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Sunday, 23 September 2012
Posts facilitate financial inclusion
Postal financial inclusion brings people
excluded from the formal financial sector into a financial system using
the postal network as a gateway. Either the Post offers its own
financial services or partners with a financial institution to give
access to such services.
With more than 600,000 post offices in the
world, the postal presence in rural areas is unmatched by any other
network. The UPU is building on that strength to help Posts provide
rural citizens in developing countries with financial services such as
postal savings accounts, government payments, loans and insurance, as
well as a secure, reliable, efficient and affordable service for
international and national electronic money orders. Offering such
services to the unbanked can lead to poverty reduction and increased
economic participation.
Several Posts are already key players in
financial inclusion: the Postal Savings Bank of China has 475 million
customers; Brazil’s Correios opened 11 million accounts in 10 years
through a partnership with a bank; Namibia Post banks 20% of the
country’s total population; India Post holds 240 million savings
accounts and covers risks for more than 20 million people through its
postal life insurance policy; Papua New Guinea Post offers a mobile
wallet and is one of three main national competitors for mobile
financial services; Serbia Post makes 150 million financial transactions
a year in a country of 10 million inhabitants.
The UPU is also helping Posts develop and
expand their electronic money transfer services. The remittance market
is hampered by restrictive laws, low levels of competition and costly
fees, leaving customers, especially migrant workers, vulnerable. There
is a strong need for a more streamlined system of sending remittances.
The UPU has entered into valuable partnerships
with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the
World Bank, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion and the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as others, to research and develop
financial inclusion through the postal network.
Major projects
- Nearly 700,000 USD from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is helping the UPU fund work on how Posts can enter into partnerships with financial institutions and mobile-money operators to better serve the underprivileged, the exchange of know-how among stakeholders and initiating pilot projects
- A UPU-IFAD project in West Africa, involving Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal, connected 355 post offices in rural areas to the UPU's worldwide electronic payment network. Rural post offices have been providing the service since October 2009, while currently, a total of 453 post offices in the six countries offer fund transfer services. According to postal officials in those countries, the time for receiving remittances and the transfer costs have been reduced.
- IFAD is financing two additional development projects for postal payment services in South East Asia and Central Asia to the tune of 750,000 USD. The aim is to help designated operators in these countries to develop their money transfer services in rural regions.
- With the World Bank, the UPU is helping the Posts of West and Central Africa countries improve the quality of their money transfer services.
Facts and figures
- Only 8% of the world’s Posts do not offer financial services (UPU survey)
- 51 Posts worldwide hold 1.6 billion savings and deposit accounts
- One billion people are banked through the Post
- Several hundred million people, often without an account, use the post to send and receive domestic and international transfers, and make government payments and utility payments
- Remittances to developing countries in 2011 reached 372 billion USD, 12% more than in 2010 (World Bank)
- 30 to 40% of remittances go to rural areas, while in many countries the value of remittances exceeds foreign direct investment (IFAD)
Source : news.upu.in
How to maintain your image at work
Don't
want to be seen as arrogant or weak to your subordinates? You can
maintain the right balance of humility, writes Lisa Antao
Sometimes, we are in awe of people superior to us, people whom we secretly look up to and want to be like. Maybe because it's the respect that they command and receive, their achievements, their contacts or simply just how smoothly they can get work done. And it's obvious that such people display good if not great leadership qualities, and we often wonder what makes them click? And while most people believe that aggressiveness, being influential and being determined to be successful appear to be the necessary traits, in reality there's much more. We often overlook the humility factor. After all, it is said that respect is earned.
So how does humility play a role in effective leadership? Psychologist Manasi Hassan explains, "Imagine a leader who is unapproachable, uptight, self absorbed and judgmental.
Or a leader who sets such high standards that the group members feel almost inferior in his/her presence. Humility is an important criteria for others to be able to relate to the leader. This makes the leader more approachable and a positive figure for his/her teammates. This helps one influence his/her teammates in a positive way without causing conflicts and frustration." She says that humility in a leader brings about an ease in the teammates for them to open up and communicate with their leader. It's simple just like in school when we liked a teacher who was positive, we automatically did better in that particular subject.
