STATUS OF POSTAL DIVISIONS through out our Country

Sl. No.	Name of the Circle	No. of Divisions Headed by		Total
		Group A	PS Group B
1	Andhra Pradesh	10	34	44
2	Assam	02	07	09
3	Bihar	04	18	22
4	Chhattisgarh	02	03	05
5	Delhi	06	00	06
6	Gujarat	11	15	26
7	Haryana	05	04	09
8	Himachal Pradesh	03	04	09
9	Jammu & Kashmir	02	04	06
10	Jharkhand	04	03	07
11	Karnataka	10	21	31
12	Kerala	08	16	24
13	Madhya Pradesh	08	12	20
14	Maharashtra	24	17	41
15	North East	06	01	07
16	Odisha	06	12	18
17	Punjab	07	06	13
18	Rajasthan	06	18	24
19	Tamil Nadu	18	24	42
20	Uttar Pradesh	19	25	44
21	Uttarakhand	02	05	07
22	West Bengal	13	15	28
	Total	176	266	442

Membership Registration of All India Association of Postmaster Cadre

Mail us at aiapcchq@gmail.com

Dear Postmasters,

            You are aware of the fact that the process of declaring the Postmaster Cadre as “Distinct Category” within the meaning of CCS (RSA) Rules, 1993 and thereby recognition of All India Association of Postmaster Cadre is under active process with the Postal Directorate. Ultimately we, the Postmaster Cadre officials are going to get our own platform to take up our problems/ demands etc with the appropriate authorities at the Divisional / Regional / Circle and the Directorate level.

For this reason membership registration is going on all over the country for whichtwo copies of Members Declaration Forms and two copies of Letter of Authorization Forms are to be filled up and submitted to the Circle Secretary/ Circle Co-ordinator, AIAPC of your circle preferably within Dec-2014. Mobile No of various Circle Secretaries/ Circle Coordinators is appended below:

Circle	Mob No	Name of Circle Secretaries/ Circle Coordinators (PM)
Andhra Pradesh	09666648713	Mr M Venkateswara Rao
Assam
Bihar	09431325453	Mr Sarwesh Kumar
Chhattisgarh	09302419244	Mr Sarjit Sarkar
Delhi	09868120300 09013965936  09868227886	Mr Sailesh Seth Mr Kartikey Kumar Mr Ishwar Dev
Gujarat	09824877558	Mr Vishal Purohit
Haryana	08447711376 09416435896	Mr Charanjeet Arora Mr Ram Mehar Yadav
Himachal Pradesh	09418528051	Mr Suresh
Jammu & Kashmir	09419405422	Mr Muzaffar Ahmad
Jharkhand	08986637250 09431340987	Mr Hemant Kumar Patil Mr Vinod Kumar
Karnataka	09449230699 07829340622	Mr Manjunath Mr Vijoy Vadoni
Kerala	09497781338 09447741448	Mr R Rudran Mr Baiju Ambikasen
Madhya Pradesh	09425700107	Mr R K Gaur
Maharashtra	07588713912 09881474826	Mr Kamtekar Mr H P More
North East
Orissa	09437082609	Mr H B Nanda
Punjab	09872995647	Mr Sunil Narotra
Rajasthan	09828097622 09950328928	Mr Mohanlal Meena Mr Rakesh Pareek
Tamilnadu	09600841933	Mr R Rajendran
Uttarakhand	09411709911 09927160446 09411780245	Mr Chandan Singh Bisht Mr Anil Kumar Mr Brijesh Mamgain
Uttar Pradesh	09415571363 08979268258 09319629382	Mr S.K. Singh Mr Satish Kumar Meena Md Mansoor Ali
West Bengal	09874544912	Mr Himangshu Kr Modak

In the circles, where there is none found in the above list the forms may please be sent directly to Mr Himangshu Kr Modak, PM, Gr-II, Narkeldanga PO, Kolkata 700011 (Circle Secretary, AIAPC, WB)  for processing.

All the Postmasters in PM Cadre are cordially requested to unite and exercise their sincere efforts for our common service interest.

Those who have already submitted the forms, they are requested to motivate other PMs to submit the forms at the earliest preferably within 31/12/2014 so as to prepare the members’ database for early submission and get the approval for formation of All India Association of Postmaster Cadre (AIAPC).

N.B: Those who are facing difficulties in downloading the forms in JPEG/ PDF Format from our Blogs / Websites, they are requested to mail us ataiapcchq@gmail.com for receiving MS WORD file of the forms.

With regards,

Truly yours

All India Association of Postmaster Cadre

Department of Posts Launches Some More IT Based Services on Good Governance Day

On the occasion of Good Governance day today, the Department of Posts- “India Post” showcased some of the web based services which would be beneficial to the citizens of India. 

