CHQ News....

As the health of GS is presently not good, hence CHQ blog was not updated by him for last 3 days. Inconvenience caused to members and track-in-viewers are deeply regretted. 

JTS file is still in Directorate. It is likely to be submitted to UPSC in the first week of next month. 

Picture Postcard on Pandharichi Waari – 29th June 2016.

Considered to be one of the world’s largest pilgrimages, the annual Pandharichi Waari carrying Jnaneshwar Palkhi from Alandi (25km east of Pune), to Pandharpur Vithoba Temple is attended by millions of devotees every year. The waarkaris (devotees / pilgrims) from Alandi follow the palanquin carrying the silver images of the Padukas (Sandals) of Saint Dnyaneshwar. Sant Dnyaneshwar, also known as Jnanadev or Jnaneshwar revolutionized Marathi bhakti literature and at the age of fifteen wrote Jnaneswari – a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita which has been a household text in Maharashtrian homes for centuries.

On 29th June Waari reached at Pune and will stay in the city on 30th June, 2016. The Waari will travel through Pune, Saswad, Jejuri, Vhalhe, Lonand, Taradgaon, Phaltan, Barad, Natepute, Malshiras, Velapur, Bhandishegaon, Vakhari to reach Pandharpur. Other palakhi starting near pune is – Saint Tukaram Maharaj Palakhi, which starts from Dehu (near Pune) through Akurdi, Pune, Loni Kalbhor, Yavat, Varvand, Baramati, Sansar, Lasurne, Nimgaon Ketaki, Indapur, Sarati, Akaluj, Borgaon, Pirachi Kuroli, Vakhari to Pandharpur. Both the Palakhi merge together in Vakhari, just prior to Pandharpur.

Waarkari’s mostly dressed in dothi/kurta or women in sari, playing Taal, Mridang, Veena (Indian musical instruments), and singing songs, called as Abhang’s of the Saints keep walking with an eagerness to Lord see Vitthala in Pandarpur. The atmosphere of Waari teaches unity by bringing people having different economic status, casts, education, etc. together, with a common goal of reaching the almighty – Vitthala.

On second day of ‘Waari’ a Picture Postcard depicting Alandi temple with special cancellation of Pune was released.

Pandharichi Wari Mobile Post Office to be flagged off on 28th June 2016.

Vitthal temple of Pandharpur is the main centre of worship for Vitthala or Vithoba, believed to be a form of Lord Krishna or Vishnu and Pandharichi Wari is an annual pilgrimage to pay tributes to Lord Viththala in Pandharpur. The word ‘Wari’ in Marathi literally means ‘to visit at regular intervals’. This Wari is held during the months of June and July, starting on Jyeshta Vada Ashtami from Alandi and culminates at Pandharpur a distance of more than 205 Kms, on Ashadhi Ekadashi, the 11th day of Ashadha. Waarkaris' (Devotees) start their journey by foot carrying the palkhis (palanquin processions) carrying the paduka (foot prints) of famous saints of Maharashtra, most notably Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram. This tradition is more than 700 to 800 years old.

This annual pilgrimage has an important socio-cultural significance and to facilitate the communication service amongst the Waarkari, Pune Postal Region for the first time has taken up an initiative of introducing a unique Pandarchi Waari Mobile Post Office from 28th June 2016 to 16th July 2016. The Pandharichi Waari Mobile Post Office housed in a Mail Motor Service Van of Department of Posts will accompany the Wari from Alandi Devachi Post Office from 28th June and will reach Pandharpur on 15th July 2016.

Postal facilities viz. sale of postage stamps, mailing of ordinary letters, Registration, Speed Post booking, Money Order Service (Devotees can also receive payment of Money Order by producing identity proof), My Stamp facility etc. will be made available in Mobile Post Office. Benefits of various Govt. Schemes will also be explained at Mobile Post Office. The Mobile Post Office will halt al all the scheduled halts listed in the 'Waari Palkhi Sohala'.

On this occasion a set of 15 postcards specially printed with photographs capturing various memorable moments of Wari will be available for sale at the Mobile Post Office. The cost of the set of 15 postcards is Rs. 110. Postcards can also be mailed through Mobile Post Office by affixing Rs. 6 Postage Stamp. Another set of 5 postcards depicting images of postage stamps issued on ‘Sant Namdeo’, ‘Sant Eknath’, ‘Dnyaneshwari’, ‘Sant Tukaram’ and ‘Sant Dnyaneshwar’ will also be made available at Rs. 50 per set of 5 postcards. All these saints and the Dnyaneshwari are revered by the warkaris. Special Cancellation for each day of eighteen-day pilgrimage depicting the 'Sprit of Wari' will be made available at the Mobile Post Office. This is the first time that such mobile post office is accompanying the pilgrimage.

