More Likes for the New Post

THE POSTAL DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN MAKING EFFORTS AT EXPANDING ITS REPERTOIRE OF SERVICES TO BE MORE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC IN CHANGING TIMES.

‘Penta Phones for sale’ says the banner before the district head post-office here, located near the old bus stand. Another of the Postal Department’s efforts at a makeover, the Penta Phone seems to have got off on the right foot. In the last one month, post offices at Sangareddy and Zaheerabad sold about two hundred phones, the stock being cleared within just an hour.

The phones, which can be booked by paying Rs.500, come with a BSNL-to-BSNL talk time offer of Rs.1,999.

That’s not all. Targeting the corporate customer and their needs for fast and end-to-end, reliable transportation across the nation, the department launched ‘Logistic Post’.

Tie-up with Railways

With a tie-up with the railways, and its own strong nationwide network to back it, Logistics Post transports the customer’s goods to the nearest post office. Four routes were launched two months ago, including Hyderabad-Adilabad-Mancherial, Hyderabad-Chennai (via Vijayawada), Hyderabad-Bangalore, and Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam and eight vehicles roped in exclusively for this purpose. The industrial estate at Patancheru in Medak district serves as the Logistics Post Centre.

Another service of the Postal Department is the Book-Now Pay Later (BNPL) scheme, where customers can first avail of the service, and pay their bills later. More than a dozen organisations, including private sector units, have already been using this service.

The Passenger Railway Reservation System (PRRS) was introduced at Sangareddy and Jogipet post offices. However, reservations can only be made during working hours of the department, making it inconvenient for customers.

The E-seva, similar to MeeSeva, introduced by the department provides services to the public at a cost fixed by the government. “Other services being offered by the department include My Stamp – where one can get his or her printed photo on the stamp and use it, Direct Post for distribution of pamphlets, Media Post through which customers can put up advertisements in the department premises, and e-Post which enables a customer to send a scanned copy of a letter to the remotest part of the country where a post office exists,” says Postal Superintendent K. Janardhan Reddy.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/

Amazon plans it big with India Post network to ramp up its delivery mechanism

• 

(The government has sought…)

NEW DELHI: E-commerce giant Amazon wants to do in India what Alibaba did in China. Amazon's India head Amit Agarwal on Tuesday met telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and urged him to allow the use of new technologies such as real-time tracking and monitoring devices on the India Post network to develop a delivery mechanism based on smart logistics.

The government has sought a detailed proposal from Amazon, to which it will respond, a person familiar with the details of the meeting told ET. Amazon wants to leverage an improved India Post network to ramp up its delivery mechanism to within 24 hours anywhere within the country.
Agarwal was accompanied for the meeting by Monique Meche, Amazon's vicepresident for international public policy. In an emailed response to ET's query, Amazon said that it is "looking for ways to deepen" its relationship with the Indian postal service which started last year. It currently uses the Indian postal services as a delivery channel, but it is looking to deepen this further, in line with what Alibaba did in China.
Alibaba was the first e-commerce company to tie-up with a government postal agency in China. Right before it hit the capital markets with a multi-billion dollar issue, Alibaba tied up with China Post to share warehouses, processing centres and delivery resources, all part of a smart logistics network providing easier and faster delivery services to online sellers. Prasad also discussed prospects for pushing trade and commerce in rural parts of the country in a big way and how e-commerce websites such as Amazon could play a big part in giving a platform to small-time retailers and entrepreneurs in the hinterland through its market place models.

