New Delhi, Dec 19 – Parliament has passed the Post Office Bill, 2023, with the Lok Sabha approving it on Monday, amid protests from the Opposition over the security breach in the House.
The Bill seeks to replace the Indian Post Office Act, of 1898. The Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on August 10 during the Monsoon Session before being passed by the upper house on December 4.
According to the provisions of the Bill, the Director General of Postal Services will be appointed to head India Post.
The Director General will have powers to make regulations on various matters including tariffs for services and supply of postage stamps.
The Bill provides that the government may intercept an article transmitted through India Post on specified grounds, including security of the state and public order.
Replying to a brief discussion over the Bill, Minister of State for Communication Devusinh Chauhan said, the government is providing citizen-centric services through the large network of one lakh 64 thousand post offices.
“Narendra Modi’s government is working with the motto of perform, reform, and transform and the postal department has made several technological interventions to provide citizen-centric services” he added.
He added that more than three crore Sukanya Samriddhi accounts and more than 10 crore Aadhar have been opened by the postal department so far.
The Minister said, more than 400 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras have been set up across the country.
Earlier, participating in the discussion, Beesetti Venkata Satyavathi supported the legislation saying it is an important step in restricting the postal department. Bhola Singh of the BJP supported the legislation.
He highlighted that several measures have been taken by the government to strengthen the postal department. Ram Shiromani Verma of BJP, and Prataprao Jadhav of Shiv Sena also supported the Bill.