20 civil services now ask govt to end IAS supremacy

Armed with the Union Cabinet's decision of accepting seventh pay commission recommendations, a confederation representing thousands of officers of 20 civil services, including Indian Police Service (IPS) today asked the government to give equal pay and job-related opportunities enjoyed by those in IAS.

"The government has accepted the panel's recommendation on pay and allowances in toto. It has given a very strong hope to all other services that they will get parity in service as recommended by two of three members of the commission.

"We request the government that the majority recommendation on the issue of pay and service parity are also implemented very soon.," said Jayant Mishra, convener of Confederation of Civil Services Association (COCSA).

The association comprises 20 services including IPS, Indian Revenue Service, Indian Forest Service, Indian Audit and Accounts Service and Federation of Railway Officers Association (representing nine railway services).

The three-member Seventh Central Pay Commission, which had submitted its report on November 19, 2015, was divided over the issue of financial and career-related edge given to IAS officers as against those belonging to the other services.

"Two of the members of the panel have given clear findings. Both are neutral as they are not from any of the services. They have come to the conclusion that proper justice has to be given on the issue of pay and services parity," said Mishra, an Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre) officer.

IAS officers presently get a two-year edge over other services for getting empanelled to come on deputation at the Centre.

Besides, they also get two additional increments at the rate of 3 per cent over their basic pay at three promotion stages i.e., promotion to the Senior Time Scale (STS), to the Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) and to the Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) after putting in about four, eight and 13 years of service, respectively.

The pay panel chief Justice (retd) A K Mathur and one of its members Rathin Roy had said that the three all-India services--Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS)--and central services Group A officers who have completed 17 years of service should be eligible for empanelment under the Central Staffing Scheme and the "two year edge" presently enjoyed by the IAS should be withdrawn.

Whereas Vivek Rae, third member of the pay panel and a former IAS officer, has said that the financial edge for IAS and those of Indian Foreign Service is fully justified but has not agreed with the view that it should be extended to the IPS and the IFoS.

Source : PTI

Retirement in the month of June 2016

Today, following PS Gr. B Officers retired from Govt. Service on superannuation.

Sl. No.	Name of Officer	Designation	Circle
1	Ms V. Mallika	Sr. Dy. Director, Mumbai GPO	Maharashtra
2	Shri G. V. Ramarao	SP, PSD, Guntakal	Andhra Pradesh
3	Shri P. Mahalingam	SP, Kanchipuram Division	Tamil Nadu
4	Shri V. Manoharan	Sr. PM, Thanjavur HO	Tamil Nadu
5	Shri B. S. Torave	SRM, Mumbai Central Stg. Division	Maharashtra
6	Shri A. D. Jadav	SP, Panchamahal Division	Gujarat
7	Shri B. M. Watane	ASP (HQ), Yavatmal Division	Maharashtra
8	Shri Umesh Pandey	Project Officer o/o PMG, North Region, Muzaffarpur Division	Bihar
9	Shri Mahidhar	Manager, NSH, Hyderabad	Andhra Pradesh
10	Shri M. Prabhakar Rao	ASP (North), Hyderabad City Division	Andhra Pradesh
11	Shri G. Eswaraiah	ASP, South East Sub Division, Hyderabad	Andhra Pradesh
12	Shri S. Mahadevaih	SP, Mandya Division	Karnataka

CHQ wishes them a very happy, healthy and long retired life.

CPMG Maharashtra Circle Shri A. K. Dash felicitated Shri B. S. Torave 

Shri B. S. Torave SRM Mumbai Central Div. Smt. V. Mallika Sr. Dy. Director Mumbai GPO also seen in picture

Send Off function of Shri A. D. Jadav, SP, Panchamahal Division (Gujarat)

Send Off function of ShriV. Manoharan.. Shri S. Aruldoss CS Tamil Nadu giving speech 

IP/ASPs of Tamil Nadu circle with Shri V. Manoharan 

Shri Panchapakesan SP, Thanjavur felicitating Shri V. Manoharan 

Union Meeting with Member (HRD) regarding Postal Payment Bank

Pay Scale Calculator as per the recommendations of 7th Pay commission

7CPC News blog has prepared new Pay Scale Calculator based on 7th Pay Commission recommendations. You can use this calculator to know your Revised Pay and Allowances with effect from 1.1.2016.