With over 1.6 lakh post offices throughout the country with the lion's share of 1.4 lakh in rural areas, India Post claims to have the largest postal network in the world, according to its website. On an average, a post office serves an area of 21.2 sq km and a population of 7,175 people.
"Speed of the last mile delivery to a customer will be the most decisive factor in an already price competitive e-commerce landscape and Amazon wants to leverage on the well-penetrated postal network," a second executive who did not want to be identified told ET.
Interestingly, Amazon's proposal comes in the wake of the special task force constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October to enhance the role of India Posts in financial inclusion and trade. The committee headed by former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian will submit its report by the year end. India Post had also tried to get a banking licence but had failed, and is now looking to become a 'payment bank', one which can accept deposits and remittances but cannot lend.
"The government would obviously review any proposals made by Amazon under the light of the recommendations made," the second official said. On a lighter note at the meeting, Prasad referred to Amazon's arch-rival, homegrown e-commerce major Flipkart, and asked Agarwal who would win the e-commerce war between the two majors in India. "The consumer," Agarwal responded.

Surging growth of the e-commerce sector in India has led to a fund-raising spree by companies in the sector. Most recent being Japan's Softbank Corporation's $627-million investment in Snapdeal, which was preceded by $1-billion fund raising by Flipkart. A day after Flipkart concluded its fund raising, Amazon committed investment of $2 billion in India. In the meeting, Agarwal further discussed setting up of a data centre in India for which the company readily agreed to put up a server. Microsoft was the first technology giant this year to announce the setting up of three data centres in the country.
These data centres will enable access to customers in banking and financial services as well as the central and state governments. Many such services are currently legally restrained as they require data to be hosted within the country. Owing to which Amazon put forth the proposal to set up a server within India.

A look at various financial products offered by the Post Office

The telegram may be dead and postage stamps on their way out, but the post office is not sliding into oblivion. Its small savings schemes are a favourite with investors, and if India Post bags the banking licence, it could be a financial powerhouse with its 1.55 lakh branches. Here are some of the products and services offered by the post office.

SAVINGS ACCOUNT

Tenure: NA

Interest rate: 4%

It has a very low minimum balance requirement of Rs 50 without cheque facility, and Rs 500 with cheques.

RECURRING DEPOSIT

Tenure: 5 years

Interest rate: 8.3%

* Investor is given a flexible window of up to 15 days to deposit the sum.

* It is not necessary to open a savings account as well.

* The term can be extended by up to five years on maturity.

TIME DEPOSITS

Tenure: 1 - 5 years

Interest rate: 8.2 - 8.4%

The five-year deposits are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80C.

Minors above 10 years can open and operate account.

Deposits can be foreclosed after one year. The one-year deposit can be foreclosed after six months.

MONTHLY INCOME SCHEME

Tenure: 5 years

Interest rate: 8.4%

* Minimum deposit Rs 1,500 and maximum of Rs 4.5 lakh.

* Interest flows into savings account at the same post office.

* It can be foreclosed after one year with a 2% deduction.

* After three years, the deduction is 1%.

SENIOR CITIZENS' SAVING SCHEME

Tenure: 5 years

Interest rate: 9.2%

* It is open to investors above 60 years. The retired or those who have taken VRS can join at 55.

* There is a maximum limit of Rs 15 lakh per individual.

* Investments are eligible for deduction under Section 80C.

* Can be foreclosed after one year with 1.5% deduction. After two years, the deduction is 1%.

* The interest is paid out quarterly.

* Can be extended for 3 years on maturity.



PUBLIC PROVIDENT FUND

Tenure: 15 years

Interest rate: 8.7%

* There is a minimum deposit of Rs 500 and maximum of Rs 1 lakh in a year.

* Investments are eligible for deduction under Section 80C.

* The interest earned is tax-free.

* Account can be extended by five years on maturity.

* Withdrawals allowed after sixth year.

NSCs

Tenure: 5 - 10 years

Interest rate: 8.5 - 8.8%

* There is a minimum investment of Rs 100.

* Investments are eligible for deduction under Section 80C.

* Income accrued every year is treated as reinvestment and is eligible for tax benefits under Section 80C.

* There is no TDS, but income is fully taxable.

