Lok Sabha Question No. 1250 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-25
Subject: Digitization of Rural Post Offices
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: HARI MANJHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1250 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25 th   JULY, 2018

## DIGITIZATION OF RURAL POST OFFICES

†1250. SHRI HARI MANJHI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS  be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government proposes to connect the rural post offices in the country with  digital  system  and  to  provide  major  banking  facilities  in  other  one  lakh  twenty thousand post offices;

(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard;

(c) whether the Government proposes to install more than one thousand automatic teller machines to facilitate the customers of post office saving bank in the coming three months; and

(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor and the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) Yes  madam,  the  Government  under  'Digital  Advancement  of  Rural  Post offices for a New India' (DARPAN) Project, is providing in a phased manner, SIM based Hand Held Devices in more than 1.29 lakhs Branch Post Offices in the rural areas of the country, for carrying out online Postal and Financial transactions. State/UT wise status of roll out of DARPAN Project as on 18.07.2018 is at Annexure .

(c) & (d) No  madam,  the  Government  does  not  propose  to  install  more  than  one thousand automatic teller machines (ATMs) in the coming three months. As part of the IT Modernization  Project  2012,  the  Department  of  Posts  had  planned  to  install  only  one thousand ATMs across the country out of which 995 ATMs have been installed as on 19.07.2018. At present there is no plan to further expand the ATM network of Department of Posts.

## Annexure

| State/UT-wise list of Digital Advancement of Rural Post offices for a New India (DARPAN) Rolled Out Status as on 18.07.2018   | State/UT-wise list of Digital Advancement of Rural Post offices for a New India (DARPAN) Rolled Out Status as on 18.07.2018   | State/UT-wise list of Digital Advancement of Rural Post offices for a New India (DARPAN) Rolled Out Status as on 18.07.2018   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No.                                                                                                                       | States/UTs                                                                                                                    | No. of Branch Post Offices Rolled out                                                                                         |
| 1                                                                                                                             | Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                                | 2,229                                                                                                                         |
| 2                                                                                                                             | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                                                             | 21                                                                                                                            |
| 3                                                                                                                             | Assam                                                                                                                         | 3,266                                                                                                                         |
| 4                                                                                                                             | Bihar                                                                                                                         | 2,944                                                                                                                         |
| 5                                                                                                                             | Chhattisgarh                                                                                                                  | 1,940                                                                                                                         |
| 6                                                                                                                             | Goa                                                                                                                           | 138                                                                                                                           |
| 7                                                                                                                             | Gujarat (Including UTs of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli)                                                               | 6,969                                                                                                                         |
| 8                                                                                                                             | Jharkhand                                                                                                                     | 2,618                                                                                                                         |
| 9                                                                                                                             | Haryana                                                                                                                       | 2,122                                                                                                                         |
| 10                                                                                                                            | Himachal Pradesh                                                                                                              | 1,866                                                                                                                         |
| 11                                                                                                                            | Jammu & Kashmir                                                                                                               | 1,232                                                                                                                         |
| 12                                                                                                                            | Kerala (including UT of Lakshadweep)                                                                                          | 3,495                                                                                                                         |
| 13                                                                                                                            | Karnataka                                                                                                                     | 3,105                                                                                                                         |
| 14                                                                                                                            | Nagaland                                                                                                                      | 230                                                                                                                           |
| 15                                                                                                                            | Meghalaya                                                                                                                     | 274                                                                                                                           |
| 16                                                                                                                            | Maharashtra                                                                                                                   | 3,299                                                                                                                         |
| 17                                                                                                                            | Manipur                                                                                                                       | 388                                                                                                                           |
| 18                                                                                                                            | Madhya Pradesh                                                                                                                | 6,301                                                                                                                         |
| 19                                                                                                                            | Mizoram                                                                                                                       | 224                                                                                                                           |
| 20                                                                                                                            | Orissa                                                                                                                        | 2,609                                                                                                                         |
| 21                                                                                                                            | Punjab (including UT of Chandigarh)                                                                                           | 3,057                                                                                                                         |
| 22                                                                                                                            | Rajasthan                                                                                                                     | 6,224                                                                                                                         |
| 23                                                                                                                            | Sikkim                                                                                                                        | 0                                                                                                                             |
| 24                                                                                                                            | Tamilnadu(Including UT of Puducherry)                                                                                         | 0                                                                                                                             |
| 25                                                                                                                            | Tripura                                                                                                                       | 592                                                                                                                           |
| 26                                                                                                                            | Telangana                                                                                                                     | 2,883                                                                                                                         |
| 27                                                                                                                            | Uttarakhand                                                                                                                   | 619                                                                                                                           |
| 28                                                                                                                            | Uttar Pradesh                                                                                                                 | 7,143                                                                                                                         |
| 29                                                                                                                            | West Bengal (including UT of Andaman & Nicobar Island)                                                                        | 650                                                                                                                           |
| 30                                                                                                                            | Delhi NCT                                                                                                                     | 88                                                                                                                            |
|                                                                                                                               | Total                                                                                                                         | 66,526                                                                                                                        |

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