Aadhar Enrolments: Why Post Office is the Popular Choice?

Aadhar Enrolments: Why Post Office is the Popular Choice?

- Anurag Priyadarshee*

Of late, post offices across the country have been attracting large crowds eager to enroll themselves for Aadhar. In many post offices enrolment slots for the whole year are already booked and citizens are being advised to book post office appointments for the enrolment in the next year.

Post offices are used to having unmanageable rush of customers off and on, as they keep being entrusted with a variety of assignments due to their unparalleled reach among Indian citizens. People rushing to the post offices for Aadhar enrolment is however significant in view of the fact that post offices are not the only agency engaged in this work. Despite the fact that banks, state governments agencies and other institutions are also offering this service, people are seen distinctly preferring the post offices to get themselves enrolled for Aadhar.

Raghavendra Rao and his friends in Bangalore, for instance, have got appointment for Aadhar enrolment at the post office in February next year. He is quoted by Bangalore Mirror in its 6 September 2011 issue mentioning that he would wait for his turn and get registered at the post office only. He and his friends do not want to go anywhere else for this purpose even if his turn may come much faster there.

Such loyalty to the Post Office is a vindication of the pro-people culture and environment nurtured and evolved at post offices over a century and a half. While people, especially those belonging to the under-privileged strata, find it intimidating to attend a bank branch or other government office, they feel at ease while transacting at the post offices. The Post Office as an institution is more deeply rooted in various local social structures than any other similar institution, whether public or private. This rich ‘bridging’ social capital is being leveraged while offering schemes such as Aadhar enrolment at post offices.

There may be some learnings here for policymakers designing programmes for improvement of wellbeing of the common people. Deeper engagement of Post Offices with delivery of social sector programmes may address several constraints associated with them.

IMPORTANT TOLL FREE NUMBERS IN INDIA

IMPORTANT TOLL FREE NUMBERS IN INDIA

Airlines
Indian Airlines - 1800 180 1407
Jet Airways - 1800 22 5522
Spice Jet - 1800 180 3333
Air India -- 1800 22 7722
Kingfisher - 1800 180 0101

Banks
ABN AMRO - 1800 11 2224
Canara Bank - 1800 44 6000
Citibank - 1800 44 2265
Corporatin Bank - 1800 443 555
Development Credit Bank - 1800 22 5769
HDFC Bank - 1800 227 227
ICICI Bank - 1800 333 499
ICICI Bank NRI - 1800 22 4848
IDBI Bank - 1800 11 6999
Indian Bank - 1800 425 1400
ING Vysya - 1800 44 9900
Kotak Mahindra Bank - 1800 22 6022
Lord Krishna Bank - 1800 11 2300
Punjab National Bank - 1800 122 222
State Bank of India - 1800 44 1955
Syndicate Bank - 1800 44 6655

Automobiles
Mahindra Scorpio - 1800 22 6006
Maruti - 1800 111 515
Tata Motors - 1800 22 5552
Windshield Experts - 1800 11 3636

Computers/IT
Adrenalin - 1800 444 445
AMD - 1800 425 6664
Apple Computers - 1800 444 683
Canon - 1800 333 366
Cisco Systems - 1800 221 777
Compaq - HP - 1800 444 999
Data One Broadband - 1800 424 1800
Dell - 1800 444 026
Epson - 1800 44 0011
eSys - 3970 0011
Genesis Tally Academy - 1800 444 888
HCL - 1800 180 8080
IBM - 1800 443 333
Lexmark - 1800 22 4477
Marshal's Point - 1800 33 4488
Microsoft - 1800 111 100
Microsoft Virus Update - 1901 333 334
Seagate - 1800 180 1104
Symantec - 1800 44 5533
TVS Electronics - 1800 444 566
WeP Peripherals - 1800 44 6446
Wipro - 1800 333 312
xerox - 1800 180 1225
Zenith - 1800 222 004


