Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020
INFORMATION
Communications and Information Technology in the country are handled by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Communications.
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The modern postal system, the most preferred facilitator of communication, was established in India by Lord Clive in 1766 and it was further developed by Warren Hastings in1774. The expansion of its network was made during 1786 to 1793. For the first time, the post offices were regulated through an Act of 1837 on a uniform basis to unite all the post office establishments throughout the then existing three Presidencies into one all-India service. Thereafter, the Post Office Act of 1854 reformed the entire fabric of the postal system and the post offices of India were placed on the present administrative footing on 1st October 1854. This was the time when the first postage stamp valid across the country was issued at an affordable and uniform rate of postage, fixed by weight and not by distance. For the first time the common man could use a facility which included free delivery of letters from door to door—a privilege previously enjoyed only by heads of states and state officials. Since then, the Post Office touched the life of every person of the country. Even though the British established the post office for imperial interests, it along with the railways and telegraph, became one of the greatest engines of social development. The statute presently governing the postal services in the country is the Indian Post Office Act, 1898. In the mid-19th century, the post office served as facilitator of travel with its conveyance systems and by maintaining the dak bungalows and dak serais. Mail order services were started with the value payable system introduced in 1877, while fund remittances at the doorstep became possible from 1880 through money order services. With the introduction of the Post Office Savings Bank in 1882 banking facilities were accessible to all and by 1884 all government employees were covered by the postal life insurance. Besides providing postal communication facilities, the post office network has also provided facilities for remittance of funds, banking and insurance services since the latter half of the 19th century. The Department of Posts comes under the Ministry of Communications. The Postal Service Board, the apex management body of the department, comprises the Chairman and six Members. The six Members of the Board hold portfolios of personnel, operations, technology, postal life insurance, banking and HRD and planning. The Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor to the department is a permanent invitee to the Board. The Chairman of Postal Services Board is also the Secretary of the Department of Posts. Director General and Additional Director General of the Department also participate in the Board’s meetings. Department of Posts is operating Small Savings Schemes on behalf of Ministry of Finance, which frames and modifies rules relating to these schemes and pays remuneration to the Department of Posts. Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) has a customer base. Savings bank facility is provided through a network of 1.54 lakh post offices across the country. The post office savings bank operates savings accounts, recurring deposit (RD), time deposit (TD), monthly income scheme (MIS), public provident fund (PPF), national savings certificate (NSC), kisan vikas patra (KVP), senior citizens savings scheme (SCSS) and sukanya samriddhi account. Presently, Mutual Fund products of UTI only are being retailed through post offices. The collaboration of Department of Posts, Government of India with Western Union Financial Services a state-of-the-art international money transfer service is available through the post offices in the country, which enables instantaneous remittance of money from around 195 countries to India. National pension scheme, earlier known as New Pension System (NPS), for common citizens was introduced by government in 2009. India Post is a point of presence for the national pension system. Subscribers (any Indian citizen) in the age group of 18 to 55 can join NPS and contribute till the age of 60. These pension contributions are invested in various schemes of different pension fund managers appointed by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Jan Suraksha Schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) were launched in 2015 in all CBS post offices for all post office savings account holders. Department of Posts has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Insurance Company (NIC) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) for PMSBY and PMJJBY respectively. Atal Pension Yojna (APY) was launched in all CBS head post offices from 2015. The Core Banking Solution (CBS) is part of the India Post IT Modernization project that aims to bring in various IT solutions with the required infrastructure to the post offices. The project aims to implement Core Banking Solution in all the Departmental Post Offices for Small Savings Schemes during current Plan period. Jan Suraksha Schemes viz., Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) in post offices have been launched in 2015 in all CBS post offices for all Post Office Saving Account holders. Department of Posts has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Insurance Company (NIC) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) for PMSBY and PMJJBY respectively. Sukanya Samriddhi Account, a new Small Savings Scheme for the welfare of girl child, was launched in 2015. Under the scheme, a legal/natural guardian can open only one account in the name of one girl child and
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[For IAS Prelims 2020]
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COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
India Year Book 2020 Synopsis
[BestCurrentAffairs.com]
Page No.26