Click the below link to view the calculator…

7TH PAY COMMISSION PAY SCALE CALCULATOR

7TH PAY COMMISSION PAY & ARREARS CALCULATOR

7TH PAY COMMISSION PENSION CALCULATOR

7TH PAY COMMISSION PENSION ARREARS CALCULATOR

7TH PAY COMMISSION DEFENCE PAY CALCULATOR

Source : 7CPC News

7th CPC Cabinet Decision – Frequently Asked Question

1.) What is the Fitment Factor used in Pay Matrix?

A fitment factor of 2.57 will be applied across all Levels in the Pay Matrices.

2.) Did Cabinet approve for the employees request of changing minimum wages?

No, the 7th CPC recommendation will be implemented (Rs.18000/-)

3.)What would be the current House Building Advance?

The ceiling of House Building Advance from Rs.7.50 lakh to 25 lakh.

4.) When will I get my arrears?

All arrears including pensioner will be paid during this financial year (2016-17) itself.

5.) What would be Rate of increment?

Rate of increment has been retained at 3 %. This will benefit the employees in future on account of higher basic pay as the annual increments that they earn in future will be 2.57 times than at present.

6.) What’s the status of NPS Implementation?

Cabinet decided to form two separate committee for looking into the issues.

7.) What would be my current Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme (CGEGIS)?

It will stay at the existing rate of Rs.30, Rs.60 & Rs.120/- for Group C, B & A respectively.

8.) Has the old allowance has been abolished?

Currently No (June’2016). Existing will continue and after 4 month’s there may be changes.

9.) What would be the HRA Percentage after Cabinet Decision?

HRA would be at the rate of 30, 20 & 10 percentage and after 4 month’s there may be changes.

10.) Has there been any changes in Defence Pay Matrix?

Yes, there has been changes in 13A (Brigadier), Level 12A (Lieutenant Colonel), 13 (Colonel) and 13A (Brigadier).

11.) Will there be any changes in Military Service Pay?

Yes, Rates of Military Service Pay revised from Rs. 1000, 2000, 4200 & 6000 to 3600, 5200, 10800 & 15500 respectively for various categories of Defence Forces personnel.

12.) For pension, what would be multiplication factor?

2.57 would be the factor to determine the pension and will be reviewed after 4 months.

Source: http://www.7thpaycommissionnews.com/

“NATUREPEX-2016” - Philatelic exhibition on Nature and Environment

The Philatelic exhibition on Nature and Environment- “NATUREPEX-2016” is going to organized by Eastern India Philatelist’s Association at Bhubaneswar from 30th September to 2nd October, 2016. In this context, a  co-ordination meeting between the office bearers of Naturepex-2016 is going to be held  with the officers of Odisha Circle under the chairmanship of the  Chief Post Master General, Odisha Circle  on 07.07.2016 at the Conference Hall of O/o the Chief P.M.G, Odisha Circle at 15 00 Hrs.

DoP on the lookout for IPPB CEO, COO

NEW DELHI: THE Department of Posts has asked Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank to recommend board level officers or senior executives, who may be interested in managing the DoP’s payments bank as CEO of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), on deputation basis.

The IPPB, will be operational from March 2017 with 2,000 employees and 50 branches, which it will  gradually increase to 650 by September 2017. It also plans to have five independent members and four in-house representatives in IPPB. Independent directors together will hold 51 per cent share in IPPB while 49 per cent will be held by the Government.

DoP will follow routine selection processes and recruit the CEO and COO through the Department of Financial Services. “We will have 650 branches co-located with post offices in most cities. We will also link all 1.55  lakh post offices as banking correspondents of IPPB,”said SK Sinha, Secretary, DoP.

My Stamp

Soon an individual or a corporate entity can get their photo or logo printed inside a postage stamp for Rs 12 lakh, the Department of Posts said, a move that is likely to help garner Rs 600 crore for the department.

The move is a step ahead in promoting philately in India. Earlier, India Post only allowed printing of photo or design next to postage stamp on a Rs 300 My Stamp sheet. Such  stamps were allowed for use in general postal mail.

“We have opened up customised printing of ‘My Stamp’ for individuals and corporates. Anyone can get his logo or photo printed inside the stamp for net cost of Rs 12 lakh. There will be 5,000 sheets comprising 60,000 postage stamps,” Sinha said.