Other financial services offered by the post office

Money transfer

It offers wire transfers and international money orders, besides issuing traveller's cheques and 22 foreign currencies to foreign travellers. It also offers prepaid forex cards in seven currencies, demand drafts in 11 currencies and wire transfer in 13.

National Pension Scheme

Right now, the NPS facility is available at nearly 800 branches across the country. The NPS is a lowcost retirement plan. It is also portable and can be accessed from any part of the country.

Mutual funds

A qualified mutual fund adviser is available at designated branches of the post office. An investor can submit application forms, payment cheques and KYC documents at these branches. However, the facility has not taken off due to removal of entry load.

Life insurance

Postal Life Insurance is open only to employees of the Central and state governments, public undertakings and semi-government organisations. The Irda has allowed the post office to sell insurance policies of private companies.

Commercial banking

India Post is among the 36 companies that have applied for banking licences. The launch of commercial banking operations could pitchfork the post office to the forefront of financial services in India.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

[ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/banking/finance/finance/a-look-at-various-financial-products-offered-by-the-post-office/articleshow/21055094.cms ]

5 Tips To Purchase A Pre-Owned Car 19 June 2012

1. Determine your requirements

To start with, you need to decide the type of car you want to buy. Do you want a hatchback or a sedan? The mileage of the former is better than that of the latter. Would you prefer a petrol car or a diesel one? A diesel car will be more costly upfront, but you will recoup the extra money if you plan to drive often and for longer distances, or on the highways. However, the maintenance cost will be more for a diesel vehicle. A petrol car will be better for city usage and its maintenance cost will be relatively less too.

Next, get a fix on your budget. Factor in the fact that you may need to upgrade the car, such as installing new seat covers or replacing old tyres. So split your money into two parts: price of the car and renovation fund. Don't forget to include registration and insurance cost.

2. Canvass the market

Visit various car dealerships, such as Mahindra's First Choice Wheels and Maruti's True Value, as well as portals like zigwheels.com, to see whether they have the type of car you want. Make a list of various variants, their years of original sale and the condition they are in. Find out the current market value of these second-hand vehicles as it will give you a good idea of the kind of car you can get within your budget. Once you have filtered your list, go through online reviews about these cars. It's preferable to choose a car that is not more than five years old as the maintenance cost for older cars is usually higher. Also, check the distance for which the vehicle has been driven. If a petrol car has been driven for more than 10,000-13,000 km a year, and a diesel vehicle for more than 15,000-18,000 km a year, or it has changed hands more than once, bargain hard to lower the price.

 3. Settle on the car you want

Focus on 2-3 cars that you like most and dig up their history. Ask the owner all the details about the car, no matter how insignificant they sound. Has it ever been in an accident? How many people have driven the car—just the owner or other members of the family and a driver? Inspect the car thoroughly. If you are not confident, hire a qualified mechanic for a couple of hours to go through it. Always check the car in daylight as dents and rust will be clearly visible. Any sign of welding indicates that the car was involved in a mishap. Take the car for a test drive for about 5 km, preferably on a bumpy road, as it will help you to know the car better. Is it easy to change the gears? Do you need to push hard on the brakes to stop? Are there any rattling sounds? Make sure you don't come across these problems before picking one up.

4. Check the paperwork

The paperwork should be original. Don't settle for any photocopied documents because you can't be too sure that the car isn't stolen. Go through the service book of the car to ensure that the vehicle has been serviced regularly. The important documents that you should obtain from the owner are the RTO tax receipt, registration certificate (RC), insurance papers and the original invoice. The car's chassis number in the RC and invoice should be the same as on the engine. If it's not, the implication is that the engine has been changed. Check the state in which the vehicle has been registered. If you plan to use it in a different state, you will have to get the registration transferred. In case of insurance, make sure that the premium has been paid regularly and the date on which the next one is due. Ask the owner if there is an outstanding loan on the car. If there is, you should ask him to repay the entire loan and obtain a no-objection certificate from the finance company before you buy the vehicle.