Railway
Indian Railway General Enquiry 131
Indian Railway Central Enquiry 131
Indian Railway Reservation 131
Indian Railway Railway Reservation Enquiry 1345,1335,1330
Indian Railway Centralized Railway Enquiry
1330/1/2/3/4/ 5/6/7/8/9
Couriers/Packers & Movers
ABT Courier - 1800 44 8585
AFL Wizz - 1800 22 9696
Agarwal Packers & Movers - 1800 11 4321
Associated Packers P Ltd - 1800 21 4560
DHL - 1800 111 345
FedEx - 1800 22 6161
Goel Packers & Movers - 1800 11 3456
UPS - 1800 22 7171

Home Appliances
Aiwa/Sony - 1800 11 1188
Anchor Switches - 1800 22 7979
Blue Star - 1800 22 2200
Bose Audio - 1800 11 2673
Bru Coffee Vending Machines - 1800 44 7171
Daikin Air Conditioners - 1800 444 222
DishTV - 1800 12 3474
Faber Chimneys - 1800 21 4595
Godrej - 1800 22 5511
Grundfos Pumps - 1800 33 4555
LG - 1901 180 9999
Philips - 1800 22 4422
Samsung - 1800 113 444
Sanyo - 1800 11 0101
Voltas - 1800 33 4546
WorldSpace Satellite Radio - 1800 44 5432

Investments/ Finance
CAMS - 1800 44 2267
Chola Mutual Fund - 1800 22 2300
Easy IPO's - 3030 5757
Fidelity Investments - 1800 180 8000
Franklin Templeton Fund - 1800 425 4255
J M Morgan Stanley - 1800 22 0004
Kotak Mutual Fund - 1800 222 626
LIC Housing Finance - 1800 44 0005
SBI Mutual Fund - 1800 22 3040
Sharekhan - 1800 22 7500
Tata Mutual Fund - 1800 22 0101
Travel
Club Mahindra Holidays - 1800 33 4539
Cox & Kings - 1800 22 1235
God TV Tours - 1800 442 777
Kerala Tourism - 1800 444 747
Kumarakom Lake Resort - 1800 44 5030
Raj Travels & Tours - 1800 22 9900
Sita Tours - 1800 111 911
SOTC Tours - 1800 22 3344
Healthcare
Best on Health - 1800 11 8899
Dr Batras - 1800 11 6767
GlaxoSmithKline - 1800 22 8797
Johnson & Johnson - 1800 22 8111
Kaya Skin Clinic - 1800 22 5292
LifeCell - 1800 44 5323
Manmar Technologies - 1800 33 4420
Pfizer - 1800 442 442
Roche Accu-Chek - 1800 11 45 46
Rudraksha - 1800 21 4708
Varilux Lenses - 1800 44 8383
VLCC - 1800 33 1262

Insurance
AMP Sanmar - 1800 44 2200
Aviva - 1800 33 2244
Bajaj Allianz - 1800 22 5858
Chola MS General Insurance - 1800 44 5544
HDFC Standard Life - 1800 227 227
LIC - 1800 33 4433
Max New York Life - 1800 33 5577
Royal Sundaram - 1800 33 8899
SBI Life Insurance - 1800 22 9090

Hotel Reservations
GRT Grand - 1800 44 5500
InterContinental Hotels Group - 1800 111 000
Marriott - 1800 22 0044
Sarovar Park Plaza - 1800 111 222
Taj Holidays - 1800 111 825

Teleshoppin
Asian Sky Shop - 1800 22 1800
Jaipan Teleshoppe - 1800 11 5225
Tele Brands - 1800 11 8000
VMI Teleshopping - 1800 447 777
WWS Teleshopping - 1800 220 777

Others
Domino's Pizza - 1800 111 123

Cell Phones
BenQ - 1800 22 08 08
Bird CellPhones - 1800 11 7700
Motorola MotoAssist - 1800 11 1211
Nokia - 3030 3838
Sony Ericsson - 3901 1111

India Post's gold offer for Akshaya Tritiya

India Post's gold offer for Akshaya Tritiya

Hyderabad, April 16:

India Post is offering 6 per cent rebate on gold coins of various denominations this Akshaya Tritiya, according to the Chief Postmaster General, Andhra Pradesh Circle. Buying gold is an important aspect of the festival that is on April 24 this year. The festival offer will be available at designated post offices across Andhra Pradesh on gold coins of 0.5 g, 8 g, 10 g, 20 g and 50 g of 24 carat and 99.99 per cent purity, a press release said.

