. It has so far installed ATMs in 94 post offices. Andhra Pradesh is in the number 2 position followed by Maharshtra and Kerala.
“It is all about attitude,” said an official with the Ministry when asked about the unique status of Tamil Nadu with regard to the post offices. “While most states adopt a step-motherly attitude towards post offices, Tamil Nadu has always been enthusiastic about it. It has succeeded in transforming the post offices in tune with the changing times rather than treating it as an outdated institution. Tamil Nadu model is worth emulating for other states,” said the official.
The official said the attitude of Tamil Nadu is so encouraging that the Ministry is planning to declare Tamil Nadu as a “model state” in Post Office development.
According to him, the performance of other South Indian states too is better than the average.


source - (iBN live)

FLASH NEWS , ABOUT THE DEPT. OF POSTS

*According to A  Kumar, master cards of post offices will be different from debit cards of other banks. Postal master cards will be prepaid ones that can be refilled or renewed with maximum balance of Rs 50,000. One can withdraw Rs 10,000 only at a time. Maximum transaction including shopping and withdrawal can be done up to Rs 20,000. It can be used at the ATMs of the above three banks, post offices with ATM facilities and at points of sale for shopping purpose.

*"For this, we have tied up with IDBI, HSBC and ICICI bank and others will join us in near future," he said, adding they were not waiting for further tie-ups.


* Customers can also avail of ATM facilities at 31 head post offices  including Buxar, Nawada, Jamui, Banka, Madhepura, Gopalganj, Siwan, Marhaura (Saran), Biharsharif (Nalanda), and Jehanabad, along with the HOs where CBS is starting.


*"Before starting CBS facilities we are verifying and scanning the account details, signatures and photographs of customers, under 'know your customer (KYC) plan," director, postal services and marketing, Anil Kumar, informed.


*Head offices of post offices such as Patna GPO, Bankipore (Patna), Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Gaya, Munger, Ara (Bhojpur), Chhapra (Saran), Motihari (East Champaran), Hajipur (Vaishali), Begusarai, Saharsa, Purnia, Katihar, Darbhanga, Laheriasarai (Darbhanga), Madhubani, Samastipur, Sitamarhi and Bettiah (West Champaran) are going to start CBS facilities.


*Postal department is coming up with Core Banking Solution (CBS) at 20 post offices located in different parts of the state. These post offices will be inter-connected by April-end. Through CBS facility at these post offices, customers can access their accounts and carry out simple transactions from any of the member branch offices. CBS is a general term used to describe the services provided by a group of networked bank branches. 


*Pune region of postal department on Thursday unveiled 'Chotukool', a solid state cooler. Postal department will sale this product in Pune region along with Godrej.


(SOURCE:- Times of India)