Latest news with #APT2.0
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Postal services hit in Chennai as APT 2.0 glitches cause booking delays
As the Department of Posts rolled out APT (Advanced Postal Technology) 2.0 across its branches in the city earlier this week, several post offices faced glitches due to a server breakdown, leading to delays in booking of articles. Over the past two days, several residents who attempted to book Speed and Registered Posts, and money orders failed to complete the booking, even after a long wait at the counters. While at some post offices in Ambattur, Avadi, and Pattabiram, bookings took longer than usual due to sluggish network, counters were closed at several others, including in Kilpauk, Anna Nagar, and Ayanavaram, much to the inconvenience of the postal customers. According to the department, the APT has been designed as a single-window system to offer an enhanced user experience, and faster service delivery. However, the services have hit a roadblock due to network issues. In the past one year, the Tamil Nadu postal circle has handled nearly 11.84 crore Speed and Registered Posts in the State. 'I visited two post offices in my area to book speed post on Wednesday. But the counter operations were suspended. The General Post Office, too, was crowded. I finally had to send a package to Madhya Pradesh via Speed Post by private courier for double the charges,' a Kilpauk resident said. Admitting that the post offices in many areas faced issues, officials said the APT 2.0 digital platform was expanded to all post offices in Tamil Nadu after seamless operation during pilot rollout in post offices like in Vellore. The General Post Office on Rajaji Salai — which handles a high volume of Speed and Registered Post consignments — has had difficulties in booking 20,000-25,000 articles over the past two days. The post office has also put up notices announcing the network issue due to new software migration. Officials said the technical issues had been escalated to the Centre for Excellence in Postal Technology, and the operations were expected to normalise in two days. However, post office banking operations were carried out as it was offered through Finacle digital banking platform.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
3-Day Backlog Hits GPO After New Postal System Rollout
1 2 Nagpur: With the rollout of the new Advanced Postal Technology (APT) 2.0 system across post offices, including in Nagpur, citizens are facing long queues at post offices, including at the General Post Office (GPO), primarily due to technical glitches after the new system's installation. When TOI visited the GPO on Tuesday, several people were seen standing in long lines outside the Speed Post counter, many holding letters, official documents, and rakhis, eager to send them before the festive deadlines. The APT 2.0 system, developed by the Centre for Excellence in Postal Technology (CEPT), Mysuru, aims to streamline postal services, improve transaction processing, and offer a more user-friendly interface. Officials said that while the new system faced initial hiccups, most modules are now functioning smoothly. They attributed Tuesday's long queues primarily to the weekend closure and technical glitches on Monday, which was the first day of the system migration. As a result, more people turned up on Tuesday to complete their pending postal work, said officials. "There was some rush due to the weekend holidays and the initial glitches during the migration on Monday. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Private Browsers That Keep You Safe vividtrendlab Undo But the system is stabilising now," said a senior postal official at the GPO. "This is just the second day, so a few issues are expected. Our technical team is on standby and resolving the glitches as soon as they occur." The new interface now supports smoother operations, especially for online payments and UPI transactions, which earlier often faced failures or lag. "In the older system, there were frequent interruptions during digital payments. With APT 2.0, things are already looking better," the official added. APT 2.0 is being rolled out mainly in two phases. The pilot phase began on July 22, covering a few offices, including Amravati, while the second and major phase was executed on August 4, covering most of the remaining offices across India. Those waiting in line, however, were not as optimistic. "I've been waiting here for over 30 minutes. The staff is cooperative, but the system still seems slow," said Meena Deshmukh, who was accompanying her friend at the office. Another customer, a 60-year-old who was sitting under a tree opposite the Speed Post booking office, said, "This should've been done after the festival rush. The timing is unfortunate. Even yesterday, there were delays. Hopefully, it gets sorted today, or else we will have to come tomorrow again." While India Post officials have assured smoother functioning in the coming days, the impact of the migration continues to be felt on the ground, with people hoping that the convenience promised by the new system arrives sooner rather than later.
The Hindu
29-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Erode Postal Division set for rollout of next-generation APT 2.0 Application on August 4
In a significant move towards digital transformation, the Department of Posts will launch the upgraded Advanced Postal Technology (APT) 2.0 application across all post offices in the Erode division on August 4, 2025. A press release from K. Gopalan, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Erode Division, said this next-generation system represents a milestone in enhancing operational efficiency and customer experience under the department's digital excellence initiative. As part of the transition, a planned system downtime has been scheduled on Saturday, during which no public transactions will be carried out at post offices in the Erode division. This temporary suspension is essential for data migration, system validation, and final configuration to ensure a smooth rollout. The APT 2.0 application is expected to provide a faster, more user-friendly interface, and significantly improved service delivery. The upgrade is aligned with the department's broader mission of enabling smarter, more efficient, and future-ready postal operations across the country. Customers are advised to plan their postal transactions accordingly and are requested to bear with the temporary inconvenience. The department has assured the public that all measures are being taken to minimise disruption and to provide enhanced services through this digital initiative, the release added.
