Lok Sabha Question No. 1901 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Service Conditions of Rural Postal Workers
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Shri Amra Ram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1901 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026

## SERVICE CONDITIONS OF RURAL POSTAL WORKERS

## †1901. SHRI AMRA RAM:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  improve  the  service  conditions  of  the  rural  postal workers and declare them as permanent employees and if so, the details and expected timeline thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) the number of rural postal workers along with the details of monthly salary and retirement benefits given to them, State-wise; and

- (c) whether the said salary and retirement benefits are inadequate and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) The improvement of service conditions of rural postal workers, namely, Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) is a continuous process and from time to time, the Department of Posts keeps reviewing the same. The GDS are engaged on a part-time basis for four to five hours per day and are governed by a separate set of rules, called as GDS (Conduct and Engagement) Rules, 2020, framed under the executive  powers  of  Central  Government and  not  under  the  Article  309,  which  is  applicable for appointment  and  service  conditions  of  permanent  employees.  Therefore,  there  is  no  proposal  to declare GDS as permanent employees.

(b) & (c) The State-wise number of rural postal workers (GDS) and details of their salary (i.e. Time Related Continuity Allowance slabs) and discharge (retirement) benefits applicable on GDS are given in Annexure-I . These TRCA slabs and discharge benefits are applicable to all GDS across the country.

## Annexure referred to in reply to Part (b) & (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1901 for 11.02.2026 regarding Service Conditions of Rural Postal Workers

## (A) State-wise Number of Rural Postal Workers (GDS)

|   S. No. | Name of the State   |   Number of Rural Postal Workers (GDS) Working in the State |
|----------|---------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh      |                                                       17610 |
|        2 | Arunachal Pradesh   |                                                        1962 |
|        3 | Assam               |                                                        7680 |
|        4 | Bihar               |                                                       15585 |
|        5 | Chhattisgarh        |                                                        8151 |
|        6 | Goa                 |                                                         284 |
|        7 | Gujarat             |                                                       14126 |
|        8 | Haryana             |                                                        4462 |
|        9 | Himachal Pradesh    |                                                        5738 |
|       10 | Jharkhand           |                                                        7164 |
|       11 | Karnataka           |                                                       15317 |
|       12 | Kerala              |                                                       10014 |
|       13 | Madhya Pradesh      |                                                       16879 |
|       14 | Maharashtra         |                                                       18468 |
|       15 | Manipur             |                                                        1687 |
|       16 | Meghalaya           |                                                        1746 |
|       17 | Mizoram             |                                                         984 |
|       18 | Nagaland            |                                                         979 |
|       19 | Odisha              |                                                       18347 |
|       20 | Punjab              |                                                        5648 |
|       21 | Rajasthan           |                                                       14544 |
|       22 | Sikkim              |                                                         366 |
|       23 | Tamil Nadu          |                                                       20456 |
|       24 | Telangana           |                                                        9676 |
|       25 | Tripura             |                                                        1451 |
|       26 | Uttar Pradesh       |                                                       29695 |
|       27 | Uttarakhand         |                                                        5616 |
|       28 | West Bengal         |                                                       16436 |

- (B) Details of Monthly Salary (i.e., Time Related Continuity Allowance Slabs) of Rural Postal Employees (GDS)
1. Branch Postmaster [Five Hours of Work] - Rs.14,500 - Rs.35,480 plus Dearness Allowance.
2. Branch Postmaster [Four Hours of Work] - Rs.12,000 - Rs.29,380 plus Dearness Allowance.
3. Assistant Branch Postmaster/Dak Sevak [Five Hours of Work] - Rs.12,000 - Rs.29,380 plus Dearness Allowance.
4. Assistant Branch Postmaster/Dak Sevak [Four Hours of Work] - Rs.10,000 - Rs.24,470 plus Dearness Allowance.
- (C) Discharge  (retirement)  benefits  applicable  to  GDS  includes  GDS  Gratuity,  Severance Amount, Service Discharge Benefit Scheme and GDS Group Insurance Scheme.

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