Post Bank Coming to a reailty

Government allots Rs 1,300crore to Post Bank

NEW DELHI: The expenditure department has decided to sanction Rs 1,300 crore to the proposed Post Bank of India to meet its capital requirements even as the department of financial services (DFS) - the wing in the finance ministry that deals with state-run banks and their poliiies – chose to stay away from the issue.

The proposal's backing by the expenditure finance commission and its subsequent green light by finance minister P Chidambaram is seen as the official go-ahead by the finance ministry, ignoring the DFS's stance. The DFS position is seen as the first instance of the agency not backing the Post Bank's plan, which officers in the department have privately mocked at.

"They think they can use the postal deposit model for their banking foray. Nothing in their plan seems to be clear. Banking isn't easy," said an officer, who did not wish to be identified. In fact, a strong Post Bank is seen to be the biggest challenge to existing public sector banks, including State Bank of India, which controls 70% of the banking business in the country. SBI, the largest lender, has a little less than 15,000 branches, while there are over 1.5 lakh post offices across the country.

Although Post Bank does not intend to open a bank branch in each post office, the plan is to use postmen to meet the financial inclusion goal. Secretary (posts) P Gopinath refused to speak to TOI despite several attempts.

According to the plan, Post Bank will have 50 branches in the first year, which will be increased to 150 by the fifth year. The branches will be located in select Head Post Offices in Tier-1-4 centres and select Sub-Post Offices in Tier-5-6 centres.

To meet RBI norms, the postal department proposes to set up a new entity - Post Bank of India - that will have an independent board and separate operations. Apart from independent directors, the board will have representatives from the finance ministry and the postal department. Separate recruitment has been planned to have specialist bankers.

While converting the entire postal network would have meant a capital requirement of over Rs 60,000 crore, by setting up a special entity, the fund requirement has been reduced. This, officers said, will also help create a more focused strategy.

Latest Uptodates

COMBINED WORKING COMMITTEE MEETING

ON 28-07-2013 FROM 10 AM

AT OTTAPALAM HO PREMISES

=All Office Bearers and Working Committee members are requested to attend the meeting in time= Important Divisional/ National issues are to be discussed = A review on Kerala Post Campaign will also be undertaken=

  

COACHING CLASS FOR LGO CANDIDATES GOING ON AT OTTAPALAM HO PREMISES DURING SUNDAYS/ HOLIDAYS

=All candidates are requested to utilize the class effectively=

  PA/ SA RECRUITMENT

• Kerala Circle Result Announced
• Computer Coaching Class for qualified candidates will be held at P&T Society Hall, Palakkad on 28-07-2013 (Sunday) from 10 AM.
• For Result :Visit link below:
  
  Direct Recruitment PA/SA Examination - LATEST UPDATE

  	UPDATE as on 17-JUL-2013
  I.	Aptitude Test (Paper I) for all the postal circles is completed. The List of shortlisted  candidates for the Computer Typing / Data Entry (PAPER II) for Kerala Postal Circles is given in the  link below:   SHORT LISTED CANDIDATES FOR PAPER II

•  

Meetings at Directorate

Proposed meetings at Dircetorate

1. Discussion on JCA memorandum (NFPE & FNPO) with  Secretary ,Posts likely to be on 2^nd August 2013.
2. JCM(DC) Standing Committee meeting for discussing progress on pending items on 23^rd August 2013.
3. JCM(DC) meeting for discussing new items likely in September 2013

Welfare Fund for GDS

INTRODUCTION OF CIRCLE WELFARE FUND FOR GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS...REGARDING (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS)

Chit Fund Scam in West Bengal-after effect

India Post sees steady rise in small savings after chit fund debacle

KOLKATA: India Post, the government department that is seeking a banking license, is flooded with small savings in West Bengal after investors lost hundreds of crores in Ponzi schemes, giving it a stamp of approval from the masses ahead of the regulator.

The department has amassed a net of Rs 560 crore of deposits in the first three months of this fiscal, a period which is normally considered as a dull one in terms of savings. For the entire last fiscal, total net mobilisation was Rs 1,789 crore, West Bengal's chief postmaster general J Panda said Tuesday in Kolkata.

"Inflows of funds has been steady now," Panda said. This has coincided with the collapse of several Ponzi scheme companies in West Bengal.

The growth in mobilisation of small savings had slowed in the last three financial years to March 2013 when money circulating companies flourished in the state luring lakhs of small depositors with a prospect of making quick fortune.

India Post officials in Kolkata played down the Ponzi scheme effect on mobilisation. "The growth in generation of small savings reached a plateau with the availability of alternate investment options available in then market," postmaster general for Kolkata S Das said. "Seniors, who are traditionally the biggest takers of the postal savings schemes, are largely lured to other options."

The postal department in Bengal mobilised a gross Rs 23,872 crore in 2012-13 compared with Rs 23,571 in the preceding fiscal, reflecting a flat growth.

The Ponzi scheme debacle begun somewhat around last week of March when Saradha Group, which raised several thousand crores in fixed deposits and collective investment schemes, issued closure notices on many of its newspapers and TV channels following to an apparent financial crunch. This was followed by a run on the Saradha's chit fund business after anxious depositors flocked the counters with early redemption request. Several other such companies met the same fate.

The banking circle said that the lack of financial penetration in the state had allowed sham schemes to grow freely. The renewed interest on small savings is again driving home the point that while banks failed to build infrastructure to reach out to the country's remotest parts, India Post with over 1.5 lakh offices is perhaps the best suited for getting a banking license.

The country has close to 84,000 bank branches with 34,000 of these in the rural areas. While about 90% of India Post's offices are in the rural belt.

"We are giving emphasis on networking village post offices to enable savings customers to withdraw money anywhere in the country," Panda said at an event organised by MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Direct Recruitment PA/SA Examination - LATEST UPDATE

Direct Recruitment PA/SA Examination - LATEST UPDATE

	UPDATE as on 17-JUL-2013
I.	Aptitude Test (Paper I) for all the postal circles is completed. The List of shortlisted  candidates for the Computer Typing / Data Entry (PAPER II) for Andhra Pradesh,  Gujrat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,  Madhya Pradesh, North East, Odisha, West Bengal Postal Circles is given in the  link below:   SHORT LISTED CANDIDATES FOR PAPER II  The list in respect of the remaining Postal Circles will be published shortly.
II.	The above Short List has been prepared in accordance with the procedure published in the Notification No 60-9/2009 SPB1 dated 8-5-2012. The candidates who figure  in the above list have qualified for appearing in the Paper II based on marks in the  Paper I.
III	The list is in order of Roll Number.
IV.	Paper II is tentatively scheduled on 10th,11th,24th,25th,31th August 2013 and  1st September 2013
V.	Admit Card for Paper II will be dispatched shortly. Admit Card can also be generated on this website by the candidates

POST BANK

LET THE POSTMAN TURN BANKER: INDIA POST DESERVES TO GET A BANK LICENCE

ET Bureau Jul 16, 2013, 05.00AM IST

India Post wants to own a bank. This is a great idea. In one stroke, this can ensure that millions more will get access to formal credit, in one of the most under-banked countries of the world.

The biggest advantage for India Post, among the most enduring institutions set up by the British, is its huge network and customer base. Compared to roughly 1,00,000 commercial and rural bank branches in India, there are 1,55,000 post offices, a majority in rural and semi-urban areas. As a collector of small savings, it has experience in taking deposits — about Rs 6 lakh crore at last count — but not in lending. A bank licence for only India Post would mean that the network of bank branches would be more than double in one stroke.