India on Asian Oceanic Postal Union
A commemorative postage stamp on the 15th Anniversary of the Asian Oceanic Postal Union (AOPU) :
Issued by India
Issued on Apr 1, 1977
Issued for : India joined the Asian Oceanic Postal Union in 1973 and has been actively participating in the affairs of the Union. The AOPU has now completed 15 years of its service to the countries of the region.
The Indian P & T Department is happy to mark the occasion by issuing a commemorative postage stamp.
Description of Design : The design pf the stamp is symbolic based on the emblem of the Asian Oceanic Postal Union.
Type : Stamp, Postal Used
Colour : Multicolour
Denomination : 200 Paise
Overall size : 3.91 X 2.90 cms.
Printing size : 3.55 X 2.54 cms.
Perforation : 13 x 13
Watermark : Printed on unwatermarked adhesive stamp paper
Number printed : 20,00,000
Number per issue sheet : 35
Printing process : Photogravure
Designed and printed at : India Security Press
About :
- Most of the countries in the world are members of the Universal Postal Union. The Constitution of this Union permits members to form themselves into restricted unions covering specific regions of the globe. Special agreements are concluded to facilitate cooperation and improvement in the postal services of the member countries within the region, provided such agreements introduce provisions more favourable to the members of the public than those provided by the acts of the UPU. Further a restricted Union has the important role of promoting postal development in the region. cooperating with the UPU and the regional economic commissions in the implementation of technical assistance programmes in respect of postal services and strengthening relations with the other restricted Unions. At present the following seven restricted Unions are functioning in different parts of the world:
Headquarters 1 European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) Stockholm 2 The African Posts and Telecommunications Union (APTU) Brazzaville 3 The Arab Postal Union (UPA) Cairo 4 The Postal Union of the Americas and Spain (PUAS) Santiago 5 The African Postal Union (APU) Cairo 6 Asian-Oceanic Postal Union (AOPU) Manila 7 The Nordic Postal Union (UPPN) Helsinki - The Asian Oceanic Postal Union was established in 1962 with headquarters and Central Office in Manila in Philippines. The membership of the Union is open to the countries of the Asian Oceanic region. At present the Union comprises Australia, Bangladesh, China (People’s Republic), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Thailand. Some more countries are expected to join soon.
- The supreme organ of the Union is the Congress comprising all the members and is held once in 5 years. The main function of the Congress is to revise the Constitution of the restricted Union. The Executive Council in which all the members are represented ensures the continuity of the work of the Union during the interval between the Congresses and also supervises the work of the Central Office of the Union.
- Concessions in postal tariffs are given by the member countries on the surface letter mail addressed to other member countries on a reciprocal basis. This is of direct advantage to the users of postal services of this region.
