Lok Sabha Question No. 3551 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-02
Subject: E-Market Place
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: SHOBHA KARANDLAJE, PRATHAP SIMHA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3551 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 ND  JANUARY, 2019

## E-MARKET PLACE

3551. KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE: SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the India Post has recently launched e-Market Place to provide end to end support to rural artisans, SHGs, women entrepreneurs and online retailers to sell their products using e-commerce portal and if so, the details thereof;

- (b) whether  the  Government  has  launched  internet  banking  facility  for  Post  Office Savings Bank customers recently and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether  the  Government  has  launched  a  scholarship  programme  for  school children with the objective of bringing philately to the mainstream education system and if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  the  number  of  students  selected  for  the  said scholarship during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise;

- (d) the objective of instituting Meghdoot awards to the postal employees; and

(e) the new citizen centric initiatives launched by the Department of Posts during the said period to bring governance to the doorstep of citizens?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) India Post has launched its e-Commerce Portal on 14.12.2018 to provide end to end support to sellers including Rural Artisans, Self Help Groups, Women Entrepreneur and  Online  Retailers  to  sell  their  product.  The  e-Commerce  Portal  can  be  accessed at https://ecom.indiapost.gov.in

- (b) India Post has started internet banking facility for the customers of the Post Office Savings Bank in CBS Post Offices. The Scheme provides for an intra-operable (i.e within the  POSB  Accounts  only)  internet  banking  facility  for  the  Post  Office  Savings  Bank Customers of CBS Post Offices.

(c) Yes, Department of Posts launched a nationwide  Deen  Dayal  SPARSH (Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby) Scholarship scheme in 2017-18 which is a philately scholarship scheme for the students who have good academic record and also pursue Philately as a hobby . Details are in Annexure A.

(d) The objective  of  Meghdoot Award is to  encourage  officials by  recognizing  their performance.  Instituted  in  1984  for  employees  under  the  Department  of  Posts,  the purpose  of  the  award  is  to  motivate  the  staff  to  work  with  greater  enthusiasm  and improve their performance.

- (e) Department of Posts has taken several citizen centric initiatives to bring Governance near the vicinity of the citizens as detailed below:
- i) Aadhaar Updation & Enrolment Facility in Post Offices :- Department of Posts has set up 13,352 Aadhaar Enrolment and Updation Centres in order to extend enrolment/updation facilities to common citizens through Post office network.
- ii) Post  Office  Passport  Seva  Kendra:In order to extend passport services to common  citizens,  Department  of  Posts  and  Ministry  of  External  Affairs  have agreed to utilize the Post Offices as Passport Seva Kendra, 254 POPSKs  have been opened across the country till date.
- iii) Department has rolled out India Post Call Centre (IPCC) with Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) and Agent based service at Varanasi on 01 June 2018. This  is  a  new  citizen  centric  initiative  to  bring  governance  to  the  door  step  of Citizens. The Citizens can dial toll free number 1800 266 6868 from anywhere in the country and inquire about the services provided by the Department of Posts as well as lodge any complaint with regard to their article. The Department has received 14,65,040 calls from 01 June 2018 till 30 November 2018.
- iv) Besides  above,  initiatives  like  Electronic  Money  Order  (eMO),  Instant  Money Order  (iMO),  Jeevan  Pramaan  Centres    are  also  introduced  by  Department  of Posts as part of Citizen Centric initiatives.

## Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana

| Year    |   Total no. of entries Received |   Total no. of Students participated | Total no. of students selected.   |
|---------|---------------------------------|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 2017-18 |                           22137 |                                20652 | 841                               |
|         |                           83861 |                                74555 | 2018-19 916                       |

## State/UT wise details of Students selected

| S. No.             | Postal Circle               | State/UTs   | Number of students selected 2017-18   | Number of students selected 2018-19   |
|--------------------|-----------------------------|-------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 1.                 | Assam                       |             | 16                                    | 40                                    |
| 2.                 | Andhra Pradesh              |             | 40                                    | 40                                    |
| 3.                 | Bihar                       |             | 40                                    | 40                                    |
| 4.                 | Chhattisgarh                |             | 40                                    | 40                                    |
| 5. Delhi           | (UT)                        |             | 40                                    | 40                                    |
| 6. Gujarat         | Gujarat                     |             | 40                                    | 40                                    |
| 7.                 | Daman and Diu (UT)          | 0           |                                       | 0                                     |
| 8.                 | Dadar and Nagar Haveli (UT) | 0           |                                       | 0                                     |
| 9. Haryana         |                             | 40          |                                       | 40                                    |
| 10. HP             |                             | 40          |                                       | 40                                    |
| 11. J&K            |                             | 0 (*)       |                                       | 40                                    |
| 12. Jharkhand      |                             | 40          |                                       | 40                                    |
| 13. Karnataka      |                             | 40          |                                       | 40                                    |
| 14.                | Kerala                      |             | 40                                    | 41 (**)                               |
| 15.                | Lakshadweep (UT)            | 0           |                                       | 0                                     |
| 16. Madhya Pradesh |                             | 40          |                                       | 40                                    |
| 17.                | Maharashtra                 | 37          |                                       | 40                                    |
| 18.                | Goa                         | 03          |                                       | 0                                     |

## (ANNEXURE A)

| 19.               | Arunachal                | Pradesh   | 01   | 0   |
|-------------------|--------------------------|-----------|------|-----|
| 20.               | Manipur                  | 13        | 26   |     |
| 21.               | Meghalaya                | 03        |      | 04  |
| North East 22.    | Mizoram                  | 0         |      | 03  |
| 23.               | Nagaland                 | 07        |      | 0   |
| 24.               | Tripura                  | 05        |      | 07  |
| Odisha            |                          | 40        | 40   | 25. |
| 26. Punjab        | Punjab State             | 35        | 29   |     |
|                   | Chandigarh (UT)          | 05        | 11   | 27. |
| 28. Rajasthan     |                          | 40        | 40   |     |
|                   | Tamil Nadu               | 38        | 34   | 29. |
| Tamil Nadu        | Pondicherry (UT)         | 02        | 06   | 30. |
| 31. Telangana     |                          | 40        | 40   |     |
| 32. Uttar Pradesh |                          | 40        | 35   |     |
| 33. Uttarakhand   |                          | 36        | 40   |     |
| 34.               | West Bengal              | 40        |      | 37  |
| 35. West Bengal   | Andaman and Nicobar (UT) | 0         |      | 03  |
| 36.               | Sikkim                   | 0         |      | 0   |
| TOTAL             | TOTAL                    |           | 841  | 916 |

(*) Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana could not be implemented in J&K Circle in 2017-18 as due to winter season in J&K Circle most of the schools remain closed.

(**)  Two students of Class-VIII got the same marks in final selection and both of them were selected.  10  students  were  selected from  Class-VI,  VII  and  IX  and  11  students from Class-VIII in Kerala Circle.

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