My Stamp has so far been issued for Amazon India, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and proposals are pending from various entities.

India Post is eyeing a jump of about Rs 100 crore in turnover at Rs 141 crore from the philately segment this fiscal and Rs 60 crore from  ‘My Stamp’ initiative.

Source : http://www.newindianexpress.com

For just Rs 300, leave stamp of yourself with India Post

NEW DELHI: You can now have your picture printed on a postal stamp. Be it a picture of a bride and groom or an infant on his first birthday or those of close buddies during a college reunion, the Indian postal department is ready to give a special touch to your cherished moments - a special stamp customised just for you.

And don't worry about the cost -it is as low as Rs 300 for a pack of 12 stamps.

"Philately is one of the core focus areas for the postal department and we have been looking at initiatives that take the postal department closer to the masses," Secretary (Posts) SK Sinha told.

In fact, the initiative has been in the offing for some time, but the postal department has now decided to give it a fillip. The facility is available at key post offices across major towns and cities. And the postal department has now decided to offer the service through the online channel and one can make a booking through the philately section of its website http:www.epostoffice.gov.in "We are receiving a good reaction to the move, and thus it is being offered at more and more locations. The online route is also gaining traction," Sinha said.

While the post office hands out the customised stamps right on the stamp after you hand them over your preferred picture, the online route could take at least three to four days.

"We also seek a government identification card and a declaration from the individual to ensure that the information and the picture provided to us is genuine," the top postal official said.

There are a variety of themes being offered to go with the customised stamps, including the Taj Mahal, Ajanta Caves, Port Blair Island, Mysore Palace, Hawa Mahal, the Fairy Queen train, the Ghats of Varanasi, Ellora Caves, Victoria Memorial, The Sun Temple of Konark and the Gateway of India.

The postal department has also introduced an offer for the corporate sector and private institutions.

Source : http://www.prameyanews7.com

Cabinet approves Cadre Review of Group 'A' Officers of Central Reserve Police Force

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Cadre Review of Group 'A' Executive officers of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) with net creation of 90 posts of various ranks from Deputy Commandant to Special DG ranks. After creation of these posts in CRPF, the operational efficiency and capacity building of the Force including its administrative capabilities would be enhanced.

Under the cadre review, the increase in existing structure of Group 'A' posts from 4210 to 4300 posts is as under:-

1.     Increase of one post of Special DG (HAG + level).

2.     Net increase of 11 posts of Inspector General (SAG level).

3.     Net increase of 277 posts of DIG/Commandant/2-l/C (JAG level).                                         

4.     Net reduction of 199 posts of Deputy Commandants (STS level).

Background:

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), is one of the Central Armed Police Forces. It was formed in 1939. The first Cadre Review of the service was conducted in 1983 and the second and last Cadre Review was conducted in 1991. Though no formal cadre review has been carried out after 1991, major augmentation-cum-restructuring were carried out in 2004 and 2009. During these augmentations, additional battalions were raised without proportionate addition of supervisory and support staff.

Source:-PIB

Report of the Committee set up under the chairmanship of Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi, Joint Secretary, DoPT to examine the recommendations of the Committee of Experts on suo motu disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005.

To view, DoPT OM No. 1/34/2014-IR dated 30.6.2016 please CLICK HERE. 

Cabinet approves Implementation of the recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the implementation of the recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) on pay and pensionary benefits.   It will come into effect from 01.01.2016.

In the past, the employees had to wait for 19 months for the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations at the time of 5th CPC, and for 32 months at the time of implementation of 6th CPC.  However, this time, 7th CPC recommendations are being implemented within 6 months from the due date.

The Cabinet has also decided that arrears of pay and pensionary benefits will be paid during the current financial year (2016-17) itself, unlike in the past when parts of arrears were paid in the next financial year.

The recommendations will benefit over 1 crore employees. This includes over 47 lakh central government employees and 53 lakh pensioners, of which 14 lakh employees and 18 lakh pensioners are from the defence forces.

Highlights:

1.     The present system of Pay Bands and Grade Pay has been dispensed with and a new Pay Matrix as recommended by the Commission has been approved. The status of the employee, hitherto determined by grade pay, will now be determined by the level in the Pay Matrix. Separate Pay Matrices have been drawn up for Civilians, Defence Personnel and for Military Nursing Service. The principle and rationale behind these matrices are the same.

