Fact Check: Has Union govt issued stamps in name of Vivek Bindra?

Motivational speaker and BadaBusinessOff founder Dr. Vivek Bindra recently tweeted two pictures. The first shows him posing with a framed sheet of postal stamps, while the second is a close-up of the stamps themselves. The stamp features an image of Bindra with ‘My Stamp’ printed on one corner of the frame. Sharing this, Bindra claimed that the Indian government had issued a postal stamp with his name and photograph.

कैसा लगेगा जब आप लेटर पर पोस्टल स्टांप लगाने जा रहे हों और उस स्टांप पर आपकी ही तस्वीर हो। ऐसी ही खुशी मुझे हुई जब मैंने देखा कि भारत सरकार ने मेरे नाम और फोटो का स्टांप जारी किया है। यह एक गर्व करने वाला पल था। इस सम्मान के लिए मैं भारत सरकार/डाक विभाग को दिल से धन्यवाद करता हूं pic.twitter.com/uMwVo6r16Z

— Dr. Vivek Bindra (@DrVivekBindra) January 11, 2023

Fact Check

We performed a keyword search and could not find any report to corroborate the release of such postal stamp. Next, we performed another search using the ‘My Stamp’ filter seen in the frame, which led us to a page on the India Post website. It states that ‘My Stamp’ is the name for India Post’s new personalized postage stamp sheetlets. These stamps can feature thumbnail photographs of individuals, photographs and logos of institutions, or images of artwork, heritage buildings, famous tourist places, historical cities, wildlife, or animals and birds on a selected template sheet with postage.

The page also contains Information about the My Stamp initiative. As part of this, any individual can get a sheet of stamps printed with the image of their choice by paying Rs 300 as a fee.

The terms and conditions for getting a customized ‘My Stamp’ printed by a corporate, organization or institution are also outlined here, as follows:

• Any corporate, organization or institution can get the stamps made by placing an order for printing at least 5000 sheets (one sheet contains 12 postage stamps). There is also a provision of 20% discount for corporate customers.
• To place an order for printing Customized My Stamps, the interested organization or company has to email India Post.
• The request for getting customized My Stamp printed must be submitted by an authorized signatory along with the order form.
• Along with this, the authorized signatory in this application must have a valid ID proof issued by the institution or company.

We also found a video covering ‘My Stamp’ scheme on One India’s YouTube channel. It is mentioned here that the Indian Postal Department had introduced the initiative to generate interest and attract new customers. The deputy postmaster of the Meerut head post office is quoted as saying that interested individuals could get their photo printed on a postal stamp for Rs 300. As many as 12 stamps of Rs. 5 each will be issued to the customer by the post office for Rs. 300, and the holder can also use it in the form of a Rs. 60 stamp.

While Bindra mentioned the ‘My Stamp’ service in his tweet, he failed to clarify how he had procured the stamps. Instead, he claimed that the stamps were issued by the Government of India. Any individual can get such stamps made by availing the ‘My Stamp’ service.

We also noticed that India Post quote-tweeted Bindra’s tweet and clarified that anybody could avail this service.

डाक विभाग देश के प्रत्येक नागरिक की सेवा करने के लिए पूर्णत: प्रतिबद्ध है। हमें बेहद प्रसन्नता है कि आपको हमारी ”माई स्टांप” सेवा पसंद आई। धन्यवाद हमें सराहने के लिए। https://t.co/IZtOJiNwOO

— India Post (@IndiaPostOffice) January 12, 2023

To sum it up, motivational speaker Dr. Vivek Bindra falsely claimed that the Indian government issued a stamp featuring his name and image. The stamps were made as part of India Post’s customized postage stamp scheme called ‘My Stamp’. Under this, any interested individual can get a customized sheet of 12 Rs 5 postage stamps for Rs. 300 rupees. For corporate bodies, institutions or companies, the minimum order is 5,000 sheets i.e., 60,000 postal stamps.