Focus: GS-II Social Justice
Why in news?
- The Department of Posts has launched a scheme called Five Star Villages, to ensure universal coverage of flagship postal schemes in rural areas of the country.
- The scheme is being launched on pilot basis in Maharashtra, and based on the experience – it will be implemented nation-wide.
Five Star Villages Scheme
- The Five Star Villages Scheme seeks to bridge the gaps in public awareness and reach of postal products and services, especially in interior villages.
- All postal products and services will be made available and marketed and publicized at village level under this scheme.
- Branch offices will function as one-stop shop to cater all post office – related needs of villagers.
The schemes covered under the Five Star scheme include:
- Savings Bank accounts, Recurrent Deposit Accounts, NSC / KVP certificates
- Sukanya Samridhi Accounts/ PPF Accounts
- Funded Post Office Savings Account linked India Post Payments Bank Accounts
- Postal Life Insurance Policy/Rural Postal Life Insurance Policy
- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Account / Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana Account
How it works?
- If a village attains universal coverage for four schemes from the above list, then that village gets four-star status; if a village completes three schemes, then that village get three-star status and so on.
- The scheme will be implemented by a team of five Gramin Dak Sevaks who will be assigned a village for marketing of all products, savings and insurance schemes of the Department of Posts.
- The team of Gramin Dak Sevaks will conduct door-to-door awareness campaign on all schemes, covering all eligible villagers. Wide publicity will be given by displaying the information on notice board of Branch Office.
- The scheme progress and target achievement will be closely monitored at Circle, Regional and Divisional levels.