 5. Close the deal

As you already have a price range in mind for the car, start with the lowest figure. Since there are a lot of used cars in the market, sellers are willing to negotiate and lower their asking price by a small margin. However, you should have a valid argument about why you want the price lowered. If the seller isn't satisfied with your reasoning, increase the price a bit. This will depend on the condition of the car and the accessories used. However, don't be taken in by unimportant ones, such as mudflaps and decals.

Once you've finalised the deal, discuss the mode of payment. It is advisable to pay through a demand draft, not cash. Ensure that you get a receipt with the seller's full details, including address.

After you buy the car, the previous owner should inform the RTO with which the car was registered about the sale through a letter within 14 days. If you fall in the jurisdiction of another RTO, you will have to inform your RTO by sending a similar letter in the given period.

Source : Economic Times ,  Via :  investmentkit.com & http://rmssa.blogspot.in/

India Post's gold offer for Akshaya Tritiya

HYDERABAD, APRIL 16: 

India Post is offering 6 per cent rebate on gold coins of various denominations this Akshaya Tritiya, according to the Chief Postmaster General, Andhra Pradesh Circle. Buying gold is an important aspect of the festival that is on April 24 this year. The festival offer will be available at designated post offices across Andhra Pradesh on gold coins of 0.5 g, 8 g, 10 g, 20 g and 50 g of 24 carat and 99.99 per cent purity, a press release said.

India Post, in association with the World Gold Council and Reliance Money Infrastructure Ltd, began selling gold coins made by Switzerland's Valcambi in 2008. At present, gold coins are available at more than 800 post offices across the country.

Source : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/marketing/article3320597.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy

HMT opens Shop at Mysore PostOffice

New venture:The HMT sales outlet at the Mysore Head Post Office is the second such counter in the State.— Photo: M. A. SRIRAM

Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd., or HMT, as it is popularly known, which branded itself as the ‘Timekeepers to the nation' till it lost ground to stiff competition from private players, is trying to make a comeback and opening sales counters at post offices.

The second such counter in the State was opened at the Mysore Head Post office at Lashkar Mohalla, Ashoka Road, where all the models of the watch company are up for sale.

The sales point was inaugurated by K.M. Raghavendra, JGM, Business Planning, HMT. S.V. Balasubramanya, Senior Postmaster, Mysore Head Post Office, S. Rajashekara, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Mysore division, and Eshwar Nayak, AGM, Sales, HMT, were present.

HMT's marketing tie-ups with post offices is a new initiative in brand building and regaining the market share, Mr. Raghavendra said, adding that they had obtained permission from the Postal Department for opening such counters in different parts of the country.

He said such a counter was inaugurated at the Bangalore GPO last year and had since been expanded to Chennai, Madurai and now Mysore. The Hubli head post office will have a sales outlet in due course and the initiative would be expanded to major post offices in West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh in due course.

Ever since the HMT has tied up with the Postal Department, the company registered brisk sales and each sales point was doing a business of Rs.1.5 lakh to Rs.2 lakh per month and the company was optimistic of boosting its revenue and sales further in the days ahead.

HMT has numerous watch models ranging from Rs.400 to Rs.5000 and more and all of them will be on sale at the post office counters.

The company would ensure steady supply to meet the demands for specific models and the old classic Pilot watches were in tremendous demand at most of the counters, Mr. Raghavendra said. The month on month sales have improved and after covering major cities and towns, the concept of sales counter in the districts and rural areas will also be taken up.

LAUNCH OF INTERNATIONAL MONEY TRANSFER SERVICE IN POST OFFICES IN ASSOCIATION WITH MONEYGRAM

The Department of Posts has entered into an International Cooperation Agreement with MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc., USA to offer to the general public the MoneyGram International Money Transfer Service through selected Post Offices in India. This service has been launched on 29^th September 2011 by Shri Kapil Sibal, Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development, Communications & IT in the presence of Shri Sachin Pilot, Hon’ble Minister of State for Communications & IT.