India Post, in association with the World Gold Council and Reliance Money Infrastructure Ltd, began selling gold coins made by Switzerland's Valcambi in 2008. At present, gold coins are available at more than 800 post offices across the country.

FACT OF ONE OF SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR , DOP

Once a man went to a Veterinary Doctor and said: Doctor I have come on vacation for a month so that I can get myself treated fully within this period.

Doctor: I think you should go to the Doctor opposite to my clinic, see that board.

Man: No, Doctor, I have come to you only

Doctor: But, gentleman I am a Veterinary Doctor.. I am an animal specialist. I do not treat human beings.

Man: I know, Doctor very well and that is why I have come to you only…

Doctor: I can not, because you speak like me, think like me, talk like me which means you are a human being and not an animal.

Man: I know I am a human but listen to my complaints first:

Doctor: OK. Tell me.

Man:

I sleep like dog thinking about my workload whole night.
I get up in the morning like a horse.
I go to work running like a deer.
I work all the day like a donkey.
I run around for 12 months like a bull without any holiday or extras.
I wag my tail in front of all my ignorant bosses as they as bosses.

I patiently hear all their shouting.
I hope to play with my children like a monkey if I get time.
I hope to be a rabbit before my wife.

Doctor: No more explanation,

Are you a System Administrator (DOP)?

Man: Yes !

Doctor: Instead of telling all this long history, you should have told me in the beginning itself that you are a System Administrator(DOP).

Come man, no one can treat you better than me!!!!

MBA Student Bojya Nayak Suicide For Telangana

With an on going agitation about achieving separate state of Telangana, a recent suicide case took place 25-Mar-2012.

Honorable Chief minister Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy urged the youth that suicide is neither the solution nor a right approach to accomplish separate state. Kiran also assured that central Government is already working on this and asked youth not to sacrifice their lives.

Meanwhile, K. Chandrashekar Rao, president of TRS fired on Government about neglecting the case of Bojya Nayak, who committed suicide. He told media that his visit to Delhi will be about questioning Central Government about some resolution soon. “Until then youth have patience and Bojya Nayak’s suicide should be the final one”, he requested.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday announced that his party legislators will stall the proceedings of both the Parliament and the state Assembly from Monday onward, demanding the tabling of Telangana Bill. Though it is likely that Congress MPs from Telangana will help the TRS chief in stalling the House on Monday, raising the Telangana demand and self immolation of Bojya Naik in Warangal on Saturday, Mr Rao's announcement is bound to inadvertently ease some pressure off Chief Minis-ter N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy has been under pressure due to issues like minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy's resignation, Supreme Court notices to six of his Cabinet ministers and the debate on general corruption. If the TRS goes ahead and stalls the proceedings, the debate on corruption may not come before Assembly for discussion. Reacting to Naik’s suicide, Mr Rao said, “It is very unfortunate, I express my deepest sympathy to the family of the martyr. I also appeal to the Telangana youth not to resort to suicides anymore and I wish that Bojya Naik's suicide is the last suicide for Telangana.”

Meanwhile, Telangana Congress MPs, who met here on Sunday evening, said that they will too raise the issue on Monday. The Assembly Budget Session, which commenced on February 13, has seen proceedings being stalled by TRS MLAs on the statehood issue. The House will reverberate with the same demand again at the end of the session, with only four sittings scheduled before it is adjourned sine die on March 29.