New Indian Express
11-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
‘India Post can be world's largest logistics network': Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia
BENGALURU: 'No other distribution channel in the world is as wide or as deep as India Post,' Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya M Scindia said on Thursday. Speaking at gramin dak sevaks' sammelan here, he urged postal employees to work towards making India Post the largest logistics organisation in the world. Around 800 gramin dak sevaks participated in the sammelan organised by Karnataka Postal Circle. Fifteen sevaks from across Karnataka were felicitated on the occasion. Highlighting the vast reach of India Post, Scindia said it has 1.64 lakh points of presence from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Bharuch to Tawang, making it uniquely positioned to lead globally in said postal employees should keep pace with technology and increase productivity. 'We have to make sure we are at the cutting edge. That means, we must change the way we work, think about innovation, and use technology effectively,' he added. He said efforts are on to convert post offices into mall-like service centres, going beyond banking and postal functions. Praising Karnataka's postal services, Scindia said, 'Today, postman/postwoman is not just a purveyor of mail, but also brings banks to homes. Karnataka Circle has performed well with 200 crore mails and parcels delivered every year.' He visited Indian Telephone Industries Limited (ITI) and interacted with staff. He said, 'I think ITI is an institution that has contributed significantly to the telecom revolution in our country. Its adaptation and progress in manufacturing core telecom equipment such as radio access networks, routers, and PCB boards have been tremendous.' Vandita Kaul, secretary, Department of Posts, lauded Karnataka Circle for its swift adoption of APT 2.0 and leadership in digital innovation, including strengthening the parcel network and promoting philately.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Postal employees express concerns over workload, pay as minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia proposes mall like post offices
BENGALURU: Union minister for communications, , looked to turn post offices into mall-like services, beyond the banking and postal services they now provide. However, postal employees, during an interaction with him on Thursday, found themselves already underpaid and overburdened, functioning beyond the stipulated five hours, and now expected to perform more. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The exchange took place at Townhall in the city, where 15 best-performing 'Gramin Dak Sevak' (GDS) from Karnataka were felicitated in the presence of 800 of their counterparts. Among the GDS present from across the state were mail carriers (who carry bags of mail), packers (who tie up the parcels and seal the bags in post offices), mail delivery personnel, branch postmasters (BPM, who carry out financial services like account opening and insurance registering in the post office), and assistant branch postmasters (who deliver mails and substitute for BPM when needed). 'You are my family,' Scindia told contract-based employees of the postal service in Bengaluru in a fiery speech. 'Each one of my post offices in my village should become a small little mall for the village where everything can be bought virtually.' 'Today, Dhakiya (postman/postwoman) is not just a purveyor of mail, but also brings banks to homes. The Karnataka circle has performed tremendously, with 200 crore mails and parcels delivered every year, 30% of which are done in this state.' Vandita Kaul, Secretary, Department of Posts, also lauded the Karnataka circle for its swift adoption of APT 2.0 and its leadership in digital innovation. 'Karnataka Circle has been proactive in the efficient rollout of the new IT system and in the strengthening of the parcel network and public engagement to innovative philately.' During an interaction with the minister, B. Nagarajappa, who works as a BPM at Davanagere, said, 'We just have a postmaster and clerk to cater to 46,500 live accounts, and need more hands onboard.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He was disheartened by the poor remuneration for the job everyone in the postal department was doing. 'We do the IPPB (India Post Payments Bank) work but do not get the benefits for our work — 75 per cent of the work related to banking is done by us, and the banks reap benefits.' He was among the 15 best-performing GDS. Talking to TOI, another personnel from Channapatna explained, 'Working for 27 years, I earn Rs 27,000 in hand. The last time salaries were revised was 10 years ago.' Several GDS personnel who spoke to TOI unanimously hoped the salaries would increase, their roles be made permanent, and their hours of service be recognised. 'We are appointed for a five-hour shift and get paid accordingly. But work goes on for eight hours. If all the hours are calculated, they may have to regularise us, and hence, we are kept at this scale and schedule,' said another. One of the changes in the functioning of the postal department is the delineation of offices of BPM and ABPM under the integrated delivery centre system. 'What works in cities doesn't augur well for rural areas. They decided to club multiple postal codes and deliver mails to one location — an integrated delivery centre, a month ago. While cities have pincodes close to each other, people can access the centre if they miss their mails. But in rural areas, where houses are even 20 km from an IDC, if a person misses his mail, he will have to travel the entire distance to the centralised location to get it. The problem also exists for delivery agents,' said a mail overseer from Mandya. Several chided the department's policy of having a 'cycle allowance' of Rs 155 a month for delivering mails. 'Times have changed. We don't have cycles. We need fuel allowance,' they said.
