Latest news with #AdvancedPostalTechnology
The Hindu
a day 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
2 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
5 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Post offices across the country to accept digital payments soon
Even as India Post phases out its 'Registered Post' and merges it with Speed Post, the Department of Posts has indicated that it will firm up its logistics for transmitting mail, and upgrade its IT systems. A key initiative has been integrating Unified Payments Interface (UPI) at the time of booking Speed Post, which would prevent individual post offices from declining digital payments. One way in which India Post has said it would firm up its domestic mail transmission is by ensuring that mail bags have enough room on flights criss-crossing India. The Hindu had first reported on July 9 India Post's intention to reserve such 'hard blocks' on passenger flights' spare room in the cargo hold. On July 17, the postal department issued the tender to this effect, inviting airlines to bid for these hard block contracts. Post offices across the country have also been upgrading their IT system in phases. Apart from accepting UPI in a so-called 'collect mechanism', where a mail article is booked as soon as a UPI request is paid, the new system also includes more fields in tracking, such as the next post office a particular package or letter is headed to while in transmission. This new Advanced Postal Technology (APT) system has been rolled out in some of the major metro cities, such as Delhi and Chennai. Large parts of Mumbai will transition on August 4, the posts department said. In Delhi, over a dozen post offices were upgraded last month, and over 400 post offices did not accept bookings on Saturday as they also undertook the upgrades. Over 86,000 post offices have been upgraded to the new systems so far, representing over half the postal network in India. 'The APT application is designed to offer an enhanced user experience, faster service delivery, and a more customer-friendly interface, reflecting our unwavering commitment to delivering smarter, efficient, and future-ready postal operations,' the Ministry of Communications said in a statement. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, the Minister of State for Communications, reviewed some of the upgradation work earlier this week, where postal officials said that APT was 'designed to introduce real-time track and trace capabilities, customised services for bulk customers, electronic proof of delivery, OTP-based authentication, digital payments, and open API integration,' according to another statement. Post department officials have also touted other upgrades to come in the following months. Two officials told The Hindu that the department was working on an email-like system that would allow letters to be redirected seamlessly when addressees shift their residence. The DIGIPIN initiative, which allows for more precise latitude-longitude data in a PIN code, has also been launched this year.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Post offices in some districts will not carry out transactions on August 2 and 3
All post offices in Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Puducherry, Arakkonam, Tambaram, Tiruvannamalai divisions, and Chennai, including the Anna Road Head Post Office and general post office on Rajaji Salai, will not carry out any transactions on August 2 and 3. To enable a seamless and secure transition to the Advanced Postal Technology (APT) application, postal counter services will be suspended for two days. The planned downtime will facilitate the data migration and configuration process. APT upgraded system will be implemented across all post offices from August 4 to ensure faster service delivery and customer-friendly interface, a press release said.
The Hindu
29-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Post offices in Chennai Central, Tambaram Divisions to be shut on August 2
Post offices functioning in Chennai Central and Tambaram Divisions will not function on August 2. This is to enable a seamless transition to 'Advanced Postal Technology (APT) 2.0', an advanced digital platform to be rolled out on August 4. A press release said the planned downtime would facilitate the data migration and configuration processes and ensure smooth transition to the new platform. The Chennai Central Division has post offices in localities including T. Nagar, Royapettah, and Gopalapuram under its jurisdiction. The APT application is designed to offer an enhanced user experience, faster service delivery, and a more customer-friendly interface. Postal customers have been asked to plan their visit to post offices in advance, the release said.
