Postal Volume – V (DEFINITIONS)

1. PMG (Postmaster General) :-

Expression “Postmaster General” means
Principal chief Postmaster General
Chief Postmaster-General
Regional Postmaster General
Or director of Postal services
Any other officer exercising the powers of above
2. RMS (Railway mail service) : -
Service responsible for carriage of mails by ----rail, road, river, air And for collection
and Distribution of mails received from Post Office or Mail offices and SECTIONS.
3. Deleted RMS= RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE
4. SP (Superintendent) :-
Superintendent of Post Offices is Chief officer in-charge of Postal divisions
and Superintendent RMS is chief officer in-charge of RMS divisions
Administrative charge of division – under his control
All officers in division – subordinate to him
Superintendent is immediately subordinate to – HOC & head of region
Expression “superintendent” includes
• Superintendent and Senior Superintendent of postal and RMS divisions
• 1St class postmaster
5. HO (Head Office) :--

Definition :-- A HO is main office of group of POs consisting of itself and number of
small Offices called Sub & branch offices which have been placed under its account
jurisdiction

Main office of account for – Itself (HO) and Sub or branch post offices within group

Monetary transactions of latter offices are incorporated in its account

Officer in charge – Head postmaster

5A. V-SAT stations :--

➢ Important HOs – are identified as very-small aperture terminalstations

➢ From these POs – MOs are transmitted using V-SAT technology
➢ Full from--- Very-small aperture terminal
5-B. ESMO :--
▪ Full from – Extended Satellite Money Order
▪ Working as – extension counters for booking and transmission of MOs through
V-SAT Stations.
5-C. Hybrid Mail Service :--

❖ Electronic transmission of written material from one place to another place using
computer Terminals connected through V-SAT

❖ Delivered to one or more addressee at receiving station

6. GPO (General post offices) :--

• Definition :-- 1st class HO situated at headquarter of head of circle or where there are
more Than one such HO, the one attached to HQ is termed as GPO
[TOTAL No. Of GPO in India 26]
• 1St class HOs are under the control and supervision of Senior Time Scale officer
He is called as – Chief Postmaster. He also same power exercise of SSPO
• 2nd class HOs – under control and supervision of – group ‘B’ officer
He reports to – Senior Superintendent of POs.

7. SO (Sub-Office) :--
Subordinate to and in account with Head office

Its mandatory transaction – Incorporated in the accounts of latter Office

Office in charge—Sub-Postmaster

Town sub office SO situated in a town or it’s suburbs where there is also a HO called
TSO
8. BO (Branch Office) :--

• Lower status than a sub office

• Account office of BO – may be HO or SO with which it is in direct account
• Its monetary Transactions are incorporated in account of latter office
• The officer in charge of a branch post office is called a branch postmaster.
• Town branch office – BO situated in a town or its suburbs where there is also HO
termed As Town BO

9 A. Transit Office :
❖ Definition—PO situated on a line of through mail communication and
receives and sorts Bags intended for offices in advance without opening them.
❖ Forward bags – Bags forwarded onwards unopened
❖ Transit bags addressed to transit office opened there and forward bags
contained in them Sent onwards, either loose or enclosed in other transit Bags.
❖ Use of transit office – reduce the number of loose bags
 9 B. TMO (Transit Mail Office) :--

✓ Branch of – RMS

✓ Closed bags are received and dispatched but sorting of letters is not done in this unit

✓ Officer in charge of TMO – Mail agent/Mail guard

✓ This can function in a number of sets depending on requirements

✓ If TMO function in night set

▪ The set works throughout the night

▪ And will not work on next night
▪ And next night – another set will work in night

✓ Both these batches – will alternatively work

9C. CTMO (computerized transit Mail office) :--

In certain cities, computers are provided to handle the work of TMOs, called as
CTMOs

CTMO = computerized transit Mail office

10. Sorting – office :--

➢ Open the sorting Mail bags received by it

➢ And disposing of their contents

➢ Sorting office may receive all kind of articles in sorting

➢ Use of sorting office

• Simplify work of sorting in other offices

• Reduce number of bags exchanged between post offices

• Reduce weight of mails carried in mail lines

10-A. AMPC (Automatic mail processing Centres) :--

➢ In important cities where Mail tariff is high

➢ Sorting work is done with machines having high speed of sorting
➢ Machines types

Letter sorting machine (LSM)– 35,000 mails/hour

Mixed mail sorter – 18,000 mails/hour

10.B. CRC (computerized registration Centre) :--

Registration branch of Mail Office

Registration work done on computers

CRC can be situated in mail office itself or in separate location

11. Sorting Sub – Office

SO which is selected from its position at or near junction of several mail

lines

Serves as sorting office for articles addressed to or receive from offices to

which route lies

Through sorting SO

Authorized to receive articles of all kinds in sorting

11.A. NPO (Nodal post office) :--

➢ In important cities & towns some POs are authorized to receive letters from
neighbouring

POs

➢ Sort the mails as per sorting diagram given by RMS superintendent

➢ Reduce pressure in local sorting offices

11-B. Central Bagging Unit/Kendriya Bagging Unit(CBU/KBU) :--

Branch of RMS
 Bundles prepared by POs/mail offices grouped and enclosed in direct bag in
this unit

