Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/indian-post-railways-integrate-services-to-deliver-women-artisans-products-nationwide-101641666839538.html
Publisher: Chandan Kumar
In a major push to the women self-help groups (SHGs) in Uttar Pradesh, the India Post and Railways are set to join hands to deliver the products made by SHGs to every part of the country. The move initiated by minister of railways and communications Ashwini Vaishnaw during his recent visit to Lucknow will also benefit the ongoing One District One Product (ODOP) scheme of the state government.
“Indian railway and India post are two major institutions that have evolved a lot with the demands of time and technology. As per the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both these departments should work closely in a more integrated manner. I want this integration to begin from Uttar Pradesh,” said Vaishnaw while addressing a gathering of officials from Indian Railways and India Post at a programme held at the general post office (GPO) on January 6.
“The senior officials of railway and India post in Uttar Pradesh are present here. I want you to get in touch with each other to begin the process of better integration. Over 12 lakh employees of Indian Railways along with two lakh employees of India Post can provide us world’s best system to deliver goods from and to the remotest corners of the country,” the minister added.
According to senior officials, the minister reiterated the plan in a gathering with the officials of the two departments after the programme. “The minister asked senior officials of India Post and Indian Railways to work out a method for better integration of services,” said Kaushalendra Kumar Sinha, chief postmaster general, UP.
Besides boosting the exiting delivery system via train, the integration will provide the much-needed push to women SHGs in the state by expanding the markets for their products. As per government records, there are over 53,000 registered women SHGs in Uttar Pradesh, one of the largest in the country. More than half of these women SHGs produce products ranging from stricter social, bangles and decorative pieces to food products. According to experts these SHGs are forced to sell their products in the local market at throwaway prices in absence of proper marketing and reach to big markets.
The integration will also provide a major push to the ODOP scheme of Uttar Pradesh. “The integration work will benefit the ODOP (scheme). The products made under the ODOP scheme and will be delivered in a much effective manner across the country. This will not only benefit the artisans and workers involved in manufacturing of the products but also help to build brand Uttar Pradesh,” said Vivek Kumar Daksh, postmaster general, HQ region, Lucknow.
As part of the integration work, 9147 post offices across Uttar Pradesh have already started providing IRCTC (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation) services for the booking of rail tickets. At 14,553 post offices, common service centres have been set up that can provide services ranging from Aadhar, banking, pension, insurance etc.
