Monday, January 07, 2008

India plans "Hobby Centres" to promote philately

According to The Hindu on-line, the Department of Posts will start hobby centres in 818 Post Offices across India on January 26 to promote stamp collection among school children.

Speaking at the India National Philatelic Exhibition-2008 (INPEX), K. Noorjehan, Postal Services Board Member (Operations and Marketing)is quoted as saying the centres would be similar to the Nehru Philatelic Centre.

The Department would seek the help of philatelists to enroll at least 10 schools in a region, and about 100 students would be selected from a school, and they would be asked to open a philatelic deposit account in the post office.

Noorjehan is also quoted as saying, “There are 92 Head Post Offices, and we hope at least 9,200 savings accounts can be opened in Tamil Nadu. Though it is mandatory to have a minimum balance of Rs. 200 per account, the children can open the account with Rs. 100, while we will provide materials worth Rs. 100 as a bonus. We will request philatelists to conduct workshops regularly. Besides, we will have an interactive page on our website to cater to the specific needs of philatelists.”

To read the entire article, click here.
Bookmark and Share
posted by Don Schilling at 7:20 AM