India 2018

Communications and Information Technology 107
e-Post
e-Post is an unregistered hybrid mail provided for both retail as well as corporate
customers providing electronic transmission of messages which may include
text messages, scanned images, pictures and their delivery in hard copies at the
destination through postman/delivery staff. Presently, e-Post booking facility
is available in more than 13,000 post offices and are physically delivered through
a network of more than 1.54 lakh post offices, etc. to draft, design and send
messages as per their business requirements from their office premises by using
the internet. Online recharge facility for pre-paid customers is available using
credit/debit card.
e-Post Office
e-Post Office is an e-commerce portal of the Department of Posts which provides
selected postal facility through the internet. This portal aims at providing a
convenience to the public for availing select postal services from their home/
office using their own computer and internet. Customers can buy philatelic
stamps and pay PLI/RPLI premium online using credit/debit card through
this portal. The customer would need to register on the website for the first
time.
e-IPO
The Electronic Indian Postal Order (e-IPO) was introduced in 2013 to enable
citizens living abroad to pay RTI fee online through the e-Post Office portal
(https://www.epostoffice.gov.in). The facility has been extended to Indian
citizens living in India from 2014.
Sale of Sovereign Gold Bond
Department is actively engaged in the premier scheme—Sale of Sovereign Gold
Bond (SGB)' introduced by Ministry of Finance, and operated through RBI. The
objective of the scheme is to popularize 'Paper Gold' among masses and to
reach out the mall investors at the grassroot level.
Setting up of Aadhaar Updation and Enrolment Facilities
The Department of Posts has been mandated to set up Aadhaar Enrolment and
Updation Centres in the post offices across the country. Aadhaar Enrolment
and Aadhaar Updation Centres are proposed to be set up in 810 head post
offices and 22493 sub post offices across the country in a phased manner. As in
August, 2017, 882 Aadhaar Updation Centres are operational across the country.
Initiatives in Mail Operations
An android based mobile application named "Postman Mobile App" designed
and developed in-house by the Department at its Centre for Excellence in Postal
Technology (CEPT), Mysuru, has been launched across the country in 2017.
More than 15000 mobiles have been provided, covering 102 cities. The mobile
app is being used by the delivery staff for delivering various accountable articles