Thursday, February 13, 2020

UPU News: In Post We Trust

A new report published by the UPU shows how Posts are gaining customers’ trust to provide financial inclusion through the postal network.


Posts have been providing financial services for more than a century, today serving 1 billion customers holding nearly 2 billion accounts.
Modern-day Posts are starting to provide digital financial services (DFS) for their customers as more of the world moves to online and mobile channels for service delivery. However, as with any new technology, some customers are cautious to adopt digital financial services and continue to opt for cash.
A new report published by UPU’s Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility (FITAF), and titled “In Post We Trust”, suggests increased trust in the Post can encourage the uptake of digital finance through the postal network. It identifies four measures to increase trust in Posts.
1)       Leverage the postal brand: Thanks to their engagement with the community, Posts in certain countries have established a high level of trust with their customers. To improve the uptake of financial services, Posts should tap into the trust capital that they have built up over the years.
2)      Offer financial, numerical and digital literacy skills to customers: Posts can build trust by providing their customers with a clear understanding of the financial products and services offered to them. This is especially important for customers with limited financial assets, limited literacy or numeracy skills, and a lack of familiarity with technology.
3)       Ensure that Post-customer interaction is secure, simple and seamless: Posts should provide simple, robust and interoperable solutions to simplify the customer’s experience.
4)       Provide access to real people: Providing easy access to human interaction at the post office and on the customer’s doorstep are critical factors that help to build trust in postal financial institutions. Posts can leverage their vast network, which includes rural and remote areas, to build stronger bonds of trust with customers than traditional financial institutions.
The report explores how Posts are already leveraging these trust-building measures to increase the uptake of financial service, particularly digital financial services.
The research shows that Posts already enjoying a high level of trust with their customers can strengthen that trust by offering citizen-centric government-to-person (G2P) services. In the case of Egypt, the Post delivers a range of G2P payments and includes a large proportion of the countries low-income population in its customer base.
Posts are also investing in their customers by providing financial literacy training to foster financial inclusion. Poste Italiane, for example, collaborates with the Italian Ministry of Education to provide financial literacy training to the nation’s youth, preparing them to manage their finances in adulthood.
Finally, the research shows that by leveraging the reach and strength of their network, Posts are including communities that are unreached by traditional financial institutions. This contact builds trust with underserved customers, increasing their uptake of postal financial services.

Monday, February 10, 2020

UPU News: Immortalizing art through stamps

Anyone who has ever paid a visit to the UPU’s International Bureau in Berne, Switzerland, has probably taken note of the beautiful works of art throughout its halls, gifted by member countries. Some of the artists featured there also have a unique connection to the philatelic world.

Karl Bickel
Born in 1886, Karl Bickel was a Swiss painter, an illustrator and a designer whose specialty was copper engraved postage stamps. More than 100of his works were created for his biggest customer, the Swiss Post, including the first air stamp issued in 1923. His work reached domestic as well as an international audience, with more than 11 billion copies of his stamp designs in circulation. The mastery of his art is shown through the various portraits, landscapes and images of innovations he created for his homeland.
An artwork with his signature was given to the UPU by the Swiss authorities in 1924 for the
50th anniversary of the establishment of the Union. The comprehensive copper etching reproduced in black ink presents the UPU’s monument in Berne, created by French sculptor René de Saint-Marceaux and erected in 1909.

Bickel’s very first collection consisted of a set of ten air stamps and was issued by Switzerland in 1923.
Marko ?elebonovi?
Marko ?elebonovi? was one of Serbia’s most prominent painters. Born in 1902 in Belgrade, he later settled down in France. His affinity towards creation led him to study under Antoine Bourdelle, a former student of Auguste Rodin and a teacher of Henri Matisse and Alberto Giacometti. ?elebonovi?’s painting style transformed through several phases, starting with drawings produced in the 1920s, modernist art in the 1930s, colourful creations between the 1950s and 1960s and “white” paintings produced during last two decades of his life.
An oil on canvas of his from 1952 capturing the backside of the basilica in Sveti Stefan (Montenegro) was given to the UPU by the former Yugoslav authorities in 1955.
A set of six commemorative postage stamps titled “Art in Yugoslavia through centuries” and issued in 1973 featured his painting “Woman and head”.
Abdur Rahman Chughtai
Abdur Rahman Chughtai’s distinctive style was influenced by variety of sources, including Mughal art, Islamic calligraphy, miniaturist painting and Art Nouveau. Born in 1897 in Punjab, he is considered as one of the most important Islamic artists of the early 20th century, receiving the Presidential Medal for Pride of Performance from the Government of Pakistan in 1958. The “Chughtai Art Set”, a set of 9 postage stamps he designed for Pakistan’s Independence Day in 1951, were considered the most beautiful stamps in the world at that time.
In the 1953, the Government of Pakistan gave a watercolour portrait of the Mughal princess painted by Chughtai to the UPU.
The 1 Re stamp engraved with an Urdu inscription reading "Long Live Pakistan" was the first indigenous Pakistani stamp and belonged to a four-piece set issued in 1948.
Sèvres porcelain
In 18th century, porcelain was considered a highly prized commodity around the world. Much of Europe’s porcelain at the time came from a well-known French manufacturer, the “Manufacture nationale de Sèvres”.
The famous pottery originated from the French Vincennes factory, which had enjoyed a privileged status thanks to financial support from King Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. By 1756 the Vicennes premises became too small to cope with growing requests and a new factory was built in the village of Sèvres. Technical and artistic innovations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries have helped the brand stand the test of time and the manufacturer still produces high quality porcelain to this day.
A beautiful porcelain vase covered with cobalt blue lapis under glossy gold lustre, created by French sculptor Henri Lagriffoul and manufactured in Sèvres was given to the UPU by the French authorities in 1953.
France has even issued a postage stamp commemorating 200th anniversary of the Sèvres factory’s founding. The stamp was designed by Pierre Munier in 1957.

