by
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
India Post should review all its postal-services to induce newness in the system also aimed for more earning for the Department without hitting the commoners. Aim should be to promote postal-services for effectively competing with increasing use of private courier-services.
Rationalising postal-tariffs reducing subsidy and abolishing GST on select postal-services
Postal-department delivers highly subsidised rubber-stamped (printed) post-cards of just 50 paise to Akashwani (All India Radio) where senders write “Any-Song” for programme of listeners-choice of film-songs just to get their names broadcast on Akashwani. According to rules, these rubber-stamped post-cards should be considered as printed post-cards with postal-tariff of rupees six, and must not be delivered to Akashwani. During 2019-elections to Lok Sabha, Post-Card politics between BJP and TMC cost heavily to public-exchequer where TMC decided to send 20 lakh post-cards with slogan “Jai Hind – Jai Bangla to counter BJP move to send 10 lakh post-cards with slogan “Jai Shri Ram”. Post-cards are also misused for commercial purposes like by chit-fund companies to send reminders for payments. All such printed or rubber-stamped post-cards should be dumped without delivery.
Fact is that subsidised post-cards and Inland-Letter-Cards are not being used by common people. These should be discontinued. Only sponsored Meghdoot Post-cards should be there with a postal-tariff of rupee one. It is ridiculous to price post-card at 50 or 25 paise when coins of these denominations are not minted. Printed post-cards should be priced at rupees ten. Likewise, it is ridiculous to allow registered news-papers having nominal postal-tariff of just 25 paise in name of helping small newspapers. With cost of inputs for production of newspapers including small ones having risen manifolds, postal-charges should be raised to minimum one rupee.
While normal postal-services are exempt from GST, it is senseless to levy GST on select premium services like Speed Post with tax-money going from one pocket of government to other. Levying GST on postal services, results in unnecessary spent of public money and resources on paying GST by postal-department and its collection by GST department. Speed Post tariffs both local and non-local should be commonly rationalised at rupees 20 or 30 per 50 gms weight-slab or part. Thereafter all postal-tariffs (inland and international) should be in multiples of rupees ten. Postal-tariff for ordinary mail should be revised at rupees ten per 50 gms weight-slab instead of present rupees five per 20 gms weight-slab. Even international postal-tariffs (both air and surface) should be rationalised by having equal tariff-rise for every 20 gms weight-slab, and for every 50 gms weight-slab in case articles sent by surface or sea. Aerogrammes should also be priced in multiples of rupees ten. Idea should be to issue postal-stamps only in multiples of rupees ten apart from of rupee one for use by registered newspapers.
Department of Posts should issue sponsored postal-stamps for drastic increase in revenue
Indian Post should extend system of sponsorship for issuing sponsored postal-stamps on commercial lines. Sponsored postal-stamps with some minimum stipulated number can carry advertisements or other messages desired by sponsors to be endorsed by a committee of the Department with sponsorship-charge fixed per printed stamp. System will give enormous extra revenue-earning firstly from sponsorship and secondly by making sponsoring companies shifting from private courier-companies to premier postal-services provided by India Post.
To induce newness in system and for earning extra revenue through philately, India Post should traditionally issue an altogether new definitive series of postal-stamps and postal-stationary simultaneously in all denominations every year on first day of new financial year which should also be date of revision of postal-tariffs if any. However, colour of a particular denomination of a postal-stamp of definitive series should be same but with change in design on basis of theme selected for that year. A representative of main opposition party should be traditionally included in the advisory-body to decide on issue of new postal-stamps to avoid any political bias in choosing personalities to be figured on postal-stamps.
