Philately Day: Mumbai postal department launches stamped masks

On Tuesday, October 13, the postal department in Mumbai launched the “stamped mask” on the occasion of Philately Day.

These face masks had pictures of postage stamps printed on them in order to give them an attractive and old school look along with creating awareness about the importance of face masks amidst the pandemic.

The Philately Day is usually celebrated as part of the National Postal Week that started from 9 October 2020 and will continue till 15 October 2020. A postage stamp is a small adhesive piece of paper of specified value issued by a post office to be affixed to a letter or parcel to indicate the amount of postage paid. In the earlier days, stamps had to be cut out from a large sheet of paper and then had to be glued onto an envelope to send a letter.

The Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications and the Government of India announced the celebration of National Postal Week starting with the World Post Day on October 9, 2020. This day marks the anniversary of the establishment of Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in Berne. The purpose of World Post Day is to create awareness about the role and contribution of the postal sector in people's lives, especially in the modern world when technology has taken over our lives.