It participated in the exhibition organized by the Ministry of Communications & Information technology. The “India Post” pavilion showcased following initiatives:

The usage of hand held device which would be used by village Postmaster. All types of transactions related to the services of Post will be offered through the wireless hand held device in rural post offices under the ongoing IT project. 

(ii) My Stamp counter was set up where any individual who desires, can get customized stamp made which could also be used as postage. 

(iii) The monitoring of mail transmission under MNOP (Mail Network Optimisation Project) and of Project Arrow Offices through web based tools was displayed.

(iv) The functioning of e-Post Office- a virtual Post Office where an individual can do postal transaction was also on display. 

(v) A pilot connecting weavers of Varanasi with e-commerce was started today at Varanasi and its portal was displayed in the exhibition in Delhi. Under the Pilot, Department of Posts and M/s Snapdeal, under the existing agreement of cooperation, will do hand holding of domestic manufacturers by helping them through post office in putting their products on the e-commerce platform. An ecommerce desk is set up in Varanasi Head Post Office where registration of weavers etc and uploading of their products would be facilitated. Management of orders received, payment processing, returns management would be done by Snapdeal. Packaging, if required, booking of articles and final delivery to online buyer would be undertaken by Department of Posts.

To mark the occasion the Minster of Communications &Information Technology Shri Ravi Shanker Prasad launched an e-Book and a pocket book on products and services of Department of Posts. He also announced the enhancement of maximum sum assured limit in Postal Life Insurance from 20 to 50 lakh rupees. Details are: 

e-Book

As part of the agenda to promote good governance through e-initiatives in the Department of Posts, an e-Book is being launched. This e-Book can be accessed directly on the India Post official website or by scanning a Quick Response (QR) Code Printed on a card. Details of the new initiatives of the Department of Posts, along with existing services are available on the e-Book. 

e-Pocket Book 

In order to provide an easy to carry reference book containing the details of all products and services of the Department of Posts in hard form, a Pocket Book is also being launched. This would be available in all post offices and shall promote Good Governance by making details of services and their rates available to the common man, in a simple, reader friendly and pocket sized format.

Postal Life Insurance:

The present maximum sum assured limit in Postal Life Insurance is Rs. 20 lakh per individual. In order to give benefit of greater insurance to the customers, upper insurance limit has been enhanced from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh. 

Source : PIB

Postal life insurance limit hiked to Rs 50 lakh

New Delhi, December 25

To mark the Good Governance Day, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today announced that the limit of postal life insurance has been raised from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, besides launching one-month rental-free MTNL broadband and landline combo plans on new bookings.

The 21 schemes he announced also included support for international patent protection in electronics and an Internet-based real-time system to provide eServices in rural India.

December 25 is being celebrated across the country as Good Governance Day, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said was ushered in by the previous NDA regime led by Atal Bihar Vajpayee and is being carried out in this government. It also coincides with Vajpayee’s birthday.

“Good governance can be effectively achieved through the vision of Digital India of digital infrastructure as a utility to every citizen, governance and services on demand and digital empowerment of citizens,” Prasad said in his address.

In the last six months, the government has taken a number of landmark initiatives. Digital India programme is committed to taking the cause of good governance forward in letter and spirit, he added.

Key projects include time stamping of digital signature, Integrated Indian Languages Virtual Keyboard for Android, PARAM Shavak (Super computer in box solution), .bharat domain in Gujarati and Bangla, e-launch of Support International Patent Protection in Electronics & IT scheme (SIP-EIT).

Prasad also handed over disbursements under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme(M-SIPS) and Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) disbursement.

The Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) also launched Gyansetu, which is an Internet-based real-time ICT system to provide eServices to the rural population and e-Governance Competency Framework (e-GCF).

Another launch was that of C-DOT’s solution MAX-NG, a cost-effective and smooth migration path to the Internet Protocol Multimedia Systems (IMS).

It will ensure a smooth transition from old telephone system to voice over Internet protocol and will enable consumers to enjoy voice, data and video services on existing landlines at affordable cost.

Telecom Secretary Rajesh Garg said the government has planned to cover about 55,669 villages as yet uncovered by mobile connectivity all over India in a phased manner by March 2019.

The focus is to reach remote areas like North-Eastern States, Himalayan States, Border States and Islands and more importantly the Left Wing Extremism affected areas in the country, he added.

DeitY Secretary R S Sharma said his department has taken various initiatives like MyGov, Aadhaar-enabled Biometric attendance system, Jeevan Pramaan, eGreetings, eSampark, National Digital Literacy Mission, eGovernance Competency Framework to promote good governance. 

- PTI

Complaints of Sexual harassment of women at workplace show an increase

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Women and Child Development

19-December-2014 16:12 IST

Complaints of Sexual harassment of women at workplace show an increase

The number of complaints of sexual harassment of women at work place registered with National Commission for Women (NCW) during the last two years and current years shows an increasing trend. The no. of such complaints during the last three years and the current year is 170 in 2011, 167 in 2012, 249 in 2013 and 336 in 2014 upto (12/12/2014). 