In case you're wondering what if humility is mistaken for weakness? Agrees Hassan saying that sometimes being humble may make others believe that you can be taken for granted. She suggests the following advice to maintain the right balance:
- Say 'no' when you have to
- Don't overdo the humility just for your need to be liked or seek approval from others
- When you see that the situation may get out of hand, pull up your socks and be assertive
- Use humility, don't abuse it. Familiarity breeds contempt, be open with your teammates but not so much that you are unable to maintain your distance with them
- Avoid disclosing too much of your personal life
- Demand your respect, when required
- Don't avoid confrontations in order to avoid conflict
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Milan Balakrishnan says, "Humility in a leader may be misconstrued as a weakness which can be balanced out by adding the right amount of assertiveness and strength. One does not have to sacrifice competence, vision, and effectiveness to get humility in leadership. Humility in the context of leadership is admitting that one does not have all the answers and that one may need help of the team in fulfiling team objectives."
Sometimes, we are in awe of people superior to us, people whom we secretly look up to and want to be like. Maybe because it's the respect that they command and receive, their achievements, their contacts or simply just how smoothly they can get work done. And it's obvious that such people display good if not great leadership qualities, and we often wonder what makes them click? And while most people believe that aggressiveness, being influential and being determined to be successful appear to be the necessary traits, in reality there's much more. We often overlook the humility factor. After all, it is said that respect is earned.
So how does humility play a role in effective leadership? Psychologist Manasi Hassan explains, "Imagine a leader who is unapproachable, uptight, self absorbed and judgmental.
Or a leader who sets such high standards that the group members feel almost inferior in his/her presence. Humility is an important criteria for others to be able to relate to the leader. This makes the leader more approachable and a positive figure for his/her teammates. This helps one influence his/her teammates in a positive way without causing conflicts and frustration." She says that humility in a leader brings about an ease in the teammates for them to open up and communicate with their leader. It's simple just like in school when we liked a teacher who was positive, we automatically did better in that particular subject.
In case you're wondering what if humility is mistaken for weakness? Agrees Hassan saying that sometimes being humble may make others believe that you can be taken for granted. She suggests the following advice to maintain the right balance:
- Say 'no' when you have to
- Don't overdo the humility just for your need to be liked or seek approval from others
- When you see that the situation may get out of hand, pull up your socks and be assertive
- Use humility, don't abuse it. Familiarity breeds contempt, be open with your teammates but not so much that you are unable to maintain your distance with them
- Avoid disclosing too much of your personal life
- Demand your respect, when required
- Don't avoid confrontations in order to avoid conflict
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Milan Balakrishnan says, "Humility in a leader may be misconstrued as a weakness which can be balanced out by adding the right amount of assertiveness and strength. One does not have to sacrifice competence, vision, and effectiveness to get humility in leadership. Humility in the context of leadership is admitting that one does not have all the answers and that one may need help of the team in fulfiling team objectives."
Source : The Times of India, Sept 21, 2012
'One nation-free roaming': Finance Ministry asks DoT to submit roadmap
NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry
has asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to submit a roadmap and
timeline for implementation of 'one nation-free roaming', which allows
mobile phone subscribers to use same number across country without
having to pay extra charges.
"DoT has been requested to indicate the roadmap and timeline for implementation of the decision regarding 'one nation-free roaming' to this department at the earliest," a source said.
The Finance Ministry had last month also asked for the details but DoT has still not replied.
However, DoT Secretary R Chandrashekhar told PTI that the process for free roaming across the country has already been started and it may be implemented by next year.
He said the department is right now working on the unified licence (UL) guidelines which was also a part of the NTP 2012. After the finalisation of UL and the auction process gets over, the 'one nation-free roaming' will also be implemented in due time.
"All these things are inter-related. We have initiated the process and its implementation is likely next year," Chandrashekhar said.
While releasing the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal had said, "Target is one nation full mobile number portability and work towards one nation free roaming".
After NTP 2012 was notified, DoT was to start the process to implement full mobile number portability allowing users to retain their existing number at the time of changing their service providers across any state in the country.
"DoT has been requested to indicate the roadmap and timeline for implementation of the decision regarding 'one nation-free roaming' to this department at the earliest," a source said.
The Finance Ministry had last month also asked for the details but DoT has still not replied.
However, DoT Secretary R Chandrashekhar told PTI that the process for free roaming across the country has already been started and it may be implemented by next year.
He said the department is right now working on the unified licence (UL) guidelines which was also a part of the NTP 2012. After the finalisation of UL and the auction process gets over, the 'one nation-free roaming' will also be implemented in due time.
"All these things are inter-related. We have initiated the process and its implementation is likely next year," Chandrashekhar said.
While releasing the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal had said, "Target is one nation full mobile number portability and work towards one nation free roaming".
After NTP 2012 was notified, DoT was to start the process to implement full mobile number portability allowing users to retain their existing number at the time of changing their service providers across any state in the country.
Source : The Economic Times, Sept 21, 2012
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