Postal Flag Flies High at the Civil Services Day Celebrations in Mumbai

RP Patil (left) and Yunus Mohammed (right) receiving awards from Devendra Phadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Two officers of the Postal Department were among the winners of the prestigious Civil Services Day awards given away by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 21st April 2016 at a formal function organised in Mumbai. 

RP Patil, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Kolhapur Division won the award for his notable contribution in popularising Sukanya Samridhi Accounts (SSA), and Yunus Mohammed, Superintendent of Post Offices, Thane West Division earned it for his outstanding success in taking the message of Atal Pansion Yojana (APY) to the masses. SSA is a small deposit investment scheme that offers highly attractive returns, and aims to assure a prosperous future for girl children.  APY is an attractive pension scheme targeted at the unorganised sector, and is expected to emerge as a significant social security platform in the coming years.

Civil Service Day is observed by all Civil Services on the 21st of April to re-dedicate and re-commit themselves to the cause of the people. It was on 21st April that Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel addressed the first batch of civil servants in Independent India at Metcalf House where he referred to civil servants as the 'steel frame of India'. The national level celebration of Civil Service Day takes place at New Delhi every year, the highlight of which is invariably the address by the Prime Minister, with inspiring messages for the Civil Servants of the country. Parallely, celebrations take place at the state level also, where notable achievements in the field of Public Administration in the state are recognised and lauded.

RP Patil succeeded in utilising the potential of the rural postal network for promoting the SSA scheme. He mobilised Gramin Dak Sewaks to approach gram panchayats, primary schools and rural hospitals, and enlist their support to create awareness about the SSA scheme. His persistent efforts saw nearly 27,000 Sukanya Samidhi Accounts being opened, with nearly Rs. 17 crores invested in the name of girl children in Kolhapur Division.

The success of Yunus Mohammed in opening a large number of Atal Pension Yojana subscriptions, thereby ensuring security to people from disadvantaged sections in their old age, was also the result of effectively utilising the rural postal network. He personally visited the villages in the Division, met Gram Sarpanchs and explained the details of scheme.  A separate team with high representation of Gramin Dak Sewaks was formed to work on the scheme, which visited villages and companies in the Division for explaining the details of scheme to villagers, especially workers in the unorganized sector.  Nearly 6,000 APY subscriptions were enlisted during the short period of 4 months, making Thane West the best performing Postal Division in the country in this matter.