12. RLO (Returned Letter office) :--

❖ Established at – Headquarters of a postal circle

❖ It deals with – Unclaimed articles

Refused articles

Articles without address

Incomplete address articles

Undecipherable address articles

12-A. Transcription Centre :--

Established in a sorting office, situated normally at headquarter of circle or

at any other

Convenient sorting office in circle

Address in regional language – transcribes into English

13)Office of exchange, office of exchange of transit, foreign PO, sub-foreign POs

13 A. Office of exchange:--

❖ Post office, Sorting office, Section Which exchanges mails with offices in
foreign Countries

❖ Dispatching offices of exchange – in respect of mails it makes up and

addresses to an office Of exchange in another country

❖ Receiving office of exchange – mails addressed to it by an office of exchange

from another Country

❖ Terms “outward office of exchange” and “inward office of exchange” – also

used to Describe them.
13 B. Office of exchange of transit :--

❖ Definition – An office of exchange on the border which only receives and

dispatches Closed bags addressed to or received from other offices of exchange
in India

❖ Not close – bags for foreign countries

❖ Not open – inward foreign bags

❖ Its function – only exchange mails with carrier or with the officials of a
foreign Administration

13 C. Foreign post-office :--

An office of exchange – in which work of assessment of custom duty on

foreign mails is Also carried out

Although mails may be intercepted in many exchange offices but work of

actual assessment Of duty done only in foreign POs

Article receive in office of exchange and suspected to contain dutiable

goods

¶ For delivery from an office nearer another office of exchange – directed to

latter for Actual examination and assessment of Duty

13.D. Sub – foreign PO :--

➢ Not an exchange office

➢ Not close bags for other countries and not receive bags from foreign
countries

➢ Work of custom examination, assessment and accounting of custom duty is

carried out

➢ Opened mainly for – convenience of Senders and addressees

 Who required to present documents, etc. For release and dispatch of their
foreign Articles

14) Transit sections :--

Travelling offices of RMS working on railway or river steamer lines

Officer in charge of a set of a transit section – Mail Agent/ Mail Guard

Sections are numbered serially

Designated by – name of RMS Division followed by serial number

15) Mail office :--

Stationery office of RMS

Two types ---

1) Sorting mail offices

2) Transit Mail offices

Transit Mail office – deals with the closed bags only

Sorting mail office – deals with the contents of mail bags addressed to
them as well as with Closed forward bags

Officer in-charge of a set of a sorting Mail office – Head sorting assistance

Officer in-charge of a set of a transit mail office – Mail agent

15. A. CMO/BMO (Corporate mail office or bulk-mail centre):--

▪ Consequent on increase of corporate mail, RMS units, corporate mail

offices/bulk mail Offices are opened in big cities

▪ Bulk mailer: -- Firm posting of 5,000 unregistered or 250 registered articles at

a time

These bulk mailers are supplied with customized sorting list

▪ Bundles are prepared by – bulk mailer as per customized sorting list

▪ Detail of bundles entered in one invoice which is prepared in duplicate and

brought to BM Centre

▪ Officer-in-charge of Centre – verifies bundles received from each bulk Mailer

with Reference to invoice received and group them – destination wise for
dispatch.

15. B. MMC (Mass mailing Centre) :--

🫰 In big cities – in order to help customers who are regularly posting maximum
number of letters – DOP started – MMC

🫰 In MMC – loose letters, circulars and blank envelopes received from

customers

And help them

✓ In writing address

✓ Enclose circulars/letters in envelopes

✓ Affixing postage stamps

✓ Franking the mail

🫰 For this purpose – MMC may engage the College students, House wives,
Pensioners etc On payment of some amount on hourly basis

🫰 Customers will have to pay extra in addition to postage decide by

Department time to time

15. C. PSO (Press-sorting office)

❖ Situated on – premises of the newspaper

❖ The entire expenditure towards wages for the establishment is borne by the
Newspaper Publisher apart from providing required stationery for working the
sorting office.
❖ This office works to suit t he dispatch timing of the newspaper and closes
direct letter bags to the Post Offices/sorting offices concerned which are
dispatched through local regular Sorting offices.

16)Record office :--

➢ Stationary office of RMS

➢ Work papers – of section attached to it are prepared + checked + placed in

record

➢ All forms, Bags, Stationery Required for use of those sections are supplied

➢ Officer in charge of RO – Record officer

17) HRO (Head record office) :--

Stationery office is situated at headquarter of RMS division

Ordinary duties of Record office + salary and contingent bill sent for entire
division + accounts connected therewith are prepared

The official incharge of a Head Record Office is designated a Head Record

Officer.

18) Sub record office: --

❖ Stationary office of RMS

❖ Situated at – same station at mail office

❖ Work-papers of Mail office and sections attached to sub record office are
prepared checked and placed on record
❖ All forms, Bags, Stationery required for use of Mail office and section are
suppliers
❖ Officer in-charge of SRO – Sub record officer

❖ Sub record officer also work as Head sorting assistant, Sub sorting assistant,
Mail agent
Thank you