Sri Vjaya Puram, Aug 8: In response to the long pending grievances of postal savings agents and to raise their demands at the appropriate level, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, today (08.08.2025) met with Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Union Minister of Finance, at Parliament House, New Delhi, along with a delegation of the National Small Savings Agents Association, India.
The meeting was convened following representations made by the Association regarding the unjust reduction in their commission rates. During the interaction, the office bearers of the Association highlighted that their commission was reduced from 1% to 0.5% in 2011 by the then UPA-II Government. Despite multiple appeals over the years, their demand for restoration of the original 1% commission has not been addressed.
They informed the Hon’ble Finance Minister that over 6 lakh agents are engaged across the country, working on a commission basis under official appointment by the Government. These agents play a crucial role in creating awareness and encouraging public participation in various postal savings schemes such as Kisan Vikas Patra, National Savings Certificates, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Recurring Deposits, Monthly Income Schemes etc on commission basis as per govt. norms. In addition to these schemes, they also create awareness and encourage public participation to avail the other schemes such as Sukanya Samridhi, Sri Citizen, Public Provident Fund etc without expecting commission.
The delegation expressed that the repeated cuts in commission from 2% to 1%, and subsequently to 0.5% have adversely affected their motivation and earnings, despite their critical contribution in mobilizing small savings at the grassroots level.
After patiently hearing their concerns, the Hon’ble Finance Minister assured the delegation that the matter will be examined and considered appropriately.
Shri Bishnu Pada Ray, MP, expressed hope that the legitimate demands of the agents, who serve as vital grassroots financial outreach workers, will be resolved at the earliest in the interest of justice and to strengthen the savings culture across the nation.