The MLAs who were re-elected in the recent bypolls, four of the TRS and Independent MLA Nagam Janardhan Reddy, will take oath at 9 am and immediately after this, the TRS members will troop to the podium and demand the tabling of a Bill on Telangana statehood. Similarly, both Mr Rao and his party MP Vijayashanti, will try to stall the Lok Sabha proceedings with the help of BJP and Telangana Congress MPs, demanding tabling of Telangana Bill in Parliament.

Highlights of Union Budget 2012-13

Following are some of the key highlights of the Union Budget 2012-13, presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Parliament on Friday:

* Tax burden for individuals to come down: Income tax exemption limit raised from Rs. 1,80,000 to Rs. 2,00,000; 10 per cent tax for 2-5 lakh income; 20 per cent for 5-10 lakh and 30 per cent beyond Rs. 10 lakh; Savings bank account interest up to Rs. 10,000 exempted from tax.

* Many services and goods to cost more: No change in corporate tax rate, but standard rate of excise duty, as also service tax rates, raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent; No change in peak customs duty of 10 per cent on non-agri goods.

* Large cars, imported bicycles, cigarettes, bidis and some imported jewellery to cost more; branded silver jewellery may get cheaper.

* Boost for capital markets: Securities Transaction Tax on cash delivery reduced by 25 per cent to 0.1 per cent; A new Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme to allow income tax deduction to retail investors in stocks.

* Economy expected to gain ground: GDP growth rate pegged at 7.6 per cent in 2012-13; Subsidy Expenditure to be checked and higher tax revenues targeted; Rs. 30,000 crore to be raised from disinvestment.

* Capital boost to financial and infrastructure sectors: Rs. 15,888 crore to be provided for capitalisation of public sector banks and financial institutions; Infrastructure investment of Rs. 50 lakh crore in 12th period, with half from private sector; Tax free bonds of Rs. 60,000 crore to be allowed for financial infrastructure projects.

* Fight against black money: White paper on black money in current session of Parliament; Introduction of compulsory reporting requirement for assets held abroad; tax collection at source on high-value cash purchase of bullion, jewellery, immovable property and trading in coal, lignite and iron ore.

* Greater scrutiny of closely-held companies for funds; Taxation of unexplained money, credits, investments, expenses at highest rate of 30 per cent irrespective of income slab.

* Tax reforms: Direct Taxes Code (DTC) at earliest; GST network to be operational by August 2012; Central Excise and Service Tax being harmonized. A General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to be introduced to counter aggressive tax avoidance.

* Attracting foreign funds: Efforts on to allow FDI in multi-brand retail and permitting foreign airlines invest in domestic players; External borrowings to the extent of USD one billion for aviation companies; Qualified Foreign Investors to get access to corporate bond market.

* Tax relief for stressed sectors: Sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, mining, railways, roads, civil aviation, manufacturing, health and nutrition, and environment to get duty relief; Turnover limit for compulsory tax audit for SMEs raised from Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

* Farming for growth: Target for agricultural credit raised to Rs 5,75,000 crore; Interest subvention for short-term crop loans to farmers at 7 per cent interest continues; additional 3 per cent for prompt paying farmers.

Financial Highlights of Budget 2012-12:

* Direct proposals to give in net revenue loss of Rs. 4,500 crore and net gain of Rs. 45,940 crore from indirect taxes, resulting into a net gain of Rs. 41,440 crore.

* Fiscal deficit targeted at 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2012-13, down from 5.9 per cent in 2011-12; Central Government debt at 45.5 per cent of GDP.

* Total expenditure budgeted at Rs. 14,90,925 crore; plan expenditure at Rs. 5,21,025 crore, 18 per cent higher than 2011-12 budget; non-plan expenditure at Rs. 9,69,900 crore.

* Gross Tax Receipts estimated at Rs. 10,77,612 crore, 15.6 per cent higher than original budget estimates and 19.5 per cent over the revised estimates for 2011-12.