Salient features of this IMTS are furnished below:-

1. The MoneyGram International Money Transfer Service is a fast, simple and convenient method to transfer money from one place to another.

2. In India, a person can only receive money from abroad through this service.

3. This service operates as per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India.

4. Only personal remittances such as remittances towards family maintenance and emittances favouring foreign tourists visiting India are permissible under this service.

5. Trade related remittances, remittances towards purchase of property, investments or credit to NRE Accounts, etc. or donations/contributions to charitable organizations are not (NOT) permitted to be routed through this service.

6. A single remittance under this service should not exceed USD 2500 or its equivalent.

7. Not more than 12 remittances are allowed to be received by a single individual beneficiary through this service in a calendar year.

8. Payments to the beneficiaries in India should be made in Indian Rupees at ongoing exchange rates.

9. All payments exceeding Rs.50,000 should be paid only by Cheque or by direct credit in the account of the recipient.

10. All KYC/AML/CFT norms/rules/regulations/instructions, as mentioned in Reserve Bank of India Master Circular No. 14/2011-12 dated 01 July 2011, as amended from time to time, and all the requirements under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and the rules, regulations made there-under, are applicable to the remittances received under this service.

11. Departmental IMTS Customer Service Centre is functioning in Dak Bhawan, New Delhi. It can be contacted on Phone No. 011-23096114 and on email id indiapost.moneygramcsc@gmail.com

This service is offered through 100 Post Offices initially in Delhi, Punjab and Tamilnadu Postal Circle. The same will be expanded to other selected Post Offices in future.

Courtesy: indiapost.gov.in

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTS INFORMATION FOR IPO, LGO EXAMINATIO

BD Products may be discussed into three heads, namely, Departmental Products, Tie-up Services and Money Transfer Services.

A. Departmental Products:

I.SPEED POST:

· Speed Post Service was introduced in Aug, 1986.

· The Service Tax and Education Cess for article weighing below 50 Gms included in the postage itself (ONE INDIA ONE RATE). For article weighing above 50 Gms, the ST and EC will be charged separately.

· The rate of Service Tax is 10% and Education Cess is 3% on ST.

· ST has to be charged on inclusive of additional servicesviz., Insurance, VP, etc

· There are 315 National Speed Post Centres and 986 State SPC.

· There is a provision to deliver the SP (like Passport, driving license etc) to the addressee only. For this the should customer should get permission from DOP and print on the envelope as “To be delivered to the addressee only”.

· Unclaimed SP returned to the sender after detention of 7 days.

· Refused SP returned to the sender on the day itself

· Speed Post offers money-back guarantee, under which Speed Post fee (Upto Rs.1,000/-) will be refunded if the consignment is not delivered within the published delivery norms.

· BNPL facility (with a condition to give speed post businessatleast Rs.10,000 pm w.e.f. 12.05.11) is available.

· BNPL Customers will be given Free Pick Up service.

· Under the BNPL Scheme, the customer prepares three copies of SP booking list (Note: Articles are booked by customer himself in the BNPL Journal). The customer retaining one copy and the other two copies come to the SP Centre.

· Bulk customers is defined as anyone who provides Rs.10,000 worth of Speed Post business in a calendar month at a SP booking Office.

· Advance payment facility is also available. However, for this no extra discount will be given. (Example: In Madurai BPC, District Collector Office of Madurai is paying Speed Charges in advance).

· BNPL facility to a customer – approved by Regional PMG only.

· BNPL facility to a private customer-Bank Guarantee is must – Not less than 4 months of the business committed by the BNPL customers.

· The bank Guarantee should issued by Nationalized/Scheduled Bank (Scheduled under RBI Act, 1934).

· The Bank Guarantee should be valid for a period of at least 18 months from the date of the agreement. However, the amount of bank Guarantee should be reviewed once in a quarter by a designated authority.