Safety of women in the country is of utmost priority for the Government. The Government is endeavouring to put in place effective mechanisms to provide safe environment for women. The Criminal Law (Amendment), Act 2013 has been enacted for making the punishment more stringent for offences like rape. Provision for increased penalty for gang rape and causing serious injury to the victim resulting her to remain in a vegetative state have been made. New offences like acid attack, sexual harassment, voyeurism and stalking, disrobing a woman have been incorporated in the Indian Penal Code. Certain changes have also been introduced in the Code Of Criminal Procedure (Cr.PC) and the Indian Evidence Act, like the recording of statement of the victim of rape and sexual assault by a woman police officer and provisions to ensure that the victims ( below the age of eighteen) is not confronted by the accused at the time of trial.

The Ministry of Women And Child Development has enacted the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 which covers all women, irrespective of their age or employment status and protect them against sexual harassment at workplace both in public and private sector, whether organized or unorganized.

The Ministry recognizes that incidence of crime against women cannot be controlled unless mindsets of people, in general, are made to change. The Government including NCW regularly conducts awareness creation among men and women in the society through workshops, seminars, street plays, Nariki Chaupals, Beti Janmotshav at the district level. In collaboration with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Special (Mahila) Gram Sabhas have also been conducted. Further, advertisements in the press and electronic media educating people about issues of domestic violence, child sex ratio and child marriage etc also are being taken up. Platforms such as the International Women’s Day and the National Girl Child Day are used to create awareness on issues related to women and to bring to the centre stage issues such as sex selective abortions and child marriage. Through Sabla programme of this Ministry, adolescent girls in the age group of 11 to 18 years are imparted knowledge about their rights. Government has recently introduced the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme addressing the issue of declining child sex ratio and discriminatory social construct against women.

This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in reply to a starred question in the Lok Sabha today. 

Supreme Court ruled against recovery of excess pay due to employers' mistake

Recovery of excess amount paid to Class-III and Class-IV employees due to employer's mistake is not permissible in law, the Supreme Court has ruled saying that it would cause extremely harsh consequences to them who are totally dependent on their wages to run their family. 

The apex court said employees of lower rung service spend their entire earning in the upkeep and welfare of their family, and if such excess payment is allowed to be recovered from them, it would cause them far more hardship, than the reciprocal gains to the employer. A bench of JS Khehar and Arun Mishra also directed that an employer cannot recover excess amount in case of a retired employee or one who is to retire within one year and where recovery process is initiated five years after excess payment. 

"We are therefore satisfied in concluding, that such recovery from employees belonging to the lower rungs (i.e., Class-III and Class-IV - sometimes denoted as Group 'C' and Group 'D') of service, should not be subjected to the ordeal of any recovery, even though they were beneficiaries of receiving higher emoluments, than were due to them. Such recovery would be iniquitous and arbitrary and therefore would also breach the mandate contained in Article 14 of the Constitution," Justice Khehar, who wrote the judgment said. 

It said that the employer's right to recover has to compared, with the effect of the recovery on the concerned employee and if the effect of the recovery from the employee would be, more unfair, more wrongful, more improper, and more unwarranted, than the corresponding right of the employer, which would then make it iniquitous and arbitrary, to effect the recovery. 

"In such a situation, the employee's right would outbalance, and therefore eclipse, the right of the employer to recover," the bench said. 

The bench passed the order on a petition filed by Punjab government challenging Punjab and Haryana high court order restraining it to recover the excess amount paid by mistake to numerous employees over the years. 

It said we may, as a ready reference, summarize the following few situations, wherein recoveries by the employers, would be impermissible in law: 

(i) Recovery from employees belonging to Class-III and Class-IV service (or Group 'C' and Group 'D' service). 

(ii) Recovery from retired employees, or employees who are due to retire within one year, of the order of recovery. 

(iii) Recovery from employees, when the excess payment has been made for a period in excess of five years, before the order of recovery is issued. 

(iv) Recovery in cases where an employee has wrongfully been required to discharge duties of a higher post, and has been paid accordingly, even though he should have rightfully been required to work against an inferior post. 

(v) In any other case, where the Court arrives at the conclusion, that recovery if made from the employee, would be iniquitous or harsh or arbitrary to such an extent, as would far outweigh the equitable balance of the employer's right to recover. 

The court said a government employee is primarily dependent on his wages, and such deduction from salary should not be allowed which would make it difficult for the employee to provide for the needs of his family and any recovery must be done within five years. 

In this case, the employees were given monetary benefits in excess of their entitlement due to a mistake committed by a concerned competent authority, in determining the emoluments payable to them.

Source : Times of India