* Net tax to the Centre in 2012-13 estimated at Rs. 7,71,071 crore; Non-Tax Revenue Receipts estimated at Rs. 1,64,614 crore and Non-debt Capital Receipts at Rs. 41,650 crore.

* Total expenditure for 2012-13 budgeted at Rs. 14,90,925 crore, including Rs. 5,21,025 crore of Plan Expenditure and Rs. 9,69,900 crore as Non-Plan Expenditure.

* Defence services get Rs. 1,93,407 crore; any further requirement to be met.

Sachin 100th century : The first man in the Cricket History India's Sachin Tendulkar completed his milestone of 100 international centuries as he hit a century against Bangladesh in their Asia Cup clash at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Friday. Sachin Tendulkar reached his half century off 63 balls and then went on to complete his century in 138 balls.

God of cricket hits 10 fours and one six on his way to his landmark score. He done an astonishing sporting achievement that is unlikely to ever be matched. But the record is set to spark celebrations in India, where Tendulkar, whose international career began in 1989, is revered.

EMPLOYEES PROVIDENT FUND LOWERED TO 8.25% for 2011-12

NEW DELHI: The government has cut the interest rate on employees' provident fund (EPF) savings for 2011-12 to 8.25%, ending months of indecision, but leaving nearly 6 crore employees with lower returns on their retirement savings this year compared with bank fixed deposits and other small savings instruments. The labour ministry-run Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) declared the lower rate late Wednesday evening, two days before the Union Budget for 2012-13 is to be presented, after the finance ministry refused to allow any rate higher than 8.25%. Last year, the EPF rate was 9.5%, and this 125-basis-point decrease is the single largest cut in the past decade. "We were informed by the labour ministry that a rate of 8.25% be declared for 2011-12," said EPFO financial advisor Rajesh Bansal. Government Bites the Bullet Opposition leaders were quick to condemn the government's decision to lower the rate. "At a time interest rates are rising, this move exposes the government's insincerity towards the 'aam aadmi' it claims to represent and protect. We will definitely raise the issue in Parliament," said CPM MP Tapan Sen. In December 2011, the EPFO board of trustees chaired by labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge had recommended three EPF rates of 8.25%, 8.5% and 9.5% and left the final decision to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. The labour ministry had lobbied hard for an EPF rate of 8.6%, to bring it on a par with the returns earned on public provident fund deposits. The government, which had put off a final decision on the EPF rate till after the state assembly elections, has now chosen to bite the bullet with the lowest proposed EPF rate on the table. In 2010-11, the EPF rate was raised to 9.5% from 8.5%, after the EPFO claimed it had discovered 'hidden reserves' of around Rs 1,700 crore. While reluctantly approving the 9.5% EPF rate last year, the finance ministry had asked the PF office to update all workers' accounts within six months and ensure there was no shortfall in income.

But the reserves were not enough to support the 1% rate hike, forcing the organisation to dip into this year's income to fulfil last year's promise. A 5.7% error in its income estimates for 2010-11 led to a Rs 510-crore deficit that was funded from this year's income. Moreover, worker accounts have not been updated. Consequently, the finance ministry has taken the view that that there is no option but to finalise a conservative rate of return for this year. The EPF rate for this year is lower than the 8.6% payable on PPF savings from December 1, 2011, and the 8.7% paid on NSCs. Risk-free bank fixed deposits are earning over 9.25% currently. "Representatives of employees on our board were aware that paying more than 8.25% would be difficult as per our income calculations. It may pinch the working class a bit, but there have also been times when we paid 12% interest on EPF while market interest rates were 8%," said EPFO's Bansal. But this argument did not find much support from union leaders.

IPO EXAMINATION RESULTS

Some of the candidates have moved CAT and hence the results of the IPO Exam 2011 are delayed.

It came to the notice that some circles had allowed PM Grade-1 officials to take the IP examination. Hence the File has been sent to the DDG (P) for Clarification. Results will be announced only after clarification by the SPN Division of the Department.