· Penalty for belated payment – 1% pm (Calculated from the date of issue of bill)

· If payment not received even after three month from the date of issue of bill, action may be taken to revoke the Bank Guarantee for recovery of the total outstanding.

· BNPL & Bulk customers can get discount, if the volume of business exceeds 0.5 lakh in a month @ 5%. The rate of discount increases according to volume of business and a customer can get maximum of 20% discount if the volume of business in a month exceeds 25 lacs.

· The amount of discount will be calculated on postage excluding the ST and EC. Besides the BNPL Customers will be given the above rate of Discount only if he gives soft copy of the articles. Otherwise, the amount of discountwould be reduced by half.

· Discount sanctioning authority -

Before 01.01.11 Regional PMG

w.e.f. 01.01.11 deducted in the bill itself by the billing office.

· SMS facility is available – To get SMS on delivery status, sent SMS to 55352.

SPSpeed Post Number

· Delivery status can also be tracked thro India post.gov.in website.

· While tracking, by providing eMail iD the delivery status can be received thro eMail also.

· Insurance facility upto one lakh.

· Charge for Proof of Delivery card- Rs.10/-

· If Speed article redirected/returned to any distanced place the difference between actual postage minus actually paid should be collected.(BD Dte lr No.55-9/2004-BDD dt 16.02.05)

Example: A customer who is residing at Tuticorin District booked a Speed Article weighing 50 gms at PO located in Madurai Town Delivery addressed to within the Madurai Town Delivery area and paid local charge of Rs.12/- If this article returned to the sender (Tuticorin address) or redirected to the addressee other than Madurai Town Delivery office, Rs.13 (Rs.25-Rs.12) has to be collected. (Note: Only single deficiency)

· International SP service is available for Documents to 98 countries and Merchandise to 74 countries. Postage determined for every 250 Gms or part thereof and the rate differ from country to country.

· All International articles should be presented in open condition at the time of booking.

· There are Five Office of Exchange to deal the foreign SP articles. They are Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai, New Delhi and Kochi.

For More Details : Click Here to Download

A Complete Guide to Business Development - Department of Posts - Part I

Business Post: One stop solutions for bulk mails designed to take care of all premailing activities, from start to finish saving your valuable time. Business post offers total Business solutions for the corporate class by providing tailor made services. It provides value additions to all traditional services offered by the department on payment of nominal charges, as in the form of:

-Collection of mails from the premises

-Enveloping/ Inserting

-Addressing

-Sealing

-Franking

-Posting and delivery at the destination

Pre mailing charges: (excluding applicable Postage Charges)

Operation (per article)	Unregistered (Rs)	Registered Mail
Collection	0.20	0.30
Folding the contents before insertion	0.01	0.01
Folding the contents before insertion which requires cutting	0.02	0.02
Insertion (Per insertion)	0.10	0.20
Gumming (Sealing)	0.10	0.10
Franking	0.20	0.40
Pasting pre-printed labels gummed	0.02	0.02
Pasting pre-printed labels which are not gummed	0.05	0.05
Insertion to be matched with the address	0.05	0.05
Additional charges for articles weighing more than 100 grams	0.05	0.05
Special handling	0.10	0.50
Manual addressing	0.30	0.30

Book Post: The article should be open in condition and it should be printed as

BOOK POST on the front side top portion of the article.

Rate of postage will be Rs 4.00 for a weight not exceeding 50 gms and Rs 3.00 for

every additional 50 gms or fraction thereof.( the content of the article should not be personnel in nature and only printed items are allowed. Ex. invitation, broachers etc.)

First class mail (Letter Post) : Article shall be closed in condition.

Rate of postage will be Rs 5.00 for a weight not exceeding 20 grams and Rs 5.00 for

Additional 20 gms or fraction thereof.

Courtesy : http://satish24k.blogspot.com/