India has 260 all-women post offices: Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
Union Minster Ravi Shankar Prasad said that as part of women's empowerment, new all-women post offices were opened across the country.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced on Monday that India has 260 all women post offices, including one in Patna and even one in Srinagar, during the inauguration of the Department of Posts Schemes in Bihar.
The Cabinet Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology was speaking at the virtual inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony for the Bihar postal circle.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced that India has 260 all women post offices. (File photo)
“The Narendra Modi government believes in women’s empowerment,” said the minister and added that apart from various women's development schemes like Beti Padhao Beti Bachao, the government made it a priority to establish more all-women post offices in different parts of the country.
The first all-women post office in Patna christened ‘Mahila Dak Ghar’ was also inaugurated by the Patna born minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in September 2019. In 2020, new all-women post offices opened in several cities like Trichy, Kalaburgi ,and Mumbai which opened its second all-women post office in Mahim Bazaar.
India’s first ever all-women post office was opened in Delhi on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2013.
The Union Minister praised India Post for its efforts to deliver goods and monetary relief to people during the coronavirus-induced lockdowns. He stated that the coronavirus had increased the importance of postal services in the country.
“The postal service has delivered over 10,000 tonnes of medicines, ventilators and PPE kits during the lockdown,” he said during the address.
He also praised the Bihar postal circle which recently set the record for delivering the highest cash relief during the lockdown. On May 8, it delivered ₹16 crore in cash to about 1.94 lakh households.
“Rs. 350 crore was delivered at doorstep of beneficiaries in Bihar through AePS,” he added.
He also announced that India Post can become the supply chain partner of the toy manufacturing sector. He encouraged the postal service to play a part in delivering indigenous and popular products like Madhumani paintings all across the country.
“The postal service should become a part of the global supply chain."
The Union Minister was inaugurating six new initiatives for the Bihar postal circle which included the foundation stone laying ceremony for a new head office in Begusarai, parcel hub in Muzaffarpur, regional post office in Bhagalpur, a new division post office in Patna, and a post office in Khusrupur.