News : January 2013

Special Cover released on the occasion of centenary of C.S.I. Ewart Mat. Hr. Sec. School, Chennai - 31st Jan. 2013.

Tamilnadu Postal Circle, Chennai issued a Special Cover on 31st January 2013 on the occasion of Centenary Celebrations of C.S.I. Ewart Mat. Hr. Sec. School, Chennai. C.S.I. Ewart Mat. Hr. Sec. School was started in the year 1913 by the Zenana Missionary Society of the Church of England. Today it is under the management of "The Church of South India, Diocese of Madras". For the past century it has carried out its mission of empowering girls through education and by instilling in them the school motto "Love and Serve" to become responsible and useful members of society. Combining old traditions with modern developments it stands as a testimony to the hard and dedicated work of its leaders and staff.

Special Cover on Birth Centenary celebration of Amrita Sher-Gil - 31st Jan 2013.

Department of Posts, Delhi Circle issued a Special Cover on 31st January 2013 on the Occasion of Birth Centenary Celebration of Amrita Sher-Gil (30 January 1913– 5 December 1941) an eminent Indian painter. Cover depicts famous painting 'Three Girls' by Amrita Sher-Gil. Three Girls was painted by her in 1935 and it was the first painting after her return from Europe following her art studies in Paris. This painting won her a gold medal from the Bombay Arts Society.

Special Cover on Mahatma Gandhi's Lathi - 30th Jan. 2013

A Special Cover was released on 30th January 2013 at Patna in remembrance of Mahatma Gandhi's Lathi which was gifted to Gandhiji at Ghorghat (Bihar) in April 1934.

Special Cover to mark opening of Automated Mail Processing Centre, Kolkata - 27th Jan 2013.

India Post installed Automated Mail Processing Centre (AMPC) in Kolkata which sorts around nearly 40,000 letters every hour. New AMPC was inaugurated on 27th Jan. 2013 in Kolkata. A special cover was issued to mark the occasion.

As the Postal Systems world over take the automation route to significantly reduce processing time and save considerable cost, the Indian postal department has adopted initiatives to upgrade and induct technologies for modernization of its existing products/services. The postal department has entrusted Mobility Division of Siemens to commission Automated Mail Processing Systems at Delhi and Kolkata. This system housed in Mail processing center at Delhi and Kolkata will have sorting machine with integrated reading and Video Coding machine (IVR). The IVR reads bar code or manually written addresses on the letter line by line of any 4 scripts fed into it. Based on the address, the sorting machine sorts it and collects it in a specified bin. These sorted letters are then transported and manually delivered to mentioned address. Handwriting or language is no longer a barrier as the special IVR by Siemens can read various scripts e.g. Greek, Cyrilic, Arabic, Chinese, English, Hindi etc. For the postal centers at Delhi and Kolkata, this machine will be able to read English and Hindi and as a result will enable Department of Post to provide better and more efficient services with high level of productivity.

Cover Courtesy: Ankit Agrawal, Pune

Automated Mail Processing System

Commemorative Stamp on Shrine Basilica, Vailankanni - 22nd Jan 2013.

India Post released a postage stamp featuring Shrine Basilica,Vailankanni on 22nd January 2012. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is located at the small town of Velankanni in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. The Roman Catholic Latin Rite Basilica is devoted to Our Lady of Good Health.

 

 

Special Cover on 'Say No to the Abortion', Lions Club of Gwalior, Prerna - 22nd Jan. 2013

A Special Cover on theme 'Save Girl. Say No to the abortion' was issued on 22nd Jan. 2013 by Lions Club of Gwalior Prerna. Lions Club Gwalior Prerna is formulated with the objective of serving society with special focus on children especially girl child and disabled. The main aim of our organisation is also to be in line with district motto to win hearts by helping others.

Courtesy: Mr Arvind Mallick, Jabalpur

Release of Special Cover on 'Takhat Sri Harimandir Ji, Patna - 18th Jan. 2013

Philatelic Bureau Patna released a Special Place Cover on 18th Jan 2013, on Takhat Sri Harimandir ji , Patna at the Birth place of Patna Sahib Gurudwara, Patna City. The Cost of Cover & Folder @ 50 & 150 Rupees. All items are available at Philatelic Bureau Patna GPO. Contact +91-612-2236937.

Presentation Pack

Commemorative Stamp on Aditya Vikram Birla - 14th January 2013

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee released a Commemorative Stamp on Shri Aditya Vikram Birla on 14th January 2013 at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The theme of the stamp is '1st Indian Global Industrialist' and the stamp is designed with the picture of Shri Birla against the backdrop of the plant of one of his companies which rose to become the world's largest integrated Aluminium plant. Aditya Vikram Birla born into one of the largest business families of India, Birla oversaw the diversification of his group into textiles, petrochemicals and telecommunications. He was one of the first Indian industrialists to expand abroad, setting up plants in South east Asia, the Philippines and Egypt, among other places.