2.     All existing levels have been subsumed in the new structure; no new levels have been introduced nor has any level been dispensed with. Index of Rationalisation has been approved for arriving at minimum pay in each Level of the Pay Matrix depending upon the increasing role, responsibility and accountability at each step in the hierarchy.

3.     The minimum pay has been increased from Rs.  7000 to 18000 p.m.  Starting salary of a newly recruited employee at lowest level will now be Rs.  18000 whereas for a freshly recruited Class I officer, it will be Rs.  56100.  This reflects a compression ratio of 1:3.12 signifying that pay of a Class I officer on direct recruitment will be three times the pay of an entrant at lowest level.

4.     For the purpose of revision of pay and pension, a fitment factor of 2.57 will be applied across all Levels in the Pay Matrices. After taking into account the DA at prevailing rate, the salary/pension of all government employees/pensioners will be raised by at least 14.29 % as on 01.01.2016.

5.     Rate of increment has been retained at 3 %. This will benefit the employees in future on account of higher basic pay as the annual increments that they earn in future will be 2.57 times than at present.

6.     The Cabinet approved further improvements in the Defence Pay Matrix by enhancing Index of Rationalisation for Level 13A (Brigadier) and providing for additional stages in Level 12A (Lieutenant Colonel), 13 (Colonel) and 13A (Brigadier) in order to bring parity with Combined Armed Police Forces (CAPF) counterparts at the maximum of the respective Levels.

7.     Some other decisions impacting the employees including Defence & Combined Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel include :

·        Gratuity ceiling enhanced from Rs.  10 to 20 lakh. The ceiling on gratuity will increase by 25 % whenever DA rises by 50 %.

·        A common regime for payment of Ex-gratia lump sum compensation for civil and defence forces personnel payable to Next of Kin with the existing rates enhanced from Rs. 10-20 lakh to 25-45 lakh for different categories.

·        Rates of Military Service Pay revised from Rs.  1000, 2000, 4200 & 6000 to 3600, 5200, 10800 & 15500 respectively for various categories of Defence Forces personnel.

·        Terminal gratuity equivalent of 10.5 months of reckonable emoluments for Short Service Commissioned Officers who will be allowed to exit Armed Forces any time between 7 and 10 years of service.

·        Hospital Leave, Special Disability Leave and Sick Leave subsumed into a composite new Leave named ‘Work Related Illness and Injury Leave’ (WRIIL). Full pay and allowances will be granted to all employees during the entire period of hospitalization on account of WRIIL.

8.     The Cabinet also approved the recommendation of the Commission to enhance the ceiling of House Building Advance from Rs.  7.50 lakh to 25 lakh. In order to ensure that no hardship is caused to employees, four interest free advances namely Advances for Medical Treatment, TA on tour/transfer, TA for family of deceased employees and LTC have been retained. All other interest free advances have been abolished.

9.     The Cabinet also decided not to accept the steep hike in monthly contribution towards Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme (CGEGIS) recommended by the Commission. The existing rates of monthly contribution will continue. This will increase the take home salary of employees at lower levels by Rs. 1470. However, considering the need for social security of employees, the Cabinet has asked Ministry of Finance to work out a customized group insurance scheme for Central Government Employees with low premium and high risk cover.

10. The general recommendations of the Commission on pension and related benefits have been approved by the Cabinet. Both the options recommended by the Commission as regards pension revision have been accepted subject to feasibility of their implementation. Revision of pension using the second option based on fitment factor of 2.57 shall be implemented immediately. A Committee is being constituted to address the implementation issues anticipated in the first formulation. The first formulation may be made applicable if its implementation is found feasible after examination by proposed Committee which is to submit its Report within 4 months.

11. The Commission examined a total of 196 existing Allowances and, by way of rationalization, recommended abolition of 51 Allowances and subsuming of 37 Allowances. Given the significant changes in the existing provisions for Allowances which may have wide ranging implications, the Cabinet decided to constitute a Committee headed by Finance Secretary for further examination of the recommendations of 7th CPC on Allowances.  The Committee will complete its work in a time bound manner and submit its reports within a period of 4 months. Till a final decision, all existing Allowances will continue to be paid at the existing rates.

12. The Cabinet also decided to constitute two separate Committees (i) to suggest measures for streamlining the implementation of National Pension System (NPS) and (ii) to look into anomalies likely to arise out of implementation of the Commission’s Report.

13. Apart from the pay, pension and other recommendations approved by the Cabinet, it was decided that the concerned Ministries may examine the issues that are administrative in nature, individual post/ cadre specific and issues in which the Commission has not been able to arrive at a consensus.

