There comes a time in the life of every organization to make a major leap forward; to bring a major transformation that will impact the society.  I believe that the time is ripe for India Post to bring that moment of change.  It is my sincere vision and passion to provide a world class postal service to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in order that the quality of life of people is improved.  We want to make a new beginning in the journey of Post Office in the State, by providing modern, efficient and reliable postal services. 
The Post is no longer what it was and it is going through a period of profound change. Changing technologies, changing needs of the customer and changing requirements of the society has given a ‘new paradigm’ for the Post office, paving the way for its transformation to be a customer friendly and relevant organization in the society.  We see change everywhere; the Indian economy is experiencing an incredible growth story.  I would like to reiterate that the major threat to any organization comes not from change, but from not changing.  That’s why, we are taking bold initiatives to bring major changes in the way Post office functions. The Post is transforming itself into a one-stop shop that will touch the lives of every Indian.  ‘Dak Seva’, it is ‘Jan sewa’.
With 155,333 post offices covering the urban and rural populace, India Post is the largest postal network in the world.  Even a large country like China has less than 80,000 Post offices. In Jammu and Kashmir State, we have 1,693 Post Offices covering every village and town. During this year, we shall be adding new post offices at Lal Bazaar, SKIMS, NIT Srinagar, Bahu Plaza Jammu, SKUAST Jammu, Samba Industrial Estate and in remote locations of Ladakh. We want to ‘touch the lives of everyone’ through the network of post offices and the large range of postal services that we offer to the people.
It’s true, India Post does have an extensive postal network and long experience of delivering reliable service at low cost. Whether you are at the heights of Khardung-la Pass in Ladakh or at the tiny islands in the Lakshadweep, Post Office reaches you there. This is the inherent strength of India Post. Dakia is everywhere…personal touch is the forte of India Post. It’s true, the door-to-door reach of the neighbourhood ‘dakia’ remains the Unique Selling Proposition of India Post.
On the pattern of Swiss Post, we want to provide next day delivery of mail in all the District Head quarters in J&K.. In other towns and villages, we would like to ensure mail delivery within two days. We are adding more mail vans to transport mails to every town in a reliable manner; we are getting help from Army Postal Service to carry mails through helicopters to remote areas; we are adding more ‘mail-runners’ and ‘mail-carriers’ to ship the mails to places not linked by transport systems. Our objective is to provide the people of Jammu and Kashmir a faster and better mail delivery system. I know it is a tall order to achieve this, but, we sincerely believe that this is what we exist for and we shall take every possible step to move closer to this. 
We shall continue to maximize the network  by making the post office a one stop shop for communication, distribution and retail solutions. The time has come for India Post to boldly venture into new services that will make the Post office as the hub for various businesses. The rural folks should also share in the prosperity that is transforming large parts of urban India. Post office in rural areas will be providing a large range of services including mail, savings bank, philately, stationery, logistics, insurance and retail services
The Post Office, as an institution, links the people with one another. That’s why, we are organizing many Philately Exhibitions across the State during this financial year. After 32 years, we organized Chinar 2011, a mega stamp exhibition with more than 100,000 rare and valuable stamps at SKICC, Srinagar. This was a historic moment for the Post office in J&K, as thousands of students and members of the public visited the Exhibition and participated in various events. During the Exhibition, His Excellency the Governor of J&K launched ‘My Stamp’ project, the first of its kind introduced by any State. There has been overwhelming response for ‘My Stamp’, where the people can get their pictures printed on stamps.  A unique and novel idea indeed ! In addition, we released many Special covers and ‘My Stamps’ on Chinar, Hangul, SKICC, Royal Gold Club and major tourist destinations of Kashmir.  A perfect setting to showcase the amazing beauty of Kashmir!   More such exhibitions will follow in Jammu, Udampur, Baramulla and Anantanag during this year. The basic objective is to connect with the people of Jammu & Kashmir and to be part of their development process.
Floating Post Office cum Museum at Dal Lake was dedicated on 22nd August 2011 by Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister J&K and Sachin Pilot, Union Minister of State for Communications and IT in the presence of Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for Renewable Energy. Today, this has become one of the important  tourist destinations in Srinagar. Floating Post Office cum Museum is the first of its kind to be docked in a lake. A new venture to showcase Srinagar to the world!
While the Department is committed to provide basic postal services to the people at an affordable price, it has also introduced value added postal services like Speed Post, Business Post, Express Parcel Post, Greetings Post, ePost, Instant Money Order etc.  It was in 1986, the Department of Posts introduced Speed Post as a time-bound and reliable courier service. Today, Speed Post continues to be the market leader in the express industry. 
As a part of Silver Jubilee celebrations of Speed Post, J&K postal circle will be introducing ‘Speed Post Home Collection’ service and it will bring Post office closer to the people.  Now, you can call Speed Post through a toll-free phone for ‘Home collection’ and the post office will arrange for collection and booking of Speed Post from your premises..
Apart from mail services and express services, India Post is also providing Post Office Savings Bank services and Postal Life Insurance.  PLI , introduced in 1884, has steadily gained in popularity and it has now extended insurance cover to the rural public. ‘Low premium, high bonus’ is the USP of Postal Life Insurance.
The Department is celebrated Postal Week Celebrations from 9th October 2011 to 15 October 2011. The objective of the celebration is to create awareness amongst the members of public regarding the relevance and  importance of postal services.
(John Samuel is Chief Postmaster General, J&K)

Lastupdate on : Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 IST