Commemorative Stamp on C. Achutha Menon - 13th January 2013.

India Post released a postage stamp of Chelat Achyutha Menon, Ex. Chief Minister of Kerala on 13th January 2013 to commemorate his birth centenary. C. Achutha Menon was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. He was instrumental in starting number of institutions and development projects in Kerala.

Release of Special Cover on 'Kumbh'

Special Cover on Royal Bath (Makar Sankranti, Kumbh Parv) released in 'Allaphilex-2013'.

Two days long Allahabad Philatelic Exhibition 'Allaphilex-2013' concluded on 14 January, 2013 at Gandhi Art Gallery of North Central Zone Cultural Centre. On the occasion of closing ceremony of the exhibition Justice PankajMithal of Allahabad High Court released Special Cover and Cancellation on the festival of MakarSankrantiaccompanied by Postmaster General, Allahabad Region, Lt. Col. A. K. Gupta, and Director Postal Services, Allahabad Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the exhibition Chief Guest Justice PankajMithalsaid that such exhibitions should be organized every year in order to develop Philately as a hobby. Post Master General, Allahabad Lt. Col. A. K. Gupta told that postage stamps are a source of knowledge and they may also prove helpful in enriching and strengthening our education system. Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav, Director Postal Services, Allahabad Region told that Postage Stamp is a tiny ambassador, which travels across countries and teaches them about his country’s civilization, culture and heritage.

Philatelists in Senior and Junior category showcased various types of Postage Stamps. Out of which in Senior category, first award was given to Shri Umendra Kumar Jain for his exhibition on ‘Air India First Flight Cover’. Whereas second and third prizes were awarded to Dr. Chetana Bansal and Smt. Manju Rastogi respectively. While in Junior Category first prize was awarded to Srijan Bansal for his exhibition on ‘100 Years of Indian Cinema’, second and third prizes were given to Shri Kritarth Rastogi and Ayush Gupta respectively. Enthusiasm in visitors for ‘My Stamps’ scheme was spectacular.

Shri Rahmatullah, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Allahabad welcomed the guests and vote of thanks was given by Shri M. P. Mishra, Assistant Director. A number of Postal Officers/ employees and Philatelists including Shri A. P. Tiwari, Senior Superintendent Railway mail Service; Shri T. B. Singh, Senior Post Master, ShriMadhusudan Prasad Mishra, Assistant Director, R. N. Yadav, Assistant Superintendent, P. C. Tiwari, Vinay Yadav, Pankaj Maurya, Vineet Tandon were also present at the programme.

'Allaphilex - 2013, Rich Tradition of Philately shown in Allahabad Philatelic Exhibition

Allahabad Philatelic Exhibition 'Allaphilex-2013' inaugurated on 13 January, 2013 for two days at Gandhi Art Gallery of North Central Zone Cultural Centre. The exhibition was inaugurated by Justice Pankaj Mithal of Allahabad High Court accompanied by Padam Shri Shamshurrahman Farooqui, Postmaster General, Allahabad Region Shri A. K. Gupta, and Director Postal Services, Allahabad Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav. In this exhibition the Philatelists of the city showcased various types of Postage Stamps. Thousands of Stamps were displayed in 59 frames, which includes a wide range of colorful collection of stamps, issued on Allahabad, 100 years of cinema in Postage Stamps, Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Ravindranath Tagore, Nehru family, Indian Freedom Struggle, Stamps issued on Mosques, Bio Diversity, Rotary, Fire Brigade, Red Cross, and also included AIDS, Malaria etc. issued to spread awareness about these diseases. It included not only stamps issued in India but also included rare postage stamps and postal stationary issued in Foreign Countries. Other than senior Philatelists of the city, students and children also exhibited their collection.

It is worthwhile to mention here that such type of exhibition is being organized after 5 years. Earlier Postage stamp exhibition was organized in 2007. Addressing the programme held after the inauguration of the exhibition Chief Guest Justice Pankaj Mithal told about his hobby of collecting stamps. Shri Mitahl also said that every stamp has a story of their own and there is a need to link young generation with this story. He called Postage Stamps are “Carrier of emotions”, which carries emotions from one person to another. Justice Mithal emphasized that such exhibitions must be organized every year in order to develop Philately as a hobby. Padam Shri ShamshurrahmanFarooqui said that through these exhibitions, while on one hand glorious traditions of a vibrant country like India are portrayed and promoted on the other hand it is a medium to promote harmony and friendship among people. Post Master General, Allahabad Shri A. K. Gupta told that knowledge may also be acquired through Postage Stamps. Postage Stamps may also help in enriching and strengthening our education system.

Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav, Director Postal Services, Allahabad Region told that generally Postage Stamps may look like a small piece of paper but there value and importance is much more. In fact Postage Stamp is a tiny ambassador, which travels across countries and teaches them about his country’s civilization, culture and heritage. It is anicon of a country’s people, their belief and philosophy, history, culture, heritage, ambitions and expectations. It is filled with enchanting vitality. Director Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav told an interesting story about a European woman of 19th century who had an idea to decorate her dressing room with Postage Stamps, she collected sixteen thousand stamps from her acquaintances and for remaining she released an advertisement in “Times of London” and requested the readers to send used postage stamps to complete her collection. Thereafter collecting of stamps gained popularity as a hobby in the whole world in due course of time. The much awaited “My Stamps” scheme of the Postal Department was also launched in this programme. Many people including Justice Pankaj Mithal got there photos printed on Postage Stamps. There was a lot of enthusiasm among youngsters for this scheme. Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav, Director Postal Services Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav informed that due to its popularity this scheme will also be launched in Kumbh Mela for a few days.

A Philatelic Workshop and Design a stamp competition was also organized for children. While Children enjoyed Philatelic Exhibition, Philatelic Deposit Accounts were also opened. Shri Rahmatullah, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Allahabad welcomed the guests and vote of thanks was given by Shri R. N. Yadav, Assistant Director. A number of Postal Officers and Philatelists including Shri A. P. Tiwari, Senior Superintendent Railway mail Service; Shri T. B. Singh, Senior Post Master, Shri Madhusudan Prasad Mishra, Assistant Director, R. N. Yadav, Assistant Superintendent, P. C. Tiwari, Vinay Yadav were also present at the programme.

Set of Four Maxim Cards issued on Swami Vivekananda

A set of four Maxim Cards on Swami Vivekananda issued at Patna.

Courtesy: Mr. Sreejesh Krishnan

Commemorative Stamp on 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda - 12th January 2013.

India Post released a set of four stamps and a sheetlet on 12th January 2013 to celebrate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda whom the world acknowledges as great visionary, philosopher and thinker.

Commemorative Stamp on Silk Letter Movement - 11th January 2013.

A commemorative postage stamp on 'Silk Letter Movement' was released by the President of India Parnab Mukharjee at Vigyan Bhawan on 11th January 2013. The Silk Letter Movement was an effort from a group of revolutionaries and was planned to mobilize the support of the governments of Afghanistan and Turkey in organizing a revolt within India to overthrow the British rule.

Commemorative Stamp on Uttar Pradesh Legislature - 8th January 2013.

The commemorative stamp was released by President Pranab Mukherjee at Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow on 8th January 2013 as part of quasquicentennial celebration (125 years) of the Uttar Pradesh State Legislature. The Legislative Assembly was constituted in 1887 under the Indian Council Act of 1861.

Commemorative Stamp on Ghadar Movement Centenary - 8th January 2013.

India Post released a Commemorative stamp to mark Centenary of Ghadar Movement on 8th January 2013. Gadar party was launched by migrant Indians in USA in early twentieth century. Gadar movement's centenary celebrations was launched in the US by a group of eminent Indian-Americans, remembering the 1913 rebellion in history as a testimony of the deep love the immigrants had for their motherland.

 

 

Commemorative Stamp on Golden Jubilee of PGIMER - 7th January 2013.

India Post released a Commemorative stamp to mark Golden Jubilee of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh (PGIMER) on 7th January 2013. PGIMER is one of the medical and research institutions of Asia. Located in Chandigarh, India, it is recognized for its education, medical research and training facilities as well as for its graduates. PGIMER is involved in research for the rural and community related environment and health problems.

Commemorative Stamp on 100 Years of Indian Science Congress - 3rd January 2013.

The Centenary Session of Indian Science Congress is being organised from 3rd to 7th, January, 2013 in University of Calcutta, Kolkatta. The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukerjee inaugurated the Centenary Session of the Indian Science Congress at Salt lake Stadium on 3rd January, 2013. In commemoration of Centenary year of Indian Science Congress a commemorative postage is released during the inaugural session on 3rd January 2013.

India Post 2013 Wall Calendar

Department of Posts has released India Post 2013 Calendar based on the theme of Astrological Signs. Earlier in 2010 India Post has released calendar on the set of 'Dasavatar' stamps based on Jayadev's 12th century epic 'Geetagovinda'. In 2011 it was based on the theme of ‘Buddha’ and Calendar of 2012 was based on the theme of “Sculptural Heritage of India”. The Calendars were widely appreciated by philatelists and all.

India Post 2013 Calendar will be available at various Philatelic Bureaux in the country at the price of Rs. 250/- each.

 

 

 

[Download digital copy of January 2013 newsletter]