14. As estimated by the 7th CPC, the additional financial impact on account of implementation of all its recommendations in 2016-17 will be Rs. 1,02,100 crore. There will be an additional implication of Rs. 12,133 crore on account of payments of arrears of pay and pension for two months of 2015-16.

To view, PIB news, please CLICK HERE. 

Source:http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=0

Special Cover on Diamond Jubilee of Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology – 17th June 2016.

The Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology (NIAT), the premier Aviation technical training establishment of the Indian Navy. It was set up as the Naval Air Technical School (NATS) in the wake of the induction of the amphibious Sea Land aircraft in 1956. It was later renamed to the Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology in the eighties. The institute imparts Aviation Technical Training to Technical Officers, Sailors and Aircrew of the Naval Air Arm, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) besides training personnel of friendly foreign Navies. The NIAT has several aircraft in its collection used for instructional purposes. The growth of the Institute has been rapid especially over the last decade. The institute is recognised as a ‘Centre for Aeronautical Science and Technology’ by Cochin University with the offering of a host of academic qualifications for courses conducted at the institute such as M. Tech, BSc, and Diploma in Aeronautics etc.

The Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology (NIAT) celebrated its Diamond Jubilee on 17th June 2016. A Special Cover was released jointly by Vice Admiral A. R. Karve and Smt. Sumathi Ravichandran, Postmaster General, Kochi Region to commemorate the occasion at Kochi Naval Base on 17th June 2016.

Post Bank of India - Wikipedia article

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is a proposed state-owned commercial bank in India. The bank would use the existing network of the public-sector postal service, India Post.

History

In 2006, it was announced that India Post would open a bank to erase its ₹1,000 crore deficit during the 11th Five Year Plan, emulating Poste italiane. In February 2013, it was announced that India Post had hired Ernst and Young to prepare a report on the proposed bank. Some officials of the Ministry of Finance had opposed the plan saying that India Post did not have the expertise to provide banking services such as handling credit.

In August 2013, the Planning Commission of India said that even though it supported the plan, it was not feasible owing to financial difficulties at the moment. It also felt that converting post offices into bank branches may hamper their original function. In October 2013, the Cabinet of India rejected the proposal on the grounds that India Post did not have sufficient expertise in running a bank. In December 2013, India Post announced that it would install ATMs in 1000 of its office across India in the first half of 2014.

On 27 February 2014, India Post opened its first ATM in Chennai. In April 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave in-principle banking licences to IDFC and Bandhan Financial Services out of 26 applicants, but India Post was not considered for a licence because it had not received the mandatory clearance from the government. However, the RBI said that it would examine the proposal separately in consultation with the government.

In September 2014, a task force was formed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which aimed to study ways in which the existing postal network could be leveraged. The task force was headed by T. S. R. Subramanian. On 4 December 2014, the task force submitted its report to Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad. The report said that more services should be provided in the field of banking, insurance and e-commerce.

In late December 2014, it was announced that India Post would issue ATM-cum-debit cards to its Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) account holders. In January 2015, it was announced that the Indian government was considering a legislature, to finalise the setting up of the bank, following which a banking license would be applied for at the Reserve Bank of India. On 28 February 2015, during the presentation of the Budget it was announced that India Post will use its large network to run a payments bank.

Role in financial inclusion

India Post has about 1,54,000 post offices, of them 90% are in rural areas. There is one post office for every 7176 people in India. India Post also has 2,96,000 agents in the rural area. About 2.2 crore people, already receive their National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) payments by post offices. After State Bank of India, India Post has the largest deposits valued at ₹6 lakh crore.

T. S. R. Subramanian has said that it could aid in the ongoing Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana financial inclusion plan.

Structure and funding

The Payments Bank will be set up on a lean operating model. It will focus on financial inclusion by harnessing low-cost technology based solutions to extend access to formal banking especially in rural areas and among unbanked and under banked segments of the society. It has proposed by the task force that the existing Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) should be continued to run parallel to the new bank initially. Later, it should be merged with the bank. The existing post offices shall provide banking services to customer, whereas the bank branches shall handle back-office work, like processing loan applications, assessing credit worthiness and risk assessment, investment operations etc.

The Post Bank shall also provide institutional accounts to panchayats and micro-credit agencies. Initially, the bank will operate separately from the postal business, with a branch in every district for the first three years. The bank will require an initial funding of ₹500 crore from the government.