There has been a practice to issue commemorative stamps in tariffs multiples of rupees five. But commemorative stamps in denominations of rupees 12 and 41 were issued on 24.01.2019 and 12.06.2019 respectively. With rationalisation of postal-tariffs in multiples of rupees ten, commemorative stamps then should be issued in multiples of rupees ten only but only in two most commonly used denominations. But practice of printing stamps of different denominations in same stamp-sheet (except miniature-sheets) should be discontinued because users of stamps of different denominations are different. Collection-item of ‘Miniature Sheets’ should be priced more than face-value of stamps in these. System should be to abolish most commonly used denominations of postal-stamps in definitive series so that attractive multi-coloured postage stamps may be available for general public through all the post offices of the country. Educational institutions should be motivated to give philatelic items and coin-sets in place of trophies etc., with philately as subject introduced in school text-books.
My-Stamp of India Post being misused – Should be replaced by Sponsored Postage Stamps
Media-reports indicated that some notorious ones from the under-world managed to get issued postage-stamps with their photos printed under “My-Stamp” concept launched by India Posts where individuals can get their photos printed on postage-stamps to be used towards postal-tariff on payment of extra cost. There is no provision whereby “My-Stamp” concept may not be available for tax-defaulters and persons with criminal background. India Posts should immediately discontinue “My-Stamp” concept because practically there can be no provision whereby persons with such notorious background may not be able to get their photos printed on postage-stamps officially issued by India Posts.
Postal cash-receipts should carry stickers for users of postal-services as well
Presently Postal-Department issues computer-printed receipts where the portion used by Postal-Department has sticker while the portion given to consumer is without sticker. Postal-Department for convenience of users of postal-services should have sticker also in the portion given to the consumers so that they may not require gum at their end to affix it on their despatch- registers or documents. It will be benefit to public-exchequer by avoiding man-hours and gum to paste postal cash-receipts in government-department on their despatch-registers.
RTI stamps should be issued on lines of erstwhile stamps for Radio & TV Licence fees
Postal Department discontinued postal-orders in outdated denominations like rupees 1, 2, 5 and 7 because of extremely low sale-figure and high handling cost. According to an RTI response, handling cost of a postal-order was rupees 37.45 to Department of Posts alone in the year 2011-12. Handling cost for clearing-operation of banks and in concerned public authorities is even extra. It is highly illogical that public-exchequer may bear such extra-ordinary loss in handling postal-orders in denominations like rupees 10 and 20. Rather it is time that higher denominations like of rupees 100, 200 and 500 may be added to avoid purchase of demand-drafts in submitting various types of fees.
Postal Department should issue special RTI stamps in denominations of rupees 2, 10 and 50 on lines of earlier such stamps used for licences of radio and TV sets. Presently copying-charges under RTI Act in amounts lower than rupees 10 is not feasible because of discontinuance of postal-orders in denominations of rupees 2. Even Central Information Commission through its verdicts and administrative orders has repeatedly recommended issue of RTI stamps.
Inoperative and matured accounts in post-offices – Successive nomination be introduced
There is huge unclaimed money lying deposited in post-offices with even many account-holders and depositors died without having informed their legal heirs. There are always chances of frauds (like happened in some in banks) that some mischievous persons in connivance with certain postal-employees may try to grab such unknown deposits. Postal Department should send letters by registered post in name of such account-holders and depositors not having operated their accounts and claimed for maturity-amounts of deposits in last say three years giving them a reasonable period of say three months to either renew their accounts or deposits. Otherwise all such unclaimed money may be frozen in some fixed account, which may be allowed to be withdrawn only after careful verification. Details of all such accounts then should be made public also so that legal heirs may be able to claim but only after a vigorous scrutiny-procedure. Postal Department should follow LIC of India in introducing Successive Nomination for ease of legal heirs in case of death of both the account-holder and sole or joint nominee.
Provide booking of Registered and Speed Post through bank-counters
All post-offices in and around Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi have been closed one after another causing big difficulty for users of postal-services in this biggest wholesale commercial hub of so many commodities. With introduction of government savings-schemes in banks, post-offices mainly have function for booking Registered and Speed Post articles. With increasing trend of online-banking, bank-branches can be approached to provide counters for booking of Registered and speed Post by paying them some nominal commission.
Writer is Guinness World Record Holder for writing most letters and RTI Consultant