Sunday, February 9, 2020

New Set of CHQ Office bearers elected in 41st All India Conference held on 1st and 2nd February, 2020 at Bhubaneswar

Office
Name of Office Bearer
Official designation and working place
President
Shri Babu G
Mob:-9841411746
ASP Sub Division II, Chennai City North Division, Chennai-600008
Vice President 1
Shri Balbir Singh
Mob:9914066754
ASP(Investigation), Punjab West Region, Chandigarh, PIN-160017
Vice President 2
Shri S.K. Dixit
Mob: 7587598369
ASP, Raisen Sub Division under Vidisha Division, Raisen, Madhya Pradesh
General Secretary
Shri Pitabasa Jena
Mob:-9437630182
ASP, Cuttack East Sub Division, Cuttack, Odisha, PIN-753001
Assistant General Secretary 1
Shri Sanjay Kharat
Mob:- 9323426939
ASP(HQ), O/O SSPOs, Mumbai West Division, Dadar, Mumbai, PIN-400014
Assistant General Secretary 2
Shri Kundan Kumar
Mob:-9430033084
AGS-II, ASP Barh Sub Division, Bihar, PIN-803213
Assistant General Secretary  3
Shri Sanjay Singh
Mob: 7417464125
Inspector Posts, Bijnore Sub Division, Bijnore, Uttar Pradesh, PIN-246701
Assistant General Secretary 4
Shri P.Varaprasad
Mob:9177434534
ASP(HQ), O/o SPOs, Hanamkonda Division, Telengana
Assistant General Secretary 5
Shri Kallol Biswas
Mob:7980386103
Dy Manager (BD), S.B. Road Business Office, Kolkata, PIN-700029
Organizing Secretary 1
Shri Santanu Sarmah
Mob:-7578008023
ASP(Dvision), Dibrugarh Division, Assam, PIN-786001
Organizing Secretary 2
Shri B.M. Shankarappa
Mob:-9449848869
ASP, Arsikere Sub Division, Hassan Division, Karnataka, PIN-573103
Organizing Secretary 3
Shri Deepak Kumar
Mob:-9968842974
ASP(HQ), New Delhi Central Division, New Delhi, PIN-110001
Organizing Secretary 4
Shri Rattan Chand Sharma
Mob: 9418055018
ASP(Vigilance), O/o Chief PMG, Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, PIN-171009
Treasurer
Shri J. K. Hingorani
Mob:-9414415248
ASRM(HQ), RMS “J” Division, Ajmer, Rajsthan, PIN-305001
Asst. Treasurer
Shri Bibhudatta Behera
Mob:9437194138
ASP, Bhadrak Central Sub Division, Bhadrak, Odisha, PIN-756100
Auditor 1
Shri Ajith Kurian
Mob: 9447271165
ASP(HQ), O/o SSPOs, Trivandrum North Division, Trivandrum, Kerala, PIN-695001
Auditor 2
Shri Dev Raj
Mob:-9416555344
ASP(Vigilance), Circle Office, Ambala, Haryana, PIN-133001
Auditor 3
Shri Rajesh Pathak
Mob:9431732050
ASP, Deoghar Sub Division, Deoghar, Jharkhand, PIN-814112

Rush of Expenditure in the last quarter of Financial Year 2019-20

To view Department of Expenditure OM No.23(2)E.Coord/2018 dated 24th January, 2020 please Click Here.

Procedures for payments for Goods-Services to sellers- service providers in GeM through PFMS and by non-PFMS Agencies-Entities

To view Department of Expenditure (Procurement Policy Division) OM No. F.6/18/2019-PPD dated 23rd January, 2020 please Click Here.

Procurement of Goods/ Services through Government e-Marketplace

To view Department of Expenditure (Procurement Policy Division) OM No. F-6/18/2019-PPD dated 23rd January, 2020 please Click Here.

41st All India Conference held on 1st and 2nd February, 2020 at Bhubaneswar

Chief Guaest Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Hon'ble Member of Parliament and Founder of KIIT & KISS arriving

Distinguished Guest of Honour Dr. Santosh Ku Kamila, Member (Personnel) arriving





















Shri Pitabasa Jena, Circle Secretary, Odisha Circle Branch

Dr. Acyuta Samanta, Hon'ble MP and Founder of KIIT & KISS, Chief Guest of the event






Shri Arup Kumar Seal, General Secretary


Dr. Santosh Ku Kamila, Member (P), Distinguished Guest of Honour

Col. Jaleswar Kanhar,CPMG, Odisha Circle, Distinguished Guest of Honours

Outer view of the Venue

Invitees and Delegates

Invitees & Delegates

Invitees and Delegates



Shri Manjunath G Hubbali, President, CHQ

Shri Prasanta Ku Patra, President, Odisha Circle Branch
Invitees & Delegates