GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 4

TO BE ANSWERED ON 2ND FEBRUARY, 2024

ESTABLISHMENT OF POST OFFICES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

4 SHRI IRANNA KADADI:

Will the Minister of Communications be pleased to state:

(a) the number of post offices across the country, along with the total number of savings accounts in these post offices and the facilities provided to the account holders;

(b) whether post offices have been established in all the major villages in the country to ensure the smooth implementation of communication systems;

(c) if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether all post offices in the country have been equipped with modern technology; and

(e) if so, the specifics of these modernisation efforts?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (e) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF RAJYA SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS
(a) TO (e) OF THE RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 4 FOR 2ND FEBRUARY, 2024 REGARDING “ESTABLISHMENT OF POST OFFICES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS.”

(a) Postal Circle-wise details (including States and Union Territories) of the number of Post offices along with the total number of savings accounts as on 31.03.2023 are given at Annexure-I.

The savings account holders have the facility of availing the Automated Teller Machine (ATM), Issuance of Cheque book, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, various types of SMS alerts, e-Passbook for viewing the balance and account statement, Funds transfer from bank accounts to post office accounts and vice versa through National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), Electronic Clearing Services (ECS) facility for crediting the interest and maturity amount in bank accounts, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) facility under Core Banking System (CBS).

(b) & (c) There are 1,49,478 post offices (including Head Post Offices, Sub-Post Offices and Branch Post Offices) in rural areas of the country. These post offices provide access to postal facilities and other services to ensure smooth implementation of communication systems. Postal Circle-wise details (including States and Union Territories) of number of post offices in rural areas in the country as on 31.03.2023 are given in Annexure-II.

(d) & (e) All Departmental Post Offices in the country have been computerized and networked under the Information Technology (IT) Modernization Project. Branch post offices functioning in rural areas of the country have been provided with mobile devices for carrying out online postal, financial and insurance transactions

ANNEXURE-I

Data as on 31.03.2023

Sl No. Name of the Postal Circle Total Number of Post Offices  (Head Post Offices, Sub-Post Offices, Branch Post Offices) Total number of Savings Accounts
1 Andhra Pradesh 10668 4420563
2 Assam 4062 1851107
3 Bihar 9342 3356810
4 Chhattisgarh 4468 956480
5 Delhi 509 1047885
6 Gujarat (including Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu) 8887 4151730
7 Haryana 2699 1647645
8 Himachal Pradesh 2807 2262886
9 Jammu and Kashmir (including Union Territory of  Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh) 1735 555628
10 Jharkhand 4580 1233100
11 Karnataka 9658 7811891
12 Kerala (including Union Territory  of Lakshadweep) 5063 2937250
13 Madhya Pradesh 10271 2289463
14 Maharashtra (including Goa) 14032 5593422
15 North-East (including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland) 4478 662152
16 Odisha 8907 3272252
17 Punjab (including Union Territory  of Chandigarh) 3842 1830135
18 Rajasthan 11047 2270573
19 Tamil Nadu (including Union Territory of Puducherry) 11866 7233125
20 Telangana 6267 3801964
21 Uttar Pradesh 17953 6498134
22 Uttarakhand 2736 1434021
23 West Bengal (including Sikkim and Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands) 9095 8106264
  Total 164972 75224480

ANNEXURE-II

Data as on 31.03.2023

Sl No. Name of the Postal Circle Total Number of  Rural Post Offices
1 Andhra Pradesh 9928
2 Assam 3762
3 Bihar 8889
4 Chhattisgarh 4171
5 Delhi 80
6 Gujarat (including Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu) 8141
7 Haryana 2335
8 Himachal Pradesh 2684
 9 Jammu and Kashmir (including Union Territory of  Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh)  1534
10 Jharkhand 4321
11 Karnataka 8607
12 Kerala (including Union Territory  of Lakshadweep) 4163
13 Madhya Pradesh 9466
14 Maharashtra (including Goa) 12731
 15 North-East (including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland)  4217
16 Odisha 8309
17 Punjab (including Union Territory  of Chandigarh) 3420
18 Rajasthan 10397
19 Tamil Nadu (including Union Territory of Puducherry) 10274
20 Telangana 5724
21 Uttar Pradesh 16055
22 Uttarakhand 2440
23 West Bengal (including Sikkim and Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands) 7830
  Total 149478

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